 Anyway, it's now time for Question Period, the leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Premier. We are joined here today by the elementary teachers federation of Ontario as they come to Queen's Park to stand up for their 17,000 members. I want to welcome every teacher here today and take a moment to recognize all teachers in the classrooms across Ontario. Thank you for what you do. They deserve the safest possible classroom. They deserve the best resources to create a world-class learning environment, but it seems the government disagrees. Mr. Speaker, will the Premier finally put students and teachers first rather than this government's own political agenda? Well, Mr. Speaker, I want to reinforce the welcome to all of the teachers who are here and all of their representatives. There is nothing more important in this province than the start that we give to our youngest children, Mr. Speaker, and careers, Mr. Speaker, that they have the supports in place. I got involved in provincial politics as did so many people in our government, Mr. Speaker, because of publicly funded education, because of the challenges that publicly funded education was facing at the hands of a government that actually didn't believe in publicly funded education, Mr. Speaker, actually was pushing children into the private system. So, Mr. Speaker, when we came into office, there were no caps on early years, Mr. Speaker. There was no full-day kindergarten. The graduation rate in this province was 68%. Mr. Speaker, we may be headed down testy Tuesday, and I will pass the test, and it will not be testy Tuesday. I brought that on myself, I guess. But I'm going to ask you all to kind of tone it down. If not, I'll bring it down. Supplementary. Mr. Speaker, again to the Premier, that response coming from a Premier that has 600 schools on the chopping block, so much for support for public education. You know, Mr. Speaker, edfo supported the Ontario Autism Coalition's call for this Liberal government to finally and truly support students with autism and special education needs. Edfo President Sam Hammond said, both the coalition and edfo are emphatic that the Ontario Autism Coalition needs to overhaul its funding for special education. And the first step into that overhaul is a proper review. So, if you are committed to special education, Mr. Speaker, to the Premier, will you heed this edfo call and have a review on your special education funding? Mr. Speaker, we will work closely with edfo. I want to make sure, Mr. Speaker, that all of the supports and resources are in place so that children have the best learning environment possible and so that teachers and education workers have the safest and the best working environments possible, Mr. Speaker. You know, we have worked in partnership with our education federations, Mr. Speaker, with the unions to develop policies that are in the best interest of kids. We've also, Mr. Speaker, built 810 new schools in this province, Mr. Speaker. There have been major renovations to 780. So we are paying close attention to the working conditions and the learning conditions of kids in the system, Mr. Speaker. And at the same time, those physical conditions are extremely important. So will we work in partnership with edfo? Absolutely, Mr. Speaker. We will. Thank you. Final supplementary. Mr. Speaker, again to the Premier, there was no response to edfo's call for review of special education. The reality is we know that four out of five school boards say they spend more on special education funding than they receive from the province. And because of that, edfo's Building Better Schools platform says this, directly from edfo, often school boards are strapped for funds and are compelled to take money that has been allocated to other program areas to support special education, which leaves every kid at a loss. Mr. Speaker, school boards should not have to choose between which children to support. They should be able to support all children, all students. Mr. Speaker, that's not happening in Ontario today because of this government's lack of commitment to public education. So my question again, edfo has asked for a review of the special education funding. Yes or no, will the Premier honour that request? Mr. Speaker, I was very clear in my previous answer that we will work in partnership with edfo, Mr. Speaker. You know, I can't be more emphatic that it is incredibly important for us as a government to work with the people who are on the front lines in our schools, Mr. Speaker, to understand the issues. That's why we've increased special education funding by billions of dollars, Mr. Speaker. That's why we put in place the provincial health and safety working group. If there is more that we need to do, Mr. Speaker, we will absolutely work with our... Thank you. Premier. Mr. Speaker, you know, we would not have increased the funding for special education by 70% since 2003 if we didn't believe that there was a need to support kids, all kids in our schools. Thank you. Any questions? I'll hear the opposition. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Energy. Mr. Speaker, did the Minister of Energy receive consent to release Kisco's private billing information? Yes or no? Thank you. Minister of Energy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In relation to Kisco, it's great that we work with our partners with Electra, Mr. Speaker. And Electra works with Kisco, Mr. Speaker. And Mr. Speaker, Electra was the one that said they will qualify for the ICI program, Mr. Speaker. Just like thousands of other businesses, Mr. Speaker, right across our province will qualify for the ICI program thanks to this government, Mr. Speaker. I know on that side, Mr. Speaker, they don't have a plan. They have no plan for electricity. They have no plan for... It's not my concern. Do you want to carry on a conversation? We're inching towards warnings. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As we say, every business that has 500 kilowatts or above, Mr. Speaker, will qualify for the ICI program. We want every business in Ontario that qualifies to sign up so they can get the help, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, again to the Minister of Energy, my question was, did the Minister of Energy receive consent to release this private billing information from Kisco? Yes. There was no response from the Minister on that. He obviously did not seek consent. So my question, Mr. Speaker, is did the Minister of Energy breach privacy laws when discussing Kisco's private billing information? If that happened, can we expect an apology to Kisco and the Minister of Energy? Thank you. Better, please. Minister? So the party doesn't have a plan on what to do with electricity. They don't have a plan on what to do for Ontario. But they... So they ask a question, they ask a question about a business that won't qualify and we clarify it for them, Mr. Speaker, just like we do every day, that they will qualify, Mr. Speaker. Remember from Northwest Glenbrook, Niagara West Glenbrook, come to order. And would you mind stopping using your hands as a megaphone? Wrap up, please. