Thank you again to the hard-working member for that question. We know that now is not the time to sit back and wait, and that’s why our government has taken real action. For the millions of Ontario drivers, we have extended the gas tax cut to June 2024. In fact, Mr. Speaker, since we have put the gas tax cut in place, we have saved Ontario taxpayers $2.1 billion. Mr. Speaker, that’s the largest tax cut Ontarians have seen this century. Let that sink in: the largest tax cut this century in Ontario.

So while the opposition huddles over there, they can continue to vote against making life affordable. Our government will not stop the work to put more money back into the hard-working people of this province.

And of course, that means that the hard-working people at the Beer Store, the hard-working people at the LCBO, people right across this province, the workers who produce the beer, the people who distribute the beer, the people who retail the beer, are going to have a role in the modernization of the alcohol system in Ontario, because we’re going to get it done.

But let me also remind the member opposite, it was this government that froze the beer tax again for the sixth year in a row. And may I remind the member opposite that it was the federal government that increased the beer tax again this year.

Mr. Speaker, it’s this government that is moving forward, along with the hard-working people at the LCBO and the hard-working workers at the Beer Store, to provide convenience and choice for Ontarians right across this province.

On December 14, the Premier and I made a big announcement on behalf of all Ontarians that we were going to open up beer and wine and ready-to-drink distribution to convenience stores right across this province—the hard-working convenience store operators who’ve been asking for decades for this opportunity—so that people can have more convenience, so that people can have more choice, so that we can introduce some competition.

Does the member opposite really want to live in 1929, or does she want to live in 2024 and modernize the alcohol system?

Thank you to the member opposite.

Merci beaucoup pour cette question très importante pour nous dans cette Chambre ici. Comme le leader a dit, nous avons un plan pour le peuple de l’Ontario, sans doute—un plan pour bâtir l’Ontario. En ce qui concerne la « sunshine list » et tout ça, c’est très important que nous, ensemble, travaillions pour bâtir un Ontario propre, un Ontario fort.

Et comme le leader de cette Chambre a dit : We’ve balanced the budget three years earlier, not just for some Ontarians, but for all Ontarians, so that we can build Ontario today and deliver a better Ontario to future generations.

Thank you to the member from Windsor–Tecumseh for that very important question. This government understands the people of Ontario are under pressure. Costs are going up, and we are facing an uncertain global economic environment.

That is why we have a plan to keep costs down and put more money back in the pockets of hard-working Ontarians. In the spring, we cut the gas tax by 5.7 cents per litre and the fuel tax by 5.3 cents per litre for six months. Our 2022 fall economic statement, if passed, would extend this real relief for millions of Ontarians until December 31, 2023.

We have a plan to keep costs down, and this is just one part of how we are getting the job done for the people of Ontario.

Whatever economic uncertainty may bring, our government has a plan.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for making sure I respond to that question.

I appreciate the genesis of that very thoughtful question—to the member opposite. What we have to acknowledge in this province is that the dream of home ownership is the dream of many families. It’s the dream of many hard-working Ontarians. It’s the dream of many people that come to this province for the first time, like my family. You’ve heard me say before, I’m the son of Hungarian World War II refugees who came through the ocean into Halifax, into Ontario—my mother, whose family set up in Port Colborne; my father here, with not a nickel in their pockets, not a proficiency in the language. And this province was welcoming to them. They were able to find jobs. They were able to raise a family. They were able to send us to school and had the opportunity and the freedoms that they did not have from where they came.

And one of the core rights, really, for people that come from wherever they come from, is to be able to have a home, Mr. Speaker. We cannot let the people of Ontario down. We didn’t let my family down back in the 1950s and 1960s, and we’re not going to let the people of Ontario down right now. We need more homes. We need faster homes. We have to work federally, provincially, municipally. We have to do it together so the dream of home ownership exists for everyone in this province.

