I know how deeply the member for Kiiwetinoong—how much he cares about his riding. And I was so honoured to be welcomed to his riding, at Pickle Lake specifically, for the reopening of the ServiceOntario there. I know that he’s an advocate for all residents and citizens of his riding. Would he agree, therefore, that the mental health supports for all, as proposed in Bill 166, is a good thing for his riding and all students across Ontario?

Bill 142, which was supported by the member opposite and his party, was much more in depth, but it did receive their support—the Better for Consumers, Better for Businesses Act, having received royal assent at the end of last year.

This is much shorter. This is building upon already what was a consensus bill from the minority Parliament of 2011 to 2014, a great example of how minority Parliaments can work, where the NDP and PC members brought forth the original Ontario Underground Infrastructure Notification System Act of 2012. Now we’ve expanded that with just 16 sections, expanding the dedicated locator model; no personal liability for employees, officers or directors of the corporation; banning locate fees, explicitly.

Would the member agree that this is a major improvement on what was already a great consensus bill?

It is a privilege to rise this afternoon and address my colleagues in this assembly on this important initiative, the fall economic statement, which I strongly support, along with many of my colleagues—in fact, all of my colleagues, I anticipate, on the government side. It’s appropriately called the Building a Strong Ontario Together Act.

It’s not unprecedented in this House that we can work together. I urge the members opposite, despite their partisan critiques thus far, to come together with us to support this initiative, to help build a strong Ontario together with this proposed legislation.

I would preliminarily like to extend my sincere thanks to the Minister of Finance and his parliamentary assistants for their dedicated work on this crucial legislation. This brings a wide range of measures, if implemented, and the plans that it would, if implemented, bring to the table are very, very important to build upon those issues, those plans, those proposals that we are already delivering to the people and the businesses of this great province, while others help us signal a promising future for their well-being as we look years and decades ahead. That’s what building Ontario is all about.

This legislation and the fall economic statement associated with it underscore the need for assurance and confidence. It cannot be underscored enough. It cannot be spoken about enough. At this time of uncertainty within the province, across the country and worldwide, we need leadership and assurance. We need a plan for stability and growth. This is a time when we can be optimistic, even in spite of uncertainty, as we propose transformational growth. We cannot always control external factors, shifts in global trends and technological advancements, but we can do what we can do for our fellow citizens here in the province.

The work we do for the well-being of Ontario is something that I am reassured about with the leadership of the Premier, the Honourable Doug Ford, and our Minister of Finance. I am reassured with this proposed legislation of our ability to safeguard our province’s best interests, thanks to our government once again proving that we refuse to stand idly by in the face of adversity and uncertainty. Instead, we are delivering a plan that will help us continue to build a stronger Ontario together.

This bill is a testament, I submit, to our vision for a better province, a better future, and so I would like to explore some of its key elements—14 schedules in all in Bill 146—which I believe will help us achieve the goal of both growth, stability and confidence in the future.

This begins with the tax initiatives, Speaker. This bill showcases our government’s commitment to affordability and economic growth. It does so through the proposed extension of gas tax cuts and fuel tax rate cuts until June 30, 2024. At a time when the cost of carbon is growing steadily thanks to continued taxation policies coming from the federal government in Ottawa, this kind of tax relief that is proposed in this bill has become an essential support for millions of hard-working Ontarians who are feeling the rising cost of living. We all hear it in our constituency offices. We all hear it in our constituency offices. We all hear about it as we walk among the members of our community and speak to members in our own communities and our extended families. I have spoken about the undue burden brought on by this tax before, so I am proud to see the work our government is doing to help make life more affordable for Ontarians.

These tax rate cuts that were initially effective from July 1, 2022, a fulfillment of our campaign pledges in the 2022 election, have indeed played a crucial role in keeping costs down for the people of Ontario, and they serve as an example of the no-nonsense approach our government is taking to provide help where it is needed. This contrasts sharply with the tax-and-spend policies of the former Liberal government, aided and abetted by the NDP for three years of its mandate.

