 time for oral questions. I recognize the leader of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition. Good morning, Speaker. Today, the Ontario Health Coalition is sharing stories of dozens of patients, mostly elderly Ontarians, who've been unfairly charged for OHIP-covered services. A patient in Newmarket charged over 8,000 in extra fees related to cataract surgery. The minister paid almost 6,000 for cataract surgery. Another 7,500 for a manual process and pushed into taking upgraded lenses. This is already happening in private clinics and the government is working to expand it. What does the Premier have to say to these patients? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the Member Opposite for the question. Obviously, there have been reported cases and we heard some of them this morning, but Speaker, if Bill 60 is passed, what was previously called an independent health facility will now be called an integrated community health service centre and under the oversight of Ontario Health, which reflects our intention that these clinics be integrated with our public health care system. So we are expanding oversight by bringing in this new legislation. Integrated health centres will now have to post any uninsured charges, both online or in person, and every community, surgical and diagnostic centre must have a process for receiving and responding to patient complaints. The new legislation is remedying a problem that has existed in public hospitals as well as clinics, and it is making sure that these things are processed so that people cannot be upcharged. The supplementary question. So Premier, just gouging patients but more transparently. That's kind of what I got from that answer. Speaker, the Premier owes these patients and all of us an explanation, and I have so many examples right here which I will share with the Premier. Here's the thing and back to the Premier, for-profit health care, like the kind that's being pushed by this government requires a return on investment. And that money is going to come from two places. Extra charges to the public system that we're all going to pay for, and upselling directly to patients at a time when they're at their most vulnerable. While the cost of everything just keeps going up, Speaker, why is this government opening the door to new fees and charges on people who are just looking to get the medical care that they deserve? And the pregnant and lords. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you the member opposite for the question. I think the question proves why you should vote for Bill 60. Bill 60 is going to make sure that these protections are in place for patients. But look, I mean, honestly, Ontarians will never have to pay under a Doug Ford government for services that are OHIP insured. And that's what we've committed to. Order. Ontarians will have these services and we'll be continuing to fund one of the largest publicly health-funded systems in the world, publicly funded health care systems in the world, $77.5 billion this year alone, and that's an additional $14 billion invested in health care spending since 2018. We're working with all of our partners to identify innovative solutions, such as these clinics, to expand access, because that's what this is about, making sure people get timely access to care when they need it. The final supplementary. Thank you, Speaker. This government wants us to believe that there's going to be transparency and accountability or protection. All you have to do is look at what the government did when they attempted to hold and did nothing to hold private for-profit long-term care owners accountable for the horrific conditions and lots of life we saw during that pandemic. In fact, I'll remind the government that those operators were rewarded with 30-year licenses. Now we're supposed to trust that new and expanded for-profit clinics will have oversight, even though there are absolutely no details in the legislation. To the premier again, why is there no commitment to transparent public oversight authority in your legislation? The government host leader, Mr. Long-Term Care. I'm glad the member opposite brought up Long-Term Care, because she will know, of course, that just on Friday we introduced the fact that we had hired an additional 200 people for Long-Term Care, doubling the amount of inspectors that we said that we would have the highest inspected-to-home ratio in the country, and we do. The other opportunity that the NDP had to vote in favour and they voted against it, we said we would build 58,000 new and upgraded beds across the province of Ontario in small communities, large communities, all over the province. They could have voted for it, but they voted against it. The member voted against Long-Term Care in her own writing. Now, of course, we're also saying that we're going to improve healthcare in the province of Ontario. Now we started in 2018 with Ontario health teams, the transition. We're continuing with billions of dollars in new investments and we're making healthcare more open to the people of the province of Ontario, giving them more opportunity to have care closer to home. That's what we're doing. We're building a healthcare system that will work for Canadians and Ontarians today and well into the future. The next question, once again, the Leader of the Opposition. My question, my next question, Speaker, is to the Premier. Ontario's green belt grows our food, cleans our air, protects our watersheds. It's absolutely critical in our fight against climate change. In fact, the green belt provides $3.2 billion annually in ecosystem services to the region, including $224 million per year in flood protection. Has the Premier taken the time to evaluate the environmental and financial impacts of his decision to carve up the green belt? Minister of the Environment. Thank you, Speaker. Speaker, this government is addressing the housing crisis facing Ontarians. That's why, Mr Speaker, we've brought forward this plan that's going to expand the green belt and develop areas that are beside fully-serviced areas, beside the 401, 404, 418, which makes sense, Speaker. I would also add, Ontario is among Canada's leaders in protected areas last year, Speaker, doing things like the boiled wildlands, making additions to the Hastings Wildlife, making additions in Brighton, Speaker, the South Shore Joint Initiative for Migratory Borderquarters, protecting actual areas of environmental significance for future generations to come. Thanks, Speaker. I got to say, Speaker, this land deal might be about a lot of things, but building affordable housing is certainly not one of them. Ontarians cherish our green