We saw last year, for the first time—I came to this province in 1985, and in 1987, two years later, 100,000 homes were built. The next time over 100,000 homes were built was in 2021. We have not been building enough homes and apartments and condos and family dwellings in this province for 30 years. That is the challenge that we collectively face. Yes, we’ll go through the specifics and make sure we get the best possible policies and programs in place, but we have to agree—

I’ll talk about both the newcomers as well as seniors, because you addressed both in your question.

First, on the newcomers: back to my mother, in 1944, when she separated from her family—didn’t know if they’d ever be connected again. When they moved to Montreal from Ontario, I remember my mother and her brother, my grandmother and my grandfather and three great-grandparents all living under one roof. For many families, that’s the dream of home ownership. Everyone’s circumstances are a little bit different. So we’re trying to do what they were able to do many years ago.

With regard to seniors, I hear it all the time, and you’re absolutely right: making it easier to live at home longer by investing in infrastructure, as well as health care that comes to your home, and other programs like the community paramedicine program. You’re absolutely right: The home and community care, the $1 billion that we’re putting in there, is all driven so that seniors can live at home longer, where they want to be.

But we’re also very mindful that your house—

Thank you to the member opposite for that question. Of course, the federal government and all parties have launched the committee and the process for that. We’ll let them do their work.

But while we’re at it, Mr. Speaker, what about that carbon tax that the federal government, which this party supports, put on the backs of the people of Ontario? That is causing rising costs and food prices in Ontario.

Mr. Speaker, let me tell you what Ontario has done. Let me take you back to when we reduced the gas tax by 5.7 cents a litre. Let me take you back to when we took licence plate fees off the backs of Ontario drivers. Let me take you to today, when we just increased the minimum wage to the second-highest in the country. Let me tell you what we’re doing tomorrow: We have the staycation tax credit, the seniors tax credit, the job training tax credit, the child care tax credit—Mr. Speaker, we recalled the Legislature this summer to get things going for the people of Ontario. Support us.

Let me tell you, Mr. Speaker, we have a plan for Ontarians. We have a plan to build Ontario. We took that plan to the people of Ontario. It was roundly endorsed by the people of Ontario, as witnessed by all the people on both sides. That plan is to get shovels in the ground to build hospitals, to build highways, to build long-term care, to support labour, to get more workers, retrain workers for the jobs of today and for tomorrow and to help keep costs down for the people of Ontario. We are delivering for the people of Ontario.

Thank you to the member opposite, and congratulations on your re-election and serving the people of Ontario.

There’s no daylight between, I think, the member opposite and many of us to make sure that we, in these very difficult times, when people are feeling the pinch—particularly the most vulnerable and people, for example, on disability.

That’s why, through the campaign, we said we were going to increase by an historic amount—5%—the Ontario Disability Support Program. That’s why we are adjusting it for inflation. That’s why we kept that promise after roundly being supported by the voters of Ontario, and we tabled it in the budget bill, Bill 2, the other day. Many Ontarians are feeling the pinch. That’s why that’s just one part of a suite of measures that we’ve taken to support the most vulnerable of Ontario.

I’ll have more to say in the supplementary.

It’s just one of many things that this government is doing, not least of which is the Ontario Community Support Program, which you know also supports for vision care, for dental care, for health care. It helps with meals, helps with prescriptions.

It’s also why we have put in the budget the fifth round of social services relief, under the leadership of the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, for supportive housing, to help the most vulnerable, to help people with disabilities in this province.

We’re doing many things, and we will continue to do many things to help our most vulnerable in society as we work together to make a fair society.

Our government has been working tirelessly to rebuild our economy. We have lowered taxes for lower-income Ontarians, and we have reduced gas and fuel taxes. We negotiated a child care agreement to reduce costs for young families across Ontario. We eliminated licence plate renewal fees and, for the people of Durham, we eliminated the tolls the previous Liberal government put on Highways 412 and 418.

We have continued to focus on building a strong economy by reducing taxes and fees for job creators. We have stabilized electricity rates. We have continued to invest in our auto, mining, infrastructure and construction sectors.

The road ahead is going to be uncertain. Global events in Europe and abroad are in our environment right now, but that’s why we’re making investments to transform our economy and unleash economic prosperity across the province.

Together, let’s build Ontario.