I’d like to welcome Dr. Campbell from the Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization and her team for their health tech adoption lunch today in 228-230. So please join.

I first just want to say good afternoon to everyone in the House. It really is my pleasure to rise today to speak in strong support of Bill 162, the Get It Done Act. If passed, Speaker, this legislation will drive economic growth by keeping costs down for individuals and small businesses across our province, including many in my riding of Mississauga–Streetsville.

I do want to start by thanking our hard-working Premier, Doug Ford, and our Minister of Transportation, Prab Sarkaria, for their leadership in introducing this very important bill. From lower taxes to improved infrastructure, our government is laser-focused on making life more affordable and creating good jobs. With Bill 162, we are taking significant steps towards getting more shovels in the ground faster and delivering on our promise to get it done.

Speaker, the most important issue I hear from so many small businesses is the unfair effect the carbon tax has on their day-to-day operations. That is why I am so happy to say that this vital legislation our government will introduce will help protect people from the high cost of a provincial carbon tax. Carbon pricing puts an extra financial burden on households and businesses through higher prices on everyday goods. That’s why we’re bringing in a bill that, if passed, would give voters a direct say over any future provincial carbon tax, cap-and-trade system or other pricing program.

This proposed legislation would strengthen affordability by requiring any government to obtain consent through a referendum before imposing a new carbon pricing scheme. Speaker, this builds on steps we’ve already taken through the Taxpayer Protection Act to safeguard people from unexpected tax hikes. Our focus as a government remains to keep costs down for Ontarians as they battle rising inflation.

The potential for any added provincial carbon tax is unacceptable, so we continue to urge Ottawa to immediately return the $1.3 billion it collected and set aside for Ontario businesses over the past five years and eliminate the federal carbon tax entirely. According to the CFIB, the average small business would have received about $1,245, but now, because of the changes Ottawa has made, that amount has been reduced by more than half. With families and job creators feeling the pinch like never before, protecting small businesses must be a top priority. That’s why we must lock in accountability and prevent a backdoor carbon tax from sneaking past voters.

The people of Ontario deserve to have a say over what comes out of their wallets and that is precisely what Ontario families expect from us.

Speaker, we were elected to keep more money in people’s pockets. This proposed legislation honours that commitment and guarantees transparency over any scheme that hits wallets with a punitive price on carbon.

We do recognize that more money in consumers’ pockets means more money going back into small businesses in all our local communities, and more money to help families pay for food, heat and necessities.

A carbon tax only punishes entrepreneurs and families through higher operating costs on everyday essentials like energy. Any added provincial carbon tax would push many over the edge, as they are already struggling with inflation. It would be yet another burden, with its increasing costs passed down through higher prices at the pump, energy bills, and everyday goods. For small businesses, this chips away at their competitiveness. Every dollar lost to carbon tax is a dollar that can’t be reinvested back into their businesses.

Our proposed legislation is about defending small businesses and families just trying to make ends meet.

Operational costs, especially for energy-intensive industries, need stability, not unpredictable price hikes from new carbon taxes. Many business owners I’ve spoken to simply can’t absorb carbon taxes on top of other cost pressures. Some have shared fears that they may need to scale back or, sadly, even close their shop as a result. That’s not a risk we can take lightly when small businesses employ so many in communities across Ontario.

That’s why we’re ensuring voters have a say on carbon pricing. We cannot idly watch as carbon pricing threatens the very livelihoods of business owners who power our economy. The last thing they need is a carbon tax increasing their electricity bills and fuel expenses. That money would come out of hiring or capital investments.

Our proposed legislation will protect both individuals and job creators. So I do hope, on that basis, all members will be supportive.

Speaker, as the Associate Minister of Small Business and MPP for Mississauga–Streetsville, I know too well the challenges our entrepreneurs face. High costs are a major barrier that can prevent smaller companies from reaching their full potential. That’s why our government is laser-focused on creating the right conditions to success. We’ve worked hard to lower taxes and reduce costs significantly for job creators. Just last year alone, we saved small businesses over $3.6 billion through our efforts. This is money our entrepreneurs can re-invest to expand operations, hire more staff and fuel economic growth.

With families and businesses feeling the impact of high inflation and interest rates, we must act. That’s why I am so proud that this legislation includes measures to ban new highway tolls across our province. For too long, tolls have acted as an unnecessary tax on commuters and commercial vehicles alike. By prohibiting future tolls, we’re helping drivers in Mississauga and across Ontario keep hundreds of dollars in their pockets each year—money that can instead be spent at local shops and restaurants.

Speaker, this bill will also make the freeze on driver’s licence fees permanent, through our legislation. For the average Mississauga resident, this ongoing freeze translates to real savings that will add to the numerous ways our government is making life more affordable.

With the cost of living higher than ever, our government is doing everything possible to make life more affordable.

