Thank you to the member for that question.

On this side of the House, we know that Ontario’s prosperity hinges on our ability to address the pressing issue of our province’s labour shortage, particularly in the skilled trades. Sadly, the carbon tax is only increasing these issues.

Ontarians are deeply concerned about the cost-of-living crisis that the carbon tax has created. While the Crombie Liberals would like to separate this issue, we, on this side of the House, know that the cost of workers don’t just end at the workplace. Whether it’s being able to cover the cost of one’s commute or the ability to invest in the tools and skills that you need, we know that it’s just essential for workers’ success.

We see the Liberals at every turn working hard to make it harder for Ontarians to survive. In stark contrast, our government has adopted a wholly different approach. We’re committed to empowering our workforce by launching a comprehensive skilled trades strategy, supporting nearly $1.5 billion in funding over the next four years.

Together, we are unified in our effort to build a future our province deserves.

My question is for Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. The Liberal carbon tax raises the price of absolutely everything in our province and is hurting our economy and our workers. It drives up the costs of everyday essentials like food, heating and transportation.

With a rapidly growing population, we need all hands on deck to start building right across Ontario, but the costly carbon tax is hurting our workers’ ability to invest in their skills and development to build a better future for Ontario. The federal government needs to finally listen to what our government has been asking from day one and eliminate this job-killing tax.

Speaker, can the minister outline the steps that our government is taking to fight the carbon tax and to ensure Ontario has the workforce that we need to start building for the future?

You know what we are doing? Training more PSWs, more nurses, initiatives like the Ontario Learn and Stay program. We have 3,500 graduates coming through the program that are nurses, lab techs and paramedics in underserved regions of the province. These students have their educational costs covered by the government in order to fill those spaces. In fact, there are actually six students for every nursing space in Ontario. This is a growing profession, and we have students across the province who are looking to become nurses.

We are going to continue to work with our post-secondary partners to ensure that we have nurses, paramedics, lab techs and PSWs across Ontario.

My question it to the Minister of Natural Resources. We know we are 200 firefighters short. Last week, the minister said our crews were so ready that we will be able to send them to other provinces. Minister, if this government is that ready to face wildfires, how many firefighters are we going to share with other provinces when we are short 200 firefighters today?

Back to the parliamentary assistant: The Liberal carbon tax is hurting the household budgets for individuals and families right across Ontario. Ontarians should not be subjected to a tax that does nothing but burden them with unnecessary costs. To make matters worse, the Liberals in this Legislature, under the leadership of a woman who loves the carbon tax, Bonnie Crombie, ignore the hard-working women and men of our province who oppose this punitive tax.

But, Speaker, it’s not surprising, considering for 15 years, the previous Liberal government failed all Ontarians and drove 300,000 manufacturing jobs right out of Ontario. Now they want to make it harder for young people to get the skills and the tools they need to enter the skilled trades by supporting the federal Liberal carbon tax. That’s unacceptable.

Speaker, can the parliamentary assistant tell the House what our government is doing to get more people into the skilled trades, despite the Liberals advancing their anti-worker carbon tax agenda?

Monsieur le Président, les conservateurs de l’Alberta ont fait la même chose que l’Ontario fait depuis 2018 : coupé sans cesse dans la prévention des feux de forêt. Aujourd’hui, on voit des conséquences désastreuses du choix politique de l’Alberta.

Monsieur le Ministre, allez-vous répéter les mêmes erreurs que vos homologues albertains et nous rendre vulnérables et dépendants des autres provinces?

The supplementary question?

And the supplementary question?

Government House leader may reply.

Speaker, do you know what? These guys get—I think they get one question every 11 days. Now, that’s not a rule that I put in place; that is something that the people of the province have put in place, because for not one but two elections, they have punished the Liberal Party of Ontario. And now they just punished them again in a by-election, right?

And did they ask about the economy? No, because when they were in office, they destroyed the economy. Do they ask about health care? No, because when they were in office, they closed hospitals, fired nurses and didn’t hire doctors, so they don’t want to ask about that. They don’t ask about infrastructure, because when they were in charge of infrastructure, you remember, they built bridges upside down. So what else? Not long-term care, because they didn’t build any long-term-care homes; not about taxes, because they actually increased taxes; not about red tape, because they made us the most overly regulated province in the country. So they’re asking about—

You want to talk about accountability? The chief of staff to the Premier, under the Liberals, went to jail, Mr. Speaker. That is what we inherited in 2018.

