Back to the Minister of Energy: We hear it time and time again: The Liberal carbon tax only stands to punish Ontarians.

As people in our province continue to struggle with high interest rates and a rising cost of living, all governments should be putting forward measures that provide financial relief for individuals and families. Instead, the federal Liberals, supported by their provincial counterparts, are choosing to drive up the prices of day-to-day essentials like gas in the tank and groceries. Speaker, Ontarians have had enough. It’s time to scrap the tax.

Could the minister please explain to the House why the federal government must end this unjust carbon tax?

Member for Beaches–East York, come to order.

Supplementary question?

The next question.

Supplementary question?

Speaker, the member opposite knows exactly what we’re doing because he’s a huge champion of the investments that we’re making in our nuclear sector, coming from the Durham region, Canada’s clean energy capital—the refurbishments that are going on at places like Darlington and soon will be going on at the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station; also the new development of small modular reactors.

Mr. Speaker, we know we don’t need a punitive carbon tax in Canada or in Ontario. It’s simply not working. But the queen of the carbon tax, Bonnie Crombie, and the king of the carbon tax, Justin Trudeau, are continuing to make people pay more. They’re making them pay more on their home heating bills. They’re making them pay more on their gasoline fuel-ups. They’re making them pay more on their groceries.

My parliamentary assistant and I were even saying this morning that the Queen’s Park media gallery spring fling next week has even doubled in price, up to $80 next week, Mr. Speaker. Now, I don’t know if we can blame Bonnie Crombie and Justin Trudeau for that, but it’s 80 bucks this year.

So we can do this without increasing the carbon tax—

Interjection.

Interjections.

There’s no bones about it. It’s costing everybody more to live in our province and the carbon tax is driving that, not just in Ontario but right across the country.

But our plan is working here in Ontario. Our energy plan is called Powering Ontario’s Growth, investing in new and refurbishing our nuclear reactors, investing in multi-billion dollar refurbishments of our hydroelectric facilities, building the country’s largest energy storage in a competitive process and other non-emitting renewables that are coming onto the grid in the future that are going to continue to ensure that we are the economic powerhouse in North America.

We’re landing deals like $15-billion Honda deal—

Interjection.

It’s one thing for us to say it here in this place, it’s another thing to hear it from municipal and First Nations leaders from across northern Ontario, which is precisely what happened at the northern Ontario municipal association meetings just about 10 days ago and, of course, FONOM yesterday. All we heard, Mr. Speaker, was the costs associated with the carbon tax on just about every aspect of a municipality’s operation and, for isolated and remote First Nations communities, that additional cost on their fuel.

Now, despite the Prime Minister’s inculcations that this is good environmental policy, there is an overwhelming number of people who are opposed to it. When the leader of the provincial Liberals took the throne, you would have thought that she would have said no to the carbon tax. She sat back and she did precisely the opposite. It’s what makes her the queen of the carbon tax. Everybody in northern Ontario says they’re out of touch. It’s too expensive in northern Ontario. Scrap the tax.

My question is to the Minister of Education. Speaker, this government is deliberately and chronically underfunding education in Ontario and children are paying the price. This year’s budget included no meaningful increase in base funding to address the complex needs of students in Ontario, particularly the funding for special education in Ontario. It was a drop in the bucket and does not even cover the deficit of most school boards. Last year, the TDSB spent $67.6 million more on special education than what they received. Kids are hurting, teachers are struggling. It has never been this bad in Ontario before.

My question is to the Minister of Education. Why is this Conservative government so adamant about underfunding the education sector which is at a crisis point?

Speaker, recently a constituent of mine who works at a local elementary school in Waterloo region as a child and youth worker said, “Violence in schools is at a crisis point.” She detailed the abuse she faced at her school, and it was shocking: being injured or degraded on the job; being spit at; having scissors thrown at them; being punched, kicked, pinched.

On top of this, there is a lack of support to cover sick or injured staff. The Conservative government’s significant underfunding of the education system means that EAs and support staff—shows the lack of respect they have for these workers. They weren’t even mentioned at all in this latest budget.

To the minister: When will the Conservative government give the education sector and education workers the funding they desperately need and the respect that they deserve?

Thank you for the opportunity to speak today about an investment we have made to improve public education. I’m proud that our government has increased funding for special education by $659 million. When compared to the former Liberals, that is the highest investment—$3.5 billion—ever recorded in Ontario history. We’ve also increased funding to $29 billion overall for education. We’ve increased the staffing by 9,000 more education workers, 3,000 more teachers.

