 it's therefore now time for question period the leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Premier. Today we are joined by correctional officers and staff from around the province. They are here to tell you about the growing crisis in corrections. A crisis that this government continues to ignore. The poor quality of Ontario's jails and their persistent lockdowns are putting correctional officers' lives at risk. We've already had an officer taken hostage at the Thunder Bay jail and the government's response was minimal. Mr. Speaker, how many more correctional officers have to be injured? How many more correctional officers have to be taken hostage before we see serious action from this government? Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. First of all I want to welcome the officers to the legislature today and I know that the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services is going to want to say more Mr. Speaker. We're committed to transformation in corrections in Ontario. It is what we believe in Mr. Speaker. It's why we're hiring more officers. Since 2013 we've hired 710 new correctional officers. We'll be hiring 2,000 more correctional officers over the next three years. We understand that there is a need for more personnel. We also understand that there is a need for support for training and we've trained an additional 138 new correctional officers. Those trainings are underway Mr. Speaker. But beyond that we recognize that there is a need for an overall look at how we approach corrections in this province and that is underway Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, back to the Premier. I remind the Premier of my visit to the Thunder Bay Correctional Facility. I could not believe the working conditions could exist in Ontario like I saw at the Thunder Bay Jail. The Mayor of Thunder Bay called it a rat hole. The infrastructure in our correctional facilities and many parts of the province are completely inadequate. I'm sure the Premier would never work in these conditions that I saw and so I repeat for the third time my challenge and question to the Premier. As I've done before I'm asking the Premier, Mr. Speaker, will the Premier visit the Jail and Thunder Bay, the Correctional Facility Thunder Bay to truly appreciate the conditions and if Thunder Bay is too far, will the Premier visit any Correctional Facility? Because it's not good enough to say you went four or five years ago for ribbing cutting. Will you see the conditions today? Yes or no? Thank you. Premier? Mr. Speaker, the reason that the transformation is underway, the reason officers are being hired, the reason that in the Minister's mandate letter there is a focus on transformation in corrections is that I have already visited, Mr. Speaker. I understand that there is a real need for change in corrections, Mr. Speaker. I also recognize that in this country, Mr. Speaker, provincial jurisdictions are working under challenging circumstances given decisions that were made at the federal level, Mr. Speaker. We need to focus on how we prepare people who are in our corrections institutions for reintegration into society, Mr. Speaker. We need to make sure that the conditions that corrections offices are working in are safe, Mr. Speaker. That's why the transformation is the focus of the Minister and that's why the transformation is underway. Mr. Speaker, back to the Premier. A visit years and years ago isn't good enough, and I repeat my challenge. Will the Premier visit a correctional facility in the near future? Now, there's a simple first step, a first step solution that I could recommend to the Premier. The body scanners in the Toronto South Detention Centre should be in every correctional facility in Ontario immediately. You know, Mr. Speaker, during my visit to the Elgin Middle Six Detention Centre, I was told from a correctional officer that the smuggling of drugs is rampant. 17 kinder eggs from one inmate full of drugs. I've heard in other correctional facilities about ceramic knives being smuggled in. Smokey Thomas has called on the government to take a task force beyond just Ottawa but for the whole province. This is a reasonable proposition that the government should follow. And so my question, Mr. Speaker, is will the government take real meaningful steps like setting up a task force, like having these body scanners not next year but immediately? Will you do the right things? Will you take these steps this spring? Thank you. May we say correctional services? Proceed it, please. Proceed it, please. Thank you. The Premier referred to the Minister of Correctional Services. Thank you very much, Speaker. Sikar, on this side of the House, we've been very absolutely being clear on this issue that the status quo in our correctional system cannot continue. And we are very much focused on working along with our correctional partners and the fact that they're here and the fact that we've actually been having very productive meetings demonstrates that we are focused on developing solutions. And Speaker, let me be very clear, our solutions are not what the leader of the opposition, when he sat along with the Harper government and brought on dumb and crime policies that has resulted in the kind of challenges and overcrowding that we're seeing. That is not the solution, Speaker, that we're talking about. Neither we are talking about the solutions that the Conservatives brought by privatizing jails in this province, Speaker. Those are not the solutions we are talking about. I invite the member opposite. Stop the rhetoric and start talking about concrete solutions that is going to result in ensuring... Thank you. New question. The leader of the opposition. