I appreciate the question. As I said yesterday, if the leader of the NDP has any additional information that she would like to share with the Integrity Commissioner, I invite her to do so. I have full confidence in the Integrity Commissioner’s ability to continue any investigation that he needs to do.

At the same time, we’re going to continue to work on the priorities of the people of the province of Ontario: growing the economy, building homes, building schools, reinvesting in health care, transit and transportation—all of the priorities that the people of the province of Ontario elected us to focus on back in not only 2018 but in 2022. We’ll continue to focus on those priorities because building a bigger, better, stronger, safer province of Ontario is exactly what we’ve been focused on, and we will not be strayed from that mission.

Folks wondered what I was saying to you, Sol—and sorry for using your first name, but this is a different situation. I had you in my office yesterday, told you how proud I am of you, how you’re blazing a new trail. No one’s ever done this, what you’re doing today. I just want to tell you how proud I am of you, how proud everyone here in the Legislature is and how proud everyone in the First Nations is.

I appreciate your passion in Sioux Lookout. I went up to Sioux Lookout—you remember I went up there? And I committed that I’m going to build that long-term-care home. I’m committing today, in the public: We will be building those beds. We’ll be building a home for Sioux Lookout.

It is indeed a historic day here in the Legislature. I want to use this opportunity to raise another issue of great concern to so many people across this province. This question is for the Minister of the Environment.

Yesterday, the opposition deputy leader, the member from Kiiwetinoong, and I asked this government questions about the ongoing mercury poisoning of the people of Grassy Narrows First Nation. The Minister of the Environment answered that there was going to be a meeting today to discuss the findings. So my question is, can the minister share details with this House on the scope of that meeting?

I’m going to ask the minister more specifically: Will the Premier be in attendance at that meeting today? Will the minister? What other members of cabinet will be at that meeting and how long do the people of Grassy Narrows have to wait?

I’ve got to tell you, Speaker, if this was happening anywhere else in the province of Ontario, that kids were being poisoned by the fish they eat, the water they drink, this government, I would hope, would do something.

It has come to my attention that none of the ministers, since 2018, have even set foot in Grassy Narrows. I want to know when this minister or somebody else from this government is going to go to Grassy Narrows, is going to treat this issue with the urgency that it demands and stop the poisoning of the people of Grassy Narrows.

Interjections.

But anyway, this question is for the Premier. Yesterday, the NDP revealed that the Premier’s chief of staff, Patrick Sackville, was routinely using his personal email account to do government business. This matters because Mr. Sackville told the Integrity Commissioner under oath that he does not conduct government business on personal email.

Well, today, Global News is reporting that Mr. Sackville was using his personal email as recently as late 2023—that’s after the greenbelt scandal broke—and that means that Mr. Sackville not only gave false testimony under oath to the Integrity Commissioner about using his personal email, but he then doubled down and kept using it, knowing perfectly well that it was wrong.

So my question to the Premier is, when is he going to demand his chief of staff’s resignation for giving false testimony?

On October 17, 2022, Ryan Amato sent Mr. Sackville a list of criteria for removing lands from the greenbelt on behalf of all of their insider friends, and that was sent to his personal email. The email was dated 10 days before the date that Mr. Sackville told the Integrity Commissioner, again, under oath, that he was first briefed on the greenbelt removal criteria. He also said, under oath, that he had no knowledge of this email and that he had no idea how Ryan Amato obtained his personal email account.

Well, let me shed some light on that, because now we know that Mr. Sackville routinely uses his personal accounts for government business, contrary to what he told the Integrity Commissioner, again, under oath.

So my question, and perhaps the Premier will get up and answer it this time—I want to know: Has the Premier spoken to his chief of staff about the consequences of giving misinformation to the Integrity Commissioner?

To reply, the Premier.

Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.

As I mentioned yesterday about the meeting taking place today, one of the things that we also need to reflect upon is the fact that the first order of business for this government, one of our first acts when we formed government in 2018, was to correct a wrong. That wrong was the issue that is in question today.

One of our first acts back in 2018 was to index the mercury benefit payments for people who had not seen increases for inflation in as many as 30 years. We’re committed to continuing to correct that wrong, and as a result, the people saw their monthly payment amounts more than double beginning in November 2018, in addition to the retroactive payments.

We know that there is no quick fix or no quick solution, and many of these issues are historic, complex and multi-jurisdictional. There is a lot of work that needs to be done, but we’re dedicated to achieving progress on these issues.

If you look at June 2022, the Mercury Disability Board marked the opening of a new clinical space in Kenora, along with the successive launch of reformed achievement clinics. But as I mentioned, more work needs to be done. That is why our government remains committed to working with Indigenous communities towards remediation of mercury contamination in the English and Wabigoon rivers. As I mentioned, we have committed to several studies, many of them Indigenous-led studies. We’re following those recommendations. There’s a meeting with experts and the panel—that will be later today—and we’ll continue to meet later this week as we move forward on progress on this issue.

