 It is now time for our questions, the leader of Her Majesty's Royal Opposition. Thank you, Speaker, my question to the Premier. Premier, on Thursday's budget, you put your foot on the accelerator of government spending and deeper debt when you should hit the brakes and head into the other direction altogether. Let me put this into perspective. If that Liberal budget were to pass, that means a little girl born in the province of Ontario tomorrow will have $20,000 of provincial debt on her back. The moment she comes into this beautiful world, Speaker, $20,000 in provincial debt on her back because we couldn't make the decisions to live within our means today. By the way, Speaker, that's doubled Premier under the Liberal government. Premier, don't you think it is morally wrong to slap $20,000 on the backs of a newborn child in this province simply to keep the Liberal Party in power? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. That little girl born today, when she turns four, or maybe even three if she's born late in the year, she'll be able to go to Junior Kindergarten Close to the best medical care in the world, Mr. Speaker. She'll be able to grow up, Mr. Speaker, into an excellent post-secondary education system, Mr. Speaker, that I hope by the time she's there will have a better connection with the workforce, Mr. Speaker. So she'll be able to find a job in this beautiful province of Ontario, Mr. Speaker. I can change channels too, so let's just keep it down. Supplementary, please, Leader? I think the problem here is that the Liberal government is failing basic economic math here, Speaker. $11 billion is the debt interest payments each and every year. $11 billion that could go to build stronger universities and colleges. $11 billion that could go into building subways and highways and opening up new jobs in our province. Instead, you're spending $11 billion to send to largely overseas lenders. Premier, don't you think that that shows the government has become morally bankrupt when $11 billion that could go to health, could go to education, could go to transportation is actually overseas to our lenders instead of helping a child go into a province where she has good job opportunities and a healthy future. You can build a future prosperity premier on a foundation of debt. Doesn't the Liberal government understand that basic premise? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. We have a plan to eliminate the deficit by 2017-18, Mr. Speaker. I have put it in the ability of the businesses in this province, Mr. Speaker, to work with us to create jobs. What this budget is about is about creating the conditions to create jobs in the province, Mr. Speaker, to work on the issues that affect people's everyday lives and to invest in the future, Mr. Speaker, so that that child who is born today has all of the advantages that he or she deserves, Mr. Speaker. That's what this budget is about. And, Mr. Speaker, I also want to say to the party opposite that there are initiatives in this budget like the acceleration of the capital cost allowance that will create opportunities for business in this province. I would have effected that the party opposite would have been supporting that, Mr. Speaker. You know, Speaker, I think the premier understands that the capital cost allowance accelerations a federal initiative under Prime Minister Harper that you're simply emulating here. Speaker, back to the premier. You know, it's telling, Speaker, that in days of the most recent liberal budget that increased spending and brought our debt hole even deeper, we saw- Minister of Training, College, and Universities come to order. The Waterloo loss of furniture company, two hundred and some jobs now going to Michigan. Caterpillar has now closed down their second plan to the province of Ontario. I know, Premier, that you've dismissed- The member from Cambridge, your leader is asking a question. But certainly, in light of the latest two closures and the men and women who are now out of work in our province, doesn't this tell you that your budget and your plan is actually on the wrong track that we should go down a different direction altogether? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Well, I know it's always painful for families, for workers, when businesses leave, Mr. Speaker, when jobs are lost. But, Mr. Speaker, the reality is, we've regained more than 400,000 jobs since the economic downturn, Mr. Speaker. And it seems to me that it is even more imperative that we have a plan in place, Mr. Speaker. And the member opposite talks about the capital cost allowance. If this budget doesn't pass, Mr. Speaker, our part of that equation will not be in place. And it's very important for businesses. It's the number one ask, Mr. Speaker, of businesses in the province, particularly manufacturing. So I would suggest, Mr. Speaker, that if the leader of the opposition is interested in economic growth and stability and job creation, he would read our budget and he would support it, Mr. Speaker. Any other questions? Part of the opposition? Back to the Premier, Speaker. Premier, I think we'll respectfully disagree. When I talk to business owners, managers and workers, the number one advice I get from them is it's time to change the government in this province. Back to my illustration, Premier, on the fact that your liberal spending budget will put $20,000 on the back of a newborn child in the province. By the way, that has doubled under the liberal time in office or nearly doubled to be perfectly accurate about it. But Premier, I think you understand also that people don't lend us that money for free. They don't simply hand it over. We need to pay it back plus interest. And that means that our overseas lenders are using that money, the billions of dollars, to invest in their own subways, invest in their own highways, to invest in their own post-secondary education. So when that little girl grows up, she's going to have a tougher time getting a job because those jobs will go somewhere else. Don't you understand what's at risk, King? When you think about the impact, the most accurate approach without much debt today, and then taking away future job opportunities, don't you think it's time to take a very different approach in our province to focus on jobs and make government spend within this means? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So, you know, I really believe that it's not an either or proposition. So, you know, for the fourth year in a row, Mr. Speaker, we've beaten our fiscal targets. We have, we're the only government in Canada to have done so, Mr. Speaker. And so we are on track to do that again for a fifth year, and we're on track to eliminate the deficit by 2017-18. That's very important to us. Member from Northumberland, come to order, please. But if the leader of the opposition had his way, he would park all of the service enhancement. He would park the investments in the future for that young child who is the baby who's either born today or the young child who is starting school today. And I don't believe we can do that. I believe that simultaneously, Mr. Speaker, we have to continue to be fiscally responsible. We have to stay on track to eliminate the deficit. And we have to make sure that our services are education, eye health care, our investments in the infrastructure that we continue those, because those are what guarantee that the future will be bright for that baby that's born today, Mr. Speaker. The Premier says it's not an either or proposition. I obviously disagree. It's either further decline or moving our province forward again. It's either staying deep in debt or actually building the future prosperity for the great province of Ontario. It's either embracing, as the Liberals seem to do, that we're a have-not province with hands out for payments or actually saying that our great province of Ontario can actually lead again, the best in jobs, the best for business, and in so doing the support we can have for important public services. So Premier, the choice is very clear. You say on page 109 of your budget that you're actually going to dig a deeper deficit. I'm incredulous at the time there is so deep in debt, they're actually going to increase the size of the deficit. Put us deeper into debt. You are condemning that child born in the world tomorrow to a less prosperous province of Ontario than we want to see. We want to see Ontario recaptured again that leads this great country, Canada. Premier, why don't you? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I have huge confidence in this province. And the reason I do, Mr. Speaker, is because of our well educated workforce, because of the excellent healthcare and education systems that we support, Mr. Speaker, and because of our commitment to investing in infrastructure, creating jobs, Mr. Speaker, what the leader of the opposition does not outline is what the impact of the cuts that he would make, Mr. Speaker, what the impact of those cuts would be. That would mean, Mr. Speaker, that we would be taking teachers out of the classroom, Mr. Speaker, we would be reducing the support to people who are in need of healthcare, Mr. Speaker. We would not be able to continue to invest in homecare, Mr. Speaker, and we would not be able to build the roads and bridges and make sure that the infrastructure in Northern and rural Ontario is repaired and built as it needs to be, Mr. Speaker. That is what is at risk if the leader of the opposition had his way, Mr. Speaker. We're not going down that road, Mr. Speaker. Can I have a supplementary? Clearly, Speaker, this budget was nothing more than a blatant attempt to buy the support of the NDP. You chose to spend about a billion dollars to close gas plants in Mississauga and Oakville to save political hides, liberal members in those areas, and now you're going to use another, ironically, billion dollars to try to buy support from the NDP. I ask you again to think of that newborn child in our province tomorrow, whether she's born at Sunnybrook or in Niagara. I don't think we owe it to that child, Speaker, to make sure that we don't become the grease of Canada. We don't want to become the California of this great country, Canada. We want to see in Ontario this strong, prosperous and proud premier. I think you know this, that any government that spends beyond its means year after year after year is made to decline. We want to surge ahead to a more prosperous, stronger province of Ontario to spend with our means and bring jobs back to our great province. Premier, won't you do the same? Mr. Speaker, in our budget, we're proposing a youth job strategy. What we believe is that it is really important that we put in place the supports for young people. We know that the youth unemployment rate, Mr. Speaker, is unacceptably high. 16.5% is unacceptable. We need to do something about that, Mr. Speaker. That's the plan that we've put in our budget. Mr. Speaker, there are seniors who are waiting for home care. We have put in our plan money to address that need, Mr. Speaker. Those are issues that affect people every single day, Mr. Speaker. They're not NDP issues. They're not conservative issues. They're not liberal issues. They are the issues that are confronting the people of this province. That's what this budget speaks to, Mr. Speaker. And I really believe that that baby born today needs to be part of a family and part of a society that has opportunity. That's what this budget is about, Mr. Speaker. Real question, the leader of the third party. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. As the Premier knows, her government signed an agreement with Ottawa to create a new tax loophole starting in 2015, which will allow Ontario's largest corporations to write off their HST on entertainment and other expenses. Now, according to budget estimates at the time, this is going to cost Ontario about $1.3 billion a year. Last week, in advance of the budget, Ontario's Minister of Finance wrote to his federal counterpart in the hopes of delaying this plan until the budget is balanced. My question to the Premier. Is the Premier aware of any response yet? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I'm not aware of a response we don't hold. As the leader of the third party said, the Minister of Finance has written to her federal counterpart and we will continue to work with the federal government. Mr. Speaker, the reality is that they collect 75% of Ontario taxes and so we have to work with them. But Mr. Speaker, I think it's very important to reiterate what the Minister of Finance has said many times. This is not a loophole. It's not a tax break. It's not a tax giveaway. And it's not new, Mr. Speaker. This is something that has been on the books and has been known about. It wouldn't save $1.3 billion, Mr. Speaker, as the leader of the third party suggests. But, Mr. Speaker, I think what we're dealing with today is the reality that there is a budget that has been read in this House. There is a budget that now is on the table, Mr. Speaker. And I believe that it is time for all of the parties in this House to look at that budget and make a decision on whether they're going to support the budget or not, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Supplementary. Well done. Well, Mr. Speaker, on Thursday, while many of us were in budget lock-up, Jim Flaherty, the federal minister of finance, was asked about the letter in the House of Commons. He said, and I quote, there is a long-standing agreement between the government of Ontario and the government of Canada on this issue, and we are not going to abrogate that agreement. Does this come as a surprise to the Premier? Premier. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. As I said, we have been in contact with the federal government, and we will have that conversation. But, Mr. Speaker, I really believe that we should talk about what is in the budget, Mr. Speaker, so that we can get some kind of read on whether the third party is interested in having that discussion and coming to a decision about what they're going to do. This budget is about creating jobs, Mr. Speaker. It's about helping people in their everyday lives. It's about every person and every region of the province having the supports that they need while we stay on track to eliminate the deficit by 2017-18. This budget reflects the needs of the people in the province. We have connected with over 600,000 people at jobs roundtables, in face-to-face town halls and in tele-town halls, Mr. Speaker. I really hope that the leader of the third party is going to work with us and get this budget passed. Speaker, in the budget lock-up, officials from the Ministry of Finance indicated that the request would not come as any surprise to the federal government. They knew that they'd be asked, particularly about this corporate tax upholst, so I asked the Premier what the federal government said when they were told that this letter would be coming. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I don't know what they said, but they knew that the ask was coming because they know it's of concern to us and we will be working with them, Mr. Speaker. But the reality is that there is another conversation that we need to be having, and that is about what is at risk if this budget does not pass, Mr. Speaker. We need to understand that if this budget doesn't pass, then the enhancement to the Ontario Child Benefit will not go ahead, Mr. Speaker. That the investment in a job strategy for youth will not go forward, Mr. Speaker. That the investment in enhanced home care and making sure that home care gets to people when they need it, that will not go forward, Mr. Speaker. That the investment in infrastructure in Northern and rural Ontario, Mr. Speaker, the roads and bridges fund, that will not go forward. All of that is at stake. The people of Ontario, Mr. Speaker, I do not believe want an election at this point. I believe that they want to see these initiatives go forward. That can only happen if the support of this House and the budget pass, Mr. Speaker. Do you have a question? Mr. Speaker. To the Premier Speaker, you know, unfortunately, this is exactly the sort of move that's making people very cynical about government, particularly this government. The government says it would be unfair to open this new corporate tax loophole while we're trying to balance the books. That's what the letter said, but instead of working hard to get that job done, the minister wrote a hasty last-minute letter maybe before the budget was released. There was no mention of closing that $1.3 billion loophole anywhere in the budget speech or the budget document. Does the Premier understand that people want to see real results in this budget, not just empty promises that leave the same old status quo in place in this problem? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So this is not a loophole. It's not a tax break. Mr. Speaker, and we're working with the federal government to address it. But Mr. Speaker, there is a large range of initiatives in this budget, Mr. Speaker, that speak to the needs of the people in the province, speak to the issues that I have heard that my colleagues across government have heard about the need for jobs, particularly youth, Mr. Speaker. The need for opportunities for youth to find internships, placements. The need for young people who want to start new jobs to have access to some capital, Mr. Speaker, and to have access to some advice around entrepreneurship and business plans. Those kinds of supports, Mr. Speaker, are part of our youth employment strategy. And I hope that the leader of the third party will be able to support that, Mr. Speaker. I believe that this is a time for decisiveness. There has been a lot of conversation, and we all know I believe in conversation. But now is the time for a youth supplementary. Mr. Speaker, I have been hearing from a lot of Ontarians since this budget was tabled last week. Many people saw that that budget reflected new Democrat proposals to take a balanced approach to balancing the budget and to make life more fair for people. But they also see a government that constantly makes promises that they don't intend on keeping. Does the Premier understand why this is all about politics? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So I've been part of a government that said we were going to bring in full day kindergarten. We're doing that, Mr. Speaker. I'm part of a government that said that we were going to invest in transit in the GTHA and beyond. We've done that, Mr. Speaker. The member from Hamilton East Stony Creek will withdraw. I'm sorry, now that I remembered what I'm supposed to do, would you please return and withdraw? Premier. I'm part of a government that said we were going to reduce wait times in this province. We went from last to first in terms of wait times in health care system, Mr. Speaker. We have delivered on the issues that we said we were going to work on, Mr. Speaker, and we will continue to do that if we can get this budget passed. Final supplementary. We're going to ensure that the budget would deliver for people and be accountable to them. But whether it's a failure to include a guarantee for home care wait times or any timelines at all to ensure that auto insurance premiums will actually come down in this province, whether it's hundreds of millions of dollars wasted on cancelled private power deals, on top of which we've seen hundreds of millions diverted to well connected insiders, or the lack of any infrastructure to close the $1.3 billion corporate taxable, people fear that they're going to be getting more of the same. Is the government ready to listen to some new ideas to make this budget more accountable and genuinely work for the people of this province? Well, Mr. Speaker, I'm sorry, there has been ample opportunity for the people of the province and for the third party, borders on the border. If you look at our budget, you will see issues that the NDP raised, largely because they were issues that we were concerned about too, and that's a good thing. I've said there's common ground, and there's common ground with the party opposite as well. But Mr. Speaker, to suggest now that we start from scratch and build a new budget, it's just not going to happen. We have presented a budget. We have presented a budget to the people of this province. I hope that the third party will support us and we can get that budget out of it. Mr. Speaker, please. The member from community services, please, minister, come to order. New question? The member from Whitby, Oswald. Premier, we've heard the story about the power plant documents. Can you assure us that there is a power plant document? Mr. Speaker, it's always amusing to hear the Progressive