Thanks to the member from Brampton. It’s great to get a question that is tough but fair from him this morning.

Unlike the NDP and the Liberal caucus and the queen of the carbon tax, Bonnie Crombie, we’re against a carbon tax in Ontario. The greens, the reds, the oranges—they’re in favour of a carbon tax.

As families are getting out on the road this summer, maybe the Liberals will be getting into their minivan and travel to southwestern Ontario to visit their members—oh, hold on, they don’t have any members in southwestern Ontario, so they won’t be going to visit their members. But it’s going to cost them a lot more to fuel up that minivan.

Families are fuelling up their minivans; it’s going to cost them more. Energy costs, gasoline costs, groceries—it’s all going up.

The Premier Ford team here in Ontario is making life more affordable for the people of Ontario—cutting taxes, cutting fees, cutting tolls, cutting the carbon tax.

We do have a plan, Powering Ontario’s Growth, and seeing the types of investment that the Minister of Economic Development and the Premier were at yesterday in the Niagara region—multi-billion dollar investments are coming back. It’s because we’re cutting the costs of doing business and making life more affordable for the people of Ontario.

While the queen of the carbon tax, Bonnie Crombie, is in full support of the federal carbon tax, we are not.

I know we’ve got some good folks here from rural Ontario who are going to the pumps every day. We’ve got some beef farmers here from Grey county as well, and the cost of them doing business is going up billions of dollars over time because of the increased carbon tax. It’s only going to continue to keep going up and up and up.

We’re making life more affordable. I know the member from Brampton really loves the One Fare program that’s been brought in for transit riders. It’s going to cut the cost by $1,600 a year. We’ve cut the gas tax, 10.7 cents a litre, making life more affordable. Cutting licence plate sticker fees, cutting taxes—

Interjection.

Thank you to the member opposite for the question this morning.

The federal government has imposed this torturous federal carbon tax on the people of Ontario and the people across Canada, and we know that the queen of the carbon tax, Bonnie Crombie, is happy to have this carbon tax in place. Her counterpart federally, Minister Guilbeault, her buddy on Parliament Hill, has said that the queen of the carbon tax is happy to have that federal carbon tax in place. We know that the caucus here supports that increased tax and what it’s doing to drive up the cost of everything. The NDP supports that tax, and the Green Party leadership here supports that, as well.

I want them to hear this: Last night, I was speaking at the net-zero forum put on by the Transition Accelerator. They applaud our plan, which is reducing emissions and growing our province’s economy.

We are doing a lot. She referenced the massive energy procurement last week for storage. The largest storage facility is actually going to be in the riding of our good member from the riding that’s way too long to mention—the Brockville region. That’s going to ensure that there is secure, reliable electricity in eastern Ontario for future growth, the kind of growth that we saw yesterday, with Asahi Kasei—I said that wrong, but the Minister of Economic Development is going to support me on this. It was an almost $2-billion announcement down in the Niagara region yesterday, building on the $43 billion of new investment that we’ve seen across the province.

Our Powering Ontario’s Growth plan is working. Even the environmental organizations that I met with last night at the Transition Accelerator are endorsing the Powering Ontario’s Growth plan because we’re reducing emissions, providing reliable clean power for our province and watching our economy grow at the same time.

Such a pleasure to listen to a member of the NDP who actually understands that there is a need for natural gas, because not everyone over there—and I didn’t hear all your remarks; I apologize. But I did hear some of them. Sometimes I wonder how this member continues to exist in the NDP caucus, because he thinks a lot like us at times.

But seriously, we are going back and putting a natural gas policy statement in the window for the Ontario Energy Board, which should clearly understand our mandate, and that is to continue the type of growth and prosperity that our province is seeing. I think this member actually does understand that in order for us to continue to see the massive investments in our province, we have to have a reliable, stable, affordable grid, and that includes natural gas and nuclear. But I’ll let him expand on that, if he would.

I’d like to thank the leader of the Green Party for his always thoughtful commentary that he brings to the House. He does a great job. It was very enjoyable listening to his 10 minutes of comments. He cherry-picked a lot of interesting statistics that he threw out, and it’s a lot to unpack in a one-minute question.

He did touch on the fact that we do have very, very affordable and reliable natural gas home heating in our province. and it is rate-regulated. I think that’s really important.

The member talked about how people are moving en masse to heat pumps in Europe. Well, there’s a reason for that. It’s because the cost of natural gas across Europe has soared over the last number of years, far beyond the price of natural gas in our regulated province.

The question I have for the member opposite is, does he believe that the system operator, the IESO, is prepared to power all of those natural gas heaters—sorry, that would be coming off with heat pumps?

Does the leader of the Green Party believe in an orderly transition, or does he just believe in going all green and torpedoes be damned?

Thanks to the member from Hamilton for her comments earlier, in her 20-minute speech.

We are very fortunate; we have one of the cleanest grids in the entire world here in Ontario.

I know that the NDP critic for energy is opposed to natural gas. He would like to rip out all the natural gas today. He’s also opposed to nuclear, which provides almost 60% of our electricity, and that’s emissions-free, baseload power that we keep investing in in the province.

Our goal at the Ministry of Energy is to ensure that we have affordable, reliable and clean energy production—and reliable is a big, big, big part of it, because if the lights go out, then there’s going to be chaos in our province.

Don’t you think—and this is to the member opposite—that it would have made sense for the Ontario Energy Board to have heard from the IESO at the hearings that would decide whether or not the next one and a half million homes we’re going to build in our province would all move to electric?

We acted quickly. Why? Because reliability of our electricity system in our province is paramount, and ensuring that we’re keeping new homes as affordable as possible is paramount. When you look at the fact that the IESO, the Independent Electricity System Operator, wasn’t asked for their opinion on whether or not we had the electricity in the province to continue to power the one and a half million new homes that are going to be built, that’s a big, big problem. The IESO was not called to testify at the hearings. And the OEB ruled, themselves, that it was going to cost about $5,000 more per home.

