 It is now time for a question period. The Leader of Her Majesty's Law and Opposition. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Deputy Premier. Durham students have now been out of school for 19 days. That's the longest teacher strike in over 25 years. That's the longest students have been out of a classroom in over 25 years. Deputy Premier, your government has brought this upon itself with the bargaining process that is being described as flawed. And dysfunctional. The onus is on your government to get these students back in the classroom, where they belong, before they lose their year. Will you do that? Thank you. Yes, thank you very much. And as I've said many times, we agree that the students need to be back in class. We want the students to be back in class, and I agree they have been out for a distressingly long time. But we also know that the only way we're going to get them back in class is if we negotiate. We need to have a negotiated settlement. So we are certainly prepared to stay at the table, to be at the table. I know the school board associations are prepared. I would certainly hope that the unions will be prepared to get back to the table. Because the only way we are going to resolve this is through negotiation, Speaker. We know that we have to get a collective agreement that will end the strikes. Thank you. Supplementary. Back to the Deputy Premier, Mr. Speaker. Students want to be back in the classroom. Teachers want to be back in the classroom. Parents want their children back in the classroom. If the Ontario Labor Relations Board's decision is appealed, high school students may be out of the classroom for weeks on end. We're hearing that students at one Durham high school have been told to clean out their lockers because they're not expected to be back in the classroom before the end of the school year. Durham College has said that if these students don't graduate by August 22nd, they cannot offer them admission for next year. Deputy Premier, these students future their careers are at very serious risk. Get the deal done, get these students back into the classroom and graduating next month as they should be. Thank you. Yes, and I'm very concerned if that's the information that is being relayed by the party opposite to students and their families. Because as things have unfolded at the moment, I'm very concerned that students are not expected to be back in the classroom. Thank you, Minister. Because my message has been that we fully expect that the kids will be back in the classroom because we expect to succeed with getting a collective agreement. And that it's very important that what students are doing right now is making sure that whatever work they can do to keep up to their courses, if they have assignments they know, if they have projects that they know will be required for the end of the semester, they should be doing them right now. And in fact, I know that the Durham Board, the Rainbow Board, the Peel Board all have internet course resources on their websites. And I would encourage students and encourage parents to make sure their students go to those websites and they do that. Thank you. Final supplementary. Back to the acting Premier. The Premier and this Education Minister have made no progress on any of the three boards where the teachers are currently on strike. OSSTF is in a position to call strikes in four more boards. Halton, Lakehead, Waterloo, and Ottawa Carlton. Thousands more students could be out of the classroom for the end of the school year. Thousands more students could lose their school year entirely. And their graduation. Deputy Premier, get the Premier to use those mediation skills she so often talks about, get the parties back to the table and get the job done and the students back in the classroom. Please. Thank you. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. That's right. Minister. I would like to remind the member opposite is I am not at the Durham Table. I'm not at the Rainbow Table. I'm not at the Fiume Table. I am at the Central Table and that is where we're working very hard. But I'm really not going to take a lesson from the people who said that they were going to fire 22,700 education workers and teachers. They were asked during the last campaign, will it mean fewer teachers? And their leader said it does. It will mean fewer teachers in our system. So if that's how they thought they were going to do labor relations, believe me, that wasn't going to get you labor peace. We know that the way to do labor peace. Carry on, please. So I repeat. We are ready and willing to negotiate at the Central Table. I remain committed to that. The Premier remains committed to that. Negotiation is the solution. Your question, the member from Simple North. Thanks very much, Mr. Speaker. My question is also to the Deputy Premier. Deputy Premier, 60% of Durham College students come from the Durham region. And as you are well aware, Durham grade 12 students have been out of the classroom for four weeks. Their graduation is at risk. Durham College has said they can't admit students who haven't graduated by August the 22nd. Deputy Premier, will you promise these students that they will graduate this year? Thank you. Deputy Premier? Minister of Education. Yes, thank you very much. As I've explained before, I've met with colleges Ontario. I've met with COU, the Council of Ontario Universities. We've met with the application centres. And what we're going to... Member from Leeds, Grenville. Member from Leeds, Grenville, second time. I would have thought you might actually want the information that was helpful to the students and the parents that are out there worrying about this rather than heckling. We have the commitment from the colleges and universities that we will work together because we know that we need to find solutions to make sure that these students can get into the colleges and the universities. We will certainly work together to make sure that there are solutions. Thank you. Minister, it's about three times now. When I stand, you sit down, you do not finish. Your time is up. Supplementary. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Back to the Deputy Premier. 