I’d like to wish a warm welcome to Chris Johnson, senior pastor at the Kitchener-Waterloo Seventh-Day Adventist Church, as well as my great friend Joseph Richards, also from the Seventh-day Adventist church. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

I would like to extend to several members of the community—Mitusaan Kugathasan, student trustee for York region; Hishane Kugathasan, who’s a great volunteer from Markham–Thornhill and Markham–Stouffville; and also Sivarathy Subramaniam. Thank you for coming and for all the hard work you do for our community. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Good morning. I have in the members’ gallery an Oakville resident I’d like to introduce: Andrei Adam.

I just got a note from a good friend of ours who is watching the last proceedings of this session, Barbara Stevens. Hello. It’s good to see you in TV land today.

I’d like to welcome to the House a friend, Holy Trinity high school student Adam Chambers. Enjoy your day today, Adam. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Out in TV land there—the member from Kitchener–Conestoga reminded me—there’s a Mrs. Given who watches question period every day from out in Brampton. Hello, Mrs. Given. I’m here today.

I’d like to welcome to Queen’s Park today two constituents of mine, Jake Deacon and Albert Schultz, from Northumberland–Peterborough South and specifically Port Hope. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

She’s a little late coming in, but I would like to welcome Regional Councillor Haley Bateman from the city of St. Catharines. Welcome to your House.

I know my parents are watching today. It is the last sessional day. I just want to wish my mother a happy 80th birthday on Saturday.

Ladies and gentlemen, as we eagerly approach the vibrant summer season, I am thrilled to highlight the array of exciting events taking place in our beloved riding. From cultural festivals to community gatherings, there is something for everyone to enjoy.

Picture the roar of the engines at the Pain Court tractor pull, the savoury aroma of barbecue at Strathroy Ribfest, and the vintage cars at the Bothwell car show and the Wallaceburg WAMBO. There are plenty of Ontario-style events for every community across Lambton–Kent–Middlesex. From the Lucan Summerfest and the Thamesville Threshing Festival to the historic significance of Emancipation Day in Dresden, as well as the bustling night market, these events are not just about entertainment; they’re a celebration of our communities and traditions. Furthermore, these events serve as a testament to the resilience and vitality of our community.

By supporting local initiatives, we bolster our economy and foster a sense of pride in our shared identity. Let’s not just attend; let’s actively participate, volunteer and support these events.

As your representative, I am committed to promoting and enhancing the quality of life in our riding. Together, let’s make this summer one to remember, filled with joy, laughter and a deep appreciation for all that our community has to offer.

Thank you for your continued support. I look forward to seeing you at these upcoming events.

As I said yesterday, the FAO’s opinions don’t reflect actual government spending and investments.

And I’ll make it very clear, Mr. Speaker. Again, the opposition sometimes struggles with facts, so I’ll say it as slowly as I can: Investments in the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services increased by more than $630 million this year. Every single program under our ministry has seen an increase of investment.

The year before, the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services received an investment of more than $900 million, $1.2 billion the year before.

Now, what has the opposition done? Voted against every single measure to make life more affordable, make the services more accessible for Ontarians. So of course Ontarians are seeing it. That’s why they returned two members from two by-elections and the NDP were shut out once again in this province—

Interjections.

Thank you. Members may take their seats.

Government House leader.

Government House leader.

Supplementary question?

Mr. Speaker, look, when we came to office in 2018, we inherited a province of Ontario that was in deep trouble, a province that had out-of-control taxes, a province that had out-of-control red tape, a province that had lost 300,000 jobs. Our manufacturers were being hollowed out. We had communities fighting each other with respect to energy in the province of Ontario. People were having to make the choice between heating or eating.

What we have now is a province that has created over 700,000 jobs. Some $40 billion worth of economic activity is coming back. Our manufacturers are creating jobs like never before. Eight billion dollars of costs to those job creators has been removed. We have removed red tape from them, Mr. Speaker. We’ve lowered taxes for the people of the province of Ontario. We’re building hospitals and long-term-care homes. We’re rebuilding our education system.

The job isn’t done, Mr. Speaker, but we are going to continue on the path of rebuilding the province of Ontario.

The people of the province of Ontario understand that in 2018, when we came to office, we had a province that was bleeding jobs to other provinces and to the United States. Some 300,000 jobs were lost. The manufacturing sector in this province was hollowed out, Mr. Speaker. Our students were not achieving the results that they should be. Our hospitals were not at the height of what they could be for the people of the province of Ontario. The health care advantage that we’d had, we had lost.

Fast-forward to today, and I will admit that the job is not done. We have created the conditions for over 700,000 jobs; $40 billion worth of economic activity is coming back to the province of Ontario, and we’re doing that while removing costs for the people of the province of Ontario, lowering taxes, cutting red tape, building a bigger, better, stronger, safer Ontario.

What we have done since then is reinvest in the people of the province of Ontario. We’ve lowered taxes. We’ve brought back investments.