Conservative Party ask about power plant documents. Mr. Speaker, in an effort to be as transparent as possible, the Premier asked government members to put forward a motion, Mr. Speaker, which would have produced all documents related to the power plant over a very long time period since the cabinet office covered exactly what she spoke and Mr. Speaker, to the astonishment of everyone on this side of the house, the members of the Progressive Conservative Party and New Democratic Party voted against it. But you know, Mr. Speaker, when it comes to transparency, I guess the big question we have for them are when are progressive Conservative candidates going to appear in front of the committee? We have sent out numerous invitations to address this to the Premier because it's really a pretty simple question. You said last week that you'd signed a cabinet document without reading it. So I'll ask you again, what other cabinet documents are out there that you've signed without reading? Mr. Speaker, again, the Premier was in front of the committee for, I believe it was 90 minutes and answered a great number of questions related to documents related to the situation. But you know what's very interesting, Mr. Speaker, is you know who we haven't heard from is the Leader of the Opposition. And let me go through the chronology, Mr. Speaker, after they stood up and they've refused to apologize and threw out terms like construction snitch and make sure the Premier doesn't play calendar their Leader of the Opposition talk about a double standard. It was asked to come on April 30th. All of a sudden he was too busy. He wrote a letter on May 7th or the 14th. So we asked him for May 7th. And you know what, Mr. Speaker? He's too busy. Maybe May 14th, who knows when, Mr. Speaker, are we going to see the Leader of the Opposition who appeared in his own YouTube video to talk about the cancellation of the plan to come before the committee. When are we going to see that? Thank you. New question. Order. Order? When you can. How come the... Is... Government House Leader and the Member from Simcoe Gray come to order. New question please. The Member from Stick trek. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you. I have a question for the Minister of Health and long-term care will be available when it is needed. They are looking for a guarantee that no one, no matter where they in Ontario will be forced to wait longer than five days. They want the system to be funded responsibly, not at the expense of other health care services. Can the minister explain why her government is refusing to take these logical steps? Thank you, Speaker. Quite the contrary, this budget is great for people who are advocating for more care for people in their own homes. In fact, we have had to make some difficult decisions along the way to get to the point where we can, in fact, invest more in the community sector. We estimate that 46,000 more people will have access to home care thanks to this budget this year alone. We have been shifting. We are providing more care at home. It is where people want to be cared for. If they are ready to go for hospital, we need to be there in their own home. This is a really great budget for people who have been advocating for more home care. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, New Democrats' plans for home care would eliminate the wait list for care, guarantee services for everyone within five days, and fund these changes through savings like a hard cap on CEO salaries. But the plan presented by this government not only leaves Ontario without guarantee, but it cuts hospital services in order to fund home care. Can the minister explain why her government refuses to introduce the cost-saving proposal and instead cuts hospital care to fund home care? Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. Mr. Speaker, what's important to me is that patients are getting the care that they need. And if we can care for patients at home instead of in hospital, they're getting higher quality care at home, it's where they want to be, then we have to be prepared to make the tough decisions to serve more people where they want to be cared for at home. So that's what we're doing, Speaker, and it hasn't been easy. You'll remember that we've had some difficult challenges to get to the point where we're able to make this investment. When we took on the price of generic drug speaker, I'm not sure I remember the opposition standing with us. Well, we had to have that difficult conversation with Ontario's doctors to hold that envelope steady. I don't remember opposition standing with us supporting that decision. It's because of changes like that, Speaker, that we have been able to really invest. And patients need that investment, and that is in the home care sector and community care sector. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is also for the Minister of Health and Long-term Care. The single most important thing to seniors in my writing of York South Western, and I believe all across Ontario, is their health and well-being. They want to know that they can access hospital care when they need it, drug restrictions when they need it, and home care when they need it. It is our responsibility to provide that balance. Mr. Speaker, most seniors wish to remain in their homes as long as possible, but sometimes need some extra help in order to do so. Speaker, can the minister please tell us what we are doing as a government to ensure that people who need care at home and in their community are able to access it? Thank you, Minister of Health and Long-term Care. Well, thank you, Speaker, and thank the member from York South Western for being a tireless advocate for providing better care for people in their own home. Speaker, we know that if we can deliver care at home, that's better for patients and it's better for our health care system. So whether people need health, get into the appointments if they need resources for community mental health and addictions care, whether they need PSWs or nurses to come to their home. Speaker, our commitment is very strong. Health care starts at home. So our commitment in this budget will strengthen community, will be increasing funding by $260 million, beginning this year that's growing to $700 million, Speaker, if this budget passes. This is a very important initiative in our health care system. I really do hope that members from all sides will understand how important this is to seniors in this province. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the Minister. Care at home and in our community do make a difference, sometimes a very big difference in the lives of our seniors. And my constituents are concerned about wait times for home care services. It's important that they get the services when they need them. Could the Minister please tell us a little more about how long seniors have to wait and how will the government be able to increase support to community health care? Thank you, Speaker. And the members who are heckling across the way might recall that the ask was for $30 million. We're putting in $185 million. A bit of a five day wait, Speaker, for people with complex conditions who need home care from a nurse or a personal support worker. Speaker, we are demonstrating that we are standing with patients. We are standing with people who are asking for care to be delivered in their home. We have a five day target for people no matter where in the province they live, Speaker. Together, we can get this done. It's the right thing for the people of this province. We all benefit when people get the care they need in the right place. Thank you. New question? A member from Miperson? Thank you, Speaker. My question this morning is for the Premier. Premier, last week at the Justice Committee, we learned the gas plant scandal leads all the way to your office. You outlined eight cabinet interactions you had regarding the Oakville and Mississauga gas plant cancellations. You admitted you personally signed off on one of the side deals that led to the $275 million Mississauga cost. And you personally signed off on the arbitration agreement for Oakville in July of 2011. You knew, Premier, yet despite our questioning, you refused to tell us when you knew the tab for Oakville was more than 40 million. Premier, is the reason for that because that would prove that you and your entire cabinet would be held in contempt? Very good. Thank you, Speaker. The Premier had, I believe, as I say, 90 minutes in front of the committee. And I think the most important thing to talk about when it comes to Oakville is the fact that she personally asked the Honourable General to look into it. But, Mr. Speaker, let's go back to the arrogance of the Conservatives. The member from Leeds-Grenville stood and said to the Premier, listen to this, next Tuesday you've been invited to appear before the Justice Committee. Will you confirm to the House today that you will order and instruct your staff to not play calendar or scheduling games? Now, Mr. Speaker, who's playing calendar? Who's playing schedule games? April 30th, we requested the Leader of the Opposition to appear in front of the committee to talk about his costing, his estimates. He refused, Mr. Speaker. May 7th, we asked him to appear in front of the committee. He had even written a letter saying that he was available. He's refused, Mr. Speaker. When are we going to, A, get an apology for the way in which they addressed the Premier? And, B, see the Leader of the Opposition to appear in front of the committee. Supplementary. Thank you, Speaker. Still no answer from the Premier on when. No answer equals contempt coming up, Speaker. I know that's a fact. Premier Ontarians are fed up with the obstruction and obfuscation we've seen from you putting liberal interests ahead of the people. We've had liberal witness after witness appear before the committee and continue to sidestep the truth. We've heard from a liberal staffer that he illegally deleted emails. Today, we've learned from an FOI request that the emails of the former Chief of Staff, Principal Secretary and Deputy Director of Policy conveniently no longer exist and cannot be recovered from the tape. Thank you. Premier, how can you condone this contemptuous behavior of your government? Will you bring the confidence motion to the floor of this House for a vote? I ran through my roll-up decks in my the Thoris head here, and I did know that the member said something that was unparliamentary. Could you with draw, please? Thank you. Government House, please. Mr. Speaker, we have a handy timeline here. April 16th, we requested four opposition candidates to testify, including PC candidate Jeff Yanisic of the Robocall Fane and Zern Church in the Mississauga East Cookeville PC candidate. Mr. Speaker, they all declined. April 30th, Tim Houdak is asked to, excuse me, the leader of the opposition is asked to testify. He declines. Back-up witnesses Yanisic and Churchin also declined. We then invited PC candidate Marianne DeMonte-Wailen. She accepts, but a few hours before her testimony, she declines. May 2nd, Yanisic, Churchin and DeMonte-Wailen are called to testify. Yanisic tells the clerk of the committee to, quote, stop calling him and the other two do not respond. And then May 7th, Mr. Speaker, once again, once again, Mr. Speaker. The member from Renfrew, Nipissing Pembroke will come to order. Thank you. Just wrap up. May 7th, Mr. Speaker, we asked the leader of the opposition to appear before the committee. Thank you. Something he's indicated in writing, and yet again, he... New question? The member from Bramley, Gore-Multon. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Premier. Mr. Speaker, in 2010, this government slashed accident benefits to the tune of 70% in major areas in the GTA. The slashing of our benefits resulted in, I repeat, a 70% reduction in payouts in major areas in the GTA. Yet, in three years, despite this reduction in payouts, in three years, hard-pressed drivers have yet to see a penny, a penny of those savings trickle down to them in the form of lower premiums. I ask this government, how long do they think people should wait for their premiums to actually go down? Thank you, Premier. Mr. Finance. Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I guess the easy answer to that is support the budget. Because the moment you do that, that's as soon as possible that we can start getting fiscal to get some teeth to provide the oversight necessary to ensure that the costs that are saved in those claims can be translated into premium reductions. We're on the same page on that. We want to see that happen as soon as possible. We know we've been able to translate a portion of that already. We need to do more. We need your support to make it happen. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, the problem is the budget bill does not include any timeline whatsoever for these reductions. So the 15% reduction in premiums could take two years, could take three years, could take five years. Nobody knows how long it will take. After three years of waiting, after seeing the benefits that consumers receive slashed, how long do this government think people should wait to see the reductions come through in the form of lower premiums? I ask again, Mr. Speaker, how long does this government expect consumers to wait to see a 15% reduction in auto insurance premiums? Thank you, Mr. Finance. So Mr. Speaker, I mean, the member opposite recognized the complexity of the situation. It's why he put in his private members bill that it should be a gradual reduction, knowing that we need to take this in a very concerted effort. We have to get at the root causes. We're taking steps necessary a couple of years ago with anti-fraud initiatives. We're working now with the industry to ensure that we pass on those savings to the drivers, to