 It is now time for oral questions, and I recognize the leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Oppositions. Thank you, Speaker. Thanks very much, Speaker. My first question this morning is for the Premier. You know, despite repeated warnings, the second wave of COVID-19 is having a devastating impact on our long-term care homes. And the foreign government seems unwilling or unable to provide some basic answers. I'm hoping that the Premier can answer a question that the Minister flip-flopped on yesterday throughout the day. Is there currently a staffing shortage in long-term care homes in Ontario? Minister of Long-Term Care. Thank you, Speaker, and thank you to the member opposite for the question and the opportunity to clarify. The staffing crisis was existing as we came to govern in 2018. It was pre-existing. And our Ministry of Long-Term Care that was formed in the summer of 2019 began to work aggressively on this with the report of Justice Gilles. So acknowledging the pre-existing staffing crisis. So there is one effort going on there to stabilize that, the entire sector, but another area where we deal with each home that is under outbreak or at risk for some reason to make sure we have the lens on that home every single day to understand whether their staffing is short up. Because as you recognize, as homes do go into outbreak, some of the staff may have to isolate at home. Response? And so it is really a two-pronged approach. And so I know that it's been referred to as a flip-flop. I would like to just say that this is not a flip-flop. It's a clarification and an understanding. Thank you. Well, Speaker, I'll get to the effect of testing that's not going very well in this province on the outbreaks in long-term care in my next question. But for this question, the Minister yesterday actually insisted in this legislature that there is not a staffing crisis in long-term care. Yet within the hour she was insisting to reporters that she never even made such a claim. The government's own bureaucrats, a hand-picked committee by this Minister, and actually the Long-Term Care Commission as well, has known that there is a 6,000-person shortage of PSWs in long-term care in our health system. The Minister refused to actually articulate that number when asked about it in Estimates Committee the other day. So the question is, why is the Ford government so utterly incapable of being honest about the shortage of staffing in long-term care? Let me ask the Leader of the Opposition to withdraw the unparliamentary comment. Mr. Long-Term Care to reply. Thank you, Speaker. So once again I will repeat, there are two issues here. The first is a sector-wide shoring up that needs to be done. And that's why our government has taken the steps that it has, $461 million to increase the per-hour wages of our personal support workers in long-term care. That's why we put out another $30 million to hire IPAC specialists and provide that training. That's why this is ongoing to provide the support that is needed to our long-term care homes. And then the other issue is the day-to-day analysis and basically scrutiny of our long-term care homes so that we have a fine lens on the homes that are at risk. And this is exactly what we're doing, putting dollars behind it, developing a complete staffing strategy which will be informed by the expert panel that has already provided its report. That staffing comprehensive staffing strategy will be complete in December but we continue to work on a day-to-day basis. We're not waiting for that. And that's why we continue to work with other ministries including the Ministry of Health to take the measures necessary as we move forward. Thank you. And the final supplementary. With all due respect, I beg to differ. In testimony made public this week at the Premier's Long-Term Care Commission, workers in long-term care, the people on the front lines who know what's actually going on on the ground talk about their frustration as this government ignored their pleas for help all through the summer. And I'm going to make a quote from their testimony. When we met with Minister Fullerton in February, she was very clear to us that she had a staffing commission, that she knew that there was a crisis that we need to fix. Her very own hand-picked staffing commission released their report on July 30th and that report has sat on the shelf and not one thing has been implemented. That's from the testimony to the commission, Speaker. So when will the government stop running away from the tough questions and admit that their attempts to save money through the summer has meant that seniors have been put at more risk once again in long-term care? And the Minister of Long-Term Care. Thank you, Speaker. I reject the premise of that question. We have continually worked since day one to address the staffing crisis that was long neglected by the previous government and supported by the opposition today. So we have acknowledged this. We've listened to our sector. We brought in four emergency orders. We brought in regulatory amendments. We worked with our and consulted with the long-term care sector to understand what their needs were to be flexible and to be vigilant with this. We have the expert panel informing the recommendations. That is constantly being worked on. There are many things that go on on a regular basis day to day with multiple ministries working with the Ministry of Health as the lead for the PSW reform piece. We know and acknowledge and we've listened and we've collaborated. And we continue to do that not only for ongoing to provide the necessary staffing for capacity but also to deal with the urgent COVID situation. This has been ongoing. We've never stopped. The next question, the Leader of the Opposition. Thanks, Speaker. My next question is also for the Premier. You know, every family, every single family who's lost a loved one in long-term care deserves answers to what the heck has been going on. Yesterday, the Minister walked away rather than provide those answers. That same Minister only days ago brushed aside all these horrible deaths in long-term care as simply, you know, similar to a bad flu season. And for months, she's ignored the pleas that have been coming from frontline workers and long-term care operators. Is this the Premier's plan to actually deal with the problems in long-term care, delay, dither and deny that there's actually a crisis happening? Mr. Long-term Care. Thank you, Speaker. Well, I appreciate the chance to clarify. Certainly, as a physician, as a parliamentarian, I lead with my head and my heart. Both, we need both to be analytical and compassionate. And this is something that we need to understand the data. My reference was to understanding the vulnerability of our residents in long-term care previous years and under COVID. And the fact that, you know, this has been happening previous years and nothing's been done about it until our government has come and put the lens on long-term care, I think that speaks volumes to the commitment that our government and that I have to our most vulnerable people in society. To look at, you know, the questions that I've been