 It is now time for Question Period, the member from Whitby Oxford. Thank you. It is to the Premier. The Premier were once again hearing of a slowdown in Europe and the broader global economy. This global instability threatens the economy of Ontario, making it even more important that we have a fiscal plan. Well, Ontarians heard about the Premier's plan this past weekend in Windsor. There were plans for an Ontario pension plan, for infrastructure, for taxing and spending. But Mr. Speaker, do you know what was not in the Premier's plan? A plan for balancing the budget. So my question is, when will the Premier finally decide to make balancing the budget a priority for this government? Well, Mr. Speaker, the party opposite continues on a path of talking down Ontario, of not believing in Ontario's future, of not understanding that we have to do all of the above. We have to make the investments that are going to allow our economy to thrive. That means investment in people's talent and skills. It means investments in infrastructure. It means partnering with business, and yes, it means making sure that people have retirement security. And at the same time, Mr. Speaker, we have a plan to balance the books, to make sure that we eliminate the deficit by 2017-18. That's why we have a president of the Treasury Board, Mr. Speaker. That's why we are making sure that we follow our plan, including optimizing our assets. The member opposite, Mr. Speaker, should pay close attention to the plan that we took to the people in Ontario. I'm going to immediately remind members that when somebody is answering, there is no heckling on this side. I'll shorten the answer, and on this side, I'll shorten the question. I'm also going to start immediately talking to individual members that decided they want to jump right in. I will too. Supplementary. Whatever investments are being made, they're clearly not producing results. This government continues to set targets which are never being met. Look at the facts. With a deficit approaching $12.5 billion and a budget that actually increases spending, it's hard to understand how this government intends to balance the budget by 2017-18. With the federal government about to balance their budget, Ontario's deficit accounts for more than two-thirds of all of the deficits of all of the provinces in Canada. My question is simple. When will the budget deficit finally become a priority for this government? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Well, the elimination of the deficit is absolutely a priority for us, Mr. Speaker. But the member opposite neglects to mention that one of the ways that the federal government is balancing its books is on the backs of the people of Ontario. There are 514,000 new jobs in September, Mr. Speaker, and that's an increase of 19,100 full-time jobs. Unemployment has increased by 12,600 jobs, Mr. Speaker. Our recovery is on trying to eliminate the deficit on the backs of another level. The fact is they're doing quite well and Ontario's lagging behind. Most of the other problems plan for balancing the budget. Well, let's take a look at what the Conference Board of Canada says. If the government manages to achieve their ambitious spending control plan announced in the budget, the Conference Board projects that the province will fall about $2.4 billion short of reaching its balanced budget goal in 2017-18. The facts are clear. Mr. Speaker, how can Ontarians have any credibility in this government when it comes to balancing the budget and managing debt? Right on. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Well, you know, in some ways it's not surprising that the member opposite would be in favour of what the federal government is doing, including hitting Ontario to the tune of $641 million this year when other provinces were confronting the same issues. They didn't make that choice, Mr. Speaker, so that's what the federal government is doing. The other thing is, Mr. Speaker, when that party was in office, they made it a habit of downloading services, download backs of the municipal level of government, Mr. Speaker. We're in the process of uploading those costs. The question that we all just went through was actually about whether investing in the economy, investing in the future of the province was the way we wanted to go in this province, or whether cutting and slashing, which is what they brought to the people of Ontario. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, on June 12th, the choice was made, and we're in. Thank you. Any questions? The member from Whitby, Oxford. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My second question is also to the Premier. Over the past two years, Premier, the Standing Committee on Public Accounts conducted its investigation into the Orange Air Ambulance scandal. Prior to the election, the Public Accounts Committee signed off in a report to summarize the work and findings of the committee over that two-year period. Unfortunately, the legislature was dissolved before the report could be tabled. Premier, tomorrow, the Standing Committee on Public Accounts will meet for the first time since the election. Will you direct your members to allow that report to be tabled? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, and I know that the government house leader will want to speak to the supplementary, but, Mr. Speaker, I think it is very important that the committees get up and running. I think it's very important that the committees be allowed to do their work, Mr. Speaker, and the reports that were not able to be released because the opposition decided that it was time for an election, Mr. Speaker. We need to get on with that work, and the committees will do just that. Fail to hear a clear answer there. On May 30th, Ontarians learned that Orange Air Ambulance Service had been charged with 17 offences under the Canadian Labor Code. The offences cited in the 17 charges were committed under your Deputy Premier's watch and under the watch of senior executives in the board at Orange. Premier, whether your minister accepts responsibility for failing in her oversight is one thing, but completely sidelining a report that could prevent future tragedies and mismanagement is unacceptable. Will you commit today very clearly to allow that report to be tabled, or will you keep this information secret from the people of Ontario in order to protect your own political interests? Government House Leader. Thank you very much, Speaker. I want to thank the member opposite for the question. I think when it comes to the secrecy of that report, I think... I think a former member of the party unfortunately really leaked that report anyways at some point. Speaker, as you know, the committees have been formed by this House. The committees are starting this week, starting to commence their work, elect their chairs and vice-chairs, and will be up to the members of the committee to determine their work plan and to determine what... Member from Hullam and Norfolk will withdraw. Carry on, please. Thank you, Speaker. As I was saying, it's up to the committee members to determine their work plan and determine the kind of steps they will be taking, and if