Thank you to the member from Newmarket–Aurora for raising such a critically important issue facing small businesses across our province. I have been hearing directly from entrepreneurs and job creators about the severe negative impacts the federal government’s punitive carbon tax is having on their operations and their bottom line.

The message is loud and clear: The carbon tax is an unbearable cost that is crippling small businesses and making it harder for them to survive. Many small businesses are already stressed by high inflation and supply chain disruptions.

And let’s not forget, Speaker, that Ontario’s small businesses employ well over two million people, so when they suffer, it’s the hard-working people of Ontario who pay the price through job losses and fewer local services.

Speaker, will the opposition Liberals and NDP join us in calling on Ottawa to scrap the tax, or will they continue to ignore the small businesses in their ridings and across our province?

Thank you again to the member for their very passionate advocacy on this crucial issue impacting local businesses and families in their community.

In addition to the overall costs and burdens created by the carbon tax, it’s also specifically harming certain key sectors that are vital to our economy and the daily lives of Ontarians. That’s why I will be sending another letter to my federal counterparts to ask Ottawa to pay back the thousands of dollars owed in carbon tax rebates to every small business in our province.

The facts speak for themselves. According to CFIB, a shocking 82% of small businesses across this country oppose the carbon tax because it’s an unfair, economy-killing policy that compromises their competitiveness while delivering absolutely no tangible benefits.

And yet the Liberals need a reality check. The NDP continue to arrogantly dismiss these voices from the entrepreneurial backbone of our economy. Speaker, unlike—