 It is now time for question period. Members of New York, same question. Thank you very much, Mr. Premier. Premier, you have said that the mandatory Ontario pension plan will be good for the province. Yet your government has not released any evidence to support these claims. In fact, the only information you have released is an internal document warning your minister that the pension plan will cost Ontario 54,000 jobs a year. The Ontario Chamber of Commerce has even said your government at a minimum must conduct and publicly release an analysis of the impact of the new pension plan. So, Premier, will you include a cost-benefit analysis of the ORPP in the 2015 budget? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the question from the member opposite. I know the associate minister is going to want to speak to this very important issue. As the member knows, we made this commitment as a part of our budget as a part of our platform, Mr. Speaker. It's a fundamental part of our plan for the economy because we know that there are many, many people in Ontario who are not able to save enough, Mr. Speaker, who are worried about retirement security, and we believe that it is important that government take action to make sure that they have the ability to retire in security after a life of work, Mr. Speaker. I'm surprised, actually, that anyone in this House would not think that it's a good idea for the people of Ontario to have retirement security, Mr. Speaker. I don't have evidence, but I do. CFIB has said over half its members will have to lay off workers. Lay off workers. The Ontario Chamber of Commerce has said 44% of its members will have to reduce staff. Order, please. On both sides, I'm having difficulty hearing the question being put. So please, finish, please. I don't need extra comments. We all know it's impossible to save for retirement if you have no job. So, Premier, will you commit to help save jobs in Ontario by walking away from the ORPP? Walk away. It's very interesting because people who have studied this issue and who understand the way people are able to prepare for their retirement, Mr. Speaker, pretty much there's a lot of agreement among those experts that there are not enough people in this province and in this country, quite frankly, saving for retirement. And, you know, organizations like CARP, Mr. Speaker, so the organization of seniors across the country, they who have no, they have no stake in this, Mr. Speaker, because they're passing away where such a pension plan would benefit them. They are one of the strongest advocates for us doing this, Mr. Speaker. They believe that this is an important thing. So, Mr. Speaker, I believe that it is responsible for us to implement what we ran on, Mr. Speaker. We are very clear with the people of Ontario, Mr. Speaker, and that's exactly what we're going to do. Thank you. Premier, we will lose more than just jobs if the ORPP goes through. The Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association found that 78% of workplaces will reduce or eliminate their existing pension plans if they are forced to take part in the ORPP. Premier, over the next week, the PC caucus will be laying out five key commitments we need to see from your government in order to support your budget. This is the first. Premier, will you commit in your 2015 budget to saving jobs and walking away from the ORPP? Walk away. Thank you. Premier. Minister of Finance. I appreciate raising the question in the House this morning because, Mr. Speaker, Ontarians are concerned about their retirement. In fact, just this week, a study from RBC was released and 34% of people have contributed to their... I don't anticipate shouting people down for the sake of not hearing them. From that RBC study, only 39% of respondents have put away money in 2014 for retirement through their ORPP. 30% said that they have not begun to save for their retirement. Mr. Speaker, Ontarians expect their government to take action to ensure a secure retirement easier. In fact, 77% of Ontarians support an increase in pension benefits, Mr. Speaker. And it is for this reason that our government has put forward the implementation of the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan so that when people retire, they can retire with dignity and have a secure and saving floor. No question, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Premier. Your government has caused a great deal of angst and hardship to our most vulnerable people by launching a messed up social assistance computer system that you were warned was not ready for implementation. SAMS continues to be an unmitigated disaster. Premier, earlier this month, I raised concerns with problems that SAMS are going to cause with the people's tax returns and related benefits impacting as many as 700,000 adults and children dependent on ODSP and Ontario Works. We recently found out that you were forced to shred over a half a million T5 tax forms because of errors by your supposedly improved computer system. Premier, are you yourself prepared to continue to assert that your government's 240 million and climbing social assistance system is experiencing a mere glitch? Thank you, Premier. Well, Mr. Speaker, I know the Minister of Community and Social Services is going to want to have more to say on this, but we've acknowledged that the implementation of the improved system has posed challenges. We understand that, Mr. Speaker. We also know that the SAMS, which is the system that the member office is talking about, that SAMS system is a key component of the Transformation of Ontario's social assistance program, so it's very important that we have updated technology. There have been concerns and problems. The Minister has visited offices. There is front-line support for people who are going through this transition, Mr. Speaker. We have worked to make sure that checks were put in people's hands so that they had the benefit that they were entitled to, Mr. Speaker. But we need to implement a system that is going to improve service, and that's exactly what we're doing, Mr. Speaker. The member from Renfrew come to order. You shouldn't flip the switch till it works. Back to the Premier, Speaker. Premier, you suggested SAMS would be a better, more efficient system. Recently, your government hired PricewaterhouseCoopers consultants to cover up your government's incompetence over SAMS implementation. And you should not one but two rounds of so-called one-time, and I might add, unbudgeted funding to municipalities to mitigate the ongoing cost overruns with SAMS. Premier, can you assure that you will not download the cost of your SAMS mess on the back of local taxpayers and guarantee a full 100% short and long-term reimbursement to municipalities? Good question. SAMS is being implemented. This system is being implemented because it will improve service to people, Mr. Speaker. There's no question that there have been challenges. As I would