 It is now time for Question Period, the Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the acting Premier. On May 12th, the Minister of the Environment said, Home heating is going to have to come from sources other than natural gas. This week the member from Beaches East, York, said, This is about getting people off fossil fuels and on to electricity. Mr. Speaker, this government is forcing the people of Ontario to convert from natural gas to electricity for home heating. Mr. Speaker, that will mean the families will have to pay an additional $3,000 a year to heat their homes. To the acting Premier, Mr. Speaker, does this government really think that Ontario families can afford $3,000 more a year on the already exorbitant bills? Thank you, Speaker, and I want to say thank you to the Leader of the Opposition for asking this question because it gives us an opportunity to very clearly say we are not forcing homeowners off natural gas. Full stop. Full stop, Speaker. The question is based on a twisting, Speaker. They're twisting the torquing, trying to rile people up. We are not forcing people off natural gas. Thank you. Supplementary. Mr. Speaker, again to the acting Premier, and obviously the acting Premier is going to need to explain their new position on natural gas to the Minister of the Environment and to the member for Beaches East, York. So back to the government's plan to eliminate natural gas and what it's going to mean for Ontario's small businesses. James Union employs 21 people in North Bay, owns a company Bavarian Link Meat Products. His electricity costs are more than $110,000 a year. The second largest cost after salaries to keep costs down, he says they cook mostly with natural gas. He said if he could reduce hydro cost by 50%, he could expand his business and create new jobs. But not only are hydro rates going to keep him from expanding his business, the plan to eliminate natural gas will kill jobs and put him out of business. So Mr. Speaker, the question to the acting Premier is, come clean on your plan. Thank you. Do you remember from Chad and Kent Essex, come to order? If you say it again, you'll get a second one. Deputy Premier. So Speaker, let me try again. We will not be forcing people off natural gas. Full access to natural gas, which is great news and I actually think the leader of the opposition. All of you are not helping me. The member from Leeds-Grandville will come to order and the member from Prince Edward Hastings will come to order. I've got a good memory and I also got keen ears and if you say it again, you'll get a second. Please. I think the leader of the opposition needs to support our expansion of natural gas into communities that do not have the benefit of that. The member from Leeds-Grandville, second time. You have one wrap-up sentence. We will not be forcing people to eliminate natural gas. We will not. The member from here on gross, come to order. Final supplementary. Mr. Speaker, it's almost comical seeing the Liberal Cabinet twist and turn on this position and maybe the acting Premier can inform the Minister of the Environment that his plan is no longer supported by the government. Mr. Speaker, how else can the acting Premier explain this liberal natural gas leak? Because according to the Globe and Mail, this government plans on eliminating natural gas. Are you saying, Mr. Speaker, is the acting Premier saying the Globe and Mail article was incorrect? Because it is very clear that this will cost jobs. It is very clear that this would be disastrous for Ontario. So if the Globe and Mail article is incorrect, I expect the acting Premier to say that very clearly because the statements by the Minister of the Environment are a direct contradiction to what's acting. Thank you. Deputy Premier. So, Mr. Speaker, let me try this one more time and access to natural gas. The Leader of the Opposition and his caucus, we just should be celebrating this clarity. I speak for our entire government. The member from Renfrew come to order and I'm about maybe 60 seconds away from going to warnings and some of you are close enough to get named. We will have no doubt about it. We will have order. So, Speaker, the opposition party can stop their worrying about this. Answer. We will not be forcing anyone off natural gas. In fact, we are expanding access to natural gas. Thank you. A new question. The member from Nipissing. Thank you and good morning, Speaker. My question is for the Deputy Premier. This government would have us believe that there's nothing it can do or could have done to mitigate skyrocketing hydro costs. But now we know that's simply not true. More gas plant scandal documents related to the Samsung deal now reveal a very different story. They outline that when Samsung missed their deadlines, the government could have walked away from the multi-billion dollar deal for nothing. The ministry states the savings would have been about $30 a year on the average residential bill. Instead, the government did what was best for the Liberal Party and not for the people of Ontario. Speaker, my question is why did the government choose their corporate friends over the interests of Ontario ratepayers? Dear Minister of Finance. Mr. Finance. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our government is indeed committed to renewable energy. And we've built a strong track record with many successes. The successes, of course. Member from Chattanooga, Essex, second time. Finish. Mr. Speaker, because of the programs that we've instituted, we're creating well-paying manufacturing jobs across the province. In fact, the Minister of Energy was in Tilsenberg a few weeks ago where he announced a new export agreement with Siemens Canada. We're building wind turbine blades that will be exported to the U.K. That's 300 well-paying jobs at that facility and 600 other indirect jobs that are supported by that project. And at the same time, as the opposition has pointed out very clearly this morning, our government has also taken action to reduce overall electricity system costs, renegotiate with the Green Energy Investment Agreement, saving $3.7 billion. Back to the Deputy. The gas plant scandal documents are clear. It notes Samsunga's quote, missing multiple milestone deadlines, and this quote triggers the province's ability to terminate without penalty through existing termination clauses. Speaker, the document further states, quote, the ministry is now proposing to eliminate much of the existing agreement. The ministry argues that doing so would