 It is now time for oral questions and I recognize the leader of the official opposition. My first question is to the Premier. During the last Conservative Government, the Premier of the day Mike Harris announced big plans for Ontario's public health system. Over the next few years, 6,000 nurses lost their jobs, 28 hospitals were shuttered, 7,000 hospital beds were closed. As the Tories roll out yet another plan to transform our health care, families are wondering this time how many people will lose their jobs, how many hospitals and community services will shut down and how many hospital beds will we lose. Stop the clock. Government side will come to order. Start the clock. Premier. Through you Mr. Speaker, when we traveled around the province and I went to hospital hospital there was four, five hour wait times. We were elected in hallway health care. I am so fortunate and blessed. I have the best health minister, the best deputy premier in the entire world right beside me. Mr. Speaker, I get a lot of calls every day. The overwhelming amount of calls I had from frontline health care workers, from nurses, from doctors across this province said thank goodness you got rid of the lens. That's all I heard about is getting rid of the lens, the minister is getting rid of the lens, making sure we end hallway health care and get rid of the 1,200 people that line up in the hallway every single day in this province. Supplementary. Well Speaker, patients in Ontario have seen big plans before under conservative and liberal governments and they've seen the same plans lead to cuts, closures and creeping privatization. The premier has brought back many of the same conservative operators from the Mike Harris era and has even paid his personal friend and former PC party president for $150,000 a year to serve as his health czar. Why should families believe the government when they claim that this time things are going to be different? Premier, to my great minister of health. The reason why we are going through this transformative change is for patients. It's for patients, families and their caregivers to make sure that they get the coordinated care that they need. They're not getting that now. Our system is fragmented. Providers are being paid out of different funding envelopes. They have different purposes. They have different goals. What we are bringing forward through the People's Health Care Act is a way to connect the providers so they can provide that integrated care to Ontario's patients. That is what they deserve and expect. We promised them that we would deliver that and that is what we're going to do. Restart the clock. Final supplementary. The government's new health bill includes plans to collapse world-renowned agencies like Cancer Care Ontario into one new mega bureaucracy. Internal documents from the ministry warned of potential service disruptions. Service disruptions when agencies like Cancer Care Ontario are already doing a stellar, stellar job, Speaker. Why would we do that to patients? Why is the government scrapping an agency that already works for people? That is incorrect. The agencies are not being collapsed. Cancer Care Ontario is going to continue to do the great work it does. And I would agree with you that they are world-class in managing Cancer Care and renal indications. But we can learn from that. We can learn from that and use that model for other chronic disease management strategies. We need to do that for diabetes, for example. And in mental health and addictions, it's arguable that there isn't any structure right now. We can use that model to create those chronic diseases. Speaker, my next question is also to the Premier of the province. During the last election campaign, the Premier said he would, quote, leave no stone unturned when it came to privatizing public services. And the new health bill will open the door to unprecedented levels of new private for-profit health delivery. How many, my question, Speaker, how many new private for-profit services will the Premier accept under this new plan? Speaker, what I would say to the leader of the official opposition is that it is absolutely incorrect not bringing things open for private health care delivery in our public system. What we are doing is making sure that we strengthen our public health care system. And as the members opposite should know, as you indicate in the bill what you are going to do. You don't talk about all the other things that you are going to do. We are not moving forward with privatization. We are strengthening our public health care system. Speaker, start the clock. Supplementary. While the Ford government insists that this is a completely different bill from the version that leaked weeks ago, it contains the same concerning provisions encouraging more for-profit providers into our health system. The one change is a new preamble that actually references public funding, but makes no mention whatsoever of the principle straight from the Canada Health Act of public delivery of health services. Why is there no commitment to not-for-profit public health care delivery in this bill, Speaker? About to ask the government side. I have to be able to hear personnel asking a question. I ask them to come to order. Start the clock. Response? Minister? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In fact, the legislation entirely talks about the public delivery of health care, strengthening our public system. Mr. Speaker, with respect, I would say that what the leader of the official opposition is doing is fear-mongering people about something that doesn't actually exist. We are strengthening our public system of health care, plain and simple, the end. Health care system becomes like Kathleen Wynne's Hydro-1 system. It'll be the end for that. They want to know that they can get quality health care when they need it, and without having to pad the pockets of for-profit companies. That's what people value in this province. They don't want their public health dollars padding the pockets of for-profit health delivery companies. Yet this government seems to be following the exact same path that we've seen before, laying the groundwork for cuts, closures and creeping privatization. Why should families believe that this time it's going to be any different? Minister? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, through you, I would say that the leader of the official opposition doesn't want to accept what is obvious. We are strengthening our public health care system. And I want to say to the people of Ontario, because they need to hear it from me directly, is that you will continue to pay for your health care services using your OHIP card. That will not change. And that is what I can give you an example of what's happening now, is if people are being discharged from hospital following surgery, but they require home care, right now they often don't know who's going to provide the care. They don't know what kind of care is delivered or when they're going to receive it. And when the home care provider arrives at their home whenever, they often don't know anything about the patient's condition. Well, that has to change, and that is going to change under our new system. By the time patients leave. My question is to the Premier of the province. After weeks of dodging and delaying, the Ford government finally released details of their plan for children with autism and their families, and it confirms what families had feared, Speaker. Two parents, each earning minimum wage, will make too much money to qualify for full support under the Premier's autism plan. And a family earning an average household income could be expected to cover as much as $76,000 a year in therapy costs for their child. How does the Premier expect a family earning $90,000 a year to pay for $76,000 worth of treatment? Premier. Over to the Community Social Services. Minister of Children, Community and Social Services. I'm sure it's my pleasure to rise today to talk about Ontario's new autism program. Our government for the people is committed to eliminating the 23,000 waitlist for families of children with autism seeking support through the OAP. Unfortunately, the NDP doesn't want to see those children get off that waitlist, and that is actually quite despicable. Our aim, our goal is to clear the waitlist in 18 months and improve access to service those 23,000 children. A sliding scale has been developed using gradual increments of approximately 1.5%. In year one, the government will be using family net income budgets from families' notice of assessment to calculate childhood budgets to provide family support as soon as possible. So for example, if a household income of the child entering the program of two is $80,000, the maximum childhood budget available would be 86.5% of the $140,000, which equals to $121,000, which is $121,000 more than it is getting today. Government side will come to order. Start the clock. Supplementary. Speaker, this plan is a betrayal to children and parents who need support, and they were promised it by this government, and they know they've been betrayed. But instead of providing the help that these families need, the government has threatened professional groups, they've frozen waiting lists while denying that that freeze actually existed, and they claimed endorsements from parents who actually hate their plan. At what point will the Premier fire this minister and start on a new plan that actually works for children and families? Minister. Thanks very much, Speaker. As I mentioned, our motivation is to clear the wait list of 23,000 children who are not receiving support in the province of Ontario. That's three out of every four children. That's why we're investing a record investment of $321 million to clear the wait list by doubling the diagnostic hubs, by ensuring that we can provide direct support financially to parents. But I have a quote that came out in December of 2007, and I want to read it. When is this government going to actually deliver on finding the clearing the wait list for those families and the children that need autism services in the province of Ontario? Do you know who that came from? The leader of the official opposition. Speaker, today was a government that she supported 98% of the time with the Liberals, but this time when we're clearing the wait list, it's not good enough for her. Why isn't it good enough for her? Government side, come to order. There's a member that wants to ask a question. Start the clock. The member for Kitchener South has been... Mr. Speaker, our government committed to the people of Ontario during the election campaign that we would fix our public health care system. Ontarians across this province have been waiting far too long for improvements to our health care system. That is why yesterday I was so excited to hear the Minister of Health deliver our government's long-term plan to fix and strengthen our public health care system by focusing directly on the needs of Ontarians, patients, and families. Mr. Speaker, could the minister please update the members of this legislature on how our plan will benefit patients in Ontario? Minister of Health and Long-term Care. I'd like to thank the member from Kitchener South Health for her question and for her great work on many, many fronts. Thank you. As we all know, our health care system is facing many problems. Patients and families are lost in our health care system, falling through the cracks and waiting too long for care. This has a negative impact on the health and well-being of patients and their loved ones both physically and mentally. Right now, care is fragmented, particularly at transition points. For example, from hospital to home care. Patients, families and caregivers experience frequent gaps in care and have to reiterate their health care concerns over and over and over again because of a lack of digital tools and care continuity. It is clear that the value of our health care system is locked away in silos. Most frustratingly, Ontario is home to some of the best doctors, nurses and care providers in the world, but they haven't been given the tools to do their jobs properly. Thank you. Minister, for that response and all the work that you're doing, I am so proud to support your plan that strengthens, again, our public health care system. We're certainly going to benefit from patient-centered care going forward. Speaker, to me it is unacceptable that a thousand patients every day across this province are accessing health care in hallways. I know that strengthening our publicly funded health care system will benefit both patients in Ontario and health care providers. So could the minister explain why else it is critical that we move forward with this plan to strengthen Ontario's public health care system? Minister? Mr. Speaker, I do want to make it crystal clear to the people of Ontario that our government is 100% committed to strengthening our public health care system. As of developing our vision for our health care system, I want to say directly and very clearly to every legislator in this House and to the people of Ontario that our primary objective has always been and will always be strengthening our publicly funded health care system and making our system better for patients, families and their caregivers. That means for the people of Ontario continuing to use your OHIP card for services as you have always done. That will continue. And I'm pleased to say that if passed, if the situation is passed, we will finally be able to build a coordinated public health care system around the needs of the patients of this great province. Thank you. Next question, a member for Essex. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Speaker, my question is about the Premier's personal pleasure wagon and his lack of respect for taxpayers in general. Speaker, yesterday the government house leader made an extraordinary claim. He told reporters that the Premier asked the OPP to secretly spend over $100,000 on a souped up man cave on wheels. Why, Speaker? Because, get this, he wanted to save money for the public. Speaker, correct me if I'm wrong here, but the Premier already has a fleet of full-sized SUVs at his disposal 24 hours a day. So can the Premier explain how equipping a van with a mini-fridge, a 32-inch television with a blu-ray player and a leather-powered reclining sofa is a cost-cutting measure for the taxpayers in the military? Premier? Well, through you, Mr. Speaker. I know it's important to the opposition to talk about a van, but let me tell you something about that, Mr. Speaker. I requested a used van that is one-third the cost of the regular suburban. I'm the only Premier in history that refuses to use the Premier's plane, the King Air, that costs the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of making sure we're lowering the heating costs, lowering gas prices, creating more jobs out there than we can even eat the employers. Need more people. We don't have enough people for all the jobs we created. We created the environment for 43,000 jobs last month. Government side will come to order. Order. Start the clock. Supplementary. The fact is that the Premier knows the people of Ontario shouldn't be paying for his electric reclining couch and his van. That's why he asked that the cost be moved off the books. That's why his staff are using personal emails instead of government accounts, and that's why Brad Blair, the acting commissioner of the OPP, said no rain not on his watch, which might explain why the Premier's preferred candidate for OPP commissioner, Ron Taverner, was in the news for this story defending in the Premier's choice of a personal pleasure wagon when the Premier said he wanted new leadership at the OPP. Is that what he meant? Recognize the Premier. To you, Mr. Speaker, I think I answered the question last time he asked me. But again, you know what the people of this province care about, including people from Essex. People from Essex doesn't realize their MPP voted to increase taxes, increase gas prices, making sure it puts more of a burden on the backs of the taxpayers. Our government is for the people, Mr. Speaker, where we're reducing costs. We're taking the burden off families. We're making sure that they can get from point A to point B at a lower cost because we got rid of the cap and trade carbon tax, the lower gas prices. Everyone that received the heating bill in this province saw a lower cost on their heating bill because of our government. The people that are getting their checks every single week are seeing less being taken off from the government. Thank you. Question, the member for Northumberland, Peter Brewer's side. Question is for the Premier. Last week, I know the Premier had the opportunity to travel to Washington to bring our open for business message to our largest trading partner. I know that during the trip, the Premier had the opportunity to share the work our government is doing to make Ontario open for business and open for jobs. Since we were elected, Mr. Speaker, this Premier, this government has been laser focused on the regulatory burdens affecting business on lowering taxes and scrapping the Liberals disastrous cap and trade carbon tax. Could the Premier please outline for the House the important work that is being done to let our largest trading partner to let the world know that after a closed sign on the border after disastrous 15 years, Ontario is once again open for business, open for jobs. Well, through you, Mr. Speaker, we had a fabulous trip to Washington. We went down and told the world and our largest trading partner that Ontario is open for business and open for jobs. When I talked to the numerous governors and ambassadors, they were just so thankful. We also met with a group of Fortune 500 companies that have investment in Ontario and every single one of them said, thank God your government got elected because now we get to expand in Ontario and create more jobs. Our biggest issue here in Ontario, we have created so many new jobs, we don't have enough people to fill these jobs. That's the ball. Members of the State's supplementary. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the Premier for that response. It's refreshing to members of Hamilton East Stony Creek, come to order. It's refreshing, Mr. Speaker, that after 15 years, we have a Premier that understands business. I know that during the trip, Mr. Speaker, the Premier along with the Premiers of New Brunswick and Saskatchewan called for an end to American steel and aluminum tariffs. These tariffs have been hurting Ontario workers and Ontario businesses, and they are also hurting American workers and American businesses. In fact, over 16,000 people work in the steel and aluminum industries, including workers in that nagging members' riding. And they want an end to these tariffs, Mr. Speaker, could the Premier please outline for this meeting what he's doing to get these disastrous tariffs lifted? Mr. Speaker, we had a great meeting with Ambassador Lighthizer that's controlling the trade deal. What a positive, positive meeting. He wants to sign the deal. I'm confident that he'll sign the deal with our federal government. We'll get rid of these tariffs. But what I told the Americans down there, our largest trading partner, we're the number one and we do more trade with 19 states than any other region in the world. We're number two to nine other states. If we were a standalone country, we would be the U.S.'s third largest trading partner with $350 billion at two-way trade. Had great conversations with the Michigan governor. Governor Whitmer, we just hit it off. Together, we will create tens of thousands of jobs right across all sectors because Ontario is open for business. Member for Hamilton East Stony Creek, come