say, there were challenges when the party opposite instituted changes, Mr. Speaker, in terms of social assistance. The implementation, it has to be improved. There's no question about that, Mr. Speaker. And we've hired a third party. I'm pleased that we've hired a third-party adviser to advise us to improve the system, Mr. Speaker. That's what it should be. We have to make these changes. As parties before us have made changes, Mr. Speaker, we have to address the challenges as they come along. And it's important that we have expert advice on how to do that. And that's exactly what we sought out, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Finally, a member from Prince Edward Hastings will come to order. So I can acknowledge his colleague. Final supplementary. Thank you, Speaker. Well, Premier, I think you should talk to the front-line people and the recipients who aren't receiving these because it is an improved system. People on social assistance deserve stability, peace of mind, and the supports they rely on. They need to know that you'll put a stop to this waste and start putting money where it belongs to helping our 700,000 vulnerable adults and children who depend on this support. As for my open letter, and I'm going to send you another copy or my page, Premier, I ask you again, how many more SAM stumbles can we expect in the future? How much will it cost the recipients and the taxpayers? Thank you. Community and social services. Community and social services. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I'm pleased to have the opportunity to update the House on a number of the steps that we've been taking over the last few months to address the challenges in SAMS. I have spent the last few months visiting many offices, both the OW, municipal partner offices, as well as ODSP, and I've certainly seen the frustration of the case workers on the front line. And this is why we've taken a number of steps. Our project team has instituted many fixes in order to make the system function much more smoothly. We're listening to frontline staff. I actually met with a number of CUPI and OPSU representatives yesterday. I understand the stress that they have been through, but at the end of the day, we have been extremely successful. We have now processed four successful pay runs for both ODSP and OW monthly payments, payments to 570,000 families each month. Thank you. Good question, the Leader of the Third Party. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Premier. Can the Premier provide any guarantees that hydro rates will not go up as a part of the Liberal Plan to privatise hydro 1 and local utilities? Well, Mr. Speaker, you know, I thought when the Leader of the Third Party stood up, she was going to say how important she thought it was to give people in this province who are struggling, who are the lowest income people, a break on hydro rates, Mr. Speaker. I would have thought that that would have been the kind of policy that the NDP would support. And in fact, it's the kind of policy that has been advocated for by poverty advocates. The member from Renfrew, Nipissing, Pembroke is Warren. That's not what this NDP is interested in. So, Mr. Speaker, to the question that the Leader of the Third Party has brought forward, I've been very clear that, and we were very clear in the election in our budget that we were going to have a review of assets, Mr. Speaker, and that that review of assets was about investing in transportation infrastructure and transit, Mr. Speaker. That is why we are doing it at the same time. We recognize that price controls and regulation need to be very much in place, and there needs to be continued ownership of those assets, Mr. Speaker. All of those pieces are principles on PON, which we're making our decision. Well, I don't think I heard the assurance I was looking for, Speaker, because privatizing hydro means Ontarians are going to be paying higher hydro rates in this province. Mike Harris started down the hydro road and the Liberals are doubling down on that road. If the Premier is so sure that privatizing Ministers of Economic Development come to order, it's such a great deal. Why won't she provide a simple guarantee to Ontarians that hydro rates will not go up under this privatization scheme? You know, Mr. Speaker, it's so interesting that the member opposite is talking about an issue that, of course, is decided by the Ontario Energy Board and that regulation that I have said, Mr. Speaker, must stay in place, will stay in place. But on a day when the leader of the third party has the opportunity to talk about a policy that is going to lower electricity prices for the lowest income people in this province, Mr. Speaker, that she's not interested in talking about that. That she's not interested in talking about a policy that actually is part of a poverty reduction strategy, Mr. Speaker, that actually supports people in the lowest income. That's a policy, Mr. Speaker. I would have thought the NDP would have been interested in it. Thank you. Appreciate it, please. Thank you. Since 2002, hydro rates have gone up by more than 325%. And all the Premier has for Ontarians is another privatization scheme. She'll sell off our hydro companies, put them in private hands, who just want to make more profit, Speaker. But still somehow it's supposed to be better for Ontarians. So I'm going to ask one more time. Are hydro bills going up under the Premier's new current privatization scheme? Mr. Speaker, let me just talk about what the Ontario Electricity Support Program will do, because I think it is very relevant. I've already addressed the issue of price regulation, Mr. Speaker, and the protections that need to be in place, whatever we do with assets. But the OASP is going to provide targeted support based on household income and size, Mr. Speaker. So it's a very strategic and surgical, I would say, benefit, Mr. Speaker, that will help people who are most in need. So as an example, a family of four with an income less than $28,000 would have a combined savings about $525 annually, Mr. Speaker. That's a significant reduction. And as I said, on top of the other programs that we have in place to protect people who are struggling with their overall costs, this new program will help the lowest income Ontarians. That's something that I think the NDP should be cheering, Mr. Speaker. Any questions? I think for anybody that thinks the OEB is a price control agency is in La La Land, I've got to say. My next question is to the Premier, Speaker. Why schools have been targeted for closure since the Premier introduced the 2014 budget? Well, Mr. Speaker, again, let me repeat what both the Minister of Education and I have said many times, and that is that we continue to invest in the education of the children of this province, Mr. Speaker. The Minister is going to be talking with school boards today, letting them know that the education funding is remaining stable, Mr. Speaker. And