Shame on you.

It’s always a great day when Percy Hatfield is in our presence, so welcome.

Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, or as I dub him, the minister for green automotive production, Windsor-Essex.

The carbon tax is hurting businesses and families back home and right across the province. As the Premier has repeatedly said, it is truly the worst tax. It is an inflationary tax that penalizes the hard-working men and women who are the backbone of our economy.

Ontario is home to a wealth of skilled workers in key sectors that will be vital to the province’s economic success and prosperity in the years to come. The last thing a government should be doing is hiking taxes on workers and chasing them away.

Speaker, can the minister please explain what he is hearing from companies and workers about the carbon tax?

They had a clear choice in the by-elections in Milton and Lambton–Kent–Middlesex. Certainly, knocking on those doors, I received that message loud and clear. They could vote for our government, who will always have their backs and fight to keep costs down, or they could vote for the Liberals and NDP, who endorse the carbon tax and will never stand up to their federal cousins in Ottawa. It’s no shock that they chose to elect two excellent, new PC MPPs, who are already important members of our government, as we fight against unnecessary Liberal tax hikes.

Speaker, can the minister please elaborate on why Liberals need to scrap their carbon tax?

Speaker, when people have the courage to reach out for mental health help, there must be someone there to listen and guide them to proper services.

When Amanda called a 24/7 hotline, and despite the receptionist exclaiming, “Wow, that’s a lot,” there was no one Amanda could talk to in that moment.

Children’s mental health wait-lists are years long. Students aren’t getting any mental health supports in schools. There are just so many other areas where this government can’t get their act together.

Why is this government underfunding CMHA and disregarding their wise funding requests in budget 2024?

This week, Canadians are celebrating the introduction of universal pharmacare. A big part of this commitment includes access to contraception. This will make a huge difference to realizing reproductive health and equity for women, queer, trans and non-binary people. We can make it easier for people to plan their pregnancies and improve maternal and child health care outcomes. We could eliminate the cost burden for these communities at a time when cost of living is becoming unbearable. But this government is refusing to make this happen.

My question is to the Premier: How long will Ontarians have to wait for this Ontario government to commit to universal pharmacare?

Interjections.

But anyway, back to the Premier: This government is playing political games with people’s health. They don’t care about the health and safety of women, queer, trans and non-binary people. Just ask them. If they did, they would understand the urgency of bringing no-cost contraception to Ontarians. They’re ignoring the problem, just like you’ve done with $10-a-day childcare.

This government has shown community members and their families their well-being is not their priority. Ontarians deserve better. So I’m going back to the Premier: When will this government start prioritizing the things that actually matter to Ontarians, stop playing political games and stop prioritizing beer and wine? Prioritize the people.

Interjections.

Speaker, we just returned from the BIO International Convention to promote Ontario’s thriving life sciences ecosystem. We talked about companies around the globe, and they’re intrigued by how rapidly Ontario life science is continuing to grow.

Ontario has the best talent pool with over 70,000 STEM grads annually coming out of our renowned post-secondary institutions. We want those workers to stay here in Ontario and succeed, which is why we’ve taken action to lower taxes, so they can keep more of what they earn.

But with the Liberal carbon tax, the federal government is moving in the opposite direction. They’re making life less affordable and risking the progress that we have made, Speaker. We need them to come around. Follow our lead. Scrap the carbon tax today.

The Liberals put up mountains of red tape. They hiked tax after tax after tax and they scared businesses away: 300,000 manufacturing jobs fled the province and key industries were on the brink of collapse. And now, the federal Liberals are trying to do this all over again with their carbon tax.

We need the Liberals to reverse course. Speaker, we ask them: Listen to the hard-working people and businesses in Ontario. Scrap the carbon tax today.

Frankly, we’re still trying to figure out when the federal government is going to share their plans.

We have been in the pharmacare space in Ontario for many, many decades; the member opposite would know this. We have OHIP+—25-and-under individuals who have access to free pharmaceuticals. We have a seniors-plus program. We have a Trillium drug plan program. We have ensured that we fill those gaps where we see the need in our community, and we’ll continue to do that.

I think if the member opposite would like to be of assistance, she could actually talk to the federal NDP and say, “Why are you supporting a program that has no details and no benefits?”

Speaker, earlier this morning, I had an opportunity to talk to over 600 providers who are working in community health centres doing the work that this member is, frankly, dismissing. We will continue to make those investments, because we see that when we work with people, when we work with communities, when we make those investments, that’s when you see a difference—not when the NDP members spew facts that, frankly, have no reality.

Members will please take their seats.

