 It is therefore time for a question period the leader of Her Majesty's loyal opposition Thank You mr. Speaker my question is for the Minister of Finance I want to read you some lines from economic expert Ben Isen's recent op-ed on the provincial budget I quote over the past three years Ontario's net debt has increased by 34.8 billion Over the next three years the province expects to add 34 billion in debt almost exactly the same Amount in this context the government's rhetoric that a balanced operating budget has dawned of new fiscal day And the province can now offend afford to spread spend freely rings Hollow so instead of a new fiscal day what we have is more being spent on interest payments $10 billion more in debt this year and the crowding out of front-line services So mr. Speaker can the Minister of Finance tell this legislature what did he have to cut to pay for these higher Thank You mr. Speaker I appreciate the question from the member opposite who by the way voted in the largest deficit in our country's history of The same member Throughout their time more than double Canada's overall debt and never once mr. Speaker that they ever pay down debt Furthermore interest on that which he refers to now today in Ontario is the lowest it's ever been Especially when compared to the Conservatives at 16% today It's 8.4% of our overall budget and mr. Speaker it's locked in for 30 and 40 years on many respects So going forward we are addressing debt and the first the first way to address them It's a balance the books and we're balancing the books this year next year and the year after And mr. Speaker we're investing we're investing heavily on a number of programs and services for the people of Ontario I asked that member. What will he cut going forward? Speaker again to the Minister of Finance and you'll notice he did not answer the question about the skyrocketing debt in Ontario he chooses to attack rather than the defend a budget that is struggling in debt those shall games Ontarians can see through and the reality is when they're adding so much debt It means there's no ability to help and a good example of that is the city of Toronto The conclusion from the city manager of Toronto Peter Wallace and his words where there are no new investments to for Toronto So despite the Liberals telling Mayor Tory they were going to invest in the city of Toronto Toronto is receiving nothing from this government So mr. Speaker will the minister come clean are the Liberals attacking? We've had two exchanges and both sides are interrupting their own questioner and their own answer And we're going back and forth so I'm more than willing to jump into warnings And your next little foray will dictate whether I will or I won't Finish your question, please So mr. Speaker are the Liberals simply attacking Mayor Tory because they're embarrassed of their own budget budget Which is suffocating a high debt and does nothing for the city of Toronto So with the speaker i'll answer the first part of the question We're investing 11 and a half billion dollars more in health care We're investing another six and a half billion dollars more in education And we're making record investments in infrastructure and transit for the people of Ontario all of which in good part is going to be supported by Increased debt to the extent of those capital improvements and capital investments What will he cut as we move forward on those very issues that are important to the people of ontario Member from nipissing will come to order And I believe that one might be close enough for me to go to warnings. We'll check Finish, please Heavily in fact, Toronto will set its priorities We said we will match and support ongoing investments in social housing as well as an infrastructure The member opposite has opposed a revenue request. The member opposite has not even agreed to toronto's issues. We have Again to the minister of finance And for a third time for a second time the minister of finance Refuses to acknowledge that we have 34 billion dollars in new debt over the next three years debt is still skyrocketing in ontario and What it means we have so much debt and so much interest payments No ability to invest and and frankly despite what the minister of finance says When the mayor and the entire city council are saying this government does nothing for toronto It speaks loudly and the reality is they have made choices You know they an example of the lack of support for toronto the liberals cut $1.4 million from the toronto public library. Where is this government's priorities? How can this minister justify a billion dollars to pay for their gas plant scandal? But 1.4 million for the library in toronto is too much. It's not right. Mr. Speaker here here So here are the priorities of this budget Pharmacare free for every child under 25 Tuition for our children 210,000 going to school this year free for them as well We're continuing to revive for junior kindergarten and we're making investments and working with business to provide for more economic growth What will he cut will he cut pharmacare going forward? Will he cut free tuition for our students? Will he cut the supports we're making for business and mr. Speaker We are the largest contributor to the city of toronto by far and he has never once supported their initiative for that matter Any municipality in ontario because they download it and we're uploading You see it, please start the clock Good question leader of the opposition Mr. Speaker my question is for the minister of health I was pretty optimistic when I heard the liberals might finally do the right thing and support our hospitals But according to the ontario health coalition the liberals budget To quote them barely made a dent They said the funding will hardly even cover inflation and it certainly won't be enough to sustain the current system That's from the ontario health coalition. It seems it was just enough to get a few liberal friendly quotes Mr. Speaker after years of freezing budgets and cutting healthcare and hospitals left right and center Will the minister admit this money doesn't cut it? They're not actually meeting the needs of ontario's hospitals Well, mr. Speaker, I honestly don't know where to begin I don't know if I should be talking about the two Dozen hospitals that they closed when they were last in power Or I don't know if I should talk about when the leader of the official opposition when he was part of a government in ottawa That ended the health services provided to refugees in this country, mr. Speaker There are so many examples or their promise to cut 100,000 jobs many of them in health care But I am going to choose to talk about our investments Giving you what you want we're going to warnings And I'll immediately use them Finish, please But I choose to talk about our investments as articulated by the minister of finance in our budget, mr Member from leeds grandville is warned An additional nine answer nine billion dollars to construct new hospitals in this province making a total of 20 billion dollars over the next Member from my book is warned New question or supplementary Mr. Speaker again to the minister of health There is a trend here when the government can't defend their own record. They point