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So when it comes to businesses, as promised, we're going to continue to work with all of the businesses. We're going to continue to work with the Ontario Chamber of Commerce to make sure that as many businesses out there that qualify for ICI get on the ICI program, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, again to the Minister of Energy, I'm not sure he appreciates the seriousness of this issue. Mr. Speaker, the member told the House this, I quote, they actually have 600 kilowatts of power. We confirmed with Electra, their electric company that they qualify for the ICI program. We know that is not true. They don't qualify for that program. We know they didn't have consent to release those numbers. So my question is this, Mr. Speaker. How does this government have the audacity to release information? Incorrect information, by the way. Can the minister be trusted with private information? Is there no contrition from this minister for doing what was clearly wrong? Member from Nipissing, come to order. Minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Once again, thousands of businesses in this province will qualify for the ICI program, knowing that they use more than 500 kilowatts of power, Mr. Speaker. That's the one thing that we talk about all the time. They don't have a plan to help businesses, Mr. Speaker. They don't. They don't know what to do for businesses. We do, Mr. Speaker. Member from the great parliament, come to order. We're helping them with the ICI program, the Industrial Conservation Initiative, providing businesses with saving up to one-third on their electricity bill. We are also there, Mr. Speaker, with that business last week with OMAFRA announcing a grant program for that as well, Mr. Speaker. Not only are we helping this business and many businesses right across the province with energy, we're actually helping them with grants too, Mr. Speaker. Absolutely. Thank you. New question to the member from London West. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. This year's Sunshine List revealed that even within the public sector in Ontario a massive wage gap for women still persists. By 25% of the people on the list in 2017 were women. If the Premier can't get this right in her own house after her party has been in charge for more than 14 years, how does she expect the people of this province to trust that she is working to close the wage gap for all? Thank you. You see that, please? Thank you. Premier. I know that closing the wage gap is an extremely important imperative, Mr. Speaker. We have been taking action. We're committed to getting there, Mr. Speaker. Whether it is setting a target for women to make up at least 40% of public appointments to every provincial board and agency by 2019. Mr. Speaker, I would just say that across all of those agencies and boards we're actually at 44%, but that doesn't mean that every single one is at 40%. That is our commitment. Encouraging businesses to appoint more women to their boards of directors, Mr. Speaker. Or whether it's the direct funding increases that we put into salaries for personal support workers and early childhood educators and developmental support workers or the vast majority of whom are women, Mr. Speaker, those are all initiatives that this government has taken to work to close that wage gap, Mr. Speaker. Speaker, again to the Premier. The Premier and her ministers have said they'll try to put more women in more important roles in the public sector. She has asked the Toronto Stock Exchange nicely if they would please promote more women to their boards. Speaker, what women in this province need now is concrete action. Encouraging, asking nicely isn't enough anymore. When will the Premier take this issue seriously and commit to enforcing tough measures to ensure that women in this province don't have to go to work and wonder if their male counterparts are still making more money than they are? Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Can I know the President of the Treasury Board will want to speak to this? But I will acknowledge, you know, Mr. Speaker, when we put the comply or explain encouragement, policy in place, I fully expected that businesses would step up, that we would see an increase on boards, Mr. Speaker, because there is a strong economic imperative. We know that businesses that put women on boards do better. So I fully expected, Mr. Speaker, that we would see a better result. That has not happened. There has not been the increase that we had expected, so we have put targets in place, Mr. Speaker, and if that doesn't work, we will be prepared to move forward with more stringent measures. But, Mr. Speaker, I completely and fully support the move towards having more women involved, whether it's in the cabinet of a government, Mr. Speaker, or whether it's a board of an agency or another kind of organization, or whether it's a private sector company. We need more women involved. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Speaker, real action could come from this Premier and her Liberal government as early as budget day. The Pay Equity Commission's budget was cut in half by the Conservatives in 1997 and has been flatlined for the last decade under the Liberals. As a result, we've seen more than half of all Ontario employers not complying with their legal pay equity obligations. The Commission needs to be fully funded so that it can actually enforce pay equity compliance and have a meaningful impact on women's lives in this province. Will the Premier's budget this spring include funding for the incredibly important work of the Pay Equity Commission? Thank you. Thank you, Premier. President of the Treasury Board. Treasury Board. Yes, thank you very much, Speaker. And obviously we have more work to do in this area. I think everybody recognizes that. But the Ontario Public Service actually has been a leader in addressing the gender gap wage gap. If you look at this year's data, we actually have reduced the pay gap between men and women in this year's Sunshine List data from 15.8% down to 12.5%. Still more work to do. But if you look at who's in middle management in the public service, 55% of those positions are occupied by women. If you look at who is in the OPS Senior Management Group, you find 52% are women. Must be the seat. A member from Kitchener, Waterloo, come to order. An empathy. Come to order, please. I take responsibility for that. I'm sorry. Please finish. Yes. And where we do see a gap is women in the public service in the STEM occupations. In engineering, in physicist roles, in INIT roles. And that's a gap that is reflected in society and as a society we need to close that. Thank you. New question? A member from Charnell Danforth. Thank you, Speaker. Speaker, my question to the Premier. Last week, Krista