Speaker, my question is for the Premier. I didn’t see the part in the Conservative playbook where it says we need bigger government and subsidies for monopolies. But last week, the government chose to reverse the OEB’s decision that supports fairness for all ratepayers and would have created an open and fair market to help Ontarians get off fossil fuels and switch to cheaper, cleaner alternatives. But the Premier is sticking you and you and you—and all of us—with the bill again. Customers would have saved $2 billion in the next five years, but they sided with Enbridge and the $19-million CEO.

Last year, global spending in the clean economy was $1.8 trillion, up 17% from the year before, but we are missing out on jobs and investments. Why? Because ratepayers are subsidizing fossil fuel gas.

Will the Premier commit to subsidizing heat pumps and stop funding a gouging, greedy, polluting energy monopoly?

This will raise energy bills. It will stick homeowners with outdated polluting technologies and higher heating costs for decades—technologies that make us sick, that are burning our province down. And the fires are coming this summer.

We are in a housing crisis, and we need to build more homes, not lemons that need retrofits in a few years. For years, we’ve seen report after report after report showing that renewables are cheaper, safer and cleaner than fossil fuels. So why the double standard?

Speaker, will the Premier save Ontarians money? Will they create jobs and allow Ontarians to start switching to clean energy sources instead of giving money to Enbridge and make a fair market that will create jobs for everyone?

I’m sorry; I’m just going to interrupt the member. According to the rules, you can’t refer to the Premier by his name—so the title of the riding, please.

Interjections.

To respond, the parliamentary assistant to the Premier.

The member for Ottawa South.

As Premier Ford’s parliamentary assistant, I’m pleased to respond. Since we took office in 2018, we have set out to restore Ontario’s reputation as a jurisdiction that is open for business.

After 15 years of a Liberal government, Ontario had lost its way. The Liberals took an economy that was once competitive and crippled it with high taxes and mountains of red tape. At every opportunity, they raised taxes and increased costs for businesses and the hard-working people of this province. Businesses packed up their bags and fled Ontario in droves, seeking out more competitive jurisdictions. So too did some of the brightest and most talented workers, who were being deprived of economic opportunities thanks to Liberals’ failed economic plan. When we heard from companies from across the globe who were looking at new places to invest and expand in, Ontario was not even a consideration for them. Simply put, Ontario wasn’t on the map.

When we got elected, we knew we had to reverse course, and that is exactly what we did. We lowered costs and created the conditions businesses need to succeed. Since 2018, our government has cut more than 500 pieces of red tape, saving businesses more than $939 million each year in gross compliance costs. As a result, we’ve seen new investments and good-paying jobs being created in every sector and every region of our province.

Look at the auto sector, for example. The Liberals watched as the sector stagnated because they didn’t believe Ontario’s more than 100,000 auto workers had what it took to compete in a global economy. But our government knew Ontario had everything it needed to be an auto-producing powerhouse, and that’s why, over the last three years, Ontario has secured more than $28 billion in new auto and EV investments, creating thousands of good-paying jobs across the province and setting our auto sector up for success in the years to come. Because of the actions we’ve taken, the cars of the future will be assembled and produced by Ontario workers.

Earlier this month, as a result of the important investments Ontario has secured, Bloomberg announced that Canada ranked first in their annual global battery supply chain rankings. This is the first time China has not claimed the number one spot since the ranking started.

Unfortunately, the Liberals were happy to watch auto and manufacturing jobs leave Ontario and relocate in foreign jurisdictions. They hollowed out our manufacturing base and chased 300,000 manufacturing jobs out of the province. In contrast, we’re restoring Ontario’s manufacturing might, reassuring manufacturing jobs and building things in our province again.

Just last year, Ontario’s economy added more manufacturing jobs than all 50 states combined. In our tech sector, we’ve seen tens of billions of dollars in investments flood into our province. More than 100,000 good-paying tech jobs have been created since we took office.

In our life sciences sector, we’ve secured over $3 billion in new investments over the last three years. Ontario is now the largest life sciences sector in Canada with over 2,000 firms that employ more than 72,000 people.

The Liberals and the NDP want us to stop promoting Ontario as the destination of choice and close our doors to businesses and good-paying jobs. I can assure you tonight, Speaker, that we will never turn our backs on Ontario businesses and workers. We will never go back to the Liberal days of watching on as jobs and businesses fled the province. In 2023, more than 180,000 good-paying jobs were created across the province, and this is just the start.

To companies looking to invest and expand our message is clear: There is no better place to be than Ontario. We’ll continue to create the conditions for businesses to succeed and promote our province as the best place to do business, so that we can continue together attracting more jobs, creating investments in every region of our great province.