I want to thank the member for Scarborough–Guildwood for introducing this motion for the floor today. I also just want to remark, in the time I have, Speaker, on the reality of the matter for transit and for safety in the province. This is something near and dear to my heart.

So, what we know from facts, Speaker—facts that are gathered—is that today, on average, 20 vulnerable road users will be brought into emergency rooms because of collisions with people who are not driving their vehicles safely. Those could be road construction workers. They could be pedestrians. They could be cyclists. They could be seniors. They could be people with disabilities. But that continues to happen, and I will join the member from Mushkegowuk–James Bay in expressing my frustration, too, that the government continues to live in an alternate universe where they don’t see these families whose loved ones have been struck down, hurt or even killed every single day, all year.

So, I want to thank the member for promoting active transportation through the integration with public transit, but I want to note for the government that we are still having people leave this earth, leave this world, or live their life in critical pain far too often.

I want to also reflect on the fact that the member has noted the need for affordable housing and transit-friendly communities, and has set a mark of 20% of new developments if Metrolinx were to get rid of property for affordable housing. When I followed up with the member, she remarked to me that, for her—as is the case for all housing experts I’m familiar with, Speaker—affordable housing is something that is 30% of one’s disposable income, not 80% of market rent, which has been the gimmick I’ve often seen from the government here and governments elsewhere, where people are priced out of their own homes. I want to salute the member for bringing that metric forward because that’s actually affordable housing.

And that leads me, Speaker, in the time I have left, to talk about the agency at question in that aspect of the member’s bill, and that is Metrolinx. Can I please say, in the time that I have left, Speaker, that I still fail to understand how this government can be happy with an agency that has tripled its number of vice-presidents in the last six years—under its watch, 27 in 2018; 82 today, Speaker. A marketing department at Metrolinx of over 400 people—a CEO that makes over a million dollars that has a reputation for bullying in the workplace, Speaker.

I want to know—just shout it out, members of the government. Can anybody name me one transit project that has been built and finished under your watch? What about the Eglinton Crosstown? What about the Finch extension? What about bus rapid transit in the member’s community of Scarborough? Can anybody name and shout out a single project that has gotten done? You can’t. You can’t, because you know what’s happened, Speaker, sadly, under the government’s watch? Ontario has become the most expensive place to build public transit in the world—in the world.

The Ontario Line right now is on schedule to cost a billion dollars per kilometre. There’s a comparable project in South Korea right now that is costing a third to build a light rail transit system. What has happened, sadly, is that the raven’s nest of consultants has descended upon Metrolinx, and they are siphoning the hard-earned taxpayer dollars of this province for their own benefit, and the meter is still running. I was joking with the member the other day. It’s like we’re all in a taxi and the meter is running and we’re not allowed to get out of the car. But I would expect a Conservative government to not only vote for this member’s bill, but to finally bring Phil Verster and the profiteers at Metrolinx to heel to get public transit built—not to finance massive paycheques to them, but to finance public transit. Thanks for bringing the bill forward.

I want to reiterate again to the members across the floor, here in Toronto, we have seen remarkable growth in the bike-share system, and there is a current disconnect between the bike-share system and the TTC and GO systems, like they almost exist in two different worlds. Bikes are a great first- and last-minute transit option, giving riders a healthier and more flexible method to get towards subway and GO stations than just buses. This legislation would compel Metrolinx to adopt that viewpoint, both in how it plans its transit routes as well as for fare integration.

We are also in a major housing crisis. How do they not know that? We are lacking housing for middle-income and lower-income residents alike. Governments have an interest in disposing of surplus land to be built into housing, particularly affordable housing for those of lower incomes. The best place to build new housing is by transit stations, as it reduces those residents’ reliance on automobiles. From the perspective of income equity and also cohesion, there is an interest in requiring affordable housing by transit stations in order to avoid driving low-income residents to far-away car-oriented communities. Let’s not forget our low-income earners.

The third part of this act is the stronger maintenance standards for Highways 11, 17 and 69. I sympathize with my member across from me—the passion, the pain that the people in the north feel, and members on the opposite side not agreeing with this bill. I feel very sorry—very sorry—for the people who are living in the north. This bill is all about having a long-term plan for transportation.