 It is now time for oral questions. I recognize the leader of Her Majesty's loyal opposition. Thank you so much, Speaker. Speaker, my first question this morning is for the Premier. The Premier has been pretty consistent on one thing throughout the pandemic, and that's chaos. Constant problems, constant delays, massive lineups and wait times, first dose hunger games, booking system crashes. The Premier promised a safe, secure and easy to use vaccine portal, and what we know now is that in fact it is neither safe, secure or easy. It was hacked, and the OPP cannot confirm what data has leaked or how many people have been affected. Speaker, my question is how on earth did the Premier let the vaccine portal system fail the people of Ontario so badly? To reply, the Government House Leader. Thank you very much, Speaker. I appreciate the question from the Leader of the Opposition. She should know, Mr. Speaker, that the, frankly, the world-renowned Ontario Provincial Police Cyber Crime Unit did investigate. An arrest has been made, Mr. Speaker, and Ontarians can't continue to have the utmost confidence in the system. Thank you. A supplementary question. Speaker, private health information in this province should be safe, and especially when we're talking about our kids. And parents have a right to know if there is any risk at all to that safety. The Government claimed on Friday the 19th that they had no reason to believe at all that text message scams were connected with the portal. We now know that that was inaccurate, Speaker. The OPP revealed that the province asked for police help on Wednesday, November the 17th. But they didn't tell parents. So my question, Speaker, is why did the Premier not alert parents about this breach before opening bookings for the younger children? And why didn't the Premier come clean with parents the moment that they found out that there was a breach to the system? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Look, as I just said, Speaker, a very thorough and very swift investigation was undertaken by the OPP Cyber Crime Unit. An arrest has been made. The system remains secure for the people of the province of Ontario. And we continue to encourage Ontario families to book those vaccine appointments, Speaker. We have a world-leading vaccination rate in the province of Ontario. We are approaching, if I'm not mistaken, 90 percent for first vaccine doses and close to 87 percent for second, Mr. Speaker. Unlike what the leader of the opposition is suggesting, chaos. What we have had is a measured response, which has seen a world-leading vaccination rate, Mr. Speaker. Supports put in place for individuals who needed to get those vaccines, Speaker. We are doing everything that needs to be done. Put this pandemic behind us and emerge stronger than ever before. The final supplementary. Well, Speaker, people had their personal information compromised. That's what we all know. They had their personal information compromised. And that's a very serious privacy breach, Speaker. And in fact, the only reason we even know about it is because the people whose information was breached, who got those scam emails, actually went to the media. The government knew this was happening, and they chose to keep it under wraps. And plow ahead regardless, with opening registration for children, regardless, without their parents even knowing what was going on. So my question for the Premier is this. Who ordered this information to be kept from parents? Was it the Premier? Was it the Minister? And who will take responsibility for this cover-up? I'm going to ask the leader of the opposition to withdraw her unparliamentary remark and look to the government host leader to reply once again. So the leader of the opposition's question highlights the challenges of dealing with a pandemic with an opposition like that. The OPP, an award-winning cybercrime unit, was immediately engaged and quickly went to work and has charged an individual who is no longer working with the government of Ontario. As opposed to getting people afraid, the leader of the opposition, what she should be doing is helping us get more parents getting their kids booked to get their first and second doses, Mr. Speaker. That should be the priority of the opposition, helping us put the pandemic behind us, Mr. Speaker, helping us rebuild the economy. That should be the focus of the leader of the opposition, thanking the OPP and the award-winning cybercrime unit for their swift action to ensure the safety of the booking system. Instead, the leader of the opposition goes in a different direction because I suppose she thinks that it will help her poll numbers. But what we know will help the people of province of Ontario is putting this pandemic behind us and that's what we'll continue to focus on. Thank you. The next question, once again, the leader of the opposition. So much, Speaker. My next question is in fact for the Premier, but I will say deflecting my question about people's personal private information to the OPP is beneath even this member, Speaker. It's shameful. But the Premier has been consistent on another thing throughout this pandemic, Speaker, and that is not being there for the workers of this province. He was dragged, kicking and screaming into putting in place three measly-paid sick days and now he's ripping those paid sick days up for a second time. The Premier seems to think that the pandemic is already over, but case counts for COVID-19, as we know, continue to be up in Ontario. So my question is pretty straight up. Will the Premier in fact be ripping up three paid sick days for Ontario workers on December 31st? Why the government host leader? Well, again, Mr. Speaker, an interesting question from the leader of the opposition because while they were asking for one or two sick days, we were fighting to get 23 paid sick days for the people of the province of Ontario. So we didn't agree with the leader of the opposition when she wanted to reduce the amount of sick days that we had put in place for the hardworking people of the province of Ontario. My colleagues will remember this quite clearly. We were the party, of course, one of the first governments in the country to protect workers who were facing the effects of COVID, Mr. Speaker. The opposition, of course, didn't agree with that. Our Premier brought in over a billion dollars in supports to help people who are sick get the pay that they needed to stay home so that we could continue to fight this pandemic. They wanted us to cut those hours, Mr. Speaker. So what we'll continue to do is ensure that the people who work and who need protection and who need support will have that support. That's why we brought in paid sick days. We didn't put the burden on businesses like the opposition wanted us to do. We assume that responsibility because we thought that and continue to think that that is the right approach, Mr. Speaker. Supplementary question. Well, Speaker, perhaps the government host leader would like to correct his record because, in fact, it's this government that 27 times voted against paid