belt. We know that paving it over and paving over our vital farmlands and wetlands is going to hurt our province and its people for generations. But instead of protecting it, this government has opened the floodgates for their well-connected personal friends. In fact, nine of the developers who benefit from the green belt land swap are top PC donors. Some even attended the Premier's family festivities. Did the Premier, his ministers or their staff, tell developers about their intention to open up the green belt before their public announcement? Thank you very much, Speaker. Now look, of course, the Premier has already commented on that, as has the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. But let's be clear with what the Leader of the Opposition is saying, Mr. Speaker. She is saying that she wants ministers and members to start tabling invitation lists to weddings. Mr. Speaker, this is an opposition that sent somebody to the Premier's daughter's wedding to take a picture of the seating plan, to take a picture of the seating plan. Now, I don't know of any other opposition party that would sink to that level, Mr. Speaker. Now these are people that the Premier has known for decades, Mr. Speaker. When his father sat with Jim Flaherty over there in 1995, they were friends, Mr. Speaker. Now, why doesn't she just come out and say what it is that she really wants to say, Mr. Speaker? That somehow if you build in this province of Ontario, you can't do it ethically, Mr. Speaker. Why doesn't she just come out and say what she really wants to say instead of hiding behind weasel words in this place? No supplementary. Oh, Speaker, there's desperation right there for you. No one. Not sure if it was the Minister of Energy or the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. It was shouting. I would ask the House to come to order and allow the member who has the floor to place her question. Start the clock, Leader of the Opposition. Make sure nobody is buying this. And I can tell you that everywhere around this province no one is buying that in order to build affordable housing we have to destroy the Greenbelt. And it's just not credible. It's simply not credible. But now, thanks to the Premier's actions, more land speculators are circling like vultures. And one of the new requests to develop the Greenbelt is linked to a former staffer of the Premier turned lobbyist. How naive does the Premier think Ontarians are? Exactly what price did this government put on the Greenbelt? I will remind the member opposite, of course, that it was the Conservative government that brought in the Oak Ridge's Moraine Planning Act in the first place. But it's more than that, Mr. Speaker. Again, this is the Leader of the Opposition who's sunk to the level of sending a photographer to take a picture of a seating plant at a quarterly wedding, Mr. Speaker. This is the Leader of the Opposition who wants to have an invitation list tabled in this House. I know the member for Perth Wellington is getting married. He must be shaking in his boots. He's going to have to get the approval of the Leader of the Opposition for who he invites to his wedding. Why doesn't she just come out and say what she really means, Mr. Speaker, because we've heard it for decades in this place. If you're an Italian and you're building homes for the people of the province of Ontario, somehow you can't be doing it ethically, Mr. Speaker. These are people who came to this country with nothing. They built up, they came here to build a better future for their families. The home that she lives in was built by an Italian. The street that she drove in to get here, built by an Italian. The subway, the buses, the steel. The House will come to order. The government side will come to order. The next question. Start the clock. The member for Kiwetnau. Speaker to the Premier. Verney Turtle, 44. Kristen Moose, 38. And Kendriana Turtle, 8. On Wednesday, February 22nd, a deadly house fire took the lives of this family in Pecanicum First Nation. What is this government doing to help Pecanicum? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We acknowledge this tragedy and I had a chance to speak to my long-standing friend, Chief Dean Owen, immediately afterwards. Following a fire, as the member points out, that took the lives of three community members on February 22nd, 2023. My ministry holds regular calls with the community subsequently to that and partners to ensure that they have everything that they need to work through this crisis. I've approved surge funding, Mr. Speaker, to address community's immediate requests for assistance and we stand by in an effort to continue to support them in any way that we can. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. And a supplementary question. Mr. Speaker, we know that the same tragedy happened in Pecanicum in 2016. Nine people in one family died. One community member told me that they are reliving a nightmare. I was there on Saturday. The house was still smoldering. After three days, Speaker, because they do not have the capacity to put the fire out, this government needs to commit to a fire hall for Pecanicum. So this does not happen again. Speaker, will this government help? Yes or no? I thank the member for his question, Mr. Speaker, and we did provide, my ministry provided a full briefing to him. Mr. Speaker, I can tell you that we will continue to work cooperatively with the federal government. I have suggested that in certain instances, if there's an existing fire hall, Mr. Speaker, we would be prepared to support that. But we can't do this in every single community without the full cooperation of the federal government. And I think we acknowledge here today, Mr. Speaker, that fire response, the capacity on reserve, Mr. Speaker, is something that remains a challenge for the federal government. The provincial government will continue to work with our federal partners and at the community level to ensure, Mr. Speaker, that there's no red tape and that we have an ability to support fire response, Mr. Speaker, in these two communities to prevent these tragedies. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The member for Markham Thornhill. