 It is therefore now time for question period, the member from Nipissing. Thank you and good morning Speaker. I'd like to begin, Speaker, by offering our hope and prayers to the families affected by the tragedy on the 400 yesterday, especially to the Dunn family of North Bay, where nine children lost their father yesterday, Benjamin Dunn, and we will pray for this shocked and traumatized family. Speaker, my question this morning is for the Finance Minister. Every day this week we have learned more and more disturbing news regarding the great Canadian gaming's trouble in BC. Of concern here in Ontario is the fact that the OPP are, quote, reaching out to investigators in BC about the money laundering investigation. Speaker, is the Minister doing anything further other than, quote, watching closely? Thank you, Minister of Finance. Mr. Speaker, the AGCO, our agencies, our, the OLG, they have been in constant contact with the regulators in British Columbia. They have been recognizing the requirements to have proponents to be approved by the AGCO in consultations with the BC authorities prior to even performing and making their submissions. So, Mr. Speaker, the process is apparent, it's open, it's transparent, and it precludes the Minister from engaging with those proponents, even those that are friends of the Conservative Party, Mr. Speaker. I will not associate myself with any of them until the decision is made openly with a fairness monitor, and that is being done, Mr. Speaker, and on an ongoing basis the continuations of any review is appropriate. Thank you. Supplementary. Back to the Minister. Well, the Minister is watching on the sidelines, Speaker. Others have been working. Yesterday, we learned of the latest twist regarding the company awarded the casino contract here in Ontario. Media reports have now revealed questionable trading activity by one of Great Canadian's directors. Bill Bark, Neil Baker, earned almost $140 million selling shares in late 2016. That happened three months after a report was submitted to the BC Attorney General implicating the casino in allegations of money laundering. That report wasn't made public until September 2017. Speaker, I would ask the Minister if he was aware of the questionable trading activity before they awarded the casino deal here in Ontario. So information that is provided to the AGCO and to all its regulatory authorities was made. And implications and any activity that engages with suspicious activity is being reported. And those decisions are cleared by the AGCO prior to a proponent being authorized. They were authorized both by the BC authorities and the Ontario regulatory authorities, Mr. Speaker. And so the process is in place if there is inappropriate activity by any director, by any individual in any institution in regards to any money laundering initiatives, be it in gaming or be it in banking or be it in any other institutions across those province, they have to adhere to those laws and those things are being enforced. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Final supplement. While here are the cold, hard facts, a director of great Canadian gaming sheds his shares between the time a report of money laundering allegations is submitted to BC's Attorney General and the time the report is made public. In the report are allegations that workers in a BC casino knowingly accepted millions of dollars in suspicious cash transactions, which could have been the proceeds of crime. The integrity of Ontario's gaming industry is at stake here. We have learned the Ontario Casino Agreement allows for the termination in the event of something prejudicial to the reputation or integrity of OLG Casino Gaming or the Ontario Government. Speaker, is the minister finally going to stand up for Ontario and halt this deal? Thank you. Minister. So I have been standing up for Ontario, Mr. Speaker. I have been standing up for Ontario to modernize the gaming operations for the benefit of Ontarians to provide for more incoming for hospitals and schools and host communities, Mr. Speaker. The matter that's before us isn't one about the sensitivity of the commercial activity of a public company. The matter before us is this member is talking about the individual activity of a person and that person, if it is in fact a suspicious, should be reviewed and should be enforced. Great Canadian as a corporation, Mr. Speaker, has abided and they, I believe, are not under investigation, but the activities within that company should be reviewed. In fact, Ontario has led in many respects on socially responsible activities to protect individuals, protect communities, and we will continue to abide and maintain the highest standards in this province for gaming in a socially responsible manner. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. New question? The member from Nipissing. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Finance Minister. These allegations are exactly why this casino deal must be halted immediately. Let's take a few minutes to review what we've learned just in this week alone, Speaker. Internal government documents reveal a $500 million money laundering investigation in B.C. We read about, quote, suspicions of terrorist financing, possible organized crime connections, hockey bags full of cash, tens of millions of dollars in $20 bills. The RCMP investigation goes back to 2015. They said there was about $220 million laundered in B.C. in one year alone. Speaker to the Finance Minister, what did he know and when did he know it? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What I know is this, Mr. Speaker. In this industry, a lot of proponents are jockeying to get into Ontario. A lot of them want to be the proponents of choice. A lot of them have been donors of the Conservative Party, Mr. Speaker. A lot of them are now feeding the Conservative Party with allegations from Great Canadian. I am not going to fall prey to this. I am going to assure that there's full transparency that Great Canadian as a public company is operating in an effective manner. If there's any impropriety whatsoever, we will immediately act upon it, Mr. Speaker. But I am not going to fall prey to allegations and any lynching that this member is trying to again do to the good people of Canada, because whatever happened in British Columbia happened. What's happening in Ontario will be to protect the interests of Ontarians. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Back to the Minister. Well, perhaps the Minister's reluctance to act has something to do with what we learned next, Mr. Speaker. According to the Integrity Commissioner, high-ranking, well-connected Liberal insiders were hired to lobby the Premier and that Minister. Is this why the Liberals rushed ahead with the deal? Is this why they won't halt this deal? The bid process began back in 2013 after the government's decision to kill the horse racing industry. Between then and now, Liberal insiders were hired to pull the strings. Speaker to the Minister, is this the real reason? He won't act on behalf of this deal. Mr. Speaker, totally offensive, Mr. Speaker. The member opposite is now doing a drive-by smear. He's drive-by smear of individuals who are registered lobbyists in our province. And Mr. Speaker, it's astounding that the current lobbyists for Great Canadian is a former Conservative, Mr. Speaker. They're the ones that have actually been acting upon it. In fact, their most newest candidate is a former President of OLG, Mr. Speaker, another Conservative who is acting on this very matter of modernization. The member alleges on individuals who are not registered lobbyists for Great Canadian during this process. It's offensive, and he should retract that comment, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Final supplementary. To the Minister, Speaker Aldous. Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation, come to order. The member from Renfrew and Nipissing Pembroke, come to order. All this government needed to do was admit there are problems in V.C. and halt the deal until they get to the bottom of it. Instead, they deny any involvement. But senior Liberal insiders working on behalf of the casino operator show us a different story. Once again, the Liberals put themselves and their insiders ahead of the people of Ontario. There are money laundering allegations, questionable rate-trading activity, well-placed... Minister of Municipal Affairs, come to order. We're now in warnings. We're in warnings. Carry on. Well-placed Liberal insiders at the centre of it all. Speaker, like many other issues here, this one does not pass the smell test. I ask the Minister, what's the priority for this government? Liberal insiders or the integrity of Ontario's gaming industry? Thank you. Minister? Wow, Mr. Speaker, I have already made clear. Great Canadian has come out identifying that there were no Liberal lobbyists involved. In fact, they are conservative lobbyists that are involved. Furthermore, those that have identified have said they've removed themselves. It's no surprise that the member opposite is looking for improprietary activities, given that they engage in that almost every day in their nomination battles, Mr. Speaker. It is conflicting issues, a criminalisation that is not happening in our time at this house, and I will protect the commercial interests of anybody who's approved as the appropriate winner of a contract. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. New question. The leader of the third party. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions for the acting Premier. Tobacco General Hospital reached the alarmingly dangerous occupancy rate of 122% in its acute care beds this year so far. Toronto East Michael Garan Hospital hit 106%. Trillium Health Partners, which operates three Mississauga hospitals, reached 109%. And Sick Kids got as high as 107% in their mental health beds and their mental health beds, rather, registered a shocking 136% occupancy rate at times in 2017. None of these hospitals got to this point overnight, Speaker. And as much as this Premier's premier hopes they will, temporary beds are not going to solve this crisis. What is the Liberal government's plan to make sure that every person in Ontario can get to a hospital and be confident that they are going to get the healthcare they need, not just before an upcoming election, but in the long run, Speaker? Deputy Premier. To the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. Minister of Health, Long-Term Care. Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I have yet to hear from the leader of the third party, the leader of the third party whether she supports our investment of last week of 1,200 new acute inpatient beds across this province. Mr. Speaker, that's the equivalent number of beds as creating six new hospitals in this province. And we made that decision in a single week and we did it in a targeted fashion so that we actually provide those beds in the parts of the province that need them the most. And particularly in some parts of the province where we have high growth and changing demographics, we are seeing the pressures that come with an increased population and an aging population. That's why we worked closely with the Ontario Hospital Association to make that investment of six new hospitals. That equivalent number of beds, we made that announcement last week and we are well on our way to implementing it. Thank you. Supplementary. Well, Speaker, you know, this government has created a crisis in our hospital system that stretches through all of our major community hospitals, is also hitting our tertiary hospitals. This crisis is hitting every hospital in this province. So six hospitals that this minister talks about doesn't fix the fact that they've ruined dozens and dozens and dozens of hospitals and communities across this province with their cuts over the last decades. We have a plan to fix their overcrowding crisis. Hospitals in Toronto, the GTA, Hamilton, Peterborough, Barry, Aurelia, Tillsenburg, London, across the Southwest. The Premier needs to step up, Speaker. Set aside her re-election bid and really focus on what the people of the province need. It's not the clock. The member from Barry will withdraw. Now you are warned. Carry on. They need her to stop with the partisan announcements and focus her time and energy on fixing the damage that the Liberal government has done to our hospitals. Will the Liberal government do that, Speaker? Thank you. You see it, please? You see it, please? Thank you. Minister? Well, Mr. Speaker, for the member opposite to suggest that dozens and dozens and dozens of hospitals in this province are in ruins is unbelievable, Mr. Speaker. Or like she did yesterday to refer to the emergencies as stacking individuals like cords of wood, Mr. Speaker, for her to use this kind of rhetoric and then suggest that we are making essential investments in our health care system, that that is somehow political, that she's got the nerve and the ability to actually use ... I now understand what the NDP is doing and what the leader of the third party is doing. Her brand is crisis, Mr. Speaker. She has decided to act as a defense with anything even remotely close to the truth and create a narrative of rhetoric and fear. The member from Hamilton Mountain