 It is now time for Question Period, the Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition. Thank you for my question to the Premier. Premier, our point of view on this side of the House is that the focus of government should be creating an environment for more jobs that better take home pay. You seem to have, based on your legislative agenda, like regulating menus in the province, you seem to have other priorities. Soaring electricity costs have taken Ontario from a competitive advantage in energy to now among the highest costs of energy in North America. That's costing us jobs. That means investment goes to other provinces. The leading driver, the greatest pressure for increased costs are your unaffordable subsidies for wind and solar projects. So, Premier, given the damage your government has already caused to the Green Energy Act, isn't it time to call an end to this madness and end those subsidies that we simply... Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Well, I think that the Leader of the Opposition should talk to the people who are in those 31,000 jobs that have been created, Mr. Speaker, because of the Green Energy Act. And the fact is that there are 265... I want those people that are speaking while I'm trying to get their attention to be warned. And I am not going to allow the shouting down of anyone today. Premier. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. There are 255 contracts in place which the Leader of the Opposition says that they would cancel. Well, he says they would cancel then an official in their office says they wouldn't cancel them. So it's actually unclear. But were he to move ahead with what he's saying he would do, Mr. Speaker, cancel those contracts, that would expose the province to a risk of up to $20 billion in cost, Mr. Speaker. That is not responsible. That is what the Tory plan would do, Mr. Speaker. And we are certainly not going to buy into that. Thank you. Well, look, the only party that's canceled contracts in this province is a Liberal Party. And that costs us over a billion dollars. And yesterday, Premier, you couldn't even, meeting face to face with Maddie Vanstone, promising this girl could have access to pharmaceutical treatment in our province because you'd rather spend a billion dollars cancelling gas bank contracts in the province of Opposition. That's the consequence of your decision. So my point of view is turn off the tap. Stop doing the damage. The Premier says that she's seen 31,000 jobs created building wind turbines, solar panels. I invite the Premier then to table exactly where those jobs are because, quite frankly, I don't believe you. But the auditor general himself said that for every short-term job you create building turbines, you lose four in the broader economy. So help me with the math. Why are you preferring 31,000 jobs to the 124,000 jobs you lost as a result of higher education? Thank you. You're not helping. Premier. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Well, and as the Leader of the Opposition knows, all of the parties in the legislature agreed and campaigned on cancelling the gas bank, Mr. Speaker. It's only the Conservatives, Mr. Speaker, who are continuing to suggest that cancelling contracts that could expose the province to costs of up to 20 billion dollars. They're saying that that would be a responsible way forward, Mr. Speaker. But I think what is most disturbing about what the Leader of the Opposition is doing this morning, Mr. Speaker, is he's not being clear. He's saying on the one hand that he would cancel contracts that would cost up to 20 billion dollars, and then he's saying, no, he wouldn't cancel the contracts. I think it's only fair to ask what exactly would he do and what would the costs that he would expose the province to, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Final supplementary. Well, what I do is stop wasting money. I only sign power contracts that are affordable looking at who we need it. And in fact, Premier, you know, we laid that plan out over two years ago. It's got reliable and affordable energy. I've shared that with you. I only wish that you had taken at least some aspects of that plan instead of doubling down a Dalton McGinty's approach. I know that it's a new voice and a new name on the Premier's office, but you're basically a clone of Dalton McGinty when it comes to his harmful policies. My point of view, this has been a reckless and expensive policy. The auditor says we lose four jobs for every short term job we create in the province of Ontario. So the biggest issue is jobs. If we're losing jobs every day to Michigan or Chicago, where the energy price are half our cost, why are you digging in the hole deeper? Stop this madness now and the unfair subsidies. We can't afford it. Let's focus on job creation here in the province of Ontario, not in New York, not in Michigan, right here in the province of Ontario. Can you see the face? Can you see the face? Thank you. Minister. Mr. Speaker, I want to use a couple of examples to respond to the leader of the opposition. Let's talk about Canadian solar, which is a manufacturing facility in Guelph. I believe they have somewhere around 300 jobs there, Mr. Speaker. Very significant for that community. They are a world leader in terms of their technology, and they are exporting their product. Let's talk, Mr. Speaker, about Celestica, which is a solar company that manufactures right here in Toronto. They've got 200 or 300 employees in their facility, Mr. Speaker. They are exporting product, and they're cutting edge in this particular area, Mr. Speaker. Let's talk about Siemens in Southwest Ontario, Mr. Speaker, where they are continuing to add jobs. I had lunch with senior executives about three weeks ago, and in addition to the jobs that have been announced with that project, Mr. Speaker, they are creating another 150 jobs in administration and in their product. Mr. Speaker, we have been creating jobs in the Green Energy Act. We're going to continue to do so. Thank you. New question. Leader of the opposition. You're back to the premier if I could. You know what? I love to spend the time reciting all the 300,000 job losses in our province. In fact, the matter is put in perspective, premier. We could have everybody who lost the 300,000 manufacturing jobs, as well as the higher energy costs. They could actually fill the gallery like these students here today. Every day, seven days a week for eight straight years. That's for the impact of your damaging and reckless policies to our province. So here's the other thing. Now you've lost a World Trade Organization ruling. Japan and the European Union sued us because of the Made in Ontario provisions in your Green Energy Act. So that is now being removed. So this basically means your old premise was we would lose four jobs in manufacturing to create one job in solar or wind in Ontario. Now we're going to lose four jobs in Ontario for every job we're going to create in Europe or China or Japan. That math doesn't make sense. It's not in the interest of Ontarians. I'll ask you again, premier. Just stop this madness. Repeal the policy. Thank you. Let's focus on jobs in Ontario. Thank you. Thank you. Premier. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And the leader of the opposition knows that we're taking the necessary steps to comply with the World Trade Organization ruling, Mr. Speaker. He also knows that this will mean a reduction in the cost to Ontarians of electricity of $1.9 billion over the next four years. So that's actually one of the ways that costs are being taken out of the system, Mr. Speaker. So the plan that the... Well, the non-plan that the leader is putting forward would cost the province jobs, Mr. Speaker. He would cancel contracts that could expose the province to costs of up to $20 billion. He would not comply, apparently, with the World Trade Organization ruling, which is taking $1.9 billion out of the system, Mr. Speaker. So it's very, very reasonable to ask exactly what would he do, Mr. Speaker, to have a reliable energy source going forward, clean renewables, Mr. Speaker, and a stable electricity system. Thank you. Secondary. We're sure. What would I do? I'd end the unaffordable stuff so you could win on this, Speaker. No, look, to be very serious about this, you've lost a World Trade Organization ruling. I think... I know you've been briefed on that. It's very serious. And the problem is you lost that almost a year ago. And because of your incompetence or bumbling, I'm not sure what happened on that side of the House, we're not going to be compliant in all likelihood by March 24th, which leads us open to a trade repercussions and trade war. But it seems to me also, when you look at the premise of your argument, that we're going to lose jobs of manufacturing to create jobs of wind and solar, if you eliminate the made in Ontario provisions, you're going to lose jobs in Ontario to create jobs in China and Japan. I mean, how is that in the interest of Ontarians? It seems to me, instead of going down that path or pro-China jobs policy, pro-Ontario jobs policy. Thank you. Please. Thank you. Premier. Thank you. Mr. Speaker. The Member from Halton, come to order. And the Member from Dufferin Callit, come to order. Minister of Energy. Here, the opposition is so far over his head, it's embarrassing. You know, really, every single, every single renewable contract that we've issued, those which have been completed and 255, which are still in production, Mr. Speaker, get the benefit of domestic content. We have created a viable, best-class manufacturing facilities in the world, Mr. Speaker, in the ones that I mentioned earlier, Canadian solar and Celestica. But what is important, Mr. Speaker, is they have an unnamed spokesperson saying if the Minister decided that we didn't need the power, if the local municipality wasn't welcoming of the project and it didn't make sense on a cost-benefit analysis, then we would exercise the termination clause that already exists. Mr. Speaker, we have the legal opinion, which says fit contracts allow for termination, only in cases where projects... Thank you. You're only stealing your leader's time. Final supplementary. Talk, Premier, about the human cost of the 300,000-loss-vendee factoring jobs as a result of your reckless energy policies. And then there's Shelley Carrera. Shelley lives in West Lincoln. She leads the organization and mothers against wind turbines in the province. In fact, our member for Huron, Bruce, Lisa Thompson, organized a rally here on behalf of the mothers against... I think, as you know, Ms. Carrera has a son who's been diagnosed with sensory processing issues. He has ADHD, very sensitive to noise. That's why she's risen up to be an advocate, a leading advocate for mothers on behalf of their kids. She lives near potential turbines. She, like other mothers, is fighting for the children's well-being. Big corporations with connections to the Liberal Party are quashing the little guy when it comes to this policy. Question. When you launch your leadership, you talk about creating a more fair and just society. What is fair but well-connected companies quashing the rights of Ms. Carrera, her son, and other hardworking families across the country? Minister of Energy. Mr. Speaker, I would like to make two points. Number one, we have the Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health who has indicated that this is an appropriate and healthy industrial infrastructure, Mr. Speaker. Member from here on Bruce, come to order. Member from Chatham, Cadencex, come to order. He has in a significant way been replacing dirty coal. Mr. Speaker, that's the largest climate change... Attorney General, come to order. Mr. Speaker, the health impacts of getting out of dirty coal. $4.4 billion avoided health care and environmental costs. $668 fewer premature deaths per year. $928 fewer hospital admissions per year. $1,100 fewer emergency room visits per year. And $333,000 fewer minor illnesses such as headache. Mr. Speaker, it is one of the best health initiatives we've taken in this province in our history to get rid of dirty coal. Minister of Energy, when I stand, you sit. And when I stand, everyone sits. And when I stand, everyone is quiet. And I will take this time to remind you that my patience is very thin with members calling each other by names. And I'm going to deal with it. It does not elevate the debate. It lowers it. Stop. New question, the leader of the third party. Thank you, Speaker. Speaker, my question is for the Premier. Why are families and businesses still getting overcharged by Hydro One on their bills? Premier. Minister of Energy. Minister of Energy. Mr. Speaker, Hydro One has 1.3 million customers. And a number of them, a small number of them, Mr. Speaker, have had billing errors. I want to be very clear, Mr. Speaker. The CEO of Hydro One has apologized, and I've indicated in this House, we share in the apology for the inconvenience that has been caused to people who have received these improper billings. But, Mr. Speaker, the CEO has made it very, very clear that no one will have to pay anything extra. That if there are late charges or interest charges or they need time to pay, Mr. Speaker, they will be given that time. We have a high-tech system, Mr. Speaker. There were four stages to it. Three stages went off very, very well, Mr. Speaker. And the CEO has taken on additional staff, and he's assuring everybody that they will not have anything extra to pay. Thank you. Supplementary. Why are Overbuild Hydro One customers not getting the refunds that they were promised, Speaker? Minister of Energy. Mr. Speaker, the Hydro One operations have taken on additional staff. They are calling and dealing with individual customers one by one to meet that particular challenge and to deal with the issues around improper bills. Mr. Speaker, as I've said, nobody is paying extra, nobody is paying interest, nobody is paying late charges, nobody is getting cut off. And, Mr. Speaker, they have 1.3 million customers. The overwhelming majority of them are being properly served. These errors are being rectified, Mr. Speaker. And I would ask the member, if she has anybody who's got a complaint with respect to the billing, to please bring it to our attention. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, Ontario families are having a hard enough time paying their actual hydro bills without getting dinged for hundreds and sometimes thousands of extra dollars. Hydro One promised to fix the errors, but people are still being overbilled, Speaker. Hydro One promised refunds, but people haven't seen them. Hydro One only has one shareholder, Speaker. It's the province. What is the government doing on behalf of the people that they represent to fix these problems? Mr. Speaker, nobody is paying extra as a result of the billing errors. The CEO has made it very, very clear, Mr. Speaker, that nobody will be liable for any of those payments. There will be no interest charges. There will be no disconnections. They have a huge team now in Hydro One that are dealing with those people who have been affected, Mr. Speaker, and the CEO and the team is working personally with the people who have been involved. Mr. Speaker, they've acted professionally and we're extremely proud of the fact that Hydro One has been rated, Mr. Speaker, as one of the best utilities in North America. Answer. Top five. Thank you. Wow. Question. Leader of the Third Party. Mr. Speaker, my next question is for the Premier and I'd prefer an actual answer instead of boosterism on Hydro One. Simone Lefebvre is a resident of Timmins. Her normal Hydro bill is about $350 a month. This January, she received a bill that was three times that amount. She complained to Hydro One and this month, her bill was nearly three times the normal amount again. Does the Premier think that this is acceptable? Mr. Speaker, we understand that there has been significant inconvenience and Hydro One and we apologize, Mr. Speaker. We apologize for that. And the fact is that the Minister of Energy has outlined the initiatives that Hydro One is taking to correct the issue. If the leader of the Third Party is aware of people for whom this has still not been the case where the correction has not happened then we need to know that. We need to have that information and the situation will be corrected, Mr. Speaker. Member for Bruce Graham and Sound and Condor. Hydro One is taking action and no one will have to pay extra because of the errors that were made administratively. Those errors are being corrected, Mr. Speaker. There you go. Two supplementary questions. I beg to differ. Ina Lamaroe lives in Engelhardt. On January 20th, she was hit with not one, not two, but six bills. All of the same day. Hydro One had already tried to clear out her bank account last summer with a $1,500 bill that they admit was an error. However, they still will not give Ina her money back. Why is the Premier ignoring the plight of Ina and thousands like her? Question? Thank you. Well, Mr. Speaker, where an ombudsman came to me and we had a conversation about his concern about Hydro One. I was able to say that we were already concerned about it, Mr. Speaker. I'm glad that the ombudsman is looking at the situation, but the fact is Hydro One is already taking action, Mr. Speaker. And if there are individuals and the name, I don't know whether the leader of the third party is going to have other names. If there are names of people who are still in a situation where they have not had the refund, Mr. Speaker, or they're still concerned about the bill, then Hydro One would like to know that the Minister of Energy would like to have those names. It was a mistake. It shouldn't have happened. It's being corrected, Mr. Speaker. And if the leader of the third party has names, we'd like to have that information. Thank you. Final supplementary. Well, Speaker, it's heartening that the Premier is concerned already since I first sent a letter about this issue back in 2010 to their Minister of Energy. Through bills in Canada, this is yet another example of an electricity system that simply is not working for them. People who are already paying the price for cancelled gas plants, failed private power schemes, and subsidized power exports have a simple question for this Premier. When will the government stop overcharging on their hydro bills and give them back the money that they are owed? Well, Mr. Speaker, I'm not sure how much clearer we can be that there were mistakes made, those mistakes are being corrected. If there are still people who have a problem, who have been overcharged, Mr. Speaker, that needs to be corrected and Hydro-1 is in the process of doing that. There are extra staff that are doing that work, and if there are individuals who have not yet had that respite, Mr. Speaker, then we need to have that information and we look forward to the leader of the third party giving it to us if she chooses, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, a new question. A member from the Pee and Tarleton. Thank you, Premier. Good morning, Premier. The Ontario Progressive Conservative Party has had a long-standing opposition to the Green Energy Act. We know that for every job it creates, we lose four more. Those are the auditor's numbers, not just ours. We know, for example, that municipalities across Ontario are opposed to this because they've had their locally-based decision-making stripped. We know, for example, that no health and scientific studies were done prior to the Green Energy Act being in place, and now Health Canada has to come in and clean up the mess of this Liberal government. And finally, Speaker, we know from traveling across the province that the Green Energy Act is the single biggest driver of increasing hydro-cost in this province. And if those facts weren't enough for this government, they would surely know that when they broke, the world changed, and the nation's lost. And that's when the General comes over. Grab the Green Energy Act so we can finally get prices under control. Thank you. Can you see the place? Can you see the place? The Attorney General will come to order. Premier. Mr. Vanerjee. Mr. Vanerjee. Mr. Speaker, I too, I'm energized this morning, especially with my special Sue St. Marie