What I’d really like to know from the member opposite is, if she’s against natural gas and she’s against nuclear, how is she going to power our province?

Thanks to the member from Oakville for the great question. The carbon tax is a terrible tax, and it’s hurting us right now, but the worst part of this tale is that the tax is going to go up and up and up every April 1.

Our good friend from Quebec is here as well: La taxe de carbone va augmenter de plus en plus en plus, and that’s bad news. That’s bad news for the people of Ontario. It’s bad news for the people in Quebec. It’s bad news for the people right across our country.

Our government is doing things differently.

The queen of the carbon tax, Bonnie Crombie, is in full support of the Prime Minister and the federal carbon tax. The NDP are in full support of the carbon tax. Mr. Green over here is in full support of the carbon tax, as well.

The Premier and our government are not in support of a carbon tax. As a matter of fact, we’re continuing to lead the country in driving down emissions without a carbon tax.

We are investing in our hydro facilities. Over the last two weeks, I’ve been in Cornwall, with the great member from Stormont–Dundas–South Glengarry, and down in Niagara at the Sir Adam Beck facility, announcing refurbishments of our hydroelectric fleet.

We just had the largest procurement of battery storage in Canada’s history last week, to make sure that our non-emitting resources are working more efficiently and that we have the power we’re going to need to continue to attract the multi-billion dollar investments, like the ones that are being made today down in Niagara,

Thanks very much to the great member from Mississauga Centre for the question today. She’s absolutely right; the federal carbon tax is driving up the price of everything in our province, and the Bank of Canada has confirmed it’s even having an impact on inflation in our province.

The queen of the carbon tax, Bonnie Crombie, the former mayor of Mississauga, supports the federal carbon tax, the NDP want to have the largest carbon tax in the land and the Greens are in full support of a carbon tax as well. We’re not. Premier Ford and our team are making life less expensive by cutting gas taxes, bringing in One Fare for our transit riders in Mississauga and other communities across the GTHA, cutting tolls and cutting taxes. We’re about making life more affordable and making this a friendly business environment.

The carbon tax: The member talked about the impact that it’s having on businesses. There is $1.3 billion owed to small businesses as a result of the carbon tax in our province. That money has yet to flow to them.

We already have one of the cleanest grids in the entire world, but we can continue to clean that grid, grow that grid, so we can grow businesses in our province by investing in nuclear, which we’re doing at Bruce and at Darlington and at Pickering, but also refurbishing our hydroelectric fleets that we have across the province, energy-efficiency programs—a billion dollars in that program—procuring new energy storage. The largest procurement of energy storage happened here in Ontario last week—another 1,800 megawatts there.

We can get the power that we need, and we don’t need a costly carbon—

Speaker, it’s no surprise to anyone, especially the member from Oakville, that the federal Liberal government’s carbon tax is making life more expensive for the people of Ontario and the people of Canada. That’s why we’re taking a different route. We’re procuring clean energy.

Just last week, I was down at the Power of Water Canada conference in Niagara, announcing a new small hydro program, a new northern hydro program, for 10-megawatt facilities and larger. It’s why I was in Cornwall with the great member from Stormont–Dundas–South Glengarry on Friday, announcing that we were refurbishing the Saunders dam, a huge facility connecting Lake Ontario and the Great Lakes system to the Atlantic Ocean and providing clean electricity for over a million homes in our province. That work has started to refurbish that facility. Last week was a busy week when it comes to procuring clean energy for our province.

The one thing that our Powering Ontario’s Growth plan doesn’t include is a carbon tax because we don’t need it. All it does is punish the people of Ontario.

There’s only one party in this Legislature that’s opposed to a carbon tax, and that’s Premier Ford and our team. Instead, we’re doing the kinds of things that I talked about earlier: procuring new clean, non-emitting generation. That includes refurbishing our nuclear facilities that we have across the province, including at Pickering and at Darlington and at Bruce, and building small modular reactors at Darlington.

Last week, we had the largest procurement in Canada’s history for clean energy storage. Another 1,800 megawatts are being added right across our province to ensure that our system remains clean and reliable. Our plan, Powering Ontario’s Growth, which is working—

Interjections.

Speaker, I want to thank the great member from Markham for that question. It made a lot of sense.

And the previous question that we heard, from the Liberal member from Scarborough–Guildwood, was actually a very fair question as well. She was talking about the fact that it’s difficult for people right now to afford paying their heating, paying for the price at the pumps. Their groceries are going up in price. I can almost sense a little bit of a chasm forming in the teeny, tiny Liberal caucus led by the queen of the carbon tax, Bonnie Crombie, because the queen of the carbon tax, Bonnie Crombie, is in full support of the federal carbon tax, which is driving up the price of gasoline and home heating and groceries. Maybe this member is going to stand up to Bonnie Crombie and Justin Trudeau and talk about the issues that are facing Scarborough, because I’ll tell you right now, her leader isn’t doing that, Mr. Speaker, and her leader just got wiped out in Milton and just got wiped out in Lambton–Kent–Middlesex.

What does that plan not include? A carbon tax, which is driving up the price of everything in our province.

And it’s these Liberal quixotic points of view—unrealistic, unpragmatic views—that have cost our province in the past and are continuing to cost our province now. It’s just a different group. It used to be Kathleen Wynne, and it used to be Dalton McGuinty bringing in the Green Energy Act, now it’s Justin Trudeau, supported by the queen of the carbon tax, Bonnie Crombie, who’s driving up the price of everything.

In spite of that, our plan is working. Again, it’s called Powering Ontario’s Growth, and we’re seeing multi-billion dollar investments in our—

Speaker, the member opposite knows exactly what we’re doing because he’s a huge champion of the investments that we’re making in our nuclear sector, coming from the Durham region, Canada’s clean energy capital—the refurbishments that are going on at places like Darlington and soon will be going on at the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station; also the new development of small modular reactors.