is warned. You're next. Carry on. For this party and that leader to use for explicit political purposes, the narrative that she's created, which is so far from the truth, Mr. Speaker, and it just answers ... It is amazing to me, but in the context of where that person, that leader of the third party is going, her brand is crisis. Mr. Speaker, I gotta say this is crisis and their brand is destruction. Destruction of our hospital. The executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition says this of the Premier's temporary beds, and I say this in terms of what she said, that we are in such dire crisis across the province that it is not enough to meet the overflow beds that are in use right now. And the beds will do very little in the big scheme of things. They're not enough to deal with the people on stretchers and hallways, and they're not enough for the people waiting in ambulances to ... Stop the clock. The minister of infrastructure is warned. I hope you're getting my message. Finish, please. The Premier's announcement last week, Speaker, is at best a band-aid, and it doesn't come close to covering the whole wound, the wound that this government created. When will the Premier and their Liberal government finally take this overcrowding and hallway medicine crisis seriously and actually make sure that every Ontario family has the health care they need, when they need it. Thank you. Minister. Really? Well, Mr. Speaker, again, yesterday I went through a long list coming from reliable independent third-party experts that described appropriately our health care system as one of the best in the world. In every single indicator, we are at the top of this country or near the top of this country in performance. We have one of the best cancer systems in the world in terms of survivals and outcomes. We have so much to be proud of, the 150-plus hospitals where we have tens of thousands of individuals, hardworking individuals, who are providing that highest quality of care. And for that leader of a party to actually reduce those efforts and that characteristic of our health care system to describe it in the way she does, to denigrate it, to suggest that it is not functioning to the best of its ability and asking us not to make any investments, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. New question, the leader of the third party. Thank you, Speaker. My next questions to the Acting Premier. Although I'd say the experts in the health care system are patients, frontline workers, nurses and doctors who have all been sounding the alarms, named the child poverty capital of Canada, Speaker. In the last 22 years under both conservative and Liberal governments, monthly social assistance in Ontario has gone up by just 8%. And that's before you factor in inflationary erosion of that figure. And 8% increase over 22 years is just not enough for a family to pay rent, buy food, clothes, school supplies for the kids and try to scrape by. It's not enough. And the Premier and Liberal government have done next to nothing to fix it. Why for 14 years has this Liberal government allowed the depth of poverty to increase, creating such destitution for Ontario families living in poverty? Thank you, Deputy Premier. Mr. Children and Youth Services. Mr. Children and Youth Services. Well, thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And I'm very proud to answer this question from the leader of the third party. The leader knows that we've been working with different groups across Ontario to ensure that we can better position income security here in the province of Ontario. We've been working with a security reform working group, the First Nations income security reform working group, and the urban indigenous tables and income security reform to study Ontario's income security systems to make sure that we bring forward recommendations here in the province of Ontario to improve our system. And over the years, our various social security programs have helped a great number of people and families. But we know, Mr. Speaker, that we have to do better. So we're going to bring forward a new roadmap, a report that's being tabled to bring forward change here in the province of Ontario. And I'll be able to answer some of the additional pieces in the supplementary. Well, Speaker, this morning we learned, in fact, that the Premier's advisory panel set up by the Liberal government last year to overhaul Ontario's troubled income security system will release its report today. And the report will recommend an urgent 22% increase to social assistance funding over the next three years. Does the Premier and her Liberal government, on the eve of an election, finally plan to follow her committee's advice and implement an urgent 22% increase immediately? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And the roadmap is a thoughtful, thought-provoking document. And I want to thank the members from the working group for their valuable contributions to social security reform here in the province. Mr. Speaker, over the next two months, we'll be going across the province to get public feedback on the report. And we're going to use this roadmap as a guide to develop a multi-year plan for early 2018. And this plan will be designed to phase in improvements in the way that this is a practical, realistic and recognizes our fiscal responsibilities as a government. Mr. Speaker, I'm very proud of this government's record when it comes to putting in place fairness in this province, and we'll continue to support the people of Ontario through mechanisms like this when it comes to income reform. Thank you. Final supplementary. The report also recommends a 15% increase to the Ontario Disability Support Program, a housing benefit to be implemented by 2019 after the next election, and the expansions of all health benefits to low-income families. Given this government's dismal track record on supporting low-income families, which includes, listen up folks, includes cuts to homelessness prevention programs in 2012, $100 per month cut to social assistance in 2014, and a severe cut to the local poverty reduction fund in 2015, with an election around the corner will the premier reverse course implement the recommendations of this report immediately and finally begin to support Ontario families who are really stuck struggling instead of trying to support your own election bid or your own reelection bid. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, the leader of the third party talks about supporting families here in the province of Ontario. I'd like to ask her and her party, where were they when we were talking about increasing the minimum wage? Where were they when we talked about OSAP reform? Now, Mr. Speaker, when we started talking about increasing the minimum wage here in the province of Ontario, the NDP was silent on that issue. We've put forward plans here in the province of Ontario to put in January free. The minister will wrap up. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We'll be taking this report. I can play this all day. Carry on. Mr. Speaker, the NDP always positions himself as working for people in Ontario, but when we talk about the important things to help families, they're usually silent on these issues. Thank you. Any questions? A member from Sault Ste. Marie. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the acting premier, in late 2015, SR Steele Algoma entered into CCAA creditor protection proceedings. In January of this year, during the Sioux by-election, the premier visited us and spoke with our local media. Quoting from our local Sioux star, Wynn told reporters that she wants to see the Steele industry thrive in Ontario and in Sioux St. Marie. The province has been working to facilitate the restructuring process without overstepping its bounds. CCAA has been ongoing for three years now, and it needs to come to an end. The municipality has owed millions in back taxes, and they may reduce services or increase taxes to cover that loss. Local businesses are owed millions while the economy waits in limbo. Steel workers and retirees are worried about the status of their pensions. It has been almost a year since the premier made her comments to our local media. Mr. Speaker, my question for the acting premier is this. What is the government doing to help facilitate the restructuring process at Algoma, and what have they done to expedite that restructuring process? Thank you. Minister of Finance. One of the things that would have helped is that the members opposite would have voted in support of some of the reforms that were taking place to protect pensioners. They voted against those measures in our budget. As we move forward with our steel industry and how critical it is, we did something extraordinary in helping Stelco in their outcomes to protect the pensioners and the workers. Algoma is now going through that process and I appreciate the concern the member opposite has because it affects his own community. We know how difficult it is for members in that community to go through this transition. They're having ongoing discussions now with their creditors who are the ones engaged in this process. It's before the courts. The province of Ontario will be part of this to the extent of protecting the pensioners and their pensions as we move forward. We've seen many reforms to protect pensioners and in regards to the priorities this will deal with the supplementary. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Again to the acting premier so the answer to that question was obviously nothing. Huron Central Railway is vital in delivering product to market in Northern Ontario. The Huron Central line services major employers and economic drivers in Sault Ste. Marie it depends on this rail line. I'm in frequent contact with Huron Central discussing a fatal problem they face. If upgraded infrastructure funding is not approved immediately they will be forced to close the service. To again quote the premier's by-election trip to Sault Ste. Marie when discussing the future of the steel industry. A diversified economy is also part of that future success and the transportation hub can play a role in that diversification. The premier met with Huron Central just last week and she refused to provide funding. Northern Ontario's economy depends on this. Our workers depend on these jobs and yet a time of great need she turned her back on us. Mr. Speaker how can we take them seriously whenever they say lacks the action to back it up. Nothing is what that member and that party opposite did when we looked to support the steel industry Mr. Speaker. We provided and we have helped the steel industry provide it for more integrity. We recognize the challenges it's facing globally. It's why we stepped in. It's why we are arm in arm with the workers and that's why we continue to do the same in Algoma Mr. Speaker. So we have taken the steps that permits those pensioners to be protected. The member opposite citing the priority claims from CCAA. The federal government under the conservative regime rejected to even discuss Mr. Speaker when the senate provided for legislation to protect its own constituents. So Mr. Speaker we'll continue to work with the industry. We recognize how important it is to Ontario's economy. It is a priority. We're actually having those discussions even in our NAFTA negotiations with the federal government. The member opposite has a right to issue concerns but he also has a right to his committee to work with us to provide for the change that we're putting forward to protect his own constituents. Thank you Mr. Speaker. We saw another tragic accident on Highway 400 involving 14 vehicles and at least three people died. Our thoughts and prayers are with their families. OPP Sergeant Kerry Smith referred to the accident scene as absolutely carnage and devastation. Unfortunately this is not the only fatality that's happened on this highway with trucks. In the last two years there's been 1400 collisions with commercial trucks and 155 people have died. Fewer truck inspection points, truck tires becoming airborne and poor winter highway maintenance has created a serious problem with highway safety in the province of Ontario. A problem the NDP has been raising for years. A co-host of breakfast television tweeted to Minister Dalduca and I regarding this crash asking how many more truck related crashes and fireballs do we have to do with the impact of the accident in quest. Does the acting Premier have an answer for him to the people of Ontario. Minister of infrastructure. Mr. Speaker I thank the member for the question and our thoughts like the member from Nipissing Mr. Speaker with the families and friends of the victims in this horrific tragedy and on behalf of the minister of transportation I would also like to thank Mr. Speaker for responding to tragedies like this Mr. Speaker. As we do with all serious incidents on our highway the ministry of transportation will review the results of the police investigation to determine if there are additional safety measures we need to consider. And Speaker the member will know that it's the chief Coroner in Ontario who has a discretion to call an inquest at this particular point. Mr. Speaker in my supplementary I'll talk to truck safety on our highways as well. Mr. Speaker