Mr. Speaker, let’s be clear: The member opposite would tomorrow eliminate natural gas from our province. Natural gas is currently providing home heating for over 70% of the homes in Ontario. And not only that, but natural gas is the insurance policy that we have to keep the lights on in the province of Ontario.

Now, we have many conservation programs that are available to the people of Ontario that are offered through different providers, like local distribution companies and, in particular, the Independent Electricity System Operator. We’ve put $1 billion into that CDM program, that energy-efficiency program, one that’s making life more affordable.

Let’s be clear: That member in particular supports a carbon tax, and not just a small carbon tax; he wants a carbon tax that’s even bigger than the one that Justin Trudeau is imposing on the people of Ontario next Monday. When it comes to affordability, it’s just not believable from the NDP.

As a matter of fact, the energy critic for the NDP was participating in a town hall saying that nuclear is dangerous to the health of people when it’s actually the reason that we’re off coal in Ontario, and they are a major producer of not just Canada’s but the world’s nuclear medicine through nuclear isotopes.

Anything the NDP says about energy is baloney.

Since day one, we’ve been focused on ensuring that we have a reliable, affordable, clean energy system in this province. It’s remarkable for me, Mr. Speaker, to hear the energy critic from the NDP now standing up and championing gas in our province when at every opportunity he has slammed the use of natural gas—not just slammed the use of natural gas, but he’s also slammed our nuclear sector.

What we have done by introducing the bill last week—and we’ll debate it at second reading today, Mr. Speaker—is ensure that there’s at least one party in this Legislature that’s standing up for homeowners and new homeowners and energy customers, and that is Premier Ford and the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario. They can be beholden to the environmental groups; they can be beholden to those who are ideological. We are not going to do that. We’re going to stand up for the people of Ontario.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker, there’s one party in this Legislature that is standing up for those who want to enter the home market. They want to buy a home in this province. That’s this party. The Ontario Energy Board’s decision from just before Christmas would have driven up the price of a home by, at minimum, $4,400. Our party won’t stand for that. But in parts of rural Ontario, it was going to drive up the cost by tens of thousands of dollars a year.

We are in a housing crisis in this province. Every time our party brings forward plans, like the housing supply action plan, it’s the NDP that stands up against it, Mr. Speaker, and this is the latest example of the NDP and the Liberals and the Greens standing up against the ability for people to buy a home in our province. We are going to stand with those who want to get into housing, Mr. Speaker, and make sure we’re keeping shovels in the ground in Ontario.