Well, what are we debating here? We’ve asked the government to vote to support our motion to strike a select committee, to create an open and transparent process, because we know that this government’s preferential treatment of their insider, speculator friends has cast a shadow over everything, including the government’s own plans: things like the building of the 413, the other urban boundary expansions that they have planned, the dreaded Ontario Place, which is a 95-year lease and $650-million subsidization of an Austrian luxury spa company—go figure—health care privatization, and of course the stalled P3 transit plans that are under way.

A select committee would allow the people of this province to hear from key members, from other witnesses, many of whom have, up to this point, refused and lawyered up. It would allow us to compel documents being recovered. It would again clear the air over this massive scandal.

I want to thank the member from Waterloo for her reference to the House of Cards, because you might possibly say that I couldn’t possibly comment. I know that people out there across the province, they want to know what, they want to know when, they want to know how—how did multiple developers know to get in touch with Mr. Amato at the BILD dinner? Why did Minister Clark step away from his responsibilities? What gave him the impression he needed to keep arm’s length from this?

People had high hopes for this government, I think, when they were originally elected—really. They were hoping for change. People voted for change; that’s fair. And now we know, and we all hear across this province, how deeply disappointed Ontarians are in the conduct of this government. Trust is at an all-time low. The RCMP is considering an investigation. Two ministers have resigned in shame, and one hightailed it to the exit. Trust needs to be restored. This government has an opportunity to clear the air. That work is not going to happen in the dark.

I urge the members opposite once again: Join us. Let’s do this work together. Let’s restore some integrity to government and to our democracy.

I’m going to go to the Premier with this one. It now clear that government officials in the Premier’s office and the Ministry of Municipal Affairs knew specific details about the greenbelt removal plans much earlier than the Premier and the minister have claimed.

There is also evidence that certain landowners were tipped off about the greenbelt plans long before the general public learned about them. The NDP and journalists have filed more freedom-of-information requests for documents that might shine more of a light on who knew what about the greenbelt plans and when they knew it. We know these documents exist but the Premier and the minister are keeping them secret.

Why are these documents being kept from the public, and will the Premier release them now?

This next question is to the Premier. The dissolution of Peel is an unprecedented change that will affect the daily lives of millions of people. It’s going to be complicated and it could get very messy. If this is going to work, then the people of Peel need to be at the centre of the process. They need to be consulted. They need to be heard. So why won’t the Premier consult the public and conduct committee hearings to ensure that Bill 112 will deliver the best possible outcome for Peel residents?

People in Mississauga, in Brampton and in Caledon have a lot of questions about what’s going to happen to them, what’s going to happen to their municipal services, what’s going to happen to their tax bills or their utility bills. These questions are to be answered, apparently, by a transition board, whose mandate—and also who’s on it—remain completely unknown right now, with no guarantee that this process will be any more transparent than the last regional governance review, the findings of which, I’ll remind everyone, remain a complete government secret, right?

Who will serve on the transition board, and will their findings be released to the public well in advance before the government makes a decision about Peel?

Mr. Speaker, through you to the Associate Minister of Women’s Social and Economic Opportunity, who is also the member for Brampton Centre: Why did she move the motion that blocked her Brampton constituents from being heard on Bill 112?

Good morning, Speaker. This government didn’t campaign on a plan to sell off our public health care system. At no point during the campaign did they say they were going to bring in two-tier health care. That’s why, on Friday and Saturday, hundreds of thousands of Ontarians voted in the Ontario Health Coalition’s citizen-run referendum to keep our health care system public. People are making their voices heard because of overwhelming evidence from many other provinces that the government’s plan will worsen services for patients and cost so much more.

Speaker, to the Premier: Will his government listen to the people of Ontario and reverse course on their plan to sell off our public health care system?

This government’s plans for health care are seeing emergency rooms in smaller and rural communities across the province close for hours, for days or even permanently. Last week, I joined residents in Minden as they rallied desperately to save their local emergency room—it’s set to close permanently this Wednesday. They’re worried, Speaker, as anyone would be if the emergency room they relied on was shut down and they were forced to leave their community in a time of crisis.

Back to the Premier: How many communities will see emergency rooms close this summer because of this government’s failure to act?

While you’re busy trying to take more staff out of our system and move them into private, for-profit clinics, the solution is simple: Invest in the staff we need to keep those emergency rooms open.

To the Premier: What will he do today to make sure that this closure in Thessalon is the last ER closure Ontarians will see this summer?

Interjections.

In fact, the problems had gotten even worse. The P3 contractor was “building at risk,” which means the safety of these designs had not been confirmed. It suggests that the deficiencies with the Eglinton Crosstown could be much more serious than the public is being told.

Speaker, why did the minister ignore the problems with the Eglinton Crosstown?