Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Energy. Last fall, the federal Liberals finally recognized what our government has been saying for years: The carbon tax is raising the price of everything. After years of high energy costs, the Prime Minister announced a pause on the carbon tax, but only on home heating oil. For the more than 97% of Ontarians who rely on propane and natural gas to heat their homes, this measure provides no relief. And to make matters worse, on April 1, the Liberals are raising the carbon tax by 23%. This is ludicrous.

Our government must continue to call on the federal government to eliminate the carbon tax once and for all. Can the minister explain the impact this increase will have on Ontario families?

Unlike the opposition NDP and the independent Liberals, our government, led by Premier Ford, is focused on making life more affordable. We have been speaking against this regressive tax from day one, and we will continue to advocate for the people of Ontario. It’s time for the federal government to reconsider their approach and act in the best interest of Canadians by eliminating the carbon tax.

Speaker, can the minister please explain how our government is trying to stop this terrible federal carbon tax?

They should be excited about the 78 primary care multidisciplinary teams that have been announced in February and are now actively recruiting. We’ve seen some of that information coming forward, and it is literally game-changing for the people who have to date been unable to access primary care physicians in the province of Ontario.

The multidisciplinary team, where you are working together as a team, not as independent clinicians, makes a better patient experience, and, frankly, it is what clinicians want to work with. They want to be able to have the opportunity, when they diagnose a patient with diabetes, to be able to transfer them to another member of the team, a dietitian, perhaps, to go over what that impact is on their lives. The multidisciplinary team approach is something that is very well documented to be a proven success story, which is why we have expanded them by 78 additional teams.

Gloria’s story is, frankly, the exact reason why we have seen what happens when you don’t ensure that you have sufficient health human resources, when you cut seats in medical schools, whether it was 10% under Bob Rae’s government or 50 medical seats under the previous Liberal government. That’s what happens. You have a constricted supply, and we’re changing that.

We are rebuilding the system to make sure that, for decades to come, we have sufficient individuals who we know want to practise in the health care field in the province of Ontario. And now, we’re expanding with medical schools in Brampton and in Scarborough. You know, Speaker, in September 2025, we will have medical students starting to train in Brampton for the first time in the province of Ontario.

So we will make those investments, and I hope the member opposite is not only sharing those expansions with her constituents who clearly want to be connected with the primary care multidisciplinary team, but also supporting these in votes in the chamber so that she can show her constituents that she is also on board and onside to expand primary care in the province of Ontario.

The member for Kitchener–Conestoga is absolutely right: It’s a shame that the NDP and Liberals are supporting the federal carbon tax, which is about to go up by 23%. I was proud to stand with the member from Kitchener–Conestoga when we announced the expansion and getting shovels in the ground on Highway 7. It’s unfortunate, though, that not only do the federal Liberals want to spike the carbon tax by 23%, they said that they don’t believe in building roads and bridges across this country, in one of the fastest-growing regions like Kitchener-Waterloo.

We will always put drivers first and put more money in their pockets. Whether it’s fighting the carbon tax or building more roads and highways, this government is committed to getting it done for the people of Ontario. We thank that member for his advocacy and making sure we fight the carbon tax and the 23% increase on April 1.

It’s also about making sure that we put more money in their pockets, like saving $125 per car or truck on licence plate renewal fees. That is something this government committed to, to put that money back into the pockets of hard-working families across this province. But that’s not it. Through the Get It Done Act, any future government that would want to impose a carbon tax will have to take it to the people through a referendum. Our government will do anything and everything we can to ensure money stays with families.

Supplementary question?

My question is for the Minister of Transportation. Families in my riding of Kitchener–Conestoga tell me over and over they need immediate relief from the costly carbon tax—the same tax that the members opposite and their friends in Ottawa want to keep hiking. At a time when many Ontario households are struggling to pay for monthly necessities and put food on the table, it is unfair to add an additional cost to their bills. But the NDP and the Liberals continue to ignore the needs of their constituents by supporting this punitive tax, Speaker. Our government must stand behind the hard-working individuals and families in our province and keep costs down.

Can the minister please tell this House what steps our government is taking to fight the carbon tax?

They don’t have a plan to build infrastructure, they don’t have a plan for transit and they don’t have a plan to bring down the cost of living. They are too focused on how to increase taxes for families and businesses. Life is already expensive for the hard-working people of our province. It is essential that our government continues to call on the federal government to eliminate the carbon tax completely while making life more affordable for Ontarians.

