 And yes, we will be having question period. It is now time for question period the member from simcoe gray On a point of order On our lead questions at this time. Thank you The member the member from it does go to point of order. We'll be doing the same until the opinion arrives next rotation It's not that it's not that confusing the member from new market Aurora My question is to the Minister of Finance Yesterday we offered To participate in an all-party select committee to assist the government in finding two billion dollars of Savings across all ministries We did that because we out rightly reject The concept that there should be two billion dollars of additional taxation on families and businesses in this province The new Democrats reject that as well and we know today that the vast majority of Ontarians reject that I'd like to know from the Minister of Finance Will he agree to accept our offer to form an all-party select committee question to assist him in Finding the savings and efficiencies of two billion dollars Well, you know what let us start a conversation. Let us let us agree I'm going to start a conversation the interjections will stop Minister, thank you. Let us agree to do this Let us agree to pass the budget that talks about a very disciplined and determined measure to curb our spending We're taking the steps necessary to ensure that spending remains below 1% year over year as a result of those initiatives We've been able to achieve over five billion dollars in cuts over the last year to reduce our deficit projections Next year's projection is going down by another billion dollars again because of those measures that we've taken That is what is important. We need to ensure that going forward We look work collaboratively by passing this budget ensuring that these proper steps are taken so that we tackle and eliminate the deficit by 2017 Speaker the new Democrats have already confirmed that they'll pass the budget We're gonna vote against it because we don't We do not have to increase spending by two billion dollars is a good start towards reducing Here's what I'm asking the Minister of Finance Apart from the budget, which is a separate issue We all know that there are at least billions of dollars of waste in this government every year We as the official opposition Want to extend our offer of support to form an all-party select committee to help find that way so that we don't have to put Two billion dollars of additional taxes onto the backs of families Minister of Finance We have Taken extraordinary steps to transform the way government works to find those savings to ensure that we're delivering services In health care and education and all the other ministries that have taken extraordinary steps to reduce their spending But we know that in health care and education there are still pressures that are necessary because of the increasing demands What is necessary as well? Mr. Speaker is to be balanced in our approach What is necessary to stimulate economic growth and economic renewal by stimulating jobs and investments in our capital infrastructures? What is not necessary Mr. Speaker and what is harmful for economic renewal is a slash and burn policy Across the board cuts attacks on on our nurses and our front lines is what they're offering We're not going to stand for that. Mr. Speaker. We're going to invest in our future. We're going to invest in our young people We're going to create jobs and stimulate growth and that's what this is about Thank you, Speaker my question to the Minister of Energy New Democrats Foul-eyed everything from the Premier's office, which included the words project vapor We were told nothing existed in the process. We received a sworn affidavit It said the Premier's chief of staff Chris Morley had his email account deleted on June 21st 2012 and James and Stevie the principal secretary had his email email account deleted August 17th 2012 and Sean Mullin the Premier's energy adviser had his email account deleted August 17th 2012 and then we learned in committee that the energy Minister's chief of staff was deleting all his emails Yesterday on Terra's information commissioner said quote it's strange Sturduity that no one thought that they should maybe retain some of their emails Can the minister explain why senior liberal political staff? Thank you all the gas plants were deleted Thank you Thank you very much. Mr. Speaker. I'd like to Point out to the house that the honorable member and his question forgot to point out that there were around 30,000 documents many of them from the Premier's office that were recently Delivered to the committee in terms of the specific issues. He raises mr. Speaker. He is correct My understanding is that the information and privacy commissioner is looking into the matter and we await her report at the same time Mr. Speaker, I can say as the Minister of Government Services that we take our obligation to retain relevant records very seriously Training opportunities have been available for political staff as we enter into this new government phase And we're certainly making efforts to make sure that the rules and regulations are being followed. Thank you supplementary Minister New Democrats have asked the information commissioner to investigate Your comment there is correct and documents filed with the information and privacy Commission The government tried to stop the commissioner from looking at this the government wrote quote the allegations about the destruction of records are Not matters that may be appealed to the commissioner that response came March 5th 2013 long after this current Premier was sworn in why did the government under this current Premier? Not the previous one Continue to try and hide the destruction of documents and stop the information commissioner from getting information Mr. Speaker We have turned over 130,000 documents to the Justice Committee Included as I just referenced 30,000 from the Premier's office in terms of the members the specific cases that the member raises The committee itself has a mandate to look at the issue of documents and can pursue this matter and the Information and Privacy Commissioner is looking into it and we await her report But as I said mr.. Speaker we take this matter very very seriously the retention of documents at the political staff level Training courses are underway And I know ministers offices have regimes in place to make sure that the rules are followed. I cute new question the