This Premier refuses, again, to take accountability and responsibility for anything. Our court system is collapsing, and he is blaming the judges?

The government spent a billion dollars on a new Toronto courthouse—

Interjections.

Our court system is collapsing, and he is blaming judges?

The government spent a billion dollars on a new Toronto courthouse only to have it dubbed “a monument to failure.” Courtrooms are forced to close every single day in this province because of understaffing. Their chronic underfunding means that people never get their day in court, and it means that victims will continue to be forced to watch their assailants walk free under this government.

Will the Premier finally take responsibility or will he continue to look for scapegoats for his own failures?

To the Premier: Why was a multinational accounting firm with little to no experience with software development handed this contract without having to compete?

Despite what the government members say, ministry and tribunal staff say timelines and milestones are repeatedly delayed, and the costs just keep growing.

To the Premier: Can you explain why you’ve let the costs balloon to over $26 million when they cannot seem to get the job done?

People are not getting justice at the Landlord and Tenant Board. They have been plagued with delays since this government came into office six long years ago. There are now more than 38,000 people waiting for their cases to be heard. People are waiting months and sometimes years for their hearing to be even scheduled.

And while Ontarians are stuck in this chaos, this government’s solution is to hand out more multi-million dollar contracts to their insider friends and giant corporations.

So one more time to the Premier—and I’m going to make it simple: Why was only one company considered for this contract, and why is it 26 times more expensive today than it was when it was signed?

I will not take any lessons from the NDP in terms of how business is run.

This is not a company with two men in the basement of a cottage. This is a company that has been in Canada over 100 years. They have an entire justice division within the company, and they have a track record by building the BC product.

So this disingenuous, if I could use that word—

Thank you to the great member for Richmond Hill for the question and for her great advocacy for the businesses in her riding.

Since day one, this Premier and our government have fought back against the carbon tax. It’s because we know that for so many households, more tax means less money to spend at their local small businesses. And for so many entrepreneurs, more tax means less money to invest in their businesses or to hire staff.

Speaker, while the Ontario Liberals and NDP have stayed silent as their friends in Ottawa plan to increase the carbon tax by over 37 cents per litre, our government is working to guarantee that no provincial government can force a costly carbon tax on the people of Ontario without ensuring their voices are heard loud and clear.

Speaker, let me tell you what I’m hearing from businesses around the province—and this is a quote from a small manufacturer: “The carbon tax increasing each year is crippling our ability to do business outside of our local area. We used to have a large province-wide presence with some of our product in a major retailer and online delivery but now shopping costs are too high to make a profit doing that.”

I’ve stood in this House and raised the fact that the federal government still hasn’t returned the millions of dollars owed to small businesses in rebates. So, once again, we’re calling on the opposition NDP and Liberals to pick up the phone, call their federal counterparts and start supporting and advocating for their businesses and job creators in their ridings.

We do take very seriously the work that we are doing with First Nations throughout the province of Ontario, especially in the north and in the rural communities.

In fact, I was present for the announcement in Thunder Bay just two weeks ago, and it wasn’t the end of the work we’re doing; it’s the beginning and a continuation of the collaboration that we’ve had for a long time.

In fact, under the leadership of Premier Ford, this government and the Minister of Indigenous Affairs, we’re working collaboratively with all First Nations across the province of Ontario. We’re making investments in all the communities as well as utilizing the Addictions Recovery Fund to put 56% of all the beds we’ve opened in the province in northern Ontario.

Specific investments: $7 million to support land-and-water-based healing—Batchewana First Nation, Mushkegowuk, Kashechewan, Kettle and Stony Point—

Mr. Speaker, we’re also working to provide supports to the youth, with—

Speaker, jurisdiction of health care for First Nations people doesn’t end when you step off a reserve.

On January 24, leadership of Nishnawbe Aski Nation held an emergency meeting on mental health and addictions. All levels of government were invited, and the leadership from NAN were very disappointed when none of the Ontario ministers showed up for the meeting.

Can this government let the people know why they didn’t show up for the emergency meeting?

This government has an opportunity to listen to First Nations on health transformation, to be true treaty partners in health. We cannot continue to operate in crisis.

And we don’t need to continue to lose our children to preventable deaths by suicide. It’s not normal to attend funerals for 11-year-olds who have died by suicide.

Will this government start taking this Nishnawbe Aski Nation health state of emergency seriously?

My question is to the Premier.

The Conservatives came up with a definition of affordable housing in order to spur the construction of affordable homes 18 months ago. But 18 months later, the law is still not in force, the government still can’t make up their mind on what exact definition of affordable housing they’re going to use, and not a single home has been built under this new initiative.

Ontario is in a homelessness crisis and a housing affordability crisis. Given that, why is this government taking so long to get this affordable housing initiative off the ground?

You can’t use that word. You’re going to have to withdraw it.

I’m going to move on to the next question.

