 It is therefore time for a question period, the member from Leeds, Brindle. My question is for the Premier. In 2014 the Ontario Liberal Party paid William Trudell the law firm representing Pats or Barra just a little over $4,000. In 2015 the Liberals paid William Trudell over $147,000. I can only imagine what the 2016 bill will be given the new litany of Liberal scandals. Mr. Speaker, will the Premier guarantee that no taxpayers' money will be used to pay the lawyers of Liberals charged in the Sudbury bribery scandal? Thank you. Thank you. Governor Haslater, Attorney General, sir. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. As you know, this matter is before the course. The parties, the individuals who have been charged in this matter have retained counsel and of course those counsel retainers will be paid by the people responsible. The government will not be of course paying for any of those legal dues. That's not the norm and that won't be happening in this instance. Thank you. Again, I'll try to get the Premier on the record. Speaker, the Premier is supposed to be in Sudbury tonight. The Sudbury Red Tent Dinner was scheduled to take place tonight at the Radisson Hotel. $500 a ticket or $5,000 a table. The Premier, the Minister of Northern Development of Mainz, municipal affairs and community safety. I'm quite prepared to pick up where I left off yesterday and while I'm speaking I wouldn't want anyone interjecting to repeat myself that I have quiet. I'm quite prepared to pick up where I left off yesterday. The Premier and all those ministers are all scheduled to attend alongside the member for Sudbury at this high priced liberal fundraiser. But what is the money going towards Speaker? Speaker is tonight's liberal fundraiser being used to fund the legal defences of those accused in the Sudbury by-election scandal. I guess my first statement didn't quite sink in. I will move to warnings on one side if I have to. Mr. Chairman. Well, thank you very much, Speaker. Speaking of fundraisers, I think the member opposite should speak to his seat mate next to him and ask him how his final funders are going on. That will be taking place tomorrow for $500 speaking of high priced fundraising events. Speaker, as we know, all parties continue to fundraise under the rules that exist today. And I know the party opposite, the Conservatives have been doing big fundraisers. They did one in Vaughan raising millions of dollars speakers. Selling tables for thousands and thousands of dollars. At the same time, Speaker, the Opposition Party continues to stall the work on the committee on bill two, continue to drag on that work by filibustering the committee because they like the status quo, Speaker, because they want to make sure that they continue to operate in the existing legal framework as opposed to the changes that we want to bring to make sure that Ontario becomes a leader when it comes to how parties finance and making sure that we have more transparency and accountability and we put an end to corporate innovation. Stop the clock. As this has revealed itself, I'm going to now try to wring this in a little bit to ask all sides to make reference to government policy and concerns about specifics of what government is doing to run. We'll stay away from the other side of this, which is very hard to do. And I'm being honest about this, that I let it go because I wanted to see if there was relationship to government policy. I'm going to ask the member to continue with his questions, but do recommend to him to see if he can tie that in tighter to government policy, please. Thank you. Speaker, back to the Premier. A link to the invitation to the fundraiser remains on the liberal website. And a link to the forum to purchase a table remains active. But the event is conspicuously absent from the list of fundraising events on the website. Is this event cancelled or are the liberals now hiding this event? Mr. Speaker, the people of Sudbury have been lied enough. What is happening with this Sudbury fundraiser tonight? Thank you. So, Speaker, not a policy question, but the reason member is not seeing the fundraiser on the website is because it has been rescheduled. So thank you very much for noticing, clearly spending a lot of time just looking at fundraisers because I'm sure he's going to the final funder tomorrow that the member from North Bay is doing because he's asking people to please dig deep and donate to your maximum speaker. So here you go, the parties opposite are continued to fund raise and asking people to dig deep while they're also stalling the work of the committee, which is working on Bill 2, which will ensure that we put an end to corporate and union donations, which is going to put strict caps on fundraising and would also put rules in place that will prohibit MPPs from attending fundraising events. But I can tell you, Speaker, the conservatives and their leaders do not want those changes. They love the status quo, and that's why they don't want Bill 2 to pass either. Thank you. New question? Thank you, Speaker. My question is for the Premier. The Minister of Energy has been accused by a federal prosecutor of asking for an alleged ride to run for the liberal... The member from Beaches East York and the member from St. Catherine's Chief Government with will come to order, and I'm getting desperately close because of certain individuals to move into yesterday's procedure, which is to go to warnings. Finish your question, please. The ethical, moral, and trust issues are compromised. This integrity of this Minister has been called into question. He must step down. Mr. Speaker, will the Premier accept the Minister of Economic Development today? Thank you. I categorically reject the premise of the question, and no, I will not, Mr. Speaker. Here you are. Supplementary. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of Energy said this. If anyone's ever had to explain to a nine-year-old why you're not a bad man, it's not an easy conversation. Nobody in the opposition has ever accused the Minister of Energy of being a bad man. In fact, we've encouraged the Minister to show that he is an honorable man and to do the right thing. Chief Government of Web Second Time, Minister of Finance, Minister of Indigenous Relations, and Reconciliation. Please complete your question. A few crocodile tears to elicit sympathy doesn't change that fast. Minister of Labour will withdraw. Draw a speaker. We're moving to warnings for everyone. Wrap up sentence, please. Regardless, the Minister has been accused of seeking a bribe. The Honourable thing for him to do is step aside. Speaker, will the Premier walk over to the Minister's desk? Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I have full confidence in the integrity of the Minister of Energy, Mr Speaker. Stop the clock. Member for Lancaster will withdraw. If I hear it again, we're going to get into naming. Either side knows better. Finish your answer. Member of this legislature mocking another member, a man who was defending his family. I cannot express the depth of my disappointment. Thank you. Final supplementary. Back to the Premier. A Minister of the Crown has been accused of seeking a bribe from the Premier's Deputy Chief of Staff. The opposition is not asking the trial to take place in the legislature. We wanted to play out a court of law. But the people of Ontario deserve answers and only the Premier can provide those answers. She knows she can invoke her right and privilege to avoid testifying in the trial, but I believe she must tell the truth to Ontarians. Mr Speaker, will the Premier waive her right to avoid taking the stand and testify in the trial of Patricia Sorbara? There is a legal process that is taking place outside of this House, and that is where it should take place, Mr Speaker. We are doing the work of the people of Ontario in this House, and the Minister of Energy is doing that with integrity, Mr Speaker. We all know, as members of this legislature, how challenging it is to be in the public eye and for our families to be in the public eye, Mr Speaker, and I think it behooves every single one of us to respect that and to respect the honour of members who are doing just that, who are protecting their families and are serving with integrity the people of Ontario. Be seated, please. Thank you. New question, the leader of the third party. Thank you, Mr Speaker. My question is for the Premier. A federal prosecutor said that the Minister of Energy asked for some special benefits so he would run for the Liberal Party. It's a serious accusation, coming from a serious source. It's not the sort of thing to shrug off. Has the Premier talked to her minister face to face since this allegation was made by a federal prosecutor? Mr Speaker, I referred to my earlier answer. This is a process that is happening outside of this House, Mr Speaker. I'm so confident in the integrity of the Minister of Energy and we are here doing the work of the people of Ontario, Mr Speaker and the Minister of Energy is doing that to the best of his ability and with complete integrity, Mr Speaker. Well, Speaker, people want to have hope about good government that political leaders can help to create opportunity for them and their kids. Instead, they see a government whose ethical standards for being in cabinet is simply that they haven't been charged with a crime. People deserve better, Speaker. Will the Premier ask her minister to resign from cabinet until the air is cleared one way or the other? Speaker, you know, these lines of questioning are very disturbing. The tone and the inyando, Speaker, is extremely disheartening. All of us in this House work to the best of our capability. We work hard. We balance our personal lives so that we can serve our communities. And the Minister of Energy is no different. He is an honourable man. He is a family man. He is a community man. He is somebody who works in his community day in and out, travelling between, Speaker, between Toronto here at Queen's Park and his community in Sudbury. Speaker, to draw his name into something that has nothing to do with him, that has nothing to do with his responsibility as a Minister of Energy, that there are no charges against him. It's absolutely unfair and, Speaker, inappropriate. I urge the members again, let's get back to focusing on issues that are important to the people of Ontario. Let's not do much slinging. We are better than that. Thank you. You see it, please? You see it, please? Thank you. Final supplementary. Speaker, asking the Minister to resign while these allegations are hanging over the Liberal Cabinet isn't about trying this case in the Legislature as the Premier and her Minister like to acclaim. It's about demonstrating integrity, Speaker, demonstrating respect for this institution and demonstrating respect for the people of Ontario. When Greg Sorbera was named in an RCMP warrant, he stepped aside until the matter was resolved. It's about showing responsibility for his office, Speaker. The Premier needs to explain why she thinks it's okay that her Minister of Energy is sitting in cabinet while there are allegations that he asked for some benefit in order to resign as a Member of Parliament and run for the Liberal Party of Ontario. Can she explain how that helps people trust her government? Thank you. What is disappointing is the lack of respect, the lack of integrity that the opposition parties continue to show for the members in this House Speaker and for the procedure of this House. Nobody is new in this House Speaker. Everybody knows what the rules are. You have spoken about those rule speakers. It is a clearly established rule in our Westminster model of democracy, not only just in this House Speaker, but all Commonwealth Houses that when a matter is before the Court, we do not discuss them in the House Speaker. We led an independent Court, led by an independent judge to deal with those matters, Speaker. The member of Energy is not charged with any offence, Speaker, whatsoever. He is not being investigated. The matter deals with two individuals that are in the process. Let's respect the process. Let's respect the integrity of the members of the House. There's a reason, Speaker, that we refer to each other as honorable members. I ask the members opposite to demonstrate their honour in this case as well. Thank you for your question. We're leaving the third part. Thank you, Speaker. My next question is for the Premier. But this member needs to know that neither were any of the other examples that we've been raising in this House Speaker. None of those people were actually charged either. They did the right thing by stepping aside, however. Look, on the weekend, the Premier stood in front of a room of Liberal Party faithful and said that she's made a mistake by letting hydro bills get out of control. Maybe she was referring to the privatisation of Hydro-1 or the privatisation of green energy. Maybe it was signing the Cabinet decision which led to paying $1.1 billion to cancel the two gas plants. Maybe it was continuing the PC privatisation of electricity generation in this province, which has been going on now for over 20 years. So what was the mistake? And what is the Premier going to do to fix it? Good question. Thank you, Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I did. This weekend I talked about the reality that we're building an inclusive economy, Mr. Speaker, and I talked about the initiatives that we have put in place in order to do that. I also talked, Mr. Speaker, about the reality that there is a burden on people because the electricity system in this province was a mess, Mr. Speaker. It had to be cleaned up. There had to be investments, Mr. Speaker, and we have made those investments and we have made those changes, Mr. Speaker. But we also recognise that there's a burden that has been placed on people across the province, Mr. Speaker, and we have been working to correct that, but we also know that there's more that has to be done. But it is why, Mr. Speaker, that we have taken the debt retirement charge off of bills that we've created the Ontario Electricity Support Program that, as of January 1st, Mr. Speaker, the provincial portion of the HST will come off people's bills. Those changes are all in place. What I said on the weekend was that we need to do more, and that's exactly the truth. Thank you. Well, Speaker, if the Premier is going to stand here and defend the status quo, it makes her apology ring awful. Justina Mum and Kingston had to choose between groceries or her hydro bill. She