Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent that, notwithstanding standing order 40(e), five minutes be allotted to the independent members as a group to respond to the ministerial statement today on International Women’s Day.

I seek unanimous consent of the House for members to be permitted to wear purple scarves in honour of International Women’s Day.

I think the Integrity Commissioner has addressed that. I think I’ve addressed it on a number of occasions in the House.

This will be the last one. The member for Toronto–St. Paul’s.

I’m going to remind members that it’s best if you keep your introduction of your guests brief and devoid of any political commentary or partisan statement.

Members will please rise.

The House observed a moment’s silence.

Interjections.

I recognize the Associate Minister of Women’s Social and Economic Opportunity.

We’re ready to start question period. I recognize the leader of His Majesty’s loyal opposition.

Good morning, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Everything old is new again. Just over 10 years ago, the official opposition discovered that the government had been using code words to cover up misconduct. That was the Liberal government, and they were found to be using the term “project vapour” as code for their gas plant cover-up.

Now we know that the current government also used code terms, like “G*” and “special project” to cover their tracks on the greenbelt grab. So my question to the Premier is, is special project “G*” this government’s “project vapour?”

We have emails with “special project” in the subject line sent between Mr. Amato and Mr. Sackville, and it is clearly the $8-billion greenbelt scheme. They sent emails with details about the scheme, like removal criteria, but they never actually say the word “greenbelt.”

So my question to the Premier again—I think the people of Ontario would deserve a response from the Premier himself. Did anyone in the Premier’s office direct that government officials avoid or destroy any paper trail that could expose their greenbelt discussions?

It’s a question of integrity. It’s a question of accountability. The use of code terms is evidence of intent to conceal. Someone was trying to cover their tracks, and that’s not all. The Auditor General found that political staffers were not just deleting emails related to the greenbelt; they were also using their own personal emails to avoid detection. The Premier himself conducts government business on his personal phone, but refuses to disclose his phone records as required by law.

When the Liberal government got caught covering up a scandal during project vapour, someone went to jail. And guess what? It was the Premier’s chief of staff. Why is the Premier following the Liberal government down the same path of code words, cover-ups and criminal investigations?

Again, if the Leader of the Opposition has additional information that she would like to share with the Integrity Commissioner, I invite her to do so.

The Deputy Premier and Minister of Health.

Supplementary question.

To reply, the member for Thunder Bay–Atikokan and parliamentary assistant.

Good morning. Last weekend, a nursing station in Cat Lake burnt down. This is a letter from a 10-year-old worried about his access to health care:

“Dear Sol Mamakwa MPP,

“I am 10 years old and from Cat Lake First Nation.

“Our health clinic burnt down this past weekend.

“We need your help. I am feeling sick as I write this.

“Please take this seriously and get us help.

“Brysen Wesley, Cat Lake.”

To the Premier: Will you make sure Brysen and Cat Lake have the access to health care that they need?

Interjections.

We are deeply saddened to hear about the fire at the Cat Lake nursing station. Minister Rickford has reached out to Cat Lake First Nation Chief Russell Wesley to reassure him and the community of Cat Lake that our government will be there to support them.

We remain in contact with Cat Lake leadership as the Provincial Emergency Operations Centre carries out their work. Our government stands with the families and community members of Cat Lake and is mobilizing quickly to ensure supports are available.

Nurses are still in the community and working out of the MNR building. Additional nurses and emergency medical equipment have already been sent to the community. We continue to monitor the situation, and we will also continue to work with community partners in Cat Lake to address this tragic situation.

Access to health care is the responsibility of the Minister of Health. For decades, residents of Cat Lake had access to excellent nurses and nurse practitioners, but their nursing station burnt down. They cannot just go to the nearest walk-in clinic. This is a fly-in First Nation community. They have no access to care.

Is the Minister of Health going to simply abandon the 650 residents of Cat Lake, like the 2.2 million Ontarians that do not have access to family physicians?

