 It is now time for all questions, and I recognize the leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition. Thanks so very much, Speaker. My first question this morning is for the Premier. Government finally came back to Queens Park, but based on their nothing burger budget, seemed to not be prepared to get to work. We know that we have folks in Ontario that are working very hard. I want to particularly point out nurses who are working their backs off to try to protect us throughout this fourth wave, and yet they're doing so facing significant shortages caused by this government and the previous liberal government. Speaker, they're exhausted, they are overworked, they're underpaid. So my question to the Premier is where is the government plan? Where is the funding necessary to shore up our healthcare system, making sure that we keep our nurses and that we retain them for the future of our province? To apply for the government? Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. Thank you very much, Speaker. Good morning. And thank you to the leader of the Official Opposition for the question. We value greatly the work that's been done by nurses. We certainly recognize that they have gone through tremendous stress. Considerable overwork in the last 18 months, and they are the ones with other frontline health professionals that really are the heroes in this entire system. So we recognize the concerns that they have. We did provide pandemic pay for a period of time to assist them financially with many of their concerns. But we also know that they are subject to significant stress loads, anxiety, in some cases PTSD because it's some of the things that they have witnessed and had to deal with. And so we have expanded to provide specific mental health supports for nurses to provide them with the counseling that they need in front of patients at our major mental health centres. A supplementary question. Nurses are leaving in droves and the government hasn't shown any plan whatsoever. Similar to the problems that we have in education speaker, the government is not making the necessary investments in our education system. In fact, it's shocking that a full one-third of COVID-19 cases currently are in our public school system. The government could have hired more teachers speaker. They could have reduced class sizes. They could have supported our students when they need that support the most. And instead they chose to cut $800 million from our public education system in the throes of a global pandemic. Speaker, students, parents, teachers, education workers have had nothing but silence from the government. They weren't even talked about. They weren't even referenced in yesterday's thrown speech. Where is the plan for safer schools, including the hiring of new teachers, education workers, mental health supports for our students? Where is that plan, Speaker? Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. And thank you to Member Opposite for the question. I'm proud to be part of a government that is investing more in public education than any government in the history of this province. Mr Speaker, the plan has been fully endorsed by the Chief Medical Officer of Health. The head of the Ontario Science Table has suggested the plan cautiously aligns with that best medical advice. We have put in place investments that has enabled massive air ventilation improvements through every single school in this province, without exception. We have insured $600 million in mechanical ventilation improvements through the summer and the fall. We have deployed 70,000 HEPA units. We have provided take-home testing options to make life easier for those parents, for those high school asymptomatic parents to reduce the time they're out of class. And today, with the support of the Chief Medical Officer of Health, we have gone further, Speaker, another tool in the toolkit to keep our schools safe, to keep them open by deploying on a risk basis rapid antigen testing program that will help ensure we keep students of this province learning every single day. Final supplementary. Speaker, that doesn't answer the issue around $800 million being cut from the education budget. But look, sadly, in fact, tragically, the same thing is happening in long-term care. There is no plan to fix our long-term care system. In fact, this government is content in continuing the same failed system of for-profit-led long-term care in our province, the same system that the Liberals have held for 15 years. There's no plan to hire or retain workers just like in our broader health care system. And the wage top-up for PSWs, in fact, expires at the end of this month. And just this morning, the Minister responsible for long-term care three times on CBC Radio dodged the question and refused to commit to making permanent the PSW pay raise. So my question is, why won't the government make the commitment to increase wages of PSWs permanently? Question. Because every single expert and every single report and they know it says that that's exactly what they should be doing. To reply, the Minister of Long-Term Care. Mr. Speaker, our Premier has made clear both his respect for our PSWs and through the wage increases we provided and the wage increases that we have committed to have ensured that they will get a fair pay for the great work they do. But Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition talking about not having a plan, this is a government that's here to fix long-term care. Mr. Speaker, 30,000 net new beds. Mr. Speaker, the previous government, the previous government built 611 net new beds in the 11 years, including the years when the Leader of the Opposition was in partnership with them. You know how many beds were built in Hamilton Centre at that time? Zero, Mr. Speaker. 600 beds are being built in Hamilton now, Mr. Speaker. That's a change. Moving to four hours of care, a commitment that was talked about by the previous government but never followed through on, Mr. Speaker, new funding will start to flow this year to move us to the highest levels of care. Mr. Speaker, we'll also introduce legislation to make sure that accountability, transparency and enforcement are what they should be. We have a plan to fix long-term care, Mr. Speaker, and I look forward to the support of the opposition as we debate that. The next question, the Leader of the Opposition. It's pretty tragic that the Minister doesn't realize that beds are not going to do anything without the staffing that we need to support the people that use those beds. But, Mr. Speaker, my next question is also for the Premier. It's clear that this government is not going to make any changes. They're going to go back down the same wrong path and penny pinch all the way to the campaign. Education, as I've already noticed, I've already mentioned $800 million in cuts. They're going ahead with it. Students, education workers, teachers, parents, everybody in the education systems. No, we need more resources, not less, in order to get through this pandemic, Speaker, but also to rebuild our education system, which this government appears to be bent on tearing down. My question is, why is this Premier, why is this government in the context that we now face continuing with an $800 million cut to our education system? And to apply the Minister of Education. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. First off, Mr. Speaker, this Premier and government has increased investments for school boards this year compared to last year by $561 million. What the member opposite, what the member opposite's question actually means is the $800 million forecasted by the parliamentary budget officer speaks about compensation hikes, which obviously the NDP would give to the teacher unions and there would not be a government standing up for the interests of taxpayers and parents. This government went through the negotiation. The last pandemic, with one focus, investing more in the classroom. Over the summer, we invested $600 million more in air ventilation because of the dereliction of duty by the former government who did nothing to improve schools, who closed $600 million no less. Our government is investing in building new schools, over half the billion dollars, many new schools being built and refurbished in Ontario. With respect to COVID-19, $1.6 billion more and an $85 million learning recovery plan because we appreciate how important it is to keep the kids safe, to keep them in school and improve the learning quality in this province. Supplementary? The minister, parents are actually taxpayers as well and they want to protect their kids' education. He should have learned that more than a year ago. Parents care about their kids' quality of education but you know what, it's not only education, our local health units have been doing Yolman's work when it comes to the COVID-19 fight. They have been working miracles in communities on the front lines as this premier has basically gone missing. Complete lack of leadership, complete delay. The premier's priority remains cutting our public health units from 35 down to 10. The government is literally restructuring our public health care system in the midst of a global pandemic. What is wrong with that picture? These folks are on the front lines of COVID-19 day in and day out of all the things to keep plowing ahead with why is the premier continuing to make cuts to health care? And to reply to the minister of health. Thank you, Speaker. Well, in fact, it probably won't surprise you, Mr. Speaker, that I disagree entirely with the comments made by the leader of the official opposition. In fact, we've put an extra $5 billion into our health care systems since the beginning of this pandemic and as far from restructuring public health during the pandemic, we've actually paused any consideration. Mr. Jim Poyne, who was doing the discussions and consultations with municipalities, has stopped because of the extra work that the public health units need to do. And we have paused that until we move through this pandemic, hopefully sooner than later, but we know that the public health units need some assistance. That's why we've provided $47 million in mitigation funding so that they don't have any lack of income. We've provided them with that mitigation funding as well as several hundred million dollars in order to allow them to continue to do the excellent work that they're doing in testing and casing contact management. And the final supplementary. Sir, I would agree that the public health units are doing a heck of a lot of extra work, and the last thing they need is a spit in the eye from this government with the threat of reducing them down to 10 from 35. Look, the premier also has the tool, Speaker, to do the right thing to help the frontline minimum wage workers in our province, the essential workers, Speaker, that were there day in and day out, risking their own health, literally risking possible death while the rest of us were able to stay safe. Meanwhile, as they continue to toil away, the cost of living keeps going up. And the premier's first action when he became premier was to roll back their wages. The 10 cent increase is nothing more than an insult to the workers that we relied on during this pandemic. So my question to the premiers, why is he okay with that? Why is he okay with workers working full-time, sometimes two and three jobs, not earning enough to pay the bills and put a roof over their heads? Mr. Labor. Well, thank you very much. And Mr. Speaker, on behalf of a grateful province, I want to thank every single worker out there that's been working every day throughout this pandemic to support our families and our communities. Mr. Speaker, we laid out a plan to continue to increase the minimum wage in Ontario. But Mr. Speaker, let me be clear. We want people to be getting better jobs. We don't want to build an economy on minimum wage jobs. That's why, for example, Mr. Speaker, we're encouraging people to pick up a career in the skilled trades. These are good jobs that pay six figures that have defined pensions and benefits. And Mr. Speaker, we're going to work every single day to spread opportunity widely and fairly as we rebuild back a better province. Thank you. The next question, the member for Davenport. Good morning, Mr. Speaker. This question is for the Premier. September came. September went with Mary Apeep from this government. And so with no concrete plan in place for rapid school testing from this government, parents took matters into their own hands. They acquired and they distributed rapid tests themselves as cases among kids continued to steadily climb in this province. It was a crushing blow to those parents when the Premier suddenly blocked access to those rapid tests last week. And then today, reverse that position. Speaker, why did parents have to crowdsource a vital tool that experts say will help keep schools safely open? And why didn't the Premier do his job and have real testing in place in September? To reply to the Minister of Education. Thank you, Speaker. Thank you to the member opposite for the question. I will confirm that the Ontario Science Table, pediatric hospitals in this province, the testing strategy expert panel and the chief medical officer file do not support rapid asymptomatic testing province-wide. This is the position of medical authorities right across the province, including the medical officer of health in the member opposite's community. Having said that, Speaker, we have followed the Ontario Science Table recommendation and adopted the updated advice by the chief medical officer who confirmed today we are launching a risk-based targeted rapid testing program to public health units for them to deploy where the local indicators are required so that, yes, we can ensure schools remain safe and open. It builds upon our take-home test strategy, our PCR test strategy. We've launched for high school asymptomatic students. Why? Because we want to increase presenteeism. We want to reduce the absenteeism from the classroom because for mental health to learning loss is so critical that we mitigate going forward. We're working closely with the chief