22,000 Durham students are out of the classroom right now. And today is their 19th day. The next week is a constant week, and there will be no question period or accountability. No negotiations or bargaining are taking place. We know, and I think you know now, that Bill 22, the two-tier bargaining is a complete failure. Minister, we need this dithering to stop. We need leadership. What action do you propose next week that Durham students will be back in the classroom? Minister? Minister of Education. No, no, no. Minister already has the floor. Minister? Sorry. Member from Renfrew. First off, let's just follow up on the Durham College. Durham College has already announced not a ministry direction, but Durham College has actually already announced to Durham students that Durham will be accepting students based on the midterm remark, a mark that we're already familiar with. So in fact, the issue that has been raised by the member opposite, in fact, Durham College has already made the decision that they will accept the midterm marks, and there is absolutely no problem. One of the things that we have... Member from Stormont, second time. One of the things that we've noticed is parents being uncertain about putting down deposits. I want to encourage parents to get... Final supplementary. Very much, Mr. Speaker, and it's back to the Deputy Premier I guess through the Minister of Education. With 72,000 secondary students out of the classrooms, you continually finger point the problem at someone else. The two-tiered bargaining system simply is not working. We all know that. All sides know that. These are failure and the victims now are the 72,000 students. It is your bill 122, it is your two-tiered system that is putting the education system in chaos. Being mystified or perplexed is not enough. We need leadership, not dithering. Will you promise that the 72,000 students that they will graduate and not be left disadvantaged when they attend college or university this coming fall? Thank you. Minister? Yes, thank you. I think we need to go back and think about how we arrived at Bill 122. We negotiated, we consulted, we talked to all four... Remember from Prince Edward Hastings. We talked to the directors, we talked to all the unions and we went through this process of drafting and consulting and redrafting and consulting and through all that process of working with all the partners that are concerned with collective bargaining in the education sector, this party remained obstinately opposed to having any part in that negotiation, in that discussion, in that consultation. They just kept saying no, no, no, no, no. Well, I'm really not surprised that the member doesn't like the legislation. They all voted against it in the first place. Thank you. The leaders... There already are three people, very close. New question to the leader of the third party. Thank you, Speaker. My question is for the acting Premier. History is being made in Ontario today. Ontario's independent watchdogs have written to the Premier saying that her Hydro-1 sell-off is unacceptable and undemocratic. That's historic. And it shows just how arrogant this government has become. The Auditor-General, the Ombudsman, the Financial Accountability Officer, the Privacy Commissioner, the Integrity Commissioner and the French Language Services Commissioner. All are calling on the provincial government to reverse plans in the budget bill. Will the Liberals listen to Ontario's nonpartisan independent officers and reverse their plan to sell off Hydro-1? We'll say we welcome the dialogue that's happening across this province about our plan to build more infrastructure and broaden the ownership of Hydro-1. Let me be clear, publicly traded companies have different oversight mechanisms than provincially owned assets, but there are still oversight mechanisms. Thank you. Finish please. And I have to say, Speaker, that this was a decision we did not come to lightly. We have very carefully made the public interest and we are convinced that the public interest is met by retaining regulation of the energy industry but broadening the ownership so we can build badly needed. The member from Timmons James B, second time. That's why we're doing this to build the infrastructure. Thank you. Supplementary. This government is becoming more undemocratic by the day. Independent watchdogs are calling the government out. The Liberals have made it clear they don't respect our independent officers. Well, I can tell you that new Democrats do have legislated authority to hold government and provincial agencies and corporations accountable. Why are the Liberals taking a pain out of the Steve Carter playbook by shutting down our independent officers and slamming the door on democracy and accountability? Minder to the leader of the third party about our commitment. The member from Timmons James B is warned. Carry on. Speaker, our commitment to independent officers of the legislature is stronger than any government in recent memory, Speaker. Let's just review. We actually created the new financial accountability officer. We created the provincial advocate. We made the French language services commissioner independent. We expanded the ombudsman role to include municipalities, school boards and publicly funded university, Speaker. The integrity commissioner now has strengthened oversight of lobbyist rules and government expenses. New, tougher rules for the International Privacy Commissioner when it comes to offenses, Speaker. We are the party that has expanded the number of independent officers and expanded the... Thank you. Supplementary? Dogs are independent and they are non-partisan, Speaker. Their job is to tell the hard truth no matter what party is in power. The Liberals are trying to muzzle those watchdogs because they want to keep the Hydro-1 sell-off and the Hydro-1 going forward secret and under wraps so that the people of this province have no idea what the heck is going on in that corporation. Stop the clock. The Minister of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure is warned. Carry on, please. Ontarians deserve accountability, Speaker. Ontarians deserve transparency in their most important utility. Will the Liberals stop trying to muzzle the Auditor-General, the Ombudsman, the Financial Accountability Officer, the Privacy Commissioner, the Integrity Commissioner and the French Languages Services Commissioner and stop the sell-off of Hydro-1 today? Thank you. I don't think anybody is trying to muzzle anyone. The Independent Office of the Legislature have indicated their thoughts. Speaker, we welcome that. We are also delighted, Speaker, that Denis Desautel, the former Auditor-General of Canada has now indicated that he will ensure fairness throughout the IPO process, Speaker. That is a very important role and we are delighted that Denis Desautel has agreed to take on this important responsibility because we agree with the third party. We agree that Ontarians demand that there be oversight and that there be a fair and transparent process. So, you know, the member opposite has been talking about the impact on rates. They also full well know that the rates have already been and will continue to be set by the Ontario Energy Board, Speaker. Thank you. New question, the leaders of the third party. Also for the acting Premier or the Deputy Premier. Not only is this government muzzling the independent officers of the House, Speaker, they are also muzzling Ontarians. Ontarians have less than five hours to get their names on the list to have their say on Hydro-1 for only four meager days of hearing, Speaker, here in Toronto. We've seen tens of thousands of people, of all