In subsequent conversations with the grand chief of Nishnawbe Aski Nation, we have reaffirmed our commitment in a couple of important categories to address the mental health crisis both in isolated communities and for students attending high school in Thunder Bay. Those resources focus on NAN Hope, a program run by Keewaytinook Okimakanak, an organization widely accepted and thought of as the right organization to deliver services to students on-reserve and transitioning to the big city, as well as mental health resources on the ground in Thunder Bay—additional new funding—to support the challenges that they face. That was the right action to take. It dealt on point with the kinds of things that the NAN leadership was asking to be addressed. We were there for those communities.

My question is to the Associate Minister of Small Business.

Our government was elected with a strong mandate to serve the people of this province. We know the carbon tax adversely affects businesses and the economy and makes life more expensive for Ontarians. That’s why our Premier recently introduced legislation that, if passed, guarantees that no provincial government can force a carbon tax on the people of Ontario without their say.

Small businesses in my community of Richmond Hill were thrilled to hear our government stand up for Ontarians and prioritize keeping costs down for families and businesses. They want to continue to lead by example and fight the carbon tax.

Can the associate minister tell us what this legislation will mean for small businesses?

The costly carbon tax has taken a toll on families and small businesses in Richmond Hill and across the province.

According to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, by 2030, Ontarians will experience a decline in their quality of life due to additional costs resulting from the carbon tax. With an estimated financial cost of $2,000 per household, individuals and families who are already struggling to make ends meet will experience further hardship.

While the NDP and the Liberals continue to believe that increasing taxes is a solution, our government knows that the carbon tax is unfair to hard-working Ontarians.

Speaker, through you, to the associate minister: What are small businesses saying about the impact of the carbon tax on their businesses and their communities?

Back to the Premier: It’s like “affordable housing” is a little bit too hard, so let’s try “attainable housing.”

Speaker, 18 months ago, the Conservatives said they would come up with an exact definition of “attainable housing” in order to further construction of attainable homes. It’s 18 months later, and the law is still not enforced. The government still cannot decide what the definition of “attainable” is going to be, and not one home has been built under this new program either.

Why on earth is it taking the government so long to get these programs off the ground?

Interjections.

Of course, I am going to start off with the fact that I have been starting off with almost every day: that in 2023, Ontario created more manufacturing jobs than all 50 US states combined. We cannot say that enough in this Legislature. That is a sign that our auto plan is working.

Think about when we attracted NextStar from Korea into Windsor. They’re currently building a $5-billion battery plant. At that time, we said there would be a lot of follow-on investment. Well, here’s one: A company, Bobaek, has invested $35 million in a brand new plant across the street in Windsor that does battery insulation panels and other parts for electric vehicles. They are putting 144 people to work there, and Bobaek is already planning their phase 2, which is a twin building next door. It’s because we lowered the cost of doing business by $8 billion.

To the students who are here: Under the previous government, we lost 300,000 manufacturing jobs. Since Premier Ford was elected, we have seen 700,000 men and women go back to work.

It was only a few years ago that Reuters announced there would be $300 billion spent on electric vehicles across the world and zero of it was coming to Canada. Now, here we are, three years later; $28 billion in electric vehicles has landed in our province, putting men and women to work every single day. Bloomberg has now said that Canada is the number one jurisdiction around the world for electric vehicle parts. That is where we are. We have dethroned China from the number one position for the very first time. That’s what’s happening in the province—

The member, of course, will know that her party was supportive—in fact, the House unanimously supported the definition of “affordable housing” that was passed by this government.

At the same time, we’re seeing a tremendous growth across the province when it comes to purpose-built rentals. We are at the highest level in the history of the province.

We had the unfortunate thing yesterday, of course, where the NDP doubled down on wanting us to tax those very same homes that the member across is wanting us to build. They want us to put back a development charge on those.

We heard from Habitat for Humanity and we’ve heard from a lot of other affordable housing builders across the province of Ontario that the removal of taxes is what is spurring on the development of affordable housing across the province of Ontario.

We want to build all types of housing, because the dream of home ownership is something that not only should just be a dream, but it is something that should be a reality for the people of the province of Ontario. Because of the policies of this government, that is the reality for hundreds of thousands of people. We’re going to continue to do that hard work.

But I’m more encouraged by one thing—I just want to stray for a second, if I can, colleagues, and I want to thank Colin D’Mello for his incredible reporting. I’m going to quote directly from Colin D’Mello—and I want to thank the member opposite for her support. We’re seeing that, in Ottawa, 1,200 new long-term-care homes were built; in Markham, 320 new homes; 256 in Burlington; 192 new long-term-care homes in Ajax; 256 in Peterborough; 288 new homes in Belleville; 224 in Clarington; 416 in Stouffville, my hometown; 160 in North Bay; 160 in Sarnia. Do you know who’s against that? The leader of the Liberal Party, who said they’re not homes. That’s shameful.

We’ll continue to build homes for all Ontarians.

My question is for the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade.

