 It is now time for a question period. The member from foreign help My questions for the Premier you're not an elected Premier you hold office because about a thousand Because about a thousand liberal partisans voted for you But you use that office to hold Ontarians hostage by buying Union peace with one-off deals now Order please Order I Actually hear it coming from both sides so we could bring it down, please so the question could be put member Recently the LCBO and off to his liquor board employee division reached an accord Averting a strike right before the May long weekend the LCBO had empty shelves and line-ups out the door while racking up sales The top 28 million dollars that day the whole thing was a scare tactic speaker used to boost revenues and Manipulate your government because Opsu knows your track record Opsu's ratification vote is set for June 3rd But a copy of the collective agreements highlights is posted on their website It says the four-year deal includes a so-called wage freeze Premier But Premier it's smoke and mirrors because there are signing bonuses of nine million dollars How can you call it a wage freeze you're handing out not very much Mr. Speaker first of all I would just say that in terms of my Status as an elected member and as the Premier the people of John Valley West certainly did elect me Mr. Speaker and it seems to me that there was a convention and that the party elected me So Mr. Speaker I hold this position Ontario so mr. Speaker on the on the issues of the agreement with the employees at the LCBO I'm not going to speak to the specifics. I understand that the ratification vote is going to happen mr. Speaker But we have worked very hard to make sure that All of the settlements fall within the parameters that we outline mr. Speaker and that is wage constraint And my understanding is that the agreement fell within those parameters Thank You speaker you refuse to admit Premier that you're in over your head and that you've lost control while Ontarians continue to pay for this nonsense Premier the one thing I believe that you are consistent about is deflection So I say enough is enough you and your government have been caving to union demands on the backs of Ontario taxpayers For the last nine and a half years Here's what you said in this house on March the fourth and I'm quoting We've been very clear that constraining public sector wages is part of what we're doing and will continue to do That's why we're on target the drum and report said that if we didn't take those measures If we didn't work to constrain costs then we would not be able to balance the budget accurate quote premier and accurate answer Premier you are neither constraining costs nor on target to balance the budget. We both know that Why don't taxpayers know question full cost of your backroom union deals? Will the McGinty win Liberals make these deals public today? Thank you, Premier Thank you very much. Mr. Speaker. Well, I just I just have to I just have to Counter what the member opposite said in terms of our being on track to balance the budget We've overachieved on our deficit reduction targets every single year. Mr. Speaker So we are on track to eliminate the deficit by 2017 18 and with regard to public sector wages, mr. Speaker Let me just talk about some negotiated agreements Which are in the public realm with the English Catholic teachers and a fo the French French teachers mr. Speaker We we realized a total savings of two billion dollars over three years mr. Speaker a map 10,000 public service employees mr. Speaker a thousand hours of bargaining the savings there mr. Speaker $24.6 million in 1213 30.4 million dollars savings in the year 1314 mr. Speaker the OMA Ontario Medical Association 25,000 doctors net savings of almost 400 million over two years. We are constraining Thank you Premier How can you stand here in the people's house and disregard facts and even your own words? You've always put union bosses and partisan interests ahead of taxpayers with over 50% of the Ontario budget going to government workers Salaries you cannot achieve restraint without an across-the-board wage freeze as I proposed in bill 5 which has passed second reading According to ops whose website your most recent deal also includes general wage increases for 2015 and 16 at roughly 2% per year and in case of privatization or closure of an establishment part time part time employees Would now receive two thousand dollars for employee transition, which is up from a thousand dollars under the previous agreement Who but you could call us a wage freeze the unions know what's in the agreements the Liberals know what's in the agreements Why not the people of Ontario? Thank you To the knob of this question, which I think is really Do you want to work with organized labor or not? Mr. Speaker do you believe that working with people who are Collectively bargaining is a good idea or not mr. Speaker. We think it's a good idea We think it's a good idea to honor the collective bargaining process mr. Speaker to work with with employees of government to make sure Mr. Speaker that we set very clear parameter that we work within those parameters But that we do work in that collective bargaining process in good faith mr. Speaker the reality is that the Does not agree with that position the member opposite would undermine labor in the province mr. Speaker the member opposite does not believe as I If I can say from their behavior does not they do not believe in working with with employees who are in Collective bargaining situations mr. Speaker we do and that's the work that we've been doing new questions Working with doesn't mean caving in so back to the premier Ontarians are left shaking their heads Ontarians expect transparency and accountability from elected officials They aren't getting that from you or from your cronies you put Union bosses a liberal party Because you cannot control any of this an arbitrator has raised hospital costs by awarding SEI you a 4% increase over two years while you stand here and say that you're reigning in spending your liberal government has created a New elite workforce in the public sector complete with gold-plated pensions greater job security higher wages Than the rest of the rest of our affairs come to work to pay for those salaries and will never never receive such luxurious Benefits you're only balancing act is to say one thing and do another So how are you going to balance the budget when you keep spending beyond our means? Thank you mr. Speaker and I find it very curious from the member opposite who's talking about wage restraint And yet when we were there to try to resolve issues with the doctors to resolve issues with teachers to resolve issues with regards to Generic drugs you stood idle and we had to take some tough decisions We move forward on moving that bar to control our spending and as a result our spending is below 1% Year-over-year growth and when it comes to these wages and the dealings with that with LCBO I'm very