they choose to work on the report that was the former Standing Committee on Public Accounts was doing and released the information, I leave it up to the committee members. Thank you. Final supplement. Thank you, Speaker. I think it's really important that Ontarians know that they cannot hide behind the structure of these committees that the members of the committee, the Liberal members of the committee can be directed to release that report, and clearly we're hearing that's not going to happen. And it's outrageous. We owe it to the frontline responders here, to the pilots, the paramedics, and the dispatchers at Orange who came forward, and most of all, we owe it to the people of Ontario who depend on our air ambulance service to be there when they need it, and we need this report to be tabled and these recommendations to be adopted. So finally, again, Premier, will you please direct the members of this committee to release this report, which is vital to the safety and the interests of the people of Ontario? Speaker, when it comes to taking actions on the issues around Orange, I want to commend the former Minister of Health and Long-Term Care for her. Incredible work on that matter in the previous parliament. And when the issues came to light, she was forthright, she was forthcoming, she brought information forward, she took immediate action when it comes to changing the governance structure of Orange and bringing it forward in fact a piece of legislation that will ensure that those type of issues does not take place. In addition, Speaker, the government fully cooperated with the former committee on public accounts in making information available so the committee members can do their work, and it will be up to the new committee members and as they assemble to determine what steps, next steps to take and it will be up to them to determine the time frame around when and how they want to make their report available. Thank you, Speaker. Thank you. That's a good question. The leader of the third party. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. What private companies have approached the government to buy up our shared public assets like our local hydro utilities? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So let me just say that I am very appreciative. We are very appreciative of the work that Ed Clark and his council have done. We said in our budget and then in our platform when we ran in the election, Mr. Speaker, that we were going to make sure that the assets that are owned by the people of Ontario were working at their full value so we could optimize the benefits of the people of Ontario and reinvest the money that would come from that optimization into the infrastructure and into the assets that we need in 2014 and going forward, Mr. Speaker. So that is the advice that is coming forward from Mr. Clark. And you know, Mr. Speaker, I think that it is only responsible and sensible to review the assets that are owned by the people of the province on a regular basis. That's what we're doing, Mr. Speaker. And I think it's, you know, I think it's actually irresponsible that the leader of the third party would not agree that that would be a good thing to do. Mr. Speaker, I need to try again. Can the Premier tell Ontarians exactly what Ontario, Canadian and foreign investors have approached her Liberal government about buying our shared public assets like our hydro utilities? Well, Mr. Speaker, since the interim report has not even been completed yet, Mr. Speaker, and since we haven't even responded fully to what Mr. Clark and his council are suggesting, then no, I cannot do that, Mr. Speaker, because we have to make sure that we take responsible and practical steps forward and to pre-empt the process before the report is even finalized would again be an irresponsible action that the leader of the third party is proposing. Mr. Speaker, since we know what Liberals are like, perhaps I should ask how much in profits the Premier is dangling in front of energy speculators like banks and investment firms when she's trying to entice them to buy our shared public assets like hydro utilities. You know, Mr. Speaker, what we are trying to do is we are trying to make sure that we make the investments today that are necessary for our economic growth that will benefit future generations. And, you know, it seems to me, Mr. Speaker, that the leader of the third party ought to be, although she never has been, but she ought to be supportive of investments in transit, Mr. Speaker, in roads and bridges across the province. I would have thought that those kinds of investments are the kinds of things that the third party would be interested in. I would have thought, Mr. Speaker, that the third party would have understood that to make sure that we have those investments available to us, that we invest in the future of the province, is in the best interest of the economy, not just of today, not just job creation today, which it absolutely does, but for the future so that Ontario can thrive. Apparently that kind of responsible, sensible path is not what the leader of the third party supports. Mr. Speaker, my next question is also for the Premier. Can the Premier tell Ontarians whether she has engaged private legal and investment firms to help her with privatizing and selling off our hydro utilities, and if so, who they may be? Depending on the questions that the leader of the third party is asking, is an assumption that anyone who works, anyone in government who works with the private sector in any way is somehow tainted, that somehow government and the private sector should never work together, even though the NDP signed contracts with private companies to generate power in the province, even though her own members are interested in extending those contracts, Mr. Speaker, and I have a quote that I will read shortly, but I don't buy into the notion that somehow government cannot work with the private sector. I just don't buy that. I believe that the practical way of governing is to work with all stakeholders, Mr. Speaker, to make sure that private government labor that we all work together in the best interest of the people of Ontario. Supplementary? Mr. Speaker, clearly it's the Liberals who are tainted. You only need to look at orange in the gas plant scale. That's the problem the opposition has with the way this government deals with the private sector. Look, as the Premier knows, Ed Clarke is still the CEO of the TD Bank. So I want to ask is will the TD Bank be involved in the privatization or the purchase of our public assets, like our hydro utility speaker? Thank you. So Mr. Speaker, let me just go back again to the point that I was making. So our commitment is to unlock the value of the assets that are owned by the people of Ontario. That's what we said we were going to do in our budget. That's what we said we were going to do in our plan and that's what we're doing. The NDP is basically saying that we should not work in any way with the private sector. And yet, when they were government, they signed nine private power generating contracts over a five year span totaling over 400 megawatts of power, Mr. Speaker. They made that