Further questions?

What I noticed about the Get It Done Act is the move to make it easier to expropriate farmland to build new transportation projects. I think about Highway 413, a $6-billion highway that will be travelling through some of the most fertile, productive farmland in North America. It doesn’t make a lot of sense. And studies show that it might save people a minute in their commute times.

If we’re looking at helping people get from A to B, what other transit or transportation solutions would you like to see in Bill 162?

I’m very happy to rise again today to speak about Bill 162, the Get It Done Act, 2024. This bill is an important part of the Ontario government’s plan to make life easier and more affordable for Ontarians. If passed, this bill would keep costs down and support important infrastructure projects.

Speaker, our plan is already saving Ontario households time and money. We have attracted hundreds of thousands of jobs, like today’s new Honda plant and the Volkswagen plant, thousands and thousands of new jobs. We cut costs for families and have gotten shovels in the ground for many critical projects. This bill would continue that progress.

Even still, after six years of successful policies, there remain some who are opposed to our government’s strategy. Some of the other parties don’t agree with our plan to build infrastructure like housing, transit, highways, hospitals and schools. Some of the other parties don’t agree with how we are putting money back in people’s pockets, like by cutting the gas tax, the licence plate renewal fees and implementing the One Fare transit program, which saves every individual using this program $1,600 a year—each Ontarian. Some of the other parties in this House are even in favour of increasing taxes like the carbon tax on hard-working Ontarians. They either voted in favour of it or supported those who did.

I agree with the Minister of Finance’s comments during the 2024 budget when he outlined the need to continue pushing forward. Madam Speaker, at a time such as this time, when uncertainty abounds and people are struggling to put food on the table, now is not the time to raise taxes or reduce investments. Now is the time to keep costs low while building more infrastructure. Now is the time to get it done.

Once again, I would like to express my support for Bill 162 and discuss a little bit about how it would positively impact Ontario families.

Speaker, to begin, I want to start with an example, because sometimes it is the small things that are most revealing. In 2022, our government eliminated the licence plate renewal fees. This saved vehicle owners a lot of money. The government has also done a great job setting up an online renewal system and digital reminders. This has saved Ontarians a lot of time and removed red tape. But the question we need to ask ourselves is, can we do more? We have already eliminated the renewal fees and the stickers. Why not simplify the renewal process entirely? That’s what this bill proposes to do.

Under the current system, vehicle owners still need to renew their licence plates every one or two years. It is tedious and annoying, and many people forget. This bill would, if passed, allow the government to automatically renew licence plates for those that are in good standing. It would save vehicle owners time and, hopefully, less people will forget to renew. It’s a small but meaningful change and demonstrates how our government is making life easier for Ontarians, even with changes that might otherwise fly under the radar.

Next, let’s talk about infrastructure. Through a number of changes, Bill 162 is proposing to streamline processes for infrastructure to be built quicker. New expropriation rules in the Environmental Assessment Act would clarify how municipalities and provincial ministries can acquire land to begin infrastructure projects. Our government is undertaking large-scale infrastructure investment, so this would be very helpful.

Just to give an example, the latest budget allocated $1.3 billion for the construction and expansion of 60 schools across the province. It is a huge, historic investment in education, creating more spaces for students by doubling the previous funding commitments. That will amount to over 27,000 new student spaces and over 1,700 child care spaces. That’s not including the investments which our government has put into the maintenance of schools, adding filters in all the classes during the COVID time. So that’s on top of that.

Likewise, the government is working on investments to support seniors. The Minister of Finance and the Minister of Long-Term Care were in my riding, Erin Mills, on Tuesday, at Winston Churchill and Dundas, where Ivan Franko Homes is building a new long-term-care facility as part of their campus of care. The ministers were there in Mississauga to announce $155.5 million of funding this year to fast-track long-term-care homes. If eligible projects are approved to construct by November 30, they will receive a construction subsidy that lasts 25 years. This is a great incentive to get shovels in the ground faster, and it shows how much our government is investing in important infrastructure for all demographics.

Madam Speaker, during second reading debate of this bill, I told the House about the government announcement for investments in the Milton GO rail corridor. For transit riders living in Mississauga–Erin Mills, the Milton GO service is our one connection into and out of the city. As the morning train departs from Milton to Union, it stops at the nearby stations of Lisgar, Meadowvale, Streetsville and Erindale, picking up Mississauga residents along the way.

Tens of thousands of commuters use this corridor on a daily basis, travelling into and out of Toronto for work. Without the Milton line, residents of Mississauga would be forced to find another means of transportation, or else not travel at all. This is why the services of the Milton line are so critical.

Madam Speaker, you can imagine my joy in February when the government announced its plans to invest in the Milton rail corridor by building new tracks that will allow for two-way, all-day train service. This opens up new possibilities for residents of Mississauga.

