 It's now time for oral questions. I recognize the leader of the Majesty's official opposition. My first question is to the Premier. Does the Premier believe that Canada needs a Charter of Rights? Through you, Mr. Speaker, and to the leader of the opposition. What Canada needs, and Ontario needs, and Toronto needs is democracy. My friends, I want to remind the leader of the opposition that 2.3 million people voted for the PC party. This is about preserving the will of the people. This is about preserving democracy. The opposition, the people will decide, and through you, Mr. Speaker, the people will decide in four years. The people will decide in four years. And I'll tell you, they won't decide a politically appointed judge by one person. The people of Ontario will decide if they want to move forward with saving people's taxes, reducing higher rates. Thank you. Thank you. The clock. Supplementary. While news flashed for the Premier, our democracy is upheld by our Charter of Rights. This year this week, while the Premier was trying to justify overriding the Charter so that he could continue his vendetta against the voters of Toronto, the Premier stated that he and only he had the right to decide what was best for Ontario. Does the Premier think that there should be any checks at all on his power? Through you, Mr. Speaker, this bill was introduced to fix the gridlock down at City Hall, the gridlock that took the factory worker, the construction worker, the person in the office over an hour to get to work down here. My friends, we're going to make sure that we take care of the housing crisis, to make sure we take care of the crumbling infrastructure underneath our feet, and to make sure transit gets moving. Unlike the leader of the NDP, it's here to protect her crony buddies, Mike Layton, Mike Layton, Joe Cressy. I need to remind the members that we are not to ascribe motive. That's totally outside of the rules of the House, the traditions of the House. I would ask all members to cease doing that. Supplementary. Final supplementary. Here's the facts. The Premier rammed through undemocratic changes to Toronto's elections, changes that he didn't have the guts to mention at all during the election campaign. A judge ruled that that wasn't just reckless and irresponsible, but a violation of people's basic rights guaranteed by our charter. And now the Premier is going to override the Charter of Rights for the first time in Ontario's history just to get his way. Our democratic rights, our democracy, includes an independent judiciary and a free media to protect people from politicians who believe in electoral majority is that mandate gives them the mandate to trample on people's rights. Why does this Premier believe that democracy means he can do whatever he wants whenever he wants? Through you, Mr. Speaker. Here again, the Leader of the Opposition is down here protecting politicians, downtown NDP politicians jobs. That's what the Leader of the Opposition is. Again, worrying about her buddy Joe Cressy, Mike Layton, Perks, Fletcher. That's what the Leader of the Opposition is worried about. I've yet to hear once the Leader of the Opposition worrying about her own constituents in Hamilton, the people in Hamilton when I visited need jobs. They want lower taxes. They want lower hydro rates. That's what the people in Hamilton want. They want to make sure they have a voice for the people and we will make sure we deliver our promises and the people will decide over the next four years. Next question, Leader of the Opposition. Thank you, Speaker. My next question is for the Premier and I prefer to speak for myself. Thank you very much, Premier. I prefer to speak for myself and what I'm here to do is actually to protect the interests of all Ontarians. That's what I'm here to do today, Speaker. That's what I'm here to do, Ontarians. Look, the Premier has stated that his personal vendetta against his enemies at Toronto City Hall is so important that he is compelled to recall this legislature to override the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in order to get that done. If it was so important to this Premier, why did he not mention it a single time during the election campaign that just ended? Leader of the Opposition, as I was criss-crossing Toronto, talking to tens of thousands of people, they were frustrated. They know the City of Toronto is the most dysfunctional political system in all of Canada. They're frustrated with travelling hours to work. They're frustrated with the high taxes. They're frustrated with transit not being built. The people of Scarborough were frustrated that Scarborough Subway was voted eight times. David Miller couldn't build transit. Rob Ford couldn't build transit. And neither... I'm now addressing the people in the gallery. We welcome you here today to observe the debate but you cannot participate and you can't demonstrate in any way. Premier. Thank you. Through you, Mr. Speaker. We're here to serve the people. We have to be able to debate without this disruption. If it continues, we will have to clear the gallery and you'll have to leave. Premier can finish his answer. We're going to have to clear the galleries. Yeah. This gallery. Yes. We're going to recess the house for ten minutes. We're going to seek to resume the question period. We're going to try to resume the question period. I recognize the leader of the opposition on her first supplementary. Speaker, I don't have a premier to give my supplement to. My first question was to the premier. He's not here to give a supplement to. Yeah, you can't make reference to the