SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

Ontario Assembly

43rd Parl. 1st Sess.
April 17, 2024 09:00AM
  • Apr/17/24 11:00:00 a.m.

Yes, I listened to the federal budget yesterday, like a number of Canadians across the country who were disappointed in what they saw.

Listen, massively increasing taxes—not helpful to getting more homes built; massive inflationary spending—not helpful to getting more homes built; inflationary spending, which leads to higher interest rates—not helpful to getting more homes built; not eliminating the carbon tax—not helpful to getting more homes built across the province of Ontario; no path to a return to a balanced budget—not helpful to getting more homes built.

What we saw in yesterday’s federal budget is a government whose spending is out of control, not focused on what matters to the people of the province of Ontario, which is affordability, giving them the opportunity to buy homes and giving the people who build the homes the opportunity to build those homes. We need lower interest rates, Mr. Speaker. We can’t accomplish that with a federal government whose spending is out of control and who will not reduce taxes for the people of the province of Ontario so that we can get our economy moving.

They’re dividing provinces against each other. That’s not what a federal government does. It’s up to Ontario again to lead the way and we will.

Now, Mr. Speaker, where the NDP can be helpful—but we know that they won’t be helpful, colleagues, because unless it’s increasing taxes, unless it’s making things more unaffordable for people—they just talked against the 413, even though they got wiped out in the last election about it. They’re talking against building communities. But where they can be helpful is picking up the phone, calling Jagmeet Singh and saying, “Do not support a budget that does not make the appropriate investments in getting shovels in the ground and making life more affordable for the people of the province of Ontario.” We can move forward with a government in Ottawa that—

Now, we went to Ottawa. We signed a new deal with Ottawa which was roundly applauded by the mayor of Ottawa and which was applauded by the community as a whole. Now a guy who built a train in Ottawa that does not work is giving us advice on infrastructure, coming from a party who, when asked to build bridges in the province of Ontario, built them upside down. So I’ll tell you what we’ll do—

Interjections.

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