I want to thank the member from Perth–Wellington for a very important question.

I can’t believe the response from the opposition parties in the Legislature today when everybody in our province and across the country knows that the carbon tax is driving up the cost of living. It has been confirmed by the Bank of Canada, C.D. Howe and so many different institutes, and it is having an effect on people’s ability to afford groceries, gas and home heating.

This federal carbon tax, supported by the queen of the carbon tax, Bonnie Crombie, is going to—well, it’s the impact today. It’s going to be the legacy of the federal government, and ultimately it’s going to be the downfall of the federal government, because not only is it causing a crisis now in communities across our province and our country; it’s going to create an even further impact next year on April 1, when the carbon tax goes up again.

We have a plan here in Ontario. It’s working, and it doesn’t include a carbon tax.

Thanks for the supplementary.

I would advise the opposition members to talk to the not-for-profits, to talk to the food banks in their region, like I do.

I talk to the Gleaners Food Bank, I talk to the Trenton Care and Share Food Bank in my riding, and they are definitely hearing from their clients that the carbon tax is having an impact on their day-to-day life.

That’s why we’ve taken a different approach here in Ontario than Justin Trudeau and the federal government. We’re lowering taxes. We’ve cut the gas tax by 10.7 cents a litre. We’ve implemented the LIFT credit; it eliminates the provincial income tax for many low-income workers, and it’s making a difference for them. We’ve eliminated fees. We’ve eliminated the licence plate sticker fees. We brought in One Fare for those who ride transit, saving them up to $1,600 a year. That’s real, tangible savings for the people of Ontario.

Here in Ontario, with our plan, which doesn’t include a carbon tax, we are seeing growth in our economy, more good-paying jobs being created, like the ones that will soon be created at Honda, Volkswagen, Stellantis and those—

Mr. Speaker, when the Liberals were in power here in Ontario for 15 years, they tripled our electricity rates. They drove jobs out of our province to other jurisdictions. The Minister of Finance just referenced the tail lights that were heading out of the province as manufacturers picked up and left.

Well, those same Liberals, when they were annihilated here in Ontario, where did they go? They’re all now working for Justin Trudeau up on Parliament Hill. And what has happened? We have this torturous carbon tax that’s driving up the price of everything in our province.

Again, since we’ve come in, we’ve provided stability for electricity customers, and we’re seeing the fruits of our labour: multi-billion dollar investments in our province. Those headlights are coming back to Ontario again and reinvesting here, while the voters in Ontario continue to put the vehicle in reverse and back over the Liberals because they are torturing businesses and residents, constituents, across our country.

We are cutting taxes. We’re lowering electricity rates. We’re giving people a break in Ontario. Liberals—

That was a bit of a news flash. I hadn’t heard that.

The queen of the carbon tax isn’t fooling anybody. Her majesty is in full support of the federal Liberal government’s federal carbon tax—one that went up 23% on April 1, and one that’s going to go up again next year. It’s driving up the cost of everything in our province.

We know that when the queen of the carbon tax, Bonnie Crombie, comes in, she is going to continue to make life more expensive.

They’re trying to rebrand over there. They’re trying to talk about some tax credits, but it’s just not believable because we know the track record of Liberals at every level.

The funny thing is, when it comes to the carbon tax, across the country, Liberal Premiers, NDP Premiers—they’re all with Premier Ford on this.

We need to scrap this punitive carbon tax now because it’s driving up the price of everything. It’s driving people to food banks. It’s driving people into energy poverty. We don’t need it. It’s time to scrap the tax.

On behalf of the member from Barrie–Innisfil, our Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, I want to welcome the mom of one of our great pages, Harry Patel, who has been working very hard in the last two weeks. Krutika Patel is visiting. Krutika happens to work with Aecon on the Darlington nuclear plant.

Welcome, Mom.