back to the acting Premier I'm not the only one that has concerns about safety of Ontario trucking industry. OPP Commissioner Vince Hawks asked the Ontario trucking industry to take a close look at the way they conduct business. The Ontario Safety League has asked the Minister to respond to the minister's inquest in this horrible accident. Speaker our first responders see firsthand the devastation impact that our unsafe highways are having on the people of the province of Ontario. Commissioner Hawks has gone on to say that the trucks on our roads are essential. Missiles traveling down the highway. Missiles and that trans seems to be getting worse and the Ontario Safety League immediately conduct a review of the Ontario trucking driving industry and order a coroner's inquest. Thank you. Minister. Mr. Speaker one fatality is one fatality too much Mr. Speaker on our highways and Ontario is the leader in truck safety standards and enforcement but we're always looking for ways Mr. Speaker to make our roads even safer. Mr. Speaker on our roads involving large trucks has been declining not as the member suggests despite growing truck traffic and we are committed to making sure our roads stay safe when it comes to truck traffic and a critical part of that is making sure the truck drivers are properly trained. That is why we introduced just this July Mr. Speaker mandatory entry level training for new commercial class A truck drivers to remain among the safest in North America and we recognize that distracted driving is a serious issue on our roads with all drivers. That is why our government has now introduced legislation that would if pass create tougher penalties to combat distracted driving making Ontario the first jurisdiction in Canada to have a license suspension for those convicted of distracted driving and the toughest penalties for repeat traffic. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Member for Ottawa Thank you. My question is for a post secondary education minister. Great things to reduce the financial barriers for entry to post secondary education to our transformation of OSAP but minister post secondary life often in a new town in a new city presents unique challenges for students as a former dean of a law university. I would like to ask Mr. Speaker to share with us what he has done and how important it is for them to have access to mental health support. We know that positive student outcomes depend on access to good mental health support. Mr. Speaker can the minister share with this house what the ministry has done and is continue to do for mental health on post secondary education. I will be right. Mental health is a very important issue on campus. I have visited many campuses. The issue I hear about the most whether it is from students, from faculty, administration, everyone agrees we need to do a better job supporting students with mental health challenges on our post secondary campuses. Speaker I am delighted to welcome the advocates for campus mental health. It is a unique report in that it is from Ontario undergraduate student alliance, the college student alliance, the college sector and the university sector work together to create this report. It is excellent and I thank them for that. Speaker we have been working since 2011. The ministry has been a partner in the comprehensive mental health and addiction strategy where we have been working on mental health and addiction projects for mental health speaking. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Minister. This incredible leadership on this issue. I know not only is it important for students but it creates a toll on all employees in university when students suffer from mental health stresses. Thank you very much for continuing to work on this for students of all ages access to mental health support is important. Not only the young people but also all the students that are on campuses. So Mr Speaker I would like to ask the minister if she could please inform this house on what the ministry is continuing to do to meet the ongoing and growing need for mental health on campuses in Ontario. Thank you, Minister. Thank you, Speaker. I was very happy this year to share with the minister of health and long-term care a $6 million increase to dedicated funding for mental health supports to enhance mental health services on campuses. This will bring our total funding to $15 million a year for mental health and increase of over 60% from last year. As part of this funding we're investing almost $4.5 million in the mental health worker grant program to hire mental health support for all public post-secondary institutions. This is not the only action our government has taken. Our students are going to benefit greatly from OHIP Plus. It will provide free prescription medications for everyone under the age of 25 in Ontario. That's her. Our government recognizes the serious importance of this issue. We will continue to work with all of our partners to ensure that mental health support for all mental health supports on campus. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This question is for the Deputy Premier. During the Scarborough by-election, your government bragged about Scarborough subway. But you have failed to deliver any transit north of Highway 401 in Scarborough. Mr. Speaker, I repeat, in my community there Minister, the environment and climate change is worn. If different acknowledgement is necessary, I'll accept seeing none. Finish, please. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I repeat, in my community there has been absolutely no transit expansion during the time this liberal government has been in office. Recently, the Premier appointed Shelley Carroll as our candidate in Dornbelly Knows. Ms. Carroll is a large opponent to the Scarborough subway project. Deputy Premier, will your government continue to stall on construction on the Scarborough subway to make you Shelley Carroll happy? Thank you. Mr. Speaker, strange things happen in this place. We seem to have a recollection and I'm reminded by the member beside me from Scarborough that that member, when he was on Toronto City Council, voted against the subway. He fails to recognize Mr. Speaker that it takes time to plan, to do the financing, to do the procurement. It's not going to happen tomorrow, Mr. Speaker. We are on that file, Mr. Speaker. We have said we are going to go forward with it, Mr. Speaker, and there's nothing else we can do other than cooperate with the City of Toronto, cooperate with infrastructure Ontario to go move forward to make this happen. And I'm very, very pleased to hear that you now support. Supplementary. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I could put my hand on Bible. Every time survey issue come up in the Council, I strongly supported them. Mr. Speaker, this is just a more talk and no action by this failed government. Frankly, it's all hard to believe during election. My resolve hasn't changed. Please. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. During election, they promised great ideas, but after election they failed to deliver. Not only that, they ignored them. And this is why I'm here today in this legislature. The only action that the Liberal Party has taken is appointing a candidate who is formally against the scubble of subway. Deputy Premier. Can your government and your candidate don't barely know, come clean and admit that you simply do not support the scubble of subway in Scotland? Thank you. Minister. Mr. Speaker, what's great pleasure that I refer this to the member from Scarborough Centre. Thank you. To be done properly, simply refer to the other minister, please. Economic Development and Growth Speaker. And maybe his good friend Doug Ford would remember this very clearly because it was on TV it was taking place during the council agenda when you were criticizing Doug Ford for building the Scarborough subway. The member was criticizing Doug Ford for building the Scarborough subway so his recollection may be different than his brand new friend Doug Ford's recollection of that issue. But what I want to say on behalf of the members that are on this side of the house these members fought very hard to ensure, despite the challenges going on when that member was at the city of the city continually changing their position on this, we stood strong for the Scarborough subway this government stood strong for the Scarborough subway every single member from Scarborough here stood strong for the Scarborough subway it's going to happen, it's being built, it's on time, it's going to be on budget it's going to be delivered despite the fact that member that didn't support it in the first place, despite what that member says Mr. Speaker. New question, the member from Mr. Meacock. My questions to the Minister of Health. Yesterday in a Timmins daily press Dr. George Frunwitz described some of the risks that his patients are facing because of the lack of hospital funding in northeastern Ontario. A child at risk of attempting suicide waited for two weeks at Bingham Memorial Hospital in Matheson before there was any beds in the mental health unit in Timmins. Another patient in Matheson had a broken hip but did not have any surgery for several days because again there were no beds at Timmins and District Hospital. Minister, this government has been in power for 14 years. Why has it chosen to continue to underfund hospitals and put patients at risk? Thank you. Thank you Mr. Speaker and as the member knows we increased our hospitals operating budget by $500 million this year in the budget but Mr. Speaker when it comes to Timmins as well they importantly specifically were included in the announcement that I made last week of the creation of the equivalent number of beds of six new hospitals across the province. So those 1200 acute care beds which of course are in addition to approximately 600 other transitional beds that we're making available but those 1200 acute care beds include an allocation of beds for Timmins and even more than that an additional as yet to be allocated complement of beds for the Northeast Linn which of course Timmins is under consideration for receiving additional beds beyond what was announced last week. So these are important investments. I know that party does not want us to make any investments apparently between now and next June when we have an election we will make the right investments at the right time despite what they say. Thank you. Supplementary. Once again to the minister Dr. Frutlich has been practicing in Matheson since 1994 he is a respected pillar in the community. I would like to quote him in the past it was most unusual to have no beds now it is unusual when you get a bed. Referring to the new beds those eight beds will fill up in no time and we will again be back to square one I cannot assure you 100% that nobody has died because of lack of beds end of quote Minister you have accused the NDP of fear mongering on hospital overcrowding. In your opinion is Dr. Frutlich fear mongering as well? Thank you Thank you minister Well Mr. Speaker we increased the budget this year of Timmins hospital by 1.6 million dollars and Mr. Speaker as well. So I have before me the capacity figures for all hospitals across this province from April through to and including September and for not a single month was Timmins hospital above capacity Mr. Speaker. Notwithstanding that we understand that there continued to be pressures across our hospitals a number of them for various reasons sometimes it's because of growth in the local population sometimes it's because of the aging population and their complex needs but the allocation that I announced that go to specifically to Timmins hospital but in addition there are 31 additional as yet unallocated beds which have been funded and have been announced that are available to Timmins and other hospitals as they acquire them and Mr. Speaker we will make those investments as we have the 1200 acute care inpatient beds that we announced last week and will continue to make similar investments. New question from Kingston in the Ireland Mr. Speaker my question is for the Honourable Minister of Research, Innovation and Science. Coming from a riding whose motto is where history and innovation thrive I am naturally gravitating towards all of the amazing articles about innovation in the province of Ontario in fact I'm surprised that people have not yet taken to calling you Mr. Innovation but I also know that innovation is one of three hats that you typically wear and I really like to hear a little more about research in our province medical research in the province is coordinated by the Ontario Research Fund a two stream program supporting research excellence and research infrastructure Mr. Speaker could the Honourable Minister please tell the members of this house about the work he's been doing to ensure Ontario is engaging in top notch research in our province of Ontario. Thank you Mr. Speaker and I want to thank the member from Kingston and Ireland for that question Mr. Speaker I also want to thank you for that nickname thank you Mr. Speaker since 2003 I have been hard at work making sure that Ontario scientists and the researchers are being supported through the Ontario Research Fund and that support has made them widely