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Finance. The people of my riding, Markham Thornhill, and across our province of Ontario, are experiencing pressure due to the increased cost of living. Worldwide political instability, chocolate chain disruption, and rising inflation costs are all making life more expensive for the people of Ontario. This means higher cost for essential items, cha-cha's food and gas. The cost of food has risen by 11 percent, and the cost of gas has risen by three percent compared to the year ago. This is very concerning for many individual and families. Mr. Speaker, there's so many economic challenges that the people of Ontario are facing. Question. What is our government doing to keep our province physically sound? Thank you. Thank you. Minister of Finance. Well, thank you to the hardworking member for Markham Thornhill for that question. Thank you very much. Now, Mr. Speaker, we know that these are challenging economic times for many people in Ontario. Ongoing conflict, geopolitical, high interest rates, and, of course, inflation are still factors affecting global economic recovery. I think that's clear to many. Our government has a responsible plan to ensure that our province remains on a strong and steady economic path forward. Our plan to build Ontario is grounded on our commitment to support our families and to support workers and to empower the people of Ontario. We have laid a strong fiscal foundation upon which to build Ontario to continue to build Ontario. This includes record investments in new highways and hospitals, a plan that supports workers' growth and job creation. Mr. Speaker, that is what the people of Ontario expect and deserve from their government. The supplementary question. Thank you, Minister, for that great answer. As a government, we must always look best to make life easier and more affordable for all Ontarians. We see how inflation and the rising cost of living negatively impact families and individuals, especially our seniors. While our government has shown continued leadership with strong measures like cutting the cash tax and making investment in critical programs where the action needed. Speaker, what is the next step will our government implement to keep Ontario on an economic path to strengthen the stability? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Minister of Finance. Well, thank you again to the member from Markham Thornfield for that very thoughtful question. You know, folks, over the past couple of years, Ontario and the rest of the world have faced a once-in-a-lifetime challenge. And Ontario is not an island, and we continue to face uncertain economic times. But I have absolute confidence in the resilience of the people of Ontario, their workers, the businesses and the families right here in Ontario. I'm proud and I'm confident to introduce the next phase of this plan on March 23rd, which will be Ontario's 2023 budget. Mr. Speaker, we have a plan for a strong future for Ontario. We have a plan that ensures our province holds its position as a global economic leader. We have a plan that respects and empowers our workers and restores our manufacturing capabilities. Mr. Speaker, we have a plan that is getting it done for the people of Ontario. The next question, the member for Ottawa West, Matian. Thank you, Speaker. Our children's mental health is suffering, but this government is failing to provide the supports they need. According to a new report, 91% of schools say they need support dealing with student mental health, but less than 1 in 10 schools have access to a regularly scheduled mental health specialist or nurse. The lack of support is leading to an increase in violence in our schools and making it more difficult for kids to catch up. Why is the Minister of Education not taking action to provide mental health supports in all of our schools? Minister of Education. Well, thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I do appreciate the question from the member opposite. It is a very serious question affecting Canadian youth and children around the world the increase of mental health needs in our province. Mr. Speaker, we have in this province every single year since coming office increased funding mental health. We have started with the nearly 18 million dollar investment at the peak of spending under the former Liberals. Today, that investment is at $90 million, a 400% increase in investment, Speaker. Year over year, we have hired 9% more mental health workers, professionals working directly with our kids, psychologists and psychotherapists, 7,000 more education workers, which includes social workers and child and youth workers. We recognize the demands are rising. It is why we have increased funding this school year by an additional $10 million. Mr. Speaker, in addition to our schools, many parents will get their kids access to treatment in their community. Working with the Ministry of Health, we have increased funding through the road to wellness by $130 million, particularly for kids, and created 14 youth mental health hubs to ensure they have the services and the supports they deserve. Supplementary. Speaker, the minister's results speak for themselves when half of schools have no mental health resources at all, and fewer schools have access to a psychologist than they did under the Liberals. Without adequate supports in place, teachers and education workers are left to try and manage mental health challenges in the classroom, while also navigating staffing shortfalls and overcrowded classrooms. Our education workers are burning out, Speaker, and need mental health supports themselves. Why is the Minister of Education allowing the mental health of children and workers to suffer instead of giving our schools the resources they need? The Minister of Education, Mr. Speaker, to meet the demand of many families and children in our community who are facing mental health difficulty, we have stepped up with a significant investment. The numbers, I think, help tell the story of a commitment to helping meet this challenge. Every year, since 2018, we have increased funding, starting at $18 million under the former Liberals to $90 million today, a 400% increase, $7,000 a year, $1,000 a year, $1,000 a year, a 900% increase, $7,000 more education workers in our schools because of our government's investment, and just in the last year, a 9% increase in professionals, specifically targeting children in schools, supporting them when it comes to mental health services. In addition to in-school supports, the hiring of more psychologists and psychotherapists and mental health workers, we also have stepped up support in community. There's $130 million dedicated specifically for children and youth. In addition to the government and the minister of mental health and addiction, 14 youth hubs to create integrated services for children in rural, remote and urban communities will continue to work together to meet the needs of our kids. Thank you. The next question, the member for Carlton. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the minister of natural resources and forestry. We are mindful of the devastating impact that flooding and extreme weather will remember the damage that flooding caused to the people of Ontario, sorry, the people of Ottawa, eastern Ontario, and the Perry Sound and Muscova regions in 2019. These floods impacted thousands of homes, individuals and businesses requiring Canadian military assistance. And unfortunately, sadly, lives were lost. As we move from winter to spring and ice and snow begin to melt, many individuals are rightly concerned about how this could affect their communities once again. Mr. Speaker, through you, what is our government doing to respond to potential flood risks facing our communities? Thank you. Mr. Natch, resources and forestry. Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the member from Carlton for the question. She's doing an excellent job for her constituents every single day. And Mr. Speaker, I certainly do understand firsthand the challenges that flooding can bring to communities. In 2013 and 2019, of course, in the community we went through devastating situations. And you know in 2019 the Premier was there in that very first day to ask how he could help. But Mr. Speaker, coming out of that, the Premier and others have paid a lot of attention to developing a flooding strategy for Ontario and making sure that communities have this strategy that they can call on drawing on expert recommendations to ensure the public is better prepared for flooding and that we've been working hard to implement those recommendations. And you know we've also committed over 30 million dollars to protect wetlands one of the biggest wetland recovery in the provincial history. And that helps with flood mitigation as well. Over 26 million in disaster recovery assistance to individuals, businesses and communities, and 4.7 million to help municipalities with flood forecasting. We can't prevent floods but we can. The supplementary question. Thank you, Mr. Speaker and thank you for the ministerial response. Our government continues to show leadership and is making investments to strengthen disaster recovery assistance for our communities. However, our government needs to take further action regarding preventative measures. Following the tragic events of the 2019 flood, our government commissioned a task force to report on areas and recommendations for improving flood resilience and enhancing public safety. The independent flood advisers report highlighted the proactive steps the government can take to mitigate additional flooding in our communities. Speaker, through you, can the Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry please explain how our government acted on this report's recommendations. Thank you. Mr. National Resources and Forestry. And again, I thank the member for the question. You know, since the introduction, we've made steady progress towards implementing recommendations set out in Ontario's flooding strategy. We've made improvements to floodplain mapping, guidance to multi-agency flood mapping technical team to better identify hazard areas. We've improved disaster recovery assistance programs by investing up to $2 million of additional funding to extend the Build Back Better Pilot project through 2023. And we're helping eligible municipalities rebuild infrastructure damaged by extreme weather to a higher standard through the Municipal Disaster Recovery Assistance Program. We've also made improvements to the province's emergency response system so that Ontario is better prepared to handle flooding events. Speaker, there are no quick fixes when it comes to reducing impacts from flooding. Ontario's flooding strategy aims to improve preparedness and make Ontario a true leader in flood management. Thank you. The next question, the member for University Rose Hill. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Kerry and Daniel, who are here today are members of a newly built condo at 1 Yorkville Avenue. Since moving in, they've faced a whole host of problems, faulty equipment causing false fire alarms, amenities they were promised that have still not been built. Their home is still a construction zone. Now, Kerry has complained to her property manager, her condo board and government regulatory agencies, but no one is helping her and the problem remains. A report written by the Public Accounts Committee gives us a roadmap of what we need to do to give condo residents the protections they need. And this government signed off on that report as well. To ensure condo residents live in self, safe and well maintained homes, when will this government turn these reports recommendations into law? Thank you very much, Speaker. And thank you to the member opposite for the question. Speaker, our government takes matters of consumer protection in the condo sector very seriously and will never stop taking necessary action to protect Ontarians across the province. My ministry welcomes the auditor general's feedback of Ontario's condo sector and has already begun consulting on ways to actively improve and expand the condo authority tribunal and its powers. Speaker, we are never stopping our efforts to improve protections for all Ontarians and they have a safe and secure place to call home. Thank you. Thank you, Speaker. As you've heard there are far too many condo residents facing big problems with no easy solutions here in Ontario, with nowhere to turn. Many end up fighting in court and are forced to give up, leaving them worse off than when they started without a resolution and in debt. In my community condo residents were individually forced to pay a special assessment of over $30,000 in debt. Many were forced to sell. Others fought in court but gave up when legal costs hit $100,000. Again, when will the government implement all the recommendation in the auditor general report, such as fully expanding the condominium appeal tribunal so that condo residents can finally get the respect they need and they deserve. Thank you. Thank you to the member opposite for the supplementary question. Speaker, it is this government that is actually making condo boards fairer and more transparent and improving the lives of the hundreds of thousands of Ontarians who call a condo home. Speaker, the condo act provides a framework that enables condo owners and their elected boards of directors to make decision about the governance of a condo corporation. This includes provisions among other things related to safety, prohibited conditions and activities and dispute resolution. Speaker, we will continue to work with the condo sector to implement the changes suggested by AG and ensure that condo owners across the province are provided with the treatment they