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Premier. When the Premier was scribbling her new plan on the back of a napkin at her kitchen table, there was one glittering omission. And I appreciate that the Premier has no interest in input or consultation with other parties or... Start the clock. Start the clock. It's very difficult to ask one side to come to order when the other side is provoking. So if you were to stop, I would be able to do something about it. Please finish your question. Mr. Speaker, I realize input is not welcome. It's the Liberal Party's way. It's the Premier's way or the highway. But one glaring omission is about lobbying reform. Over the last 13 years, there has been a steady stream of staff leaving the Premier's and Minister's offices to become influential lobbyists. Lobbyists who in turn wrote big checks to the Liberal Party from their new employers. Although she claims that the Premier will put a stop to the donations, it doesn't solve all the problems. It's inadequate. It's short. Mr. Speaker, when the cash dries up, what is the question of Liberal friends from influencing the government's decisions? Opposition knows that we have made changes in terms of the rules surrounding lobbyists. And one of the questions that we have before us is are there other changes that need to be made, Mr. Speaker? I would be happy to hear from the Leader of the Opposition. Member from Leeds, Randall. He has proposals on how he thinks the lobbying process should be changed. But, Mr. Speaker, we have made changes. We have tightened up those rules. Be happy to hear any input that he has on that. Member from Leeds, Randall. Second time. Supplementary. Mr. Speaker, maybe the Premier forgot the page of her napkin on her kitchen table. And I understand that lobbying is legitimate. But a simple cooling-off period between leaving a Minister's office and working as a lobbyist makes sense. That's the standard practice in other provinces. I guess maybe my signaling that I'm going after individuals hasn't come through yet, but I reverse my politeness to a heavy hand. I don't care to do it, but I will. Please. Mr. Speaker, it appears I've touched a sensitive topic of defending liberal lobbyists. We can't have senior staff advising the Premier today and then lobbying for policy changes tomorrow. There has to be a cooling-off period. Mr. Speaker, if the Premier's reform plan is so comprehensive, why is she being so silent on changing the lobbying rules in our province? Why leave these giant loopholes in the reform? Thank you. I had with the leaders of the opposition parties, I said to them that I was interested in hearing from them on specific changes that they thought needed to be put in place. Premier. I specifically had the meeting in order to administer that. I still stand ready to hear their input on the substance of what they think should be in the legislation. We will bring in two pieces of legislation. As I told them, we'll bring in the legislation in the spring around the fundraising rules, but then in the fall, Mr. Speaker, we will bring in another piece of legislation that will deal with other elections. I'm open to their suggestions, Mr. Speaker, and I have said that there may be changes to the lobbying process that need to be put in place. I'd be happy to hear their concrete suggestions. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, the notion that input is welcome is laughable. The only direction we got from the Premier is that this process would be dictated by the Premier's office, run by the Liberal Party, and the opinions of everyone else doesn't count with this government. Now, I can tell you there are numerous examples of why we need to address lobbying reform. A senior staffer leaves the Energy Minister's office only to take a job with a renewable energy company, seeking project approval from that same minister. During that time, he personally donates to the Liberal Party 194 times. It doesn't look right to the people of Ontario. It isn't right. They want rules. The people of Ontario want rules to be put into place to protect the public's interests. Mr. Speaker, will the Premier commit to a lobbying cooling off period for former government staff? Yes or no? Do you support that concept? Thank you. The member from Stormont has done this. Glenn Gary. No. You come to order. Premier. Amen. So I think it's time that the people of Ontario actually stood where the Leader of the Opposition stands. So do you support a ban on corporate donations? Yes or no? Order, please. To the chair. I'm not kidding. Finish, please. Does the Leader of the Opposition support a ban on union donations? Yes or no? Does the Leader of the Opposition support controls on third party advertising? Yes or no? Does the Leader of the Opposition believe that we need to reduce the maximum? Yes or no? I'm charged with trying to make sure that the mood is reasonable. It's not helpful when, even if you're attempting to use third person, you point at someone and point. You're speaking to the chair. Point at me. So Speaker, I'd like to know if the Leader of the Opposition supports constraints on loans and loan guarantees. Yes or no? Just when I'm able to get that directed, it starts on this side. You're not helpful either. Please finish, Rappel. Does the Leader of the Opposition believe that we need to refer to third party donations? Yes or no? Let's get on with it. Thank you. No question, the Leader of the Third Party. Thank you, Speaker. My question is for the Premier. Jails in Ontario are overcrowded and understaffed. They're not enough correction workers. It's not hard to see that this is a recipe for jails and a system that are unsafe for everyone. Riots and violence and even deaths have become the norm under this Liberal Government's watch. But when it comes to the new PTSD legislation, the Premier left out bailiffs and probation and parole officers, even though all correction workers are doing their best in a system that is unsafe for them and inmates. When will corrections workers and inmates actually see safe jails in this province? Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. Again, I say to the corrections officers, I'm pleased that they're here. I assume that the Leader of the Third Party would agree with our move to hire 710 new correctional officers and 2,000 more over the next three years, Mr Speaker, because we agree that there needs to be change in our correction system. It's why the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services is working on a transformation. And as he said, we are working on supports like mental health supports, Mr Speaker, making sure that there is training, making sure that there's more staff so that the environment is safer, so that corrections officers have a better environment within which to work. And that will work to rehabilitate people so that they can be reintegrated into society. That has not been the focus, Mr Speaker, certainly from the federal level. That has not been the focus of corrections in this country. It is the focus of this government, Mr Speaker, and that's the direction that the transformation is moving in. Well, Speaker, everybody sees the transformation