Today, I have the honour of welcoming some youth from my great riding of Newmarket–Aurora: Trifen Marcos, Mahta Gharaei, Maha Ishfiaq Khan, Destiny Som, James Madore, Daniel Goutovets, Nadia Hansen, Daniel Zhang, Novelette Graham-Hart and Blake Koehler. Welcome to your House.

My question is for the Minister of Energy. Ontario has one of the cleanest electricity systems in the world. Nuclear power and hydroelectricity are the backbone of our system, providing low-cost, reliable and emissions-free electricity. This clean energy grid is the envy of jurisdictions in Canada and around the world and is a point of pride for Ontarians, but instead of building on our energy initiatives, the federal government continues to force a carbon tax on hard-working Ontarians.

The federal Liberals need to face reality, recognize the harms they are causing and get rid of this tax. Speaker, can the minister tell this House how our government is strengthening Ontario’s economy through our clean energy advantage despite the additional challenges imposed by the Liberal carbon tax?

But, Speaker, when it comes to the opposition NDP and the independent Liberals, they have continuously voted no to our feasible plan towards electrification. They would rather support a tax that drives up the costs of daily necessities for their constituents.

Our government will always advocate for the people of Ontario and not stop fighting until the federal Liberals finally scrap the carbon tax. Speaker, can the minister tell the House how our government is leveraging our energy system to support manufacturing and industry, rather than taxing them out of business?