save the Ontario tax rate payers as much as $5.2 billion. But instead of taking the ministry's advice and doing right by Ontario's family, they only cancelled, as the minister just said, $3.7 billion worth. The government left $1.5 billion on the table. I ask the same question. Question. Why did the government choose their corporate friends over the interests of Ontario's rate payers? Thank you, minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, in fact, the Ministry of Energy did indeed revise the Green Energy Investment Act in 2013. The revised agreement includes protecting the Samsung's agreement and commitments to jobs and adding a commitment to solar manufacturing jobs in 2016, reducing the agreement's total commitment for renewable projects from 2,500 megawatts to 13 and 69 megawatts, and requiring Samsung to obtain municipal council support resolutions for renewable energy projects before moving forward. Samsung has now opened four manufacturing plants across the province, which will create 900 indirect jobs. All of the projects contracted now are online, and the Samsung agreement has resulted in local benefits as well, including Samsung's $11.5 million program for the benefit of the community of Chatham-Kent, and Samsung has partnered with the Canadian solar, dopant, and London solar plant. The member from Chatham-Kent, Essex, is warned. Oh, no, you can't just blurt it out. The agreement is ongoing, and the ongoing portion of that agreement is more manufacturing plants, more solar panels, and it's supplying the projects which is solely needed in our province. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Back to the Deputy. These gas plant scandal documents continue to paint a picture of the inner workings of the Liberal government. They show the government could have terminated the remainder of the Samsung deal and saved the ratepayers $5.2 billion and brought relief to hydro bills. But the document went on to say, contrary to what the minister just said, quote, Ontario has more generation capacity than it requires, and the ministry presents this rationale for not proceeding with future phases, quote. The bureaucrats knew that walking away was in the best interest of the people of Ontario, but the government only cancels a part of the deal and leaves a billion and a half dollars on the table. I ask again, why did this government choose their corporate friends over the interests of Ontario? The government, the deputy house leader is the deputy house leader second time. Minister. Speaker, the government is choosing emissions-free technology, emissions-free emissions, and more jobs with the people of Ontario. That's what's being created by the ongoing agreement with Samsung. 90% emissions-free is now being generated through wind, solar, nuclear, hydro electricity, and bioenergy, and 42,000 more jobs are being created as a result of 30 wind and solar manufacturing operations in our communities. Mr. Speaker, we are improving overall system cost beyond the negotiation of the Samsung agreement, which is saving $3.7 billion over the life of the contracted. We mandated annual views of feed and tariff, which pricing will result in repayors' savings of $1.9 billion over the life of those contracts. Moving forward on a procurement of future large energy projects, that process expects to eliminate $3.3 billion additional benefits in the system, saving the average Ontario family $20 annually on their bills, compared to the 2013 long-term projections. We are benefiting the communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for this Premier. I ask the Deputy Premier about the fact that mental health beds across Ontario hospitals are chronically overcrowded. The Deputy Premier shamefully refused to even acknowledge this fact or that we had a problem. But according to the fact, hospitals in Ontario are being stretched to 110, 120 and sometimes 130 per cent of their mental health capacity. I have a simple question that deserves an answer. Will the acting Premier admit that it is unsafe to let hospital occupancy get anywhere near 100 per cent, let alone higher than that? Yes or no? Thank you, Deputy Premier. Speaker, what we do absolutely know is that we must continue to expand services in the community outside of hospitals. We must support our hospitals. That's why we increase funding to hospitals in this budget, Speaker. We are also focusing significant attention and significant funding on building services outside the hospital. One example, Speaker, that I think resonates with everyone in the House, is our commitment to expand palliative care and hospice care in the community. What that means is that people who currently are dying in hospitals can be moved or can be in a hospice in a community setting where they have a much more dignified experience as do their families. That's the kind of healthcare system we are building, Speaker, one where people receive the help that they need in the best possible place. Thank you, Supplementary. Thank you, Speaker. The Deputy Premier says that healthcare should be evidence-based. It should be based on facts. Here are some facts, Speaker, that come right out of the government's book themselves. In the last quarter alone, the hospital in Burlington went as 118 capacity for its mental health bed. In London, 100 per cent. So St. Marie, 100 per cent. St. Catherine in Ottawa, 100 per cent. In Thunder Bay Hospital, one was at 103 and the other at 105 per cent capacity. Will the Deputy Premier look at our own number and admit that Ontario's mental health beds are dangerously overcrowded? I think the difference between the approach that we are taking here and the approach to the opposition, the third party is taking, is that they believe that people are always best served in hospital, where we believe because we recognize challenges, Speaker, we need to expand community capacity. And that is exactly what we're doing. Another way that I'm very proud of the progress that we're making when it comes to people with mental illness is in support of housing. We know that there are people who are in hospital, in mental health beds, who could be better served outside the hospital, in the community. And that's why we're building capacity outside the community to take pressure off hospitals and also, Speaker, to provide the highest quality of care for those particular people. Thank you, Speaker. Well, the Liberals cannot deny the facts. New Democrat obtains through freedom of information the government's own numbers and they reveal