 It is now time for a question period from Oxford. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Premier. Premier the international plowing match has taken place this week in Perth County as you will know. My caucus and colleagues and I are pleased to be attending and meet with the people from rural Ontario. These people don't ask for much and they certainly don't get much from this government. One of the few programs that is available to them is the Rural Economic Development Program. It is a program designed to assist businesses and communities in rural areas to succeed. Premier, can you explain to the people of Ontario why you gave funds designated for rural communities to businesses in Toronto last week? Very pleased to have a question on agriculture and food from my critic. If it takes the international plowing match to get a question, so be it. It's great Mr. Speaker. I want to let him know that this morning I was at Food Share in Toronto with farmers from all over the province talking about the $30 million investment that we're going to be making in local food. This is going to support communities across the province and it is an absolute priority of farmers and processors. So producers and processors that as a government we support the local food movement and that we make sure that municipalities and communities across the province do everything they can to support local food Mr. Speaker. And I'm very proud that we do. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. And back to the Premier and Premier as well and good what you did this morning. The question was about what you did last week. Premier, after six months as Minister of Agriculture, I would hope that you could recognize rural Ontario. Many of our rural communities desperately need jobs. Your spiraling hydro rates are forcing businesses to close. We've lost over 9,000 jobs because of your government's decision on horse racing. And now you're giving money from the Rural Economic Development Program to businesses in Markham, Woodbridge and Toronto. Premier, would you consider Woodbridge part of rural Ontario? I think so. Mr. Speaker, I understand that investment in rural Ontario is critical Mr. Speaker. In the Rural Economic Development Fund, 4.5 million available this fiscal year Mr. Speaker. And those dollars will help rural municipalities. We also have invested since 2003 Mr. Speaker, 167 million dollars in 418 projects. And as I said Mr. Speaker, the local food fund 30 million dollars that we announced this morning. But Mr. Speaker, the premise of the member's question is that there is an unbridgeable divide between different parts of the province and somehow promoting local food or supporting food processing in a suburban or an urban area does not support the agri-food industry Mr. Speaker. That is not true. We are one Ontario and we work together to do that. Perfect. No, no, no. The member from Durham? No. No. Final supplementary please. Thank you again Mr. Speaker. And back to the Premier. It's obvious from your answer that you don't understand the premise of this question. I'd like to read you a quote from the Rural Economic Development Program Guide. Under eligible applicants it says, and I quote, for the purpose of the red program rural encompasses all of Ontario with the exception of the greater Toronto area and eight large urban municipalities. That's fairly clear to me. So when those programs, when those projects were approved, in fact, they did not comply with the red program. Now I can tell you that at the plowing match tomorrow, NOAA will consider companies in Markham as part of rural Ontario or from Woodbridge or Toronto. I can tell you, or could you tell me what percentage of the programs you are actually spending in those larger municipalities that are not eligible for that program according to the rules you put in place. To suggest that investment in food processing is not part of investment in the agri-food sector and doesn't support producers just does not mean that the member opposite just does not understand how that... Program investments and service investments led to 500, Mr. Speaker, and created and retained more than 2,400 jobs. We are making those investments to create jobs, Mr. Speaker, and to support the industry. That is what the program and investments are intended to do, Mr. Speaker. Oh, don't repeat it. I hope the member opposite will support the local food act, Mr. Speaker. I hope the member understands that making those investments supports producers, supports food processors across the province, across one Ontario, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, since 2011, 9,000 jobs have left Ontario's horse racing industry badly impacting rural Ontario. Worse still, the McGinty-Winn government, supported by the NDP, has single-handedly driven thousands of owners to flee Ontario's horse racing industry, taking with them $1 billion in investments. In fact, the very existence of a viable breeding sector is now in complete and utter jeopardy. Sadly, rural Ontario knows that your government doesn't have even a single idea on how to fix the McGinty-Winn horse racing crisis. Premier, how can you justify spending over half a million dollars in consulting fees, while over 9,000 men and women have now lost their jobs in Ontario's horse racing industry? Thank you. Premier? Premier? We've started the habit again of me hearing members' names being said in the House. I'm going to remind all members. And from here on in, I'm going to be somewhat stricter. Please refer to all members, either their writing or their title. That helps elevate the debate. Premier? Mr. Speaker, well, you know, I'm sure the member opposite is aware that we had a horse racing season this year, Mr. Speaker. And it wasn't at all clear that that was going to happen. It did happen. It was a robust season, Mr. Speaker. And my intention and my objective is to make sure that that continues, that we have a sustainable horse racing industry well into the future. We've committed $180 million, Mr. Speaker, to allow for that transition to a more sustainable industry, Mr. Speaker. And the member opposite knows full well that it was one of the recommendations of the Drummond Report that we take a look at this industry, Mr. Speaker, but it needs to be that we move to a future where there is sustainability. That's what John Snowblain and Elmerview Cannon and John Wilkinson are helping us with, Mr. Speaker. And I am very optimistic. We've made a lot. We've had a lot of success so far and that we will have a sustainable horse racing industry into the future. He shouldn't be celebrating that, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, back to the Premier. Premier, the Ontario Racing Commission reports that the number of licensed horse owners has dropped over 30%. In fact, your plan to close the Dresden Raceway in my riding, along with six other standard-bred tracks throughout the province, will result in thousands more jobs being lost. Premier, only Tim Houdak and the Ontario