 Time for oral questions, Leader of the Official Opposition. Speaker, my first question is to the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services. The Conservatives are refusing to say why they slammed the brakes on the new police oversight rules. Yesterday we asked the Minister whether he will allow even more carding to take place instead of doing the right thing and stamping out carding once and for all. And in response, he stigmatized an entire community. He used awful stereotypes to describe that community and he made comments that were deeply offensive to many people. Will the Minister apologize to racialized Ontarians for his racist remarks? Recognize the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services. Thank you Mr. Speaker. First off, nobody, not one person on this side of the House is going to be silenced from speaking out on behalf of or fighting for the families that are at risk because of gang and gun violence will be looked after and will be listened to. People are dying every single week. The NDP continues to insult and undermine our men and women in uniform and they continue to do everything they can to block action and to give our police more resources to improve enforcement to protect those communities. If we do nothing, the number of victims will continue to grow. The NDP want to do nothing because to them it's not about public safety. It's about public opinion. We're the only party in this House prepared to do something about it. We're going to get those resources to our police. Speaker, this has nothing to do with policing resources. This has to do with an unacceptable remark made by a minister of the Crown in this House. And we will challenge him on those remarks and challenge this government on their attitudes when it comes to racialized communities. It is unacceptable for the minister to refuse to answer questions day after day about why they slammed the brakes on the Special Investigation Unit Act. It is unacceptable for the minister to stigmatize an entire community using racist stereotypes. And it is unacceptable for the minister to care so little about the discriminatory, unconstitutional and ongoing use of carding in our communities. How can this minister honestly want to allow more carding on our streets when he should be stamping it out for good? Minister? Mr. Speaker, we have been clear from day one. We're going to make sure we are giving our frontline officers the tools they need to do their job. We are committed to fixing Bill 175 and treating our frontline officers with respect. This includes a full and thorough review of the legislation governing police services and police oversight. This will be done by consulting experts, police services and the public. It's been stated and it's being restated. This is our position. All week this minister has demonstrated an appalling lack of knowledge on the most pressing issues in his portfolio and a lack of respect for the people that he serves. He has failed to answer simple questions about his own decisions. He has offended the people that he works for, the people of Ontario with racist remarks. And he actually has the ridiculous idea that carding works. How can this minister think that Ontario needs more carding and more arbitrary police street checks when the people have been saying the exact opposite for many, many years? Mr. Speaker, we have been clear with respect to giving police officers the tools they need to do their work. The police have tools in their hands and specifically on carding, carding is not something that we have endorsed. I'm not a police officer but I will listen to our frontline officers and ensure that they have the resources they need to do their jobs. I'll make sure we're working with communities, listen to the communities to ensure that we're building trust between our police and the communities that they're in. Mr. Speaker, my next question is for the Deputy Premier but I just have to say that you don't build trust with racist slurs. This government is dragging Ontario backwards. This government is dragging Ontario backwards. Scrapping the updated sexual health curriculum and imposing the outdated 1998 curriculum hurts all of our students. It denies kids the crucial information that they need to learn about consent. It's silent on cyber safety and it fails to ensure that queer youth are fully supported in our schools. Why is this Deputy Premier, the member for New Market Aurora, putting kids at risk to appease the Premier's radical social conservative friends? Deputy Premier. And thank you again for the question on this outside curriculum. What we want to do is listen to parents and protect students. We are very clear that they were concerned about the curriculum that was brought forward by the previous Liberal government. They were concerned about the age that children were being taught about certain subjects. We want to conduct a full public consultation with parents to make sure that we understand what parents are comfortable with with having their children learning in schools and to make sure that we update it to deal with all of the issues that they need to learn about. But it is important to note that we are moving forward, that we will continue in the fall with the 2014 curriculum and we are starting those consultations in the fall so we can get a new curriculum in place as soon as possible. Just to be clear for those Ontarians here in the gallery and folks at home, there is no 2014 curriculum. It is 1998 curriculum straight up and this government needs to be honest about that. In 2015, the current Education Minister in 2015 said this and I quote, Our education critic was very forthcoming in saying the Minister of Education has done a lot of consulting around this. A lot of consulting. That was the minister before the Premier cut his backroom deal with Tonya Granik Allen and Charles McVidi. Now she's ripping up that work and imposing a curriculum on students that ignores consent and LGBTQ communities and families. Why is this Deputy Premier okay with the Premier making backroom deals with radical far-right extremists that will only hurt Ontario's kids? Deputy Premier. Well, I would say to the leader of the official opposition that the people that Premier Ford is listening to and the members of our government are listening to are the people of Ontario who elected us, heard from parents that they were not given an adequate opportunity to be consulted. 4,000 parents got a link to the survey by the previous government. 