in fact, in certain areas, like maintenance increasing funding, Mr. Speaker. So the fact is that school boards have to make decisions about delivering programs that make the most sense in their communities. I believe in the school board's ability to do that on a local basis. Sometimes that means consolidating schools, Mr. Speaker. Sometimes that means renovating one school and moving kids into a newly renovated school. Sometimes it does mean closing the school. Sometimes it means building a new school, Mr. Speaker. Those are decisions that local school boards need to make working with the ministry. Thank you. From 2011 to the 2014 election, at least 88 schools closed across this province. But the Premier won't say how many more schools are being targeted for closure after the 2014 budget was first introduced. Today, school boards are learning how deep the Liberals will cut and how much pressure they're going to have to close even more schools. How many more schools should be shut down in neighborhoods across this province? Minister of Education. Yes, thank you very much. I would have thought that the member opposite, the leader, would have been interested in the announcement that we made this morning that in fact school board funding will be remaining stable this year. Mr. Speaker, last since the transfers to school boards amounted $22.5 billion this year, they'll amount to $22.5 billion. Despite the fact that enrollment is declining in Ontario, which means that there's actually a slight per pupil increase. But what I will say, Speaker, is we think that it's more important to fund children and make sure they get good programs and good supports and resources rather than empty seats. And that's exactly what we're doing in this year's funding model. Thank you. Final supplementary. Well, Speaker, everybody in this chamber and everybody around Ontario knows very well that a freeze is actually a cut. So the Minister can talk about increasing education funding is actually cutting education funding. Order. Start the clock please. And that means cuts to classroom support and layoffs for teachers and layoffs for education workers. So transportation come to order. Already cutting 50 special education staff. Those are the staff that work with our most vulnerable children. And parents in the Toronto Catholic Board Speaker are trying to protect their intensive special education support programs that their children need. Parents want the Premier to answer a simple question. Why are students being forced to pay for liberal mistakes? Minister? Actually, I think it's also important for the member opposite to know that if you look at the special education funding pot this year for schools in Ontario, you'll find it actually goes up slightly. Even though the number of students is going down. The member knows that the enrollment in Ontario schools has been going down and down and down and down. So you really need to look at how much we're spending per pupil. And the spending per pupil has gone up 59% since 2008 billion dollars since 2000. So I absolutely disagree with the member opposite. We are funding the schools of Ontario absolutely out of it. Thank you. Good question. Member from Wipioch. You've promised to protect the social programs that Ontarians need and deserve but evidence is clearly mounting that your failed economic policies are having serious consequences on Ontario's most vulnerable citizens. Your failed policies have forced the Toronto District School Board to cut 50 special education assistance and the children to eliminate 50 positions. But even more disturbing than that is the fact that there are over 21,000 children and adults with intellectual disabilities who are languishing on wait lists and reports and services that they desperately need. So I have a very simple question for the Premier, Mr Speaker. Will she admit that her failed economic policies have consequences and are hurting Ontario's most vulnerable citizens? Well, Mr Speaker just, you know it's a broad ranging question but what I will say to the member opposite is that I absolutely reject the premise of the question. We've just had a conversation in this House about education funding which is remaining stable in the face of declining enrollment, Mr Speaker, and in terms of special education is actually going up. We've had a conversation in the past days about health funding, Mr Speaker 24,000 more nurses in the system, Mr Speaker than in the world in 2003, 5,000 more doctors, Mr Speaker, and we're going through a transition. And in terms of disabilities, Mr Speaker in terms of funding for disabilities and developmental services, Mr Speaker the fact is there is $810 million going into that sector, Mr Speaker. The member from Prince Edward Hastings will come to order. Please finish. Mr Speaker, the fact is that the programs that have had long wait lists, the money that is going into the system is going into reduce those wait lists for developmental services Mr Speaker. And I already talked about special ed in education, Mr Speaker special education funding in schools is going up across the province overall even though enrollment is declining Mr Speaker. Thank you, supplementary. Mr Speaker, I asked a really simple question but it's one that the premier clearly wishes to avoid. But the truth is obvious in order to be socially compassionate you first need to be fiscally responsible. Mr Speaker, good economic policy enables good social consequences. Just ask the students at the Toronto District School Board the young patients that the children of economic development and ask the 21,000 children and adults and their families with intellectual disabilities why they're not getting the programs and services that they need and deserve. Premier, will you finally recognize that your failed economic policies are having serious consequences and seriously affecting the lives of Ontario's most vulnerable citizens? Mr Speaker, the member opposite, she really can't have it both ways. Her leadership campaign Mr Speaker. If you haven't been able to tell by now I'm asking for us to have a little bit of civility here as soon as somebody stands up to answer I hear shouting and it's not appropriate so I'll offer the member from the PN Carlton to come to order. I'm obviously not in the mood for joking. Finish please. Her leadership campaign she has promised that she will cut a billion dollars by way of a tax cut from the very services that she's talking about Mr Speaker. That we're putting into health care and that we're putting into developmental services would be gone Mr Speaker because she's going to find a bill for Mr Speaker so I would ask statements about what her plan would be because what she's saying now Mr Speaker does not make sense. New question to the member from Tim and Steve's way. My question is to the Premier both Pat Sabara your Deputy Chief of Staff let me repeat again I think they did both Pat Sabara your Deputy Chief of