Well, Mr. Speaker, I’m not going to double down; I’m tripling down now. We’re going to triple down on making sure communities are safe. We’re going to triple down on getting judges that believe in throwing someone in jail when they kick the doors in, put a gun to people’s heads, terrorizing their kids, terrorizing the parents to the point that the kids don’t want to stay at home anymore. They’re terrorizing communities, and guess what, Mr. Speaker? They’re letting them out, not going out on bail once, not twice, not three times, not four times—up to eight times. Put little Johnny back on the street, give him a gun until he can kick the next door in and put the gun to the next person’s head and hand over the keys.

I’m sick and tired of judges letting these people out on bail. We’re going to hire tough judges, tough JPs. That’s what we’re doing.

Interjections.

The post-secondary sector is at a breaking point, with decades of chronic underfunding. Now, as we all know, Ontario’s colleges and universities are bracing for the impact of a 50% reduction in international student permits. Under this government, provincial operating grants have been cut by 30%, and at least 10 universities are projecting dramatic deficits. At the same time, international student recruitment has shot up. It has been outpacing, unfortunately, supports and housing. That’s happened since this Premier took office.

This government’s plan seems to be to always break it and then privatize it, and it’s us who pay for it. This time, it’s the international students too. To the Premier: Wasn’t it the government’s strategy all along to underfund colleges and universities, and rely on the exploitation of international student tuition to make up the difference?

These aren’t just numbers. These students came to Ontario with the promise of a better future, with good jobs and a safe place to live. We need those skilled workers here, but they were sold a bill of goods and given false hope by this government. What does the Premier have to say to those students who have had their dreams dashed because of this government’s terrible decisions?

Interjections.

Interjections.

So my question is for the Attorney General: Do you endorse the Premier’s comments on who gets appointed to the judicial appointments committee?

My question, back to the Attorney General—maybe the Premier will let him answer the question: Does he stand behind this Premier’s undemocratic agenda or will he stand up for the integrity of our legal system?

Interjections.

I’ll remind the Attorney General again, the Federation of Ontario Law Associations called the Premier’s comments a “juvenile misapprehension.” He has placed two former staffers on the committee to advance a political agenda in our courts.

The Advocates’ Society has sent the Premier a letter saying that his approach poses “a substantial threat to the independence of ... judges” and “the administration of justice” here in the province of Ontario. They may not like it, but that’s what they’re saying.

Speaker, back to the Attorney General again: He must make clear right here and right now, is he going to move forward on this, or will he show some integrity and condemn the Premier’s comments?

Interjections.

Interjections.

I’m going to shift here a little. I’d like to get some clarity on the questions that I asked yesterday. After getting caught giving misleading testimony to the Integrity Commissioner under oath, the Premier’s former policy adviser and his former Minister for Public and Business Service Delivery both changed their testimony before resigning.

To the Premier, my question is, has Mr. Sackville or any other official in the Premier’s office changed their testimony to the Integrity Commissioner?

So back to the Premier: How can people trust this government when top staff in the Premier’s office are repeatedly giving conflicting information about the greenbelt under oath, and what will the Premier do about it?

There sure is a lot of finger-wagging about how the system works or should work, Mr. Speaker. But there’s a fundamental misunderstanding of what judicial independence is. It’s not appointing the judges. They are not to be appointing their own. We are democratically elected to select judges, and then they have their independence. So I’ll take no lectures from the NDP on how this system should work.

Now, Mr. Speaker, it is true that there’s a group: it’s called an advisory committee, and they are free to do their work. A quarter of that group are judges. They do good work. We take their advice. We don’t meddle with them.

But Howard Hampton, the NDP Attorney General in 1992, did meddle with the committee. You can google it. There’s a court case on it. I’ll read in my supplementary his experience as Attorney General with the meddling in the Bob Rae days.

Interjections.

Interjections.

I had a look at some of the donors in their years, and in a period in 2008 to 2010, one third were multiple donors to the Liberal Party and to nobody else. So we can talk about their record and we can be sanctimonious about how the system should work.

Mr. Speaker, Howard Hampton said that there was—he didn’t get along with the Toronto left-wing bar. Their hope was that whoever had the AG’s job would be someone close, someone they knew, someone they felt comfortable with. Many in the Toronto left-wing bar did, in fact, have an agenda. I’m happy to have the debate later on.

Stop the clock. I’ll remind the members that we do not use props in the chamber.

Interjections.

Start the clock. Final supplementary?

Put the book down.

The Attorney General.

Start the clock. Leader of the Opposition.

My question is for the Associate Minister of Transportation. Across our province, many seniors are currently struggling to stretch their income. The cost of food as well as everyday goods and services keep rising. For seniors with limited income, transit fares add onto the financial burden that they are already experiencing. They should not have to struggle to pay for the things they need in their everyday life. That’s why our government must continue to protect seniors and reduce transit fees.

Speaker, can the minister please tell the House what steps our government is taking to make transit more affordable for seniors in Ontario?