Mr. Speaker, we know we don’t need a punitive carbon tax in Canada or in Ontario. It’s simply not working. But the queen of the carbon tax, Bonnie Crombie, and the king of the carbon tax, Justin Trudeau, are continuing to make people pay more. They’re making them pay more on their home heating bills. They’re making them pay more on their gasoline fuel-ups. They’re making them pay more on their groceries.

My parliamentary assistant and I were even saying this morning that the Queen’s Park media gallery spring fling next week has even doubled in price, up to $80 next week, Mr. Speaker. Now, I don’t know if we can blame Bonnie Crombie and Justin Trudeau for that, but it’s 80 bucks this year.

So we can do this without increasing the carbon tax—

Interjection.

Interjections.

There’s no bones about it. It’s costing everybody more to live in our province and the carbon tax is driving that, not just in Ontario but right across the country.

But our plan is working here in Ontario. Our energy plan is called Powering Ontario’s Growth, investing in new and refurbishing our nuclear reactors, investing in multi-billion dollar refurbishments of our hydroelectric facilities, building the country’s largest energy storage in a competitive process and other non-emitting renewables that are coming onto the grid in the future that are going to continue to ensure that we are the economic powerhouse in North America.

We’re landing deals like $15-billion Honda deal—

Interjection.

Thanks to the member from the Cornwall region for his question this morning.

We’re doing a lot here in Ontario to ensure that we’re combatting the punishing impact of the carbon tax on the people of Ontario, and that includes the gas tax break, eliminating tolls in eastern Ontario, ending the licence plate sticker fees, ending that very costly and wasteful Drive Clean program which was just another scam, and ensuring we’re bringing in One Fare.

We’re also investing in clean infrastructure for the future that’s going to ensure we have the energy we need that’s affordable, reliable and clean.

I’ve mentioned a few times in the House that a couple of weeks ago I was down at Sir Adam Beck talking about our billion-dollar investments in refurbishing our hydroelectric facilities in Niagara.

I’m really looking forward to joining the member from Cornwall a little bit later on this week, when we’re going to be making a similar announcement in his riding, ensuring we’ve got clean energy for the future.

We’re also refurbishing our nuclear facilities, and this is a tremendous story. The world really is watching what’s happening here in Ontario—not just in the evolution of our EV sector and EV battery sector, but in our nuclear sector. We’re building the first small modular reactor in the Western world at Darlington. We’re refurbishing the Candu reactors that we have—multi-billion dollar investments that aren’t just coming in on time and on budget; they’re coming in ahead of time.

We are building battery storage facilities and other non-emitting resources to make sure that our system is operating as efficiently as possible, investing in energy efficiency programs like the Peak Perks program and the ultra-low overnight rate for charging the EVs and cars of the future.

We have a plan, and it’s—

Thanks to the member from Kitchener–Conestoga for his question this morning.

The carbon tax, obviously, is impacting the price of gasoline, but it’s also impacting the price of everything.

I couldn’t help but picture the Harris family of seven as they load into their minivan and maybe head for a holiday this summer—the price that they’re going to be paying at the pumps to fill that van, at $1.65 a litre or whatever it is today. That family of seven—incidentally, when I think about it, if the Harris family was a caucus, they’d be almost the same size as the Liberal caucus here in the Legislature—can rest assured that they’re getting a 10.7-cents-a-litre break from Premier Ford and our government here in Ontario. They’re also not going to have to pay the tolls if they come visit me in eastern Ontario. The tolls are gone in eastern Ontario. Licence plate sticker fees are gone.

This is the contrast between our government and the queen of the carbon tax, Bonnie Crombie, and the federal Liberals. We’re looking to save people money. They’re making life more expensive. It’s time for them to scrap that tax.

As the NDP and the Liberals always look to increase taxes or make life more expensive for the people of Ontario, we’re trying to drive costs down through things like I mentioned earlier: the gas tax break; eliminating the licence plate sticker fees; income tax breaks; ending the tolls; making One Fare for our transit operators a possibility, saving people up to $1,600 a year. These are real, tangible impacts on families like the Harris family of seven and other families right across Ontario. We’re going to be there to help those families while Bonnie Crombie, the queen of the carbon tax, and Justin Trudeau continue to make life more expensive for them.

I hope that the member’s constituent will understand that nothing new is happening here. We’re reverting back to the way it was prior to December 2023, five months ago. The same process that was in place for 40 years is in place again until we can get a new decision from the Ontario Energy Board, after we set a natural gas policy statement for them to consider.

The one thing that is clear from the commissioner’s report is that they didn’t hear from the necessary stakeholders in this process. That’s why we had to step in. They didn’t consider the impact that it would have on our electricity grid and the ability to bring the electricity to keep people warm in the wintertime. That’s why we stepped in—and to ensure that people can get into the new home market.

Natural gas in the home heating sector keeps people warm.

Natural gas in the electricity sector makes sure that we can keep the lights on, our elevators running, our traffic lights running, and our manufacturing facilities operating, and we need it. It’s our insurance policy to keep the lights on in Ontario.

Madam Speaker, if you want an example of how the NDP simply don’t understand energy policy, exhibit A was the question that we just experienced from the member opposite.

This change in policy reverts back to the policy that was in place five months ago. This is a policy that is going to ensure that we can build homes in Ontario at a lower cost for the people of Ontario. That’s why we brought forward Bill 165—to ensure that the people who wanted to get a home in our province wouldn’t have to pay more to do so.

And if they had bothered to read the commissioner’s opinion, it says right in there that it will drive up the cost of building new homes in our province.

The NDP are ideological. They listen to folks like Environmental Defence. They’re not listening to the folks who are building homes or those who are buying them.