competitive Mr. Speaker the competition and collaboration has fostered discoveries which led to innovative technologies treatment for patients and advances in sizes all the while supporting very high quality jobs in our province of Ontario Mr. Speaker the Ontario Research Fund has been incredible success and we will build on that success with the Ontario Research Fund review the first meeting of which is scheduled for tomorrow Thank you Mr. Speaker Thank you Mr. Speaker I'm delighted and in fact honored to have this question I have seen that we can count on this government to build on past successes and look for new ways to run programs efficiently and maximize their value I have also seen that this is what our ministers believe in setting high expectations delivering on those goals and raising the bar Mr. Speaker support for research is absolutely critical to maintaining Ontario's reputation for its research friendly province that reputation attracts more researchers, research institutes business and foreign direct investment which results in more high paying, high quality jobs for Ontarians today and Ontarians tomorrow that is particularly important in my riding of Kingston and the islands with three post secondary institutions Queen's University, St Lawrence College and Military College Mr. Speaker could the minister tell the members more about the Ontario Research Fund and the Ontario Research Fund review Thank you minister Thank you Mr. Speaker I want to thank the member from Kingston and the island not only for her question but her advocacy for those three very very internationally well regarded institutions in her riding Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker the Ontario Research Fund is an excellent program that today has invested about 1.8 billion dollars towards recent projects investments go towards projects like sculpted free surgery projects that speed up recovery times and reduce health care burdens and research into cancer attacking viruses that have no means to defend themselves and research into the effect of wind on structures in our urban areas that could optimize wind farms Mr. Speaker as I said earlier we plan to build on these investments by starting a review of the Ontario Research Fund Thank you Thank you Mr. Speaker Thank you Mr. Speaker My question is for the minister of advanced education and skills development Several college and university groups are at Queen's Park today to emphasize the critical needs speaker for an integrated mental health strategy on student mental health Speaker a 2016 survey of 25,000 students conducted by the Ontario University and College Health Association found this 46% of students reporting feeling so depressed it was difficult to function up from 40% in 2013 65% of students reported experiencing overwhelming anxiety up from 58% in 2013 and most pressing speaker is that 13% of students have seriously considered suicide in the previous year up from 10% in 2013 Speaker will the Liberal government commit today to preparing an integrated mental health strategy to address student mental health on community college and university campuses Thank you Speaker and I think this is an issue that all three parties agree passionately about and I do want to say thank you to the people who spoke at the breakfast meeting this morning the students who have lived experience of mental health challenges who spoke very eloquently of their journey Speaker we are absolutely committed to building a more responsive more coordinated mental health system on our campuses with links to the community sector Speaker I think it's a responsibility we have to our students to ensure that they can be the very best they can be and as our minister of health says frequently there is no health without mental health so we have made important investments I'll speak to them more in the supplementary but there is more to do Speaker and I know I can count on the support of all parties as we work to address this challenge Thank you Thank you Speaker and back to the minister of advanced education and skills development money alone cannot remedy this crisis students community colleges and universities want a mental health strategy developed to deal with the crisis that exists on campuses colleges and universities support their students as best they are able but again money alone cannot remedy this crisis Speaker will the liberal government answer the call from students and materials colleges and universities and help them to address student mental health by developing and implementing an integrative mental health strategy here in Ontario Speaker I agree that money alone does not solve this problem but money sure does help and that's why we increased funding by 60% last year alone dedicated to campus mental health services Speaker the investments that we've made and the impact it's had we established good to talk a 24-7 bilingual helpline service that offers direct counseling and referral students to young people to date more than 77,000 students have accessed that Speaker the centre for innovation and mental health and campus mental health is a knowledge exchange hub they funded more than 30 unique and innovative mental health related projects that we are learning from Speaker the mental health workers grant is dedicated funding to increase the number of front line service and the accessibility of services we take this issue extremely carefully as I have said it's the number one issue everywhere I go and I look forward to the support of both opposition parties thank you my question is to the acting Premier Speaker the actions that have been taken by this government to address campus mental health have clearly been ineffective in addressing student mental health needs over the last five years the number of college and university students with identified mental health issues has more than doubled at Ontario campuses this has led to an unprecedented collaboration among four organisations representing almost the entire post secondary sector comprehensive report this morning with 26 recommendations to address this crisis in campus mental health these partners the college student alliance the Ontario undergraduate student alliance colleges university and the council of Ontario universities are urging this government to act now to implement a whole of community approach to the mental health needs of students will this government commit today to doing the right thing and implementing the recommendations immediately thank you I think the members of London West has proven my point we are all united on this issue we all believe that campus mental health is important and that we need