sick days paid by the government that we were recommending. Nonetheless, we know that it's flu season now, Speaker. Children, of course, are also just finally getting their bookings for their COVID-19 vaccines, the littlest children. More people, of course, are indoors, Speaker, as the weather gets colder, so more staff are at risk of getting sick. They need paid sick days to overcome any sickness, to overcome any sickness and to heal themselves, to protect themselves, to protect their co-workers, to protect their families. So the question is, why is this premier ripping up the three measly paid sick days that Ontarians have right now? To be clear, Mr. Speaker, what we voted against was the opposition that wanted to put the burden on our small and medium job creators. We voted against that. What we voted against is an opposition that wanted to reduce those 23 sick days that our premier negotiated with the prime minister, and they wanted to reduce that. Well, of course, we weren't going to be cutting sick days for people, Mr. Speaker. And we've also said, and I guess the leader of the opposition hasn't been brought up to date, but of course we also said that parents who need to take their kids to get their vaccine appointments can utilize the sick days that we have put in place, Mr. Speaker. So again, I encourage the leader of the opposition, work with us, help us get more parents booked so that more children can be protected, and we can finally put this pandemic behind us, Mr. Speaker, and we can continue to be the economic engine of the province of Ontario, of the Canada, Mr. Speaker. That's what you should be working with, and I hope finally you might help us build a bigger, better Ontario. Again, I'll remind members to make the comments to the chair. The final supplementary. This premier and this government may be patting itself on the back, but the reality is we need permanent, paid sick days in this province, and the government needs to get that done, because that's exactly what getting things done for workers looks like. Permanent, paid sick days for our province. And as I said, it is flu season. It is getting colder out. People because of the weather are being driven back indoors. Children's vaccines are just starting. The fact of the matter is people are going to start getting sick. That's the way it works in our climate, in our province. So the question again is to the premier, will he finally do the right thing? Will he commit today to real permanent, paid sick days, to a real program of permanent, paid sick days here in our province once and for all, and say that he is definitely not going to tear up for a second time the measly, paid sick days that workers now have? Again, Mr. Speaker, these are measures that we brought in. The opposition, of course, voted against those measures ostensibly because, Mr. Speaker, they didn't like the fact that we didn't think at a time of a global health and economic pandemic that our small and medium job creators should face the burden that would be associated with it. That's why we brought in measures to protect workers' paid sick days that included the government offsetting those costs for these small businesses that have done so much, Mr. Speaker. So when the leader of the opposition asked us to put these paid sick days back on the backs of our small and medium-large job creators at a time, when they are just emerging from this pandemic and all the hardships that they've faced, I say very clearly to the leader of the opposition, no, we're not going to do that. We're going to continue to protect the people of the province of Ontario. When they asked us to reduce our sick days from 23 down to three, we said, no, we want to work with the federal government to have a system that protects workers for the amount of time that they need, Mr. Speaker. We will continue to protect workers. We'll let the leader of the opposition continue to vote against all of those measures, but the people of the province of Ontario know who they can trust to protect them. Next question, the member for Essex. Thank you very much, Speaker. My question is to the Premier Speaker. When asked about an Ontario developer who got caught trying to gouge their customers out of an extra $100,000, the Premier puffed up his chest and gave some surprisingly tough talk. I'll quote the Premier Speaker. He says, nothing burns me up more than that. Some developer just trying to make an extra money off the backs of hard-working people. It's unacceptable. Speaker, even I was surprised at the tough talk that the Premier put out there. Speaker, but I agree with the Premier. Nothing would make me happier than to help the Premier throw the book at some of his developer buddies. So my question to the Premier is, Premier, a YouTube clip does not constitute real action. So what is he going to do about the price gouging, and when is he going to finally act? And to reply, the Minister of Government and Consumer Services. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, for the opportunity to rise. And thank you to the member opposite for the question. And Mr. Speaker, if I may just take a moment and say this is my first opportunity to be able to rise in the House as the Minister of Government and Consumer Services. And I'm very proud for this opportunity. Thank you. And I really want to take the opportunity to recognize all my excellent predecessors like Minister Thompson and Ministers Walker and Smith as well for all the great work that they were doing. Look forward to being able to follow in some very, very large footsteps. We're looking forward to it all the same, Mr. Speaker. This is such an important question, and I really thank the member opposite for raising it. And as our Premier has very, very clearly and unequivocally stated, time and time and time again, we will not tolerate bad actors who take advantage of hard-working Ontarians. That is the most basic principle of our government for the people, and we are going to ensure that we continue to do that, Mr. Speaker. And I look forward to further embellishing and discussing this further. Thank you. A supplementary question. Speaker, if the Premier's reelection strategy is to run on his record of saying one thing and doing absolutely nothing, newsflash, he's already lost. Speaker, we have seen this before from the Premier. He's, quote, hitting the roof. He's outraged. He's mad as heck. He's going to come down like an 800-pound gorilla. He's got zero tolerance for this kind of nonsense, and he's coming after the price gouger, Speaker. But each and every time, whether it's people getting gouged, he hasn't done any of that. So they're clapping for the Premier's non-action. Each and every time, whether it's on toilet paper or PPE or hydro rates or gasoline, or his buck of beer that never actually transpired, when it comes time to actually doing something, Speaker, the Premier is all talk and no action. Speaker, he says he wants to throw the book at price gougers, and this would be a slam dunk for him. I'll even give him an alley-oop, Speaker. If he needs, we can work together