Our government has done a lot to reduce the cost of living in Ontario. While the feds have implemented this punitive carbon tax on the people of Canada, we have reduced the price of living in Ontario, reducing red tape—the Minister of Economic Development talks about it all the time—by $8 billion, the cost of doing business in Ontario. For those who drive, the gas tax—10.7 cents a litre. Eliminating that very, very costly Drive Clean program—you will remember what a scam that was. We ended that. The member is from the Durham region. We eliminated the tolls in the Durham region. There are folks in Durham and across Ontario who take transit—implementing One Fare, which is going to save the people of Ontario $1,600 a year. At every step, we’re considering the people of Ontario and their ability to pay. That’s the difference between our PC government, under the leadership of Premier Ford, and Justin Trudeau and the federal Liberals.

Under the previous Liberal government—I know the member will remember this—they referred to the north as “no man’s land.”

We believe that northern Ontario is a land of opportunity for forestry, for mining—ensuring that we get clean electricity to these jurisdictions.

Absolutely, we’re working with those who are investing in our biomass sector in places like Atikokan and Hearst; the Calstock facilities; Kapuskasing; also, in Thunder Bay, at the former Resolute facility there. We’re re-signing all of these contracts—Hornepayne; I can’t leave them out. We’re re-contracting all of these biomass facilities, and we’re continuing to talk with the folks in the forestry sector about how we can ensure that they are a viable industry for our province moving forward.

And I love the axe. It was great.

Not only are our nuclear facilities ensuring that we have clean air in our province—the single largest greenhouse gas emissions accomplishment in North America, in eliminating coal-fired power with nuclear power—but these medical isotopes are an enormous opportunity for us to save people’s lives, not just in this country and across North America, but around the world. We are one of the superpowers when it comes to medical isotopes.

Things like cobalt-60—we provide almost 50% of the world’s cobalt-60 from our Candu facilities here in Ontario, from places like Bruce and Darlington, and soon in Pickering. Lutetium, molybdenum-99, yttrium-90—all of these medical isotopes are going to be sent around the world to help cure cancer. It’s an unbelievable story—all part of our nuclear energy advantage in Ontario.

It is the Organization of Canadian Nuclear Industries—what did I say? I don’t know. Anyway, thank you. I’d like to correct my record. I see the good people of Hansard looking me straight in the eye. OCNI is the Organization of Canadian Nuclear Industries.

I can’t finish by correcting myself. I have to talk about the fact that we have one of the cleanest, most reliable electricity grids in the entire world, something that we should be very proud of as we continue to invest. It’s going to take us a while to get those refurbishments done at places like Bruce and at OPG in Darlington, and then at the Pickering plant, where we’re refurbishing the B units there. It’s going to take us some time to build those battery storage facilities. They should be on the grid by mid-to-late next year. We’ll roll out more non-emitting resources after we get those storage facilities built in the province to ensure that our system operates more efficiently.

As a result of this pragmatic approach—and industry is seeing it, the people of Ontario are seeing it, and our farmers and agricultural sector are seeing it. They’re able to make investments in their business, in their homes, in their farms because of stable energy policy. It’s finally come back to Ontario after 15 years of skyrocketing electricity bills, uncertainty with things like the global adjustment. We brought that certainty back to Ontario.

Bill 165 builds on that certainty for people looking to invest and buy new homes in our province.

With that, I’ll turn it over to my good friend my parliamentary assistant.

Good morning, everyone. I’m going to be splitting my time today with my very energetic parliamentary assistant, the member from Renfrew–Nipissing–Pembroke, otherwise known as the Yak.

I rise today to begin third reading of Bill 165, the Keeping Energy Costs Down Act, 2024. To start, I think we need to talk about why this bill is so timely. We know that families across Ontario, right across our province, are dealing with some tough challenges these days. My colleagues and I talk about it every day in question period, with question after question about the punitive carbon tax. All families, not just those here in Ontario, but across Canada, are being hit every day by the terrible Liberal carbon tax, which is driving up the price of everything—but not just that; they’re also dealing with the impacts of high inflation, and they’re dealing with high interest rates right now. That means higher costs at the grocery store, and it means higher costs at the gasoline pump. As you’re fuelling up your vehicle, it means less money to put away for a rainy day, and it means higher mortgage costs.

Let me tell you, Speaker, the last point is really a sore spot for so many families, including those who don’t even own a home yet. So many people are striving for that dream of home ownership. They’ve saved up for a down payment in many cases, they’ve had their eye on a new house, and they’ve done everything right. But they’re dealing with a government in Ottawa that just continues to raise the price of living, which makes it all feel out of reach—and they’re doing it every April 1. That’s no April Fool’s joke. It’s causing a lot of pain for families right across our country.

That’s why we’re doing things differently here in Ontario than the way the federal government is operating in Ottawa. What we’re doing here includes things like Bill 165, which, if passed, will help keep housing and energy costs down and provide some real relief for Ontario families.

Speaker, as you probably know, one of the biggest drivers of Ontario’s increasing demand for energy is our government’s plan to build 1.5 million new homes by 2031. It’s critical that new homeowners have options available to them, including for affordable home heating. For some families, that will be electric or hybrid heating, where you pair your natural gas furnace with an electric heat pump, just like our Clean Home Heating Initiative has done in communities across the province. But for many others, they’re looking for the reliability and affordability of natural gas. I don’t think that should come as any surprise, because natural gas is already the primary heating source for about 70% of households in Ontario. Seven out of 10 homes are heated by natural gas in our province. With affordability already a top concern for the people of Ontario, we can’t make a family who’s accessing their preferred home heating option pay even more.

That’s why I was extremely disappointed in the Ontario Energy Board’s decision from December of last year that would have effectively increased the cost of new homes. Under this decision, they—and apparently the NDP and the Liberals, based on their votes at second reading in the Legislature, anyway—would like to see families pay 100% of the cost to connect to the natural gas grid upfront. That would lead to thousands of dollars being added to the cost of new homes. Those are costs that, today, are currently spread out over 40 years—just like a mortgage, amortizing it over 40 years, making it much more manageable for families buying their first home or moving to a bigger place as their kids grow up. In fact, according to the OEB’s own decision, the cost of a new home would increase by about $4,400, on average, across the province, and it would cost significantly more than that—in the tens of thousands of dollars—for those in rural Ontario, on farms and residences in more rural and remote parts of northern Ontario, in particular. That type of change wouldn’t just be a huge departure from the realities of our energy system, but it’s also a huge departure from the historical practice which has been in place since 1998.

