My question is to the Premier. Back in February, I asked the Premier about discrepancies in his chief of staff’s testimony to the Integrity Commissioner. You’re going to recall that Mr. Sackville testified that he didn’t discuss removal criteria related to the greenbelt with anyone until October 27. We now have evidence that he actually got an email with all the greenbelt removal criteria to his personal email account 10 days earlier.

Can the Premier explain why his chief of staff provided false testimony to the Integrity Commissioner?

Why did the Premier’s right-hand man apparently mislead the Integrity Commissioner on multiple occasions, and what consequences is he going to face?

This is the third senior staff member from this Premier’s office to have been caught given inaccurate testimony to the Integrity Commissioner. This is a government that has shown they have no respect for the people’s right to know.

I want to remind the government that their former minister was forced to resign when it was revealed that he lied under oath to the Integrity Commissioner about—

Interjection.

Good morning, Speaker. My question is for the Premier. Providing honest testimony under oath is a core principle of justice in this province. I hope that’s something we can all agree on. The Premier told the Integrity Commissioner that he was “not immediately familiar” with greenbelt speculator Sergio Manchia because, apparently, he meets thousands of people, he said. Yet senior political staff were texting each other that the Premier “needs to stop calling this guy.” My question to the Premier is, what is the nature of his relationship with Sergio Manchia?

My question is to the Premier again. Can the Premier confirm he met with Mr. Manchia in 2021 to discuss site-specific greenbelt removals?

To the Premier: Does the Premier remember Mr. Manchia now? Did he provide assurances he would remove greenbelt lands at a private fundraiser for the Conservative Party?

Interjections.

Back to the Premier: I’m not the only one who is going to be questioning the discrepancy between the Premier’s testimony and the growing mountain of evidence. I would bet that the RCMP’s special prosecutor, who is investigating the alleged criminal corruption by this government, is going to be interested too.

So I would ask the Premier, would the Premier like to take the opportunity to correct the record?

The Premier also testified that he had no conversations—no conversations—about the Gormley GO station area prior to November 4, 2022. But minutes from a meeting on October 13, three weeks earlier, say, “Gormley—decision on areas is with the Premier’s office right now” and goes on to say, by the way, the “Premier doesn’t understand [the lands are] in the Oak Ridges moraine.”

Back to the Premier: Could he clarify his testimony?

The Premier testified he was not involved in any way with site selection before November 2, 2022. He repeated the same claims to the media just yesterday. But now we know he was discussing a site-specific removal with Mr. Manchia a year earlier, and we just keep finding more evidence: meeting notes that say the Premier’s Office wants this done, that the Premier’s Office asked for a picture to make sure it’s captured.

To the Premier: Does he still expect people to believe that he wasn’t involved from the start?

Interjections.

It shouldn’t be that hard, Speaker. Members should always be telling the truth, especially to the Integrity Commissioner.

Back to the Premier: A greenbelt speculator went on a trip to Vegas at the same time, at the same hotel, as a senior member of the Premier’s staff and a cabinet minister. What’s worse is that no one can recall the particulars of just how they paid for that trip. The Premier’s former minister paid $4,550 in cash for three flights to Vegas. Rooms at the Wynn Las Vegas apparently go for more than $700 a night. Yet the cabinet minister says he was paid back $2,000 total, in cash, from the Premier’s staff. That doesn’t even cover the cost of the flight.

Who does the Premier think paid for the trip to Vegas?

What measures, if any, has the Premier taken to get to the bottom of what happened in Las Vegas?

Interjections.

Interjections.

I move that, whereas the Auditor General and the Integrity Commissioner have found significant irregularities in the processes leading to this government’s removal of lands from the greenbelt; and

Whereas the investigations by these independent officers have raised serious questions that demand further inquiry; and

Whereas the witnesses who refused to co-operate with the Auditor General’s investigation must be compelled to provide their evidence; and

Whereas members of this government have previously advocated for the use of select committees to investigate misconduct, including the Liberal government’s gas plant cancellations;

Therefore, the Legislative Assembly calls on the government to form a select committee on changes to the greenbelt to ensure full transparency and accountability.

I move that, whereas the Auditor General and the Integrity Commissioner found that the government’s decision to remove lands from the greenbelt gave preferential treatment to certain private interests; and

Whereas the reports of these independent officers call into question this government’s decision-making on other ongoing transactions, including Highway 413, urban boundary expansions, Ontario Place, health care privatization and stalled transit projects; and

Whereas the witnesses who refused to co-operate with the Auditor General’s investigation must be compelled to provide their evidence; and

Whereas members of this government have previously advocated for the use of select committees to investigate misconduct, including the gas plant cancellations;

Therefore, the Legislative Assembly calls on the government to appoint a select committee on changes to the greenbelt to ensure full transparency and accountability.

