My question is for the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade.

The federal carbon tax is hurting businesses across this province. It’s significantly harmful to small and medium-sized businesses, which are crucial sources of employment for our regional communities.

When the federal government hikes energy costs with their carbon tax, it hurts these small businesses—their bottom lines. Unfortunately, this has meant that many small businesses and businesses have been left with the difficult choice of scaling back production, laying off employees, or closing their doors altogether. Sadly, the federal government, along with the independent Liberals and opposition NDP, do not care.

Can the minister please explain how, unlike the NDP and Liberals, who want to penalize businesses, our government is providing support for them?

My question is for the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. We’ve seen a record number of investments come into our province since we took office because we have kept costs low for businesses. In the auto sector, we have attracted generational investments that are building Ontario’s end-to-end EV supply chain and creating tens of thousands of jobs in the process.

But rather than supporting our low-tax agenda, the NDP and Liberals in this House continue to support the federal government’s carbon tax. They will never miss an opportunity to support tax increases as they are doing with the federal carbon tax.

Speaker, can the minister please explain how our government is positioning Ontario as a global powerhouse in EV production by keeping costs low?

Interjections.

My question is for the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. In recent years, the Southeast Asian region has become increasingly important to the global economy, with rapid economic expansion, massive infrastructure projects and a growing middle class. There are significant economic opportunities for Ontario in this region.

I understand the minister has just returned from a trade mission in that part of the world. Can the minister please share how our government is ensuring Ontario is able to capitalize on the massive economic opportunities emerging in Southeast Asia?

Speaker, our trade and investment offices allow us to let the world know about the wealth of opportunities Ontario has to offer. Can the minister please elaborate on the importance of our network of international trade and investment offices?

My question is for the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. Since taking office, our government has recognized the importance of building a resilient manufacturing sector. That’s why, in July, we added more manufacturing jobs to our economy than all 50 US states combined.

Interjections.

Can the minister provide an update on some of the manufacturing investments we’ve welcomed since we last met in June?

Our government recognizes how important the manufacturing sector is to the success of our economy, which is why manufacturing employment is now at one of the highest levels since December 2008.

Can the minister tell us and tell the House about other recent manufacturing investments?

Thank you to the member opposite for her presentation. I listened thoughtfully to what was said, but I’m also aware of the fact that—she talked about limiting economic participation. We have a number of thriving businesses in Thornhill. We have a number of small businesses. Small businesses are the backbone of Ontario. Sometimes they are crippled by things that get in the way of doing their jobs. To that point, in 2017, Ontario businesses were paying $33,000 in annual compliance fees. That’s $4,000 more than any other province, and the largest regulatory burden in Canada.

Clearly we have to understand that red tape is a significant barrier to our economic competitiveness. So why does the opposition continuously vote against this kind of red tape reduction measure, when all the benefits they would have for the people of Ontario, including the—