 It's now time for oral questions. I recognize the member for Tomiskaming Cochran. My question is to the Premier. Yesterday, another 112 seniors in our long-term care homes caught COVID-19 in 24 hours. While the second wave races through long-term care, the government continues to delay and obstruct the release of information to their own long-term care commission. They set up the body to fix the crisis in long-term care. As reported by QP briefing this morning, the commission refuted the government's claims that they were not delaying the release of documents and pointed to, and I quote, continual delay. What is the information is the Premier afraid to share with the commission? Mr. Long-Term Care, your response. Thank you, and thank you to the member opposite for the question. Our government struck this commission so that residents, families, and staff could get answers quickly. And we are committed to ensuring the integrity of and public trust in this independent review of our long-term care sector. We gave the commission the power to issue summons for witnesses or produce documents. And this includes powers under the Public Inquiries Act and the Health Protection and Promotion Act. We committed to giving the commissioners our full support and cooperation, and we have done that. And when the commissioners asked, we expanded the terms of reference, and we have worked with them diligently in many other ways. So we will continue to work with the commission and the commissioners because we respect what they're doing. We want to get to the bottom of this. The public, Ontarians, they have questions, and we're going to make sure that we continue to provide our commission with the information that they need and our full support. Thank you. Question? Your government's not just impeding the work of their own commission. They're also ignoring the commission's recommendations. Over a month ago, the commission called on the government to stop studying the studies and immediately addressed the staffing crisis with full-time positions and four hours of hands-on care. The minister responded with they're developing a robust plan for next year. Seniors are dying today. Where's this government's sense of urgency? They're dying now. This is a second wave. This wasn't a surprise. We all saw this coming. The government saw this coming. Why didn't they? And why are they not acting? Mr. Blanchard, Karen? Thank you, Speaker. And I appreciate the concerns from the member opposite. We, too, have shared them since the very beginning. Since day one, the sense of urgency has been absolute to deal with the crisis that was left behind by the previous government, the neglect of the staffing crisis by the previous government supported by the NDP, as well as the capacity crisis. Absolutely. This was, unfortunately, set in motion well before COVID. And our government was the first government to look at long-term care and say, we need to build capacity. We need to address the staffing. We need to provide more support in home. And that's why our community paramedicine program has been so well received is because people want to stay in their homes as long as they possibly can. And the peace of mind provided by the community paramedics, 24 hours seven, is really a very important key to making sure we can do that, as well as building the staffing, the return of service, the rapid streamings for their education, the mass training. These are all ongoing. And we're putting dollars behind that, 540 million, 243 million, 461 million. It keeps going. Thank you. And the final supplementary. Thank you, Speaker. Today, one in eight long-term care homes is an outbreak. There was 33 more cases overnight. And some health experts say the prime premier's iron ring is really an iron sieve. He's really good at the catchy terms like iron ring. The premier should have spent the summer moving heaven and earth to prepare long-term care homes and protect seniors in the second wave. And he should be doing that now. But it seemed almost like he spent the summer taking a victory lap. So why? But why is he continuing to drag his feet and hide facts from people who are supposed to be saving lives in long-term care? Why? Make that information. Question now. Minister of Long-term Care. Thank you, Speaker. And I can tell you, with absolute certainty, the number of people working around the clock, the continuous efforts, the sense of urgency to address this worldwide crisis and address it in Ontario has been absolutely amazing and inspiring to see people putting themselves forward, not only our front line. Everyone who's working behind the scenes to do that. And I look to Quebec. And I look at Ontario. And I say, Ontario plan and our homes are holding. We are getting them the integrated support that they need, whether it's through the mandatory management orders or voluntary management contracts with our hospitals, voluntary assistance from our hospitals, making sure that we take every measure and every tool possible to do that. We're putting in rapid testing. We are making sure that every tool is being used. As I said before, this is around the world. Response. And we must not only create the pipeline and create the interest in long-term care, we must be able to retain them. This will be a much longer sustained effort. And our government is behind that. We will continue to. We. Thank you very much. Thank you. The next question, member for Brampton Centre. Good day, Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Education. This week, we learned that COVID-19 outbreaks in our schools were worse than any of us thought. While the minister doesn't want to face reality, his