This bill, Bill 165, would keep costs down by allowing these costs to be paid over 40 years instead of all up front. Going from 40 to zero was the decision of the OEB, which is far from rational and pragmatic. What we’re doing is, for the time being, going back to the 40-year amortization period. That’s a win for the taxpayer. It’s a win for the business owner. It’s a win for the farmer. It’s a win for the homebuyer. It’s a win for everyone in Ontario.

Ontario, like the rest of Canada, is already grappling with high interest rates and inflationary pressures, along with the impact of this terrible federal carbon tax. So how can we, in good conscience, take any action that would raise prices on the backs of first-time homebuyers and moms and dads who are looking for a bigger space for their growing families? As a government elected with a mandate to rebuild Ontario’s economy, keep costs down for people and businesses and build the homes our growing province needs, we simply can’t and won’t stand for this. We definitely can’t stand for it when we’ve had well over 200 requests from Ontario municipalities to expand access to natural gas in their communities. I want to say that again, because that’s almost half of the municipalities in Ontario that are actively calling for more natural gas in their communities.

Bill 165 would allow us to reverse this decision, to protect future homebuyers and keep shovels in the ground. But reversing the decision alone isn’t enough if we don’t address the issues that got us here in the first place.

While the Ontario Energy Board makes hundreds of decisions every year, this particular decision raised concerns instantly about public engagement in the decision-making process. In fact, in the decision, one commissioner noted that the decision on natural gas connection costs was reached without input from a number of key stakeholders. Home builders, contractors, farmers—the people and businesses who actually build the homes and feed our province—weren’t able to provide input on a decision that affects their industry drastically. That same commissioner also noted that this split decision, despite having a significant impact on electricity demand, was reached—this is really important—without input from the province’s Independent Electricity System Operator, the system manager for our electricity grid in the entire province. To quote that dissenting commissioner: “Is the scenario of no-new-gas-connections, replaced by construction of all-electric developments, feasible? For example, would electricity generators, transmitters, distributors and the IESO be able to meet Ontario’s energy demands in 2025? I don’t know,” was the answer.

As Ontario’s Minister of Energy, I find it extremely concerning to read that quote, especially when our government is focused on a pragmatic approach to supporting the electrification of home heating, transportation and manufacturing, with a focus on keeping costs down and our energy reliable so we can keep the lights on in our province and continue to see the record investment that we’ve seen in our province.

Part of our pragmatic approach—and we started this a number of years ago—was the establishment of an Electrification and Energy Transition Panel. This panel was put together to advise our government, our ministry, on the highest-value short-, medium- and long-term opportunities for the energy sector to help Ontario’s economy prepare for electrification and the energy transition. While the OEB was aware that the panel’s report was to be released around the same time of their decision, they decided to go beyond their role as an energy regulator and make a major energy policy decision without waiting for the government’s response stemming from that panel’s report. The final report, as I say, was due around the same time as the decision was made, just before Christmas. It’s unfortunate, because the panel’s recommendations and our government’s response will have a significant impact on the sector and Ontario’s planning decisions going forward.

Ultimately, more than 200 stakeholders, Indigenous partners and communities, government departments and agencies, and members of the public provided input to that panel. So all of the stakeholders that you would want participated in that panel’s discussions and deliberations. In the end, all that work resulted in serious and some very well-thought-out recommendations for the ministry and our government to consider.

For example, one of the key recommendations of the Electrification and Energy Transition Panel’s report, Ontario’s Clean Energy Opportunity, was for the government to issue a natural gas policy statement, providing clear direction for the long-term role of natural gas in Ontario. As laid out in the report, natural gas will continue to play a critical role as a source of energy in the province for a number of years to come. That recognizes the fact that any major shift away from this fuel source would require a significant build-out of our grid that could not be accomplished quickly.

We’re in the process of building new nuclear facilities at Bruce Power; small modular reactors at Darlington and other new non-emitting generation through competitive processes through the Independent Electricity System Operator; and battery storage facilities procured competitively through the IESO to ensure that those renewables that we have on the grid now and those that we will add in the future are able to provide electricity to the grid in an efficient manner and provide stability for electricity customers around the province.

No one would think that going from a 40-year period to zero years and adding thousands of dollars to the price of a home during a housing crisis is a pragmatic or responsible approach, which is the way that we’ve taken on the energy file. Even one of the OEB commissioners recommended only reducing the horizon to 20 years. When talking about the horizon, they mean the revenue horizon for paying for these pipelines.

Given these concerns, our government saw an opportunity to continue our work, originally started back in our first mandate, to modernize the Ontario Energy Board. In 2019, my predecessor, the member for Kenora–Rainy River and the Minister of Northern Development, took steps to enhance trust and transparency in Ontario’s energy sector by restructuring the OEB’s governance and operational framework. That was part of our work under the Fixing the Hydro Mess Act.

As you will recall, this government was largely elected in 2018 to a massive majority government because of the failed energy policies of the previous Liberal government. Everyone remembers the tripling price of electricity during their 10 years in power.

Today, we’re continuing to fix the hydro mess that was left to us. We’re continuing that work. And we’re responding to the concerns raised in the December 2023 decision by proposing legislative changes that would ensure major OEB decisions with far-reaching implications on our constituents, like on natural gas connection costs, don’t happen again without adequate stakeholder consultation and without all the facts about government policy priorities.

Specifically, the Keeping Energy Costs Down Act requires the Ontario Energy Board to conduct broader engagements when conducting both natural gas and electricity hearings.

