It’s pretty clear the only thing this government is sorry for is the fact that they got caught.

The FOI documents show that the Premier or a member of his staff wanted to make sure that the Premier’s friend, Mr. Rehmatullah, could develop these greenbelt lands in Nobleton. On November 4, Mr. Amato wrote, “Premier’s office has asked me for a picture to make sure it’s captured.”

Back to the Premier: Who in the Premier’s office was so interested in these Nobleton greenbelt lands, and why?

Interjections.

The Integrity Commissioner reported that Mr. Rehmatullah’s request for changes to these greenbelt lands in Nobleton caused quite a stir among the minister’s political staff. I think this is actually the first time I’ve ever seen the F-word written in a report tabled by an independent officer of the Legislature. The report does not explain why the minister’s political staff would give so much attention to a request from Mr. Rehmatullah.

Back to the Premier: Did he or any of his staff direct the ministry to make these changes that benefited his close friend? The people of Ontario deserve an answer.

Interjections.

Let’s just be clear: not sorry, just sorry they got caught.

This question is, again, for the Premier. Speaker, one of the reasons why this government is under RCMP investigation is because they put their friends and insiders ahead of the needs of everyone else. Since 2018, this government has given countless patronage appointments and even seven-figure contracts to their friends and donors.

Exhibit A: They tried to appoint the Premier’s friend—remember that?— Ron Taverner to head up the OPP.

Exhibit B: They appointed the Premier’s friend Mark Saunders as a special adviser to Ontario Place. Our FOI found no proof he did any work.

Exhibit C: Another friend and honoured wedding guest, Carmine Nigro, made LCBO chair and Ontario Place chair.

More to come, I’m sure.

Speaker, back, to the Premier: Why is the government stacking the deck with their unqualified insiders?

Interjections.

But it doesn’t stop there, because a majority of senior members on Ontario’s major tribunals have connections back to this Conservative Party. Massage tables, “boys’ trips” to Vegas, luxury spas—this government and their friends are living it up while people in this province suffer.

My question to the Premier is, how many times must your government get caught before there’s a moral reckoning in this province?

Interjections.

Good morning. Bonjour, monsieur le Président. Premièrement, j’aimerais souhaiter une bonne Journée internationale de la Francophonie à toutes et à tous.

Speaker, the Premier likes to say the Integrity Commissioner cleared him 1,000% over his greenbelt grab. But do you know what the Premier won’t say? Whether or not he told the commissioner that developers were charged admission to the stag-and-doe.

The commissioner has said that his clearance at the time was “only as good as the information provided to me by the member or their staff.”

My question is to the Premier: Did he disclose all of the details about these events to the Integrity Commissioner?

Expert after expert has proven that we have more than enough land to build affordable homes for people without paving over the greenbelt for overpriced luxury mansions. But this government doesn’t like experts when they get in the way. Last week, we learned that this government quietly muzzled the Greenbelt Council so they couldn’t speak out against the Premier’s land grab.

My next question to the Premier is, what was his government so afraid the council would say?

In 2018, this Premier promised Ontario that he would never touch the greenbelt. He swore up and down that he would protect it. Conservative promise made; Conservative promise broken.

Now we risk losing vital farmland, a massive carbon sink and a key protection against flooding, all so that a few well-connected insiders can make a profit.

Concerned Ontarians, including those of us in the official opposition, have called on the federal government to intervene. So my question is to the Premier: Will his government do the right thing and stop this unnecessary greenbelt grab, or do we need to wait for the feds to protect the land that he won’t?

In Toronto, on average, three unhoused people died every week last year—three a week. That’s 187 lives lost because this government didn’t have the plan in place to ensure they had a safe and stable place to live. Speaker, if you’re homeless in Toronto, your life expectancy is now half that of a housed person. That is not normal.

My question is to the Premier. Will he bring back real rent control and invest urgently in the supportive housing we need to help prevent even one more life from being lost?

And it’s not just Toronto, Speaker; from Essex to Milton to Kanata to Timmins, we now have a homelessness crisis in every corner of this province.

The Association of Municipalities of Ontario points to this Conservative government’s terrible policy and chronic underinvestment. Why is the government sitting on $6.4 billion while people are falling into desperation without safe and stable homes to live in?