expect and deserve. Thank you. The next question. Member for Don Valley West. Thank you, Speaker. We have heard this government talk about the importance of primary care providers and building medical schools to train more family doctors will help in the years ahead. But why are they taking action now? There are 1.8 million Ontarians who do not have a family doctor right now including many of my constituents in Don Valley West. We hear every day, especially over the holidays about ER's closing the OMA provided recommendations to help solve the family doctor problem. Right now, for example, investing to build centralized referral lists reducing admin burden on doctors by hiring medical scribes so they can see more patients and implementing more family health teams. My question to the Minister of Health. Why is this government not implementing the recommendations of the OMA and instead prioritizing the introduction of Bill 60 and what metrics will be put in place to show Ontarians that profits don't come at the expense of the government? Member for Eglinton Lawrence. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. Thank you the member opposite for the question. In fact, we are doing a lot of the things that you mentioned including investing in centralized wait lists are your health plan which was announced earlier this year has some of those very things in. But Ontario including the centralized wait lists Ontario leads the country and how many people actually benefit from a long-term stable relationship with family doctor and we will do more and that's why we're increasing training opportunities at the same time by expanding team models of primary care across the province which we announced again in the your health plan. Work is underway to train the next generation we're adding physician spots including 450 new spots for physician training 52 new spots for physician assistance 150 new nurse practitioner spots 1500 additional nursing spots 24,000 PSW spots by adding these new health human resources to Ontario's workforce. More team based care will be made available to Ontarians. Your supplementary question. Thank you Speaker. This government seemed to take its eye off the ball when it came to the impact of bill 124 on the health care system. They seem to neither know and certainly don't report the growing number of unfilled nursing positions in hospitals and nurses leaving the profession. Bill 124 led to surgical backlogs closed DRs and unnecessary suffering including our nurses. Public servants of this government's Ministry of Health stated this in a leaked memo. One impact of bill 124 is quite clear. This government is underspending on health care by underpaying the remaining nurses we do have contributing to underspending to the tune of 4.9 billion in the next three years according to the FAO. Speaker my question to the Minister of Health will the government take accountability for their bill 124 mistake and invest some of the billions emergency funds to fix the staffing mess they created with bill 124? Minister of colleges and universities to reply. Thank you for the question. We have record numbers of students who are entering the nursing profession and we are ensuring that we have more nurses as we move forward with our plans. This is in no parts to the NDPs and the Liberals who do not support us every step of the way. We continue to make investments in registered nurses, registered practical nurses, PSW every time the opposition votes against those measures. We are allowing our colleges and universities to now offer standalone nursing programs across the province and this will ensure that nursing students who can practice in their area and continue to be professionals in those areas. As part of bill 60 we also expanded, we are hiring more health human resources but we've also expanded the Learn and Stay program that now is there for nursing students but also for lab techs and paramedics and this is in exchange free tuition to continue practicing in those areas after graduation. We will ensure that more students are entering the profession as we continue to build Ontario's world-class health care system. Thank you. Next question. The member for Thorn Hill. Thank you. Thank you Mr. Speaker. My question is to the minister of children, community and social services. Our government must take action to support children and youth in the welfare system. Children and youth in the system face additional barriers throughout their lives. They are more likely to experience traumatic events such as homelessness mental health concerns, unemployment lack of education and involvement in the justice system. Every day that passes as these children get older it becomes more and more challenging for them to move beyond the setbacks and losses that they have experienced. Governments should be helping these children and all children to get a good start so they can lead fulfilled supported and happy lives. Mr. Speaker, can the minister please elaborate on what our government is doing to help these children and youth achieve better lives. Mr. Children, community and social services. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Our government has been working closely with sector partners, youth with lived experience and advocates to inform a redesign of Ontario's child welfare system. To protect youth during the pandemic we introduced a moratorium on youth leaving care as they normally would. We took that opportunity to re-examine how youth leaving care were supported and committed to improving that process. With the premier's leadership we launched a resolution to enhance the system so that youth are supported. The Ready Set Go program launching on April 1st 2023 will provide youth transitioning out of care with life skills and supports they need to pursue post-secondary education skill trades training and employment opportunities. The supplementary question. Thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to the minister for her response. We know that having a strong support system at a very young age helps children and youth obtain the practical life skills they need to lead successful lives. It's imperative that youth in care receive access to the same opportunities as their peers by providing them with support for education and skills training. It is reassuring that the objectives of the Ready Set Go program are designed specifically to provide concrete knowledge and skills development for these young people. Mr. Speaker can the minister please explain how this program will help provide children and youth with the tools they need. Mr. Children Community and Social Services Thank you Speaker through the