member from Orleans Thank You speaker my question is for the Minister of Children and Youth Services Minister in my writing of Ottawa leans They often meet with families and listen to their concerns like all members here one concern that I frequently hear from parents is that they want to know What know that the right services and supports are in place for their child development? This is a universal concern and as a grandparent myself I know that these types of services make positive impacts on the lives of our children I know that in Ontario. We are providing some of the best supports available anywhere in the world my question Mr.. Speaker can the minister please tell me what we are doing as a government to help children grow up to be healthy Teenagers and then healthy adults Thank You speaker and I'd like to thank the member from Ottawa or leans for his question as he indicated as a parent myself Nothing is more important to me to them making sure all children are well prepared for life Speaker our ministry is investing $261 million annually in a myriad of programs for healthy child development These supports include our early-year centers preschool of speech and language programs and healthy babies healthy children Healthy babies and healthy children supports vulnerable mothers from the prenatal period through their child's transition to school Through programs like this were able to directly assist in the healthy development of all young people We remain committed speaker to providing children with the best possible start in life. Thank you Mr.. Speaker I would like to thank the minister for her answer. It is very clear to me that this government takes the responsibility of Healthy childhood development series and is making a significant investment However, this is an area where there is always an opportunity to make improvements as a government We need to be constantly looking to improve the services we provide while also seeking out new and improved methods I understand that in March of this year a healthy kids panel released a report with recommendations to improve healthy childhood development Specifically with the goal of reducing childhood obesity. I am pleased that our government establishes this panel to help combat such an important issue Can the minister please tell the house more about the report how our government is responding? Mr.. Thank You speaker and I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the healthy kids panel for their report Which aims to improve the health and well-being of children in our province The report made recommendations on a number of vital ministry of children and youth services programs These include the poverty reduction strategy student nutrition mental health and addictions We are committed to reviewing the recommendations in order to inform our future direction Minister Matthews, and I will be co-chairing a working group on the healthy kids panel report This working group will be essential in the effort to move towards this government's goal to improve early childhood development services We will continue to work with our partners and stakeholders in our commitment to improve the health and well-being of every child in Ontario Thank You speaker Thank You for your support and for your safety and correctional services Minister you have grossly mismanaged our jail systems in Ontario You've closed jails in Walkerton, Owens Sound and Blue Water without enough capacity to safely absorb the inmates Rather than fixing problem jails you close them Given your track record people in my area think you have no interest in actually fixing the problems at EMDC Many think you'll ignore the problems until you can officially close the jail Minister when do you intend to close the Elgin Middlesex Detention Center? First of all, let me thank all the correctional officers and the staff at EMDC They're doing an easy job to do and I wanted to thank them for all the good work that they're doing As you know, Mr. Speaker, and as I said yesterday, the health and safety of our staff in our correctional facility in EMDC is my utmost priority and I know that they are always working in a very challenging environment and actually one of my first visit as I was appointed Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services was at EMDC and I met the leadership there, I met representatives from the Correctional Officer and I saw first and you know the good work that they are doing over there Thank you Thank you, Mr. Speaker, back to the Minister Minister, as you know the situation in the Elgin Middlesex Detention Center came to a head last night Correctional officers insulted by your comments locked down the jail Two fires broke out A green alert occurred of which there have only been two in the past 22 years and it was issued and a number of inmates were reportedly sent to the hospital The Correctional Officer at EMDC worked day in and day out in dangerous conditions Conditions made worse by your mismanagement Yet yesterday you refused to take responsibility and instead threw out through our frontline corrections officers under the bus and insulted all the managers around the province There is absolutely no excuse for your failure on this file Minister, will you admit that you have no credibility on this file? Publicly apologize and resign Cedar, please This is not the moment to add your interjections Minister Mr. Speaker, as I said yesterday, you know the health and safety of the Correctional Officer and the staff at EMDC It's by utmost priority Yes, she did And if I offended someone yesterday, I deeply apologize because that was not my intent Since I was appointed with the responsibility of Correctional Services I worked very closely with my ministry, with our partners out there with the union actually, I'm meeting the union this afternoon and the executive of EMDC because I want to hear first hand, you know, what is their concern and I want us to work together to improve the situation in EMDC I want to see a real difference in EMDC Answer Mr. Speaker To put us back on rotation, what I'll do is I'll go to the NDP for the two-question part and then come back to the leader for the primary questions The member from London Fanshawe Thank you, Speaker My question is to the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services Speaker, yesterday there was yet another emergency at the EMDC A second fire in less than a month broke out and three inmates have been injured Instead