My question to the member opposite. I’ve heard her comments being very dismissive of this government’s environmental record, and I’d draw her attention to the AG’s report of May last year, in which the Auditor General said that we are 90% of our way to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions from 2005 levels by 2030.

We also know that this government is partnering to green our steel industry, which is some of our largest emitters. In this budget, we’re committing $20 million to the Greenlands Conservation Partnership, which since 2019 has amassed 168,000 hectares of green space. That’s 20% of the size of the greenbelt. We’re committing $24 million to the innovative Lake Simcoe Phosphorus Reduction Strategy, and we’re committing $6.4 million to protect and restore the Great Lakes shorelines, which is very important to my community.

So my question to the member opposite is, will she admit that this government and Ontario are leading Canada in greenhouse gas emissions targets, and based on this budget we’ll continue to do that and we’ll exceed our targets?

It’s always a pleasure to speak about the incredible diversity of businesses in my riding of Simcoe-Grey. Today, I’d like to speak about a start-up company that is developing cutting-edge technology to harvest critical minerals from the ocean floor in an environmentally sensitive way.

Speaker, our government is committed to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions by 30% from 2005 levels by 2030, and we’re currently 90% of the way to that target. But we won’t stop there; we will exceed that target, and we will grow our green economy at the same time.

The company I’d like to speak about is Impossible Metals, a company that just 11 months ago celebrated the opening of its Canadian headquarters in Collingwood. This month, I’m very proud to tell this House that Impossible Metals earned a spot on the prestigious Time magazine list of America’s top-250 green tech companies of 2024, coming in at 119.

Impossible Metals is developing an autonomous underwater vehicle that can pick up mineral-rich, deep-sea nodules while avoiding microfauna and marine life, with the goal of preserving biodiversity and habitat function. This autonomous underwater vehicle will be operating at depths of between one and four kilometres along the ocean floor.

I visited Simcoe native Jason Gillham at the Collingwood office last week, and he told me the team is in Florida as we speak. preparing to test their Eureka 1 prototype, and they plan to harvest nodules at a depth of one kilometre. If these tests are successful, they will begin the design and production of the full-scale autonomous underwater vehicle that will have the capacity to harvest and hold 100 kilograms of nodules from the ocean floor.

I want to congratulate the team at Impossible Metals on their remarkable achievements. There can be no doubt that, for this company, it is the ocean floor and not the sky that is the limit.

It is a pleasure to rise this morning on behalf of the residents of Simcoe–Grey to speak about our environment.

Speaker, Ontario has committed to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions by 30% below the 2005 levels by 2030. By 2020, Ontario’s emissions were 27% lower than the 2005 levels. On a per-capita basis, Ontario’s emissions are the third best in Canada at 10.1 tonnes per resident annually; that is 43% below the national average of 17.7 tonnes per resident.

We know we have more to do, which is why this government is working with our steel producers in Hamilton and Sault Ste. Marie to convert the coke furnaces to electric arc furnaces by the end of 2027. That will remove six million more tonnes of GHGs per year.

Speaker, in addition to adding 9,400 acres to the greenbelt this year, this government committed $14 million to our partnership with the Nature Conservancy of Canada, the Greenlands Conservation Program. This is the largest provincial fund to secure, restore and protect sensitive natural areas, and it has amassed over 167,700 hectares since 2020. That is more than 20% of the total landmass of the greenbelt.

Ontario’s energy grid is 90% GHG-free, and we are committed to increasing that number with the new, state-of-the-art, small modular nuclear reactor in Clarington, Ontario that will generate 300,000 megawatts, enough to power 300,000 homes.

Speaker, Ontario is leading Canada in reducing our carbon footprint, and this government is committed to making our province a leader in sustainability environmentally, economically and socially.