I’m delighted to welcome to the Legislature the family of Sarah Penner: Bridget Haugh, her mother; Liz Haugh, her grandmother; and Suzanne Clune-Taylor, a family friend. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

The Leader of the Opposition should know, of course, that there is no law banning this province-wide. What we have said is that we trust our municipal partners to make decisions that are in the best interest of their community. That is something that we have been talking about for months in this place, Mr. Speaker.

At the same time, we will allow communities to make the decision if that is appropriate in their areas. I think it’s become very clear that some communities, like Toronto, have approved, as-of-right, four, while other communities have said that they don’t want four-storey buildings to be built in parts of their communities. They neither have the infrastructure, nor were they built around four-storey buildings in the middle of communities.

So what I’m saying to the Leader of the Opposition is that we will continue to trust our municipal partners to work in the best interests of the people of the province of Ontario along with us, Mr. Speaker, but we will not force them to do something blanket across the province of Ontario. That is not in the best interests of—

I seek unanimous consent that, notwithstanding standing order 45(b)(iv), the time for debate on the opposition day motion number 3 regarding government advertising be apportioned as follows: 56 minutes to each of the recognized parties and eight minutes to the independent members as a group.

That, of course, is incorrect. What we’re saying is that we’re not forcing municipalities—a blanket policy across the province of Ontario. Of course, municipalities have the right already to make this decision. We’ve seen Toronto make that decision, Markham has made that decision and a host of other municipalities.

Still, others have said to us that allowing a four-storey building in the middle of a community that was neither built to accommodate a four-storey building, that does not have the infrastructure in place to accommodate a four-storey building, is not in the best interest of communities across the province.

So what we’ll continue to do is be targeted in our approach, remove red tape, ensure that our municipal partners can meet the goals of building the 1.5 million homes. That is why we are doubling and ensuring that sewer and water infrastructure is in place so that we can build not only hundreds of homes, but millions of homes across the province of Ontario.

And we’ve listened to our municipal partners who have said one thing and one thing only, that the biggest obstacle to building 1.5 million homes across the province of Ontario is the availability of infrastructure—an infrastructure deficit that we inherited from the Liberals. And that is why last week the Premier made an historic announcement of over $1.8 billion to get sewer and water. We don’t want to build hundreds; we want to build millions of homes.

The final supplementary?

I’m having a little trouble hearing. I’m quite congested. I’m wearing a mask. I’m going to ask the member to withdraw—

The final supplementary?

President of the Treasury Board.

Even the housing minister doesn’t seem to understand the difference between a fourplex and four-storey—it’s mind-boggling.

Look, every housing expert in this province, in this country is saying we need more housing options, not less. That is what Ontarians want too. They want leadership from their government to provide more options so that we can actually find homes for our children, for the next generation, for the people that right now are at risk of losing their homes.

It is unbelievable that the Premier and this housing minister would rule out some straightforward options like legalizing fourplexes. And do you know what? They’re playing into the same kind of fears that have held back density for generations.

So I’m going to ask one more time: Why does the Premier think that people who can’t afford a single-family detached home don’t deserve options like fourplexes?

Interjections.

My question to the Premier is, does the Premier still agree that we need to end government funding of partisan advertising?

Interjections.

I want to ask the Premier, does he still agree, again, that we need to end government funding of this government’s partisan advertising?

We are giving this government a chance to show Ontarians who they truly are. Enough is enough. We need to close the loopholes and stop spending Ontarians’ hard-earned dollars on these purely partisan ads.

So my question, again, to the Premier is: This afternoon, when we retable the bill that Deputy Premier herself tabled under the previous Liberal government, is this government going to support that bill?

Interjections.

Of course, the members opposite are upset that the people of Ontario are doing better under this government than they were under the previous Liberal government. Under our government, the province has a great story to tell, whether it’s the billions of dollars of investments that we’re attracting for manufacturing and electric vehicles alone; the historic investments we’re making in infrastructure; the Bradford Bypass, Highway 413, the Ontario Line; the millions of dollars we’re spending on schools and hospitals; we’re building child care places; and nearly 700,000 good-paying jobs have been created since we took government.

The people of Ontario should be proud of this province, as I am, and I hope the members opposite can find a way to stand up for the people of Ontario instead of standing in the way of the hard work that we’re doing to build a stronger and more prosperous Ontario.

They’re saying that they don’t believe we should provide important health information like vaccination campaigns and public health measures, just like we did during the pandemic. They’re saying that they don’t believe the people of Ontario should be told what the government is doing to build new homes so that young families can finally achieve the dream of home ownership. They’re saying that they don’t believe that the government of Ontario should inform Ontarians about how we’re spending their hard-earned taxpayer dollars to build a stronger economy and create new jobs. And they’re saying that they don’t believe that we should promote Ontario around the world as a great place to come and invest and create jobs to build a better economy and a more prosperous future for Ontarians. Mr. Speaker—

This is very clear: They wouldn’t be able to come up with a marketing plan if their life depended on it. We’re business people. We want to market Ontario to the 16 million people that are here that have relatives and friends and businesses all around the world, not to mention how we are marketing everywhere down in the US, our number one trading partner—we do about $460 billion in two-way trade—telling the world that Ontario is open for business, come and invest.