1,638 responses were received, 0.001% of the elementary school population. That is not a full consultation. We are going to do a thorough, comprehensive end-to-end consultation that takes into account the views of parents and protects our students in our schools. Final supplement. We start the clock. Final supplement. I guess the voices of queer youth and LGBTQ families are not very important to this government. At the start of this week's speaker, the Minister of Education said that she would allow consent to remain in the curriculum this September. Then she put out a statement reversing that comment and saying that the whole curriculum is being scrapped. Someone told the Minister to get in line and backtrack fast. So, the people of Ontario deserve to know who's really in the driver's seat here, Speaker, whether it's Charles McVidi, Tanya Granick-Allen or any other radical extremist who's owed favours by our Premier. Who is making the decision behind closed doors to deny our kids the information that they need? Consider the official opposition that we've been very clear from the beginning. Premier Ford has been very clear from the beginning. That's what he talked about during the election campaign, that we are going to take a look, listen to parents and develop a new sex ed curriculum. That is inclusive of everyone and we want to make sure that everyone gets included in the discussion. So that's why we are going to take the time beginning this fall. We're not wasting any time with it to have that full consultation with all parents, all students, to make sure that we take into account the needs of all of the students in our schools. Thank you. Member for Brampton North. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services. Yesterday I asked whether this government would work to stamp out carding. The question was not answered. The disturbing response instead painted an alarming picture of Jane and Finch as a community in which people had to wear bulletproof vests because, when I quote, it previously had bullet-ridden people killed in the middle of the night. This comment was completely unacceptable. Jane and Finch is a community where families go on walks to Topcliff Park, a community where friends hang out at the Oakville Community Center, and Jane and Finch is certainly a community where kids attend Fergrove Public School. Now these stories, they have to be told. The Conservative government cannot go around and should not get away with spewing racist stereotypes. So my question is... Question. Thank you. Response. Response. Minister. The purpose of my visit to that particular area was because of concerns in the area. I'm very well aware of the area and the multicultural nature of that particular community. But let me be clear about something. The reason I wore a bulletproof vest was because the police of 31 Division advised me to wear it. The Toronto Police commented yesterday that a vest is standard procedure on any ride-alongs. The real insult here is not that I wore the vest. It's the fact that I needed a vest in the first place. And you know, it was that little eight-year-old girl that I was concerned about wondering how she could have a safe community. It's not something that at eight years old anyone should be worried about. The status quo is falling apart. And I think we all know that, Mr. Speaker. Clock. Supplementary. Mr. Speaker, the NDP government, we are full aware of the... Mr. Speaker, we are fully aware that the NDP, my leader, myself and everyone here, we all agree that there was a problem out there and something has to be done. And we understand that. CARDING is not the way to go, Mr. Speaker. The two girls who were shot in Scarborough was appalling. And that's something that we want to stop as well. But as I mentioned before, CARDING, that's not the way to go. Now, yesterday during the late show, the member from Brampton South, Prime Minister Sarkaria, was avidly in support of CARDING. Just a few years ago, Mr. Sarkaria, who was then Ontario Vice President... I would advise the member that when you're talking about another MPP, mention them by their riding name and not by their personal name. The member from Brampton South, who was then the Ontario Vice President of the World Sick Organization of Canada, said, and I quote, Canada has an international reputation as a champion of human rights. Many young people in Ontario, including six, had been negatively impacted by CARDING. Time's up. Response? Minister of Community Safety. Mr. Speaker, I'm going to state it and I'm going to be very clear. The Premier was very clear about this. They are not bringing back CARDING. Restart the clock. Next question. Member for Brampton West. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, as this is my first time rising in this House. I'd like to take a second and thank my family, friends, and all my constituents in Brampton West for their trust in me as they represented you. Congratulations to you, Mr. Speaker, on your new role. It is well deserved. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services. Yesterday, the Leader of the Opposition and her caucus spent the day making party partisan critical attacks about the minister. They accused the minister of being racist because he told the story about party spending in a ride along with 31 division. Now we know this is a party that doesn't support police officers. But Mr. Speaker, can the minister tell us more about the NDP's shameless reaction? First of all, I'd like to welcome and congratulate the member from... Mr. Speaker, to sit down. That's the minister to sit down. So of course, question period has to raise issues that refer to the government's policy. I don't believe that question has met that standard. Do I give myself? Do I give myself a question? We can give the member a chance to rephrase the question if he chooses to do so. What's your policy on the carding? Back to the... Thank you very much for the question. And once again, welcome and congratulations. We have been clear from the very beginning with respect to where we stand, wanting to have safe communities and ensure that police have the proper tools to do their jobs. But I would like to make a statement with respect to wearing a police vest and make it very, very clear that this is a standard that happens throughout the province of Ontario. And I'd like to point out for the record that the member, for example, from Niagara Falls wore a bulletproof vest on July 29th with the Niagara Regional Police for Durham. The member for Durham who spent 12 hours on April 20th of this year with Durham Regional Police wore a vest. And I was also surprised by the member from St. Paul's on April 14th of 2015 tweeted and I quote bulletproof vest. Yes, yes, yes. Safety and security first. We should all have one under our beds. Thank you. Next question. Member for Brampton Centre. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Since this is my first time rising, I'd like to congratulate all members on their election and especially you to this magnificent vote. My question is to the acting Premier. My community of Brampton has been suffering as much of the GTA has been. These events are not new, but evidence of a major urban community growing faster than its needs are being met. And while the violence continues, it is clear that racialized often young Bramptonians have been routinely carted. Yesterday, the acting Premier said that this government would no longer use carting. While the Minister of Community Safety said, excuse me, I'm not done. Let me finish the question. Thank you. What street checks are a tool? My question, Speaker, to the acting Premier. Who is right? Mr. Speaker, and thank you for the question. I believe it's already been answered. Both the Minister and I have indicated that carting is not going to come back into play, but we do support our police. We do support the need to give them all the tools that they need in order to combat violence, increasing gang violence in communities like yours, mine, everywhere else in Ontario. And we want to make sure that they do have the tools that are going to be effective that will allow them to do their job. Mr. Premier, while we understand that there are many ways to address the problem, and police are one aspect of addressing many of the root causes of violence in our communities, the violence in my community did not just happen overnight. We are not against the police. We are here to have constructed dialogue about solutions. Just take your seat for a second. I ask the government members to please come to order and allow the member to place her question. I have to be able to hear her. I turn to the member for Branson. As I was saying, the violence in my community did not just happen overnight. There is evidence of a growing community here that is in great need of services and supports for young people. We have over 700,000 people and growing and yet only one hospital. There are by not enough services for our young people to access, for example, mental health services when needed. Branton needs more schools and anti-violence intervention programs in our schools. We need better and more affordable housing options. What our young people don't need is to be further stigmatized and criminalized. Thank you. Response. I'm not sure what question I'm supposed to answer here. It's about young people. It's about schools. It's about hospitals. It's going to be a bit more specific because it's unclear to me what response it is that you're looking for. Next question. Member for Milton. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question today is for the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services and Responsibility for Immigration. I note that Premier Ford and the Minister have stood up strongly to protect interior taxpayers from federal liberal inaction on illegal border crossers. It has put massive strain on social safety net meant to help vulnerable interiors. The result of the federal failure policies are a strained temporary shelter system from Ottawa to Toronto, Mr. Speaker, a strained welfare system, a strained over legal aid system. I also note that the government's effort to have, by Prime Minister Trudeau, have a massive strain on our social safety net has caused federal cabinet shuffle, Mr. Speaker. I draw your attention to the appointment of Bill Blair as Minister responsible for border security and organized crime. My question is about the shift in strategy by Trudeau. Has the Prime Minister acknowledged through his appointment that organized crime is involved in broken border and tens of thousands of illegal... Thank you. Minister of Children. I thank the member for his reelection to do his election to this place as well as his distinguished service to the federal government where he has experience with this issue. I note that Ontario is a welcoming place and each year we receive about 40% of all immigrants to Canada and we are very proud that in 1974 you chose not only Canada but Ontario to settle in this country. The member also recognized that the federal government has soldier restriction of border management and Canada's refugee and asylum programs. I simply ask the federal government to allow Ontario $175 million $90 million of which is from our social assistance program. I was heartened to see that the federal government understands that there is a border crisis in the appointment of Bill Blair yesterday and had the opportunity to speak to Mr Blair on the weekend and I know that he is going to take our concerns very seriously but I think it's a significant win for the province of Ontario that not only have they appointed a minister responsible for border control but that they are starting to talk to our municipalities about paying their bills. We are just going to keep doing that. Thank you Mr Speaker and I thank the minister for her answer. With this failure by the federal government to take action the city of Toronto and the province of Ontario are now on hook for massive costs worth millions of dollars Mr Speaker. Can the minister tell us the cost to the interior taxpayers for this wrong headed open border policy by the federal liberal government and tell this House whether there is any hope that the federal liberals will ever pay their bills Mr Speaker Mr Trudeau says budgets balance themselves and we haven't seen that so they are not very good at math with them over in the Ontario and the federal liberal party I think Kathleen Lynn may have taught them how to do that math but let me be perfectly clear the cost that we have incurred in the province of Ontario as a result of this federal program is three million dollars that we have already given to the Red Cross right now we have 800 dormitory beds and we have given to these asylum seekers and making sure that there is a place for them to stay but we need that space back as of August the 9th because we do have students coming back