On the side of economic growth, another noteworthy tax initiative proposed by this legislation involves strengthening critical mineral exploration through an additional $12 million per year in tax credit supports. By expanding the eligibility of the Ontario Focused Flow-Through Share Tax Credit to include critical minerals, we are helping position Ontario on the side of growth and prosperity. After all, our province is blessed with vast natural mineral resources, many of which are essential to our economic growth and the development of key industries, with great future potential and implications.

One of the many foreseeable outcomes from our support for the critical minerals sector is the strengthening of Ontario as a global leader in the electric vehicle supply chain, an industry that has seen more than $26 billion worth of investments over the last three years thanks to our province being able to secure automotive and EV battery investments from global automakers.

Our government’s fiscal and economic measures are not only designed to accommodate our growing economy; they are indeed designed also to take into account the needs of our growing population, which, by last count, is growing at over 500,000 newcomers each year. We’re on track to be at 20 million residents here in the province of Ontario by the end of this decade. Any of the work that we do to grow our economy must also therefore be accompanied by strategic investments in critical infrastructure and this bill’s proposed launch of the Ontario Infrastructure Bank—and one member opposite in particular, in his most recent remarks, found reason to criticize what I submit is a very important, essential and excellent initiative proposed by the minister of Minister of Finance in the fall economic statement and this bill.

The Ontario Infrastructure Bank is much needed and serves as a strong reminder to our people and our businesses that their government is committed to continue building where it matters. With proposed initial funding for the Ontario Infrastructure Bank of $3 billion, this arm’s-length agency would play a pivotal role in financing essential infrastructure projects to support our growing population and our future economic growth. At the same time, it would showcase our commitment to building a strong Ontario together.

Now, speaking of our growing population, I’d like to draw attention to our government’s continued efforts to fight the housing affordability crisis—because that’s what it is—and the work that this bill proposes to support us in that mission to build 1.5 million new homes by the end of this decade. As all members of this House already know, our government has made record strides to increase our available housing supply, while also bringing costs down. Whether it’s by enacting the many tranches of our housing supply action plan over the years or through the data standards for planning and development work, my ministry is clearly making efforts to streamline the pre-construction process.

Our government is working to find every possible avenue to help Ontarians in the midst of this crisis. It is a team effort. It is an effort that requires leadership and innovative approaches to getting it done. We have already made record-breaking progress over the years, and there is much more we can keep doing. That is why I was pleased to see that this bill proposes the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund, with an allocation of $200 million over a three-year period. This new initiative would reflect our government’s dedication to unlocking new housing opportunities while also supporting municipal water infrastructure projects. These projects are critical to the construction of new homes.

This fund will repair, rehabilitate and expand critical water systems. These are systems in our municipalities across the province, and they will also foster much-needed development and address the needs of Ontarians now and well into the future, because a government that demonstrates leadership, as our government is by this proposed legislation, thinks not in terms of election cycles, but thinks of years and decades ahead and the prosperity for our province as the economic engine of Canada, the prosperity of our province for decades to come.

Speaking of the future, we cannot ever forget how important it is to build proactively for future generations of Ontarians. That is the trust and confidence that this government was given by the people of Ontario in last year’s election and the stronger mandate that this government received in making the pledges our government did to the people of Ontario.

Each and every one of us relies on strong community resources such as health care and education in order to live healthy and happy lives. I’ve said before, and I will say again, the key to funding public programs like health care, education, social services and everything that Ontarians expect government to be able to fund and fund well, the way to do that is through economic growth and prosperity—a strong, vibrant private sector. It is a mixed economy that we have, but it is an economy where government doesn’t create the environment but creates opportunity by measures such as those contained in this proposed legislation. It’s not that government creates jobs; government creates an economic opportunity for job creation in the private sector, which in turn funds essential public services that we all depend upon.