fingers. They blame others They blame past provincial governments past federal governments defend your own record be proud of your own record If you're actually not embarrassed by what you're doing for the The member from beaches east york is warned And if you'd like I'll move to naming We're getting through this properly Finish please Mr. Speaker if you can be proud of your record, you don't need to attack others Let me give you another example Jamie lee ball Spent five days on a stretcher in a hallway and this is what she had to say about this government's budget When you explain it's just inflation. It's really just shocking to me I don't understand how that's even negotiable to offer canadians their basic rights in regards to health care Shouldn't be something that even have to discuss Jamie lee ball is right When when when this government when this liberal government has cut and cut health care for the last five years And you have patients being stuck on stretchers for five days always. It's not right So i'm asking Jamie lee ball's question. You didn't do enough for her. You didn't do enough for her You haven't done enough for patients. When can we expect the governor to do the right thing? You see it, please You see it, please minister of health Mr. Speaker on this side. We're proud of our record the member opposite should be embarrassed at his own record Mr. Speaker when he was a part of government in ottawa They closed the health council of canada when he was part of a government in canada in ottawa They voted against the refugee interim federal health program. They closed the national aboriginal health organization I can't imagine what the member opposite has in plan for the health care system cutting and slashing We're investing mr. Speaker seven billion dollars over the next three years to further reduce wait times wait times that are the best in the country Mr. Speaker provide better access to care and to further enhance the patient experience A 3.3 percent increase in health spending over the medium term, mr. Speaker a three percent increase to our hospitals operating budgets More than 500 million dollar infusion on top of last year's 500 million dollars for a billion dollars hospitals Mr. Speaker again to the minister of health and once again typical response. They attack others They can't be proud of the record. Why would they be proud of jamie lee ball? Start the clock The member from ottawa go north is warned Finish, please mr. Speaker. They shouldn't be proud of the record jamie lee ball five days on a stretcher in a hallway And they're proud with what they're doing to health care It's awful. Mr. Speaker and according to the last auditor general's report just 30 percent of patients Observed in hospital er's made it to an acute care ward in less than eight hours They're proud of that eight hours as the ministries of health's own target. What was that? You know, maybe because ontario has the fewest number of hospital beds per 1 000 people across the country that they accept this It's not good enough the people of ontario are patients are sick They deserve better. This government has not delivered. When will they support up? Thank you Well, mr To the member opposite is just making it up as he goes along because You can make it up But the phrase the phraser report mr. Speaker says that 85 of er patients are getting treatment within the eight hour target for complex patients And 89 percent within the four hour target for minor patients In fact er wait times for the sickest patients have been cut by almost 30 Percent while at the same time the volumes that we're seeing in our er's have increased by 40 percent Mr. Speaker more patients being seen shorter wait times to the point where also cahide the canadian institute for health Information is further proof that our government has made great progress hit replacements 85 percent completed within the medical benchmark higher than the national average Knee replacement higher than the national average 99 percent of radiation therapy within the medical benchmark Mr. Speaker also above the national average every single metric We are near if not at the top of the national performance in wait times mr. Speaker Remember from the p and carlton is warned new question. Remember from to miss me cockman Our question is to the acting premier Can the acting premier tell the 2.2 million ontarians with no drug coverage? Why the liberals are refusing to introduce a universal pharma care program and ensure their access to the medications they need Thank you speaker, and you know, I I don't really understand why The third party wants to get into a squabble about whether their plan is better that our plan or our plan is better than their plan We agree the time has come for pharma care in ontario and in canada speaker One significant difference between their plan and our plan is that ours will start in january this year or 2018 speaker Everyone under age 25 with a health care with a no-hip card will have access to free drugs with no co-pay speaker With no annual deductible We are very proud of the investment that we're making in pharma care And we invite the ndp to join with us and support pharma care in the province of ontario and beyond Thank you supplementary The difference is what we're proposing is actually pharma care and here's an example Saw the ndp pharma care announcement tv and called us to tell us her story on what pharma care would mean to her She spent two years without benefits first taking care of an ill relative and then working part time without benefits She has diabetes and high cholesterol Her prescriptions cost $300 per month paying for these medications put her into credit card debt and she's still struggling to pay that off Tracy is older than 24 Our universal pharma plan pharma care plan would cover tracy Why are the liberals refusing to bring to bring in a universal pharma care plan leaving people like tracy going into debt Just to pay for the medication they need thank you To the minister of health and long-term care mr. Health long-term care Thank you, mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker. I know the leader of the third party Will be in peter burl later today And I hope while she's there mr. Speaker, and I know she's planning to talk about access to medications I hope that when she's speaking to the crowd and the media that she'll be telling them of in peter burl alone of the Minister of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs is warned Finish please. I hope the leader of the third party will be telling the citizens of the great city of peter burl That 34,000 children and youth that will as of january 1st be receiving full free pharma care or how 11,500 households in peter burl with children mr. Speaker those parents will no longer have to worry about paying for Asthma inhalers or antibiotics or insulin and mr. Speaker this begins at the start of next Member from windsor west is warned final supplementary New democrats have a universal pharma care plan that will give drug coverage to 14 million ontarians Under this plan no diabetic or hiv patient will celebrate their 25th birthday knowing they have Stop the clock Minister of Infrastructure is warned And i'm about maybe three questions away