into the classroom but we do have some costs that have been incurred and I want to reiterate this it's very serious the city of Toronto is upwards of 74 million dollars in shelter costs above and beyond their normal capacity the city of Ottawa is over and above their normal capacity by about 11 million dollars in addition to that my own department which is responsible for social assistance is it requires about 19 million dollars to make us whole and I can assure you this side of the house the progressive conservative caucus will stand up to the Trudeau government to make it thank you very much you start the clock I recognize the member for Spadina Fort York chair as it's the first time I'm rising in the house I'd like to congratulate you on your election as chair and I'd like to thank the people of Spadina Fort York for the trust they've put in me my question is to the minister of community safety and correctional services over the past five years I have investigated gun violence through research and community consultations time and again community members have unwaveringly shared that the solution to the root causes of gun violence in our communities requires addressing issues like poverty, access to housing access to education and mental health the solution to gun violence is not bulletproof vests rather addressing the roots of gun violence in our communities and community informed solutions so my question is will this government listen to the voices of our communities who call for addressing the deeper social issues that lead to the increasing level of gun violence in Toronto minister of community safety thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you for the question public safety is our primary concern and we're committing to examining current community funding programs and their effectiveness in reducing gun gun violence and gang related activity in Ontario we remain committed to working with our policing partners to provide resources and tools that will ensure community safety across the entire province thank you supplementary up to this point the response has been about the police the conservatives response to gun violence that is involved only the police in Ontario are more harm than good while the minister of community and safety and correctional services believes that bulletproof vests will address the root causes of gun violence community members are calling for real long term solutions band aid solutions simply do not cut it even Mayor John Tory has recognized this and has expanded funding to community programs so my question is what initiatives will the conservative government to create to address the roots of violence thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you again for the question Mr. Speaker public safety is our primary concern especially the protection of innocent children with the rise in gun violence on our streets it's clear that the status quo is failing and we're the only party in this house prepared to do something about it I'm committed to working with our police officers and services our communities and everyone in this province to find solutions that will keep our community and protect Ontarians from being the victims of senseless violence Thank you Thank you Mr. Speaker my question is for the Vice Premier will have significant impact on many people because one of the key aspects of the cap and trade was to redistribute money from polluters to initiatives that reduce gas emissions and save energy several very important programs were funded by the revenues of the cap and trade among them the social housing apartment improvement program and the social housing retrofit program which allowed social housing in different municipalities to get money to retrofit their building to save energy costs improve tenants comfort and reduce their emissions I know that in Ottawa there's a big difference for social housing to be able to replace windows improve insulation I want to know what is going to happen to these programs what is the plan and can it be shared with Ontarians Thank you very much to the member for the question we were very clear during the election campaign that we were going to scrap the cap and trade program because of carbon tax this is going to result in saving the average family $285 a year and it's going to help us as we move towards reducing gas prices and so on and reducing prices for Ontario families we promise that we know that families are hard to pay their bills these days to be able to pay their hydro bills and to feed their families so what we are going to do though is although we've scrapped cap and trade we are going to look at those programs where funding will continue to be necessary and we will continue to fund it but it won't be through cap and trade and it won't be through that program now the elimination of cap and trades has also had other consequences and I'd like to just name a few in a recent article by Goodman LLP which is a reputable business law firm for more than 30 years it says the following the cancellation by Premier Ford the Ontario cap and trade program did not comply with the withdrawal procedure under the Ontario's western climate initiatives agreement with Quebec and California which specifies that a party intends to withdraw must give 12 months notice and it goes on to say the province of Ontario's abrupt withdrawal resulted in the immediate cessation of trading allowance with Ontario's entities the article continues that the cancellation will set back the Ontario clean tech industry so there are reputational risk to the province of Ontario to behave in such a cavalier way and not to respect its international agreement this is particularly worrisome in the context of a period where international trade uncertainty so my question is did the government of Ontario do an economic analysis of the cost of this abrupt cancellation of the cap and trade thank you thank you response response Deputy Premier considered all of the arguments but we are listening to the people of Ontario the people of a carbon tax we have listened to them we got elected on a promise promise made promise cap restart the clock next question the member for Ottawa West Nippian my question is to the Attorney General and Minister of Francophone Affairs in my writing of Ottawa West Nippian I represent one that has the most Franco-Ontarian in all of the province my representatives are very proud of their roots that are over 400 years and they celebrate the fact