of working to address the persistent problems at this jail the minister chose to blame the workers For years, workers have brought up time and time again the problems at this facility My leader, myself and other members in this house have brought this to her attention Minister, you have chosen to blame the workers who have done everything in their power to keep the jail functioning Will the minister apologize to the workers for her thoughtless comments? Minister So, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member from London Fanshawe I know she has keen interest in improving the situation there And I have asked her to give me some name of a person who will be a good candidate to sit on the new board that I wanted to appoint to improve the situation there I think that, as I said, I'm meeting with the executive of the jail this afternoon And I wanted to continue this partnership to improve the situation out there And again, if I have upset, if I have insulted, if I have, it was not my intent And I deeply apologize. Thank you Thank you, Secretary Mr. Speaker, workers at EMDC have been raising issues about the safety of this jail for years But little has changed and the jail continues to be severely overcrowded And is a highly dangerous environment for workers and inmates alike The minister's lack of action places the staff and inmates of EMDC in conditions herself she would not want to work in I ask again, Mr. Speaker, will the minister apologize to the workers of EMDC And finally take action today to improve the conditions And I'm not asking for an apology, I'm asking for the words, I am sorry Minister She said exactly that Mr. Speaker, I'm going to say it in French too because I said it twice before So if I offended someone, I apologize, it was not an intent I know that the situation is very difficult, the work is very hard Most people, they work very hard We are advancing our plan So we are hiring 11 new full-time correctional officers We have implemented 24 hours nursing in March And we have added in January a mental health nurse We've hired three more operational managers And we're building new control models And also the correctional officer now can wear the safety vest You know they have this opportunity now And their safety is my utmost priority Thank you The leader of Her Majesty's Royal Opposition is about her questions My question is to the premier Later this morning the legislature will be voting on a budget motion Asking us to endorse the direction of your government on fiscal issues Which includes a $20 billion more in debt The deficit goes up, not down And includes a billion dollars to buy the support of the NDP Premier, before the legislature votes I think it's important to ask you directly If you are confident that the credit rating agencies Will not downgrade Ontario's credit rating as a result Of full confidence, Premier, who will not suffer yet another liberal credit downgrade Thank you very much Mr. Speaker And I apologize for being late I have a modest proposal for building transit in the GGHA I want to thank the leader of the opposition for the question And I really believe that the budget that we have put forward Is one that will spur the kind of job creation that we need It focuses on creating the conditions for job creation And it also deals with the issues Addresses some of the issues that affect people's day-to-day lives And I think that the leader of the opposition would be interested in that In terms of the bond rating agency DBRS has confirmed the rating They acknowledged a solid budgetary performance achieved For the year ended March 31, 2013 Ontario handily exceeded expectations in 2012-13 Mr. Speaker, and all trends remain stable So that is the news that we got yesterday Mr. Speaker And I'm very confident that the budget that we've put forward Is fiscally responsible Well, thank you, Speaker The Premier did not express confidence That there won't be a further credit downgrade Which I think is of great concern The credit rating is a measure, Premier Of the province's trustworthiness That will meet our obligations Once a province loses that trust That we saw in Europe where their debt obligations grew They had less money to put into essential services Like hospitals, highways or classrooms Yesterday the former Liberal Finance Minister Dwight Duncan expressed concern Of the further credit downgrade He said that the credit rating agencies Will have stern words for you I'll set aside the irony for a moment Of Dwight Duncan talking about fiscal responsibility But I'll ask you, Minister You've already, Premier You've already had three credit downgrades Under the previous finance minister Can you assure the House 100% That we won't have a fourth as a result Of this big budget Let's just say, Mr. Speaker That under the current finance minister Here's what DVRS is saying While several provinces have delayed Their fiscal recovery plans in response To weaker growth, Ontario continues to target A return to balance on its basis By 27 pond to say, Mr. Speaker Given the recent trend of outperforming Budget targets and reduced borrowing needs The debt trajectory is encouraging Mr. Speaker, we know we have Challenges ahead of us We know that there are hills yet to climb But we are on a responsible path Mr. Speaker, we've had one confirmation Of that, I am confident that We are going to be able to return to Fiscal balance, we're going to be able To eliminate the deficit by 2017-18 And that, Mr. Speaker, is what The markets are looking to offer Senator, please Final supplementary Thank you, Speaker I say back to the Premier You know that when Dwight Duncan Is lecturing you on fiscal responsibility You know you've got a big problem We've already seen The difference DBRS As you know, Premier, DBRS did Downgrade the province's credit Rating similarly through Moody's and standards and poor Now, Speaker, Ontario families Will have to actually pay the higher taxes The Premier is proposing Recently increasing the HST Increasing the gas tax Evergontarians need to look out For their own credit rating They make shorter efforts to protect that Because it helps them get a mortgage They can finance their kids' education So too should the province of Ontario Treat that credit rating as sacrosanct To make sure you do everything To make sure we spend within our means Because we owe that obligation To hardworking Ontarians Who are seeing more money Wasted under this government Alas, the Premier, one