political stripes, Speaker, from all walks of life, who are wanting to send the Liberals a message that they don't want to have to pay for the Liberals' sell-off of Hydro-1. They don't want to be the ones left paying the price for this wrong decision. So the question is, why are the Liberals shutting out the people of Ontario who actually own Hydro-1? Why are they not allowing hearings to happen around this province? Why are they muzzling Ontarians? Thank you. Governor House Leader? Well, thank you very much, Speaker, and I'm going to disagree with the premise of the question that is posed by the leader of the third party. In fact, Speaker, what we're doing is we are enhancing the public's input into our budget process by ensuring that there are six days of committee consideration, Speaker, into the budget by holding hearings at Queen's Park. Speaker, the member opposite knows that these six days are three times more than the number of days that have been used by all three political parties who have been in government over the last 25 years in this province when it comes to the consideration of the budget. In fact, I remind the member opposite when her party was in government in two out of four budgets at their table. They only allowed one day each speaker for budget consideration, and for the last two budgets in 1993 and 1994, Speaker, they allowed for zero days of budget consideration when they were discussing things like social contracts. Thank you. Supplementary. Speaker, the Premier knows that there are people from London, from Etobicoke, from Peel, from Sudbury, from Thunder Bay, from Oakville, from Barrie, from Cambridge, from communities across this province, Speaker, who don't want to pay the price for the Hydro-1 sell-off. They can't afford higher hydro bills. Every Liberal MPP knows this because they've been getting those emails, Speaker, tens of thousands of people. Are Liberal backbenchers going to go back home to their constituencies next week to their ridings and tell their constituents why it is that they are going to be the ones who are going to pay the price for this Hydro-Sell-off and yet they have no interest whatsoever in hearing their opinion or what they have to say? Thank you. Well, Speaker, I can tell you what our constituents are talking about. They are talking about the need for public infrastructure in our communities. What our constituents want is to put an end to gridlock and congestion on our highways so that they can get to work in an expedient way and home at a timely fashion so that they can spend time with their families. Speaker, the only thing that the NDP is trying to do is block that kind of progress because we need to pass this budget, Speaker, in order to have programs that will help fund our infrastructure to reduce our auto rates and, of course, Speaker, to ensure that we have retirement income security through a new pension plan. What NDP is suggesting to the leader of the third party is nothing but stalling tactics. They do not want progress that will help ease the lives of Ontarians by ensuring that this budget does not pass. Thank you. I thought it was supplementary. Families and businesses cannot afford to pay the price for the Premier's wrong-headed sell-off of Hydro-1. But Ontarians have less than five hours, Speaker, to get their names on the list to be heard at the public hearings. So they can call 416-325-3526 or they can email kcoachatola.org to get on the list of Liberals what they think of Hydro-1. The number, again, 416-325-3526 or kcoachatola.org, the Premier is trying to shut people down, Speaker. She's hunkering down... Sorry, stop the clock. Please finish. She's hunkering down here in Toronto, Speaker, making it as difficult as she possibly can for the people outside of Toronto to be heard in this process. When will the Premier, when will the Liberal Government start listening to the people of this province, people across Ontario, and stop this wrong-headed sell-off of Hydro-1? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are listening to Ontarians and Ontarians are telling us every single day and not only us, but all members of this Legislature that they want us to be best in our infrastructure. They want us to build good roads and bridges in our communities. They want us to make sure that we have good public transit and transportation. Speaker, there is no more time for inaction when it comes to building a 21st century infrastructure in the province of Ontario. And the only thing NDP is interested in, the only thing the NDP wants to do is block this budget so those investments are not made in our communities. That is an acceptable speaker. We want this budget passed so that not only we build critical infrastructure in our communities across the province, but also reduce our auto premium rates and also ensure that we have time and income security for Ontarians. Thank you. New question, a member from MIPHASI. My question is for the Deputy Premier. As we begin to celebrate the Nursing Week in Ontario, there are more than a thousand nurses who are not celebrating. You are firing nurses at hospitals right across the province. We all here in this house have examples. In my hometown of North Bay, you have fired 94 full-time healthcare workers, including 54 RPMs. And you fired 34 part-time workers, including 14 RPMs. Tomorrow, I'm at our hospitals, take your MPP to work event. Deputy, what should I tell the remaining nurses who fear you'll be firing them next? Thank you. Health and long-term care. Minister of Health and long-term care. Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. And one of the things you can tell them is that there are 24,000 more nurses working in this province than we're working here 10 years ago. And in fact, you can also tell them that more than 3,500 nurses were added in 2013 and a similar number in 2014, Mr. Speaker. You can tell them that nurses working full-time. We've worked hard to increase the proportion of nurses working full-time. And in the past decade, we've increased the percentage of nurses in this province is working full-time by 14%. You can tell them, Mr. Speaker, that we've had more than 18,000 new nursing graduates go through our nursing graduate guarantee, getting them that first experience in the workplace. You can tell them the late-career nursing initiative more than 20,000 experienced nurses have been provided with the opportunity to benefit from that program and work in less physically demanding circumstances in the hospital and other environments, Mr. Speaker. Supplementary. Deputy, nobody believes any of your numbers you ever tell us. You're the same people that told us the gas plant cancellation would cost 40 million... Someone's edgy. I'm standing. Please finish. Thank you. These are the same people that said the gas plant scandal would cost 40 million dollars when it's over a billion dollars. You say you're hiring nurses, but you're actually firing