of being part of a community of more than 600,000 people the Honourable Attorney General can she tell my Franco representatives what will their government do for the next four years the Attorney General Mr. President Mr. Speaker I would like to thank the MP for his question and to congratulate him for his election this government is a government for the population of Ontario Ontario for all Ontarians the speech from the throne highlighted many commitments that our government will respect during its mandate for the benefit of all the Ontarians these are things that have a positive impact for everybody everywhere in the province from the Great Lakes to the Hudson Bay in the north and to the east Ottawa and Cornwall our government will reduce electricity bills will offer reductions in taxes to families and small businesses and will oppose the carbon tax we will bring back jobs we will help our health system that's in difficulty our government is working hard to make sure of the prosperity of Ontarians Mr. Speaker through you I would like to thank the Honourable Attorney Attorney General and congratulate her for her election from York Simcoe I know that the Honourable Attorney General will be a Franco- Ontarians to a high degree and will be attentive to the Francophone issues of this province Mr. Speaker the Honourable Attorney General could she tell us what will accomplish this government to represent the Franco- Ontarians of this province Mr. Speaker as a Canadian Ontario resident who speaks both official languages I'm an honour it's an honour for me to be Minister of Francophone Affairs our government is totally committed to the Francophone community and will make sure to listen to the Franco- Ontarians our government recognizes the cultural contribution from the Franco- Ontarians and we are committed to that Franco- Ontarians have access to support and government services that they need in a language that they know in which they feel comfortable in I met some of my colleagues who are Ministers to discuss different ways of working together yesterday our office received the Francophone of François Boileau Thank you very much Member for University My question is for the Minister of Education I'd like to tell everyone about a very special student from my writing Principal Award winner Jed Sears Jed attends King Edward Public School where the repair backlog is 8.9 million In his own words King Edward has washrooms that are closed because they can't afford to fix the bathrooms There are stalls that have no toilet paper or soap for days King Edward has problems with mice and Jed also says the thermometer in his classroom reaches occasionally over 30 degrees He says his classmates have had to miss school days and he has found that his learning and his test performance has been dramatically impacted by the extreme heat When will students like Jed get answers from his government about their plan to fix Ontario's schools Thank you very much Mr Speaker and to Jed and all of his classmates I say that I appreciate their frustrations because over the last 15 years Speaker the previous government has allowed schools across this province to crumble and actually deteriorate in front of students eyes and I have to also share with you and clarify that the GGRF slush fund if you will would not do anything towards the renovations and the fixes that Jed was describing in his message to the member opposite So to Jed and all the students across Ontario we are working very hard with our ministry officials as well as our school boards to make sure that we can bring forward in a timely and cost effective manner Thank you Speaker to the minister of education again in a hurried response to public outrage over the $100 million cut to school funding the minister of education says the government will fix and address the issues facing our crumbling schools The people of Ontario have made it clear the issue is repair funding If this government expects teachers and parents to trust them then earn it and start to confirm that this government will provide $100 million to repair funding to replace the amount they gutted from schools last week Thank you very much The people of Ontario were very clear that they wanted our government the PC government of Ontario under the leadership of Premier Doug Ford to fix the issue at hand and that was the previous government having their hand in their pocket like the GGRF GGRF slush fund and so again the reality check is here Speaker that the slush fund would not have done anything for the renovation that the member opposite described and I'm very very happy to share with her and everyone across this province that I'm working with ministry officials as well as our local school boards to identify the priorities and we will move forward in addressing the renovations in a timely manner Thank you so much Next question Member for Scarborough Centre Speaker my question is for the minister of finance but as it is my first time rising I would like to congratulate you on your new role Thank the people of Scarborough Centre for electing me and congratulate the minister on his new post the people of Ontario are very lucky to have you I'm pleased to see our Premier Doug Ford and our government following through on our commitment to restore trust and accountability to the province's books through the establishment of the commission of inquiry despite the innuendo and fear mongering projected by the members opposite the fact of the matter is that there are clearly defined terms of reference for this commission this will ensure that taxpayers can trust that they will get a true picture of the state of our provinces finances as they were left by the previous liberal government we truly do owe a debt of gratitude towards people like our auditor general and the financial accountability officer who helped reveal the Liberals finances and in the accurate financial reporting Minister can you tell us how the commission response Thank you to the member from Scarborough Centre for your first question in the legislature I agree that the opposition seems to have taken a let's throw it against the wall and see what sticks approach of course that's how they ended up with a 7 billion dollar glitch in their alleged platform well here's what will stick with our government respect for the taxpayer and restoring trust and accountability with our finances this is a government for the people and no one is a bigger supporter of the work of the auditor general