Staff and Campaign Director and Mr Sabara your Liberal Operative in Ottawa had a discussion with Mr Olivier about his I demand the same courtesy on both sides. Thank you. So again I said your Deputy Chief of Staff Mr Lawheath, the local operator in Sudbury had direct conversations with Mr Olivier about standing down. My question to you is were you aware that those conversations were going to take place? Thank you very much Speaker and I take it that the member from Tim's James Bay has taken on the responsibility at least having one question about an issue that we've discussed at several locations so the Premier has been absolutely clear Speaker that this matter is being dealt by way of an investigation which is done by independent outside this legislature and we should respect that process Speaker the notion of procedural fairness and natural justice in our system of democracy requires that we let arms length investigative bodies undertake their responsibilities and we should not be using this legislature to be quarterback investigators so I urge the member opposite to respect the process understand the notion of presumption of innocence and let the authorities complete the investigation. Thank you. Well back to the Premier I would urge you to answer the question this legislature has certain rights those rights were given to us by the Canadian Constitution and allows members to stand in this house relevant questions having to do with issues that are important to Ontarians your deputy chief of staff and your liberal operator in Ottawa in Sudbury continually talk to Mr. Olivier about not running and standing down so I'm going to ask the question again were you aware that these conversations were going to take place yes or no? Well Speaker I fully we fully respect the right of the opposition to ask questions we hope that they ask questions on issues that are important to Ontarians like how we are giving a break to low income Ontarians on their electricity break how we are making sure they are investing in our education Speaker this is an investigation that is going on outside this legislature we have important issues to deal with as we build Ontario up I asked the member opposite to let the authorities do their work the chief electoral officer is very clear that he has not made any determination of innocence of guilt because that is up to the prosecutors and judges to decide we should respect his opinion the member opposite himself had said on occasion that the premier should not interfere in the investigation he is absolutely right this is exactly what she is doing and while she is doing this she will continue to focus on making sure that we are building Ontario up Thank you very much Thank you Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker Ontario has a proud history of being one of the most culturally and socially diverse populations in the world it is important to recognize that this remarkable diversity also extends to our significant and growing senior population in fact Mr. Speaker more than 55% of all Canadian immigrant seniors live in the province of Ontario as well a larger portion of the difference increases greatly in the oldest age groups where over 70% of persons aged 90 or older are female in my own writing of Davenport there is a sizable and very diverse older adult community and my senior constituents represent many different cultural, ethnic and social groups Mr. Speaker through you to the minister could you please provide us with details regarding the programs and services our government is investing in in your affairs Thank you very much Speaker and thanks to the member from Davenport for the question Speaker we recognize this incredible diversity when we established first in 2010 the Ontario Action Plan for Seniors and I have to say Speaker to the member it's quite right that 55% of Canada's senior population lives in our province of Ontario nearly one third of those senior speakers report a mother tongue and English and French and 7% Speaker especially new immigrants don't speak any of our official languages Speaker facing the reality of this diversity our government long ago started to invest on a number of important programs addressing this diversity we produced for example the seniors going to program and service for seniors in 16 languages we deliver information fairs in northern remote community from our Francophone Arab Aboriginal seniors with funding online in Turkey Thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to the minister for his response Mr. Speaker I recently had the pleasure of hosting the minister in Davenport for an event which truly highlights our government's continued commitment to serving the needs of seniors in my community and celebrating their diversity on this occasion seniors from the Vietnamese Association of Toronto join us for an impressive Tai Chi demonstration with funding provided by the seniors community grants seniors learn Tai Chi exercises and in turn became volunteers teaching other seniors their skills Mr. Speaker another great example for my riding of an organization that was financed was a symposium for immigrant senior women through the grant program this educational symposium brought together senior women in diverse backgrounds to participate in workshops and obtain essential resource information Mr. Speaker it's clear these investments have been extremely well received in Ontario Mr. Speaker can the minister please provide further information on how we're supporting these seniors Thank you Thank you Mr. Speaker I want to thank the member again for the question let me say that priorities of the seniors community grant program includes a focus on Aboriginal communities and a project embracing indeed cultural diversity Speaker back in 2010 when we introduced the and passed the retirement home act we insured that important provisions were put in place to protect indeed diversity it is now a requirement by law that all seven hundred of them speaker retirement homes must prominently display a bill of rights which entitled the residents to have their lifestyle and choices respected and to freely pursue their social and religious spiritual and other interests speaker we launched the groundbreaking multicultural funding away program for people with dementia and we do that in 12 languages speaker on top of that speaker we have a very successful and helpful guide which provides seniors with active living information giving transportation and housing Thank you Thank you speaker my question to the minister of health and long-term care minister on Monday you told this house that there will be more family physicians and specialists practicing in the province contrary to this the Ontario Medical Association the people who represent Ontario's doctors released a statement saying that your governments impose cuts will drive new physicians out of Ontario and hurt patient care how can you stand in this house and say there