 It is now time for question period the leader of Her Majesty's loyal opposition Mr. Speaker to the acting premier a national post columnist wrote about the liberal secret $2.5 million payout to unions he described with a word He said infers a blatant disregard for honesty ethics or principle He went on to say the liberals did their best to hide the transaction Suggesting that at some level they still sense it's offensive wrong and abusive of the public trust mr. Speaker Will the acting premier explain why her leader tried so hard to keep these payments secret? What was she trying to hide? Thank you speaker and I'm delighted to have the opportunity to speak to this issue the member opposite is Talking about a process that has been successful kids are in the classroom I'm willing to go down the same road as I did yesterday and I would also encourage no members to use Whistling as a way to make pronouncements Please finish well. Thank you speaker and The reality is students have stayed in the classroom throughout this very difficult negotiation The agreements that we have reached have been within the net zero framework speaker Which is an extraordinary accomplishment answer both our labor and our public school boards and our And our government speaker. This has been a successful progress. I look forward to the supplementary. Thank you supplementary Mr. Speaker again to the acting premier there's a disturbing pattern emerging here Liberals thought they were having a secret conversation with Andrew Olivier when they allegedly offered him a bribe and then they got caught When the private conversation became public a top liberal fundraiser was charged with corruption The liberals thought their payments to unions were secret now that secret is out this government must stop insulting the intelligence of Ontarians mr. Speaker when will the acting premier admit that her government took classroom dollars and used it to buy I will caution the member on on the language. It's not there, but it's close So I'll just caution him to refrain from making accusations Supplementary please Sorry, thank you speaker so the It's important for the member opposite to understand that there this was it done without any cuts to the classroom We have protected our success in our education system speaker. So this new process Did require additional resources? We have fundamentally changed how negotiations between Finish please the new process did require initial Additional resources we did provide resources to our educational partners. The result is We were at the table speaker. We've kept our kids in the classroom This is all about making sure that kids are where they should be and that is in the classroom So we've had success speaker. We look forward to more success, but having this relationship Thank you that has kept our kids in the classroom Thank you final supplementary Mr. Speaker back back to the acting premier that getting caught on this payment is a definition of success is bewildering The government's latest scandal is laid out dollar-for-dollar in today's global mail This government didn't need receipts because they weren't covering negotiating costs. They were covering Advertising cost now Now we know why in 2013 and again this month the liberal government voted down the PC party bill to restrict third-party Election advertising because they wanted to make sure those millions of dollars that are being taken from the classroom Are being used to benefit the party mr. Speaker Stop the clock just for a moment, please It's it's very difficult to ask one side To get quiet for the other side when the other side is engaging So if everyone were just to listen to the question and the answer we would be better off Please continue Mr. Speaker to be very direct When will when will this government apologize to parents and to students for these secret payments that they know that? Everyone in Ontario is blatantly wrong deputy premier so speaker the The minister has said that this because we have had the new process in place now We're through that transition phase these payments will not continue in the future. They will not happen again Speaker but what I can tell you is it's it's pretty ironic that The party opposite is finally talking about education Just remember anyone who remembers back to the days when they were in office where teachers were vilified Where kids were dropping out an alarming rate where kids were not meeting international standards Our children in our schools are doing so much better now Then when you were in charge of the education system Two questions two comments first of all I'd like to hear and second of all to the chair, please One wrap-up sentence Are doing so much better now so much that people around the world Thank you new question leader of the opposition You're again to the acting premier I struggle to understand how taking money from the classroom for union payments benefits the classroom When the gas plant scandal broke the government said it was only $40 million when these secret documents became public that number exploded to a billion dollars when this latest Scandal broke last week a million dollars became 2.5 million on Friday and now it's grown to over seven million dollars That's seven million dollars the Liberal Party use from taxpayers that have gone has been taken from classrooms Mr. Speaker, how can the acting premier tell Ontario that there's no money to keep schools open when they've used seven million dollars from Classrooms to promote their own political agenda Thank you The cost of this successful negotiation with the unions was offset by savings that within the net zero content So for you to say this is coming out of the classroom is simply wrong The member from Renfrew come to order the member from Leeds Grandville come to order and I saw heard somebody over here But I'll zero in on you Very young compare their record to our record when it comes to education when we were elected in 2003 68% graduation rate to 84 Graduation rate and you can snicker about of that if that if you want but that is life changing for those kids the chair Please in when we were elected speaker Only 54% of kids were achieving the provincial standard in grade three and six 72 from let's just think about that from 74% of kids are meeting The member of her Renfrew second time supplement Again to the acting premier no matter how you spin it this money is being taken from the classroom These union payments are from the classroom And and what's shocking the most is at foes said they've never even asked for the money the unions weren't expecting this payment But the premier has said this is business as usual in liberal Ontario What's not business as usual mr. Speaker is for this government to get caught red-handed What's not business as usual is for this government to have to explain to parents why they took money out of the classroom and use it for election Advertising mr. Speaker when will this government apologize to the people of Ontario for funneling