that's happening in the correction system. It speaks volumes when the Premier's Minister talks about what's going on in jails, not even the one in his own community, Speaker. Not only was he completely unaware, but he went on to deny the fact that inmates are forced to sleep in showers in the Ottawa Detention Centre. Not only is this inhumane, of course, but it creates an even more dangerous work environment for the corrections officers and workers in the facility. After admitting that he was wrong, the Minister then promised that the inmates would no longer be sleeping in shower stalls anymore. Has the government fixed Ottawa's overcrowding, Speaker? Where did all those inmates go? Please take community safety measures. Please take community safety measures. Well, thank you very much, Speaker. Speaker, on this side of the House, we are very much focused on working along with our correctional workers and making sure that we are bringing meaningful changes. Last year, Speaker, was a challenging year in terms of ensuring that there was no strike, that we were able to reach an agreement that all parties are satisfied with. But now, most importantly, working together in ensuring that we can come up with a concrete action plan as to how we change the system. What we really need to do, Speaker, from all members of this House, is to come up with those ideas. It's easy to point to the problem, Speaker. We all know what the challenges in the system are. Our real opportunity, Speaker, which is in front of us, is to come up with those long-lasting transformational changes that will ensure that we focus on rehabilitation and reintegration as opposed to just punishing. Well, Speaker, instead of actually dealing with systemic issues, what we see is things flaring up in London, in Hamilton, in Thunder Bay, Toronto South, the Liberals chose to put their focus on taking our correction systems to the brink. This government spent millions of dollars getting ready for a strike instead of investing in solutions to fix the problems regarding this made in Ontario crisis. They made this crisis, and it is on their hands, and that is bigger than just one ministry, Speaker, because, for example, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care cut psychiatric beds and mental health support. Minister of Agriculture, come to order. Please finish. And those vulnerable individuals often find their way into our justice and correction system, Speaker. Will the Premier acknowledge that when she's cutting healthcare, cutting education, cutting social services, cutting public housing, she's creating brand new problems and corrections? Minister? Thank you. Minister? Well, I think, Speaker, this bluster undermines the good faith and goodwill that exists, Speaker, within our correction system for the first time in a long, long time. Finish, please. Speaker, we have a good will and good working relationship for the first time in a long time within the correctional system from all our partners, including community partners, to actually move forward and develop a concrete action plan that will change the system. Speaker, warehousing more individuals in the correction system is not the answer. What we need to really focus on is how do we better rehabilitate and reintegrate individuals back in the community? We have a lot of work to do to undermine the 10 years of damage that the Harper government and the leader of the opposition brought into our system and to ensure... New question. Thank you, Speaker. My next question is also for the Premier. Does the Premier believe, Speaker, that to rules governing democratic fairness may fairly and democratically or does she believe that one person and one party should be making all the rules? Thank you. Here's the process that we are we're putting forward. We will introduce draft legislation. We'll introduce legislation in the spring, Mr. Speaker. And then that legislation instead of going to committee hearings after second reading, we'll actually go to committee hearings after first reading and get agreement, Mr. Speaker. And that will allow for two rounds of consultation with people across the province. We will be able to have consultation and input throughout the summer and into the fall, Mr. Speaker. I look forward to that. There are many issues that... many of the issues that I raised with the leaders of the opposition parties and with the leader of the Green Party hoping for input. I did get some input from the leader of the Green Party, Mr. Speaker. Looking for some input from the opposition leaders. Mr. Speaker, I'm looking for input from people across the province, from experts, from academics, from members of civil society. All those people that the leader of the third party thinks we should hear from. We're looking forward to that input, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when Mike Harris arbitrarily changed election rules in 1998, the member for St. Catherine said it was a, quote, anti-democratic strategy hatched in the back rooms, end quote. Dalton McGinty said, quote, without the consent of all the players involved, end quote. Can the Premier explain why it's anti-democratic if Mike Harris does it, but if Liberals do it, it's nonpartisan and consultative? Thank you. Deputy Premier. So, Speaker, I understand that the leader of the third party is preoccupied with the process on this side of the House. We want to get on with making the changes. Thank you to the leader of the third party. Do you support, does she support the ban on union donations? So I need people to let her out of order. That's a yes or no question. Another yes or no question. Does the leader of the opposition support a ban on corporate donations? Yes or no? What about third party advertising rules? How about maximum spending limits on third party advertising? Yes or no, Speaker? Do we need to reduce the maximum donation, Speaker? We want an answer from the leader of the third party. Does she support it or does she not support it? For restrictions and rules around loans and loan guarantees. Speaker, the people of this province wanted to get on with it and so do we. Thank you. Final supplementary. Speaker, the Liberals conveniently pretend not to get it. We need to get the big money out of politics, obviously. It's time to ban those corporate and union donations for sure. But we need to get there with a modicum of credibility, Speaker. Last time in the Premier's office does not pass the smell