PCs have put forward a plan to build on the existing partnership and strengthen Ontario's horse racing industry. Premier, will you immediately scrap the Liberal Modernization Plan, stop building dozens of new casinos across the province, and instead re-establish a partnership with the horse racing industry and save up to 60,000 jobs? Mr. Speaker, and I neglected to welcome the member opposite to his new role as labour critic, Mr. Speaker. And I haven't heard that number before, Mr. Speaker. But what I can tell you is that we have been clear that modernizing the system and integrating the horse racing industry with the gaming industry has been a priority, Mr. Speaker. That is why, that is the instruction that we have given to OLG. That's the conversation we've been having. And we have been clear that having a sustainable horse racing industry, since I came into this office, is our objective, Mr. Speaker. And it's interesting to me that the member opposite would not be interested in change, would not be interested in modernization when his leader stands up day after day, Mr. Speaker, and asks for a wholest wholest change that would undermine all sorts of services across the province. The fact is, Mr. Speaker, we want a sustainable horse racing industry. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Back to the Premier. Premier, the manner and timeframe with which the McGinty-Winn government terminated the Slots at Race Track Partnership has created a crisis throughout rural Ontario. Your decision has led to a complete and total exodus of investment as more than 3,000 owners have fled the industry, taking with them approximately $1 billion in combined investments. Premier, you have nearly 600,000 men and women out of work and racing towards a $300 billion debt. Is it because these jobs and investments are in rural Ontario that you don't give a damn about them? For the sake of decorum, I would ask the member to withdraw. I'll withdraw. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Well, I will answer the substance and not the mean-spiritedness of that question. And the reality is, Mr. Speaker, first racing industry in this province, Mr. Speaker, and the fact is having committed $180 million over Mr. Speaker so that we can have that program in place, the reality is that the SART program, as it was in place, was not transparent, Mr. Speaker. It was not accountable. There was a fractious industry that lost track of the client, Mr. Speaker. It had to be changed. We're changing it. And we admitted that, Mr. Speaker, there needed to be a sober second look at the process. We've done that. The panel is giving its recommendations. We're going to have a sustainable horse racing industry. And it's going to be part of the overall gaming strategy in the province. Again, I would think the member opposite would be supportive of that. Thank you. New question. The leader of the third party. Thank you, Speaker. My question is for the Premier. Later today, the Premier and I will be meeting in person, but I want to be very clear. I'll be saying later today, exactly in turn, Speaker, people expect the government to deliver results. Results that create jobs for youth, cut home care wait times, lower auto insurance costs, and make government accountable. Is the Premier ready to deliver on these results for people, Speaker? Absolutely, Mr. Speaker. I want results for the people of Ontario, and that's why we're making the investments that we are, Mr. Speaker. That's why we are. We're developing programs to invest in the people who need support, to invest in infrastructure, and to invest in businesses so that we can get the economy going and we can continue to create jobs, Mr. Speaker. That's the objective of the measures that we put in our budget, and I look forward to our meeting later today. Well, Mr. Speaker, people have heard the government make promises, but when it comes to actually delivering results, they see the same old spin from the Liberals and nothing getting better for them. For example, drivers paying the highest auto insurance premiums in Canada are still waiting for relief speaker. They want to know if the rates are going to go down at all this year or just keep climbing. Will the Premier commit to an actual decline in rates this year for good drivers in Ontario? Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance has spoken to this publicly that we are going to be working with the industry to move those costs that will bring the cost, the overall average cost of auto insurance down, Mr. Speaker. We're committed to doing that. We have said we're going to do it within a reasonable time frame, and it's not the kind of thing that can happen overnight, Mr. Speaker, but we are committed to doing it. We will see those reductions. And the fact is, Mr. Speaker, we have done this before. When we came into office, auto insurance was similarly a very difficult challenge for people. The rates went down on average. I think it was 11% over a number of years, Mr. Speaker. We will continue to remove those costs so that auto insurance rates can go down. It's a priority for us as a future speaker. We've been clear about that. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, young people in Ontario are facing double-digit unemployment, and they want to get out of their parents' basements and into the workforce. Now, we made it clear that we expected to see results for young people when we put forward a plan to get those results in the budget. Now, the government promised them by September. They even tried campaigning on the promise in the by-elections. Now, when the Premier actually gets started on the first start proposal that the ND put P-foot forward and start delivering for young people who are desperate for work, will they start delivering those results, Speaker? Maybe this month, maybe next month, when? Maybe next year? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And just to go back to the first part of the question, there actually are companies in the province who have already announced a reduction in auto rates. This is the auto insurance rate, Mr. Speaker. CAA and cooperators have put out releases. So we are going down that road, Mr. Speaker. And on the issue of youth employment, the leader of the third party knows this is a priority of mine, Mr. Speaker, and I was glad that she put it forward as one of her priorities. In fact, Mr. Speaker, the applications for the youth employment fund are available for the end of this month. We are taking action immediately, and young people will have an opportunity to take advantage of those challenges. Thank you. Thank you. A new question? The leader of the third party? Thank you, Speaker. My next question is also to the Premier, and I think it's important to keep you on this theme of results. You know, across Ontario, seniors facing health problems tell us that they would prefer getting support at home rather than languishing in hospital beds. Now, it's better for them, and it's better for the health care system. I think everybody realizes that. Yet seniors are waiting weeks, even months, to get the home care support that they need in this province. Now, the government promised to boost home care support when will we see wait times for home care and actually start to go down for people? Thank you, Premier. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Well, as the leader of the third party knows, we made a commitment to put, I think, it's three times the amount that she suggested. Six times the amount that she suggested that we put into home care, Mr. Speaker. Those dollars... Member from home spray and sound comb order. What we want, we want reduced wait times, and we want those services to be delivered in a timely manner. We also want, Mr. Speaker, the right services to be delivered. And I know the leader of the third party understands that there's a whole range of services that people need in order to be able to stay in their homes. Some of them are medical, some of them are non-medical, some of them are different kinds of supports. And what I've heard from my seniors' advisory group over the years, Mr. Speaker, is that it is those acute medical issues that need to be attended to, but they also need some support for the things that need to be done around the house in the community that will allow them to stay in their home. Care in a timely way, Mr. Speaker, and that they get the right kind of care. Thank you. Supplementary. Well, Speaker, I hate to tell the Premier this, but it's not about spending. It's about actually getting results with those investments. Seed up to the spring budget, we made it pretty clear that we need a fair and balanced approach to balancing our books. The government plans to create $1.3 billion in new tax loopholes for corporations so they can write off the HST on winding and dining their clients. And we thought that that was just a cost that Ontario simply cannot afford at this point. So earlier this week, the Premier said she was going to, quote, keep pursuing that. When are we going to get some results, Speaker, when it comes to these corporate tax loopholes, or at least an update on whether or not the chase is on goal? So, Mr. Speaker, let me just talk about results, because I think the leader of the third party is framing a number of issues within this question of results. And I just want to give her some numbers and to just say that it is necessary to spend more money on home care, Mr. Speaker, because there are more people who need home care. So it is actually about spending more money, and it is about spending it smartly, but it's about investing in those services. In 2003, Mr. Speaker, the number of clients served in community settings in Ontario was 348,110. Mr. Speaker, in 2012, that number is 637,727. So, Mr. Speaker, we have been getting results. We will continue on that trajectory, but having said that we need to invest $185 million acknowledges that there is an acute need for that kind of investment because of the increased numbers, Mr. Speaker. In terms of the tax issue that the leader of the third party raised, I know that the minister of finance will continue to pursue that with the federal government. Thank you. Well, Speaker, the bottom line is that people want to see results, not political games and empty promises. They want action that will create jobs, that will make life affordable, that will reduce the time that they spend waiting for the health supports that they need, and that will take a balanced approach to balancing our books. Now, they've heard the Premier's promises and what they want to know and what we'll be discussing later today with the Premier, what I'll be discussing later today with the Premier, is when will she actually deliver? So let me just review, Mr. Speaker. We've got two companies that have said that they are reducing their auto insurance rates, Mr. Speaker. We've got hundreds of thousands of people more getting community care and there will be more, Mr. Speaker. We've got a youth employment fund that will be available for young people at the end of this month, Mr. Speaker. I would suggest that those are results, those are changes and improvements that will make a huge difference in people's lives. I'm interested in results and I look forward to our conversation, but, Mr. Speaker, make no mistake. We have delivered results and we'll continue to do so. Here we go. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Agriculture Minister this morning. In the words of an egg farmer in Hastings County, red tape is killing agriculture. The time it takes for a farmer to get permits and approvals he needs from your ministry to build an extension onto an existing barn can take months or even years. The red tape run around is discouraging innovation, growth, and expansion for the family farm and for agribusinesses. Farmers know better than most how much the cost of doing business will go through the roof every time a bureaucrat carrying a clip cord walks up their driveway. Minister, if a farmer wants to extend a barn to the same length as his existing barns, a project that will create about a quarter million dollars in construction work for local contractors, why should he have to wait through not one but two building seasons to get an approval from your ministry? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I just want to acknowledge that the member opposite raises a very real issue in terms of the need to look at regulations and make sure that we have the right regulations. Remember, a regulation has to balance the business imperative and safety imperative, Mr. Speaker. So we have a one-window process. We have a regulation reduction process, Mr. Speaker, that is making changes. So we replace two outdated egg regulations with a single regulation that reflects industry practices, Mr. Speaker. We're streamlining packaging and grading standards to give fruit and vegetable growers and packers more choice, Mr. Speaker, in how they market their products to meet new market demands. So we are making changes, Mr. Speaker, that are real, but at all times we are going to balance the market imperatives and the safety imperatives. Thank you. Supplementary? Speaker and minister, I spoke with hundreds of farmers just a couple of weeks ago at the recent Hastings County plowing match and farm show in the Stirling area. They're insulted that you've reduced the role of agriculture to a part-time position. They're disgusted with the notion that the number one industry in Ontario is nothing more than photo ops in red rubber boots by a downtown Toronto premier that thinks a furrow is an expensive coat. Minister, the fact of the matter is there's no reason why it should take more than two years to get these kinds of projects approved. The over-regulation of our family farms and agribusinesses is getting worse, not better. 