classroom dollars for their own political purposes? Thank you deputy premier well speaker that it's an absolutely absurd accusation, but let's go back to the data How compared to they how they were doing when you were in charge of our education system let me repeat graduation rate graduation rate has gone from 68% to 84% an extraordinary accomplishment on test scores 72% of students now are meeting the provincial standards grade three and six combined up 18 percentage points from the 54% who are achieving that when you are in charge of the education system. We have increased Expenditures kids across this province now have full day can best it in kids remember from the second time I'll tell you there's no better investment Than investing in the success of our kids and you should recognize Final supplementary Mr. Speaker back to the acting premier it's getting pretty weak when you're stretching back into the past you've run out of people To blame you're stretching back in the past when I was in a high school It's almost shameful mr. Speaker the public are outraged out Outrage the education dollars are being abused teachers are paying for out of their own pockets for classroom supplies Right now parents are fundraising for school trips. They're being told the cupboard is bear You know what's happening? It's bearing you're taking money from the classroom seven million dollars So mr. Speaker my question for the acting premier is how can this on tarot liberal government? I think it's appropriate for even one second to take seven million dollars out of the classroom to advance their own private political agenda Deputy premier so once again speaker these funds do not come out of the classroom And I just want you to think about one thing now I know you were not a candidate in the last provincial election But ask any of your caucus mates about your promise to fight And I'm prepared to continue standing and taking your time from you if you decide to continue to shout people down Finish please so every single one of your caucus mates ran on the promise of firing a hundred thousand First of all to the chair, and that's a specific reason why we do speak to the chair Finish please so I see the party opposite pretending they didn't make that promise speaker But they made that promise then fact the member from Barry stood beside the then leader of the opposition when he made that promise to fire A hundred thousand people how would that have affected our education answer? What would that have done to the educational assistance to the teachers to the students in our classroom? Thank you very much mr. Speaker my questions for the acting premier The premier has been using a lack of federal partner and federal money as one of the Justifications for selling off hydro one the incoming federal government has promised billions of dollars for Ontario infrastructure Much more than the premier could hope to make from selling Ontario's most important public asset speaker The premier will be meeting with the Prime Minister designate this afternoon Will the sell-off of hydro one be on the premier's agenda speaker? Well speaking, you know we Were very clear in our election campaign that we did run on a plan to invest in infrastructure in badly needed infrastructure We did have a federal government for that for the bad past decade was not prepared to partner with us And we are delighted that we do have a new government in Ottawa And that that government is making investing infrastructure a priority But we have no plans to press pause the way that leader of the third party would like us to do We have a significant infrastructure deficit. We must make those investments for our prosperity and for our quality of life We are committed to investing a hundred and thirty billion dollars over the next ten years in Infrastructure because that's what the people of this province needs sir, and we will do that. Thank you Well speaker, it's not just what I want the liberals to do in this situation speaker It's what the people Billions and billions of dollars in new spending for infrastructure in Ontario the premier could actually do what many many Ontarians have been asking her to do slow down the sell-off and ask the federal government for enough funds So that she doesn't have to sell off hydro one at all speaker now Will the premier be raising with the Prime Minister designate the urgent need for Canada's largest province to receive enough? Infrastructure money so that she can actually do the right thing by the people of this province and stop the sell-off of hydro Speaker we remained absolutely committed to our mandate which is to invest in the infrastructure in this province It's the right thing to do for our economy And it's the right thing to do for the people who live in this province And I would say that the leader of the third party who would be talking to the same municipal leaders We talked to have heard loud and clear from municipalities that those investments in infrastructure are badly needed speaker So this is about creating jobs. It's about economic growth in the short run and in the long term But we did have a problem speaker with the previous government. We made no secret of that problem We had we are delighted to have a Prime Minister and a government who will make investments in infrastructure But we are not going to slow down on our commitment to build the infrastructure in the province but that people need Thank you The families the businesses over a hundred and seventy four municipalities have all told the Premier to Stand up and do the right thing for them Ontarians have been unequivocal speaker stop the sell-off of hydro one Federal infrastructure money could easily let the Premier off the hook for this bad and Unnecessary sell-off speaker the Premier has a chance to actually rise above her stubbornness and do the right thing and Stand up for Ontarian speaker and not sell off hydro one. So this afternoon Will the Premier be actually thinking about the people of Ontario and what they want and Ask the Premier. They're sorry the Prime Minister designate of this country I'm sure to provide sufficient funds so that the sell-off of hydro one does not have to happen here in the province of As I said we welcome the new federal government's commitment to building infrastructure that is a very important Issue that they dealt with in the last campaign and the people of this province this country gave a new government a mandate to invest in Infrastructure we look forward to the partnership that we now will have as we make Investments decisions in very important infrastructure across this province speaker. So we we are going to carry on We are not going to slow down. We will not press the pause button I know the leader of the third party likes to think there are cheap and easy solutions to every problem We remain committed to making the investments necessary. It'll create jobs now and in the future It'll get people home to their families more quickly. It'll allow trucks