 Therefore, now time for question period. The member for Tadham Kent Essex. Thank you very much, speaker. My question is to the Premier. Parents shouldn't have to worry whether their child will come home at the end of the day. As of today, Ottawa has experienced 57 shootings, its highest ever. The frequency and public nature of these recent shootings is unacceptable, speaker, and it has to stop. Ottawa's police work extremely hard, but in the 2016 budget, the Liberal government, which included the former Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services from Ottawa, cut the Ottawa Police Anti-Gang Program taking police officers off the streets. Mr. Speaker, the impact has been clear. Why did the Liberals cut funding to this vital program that helped keep the streets of Ottawa safe? Thank you. Well, thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, and I believe the Attorney General may want to weigh in on this. But let me just say, Mr. Speaker, that, of course, any violent act, any harm that's done to a citizen, a resident of this province, anywhere, Mr. Speaker, is unacceptable and it's up to communities and government to do everything that we can to prevent that kind of violence, which is exactly why, Mr. Speaker, we have increased police funding. We created the Pavis funding, Mr. Speaker, and made those investments across the province. So the efforts of local police services and other safety partners have resulted in Ontario having among the lowest police reported crime rates in all of Canada for the past decade. But, Mr. Speaker, the money that has been invested, we need to make sure that that money is invested in the right way. Member from the PN Carlton will come to our sentence, please. The provincial anti-violence intervention strategy, which is what the member is talking about, has been reinvested. I'll say more in the supplementary, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, supplementary. Thank you, Speaker. 57 shootings and it keeps getting higher. Back to the Premier's Speaker, Liberals continue to underfund mental health services as well as de-escalation training, forcing police officers to become de facto frontline mental health workers. While Ottawa is a great place to live, work, and raise a family, we can do better and we must do better. Order. Parents shouldn't have to worry whether their child will come home at the end of the day. Mr. Speaker, there have been a record number of shootings in Ottawa this year. The year the Liberals cut funding to the anti-gang and anti-gun violence program. In fact, the Ottawa Police Association President, Max Goff said, and I quote, it's well known to these gang, excuse me, it's well known to those engaging in criminal activity that the unit isn't around when the cut is emboldening gang members. Mr. Speaker, will the Premier explain the liberal priorities and why they should cut this program? Well, thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And as I was saying, the funding for the provincial anti-violence intervention strategy program has been reinvested, Mr. Speaker. It is now with local police boards to determine how to allocate that funding, Mr. Speaker. And, you know, 55 million dollars we've invested, 4 million of that has gone to Ottawa. Mr. Speaker, what we need is that money to be targeted at the programs that work, the strategies that work, Mr. Speaker, working with community agencies, coordinating that work, Mr. Speaker, so that there's a prevention strategy in place as well as reacting to violent incidents. That money has been reinvested, Mr. Speaker. The police boards are now able to allocate those dollars, and we're very, very convinced that police on the ground will continue to improve those prime statistics, Mr. Speaker, as they have been doing for a decade. Thank you. Final supplementary. Thank you, Speaker. It's ironic that she talks about allocating funds back to the Premier. The Liberals have spent 4 million dollars on the salary of the new Hydro-1 CEO. They wasted 70 million dollars on a failed ORPP. They canceled gas plants for 1.1 billion dollars, and last week they spent 12 million dollars on high-speed or rather high-priced consultants and promotional ads instead of low-income families struggling to pay their Hydro bills. Meanwhile, they're cutting the very funding that keeps our streets safe, and that must change. I question, allocating funds? Mr. Speaker, will the Liberals restore their short-sighted cut to the Ottawa Anti-Gang and Gun Violence program? Thank you. Attorney General. Thank you very much, Speaker. I'm very happy to answer this question, because let me get some facts absolutely clear. First of all, Pavis program has not been cut, Speaker. Second of all, the funding for Ottawa Police Service under this government has actually gone up. It's gone up, Speaker, just last year by $300,000. Speaker, in fact, this is the government which has been undoing the download that the previous progressive concept of government has done by downloading core security costs to municipalities. Finish, please. It's clear. When it hurts, they shout back. Speaker, this is the government that has uploaded that core security cost to make sure that our municipalities and our police service in Ottawa, in particular, have more resources available to them. Yes, sir. Our police chief, Shal Bodlow, and our men and women of our Ottawa Police Service are extremely hardworking and they're working hard to make sure that Ottawa remains a safe city. Thank you. Thank you. Any questions for the member from Duffin-Cowden? My question is for the Premier. On October 3rd, my leader and I visited, yes, I can, nursery school, which provides unique programs for children with autism. We heard from the school that they will no longer receive funding from the government and have called on the government to restore their funding. Both my leader and I have repeatedly called on the government to reverse this cut. I understand the Minister of Education has finally agreed to meet with yes, I can. Will the government be offering sustainable funding for yes, I can at this meeting? Good question. Social Minister of Education, early years in childcare. Social Minister. Thank you so much, Mr. Speaker, and thank you so much for that question. You know, I want to point out that our government is proud of the initiatives that we are undertaking to give children the best start in life. And we are definitely committed to the early years of a child's life. We want to make sure that everyday life is easier for our children and for families across Ontario. That's why we're moving forward with 100,000 new spaces over the next five years. Let me talk a little bit about yes, I can and the funding that they've been receiving over the last few years. We have been supporting them through the municipalities fund that goes to the City of