proud of the negotiations that our teams did to create a wage freeze over the next two years And what matters here mr. Speaker our results and the results are we are having a zero Zero wage freeze over the next two years and mr. Speaker were created created cooperation and collaboration With all stakeholders with a collective agreement and negotiated agreement is the right way to go mr. Speaker You guys take a tough decision. I'll eat my hat look fool me once Shame on you fool me twice shame on me this morning alone this morning alone You've attempted to pull the wool over Ontarian size twice You cannot sugarcoat the facts with over 50% of the budget going to government workers salaries This is a serious issue that your government has demonstrated that it does not know how to handle instead Ontarians keep learning about wasted tax dollars through the lack of transparency and accountability Evident in e-health in orange more recently diluted cancer treatments premier finance minister How many times do we have to ask how are you going to balance the budget when we keep spending? Like drunken sailors just to keep up with your unions So mr. Speaker the the Tea Party thrives over there What we need mr. Speaker is a collaborative effort We need to work closely for the benefit of taxpayers and that's what's resulting in our budget And that is what has occurred over the last couple of years even arbitrated deals are coming in at zero zero So mr. Speaker we will continue we will continue to work with all partners We'll continue to respect the collective agreements and we'll continue to work towards the benefit of the province in the end Because ultimately that's what we want what we don't need to equate Respectfully we don't need to have continuing fights on constitutional debates and issues that will polarize us even further We need to cooperate. We need to work for the benefit of all of Ontario and we'll work with you for that matter Thank you, mr. Speaker Supplementary if the Tea Party's thriving over here, I've got to say socialism's thriving over there You constantly kowtow to the unions you just caved in to multiple NDP demands It'll cost a billion dollars plus plus annually finance minister your track record speaks for itself You only know how to put party politics ahead of taxpayers interest and you're wrapped around far too many fingers It's that simple the cost of doing business in backroom deals with the Liberal Party at the expense of taxpayers Has been detrimental to Ontario's economy With all of these backroom deals now Ontario's facing the highest debt in history and the finance minister knows it Ontario taxpayers cannot continue to foot the bill for your party's political games and for your pandering When will you and your party finally admit that you're in over your heads and you don't actually have a way out So mr. Speaker, I am very proud to say that our track record does speak for itself Lower deficit than the originally projected that's why next year our projected deficit is another billion dollars down and we will continue Minister Thank You mr. Speaker. We will continue. We will continue to be disciplined We will continue to to constrain our spending as necessary We have made every effort to maintain up below 1% year over year and that has been proven by our track record And in fact mr. Speaker even our negotiated settlements within the envelope that we've identified has also been met so Nice mr. Speaker Would also work in a minority government as is a third party for the benefit of the people of Ontario This budget reflects the entire scope of Ontario's issues is for the people of Ontario Thank You speaker my question is to the premier Premiers now receive the report from Metrolinx calling for higher taxes and an increase in the gasoline tax Is the Liberal government planning to proceed with these plans speaker? Thank you very much mr. Speaker and we all knew mr. Speaker that the Metrolinx report was going to be coming out I want to thank the the Metrolinx folks the boards for their work putting together this report and we are committed mr Speaker to finding real solutions I know mr. Speaker that the the congestion situation in the greater Toronto Hamilton area Cannot be allowed to continue and so it is absolutely critical that we have a dedicated Revenue stream the Metrolinx investment strategy mr. Speaker is one part of that conversation that is happening There are other there are other possibilities mr. Speaker, but we will be taking we'll be taking the Metrolinx report under advisement And we'll be engaging with the people of Remember from Durham about how we make sure we have a dedicated revenue stream particularly in the greater Toronto Hamilton region mr. Thank You Figure the premiers argued that in difficult times people have to make sacrifices and may have to pay more to get Ontario moving can the premier tell us how much the Liberal government has spent cutting taxes for the corporate sector over the last five years or so Let me just let me just stay on the transit issue for a moment Mr. Speaker because I know that the third I know that the leader of the third party is concerned about how this process will roll out and She knows that we have been clear that the legislature will have a say as we make a final decision on those on those revenue Chills mr. Speaker because it is extremely important that we have a debate outside of this house and within this house about the future of Infrastructure particularly transit infrastructure in the next 20 years in the greater Toronto Hamilton area because mr. Speaker the state of transit and the Reducing of reduction of congestion in this region is paramount in terms of the possibilities for economic growth for the region But for the province mr. Speaker it's paramount in terms of improving people's quality of charge That's why it's so important that we get this right There will be an opportunity for the legislature to have a say on this mr. Speaker Well speaker, you know one calculation in fact several calculations put the amount of money that this government has given to corporations and cuts Into the billions since they became government and the government insists that as soon as the books are balanced They plan to cut corporate taxes even more here in the province of Ontario The Liberals use the word fair in the budget speaker does the Premier think it's fair to ask people to pay more out of household budgets Well, the Liberal government tells Ontario's largest corporations that they're due for yet another great So here's what I think is fair I think what is fair is to be honest with the people of Ontario about the complexity of our situation The government has to create the conditions for business to be able to thrive mr. Speaker so that those businesses Can create jobs at the same time mr. Speaker government has to understand that people are spending too much time On the road trying to get to work trying to get to their kids and bring them home from school or take them