to ride to To transport material speaker what this is the right thing to do We have a lot of catching up for ten years. No investment from the federal government. We're moving forward Question is also for the acting Premier speaker the sell-off of hydro one has always been a bad deal For ontarian speaker media reports indicate that the sell-off of hydro one may bring in two billion dollars less than the government had Originally estimated that means that the one-time sell-off could bring in significantly less than the four hundred million dollars on Average per year over the next ten years that the premier was counting on speaker That's not very much money speaker when you consider that hydro one is a money-making asset that raises Significant revenues for this province annually. So can the acting premier tell the people of Ontario? How much revenue the Liberals stand to lose from the privatizing of hydro one? The third party will be very happy to know that we are on track to generating the nine billion billion dollars through the Through the IPO speaker. That's important because that money must be spent on the infrastructure that this That this province needs so we do remain on track We're determined to get the best possible value for our assets So we can invest billions of dollars in infrastructure through the Trillium trust We are getting the best value speaker. We're proceeding in a careful staged manner Multiple tranches that will allow us to stay on track and achieve our target speaker This is the first step in a process the final share price has not been established But we are as I say on track to receive the nine billion billion dollars in proceeds. Thank you The people of Ontario actually Stand to lose as much as 300 million dollars in cash dividends from the sell-off of hydro one plus Another 50 million dollars in lost tax revenue each and every year from now to eternity speaker If the one-time sell-off comes up two billion dollars short as it appears that it will speaker This premiere is giving away is giving away really Ontario's most important asset for pretty much nothing the premier could choose better options and Additional revenues to change it to fund infrastructure Because she could be asking the prime minister Designate to pitch in the way he has already said that he was going to do so my question is Why exactly is it that the Liberal government is giving away a cherished Instead of finding better ways to fund the necessary infrastructure for our province So speaker we are going to continue on the company after we're done this speaker and and I have to say it's kind of a Star machine for me to hear the leader of the third party called nine billion dollars almost nothing nine billion dollars but build a lot of infrastructure speaker we are We are committed to investing in infrastructure I also want to remind the leader of the third party that there is a cost a very very significant cost to not Investing in order, please and anyone who travels around this province knows there is a real cost to not investing We are on track. We're benefiting from a 2.2 billion dollar deferred tax asset a special debt dividend of a billion dollars speaker So we are on track answer proceed with this plan. We know that the leader of the third party doesn't like this idea Remember from Hamilton East Stony Creek? Thank you Final supplementary how this deputy premier can get up in her place and Suggest to the people of Ontario that this government is getting nine billion dollars to fund infrastructure is Absolutely irresponsible Then selling off hydro one at every turn this premier this liberal premier has parroted Mike Harris's strategy of wrong-headed privatization and Ontarians speaker will once again pay the price this strategy has already quadrupled Electricity rates in Ontario for businesses and families the premier will not even consider Asking the most profitable corporations in Ontario to ask to pay a little bit more for the infrastructure needs The government could raise corporate taxes They could go to the actual Prime Minister designate and ask him to pitch in thank you Why is she choosing to take the Mike Harris? Thank you Well speaker just to be clear as I said earlier, we are still on track to receive nine billion dollars in proceeds from From our broadening the ownership of hydro one five billion will pay down the debt four billion will go into infrastructure Our infrastructure plan is Significant it is important. It is valuable speaker So I know as I've said that the member opposite doesn't want to proceed with this But we're going to proceed anyway, and we have learned from Mike Harris on what not to do We carefully examined the 407 sale talk about a fire sale talk about giving away an asset for far less than it was worth we analyze that deal and we learn those From those mistakes, and we have a completely different structure and the third leader of the third party should understand That what we are doing is broadening the ownership, but we will still maintain Thank you. No question the member from the fee and car. Thank you speaker. My question is to the Treasury board president also acting premier. She's also the minister of poverty reduction since yesterday the tally of union payouts has increased from 2.5 million and it's tripled to $7 million this is all unreceited flies in the face of everything she tells this assembly when she's wearing her Treasury board hat Yet in Ontario schools breakfast programs are being cancelled this morning I learned in my own constituency the Osgood food cupboard which serves rural students and families as bear This is a consequence of your so-called net zero Seven million dollars would have gone a long way for those needy children across the province if she's not prepared to rain in the Education Minister for ignoring Treasury board targets to eliminate the deficit And if she's not prepared to rain in the Education Minister in order to meet the accountability laws She has put in place. I would ask that the Stand in her place and tell the Minister of Education to get money back into the education system Before I turn to the deputy to the deputy premier Remind I'm going to remind all members when you speak to the chair It helps if that's the convention. I'm going to insist that we do that It's speaking in the third person to the chair, please Mr. Vegetation Sure medication. Yes. Thank you, and I would like to sort out the facts here speaker We we agreed to a deal which is net zero with respect to compensation We have always said that when we concluded negotiations at all the tables We would be quite willing to discuss the details of those agreements in fact the 2.5 million that was Transferred to the unions was part of three of those different net zero agreements And we have always said that we would discuss those. There's no secret It's part of those agreements with which we were committed to doing the 2.5 million Which was transferred to the unions to support the cost of collective bar Has