bought groceries and Kingston Hydro cut off her power. Peter and Mal also live in Kingston. Even after receiving help from the Low-Income Energy Assistance Program, they were cut off by Hydro One. Now their house is flooded and they're running a gas generator so that they can run the fridge for a couple hours a day. I asked the Premier Speaker how is this an inclusive Ontario? With the energy speaker, they need to be able to pay their bills. Will the Premier take the first step and stop any further sell-off of Hydro One? Question. Thank you. Do you see it, please? Thank you. Premier. The solution that the leader of the third party puts forward will not solve the problem. And in fact, what we have acknowledged, Mr. Speaker, and I have said repeatedly and said again on the weekend is that we need to do more and it is unacceptable to me, Mr. Speaker, that people would have to make those kinds of choices, which is exactly why, which is exactly why we've been taking action. And the premise of the question of the third leader that somehow the status quo is acceptable, what we have done, Mr. Speaker, is change the system, clean up the system. Just a reminder, we're at warnings. Just a reminder. Clean up the mess left by previous governments, not just the Conservatives, but the NDP as well, Mr. Speaker, clean up that mess. And in doing so, there have been costs associated with that clean up, Mr. Speaker. And we recognize that there is still more we need to do to take costs off people's bills. So the status quo is not acceptable. That was exactly what I was talking about on the weekend. Thank you. More privatization in the electricity system will absolutely make things much, much worse. It's unbelievable that this Premier does not accept that fact. In 2014, this Premier apologized for the cancellation of the gas plants, but instead of changing, instead of fixing the underlying problem, the fact that it was costing Ontarians more and more just to turn on the lights, the Premier made an apology and then went right back to business as usual. That is not the kind of leadership that people expected, nor is it what they deserve. People don't need the Premier to admit a mistake and then ignore the problem, Speaker. They need the problem to be fixed and they need the behavior to change. Will this Premier start fixing her mistake, Speaker, and stop the privatization of Hydro-1 and start getting bills under control? Thank you. Mr. Speaker, I'm the leader of the third party. That is exactly what I said on the weekend. I said that there are some things that we have done to take costs off the bill, the bills of people in the province, the electricity bills, whether it's removal of the debt retirement charge, putting in place the Ontario Energy Support Program, the changes that will come into place as of January 1st in terms of the provincial portion of the HST, Mr. Speaker. Those are all things that we have done recognizing that there has been a cost associated with cleaning up the mess in the electricity system that was left to us. We recognize that. And then I said, Mr. Speaker, and there's more that we need to do. I've committed to that. We have committed to that. And we will be making more changes going forward, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. A question from the member from Nipissing. Good morning, Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Finance. Today, the Financial Accountability Officer confirmed what we've said all along. The government's flawed cap-and-trade plan is about raising revenues, not cutting emissions. The FAO says cash raised from cap-and-trade would, quote, reduce the deficit in that year and increase the deficit in future years. He's already told us they're using one-time money from asset sales and contingency funds to artificially balance the budget in an election year. And now he's confirmed the Liberal government is using cap-and-trade as yet another cash grab to pay for their years of waste, mismanagement, and scandals. Mr. Speaker, will the Minister come clean and admit he's using the cap-and-trade funds to artificially balance the budget in an election year? Question from the Minister of Finance. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the work by the FAO, yet again illustrating what it is that's going forward, recognizing also, as outlined in our Climate Change, Mitigation, and Low-Carbon Economy Act, every dollar that is raised is allocated specifically to the use of producing our emissions. We made that very clear. It is being very determined and disciplined in the way we proceed. Furthermore, it is also limited to the amount that is received. So, Mr. Speaker, revenues that come in are offset by the investments we make and the expense we make for cap-and-trade projects. So that will always be the case, Mr. Speaker. And I'm going to recognize that the tremendous work of our Minister of Climate Change, who has taken leadership in initiating this, putting Ontario at the forefront of embracing the low-carbon economy, which in fact will increase our whole world economic growth and enabling all Ontarians to better benefit not only from lower emissions, but also an improved economy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Back to the Minister of Speaker. I asked the Minister to pick up this book. Go to any page. The FAO has outlined all of the scenarios that they're going to use to artificially balance the budget in an election year. Pick a page. Page one, reduce the deficit now and increase the deficit in future years. Page five, resulting in the cap-and-trade reducing deficits. Page 16, the result would be a reduction in the deficit. Speaker, I asked the Minister, pick a page and then tell us will he come clean and report to this legislature and admit that he's using cap-and-trade funds to artificially balance the budget. So, page nine, the report does not forecast cap-and-trade revenues, expenses, or cash flow, nor does it analyze potential economic benefit, Mr. Speaker. The FAO recognizes that it's dependent upon our government to take the stands and make the appropriate decisions to balance the books, ensure that we increase our economic growth and protect our environment for future years, Mr. Speaker. We're doing our job over here, recognizing that it's a net benefit to Ontarians going forward. We'll continue to do so. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, please. Mr. Speaker, please. Order. No question, Member, from Tim and Steve, Speaker. Thank you, Speaker. And my question is to the Premier. On Monday, a federal prosecutor said the Minister of Energy, the former MP for Sudbury sought certain benefits, offer, or job, or employment as part of his condition for him to run as an MPP in that election. Premier, the Minister says he doesn't think what he did was a bribe. So, my question is, what did he ask for, and who did he ask? Did he ask you? Did he ask Sabara, or did he ask Mr. Longheed? First of all, thank you, Speaker. First of all, thank the member. Welcome back. The member opposite is good to have him back. It's good to deal with him on a regular basis as the MPP House Leader. So, thank you, Speaker. I think, Speaker, the member knows quite well he's been in the House for a long time that when a matter is before the course, it's highly inappropriate to discuss those matters in this House. That is to be dealt with within the course. We very much respect the Sub-Jet-A-C rules, Speaker, and I would strongly encourage the member opposite that he should do the same. Let's an independent court, judiciary, make that determination in terms of the issues, the evidence, the allegations before in this matter, and we will respect that process, Speaker. Thank you. Supplementary. Well, Premier, people know across this province that they're paying too much for their hydro-bills, so much so that last weekend, you admitted, finally, that what you've done with the hydro system was wrong and it's costing people more money. So, here you have a minister that's under fire for this scandal. How can he do the job of making sure that he wrestles down the price of hydro to consumers and businesses in his province if he's constantly under the cloud of this particular scandal? So, I ask you, will you do the right thing and will you ask him to step down, not only because it's the right thing to do, but we need a minister who's actually going to try to do something about hydro prices. Thank you. Attorney General. Speaker, the minister of energy is very focused on his job as the minister responsible. He is working hard along with the minister of infrastructure in his role in cleaning up the mess that the NDP and the PCs left our energy sector in and making sure that we have a green, reliable and secure energy system that makes sure that we no longer have brownouts or blackouts, to make sure that we have no more small days in the province of Ontario so that our kids can breathe easily and inhale fresh air so that the asthma rates are down in our province. Not to mention, this minister of energy is working hard to bring the cost of electricity down. That is why he has permanently eliminated the 8% HST of our electricity bill that will come into place on January the 1st speaker. That is why we have got a program like the Ontario Electricity Support Program to ensure that people who are vulnerable who are low income have extra brain on the electricity bills. Thank you. A new question. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My questions to the minister of community and social services. Speaker, yesterday I was pleased to join the minister in Hamilton as our province kicked off public consultations for a basic income pilot. Throughout the evening we heard valuable and insightful feedback from people who joined us from across the Hamilton region. Though many, about 120 people were able to join us for the consultation, many others were unable to attend. Some have asked me how they can follow the discussion at home or provide feedback on basic income. Mr. Speaker, through you to the minister, can the minister please outline how Ontarians who were unable to attend the session in Hamilton and perhaps going forward elsewhere participate in the discussion and provide their input on basic income moving forward? Thank you. Minister of social community and social services. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the member for the question and for continuing to be a tireless advocate for the most vulnerable in Ontario. As part of our government's commitment to transparency and accountability, we're making all information received at the consultations available on our website. You will be able to see a wrap up of all the feedback from each consultation session online the day following the consultation. And for those keen to participate in their own communities, we're hosting several additional consultations across the province. A full list of available sessions will also be found online. And for those who have constituents wishing to provide their input from home, they can share their feedback via email or go online to complete the survey. Mr. Speaker, I encourage all members to share this information with their constituents as it's important we hear as many views as possible to ensure that we get this right. Mr. Speaker, my supplemental has to do with poverty reduction. Minister, I'm proud that our province is taking the lead in testing a basic income in Ontario as part of our government's income security efforts. Basic income is a different approach to financial assistance that would guarantee a minimum income level to eligible individuals in the province. I know that there is a great deal of interest around the world in the idea of a basic or guaranteed annual income, but there seems to be no agreed upon approach that our government can look to as an example. This is why it is so important that we are holding public consultations. Mr. Speaker, through you, will the minister tell us more about this initiative pilot project and how it's being developed with reference to Ontario's unique realities? Thank you, minister. The minister responsible for the poverty reduction strategy. He's responsible for poverty reduction. Well, thank you, Speaker. And again, thank you to the member from Lancaster, Dundas, Flamberow, Westdale for his great question and his continued leadership to make all Ontarians' lives better. Speaker, the pilot will test whether a basic income could deliver income security support more efficiently and improve health and employment and housing for Ontarians. I'd like to thank the Honourable Hugh Siegel for his work on the discussion paper. We'll be using his paper as a foundation during our broader engagement across the province. Our engagement work will also include discussions with Indigenous partners to ensure that our approach reflects the advice and unique perspectives of our First Nations, urban Indigenous, Métis and Inuit partners. Mr. Speaker, we're always looking for innovative, evidence-based solutions that can help us reduce poverty and improve public services to make them simpler, more efficient and more effective for the people who need them the most. Fantastic. Thank you very much, Speaker. We heard concerns from the Environmental Commissioner that there are pitfalls associated with the Liberal Capital Trade Scheme. We know there will be a significant flow of Ontario dollars to California. We have seen independent reports that indicate as much as 30 million by 2020 and 3 billion by 2030. Then just this morning, the FAO reported that there is uncertainty surrounding the Liberals Capital Trade Scheme, for example, the impact of a fluctuating exchange rate, meaning that even more money could be spent to California to subsidize emission reductions there and not here in Ontario. Speaker, how will the minister ensure this premier that hard-earned Ontario dollars flowing to California will reduce emissions actually right here in Ontario? Thank you. Thank you very much. I appreciate the question for the member opposite. Our action plan, which I think many folks are now familiar with, has been out since the spring, proposes an $8 billion investment that will deliver 9.8 megatons of GHG reductions based on programs that are tried and true around the world. This program will put $8 to $14,000 in the pockets of everyone buying a low-carbon electric vehicle. That's an unprecedented investment. This program will put thousands of dollars in the pockets of working families, not just to get rid of the polluting furnaces in their homes, but to cut their