Toronto. However, they did get one-time transitional funding to help them come up with a sustainable plan when it comes to finances. But their funding was one-time transitional funding in order to allow them to develop an adequate and sustainable financial position and that funding is over with. Thank you, supplementary. You know, the reality is if this funding is not restored, they have two choices. They will eliminate the program or they will ask parents who have children with special needs to pay more. Which is it, Minister? Are you asking parents to pay more simply because their child has a special need or do you want this program shut down? That is the answer. Thank you very much for that question. And again, we do fund childcare in this province but we do it through a very strict set of rules. Here's what we're doing. We're moving more than a billion dollars a year towards childcare funding. That funding moves, thank you. That funding moves to municipalities and what that means essentially in this instance is there is funding and sustainable funding that is going to the, yes I can, nursery care, nursery school at $300,000. $300,000 of funding. If that community feels and if the parents they feel that isn't enough and if the daycare and nursery feels it isn't enough, they should be having that conversation with their municipality and also with the local managers who are making those decisions. What I can tell you is that they have been receiving the funding, they will be receiving the funding over the next year, $300,000. This government has been attacking families of children with autism for years. You've taken them to court. You've threatened to cut their children off IVM. Start the clock. First to the chair, to the chair please and come to order. Thank you. The government doesn't want to hear this but it is the reality on the ground in Ontario if you have a child with autism. They've threatened to kick their children off the IVI wait list. Will the Premier finally show some support to families with children and reinstate sustainable funding to yes I can nursery school? The chair please. Thank you. Associate Minister. I want to get back to the fact that yes we have doubled the funding to over a billion dollars a year. We provide funding to the City of Toronto who then funds a number of local childcare programs including yes I can nursery school at $300,000. We know that yes I can nursery provides valuable services to families. There is a meeting set up on October 31st with officials to discuss the plan and the way forward. Our past support to yes I can nursery school was one time transitional funding. We encourage yes I can nursery school to continue to work with its local municipality to continue its great service across the GTA. Our government is committed to ensuring that every child has access to the supports they need to succeed, including students here at yes I can nursery school. Thank you very much. That's a great question. The member from Toronto Danforth. Thank you Speaker. Speaker, my question to the Premier. Does the Premier have an internal estimate of what Ontarians could end up paying for the Liberal decision to try and cancel the $5.5 billion contract signed with Windstream? Thank you. Premier. Minister of Energy. Minister of Energy. Thank you Mr. Speaker. I'd like to thank the Honourable Member for the question. When it relates to the Windstream, the tribunal decision Mr. Speaker, we have 20 days to review the entire decision and we are working with our federal counterparts Mr. Speaker to ensure that we look at all issues that are relating to this Mr. Speaker. We are very concerned as we would be Mr. Speaker and doing our due diligence is very important and so that's what we will continue to do over the next 20 days or the total 20 days Mr. Speaker. We will work with our federal counterparts and we will work with our lawyers to determine what steps are next. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, I did ask a very different question but nonetheless, I spent months on the gas plant committee getting to the bottom of how the Liberals wasted $1.1 billion by putting the interests of the Liberal Party ahead of people in Ontario struggling to pay their hydro bills. When Liberals and Conservatives signed private energy contracts it means Ontarians are locked in to paying the profits of those private energy companies. What we learned in the gas plant scandal is that when Liberal politicians cancel those private contracts people still end up on the hook for paying those profits. How much are Ontarians going to have to pay because Liberals signed a $5.5 billion private energy contract with Windstream? How much? Thank you Mr. Speaker. I don't think that the member is hearing what we're saying. We have a 20 day moratorium in which we have to work with our federal counterparts to review the decision and that's what we're doing Mr. Speaker. We're carefully reviewing that decision and we're going to continue to work with Canada because we believe that they're doing the same Mr. Speaker. Our decision to place a moratorium on offshore wind is when our government still believes it is correct Mr. Speaker. And so we're taking this cautious approach to offshore wind which includes finalizing research to make sure that we are protective of both human health and of the environment Mr. Speaker. So we've been advised of the tribunal's decision in the NAFTA Chapter 11 dispute between US based Windstream Energy, LLC and Canada Mr. Speaker. And I think it's important to state that the tribunal dismissed the majority of claims with the final 25 million award being significantly less but we'll continue to work with Canada on this Mr. Speaker. Final supplementary. Man talk about avoiding the question. Speaker, canceling the gas plants cost Ontarians over a billion dollars because the Liberals signed private power contracts. Selling hydro one will cost Ontarians because the Liberals are handing it over to private owners. Now because the Liberals signed a 5.5 billion dollar private wind contract Ontarians could be on the hook for paying 20 years of profits with zero years of electricity. Let's be honest, if this had been a public project that had been canceled, we would be on the hook for those items that had been purchased because it's a for profit project Ontarians could be on the hook for billions of dollars in profits. Our Ontarians looking at the gas plant scandal all over again. Thank you. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Let me once again be very clear that we are reviewing the decision. We have 20 days to do so and we'll continue to do so in the member's member opposite's question. He's being very speculative Mr. Speaker and you know what, for us on this side let's talk about some of the facts when it comes to renewable energy Mr. Speaker. We have 18,000 megawatts of renewable energy online. We are one of the best in North America when it comes to renewable contracts Mr. Speaker. We are very proud that we've eliminated coal. We've invested in renewables Mr. Speaker. We don't have to send out warnings anymore about smog days Mr. Speaker so people can go outside and breathe appropriately. You know what Mr. Speaker, we're very proud of our record on this side of the house and when it comes to win stream Mr. Speaker we're going to continue work with the federal government to look at all aspects and do our due diligence. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Give a question to the member from Nicobel. Mr. Speaker. Thank you Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Premier. Figuring out the sale price of e-health and other health assets will take expert. Ed Clark cannot do that alone. My question is simple. How much has been spent on consultant and how many members of the public service have been used to build a case to privatize our e-health assets? Thank you. Mr. Health and long term care. Mr. Health long term care. Well thank you Mr. Speaker. I real on a Monday morning I just love getting questions like this because as we've said so many times there are no plans to sell e-health. We will not be selling or privatizing e-health or any of its components. The simple reason why we've asked Ed Clark to do this value for money review is so as we move forward to there's a very real deadline where the current mandate of e-health is due to expire at the end of next year. We are in a completely changed environment with regards to the opportunities for digital health whether that's the consumer facing side of it or even looking at how much we've built up e-health in the past decade in this province. It's responsible I think and my caucus and I think Ontarians would agree for us to look at what we have created in this province. We have national bodies that have told us there's immense value in what we've created. We want to articulate that explicitly. Thank you. Supplementary. Thank you Speaker. It is entirely possible that the Liberal government has been working on privatizations plans for the last 11 months and I have a feeling they're not quite done. When the Premier decided to sell Hydro One, Ontarian got stuck with a seven million dollar bill for secret consultant contracts. Now I'm asking how much has been budgeted and how much has been spent on consultant to privatize some or all of e-health. Thank you. Thank you. So I don't know how many times I can say this e-health is not for sale Mr. Speaker and I know that they weren't satisfied with us repeating that numerous times last week that e-health and its components are not for sale including the intellectual property and how we've built that up successfully over the past decade but obviously not being satisfied with that response. Now they've gone into a deeper conspiracy that somehow we've been planning this in the past. Mr. Speaker, we have not invested funds to privatize e-health to consider privatizing e-health because we are not privatizing e-health Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Final supplementary. Selling hydro one is making life harder for every Ontarian and every business who pays a hydro bill but for a high price consultant it is a red letter day speaker. Will the premier release the list of consultants working for Ed Clark to do value for money review or to leverage e-health assets? Thank you. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Well Mr. Speaker once again e-health is not for sale it will not be privatized and also the patient records that are part of that that's part of the aspect of e-health which will not be privatized it will not be monetized Mr. Speaker. We take it very serious I can tell them one individual that Ed Clark will be consulting with and that's the information and privacy commissioner Mr. Speaker. Thank you. New question. The member from Nipissing. Thank you and good morning Mr. Speaker. My question is for the premier. Somehow this government keeps finding new ways to waste taxpayer money without ever delivering anything. 12 million on consultants no hydro relief 70 million no pension plan 308 million on OLG nothing to show for it 1.1 billion on gas plants no gas plan. This government even wastes money doing nothing at all I asked the premier why do you keep wasting millions of dollars delivering nothing in return? No one in the house this morning has asked a question about the Ontario-Quebec energy agreement Mr. Speaker. The other side of the house that Ontario and Quebec work together we are working together Mr. Speaker and working with Quebec to get that power that clean Quebec power Mr. Speaker will save 70 million dollars over seven years Mr. Speaker that's just one of the things in the list of things that we are doing to take... The member from Renford she's talented enough to make you sound loud that's her issue. One of the things Mr. Speaker that we are doing to take costs out of the system and Mr. Speaker to reduce greenhouse gas emissions it's good news I'm surprised nobody's mentioned it. Speaker families across Ontario are suffering because of this government's decisions we now learn this government once again wasted millions of taxpayer dollars in exchange for nothing. This time their political decision on wind energy put Ontario taxpayers on the hook for another 28 million dollars. Families are now expected to pay for a wind project that was never even built. This is yet another example Speaker of this government's waste mismanagement and scandal. So I'll ask the Premier again why do you keep wasting millions of taxpayer dollars that delivers nothing in return? Thank you. So Mr. Speaker I alone of this question and from the substance quite frankly that the member opposite would be supportive of the Quebec Ontario agreement that was signed on Friday Mr. Speaker and let me just talk a little bit about what that is. Under the agreement Ontario can import up to two terawatts of power and just for context Mr. Speaker that's enough power to power the city of Kitchener for a year. So it's a massive amount of electricity power Mr. Speaker that is part of this deal and this agreement will reduce electricity system costs for consumers by about 70 million dollars. That's 10 million dollars a year for seven years Mr. Speaker. And as I said that is just one of the things that we are doing to take costs out of the system. I heard someone over on the other side heckle about making Quebec great. Mr. Speaker if Quebec is great Ontario is great Canada is great. Thank you. I start the clock. New question. The member from Nicobel. Thank you Mr. Speaker my question is for the Premier. In this beautiful province of ours we should be able to provide quality care to senior living in long-term care homes but that's not happening today