My question is for the Minister of Energy. The inflation and affordability concerns Ontarians are facing right now are a direct result of the federal carbon tax. Individuals and families are paying higher taxes and higher costs for the necessities of life, like food, gas and housing. The carbon tax is not working. It’s adding more financial pressure for Ontarians, and there is no environmental gain. But the carbon tax queen, Bonnie Crombie, and her Liberal caucus are supporting their federal buddies and a failed tax policy that has been proven not to work.

Speaker, can the minister please tell the House how our government is keeping costs down for the people as we all suffer from the Liberals’ incompetence and insensitive economic management?

We are keeping cost down in spite of the costly federal carbon tax supported by the queen of the carbon tax, Bonnie Crombie—the price of gasoline, the price of groceries, the price of home heating all going up thanks to Justin Trudeau and Bonnie Crombie’s tax supported by the NDP as well.

Now, we’ve taken a different pathway here in Ontario. We’ve reduced costs, like the 10.7 cents a litre at the pumps; One Fare for transit riders in Ontario, saving them $1,600 a year; making sure we’ve eliminated the licence plate sticker fees and other taxes and fees to drive down the cost of living and ensure that we’re seeing the type of growth that we’re seeing in Ontario, at the same time ensuring that we have the power that we need, with a plan called Powering Ontario’s Growth to ensure that we continue to see the multi-billion-dollar investments that we have been seeing right across our province.

You can do this, and it doesn’t require a punitive carbon tax.

Our economy is humming in Ontario. As the late Bob Cole would say, “Oh, baby.” We are seeing investments right across Ontario. In the electric vehicle and the EV battery sector, we’re looking like Connor McDavid, busting down the wing and breaking toward the goal, moving the Edmonton Oilers on to the Stanley Cup final for the first time in many, many years.

Let’s all get together, let’s support a Canadian team in the Stanley Cup finals and let’s support getting rid of this carbon tax in Ottawa.

My question is for the Minister of Energy. At a time when affordability is already top of mind for many Ontarians, the Liberal carbon tax is continuing to drive costs up and up and up. And it’s not just energy costs, Speaker. The cost of food, housing and much more are all being pushed up higher by this terrible tax. That’s why it should be a given that all members in this Legislature oppose this tax. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. Rather than joining our government in calling for an end to the carbon tax, the NDP and the Liberals want to see this tax tripled by 2030.

Speaker, could the minister please explain what steps our government is taking to support our clean energy future without resorting to a carbon tax?

My question is for the Minister of Indigenous Affairs and Northern Development. The Liberal carbon tax is exacerbating the financial pressures many people in Ontario are currently facing, and I hear it every day in my riding of Stormont–Dundas–South Glengarry.

During a time of a rising cost of living and high interest rates, the federal Liberals decided to hike the carbon tax by another 23%. This punitive tax is making everything more expensive for everyone in Ontario, especially in the north, in cities like Thunder Bay.

While carbon tax queen Bonnie Crombie and her minivan caucus continue to work against us, we will not let that deter us from getting it done for the people of Ontario. It is time to scrap the carbon tax now.

Speaker, can the minister please explain why the people of Ontario cannot afford this Liberal tax grab?

Speaker, ignoring the detrimental effects the carbon tax has on northern Ontario is disrespectful to every person living in the north. The NDP and Liberals need to do better. They should join our government in calling on the federal government to eliminate this tax and put more money back in the people’s pockets.

Speaker, can the minister tell the House what the people of Ontario have to say about this regressive and unnecessary tax?

My question is for the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Just like every other Ontarian across the province, rural residents are feeling the financial pressures created by the federal carbon tax. They experience unique challenges as they have to travel farther and for longer to go anywhere. They face higher costs across the board compared to urban regions.

Speaker, in my riding alone, in Apsley, when Sayers Foods burned, people had to travel 40, 50 kilometres to get groceries in Lakefield, Buckhorn or Bancroft because there was no other option in Apsley. Unfortunately, these are the challenges that Bonnie Crombie’s Liberals and their federal buddies can’t and won’t understand.

Our government understands that scrapping the carbon tax is the right thing to do for Ontarians who are struggling, and we’ll continue to call on the federal government to end this tax. Speaker, can the minister please explain how the carbon tax disproportionately affects rural Ontarians and their quality of life?

You know, the member from Perth–Wellington—I’m not sure if he understands how insulting it is, when people ask serious questions that are impacting the people of this province, around child care, around autism or around special education, and then the government comes back with “carbon tax.” It levels a new level of disrespect, I think, to the bigger problems.

What I will say to the member from Perth–Wellington is the reason we have a federal carbon tax is because your government dismissed the cap-and-trade program, and this is the backstop. The Supreme Court of Canada, as you all know, has said that the federal government has the right to address climate change in this manner. But we would not have that carbon tax if your Premier—because he’s not my Premier—hadn’t cut the cap-and-trade. That’s right.

This is the frustration, Madam Speaker. We have a carbon tax in Ontario because of this government, because they failed around the cap-and-trade piece. But they have their own made-in-Ontario industrial compliance fee, which is a carbon tax, which you don’t talk about in this House. But we are going to talk about it, because it needs transparency. That’s what we want from that.

In committee, we spoke to housing stakeholders across this province. They all agreed that the carbon tax is increasing the cost of housing.

On April 1, the carbon tax went up 23%. Those costs are getting out of control. The people of Ontario cannot afford this awful tax, and that continues to spike, year over year.

Speaker, can the member opposite tell us if he or his colleagues in this House have spoken to members of their federal party friends to stop supporting this costly tax on housing?