and introduce a motion here today to get this done. So will the Premier finally put his words into action, or is he ready to admit that he's just all bark and no bite? Mr. Government and Consumer Services. Thank you again, Mr. Speaker, and thank you again for the question. And as I indicated earlier, I'm very, very interested in being able to respond to this and expand upon my earlier answer. You know, the Premier has been very clear. Order. I do not tolerate bad actors. And we will protect all of the hardworking Ontarians. And it is very critical. Member for Essex, come to order, Mr. Speaker. Absolutely critical that we continue to protect consumers, all consumers across all of Ontario. And we expect all condo developers to treat Ontarians who are purchasing pre-construction units fairly, and with integrity. And I know the member opposite would say the same thing. Of course, we all want to ensure that we're treating consumers fairly. And we are looking into this, Mr. Speaker. I could tell you that there has been substantial work done in this area. Already consultations have been held. We're actually in the middle of two consultations right now to solve this issue, Mr. Speaker, because we will not tolerate bad actors. Thank you very much. The next question, the member for Halliburton, North Lakes Park. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Children and Women's Issues. Minister, the COVID-19 pandemic has left many families across Ontario dealing with the multitude of challenges. Sadly, for many women in the province, the pandemic has increased the frequency and severity of domestic violence, meaning that more women and children are living in fear and danger and are in need of support. November is women abuse prevention month, a time to shine a light on this societal problem. The key to supporting women who find themselves in abusive situations is enabling them to access supportive housing. Can the Minister tell this House what the government is doing to help women and their families to find supportive housing? Minister of Children, Community and Social Services. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I'd like to thank the member from Halliburton, North Lakes, Brock for her important question and her very good work. Our government remains committed to doing all that we can to support victims of domestic violence. And that's why, as part of our 2021 budget, we are investing $18.5 million over three years for the transitional housing and support program. This program supports survivors of domestic violence and survivors of human trafficking to find and maintain affordable housing. In addition to housing support, transitional housing support program workers are also a key resource for survivors by helping with safety training and other available supports, such as counseling programs, social assistance, education and training programs that will help them transition to a better life, free from violence and fear. Supplementary question. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you, Minister, for that answer. Back to the Minister. As she points out, survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking often need additional support to help them transition to a better life. For domestic violence, survivors escaping an abuser can be complicated. The journey often begins with a call to an Assaulted Women's Helpline for Assistance, which leads to a connection with an emergency shelter in the community. Once safely at the emergency shelter, survivors need support and assistance to transition to long-term, affordable and safe housing. Without this support, they can be at risk of returning to their abusers. Can the Minister please explain to the House who will benefit from this program and what outcomes the government expects to achieve? Mr. Children, Community and Social Services. Thank you, Speaker. And thank you again to the member for Halliburton, Coorthal Lakes Brock for that question. As the member points out, the transitional and housing support program is a key resource for survivors escaping domestic violence and human trafficking. Our investment enhances the existing program by serving more people and addressing service gaps while expanding services to serve survivors of human trafficking. The program helps survivors of violence and human trafficking, including Indigenous peoples, to find stable housing so they can begin to heal. The expansion of the transitional housing support program is expected to improve access to stable housing and alleviate pressures on the emergency shelter system. By helping survivors and their families with wraparound services, we are supporting them on their journey to healing and independence. Question and member for Kiwak Ma. Good morning, Mr. Chair. My question is to the Premier Speaker. Last week, I'm Junonga First Nation learned at the levels of cancer causing chemical and it's are 44 times higher than it's considered safe after years of fighting for this data from this government's and previous liberal government. Data obtained using freedom of information request by the media revealed elevated levels of known carcinogens and indicated that Ontario knew the levels were far higher than the provincial standard. So this level of benzene pollution wouldn't be acceptable anywhere else. Why is this acceptable? To see the environment, conservation and parks. Thank you, Speaker. Simply put, it's not. That's why this government is taking definitive action. Since we established a health group early on engaging Indigenous communities, engaging the region, I just recently posted regulations on SO2 emissions, which will see an immediate 30% reduction, something the previous government could have done and didn't. Secondly, over the next five, six years, we'll see a reduction of 90% in SO2 emissions. Air monitoring unit number one in Amjadong First Nation, thanks to working with our government, collaboratively with industry, we've seen a 50% reduction in benzene and we're going to continue to act. We're increasing monetary penalties and we're mandating public reporting so that no longer will the community be kept in the dark, because it's unacceptable. Thank you. Back to the Premier. Speaker Amjadong has been surrounded on all sides by pyrochemical facilities for decades. And members have known that these facilities have exposed them to environmental harm. In 2019, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Toxic Chemicals said, and I quote, I was struck by the incredible proximity of the affected First Nation to dozens of intense chemical production and processing facilities, which resulted in incredible releases of pollution and waste affecting residents' health. And quote, Amjadong is asking Ontario to work with them to protect them from further environmental question. How and will you honour their request? Miigwetchum. Thank you, Speaker. And I really appreciate that member's question. Yes, I've spoken to Chief Plain, and as I said, we're acting. When this government first took office in 2018, we launched the Sarnia Area Environment Health Project, working with Amjadong First Nation, working with the region, and working with industry. We've issued since then, Speaker, over 1.8 million in monetary penalties. But we're acting. We've set an immediate reduction of 30% in SO2, working with industry for a 90% reduction by 2026 as they operate on three-year planning and investment cycles. This is going to mean millions of investments into that community to improve air quality. Simply put, the kids, the communities deserve better. That previous government under the Wendelduka Liberals issued zero dollars in monetary fines. They didn't act. They did nothing. That member has my commitment as a government. We're acting. We're going to work with Amjadong First Nation, and we're going to let our actions speak louder than words. Thank you. I remind the House we refer to other members by their writing name or their ministerial title as applicable. The next question, the member for Glen Gary Prescott Russell. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Ontario Liberals have been long committed to turning Peel Memorial into a full hospital and delivering a third new hospital in Brampton to support their growing health care needs. Order. When will this government say yes to a new hospital for Brampton? Order. Minister of Health. Thank you. Well, thank the member opposite for the question, but I would say we already have promised a new hospital for Brampton. We made this announcement several months ago. We're building 250 new hospital beds for Brampton as well as a 24-7 emergency department, and we've already granted over a million dollars for the planning grant for that. So the people of Brampton are going to receive the health care resources that they need. We are the government that's going to provide them. Order. Supplementary question. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, last year the Premier and his government continued to promise that a new hospital was being built in Brampton when in fact, as we found out later, it was a wing that fell short of what the community of Brampton desperately needs. The question is simple. Will this government stop congratulating themselves and build a new hospital in Brampton yes or no? Minister of Health. Well, this is going to be a new hospital. It's being transferred from what it previously was for daily care. It's going to be now 24-7 hospital for the people of Brampton. It's a rapidly growing community. And again, I would quote from the Mayor of Brampton who recently said, Brampton got nothing for two decades. For 20 years, we were ignored despite having institutionalized hallway medicine. Frankly, this should have been done 15 years ago. In fact, it should have been done 15 years ago by the previous government. They didn't get the job done, but our government will. The next question, the member for Perry Salma School. Thank you, Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Colleges and Universities. Speaker, currently over half of post-secondary students have reported feeling depressed, and over two-thirds have experienced anxiety. New stresses caused by the pandemic mixed with the regular challenges of post-secondary education have led to an increase in poor mental health for students. Post-secondary students need greater support during these challenging times, and they need it now. So, Speaker, can the Minister please tell the House what initiatives the government has taken to address the alarming rates of mental health seen in post-secondary students today? Thank you. Minister of Colleges and Universities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the member from Perry Salma School for highlighting such an important issue that's pressing and facing students these days. Since we are elected, our government has committed to addressing the well-being of all Ontarians, including post-secondary students. Last year, our government invested over $26 million in mental health supports for post-secondary students. That's an increase of $10.25 million from the previous year. This funding included grants for mental health workers, services, and Indigenous Institute supports. We acted swiftly to fund much-needed mental health services. Mr. Speaker, earlier this month in the fall economic statement, our government was proud to announce an additional $8.7 million investment to increase mental health supports at Ontario's post-secondary institutions. This additional funding will help to address the increased need for services that students so desperately need. Our government will continue to work hard to address mental health challenges facing students. I look forward to speaking more to this pressing issue in the supplementary. And the supplementary question. Thank you, Speaker, and thank you to the Minister for the response. Speaker, as students shift to online learning in response to the pandemic, many experienced additional stress. At this point, some students are still unsure what their winter semester will look like. This uncertainty is creating logistical challenges for students like those from my riding, who have to travel further to attend campus adding to the stress. Now that vaccination rates are higher, case counts are lower, fully vaccinated students should be able to return to campus. Mr. Speaker, the return to in-person learning is critical to the well-being of students. So, Speaker, can the Minister please tell the House what the government is doing to get students back on campus for the winter semester? Mr. Colleges and the University. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you again to the member for that question. As a mother of three daughters attending universities in Ontario, I have seen firsthand how students need to get back in the classroom and receive in-person instruction. In the fall, our government worked closely with the Ministry of Health, the Chief Medical Officer of Health, and post-secondary institutions to develop a reopening plan that worked for students. In September, schools proved that they had the capability to begin reopening with the proper health measures in place. I'm proud to say 96% of students and 95% of faculty are fully vaccinated. And with these high vaccination rates, we know students can safely transition to in-person learning. In recent weeks, students have been vocal in their frustration and lack of motivation with online learning, and we are listening. Students should not have to worry about the uncertainty around winter semester. That is why we are working with our post-secondary partners to provide support for institutions as they prepare for winter 2022 to open safely, reopen. Thank you. The next question, the member for Parkdale High Park. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. My constituent, Erin, is a mother of young children, including an infant who cannot be vaccinated or wear a mask. Erin tells me she relies on her local pharmacy to pick up medications and diapers, often with her children in tow. Now, she fears putting her baby at risk by attending to these vital needs in the same space where symptomatic people are being tested all day long. Will the government reverse their irresponsible decision that allows symptomatic COVID-19 testing out of pharmacies? Minister of Health. Well, thank you very much to the member for the question, but I'm afraid we see things quite differently. What we need right now in Ontario is more places for people to be tested because with colder weather, we are seeing more people indoors. We are seeing the numbers go up, although the numbers in our intensive care units are remaining very low. But we need to have convenient places for people to go. If they feel that they may have COVID, they need to be tested. They have to have an entrance to go into. They're not going to be allowed to go in and do their regular shopping. They will go in to be tested or they will have someone else pick up a test for them and then return it for them. Pharmacies will have to opt in. They will need to have the physical space available for this to be done safely. And there are very intense infection prevention and control measures that are in place to make sure that the other patrons and the store are also going to remain safe. Response. Supplementary question. Back to the minister. The forward government allowing symptomatic COVID-19 testing in pharmacies has left everyday Ontarians exposed and afraid to access essential services. For my constituent Michael, his local pharmacy is now a symptomatic testing site despite there being a hospital testing center just a 10 minute walk away. Michael also says he and his family no longer feel safe picking up prescriptions and using pharmacy services. With this decision and with the response the minister of health is essentially saying it's okay for people with COVID-19 symptoms to go to the same place where vulnerable people are. So my question to the minister is are you aware COVID-19 is airborne? Minister touch. I can assure the member opposite that the policy that's put in place for allowing pharmacies to opt in to this testing for both symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals is safe. There are dedicated protocols there. There are many measures to make sure that these protocols are going to be followed by the inspections that we have available as well as by the college of pharmacist which holds the pharmacist to very high standards. It's also been approved by our chief medical officer of health and the epidemiologists that advise him. In fact, what Dr. Moore has said about symptomatic testing in pharmacies is this and I quote we absolutely anticipate a great partnership with our pharmacy experts and that they will be able to test in a safe manner within their facilities for those that have symptoms. We're working with them to have the best infection prevention and control protocols in place to best protect their clients but very much welcome their performance their partnership. The next question the member for Durham. Thank you speaker. My questions for the minister of education with so many young families moving to Clarington we need to plan for the growth pressures in our schools. A number of Clarington elementary schools are already overflowing and for years to come we want to make sure our youngest learners have a great place to call home that's close to home and to start their education journey. I was pleased to see the minister yesterday announce new funding for building and improving schools. When will we find out if the North Glen school in Clarington is approved. Member for Niagara Western Parliamentary System. Thank you very much speaker. My thanks to the member from Durham for the question and my thanks also for her advocacy. I know that this has been a project that she has been advocating for for quite some time and I know that the constituents in her riding understand the importance of seeing modern safe schools being built across not just their region but across Ontario and that's why I was very pleased to see yesterday the minister of education join the minister of infrastructure to announce some 600 million dollars in new capital planning project. Absolutely. Very very important to ensure that our province is being built up after so many years of the former government's liberal neglect where we saw many schools being closed across this province over 600 schools. Our government is the government that is building schools in communities like yours. Supplementary question. Thank you speaker. I've always found the minister and his parliamentary assistant as well as their ministry team willing to listen when bringing East Durham concerns to their attention. Cawortha Pine Ridge District School Board already owns an 8.3 acre property that's incorporated as a school in the municipal plan near North Glen Park. On top of the school board I have had many many families contact me asking me to bring this to the ministry's attention. Don't you agree with parents and the school board that it's time for a new elementary school in Clarington. Member for Niagara West. Very much speaker and my thanks again to the member opposite. The member is absolutely correct that our government is investing in more new schools. In fact yesterday's announcement is announcing specifically a $565 million for 26 new schools in communities such as the ones that you represent and are advocating for including 20 permanent additions and renovations being built and an additional 1500 child care spaces. This is actually going to be adding about in addition to these spaces 19,700 student spaces and so this speaks to the minister of education our premier our premier and the ministry as a whole's commitment to ensuring that every single community in this province receives high quality public education and that they receive it in safe modern and technologically connected and accessible schools. So I know that there'll be more details coming out in the coming days about these particular projects that have been approved in this capital tranche and I anticipate further conversations with. Thank you very much and the next question the member for Whitby. Thank you speaker. My question is to the minister of agriculture food and rural affairs. Farming is not like other careers it's truly a 365 day a year job with long hours and many stresses unpredictable weather and difficult crop conditions social isolation heavy workloads fluctuating markets and prices labor challenges and speaker throw in the ongoing pressures associated with COVID-19. The issues the farmers in my riding and across Ontario have to contend with can be overwhelming. Speaker access to mental health resources in rural communities can also be difficult. Can the minister please explain what steps this government is taking to address mental health challenges faced by the farmers in my riding. Minister of agriculture food and rural affairs. Thank you very much Mr Speaker and I and I want to thank the member from Whitby for this important question. You know it wasn't too long ago where I had the opportunity to be north of Oshawa and Pickering with both minister Bethlehem Falvey and MPP Co and visiting on farm and seeing the dedication and the