I’m pleased to share with the member opposite, who’s a huge champion for our agri-food industry, that we are listening to stakeholders, we’re listening to farmers, and we’re bringing forward thoughtful policies that truly are making a difference.

For instance, I was so very proud to continue to support the Minister of Red Tape Reduction and his most recent piece of legislation he tabled that could translate into potential savings of $4 million for agriculture and horticultural societies—and we’re continuing to reduce burden.

But we need to be perfectly clear in this House: The biggest burden on Ontario farmers today is the carbon tax. I think every single MPP in this House should be standing up and doing the right thing for Ontario farmers and saying no to the carbon tax. I am totally disgusted with the events this past week, whereby C-234 has been completely gutted, especially during our harvest. I’m sure the agriculture minister—“minister”; I just promoted you—the agriculture critic for the NDP—

But it’s our government, under the leadership of Premier Ford, that’s listening. And because of that, we’re introducing $8 million worth of programs to support the mental health of farmers in Ontario. We’re introducing, next week, $16.5 million in our Ontario Agri-Food Research Initiative. We’re moving forward and trying to introduce and incent food and beverage manufacturers to save on energy and bring through innovations, and that program alone is a $10-million investment. Ladies and gentlemen, we are also investing $10 million in improving meat-processing capacity in this province. We’re listening. We’re bringing forward programs that are going to help—

Not only do I appreciate the amazing work that the member from Brant offers his constituents and the agri-food industry, but I very much appreciate the question, because I’m pleased to share with you that after the agri-food industry in Ontario has been ignored for years through the Liberal government and their friends on the opposition benches, I am absolutely pleased to share with you that our plan to grow Ontario forward has been incredibly well-received by all stakeholders in Ontario’s agri-food sector.

Ontario is poised to build a secure and stable supply chain, and Grow Ontario is our strategy to ensure that our agri-food sector in this province has certainty in its supply chain. It’s the result of conversations that I’ve had for over a year with our stakeholders, like Food and Beverage Ontario, who told me that the number one challenge is a labour shortage. So, through building a strong supply chain, growing our labour workforce, as well as innovation and research, the future is bright for Ontario’s agri-food industry.

Our stakeholders are incredibly pleased that they finally have a government that understands the importance of the agri-food industry, and our Grow Ontario plan has real goals with tangible actions. Our strategy represents a bold vision, built on a commitment that is second to none, and it will also raise awareness of the amazing food produced right here in Ontario, not only for our consumers in this province but around the world.

Mr. Speaker, the fact of the matter is, when we met with stakeholders just last week—the Premier and our parliamentary assistants—we heard loud and clear from our agricultural stakeholders that the number one issue in Ontario right now is labour. You can grow all the crops that you want in this province, but if we don’t have processors with the proper labour force, then it’s all for naught.

Our number one priority is making sure—

Interjection.

Again, we have a housing crisis in this province of Ontario—and our processors and our stakeholders are asking for more homes to support that labour.