 being no further introductions, it's now time for a question period. The Leader of Her Majesty's Royal Opposition. Mr. Speaker, to the Premier, the Auditor General's Winter Road Maintenance Report stated that the cost for taxpayers for new plows and sanders was $15 million a year. However, the Minister keeps saying the government is paying for a service. I'm going to be blunt. Services are intangible. Plowing the road, that's a service. Plows and sanders are tangible. They are equipment. If the government added 158 new vehicles as they claim, they paid for equipment, not a service. Mr. Speaker, did the government pay for plows and sanders? And if they did, why do taxpayers not own them? If the most important thing that we can do as a government is to keep roads safe in its province, that's the whole point of having these services, Mr. Speaker. And so, the Leader of the Opposition, if he's proposing that the services... I'm going to ensure that I hear the questions today. And if the talking continues even when I'm standing, I'll go into warnings. Carry on. If he's proposing that the services that are... Member from Leeds, Grenville, come to order. The services that are provided by the contractors are not critical, then I think he needs to look again at what's needed on the roads, Mr. Speaker. So, our government has the highest level of standards, our record of having either the safest or the second safest roads in North America for the last 13 years, Mr. Speaker. That is the point. We're ensuring that the roads and highways that our families in the province rely on are well maintained and are safe, Mr. Speaker. We made changes to the maintenance contracts that required contractors to improve service levels and to add equipment, Mr. Speaker. That was part of the contract. That was part of the contract that was signed with the people who provide this service. Mr. Speaker, again to the Premier and as usual the government is scrambling to get their story straight. The Minister of Transportation is a lawyer and would know the difference between a contract for a service and a contract to purchase equipment. So, let me put it this way. I've never heard of anyone who hires a contractor like a carpenter who also has to buy a hammer for them to get the job done. It makes no sense for the government to have hired snow plowing companies to plow the roads than to have to purchase for them the plows and the sanders to do the job. Mr. Speaker, the government took the lowest bidder when the next highest bidder had enough equipment to do the job. Why did the Liberals require the winning bidders to have enough equipment to do the job, such a basic concept? This contract, as I said, that required contractors to improve their service and to add equipment, Mr. Speaker. That was part of the contract. The improved service levels mean that new contracts will have the same amount of equipment, if not more, Mr. Speaker. So that is part of the contract. Those are part of the terms of the contract. Our Highway Maintenance Action Plan is our next step in making road conditions better, improving the Ontario 511 website, launching a track my plow program in the Owens Sound and Simcoe Areas with further expansion so people can know where the plowing is being done, Mr. Speaker. We're increasing the use of anti-icing liquids before winter storms. I will just say to the member opposite, again, the level of service is what is critical. The standards are what is critical. We have ensured in the contract that the equipment levels were increased and that those equipment levels stay high. The member from Renfrew Nipissing, Pembroke will come to order. The member from Renfrew Nipissing, Pembroke is warned. Supplementary. Mr. Speaker. Well, I'm asking you to stop, then that's what you're going to get. And anyone who decides to do that gets it today. Carry on. Mr. Speaker, again for the Premier, this snow-java spin doesn't add up. The Auditor General's Report shows that the cost for new equipment was nearly $15 million. On Monday, the Transportation Ministry said they didn't buy plows. Yesterday, they claimed they added 158 new vehicles. Your story changes by the day. Once again, we see when the government gets caught red-handed, they can't get the story straight. Last time it was money taken out of the classrooms. This time it's money taken from road safety. It's time to clear up the confusion that her Transportation Minister has caused. Mr. Speaker, will the Premier tell us was the Auditor General wrong when she said the Liberals paid for new equipment or did the Liberals mislead the Auditor General? Withdraw. Mr. Speaker, so the standards that are in place are among the highest in North America, which is why our roads for 13 years have been the safest or the second safest in the province. Mr. Speaker, there are children in the galleries today. And I want to say to those children, because I have grandchildren, Mr. Speaker, I was the Minister of Transportation. I ensure that the standards that we have in place are the highest possible. Mr. Speaker, we have stuck to those standards, and I will say... I'm moving to warnings. To be safe on the roads, Mr. Speaker, whether they're in cars or whether they're in buses, Mr. Speaker, and let me tell the member opposite. One of the conversations that we had... Remember from land, our product, Lennox and Angton is warned. Carry on. One of the conversations that we had when I was Minister of Transportation is in fact that we are adapting to new weather conditions. Well, and I hear the heckling from the other side. All new weather conditions. Mr. Speaker, the reality is... The reality is... The member from Kitchener Conestoga is warned. We are seeing the effects of climate change across this country, Mr. Speaker, and that we have the right equipment, that we have the right amount of de-icing fluid, Mr. Speaker. Things are changing in the North, in the South, Mr. Speaker, and across the globe. And if the people opposite want to acknowledge that, the children in the gallery certainly do. Can you say it, please? Yep. Final supplement. Sorry, new question. Here again to the Premier. Since I can't get a straight answer on the transportation file, let's try health care. I want to share with you the effects of the liberal government's cuts are having on doctors. I will share with you what was written by Dr. Priya Sopel, a family doctor for the last 22 years in Brampton. She says patient care will be compromised. Patients will have to wait. Patients will not hear a familiar voice at the other end of the phone. Excuse me. Deputy Premier is warned. Carry on. They will no longer have a dedicated person at the each office doing referrals to ensure patients are seen in a timely manner. She said if the Ministry of Health thinks that cuts will not affect patient care, they are wrong. Mr. Speaker, is Dr. Sopel of Brampton wrong when she says the government's cuts are going to affect patient care? Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition, I know that the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care is going to want to weigh on this because he is in conversation with the OMA, Mr. Speaker. We value our doctors in this province, Mr. Speaker. That's why we have increased healthcare funding every year, Mr. Speaker. Increased healthcare funding across the board, Mr. Speaker. We know that there are challenges that are faced by the healthcare system. We know we have an aging demographic, Mr. Speaker. We know that doctors obviously are a fundamental part of the delivery of healthcare, Mr. Speaker. We've engaged with doctors. The Leader of the Opposition is asking that and believes that we should be paying doctors more, Mr. Speaker. They are the highest paid physicians in the country, Mr. Speaker. And so that is evidence of how much we value them. We will continue to work with the OMA, Mr. Speaker, because we do value them so highly. Mr. Speaker, back to the Premier. What I'm saying is that you can't take $800 million out of the healthcare system and think it doesn't affect patient care. Dr. Sopel continues, they will not be able to offer blood work to their patients. They will no longer be able to call patients to remind them of their upcoming appointments. They will no longer be able to deal with prescription renewals over the phone or fax. The staff will be rushed to appear not to care. But unlike the Premier, Dr. Sopel and her staff do care. They care about patients. Mr. Speaker, why does the Premier have to say to Dr. Sopel and her patients should they ignore your cuts and don't pass the buck to the health minister there's not a single doctor in this province that supports these cuts. The Deputy House Leader has warned. Carry on. On-term care. Extremely proud of the fact that since we came into office in 2003 we've increased the supply of physicians in this province by 26%. More than 5,000 new doctors are practicing here and you can compare that with the growth in population. The growth in population over that time has been roughly 10%. We're adding doctors and continue to add doctors at the rate of 700 and that new doctors each and every year and that's important so we continue to provide that important frontline care. And consistent with that increase in flow of doctors providing that frontline care every single year since we've been in office we've increased the budget for physician services as we should to take into account the growing population, the changing demographic. We increased the budget last year for physicians this year. Next year I expect that we'll continue into the future. Back to the Premier. To hear this spin again and again and again what I have not heard is an example of a single doctor. There's 26,000 doctors on tarot. One example give us one doctor outside this legislature who actually supports your cuts. It's bad enough when this government has done to family doctors but they're hurting entire regions. You know Linda Silas president of the Canadian Federation of Nurses said in North Bay and across northern Ontario we are seeing severe cuts. North Bay Regional Health Centre was forced to cut almost 160 positions and close more than 30 beds in an attempt to stave off the flood of red ink. Sudbury and district health unit laid off four more employees just last month. Doctor Andrew Tu from Timmins has warned doctors will leave the city because of the cuts. You think this is all a joke. You are hurting and damaging healthcare. How do you defend it? How do you justify it? Minister of Health. Mr. Speaker I mean it's true that after a more than 60% increase in their compensation over the last decade we have asked our doctors to take a modest compensation change so that we can make that difficult but important choice to invest in home and community care, to invest in mental health services in the community to invest in increased wages for our PSWs. Those are difficult decisions to make but I believe that they're the right decisions for this province and it's in the context Mr. Speaker of there is no cap on any individual doctors billings. We are never going to ask them to work for free. We're going to pay them for every single service that they provide and there is no impact on health services because we're asking for that modest change over this difficult time so we can invest in those health care issues in the power of Mr. Speaker that I know our doctors support and many of them come to me and express their support for those investments. Alright, new question. The member from Bramley Gormald. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Today Ontario's Auditor General will be reporting on Hydro One. Sadly because of this Liberal government's decision this will be the very last time it's going to happen because when the Premier decided to sell off Hydro One, she changed the rules so that the Auditor General of Ontario can no longer report on Hydro One. Can the Premier explain why she thinks that the Hydro One doesn't deserve independent public oversight? Thank you. So Mr. Speaker, the member opposite knows full well that there are other oversight mechanisms that are in place for a publicly owned company that Hydro One will be. Mr. Speaker, once we broaden the ownership of Hydro One. And Mr. Speaker, in terms of what the auditor is or is not going to say, I'm not going to weigh into that, she will be tabling her report around 11.30 I believe Mr. Speaker. And you know, the job of the Auditor General is to look at government and to look at the way services are provided and to look at the way government functions and to provide a critique of that. And we welcome that. We will work with the Auditor General whatever her report says Mr. Speaker. And it is a healthy aspect of democracy that we have that kind of objective assessment of how government operates. Thank you. Well Mr. Speaker, that healthy part of this democracy is something that this Premier is stripping from the province of Ontario. Ontario has an Auditor General whose job it is to make sure that public money is properly spent and to raise alarm bells when it's not properly spent. Sadly, the Premier decided that public independent oversight of Hydro One is no longer necessary. Will the Premier tell the people of Ontario why her commitment to transparency doesn't extend to Hydro One? Mr. Speaker, again as I said, the member opposite knows that a publicly traded company has different oversight mechanisms in place than a Crown Corporation. Hydro One will remain regulated but there will be different oversight mechanisms. What will be in place Mr. Speaker is an Ombudsperson and in fact the person who has been hired to do that is Fiona Kreen. And I know that Ms. Kreen will report directly to the Board of Directors in order to ensure independence and to allow the Board to provide strong support for any recommendation made. I think that there are members of the third party who have in fact lauded Fiona Kreen in the past for work that she has done. So I'm sure that they're supportive of that appointment. We've also asked any Dezotel, former Auditor General of Canada, to oversee the establishment of the Ombudsperson's office to ensure that transparency and accountability is in place. Thank you Mr. Speaker. None of this oversight that the Premier is talking about is publicly funded by the people of Ontario and that's why it's unacceptable. It's ironic that the Auditor is reporting on Hydro One today. It's ironic because it was six months ago that the Auditor General and seven other legislative officers responsible for oversight called on the Premier to stop