asked for months, I'm happy to answer those questions. I'll continue to answer those questions. I will bring decorum and responsibility and transparency, and we will continue to answer questions, whether it's in estimates, whether it's in the chamber, whether it's through other investigations of the Commission, I will continue to do my work every day. Thank you. Well, Speaker, somehow dodging questions at a press conference doesn't look like transparency to very many people. There's a crisis in long-term care, and the minister can't run away from that. Over the summer, they didn't hire the staff necessary to deal with the problems in long-term care. And they didn't prepare for the increased testing that was necessary. Today, the Globe and Mail reports that testing delays have had a devastating impact on long-term care, a devastating impact, with homes waiting literally days to get results. So the minister talks a good game about all the stats and all the data, but what's not happening is results on the ground. They can't get the testing back. They can't get the test results back. Days and days are going by while they wait for the test results, and this means they're losing opportunities to identify the outbreaks while they wait. So is the Premier ready to finally admit that the government's delay in denial is putting seniors at risk? Thank you, Speaker, and thank you for the question. The testing is ongoing, and I can tell you that the surveillance testing in our long-term care homes is creating a stabilization in the homes across Ontario. 58, 59 homes considered in outbreak have zero resident cases. An outbreak is defined as one resident or one staff member who has tested positive, and in 59 of those cases, it's a staff member isolating at home. We are confronting the issues in long-term care that have been so badly neglected for decades, and I brought my personal experience, my professional experience, to politics because I care about long-term care, and we can make a difference. This COVID-19, it's unprecedented, and it's happening in our long-term care homes across the world, but we are making progress. We are working with our best experts in Canada and across the world, and we have experts here informing us, and I appreciate... Thank you. Thank you very much. The final supplementary. Well, Speaker, instead of planning for the second wave, the Premier is sitting here and watching more outbreaks come through long-term care. He's watching the outbreaks take hold once again, especially in the for-profit facilities, where it always seems that profits take the front seat while care for the residents is shoved aside. Instead of admitting that we're actually in a crisis in long-term care, the Ford government's comparing COVID-19 to the flu, and the Minister has nice words, but it's not an improvement. 821 cases today, but backlog of 24,000 cases, only 24,000 cases were actually... a test were actually done. 87 long-term care homes in outbreak. 1,907 people died in long-term care. And yesterday, instead of giving people answers and family members' answers and frontline workers' answers, the Minister ran and hid. Why is this Premier so incapable of admitting that there is actually a crisis in long-term care and it's time to put people's lives ahead? Put people's lives ahead? Thank you. Thank you. Please take your seats. Mr. Long-term Care to reply. Thank you, Speaker. And once again, we are confronting the realities of decades of neglect and on top of that, COVID-19. We're investing in long-term care, building capacity, shoring up staffing and dealing with the emergency situation as well. So we're not just looking at what needs to be done to prepare for an aging population. We're dealing with what is presented to us by the effects and the impact of COVID-19. And my heart goes out to all families, all residents, staff who are impacted by this. We are taking active measures, working swiftly, and we began work very early at the end of January, looking and making sure that we worked with the Ministry of Health and our other ministries and our experts, Chief Medical Officer of Health, every step of the way we've been taking action, layering on more layers of protection, understanding the dollars that are required for this, and investing three-quarters of a billion dollars to help protect our most vulnerable in long-term care. They are a priority. They are this government. Thank you very much. And the next question, the Member for Waterloo. Thank you very much. My question is to the Premier. Businesses that have had to close in modified Stage 2 areas continue to wait on their piece of the $300 million for their survival, Speaker. We have a second chance here to get things right and to save small businesses the very backbone of our economy. But they need to know now how they can access these funds. This $300 million announcement means nothing if there is no program to deliver it to those in need. Small businesses need a plan, not empty promises. Will this government advocate to make the new commercial rent relief program retroactive to businesses that need it? The Minister of Finance. Thank you to the Member for the question. And I appreciate she raised the previous program. It lets us point out the relative success of that program, Mr. Speaker. 62,000 businesses employing over 600,000 Ontarians were supported for six months by that program. But Mr. Speaker, we also heard from businesses we heard about the challenges and that's why we advocated, Mr. Speaker, to the federal government who announced that the new program will be coming forward. It will be retroactive to answer the Member's question and it will be dealt with directly to the business owners. And I think that's an improvement and I think we should commend the federal government for amending that program. But Mr. Speaker, we've also provided other supports. We know that businesses in the areas that are affected by the shutdowns have extraordinary additional costs. That's why we've committed to support the fixed costs related to property tax and to energy. And Mr. Speaker, that program will be supporting those businesses, those grass-root businesses that this government has supported from the day it was elected. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. The CFIB says that only 50% of the businesses were even able to access that commercial rent support. That is not relative success. That means 50% of the businesses went out of business. Speaker, last week a photographer traveled a short section of Queen Street West in Toronto to see the effects that COVID-19 pandemic has had on one of Ontario's most significant main streets. He took photos of 72 shuttered storefronts, up 20% from the last time he counted in August. Speaker, these are our main street businesses. They're gone, they're done. Meanwhile, the government continues to dangle this alleged $300 million in supports in front of their noses with no real program to deliver the relief. When will this government stop sitting back on their heels and actually deliver the direct financial supports that our small businesses need and that they deserve? Minister of Finance. Mr. Speaker, only the opposition, only the NDP would say support for 600,000 employees was not helpful. But Mr. Speaker, we agreed that we wanted to make it better and that's why we worked with the federal government to find a new program and we'll look forward to that program. In the meantime, Mr. Speaker, in addition to the billion dollars of support that was provided, $50 million through the Ontario Together Fund, $355 million in elimination of the employer health tax temporarily, $175 million in electricity price support, $57 million for the digital main street program. In addition to that, Mr. Speaker, $60 million just a couple of weeks ago by my colleague, the Minister for Small Business and Reduction of Red Tape, to help with PPE, and yes, $300 million that will be rolled out, we will support the businesses as they need to be supported because we understand small business, unlike the opposition, Mr. Speaker. Next question, the member for Aurora, Oak Ridge, is Richmond Hill. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday, the member for Don Valley West, a proud Richmond Hill native, I might add, announced that she would not be seeking re-election in 2020. Would the Premier please comment on the member's legacy? Recognize the Premier. Thank you for the question. Mr. Speaker, I want to dedicate a minute, my next minute, to the former Premier, Kathleen Wynne. Premier, I have the utmost respect for you. We may differ on policies, we may differ on political outlooks, but as a person, I have the utmost respect for you. You've walked a mile in my shoes. During the election, I always said, everyone said, how is Kathleen Wynne as a person? I said, she is super nice. Unlike some other people, that can't be just mean and nasty spirited people. Vicious. Order. Vicious people. I said, Kathleen was never that way. Always there, very kind, very polite, never took anything personal. And that's the way more people should act around here, Mr. Speaker. She blazed a new trail being the first woman Premier. She blazed a new trail by being the first gay Premier. Restart the clock, the supplementary question. Thanks very much, Mr. Speaker. My supplementary question is back to the Premier. Premier, could you please elaborate further on your positive comments about the member for Don Valley West, please? Premier. Thank you. You know, you sit back and I say this respectfully to everyone. Anyone that served as MPP, as a minister, no matter what color party you come from, orange, blue, purple, whatever. You know, there's certain decisions and there's one person. Matter of fact, there's only 25 other people in the history of this province knows how it feels. When you're getting calls every single night, you have to make a decision. And Kathleen, when you make a decision, you know one decision, there's 10 other reactions. And then you make another decision, 10 other reactions. And you have to weigh this out. And at certain times, the weight of the world is on your shoulders. And sometimes you sit back and you balance it, and you say, no matter what I do, you know, there's going to be an issue. But you have to go and show leadership. And throughout the time the former Premier was there, she showed leadership. Again, we might have disagreed, but she showed leadership because she made a decision, right or wrong. And for that, I respect your service. I respect the years that you've spent down here serving your constituents. So thank you. God bless you. Thank you very much. Please move on. Please start the clock. Member for Kitchener Centre. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. All Ontario educational institutions should be places where students, no matter their religion or sexual orientation or ethnicity, may reach their full potential. And that's why it's so troubling to see this government try to slip through a new plan to hand their friend Charles McVeedy the ability to grant new degrees. Charles McVeedy has a history of making Islamophobic and homophobic statements and for using Canada Christian College, of which he is the President, to host Islamophobic speeches. Why is this government using an omnibus bill about helping small and medium-sized businesses navigate and recover from COVID-19 to give the likes of Charles McVeedy the right to grant new degrees? The parliamentary system to apply. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. You know, Ontario has a world-class, world-renowned, post-secondary education system. From day one, this ministry has worked with all partners across our sector to continue to build that world-renowned education system. That includes establishing an equal playing field for our post-secondary institutions to compete and attract world-class talent from around Ontario and abroad. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Supplementary question. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm speaking about Charles McVeedy. I don't know what he's talking about. In the 1980s, the PCs stripped Canada Christian College of the ability to grant these degrees after years of scandals. The only thing that's changed since that is the rhetoric from Charles McVeedy. It's become more vile. And yet, the Premier has personally welcomed Charles McVeedy endorsements. So let's not mince words. Charles McVeedy has opposed a modern sex ed curriculum, spoken out against Muslims, and has dragged the LGBTQ2S community through the mud nearly at every chance he gets. Ontarians should be proud of our post-secondary system because of its commitment to equality and to acceptance. And the Premier of all people should not be using the COVID-19 pandemic to legislate intolerance and hate. Why does this government continue to use the cover of a pandemic to make good on backroom deals with the Premier's friends, especially when the Premier's personal friends are people like Charles McVeedy? Again, the parliamentary assistant to reply. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm very proud of our post-secondary world-class education system. And I think it's important for the member opposite to understand something. The Post-Secondary Education Quality Assessment Board is an independent review body that reviews all programs put forward to the government. Mr. Speaker, we'll continue to work with all of our world-class institutions, universities, colleges, our Indigenous institutes, our private career colleges to ensure Ontarians get the skill sets they need to achieve ever-changing jobs in our changing economy and will continue to succeed in Ontario for years to come. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Member for Lanark, Frontenac, Kingston. My question is to the Premier. Never in our long history have we seen such abuse and violations of our Constitution, our fundamental freedoms and our rights as the Premier spouts that we're all on the brink. The Minister of Long-Term Care refers to COVID as comparable to a bad flu season. Along with these contradictions, however, he denies people the freedom of mobility, our freedom of assembly, and our freedom to be with loved ones. But his laws are unconstitutional and they will be tested. Speaker, tomorrow I will host and gather with more than 25 friends and offence under these authoritarian laws. Speaker, my question is, is the Premier to caution the member in his language? Place your question. Is the Premier prepared to violate our constitutional rights to defend this fear-mongering agenda? Government House Leader to reply? Well, of course not, Mr. Speaker. We're doing no such thing. And I can appreciate that the member opposite has a different view on the best ways in which we should as a province and as assembly be tackling the COVID-19 outbreak that has taken the lives of too many Ontario Ontarians, Mr. Speaker. But as much as I respect the Honourable Member's ability to get up and ask questions that are important to he and his community, I can say very clearly to the member opposite that we will not stop doing all that we can to make sure that the people of the province of Ontario are safe, that we have the absolute best results when it comes to COVID-19. We have all been working very, very hard together. In fact, for the vast majority of this outbreak, we have worked with unanimous consent of all members of this legislature, including the member opposite, who approved almost all of the measures that we have brought forward. So I say very clearly to the member, I respect your opinions. I disagree with them and we will continue to work very hard to make sure that people of the province of Ontario remain safe. Supplementary question. Getting to the Premier and just for the record, since May I have opposed many of these unconstitutional measures and I'm on the record for doing that. I'll be testing this long at 10.30 tomorrow morning in Queens Park directly north of the Assembly. We'll be social, but we won't be masked. We'll be greeting people. If the Premier believes his laws are valid and not just scare tactics, he can throw the book at me tomorrow. Have Toronto bylaw, Toronto police, come and charge me as the host and the organiser. The law must be tested in our courts, but I have the doubt that he has the courage to defend it. Will the Premier defend our constitution or will he violate my rights? From here it looks like he's just been a political yahoo. I'm going to ask the member to withdraw the unparliamentary comment. Withdraw. Government host, leader to reply. I think the quality of the question really speaks for itself. There has been a number of associates or protests that have occurred during COVID-19 on a number of issues that have been very, very important to the people of the province of Ontario. We have not, of course, outlawed this behaviour. At the same time, Mr. Speaker, it is our responsibility as a government, as legislators, to make sure that we do all that we can to keep the people of the province of Ontario safe. We have all taken that responsibility very, very seriously, Mr. Speaker. On both sides of the House, we may disagree on how we get there, but overwhelmingly, that's what we have all been working towards. Now, I respect the opinions of the member opposite. I completely disagree with what he is doing tomorrow. I do not believe it to be in the best interest of the people he will be protesting with, but it is our job to make sure that people are safe, and I hope the member opposite will do all that he can tomorrow to make sure that the people he is with are safe. The member for Northumberland, Peterborough South. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today the NDP brought forward a destructive motion aimed solely at setting back all the progress the government's made at reducing the wait-time list for long-term care. It's an outrageous request at a time, Mr. Speaker, when the need for long-term cares never been more apparent. Mr. Speaker, I got off the phone with many of the hard-working folks of all the long-term care homes in my riding. The utilization rate at Northumberland Hills Hospital for acute care patients is at an all-time high, Mr. Speaker, and thanks to transitional debt funding from this government, we're getting people into the long-term care supports that they need. Mr. Speaker, will the government stand up for this and outright reject this ridiculous proposal from the opposition? Government House Leader. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the question from the Honourable Member for Northumberland, Peterborough. Let me just at the outset say, yes, absolutely, we will completely reject this proposal from the NDP. At best, it's irresponsible. At worst, it's a destructive proposal, Mr. Speaker. What the NDP are proposing would see hundreds of seniors being evicted from their long-term care homes, would see hundreds and thousands of people lose their jobs on a proposal that they are bringing forward today. Of course, we will fight against that, Mr. Speaker. I have to assure the member for Northumberland, Peterborough, that we will do all that we can. The member's opposite should try to explain to people like Yi Hong, to Mon Chong in my riding who are providing exceptional service to seniors. Why they are no longer worthy of providing that service, this is a destructive proposal and this government will do all that it can. I encourage all members to vote with us against this proposal, Mr. Speaker, and to protect our long-term care homes. The supplementary question. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's really comforting to hear that because I can't stress enough how dangerous it would be to accept this NDP long-term care motion. You know, Mr. Speaker, I think of a conversation I had over the weekend with folks at Hope Street Terrace Regency in my riding. Mr. Speaker, they go to work every day to support the seniors of this province. Seniors, like a recent gentleman I spoke to who served the Ontario Public Service with distinction who just finally got admitted to long-term care. Thanks to additional beds, this government has provided the sector. Mr. Speaker, this reckless proposal is driven purely by ideology with no understanding or actual ideas to improve the long-term care sector. Mr. Speaker, will the minister stand in this place today and answer the question clearly? Will this government continue to build long-term care beds like the ones that have been announced in my riding over the past year to make up for years of liberal neglect supported by the NDP? Government House Leader, do you apply? Again, I thank the member for his question and his passion on this. And I want to say again very clearly, Mr. Speaker, that we will be voting against this very destructive and irresponsible policy approached by the NDP. And I want to say very clearly to the people at home, to the seniors who are in long-term care homes, this policy of the NDP would seek to evict hundreds of seniors from homes that they have come to rely upon. To the families who have put who are relying on these homes for care, I can tell them that we will continue to work for you to make sure that your loved ones are cared for. To the hundreds of people, the thousands of people working in long-term care homes, value the work that you are doing, Mr. Speaker, and we will stand up against this reckless motion and make sure that you still have a job to go to. To the members specifically, I say yes, we will continue to invest in long-term care homes. Yes, we will continue to open up new beds across this province, the likes of which we have not seen in over a decade, Mr. Speaker. I know there's a new facility in my writing of over 650 beds. There are facilities all across this province, Mr. Speaker. They are doing good work and the people of the province of Ontario know they can rely on them. Thank you. Next question, the member from York Southwest. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Residents of York Southwest have been waiting months for a COVID testing assessment centre and are extremely frustrated with the lack of availability and delays. My office is hearing from many residents like Molly Lin, Robin Marano, and Tania, who have waited over 14 days to receive COVID-19 test results. Toronto Public Health confirmed that my community is disproportionately affected by the virus and service from lack of testing. What exactly is this government going to do immediately to ratify this dangerous failure? Mr. Health. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you very much to the member for the question. We have increased our testing services across the province. We are putting a billion dollars into testing and to contact tracing and making sure that people can be in quarantine if they need to be for 14 days if that's necessary. We have opened up over 150 assessment centres. We have also expanded into pharmacies for people who are asymptomatic and we are constantly looking at other areas where we need to increase our resources. If there is a need and sounds as if there is in your community, that is probably an area where we should be opening up more either pop-up assessments or more testing in pharmacies depending on what the requirements are if people are symptomatic. Of course, they need to go to an assessment centre or another centre of its like. We are going into communities where there is need. I've taken note of the response and the need in your community and we will do whatever we can to get the resources there to be of assistance to your constituents. The supplementary question. Thank you. My question again is to the Premier. Sydney Ferrero went to York South Weston's new facility that the date opened. She is a personal caregiver in law living in long-term care. She is still waiting her test results to comply with the HOMS policy and that was September 28. She now is unable to care for her mother-in-law and provide the support and comfort she deserves. Mr Speaker when a negative test result is for caregivers are required every two weeks those results are not timely and in fact out of date when they finally arrive what does the Premier have to say to Sydney and her family who says, and I quote I am disgust and sadden that this has happened I now face the chance of losing another loved one without being able to see her. Minister of Health Thank you. In fact what has happened is we've increased our testing capabilities we've also improved our lab testing facilities. There was a period of time where there was a backlog but that has been covered we are now at a point where we are able to do the tests within the required time frame and to get those test results back out to people in a timely manner so in the case of the person that you just indicated I'd be happy to look into why they've been waiting for so long for the test results but over 90% of our public health facilities are able to pass in within 24 to 48 hours of the test being administered so that is something that I'm happy to look at in your situation but it certainly is not the case across the province because we have greatly amplified our lab facilities as well as our tests to make sure that they can respond in a timely manner. Member for Ottawa State Thank you very much Mr. Speaker my question is for the Premier the Select Committee on Emergency Management is struck with the intention of letting Ontarians know the government's reasoning for the extension of a COVID-19 emergency orders and earlier this week I wrote to the chair of the committee requesting that members of the COVID-19 command table appear before the committee the Premier also received a copy of this letter Ontarians deserve to hear directly from the body that's giving advice to the Premier so Speaker thanks for you for the sake of transparency will the Premier designate members of the COVID-19 table to appear before the next select committee hearing? I want to thank the honourable member for the question but as the member knows the committee is run themselves in this place but I do appreciate the suggestion from the member opposite as he knows the minister has been before the committee on two occasions so far and from my understanding this has done an exceptional job of helping to explain the measures that the government has taken but I encourage the committee to independently do the review that is required as this legislature would expect Supplementary question Thank you Speaker and we are looking forward to the committee seeing the Premier at one of the committee meetings in any event the Premier has the power to designate someone like the minister to appear before the committee that's what's written in the motion and that means he can designate members from the command table it's his decision so Ontarians deserve Ontarians deserve to know what advice the Premier has given when he was given that advice and what is the evidence that underpins it COVID-19 is like a brush fire and the longer that you let that fire burn the more it spreads so there is a pattern of delayed decision making in this government whether it's in long-term care in the first wave whether it's in migrant workers whether it's increasing testing or whether it's the return to school so I'll ask once again will the Premier designate members from the COVID-19 command table to appear before the select committee government house leader I think the member would agree with me that it would be inappropriate for the government to direct committees to do how they do their work so we'll leave that up to the committee to make that decision thank you the next question the member for Mr President thank you Mr Speaker this question is for the minister of long-term care I asked the minister why health providers were having such trouble accessing PPE she responded and I quote they have the PPE they require including N95 it's a fact and a quote on Friday St. Joseph received a two page response from Ontario Health North it spells out the long list of hoops healthcare workers and long-term care management have to jump through in order to maybe gain access to N95 or any other respirators what Ontario Health North call a scarce and critical resource this is embarrassing Speaker according to the chief medical officer of health directive number 5 if in proximity to a suspect or confirmed COVID residents workers must be given and N95 are better on request can the minister please explain why her statement and the letter from Ontario Health are so badly disconnected minister of long-term care thank you Speaker and thank you for the question we announced just a few weeks ago in