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.

My question is for the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The Liberal carbon tax harms hard-working individuals, businesses and farmers. People in my riding of Lambton–Kent–Middlesex and across the province rely on Ontario farmers to grow high-quality and healthy food for them and their families. But the federal Liberals, supported by the Liberal members sitting here in this House, continue to disrespect farmers through their unfair tax schemes.

Under the leadership of Premier Ford, our government is supporting men and women who are producing food for our growing population. It is time that all governments do the same. Speaker, can the minister please tell the House why farmers in Ontario want to see the carbon tax scrapped immediately?

Ontario’s agriculture and food industry contributes over $48 billion in our province’s GDP and economy, representing more than 800,000 jobs. It’s essential that our vital sector continues to grow and produce more food for our growing population and export markets. We cannot let the Liberals and their carbon tax continue to add unnecessary costs that reduce competitive advantage at our global level. They need to finally start listening and show our farmers some support instead of trying to tax them out of the province.

Speaker, can the minister explain how our government is supporting Ontario farmers as they fight against this carbon tax?

Speaker, here’s the TDSB list of capital priority projects:

(1) Kapapamahchakwew, Wandering Spirit School—a step forward for truth and reconciliation—in Toronto–Danforth;

(2) St. Margaret’s Public School desperately needs a rebuild, with a long-term care already partnering with them, in Scarborough–Guildwood;

(3) Secord Public School, the largest and oldest portapack system, waiting for a rebuild since the Premier and I were at city hall together, in my riding, Beaches–East York;

(4) Etobicoke Centre Elementary—say no more—fourth on the list, but with the golden ticket of having a Conservative MPP to trump all other criteria.

My question to the Premier: Whether it’s hospitals, long-term cares or schools, why does the gravy train only stop in Conservative ridings?

Mr. Speaker, it’s just flabbergasting to hear this question from the Liberal Party. Honest to God, are you a revisionist that just came down to Earth? After cutting funding for capital, closing 600 schools, having the worst EQAO standards in Ontario history, you are lecturing this Premier on academic success and building anything?

In Scarborough on Friday, in the NDP riding of Doly Begum, I stood with our Scarborough colleagues to announce a new French elementary school for the people of Scarborough. It happened to be an NDP riding, but we don’t care because we’re investing in what matters to families.

I’ve been in TDSB. I was in London with the member just sitting across—

Mr. Speaker, we’re committed to building—

Interjections.

To the Speaker: The members opposite want the government to sign on to a private member’s bill, duplicative fundamentally in its nature, to actually undermine choice of parents. That is not a position supported by mainstream families, who want their choices in how they want they raise their kids to be supported. Non-profit, for-profit, home care: The government’s policy is to support them all. The members opposite should get onside.

Interjections.

My question is to the Premier. Later today, I will be debating my PMB, Bill 191, Childcare and Early Years Workforce Strategy Advisory Committee Act. The bill seeks—

Interjections.

The bill seeks to address workforce issues impacting child care in Ontario, mainly the staffing shortages operators have been reporting. Families deserve to have affordable child care that they can rely on. Early childhood workers deserve jobs that they can turn into careers, and operators deserve a funding model that secures a future for child care.

My question is to the Premier. Will this government commit supporting my bill so Ontario families can access the child care in this province that they need?

The member for Ottawa South, come to order.

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

The supplementary question.

I’ll remind members that they need to make their comments through the Chair.

Interjections.

The next question. Start the clock.

Interjections.

Restart the clock. Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

The next question.

[Inaudible] come to order.

Supplementary question: the member for London West.

To respond, the Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions.

The supplementary question.

The Premier.

I’m going to say this: It’s not helpful to speculate on the outcome of the next election in individual seats or the timing of the election, possibly. That doesn’t add anything to the debate.

The next question.

Speaker, Gabrielle lives in London West and has been on a child care wait-list for two years. She was only able to return to work because she found home child care, and she and her husband adjusted their work schedules so that one can do the 8:30 drop-off and the other can do the 4:30 pickup.