this process of eliminating the public oversight of Hydro One. Ontarians can count on the Auditor to give them the facts that the Premier would rather never see the light of day, whether it's the cost of gas plants, the orange air ambulance scandal, the waste of eight billion dollars for sweetheart P3 deals, or the truth about privatised road maintenance. Why did the Premier eliminate public independent oversight of Hydro One? Well Mr. Speaker, I think the member opposite knows that we remain committed to Hydro One's continued regulation to accountability and transparency. It will be a different kind of organisation. There's no doubt about it. It will be a publicly traded company Mr. Speaker. It will continue to be governed by Ontario laws including the Business Corporations Act and the Securities Act. It will continue to file information with the Ontario Securities Commission and in addition Hydro One will annually disclose its compensation of the CEO, every member of the Board of Directors, the Chief Financial Officer and the three other highest paid executives of the corporation. Mr. Speaker, we are making a change. There is no doubt about that. We are making this change because we need to invest in infrastructure in this province. Now, the third party does not support the investment in infrastructure in the province. That's the reality because they don't support funding it. If you don't support funding it, you don't support the investment in the building Mr. Speaker. Good question. Thank you Mr. Speaker. My next question is against the Premier. It's been almost one year since Bill 15, fighting fraud and reducing auto insurance passed in this house. But many people in Ontario will tell you that they're certainly not paying any less for insurance. The Liberals made a promise, a commitment to Ontarians to reduce auto insurance rates by 15% by last August. They haven't even reached half of that target. They broke in that promise Mr. Speaker. They broke in that commitment. Our insurance system is broken and the government has not prioritized fixing it. They simply can't be trusted to fix this problem. When will the rates come down by the 15% promised by this government? Well Mr. Troppasit knows and I know that the Minister of Finance will want to weigh in on this but the member of the third party knows that on average insurance rates have come down over 6% Mr. Speaker. We are still working with the industry to make sure that we do everything we can to continue those reductions but Mr. Speaker, those reductions are on average. They are across the driving population. So in fact there are people who have seen their insurance rates go down Mr. Speaker. I have had people in my own constituency office who have come in and told us that their insurance rates have gone down. But Mr. Speaker one of the things that we know is that when there's an average not everyone will see exactly the same impact. So we're going to continue to work to remove fraud from the system Mr. Speaker to make sure that people continue to get the protections that they need. But Mr. Speaker it does take time. It is on average across the whole driving population and we're working with industry. Mr. Speaker the Premier knows that a promise was made to reduce insurance rates by 15%. The Premier knows that this promise was broken. The Premier knows that this promise was not even achieved by half. The Premier knows that they cannot do the job of fixing this problem. In addition to this problem of not reaching the 15% reduction, the government has thrown the insurance industry into chaos. When the problems with Bill 15 were raised that without clarifying when a certain clause would apply they plunged the system into chaos. There's hundreds and thousands of dollars of court challenges of a simple clause whether or not Bill 15 applies retroactively or whether it applies from January 1st moving forward. This government purposely excluded this clarifying point plunging the system into chaos. They've withdrawn our services, withdrawn coverage, cut benefits and now plunges the system into chaos. When will the Premier follow through on the promise to reduce insurance? Mr. Speaker, just this spring and despite strong objections as it's coming right now from the opposition we have passed new rate reducing legislation that will benefit drivers soon. Notwithstanding the fact that they've initiated delays enabling us to actually get those rates reduced. In the meantime reductions have occurred. They are continuing because of some of the very programs that we've put in place including trying to expedite matters more quickly for the benefit of those that are victims and for those that are requiring the benefit and that's exactly where we want the money to go and that's exactly what we're doing. The member opposite voted against those measures Mr. Speaker and now he has yet to ask it to make it clear my resolve has not changed from this morning. Final supplementary. So this government has plunged the insurance situation into chaos by not clarifying on when the regulatory changes will take effect. They've created increased courtroom expenses. From 2010 to 2014 insurance premiums rose dramatically, accident benefits were slashed and their benefits were clawed back even further as a result of Bill 15. Independent studies show that the liberal changes to the insurance regime in Ontario have resulted in drivers overpaying by $1.5 billion. The same report also shows that the insurance profitability has reached nearly double the levels deemed reasonable. It's clear that by slashing benefits by cutting coverage the insurance industry is benefiting tremendously because of this liberal government but Ontario drivers are not seeing any of those savings. Is the Premier giving up on her promise towards insurance premiums by 15% and instead continuing to benefit insurance companies and not the drivers of this province? So Mr. Speaker, rates are going down. They would have gone down a lot faster and a lot more dramatically had the members opposite supported the initiatives in the beginning. Furthermore, Mr. Speaker, we have a competitive system. There are a number of companies already providing reduced rates. As a result of winter tires and so forth that we provided there are a number of them that are providing already 50% reductions. We encourage those that are watching elsewhere to make those calls and do a competitive analysis because there are opportunities available. But Mr. Speaker, once again we have conditions. We have to lower the costs. The member opposite and his party have obstructed the very initiatives to reduce costs in the system to enable premiums to go down. We'll fight for the drivers. We'll fight for the people of Ontario to have reductions in those costs by initiating the very measures that we put in place notwithstanding that they're voting against those very measures. Mr. Speaker, you have a question for the member from Oxford. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. My question is for the minister who has affairs in housing. The minister says he hasn't made any complaints about the Housing Service Corporation but he received the Mayoratory's letter this year that said it cost Toronto Community Housing $6.3 million more for natural gas. The minister says I won't acknowledge their independent review but I've talked about that review and pointed out that it didn't solve the problem and it didn't look at how much HSC is costing housing providers. He says the problem is history but housing providers are still paying too much for natural gas insurance this year and Housing Services Corporation is spending money on trips to Europe this year. Could the minister tell us why he is still forcing social housing providers to waste money that could otherwise provide housing for people in need? Thank you. This was a bill that was originally fronted by the party opposite they put the member from Oxford is warned. Did I detect a challenge to the chair? Carry on. We did make the bill and the operation of HSC more accountable. We discovered as part of a review that we put in place that there were some problems. We conducted an independent review that review came back and made a series of recommendations all of which are being implemented and we on balance are satisfied that we're making very good progress on the HSC front which by the way I should remind you that the assembly through you Mr. Speaker is an independent corporation that makes independent decisions. Notwithstanding that it worked with us around an independent review and we're satisfied with the result. Thank you. This is clearly a problem right across the province and if the member wants to stand up and blow his own horn he should join a brass band because clearly the program isn't working for communities across Ontario. This year Mr. Speaker in Hastings County they would have saved $40,000 if they didn't have to buy natural gas through the Housing Services Corporation. A couple of years ago the Eastern Ontario Wardens Caucus reported that they would have saved 31% if they didn't have to purchase through the Housing Services Corporation. You can do what this government always does and we just heard what this government always does they set up a framework to establish a review, have three press conferences but what they really should be doing Mr. Speaker is deliver some action for communities across Ontario. Minister when are you going to let these communities opt out? Counties like Hastings can't and they want to deliver better lower cost social housing for Ontario's most vulnerable. I already belong to a brass band so I don't need to join one. But I do want to say that the foundational argument of pooling so that everyone benefits ideally together not at the expense of one benefiting at the expense of all is the sound principle. It's one I applaud the government opposite for. You can take a snapshot and these are snapshots that are being taken by the members opposite any point in time to show what you want. But if you look at it over the fullness the whole scope of the activities and you speak to the service managers directly as I have done on several occasions you discover something that you may be surprised to hear. They're relatively satisfied with the job they're doing. Thanks very much. Thank you. Thank you Speaker. My question is to the Premier yesterday respected violence against women experts and frontline agencies came to Queens Park they warned that arbitrarily reducing the partner assault response program from 16 weeks to 12 weeks is unethical and puts the safety of women and children at risk. In response the Attorney General said 12 weeks is better than zero weeks. Speaker, violence against women advocates and women who want the abuse to stop deserve an apology for these shameful and insulting comments. Will the Premier ask the Attorney General to apologize and will her government finally listen to experts and leaders across the sector who are unanimous in calling for an immediate halt to the changes to par. Thank you. I just want to make it clear that everyone on this side of the house is very very concerned about the services that are provided we're concerned about the issues that lead to the need for these services Mr. Speaker and obviously we want to have in place services that will help people to stop these behaviors Mr. Speaker we want effective services and programs that will allow people allow women to live free of violence and allow perpetrators to change their behaviors those are complicated but very very important programs Mr. Speaker so the fact of the par program we know that it has had success Mr. Speaker and we are looking at the evidence we are looking at what we need to do to make sure that we continue to deliver those services in the best way possible so that these behaviors will stop Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Speaker, reducing the only government program for men who abuse without any evidence to support the change is a failure of leadership for women and children. Comments by the Attorney General completely undermine the government's credibility on ending violence against women if the only justification for reducing the length of the par program was to create additional spaces can the Premier explain why 2000 of the 2200 new spaces remain unfilled why is she using flawed data to push through these changes with the advice of experts and her own round table on violence against women who are calling for meaningful consultation on a review of par Mr. Speaker first of all the member opposite knows that there was not a cut to the funding of the par program there was a change Mr. Speaker I'm quite happy to acknowledge that there may be a problem I'm quite happy to acknowledge that there may need to be a change but I will engage in a discussion when the facts are not on the table there has not been a cut there was a reorganization of the program and Mr. Speaker there is a review going on if we need to make a change to that if we need to change the decision Mr. Speaker to make sure that the right processes and the right services are in place then we will do that Mr. Speaker remember this is the government that has brought in the toughest the toughest policy on sexual assault and violence in the history of the province new question the member from Ottawa or the Mr. President thank you thank you Mr. Speaker my question is for the premier as minister of intergovernmental affairs the world has turned its attention to Paris France as the united nation climate change conference unfolds leaders from all over the world have come together to work towards a common solution to one of the if not the biggest challenge facing the global community today because of the leadership at the federal and provincial levels there is a real opportunity to take action in the fight against climate change in Canada Prime Minister Trudeau said that we would take our international status as leaders we've done to reduce our emissions we have already seen a global leaders in the fight against climate change my question Mr. Speaker can the premier who is leading the Ontario delegation please inform this House on what is happening at COP21 thank you for that question Mr. Speaker climate change is not a problem for the future it is a problem today Mr. Speaker for responsibility in this province in this country as leaders of jurisdictions have a responsibility to take on this great challenge Mr. Speaker I'm very proud of the steps that Ontario has taken so far Mr. Speaker shutting down the coal-fired plants the