As a user of that line 25 years ago, I was using that Milton line every day in the morning. The only challenge is that, at the time, there were four trains in the morning in one direction and four trains in the other direction in the evening. So that’s not convenient if I would be late at work or I needed to be early in the office. Now, if this is passed and we get that done, there will be a line going 24 hours every day, all day. There would be more access to Toronto city, even at times outside of the weekly days’ rush hour.

The provincial government is committed to building infrastructure, Madam Speaker. You can see this commitment exemplified in the bill’s provisions to help get infrastructure built faster and in the investments made over the past few years for large infrastructure projects all across the province.

All this being said, we are still waiting on the federal government to pitch in. In February, the Minister of Transportation asked the federal government to invest in the Milton rail corridor. The former federal Liberal Minister of Transportation has even agreed that two-way, all-day passenger train service on the Milton line is a priority, but the 2024 Liberal/NDP federal budget has not fully committed to funding this project. We continue to call on the federal government to invest in important projects like the transit initiatives for Mississauga and Milton.

Speaker, residents of Milton and Mississauga are hopeful to soon have better access to transit when two-way, all-day GO rail service comes to the Milton line, and we are very excited, but we are not just waiting for long-term solutions. This government is investing in the present as well.

Last week, the province announced the largest GO train service expansion in more than a decade: 300 new trips per week, a 15% increase, giving transit riders more options and quicker commutes. At the beginning of this weekend, April 27, the communities of Erin Mills, Meadowvale and Streetsville will benefit from these additional services. This includes one new morning and one new evening weekday rush hour trip on the Milton line. The new trains will respectively depart Milton at 6:43 a.m. and Union at 4:10 p.m. This means there will be nine trains per day in each direction.

I’m so happy to say that the GO bus route 21 is being restored with service to Union Station. This bus will once again serve Mississauga residents during the hours when trains do not run, connecting transit riders from the suburbs to the city. I thank the government for this announcement. I know many people are very happy about these changes. This will be a meaningful difference.

Speaker, our government is investing in many transportation projects in Peel region, and this includes the Hazel McCallion Line. Named after our former mayor, the late Hurricane Hazel, this light rail transit route along Hurontario Street will connect residents of Mississauga and Brampton from their work and home to where they need to go. This includes connections to GO Transit, the Mississauga Transitway and Züm. And, recently announced, the government is investing even more in the Hazel McCallion Line, with a loop to connect the downtown of Mississauga and an extension into downtown Brampton. One of the proposed measures in this Get It Done Act package is to declare the Hazel McCallion Line extensions as priority transit projects.

Under the Building Transit Faster Act that we passed in 2020, Metrolinx and Infrastructure Ontario have tools to remove roadblocks and deliver priority projects faster. If this bill is passed, the Hazel McCallion Line would be one of the projects that can receive priority treatment. In my opinion, anything we can do to reduce the red tape and get more shovels in the ground is something we should all support.

I think this is a great initiative. I am glad to see the government is committed to this project. Speaker, our infrastructure plans extend to Highway 413, where important work is under way. I need not remind the House of the many benefits this project would have. Not only would this highway help residents of Halton, Peel and York, but it could also benefit anyone who travels through the GTA, reducing gridlock and saving time on people’s commutes.

This bill, the Get It Done Act, would continue to prioritize the 413 and help get it built faster. If passed, this bill would clarify some of the rules for expropriation, strengthening the already existing practices. By continuing to take steps to reduce project planning timelines, Ontario is working to connect people to places effectively and efficiently, while supporting economic growth, creating more jobs and improving the lives of Ontarians.

The 413 is a great project. It is highly popular in the 905. It is going to save a lot of people a lot of time—30 minutes. Speaker, once the 413 is open, it would be available for Ontarians to use at a low cost. How low? Zero dollars. Speaker, zero dollars, because, if passed, schedule 6 of the Get It Done Act would prohibit the imposition of new tolls on provincial highways. This government already scrapped tolls on Highways 412 and 418 in the Durham region. Now we are committing to not adding any new tolls on the 413 either. That’s how we keep costs low for families, all the while building infrastructure and fulfilling our promises to get it done.

Another way that this government is keeping transportation costs low is by freezing fees on drivers’ licence renewals. Speaker, this bill proposes limiting drivers’ licence renewal fees to no more than $15 per year, and Ontario photo card renewals would cost no more than $7 per year. So when Ontarians renew their driver’s licence online or at a ServiceOntario location, they won’t have to pay excessive amounts in fees.

As I said before, little things can be very impactful. This small but meaningful change will put a few dollars back in people’s pockets.

On the topic of maintaining affordability for Ontarians, I would address this issue of the carbon tax. I have spoken about this issue many times before, but I want to do so again because it is important. Families across Ontario are struggling right now because of the high cost of living. High inflation and interest rates have made household finances tighter, and yet the federal Liberal-NDP government continue to double down on the carbon tax.