77% of farmers indicated their red tape burden is getting heavier, not lighter in Ontario under your government. The number of forums and questionnaires and studies is making it nearly impossible for them to grow. Minister, why is your government intent on putting our farmers in Ontario out of business? Well, Mr. Speaker, I have to say the young people to whom I was handing out 4-8 awards the other day didn't seem to think that it was a problem that the premier was paying attention to. Shines a light on the fact that the party opposite wants to divide. The party opposite doesn't want to help people understand that we live in one province, we live in one Ontario, Mr. Speaker, that people who grow our food and produce and process our food are integrally connected to the people who live in our suburban and urban areas, Mr. Speaker. And if we forget that and if we undermine that connection, Mr. Speaker, then we are doing future generations a huge disservice. The farmers I have talked to, Mr. Speaker, want high profile for agri-food. They want everyone in the province to understand that it's a priority of this government and it is, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. President. To the minister of health and long-term care. Mr. Speaker, almost everyone in Ontario has had their life touched by cancer. We rely on our cancer system and this is something that we all value. But for 3,500 Ontarians who have received letters and phone calls telling them that their diagnostic images may have been read incorrectly, this trust has been shaken. People are telling the Canadian Cancer Society that they're worried that they can't trust the results that they're getting. Will the minister agree to call in the Ontario's ombudsman to start rebuilding people's trust in our healthcare system? Mr. Speaker, I expect the highest quality of care from our physicians and from our hospitals and I know everyone else in this province does as well. We take these questions very seriously and I know that Trillium Health is reviewing 3,500 individual cases to ensure that any patients who need follow-up care get that follow-up care. I have spoken to the CEO of the hospital. I've spoken to the chief of radiology and the chief of staff of the hospital, Speaker. They have a strong and getting stronger quality assurance in place and I know that they, as much as we want to get this review done as quickly as possible, Speaker. Thank you, supplementary. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So far we've learned a woman that was given a clean bill of health and she has a stage 4 tumor. We've heard another woman say that she received a notice for her husband who has been clear bill of health and 8 months later died of stomach cancer. The government knew about this in August but we are only finding out about this now. The minister doesn't have to reinvent the wheel to learn what was wrong and rebuild confidence in our healthcare system. She can call in the ombudsman right now to start getting the answer to give people faith that there is an impartial non-political advocate in their corner. Question? Will the minister call the ombudsman to start looking at this now? The member opposite does in fact know that our healthcare system is amongst the best in the world. People who get cancer in Ontario have amongst the highest survival rates of anyone in the world and I know she would not want to shake the confidence of people in our healthcare system. In fact there is an external review under way speaker at Trillium Health Dr. Brian Yemen from McMaster has come in speaker with a team of 20 radiologists to review these files as quickly as possible. They are hopeful that the 3,500 files will have been reviewed by the middle of October and as those files are reviewed patients will be notified whether they can rest easy speaker or whether in fact follow up care is required. Thank you. New question? The member from New York Southwestern. Thank you Mr. Speaker. My question is for the minister of labour. Minister is your aware my writing of York Southwestern to a large community of newcomers. Newcomers face a variety of challenges entering the workforce and finding good pain jobs. Many of my constituents are working in low pain jobs and leaving off the minimum wage. A number of organizations that I know very well and I've met many times are rallying to have the minimum wage raised. They have the province wide day of action just this past weekend. Minister, when so many Ontarians rely on the minimum wage in order to afford the basics of day to day life what is the ministry doing to provide some assistance and help those who need it the most? Thank you. Thank you very much speaker and I want to thank the member for asking a very important question and she's right in fact there are too many Ontarians who live on minimum wage and we have to do everything to increase and enhance their livelihood. That's why a speaker was extremely unfortunate that doing the previous Conservative government for nine years straight there was a freeze of minimum wage in this province not a single penny was raised it was stuck at $6.85 and I'm very proud and our government is very proud that when we came into government we raised the minimum wage by 50% from $6.85 to $10.25 and speaker we did that during the good economics time and during the great recession we did not stop from raising the minimum wage to $10.25 making it one of the highest in the country now the question speaker is what do we do next what direction do we need to go and that's why we have created a minimum wage advisory panel that is consulting across the province to give advice to the government. Thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to the minister for that answer. Recently there has been a lot of tension from the media with the respect to minimum wage and everyone seems to be coming out on one of two sides the workers action center is very active on one side and they have actually made the 14th day of every month a day of action to raise the minimum wage to $14 an hour the other side of the argument is that further raising the minimum wage would be troublesome for some businesses who employ these workers resulting in less jobs for minimum wage workers the minimum wage advisory panel before making the recommendations will need to ensure that all viewpoints are taken into consideration the needs of the workers and the needs of the employees need to be heard on this important issue Mr. Speaker through you to the minister how will the panel seek to achieve this? Thank you very much Speaker this is a very important conversation that is taking place across the province and I am very encouraged to see representatives from all sides taking part that's why what we have ensured that the panel is a representative panel it's led by Professor Anil Varma an expert in human resources and industrial relations from University of Toronto but then we also have representatives from Union from anti-poverty advocates students and small businesses so that we've got all point of views taken into account and they represent the breadth of province from Windsor to Ottawa and all other communities in between the panel is travelling