I love these questions because it gives me an opportunity to talk about the investments that our government, under Premier Ford, has been able to make in primary care multidisciplinary teams—78 new or expanded primary care teams, multidisciplinary teams, which means doctors working with nurse practitioners, working with nurses, with dietitians, with mental health workers. It is historic that we have seen this investment and, respectfully, the investments are happening across Ontario: 78 different teams in Toronto, in Ottawa, in Orillia. Where we see the need, we have made those investments, a tripling of the investment that we announced under our Your Health plan.

But having said that, we’ve already made changes. The expanded scope of practice that we have announced and embarked on, particularly in pharmacies—we now have over 800,000 people who are accessing their local community pharmacist to deal with minor ailments. Those are changes that our government has been able to put in, working with our partners. We’ve expanded scope of practice for nurse practitioners. We’ve expanded scope of practice for RNs. And we continue to do that work because we know people need to be able to see the appropriate clinician, depending on the issues and illnesses that they’re dealing with.

Speaker, numbers matter. It would have been over 200 new physicians in the province of Ontario.

We are actively working with our partners like the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. A single ministerial directive letter ensured that internationally educated graduates who are waiting and want to practise in the province of Ontario have that opportunity. The direction was to quickly assess, review, and when appropriate, license people who are waiting to practise in the province of Ontario. We’ll continue to get the work done. Thank you.

There is no doubt, when these catastrophic events happen, that we all need to work together. The member opposite knows that this was a federal nursing station. We will absolutely be there as a provincial partner, but we have to make sure that all of us are working together for the people of Cat Lake. Thank you.

My question is for the Minister of Energy. People in my riding of Bruce–Grey–Owen Sound are concerned about the harmful impact of the federal carbon tax. So far, the federal government has increased the carbon tax not once, but five times.

To make things even worse, they plan on increasing it another seven times by 2030. This is ridiculous. Since the implementation of this tax, Ontarians have been paying more and more every single day for food, for services and for transportation. These dire effects are felt by our trucking industry, which serves a crucial role in transporting the goods we need in our daily lives.

Can the minister please further explain the impact of the federal carbon tax on Ontario’s trucking industry?

Our Minister of Transportation has explained this on many occasions in the Legislature, but I’m happy to join in the chorus of two thirds of the people across Canada who are saying they cannot afford another increase to the carbon tax on April 1—a 23% increase to the carbon tax.

Mr. Speaker, our truckers are the ones who are out there delivering goods from the farm gate to the distribution centre to the grocery stores.

And if you wonder why the cost of everything is going up, you only have to look at one place: Justin and Jagmeet’s carbon tax. It’s making life unaffordable in the province of Ontario.

The budget officer on Parliament Hill says people are paying more than they’re getting back in these phony carbon tax rebates.

The Bank of Canada has said that the carbon tax is also having a massive impact on the rise that we’ve been experiencing in inflation.

In spite of all of this, our government is doing everything we can to ensure that life in Ontario is affordable for the people of Ontario.

We’re doing everything we can. We’ve taken 10.7 cents off the price of a litre of gasoline—the Ontario gas tax. We’ve eliminated the tolls on our highways across Ontario. We have eliminated licence plate sticker fees. We have lowered taxes.

And just a couple of weeks ago, One Fare Thanigasalam here, our Associate Minister of Transportation, announced One Fare for all transit riders in the GTHA. That move alone by this minister is going to save commuters $1,600 a year.

Our government is taking action when it comes to making life more affordable.

Bonnie Crombie and the Ontario Liberal Party are still supporting the federal carbon tax. It’s—

Interjections.

Thank you to the minister for that response.

Speaker, it’s not just truckers who are being adversely impacted by the carbon tax; it’s all commuters. The rising cost of fuel is affecting individuals and families in every corner of our province. They should not have to be burdened with additional costs when it comes to driving to work or driving their kids to school.

We know the people of Ontario deserve better. That’s why our government will continue to keep costs down for Ontarians so they can keep more money in their own pockets where it belongs.

Can the minister explain what our government is doing to counteract the federal carbon tax and make life more affordable for Ontario commuters?