the 540 million dollar package the six to eight weeks of PPE that would go to our long-term care homes from government and those would include N95s for the homes that are an outbreak this is an ongoing process working with the ministry of health working with the chief medical officer of health working with our medical officers of health and the public health units to make sure that we understand the needs in those the context of each home and that's continually scrutinized and the vigilance is there but as you know early in the pandemic the global competition for PPE made it a big challenge not only for Ontario but across the world and I commend everyone who's worked in Ontario to stabilize that and create the capacity that we need here in Ontario at 3 a.m. so these N95s are going out I have confidence in that and the PPE supply the six to eight weeks supply is there for our homes thank you Member for Subbury supplementary Speaker back to the minister of long-term care Speaker like many people in Subbury I come from a career in mining in fact before the election I spent 17 years representing mining health and safety concerns and frankly I've never seen anything like this if a minor surface plant worker needs a respirator in order to work safely they get it if they don't the job stops when it comes to long-term care the women at St. Joseph have been working for their employer to get the PPE they need for months they won't refuse to work because they know their work refuses in long-term care would mean leaving someone's parent, sister or husband in need why is the minister ignoring these women and when will they have the N95 masks they need parliamentary assistant to respond yeah thank you Mr. Speaker and the answer thank you for the question as well and it is important that you know that in long-term care as of October the 5th all 626 homes have eight weeks of personal protective equipment so that they have the inventory on hand at all times exception is gloves for two weeks and personal hand wipes are three weeks this includes over 275,000 goggles and face shields 12.5 million surgical masks over 150,000 NK95 masks 17.5 million gloves 2.5 million gloves or gowns the use of the ministry of health emergency operations center no LTC homes no long-term care homes have reported shortages to the ministry of long-term care at this time and I have more answers here another question the next question for Peterborough Cortho today the NDP have tabled a motion that effectively demands the government close long-term care centers across Ontario look the last liberal government propped up by the NDP did virtually nothing to grow our long-term care system but this proposal simply is offside for an opposition party to advocate for fewer long-term care beds and longer wait times is almost unbelievable Mr. Speaker will this government please commit to rejecting the NDP proposal and instead continue to invest in our long-term care system Mr. Speaker and I can appreciate the passion that this irresponsible motion has evoked from the members of the government caucus who have been spending the last two years making up for the disastrous decisions in the policy the bad policy of the previous government supported by the NDP let me be very clear the proposal that the NDP have brought forward which we will be debating later on today is a proposal that would put hundreds of seniors out on the street which would see thousands of people in these long-term care homes lose their jobs this government will never allow that to happen Mr. Speaker I can assure the member for Peterborough that we will do everything in our power to make sure that doesn't happen in the long-term care with the biggest build out that this province has ever seen and continue to support our personal service workers across this province we value the work that people are doing in our long-term care homes and we will continue to invest in them the supplementary question thank you Mr. Speaker I really can't believe that we're at a spot where I even have to ask this question because it's more important now more than ever that the province of Ontario continue to invest continue to invest in people we have continued building long-term care beds so we can reduce wait times rejecting the responsible NDP proposal is an absolute necessity will the minister tell this house just how costly and damaging this NDP proposal would be to our great province again I thank the member for this question and I appreciate the passion that the members on this side of the house have on this Mr. Speaker we see some of the members of the opposition laughing at the context of the question they should go back to their communities and talk to the people at E-Hong they should go back and speak to the people at Monchon to find examples of long-term care homes that have been doing spectacular work in the province of Ontario but more importantly they should go back into their communities and explain to the residents of these long-term care homes who will be evicted by this policy and that the thousands of workers who are doing great work in these long-term care homes why they no longer value them where they're going to go Mr. Speaker so let me say very clearly to the member of Peterborough and to the opposition NDP we will not allow this to happen in the province of Ontario we will fight for those jobs we will fight for seniors in these long-term care homes we will fight to improve conditions in our long-term care homes we will fight to support our PSWs Mr. Speaker so long-term care like this province has never seen thank you Mr. Speaker the next question the member for Ottawa, Vania thank you Mr. Speaker and my question will be for the Minister of Health in France so in September in September the government announced that he was launching the biggest campaign for flu against flu in the history of Ontario to fight the second wave of COVID-19 but we quickly realized that the supply was not enough so how can the government launch a campaign before ensuring that we have enough supplies it's very frustrating for people who want to follow the recommendations of the government and want to get the vaccine so what is the message that the Minister will give to Ontarians who want to get the vaccine but they can't because there are not enough vaccines and I would say that the message should be that everyone who wants to receive the vaccine will receive the vaccine we ordered 5.1 million doses of vaccine this year 700,000 in the previous year and I would say that this happens almost every year that there are some occasions when some units don't have vaccines for a short period of time but they're coming in on a regular basis we have contracts with them we have no recorded issues with supply there is adequate supply the supplies are coming in it's great that so many people are trying to get the vaccine this year that's one of the key pillars of our fall preparedness plan but the people of Ontario should not worry there is adequate supply and it is coming in on a regular basis in shipments that were agreed to months months before we came upon this situation with COVID almost a year ago so it is coming in