 It is therefore now time for question period the leader of Her Majesty's royal opposition Thank you, and good morning speaker. My question is for the Minister of Health First of all, let me say Congratulations on your new ministry and I know that you're well aware that home care providers are taking your government to court for heaven's sake speaker The VON is suing the government The Liberals are putting home care patients at risk with their SCIU backed provincial agency The application for judicial review says quote the decision to introduce an untested home care delivery model Centered on an agency with no track record jeopardizes Ontario home care patients and the organizations fighting this government account for 95% of the services in the system speaker why continue the fight Will the new minister's first order of business be to scrap this SCIU Thank you very much mr. Speaker, and thank you to the members of this house For congratulating me on this new role I Know that I have very big shoes to fill and following the footsteps of Former minister Hoskins, but I assure every member But I will do my very best To fulfill the role as Minister of Health and Long-Term Care and In response to the members question I would also like to say that we are very conscious of the wonderful work that is done by our frontline staff in healthcare those PSW's and those support staff that support Some of our most vulnerable people in this process in terms of their needs for home care and in the supplementary I will address his question more direct Thank You speaker while it doesn't sound like the new minister is going to scrap the plan But speaker as I stated the VON is suing the government of Ontario in June of 2016 SCIU health care started lobbying the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care to adopt this exact model for Personal support service in the same month the former minister gave a speech at an SCIU convention in Detroit Bragging about the government's strong relationship with this group in that speech the minister stated that with the advice of SCIU his ministry was seeking a quote common employer for care providers Mr. Speaker are the Liberals undertaking this massive change in care delivery solely at the request of SCIU And on this side of the house We certainly believe that Ontarians should have the option to have more control and choice over their home care services And that's why our government is launching a new Self-directed care model that patients could opt into It would provide home care clients with funding to purchase services in their care plan or to employ people to provide these services And so what we believe is that there will be a small group of patients with chronic long-term care needs Where they want an especially strong relationship with their care provider We know that continuity of care for the elderly when it comes to home care is a very important aspect of the care plan We know that our frontline answer provide not only physical support, but very importantly that emotional support Thank You Speaker in November of last year the CBC reported on the cozy relationship between the Liberal Party and SCIU health care and that included past Liberal Party President Microspitali the senior lobbyist for SCIU The Ministry of Health has no track record employing PSW and has never Directly provided this type of care the government set up this agency with no consultation and no Explanation of how it will benefit our most vulnerable This makes it painfully obvious that this agency is better is set up solely to Defect the SCIU Mr. Speaker are the Liberals risking the service that Ontario's most vulnerable depend on in order to further Political relationship Mr. Speaker our Self-directed care agency will help Individuals with the navigation process that allows both the PSW and the client to focus on what is important That is the care. This is a model that has been very successfully Implemented in other jurisdictions such as Washington, California, Australia Germany France and Scotland and we will be slowly implementing this model to ensure that it It meets our goals of excellent care for our very vulnerable seniors and others with chronic conditions Our government has supported PSW through major investments we Delivered on our commitment to raise the new base wage for publicly funded PSWs to $16 and 50 cents Which has supported training and education to PSWs working in home and community care more to do but definitely on the right track Both sides have indicated to me that you want to pick up where you left off yesterday. I will too You know what that means New question the member from Bruce Gray Thank you very much for speaker my question to the Minister of Health long-term care and congratulations minister after 14 years After 14 years of inadequate investments in long-term care Your government has forced municipalities to fill bigger and bigger funding gaps This means local property taxpayers are footing more of the operating costs about $300 million every year and sadly the number keeps going up Meanwhile, your government hasn't so much as kept up with inflationary increases in long-term care Minister Will you stop this egregious downloading? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker and Thank you to the member opposite for the question and great to have you as my critic again Mr. Speaker, I'm very familiar with the long-term care Homes in this province as in my former capacity as the commissioner of health services for York region I had the responsibility for the administration of the two Municipal homes in York region the new market health center and the maple health center And so I'm very conscious of the issue of long-term care funding and of course our government has been increasing funding in really a quite a dramatic way over the last number of years We certainly believe that every Ontarian deserves to grow old with dignity in a safe secure and compassionate environment And so we've always clear that support for long-term care is important And that's why we've continued to make critical investments in this sector. Thank you supplementary Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker back to the Minister of Health and long-term care Over the holidays and into the new year C fourth and Clinton hospitals were filled to capacity in part due to lack of Long-term care beds staff patients and families alike tried their very best to