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.

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.

My question is for the Minister of Long-Term Care. When I speak to my residents in the great riding of Newmarket–Aurora, they continue to express their top concern, which is over the ever-escalating costs of living. At a time when all communities need to be supported, the federal government continues to penalize the people of Ontario by hiking the carbon tax.

As our parents and grandparents age, the cost of building long-term-care homes remains high, and the carbon tax is making it worse. Seniors helped build our province, and our government must ensure that they continue to receive the quality of care and the quality of life that they need and deserve in a long-term-care home.

Can the minister please tell this House what our government is doing to protect Ontario families, especially our seniors, from the negative impact of the carbon tax?

While our government has been speaking out against the carbon tax since day one, the opposition NDP and the independent Liberals continue to ignore the harmful impact this tax is having on Ontario families. Despite the inaction and the lack of the sense of urgency from the opposition, we will continue to uphold our commitment to seniors in Ontario and ensure we build homes in the communities they helped build.

Can the minister please further explain how the carbon tax is affecting the long-term-care sector?

Thank you to the member from Kitchener–Conestoga for that question and for his advocacy against carbon tax.

Mr. Speaker, the member is right. The federal carbon tax is making life more expensive for the people of Ontario, especially forcing parents to face unnecessary costs when they’re driving to work, when they’re driving their children to school, even for extracurricular activities.

That is why I’m proud that under the leadership of Premier Ford, our government continues to oppose this harmful carbon tax. Unfortunately, the Liberals and NDP are so out of touch that they are happy to support a carbon tax that only hurts individuals and families throughout Ontario. They keep doing what they do best: They are saying no to any measure that provides financial relief to Ontarians. Speaker, they said no to 418 and 412—removing toll. They don’t want commuters to save $300 on the 418 toll, and they don’t want $150 saving on the 412 tolls.

Our government will continue to stand up to keep costs down so that Ontarians can keep more money in their pockets, where it belongs.

Our government continues to fight the adverse effects of the carbon tax by finding more ways to provide financial relief for the people of Ontario. That is why, under the leadership of Premier Ford, we eliminated licence plate renewal fees. As a result of this initiative, over $2.2 billion went back directly to the pockets of people, of seven million hard-working people in Ontario.

Speaker, whether it’s removing fees or eliminating tolls or eliminating double fares with the One Fare program, we will continue to fight to make life more affordable for the people of Ontario.

My question is to the Associate Minister of Transportation. Since the federal government imposed the carbon tax, people in Ontario have been paying more for everything. Residents in my riding of Kitchener–Conestoga tell me that they’re finding it more difficult to keep up with the rising costs of groceries and gas.

Speaker, at a time when many Ontarians are already struggling with high inflation costs, they should not have to worry about being able to drive where they need to go. Unlike the opposition NDP and independent Liberals, our government will continue to advocate for Ontarians and ask the federal Liberals to put an end to the carbon tax.

Speaker, can the minister please explain what impact the carbon tax is having on the transportation needs of Ontario families?

The reality is that the carbon tax is leading to soaring fuel prices that make life unaffordable and difficult for everyone. Mr. Speaker, if you can believe it, the federal Liberals are planning on raising this tax 23% on April 1. It’s a cruel joke. We know that cancelling this unnecessary cost will deliver more affordability for Ontario drivers and put more money back into their pockets. That’s why our government will continue to call on the federal Liberals to get rid of the carbon tax.

Speaker, can the associate minister please explain how our government is making life more affordable for Ontarians while we continue to fight this awful tax?