Speaker, the minister also raised an important point: Not only did the previous Liberal government not remove double fares, but both the Liberals and NDP voted against our one-fare program. That is unacceptable.

Unlike the members opposite, our government is putting more money back into people’s pockets, where it belongs.

Can the minister explain how one fare makes life more affordable for the people of Ontario?

Thank you to the member from Mississauga–Lakeshore for that question and for his advocacy for one fare.

I have heard from many seniors across the GTHA who tell me that costs continue to rise. Unlike the Liberals and the NDP, we are the only party focused on making life more affordable.

Mr. Speaker, the successful rollout of the new one-fare program is putting money back into the pockets of seniors as double fares are now gone. On average, this saves commuters $1,600 a year, which goes a long way for seniors who travel across the region.

The Liberals couldn’t do it. The NDP and Liberals were against one fare. Under this Premier, Premier Ford, we got it done.

Speaker, Bonnie Crombie hiked the monthly pass for seniors by 10% in her first year as Mississauga mayor. Over her 10 years as Mississauga mayor, she raised transit fares and raised taxes, making life unaffordable for people.

We are eliminating double fares so people, including seniors, can visit the places they love and see the people they love. We are the only party, under the leadership of Premier Ford and Minister Sarkaria, that has eliminated double fares and that puts money—$1,600—back into people’s pockets.

Through you to the Premier: While housing starts fell 7% in Ontario, in British Columbia, where that government actually implemented many of the Ontario housing task force recommendations, housing starts rose 11%. This province ignored the advice of their own experts, then took over $3 billion in development revenue away from municipalities with Bill 23. Many of them are now facing double-digit tax increases. This Premier broke his promise to return lost revenue and make municipalities whole. Homeowners are now paying for this government’s broken promise.

When will this government follow the advice of its own task force, stop stealing revenue from Ontario cities and start treating municipalities as true partners in—

It shows you just how out of touch the NDP are. So, the member is getting up in his place today, on a day when we have Habitat for Humanity in the gallery—he’s getting up in his place and saying that municipalities should charge people like Habitat for Humanity for building homes through development charges.

Do you know what we’ve done? We’ve alleviated those development charges for affordable housing. Do you know why we’ve done that? Because we’ve got more homes in the ground in this province over the last three years than at any other time in the province’s history. Do you know why? Because we’re removing obstacles, not putting them in the way.

In the member’s own community last week, they just voted against building another 120 new affordable homes on a highway, for crying out loud. That is who the member supports; that is who he protects. Do you know who we support and protect? Those people who want to build homes, who want to give people a dream, who want that dream to come true, like Habitat for Humanity, who do not have to pay development charges on their properties. Do you know why? Because we made the changes, and we’re going to continue to support organized—

Interjections.

My question is to the Minister of Transportation.

At a time when costs continue to rise, the federal government has increased the carbon tax five times. Since the implementation of this punitive tax, the people of Ontario have been paying more and more every single day for food, for services and for transportation. Even worse, the federal Liberals are planning an additional seven increases by 2030.

So the carbon tax is making life more expensive for everyone, including the trucking industry, which plays a critical role in transporting the goods we need in our daily lives. Speaker, can the minister please further explain the impact of the federal carbon tax on Ontario’s trucking industry?

It’s the hard-working men and women in our trucking industry who deliver the goods that keep Ontario moving. But, Speaker, the impact of the carbon tax on the trucking industry ultimately affects all families and businesses in every corner of our province. The cost to fuel the trucks to transport the goods is passed on to consumers as they purchase the daily necessities.

Unfortunately, the Liberal members are ignoring their constituents’ concerns about the rising cost of living. Our government must continue to stand behind the people of this province and call on our federal counterparts to do the same.

Speaker, can the minister please explain how the carbon tax impacts the trucking industry and all Ontarians?

For years, this government has been doing everything it can to drive teachers out of our education system: massively underfunding schools and driving up class sizes, refusing to address the rising crisis of violence, suppressing wages with Bill 124, attacking the dedicated professionals who support our children every single day.

Now that the Minister of Education has finally admitted that Ontario has a teacher recruitment and retention problem, what is his plan to reverse the damage his government has caused?

Teachers and education workers have been raising concerns about the labour shortage for years and have offered to meet with the government to identify meaningful solutions that will address the real reasons why workers are leaving our education system.

Will the minister commit today to actually sitting down with teachers and education workers, listening to their concerns, and consulting on solutions before they are announced?

Interjections.

This government is proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with our truckers all across this province, Mr. Speaker. Whether it’s about making sure our grocery shelves are stocked, whether it’s our hospitals that get the equipment that they need or the manufacturers that get their parts that they need to build Ontario-made products, this government has always stood with truckers and we have always stood against the carbon tax.