Guess what, Mr. Speaker? They’ve invested. They’ve invested in a big way. Some $28 billion with EV, tens of billions of dollars in tech, $3 billion in life sciences and, my favourite one, the manufacturers out there: They created more jobs than in all 50 US states combined. Our province is moving forward. We’re an economic powerhouse in North America.

To the Premier: This government’s self-congratulatory It’s Happening Here ad campaign has cost taxpayers $8 million. You know what is happening here, Speaker: 2.3 million Ontarians are desperate for primary care; 203 emergency room closures, largely due to the shortage of nurses, largely due to Bill 124, this government’s legislation; shelters designed for six-week stays are housing folks for months because of a lack of affordable housing options; and nearly half of Ontario’s universities are running deficits, saying they are at a breaking point—that is what’s happening here in Ontario. We heard all of this during our pre-budget consultations with folks from across this great province.

Instead of meeting the needs of Ontarians, this government is selling them partisan ads about what a great job they are doing. Why does this government continue to ignore the real problems that Ontarians are facing?

During pre-budget consultations, we heard from Ontarians about the continued underfunding of health care, about housing and around education, around basic public services in Ontario.

Meanwhile, this Conservative government spent $24 million on partisan ad campaigns in 2022-23. When the Conservative government was in opposition, they were dead set against partisan advertising. The current Minister of Health stated—and this is a quote from Hansard: “It’s inappropriate, people see through it, and it must stop.” We agree with that statement.

My question to the Premier: Is the government fixated on partisan government advertising because they know that they are failing the great people of this province?

Interjections.

You know what’s happening here? What’s happening here is 8,000 new physicians have joined and registered since 2018. Under the leadership of Premier Ford, we are making investments that are making an impact in communities across Ontario: a historic $110-million investment in primary care multidisciplinary teams—multidisciplinary teams that are going to be in Kitchener-Waterloo, that are going to be in Ottawa, in London and across Ontario to ensure that people who want to have a primary care physician have the opportunity to do that. Those multidisciplinary teams are making an impact in the communities that we serve, and the people of Ontario need to know that it’s happening here.

The Deputy Premier and Minister of Health.

Premier.

Speaker, when the Liberals and NDP were in government, they built nothing. The NDP and Liberals are choosing to attack the public servants like engineers, like railway experts and planners.

Our government, under the leadership of Premier Ford, is focusing on building Ontario. We have the Ontario Line, shovels in the ground—the Liberals and NDP voted against this. We have shovels in the ground for the Scarborough subway—the Liberals and NDP voted against it. We even made One Fare possible, saving $1,600, and the Liberals and NDP voted against it. We won’t take lessons from the Liberals and NDP. We will continue to build Ontario, and we will get it right.

My question is for the Premier. Recently, Metrolinx put out insulting ads that were called, See Beyond the Construction, that ran in movie theatres across the GTA—Speaker, those are the ads you see when you to go a film. But these ads mocked transit riders who were legitimately complaining about broken deadlines and massive cost overruns in the Eglinton Crosstown LRT. But following public outrage and loud groans in movie theatres—believe me—the ad campaign was yanked from Metrolinx’s YouTube page. But we have since discovered that this ad campaign alone cost $2.5 million.

So, Speaker, will the Premier rise in this place today and apologize to transit users, apologize to the taxpayers of Ontario for this terrible ad by Metrolinx?

I have a question for the Minister of Energy this morning. Hard-working families and workers in my riding of Niagara West are concerned about the 23% Liberal carbon tax increase coming on April 1. With far too many people struggling to make ends meet, I know that the people in my riding are looking to governments of all stripes for more support and relief, not more taxes.

I know that that’s why Premier Ford and this government have fought the regressive Liberal carbon tax all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada. But it’s not just the people of Ontario who oppose the Liberal carbon tax increases. We’re seeing Premiers from Newfoundland and Labrador, PEI, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick—they’ve all come out to speak against the Liberal tax hikes. But the federal Liberals and the queen of the carbon tax, Bonnie Crombie, aren’t fooling anyone here in Ontario.

So my question, Speaker, is: Could the minister please tell this House why the people of Ontario cannot afford another federal Liberal carbon tax hike?

Our government has and will continue to fight against the Liberal carbon tax because we know it’s not what the people of this province expect or deserve. Could the minister please tell this House a little bit more about why the Liberal carbon tax is creating financial hardship for so many hard-working families and workers here in Ontario?

Speaker, let’s just be really clear about what the member from Niagara is talking about this morning. The Parliamentary Budget Officer—this is the officer that oversees the finances on Parliament Hill in Ottawa—has said that the increased carbon tax coming up a week from today is going to cost an Ontario family almost $1,700 next year—$1,674. That means increasing grocery bills. It means increasing cost of home heating. It means increases, certainly, at the gas pumps as well, as you’re filling your vehicles.