commitment. Now, even her own MPPs don't agree with her, as I said, Mr. Speaker. The NDP MPP for Tomiskaming Cochran has written to the Minister of Energy to encourage the OPA to renew the contract for a private power generator in his riding. So there are members in the NDP who are practical, Mr. Speaker. There are members in the NDP who understand that we're here with the private sector. Thank you. Final supplementary. Mr. Speaker, this Premier has been insisting that she isn't privatizing anything. She's insisting that there isn't a sell-off speaker. But last Friday, Ed Clarke made it clear that the plan is to privatize and sell off local hydro utilities. Now, instead of being run for the public good for those utilities to be run in a way that makes life more affordable for everyday families and helps create jobs, they'll instead be run to make maximum profits for speculators. Why does the Premier think that privatized hydro is good for Ontario families and businesses? Thank you. Mr. Speaker, the member for Tomiskaming Cochran is sitting right beside the leader of the Third Party, Mr. Speaker. Maybe she should just turn to her left and ask him why he's encouraging the Minister of Energy to extend the private power contract that is in his riding, Mr. Speaker. The member from Timmons James Bay will come to order. It must actually be very hard for the leader of the Third Party to ask these questions. She knows that we're not selling off the assets. She knows perfectly well that that was one of the parameters, Mr. Speaker, as Ed Clarke went into this review. She knows that we are keeping these assets in public hands, and yet she continues to ask questions to undermine any relationship that the government might have with the private sector, as though somehow that's not a good thing. She knows, Mr. Speaker, that her own government, when they were in office, had to take those practices. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Premier. Last summer, I rose in this house and demanded that the Justice Committee be allowed to continue its work investigating the serious wrongdoing in your gas plant scandal. Summer has turned to fall and the fact remains that this scandal is ongoing and requires further investigation. This is not about documents having been released to the committee. This is not about previous witnesses who have testified. This is about how the committee needs to hear from Laura Miller and Peter Feist. Two people who have agreed to testify and are at the very center of this criminal investigation. Premier, it's time to stop talking about openness and transparency. It's time to demonstrate it by allowing us to interview and depose Laura Miller and Peter Feist. Will you commit to that to this house today? Thank you. Thank you very much, Speaker. Again, I thank the member opposite for the question. I remind the member opposite that the Premier has been very transparent and accountable when it comes to issues around the work that the Justice Committee was doing. Since she became the leader made sure that hundreds of thousands of documents were provided to the Justice Committee so the Justice Committee can do its work. The Justice Committee has been meeting for about two and a half years. They have listened to about 90 witnesses and during the last campaign the Premier made it very clear that she wants the Justice Committee to complete its work by engaging and providing recommendations to the government around record management around large energy infrastructure and we look forward to the Justice Committee completing its work, Speaker. Thank you. I'm disappointed that you had passed that off to the House. This is a serious matter. You realize that by refusing to do the right thing it proves that your statements about transparency and openness are nothing but lip service. I've always been. We need to ask Laura Miller and Peter Feist some serious questions about a serious criminal matter. What about the deleted emails? The destroyed documents and the unauthorized access to the Premier's office? Premier, the people of the right to see this matter investigated fully. Laura Miller and Peter Feist have said they will testify before the committee. There is only one person standing in the way of the truth in this investigation and Premier, that is you. Premier, I'm asking you once again to live on your rhetoric. One last chance and let us finally get the answers about who is responsible for this gas planned scandal. I'm going to take a moment to remind members we address each other either by our writing or title and I'll be strict on that. Comrade House Leader. Thank you very much, Speaker. The Premier has been absolutely clear. She wants Justice Committee to complete this work during the campaign. The Premier frequently restated her position that it is time after years of questioning about 90 witnesses looking at hundreds and thousands of documents it is time that the Justice Committee engage in report writing. The Justice Committee will be resuming its work so that they can complete their report writing. Even the third party brought a motion in the committee asking that it is time to engage in report writing. So we're very much looking forward to their work so that the Government can have the information in terms of recommendations around citing of large infrastructure projects and document retention and we're looking forward to their work. Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Today is for the Minister responsible for the Pan and Parapan games. Speaker, there have been so many unanswered questions around the cost of security for these games. And just this morning, we've learned about a new RFP process that's raising even more questions. Sponsorships for the games are now being directly tied to the RFP for security. Speaker, what does a company's sponsorship of the games have to do with them to award such significant contracts as providing game security? Minister responsible for the games? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to thank the member for the question opposite. I know that the Government House would like to answer the second part to it. But before I answer the question, I just want to say that the lonely planet today announced that Toronto and Ontario is in the top 10 destinations for 2015 because of the Pan and Games. I think we should all be proud of that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We take our security very seriously here in the province of Ontario. We need to make sure that as we plan for these games that our security ensures the safety of all Ontarians and all visitors. And there's two different components of the security. There's one held by the ISU and there's one also being held to support the safety and the protection of property during the games. There's been an RFP process and in that process there's specifics that are being asked around the RFP process. And I know the minister responsible for public safety will be able to answer that piece of the question. Thank you. So, Speaker, this new revelation actually leaves us very concerned about what the real criteria is for awarding contracts for these games. Security costs keep going up. I mean, this is a fact. It's undeniable. And some people may be asking what are these sponsorship perks? The method of sponsorship can be cash, an in-kind contribution or marketing activation value. So, people are asking and these are good questions whether a company's sponsorship of the games bump them up the list of bidders even though it may have added to the cost in the long run. Speaker, in the interest of being open and transparent, will the minister the full criteria of how these contracts are being awarded? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In fact, I'll take the question. In the RFP process as outlined by TO 2015 in coordination with the ISU which is made up of the provincial, federal and municipal partners a sponsorship is one of the criteria within the RFP but this is quite common in all games Vancouver Olympics and Pan Am Games. I have to say the sponsorship to these games are so important. In fact, our sponsorship here in Ontario for the Pan Am Games are the largest sponsorship ever in the history of the games and in fact, Mr. Speaker, it's five times larger than what happened in Mexico back at the last Pan Am Games. So these games are successful they're on time and we will make sure that people in Ontario are safe during these games. Thank you. Thank you Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. As a public health nurse during the SARS outbreak in 2003 I know firsthand the importance of proper infection controls. I was a manager responsible for the day-to-day operation of the York Region SARS clinic. Scarborough Hospital Birchmount Campus is located in my riding of Scarborough Agent Court. It was the first hospital in Ontario to encounter SARS. This hospital was considered the epic centre for SARS and during the outbreak more than 100 staff became ill with SARS. Hence the residents of my riding of Scarborough Agent Court are particularly interested in knowing our government's plan in ensuring the province readiness in dealing with Ebola. Ontario needs to take action and ensure the province readiness to contain and treat any potential case of Ebola in the province. Measures need to be placed to protect Ontario including the healthcare workers. Speaker through you to the Minister what is the government doing to ensure all Ontarians are protected and healthcare system is prepared for Ebola? Thank you. Mr. Health long-term care. Well Mr. Speaker, thank you first of all from one healthcare professional to another for the question and I want to start in fact by giving my sincere thanks to the thousands of frontline healthcare workers right across this province who not only do fantastic work every day but particularly when it comes to our protection against Ebola and the epidemic that's occurring in another part of the world I want to thank them for the work that they do in making sure that Ontarians are safe and protected and Mr. Speaker I'm happy to say as well that as a result of our frontline healthcare workers particularly our nurses coming forward last week that we introduced further measures to further strengthen the protections that are in place in this province announced that we had designated 10 hospitals to pediatric innate for adults across the province as well as of yesterday we have the capacity in province to test for Ebola we'll be doing that on a case by case basis and we've introduced other measures which will guarantee what is in fact my top priority and that is the safety and security of Ontarians. Thank you Speaker I'm very pleased to hear the necessary action taken by the Minister of Health and Care. I know the residents in my writing are sure that our province has a minister who listens and takes timely action for the safety of all Ontarians but day to day Mr. Speaker we continue to hear the tragedies in West Africa with the Ebola outbreak the current Ebola outbreak which began in West Africa in March 2014 is unprecedented the World Health Organization declared Ebola as a public health emergency of international concern on August 8th 2014 and no many Ontarians including my writing are concerned about the rapid spread of Ebola arrivals in West Africa Speaker through you to the Minister how can we support emergency response in West Africa Thank you Minister Thank you again for the question Mr. Speaker I want to say on behalf of all Ontarians how grateful we are for the hard work, the dedication and the courage of our relief workers or health care workers or aid workers that are working in West Africa to put an end to this epidemic many of these health care workers in fact are coming from Ontario the Premier and I had the privilege yesterday to meet and discuss the epidemic in West Africa with representatives from doctors without borders as well as the Red Cross here in Canada who have deployed a significant number of health care specialists to the region it's a devastating situation as we all know but we were happy on behalf of Ontarians to announce yesterday the Premier announced a $3 million contribution for Ontario to not only focus on prevention here in the province and making sure that we're prepared but to be part of the solution there as well to end this epidemic in this Scourge Thank you Mr. Speaker my question is for the Premier will the Premier guarantee that the $224 million loan her government gave to Mars phase 2 office tower will be repaid in full here economic development employment and infrastructure Thank you Mr. Speaker we've been very clear the loan is fully secured on the value of the asset the asset is more than the amount that we've invested it's a fairly simple answer but Mr. Speaker I think it's important at this time to start talking a little bit about the lack of support that we've seen from the PC party for the Mars vision as they've indicated that when Mars was having challenges their position was to let that building rot in the ground so I asked the member in his supplementary will he commit to supporting the efforts we've made to help support Mars to ensure that phase 2 succeeds or is his party's position and was his party's position to let that project rot in the ground allow those jobs and all that economic development sector to go out the window is that the position of your party Thank you supplementary Instructive that the Premier did not guarantee that the Mars loan would be repaid the Premier was elected on her promise to govern differently to turn the page on liberal scandals to be open and transparent with this house and with the people of Ontario however when it comes to the Mars money pit they've been anything but open and transparent at Estimates Committee last week the minister responsible for Mars and Dodgy he refused to release the business case for the Mars loan and other relevant information related to the Mars bailout even though taxpayers are now paying almost half a million dollars a month a tab that now stands at 3.6 million dollars when will they keep their promise to be open and transparent and release the agreement with Alexandria real estate and the business case for the Mars bailout I don't know how more clear we can be we've said it a thousand times the loan is repayable it will be repaid it's fully secured Mr. Speaker taxpayer dollars are