Another crucial part of Bill 162 is designating the Hazel McCallion light rail transit extensions to downtown Mississauga and Brampton as priority transit projects. As the MPP for Mississauga–Streetsville, I could not be more supportive of fast-tracking these critical investments. Our aging infrastructure can no longer keep up with the growth that we need to see in Mississauga. As it stands, severe congestion on our roads is costing the average driver in our city over 30 minutes per day, and this leads to lost productivity for our job creators and mounting frustration for commuters.

The new LRT extensions will provide for a faster, more reliable transportation option to boost mobility and economic opportunity across south Peel. And by streamlining the approval process, these vital projects can break ground that much sooner. Transit options like the LRT have overwhelmingly positive impacts on attracting and retaining talent in Mississauga, like our growing workforce, which in turn allows businesses to scale up their operations and create more local jobs.

Speaker, as the Associate Minister of Small Business, I am delighted to see changes to streamline mine permitting processes across the province in this bill. Small businesses in the mining sector are the backbone of many northern and rural economies, and the lifeblood of communities that rely on the resources that they produce. However, long application timelines were a challenge for many exploration and smaller mining companies seeking permits and approvals. That’s why our government took action by implementing the Mining Act modernization in 2019.

The current multi-year process for approving new mining projects hinders growth for many small businesses that operate in our thriving mineral resources sector. From mining supply and service companies to local shops and restaurants, these job creators depend on a healthy industry to run their operations. Streamlining rules will drive greater investment and productivity right across Ontario. By cutting unnecessary layers of bureaucracy and overlapping requirements between ministries, we can welcome more mining projects faster while maintaining the highest environmental standards. This would provide small businesses involved in the sector with greater confidence to hire staff and invest in expansion, knowing demand from mining clients is more predictable and timelier.

For rural and Indigenous businesses in particular, economic spinoffs from an accelerated permitting system could truly be transformative. We must also reduce the burden placed on Indigenous communities through the current permit-by-permit approach. Coordinating engagement on a project would address consultation fatigue and support business relationships between mining companies and First Nation suppliers. Getting resource developments approved in a timely yet thoroughly responsible manner will fuel economic prosperity across multiple regions, all the way from mines in Timmins to the tech companies that use those minerals to make computer chips in southern Ontario.

Speaker, the proposed changes mean more sustainable growth and good jobs in communities that depend on our thriving natural resource sector and the small businesses that support them. Our government is committed to reducing barriers for job creators of all sizes in all sectors. With a streamlined mining permitting system, we will create exciting new opportunities for small businesses all over Ontario.

I know several of the opposition members have constituents who earn their living in the natural resource sector, so I do hope they support these proposals that promise widespread economic benefits for many, many years to come.

On top of that, Speaker, the transit priorities in Bill 162 contain amendments to speed up key infrastructure like highways, rail lines and power grids through environmental assessment reforms. While maintaining our strong oversight and protections, these targeted changes could shave years off project timelines, and that means less time spent tangled in red tape and more time spent building.

Expediting processes, as this bill proposes, will help infrastructure dollars go further, building more roads, more hospitals, more schools and other necessities with the same public funding. And if these projects can be completed sooner, the economic spinoffs will also be returned to the communities more quickly through jobs and new business opportunities.

In Mississauga, getting shovels in the ground faster on priorities like Highway 413 could not be more critical. These proposed expressways will slash commute times for our residents by up to 30 minutes each way on some of the busiest corridors in North America. That’s an hour back in the day for working parents or an hour gained for a local small business to serve customers better. With a population projected to grow by one million people in the next decade, Ontario desperately needs new road infrastructure simply to avoid gridlock.

By fast-tracking responsible development, Bill 162 will help ensure Mississauga and the rest of the GTA have the highways, the transit and logistics networks required to support sustainable growth well into the future. And Speaker, of course, none of these benefits matter if we cannot build more housing to meet sky-high demand.

That’s why I’m so thrilled to see this legislation support streamlining municipal planning approvals. For too long, tedious red tape at the local level has constrained new development. If we want young families to call Mississauga home, or businesses to set up shop, having an adequate supply of housing options is a must.

With the proposed changes, our municipal partners right across the GTHA will be better equipped to modify this quickly and get much-needed projects off the drawing board. Residents will see results faster, from new waste water treatment plants to community centres, as municipalities gain more control over their destinies. Meanwhile, our small business community will have an expanded customer base as our population grows responsibly.

Speaker, I urge all members of this House to vote yes on Bill 162 and, if passed, this forward-thinking legislation will drive investment, attract top talent and build the modern infrastructure our growing communities require, accelerating Ontario’s economic recovery. Streamlining processes while maintaining strong environmental protection strikes the right balance. With a common-sense, efficient approach like this, we can get critical projects done on schedule and on budget. Most importantly, we can deliver for the hard-working people of Mississauga and all of Ontario who just simply want to get ahead in life.

This legislation is about unleashing job creation, revitalizing our municipalities and affirming our government’s unwavering commitment to get it done. Bill 162 will move key projects off the drawing board and into construction, and that means more opportunities for every one of all of our constituents in this House and a brighter economic future we can all be proud of.

Speaker, in closing, let’s all get it done for the people of Ontario.