 It is now time for a question period. The member from Cambridge. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Education Minister. Minister, the government is spending $8.5 billion per year more in education than it did in 2003, while we have 250,000 fewer students and our students are falling behind in math. To be clear, we're spending way more in education, serving fewer students and math achievement is worse today. My question to the minister is a simple one. How can you justify spending more money while our students are doing worse? Oh my goodness, where do I start? Okay, so let's just deal first of all with what we got for more money. Because what we've got for more money is the roll-in of the full-day kindergarten program, which we understand you want to get rid of. But that's what you got. What you got was a whole bunch of new programs called Specialist High Skills majors that help teach kids practical skills in areas that they might want to pursue as careers. What you got was a high school graduation rate that rose from, do you know what it was when they were in charge of it and this province did not graduate from high school? Supplementary. Mr. Speaker, what we got were our students doing worse today than they did in 2003. It's not only parents and students who are concerned about business leaders as well. Let me read you a quote. It's time to stop congratulating ourselves on the quality of our primary, secondary and post-secondary education systems and face up to the fact that our performance in international rankings is getting worse and not better. Who said that, Mr. Speaker? It was the former Liberal Deputy Prime Minister John Manley. Unfortunately, that's exactly what your government has been doing for the last decade. As our students continue to look less and less competitive on the world stage, Minister, isn't a decade long enough? How many years have to go by before you take the students' performance seriously and fix the problems in our education system? Thank you, Minister. Yes, thank you very much. Actually, he actually needs a little bit more information here. If he would look at the EQAO performance, something that you brought in, I might add, at the end of their mandate, about half the kids in the province were reaching the provincial standard, which is quite a high standard. It's an A or a B for those of us who still think in old letter grades. Now, 71% of the students are meeting the provincial standard. I really wish that the people across the aisle would stop trashing our public education system and actually look at what's really going on. In fact, I was interested to note today that when he was talking about school performance on PISA, he did say that the score had fallen 16 points. He didn't tell you that that was on a scale that was 16 out of about 700. Thank you. Final supplementary. Well, Mr. Speaker, I can't believe what I'm hearing from the education system. That a 16 point drop in our scores is actually a good thing. Mr. Speaker, today the Ontario PC Caucus has unveiled our Math Achievement Action Plan, which provides proven solutions to the problems students have been facing over the last 10 years. When it comes to mathematics, our students are not performing at the level they should be. Numeracy and literacy skills are crucial to both individual job success and our province's economic growth. And the fact that our students are slipping when it comes to basic math skills is beyond troubling. Our plan focuses on the fundamentals and gives students the support and education they need as they move through high school to post-secondary education and into the job market. Teaching the times tables. Rewarding the best teachers and prioritizing students over union bosses is the only way to get our students and schools back on track. Minister, will you support our Math Achievement Action Plan? Mr. Speaker, put your hands up. Do you see the place? Do you see the place? Thank you. Minister? Actually, I kind of thought he was supporting my plan because I've been saying for the last couple of months that we need balanced instruction. And part of that... Remember from Nipi and Carlton, come to order. Part of that, Speaker, is that kids learn time tables. We agree. Kids should learn time tables. But we also think that kids should understand the basic concepts so that they can understand more sophisticated concepts and so that they can achieve what the Chamber of Commerce is all across the province are asking for is that we have graduates who have critical thinking skills and who can actually apply those math concepts to do actual problem solving. That's what employers tell us they want. And we also believe you should support teachers. He wants to do it with performance pay if they get better math scores. I want to invest in teacher training. Thank you. New question. Remember from Barry. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Finance. Minister, you're the leader of the Pan Am babysitting team. The Minister reports bi-weekly to you, Chair of the Treasury Board. So are you the one coaching them the fudge to the numbers? We've seen the security move from 113 million to 206 million to 239 million. Transportation's moved from 55 million according to documents last July to between 75 and 90 million dollars. Can't wait for the next milestone update on that one, really. In the real world, the plan is supposed to fit the budget. You don't update the budget to fit the plan, the liberal way. Minister, you're just as guilty. At which point is it public misfeasance? Thank you. Before I move to the Minister of Finance, I just want to warn the member that he's on the edge when he makes that kind of allegation. But I would ask him to temper his question and his comments under those circumstances. And I appreciate his cooperation. Minister of Finance. Mr. Speaker, let me take this opportunity to congratulate the Minister responsible of the Pan Am, Parapan American Games. He's an individual, he's a man of great integrity, he's a man of great sensitivity, and he's a new Canadian like many others to come to this country looking for opportunity and equity and equality. He has done everything he can to be inclusive and to invite many to participate in these games and in the economy of Ontario. So I'm very proud of the work that the Minister of the Pan, Parapan American Games, the Minister of Tourism, does represent our province and our country. And it's shameful what the member opposite has been trying to do to characterize this man as anything but an honourable individual. He's doing a good job of the Pan Am Games. He's been very open and transparent and doing everything necessary to protect the interests of our province. Thank you. Supplementary? Thank you. Only in this liberal world that we live in down here would you actually congratulate the Minister responsible for the Pan Am Games for this debacle. Yesterday, TO 