deal with this difficult situation Speaker, they all deserve better So through you to the minister I ask what is the minister going to do to alleviate the need for long-term care beds in rural, Ontario? Mr. Speaker, and so I'd like to elaborate on what we've been doing over the last number of years First of all funding for long-term care homes has increased by three hundred and forty-eight million dollars Our investment in long-term care homes increased by eighty point five million dollars this year alone We've opened ten thousand new long-term care beds and redeveloped 13,500 long-term care beds since 2003 and we've announced that we will be opening five Thousand new long-term care beds over the next four years as well as providing 15 million more hours of nursing personal support and therapeutic care annually for residents in long-term care homes And this is part of our ten-year plan to create more than 30,000 new beds over the next decade work No question the member from that My question is to the minister the new Minister of Health and long-term care As a beautiful and welcoming place Niagara has seen an enormous influx of retirees that shows no signs of stopping According to region of Niagara numbers from now until 2031 senior 65 years and older will account for 60% of our population growth Senior after senior in my riding has expressed concern about the lack of long-term care capacity in Niagara Right now the average wait time for a bed in the Niagara Peninsula is close to four years This is almost twice the provincial wait time of two years The Minister of Health and long-term care has not built new beds in my riding since Woodlands of Sunset was completed in 2004 that's over a decade ago Will the Minister today commit to building more long-term care beds in the Niagara region? Thank You mr. Speaker, and I've certainly talked about all the investments that we've made and that we continue to propose to make so now I'd like to turn to what we know about The opposition position on this question We now know that four of their leadership candidates have committed to absolutely no action on climate change and Sits the commitments in their people's guarantee platform were largely funded by What asked the minister to stick to government policy? Thank You mr. Speaker, and I'm just trying to show a contrast between what we're proposing to Some of the comments made across the way Basically what we're hearing from the opposition is that they have no plan to increase any of the long-term care homes that we have As for applications for we have now a proposal call for applications Which will be closing very soon, and we will be announcing this thank you for applicants New question the member from nickel belt Thank You premium Thank You speaker my questions for the acting premier Ontario front-line healthcare workers many of them are here today with us are some of the most talented and dedicated people I know But healthcare providers who works in our long-term care homes are being asked to care for our parents or grandparents Frail elderly people with fewer support from this liberal government than ever before Why is this premier standing by and doing nothing while our long-term care system? Fails both the dedicated workers and the frail residents needing care Well, because first of all, I want to welcome all the members of QP who are here in the house today. They are as we all know are very hard Of working members of our community working in a long-term care sector speaker just this morning I had the opportunity to had a sit down downstairs with Some of the QP members from Ottawa who who work in different communities like in all of us out in Orleana and to hear directly from from them the kind of challenges They're they're seeing and speaker as a government I showed them that our government has a plan to ensure that we have more long-term care beds In our communities as speaker as as you know as the government has announced additional investments in creating 5,000 new long-term care beds over the next four years and also speaker our commitment to increase You're not helping Finish, please. I speak of also our commitment to increase the numbers of hours of cares That is required to appropriately Help our seniors who live in long-term care Setting speaker speaker. There's nothing more important to look after our elderly our parents our grandparents They're the one who have worked hard to build this great society They believe it and we owe it to them here to provide proper and appropriate care supplementary Thank You speaker Ontario used to have a legislative minimum hours of hands-on care But this liberal government abolished it and since then there is no laws in Ontario That guarantees the amount of care that the seniors in our long-term care home should get As it stands right now. We have some very good homes in Ontario But we also have many many seniors who are not getting the care they deserve We have many frontline health care workers running off their feet trying to do the best they can Working short shift after shift after shift if the Premier asked the incredible Dedicated long-term care workers that are in the house with us right now Whether the residents get enough individual care she would hear a resounding No, they would tell the Premier that we need a minimum standard of four hours of hands-on care But and we've been needing it for a long time So why hasn't the Premier done it? Health and long-term care Minister of Health and long-term care. Well, thank you very much, Mr. Speaker And I do want to assure the member opposite that certainly on this side of the house We appreciate the wonderful work that is done by our frontline We know that members of QP are here and Need to have the good work acknowledged at every opportunity So we have talked about the 15 million more hours of nursing personal support and therapeutic care annually for residents in Long-term care homes and this will increase hours of care to an average of four hours per day per resident But we're doing a lot more in terms of other supplementary areas of care Because we are absolutely Committed to providing Resident-centered care and investing in people who support our residents each and every day So what we are doing is that we're providing additional staffing through targeted streams including $18.5 million per year Invested under the high intensity needs fund. Thank you Thank you, Speaker Those good people traveled a long distance to come here today to deliver one message. We need a Legislated four hours The government has chosen to sweep the problem under the rug we've seen under staffing going worse We've needs facilities needed to be updated We've seen wait time increased by 270% and the list of people waiting for long-term care now sits at 33,000 people Years after years the people the liberal government was told four hours of hands-on care was not necessary We are already doing it. They say although the body of evidence and the frontline workers will tell us that Four hours of hands-on care is exactly what we need. It is time question care minister minister Why Don't we have four hours of hands-on care? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to make it very clear that delivering resident-centered care means all Licensees are responsible for providing Appropriate levels of staffing based on the individual and changing care and safety needs for all residents at all times In other words individuals get the care that they need And we are increasing the hours of care to an average of four hours per day per resident and some of these ancillary Areas of assistance one of the others that I think is of extreme importance is an additional 10 million dollars for behavioral Supports for specialized services for residents with cognitive impairments who are exhibiting challenging and complex behaviors We know that in many long-term facilities This is an issue. So this is bringing our government's base funding to 64 million dollars. Thank you Your question the member from london fan shop my questions to the acting premier in her 2017 annual report Ontario's otter general criticized the liberal government for not providing enough information to the public about the performance Of individual long-term care homes in january We learned through the media reports that the premier and her minister of health Are keeping a secret list of long-term care homes that they consider medium or high risk for ontario seniors Families with a loved one in care and the frontline health care workers who care for them are now being left to wonder If their loved ones their moms their dad is in a facility that the ministry calls itself high risk Will the premier release the list immediately? Thank you Minister of health long-term care. Well, thank you very much Mr. Speaker and of course As we've said so many times all residents living in ontario long-term care homes deserve to be cared for in a safe Secure and compassionate and environment and our government is absolutely committed to ensuring their safety and well-being Through a rigorous inspection system and a regulatory framework that we are continuously working to improve Every long-term care home in ontario undergoes a comprehensive Quality inspection each year to ensure they are in compliance with the long-term care homes act When there's a complaint there will be an unannounced inspection also The results from every inspection are posted online for the public to see as well as in long-term care homes And we're actively working to provide even more information online Which will be available in a very near future We're also enhancing our oversight through the strengthening quality and accountability for patients act to ensure all operators Are addressing concerns promptly Supplement according to the order in general about 10 percent of ontario long-term care homes are high risk A homes risk level is determined by its record to comply with laws that govern long-term care Why does the premier think people living in these homes and the frontline staff who take care of them? Don't have a right to know if they are at risk Thank you minister Thank you, mr. Speaker So as i've already said we do inspect very thoroughly We're working to provide more information online It'll be available in the very near future And it will include specifics related to the performance of individual homes in relation to other homes in the province So we are doing a number of Things through the strengthening quality and accountability for patients act I've just described some but we're also partnering with the mitchner institute on a personal support worker registry That will improve transparency for patients and families where you have a comprehensive plan to increase safety in our long-term care homes Thank you Speaker what new democrats want frontario is zero homes to be on a high high risk list We want the long-term care system fixed and for every home to be a safe caring place But this liberal government has refused to take a serious look at long-term care system with a broad public find and fix Inquiry the liberal government won't show ontarians the list And it's pretty clear the government is not taking action to fix the problems in long-term care Why are the premier and the government continually Sweeping the problems on long-term care under the rug Well, it appears that our goals are exactly the same Because obviously on this side of the house We are committed to the safety of the residents living in our long-term care homes And this is why we have taken So many measures to strengthen the quality and the accountability For the residents living in their homes and as we continue there's always more work to be done We're always open to positive ideas for improvement, but I think that the measures that Finish please minister So we've made so many changes to enhance our over height site system And we are also increasing Financial penalties for home operators with recurring care and safety concerns that are not being addressed. Thank you Thank you speaker to the minister of health and long-term care I would like to congratulate the minister on taking on a new challenge and we all know that this government Has created many challenges The ministry members do not add up They state that in my region is oversupplied with long-term care beds beyond 20 30 Yet our residents already face long wait times and our seniors population will be will double during that time Moreover once a patient is assigned to a bed they confront it with a broken system chronic underfunding these less than six minutes for our overworked psw's to complete a patient's morning routine Including the highlighted weekly bath Which fantasy world does this ministry live in? When can we expect the fair and realistic funding required to give our seniors the care they truly deserve Well, perhaps I need to reiterate all the