tie, compliments of the member over there. But I will say, Mr. Speaker, this party across there thinks they know what renewable energy is all about. So what they do is they introduce a million jobs act, Mr. Speaker. In the million-dollar act, they say they are going to cancel existing, 255 existing renewable contracts with wind developers. That's 20 billion dollars of power supply, Mr. Speaker. The Leader of the Opposition is smiling. He should be embarrassed by the act that he introduced here. Mr. Speaker, there will be a cost associated with the cancellations. Answer. That is a legal opinion that we have. They believe, at the end of the process, when the developer has complied with all provisions, their Ministry of Energy, if they ever get to form government, will be able to cancel the contract. Thank you. Time's up. Supplementary. That was bizarre, Speaker. So I'm just going to say this. If anybody should be embarrassed, it's the last decade of the climate that's been developed. And we need health and scientific studies on the GEA. It's the fact that we are losing jobs because of this government. They should be embarrassed. But, Speaker, this is a government that is beyond reproach, and I'll tell you why. They're not only happy with having an OPP investigation launched into them on the gas plants. They're not only happy having the OPP investigate them on Orange. They also are international lawbreakers. My leader has stated that Bill 153, which is supposed to bring Canada into compliance at the WTO, will not pass, going to embarrass the federal government. It could put our children into an international trade war. Will they do the right thing? Will they stand with us? The member from Northumberland, Quinty West, is not doing himself any favors. Minister Vengek. Mr. Speaker, if that party ever got to be in power, members from Chatham, Texas, come to order second time, that we don't need, they would send prices skyrocketing. Members from the PN Carlton would come to order. If that party got in power, they would cancel $20 billion in contracts. Legal contracts, Mr. Speaker. They want the right to cancel contracts that developers are 100% in compliance with, Mr. Speaker. That is the type of government they're going to have. Energy rates would soar under that party. The way they soared when they were in government before, Mr. Speaker. They have no credible plan. They don't understand. The member from Prince Edward Hastings will come to order. They don't understand healthcare that benefits from renewable energy. I coach the hockey team, Mr. Speaker. There are six kids on the bench at Asma. Mr. Speaker. Excuse me. Stop. I'm disappointed in some of the comments that some people are making, and I will just jump right to warnings now. Including the person that just gave me some armchair quarterbacking. New question. The member from Bramley Gormole. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. In 2010, this government made changes to the Ontario insurance regime that resulted in a slash to benefits for victims and handed the insurance industry approximately $2 billion in savings. This boosted the industry's profits. Sorry. Directed question, please. The Premier. My apologies. Today the government did another announcement that will make more changes to benefit the insurance companies to reduce their costs. But the people in Ontario are wondering, will the minister answer this question? When will the people in Ontario see some speedy action to see their rates go down? Premier. Minister of Finance. Minister of Finance. Mr. Speaker, this morning the member opposite is referencing the fact that we're going to be introducing legislation this afternoon talking about we are reducing rates. And I'm pleased to say that we've reduced rates. We're on target to reduce rates by 15% over the next two years. And that is because of the work that we as government have been doing over the last five years, including attacking fraud, eliminating the issues of disputes, trying to facilitate, accelerate the benefits to the victims. And in all, Mr. Speaker, we need to reduce those claim costs in order to establish better premiums. The member opposite knows that full well. He himself agreed with us over two years to reduce it by 15% and we're on track to do just that. Thank you, supplementary. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This government has a choice, Mr. Speaker. They can either pass on a portion of the $2 billion in savings that the industry is enjoying, or they can sit back and continue to allow the insurance companies to slash benefits and pocket the savings. The government says the rates are coming down, but the reality is many people in Ontario don't see that. They don't see their rates coming down. In fact, they see their rates climbing. You can spin the numbers, but you can't change the facts. Drivers need relief in Ontario. Today, the government has made an announcement that they're going to make more changes to bring down the cost for insurance companies. But what guarantee is it that their costs will go down for drivers in Ontario? When will the government make some speedy action for drivers for once as opposed to the insurance companies? Thank you. Mr. Speaker, I find this very passing strange. The member opposite is suggesting that rates are not coming down. In fact, third party has indicated that rates are coming down. And they've been coming down in the first six months since we introduced it well ahead of what was anticipated. And we'll continue to do that. That's why we have instituted some of the recommendations by Justice Cunningham around dispute resolution. That's why we're looking at the rate of interest that's held so that the benefits can be given to the victims more quickly. That's why we're looking at storage and ensuring that victims aren't being abused in the system. That's why we're looking at the agent and adjustment and providing greater enforcement so that there's more disciplinary action to reduce those causes of fraud. And that is why we're looking at health clinics knowing full well that in Ontario it's much more expensive to service the services we need to address that and we are all with the intent of reducing premiums. The member opposite knows that full well. We have taken action. Rates are coming down. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And my question is for the Minister of Education. In my great writing of Oak Ridge is Markham there are over 70 elementary and secondary schools. When I speak with my constituents who live in our new subdivisions they always ask when their schools are closed. On Friday the Minister did make an important announcement in Cornell in my writing which signalled a continued commitment to investing in people. However, in rapidly growing communities such as mine there is always anxiety about services matching needs. Can the Minister please inform us about the record of her ministry's investment in the future of Ontario's students? Thank you, Minister of Education. A fierce advocate for her writing and for the schools in particular in her writing. So, let me tell you something about the schools elementary and secondary schools in Ontario. In fact, the education real estate portfolio is worth $52 billion. It's actually the biggest real estate portfolio of any Ontario ministry. And we've actually invested $12 billion in that portfolio over the last 10 years. What that means is that since 2003 we've invested $12 billion in good places to learn for Ontario students and $12 billion for workers in Ontario who work in the construction industry. And in Marcom this year we have just announced $50 million construction. Thank you. Supplementary? Minister, and I know that my constituents were extremely happy to hear that two new schools will be built in my writing which has almost doubled in population over the last 10 years. These new schools will ensure that despite my writing's rapid growth students will not have to attend overcrowded schools. I'm understanding that school boards across Ontario submitted some 260 capital project proposals in the past year. I know my community was not the only one to benefit from recent investments in education infrastructure. Speaker, through you, can the minister please inform the House about the process by which the ministry approves these capital investments? Minister? Yes, thank you. And in fact the member is correct that the emissions to actual approvals is about five to one and we actually do this in a very rigorous way. We ask each school board to submit detailed business cases for their top eight priorities and my the staff at my ministry go through each of those business cases and score them and the projects are actually awarded on the strength of the business cases that are submitted to my ministry. This year we will be announcing over the next few weeks $700 million in additional projects and I was very pleased on Friday that we could announce two projects in Markham. In addition to those projects we announced three new schools and two additions in Waterloo region two new schools and four secondary programs upgrades in Guelph and Dufferin family four new elementary schools in Brampton four new elementary schools in Kleinberg four new elementary schools in Brampton so significant investments Thank you. Member for Whitby Oshawa Minister Maddie Vanstone is a very courageous girl but as courageous as she is she needs your help she needs your help to get access to a life-saving drug Kaleidiko Kaleidiko allows Maddie to feel like a normal 12 year old girl free from symptoms of cystic fibrosis Yesterday in the House the Premier said she wants to fund Kaleidiko but can't but Minister you know that you and the Premier both have the power to make this happen Will you stand today and commit to funding Kaleidiko for Maddie? Thank you. Minister of Health Well Speaker I was delighted to meet Maddie and her mom yesterday Maddie is a very courageous young woman a very articulate young woman who is benefitting tremendously from the drug that she has been on now for seven months The member opposite knows that this is a breakthrough drug this is a drug that does for a small subset of people with cystic fibrosis improve their quality of life We are negotiating at a pan-Canadian level all health ministers across the country have agreed to negotiate with Vertex the pharmaceutical company based in the United States to get the best value for money If you are suggesting we just play we just pay whatever price the pharmaceutical company I disagree we must negotiate that allows us to fund more drugs for more people Thank you. Supplementary Both the Minister and the Premier continue to hide behind the pan-Canadian pricing alliance saying that their hands are tied but you know that's an answer that even little Maddie Vanstone didn't buy The fact of the matter is you do not need the permission of the alliance to take action Minister you have an opportunity to be a leader here. You have the power to fund Kaleidiko for Maddie and you don't need to wait for anyone or anything in order to take action Minister this child's life may be on the line in a few months if her personal fundraising runs out and you commit to funding Kaleidiko for Maddie Thank you Minister of Health Well Speaker as I said earlier this is a pan-Canadian process and all of the progressive conservative health ministers including the Minister of Alberta and other provinces with the progressive conservative government are in the very same position. When we negotiate together we do get better prices we've successfully negotiated 29 new drugs for 28 new drugs for 31 condition speaker and we've been able to do that to work together the member opposite is saying fund one drug for one child that is not the way we can do this we cannot do this on a one off and I I believe the system is working we have to get our tax the US based publicly traded pharmaceutical company to actually negotiate with us speaker three offers have been put on the table three offers have been rejected the responsibility is with that company to negotiate Thank you my question is to the minister of community safety speaker the original $113 million has more than doubled to $239 million and the minister said that the cost of security is not included in the total cost of the games so we had the cost of the athlete's village not included in the total games costs and estimates and now we have this bloated security cost not included in the total cost of the games we still don't have a contract speaker what other multimillion dollar surprises has this government got for us at the Pan Am Parapan games cost thank you minister thank you very much to the member for his question the security of our athlete coach and visitors to the Pan Am game is our utmost responsibility and desire so we have been planning the security headed by the OPP it's an integrated security group and part of this integrated security group there is nine different police force around the GTA region so there was a forecast about the cost of security and of course then we went further than that we went to see what happened in Vancouver what happened in Mexico what happened in London and got advice from them in what should we do and what should we move forward with to prevent what happened in London so the cost of the security the supplementary supplementary thank you speaker I think we are going to move on to the next question the minister claims that the day-to-day security cost will be less than 2010 but how can that be true when security