and the financial accountability officer than this government the commission of inquiry has as part of its mandate to the auditor and the FAO as it does its work and formulates its report it's the first step towards returning Ontario back to financial health back to the minister and again I must agree that it was very disconcerting to hear the innuendo and personal attacks from the members opposite yesterday surrounding the commission of inquiry it's clear that former BC Premier Gordon Campbell who will chair the commission after Al Rosen who are renowned experts in their fields will provide Ontario taxpayers with the expertise needed to conduct this type of review it is reassuring however to hear that we are asking the commission to hit the ground running and issue a report in time for it to be considered as part of Ontario's public accounts and in time for our fall economic statement minister can you please tell the house how the commission of inquiry will have access to the resources it needs to fulfill its mandate well last speaker to the member despite what the opposition is asserting the commission of inquiry will have the right tools and the right resources to get Ontario taxpayers the answers they deserve about our finances and the commission has the latitude to reach out to the auditor general and she is ready to collaborate I'm going to repeat the words of the auditor general that she sent yesterday quote the office of the auditor general appreciates the government's intent as part of the financial commission of inquiry to address the accounting practices we have previously expressed concerns about our office will work cooperatively with the commission quote the opposition can spin all the theories and cast all the aspersions they want speaker we on this side of the house will continue to do the hard work needed to restore trust restart the clock next question the member of the auditor general Mr. Speaker this is my first occasion rising with you and chair so I want to congratulate you on your election Mr. Speaker my question is to the minister of children community and social services a fellow Ottawa resident the 2018 Ontario budget included a commitment to increase support for Ontario works and the Ontario disability support program recipients by 3% annually starting this fall one of my constituents asked me to confirm that these members of the ministry through my office no one had the answer will the ministry confirm will the minister confirm that Ontario works and ODSP recipients will receive the increases in support that the counting on. Thanks very much to the member from Ottawa centre I want to convey my heartfelt congratulations to him for his election to this place and I'm looking forward to working with him as a fellow Ottawa member along with some of the Liberal members and I appreciated the opportunity to have a discussion with you earlier in the week and to encourage you to actually ask a question on this as you are well aware I've got five ministries coming into one and I've been spending the last number of weeks doing briefings and working hard to make sure that that happens but I want to reiterate that our social assistance programs are important part of the safety net designed to assist our most vulnerable and I take that to heart and I take that very seriously I'm still being particularly the most vulnerable in our province and in our city are looked after so I'll answer more in the supplemental. Speaker and minister thank you for that response to the question as someone who lived in my formative years in a family that survived on social assistance with the single mom I just want to remind through you Speaker the House that we need to make sure that what matters in this province are the most marginalised and vulnerable people so when the government goes over the ledger of the government I want them to remember the people we met in our election campaign suffering on meager incomes that have been held back for far too long we need to invest in those who need a decent shot at a decent life speaker and I hope to hear that commitment from this government. Thanks again to the member opposite I do appreciate it I must say I agree with him far too long people have been held down by the previous liberal government where life became so expensive and unaffordable with the heating and eating and the price of gas but with that said I will say when I was getting my briefings I was dismayed to learn that more and more people are staying on Ontario works for longer and so let's face it the true income security in this province will be a job and we will continue to make sure that people are getting the supports they need in order to work and keep more money that they have so our focus will be bringing prosperity and more jobs to Ontario but I take the members opposite to the point we want to make sure that Ontario is open for business more people are working in this province and life is more affordable when they drive their car when they buy their house when they put their kid off to the university so that's what our focus is going to be but I can assure you one thing Ontario is back. Next question the member for Miss Saga East Cooksville Thank you Mr. Speaker as this is my first time rising I would like to take a moment to thank my family, friends and all of my constituents of Miss Saga East Cooksville for their trust in me My question today is to the minister of environment yesterday the minister rose in this house to advise us of the meeting he had with the federal minister of the environment he reported to this house that he had stood up for the Ontario taxpayers telling the federal minister what so many of us have heard from our constituents that Ontario cannot afford a carbon tax following that meeting Minister McKenna stated we are the federal government and we need to work with everyone which sounded rather encouraging so my question to the minister Thank you Minister of the environment Thank you to the member from Miss Saga East Cooksville and again welcome to the house I know you will serve your constituents well I was rather disheartened by our meeting yesterday I was very clear with my federal counterpart that this government was elected to eliminate the former Liberal government's cap and trade program but we would not accept a replacement federal Liberal carbon tax in return she was very clear that the version of a climate plan that she would accept was one that taxes the people this is