tag. It is an undemocratic process hatched in the back rooms. Will this Premier commit to an open democratic process that involves all the major political parties, civil society, academics and non-partisan experts? On this side, we think it's time to move forward with changes. A reduction in overall spending limits in election periods and between election Speaker. Yes or no? Does the leader of the third party believe that we need new leadership and nomination campaign spending limits and information rules? Yes or no? Speaker, the time has come to move on with it. We have a perfectly democratic process through this legislature where we're determined we're going to get lots of input in a timely manner because we want this work to be done. Thank you. Thank you. My questions to the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services. Over the past few weeks they were shocked to learn that inmates were being housed in showers at the Ottawa Carlton Detention Center. What's even more shocking is that the minister had to backtrack after he had denied that such conditions existed. The Community Advisory Report that the ministry sat on for months last year directly called on the minister to address overcrowding in the jail. Speaker, why did the minister ignore all evidence for so long that Ontario Correctional System is in crisis and it's leading to chaos in corrections? Let me be absolutely clear it is totally unacceptable to house any inmate in any shower cell. As soon as I found out that practice have taken place I issued a directive to ensure that practice is permanently put to end. In addition, in order to deal with some of the challenges that are taking place at the Ottawa Carlton Detention Center I have created a task force which is being led by my Deputy Minister the task force had his first meeting just yesterday. It has of course members from my ministry but in nation speaker it also has representation it has community members such as from Elizabeth Fry society and the mothers offering mutual support a group members from the community advisory board in addition speaker the crown and defense council so that we can work together speaker and create both near term and long term solutions. Thank you Minister, the pluggable conditions just don't appear overnight the crisis and corrections may have been avoided if government officials simply listened to the pleas for help coming from the front lines. When I raised the question about safety issues at the Toronto Self Detention Center staff were immediately issued a warning memo on confidentiality and speaker that's unacceptable. Safety concerns raised by front line staff throughout Ontario must be welcomed and encouraged. Instead we have a government that has tried unsuccessfully to muzzle the staff so speaker my question is simply this will the minister show leadership and apologize on behalf of his ministry for trying to silence correctional staff who tried desperately to get this question to address safety concerns. Speaker as I said earlier we are very much interested in developing solutions together and I sincerely speaker sincerely ask the member opposite he intends well to provide solutions. Let's work together to deal with this very complex problem in a manner that brings everybody together. Speaker his solution is as his party has suggested in the past to privatize jail we absolutely reject that notion speaker that is not where we're going to go we need to work together along with our correctional workers to find meaningful ways not only to reduce speaker routing in our jails by reforming the bail system and the federal government has a very important role to play but also in making sure that we've got appropriate support within our correctional institutions but also in our community setting by benefiting from the expertise of our probation and parole officers so that we can ensure better integration. Speaker we welcome ideas and solutions let's work together and make it happen. Thank you. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker I would like to ask to the Premier the Premier wrote her plan for how all elections will be financed by herself at home two days before she met with the opposition members it's not clear she even consulted with her own caucus she hasn't consulted with experts she hasn't consulted with civil society and she certainly hasn't listened to Ontarians why is she stubbornly refusing a process that includes all major political parties civil society and nonpartisan experts and instead choosing to go it alone. I've known the member for Kitchener Waterloo for a very long time she used to be a school community advisor with the Toronto Board of Education I know she worked in community very well and I know that she understands how process works I know she understands that when there are important decisions to be made everybody needs to do their work everybody needs to look at the options everybody needs to come forward with the synthesis of the ideas that they have looked at and then to sound those out with other people and then come up with a solution Mr. Speaker and so I'm really surprised that this member who understands that so well wouldn't understand that we all have to do this work every one of us who wants to have input into this process has to think about what the options are Mr. Speaker has to consider those options and then has to enter into a broader process that's what we're doing Mr. Speaker we're going to bring legislation forward we're expanding the consultation period we want to hear input from people around the province Mr. Speaker and we would love to hear with Peter please Peter please just when I was ready to admonish supplementary thank you let's remember in the 2016 budget that the premier established a number of new panels in the past this premier created panels on how many bottles of beer someone can buy and where they can buy them the word consultation appears in the 2016 budget more than 50 times clearly the problem isn't that the premier refuses to hold consultations or conversations or doesn't like independent panels she needs to remember that our democracy belongs to all of us not the Liberal Party why she thinks she alone should be making the rules for our democracy functions and why she is stubbornly refusing an open transparent consultation by establishing a fast movement moving independent panel on election fairness do you think that there should be a democratic process and