response to the growing outbreaks has been called, and I'll quote, nonsense by some health experts and even worse by others. Will the minister finally admit here in this house today that the test results are proving that COVID-19 spread is serious and we need to immediately expand in-school testing if we want to know what's going on? The Minister of Education, Boris Barham. Mr. Speaker, the Premier and the government is fully committed to taking action as we have since the beginning of this pandemic to ensure students and staff remain safe. It is a societal imperative that we keep schools open. We believe that. It's why the province and the government, as a matter of priority, took action to restrict and lock down in Piel, in Toronto, in the highest regions with community transmission, putting as a priority our seniors, our students, and the most vulnerable. In the action, in the context of asymptomatic testing, a program, this province stands alone in the country having launched in Ontario in the highest risk for regions of Toronto, Piel, York, and Ottawa. What it underscores is that we will continue to act given the rising risk that we see at home and abroad in the context of COVID-19, and we'll continue to take action listening to the Chief Medical Officer Fowlton, the science to ensure we can continue to keep our schools open and safe. That's your question. Speaker, unfortunately for the Minister, the doctors, those whose job it is to actually keep us safe, say that this Minister is just making stuff up and that he's not even remotely close to the facts. Dr. Ashley... Going to ask the member to withdraw. I withdraw, Speaker. Dr. Ashley Tute, an epidemiologist and modeller at the University of Toronto, who sits on this province's volunteer science table, says that the Minister's use of random numbers to defend his bad plan is, and I'll quote, not at all comparable, and it's highly misleading to say that it is. We all knew that things were getting bad. I'm going to ask the member to withdraw once again. Order, place your question. I withdraw, Speaker. I guess at the end of the day, what we're looking for from this Minister is an apology to parents, students and education workers who are putting their lives at risk in our schools and for him to actually come up with a plan that's going to help us address the COVID-19 outbreaks in our schools. Will he be doing that? Mr. Viscation. Speaker, we will continue to build up our plan that leads this nation with a comprehensive masking policy with an investment of $1.3 billion, with improvements in air ventilation and the vast majority of our schools with the doubling of public health nurses, with 2,700 net new teachers supporting smaller classrooms in all of our respective schools with an additional 1,200 new custodians ensuring our schools remain clean. These investments are making a difference and I appreciate full well as the member opposite recognizes that the risk of COVID-19 is rising within our community. And that's why we're taking province-wide action as a matter of priority to ensure our schools, our retirement homes, our seniors, all of those the most vulnerable in our society remain safe. That remains our priority and I can assure the member opposite, we will continue to step up our investment. Another $380 million is forthcoming with the federal dollars that will enable us to- Bonds. Protect the gains we've made in this province and ensure we keep schools open and safe in 2021. And the final supplementary. Thank you, Speaker. And despite the minister's desperate attempts to change the channel, the same doctor, Ashley Tute, says that this conservative plan simply doesn't cut it. She says that more follow-up is needed. And I'll quote, the fact that you can go in and find all these cases and say that we don't think there's a lot of transmission happening in our schools, I don't think that you can say that with a straight face. And quote, she actually goes on to say, you need to do more. Full stop minister, you need to do more. So our question is, will you be acting on that advice and will you actually be doing more for the people of this province? Minister of Education, that's enough. In this province, Speaker, we are doing more than any province in the country. So I accept the premise that we need to lead. We'll continue to do so. It's why we double public health nurses, which no province has done. It's why we have a comprehensive masking policy starting in grade four, the most progressive requirements of any province and can including the Democrats in British Columbia. We have a requirement, Speaker, on cohorting. We've changed the way schools operate to reduce transmission. We have taken action with a $1.3 billion investment. The Leeds Canada unlocking reserve dollars, federal dollars, provincial monies, all together enables us to have a plan that keeps our schools safe and open even while we contend with the global challenge of COVID-19, the second wave. We are working in partnership with our school boards, with our public health units, with the Minister of Health every single day to ensure that we can take every step possible, every layer of prevention in place, which we have in response. We'll continue to act listening to the advice and the expert opinion of the Chief Medical Officer to ensure students and staff are safe in Ontario. Thank you. The next question from Member for Davenport. Mr. Speaker, this question is for the Premier. Speaker, schools being back for about 11 weeks and the government has just started asymptomatic testing in some schools, in some regions, despite assurances that their schools plan was based on data and expert