It’s always a great opportunity to be able to speak here to private members’ business. I’d like to begin my remarks with a little bit of background on the current economic situation we’re seeing here in Ontario and, frankly, all of Canada.

We’re here to discuss the issue of affordability, perhaps the most pressing issue facing Ontarians today. Much like the rest of the world, Ontario continues to face economic uncertainty, high interest rates from the Bank of Canada, high inflation, the federal carbon tax—which, of course, the Ontario Liberals and their leader, the queen of the carbon tax herself, are so fond of. These challenges are putting very real pressures on the household budgets of every family in this province—so much so, Speaker, that the average Ontarian will tell you they feel like they are living in the middle of a recession, even though we aren’t technically in one. This is all too telling of the difficulty that people, especially families, are dealing with right now.

In the face of these difficulties, our government was left to make a choice. We could either raise taxes, cut back on spending and put the well-being of our people, families and businesses at risk, or we could take a different approach, one which invests in the successful future of Ontario communities and builds a strong economy that benefits everyone, all while keeping costs down. So we made a clear decision to stick a plan we know is working, a plan that puts people and families first and brings their bright future even closer to the present, all without raising the cost of taxes on people living and working here in Ontario.

That means no new taxes, no new tolls, no new fees, Speaker. The people of our province are being heard when they tell us that is what they want. We are choosing to help the hard-working families of this province through targeted, responsible investments and relief measures that have meaningful and impactful results, which is something that I’m afraid cannot be said about the proposed measure brought forth by the Liberal member for Orléans here today.

Speaker, for a moment I’d like to address viewers watching today’s debate from home to make something very clear: The proposal by the Liberals does not mean that you or your family will receive $1,000 back in tax returns. This is a terrible misconception that I sincerely hope my colleagues on the Liberal side of the House are not trying to take advantage of. In reality, Speaker, this so-called support would only give families a small percentage that they wouldn’t even see for up to 16 months in the next tax return in the following year. When you take into consideration that the Liberals want to impose a carbon tax in Ontario, this simply does not make sense.

With this bill, Liberals are proposing to hand out an insignificant pittance to families, only to take even more money from them later at the gas pump, the grocery store, paying their bills and everywhere in between. At every turn, the Liberals want to find a new tax to impose on the hard-working families and people of this province.

This proposal seems to make an insincere attempt to mislead Ontarians into thinking they won’t make life more expensive than it already is, if given the chance—