something that we do not agree with Mr. Speaker in her statement Minister McKenna put out following the meeting she said climate change doesn't stop with the change in government well Mr. Speaker we agree climate change doesn't stop but the taxes do our government Mr. Speaker will not support a Liberal carbon tax supplementary back to the minister Speaker I thank the minister of the environment for his answer however judging by his response and that of the federal minister it doesn't really sound like she is as she said truly willing to work with everyone my question to the minister of the environment will he commit to fighting for our province so that more people can afford to live work and raise their families in Ontario Mr. Speaker I appreciate the question from the member that's the question that Ontarians are asking who will fight for Ontarians when it comes to protecting their wallets and their environment and Mr. Speaker the reality is that the Trudeau carbon tax is no more palatable than the former Liberal government's cap and trade program a carbon tax is a carbon tax is a carbon tax the premier I know understands this which is why he is working hard to build counter parts to build a coalition to let the prime minister know this Mr. Speaker as was reported today the premier has joined with premier Scott Moe of Saskatchewan and announced that our government will do whatever is necessary to get the message through to Ottawa that Ontario, Saskatchewan and a growing number of promises will not support the Trudeau carbon tax restart the clock the member for Nickelville thank you Mr. Speaker my question is to the minister of health and long-term care at the Owen Sound Family Health Organization and the Port Arthur Health Centre in Thunder Bay have been on strike for weeks in two different communities in two different family health clinic patient lost access to their primary care providers because these workers cannot continue to put up with a toxic working condition that undermined their ability to provide good care low pay, precarious contract favouritism, bullying and extremely high turnover Minister on behalf of the patient of Owen Sound and Thunder Bay how can they count on quality care when their primary health care providers face these working conditions Minister thank you to the member for the question patient care and safety of course is a primary concern for all of us I am aware of the situation in both Thunder Bay and Owen Sound I think it's reflective of the situation in the years of liberal neglect and mismanagement but we are going to try and fix that having said that this particular situation in these two locations is a private discussion between the operators of the clinics and the support staff so I am very hopeful that they will be able to reach a decision soon I'm very confident of the bargaining process that they've entered into we are following it closely but it is a private matter between those two locations the question of the health centre in Thunder Bay there are life long employees we are talking somebody who has worked there for 30 years and makes less than $15 an hour in Owen Sound the talks have broken off because the owners want to lay off their nurses these are healthcare professional they shouldn't have to be on strike to protect public healthcare to stop nursing cuts and to demand respect and dignity on the job what will this government do to help these frontline healthcare workers and to ensure that people not profit comes first in our healthcare system as the member will know the ministry is not a party to these negotiations this is a private matter between the clinics and their employees we know that there is a great settlement dispute we are hoping that they will be able to come to a conclusion very soon we cannot interfere in that process that is not appropriate for us to do that we are monitoring the situation because patient care and safety is of course of paramount concern to us thank you next question my question to the president of the treasury board many people across the province including members of this house have questions about the state of Ontario's finances in particular about the deficit and the many different opinions about the size of that number after hearing about the dispute between the previous government and the Auditor General people are unsure who to trust Mr Speaker with the president of the treasury board please update the house on steps the government is taking to ensure the people of Ontario but also a clear understanding of this urgent and complex issue President of the treasury board thank you for the question Mr Speaker and to the member from Mississauga streetsville we have heard a lot from the party opposite this week about the Auditor General and the important work she and her team do Mr Speaker we could not agree more this Auditor General this Auditor General performed a valuable public service with the largest financial disagreements in Canadian history let me be clear it is because we hold the Auditor General in such high regard that we are opening up the province's books Mr Speaker we ran on a promise to restore public trust the people of Ontario deserve answers a comprehensive line by line audit of government spending will fulfill that commitment the error of the obfuscation is over the government is back restart the clock supplementary question to the president of the treasury board Mr Speaker it is reassuring to hear that the government is taking swift action to build a strong relationship with an independent officer of the legislature and to restoring public trust Mr Speaker with the president of the treasury board expand on how the government will work with the Auditor General during the line by line audit process thank you what a terrific question Mr Speaker and thank you to the member from Mississauga streetsville this government is well aware that Ontario has the highest sub national debt of any jurisdiction in the world it took 15 years for the previous government to create this mess and it will not be solved overnight a critical component of our plan will be to work closely with the office of the Auditor General we look forward to continued cooperation Mr Speaker I was pleased to read the statement from the office of the Auditor General yesterday confirming that they and I quote appreciate the government's intent as part of the financial question Mr. Speaker we will not tire and we will not stop until we have uncovered all the waste all