passion that is you know absolutely indicative of the type of farmers we have across this province and we need to demonstrate that we have their back as well and that's why I'm very pleased to share with everyone that on Monday we announced a seven million dollar multi-year program for supports for farmers and their families to assist them with challenges because the member was absolutely right. What other sector has people committed to their profession 365 days a year and those days responses. So the two programs that we introduced on Monday will provide wellness supports that is part of a larger investment that I appreciate from minister Tobolo and minister Elliott in our view. Thank you. Supplementary question. Thank you speaker and back to the minister. I'm pleased to hear that the government is investing millions of dollars to fund these mental health support programs. However one of the major issues associated with mental health challenges is that people in need often don't reach out and consequently speaker do not get the supports that they need. Compound that issue with farmers in my writing and across the Ontario often working alone. They may not speak up at all speaker. Can the minister explain how the government is addressing this critical first step to support farmers and receiving the supports they so desperately need. Mr. very culture food and well affairs. The numbers very astute because it ranges from cost of production to weather to market access. 365 days Ontario farmers are working hard to produce good quality food close to everyone's home and that's why we need to have their backs and the 7 million multi-year program includes two particular programs a farmer wellness initiative that will provide tailored specialized support for farmers as well as their families. And I might say this is a very popular initiative and it's fashioned it's modeled after initiatives that were introduced in eastern Ontario by Deborah Van Burkel in Lenox, Addington and Hastings and she has just led by example in this regard and her legacy is allowing us to build on that success and demonstrate that our government has farmers backs all across Ontario. In addition to that particular program we're also introducing an guardians network it's a suicide prevention network and it's all about training individuals to recognize farmers or farming families that could be at risk and the the volunteers that will be trained will be able to recognize challenges and how farmers are dealing with those challenges. So this is great news for Ontario and I'm very proud to be part of a government that stands with thank you the next question for Hamilton now thank you speaker my question is for the premier speaker today the forward government is finally supposed to be back at the table with the feds to try and hammer out a deal for the long delayed child care plan the only problem though is speaker is that the government still hasn't handed in their detailed proposal and they still haven't given their action plan that the feds need to finalize the deal speaker parents are struggling with the cost of living and they need $10 a day affordable child care now when the premier not when the premier gets around to negotiation when is the premier going to stop trying to run out the clock try to stop doing the bare minimum and finally get this deal done Mr. Speaker it's actually the NDP who would seek to have us do the bare minimum speaker what we have is a federal government that has asked the province on Ontario to work with it to get to $10 a day child care we are working together to do that Mr. Speaker the federal government put an initial offer on the table we explained to them that it did not get us to the $10 a day child care that was the goal of the program the federal government didn't come to us and say well to take it or leave it offer they came back and said let us know what the differences are in the province of Ontario and how we get to that $10 a day so unlike the NDP that would have just accepted what the federal government put on the table first even though the federal government wants to do more the NDP are sitting down you know what the NDP are like Mr. Speaker they're that couple that invite you out to dinner and then forgets their wallet Mr. Speaker that's what they are what we're going to do is we're going to get $10 a day child care for families in the province of Ontario by working with our partners despite the fact that they're unwilling to do that supplementary Speaker every day this government continues to drag their feet and try to run out the clock it is costing parents thousands of dollars out of their pocket and it costs our economy even more Ontarians have suffered enough and the fact that the Premier couldn't even be bothered to do his homework before today's meeting shows that he really doesn't even care about getting a deal but he is going to do everything he can do to stop it if he's not willing to do the work to get a deal then he needs to get out of the way because there is too much at stake for Ontario families and our economy Speaker Conservative Premier's in Saskatchewan Manitoba and even Jason Kenney in Alberta managed to get their own pettiness out of the way and get a deal for $10 a day affordable child care why can't this Conservative Premier do the same thing for Ontario families Members will please take their seats Government House Leader Speaker every single day you know you try to help them you really do you try to help the NDP understand how governments function and how to work with other people but they just don't get it so what the NDP are telling the people the province of Ontario is that despite the fact that we have a partner that wants to help us get to $10 a day child care despite that fact we should say no we don't want those extra resources forget about the differences let's just sign any deal we're not going to do that because we want to get to the $10 a day child care Mr Speaker that's our goal it is true that the Liberals botched up this file for 15 years and gave us rates that are far too expensive for families in the province of Ontario we're going to get a deal that is sustainable that is in the best interests of Ontario families and helps build a $10 a day child care foundation for decades to come Mr Speaker despite the fact that the NDP is completely unprepared to ever deal with issues that come before you Question to the member for Ottawa of England Thank you Mr Speaker and I just got a little taste of the answer I'm going to be getting so Mr Speaker child care in Toronto costs nearly $19,000 per year people on minimum wage earn $27,000 per year the Minister of Education acknowledges that child care is inaccessible and unaffordable yet we've been waiting endlessly for a $10 a day child care that is preventing parents mostly women to join the workforce the government wants more money for a longer period than other provinces that's why it's making the deal so hard to negotiate the federal government has been asking for an action plan that is not being provided as been mentioned lack of plan sounds