investments that in fact our government has made In the long-term care system. We know that our population is living longer And developing care needs that are becoming increasingly complex And that's it precisely why our government has increased funding for long-term care homes by 80.5 million dollars This year and we've almost doubled the funding since 2003. We have committed to the average of four Hours per day of care to residents so that they do receive the high quality care and access to supports that they need And I'm sure The member opposite will recognize that the behavioral supports that I've been speaking about Which I have observed in a home in my riding that cares for those with alzheimer's is Ensuring excellent quality For the most vulnerable. Thank you, mr. Speaker Thank you and back to the minister of health and long-term care and as a former minister of health I want to extend my condolences to the new minister minister My offices are flooded on a regular basis as you can imagine with inquiries from people seeking help by their finding a bed in long-term care home Or assessing personal accessing a personal support worker One recent example is a 57 year old man suffering from alzheimer's Right now he's sitting in a retirement home waiting for a bed in long-term care His wife works full-time. She's raising their six year old daughter She's also juggling the 4600 dollar monthly cost of the retirement home Along with her regular household expenses The man's priority for a bed minister recently increased when he was physically attacked by another resident in his retirement home So mr. Speaker the government's neglect of long-term care is appalling And the minister explained why her government has failed to build the necessary long-term care beds to keep up with our aging population That's precisely what we're doing since 2003. We've opened over 10,000 new long-term care beds and redeveloped over 13,500 We know Minister And we've certainly heard from communities about the need for additional beds And so we will be supporting our growing and aging population We put together our action plan for seniors and we're responding to our seniors growing needs And that's precisely why we are creating 5000 new long-term care beds over the next four years The first phase of those long-term care beds The applications are being reviewed The proposal time limit is coming up very shortly and announcements will be made in the very near future We are doing exactly what New question the member from kitchens or want to thank you very much mr. Speaker my question is to the minister of health and long-term care Since december I have been advocating for the reunification of patricia and don Dayton They have been married for 64 years But are being forced to live apart without each other because of ontario's broken long-term care system In fact when I can every friday. I've been driving dawn to see patricia They are a loving couple and they miss each other Mr. Speaker the minister of health claims that a new reunification regulation has solved the problem But the datans are still separated. In fact patricia's lin care worker has asked 387 residents to switch homes and make space for dawn but the list has been exhausted And there is no hope for reunification in sight. And this is completely Unacceptable can the acting can the minister of health explain why this liberal government is saying that there is no longer a problem With couple reunification in our long-term care homes when dawn and patricia are still living apart Certainly stories as illustrated by the member opposite really touches all and I think we all understand very clearly the need for spouses to continue to live together Whenever we can support them in that in that goal And we know it's really important for families and for the emotional support that They need from each other and so our government has been giving a very high priority to residents who are seeking To be reunited with a spouse or partner And we're taking a number of steps to ensure this process is as smooth as possible for families Now we do know that there's more that we can do and we recently made changes that designate a number of reunification priority access beds in every long-term care home These beds will help to address delays in reunification for those in crisis to be reunified with their loved ones in along to Thank you again to the minister of health the mpp for nickle belt has been trying to reunite 91 year old got freed adler and his 88 year old wife hildegard as well The adlers have been separated for over six months after 67 years of marriage Like the datans the adlers are emotionally distressed because of their separation Ontario seniors shouldn't have to settle for a long-term care system that repeatedly breaks promises and hearts Will the minister of health Her ministry to reunite the datans and the adlers today. I'm asking for your direct intervention to help these Please Thank you minister Thank you, mr. Speaker, and I would certainly Say to all members of this house if one is aware of a particular situation in one's constituency Please feel very free to approach me to draw my attention to that particular item I have operated like this since being the minister of community and social services Because sometimes there is a solution that can be found more readily But as a systemic issue Going back to the fact that we do have reunification priority access beds We do encourage families to work with their local Lynn partners to ensure that seniors do have access to the care that they need in the best quality of life in their Later years and we are responding to the needs of our growing and aging population I've mentioned the number of beds that we are increasing over the next short time And we will continue to work in this regard. Thank you New question the member from Kingston in the audience. Thank you, mr. Speaker My question is not for the new minister of health, but for the minister of education Is now an international leader in education. Thanks in part to our historic investments in building new schools In my riding of Kingston in the islands. We have recently opened two new schools molly brand elementary school And just last fall st. Francis of Assisi catholic school It's a state-of-the-art building. It's designed with a beautiful open concept and many for collaborative spaces Mr. Speaker our government recently announced a number of new investments