Can the minister please share what our government is doing to protect the people of this province from the pocket-picking carbon tax policy?

My question is to the Premier. Gloria moved to London West in 2021 and has an autoimmune disease. For the last three years, she has been registered with Health Care Connect, all while desperately searching for a doctor to help her manage her condition. She told me, “It shocks everyone I know when I tell them I don’t have a doctor.”

What advice does the Premier have for the more than 65,000 Londoners like Gloria who feel hopeless about ever being able to access primary care?

Susan also has a rare autoimmune disease. She lives in London West, and she was informed three months ago that her family doctor was closing his practice at the end of March. Without another doctor to take over, he advised his patients to contact Health Care Connect. When Susan called to register, she was told she must first de-roster with her current doctor, even though he was still practising for three months. Forcing Susan to leave her doctor early, then go potentially years without another doctor, has Susan feeling angry, helpless and very, very worried about her health.

What advice does the Premier have for Londoners like Susan?

Thank you very much to the member from Peterborough–Kawartha for the question. I’ve seen the shoes. They are beautiful.

I was in Timmins recently to make a great announcement, and we were at Millson Forestry Service, a second-generation business in Timmins, to announce a $60-million investment in our biomass plan. That’s on top of the $20 million we’ve already invested—so $80 million invested in biomass and forestry in Ontario.

When you make investments like that, what you’re doing is creating opportunity and Millson Forestry Service is taking advantage of that opportunity with $500,000 to create a heat recovery system, allowing that second-generation company to heat one of its buildings and sell some of the compost. Why are they doing that, Mr. Speaker? Well, Jenny Millson, owner of the company, said the federal carbon tax has had a significant impact on Millson forestry’s operations.

We’re supporting business. The members opposite only know how to tax small business. We’re always going to support those small businesses.

My question this morning is for the Premier. Hamilton has a shortage of 114 doctors, which is one of the highest shortages in the province. Currently, 60,000 people don’t have a family doctor in Hamilton. In two years, that number, shockingly, is expected to double.

Right now, family doctors spend 40% of their time doing paperwork and administrative tasks instead of caring for and seeing their patients.

This afternoon, we will be debating our opposition day motion that will propose clear solutions to this burden on our health care system. My question: Will you support our opposition day motion, or will you continue to force doctors to spend their time on unnecessary paperwork instead of treating patients?

But instead of fixing the problem that I’m discussing, your government, Premier, is making this problem worse by—shockingly enough—allowing for-profit companies like Shoppers Drug Mart to profit from unsolicited MedsCheck calls. Imagine: for-profit health care. Shoppers makes $75 for a phone call while our doctors are forced to sign off. Our doctors have to sign off without compensation. So this is insulting to our already burned-out, overworked group of family doctors in Ontario, not to mention Hamilton.

So my question to the Premier: Why are you forcing family doctors to do paperwork for mega-corporations like Shoppers Drug Mart, instead of treating and seeing their patients?

For 15 years, the Liberal government showed that they can’t be trusted to support business in Ontario, and for the lifetime of this government, we’ve shown that we support business in Ontario every single day.

That terrible carbon tax is working against renewable resource projects and getting them off the ground. It’s punishing the forestry business. Our government knows better. We’re going to continue to make those smart investments to help job creators, help workers, help grow our economy and bring prosperity to the province of Ontario.

I’ll just go back to Millson Forestry services for a second—again, a great second-generation family business supporting our forestry sector. This investment will support their business while reducing forest by-products; meanwhile, that Liberal carbon tax is just taking money out of their pockets. They said that it’s making it harder to do business.

You know, when it comes to the carbon tax, it’s the same old song: The Liberals tax your wallet till the money is all gone.

I’ve looked at the oppo day motion for the NDP and I have to say it concerns me that they are suggesting that the Ontario Medical Association is not the appropriate place to make sure that we work collaboratively with them on paperwork and ensuring that they are in front of patients.

When I see the expansions that are happening in Hamilton and across your region, what are you telling your constituents when I see that the Greater Hamilton Health Network primary care stakeholder council has a new primary care multidisciplinary team as a result of February’s announcement? Those are on-the-ground impacts that will make a difference in your community and communities across Ontario.

