Coming to question period, sometimes, is just like reading the Toronto Star—because I read that story this morning.

The NDP want us to interfere in the independent tribunal when it suits their purpose. They want us to interfere in an independent tribunal and independent hearings. They would have us meddle in that independence. When they want a different outcome somewhere else, they say, “You shouldn’t be meddling.” So I just don’t know which way it goes with the NDP, except the end justifies the means for them.

We will not meddle with the independent tribunal. We set up a fair, transparent process. And we’ll let them do their work.

My question is for the Minister of Education.

As Ontario’s population grows, the need to maintain and expand our public education system has become increasingly important.

Our government must continue to build the education infrastructure we need to ensure that future generations have access to state-of-the-art schools in their communities.

Under the leadership of Premier Ford, we’re making critical investments that will provide children in this province with the resources and the support they need to thrive and succeed in an ever-changing world.

Can the minister please tell the House what our government is doing to help more children attend school close to home?

It’s crucial that more learning spaces be built so our education infrastructure can keep pace with Ontario’s growing communities. Ontario families cannot wait, like they did under the Liberals, to have a new school built in their communities. Students deserve convenient access to in-class learning that comes with extracurricular activities, sports and clubs. That’s why our government must continue to support the construction of modern educational facilities where students can receive the important lifelong skills, such as reading, writing and math, they need.

Now that our government has more than doubled the fund to build schools—Speaker, through you—can the minister please outline our government’s plan to build schools faster?

I want to thank the member from Thornhill for her leadership in advocating for us to go back to basics in Ontario schools.

After we landed deals with every teacher union in Ontario, a historic achievement that’s providing stability for children, we announced a commitment to more than double the funding to build modern schools, after the former Liberals closed 600 in this province—a commitment to more than double the funding, a 136% increase in funding as we approved, this year alone, over 27,000 student spaces, 1,700 additional child care spaces in schools. When you put it all together, under our government’s leadership, 100,000 spaces are being built as we speak.

We’re building. We are investing and delivering a more highly qualified education system that goes back to the basics in Ontario.

Speaker, I’m proud to report that in this round, because of the changes we implemented in the Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act, 81% of new builds in this province are using standardized designs as a consequence of our mission, which is to speed up construction, to approve shovel-ready projects in our smallest towns and our biggest cities, as we build schools and highways and homes and the infrastructure necessary to ensure we build this province.

Supplementary question. The member for University–Rosedale.

The government House leader.

The supplementary question.

The next question.

Next question.

After the Liberals increased child care costs 500%, pricing so many families out of the job market, and mothers often had to stay home instead of going to work because of the economic disincentives of unaffordable child care, we delivered a plan, in partnership with all levels of government, that has reduced fees by 50%, saving $8,000 to $12,000 per child.

The member speaks about access for constituents who would seek child care, and yet the member’s party and the Liberals recommended to the government that we remove 30% of the market by denying for-profit child care. We’re talking about tens of thousands of spaces for families in Toronto that would have been reduced and cut and eliminated if we did it the way the NDP and Liberals recommended.

We are standing up for choice, we’re respecting parents, and we’re ensuring all families benefit from affordability in this province.

The record must be clear: Liberals and New Democrats stood in this House encouraging—in fact, demanding—that the government sign a deal that would have left 70,000 spaces and families behind because of your ideological conviction to oppose small business women who own for-profit child care. That’s the choice. That’s what those three parents you mentioned should know—that you would have made it worse, increased wait-lists, decreased access, increased costs.

We stood up to this Prime Minister for a better deal. We will always stand up for all families, all children, in all regions of this province.

My question is for the Minister of Energy.

During a period of rising cost of living and high interest rates, it’s important for all governments to find ways to make life more affordable for people in Ontario. But the Liberal carbon tax keeps making life more difficult for the hard-working men and women in our province. I’ve heard from my constituents’ families and farmers in my riding of Lanark–Frontenac–Kingston about how much costs for gas and groceries have increased as a result of this tax. Everyone in Ontario is experiencing this.

