My question is for the new Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.

Our government must be committed to building a stronger and prosperous Ontario. This commitment must include ensuring that Ontario is a leader in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and supporting our province’s biodiversity.

Under the previous Liberal government, Ontario missed out on key opportunities to be part of the electric vehicle revolution that could have helped in advancing transportation technology and supporting the environment.

Ontario is home to a significant source of critical minerals that are essential for our province’s future. That is why our government must continue to take thoughtful and meaningful actions to ensure that these minerals are extracted in a responsible and environmentally safe manner.

There are some people who believe that there’s a trade-off between growing the economy and protecting the environment. They believe that the focus on one requires sacrificing the other. Does the Minister of the Environment share that zero-sum perspective?

This response will be welcomed by my constituents, who strongly support the importance of collaboration when it comes to planning for the future.

Unfortunately, opposing voices repeat the tired argument that development opportunities and protection of our natural resources cannot be reconciled. These stubborn and rigid opinions do little to help local communities, businesses and our province as a whole.

As our government continues to build partnerships with communities throughout Ontario and with leading industry leaders, there is tremendous potential and many reasons for optimism.

Speaker, before our government came to office, businesses were fleeing Ontario due to high energy costs and high taxes.

How is our government securing Ontario’s prosperity?

I want to thank the member again for his questions, and I want to revisit something that we talked about.

The environment is important. The jobs are important. I talked about Russia and China having a stranglehold on the market. And 15 years is a very long time to wait to get something done for the economy, for the environment, for anyone who wants a job. This is literally going to stop things from moving in our province.

We talked about Russia and China. I really think that the member opposite needs to consider—does he think that they’re viable trading partners for critical minerals? If not, can you explain why you’re continuously creating obstacles? We want to create solutions rather than put up more obstacles. All of the respective consultations—