Since 2018, we have been executing a plan across the province of Ontario. That plan includes making sure we are a fiscally responsible government, ensuring that we unleash the power of northern Ontario to protect the prosperity of all Ontarians. They called the north a wasteland. We’re opening up the Ring of Fire—

Interjections.

I must say that one of the hallmarks of our firefighting service here in Ontario is that we do help out other jurisdictions at their time of need. So we know that the forest fires right now in BC, Alberta and Manitoba are significant. We hope and pray that the situations there go well, but we stand at the ready to help. Because that’s what Ontario does. That’s what firefighters throughout all the jurisdictions in Canada do: They help one another when they have the resources to help.

Here in Ontario, where we had a firefighting budget of $69 million when we took over, it was disrespected and neglected by the previous government, supported by the NDP. We upped that budget to $135 million a year to build capacity to be able to help, to be able to be there for others in this country when they need that assistance. We’re here for Ontarians every single day. We’re here for Canadians every single day.

We’re the ones that had to make the investments, and it’s not only in the base budget that we made those investments. Last fall, an additional $20 million to look at alternative ways to fight fires in Ontario. How can we bring new aerial technologies in? How can we work with universities on collaborative research agreements about the changing dynamics of wildfires? How can we continue to support our great wildfire rangers that are out there doing the work every day? The Ministry of Labour stepped up with presumptive coverage. We’ve stepped up with more things for them to make sure that they can do the job the best they can every single day, including a recruitment and retention bonus, including supports for training. So we’re there every day, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you to the member for that question. For years, the previous Liberal government has neglected the skilled trades. Their failure to prioritize these crucial sectors resulted in a significant decline in apprenticeship applications, leaving thousands of well-paying jobs unfilled and undermining Ontario’s economy. If this wasn’t bad enough, for a decade and a half of complete neglect, their federal Liberal friends are discouraging more Ontarians from entering the trades.

Yet our government is resolute in its commitment to rectifying this Liberal mess and ensuring that Ontario’s economy works for everyone. We’re accomplishing this by investing in our workforce. We have launched our over $1.5-billion Skills Development Fund aimed at training Ontario’s next generation of workers.

And Mr. Speaker, we’ve seen the results. To date, over half a million workers have benefited and 597 training and workforce development projects have received funding.

We continue to be steadfast in our determination to clean this mess.

One of the ways by which we keep kids safe is by removing distractions in our publicly funded schools. That’s why we announced a plan to remove social media from school devices—

Interjections.

It’s why we announced $17 million of mental health supports, leveraging community-based mental health. It’s why we finally annualized funding for mental health services through the summer to make it better for the family so they get access to the same practitioner.

I’ve been working with the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions for the past years to build capacity in our schools and in our communities to keep our kids safe.

Mr. Speaker, we’ve increased the funding and the staffing in Ontario’s publicly funded schools. What we’re also doing, a matter of contention with members opposite, is we’re elevating the expectations on our school boards to deliver better outcomes for the investments we make in Ontario.

It is an issue. It is a serious concern. And there’s a reason why the government of Ontario, under our Premier’s leadership, was the first in Canada to initiate an anti-human-trafficking protocol, the first of its kind, and to initiate a plan to counter bullying and cyberbullying in every publicly funded school.

We’ve added thousands of EAs, 3,000 additional EAs, to our schools, more social workers, more mental health workers, but we’re also building that capacity in the community.

The establishment of the youth mental health hubs has been a massive positive intervention for kids. A one-stop shop of access, and it’s because of the leadership of the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions that we have these access points.

We’re working together to bridge the gaps, reduce the wait times and support every child in Ontario.

Stop the clock.

The member for Renfrew–Nipissing–Pembroke will come to order. The member for Ottawa South will come to order.

We can start the clock. The next question.

The supplementary question?

Thanks to the member from Oakville for the great question. The carbon tax is a terrible tax, and it’s hurting us right now, but the worst part of this tale is that the tax is going to go up and up and up every April 1.

Our good friend from Quebec is here as well: La taxe de carbone va augmenter de plus en plus en plus, and that’s bad news. That’s bad news for the people of Ontario. It’s bad news for the people in Quebec. It’s bad news for the people right across our country.

Our government is doing things differently.

The queen of the carbon tax, Bonnie Crombie, is in full support of the Prime Minister and the federal carbon tax. The NDP are in full support of the carbon tax. Mr. Green over here is in full support of the carbon tax, as well.