absence of any member but you can put your question to the government. Recognize the leader of the opposition on her supplementary. Thank you, Speaker. My second part of my second question is to the premier. The people of Ontario are looking for a government to provide good schools for their kids, decent healthcare for their loved ones, and jobs that you can raise a family on. But when they look to this premier for his priorities, all they see is someone obsessed with his enemies on Toronto City Council. So obsessed, he's going to toss aside the charter of rights to get what he wants. So obsessed that senior citizens are being taken out of our chamber in handcuffs so that he can get his way. Why is this the premier's top priority, Speaker? Premier. Through you, Mr. Speaker. Again, I'll remind the leader of the opposition. We were elected on making sure we fix this city. We were elected to make sure that they fix the infrastructure. We make sure the hard-working people that took an hour, hour and a half to get down to work today, downtown, that they're going to have proper transit, proper subways to get them from point A to point B in a rapid fashion. Unlike the NDP, from the day the leader of the opposition came down here, the opposition leader was worried about protecting her political paid activists, making sure she protects the downtown NDP counselors that haven't even registered to run. The NDP is worried about one thing, raising taxes, having the highest carbon tax in the entire country, $2 a leader. Once again, I will ask members on both sides of the house to cease and desist imputing motive in the course of their questions. Final supplementary. Well, Speaker, we all know who pays for their activists. We saw it during an election campaign. Speaker, we could be tackling the real emergencies that Ontario families are facing currently, like lead in school water, for example, wait times in our hospitals. 80,000 Ontario jobs lost in one month under this Premier's leadership. Instead, he called us here to cut the size of Toronto City Council and override the charter to do it. The Premier is trampling on people's basic rights to pass a law that he didn't even have the guts to campaign on. Why can't the Premier just take a step back, take a deep breath, count to 10 for goodness sakes, accept that there is more pressing priorities than his petty vendetta against his old enemies at City Hall. Thank you. Well, through you, Mr. Speaker, Leader of the Opposition, at least we can count to 10. Unlike you folks, I know you get your budgets mixed up. I know that you were off about $5 billion, but we're there to save the taxpayers' money. We're there to put money back into the taxpayers' pocket. We're there to make sure we speak for the will of the people and not hold democracy. That's why we are here. We were elected to represent the people of this great province. We are here to make sure, again, we lower taxes, lower hydro rates, lower gas prices and get rid of the worst tax over the carbon tax. New question. Leader of the Opposition. Thank you, Speaker. My next question is for the Attorney General. The notwithstanding clause allows the government to override sections of our Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It is meant to be used only in the most extreme circumstances when a judicial decision is contrary to the public interest. But right now, staff within the Attorney General's office are drafting a law that would invoke the notwithstanding clause for no better reason than to help her Premier settle personal scores with political rivals. Does this Attorney General charge with upholding the rule of law in our province really believe that cutting Toronto City Council from 47 to 25 seats is worth violating our Charter of Rights for? The question was to the Attorney General. It was to the Attorney General. Mr. Speaker, thank you very much. We are using the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to uphold the Constitution. Essex will come to order. I believe that the Better Local Government Act is constitutional and that the judge is ruling and that we are seeking a stay in the decision. Section 92 of the Constitution makes it clear that the province has exclusive... Member for Hamilton will come to order. Over in section 33 of the Charter confirms the paramounty of the Legislature. Start the clock. Supplementary. Taking away fundamental rights is an extremely serious measure, Speaker. And this is why Ontario has never helped the notwithstanding clause. But after doing it once, it becomes easier to do it again. Indeed, after casually invoking the notwithstanding clause to indulge his personal Toronto obsession, the Premier said, and I quote, he won't be shy about suspending Charter rights again. Unbelievable. If the courts rule against him again. Now, I think that the Attorney General understands the role of the courts in upholding democracy in our country and our province. And if she doesn't, she should go back to law school, Speaker. A suspension of fundamental... Response to the Attorney General. Mr. Speaker, we take our duties at the Ministry of the Attorney General very seriously. There is nothing using the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to uphold the Constitution. And we are appealing the decision, which we believe was wrongly decided to the Court of Appeal and asking for a stay in the judges of the decision. Position will come to order. Mr. Speaker, time is of the essence. October 22nd, there is an election happening in Toronto. For London Fanshawe, come to order. City of Toronto, certainty about the rules under which the election will be conducted. Next question. The member for Berry, Springwater or MacDonald. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport. Yesterday marked the 17th anniversary of the senseless attack against the World Trade Center in the Pentagon and with a hijacked plane that crashed close to Shexville, Pennsylvania. The world was a different place after that day. And the effects of the attack were certainly felt right here in Canada. 24 Canadians lost their lives that fateful day and then that included 11 Ontarians. The ensuing war in Afghanistan also saw 159 Canadian soldiers make the ultimate sacrifice, defending our freedoms and fighting against the terror abroad. Can the Minister tell us how the government intends to honour the Canadian lives lost due to this tragic attack? Good question. Welcome back, Speaker. Thank you for the question from my honourable colleague from Berry, Springwater, Oral and Medante. We must never forget that tragic event of 9-11. I was proud that our Premier met the family of one of the victims of that tragic event yesterday. Thank you. We had us stepped up in the face of evil to assist our friend in Alley, the United States. We know the story of Gander Newfoundland and how that small town protected thousands of displaced visitors when air traffic was stranded. Canada then aided our allies in fighting terror abroad in the war in Afghanistan where 159 Canadians made the ultimate sacrifice. We're committing to support and honour their sacrifice for those soldiers and I'd like to elaborate in that and more in my supplementary. Thank you. Through you, Mr. Speaker, to the Minister thank you for your very thoughtful response. I too was glad to hear that the Premier had met with the family of one of the Canadian victims of 9-11. I also think it's important to make sure we commemorate this event and the effects it had and the sacrifices made because of it. This includes honouring the fallen soldiers of those who bravely served in Afghanistan. Can the Minister please explain what our government is doing to honour the brave men and women of Canada in the subsequent war in Afghanistan? Government for the people is committed to building Ontario's first provincial memorial to honour Canadian heroes of the war in Afghanistan. The memorial to the Canadian heroes of the war in Afghanistan will be located here at Queen's Park. This memorial will stand as a testament to the bravery of our veterans and the sacrifices made by our troops. We have the utmost respect for our veterans, our soldiers and their families. We will ensure that their courage is honoured and express appreciation on behalf of all Ontarians for their service. We'll have many more details in the months to come, but the sacrifices of these brave men and women will never be forgotten by the government of Ontario. Please take your seats. Next question, member for Toronto Danforth. Thank you, Speaker. My question to the Deputy Premier. Premier Ford has threatened to employ the notwithstanding clause to violate our fundamental rights whenever there is a court decision that stands in his way. Premier Ford's intentions are chilling. The notwithstanding clause can be used to override fundamental rights like freedom of religion or even our right to life, liberty and security of the person. As the right hand to Mr. Ford does the Deputy Premier support overriding our Charter of Rights and Freedoms to satisfy the whims of a would-be dictator, or will the Deputy Premier... First of all, we refer to each other by our writing or our official name. You can't refer to the Premier in that way. Secondly, you have to withdraw. We'll draw. Response, Deputy Premier. Well, through you, Mr. Speaker. The will of the people. You can ask the member for Essex to withdraw. Petty and mean. Doesn't surprise me. No. Anyway, through you, Mr. Speaker. The will of the people will decide on this legislature in four years. Not an appointed judge by one person, a politically-appointed judge. My friends, do you know what people are worried about? People are worried about being gouged by the government. They're worried about getting a good-paying job. And when I was in Hamilton, I talked to dozens of people that thought they weren't being represented in the Leader of the Opposition's area. They were unemployed. Do you know why they were unemployed? Because the Leader of the Opposition is too worried about protecting her political friends. Thank you. Thank you. Take your seat. Please take your seat. Please take your seat. The Premier will please take his seat. Supplementary question. Thank you, Speaker. Back to the Deputy Premier. It's clear by now that the Premier is willing to take the nuclear option when a less damaging option is available. But in a democracy, the government is more than just one person. The Conservative Party sold the people of Ontario on the belief that Mr. Ford's cabinet would keep his worst impulses in check. As the highest-ranking member of the cabinet after the Premier, will the Deputy Premier do the right thing, keep the Premier in check, and step up to stop his vendetta against the Toronto City Council? Intuning motive in their questions or in their statements in this House. Premier, respond. My friends, do you know who's going to keep us all in check, Mr. Speaker? The people are going to keep us in check. They're going to decide, Mr. Speaker. They're out of control, Mr. Speaker, like usual. Who's going to keep us in check? The opposition will please come to order. Premier, respond. This is about preserving the will of the people, Mr. Speaker. It's about preserving... It's about preserving the rights of the people. It's about letting them decide who they're going to vote for. And I can assure there's going to be a few people missing on the other side in the next election. Next question. The member for Brantford Branch. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Transportation. Under the previous Liberal government fees for drivers, licenses, and other services were set to increase. This burden would have been placed directly on the people of Ontario. Ontarians work harder than ever before and pay more than ever before. I was pleased to see that the government for the people froze these fee increases. Ontario has elected a government that works for the people. We have lowered day-to-day costs for the taxpayer. I have two questions for the Minister of Transportation. One at a time. Can he outline for the House which fees were frozen and how the fee freeze will benefit Ontarians? Minister of Transportation. Well, thank you very much, Speaker. I want to thank the member for the question today. When we traveled across the province during the campaign and previous to that, we heard every day how life was getting more and more unaffordable in the province of Ontario under the previous government. And we listened to what the people said. Effective September 1st there was supposed to be a fee increase. We made the decision that that fee increase would not proceed. I'll give more details in the supplementary but what we recognized, that it was important for us to send a message to the people that we're going to do what we can in the Ford government to make life more affordable, not be putting our hands into the people's pockets each and every day that they wake up and go to work, but to try to make life easier for the people because this is a government for the people. Thank you, Minister, for these common sense changes. Under the previous government, life in Ontario had grown unaffordable. Not only for my constituents, but for people across our province. The Liberal government wasted hard earned money and spent tax dollars that only benefited Liberal insiders and political elites. But you know what, Ontarians know better. I'm proud to serve in the government for the people as committed to making life easier and more affordable. Minister, can you update the House on how much money this initiative will save the people of Ontario? Thank you, Speaker. Thank you very much again for the supplementary. What we have done with the decision that was made prior to the September 12th, September 1st increase that would have been implemented under the previous government is to freeze the cost of a driver's license here in the province of Ontario, to freeze the cost of knowledge tests and to freeze the cost of road tests. This will result in millions of dollars of savings to the people of the province of Ontario. It's not the largest amount of money, but it is a clear message to the people that this government is listening. We recognize what the previous government had done. Every time people got up in the morning, they looked on the news and the previous government was taking more money out of their pockets, more of their hard earned money. We were elected on a platform to get rid of the unjust carbon tax and to make life more affordable for the people of Ontario. With the freezing of those fees, that's exactly right. Next question, the member for Parkdale High Park. Thank you, Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Seniors and Accessibility. The Premier has said very clearly that he will not be shy to use a notwithstanding clause to violate our charter rights in the future, whenever adhering to the rule of law is too onerous for him. Does the Minister of Seniors and Accessibility support overriding our charter of rights and freedoms, which protects the fundamental rights of all Canadians? Or will the Minister vote against the reintroduced Bill 5 during the free vote? Thank you for the question. I refer the question to the Minister of Justice. I thank the member for the question. You know, Speaker, I think what's being forgotten here is that virtually every constitutional expert, even those that don't support our party, felt we were well within our rights to table the better local government. Last weekend, Speaker, candidates were actually campaigning in their new wards. Candidates were waiting at City Hall for the decision ready to register for the new wards. I think there was a general acceptance that this government was well within our rights to have an effective and efficient government at City Hall. You know, that's why today, we'll be tabling a new bill as the Attorney General said earlier, we'll be appealing that... Thank you. Supplementary. Back to the Minister for Seniors and Accessibility. We'll start the clock again. Supplementary. Back to the Minister of Seniors and Accessibility. As the only Cabinet Minister to represent the people of Toronto, aside from the Premier, was the Minister at the Cabinet table when the decision was reached to take the unprecedented step of employing the notwithstanding clause? And will the Minister do the right thing? Respect the overwhelming opinion of the people he is supposed to represent and vote against Ford's unconstitutional attacks on Toronto and charter rights? Premier. Ministers by their ministerial responsibility. Members by their writing. The response? Minister of Minister of Affairs and Housing. Our government is doing the right thing. Speaker, we believe in better local government. We believe in an efficient and effective Toronto Council of 25 people that mirror the same electoral boundaries of the 25 MPs and the 25 MPPs. I think everyone acknowledges those 25 MPs have no problem representing those electoral districts. Legislative Assembly members have no problem. Opposition comes to order. We believe in better local government. We believe in 25 electoral districts in the City of Toronto. On that pledge. Next question. The Member for Ottawa South. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Premier. The Supreme Court ruling striking down a flawed Bill 5. The Premier made a hasty decision to invoke the notwithstanding clause, something that has never been done before in Ontario. It is seldom used because it overrides our charter of rights and freedoms. It is a measure of last resort. It suspends people's civil liberties. The Constitution and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms are there to guide us as lawmakers and most importantly protect all of us. The Premier knows there are other remedies available to him. Reasonable people are asking if he's willing to use it in this circumstance where else will he use it? So to the Premier. Did the Premier ask the advice of the Deputy Premier, the Attorney General, the Secretary of the Cabinet or the Deputy Attorney General before making his decision? The Premier. Through you Mr. Speaker Mr. Rosendo from Ottawa South and the Minivan Party I can tell you Mr. Speaker they didn't have to worry about that because they had more political scandals, billions of dollars of waste. There was no party in the history of this government that was more politically cropped than their party Mr. Speaker. There has been no party at all. We are down here thanks to the Liberals because they wasted billions and billions of dollars at taxpayers' money. They had scandal after scandal after scandal. No matter if it was e-help no matter what it was there was billions of dollars wasted and my friends you'll be hearing about the billions of dollars that were wasted. The Attorney General came out and said they were cooking the books. I can tell you they were more than cooking the books. I'm going to ask the Premier to withdraw. Supplementary. I'll take that as a no. I and somebody should check your material. It's a bit stale. The Premier's impulsive decision to invoke the notwithstanding clause has not been fully thought through and is wrong. Did the Premier consult with the former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney? Did he seek the advice of the former Progressive Conservative Attorney General or did he pick up the phone and call Mike Harris? Who, if you remember, when he amalgamated cities across Ontario did a public consultation? Speaker will be filing a reason amendment. Impatience is not a good reason to take such an extreme measure. Speaker is through you to the Premier. Will the Premier let the cooler heads in his caucus prevail not suspend people's rights and refrain from invoking the notwithstanding clause? Premier. Through you Mr. Speaker, the member of Ottawa South you're going to be the last person I take advice about running a government down here. You have destroyed this province for years to come. Every single taxpayer in Ontario are going to be paying for years from their mistakes. Years and years and years of billions of dollars it was tax, tax, tax, spend, spend, spend and who lifted the Liberals up but the leader of the NDP wasting billions of dollars hand in hand with every single scandal the Liberals brought to this province my friends we're going to turn this province around we're going to make sure there's accountability transparency and integrity back to Queen's Park. We start the clock. Next question the member for Burlington. Thank you Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities. Speaker, the free and open exchange of ideas is the fundamental element of post-secondary education that is why I was so concerned to hear from young people during the campaign about examples of groups using violence and intimidation tactics to shut down free speech on campus. Speaker, can the Minister please let the government's plan to uphold free speech on campus? Thank you. I have to be able to hear the question and the answer. Member for Burlington has a right to ask a question too. Order. Minister for Training, Colleges and Universities. And thank you to the hardworking member for that question and the work that she does every day on behalf of her constituents of Burlington. Speaker, our government made a commitment to the people of Ontario to uphold free speech on campus. And on August 30th we announced which will do just that promised made promised kept. Action that interferes with free speech on campus is absolutely unacceptable and is taken very seriously by the government. Our plan will put in place a minimum standard for free speech policy for all publicly assisted Thank you. And thank you to the Minister for your thoughtful response. It is great news to hear that our government is moving with delivering those promises to the people to uphold free speech on campuses. Speaker, I believe that most Ontarians have to learn that students and groups are being shut down and intimidated simply for having a different opinion. In order to learn I apologize to interrupt the member for Burlington. I cannot hear the member for Burlington. The opposition has to come to order. I'll start if I have to I'll start warning and naming. Member for Burlington can continue. In order to learn about an idea you agree with and listen to ideas you fundamentally disagree with. Can the Minister tell us more about