2015 released a quarterly report. Apparently, three venues still have outstanding contracts. We also learned this week that, quote, a major milestone in security has been achieved. A security contract almost reached. That almost contract is costing us taxpayers another $33 million somehow. Honestly, you're 17 months away with contracts still pending. How can you possibly carry on like you're still on budget? And by the way, TO 2015 has already reported one project over budget and apparently half of the total spending hasn't even happened yet. Pan Am is a black hole, plain and simple. Minister, once and for all, who's responsible for the Pan Am mismanagement anyway? Mr. Speaker, the Pan and Parapan American Games, all the venues that we've been providing in the southern corridor of Ontario around many communities to benefit not just during the games, but during the legacy of these games and in the future. We now have communities that are going to benefit from an aquatic centre second to none in North America. We're going to have an all-season velodrome in the town of Milton that's going to provide access to many in that community and around the world to come and train. We're going to be able to provide venues for our athletes all over Canada to be able to train and perform and succeed in Ontario and in Canada. And they are on time, Mr. Speaker. They are under budget. In fact, all those capital improvements have occurred as necessary. And of course, there are certain things that we're going to do going forward, including security and transportation to protect the interests of the public. But I'm very proud of what Ontario is going to do to represent Canada in the future of these games next year and so should they. Maybe the Minister of Finance should actually read the actual financial update that came out yesterday. Here's another one. Government invested $709 million in an athlete's village to benefit on their return on investment. But we know that if something looks too good to be true, it probably is, especially in this game. We only ever see a fraction of that again, between $65 million and $70 million of that $709 million. So put it plainly, Ontario could have funded 2,085 new doctors this year or paid for medicine for almost 2,000 kids like Matty Vanstone. So who's benefiting from the reminder of our invested money? And yep, another generous liberal donation to the private sector. Honestly, if Chan isn't up to job searching today, then you should be Minister. Minister, which one of you is going to step down over this? Thank you. Minister of Finance. Mr. Speaker, the Pan Am Village is going to provide social housing. It's going to provide a residence for students at George Brown College. It's going to provide a cultural center. It's going to provide so much vibrancy in that community and in our waterfront. It accelerated the development of that area for the future benefit of all Torontonians, Ontarians and Canadians because of the attraction it's going to bring. And that, Mr. Speaker, is a legacy that's going to be left behind in those respects. And I am so proud of the work being done by Toronto 2015. I recognize that there are always things that can be done better. And we're doing just that. That's why we have put in a new chair. We have a new president. And we have a team out there that's doing what is necessary to provide great games in 2015. The member opposite knows this. We've invited him to briefings. He's chosen not to read them. Dr. Paul, please. I'm also going to take a moment just to remind members that I do, I'm trying to be forceful about this. Please use either the title or the writing when you refer to any member in this House during Crescent Period or any other time. I don't want to keep reminding people. It's tiring. New question, the leader of the third party. Thank you, Speaker. My question is for the Acting Premier. Does the Acting Premier think families in Ontario should be paying a billion dollar subsidy for power that lights up the Manhattan skyline, Speaker? Thank you. Deputy Premier. Speaker, I'm afraid once again the leader of the opposition just has her facts wrong, completely wrong. When it comes to energy exports, Speaker, we do not subsidize exports to other jurisdictions. The leader of the third party has mixed up something pretty important. She hasn't taken the net benefit of our exports. In fact, Speaker, since 2006, the independent electricity system operator has made over $2 billion in net revenue from those energy exports. So once again, Speaker, we have a party with no plan, no ideas, and no facts, unfortunately. Supplementary. Well, Speaker, the people of Ontario certainly know what they're paying for when they pay for the Liberal Boondoggle in the electricity system these days. Does the Acting Premier think that families and businesses in Ontario are being well-served when private power speculators are profiting from electricity that Ontario ratepayers are subsidizing, Speaker? That's a fact. Does she support that? Thank you. Mr. Speaker, the private sector has been investing tens of billions of dollars in Ontario energy in various ways, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to ask the leader of the third party where will she find that type of investment in the future in government? Where will the money come from? But most importantly, she refers to hydro rates, Mr. Speaker. I don't know where the NDP get their figures from, but Hydro Quebec conducts a study of electricity prices in major North American cities every year, Mr. Speaker. It's available on their website for anybody to look at. Here are some of the numbers from the 2013 Comparison for Residential Customers. Ottawa, $0.12.39 per kilowatt hour. Toronto, $0.12.48 per kilowatt hour. Edmonton, $0.13.9 per kilowatt hour. Calgary, $0.14.81. Halifax, $0.15.45. Detroit, look across the border, $0.15.54. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Final supplementary. Speaker, other provinces are actually making money on exporting electricity and passing the savings on to consumers in their jurisdictions. But here in Ontario, it's costing us over a billion dollars for private power speculators to dump our power into the U.S. and people are paying the highest bills in the country. Now, we simply cannot afford that any longer, Speaker. Does the Acting Premier agree that the status quo isn't working and it's time to take hydro sales out of the hands of private power speculators and start saving money for Ontario's ratepayers? Thank you. Mr. Remigy. Mr. Speaker, we provided a briefing on the export of electricity to the critic for the third party. He obviously has not briefed his leader, Mr. Speaker, because last year alone, Mr. Speaker, exports reduced costs for Ontarians by $300 million in 2013, Mr. Speaker. And it's been billions over the last decade, Mr. Speaker. And again, I want to repeat the numbers. She just said again, we have the most expensive electricity rates in Canada. You know what, Mr. Speaker? She will not... The numbers belie that statement, Mr. Speaker. I just read the numbers, city by city, and I didn't finish them across the border. The accusation that we're selling cheap electricity across the border. Mr. Speaker, in Detroit, they pay 15.4 cents. Boston, 16.5 cents. New York, 21.75 cents. Our rates are extremely competitive, Mr. Speaker. New question, the leader of the third party. My next question is also to the acting premier, and I think it's pretty clear that Liberals play with figures quite a bit. The only figures that are important to Ontarians are the figures they see when they open their hydro bill. They're paying the highest electricity bills in the country, in fact, they're looking for some relief, Speaker. And all they see is a bloated alphabet soup of agencies and executives that are collecting even more bloated pay packages. Other provinces are able to provide lower rates, Speaker, and even turn a profit on their exports at a fraction of the cost, which is an important factor, Speaker. Does the acting premier think that her current status quo is actually working for Ontarians? Deputy Premier. Well, Speaker, we're very focused on the issue that the leader of the third party raised, and that is that people are feeling stretched, and when they do open those hydro bills, there's cause for concern, and that's why we've taken the steps we have. The clean energy benefit, Speaker, has saved Ontarians an average of $174 per year, and since we introduced it, saved Ontario rate payers $2.4 billion. On top of that, Speaker, decisions that have been made will save, I mean, customers will pay $520 less over the next few years than compared to previous estimates, Speaker. So that's amending the domestic content rules. It's updating the new, the Samsung contract is not proceeding with new nuclear. A range of decisions have been made that have an impact of reducing those hydro bills. Thank you. Supplementary. Speaker, the Liberals have been promising to cap public sector CEO pay four years now, but when they had an option to vote for a public sector CEO pay cap, they voted against it, Speaker. For over 10 years, the Liberals have insisted that they won't tolerate sky-high hydro salaries, and for over 10 years, the sky has been the limit, Speaker. What explanation can the Acting Premier offer to the families and businesses who are stuck paying the bills for these sky-high salaries? Deputy Premier? You know, Speaker, we look closely at what opposition parties present in terms of policy ideas, and sadly, there's not much to learn from the NDP policy on this. What their approach will do very little to reduce, in fact, to do nothing to reduce rates for people. They seem to oppose nuclear. We're not sure where they are in green energy. I think the only thing that the NDP actually are in favor of when it comes to producing power, Speaker, is durable power. I think their idea must be a bunch of little rodents on little wheels producing power because they seem to be opposed to every kind of electricity generation. So, Speaker, I think it's time we heard from the NDP. What is their plan? What is their plan for power production in the province of Ontario? Final supplementary. Speaker, what new Democrats are opposed to is liberal waste and disrespect of the people that pay the bills. They owe some pretty simple steps that we could take to make sure that life is more affordable for people who are paying the bills. Perhaps the minister wasn't paying attention. It's time to start cleaning up the mess in our hydro system, Speaker, instead of hiking the pay of million-dollar bonuses or million-dollar bonuses, rather, of those top CEOs. It's time to make the bills a little more affordable for the people in Ontario, Speaker, instead of forcing families to pay for cheaper power in New York. Now, is the acting Premier ready to take some action on this file, or is she going to keep a status quo that isn't working for people and that continues to waste their money and allow CEO salaries and bonuses to climb sky-high? Thank you, Deputy Premier. Mr. Energy. Mr. Speaker, the Deputy Premier alluded to the fact that the third party has no policy on energy. Well, they took the first baby step yesterday, Mr. Speaker, when the leader of the third party sent a letter to the Premier making some suggestions for the electricity system. One of the suggestions, Mr. Speaker, was to issue once a year a $100 check to all the electricity customers in the province. That $100 check, Mr. Speaker, will cost a half a billion dollars. So I have a question for the leader of the third party. Will she get that on the rate base from the Ontario Energy Board and let the other consumers of electricity pay for it, or will she get it on the fiscal side and find half a billion dollars? Where will you find half a billion dollars? Raising taxes, or what will you cut? Thank you. A question for the member from St. Henry. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. Minister, are you and the Premier say you're going to push hard to cover the cost of Kaleidiko for 12-year-old Maddie Vanstone and others with cystic fibrosis? It's been seven months since I first raised this issue with you, and what have you done? Nothing. Who do you think you're fooling with this charade? You're the only one who can make this decision. Not Alberta, not the Pan-Canadian Pricing Alliance, but you. You're the health minister. Health care and the well-being of little Maddie is your responsibility. Stop playing games. Stop stringing Maddie and her friends along. Make a decision. Are you going to cover Kaleidiko? Thank you. See you later, please. Thank you. Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. Thank you, Speaker. As a former health minister, you know as well as anyone that these are difficult decisions that come to health ministers. We have taken the politics out of determining what drugs we cover and what drugs we don't based on evidence, Speaker. I can tell you that Kaleidiko is a very promising drug that offers real hope and better outcomes for patients, which is why, Speaker, we are working at a Pan-Canadian level to be able to purchase this drug. I think it's really important that the member opposite understands that we have had great success working on a Pan-Canadian basis to get better prices for drugs. It's time for Vertex, the U.S.