But, Speaker, as I mentioned, this is a very complex issue. It has been a historic issue. It’s multi-jurisdictional. But know that this government will continue to correct a wrong and have a path forward.

Speaker, the Red River Métis, Inuit and Ontario First Nations are calling on Ontario to retract its 2017 identification of the “six new historic Métis communities” in the Ontario region. There was never any consultation with First Nations to recognize these new communities in areas across Ontario where Métis never existed.

Will the minister explain why his ministry refuses to share evidence with First Nations about these so-called Métis communities?

This government needs to consider their evidence. When will Ontario stop providing misinformation to proponents about consultation owed in First Nations territories to these Métis communities when there isn’t any evidence they existed historically?

I want to congratulate the member on an extraordinary and historic day. Way to go, Sol.

I have met with the Chiefs of Ontario as well as a number of Indigenous leaders, chiefs from across the province. I’m seized of this matter. There have been many discussions, and my ministry as well as a couple of other ministries are gathering information to provide for those chiefs at an appropriate time. Some of the elements of this matter are before the courts, Mr. Speaker, but we will continue to ensure that the interests from section 35 rights and so forth of First Nations people in this province are preserved and protected.

Again, if the Leader of the Opposition has additional information and she says she has provided additional information to the Integrity Commissioner, then I have full confidence in the Integrity Commissioner to undertake his review.

At the same time, we are going to continue to do what is important for the people of the province of Ontario.

We inherited a government back in 2018, supported by the NDP every step of the way; an economy that was faltering; a manufacturing sector that had been—

Interjection.

What are we doing? We have a plan to continue to rebuild the economy. It is about rebuilding infrastructure, rebuilding hospitals, schools, roads, bridges, and we’re—

The member for Hamilton Mountain, come to order.

We had 15 minutes of respectful dialogue in this Legislature this morning. Let’s see if we can keep that up.

Interjections.

The government side, come to order.

I apologize to the member for Milton for having to interrupt him. He can place his question.

Restart the clock. Minister of Energy.

The supplementary question.

A day of firsts here—congratulations to the member from Milton on his first question in question period.

Again, I want to congratulate my good friend from Kiiwetinoong, as well, for his words this morning in Oji-Cree. To me, he’s known as “kitchi-animohsh”—if the interpreter is still there. That means “the big dog.” We love the member from Kiiwetinoong.

Speaker, we can do this. We can have the energy that we need in our province for our growing economy without having this punitive tax that the member for Milton is talking about. And we’re actually doing it.

There are a lot of firsts in this province. We’re building the first new nuclear small modular reactor at Darlington right now. We’re building the first large nuclear in the province in over 30 years. That’s going to be happening out at Bruce. We’re building a beautiful transmission line. Wataynikaneyap Power is here. We see the wonderful people—Margaret is here from Watay Power, and I’m going to talk a little bit more about some of the things we’re doing in northern Ontario in my—

One of my favourite events since becoming the Minister of Energy was with the member from Kiiwetinoong and the folks from Wataynikaneyap Power in northwestern Ontario and Kezia, actually, in her home community of Kingfisher Lake First Nation, when I was there with the member and we linked that community to our green, emissions-free electricity grid that we have in Ontario so they can prosper in places like Kingfisher Lake, North Caribou Lake First Nation, Wunnumin First Nation. I actually look forward to joining the folks from Watay next month when we celebrate the completion of that product, linking 16 First Nations communities to our clean provincial grid.

Those are just a couple of examples of how we can do this without—

Good morning, everyone. The Ministry of Education asked the Toronto District School Board to submit business cases for schools that urgently need a renovation or a rebuild. The priority was for shovel-ready schools. The criteria included accommodation pressures, school consolidation, facility condition, and access to French-language schools.

Nowhere in the list of criteria do we see the requirement for the school to be in a Conservative riding, but alas, that seems to be the main stipulation for success. Speaker, my question to the Premier—

Interjections.

My question is for the Premier. Speaker, the dangers of heat stress at work are real. Without meaningful legislation, Ontario’s workers will continue to face the threat of heat-related injuries, sickness and even death.

Everyone deserves to be safe in the workplace. Everyone deserves to come home safe from work when the day is done. The growing threat to human health and worker safety posed by climate change must be taken seriously. We need more than work refusals.

My question, Speaker: Will the Premier begin this crucial health and safety work by better recognizing heat stress under the Occupational Health and Safety Act?

Speaker, section 43 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act ensures that any worker in Ontario who feels that they’re subject to unsafe working conditions has the right to reject work.

We’re working across Ontario to ensure record investments to build the infrastructure of tomorrow. We’ve got working-class men and women on the job working to build a better, stronger future for Ontario, and they’re protected by robust protections in the Occupational Health and Safety Act, I would add, that has been strengthened under this Premier and the leadership of this government.