that will bring new and improved schools to students and communities across Ontario Speaker through you to the minister. What is our government doing to build on historic improvements and investments to ensure That students are learning and new and improved schools that support student achievement And well-being Thank you, mr. Speaker, and I'd like to thank the member from Kingston in the islands for this very important question Mr. Speaker giving our kids the best possible start in life is one of the most important things we can do as a government That's why i'm proud of the strong investments our government has made in education In fact, no government in the history of this province has invested more in building and expanding Ontario's publicly funded education system That's because we know that investing in our schools is about more than bricks and mortar building better schools Bills better learning for our students. That's why we've made a historic investment of more than 18 billion dollars Since 2003 in schools building more than 860 new schools and more than 840 additions and improvements across Ontario just Finish please Mr. Speaker these investments in modern learning environments ensure That our students are on a strong path to success We are extremely proud of the investments made in ontario's publicly funded education system And we know that giving students the best possible learning environment high quality and modern buildings Is part of our plan to grow the economy create jobs and bring fairness and opportunity to the people of ontario The french community and kinks and surrounding areas growing and our government is doing more to support that growth Recently i had the honor of making a very special announcement in my writing set a union This was an announcement that i was very proud of I was very proud to see everyone get together and work together With such an attention for our students Announced 784 million dollars to build expand and renovate 79 schools across the province Minister, can you please tell us more about the project in kinks and how we are providing student achievement with investments in new and improved school Mr. Speaker thanks to the member from kinks and for this important question Mr. Speaker we are committed to supporting school boards by providing modern learning environments for our students Because we know these spaces put our kids on a path to success That's why we recently announced 24 million dollars for the construction of new joint use facilities for a call secondary Public meal ill and a call secondary catalogue mary riviera I was very happy to see Everyone worked together for the interests of our students Not only build schools, but also build communities This new facility includes 49 child care spaces and will accommodate 600 students This total capital investment will support more than 46 000 students with the learning spaces they need to thrive These investments in new schools support student achievement fairness and opportunity Thank you, mr. Speaker My question is for the minister of health and long-term care. Let me first off congratulate you on your new position I believe you do find yourself in an unenviable position given the challenges within your ministry, especially those in long-term care I want to speak to you specifically about those challenges as they relate to sous-saint marie Currently in sous-saint marie. We have over a thousand people in long-term care beds and There's about 700 people on waiting lists Waiting upwards of three years to secure a long-term care bed Our local hospitals are constantly operating over capacity And they lack the the the resources and the space to be able to keep up with the demand To say that our long-term care situation is reaching a breaking point would be an understatement Recently the ceo of our local hospital ran gone wrong. Gagnon indicated that we need 750 new beds in sous-saint marie now In order to meet our future and current demand My question is will you commit to building these beds immediately in sous-saint marie? Thank you very much. Mr. Speaker and as we have announced We will be opening 5,000 new long-term care beds over the next four years And we have now opened the call for applications To understand the needs at the community level to determine where the new beds should be allocated And we certainly intend to continue to actively engage in further consultation with the public long-term care home providers and placement coordinators to establish a long-term plan To meet the growing and changing needs of ontario seniors no matter where they are We have uh recently announced Just before christmas we announced 50 new long-term care beds in london and an additional 228 new beds for the havalot community. We are listening to communities and we're opening beds where they're needed Thank you mr. Speaker and back to the minister of health and long-term care. Congratulations on your new post For years long-term care capacity issues have been one of my constituents biggest concerns That's because helbert and quortha lakes brock has the highest ratio of need to available beds in ontario There are currently 2169 people on the wait list for long-term care beds in my riding And on any given day 30 to 40 percent of local hospital beds are occupied by people who should be receiving care in long-term care homes This government is failing our seniors mr. Speaker It's unacceptable that our mothers our fathers our grandparents waiting years to get the care They so desperately need so my question to the minister is how does she explain this government's failure on this file? To the more than 2000 people waiting for long-term care beds in my riding Minister Oh, thank you very much mr. Speaker and of course We are addressing the capacity challenges That the member opposite is referencing and we are aware of different demographics in different communities And certainly this is why this call for applications is being looked at so closely to make sure that we match The new beds with the need in the community as she referenced some of the issues around hospital overcrowding as well So I do want to remind her that we have created 503 transitional care spaces outside of hospital outside of hospital for up to 1700 patients who don't require care in a hospital So we're trying to address each piece of this Issue of capacity and I believe that we're going in exactly the right direction. Thank you, mr