today care Mr. Speaker and that those those Thank you carry on finish shoes and challenges co-exist mr. Speaker and so we have to deal with all of that at the same time So we have work to try to put conditions in place so that business can thrive and at the same time We need to deal with congestion in the GTA chain Thank you speaker my next questions to the Premier the day before the budget the government wrote to Ottawa asking them to delay a Plan to open new corporate tax loopholes this new loophole will allow Ontario's largest corporations to get the HST off of their expenses Expenses like gasoline speaker has the Premier received a response yet Thank you mr. Speaker so as a member opposite knows I presume it's not a tax loophole It's not something you it's not a tax break It is part of a negotiated agreement that we made when we did the HST and we made the transformation it applies not only to entertainment and and meals it applies to Equipment purchases automobiles and a number of other equipments telecommunications and so forth and it expires over a period of time we've now asked the Federal government to allow that expiration to continue so that we also can to benefit from those revenues But it is something that we have to do in cooperation with the federal government as do other provinces that have negotiated the same thing Thank You mr. Thank you Well speaker if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's usually a duck and it's Government signed an agreement the minister's right He signed an agreement that said that Ontario's largest corporations don't have to pay HST on expenses like gasoline And that new to a tax loophole is going to open very shortly Jim Flaherty is making it clear that he's gonna hold the government to their agreement that they signed the government's public Estimates the government's public estimates peg this new loophole at a cost of 1.3 Billion dollars a year Does the Premier think it's fair speaker to ask families who are already paying the new HST on gasoline to now pay an Additional fee every time they have to fill up while Ontario's largest corporations get a tax roll a tax break when they roll up Excuse me excuse me minister of finance has to pass it back if that's gonna happen minister of finance But mr. Speaker over to the premier So we agree I made it clear that we're bringing it forward to the to the federal minister We've asked for this to be reviewed. We recognize the concerns raised by the third party We've we've had this discussion and we're continuing to do so I should clarify though the number brought forward is not to that extent because if you're dealing with just meals and entertainment It's much less. It's around two to three or it doesn't matter what it is What it's mattering is that we want to consider Doing the extension, but it's not 1.3 billion dollars as bring bought forward by the No Speaker it matters to Ontario Deserve transportation infrastructure and transit that is accessible and gets people where they need to go when they need to be there But we've also been clear that we will need a fair and balanced way to pay for it This premier put the word fair in the name of her budget Talk is easy action is tougher speaker the liberal government is handing tax breaks worth billions of dollars To Ontario's wealthiest wealthiest corporations We've already been whacked with an unfair HST are being told that they have to pony up yet again Does the premier really think that that's fair speaker? So mr. Speaker The the exemption continues that hasn't Expired as yet. We're trying to negotiate and work with the federal government to extend it So that's the discussions that we're having but we have taken other measures mr. Speaker in order to be balanced and fair We've taken a number of measures to invest in our young people to invest in health care and education And we're continuing to do what's necessary to support those most vulnerable by not penalizing them when they go to work What we want to do is be fair to all Ontarians. We also want to stimulate growth We want to ensure businesses are investing in Ontario and we will continue to do that as well, mr. Speaker Thank you new question Very much speaker my question is for the premier last week at the Justice Committee We saw more damning documents as your hand-picked finance minister has testified Finance ministry estimates from last February show the Liberals were setting aside $900 million for the Mississauga and Oakville power plant cancellations The documents prove it was well known within the Liberal government that the cancellation costs would be higher than the 40 million and 190 million that you claim Premier you were at the cabinet table when Cancelations were discussed and you knew the costs would be higher Will you admit today the exact date? When you knew the Oakville cancellation was higher than the 40 million dollars? Thank you very much mr. Speaker and I have answered these questions at committee mr. Speaker the OPA provided varying costs Mr. Speaker they cost change the complexity and Changing OPA estimates. I think mr. Speaker justifies my asking the auditor general to look at both situations mr. Speaker I've been very clear that we wanted to open up this process and make it possible for all of these questions to be asked mr. Speaker But the reality is there was no firm number mr. Speaker No one had access to that to a specific number the numbers change the estimates change and I answered that at the committee mr. Speaker Well, thank you very much speaker. Yes, the questions are being asked, but we're still not getting the answers At committee we saw that the Liberal strategy of ditching diverting and destroying documents Continues it's alive and well speaker the same 900 million dollar document had a key piece of information Missing it was missing the critical footnote that explained the 900 million dollar risk Oh, we found it in another document speaker. We found it in another version. That's how we knew it existed Obviously somebody forgot to white out all of the document speaker It's the same old tricks from the same old liberal government speaker then again every other Liberal who has come before the Justice Committee has failed to be fourth rate I'll ask you again. Premier. Will you pledge today to return to the Justice Committee question? Tell us when you knew the Oakville cancellation cost was more than 40 million dollars This is speaker this is Absolutely outrageous the honorable member is standing up and saying that we redacted a document that he had mr. Speaker The fact of the matter is mr. Speaker the footnote The member from Prince Edward Hastings will come to order I may just jump right to a warning if he wants to continue Very young mr. Speaker the committee requested all drafts of a document They receive various drafts of the document He had many copies of the same document mr. Speaker the footnote He's referring to was in the document that we gave to him mr. Speaker and the fact of the matter