to order. Government side, come to order. We're not even halfway through the question. Start at the clock. Next question, the Member for Essex. Thank you, Speaker. Through you to the Premier, Speaker, the Premier's OPP security detail are highly trained professionals, trained literally to take a bullet for the Premier, yet court documents show that the Premier berated these officers and demanded special treatment and control over this detail saying, and I quote, Speaker, it feels like I'm getting effed around by the OPP and I'm getting more pissed off, end quote. Can the Premier tell us what was it? Can I ask the Member to withdraw? Withdraw, Speaker. It feels like I'm getting bleeped around by the OPP and I'm getting more and more bleeped off, if that makes any sense. Speaker, can the Premier tell us what was it that he didn't order about his highly trained OPP officers trained to literally protect his life? Premier? I can tell you, Mr. Speaker, I have the best OPP detail in the world. Brown with signs bleeping the police. The police, no matter where they are in Ontario, no, this government supports the police, supports the OPP, and you know my friend from Essex should be apologizing to my detail that I've worked with for seven, eight months, they're part of the family and I love them and I'm sure they feel the same way. Here, here. Supplementary. Speaker, we know that the Premier would love to relive the glory days of operating out of the back of a van, but the OPP have better things to do than hide their verbal abuse and hide the cost of his personal pleasure wagon. Speaker, court documents also reveal that the Premier didn't even know the name of the OPP Commissioner and he only bothered to learn it because he felt his personal needs weren't being met. Evidently, the new Premier's top priority in his first meeting with the OPP Commissioner wasn't public safety and it wasn't supporting our frontline commissioners and officers, it was looking out for us. Speaker, is this the Premier's vision for policing? Members, we refer to each other by our writing name or by our ministerial name if applicable. Premier, respond. Through you, Mr. Speaker, you know something, I'm going down and I'm speaking for my detail, they're disgusted right now. They're disgusted, if they could run in here right now, each and every one of them would be standing shoulder to shoulder with me and I appreciate the work they do. My friends, what people want, what people want, and I'll tell you what the OPP want, because they have heating bills, they have gas bills that they have to pay. They love this government, the police love this government, they love Bill 175 that we're getting through to actually stand up for the police and I look forward to the opposition voting with them when it comes to police issues, police matters, but guess what, Mr. Speaker, they voted against everything when it comes to the police, they don't like the police, they hate the police. Can I ask the Premier to withdraw? Can I ask the Premier to withdraw? Can I ask the Premier to withdraw? Withdraw. Start the clock. Next question, the member for Guelph. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Premier, will the liberal cash for access story broke? Conservative MPPs hammered the government of the day. Ultimately, all parties supported fundraising reform, but tonight the Ford government is bringing back cash for access. Media reports allege the government is pressuring lobbyists to sell $1,250 tickets to the Premier's swanky dinner or lose access. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to ask the Premier, will the government agree to close the loopholes they opened last year that allow deep pocket insiders to buy access to events with the Premier? The question is being put to the Premier. Actually, Mr. Speaker, we have done more spaghetti dinners at $25 around this province and we're coming to a location close to you to talk to the people over a $25 spaghetti dinner. I'm going up to Moscow on Friday for a $25 dinner, a spaghetti dinner, but talk to them. Supplementary. Mr. Speaker, I'm afraid the government has forgotten what they said in opposition. Cash for access is bad for democracy. A $25 spaghetti dinner is not the same as a $1,250 cash for access event. Having to strong arm lobbyists to sell tickets is wrong. We can't allow big money to have a bigger voice in our government than, let's say, children with autism or endangered species or others who can't afford to write a $1,250 check. So Mr. Speaker, I'd like to ask the Premier, will the government work with all parties in this House to fix the fundraising rules so we can have $25 spaghetti dinners, but not have $1,250 cash for access events? Order. A lot of people here from Kitchener Waterloo and I know recently the Premier was in Waterloo Region and had one of those famous spaghetti dinners for $25 over 200 people and guessed that our Premier and people are going to come. We changed the fundraising rules as you may remember the previous Liberal government was doing $10,000 a plate corporate donations and guessed who got the wind turbine projects and guessed who got the solar projects the companies that gave big money to the Liberal government. These are personal donations that these people are making to come to our event tonight live-stream member from Guelph and you'll enjoy it too. It's a great message. For Essex, come to order. Start the clock. Next question, the member for Etobicoke Lakeshore. Thank you. My question is for and let me echo our Premier, the great minister of health and long-term care for the people was left with a health care system on life support. That is why on behalf of the moms, the dads, the aunts, the girls, and the girls, I am proud to support our government's plan to strengthen Ontario's health care system. Fixing a broken health care system the former Liberal government left us with was a core campaign promise which our government is delivering on. Mr. Speaker, could the minister please inform the members of this house how our plan will finally create a health care system that works for the people. I'd like to thank the member from Etobicoke Lakeshore for her question and for her support. Yesterday I was proud to announce our plan to strengthen and fix our public health care system. As the member stated our promise to fix our system is a commitment we do take very seriously. We have to do more to ensure that high quality care is for Ontarians when they need it and where they need it. We know that too much time and attention is spent on maintaining a siloed and fragmented system and far too