that acute care beds are overcrowded throughout our province. They reveal that mental health beds are overcrowded throughout our province. And cutting more nurses, cutting more services, and cutting more beds is only making things worse, not better. It will make things worse for patients in London, make things worse for people and patients in Hamilton, in North Bay, and right across the GTA. When will this liberal government admit there is a silent crisis in our hospital and stop the cuts to frontline care? Thank you. Well, Speaker, the member opposite actually, I thought in the first two questions, we're pretty thoughtful. When she moves to allegations that we are cutting health care, that is where she is completely wrong. And the numbers speak for themselves. This budget alone, we've added $1 billion to health care spending. That is an undeniable fact. Another fact that I think is really important for people to understand is that we are adding nurses. We have added 26,000 nurses to our health care sector, Speaker, over the past 12 years. That is a significant increase in care for patients. And we're getting an outcome, Speaker. In fact, ISIS, the Institute for Clinical Values of Studies has found that our changes in health care has increased the numbers of patients being treated and reduced the average length of stay. Thank you. New question, the leader from the member from Nicobel. Thank you. It's also for the Deputy Premier. Yesterday, I joined my leader, Andrea Horvath, at a hospital in Scarborough. The ER we visited was billed for 20,000 people per year, but is handling 65,000 people. And for half of last year, the Roosevelt Scarborough Hospital was running at over 100% capacity. Health care in Scarborough is stretched really thin, Speaker. Will the Liberal government agree that a very minimum hospital funding should keep up with inflation and the growing population each and every year? Hello, Speaker. What's really important to me is the outcomes for patients, because that's what our whole health care system is all about, Speaker. And the SEIU, and I know there's some people from SEIU here today, and welcome to the Legislature on the Canadian health care system in 2014. And the conclusion they came to was this. When it comes to spending our health care dollars wisely and efficiently, Ontario and Quebec are in the front of the pack, Speaker. The Fraser Institute's report on wait times revealed that Ontario has the second shortest overall wait times in Canada. And in fact, we've gone from the worst to the best when it comes to hip and knee replacement, cataracts, cardiac arrest, radiation oncology, MRIs, CT scans and ultrasounds. So, Speaker, what matters to me is that patients are getting the care they need more quickly with a higher level of quality, Speaker. As I've said before, the system is in transport. Supplementary. Well, yesterday we met their cardiologist. He told us that the lack of funding for their cardiac hospitalization lab at Centenary Hospital means patients cannot get the preventative cardiac care that they need. And because they don't get the corrective care, they need upending more invasive, more high-risk surgery down the road. Will the acting Premier stop the cuts to our hospital so that patients can get the access they need and the hospital care they need? Speaker. Thank you. Deputy Premier. Well, Speaker, I mean, it's interesting that we're, I guess, we'll be talking a lot about Scarborough over the next little while. But I do want to say that our candidates, our members- The member from Hamilton Mountain Commdor have been very strong advocates for the health care system. Like me, they are committed to a health care system that puts patients first. So, Speaker, we are increasing our investment in health care every single year. We have done that. They are making claims that simply are not true about cuts to our system. The reality is hospital funding has increased by 53% since 2003. We are increasing funding for every single hospital in the province of Ontario this year. That's part of our $1 billion increase to health care spending. So when we are increasing funding in Scarborough, $4.5 million for Rouge Valley Health System, $2.9 million in Scarborough, $2.6 million at Laketon, Tameka. Thank you. We're making- Final supplementary. Hospital throughout the GTA are overcrowded. Centenary Hospital in Scarborough is only one of so many examples. The ER sees three times more patients than it was built for. More often than not, there is no acute care beds available to admit anybody from the ER. Doctor feels that the system is stretched beyond the limit. This is a health care system in crisis, Speaker. When will the Deputy Premier admit that the crisis in health care and stop the cuts to our hospitals? Thank you. That's the Premier. Well, Speaker, once again, I think there are facts here that are actually indisputable. There are no cuts to hospitals. There is in fact a significant increase to hospital funding this year, Speaker, and we have increased funding in the past as well. We are getting outcomes for patients that are demonstrating that people who work in our health care system are working very, very hard to provide better quality of care. We're seeing infection rates coming down in our hospitals. We're seeing higher quality of care in our hospitals. The impact of the Excellent Care for All Act is actually visible now as hospitals report improvements in quality of care. That's what patients are looking for. They want access to care in a timely way, and when they get their care, they want it to be of the highest possible quality. Thank you. No question. The members are going to feel encouraged. Yesterday's Auditor General's report was quite stunning on the secret union payouts. The auditor said Ontario is an outlier with respect to this use of taxpayer funds. We also found out in this report that there is no evidence of the Ontario government. You want to go? The Deputy House Leader is warned. Finish, please. We also found out that there is no evidence the Ontario government has paid any other public sector union for bargaining costs in Ontario, so just a quick recap. An outlier in Canada. No other bargaining costs were covered in any other sector, and it adds up as well as your net zeros do in Treasury Board. So my question speaker is, are the Liberals ashamed that they took the money from the classroom? Because not only is this not done in any other sector in Ontario, it's a one-of-a-kind deal in the rest of Canada. Despite