energy and heating costs and make life more affordable. This will make major investments in 158 major emitting states like Nova Corporation and Sonya who's already putting a quarter of a billion dollars into reinvesting into them. Their plan, Mr. Speaker, has no money. They would leave Ontario stranded with high-energy bills and no way to manage a transition to a low-carbon. Thank you. Supplementary. Back to the Minister's Speaker. We have heard concerns from independent officers of the House surrounding the Liberal cap and trade scheme this week. Speaker, independent officers, Queen's Park media, the loyal opposition, the third party, and a whole host of stakeholders are uncomfortable with this government's lack of details associated with their cap and trade scheme. The only thing we can be certain of is that it's going to become more expensive January 1st when the price at fuel pumps go up and home heating goes up. Speaker, given this government's track record and glaring lack of program details, how can we trust them? Speaker, how will this Minister ensure that their dependence on California allowances will not slow down Ontario's transition to a low-carbon economy? Thank you. Thank you, Minister. Mr. Speaker, we'll have our first auction in March and we're anticipating that will be very, very, very successful. But, Mr. Speaker, you know it's interesting and I want to thank the member very sincerely that she is concerned about cost to living because her leader, the member from Simcoe North, is proposing a revenue neutral carbon tax to achieve the same reductions we're achieving with $16, $17 and $18 would have to cost on terrains between $110 and $150 a ton, Mr. Speaker. That would not see gasoline go up a couple of cents. That would see gasoline spiked by dollars, Mr. Speaker. That would see capital outflow in a way that you wouldn't even begin to imagine. So, if the member opposite has concerns about the price, she should be a supporter of cap-and-trade like 60% of the world economy and nations representing 60% of the world economy who chose cap-and-trade over their system. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Premier. Where the good people or grassy narrows live have the most mercury-contaminated fish in the province and it's the Liberal government on data that proves that the mercury contamination is 15 times greater than what is safe to eat. They're allowable if you're a woman of childbearing or a child. For 45 long years this government has known about the mercury contamination and yet for 45 long years they have stood by and did nothing. My question is simple. Has the Premier even bothered to find out if the Dryden mill site is still the source of mercury in the Wabgun River? That would be good. Thank you, Premier. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have been actively doing testing with our scientists throughout the fall of the fish as we committed to do it. We're also funding that's about a $300,000 investment. We've also put another additional $300,000 in the hands of Chief Obester and the First Nations in their own studies. We have completed very extensive tests all across the site with supervision by the First Nations and found there is no barrels buried and there's no source. We do know and it's been reported that the conditions in the river right now lend themselves to higher mercury levels Mr. Speaker. We also are recognizing and the reports that have just come out recently that a lot of the mercury that's coming from the south of mercury from Ohio and from China. So we have a much more complex situation than we imagined and we are investing heavily to remediate it, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. What the good people of grass in the area want is what all of us would want if we were in that situation. We want the water to be cleaned up. We don't want any more study that already tells us what we already know. That their bottom of the lake is full of mercury and it needs to be cleaned up. The government on data proved that it is on safe level of mercury in the walleye in the river. That's the food source that the good people of grass in the area rely on. Clearly natural remediation the liberal natural remediation but what everybody calls the do nothing approach has failed us. It has failed our environment. It has failed the good people. It has failed the bad action. Will you commit to cleaning up grassy Narrows River water is life. Thank you. Mr. Speaker we're doing exactly what the chief and the first nations wanted and asked for and we are fully funding it to the extent they asked for. Dr. Rudd who did the original report Chapter 7 gave us two pages of exact measures that had to be done to determine where it was located and what the most appropriate remediation was. That is exactly the work we are doing. The minister of indigenous relations and reconciliation and I meet every month in a political committee with the chief overseeing that the first nation is on the lead and we are doing that and in the same way as you would agree I think in go gamma where you are satisfied you told me yesterday we will clean up by C.N. We work together to do that. We will hold grassy Narrows people no less important to the people of go gamma and I will promise that we will do the same thing there and get the clean up to the satisfaction of the chief and the health of the people of grassy Narrows. Thank you my question is for the minister of municipal affairs. Ontario's 444 municipalities play a very important role in our communities and our day-to-day lives. They provide services such as local transit, roads, library services clean water, waste disposal and parks and playgrounds. While municipalities are best positioned to make local decisions the province provides the legislative framework so that local governments can carry out their roles effectively. The minister recently introduced legislation which would if passed update the municipal act and the municipal conflict of interest act. These proposed changes would help make local governments more flexible, open and responsive to the needs of their constituents. Speaker could the minister please outline for the house some of the changes that are proposed in this bill. Thank you. I want to thank the member for the question as she's mentioned I was pleased to introduce bill 68 this week into the House Speaker who does represent a broad base of amendments and a package on three different pieces of legislation the City of Toronto Act and the municipal act which are mandatory reviews but as well speaker the conflict of interest act the first time at that particular piece of legislation has been looked at since I think about 1983 so we're happy to be doing that work I want to in the short time I have here this morning speaker thank everybody who has provided input beginning under my predecessor Ted Mcmeakin I have a broad base of a consultation that went forward to inform the work in bill 68 that we introduced this work I want to thank AMO, I want to thank the City of Toronto, I want to thank the municipalities and all of the municipal associations like NOMA, like Phnom, like OGRA, like ROMA all of them have been instructive and informing the work that we brought forward in bill 68 speaker I look forward to second