Mr. Speaker, my colleague is absolutely right. In fact, last week, we joined farmers, truckers, small businesses owners and workers in urging the federal government to scrap the 23% increase to our carbon tax.

We know it makes life harder for businesses and families across this province. While those businesses and families are struggling, the federal Liberals continue to pursue an increase to the federal carbon tax, and we know there are going to be more of these. But what’s most surprising is that Bonnie Crombie and the provincial Liberals refuse to add their voice in asking the federal government to scrap the carbon tax.

We will always be supporting small business owners, truckers, and farmers in our fight to stand united against this carbon tax.

But let’s listen to the Ontario Trucking Association that says that the carbon tax raises the cost of deliveries by 6%. That doesn’t even take into consideration the cost to truckers as they deliver these goods: $15,000 to $20,000 is what the carbon tax costs a long-haul truck driver in this province. That is $15,000 to $20,000 that could be going towards their families. That’s $15,000 to $20,000 that could be going to them to make life more affordable and easier for themselves.

We continue to call on the federal government and our provincial Liberals to condemn this 23% hike because we need to support the drivers and the people of this province.

The member is absolutely right. When we look at the north, the challenges are even more significant when it comes to the carbon tax. But it’s no surprise that the Liberals and the NDP are not listening to the people. They’re out of touch. Just a couple of weeks ago, it was a federal Liberal environment minister, who is now trying to impose this 23% increase of carbon taxes on the people of the north and across Canada and especially in Ontario—he was the one who said, “No more roads,” and that Canada doesn’t need any more roads. How out of touch can you be?

But on top of that, now they want to increase the carbon tax by 23%. That’s a tax on food. It’s a tax on groceries. It’s a tax on fuel, on energy, on heating your home. People cannot afford it. I hope that the provincial Liberals and the NDP step up right to the federal government and tell them to scrap the tax.

This is going to hurt not only truckers, who are out $15,000 to $20,000—they could use that money to support their families, put their kids through school, put their kids in extracurricular activities—but think of the people in the north, how much their food is going to increase, because that food travels on trucks. A 23% increase being proposed by the federal government, it’s unbelievable.

What’s more shameful, Mr. Speaker, is the provincial Liberals and the NDP are doing nothing to advocate to stop the carbon tax from going up 23%. Under the leadership—

The member for Kitchener–Conestoga is absolutely right: It’s a shame that the NDP and Liberals are supporting the federal carbon tax, which is about to go up by 23%. I was proud to stand with the member from Kitchener–Conestoga when we announced the expansion and getting shovels in the ground on Highway 7. It’s unfortunate, though, that not only do the federal Liberals want to spike the carbon tax by 23%, they said that they don’t believe in building roads and bridges across this country, in one of the fastest-growing regions like Kitchener-Waterloo.

We will always put drivers first and put more money in their pockets. Whether it’s fighting the carbon tax or building more roads and highways, this government is committed to getting it done for the people of Ontario. We thank that member for his advocacy and making sure we fight the carbon tax and the 23% increase on April 1.

It’s also about making sure that we put more money in their pockets, like saving $125 per car or truck on licence plate renewal fees. That is something this government committed to, to put that money back into the pockets of hard-working families across this province. But that’s not it. Through the Get It Done Act, any future government that would want to impose a carbon tax will have to take it to the people through a referendum. Our government will do anything and everything we can to ensure money stays with families.

This government is proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with our truckers all across this province, Mr. Speaker. Whether it’s about making sure our grocery shelves are stocked, whether it’s our hospitals that get the equipment that they need or the manufacturers that get their parts that they need to build Ontario-made products, this government has always stood with truckers and we have always stood against the carbon tax.

We know that the carbon tax makes life more unaffordable, Mr. Speaker. For a long-haul truck driver, the Ontario Trucking Association estimates the 17.4-cents-per-litre fuel costs at $15,000 to $20,000 per truck every single year, Mr. Speaker. That’s a hard-working truck driver that could spend that $15,000 on their family, on their child, putting them in hockey or extracurriculars, but the failed policies that are supported by Bonnie Crombie and the NDP and the federal minister of—

But, Mr. Speaker, the federal government has not listened to our request to make life more affordable. In fact, they’ve doubled down. Their federal environment minister said he’s not going to invest in any more roads or highways, Mr. Speaker, and that’s absolutely ridiculous. That’s why I invited him to join me to drive on the DVP, to drive on the Gardiner Expressway, the 427 and 410, to see how out of touch they are with the realities of the people that live in the GTA and Ontario and all across Canada. We call on the federal government to drop the carbon tax and to build more roads and highways all across Ontario.

Thank you to that member for that question. The federal carbon tax is hurting Ontario’s economy and is really hurting families and making life harder.

Speaker, the federal government doesn’t seem to understand that for parents filling up their cars in places like Peterborough, Kenora and Wawa, there are, in many cases, no alternatives, and the carbon tax adds unnecessary costs for families who need to rely on a car to drive their kids to school, to go to work or to visit their doctor. Unlike in Toronto, communities like Kenora, Peterborough and Wawa don’t have access to rapid transit and subways, and we need to recognize this.

It’s clear that the federal Liberals and their provincial counterparts are out of touch with the needs of Ontario families, and we urge the federal government to do the right thing: Support Ontario’s families and scrap your carbon tax.

The carbon tax is hurting truckers and their families. These are the same people who keep our shelves stocked. They were the same ones who were driving across this province when nobody else wanted to drive, during the pandemic.

I was speaking to many truckers over the past couple of weeks. The Ontario Trucking Association told me that there’s about a 17.5-cent impact per litre on the truckers. For a long-haul trucker, that equates to about $15,000 to $20,000 a year. That’s $15,000 to $20,000 that that trucker could be spending to support his family, put his kids in hockey.

At a time when we’re facing a cost-of-living crisis, I urge the member of the independent Liberals, in his last couple of days as leader, to call the Prime Minister and tell him to do the right thing and scrap the carbon tax.

Imagine an owner of five trucks, long-haul drivers—the cost of the carbon tax per year is anywhere between $75,000 to $100,000, because of the carbon tax. This is directly relating to an increase in not just grocery costs but everything that gets delivered by these hard-working men and women in our trucking industry.

It’s important that the Liberals and the NDP stand up for truckers and ask the federal government to scrap the carbon tax.

That’s absolutely right. The Liberals can call the carbon tax whatever they want to, but at the end of the day, it’s a tax on hard-working families and the people in Ontario. That’s why, when we were first elected, one of the first things we did was eliminate the provincial carbon tax. But under our plan, not only are we building EVs across this province, we’re also undertaking the largest expansion of public transit in the history of this province and this country—and for that, North America. We’re investing a historic $70 billion to build and expand public transit, all in Ontario.

On top of that, the Ontario Line, which both the Liberals and the NDP voted against, will take 28,000 cars off the road every single day. We’re transitioning the GO rail network from diesel to electric trains, and expanding access to two-way, all-day GO across this province. That, too, was not supported by the Liberals—

The member is absolutely right. The carbon tax does absolutely nothing to protect the environment. Every year, under the Prime Minister, Canada’s emissions have continued to rise.

Here in Ontario, we’re taking real action to lower our emissions, especially through our transportation network. Thanks to the Premier and the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, Ontario will be a world leader in EV manufacturing across the world. In a few years, we are going to see thousands of made–in-Ontario electric cars on our roads, but we’re also expanding EV infrastructure across this province. Recently, we announced $91 million to expand chargers that drive more confidence and alleviate range anxiety across Ontario.

Unlike the Liberals and NDP, we are doing more to support the hard-working people of this province, protect our environment and keep costs low for families.