costs are already more than double the original budget with 16 months to go to the games this makes it very hard to believe the cost will not continue to escalate and will the minister provide the minister I rely very much on the expert not on MPP around the province but on the expert so we have this group very professional very experienced police officer in different large events like the Olympic and the Pan Am so we will continue we have now a forecast which is 239 million it did increase because we have increased the number of venues we have increased the number of days and that's why the costs have increased but I will not negotiate here the safety of the of the athlete the safety of the coach and the safety of the visitor the good advice that we got from our professional in your municipality thank you a second time I'm going to remind people when I stand you sit down new question thank you speaker my questions for the minister of rural affairs minister small rural and northern communities have had chronic challenges I think it's fair to say for some time that our large municipalities tend to face they usually have large geographic land bases and relatively small tax bases to fund their needs we've responded with a number of programs I think it's fair to say the southwestern Ontario development fund the eastern Ontario development fund and I know one of the programs that you as the minister of rural affairs are very proud of the red program the Rural Economic Development Fund it's a program that I've had success with in my writing of Thunder Bay Attic Hogan as well so minister I wonder if you in your capacity responsible for rural affairs can tell this house what that program has been able to do for these kinds of municipalities in our province thank you well thanks very much Mr. Speaker I want to thank my good friend and hardworking member from Thunder Bay Attic Hogan for that insightful question this morning you know in today's economy it's essential for municipalities to adapt to changing economic conditions and that's why initiatives like red are so important just to give you a better background Mr. Speaker since 2003 Ontario has invested $167 million and 418 red projects right across this province generating about $1.2 billion in local economic activity and creating more than 35,000 jobs and Mr. Speaker I'm always reminded of a great quote from one William Danville Davis when he was premier of the province of Ontario Mr. Davis used to always say that Ontario is still a province of small towns with big dreams so just yesterday over the last couple of months I had the mayor of Port Hope come to see me at the mayor of Coburn to see me we provided them yesterday Port Hope $100,000 for their downtown revitalization program $125,000 for the town of Coburn for their downtown and for an excellent example of red supplementary Mr. Speaker thank you Minister thank you for that answer one of the programs that we have a similar program focused specifically on Northern Ontario of course is the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund program we're very proud of in the north originally started by the Peterson government in the late 80s funded at 60 million annually we've increased that now to 100 million annually a huge additional commitment great work a program also that businesses I think it's fair to say like NOAC represented by the Northwestern Ontario Associated Chambers of Commerce have long asked for because businesses in Northern Ontario historically have a challenge accessing capital so programs like the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund the Southwestern Ontario Development Fund the Eastern Fund and I would say the new permanent $100 million infrastructure fund under the Minister of Transportation along with there's a whole suite of programs that are now available to help our small rural and northern communities so Minister can you tell us again in terms of the long-term viability for our small northern and rural municipalities what that suite of programs can provide well thanks very much Mr. Speaker I want to thank the wonderful supplementary question from the member from Thunder Bay out of Coken you know he's long been a champion of the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund and when I'm touring Northern Ontario it's in the great community of North Bay or Timmins or Thunder Bay and Sudbury they all are very appreciative of the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund and just yesterday I had the opportunity to chat with some leaders from Northern Ontario through live streaming for the first ever rural Ontario Summit we heard yesterday from Dr. David Freshwater and Dr. Rob Greenwood experts in rural development coming forward with good ideas that they share with everybody through the great rural Ontario Rural Institute we brought together local leaders in economic development, business, healthcare social services and municipal government the back road as Mr. David used to say small towns with big dreams it was a great opportunity to discuss the social and economic infrastructure issues that will shape the future the great future rural Ontario and I look forward to keep building on the success of our local communities as we develop the good new question I don't I find it stop the clock I don't know what's going on but quite frankly when I stand up you're supposed to be speaking to the speaker you should see the speaker standing up when I stand up you sit down I don't understand this new question, remember from Barry training lessons my question is to the minister responsible for the Pan Am Games minister no matter how often you say make it true yesterday you got caught on repeat exactly at the same time at 15% budget increase was being announced for security it seems the budget and your credibility are inversely related the budget skyrockets your credibility plummets this is the most expensive Pan Am games ever minister will you step down so that someone who can handle a multi-billion dollar games can take over and actually protect our tax dollars minister thank you speaker this is another new round of random attack of the Pan and Parapan American game by the member opposite speaker over time the member has made many many allegations simply not true or not correct he said security cost is one billion dollar right now is sending at 239 million he said a reception cost half a million dollar it actually is speaker five times lower he said the budget is too high at the same time he's complaining the security cost and the transportation cost they are too low speaker the member opposite is worry confusing worry conflicting this is why I said he has zero credibility thank you speaker that's pretty rich from that source speaker that is rich