I think that having the legislative process putting the legislative process in place on is the democratic process Mr. Speaker it is exactly the democratic process that we're proposing be used and I think the third party by suggesting that the process in this legislation to put policy forward is not democratic is a pretty outrageous statement Mr. Speaker I think that the third party doesn't want to talk about the substance I think that the third party wants to talk about process because they don't want to talk about the substance because they want to delay Mr. Speaker I want to make sure that we have a process in place that allows us to move January 1st 2017 to have those rules in place I think the third party wants to delay beyond that we're not going to do that Mr. Speaker please Thank you the member from York Southwest Thank you Mr. Speaker my question is for the Minister of Education the Child Care and Early Years Act provides a new legislative framework to increase access and oversight in Ontario's childcare sector it is important for our government to give children the best possible start in life I was surprised to hear the concerns from my constituents about changes to ratios and regulations that would impact families constituents in my writing of York Southwest are raising concerns about the proposed changes to the childcare regulations Speaker through you to the Minister could she please tell us and tell everyone in this House what our government is looking to address these concerns Thank you Minister of Education Yes thank you and thank you to the member for York Southwest and for the question the proposed regulatory changes were posted for public feedback from February 1st to April 1st of this year during this period we engaged with families and stakeholders and did receive extensive feedback on the proposed regulations I want to assure you that we have heard the concerns raised and I want to be clear that the regulations as posted will not be implemented we will be taking another look at some of the proposed regulations and we'll be engaging with our sector the childcare sector on a plan moving forward that makes changes to reflect the concerns that have been voiced so we will continue to consult and revisit what changes need to be made in the future Well thank you Speaker and thank you to the Minister for her answer it is reassuring to hear that the concerns of my constituents in York Southwest are being taken seriously I know how important it is for our government to continue to provide high quality and safe childcare I'm well aware that our government wants to ensure that we are increasing access to childcare across Ontario could the Minister through you tell us how else our government will continue to modernize Ontario's childcare and early years system and how can we ensure that the concerns of my constituents and other families in Ontario continue to be heard Thank you Yes and thank you Speaker since 2003 our government has doubled childcare funding to more than $1 billion annually the number of licensed childcare spaces in Ontario has grown to nearly 351,000 spaces an increase of 87% in the number of licensed spaces we're also creating 4,000 new childcare spaces as a result of $120 million capital investment over three years to construct new childcare spaces in new schools but I do want to be clear the regulation on the ratios as posted will not be implemented changes will be made and we will ensure that there are options for parents we have heard the concerns that have been raised and we will work with the sector to find a solution Thank you My question is to the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change on July 28, 2015 WPD Canada filed a court application about its proposed project to build eight 500 foot high wind turbines near the Collingwood airport they wanted the court to force the Ministry of Environment to make a decision on their project WPD had gotten tired of waiting on September 22 they filed a notice with the court saying it attended to fight the application two days later on September 24 the Ontario Liberal Party deposited a donation from WPD in the amount of $6,000 the court application never went ahead and the Ministry approved the project in February of this year will the Minister tell us why the Liberal Party was accepting donations from WPD while it was fighting the company in court Minister of the Environment and Climate Change Thank you Mr. Speaker let's just first break this down the process involved in this involves a directors level decision which I do not and cannot interfere with and as I said to the member from Prince Edward Hastings it's our job to protect the integrity of the system it then goes to the Environmental Review Tribunal finish please so it's fairly clear and transparent process second Mr. Speaker we have some of the strongest fundraising rules in Canada across this country and I've said this before Mr. Speaker I know all 107 members of this House reasonably well I know them to be honourable people who are decent people who came here to be honest to work with integrity and serve their people and to suggest otherwise it's just really really really low thank you some of the comments I heard were not I wish I could assign them to somebody because I would supplementary back to the Minister that's $6000 the largest single donation to the WPD had ever given to the Liberal Party in March of 2014 for an updated report on their wind turbine application that same month WPD donated $3000 to the Liberal Party their second largest donation two months later in May WPD submitted that updated report to the Ministry and that same month WPD donated a further $2000 to the Liberal Party third largest donation every time it looked like the project was in jeopardy a donation was made to the Liberal Party of Ontario these facts Mr. Speaker only reinforced the need for a public inquiry does the Minister seriously expect the people in my writing to believe that these donations had absolutely nothing to do with his approval of the WPD there's some very large temptations to speak while I'm standing and while I've gotten people's attention and it's going to stop Minister the short answer is yes Mr. Speaker and the second part of this let's go back to the process of the member who's a former Minister of the Environment knows how bulletproof these processes are MOECC conducting one of its most comprehensive reviews to ensure WDP WDP's proposal