That is precisely why our government’s fall economic statement for 2023 brings new investments to the forefront for these and many other critical sectors. For example, an historic commitment of $185 billion over 10 years underscores our government’s ambitious plan to build highways, to build roads, transit, hospitals, schools, child care spaces, broadband and other critical infrastructure. Again, this type of investment creates the opportunity, the environment for economic growth that the private sector can seize upon, invest in and help to grow the prosperity that we all depend upon, and in turn, fund the public services that we all depend upon.

We cannot continue to go further into debt; we cannot continue to borrow our way to prosperity. We must unleash the economic potential of a strong, vibrant private sector. That is the best way for government to lead towards prosperity, now and in the decades to come.

In particular, in the area of health care, our government has made investments and will continue to make investments. That includes $48 billion over 10 years to enhance infrastructure, supporting more than 50 hospital projects and adding 3,000 new beds.

I’m proud to say that these new hospital projects include the Bowmanville Hospital renovation in my riding of Durham. That is an example where community comes together, looking first to the community to help raise essential dollars to build or rebuild a hospital or renovate a hospital in the community, but also can look to the government to be part of that. Our government has made that commitment to the Bowmanville Hospital and to 49 other hospital projects across the province. That is the investment now and in the future for health care, and this government can do that because of the revenues created by the prosperity of the private sector.

At the same time, planned investments of $6.4 billion since 2019 will result in the creation of more than 30,000 new long-term-care beds. This addresses the evolving needs of our aging population while ensuring that we retain the dignity and quality of care that families expect and deserve. This includes investments in innovation and ensuring that our seniors can remain in their own homes or in the homes of their loved ones for as long as possible, but that those long-term care beds—they are residences and they are homes as much as staying in their own home, in the home of a loved one—that those long-term-care beds are there.

Again, it bears repeating that during the period of time that the previous Liberal government was supported by the NDP, only 611 new long-term-care beds were created. That is the reason why we have faced such a crisis in elder care, long-term care, today. But we have to recognize that sad history, and the members opposite bear responsibility for handing us off that legacy.

We look to the future by investing. We learn from the mistakes of the parties opposite and instead invest and build and care for our seniors; 30,000 new long-term-care beds is part of our plan and has been part of our plan for the last four years.

On the educational front, a commitment of $22 billion over 10 years reflects our government’s dedication to building new schools, adding child care spaces and modernizing school infrastructure. These investments in health care and education are part of growing Ontario, and they’re possible because of this government creating the environment for prosperity and private sector growth and job creation.

This investment in the educational sector ensures that students across our province have access to state-of-the-art facilities, fostering a conducive environment for learning and growth that will position future generations for unprecedented success in our growing global economy. This new fund will repair, rehabilitate, and expand our schools for the benefit of our precious students who are our future.

Speaker, our proposed bill, the Building a Strong Ontario Together Act, 2023, stands, I submit, as a testament to our government’s unwavering commitment to building a prosperous and resilient province, with confidence, with hope and with service to the people and the people’s future in mind.

We know that it is a solemn duty to be entrusted with government—the ability to plan for the future. We take that trust extremely seriously, and with the leadership of Premier Ford and our finance minister, we are making the strategic fiscal investments for a stronger, better Ontario and a bright future. Through strategic fiscal measures, comprehensive infrastructure investments and a focus on investing in health care and education in particular, we are laying the groundwork for a stronger and more vibrant Ontario, an Ontario that we can all be proud of, an Ontario that embraces the future and innovation associated with the future, optimistically and hopefully.

As we navigate the complexities of our ever-evolving landscape, I urge all members of this Legislature to vote in support of this transformative bill. I know that, together, we can build a strong Ontario while ensuring a brighter future for generations to come.