it will be in people should just check with their primary care practitioner or with a pharmacy where they wish to receive the vaccine thank you thank you again to the Minister of Health thank you for your reply I was in my riding last week and I wanted to do my best to get the vaccine and encourage the my constituents to get the vaccine I actually succeeded in convincing my mother to get the vaccine she's 77 and I thought it was important but like you had mentioned yesterday there is a lack of vaccine and those are not isolated cases in Ottawa and Vanier in places where I called I could not obtain the appointment even for later because people didn't know when the vaccine will be available so if you launch a campaign to encourage people to get the vaccine you should make sure that the doses are available so what can the Minister do to ensure that the pharmacy received vaccines that have been bought by the province I would say to the member through you that there is no lack of vaccine significant increased numbers of vaccine this year over last year in fact we have shipped 3.4 million doses of the flu vaccine already compared to last year at this time where we had 2.7 million doses we've already made more than 700,000 more vaccines available to Ontarians but these are shipments that are agreed upon in advance that come in at particular periods of time there's no shortage all I would ask Ontarians is to please book ahead book ahead with your pharmacies book ahead with your primary care practitioner there are those doses available including 1.3 million doses of the high dose for seniors 65 and older we did make a priority when the first shipments came in at the end of September to go to hospitals, long term care homes retirement homes and other places of congregate living but shipments are being regularly sent to pharmacies and there are practitioners so there is no shortage just asking thank you very much the next question the member for Parkdale High Park thank you speaker my questions to the minister of long term care yet another long term care home in my riding of Parkdale High Park is experiencing an outbreak Lakeside is one of 87 homes in outbreak and my office is hearing that Lakeside has now tragically had its first long term care home and I am very concerned about the risk of getting COVID-19 my constituent Katerina is worried about her dad who lives in this home the turnaround time for test results is slow and the home is still reviewing its staffing gaps Katerina fears that delays in action is putting her father at risk of getting COVID-19 why won't the minister make long term care homes a priority for expedited testing Mr Longterm Care we indeed are making long term care a priority for testing and that's been happening for many months now this is something that our government is committed to and it's demonstrated that over and over and over again Lakeside is doing well and my heart goes out to everyone who is affected by this virus but it is on our radar we have measures in place to assist them this is an ongoing effort on a daily basis to keep our eyes on our homes that are in outbreak but I want to just mention to everyone who is working so hard in long term care 96% of our homes are not in outbreak and so a lot of energy is going to support the homes in outbreak whether it's with a relationship to Ontario Health and the hospitals, IPAC teams whether it's community paramedics going into assist or the public health so let me reassure you that Lakeside is definitely under scrutiny we are watching that home and making sure that it gets the support that it needs thank you back to the minister like Catarina hundreds of families are worried because delays in testing are preventing nursing homes from controlling the spread of infections Ontarians want to know what happened to the iron ring that the minister and the premier promised to put around long term care back in March almost seven months later we are watching the government make the same mistakes because they refuse to accept that they are ultimately accountable for our long term care system will the minister accept responsibility and develop a comprehensive plan that prioritizes testing for residents, staff and essential caregivers in our long term care homes thank you thank you to the member opposite indeed the long term care homes of Ontario are receiving priority testing there is no doubt about that that has been our commitment for many many months in terms of the caregiver piece I want to make sure that everyone understands that each resident has the ability to designate to caregivers to essential caregivers to assist them whether it's with feeding or support during the day or emotional support this is ongoing and we want to make sure that those caregivers are tested in an appropriate way and this science and the processes are evolving to provide more and more layers of protection for our residents in long term care and so we are looking at different ways that we can expedite those tests for caregivers as well so this is something our government takes very seriously and I would also say the rapid tests that the federal government has approved will also be helpful and we are looking forward to getting those going for that thank you very much Mr. Speaker for our questions for the Premier the hospitality industry has been amongst the hardest hit as a result of Covid in Ontario restaurants and banquet halls across the province have been suffering with a mixed bag of reopenings and enclosures often with little notice Tony a Premier banquet hall in York Region says that he's about to go bankrupt and he's not alone Mr. Speaker tourism hospitality accounts for thousands of jobs in York Region which is why the Chamber of Commerce has been calling on sector specific programs to support the hospitality industry yesterday when asked about supporting hospitality in his news conference the Premier said his answer was Covid sucks well the government has no real plan for rent support the government has no plan to help offset the costs of winter patios they have no plan for commercial insurance and they have no plan for job like commission fees that food delivery service charge Mr. Speaker when is the government going to take sector specific action to support the hospitality industry in Ontario Mr. Finance Mr. Speaker thank the Member for the question and he's right and we have been clear from the beginning that we understand the pressure that is on small businesses and banquet halls are one example they are an area where we've made sure For example, the $300 million of support that this government will provide for fixed costs that include property tax, that include energy costs, but also the supports that will be provided by the federal government, which include an expansion of their loans program, the extension of their rent program, and the wage program. But Mr. Speaker, and I think the Premier was clear, this is a very difficult time. We understand because we are a party that has supported small businesses and businesses like banquet halls, and that's why we'll continue to be there to provide those supports, and we'll continue to listen not just