If passed, Bill 165 also gives the government the authority to introduce regulations that require the OEB to notify and invite participation of testimony from specific stakeholders or economic sectors. For example, if we know a decision is going to have a major impact on a particular sector, like transit operators, low-income service providers, the construction industry or a particular government agency like the Independent Electricity System Operator, we would require, or could require, the OEB to notify them and invite their participation in the hearing.

These changes would also provide the government, through the Minister of Energy, with the authority to require a separate hearing, more formally known as a generic hearing, on any matter of public interest that could arise during an OEB proceeding. This would further ensure that Ontarians’ voices are heard on matters that will affect their families, businesses and communities. That was a change that was very much welcomed during the committee hearings that were held here at the Legislature last month.

Just take the comments of the president of the Ontario Greenhouse Alliance, Jan VanderHout—he was here last night; I saw him with TOGA. He presented on behalf of Flowers Canada. It’s amazing—my goodness—the success that Flowers Canada is having, with something like $325 million worth of flowers exported to the US last year. It’s a growing industry. Maybe my parliamentary assistant should buy some for his wife. He probably hasn’t done that in a while.

Jan VanderHout from Flowers Canada said, “This legislation will ensure that Ontario’s energy transition is practical and inclusive of a broader range of economic and social impact considerations. The consideration was poorly given to many of the rural areas, and like my colleague at OFA,” the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, “we were also not consulted—not to my knowledge, certainly—before this OEB decision was made.” He went on to say, “It really becomes important that they understand the nuances of the various aspects of industry and agriculture in the province and, certainly, I think that was entirely missed, because the dynamics of the high-rise buildings here in downtown Toronto are significantly different than the challenges that we face in rural Ontario, which is a large area.”

Jan, as usual, is absolutely right. If the OEB is making a decision that’s going to have an outsized impact on families and businesses in rural Ontario, then they need to make the effort to hear from those stakeholders in rural parts of Ontario.

But it’s not just rural versus urban—representatives from the OFA, the Ontario Home Builders’ Association, the Association of Power Producers of Ontario and more also highlighted the importance of broad consultation to ensure decisions don’t have unintended consequences, especially on government priorities, including getting more affordable homes built. It’s also important to keep other priorities in mind, including making Ontario an attractive place to do business, and access to affordable and reliable energy is also a critical part of our sales pitch.

That’s why to further protect consumers, we’re also proposing to make regulatory changes that would prohibit customers from being required to financially contribute to the construction of certain gas transmission projects. These proposed changes would preserve the historical treatment of natural gas transmission projects under OEB jurisdiction when those projects are specified by government direction. Maintaining the current approach, where customers are not required to make upfront payments, will ensure Ontario continues to attract critical investments in sectors like the greenhouse and automotive industries in southwestern Ontario.

Bill 165, the Keeping Energy Costs Down Act, doesn’t stop there. It also proposes to streamline the leave-to-construct process for small energy projects, making reliable and affordable energy options available to communities, homes and businesses in a more cost-effective and timely manner. Today, anyone looking to connect a new home or business to Ontario’s natural gas system with a pipeline must obtain leave-to-construct approval from the OEB if the expected cost of the project will be $2 million or greater. The OEB reviews the application and grants leave to carry out the project if it’s deemed to be in the public interest to do so.

Over the past couple of years, we’ve heard concerns from mayors and councils and agricultural organizations at places like the Rural Ontario Municipal Association and AMO conferences from all across the province on this leave-to-construct issue, and they’re frustrated that the $2-million threshold for small pipeline projects that was first set back in 2003 hasn’t been updated to reflect inflation and increased construction costs, like the ones we talked about earlier. They’re concerned that even the smallest projects to connect something like a new housing development would no longer receive the exemption, as was the original intent. The changes we’re proposing would allow the government to prescribe conditions in regulation to exempt small projects from leave to construct, while also maintaining the crown’s obligations related to rights-based consultation with Indigenous communities, ensuring opportunities remain for their input into proposed new projects.

Through Bill 165, if passed, the government intends to introduce regulations to streamline the leave-to-construct process by exempting small pipeline projects that cost between $2 million and $10 million, provided the crown’s duty-to-consult obligations with Indigenous communities have been met.

I want to stress that both the government of Ontario and the OEB are ensuring that Indigenous communities have a continued opportunity to bring their views forward and to inform any decisions that may impact their rights or their interests. These changes would improve the timelines for pipeline construction and expansion by cutting red tape and expediting the installation of natural gas to rural, remote and underserved communities while also helping to support a reliable and cost-effective provincial energy supply. Project applicants would continue to contact the Ministry of Energy early in the planning process and provide the ministry with a description of the proposed project, including the need for the project, its terminal points, characteristics such as the length and diameter of the pipeline, and the proposed route. Along with any additional information requested, the Ministry of Energy will assess whether the proposed project triggers the duty to consult. Where it is triggered, the OEB would then determine whether the crown has adequately discharged its duty to consult prior to granting such applications.

I also want to be clear that for all projects, whether there is a leave-to-construct proceeding or not, proponents will continue to require authorizations from Ontario ministries and municipalities. This will include permits and other approvals relating to technical, safety and environmental requirements needed to support the construction of the pipeline.

All of this work is going to build on the important action that we have taken to move Ontario forward as a leader in economic growth and clean energy, including:

—cutting the gas tax through December of this year;

—saving families an additional $312 a year through our Ontario Electricity Rebate;

—investing an additional $50 million in the Ontario Electricity Support Program, which is delivered by the OEB, to help those who need help the most;

—launching the Clean Home Heating Initiative, with incentives of up to $4,500 per household to roll out electric air-source heat pumps paired with existing natural gas furnaces;

—scrapping the previous Liberal government’s cap-and-trade carbon tax that punished people and businesses; and

—introducing legislation to protect the people of Ontario from any future carbon tax, and a whole lot more.

All of this has made us increasingly attractive to business and industry, with companies and investment surging into our province at a record rate. It brings us so many benefits.