Ready Set Go program children's aid societies will begin focusing on helping children plan for their future from an earlier age. From age 13 they will begin learning practical life skills at age 15 the emphasis will expand to financial literacy and preparing for the workforce including managing personal finances setting up a bank account grocery shopping, resume building and how to access social services and other supports. This will come with continuing funding to support their needs. Those pursuing a post-secondary program or training in skill trades and apprenticeships will receive further support. Thank you. The next question to member for London North Centre. Speaker in a few weeks one of Canada's first fertility clinics is closing his doors after 50 years of helping families grow. The fertility clinic at London Health Sciences Centre has helped bring more than 4,500 babies into the world since opening in 1972. These services are shifting to a private clinic Omega due to a lack of funding. Speaker what does this government have to say to the thousands of families who depended on this service? Thank you very much Mr. Speaker and thank you to the member opposite for the question. The Ontario Fertility Program provides publicly funded in vitro fertilization, artificial insemination including intrauterine insemination and fertility preservation for eligible patients and as an uninsured service through agreements with participating fertility clinics across the province. Under the program the government contributes to the funding of unlimited cycles of artificial insemination including intrauterine insemination and fertility preservation and one cycle of IVF per patient. Recently last fall we announced a new fertility clinic opening up in Windsor to be able to provide fertility treatments in that part of the province with an annualized funding of $1.5 million. What we're doing is trying to bring services closer to patients and that's an example of it. I'm glad that the government has read the website but the website for omega indicates that patients are responsible for the payment of medications and the storage and the shipping of specimens from one clinic to another. This is yet another example of the privatization of healthcare where patients will have to pay more for certain services. What we need right now is action to address the hospital crisis and a plan to recruit, retain and return healthcare workers in our public hospitals not further privatization. Speaker, why does this government want Ontarians to settle for less when it comes to creating their families? Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. As a member opposite should know our government has launched the largest healthcare recruiting and training initiative in Ontario's history. We had a record number of new nurses sign up just last year, 12,000 which is the highest ever. Since 2018 we've added 1,800 family doctors across the system and we know that many other provinces across Canada are facing pressures with health human resources but our government has been taking steps for a long time to make sure that we have new and up-skilled healthcare providers including 8,000 more up-skilled personal support workers and 5,000 more up-skilled nurses. Earlier this year we announced our expansion of the Learn and Stay Grant a key component of Ontario's plan to stay open and I'm happy to say the sound campus is part of this program. The grant which we announced in March of 2022 for students who enroll in nursing programs has now expanded to include paramedic and medical laboratory technologies programs in priority communities. Eligible students will receive full upfront funding for tuition books and other direct educational costs in return for working and caring for people in the region where they studied for a term of service after they graduate. Grant applications for the 23-24 academic year open this spring targeting 2,500 eligible students at over 20 institutions. Right now, students can go online and see a full list of eligible schools and programs on the Ontario Learn and Stay Grant website and learn more about how they can apply. Next question for Hamilton Mack. My question is for the Premier Hamilton Health Sciences has 270 patients waiting in hospital who cannot be discharged because they are waiting for alternative kinds of care such as long-term or home care. This has gotten so bad that Hamilton hospitals have resorted to keeping these patients in a satellite health facility. Clearly, Bill 7 and its promise to freeing up bedsprays by sending seniors up to 70 kilometres away is not working for Hamilton. It has been four years of empty promises by the government. Will the Premier commit to repealing Bill 7 and finally focus on providing the funding our health care system needs? Mr. Long-Term Care Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Of course, we would not repeal Bill 7 because it is actually working for the people in the office of long-term care. That is what we said right from the beginning. We want to bring better quality of care closer to home for people. The right care, the right place, the right time. I have been visiting a lot of long-term care homes obviously and one unique feature in every home that I visit is people who come up to me and say my mom was in the hospital and my dad was in the hospital and we have transitioned into a long-term care home and I don't know why we waited so long to do it because the quality of care is so much better. Just two weeks ago the same story but this time from somebody who was a patient in a hospital said the same thing about the quality of life that she has is so much better. She has made friends. She is out and about more and she has seen a real change in her own attitude. So we are going to continue to do more. How the member could help is by voting in favour and supporting some of the investments that we are making in long-term care. We have added 58,000 beds many in her own writing but she has voted against all of those investments. Hopefully she will see differently in future. Thank you. Back to the Premier. Approximately 1 in 5 patients currently in hospital are ready to be discharged but they cannot leave. The hospitals are operating over capacity but these patients have nowhere to go. This is all happening while Hamilton faces significant human resource shortages with 700 nursing spots being vacant alone. That's just one hospital. These problems are getting worse, not better. Why is the Premier sitting on $5 billion in contingency funds instead of ensuring we have a strong healthcare system that people can rely on? Mr. Long-Term Care. In fact, in Long-Term Care