would meet our stranger requirements the Ontario Renewable Energy Approval Process ensures extensive consultation take place with the public Aboriginal groups and local governments in a six month review over two years been considered 350 public and agency submissions Mr. Speaker and finally again at the point I made earlier that these decisions are made by public officials and Mr. Speaker to be very clear about this I've been in public life municipally and provincially I've conducted myself to a very high personal standard and I know the member officer Mr. Speaker I know him to be as a person of great character and I know him to be as a minister before and I hope he's... Thank you for all members to the chair New question, the member from Nickel Belt Thank you Mr. President My question is for the Premier Advocate for public health care released a new report this morning called Ontario's Hospitals Caught Beyond All Limits I think the title says it all It lays out in staking details the full extent of their liberal cuts to Ontario Hospital The work of the Ontario Health Coalition confirms what patients are seeing across our province under these Premier's Watch the crisis of cuts inside a hospital is getting worse Hundreds of nurses and frontline hospital workers laid off hospital beds closed and rural community forced to fight just to keep the doors open and the lights on in their own local hospital People want to know why is this Premier so determined to keep cutting hospital care Thank you Mr. Speaker What I'm determined to do is to build up our health care system to make sure that our health care system serves the people of this province with the right health care in a timely way where they need it so we have to look at the whole health care system and hospitals are a very very important part of that which is why there's $345 million more of new money in this year's budget for the hospital sector Mr. Speaker but beyond that there is a billion dollars Mr. Speaker more money new money that we're putting into into health care into the whole system and again I know that the member of the third party understands that the health care system is it's under transition there's no about that it's changing the way health care is being delivered is changing there are community services available now that we're not available in the past and there's more of that that is necessary Mr. Speaker so we do have to look at the system as a whole The Premier likes to deny that any hospital cuts are happening under her watch but the Premier is fooling no one patient family frontline hospital workers and administrator as well as local health coalition we all see right through the Liberals talking points St. Joseph health centre in London says that they have seen almost $36.5 million cut over the last four years under this Liberal government and all those cuts means bed closure longer wait time for patient and fewer frontline nurses and health care workers when services are cuts in our hospital they get privatised in the community they are not available they have no oversight it begs the question why is this hospital putting this Premier putting hospital in the terrible position of making decisions based on dollars and deficit rather than the best for patients and their family I would say back to the member of the third party why is she not talking about the whole health care system why is she not talking about the way health care delivery is changing I would think she would understand that people who are in the community who need care want that care in their homes they want it through community delivery services as opposed to putting all of that onus on the hospital and Mr. Speaker I think that given the heckling that is coming from the third party right now they actually recognise you can hide but I can still catch it the fact that since 2003 there are 5600 more doctors in the system finish please thank you very much Mr. Speaker we have paramedics who are in the legislature I think they recognise that there are changes happening in the system that are necessary in order for us to deliver 21st century health care new question member from Trinity Spadina thank you Mr. Speaker of tourism culture and sports over the past few weeks we have seen bill 100 the supporting Ontario's trail act repeatedly criticised by the opposition parties based on misconceptions related to the trail easements numerous times the minister has said that an easement person to bill 100 if passed will be a voluntary agreement between a landlord and an eligible body or bodies Mr. Don McCabe a president has said that bill 100 does not encroach on the freedom of individual land owners Mr. Speaker through you to the minister can he tell this house more about the trail easements thank you thank you Mr. Chair thank you Mr. Speaker I want to thank the member from Trinity Spadina for the question trails easements under bill 100 are voluntary and will not alter existing land and it surprises me that many of the members opposite Mr. Speaker have gone on record saying that this is actually a threat to trails here in the province of Ontario but yet our stakeholders have repeatedly told this government that bill 100 is a wonderful bill the Niagara and Scarpman commission the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters have said they are fully supportive of this bill Bruce trail has told us trail easements are a very useful tool that will cut years of bureaucratic red tape this is just another example of the progressive conservatives being out of touch with the people of Ontario and I hope the opposition will get on site to support bill 100 don't waste it supplementary thank you Mr. Speaker and I want to thank the minister for clarifying this issue I cannot stress enough how important bill 100 is to Ontario Mr. Speaker trail tourism contributes $1.4 billion to our economy each year that number includes over $800 million in labour income which supports an estimated 18,000 jobs across the province bill 100 is intended to grow the trail sector by connecting and expanding trails across the province including the economic benefit for local community such as mine in Tunis Padina there have been questions on whether we did enough consultations on bill 100 through you to the minister could the minister tell us the member of this house how we consulted on bill 100 thank you minister thank you very much Mr. Speaker and again I want to thank the member for