from naming if you want that you're going to get it Finish your question, please Under this plan people with asthma or high blood pressure receiving social assistance can enter the workforce Knowing they won't lose their drug coverage Why is this liberal government leaving millions of ontarians without drug coverage by refusing to bring in A universal pharma care plan for people above 24 Thank you You see it, please You see it, please Thank you Minister mr. Speaker. I think the member opposite knows that we have a program involving Ontario disability supports as well as ontario works that and trillium Programs that provide support to the kinds of individuals that he is speaking to However, under their plan. No one in this province will be covered for cancer medications under their plan No one in the province will be covered for drugs for rare diseases And i have to say that the leader of the third party who was first elected 4,700 days ago and prior to last week only mentioned in this legislature the word pharma care three times Once in fact she referenced it in the context of an op ed that i had written about pharma care The other time she referenced it with regards to the trans-pacific partnership erroneously referring to the concern about pharma care. Mr. Speaker. She had 4,700 days to talk about pharma care. I appreciate the fact late to the game But their advocacy is important as we try to secure pharma care nationally Thank you Thank you, mr. President. Thank you, mr. Acting premier Does the liberal government think it's okay that that is the result of the premier's cut in underfunding to our hospital People are going to the emergency in an emergency are being treated in hallways In a shower room in a broom closet or in a tv room for days and sometimes weeks on end Mr. Of health long-term care Of course not. Mr. Speaker. It's not acceptable and that's why last year and again this year We've made significant investments in our hospitals both on the capital side as for example the recent announcement At trillium in mississauga last week where we announced that we are moving forward with the construction of a new hospital tower With a cute bed a new er as well at the other sites of trillium mr. Speaker But also importantly on the operating side of in terms of operating budgets Immediately moving to add to the resources provided last year an additional three Percent increase to operating budgets of hospitals across this province. Mr. Speaker that includes Specific funds which will enable in a flexible way hospitals to address the unique challenges that they may be facing Whether that's in their er's because of growth the 40 percent increase of patients that are being seen in our er's That's our reference earlier or whether it's with regards to bed capacity and other issues We're there to support our hospitals. Thank you supplementary Thank you. Speaker Olive is 84 years old. She lives in Sudbury. She was admitted to the hospital with sepsis While she was being treated she spent her first two night on a stretcher in a busy er The next 20 days in the tv room Including one night in the shower room that was quieter than the very busy tv room that she was in The premier cuts Caused this crisis to happen and her budget is not going to come close to fixing it When is the liberal government going to admit to the severity of the hospital overcrowding that the premier has created And stop pretending that a two percent increase is going to solve it Speaker i'd be first of all the members are wrong with her percentage the increase in operating budgets to our hospitals is 3% and mr. Mr. Speaker that includes that includes a significant amount of funding specifically to priority services It includes over a billion dollars invested over the next three years Specifically to improve wait times whether that occur in our er's whether it's the 2800 more hip and knee replacements That would be provided whether it's the 29 000 more mri hours the 2100 more cataract surgeries Whether it's 70 million dollars to adopt the latest digital technologies. Mr. Speaker 74 million dollars for mental health services 357 million dollars for priority services in hospitals 66 million dollars for telemedicine All together including the increases already locked in from last year 11 billion Dollars into healthcare over the next three years Thank you speaker Well speaker people across Ontario go to the hospital and they end up being treated in hallways That's because for a decade hospital budget has been cut or frozen We're talking about years and years of this liberal government doing damage to our hospital And the premier isn't undoing this damage instead our hospital budget falls at least 300 million short of what is needed To keep the crisis from getting worse not even to get things better Why is the liberal government refusing to take responsibility for the damage the premier has done to our healthcare system And to make a real and meaningful commitment to ending hallway medicines in ontario Well, mr. Speaker, let's uh, let's hear what are those who truly know About the the how meaningful the investments in last week's budget are Teresa agnew nurse practitioners association of ontario today's provincial budget provides great news for the people of ontario With significant funding increases to hospitals Long-term care homes and primary care. We can better meet the needs of an aging population NPAO is thrilled to hear about free prescription drugs for children and youth or Anthony dale president and CEO of the ontario hospital association It signals a renewed commitment from government to expand and enhance access to care across the continuing The government's significant investments in hospital capital will help support a sustainable health care system for the future Council of academic hospitals the same thing Championing and celebrating the investments that we announced last week, mr. Speaker Your question the member from nipissing. Good morning speaker My question is for the finance minister. We've been asking you questions about home capital the troubled mortgage lender Also under security commission investigation Depositors left and the share price tumbled then they received a two billion dollar bailout from the health care of ontario pension plan Or hoop kevin smith the board chair of home capital was a member of hoops board and jim cohane Hoop ceo was also on the board of home capital So after the two billion dollar deal was done They then resigned from each other's boards within 24 hours all this happened right under the minister's nose We want answers from the minister is an investigation Into this perceived conflict of interest underway Or does the minister agree that what went down in that 24 hour period? Somehow passes the smell test question. Thank you Yeah, I appreciate the question mr. Speaker in fact as I've replied already on occasion Investigations are underway the ontario security commission is doing its job And has already made public as to some of the allegations being put forward Osvi which is a federal regulator who oversees home capital is also taking the appropriate steps to protect the interests of consumers and investors And fisco which is a regulator for here in ontario has already performed