the premium holders, to the consumers. This is for the benefit of 9 million drivers across Ontario. We recognize the importance of doing this. We recognize the importance of doing this quickly. It's one of the reasons that in this bill we're asking fiscal to reduce the ROE by 25%. That's why we're asking the fiscal to provide the oversight necessary to work with the industry to pass on along those savings and forcing them to do so. It is why the industry is prepared to work with us because together we're going to reduce the cost of claims. Well, well beyond that which is existing in other parts of the Canada, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. New question to the member from Scarborough Rouge River. Thank you Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Employment. Every day I speak with young people living in my riding of Scarborough Rouge River. They tell me about the number of challenges they face to enter in the workforce and embarking on a career. These young people want to find meaningful employment that will take advantage of their skills, talents and knowledge. We all know that the unemployment rate among young people is disproportionately high and I'm concerned about the impact this could have on the long-term strength and sustainability of our workforce here in Toronto and in Ontario. For our province to be competitive and for our economy to grow, we need to ensure that young people have opportunities to access good, meaningful jobs. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister please explain the steps this government has taken to help our young people find good jobs and contribute to our economy and our communities? Thank you. Minister of Economic Development, Mr. Speaker, and Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member from Scarborough Rouge River for his advocacy on behalf of young people, not just in his riding but right across his province. And I'm pleased to say in Ontario's 2013 budget this government is making an unprecedented investment in our young people. Mr. Speaker, we're investing in programs that will help them find jobs and put their considerable skills and talents to work not just now but for decades to come. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the NDP for working with us. In fact, for bringing this issue to the fore early on, and I have no doubt that we'll be working as we find the exact way to make this program work that will continue to work together on this important issue. With an investment in our budget of $295 million, our government will work with businesses to create more supplementary so I can provide more details about the support initiative. Thank you Mr. Speaker and it is good to know that this government is committed to giving young people the boost they need to succeed. The initiatives that the minister mentioned to create opportunities are especially good for young people in Scarborough Rouge River and across the province who are keen about finding meaningful employment. Mr. Speaker, we know never before young people need skills in entrepreneurship to allow them to start their own businesses. In my riding, I hear great and innovative ideas from youth who are ready to put their ideas in action and become job creators themselves. Mr. Speaker, can the minister explain what this government is doing to expand opportunities to young people so they can succeed as entrepreneurs and contribute to the growth of Ontario's economy? Thank you Mr. Speaker our member is absolutely right. Our young people have the skills and creativity to become job creators themselves and to help to grow our economy and ensure that we stay competitive through the 21st century and as announced in the budget as part of our youth job strategy we propose to create a $195 million youth employment fund which is a fund that's going to expand job opportunities for youth but we're going further we propose to also create a youth entrepreneurship fund valued at $45 million over two years that will support young entrepreneurs through mentorship start-up capital and outreach and we're going even further we're proposing to create a $30 million youth innovation fund to help put new innovation research into action turning ideas into job creation and finally Mr. Speaker a business labour connectivity and training fund to help make connections and bridge those skills gaps so all our young people can have access to prosperity Thank you Mr. Speaker my question is to the premier to go to a picnic, a walk-a-thon or bake sale or a ribbon cutting this weekend to know that your government is in big trouble no one believes your government didn't know everything about the gas plant cancellations and no one believes your government has any principles left after by the NDP budget you signed the memorandum to cabinet on the cancelled Oakville gas plants which either means you have not been telling the whole story or your competency is in question now that you have demonstrated your disregard for the public proven you're not up to the job and that you lost the confidence of the people of this province will you put our PC confidence motion to a vote Thank you very much Mr. Speaker well I would suggest Mr. Speaker that this question is actually even less relevant today than it was last week Mr. Speaker because now the budget is before us and Mr. Speaker that budget is a confidence motion by definition Mr. Speaker so I really believe that the member opposite will have an opportunity to weigh in on her opinions around youth unemployment around more home care for the seniors and the people with disabilities in her riding on infrastructure investment she will have an opportunity to weigh in on all of those initiatives when she votes for the budget motion I look forward for her support Mr. Speaker Big news flash I won't be supporting that budget having in my career and I'll never support that government after the devastation that they have put across the Mitch factory sector in this province but I just want to say to this the name that she plays every story that she stretches every concession that she gives to the democrats to stay and power delegitimizes her in the eyes of everyday Ontarians no one trusts you anymore you said the canceled Oakville plan only cost 40 million dollars that was off by 775 you said you didn't know the true cost but David Lindsay, David Livingston Carol, Shelly Jamison, Joanne Butler and Colin Anderson all say that's not true when will you either call our comments motion to the floor of this assembly or go directly to the polls because the people of this province want to have their say on you Mr. Speaker please Mr. Speaker thank you Premier Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker I think we have all been impressed with the openness of the premier when it comes to the Oakville plan the premier personally asked the auditor general to come forward with a figure the simple fact of the