medical officer of health. We've adopted this new strategy as another tool to keep schools open to this province. End this up. End this up. Mr. Speaker, the application of responsibility by this Minister is appalling. They have downloaded decisions. They have downloaded costs. And they never take responsibility for a single thing, Speaker, in that vacuum of provincial leadership to make schools as safe as possible. Schools now account for one-third of the active COVID-19 cases in this province. There were 250 more cases today and six more schools are closed. The chief medical officer of health himself said today that targeted rapid testing could help prevent painful closures in areas of high risk. Every day, Mr. Speaker, we are hearing about class sizes that are larger than pre-pandemic levels. Cohorts mixing as classes are collapsed, recognizing that increased risk to children in crowded classrooms will these schools be included in the rapid testing program? To reply. Mr. Speaker, in the midst of the delta-driven fourth wave, five in six schools, elementary schools do not have an active case. And four to five schools in high school in our province do not have active cases. The chief medical officer of health confirmed this morning that the cautious protocol is working to keep transmission low and schools safe. And we appreciate the partnership of everyone. And I should acknowledge on a rural teacher that our gratitude for our educators for working so hard with our government and public health needs to keep schools open and safe and to ensure children remain engaged in learning. Today, the chief medical officer adopted another tool in the toolkit by launching a program designed and targeted for those schools at risk based on a balance of metrics including schools that will have high case rates and may have low vaccine rates. Mr. Speaker, we are relying on the expert advice of public health units to deploy those tests. We've launched a take-home test across schools in this province for high school students to make life easier. We've expanded testing options. We've worked with the Ministry of Health to reduce the wait times. And we're going to continue to stand ready to do whatever it takes to keep schools safe and open Ontario. Thank you. The next question, the member for Flamborough-Glandbrook. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and good morning. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Education. This past year, we have seen a renewed focus on the horrors of residential schools and the treatment of Indigenous peoples. Last week's inaugural day of truth and reconciliation was an important step in acknowledging parts of Canada's past. But as we can all agree, more needs to be done. Minister, last week ahead of the first national day for truth and reconciliation, you made an important announcement to enhance Indigenous learning with the curriculum. Awareness of the past, but also the histories, cultures, and contributions of First Nation, Métis and Inuit individuals, communities, and nations in Canada is an important step towards reconciliation. Minister, can you share further information on these important changes? Find the members to make their comments to the Chair, Minister of Education, to respond. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank the member from Flamborough-Glandbrook for her leadership and for her commitment to ensuring children continue to learn about our Indigenous history. Mr. Speaker, I am grateful for the voices of Indigenous leaders in this province, First Nation, Inuit, and Métis who have spoken clearly that the generation of students including myself have not learned, did not learn about the painful past of the residential schools within our publicly funded school system. That is unacceptable, I think, to all members of the legislature, which is why we have built upon actions over the past years to expand, to enhance, and to mandate compulsory learning in this respect to strengthen learning and understanding of Indigenous contributions to Canada, their vast rich history and their culture and language. In addition, Speaker, I think most, especially this year, a recognition we must do more to expand mandatory learning on residential schools. It's why, Speaker, I was proud to stand with the Minister of Indigenous Affairs, including chiefs and elders in the First Nation community, to expand learning from grades 1 to 3 in this province to ensure no generation of students, then no student in this province. Thank you very much. Thank you. Speaker, Minister, we recognize with greater awareness comes greater understanding, and this is a substantial step in the right direction. This government is utilizing education to empower our Indigenous youth to reach their full potential just like we do with every other student across the province. In addition to the curriculum announced, our government also shared that we are increasing investments to support Indigenous students' success right across Ontario. Minister, can you please share with this legislature what other meaningful supports our government is providing to Indigenous students now and through the future? Mr. Good occasion. Thank you very much, Speaker, and to support our journey in reconciliation. We have announced additional funding to support First Nation Métine Inuit student success in Ontario. We take seriously the Minister of Indigenous Affairs and I have met with the Council of Chiefs of Ontario where we have made clear that the funding will increase and not just that it will increase, but it will be sustainable. One of the big asks of many stakeholders within this community was clear that they need long-term funding agreements. We have accepted that recommendation to move to three-year funding to provide sustainable outlooks. A $23 million investment was announced partially to support student mental health within the Indigenous student mental health community, partially to support the expansion of Indigenous community coaches, to help young people within the community graduate, access higher learning and get access to good-paying jobs. We want to ensure they succeed, which is why we are investing over $96 million in education grant to make sure. Next question, a member for University Rosedyn. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Monchong is a long-term care home in my riding. It is one of the few homes in Ontario that provides services to Chinese communities and communities. The pandemic hit Monchong particularly hard. A third of the residents died of COVID-19. It was a tragedy because it was a preventable tragedy. It is over a year later and problems still exist. Recently, I met Agnes. Agnes is the chair of the Family Council in Monchong and her mother has been living in Monchong for many years. She told me about the chronic staff shortage and how it has made it very difficult for the PSWs in Monchong to provide her mother with care. Agnes is particularly concerned about the length of time her mum goes between being cleaned and other kinds of essential care. The reason is this. During the day, there is only one PSW for 10 residents. At night, there is only one PSW for 23 residents. It is simply impossible for one PSW to provide good care with these kind of staff ratios. My question is to the Premier. When will you allocate more funding to recruit and retain more PSWs to work in Ontario's long-term care homes? To respond, the Minister of Long-term Care. I thank the member for that question. Last night, as it was, I was with Stephanie Wong and Andre Barros, who are the CEO and chair, respectively, of Monchong, which is a very high quality provider of services for many years. They were sharing obviously the importance of what we're doing as a government. Mr Speaker, the member asks a very important question about staffing. As I've had the opportunity now to tour many of the homes across the province, the number one issue, people care about new state-of-the-art facilities, they certainly care that we put in place the accountability and the enforcement required, but the number one issue they talk about are people caring, compassionate and caring. When you talk about hours of care, that all sounds kind of a bit airy fairy, but when it comes down to people, the answer to the member's question is, next month, Mr Speaker, we will start our move towards the funding of that additional hours of care. Mr Speaker, the first of those 27... Thank you very much. Supplementary question. Back to the Premier. This government has made a lot of promises, and I'm already hearing some more promises there. New beds, more staff, tougher regulation to ensure operators provide adequate care, better protection from COVID. Here's the problem. Ontarians have heard these promises before, and they don't trust this government anymore because when we talk to staff and family members, it becomes very clear that very little has changed in the homes. The quality of care that residents receive is very low. Family members with loved ones at Monchong and at homes all across Ontario want to know what exactly is your plan to guarantee four hours of staffing care for every single long-term home resident. Minister of long-term care. I thank the member for her thoughtful question. You're right, Mr Speaker. Ontarians have heard about fixing long-term care for a very long time. Mr Speaker, it was 2011 when we first talked about moving to four hours of care, but it was a tough problem to solve. We need the people. That's why we've invested over $207 million in training more PSWs. For the first time in a very long time, 2,000 new nurses because we need the staff, but we also need the commitment to the funding. That's what we have made, Mr Speaker. Starting next month, homes will start to see that funding. They will start to see the clarity of care, and we're not done helping. Mr Speaker, we need to continue to work with my colleague, the Minister of Colleges and Universities, my colleague the Minister of Education, educating more PSWs, making sure that more nurses are available. This is a government that's going to fix long-term care after decades of neglect. Thank you. Good morning, Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Labour. Over the last few months, I've heard from thousands of Ontario workers that they're facing and they've lost their jobs. Anita Davis is a nurse with the London Health Sciences Centre. She was joined in the studio with me this morning. She'll be terminated at the end of the month. Now, the Minister prides himself for standing up for workers' rights, but does he agree that we shouldn't force Ontarians to decide between their health care and their ability to feed their family? Because we have a catastrophe on our hands. Because hundreds of thousands of families are about to suffer. So my question is, will my PMB, the Job and Jabs Bill, which if passed would prevent the termination of potentially hundreds of thousands of workers, or will he join the NDP, block my bill and sentence hundreds of Ontario families to unemployment? To respond, the Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development. Well, thank you very much, Mr Speaker. We're going to continue to take a balanced and measured approach when it comes to dealing with COVID-19. Mr Speaker, the health and well-being of all of the people is our government's top priority. And I'm proud to say today, Mr Speaker, as we encourage everyone in Ontario who's able to get vaccinated, more than 87% of individuals have been have received one dose, and more than 82% have received both doses. Mr Speaker, this is how we're going to defeat COVID-19. It's by getting vaccinated, it's by working together. It's employers and employees working together every single day to get through this pandemic, and all members of this House, of this legislature have a responsibility to also set good examples for the people of this province. Supplementary? Speaker, back to the Minister, no one is working together. People are being let go right and left. I don't think the Minister appreciates the gravity of the catastrophe because it's not just about the people. It's about the people. My petition, choice shouldn't lead to unemployment. In support of my jobs and jobs bill is at 146,000 signatures. Nurses, teachers, police officers, fire and paramedics, retail dining, professionals from all disciplines who made a lawful choice and for the record, we all agree that it is still a choice. Hundreds of thousands of them are about to lose employment. They don't want to force Ontarians to do anything against their will. If the Minister wants to hide behind the NDP who don't care for workers rights anymore, or if he doesn't want to pass my bill, that's fine. He can introduce and pass his own legislation to accomplish the same goal. But would the Minister of Labor please tell the House, will he stand up and protect hundreds of thousands of Ontarians who are about to lose their jobs, or will he sentence countless Ontario families to work? Mr. Speaker, we've been working as a government with the 15 and a half million people every single day since this global pandemic hit the province to protect the lives of more than 15 million people in this province. And Mr. Speaker, that's why we've brought in the most comprehensive paid sick days plan in the country, 23 days for workers in this province to get vaccinated, to recuperate patients. Mr. Speaker, it's why we've invested at a higher 100 more health and safety inspectors to go into workplaces to keep workers and customers safe. It brings the inspectorate to the highest level in provincial history. It's why we've dedicated millions of dollars to building hundreds and hundreds of resources for every single business to bring in protocols to keep their workers and the public safe. Mr. Speaker, we're going every single day encouraging people to work together to get vaccinated to lead the country like we are right now to defeat COVID-19 once and for all. Thank you. The next question, the member for Richmond Hill. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the minister of long-term care. The number of people touched by the long-term care system is incredible. There are about 70,000 residents, 100,000 who care and support those in long-term care and over 600 long-term care homes in every corner of the province. It includes the 392 people living in the three long-term care homes in my community in Richmond Hill. Over the summer, I heard members of the opposition claim that our government wasn't doing enough to support our seniors in long-term care. Minister, can you please update the House on the status of the long-term care investments? Mr. Speaker to the member for Richmond Hill, I know she dedicates herself fully to her constituents. I am happy to say that after decades of neglect, this is a government that has a plan to fix long-term care. As I mentioned, between 2011 and 2018, the previous government built Richmond Hill. That's why our government committed to fill that gap, 30,000 net new beds, $2.6 billion already allocated. Mr. Speaker, I am happy to say that part of those beds are 120 new beds, the care first campus of care that's scheduled for construction in 2022 in Richmond Hill. I had a chance last night again within a round table with Helen Young and Shellen Naismith from Richmond Hill. We are going to support people like Helen, people like Sheila, people who are working in long-term care to make sure that state-of-the-art facilities are there for our residents. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank the minister for that response and for his and this government commitment to fixing the long-term care. Those new beds will go a long time and across the province. But minister, while building new beds is a vital step in fixing long-term care, ensuring the well-being of our seniors goes beyond simply building a bed for them. It is important to ensure that the cultural and spiritual needs of our residents in the long-term care are met as well. Minister, can you please tell the House what our government is doing to ensure that the cultural needs of our seniors are met? Minister, long-term care. I thank the member for her question. Mr. Speaker, I couldn't agree more. One size doesn't fit all when it comes to long-term care. With our additional funding, with our development program, with our focus on accountability and transparency, we will make sure that homes fit the residents. That is why there are 18 different types of long-term care. We will make sure that cultural and faith, the community that has been so important to people during their lives can also be important during their elder years. Mr. Speaker, that includes the Montchang Stovol long-term care home. 320 safe, new beds, modern beds in which are Stovol that I was pleased to be with the Premier as well as the House Leader and others to be at the top of the list of residents in the population of Ontario. Thank you very much. The next question, the member for Kiwet Nong. My question is to the Premier. Minister, since this government took office, their message on reconciliation with Indigenous people when we get one is inconsistent. The legacy of Indian residential school belongs to everyone. And the people in this community have a chance to learn. We had a chance to do more to properly commemorate this day. And this government did nothing. Will this government do the right thing and make September 30 a public day of healing and reconciliation? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I'm somewhat surprised to have that question from the member. He did call me in advance of the day to let me know that that was not a day that the community had decided upon and that he was actually working on a bill that he would be bringing forward at some point in this session. And I told him at that time that I would continue to work with him on that bill as would look, I continue to be open as I know as the minister does in the premier, continue to be open to working with you. But again, I understood you on the day when we had that discussion that you had consulted with the community and that there was a different desire at the time. Remind the members to make their comments through the chair. Supplementary questions. Mr. Speaker, genocide is a big deal. If 20,000 non-indigenous children died after being stolen forcibly from their parents and communities, we would not be having this debate. The horrific legacy of Indian residential school belonged to everyone now. Canada and Ontario can no longer hide or turn away from the truth. Again, Ontario had its chance to do the right thing and properly commemorate this day. But as usual when it comes to indigenous peoples this government let us down. This government did nothing. Speaker, will Ontario acknowledge the past and do what it should make September 30 a provincial holiday of truth and reconciliation? Mr. Speaker, I don't think anybody would suggest continuing to work towards reconciliation with First Nations has to remain a priority not only of this government, but all members of this legislative assembly. But I want to be very clear, Mr. Speaker, I don't want there to be any confusion. The member will recall that prior to the House adjourning in June I promised that we would work together on this file and that we would work with the minister on this file. Order. The member called me in advance the member called me in advance of the day to suggest that there had not been unanimous support within First Nations community to recognize that as the day, but that it would be important that there be a day and that he was the member was working on a bill which he would later work with me to present to this House. I remain committed to working with the member to make that happen Mr. Speaker, as does this government and hopefully all parliamentarians. The next question the member for Ottawa South. Thank you Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Premier. Speaker, I think we can all agree House Leader come to order Leader the Opposition come to order Member for York Centre come to order I apologize Member for Ottawa South My question is for the Premier Speaker, I think we can all agree that the anti-vax and anti-public health protest that we've seen in recent weeks at Ontario's hospitals and schools are very concerning. They're demoralizing the frontline workers and disruptive and distressing to those people those families trying to access those services. Ontario's access to publicly funded healthcare and education is something that we all hold sacred. For almost a month now, Ontario's nurses Ontario's doctors, Ontario's hospitals and Ontario's families have been calling on this government to create safe zones around hospitals and schools. And Speaker and Speaker and Speaker the Premier's tough tweets they're not going to cut it. So Speaker through you will the government move to immediately pass legislation that ensures safe access to our hospitals and schools and protect the people that work in them. Deputy Premier and Minister of Health Deputy Premier and Minister of Health Thank you Speaker and thank you very much to the member for this question. It is really important because we greatly value the work that all of our frontline