attempts to be the new PC party, this is a really solid reminder that the old PC party still rules, Speaker. That investing in teachers, investing in professional development has a positive impact on kids in the classroom. So we're proud of our investment in professional development. The member from Prince Edward Hastings will withdraw. I know my rules. To your seat, please to withdraw. Withdraw. Thank you. Look, bring it down a notch. Carry on. My question, does the member opposite really believe that teachers should not? The member from Leeds Grandville is warned. Does the member opposite believe that teachers should not be trained in things like bullying prevention? In how to work with kids with special needs? In how to teach mathematics in a way that improves those math scores? Training teachers is an important part of having a strong education system. The results speak for itself. When they were charged, that graduation rate in high school was shameful, 68%. I can tell you one thing, Bill Davis would never have taken $80 million out of the kids in classrooms. Please finish. Something else Bill Davis never would have done. He would never have threatened kids in demonstration schools for the death and the blind. He never would have cut them off of IBI, ABH wait lists. He wouldn't have ensured that rural schools and urban schools across this province were going to be cut. No, no, no. The party of Bill Davis would never have done that. This is our transportation second time. Now we'll move to warnings and I'll give them out like candy if you want them. Yes, quite frankly, and the ones that have been warned, the next one's a naming. Carry in please. To the Minister of Education. Minister of Education. Yes, thank you very much and I think it's actually time to reflect on how Ontario's teacher unions were originally set up. They were set up as federations who didn't bargain under the Labor Relations Act. They were set up with the capacity department. The member from Renford Nipissing Pembroke is warned. Carry on. They were set up with bargaining departments and with a professional development department. And do you know who set them up that way? That's her David. Minister, I stand you set. New question. The member from Kitchener, Waterloo. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Acting Premier. Last year, the government changed the Government Advertising Act so that they could run partisan governments ads. We see them all the time. As Ontario's nonpartisan auditor general wrote, the government could flood the province with self-congratulatory and self-promotional advertising that would be of little practical use to the citizens paying for it. The new electoral rules will limit anyone who wants to criticise them during an election and the six months before. But they will allow the government to spend millions and flood the province with partisan ads during an election and the six months before. Those are the rules. Are the Liberals so desperate that they'll limit the speech of nonpartisan senators in the province of Ontario? That's right. We're very proud of the legislation that we have when it comes to banning partisan government. The member for Stormrod Dundas and Selkling, Gary, is Warren. He's going to do what I said. Finish, please. One of the first things we did when we were elected in 2003, Speaker, was to actually bring in legislation to ban partisan ads because we had seen such a blatant misuse of taxpayers' money from the previous government, Speaker. So we're proud of that. We're one of the very few jurisdictions in the whole world. Member from Hamilton, East Stony Creek, is Warren. Finish, please. We're one of the few jurisdictions in the entire world to have legislation that bans partisan ad, Speaker, and we're proud of that distinction. Mr. Speaker, the Liberals' new rules don't just limit third-party ads about political parties or politicians. These new rules clamped on any issue of public interest. The new rules will silence climate change groups, nonpartisan citizen groups, parents concerned with autism, people fighting for pensions, or fighting for lower hydro bills, nurses concerned about the cuts in the health care system. All will have their right to free speech limited. At the same time as the government can flood the airwaves and bus shelters and newspaper ad pages with partisan government advertising, can the Deputy Premier explain why there's one set of rules for seniors fighting for pensions and another set of rules for the Ontario Liberal Party? Well, thank you very much, Speaker. It is clearly obvious now that the NDP do not want to reform election financing rule in the province of Ontario. From the beginning, Speaker, from the beginning, Speaker, they are trying to slow down, install the process. Perhaps they want to justify and continue to do their big $10,000 fundraisers like the one they're going to be doing in Ottawa, Speaker. On this side of the House, Speaker, we've heard the public. We want to make sure that we have a system that is transparent and accountable. And that is why, Speaker, we want to, we have tabled this bill and we want to go and listen to Ontarians. And I hope that the members opposite on the NDP side will agree to a unanimous consent motion, Speaker, so that we can start that public hearing process now, so that we can start listening to Ontarians now, Speaker, and through the summer, I ask the NDP, are they going to support the unanimous consent motion or not? Thank you. Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. This question is for the Minister of Finance. Minister, Ontario's financial accountability officer released his economic and fiscal outlook for Ontario. The report forecasts solid growth for the Ontario economy and confirmed the province's budget projection that Ontario can achieve its longstanding commitment to balance the provincial budget in 2017-2018. This balanced budget was first forecast at the bottom of the recession in the budget of 2009-10. Ontario is the only jurisdiction in Canada never to miss a deficit reduction target and to balance according to the schedule set during the recession. Speaker, would the Minister tell the House how the province's stewardship of its finances brought Ontario through the recession and pointed it back into the black? Excellent. Thank you, Minister of Finance. Mr. Speaker, thank you to the member from Newmarket Aurora for that excellent question. I would also like to thank the FAO and take this opportunity to express our gratitude for the