Speaker. Arthur Jones moved in a private for-profit long-term care home. Soon after he suffered from malnutrition dehydration he felt repeatedly he developed a huge bed soar he spent his final weeks in hospital and is creating pain. My question is simple. How can this happen in Ontario? That's right. Mr. Health in long-term care. Mr. Health long-term care. Well Mr. Speaker the member opposite knows as Ontarians need to know that the safety and well-being of our seniors wherever they might call home is of paramount priority to me as Minister of Health and to this government and while the member also knows that I can't comment on the specifics of this case but I can't even begin to imagine the challenge that the challenge that the family has gone through as a result of this but let me be absolutely clear that we have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to abuse or neglect. Again wherever that might take place and there are many, many Ontarians that call long-term care homes their home and it is their home and their residence Mr. Speaker so we continue to work with the various oversight bodies responsible for regulating our health professionals to make sure that that safety is provided. Supplementary. Words are not enough Speaker. We need action. We need big changes in long-term care because Mr. Jones is not alone. His family is part of a lawsuit with 82 other families against this one private for-profit care home chain. The Liberal government has had plenty of opportunity to act. Families have been demanding change for many years. The coroner after investigating multiple homicide told this government that more staff was needed to provide bedside care. Frontline workers are asking for a guaranteed minimum standard of care so this does not continue to happen over and over again. What will it take for this government to finally step up to the plate and prevent anyone else from suffering the indignity and pain that Mr. Jones had to go through in this for-profit long-term care home chain? Minister of Health. Thank you Mr. Speaker and you know in 2014 we implemented a measure where every single long-term care home in this province would be rigorously inspected and in 2014 100% of long-term care homes were inspected and again in 2015 100% of long-term care homes were inspected. Now we've looked and the Auditor General has provided us with very sound advice for how we can further strengthen that regime by targeting those long-term care homes where challenges or problems have been identified Mr. Speaker but I know the member opposite has a private member's bill with regards to minimum hours of care that actually runs against the expert panel and the work of the Sharkey report several years ago in 2008 which recommended against specific minimum hours because every patient is unique and different. We need to make sure the long-term care homes plan for the level of services that each individual needs and we expect that Mr. Speaker. Thank you. We're questioning the members from our Fumble and Quincy level. Well thank you Speaker. My question is a Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport. Minister Ontario celebrated the outstanding performance of our Olympic athletes with a contribution of 15 of the Team Canada top 22 medals including four gold, two silver and nine bronze. More than half of Ontario athletes in Rio also competed in the Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games and at the benefit of experiencing competition in high-pressure international multi-sports event. The Rio Olympics are one example of how the Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games legacy is translating to outstanding performances in the global stage. I also had the privilege of seeing Penny Olsiak at 16 make history as first Canadian swimmer to win four medals in single summer games. Penny also sent an Olympic record of 52.70 seconds in the woman's 100 meter freestyle and became the first athlete born in the 21st century to win a sport. Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport. Thank you Mr. Speaker. I'd like to thank the hardworking member for his question. Last summer, Ontario athletes won 109 Pan Am medals and 63 Parapan Am medals. 45% of all medals won by Team Canada. We welcome the world to our province and successfully hosted the largest, most accessible and the most transparent multi-sport games in Canadian history. The game showcased Ontario at its best to an international audience, attracting tourists, jobs and new business investments. More than one million tickets were sold in 15 municipalities. 10 new internationally certified sport venues and 15 renovated venues were built in places like Minden, Milton, North York, Scarborough, Atobico, Caledon, Markham and Hamilton and even North Bay. Yes, North Bay, Speaker, benefited too. The venues during the games were shipped to North Bay for a world-class volleyball facility there. Above all, Speaker, we're going to continue making these kinds of investments because they inspire athletes like Penny Alexiuk and the next generation and, Speaker, that is priceless. Thank you very much. Thank you to the minister, Speaker. It is fantastic how wide reaching and how successful our government's investments in games have been. This year, Ontario investment of $16.76 million towards Ontario athletes and sporting events, helping athletes reach the highest level international competition and support the ongoing operation of key sporting venues. This year, 49 Ontario athletes were part of the Canadian team that competed in 19 of 23 sports. Ontario contributes to four of Team Canada's top 29 medals, helping Canada finish 14 in overall medal standing. These athletes are an inspiration for future athletes and role models for all. Mr. Speaker, through you to the minister, can you tell the members of this House about how Ontario supports our athletes? I am. Thank you, minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to again thank the member from Northumberland, Quinney West for his question. You know, Speaker, it's always a joy to stand in this House and talk about our support for our amazing athletes. Currently in its 10th year, Ontario's Quest for Gold program offers 9.76 million to our athletes, including 6.36 million in direct funding directly to athletes, over 1,200 of them, Speaker, and 3.4 million this year through sport organizations to enhance coaching, training, and competitive opportunities. The province has also contributed an additional $7 million towards the Toronto 2015 Sport Legacy Fund, which is helping the long-term development of amateur sport by supporting the ongoing operation and maintenance of key legacy facilities of the games, including the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre, the Madame National Cycling Centre, and the Pan Am and Parapan Athlete Stadium at York University. Ontario's 