alone we are hiring an additional 27,000 healthcare professionals as the Minister of Colleges and Universities just said. We have record levels of enrollment when it comes to ALC here are the numbers. We have helped place over 5,400 ALC patients into Long-Term Care. Over 4,800 ALC patients have added more Long-Term Care beds. We have added over 2,100 beds to the Long-Term Care system. These are beds that have been taken out of circulation because of for isolation for COVID. But let's hear what people are saying. The CEO of Windsor Regional Hospital every bed is a valuable bed and as I said when dealing with 3 viruses had we not done this we would have been in a crisis. Let's look at what the member for Angelina. Alternative level of care it's a fancy word that means that you really would like to be supported some place else but you have no choice but to stay at a hospital. I completely agree with her. That's why we brought it on. Catherine Fyfe the member for These are patients who should not be in a hospital. They should be in a Long-Term Care retirement or assisted living I agree with her and that's why we're making these investments. Stop members to make reference to each other by their writing name or the minister of responsibility as applicable not by their personal names. Start the clock. The next question the member for Ajax. Question is for the minister of seniors and accessibility. First of all thank you for your visit to my riding on Friday and meeting with some of the town seniors. One of the concerns our seniors brought forward is accessibility barriers which keep them from being socially connected and affect their physical and mental well-being. Inclusive communities mean accessible communities and they want our government to continue to champion accessibility ensuring our province is welcoming and accommodating for everyone. Speaker can the minister please explain to the House how our government is ensuring that our province is accessible for everyone. Minister for seniors and accessibility Thank you to the member for asking such an important question. The member from Ajax is doing a marvelous job. It's my pleasure to join the MPP of Ajax to announce $15,000 in funding as part of our inclusive community grants program. Thanks to the leadership of the premier since 2018 we have invested over $2 million into 60 inclusive community grant programs like this one to help build inclusive accessible communities across Ontario. This program is here to help build a better Ontario for communities across the province. Thank you. A supplementary question. Thank you speaker and thank you to the minister the power up project is an important part of the town's accessibility plan. Under the previous Liberal government the needs of seniors and people with disability were unfortunately not a priority. That is why the funding our government is providing through the inclusive community grants program is significant for support in all Ontarians including the people in my riding. Funding from this program will ensure that individuals will be able to remain active and connected within our community of Ajax and the Durham region. Speaker, can the minister elaborate on how the inclusive community grant program is helping to create a barrier free environment for people of my riding. Mr. Seniors in accessibility. Town of Ajax is a showing leadership when it comes to accessibility. This inclusive community grant enables the town of Ajax to create mobility device charging stations. This project will create more accessible age friendly space with the installation of a designated electric mobility charging stations in all public access facilities and out of spaces like the Ajax library. This program is one of the ways we are working to serve the needs of Ontario. It does not matter how big small community is we can all work together to build a better Ontario that is inclusive for all. Thank you. Beautiful. Thank you, Speaker. In the Thunder Bay regional hospital because of bill 124 the wages of people who sterilize medical equipment have fallen so far below inflation these workers have to take on additional part-time jobs just to survive. In their words, we sure went from heroes to zeros in a hurry. Will the government ensure that these workers earn a wage that reflects their important contributions to our public health care? President of the Treasury Board. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Our government will continue to make historic and unprecedented investments into the health sector across this province, Mr. Speaker. Just last year we invested an additional $5.2 billion to support the delivery of health care services all across this province. That included investing and making sure that we increased or actually opened up additional medical seats for those in the north to ensure that there was better care for residents across all parts of this province. We're continuing to ensure that we make the necessary investments into health human resources. Over 12,000 nurses were registered a record year in this province and we will continue to make sure that those investments are being all across this province. Supplementary question? It would be good to actually hear an answer to my question. The wage repression policies of this government have sabotaged a single aspect of public health care. Will this government make up for the last four years of unconstitutional repressed wages so that health care professionals, those now working right now, can do their work without worrying about keeping a roof over their heads? Mr. Speaker, let's take a look at some of the investments that we have made into health human resources across this province. In fact, Mr. Speaker, over 14,000 nurses have been registered given the investments that this province has made. Over $342 million invested last year to help upskill nurses and registered nurses to ensure that we have the supports across the province. We're building medical schools all across the province. The first one in the GTA in over 100 years including more supports in parts of Northern Ontario that needed. Mr. Speaker, our government will continue to make these historic and unprecedented investments across this province and we ask the members opposite to stop voting against many of those measures that we have put up, including this historic investments over 5 billion dollars in addition. And join our government in increasing investments in health care across this province. Next question, Member for Peterborough, for Oracle. My question is to the Minister of Infrastructure. Reliable access to high speed internet is a necessity for all Ontarians. It keeps family and