and laid some of the charges in regards to fraud So the member opposite is now making allegations in regards to some of the executives and their chair ownership And the chair as well as the trustees and the resignations that we get all that But our primary concern is to ensure Consumers and investors are protected and that we take the appropriate steps through the regulators Which is in fact their new job to that extent. Thank you, mr. Speaker Supplementary to the minister kevin smith is also the $720,000 a year ceo of st. Joseph health center in hamilton But while he's at his 357 thousand dollar a year job at home capital Here's what's happening back at his hospital 600 cataract surgeries stopped 58 registered nursing jobs cut mental health treatment unit closed 136 more positions cut including 61 rns And where was kevin smith through all this not in hamilton But in toronto attending 31 board meetings earning a million and a half in stock You have to ask how could he possibly run st. Joseph's while heading up a multi billion dollar company I ask the minister is it right that a hospital ceo Who should be focused on health care have another full-time job where he earned over a million and a half dollars Uh, so mr. Speaker again, we've made investments in the hospitals where investing more and operating and in capital And supporting the well-being of ontarians as we proceed forward on those matters and the member Remember from storm out dundas self-clangiri is warned They have fiduciary duties mr. Speaker in fact Home capital as well as hoop act independently of government and they take the decisions as they see appropriate We through the ontarius curious commission as fisco make sure that they are operating to the extent that they protect consumers and investors Including the members and and the beneficiaries of the pension plan. So it's their it's their discretion mr. Speaker They don't report to the government. They're separate of government But we will take the appropriate steps to ensure that they're protected and the member opposite has very clearly stated That they have resigned now as directors and as chair of their respective operations. Thank you, mr. Speaker New question remember from park dale high park. Thank you, mr. Speaker. My question is to the acting premier Yesterday the liberals defended cutting 20 percent from toronto public libraries The government says the library's digital archives project isn't being used Actually, the fact is mr. Speaker usage is up The government said the library isn't spending the money Actually, mr. Speaker the library says Exactly the opposite is true The toronto public library says these liberal cuts will mean less service at toronto libraries Why is the liberal government cutting from toronto libraries and what library services? Do they actually expect to disappear? Well, thank you speaker and thank you to the member for the question I want to be very very clear on this. There is no change whatsoever to the base funding for toronto public libraries We continue to invest 4.1 million dollars in annual base funding to toronto public libraries On top of that, there's an additional 1 million dollars To toronto through the ontario library capacities fund over the last three years to support the important work they do What has changed speaker is funding for the virtual reference library Funding by the way that is 20 percent provincial and 80 percent city of toronto the toronto public libraries Speaker, we did contribute 20 percent We have seen a reduction of use in We have chosen to reallocate that money in improving digital services Support leadership and innovation and invest in rural and remote communities Thank you, mr. Speaker again back to the acting premier only in a liberal world is a cut of 1.4 million not a cut One of the great things mr. Speaker about public libraries is everyone uses them Young people use them seniors use them new canadians use them They are where people go to take out a book use the internet Learn take a language class polish up a resume catch up with friends and neighbors Public libraries are at the heart of local communities And the liberals are making cuts to the toronto public library. Just ask them Simple question. Will the liberals reverse their cuts to libraries in toronto? Can we tell toronto public libraries some good news? To the minister of tourism culture and sport Thank you, mr. Speaker. I want to thank the member opposite for her question You know speaker. I know that she shares The love and care and concern of libraries and that's why i'm happy to share with her the following Our public libraries remain an important priority for this government That's why speaker we actually take the time to talk to them and to listen to what they want Libraries across this province told us very carefully through the development of our culture strategy That they wanted to be sure that the dollars that we were investing made sense This is funding for a program that's been in existence for 20 years that back then was an innovation But over time because of the increased development of the internet has made it such that only 25 percent of libraries in ontario are using this program And it's administered by the toronto public library. It is not their core funding It is not their base funding which remains robust at 4.1 million dollars. And that's why mr. Speaker I want the opposite opposition to get their facts straight. Thank you No question the member from egglington lorks. Thank you, mr. Speaker As a member of the standing committee We're dealing with the safer schools zones act. It's a piece of legislation Which came as a result of the minister of transportation Yeah, it came as a result of the fact is that we had a young six-year-old girl In leeside killed on a way home from school Last month we had another seven-year-old boy killed outside of Moores public school So we've got this bill before us that came as a result is outcry from parents to make our school's area safer And what is really disgusting is that as we sit in committee Not only liberals, but also the member from Niagara Falls would tell us That the members of the conservative opposition have been directed by their leader to block Struck The bill is only eight pages long. Thank you over three Minister of transportation Thank you very much. Of course, I want to begin by thanking the member from egglington lorks for his advocacy on this issue And for hitting the nail right on the head speaker Speaker last November I was delighted to join with premier Kathleen win and others including mayor john tory here from the city of Toronto in leeside to announce the strong action that our government is taking to help make ontario's community safer In direct response to many requests that we have received from municipal partners across the province Including from mayor tory right here in toronto speaker We introduced bill 65 the safer school zones act This bill contains strong tools to protect particularly Children and seniors in our community speaker because we want to make it safer for our most vulnerable road users Speaker as the member from egglington lorks pointed out notwithstanding our best efforts to respond to the challenge that exists The conservative party