largest single action in North America to reduce greenhouse gas emissions Mr. Speaker and it was a privilege for me to be in Paris to work with premiers from across the country and with the Prime Minister to talk about and to offer what we have to the global community Mr. Speaker that's what COP21 is about it's about different jurisdictions coming together to share their experiences to learn from each other Mr. Speaker and to encourage one another to take further action so Mr. Speaker I'm very very pleased to say that having a federal government that is now working with us on this challenge is a great, great boom merci à la première minute thanks for the premier presented on the world stage an important component in the fight against climate change is making sure that there is cooperation among the global community we know that this cooperation also needs to happen at the sub national level in Canada provincial governments and municipalities have demonstrated strong leadership and an ability to make positive change when it comes to combating climate change that expertise at the local level needs to be shared with other jurisdiction and we have a great opportunity to learn from others as well because there is a shared global problem there need to be a cooperation and collaboration among provinces, states, cities, towns, etc Mr. Speaker can the premier please inform the House on how sub national governments are taking part in the UN summit like I said all states provinces, territories and countries must work together to improve the situation Mr. Speaker what we need is all of the federal governments all of the sub national governments and by that I mean states I mean provinces, I mean cities and communities Mr. Speaker we all have a responsibility and there is always something that we can do I had the opportunity to listen to very small island nations Mr. Speaker and they are experiencing as our jurisdictions in the far north in Canada they are experiencing already the impacts of climate change Mr. Speaker they are having to move people away from the coastlines of their countries in order for people to be safe from flooding Mr. Speaker so having the federal government working with the sub national governments that's the way that we can have an impact on global climate change Mr. Speaker thank you Mr. Speaker my question is for the Premier Premier last week you released your much bally hood save the earth climate change strategy 37 pages 37 pages long on self praise short on details but barely a mention of the word nuclear Premier nuclear power provides 60% of our provinces power reliable and affordable but our nuclear units are aging and in need of refurbishment many of them are in need of refurbishment we're hearing nothing from your government on this issue our ability to provide emission free power depends on our nuclear fleet operating efficiently Premier when can we hear from the government as to show some support for the nuclear industry like you show for some of your other forms of generation when can we hear some support and a plan for ensuring that Ontario will have emission free nuclear power for decades thank you Premier I think this is a friendly question because Mr. Speaker if you look at our long term energy plan the member opposite will see that nuclear forms the base load well into the future Mr. Speaker we have no intention of moving away from the refurbishment of our nuclear stock so I'm not sure exactly where the member opposite is going maybe he just wanted to be able to ask a question that had some notion of climate change in it so he thought he'd throw in that word we're keeping nuclear Mr. Speaker it's the base load of this problem you see it please thank you supplementary I've asked for attention here supplementary please the Premier loves to throw pot shots at people that don't necessarily agree with everything she says but the reality of this Speaker the reality is this she can talk all she wants but until they actually do something to ensure that our nuclear fleet will be operating well into the next several decades then we have a problem because if that schedule is not an efficient one we will see sorry the Minister of Economic Development is warned we will see greenhouse gas emissions rise in this province dramatically if our nuclear fleet has units taken down simultaneously we will not be able to provide that emission free power that Ontario depends so much upon so it's not just weasel words for nuclear stand up and put out a schedule as the rain refurbishment will take place because that is necessary I would like to try to talk to the member and that is to caution him on some of the language he was using and now that he's done what he's done I just want to remind him that there are some W's that are on my list of people who are already warned and I've heard now twice a word that is unparliamentary and I won't hear it again and if I do they will be named if you don't trust my resolve I'm telling you Premier we are moving ahead with refurbishment that's the answer to the member opposite's question in fact the planned refurbishments will create almost 25,000 jobs that generate 5 billion dollars annually in economic activity we are moving ahead with significant steps right now to ensure that the refurbishment of Darlington and Bruce are done right so that refurbishment is in the planning stages so the member opposite just has to look at our long-term energy plan to know that we're serious in the process of putting that refurbishment in place and Mr. Speaker I applaud the member opposite for supporting our support and our plan to refurbish and to keep nuclear as our base load Mr. Speaker the minister of research and innovation was talking with the nuclear association this morning so Mr. Speaker I would encourage the member opposite to take yes for an answer thank you Mr. Premier I'm releasing her report on SAMS today New Democrats obtained through FOI the ministry's internal audit of SAMS from that audit I'll quote we were unable to obtain information that the SAMS project has addressed the 2009 auditor general's findings regarding deficiencies and another quote the 2009 AG findings may lead to the same findings being reported for SAMS and that is my question is simple will the AG report find that the minister has failed to deal with any of the AG's findings from 2009 so Mr. Speaker as I said earlier the auditor general has not yet tabled her report and we look forward to that Mr. Speaker I know that the minister of community and social services will want to weigh in on what has already happened with SAMS and I think what I said earlier and that is that it is the auditor general's job to look at government to look at the services to look at the way services are delivered Mr. Speaker and to have an opinion about the way money is spent and that is a very good thing Mr. Speaker it's very good in a democracy to have those objective eyes on what we do but her job is to find problems that need to be resolved we look forward to working with the auditor general as we have in the past Mr. Speaker to deal with the issues that she identifies to work with her to make sure that we are providing services in the best way possible for the people of Ontario the government has not dealt with the AG's report from