is that what it was Was a cost estimate a worst-case scenario from a finance official months and months before Negotiations were wrapped up the real question mr. Speaker is why would the leader of the opposition not tell us his estimates when he made the exact same commitment Supplementary The supplementary sorry new question the member from Timon's James Bay. Thank you speaker My question is the premier at committee later at the committee last week We had a document that indicated that in fact when it came to the Oakville gas plant that Transcanada credit a trans canada pipeline I should say was in force major which meant to say that you could have cancelled that gas plant without costing a nickel To the taxpayers of Ontario if you would have only taken your time and done what your ministry officials were encouraging you to do Why didn't you do that and why instead did you choose to do something that cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars? Mr. Speaker I Think it's important that we go through the situation here The city of Oakville had been trying to block the had been trying to block the the creation of this gas plant mr. Speaker, but we knew that trans canada was going to fight any attempts to block it and that it was much better for us to Sit down and negotiate I'd remind mr. Speaker of the testimony of Chris Breen of trans canada energy Who had this to say to the committee? We were already before two different courts with what looks like about four actions And we were before the OMB the Ontario municipal board with two appeals We had a contractual obligation and was very cleanly spelled out in black and white that that was our responsibility You have to go through every possible channel that deliver on your obligations in this contract and we would have done Sir mr. Speaker we took the prudent course in negotiating with TCE in order to find an agreement on this issue Thank you supplementary You're right the town the municipality of Oakville was not giving the permits necessary to allow that project to go forward And they were in force my job what all you had to do to save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars is to in fact Not do what you ended up doing in regards to this negotiation So it seems to me and it seems to most people what you did is what liberals are really good at You took the interest of the Liberal Party first and set in taking the interest of the people of Ontario So I asked you again Why would you choose an option that cost us hundreds of millions of dollars when you could have got out of this a Heck of a lot cheaper if not having to spend anything at all Mr. Speaker I know that the Honourable member would never want to leave the impression with this house that if those by-laws have been overturned And I just produced a quote of the number of legal cases that were going if those by-laws have been overturned Construction of the plant would have been undertaken and the government at that point would have been in negotiations That would have cost a lot more than sitting down at the beginning of the process Mr. Speaker the fact of the matter was that TCE was going to pursue every avenue in order to start Construction on that plant and the prudent course which has been Confirmed by numerous witnesses in front of the committee was for us to sit down and negotiate mr. Speaker We took the prudent course. We looked at what was going to be happening with the by-laws at Oakville And as I say had they been overturned construction would have begun Thank you new question the member from the Scarborough Rouge River Thank You mr. Speaker mr. Speaker my question is for the Minister of Tourism Culture and Sport Speaker may is Asian Heritage Month this month We acknowledged the long and rich history of Asian Canadians and their contributions to Canada it also provides an opportunity for Canadians across the country to reflect on and Celebrate the contributions of Canadians of Asian heritage to the growth and prosperity of Canada This month is important because Canada's cultural diversity Strengthens the country socially politically and economically in innumerable ways My ride in of Scarborough Rouge River is the home of many Asians Coming from all across the continent for numerous reasons. I'm proud to represent each and every one of them During this month. There are many local events to mark Asian Heritage Month. Mr. Speaker through you to the minister Can he please update us on the ways our government is highlighting Asian Heritage Month here in Ontario? Thank You minister tourism culture for the question. I want to thank the member from Scarborough Rouge River for asking speaker Last week. I had the pleasure to meet the vice governor of Jiangsu province from China and discuss with him the screening of a Chinese film showcase at this year's Toronto National Film Festival It will feature 80 films tracing the connection between the cinemas of mainland China Hong Kong and Taiwan It also speaks to the significant investment our government made to the film industry Which contributes 2.5 billion annually to our economy speaker? Since 2003 we have invested over 81 million to support screen-based industry Including more than 58 million in funding to Tiff answer Our government is proud of these investment and the cultural film does celebrate Asian heritage and support Ontario screen-based industry Thank you. Thank you supplementary Thank you, mr. Speaker It is interested to hear of these initiatives from the minister of tourism culture and sport regarding the ways our government is Highlighting Asian heritage month It is important to recognize that our connection to Asia should not be limited to the events during this special month only Asia is quickly becoming the world's economic engine and more and more of our provinces trade and immigration comes from countries such as Vietnam Philippines and China Ontario's Relationship with China is of particular interest to my constituents Many of them enjoy hearing about our government's partnership with China on new economic ties Speaker could the minister please update the house on the status of Ontario's relationship with China Minister Mr. Governmental Affairs Ontario and China have for many years enjoyed a close friendship and growing economic relationship China is our second largest trading partner in the world and two-way trade between Ontario and China Stands at nearly thirty billion dollars a year and our exports to China have increased by 233 percent since 2003 we've also had significant cultural connection with nearly 650,000 Chinese Canadians calling Ontario home speaker to build on these ties Just as one example Ontario has been working very closely with the Chinese province of Jiangsu our sister province in China And last week I too had the privilege of meeting out delegation from Jiangsu province that included the vice governor Mr. Fan Zhilong this visit and the Ontario visit to China earlier this year have strengthened our friendship and improved