This year, the Special Olympics Canada Winter Games, les Jeux d’hiver d’Olympiques spéciaux Canada ont eu lieu à Calgary. These 2024 Winter Games were extra special because seven of the national athletes were from Sudbury and they brought home seven medals. Our Sudbury athletes participated in five-pin bowling and the snowshoeing competitions, and during the games, they demonstrated tenacity, courage and love for the sport. One of our athletes, Mathieu, is currently waiting to see if he will be advancing to the worlds in Italy in 2025.

It wasn’t just their skills that made an impression; Air Canada was so impressed, they asked for a group photo outside their plane with all the athletes in their plaid Team Ontario uniforms.

It was my absolute pleasure to meet with them and their coaches at my local office last week. I love hearing about all their great experiences, and I’d like to take this time to congratulate Eric and Mathieu and Lori and Amanda, Gabriel and Taylor for their achievements.

You’ve all made Sudbury incredibly proud. Félicitations pour toutes vos réussites.

I would like to continue the list from my colleague the member from Sudbury and welcome more folks from OPSEU: Casey McGuire, Andrew Ruszczak, Cody Williams, RM Kennedy and Michael Gilmour, who is watching from home.

I’m also pleased to welcome my friend Tricia Jacobs to the Legislature today, and my executive assistant, Heather Lambert-Hillen, is also joining us today. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

I just got back from Sudbury and Nickel Belt. On a beautiful spring day in northern Ontario, there was lots to say about that, but I think it’s important to just have some context here, Mr. Speaker.

The nation was in the grips of a soap opera called the carbon tax paradise. Trouble in paradise last week as Jagmeet was unsure of his commitment and Justin was confused with the position. By Monday, a tired, broke nation from paying the carbon tax found out that Jagmeet reaffirmed his commitment, embracing the carbon tax on families, communities and businesses.

The next episode started this morning, when Premier Furey from Newfoundland said that he felt baited by the Prime Minister, Mr. Speaker. He says he’s being “very sclerotic in his approach” to this ideological marriage.

Mr. Speaker, we’ve divorced ourselves from the carbon tax fully and completely. We stand up for families and businesses in northern Ontario who are probably looking at a $2-per-litre gas price tomorrow, Mr. Speaker. Scrap the tax.

In Sudbury and Nickel Belt yesterday, I spoke to a young couple who started up a new business, and they’re bringing out all the trail groomers from ski hills and snowmobile trails from across northern Ontario—from Kenora and Timmins all the way down to Sudbury for repairs, okay? And I said, “What is this costing your business?” He said, “It’s almost out of reach.” It doesn’t make financial sense to get this heavy machinery down to their shops in Sudbury.

Mr. Speaker, whether they’re steel fabricators in Nickel Belt or folks that do the real work, preparing for mining equipment—

I have the honour to table a petition today that’s signed by many residents of the greater Sudbury area.

We know that air quality in our schools has a significant impact on our children, on their health, on their capacity to learn, on whether they’re present in school or not. But in Ontario, there are no standards for measuring or monitoring air quality and reporting on it. In our neighbouring province next door, Quebec, there are such standards, and so these petitioners are calling on the government of Ontario to require the Ministry of Education to take action to improve air quality in our schools and child care centres in Ontario by supporting and adopting the Improving Air Quality for Our Children Act.

I am very happy to add my signature to this petition and send it to the table with page Manha.