work he's done on his report as well. Over the past two years, the Ontario economy has posted solid growth with real GDP rising by 2.7 per cent on average in 2014-2015. Our commitment to build Ontario up ensures stronger growth going forward. In fact, Mr. Speaker, the FAO expects that Ontario's economy will outperform the rest of Canada in 2016 and it continues to grow over the next several years supported by strong gains in international exports and business investment. And equally important, Mr. Speaker, is our progressive fiscal plan is positioned for improving long-term economic sustainability. Thank you. The report from the Financial Accountability Officer has validated the process the province took to getting back to a balanced budget after this fiscal year. Whether bond rating agencies, economists, banks or others, external reviewers have also noted the credibility of Ontario's 2016 budget and fiscal plan. Anyone can slash and burn their way back to a balanced, Mr. Speaker, putting the burden on the backs of those least able to afford it. Ontario grew targeted business sectors and steered a compassionate and responsible path back to balance during the past eight budget cycles. Would the minister outline the key components of the province's budget that enabled Ontario to balance its budget, emerge stronger after the recession, and lead Canada in economic growth here? Mr. Speaker, a very well informed question. Let me be clear, we're on track and on schedule to balance the budget by 2017-18 and the year after that in strategic investments in infrastructure and in services that matter most to the people of Ontario. To mention only a few, we're investing $1 billion more in healthcare, $400 million more to the business growth initiative, and $160 billion over the next 12 years to build roads, bridges, transit and needed infrastructure. The government is committed to beating our targets and coming to balance through a fair and balanced approach as we have been over the last number of years. Mr. Speaker, thank you for the question and thank you to the team on this side of the house. Can you say it, please? The member from the algorithm a little too much. Mr. Speaker, my question is the acting premier. Speaker, yesterday the financial accountability officer confirmed that under this government's economic plan they're not going to be able to fund the natural inflationary growth of healthcare spending. Speaker, this means more nurses will be fired, more surgeries will be cancelled and further cuts will happen to physician services. All these cuts are due to the government's fiscal mismanagement scandal and waste. Speaker, will the acting premier finally admit that due to their incompetence to govern healthcare services for Ontarians will continue to be cut over the next four years? Well, Speaker, as I've said earlier today and the day before and the day before and the day before, we are actually increasing spending when it comes to healthcare. It is a billion dollars more this year than last year and I have to say I don't know anybody who doesn't think a billion dollars more is a cut. So, Speaker, we are going to continue to invest more in healthcare. We're going to continue to make sure our kids get the best possible education. We're going to continue our work to make sure that the most vulnerable in this province has the best opportunities to be successful. We're going to move forward on free tuition for in colleges and universities, for our low and moderate income family speaker. We're going to continue with our agenda and we're going to do it in a fiscally responsible way in a way that gets better value for the dollars that we're spending. Speaker, back to the acting premier. Perhaps the acting premier to see where they're sending the money because it's not reaching the front lines in Ontario and unfortunately today it was announced that Sunnybrook Hospital was was cutting 109 surgery days out of their budget so cuts are happening acting premier but last year this government not only saw cuts to healthcare they fired nurses they cancelled surgeries they cut visits and services yesterday the FAO report brought to light the degree of underfunding the healthcare system is receiving under this government for the next few years not only were hospitals to deal with budget shortfalls they'll also have to deal with the decreased revenues from the Ontario Lottery Corporation this government has cut they have to deal with the high energy rates that are affecting the hospitals hospital in Timmins is concerned that the money they received an extra is not even going to cover the cost of their electricity bills will the acting premier tell Ontarians how many surgeries that will be cancelled and how many nurses will be fired this year due to their underfunding of healthcare. Speaker I'm sorry to hear that the member opposite is falling into the trap of not understanding that when we talk about nurses we need to talk about net new nurses collective agreements are written in a way the layoff noticed our issues even if those nurses are rehired in the heart of the nurses 26,000 net new nurses in our system now even last year thousands of net new nurses were added I do find it strange speaker that the member opposite who asked that question is the same person who stood in the way of us cutting the price of generic drugs in half for Ontarians that action was one example of how we can get better value for money that caucus and that member in particular did not want to cut the price of drugs in half so speaker we're going to continue to do the work we need to do to get best value and best outcomes for patients. Thank you Mr. Speaker my question is to the acting premier Mr. Speaker last year sion rubies act for parental equality past second reading with all party support since then the government has stalled on my bill and there are babies being born to lgbtq parents who are being forced to fight Ontario's discriminatory system for a decade now the courts have told the Ontario government that our parentage legislation is clearly discriminatory it does not recognize that lgbtq families even exist as a result lgbtq parents are forced to adopt their very own children can the acting premier please explain why this government won't pass sion rubies act and is continuing to prevent the children of lgbtq parents from parental recognition thank you thank you to the attorney general in general thank you Mr. President I wanted to thank the member from Park Day Park for our advocacy Mr. Speaker