matter is we learned to committee last week there are now I believe four estimates for the Oakville plan that we need the level of certainty that the auditor general can bring forward we've heard Mr. Speaker of the move a motion to make all documents available she herself appeared when requested in front of the committee in fact the former premier the member from Ottawa South will be appearing tomorrow but the real question Mr. Speaker is where is the openness in the progressive conservative side Mr. Speaker where is the leader of the opposition when he's requested over and over and over again to appear where are the PC candidates who are refusing to appear because we want to hear about their analysis and their cost of election the member from Beaches East York thank you very much Mr. Speaker my question is to the premier even the bookies in Toronto can't peg the odds on whether Toronto will hit the jackpot for hosting a casino the premier stood in this house and said and I quote her there is no special deal for any municipality in the province but media reports on the weekend suggest that the OLG is anteing up a hundred dollars for a downtown site my question is somebody bluffing or is this liberal government laying a huge side bet on a Toronto casino thank you for the question and I'll reiterate again that there is no special deal for Toronto everyone in the province every municipality every region everywhere that we're dealing with regards to OLG transformation to try to bring in another million billion dollars more to build hospitals and to build schools and to help with our infrastructure those transformational changes will continue but not at the expense of any municipality there is no special deal we haven't landed on a formula as yet Mr. Speaker thank you Mr. Speaker as Kenny Rogers once saying you gotta know when to hold him know when to fold him when to walk away know when to run the OLG doesn't seem to be folding they're not walking away and they're not running so it looks like they're at the table and getting set to raise the stakes for a Toronto casino to a hundred million dollars is the Premier, is the Finance Minister ready to go all in now even though the Premier said there would be no special deal for Toronto Minister of Finance he doesn't really complain all he wants but we're not playing a game here this is serious business we recognize the importance this has for the province of Ontario we recognize the importance this has for the people of Ontario and it's coming upon us to ensure that whatever we do is consistent and fair transparent and the same right across the province that's what we're going to be doing from Gregory to Scott Russell thank you speaker thank you Mr. President thank you Mr. Speaker my question is for the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services investments in emergency management and we are committed to a safe Ontario for everyone today marks the kickoff of Emergency Preparedness Week this particular week gives us the opportunity to take the time and ensure that we are able to deal with an emergency if and when one happens Mr. Speaker can the Minister please tell us what the government is doing to increase Ontario's awareness and ability to face emergencies thank you Minister of Community Services and Correctional Services thank you to the good member of Gregory, Scott Russell and my parliamentary assistant Mr. Speaker last year we successfully responded to 24 declared emergencies and emergency management Ontario we coordinate between provincial and federal ministries to provide the most efficient assistance to municipalities and First Nations communities that need our help municipalities also play a very important role they set their emergency plan and I encourage everyone to know about their community safety procedures finally I always say that emergency preparedness is not just the responsibility everyone's responsibility so make sure that you have a plan make sure that you know about the plan of your municipality and especially have a survival kit ready thank you thank you Mr. Speaker thank you Mr. Speaker for your answer it's actively promoting emergency preparedness by working collaboratively with municipal and federal governments I've heard that there will be a focus on seniors this year for emergency preparedness week and it's very important that seniors are aware of potential dangers and know what they can do to be prepared in the event of an emergency seniors are sometimes the most vulnerable and everyone needs to ensure their safety can the minister please tell us what we're doing to make sure that in the case of an emergency situation that our seniors have the tools and the knowledge to be safe thank you minister Mr. Speaker last Friday I was in my riding at the St. Pauline Charon with the minister responsible for seniors and I announced that this year we want to focus on seniors because they can be especially vulnerable during an emergency Mr. Speaker EMO is in collaboration with the Ontario Senior Secretariat as they develop a new emergency preparedness guide for seniors this guide shows how easy it is for senior emergencies and outlines the circumstances we need that seniors should consider when they plan for emergency Mr. Speaker I also want to encourage everyone to take part of this week and help build a safer community for all Ontarians Mr. Speaker it was very interesting because the head of the Francophone seniors in Ontario was there and she told us that they have to be ready but they also are grandparents and after they babysit their grandson or daughter and they need to be ready for them too so it was a good message thank you Thank you Mr. Speaker my question is to the Premier Premier I have a simple question for you based on the findings of the Justice Committee with $600 million in waste a resignation of a minister and a former Premier the failure to produce documents and your refusal to say exactly how much the Oakville and Mississauga cancellation costs are is there any reason why this legislature should not find your government in contempt Mr. Speaker it is a case where they can't take yes for an answer the Oakville situation is one that is a concern to the Justice Committee it's a concern to this government and when the Premier assumed office was to ask the auditor general and officer of this House to look into it Mr. Speaker she made herself available for 90 minutes in front of the committee and the former Premier the member from Ottawa South is going tomorrow but I ask the member again and perhaps he can address this in his supplementary what are the Conservatives trying to hide why will the Leader of the Opposition not appear in front of the committee why will progressive Conservative candidates who sent out thousands of pamphlets over and over the cancellation of the plan who had robo-calls Mr. Speaker appeared in YouTube videos with the Leader of the Opposition who sent out tweets