I urge both the Liberals and NDP to talk to the people of Milton, talk to the people of Mississauga, talk to the people of Brampton, of Vaughan. This is going to make a significant difference in commuting for all of them: over 30 minutes saved each direction per trip.

We have seen over a million people come into this province in the last two years. The NDP and Liberals have opposed every project that we have put forward, whether that’s public transit or whether that’s building highways. This highway will support 3,500 good-paying jobs, have an impact of over $350 million to the GDP. We need to continue building infrastructure for 15 years.

We saw what the Liberals did: absolutely nothing. They cancelled projects. Our government is about getting shovels in the ground and building for the future generations of this province, and that is exactly what we are going to do. The 413 will have shovels in the ground, and we’re going to build this 52-kilometre-long highway.

Interjection.

Now, there’s a member that gets it, Mr. Speaker. There’s a member that listens to his community, that drives on the roads that those families are driving on every single day trying to get to and from work in the gridlock that has been created because the previous Liberal government refused to invest in roads and bridges and highways.

I’m equally shocked at the comments from the federal environment minister saying that he won’t build or invest in more bridges and highways. We’re seeing explosive growth in Ontario, a million people over the next two years, and the federal government doesn’t want to invest in infrastructure. That’s crazy. But thankfully, we’ve got good members, like the member for Brampton North, fighting for their residents, fighting for the people of this province.

We’re going to invest $28 billion over the next 10 years in building highways and roads, and we will take no lesson from the previous Liberal government that—

I want to thank the member for highlighting such an important issue.

For 15 years, the previous Liberal government did absolutely nothing. They didn’t build highways, didn’t build transit. In fact, they built upside-down bridges. And then, what did they do? Their current leader led the charge against building Highway 413, an important project that this province needs. And what happened two weeks ago? The federal Minister of the Environment—her friend—said they’re not going to invest in any more roads and bridges across this province. They are so out of touch.

Thanks to advocacy from members like that member from Markham–Thornhill, we’re going to make sure we invest in communities like Markham. We’re going to make sure we build transit. We’re going to make sure we invest in highways like Highway 413 and the Bradford Bypass, because that is what the people of this province elected us to do. It’s about making sure we save 30 minutes each trip on the 413 so you can spend more time with your families at home instead of being in gridlock.

It’s about time the Liberals and the NDP wake up and look at the challenges people are facing in their—

The previous Liberal government, supported by the NDP, raised taxes, tolls and licence fees on the hard-working people of this province.

Our government has been committed to making sure that we reduce tolls, that we take the tolls off highways, that we freeze licence fees.

No one will be able to implement a carbon tax in this province unless they take it to the people.

I gave the example of a truck driver yesterday—$15,000 to $20,000 the carbon tax cost the trucker’s family. The Liberals have supported the carbon tax every step of the way. That’s $15,000 that could be going toward their own family.

The carbon tax has increased costs on absolutely everything in this province.

We, as a government, will continue to fight for the hard-working people of this province, keep costs low—

The member from Thornhill is absolutely right: After 15 years of previous governments neglecting their duty to build infrastructure, transit and highways across this province, our government is getting it done. Our population is growing rapidly—over a million people in the next two years—and we need to build that infrastructure now. That’s why, in 2019, our government made it a priority to introduce the Building Transit Faster Act to ensure that we can better connect the people in the GTHA, and faster.

Speaker, we know that more transit is needed today, and it couldn’t come soon enough. Whether it’s highways or transit, our government is committed to building Ontario, which is why later today our government will introduce legislation that tackles unnecessary delays and makes it easier and faster to build. We are the only party working to save Ontarians money while fighting for fast and reliable infrastructure.

We’re also giving commuters more certainty by permanently banning tolls on provincial highways. We know we are the only party standing up for Ontarians. We are the only party focused on making life easier for people and building our future. That is why we have removed vehicle val tags. That is why we have reduced taxes by over 10 cents per litre at the gas pumps and that is why we will also continue to fight for the people of Ontario and keep costs down.

Safety is a top priority for this government. As the Minister of Transportation—we have a budget of over $27 billion to invest in our roads, our highways and bridges.

I look forward to working with the member. We have made significant progress on that specific project. We appreciate the challenges that she has mentioned, and we are working with the appropriate partners to ensure that project is well under way.

Unlike the Liberals and NDP, our government is committed to making sure that we’re building highways, we’re building roads, we’re investing in our bridges across this province—$27 billion in our budget over the next 10 years, which both the Liberals and NDP have voted against every single time.

We are saying yes to investing in rural communities across the province—including the Argyle Street bridge, with a new five-span steel arch bridge. The design of the bridge replacement is complete, and our government is in the process of obtaining final approvals to proceed with construction.

Thanks to the Premier and the leadership of this government, we’re investing in our roads, we’re investing in our bridges—$27 billion. That project will be a part of those investments.

Unfortunately, the previous Liberal government had 15 years and did absolutely nothing with infrastructure.

We’re going to continue to make sure we make the necessary investments to build bridges, build roads, build highways and build transit across this province.

Thank you to the member from Mississauga–Erin Mills for his tireless advocacy for the people of Mississauga. After decades of inaction, under the leadership of Premier Ford we’re finally building the infrastructure that we need for our future. We’re building new highways, roads, bridges across the entire province, including the great city of Mississauga. In our 2023 budget, we announced that our government is committing to $27.9 billion over the next 10 years to connect communities, fight gridlock and keep goods moving.

I am pleased to share that our government has completed construction on the widening of Highway 401 between Mississauga and Milton. This provides an additional 18 kilometres of new lanes. Drivers will spend less time in traffic and more time with family. Speaker, we’re building Ontario for generations to come.

We know that building Highway 413 is the right thing to do for families, for the economy and for our future.

Under the leadership of this Premier, we’ve attracted over $25 billion in new investments into this province.

Gridlock has cost this province over $11 billion per year, and it will only get worse if we don’t build these critical highways.

Highway 413 will keep the economy moving. During the construction of Highway 413, we will support an estimated 3,500 jobs; we’ll add approximately $350 million to the GDP each year. Once construction is complete, we will reduce gridlock and keep our goods moving.

Highway 413 will also have a dedicated transitway to connect people to our major employment centres and attract more businesses to the area.

It is very critical that we build Highway 413. The independent Liberals—

The people of this province sent a very clear message: Build Highway 413.

Mr. Speaker, just like my colleagues, I hear the same thing every single day: Gridlock in the GTA is taking away from things that matter most, like spending time with your family. That’s why, in Peel region, one of the fastest-growing regions, with an expectation of over a million more people, it’s even more important for us to build these critical highway infrastructures across the province.

Unfortunately, the previous Liberal government, supported by the official opposition, refused to support the building of this highway. They expect the status quo.

We’re going to continue to invest $27 billion in expanding highway infrastructure across this province.

The opposition and the Liberals are completely out of touch with the challenges that Ontarians are facing. That’s why we’re going to build—