I do want to recognize my seatmate and colleague for her incredible knowledge of municipal affairs and infrastructure. The first question that came from the government side was sort of that energy of, “How dare you not be in extremely gushing support of this? How dare you even question this?”

My question to her is, having that background, that expertise and that experience at city hall, can you think if there are any members of this Conservative government who might have a legacy that goes back to city hall and their effects on transit, namely putting transit possibly into disarray there with delays and all sorts of changes of projects? Can you explain why we might have misgivings whenever they put forth anything to change transit in the province of Ontario?

Ontarians pay some of the highest cell phone and Internet bills on earth. Places around the world spend 10 times less for what we’re getting. If they can do it, why can’t we?

This morning, I joined our Ontario NDP leader and NDP MPP colleagues to discuss a consultation plan and a set of hearings across the province to hear from consumers, telecom experts, consumer protection advocates and the industry itself to discuss a way forward and a plan to deliver more accessible telecom, and at better prices.

Does this government agree that telecom companies are gouging Ontarians? And what are they willing to do about it?

Interjections.

If there is one thing that this government is great at, it’s over-promising and under-delivering. What we’ve seen is that this government has held back nearly 90% of their budgeted investment on broadband infrastructure, going back years.

So my question is simple: Why won’t they make broadband access a priority, and why are they under-spending on bringing access to Ontarians? Because access to Internet and cell phones and telecom isn’t just a luxury anymore; it is a necessity for all of us.

Interjections.

In an emergency, there’s no worse feeling than being unable to contact emergency services or our loved ones. With the recent terrible acts of violence on the TTC, having access to cellular service in the subway tunnels would make people feel safer in a crisis. The infrastructure is there, but big telecom is not willing to use it.

Does this government think that’s right? And if not, what are they willing to do about it?