Just take the Honda announcement from two weeks ago that was landed following a lot of work by Minister Fedeli and Premier Ford and other members of our team: This $15-billion investment will create the country’s first comprehensive electric vehicle supply chain, and it’s all going to be located right here within our provincial boundaries. That includes four new manufacturing plants—not one, but four: a new stand-alone battery plant at Alliston, a new EV vehicle assembly plant, a new cathode active material and processing plant, and a new separator plant, as well. This investment, which was a number of years in the making, represents a vote of confidence in Ontario’s status as a leading jurisdiction in the global production and development of electric vehicles, batteries and battery materials.

It’s just one example of the growth that we’re experiencing in Ontario. In addition to Honda, Ontario is already working, as you know, with Stellantis in Windsor, Volkswagen in St. Thomas, Umicore in Loyalist township, all of whom are making great progress on their multi-billion dollar investments.

We’re also seeing major investments in green steelmaking in places like Hamilton and Sault Ste. Marie, with Dofasco and Algoma Steel. While the traditional steelmaking process uses coal, one of the largest sources of emissions in the province, our government is working with the federal government and the steel industry to end coal use and electrify their operations to support the production of green steel, fuelling our growing automotive sector.

As a result of these investments and our housing goal that I mentioned earlier, for the very first time since 2005, almost 20 years ago, Ontario’s electricity demand is on the rise. For almost 20 years, we’ve either seen electricity demand stay the same or even diminish as manufacturing jobs fled the province for other jurisdictions. In fact, an expert analysis from the IESO, our system operator, shows that electricity demand could more than double by 2050 if we stay on the rate that we’re on right now. That’s why we’re taking action now—actually, it’s why we took action a couple of years ago to ensure that we have the energy that we know we’re going to need down the road.

Last summer, I released the comprehensive Powering Ontario’s Growth plan. This plan lays out our road map to provide families and industries with the reliable, low-cost and clean power that we need to power Ontario’s future. Powering Ontario’s Growth builds on the key strengths of our system, including our diverse supply mix made up of nuclear, hydro, natural gas, other non-emitting resources like renewables and, soon, batteries that are currently being built across the province. It also builds on the significant action our government has already taken to meet demand through the end of the decade with major projects and procurements, including a $342-million expansion of our energy efficiency programs that are offered through IESO and, as I mentioned, energy storage procurement, which is actually the largest such procurement in Canada’s history and one of the largest in North America.

This plan also builds on Ontario’s international leadership on nuclear power and small modular reactor development. It builds on our legacy as the birthplace of the Candu reactor—which is still among the safest, most reliable reactors in the world today—and our reputation as a world-leading source of life-saving, cancer-fighting medical isotopes, which are harvested from our Candu reactors at the same time that they’re producing almost 60% of the province’s electricity every day. It’s an amazing success story—part of our nuclear advantage.

Nuclear power, as I mentioned, makes up more than half of our current electricity supply in Ontario. It’s a source of affordable and clean power. Nuclear energy is why Ontario is able to maintain one of the cleanest electricity grids in the entire world. That’s why expanding our province’s nuclear fleet is a key component of our plan to meet future demand. That includes innovative new solutions like the SMR, as I mentioned, that’s currently under construction at the Darlington OPG site. In fact, we’re making progress on developing the country’s first commercial-grid-scale SMR at that Darlington nuclear site. It’s not just Canada’s first; it’s not just North America’s first; this will be the first SMR producing electricity on the grid in the entire G7 or the Western world.

As a result, we’re attracting incredible interest from around the world, helping us open new export opportunities for our province.

I had the opportunity yesterday morning, down at the Invest Ontario offices at the Eaton Centre, working alongside our former colleague Bill Walker, who’s now the head of the OCNI, the Ontario coalition of nuclear industries—I was thinking “Canada” was in there. They had a group in from Brazil. They’re looking at our SMR and our expertise in nuclear to deploy in their jurisdiction.

But we didn’t stop there. Through Powering Ontario’s Growth, we’ve also begun the planning and licensing for three additional SMRs at the Darlington site, to bring that total to four. Speaker, 1.2 gigs of clean, reliable, affordable electricity is on its way, supporting the 65,000 people who work in our nuclear sector in Ontario.

In addition to our SMR expansion, we’re working with Bruce Power to begin pre-development work for the province’s first large-scale nuclear station build in more than 30 years. This new supply will complement the extensive work that’s already going on in the sector, including the significant progress that’s being made on the refurbishments and major component replacements that are happening right now, ahead of schedule and on budget, at Darlington and also at Bruce Power. The refurbishment of Candu reactors at Darlington and Bruce represent the largest clean energy projects in Ontario, securing a steady supply of clean baseload power through our province.

Our government is supporting OPG’s plan to proceed with the next steps toward refurbishing Pickering nuclear station’s B units. That plant is operating at an incredible rate right now. It’s because of the expertise from the skilled trades, our power workers, and those who work in our nuclear sector.

I’m not exaggerating when I say that Canada, and Ontario in particular, is an international leader, a powerhouse, when it comes to nuclear power. Nations around the world are looking to our province to leverage our expertise as they make decisions on their own SMR deployment to help them achieve energy independence and meet their climate goals. That was apparent during my recent nuclear trade mission to Dubai. I attended COP28. I attended the World Nuclear Exhibition in Paris, France, as well and met with folks in the United Kingdom, in London, who are also looking to our expertise on the SMR as they build out their plans for small modular reactor deployment in the UK.

Beyond nuclear energy, Powering Ontario’s Growth is also continuing our competitive approach to procuring a diverse set of resources to meet our growing capacity and energy needs. Just like with home heating, natural gas generation is part of our pragmatic approach to keeping the lights on. It’s our insurance policy, an approach that has been reinforced by the Independent Electricity System Operator, whose natural gas phase-out study stated that natural gas generation plays a crucial role in the reliability of the electricity grid and provides a range of services that no other resource today can provide on its own.

