I want to thank the member for that great question, and I want to thank him for being a special adviser to parks. While this government is building roads, bridges and housing for people, we’re also building great parks and preserving great green spaces. It’s under the leadership of Premier Ford that our government is taking action to conserve Ontario’s natural beauty and protect its unique biodiversity for future generations.

Last Monday, I had the pleasure to announce the latest investment our government has made under the Greenlands Conservation Partnership: $2.9 million to protect 1,400 acres of wetlands, fields and natural shoreline along Pigeon Lake. This was one of the largest not-for profit conservation projects in the Kawarthas ever and the largest conservation project by the Kawartha Land Trust.

By working together, Speaker, this project proves that we can not only protect our great land and conservation, but we can build the great things that we’re doing in this province.

It is a great partnership we have with private donors and folks all across the province to really continue to lead the way in conservation as a province. Since 2020, our government has protected over 420,000 acres of land, an area two and a half times the footprint of the city of Toronto, through the Greenlands Conservation Partnership. This is real progress in conserving Ontario’s biodiversity.

Since the launch of the program in 2020, we have had remarkable success. These successes include Hastings Wildlife Junction, Batchewana Island and, most recently, wetlands on Manitoulin Island. Thanks to our hard work, these lands are now permanently protected.

But our work is far from done. Our government, under the leadership of Premier Ford, will continue to invest in conservation projects and Ontario’s rich biodiversity, and build Ontario’s climate resiliency for generations to come, all while building critical infrastructure like roads and bridges and houses.