wrote to the NDP to tell us about her soaring hydro bills. She lives in Nipissing and she's on a fixed income of $800 per month. The hydro bill she sent us was for $450.51. How does the Premier expect Krista to live and pay hydro at the same time when her bills are so high? Minister of Energy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Once again, I'm very pleased to rise and talk about Ontario's fair hydro plan that is coming, Mr. Speaker. That's going to help individuals like the individual that the Honourable Member mentioned. Come this summer, Mr. Speaker, once we get to the legislation through this House, Mr. Speaker, we could see up to 25% in reductions for families like that, Mr. Speaker, for individuals like that was mentioned. On top of that, Mr. Speaker, if this person is a Hydro-1 customer or another customer of one of the other six utilities that we've identified, their distribution costs are going to come down significantly, Mr. Speaker, bringing forward their rate of reduction to anywhere between 40% and 50%, Mr. Speaker. That is huge relief, Mr. Speaker, for these types of families. On top of that, we expanded the Ontario Electricity Support Program, adding another 50% and actually making it loosening the rules so more people will qualify. That is a significant saving of about $554 on top of that, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, again to the Premier. Krista already takes advantage of the Ontario Electricity Support Program, the Rural Rate Protection Program. It is exempt from being charged for debt retirement. She still has to choose between paying her hydro bills and buying food. Clearly, the Premier and her Liberal government aren't doing enough for people like Krista. When will the Premier stop with the partisan posturing and actually present a detailed plan in the legislature to fix the system she has helped to create in our hydro system? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Once again, as I mentioned earlier, the Ontario Electricity Support Program that the member mentioned that this individual has been able to take advantage of, Mr. Speaker, has increased by 50%. That will be a significant savings for this family. And with the RRIP, if you put that together, Mr. Speaker, this is significant savings that families are going to see, that individuals are going to see, you know, come summer, Mr. Speaker. And that's when, of course, our system peaks in terms of our costs and generation, so we're going to make sure, Mr. Speaker, that we're helping these families. But there are other programs in place through the Ontario Fair Hydro Plan that are actually going to help families and individuals. You know, on top of the 25% that every small business and farm is going to qualify for, we're bringing forward an affordability fund that they will be able to access, Mr. Speaker, that will actually help them drop their bills even further, Mr. Speaker. Final supplementary. Again, to the Premier. The Premier has not tabled legislation in this House so that Ontario families and businesses know when or if relief is coming. The only thing the Premier has done to deal with exorbitant hydro rates in the province is announce that maybe, sometime, in the vague future, she will burden our kids and grandkids with an additional $40 billion in debt that they will have to pay off. When will the Premier do something to help people like Christa and thousands of families, businesses that are suffering under the crushing weight of their hydro bills? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Once again, very pleased to come and talk about what we are going to do for families and individuals like Christa. 25% off, on average, on their bills, Mr. Speaker, by summer. If they are triple-RP customers between 40% and 50%, Mr. Speaker, by summer. Enhanced OESP, 50%, affordability fund, Mr. Speaker, bringing that forward up to $200 million in reserve First Nations individuals, Mr. Speaker, seeing their distribution costs waived at $85 a month savings for these families, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, that is very clear relief that is coming for families right across the province. But I know the Honourable Member used the term vague. The only party that has a vague plan, Mr. Speaker, is the third party. It's a vague plan, Mr. Speaker, with pie in the sky thinking so low-income individuals right away. Thank you. Thanks, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Premier. I have a very straightforward question for the Premier this morning. Can she tell the House who is the Ombudsman at Hydro One? Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know recently that there's been a change within the Ombudsman department and the Ombudsperson at Hydro One. And that's the one thing that's been working very hard at working on getting the replacement. But the important thing to know, Mr. Speaker, is the Ombudsman office is still there doing the job that it's supposed to be doing, ensuring that if people have concerns that they can bring those concerns forward to the Ombudsman. I had several meetings with the previous Ombudsman from Hydro One, Fiona Crane, Mr. Speaker, and she was talking about how great this company has evolved to, Mr. Speaker, and those were her words. We're going to continue to work with Hydro One and Hydro One's going to continue to work with the Ombudsman to make sure that that office plays an important role within its company, Mr. Speaker. Thank you very much. Back to the Premier. I've got some advice for the Premier and her minister. Trans... Come to order. Don't help me. I'm trying to do something over here. The member from Glen Gary, Prescott Russell, second time. Could be your first question. A transparent and open government would never answer a question about who's the Ombudsman by. I'll get back to you. Especially at a company whose track record of customer service is one horror story after another. The former Hydro One Ombudsman has left over a month ago, yet her name and her picture still are on the government website. There's no media release about her replacement. Who is this government trying to fool? This government shamefully rewrote the electricity act to strip independent provincial watchdogs from their power on Hydro One. But section 48.3 of the act requires the Board to have an Ombudsman in place. When will the Premier and this government when will they obey their own law? Minister. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Very pleased to once again talk about the Ombudsman office at Hydro One and the have an acting Ombudsman who's doing great work with the company Mr. Speaker. Making sure that the office is still there doing the job it's supposed to do Mr. Speaker. The former Ombudsman took another job Mr. Speaker just like other people do, right? We wish her well. She did great work while she was working for Hydro One for the last year. And in my last meeting with her Mr. Speaker the company has really turned around. It is now customer focused. It is making sure it's doing a better job in meeting the needs of its customers and they would have never have acted on the winter reconnection piece that they did in the past. But that's what happens Mr. Speaker when you don't have a plan for Ontario or if you don't have a plan on what to do like electricity. We're going to warnings. We're going to warnings. New question. Let's go back to the premier. Incidents of violence in our classrooms are increasing across the province. We're hearing heartbreaking and horror stories from our teachers and our parents and I don't believe this government is listening. Instead of supporting our students in the education system this government continues to slash funding for classroom supports. Children as young as four or five are stuck on growing wait lists for the vital early interventions that they need. As a teacher I've seen the disruption this causes in classrooms for students first hand. How does the premier plan to make our school safer when she won't even provide the basic supports that students need to succeed? Good. Thank you Mr. Education. Thank you Mr. Speaker and I want to thank the member opposite for the question Mr. Speaker. The member from Hamilton Mountain is warned. Carry on. Mr. Speaker any incident of violence in our schools is unacceptable. We have to ensure that our school communities are safe for students for teachers for education workers Mr. Speaker. And it's very important that if an incident occurs that a school board has protocols and policies in place Mr. Speaker that can respond appropriately to that incident and that there are reporting mechanisms in place as well. Mr. Speaker we know that we have to provide the right level of support to ensure that the culture of safety is promoted in our schools and we're working together with our education partners including ATFO members who are here today Mr. Speaker just last year we had a half day devoted in professional development to the health and safety of our workers. Thank you Speaker. Teachers and education workers have some of the highest levels of lost time due to injuries as a result of workplace violence. When we're talking about their workplace we're talking about the classroom as well. As an ATFO member I know and appreciate that every student has the right to an education and the right to reach their full potential and it is this government's obligation to support them to keep them safe and ensure that they can learn. How are we supposed to believe that you are serious about addressing violence in school when you continue to cut supports for students in our classrooms. Thank you Mr. Speaker that's simply not Mr. Speaker we are increasing our supports in education just take for example Mr. Speaker we have increased education assistance by 37% Mr. Speaker since 2013 6300 education assistance. Mr. Speaker we have provincial health and safety working group Mr. Speaker that we are working together with all of our education partners to strengthen the culture of health and safety. Mr. Speaker I can go on to say to the member opposite that in their plan for education when they ran in 2014 your plan was to cut supports from health and from education workers your proposal was to bring forward $600 million in cuts. So Mr. Speaker we will continue on this side of the house to invest in our publicly funded education system. Good question Thank you Mr. Speaker my question is to the Premier and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs we all know that both 2016 and the start of 2017 have seen many global uncertainties emerge both politically and economically. I know that Ontario's economy remains poised to lead Canada in growth and has remained strong through the uncertainty. However my constituents of Kingston and the Islands and I both have growing concerns over what we need to do to defend our jobs and maintain our access to trade. This is particularly important to me as well as our greater Chamber of Commerce and other Kingston businesses. We need to ensure that we're maintaining strong relationships with our biggest trading partner the US. Mr. Speaker through you to the Premier what are you specifically doing to ensure Ontario families and businesses that we're aware of the importance of our integrated trade? Thank you. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker Ontario and the US have enjoyed and still enjoy a very strong relationship Mr. Speaker strong balanced economic relationship and that relationship is fundamental to our prosperity here in Ontario. The work that we have been doing Mr. Speaker to work with our partners in the federal government to ensure that Canada was top of mind as a discussion on buy American took place in New York Mr. Speaker is indicative of how much we value that relationship and so the Minister of International Trade and the Minister of Economic Development and Growth both went to Albany Mr. Speaker they talked with many many leaders there they worked with our representative in Washington who was on the ground in Albany as well Mr. Speaker we continue to engage with workers and with businesses Mr. Speaker as a result we were very pleased that the buy American provisions were dropped for the New York Supplementary. Thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to the Premier. My question is again through you to the Premier with so many of Ontario's industries and jobs directly impacted by our neighbours to the south especially those in my riding of Kingston and the islands and I will turn our attention to discussions on NAFTA this is particularly important to businesses in Kingston as well as all other border communities we need to maintain momentum as we defend our economy and position Ontario for long term success although buy America is off the table now there are other issues around a border adjustment tax as well as ensuring Ontario's views are heard at the NAFTA Mr. Speaker through you to the Premier what are you specifically doing to reassure Ontario families and businesses that as we enter discussions on NAFTA and other key issues we will be represented Premier. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker so let me just begin by saying that we are in a very uncertain time in terms of the policies south of the border Mr. Speaker and I would say beyond specifically in relation to our partners in the United States we are going to continue to engage in conversations as the member from Kingston and the islands has said on the border adjustment tax Mr. Speaker on NAFTA and even though the buy American provisions have been dropped from the New York budget Mr. Speaker that does not mean that we don't have to continue to be vigilant because that protectionist rhetoric Mr. Speaker is still part of the political discourse but we are going to continue to work I am going to, for example Mr. Speaker I will be attending the Governor's Association the National Governors Association in Rhode Island in July Mr. Speaker I was just in Chicago yesterday meeting with Governor Rauner of Illinois and I will continue to engage with Governors around the state to make Thank you. Can you see it please Can you see it please New question to the member from Hella Burton Corporation My question is the minister of the status of women Today is pay equity day which marks 30 years since the unanimous passage of Ontario's pay equity Act unfortunately we haven't been making much progress on pay equity under this Liberal Government on average women in Ontario are paid 30% less for doing the same work as men a gap that is only 6% smaller than it was at the time of the passage despite these worrying statistics this Government has ignored this issue until last year when all they did was strike yet another committee even now the story has been one of delay and endless consultation rather than action so my question to the minister is why has it taken this Government almost 14 years to admit that they need to address pay equity in this province Minister of the status of women and the first stand-alone minister responsible for early years in childcare we are taking actual concrete steps towards closing the gender wage gap and the number one recommendation from the Minister of the State of Ontario is to address pay equity on what I think is a very important issue first off I want to point out to the member opposite this is the side of the house the second recommendation from the steering committee on closing the gender wage gap was to invest in childcare and guess what we are doing that we are transforming the way we are delivering childcare we have committed to creating 100,000 licensed childcare spaces over the next 5 years doubling what we already have but that is not all I am very happy to talk about more of the work that we are doing back to the minister this government likes to talk a big game on this file but they are living in a bubble of self-delusion the reality on the ground is that the situation of working women remains largely unchanged under their watch and that is simply unacceptable the government only appointed a dedicated status of women minister this past January I guess because it's 2017 as I mentioned the house yesterday all the government has done to strike a closed door committee on pay equity to further review the recommendations already made by an expert committee reported on pay equity in 2016 delay and inaction is the name of this government's game but Ontario women aren't fooled so my question to the minister is will the government take responsibility for their inaction and admit that it has no real plan to help working women in Ontario finally achieve equality in the workplace thank you Mr. Speaker and you know I find it surprising that the member opposite is actually talking about inaction when I haven't seen any action from that side of the house on this issue sit in this house and listen to the criticism that is lobbed from that side of the house to us well let me tell you something we are doers we are acting on this file we are solving the issue so on to I am working closely with my colleague the minister of labour when it comes to closing the gender wage and this includes the pay equity issue in fact Ontario has made great strides when it comes to improving women's economic empowerment we are leaders in this field our commitments to end section start the clock the member from Algoma thank you speaker my question is to the minister of environment and climate change under the water in Thunder Bay's North Harbour there is a massive mercury contamination that is the result of decades of discharge from a paper mill that closed a long time ago imagine nearly 400,000 cubic meters of soggy paper towels full of mercury covering over 50 football fields worth of lake bed in 2014 the ministry of environment and climate change along with federal partners presented a report outlining options to clean up North Harbour an action plan was supposed to follow three years later the people of Thunder Bay are still waiting for the clean up plan where is it minister of environment and climate change thank you very much mr speaker and I appreciate the member raising a very important question and I would be glad to sit down with him and I would like to thank members to go through the details of that file this government has taken unprecedented action on mercury after 60 years of inaction and contamination the neglect of Hamilton Harbour only finally under this government is that harbour being cleaned up in full partnership with the federal government grassy narrows after 60 years of neglect finally after 60 years of government sitting in this house on where we're at on Thunder Bay if you had given me a little heads up about the question I would be glad to give the details but I will sit down with my ministry mr speaker I will pull a file and get the details as you know there is no lack of action on mercury on this side of the house mr speaker thank you supplementary once again to the minister the international joint commission identified Thunder Bay's North Harbour as an area of concern over 30 decades ago over 30 years has passed and there has been no action to clean up the mercury three years ago we were promised an action plan three years later we're still waiting how much longer must the people of Thunder Bay wait for the government to take action mr speaker no government in 60 years no greater action on mercury than this government no government including the party opposite sat on tans while in case I forgot to remind you we're in warnings that'll be my last warning about warnings as I said including the party opposite who took no action on mercury for even five seconds mr speaker when they were in government the record in Ontario I'm dealing with mercury over the last half century mr speaker quite frankly has been shameful and it was only this government that took on the issues in Hamilton harbour that I will look into the issue thank you I know there's a great deal of work being done on it new question member from dairy thank you mr speaker my question is for the minister of labour today April 11th is equal pay day in Ontario to recognize that a pay gap still exists between men and women in the province and across the world equal pay day serves as a symbolic reminder of the extra time each year that it takes a woman on average to earn as much as a man in 2017 it's 2017 and this disadvantage towards women sadly should not still exist the women in my writing have very deserved to see change the women across our province deserve to see change in the minister's mandate letter the premier she asked him to lead the development of a wage gap strategy to close the gap between men and women I'm proud to be a member of a government that is taking action on this issue very seriously helping to lead the way in Canada can the minister please share with this house what he is doing to help improve the working lives of women across the province and close the gender wage gap minister of labour