And the supplementary question.

Is there a response?

Interjections.

We are building an end-to-end electric vehicle supply chain here in Ontario. We are certainly a complete difference from what we saw with the NDP-backed Liberals.

We now have Dana in Cambridge investing $60 million, hiring 105 new people with $2.5 million in support. They are making components for EV batteries and electronics. We have the Ontario Automotive Modernization Program: 26 Ontario companies are investing $10 million, with 111 new jobs being created by those companies with $3.5 million in support. With investments like these, we’re making sure that Ontario continues to be the global leader in electric vehicle and parts productions.

We are, as the Premier said earlier, the economic powerhouse. TNR Doors in Oro-Medonte: a $40-million investment, 30 new jobs and $5 million in support from the province. German manufacturer PWO: a $10-million investment in Kitchener, 27 new jobs, a $1.5-million investment from the province of Ontario.

Speaker, we will always support Ontario’s manufacturers, and that’s why we are leading the EV revolution.

Just days ago, Brampton mayor Patrick Brown released new numbers that showed that this government’s plan to dissolve Peel region could cost local taxpayers an extra $1.3 billion over 10 years. This updated report noted that the added cost would require taxes to increase by 17% in Mississauga, 34% in Brampton and 256% in Caledon. This is the equivalent of a 38% one-time tax increase across the region.

Speaker, the mayor himself says that they “never asked for the Region of Peel to be dissolved.” Previous independent financial analysis “clearly shows the net result would be a financial disaster.” It would result in the largest tax increase in Peel region’s history. This is just another one of this government’s billion-dollar boondoggles that will cost taxpayers and citizens.

Can the Premier explain why, despite these numbers and the financial analysis that all point to his plan being a “financial train wreck,” he insists on pushing through with the dissolution of Peel region?

This is a pattern of this government. They lurch from crisis to crisis, from bad decision to bad decision. We saw the greenbelt scandal and the forced reversal. Then all the MZOs came under fire. And now we have the potential for backtracking on the plan to split up Peel. Actions have consequences, and they have costs, and this Premier lurching from crisis to crisis—self-made crisis, I may add—is a costly endeavour for the people of this province.

So my question is to the Premier: Which promise was true, the one that he made to Mayor McCallion as she was dying or the decision to dissolve Peel region?

Interjections.

Thank you to the Minister of Infrastructure. I don’t know why you call it a successful fall session when you’ve had to repeal the greenbelt act and you may have to repeal the Peel dissolution as well.

We have advocates in the House today who are strong advocates for Ontario Place, and they are deeply concerned about the project’s environmental destruction, the waste of hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars. It’s even more alarming now that the government has passed the luxury spa act, which allows the minister to commit misfeasance, breach of trust, breach of fiduciary obligations and to act in bad faith.

On the same day that the Conservative government jammed through the bill with no public hearings, no amendments and no third reading debate, the Minister of Infrastructure appeared at the Empire Club and introduced the CEO of Infrastructure Ontario as her “partner in crime.” To the minister: What laws has she broken or is she planning to break which made it necessary to pass the extreme luxury spa act?

My question is to the Premier. This government has fast-tracked three important bills at once, limiting debate and excluding the public. The luxury spa act has flown through, making sure the minister gets her legacy mega-spa, the power to issue fast-pass MZOs, and all this with impunity while they wreck Ontario Place. No one trusts anything this government is doing, and why should they?

In her recent Empire Club speech, the Minister of Infrastructure referred to the CEO of Infrastructure Ontario as her “partner in crime.” It is a weird thing to say, especially when they are literally passing legislation to put themselves above the law and when this government is under active criminal investigation by the RCMP.

So I want to know, who does this minister think she is, and why does she think she’s above the law?

My question is for the Minister of Health. I cannot stress enough how importantly my riding needs solutions for access to primary care. Multiple groups of health care professionals have responded to the minister’s call for interest and submitted proposals to open more primary care clinics in Ottawa–Vanier. That was six months ago. People feel abandoned as they remain without proper health care services, and yet there is no response from the ministry.

Speaker, I showed the minister a map showing the void that exists in my riding when it comes to health care services. I’ve also written, providing evidence as to the need for help to fill that void in Ottawa–Vanier. We have professionals ready to help relieve the strain on our local hospitals. All they need is for this government to step up.

Can the minister please tell these health care professionals when they can expect a response so they can get to work providing much needed health care services to the people of Ottawa–Vanier?