the province right now in fact there is a consultation taking place this Thursday in Mississauga and I encourage members from the community in the process we also have a dedicated website Ontario.ca minimum wage review where there is information and folks can write into the minimum wage at Ontario.ca Premier last Wednesday Ontario rate payers are paying wind turbines not to produce a single make a water energy now but your government is still moving ahead intent on building thousands of turbines across rural Ontario how can you justify building more turbines in on willing host communities when you're paying the ones already built not to produce energy industries can't afford it families can't afford it and seniors on fixed incomes cannot afford it Premier will you finally admit your government's green energy scheme is a failure and call for an immediate moratorium for turbine development very much Mr. Speaker well I would suggest to the member opposite that an industry that has 2700 clean tech firms and employ 65,000 people in the clean technology sector Mr. Speaker that the coal plants needed to be shut down and we knew that we needed to jump start I just want to make a comment earlier I asked you to raise the debate by using people's titles or their writing now I'm asking you to try to stop shouting people down it boils down to just simply decency thank you Mr. Speaker we calculate that 4.4 billion dollars has been avoided in health care and environmental costs Mr. Speaker by shutting down coal plants 668 fewer premature deaths per year 928 fewer hospital admissions per year Mr. Speaker 1100 fewer emergency room visits per year Mr. Speaker I think that those kinds of results and that kind of success speaks to the efficacy of the the direction that we've taken Mr. Speaker we jump started an industry we created jobs and we've improved the health of thousands of people across the province thank you supplementary Premier no one is buying your government's rhetoric anymore the fact is your energy ministry is an absolute unstable mess you have had colleagues stand up in this house and say good things growing in Ontario but sadly the only thing growing in Ontario right now are hydro rates unemployment rates and the number of industries running away from this province because they can't afford your energy rates the number one issue in my constituency offices are the stress over hydro ones ever increasing hydro bills it's shameful Premier we have had enough will your government finally position energy as an economic driver as opposed to a policy that is driving away industry Ontario so I would just ask that the member opposite talk to some parents of children with asthma and ask them what they think about having cleaner air in the province Mr. Speaker we have acknowledged that we need a better process for citing these large energy infrastructures Mr. Speaker we've been clear about that the minister of energy is developing and has announced a better process for citing those pieces of infrastructure Mr. Speaker we acknowledge that but the fact is we needed to jumpstart this industry it's created jobs and it's cleaned up the air Mr. Speaker you cannot put a price on that thank you new question we're from to Mr. Lee Cochran thank you Mr. Speaker my question is to the Premier and the minister of agriculture and food for the past ten years Ontario small processors not just the farmers small processors have been under a lot of pressure due to constant regulation changes that are not really practical for them and in most cases nor do they improve food safety in fact many mom and pop abattoirs have closed simply out of frustration in 1998 there were 267 abattoirs and now they're half shameful you can't have local food without local processors especially in rural areas what will you as minister of agriculture do to ensure that small processors can keep their doors open thank you very much Mr. Speaker and I want to thank the member opposite for his question because he's right that we need to continue to look at regulation particularly around small abattoirs he's absolutely right because some of the regulations what I have heard from food processors is that some of those regulations are very onerous for some of the small abattoirs Mr. Speaker we are looking at that but again I want to just be clear as I said to the member from the official opposition regulation is always a balance between the business imperative and the safety Mr. Speaker so we are not going to put people's safety at risk we are going to make sure that all of the rules that need to be in place are in place but I acknowledge that there are some small businesses a way to lessen that burden Mr. Speaker thank you Speaker once again to the premier I think no one in this house wants to jeopardize food safety and that's not the issue here but currently the regulations facing processors large and small are one size fits all and that just doesn't work for small mom and pop processors the ones who are processing local food and this is a case where it's a good thing for the premier and the minister of air culture to be the same person because if there's one thing the premier can do is push it through so once again what will the premier do to ensure that small processors are not buried by red tape heard the concern we're continually reviewing and adjusting the meat inspection program and policies and we've listened to the meat plant operators Mr. Speaker and we're proposing changes to the regulation that will not compromise food safety as I said we understand this is a concern particularly for small avatars but I will never Mr. Speaker sign off on anything that will compromise people's safety it's got to be the balance between it's got to be the balance between the business and the safety we're making changes we're proposing changes but we are going to make sure that those safety regulations are in place. Thank you very much Speaker my question is to the minister responsible for seniors affairs over the next 20 years communities across Ontario will face a significant shift in demographics the number of seniors aged 65 and over which I will be one in Ontario will double to 4.2 million persons Speaker last month I attended along with many of my colleagues at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario Annual General Meeting in Ottawa and it was made clear to us that the municipal leaders are facing not only new opportunities but challenges presented by this significant demographic shift Speaker can the minister inform this House of what our government is doing in taking action to support our seniors in communities across this great province of Ontario is possible for seniors Thank you very much Speaker I would like to thank the member from Glencara for his important question and yes while I was attending the AMO conference I met with a number of leaders from the municipal sector and stakeholders I was also very pleased to launch the finding the right fit the age friendly community planning guide speaker it is