-based manufacturer of this drug. A publicly traded company needs to step up and participate in these negotiations. Thank you. Supplementary? Well, Minister, that answer simply isn't good enough. And yes, I am a former health minister in the past. We would cover the drug for extraordinary circumstances. Once we had a number of patients on the drug, we'd work with other provinces and go back and say, we're your number one worldwide customer, give us a better price, and we would often get a better price. You created this Pan-Canadian pricing alliance with you and other health ministers across the country, I guess, can hide behind this. At the end of the debate, no matter what any other province says, no matter what this committee says, you and you alone will make the decision of whether you will find it delighted. So it's the smokescreen you put up. Maddie's not buying it. Other children that need help are not buying it. No one on this side of the house is buying it. And none of your people should be buying it either. At the end of the day, it's your decision. Will you do the right thing? Thank you, Minister of Health. Well, Speaker, I think it's important that the member opposite recognizes that the Pan-Canadian pricing alliance so far has saved us, has saved Canadians $50 million, as they have worked to negotiate the most possible price for 29 drugs. Speaker, what that means is that we can fund more drugs for more people. I do want to remind the former Minister of Health, I have a quote from Hansard here in 1996, Speaker. The Minister of Health then said, as you know, the Minister of Health doesn't directly approve the alternative. The medical committee that's called the Drug Quality and Therapeutics Committee, the same committee that's been around for many years, makes the final determination. Speaker, this member opposite is playing politics. I find that offensive, Speaker. We are doing what we can for Maddie and for all who need access to these drugs. New question? Member from Timmins, James Bate. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Energy. Ontarians look at their hydro bills every day and they see them going up. They see that they're paying the highest bills in Canada, and yet we're going to get another 42% increase as a result of this government's policies. Does the Premier agree it's time to hit the pause button, or the Energy Minister, it's time to hit the pause button on new private power contracts until Ontario's Auditor General reviews the private power contracts in Ontario? Thank you, Minister of Energy. Mr. Speaker, we have a hybrid system in Ontario. The OPG and Hydro One do major investments in Ontario. The private sector also invest in Ontario. Mr. Speaker, the private sector is a big part of the billions of dollars of investments in the sector. As the leader of the third party, this particular member, Mr. Speaker, where will you find the replacement investment dollars? Do you know how much you will have to replace in Ontario an energy investment if the private sector is not investing? Please answer the question. Thank you. Supplementary. Mr. Speaker, this coming from the government that cost the Ontario ratepayers over a billion dollars for cancelled contracts in this province is a bit much. What's clear here is that the government has messed up this entire file. And what we're saying, you've got to put the pause button on the continuation of putting out these contracts. So I ask you again, will the Premier and their government agree to have the Auditor General look at all of Ontario's private power contracts to ask whether we can get a better deal? I'm going to ask the supplementary dialogue that's going on between the two caucuses to stop while the question is being put. Minister of Energy. Speaker, I've said on a number of occasions we have three priorities, equal priorities, Mr. Speaker, to have a reliable system. We did not have a reliable system when this government took over. Secondly, to have a clean system. Remember, from the first grade, no one's sound comes to order. And thirdly, to have affordable electricity rates in the province of Ontario. Mr. Speaker, our $31 billion of investment put pressure on our hydro rates and we've created price mitigation measures to help the residents of this province, Mr. Speaker, including the Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit, which that party voted against. I would like to know if you're informing your constituents of the programs that are available to mitigate their price in terms of tax credits, particularly in the north. And I speak to this member, Mr. Speaker, because they are getting a lot of credits and it's making a big difference in price mitigation to your constituents. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Transportation. Speaker, like many days this morning I got on the GO Train to come to work and I can tell you it was standing room only on the GO Train. A testimony to the popularity of GO Transit in my writing. And, Speaker, it's also a testimony to the way suburbs like Mississauga are being transformed because of the investments made by the Liberal government in public transit. So would the Minister please tell this legislature the string of investments we have made in and around Mississauga when it comes to GO Transit? Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Minister. Congratulations on infrastructure. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. We have now taken our trains from 10 train units to 12 train units. We have added more trains now on the Milton Line, which is a very popular line. We are now adding and expanding parking facilities and better integrating and coordinating with the regional and local transit authorities. The totality of investments at this point in GO are now will within the next year be over $10 million. It's the largest expansion of GO. We are also working with the region of Piel and the city of Mississauga in communities for what we're calling huburbia, which are to actually bring more jobs and create employment sectors, and that's a collaboration of that. I want to give a shout out not just to the member, but also to Mayor McCallion and our friends in Mississauga who are leading the re-urbanization and expanding the employment base in jobs. Thank you. Thank you, Speaker. And I want to thank the Minister for that very comprehensive answer. Now, Speaker, the fact of the matter is that as much as popular as the GO train is for bringing people from Mississauga into Toronto, the reality is that people in Mississauga today are increasingly working not just in Toronto, but across the GTA. Across the GTA, you know, I have my constituents going to Hamilton, going to Orangeville, going to Vaughan. I want to ask the Minister what investments he is making in transit across southwestern Ontario, because I know this is important for my constituents. Thank you. Thank you, Minister. Thank you very much. Mr. Speaker, I had the great pleasure of joining my friend, the member for Ancaster Dundas Plambora Westdale, which not only has a long name, but now has long trains going into Hamilton. We were there for the unveiling and the construction start of the new Hamilton GO station, which is an architectural jewel. And we were looking at it right beside what we now call the Unistation, the old Grand Trunk