Speaker, I understand small businesses across the province still haven’t seen any of the rebate money they were promised three years ago. That’s not right.

Ontarians are looking to our government for support. That’s why we need to keep calling on the federal Liberals to cut the carbon tax.

Can the minister please explain how the Liberal carbon tax is creating financial hardship for everyone in our province?

As I said, life is already expensive for the hard-working people of our province. But the Liberals in this Legislature, much like their federal counterparts, are only focused on raising taxes for Ontario families and businesses. People in our province need urgent relief.

Unlike the carbon tax queen, Bonnie Crombie, and her caucus, our government is focused on making life more affordable for Ontarians.

It’s time for the federal government to listen to what we have been saying for years and get rid of the carbon tax once and for all.

Can the minister explain what our government is doing to protect the people of this province from the costly carbon tax?

Thanks to the great member from just north of Kingston. He’s an outstanding new member in our caucus. He’s standing up for residents in his riding who have great concerns about the carbon tax, whether they’re farmers, or that mom and dad who is heading to take their kids to hockey—as I mentioned earlier—or to school, or the construction workers who are working so hard.

The member talked about those small business people who haven’t received their carbon tax rebate. We can solve this by not having the carbon tax in the first place, which is what we’ve been pushing for since 2018 here, with Premier Ford and our team in Ontario. I had a meeting with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business just last week, where they told me about the fact that this $1.3 billion had been stuck there in Ottawa and business owners hadn’t received it. Obviously, again, the solution to the problem—scrap the carbon tax. Eliminate it entirely, so you don’t have to worry about it.

Bonnie Crombie, the queen of the carbon tax, and the Ontario Liberal caucus believe that the people of Ontario are better off with this carbon tax than without it.

I know the people just north of Kingston, up in Smiths Falls, Perth and all of those great communities in eastern Ontario, don’t support the carbon tax.

Let’s be clear again: The queen of the carbon tax, Bonnie Crombie, loves hiking taxes. That’s all she did when she was the mayor of Mississauga for all those years, and now she has brought those same practices to her partisan role as the Liberal leader here in Ontario. She’s happy to have the federal carbon tax in place. And she would be way too expensive for the people of Ontario if she was ever elected into this wonderful chamber that we have here in Ontario.

Again, we’re standing up for the people of Ontario by cutting gasoline taxes, while Liberals are driving gasoline taxes up higher and higher every year—on April 1. We’re cutting those gasoline taxes. We’re ensuring that we have affordable energy right across the province, like that big investment in hydroelectric power—

Interjections.

Well, Speaker, I say this: I know the member’s riding very well. I used to live in the community, and I used to have to take the Scarborough 86 bus from my home to Kennedy station, and then Kennedy station—for my first job, which was as an intern at the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

Now, after 15 years of Liberals, do you know what people are still doing in that neck of the woods? They’re still taking the Scarborough 86 bus to Kennedy station, to get on a subway to get to work downtown. But do you know what’s going to stop for them? They’re going to have a subway now in Scarborough. Do you know why? Because we’re building that subway. Now, if they choose not to go to University of Toronto downtown, they can go to the expanded University of Toronto—where? In Scarborough. If they want to be a doctor, do you know where they can go get that education? In Scarborough. Do you know what they couldn’t do under 15 years of Liberals and Liberals in that riding? Anything, Mr. Speaker—because that’s what the Liberals did; they held Scarborough back.

We’re unleashing opportunity, and it’s good for Scarborough.

Interjections.

For 15 years, Ontario Liberals did nothing for Scarborough. They did not build subways. They did not build new hospitals. They did not build a new medical school.

There is no government that has done more for Scarborough than this government, under the leadership of Premier Ford. We are building the Scarborough subway after 15 years of Liberal inaction.