workers in our hospitals and our clinics have performed and it's very, very disappointing to see protesters coming forward. It's very demoralizing for the staff. I know to see this happening outside their windows but no one should be prevented from going to work. No one should be prevented from entering or exiting the hospital. Staff member or someone going to see someone in the hospital or someone going in for treatment themselves. However it is against the law for anyone to be prevented from doing that. We know that our law enforcement officers have been out there to do that and while we can't comment on any legislation that we haven't seen yet of course we would look at it but we also are relying on our police support and others to make sure that no one is prevented from entering or exiting the hospital. Supplementary question. Other promises like Quebec and Alberta have already moved to protect access to hospitals and schools. BC has signaled to do the same. I think they basically have the same laws out there. So I know the leader of the opposition has put forward a bill today or will put forward a bill today too. I am as well. Once again Ontario is behind. What we're asking you is just simply to make sure that no one is prevented from entering the hospital should be impeded nor should anyone who works in them or is trying to access it be harassed and that's what we've seen. So today I'll be putting forward a bill that would establish safe zones against anti-vax and anti-public health protests within 150 meters of hospitals and schools and with the pending approval of vaccines of kids 5 to 11 who may be vaccinated in school it's reasonable to expect that we could do that. So speakers through you, will the government move to pass my bill this afternoon or pass any bill or pass the Leader's Opposition's bill to actually protect workers and access to these vital services in Ontario? Minister Thank you speaker and through you I wish to assure the member opposite that Ontario is certainly not behind Ontario is not behind we have one of the highest vaccination rates in the world right now and we have 1% with both vaccines however we expect people to obey the law we expect that people are going to follow the law it's extremely disappointing that they're not but that's why we have law enforcement officers who are doing their job who are understanding that there is a potential there they are doing their job that we have been in touch with them to let them know of our concerns it's up to them to deal with them in the past and we will ensure that that is going to continue to happen to make sure that people are protected to make sure that no one is prevented from entering or exiting the hospital including staff, visitors and people going for treatment themselves Thank you The next question the member for Etobicoke Lakeshore Thank you Mr Speaker My question is for the new Associate Minister of Children and Women's Issues my friend so I'm pleased to ask my friend a question today at this month is October is breast cancer awareness month and I'm sure everyone in this chamber knows at least one woman who has been on the receiving end of the breast cancer diagnosis in my family alone three of my family members last year an estimated 75 women each day heard the words you have breast cancer many incredible advancements have been made with more people surviving a breast cancer diagnosis more than ever before despite this is still the most common cancer and sadly the second leading cause of cancer death amongst Canadian women my cousin being one of them at the early age of 42 Can the Associate Minister of Children and Women's Issues tell us what supports are available for women who receive this devastating diagnosis the Associate Minister of Children and Women's Issues Thank you Speaker and thank you to the member from Matobicole Lakeshore for the question and my condolences goes out to your family members I know the devastating impact of breast cancer I watched my grandmother battle from the beginning she bravely fought through surgery treatment remission and sadly in her case the return of the disease despite her courage as she fought back against the cancer it ultimately caused I know what's been said many times before but the fact of the matter is that cancer caught early is often easier to treat and can lead to beating its outcome I encourage everyone to remind the women in our lives our daughters, sisters, wives aunts, mothers and grandmothers to be aware of changes that could be indicative of breast cancer if you notice something and you're not sure speak to your doctor as soon as possible an early diagnosis can make a world a different speaker Thank you Thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you Minister I've seen through the experiences of women in my family and my friends how devastating it is to receive a breast cancer diagnosis for many women in addition to facing the facts they now have breast cancer they also worry about the impacts of their diagnosis on their parents their families, their children their finances and of course their future Minister I recognize that early diagnosis plays a big part in positive outcomes for women fighting breast cancer can the Associate Minister please tell the House and the women across Ontario where they can find support and the supports they need to reduce the additional stresses that they face as a result of their diagnosis the Associate Minister Thank you Speaker and thank you again to the member from Etobicoke Lakeshore for the question here in Ontario there are a number of supports for anyone facing a cancer diagnosis through Cancer Care Ontario and your healthcare cancer patients can find services and treatments information about drug finding if it's needed and a variety of supports for both patients and their families that are available locally supporting women and their families as they take on the fight against breast cancer benefits all of us Speaker during this breast cancer awareness month we encourage all women to do a self examination and seek medical advice if you notice any changes because early intervention is key to winning the fight against breast cancer thank you so much Speaker Question for Hamilton West and Caster Dundas Mr Speaker my question for the Premier during yesterday's thrown speech this government offered nothing new whatsoever to help local businesses get back on their feet while half of Hamilton's BIAs are in my writing we know first hand how vital small businesses are to thriving vibrant communities this summer I visited businesses in Dundas and Caster and Westl BIAs what I heard loud and clear is that their struggle to pay the bills and keep staff employed is not over a small business owner in Dundas shared that she's drowning in debt and losing hope seeing that big box stores have been continually put ahead of small businesses in this government's priorities so when will this government show up for local small businesses and not just the big box stores the associate minister of small businesses in red tape production thank you Speaker I