nurses. The new Liskert 18,000 hours of nursing care cut in Timmins 40 front-line health care workers fired in the Sioux 12,000. Minister of Transportation, second time. No, you were too busy heckling to hear me say it the first time. Please finish. In the Sioux 12,500 hours of nursing care gone, all the beds in Penitanguasheen Hospital closed. Quinty lost 58 RNs. Cuts in Scarborough. Petroleum. Stratford. Clinton. The list goes on. Deputy, why do you continue to say one thing when the exact opposite is the truth? Mr. Speaker, I find it unbelievable that the party opposite, the member opposite is speaking this way because the way that they chose would have chosen to get to balances by firing thousands of health care workers around our nurses as obsolete hula hoops, Mr. Speaker. Member from Leeds, Grenville is warned. Finish, please. So a party that referred to our professional nurses around this province as obsolete hula hoops. We know that your plan to get back to balance was to cut 100,000 jobs. We know many of those jobs would have come from our nurses. In fact, yesterday, Mr. Speaker, I had the privilege of announcing changes to home and community care across this province, which includes substantial new environments and nurses and nursing hours to medical people living in the home and community environment. Thank you. New question, the leader of the third party. My question is to the Deputy Premier Speaker. Hundreds of teachers are rallied outside, actually thousands and thousands of teachers are rallied outside today to tell the government to stop sitting on the sidelines of negotiations. Tens of thousands of students are out of class and wondering if the school year is lost. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been cut from our already underfunded education system. Our schools have been thrown into chaos, Speaker. Contrary to liberal spin, Ontarians know that the government holds ultimate responsibility over education in this province. Why is this liberal government forcing students and families to pay the price for their reckless cuts and their neglect on the education file? Yes, thank you. I'm not sure what school system you're talking about, but the one I want to talk about is the one where we've made major investments in our school system. They keep saying that we've cut special education. I'd like to tell you something about special education funding, Speaker. Let's have a little bit of actual information. We have increased special education spending by $1.1 billion, up to $2.72 billion. That is a 68% increase in special education spending. You know how much that is to the cost of living? That's about triple the increase in the cost of living, Speaker. So I'm not going to take any lessons from these people who actually campaign. Thank you. Supplementary. Speaker, instead of lighting a fire under negotiations, the Premier and our government are playing the blame game. Blame the teachers. Blame the school boards. But never admitting that their government is failing families across this province. This Minister, sitting on the sidelines and doing nothing while the process is being circumvented. Speaker, will the Deputy Premier and her government stop actually sitting on the sidelines and get up and start making sure that students get back into the classroom where they belong? Thank you, Minister. I really would like to know exactly what it is she's proposing. However, what I can say, two things. Number one, we are at the table, we are at the central table willing to negotiate with any of our partners who would like to be there. But what I would like to also talk about because she says we keep saying we've got the education system in chaos. I talked to you about the special education funding. One of the things we've been able to do with that special education funding, Speaker, is actually look at what is it that our special education students are able to achieve. And do you know when we use the EQIO results to track our special education students, we find that the grade three writing scores for our grade three special education students have gone up 39%. What that tells me is that the... Thank you. New question. The member from... Stop the clock, please. No, start the clock. I'm going to warn the Minister. It's been three, four times now where I stand and you continue your warning. The member from Renfrew come to order, second time. New question. The member from Ottawa, Orleans. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Children and Youth Services. Children and youth in care day, an opportunity to recognize the resilient and strength demonstrated by young people in the care of the province. As someone who began her career as a social worker working at the Children's Aid Society, I understand that the most important action we can take for children and especially youth in the care of the province is to give them a strong foundation for a bright future. We know that the most important action that we can do for children and especially youth that are taken care of by the province is to give them good basis for a better future. This special day. Can the government inform this house on ways in which they are continuing to help youth who have... Question. ...been in care reach their full potential? Thank you. Thank you, Speaker. I want to acknowledge the MPP from Ottawa, Orleans, for a question and the work she's done. Thank you so much. I just want to add to, Speaker, a number of us this morning we're at a celebration, a celebration of youth in care day with our provincial advocate and the foundation of the Children's Aid Society that is there with both my critics and MPP Wong as well who actually put forth the motion as a private member of business to create children in care day. And, Speaker, we know that by supporting youth leaving care of the province during their late teens and their 20s we're focusing on their education and well-being. We have a lot of new programs and services to help youth transitioning into adulthood and we've increased the minimum financial support for these youth to $850 a month, which is a lot of work. We know there's more to do but we want... Thank you, supplementary. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the minister for her answer. The minister is taking the voices of youth and children in care into account and helping them transition into adulthood. The foundation of success of sex is education and it is therefore crucial to make sure youth leaving care is as important as and training they need. Mr. Speaker, could the government highlight some of the ways it is helping youth leaving care get the education they need to lead successful adult lives? Thank you, Speaker. Our government is focusing on ensuring that youth transitioning from care get a great opportunity for education and success. So we provide $2,000 a semester, Speaker, to youth formerly in care who enrolled in OSAP eligible post-secondary training programs. Excuse me. We also cover up to 50% of tuition for more young people thanks to expanded grant eligibility. And we partner with 30 post-secondary educational institutions to cover full tuition, full tuition for Crown wards in Ontario and youth formerly in care. We know that education is a key to a prosperous future for all young people. So we will continue to make education, services and programs accessible for all youth and particularly the youth who are leaving our care. Thank you. Thank you. The Attorney General. Minister, do the justices of the piece that you appoint have to have or have a code of conduct that they are expected to follow? Thank you. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The justice, the judges have a code of conduct to follow. And they are all to the highest manner discipline that the title called for or the position called for. Thank you. Supplementary. I would suggest to you it needs updating. Your premier posted on Twitter whether or not it's caught on film, sexual harassment at work is no joke. We agree. I hired Sean Simone less than a day after he made sexual comments to Sean Hunt. So why did it take you five years to separate convictions, multiple women having to come forward on sexual harassment for you to fire as a justice of the peace? Seated, please. Thank you. I am getting quiet. Attorney General. As I said, Mr. Speaker, the justice of the piece are all to a very important level of discipline. And if people have a concern about what they are doing, they should put a complaint against them. There is a committee that is very independent from the government that review the situation and then bring about recommendation for the action that we should member from Dufford, Caledon second time. It's very important that public knows that they can trust the process, that the process the review of the discipline of the situation is Thank you. New question. The member from Toronto, Dan Ford. Thank you, Speaker. My question to the Deputy Premier. Today, legal experts released an opinion that says that liberal plans to sell off Hydro One will end public control of the company. Those experts say the budget bill makes it clear. And I quote, that the intent is to relinquish control and stewardship of the electricity market. The provision for the purported retention of 40% public ownership is essentially a marketing ploy for legislative reforms that will certainly abandon public control of Hydro One. Does the Deputy Premier think that anyone believes her marketing ploy? Thank you. Deputy Premier. I'm very pleased to have the opportunity to talk about some of the oversight mechanisms that will be in place, Speaker, when Hydro One becomes a publicly traded company, Speaker. We are absolutely committed to doing what is in the public interest. And when it comes to Hydro Rate, Speaker, the Ontario Energy Board will continue, as it does now, will continue in the future to set those rates as it does for other energy companies, Speaker. We are committed to selling no more than 60% Speaker of the company and we are ensuring that major decisions made by Hydro One will require a two-thirds vote, giving us de facto control, Speaker, of the company. We will have the ability to fire the whole Board of Director, Speaker, and we will not 40% of the Board of Directors. So we are finding that right balance. Thank you, Speaker. Liberal's marketing ploy on the Hydro One sell-off is all based on keeping a minority 40% stake. But the experts are clear, there is nothing to prevent private investors from outvoting the government. They say, quote, even if a 40% stake is preserved, effective control can shift to the private sector. And those same experts confirm that Ontario could end up with well under 10% in public hands. The government is trying to sell Hydro One to the bankers and they're trying to sell Ontarians a pig in a poke. Will the government stop the sell-off today? Thank you. Well, Speaker, we are committing to build the infrastructure that this province so badly needs, Speaker. Now the party opposite might think there is some other pot of money under the rainbow where we can build the infrastructure. But I tell you, Speaker, on this side we know that infrastructure costs money. And we, as did the NDP during the last election are looking carefully at the assets we already have, Speaker, that we can put to better use by building the assets of infrastructure. We're committed to improving the infrastructure in the province. We'll use the resources of the people of Ontario whether it's buildings that we don't need to own whether it's land we don't need to own or whether it's a share in Hydro One. We're putting our assets to work on the priorities of the people of this province. Thank you. My question is for the Minister of Labor. Earlier this week there was a front-page story about the rise of temporary work and what that means for today's economy and it's clear from that and other signals that our economy has evolved significantly over the last number of years. I know that, and it's clear that workplaces are having to adapt to this and employees are having to adapt to this new economy as well. Minister, could you share with us what our government is doing to ensure workplace laws keep up with this evolving economy? Thank you, Minister of Labor. Thank you and thank you to the Honourable Member who recognizes that Ontario's labour relations and employment standards law should keep up with the changing economy. In fact, Speaker, in the mandate letter I received from the Premier last year the Premier asked that they undertake a review of Ontario's changing workplaces with a view to ensuring that our labour laws and our employment standards do indeed meet the needs of our modern economy. Speaker, in that regard what we've done is appointed two excellent special labour lawyer Michael Mitchell and former Justice John C Murray both whom have excellent reputations and some expertise in labour law. The adviser's speaker will conduct broad consultations across the province with respect to the Labour Relations Act the Employment Standards Act that are going to consider the findings from these consultations when they make the final recommendations to me. Speaker, I look forward to sharing more about the process as it unfolds in the supplementary. Thank you. Minister, you mentioned that Justice Murray and Mr. Mitchell will be conducting broad consultations across the province and I know you announced the appointment of the advisers in February, but I'm sure there are many members of the public who are eager to know when and how they can provide input. Workers and employers alike in almost every corner of this province have expressed interest in sharing their thoughts and how they can share their perspective. Minister, could you please give the members of this House and the public an idea of when they can expect those consultations to get under