last time Can she assure the legislature That her budget is going to drive up the debt Not down, drive up the deficit Not down, can you assure us We won't be hit with a fourth consecutive Okay, thank you very much You see it, please Thank you, Premier Thank you, Mr. Speaker Well, I know that there will be There will be other news today From another agency But there was no downgrade yesterday, Mr. Speaker We are on a stable ground According to DBRS yesterday, Mr. Speaker So that is good news for Ontario And I would expect that the leader Of the opposition of this great province Would be celebrating that Would be saying that is a very good thing That Ontario is on a solid track, Mr. Speaker I will remind the leader of the opposition, Mr. Speaker That we are on track to balance by 2017-18 That we are the government that has put in place A long-term plan to reduce the debt To GDP, Mr. Speaker And that Ontario is recognized as a safe And secure place to invest And that is why we are attracting investment To the province I have confidence in Ontario, Mr. Speaker I really wish that the leader Of the opposition had that same confidence Mr. Speaker Good question Member from Whitby, Arsenal They both indicated that increasing home care Services and achieving better value For healthcare dollars spent are top priorities Community care access centres were Established to award contracts To community nursing organisations And to assure value for money However, recent actions taken by CCACs With your government's approval Has actually moved Ontario In the opposite direction Higher costs for less service CEO salaries have been allowed to skyrocket And the conflict of interest set up By the direct provision of home care services By CCACs has increased costs to the point That only 60% of healthcare dollars Are actually spent on front-line services CCAC staff have increased by 10% But the provision of services to individuals Has actually decreased Has only increased by 5 How can you possibly claim That you've increased home care services And value for money When the evidence clearly shows you Thank you very much Mr. Speaker And I know the Minister of Health Will want to speak to some of the specifics But I was in London last week And we had the opportunity Minister Matthews and I had the opportunity To visit a family Who are at home Getting the care that they need Because the CCAC has been able To coordinate that care And one of the things that is happening Is that coordination Of all of the partners who deliver service On the front line And the CCAC Providing that kind of coordination So I honestly don't know Exactly the specifics That the member opposite is speaking to But what I do know is That there are more people Getting more care in the province Than there has been over the past decade Mr. Speaker, what I do know is That we have committed 185 million More dollars to provide For more home care And in addition to that More community care, which is exactly What families need Mr. Speaker, what's really sad About this is they actually There's been an increase in funding But there isn't an increase in service And I'm sure that we all hear From people in our constituencies About thousands of people still on Going, the salary for the Central CCAC CEO Went from 180,000 in 2009 To 272,000 The salary for The Erie St. Clair CEO Went from 169,000 To 221,000 And the Hamilton Niagara CEO salary Increased from 213,000 To 266,000 Mr. Speaker, the list goes On and on and on. How can you possibly claim That you're increasing home care services When we have this kind of scandalous spending The reality is That the kind of care that people are getting And we were in the Patterson's home Last week And it's about the care That people are getting in their home But it's also about The community care So for example The day programs Allow people who need that kind of Support at home to go during the day To a program that is Supported by the government And allows the Caregiver at home To have that respect. So there's a complex web Of supports that need to be in place Mr. Speaker That the CCAC provides The coordination of that kind of care And they provide it from the time A person is in hospital To get that support and they start To heal at home So I am convinced Mr. Speaker that the health care system Is undergoing a transformation That is providing more care for people In their communities. Mr. Speaker, what it should be about Is getting more money to frontline service And that's not what we're seeing happening And certainly another complicating factor Is the direct provision of home care services By the CCACs It's a clear conflict of interest And the CCAC is the oversight body That awards the contracts to nursing providers But now it's competing With the very organizations it's Supposed to fund. The RNAO, Registered Nurses Association Of Ontario, pointed this out in their Recent report. They stated and I quote Programs suggest that the CCACs Are taking on a more direct care Rule which was not Their intended purpose. The CCAC System does not possess The structure, mandate or capacity To deliver direct care to Ontarians Moreover this inappropriate Function of the CCAC Is destabilizing the community care Workforce. Mr. Speaker Instead of delivering more frontline services Evidence clearly shows that they're simply Building a larger bureaucracy Community care organizations Do not speak up against this Because the CCACs are the ones that award This work. Minister What will you do to end this Thank you Mr. Speaker I can tell you one thing I will not be taking lessons on how to Deliver high quality health care From the party opposite Their record speaks for itself When they were in charge Speaker That'll do thank you Minister When they were in power they cut Home care services to seniors 22% cut in nursing 30% in home making 2100 2300 And their current white paper calls Coming from both sides it's very difficult To try to get that individual But I have them in my head and if I hear it again I'll go right at them Finish please Speaker if the conservatives genuinely cared About improving home care in this province They would be supporting the project Members from Cambridge come to order To the people who needed the most In this province I will go to the Leader of the third party For the primary questions and after that The rest of the rotation comes back To the government side The leader of the third party Thank you speaker my questions for the Premier