privileged to stand today for the first time as the Prime Minister and I really do want to thank the member opposite for the question I think we all here in the House can agree that our small businesses have faced incredible hardship throughout the pandemic and that's why since day one our government has worked hard to support our small businesses and help them get through this pandemic namely through the Ontario small business support grant we provided nearly three billion dollars in unprecedented support to over 110,000 small businesses right across the province our main street recovery plan it was built on more than 10 billion dollars of urgent relief and supported through the COVID-19 action plan and of course we expanded our digital main street program to allow more businesses create and increase their digital presence just last week minister speaker I was in London and I met a young man Richard and a clothing store for men who put his digital presence online and it not only saved his businesses and been able to grow from that can you supplement me unfortunately your government's response has been too little too late I've heard from businesses that have been turned away deemed ineligible of the province of small business support grants for reasons that seem arbitrary small businesses are trying to rebuild and now they're taking on extra public health responsibility without any extra resources from this government and what's worse some businesses are facing harassment for following and enforcing these important public health measures without yet again protections such as the safety legislation zone that we proposed from this government so it's clear the government's approach has been failing is the government finally willing to listen to small businesses and the government is trying to strengthen a third round of small business support grant payments to ensure small local businesses get the support that they deserve again replied the associate minister thank you speaker I want to thank the member opposite for her question as we know throughout the pandemic our businesses have gone through such tremendous efforts to keep their customers and their customers safe. We implemented additional measures in public settings to help keep our province open we need to stop the spread of COVID-19 and protect the health and well-being of all Ontarians proof of vaccination is required only in settings that are the highest risk of COVID-19 transmission due to these gatherings in close contacts such as enclosed indoor spaces now as the minister of small businesses in the restaurant industry for example vaccine certificates speaker and proof of vaccination are a temporary measure to address health and safety in the COVID-19 pandemic businesses have been asking for this this allows us to not have to close our businesses again speaker thank you next question once again the member for York said my question is to the government house leader close to 600,000 people have been diagnosed with COVID at to that an infection rate estimated at three to five times and you have millions of Ontarians who already had COVID but despite ample evidence the medical establishment is scared to acknowledge natural immunity and instead subjects everyone to draconian passports and mandates but on August 18 the government whip issued notice to government MPPs that they're required to vaccinate unless they can provide a medical exemption of past infection or laboratory evidence of immunity close quote my question to the government house leader is why the double standard why does the government say that evidence of prior immunity is good enough to excuse its members but not good enough to excuse 600,000 or possibly a few million Ontarians when their jobs are on the line Mr. Labour training and skills development well Mr. Speaker again I want to congratulate the people of Ontario 87% of individuals 12 and over have received one dose more than 82% have been double vaccinated Mr. Speaker the 15 and a half million people have been working together every single day to battle this global pandemic and as the minister of health said earlier today we should be damn proud of our province our businesses our families our businesses we are much better off than any other place in this country and it's because of the people Supplementary question Speaker the double standard that this government holds itself to is astonishing what's good for the goose is not good for the government Speaker I support the member from Durham's right to choose just like I've always supported choice just like the choice of tens of thousands of young women who made the same choice by costing them their jobs that everyone should be held to the same standard I don't care to know the members medical exemption but I do care that it's not political rules but College of Physicians and Ontario public service rules that apply equally to the member as they do to everyone else my question to the government house leader did he subject the member from Durham to the same standard articulated by the College of Physicians to construct the member from Durham to submit her medical exemption for acceptance by the Ontario public service Minister of Labor we're going to continue as a government hopefully supported by every member of this legislature to protect the health and well-being of all of the people of this province we can be proud as a province of how we're leading the world when it comes to vaccinations we can be proud as a province how employers and employees have been working together to battle this global pandemic we can be proud as a province of the business community working to support families in need but Mr. Speaker we're going to continue to prioritize the health and well-being of the people of this province every single day just like we've done in the past and I have to reiterate again we've spared no expense to help the response to this pandemic whether it's business supports whether it's the record investments in health and safety programs for businesses more than 100 new health and safety inspectors for example again we need to continue working together and send that message out there to people get back thank you very much next question the member for the minister of health families in my riding across the province no longer have access to OHIP insured eye exams despite months of advance notice this government is absent from negotiations and refusing to bargain in good faith leaving the eye care of Ontario families in the lurch I heard from Laurel and Welland in September her one year old son was stung by a bee his eye was swollen and their pediatrician said he needed an eye exam to get an optometrist and still has not been able to see an optometrist Laurel emailed me asking why her baby is quote collateral damage in a dispute between devalued professionals and this government's misuse of taxpayer funds will the minister make a commitment today to get back to the table and adequately fund eye care so that families like Laurel's receive the care they deserve Minister of Health Speaker and thank you