 It is now time for oral questions and I recognize the leader for Majesty's loyal opposition Speaker it's The case that we've seen almost 4,000 people lose their lives to COVID-19 in long-term care So my first question is to the Premier does the Premier believe that he did everything he could to save people's lives in long-term care the Premier well through you through you mr. Speaker the the science table just came out and Told told everyone in Canada how many lives we we did save and that's so important And through them, you know the the table showed the residents of long-term care Not only being prioritized in phase one roll out the vaccine of 2079 more infections could have occurred if we didn't do that of which 249 have resulted in hospitalizations and 1615 deaths if we didn't Go in there immediately to vaccinate to all the folks in long-term care, so Not not only did we throw everything we had at it, but so did all the doctors the psw's Hospitals everyone went full steam ahead and we did everything in our powers to make sure we protected the long-term care residents And the supplementary question Well sister speaker in fact There's a new evidence that was unveiled last night from the testimony at the long-term care Commission And I'm going to speak to it right now The testimony of dr. Allison McGeer a very well respected public health expert who sits on the science table When asked in response to a question from the Commission about why the second wave was worse in long-term care Then the first wave said this In the lead up to the second wave a number of proposals went to the ministry about what what could be done? And all of them were deemed by the ministry to be too expensive They were deemed by the government to be too Expensive more seniors died in the second wave than in the first wave speaker Why did this premier choose saving money over saving lives? Thank you speaker I refute the the premise of that question our government has taken every action possible even up to Making sure that we address the long-standing issues in long-term care left behind by the previous government $1.38 billion has gone to our long-term care sector to short up. We were able to hire 8600 over 6600 people during first wave using the pandemic pay we use the surveillance testing when it was available to us We use the rapid testing when it was available to us. We Established the specialized care center. We deployed staff from hospitals to address the long-standing And emergency staffing issue. We had an integrated response with public health Ontario the hospitals Public health. This has been a integrated response and and I want to say this Issue was long-standing and when COVID-19 hit we used every measure possible There was no expense spared and I can I'm absolutely confident of that. Thank you Speaker one year ago the premier said this and I quote it's just repeated Unbelievably by the minister for long-term care. No expense will be spared We will consider every option to support those Ontarians in need during this crisis. Dr. McGeer Testified the exact opposite options were ignored 4,000 people lost their lives almost in long-term care because the Ford government didn't spend want to spend the money So well the premier was watching people die in long-term care and families were mourning the loss of their loved ones Why did he still decide not to spend the money to save those seniors lives? Mr. of long-term care Thank you, Speaker. I Absolutely reject that mischaracterization of the actions of this government as the minister Gonna ask the minister to withdraw Withdraw as The minister of long-term care. I can tell you no expense was spared Everything we did was in response to a a crisis of staffing a crisis of capacity Overcoming the structural inadequacies The opposition behind by the previous government 1.38 billion dollars For COVID response alone $1.9 billion in the works to make sure that we have on an annual basis the staffing that's required Making sure that we address the staffing shortage both on an emergency level on a stabilization level and a long-term care long-term issue With the staffing and 8,000 over 8,000 staff were hired With the pandemic pay to stabilize this sector our government used rapid tests that hadn't that had to be approved by health Canada Were there delays with approvals were there delays getting back? The speaker speaker my next question is also for the premier, but I have to say I'm astounded that this government is responding in this way when we know the pain and anguish that family members the worry The fear that they had for their loved ones in long-term care as they watched the second wave come upon us Here's what dr. McGeer said in the lead-up to the second wave and I quote Quebec hired a large number of additional staff that would be in the summer last summer not like a month ago or a week ago We chose not to do that in Ontario Quebec hired 10,000 PSW's Experts did say that that saved lives the premier could have saved lives by spending the money to staff up last Summer why didn't he spend the money to staff up and save the lives of vulnerable seniors in long-term care? Thank you speaker It's it's very clear that there are there's information missing from the narrative across the the chamber Our government with its pandemic pay and the emergency and stabilization process that we used which albeit different from Quebec We achieved 8636 hires During that time. We stabilized the sector. We worked desperately and frantically around the clock Many many people working to stabilize this and I want to clarify on Quebec did not hire 10,000 PSW's they trained orderlies in three in three months in 12 weeks They did not create 10,000 PSW positions. They did not hire 10,000 PSW's they hired orderlies and got to about half the amount of which many of those wanted to leave We need a process by which we create a better place to live and a better place to work And that's exactly what we're doing in long-term care after years of neglect Here I'll tell you what's missing here in Ontario What's missing is the iron ring that the premier promised around long-term care, but there's an iron ring around the premier There's an iron ring around the premier when it comes to answering questions Here's what dr. McGeer said dr. Stahl and I quote dr. Stahl and dr. Brown also put forward a number of proposals For trying to empty out the four bed rooms So that we didn't have three or four residents in a room throughout the second wave There was no hope that anything that cost that amount of money was going to be Undertaken the minister at the same time in this legislature was saying and I quote We're using every possible measure when responding to my colleague from to mischaming In in his questions in question periods So my question to the premier again is why won't the premier admit that as he watched people dying in long-term care He still couldn't bring himself to spend the money to save their lives And we could please take their seats the premier to reply through you mr. Speaker the