many people believe it is the patients or the family's job to navigate through a very complicated system during a very emotional and difficult time in their lives. That's why we are building a public health care system centered around the patient and redirecting money to frontline services where it belongs to improve the patient experience and provide better and more connected care. Supplementary. I thank the Minister for her response public health care has for many decades been a cornerstone for health care in Canada and in Ontario. Knocking on doors people in my riding of Etobicoke Lakeshore have made it clear that public health care is important to them. I'm glad to hear that we are acting on a key campaign promise to end hallway health care in Ontario and that strengthening our broken health care system remains a top priority for this minister and this government. Mr. Speaker, could the minister please confirm the government's commitment to the public health care system in Ontario? Minister? Throughout many years I have seen the need to strengthen and fix our public health care system during my years as health critic for the official transition as Ontario's first patient ombudsman and now in my role as minister of health and long-term care. I have heard from literally thousands of Ontarians. Patients, families and caregivers and our dedicated health care providers from these thousands of hours of conversations I have heard your collective refrain our system is in need of transformational change. We need to make change for the people that's why the People's Health Care Act has been introduced and that if passed will allow us to strengthen and fix our public health care system. Thank you Mr. Speaker my question is for the premier yesterday I asked the minister of education what plans she has put in place to support children with autism spectrum disorder in schools when funding for autism services expires on and around April 1st and she couldn't answer. Premier I have a letter here from the Halton District School Board Chair who is calling on the government to provide them with a plan and funding to ensure proper supports are in place for their classrooms. This letter speaks of the rising needs and says that changes to the Ontario autism program will make this situation their situation, that board and others absolutely untenable. When will the premier direct his minister to stop ignoring the impacts of her government's failed autism policy listen to school boards educators and parents and show us a plan that gives students with autism the support they deserve. Premier Minister of Education Minister of Education Minister of Education Minister of Education Minister of Education Minister of Education Minister of Education Minister of Education Minister of Education Minister of Education Minister of Education Minister of Education Minister of Education Minister of Education Minister of Education Minister of Education when it came to companion dogs. And you know what? As our Bill 48 works its way through the system, I'm pleased to say that in the region of Waterloo, a child with autism went to school for the first time yesterday with his companion dog. That's what we're doing in Ontario. That's what we are taking very seriously. We have to make sure that our children with autism feel supported and our government stands with them. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and again to the Premier. The whole of those things that the minister has spoken about up till now are programs that were developed under the previous government. Nothing new exists today. Nothing new exists today. And I'm sorry, but with the greatest of respect, we can't ensure that every child with autism is going to have a companion dog with them when they go to school after April 1st. That is not an answer. The chair of the Halton District School Board said, we fear that the short notice of program change coupled with the lack of an implementation plan from the ministry with associated new funding will not allow for the safe and supportive classrooms that you have stated you are committed to. She goes on to note that the Halton Board already spends more than $20 million than they get for special education supports and that as of February 25th, the staff at the school board have received no plans, no funds, and no direction from the ministry Mr. Premier, time is running out. When will your minister act? I think it might be appropriate to remind all members to make their comments through the chair. Minister, response. Thank you very much, Speaker. And you know, I have to remind the member opposite that yesterday I shared in this House that we have given school boards across this province, excuse me, $3 billion for special education needs. $3 billion. In addition to that, we have extended our pilot project where we're working with 19 school boards and dealing with children with autism who have learned from the people in the classroom. That extension of the pilot project was very, very important. Over and above that, we are working very diligently with our school boards and with our ministry to make sure, again, that students feel safe and supportive and there are going to be so many more details coming in the weeks to come. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the minister of energy, northern development and mines. Speaker, this government is pro-manufacturing, pro-energy sector, and firmly pro-pipelines. Yesterday, the minister represented our economic interests and fought to defend the livelihood of thousands of workers across this province by speaking against Bill C69, the Federal Liberal Anti-Energy Anti-Pipeline Bill at the Senate in Canada and especially in Ontario. Energy infrastructure and mining plays a huge role in the daily lives of so many of our communities. They are massive employment centres in our economy, especially the manufacturing sector that produces pipelines right here in Ontario, creates jobs for our young people, our skilled trades, and our Indigenous peoples. Can the minister align how he is standing up for energy workers in this province by opposing the Federal Liberal's job-killing legislation? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I had an incredible opportunity to speak to a packed room, one of the largest rooms in a Senate committee in a very, very long time. It took a firm stand, Mr. Speaker, and sent a clear message that Ontario is open for business. You know that catchy tourist phrase on our old signs that said more to discover after a decade and a half of darkness meant more taxes to discover, more red tape to discover, more government to discover, Mr. Speaker. So how could it be that we would stand idly by and watch Bill C69, which represents a significant intrusion by the federal government on our ability to move major pipeline projects forwards? Open new minds, Mr. Speaker, and our ability to develop, refurbish and enhance and expand our nuclear assets. We're not having anything to do with that, Mr. Speaker. Industry leaders were there, provincial leaders were there, ministers from across the country are poised to send a clear message that Ontario is not fine with Bill C69. Speaker, the minister in our government recognizes the interconnected reality that prosperity and economic growth in the West means jobs and growth here in the East. I know that the minister is concerned that Bill C69 will undermine pipeline expansion, nuclear development and new mining operations in this province and manufacturing jobs across the GTA and across this province. The minister explained how interprovincial energy infrastructure projects like pipeline are essential for Canada to compete in a global marketplace. Between Prime Minister Trudeau's carbon tax and Bill C69 Liberals are making it virtually impossible to build new and replace existing pipelines to expand mining operations from the North to manufacturing here in the South. I'm proud that our government is fighting for a stronger Ontario economy within a strong and prosperous Canada. Minister, can you affirm today that you'll continue to stand up against Justin Trudeau's job-killing agenda? We're here. Minister, Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the question. I also spoke in addition against Bill C69, the implementation of clean fuel standards, the carbon tax, what I called it, the triple layer cake, Mr. Speaker, which would represent some of the most significant energy costs that we have seen in a very long time. Mr. Speaker, to sit there at that committee and get grilled by members of the Senate and complimented from an Indigenous Senator who applauded Ontario's recent efforts to have Indigenous communities take leadership on environmental assessment projects on major resource projects and the legacy infrastructure to support it. Mr. Speaker, an independent Senator who recognised that Ontario was mobilising quickly to move forward with building resource projects. Mr. Speaker, the integrity of our and safety of our nuclear assets is on the line with Bill C69, Mr. Speaker. We ask the new Democratic protesters to join Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, get with the times and fight. All right, next question, member for Sudbury. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. I'd like to tell the House about my young constituent Manon from Sudbury. Manon is just five years old, has been waiting on the waitlist to receive IVI therapy for two years. Manon will require between 20 to 40 hours of therapy per week, costing approximately $55,000 to $75,000 a year. Manon's mother, Jose, is not tempted by a $5,000 check. She would rather wait for a program that adequately and equitably supports her daughter's individual needs. Mr. Speaker. Why won't this government provide Manon and her family the support they desperately need? Premier. Minister of Community and Social Services. Minister of Children, Community and Social Services. Thank you very much, Speaker. My pleasure to respond. As you know, myself and my parliamentary assistant, Amy Fee, traveled across this entire province talking to families who are struggling on the waitlist and who are in the program. It appears that in Manon's case, Manon will probably be on the waitlist for a very, very, very, very long time without changes to this program, which is what our motivation is, to clear the waitlist in 18 months of the 23,000 children who are being denied service by their Ontario government. That's why we're putting forward a plan that will double the investment into the diagnostic hubs and that will ensure that there is a direct responsibility and a direct fund to mothers and fathers so that they can get the services that they believe their children need, whether that's behavioural support, technological aids, care, give or treat or respite. But, Speaker, let me be very clear. Manon is on our mind, and that's why we're making the changes to this plan so Manon can finally get service. Good. Thank you, Speaker. Manon needs $55,000, not $5,000. So, thoughts and prayers won't count it. That's right. After you, Premier, who supports autistic families, 1,000 percent, Mr. le Président, tous les enfants atteints, All autistic children, Mr. Speaker, deserve access to services that meet their needs in the official language of their choice. Changes the Ontario Autism Program, which cuts the direct service option for families, means that for children like Manon, it'll be incredibly difficult to get the therapy she needs in French. Manon's parents kept Manon on the wait list, hoping to get her IBI therapy from a French-language service provider, but this government's plan has ripped away all hope of that. Mr. Premier, why is the government penalizing Francophone families? Minister? Thank you very much, Speaker. That's not the case at all, and I understand there's been a lot of misinformation on the other side, and it's been perpetuated by the official opposition, and I quite believe it's your response What would they have me do? Continue? Ask the minister to withdraw. To withdraw? But what would the opposition have me do? Continue for the next four years to ignore the three out of four children who are denied service? Opposition come to order. To allow the bankrupt system I inherited to go solving? What would they have me do? They've not come out with a credible plan themselves. Opposition come to order. I never do, with the exception of yelling over me, heckling, and providing false and misleading hope to the pears of the people of Ontario? And ask the minister to withdraw. Next question, member for Brampton West. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the minister of transportation. Our government for the people's number one priority is keeping the people of Ontario safe, whether it be at home, work, or during their commute. This is why we're committed to ensuring the people of Ontario have a safe and efficient highway network. However, we all have to remember that we have to work together to keep our highways among the safest in North America. My riding of Brampton West has many trucking companies that travel our roads and highways daily, weekly, and year round. It is important to these employers, employees, friends, families, and all of Ontarians that we continue to lead the way on truck safety standards and enforcement. Can the minister of transportation inform the House on some of the recent measures our government for the people is taking to keep our roads and highways safe? Good question. Minister, transportation. Thanks very much, Speaker, and I'd like to thank the member from Brampton West for this question and his continued advocacy for his constituents and for his Ontario as well. Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to continually growing our economy and creating jobs across Ontario. Just recently, the government announced a red tape reduction bill. We took action because too many Ontarians were battling the regulatory requirements that were inefficient, inflexible, and out of date. Really, I announced two new plans to cut red tape for commercial carriers by using technology for both pre-clearance and pre-screening. Pre-clearance technology will allow a driver to use an app that transmits data from the truck when approaching inspection stations. Information is now cross-checked against the minister of transportation's databases. Then this app will let the driver know whether to bypass the station or go in. It saves time and it saves money. Mr. Speaker, we're introducing this technology right across the province. This new technology will allow drivers to get information visually and audibly in a way that's consistent with our distracted driving laws and I'm going to have more in a supplement on this. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Through you, thank you to the minister of transportation for the great response. I'm pleased to hear that our government for the people is finding better and smarter ways to enhance truck safety across Ontario and continue to keep our roads and highways among the safest in North America. I know my community of Brampton West will be very pleased with this announcement. With the red tape production measures this government is getting out of the way of Ontario's job creators. We're lowering business cost and making Ontario more competitive. That's an important part of our plan to grow the economy, help small business expand and ultimately create jobs. We're moving obstacles to investment, growth and job creation in over a dozen sectors including the trucking industry, the auto sector, manufacturing, construction, agriculture and food processing. Can the minister tell us more about his recent announcements to enhance truck safety in Ontario? Minister. It's again from the member for Brampton West for that question. Our government recently announced that we'll be improving road safety by allowing enforcement officers to focus their efforts on higher risk or unknown vehicles. We're going to use technology for pre-screening to speed up inspections. Data can be collected automatically with reader sensors and imaging to help enforcement officers to identify potential issues more quickly. As well we recently proposed changes to the Highway Traffic Act to give commercial drivers the option of using an electronic cab card. This makes it easier to confirm driver credentials and reduce paperwork. All of these efforts will keep safe trucks on the road helping carriers save time, money and fuel costs. Ontario is a leader in truck safety standards and enforcement. I encourage all carriers to sign up for the pre-clearance program so they can take advantage of its costs, saving benefits and saving time. Mr. Speaker we want to let the trucking industry know we want to let the opposition know that Ontario is open for business and we're going to carry trucking around. Question. Member for Waterloo. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. My question to the Minister of Health. In early December your ministry suddenly moved the Cambridge Ambulance Communication Centre to Hamilton due to staffing shortages. But this staffing problem wasn't new. In June managers were told by your ministry staff that Cambridge was headed towards a staffing crisis. To the frontline workers it appeared that nothing was being done. Workers continued to lead because of stress. The relocation was supposed to help instead it made things worse. Hamilton dispatch was not equipped with auto locate technology and an ambulance was set to the wrong location. First responders lost precious minutes before they arrived to provide care for a patient without vital signs. Why did the ministry make this matter worse by moving Cambridge dispatch to Hamilton and not providing the necessary tools to prevent this crisis. Minister of Health and long-term care. Well I thank a member opposite to the question it is something that we are certainly aware of. I have been made aware of this as the minister of health and long-term care. And the the situation was very unfortunate but we are working to modernize and strengthen our system and that changes are going to be coming forward shortly to make sure that patients don't fall between the cracks that we want to make sure that people are safe in transportation they're safe in their healthcare and they're safe at every step along their healthcare journey. So thank you for raising that I assure you that we are continuing to work on that. Mr. Speaker healthcare healthcare ultimately is about people and since this crisis the ministry has done almost nothing to address the underlying issue of staff retention. In fact it took this ministry six weeks to even post for the new positions and there appear to be no plans to address the wage gap between dispatchers which leads to high staff turnover. Minister frontline workers deserve so much better than this. The region of Waterloo who are here today has stepped up and is and is ready to do just that. They have said that they have the dedicated space and they have the dispatch experience. Minister will you accept the region's offer of taking over operational control of Cambridge ambulance communication center because it is the best interest of our community as a whole. Thank you member for the question as she is correct ultimately this is about people it's about patients it's about providers and it's providing the best possible quality service to them and safety. Safety is the first and foremost issue for me as minister and is something that we are looking at seriously we are looking at the appropriate health mix across all of the stages in our health care system in hospitals in long-term care homes in home care settings in in ambulance situations and with paramedics all of the people who provide health care in Ontario. We are looking to modernize