The Ontario Liberals voted no for the Scarborough subway. The Ontario Liberals voted no for the first-ever medical school in Scarborough.

Guess what? The people of Scarborough deserve new hospitals. Premier Doug Ford is building a brand new hospital, and Ontario Liberals voted no for the brand new hospital—

Interjections.

The Carmelite daycare that serves my riding is shutting its doors for good in July. Once the doors are shut, Jennifer, a single mother in my riding, will no longer have child care for her daughter. She is one of 175 families impacted by this closure.

What is this government doing to make sure that there is child care for all of the families in Ontario who require it?

Tina, another parent who is impacted, is on multiple wait-lists for child care, and her child may have to change schools if the Carmelite centre closes.

This government has fought against $10-a-day child care from the get-go. They were the last province to sign the agreement with the federal government. TD Bank estimated that we would need 315,000 spaces for $10-a-day child care; this government made a plan for one third of that number. This government downloaded administration to municipalities for implementing the $10-a-day child care, then cut $85.5 million from those administration fees.

Will this government stop its crusade against $10-a-day child care, or will you leave Jennifer, Tina and hundreds of thousands of families across this province without the child care that they need?

Ontarians are tired of broken promises and flip-flops. It seems like the government doesn’t think before they act. The Premier promised a London GO line and then cancelled it—reversing course on the UP Express only two days after announcing it; six years working on the Eglinton Crosstown, while the CEO gets six-figure raises, and they still refuse to provide timelines for its completion.

Do you know what, Mr. Speaker? It seems like this government has a real problem with trains. But do you know which one is working just fine? The $6.9-million gravy train that is running right through the Premier’s office, where the Premier has raised the budget by $4 million in just six years and 48 staffers are making more than the average Ontario family.

So again, why should anyone in Milton or across Ontario believe this government when all they have done is break their promises?

I’d like to thank the member from Simcoe–Grey for that important question.

Ontario farmers are ready to grow food for a growing Ontario, and they’re ready to do it 365 days out of the year. But by taxing farmers, you’re actually taxing growing Ontario.

Let me give you a quote from John de Bruyn, the former chair of Ontario Pork: The carbon tax “has amounted to an unfair burden to farmers, adding costs and lowering incomes, without reducing emissions.”

Mr. Speaker, farmers need to heat their barns; they need to dry grain; they need to power the greenhouses—there’s no option here; it has to be done.

If we eliminate this useless tax on farmers, we could unleash the full potential of farming and agriculture in the province of Ontario.

That’s why the Minister of Agriculture signed a letter, together with 25 farm and agricultural organizations, calling on the federal government to pause the destructive carbon tax increase on April 1.

I urge the Liberals in this House: Please, take that letter to your federal colleagues in Ottawa. Hop in your minivan and hand-deliver it to Justin Trudeau in Ottawa and remove the carbon tax.

Farmers cannot afford Liberals. They can’t afford the Liberal leader.

Our government will do everything it can to make farming and food production in Ontario more affordable.

Aamjiwnaang First Nation is asking Sarnia’s Ineos chemical plant to be shut down after community members reported headaches, nausea and dizziness on Tuesday. The First Nations’ air quality monitoring station near the band office continues to report high benzene levels.

Why is Ontario allowing this company to continue with business as usual while people are getting sick from their emissions?

My question is to the Solicitor General.

Speaker, with more than a 100% increase in occurrences this year compared to the same period in 2023, I need to talk about the carjackings again. This is clearly not the first time that you have heard me speak on this issue, but when my constituents tell me that they feel unsafe in their cars, on the streets, and even in their own homes, I must speak up for them.

Can the Solicitor General please tell this House about the progress that the Provincial Carjacking Joint Task Force has been making?

Speaker, more than 12,000 vehicles were stolen in Toronto last year, with a combined value of $790 million.

The impact of car theft extends to all Ontarians, due to increasing insurance premiums. With the rise in inflation and the costs of living, the last thing that we need now is another added expense.