well protected in this arrangement Mr. Speaker I think what's causing concern in the biosign sector is the lack of support of the party opposite that's taken every opportunity to besmirch the reputation of Mars after Mars has created tens of thousands of jobs in this province attracted three billion dollars of private sector investment in Ontario Mr. Speaker the vision of Ernie is in Jim Flaherty Mr. Speaker has become a very important part of our economy it's really a shame that the party opposite shows so little respect for that vision thank you thank you very much Mr. Speaker my question is to the premier on March 27th this premier indicated to Ontarians that she would quote open up the government completely yesterday she repeated this promise saying quote we are committed to being open and transparent but the premier has failed to say whether she will allow the gas committee to get back to work to hear from additional witnesses before writing a final report today the premier can keep her promises to being open and to being transparent or she can break her promise will the premier do the right thing and allow the gas plan committee to resume its work and call any new witnesses that need to be heard thank you thank you very much premier the premier cannot be clearer she has been clear all throughout once she wanted to make sure that the committee has all the information available when she became the leader in the premier she provided hundreds of thousands of documents she appeared before the committee in fact twice to answer any questions that the committee may have had not to mention doing the campaign the premier was very clear that it is time for the committee to write his report and she was merely actually echoing what the members of the third party themselves have been asking for the member for Toronto-Denford on December 12 said in the committee I believe it is time for us to get down to report writing we have amassed a large amount of evidence both oral and electronic copy we agree speaker it is time for the committee to resume its work and write a report and give recommendations to the government thank you very much Mr. Speaker some liberals including the member for Trinity but I think there is a right time and a wrong time for openness and transparency clearly the premier is one of them but new democrats disagree we believe the right time for openness and transparency is all the time every day day in day out without fail and without excuse the government isn't just preventing a committee from completing its work the liberals are also sitting on the orange report which is printed and ready to be tabled I'm going to give the premier another chance to keep her promise will the premier commit to tabling the orange report and if not why not Mr. Speaker I asked the member opposite the following question does he stand by his motion of April 29 where he moved that the standing committee on justice policy begin report writing an open session does he stand by the own motion that he put forward in the justice committee Speaker we have been extremely transparent we want the committee to resume its work as soon as it can and start the work of report writing as it has been asked by the third party and same with the orange committee report it's up to the standing committee of public accounts that's why Speaker in July when we said right after the election we worked so hard to make sure that we've got committees established so as soon as we come back in the fall as we did starting yesterday the committees can continue to start their work and do the work of the people thank you very much Mr. Speaker as a strong supporter of public libraries I want to let the members of the House know that this week is Ontario public library week Ontario's public libraries are among the best in the world and they are popular hubs for community life there are more than 1100 libraries throughout Ontario and they attract over 72 million people every year over 5 million Ontarians that's 40% of the population have a library card libraries open up the world to knowledge they connect us to the information and resources we need to succeed in life and school and our jobs in many communities libraries ensure that recent immigrants to Canada are welcomed and have access to information and resources to help them to adjust life in the new country libraries often offer newcomer information services provide free help for people looking for a major job housing, learning English, finding the school getting a driver's license and other services Minister I'd like to thank the distinguished member from HX Pickering for the question Mr. Speaker libraries hold a very special place in my heart and I'm very proud to take on libraries as part of my portfolio we know that libraries help children learn they provide resources for students and small businesses and entrepreneurs and they make an important contribution to the education, literacy and lifelong learning for all people across this great province and that's why we're so proud as a government to invest 33 million in 2013-14 into our public and first nation libraries here in the province of Ontario and in fact Mr. Speaker since 2003 this government invested almost half a billion dollars into our public libraries and Mr. Speaker we know also that the Trillium Foundation has invested over half a million dollars into our public libraries this year and we're very proud for the work our libraries do here in Ontario Thank you Thank you Mr. Speaker Thank you Minister for telling us the no and all the government supports the libraries here in Ontario as we all know we live in a digital world everything is moving online and into digital formats our libraries are doing a fantastic job at evolving with technology and bringing that technology to the communities including Ajax and Pickery in the 2014 budget I was happy to hear that your ministry is supporting libraries in these efforts to the library capacity fund to help boost digital services and I'm happy our government is committed to making services in public libraries across the province even better Speaker Could the minister please tell the members of this House about the Ontario Library Fund that he announced yesterday Thank you Mr. Speaker Thank you Mr. Speaker Yesterday I was happy to announce the Ontario Library capacity fund at Parkdale Public Library and through this new fund our government is going to invest an additional $10 million into our public libraries here in Ontario over the next three years to support the following improvements in high speed internet access throughout Ontario we're going to increase wireless access we're going to upgrade hardware and software in our libraries it will go to staff development collection development and hence integrated library services and also enhance our public library websites in Ontario this fund is a three year fund and the first year will focus on IT improvements and the second and third year libraries will be eligible for research and innovation funding our government believes that access to online services is essential in today's knowledge based economy and I'm happy that we're supporting these goals through this new fund