under direction from their leader have introduced over 300 amendments to slow down passage Of this critical legislation speaker. It is disgusting. It's unconscionable. Thank you. And I call on the We are on warnings supplementary Mr. Speaker, you know what it was even more appalling as we sat in that committee We had listened to the principle of Allen b school in my riding an avenue road There were two teachers critically injured In front of that school a couple of years ago Both had their retire from teaching because of their injuries. She came and pleaded the committee To proceed with the safer school zones act to protect her teachers and students Yet, you know one of the amendments they moved The conservatives directed by their leader said do not allow Any kind of speed enforcement devices on avenue road? After the principal came and said we need something done an avenue road in front of alibi school How is that responsible? When you have teachers you have parents Pleading for something to be done about The speeding around our schools and in our communities. How can they unconscious block? Thank you the minister The minister of indigenous relations and reconciliation will withdraw And you are now warned Thanks very much speaker. I again, I want to thank the member from egglinton lorence for the follow-up question You can understand for those of us on this side of the government side of the house and frankly speaker including for members of the NDP caucus This is a very serious piece of legislation in communities right across ontario Toronto Ottawa York region and many others There has been a significant push from our municipal partners and our road safety partners to move forward with this legislation speaker It is completely beyond my comprehension as to why the member from kitchen or conestoga and the leader of the conservative caucus Would want to slow down passage of legislation that is designed specifically To help the elderly and to help students and their families get from point A to point B safely on the streets of the province of Ontario speaker They have a chance at the committee stage to work with us to pass this legislation to do so in an expedited fashion So that we can continue to deliver road safety for the people of ontario It's truly what our youngest and our oldest deserve from their government. Thank you very much No question the member from chatham kent sx. Thank you Speaker Speaking of keeping children safe my question is to the acting premier Each day thousands of students are put in harms way as drivers blow by school buses That are stopped with their red and yellow lights flashing It's not funny Several municipalities have started pilot programs Using stop arm cameras to capture evidence of these blowbys and we need to update our laws to reflect that In mississauga the pilot program discovered that each bus experienced two and a half blowbys per day Mississauga mayor crombie knows the importance of protecting students and it's called on this liberal government to support my amendment to the highway traffic act In a statement. She said we cannot wait for serious injury or fatality before we act No parent or guardian should ever have to think about the safety of their child getting to and from school each day Speaker to the acting premier Well, this government listened to the pilot results and support our amendment to bill 65 the safer school zones act Well, thank you very much thank you very much speaker I think it's fairly evident from not only the legislation that we've introduced will build with bill 65 Frankly also my response is to the member from eglinton lorence We are a government that takes the safety of our most vulnerable road users extremely safely member from Prince Edward Hastings is uh Finish please thank you speaker. So we take we take our responsibility responsibility in this regard extremely Extremely seriously speaker. So of course we will always consider any initiative Any move to help improve the safety of those vulnerable road users speaker But fundamentally the more than 300 amendments that that caucus has brought forward regarding bill 65 Have less to do with that particular initiative and far more to do with misguided principles on their part speaker because They should be working closely with us to pass this legislation to help the road users that they claim to be concerned about It'll be exactly this initiative that we're talking about exactly p.m. Speaker This is about the safety of our children It's about using our amendment to bill 65 to take a significant step towards enhancing student safety at committee Liberal members have already refused serious safety enhancing Please finish They've already refused serious safety amendments at 265 like doubling school zone fines or implementing Speed signs if premier kathleen win and her minister truly cares about student safety She would allow her members to endorse this important safety measure for school bus cameras this afternoon 4 p.m. Her members will have an opportunity a simple choice to stand in support of enhanced student safety Or stand against it. Will the acting premier tell us now? Which will they do will they support our amendment to ensure student safety? Thank you, or will they not? Mr transportation much speaker I said in my initial answer to the to the question from his colleague that of course we will consider Any initiative that actually will achieve the outcome that we're talking about here speaker? But again fundamentally over the last number of days on bill 65 as it's been at committee as that caucus and that member have brought forward Member from Kitchener Conestoga's ward I'm not giving up Thank you speaker is that member and his caucus have brought forward at the direction of their leader Patrick Brown So many amendments to slow down this process in filibuster this legislation This latest stunt on their part speaker speaks to me as something designed to save face because rightly so speaker They're embarrassed by their behavior as it relates to not standing up for students not standing up for the most volunteer It's not gonna work. We won't be fooled Help us pass bill 65 You see it, please new question the member from Toronto Danforth. Thank you speaker speaker to the acting premier The cost of a house is still skyrocketing The budget doesn't have a single mechanism to help people buy a home Instead people saw a budget that tried to score cheap political points by talking about foreign speculators But as long as you have a canadian passport or a canadian business number There's nothing to reign in speculation Nothing to stop consortiums from buying swaths of housing to drive up prices Why are the liberals helping speculators? Why are they loving housing prices rise so fast because of the action of those speculators? Thank you Mr. Finance Speaker and I appreciate the question seriously. I mean there's 16 Point plan that we brought forward to deal with both supply and demand with regards to housing with an effort to Ensure that we cool the market provide some greater stability We brought in measures to protect tenants and renters and mr. Speaker We've taken I mean the nrst the non resident canadian speculative tax is only one component of that We are still going after