Good morning, everyone, and Merry Christmas. Christmas is, of course, the season of love and hope. Last week the Premier professed his hope for Toronto, the city he grew up and the city he loves.

I grew up in Ottawa and I love my city, and our city has problems just like Toronto. We have problems with homelessness. We have problems with transportation. We have problems with our city running deficits. In recognition of the season of love and hope, when will this government show some love for the city of Ottawa?

Now that there is a precedent to upload highways to the province, will the government commit to uploading Highway 174 back to provincial responsibility so the city can spend that money improving local roads, investing in public transit and reducing commute times for Orléans residents?

My supplementary is also for the Premier. Mr. Speaker, the mayor is so convinced of the government’s process that he voted unanimously with city council to ask the minister to review that process from last year. Following the purchase of these ag lands but before their designation by the minister, it appears that the directors of the corporation collectively donated tens of thousands of dollars to the Conservative Party. Since that re-designation, the former minister unilaterally added these lands without the city having undertaken any scientific or consultative review of the quality of the lands for farming or their suitability for urbanization. The company who purchased the lands is referenced in the Integrity Commissioner’s report about Minister Clark’s behaviour as having lands on the infamous USB key.

Lands on the USB key, donations to the Conservative Party, connections to Conservative insiders: It’s sounding awful familiar, Mr. Speaker. Maybe there’s a Mr. X in Ottawa as well.

To the Premier: Was the delay in approving Ottawa’s official plan designed—

My question is for the Premier. Last year, the former Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing overrode Ottawa’s urban boundary expansion and added an additional 654 hectares for development after city council had already evaluated and added other lands. The former minister added lands that were so unsuitable for development because of their agricultural designation that they weren’t even evaluated by experts. This includes a 37-hectare parcel on Watters Road in Orléans that was designated an agricultural resource and is an active farm.

After the city confirmed this designation, the farm was purchased by a group that has donated significantly to the Conservative Party and stood to make millions from the development. After holding up the city’s official plan for two years and after receiving tens of thousands of dollars in donations from the landowners, the former minister added these lands to Ottawa’s urban boundary.

Mr. Speaker, can the Premier share with us the process used to evaluate the suitability of these lands for inclusion in the boundary, who was involved in that determination, and what influence, if any, did political contributions and personal relationships have on the decision?

Abuse of power, the breach of public trust, the exchange of favours for personal or political gain: You may rightly be attributing these sentiments to the government’s ongoing greenbelt corruption scandal, but, Mr. Speaker, this may be just the tip of the iceberg.

Ten days ago, I wrote the Auditor General of Ontario to investigate this government’s unilateral decision to expand the city of Ottawa’s urban boundary in 2022. Following a comprehensive review by the city, they added 1,200 hectares in 2020. This was done after extensive consultation and analysis with the public, with stakeholders and with experts.

A key factor in the city’s analysis was the protection and preservation of high-quality farmland as dictated by the provincial policy statement. However, in November 2022, the former Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing used his ministerial powers to override the city’s process and add an additional 654 hectares to the boundary. One area of concern in particular, Mr. Speaker, was an expansion of 37 hectares in Orléans, land that was zoned agricultural resource by the city and protected from development.

According to media reporting, in August 2021, when the property was still designated as ag resource, it was purchased for $12.7 million by the Verdi Alliance companies, a group of companies insinuated in the Integrity Commissioner’s most recent report. Meanwhile, this group donated over $12,000 to the provincial Conservative Party in 2021 and 2022. Mysteriously, a year later, these—