an invaluable guide which was extremely well received by both municipal leaders and seniors stakeholders Speaker very distinguished members of this legislature have also received individual copies so I hope they will enjoy it and they can order some more but first let me say Speaker that the age friendly community responds to both the opportunities and the challenge of an aging population and I look forward to providing further details in the supplementary question Thank you Speaker Thank you Minister for the update I did have the privilege to serve as Mayor of Alexandria then North Glen Gary for 11 years a great town and the great riding of Glen Gary Prescott Russell and it was so refreshing in 2003 to finally have a government that actively supported municipalities across this great province not only in planning for communities and allowing seniors to continue to contribute in all aspects of their life but I can tell you that the nine mayors and councils in Glen Gary Prescott Russell certainly appreciate the good work this government has done because we do have a very high large population of seniors in our riding speaker Recently I had the honour of having the Minister responsible for seniors affairs in my riding visit Hammond, residence Saint Matthew, manager Nicole Normain and we discussed many of the challenges by seniors and I'm just asking through you Speaker if the Minister could just update us on some of the details of that valuable tool Minister Thank you Speaker Indeed it was a real pleasure to visit with the honourable members and his riding and meeting many seniors wishing to remain in their own homes and in their own community as long as possible Speaker the principle of this guide includes both physical and social dimension that contribute to independent aging and living as well such as outdoor spaces, transportation housing and social participation the guide and the way it helps the local municipality Speaker is in this way assessing community dimensions defined local principles conduct community needs assessment and develop implementing and evaluate their own community based on their own plan Speaker supporting age friendly community it's a key component of Ontario's action plan for seniors helping seniors stay healthy active and engaged in their community for as long as possible it is my interest and the interest of this cabinet Speaker Thank you, new questions the member from Bruce Gray Rown South My question is the Premier Premier we need to fix the Endangered Species Act in 2003 there were 19 species listed in 2021 and I daresay a profitable farmer is one of those sadly your administration has obviously politicized the ESA rules by basing its decisions on supposition not on verifiable science when a farmer is unable to harvest hay because your supposition deems his farmland an endangered turtle habit then you're grinding our production to a halt. Premier this overzealous act is out of control and desperately needs reforming will you quit your war against farmers and get today to fixing the ESA Thank you Speaker and I appreciate the question from the member and the member knows full well the importance that we place on farming and agriculture in the province of Ontario I want to commend the Premier for her leadership on this issue Speaker I also want to commend the Premier on her commitment to reforming and changing the ESA and after number of years of implementation of this legislation I think all members in the legislature agreed that the changes that were brought recently this spring to the ESA are more reflective of the views and values of Ontarians and the values and views of everyone in this legislature so I say to the member opposite that the endangered species act is a very effective piece of legislation let's not forget that it continues to be the gold standard in North America for protecting species at risk in this province but we've now made changes to it that make the implementation of this legislation much more effective and much more balanced We'll try this again to the Premier During these challenging economic times Ontarians cannot afford runaway regulations it's disturbing to see this government ignoring the call for transparency and accountability in the Endangered Species Act May I suggest our measures as outlined in the past prosperity make analyzing the socio-economic impacts to the ESA mandatory publish the scientific analysis along with the proposed rules and make the committee an advisory board to the minister with the minister having final say on decisions related to the ESA Premier, our hard-working farmers want to know will you make these common sense proposals a reality We have listened to farmers in the agriculture community in this province and we've made those exemptions those necessary exemptions that we can work at for solutions that deal with Endangered Species This is a complex issue the member opposite wants to try to simplify this issue but if we're going to have legislation in this province that is in fact the gold standard in North America for protecting species at risk we need to find the right balance and it means working with all of the sectors We've put together a working group at our ministry that includes a broad cross-section of individuals and organizations to address this issue and we've reached in fact a fantastic I think balance on this issue The farmers know that we're listening to them, we're working with them to ensure that they can continue to ensure that their livelihood is protected in this province so we can also protect the species that are at risk in the province of Ontario Thank you Thank you Speaker my questions for the Premier On Tuesday morning a diesel fuel leaked from a Canadian pipeline in Starnia but the Ministry of the Environment didn't call for the the closure of the downstream drinking water intake pipes until more than 10 hours after the leak Why didn't the Ministry act before residents of that community noticed diesel floating in the river and a nasty smell in their drinking water Minister of the Environment Mr Speaker as the member would know under the Environmental Protection Act the company which is Sun Canadian is responsible specifically for notifying the Ministry of the Environment of the Spill and the municipality within the boundaries where in the spill happens to have occurred the spill did reach the St. Clair river via the coal drain and the Ministry notified downstream drinking water plants to monitor their intakes the operators for both Wallaceburg plants decided to close the intakes as a precautionary measure the Ministry also notified other downstream users including First Nations Communities, Michigan Authorities Environment Canada, TSSA and the National Energy Board all have been notified Ministry staff attended a multi-agency meeting with city officials including the Mayor, the Fire Department to discuss the status and the next steps I will wait for the supplementary supplementary Well, Speaker the point is all of this activity took over 10 hours