I thank the member opposite for his question.

I agree; we have to make sure that all precautions are taken to preserve the safety of the playground at Pape Avenue Junior Public School, and I want to assure the parents there that my ministry is well aware of their concerns and the issues.

To date, all work around the school has focused on ground and on soil investigation, on utility locating and on surveying, but we have full confidence that Metrolinx will be able to ensure that all safety standards are followed. Metrolinx is actively working with the TDSB, with the principal of the school and the parent council to create a construction safety management plan, and it has been conducting regular site visits and safety reviews.

Mr. Speaker, a construction liaison committee—a CLC—has been created and has held two meetings to date to discuss upcoming construction activities, safety and any additional community concerns that have been raised. We are taking these concerns very seriously.

We want to make sure that the environment around the school is safe, and we will be working closely with community leaders and parents on this issue.

We have prepared a draft health and safety plan that was distributed to the CLC in advance of the last meeting, on March 28, to allow the school and attendees time to review the plan that we’ve put forward and to discuss it at that meeting. To further mitigate noise concerns, we’ve committed to placing a noise barrier around the school, and upcoming work has been detailed to the school’s parent council.

I want to assure families that Metrolinx is committed to ensuring that the highest levels of safety standards are maintained throughout construction.

We all agree the Ontario Line needs to be built. It will take 28,000 cars off the road each and every day. That is essential for future generations, and we will get it done.

Well, the Ministry of Transportation was very clear that the projects that were identified in the Auditor General’s report as deferred have actually all moved forward, either in the planning stages or due diligence stages or the construction stages. The member opposite knows very well that our government has been committed to road safety and construction in northern Ontario.

We’re moving forward the twinning of Highway 17 between the Manitoba border and Kenora. We’ve been working on building 14 new rest stops and rehabilitating 10 rest stops to make sure that we can provide safety for our drivers as they’re going along our northern roads. And we’re moving forward with an innovative new highway pilot called the “2+1” project—a project that came from the Northern Transportation Task Force and was recommended by people who live and drive in the north and who take road safety there so seriously.

We are very proud of the record that we have on keeping our northern roads safe and on rehabilitating and building our highways there, and we’re going to continue to do that.

Our government is committed to building in the north, and we’re committed to road safety in the north. That’s why we brought forward a completely new standard for highway and winter maintenance, a 12-hours-to-bare-pavement standard, the best and highest standard anywhere in Canada. We have made significant investments in equipment, we’re bringing innovative, new solutions to keeping our roads safe, and we’re going to continue to work to find the best standards and to do the best we can by the people in the north.

I thank the member opposite for the question. Speaker, the delays that are plaguing the Eglinton Crosstown LRT are frustrating for everyone, for people living along the line and for businesses that are there. As the member opposite knows, we inherited this project from the previous Liberal government, which mismanaged the project from the start. Right now, Speaker, our focus is on making sure that the Eglinton Crosstown LRT is safely operational as soon as possible.

Let’s be clear, we are continuing to make progress on our priority projects for the GTA: the new Ontario Line and the three extensions. But to get those projects built in a different way, we passed the Building Transit Faster Act, an act that’s designed to address a lot of the issues that the member opposite is raising. Mr. Speaker, that member and the party opposite voted against the Building Transit Faster Act. They voted against getting shovels in the ground and getting transit built faster. I think the question that should be asked in this House is why they voted against such an important piece of legislation to get transit built faster.

Mr. Speaker, let’s be clear: We have been there for businesses along the Eglinton Crosstown LRT. We have provided supports for those businesses that have been impacted by construction. Metrolinx has been collaborating not only with the city of Toronto but also with local BIAs to establish a joint committee that’s responsible for determining where these funds should go.

Mr. Speaker, we know that this has been a difficult go for the people along the Eglinton Crosstown LRT. That’s why we’re so determined to do it differently.

Thank you to the member for Barrie–Innisfil for the question.

Speaker, as the MPP for York–Simcoe and as Minister of Transportation, I’ve heard resounding calls from business owners, from farmers and from residents about the need to get the Bradford Bypass done, and I couldn’t be more pleased that under the leadership of this Premier, our government is finally answering the call. Last week, I joined the Premier and local mayors in Bradford to announce that our government has finally started construction on the Bradford Bypass. Unlike other governments that came before us, our government is actually delivering real progress on the project and fulfilling the commitment that we made to residents across York region and Simcoe county and beyond to get critical infrastructure built. We are getting it done.

Just a few weeks ago, I was pleased to be in Bradford to celebrate the groundbreaking of Toromont Industries’ new remanufacturing facility. Once complete, the facility will create nearly 200 new skilled-trade jobs for members in the community, and this is only just the beginning. Our government is continuing to build Ontario to help boost our economy and create jobs for people in every corner of this province.

I thank the member opposite for the question. I want to assure her that completing the replacement of the Argyle Street Bridge is a priority for our government. As she correctly pointed out, this is a century-old bridge and its restoration is long overdue. Unfortunately, the Liberals had over a decade to take action and address this issue, but instead, they did nothing.

Mr. Speaker, as I’m sure the member opposite can appreciate, our government is doing its due diligence to ensure that we get this right before putting shovels in the ground. This includes consulting with First Nations communities that are potentially impacted by this project and conducting early work projects to conserve the Toll House and potential archaeological resources before the bridge replacement begins. This early work is slated to begin this fall.

Our government is making great progress to get shovels in the ground for this project. It is a priority for our government, and we will get it done.

As the work on this project continues, we have taken interim measures to protect the safety of the travelling public who use the bridge. This includes implementing, as the member pointed out, further load restrictions for vehicles and completing temporary repair work that is necessary to maintain the serviceability of the bridge.

Mr. Speaker, we have been making great progress. The detailed design of the Argyle Street replacement is already complete, and now we’re in the process of obtaining the final approvals to proceed to construction.

We will not take any shortcuts when it comes to getting critical infrastructure built.