Mr. Speaker Thank you Thank you very much Mr. Speaker My question is to the Attorney General Minister you ordered budget cuts to victim services across Ontario and by as much as 20% in my riding of Bruce Grey own sound as a result this regional group of 50 volunteers and only 7 staff who cover 11,000 square kilometres day and night and who helped over 2500 victims of crime last year will be left with a pittance of a budget a budget so small it falls $60,000 short of the one they started with 16 years ago in 1998 this is a direct attack on public services Can you reconsider your cuts to this critical service Attorney General Thank you Mr. Speaker for the question Yes indeed we are modernizing our victim services program to provide and support to victim of crimes so beginning in April 2015 this program will be delivered under a new program called Victim Crisis Assistance Ontario in addition to existing services vulnerable victim will receive and support including comprehensive needs assessment service plan tailored to individual victim needs will help them navigate and access short and longer term support services so in order to make the program consistent across the province comprehensive program standard accountability measure and standardized training requirement for staff and volunteer will be developed so this change build on our commitment to providing timely and effective services for victim of crime Thank you Mr. Speaker Speaker again to the Attorney General is modernizing a code word for downsizing minister your government is leaving behind victims of sexual assault and people living in violent conditions I have serious concerns with the priorities of this minister and this government and the house should too you are wasting millions of dollars to bill services in downtown Toronto known as Mars will gutting millions in community based services for victims of crime minister again will you make this right and reinstate compensation and services for victims of crime it's all about the victims Mr. Speaker we are not reducing funding to any of these programs instead current funding for the three program is being redirected to a single program and yes we have review now the service that is being offered for the client that this organization will serve so there is a reorganization there is a repurposing of the dollar and the dollar are being redirected to a single program as I said at the same time we are implementing a more equitable and transparent funding model by aligning funding with service demand that mean each agency delivering the program will receive a base funding amount and a variable amount based on the number and type of victim serves and to answer the member we are providing more money to the northern community and to the rural community so we are so thank you very much thank you thank you Mr. Speaker my question is to the minister of transportation earlier this year Metrolinx proposed a plan to allow eight giant digital LED billboards on Metrolinx property along highway 401 last week the Toronto Paramedic Association warned that the scheme would quotes place us all at greater risk of death and injury Mr. Speaker when a driver's attention is focused on a billboard it is not focused on the highway Metrolinx should be in the seriousness of safe travel not making money from driver distraction on a day when the minister of transportation is announcing legislation to stop distracted driving will he listen to the paramedics and instruct Metrolinx to drop this dangerous and distracting billboard scheme thank you very much Mr. Speaker and I thank the member for Parkdale High Park for their question I've had the opportunity to review the letter that she referenced in the question from the Toronto Paramedic Association of course Speaker I take my responsibility to ensure that Ontario's roads remain amongst the safest in North America and they have consistently been ranked first or second in terms of road safety over the last 13 years I take that responsibility very very seriously it's one of the foundational aspects of the mandate letter that I received from the premier I do look forward to having to say a lot more a little bit later today about making sure that our roads and our highways remain safe Speaker I am listening to all of the interested stakeholders to the municipality and of course I'm talking to Metrolinx regularly about this and a variety of issues Speaker thank you very much thank you Mr. Speaker earlier this year Metrolinx also spend buckets of money on several TV ads for transit projects that won't even be operational for seven months, several months or even several years these ads didn't provide any useful information and one TV spot for the Union Pearson Express was so ridiculously self congratulatory that Metrolinx had to pull it off U-Truth out of embarrassment who knows how much money was wasted Mr. Speaker sometimes I can't tell if Metrolinx is a transit planner or an advertising agency if Metrolinx needs money it doesn't need billboards will the Minister of Transportation tell the mad men of Metrolinx to get out of the billboard business and get back to the business of transit Mr. Transportation thanks very much Mr. Speaker I appreciate the supplementary question from the member from Parkdale High Park I think it's important for me to say clearly as I possibly can Speaker I have a great deal of faith we'll continue to take place at Metrolinx we have a very ambitious exciting plan about moving Ontario forward of course members like the member opposite would have heard us speak repeatedly about the importance of our moving Ontario forward plan over the next 10 years Speaker we will be investing $15 billion up to $15 billion in the greater Toronto and Hamilton area specifically benefiting residents living in Parkdale High Park living in communities like mine of Vaughan people living right across the greater Toronto and Hamilton area and Metrolinx is playing a very crucial role with respect to the planning and the implementation of that plan Speaker I look forward over the coming months to be here in this place and elsewhere continuing on with the great work that we have at hand Speaker and I know that the people of the GTHA and the people of all of Ontario expect us to deliver the positive results that they've given us the mandate to deliver thanks very much Thank you Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker my question is to the Deputy Premier and the Minister responsible for poverty reduction strategy as of 2011 there were more than 1.5 million people living in poverty in Ontario that's not okay in a province as strong as ours poverty should be no one's destiny and we must come together as a province to ensure that everyone has the opportunity for a better future in order for all people in Ontario to reach their full potential we need to make sure everyone has the support that they need to succeed last Friday communities around the world observed the international day to eradicate poverty the occasion gave us a chance to reflect on how far we've come as a province to improve the opportunity for vulnerable citizens Minister we're going to introduce Ontario doing to fight poverty and better