Trinity Spadina for the question I know he's a huge supporter of trails here in the province of Ontario in fact the bill Davis trail recently opened up in Trinity Spadina Mr. Speaker bill 100 our ministry held broad in-person consultations right across the entire province we engage with groups like the eastern Ontario trails alliance Simcoe county trails the Ontario federation of snowmobile clubs the bruce trail conservancy the Ontario native women's association the Ontario federation of agriculture we consulted with many municipalities with indigenous groups with land owners trail organisations from all across in fact Mr. Speaker we consulted with over 250 different groups here in Ontario I think our government sent an excellent job at member from Prince Edward Hastings second time new question the minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs yesterday Ontario gaming east announced it would be relocating the slots at Cortha downs in my riding to Peterborough and building a new casino the township of Kevin Monaghan will lose 3 million in annual slot revenues to fix roads and bridges which will only continue to strain the small budget of my municipality you know this government loves to talk about infrastructure yet now that my township is faced with losing significant slot revenues this government won't bat an eye speaker will the minister tell my municipality where they are supposed to find the 3 million that his government has now ripped out of their budget Mr. Speaker I want to thank the member from Halliburke Court of Lakes Brock for a question this morning but let me give the member a little history member from Kitchener Waterloo will come to order minister let me give the member a little history lesson I remember when I was a city council in Peterborough in 1997 we had started talks with annexation with that municipality to offer financial support as that process moved forward well I'm not a member of city council today I understand in conversations with the mayor of Peterborough Daryl Bennett that there's been ongoing talks with that municipality regarding annexation proposals even though I'm not party to discussions I'm told that the city of Peterborough has made very generous officer to that municipality for their future questions have been going on but my discussion is that the OLG and the government have repeatedly said they were committed to the longer term sustainability of the horse racing industry you said that well Corp of Downs had 100 races it now has 18 but the loss of the slots is going to ultimately close Corp of Downs and the horse racing will be gone so in 2013 the very minister said that he had a plan to maintain a share of slot revenues to support the horse racing industry yesterday's announcement shows the minister has no plan so Mr. Speaker, were the bright lights an allure of a shiny new casino and he is riding just too hard for the minister to resist Mr. Speaker the member should do her homework she should sit down with the Minnesota representatives of Cavendon again to find out the generous offer that the city of Peterborough put on the table for that municipality to sustain their finances for the future to come when it comes to horse racing Mr. Speaker the only time that member ever showed up in Corp of Downs was when they thought they were going to close it I want to actually hurt my ear hurt yours too just saying the minister has one sentence very much Mr. Speaker the fact of the matter is John Snowblood Albert Buchanan and John Wilkinson put forward a pot for sustainable horse racing the province of Inter it was never supported member from Hamilton East Tony Creek thank you Speaker my question is to the Premier today I'm asking the Premier to do the math I'm asking her to estimate the minimum monthly income needed for a single person to live a healthy dignified life in our province in her estimation what is the bare minimum needed to afford the basics like nutritious food safe and decent housing and clothing to have access to transportation a telephone what does it cost for a single person to live in places like Timmins or Hamilton or Attawapiskat or right in her own riding of Don Valley West how much does the Premier imagine this cost thank you and your community and social services thank you very much Mr Speaker and to the member from Hamilton East Tony Creek for his interest in social assistance I really welcome this and of course we will be debating his private members bill tomorrow and I look forward to having 50 minutes in this House to talk about the most vulnerable in our society of course as the member has referenced rates are extremely important and this is why of course we have been working constantly over the last number of years and in this year's budget we really did take the unprecedented step of saying that there would no longer be a clawback of child support pains intend Mr Speaker to take a very comprehensive look at social assistance reform in a way it's a whole of government way of looking at how we can support looking at employment incentives training a number of different areas supplementary thank you Speaker with all due respect unfortunately it's no surprise that the Premier can't give me an estimate government simply does not understand the daily challenges faced by people trying to pay the bills in Ontario it's time to do the math during this government's time in office the poorest people in Ontario got poorer food banks are overflowing people on social assistance programs including people with chronic disabilities unable to participate in the labour market have less real income today than they had under Mike Harris new democrats believe that governments must make evidence based public policy we believe that we need a social assistance benefits that actually reflect the real costs of living will the Premier take the politics out of social assistance will the Premier commit to ensuring social assistance policy is based in evidence thank you thank you Mr Speaker and it is really refreshing to hear from the new new democratic party their interest in these important matters I seem to recall the 2014 election platform you will recall the nine pages never once mentioned the most vulnerable in our society increasing of the minimum wage we haven't seen support for the child benefit in all the aspects that we have taken all the initiatives that we've taken to improve the lives of the most vulnerable in our society and also to