to small business, but to the opposition for their ideas and their suggestions about how we can support our small business. Thank you Mr. Speaker, I ask my supplementaries for the Minister of Finance. The government's left restaurant owners to nearly go bankrupt while they're letting food delivery service companies charge mob level commission fees and service charges on the most lucrative part of the hospitality business. And while the government is happy to let multi-billion dollar companies, American companies, wet their beak a little bit in Ontario's hospitality sector, they're letting mom and pop restaurants go bankrupt on Main Street every day right here in Ontario. The government has received the advice of experts. There's a 500 page report on your desk today, Minister. They've received the advice of thousands of small business owners. These fees are choking what little is left of the hospitality sector in Ontario, Mr. Speaker. Why won't the government support restaurants and the hospitality sector and cap these fees today? Stop dithering, make a decision, cap these fees today. Mr. Finance. So Mr. Speaker, again, I appreciate the suggestions from the member and we're open to all those suggestions. Mr. Speaker, the Standing Committee on the Economy and on Finance traveled this province. It heard from over 500 witnesses. Mr. Speaker, my ministerial colleagues hosted over 56 ministerial advisory groups, all of which heard this kind of feedback. And Mr. Speaker, that's where our approaches come from. Mr. Speaker, $11 billion of direct support for people in communities, part of a $30 billion plan that this government has unveiled. And Mr. Speaker, we are open to other initiatives and approaches. That's why we have provided money to support rent. That's why we have provided money to support PPE. That is why we have supported electricity costs. And that's why we'll continue to do more. Because this is a party that understands business and small business, and we will keep listening. The next question, the member for Thunder Bay, Adikoken. Thank you, Speaker. My question is for the Premier. Last week I spoke with my constituent, Larry Grace. In 2019, Larry's doctor left Thunder Bay. He's been waiting for almost two years for a family doctor or a nurse practitioner. He's 79 years old and cannot find primary care. He's not the only one. There are thousands of my constituents that can't find a family doctor or a nurse practitioner. What is this government going to do for people like Larry to help them find the health care they need? Mr. Bell. Thank you. Well, one of the key things that we're doing is transforming our health system, which we started before the pandemic hit by creating Ontario Health and local Ontario Health teams. That is really important to provide the kind of integrated care that the people of Ontario need to make sure that they have care, whether they're in hospital, whether they're waiting for long-term care, whether they need home care. And we're bringing together groups of people that practice in those areas. We're not creating an artificial group of people. These are actual practitioners in each of the geographic areas of Ontario to make sure that people can get the care they need, whether it's primary care, whether it's social services that they need to be assisted with, whether it's nurse practitioners, mental health specialists, whatever it happens to be. I'll be very pleased to speak about it more in the supplemental. But that's what we're bringing to Ontario is care for people in Ontario. Response. Regardless of where they live, they will have that integrated care. And the supplementary question. Thank you. The next part of my question is for the minister. Thunder Bay has a severe shortage of primary care providers. They've been patient. They've been waiting a long time. I had the pleasure of meeting Pam Dalghetti and Kyle Jussman of the Lakehead Nurse Practitioner Lead Clinic last week. Pam and Kyle want to expand their operation at Thunder Bay and they have applied again for funding, for the provincial funding. As it stands, many people are waiting more than two years to become patients of their clinic. And they specialize in servicing one of the most underprivileged sort of neighborhoods in our city. What is this government planning to do to end the disastrous impact of the lack of primary caregivers in Thunder Bay? Thanks for that. Well, we certainly know that Thunder Bay is under incredible pressure because they are the primary care providers for many people within Thunder Bay. But also for people who live more distant who need to see specialists, who need to have different types of care. All of their health facilities are under pressure. And so we are looking at ways that we can relieve them. Part of it is by the Ontario health teams. Part of it is by paying attention, of course, to applications such as those by Pam and Kyle to bring forward models that are going to be able to expand services in their area. But the real difference here is with the local Ontario health teams being able to provide a wider bundle of care to more people with more specialties within it. Because we often talk about dealing with some of the social determinants of health. People who are under housed, under fed, all of these situations which are all the more real during this time of COVID. But we are finding that having those social services groups there within the primary health care teams to sort of wrap around people and provide them with that additional support. Thank you very much. The next question is for Eglinton Lawrence. Thank you, Speaker. My question is for the Minister of the Environment. Minister, I understand that you kicked off Waste Reduction Week yesterday with a big announcement about the Blue Box program. And I was wondering if you could share some of the details. The environment. Well, thanks very much for the question from Rob and Martin, member from Eglinton Lawrence. We kicked off Waste Reduction Week yesterday with a great announcement for the renewal and restructuring of the Blue Box program for the province of Ontario. It's going to make it more affordable for producers and consumers. It's going to be competitive for the waste processing sector. It's going to be effective and accessible for residents across the entire province and will achieve the highest waste reduction targets in North America, Mr. Speaker. We are going to expand the Blue Box program into apartment buildings, long-term care homes, retirement homes, schools and municipal parks, Mr. Speaker. And we're going to top it off with strict enforcement from RIPRA to ensure that we work with producers to make those targets. And if those producers are refusing to move forward, there will be monetary fines associated with getting them into compliance. Mr. Speaker, this is a great announcement by our government, led under Premier Doug Ford, to ensure that we are in protected environment while growing our economy through the circular economy that we will be creating through this new program. That concludes our question period for this morning. There being no further business, this House stands in recess until 3 p.m.