the excess and all the mismanagement of the previous member for Niagara Falls had to find me there I saw that my question is to the acting premier last month the premier went to Prickering to outline his transit vision for the area he didn't talk about expanding Goal Reel service he didn't talk about improving local bus services no he promised to Prickering a brand new subway the people of Prickering definitely want better transit but they did not ask the premier to spend billions to dig a tunnel under the ridge river and run a subway beneath the GO train the people of Prickering didn't ask for this subway will the premier tell us which of his lobbyist friends did for transportation Mr. Transportation thank you very much the member from Niagara Falls on his reelection as well transit is an absolute priority for Doug Ford and the PC party here in Ontario if we can't move people in goods our economy will not flourish it is an absolute necessity to ensure that we have an operational efficient and effective transit system throughout the GTA and beyond Doug Ford has made commitments that we will absolutely ensure that going into the future this will be a first class transit system serving the people of Ontario there are many many areas that are seeking transit we are currently reviewing and we've said we're sitting down with Metrolinx and the other partners to ensure that transit in Ontario will be first thank you supplementary question supplementary back to the acting premier the last government was all too happy to spend public dollars on multi-billion dollar mega projects to benefit their friends and themselves so many voters sent that government packing but this premier is picking up right where the last premier left off the premier's subway scheme won't make transit more reliable or affordable for the thousands of pickering residents who already take the gold train to downtown Toronto every single day so my question is Mr. Speaker so which lobbyist premier pandering to and for the question I say to the member that the commitment to transit is one that we've we didn't arrive at Cavalierly we arrived at it because the people all across this area and the GTA have said we need to move better from this city we need to get in from other areas around the city Doug Ford will be remembered as the premier that brought transit to Ontario because going to sit idly by while others sit idly by in their cars idling on the streets gridlock there is nothing that takes is the unproductivity of gridlock is something that he has absolutely said we will not tolerate thank you the member please take a seat next question member for King Vaughn Mr. Speaker yesterday the Minister of the Environment Conservation and Parks met with his federal counterpart to defend the interests of this province today our premier met with the premier of Saskatchewan to build a national consensus to oppose higher taxes on working people together these leaders are standing up for Ontario families for taxpayers and for small businesses in every region of this province Mr. Speaker this is leadership this is leadership for the economy leadership for taxpayers and for the people of this province Mr. Speaker I have a difficult question for my seatmate this morning can the Minister of the Environment continue to stand up with every fibre in him to oppose this aggressive job killing carbon tax Mr. Speaker I thank the member from King Vaughn for his tough fair question the answer of course Mr. Speaker is yes not only will I stand up our premier stand up this party we will ensure not only the repeal of the regressive the regressive former liberal government's cap and trade carbon tax program but we will ensure and we will do everything we can the premier and every member of this government to stop a liberal carbon tax Member for Don Valley East on a point of order one volunteers Sasha Payson I have to point out remind the members that when they rise to speak in their actual seats we have a deferred vote on the motion for an address in reply to the speech from the throne call in the members this will be a five minute bell interrupt this discussion but it's time for you to take your seats take your seats take your seats is everyone in their own seat that's important to you on July 16th 2018 Mr. Downey moved second by Miss Nari that an humble address be presented to her honour the Lieutenant Governor as follows to the Honourable Elizabeth Dowdswell Lieutenant Governor of Ontario we Her Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects the legislative assembly of the province of Ontario now assembled beg leave to thank your honour for the gracious speech your honour has been pleased to address to us at the opening of the present session all those in favour of the motion will please rise one at a time and be recorded by the clerk Mr. Smith Bear Quinten Mr. Watson Mr. Thompson Mr. Fidelli Mr. Elliott Mr. MacLeod Mr. Tbilon Mr. Barrett Mr. Pettipi Mr. Marteau Mr. Macdonnell Mr. Bailey Mr. McNaughton Mr. Rickford Mr. Filles Mr. Leche Mr. Miller-Perry-Salmoscoca Mr. Coe Mr. Gill Mr. Kee Mr. Colander Mr. Serma Mr. Parsons Mr. Skelly Mr. Martin Mr. Trianthophilopoulos Mr. Sarkaris Mr. Carahalios Mr. Feet Mr. Cho Willardelle Mr. Downey Mr. Pachini Mr. Crant Mr. Tangry Mr. Samaar Mr. Rashid Mr. Sander Mr. Crawford Mr. McCann Mr. Dunlop Mr. Bebikian Mr. Anand Mr. Payne Mr. Tannegaslin Mr. Roberts Mr. Cousetto Mr. Baber Mr. Sabar Opposed to the motion, please rise. One at a time. Madam Jelena Mr. Tavis Mr. Vantah Mr. Sattler Mr. Begum Mr. Mamakwa Mr. Yard Mr. Carpoche Mr. Schawe Mr. Stiles Mr. Miller Hamilton East Stony Creek Mr. Birch Mr. Stevens Mr. Gates Mr. Armstrong Mr. Singh Brampton East Mr. Carnahan Mr. Gretzky Mr. Hassan Mr. Lawrence McGowan Mr. Arthur Mr. Gleber Mr. Morrison Mr. Rokosovic Mr. Harden Mr. West Mr. Fraser Mr. Coteau Mr. Hunter Mr. Schreiner Mr. Derosa The ayes are 66, the nays are 43. The ayes being 66, the nays being 43. I declare the motion carried. The resolved that a Hubble address be presented to her honour, the Lieutenant Governor as follows to the honourable Elizabeth Dowdwell Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. We, Her Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects the legislative assembly of the province of Ontario now assembled. Beg leave to thank her honour for the gracious speech your honour has been pleased to address to us at the opening of the present session. That stands in recess until one o'clock this afternoon.