But let’s listen to what a student had to say on the front page of the Waterloo Record just a few days ago: Kian Mirzaei, a 16-year-old youth mental health advocate said, “I think that the Ontario government is doing the right thing, backed by the right data,” when it comes to the imposition of restrictions on cellphones, the banning of vaping and the removal of social media from school devices—common sense back in the classroom. Join us as we restore focus and discipline in Ontario’s schools.

Interjections.

I would hope that members opposite, parents and legislators, would stand with the government as we implement this plan to finally establish academic rigour back in Ontario’s schools. We’ve added more staffing. We added more funding, and we’re asking for higher expectations in our school boards to deliver safety and academic achievement and excellence back in Ontario’s schools.

May is Community Living Month. In Ontario, we have over 100,000 people with intellectual disabilities accessing developmental services. Over 11,000 people have added their name to #5ToSurvive campaign online. Their ask is 5%—5% base funding to keep the lights on, accessible vehicles running and qualified staff during a human resource crisis.

Premier, will you commit today to provide the 5% that Community Living is asking for?

Interjections.

Aging parents need to know that their now adult loved ones will be in safe, supportive housing with consistent staff. Their ask, their plea, was for 5%. Your government gave them 2%.

Premier, when will you take responsibility for the absolute crisis you are creating and properly fund our supportive housing living homes?

Interjections.

Just getting back from Sudbury, I met a couple of folks as part of the Renewable Resources Recovery company. These are an extraordinary group of entrepreneurs and inventors, and they’ve paired up with the Coniston seniors housing complex, and they’ve been able to develop a geothermal-type technology that draws the heat off of sewage pipes. It heats at least one heat pump in the seniors complex.

If they get five more heat pumps, they’ll be able to power heat and cool the entire first floor of this multi-storey building—fantastic technology. It’s attracting PhD students from top universities.

My only question is, why don’t they wrap those sewage pipes coming out of the Prime Minister’s office and understand what everybody really thinks of this tax, and that is to scrap it.

Supplementary question?

To reply, the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services.

The supplementary question?

Interjections.

Interjections.

The Minister of Children, Community and Social Services can reply.

The member for Hamilton Mountain is warned.

Interjections.

The minister can wind up his response.

The member for Hamilton West–Ancaster–Dundas, come to order. The member for Windsor West, come to order. The member for Essex, come to order.

Restart the clock. The next question.

The member will take her seat for a moment. Take your seat, please.

The government side will come to order.

Interjection.

Interjection.

Start the clock. The member for Scarborough–Guildwood has the floor; I apologize.

Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Premier. Last week, I met with seniors from my community of Scarborough–Guildwood to discuss their concerns. Living on a fixed income means that every day, they are falling further and further behind in this affordability crisis. They are concerned about what the future looks like for their grandchildren and future generations and whether their grandchildren will ever be able to afford a home. They are concerned about having to use their credit card instead of an OHIP card to access the health care they need.

At a time when Ontario families are struggling to pay the bills, the Premier is more concerned with helping wealthy, well-connected insiders. My question to the Premier: When will the government stop putting themselves and their wealthy friends first, and focus on making life more affordable for families in Ontario?

Interjections.

Through you, Mr. Speaker, I’d like to thank the member opposite for that question. I’m sure, as we go to vote for the budget, the member opposite will dutifully consider supporting what’s in the budget, which includes the Guaranteed Annual Income System, which is indexed to inflation for the first time ever for low-income seniors.

And I’m sure the learned member opposite will also take a look at how we cut the gas tax for many people who have to move around this province, Mr. Speaker, and my colleague over here, with One Fare, for those taking transit, saving daily riders $1,600 a year. This is real money for the people of Ontario, and I’ll have more to say in the supplementary.

Good morning and thanks so much for the question. Mr. Speaker, I’m very appreciative of the Premier and our government and our partners who are doing great work with Community Living across the province here, which is why we backed them up with support.

We are investing more than $3.4 billion on developmental services this year. That, Mr. Speaker, is over a billion dollars more than the previous government was doing. Now, why do I mention that? It’s because the NDP held the balance of power for three years. You’ve been here long enough to know what you can do when you hold the balance of power. They could have forced the Liberals to invest more in amazing partners who are doing great work across our province. They didn’t. They failed the people of this province. It took this Premier, it took this caucus to stand up for people with developmental disabilities across the province and say, “We will have your back,” just as we have since we formed government.

Interjections.

In fact, I will tell you what they have done. They have voted against every single measure that we have put forward to make sure that the service providers have the tools and resources to serve the people of Ontario. This member has been here long enough, but of course, when the cameras are running, you’ll hear the NDP get up and talk a big game, Mr. Speaker—

Interjections.

Interjections.

Speaker, I want to thank the great member from Markham for that question. It made a lot of sense.