way. Thank you, Speaker, and thank you again to the member. This is something that I would hope would be of interest to all members of this House and I'm asking that they advise the constituents of the information I'm about to give you. We're certainly trying to get it out through social media on the websites that the special advisers will be kicking off their public consultations right here in Toronto on June the 16th. From Toronto Speaker, they'll travel to Ottawa, to Mississauga, to Guelph, to Windsor, London, Sudbury, Hamilton, and Thunder Bay, and then they'll be returning in the summer to Toronto. Members should also know that the groups or individuals for some reason cannot make it to a hearing near them to give oral testimony. They can offer written submissions via email to the ministry. Information is available on the ministry's website, along with a guide to the consultations. It's going to outline the process for submissions to all the interested parties. The changing workplaces review will help ensure that our employment, labour relations laws keep up with the modern economy. Thank you. Thank you. Your question is for the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services. Minister, your government is allowing the OPP helicopter base in Sudbury to be shut down. This helicopter has been providing vital search and rescue services for the North, First Nations, and the Northern part of Perry Sound District since 1991. Sudbury enjoys good weather for flying most of the year, while the Aurelia base is in the snow belt and experiences lake effect weather conditions. Minister, why are you lowering the capabilities of the OPP to support frontline officers and provide search and rescue operations in the North? Thank you. Thank you. I thank the member opposite for asking this important question and as the member may recall, I've spoken on this issue before in the House when a question was asked by the member from Sudbury who I'm working very closely with on this very important issue. I want to first start by saying, Speaker, and I'm sure the member opposite knows very well that when it comes to decisions that are operational in nature, like a decision made by the OPP as to where they locate their various assets, that's an operational decision, that's a decision that is made by the OPP, that's a decision that is of course taken on behest of the commissioner of the OPP and there's little of any influence that is exerted by the government and so we need to be mindful of that speaker. Our number one priority speaker is the safety and security of every Ontarian which is extremely important, we need to make sure that all the responsibilities and the mandate that is laid out in the police services act is available and I'll add more in the supplementary. Thank you. Supplementary. And Minister, you're the minister responsible for the OPP. Minister, just this past Sunday, the Aurelia based helicopter was called to find passengers in Sudbury. When the emergency call came in they couldn't fly out because of poor weather. Luckily the Sudbury based helicopter that was on duty in the north was able to return before dark to locate the hikers. This case demonstrates how safety standards in the north will be negatively affected by the closure of the Sudbury base. Minister, were you committed to doing whatever you can to ensure an OPP helicopter remains based in the north. Thank you. I thank the member opposite and I want to restate that our number one priority is the safety and security of every Ontarian. Given the question has been raised about this locally, I have asked my deputy minister of community safety for more information about this decision. It is important to have the necessary information about how Sudbury and the north are served by aircraft in search and rescue operations and how this decision may impact service across the north. The OPP speaker are mandated to provide certain police services across the province including aviation support and they have a responsibility to of course communicate their decisions effectively so that all communities in Ontario get the information they need to feel safe. Speaker, I also want to add that OPP works very closely with the ministry of natural resources and forestry and continues to use ministry aircraft based in Dryden, Thunder Bay, Timmins, Muskoka and Sudbury. I will continue to work closely with the members on this issue. Thank you. Thank you Mr. Speaker. My question is for the minister of health and long-term care. Yesterday we learned that more nurses are losing their job. This time it's at CHILL, the Children's Hospital in Ontario. The government promised that health care would not shoulder the brunt of their austerity agenda. Clearly though, it's our frontline nurses that are taking the biggest hit. Losing a nurse is never good Speaker, but losing 27 pediatric nursing position at CHILL who cares for some of the sickest children in our province is just plain wrong. Does this government austerity agenda no bound? How does the minister feel to be balancing the province budget on the back of some of the sickest children in this province? Thank you Mr. Speaker. Perhaps unlike the member opposite, I trust the professionals that work in our hospitals I trust the professionals that work in our lins that make those difficult decisions so that they can ensure that the highest quality of care is provided to Ontarians wherever they may live whatever age they might be and I think that she understands that we're also in an important transitional period because when that announcement was being made yesterday, I was making an announcement which would result in a dramatic increase in the number of nurses working in the home and community sectors. Transition as we're providing care for individuals and their families closer to home in their communities and their loved ones where evidence shows that we can care for them effectively as that transition takes place we do need to adjust from time to time in terms of the funding levels and how we deploy our nurses and other health professionals around the province. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, 27 full-time equivalent pediatric nursing positions are being cut as GEO. Since January 2015 Ona has told us that 400 full-time equivalent nursing positions have been cut the equivalent of close to 800,000 hours of quality RN care cut. Our most vulnerable deserve more nursing hours not less. The scientific evidence is clear for everybody to see every nurse being cut out of our hospital, put patient care and patient lives at risk. Speaker, this government chose a very very sad way to ring in nursing week by cutting pediatric nurses at GEO. My question is simple. How many more nursing positions will be cut from our Ontario hospital? Question. Thank you. Minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. You know, the member opposite, she's a health care professional as I am, she understands when a a position in one part of the hospital goes away and emerges in another program in another part of the hospital results in the near term in a reduction in one position and that position be added elsewhere in the hospital. It's that net figure that matters most. I was at GEO recently making an announcement for a brand new pediatric chronic pain clinic at that hospital that will result in a significant number of new positions. Similarly, at the Ottawa hospital right now, Mr. Speaker, there are seven flow. I trust our health care professionals around this province in Ottawa to make the right decision for our patients. New question. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for Minister of Correctional and Community Services. The men and women from across our province whose lifesaving actions keep us safe. In my community of Burlington, we are fortunate to be ably served by the women and men of the Halton Region Police Service and civilian and sworn officers to an outstanding job in each of Halton's communities. My late husband was a police officer who served 24 years, first with the Toronto Police Service and then the Ontario Provincial Police and seven communities across our province. As a result, I have a special appreciation of the important role that police officers play on the front lines every day. Whether they are delivering education, safety and awareness programs in our schools, attending the scene of a collision, investigating criminal activities or a crime, police officers play a critical role in keeping Ontarians safe. Mr. Speaker, through you. Can the minister please inform the legislature what we are doing this week to honour the work of Ontario's police officers? Thank you very much, Speaker. I want to thank the member from Burlington for her question and thank her for her passion for public and community safety. As she mentioned, she's part of the police family as I am, my grandfather was a police officer and I share her passion with her and I thank her for advocacy on behalf of community and public safety. Speaker, each and every day we are thankful for the hard work and dedication Ontario's police officers show in keeping our communities safe. But Speaker, this week we are especially thankful to the men and women of our police services because it is police week in Ontario and tomorrow is the Peace Officers Memorial Day, which is recognised across the world. So Speaker, it is my privilege to recognise and thank our police officers along with all the members of the legislature for protecting us from harm. The theme of this year's police week is Discover Policing. Police services across the province have been promoting the profession of policing to the communities they serve and encouraging the public to learn more about their jobs. Our government is proud of the work they do and the partnership we have with our police officers. Thank you, Mr. Speaker Clearly, our police community is a passion that we both share and I appreciate your commitment to honouring the service of the police officers who work hard to keep our communities safe. Since 2003, Ontario's crime rate has dropped by 36% and Ontario's violent crime rate has dropped by 27%. In fact, Ontario has the lowest crime rate of any province and territory every year since 2004. We owe a great deal of this progress to our police services as we honour them and as we honour their work during police week and the work that the government can do to help make Ontario even safer. Moving forward, it is important that we work together to develop solutions that will help to address the root causes of crime and other social issues. Mr. Speaker, through you, can the minister please explain how he plans to build even safer communities across Ontario? Thank you, Minister. Thank you, Speaker. As we dedicate this week to honouring the commitment of our police forces to keep us safe, it is important that we look at ways of working to build even stronger communities across the province. We have worked hard to build safer communities. Now we must work smarter to make our communities even safer. Our strategy for a safer Ontario is focused on finding smarter and more effective ways to build safer communities across our great province. We are forming collaborative partnerships that include police and other key stakeholders such as education, mental health and addiction specialists. This is about bringing more people to the table to address the issues that confront our communities at their root cause. This will ultimately help make our communities safer and our police officers safe as well. Speaker, collaboration and partnership is key in order for us to make decisions around our community safety in a smarter way. I also want to encourage people as we celebrate the May 24 weekend to be safe and drive safely as well. Thank you, Speaker. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change. Minister, I invite you to join me to acknowledge local success. Specifically, Minister, the 2014 Provincial Appearist Annual Report produced by your government says protective measures brought in by the Pest Management Regulatory Agency contributed to a 70% decline of in-season B mortality during the 2014 corn and soybean planting season. Considering the success of actions taken by Ontario farmers and Ontario industry why won't you listen to reports coming from both Ontario and federal government and why are you so intent to rush through regulations that will devastate Ontario farmers? What a good question. Thank you, Minister. Thank you very much. As the member may know, we had over a 34% loss in bees this year. The U.S. Department of Agriculture just reported record losses in the United States of 42%. I just said Ontario. That's where I started. So maybe just listen to the answer. The second thing, Mr. Speaker, we know that we've got very significant problems both with wild pollinators for which we do not have numbers yet for and we know that this is water soluble, breaks down, becomes much more toxic and we're now picking it up in our river streams. Quebec just found it above safe levels in all 20 rivers that have been studied. So we're applying a precautionary principle because the science is showing very grave dangers to species, to the integrity of our ecology, Mr. Speaker and to our water invertebrates and that. We're taking this very seriously and monitoring the science very carefully. Thank you. Minister, may I remind you that just last week at a conference you spoke at my paraphrase, politicians go off the rails when they don't focus on science. Right. So in that spirit, I'd like to ask you and share with you that the current provincial APS report from your government noted that the Ontario honey bee sector is growing and actually ended the 2014 season with a 15% increase in the number of colonies. Considering these significant numbers show that the honey population, honey bee population is growing in Ontario, what is really behind your push to destabilize the $9 billion Ontario grain sector. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, I was interested because I've been out going out on Fridays to visit sewing grain farmers. I was actually in Huron County and in Perth County and Wellington County recently and it's been quite interesting as I met a number of grain farmers who share the government's concern and these were people actually Mr. Speaker who wrote me letters because they were quite upset about it because they've gotten a lot of disinformation. Farmers are going to continue to use Neonix on a limited basis. If they have the pests, they will be able to use it. We're working very closely with our friends in agriculture to put integrated pest management so we're not banning it in quite far from damage Mr. Speaker. We also know that the studies coming out from the EPA show no yield benefits for soy so we're also reviewing the efficacy of both fees on corn and soy while they're effective on others and there will be PMR studies coming out from the federal government Mr. Speaker and the very near future which we look for. Do you have a question? My question is to the minister of transportation. Speaker in 2006 the government approved the four-laning of Highway 3 from Windsor to Leamington and promised that the entire project would be completed this year. The government got most of this project done but the last phase from Essex to Leamington is still incomplete. In 2013 we were told that shovels would be in the ground by 2018 but late last year we found that the government is rebuilding this section of Highway 3 without the four-laning. Minister does this mean that the government intends on ripping up the road, repaving it and then ripping it up again in 2018 for the four-laning or has the government decided to postpone the highway widening for another generation? Thank you. Minister of transportation. Thanks very much Mr. Speaker. I thank the member from Essex for his question. He alluded to this in his question speaker but of course he would know that to date our government has invested nearly 50 million dollars to widen the 13 kilometers of the highway from the city of Windsor to the town of Essex. He would also know Speaker that the work to widen the remaining two-lane section of Highway 3 between Leamington and Windsor is listed as part of our southern planning for the future Speaker but you know what I certainly think I find remarkable when I hear questions like this coming from members of the NDP Caucus Speaker it's that day after day in this chamber week after week for as long as I've served as a member of Parliament representing Vaughn Speaker, that member and that party have consistently voted against every single budget measure that will help us invest in transit infrastructure. They fought us every step of the way Speaker it's a shame that they don't want to put our money where their mouths are. Thank you very much I thank you very much Speaker Speaker my predecessor as the member of Essex the late Bruce Crozier called the four laning of Highway 3 his one with greatest accomplishments Speaker it was one of many of his accomplishments I respected him a lot he knew that this highways was a vital link for our economy especially the expanding greenhouse industry and for the safety of drivers when he died in 2011 the highway was aptly named the Bruce Crozier way will this government finish what Bruce started and commit to the four laning of the Bruce Crozier way from Essex to Leamington in the in the next update of the government's five-year southern highways program Can you see them please? Thank you Minister? No I just speaker I didn't get a chance to say on my initial answer in 2014-15 this government under the leadership of Premier Kathleen is investing almost $2.5 billion to expand and repair Ontario's highways and roads and bridges speaker but again speaker what's remarkable what's remarkable is that we are dedicating this $2.5 billion to support highways and roads and bridges across the province of Ontario including in southwestern Ontario as part of our budget both budget 2014 and budget 2015 speaker and the people living in Essex need to know as I know they do that that member in 2014 and again in 2015 I assume I presume given the tenor of the debate that you brought forward so far will also reject this budget speaker it's a shame thanks very much Thank you Mr. Speaker I'd like to introduce my guests this morning Darren Meek Kathleen Meek and Taylor Meek from Prince Edward Island and brought to Queens Park by their cousin Amanda Meek and usually a former Prince I remember from here on Bruce I'd also like to welcome Mark Sherdown, Tyler Thompson and Quinton Herbal they've traveled from here in Perth area to Queens Park for the Youth Civic's Day Thank you very much Thank you, I ask all members of this house to join me in welcoming Shalini Inham and Martin Inham parents of the Ollip Interment my office Justin Coran de Medeiros thank you and please welcome them to the house Thank you Thank you very much Mr. Speaker I'd just like to add to my colleague from Cortho Lake Amanda Meek and her family are here to raise funds for walks so kids can talk fundraiser in memory of her cousin Chalice Best of luck We have a deferred vote on the motion of second reading of bill 91 an act to implement budget measures and an act to amend various acts calling the members this will be a five minute bell on April the 30th 2015 Mr. Susan moved second reading of bill 91 all those in favor of the motion please rise one at a time and be recognized by the clerk Mr. Nackby Madam Mayor Mr. Hoskins Mr. Sandals Mr. Dugud Mr. Quinter Mr. Cole Mr. Dillon Mr. Quadri Mr. McMeekin Mr. Chan Mr. Cato Mr. Flynn Mr. Zimmer Mr. Delaney Mr. Balcos Mr. Albanese Mr. Dixon Mr. Manga Mr. Crack Mr. Wong Mr. Hunter Mr. Sergio Mr. Morrill Mr. Hogarth Mr. Mollie Mr. Martin Mr. McGarry Mr. Miltjen Mr. Pott Mr. Rinaldi Mr. Reneal All those opposed please rise one at a time and be recognized by the clerk Mr. Pidelli Mr. Harnam Mr. Harnam Mr. Wilson Mr. Clark Mr. Miller Mr. Dunlop Mr. Thompson Mr. Barrett Mr. Monroe Mr. Scott Mr. Bailey Mr. Walker Mr. Smith Mr. Harris Mr. Nichols Mr. Marteau Mr. McDonnell Mr. McClaren Mr. Tavern Mr. Miller Hamilton Mr. Taylor Mr. Natashack Mr. Armstrong Mr. Mantha Mr. Hatfield Mr. Gretzky Mr. Gaines Mr. French The eyes are 51 the nays are 41 The eyes being 51 and the nays being 41 and declare the motion carried Pursuant to the order of the house dated May 13, 2015 The bill is ordered referred to the standing committee on finance and economic affairs Before we recess I would like to offer to all of the members a safe and restful break but I know that all of you do have other work in your writing and that continues day to day and I appreciate the work that you do there are no deferred votes this house stands recessed until 1pm this afternoon