our system and bring it up to date to bring our technology into the 21st century that is what we are trying to do with the People's Health Care Act that is our priority if passed we will move into the 21st century with our technology with our communications with our digital tools and with the people in the system that is what this is all about. Thank you question the member from Richmond Hill. Thank you Mr Speaker my question is also for the minister of energy not development and minds the people of Ontario elected our government because we promised to clean up the hydro mask after left behind by the Liberals we promised that we will restore accountability to our electricity system after 15 years of ideologically driven policies these policies led to higher hydro rates for families and businesses while insiders in the energy sector got rich this is completely not acceptable for our government Mr Speaker this is why during the election our government promised to address and renew the governance structure at hydro one question can the minister please tell the members of this house what steps our government took to restore transparency and accountability at hydro one minister of energy northern development and minds and minister of indigenous affairs thank you Mr Speaker and I want to thank the member of Richmond Hill for her great work on behalf of her constituents and the work that she's been doing with all of our caucus colleagues Mr Speaker in cleaning up the hydro one mess that we inherited Mr Speaker we endeavored to deal with an inflated distorted salary and compensation framework for both the CEO and the board we did this through the passage of the hydro one accountability act and it required the board of directors and hydro one to establish a new compensation framework for the board the CEO and other executives and a framework that would give 47.4 percent of hydro one shareholders otherwise known as the people of Ontario say in how this would this would roll out response we're very pleased that we're standing up for the people of Ontario cleaning up the hydro one mess and moving forward thank you Mr Speaker supplementary thank you Mr Speaker and thank you to the minister for answering my question public accountability and critical is a critical component of this legislature my constituent Enrichman Hill and I would like to congratulate the minister for the leadership he showed on this file early on in our mandate I know after months of consultation the board of hydro one put forward a framework that was not acceptable to the minister and our government this is why the minister stepped in and issued a directive last week to bring the framework in line with the expectations of Ontario taxpayers Mr Speaker can the minister tell the members of this House the details of this directive minister thank you Mr Speaker of course we take this issue very very very seriously and that's why we issued a directive for the new CEO compensation framework it required the total compensation for the new CEO not to exceed 1.5 million dollars executive compensation not to exceed 75 percent of the CEO salary and the board compensation would not exceed 80 thousand dollars Mr Speaker most recently we're confident that hydro ones board wants to and will work with us to ensure the framework reflects the terms that we've discussed and issued and we look forward to working together to deliver results for the people of Ontario we believe hydro ones best days are ahead we believe the days of the Ontario taxpayer Mr Speaker the people of Ontario's best days are ahead when they have more responsible energy in Ontario thank you Mr Speaker next question the member for Toronto Centre thank you Speaker my question is for the Attorney General for months the Attorney General has dodged questions about promised funding that has been withheld from rape crisis centres across Ontario yesterday this minister flatlined funding that was less than what the crisis rape crisis centres had been promised Speaker in the last few years these centres have seen an increase of demand some as much as 300 percent as stigma decreases over seeking support for sexual violence it is our responsibility to make sure that support is there for survivors who need it survivors across this province deserve stable predictable funding so that service organizations can support them why is the minister cutting funding to rape crisis centres and why does the minister think it is acceptable to abandon survivors seeking support for sexual violence the Attorney General member for Toronto Centre come to order Ontario Centre come to order order order order order the Attorney General Thank you Mr thank you Mr Speaker let me be clear the people of Ontario and our government believe very strongly and have zero tolerance for violence committed to guaranteeing funding and increasing funding to sexual assault centres unlike the previous government that made a series of unfunded election promises on the eve of an election Mr. Speaker our government will work very hard to support victims of sexual assault and violent come to order opposition members we will be working directly with organizations in the victim services space to make sure that we are providing the supports and services that we need it is a guaranteed funding that we are proceeding with unlike the Liberals who had 15 years to support victims and the service providers that helped them instead of spending billions of dollars on their various part of their response these services should come to order we are guaranteeing funding and investing additional funds to support sexual assault centres question period for today I beg to inform the host of pursuant to standing order 98c a change has been made to the order of precedence on the ballot list for private members public business such that Ms Stiles assumes ballot item number 63 and Ms Sattler assumes ballot item number 65 I understand that the member for Niagara Falls has a point of order thank you very much Mr. Speaker I'd like to welcome Kate Robinson and Luca Di Pietro I love that name from Niagara Falls you're here participating in the model parliament thank you member for London West on a point of order thank you speaker I'd like to say a special hello to Eddie Avila who's here with Usa but is originally from London so welcome Eddie member for Niagara West on a point of order I'd also like to welcome to the legislature Ethan Zulith and Martins Vellis who are also here with the model parliament and from my writing of Niagara West today there being no deferred votes this House stands in recess until 3 p.m