advice. Cases are surging. Winter break is approaching and we're still trying to learn what we can from this limited data to see just how COVID is manifesting in our schools. We have established that the government's numbers don't hold water. We've established that they ignored the advice of experts in education and health. We've established there's no plan to address learning gaps other than summer school. Speaker, we've already lost precious time while this government tries to save a few dollars. Will they act now to dramatically increase asymptomatic testing so we can learn from these outbreaks and do better to keep our children safe? Minister, good to catch you. Well, thank you, Speaker. We were proud to launch asymptomatic testing in this province. The only province that I'm aware of in the country that is doing this because we want to understand the data. We want to understand not just where the problem exists but how we can counter it further, particularly in those high-risk communities that have high levels of positivity. In the case of Thorncliffe Park, where it's been noted by the board, roughly 16% positivity rates. And within the school, as noted by the principal, roughly a 4% positivity rate. So the point in short is asymptomatic testing, expanding these high-risk regions is following the expert advice of the Chief Medical Officer who, on this side of the house, we have confidence in and will continue to listen to his advice if he encourages us or provides any direction to expand or change the region. As I've noted before, in this house, we will do so without reservation to ensure the safety of kids in Ontario. Thank you and the supplementary question. Mr. Speaker, I've just learned that 299, there are 299 new school cases today in Ontario. And the Minister of Education is comparing apples to oranges and he knows it perfectly well. Speaker, the testing at Thorncliffe Park Public School shows just how little we know about how the virus is circulating in school communities. But every time this minister is presented with new information, his first instinct, his first instinct is to deny and to cling to talking points instead of reflecting on the impact of his decision. There are 270 students and 17 staff from that school in isolation right now. That's 287 families who've had their lives and their learning disrupted. They deserve so much more than to be brushed off as data points that prove things aren't as bad as they could be. Yesterday, I wrote to the Minister of Education's new Education Health Advisor to request a meeting to ask when they are going to be releasing a plan for a province-wide surveillance testing program. I asked what supports are in place to communicate public health measures across school communities prior to the holiday break. Mr. Speaker, Ontarians deserve these answers. Will the minister provide them? Minister of Education. Mr. Speaker, I think the basis of the plan we've unveiled that has been fully supported by the Chief Medical Officer of Health and fully funded by the province of Ontario. What it has enabled us to do is, amongst the largest province with 2 million students, it ensured that 1.5 million students today who are in class and roughly 500,000 students online are able to learn each and every day in a safe environment with every little prevention in place according to the Chief Medical Officer of Health of this province and the Associate Medical Officer of Health and leading experts who believe our plan so far notwithstanding the increasing rate of community transmission that we are doing something right and when I refer to we, I mean the frontline staff, I mean our school boards and our public health units who are collaborating. The member for Davenport will come to order. And do everything humanly possible to ensure that the students of their school remain safe. The fact that 99.92% of students do not have an active case of COVID, the fact that 99.79% of students have not had an active case of COVID underscores what we are doing. The layers of prevention we put in place are helping to mitigate the risk. We'll continue to act to protect students. Thank you very much. The next question, the member for Perry Sanma School. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Environment Conservation and Parks. Mr. Speaker, those of us who call Ontario home couldn't ask for a better place to live, work and raise a family. However, for over a decade, Ontario pursued a very urban centric environmental policies dreamt up in downtown Toronto. Rural and Northern Ontarians were largely left out of the discussion about conservation and the fight against climate change. They had to make huge sacrifices without really having a say in the policies. Mr. Speaker, in 2018, the people of Ontario made it clear they wanted a government that put forward more well-thought-out initiatives to fight climate change and keep our air, land and waters clean for future generations. Can the Minister of Environment Conservation and Parks tell us what our government is doing to deliver on that mandate? Mr. Speaker, the Environment Conservation and Parks. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, and thanks to a member from Perry Sound, Perry Sound, Muskoka for that question. It's been a pleasure to be working with them all these years. Mr. Speaker, our government understands that the natural resources is our greatest strength and it's possible and important to have a healthy environment and a healthy economy. We also recognize the importance of consistently evaluating and adopting initiatives so they meet the needs of the hardworking people who call this province home. It's been two years since we first introduced our Made in Ontario Environment Plan and we've made considerable progress on our commitments. We've announced $4.5 million for the Species at Risk Fund, $20 million for Ontario's land conservation efforts, and we're reinvesting in the Ontario Community Environment Fund to support projects that improve the environment, including dedicated funding to tree planting. Mr. Speaker, these are just some of the things that we've done in the short period of time we've been here. We're not going to stop. We'll continue to show our strong environment to leadership in the days, months, and years to come. And the supplementary question. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The people of Ontario are passionate about the protection of water, and many are concerned about litter polluting our waterways and are worried about sewage and wastewater overflows. Unfortunately, under the previous government from 2017 to 2018, raw sewage overflowed into southern Ontario waterways 1,300 times. It also took the previous Liberal government almost a decade to change Ontario's Safe Drinking Water Act so that lead tests were finally required to be conducted by schools and daycares. In 2017, the NDP member from London West said that, quote, the ruling Ontario Liberals have done too little to protect children and toddlers from the perils of lead in drinking water, close quote. Mr. Speaker, the people of Ontario expect their government to work hard to ensure our drinking water is safe to drink and waterways are protected. So can the Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks inform the House about what work this government is doing to keep our water clean and safe? Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. Again, Mr. Speaker, and thanks to that member for that strong history lesson for the legislature. And Mr. Speaker, unlike the members of the opposite opposition, this government is working diligently to ensure water in Ontario continues to be safe and protected. During the last two years, we've invested 1.67 million in funding to the Great Lakes Local Action Fund, $375,000 to collect plastic waste from arenas around the province using innovative plastic capture techniques, $5.8 million for funding for 65 Great Lakes projects, and $37 million in new innovative wastewater and stormwater programs to improve wastewater monitoring and public reporting. Mr. Speaker, we're also updating Ontario's current policies and consulting on further action to reduce levels of lead in drinking water. Unlike the previous government, Mr. Speaker, we know there's always more work to be done on these important issues, and we're committed to getting more done, Mr. Speaker. It's only been two years. We've made great progress. Just watch us go forward the next two. Thank you very much. The next question and one member for a Windsor to come see. Thank you, Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Long-Term Care. Good morning, Minister. Speaker, PSWs and other healthcare workers are true heroes, but in long-term care, they're underpaid and overworked. Because this government does not have a staffing strategy, for-profit corporations can tell PSWs to do more work for even less money. Roulette Manor into Cumpsey is owned by a numbered company. At the bargaining table right now, they're trying to cut the wages and benefits of their front-line staff. Minister, do you think squeezing the staff will fix the atrocious conditions in long-term care homes? Mr. Long-Term Care. Thank you, Speaker, and thank you to the member opposite. Absolutely not. In fact, what our government has been doing is supporting our front-line workers, who we appreciate so very, very much for their dedication, compassion, and determination in the face of COVID. What we've done is provide them with pandemic pay to boost their wages not only during the time of COVID-19, but another $461 million to support them with an increase of $4 an hour and $3 an hour, depending on where the PSW is, whether it's in long-term care or home care or a retirement home. So when we look at overall the measures that are being taken, we understand fully that this is not just about the dollars. This is also about creating the conditions where people want to work in long-term care. And that's where we come into our monumental commitment to four hours on average per day, per resident, of direct care. This is something that has never been done by any other government, despite numerous reports on this issue. We will continue to put our front-line workers at front and center with our residents and take the necessary measures to make sure that they are supported. Thank you. The supplementary question. Speaker, in that case, I hope the minister will tell the bargaining team at Brulat Manor to change their tactics at the table. PSWs are run off their feet, but they still struggle to deliver the kind of protection our parents and grandparents deserve. This numbered company is trying to reduce the wages and benefits of their front-line heroes. Speaker, the Ford government just granted the company a lot of money for renovations. How can this government reward profit-taking corporations when at the bargaining table, those companies treat healthcare heroes as zeros? Yes. Mr. Blanchard, care. Thank you, Speaker. And it's disappointing to hear the member opposite say that about personal support workers on the front-line. They are heroes and they are dedicated and they are going to be supported and are supported by a measure of our government. Our government is committed to putting our residents at the centre, and that means focusing on the staff