Gabrielle works at London Health Sciences Centre and told me that many nurses want to get back to work after their mat leaves, but they can’t because they can’t find child care.

Speaker, does this government understand that a child care plan without a workforce strategy is not going to help women like Gabrielle get back into the labour market?

Let’s take a step back, Speaker. We inherited a child care program that costs, on average, $50 to $60 a day. It was our government, under our Premier’s leadership, that cut that by 50%, saving $6,000 to $12,000 per child per year. We then committed to build spaces: 86,000 spaces for which the government is on track, 41,000 spaces created since 2018.

The member opposite speaks about supporting our staff. It was this government that just increased wages this year by 19% in the first year, achieving wage parity with the ECEs in kindergarten, because that was a fundamental priority: to reduce the exodus of staff going from child care into our school system. We now have wage parity. We’re increasing wages by $1 per hour per year, every year; this is going to make a difference as we retain more workers.

As we build more spaces, we continue to reduce fees for the people of Ontario.

My question is to the Premier. Last week, the Premier announced that the government will be spending $225 million to introduce and expedite alcohol sales into convenience stores and gas stations.

Meanwhile, in northern Ontario, we continue to see opioid-related deaths rise. In fact, the north has three times the mortality rate from overdose compared with the rest of the province.

The priorities in Timmins, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, North Bay, Sioux Lookout, Elliot Lake and every community across northern Ontario is not a quicker access to alcohol. They would rather see these millions go towards supervised consumption sites and addiction centres that have been working on shoestring budgets to save people’s lives in northern Ontario.

Why is the Premier prioritizing alcohol sales over dying people from opioid overdoses?

Interjections.

When I speak with people in my riding, they want to know—not what we are doing about a five-minute wait at the liquor store but what we’re doing about a five-hour wait time in ER rooms.

Speaker, this Premier is spending $225 million to expand alcohol sales while hospitals in northern Ontario continue to struggle with inadequate funding from this government.

Last week’s press conference sounded a lot like a campaign launch to me, Speaker. So I would like to know: Does the speaker plan to run on more alcohol being sold in Ontario or does he plan on eventually addressing the health care crisis in northern Ontario?

Interjections.

To the member opposite: Thank you for that question. It’s an important question and it is something that is being addressed by this government in a very substantive way.

When you think about the amount of investments that we’re making—over $525 million in annualized investments, $90 million specifically focused on building treatment and recovery beds, withdrawal management, treatment beds and supportive housing—all of these investments are creating a continuum of care.

Interjections.

Interjections.

With all due respect to the member, he’s worried about an early election. He should be worrying about who you’re running for: As an independent? Are you running for the Liberals? Are you running for the NDP? That’s what you have to determine, my friend, because you probably won’t be here next round.

But you know something, Mr. Speaker? Under the Liberals: the worst contract I have ever seen in business in 35 years. They were losing hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars every single year.

What we’re doing, we’re going to see new revenues of $895 million to $1.16 billion. That’s hundreds of millions of dollars that we can put towards health care, on top of the 30% increase we’ve already put to health care. We’re going to make sure we help people go to detox beds, rehabilitation centres. That’s where that money’s going to be going. It’s not going to be wasted like the Liberals in the worst contract I’ve ever—

Interjections.

Thank you for the question from the member from Peterborough–Kawartha.

This starts with exploration, and exploration starts with flying aeromag surveys or perhaps lidar surveys—carbon tax, carbon tax. When they find something, they marshal the drills into the bush, which are pulled in skidders—heavily, heavily fuel dependent; carbon tax. From there, it goes into camps, and it’s then core-and-split. Then it goes to places like Lakefield in Peterborough and in places like Oakville. What are they looking for? Critical minerals that will power the EV revolution. And why do we need the EV revolution? To reduce the carbon footprint.

This tax is counterproductive. It should be scrapped. The Liberals and their partners, the NDP, have to scrap this tax.