Uh, thank you, speaker My question is to the minister of health and long-term care The mental health unit at london health sciences center has been overcrowded for years and it's getting worse not better psychiatric beds have been forced to operate at 140 150 even 165 percent occupancy Day after day which is far above the safe occupancy rate of 85 percent Now we've learned that 10 new psychiatric beds will finally be added But the beds won't come with funding for new doctors or health care workers to care for patients Speaker adding beds without adding staff will not fix the overcrowding crisis It will only make the problems worse Why is this liberal government refusing to fund both the beds that are needed? And the appropriate staff Well, thank you, mr. Speaker and certainly The member opposite has referenced an issue that I think we all acknowledge is extremely important That's the care of those with mental health issues Addictions issues and as a former member of the select committee on mental health and addictions. I certainly Would like to see as much as we can possibly do To address this particular area, but our government certainly has been making Major investments in this particular area I'm so very proud to be part of a government that has increased mental health spending every year We've now committed to putting forward more than 1.9 billion dollars over the next 10 years We've been building on our mental health strategy open minds healthy minds And we've been taking a major action on recent recommendations Made by ontario's mental health and addictions leadership advisory council. Thank you. Thank you, mr. Speaker Speaker since since this premier came to office in 2013 london health sciences center has seen 141 million dollars cut from its budget. That's the equivalent of nearly 500 full-time health care workers As a result, we've seen chronic hospital overcrowding especially for mental health beds and not enough staff to care for patients Currently the hospital is staffed for 71 psychiatric beds, but there are 28 extra beds in operation every day There are mental health patients lining the emergency room hallway on a daily basis waiting for a bed It's gotten so bad that people in mental health crisis who should be in hospital Won't go to the er for the help they need Why is this liberal government refusing to fix the hospital overcrowding crisis that liberal cuts have created in london? Thank you, mr. Speaker And i have just been informed that apparently five psychiatrists and one nurse practitioner are being hired now at the london health science center checkmate And to continue on the number of investments that we're making We're developing a province-wide publicly funded structured psychotherapy program That will help people with things like mood disorders anxiety and depression and other supports to manage their needs And we will be the first province in canada to do this We're creating along with the ministry of children and youth services Answer network of integrated youth service hubs that will provide one-stop access to mental health services As well as other health peer-to-peer employment and housing support Thank you My question also is not for our superstar minister of health and long-term care It is for the minister of indigenous relations and reconciliation Speaker our government is committed to creating fairness and opportunities for all ontarians However barriers to economic participation and continuing inequality and income and employment rates are major challenges for indigenous peoples in ontario Particularly in northern ontario Over the past 15 years liberal governments have taken many actions in close collaboration with our indigenous partners To drive economic development and build a better future for indigenous communities after years of inaction Neglect and worse Under the harris conservatives Can the minister tell us more about how our government is supporting indigenous communities to fully participate in our economy? Thank you, minister of indigenous relations and reconciliation. Thank you speaker speaker since 2008 We have provided 136 million dollars through our new relationship fund To close the socio-economic gap and support indigenous economic participation Including nearly 25 million dollars for first nation in kwitunung Our 95 million dollar indigenous economic development fund, which the pcs voted against in 2014 Has provided 25 million in funding to date It'll provide another 70 million in additional funding over the next seven years Our indigenous community capital grants program has provided 34 million in funding to key infrastructure projects And through our 650 million dollar Aboriginal loan guarantee program A major initiative under the green energy act, which the pcs say they will repeal We have continued to support meaningful participation in renewable energy projects for indigenous communities in ontario supplementary Well, thank you speaker The minors the the pcs say they support economic development for indigenous communities But actions speak louder than words speaker the truth is they've consistently voted against the key investments We're making to support ontario first nations Education is key to indigenous economic development and to reconciliation And it's a shame that the conservatives voted against our landmark osap overhaul Which has helped drive a 35 increase in one year speaker a 35 increase in the number of indigenous students receiving osap over the past year What's more just this december they voted against the historic 56 million dollar investment in indigenous institutes Allowing indigenous learners to gain the skills they need to be successful in the workplace Speaker can the minister tell us more about how our government despite this lack of support. Thank you is actively supporting Thank you stick the policy minister Speaker the fact is the pcs have no real plan for indigenous economic development They voted against our fair hydro plan and the first nations delivery credit Which were commended by none other than ontario regional chief is a door date as an important step to reduce poverty and support economic development They voted against our landmark one billion dollar commitment to the ring of fire infrastructure in the matawa tribal council area Speaker reconciliation is more than word Finish please Speaker it's about action by voting against key actions We were taking the pcs made it clear. They are