I thank the members for their comments on this important piece of legislation. I represent a rural riding. I’m certainly not from the industry, although I’m told through Scottish heritage, a “byre,” which is my last name, is a cow barn, so I guess in some way I’m connected to this legislation.

I want to ask my colleague from Lanark–Frontenac–Kingston: When I’m around the riding, I hear a lot from farmers about access to veterinarians and how that makes their business more challenging and how, when they look to pass on the business to their family, lack of access to vets makes that more of a challenge in the future. I’m interested in his thoughts, given his actual experience in the industry, how this bill may improve on both those points.

I thank the speaker for her always-great comments, and again today. When we talk about the housing shortage, it’s usually a focus in the major cities, and of course this excellent bill has a number of targets for the major urban areas. But in the fantastic riding of Bruce–Grey–Owen Sound and in rural Ontario, there is also a need for additional housing, and Barrie–Innisfil maybe fits somewhere in between. I’m curious to ask the member what this bill does to encourage housing development in the rural parts of Ontario, as outlined in question 7.

My question is for the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. Under the previous Liberal government, rural communities like mine were left behind and neglected when it came to investments that would support our local economy. Time and again, we saw the previous government make announcements that would be supporting investments only in and around the GTA. That’s why I am here to continue to advocate for my constituents and the abilities they have to lead our province.

On that note, I am proud that Grey-Bruce continues to lead the way in female apprenticeships. For the past five years, we’ve had more female students going into the skilled trades than the rest of the province, by a significant margin.

Speaker, what is the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade doing to help support economic growth in my riding? What is the government doing to tap into the amazing workforce potential we have in our community?