In short, while most of the time Ontario can meet its electricity generation with nuclear and hydroelectric—which we’re also investing in refurbishing—and bioenergy and renewables, we need to face the reality. We need a pragmatic approach, one that keeps energy affordable, keeps the heat on and helps families afford their first home.

Interjection.

As the member opposite knows, we are currently refurbishing our nuclear fleet across Ontario. That includes at Bruce and OPG and eventually Pickering as well. That is emissions-free, reliable baseload power that is going to continue to power the growth of our province going forward as the Hondas and the Volkswagens and the Stellantis plants and the Umicore plants come online.

What the member opposite is proposing in his question is to try to replace all of those megawatts with wind and solar. I just took a look at the independent electricity system’s grid watch, and it shows that right now, on a very, very sunny day in May, we’re getting about 300 megawatts from our entire solar installation across the grid, and we’re getting about 400 megawatts from our wind power. The capacity just isn’t there. That’s why we’re investing in large baseload nuclear power: so the kids in the gallery can be able to get the electricity when they flip the switch. We’ll continue to—

But I’ll remind the member opposite of what it was like here in Ontario in January, where we actually saw about 26 hours of sunshine in the whole month of January. Can you imagine what would have happened to those people who live on the 40th, 50th floors of condo buildings in downtown Toronto when they want to put solar panels over at Portlands Energy Centre in Toronto, which is currently the insurance policy—our natural gas facility—that keeps the lights on, that keeps the elevators going, that keeps business happening in our province?

I will give the member credit. He believes wholeheartedly in what he’s saying. He’s just wrong, Mr. Speaker.

What they said yes to was our plan for powering Ontario’s growth: investing in refurbishments at our Candu facilities across the province, building new nuclear at Bruce Power, building new small modular reactors at Darlington, investing in a competitive procurement for new non-emitting generation, building out the transmission that we need and investing in green steelmaking facilities with electric arc furnaces.

None of that involves the carbon tax, and the people of Ontario believe in what we’re doing.

What is the key? It’s reliable, affordable power, something that they didn’t get under the previous government, where they saw electricity prices triple, skyrocketing, and business left because of that. Now, the federal government in Ottawa has imposed this punishing federal carbon tax.

In spite of all that, with the work that we’re doing here in Ontario, led by Premier Ford and our team, those investments are happening at a rapid pace. The people of Ontario, the new investors in Ontario can count on this Ontario government.

I can do that. Through Powering Ontario’s Growth, we’re going to ensure that we have the clean, non-emitting, reliable, affordable electricity that we’re seeing right now. But into the future, this type of affordable, reliable non-emitting energy is what has actually allowed us to land the historic multi-billion-dollar Honda deal, which Minister Fedeli was just talking about last week: a $15-billion investment at four different plants across the province.

Through Powering Ontario’s Growth, we’re ensuring that we have a small modular reactor not just being talked about but under construction at Darlington right now. Three more SMRs are going to be going in at that site. Mr. Speaker, we have the first large-scale build that’s about to get under way at what’s already the world’s largest nuclear facility at Bruce Power. We have a non-emitting procurement that’s under way with the IESO. We have the largest battery storage procurement under way—

But in spite of that, we’re continuing to move forward with non-emitting resources like our nuclear facilities, hydroelectric facilities, battery storage facilities and renewables that will work better because we have the storage that we need in the province. As a matter of fact, according to the 2024 greenhouse gas registry—

Interjections.

The people in Milton, the people in LKM disagreed with their proposals last week: They got 6.76% in the by-election. We’ve got two new Tory members because people are opposed to the federal carbon tax and they’re opposed to Bonnie Crombie, the queen of the carbon tax.

We’re opposed to the federal carbon tax—as all Premiers across Canada have done, of all political stripes. They’re opposed to Justin Trudeau’s, Jagmeet Singh’s and Bonnie Crombie’s federal carbon tax. The queen of the carbon tax is happy to support that federal carbon tax, which went up a whopping 23% on April 1.

We’re lowering the price of gasoline by 10.7 cents a litre. We’re cutting taxes. We’re cutting fees. We’re ending tolls. We’re bringing in One Fare so transit riders can save up to $1,600 a year.

We’re powering Ontario’s growth with clean, reliable electricity by investing in our nuclear facilities, our hydroelectric facilities, and building other new non-emitting generation. As a result, the plan is working.

While manufacturers were headed south of the border six years ago, under the previous Liberal government, they’re coming back in droves—including a historic $15-billion Honda investment today—

In spite of all that, our plan, Powering Ontario’s Growth, led by Premier Ford, led by our Minister of Economic Development and our entire team, has brought historic investments to our province.

The Honda announcement made this morning is the largest in Canadian history—$15 billion. That Honda accord, in partnership with our federal and civic partners, is piloting a new direction for Ontario, putting us back on top as the economic engine not just of Cana but of North America. We all in this House should be celebrating that kind of an achievement today—$15 billion—

Speaker, the member is right; we’re not imposing a carbon tax in Ontario.

As a matter of fact, we’re giving the people of Ontario tax breaks at the pumps—10.7 cents a litre until the end of this year. We’re lowering taxes, we’re lowering fees, and as a result, we are seeing multi-billion dollar investments in our province.

As a matter of fact, right now, the Premier is standing in Alliston, Ontario, announcing the largest investment in our country’s history, at the Honda plant.

We’re seeing record investments, multi-billion dollar investments.

We have a plan for Ontario. It doesn’t—

The queen of the carbon tax, the leader of the Liberals, combined with the NDP—they want to have the highest carbon tax in the world.

We have a plan called Powering Ontario’s Growth. And the Premier announced, this morning, the largest investment in Canada’s history, in Ontario—a $15-billion investment in Alliston, at the Honda plant. That’s on top of the multi-billion dollar investments, in what were previously the largest investments in Canadian history, at Volkswagen in St. Thomas and LG-Stellantis in Windsor and the Umicore plant in Loyalist township. We have seen $45 billion of investment in Ontario’s EV supply chain, because our plan is working. It’s called Powering Ontario’s Growth.