And the previous question that we heard, from the Liberal member from Scarborough–Guildwood, was actually a very fair question as well. She was talking about the fact that it’s difficult for people right now to afford paying their heating, paying for the price at the pumps. Their groceries are going up in price. I can almost sense a little bit of a chasm forming in the teeny, tiny Liberal caucus led by the queen of the carbon tax, Bonnie Crombie, because the queen of the carbon tax, Bonnie Crombie, is in full support of the federal carbon tax, which is driving up the price of gasoline and home heating and groceries. Maybe this member is going to stand up to Bonnie Crombie and Justin Trudeau and talk about the issues that are facing Scarborough, because I’ll tell you right now, her leader isn’t doing that, Mr. Speaker, and her leader just got wiped out in Milton and just got wiped out in Lambton–Kent–Middlesex.

What does that plan not include? A carbon tax, which is driving up the price of everything in our province.

And it’s these Liberal quixotic points of view—unrealistic, unpragmatic views—that have cost our province in the past and are continuing to cost our province now. It’s just a different group. It used to be Kathleen Wynne, and it used to be Dalton McGuinty bringing in the Green Energy Act, now it’s Justin Trudeau, supported by the queen of the carbon tax, Bonnie Crombie, who’s driving up the price of everything.

In spite of that, our plan is working. Again, it’s called Powering Ontario’s Growth, and we’re seeing multi-billion dollar investments in our—

I’m happy to look into the individual example that the member opposite raised. But I want to reinforce and remind people that we have done a lot of work with pharmacists across Ontario to expand their scope of practice to make sure that people have access to treatment of those minor ailments that are so important.

But specifically to your constituent’s concerns, I’m happy to take them away and do further investigation.

I don’t think that we can compare all of the 5,000 pharmacies that operate across Ontario with one specific example. I will look into it, and then we will have further conversations.

Again, Mr. Speaker, I’m sure the member opposite has read and will consider voting for the budget, Building a Better Ontario. And had she actually read the budget—she seems to be referring to the additional 100,000 low-income seniors who will now qualify for the Guaranteed Annual Income System.

While we’re at it, Mr. Speaker, let’s think a little bit about the area she represents, Scarborough: I hope she’s going to support building the subway to Scarborough for the first time in 50 years or the extension for the Sheppard East line, or perhaps health care and the hospital that we’re building in Scarborough.

I feel like Columbo today, because I almost forgot one thing: the medical school right in Scarborough, the first one in a hundred years.

While they talked about things for 15 years, we are getting things done right now.

Mr. Speaker, groceries have never been more expensive. It is impossible for our young people to even dream of buying a home and our hospitals are overcrowded—

Interjections.

Premier, are you going to keep letting the affordability and housing crisis spiral out of control, or are you going to put a stop to the Conservative gravy train once and for all?

Interjection.

Stop the clock.

Sorry; the member will take her seat. I had to stop the clock.

I can’t hear the member who has the floor and is asking a question. The government side will come to order. The member for Ottawa South will come to order.

Start the clock. Member for Scarborough–Guildwood.

The Minister of Finance.

The member for Orléans, come to order.

Minister of Energy.

The member for Parkdale–High Park has the next question.

Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Energy. The carbon tax continues to drive up the cost of living for all Ontarians, from fuelling our cars to heating our homes and feeding our families. Instead of addressing inflation, the federal government wants to keep saddling Ontarians with higher gas, energy and grocery bills.

Ontarians are having a tough time, and they want to see a light at the end of the tunnel. But they are concerned that there is no end in sight for the carbon tax as the federal Liberals plan to triple the tax by 2030. The federal Liberals, supported by the opposition NDP, and the queen of the carbon tax, Bonnie Crombie, will continue to make life more expensive for everyone. This is unacceptable.

Speaker, can the minister please explain why Ontarians cannot afford the NDP-Liberal carbon tax?

But, Speaker, Ontarians deserve better. They deserve a federal government that works for them, not against and punishing them. Rising gas, heating and grocery costs are weighing on many households, and the last thing they need is another tax hike. The federal government must do the right thing now: End the carbon tax and the suffering it is causing Ontarians.

Speaker, can the minister please explain what a real plan for building Ontario’s clean energy advantage looks like?

Interjections.

My question is to the Minister of Health. My constituent Jane, an ODSP recipient, paid more than $1,000 for life-saving diabetes medication that Shoppers Drug Mart told her was not covered under the Ontario Drug Benefit Plan. She submitted a claim to the ministry for reimbursement but received over $100 less than her total payment. When my office inquired, the ministry said pharmacies are allowed to charge more than the ODB listed price for cash-paying customers.

Why is the minister allowing this?

Minister, will you crack down on Shoppers Drug Mart for trying to profit off of vulnerable people?