thank you speaker I want to thank the member from berry for that excellent question speaker last year after holding consultations right across this province we engage with over 170 stakeholders hundreds of members of the public men and women came out speaker to offer their advice during public town hall sessions thousands of online submissions the gender wage gap working committee steering committee released its final report and its final recommendation speaker and I want to thank them for the hard work I know that members of the opposition have denigrated I think it's excellent work as a result of that we've established a working group now we've got rep from business, labour, women's advocacy groups, human resources experts they're going to provide practical feedback speaker the first meeting of this group is this Thursday I look forward to being there equal pay day really serves as that symbolic reminder of the barrier that still exists for women and as a government we know it's imperative the member from barrier is absolutely right we need to close the agenda thank you thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to the minister for response I'm glad to hear that work continues to close the gender wage gap through the development of a gender wage gap working group as members of this house know the gender wage gap still unfairly disadvantages women in my riding of barrier across Ontario and in every other jurisdiction when women workers are treated equitably everyone benefits the number one recommendation from the gender wage gap steering committee was the government invest in childcare, working women and their families through you to the minister what are we doing to address these recommendations minister the minister of the status of women minister of the status of women thank you Mr. Speaker I want to thank the hard working member for this very important question and for her advocacy on this issue it's true that the gender wage gap steering committee's top recommendation top number one and two recommendations was an immediate investment in childcare and in the speech from the throne the government did just that we announced a plan to create 100,000 new licensed childcare spaces historic it's the right thing to do but there's more hard work underway in government including strengthening the application of gender based analysis in government decision making including to increasing the number of women on boards for example we're among the first jurisdictions to introduce complier explain rules, government targets of 40% for women on provincial agencies, business targets of 30% for women on boards and in senior executive positions Speaker we must ensure that all women from all walks of life find economic security there's a need for an integrated whole of government approach and we're working on that the members from Dr. Callaghan Speaker we're learning more and more about the terrible abuse of taxpayers dollars and an unprecedented amount of waste at the York Region School Board trustee travel and spending appears to be out of control will, sorry my apologies to the Premier Premier will you put a moratorium on travel for the York Region District School Board trustees Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker for many many months we've been dealing with the situation at the York Region District School Board I've heard from parents I've heard from students and from the community Mr. Speaker and that is exactly why in January I appointed a set of reviewers, Sue Herbert and Patrick Case who have been working with the community to hear those concerns and they have put forward their recommendations Mr. Speaker and the reason why Mr. Speaker we went this route to an expedited review is because we know that our schools must be places that all students feel safe Mr. Speaker and that any incidences that affects that well being of the student is addressed and that we don't shy away from those concerns so Mr. Speaker that report has been submitted to me I am reviewing that report and I will have more to say on that so the Minister just acknowledges she's known about it since January but she didn't put a more tournament place why not the candidate Laura Lee Carruthers promised to regain the public's trust when she became chair of the Board last December this travel spending scandal certainly isn't a good step it appears trustees use the Board as a taxpayer funded travel agent they just set it across Europe with no regard for public funds this travel is unacceptable and unnecessary will the government commit to reviewing all travel expenses and calling for the funds to be reimbursed Mr. Speaker the member opposite knows full well that this issue has been brought forward and that we are taking action to address the concerns that have been raised by parents by students and by the community Mr. Speaker that is why I have asked for a review of the leadership of the York Region District School Board and ensuring that when we hear issues that they are dealt with Mr. Speaker I have heard from many members and colleagues on this side of the House in York Region about the concerns that they were hearing from their community it is the first time in many weeks in many months that the member opposite has raised those concerns so I'm happy to stand in this House and tell you the actions that we are taking Mr. Speaker because those actions are meant to ensure that our students get the best education possible the member from Parkdale High Park thank you Mr. Speaker my question is to the Minister of Finance late last year tenants at 401 Richmond in Toronto received an incredible shock their property taxes were about to triple threatening this cultural hub which provides below market rents to arts organizations and creative industries in downtown Toronto taxes were tripling because M-PAC does not assess properties like 401 Richmond based on the current use of the property but on the value of the condo tower M-PAC imagines might stand in its place the City of Toronto wants a new property tax class for cultural hubs like 401 Richmond will the Minister enable such a property tax class and save buildings like 401 Richmond thank you Mr. Speaker I appreciate the question we all value the contributions of not-for-profit and the cultural community and the art community especially at the 401 Richmond which for a long time now have been providing a great service to our community we also recognize that the City of Toronto has the opportunity to provide for some reductions directly the City has the authority to provide property tax rebates directly to not-for-profit organizations regardless of whether they are the owner or the tenant of the property bottom line the approval of the province is not required for them to provide the immediate service and rebate to the area thank you thank you Mr. Speaker the highest and best use which was the term used by M-PAC of 401 Richmond is not to become another condo tower by providing a home for Toronto's artists