We need to ensure that everyone who wants a primary care physician has the opportunity to do that. And the only way we can do that is through expansion of medical seats, expansion of all—

Thank you to the member from Thunder Bay–Atikokan for his continued support in working hard to save the people of Ontario money.

Speaker, everyone knows that the federal government is failing us with the continued increase in the carbon tax. Since 2018, under the leadership of Premier Ford, our government has worked hard to end these irrelevant fees that are costing individuals and their families.

Farmers and rural communities are suffering. The cost of food, energy and transportation continues to rise, with gas prices going up 17 cents per litre.

Mr. Speaker, under this government, under this Premier, we are working hard to cut this carbon tax and make life and transit more affordable, by eliminating tolls on 412, 418, eliminating licence sticker fees and eliminating double fares.

Speaker, we are calling on the federal government to acknowledge the pain this is causing countless people in Ontario and act on it. It is time to wake up, smell the coffee and cut this carbon tax.

Well, I’ll tell the NDP, solutions—not supporting residencies, propped up by the Liberals, you cut 50 seats. What we’re doing: We’re adding 260 undergraduate seats and 449 postgraduate seats.

I just want to ask the member: Why did you vote—on hiring 10,500 doctors that we’ve attracted, we’ve created that condition; we created the conditions to attract 80,000 nurses—and you voted against it. You voted against the expansion of the hospitals, including the money that we gave McMaster in your own area—you voted against it. So how can you stand up and say you have a plan? Your plan is to cut nurses—that you did in conjunction with the NDP. You fired 160 nurses under your leadership and their leadership.

We’ve registered 80,000 new nurses. That’s the difference between your plan and our plan. Our plan is—

My question is for the Associate Minister of Transportation. At a time of high costs and high interest rates, it’s never been more important to implement measures that make life more affordable for Ontarians. But, Speaker, the federal carbon tax continues to punish the hard-working people of this province.

I’ve heard from families and farmers in the two ridings of Thunder Bay about how much this unnecessary tax is costing them daily. They are looking to our government for solutions that will make life easier and keep costs down. That’s why we must continue to call on the federal Liberals to cut the carbon tax and provide real financial relief for Ontarians.

Speaker, can the associate minister highlight what this government is doing to make life more affordable for Ontario families?

Speaker, Ontarians need financial relief now more than ever. This punitive tax is making fuel and groceries more expensive, forcing Ontario families to stretch their household budgets. At a time when many people in this province are already struggling with inflation, they should not have to pay more taxes.

Unlike the opposition, our government will continue to advocate for Ontarians. That’s why we stand against the NDP and Liberals’ support of the carbon tax.

Speaker, can the associate minister highlight the negative effects the carbon tax has on rural and northern communities?

The ayes are 100; the nays are 0.

I was expecting that my guests would be sitting on that side, but they were sitting over this side, so I’m missed announcing it, but I’d still like to have this in the book. I’d like to welcome my husband Albert Wai; my sister Marcelina Leung, and my brother-in-law Hilary Leung; and my cousins Irene Lee and Patrick Lee.

I would also like to take this special moment to thank my husband, Albert Wai, for driving me for the whole year last year because I had my eye surgery. Thank you. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Mr. Speaker, I beg leave to present a report on the pre-budget consultation of 2024 from the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs and move the adoption of its recommendations.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the permanent membership of the committee and substitute members who participated in the public hearings and report-writing process. The committee also extends its appreciation to the Clerk of the Committee, legislative research, broadcast and recording services, Hansard and interpretation for their assistance and hard work during the hearings and report-writing.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I move adjournment of the debate.

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

Supplementary question?

To reply, the Minister of Health.

The next question.

Call in the members. This is a five-minute bell.

The division bells rang from 1140 to 1145.

Mr. Cuzzetto has moved private member’s notice of motion number 81. All those in favour, please rise and remain standing until recognized by the Clerk.

Motion agreed to.

The House recessed from 1149 to 1300.

Does the member wish to make a brief statement?

Debate adjourned.

Mr. Calandra, on behalf of Ms. Mulroney, moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 174, An Act to authorize the expenditure of certain amounts for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024 / Projet de loi 174, Loi autorisant l’utilisation de certaines sommes pour l’exercice se terminant le 31 mars 2024.

First reading agreed to.

No, sir. I think it’s self-explanatory.