My question is to the Minister of Finance. I hear from my constituents who feel stressed and frustrated with the rising cost of living in my riding of Don Valley North, which is echoed throughout Ontario. From families with children to young individuals to seniors, people in Ontario are feeling the pinch at home, at grocery stores and gas stations. With the looming further carbon tax hike, these expenses are only expected to soar. With so many people struggling to make ends meet, they are undoubtedly looking for relief.

Can the minister please tell this House what this government is doing to protect the people of Ontario and to combat the rising cost of living?

My follow-up question is also to the Minister of Finance.

Speaker, Ontarians are experiencing economic challenges due to the current high cost of living, and yet the federal government is adding more burdens that will cost an average Ontario family $1,674 in taxes, starting next Monday.

The 2024 budget has been presented already, on Tuesday. Can the minister further elaborate to highlight how this government is helping Ontarians weather these difficult times as it continues to work to bring about more economic stability, optimism and prosperity?

Thank you to the member opposite. I really appreciate that question, because you did bring up some points about the rising cost of living in Ontario.

Ontario is not an island and immune to the global inflation and rising costs we’re seeing around the world.

But the government of Ontario is taking action. We’re taking action right now in this budget. The Ontario government is currently lowering the cost of gas, cutting the gas tax and extending it until December 2024. This is something that I heard the Minister of Energy just say that Bonnie Crombie and the Liberals and the carbon tax queen would not be doing. In fact, on April 1, it is not only April Fool’s Day; it’s the day the carbon tax is going to go up, penalizing truckers, workers and commuters across Ontario.

We’re taking action to make life more affordable for residents across the province and your riding.

The carbon tax is the most punitive tax the government of Canada is putting on the people of Ontario. It’s hurting everybody in Ontario: truckers, commuters, drivers, families—everything. Groceries are going up.

The government of Ontario is committed to making life more affordable, and we’re going to stand, as we’ve continued to, to fight the federal carbon tax.

I just hope the other independents might take a lesson from that independent and stand with us against the carbon tax.