The previous Liberal government was a disaster for Ontario’s economy. Their agenda of high taxes and burdensome red tape shuttered businesses—we saw our most talented workers flee south of the border—and blocked new job-creating investments. Thankfully, the days of Liberals neglecting our economy are over.

Our government has created the conditions for businesses to succeed and, as a result, good-paying jobs are being created across Ontario.

Can the minister provide us with an update on any recent developments that are helping to create good-paying jobs for the hard-working people of Ontario?

When the Liberals were in office, they were content with seeing new auto investments land in foreign jurisdictions while Ontario’s auto sector stagnated. They didn’t believe Ontario auto workers and firms had what it takes to compete in the global economy. Unlike them, we believe in the hard-working men and women who power our economy and the firms who continue to provide Ontario with a competitive advantage.

The contrast between our approach to economic development and the Liberals’ failed approach could not be clearer.

Can the minister highlight how, by fostering the conditions for businesses to succeed, our government has enabled the revitalization of our auto sector?

Upside-down bridges.

Mr. Speaker, we’re making the largest investment in public transit in the entire world—$70 billion-plus over the next 10 years.

Let’s look at the record of the previous Liberal government and the NDP—voting against every single one of these investments—

Mr. Speaker, that member has voted against every measure this government has taken to improve public transit in this province. Not only does he support the largest carbon tax in Ontario—over 35 cents—he doesn’t want anybody to ride on public transit. He’s voting against projects like the Ontario Line. He’s voting against projects like the Scarborough subway extension.

Our government will continue to commit to building the largest expansion of public transit in the world.

My question is for the Premier. On Eglinton Avenue East in Scarborough, 10 to 12 sections of brand new sidewalk were just dug up because of deficiencies in the Eglinton Crosstown LRT. This happened a year after the Sloane station on this platform’s project was jackhammered and carried away in pieces. We’re going into the 13th year of this project—three years late, $1 billion over budget. That is the record of Metrolinx and Phil Verster, its million-dollar CEO. They don’t build transit; they break it. They don’t finish projects; they extend them.

To the Premier: When will this government hold Mr. Verster and Metrolinx accountable?

Under this government’s watch—they can’t blame anybody else—in 2020, the Auditor General told them that the Eglinton Crosstown LRT was being built “at risk.” Metrolinx, Phil Verster and their P3 buddies carried on despite that risk, and now we have at least 260 deficiencies in this project that this government will not answer for.

When will this government do what a competent government would do and fire Phil Verster? Signal that you demand change for the hard-working taxpayers of this province. Tell the people of Scarborough, tell the people of Toronto that a new day is coming; that we’re going to build and not break public transit.

Supplementary question?

Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

I want to thank the member for highlighting such an important issue.

For 15 years, the previous Liberal government did absolutely nothing. They didn’t build highways, didn’t build transit. In fact, they built upside-down bridges. And then, what did they do? Their current leader led the charge against building Highway 413, an important project that this province needs. And what happened two weeks ago? The federal Minister of the Environment—her friend—said they’re not going to invest in any more roads and bridges across this province. They are so out of touch.

Thanks to advocacy from members like that member from Markham–Thornhill, we’re going to make sure we invest in communities like Markham. We’re going to make sure we build transit. We’re going to make sure we invest in highways like Highway 413 and the Bradford Bypass, because that is what the people of this province elected us to do. It’s about making sure we save 30 minutes each trip on the 413 so you can spend more time with your families at home instead of being in gridlock.

It’s about time the Liberals and the NDP wake up and look at the challenges people are facing in their—

The previous Liberal government, supported by the NDP, raised taxes, tolls and licence fees on the hard-working people of this province.

Our government has been committed to making sure that we reduce tolls, that we take the tolls off highways, that we freeze licence fees.

No one will be able to implement a carbon tax in this province unless they take it to the people.

I gave the example of a truck driver yesterday—$15,000 to $20,000 the carbon tax cost the trucker’s family. The Liberals have supported the carbon tax every step of the way. That’s $15,000 that could be going toward their own family.

The carbon tax has increased costs on absolutely everything in this province.

We, as a government, will continue to fight for the hard-working people of this province, keep costs low—

Associate Minister of Transportation.

The Premier.

Interjection.

The next question.

I agree; everyone matters.

Why don’t you support us on making sure we appoint tough judges to keep these criminals in jail?

Tell the young people that I’ve been out to Scarborough 1,000 times—not 100; 1,000 times—supporting your community. And do you know what the mothers say? “Throw these criminals in jail.” That’s what the mothers are telling me. They’re telling me the same thing in Scarborough as they’re telling me in Etobicoke North. They want to make sure their kids can walk to school peacefully. They want to make sure their kids can go to the park, even at nighttime, without getting a gun pointed to their head.

And the judge lets them out the next day—that same criminal is in the park, dealing drugs, putting guns to people’s heads, robbing people. And guess what? He gets bail again. He doesn’t get bail once; he doesn’t get bail twice—he has been out on bail eight times.