five years ago the audit also laid out it's the report that we have for why the chair also laid out SAMS meaning the minister was well aware of the issues before it's disastrous implementation the audit references expected delays to the project timelines sound familiar we know countless vulnerable Ontarians experience these delays some they face evictions and others just straight out check delays we know frontline workers were forced to shoulder the brunt of the technical programs of SAMS and they're currently still facing those problems Mr. Speaker again will today's AG report show that the government continues to ignore concerns raised by the AG's report five years ago Mr. Speaker we are going to wait for the auditor general's report the member opposite asks what the AG's report will show us we're going to wait until she tables and in fact Mr. Speaker the member knows that the auditor has publicly published the report she hasn't tabled her report she'll be doing that after question period Mr. Speaker and actually she's asked she actually asked that the briefing that is going on right now that the issues not be released publicly Mr. Speaker that did not be disclosed before she has a chance to table her report so we're going to give her that opportunity Mr. Speaker and the fact is it is her job to look at bring objectivity and to look at what government has done and it is our job as government Mr. Speaker to respond to work with the auditor general as we have in the past and we will continue to do that Mr. Speaker Well thank you Mr. Speaker my question is to the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and International Trade Speaker Ontario's trade strategy helps companies export to global markets which creates jobs here in Ontario to reach this goal it's important we reach out to the growing and emerging global markets Ontario has reaped great benefits from the government's trade missions which help forge and strengthen trade relationships around the world in fact Mr. Speaker last fall the Premier's mission to China secured almost one billion dollars in investment and over a thousand jobs for Ontarians Speaker I know the Premier and Minister recently returned from another trade mission to China but the Minister of Economic Development can the Minister tell us more about the results of this most recent trade mission Thank you Minister Citizenship, Immigration and International Trade Thank you, thank you Speaker and thank you for the question I want to thank the honourable member from Newmarket and Aurora for asking Speaker early November this year Premier we let the trade mission to China Speaker we all know that China plays a critical role in the economy and continues to outpace other emerging markets Speaker Ontario has strong innovation capabilities in key sectors that are complementary to China this is why the recent previous trade mission to China has been such a huge huge success over the course of the mission Ontario delegates signed more than 100 agreements with an estimated value of 2.5 billion Thank you It was a worry successful mission and I look forward to do more Thank you Thank you Mr Speaker I agree with the Minister it's critical to the growth of our economy to identify potential markets and promote Ontario abroad attracting new investment and helping the provinces businesses compete globally is part of this government's plan to boost Ontario's economy and our efforts to invest in people's talents and skills and create a dynamic innovative environment where business thrives I'm proud of our Ontario businesses and the high quality of products that they produce that's why last year's trade mission to China was such a success it allowed Ontario's businesses to connect directly with important international markets Speaker could the Minister please expand on how this government is connecting Ontarians with global markets How are we doing that? Thank you Minister Thank you Speaker the member is right Speaker trade mission are the best way for us to connect Ontario businesses with the international markets this is why we work to promote Ontario in many different countries Speaker I also just returned from a trade mission to Germany I participated in many key events that will lay the ground for successful future mission I attended medical trade trade zone was able to visit our sister province by the wooden bird met with fast automation as well as fair health care where an Ontario start-up for Kitchener and Waterloo won the grants for apps competition Speaker it is important to promote and sell Ontario around the world and so this government is working hard to do so Thank you Mr Speaker My question is the Associate Minister of Long-Term Care Your government has spent 12 years studying reviewing and planning the redevelopment of long-term care homes You also promised to develop 30,000 beds so as to ensure safe living environments for our frail seniors yet today after years of shameful neglect and scarce funding your government has left our long-term care homes crumbling and 25,000 frail seniors without a long-term care bed despite all these facts there really is a plan so through you Mr. Speaker I ask the minister how many organizations will be approved in the first round of the capital renewal program when will construction begin and how many of the promised 30,000 beds will be built in round one Thank you Associate Minister of Health for Long-Term Care Thank you Mr. Speaker and I thank the member opposite for this question because it certainly gives me an opportunity to talk about all of the good work we are doing in redevelopment as I've mentioned many times Mr. Speaker there are so many examples that I can share with this house about the redevelopment that are taking place as we speak in fact Mr. Speaker last time when I answered this question I spoke about the redevelopment the brand new facility in Oshawa that I was there for the inauguration and what a wonderful event that was but Mr. Speaker we are not resting on our laurels we are moving ahead so let me speak about a brand new redevelopment that is taking place as we speak in Thunder Bay it's a state of the art facility with over 500 new with over 500 beds including about 38 new beds and the redevelopment will over 450 beds just one example Mr. Speaker of the redevelopment that is going on in this problem thank you Thank you Mr. Speaker back to the Associate Minister of Long-Term Care enough of the platitudes it sounds like your only plan for your government is to wheel out the frail seniors to the end of the curb with you Experts tell us the long-term care system is creeping up to the brink of crisis as the wait list will double to at least 50,000 seniors in just six years so not only is this government failing seniors today but it's also ill-prepared to meet this looming demographic crisis going forward again where is the plan would the minister please tell the house here and now how many new long-term care beds are going to be built in the next five years and where in Ontario will they be built well thank you Mr. Speaker I think the proof is in the pudding so let me talk about close to 500 new beds that we brought online in just the last three four months I was in Waterloo recently along with members from Kitchener Waterloo Kitchener