Those that are scalping Assignments of purchase on new developments. That's also being addressed and mr. Speaker will continue to take the necessary steps going forward To have full disclosure provide greater data and greater integrity in the work that we do To temper the market and protect the interests of homeowners as well as those new families trying to get into the market as well Thank you supplementary Well again to the acting premier over the last year the cost of a home in toronto rose by 31.7 It means the average home cost $920,791 A home at half that cost would still be out of reach for a lot of people This budget protects corporations flipping properties and lets housing get even more out of reach For people. Why isn't the government dealing with speculation? Thank you Mr. Speaker, we are dealing with speculation That's the whole purpose of the of the 16 point plan and the and the housing affordability measures that we've taken And as I said, we are going after those speculators that are crowding out families that want to buy into the marketplace We're going after those that are taking advantage of loopholes and closing them working very closely with the federal government To ensure enforcement of those and we're going after anyone that wants to speculate In a residential property at the expense of homeowners and new families trying to get into the marketplace Now part of the issue Is the fact that ontario is a destination of of choice. I mean the region and the economy is growing There's a lot of stimulus a lot of new jobs coming to the province It's attracting many more who want to choose to live in ontario and in this region And that's creating huge demand for our homes. We'll continue to support our marketplace Support our economic growth and support those families with the measures that we take. Thank you Thank you, Mr. Speaker to the minister of social services and community service Ontario day here at ontario legislature where we honor the work that you do that is essential for our community And I'm pleased that the family services Ottawa is here with us today The work that is done by family service ontario and all the agency Helps and violence against women as well as provide assistance to those with developmental disabilities These are essential services in our communities With stress and anxiety adjusting to separation Family service agencies have programs that help children Youth family students adult both men and women and seniors Mr. Speaker Thank you to the member for her question Family service ontario and their agencies touches thousands of ontarians and helps to make the lives of the people they serve better Several ministries in this government support FSO agencies to provide important services across the province And through funding provided by my ministry FSO provides counseling and therapy for survivors of sexual abuse and family violence They work to keep women and children safe from domestic violence through early intervention and by providing prevention counseling services for men FSO also provides community participation Caregiver respite services and supports and case management services for children and adults who have a developmental disability I want to thank FSO for the hard work They do each and every day to support some of ontario's most vulnerable. Thank you. Thank you supplementary Thank you, madam minister to acknowledge the essential service that's done in our community to support So well Continuing to make significant investment to support some of our most vulnerable individuals I understand there's a one million Rural reality fund that is designed to help rural remote and northern Women shelters and agencies to address their particular concern I also understand that there's another fund of 1.5 million to increase investment to indigenous Community services designed and delivered by indigenous people including a counseling helpline for indigenous women minister Mr. President can the minister please provide us with an update on the conjoint counseling program that she has supported Minister, thank you, mr. Speaker and as part of our government's ongoing efforts to end violence against women For the past two years my ministry has been testing a pilot project with family service ontario To provide joint counseling programs for couples experiencing Situational couple violence This project is exploring the effectiveness of joint counseling for lower risk situational couple violence And whether early intervention would lead to a reduction in domestic violence The pilot is part of our government's work aimed at reducing the thinking behaviors and conflict That may lead to domestic violence and we've been pleased with the results of the pilot so far Which is why i'm pleased also to let this house know that we will be continuing the conjoint counseling program for another year In order to evaluate how this type of counseling is working as an early intervention to violence I'd like to thank fso for being here today Your work makes a real difference in the lives of thousands of ontarians. Thank you. Thank you, mr. New question remember from middle sex london. Thank you much speaker. My question is to minister of health long-term care Speaker today. I'm introducing a bill to protect the conscious rights of health care professionals Unfortunately, this government voted down every amendment the pc party put forward to protect their conscious rights Balance is needed in the system The self-referral system proposed by this government which our party does support is only half the solution Protection of conscious rights of health care Health care professionals is the other half Speaker will this government support my private members bill to be debated on may 18th Thank you, mr. Speaker I think as uh members of the legislature are already aware that the government's proposed legislation Will support specific aspects of the implementation of medical assistance and dying by Providing more protection and greater clarity for patients their families and their health care providers I have many times stood in this legislature and asserting my commitment to and respect for Conscience rights of health care providers of all of us, mr. Speaker I've also spoken about the necessity and the imperative to assure a balanced approach that also respects patients Ontario's ontarians right to access medical services in this province mr. Speaker the It's important that Ontarians understand there is nothing in this legislation That would negatively impact Conscience rights of health care providers. It speaks to issues That are important with regards to protection from liability and certain life assurance Standards and protections and other details. Mr. Speaker Thank you very much for your that is specifically why i'm asking for this bill. There is nothing to protect The conscious rights of our health care professionals Our amendments put forward to this government was going to enshrine that legislation this government voted it down Many patients many health care professionals have written thousands of letters and petitions in support of a self-referral system And protection of conscious rights a balance is needed to ensure patients access to medically assistance and dying