Station, and that is amazing. We're going to have four more trains going into Hamilton, and we're now moving ahead with the acquisition of track between Aldershot and Hamilton to get Hamilton fully integrated into the Lakeshore line. And Mr. Speaker, it doesn't stop there. I want to give a special shout out to my friend from Kitchener Centre and Regional Chair Ceiling and Mayor Zair of Kitchener, who approved yesterday the final approvals for the Kitchener Waterloo LRT, which will connect to our new GO service. And this is a big, big day in Kitchener, and I want to thank my friend Minister Malloy for his leadership on this. New question, the member from Central North. Thank you very much. Thank you. My question, Speaker, is to the Minister of Training College Universities. And, Minister, yesterday I introduced the Saving the Apprentices Job Act. The bill will save over 95,000 apprentices' jobs because of a deadline of April the 8th that requires apprentices to join the College of Trades. And you may note that right now only approximately 10,000 of 95,000 apprentices have actually joined the college. That leaves only four weeks for the remainder to join or to lose their job according to the regulation. As well, the bill also allows 4,300 journey person candidates who have not written their C of Q to continue working without an expiry date. This bill will be debated on April the 3rd. I'm asking you, Minister, if you can't intervene between now and April the 3rd, if you will support this bill and even in a second. You see the case? You see the case? Thank you. Minister of Training College and Universities. Speaker, the member raises an important challenge for the College of Trades that I know that Mr. Tabuchi and Mr. Johnson are working very hard on. In fact, I met with them on this very issue about a week or so ago. And they have put forward they have given a year of grace period for apprentices to join the college, and they're looking at this potential deadline in April as a challenge for them as well as they work towards getting more and more apprentices to join. I guess the challenge I have is why would the member come forward with a piece of legislation? All he has to do is pick up the phone and contact David Tabuchi, somebody who I think he knows very well. Somebody who this side of the house has a lot of respect for. Instead, Mr. Speaker, the member decides that instead of picking up the phone and talking to Mr. Tabuchi about some suggestions he may have, he decides to try to hatch it, Mr. Tabuchi, by putting forward provocative legislation of this legislature. That's not a good way to deal with this issue. Thank you, supplementary. Can't do all your work. Thank you for that. I guess that was an answer. Minister, on this side of the house we're creating one million jobs not driving away jobs of bureaucracies like the College of Trades. I'm not sure why you don't take this more seriously. I shouldn't be having to call David Tabuchi. I mean, that's your job is to figure that out. I have a letter dated February the 21st to apprenticeship sponsors from your five directors, from your staff, minister, and it clearly states in a quote, if your apprentices fail to renew their membership until April the 8th, 2014 their college membership will expire and the registered training agreement will be cancelled. This means you will no longer be able to train them as apprentices, and they will not be able to work in the compulsory aspect of their trade. There are at least 85,000 apprentices counting on you and they have not joined the Ontario College of Trades. Are you going to allow this to happen or will you join with me to make this happen? Mr. Speaker, this is another in a long line of attempts from the member opposite to try to assert the power of the College of Trades and bring it back to Queens Park where these decisions could be made in smoky back rooms in the Albany Club. Mr. Speaker, we're not going there. We have faith in Mr. David Tabuchi, a former cabinet minister in this legislature, in the very cabinet that his leader served in. A former PCMPP from this legislature. We know Mr. Speaker, the College of Trades is facing challenges from time to time and this is one of them. I have faith in those two gentlemen unlike the member opposite who time and time again tries to do a hatchet job on the hard work that those gentlemen are doing. I have faith in them that they will resolve this challenge as they have every other challenge that that member has brought forward to this legislature. Can you put the fear mongering away? Stay in place. New question. New question, stop the clock. Stay in place. Nice and easy. New question. The member from Bramble League or a moment. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the acting premier. Speaker, during the 2015, TO 2015 quarterly report media conference, the 2015 CEO said that hugely erroneous estimates for the games were in the security bid book. However, as he was not a part of the process he did not know what the elements were in determining the cost to be the cost of 113 million. But, Mr. Speaker, we believe that the new CEO was not briefed by the new chair of the board who was handpicked by the former premier to lead the Toronto 2015 bid. Thank you, Deputy Premier. Thank you, Minister of Finance. Mr. Speaker, I am very confident in the new CEO of the Toronto 2015 and the work that he is doing. He has actually been very familiar with the budget of 2015. He has been actively involved with the Ministry of Community and Security looking at ways that we are going to do to protect the interests of the public. They are doing what is necessary to do just that and I am very proud of the work being done by our ministry in association with 2015 and their team as well. Thank you, supplementary. Mr. Speaker, we have seen how completely out of touch the current security costs are with what was in the bid book. Many more questions now are raised about the other costs in total. So, 16 months to go, we have signed a security contract. The private security contracts have not been signed and if we haven't signed a security contract, we will have a loss when you actually get to it. The Vancouver based security firm that is in the running worked on the G20 and it was one of the companies that didn't even have an Ontario license. It is paid, it is fine, but do you think it is appropriate, Mr. Speaker that a company that has blatantly disrespected the laws of this province of this country are in the running? Speaker, will the acting premier commit right now to directing the actual laws and the bid book to determine how far off we really are? Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. Speaker, the minister of correctional services. And I want to thank the member for his question. 