Mr. Speaker, we’re not an island here. Maybe the NDP lives on an island called “their world,” but in our world, we’re dealing with the economic environment that we’re in globally. We’re dealing with higher interest rates and inflation. In that environment, Mr. Speaker, you have two choices: You could cut spending and put on the brakes or you could keep going. Well, this government chooses to keep going.

We are choosing to invest in workers and the people of this province by increasing the Skills Development Fund so we can train our workers to build those hospitals that this Minister of Health is building. This Minister of Transportation is building highways right across the province, public transit—that’s what a government does when it has options in front of them.

Mr. Speaker, this government has a plan. It’s got a vision. It’s executing against that plan, and we will continue working on behalf of all 16 million Ontarians.

This is about all types of housing, working with our municipal partners, working provincially for affordable housing, for student housing, for seniors’ housing, for front door and back door, for condos etc.

I can tell you this: One thing we learned, when we work together, when municipalities and provinces lock arms, we can do a lot. But do you know who else has to lock arms with us? The federal government. We are hitting all the targets they put in that commitment, and it is this Minister of Housing, along with the head of the association of municipalities, who wrote a letter to the minister saying, “We’re hitting the targets. We need you to step up. Join us to build housing right across the province.”

I was listening to the head of the Green Party over there. He said, “You know, I want to see the priorities in the budget be housing, housing and housing.” And do you know what the priorities in the budget are? Housing, housing and housing. Come on over to our side.

We are putting in place so many measures. Let’s talk about the Building Faster Fund: $1.2 billion to help reward and incent municipalities who hit their housing targets.

Mr. Speaker, the Premier was in Hamilton just recently, handing out a cheque. The Premier and his colleagues were in Pickering—and that colleague happened to be me—to hand the cheque to the mayor of Pickering. We are working with municipalities.

With the Building Faster Fund, we’re building infrastructure, putting that in place. We’re even helping on purpose-built rentals and getting the federal government to join us on rebating the HST for purpose-built rentals, Mr. Speaker. This government is focused on housing, housing and housing.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker, we are not only getting affordable housing built, but we’re also investing more in supportive housing. Again, through the leadership of the Minister of Health, we’re investing another $150 million in supportive housing. But it doesn’t stop there: student housing, senior care housing, long-term-care housing. It’s this Minister of Long-Term Care who made a great announcement in the budget yesterday to support more building of long-term-care housing.

I’ll come back to it again, Mr. Speaker: It’s this government that’s getting things done. It’s getting shovels in the ground, working with our municipal partners, working as a team. I would ask the members opposite to join us in building all of Ontario and helping us get municipalities, the federal government and the province aligned so we can all build those 1.5 million homes.

This is a budget that decides to invest in Ontarians, invest in infrastructure, invest in the economy, invest in the people—the health care workers, the teachers, the skilled trades—right across this province. Because through not spending money and not investing, this is the situation we have. We’re investing.

These deficits will pass. You know the revenues are down because of the global economy. But those long-term investments will last a—

I will send it to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs.

Mr. Speaker, I had the pleasure and opportunity to table the fall economic statement here yesterday, and our opposition said, “Where’s all the new money for health care?” If they were here in August when I tabled the budget, which was voted on yes by this side and no on that side, they would recognize that there was $5.6 billion of new investments for health care.

It was this government that recognizes that we’re investing in the surgical backlog, we’re investing in home care, we’re investing in community care—in acute care, more beds. We have a plan to stay open. We came back in the Legislature in August to get the job done for the people of Ontario, and we will not rest until the investments that were neglected by the previous government—

Interjections.

Thank you again to the member from Scarborough–Agincourt.

Mr. Speaker, over the last couple of years, Ontario and the rest of the world faced a once-in-a-generation challenge unlike any in all of our lifetimes. The COVID-19 pandemic tested our resolve, but we stood together to get through those tough times.

Today we are navigating another challenge. Mr. Speaker, Ontario, like the rest of the world, is facing challenging economic times. But I am confident in our province. I am confident in the resilience of the people of Ontario, and I am confident in our plan to build Ontario.

That is why I am proud to be introducing our government’s 2022 fall economic statement this afternoon. We have a strong plan to build infrastructure, train workers and restore our manufacturing capacity while keeping costs down for the people and businesses of Ontario. Together, let’s build Ontario.