how the government's policy upholds free speech? Minister. As the member alluded to colleges and universities should not shield their students from ideas or discourse they disagree with. Colleges and universities also need to ensure that students are not stopped from sharing their opinions. By January 1, 2019 all universities and colleges must implement a free speech policy that includes a definition of free speech is based on best practices from around the globe and ensures existing student disciplinary measures apply to students who violate the policy. To ensure that all students can expect the same standard the Higher Education Quality Council monitor whether institutions are in compliance and if necessary the Ministry of Training Colleges and Universities may reduce operating grants for institutions not taking appropriate action to uphold free speech. Thank you. Member for Niagara Centre. Speaker to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing the Premier's decision to invoke the notwithstanding clause is an unprecedented abuse of power and displays nothing to the public. To add insult to injury the Premier has also made it clear that he will not be shy about invoking the clause in the future. Does the Minister's support trampling the rights and freedoms of Ontarians any time this Premier wants to interfere in municipal council or will the Minister stand up have a backbone and vote against this undemocratic move? Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing I want to thank the member it's our government's intention to put forward new legislation to deal with this issue. We believe very strongly that a council that is streamlined and ready to work on October 22nd is the best way to move forward. Yes, we're disappointed with the judges decision. The Attorney General made it clear on our intention to appeal but time is up the essence speaker. We have an election for October 22nd. We want to make sure that council is a streamlined council and that's ready to work to make those important decisions. Our government wants to make sure that the City of Toronto can build transit, can fix infrastructure and build new houses. We believe the best way to do that is with an efficient council of 25. Clementary. It is shocking that the Minister is standing here in this House happily propping up this Premier's dictatorial move to invoke this clause. Clause that we all know. Can I ask the Member to withdraw? With drawn. If you stand up and say withdraw. Clause that we all know has nothing to do with efficiency and everything to do with this Premier settling a score with the City that rejects him as Mayor and Premier. This is a hideous display of vengeance on one of our province's great cities. A shameful day for Ontario. Why does the Minister think it is for this government to use unprecedented nuclear measures to bulldoze the democratic rights of Torontonians at the whims of a Premier who is acting like a dictator? Member to withdraw. Respond. Member, time and time again uses unparliamentary language. Let me be clear. Our government is committed to having an efficient and effective council. We made it very clear. Crystal clear, as my colleague beside me says, during the election that we were going to reduce the size and cost of government. We want government to be not dysfunctional. Cannot just grind through week-long council meetings and get nothing done. We want to give that council the effective tools to make those tough decisions. As I said before, we are going to be introducing new legislation and I ask the Member to consider the reason we want effective local government. That's why we're doing it, Speaker. Next question, the Member for Atopical Lakeshore. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Education. Ontario students just went back to school and once again they are faced with learning, Kathleen Wynne's ideological driven discovery math curriculum. Everyone on this side of the house, am I going to have to interrupt again and once again remind the members that you have to refer to other members on the other side of the house, not by their writing name, not by their personal name. Members can continue. Thank you. Everyone on this side of the house knows, and my colleagues on the government side of the house know, including my residents, while I spent the weekend at the Taste of the Kingsway where hundreds of parents came to see me. Last night I was knocking on doors in Alderwood and parents again said this to me, our discovery in this past year reached a new low. Half of Ontario's grade six students have failed to meet the provincial standards of math. And by the time our students get to grade nine, more than half of them will be taking the applied math courses and failing to make the grade. I think we can all agree that these statistics are unacceptable. EQAO assessment results show that we must do better when it comes to math performances in Ontario. We must ensure that all students have the knowledge and skills they need. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to welcome you and the member from Etobicoke, Lakeshore, back to the house, as well as every other member, because this is what democracy is all about. It's about debating ideas and concepts. And you know what? Since the first day we took office, our team has been focused on our education system. Accomplishes two goals. Respecting parents. We know how to respect people on this side of the house. Compare people for their future. We promise to deliver a system that puts the rights of parents first while getting back to the basic speakers. That's a promise we made, and we are delivering on that promise. Missed following through on our commitment to get back to the home and focus on the fundamentals. We're taking the necessary steps to make sure Ontario students are once again leaders in mathematics. Opposition will come to order. Supplementary. To you, Mr. Speaker. To the minister, thank you very much for your response. This is truly great news and important news to the parents in my writing. I know my constituents will be pleased to finally have a government that will focus their children, the skills and the tools they need to be successful both inside and out of the classroom. Minister, once again I have heard from constituents as early as last night that it's not only the fundamental math our students need to learn from. They believe students need to know more about what it takes to be part of the growing technology sector in our province. And they are looking forward to expressing these concerns in an upcoming province-wide consultations. Mr. Speaker, we finally have a government for the people that is putting the rights of parents first and will be consulting them on their child's education, which will be both the new math curriculum. Minister, what options are available to parents in my writing who wish to participate in a government province-wide consultation process and what can my constituents expect from these... Thank you. Thank you very much. Minister, the member from Etobicoke Lakeshore's answer, I want to ensure to the people watching today we have taken great steps in ensuring our students are going to get back to the basics in math. We've introduced a teacher's guide. We're introducing a fact sheet for parents and guardians to make sure they understand the importance of teaching the proper math in classrooms. And furthermore, we're redirecting $55 million to ensure that our teachers are prepared to teach math, to prepare our students for all of you who are absolutely on track with our consultation. We look forward to it being comprehensive and soliciting information back from our teachers, our parents and our students. Anyone who wants to contribute to this consultation will have a manner to do so. We'll be utilizing technology. We'll be utilizing telephone town halls. We'll be doing online consultations and also we'll be receiving written submissions as well. Thank you very much. Thank you. Next question, the member for Ottawa center. My question is to the minister of children, community and social services. I'm going to pose it in French first. Does the minister think that people in Ottawa are allowed to express themselves with respect to the municipal words? Does the minister believe that the people of Ottawa deserve to have a say in the size of their city council? Yes or no? The minister of children, community and social services. Thanks, speaker. I answered that question yesterday. So I'll refer to the minister of municipal affairs and housing. Minister of municipal affairs and housing. The position will come to order. The position will come to order. The standing order is to allow a minister to refer a question. Member for Windsor to come to come to order. I have to remind the member that it has to be a straight referral without further explanation. Minister of municipal affairs and housing can respond. Thank you very much for the question. I'm not sure if... Thank you very much for your question. The minister of municipal affairs is nodding his head so he was. If you heard the Premier's speech, there was a clear statement by the Premier that the Better Local Government Act only deals with the city of Toronto. Again, if the member would stop back when and start listening, they would realize that the speech was clear. Bill 5 only deals with that. He said the same thing to many delegates that asked the question of him. I said the same thing to delegates that asked me. This bill only deals with the city of Toronto. We feel, Speaker, that it's very appropriate given the fact that there are existing 25 federal and provincial boundaries that the city councillors in this city have those same boundaries. There is no plan as the Premier said at AMO to include any other municipality. Supplementary. Thank you, Speaker. I'm going to ask my friend, the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services as a fellow Ottawa MPP to answer the question again, I hope. I'll just remind my friend that the Premier recently stated, quote, I've had numerous calls from Ottawa, I'll tell you. I don't know what's going on in Ottawa, but I was followed by a tweet from the Minister referring to the Premier's address at AMO saying that this government actually had no intention of targeting Ottawa the way it did Toronto, so which is it? Speaker, the people of Ottawa who the member and I both represent deserve clarity. Will the Minister confirm once and for all if the Premier will or will not apply the same drastic measures used to slash Toronto City Council to Ottawa? Response. Again, Speaker, through you to the member, I'm not sure if the member was at the Mayor's breakfast yesterday in Ottawa to hear my colleague, the Minister. The Minister, in her speech, said no. The member for Kitchener Conestoga. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the President of the Treasury Board. Under the past liberal government spending was out of control. Since 2004, the Liberals mismanaged the public finances and shamefully doubled the size of the debt. This is debt that future generations including my own children and Ontarians will be on the hook for. Mr. Speaker, the people of Ontario threw out the last government because of irresponsible management. The people of Ontario wanted a government that would listen. Can the President of the Treasury Board please tell this House what the government is doing to listen to the people and get government spending under control? The President of the Treasury Board. Thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to the member from Kitchener Conestoga for that very thoughtful question. Mr. Speaker, the government has a responsibility to ensure programs and services meet the needs of the people we serve. And to keep those programs sustainable now and into the future. Make no mistake our expenditure review is about much more than tightening our perspet strings. It's about planning for prosperity. Mr. Speaker our government launching the planning for prosperity consultation asked the people about public spending and services. Our government recognizes that Ontario's hardworking frontline workers and citizens have valuable input about service improvements. I'm pleased Mr. Speaker to say that the people of Ontario have so far flooded our office with submissions. Over 6,000 survey responses and over 9,000 responses. The people demanded a fiscally responsible government that listens and Mr. Speaker that's exactly what they got. Mr. Speaker through you, thank you to the President of the Treasury Board for the response. It is clear that our government has committed to an unparalleled level of transparency and openness when it comes to reviewing the state of the province's finances. I know that the people of Ontario are concerned about government spending and services and that's why they elected our government for the people because we promised that we would get Ontario back on track. Can the President of the Treasury Board inform this House how the planning for prosperity public consultations will help government get spending under control? The province doesn't have a revenue problem. It has a spending problem. One which the previous government recklessly enabled. That spending ends here. Efficiencies exist all over government whether it's how different agencies and ministries purchase goods or how they deliver services. We will use what we hear during our planning for prosperity which I hope the members opposite will participate in online and yes you can do it anonymously. To ensure that our vital public services are sustainable both now and in the years to come. Mr. Speaker despite all the fear from the opposition the actions that we have taken are not about cuts it's about rebuilding Ontario's finances so that we have a legacy of sustainable public services for future generations. It's about planning for prosperity. Next question the member for Davenport. Thank you Mr. Speaker my question is to the Minister of Education. This government's use of the notwithstanding clause to push through their unconstitutional changes to Toronto City Council are not only unprecedented but just plain wrong but to make matters worse the Premier who thinks he's king said he will be using the clause to override our charter rights whenever he pleases. Does the Minister of Education support using the notwithstanding clause to override our fundamental rights and freedoms or will she show some backbone and vote against it in the upcoming free vote. Minister of Education Mr. Minister of Affairs will come to order. Thank you Speaker through you to the member for Davenport there's only one reason why we're introducing new legislation and that's to end the dysfunction and deadlock at Toronto City Council during the campaign we talked very clearly about reducing the size and cost of government we believe in accountable and efficient five-person council at the City of Toronto is the only way to go and that's why we've made the decision as I've said earlier the Attorney General very eloquently this morning talked about our appeal and our use of section 33 it's very important for us this is very important and I want the members to stop and listen and start listening a bit October 22nd is fast approaching we need to have a council in place we need to introduce new legislation this is very important and we're moving forward Supplementary Through you Mr. Speaker back to the Minister of Education because the battle over Bill 5 isn't the only court case that this government is embroiled in there are also legal challenges over the government's repeal of the modern sex education curriculum including human rights complaint and that is why my question was directed to the Minister of Education that Ontarians are looking for in this very important role Minister of Education will you show the students of Ontario what it means to stand up to a bully does the Minister of Education believe there are last member to withdraw does the Minister of Education believe there are such things as fundamental human rights and if so does the Minister believe the government has a responsibility for education response again Speaker the only party that's talking about wanting more politicians in the province of Ontario are the NDP come on Speaker during the campaign people wanted a more efficient more nimble more effective government they told us very clearly the Minister of Transportation made the Minister of Transportation he'd love to work with a streamline council to build more transit my colleague behind me he wants to work with a nimble Toronto council and build more infrastructure I want to build more housing I want to work with that new council and get things done time for question period has expired stands in recess until 3pm this afternoon