business collaboration in key sectors such as Technology clean technology agriculture science research speaker and we look forward to that continued friendship and I do or more trade The cost of your gas plant Finance minister were listed in public accounts at close to 200 million dollars if the very real possibility of a 900 million dollar price tag Passed on to all Ontarians were nowhere to be found in the estimates Someone in the government God love them had the foresight to realize that this could cost 900 million dollars leading energy experts testifying before the Justice Committee under oath along with the documents Reluctantly handed over confirmed that number two Which raises a very important but simple question for the finance minister Is there a public budget and a secret budget? And if so was the secret budget deal made available to the leader of the third party when she decided to prop up your scandal plague government Mr. Speaker the answer is no and And to the member opposite you've just Clarified your answer by saying it was a provision. It was an estimate It was appropriate to look at the worst-case scenario Negotiations were had resolutions were made public accounts was accounted for. Thank you, mr. Speaker supplementary Well actually minister wasn't in the estimates that's what I said and you haven't clarified a thing actually on Thursday in Justice Committee Mr. Speaker I asked the finance minister where'd the money come from with respect to the cancellations of the Oakville Mississaug gas plants his response and I quote Oh, it probably came from our contingency funds The premier of this province called this gas plant scandal a political decision I don't think the people of Ontario had a seat saver program in mind when the contingency fund was implemented What the minister is telling us is that he has no problem pulling money from a contingency fund that exists in cases of unforeseen Emergencies and natural disasters and using it to hide Hide line items for its own sorted political scandals He has no problem using that fund even if it means hiding $900 million the people of Ontario for as long as possible in order to save his own seat Your government talks a good game about being open and transparent Can you tell us why you hid this scandal in your thank you? contingency funds for fire So as a speaker with all doers like the PCs are presented and they're deliberately misleading documents from the Ministry of Finance I'd ask the minister to withdraw I would draw so mr. Speaker they presented information that Inappropriately reflects what's going on projected costs from the Ministry of Finance a part of a due diligence process Which officials plan for worst case scenario the figures discussed by the opposition are several years old and and are related to an Assessment of potential liabilities not projected costs and while a complete cancellation of the plants as promised by the Conservatives and their candidates in Mississauga may have also resulted in these liabilities becoming a reality So successful negotiations by the government to relocate these plans Ensured that these potential liabilities did not come to fruition Siting these figures from the Ministry of Finance of risk assessment similar years past mr. Speaker is unconstructive Thank you Thank you very much mr. Speaker my question is to the premier Just a few few weeks ago this government finally committed to our NDP proposal to reduce auto insurance rates by 15% But recently I've heard from a number of people that they're seeing their insurance premiums increase by 15 to 20% upon renewal Now these are people with absolutely clean records and no claims whatsoever Now why would this government through fiscal allow insurance companies to increase? Premiums for people across Ontario when we know that a 15% reduction should be implemented Well, first of all, let me say that I'm very pleased that we were able to work with the NDP on this proposal We were committed to to reducing premiums for auto insurance. Mr. Speaker. It's something that over a year ago I talked about in my own riding It's something that we are working on and we're doing it in a way that I think will be prudent But mr. Speaker the member opposite has highlighted why it's so important that we get the budget Because we in order to be able to implement the budget it needs to be able to pass through the process in this legislature Mr. Speaker, so I appreciate the concern from the member opposite But we really do need to get on with getting the budget passed so we can implement it Thank you very much mr. Speaker again to the premier people in my community and across Ontario are paying some of the highest premiums in Canada These are tough times families are struggling to make ends meet This government said that they will take our NDP proposal to reduce Auto insurance rates by 15% to make life more affordable But how many times will this government allow insurance companies to increase premiums before they actually implement that 15% reduction? Mr. Finance, Mr. Speaker And I appreciate the work being done by the member opposite and facilitating us to get this passed so that we can Work towards reducing auto insurance rates for the benefit of all Ontarians and it should be noted that in the recent year actually Auto insurance has been reduced by point three percent as a result of the efforts We've done with the anti-task force and we'll continue to do so and it's important that we have fiscal who is reviewing All of the submissions that are being made today So avoid the real issue that the member opposite has cited. We will work together. Let's get this budget passed Let's move on this quickly. Thank you Question the member from Vaughan Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker speaker my question today is for the Minister of Research and Innovation Our government recognizes that Ontario's capacity to compete in the global economy depends on how well we can harness our research strengths our ability to encourage innovation and support and The support we provide our entrepreneurs our government's budget reiterates our commitment to research innovation and entrepreneurship Our commitments, Mr. Speaker are strong We have invested 50 million dollars in the Ontario venture capital fund to help support startup companies We've committed 100 million dollars to the Ontario Brain Institute Which will help make discoveries that tackle brain disease possible and we will invest 295 million dollars in the youth job strategy to encourage Entrepreneurship amongst our youth mr. Speaker through you to the Minister of Research and Innovation What other programs has the government invested to support entrepreneurship and innovation in our province? Mr. Speaker I would like to thank the member from Vaughan for that question mr. Speaker our government has a strong Track record for supporting entrepreneurship and innovation in this province We have invested in three networks that have served entrepreneurs and