only person that was missing and missing Was the leader of the opposition there's nowhere to be found Disappeared for a year did absolutely nothing for people in long-term care did nothing for the people of Ontario as we were working our backs off 24-7 as she was Shangri-La somewhere don't ask me where but there was nowhere to be found with a leader of the opposition It's easy to sit here and play the armchair quarterback as we were making sure that we accelerate vision come to order program by 30,000 beds mr. Speaker Good Can I continue mr. Speaker Opposition come to order please conclude your response premier as our government has approved nearly over two billion two billion Never been approved before in the history of this province two billion dollars in staffing up to 27,000 people We've already hired and we're on the process of hiring 8600 as a minister mentioned we are all But again mr. Speaker where was the leader of the Please take your seats Imagine how those families are feeling today Imagine the pain and the anguish that they're feeling knowing that their government didn't spend the money necessary to keep their loved ones safe It is absolutely Will this premier now admit that in fact there was much more that he should have done There was much more that he could have done to prevent the pain order anguish the horrors that Families face thousands of families as four thousand people lost their lives to COVID-19 When the premier didn't want to spend the money to save them Mr. Speaker The researchers because you always want to quote doctors I'll start quoting doctors as well Researchers estimate that there was roughly 90 percent reduction in cases among residents and nearly 80 percent reduction in staff Eight weeks after the vaccinations began in December the 14th order prior prioritizing the vaccination of long-term care home residents was highly efficient resolving The province's most tragic problem during the pandemic said dr. Peter Junie Scientific director of the provincial COVID advisory table, so I'm sure when you have an advisory table Leader of the opposition you have different points of view We're taking this point of view that we've done everything in our powers and on top of it when you're doing it You're insulting the doctors you're insulting The leader of the opposition will come to us. Thank you. Oh, I'm gonna ask the premier to withdraw The next question member for Waterloo, thank you very much, mr. Speaker my questions to the premier last night the Ford government Secretly quietly signed six new minister zoning orders behind closed doors We've had a look and once again prominent PC donors are among the people who stand to benefit and NDP analysis previously shows that at least 19 of this government's previous MZO's benefit PC party donors and insiders Why is this government using MZO's to bulldoze wetlands and green spaces to let its buddies make more money? You mr. Speaker, you know So so many different governments including the previous government government would hide MZO's We're proud to announce that we have MZO's because it's about the economy Once we get through this mr. Speaker people are going to be looking for jobs and we can't wait four years And by the way mr. Speaker we only sign an MZO Once we get a letter from the mayor of the region or the chair of the region the mayor of the city and Counsel once it gets approved. It's an ask by them. We don't go into towns and all of a sudden just issue MZO's It's an ask from each region and each city And I want more MZO's to stir the economy to get jobs out there because the leader of the opposition They don't worry about jobs there. They all get their big fat paychecks mr. Speaker They don't worry about the hard work and working-class folks fun. We do You I want to point out to the premier that Municipalities have said that this decision-making process is being done under duress And you are authorizing the destruction of wetlands under the cover of COVID This government has used MZO's more than any other government in the provinces They're doing it not for the benefit of the people it appears like they're doing it to help their friends make more money big donors like Flato developments are getting priority status Thanks to this government's decision to quietly sign a whopping six new MZO's late last night Why is this government putting money and politics ahead of the province and our environment? The premier to reply I'll remind the members the standing orders prohibit imputing motive I'm gonna ask the member for Waterloo to withdraw withdraw and the premier now to reply to the issue that was raised mr. Speaker They say one thing and then they say another they flip flop back and forth and my issue without mr. Speaker is Right now we're building For rapid long-term care facilities to make sure that we have the beds that long-term care patients need Mr. Speaker, I guess everyone in this room has heard the escalating cost in Housing it's no longer just young people can't afford housing It's everyone and something that they don't understand is something called supply and demand We want more houses out there more condominiums more town houses to make sure that people can afford it You put a greater supply What happens a huge supply the number starts flattening out the cost of it make it more affordable We will never stop issuing MZO's for the people of Ontario the people that need housing There's 40,000 people moving in the GTA fastest-growing region in North America and guess what mr. Speaker was up The then coming in that huts right now. They wouldn't be The member for Haldeman Norfolk Well, thank you speaker and my question is order My question to the Minister of Health with each passing day Seems to be obviously more light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to cova 19 Whether it be more vaccines being approved or an increase in shipments of the Pfizer vaccine Ontarians have good reason to feel more hopeful with each passing day. I will say my Constituents are anxious to get their cova 19 vaccine and I know we're working around the clock to make sure they get that We have the most effective vaccination campaign in the country My question speaker would the minister please provide an update to this house on the progress of our provinces cova 19 The vaccine roll out. Thank you For your question our government has said from the beginning that we are committed to having one of the most effective Immunization campaigns in the country and we are well on our way to achieving that goal By the end of this week, we will have administered over 1 million doses of cova 19 vaccine to eligible Ontarians all across our province This early success is yet another sign of how effective our government's vaccination plan continues to be as we receive More doses of the vaccine from the federal government in order to build from this success We recently announced our second phase of the vaccine roll out Starting on March 15th We will be launching an online booking system and a provincial customer service desk to