reading where we'll have an opportunity to debate the package with the members of the community. I would like to thank the minister for his extensive work on this file currently under the municipal act municipalities can put in place their own leave policies including parental and pregnancy leave but if a municipality doesn't have a policy a councillor has to go before council to ask permission to take a parental leave of more than 12 weeks recently with the support of my local council in Kitchener I introduced a private members bill of maternity and parental leave many women who are interested in public service will often choose local politics because it seems more family friendly there isn't the travel that MPPs and MPs face but how family friendly is it if you could be fired after three months because you had her adopted a baby. Speaker we know it's very important to have women at the decision making table but in order to get to the table there needs to be accommodations to get to the table. Speaker could the minister please tell us how Bill 68 would address the issue of parental leave. Thank you very much and this is a real opportunity for me to thank the member from Kitchener center Diane for her incredible work and what I see is one of the centerpieces of this particular piece of legislation she has identified in a very clear way for us and we were happy to take her private bill 68 something that makes you stop and wonder why it hasn't happened before again I'm going to thank her very much for her work I know she was inspired by a local female counselor in her writing anytime speaker that we can identify what I would describe and phrase as a structural impediment to women being involved in politics at any level and that's what the member has done I think it's incumbent upon us to do what we can to try and make sure that the minister Diane for Neil allows us that opportunity should this legislation pass to remove a structural impediment to the potential for women to choose to be involved in politics at any level and I thank her very much for her work in this file. Thank you Mr. Speaker and this is my question today as for the Premier. Premier documents recently obtained by the Canadian taxpayers federation reveal that your government spent nearly $100,000 on new advertising after you canceled the pension plan this new ad promoted the federal governments proposed enhancements to the CPP giving credit to this provincial liberal government it is news to me that provincial tax dollars can be spent promoting federal programs the Auditor General described the ads as self congratulatory these ads were partisan plain and simple under the old rules these ads would never have been approved. Premier how can you claim that these ads are not partisan how can you justify spending almost $1 million to promote a program that you did not thank you I know the minister of finance is going to want to comment in the supplementary but let me just say Mr. Speaker that before we put in place the rules around government advertising I remember ads with Mike Harris' face on them Mr. Speaker where he was part of advertising where they were blatantly political and blatantly paid for by government dollars so Mr. Speaker in fact we're the government who brought in a new regime Mr. Speaker who have taken partisan politics out of advertising Mr. Speaker we have done that we stand by that we think that was the right thing to do that may not have been what the party opposite chose to do Mr. Speaker but we introduced those rules we took partisan politics out of government advertising Mr. Speaker supplementary yes Premier you may try to claim that these ads aren't partisan but they were created by the very same firm that does your election advertising and other liberal political work including ads for Dalton McGinty Justin Trudeau and Paul Martin but the issue is when you add up the eight point two million dollars this government spent advertising the program when it was still in the works and the additional eight hundred thousand dollars after it was canceled it is clear that the people who really benefited from the plan were advertising firms and liberal insiders the auditor general's power to review government advertising partisanship needs to be restored Premier when will you do the right thing and stop wasting taxpayer dollars thank you Mr. Speaker and I recognize the member opposite and her party and her leader who stood as a federal member opposing CPP enhancement who shut down the opportunity for us to provide retirement security for Ontarians and for Canadians Mr. Speaker we stood in this house prompting and fighting for the people of Ontario for Canada to ensure that we had that retirement security and we went forward and had we not taken those steps Mr. Speaker CPP enhancement wouldn't be a reality today we're moving forward and we are advising the people of Ontario about the merits and the reasons why we must provide for retirement security thank you I do suspect you were finished but I also one more reminder that we are in warnings new question the member from Oshawa thank you Speaker my question is to the Premier people in my riding and across Durham region need to be able to count on our local hospitals but this government keeps forcing our hospitals to cut frontline services the forced merger of Ajax Pickering Hospital with Lakeridge Health has a price tag of 18.2 million dollars but the province is refusing to foot the bill and that means our local hospitals will be forced to find the money and forced to cut nearly 20 million dollars out of frontline services and patient care how on earth can the Premier defend deep cuts to hospitals in Oshawa and Durham that will only leave families waiting longer for the health care that they need the truth is we are investing more in our hospitals in Scarborough and Durham I was there earlier this year with my fellow caucus members from both Scarborough and Durham we announced in Scarborough a 20 million dollar investment in a diagnostic suite for Scarborough hospital for Rouge Valley we announced an increase of 5 million for the community we are making investments as well in the hospitals both Ajax Pickering and further to the east in the Lakeridge hospital as well and I am very proud of the work that has been done over the course of the last year with the community and with specialists with the hospitals themselves to chart a path forward which will actually look at the health care requirements over the next couple of decades Mr. Speaker and that will no doubt result in improvement of the health care of the individuals both in Durham and in Scarborough Mr. Speaker cutting health care and hospital services is what conservatives do but this liberal government has a record of cutting just as deep the forced hospital merger will cost over 18 million dollars but save just 300 thousand dollars per year that means Speaker it will take 62 years to pay off the cost of this hospital and people inside the government are worried too Speaker at a community health care rally on November 5th I was joined by the liberal MPP from Ajax Pickering who was there and who also wore a sign that said save our hospital Speaker when will the Premier listen to families and seniors in my community and her own MPP's and stop