We’ve got countless men and women in building trades who, I would add, are now supporting this government because of the record protections, because of the steps we’re taking to bring women onto job sites, removing barriers for women and for racialized communities. We’re going to keep doing that, keep strengthening the Occupational Health and Safety Act, continue to strengthen protections under the Employment Standards Act and ensure Ontario is a competitive province that is booming once again with record housing, record transit and record investments in hospitals and schools, all of which are going to ensure a growing working middle class.

The next question, the member for Brampton North.

The Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade.

The member for Beaches–East York has the right to ask a question, and I need to be able to hear what she is saying. And I’ll need to hear the reply from the minister, if there’s a minister who’s going to reply.

I apologize to the member for Beaches–East York. Please start the clock again. She has the floor.

Speaker, through you to the Premier: Every year, workers in Ontario are hospitalized because of heat stress. Some of them die.

Last year, you carried out a consultation on new heat stress regulations and you didn’t increase protection for any workers. This year promises to be another summer of climate-driven record heat. You can increase protection for workers right now. Will you do it?

Speaker, we just returned from a successful mission to Korea and Japan. I must say that we met with leading global companies who were intrigued by Ontario’s success story.

In our auto sector, we went from zero to $43 billion in new EV investments in just four years. We added over 700,000 jobs since we took office, including 25,000 just last month alone. None of that would have been possible if we hadn’t reversed the Liberals’ high tax policies that chased 300,000 manufacturing jobs out of the province.

We’ve reduced the annual cost of doing business by $8 billion every year, creating the conditions for businesses to succeed in these good-paying jobs.

Speaker, we’ve shown the Liberals the way: Lowering taxes is the way to new investments in job growth. We need them to listen and scrap the carbon tax.

But unfortunately, Speaker, the Liberals are moving in the opposite direction by continuing with their carbon tax. We need the Liberals to listen to us. We’ve shown them the way that lower taxes is creating this economic prosperity. We want them to listen to us and listen to the hard-working people of Ontario and scrap the carbon tax today.

This is awkward.

My question is for the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. There is fierce competition from across the globe to land job-creating investments. When the Liberals were in charge, Ontario wasn’t even on the short list of places companies would consider investing and expanding in. My community of Windsor–Tecumseh was ground zero for the economic loss that resulted from that.

By reversing the Liberals’ high tax policies, we’ve made sure Ontario is top of mind for global companies who are looking for their next destination to expand in. And Windsor-Essex has renewed hope for the future.

But the federal government’s carbon tax threatens the progress that we’ve made. It’s as if they want to take us back to the days of the previous Liberal government where workers and businesses had to flee our province.

Speaker, can the minister please highlight how by scrapping the carbon tax, the Liberals can follow our lead and create the conditions for economic growth?

Our government has taken action to lower costs for hard-working people of this province while the Liberals continue to move in the opposite direction. It seems that every time our government moves to put a dollar back in the pockets of the people who earned it, the federal government announces a new tax hike to try to take it away. Their tax-and-spend ways are rooted in the Liberal belief that the government knows how to spend money better than the workers who earned it.

Speaker, can the minister please explain why we believe the hard-working people of this province should not be penalized with a Liberal carbon tax?

Interjections.

Well, let’s answer the question straight up. Under your government, no schools were built. As a matter of fact, 600 schools were closed.

We have a growing population in Etobicoke. Kids are in portables. They need a place to go to school.

I know they cut funding under education under the Liberal government. I know they cut 600 schools. I know they fired teachers, as opposed to what we’re doing. We’re investing over $16 billion into building new schools over the next 10 years.

Since Etobicoke was ignored for 20 years under their government—they aren’t being ignored anymore. They’re going to be treated fairly, like the rest of the province.

Interjection.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, and welcome to the member from Lambton–Kent–Middlesex. I knew from day one he would see you here in this House.

To answer his question, ladies and gentlemen, the fact of the matter is, as we heard yesterday from the president of the Grain Farmers of Ontario, they are being stressed. The emotional toll of Liberal ideology is really becoming palatable. Last week, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture actually just released results of a survey that said what worries farmers most across Ontario—from Essex to Cornwall to Atikokan, they are worried about tax burden.

Speaker, I stand in this House every day proudly representing farmers across this province. But I stand in front of you today for the first time to say I’m worried. The corn is barely popping out of the ground, and I’m hearing across the province farmers worrying about the cost of drying that corn this fall. The cost is going through the roof, especially since the Liberal ideology saw the carbon tax increase 23% April 1. It’s a travesty.

I was so very proud when I joined the member from Lambton–Kent–Middlesex just last week, when we celebrated a provincial investment of $2.4 million into Parkhill Meats. We’re bringing processing close to the farmers. And that huge crowd that was there that included farmers that are going to benefit were celebrating our government, under the leadership of Premier Ford.

Furthermore, we have introduced a $25-million Agri-Tech Innovation Initiative. We also have a Biosecurity Enhancement Initiative. We also have a program to enable farmers to grow future opportunities. Again, we are standing up programs that are resonating and assisting farmers to offset the ridiculous pressure that is coming from Liberal—