will be increases when the opposite are true are you calling Ontario's doctors liars to have long-term care well being a member of the OMA I would certainly myself I would certainly not do that I hold the OMA and our physicians the more than 30,000 physicians around this province in extremely high regard but what I will say to the member opposite that this the OMA negotiations were about one thing and one thing only they were about physician remuneration they're about the amount of dollars in this province earned and historically and certainly the current situation is that doctors in this province as they should be are among the highest paid in this country Mr. Speaker they're also among if not the highest talented in this country and in North America but this is not about care to patients this has nothing to do with access to health care for individual Ontarians this agreement and unfortunately despite our empire retired justice Warren Winkler the OMA to accept our offer the OMA did not unfortunately we've had to move ahead without them Mr. Speaker Speaker back to the minister in the Southwest Lynn there's over 38,000 people without a family physician and these imposed cuts on these doctors is not going to help that situation one bit whatever Minister you have failed to deny what a high needs area is and by doing so these new doctors will not be able to practice in a family health team in the Southwest in Ontario you told this house and I quote doctors are entitled to practice wherever they want in this province however again the OMA has said to your government the government has limited new graduates from practicing in family health teams medical students are trained to work in team based family practice models why won't your government work with the frontline health care workers to find solutions to protect Ontario's health care system why do you find this so difficult Mr. Speaker well in fact many parts of southwestern Ontario will benefit from the changes that we're making because we are increasing we are continuing our commitment to create new family health team positions and family health team play entities in those parts of the province that require them for example in the northern part of this province there are roughly 40 family health teams there currently I'd like to see more and in the small towns of rural parts of this province where there are I think about 70 or 80 family health teams currently operating I'd like to see more as well so we're continuing to allocate positions to those parts of the province we're going to be able to define exactly what parts of the province we're talking about within the next several weeks but certainly Mr. Speaker we've added 5,000 physicians to this province's health care services in the past decade we're continuing to have more and will practice in whatever part of the province they choose to Thank you for the question Thank you Speaker My question is for the Premier Thousands of persons with disabilities are proud to be part of the workforce but they count on $100 top up each month to help pay for the cost of that work Now the same Premier who promised to protect social assistance is cutting this crucial funding she promised one thing and 34,000 ODSP recipients are at risk of suffering a huge cut this October Speaker I want to give the Premier a chance to fix this mistake will she abandon her plan to eliminate the work related benefit or will she steamroll ahead with the cuts to social assistance Thank you Thank you very much Mr. Speaker and of course the work of my ministry is to look after those most vulnerable in our society both those on OW and ODSP and we really are looking very carefully at ways that we can assist this population We are looking at ways to improve employment opportunities for those with disabilities and we've introduced a number of measures to encourage those who are able to in fact seek employment and as I think everyone in this house knows we've put an earnings exemption so that the first $200 worth of employment income those individuals do keep that and over and above the $200 that they earn 50% is kept in their hands so we are very conscious of doing everything we can to encourage these individuals to be part of our society and take part in every aspect Thank you Thank you to the Premier I understand what those changes are supposed to do but it's actually going to work in the negative if you don't do something to fix it. The Liberals are ignoring the real problems of some of our most vulnerable people cutting the work related benefit means no bus tickets to get to work it means cutting back on food it means scrambling to get another shift or being forced out of the workforce all together there is nothing more cynical than a poverty reduction strategy $200 per month from the social assistance Premier what will it take to stop these cuts to social assistance Minister Thank you Mr Speaker and I think as the member knows we are looking to streamline various employment benefits for those with disabilities so that in fact we will be creating a far more flexible benefit so that those individuals who do work in terms of obtaining additional training or other skills that they may need in order to enter the labour market will be able to do so and in fact will see increased amounts and increased funding for those purposes the specific area of the work related benefit has been put on hold as of the state as the member mentioned and we continue to ensure that as we move on social assistance reform that we look at all opportunities and encourage those Ontarians to take their full place and be included in our society Thank you Good morning Speaker and thank you my question threw you to the minister responsible for women's issues Speaker we recently began public hearings for the select committee on sexual violence and harassment Committee work has been progressing very well in examining sexual violence and harassment in the workplace and beyond it is an example of positive nonpartisan collaboration that we can have if we work together as parties it's never okay the action plan to stop sexual violence and harassment helps to contextualize the work that the committee is doing I know the purpose of the plan is to engage everyone in communities classrooms workplaces across Ontario conversations about how to stop sexual violence and harassment through you to the minister can you say that we have begun to see an impact Thank you minister Thank you I want to thank the member for asking this very pertinent and timely question indeed our approach is having an impact our government's ads that have been out there in the public domain have been viewed by more than a million people on the Ontario government YouTube page alone over one million views and it's become a viral sensation around the world with 2.5 million Facebook views in Turkey where local activists added Turkish subtitles and it's been reviewed 1.7 million times in Brazil