and creative industries 401 Richmond is already serving its highest and best use Toronto has specifically asked this Minister for the ability to protect such cultural hubs without having to resort ad hoc property tax work-arounds which is what they've done will the minister finally agree to create a new property tax class for cultural hubs and heritage buildings like 401 Richmond help the City of Toronto thank you Mr. Speaker we absolutely want to support 401 Richmond we want to provide and encourage the City does have the ability to give a property tax rebate of up to 40% of the property taxes paid by the eligible heritage buildings as the taxing authority it is up to the City to decide whether to provide property tax relief to specific heritage buildings within Toronto they can do that and we would encourage them to do so thank you Mr. Speaker thank you Mr. Speaker my question is for the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Minister we have been hearing recently from members opposite making some false misleading claims about Ontario's greenhouse industry despite what the opposition may believe the industry is growing and has the full support of our government we have committed more than 10.7 million to 440 projects in the greenhouse industry since 2013 and just last month I had the pleasure of being joined by Minister Leal at Lynx greenhouse in my riding of Durham to announce that the province is investing 19 million towards the greenhouse competitiveness and innovation initiative in addition growing forward to our government launch new project categories Mr. Speaker Minister can you please explain what else our government is doing to support the greenhouse sector in the member's preamble he made a comment that I'm not accepting as parliamentary and I ask him to withdraw withdraw Mr. Speaker Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs thank you Mr. Speaker I want to thank the question from the hardworking member from Durham riding this morning Mr. Speaker Ontario's greenhouse sector is growing today we learned that natural fresh farms is building a new $400 million distribution center in wonderful Leamington, Ontario recently greenhouse produce announced a new $100 million development that will create 300 new jobs and this builds on the nearly 3,000 acres and 81,000 jobs already in this sector the Ontario greenhouse vegetable growers also expect the industry to keep growing by about 150 acres a year this is real growth regardless of what others may say we're also partnering with the industry to build on these just last month at Leek greenhouses in beautiful Bowmanville, Ontario our government announced a $19 billion funding to support the greenhouse competitive and innovation initiative the climate action plan has allocated $115 billion to cover agricultural producers this is the kind of innovation we're investing in Ontario thank you to the minister for that response it's good to hear that the greenhouse industries continuing to expand and invest in my riding of Durham as well as the rest of our great province just like any other business there's a wide array of factors that impact this industry industry's decision to invest in our province our government works closely with the industry's stakeholders like the Ontario greenhouse alliance the Ontario greenhouse vegetable growers and more and once we have heard from our industry partners and my constituents is over the cost of electricity concerns over the cost of electricity Mr. Speaker the government recently announced our fear hydro plan which is reducing bills by 25% and average by the summer greenhouses owners are wondering whether and how to savings will apply to them minister please share with the house how the fear hydro plan will reduce electricity costs for greenhouses Mr. Speaker to the minister of energy thank you Mr. Speaker I also want to thank the member for the question it is a pleasure to be able to speak about our government's fear hydro plan Mr. Speaker and as members of this house will know part of our plan involves lowering the threshold for participation in the industrial conservation initiative Mr. Speaker participants in the ICI program can save as much as one third off their electricity costs and we will be lowering the threshold from 1 megawatt to 500 kilowatts for many energy intensive businesses and I'm pleased to say today that greenhouses will be counted among that group Mr. Speaker any greenhouse that uses more than 500 kilowatts in electricity demand will be eligible for that program and as members of this house know Mr. Speaker Ontario Farms are benefitting from Ontario's fear hydro plan that means for those greenhouses who don't qualify for the ICI program they'll still be eligible Mr. Speaker for that 25% reduction as well hey the question the member from Whitby also thank you Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker to the Minister of Education on March 28th 2017 in the legislature the minister said we know that schools play a vital role in the social fabric that ties our great communities together those schools are really the center of communities Mr. Speaker if the minister truly believes that will she stop closing schools you don't know when but I will Minister of Education well Speaker you know on this side of the house we continue to invest in our great education system in fact as the premier said earlier 810 new schools have been built in this province Mr. Speaker including communities alone we've expanded 780 schools significantly Mr. Speaker and we will continue to invest in our public education system because we know that schools are the heart of communities Mr. Speaker and that we are providing the best education possible at the same time Mr. Speaker we have to support our local school boards as they make very difficult decisions when there is a need to change our school for whatever the reason is in that local community Mr. Speaker we want to ensure that they have the resources that they can invest in the education of our students so they can get the best education supplementary thank you Speaker back to the minister of education there's hundreds of schools being considered for closure by this government and Liberal members missed their opportunity to stand up for students and families when they voted against an immediate moratorium on school closures but Speaker Speaker there's still an opportunity for the government to take ownership and say no more school closures no more Speaker when will this government do the right thing and support our call for an immediate moratorium on school closures thank you Minister you know it's important that we don't look at just a one size fits all solution because we actually know that local communities are going to be responsible for making those decisions locally and that's why we support our school boards in fact the member opposite in his own party here's an I quote a tough piece of reality for everyone to accept is that student enrollment is on the decline