Thank you to the great member for his great question.

He’s touched on something that is so important to building housing: It’s the infrastructure that needs to be there at the beginning.

We heard loud and clear from your community and communities all over the province about needing housing-enabling infrastructure—water and waste water, essentially. There is new funding of $1.8 billion directed towards that area. This will enable municipalities to apply for this funding and get that infrastructure in place so the houses can be built.

But it’s not just that. There’s working with the Ontario infrastructure fund. There is other funding and opportunities that we’re doing. Re-profiling the Infrastructure Ontario lending program is being done as well. So there are more and more areas where municipalities can get that infrastructure built so that we can get the houses built that we need here in Ontario.

I point to the information in the budget on page 8—one of my favourite pages—talking about the spending programs. Post-secondary is going from $11.7 billion two years ago to $12.6 billion this year and into the twelves and thirteens in 2026-27, so big investments there. On the capital side: $5.7 billion over 10 years for colleges; $1.3 billion for universities.

We recognize the challenges facing post-secondary education, which is why the blue-ribbon panel was established. We’re taking action to stabilize the province’s colleges and universities by introducing a suite of measures, including an investment of nearly $1.3 billion in new funding to ensure the continued sustainability of the post-secondary education system. Whether it’s $903 million over three years for the new Postsecondary Education Sustainability Fund, including $203 million in funding the top-ups for institutions—and on and on and on.

So we recognize the importance of this sector. We will keep treating it as a priority, and look forward to working with the members opposite to support that goal.

The other element that is very important here is our Guaranteed Annual Income System program, the GAINS program, directed at seniors. That’s being enhanced and is a very, very fundamental part now of the tax system to assist those who need it most and were there for us. Starting in July, the benefit will increase to $87 a month for eligible seniors and $174 per month for couples. On and on and on, we’re going to keep investing in seniors.

I thank the member for the question.

When you invest in infrastructure, there are all sorts of projects all over that require attention—some of them big, some of them small. Look at this building here. It has been around since this province started, and we all feel that at times. Whether it’s the heating system or the cooling system, they all need work, and the media studio as well. I don’t know the intimate details of what was behind that project; perhaps it was to give the opposition more opportunities to be in front of the media over time. We’re always thinking of the opposition, Madam Speaker, to ensure that they have opportunities as well as we have.

Anyway, it’s an important part of our Queen’s Park infrastructure, and we’ll keep working on all that as we can.

Good morning, colleagues. I want to tell you about a great Ontario event I had the pleasure of attending this past February 2: Groundhog Day in Wiarton.

Groundhog Day started back in 1956, when Wiarton resident Mac McKenzie donned a fur hat, dug a burrow in the snow and made a weather prognostication. The next day, the picture was in the paper, and the annual tradition was born.

The morning began with a beautiful display of fireworks at 7 a.m. Wiarton is nestled right on the shores of Georgian Bay, so the fireworks were very special. At 7:40, the McLaren Pipe and Drum Band led us to the stage. The sound of bagpipes is also extra special on a frosty winter morning. Town criers Bruce Kruger and MacGregor Tannahill were both dressed in their bright red uniforms, and their message to the crowd of 500 was clear and loud.

I was in the group known as the shadow cabinet, which included Mayor Jay Kirkland, Ronnie Ottewell and Regan McKenzie, the daughter of founder Mac McKenzie. We were all in white tuxedos and top hats.

Wiarton Willie then joined us on stage with his amazing handler, Gord Glover. Willie looked great and was in a chatty mood. Mayor Kirkland listened intently, considered what he’d heard and proudly announced Willie’s forecast: an early spring.

Colleagues, this is a great event for Wiarton and for our province. Thank you, Willie, for your great work. See you next year.