given the number of the people around the world have seen this ad speaker in English and French and international translations we've posted we know it's resonating other nations where the ad has been widely seen on YouTube includes the United States the Philippines, India and France by having this discussion as a society we can do a much better job of increasing awareness and having an open discussion about sexual violence Thank you Thank you speaker my next question also is for the minister responsible for women's issues it is wonderful that the campaign is beginning to resonate so much in the first few weeks of its launch it makes me very proud to be a member of this government to see such wide interest receptivity to our ad not just in Ontario but in Canada but internationally as well it seems like a step in the right direction towards changing attitudes and creating more public awareness of this issue I understand that as part of the work on the action plan the multi sector round table through the Ontario women's directorate on this issue how will the round table help to improve the experiences of survivors that come forward about abuse and make workplace and campuses safer and more responsive to complaints about sexual violence and harassment through you speaker to the minister Thank you so the permanent round table on sexual violence and harassment is a forum of expert speaker that will advise government on our initiatives and all the issues and opportunities around sexual violence and harassment and there are many diverse voices around that table speaker we have representatives that have significant front line support who work with different communities the round table includes experts on issues affecting specific populations as well such as Aboriginal persons, Francophone LGBT newcomers, persons with disabilities youth and older women as well as boys and men it also has experts who can speak to violence and harassment in the workplace at our colleges and universities which is a big issue right now speaker so I'm very pleased that the select committee is moving ahead and the round table will be kept in form of the work of the committee and coordinate the efforts of the members of the parliament speaker to the minister of agriculture minister in March 23rd you released a draft regulation for an 80 percent neonic ban on Ontario's corn and soybean acreage this is exactly what you proposed before Christmas in spite of feedback no change also on March 23rd the USDA released its study concluding neonics are not driving BDS the evidence for your ban is at best circumstantial and has not been proven in controlled scientific studies certainly not from health candidates past management agency where the true expertise lies your approach is derived from ideology it's irresponsible it's intimidating minister why did you allow emotion to trump science and the agriculture so thank you very much we do know that a healthy pollinator strategy is very important to the agricultural community in the province of Ontario we do know that there's a number of contributing factors to be health and province of Ontario we've gone through two very severe winners in the province of Ontario we do know that there's a mic the Vermont mic that can impact the health of beehives in the province of Ontario we do know that appropriate management of beehives in the province of Ontario is very important and we do know that the use of sub-pesticides is a contributing factor to be health in the province of Ontario and indeed working with my colleague the minister of the environment and climate change in the province of Ontario we listen we listen we had public consultations run across the province of Ontario we had consultations through the EBR we have taken all that information into consideration and we look we do know the crucial role of pollinators and I have on my desk the Ontario pollinator health blueprint comes from a task force of certified crop advisors like re-trailers, the seed trade farmers, beekeepers recommendations for increased communication between farmers and beekeepers work on being nutrition and habitat manageable and reasonable limits on insecticide use you ask for feedback as you said you ask cash crop in the beekeeper community to meet you halfway they have and yet despite all of this you're adamant on your neonic ban minister you propose regs in my view are anti-agriculture you're supposed to be the minister for agriculture to represent farmers you're at the table in cabinet why will you not speak up for farmers thank you Mr. Speaker the very culture morning you don't start until I acknowledge yes I know minister of agriculture well Mr. Speaker I heard the supplementary from my good friend the member from Hullam and Norfolk so let's look at the facts agriculture sector and province of Ontario $34 billion in GDP employs Mr. Speaker employs 760,000 Ontarians each and every day represents 23% 23% of our manufacturing sector in Ontario is in the agri-food sector you know I spent my time on the back concessions in Ontario at a kitchen table I know this government knows that the agri-food sector has a tremendous potential for growth not the negativity shown by the official opposition please thank you new question the member from Parkdale High Park thank you Mr. Speaker my question is to the premier there are currently doctors practicing in Ontario who believe that being gay, lesbian bisexual or trans is a form of mental illness instead of offering support LGBTQ kids these doctors tell them they are broken and need to be fixed instead of helping they use abusive conversion therapies that try to turn these kids straight I recently introduced a bill that would prevent Ontario's doctors from abusing LGBTQ kids with such so-called therapies in California and New Jersey have already passed similar laws Premier, I ask on behalf of survivors like Erica Muse and the victims who did not survive like Leela Elkhorn will you ban conversion therapy for LGBTQ children Mr. Health and Long-Term Care Mr. Health and Long-Term Care do you see that please thank you Mr. Speaker and I too want to applaud the member opposite I think this is an important very important issue I personally find this type of alleged treatment abhorrent and well alleged in the eyes of those who actually perpetrate this misconduct this isn't treatment and our Ontario Human Rights Code is very specific on issues such as this so this I welcome the private member bill private members bill from the member opposite and I look forward to working with her I know it's going to be debated this afternoon and I want to emphasize Mr. Speaker that no current medical guidelines anywhere that I found certainly not in this province support or endorse this kind of alleged treatment that would aim to change or convert someone away from being LGBT Thank you Mr. Speaker back to the Premier the health minister recently denied that OHIP was paying for conversion therapy