113 million, Mr. Speaker, was based on our best assessment of security needs four years ago. So, since 2009 much has changed. Games plan have progressed so have security plans also. So, our current estimate cost is 239 million. This old process is added by the Ontario provincial police. There are expert there. They have take advice from other communities across the world where they have hosted such an event. And you know if security threat, right now the security level is very low. So, if the security to answer raise, you know we will react accordingly. So, we are not going to gamble with the security of our athlete, our coach and our people, visitors and Ontario. Thank you. Thank you very much, Speaker. And my question is for the minister of municipal affairs and housing. Speaker, I had a meeting with the Municipalities Association and Good Roads Combined Conference along with our premier and many of the ministers here in this house. And I can tell you that as a former mayor, I am well aware of and respect the important role that our municipal leaders and our municipalities play in delivering the invaluable services across this province. Speaker, our government's support will be provided by the government to strengthen their communities. And as we continue to work together in improving the lives of all Ontarians, Speaker, through you, I would like to ask the minister if she could update this house on how we are providing the ongoing support to our municipal partners. Thank you. And I want to thank the member for the question as a former municipal councilor myself. I was proud that many members of our government and the opposition indeed came out to attend the Roma OGRA conference here in Toronto. I was able to meet with 25 municipalities from across Ontario to discuss their pressing needs. And though we listen to their concerns regarding land use planning, property assessment and the provincial land tax, we heard their support for the almost $3.2 billion our government's provided in municipal land tax. I see leaders address that they are concerned that this important investment in Ontario may not continue should they become elected. Elected officials worry that a Tory government will bring back the forced amalgamations and the $3 billion in downloading that occurred at the last time the opposition was around. Unlike the opposite, our government believes that a collaborative approach creates a stronger and more productive and respectful approach. I would like to thank the minister for the answer and it is good to know that our government will continue to work with our members that are concerned to them. She mentioned the provincial policy statement and I know that land use planning is not the most exciting most attention grabbing topic but the provincial policy statement provides direction on how land use planning will guide future housing and economic and agricultural development while protecting our environmental heritage such as the green belt. Speaker Earl and northern municipalities worry the changes to the provincial policy statement that will not recognize the unique challenges that these municipalities face so I'm asking through you speaker can the minister explain to the house as to what she's done to ensure that this important guide to development takes these municipal concerns to account. Thank you minister. It is exciting because it ensures the long-term economic prosperity of Ontarians and certainly in northern Ontario that's true as well as southern Ontario and we've listened very carefully to the concerns of northern and rural Ontarians. My ministry undertook extensive consultation with municipalities across the province as well as community groups and aboriginal communities. We gave careful consideration to suggestions from northern and rural stakeholder work groups to ensure that the provincial policy statement is linked and specific needs of these communities. Our government's new provincial policy statement is exciting. It includes rural policies that will help them unlock new economic opportunities and these opportunities will allow a greater range of economic use uses for farms for tourism, home-based businesses which will help Ontario attract new businesses and grow already interesting ones. Thank you. Thank you very much. My question is for the minister of state at the Roma Okra conference minister. You face criticisms from municipalities for your government's total disregard for rural Ontario as demonstrated by your failed green energy scheme and you know what the NDPs can't get a free pass on this either because they talk at both sides of their mouth but the fact is they are supporting something. Time and goal that has been deemed to be unparliamentary, I'd ask you to withdraw. Minister, back to you. I know you will do things differently on a go forward basis just to confuse people. Right now today we have a major issue that can no longer be ignored and that is your continual approval of applications that have been in the queue as well as the extension deadlines for projects facing ERT appeals. Minister, you are choosing to ignore missed deadlines that can serve as off-ramps. Minister, when we don't need the energy and people can't afford the electricity and people can't afford the opportunities. Thank you. Minister of energy. Mr Speaker, there are approximately 255 contracts which have been awarded for renewable projects which are still not completed. The issue has been raised consistently in this house by the opposition and in the first instance Mr Speaker the leader of the third party said that he would cancel those contracts then Mr Speaker he said he would not cancel those contracts then Mr Speaker at the international plowing match he intimated that he would cancel those contracts now Mr Speaker he's really put it in writing he now has the million jobs act and in the million jobs act they are assigning to the Minister of Energy the right to cancel these contracts Mr Speaker contracts that represent 20 billion dollars in energy they are going to expose the province to 20 billion dollars in liability. Minister you're spinning more than a turbine this government claims that it is honest and transparent but the fact is communities that concern citizens are no longer able to find out if a proposed wind project has gone past its commercial operating date therefore violating terms of its FIC contract to be specific this information is no longer on the OPA site it's been removed on purpose Minister when will your government finally be honest and transparent and tell people of Ontario exactly what is going on with your fiasco Thank you Minister Mr Speaker the member spins more than a wind turbine Mr Speaker we have indicated Mr Speaker that we're changing the procurement of renewable large renewable moving forward we're going to have the Ontario power authority to request for proposals of Mr Speaker there will need to be absolutely need to be required of an agreement with the minister of power to move forward with new