to actually take place thousands of residents in Wallaceburg and Walpole Island First Nation depend on the St. Clair river for their drinking water shockingly this isn't the first time that they've had their drinking water contaminated by chemical spills worse yet the warning system failed people from children and elders to contaminated drinking water for several hours speaker now the people of Sarnia deserve to know what went wrong last week and what the government will do to take real action to prevent future spills and more importantly to protect the drinking water of downstream communities what exactly will they do Mr. Speaker the Ministry staff are continuing to monitor the company's progress with the cleanup additional catch basins were cleaned out overnight cleaning of the storm sewer will be where it was occurring overnight and water treatment plants were reopened on September 11th, 2011 if there are any incidents that would require let's say an investigation which would result ultimately in charges being laid the Ministry always ensures that there's an investigation that takes place after each one of these incidents and I can assure you that that kind of investigation should it produce any particular offense against the laws of the province of Ontario to result in the Ministry proceeding with the necessary action against those who would be responsible thank you for the question the member for model himself thank you Mr. Speaker my question is for the Minister of Transportation our government is making record investments in Ontario's highway infrastructure which will benefit my riding of Ottawa south my constituents rely on safe roads for all vehicles from cars to bicycles to get to work and to school there are many people in my riding who cycle and this has many benefits to our environment as well as helping to reduce congestion on our roads I am pleased that cycling has been a priority for this government cycling has a central role to play in reducing gridlock improving air quality and building stronger, healthier communities I understand that the government has recently announced its new cycling strategy could you please update the house on this new strategy I know this is something my constituents would want to hear about thank you thanks very much Mr. Speaker and it's great to be joined in the house by the member for Ottawa south who has a long history of cycling advocate and as I've said to my colleagues on both sides of the house from Ottawa Ottawa is really one of our most dynamic communities in cycling and they were heavily involved in the development of this policy and we're very pleased with that this is one of the most comprehensive policy strategies to come out it was started by the premier when she was Minister of Transportation we've evolved into a very exciting new partnership because not one order of government can build cycling infrastructure or develop the rules so this is a partnership with municipalities the Canadian auto association the Ontario trucking association many regional advocacy groups bicycle retailers to look at safety initiatives include everything from strategies for stronger penalties Mr. Speaker and I'll conclude by saying organizing our existing infrastructure and additional infrastructure thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to the minister for that update I'm glad to see that our government is encouraging cyclists a viable means of moving people around our communities one topic of concern that I've heard from my constituents is the issue of door in which occurs when a park motor vehicles door is open into the path of an oncoming cyclist this is dangerous and has resulted in many injuries in 2012 there were 104 convictions for dooring incidents from passengers throughout Ontario this is a concern for all cyclists Speaker could the minister of transportation please update the house on the government's position regarding dooring thank you minister thank you very much Mr. Speaker the minister's working group on cycling is a really interesting group cross industry dooring has been identified as one of the big challenges so we will be looking at this at multiple layers which is the reason for a community centered approach to this so we have a one year action plan coming up and we expect that dooring will be part of it it will involve the minister the attorney general of the province a former mayor and big cycling advocate who will be working with us on the laws and regulations the CAA is part of this as is the Ontario Trucking Association so they will be working educating drivers on dooring as it's highly dangerous we also have been working with municipalities from the city of Ottawa also members of the working group members of other parties Mr. Speaker we're very proud this is a non-partisan approach and Mr. Speaker in conclusion I also want to thank MPP Fife and my friend from Kitchener the member for Muskoka where Perry sound and my parliamentary assistant the member for Aging to Lawrence who have the parliamentary cycling caucus going we have questions Mr. Speaker thank you very much Mr. Speaker my question is to the Minister of Agriculture and Food Minister, while the horse racing industry languishes in limbo seeking leadership for the last two years you have been pretending to care about rural Ontario and the loss of 9,000 jobs in the horse racing industry thus far you and your panel of three put on a good pony show at over half a million dollars lost to taxpayers but what have you done as premier hard time agricultural minister to address the crisis facing the horse racing industry in this problem Mr. Speaker well thank you very much Mr. Speaker and I really I am very pleased about this renewed interest in agriculture and food and I love your match Mr. Speaker and let me just say that we have made huge progress on moving to a sustainable horse racing and I have acknowledged Mr. Speaker that the original changes to the slots at race track program were not as well thought through as they needed to be my predecessor the Minister of Community and Social Services began a process whereby he put a panel in place to take that second look at how we could have that sustainable industry Mr. Speaker we put 180 million dollars in place for transition funding Mr. Speaker for three years the panel is going to have a year plan we want a sustainable industry and the way that's going to happen Mr. Speaker is we're going to have an industry that is integrated with the overall gaming strategy in the province I'm very proud of the work that we've done Mr. Speaker and we'll have a sustainable industry going forward well Minister if you've read the good book you would know there are four horsemen when the apocalypse is to come well given your financial policies and production for rural Ontario the horse racing industry in particular Ontario is witnessing the apocalypse of financial ruin you and your panel seem to be symbolic of the four horsemen what are you going to do to save the horse racing industry in this