familiar so my question is why is it taking so long for the government to provide a plan and negotiate a deal on child care for the benefit of Ontario families and to the benefit of our economy government notes leader speaker now I know why Stephen Del Duca doesn't want to be in the house because it must be very difficult for the liberals to ask these types of questions we heard it earlier with the Brampton hospital question now and they only had that fifth mandate speaker they had four mandates to do something about child care but they would have had that fifth mandate they would have gotten the job done for Brampton but it's taking us and our first mandate to get it done on child care Mr Speaker we first heard the commitment back in 1993 I think right but it was a a real big stretch goal for the liberals that was of course supported by the MDP you know those stretch goals here's the difference speaker a progressive conservative government is going to deliver on affordable child care just like a progressive conservative government delivered on public health care just like a progressive conservative government delivered some ways from the province of Ontario Mr Speaker it is a progressive conservative government that delivers constantly and we will deliver for the families of Ontario supplementary questions thank you Mr Speaker this government claims to be all about promoting a strong economy ten dollar day child care would allow more parents to enter the job market and continue with their careers that's what would help our economy and that's why the other provinces have signed a deal it is also the right thing to do and while everybody is waiting for relief this government's delay is costing parents thousands of dollars the government says it's waiting for a fair deal but everyone is tired of waiting for the government to step up and help working families so will the minister or will the government prioritize Ontarian families and sign a deal today again the government also Mr Speaker one wonders if the Liberals are so passionate about this how it is that we have the most expensive day care fees in the country Mr Speaker under their watch day care fees cost of child care actually increased by 40 percent think about that Mr Speaker 40 percent think of how that impacted the people of the province of Ontario Ontario families put on top of that Mr Speaker the fact that we had the most expensive hydroelectricity rates in the entire country put on top of that the fact Mr Speaker that thousands of jobs were being lost because of the policies that they brought in place Mr Speaker but here's one thing I know a progressive conservative government will get the job done for Ontario families when it comes to affordable child care the member opposite has my word we will complete the job that the del duque of government the win government the McGinty government never could do and we'll do it in our first mandate Thank you very much Speaker my questions for the Premier Speaker Barbara Rees is a constituent of mine she's prescribed opioids after a serious work injury Barbara took her medications prescribed and became addicted when Barbara filed a complaint against her health care provider resulted in a training session for the physician meanwhile Barbara faced homelessness and she lost care of her children and the government can't sit by while such injustices continue there are thousands of people like Barbara out there and they want accountability for those who were prescribed opioids they want solutions for those suffering from addictions Barbara beat her addiction but many others aren't as lucky especially in summary we face an acute shortage of addictions supports Speaker my question is when will the government move from the sidelines of the opioid overdose epidemic and take serious action to save lives and address the opioid crisis Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Thank you Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker and thank you for the question from the member opposite Mr. Speaker we know that there's a poly substance overdose issue in the province of Ontario one of the first things we did as a government was to create a roadmap to wellness to understand the needs of the various people that live within the province and what we did Mr. Speaker was announced 32.7 million dollars be invested in new annualized funding for targeted addictions and supports including treatment and care for opioid use disorder Mr. Speaker this these investments will enhance and give additional supports to people in the province using evidence-based therapies and interventions that will that include opioid agonist therapies and high quality addiction services to address the needs that we have in the province of Ontario and I'll speak a little bit more in the supplementary with respect to the kind of investments that we made and thank you supplementary question Thank you Speaker The minister talks a good game but two years ago the Conservative Party voted against my bill to declare the opioid overdose crisis in Northern Ontario public health emergency they voted it down and one year later last November I told the Premier in question period about walking with Denise Sandual and two of her daughters and during that walk we visited the overdose Memorial Cross for her son Miles Miles was an athlete and his family loved him Speaker and he was also addicted to opioids and several times Miles tried to get help with his addiction and none was available Miles Keeney was 22 years old when he died by overdose last year in September Miles Memorial Cross was alone when I visited with Denise and her two daughters there were 51 crosses lost in November and today there are 218 opioid overdose Memorial Crisis Speaker that's 167 more crosses in just one year Question My Speaker Speaker my question the Premier is how many more crosses will we have to erect before the Premier takes action on opioid addiction and Sudbury The End of the Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addiction Thank you Mr Speaker and once again to reiterate the position of the government investments are being made and we are addressing the issues in Northern Ontario in rural Ontario in Southern Ontario and Mr Speaker this year we were proud to invest another 175 million dollars for mental health and addiction services that build on previous investments that this government has made and is continuing to make to the tune now of 525 million dollars in annualized funding through the funding we announced the 32.7 million dollars and it's targeted to addiction services supports across the province including treatment for opioid addictions that includes 13 million dollars a new annual funding to address urgent gaps across the continuum of care in Northern Ontario with investments like the more the one million dollars in additional annual funding we announced to help develop a system-wide response to complex mental health and addictions for the people to find access and supports where and when they need them Mr Speaker we have an issue in the province of Ontario