Le Carrefour de pédiatrie sociale de Vanier, avec son équipe multidisciplinaire, dessert les enfants et les jeunes vulnérables d’Ottawa–Vanier en leur offrant un soutien dont ils ont besoin pour leur bien-être physique, mental, social et émotionnel. Le CAP, dans ma circonscription, offre également des services en français de la petite enfance à l’âge adulte, pour ceux qui font face à des défis de santé mentale ou de dépendances. Ces deux organismes nécessitent un financement qui leur permet d’assurer l’offre continu de leurs services, ce qui n’est pas le cas dans le moment.

Ce gouvernement a récemment annoncé des millions de dollars supplémentaires pour élargir les services pédiatriques à Hamilton et à Toronto. Quand la ville d’Ottawa verra-t-elle un tel engagement de la part du gouvernement pour soutenir les organismes comme le Carrefour de pédiatrie sociale de Vanier et le CAP, qui offrent à nos enfants des services essentiels?

I enjoyed myself at the Empire Club yesterday. We had close to 400 people attending in person and thousands of people viewing our government’s update on our P3 pipeline, which is $185 billion worth of investment. It was an important day for the Ministry of Infrastructure, and it was a really important day for Infrastructure Ontario, who helps us execute all of those contracts for the most complicated projects in the province. We’re talking transit, Yonge North; we’re talking hospital expansions, highway expansions.

But you’re right: We’ve have had a very successful fall session. We have a deal with the city of Toronto in terms of making sure we provide supports for operational funding for the TTC, to keep riders on the TTC safe, for more trains on the TTC, and of course, a brand new science centre at Ontario Place.

But when we’re talking about the work that has been done at Ontario Place from an environmental perspective, we’ve completed two environmental assessments, one class C. We’ve completed over 40 different studies, an arborist report, a heritage impact assessment, a stormwater report—all in compliance with the city of Toronto development application process.

Thank you very much. The next question.

Well, I’m pleased that the Liberal member is finally interested in expanding primary care, because, respectfully, this is the first expansion of primary care teams since multidisciplinary primary care teams were formed in the province of Ontario. So clearly, there is a great deal of interest, and the member is right. We have had expression-of-interest proposals come in from literally across Ontario, hundreds of proposals that we are now assessing, reviewing, making sure that the investments we have committed to through our budget—and the member opposite and the other members of the NDP and the Liberals voted against—are going to happen in this term under our leadership.

I can assure the honourable member that I’ve actually been meeting with the mayor of Ottawa on a weekly basis since I became Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. We are working with him to address some of the challenges that he is indeed facing in the city of Ottawa. So I can assure the honourable member that we are working very closely with the mayor and his team to address some of those challenges that they’re facing.

But let me just say this: I am working very closely with the mayor of Ottawa, and also with the members of provincial Parliament from that area on our side. We are meeting very closely with them. We’re identifying some of the challenges that they’re having. We’ll continue those discussions with them, and we will make sure that we continue to support the city of Ottawa. We know how important it is not only to Ontario’s economy, but it is a very, very important tourist jurisdiction.

I had the opportunity to live in Ottawa for a number of years, Mr. Speaker. It’s an important university town. It is so important to the economic development and growth to build a bigger, better, bolder, stronger Ontario. We need Ottawa, and we’ll make sure that we’re there for them.

Thank you to the member for the question and the great work he does for his constituents every day. I was in the great riding of Renfrew–Nipissing–Pembroke on Friday with the great member from that area. If anyone saw the pictures, we were standing in front of a giant pile of wood chips. We were at Lavern Heideman and Sons, a great mill operator in the Eganville area, and that was to announce multiple projects being supported by our biomass action plan.

Also in the valley: Ben Hokum and Son receiving dollars, Roseburg Forest Products receiving dollars, but companies all throughout Ontario receiving dollars through this program to make sure that we are growing the forestry industry and the forestry sector. We’re looking towards the future of what forestry can be.

The previous government didn’t know what to with the forestry industry. We know exactly what to do with it: grow it, create jobs and use biomass as the future to make chemicals and other things that we need, energy here in Ontario, fertilizer projects. The potential of biomass is unlimited, and these projects and these investments will support our forestry sector, support our forest sector strategy. We know that forestry is important in Ontario. We’re moving forward—

One of those opportunities is working with an Indigenous-led company called Infinite Carbon Corp. They said they’re committed to sustainability. Infinite Carbon is immensely grateful for the essential support from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. The funding through our biomass action plan has been key in laying the necessary groundwork for meaningful ecological change within our forest sector.

We do not want to find solutions elsewhere for the challenges we have in Ontario. We want to use our forestry sector to continue to grow northern Ontario. Again, previous governments didn’t know what to do with the forestry sector. We know exactly what to do with the forestry sector: grow it every single day.

Thank you. And the supplementary question.