projects. Mr Speaker the reality is since the first award of contracts for wind and large solar there has been an actual moratorium on wind because we have not issued more wind projects that are already under contract we're going to respect those contracts new contracts for wind Mr Speaker will require a new process Thank you new question the member from London West Thank you Mr Speaker my question is to the minister of community safety and correctional services as the minister knows today three employees at the Elgin Middlesex Detention Centre were charged in relation to the death of an inmate in October of 2013 for years the ministry has known about the problems at EMDC including severe over crowding under staffing and design flaws that prevent direct supervision why is this government failing the inmates families and the correctional officers at EMDC by not addressing the under staffing over crowding and design flaws at the facility Mr Speaker I want to thank the member for a question Mr Speaker I am aware of the charge it would be as she knows it would be inappropriate for me to comment given the ongoing criminal proceeding as well as the ministry's own internal investigation I do want to offer though my condolences to the family and friends of the deceased I know that the ministry take its mandate very seriously to ensure their well-being and health of all those in our custody this government believe that everyone in our custody should be treated with respect and health in human and safe condition despite best effort Mr Speaker violence is a reality for correctional facilities everywhere on a daily basis correctional staff deal with and manage risk of inmate violence thank you Mr Speaker supplementary Minister as far as I am aware there have been frequent lockdowns at EMDC but no changes that will stop a situation like the murder of Adam Cargas from happening again Minister for two years now we've been calling on this government to address the issues at EMDC a class action lawsuit has been filed highlighting the concerns what exactly is the minister planning to do so that overcrowding at EMDC does not lead to another death thank you minister Mr Speaker as I said health and safety of our staff and inmate is a top priority and I have as you know I have introduced a 12 point plan to address concern at EMDC I have met with the union in two occasion and we have done quite a lot of progress we have installed over 300 security camera we have a new control model we have hired 11 additional staff as correctional officer position and we have hired three surgeons and one additional mental health nurses we have now 24 hours nursing that has been established resulting in seven additional nurses we have now an advisory board to volunteer community members and Mr Speaker I will continue to work with the management and the union to improve the health and safety in EMDC thank you new question thank you Mr Speaker I have a question for the person responsible for seniors for constituents in the great riding of Etobicoke north are pleased by a number of the very significant investments our government has made many of which as you'll appreciate are historic Speaker it's important to my residents that our government continue to invest in people infrastructure and that it support a dynamic and innovative business climate I'm pleased therefore that the Ontario senior has created Ontario's first grant dedicated solely to seniors Speaker can the minister please inform this chamber how does the Ontario government continue to work with seniors to establish these valuable programs Minister responsible for seniors affairs Mr Speaker I would like to thank the people from the member from Etobicoke north for a very good question about seniors because I know he's got the seniors in Etobicoke north in his heart and the senior speakers are the reasons why we are here today and I was delighted indeed to announce this very important grant program the seniors community grant program is just one of the many examples and initiatives that our government speaker has introduced to help our seniors to remain engaged, stay within their community active and live as long as possible Speaker to establish one of this program required a lot of hard work in cooperation from various stakeholders senior organizations, individual groups the Ontario senior secretariat and I have to say that on Monday I have met with the Ontario senior to liaison committee that are working very hard in advising the province on how to continue to serve better our seniors Thank you speaker and thank you minister for your dedication I know speaker that constituents of my riding of Etobicoke north appreciate the fact that the Ontario senior secretariat provides a forum for our seniors to voice and discuss important issues that affect them every day during the many events that I attend in my own riding I often get the chance to stop and speak with seniors a common topic that we discuss and maintaining an independent lifestyle as a physician I can tell you that if we are able to empower our seniors to live at home independently active and mobile that's of great benefit Speaker can the minister please inform this house about some of the other initiatives that have been created in collaboration with various seniors groups in Ontario Thank you minister Mr Speaker again I want to thank the member from Etobicoke north thank you Speaker I have to really that it's very comforting and it's very appreciated that we are speaking on behalf of our seniors and we can learn a lot more from our seniors indeed that is why in January speaker along with various seniors group I was very happy to celebrate the one year anniversary of the Ontario action plan for seniors and we constantly speaker we always search for new ways and innovative solutions I want to know all Ontarians how we continue to work closely with our seniors to further enhance and build on our achievement speaker achievements such as the age friendly communities the finding your way wandering preventant program elderly person center the elderly abuse legislation the strong protection for retirement home residents fire protection and much more speaker yes indeed speaker we are the reason why we are working so hard they are our senior new question speaker my question is for the minister of community safety and correctional services minister recently a one-loop firefighter who was diagnosed with a presumptive cancer almost lost his full-time benefits just because he volunteered in another community in response to this news two double-hatter just this week handed in the resignation at the fire department and if action isn't taken soon many more resignations will likely fall at fire halls across the region in fact the local fire association is now advising its members not to volunteer in Willmont Wellesley and Woolwich minister this is a major public safety issue