cutting health care in Oshawa and across Durham Region Thank you Mr. Speaker I want to applaud the member from Ajax who we have been working closely on this issue for a long time and his leadership has resulted in a plan and a way forward for the hospital in Ajax Pickering that serves that community as well as the broader western area his leadership has resulted in exceptional improvements and strengthening of the plan that was provided to me earlier this year so I have to applaud his leadership consistently and has actually resulted I believe in delivering a great benefit to his local community one that I intend on following through with Mr. Speaker Well thank you Speaker my question is the Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation so Speaker this week first nation leaders from across Ontario and Toronto are in Toronto to meet with the members of the legislature event having the stalwart representatives of their communities here the legislature I know is an important event for you Speaker as a proud member of the Métis Nation as this for me and all other members of the House the Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation in partnership with the Chiefs of Ontario has worked hard to bring First Nations leadership together for this forum to discuss important events this is the last day the minister can elaborate on how the government is working to improve our relationship with First Nations through these meetings that will be taking place during leaders of the legislature event. Thank you Thank you Speaker during leaders in the legislature I and my colleagues are taking part in many round tables with First Nation Chiefs to address a number of priority issues for First Nations priority issues such as community violence against Indigenous women treaty recognition education health and well-being infrastructure and the environment yesterday I and the minister of community safety and correctional services and the Attorney General met Chiefs from across Ontario in the first of these round tables. Speaker we are working towards a renewed relationship a renewed government to government relationship one that benefits First Nations and all other areas. Thank you Well thank you Speaker and back to the minister of Indigenous relations and reconciliation and I would like to say that I believe that we have exactly the right minister in this role who's for such incredible relationship with First Nations for our province and I'm glad to see Speaker that our government is upholding its commitments to engage with First Nations leaders to find collaborative solutions to challenges that are faced and committed to be working with First Nations and Indigenous peoples in the spirit of the political accord that was signed with the Chiefs of Ontario last year and the leaders of the legislature event presents a fantastic opportunity for our government and our First Nations leaders to further build on those commitments for mutual collaboration and to rebuild and renew our relationships. So Speaker will the minister then elaborate how our government is working with First Nations leaders to honour their last and most important word? Mr. Speaker the political accord signed by the Premier and the Ontario regional chief last year established a formal bilateral relationship at the political level based on the treaty relationship Ontario regional chief said yesterday quote our government has made good on our commitment to a renewed government to government relationship through the accord we are developing initiatives, such as the Leaders in the Legislature exercise. This drives progress for First Nation communities. We look forward to continuing these discussions with the Chiefs and the upcoming meetings around the Leaders in the Legislature event. Thank you, Speaker. Thank you. A new question to the member for me. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question this morning is for the Minister of Transportation. Back in the summer of 2015, I know that there was a presentation by members of Prince Edward County and the Council there regarding the State of Highway 49, one of the major arteries that goes from the 401 into Prince Edward County. I know the Mayor of Prince Edward County, Mr. Quafe, had a meeting and he brought big chunks of cement concrete that had popped out of Highway 49. Truly a danger. The Minister told representatives of the county of that time that this was no way to greet the many visitors to the county. We had a million visitors in Prince Edward County last year. This year after applying and being rejected for funding for County Road 49, County Road 49 in Prince Edward County was named CAA's Worst Road in Ontario. So I'm wondering, Mr. Speaker, when will the Minister walk his talk and when will he step up and help Prince Edward County fix Highway 49? Yeah, good question. Thank you, Mr. Transportation. Thanks very much, Speaker. I want to thank the member opposite for his question. He is indeed correct that I did have the opportunity actually on more than one occasion to meet with representatives from Prince Edward County to discuss County Road 49. Now, Speaker, of course, we on this side of the House understand why it is so important to invest in the roads, the bridges, the ferries, the transit projects that we have in every corner of the province, Speaker. Of course, that would be why over the last number of years through budget after budget after budget, our Premier and our Minister of Finance have provided more funding so that we can help build Ontario up and move the province forward, Speaker. That's why we're investing literally billions of dollars in the critical transportation infrastructure that we have in every corner of the province. I certainly look forward to having the opportunity to continue to work with representatives from Prince Edward County, not only on projects like this one, but many others that I know are of particular importance to those folks. And I'll be happy to provide more details in the fall-up. Thanks very much. Supplementary for the member from Prince Edward, A.C.E. Thank you. Thank you very much. And I thank the Minister for that response. I know the people of Prince Edward County are waiting. I know that the Minister has actually seen the video that the Mayor had taken driving County Road 49. He's the member that represents Vaughan, which of course has Canada's Wonderland, and driving on that road is very similar to riding one of the roller coasters at Canada's Wonderland. It's in very, very poor shape, and that's why it's Ontario's worst road according to C.A.A. The government spent millions putting county ads on television, and that's resulted in the increased tourism that we've seen in Prince Edward County, which is a great thing. And we thank them for doing that. But one of the biggest tourism draws in Prince Edward County is Sandbank's provincial parks. So there's a lot of revenue being gained by the Ministry of Natural Resources. Speaker, does the Minister think it's fair that the government is increasing the traffic on Highway 49? Question. But isn't helping to pay the municipality get it repaired? This is a desperate need of repair. Thank you very much. Thanks very much, Speaker. I thank the member for the follow-up question. I also thank him for citing Canada's Wonderland. He is 100% right. It's located in my riding, and it's a great fixture in my community. But I understand where the question is coming from, Speaker. Of course, I could stand here and I could rime off, and I'd be proud to do so. All of the projects, all of the programs that we have provided for Ontario Community's Infrastructure Fund, connecting links, our highways plan both in southern and in northern Ontario. But, Speaker, I guess what I would say to the member opposite, well, I respect the spirit of the question and the place that it's coming from. I would say, hopefully over the next number of months, when the Minister of Finance presents his budget here in the legislature sometime in 2017, a budget that will no doubt contain additional investments for infrastructure. Hopefully, the member from Prince Edward Hastings will see the light, break with his own leader, and finally support a budget that builds Ontario up. Thanks very much. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Last week during the Kitchener Waterloo Santa Claus parade, I learned that the Waterloo Knights of Columbus had gotten a 40% increase in their hydro bill over the course of the year. They are using the same amount of power, but they are paying hundreds of dollars more than they paid last year, almost double. When charities have to keep paying more for privatised power, this means they have less money for helping people. And the not-for-profit sector in this province is hurting because of high hydro rates. What will the Premier do to make sure that charities can use their money to help people instead of being forced to pay profits to private investors on their skyrocketing hydro bills? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are many things that we are doing, Mr. Speaker, to help not only charities and businesses right across the province, Mr. Speaker, but families. And it's something on this side of the House, Mr. Speaker, we're very proud of. We've ensured that every family, every small business, and actually charities, Mr. Speaker, will get that 8% reduction on their bill come January 1st, Mr. Speaker. That's a significant reduction that charities can actually use and put towards their products, Mr. Speaker. I know for five years, Mr. Speaker, I actually ran the United Way in Sudbury, and we ensured that we put every dollar into those programs. Great organisations, like the Knights of Columbus, Mr. Speaker, like many other charities, like the municipalities, Mr. Speaker, they are actually utilising programs like the Save on Energy Program, Mr. Speaker. Saving money, saving energy, and actually, Mr. Speaker, reducing our GFGs, that is something we should be proud of on all sides of this House, Mr. Speaker, because we're keeping money in our pocket and we're helping our environment. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, to the Premier. So at the beginning of this year, the Premier insulted Ontarians who demanded that lower hydro rates, claiming that they were really demanding a return to coal, denying that hydro rates was a crisis in the province of Ontario. Then she insulted their intelligence again by claiming that Ontario's hydro rates were perfectly reasonable, even as 60,000 families in this province were being cut off because they could no longer afford their hydro bill. Now, after the insults and the misdirections have failed, she has decided to apologise for hydro rates, but she refuses to change the behaviour of this government. Instead of empty apologies, will the Premier reign in hydro rates by stopping the further sell-off of Hydro-1 and put the people of this province first above their interests? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It was this Premier and the previous Minister of Energy that worked with the OEB and gave the OEB the power to ensure that there was no disconnections. Ten days' notice, Mr. Speaker, on any disconnections and ensuring that there was resources provided to these families to make sure that they didn't actually have to have their power cut off, Mr. Speaker. But what I do find very interesting is we've got a great bill now being brought forward by the Ministry of Economic Development and Growth. Bill 27, Mr. Speaker. The burden reduction bill. Mr. Speaker, it has a clause that would allow the OEB to ban disconnections during the winter, Mr. Speaker. So that begs the question, will the opposition plan to move unanimous consent to support Bill 27 so we can actually support more families quickly during the winter months, Mr. Speaker? It's all talked on that side of the House, Mr. Speaker. There's never any action and there's no plan. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Finance. Minister, yesterday you announced that the government will be launching pre-budget consultations in preparation for the 2017 budget. I know that these consultations provide an opportunity for people in communities to have their voices heard. I also know that these consultations serve as a way for the government to get input and ideas on how to build Ontario up and help people in their everyday lives. Mr. Speaker, could the Minister please explain what efforts Ontario is taking to ensure all Ontarians have the opportunity to have their voices heard? Thank you. Minister of Finance. Well, thank you to the member of Davenport for the question and her desire and concern to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to participate in the development of our budget. And we believe that every Ontarian has a stake in building Ontario up and planning for the future. Because the budget affects every Ontarian, this government believes that reaching out to as many people as possible across Ontario is important. It's important to strengthen our communities, improve our services, and we need ideas for the people in those communities. Mr. Speaker, that's why we're gathering opinions and ideas from every corner of the province in as many ways as possible, both in person, by online and over the phone, by post mail, and Mr. Speaker, in order to reach as many people as possible and the most cost-effective way of doing so will continue to find more innovative ways by using technology, including telephone town halls and online conversations. We've been developing an online pre-budget consultation tool called Budget Talks. It's a public forum for everyone to submit their ideas and discuss ideas with others as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The member from Scarborough-Leading Court on a point of order. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I have four very special guests visiting Queen's Park today, and I want all of us to welcome them. Pamela Hart from the Enuhon Inc., the Woman's Shelter, Lynn Allen, Found the Traditional Center, Jin Yang, North York Woman's Shelter, and Julia Files, a woman's habitat of topical. They're here today for us to participate. Welcome, ladies, to Queen's Park. Thank you and welcome. Also in the gallery, as is the custom of the speaker to announce, the member's gallery, the former member for York Mills in the 35th, 36th Parliament, and the member for Don Valley West of the 37th Parliament, Mr. David Turnbull. There are no deferred votes. This House stands recessed until 3 p.m. this afternoon.