this government remain committed to supporting all Ontario's families and protecting the best interests of children we recognize that modern families come in many diverse forms we are also aware that use of assisted conception method such as IVF and surrogacy are increasingly common Mr. Speaker I spent 14 years in the delivery room and this was not you know the reality of the time I realized that it's many years ago but before any changes are made to parentage loss it is important to hear from as many people as possible about their experience to ensure that we understand the needs and circumstances of all families thank you Mr. Speaker back to the acting premier mr. Speaker this government's inaction on this issue has forced lgbtq parents to take the government to court you're fighting them in court the government apparently cannot figure out whether it's going to concede legislation needs to be changed or whether it will continue to fight equality for lgbtq families this isn't complex mr. Speaker the government should not be fighting this case it's a waste of taxpayers money and time will the acting premier commit ending the discrimination of lgbtq parents and children and pass sign rubies act on parental equality in time for pride month yes or no thank you attorney general mr. Speaker we support the principle underlying the member opposite bill that's why this the ministry of the attorney general in cooperation with other ministries we will be consulting on this important issue on over the coming months until you was served with a constitutional challenge to the birth registration and parental recognition provision in the vital statistic act and children law reform as this case is before the court I cannot comment on it but I can tell you that we're serious about consulting because there is different opinion and we wanted to make sure that we hear from as many families as possible thank you mr. Speaker thank you my question is for the associate minister of health and long-term care may 19th marks personal support worker day a day for us to celebrate the contributions of the approximately 100 000 personal support workers here in Ontario and I acknowledge those that are with us here today I work closely with many psws in my community of Cambridge in the Waterloo region at the Cambridge Memorial Hospital and also in my role as a care coordinator for the community care access centre but speaker more importantly there are many families in my community who rely on and value the important services that psws provide to them daily in fact in the home and community care sector alone nearly 41 million direct hours of publicly funded personal support services are delivered each year speaker can the associate minister please speak to the role that psws play in Ontario and the steps that our government is taking to support them as they serve ontarians thank you thank you speaker and I want to begin by thanking the member opposite for the question I know that as somebody who has worked herself in the front lines she understands the important role psws play and I want to also take the opportunity to recognize some of the psw workers and sei you work um union representatives who are here today and I want to take this opportunity today mr. Speaker on this day to recognize officially the contributions of personal support workers in Ontario and assure the house that our government is committed to building a high quality psw workforce with the capacity to meet Ontario's personal support needs today and for many years to come we as a government have been a leader in recognizing the growing importance of psws in the health system this includes mr. Speaker our psw workforce stabilization structure which will see the base minimum wage for publicly funded personal support services in the home and community care sector raised to $16 and 50 cents an hour thank you speaker and thank you to the associate minister for her work on this file our government steps towards supporting our psws contribute fundamentally to our plan to put patients first across Ontario during my time as a care coordinator I often work together very closely with psws to help manage and improve the health of our shared patients more than 34 000 of Ontario's 100 000 psws deliver care assistance and support to our seniors and other people with complex care needs in their homes and communities we estimate that over 9 000 psws work in hospitals and 57 000 psws work in long-term care homes to continue building up these services it's essential that we work with our partners in the sectors to build deliver question develop a long-term strategy can the associate minister please inform the house of what work is underway to strengthen our government's relationships with psws minister and speaker and thank you also to the member from Cambridge for the supplementary question our government has ongoing plans to work with the sector so that our personal support workers can continue to provide better service for Ontarians and that is why mr speaker we have developed a common psw educational standard which was released in september 2014 to improve the consistency of learning outcomes we have also created the psw training fund which provides up to 10 million dollars annually to support training and education to psws working in home and community care we are committed to a long-term strategy that will serve our psws and we'll build on our initiatives to strengthen the profession and ensure ongoing alignment with the health system transformation agenda and finally mr speaker i just want to thank the psws across this province because they are the glue that hold our healthcare system thank you thank you thank you member thanks uh speaker my question is minister minister of finance minister as you know in your hometown of mississauga they recently voted to ban uber and ridesharing operations all together i want to commend mayor john torrey and members of council support they they brought forward some sensible resolutions that are balanced and protecting consumers while enabling more choice in toronto the reality is now we have ontarius largest city next to ontario's third largest city and brandon may join mississauga where you can get into a vehicle an illegal uber vehicle on one side of the street and then preposterously cross the street and be in an illegal uber vehicle this is not good for consumers it's not good for drivers it's certainly not good for business investment don't you think it's time that we brought in province-wide rules