always been part of the net zero Calculation and when negotiations are complete. We're quite happy to explain that. Thank you supplementary Squalking by the government has to stop. Okay, we've got seven million dollars in unreceited payouts To unions who spent six point five million dollars in attack ads against the Progressive Conservative Party in the last election If that doesn't embarrass the government and not meeting their deficit reduction targets Doesn't embarrass the government if not following their own account of Thank you Goes for both sides Please finish a million dollars We'll get 4,000 needy students a breakfast program for one week That is what the consequence is of your net zero the union payouts are misappropriation of tax dollars plain and simple Public accounts committee. I'm going to table a motion tomorrow Asking for the general to investigate the seven million dollars and misappropriated tax bear dollars So I'm going to ask the minister of the Treasury Board. Thank you not only support that motion, but Minister of Education Yes, thank you. I hate that. I'm not sure whether or not she has an understanding of net zero net zero means That in fact the agreement didn't cost the government anything and the two and a half million dollars in question is part of the net zero calculation and I have to Dispense this entire notion that anywhere in the collective agreements that we have negotiated There are no cuts to the classrooms the number of teachers that are being hired I is the same based on class size ratio the number of teachers who were hired Based on additional answers are still in place and are still funded. There are no Thank You speaker my questions for the acting premier this government's record on education is appalling Speaker not too long ago the acting premier said there is no greater investment than the success of our kids Well, speaker in the acting premier's own community of London early childhood education Educators maintenance staff librarians and custodians have all received pink slips because of this government's proud record of cutting Education funding to make matters worse the minister of education is now uttering threats at education workers because she couldn't do her job Our kids are paying the price for this minister's failure. It's time for her to go Will the acting premier admit that her minister of education has failed our kids and can't get the job done? Let me do one Well speaker We've increased spending in education by eight point one Billion dollars you call that a cut I call that an increase of 56% and we're getting good value for that money speaker Our kids are doing so much better in school now than they were when we took off us back in 2003 So we've got higher graduation rates Significantly tens of thousands of kids have graduated under our watch who would have dropped out under their watch speaker when When it comes to to test scores 72% of kids are achieving the provincial standard up 18 percentage points from Just over half before we took off us. We have invested heavily in education We're proud to make those investments in education because our kids are worth it Again to the acting premier Students and families are paying the price for this government's misplaced priorities We are told there have been no cuts to the classroom Maybe the minister should check whatever version of facts. She's using today page 230 of the budget clearly lays out a 250 million dollar cut in year 220 22.5 million dollars in cuts to special education impacting our most vulnerable kids in Toronto 250 115 teachers fired and a hundred ESL instructors fired all because of cuts The minister has lost all credibility and has created chaos in our schools The only person in this province that should be getting a pink slip is the minister of education Will the acting premier issue the minister of education of pink slip for creating chaos in our school Yes, thank you very much and What I think we all understand except perhaps the member opposite is that school funding is based on the number of students And when you have a when you have the enrollment going down in year Yes, we make in-year adjustments because there are less students, but despite the Reduction in the minute number of students special education has real as continued derives the Funding but what is creating a problem in our school speaker? And you would understand this is We have a situation where in the English public schools The teachers are on a partial strike and are refusing to produce report cards They're refusing to do extracurricular activities The QP workers are refusing to clean the halls and some of the education workers are Refusing demand the security system none of those actions is except Thank you Merci monsieur le président ma question. Thank you. My question is for the minister of health and long-term care My question is about the annual flu shot Know that the annual flu season can actually be quite Depilitating and has of course a range of effects from and absenteeism to fevered illness to Hospitalization and unfortunately in case of several hundred people deaths annually Avoidance measures like cough and sneeze etiquette and frequent hand washing of course are to be employed to avoid the spread through vital Droplets and patients will often ask why does the injection change? Speaker the injection changes annually because the virus is involved change annually So I asked the minister when will this important Offer from the government of Ontario be available flu shot immunization for people of Ontario. Thank you Thank you, mr. Speaker and thank you to the member from Etobicoke North for this very timely question I'm pleased to say mr. Speaker that yesterday morning I launched at a pharmacy. In fact, this falls Flu immunization program and starting this week starting immediately the free flu vaccine is available for all Ontarians at doctors offices nurse-led clinics public health units community clinics and of course our pharmacies and for the first time this year We're going to be offering a new vaccine a quadrivalent vaccine Against the flu that protects our children and youth from two to 17 years It protects them against four different strains of flu instead of the usual three and so this quadrivalent vaccine is now available It's available to that age group So when you get vaccinated against the flu mr. Speaker you build up your immunity making yourself more stronger more resistant So I encourage all Ontarians including our health care workers importantly to get vaccinated against the flu and do it early Thank you, Speaker. I particularly Enjoyed the minister's response describing that very powerful vaccine as quadrivalent having said that speaker the Minister as you will know part of the principle of medicine is Immunization because prevention is always better than cure and we as physicians know that unfortunately flu type illnesses can affect the extremes of age Our older populations as well as our younger populations those under