friends in touch with each other, helps us work and study and connects Ontario businesses with customers worldwide. Connecting people in rural, remote and Indigenous communities from every part of our province to reliable high speed internet will help create good jobs and ensure that we build an economy that remains a home. Speaker, can the Minister of Infrastructure please elaborate on what investments our government is making to ensure that the people of my riding have access to high speed internet service? That's a great question. Thank you so much to the member opposite for that question. I know how important it is for the members of your community. Prior to COVID, we had 700,000 residents constituents across the country. Our government invested $4 billion to make sure that we connect everyone in the province of Ontario by the end of 2025. That includes investments into SWIFT, EORN, we also worked and developed a partnership with the federal government to the tune of $1.3 billion. All of those investments will connect 375,000 people in the province. The supplementary question. From personal experience, I live 45 seconds from Trent University and did not have high speed internet until about a year and a half ago. How is that acceptable in Ontario when you're right next to a higher institute and can't get high speed internet? We know that internet is not a luxury in this day and age, it's a necessity. Access to fast reliable internet ensures that everyone is connected to vital services like healthcare and education and allows everyone to communicate. I understand that the Ministry of Infrastructure has taken a new modern approach to procurement, an approach that guarantees fiscal responsibility for the taxpayer of Ontario. Could the Minister of Infrastructure elaborate on what her ministry is doing to expand internet service for all families across Ontario? Thank you very much to the member opposite for the question. Mr. Speaker, a huge focus for us in year 2022 was to develop a truly innovative procurement process to make sure that we connect as many homes as quickly as possible. Mr. Speaker, eight internet service providers were successful through this process and will be connecting 266,000 homes across the province. Mr. Speaker, this was such an innovative process that we actually won a silver medal in the C2PT economy to 60,000 premises to go and we will not stop until every single person is connected. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Recently the City of Toronto has created a subcommittee out of frustration in the need for more insight and input into the massive Ontario line project. This means that they are going to have to dedicate city staff and other resource time to make sure that they can actually staff those committee hearings. They have slammed metro links to the subway line for being too secretive. When will the government finally give public answers about when they expect the Ontario line to be completed and how much will it cost? Mr. Speaker, after decades of gridlock in the city our government put forward a transit plan for the City of Toronto and York region and our government brought that plan forward to the City of Toronto and in November 2019 when the member opposite was a member of City Council they know that we put that forward and City Council had a chance to review it and in fact even to vote on it Mr. Speaker. After we got the City of Toronto support for it we brought that plan forward to the federal government and after we reached a historic agreement with York region with the City of Toronto and the federal government on our subway plan for the greater Toronto area we have been consulting non-stop with City of Toronto and looping in our federal colleagues because we know how important it is to have all parties and all levels of government aligned. Over 100 consultations have been held with the City since we reached that agreement and we will continue to operate in a transparent and open way with the City of Toronto. Thank you. Thank you very much Speaker. I don't believe that the Minister understood the question. The City of Toronto has created a subcommittee specifically to address the secretness and the way that the City of Toronto provides additional reports based on the conversations they are having with Metrolinx. This is going to take time and effort and money from the City of Toronto and all they need is a direct answer from the government. So my question, Speaker, is the Ontario line has already doubled in cost. It is going to be the most expensive and overpriced transit line in the history of Ontario and it is going to be the most expensive and overpriced transit line in the history of Ontario. Local businesses and taxpayers want to know, they demand an answer are they going to get a good deal from this government especially since the notification around tree removal and other type of construction headlines are being blocked by someone in the ministry. My question, Speaker, is will this government actually provide the information that the City of Toronto and the residents deserve, will they give it to them in a timely fashion so we can see how this government can help them in terms of the technology or the fact that they were blocked from notification for the removal of the trees and Osgoode Hall as well as Moscart. I'll clap for you just because you took two minutes to ask. Thank you, Mr Speaker. Will I wonder if the member opposite raised the issue of the secrecy with Metrolinx and how it is conducting itself when the much to my speaker on February 9th in a radio interview on News Talk 1010 the member from Toronto Centre said and I quote we have been aware that there were going to be some removal of trees our community has been in consultation and communication with Metrolinx. Mr. Speaker the member opposite wants to put together put forward a narrative against the building of the Ontario line because they voted against it when it was brought to City Council but our government will not be deterred we are going to admit we are going to address the transit deficit that was left by the previous Liberal government. Question period for this morning. Member for Don Valley North may have a point of order. Thank you speaker I would like to introduce the student from the elementary school from the power and men's home and riding. Queen's Park welcome to the legislature. Member for Ajax with a point of order. Thank you Mr. Speaker I'll just be quick. I want to welcome the students that are participating in the program today for black students in the legislature welcome to the legislature. Further business this morning this house stands in recess until 1 p.m.