answer questions and support Appointment bookings at mass immunization Clinics Government will continue to work with all of our partners around the province to ensure that all Ontarians who want to receive a vaccine We'll get one Thank the Minister of Health for that update and that explanation and speaker my Supplementary question is to our solicitor general Sister general in my own writing of Haldeman Norfolk I do hear from people and we hear from people from all over the province. They're concerned about our most vulnerable people living in remote and Isolated indigenous communities who oftentimes face a disproportionate risk with respect to the virus Can the minister please provide this house with an update on what's referred to as Operation remote immunity The solicitor general to reply well, thank you speaker And thank you to the member of Haldeman Norfolk for your interest in this because it is exciting news as the Minister of Health said we've reached a key milestone in protecting remote and isolated indigenous communities against COVID-19 by visiting all 31 fly-in communities in northern Ontario and Moussinee to offer first doses for the vaccine as part of Operation remote immunity this important Milestone could not have been achieved without the tremendous effort of indigenous leadership Community members orange and frontline health care workers coming together to stop the spread of COVID-19 in these fly-in communities as of March 7 2021 operation remote immunity has administered 15,324 doses including 12,660 2664 second doses this truly is a team effort speaker And I am so proud of the work that operation remote immunity has had Thank you to the premier Conservative government entire Pandemic response has been to show up kind of a day late and a dollar short But when it comes to the vaccine rollout that strategy is causing chaos and confusion across our entire province Because the conservative still cannot get a website online Cities and towns are left to pick up the slack They are scrambling to get their own booking system up and running to add to the confusion We have hospital family health team community health center also all launching their own Sites we even have website that collects all of the other website together Premier Or in this crisis for over one full year question Why wasn't that enough time to set up a website? Thank you very much speaker we will well I would say to the member opposite that we do have a plan We have a website that will be launching on March 15th We want to make sure that it's robust enough to be able to handle the large volume of calls that we know that it will receive We know that in several other provinces their websites crashed very early on we want to make sure that our system will not do So but what is happening is not at all unexpected and was part of the plan from the beginning that each of the 34 public health units are going to be responsible for the running of their own plan There's a central plan, but it's going to look different in each of the 34 public health units because they know the particulars of their own Geographic area, so many of them have already started up their own websites It's anticipated that most of them will then merge into the central website But some of them will not they already have websites that are up and running and are serving their own purposes And I think the fact that we will have administered a million vaccines by the end of this week Speaks for itself about the success To point out the families in Rexdale a neighborhood right in the premier's own backyard and one of the hard hit COVID hotspot in this city They are currently paying the price for the conservative government Struggling with their vaccine rollout folks who are over 80 years old are eligible to get vaccinated But they still have no idea how where when are they going to book their appointment? There is still no plans to help people that don't have access to the internet or have language barriers Or don't have a mass vaccination close by How could it be speaker the entire Rexdale area has been described as a no man's land for vaccine by health official If families in the premier's own writing cannot get access to COVID-19, I'm asking you premier What is going on? We are committed to making sure that every ontarian who wants to receive a vaccine In any part of the province is going to receive one However, it is important to note that Toronto because of the large volume of People in long-term care homes and frontline health care workers all of those people that were included in phase one They still have to finish that they are not quite ready in every part of Toronto To move into phase two and the vaccination of people over 80 years of age So this is coming forward. There is going to be the online booking tool as of march 15th There is going to be the customer center that people can call to make an appointment We recognize that a lot of people don't have access to the internet Don't feel comfortable making bookings that way. They will be able to do so by phone And I can also advise that all of the information relating to Which will become immediately available when they are ready to start doing those vaccinations of over 80 people across the city Have been translated into 59 different languages. So everyone will have thank you. Thank you very much The next question member for Ottawa Southern Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker and my question is for the premier Ontario is expected to receive AstraZeneca vaccines this week And the government said last week that they're launching yet another pilot during a pandemic distributing the AstraZeneca Vaccines through pharmacies in three regions Well, it's Tuesday and the pharmacies haven't been identified and it's unclear as to how we can book an appointment Now the premier said they'll be launching in 500 pharmacies and the pharmacists association says well It's actually 380 locations So this is just another important announcement that leaves more questions than answers And what's most concerning is a hundred and fourteen thousand of these doses are set to expire on april the second So speaker through you can the premier confirm when the details of this rollout will be put forward And I assure Ontarians that none of this AstraZeneca vaccine will be wasted The minister of health Thank you speaker, and I thank the member for the question And yes, I can assure the member that these vaccinations vaccines will not be wasted There is a central plan. There are going to be distributed in three locations in Toronto Windsor Essex and in the Kingston area because of the fact that the 190,000 vaccines that we are expecting to receive Today as a matter of fact a day earlier are time limited You're absolutely right And we want to make sure that they can be delivered quickly and efficiently through the over 300 pharmacies that have been identified This list should be available tomorrow It is because there are some agreements with the individual pharmacies that have yet to be finally signed