so what steps will you take to keep our rural community safe across this province of Ontario I might say nothing thank you thank you the minister of community safety and security corrections thank you very much thank the member opposite for the question we've had the opportunity to speak on this particular issue and obviously I cannot comment on the specifics of the issue but I have undertaken a speaker to the member opposite to look into broadly what rules are applied from WSIB when it comes to firefighters who may be full-time part-time or volunteer speakers we know that firefighters are vital to keeping our community safe when there's a fire as we all are rushing out they're the one who rush in and every day they risk their lives to protect our life that is why speaker our government has made it easier for full-time, part-time and volunteer firefighters and fire investigators those who suffer fire related illnesses to qualify for workplace as you know we currently presume eight types of cancer and heart related injuries suffered by firefighters presumed to be work related and let's prove it otherwise the last thing a firefighter suffering from cancer should have to deal with is uncertainty regarding workplace compensation but that's exactly what's happening now because of a serious gap in the provincial legislation there are no guidelines in the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act for double-hatter to make up for this deficiency the WSIB has stated that a double-hatter's last employer should be responsible for compensation the trouble with this rule is that the double-hatter could lose their full-time benefits just because they've last fought a fire as a volunteer in a different community minister will you address this legal gap to ensure that full-time firefighters suffering from cancer get the benefits they deserve thank you very much speaker I think all members in the House will agree that when we're talking about protecting the lives of our firefighters we will not for a single second assume or presume or argue on a partisan issue it's not and that's why I've undertaken to the member opposite that I look forward to working with him in identifying what the problem is and if there is one and then working on creating the solutions around it and that's my word and I'm very pleased to see that but speaker we're also very proud in this House and I thank all of the members who have spoken on making sure that firefighters when it comes to conditions are met I'm very proud of the private members will that the member of Vaughan has tabled in adding additional 6 more cancers to that presumptive list and we're working very closely with firefighters to find ways to make that happen as well speaker thank you Mr. Speaker I have a question for the minister of health for my physicians hospital staff patients community activists have been urging this government to prioritize patient care above all else in discussion to merge hospital site in Scarborough and Durham unfortunately the government has chosen to ignore these requests this week physicians are saying the following and I quote a successful long-term mergers becomes that much more difficult if patient services are not protected in the short term can the minister explain how patient care is going to be protected while this merger is being considered thank you well thank you speaker and I have had several meetings with members of from the Scarborough area on this very issue and I am pleased to know that there's progress being made on developing plans to look at this merger and I can tell you there's been a lot of work done to make sure people the community and medical staff and others understand the implications of a merger and I'm very pleased to know that increasingly there is community support for this kind of change and I assure the member opposite that this is all about improving care for patients this is all about providing better care closer to home for the people of Scarborough answer well already the planning for this merger makes reference to cut to patient services physicians are telling you that quality of care is threatened and I quote this merger represent a betrayal of our commitments to our patients and the communities we serve and puts at risk the program that delivers patient care I ask the minister will she commit to preserving patient care at the highest priority while this merger is being considered I can absolutely assure the member opposite that this is all about improving patient care full stop period my question is for the Attorney General I am pleased to hear that just last week the settlements were approved by Justice Conway for the regional and the southwestern regional center class actions the settlements will provide access to compensation for harm that may have been suffered by former residents of south weather regional center and regional between 1963 and 2009 I am also pleased to hear that the government has taken steps to commemorate former residents of these two centers and their experiences Attorney General please provide this house with more details about the settlements and the commemorative aspects for the former residents of southwestern regional center thank you Attorney General when the Aronia settlement was made about three or four months ago both the minister of community and social services and I instructed our respective staffs and the ministry of attorney general and comm sock to work out the other two settlements as quickly as possible and they've done that speaker because I think although we can't change the past in the way in which some of these people are being treated at these various institutions we will continue to do everything as a government to make sure that people regardless of their abilities or disabilities are respected with compassion dignity and respect and so I'm very pleased to say that these cases have been settled now a retired to Supreme Court of Canada justice will be making the final determinations with respect to the some of the more unusual cases that have developed in these situations the documents that were produced during the lawsuit will be preserved in the archives of Ontario and former residents as I mentioned before who wish to obtain their personal case files can do so by contacting the ministry of the community of social services speaker what happened there shouldn't have happened we hope that the people that were involved can now find some dignity and respect back in their lives from the settlement minister of community safety and corrections I would like to correct what I've said my colleague told me that I said that we have hired three surgeon in EMDC it's three sergeant so I apologize for my accent thank you it is a point of order and all members know that they're allowed to correct their own record there are no deferred votes this house stands adjourned until 3pm this afternoon