the small and the medium-sized enterprises These networks include the Ontario network of excellence which supports the success of entrepreneurs the Ontario network of small business Enterprise centers which which works with municipal governments to accelerate the startups and grow local economies and Business advisory services mr. Speaker that helps entrepreneurs their businesses to grow both at home and abroad mr. Speaker I am proud the investments our government has made to support Entrepreneurship and innovation in order to grow our economy and jobs Thank you very much mr. Speaker, and I thank the Minister of Research and Innovation for the outstanding job that he's doing on behalf of all Ontarians Speaker I am I am glad to hear that our government is investing in services and programs to assist our entrepreneurs as you know Speaker entrepreneurs have the potential to bring Ontario's most promising ideas and research to the market Through research innovation and entrepreneurship We can find the answers to our questions generate economic growth and create jobs Given the challenges in the global economy mr. Speaker It is more important than ever that we take action that helps turn great ideas into thriving companies and new jobs Mr. Speaker through you to the minister What is the government doing to ensure that entrepreneurs are getting the support they need and that the programs are easily accessible? Thank you minister. Thank you mr. Speaker, and I would like to thank again the member from one for that question Entrepreneurship and innovation mr. Speaker are at the heart of our efforts to create jobs and grow our economy We want to help more Ontarians to start up businesses and healthy businesses prosper in order to ensure the entrepreneurs are able to access Resources quickly we have unified these three networks mr. Speaker into the Ontario on the network of entrepreneurs Through the Ontario network of entrepreneurs We will be able to provide better services to Ontarians by an interactive portal One business that's CA mr. Speaker mr. Speaker through this initiative Ontario entrepreneurs will be able to find most Appropriate sources of support to help them to grow their businesses and also help our economy. Thank you mr. Speaker Premier for the past 10 years your Liberal government has failed northern Ontario With an 11.3% unemployment rate North Bay like much of northern Ontario is in crisis One industry that is managing to succeed is contact call centers on page 262 of the recent McGinty win whore bath budget you announce the elimination of the apprenticeship Training tax credit only contact centers How can northern Ontario residents have any confidence in your government when you are planning to kill up to 8,000 important jobs? It's in northern Ontario with the single I Appreciate the question and I appreciate the concerns. I know in the budget in 2012 we announced the effectiveness of the apprenticeship training tax credits and Promoting it to provide for those apprentices to have full completion when they're working to provide for full-time employment The intent of course is to help people have jobs and maintain those jobs What we're finding though is the eligibility requirements through the call centers has not resulted in completion of the apprenticeship program or The full-time employment as expected. It's actually averaging only 10% and frankly I think we all agree in this house what we want to do is provide our Stimulus and investments to help those individuals have full-time employment for a long period of time. Thank you Thank you, Speaker back to the Premier northern Ontario has a jobs crisis But so does London and southwestern Ontario for the second straight month London has the highest big city unemployment rate in Canada and shamefully Windsor is right there, too 11.3% unemployment in north bay 10% in London and 9.2% in Windsor Premier Ontario has 600,000 unemployed men and women your budget does nothing to help grow our economy and create jobs in fact for the 25,000 people Province-wide working in the contact calling industry you have put their jobs at risk Premier the PC party and our leader Tim Houdak have unveiled a firm vision to get Ontario back on track Which of the items outlined as your coalition government plan to implement? Trade and employment Speaker I'm happy to take the supplementary on this because well, I was interesting just a couple of months ago and Barry There was an announcement I think the very mayor said it was one of the best days that he had had his mayor where they created 500 new jobs in a call center that open up there and we're also looking at Guelph as a possible additional area to expand But I want to talk about London the London area specifically because I know that the I know that the member opposite is Minister The member from Lampton Kent Middle Sex asked the question. I'm sure he wants to hear the answer and he'll ask Remember from Minister account The member from Lampton Kent Middle Sex is warned carry on please so As part of the over 400,000 jobs that we've created I was in London and London area in fact I was in the member opposite's own riding on Thursday Where I was announcing the government's three hundred thousand dollars support to our mom. Thank you Thank you new question The leader of the third party. Thank you speaker my questions for the premier Ontarians recently learned that during the Easter weekend. Mr. Joseph Cummins an 80 year old patient at London Health Sciences Centre Was told to clean his own toilet This government insists that frontline staff cuts in hospital underfunding won't affect care Is letting people fend for themselves what the minister has in mind when she talks about transformation in healthcare? Mr. Long-term care Minister of Health and long-term care a speaker Ontarians Ontarians have the right to expect the highest quality care no matter where they get care in this province speaker We are Undertaking a tremendous transformation in our healthcare sector right now speaker and we are seeing the results of focusing on the community sector We're also really focusing on improving the quality of care in our hospitals In fact the unanimous passage of the excellent care for all act Celebrates and put us on the right path to continue to get better value by improving the quality of care in our healthcare sectors So now speaker hospitals across the province are publicly reporting on quality indicators and we are seeing quality improvements We've got we're on the right path answer We have more to do for sure speaker, but I will never stop to continue to improve quality in our hospitals Well speaker the minister says that the people have the right to expect high quality care They're obviously not getting it. I guess they only have the right to expect it, but not to actually get it Mr. Cummins happens to be a retired professor of genetics from Western University But with the real threat of hospital-acquired infections It doesn't take an expert to tell us that