five But of course it can be a bit of a negotiation when you're trying to inflict or offer or inject young children But I understand now minister that the government of Ontario is actually going to be envisioning and offering other Injectable or other immunization options, which I think is a welcome development in the practice of medicine Ontario And I would respectfully invite the question on this house about that Thank You mr. Speaker and thanks again to the member from Etobica north Mr. Speaker this year for the first time in this province the flu vaccine will be available to kids for free in the form of a nasal spray mr. Speaker and this is Incredibly important for those of us who are parents who understand the challenge that we sometimes sometimes face in vaccinating our kids Particularly on an annual basis and then wanting to avoid every needle that they can so for children and youth between the ages of 2 and 17 the same quadrivalent vaccine Is available, but in the form of a nasal spray mr. Speaker and as mentioned earlier There are more ways than ever to get vaccinated through your local pharmacy through your primary care provider Public health units community workplace clinics. There's really not an excuse not to get vaccinated and I'm tearing should get Thank You speaker good morning my question is for the minister of finance The story concocted by the government to explain the millions paid out to the teachers unions for hotels and pizzas Is starting to show cracks last month's public accounts Details Ministry of Education payments to hotel chains, so it's clear they do business directly with the hotels Here's a sampling speaker the holiday in fifty four thousand seven hundred and seventy eight the West in fifty six thousand eight hundred and twenty six best Western eighty seven thousand four hundred and thirteen Marriott two hundred and fifty four thousand six hundred and sixty five shared in three hundred and one thousand three hundred and thirteen So to the minister of finance if the government regularly pays for these hotels Directly, why would they need to pay the payments to teachers unions? minister of finance Minister of Education Minister of Education Thank You speaker. I was actually going to give them the answer Section of one hotel Those hotels didn't actually have collective bargaining going on at them what they did have was professional development for principles They had Consultations going on about the GS and in some cases there were regional meetings for educators There were probably some training sessions at one of them for one of your own members Private members of education events only one of those hotels has negotiations going on at it in one location and that would be the government's hotel rooms Thank you. We do have hotel rooms ourselves. Thank you Sure, if I wanted a non answer to my question, I would have directed it to the minister of education But the people of Ontario want answers regarding their finances. So again to the finance minister We now know that $750,000 worth of local hotels was booked by the Ministry of Education last year But public accounts also details payments of nearly $600,000 for catering so it's clear the Ministry of Education paid for the hotels and food suppliers directly Interestingly enough none of them were for a pizza chains The minister made payments to the teachers unions with no receipts and then made payments for the hotels and food Suppliers directly so where did the money really go? Was to the hotel chain and Caterers for meetings that had absolutely nothing to do with collective bargaining in the vast majority of things which Actually, however does prove the point that look at those are for the most part one off two or one day two day meetings and if one day or two day meetings Cost that much when you're replicating them in regions all over the province Think how much it costs if you actually are doing collective bargaining and you're at the hotel for a whole year Mr. Speaker My questions to the acting Premier this week the Premier will be visiting my beautiful riding of Niagara Falls for the entire Ontario Economic Summit The people of Niagara and all our elected officials including Alcaston the regional chair all the mayors as well as regional and city Counselors will all tell her that supporting daily two-way go-rail service to Niagara This project will create will create thousands of good-paying jobs in the region and bring nearly $200 million in economic benefits to Niagara The last federal the last federal government committed to supporting go-service to Niagara Falls and now Justin Trudeau has promised Billions for their go-rail sir system the Premier is meeting with him today Will the Premier asked mr. Trudeau for the funding so she can come to Niagara and announce a plan for daily To a go-rail service all the way to beautiful Niagara Falls Thank you Thanks very much speaker I thank the member opposite for the question today of course I've had the pleasure as have many on this side of the house including the Premier as he mentioned had the pleasure to meet with Representatives from Niagara region over the last number of months and of course speaker I believe that member would know that our member from St. Catharines is a champion for his region and for his community And he has repeatedly talked about the need for us to move forward on this very important file speaker But of course, I think this question goes to the very heart of Why it's so important that we have a premier and a government in place here in Ontario that believes in the importance of Making the tough decisions to build the province of speaker and it's interesting that that member and that caucus would be asking this Kind of question on the exact same day when they stand up and question our decision to go forward with investing in crucial infrastructure Thank you very much Mr. Speaker, I'll answer the members question a hundred and seventy municipalities have voted and said no to selling hydro 85% of Ontarians have said no to selling hydro There is a better way in the last general election premier called increased go-train service And I quote to Niagara Falls a very high priority the liberal member from St. Catharines, Mr. Bradley your liberal cabinet chair said you could see all-year go-way rail service coming in 2015 But I haven't seen any action the word Niagara appears nowhere Nowhere in Metrolinx most recent five-year plan will the premier keep her promise to the people of Niagara and Immediately fund daily two-way go-rail service all the way to beautiful Niagara Falls Thanks very much speaker I think the member for his follow-up question of course the Ministry of Transportation and Metrolinx will continue to work with the region of Niagara as we sort through some of the technical information that they provided to us and that we look forward to providing back to them in terms of that ongoing dialogue speaker, but of course that member must surely know What a ridiculous contradiction it is