coming from that minister who has zero credibility has hidden multiple budgets among multiple ministries it's not just the being on budget that eludes you minister it's being on time that's also becoming an issue to date you have not produced a transportation plan we ask for it in an order paper we ask for it in question period and you gave me your empty words that would be completed by late 2013 even the first vice president of the pan-american sports organization has significant concerns about the traffic issues in the GTA you fired the secretary you fired the secretary of deputy minister you fired the TO 2015 CEO minister you are the common denominator here the file is still out of control and you lack the cultural sensitivity to be the panhand minister will you step down? minister of finance minister of health minister of finance minister thank you thank you speaker for the question my encouragement to the member of this speaker stop badmouthing the game speaker security and safety of the people is paramount and is on the top of my agenda speaker we will not compromise the safety of the people at any cost speaker our own MPP our own OPP is the lead institution on this file speaker partnering with the RCMP local police forces and security firms the latest cost estimate speaker is 239 million they are working hard on this file to ensure come 2015 will welcome all the people to come and enjoy the game thank you speaker thank you speaker my question is to the minister of education when moms and dads of this province drop their kids off at daycare they expect to pick them up again at the end of the day but at least four families in less than a year have not been able to do that their children died at daycare parents expect the government to do its part to keep kids safe and they expect to know when and where these tragedies have occurred speaker can the minister tell this house how many children have died in licensed and unlicensed daycares over the past decade and if not why not thank you minister of education yes thank you very much there is a gap in information there is a gap in information which is as frustrating to me as to anybody else in this place unfortunately what we find is that when the police investigate an unfortunate death as we have seen in a few situations this year that that information does not necessarily come back to the ministry of education so I have asked my deputy the he's not listening when I have asked my deputy minister to see if there is something we can do so that we actually get the information coming back to my child care branch at the moment the information around child deaths and their cause does not come back to my child care branch so I've asked my deputy to see if there is a way that we can resolve this and get the information back to the minister I was listening I'm just not hearing anything this government is dropping the ball last year the coroner investigated 220 deaths of children under the age of 5 and the coroner reports daycare deaths to the ministry yet the minister can't answer questions about how many kids have died in daycares and whether that number of deaths is increasing the government can't have shrugged shoulders any longer there is no excuse for not tracking deaths in this province will the minister explain how her department has failed to keep the will the minister explain how her department has failed to keep track of these tragedies thank you minister yes thank you I specifically did ask my officials to check last week when the claim was made in the media that the coroner reported this information to my ministry when we checked that we found that that in fact is not reporting that currently exists the coroner's office reports back to the police and the police may or may not choose to report back to the ministry of education which is precisely why I have asked my deputy to look into the matter and see if we can improve the reporting answer new question the member from blingary prescott russell my question is to the minister of natural resources speaker last month I was pleased to announce that our government is now in a position to go forward with the cleanup of a contaminated waste disposal site in the writing of blingary prescott russell this site is the waste lagoon of the former canadian international paper product company it's a mill that closed down in 1985 and it contains industrial waste that has been a concern for many of my constituents and of myself for quite some time this issue has represented a significant environmental challenge for the community and has certainly been an ongoing concern of mine and as the local MPP can the minister explain how the industry can lead and moving forward with the cleanup of this industrial waste disposal site thank you minister of natural resources thank you speaker and members humble in his question but I want to thank him the member from glengary prescott russell for this important question I know this is a very important issue to the member and one that he's been advocating for a positive resolution on for quite some time and we're moving forward largely because of the leadership that he's shown on this issue the IP mill ceased operations in hawksbury in the 1980s at a time when there were no legal requirements in place for the company to deal with the cleanup of the toxic sludge the remnants of the operation fortunately today our province has stricter environmental regulations in place and waste disposal sites are required by law to have an approved closure plan in place as a condition for obtaining certification our governments launched phase one of the cleanup project in the crown land portion of the site this includes a two-year pilot that focus on testing in a responsible and effective way and we now have some data and information from that I'll share in the supplementary thank you very much speaker and thank you minister for that informative answer I'm glad to hear that our government now has more stringent environmental regulations in place so this kind of issue will not occur again in the future it's important to my constituents and to myself that this project be completed as soon as possible and it's great news that your ministry has made this project a priority I'm also pleased to hear that much of the rehabilitation can be done by local contractors which will bring jobs and create substantial economic activity in Hawkesbury and in my writing of Glen Gary Prescott and Russell speaker could the minister please update the members of this house again when the mediation of the waste site is scheduled to begin thank you minister thank you speaker so I'm pleased to inform members of the legislature that the information experience gained by MNR during the pilot will be used to finalize the design and