My question to the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. The Liberals continue to tell Canadians that their carbon tax is the only way to fight climate change, but the people of Ontario know that paying more for gas and groceries is not fighting climate change. In fact, in my riding of Leeds–Grenville–Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, all we have to do is look across the St. Lawrence River, south of the border, to our biggest trading partner, the United States—they don’t have a carbon tax, but yet they managed to have greater emission reductions than Canada.

My question to the minister is: Please explain why the Liberal approach to fighting climate change through the carbon tax is a misguided approach?

While Ontario’s economy, as you noted, Minister, has made significant progress since we took office, just imagine what we could do in Ontario if the Liberals scrapped the carbon tax.

Speaker, can the minister explain our approach to economic growth and how it’s so, so different from the Liberal approach?

My question is to the Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery. Minister, auto theft is happening every day across this province. Car thieves are gaming the system and are able to get new VINs for stolen vehicles at ServiceOntario counters. This government has reportedly been getting advice from current and former law enforcement and insurance experts about how to prevent re-VINing. This is more than a loophole, it’s a highly lucrative scam that this government knows about but isn’t fixing.

So my question is, why is it so easy in Ontario to get stolen vehicles legitimized with a new VIN?

Provincial centres like ServiceOntario do not have a system that checks if VINs already exist in other jurisdictions.

In Ontario, someone can steal a car, register it, make quick cash and be good to go.

So my question is, what is this government doing to protect the VIN registry and Ontarians from car thieves?

Speaker, there is no reason people should live in fear of their cars being stolen or their homes being burglarized. That’s why our government is using all the tools available to immediately put an end to the increase in auto theft.

At our ministry, we have implemented many security measures with ServiceOntario. All employees at ServiceOntario centres go through a rigorous screening process and receive constant training to ensure that government services remain safe.

Under Premier Ford, this government takes matters of consumer protection very seriously. We will never stop taking action to protect Ontarians.

Interjections.

Again, I’ll remind the members to make their comments through the Chair.

To reply, the Solicitor General.

The Minister of Energy can reply.

I apologize to the member from Kingston and the Islands for making him wait. I recognize him for the next question.

Supplementary question?

Government House leader.

Interjection.

Sorry; I apologize to the government House leader.

In late 2021, COVID-19 cases skyrocketed in the Kingston area with the Omicron variant. An enterprising local doctor, Elaine Ma, ran a drive-through mass vaccination clinic. Community members, like my own daughter, volunteered to help. Thousands were quickly inoculated during a critical couple of days. That’s why I was shocked when I learned that OHIP asked Dr. Ma to pay back its $600,000 reimbursement. Why? OHIP said because shots were given in the St. Lawrence College parking lot, not in her office.

Mr. Speaker, this is a follow-up to a letter to the minister’s office that I sent several months ago: Does our government have the backs of doctors who think out of the box and take the initiative to protect us during health emergencies? Would the minister intervene and override OHIP’s action and offer a fair solution?

Dr. Ma followed the rules, the steps to qualify her mass clinic under the prescribed G, Q and H billing codes and OMA billing practices for mass clinics. She is being punished for no good reason.

The Minister of Health has the power to conduct post-payment review. Will she intervene today? Will she set a healthy precedent so that in our next public health emergency, doctors who take the initiative to protect us in good faith can count on support from the system?

Interjections.

Of course, we’ll look into that. I know, in my own riding, we had a drive-through vaccination clinic which worked very well.

The COVID pandemic really highlighted the failure of the previous Liberal government to do anything about health care. The reason we had some of the longest lockdowns in North America is because the Liberals left us with such a crumbling, decaying health care system.

And do you know who supported them every step of the way? It was the NDP. In 2011, the Liberals cut the health care budget when the federal government increased it by 6%. Do you know who supported them? The NDP. In 2012, the Liberals cut funding to small hospitals in rural areas across the province of Ontario. Do you know who supported them? The NDP. In 2013, the Liberals cut medical school admissions. Do you know who supported them? The NDP. On every—

Interjections.

But it’s really telling that the member for Ottawa South is yelling, because while he was here and he supported the previous Liberal government that year after year after year cut health care funding, supported by the NDP, this is a member who was an absolute failure when it came to delivering for his own community. Do you know who’s rebuilding CHEO, the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario? It is this government. While that member sat there and supported a government that built no long-term-care homes in his own community, it’s this government which is building more long-term-care homes in his own riding than they built province-wide.

My question is for the high-energy minister—sorry, the Minister of Energy.