for LGBT kids the fact is there are doctors including very influential doctors who are still trying to fix LGBTQ kids with abusive so called conversion therapies these doctors can and do bill OHIP for these abusive counselling sessions just last week as a result of my bill and the hard work of LGBTQ activists WHO has launched a complete review of their treatment of trans youth treatment the minister has denied is even happening again to the premier do you agree that such conversion therapy for LGBTQ students and children should be banned in Ontario Mr. Speaker I take great offence to the accusation that I have somehow at any point in time said that this treatment isn't occurring or doesn't exist I won't challenge you to find that public record but Mr. Speaker we best do our debating through the chair and that way we don't change the debate tenure so I would ask the minister to address me and keep the heckling to a minimum so the member opposite Mr. Speaker does know that there is no building code in the schedule of benefits for OHIP for conversion therapy or anything like it I will be asking the colleges as well the relevant ones because there are a number that potentially could be involved in addressing this important situation to explore amending the regulations to ban this practice as it should be banned I believe if a particular incident were to be brought forward and I would encourage anyone alleged treatments taking place anywhere in this province that they should go forward to the appropriate regulatory body I'm asking them to review the regulations and certainly it is nothing this is not something this government would ever support or endorse Thank you You seen it please Start the clock Order Order Order Do I have to go to members New question please Member from Kitchener Centre My question is for the Minister of Energy Minister the investments our government has made to take a dirty and unreliable electricity system and make it clean and reliable has been putting cost pressures on Ontario families for many low income Ontarians paying their monthly electricity bill is a challenge and I have heard this from some constituents in my writing of Kitchener Centre in comparison to other residential users in the province low income Ontarians spend a disproportionately higher percentage of their income on paying the monthly power bill while we recognize that our government is working hard to keep electricity affordable for all Ontarians could the minister please tell this house what our government is doing to help low income households with their electricity bills Thank you Minister of Energy Mr. Speaker firstly thank you to the member from Kitchener Centre for the question and the issue of helping low income Ontarians with the cost of the electricity bill is one that we have been working hard to alleviate for some time now while there are already emergency assistance programs and conservation programs in place to reduce electricity costs for Ontarians we recognize the need to establish an ongoing support program for those most in need so just this morning with members of the low income energy network I announced that our government is taking action to make electricity more affordable for Ontarians through the proposed implementation of the Ontario electricity support program the program would provide ongoing assistance directly on the bills of eligible low income electricity consumers starting May 1st 2016 I want to thank the members for the network for their collaboration with the Ontario Energy Board Thank you Minister for informing us about this proposed roll out of the Ontario electricity support program it is encouraging to hear that this program would provide targeted help to those who need it the most and making sure that all Ontarians especially low income Ontarians have continued access to clean and reliable electricity the proposed creation of this Ontario electricity support program would also support the government's commitment to reducing poverty in Ontario given that energy costs are a significant part of housing costs for many households as the roll out of this program coincides with the end of the Ontario clean energy benefit could the minister give us some information on how the Ontario electricity support program is going to help low income Ontarians how much financial assistance it will provide and if there are other programs that they might qualify for Minister Mr. Speaker the program would provide targeted support it would be based on a sliding scale that provides support based on the households income and size it would work together with the Ontario government's decision to remove the debt retirement charge from all residential consumers bills at the end of this year for example for a family of four with an annual income of less than $28,000 the combined savings from the OESP and the removal of the debt retirement charge Mr. Speaker will be about $525 annually to help Ontarians with their electricity costs these include the low income energy assistance program the Ontario energy and property tax credit the northern Ontario energy credit and the save on energy home assistance program Mr. Speaker Ontario is committed to assisting those people most in need thank you Thank you Mr. Speaker my question is the minister of health Minister over the past several months orange air ambulance has refused calls to land at helipads at night in Perry Sound district in August 2014 a 16 year old girl was seriously injured in an ATV accident just seven minutes from the Ardbeg helipad despite solar lights having been installed fine flying weather and a letter from orange saying night restrictions had been lifted orange refused to land they instead landed at Perry Sound hospital a 45 minute land ambulance drive one way minister local first responders have no certainty if an orange helicopter will land when needed so as minister what can you do to provide some certainty as to the availability of air ambulance services in Perry Sound district and across the north Thank you Thank you Mr. Speaker and I appreciate the member opposite bringing this issue to your attention it is an issue that I'm aware of I've asked my officials to look into the particular circumstances surrounding this I also know that the member opposite and he has commented somewhat on the sorts of parameters that we need to look at but there are many conditions that determine whether or not an air ambulance an orange helicopter or a fixed wing aircraft can or cannot land at a particular locality they obviously make every effort subject to the safety of the individuals that are piloting or on that craft itself they make every effort to ensure that they can provide the highest quality of care on an urgent basis to those that need it but again Mr. Speaker I will I already am I've asked my officials to to further with orange to look at the details of this how we might going on a go forward basis provide a higher level of