That we are finalizing, but if the the ones that aren't signing right now haven't been done We will find another 20 or 30 Pharmacies that will be able to deliver it, but this plan responds to go and we'll be receiving applications and online Bookings as of friday to start the the work on these vaccines to ensure that they are Thank you The supplementary Speaker it always seems like we're weeks behind other provinces You know the premier said in november when vaccines arrive will be ready. Here's what happened The government took a vaccine holiday over christmas. Then they took nearly 60 days and after the environment 70,000 residents of long-term care the first dose to them the people we said we had to get to first imagine They were two weeks behind other provinces Imagine if vaccines that got to a bird of place two weeks earlier So the centerline It wasn't ready at the beginning of march like other provinces And then the head of the vaccine task force says your doctor is going to be calling you Nobody told the doctors and now there's a pharmacy pilot with almost no details I just don't know why we didn't why we weren't ready. I'm trying to understand why we're not ready And we're always playing catch-up It's frustrating for ontarians. You know by any objective measure. We're not ready. So speaker through you But I heard the minister say Thank you, thank you Order the house will come to order the member for ottawa south will take a seat ministry of health to reply Thank you very much speaker Well, I can assure the member that we do have a plan that the plan is rolling out as it was intended to We will be ready. We have been ready to receive the astrazeneca vaccines We will be able to deliver them before their expiry and we can quadruple the number of Vaccinations that we're doing per day in very short order But what we need are the large doses of the vaccines to come in We know that we're going to be receiving larger doses of of fizer. We're receiving maderna We're receiving astrazeneca. We are ready to deliver them as a matter of fact I was at a mass vaccination clinic yesterday in scarber with the premier They are processing several thousand people per day, but they can double triple quadruple as they need to So we are ready as soon as we get those large doses of vaccines in we will be getting them into people's arms As quickly as we can which means the day after we receive them Very much the next question member for halden norfolk The minister of infrastructure as a minister will know Ontario's a vast province. We're home to A number of urban areas both large and small northern regions beautiful lakes and of course sprawling rural areas Minister or someone who represents one of those rural areas I can tell you the peace and tranquility Found in rural small town Ontario comes with a price it comes with a downside Many of the services like internet that people in the city's take for granted Just are not available in rural areas Without access to attic at broadband and internet services many people will live and work in rural Ontario. They're at a disadvantage. They can't compete Minister ensuring access to broadband right across the province will create a level playing field for Ontario businesses Including those living and operating in rural areas Participating in digital economy is vital to the continued success Many people Are suffering because of unreliable service minister as we move forward in the digital economy What can we do to ensure that? Thank you. Thank you very much Thank you, mr Speaker and I'd like to thank the member from halden norfolk for his question and his advocacy for his constituents And he is quite right Ontario farmers like so many people living in our province will benefit from the steps Our government has taken to improve broadband service to the many Unserved and underserved communities across Ontario Almost immediately upon being named minister of infrastructure I began to take immediate action to help close the digital divide Beginning with the release of the up to speed our broadband and cellular action plan And then quickly followed up by making investments to accelerate expansion of broadband projects right across the province In the provincial budget presented last fall We continued our positive steps forward by announcing historic investments in broadband infrastructure And today we have legislation beginning debate in this house that if pass will help us bridge the digital divide We're taking action to remove barriers and I expect we'll have broad support in the house for our broadband legislation Mr. Speaker Well, thank you minister for what you've done so far to help ensure rural Ontario is able to get Connected and I'd like to To read a portion of a letter I received from bob He's a resident of haldeman county and they quote Dear mpp barrett likes many other residents of rural Ontario We've been able to enjoy a better quality of life. Thanks to the many technological advancements of the past number of years The internet has opened up an entire new way of doing business I can monitor stock remotely. I can reach new customers who are located hundreds of miles away I can process orders quickly Track my shipments and ensure that they're delivered to my customer's door on time. However Ensuring this happens smoothly only works with reliable broadband signals as in many Rural communities like question We simply don't have adequate reliable service So my question again to you minister Aside from the steps you've taken to improve access to reliable high speed internet What else can be done to get our rural communities connected? minister Thank you, mr. Speaker, and I'd like to thank the member for his supplementary question I want to say to this house that I understand the difficulties people in unserved and underserved areas experience like bob I live them too And that's why even though broadband is a federally regulated Telecommunications, Ontario has not waited for the federal government to take action We were making historic investments to improve internet service in Ontario communities that currently lack adequate service We've introduced legislation that if passed will remove barriers to help build infrastructure faster Strengthen our rural communities and lay the foundation for growth and renewal We will also continue to to call upon the federal government to properly fund broadband Not just in Ontario, but across the country Mr. Speaker Though you I'd like to call on all members of the house to support bill 257 and to work with us to ensure that every ontarian regardless of where they live Can participate in the digital economy The next question the member for Davenport. Thank you. Good morning, mr. Speaker This question is for the minister of education Speaker the reality of the pandemic and this government's weak plan has had serious consequences for students with complex needs And their families that includes families at the beaverly school here in toronto who are worried that their children are falling behind Developmentally after a