support of people that need our help Minister responsible for poverty thank you to the member from Trinity Spadina for the question and for recognizing international day to eradicate poverty we've made steady progress since we introduced Ontario's first poverty reduction strategy in 2008 according to the most recent data 47,000 children and their families have been lifted out of poverty and we've prevented poverty in 2003 a single mom with two kids working full time at a minimum wage job had an income of less than $20,000 a year today as a result of our effort that mom has an annual income of almost $35,000 a huge difference for that family but there's more to do and that's why we've introduced our second poverty reduction strategy realizing our potential thank you thank you to the deputy premier for that response Mr. Speaker, homelessness is often the most visible face of poverty in our community particularly in the large cities like Toronto our people are our greatest resource as we can compete in this increasingly tough global marketplace that is why investing investments in housing and supports that goes with them are smart investments a place to call home provides a stable foundation that helps people lift themselves out of poverty when people have a home they are better able to manage the challenges in their lives and to seek education and training that they need to move forward and for better opportunities and stable and rewarding employment Mr. Speaker I would like to ask the deputy premier how will the new poverty reduction strategy deal with the challenges of homelessness thank you and as part of our new strategy we have set a long term goal to end chronic homelessness in Ontario ending homelessness is not only the right thing to do speaker it's a smart thing to do because we know that investments in housing actually means savings in our healthcare system and other parts of our social services speaker because people are healthier and they're more ready for employment and taking part in their community our strategy includes several commitments that will help us work toward that goal increasing the funding of the CHIPI program community homelessness prevention initiative for a total of nearly $294 million a year speaker we're adding an additional 1,000 supportive housing for people with mental health and addiction challenges we're investing $50 million in a local poverty reduction fund to support local solutions to poverty we've set an ambitious goal speaker but we're on our way to achieving that thank you the minister of community safety and correctional services minister a few weeks ago he made a major announcement in my writing concerning the overcrowding at Elgin Middlesex Detention Center overcrowding that this Liberal government has ignored for the past three years has led to numerous deaths and daily violence at the facility minister your ministry's track record is terrible when it comes to fixing the problems at EMDC your ministry closed rural jails which amplified the overcrowding conditions failed on the implementation of the 12 point plan to fix the jail and failed in providing correctional officers with the proper equipment to do their jobs so minister forgive me if I'm sounding a little skeptical on this announcement but there's a very short time period for a new build I'm unable to find the numbers this year's budget for this build so minister would you be able to share the budget for the project where this money will come from and when the RFP will be released thank you very much I thank the member opposite for the question and his work and advocacy on issues around Elgin Middlesex Detention Center as the member opposite mentioned I had a great visit on October the 8th to EMDC I was joined speaker I was joined speaker with our management the hard working correctional staff both correctional officers and managers along with labor leaders both locally and provincially and speaker I was really struck by the professionalism of our correctional staff both management and correctional officers how hard they work and how dedicated speaker they are to the well being and the safety of the community I spent about three and a half hours during the facility and talking to as many correctional officers and thanking them for the work they do every single day in keeping our community safe speaker thank you speaker I'm sure the minister will answer the question after the supplementary minister I've drawn attention to these issues of the EMDC in this chamber for three years yet your government has taken little action to correct these areas of concerns the violence and deaths continue most recently I have written you requesting the government utilize their assets to find a solution for EMDC for example the government could utilize the regional mental health buildings in St. Thomas and create a partnership with the southwest center for forensic mental health care for shared services or the government could simply reopen the blue water youth detention center in Goddardch at your government recently closed minister have you completed a cost analysis on a new build compared to using the existing government assets thank the member for the supplementary speaker we're very much focused on dealing with issues around overcrowding and ensuring the health and safety of our correctional staff and the safety of the inmates and that's why speaker I want to give credit to my predecessor the attorney general when she was the minister of community safety and correctional services she put in plan 12-point action plan 11 out of 12 of those action plan items have been implemented but speaker we're not stopping there we are taking steps in making sure that we have issued a procurement a request for proposal for a regional intermittent center which will allow for for separating the intermittent inmates from those inmates who are spending their sentence in entirety at the detention center it's going to also not only resolve the issue a speaker on over capacity but it's also going to help us in dealing with contraband issues further speaker we're also rolling out the personal protective safety equipment for our correctional officers so their health and safety is a number one priority for our government and remains paramount speaker question the member from the miscommunication no james bay speaker my question is to the minister of natural resources minister a few years ago your government decided to shut down access to a number of provincial parks as a result fushimi provincial park the renny brunel provincial park and was going to be closed to both day and seasonal campers northerners decided to come up to their own solution we put together a solution local residents along with the mayors of the area and myself and mister van toff and others to put together a proposal that allowed those parks to stay open the parks for the last two years have made money the pilot project has been successful but you have yet to make a decision if you're going to renew that agreement or not you know as well as I do if you don't renew the agreement soon people are going to move and they're going to go elsewhere making those parks less profitable minister when can we