patients shouldn't be cleaning their own toilets London Health Sciences is planning to lay off an additional 60 staff even as this government lets hospital CEO salaries Skyrocket, can the minister assure the people of London that sick patients won't be cleaning their own toilets or worse as a result of her cuts in the hospital Well Just to be clear speaker As I said was saying earlier and I've said many times in this house There is a very important transformation going on in our healthcare sector So well hospital budget the base budgets are being kept to zero speaker We are heavily investing in the community sector. The premier was in London on Friday speaker We actually visited a family that Exemplified the transformation that is underway because of our investment in the community sector and thanks to the home first Philosophy that was being applied Peggy and Norm were able to be in their own home where they want to be Comfortable in their community speaker instead of in hospital instead of in long-term care Which is where they would have been had these investments not been made answer that transformation is underway I acknowledge hospitals are dealing with challenging a Decision speaker. Thank you. There is no question. The system is stronger. Thank you Member from Niagara Falls Thank You mr. Speaker my question through you is to the premier in her role as the Minister of Agriculture and Foods Minister this Sunday was a significant day in my writing of Niagara Falls Niagara Lake and particularly Fort Erie The Fort Erie racetrack opened for the 116th time in the season of 2013. I was there I saw the largest ever crowd for an opening day of a fort Erie racetrack It was an exciting time Thousands of families come to the track to enjoy the festivities The excitement that racing provides I know first-hand our government has been working with the horse racing Transition panel to build a strong Sustainable horse racing And that we are interested in making sure it remains healthy and strong years to come Mr. Speaker through you to the premier in her role as a minister of agriculture and food Could the minister please provide an update on what our government is doing to support our care of horse racing industry Thank you very much mr. Speaker, and I want to thank the member from Niagara Falls I sincerely want to thank the member from Niagara Falls for his support and advocacy on his family speaker He has been terrific the speaker our government is committed to a Sustainable and long future for Ontario's horse racing industry We know how important the industry is to communities like Niagara Falls, but across Ontario So mr. Speaker, I've asked the transition panel to develop a long-term plan to implement Recommendations from its report and by that mr. Speaker I mean the integration of horse racing with the OLG strategy and the modernized The member from Hamilton East Stony Creek will come to order And while I'm at it the member from Quarthalix carry on And by that mr. Speaker I mean that the Ministry of Finance and OLG will work with stakeholders to work on the integration of horse racing Within the modernization strategy, and I heard a voice from the other side saying details mr. Speaker answer That's the point the point is that that integration strategy needs to be worked out, and that's what I've asked the panel Thank you for your response minister I'm glad to hear our government is committed to building a strong and sustainable horse racing industry I want to share with you that when I met with a transition panel that was made up of three Significant former members of parliament from each of the three parties I sat with them and they explained to me that the slots at the racetrack. They clearly said it was unaccountable That it was not transparent and it lacked a proper focus on customers Their long-term plan will be very important to look to the transition to the industry to integrate horse racing With the modernization of Ontario's gaming strategy I'm thrilled that racing resumed this week in for dairy so are the workers so are the fans who came out I know there are many other tracks in Ontario that have begun racing for 2013 mr. Speaker through you to the premier in her role as the minister of agriculture and food could administer Please provide an update on the status of racing across tracks and I think The rural affairs minister of rural affairs Thank you much mr. Speaker, and I want to thank the member from Niagara Falls for his excellent question Mr. Speaker our government is actively working to ensure horse racing is sustainable and successful Right now the most important thing for a Terrians could do is support the support industry and come out to the tracks on the racing date This week there's racing at night tracks across the province of Ontario I was in attendance a quarter ounce for the opening of the 2013 season And it was an excellent evening with a record crowd at Saturday, May 18th I must say mr. Speaker. I made an investment very little return, but that's okay I encourage all members to visit their local track and to support this vibrant industry at rural Ontario Thank You speaker figure my questions for the minister of community safety and correctional services Minister this weekend a guard at the Elgin Middle Sex Descention Center was sent to hospital after he was attacked by an inmate This represents just one more instance of violence that has been all too common at EMDC on your watch I met with you last August and you told me that your staff was working on implementing a 12-point action plan Intended to mitigate the problems at EMDC Since that time overcrowding remains an issue weekend lockdowns are regular a fire broke out and a near riot occurred Reports indicate they've been slow to implement your promise changes Minister will guard have to die before you take decisive action on EMDC Thank you very much, and I thank the member From the opposition about his advocacy to improve the situation in the EMDC It's unfortunate one incident like this happened. I Not going to comment because there is a police investigation going on as we speak But as I told him in the past and I invited him also to Briefing on what we are going to improve the situation in EMDC The ministry official continue to work with staff. I Tried one way the member from Hamilton East Tony Creek is warned So mr. Speaker as I said the ministry official continue to work with staff and their union to address their concern to our action plan The plan focuses on improving supervision and compliance with policy These policies have been developed by corrections experts and we are Investing in 350 cameras at the EMDC to better supervise and intervene when necessary and with the supplement I will continue to say what we are doing to improve the situation there Thank you speaker back to the minister minister a camera cannot intervene when they're beating up a guard Minister the guards have their backs up against the walls and and things continue to devolve a broken