And it is why a Progressive Conservative government always proceeds with an eye to the future, with a balance between cost-cutting measures—to make sure that, for families, for individuals and for businesses, life can be more affordable. Yes, we rightly criticize the carbon tax. We warned about it when we fought it in court, all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada, and now we are seeing what happens when a government ignores affordability—what it can do to families and individuals and businesses. It can crush initiative. It can create conditions of despair. But we do what we can. Yes, we have and will call out the federal government for its failure to recognize how important affordability is, how wrong it was to impose this carbon tax, how wrong it was to maintain it or to provide relief for only a small segment of the population for political purposes.

We will call them out, but at the same time we will hopefully and optimistically embrace positive, prosperous initiatives, positive investments in key public sector areas, such as health care and education, and key areas of ensuring affordability for individuals, for families and for businesses, particularly our small businesses, which are indeed the engine of our economy and the biggest job creators.

I thank you for the opportunity, Speaker, and I will strongly be supporting Bill 146.

Speaker, Bill 85 proposes a plan that is responsible and targeted to help people and businesses, while laying a strong fiscal foundation for future generations. It is reflective of a thoughtful, transparent plan with a path to balance. It contains investments that are attracting and protecting jobs—while investing in hospitals, schools, transit, highways and other infrastructure projects.

Why will the member opposite not commit to supporting Bill 85?

We know that we are living in uncertain economic times, with higher-than-normal inflation. And so with Bill 85, will the member opposite and his colleagues—given that, in these uncertain economic times, the most vulnerable are the hardest hit, will the opposition support our proposed expansion to the guaranteed annual income support plan starting in July 2024 so that 100,000 more seniors can receive monthly benefits?

Speaker, our government has launched the largest health care recruiting initiative in Ontario history—in addition to the thousands of new health care workers, including nurses, who have been hired in the past several years. We are on track for thousands of more health care professionals to be recruited and placed in our health care system across the province. That’s more doctors, more nurses, more personal support workers.

My question for the member opposite is, will she and her colleagues support the future of our publicly funded health care system by supporting Bill 60?

My question for the member opposite is based on this premise, in terms of the proposed Working for Workers Act: We know that the men and women who serve our country in the reserve forces are heroes. When they are abroad or serving domestically, the last thing they need to worry about while keeping our country safe is whether or not their day jobs will be there when they get back. So why does the opposition not support expanding reservist leave for the brave men and women in uniform who serve our country in the reserve forces?

I wanted to ask the member—and I appreciate his heartfelt presentation and comments in this debate.

We know that in 2017—and that was for the term of the Liberal government, 2014 to 2018, when the NDP was not supporting the Liberal government—businesses were paying $33,000 in annual compliance fees, $4,000 more than any other province, and they faced the largest regulatory burden in Canada. Now we have a government committed to reducing that burden, and we’re saving businesses over $500 million annually.

Despite some of the critiques, will the member and his colleagues support this bill?

Thank you, Speaker. I want to ask the member opposite, through the Chair—I listened very carefully to his remarks. Clearly, he and many other members of His Majesty’s loyal opposition are supportive of the mining industry and see the benefits for the north, for the Indigenous communities in our province, and the ripple effect across the entire province.

Are the member and his colleagues going to support this bill or not—and if not, why not?

Speaker, since 2018, the Progressive Conservative government of Premier Doug Ford has been focused on building Ontario. We built schools. The previous Liberal-NDP coalition closed schools down. We are building hospitals, in contrast to the Liberal-NDP coalition that brought our health care system to its knees. We are building transit, with four new transit lines in the GTA, and the NDP said no to that.

Bill 69 will help predictable infrastructure projects—and let us build infrastructure faster without compromising the EA process.

Speaker, the opposition supported Bill 63. Why will the opposition not support Bill 69 and build infrastructure for the people of Ontario that they need and deserve?

That was a very long question, and I have a very short answer. We have pledged to work for workers. We’re getting it done. We’ll continue to get it done, with or without the support of the official opposition.