It’s an honour to rise to talk about Perth–Wellington today, Speaker. I know we talk about our ridings a lot in this place, and it’s great to be able to do that. I’m thinking, really, of—we did celebrate agriculture week and Thanksgiving and all the bounty that our farmers collect every year, and the great work our government is doing to support our farm families, whether it’s through our Grow Ontario Strategy and the investments we’re making there.

As the member from Essex—I heard briefly in his remarks about the trade that we have. The amount of exports and agriculture that we provide to the States and across the world is truly great. I know, with our Minister of Economic Development and under the leadership of our Premier, we’ll continue to do that moving forward, ensuring that our agriculture sector remains strong.

But it’s not just our agriculture sector that we continue to support; it’s also Small Business Week in Ontario—and I know there’s plenty of small businesses in my riding of Perth–Wellington. The Minister of Tourism is in front of me here, and I know he has been to the beautiful riding of Perth–Wellington and to Stratford and has seen the many small businesses.

Whether that’s in the hospitality sector, whether that’s in the manufacturing sector—truly, Ontario is thriving again because of the leadership of our Premier and our ministers in our cabinet.

I think of the great announcement yesterday that was made in eastern Ontario: 600 net new jobs—that’s just direct jobs.

We’re going to continue to build Ontario for the next generation and going forward.

Thank you to my colleague for her comments on Bill 97. Speaker, through our consultations on the newly proposed provincial planning document, the provincial planning statement, we’re proposing to allow more residential lot creation on farms, as the member opposite alluded to. This does not mean that we’ll have widespread loss of agricultural land. I hear this often from farmers in my communities. They’ve heard the news, as well, and they’re actually supportive of these changes because it means a farmer would be able to sever a lot for his son or daughter or someone else to come on board, to help take over the farm eventually. It also means that they could create more housing for any farm workers they employ.

Does the opposition oppose this, Speaker?

While many think of fall as harvest season, it’s also the time of year when our farm families look ahead and plan for the next growing season. I’m hearing from farmers in my riding looking at their crop inputs, like fertilizer, for next year. While our province depends on them for our food security, these farmers depend on inputs to help them produce the food and crops that we are so blessed to have here in Ontario.

Farmers in Perth–Wellington are responsible stewards of the land, implementing best practices like sustainable crop rotations. Governments must partner with them, rather than impose targets that could impact crop yields.

To the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs: Can she please explain how our government is working with farmers in my riding and across Ontario who are adopting the best management practices and supporting sustainable growth for our agriculture sector?

I know that farmers in Perth–Wellington are concerned about the negative impacts of the federal government’s approach to reducing emissions through imposed targets. According to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, farmers are already facing complex challenges, including a federal carbon tax that will cost farmers $25 million this year alone and, by 2030, $108 million per year.

The Wellington Federation of Agriculture president has said that producers have already cut back on fertilizer use because of costs and better application strategies.

When food security and stable supply chains are top of mind, we need to support our farm families so they can be competitive in the global market, rather than imposing punitive targets that could impact our food production.

Again, to the minister: What is our government doing to support our farmers through these challenging times?