metal from a light fixture That can be sharpened into a shank has not yet been totally recovered since the last near right of the jail And I've been informed that the ministry has bought metal detectors That but they said idle because they haven't provided any training on the staff and how to use them This is just one of the many examples that are going on with this gross mismanagement Minister any number of violent occurrences in the past year should have been a wake-up call for you Yet you're remaining asleep at the switch. You're in action is putting guard safety and jeopardy and lives at risk Please let's work together and stop a death from a career I'll finish my sentence the member from here on Bruce the member was asking the question from your own caucus Minister thank you, mr. Speaker mr. Speaker health and safety of the correctional officer in our correctional facility It's my utmost importance and I've been working very hard to make sure that it does improve And yes, there is you know entering in these facilities. There is drugs entering to facilities. There is You know other Tool that should not enter into facilities So we are as we speak reviewing the process reviewing, you know Who's doing and who is not doing their work there that that's why you know these these situation occur and will continue to To make sure that the 12-point plan is implemented But you know the work cannot be done at all time, you know seven days a week 24 hours a day So it takes longer, but that's our determine that we will move forward We have changed, you know the direction the leadership there and we will have We will implement a board of director at this facility to make sure that you know things are improving. Thank you The member from Davenport, thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Premier today's launch of bike month in cities like Toronto And it's a good day to remember that six hundred thousand people in Ontario bike every day According to a nurse new survey from share the road the vast majority of people in Ontario think the provincial government should be investing more in bike lanes and Cycling infrastructure Quebec has invested hundreds of million dollars in provincial bike networks, but Ontario's motto on cycling seems to be go slow Why aren't Terrence still waiting for a new provincial bicycling strategy more than three years after you as Minister of Transportation promised a new strategy Thank you very much mr.. Speaker I want to thank the member for his very sincere question These things are tied together the cycling strategy is in its final stages of development will be making announcements very very Shortly, I don't want it to be lost on people mr. Speaker that the big move in the investment strategy that Metrolinx released today Is one of the fact of the funding mechanisms for a cycling strategy? We do not see the issues of transit Automobiles trucks or bicycles or pedestrians as separate parts We see it as an integrated approach, and we are setting money aside for integrating that transit mr. Speaker I was recently at the Mount Joy Go station where as part of go we are promoting cycling as the Connection between go trains and residents in those areas mr. Speaker so transit can cycling continues to be an integrated part of our overall supplementary Thank you speakers and my message back to the premier Speaker the Liberal government has had ten years now to make cycling a priority in 2010 the government's draft bike strategy promised funding for municipal bike infrastructure Now the government's backpedaled and it's removed this from the strategy The government has rejected calls to invest a mere one percent of its highway budget in bike lanes And this government has now allowed Toronto to remove bike lanes on Jarvis without the environmental assessment that we asked for And now this government has opposed simple measures to update the highway traffic act so that streets are safe for all users Speaker when will this government finally make Ontario leader rather than a laggard when it comes to cycling? Thank you very much mr. Speaker the We are paving shoulders now on secondary highways I am a cyclist as we are a two-bicycle no car household mr. Speaker and I Cycle across Ontario from Toronto to Montreal most summers doing fundraisers We are developing on the provincial portion a very sophisticated well put together Cycling cycling infrastructure and the cycling strategy along with the big move will address that The other issues that the honorable member raised mr. Speaker are Decisions of a municipal nature. We are not involved in discussions around whether Ottawa or Cornwall or Toronto Allocate cycling lanes those are municipal most municipalities have their own cycling strategies mr. Speaker and their own cycling Assets, thank you very much. We'll keep you new question remember from all kill You speaker I've got I've got a question this morning for the minister of training colleges and universities a Lot of skilled trades people in my riding of Oakville are quite pleased with the way things are going with apprenticeship ratios these days and The progress that's being made College of trades is a vital tool in promoting the importance of skilled trades now our government Recognizes that Ontario's apprenticeship system is is a key part of building the well-educated and the highly skilled workforce of this Province needs to compete in the current and future economy at the same time We all hear about the shortage of skilled workers in our economy But we believe the skilled trades are a tremendous career option for young people And I still encourage many people in my riding in Oakville to pursue a career in the skilled trades as such Speaker through you to the minister He is aware of actions being taken currently to promote skilled trade opportunities for young people in Ontario Mr. Training College University, thank you miss bigger pleased to respond to that very good question The college of trades is mandated to promote the skilled trades to a young people I'm looking forward to seeing those efforts as they move forward in that area a number of government programs and incentives are geared to Promoting the skilled trades and apprenticeships as well But I'd really like to share with the house an exciting initiative that was recently visited by our premier the Ontario Technological skills competition, which was held in Kitchener. I want to thank gill Smith Executive director of skills Canada Ontario her tea and her team for organizing this annual competition that engaged close to 2,000 young skilled trade competitors as well of tens of thousands of other young people This competition provides young people with exposure to the skilled trades I want to thank and recognize gill Smith and her team for their incredible passion Commitment and contribution to opening up the skilled trades to a young circle through this event. Thank you, mr. Speaker There are no deferred votes this house stands recess until 1 p.m. This afternoon