Speaker, I move, seconded by the Premier, that this House approves in general the budgetary policy of the government.

If I may, Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by dedicating the 2024 budget to the story of a 19-year-old who left his home in war-torn Europe in 1949 and found his way to Canada.

With nothing but the shirt on his back, he dreamt of a new life and an opportunity to go to university, to get a job, to raise a family, and feel safe and free in his new country.

Well, Mr. Speaker, that young man was able to work hard and through being industrious, get into engineering at the University of Toronto, marry a beautiful woman, get a job in Montreal, and raise three wonderful children.

That 19-year-old is about to have his 94th birthday.

And while he never saw his parents again, as the Iron Curtain prohibited him from going back to his homeland, he lived the Ontario dream, he lived the Canadian dream.

Mr. Speaker, that young man who came to Canada is my father. And I dedicate this budget to him, and the hope and dream for all 16 million Ontarians, that they can have the same opportunity as my father had.

An opportunity to build a future right here in the great province of Ontario.

On behalf of Premier Ford and our entire government, I am pleased to introduce the 2024 Ontario budget, our plan to build a better Ontario.

Au nom du premier ministre Ford et de l’ensemble de notre gouvernement, je suis heureux de vous présenter le budget de l’Ontario de 2024—notre plan pour bâtir un Ontario meilleur.

Now, Mr. Speaker, as I am sure you are aware, the budget is a forward-looking document.

It’s a road map.

A blueprint.

It’s our plan to rebuild Ontario’s economy.

This budget provides certainty to markets and, more importantly, confidence to people that the government is prepared for whatever lies ahead—regardless of the challenges that the national or global economy might throw our way.

But before I turn my attention to the road ahead, Mr. Speaker, I would like to quickly take us down the road just travelled.

Much of this will not be news to the people of Ontario. It has been a challenging year.

Life has rarely been this expensive.

The Bank of Canada has for months now repeatedly raised interest rates at a big pace.

The pace and frequency of the Bank of Canada rate hikes has been punishing—perhaps most of all on homeowners whose mortgages have in some cases increased thousands of dollars a month.

Making matters worse, the federal government’s carbon tax is making everything more expensive. From groceries to gas, the hard-working people of Ontario can’t escape paying the high cost of the federal carbon tax.

I almost can’t believe I’m about to say this ... the federal government is set to increase its carbon tax.

It’s astonishing. The people of Ontario ... the people of Canada ... cannot afford it. But more on that later, Mr. Speaker.

Our public finances are also not immune to economic uncertainty.

Even so, Mr. Speaker, and it might be an odd thing for a finance minister to say ... but let me say it plainly ... the pressure of managing a government budget pales in comparison to the pressures many families are facing as they manage their family budget in a time when everything is costing more ... or the challenges of a small business owner managing their budget in order to keep the lights on and keeping local workers employed.

These are the real challenges and real problems of real life and real people ... of making rent ... of paying the bills ... of affording groceries.

And the best way to help people is by getting the big decisions right. Making smart investments. Watching the expense line. And most of all, keeping costs on people low.

That’s why our plan to build a better Ontario helps them.

Global economies have slowed, the cost of everything is higher, and so we have two choices.

Put the brakes on, or keep going.

Mr. Speaker, we choose to keep going—to rebuild Ontario’s economy because it is the right thing to do.

Mr. Speaker, we choose to keep going—to rebuild Ontario’s economy, and I think about the leaders who have come before.

It was less than a month ago that our country lost one such statesman in the Right Honourable Brian Mulroney.

Mr. Speaker, there is little left that can be said about Prime Minister Mulroney’s legacy that has not already been said more eloquently by others, including of course by his own daughter, Caroline Mulroney, the President of the Treasury Board, whom I am fortunate to work with every single day.

For the rest of us, I will say this, Mr. Speaker, Prime Minister Mulroney was a consequential leader who never backed down from the big challenges of his time. He was a leader who never shied away from using his time in power to try to accomplish big things for his fellow Canadians.

What a great example for the rest of us. To use our finite time in office to have the courage to implement the big ideas. And try to accomplish big things for our fellow Ontarians. And, in this budget, this is exactly what we intend to do.

And this is important, Mr. Speaker, for the global and national challenges facing our public finances are real.

Just as families and businesses are not immune to economic uncertainty, neither is any government.

Despite these challenges, we are delivering on our plan to build by investing to attract better jobs, build roads, highways and public transit, while keeping costs down for families and businesses.

As you know, we consult widely with leading public and private sector economists in establishing our projections for future economic growth and inflation.

These projections now show that while economic growth is expected to significantly slow in the coming year, private sector forecasters are cautiously optimistic that it will not drop into negative territory before rebounding in subsequent years.

Likewise, we project inflation, as measured by the consumer price index, to remain under 3% this year before settling around 2% in the following two years. As inflation returns to the Bank of Canada target, we expect and continue to urge that interest rates should also decline.

In fact, the people of Ontario are counting on it.

The encouraging data is there, Mr. Speaker. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. We can see it. But, that said, we are not out of the tunnel quite yet.

The question is therefore straightforward ... what are we to do today with the hand we’ve been dealt?

And there are options. There are choices.

One choice would be to put the burden on taxpayers. To raise taxes, tolls, tuition or fees.

Well, we are not going to do that, rest assured.

A second choice would be to tighten our belts. To cut investment in housing, roads, or better public services. In short—to retreat—and do less.

We are not doing that either.

A third choice, Mr. Speaker, might be to throw our hands up, retreat, and expect municipalities to fill in the gaps.

We are not doing that.

Instead, here’s our choice: We are going to follow through on a plan that is working—knowing that the higher deficits, compared to what we projected last year, will be time-limited while the return on investment will be felt for decades and for generations to come.

And we will continue on a path to a balanced budget.

We told the people that we were going to invest more in roads and highways.

And does this budget invest more in roads and highways, I ask you?