expect the response from you in regards to the renewal of this agreement thank you very much and I'm pleased to take the question and I can't help but comment on your new look you're reminding me the 1970s Oakland athletics and rollie fingers the old picture for the with the mustache but to the members question I want to thank him for this and it is topical and timely as he's mentioned in 2012 the decision was made to take 10 that were operating parks most if not all of them I think save it and except for one that were in northern Ontario and make them non-operating parks and I do like the member did in his question want to thank the communities a moon beam hers timmins surrounding communities and the municipal councils and the surrounding broader community who did step up to the plate work very closely with our government and former ministers and coming forward with the plan I think it's fair to say that it was through their efforts that the two year pilot was established the information and the data is now coming back to us we've had an opportunity to review that data and we will be in a position to make a decision very position to the member very very soon we're close the data's in we're reviewing it and we will make a decision and an announcement in the very near future speaker thank you Minister what part of success don't you like the northerners rose to the occasion they said we'll find a solution we found a solution that allowed the parks to stay open and to create a profit the issue here is and the premier is making fun of it because she doesn't understand northern Ontario and we know that but here it is people who have seasonal campers need to know that they've got a place to go this spring if you delay the decision as to the reopening of the parks till sometime later in January February they will lose their spots what that are going to be available in other parks so we need to have an answer soon not later so I'm going to ask the premier the minister again will you please stand up for northern Ontario and say yes we will reopen those parks next spring thank you speaker most of the question was pretty good but for the member opposite to say that this premier does not understand northern Ontario is a pretty remarkable statement there's no premier that we've ever had I don't think to get northern Ontario better though much of the good work that we've been able to do as northern members is do directly to the consideration that she gives to northern members speaker as I said there are no promises underway now I don't want to presuppose the results of that work that is ongoing we will be in a position very very soon to make an announcement it's my hope that the announcement will be something that's acceptable to the communities again I'll close by thanking the members for the work the communities the mayors and the surrounding areas we'll be announcing something very soon thank you very much speaker this question is to the minister of environment and climate change minister what pollution was in the 1960s and 70s and civil and women's rights were in the 1970s and 80s climate change is today it is the defining issue of our time it's the 21st century's challenge to governments industry communities and individuals in its fifth assessment report the intergovernmental panel on climate change concluded there is an overwhelming scientific consensus that earth's climate system is warming and that human activities are mainly responsible for this change Ontario has delivered cleaner air and significantly lowered carbon dioxide emissions through no longer burning coal to generate electricity minister what else is Ontario doing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to fight climate change minister of the environment thanks very much Mr. Speaker Ontario is one of a handful of jurisdictions in the world that actually has got its greenhouse gas emissions under 1990 levels a matter of fact we joined in New York to release our report we bettered our our 6% goal we will exceed it will be the only jurisdiction that will likely exceed its targets I think probably in the world maybe Germany Mr. Speaker we're heading not for the 2 degrees dangerous but we're now heading for 4 degrees dangerous 4 degrees would mean my 4 year old grandson probably will grow up in a world where life will be difficult food will be hard to get that's not a legacy I'm prepared to leave him Mr. Speaker climate change is the single biggest threat to humanity our failure to achieve it a successful global action plan in the next year will leave our children an unthinkable legacy Mr. Speaker thank you thank you Speaker Minister failing to act on climate change will bring harm in the form of preventable extreme weather to our communities and to our economy and there's the challenge climate change doesn't recognize borders or jurisdictions nor can it be overcome by a single ministry or a single government from saving like Canada's polar bears from extinction to saving coastal populated areas by preventing coastal flooding how is Ontario continuing to lead and to be successful in the world's continuing fight against climate change thank you Minister Mr. Speaker just before I get into the details of that I just want to make it very clear climate change is not something that is going to come tomorrow or the next day we are now experiencing the impacts of CO2 emissions from when I was in high school in the 70s and we are now walked in to 100 years of change you're going to start seeing the impacts of climate change in the next winter California's in the most severe drought situation it has ever been in that's about one third of North America's food supply they are now draining aquifers which is non-renewable water and when I met with Governor Brown in New York they are very very concerned we saw it here in Ontario in Lake Erie when Toledo 400,000 people couldn't use their water because a warming lake and new patterns of rain pushed more nutrients into that lake and 400,000 people could not drink water because of the toxins you could not boil it now I was going to suggest if that happened in Fort Erie this would be a front page news story this is the sleeping issue of our time there is no more important issue but Secretary Kerry said in New York thank you thank you very much Mr. Speaker no sir we can't the Minister of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs on a point of order thanks very much Mr. Speaker I just want to correct my record from yesterday Hansard said that the GDP contribution for the Agri-Food Secretary was reported was 30 billion it's actually 34 billion dollars in GDP Hansard said the number of people employed in the Agri-Food sector is 74,000 the actual number is 760,000 thank you Mr. Speaker the member always says all members have a right to correct their record as long as they're not changing what was said I'll just point that out the member from Leeds Grandville on a point of order thank you very much Mr. Speaker I just want to welcome one of my constituents who's here for IPF Awareness Jackie Bowick Sandor is here in the gallery welcome to Queens Park there are no deferred votes this house stands recessed until 3 p.m. this afternoon