year of disruptions to the daily supports and the therapies they receive at that school The minister will recall that a variant case shut down classes in late february and parents told the global mail this weekend That without regular testing and a plan to vaccinate staff They expect these disruptions and closures are going to continue Can the minister tell the house what steps he's taking to mitigate these impacts on students with complex needs? And why families are still waiting in march for a comprehensive asymptomatic testing plan The minister of education Well, thank you very much. Mr. Speaker You know, mr. Speaker one of the great feedback we've heard from the development of disability community Was that they often felt ignored in government decision-making processes The disproportionate impact of the pandemic on those parents was heard by this government when we decided With the support of the chief medical officer felt to allow the most exceptional children back into our schools in january And which political party supported us in this house? Not one the member opposite and her her party and the liberals criticized it In fact, I had calls from members opposite personally Were asking me to rethink the decision based on risk And when we knew it was the right thing to do for those very children to give them opportunity Access to therapy and the supports that their parents simply could not provide remotely That is what our government did. We listened to the science We listened to parents. We listened to the developmental disability community and we took action to ensure they have support They have access to therapy and most importantly the provision of in-class supports, which they deserve The supplementary questions Thank you, mr. Speaker and I can assure you the students at Beverly school and their families don't feel safe right now And the minister's comments are just not accurate Speaker by friday the government's own reporting site showed that only 416 asymptomatic tests had been conducted in toronto schools over the past seven days That's the most populous region The what are the hottest spots Across the province. It was just 3 294 We're hearing that only about a quarter of english public and catholic school boards have a plan in place And that number is even fewer when you look at francophone boards We are nowhere near the 50 000 tests a week that were promised here And students and families in this province deserve to know why What could possibly be more important than keeping the children The most vulnerable children in our province safe in their schools So i'm going to ask again will the minister please explain why he can't meet his own 50 000 a week Thank you Mr. Speaker it is it is not lost on any member of this house that recalls That the opposition new democrats and liberals called on the government to close schools for the most exceptional children in january They urged us not to reopen They urged us not to reopen When until the state home order was lifted they have been on the wrong side of this debate every step of the way It is this government this premier this party that ensured schools open safely We have 99 percent of schools open this province We have a program of testing under the leadership of the ministry of health which has ensured 37 000 tests under the age of 17 Last week alone thousands more in the ministry of education program and in that program were 563 schools Were identified last week. We had a positivity rate order 0.36 percent safely in the communities that they operate within What that demonstrates our program informed by the best signs Supported by the chief medical officer of health funded by our province is working to keep school safe and we will continue Thank you, mr. Speaker and my question is for the minister of municipal affairs regarding the use of the ministerial zoning orders Mr. Speaker bill 257 recently introduced includes a small section Schedulatory with potential huge impacts on environment We've had discussions here in the house very recently about the intended purpose of ministerial zoning orders Which are to accelerate the approval process of necessary projects when it is considered a priority for the well-being of ontarians The overwhelming use of such mzdo's by the minister over the past year has raised concern and criticism because non urgent Projects were fast-tracked without the benefit of consultations regarding the impact on our environment And now the government is moving to invalidate any potential for oversight with bill 257 making these mzdo's final decisions Question the possibility of appeal. How can we trust the government not to use their? Proposed full discretionary power to their own benefit with no regard for the environment Thank you very much. I'm speaking. I want to thank the member for for the question The the premier as the premier said earlier today mzdo's are a very Important tool in helping us build a very important infrastructure The infrastructure that includes long-term care homes hospitals, mr. Speaker. I know the ndp raised a Concern about it earlier. I note that one of the mzdo's supported affordable housing in the leader of the official opposition's Own riding mr. Speaker, so we are going to continue to ensure that this very very necessary infrastructure infrastructure that supports our economic recovery And infrastructure that supports the very important needs in communities Infrastructure that has been asked By the local municipalities as the premier said they have come to us asked us to expedite these proposals through mzdo's And we're doing that after they have done that mr. Speaker It is good policy It it makes sense and we will as the premier said continue to do that To the benefit of the people the province of ontario supplementary question Mr. Speaker, we can all agree that in the crisis that we find ourselves and you know There are some important decisions swift decisions that are required to address the dire needs that have been exposed However, cutting both the public and experts out of the process is not in the interest of ontarians when it comes to ensuring We make decisions that will not impact negatively the future of our children The provincial policy statement was developed with the vision with the future generations in mind Yet the government is deciding today that the provincial policy statement is no longer No longer important giving itself the power to allow for the destruction of protected farmlands wetlands and natural features So what kind of message is the government sending to our youth? When speaking about the removal of the requirements to comply with the pps the minister of municipal affairs has said Quote there cannot be unnecessary barriers question and of quote Schedule tree of bail 257 shows that this government believes protecting the environment is an ancillary barrier That needs to be overcome in the name of development. So how can the minister justify schedule tree and put Thank you very much House leader Thank the member for I truly thank you for a