Deputy Premier and Minister of Health.

Minister of Health.

I’m not aware of there being issues with respect to funding CMHA. As a matter of fact, we spend a great deal of money working with CMHA to provide the great services they do throughout the province of Ontario.

In fact, we partner up with them in many of the services that are being provided. Whether it’s the mobile crisis response teams, whether it’s providing the supports and services in our children and youth sector, whether it’s in the youth wellness hubs, whether it’s their centres where they’re dealing with crisis, whether it’s in the crisis centres that they’re operating for us around the centre, we are investing. And this government continues to invest in building a continuum of care that’s based in all the communities, so that the supports and services are provided close to home to individuals.

The government has made incredible investments—over $500 million a year—to build this system, and it’s continuing to build the system, notwithstanding the neglect of the past government, supported by the NDP. The government is making investments and creating that continuum of care, and it is making a real difference, thanks to the partnerships—

Speaker, the minister says this government is building, and we are here to say that this government needs to build faster.

It seems to me that there’s more interest from this government in billion-dollar buck-a-beer—while London’s mobile crisis response COAST program is not funded at all by this government.

Mental health funding isn’t making it to people when and where they need it. People like Amanda deserve to get supports in times of need.

When will this government admit they’re failing when it comes to addressing the mental health needs of Ontarians?

My question is for the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport. The Liberal carbon tax is driving up the cost of everyday essentials and making life unaffordable for Ontarians. With summer fast approaching, many families are looking forward to taking some time off and exploring our province with their loved ones, but the carbon tax continues to wreak havoc on our economy, including our cherished and world-class tourism sector.

Just last week, Bonnie Crombie’s federal cousins suggested that the cost of a family road trip is akin to letting the planet burn. It is shocking to hear how out of touch the Liberals are with Ontario families.

Speaker, could the minister please tell the House how the federal Liberal carbon tax is impacting summer plans for Ontarians?

Speaker, it’s perplexing how the Liberals and NDP can ignore the heavy burden the carbon tax puts on families. Every day, we hear more about how people are struggling with the increasing cost of basic necessities. Parents taking their kids to hockey practice or on a road trip are now paying more at the gas pump. That’s not right. Ontarians deserve to enjoy the summer season with their loved ones and explore our province without worrying about extra costs.

Speaker, could the parliamentary assistant please explain to the House what our government is doing to get people on the road and support summer tourism?

Thank you very much.

Supplementary question?

The supplementary question.

Minister of Finance.

The next question.

Again, I’m surprised that that would be a comment coming—that we’re failing. If you look at what we inherited from the past government and the investments that we’re making, building a system that did not exist in the past, one of the things you should be saying is the accolades that we should be getting for the work that we’re doing. To build a system, you don’t do it overnight. The investments we’re making are sizable, given the fact that we are making significant changes throughout the system, not just in providing the supports and services that are desperately needed throughout the province, but also trying to reduce the demand and the needs for those services by investing in innovation, like youth wellness hubs—27 of them, to be exact—throughout the province of Ontario. Making upstream investments will ensure that in the future the services that are being developed today are going to be sized to the needs of the province.

That’s what this government is doing. It’s focused and will continue to build a system of care for everyone in the province.

My question is for the Premier.

Mr. Speaker, over the years, I’ve received numerous emails, phone calls and letters about the state of our education system. Recently, Catholic teachers reached out to articulate concerns about the teacher shortage, the billions in repair backlog, and the lack of per pupil funding. But what I’ve rarely been asked about is greater access to the sale of beer and wine.

I don’t mind selling beer and wine at the corner store, but as a fiscal conservative, I do mind the billion-dollar price tag that comes along with it. I wonder how this government is going to make up the billion-dollar shortfall, already having ballooned the provincial debt by nearly $100 billion. Taking on more debt is not a fiscally responsible approach.

My question: To avoid taking on massive amounts of new debt, why won’t this government auction licences to sell alcohol and beer, like Conservative governments in Alberta and Saskatchewan, and use that money to better fund our education system?

How can they justify two million Ontarians going without a family doctor? Imagine, Mr. Speaker, every resident of the combined cities of Ottawa, Windsor, London, Kingston and Guelph—no family doctor.

Is the price tag of a billion dollars really worth the opportunity to go buy a six-pack at the corner store? Is that really what’s going to solve our problems? How about a billion dollars to reduce the surgical backlog that a quarter-million Ontarians are facing?

Auctioning the licences like true conservative governments in Alberta and Saskatchewan have done would raise hundreds of millions of dollars, money that could be invested—

Mr. Speaker, what the member opposite is really saying is that what their party would do is they would increase the taxes and the fees on the consumers and the small businesses of Ontario. Is that the right thing to do? I don’t think so.