to do more when it comes to making sure students get the support they need as I've said speaker we are all in this together we are in as government as colleges and universities student groups community services we are all in this together the recommendations from this as the member says unprecedented collaboration are excellent recommendations we will take them very very seriously thank you supplementary thank you speaker again to the acting premier speaker this morning a panel of young people shared their experiences with the lack of services for campus mental health they talked about escalating rates of students suicide a chronic shortage of counselors they talked about being referred to community mental health services and waiting eight months or more for an appointment three specific priorities were highlighted by the panelist the need to recognize post secondary students as a distinct population cohort the need for sustainable funding to support peer to peer programming with trained volunteers at every post secondary campus and the need to integrate resiliency in children and youth through mandatory K-12 mental health and wellness curriculum speaker lives are at stake and urgent action is needed now when can Ontario students expect to see these changes made and all of the recommendations from this report put into place thank you well speaker I think we agree we have strong agreement on this issue and I do want to acknowledge the people from Ontario undergraduate student alliance from the college student alliance colleges the university sector coming together to create one report is unprecedented we have very good advice now and we welcome that advice but this is not the beginning speaker we have made significant investments recently and in the past since 2012 we have invested $30 million to improve mental health supports and services for our post secondary students beginning in 2017-18 we plan to invest another $45 million over the next three years in student mental health and well-being this is important work speaker it is important that we address this issue thank you thank you thank you Mr. Speaker my question is for so speaker happens to be a fellow Etobicoke MPP from Etobicoke lake shore speaker I'm very pleased to learn about more developments in the great riding of Etobicoke north which include a $400 million expansion of Etobicoke general hospital a $2 billion expansion of the Finch LRT a brand new spanking a student center at Humber college and so much more that's going on in the riding speaker in particular to the minister the premier joined Mayor Tory and the minister to announce the leveraging of surplus provincial lands at Kipling and Finch in my riding to create new affordable housing units and of course speaker as you will know housing is of course a significant expense for people in their day to day lives helping people find suitable affordable and appropriate and housing is absolutely critical speaker therefore I'm delighted to see how the government is moving to create affordable housing units in Thistle Town in the panorama court area speaker my question is can the minister please tell us more about how this development thank you minister thank you Mr. Speaker and I want to thank the member from Etobicoke north for his outstanding advocacy for the community of Etobicoke north Mr. Speaker we understand the growing pressures that many Ontarians face in their desire to own a home or even to rent a home that's why we announced our fair housing plan back in April Mr. Speaker it was a very comprehensive package of measures which included taking surplus provincial lands and allowing them to be developed for much needed housing Mr. Speaker yesterday I was pleased to be with Premier Wynn as she announced the release of the Thistle Town lands for the creation of a new residential community which will include 35% of all the new housing units there as affordable some will be affordable rentals some will be affordable home ownership and there will be large size family units as well as part of that redevelopment Mr. Speaker thank you I'd like to thank my fellow MPP from Etobicoke also the Minister of Housing with reference to that answer first of all Speaker I'm not sure if I've mentioned the extraordinary developments going on in Etobicoke north which include the $400 million expansion of Etobicoke General Hospital the $2 billion expansion of the Finch LRT with eight stops eight stops count them within my own riding custom designed for residents and Speaker in particular to the Minister as in the capacity as the Minister of Housing I'm especially pleased to learn as he's just detailed the Thistle Town site which is by the way a 48 acre beautiful site within my own riding which will include green space a new community and a range of housing options and Speaker I understand that the multiple measures that the Minister is undertaking as part of the Fair Housing Plan will not only benefit my own constituents in Etobicoke north but beyond Speaker my question is could the Minister please elaborate on how the Fair Housing Plan is helping to create more fairness and opportunity Thank you Minister Thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to the member from Etobicoke north for both posing the question and almost giving the answer as well Mr. Speaker our comprehensive Ontario Fair Housing Plan included a number of measures in addition to releasing lands to create thousands of new affordable units across the province we expanded rent control to all Ontario tenants we limited the above guideline increases that landlords could charge we're working on a standard lease that would protect both tenants and landlords across this province with common language and conditions Mr. Speaker we also brought in measures to tamp down on rampant speculation that increases housing prices Mr. Speaker the announcement yesterday is another example of Fair Housing being brought to Ontario Great answer The member from Scarborough ancient court on a point of order Yes Mr. Speaker thank you very much I want all of us to wish the Minister of Community Social Service a happy birthday Member from Prince Edward Hastings on a point of order Speaker point of order I had a really good question I wanted to ask this morning but because of the length of the questions First of all that's very insulting to the Speaker and I take offense to that I also have some sad news Apologize I apologize to the members this is the last day for our pages We do want to thank them for their service to Ontario and appreciate very much the work that they've done I hope the third votes this House stands recessed until 1pm this afternoon