methodology to rehabilitate this section of Crown land the member from Glen Gary Prescott Russell will be happy to know that MNR is seeking a private contractor to lead the rehabilitation please announce that a full scale cleanup of this site is scheduled to begin this spring this is a multi-million dollar project that will run until 2016 and will include as the members indicated local contractors the ministry is committed to providing regular community updates regarding the project to the town of Hawkesbury and through their website we'll be doing that cleanup of the site will contribute to improved air and water quality and the landfill site will become green space suitable for general recreation once the project has been completed the lagoon will be opened up to the Ottawa River providing aquatic recreation and scenic opportunities thank you new question the member from Cambridge Mr. Speaker my question for the Education Minister Minister you your party and your premier have been clear that extracurricular activities are crucial to student success in our schools well we agree and we think that they should be protected your collective bargaining bill sits before the Standing Committee of the Legislative Assembly where it is entertaining over 70 amendments in attempts to appease every union from Kenora to Cornwall in my letter to you yesterday I have one simple request to ensure that parents know that after the summer break when schools back in session in September when your government is bargaining with the teacher unions that extracurricular activities are protected Minister will you honour that request good question you know I I just can't get over it last week in committee last week in committee minister sat there and said we had not had enough consultations on bill 122 I have spent and my ministry has spent the last several months talking to unions and school boards and directors all the people who sit at the table on collective bargaining talking about what amendments would school boards like to see what amendments would what a unions like to see we've worked with everybody we've negotiated dozens of amendments which have been agreed to by both the unions and the school boards and he has the call to get up and accuse us of working with people to reach agreement I don't get it supplementary Mr. Speaker what the minister doesn't realise is that request came from the Ontario Catholic Trustees Association so she should get her facts straight Minister we saw what happened last time you governed on a whim basketball and volleyball seasons were put on hold choirs were muted extra help sessions cancelled debate clubs were shut down parents would be the first to tell you that extra critical activities are a vital part of the school experience that the academic, athletic and social benefits are essential to the kind of education our students deserve we are not prepared to leave this to chance will you agree to our recommendation to give parents and students the peace of mind that the rich education experience won't be held hostage at the bargaining table good question receiving peace minister yes this is really really interesting speaker because the critic over there may not have been involved in education during the Mike Harris days and I don't know how he did this but he's accidentally maybe deliberately pulled a play from the Mike Harris handbook Mike Harris spent eight years arguing about an amendment to the education act to make extra curricular activities mandatory you know what happened during the eight years of Mike Harris there was more chaos more strike days in the history of Ontario education than ever before on the education system the way Mike Harris ran he's seen it please he's seen it please thank you new question the member from London West thank you speaker my question is to the minister of health and long-term care yesterday my colleague the MPP for London Fanshawe and I wrote to the minister about the ongoing funding challenges facing St. Joseph's health care in London last week Londoners watched as the political pressure and media attention around this funding shortfall forced the minister to finally take action on the unfunded mental health beds at the new forensic hospital in St. Thomas but the problems and cuts have continued can the minister answer the question we posed in our letter about whether she has a plan to prevent other cuts to frontline health care in London thank you minister health long-term care thank you speaker and thank you for the question because I was very pleased that we are ramping up the capacity at the new regional mental health centre the forensic mental health centre in St. Thomas speaker this is they had 80 beds before the new facility has got 89 beds that is often what happens when a new building is built that it's built for future expansion and that expansion happens over time so we were planning to increase the funding and we did in fact increase the funding so that more people could be served in that particular facility that was the right thing to do it was what was in the works anyway and I think the people at St. Joe's because I met with the CEO of St. Joe's in London and we discussed this very issue I will look forward to the supplementary to talk about what more we're doing in St. Joe's supplementary the member from London Fanshawe the minister because of this government's choices St. Joe's is being forced to cut 3% of his budget this year this has meant cuts to 23 positions including 8 nurses and the cuts may not be over yet our constituents are concerned and they want to know that this minister isn't acting when political pressure mounts can the minister provide assurances to the people of London that patients needs and not political interests are driving her funding decisions well thank you speaker and as I said I met with the hospital CEO Dr. Gillian Kernahan we discussed what changes they are making they have assured us that patient care will not suffer as a result of this the member opposite knows that we are changing how we fund hospitals and we are doing it so that hospitals get funded based on the number of patients they serve and we are bringing fairness to hospital funding that means some hospitals are seeing an increase in their budgets others are seeing more challenges we are doing it in a responsible way speaker the people of St. Joe's know exactly what's coming on that front and they are I think doing a very good job managing the funding given the changes in our health care system more services are moving to the community and the member opposite knows that yes some people are being replaced speaker others are being hired so this works both ways nope too late there are no deferred votes this house stands adjourned until 3pm this afternoon