I’d like to welcome to the House Richard Bradley from Moore Falls, Ontario.

I have a few to introduce today. I’d like to begin by introducing and welcoming:

Brigette Contento and Michael Verrelli of the Humberlea Community Group, as well as Alonzo Jones, CEO of the Association of Architectural Technologists of Ontario, which, since 1969, has been the statutory regulator and governing body for architectural technologists, architectural technicians, registered building technicians and registered building technologists;

Also, other members of the Association of Architectural Technologists of Ontario, including Cindy McPhee, who is a principal designer with First Step Design Ltd.; Frank Balenzano, who is a plans examiner and building inspector for the city of Brampton and AATO board member; and Tony Bianchi, who is an AATO board member, though retired.

I’d like to welcome the students today from Trafalgar Castle School, who will be performing later on today as the choir on the grand staircase. Welcome to the Legislature.

I’d like to welcome to the House a guy who has been putting up with me since I was born and who has supported me every step of the way: my dad, Jim. Welcome to the House.

My question is for the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. Under the previous Liberal government, supported by the NDP, when global companies were considering locations to expand in, Ontario was never on the short list. Businesses did not want to navigate through mazes of red tape while paying tax hike after tax hike.

When we came into office, we immediately took action to scrap the Liberal-NDP agenda of tax hikes and red tape. Now, Ontario is the first place that comes to mind when companies want to invest and expand. By creating the conditions for businesses to succeed, we’ve seen record investments and job growth across the entire province of Ontario.

Speaker, can the minister highlight some of the recent investments that Ontario has welcomed?

You would think that, with more than 700,000 jobs created since we took office, the Liberals and the NDP would realize that our approach of lower costs works. Instead, they continue to advocate for policies that would crush businesses, penalize workers and destroy our economy.

While we have been laser-focused on creating jobs and growing the economy, the Liberals spent the last six months just to end up with a new leader who endorses the same anti-growth agenda as the NDP. By reducing the annual cost of doing business by $8 billion annually and cutting burdensome red tape, we have seen job-creating investments flood into the province of Ontario.

Speaker, can the minister please elaborate on other investments and expansions Ontario has secured over the past few months?

Back to the Premier: Can I just say, if this was such a great idea, why did they work so hard to keep it secret for so long? I don’t buy it. I don’t buy it, and I don’t think the people of Ontario buy it. They know there’s something dirty about this deal.

Earlier this year, the NDP released an FOIed secret document showing that the government had already decided to pay for a new parking garage for Therme as early as January 2021—again, nearly two years before the public found out. We know they planned to move the science centre also nearly two years before the public found out.

We can wait for the Auditor General’s report tomorrow or the Premier can set the record straight right now: Is he building a half-sized science centre on top of the Therme parking garage to justify spending 650 million public dollars on a private luxury spa?

Speaker, while this government is busy planning for a luxury spa in downtown Toronto, the people of Brampton are facing property tax increases up to 34% next year—wild. That’s because the government’s plan to dissolve Peel region is estimated to cost the city of Brampton more than $1.3 billion. So I’m going to ask the Premier, how can he justify the largest tax hike in Brampton’s history in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis?

So back to the Premier of this province: What does he have to say to the people of Brampton about their 34% tax hike?

As they say, two cases are better than one—two business cases that suggest that this is a wonderful opportunity, opportunity that we’d like to think we want to explore for the people of Ontario.

But more importantly, again, back to that “tourism” word that everyone—or not everyone, just certain people don’t seem to like. We talk about building up opportunity in Ontario in jobs and careers, destinations, making an Ontario Place that people want to come to visit and stay maybe an extra day or two longer because the destination is so special, and the opportunity is an experience that those people and their families want to experience. That’s what tourism is about.

People in Ontario do a fabulous job. Those working in the industry are doing a better job because of COVID. They’re smarter, they are ready and they want people to come to Ontario. They want them to visit. They want them to stay. We want to welcome people—

Interjection.

Well, the new science centre will not have that much common space because it will be more efficient, more directed, more targeted to exhibits, and I believe that’s what the science centre is about: drawing people in, educating them, creating—dare I say it again—an experience. Don’t worry about the common area, worry about what they come to see. Those are the displays. Those are what’s out there for people to learn from—not hallways, exhibition space.