We heard from people, we heard from businesses, and they want to stimulate the economic activity of Ontario. The convenience store association said this will create thousands of jobs. The grape growers, the wine growers, the craft brewers, the cideries across Ontario—this is good for Ontario.

I don’t know what the member opposite has against Ontario businesses. I don’t know why the member opposite would want to increase fees and taxes.

This is a government that cuts fees and taxes.

We’ll update the numbers this fall, for sure.

I’ll remind the member opposite, this member’s party also increased the debt to the highest subnational debt in the world. Their government got downgraded—

Interjections.

In fact, that’s reversing the trend. It took 15 years to bury this province. It’s taken us six short years to turn the economy around.

As my colleague here says, 300,000 tail lights leaving Ontario, 700,000 headlights bringing jobs back in Ontario.

This just never occurred to the member opposite, that you can be fiscally responsible—

Against.

I want to thank the member for Mississauga–Erin Mills for his leadership on ensuring that we have a strong tourism sector here in the province of Ontario.

But I have to tell you, Speaker, when I heard that the Liberal members of Parliament were saying that people shouldn’t be going on road trips this summer, my jaw hit the floor. And I’ll tell you right now, when we talk to the people of Ontario, we know that they want to get out there, and they want to hit the road, but I’m thinking that right now the federal Liberals should be hitting the road, too, because when you look at the fact that we have a long tradition here in Ontario of people being able to get out and enjoy small towns and big cities across this province, whether you’re going up to Kenora, whether you’re stopping by Lanark county, whether you’re visiting Kingsville, we know that the people of Ontario have the right to be able to enjoy those opportunities.

We, unlike the federal Liberals, believe in the rights of the people of Ontario to go out, enjoy a road trip and ensure that they’re spending a little bit of money on the road as well to support our local businesses. So we’re going to continue to cut costs for those families and encourage them to be able to get out, make a road trip.

Come down to Niagara. We’d love to have you.

Ma question est pour la ministre de la Santé. Today, paramedics and dispatchers from Thunder Bay to Kingston and all across our province have come to Queen’s Park to share with us legislators the challenges they are facing on the front line of emergency care here in Ontario.

All political parties are sending representatives, but a month after the invitations were sent, only one representative from Mr. Ford’s government is confirmed to attend. Will the minister accept the paramedics’ invitation and join them any time between 1 and 3 this afternoon right here at Queen’s Park?

The paramedics are not just bringing concerns from the front line; they have solutions to offer. They need the ears of decision-makers like yourself, the minister; like your parliamentary assistant; like your ADM for emergency services, who were all invited to attend.

Minister, paramedics want to know: Will you come today and listen to the concerns of the people who answer the call and help us often on the worst day of our life?

Mr. Speaker, through you, thank you for the question from the member opposite. Colleagues, do you know why we’re here? It’s her party that signed one of the worst contracts in the history of the province: a 10-year monopoly, a 10-year bad contract.

Interjections.

Let’s take a look at what this is going to do for our economy, because clearly the economy is paramount on this side of the House—economic prosperity, good jobs for people. The study from the Convenience Industry Council of Canada projects 7,000 to 7,500 new jobs in Ontario and $165 million to invest in convenience stores. The study also estimates up to $213 million in new annual tax revenues, 69% of which will go to the province.

This government has the priorities of the people of Ontario. We’re building the economy, we’re building the infrastructure and we’re supporting the workers in this great province to get it done.

If I had a billion dollars

If I had a billion dollars

Well, I’d buy you a house

I would buy you a fourplex in this housing crisis

And if I had a billion dollars

If I had a billion dollars

I’d buy equipment for your house

Maybe a nice heat pump with a rebate!

But, seriously, Mr. Speaker, how can this government possibly think getting booze in convenience stores one year early would be a priority for Ontarians in an affordability crisis, in a housing crisis, in a health care crisis, in a climate emergency?

My question to the Premier: Are you that nervous about the next election that you have to resort to games and gimmicks?

—a new Secord public school, which I talked to you about last week—they’ve been waiting forever;

—funding for Michael Garron’s redevelopment—hospitals aren’t that important these days, are they;

—cooling systems for our schools with extreme heat upon us;

—operational costs for TTC;

—family doctors for everyone;

—more affordable housing, especially assisted living.

If I had a billion dollars, I would invest in Ontario.

My question, through you, Mr. Speaker, to the Premier: Why are you spending a billion dollars on booze? Why are your priorities so skewed?