for him to stand in this house mere minutes after his leader Stands up in questions our motivation and our premier motivation with respect to making sure the tough decisions are made so that we can Invest in infrastructure and of course speaker mere minutes later He stands up and says what my leader said is true for everybody except for my home region, of course Speaker that kind of that kind of unfortunate direction from that member is exactly why they're sitting where they are and exactly Why their federal cousins are also sitting where they are? Good question the member from the Tobacco Center Thank you speaker my question is for the Minister of Citizenship immigration and international trade Minister I believe that we are the most diverse province in Canada with people representing many different languages cultures interests and talents I also believe and I'm sure many would agree that Ontarians are some of the kindest and most general generous people in the world And I say that because every day I see people in my riding of a Tobacco Center Volunteering their time participating in community projects to help make our community an even better place to live I think it's important speaker that our government celebrate and show pride and gratitude to these people whenever possible for their Contributions to our communities speaker could the minister please tell the house how the government recognizes these outstanding citizens Thank you, thank you speaker and want to thank the honorable member from if the Tobacco Center and Is really a champion of our diversity in Ontario speaker? My ministry is the home of the Honours and Awards Secretary which works year-round and recognize and thank Ontarians for a variety of wonderful things and reasons Whether it be recognition of skills and talent thanking dedicated Ontarians for lifelong service to the province or Rewarding volunteers. We know how important it is to recognize outstanding citizens Ontario Honours and Awards delivers 17 recognition programs speaker Included in these programs are the order of Ontario the matter for good Citizenship the June call work award for one terrorism answer matter for young volunteers and more. Thank you speaker Thank you supplementary Thank you speaker and thank you to the minister for for his response These are of course the sound like excellent opportunities for Ontarians to nominate people in their communities that have provided an outstanding contribution And as the minister mentioned we have people who dedicate so much of their time to helping their communities and making the world a better place And their speaker there are so many areas in which Ontarians do that there's so many areas in which Ontarians excel for example I think of one of the areas is is an academia in post-secondary education with multiple post-secondary institutions ranked in the Top 100 in the world We have a Nobel Prize and more we have much to be proud of here in Ontario in our addition speaker We have many creative leaders who call Ontario home and these creative minds are sure to have been encouraged and nurtured from a young age It's one of the reasons I think it's so important to get youth involved in the creative process at a young age So speaking speaker with the minister Please inform the house of any programs that help recognize achievement in the creative art specifically. Thank you You can a more than happy to do that a speaker our government office a number a number of Recognition programs for the creative arts just yesterday. I was pleased to join the Honourable Elizabeth Doubtwell Andy Honourable James Parliament to be sent Six young talented aboriginal women with the James Parliament aboriginal youth creative writing award the award celebrates aboriginal youth For their creative writing efforts and provides them with an opportunity to showcase their work to a broader audience speaker congratulations to Lira Emily Derry and Rachel Catherine and justice are being selected as a young writers I hope that this recognition will be by them to keep writing and expressing themselves through their works Thank you speaker My question is to the acting Premier today We learned in the Toronto Sun that the government is going to amend the municipal act to allow all Municipalities to charge their own municipal land transfer tax There's only one taxpayer speaker and they are already stretched to the limit Affordable home ownership is becoming a growing challenge for many Ontario families at a time when we should be encouraging home ownership The government is prepared to hit homeowners with $10,000 in taxes on the average price Ontario home Will the acting Premier before it is too late stop the imposition of any new municipal land transfer taxes Thank you Deputy Premier Minister finance Let's be clear. No decision has been made. We're currently consulting With our municipal partners something that the opposition when they were in power did not do Mr Speaker all they did was download and made and impose stress on those municipalities We recognize that we have to have a strong working relationship with them and working together We can ensure that services to their communities are maintained and are predicted mr. Speaker So we're currently reviewing the missile act and we're consulting and that's all we're doing at this point Thank you supplementary To municipalities that's up to this Premier and her cabinet to make that power and give that power to municipalities The spread of a municipal land transfer tax would make Ontario the most Uncompetitive tax jurisdiction in North America when it comes to buying a home the article in the Toronto Also noted that during the 2014 election campaign this government said it had no plans to extend municipal land transfer tax powers to other Municipalities beyond Toronto from high grow rates to land transfer taxes The government is pricing people out of owning a home There is still time to stop this flawed policy and I'm again going to ask the question Will you commit today to not giving any more municipalities the ability to charge a municipal land? Thank you The opposition member is asking us not to review the municipal municipal act The member opposite is saying that what we're doing is receiving input from municipalities and absolutely decisions have been made at this time as part of the review of the municipal act We've been meeting with municipalities to discuss a variety of issues issues that include sufficient accountability and transparency whether municipalities have the powers and tools to those to deliver those services Effectively and what barriers? Mr. Palos face in achieving their financial sustainability We would encourage municipalities and the public to engage with their councils as we welcome their input as part of our review Mr. Speaker they want to put their heads in the sand we recognize that we have to have open consultations That's exactly what we're doing and will allow the people to speak their mind and let them be heard Thank you Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good morning to you my question is to the minister of training college in the university The Jalsa youth program provides disadvantaged youth on Manitoulin Island aged 15 to 18 with the equivalent of eight weeks of full-time paid work with local employers in August the Manitoulin separate district services board received word from your ministry that funding would be drastically cut what if anything is your ministry doing to help unemployed and disadvantaged youth find work in on Manitoulin Island and in Northern communities Mr. Speaker I want to thank the member opposite for that question. Mr. Speaker my ministry and our government has been investing in people of Ontario. We believe that people of Ontario. They are the greatest assets of this country of this nation That's what we have been investing quite heavily in training education as well as in research and innovation actually for that matter Mr. Speaker the youth Employment strategy of Ontario. We have invested three hundred million dollars in youth job strategy And we will continue to invest in training and education our youth as we move forward. Thank you Thank you Again to the to the minister Manitoulin Island the allocation for Manitoulin La Clache is for seven seven youth a reduction from 58 or an 88 percent cut The Manitoulin this Sudbury district services board and its 18 member municipalities set the letter to the premier stating and I quote The need to understand how the ministry can reduce the number of youth placements from 111 to 19 This represents an 83% reduction in the number of high-risk youth obtaining job summer jobs Minister the district services board asked at AMO for a meeting. They were denied They're asking again minister. Don't leave these youth behind. When will you agree to meet with them? Mr. Speaker I would like to meet with everyone with every youth group and student groups and so on so forth So we are open for discussion. We're open to learn from our youth But mr. Speaker we have introduced youth job connection program Which is a continuation of your job strategy since we came to the office, mr. Speaker We've invested quite heavily in training education of youth and we will continue to invest youth job connection Served all was the 25,000 students to find job placements in the past and we will continue to invest in your education, mr. Speaker. Thank you Thank you, mr. Speaker my question is for the Minister of Environment and Climate Change I was pleased that bill 66 the Great Lakes Protection Act has made its way through the House committee and Now passing third reading on October the 7th This is the third time a Great Lakes Protection Act have been brought forward to this legislature I want to thank all those who participated and brought their ideas and concerns for the Great Lakes to these conversations as a Member who's riding is on Lake Ontario. I understand perhaps more particularly Speaker how passionate and caring how passionate Ontarians are and how much they care about their Great Lakes my question mr. Speaker through you to the front to the minister is What would this bill mean for the health and protection of our Great Lakes and how will it benefit all Ontarians? And I want to thank the member from Burlington for her very thoughtful question I think her own community is an example of it as Many of us know we've had to replace the operating rooms in the hospital there twice after construction within 24 months and Mayor Goldring will tell us the stormwater sewers Systems in Burlington are being overwhelmed by regular events that exceed the hundred flood level This is a Burlington's a relatively new community We're talking about a lot of new infrastructure and that affects water quality and that affects the entire Economy of communities like Burlington on the lakes the Great Lakes Protection Act is an extraordinarily powerful piece of legislation because it creates valuable networks and supports in communities for local action on water quality of Protection and bringing all the players together locally and in my supplementary mr. Speaker I'll elaborate some examples of how this is working so well already. Thank you supplementary Thank You minister for your answer I'm thrilled to hear that the strengthened bill emphasizes restoring the Great Lakes to good health and Ensuring that they are drinkable swimmable and fishable for generations to come It is important however that we create opportunities for the public to become involved in their protection and restoration I Understand that an important feature of this legislation is the creation of the Great Lakes Council Speaker can the minister please share with this house who the council will bring together and what its mandate will be Thank you minister. Thank you very much mr. Speaker and through you to the member for Burlington and to my colleagues You know it's it really is the connective tissue that brings all kinds of community efforts together Yesterday evening mr. Speaker the great pleasure of spending a good part of the evening with our source water protection Committees and all of members in the house In the southern three quarters the province have them and they they were very aware of the act and they said to me You know, we're we have 20 we have 20 of the 22 plans approved now We have the other two coming in the next few weeks And this will be our first year next year with source water protection plans for all Ontarians and they said you know We got to work with indigenous people. We have to get alignment of municipal plans We have to work with our conservation authority our mayors our local businesses We've got challenges on the Great Lakes with low water levels causing a damage to marine infrastructure Other years that being destroyed by ice all of this involves that and the guardians council Which is not an important sir regulatory body It's a volunteer body allows for this connections to happen and for local plans to be implemented and for local collaboration Which is thank you. We think is what's so important mr. Speaker Question for the Attorney General last week Scott Todd deputy commissioner of the OPP and Representatives from the RCMP as well as the FBI spoke on a cross-border investigation that led to over a hundred and ninety arrests of human trafficking related offenses in the United States and in Canada Scott Todd emphasized the importance of information sharing Collaboration and sharing of resources between regional jurisdictions in order to combat human trafficking In my motion that I tabled earlier this year, which was unanimously supported by the house I called for the creation of a task force to coordinate a team of officers and crown attorneys and Established consistent specialized services for victims mr. Speaker When will the government take the necessary action to combat human trafficking more effectively and create this provincial task force? Thank you This is an excellent question, and I believe I am going