Through you, Mr. Speaker, I’d like to thank the member opposite for that question. I’m sure, as we go to vote for the budget, the member opposite will dutifully consider supporting what’s in the budget, which includes the Guaranteed Annual Income System, which is indexed to inflation for the first time ever for low-income seniors.

And I’m sure the learned member opposite will also take a look at how we cut the gas tax for many people who have to move around this province, Mr. Speaker, and my colleague over here, with One Fare, for those taking transit, saving daily riders $1,600 a year. This is real money for the people of Ontario, and I’ll have more to say in the supplementary.

Thank you to the member from Ajax for that question. We know things are hard for the people of Ontario right now. High interest rates and high inflation are driving up the cost of food, driving up the cost of gas. Even the Bank of Canada has said the carbon tax drives up inflation, yet somehow, the Liberals continue to support it. The government should be working together to drive down the costs for Ontario families. That’s why our government is keeping costs down by extending our gas tax cut until the end of year and helping Ontario families save hundreds of dollars.

But we need the federal government to do their part. I’ll renew another call I made before, the Premier has made before, all of us have made before to the federal government: Join us in driving down the cost of living in ending the carbon tax once and for all.

It’s very simple, Mr. Speaker: You cannot tax your way to prosperity. There are two types of governments. There are the ones that raise taxes and add tolls and increase the cost of living, and there are the ones that cut costs, ban tolls and put money back in the hard-working pockets of the people of Ontario. And, under this Premier, I am more than proud to be part of the second group. In our budget, we delivered historic new cost-saving measures and are providing billions in savings across the province. But politics is a team sport. We are seeing the price of gas spike across the province, and we all know why.

So, to the federal Liberals, to the queen of the carbon tax, to that party over there: Join us in making life more affordable for Ontarians and finally scrap the carbon tax.

Thank you to the member from Cambridge for that very insightful question. Mr. Speaker, our government has a responsible plan to ensure that all of Ontario remains on a strong and steady economic growth channel. Our plan is a commitment to support families, to support individuals, to support workers in this great province, as well as our business partners. We’ve laid a strong fiscal foundation which will continue to build Ontario into the future.

As inflation was rising, as the Premier said, we took action early to help the hard-working families of Ontario. We eliminated licence plate renewal fees as well as stickers and refunded two years of past fees for eligible vehicle owners. We extended the current gas tax until December 31, Mr. Speaker.

That is what the people of Ontario expect and deserve from this government.

For low-income seniors, uncertain times are even more challenging. That’s why we temporarily doubled the Guaranteed Annual Income System payments for eligible seniors until December 2023, expanding the GAINS program for up to a 50% increase in recipients, and adjusted, for the first time ever, the benefit to inflation.

Mr. Speaker, our track record speaks for itself. We’re committed to keeping costs down for the people of this province.

Well, perhaps the member opposite could explain why they have not supported any of the measures that we’ve put forward on this side of the House and over there to reduce the cost of living for many in this province. There’s no question that many people are hurting. That’s why they should look, perhaps, to their support for a carbon tax. Do you know what a carbon tax does? A carbon tax puts the burden on many families across the province—a carbon tax actually increases food prices in this province.

Inflation came down this morning from 5.2% to 4.3%—almost a full point. It’s still too high.

That’s why this government took action before. That’s why this government continues to take action. And we’ll—

Thank you to the hard-working member from Brantford–Brant for that question.

We really appreciate the federal government working with us in a number of areas that help Ontario families, Ontario workers and, of course, businesses right across this province. Together, we have attracted billions of dollars in investments, putting Ontario and Canada back on the map as an automotive powerhouse—including Volkswagen’s recent announcement that it has chosen St. Thomas as the new home of its first-ever offshore battery plant. When we work together, we can accomplish great things.

That’s why it’s good to see the federal government’s 2023 budget providing support in responding to the US Inflation Reduction Act.

Ontario is leading the way in getting good jobs, manufacturing jobs back to Ontario for now and for the future. Ontario, as was evidenced by the employment numbers this morning, is leading the country in job creation.

First of all, housing: We expect that the federal government will work with us on the housing affordability crisis that we talk about every single day in this House. And we continue to call on the federal government to defer the harmonized sales tax on all new, large-scale, purpose-built rental housing projects to help spur the construction of more rental units.

Next, the Ring of Fire: The Ring of Fire wasn’t mentioned once in the budget. This is a missed opportunity for workers, for Canada’s growing electric vehicle and battery supply chains, as well as northern Ontario and Indigenous communities.

Just a few days ago, I released Ontario’s 2023 budget. While our government is working hard to build a strong Ontario for today and for tomorrow, we know that governments make faster progress when they work hard together. So please join us in working hard together for all Ontarians.

Thank you to the hard-working member from Oxford for that question. In fact, wasn’t there a good announcement yesterday in Ingersoll, in the member’s riding, creating good jobs and bigger paycheques in his riding? So congratulations to your hard work, not to mention the Minister of Economic Development and the Premier as well.

Look, it’s a very important question for over 200,000 seniors on fixed incomes. It’s really important that we provide support in this environment where inflation—we haven’t seen inflation like this in 40 years, not since I was a wee kid. What we did to help those 200,000 people out was to double the Guaranteed Annual Income Supplement—

Interjection.