Canestoga and Wellington Halton Hills who were there to witness the opening of a brand new facility brand new beds right here in Waterloo Mr. Speaker before that I was in Windsor opening of another facility close to 200 brand new beds just examples of the fact that new beds are coming online as we speak and will continue to come online as required thank you Mr. Speaker Thank you Mr. Speaker and good morning to you my question is to the Premier Premier as you know the community of Hornpeen and Algoma Manitoulin is about to be thrown into crisis 146 workers at Halterstude and Becker's Co-Gen approximately 40% of the town's population have just received layoff notices weeks just before the holiday season not to mention spin-off jobs with trucking companies, suppliers lumber and logging companies who will also be devastated Speaker we've talked and talked and talked about the flight of badly needed jobs in the industry what will this minister do to help the people of Hornpeen Mr. Matt for resources and forestry Speaker thank you very much and I want to thank the member for the question we obviously speaker anytime there is a layoff in any industry on this side of the house we take it very seriously anytime within my ministry responsible for forestry we take it very seriously and one of the reasons we do that speaker is we also understand very clearly that forestry operations in Ontario are in northern Ontario and oftentimes those operations that are in northern Ontario are in very small communities and as a result of those operations being in very small communities the layoffs tend to have a disproportionate effect on the communities in which they exist I would tell my colleague across the floor that we continue to work on the issue there are partner ministries involved currently that are looking at potential solutions so we can find a solution only that like with all industries forestry in this ministry we continue to work on it and hopefully speaker we can find a resolution on this issue thank you once again to the premier Mr. Speaker given that the Liberal government's commitment to green energy and the attention paid to climate change one would think that projects such as this one would be given priority at the highest level the provincial government invested over 30 million dollars just two years ago to open becker co-gen and keep horn pain mill running horn pain depends on these jobs these jobs depend on a viable long term energy agreement speaker layoff notices have been issued there's no more time for talk horn pain needs action what will the premier tell the people of horn pain leading into this holiday season speaker thank you and I want to thank the member for the follow up speaker when I answered this question yesterday I made general reference to the level of support that our government has provided to the forestry industry something in the order of magnitude of 1.3 billion dollars since the industry first had its challenges beginning in around 0607 and I also made reference to the significant level of assistance that we have provided to this company individually as well speaker one example of a program of support that we've provided to forestry generally in the province of Ontario is the roads program since we've been in government we have provided from that one program speaker over 600 million dollars of assistance to forestry based companies in the province of Ontario speaker that's noteworthy because that program used to be historically a government run program that program was downloaded onto the backs of forestry industry partners by the NDP when they were in government in the early 1990s speaker we've uploaded that program we've taken responsibility for it back over 600 million dollars of assistance just on that one particular program to forestry companies in the province thank you the member from Durham thank you speaker my question is for the minister of health and nonterm care the people of Ontario reach a very noteworthy record more Ontarians than ever before registered their consent to become organ and tissue donors that's more than 89,000 Ontarians over three months who made a selfless commitment to save lives truly a great achievement I have registered to become an organ donor and I always encourage my family and friends to do the same I know that the residents of Durham understand the importance of organ and tissue donation and that it's an easy way to potentially make a difference in someone else's life I am glad to hear that so many Ontarians are making this important decision to register as organ and tissue donors Speaker, through you to the minister what can you tell us about how our province has reached this very important milestone thank you Mr. Gelfall well thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to the member from Durham not just for the important question but for also registering to be a donor Mr. Speaker, it was just seven years ago that Ontario opened the Trillium Gift of Life Network which is as we all know a not-for-profit agency managing Ontario's organ and tissue tissue donation and transplant system and since its inception Ontario's organ and tissue donation registration rates have grown significantly in fact nearly 1,000 people register to be a donor each and every day in this province and each person who registers could save up to eight different lives Mr. Speaker, you can register as an organ donor in person or by mail through Service Ontario when you go in to renew your health card or your driver's license or you can do it in I would say under two minutes Mr. Speaker at beadoner.ca the three million Ontarians have registered as donors and I want to take this moment to thank each and every one of them for their incredibly noble decision to potentially save up to eight lives Mr. Speaker Thank you Minister the Trillium Gift of Life Network is an extremely effective and valuable organization creating an easy and convenient process for Ontarians to register as organ donors I've heard that the Trillium Gift of Life currently has a goal to reach over 233,000 new registration by March 30th 2016 as of September 30th they had reached 71% of their goal I know that we are all here at Queensborough because we hope to make a positive difference in the life of Ontarians it is in that spirit that I urge all members in both sides of this house to take a moment out of their day to visit and make the important decision to make a lasting and positive difference Speaker through you to the minister with so many Ontarians registered to become organ and tissue donors what does the current what does the current need in Ontario looks like Good thank you Thank you again to the members from Durham every single day over 1600 people in this province are awaiting organ or tissue donation so by increasing the number of registered donors we can reduce the number of lives lost and ease that pain for another family the good news is that between July and September of this year 255 separate organ or tissue transplants took place in this province that's a lot of lives saved and a lot of lives changed thanks to the selfless decisions of Ontarians and their families so I'll join the member from Durham and encourage all members of this house if you haven't already done so and all Ontarians to take a couple