Ontarians have told us that they need Some relief their bills are going up But their paychecks aren't keeping up That's why we called for a 15% Reduction in auto insurance premiums But people are worried that insurance Before any reductions What does the premier have to say to drivers Who are concerned that they won't get The relief that they need and deserve Thank you very much What I would say to drivers Is that we agree with the leader Of the third party that we need to do Something about auto insurance premiums Which is why we were interested In acting on that the NDP Had a specific suggestion We have committed to doing that And it is part of our budget proposal We want to get the budget passed We want to work on getting the fraud Out of the system finding those savings And that savings being Passed on to premium holders Mr. Speaker we've made a commitment To do that in the budget So we look forward to getting the budget Through the legislative process So that we can begin to implement it Mr. Speaker The premier did listen to new democrats And she promised Ontarians That she'll drop auto insurance premiums By 15% But we've been hearing from drivers Who have received notices Recently notices Of double digit increases In their premiums Ontarians want to know that the government Will square that circle What concrete steps will the premier Take to ensure that premiums Go down like she promised Premier Very much Mr. Speaker Well that plan is laid out in the budget For a reduction of 15% Across the province Mr. Speaker And you know it is an average And we have to be clear That doesn't mean that everyone will get An absolute 15% reduction And that was never the commitment On by either party So it's in our budget Mr. Speaker We want to get the budget passed This one situation that the leader Of the third party is raised From Hamilton East Stony Creek Please come to order The third party is raised I cannot comment on But I know that the minister of finance Has spoken with the industry Mr. Speaker It is not our intention that there would be Undo increases as we work up To the passage of the budget But we do need to get the budget passed In order to be able to implement it Thank you The finance minister said Quote We've been very direct in telling the insurance companies To maintain the rates at what they are Just the woman that was here yesterday But dozens of drivers who are getting Big increases In their premiums Will the premier take action today To ensure that rates are maintained As they are While we put the tools in place To start bringing them down Thank you very much Mr. Speaker So the way averages work Is that some go up and some go down And some stay the same Mr. Speaker So the reality is that we could Have had reductions in auto insurance We could come up with this with people who have had Some increases in auto insurance And some for whom their premiums Have stayed the same What we have said is that overall We believe there should be a reduction Of premiums We have committed to a 15% Average reduction across the board Mr. Speaker And in order to be able to begin To implement our plan We need to get the budget passed And we can begin to implement those changes Thank you My next question is for the premier as well Speaker Real investment in transit and transportation Infrastructure is going to take long term planning In fact Metrolinx estimates It will take 25 years of investment The government has done its own Long term planning and has made it clear That they plan to cancel The fairness tax on high income earners As soon as Ontario's books Are balanced And they're not afraid about funding Can the premier explain Why she's planning a tax cut For people making over $500,000 a year Thank you very much Mr. Speaker So again At the root of this question Is an intention To undermine the notion That we have to build Transit in the greater Toronto Hamilton area There should be no debate about that Very clear to anyone who is in touch With constituents who live In the greater Toronto Hamilton area That we must do something About investment in transit For the next generation It would be irresponsible of us Mr. Speaker as a collective To ignore this issue Because if we believe that the economy Of the province is driven To some extent by this region Mr. Speaker Then we know that moving goods In the region has to improve So I reject the notion That we not move ahead On building transit Mr. Speaker In terms of the tax regime I will speak to that in the supplementary Thank you supplementary Well Speaker what the premier wants to do Is undermine families who are having a hard time Making ends meet These days in Ontario Well they give huge risks To the income scale in Ontario New democrats don't think that's fair But the government has started into opening New tax loopholes that are going to allow Corporations to get the HST Off of their expenses like gasoline The government said their first priority As soon as the books are balanced Is more corporate tax giveaways If the premier believes that Ontario Needs long term investment For infrastructure Can she explain why she has made Corporate tax giveaways worth billions Of dollars a priority What I believe And what my team believes Mr. Speaker Is that we must have A thriving economy And what that means is Businesses must be competitive With our neighbouring jurisdictions Mr. Speaker Businesses can grow And what businesses need In addition to that kind of Competitive tax regime Mr. Speaker They need the infrastructure In place so that they can move Their goods across the GTHA So that they can bring people To the region to live And work in those industries Mr. Speaker Because people want to be here They want to raise their families here Because it doesn't take them two hours To get their kids to school Or to daycare or to get themselves to work So we're going to work on both fronts Because it's a complex issue We're going to work to make sure That the conditions are in place For business to come here And we're going to invest in transit Mr. Speaker So that we can grow the economy And what the Democrats believe Is that we need a fair economy In the private sector So Speaker one transit expert said this And I quote We need to ask less of those Who can afford less and more from those Who are getting the greatest benefit For transportation investment The private sector Quoting again A conversation about road pricing And even regional sales taxes I do not think Ontario families