address again the way we are going to address this very important issue is that we're going to look across the spectrum of supports for people and social assistance in fact in this budget we also saw the free tuition we're going to look at health benefits we're going to look at housing we have some very important initiatives that this government has introduced and we will continue in this way minister of Aboriginal Affairs come to order start the clock member from Cambridge my question is for the minister of education minister and looking around this place today we all recognize the International Pink a day where we recognize anti-bullying initiative that began in Nova Scotia after a grade nine student was bullied in his school for wearing pink two students who witnessed the incident spot pink shirts to stand united with the student against bullying now many schools run events on the day of pink including in my riding of Cambridge and Waterloo region when my son Liam was co-president his friends had their fingernails and painted pink as well as their faces as a challenge any organized events including a play about the effects of bullying for the students it's important that we continue to stand together and create awareness not only today but every day can the minister tell this house how we ensure that our students feel safe and respected at schools across our province thank you minister of education remember and I'm just going to have to go to south would and check out all these pink faces and fingernails sounds like fun but our schools must be places where everyone staff students parents in the community feel welcome safe and respected and that's why I'm proud of the accepting schools act this act is Canada's most comprehensive anti-bullying legislation and as part of its definition of bullying speaker it also includes cyber bullying school safety has been a priority for this government from the beginning and that's why we require all school boards to have policies on bullying prevention and intervention our government has invested 425 million in safe schools initiatives that are helping make Ontario schools safer in fact this year thank you thank you speaker and I thank the minister for commitment on this important issue we're extremely proud of the investments made towards educating not only our students but parents and staff for the first time ever we have defined bullying in legislation so that every student, teacher, principal and parent knows what we're talking about when we say that bullying is not okay in our schools minister in 2015 you introduced the revised health and physical education curriculum to better reflect the advancement of technology making information readily available to students I've had many of my constituents in Cambridge speak positively about this new curriculum noting that the previous curriculum was written well before the use of cell phones and the internet was prevalent around students in fact my oldest two children didn't have cell phones till they reached university speaker through you can the minister tell us about the benefits of the revised curriculum and how it's helping our students navigate in today's technology driven world thank you minister thank you speaker and you know the reality is that we want our children to be safe and healthy but we also want to ensure that they have access to accurate information so that's why we needed to update our health and physical curriculum so that students understand the importance of healthy relationships having the confidence to say no safe use of technology in the internet and mental health the revised curriculum offers increased support acceptance and visibility for LGBTQ and two spirit children and youth we're also working speaker to ensure that our students have the opportunity to learn more about online safety through the revised curriculum students are learning about safe and respectful use of technology the social emotional and legal implications of online behavior such as thank you we have a question for the member from holland marple ten months ago all parties in this house supported the private members bill provincial framework and action plan concerning vector born and zoonotic diseases and I thank everyone for that support part of the legislation was a requirement to develop a provincial framework and to develop the action plan within a year lime-tick season is now upon us speaker will the premier now please report to the house and to the victims of this awful affliction progress today what's being done thank you so Mr. Speaker I appreciate the question from the member opposite I will say I don't have the information what has happened so far Mr. Speaker I know that the minister of health and long-term care will want to speak to him when he returns he is as you know Mr. Speaker he is in Attawapiskat today with the minister of children youth services and we'll certainly get back to the member opposite with an update the member from Hamilton on a point of order thank you so much Mr. Speaker I missed introductions earlier we have a third vote on the motion for third reading of bill 173 an act to implement budget measures and to enact an or amend various statutes calling the members this will be a five-minute bill first please take your seats first please take your seats April 12th 2016 Mr. Susan moved third reading of bill 173 an act to implement budget measures and to enact or amend various statutes all those in favor please rise one at a time and be recognized by the court Mr. Sousa Mr. Bradley Mr. Shirelli Madame Mayor Ms. Nguyen Ms. Matthews Ms. Sandole Mr. Quinter Mr. Col Mr. Tukar Mr. Delaney Mr. Dillon Mr. Brevelle Mr. Chan Mr. Moriti Mr. Coteau Mr. Flann Mr. Zimmer Madame Lalonde Mr. Quadri Mr. Albanese Mr. Dixon Mr. Prack Mr. Prack Mr. Wong Mr. Hunter Mr. Sergio Mr. Ballard Mr. Don Mr. Molley Mr. Martin Mr. McGarry Mr. Miltjen Mr. Pots Mr. Rinaldi All those opposed please rise one at a time and be recognized Mr. Wilson Mr. Brown Mr. Clark Mr. Hillyard Mr. Perry Mr. Thompson Mr. Barrett Mr. Monroe Mr. Huda Mr. McLaren Mr. Bailey Mr. Walker Mr. Smith Mr. Harris Mr. Nichols Mr. Marteau Mr. McDonnell Mr. Pettipies Mr. Hamilton Mr. Taylor Mr. Natasha Mr. Armstrong Mr. Hathfield Mr. Gretzky Mr. Gates Mr. French The ayes are 54, the nays are 44 The ayes being 54 and the nays being 44 I declare the motion carried There are no further deferred votes This house stands recessed until 3pm this afternoon