of minutes to go to the website and register as a vital organ or tissue donor Thank you Thank you very much Premier our first responders know the seconds matter our first responders suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder seconds can feel a lot longer that's why they're frustrated by the government's stubborn unwillingness to support to support a good idea when they see it Speaker the Minister of Labor said and I quote I'm convinced that we must do a combination of what's envisioned in Bill 2 with some improvements to it why won't the minister and the government house leaders simply bring Bill 2 to committee where we can amend it and help our heroes with PTSD as soon as possible Thank you Thank you Speaker and thank you to the member for this question on this very very important issue we all know that PTSD is an issue that disproportionately affects frontline workers in this province and throughout this country we owe it to them to ensure they have the protections in place as well as the coverage in place Speaker the member's reference Bill 2 that was brought together that was brought to this house by the member from Parkdale High Park that speaker is a good bill that's part of the solution it's what we need to do is ensure that we have protections in place that not only treat those people that have contracted PTSD but also ensure we have a system in place that makes sure that we prevent people from getting PTSD in the first place so what I want to bring back to this house is a bill that makes Ontario a leader we're very close to that speaker a lot of people have worked very hard on this including the first responders themselves I think what we're going to do speaker is end up leading the country and I'm proud of that Thank you back to the Premier we already have a bill on the table as been mentioned with full opposition support if you have improvements to the bill let police officers firefighters, EMS personnel and correction officers explain to Ontarians how post-traumatic stress disorder impacts their lives instead you want to introduce your own bill hold consultations away from the public speaker they're delaying presumptive legislation and first responders of all stripes are tired of waiting there needs there's no need to go back to square one so speaker to the minister or to the Premier why don't our first responders deserve the chance to share their stories directly with the people that they have sworn to protect you owe it to them let's do it question now Minister Thank you speaker and thank you once again to the member for that question I certainly would share the end sentiment that we owe it to the first responders in this province to ensure that they get the treatment they deserve they're the people that put their lives on a daily basis on the line for us and we owe it to them we understand that but it will be very very frank with you speaker bill 2 in my estimation is not good enough for the first responders in this province we can do better than that we know how to do better than that we bought experts to bear in this issue that are bringing us expertise in this regard at the end of this process we're going to have all the good parts of bill 2 and we're going to have the prevention aspects in one comprehensive strategy that's going to make this province a leader do something this house will be proud of thank you point of order thank you Mr. Speaker earlier this morning we had two of my staff members were here from Scarborough they don't like coming down here very often they're here today for some training and I just wanted to welcome them to the legislature here today thank you I have two staff members here today as well Scott and Adam from my constituency office unfortunately we don't have Helen her husband passed away suddenly yesterday thank you Cambridge thank you speaker I have a friend from my gallery this morning he helped me to win my seat he's a student at Trinity College at U of T Isaac Wright welcome to Queens Park thank you Mr. Speaker I have four staff members but they're back in the constituency working I beg to inform the house that I've laid upon the table the 2015 annual report of the auditor general of Ontario we have a deferred vote on the motion to third reading of bill 115 an act to enact the representation act 2015 repeal representation act 2005 and to amend the election act and election finances act and the legislative assembly at calling the members this will be a five minute bill put all members please take their seats on December 1st 2015 Madam Mayor move third reading of bill 115 all those in favor please rise one at a time be recognized by the clerk Madam Mayor Mr. Bradley Mr. Shirelli Mr. Shirelli Mr. Logan Mr. Johnson Mr. Charles Mr. Carl Mr. Dela Mr. RTX Mr. Mcmeacon Mr. Cham Mr. Mariety Mr. Cotto Mr. Flinn Mr. Zimmer Madam LaLong Mr. Quadri Mr. Balthashe Mr. Singh? Mr. Singh. Mr. Besant. Mr. Besant. Mr. Vantah. Mr. Vinotha. Dr. De novo. Mr. Tavins. Mr. Tavins. Ms. Sattler. Ms. Saylor. Ms. Taylor. Mr. Nadishat. Ms. Armstrong. Ms. Armstrong. Ms. D'Angeli-Nag. Ms. Fife. Ms. Fife. Ms. Forrester. Ms. Forrester. Mr. Montt. Mr. Montt. Mr. Hadfield. Mr. Hadfield. Mr. Gates. Mr. Gates. Ms. French. Ms. French. The ayes are 74, the nays are 16. We have resolved that the bill do now pass and be entitled as in the motion. We have a deferred vote on the motion of third reading of bill 106, an act to amend the condominium act 1998 into an act on condominium management services in 2015 and to amend other acts with respect to condominiums. All of the members will be a five minute bill. Seeing Mr. Orzetti move third reading of bill 106, all those in favor of the bill please rise one at a time be recognized by the clerk. Mr. Orzetti, Mr. Bradley, Mr. Shirelli, Mr. Shirelli, Mr. Mayer, Mr. Sousa, Mr. Sousa, Ms. Wynn, Ms. Matthew, Mr. Hoskins, Ms. Sandal, Ms. Sando, Mr. Duga, Ms. MacCharles, Mr. Cole, Mr. Tkar, Mr. Tkar, Mr. Baradnetti, Mr. Delaney, Mr. Dillon, Mr. Gravel, Mr. McMeekan, Mr. Chan, Mr. Moriti, Mr. Quoteau, Mr. Quoteau, Mr. Leel, Mr. Flynn, Mr. Mr. Zimmer, Madame Lalonde, Mr. Quadrie, Mr. Bulkerson, Ms. Albanese, Ms. Manga, Mr. Crack, Ms. Hunter, Mr. Sergio, Mr. Morrill, Ms. Jasek, Ms. Domrela, Ms. Wong, Mr. Frazer, Mr. Anderson, Mr. Baker, Mr. Ballard, Mr. Don, Ms. Hogarth, Ms. Koala, Ms. Molly, Ms. Ms. Martin, Ms. McGarry, Ms. McMahon, Mr. Milchin, Ms. Nidoo Harris, Mr. Rinaldi, Ms. Grineel, Mr. McDonnell, Mr. Willson, Ms. Jones, Mr. Brown, Mr. Clark, Mr. Yakibusky, Mr. Miller, Ms. Miscota, Mr. McNaughton, Ms. Scott, Mr. Barrett, Ms. Monroe, Mr. Yurek, Mr. McLaren, Mr. Bailey, Mr. Walker, Mr. Smith, Mr. Harris, Mr. Nichols, Ms. Marteau, Mr. Pettipies, Mr. Sing, Mr. Sing, Mr. Vantoc, Ms. DeNovo, Mr. Tabbins, Ms. Sattler, Ms. Taylor, Mr. Nadeshak, Ms. Armstrong, Ms. Fyfe, Ms. Forsker, Ms. Montag, Mr. Hadfield, Mr. Gates, Ms. French. As opposed to his rise one at a time, be recognized by the clerk. The ayes are 89, the nays are zero. The ayes being 89, and the nays being zero, are declared the motion carried. Third reading of the bill, twenty-natured, portion to one. We have resolved that the bill do now pass and be entitled as in the motion. There are no further, there are no further deferred votes. This House stands adjourned until three p.m. this afternoon.