to check But I believe that there is already this this group working together I know that when I was the minister of public safety, you know human trafficking was a very very important Point and I know that the police officer and every police Group in Ontario were working together along with the RCMP and I know that my ministry they have these attorney general attorney general the the crown working together and our government as a consolidated approach to combat human trafficking and Raise awareness on this issue including initiative focus on prevention and forcemen Support and victim so and our ministry fund a broad range of support and services for victim of human trafficking And I'll continue in the supplementary. Thank you very much supplementary Well, thank you, mr. Speaker, and I know the group has done excellent work, but they need help This insidious nature of human traffic and trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery. It is hidden It's not isolated to a single jurisdiction The government needs to create the task force that will allow local law enforcement agencies to collaborate and open lines of communications It is needs that concerted effort to stop human trafficking across Canada and especially in Ontario Where it's the largest domestic human trafficking rings that we know of in the press conference last week operation northern? Spotlight emphasize that victims are not always socially or economically disadvantaged that they rarely identify themselves to authorities during investigations So in creating a specialized task force, which would give More resources to the probably the largest growing time in a crime in Ontario How are you going to help the victims feel safe that they can come forward to offenders? And again, the speaker my ministry the ministry of the attorney general has provided specialized training to prosecutors police and victim service staff prosecutor police and victim service staff consult with each other and With other justice partner to share knowledge and best practice and as I said, we have quite a few Program that are available to help a victim like we have the victim crisis assistance Ontario We have the victim quick response program. We have the sexual assault centre We have the victim witness assistant program We have the victim support line where someone you know can call and get the service And we offer the service in 24 languages and over on dirt and 24 hours a day seven days a week and Undead in 150 languages, mr. Speaker. We have also the victim service directory and many other Pursuit is Pursuant to standing order 38 a the member from Algoma Manitoulin has given notice of his dissatisfaction with the answer to his question Given by the minister of training college universities concerning the Manitoulin Sudbury district services board This matter will be debated today at 6 p.m. We have a deferred vote on the most for second reading of bill 112 an act to amend the energy consumer Protection Act to 2010 and the Ontario Energy Board Act 1998 calling the members This will be a five-minute bill but all members, please take their seats Members, please take your seats on September the 24th 2015 Mr. Shirley moves second reading of bill 112 an act to amend the energy consumer Protection Act 2010 and the Ontario Energy Board Act 1998 all those in favor, please rise one at a time be recognized by the clerk Mr. Nackley, Mr. Bradley, Madame Mayor, Mr. Sousa, Miss Matthews, Mr. Hoskins, Miss Sandals, Mr. Dugard, Miss McCharles, Mr. Quinter. Mr. Couls, Mr. Couls, Mr. Tacca, Mr. Tacharo, Mr. Brodanetti, Mr. Brodanetti, Mr. Delaney, Mr. Dilli, Mr. Dillon, Mr. Maskny Axle, Mr. Gourazetti, Mr. Gravel, Mr. Ghervel, Mr. Murray, Mr. Murphy, Mr. Cham, Mr. Moready, Mr. Moready, Mr. Leyill, Mr. Flaws, Mr. Flynn, Mr. Zimmer, Mr. PD, Mr. Burgos, Mr. Dixon, mr.inizio, mr. Crack, mr. Hunter, mr. Sergio, mr. Mrs. Chassis Mr. DelDuca Mrs. Dommer xenon Ms. Dommerla Ms. Wong Mr. Fraser Mr. Fraser Mr. Anderson Mr. Anderson Mr. Baker Mr. Baker Mr. Ballard Mr. Ballard Mr. Don Mr. Don Ms. Hogarth Ms. Hogarth Ms. Mahler Ms. Molly Ms. Mawley Ms. Martin Ms. Martin Ms. McGarry Ms. McGarry Ms. McMan Mr. Miltche Ms. Miltche Ms. Miltche Ms. Miltche zero. The ayes being 96 and the nays being zero. The ayes being 96 and the nays being zero. I declare the motion carried. Do you think of the bill? Does the election pose you the one? Pursuant to the order of the House dated October 22nd, 2015 the bill is ordered referred to the standing committee and general government. We have a deferred vote on government notice of motion number 42 relating to the allocation of time on bill 113 calling the members this will be a five minute bill. Thank you. On Monday October 26th, 2015 Mr. Nackney moved government notice of motion number 42 all those in favor of the motion please rise one at a time be recognized by the clerk. Mr. Nackney. Mr. Bradley. Mr. Bradley. Madame Mayor. Madame Mayor. Mr. Sousa. Mr. Sousa. Ms. Matthews. Ms. Matthews. Mr. Hoskins. Mr. Hoskins. Ms. Sandals. Ms. Sandals. Mr. Dugas. Mr. Dugas. Ms. McCharles. Mr. McCharles. Mr. Quinter. Mr. Quinter. Mr. Cole. Mr. Cole. Mr. Ticcar. Mr. Ticcar. Mr. Ticcar. Mr. Ticcar. Mr. Ticcar. Mr. Ticcar. Mr. Burdenetti. Mr. Burdenetti. Mr. Delaney. Mr. Delaney. Mr. Dillon. Mr. Dillon. Mr. Dillon. Mr. Dillon. Mr. Dillon. Mr. Dillon. Mr. Dillon. Mr. Dillon. Mr. Dillon. Mr. Dillon. Mr. Dillon. Mr. Dillon. Mr. Dillon. Mr. Dillon. Mr. Dillon. Mr. Dillon. Mr. Dillon. Mr. Dillon. Mr. Dillon. Mr. Dillon. Mr. Dillon. Mr. Dillon. Mr. Dillon. Mr. Dillon. Mr. Dillon. Mr. Dillon. Mr. Dillon. Mr. Dillon. Mr. Dillon. Mr. Dillon. Mr. Dillon. Mr. Dillon. Mr. Dickson. Ms. Manga. Mr. Crack. Ms. Hunter. Mr. Sergio. Mr. Sergio. Mr. Moro. Mr. Moro. Ms. Jassy. Ms. Jassi. Mr. Del Ducca. Ms. Domal. Ms. Domal. Ms. Wong. Ms. Wong. Mr. Fraser. Mr. Fraser. Mr. Anderson. Mr. Anderson. Mr. Baker. Mr. Baker. Mr. Ballard. Mr. Ballard. Mr. Don. Mr. Don. Ms. Hogarth. Ms. Hogarth. Ms. Molly. All those opposed, please rise one at a time and be recognized by the clerk. Mr. Wilson. Mr. Wilson. Mr. Arnaud. Mr. Arnaud. Mr. Hardiman. Mr. Hardiman. Mr. McLeod. Mr. McLeod. Ms. Jones. Ms. Jones. Mr. Brown. Mr. Brown. Mr. Clark. Mr. Clark. Mr. Fidelli. Mr. Fidelli. Mr. Yakibuski. Mr. Yakibuski. Mr. Hillier. Mr. Hillier. Mr. McNaughton. Mr. McNaughton. Ms. Scott. Ms. Scott. Mr. Walker. Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith. Mr. Harris. Mr. Harris. Mr. Nichols. Mr. Nichols. Ms. Marto. Mr. Shibisan. Mr. Bissant. Mr. Singh. Mr. Singh. Ms. Horvath. Ms. Horvath. Mr. Vantove. Mr. Miller-Hamilton-Eastonie Creek. Mr. Miller-Hamilton-Eastonie Creek. Ms. Sattler. Ms. Sattler. Ms. Taylor. Ms. Taylor. Mr. Natasha. Ms. Natasha. Ms. Armstrong. Ms. Arnstra. Ms.rangelina. Ms. Fyke. Ms. Forster. Ms. Forster. Ms. French. Ms. Campbell. The ayes are 52, the nays are 44. The ayes being 52, the nays being 44, declare the motion carried. There are no further referred votes. This House stands for assessment until 3 p.m. this afternoon.