She talks about the friends of the government. The people I consider friends are the 700,000 Ontarians who have the dignity of a job, who have hope and opportunity and a bigger, better, stronger—

Interjections.

The member’s all over the map.

Good morning, Speaker. Looking back on the past few months, I am struck by the fact that, on so many issues, whether it’s health care or housing or making life more affordable, the government has let people down. They’ve shown that in their priorities. People are struggling to find a family doctor and rural emergency rooms are closing while this government subsidizes a private luxury spa in downtown Toronto. While the price of housing ballooned and housing starts dropped, this government spent the season reversing their own legislation and blocking new housing.

My question to the Premier is, will the Premier admit that he has lost touch with the people of Ontario?

People expect their Premier to be working hard every day to make their lives better. But what they’ve got instead is somebody who puts his interests and his friends first every single time. Instead of hiring more doctors or building more housing or strengthening our local schools, we’ve got backroom deals, RCMP criminal investigations and hundreds of millions of dollars wasted breaking contracts.

What does the Premier have to say to hard-working Ontarians who feel like they have taken a back seat to his pet projects?

Interjections.

When will this government start saying yes to real solutions for real people?

Interjections.

Yesterday, the Financial Accountability Office released its report into the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services. For millions of Ontarians, it should be pretty clear today that they are not this government’s priority. Leaping from the page is the FAO’s projection that there’s going to be an overall shortfall of $3.7 billion. That’s the difference between what the government has allocated and what’s needed to maintain program funding levels.

Speaker, can the Premier explain this discrepancy?

Once again, I will gladly share some facts with the leader of the official opposition, because they always seem to miss them. You’ll see them every quarter, Mr. Speaker—they’ll get up and talk about the numbers. When public accounts and actual numbers come out—silence over there, because they have absolutely nothing to say to facts. The cameras are off at that point. You’ll never hear the NDP go in front of cameras at that point. The facts speak for themselves.

When it comes to the Ontario Autism Program, I’ll say that the FAO assigned an average number to the children and youth in the program. There is no such thing as an average child with autism. The OAP does not treat children and youth as statistics. Support is based on individual needs.

Mr. Speaker, as I’ve said many times, we doubled the Ontario Autism Program. It was the community that built this program. This year, we increased the investment by over $120 million. This isn’t even the same—

Mr. Speaker, the program that we have now is nowhere near the program before. The Ontario Autism Program is a world-class, needs-based program that is delivering.

Let’s do a compare and contrast, because I know the opposition likes it. Before, families received one service. Today, just the core clinical service—ABA, speech-language pathology, mental health support. On top of that, families have access to free services as soon as they register with AccessOAP: entry to school, family foundational services, urgent response.

We will not leave any child—

Interjections.

Speaker, this week, the National Council of Canadian Muslims members attended Queen’s Park, and they met with all party members. Even the Premier met with Esa, a cousin of 15-year-old Yumnah who was killed on this day three years ago, alongside with her parents and grandmother.

The Afzaal family was a target of hate just because they were Muslim. Racism and hate against the Muslim community has been getting worse. The Muslim community has gone through so much, and the terrorist attack on the Afzaal family has left the Muslim community asking, when will the members of this Legislature put words into action and address rising hate and Islamophobia?

Constituents in my riding of Niagara West have come to me now for several years sharing their concerns about the pinch of the federal carbon tax. Each and every April, we’ve seen this job-killing, expensive carbon tax increase, putting more and more pressures and costs on the people of Ontario.

My question to the Minister of Energy: As our government looks at the increase in the carbon tax that is impacting families, and as we head into a summer season where we know families are hoping to get out on a road trip, visit places like Niagara region and experience some of the best that this province has to offer, what is our government doing to ensure that we are fighting this job-killing, expensive carbon tax and putting more money back into the pockets of the hard-working people in Niagara West?

From corner to corner of my riding, from lake to lake, people are telling me that it’s too expensive to pay the carbon tax and they want to see a government here in Ontario that is standing up for them. So my question to the Minister of Energy: How is this government defending the hard-working people of this province and fighting the job-killing carbon—

Speaker, families of kids with autism have been on a roller-coaster ride of changing programs and reversals and overhauls. They deserve a program that works. The FAO’s report shows very clearly that, again, social services are going to be underfunded by about $3.7 billion.

Those families deserve a program that works—one that can deliver for them not only the funding that they desperately need, but also the services to help their kids while they can still make a difference. So I want the Premier to explain to people and families in need why he is underfunding social services by $3.7 billion.

Here’s another number for the government: 70,000—70,000 children on the wait-list for autism services.

Interjection.

Spending on child and youth services, which includes the autism program, is only expected to grow by 0.2% over the next five years.

Can you imagine, Speaker, that this year, only one in seven of those kids on that wait-list are going to get the services they need—10,000 out of 70,000 kids in need.

I want to ask the Premier, on what planet does he think that that is acceptable to the people of the province of Ontario?

Interjections.