By reducing the cost of business by $8 billion annually, we’re proving that Ontario is open for business. This has led to record investments, with over $17 billion in the auto sector, over $3 billion in life sciences and many more billions in tech.

And we’re bringing new life to manufacturing. In Markham, NOVO Plastics recently announced a more than $10-million investment, creating 30 new jobs, with $1.5 million in support from our government. Speaker, they are an Ontario-made manufacturer of engineered plastic components for the auto sector. With this project, NOVO Plastics will modernize their production process with automation and bring in robotics. This is how we’re ensuring that Markham stays on the cutting edge of advanced manufacturing.

With our Small Business Enterprise Centres, entrepreneurs have all the tools they need to succeed. Markham’s centre is receiving $420,000 to help their small businesses and $92,000 for Starter Company Plus and Summer Company. Now students and young adults are encouraged to start their own businesses. Speaker, Markham and all of Ontario’s entrepreneurs will always have our government in their corner.

There is huge support for Hamilton, and not just the $500 million towards ArcelorMittal Dofasco’s green steel projects or the $40 million in support for OmniaBio’s $580-million investment in gene therapy.

Our government is delivering on our plan to encourage entrepreneurship and grow small business. We have lowered their taxes, reduced red tape and made their hydro affordable again. And to further encourage entrepreneurs, we are funding their Small Business Enterprise Centre to make sure their dreams become a reality.

We fund special programs for young entrepreneurs and students to help them get started in business as well. Through our Digital Transformation Grant, we’re helping these businesses go online to sell their products worldwide.

The message is clear: We are building Ontario.

By reducing the cost of doing business in Ontario by $7 billion every year, we’ve shown that Ontario is open for business. We’re attracting record investments and record jobs—$17 billion invested in the auto sector; $3 billion invested in life sciences; billions of dollars invested in the tech sector.

And our support for Mississauga’s world-leading advanced manufacturing sector has never wavered.

Mother Parkers recently announced their $33-million investment in Mississauga. They’re a made-in-Ontario success story. They’re going to be producing private-label coffee and tea for the world’s largest retailers and restaurant chains. They will be creating new jobs, new markets, making cold coffee and tea extracts in a brand new manufacturing facility. We were pleased to support them with a $5-million investment.

Speaker, that’s what we’re doing to attract investments and jobs.

In addition, Mississauga’s Small Business Enterprise Centre receives $420,000 annually so they can supply entrepreneurs with all the tools they need to be successful, and that includes $112,000 to help students and young entrepreneurs get their businesses off the ground.

We’re building Ontario, Speaker.

When we were elected, our government made a commitment to support the province’s regional manufacturing economies, and in 2019 we delivered by launching a $100-million Regional Development Program.

To date, we’ve attracted $716 million in investments and 1,300 jobs in southwestern, southeastern and rural Ontario through that program. We were there with the member in Essex recently at MC3 Manufacturing and at another company, Idol Core. These two companies are investing $11 million in creating 29 well-paying manufacturing jobs with a total investment of $1 million from the province.

Speaker, this is how we’re supporting economic growth and those skilled workers in communities like Essex, because these companies are showing the world that Ontario is open for business.

In fact, costs have been lowered by $7 billion every year. This is attracting record numbers of investments and entrepreneurs to southwestern Ontario.

In Essex, our automotive program attracted over $500,000 in investments from Industrial Fastener, B&B Tool and Mould, and Windsor Industrial Services.

And with a further $631,000 invested in the Small Business Enterprise Centre there, their entrepreneurs have all the tools they need to start and grow their own businesses—and another $182,500 for their Summer Company. That helps students and young entrepreneurs start their businesses because, Speaker, this is how our government is driving growth in Essex.

Yes, the Liberals and the NDP did in fact lose 300,000 manufacturing jobs in Ontario because of their outdated policies, their red tape and their high taxes. In 2018, we promised families that our government would do things differently, and we did. We listened to the businesses, like those in Ajax, and developed plans to support their unique challenges. We introduced a $40-million advanced manufacturing and innovation competitiveness program. This AMIC program supports manufacturing businesses to invest, grow and remain competitive on a global scale and will continue to support Ajax’s manufacturing supply chain through the attraction of billions of dollars in investments, just like we’ve done in the last four years.

Speaker, 500,000 jobs have returned to Ontario, and we will continue to bring back even more jobs—those jobs that the Liberals sent running from this province.

Ajax entrepreneurs now have all the tools they need to grow their businesses. We’re providing $732,000 to the Durham-Oshawa Small Business Enterprise Centre and another $187,000 to support Durham’s Summer Company and Starter Company Plus programs. Those help students and young entrepreneurs get their businesses off the ground. All of that is proof positive that Ontario is open for business.