As the member rightly points out, the queen of the carbon tax, Bonnie Crombie, isn’t fooling anyone. Crombie is one of only a few leaders across the country—and there’s hardly any anymore—that aren’t speaking out against the federal government’s carbon tax. That includes NDP, Liberals and Conservatives right across Canada. She continues to support the Trudeau government’s mammoth 23% increase.

We have to scrap this tax. There’s still time to do that, Mr. Speaker.

Our government, under the leadership of Premier Ford, has been focused on driving costs down for the people of Ontario, whether it’s cutting gas taxes by 10.7 cents a litre, bringing in One Fare to all transit systems across the GTHA, scrapping the licence plate sticker fees and other fees, eliminating the tolls on the 400-series of highways—we’ve taken many, many steps to ensure that the cost of living is more affordable for the people of Ontario. But a week from today, the feds are going to drive up the carbon tax—

My question is to the Minister of Health. On March 5 to 7, Englehart hospital’s emergency room was closed—the first time ever in history. So people who don’t have access to primary care for that time didn’t have access to an emergency room either. Now we hear many hospitals are in danger of collapsing because of the extra costs they’re paying for agency nurses. And while this is happening, at exactly the same time, the government is spending advertising dollars saying how great the health care system is.

My question to the Minister of Health: Is she the Minister of Health or the minister of self-promotion?

My question is to the Minister of Health: You introduced this bill initially. What happened to those principles?

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker, no other government is doing more for transportation infrastructure than this government under the leadership of Premier Ford. We have tasked Metrolinx to build the largest transit expansion in the history of North America. These are public servants. They are engineers. They are planners. They are experts in transportation, Mr. Speaker. They are globally recognized public servants from our local communities. We will continue to build transportation.

Mr. Speaker, 80% of the priority projects are ahead of schedule, and we are focusing to make sure we get to build this transit right for the future generation. We will never take lessons from the NDP or Liberals, who chose to build nothing.

I’m happy to hear when things are made in Ontario. What I’m not happy to hear about, Mr. Speaker, is the carbon tax made in Ottawa by the Liberals and NDP. There are many commuters in my riding. I hear first-hand the concerns about the carbon tax. It is inconceivable to put a tax on commuters who must travel to make a living.

Mr. Speaker, we hear from the people of Ontario. That’s why we are making sure no government puts a carbon tax on the people of Ontario. If passed, a carbon tax will require a referendum under our Get It Done Act. In Ontario, we will keep the heat on in our homes not on the finances of the people of Ontario, Mr. Speaker. Say no to the carbon tax and yes to common sense.

To make sure the Liberals and NDP can control their spending habits and not take a loan against Ontarians, we are making sure carbon taxes are a matter of referendum. Commuters don’t deserve to be treated this way at all by the Liberals and NDP. We are—

Interjections.

Our message is very clear: Ontario’s economy will grow, but not from the taxed pockets, but from the hard work and innovation of the people of Ontario.

My question is for the Associate Minister of Transportation. Since the federal government imposed the carbon tax, people in our province and across this great country have been paying more for everything. Whether it’s at the grocery store to buy food or at the gas pumps, they are finding it challenging to keep up with the rising costs.

To add insult to injury, the Liberal-NDP coalition is now hiking the carbon tax yet again on April 1. Speaker, that’s unfair to the hard-working people and families of Ontario who are already struggling to buy the necessities for daily living. We know the opposition doesn’t care to intervene so that’s why our government must continue to fight this tax and make life more affordable for Ontarians.

Speaker, can the associate minister tell the House what steps our government is taking to fight the carbon tax?

Speaker, the federal government has increased the carbon tax on gasoline five times so far, and they are planning another seven increases by 2030. Grocery prices are already unaffordable for far too many people, as are the costs for other products and services. This tax is only adding further strain to Ontarians’ household budgets.

While the opposition NDP and independent Liberals continue to ignore their constituents, our government is advocating for Ontarians and are calling for the end of this tax. Can the associate minister tell the House how our government is combatting the Liberal-NDP tax hikes?

Well, I guess back to the Premier: The transit riders of the GTA just got your answer—no apology. Metrolinx can have a million-dollar CEO that runs insulting ads that cost the people of this province $2.5 million, and no one on that side of the House today will stand up and apologize. That’s a shame.

But do you know what also is a shame, Speaker? I’ve learned from an internal source at Metrolinx that they have over 400 staff alone in communications and marketing—400. If you eyeball a $60,000 salary, that’s $8.5 million. What limits is this government going to allow Phil Verster, their million-dollar man, to go in spending the people’s money and insulting transit riders as they fail to build transit?

Speaker, for the sixth time in this House, I will rise and insist that this government do the right thing and fire Phil Verster.

Supplementary question?

Minister of Health.