around ridesharing for clarity for consumer protection and to allow good choices for consumers in our province thank you minister of finance thank you mr speaker and thank you for the member for his question thank you also for corresponding with me last week relative to this very issue recognizing that the sharing economy is upon us and i outlined that very clearly in the fall economic statement as well as in our last budget that we must embrace the issues around sharing economy in a way that is fair provides consumer protection provides business protection and that is exactly where we're proceeding we've established a consultant committee to review the effects and the impacts going forward we also recognize the importance of the municipalities and engaging in the licensing some municipalities have operated differently than others when it comes to the sharing economy and with the ridesharing specifically so i recognize the challenges that are before us and i appreciate the member's commitment to the issues and engagement that we have ongoing at the result thank you mr speaker thank you supplementary thanks speaker back to minister night i appreciate the fact that he is as finance minister help move forward insurance products for ridesharing and commend him and encourage him in that endeavor as a minister knows speaker in mississauga there are over a hundred thousand users of uber there are five thousand people on payroll who depend on that income and they had a bizarre system where they had an advisory committee that was dominated by interests from the cab sector and asking uber to get their permission is a bit like asking netflix to get permission from rogers and bell and uh coach go it's just is not going to happen and it's very much last century you may recall that the city of mississauga sent you a resolution asking for the province to intervene and have province-wide standards i think that's a cry for help and it's certainly a good change of benefit consumers across our province so minister we take the advice from that resolution and bring in standards across our province to help move this decision into the 21st century and out of the last yes member robson did highlight the the conditions of that advisory committee that he felt was sort of tilted one way and i understand that that issue we have also established our own uh sharing a common advisory committee to develop an integrated and a coordinated strategy that will promote a level playing field and tax fairness that fosters innovation and support for new business because we don't want to hamper economic ingenuity and increase of economic prowess and we want to protect workers consumers and communities the member opposite cited the fact that we have before us a review for insurance protection of all those that would be safe in those respective vehicles we are doing just that by redefinition of fleet to enable in this case uber and intact to have an agreement to provide for safety for consumers as well as the drivers and we also have a viva that's done another program to support uh drivers so that they're properly insured i have been reviewing what's happened in alberto recognizing some thank you new question remember from Niagara Falls thank you mr speaker my question is to the acting premier the ordinary racetrack will open for its 119 season on may 31st and you're all invited to join me there this racetrack remains the only one in the province that must rely on 250 000 dollars in funding from the town of fort erie there are 29 gaming zones in the province including nagger but fort erie is excluded the racetrack has a business case become self-sufficient it supports thousands of good-paying jobs in my riding 700 direct and 300 indirect jobs it's an important part of the fibric that makes fort erie such a great community the town supports the track visitors support the track everyone in Niagara supports the track will this government support the fort erie racetrack by including them in the nagger gaming zone and returning slots and increasing rates race days at our track thank you to the minister of agriculture food and rural affairs minister of agriculture food and well thank you very much mr speaker and i want to just commend the member for Niagara Falls i know what kind of interest he has in the horse racing industry in the fort erie fort erie area and we do know that the fort erie racetrack of course is the second leg of the very prestigious uh canadian triple crowd the prince of whale stakes and during our recent budget of course my colleague the minister of finance extended the funding for horse racing the province of Ontario from 2019 to 2021 to provide stability to provide stability which is a very important industry particularly in rural Ontario we have 940 race states the province of Ontario the fourth in terms of jurisdiction north america and we'll continue to look at plans for fort erie as we move forward with the integration with the otterian lottery corporation the province of Ontario great supplementary mr speaker back to the acting premier the government claims that the latest horse racing plan will restore confidence to the industry confidence that was lost after the government's last horse racing plan failed we have an incredible amount of development ready to go in fort erie like the canadian motor speedway and fixing the track is the final piece we need to make sure all that development goes forward will this government give the confidence to the people of fort erie and the horse people across the province by including fort erie in the naggard gaming zone returning the slots to fort erie protecting the thousands of jobs there and ensuring the fort erie racetrack can be self-sufficient thank you minister record mr chair read to the minister of finance minister finance uh mr speaker thank you and thank you for the member for the question recognizing the importance of the work that has been done recently to in fact pass legislation to establish ontario racing the ontario racing coalition that represents the entire industry to facilitate us with the respect of funding of a hundred million dollars mr speaker that's now committed to the industry and when it comes to trust it's all about ensuring trust to ensure that the monies that are being established goes to where it needs to go which is to the horses to the breeders to the people on the on the rural communities that will benefit who have not actually been taken benefit to date we are making those changes we are working very closely