7 million in the Toronto 2015 Sport Legacy Fund brings the total provincial investment in the fund to $12 million, something we can all be proud of, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Your question, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is the Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry. Mr. Speaker, I hand-delivered to the minister more than 1,000 petitions signed by people in my riding who are concerned over the lack of clarity of what's being proposed under the Niagara Scarpment Expansion Plan for Bruce Gray-Own Sound. It's a proposal that no one seems to be able to wrap their head around. If the plan goes forward, Great County municipalities will lose $700,000 per year in tax revenues. It's a huge loss, and this is why the Warden and Great County Council and Mayor and Council of Meeford, as well as other neighbouring municipalities, have called on the minister to abandon the proposal. So my question is simple. Will the minister heed the feedback from the majority response in my riding, which is to draw the NEC Expansion Proposal for Bruce Gray-Own Sound? Thank you. Minister of Natural Resources. Thank you very much, Speaker, and thank you very much for the member for that important question. And as a member knows, Mr. Speaker, Ontario is undergoing right now a coordinated land-use planning event that many, many municipalities are being asked to weigh in on, including the Niagara escarpment plan. So certainly this is something that I've been in contact with many municipalities about. I had many delegations at the recent AMO conference, and this has been up on the environmental registry to be able to gather good comments from not only municipalities, stakeholders, landholders, and the like. So this is an area where all of us working together are going to be coming together with a plan that respects the landowners, that does protect our essential lands that we need to do for biodiversity and other environmental reasons in the future. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Speaker. Back to the Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry. I respect your ministries trying to sort through it, but it's a little too late. With seven days left until consultation's end, the proposal seems to be too much for anyone to handle, which is why complaints continue to pour into her office every day. A thousand people have given you their comments. They don't want this to happen. Mr. Speaker, the minister knows she is under no obligation to push this through, especially when there's so much confusion and lack of information with the overall impact of adding 45,000 hectares under the NEC jurisdiction. Again, the only certainty is that this proposal will cost these rural municipalities and the people who live in this land almost a million dollars in lost tax revenues. And so through you, Speaker, I ask, will the minister stay true to her word? She promised meaningful consultations. This is her opportunity to prove what meaningful means. Will she end the mass confusion by dropping the NEC expansion proposal for Bruce Gray on that? Thank you, minister. Well, thank you very much, speaker. And I thank the member opposite for the supplementary question. And again, I'd like to reiterate that the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry is working very well with the other partner ministries at the moment, including municipal affairs in order to look at the issues around the coordinated land use plan of Ontario. And that includes the four provincial land use plans. The second round of public consultation is still going on, speaker, until October 31st. So my ministry and others are still gathering comments on the proposed plans. So I encourage those that are interested to continue to put their comments on the environmental registry before October 31st, after which my ministry will be looking at those very thoughtfully, coordinating with other partner ministries and coming up with proposing amendments to the Niagara escarpment plan, which again is upon the registry right now for review and comment. We will be continuing to work closely with our partners and stakeholders in Ontario to ensure that the coordinated land use plan moves ahead in an appropriate and a balanced way for all. Thank you. Thank you. Good question, the member from London. Thank you, speaker. My question is to the Premier. A new forum research poll shows that two thirds of Ontarians support the NDP's plan to remove interest from student loans. They agree that post-secondary education should be a path to a brighter future with many opportunities, not a path to years and years of debt that delay young people from starting a home, starting a family and other life milestones. Does the Premier agree with two thirds of Ontarians that interest should be removed from student loans? I agree. We have advanced education skills development. Minister of Education. Well, speaker, we are in fact eliminating debt for many thousands of students. We are moving forward with the most ambitious reform of student assistance in North America and we are very excited about the opportunities that we'll bring to students across this province, because we absolutely believe that access to post-secondary education should be based on your ability to learn your hard work, not on your ability to pay, speaker. So I absolutely expect the member opposite and the party opposite to support us as we move forward bringing in the new reformed OSAP, speaker. Thank you. What's up, hon. Speaker? Speaker, too many young people in Ontario are graduating and unable to enter the careers they dream of. Instead, they can't find work or they end up underemployed in jobs that do not leverage their skills and talents. After four years of university, young people in Ontario who rely on financial assistance are graduating with average debt loads of $28,000 and that doesn't include the private loans that many students also carry. We have reached a tipping point in this province and young people deserve better. My question to the Premier is, why does her Liberal government think that it is okay to profit from interest charge on student debt? If two-thirds of Ontarians support interest-free student loans, why doesn't the Premier? Thank you, Minister. Well, Speaker, let me repeat, we are actually eliminating debt for many, many thousands of students. 150,000 students will have grants that are higher than their tuition. Speaker, that's how very students support the... I think we're all on the same page. We want students to be able to go on to post-secondary education without worrying about the financial cost. We have an important message to get out to students across this province, Speaker, and I'm gonna talk to the students in the gallery today. You can go on to post-secondary education. You don't need to worry about the money. I meant it when I said, no, you're not. All questions and answers get put to the chair. Armed chair, not needed. New question, a member from Kingston in the islands. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Government and Consumer Services. On July 1st, 1867, three colonies, the province of Canada, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia joined together to become the Dominion of Canada. Next year, we will be celebrating the 150th anniversary of Ontario as a province within this great country. I think we can all agree that we're lucky to live in this province and that we're looking forward to celebrating Ontario's rich and vibrant history. The Archives of Ontario will be of special service next year, providing us all with extensive and exceptional documentation of our collective history. Will the Minister inform the House of the Archives plan to celebrate Ontario 150? Minister of Government and Consumer Services. Merci, Mr. President. I want to say thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On the island for that question, Ontario's 150th anniversary provided us with a great opportunity to reflect on our shared past. Just last month, I had the pleasure of visiting the Archives at office at York University to see the Family Ties exhibit. It explores the era of confederation and how family lived during that time. The exhibit features a display on Chief Shinkwalk. And I'd say, Mr. Speaker, this is very important in particularly moving story on the impact of confederation on Indigenous people. Speaker, I also would like to add that this Archives of Ontario exhibit is free of charge and an exceptional place to take the entire family. Answer. Mr. President, I encourage all Ontarians. I invite all people of Ontario to visit the Archives. Thank you, supplementary. I want to thank the Minister for her information on the Archives of Ontario and its Ontario 150 plans. I know that in my writing of Kingston and the Islands, we have a robust appreciation for our history as evidenced in our city's motto, where history and innovation thrive. And I can tell you that we are very much looking forward to Ontario's 150th. In addition to its fascinating exhibits and displays, the Archives of Ontario provide the people of this province with important services. It is also an important institution that the government frequently relies on. Can the Minister please speak to the significance of the Archives of Ontario? Thank you, Minister. Thank you again to the member of Kingston and the Islands for the question. Mr. Speaker, since 1903, the Archives of Ontario has been the source of information about the history of the province and its people. The Archives of Ontario houses both public and private records, including 106,000 metres of text records, 4.4 million photographs, and 4 terabytes of electronic records. It's through this wide selection of public records that the Archives can create exhibitions such as Family Ties. Mr. Speaker, for all that cannot make it to Toronto, the Archives of Ontario maintain an incredible amount of resources online. The Archives also offering traveling curriculum-linked workshop at schools. Mr. Speaker, the Archives of Ontario gives us a chance to reflect upon our past and to remind ourselves of how fortunate we all are to live in this great province. Thank you. New question? Mr. Speaker, the member from Hallam and Norfolk. Mr. Speaker, to the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Mural Affairs, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce recently reported serious pressures on our agri-food sector, rising input costs, foreign competition. Dairy farmers of Ontario are here today. The Chamber laments the dramatic 333 percent increase in electricity prices from 4.7 kWh back in 2004 to today's 18 cents at peak. That makes it very expensive to provide lighting, cooling, to run pumps and milking machines in a modern dairy operation. The Ontario Chamber issued government a call to action. Will the Minister tell dairy farmers here today what action he will take on these pressing problems? Mr. President, I want to thank my friend, the Honourable Member from Hallam and Norfolk, for his question about the dairy industry in the province of Ontario. You know, Mr. Speaker, I had the opportunity to meet with representatives of the DFO this morning, including Will Vanderhurst, who's a director from my wonderful riding at Peterborough. But it's interesting, the message that was given to me by the dairy farmers of Ontario is somewhat different than what's just articulated by the member from Hallam and Norfolk. They happen to tell me that the dairy industry in Ontario has never been in better shape, Mr. Speaker. In fact, just recently, because of the expansion of the dairy industry, the province of Ontario, they just released 6 percent more dairy quota in the province of Ontario, because dairy farmers are growing in Ontario, Mr. Speaker. Well, Minister, that's not my words. The Ontario Chamber, their report, it's titled Curtile Ground, also highlighted the regulatory burden facing agribusiness. As they've indicated, policies are not evidence-based. They're not transparent. They're not unbiased. There's a lack of homogenization, provincially and federally. How do dairy farmers, for example, understand and navigate and comply with such a schmozzle? One farm operation told us they typically respond to two or three EBR postings a year, but last year they responded to more than 20. These things take time. They're often, it's in the middle of hanging or working up ground or spreading manure. Again, what action is the minister taking to cut the unnecessary rules and regulation? The red tape, the bureaucratic red tape, the paperwork is formed to fill up. Remind the member when I stand you sit. Minister of Agriculture. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the honourable member for a supplementary question, but let's really look at the facts of agriculture in the province of Ontario. $36.6 billion to Ontario's GDP. 790,000 Ontarians are employed in this sector every year. Last year, Fargate receipts in 2015 were $12 billion in the province of Ontario. Mr. Speaker, that's $12 billion. By and large, all sectors of Ontario's agriculture sector are growing each and every year. We're well on our way to meet the previous goal of 120,000 new jobs in this industry by the year 2020, and around the world, Ontario's food has the best reputation on an international basis. Thank you. Can you see it, please? New question, member from Essex. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Speaker, this government defines a strong library system as, quote, a cornerstone of a strong community that contributes to education, literacy, and lifelong learning for Ontario residents. Yet for over 100 days, the people in my riding of Essex have been out without their library services due to a strike. We've reached a tipping point in Essex. What has the Premier been doing and what can she do to get library services to the people of Essex back up and running? Thank you, Premier. Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport. Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I want to thank the Honourable Member for his question. You know, Speaker, here on this side of the House, we value the contributions of public libraries in building strong and vibrant communities right across our province. We recognize them as essential gathering places for culture and learning and exchanges and technology. In fact, New Canadians flock to our libraries because they understand that they are an opportunity to engage in a wider community of conversation. Of course, the Honourable Member asks about the specific situation in Essex. I can't comment on an ongoing Labour dispute. I think the Honourable Member knows that. But I'm happy to talk with him offline if there's some specific situation analysis he wants to offer or some problems or answers to the specific issue that he wishes to pursue. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. But all in all, on this side of the House, Speaker, support for our libraries remains an integral part of building Ontario up and that support is going to continue. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Speaker. Speaker, I've met with local councillors to encourage a resolution. I've been to the line. New Democrats have a plan for good jobs where workers can get sick and not have to fight for time off and support the idea that strikes and lockouts shouldn't drag on indefinitely. We implore the Minister to intervene on this issue. She should get involved and extend all the resources that she can through her ministry to find a solution as soon as possible. We cannot wait another day in Essex. We shouldn't have to wait another 200 days or two years to get this thing resolved. Will the Minister extend her resources, her support to those who are on strike to facilitate a resolution to this strike? Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I mentioned in my earlier comment, our government values the contributions of public libraries in building strong and vibrant communities across our province. In this particular instance, I encourage the employer in the union to make every effort to resolve their differences at the bargaining table, and it's important that we don't interfere in this process. Ontario has an excellent record of dispute resolution. In fact, 98% of all agreements are reached without strikes and lockouts. We are confident that by working together, the two parties can reach a settlement. As I mentioned earlier, we believe strongly in the dispute resolution process. We urge the parties to continue to stay at the bargaining table and we offer that as comment on this particular situation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. My question is for the Minister of Education. Ensuring students receive the best possible education not only in my writing of Barry, but all across Ontario is our government's top priority. As an MPP and as an educator, I know Ontario has a lot to be proud of in terms of student achievement. Thanks in large part to our great educators and other staff. Just this morning, our government announced additional funding dedicated to build new schools and expand existing ones across Ontario. Speaker, through you to the Minister, what is the Ontario Government doing to ensure students are learning in buildings that can better support their achievement and well-being? Thank you, Minister of Education. Thank you, Speaker, and I want to thank the member for her question. I know how hard she is working on behalf of her constituents. Mr. Speaker, investing in our schools is one of the most important infrastructure investments that we can make for close to 2 million students here in Ontario. Since 2004, we've invested more than $15 billion in infrastructure, including nearly 760 new schools and more than 735 additions and renovations. This past June, we've announced an additional $1.1 billion investment over the next two years to fund school renewal. Ontario is making the largest investment in public infrastructure in our province's history. We're providing school boards across Ontario with more than $12 billion over 10 years. We continue to support school boards across Ontario to ensure all students have safe and healthy learning environments so that they can reach their full potential. Thank you, Minister. We are extremely proud of the investments made towards education. These investments will help build new schools in areas of high growth, including Southbury, improve schools and invest in projects to reduce surplus space through consolidation. It is important that we continue to support school boards in maintaining and improving the condition of Ontario schools. Minister, can you please tell us more about what the school boards will be able to achieve with the additional funding announced this morning? Thank you, Minister. Thank you, Speaker. I want to thank the school boards in providing modern and stimulating learning environments for our students. Just this morning at Coorslet Public School in Scarborough Southwest, we announced that Ontario is investing $474 million this year to build 28 new schools and expand and renovate 23 existing ones. We're making this investment in 51 schools in 36 communities to address demand in areas of high population growth to replace schools that are in poor condition. Giving students the best possible learning environment, high quality and modern buildings is part of our plan to build Ontario up and deliver on our top priority growing the economy and creating jobs. Mr. Speaker, Amy, a Grade II student in Mrs. Reynolds class said, thank you, Premier for investing in our schools and in our students. Thank you. Good question. My question is to the Premier. Premier, provincial agencies have specific timelines for submitting and tabling annual reports. Over the past three years of the 57 government agencies examined by the Auditor General 95% missed the deadline. Further investigation, it was made clear that in most cases, the annual report has been delivered to the Minister but has languished for months or even years on the Minister's desk. In the name of transparency what steps have been taken to refresh this process and to provide annual reports in a timely manner to the legislature? Thank you. I can tell you that this is something that has been addressed by our cabinet. It's something that we are working with agencies and boards to make sure that those annual reports are received in a timely manner. I agree with the member opposite that it isn't acceptable that those annual reports would languish so we will continue to work to