My follow-up question to the Solicitor General is, how are stolen vehicles being shipped overseas? And can he explain how this government is putting pressure on the federal government to take this issue seriously and to act immediately?

I want to thank my colleague opposite.

It’s undeniable that the crisis that we have in auto theft is completely unacceptable—people’s doors are being knocked in at 5 in the morning and people are being demanded to hand over the keys. That’s why we’ve never had a government—we’ve never had a stronger government, our government, led by Premier Ford, that takes this so seriously.

Mr. Speaker, I have to say that the OPP and Toronto police have teamed up to lead a province-wide task force to fight auto theft, and in January, this past year—the proof is in the pudding, because of what they have accomplished: 89 people arrested, 554 charges laid, and hundreds of vehicles returned.

Our investment of over $100 million is working. Supporting over 21 police services with auto theft grants is working. We’re treating this with high priority.

Mr. Speaker, we know, on this side, where we sit, but the opposition does not stand for public safety. And do you know why we know it? Because when police board budgets went before their councils for approval, the proxies for the Liberals and the NDP voted no in Ottawa, in London, in Hamilton, and in other cities. It’s completely unacceptable.

Supplementary question.

My question is for the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

Pork farmers contribute to making Ontario a world-class exporter for growing international markets. In 2023, Ontario’s pork sector contributed over $3 billion in GDP to the provincial economy and supported over 19,000 jobs across the value chain from the farm to processing.

Despite its instrumental contribution to our province’s economy, the overall competitiveness of this sector is compromised by the federal carbon tax. This regressive and punitive carbon tax leads to increased costs of production and transportation of food, placing a heavy financial burden on farmers and compromising the competitiveness of our agricultural sector on a global scale.

Can the minister please explain how the federal carbon tax is negatively impacting Ontario’s farmers?

The carbon tax only serves to harm farmers in my riding of Simcoe–Grey and across this great province, and it impacts their potential to grow Ontario’s agriculture and food industry.

Speaker, Ontario’s agriculture and food industry contributes over $48 billion to our province’s GDP and economy, representing more than 800,000 jobs. That is why it is so vital that this sector continues to grow and produce more food for our growing population and expand its export market.

However, production costs for our farmers, greenhouse growers and food processors have risen considerably since the implementation of this disastrous carbon tax. That is why we on this side of the House are continuing to urge the federal government to scrap the carbon tax now.

Can the parliamentary assistant outline what measures our government has taken to support our farmers and fight this carbon tax?

I am concerned about what’s happening, and I spoke to Aamjiwnaang’s Chief Plain yesterday to discuss the situation and the impacts on the people of his community. I also spoke to representatives from Ineos and made it clear that we expect them to quickly work to identify the source of these emissions and implement a solution.

Make no mistake: When it comes to protecting health and safety, we will not hesitate to use our strong regulatory tools and enforce actions to hold emitters to account.

As of now, our mobile air-monitoring truck has already been deployed for several days and remains on site in Sarnia indefinitely.

I will continue to ensure that compliance with all past orders made to Ineos, including requirements to install emission-control equipment, are done and air quality is monitored.

Thank you to the great member from Brantford–Brant for his strong advocacy for his small businesses.

So many of our small businesses rely heavily on transportation and energy-intensive operations to deliver their goods and services. Ontario’s agricultural and agri-food businesses, from family farms to processing facilities, have seen their transportation and operating costs skyrocket. But the opposition Liberals and NDP have ignored the basic economics of why the carbon tax is bad for business. In fact, they think business owners and customers are better off.

So if you’re a lover of farmers’ markets, you can thank a Liberal the next time you see the price of Ontario produce go up. And when you pick up the necessary groceries for your family, you can thank a Liberal when you have to make those tough decisions on what to pick up and what to put back.

Join us and tell the Trudeau Liberals that this expensive, unaffordable tax has to be axed.