not with us on ontaria's journey towards reconciliation Billions and cuts are coming if the pcs form the next New question Thank you speaker my question is to the minister of health and long-term care Welcome to day one I would like to share our heartbreaking story from a family in dufferin calladin who were struggling to find care for their father 93 year old dad from bell fountain He was forced to go to london three hours away to find a long-term care placement Three hours away from friends and family To quote his daughter Something needs to be done to help the seniors of ontario to live out the rest of their lives Indignity in a facility that is able to deal with their needs Why is this government failing to provide the care that ontario seniors deserve? Mr. Speaker and certainly when we hear of stories As the member of dufferin calladin has related We're obviously extremely sympathetic and we know that we Need to ensure that people live out their lives in Dignity and in safety and that's precisely why we have announced the addition of some 5,000 more long-term care beds over the next four years and this is Something that will be tailored to individual communities through the application process The first tranche of this Is coming to a conclusion very very shortly And uh, I would simply say to the member opposite that we are doing exactly what I think she is Intending for her constituents to have access to the kind of care that they thank you. Thank you, mr. Speaker supplementary The member for would be ushman Thank you speaker A back to the minister of health and long-term care According to the entero ministry of finance the number of senior speakers suspected to more than double by 2036 200,000 seniors alone in Durham region Speaker the central east local health integration network, which includes The region of Durham has the highest number of patients waiting for long-term care placement in Ontario thousands and thousands of men and women waiting Clearly the little bit government isn't meeting the long-term care needs of thousands of seniors in the region of Durham Speaker will the liberal government commit today to address the long-term care crisis in the region of Durham Thank you, mr. Speaker and yes the demographics of individual areas is certainly a subject of study I know under a former minister of health and long-term care mpp Uh dead matthews. This was an area of intense concentration and that's precisely why we have issued the application process in the way that we have So that we can ensure that the beds go where they are needed to go We are making substantial investments just to reiterate. We've doubled the funding for long-term care over The length of our mandate and we will continue to work. We know there is more to do and I look forward to being able to make an announcement In the near future as to the successful beds. Thank you Thank you new question the member from Toronto Danforth. Thank you speaker my question to the acting premier Yesterday, we received further confirmation that Ontario's 23.1 billion dollar go expansion program has been reduced to little more than the liberal re-election scheme We already had evidence that the former minister of transportation Intervened after Metrolinx rejected a proposed new station in his riding Yesterday, we found out with another rejected station This time in the writing of the minister of housing is suddenly back on the table Meanwhile go riders from Toronto come to order who use existing stations are getting their promised Service frequencies Minister of economic development And growth second time should be I believe you finished your question. Do you have more? You will have a wrap up, please Why is the premier putting regional express rail at risk just to serve the short-term political interests of the liberal party? Thank you very much speaker and thank you to the member opposite for the question But metrolinx's board of directors approved the addition of 12 new go stations in june 2016 as they've stated this decision comes as a result of Initial initial business case analysis extensive consultation with municipal and regional representatives community engagement And collaboration between the ministry of transportation and metrolinx on wider regional transit and transportation plans All proposed new stations require additional technical and planning analysis, which has been made very clear Metrolinx has done substantial work on their business case analysis methodology They've now committed to posting business cases prior to board decisions for all new go stations The business cases and recommendations still need to be approved by metrolinx board of directors on march 8th I look forward to seeing the results of their deliberations. Thank you Thank you speaker again to the acting premier the estimated costs of new go stations have skyrocketed Coincidence with a decision to procure rar via public private partnerships Not only is the premier using metrolinx to help re-elect her ministers She's also offering up billions in public dollars to private investors while delivering less service to riders Toronto area transit has been in a permanent state of chaos since the premier When she was transportation minister Agreed to rip up transit city and the big move and as premier has allowed her ministers to re-write evidence-based transit plans To suit their own political needs How can the premier expect the public to trust the government to invest transit dollars wisely? When she keeps putting her political ambitions ahead of the public interest Thank you Thank you very much as speaker. I want to express it Our government's making the single largest investment in ontario's history much of which the ndp party has voted against As part of this investment work continuing to move forward with one of the largest transit builds in the world today Through our 31.5 billion moving ontario forward plan We're investing 13.5 billion dollars in go regional express rail To increase the transit ridership reduce travel times manage congestion connect people to jobs and improve the economy All of which the people across the way have voted against This is part of our 21.3 billion dollar transformation of the go rail network Making it the largest commuter rail program in canada We continue to work very closely with metro links to bring regional express rail to the go rail network We will hope to have the support of the opposition members in