further increase the timeliness of those reports. As I said, there are more of those annual reports being received in a timely way 22 years ago, Mr. Speaker, but there is more to be done. Thank you. Premier, while I agree that some changes obviously are necessary, at this point in time these reporting requirements are not being met. Each agency has an obligation to lay upon the table its annual report as a symbolic gesture of nature's right to know and the people's access to the public record. However, you have interfered with this access in the February 2015 directive. Here you have removed the obligation of these agencies to provide annual reports in a timely way. Without a deadline, our right to know is being eroded. What are you hiding, Premier? President Trez report. Thank you very much. Certainly we are committed to working with, ministers are committed to working with their agencies to deliver reports in a timely manner. But one of the things Speaker that I'm really pleased about that we introduced in 2010 was a systematic review of all of our agencies because we know that agencies are originally set up they may have one focus and we actually are going through our agencies in a systematic manner making sure the mandate is still a relevant mandate because in some cases it's not and are they effective at the mandate? Do they need to improve their practices? And looking at the effectiveness and the efficiency of every agency I'm very pleased with that cyclical work making sure all agencies work. Thank you. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Education months of hard work preparing for the test and an entire school day was lost with the cancellation of the EQAO literacy test yet another IT blunder at the hands of this liberal government failed pilot testing in 2015 and limited access to computers shows that this liberal government fast-tracked rolling out a program that they knew simply was not ready it was our young people who paid the price yet again. Speaker, be it eHealth, SAMS or EQAO why is this liberal government continuing to fail on delivering the fundamentals the basics? Thank you. Thank you, Speaker. I'm very pleased to receive this question from the member opposite because first of all I want to say to the students, the teachers and the entire education community that prepared for the test last Thursday how very disappointing it was that they were unable to complete the test and I understand that frustration and I know that EQAO has apologized to the schools and I know that EQAO continues to get to the root on Thursday but Mr. Speaker they have just posted an update this morning and EQAO released a statement regarding their investigation so far and it confirms that the cause was a technical issue and it was intentional it was malicious and it was a sustained cyber attack on their system. EQAO continues to investigate the matter and they will look into how to prevent a similar incident occurring in the future and I support them in their efforts and we'll continue to monitor the situation. Thank you, Speaker. Back to the Minister of Education before they rolled out the online EQAO test or OSSLT testing they should have made sure there was security in place to stop a cyber attack. When half of our students are unsuccessful at provincial math tests and thousands are unable to even take their literacy test education has reached a tipping point. Students at the Rainbow District School Board have started a petition because they didn't know the online test was a trial and their tests wouldn't be marked. With the right tools education workers can do their job effectively. Parents can be at ease and students can thrive. We can have the quality education we expect and deserve. When will this liberal government that rushing online testing cutting in classroom support and underfunding programs like special education is failing our students? Mr. Speaker let me just say that EQAO has gone through an extensive process in preparing for this test and they were ready. The DDSO attacks that occurred was not limited to the EQAO server Twitter where system went down from similar types of attacks. We are in process of looking into the root cause of this issue and developing processes to ensure that this doesn't happen again. The EQAO is doing an internal audit. They've also brought in external support to do the audit. Mr. Speaker we are moving to online testing because we know that this is a better way to support our students so that they can take the test and that would prefer. We want all of our students in Ontario to succeed and to excel and we will continue to support them and also to support EQAO as it resolves this issue for us moving forward. Thank you Mr. Speaker my question is to the Minister of Agricultural Food and Rural Affairs Mr. Speaker just this month we celebrated Ontario Agricultural Week from October 3rd tonight with the contributions that the 52,000 hardworking farmers do in producing food with their families from Ontario. They are the key to almost 36 billion dollars in GDP and they employ upwards of 790,000 Ontarians in the agricultural food sector. Now just this week Speaker we are now welcoming representatives from the agricultural sectors from Mexico from United States and across Canada to the 25th Tri-National Agricultural Accord. I had the opportunity to go down to Mexico last year to the Tri-National Conference in Guadalajara as the lead Canadian political delegate representing them. So this is our opportunity to host the event and I would like the Minister if he could to expand on the role that our government is playing at the 25th Tri-National Accord. Minister of Agricultural Food and Rural Affairs Well thanks very much Mr. Speaker I want to thank the hardworking member for Beaches East York for his wonderful question and indeed because of a because of a family situation he did an admirable job of representing me in Guadalajara at the Tri-National Conference last year but we're looking forward this week will be the 25th edition of the Tri-National Conference the first time that Ontario's had the opportunity to host this conference it will bring together the agricultural leaders of Canada United States Mexico. Mr. Speaker I can tell you that this conference will be building bridges not walls to both our good friends at both the United States of Mexico and we work forward to enhancing our relationship under NAFTA to make sure that more Ontario products go to the United States of Mexico. Thank you the Associate Minister of Education at a point of work. I would like to correct my record as I sent in my answer earlier we provide funding to the City of Toronto who then funds a number of local childcare programs including Yes I Can nursery school at $350,000 Mr. Speaker not $300,000 Thank you there are no deferred votes this House stands recess until 1pm this afternoon