The Premier and our government are not in support of a carbon tax. As a matter of fact, we’re continuing to lead the country in driving down emissions without a carbon tax.

We are investing in our hydro facilities. Over the last two weeks, I’ve been in Cornwall, with the great member from Stormont–Dundas–South Glengarry, and down in Niagara at the Sir Adam Beck facility, announcing refurbishments of our hydroelectric fleet.

We just had the largest procurement of battery storage in Canada’s history last week, to make sure that our non-emitting resources are working more efficiently and that we have the power we’re going to need to continue to attract the multi-billion dollar investments, like the ones that are being made today down in Niagara,

My question is for the Minister of Energy. It has been a month and a half since the federal Liberal government increased the carbon tax by a whopping 23%. Everything seems to be getting more expensive. Food, gas and energy prices are all on the rise, while paycheques are failing to keep pace. Life is getting harder and harder with this punitive Liberal carbon tax.

The Liberal members in this House, instead of asking their federal counterparts to cut the carbon tax, are doubling down in support of this tax, which is hurting Ontario families and businesses.

Can the minister please explain how the carbon tax continues to hurt every single person living in this province?

It’s simply unacceptable that the federal Liberals are pricing Ontarians out of grocery stores, out of their homes and into situations where they have to choose between eating and heating. Families are struggling now more than ever, and they need our help.

Let’s ensure we do this right. It’s time for the Liberals to stop this vicious carbon tax and give real financial relief to the people of Ontario.

Can the minister please tell the House what our government is doing to ensure Ontario has a clean, reliable and emission-free energy system without taking a step backwards and imposing a carbon tax on the people of Ontario?

Our schools are experiencing a violence crisis and it is taking a serious toll on teachers. Some 80% of ETFO members have either personally experienced or witnessed violence. Some of these are life-changing injuries, yet the minister’s plan to address violence is to spend 14 cents per day per child on student safety. That’s just not enough when teachers are already going to school in Kevlar and classes are being evacuated daily.

When will we see a serious plan from the Minister of Education to protect children and workers in our schools?

A quarter of elementary schools and a third of secondary schools have daily staff shortages. There are more resignations than retirements in the education system. High-quality education requires a qualified educator, but this minister is doing everything he can to drive them away.

Parents know that teachers and education workers are the backbone of our education system. Why doesn’t the minister think they deserve respect?

Today we’re joined by ETFO members and Catholic educators from across the province. They’re here today to teach us about the rising levels of violence in schools.

Imagine going to work every day worried you’ll be attacked, sworn at or threatened, or being off work because of a concussion, mental health concern or injury. A recent ETFO study reported that 75% of members experienced or witnessed violence against a staff member.

Speaker, anyone who has spent time in our classrooms knows that we need adequate support for our students, especially those with complex needs, exacerbated by the COVID pandemic. The kids are not okay.

School boards are facing staff shortages and the impact of crowded classrooms.

To the Premier: Will your government develop a plan to address the alarming rise in violence in our schools to keep people safe?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, through you to the member opposite, for that question. Obviously, food prices going up hurts many people across this province. But do you know what, Mr. Speaker? What is a big part of that is the gas tax. The carbon tax is going up in Ottawa, 17 cents since they’ve started. We’ve reduced the gas tax and, through other measures, the price at the pumps by almost 10.7 cents a litre, so one is going down; the other is going up. The price of gas goes into the food processing; it goes into the farmers—the member from Huron–Bruce representing farmers right across this great province.

This is unacceptable. We’re the party that’s putting money back into the pockets of the people in Ontario, the businesses in Ontario so food prices will come down. This is a government that’s got the backs of the people of Ontario.

The supplementary question?

The next question.

The parliamentary assistant and the member for Burlington.

Supplementary question?

The member for Markham–Unionville and parliamentary assistant.

The next question.

The federal Liberals are playing politics with our children’s future by making it harder for parents to invest in their children’s success. But here in Ontario, under the leadership of Premier Ford, we understand that parents, not governments, know what is the best for their children. Parents should not have to choose between heating their homes and feeding their families. That’s why we extended the gas tax cut of 10 cents a litre and scrapped the licence plate sticker fee, saving hundreds of dollars, which supports parents who drive their kids to school—money that they can use to help keep the lights on and heat their homes and schools while their children work, play and study.

We introduced the Ontario Childcare Tax Credit, allowing families to claim up to 75% of their child care expenses, putting more money back into their pockets to invest in their children’s future.

Yes, Mr. Speaker, time and time again, the opposition, propped up by the Ontario—