question now, but I think I would Disagree with her. Obviously the environment remains Extraordinarily important again. This is the government that brought in the old bridges marine This is the government that created the ministry of Of environment mr. Mr. Speaker When you're talking about mzo's they are informed by local municipalities Which have approached the the government in order to expedite important infrastructure in the area That does not mean that we set aside environmental considerations But mr. Speaker we have heard for months and for years That the environment and the economy can work together And in every instance where this government has shown that we can protect the environment We can advance the economy something that was sold to us by the the federal By the federal liberals and by the liberals opposite every time we've shown that we can do that They have systematically turned their backs on both the environment and the economy We can do both and we've shown through this that we can and we will Next question I stand the member for halderman norfolk Speaker question to the minister of energy and urban development of mines and indigenous affairs Yesterday marked the beginning of PDAC. That's the world's premier mineral exploration and mining conventions held right here in toronto Typically the prospectors and developers association of canada would be welcoming representatives from over 100 Different countries. I know i've certainly attended in the past However, this year because of cova 19 the conference has moved online Attendees can join from anywhere around the world Samantha espley president of the knian institute of mining metallurgy and petroleum recently noted and i quote Ontario's mining industry is an instrumental component of the economic strength of canada And the pandemic has highlighted the essential nature of the industry Speaker my question Will the government please tell this house how we're supporting the mining sector and reducing barriers with respect to mining exploration Member for Thank you speaker. I'd like to thank the member from halderman norfolk for his question as an industry providing materials that are at the front end of our health care manufacturing and supply chains Mining was deemed essential by our government and has operated throughout cova 19 from the very beginning of the pandemic Ontario's mining operations have made sure that they've had a commitment to protect the health and well-being of all of their workers Their families and the adjacent communities It's important for our government to support the mining companies that operate in this province And create good jobs that boost the local economy across the northern Ontario We'd like to thank the mining sector for the determination throughout this pandemic in keeping their employees safe over the past year Through the better for people smarter for business act Our government has cut red tape found efficiencies supporting the mining industry and exploration And supporting over 75,000 jobs in ontario these changes will modernize the The online mining staking system and address gaps. Thank you. Thank you very much Well, thank you speaker I very much appreciate that response to my question And it is encouraging to hear that our government is remaining active and remaining engaged in keeping Ontario Open for business and open for jobs as we continue to fight the cova 19 pandemic As we know ontario is home to some of the top producing mines and more will be opening soon despite the pandemic it's been a monumental year as I am gold's cote gold project And argono gold's majino project for the latest to be given the green light to start construction Speaker, we know that it's people who make mines not governments projects like these will create thousands of quality jobs to Not only create the site but also Thousands of jobs to staff the site once it's operational My question speaker. Will the government please tell us what other tools are available for miners in ontario to make doing business easier Thank you, mr. Speaker and even during covet we have been Launching new products specifically for the mining industry the ontario geological Survey focus is ontario's new innovative online geoscience tool it merges all of the historical information that we have on exploration Into an easy format that anyone can use it is a free publicly accessible tool that allows all parties from indigenous communities to exploration companies and prospectors To have access to all of the same information now more than ever our government is committed To ensuring that we support ongoing Prosperity of our province mineral exploration and prospecting industry The ogfs focus tool is a state-of-the-art Customer focused product that will further solidify ontario's position as a lead in global jurisdiction In mineral exploration and production The next question the mentor for kinkston in the islands Thank you speaker and my question is to the acting premier Small business owners in ontario are terrified that they are not going to survive this pandemic And as you are likely aware, they are struggling to access the ontario small business grant Which although welcome is minuscule compared to need and excludes more businesses than it includes Mohammed who owns a jiffy grill in hastings lenox and addington has grown increasingly frustrated according to the government website Approved businesses were to receive payment in about 10 business days He applied on january 29th And finally late on sunday night and 38 days after he applied he found out that he was approved But he has not yet received his money. This is after five requests for information from our office to the ministry We've been told that the wait list has gone to over a hundred thousand applicants And processing times have slowed to a crawl Can the minister explain why mohammed and others are being left on a wait list so long when the nature of this situation is so urgent The member for flamboyant landbrook in parliamentary system Thank you, mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker our government recognizes that small businesses have been hit hard because of the measures that we put in place To ensure that ontarians remain safe But mr. Speaker that is why we launched The small business program the ontario small business support grant And it mr. Speaker is providing a minimum of ten thousand dollars a maximum of 20 thousand dollars To eligible small businesses that were forced to close or significantly restrict their services And mr. Speaker i'm very proud to say that to date we have been able to approve grants for 90,000 small businesses across ontario And we have made almost 1.3 billion dollars in payments so far Eligible small businesses response that are expected to experience a minimum 20 decline in revenue May qualify for this grant and they can use that money any way they see fit Thank you, mr. Speaker and let's take a moment to talk about the eligibility The grant is for businesses that were affected by the closures in december Excluding