Mr. Speaker why will they not appear in front of the committee and tell their side of the story supplementary well you know Mr. Speaker I think that the government just said yes that his government is in contempt of this legislature I can't believe it but I'll ask the Premier once again your numbers are wrong you botched document dumps and you haven't been forthright about what you knew and when the people of Ontario have lost confidence in your government we on this side have lost confidence in your government the only people who seem to have confidence in your government are you and your government and half of the NDP caucus which half? when will the Premier admit that her government botched his file and say I am sorry the people of Ontario regret isn't enough Ontarians demand an apology Premier will you look into the camera you can choose the one over my right shoulder but I think you might like the one over my left question and tell the people that you are sorry for what you've done to this cause Government House Leader Mr. Speaker let's review Premier assumed office she asked the auditor general to look into the official situation the first grade on sound come to order she went to the opposition Mr. Speaker and offered a select committee the opposition said no they'd rather have a witch hunt against a former member of this legislature who's now in private life Mr. Speaker she offered to broaden the terms of reference to the committee and it took them a week and a half to finally get back to us Mr. Speaker one of the first actions of the committee was Liberal members at the advice of the Premier to go forward and ask for a look through government agencies and ministries to deliver documents and you know what happened Mr. Speaker the official opposition voted against it Mr. Speaker the Premier made herself available for 90 minutes to answer all questions as did the member from auditor oh boy I wish I knew who said that and if the member is honorable stand up and withdraw anyway go ahead Mr. Speaker all we are asking is the same level of cooperation from the Progressive Conservative Party that they will make their candidates available they will make the leader of the opposition available to talk about their support for the cancellation of the gas plants in the last election New question Member from London Fanshawe My question is the health to the Minister of Health and long term care Speaker residents in London are deeply concerned about the cuts they are seeing in our local hospitals London Health Sciences is eliminating 60 positions as is St. Joe's health care the one of a kind rehabilitation pool at St. Joseph's is closing and the hospital is warning of longer patient wait times for MRIs, PET scans and CT scans can the minister explain why her government is cutting care Minister of health and long term care well Speaker quite contrary and it's disappointing that the member from London Fanshawe is not paying attention to the transformation that is under way in health care in London and across the province we are reducing ALC rates dramatically in London because we are providing more care at home Speaker if we can provide Member from Kitchener Waterloo Member from Hamilton and East Stony Creek come to order what matters to me is that patients are getting the care they need and if we can provide that care in their own home where they want to be then that is what I want to be doing Speaker that's where I want to be investing if we can provide supportive housing if we can provide day programs for people with Alzheimer's Speaker so they don't have to go into long term care as before they really need to Those are the investments that we must make to transform our health care system if you value universal health care and I know we sure do universal health care then you support this trip I think I should have offered the member from Hamilton East Stony Creek help an awful lot earlier supplementary Speaker New Democrats want to see improvements in our broader healthcare like in home care but we do not want to see this being done at the expense of hospitals we provided this government the plan to improve home care by guaranteeing service within five days and fund these changes through savings like a hard cap on CEO salaries but our advice was ignored can the minister explain why her government has refused to implement our cost savings proposals and is recklessly cutting hospital services Speaker as I said earlier today we have made some difficult choices when it comes to reducing the price of prescription drugs when it comes to holding the line on physician compensation these have been difficult issues but we have done them for one reason and one reason only so that we can expand access to home care that we can support people in day programs that we can provide respite care that is where the future of our healthcare system must go I am going to offer some help and that is to the member from Hamilton East Stony Creek I'm going to warn him and I'm going to also warn the minister of community social services new question the member from Oak Ridge is Markham My question is for the Attorney General I know that adjudicative tribunals play a vital role in Ontario's justice system tribunals help keep many disputes out of courts by using their specialized expertise to adjudicate on a wide variety of disputes in an independent and impartial manner I also know that since 2010 this government has begun the process of clustering tribunals together in order to realize cost savings and efficiencies in this area Mr Speaker could the Attorney General please tell us about the clustering process and how the people of Ontario stand to benefit from it Attorney General Thank you very much Speaker I'd like to thank the hard work and dedicated member for this question she's extremely hard work on an annual basis Speaker there are over 600,000 hearings help annually before our administrative tribunals in the province of Ontario and since 2010 we've been clustering them together under the ministry of the Attorney General and through that we are building a more effective, efficient and accessible system of justice by clustering all of these administrative and adjudicative tribunals by allowing the tribunals to share resources expertise and best practices while reducing duplication clustering improves access to justice while getting better value for the taxpayers' dollars we noted that works true Speaker feedback has been very positive from both the environmental and land tribunals in Ontario and the social justice tribunals and they've been clustering since the last three years in fact the Drummond commission recognized that this ministry has benefited in particular from the co-location of offices, common administrative functions and procedural improvements as a matter of fact I don't want to hear what he has to say sit down there are no deferred votes this House stands recess until 1pm this afternoon