We know that the carbon tax makes life more unaffordable, Mr. Speaker. For a long-haul truck driver, the Ontario Trucking Association estimates the 17.4-cents-per-litre fuel costs at $15,000 to $20,000 per truck every single year, Mr. Speaker. That’s a hard-working truck driver that could spend that $15,000 on their family, on their child, putting them in hockey or extracurriculars, but the failed policies that are supported by Bonnie Crombie and the NDP and the federal minister of—

But, Mr. Speaker, the federal government has not listened to our request to make life more affordable. In fact, they’ve doubled down. Their federal environment minister said he’s not going to invest in any more roads or highways, Mr. Speaker, and that’s absolutely ridiculous. That’s why I invited him to join me to drive on the DVP, to drive on the Gardiner Expressway, the 427 and 410, to see how out of touch they are with the realities of the people that live in the GTA and Ontario and all across Canada. We call on the federal government to drop the carbon tax and to build more roads and highways all across Ontario.

I’ll remind the members to make their comments through the Chair.

Supplementary question.

Minister of Education.

The supplementary question.

Mr. Speaker, we are looking forward and planning for changes to demographics as educators retire and as the population rises. That’s a responsible action of government. It’s a wake-up call to the NDP.

This government started, three years ago, to cut certification times for new educators by 50%, which the members opposite opposed.

We hired 2,000 net new teachers this year. The members opposite, supported by the Liberals, opposed that effort as well.

We also created a transitional certificate to allow teacher candidates to work in schools, but that was opposed as well.

We have been systematic in reducing red tape, increasing access to certified, qualified educators, which is why we abolished regulation 274. That allows the best educator to get the job—not those based on seniority.

By the member’s logic, if the Premier is responsible for this change, then I suppose in your supplementary you’ll condemn the BC NDP Premier. In their province, the teachers’ federation calls it a crisis of teacher—

Mr. Speaker, every effort we have taken has been opposed by the Liberals and the New Democrats, and that seems inconsistent with our collective responsibility to ensuring qualified educators.

If the logic of the members opposite is that government is responsible for the exodus of individuals from the workforce, then they will condemn the NDP Premier of BC. In their province, the teachers’ federation called it a crisis. The Liberal government in Newfoundland and Labrador is “scrambling” to fill dozens of teacher vacancies. It’s a national challenge, but this province, unlike the rest of the country, has a plan. Perhaps you should support it.

Ontarians have been subject to a bombardment of government self-praise in recent weeks. The government spent taxpayer dollars on one of the most expensive advertising spots you can buy, a Super Bowl ad, to give themselves a pat on the back. To make matters worse, they won’t tell Ontarians how much of their money was spent. Last week, the Minister of Finance said he would get back to us with that number; we’re still waiting. I wonder if he checked under all the brown envelopes in the Premier’s office. It’s just one more example of this government’s irresponsible spending and refusal to be transparent.

Super Bowl ads and foreign spas—while universities beg for help, 2.2 million Ontarians don’t have a doctor, cities declare opioid crises and Ontarians use their credit cards to access health care. When will the Premier tell Ontarians how much of their money he spent on a Super Bowl ad while failing to deliver for the people of this province?

The Premier is looking for a way to hide from the $8.3-billion greenbelt scandal, the backroom deal to give away Ontario Place to a foreign spa for 95 years and lucrative sole-sourced contracts he gave to large American companies at the expense of small Ontario business owners. The Premier needs to remember he isn’t spending his own money; it’s the people’s money, and they have a right to know how it’s being spent.

Speaker, back to the Premier: How does he justify spending millions of taxpayer dollars to pat himself on the back when business confidence is at historic lows, unemployment is rising and he’s nowhere close to building 1.5 million homes?

Thank you to the member from Newmarket–Aurora for that question and for her advocacy for one fare.

Mr. Speaker, as we have many young people in the gallery today: Because of one fare and the leadership of Premier Doug Ford, students like them, when they commute five days a week to school, save $1,600. That is why we implemented one fare, a fully funded initiative by this government. This is going to be a game-changer not just for students but for their parents, for seniors as well.

When I graduated, right after university, my first job was in Mississauga, so I used to commute from Scarborough to Mississauga, paying a double fare, triple fare every day. I understand the struggle. This government understands. This Premier understands the struggle. Our caucus members understand the struggle. But Bonnie Crombie doesn’t understand the needs of everyday—

Interjections.

My question is for the Associate Minister of Transportation. There are families and individuals in my riding of Newmarket–Aurora who rely on public transit as their main form of travel, but they have told me that they are concerned that steep transit costs are adding further pressure to their household budgets. Commuters are looking to our government for solutions that will make travelling easier and more affordable. We must continue to deliver on our commitment to bring financial relief to transit users.

Speaker, can the minister highlight what our government is doing to keep costs down for commuters across the GTA?

Let’s talk about a few numbers. As of this morning, since this Premier was elected, we have 700,000 new jobs created in the province of Ontario. Last year alone, 180,000 jobs were created here in Ontario. We said it yesterday, and we said it last week, but we’ll say it again: In 2023, Ontario created more manufacturing jobs than all 50 US states combined. Last month, Ontario led the nation in job creation. Nearly 24,000 new jobs were added in our economy just in the month of January; 9,700 of them were in construction. Ontario accounted for 65% of all jobs created in this country. We are leading the nation in job creation.