which is putting everybody in tough situations but we have to stand tall and we have to work with realities we have in front of us this is from MPP Lisa Thompson from the Owen Sound time in our school communities members all have been built so we have to ensure that as we're making these decisions that they are appropriate for our local community and that we're providing new question the member from London fan shop my question is to the Premier constituents are calling my London office to tell me that they can't afford their hydro bills they are shocked at the rates that they're being charged and they're desperate for relief one particularly heartbreaking story was from a young couple with a baby only a few months old because they can't afford their hydro bill this young mom spends her days at her parents house to save time of use charges but that hasn't worked their bills haven't changed Premier can you imagine the frustration and the anger these young parents are feeling because they are forced to choose between paying for your government's hydro schemes or providing for their family Mr. Speaker I know that the Minister of Energy will want to speak to the specifics of our fair hydro plan but Mr. Speaker it is exactly because of situations like the one the member opposite has articulated that we knew that even with the measures we had taken the 8% Mr. Speaker the reduction that was in place as of January 1st that we needed to do more so another 17% reduction will mean that that young family will see a 25% reduction on their electricity bill Mr. Speaker come the summer so it was exactly those situations where families people were carrying too much of a burden Mr. Speaker too much of a burden for investments and upgrading of a system that is going to last for generations but we were asking those people to pay now Mr. Speaker and at the most proportionate amount we're spreading those costs over a longer period of time and that's how a 25% reduction will be seen on those bills come September Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker there's no comfort in passing on debt for the next generation they detached nothing large they don't have electric heat nor do they live in their own house during the day despite taking drastic measures like not living in their home during the day their hydro bills are still way premier you have failed young families like my constituents and worse you have put their ability to provide for their child at risk when will this government take responsibility for their failed energy policies that you are forcing young families to pay for and when will we see your new liberal plan Minister of Energy Thank you Mr. Speaker it's good news for families like what the honourable member mentioned in relation to our fair hydro plan up to 25% or on average 25% will be coming to actually help families just like them Mr. Speaker and that's good news for every family right across the province and on top of that Mr. Speaker if this family qualifies if they're low income Mr. Speaker we'll make sure that they can get access to the Ontario electricity support program where they'll actually see an additional and that's what we're making sure that we're doing Mr. Speaker helping every single family small business and farm in this province through the Ontario fair hydro plan Mr. Speaker on that side of the house Mr. Speaker one party has no plan the other one has a plan that does vague context Mr. Speaker that doesn't take one cent off of anybody's bills Mr. Speaker we're doing more than that we're taking 20% Thank you knowledge me I want to welcome some guests from Parkinson Canada who's with us here today in the house please welcome Daphne Fitzgerald, Yvonne Trepanier John Kerry, Ryan Tripp Debbie Davis, Jacques Mikalov Megan Boyle, Paul Skibira Wanzi and Sprague Plato welcome to Queen's Park thank you Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport Thank you Speaker I'd also like to welcome some constituents to the legislature today from Burlington Lauren Stasiak Rob Peachey, Natasha Husgard Johanna Kite from the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects and Blair Chesterton from the Ontario Electrical League welcome to Queen's Park I'd like to point of order to correct my record since 2003 we have invested in 6300 new education assistants and it's since 2013 900 have been added Mr. Speaker that's not correcting your record and I don't want to see that happen again you said the wrong number my apologies 2003 thank you we have a deferred vote on the motion of closure for the motion of second reading of bill 65 calling the members this will be a 5 minute bill all members take your seats please thank you on February 21st 2017 Mr. Doudoukou moved second reading of bill 65 an act to amend the Highway Traffic Act with respect to speed limits and municipalities and other matters Mr. Flynn has moved that the question be now put all those in favour Mr. Flynn's motion please rise one at a time be recognized by the clerk Mr. Nackley Mr. Doudoukou Mr. Sousa Mr. Matthews Mr. Hoskins Mr. Schoely Mr. Dugan Mr. McCmeek Mr. Haney Mr. Dillon Mr. Murray Mr. Chan Mr. Moriti Mr. Kotel Mr. Hunter Mr. Leo Mr. Flynn Mr. Tebow Mr. Tebow Mr. Dixon Mr. Dixon Mr. Crack Mr. Baker Mr. Don Mr. Kuala Mr. Milch Mr. Pot Mr. Rinaldi All those opposed please rise one at a time be recognized by the clerk Mr. Wilson Mr. Hardiman Mr. McLeod Mr. Clark Mr. Fidelli Mr. Hillyer Mr. McNaughton Mr. Barrett Mr. McClaren Mr. Bailey Mr. Osterhoff Mr. Martel Mr. McDonnell Mr. Pettipies Mr. Cole Mr. Bisson Mr. Tabbins Mr. Miller Hamilton Mr. Taylor Mr. Natashack Mr. Armstrong Mr. Montag Mr. Hatfield Mr. Gates Mr. French The ayes are 51 the nays are 41 The ayes being 51 and the nays being 41 I declare the motion carried Mr. Del Duca has moved second reading of bill 65 an act to amend the highway traffic act in respect and speed limits and municipalities and other matters. Is it a pleasure or a house motion carried? I don't know. All those in favor please say aye All those opposed please say nay In my opinion the ayes have it Calling the members this will be a 5 minute bell Mr. Del Duca has moved second reading of bill 65 an act to amend the highway traffic act in respect of speed limits and municipalities and other matters. All those in favor please rise one at a time to be recognized by the clerk Mr. Del Duca Mr. Bradley Mr. Sousa Mr. Matthew Mr. Hosson Mr. Mcmeaghan Mr. T'Car Mr. Dillan Mr. Dillon Mr. Murray Mr. Chan Mr. Morridi Mr. Kotel Mr. T'Flynn Mr. Tebow Mr. Tebow Mr. Tebow Mr. Tebow Mr. Dixon Mr. Harris Mr. Anderson Mr. Baker Mr. Dung Mr. Mollie Mr. Milchin Mr. Pott Mr. Rinaldi Mr. Bisson Mr. Vantog Mr. De Novo Mr. Tabbins Mr. Miller Mr. Taylor Mr. Manta Mr. Hatfield Mr. Gretzky Mr. French All those opposed please rise one at a time to be recognized by the clerk Mr. Hartman Mr. Carr Mr. Dillon Mr. Miller Mr. Mcnaught Mr. Mcclaren Mr. Bailey Mr. Osterhof Mr. Mcdonald Mr. Mcclaren Mr. Choe Mr. Koh Mr. Choe Mr. Koh Mr. Joe Mr. Coe Mr. Coe