That expert speaker the premier should know Is sitting kind of right behind her As the cabinet minister now For the minister of transportation Then and to all of us While the government is open to new taxes For Ontario families At the same time they're planning to cut taxes For Ontario's wealthiest Third party thinks it is fair For a single parent To have to get their kids up at 5.30 in the morning In order to get them to daycare So that they can get there Their job because they live in the 905 And they're coming into the 416 To work Mr. Speaker If the leader of the third party Thinks that that is fair I disagree Categorically that it is fair For us as a government to neglect Our responsibility that has been Neglected for at least A generation Mr. Speaker We started building transit when we came Into office in 2003 But before that Mr. Speaker In at least a decade Of neglect on this file And so if the leader of the third party Thinks that that neglect should continue We're just going to have to agree To disagree Mr. Speaker You see it? New question? The number from Mrs. Augie East Cokesville Thank you Speaker My question is to the minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport Speaker with the warm weather Finally very slowly coming Baseball diamonds And soccer fields in my riding Brimming with children In fact it's really nice to just see children Outside playing whether they're just playing Tag or on their bicycles And that's because parents realize today That it's important that our children Lead an active life But one thing that parents are concerned About is injury while our children are playing Especially serious injuries Like concussions Can the minister tell my constituents What this government's plan Is for injury prevention Thank you Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport Thank you Mr. Speaker I'm happy to answer the question from The honourable member from This week marks Safe kiss week As I mentioned earlier today We're welcoming para to Canada To Queen's Park And this year they are recognizing The importance of sport safety And concussion prevention Our government recognizes the importance Of Ontarians being active In sport and recreation Since 2003 We have invested over 750 million to support sport And recreation programs And we are eagerly committed To injury prevention This is why we are working with Coaching Association of Ontario To develop and expand concussion Management education opportunities For Ontario coaches We also want to Provincial and Maori sport organizations To ensure concussion Photo cause of development For young athletes Thank you Mr. Speaker Minister for that great answer And it's really good to see that the safety Of our children continues to be a priority For this government Sometimes it can be a little bit challenging For families to make sure That they are physically active But this is to be able to be active So I'd like to know what this government Is doing to help ensure That Ontarians have access to extracurricular And sports activities Good question Thank you for the question again I'm pleased to say that the Successful expansion of the R2 school program Have enabled children To not only participate In a safe environment But also increase overall physical Speaker, the program now Provides over 20,000 opportunities In more than 380 locations Across Ontario We want our promise to be healthy Prosperous, praise to live, work and play Speaker We provided over 23 million To our sport partners In 2012 to 13 To promote participation And excellence in sport Across our beautiful province Through our investments Through an Ontario That is both saver for kids And encourages them to get more involved Thank you Thank you, Speaker Thank you for the question My question is for the Premier Yesterday the Privacy Commissioner Expressed a very dim view Of the actions of former Senior staff in the Premier's office The email accounts of three Of the Premier's former staffers Including the Chief of Staff That no longer exist And can't be recovered This despite a legal requirement To keep all those records For five years Now this doesn't happen by accident It takes a deliberate act To make that happen The Commissioner said Strain credulity That they wouldn't know They were to retain those emails So Premier those emails are critical To the Justice Committee's In those emails So we can get to the bottom Of the scandal Mr Speaker I can only repeat What I said to The Honourable Member From the New Democratic Party I believe at present We have provided the committee 131,222 That's an approximate number Documents that have gone for it With close to 30,000 From the Premier's office The member is raising An investigation that's going on By the Information and Privacy Commissioner Who's an officer of this house We look forward to receiving her report In terms of the regime That we have in place for political staff Particularly the new ones who've come forward In this new government We have had a training session Across the board We've also had individual training sessions So that they understand their responsibility Well Speaker That's even more proof that even a high horse Produces manure Premier, two liberal staffers Have even I have to tell the member I'm not overly impressed With that and the tenor of what was said Is not acceptable But I'll allow the member to decide If he wants to withdraw himself I will withdraw Premier, two liberal staffers Have even more explaining to do For the deleted and destroyed emails MacLennan, the former energy chief of staff And now a plum appointment At OLG And Sean Mullen, the former Policy advisor to the Premier Swore under oath they were screened Off the file in April of 2011 Yet we presented emails yesterday That shows MacLennan and Mullen Deeply involved in the Oakville Matters laid into May And June of 2011 Conveniently, Mullen's email Account is missing And MacLennan admitted to the treaty He deleted his emails Premier Can you tell Ontarians what exactly Are you hiding in these emails What are you hiding? The witnesses in question They come before the committee They testify under oath and good faith These are matters to be left to the committee But you know Mr. Speaker There is a bigger issue here And that is why the progressive Conservative party seems to conveniently Disagreements in the last election To the point where their candidate Had robo calls That were out there against it I know that the progressive Conservative