Other jurisdictions have a self-referral system And protect the conscious rights of health care professionals And provide better access to medically assistance and dying than ontario Mr. Speaker will the minister encourage his colleagues the members of the government to vote in favour of my private members bill on may 18 Thank you minister Well, mr. Speaker, there's no requirement by the federal legislation ontario legislation To require physicians to participate in medical assistance and dying. However, we We specifically because there is an element of the federal legislation that speaks to both conscience rights as well as Patients right to access medical services. We introduced not once but twice an amendment to the legislation that speaks directly to and reaffirms conscience rights of health care providers And you know who voted it down, mr. Speaker that party the progressive conservatives not once but twice Voted down our amendments to assert and reinforce and reiterate as the federal legislation did Conscience rights for health care providers shame on you Thank you very much, mr. Speaker my question is to the acting premier It is mental health week in ontario and less than six months ago ontario's auditor general delivered a scathing report Against this government's non-record on children's mental health She found that youth mental health agencies in ontario have been overwhelmed by 50 spike in hospitalization cases since 2009 She also found that this liberal government had not analyzed the reasons behind the increase or taken steps to address it Mental health issues and illnesses account for more than six billion dollars in lost productivity costs every year But this liberal government has decided not to make mental health a priority Why doesn't the acting premier and this government understand that by denying mental health supports for children and youth It compromises their ability to reach their potential in school and in the world of work and often have devastating Results for families in this province Thank you Thank you speaker and I will take the first question and refer the supplementary to the minister of children youth services Minister of health and long-term care and I this morning We're at the university of toronto where we made a very important funding announcement to support mental health services In our post-secondary institutions in our colleges and in our universities We announced an additional six million dollars a year on top of the nine million dollar base funding speaker To bring to 15 million dollars a year the supports on campus That's a very important part of our mental health strategy to make sure that students can get access to the supports They need when and where they need those support speaker We are moving forward on supporting mental health for children and youth and I know that the minister of children Will want to speak to the supplementary The wait lists in this province are the norm and that's the sad truth Ontario is facing a mental health crisis Chimo sites wait lists of one and a half years for service Most kids end up in a hospital only only to be discharged and find that they have to wait again for services in their community Advocates say that a hundred and eighteen million is needed immediately to expand treatment and make it available early They say the system is in crisis even if you won't acknowledge it between 2006 and 2016 Emergency department visits by children and youth seeking help for mental health or substance abuse increased by 63 hospitalizations were up by 67 Percent and according to children's mental health Ontario They say and I quote our current mental health system is not meeting the needs of children youth and families Speaker the government knew all of this and did nothing. My question is to the acting premier. Why thank you And sir children youth services. Oh, thank you, mr. Speaker and I'd like to thank the member for the question There is um, there's no question of my mind, mr. Speaker that there is more that needs to be done to uh to help young people in this province when it comes to uh mental health over the last couple of years We've worked with the sector With advocates with families with young people to look for ways to build a strategy that's going to be right for Ontario and we've come up with the moving on mental health strategy and I actually met with Advocates this week Here in the legislature and I made a commitment that we would bring forward a strategy very shortly Based on the input we received across the province and to really Build system change that I believe is necessary in this province There are there are areas where we see some overlap. There are areas where we see gaps My job is to make sure that with so much change taking place in mental health here in the province Frontier and the demand that continues to increase I need to make sure that we're not set up for Change just for one or two years, but for 10 20 years forward Mr. Speaker my question is for the minister of education One of our top priorities is to support our children with the best possible start in life Through our publicly funded education and early year system and as the mom of two young boys This is a top priority for me Investing in schools is part of building Ontario up and it is important our government responds to the local needs while creating the best possible Learning environments for students not only in my riding of Davenport, mr. Speaker, but across all of Ontario since 2013 146 new schools and Major additions and renovations have been completed to better support student achievement and well-being I know that across the province our government continues to invest in new and renovated classrooms and school facilities Mr. Speaker through you to the minister can you speak how how this year's 2017 budget includes key investments To ensure students are learning in buildings better to support the minister of education. Thank you speaker I want to say thank you so much to the member from Davenport for her question I know how passionate she is and indeed all the members mr. Speaker Because we believe that every child in Ontario deserves access to a world-class education And has the right to a supportive learning environment, mr. Speaker so that they can be their best And that's why we are providing almost 16 billion dollars in in capital investments over 10 years To help build new schools in high growth areas to improve the condition of existing schools And to invest in projects to reduce surplus space Building on our 2016 commitment to increase renewal funding for schools We're investing an additional 1.2 billion in funding for repairs and renewals over the next two years in all of our schools Thank you minister We are extremely proud on this side of the house of the accomplishments and investments we have made in education I know that last month our government also announced the details of the grants for student needs for the upcoming school year This is the funding we provide across boards all across the province to better support student achievement and well-being Speaker through you to the minister Can you share with this house how this funding will help ensure that the young learners in my writing of Davenport And all