My question is to the Minister of Citizenship and Multiculturalism.

During the 2022 provincial election, the minister said Pearen Park would be a priority as construction on the Eglinton Crosstown LRT extension takes place. In fact, I’ll quote from a letter the minister wrote to the community: “If elected as your representative at Queen’s Park ... I will be in the best position to bring your concerns forward to Metrolinx and will work with you directly on this issue.”

Speaker, members of the Mount Dennis community are here today, and they haven’t heard from their minister in two years despite their countless appeals to get his ear and to have meetings.

So my question is a simple one: Minister, why did you break your promise to your community?

Our friends from Mount Dennis here today can affirm this is true. Mount Dennis residents face an opaque and arrogant Metrolinx bureaucracy that would rather rip up 1,500 trees and bulldoze parkland than listen to community concerns.

Speaker, we can have great public transit and urban forests right here in Ontario, but we need leadership to help get that done.

My question is back to the minister: Will you keep your promise and fight for the people of Mount Dennis, Minister of Multiculturalism and Citizenship?

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker, here you have it again: absolute NIMBYism everywhere you go. Anywhere this government is trying to build a project, the NDP and the Liberals oppose every single thing that we are doing.

The previous Liberal government—15 years of absolute inaction in this province, doing absolutely nothing to build.

And what does the NDP do when we’re making record and historic investments of over $70 billion in the next 10 years? They’re standing with those who want to protest and stop the building of transit in our communities across Ontario.

The time to build is right now. Our government is getting shovels in the ground. We will take no lessons from the NDP or the previous Liberal government that did absolutely nothing to build infrastructure in this province. That is why we are committed to building $80 billion, over the next 10 years, in public transit and investing close to $30 billion in highways and roads across this province. The people of this province deserve it, and we’ll get those shovels in the ground.

We’re not going to take lessons from the NDP or the Liberals that did nothing for 15 years when it came to building this province.

Interjections.

Interjections.

Interjections.

Interjections.

Supplementary question.

To reply, the Minister of Transportation.

Minister of Transportation.

The Minister of Transportation has a few extra seconds to finish up his answer.

We have with us in the Legislature a former member who was here for many years as the member for Leeds–Grenville: Bob Runciman. Welcome back to the Legislature. It’s great to see you here. Your timing, as always, is perfect.

We’ve long had a convention in this House that we don’t make reference to the absence of a member who might be away for any given reason from the House on any given day. I don’t think it’s a road we want to go down where we start drawing attention to whether or not members are attending a sufficient number of community events. I think if we give that some thought, we’ll conclude that that’s not a good road that we want to go down—if we think it through.

Start the clock. The next question.

Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. I’m glad that my predecessor Senator Runciman is here, because I know he agrees with this question.

Speaker, there is fierce competition across the globe to attract and retain skilled, talented workers. We know affordability issues are a big consideration when workers are deciding where they should call home. That’s why, as a government, we’ve taken concrete action to do our part to lower costs for households.

But unfortunately, the Liberals are proceeding with hiking their carbon tax on April 1. Their carbon tax is going to see the price of gas increase by 37 cents a litre in 2030 while home-heating costs skyrocket. It’s almost like they’re deliberately trying to hurt the pocketbooks of hard-working families and chase those talented workers out of our province. It’s a shame that the Liberals in this House still support the carbon tax.

Speaker, can the minister please explain how the carbon tax hurts the Ontario workers that are powering our economy?

We all know that the carbon tax is a tax on every single family, on every single worker in Ontario. We have the best talent pool in the world. We’re better educated than any OECD country: 71% of Ontarians have a post-secondary degree, 70,000 annual STEM grads, 420,000 tech workers, 100,000 auto workers, 85,000 AI workers, 72,000 life sciences workers. Our economy needs these workers, but the carbon tax hurts them and the carbon tax risks chasing all of them away. We need to axe the tax.

The Liberals need to stop making it harder for these companies to expand and to grow. They need to scrap the tax today.