Speaker, it is indeed a pleasure to return to Queen’s Park after a productive winter break. I’m grateful for this opportunity today to share my recent engagements with stakeholders and constituents in Markham–Unionville during the lunar new year festivities.

The lunar new year holds profound significance for the Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean communities across Canada. To celebrate this cherished tradition, I hosted a meet-and-greet event and attended different celebrations in the community, which were met with great enthusiasm and participation from local families. Witnessing the community come together to embrace ancient customs and celebrate familial bonds was truly heartwarming.

I want to extend my sincere appreciation to Premier Ford, Minister Dunlop, Minister Lecce, Minister Parsa, Minister Williams, as well as my fellow MPPs Wai, Kanapathi and Smith for gracing us with their presence at the celebration at First Markham Place. Together, we shared warm wishes and distributed red packets to families and friends.

This year marks the Year of the Dragon in the lunar calendar. The dragon symbolizes strength and vitality. As we embrace the spirit of renewal and embark on new beginnings, let’s face the opportunities ahead with courage, resilience and unity. May the Year of the Dragon bring strength, vitality and abundance to Ontarians.

The member of the opposition talked about the Ontario Energy Board. While the Ontario Energy Board makes hundreds of decisions a year—and to their credit, almost all of them I’ve agreed with—this one particular decision did some raise concerns about public engagement in the decision-making process. One commissioner noted that this decision, which could have a significant impact on electricity demands, was reached without input from the province’s Independent Electricity System Operator. It is concerning that members of the commission didn’t know the impact of the decision before signing it off. Therefore, we’ve proposed to increase public engagement.

Does the member opposite agree that increasing public engagement is the right thing to do?

While we heard that the opposition enjoy adding to the cost of living for Ontarians, we are doing it from the other direction: We are putting money into people’s pockets.

We’ve heard throughout the debate that the Ontario Energy Board’s decision in December 2023 would increase housing prices by $4,400 on average, as the member from Whitby mentioned earlier. Could the member give the House more of an idea on how much we could save if we implement the Keeping Energy Costs Down Act?