with the industry under the industry's uh in cooperation and collaboration i'm very proud of the work done by the minister of agriculture to this point we'll continue to work closely and for the benefit of the horse racing community on an ongoing basis thank you new question a member from davenport thank you mr speaker my questions for the minister responsible for seniors affairs mr speaker i know firsthand that in my riding of davenport i'm fortunate to have the number of seniors that i do my question today is on social integration and the participation of older adults in our society the participation of seniors in the community is often seen as an indicator of a productive and healthy society and it is widely accepted that social supports have a strong proactive effective on health however the opposite is also true many seniors may be at low at risk of being socially isolated or lonely this may be due to a number of factors such as living alone death of family members or friends retirement or poor health we know that seniors want to live longer at home and in the community thus the issue of social isolation takes on a new importance a significant issue today across the province mr speaker would the minister inform the house of the work being done by his ministry to address senior isolation with seniors thank you minister responsible for seniors affairs thank you very much speaker i know that the member from davenport speaker it's a very happy to support her of seniors in her community and i want to thank her for the question our government speaker led by our premier is dedicated to assisting seniors in living in a comfortable healthy safe life after retirement to say speaker that sustaining health lifestyles providing information increasing knowledge and provide plans and programs is at the core of our ontario action plan for seniors like the 263 elderly person sender to the tune of 11 and a half million dollar in support speaker centers that are provided every corner of our province delivering healthy and active aging and wellness in the community as a well speaker the seniors community uh answer affairs speakers and the 56 community uh also community friendly community so uh with one and a half million dollars in support speaker the community supplementary thank you speaker and i would like to thank the minister for his response and our premier for the dedication to seniors in davenport and across ontario mr speaker i'm very pleased to hear the many initiatives our government is doing and i look forward to seeing many seniors in davenport and across this province benefit from these many programs i'm especially pleased to learn that we have programs in place to encourage seniors to stay active in their retirement years and i know many of these services are provided by the many wonderful organizations in my riding of davenport given the potential harmful effects of social isolation and loneliness especially in seniors it is important to continue to pursue this issue in order to reduce emotional damage to seniors that may result would the minister please inform the house more about the status of the seniors community grant program thank you minister again i want to thank the member for davenport speaker and uh yes the senior community grant program it's the first grant in the province of ontario dedicated solely a speaker for the benefit of seniors it is intended to give the seniors more opportunity to participate in their communities encourage greater social inclusion volunteers and community engagement for seniors speakers the grant go from my five hundred dollars to eight thousand dollars depending on the stream and it's aimed in supporting a not-for-profit organization under the leadership of our premium speakers the senior community grant program has already supported some five hundred and forty four project and helped about one hundred and sixteen thousand seniors in our province i have to say speaker that the program now it's a permanent program and we'll continue to answer the funding as well speaker now i have to put in a little bit of a plug for the uh for the hardworking staff at ontario senior secretary new question the member from here on this very much mr speaker my question is for the environment minister speaker over the last couple of weeks the minister has flipped and flopped like a fish out of water and just last week the minister suggested in question period that he would cut off natural gas to ontario cities and then when he was called out he backtracked it's on tape and then when the global mail revealed the liberals do in fact have a blueprint to remove natural gas heating from homes in ontario they they backtrack the ministry is now claiming this isn't the government's plan despite outlining his intentions to cut it off last week so speaker is the minister suggesting last week he put his foot in his mouth once again or is he suggesting the document obtained by the globe contains no plan to phase out the residential use of natural gas by 2030 thank you uh mr speaker i've been very clear number one we are not forcing people off natural gas let me say it twice we are not forcing people off natural gas let me say it a third time mr speaker we are not forcing people off natural gas true we are working with natural gas companies and many others on extending services on cogent there is a great deal of enthusiasm for low carbon solutions for homes we will enable that and we will support the choices ontarians make the member opposite has a plan that would cost households a hundred and seven dollars a month mr speaker that's what it would cost to d-link that's what the carbon tax a hundred and seven dollars a month mr speaker and sir is one of bankrupt ontarians mr speaker thank you the government uh house leader on never too late never too late government house leader on point of work thank you speaker speaker i seek unanimous consent to put forward a motion without notice regarding the scheduling of bill 201 the election finances act at committee for the purpose of public hearings during the summer months the government house leaders seeking unanimous consent to put forward a motion without notice do we agree i heard a note i uh i do have a very important note to make for all of us for all of us for all of us it's the last day for the pages our pages our gratitude for the wonderful work you see we can be nice together for people so that you go home happy uh there are no deferred votes this house stands recessed until one p.m. this afternoon