province from the apocalypse and save over 50,000 jobs from being eliminated from rural Ontario good question Social Services who is much more of a theologian than I am the first thing that Noah did when he got off the boat was to plant a vineyard but I was going to say I was going to say Mr. Speaker that we have the three horsemen Mr. Buchan and Mr. Snowden and Mr. Wilkinson who are decisions to have in place a sustainable horse racing industry I have visited horsemen I've been to the tracks I've talked to people about what's needed I know there was a lot of disruption in the sector there was a lot of angst Mr. Speaker I also know that they were concerned because there was no integration between the horse racing industry and the overall gaming strategy that has changed now Mr. Speaker that integration is happening and with the advice of the panel those three horsemen we're going to have a sustainable horse racing industry in Ontario Your question the member supports the Ohio Department Thank you Mr. Speaker my question is to the Minister of Housing and the municipal affairs there are large scale condo developments proposed and already underway across from High Park which is a precious resource not only to Torontonians but to all Ontarians there are serious concerns about the environmental impact of these developments already 200 year old oak trees black oak trees their heritage trees also impacts nesting birds migratory patterns and various other human health and safety concerns this is yet another example of undemocratic decisions made by the OMB in favour of developers why has the Minister failed to ensure the protection of this environmentally significant park and its boundary areas Thank you Minister I thank the member for a question and this actually has not been raised with my staff yet but I appreciate the question and I certainly have heard from municipalities from across Ontario about the planning system and their concerns with it and I want to publicly thank the member for the work that he's done on this file I know he wrote an editorial this morning regarding this important issue and my ministry obviously is still reviewing it and I want to remind the member that the City of Toronto already has the authority to establish local appeals boards under the planning act in fact only last week Councillor Adam Vaughn publicly mused about the possibility of Toronto creating a local appeals board body strengthening our land use planning system is certainly a priority and we believe good land use planning ensures long term economic prosperity and the social well-being of all Ontarians That's why only a few weeks ago I announced a consultation and I'll speak more about it in this supplementary Thank you The minister knows full well that what Adam Vaughn is talking about and others are minor variances and not major changes that the OMB does rule supreme my friend here wrote about this very fact and she should read the article This is a matter relating to environmental protection the province has designated sections of high part as environmentally significant due to the rare black oak savanna the OMB does not have expertise in this area no they don't despite promising more environmental expertise on the OMB board this government has failed to deliver any significant reform of the OMB after over 10 years in office the government is allowing the OMB again and again to override local environmental concerns will this government protect high park or even is high park even for sale to developers because of this government Thank you Minister Speaker as I announced when I was at the AMO convention there was an upcoming review about consultations with regards to the Ontario land use planning because we want to find better ways to reform land use planning and we want to work better with our municipalities across Ontario because we want to make them livable communities and I look forward to working with the members of the third party with regards to consultations we believe the OMB provides an important role in hearing land use planning acts with local planning decisions and community interests and certainly I look forward to making the system better and I look forward to your input in the consultation period Thank you Thank you Speaker My question is to the Minister of Consumer Services Minister over the summer months I met with some of the not-for-profit organizations that are operating in my riding there was a variety of them providing essential and supportive services to residents of Ontario I met organizations focused on advocacy to education and opportunity to recreation they not only vary in their focus and specializations but also in the size and complexity of the organizations while providing me with an opportunity to learn about their significant contributions to our community they raised questions about the not-for-profit act and its requirements Mr Speaker through you to the Minister can the Minister please share with the House more information on this act the not-for-profits face under this legislation Thank you Minister consumer services Thank you Speaker and I'd like to thank the member from Ottawa Orleans for this very important question as I've shared with the House before there are approximately 52,000 not-for-profit corporations currently operating in Ontario offering a variety of services and meeting needs of Ontario's Terrians in very unique ways not-for-profits not only help people in everyday life but they're an important element of job growth and economic development in our province the new act will provide a more modern legislative framework to meet the unique needs of this growing sector the act the not-for-profit corporations act once proclaimed will make it easier for not-for-profits to operate today's dynamic market it will enhance corporate governance accountability and transparency it will simplify incorporation processes better protect directors and officers from personal liability and it will clarify that not-for-profits can engage in commercial activities if their activities support not-for-profit purposes Thank you Speaker Thank you before we leave we do have a visitor in the east members gallery that member is a former member from Stormont Dundas Stormont Dundas Southern Gallery so tonight Mr. Jim Burrell the member from Northumberland Coonty West on a point of order Mr. Speaker I know it's not a point of order but it saddens me to announce that the passing of Howard Shepard MPP as this morning passed on and I just wanted to let the house know that our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Bernice and his family and I just want to extend that to all members Thank you Mr. Speaker The member is correct to stop the point of order but I do also want to remind all members that there is a cooperative effort in this house that we will continue to honor all of those that have passed away as August members of this special place there are no deferred votes this house stand adjourned until Wednesday September the 18th at 9 o'clock