order to provide transit to the people of ontario Thank you. No question the member from beaches east York. Well, thank you speaker My question is to the minister responsible for the anti-racism directorate Now last thursday speaker I co-hosted a meeting a town hall about racism in my community with my mp colleague Nathaniel urskine smith the minister responsible the anti-racism directorate was in attendance as was mp ikra khalid Who talked a bit about what the federal initiatives going on to fight racism in our communities? We had approximately 200 people attend to discuss this very important issue And conversations as we know about racism are often very difficult to have At this particular meeting the conversations got quite heated at times The meeting was continually disrupted by a vocal few who questioned whether anti-racism existed And it was necessary or strategy was necessary or warranted So public discourse is difficult speaker But I want to raise this issue in the house because I think it's important for all of us to engage in a conversation Question to better understand what happened. I represent a great area beaches east york And I wonder if the minister could pretty initiate a dialogue with us here today about racism Thank you minister responsible for that I want to just take a quick second to thank the member from beaches east york for hosting the town hall In fact, I believe it was the first Town hall hosted by an individual mpp here in ontario Specifically where I was invited to to speak about racism and it is a difficult situation You know these types of conversations can get emotional often ugly But it is a conversation that we need to have in ontario because like I always say there is a cost of standing still If we don't do something about racism today, it will continue to erode Our our values here in the province of ontario And I want to thank the member for having the courage to have that conversation The speaker Just under two years ago We started the anti-racism directorate and it was the premier's commitment to look for ways to fight systemic racism here in ontario Answer and in the supplement I'd like to talk about some of the accomplishments. We've been able to uh to accomplish Two supplementary Yes, thank you speaker, and I want to thank the minister as well for attending his presence of that meeting with such a calming Influence it would have become a very heated situation He is to be commended for the incredible work. He's doing with the directorate and bringing these issues to light in ontario These meetings are extremely important at the town hall. We heard very real concerns expressed about carding corrections issues racial disparity and jury selection Appointments processes identity-based data collection and first nations child welfare in ontario alone We have people from over 200 nations who speak over 130 different languages and with immigration driving population growth and racialized people making up a significant portion of our new population It's essential for us to be ready and to be inclusive in ontario The conversations must continue and we need to work relentlessly to take what we learn from the people of ontario And put it into tangible acts the action. So speaker could the minister please elaborate more what the Secretariat and others are doing. Thank you minister. Thank you. Thank you, mr. Speaker again. Thank you for the question The anti-racism directorate over the last two years has established the director We've moved forward with legislation to back up the directorate In addition to that we've held a conference developed a three-year strategic plan and we've had conversations right across the province And later this year we will do an awareness campaign to fight systemic racism here in ontario But let me be clear. Mr. Speaker when we talk about systemic racism We know that there are thousands of people across this province that are affected by racism every single day And there's a moral imperative to fight that to fight racism But there's also an economic argument to be made if we don't Utilize our full potential as a province to ensure that people can reach their full potential without barriers It is not it not only affects Racialized people but it affects all of us here in this room and all of us across this province being the economic engine Of this country it affects canada. So we need to continue to band together because there's more of us Thank you very much, mr. Speaker And of course Thank you, uh, speaker my questions to the minister of health welcome Uh minister last friday I visited with the residents and staff of afton park long-term care home in sarna To discuss the state of long-term care in our community in sarna and across the urie st Clearly and there are more than 600 seniors on waiting lists for long-term care. There are 124 seniors waiting for a space at afton park alone Many on that list we forced to wait over 500 days for a basic bed Minister once someone gets a space they quickly realize that the staff are run off their feet trying to keep up with the workload I hear this at my office on a regular basis in sarna lampton The demand for more beds and proper staffing levels is becoming an urgent matter Minister will you commit to creating beds and improving staffing levels in all of sarna lampton's long-term care home Thank you For a minute there. I was feeling somewhat neglected To reassure the member from sarnia that We will be opening new beds. We'll be looking very carefully at each community across the province We will continue to support the work that our frontline care workers do each and every day and Uh, I look forward to being able to make some announcements on the new beds in the near future. Thank you Remember from perry salma skulka on her point of order Thank you, uh, mr. Speaker midway through question period. I just want to Introduce steve block the mayor of timmins who came in midway through question period. He's down for the Good roads Minister minister children use services Uh, mr. Speaker today is my ministerial statement I'll be speaking and giving recognition for black history month to Some early pioneers in hip-hop music here in ontario cardinal official Arascals, mischie me who will be joining us here today, and I hope members can be here for that ministerial statement All right, I hear that I'm gonna quit there are no deferred votes in the south stands recess till to the three pms afternoon