the large number of businesses that were actually forced to close in earlier lockdowns In other words, it excludes those who have been hit the hardest and longest by public health measures The program criteria excludes many seemingly arbitrarily much like the failed provincial commercial rent subsidy This program seems to be an attempt to say look we're helping when in reality Designing a program that obligates the government to help as few businesses as absolutely possible As the cfib pointed out ontario small businesses are struggling more than other provinces Here the average covet related small business that is almost 20 higher than the national average Every penny of mohammed's grant will go towards his federal relief loans Loans are incurring hundreds of dollars late fees and interest due to the uncertainty around the delivery of this business grant It is clear that more needs to be done speaker Will the government right now commit to expanding the criteria increasing the funding level and renewing the grant for another Thank you Are not your systems respond speaker And I want to say mr. Speaker that i'm proud of the work that our government has done I have worked with small business owners in my riding of flamborough glanbrook and right across the city of hamilton Who have reached out to me and they were grateful they found that this money was was a life-saving measure for them I've worked with businesses right across the province in northern ontario Sometimes they didn't realize that they were eligible But we worked with them and they were able to gain access to these grants And not only is our business is eligible to apply for the small business support grant But mr. Speaker there are other grants and I would encourage them to apply for the $1,000 main street relief grant for ppe the digital main street Program to help businesses go online and and transition to a digital process the property tax and energy rebates and mental health Support is available to all small businesses visit ontario.ca backs backsplash Slash covet support to apply. Thank you very much the next question remember for king Thank you, mr. Speaker. Good morning. My question is for the premier Last october the government's regulations for stages one two and three of the lockdown Under the general compliance sections mandates that masks be warned for anyone over the age of two This regulatory policy has been in place for months now Can the government tell us whether it has any data that proves Whether mandating that children three four and five years of age Wearing masks has resulted in a decline in covet 19 positive reported cases Thank you the minister of health. Thank you very much speaker and thank you to the member for the question We know Through the recommendations made by dr. Williams our chief medical officer of health as well as the preventive measures table Number of public health experts have recommended that masks be worn to prevent transmission of covet 19 And we are following it's important even as people receive their first dose of the vaccine We still need to follow those public health measures to keep ontarians safe and healthy and that includes keeping a physical distance wearing a mask When indoors wearing Frequent hand washing and the other provisions until all ontarians who want to receive a vaccine Have received both doses of those vaccines that require two doses Johnson and johnson is different and only requires one But the mask wearing is going to continue to be important for some response The supplementary question Thank you, mr. Speaker It appears the government has no such proof data or facts to support mandating children The ages of three or four to our masks even the world health organization states in its official position Children under the ages of five Should not be required to wear masks This is based on the safety and overall interest of the child and their capacity to use the mask appropriately Why in this instance when it comes to children under five years of age that wearing masks Does this government have a requirement that is crueler than what the who recommends? What science is the regulation based on? Minister of Health, thank you Well, these are the recommendations that we have received from dr. Williams and all of the other public health experts who are advising us And it is remarkable how children are adapting to wearing a mask that they are wearing them at very young ages It don't seem to be uh suffering from cruelty as the member has suggested But we all need to follow these public health measures to make sure that all Ontarians are safe and healthy Until everyone who wants to receive a vaccine has received those two doses Very much the next question member for hamilton now Thank you very much, mr. Speaker My question is for the premier the outbreak at hamilton went worth detention center is only getting worse Right now there are 63 cases of COVID-19 at the jail making it the worst outbreak in hamilton Workers inmates and families say that they need better communication Transparency and a real strategy to end the outbreak Ken the premier tell us why he's allowed the situation to get so bad And what he's doing to help workers inmates and their families at the hamilton went worth detention center get through this horrible outbreak The solicitor general Well, thank you speaker, you know, I think we all appreciate and understand when there is a COVID outbreak How challenging it is for friends and family which frankly is why we must continue to Hear adhere to and respect the health advice Specifically related to the hamilton went worth correction center We are working directly with the help the hamilton public health unit They are ensuring that we have all of the information and we're sharing that with our staff correction staff They are doing an exceptional job during challenging times. We know that when there are Uh positivity rates in the communities it travels it travels into our long-term care homes It travels into our hospitals and yes, it travels into our corrections facilities. So, um, I think at the end of the day What it reinforces is how critically important it is that we continue to respond and adhere to the health advice Thank you Uh, thank you speaker the hamilton went worth detention center is just the latest correctional facility to suffer an outbreak Across Ontario detention centers have faced outbreak after outbreak after outbreak this government's failure to safeguard staff and inmates From COVID-19 are being felt everywhere in hamilton families are saying that the inmates and their families are being kept in the dark about the response And that it is growing frustration mistrust and concern about the conditions inside These families are desperately Demonstrating outside the jail in protest to this situation Why has the government allowed this situation to worsen and when will it start listening to families and workers? These are less than Well, thank you speaker. So as the member opposite knows I trust when New intakes are received in our