learners across our great province get the knowledge and skills they need for success in the modern economy Question. Thank you minister. Thank you speaker and again. Thank you to the wonderful member from Davenport for her question I know how hard she is working on behalf of her community Last month I was proud to announce that the total education funding will increase to 23.8 billion dollars for 2017-18 Mr. Speaker, that is an increase of 879 million dollars and this includes 219 million targeted for additional teachers and education workers to support special education 49 million dollars over the next three years to promote and to support Well-being of Ontario students including mental health. Mr. Speaker We know how important that is as our minister of children and youth services has said 66 million dollars in funding to support our indigenous students. Mr. Speaker reducing class sizes Transition support to post-secondary education. Mr. Speaker for students and this growth in funding reflects our government's commitment to give school boards and students the best Thank you new question the members from Prince Edward Hastings speaker my question this morning is for the minister of energy Speaker the chief financial officer at hydro one Is leaving after receiving almost a million dollar increase in his salary last year alone now $1.7 million for this position speaker Now that there's another opening with hydro one Will the minister who still controls 70 percent of that company or at least 70 percent of the shares of that company Will he make an effort will he try to get executive compensation Under control and start to get the millionaires Out of the ratepayers trove Thank you, mr. Speaker once again i'm pleased to rise to talk about what our government is doing On this side of the house to ensure that we get our energy and our electricity rates, mr. Speaker As affordable as possible unlike the other side of the house where they have no plan mr. Speaker They have no idea on what to do with energy let alone anything to do with the province mr. Speaker When it comes to being a shareholder within hydro one mr. Speaker I'm sure the government like any other shareholder will of course support a plan that balances attracting the best talent To run these companies mr. Speaker while at the same time getting top value for money Mr. Speaker we want to continue to attract top talent to hydro one to opg Who can deliver value for ratepayers mr. Speaker? I know that's something on that side of the house that they don't understand So over the past year mr. Speaker Hydro one has become a much better company and its customers are beginning to see just that It sounds like the minister is ready to continue opening up the bank vault and Allowing them to come in and take whatever they want at hydro one It's unbelievable to me really speaker because this government continues to put up these expensive Renewables across the province that are causing chaos on our grid. They haven't stopped the green energy act They haven't stopped the sell-off of hydro one shares and you know every time they stand up in this legislature speaker To use hydro one for a photo op they remember they still own 70 percent of it But whenever they can actually do something about compensation there They throw their hands in the air and just say here come on and take what you want speaker Hydro one executives are eligible for hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars of bonuses Every year is the minister once again Going to take the side of the people that are sending the hydro bills or side with the people who are getting these Exorbitant hydro bills in their home every month that they can't afford Thank you, mr. Speaker on this side of the house We're actually siding with the people of ontario providing them with a 25 percent reduction. Mr. Speaker I know I know the opposition and I know the the member opposite Talked about having their plan in the policy department, mr. Speaker Well, it's been 62 days since we've announced the fair hydro plan. Where's their plan, mr. Speaker They have no plan for hydro. They have no plan for the province of ontario, mr. Speaker When it comes to helping families, mr. Speaker, we actually listen to what they have to say And we acted mr. Speaker. We put together a plan that's going to reduce their rates by 25 percent What did they do mr. Speaker? They heard and did nothing Much mr. Speaker point of order in the public west gallery today We have some folks from peterborough here for ontario family service day Casey ready the executive director of community counseling resource peterborough charlie barton the chair of the board at christian ambrose here today. Thanks mr. Speaker Pursuant to standing order 38 a the member for and chatted kent sx has given notice of his satisfaction with the answer to his question Given by the minister of transportation concerning safety student safety. This matter will be debated today at 6 p.m We have We have a deferred vote on government notice of motion number nine relating to the allocation of time of Bill 124 an act to amend residential tenancy acts 2006 calling the members. This will be a five minute bell All members, please take your seats All members take please take your seats On may 2nd 2017 miss sandals move Government notice of motion number nine relating to allocation of time on bill 124 all those in favor of the motion Please rise one at a time you're recognized by the start mr. Knacky mr. Knacky mr. Bradley Mr. Del Duque Sandals Mr. Sousa Mr. Sousa This win this win this Matthews mr. Hoskins mr. Hoskins mr. Shirelli mr. Shirelli mr. Dugan mr. Dugan mr. McCharles mr. Mcmeakin mr. Mcmeakin Mr. McCarr Mr. Cole mr. Cole mr. Bardinetti mr. Bardinetti mr. Delaney mr. Delaney mr. Dillon mr. Murray mr. Murray mr. Chan mr. Chan Mr. Meridi mr. Meridi mr. Coteau mr. Coteau this hunter this hunter mr. Leo mr. Leo mr. Flynn mr. Flam mr. Tebow mr. Tebow Madam Madame le lang mr. Codre mr. Codre mr. Manga mr. Manga mr. Crack mr. Crack mr. Cromer This is me Gary mr. McGary mr. Morrow mr. Morrill mr. Jess mr. Jess mr. Zimmer mr. Zimmer this is albany's albany's McMahon mr. McMahon mr. Baller mr. Balles night you hear this night who hair I swear Mr. Fraser mr. Fraser mr. Anderson mr. Anderson mr. Baker mr. Baker mr. Don mr. Don mr. Dahl mr. Koala mr.. Koala mr. Molly mr. Molly mr. Martin mr.. Martin mr. Miltcher mr. Miltcher mr. potz Paul please rise one in time to be recognized. Mr. Wilson. Mr. Harnab. Mr. Harden. Mr. Hardebank. Mr. McLeod. Mr. Brown. Mr. Brown. Mr. Clark. Mr. Clark. Mr. Fidelli. Mr. Fidelli. Mr. Miller-Perry-Salma-Scoker. Mr. Miller-Perry-Salma-Scoker. Mr. McDonough. Mr. McDonough. Mr. Mischal. Mr. Mischal. Mr. Thompson. Mr. Thompson. Mr. Thompson. Mr. Mason. Mr. McDonnell, Mr. Pettipies, Mr. Coe, Mr. Cho, Mr. Bisson, Mr. Vanton, Mr. DeNovo, Mr. Tabin, Mr. Miller Hamilton, East Stony Creek, Mr. Miller Hamilton, East Stony Creek, Mr. Natashire, Mr. Nattashire, Mr. Jellianow, Mr. Fyfe, Mr. Forrester, Mr. Monta, Mr. Hatfield, Mr. Gretzky, Mr. Gates, Mr. French. The ayes are 51, the nays are 40. The ayes are 51, the nays are 40. I declare the motion carried. There are no further deferred votes this House stands recess until 3 p.m. this afternoon.