This government has a habit of admitting mistakes only when they get caught red-handed. The $8.3 billion greenbelt giveaway, well-documented by the Auditor General, the Integrity Commissioner and now under criminal investigation by the RCMP, is only their latest scandal.

They also have a habit of blaming problems in our province, which they govern, on every level of government except their own. We have an affordability crisis, and yet what does this government do in their fall economic statement? They create a new bank with $3 billion of taxpayer money.

Speaker, 2,023 days ago, on May 10, 2018, the government made a promise, one that remains broken to this day: They promised to lower taxes for lower- and middle-income households. That would put up to $1,691 back into those households’ bank accounts.

My question to the Premier: When will the government stop playing the blame game and finally keep their promise to lower taxes and help Ontario families?

Speaker, families earning between $46,000 to $92,000 could save up to $1,691 if this government were to simply keep its promise. That’s money that could help those families deal now with high rents and the cost of living. This government, and this government alone, has the power to keep its promise, but instead of doing so, it’s going to spend $3 billion to set up an infrastructure bank that will only attract the money the government says it will if the government privatizes our public services.

Once again to the Premier: Will the Premier keep his promise and make life more affordable for Ontario families by lowering taxes now?

We know from the sound work of the Auditor General and Integrity Commissioner on the $8.3 billion greenbelt scandal that this government has been meddling in land development processes to benefit their friends. The government is now under criminal investigation by the RCMP for potential wrongdoing related to these development changes.

The public knew and opposition members knew from the beginning that the greenbelt changes and municipal boundary changes smelled bad. Similarly, changes to Toronto’s Midtown in Focus plan smell bad too. The midtown plan for Toronto, developed with extensive consultation, was thrown out by this government without any consultation with the city or its residents.

My question to the Premier: Given the government’s track record of political interference in land development, can the Premier assure the people of Don Valley West and Toronto that there was no political meddling in the decision to overturn the Midtown in Focus plan, yes or no?

My community had a plan in place to ensure thoughtful, deliberate density, but now the proposed developments in my community have big signs from the TDSB and Catholic school board warning future residents that their children will be unable to go to school in their own communities. That’s not responsible development, it’s not good for community building and it’s not good for safety.

City staff, residents and elected officials did not ask for this change to the official midtown plan; in fact, quite the opposite. They continue to be shocked and outraged by the irresponsible development taking place in my community.

Once again, I will ask the Premier through you: Who advised him to overturn the Midtown in Focus plan, eliminating height restrictions and increasing the underlying value of the real estate, and are they the same people who stand to profit from these changes?

The RCMP recently launched a criminal probe into the government’s backtracked $8.3-billion greenbelt land swap. According to Michael Kempa, an associate professor of criminology at the University of Ottawa, “The main concern ... on this file, is in the area of breach of trust ... where elected officials abuse their position either by giving out patronage appointments or favourable contracts or insider information that could prove profitable to their friends and donors....” Speaker, we know that’s exactly what happened with the $8.3-billion greenbelt land swap, and this government has lost the trust of the people of Ontario.

My question to the Premier: Will the government press pause on the decisions they have made on the Ontario Place spa, the science centre and Highway 413 to prove to the people of Ontario that those processes are not flawed too?

In my riding of Don Valley West, constituents are asking if flawed processes were used to cut corners to allow dense high-rise developments when the city says that children in those developments won’t attend nearby schools because they’re full.

Speaker, this government has a history of fast-tracking decisions under the guise of getting housing built when we know from the AG report that the main result was to benefit their friends.

My question to the Premier: Will the Premier press pause on MZOs until the Auditor General completes its full review of the province’s process for using them?

Last December, I asked the Premier if the people who told him to pave over the greenbelt were the same people who stood to benefit. I didn’t get an answer then, but we know now, thanks to the Auditor General, that that is exactly what happened.

This government’s decision to finally accept the Auditor General’s most important recommendation—to reverse the greenbelt land swap—is a welcome decision. However, it’s not that simple. There are still lots of questions that need answers. What will happen now? Developers and companies that bought greenbelt land were expecting an $8.3-billion payday from their close relationship with this government.

My question to the Premier: Will he assure this House and the people of Ontario that not one red cent of taxpayer money will be spent to make good on their $8.3-billion payday deal with developers?

Speaker, usually “sorry” means “I will do better,” and yet the Premier’s apology has not extended to other major files that the people of Ontario are concerned about. We have Ontario Place, where this government made a 95-year deal with an Austrian mega-spa, and the names of the people who own it are not known. We have the surprise decision to move the science centre, another flawed process with no public consultation.

Speaker, my question to the Premier: Is he sorry enough about the greenbelt’s flawed process that he will open the books on Ontario Place and the science centre and assure the people of Ontario know that he has put an end to brown-envelope backroom deals?

On November 25, 15 top architectural firms and urban planners wrote an open letter to the Premier—I hope he read it—showing how Bill 23 will not help people achieve the dream of affordable home ownership that this government says it will.

The letter says, “It will inhibit the construction of affordable housing...; dismantle regional planning and urban design considerations; undermine ... environmental protection...; and limit public participation in how we build our communities ... ”—for example—“by reducing the affordable housing requirement in inclusionary zoning from 20% to” just “5%.” It will reduce fees that cities use to pay for housing inspections. None of that sounds good for Ontarians.

The Premier’s own housing task force did not say we need to swap land in the greenbelt to get housing built.

So, my question to the Premier: Who is telling him that paving over the greenbelt is the solution to the housing crisis? And are they the same people who will stand to profit from this decision?

I would like to address the pressing matter of the flawed Bill 23 and the Conservative government’s broken promise to protect our greenbelt. Paving over farmland reduces local food production, which contributes to higher prices and makes it harder for Ontarians to put food on the table. Thousands of people are reaching out to this government through their MPPs, through petitions and rallies, asking them to reconsider. Is this government listening?

Their own housing task force says, “A shortage of land isn’t the cause of the problem. Land is available, both inside the existing built-up areas and on undeveloped land outside greenbelts.”

The land in the greenbelt, meant to be permanently protected, provides our food, clean drinking water and clean air. Proposing to replace it with different land, protected only until this government breaks that promise too, would be laughable if it were not so sad.

Bill 23 threatens existing affordable rental housing. My constituents in Don Valley West and Thorncliffe Park, many of whom are new Canadians, are worried that the 50-year-old apartment buildings they live in are being worn down and can be torn down under this bill and not replaced, forcing them out of their community. They need affordable housing in their community, not houses in the greenbelt that line the pockets of Conservative donors and greenbelt land speculators.

With petitions of thousands opposing Bill 23, it’s clear that Ontarians do not support this bill and want major amendments made. Is this government listening?