corrections facilities Those individuals are offered a test and they are self isolated from the rest of the community For 14 days to make sure that we are not spreading COVID unnecessarily You know again, I have to say that the work that our corrections officers the work That is happening within those facilities Continues. Yes, it is challenging in congregate settings, which frankly is one of the very important reasons why we have said congregate settings need to get the vaccines as soon as the supply is here We are putting that work in place. In fact, the canora jail has started to vaccinate their corrections officers Last week. So we are continuing to do that work I am working as I said directly with the hamilton public health unit and we will continue to ensure That staff family and inmates are protected. Thank you The next question the member for olia Thank you, mr. Speaker. My question is for the minister of transportation Mr. Speaker as a result of new spiff regulations that came into effect on january 1st Dump truck operators have been forced into extreme financial difficulty, especially now during the pandemic These regulations require that trucks manufactured prior to 2011 undergo expensive retrofits of between 20 and 40 thousand dollars The average lifespan for a dump truck is 20 to 25 years So if 40 thousand dollar retrofit near the end of its life is simply beyond the reach of most independent Operators the ministry has cut deals the ministry has cut deals for all other affected construction vehicles Permitting their existing vehicles to be grandfathered into the regulations. Mr. Speaker small dump truck drivers are at risk of losing their jobs They are at risk of losing their jobs Mr. Speaker will the minister commit to supporting dump truck operators during this challenging time By permitting them to operate closer to the lifespan of their vehicles As they have done with all other affected trucks. Thank you To apply the government have a favor. Thank you very much, mr. Speaker I know this is a regulation that has been on the books for a significant amount of time if I'm not mistaken Brought in by the previous liberal government I think it really underscores just how bad a government that the previous liberal government was mr. Speaker This is a this is a former government and an opposition party right now that if they had their way would close down construction altogether Putting all of these dump truck operators out of work We had an opportunity just in this house Last week to show our support for hundreds of thousands of jobs across this province The liberals decided when it came to line five to stay home Sit down and do nothing. Mr. Speaker when it comes to supporting jobs when it comes to supporting jobs in construction in in in in resource development mr. Speaker They can count on the progressive concerted party of ontario to do the right thing Especially those dump truck drivers who are so important to our economy and because of the investments we're making in transit Responses they will be busy for many many years to come mr. Speaker I'm going to remind members you can't make reference to the absence of any member supplement your question Thank you, mr. Speaker. I'm glad the government's committed to supporting dump truck drivers They'll be surprised though because the government has yet to meet with them after months of requesting these meetings The government brought these regulations into force in the middle of a pandemic a pandemic that has affected the construction industry As much if not more than many other sectors mr. Speaker in fact I'm glad the house leader mentioned the liberal record It was steven del duke as minister of transportation who committed to open and transparent consultations with the dump truck industry in 2016 mr. Speaker But at their first opportunity at their first opportunity This government decided to target dump truck drivers and bring these regulations into force in the middle of a pandemic Mr. Speaker will the government Will the government commit to meeting with the industry to hammer out a deal To ensure that these dump truck drivers don't lose their business Well, mr. Speaker, you know that I've certainly met with representatives of the dump truck industry as a number of members from this caucus But talking about steven del duke a member who A leader who decided to build a pool in his backyard against all of the recommendations Illegally build a pool in his backyard And this is the gentleman that this person brings to this house to pick for The minister of transportation Who forgot to listen to any of the advice ignored the advice of his officials and decided well I'm going to build a go train station where it's convenient for me. Mr. Speaker We will take no lessons from steven del duke when it comes to being ethical mr. Speaker The members opposite had the opportunity to support resource and this opportunity to support thousands of jobs The ndp Thankfully, mr. Speaker after 50 years of ideologically blocking pipelines voted with us mr. Speaker voted to save those jobs the liberals Voted against those jobs voted against the environment voted agents the economy mr. Speaker will take no lessons from steven del duke on building So mr. Pretty thank you mr. Speaker my question Is for the attorney general whereas the only Bilingual judge in the district of algoma Retired the government decided to replace him by a unilingual anglophone judge So francophones in algoma have no judge in order to preside over their Procedures, this is a very disappointing decision for the francophone community That sees its access To justice and french reduced once again will the government come back on this decision and guarantee That there be at least one bilingual judge in the district of algoma Thank you mr. Speaker and i'm pleased to rise and and talk a little bit about some of the great work that we're doing with our French communities our francophone communities across Ontario as of the the bill that's in front of the house now the ability to file Civil forms and family forms in any courthouse anywhere in Ontario. There are a whole string of things that we're doing When it comes to judicial appointments and judicial Administration that's really part of the independence of the courts and so It is something i hear i hear the member opposite and his concern for his area I will undertake to have that conversation To raise the issue with with the chief justice of ontario But i will respect the independence of the judiciary to administer their judges as they see As they see fit, but i will note it for the chief justice. Thank you mr. Speaker Thank you very much that concludes our question period for this morning We have now several deferred votes the first being a deferred vote on government order number 48 On march 8 2021 mr. Colander moved to concurrence and supply for the ministry of long-term care including supplementaries The bells will now ring for 30 minutes during which time members may cast their votes I'll ask the clerks to prepare the lobbies