The Liberal carbon tax continues to drive up the cost of living for all Ontarians. Families in my riding of Brampton North and across the province are paying more for everything, from fuelling their cars to feeding their families. What’s even worse is that there’s no end in sight for this tax. The federal Liberals are planning to nearly triple the carbon tax by 2030.

While the queen of the carbon tax, Bonnie Crombie, and her Liberal caucus are in favour of making life more expensive for families—they’ve never seen a tax they didn’t like—our government is fighting back against the Liberals’ unjust tax schemes.

Speaker, can the minister please explain how our government is standing up for Ontario families and putting more money back into their pockets?

I’ll note the Liberals don’t have any members in Brampton either. We’ve got Duncan here from Brampton North.

I know the Liberals support the carbon tax. I really hope that they’ll change their tune and finally call Justin Trudeau in Ottawa and ask him to scrap this ridiculous tax.

Speaker, Liberals can tout the carbon tax as a solution all they want, but they’re not fooling anyone. The carbon tax only punishes Ontarians by driving up the cost of daily necessities, making it harder for families to get by.

Our government knows that Ontarians deserve better. That’s why, under the leadership of Premier Ford, we have a plan to build our clean energy advantage.

Speaker, can the minister please explain how our government is securing a clean, reliable and affordable energy future for all Ontarians without a carbon tax?

Interjections.

Yesterday, there was an incredible announcement with the Minister of Transportation, and I was there. One thing we’re doing, in sending a message for people who think it’s okay to steal cars, is, we’re going to keep your licence suspended—you do it once, it’s 10 years; you do it twice, it’s 25 years; you do it three times, you’re gone, there’s no way of getting it back.

When it comes to fighting auto theft and understanding how serious it is, when it comes to understanding that there has never been a government that has taken public safety more seriously—to work with stakeholders, to work with the auto manufacturers, to work with police services—it is this government that’s standing up for public safety every day.

Before I ask my question, I just want to say to the Minister of Energy: Leeds–Grenville–Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes.

My question is for the Minister of Indigenous Affairs and Northern Development. All that the federal Liberal carbon tax is doing is making it harder—and taking money out of people’s pocketbooks.

In northern Ontario, the economic challenges are getting harder in every community. At the gas pump alone, this is a punitive tax that’s hitting everyone. Communities across northern Ontario continue to face more and more challenges that way. The cost of transporting goods is already much higher in northern Ontario and these costs are being passed on to the consumer.

But the federal Liberals just are not listening. In fact, they increased the carbon tax last month by 23% and plan to hike it six more times before 2030. That’s completely unacceptable.

Speaker, could the Minister of Indigenous Affairs and Northern Development please tell the House how this carbon tax adversely affects the people of northern Ontario?

Our government, under the leadership of Premier Ford, has done more for transportation and transit infrastructure, and also making transportation more affordable, than any other government in the history of this province. Our government continues to provide funding for all the municipalities through a gas tax program and millions of dollars for transportation, repairs and expansion.

When we brought legislation to make sure that we built the Ontario Line, the Yonge North subway extension and the Scarborough subway extension, the Liberals and the NDP said no and voted against it. When we brought the One Fare program, which saved $1,600, the Liberals and NDP said no and voted against it—not just once; they voted against this twice.

Interjections.

In Scarborough, we are building the Scarborough subway extension. We are building a brand new hospital in Scarborough. They voted against it. We are building the first-ever medical school in Scarborough after 1983, and the Liberals chose to vote against it.

We won’t take lessons from the Liberals or the NDP, who did nothing for Ontario. Twelve years ago, they decided to shut down the Northlander. Guess what? Under this government, under this Premier’s leadership, we are bringing back the Northlander—

Interjections.

My question is to the Premier. Groceries are getting too expensive. People cannot afford to feed themselves and their families. Over the past year, almost a million Ontarians accessed food banks. It’s evident that big grocers are jacking up prices under the cover of inflation and posting excess profits outside the historical norm.

The Premier has a choice to make: Are you going to stand with the big grocers like Loblaws and Walmart or are you going to do your duty and protect the public from greed?

I recognize the Minister of Finance to reply.

The next question.

Supplementary question?

Start the clock. The next question.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for that acknowledgment.

I appreciate the question from the member opposite. I thought we went through this a little bit. We understand that many are hurting in this province. In fact, our budget, which we’ll be voting on very shortly, talks about affordability, talks about helping not only families but businesses in this province.

I listened to the learned Minister of Energy just a few seconds ago talk about the hardship that increasing the carbon tax and the price of gas has on not just the beef farmers that are here but all the farmers across Ontario who are producing that food. It’s harming the people who have to ship that food right across the province and, ultimately, harming the people who have to buy the food.

