Last weekend, I had the pleasure to attend the Norwich Fire Fighters Association annual pancake breakfast. Volunteer firefighters spent all morning flipping up delicious pancakes and collecting donations for Norwich Youth Unlimited, also known as the Upper Deck. They’re raising funds to renovate their space and provide even more programming for youth in our community. It’s a wonderful opportunity to support a great organization in Oxford and thank our volunteer firefighters for their service, all while enjoying a delicious breakfast.

This event was made sweeter not only because of our volunteer firefighters but also because of the maple syrup that was flowing. With the support of amazing local sponsors like Haupt Tree Line Maintenance and Lot 17, families in Norwich enjoyed delicious Oxford maple syrup with their pancakes.

It’s been great to see yet another successful syrup season in Oxford, thanks in part to our government’s investment of $1 million through the Sustainable Canadian Agriculture Partnership, which supports the province’s maple syrup sector. We’re proud to keep producing delicious maple syrup and bring the rest of the world to taste Oxford.

Overall, this was a great weekend highlighting the very best of what Oxford has to offer: coming together to support a local community organization, dedicated volunteers making it happen and, of course, maple syrup.

I’d like to thank everyone who put this event on and all those who came out in support. I’m already looking forward to next year.

My question is for the Associate Minister of Small Business. Businesses in Oxford are telling me that they are facing unprecedented economic challenges due to the carbon tax and high interest rates. It increases their expenses and makes operating their businesses more challenging.

Speaker, that’s why I was honoured to see our Premier last week, along with the associate minister and other cabinet ministers, rally against the federal carbon tax hike. They were joined by groups like the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, and Food and Beverage Ontario to come together and took a stand against the job-killing tax.

I know the associate minister spoke with these industry leaders about the harmful impacts small businesses are experiencing due to the carbon tax. Can the associate minister inform the House about what she heard from them directly?

Hear, hear.