The Leader of the Opposition is, of course, speaking of a member of her caucus whom she removed from her caucus.

Having said that, I think the Premier has been very clear on where he stands. It’s a decision that the Speaker has made.

At the same time, Speaker, I am quite concerned that the Leader of the Opposition continues to suggest that the members of her caucus or any caucus should be compelled to make a decision. That is not the way this place works. I am somewhat concerned that the Leader of the Opposition is suggesting that she’s compelling her members to make a decision.

We will continue to follow the rules, as established by this House, until those rules are changed.

Interjections.

I speak very directly to the people of the province: The government of Ontario has not banned anything. In fact, it was this government and this Legislature, led by that Minister of Transportation, who, in the last Parliament—

Interjections.

The Leader of the Opposition really ought to be ashamed for what it is that she is doing here today—suggesting to the people of the province of Ontario that the government has made a decision that it has not done. This is a decision of the Legislative Assembly. If those rules change, of course we will follow those—

Interjections.

What Progressive Conservatives do on this side of the House is stand up for all of the people of the province of Ontario. We don’t sit on our benches, compelling our members. We stand up for everybody, no matter where you come from, no matter what you believe in. We don’t use this chamber as a place to divide people. That’s not what responsible parliamentarians do. It is what she does and—

Interjections.

It’s an honour to rise in the House today as part of the government’s leadoff of third reading debate of Bill 162, the Get It Done Act, 2024, alongside my caucus colleagues the Minister of Transportation, the Associate Minister of Transportation and the Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.

On behalf of the Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery, it’s my pleasure to be here to highlight the details of the bill, which, if passed, will impact every corner of the province to provide relief to millions of drivers, vehicle owners and users of the Ontario photo card.

Since first forming government in 2018 and given a second mandate by the Ontario voters in 2022, our government and our ministry have been focusing our efforts on delivering customer-focused services to you—the hard-working people and businesses of Ontario, and we continue delivering this commitment through ServiceOntario, our hub for service delivery for the province and the public face of government.

Madam Speaker, our government is taking a responsible approach to rebuilding Ontario’s economy through smart investments and without—and I say this twice—without raising taxes. While Ontario households continue to struggle, families are feeling the pressures caused by high interest rates and global instability. Ontarians need to know that their government will be there for them. Under the leadership of Premier Ford, rest assured they can count on us to provide real, meaningful changes for Ontarians through this signature omnibus bill. By keeping costs down, we are going to do what’s needed to get it done.

This is not just important legislation, it’s a key piece of our government’s overall strategy to save the people of Ontario time and money and make government services simpler, faster and better. That is why our ministry has been proud to work with the Ministry of Transportation to make this a reality—changes that allow people and businesses of this province to keep more of their hard-earned money in their pockets while modernizing systems that they rely on.

Speaker, it has been two years since our government first removed licence plate renewal fees and stickers for passenger vehicles like trucks, motorcycles and mopeds. This change has resulted in an annual savings of $120 for vehicle owners—per year, per person, per car—in southern Ontario and $60 a year in northern Ontario.

Our latest proposed changes to the Highway Traffic Act are paving the way for the transition to automatic renewal of licence plates. With this bill, we are building on our government’s decision in 2022 to eliminate licence plate renewal fees, making the entire renewal process automatic, providing both convenience and affordability. In the meantime, it’s important to note that before the automatic renewal process begins later this year, vehicle owners will still need to renew their licence plates, at no cost, which can easily be done online or in person at a ServiceOntario centre.

With the renewal of licence plates being one of the most in-demand government services, we are proud to share this service to Ontarians 24/7 through ServiceOntario. Automatic licence renewal is just another way our government is working to develop new and improved online services to match the fast pace of our ever-evolving digital world.

Of course, we need to make sure that every driver renews their licence plates, and while our government has eliminated the fee, we did not eliminate the requirement to renew the licence plate itself.

Speaker, it is very important to note that this automatic renewal process will only be available to drivers in good standing. This means drivers that have outstanding fines or tickets and do not have valid insurance will not be able to renew online or at ServiceOntario until those procedures are paid. Starting this summer, this new process will begin to save drivers’ time by automating the licence plate renewal process, resulting in savings of more than 900,000 hours each year for vehicle owners.

Interjections.