relating to opioid over those as polysubstance we are addressing it within the next question the member for Gwell Good morning Speaker my question is for the Premier on Monday the Auditor General released a scathing report expressing concern that the ministry of the environment is not actually protecting the environment especially disturbing as the AG's revelations that thousands of hazardous spills are resulting in pollution that threatens workplace safety and people's health the annual economic cost of this pollution is five billion dollars a year not only is the ministry failing to prevent these toxic spills but they're putting the price of them on the backs of taxpayers resulting in tens of millions of uncovered recovered costs so Speaker will the Premier commit today to protecting people's health and taxpayer dollars by committing to do everything possible to prevent these toxic spills and making polluters pay for the damage they cause Mr. The Environment Conservation and Parks Thank you Speaker and thank you to the member opposite for that question Speaker in short yes every year we receive thousands of reports from Ontarians on spills in fact in 2020 the Spills Action Centre handled approximately 93,779 calls as I'm sure that member can appreciate each call is unique in nature and results in a differing level of response some are minor some are major obviously the ministry investigates every single call that we receive what I can tell that member opposite is that we've taken action in fact to do that we've launched a new app Environmental Compliance Hub Ontario or ECHO empowering citizens to stay engaged want to know what that means just ask Niagara Coastal who this government's funded empowering citizen science to support us with the latest data to tackle spills we're leading with action and we're going to continue doing that Speaker thank you supplementary question I guess the minister did not read the Auditor General's Report proactive inspection are down by 25% the results of lack of inspections and preventing toxic spills speaker have real world consequences according to the auditor general these toxic spills and pollution result in 800 annual worker injuries 600 annual cancer cases from local sources of air pollution 6,600 premature deaths from local sources of air pollution the ministry's failure to protect people has real consequences speaker so I'm asking the minister can the minister commit today to using all the ministry's powers to minimize the damage of these spills which the auditor says they're not doing and recover the tens of millions of damages polluters are causing in this province minister the environment thank you speaker I guess the member opposite didn't hear my answer what we are doing is just that we're empowering not only citizens to get engaged but we're utilizing the latest technology I mean it was irresponsible the previous government that picture around phone where you have to dial the number like this I mean that's how they operated in the stone age we're embracing technology we've updated our reporting in an effort to be more transparent on this and yes we investigate the repeat offenders and apply penalties Mr. Speaker we're open to examining every aspect of this we appreciate the auditor general's response but quite literally I mean we're acting on this by taking action empowering citizen science updating being more transparent with our data and we're going to keep doing more speaker because we know that Ontarians care about their natural environment we're empowering them to be a part of the solution and we're relying on the latest technology to do better thank you speaker next question the number for Brampton East thank you speaker my question is to the Premier Brampton is the city of almost 700,000 people and we are struggling with the healthcare crisis that was declared before COVID-19 and has become far worse with the pandemic but instead of fixing this crisis the Premier is using it to play political games he made an empty election promise to build another hospital in Brampton without a dollar in the budget or in the fall economic statement there are not even plans to bring a 24-hour emergency room to Peel Memorial Health Centre enough is enough the people of Brampton are done with the Conservative Government political games with our healthcare crisis will the Conservative Government commit today to ensuring that Peel Memorial Health Centre is converted to a hospital with a 24-hour emergency room with 24 hours and with the amount of beds that our community needs Mr. Health Thank you very much Speaker and thank you to the member opposite for the question our government is certainly well aware of the needs of the people of Brampton it's a fast-growing community and two members of our government the member from Brampton South and Brampton West have been advocates for their community strong advocate for that and what's happened though is for 15 years the needs of Brampton were neglected by the previous government we're not going to do that we are agreed that Brampton does need another hospital we have already put 1.5 million dollars into support the planning for the emergency department or the 24-7 as well as an additional 250 beds but again I'd like to quote from the Mayor of Brampton who said this and I quote we're getting one billion dollars the largest investment healthcare in our city's history this is a significant step forward this is progress and I don't think there is any Mayor in Canada that would not be elated with a one billion dollar investment in their community thank you thank you and the supplementary question back to the Premier the consumer government will quote from the Mayor of Brampton but let's quote from the Premier of Ontario who came to Brampton himself and admitted that there are no plans to build a hospital in Brampton until 2023 that's after next year's election instead of coming to to Brampton to end our healthcare crisis at ending hallway medicine in Brampton where thousands of people come to order every single year in the hallway the Premier came to Brampton ended a political pre-campaign stop and made an empty election government side come to order our city's healthcare crisis will the Premier stop playing political games with Brampton's healthcare crisis and will he commit today to making sure that Brampton has three fully funded hospitals once again the government side must come to order the Ministry of Health well uh with respect newsflash to the member opposite it takes longer than a year to build a hospital planning there has already been 1.5 million dollars advanced to support the planning for the emergency department there are active negotiations that are going on between the people at the hospital and the people within the Ministry of Health this is a project that is going to go forward we have made a commitment and we fulfill our commitments to make sure that this is a 24-7 emergency department and 250 new beds for the people of Brampton they deserve it and we will deliver it for them concludes our question period for this morning thank you