We were at the opening of Kainos—it’s an IT company from Ireland. Just yesterday, they announced—and we did the ribbon cutting at their facility in downtown Toronto: 100 employees, on their way up to hiring 300 employees. Again, all because we have lowered the cost of doing business in Ontario. We graduate 65,000 STEM grads each and every year. Welcome, Kainos and the 100 employees that they’ve brought.

The week before, we welcomed Unilever to downtown Toronto. They’re from the UK, obviously. They have opened their world’s first and only AI lab right here in Ontario, right here in Toronto. We competed with 50 countries around the world to attract Unilever here, and we won. They have several hundred employees that will be employed here at their downtown operation in Toronto. So, Speaker, we’re very grateful—

I can say this: The government is continuously focused on reducing taxes, building more homes. It has been at the core of what we have been doing since 2018. We will certainly never allow a community to raise taxes so that the people in that community can’t afford to live there.

It is only really the Leader of the Opposition who is consistently talking about increasing taxes on the people of the province of Ontario. When we have reduced it—when we have reduced taxes, she has actually voted against those reductions.

It was so bad that when we reduced taxes on the lowest-income-earning Ontarians—virtually removing them from the responsibility of paying taxes—the NDP, actually, voted against that, because at the core of what the NDP believes is that people have to be dependent on government. We believe you give the people the tools to succeed and they will do just that. They will succeed, and we will continue on that, because the job is not done.

This is a party that’s against the 413; they were virtually—not virtually—were wiped out of Brampton, Mr. Speaker, because they are so old-school. They’re against development. They’re against people. They’re against business. They’re singing the same old tune over and over and over again. This is a party that has no ideas. Even their time in opposition is starting to come to an end, colleagues, because they are so bankrupt of ideas.

So we’ve created thousands of jobs across the province of Ontario. We’ve cut taxes. We’ve made investments in all of the important areas for the people of province of Ontario. Consistently, they have voted against.

Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

My question is to the Premier. Speaker, this government decided that the luxury spa act, Bill 154, won’t be going to committee or have any more time in this Legislature, but folks have real concerns. In this bill, the Minister of Infrastructure is being gifted the power to issue minister’s zoning orders. Ontarians see that MZOs are a government gift for their insiders to fast-pass process. MZOs don’t get shovels in the ground faster. They often don’t have community buy-in, but they do make some people stinking rich.

My question is: Now that the Minister of Infrastructure has the power to issue MZOs, who is going to get rich next?

Speaker, we saw preferential treatment and MZOs given out as party favours by the previous Minister of Housing. So, my question to the Premier is, who gets the first MZO from the minister of mega-spas and where did they get to sit at the wedding?

Thank you to the member from Thunder Bay–Atikokan for raising this very important issue.

Since the federal government imposed a carbon tax, the financial burden is already making an impact on hospitals across Ontario. The federal government’s carbon tax will impact Ontario’s hospitals by increasing annual heating costs by $27.2 million for 2022. What would that $27.2 million purchase? It would have offered an additional 104,615 MRI operating hours, providing scans for an additional 157,000 patients. These are real issues that are impacting our hospital partners and, of course, our patients.

That’s why our government will continue fighting the federal government’s carbon tax on behalf of the people of Ontario.

We know the federal government is making that travel more expensive. Over the last number of months, we have demonstrated the real cost of the federal carbon tax on families, students, seniors and on our institutions and services the people of Ontario have come to rely on.

We call on the members from across the aisle to join us in demanding that the federal government repeal this tax that is disproportionately impacting northern Ontario.

Last week alone, we had several hundred million dollars in new investment. Heddle Shipyards is investing $107 million in St. Catharines so they can tackle the Vessel Life Extension project. That’s 30 new jobs—$3.4 million in support through our government’s AMIC operation.

Medicom, a $165-million investment in London: This is a 140,000-square-foot production facility that’s being built. There’s 135 new jobs coming. If you remember before the pandemic, Speaker, we made virtually no PPE here in Ontario. Today, we make 74% of the PPE we buy. Once Medicom is up and running, making nitrile gloves here in Ontario, 92% of all PPE that we buy will be made domestically right here in Ontario.

Mr. Speaker, I tell you what’s going to happen, and what has continuously happened in the province of Ontario, is that the people of the province of Ontario continue to prosper because of the policies of this government.

The Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade just talked about a massive investment that is coming to Ontario. This is on top of $27 billion worth of other investments.

We all know that when they had the opportunity, they literally drove out the auto sector. Do you remember that? The auto sector was gone, and they were transitioning to a service economy. We said that we’re going to reinvest and bring jobs back to the province of Ontario.

The member asked, who’s going to prosper? The people of the province of Ontario will continue to prosper. Ontario Place will bring thousands of jobs. It will bring thousands of tourists from all over Ontario, all over the United States. It is a destination that we should continue to be proud of, but, unfortunately, under the Liberals and NDP, they allowed that destination to crumble. We are bringing it back to life, just as we brought it to life when Bill Davis was the Premier. We’re going to bring it back to life and make it even better than before.

I tell you what’s happening, Mr. Speaker. Do you know who’s going to get new things? The city of Toronto is going to get new buses and trains because of the deal. That’s what’s going to happen. Our streets will be safer; our buses and our transit system will be safer because of this deal. We will revitalize a destination that she calls a “jewel.” We’re actually going to revitalize it so people want to come back to it.

Thousands of jobs will be created by this. So, who’s going to prosper? The people of the province of Ontario will prosper. It is a gift for all of Ontario.

I know the member has weddings on her mind. She was just married recently. I congratulate her for that, Mr. Speaker; I think we all do.

It highlights the problem of today’s NDP. They stand for nothing. They’re angry at each other. They’re angry at the province. They’re angry at the people. And that is why they keep losing election after election after election.

My question is for the Minister of Health. Our government was elected with a strong mandate to serve the people of Ontario. After years of neglect and disrespect from the previous Liberal government, supported by the NDP, Ontarians support us to make decisions that will make life better for everyone. This includes taking leadership to address affordability concerns and ensuring that our health care system receives the support that it requires.

Unfortunately, our hospitals are having to deal with unnecessary rising operational costs thanks to increasing federal taxes, rising interest rates and ongoing international supply chain issues. Hospitals across Ontario should be able to focus their resources on providing front-line services, not on taxes and red tape.

Could the minister please inform the Legislature about how rising costs from increasing federal taxes are negatively impacting our hospitals?

While our government is advocating for all Ontarians, the opposition NDP and Liberals are oblivious to the far-reaching negative impacts that higher taxes and burdensome red tape are causing, among many other things they’re oblivious to.

When it comes to accessing specialized health care services, there are times when residents in northern Ontario need to travel to other parts of our province. I know that many of my constituents rely on vital programs, like the northern travel grant, that help offset long-distance travel costs. With costs for fuel and accommodation continuing to rise, it is not right or fair that residents in the north should have to endure these additional expenses just because they need medical care and services.

Can the minister please explain how increasing taxes and burdensome red tape are negatively impacting the people of northern Ontario?

My question is to the Premier. When asked for an update on the Eglinton Crosstown public-private partnership, Metrolinx CEO Phil Verster essentially said he would let the public know when he knows. After a decade under construction and over $1 billion over budget, this response from Mr. Verster is unacceptable.

What is it going to take to fire Mr. Verster?

Mr. Speaker, our government has launched the largest expansion of public transit in the history of this province. The NDP and the Liberals have voted against it every step of the way.

Let’s look at the Ontario Line: 28,000 cars being taken off the road, and what do the NDP do? They vote against that.

We were just announcing a milestone on the Yonge North subway extension just this past Friday, another large milestone in making sure we get shovels in the ground. That project will reduce travel time by 22 minutes, but it will also put over 26,000 people in 10 minutes’ walking distance to a transit station.

Under the leadership of Premier Ford, we have built an incredible $70-billion program to support public transit across this province. It’s about time that the NDP support that plan.

Mr. Verster, and you as Minister of Transportation paying him $1 million a year, have had multiple chances to explain significant operational failures. For the tens of thousands of people whose daily lives are disrupted and the hundreds of small businesses who have been forced to shut down, Mr. Verster’s response is an insult. Is this government so incompetent that you cannot recognize massive failure, or do you really like Mr. Verster that much?

Maybe you should go talk to your new leader. The number one concern for their new leader is, “Let’s raise $1 million, because someone has to pay for my salary.” That’s what her number one issue was. That shows me you picked the wrong leader. Maybe you should have picked the guy in the far back instead of that leader.

The number one issue—

Interjections.

Interjections.