party probably regrets Those robo calls They have 85,000 reasons to regret robo calls But the fact of the matter Is that was part of the campaign Why will their candidates not Come before the committee Why will they not talk about their costing Why are they pushing This whole committee Matter this whole subject matter To the side Mr. Speaker What do they have to hide New questions Thank you Mr. President My question is Thank you a question to the Prime Premier A lot of people made the trip from Kingston to Queen's Park Because they want you to listen to them And to the thousands of people in their Community Who want their new hospital To be a public-private partnership They do not want it to be a P3 Research has shown us That P3 hospital costs 16% more than Conventionally-tended hospital The residents of Kingston Want their healthcare dollars spent on Healthcare Not funneled to the bank accounts Of private for-profit companies Most of them offshore My question is simple People of Kingston And stop the wrong headed P3 Plan for their hospitals Thank you very much Mr. Speaker The opportunity to speak To a number of the people in Kingston Who are concerned about this What I have heard overwhelmingly Mr. Speaker Is that the people of Kingston Want this hospital to be built They want the hospital Which it will be Mr. Speaker It will be a publicly owned institution So Mr. Speaker That we need to get this Important piece of infrastructure Built, we are doing everything in our power To do that Mr. Speaker And I can assure the people of Kingston That this will remain a public institution Thank you Mr. Speaker The people of Kingston Have seen what happens When a hospital is a P3 They have seen wasted taxpayer's Dollar, they have seen dirty hospitals They have seen talks to patients They have seen broken promises In April 10,000 of them came out For a vote to tell you That stop The P3 hospital I have their ballots with me I will deliver cases of them 10,000 of them to you Premier, hospitals only succeed When they have the support Of their community And right now the people are telling you You are setting up this new hospital To fail Again, will the premier listen To the people of Kingston who came here today Will the premier listen To the 10,000 people Who have the time to vote Will the premier listen to the thousands More who want you to stop This wrong headed P3 plan Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you And, Speaker, if it's good enough for the Sisters of Providence, if the Sisters of Providence support this, then I am very proud to support it too. Thank you. A new question from the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, North-South Western. Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. Last month, the Minister announced changes to physiotherapy services in Ontario that will be implemented this summer. Many seniors in my writing of York-South Western have been expressing concerns about these changes. They are being told that they will no longer be able to access physiotherapy and exercise classes in the community or in their retirement homes. And many have heard that physiotherapy will now be capped at 12 sessions down from 150. Speaker, could the Minister please explain what these changes will mean for Ontarians who need physiotherapy services? Thank you, Mr. President. Well, thank you, Speaker. And thank you to the member for this very important question. I welcome the opportunity to debunk some of the myths that are being spread by those who have a vested interest in the current model, Speaker. The changes we're making to physiotherapy will significantly expand access to exercise classes, falls prevention classes, and individual physiotherapy. We're doing this, Speaker, because the seniors of this province are depending on us to provide the best possible care. Let me be clear, eligibility will remain the same. Seniors are covered today. They will continue to be covered under the new model. 218,000 more Ontarians will be able to access this government-funded program, Speaker. As in falls prevention classes will be offered in the community and in retirement homes across the province. The classes are not being covered. They are being expanded. There will be no cap on the number of services people may receive, Speaker. Thank you. Do you have a supplementary? Well, thank you, Minister Speaker. Many seniors will be relieved that their services are not being cut, and many more will be encouraged by the fact that they should be expanded. However, some seniors in my writing in York, Southwest, and I'm sure across Ontario, are being told that the government is cutting funding on physiotherapy services. They're also being told that current providers can offer these services to housebound seniors at a lower cost than community care access censored word under the new plan. So Speaker, could the minister tell us if these claims are true? So Speaker, let me be clear. There will be no cap on the number of physiotherapy services that people can get if they need them, Speaker. There will be many more locations from which these people can choose where they want to receive it. Speaker, the fact is we're increasing the budget for physiotherapy exercise in falls prevention classes from $146 million to $156 million a year. It is not true that current providers can offer this service at a lower cost under the old model through CCACs. Last year their average cost was $750 per client compared to the CCAC average of $480. Under the old system costs are increasing at an unsustainable rate and care is uneven across the province. The changes that we're introducing will allow us to offer exercise classes, falls prevention classes and high quality one-on-one physiotherapy to twice as many Ontarians in the community. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Labour. Minister, today I will be tabling my private members bill titled Fairness is a two-way street act. This bill will shut the door on Quebec construction workers and contractors coming into Ontario. In spite of countless agreements between Ontario and Quebec, Ontario construction contractors and workers have been virtually forbidden from working in the province of Quebec. While Quebecers have had completely unfettered access to the eastern Ontario construction market. Order. Ontarians believe in open borders, but they are being taken advantage of and ultimately losing good jobs without equal access. Minister, do you believe that working men and women in eastern Ontario are getting fair access to the Quebec job market? Minister of Labour. Thank you very much, Speaker. Let me first thank the member opposite for bringing forward this issue. I want to thank the member for reaching out to me and we had an opportunity to sit down yesterday and talk about his bill and look forward to the introduction of the bill and reviewing it and I have said to the member opposite that we will work together. Speaker one thing was clear from our conversation yesterday that both our goals are aligned and that is to create more good jobs for Ontarians and, Speaker, no government has done more to create jobs for Ontarians. The kind of investments we have made and continue to make in our universities and colleges, schools and hospitals and community sectors, billions of dollars have resulted in good construction jobs for Ontarians. Speaker, Ontarians deserve a fair shot at competing for work in other jurisdictions and that's what I and this government will fight for. But, Speaker, in order to ensure that what we need to do is focus on fixing the problems but not creating new ones and I look forward to speaking further in my supplementary to the member's question. I'll wait for that to give you the supplementary so you can hear my response. Supplementary? Minister, the original Fairness is a Two-Way Street Act became law in 1999 to solve this worker mobility problem with Quebec. It was repealed in 2006 when the government signed the Agreement on Labour Mobility between Ontario and Quebec. Since 2006, Quebec has gone back to their old ways of creating mountains of red tape and harassment activities that effectively shut Ontario contractors and workers out of the Quebec construction market and make those jobs unattainable to Ontario workers. Minister, will you and your Eastern Ontario colleagues support the Fairness as a Two-Way Street Act and work with me and the people of Eastern Ontario to try to open the door to fair trade with Quebec? Yeah. Or is feeling that slam the door shut? Yeah. Attorney General is now inches away from being warned and if he says one more word, he will be. The member from the Pean Carlton, I would like you to come to order please because I'm in the middle of chastising somebody over here. And those kind of comments are not wanted either. Minister of Labour. Thank you very much. Speaker, I think, Speaker, what we need to really focus on is developing and building cooperation and fairness for both provinces. And that's exactly what the 2006 Labour Mobility Agreement between Ontario and Quebec had done. It had resolved years of disputes over construction, labour mobility. Now, Speaker, under the agreement, qualified Ontario construction workers can also work in Quebec. Not to mention, Speaker, under the agreement, the Jobs Protection Office works with Ontario workers in ensuring to help resolve disputes. Let me try it again. Order. In 2009, we started a Head Start program to ensure that we work with Ontario workers in creating opportunities for them, Quebec. Speaker, there will be a five-year effective history that will be worked at as a result of the agreement. I think we should wait for that study to see what evidence we can decipher from it over the last five years and then work on it further. Thank you. Thank you. The member from Parkdale High Park. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Two years ago, former Premier Dalton McGinty took a pretty simple position on the Senate. This is what he said. Ontario's position on Senate reform abolished the Senate. Premier abandoned that position. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. It is a pleasure to have the member for Ottawa. To my colleague that my position is actually that chamber of sober second thought I don't think is a bad idea, Mr. Speaker. Do I think it needs to be reformed? Absolutely. I think that there are definitely reforms that should take place and that should be a conversation across the country, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Free vote. You know Canadians watching the series of Senate scandals unfold don't think that appointed Senators, especially those who abuse their privilege, represent Canadians' interests or their values, and until today their government seem to agree. Again, I'm going to quote the former Premier, Dalton McGinty. He said, quote, I think, frankly, to reform it in any substantive way is just not possible. As you can tell, I kind of let that one play itself up. Premier will wrap up. Much to say, Mr. Speaker, that the members of the opposition have such enthusiastic energy. I, Mr. Speaker, I do believe that where there is abuse of taxpayers' dollars, we have to respond and we have to be held accountable. It's not possible to reform the Senate. I believe that the abuses, that the discussion at the federal level, discussion across the country. Third vote on the budget motion. Call in the members. This will be a five-minute bell. The members take their seats, please. Thank you. On May 2nd, 2013, Mr. Sousa moved, seconded by Ms. McGinty that the House approves in general the budgetary policy of the government. All those in favor of the motion, Mr. Sousa, please rise one at a time and be recognized by the clerk. Mr. Sousa. Mr. Novo. Mr. Martese. Mr. Poole. Mr. Poole. Ms. Taylor. Ms. Taylor. Mr. Madison. Mr. Madison. Mr. Tavins. Mr. Forster. Mr. Forster. Ms. Campbell. Ms. Campbell. Mr. Schein. Ms. Schein. Ms. Armstrong. Ms. Armstrong. Mr. Manfield. Ms. Manfield. Ms. Fyke. Ms. Fyke. Opposed to the motion, we'll please rise one at a time and be recognized by the clerk. Mr. Sherman. Mr. Sherman. Mr. Wilson. Mr. Wilson. Mr. Arnault. Mr. Arnault. Mr. Kurske. Ms. McLeod. Ms. McLeod. Mr. Miller Perry Sound Nasc開. Mr. Miller Perry Sound Nasc Door. Mr. Cleese. Mr. Bailey. Mr. Bailey. Mr. Hilliard. Mr. Hilliard. Mr. Barratt. Mr. Barratt. Mr. Dunlap. Mr. Dunlap. Ms. Jones. Ms. Jones. Ms. Monroe. Ms. Monroe. Mr. Ced Stadium. Ms. Cedley. Mr. SchlUElllr. Mr. cra ray. Mr. Keating. Ms. Keating. Mr. Wallat. Mr. wallat. Mr. Wallit. Git. Mr. McDonnell. Mr. Pettipese. Mr. Milligan. Mr. Milligan. Mr. Walker. Mr. Jackson. Mr. McLaren. Mr. McLaren. Mr. Nichols. Mr. Nichols. Mr. Duffy. Mr. 36. The ayes being 65 and the nays being 36. I declare the motion carried and is therefore resolved that this House approves in general the budgetary policy of the government. There are no further votes for House stands recess until 3pm this afternoon.