We’ve increased it from $166 to $1,992 per year this year. This is providing necessary and important relief to the many seniors who helped build this province.

Mr. Speaker, I was at the seniors’ Poinsettia Tea event at the Pickering recreation centre on Sunday, actually—

Interjection.

It was great to have people out again, great to see the many seniors in our community get together. That’s why we’re helping many of the seniors and many people, not just in Durham but right across the province.

We took off the tolls on the 412 and the 418. We expanded the Low-income Workers Tax Credit so there would be more money in their pockets in this environment. We’re proposing, as I mentioned earlier, in the fall economic statement, to extend the gas and fuel tax cut for next year, and one I’m extremely proud of is that we increased the earning exemption for people on the Ontario Disability Support Program from $200 to $1,000 for those who can and want to work so that they can have more money in their pockets.

Let’s go back in time a little bit. Many will remember in 2011 what happened. The NDP supported the Liberal government for three years. If they really believed that they needed to support disability, let me ask you this, Mr. Speaker—let me ask all of Ontario this question: Did they index ODSP payments to inflation? No, they did not, when they had an opportunity to do that.

This is a government that is acting. That is why we increased the ODSP payments by 5%. It’s why for the first time since the program was set up over 20 years ago that it’s getting indexed to inflation. That’s why we increased the earning exemption for the hard-working people of Ontario.

Interjections.

Thank you to the hard-working member from Scarborough–Agincourt for that question. We are in uncertain times, amid global economic uncertainty, and with cost-of-living increases reaching levels not seen in decades. The road ahead will not be easy.

We know that the people of Ontario are under pressure. Governments will need to be agile with a responsible plan to respond to any challenges, while acknowledging the risks of inflation.

That is why we have a plan that maintains flexibility and continues to invest in building the critical infrastructure and services that the people of Ontario rely on, and works to restore our manufacturing capacity while keeping costs down for people and businesses.

Mr. Speaker, we have a strong plan for Ontario and, by being flexible and demonstrating restraint, we can overcome any challenge that comes our way.

Thank you to the member from Brampton North for that very good question. Russia’s war in the Ukraine, tension in Asia and inflation that we haven’t seen in four decades are driving up global prices, but this government will always be there for the people of Ontario in these uncertain times. That is why our government raised the minimum wage, and will raise it again in October to $15.50 an hour. That is why we eliminated the need for licence plate stickers and renewal fees, saving drivers up to $120 per year. That’s why we’re proposing the enhanced LIFT tax credit, providing additional relief for those making less than $50,000 a year. With this change, 1.1 million low-income workers would see an additional $300 on average in tax relief in 2022.

The best way to support workers and families is to put more money back into their pockets, Mr. Speaker, and that’s exactly what this government is doing.

Let me tell you, Mr. Speaker, for families trying to make ends meet, high gas prices are never a blessing in disguise. This government understands that high gas prices are a financial burden on many Ontarians, taking hard-earned money out of their pockets—for families, for workers and for seniors. That’s why this government is focused on keeping costs down. That’s why this government eliminated the Liberals’ cap-and-trade tax scheme. This government temporarily cut the gas tax by 5.7 cents per litre through our Tax Relief at the Pumps Act.

Mr. Speaker, the facts speak for themselves. According to Statistics Canada, the price of gas fell furthest in Ontario because of our gas tax—

Mr. Speaker, thank you to the member opposite, through you, for that question.

Many in Ontario are feeling the pinch, whether it’s at the grocery store or at the gas pumps, and we’re committed to putting more money back in their pockets. That’s why, under the leadership of Premier Ford and our team, we cut the gas taxes. And the inflation rate going down to 7.6%—that was driven by Ontario leading the country in the biggest drop in gas prices right across this country.

Mr. Speaker, what I would ask respectfully of the member opposite and all the members opposite is, that while they voted against reducing gas taxes for the people of Ontario, join us this time and vote for the budget bill so that we can build Ontario together.

We are acting. Look at the record. Look at the 241 pages of the budget. Let me highlight a few things, Mr. Speaker.

Minimum wage—it’s going up again. In 60 days, it’s going to go up again to $15.50. That’s amongst the highest in the country. But we’re doing more.

The low-income individuals and families tax credit means that 1.1 million people in Ontario are going to pay some of the lowest personal income taxes in the country.

We’re helping seniors so that low-income seniors can live at home longer, by providing a tax credit so they can retrofit their home and have home care come to their home.

We’re providing job training tax credits so that people can get retrained for the jobs of tomorrow.

The child care tax credit—we doubled it.

Please join us and vote for this budget bill.

Mr. Speaker, the member is right, and this government knows the impact of rising prices is being felt all over Ontario, especially amongst the most vulnerable. That’s why we are putting money back into the pockets of those who need it most.

We are increasing—as was just discussed—the monthly amount of the Ontario Disability Support Program and adjusting future increases to rates based on inflation.

We’re increasing the minimum wage, giving over 760,000 Ontario workers an increase.

And in our 2022 budget, Ontario’s Plan to Build, we expanded the low-income family and individual tax rebate credit, which will impact people making up to $50,000. That means, for about 1.1 million people, an extra $300 in their pockets through a tax break every year.

This government is going to keep costs down for workers, families and seniors, for the people of Ontario, and they can rest assured that this Premier and this government will have their backs.