Ontario families don’t need more taxes right now. Ontario families do not need more taxes right now. I am proud that our government has never raised a tax on Ontarians. In fact, we have cut many taxes, such as the disastrous carbon pricing program, drivers’ licence fees, the gasoline tax.

Speaker, other governments might be willing to hike taxes on Ontarians. Even municipalities are planning it. For example, when the Liberals were in power, they implemented a cap-and-trade carbon pricing program. Some of the members that voted in favour of this legislation still sit in the House today. That carbon pricing program was not just a nuisance; it hurt hard-working Ontarians. So we abolished that disastrous tax.

But then, the federal Liberals implemented another carbon tax. We warned them about the potential consequences of such a decision, but they did it anyway, and we all know how this went. The federal carbon tax hurt Ontarians and continues to hurt Ontario families. Even this month, amidst a lot of criticism from all sides of the political spectrum, they hiked the tax again. The Liberals have made their stance clear: Against all reason, they support the carbon tax. But unlike the Liberals and NDP that continue to push for greater taxes, we are not willing to hurt Ontario families with irresponsible taxation. Bonnie Crombie might be willing to do so, but we are not.

And so, Bill 162, the Get It Done Act, would, if passed, establish a system to call a referendum if any future government attempts to implement a new provincial carbon tax. In Canada, we trust democracy. We trust the people. If Ontarians want a carbon tax, then a future government with nothing to hide should have no problem calling a referendum. But the final decision should be made by Ontarians; no tax should be imposed on Ontario families without their consent.

Therefore, you can see how this bill is a fulfillment of our government’s commitment to keep life affordable while building comprehensive infrastructure in all communities: automatic licence plate renewal, Milton Line transit expansions, the Hazel McCallion Line and Highway 413, tax cuts, fee freezes and strengthening protections against future tax increases. This government is making life easier and more affordable for residents in Mississauga and across Ontario. I’m very happy to see this bill fulfilling many of our commitments. Under the leadership of the Premier and—

Further questions?

I think that it’s not a one-size-fits-all. But having that and saying, “Yes, we should be”—Bill 23 says, “Build triplexes.” Why don’t we say, “Build fourplexes,” and give people the incentive to do that?

So, yes, absolutely, if one city doesn’t want to use it, that’s their loss, but they can be very well designed and they’re good investments. There are actually a lot of multi-generational families who actually want to live close by, and that is a very popular piece right now that I have seen. If you want to build granny flats, then there are the working parents who need help with the mortgage. So if everybody can pitch in—that multi-generational piece—then it’s affordable. But fourplexes, I think, are something that are not a scary piece and they’re not going to work everywhere, but they should be built into legislation so that people have that option to be counted in the 1.5 million housing stock.

Quite frankly, if a government decides to utilize a tax, they need to explain it. The carbon tax that the Conservatives have, they haven’t explained what they’re going to use that compliance tax money for. They’re supposed to collect it, yet nobody knows how it’s going to be used. You should have had a referendum on that, and then maybe this would have some teeth in this schedule, but, right now, no, it doesn’t have any teeth. You can’t impose it on a new government.

The other piece of the 407, to actually make it stronger, is waive the tolls for transport trucks on the 407. Saying that you’re never going to charge tolls on highways that don’t have tolls is really tongue-in-cheek. Quite frankly, the member from Oshawa, who had bills to remove tolls from the 412 and the 418, deserves the credit for pushing this government to do the right thing, so thank you for doing that. But the 407 piece, that they’re never going to put tolls on highways that don’t have tolls—again, take the tolls off the transport trucks and that will actually make it worthwhile having that schedule in here.

The Get It Done Act, or, as you say, the get it done wrong act—and it has been termed many other things—we know all the problems with this bill.

To the member from London–Fanshawe. If you had your druthers, how would you clean up this bill, or what would your focus be to get it done right?

Thank you to the member from London–Fanshawe for her excellent presentation.

As you know, the Ontario NDP has never supported any type of provincial carbon tax on regular consumers. We oftentimes have supported the cap-and-trade system focused on large polluters, which is where that focus should be.

When the Ford government proposed a new carbon pricing system by scrapping the cap-and-trade program that the Wynne government had put in, it effectively launched a new carbon pricing system in Ontario—a new provincial tax. That was launched January 1, 2022. Yet there was, on the bill right now, a piece of legislation left over from the 1990s Harris government called the Taxpayer Protection Act, which specifically said that any new tax had to go forward to a referendum. So, in some ways, it replicates what’s already in schedule 5. Yet, we know, in 2022, there was no new carbon tax referendum under the Ford administration.

So can the government bind any government to a referendum if they couldn’t even follow their own rules?

Thank you to the member.

Report continues in volume B.