Let’s talk about the minister’s record. There have been 20 emergency room closures in eastern Ontario so far this year, some of them for multiple days. Every time this happens it means chaos and long drives for patients in need of urgent care and it means longer wait-times for Ottawa emergency rooms, contributing to off-load delays for paramedics in Ottawa and over 1,400 level zeroes for Ottawa ambulances this year alone.

Why is the Minister of Health breaking our public health care system, with no regard to the patients who are paying the price?

Thank you to the minister for his response. It’s reassuring to hear that our government is working to put the forestry sector at the forefront of new economic opportunities.

Under the previous Liberal government supported by the NDP, the valuable contribution of Ontario’s forest was neglected. They actually referred to the north as “no man’s land.” They wasted billions of dollars between scandals and called it a “wasteland.”

Unlike the previous Liberal-NDP coalition, our government continues to secure forestry jobs across the north and drive the industry towards sustainable growth. Can the minister please share what our government is doing to support a strong forestry sector for future generations?

My question is to the Minister of Health. After Niagara lost access to two of their urgent care centres after 8 p.m., I looked at the ER wait times at St. Catharines general. It was five hours—the longest wait times across all Niagara, Hamilton and Brant. With Niagara’s significant senior population, chronic conditions, doctor shortages and staffing crises worsening with Bill 124, it is deeply problematic to see continual defence of regional service cuts reported by the Ontario Health Coalition.

Minster, you hold the purse strings to adequately fund hospitals. Why not put a stop to these closures and increase funding to hospitals for the seniors in Niagara that need them the most, right now?

Good morning, everyone, and Merry Christmas. Christmas is, of course, the season of love and hope. Last week the Premier professed his hope for Toronto, the city he grew up and the city he loves.

I grew up in Ottawa and I love my city, and our city has problems just like Toronto. We have problems with homelessness. We have problems with transportation. We have problems with our city running deficits. In recognition of the season of love and hope, when will this government show some love for the city of Ottawa?

Now that there is a precedent to upload highways to the province, will the government commit to uploading Highway 174 back to provincial responsibility so the city can spend that money improving local roads, investing in public transit and reducing commute times for Orléans residents?

Just a gentle reminder to the member opposite that in fact hospital base budgets were increased by an average of 4% in our last budget. We invested $44 million in every single hospital. This is unheard-of, never happened before. We invested $44 million to make sure that those hospitals, including smaller hospitals across Ontario, had sufficient resources to ensure that their emergency departments remained open.

We have invested in our paramedic services, with dedicated off-load nursing programs that ensure paramedics can quickly be able to transfer their patients to a nurse, a respiratory therapist or a paramedic who is stationed in the emergency department to make sure that those paramedics get back out into community quickly.

We have so many programs that have made an impact in hospitals across Ontario and we will continue to work with our hospital partners.

What does that mean, Speaker? It means that people who had to wait, who had to be transferred to other hospitals, now have an MRI machine in their community. That allows those physicians to get that diagnostic piece that is so important to make sure that we have health care close to home. We’ll continue to make those investments. Unfortunately, if your history is any indication, you will continue to vote against it.

Mr. Speaker, let me start by wishing everyone a merry Christmas and happy, safe holidays.

My question is for the Minister of Long-Term Care. For far too long, seniors in Ontario were neglected by the previous Liberal government. More than 40,000 Ontarians, including my residents of Mississauga–Erin Mills, were left waiting for a bed, and they needed to wait an average of 123 days to be placed in a long-term-care home. That’s unacceptable, Speaker. Our seniors deserve a government that works for them and helps them live comfortably and with dignity. We must do all that we can to build more homes and more beds across all communities to create a better future for our elderly residents.

Speaker, can the minister please share with the House how our government is ensuring that seniors in Ontario are getting the quantity of care and the quality of life they need and deserve?

My question is for the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport. Just recently, many of my constituents from Burlington joined fans from across the country to watch Canada’s biggest sporting and cultural event. This year’s Grey Cup did not disappoint, including the lively festivities following the game. Multiple outlets have reported it was a Grey Cup for the ages.

The Grey Cup is more than just a football game; it plays a critical role in fuelling Hamilton’s local economy and tourism sector, drawing over 28,000 people in attendance.

Speaker, can the minister please share how events like the Grey Cup unite communities and bring Ontario economic prosperity?

It’s encouraging to see the positive effects sporting events have on Ontario’s tourism sector. Our tourism sector attracts visitors to the area, boosts local businesses and creates jobs. Many people in my riding of Burlington rely on tourism for their jobs, and they have appreciated the various investments that saw them through times of lower attendance at their venues and activities.

As we see the ongoing strength in Ontario’s tourism, our government must continue to take the lead in supporting its development to unlock our province’s true economic potential.

Speaker, can the minister please elaborate on our government’s efforts in building the tourism industry?