certainty Thank you Thank you Minister and I'm glad you recognize there is a problem and you understand that in an emergency time is of the essence local first responders and municipal officials have tried to get answers from orange and have been in contact with your office I've spoken with the Mayor of Whitestone Chris Armstrong and the Fire Chief Bob Whitman they feel like they're getting the run around from orange they say that air ambulance is a vital link but the current situation is not an acceptable situation and it's not just our bank orange won't land at night at South River or Brit helipads and many across the north as well so Minister when can you tell the people of Perry Sound District when can the people of Perry Sound District expect to get certainty on whether orange will land at their helipads before tragedy happens Thank you Minister Well you know Mr. Speaker I've committed to following up on this as I already am in fact through our officials and with orange and I have no doubt that the member opposite appreciates as well that it's not just the safety and well being for the patient or the potential patient but it's also the safety and well being of the pilots, the paramedics those that are on these craft doing this important service every single day so we make every effort and I know orange does as well to provide the highest quality of service in fact 90% of patient transports from emergency scenes were actually confirmed within 10 minutes Mr. Speaker and so they do remarkable work every day around this province there are specific circumstances that may lead to a positive or a negative decision in terms of their ability to land at a specific location and as you mentioned to the member opposite I'm looking into this specific case Thank you, new question member from Charlemagne Thank you Speaker, my question to the premier last year an ECOS poll revealed that 75% of Ontarians support a ban on hydraulic fracturing otherwise known as fracking yesterday I tabled a bill that would do just that the bill follows the lead of other jurisdictions like New York Quebec, Nova Scotia the minister of the environment expressed an interest in meeting with me about the bill but then the minister of natural resources said that this bill was not on the government wouldn't support it why was the minister of the environment left out of the loop when this government decided not to support a ban on fracking I thank the member for the question and I appreciate his private members bill I think it's an issue with serious potential consequences and it has merit and I thank him for putting it forward you asked I understand as you've just said the minister of the environment for a meeting on this you didn't ask the minister responsible for the legislation for a meeting on this had you done that I would have been more than happy to accommodate the request Speaker as I've said in the legislature I think before Christmas maybe back at the beginning of December I thought I was pretty clear there was a question from the member from Windsor to comesa on the issue about fracking back in December or earlier than that I'm sure you've had opportunity to talk to him and I think at that point I was pretty clear in terms of our position on it and that is that it would have required legislative change before we would have gone forward with anything in this particular regard so that's on the record I'm surprised you didn't have an opportunity to check with the minister responsible I'm happy to do that and happy and thankful that the members brought forward an issue that I think is a very serious and one we need to consider back to the premier while no fracking is taking place at the moment in Ontario several energy firms have previously bought land rights in southwestern Ontario and have expressed interest in shale gas fracking in 2012 the environmental commissioner warned that fracking was essentially unregulated in Ontario and without rules Ontario's water supply would be at grave risk and despite the lack of environmental regulations the government has rushed ahead to declare that ban is unnecessary no debate makes no sense for the government to oppose a ban simply on the grounds that fracking is not happening at the moment after all coal-fired electricity plants are not in operation at the moment but that has not stopped the government from tabling a bill to ban them will the government take the issue of fracking seriously and formally ban the practice Minister I thank the member for the question and I guess his private members bill I haven't seen it yet I haven't read it but the legislative assembly will determine how his particular bill is dealt with in due course Speaker as he's mentioned in his opening comments fracking is not occurring anywhere in the province of Ontario right now and it does should it be requested require a license from my particular ministry under the oil gas and salt resources act listen I want to stress that protecting our environment and water is a top priority for our government I thought I spoke pretty clearly to this issue many months ago speaker I welcome the legislation I look forward to the debate we'll see how the legislative assembly deals with the members particular private members bill no fracking occurring now no applications in front of me for a decision at this time legislative change would be required before we would consider moving forward with the bill thank you chair the minister of public and new services on a point of work thank you speaker after question period in room 213 the white ribbon campaign is holding a pre-launch photo shoot for its upcoming public education campaign that's called I'm a male model so that seeks to recognize men from all walks of life who are positive role models for men and boys so I want to welcome all MPPs to join and especially our male positive role models and I'd love to have your participation in this campaign so come by and have your photo taken and one of the t-shirts called I'm a male model and it will go on the campaign website and that's that's actually not a point of order but I'm assuming that every single men in this room would like to be a male model remind everybody about the room point of order from the minister of tourism culture and sport we're welcoming the Janssen Farmer team joining them today is Vice President Julia Brown Catherine Law and Charlene Lee and other members of the government affairs and market access team at Janssen which is located in the beautiful riding of Don Valley East thank you I'd like to welcome to the legislature on behalf of Paige Aiden Campbell from the great riding of Sympgoe Gray his grandmother Sharon Inkster grandfather Doug Inkster and his great uncle Phil Sled and I'll just note that Mr. Sled was the mayor of Severin Township for many many many years we always love welcoming our guest to the legislature there are no deferred votes this house stands recessed until 1pm this afternoon