very much to the minister of health for the issue for many Ontarians right now we greatly value the work that is done by our optometrist and providing quality eye care services to children, youth, adults and seniors and that any withdrawal of services has been by choice by optometrist not by the government we continue to fund OHIP services for children and seniors we always will we are ready to return to the mediation table we have said that publicly we agreed through the conditions that were set by the mediator who was actually chosen by the optometrist not by the government we agreed to their conditions to go back to the mediation table however the optometrist have chosen not to do so so if you have any influence on them I would encourage you to ask them to come back to the table because we want to address their issues we want to address their issues and the supplementary? Thank You Speakers the minister's job not mine this government is ignoring both taxpayers and health care professionals seniors call me worrying that they cannot receive eye exams after crucial eye surgeries putting their recovery under threat we have heard from diabetics gravely concerned they are going to lose their eye site eye care is health care Optometrists have been telling the government for months they would be forced to withdraw service if the government continued to pay only 55% of the cost of the OHIP-insured visits, the lowest rate in the entire country. The Ontario Association of Optometrists have indicated that they have not heard from the government since early September. In May I brought this issue to the legislature, we're now in October. Speaker Will this government get back to the table with Optometrists and put proper funding in place to ensure that children and seniors receive the eye care they need? Mr. Hill. Thank you, Speaker. Well, I would certainly reiterate that we are ready. The government is ready to go back to the mediation table. However, the Ontario Association of Optometrists is not. And so that any decision to withdraw OHIP services is being done by the optometrists, not by the government. We continue to pay for those services. And we have also offered a resolution to this concern. We are already going to pay $39 million into their accounts. The optometrists will see the amount that they will be receiving today. They will be receiving this amount in mid-October. This is to compensate them for, as they requested, the same rate of increase that physicians would have received between 2011 when their agreement expired to the present. We have also proposed a resolution going forward of an increase of 8.48%. Plus we've indicated to the optometrists that we want to discuss their overhead concerns to make sure that we can come to a resolution that is fair for optometrists but also fair to the taxpayers of Ontario. We want to also establish a special working relationship with them, whereby we will meet monthly with them. We do not do that for every group, but we know that optometrists have or not fairly dealt with by the previous government. We want to rectify that situation and provide a resolution of their concerns. We're ready. Thank you. The next question, the member for Ottawa venue. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Nice to be back. My question is for the Minister of Education. 816 schools are reporting COVID cases. That's almost 17% of all our schools and now six schools have had to close. This spread could be addressed if more parents were given the ability to administer rapid tests to their children. The government of Ontario adds several months to plan for a safe return to school and yet the plan to distribute rapid tests is only coming up now. To stop this spread, we should be detecting COVID before it causes outbreaks, not playing catch up. So what is the Minister's plan to prevent further outbreaks in school closure given the constant race of cases in our schools? Thank you very much, Speaker. We agree it's so critical we keep schools open and safe. It's why we've introduced a layered approach following the expert advice of the Ontario Science table who confirmed this summer that a preventative approach that includes strict screening before children enter a school, that the enhancement of cleaning within our school facilities, a significant improvement in the air quality and the ventilation standards, which our government has undertaken both for mechanically ventilated schools and those without mechanical ventilation by investing $600 million in HVAC system improvement. In addition to the deployment of 70,000 happiness that are already in our schools, in every learning space in a school without mechanical ventilation, in every kindergarten space in this province, Mr Speaker. In addition, we've announced today another step for another tool in the toolkit to ensure we minimise disruption, we maximise safety with the deployment of targeted risk-based rapid testing to public health units for schools and childcare settings where they deem fit. We're going to continue to follow that advice to do everything possible, as the member opposite has rightfully noted, to keep our kids safe and to keep our schools open. And the supplementary question. Thank you, Mr Speaker. I'm concerned with the government's plan to distribute rapid testing only in hotspots or in certain schools based on risk. When the government made the determination of hotspots for access to testing at the beginning of the crisis, many vulnerable areas in my writing were left out of the equation and didn't get access to testing for a long time. Will the government ensure this time that it consults with the public health units and school boards to get the relevant information to identify vulnerable areas where rapid testing would be most helpful? And the Minister of Education. I would agree with the member opposite. In fact, we've already consulted the Chief Medical Officer of Health as recently as yesterday spoken to Medical Officers of Health in Ontario to get their buy-in for this program, deferring to the local public health indicators and the local expertise of our Medical Officer of Health. We have confidence in them to deploy this rapid testing on a targeted basis where the risk requires it. We are absolutely committed to doing whatever it takes to keep schools safe and open. It's why in September we launched a take-home test program, phase one, for asymptomatic vaccinated high school students in Ontario. It's why we intend to scale that program up. Also, Speaker, we have worked with the Ministry of Health to ensure that there's low barrier access points for testing within our communities, reducing the time log to get those kids back into school, to get our staff back into school working as well. And Mr. Speaker, when it comes to air ventilation, something that cannot be decoupled from the discussion of school safety, we have really made this a major priority with 60 million guards of investment, 70,000 happy units, and ongoing work to ensure schools remain as safe as possible. Thank you. That concludes our question period for this