This government cut the gas tax. We continue to make life more affordable for businesses and people. It’s this government and that opposition who should lock arms and vote for the budget to make life more affordable.

It’s pretty obvious that Ontarians are having a hard time buying groceries. That’s why people with jobs are being forced to go to food banks. You know who else is having a hard time? The farmers who actually produce the food. They’re having a hard time paying their bills. Who else? The processors are having a hard time making their margins.

You know who isn’t having a hard time? The monopolies who control the grocery business. Their profits are going up higher than inflation, and they keep going up. The monopolies, which this government seems to be the gatekeepers of—because they support them, very much so. They want to give them as much business as they can.

At what point is the government of Ontario actually going to protect the people who produce the food and the people who consume the food from the monopolies?

I would respectfully submit to the member opposite that if he really cared for farmers, the best thing he could do is support our budget, because we are bringing so much relief all across Ontario thanks to the Minister of Finance. He is engaging all of us in terms of making sure Ontario remains affordable.

Talking about affordability, we need to recognize—yes, we have the amazing Beef Farmers of Ontario in the House today. I would like to share with you that they were part of a rally on April 2 that was hosted by the President of the Treasury Board in Holland Marsh. They came together with 25 other farming and rural organizations to stand up with the Premier and myself to send a direct message to the federal Liberals, as well as the queen of the carbon tax, Bonnie Crombie. That message is simple: Scrap the tax.

My question is to the Premier. Two days ago, the TTC faced a massive service disruption, with Line 2 being out of service for 12 hours. Thousands of people were impacted as they were crammed onto shuttle buses that could not meet demand. Commutes from Scarborough were more than doubled.

Do you know what we heard from this government? That’s right: nothing. Because this government doesn’t take responsibility for its failures. They talk a big game, but when their neglect becomes clear, they can’t face it. They don’t want to face the nurse who missed a shift or the patient who can’t see the doctor because they couldn’t make it in on time.

Will this government continue to pass the buck on reliable and safe transit, or will they actually provide the TTC with the funding Ontarians really need?

We know where their priorities are. It’s not in making Ontarians have public services they can rely on. It’s not ensuring that they can get to work on time. It’s making sure that cheques get cleared on time.

Under this government, we have seen massive delays to the subway, bus services cut, fare increases and the Scarborough RT derailed. Through you, Mr. Speaker: Will the Premier commit to funding the operations of the TTC so it runs on time, or will he continue to let Toronto transit riders down?

I want to thank the member from Peterborough–Kawartha for his great question. We think it’s a great policy objective of the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund, as its chair, to support community enhancement programs. This program is focused on places like the South Porcupine arena, where we’re supporting refrigeration equipment—compressors, condensers and dehumidifiers—to become more energy efficient and drive down costs; Pointe au Baril’s community centre, increasing their energy efficiency; and the Wharncliffe local services board, energy efficiencies for their fire hall and community hall—all good things to do for our buildings that mean so much to our communities in northern Ontario.

What they can’t handle is the crushing cost of the carbon tax. As the Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry might say, a fully integrated tax chain on everything, including the construction and implementation of these energy-efficient—

I appreciate the question. We have a robust set of rules that are independent and available to both landlords and to tenants. The member opposite has highlighted an example where the Landlord and Tenant Board had a hearing, had a result, and there are remedies. So I would advise the member opposite to work with their constituent to work within those rules that are independent and not to be meddled with by the government, and I’m sure they will have a proper result.

The Landlord and Tenant Board is issuing orders within 30 days 90% of the time at this point, so they are in fact doing their job on that end.

Maybe the member misunderstands that the Landlord and Tenant Board is not an enforcement agency; it’s a tribunal that has independent hearings and then issues orders.

I’d be happy to engage with the member opposite to help educate her office on how the Landlord and Tenant Board works, but other than that, I don’t know what else I can do for her.

Thank you to the minister for his response. The reality is the carbon tax does not lower a single emission. It’s a useless tax that just makes it harder on families and businesses. It’s shameful that the federal government continues to force people in the north to pay more for their daily necessities. It’s fine for the Liberal elites in southern Ontario to say, “Just use public transit,” but Speaker, how does somebody in Whitefish Bay, Elizabeth or Emo hop on a subway? The federal Liberals must learn to respect northern communities and finally scrap this punitive tax.

Speaker, can the minister further elaborate on the detrimental effects the carbon tax is having on communities all across northern Ontario?