Yesterday, this government tried to bob and weave on questions of their integrity, but people still have many questions.

On September 14, 2022, the chief of staff to the housing minister, Ryan Amato, was handed brown envelopes from speculators requesting greenbelt removals at the BILD dinner. The very next day, Amato sought clarity directly from the Premier in a meeting the Premier conveniently “does not recall.” In fact, Ryan Amato texted a colleague that the Premier and his chief of staff were “very serious.” Can the Premier tell us what happened at this meeting?

The people won’t be satisfied with responses like that because one day after that meeting, which the Premier doesn’t recall, Mr. Amato informed the Ministry of Housing that they wished to initiate a site-specific review where three priority sites were identified to be removed from the greenbelt. Two of those sites were in the packages delivered to Mr. Amato at the BILD dinner.

In just three days, this government had moved from criteria-based selection to three site-specific properties accounting for 91% of the land that this government was trying to remove from the greenbelt.

Did the Premier ever discuss site-specific removals with ministers or staff prior to October 2022?

Interjections.

So I want to ask the Premier again: What happened at this meeting on September 15?

Curiously, a request for the Premier’s phone records during the same time period that the decision to carve up the greenbelt was made returned no records—no calls, no texts.

Is the Premier using his personal phone to conduct government business to avoid freedom-of-information requests?

The minister knows this was never about housing, and what we’re asking today is about restoring trust and integrity in government.

Back to the Premier: The discrepancies in these testimonies didn’t stop at the dates of the trip. The former minister said he and the Premier’s staff only saw the greenbelt speculator in the lobby of the hotel. Now it’s reported that they got spa services at the same hotel, at the same time. Of course, we know the member has now left cabinet and caucus in light of these revelations. The Premier has said he can return if he clears his name.

Will the Premier be asking the Integrity Commissioner to get to the bottom of this?

The Integrity Commissioner says evidence suggests someone tipped off Mr. Rehmatullah, but he has been unable to identify who it was.

Does the Premier have reason to believe that any of his ministers or staff may have given advance notice to Mr. Rehmatullah about their plans to remove parcels of land from the greenbelt?

This speculator’s influence wasn’t limited to the greenbelt. His company was identified by the Auditor General as one of the top beneficiaries of this government’s MZOs. We need some transparency here.

The Premier’s former minister paid $4,550 in cash for three flights to Vegas, but no one could provide clear proof just how, when or if the balance for the trip was repaid in full. Rooms at the Wynn Las Vegas apparently go for more than $700 a night.

What steps is the Premier taking to figure out who paid for this trip and when?

To the Premier: Should the people of Ontario accept that government policy was being decided on a massage table in Vegas?

Interjections.

Currently, subsection 6(1) of the Members’ Integrity Act, 1994, provides that a member of the assembly shall not accept a fee, gift or personal benefit that is connected directly or indirectly with the performance of the member’s duties of office.

This bill repeals and re-enacts subsection 6(1) to provide that a member of the assembly shall not accept a fee, gift or personal benefit that might reasonably be seen to have been given in connection, directly or indirectly, with the performance of the member’s duties of office.

Good morning, Speaker. This question is for the Premier. The Members’ Integrity Act obliges MPPs to “arrange their private affairs in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity of each member.”

Earlier this year, it was reported that developers and lobbyists were sent requests for donations to a stag and doe from people connected to the Premier and who previously worked for him. People who received these donation requests told Global News they felt “browbeaten” into buying those tickets.

Does the Premier believe such behaviour promotes public confidence in his integrity?

The rules are very clear. A member—or a Premier—may not accept a gift connected to their duties. Does the Premier agree with this basic ethical principle?

Speaker, public confidence in the integrity of MPPs and cabinet ministers and Premiers is not just about avoiding actual conflict of interest but also avoiding the appearance of conflict of interest, just like in every other sector. These are very simple rules, but clearly, some in this House are having a hard time understanding them.

So to make this even clearer, I’m going to table legislation later today to bring Ontario in line with the federal Conflict of Interest Act. Does the Premier support a prohibition on gifts that a reasonable person might believe were given in order to influence an MPP or even a Premier?

Speaker, is this an attempt to distract from the real and growing opposition to the plan to turn Ontario Place into an elite spa?

Speaker, the Ontario Science Centre is a treasured public institution. It’s one that sees thousands of visitors every year in a part of the city that really benefits from its presence. It employs hundreds of people—good union jobs—and is an anchor to Flemingdon Park and Thorncliffe Park, some of Toronto’s priority neighbourhoods. To the Premier, has this government consulted with local communities about the plan to relocate the science centre, its attractions and its jobs?

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?

My question is to the Premier. This morning, I filed a complaint with the Integrity Commissioner requesting an investigation into the Premier’s actions surrounding their family fundraiser and his cozy relationship with developers. Will the Premier fully co-operate with this investigation?