as well. And looking at the mess left behind by the previous government, inadequate capacity, inadequate staffing, looking at so many things that our government has committed to right from the beginning to make sure that our residents get the care and support they need. We are putting the residents at the centre in everything we do, ensuring that they are protected to the maximum of our ability. And the staffing are supported. And as I said, the pandemic pay, the wage increases, making sure that the conditions in the halls are supportive of the staff. And there is so much work to do. I am really inspired by all the people who are working at the front lines and behind the scenes to make this transition, this very important transition, to a 21st century modern long-term care system happen. And I hope that everyone... Thank you very much. Thank you. The next question, the member for Orléans. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Long-Term Care. Speaker, yesterday, the member of Ottawa South and I wrote the minister regarding long-term care capacity where I detailed the story of one of my constituents, Mr. Christof Moraz. Mr. Moraz is a 78-year-old former anesthetist suffering from advanced dementia. On July 24th, Mr. Moraz was admitted to the acute care psychiatric ward of the Ottawa hospital while he awaits long-term care bed placement. Mr. Moraz has been on the wait list for long-term care for two years, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Moraz's wife, Zofia, puts it best when she says, the thing that I find tragic is that Chris is taking up an acute care bed from some other deserving patient and that he could have been in a more appropriate place. Mr. Speaker, through you, can the minister... Question. Order. I'm going to allow the member to place his question. Mr. Speaker, through you, can the minister assure this house that our current capacity in our long-term care system is being fully utilized? And if no, why not? Do you have long-term care? Thank you, Speaker. And it's kind of shocking to hear a comment like that or a question like that. I got to ask, what did you miss over the last 15 years? Well, I'll tell you what you missed. You missed a neglect of the long-term care system for 15 long years where inadequate capacity was left to languish. People were left to languish on the wait lists. I know. I've been through it. I've been through it for many years with my own family and I don't know where you've been. Our government started right from the beginning, from day one, to address the long-standing capacity issues, the long-standing staffing issues that were left behind by the previous government. We simply can't snap our fingers and make it happen, but we are committed to it. We are dedicated to it. And I look at the capacity that was knocked at 611 beds in a number of years. During a time when the over 75-year-old population grew by 170,000, it is shocking the neglect of the previous government. And I just don't know where... Thank you. And the supplementary question, the member for Ottawa. Mr. Speaker, Mrs. West's mother, June, took is 91 years old and also suffers from advanced dementia. She is currently at a bed at the Montfort Hospital, awaiting a long-term care placement. She's been on a list for 18 months. At the Perlian Rideau Veterans Health Centre in my riding, 120 out of the 450 long-term care beds are not occupied. 120 beds in single rooms are empty. That's shocking, Minister. So given the number of people in hospital, like Mr. Morose and Mrs. Tuck, and in the community waiting for a bed, can the Minister explain to all of us here how that situation could actually occur, where 120 beds out of 450 single-bed rooms perfect for infection control are empty? And can the Minister commit to fixing it today? Mr. Long-Term Care. Thank you, Speaker. What a... You know, it's incredible the lack of understanding involved in from the member opposite. When we look at... We look at... You need to understand the severity of what's happened in our long-term care homes. And the expert medical advice from our Chief Medical Officer of Health. Stop the clock. The House will come to order. And I'll remind members to make their comments through the Chair. Member for Ottawa, South will come to order. The Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks come to order. Minister of Labor come to order. Restart the clock. And the response? The reason these beds exist the way they do is because we are taking the advice of the Chief Medical Officer of Health, the Associate Chief Medical Officer of Health, because of the severity of outbreaks in homes across Ontario. I would hope that you would be aware of that. We must do everything we can to protect our most vulnerable population in the long-term care homes. And we are required to address the outbreaks. And again, for the probably umpteenth time here, I have described the definition of an outbreak. An outbreak includes one staff member who would be self-isolating at home or in one resident. And... Okay, thank you. Once again, we'll ask the Member for Ottawa, South, to come to order. The next question, the Member for Perry, Salma, Skolka. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Associate Minister of Energy. Mr. Speaker, we know that COVID-19 has been difficult for families and businesses in Ontario. Paired with the liberal legacy of high electricity costs imposed on major employers, many of my constituents have been reaching out for help. To keep our economy going. Can the Associate Minister of Energy please tell this House what our government is doing to support employers in our province? The Associate Minister of Energy. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Member from Perry, Salma, Skolka for that important question in his 20 years of service. Mr. Speaker, our government is jump-starting economic recovery and reducing electricity costs for businesses by removing a portion of the costs of wind, solar and bioenergy from their bills and the green energy experiment that the Liberals put in place starting on January 1st, 2021. By doing this, industrial consumers could see savings of about 14 percent and while commercial consumers such as grocery stores could see savings of about 16 percent. Mr. Speaker, after years of liberal mismanagement we are once again making Ontario a competitive place to attract investment and create and sustain while paying jobs. I want to share a quote from the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers Association which commended our actions stating and I quote Mr. Speaker reducing these costs will help to position the automotive industry for success. Mr. Speaker, we are proud to support the auto industry that employs more than 100,000 hardworking enterons as well as the other industries that contribute so much to our province. Thank you, Speaker. The supplementary question. Through you, Mr. Speaker, I'd like to thank the Minister for that response. I've always agreed that commercial and industrial rate prayers should not have to pay for the energy mess left behind by the previous Liberal government. I hear the same concerns from small business and residential customers in my writing too. Can the Minister please tell this House what we're doing to help those customers as well? The Associate Minister. Thank you again, Mr. Speaker. And again, I'm pleased to tell a great member from Perry Sound, Muskoka that we are helping small business and residential customers by giving choice. Starting in November 1st, residential and small business customers have had the flexibility to choose an electricity rate structure that best suits them. I'm happy that tens of thousands of enterons and small and general businesses have already taken advantage of picking the option of either time of use or tiered rates. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business and I quote, welcomes the interior government's decision to end mandatory time of use pricing for small businesses. Giving small business owners the power to choose the system that fits their operation will help provide much needed flexibility and relief as they recover from COVID-19 pandemic. Mr. Speaker, we are proud to support small businesses during this difficult time by lowering their electricity bills and we'll continue to support them throughout. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you very much. The next question, the member for Parkdale High Park. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Recently, the Roncesville Village BIA in my writing of Parkdale High Park launched Not For Lease, a campaign in which businesses put up four lease signs to show what our community will look like if small businesses are not supported. Not only are small businesses missing out on the busiest shopping season, their customers are going to big box stores who can sell both essential and non-essential goods. BIAs representing the Junction, Blurrest Village, and others argue that small businesses are actually better equipped to follow public health guidelines than big box stores. The question to the Premier is how many small businesses have to close and put up four lease signs before you address this double standard? Minister of Economic Development, job creation and trade. Thank you very much, Speaker, and thank you for the question. Well, we know that in consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of Health and Health Experts, the province has moved to Toronto and Peele region to lock down and some regions to new restriction levels in keeping Ontario safe and open framework. Now, these necessary measures are being taken to limit community transmission of COVID-19 in order to keep schools open, safeguard health system capacity and protect those more vulnerable. But what you need to share with the businesses are the many supports that are available. There's $600 million that's been opened up. So those businesses that are in lockdown in that zone, they have their property taxes completely paid for all the days that they're shut down. They have all of their energy bills paid for all of the time that they are in that shutdown. They get 100 percent of those property and energy costs back. Speaker, in my supplementary, I'll talk a little bit more about the other recovery programs. Supplementary question. The mess is a small business in Parkdale High Park that has been around for nearly 40 years. Sean, who has worked at the mess for over 25 years, has been a bartender, then a manager and now a co-owner and he reached out to me. Sean told me that the mess has struggled because of COVID-19 but his biggest problem right now is that his insurance premiums have tripled. For months now we've heard small businesses who say that if nothing else related to COVID-19 puts them out of business the insurance costs will. As Sean says, price scouting for a service that is legally mandated cannot be tolerated should not be tolerated. Why hasn't the premium already acted to stop insurance scouting? Will he take swift decisive action and support the hospitality industry that is already facing insurmountable hardship? Thank you. Minister of Economic Development. Thank you very much again, Speaker. The Chief Medical Officer of Health and health experts will continue to provide advice to our government by using a wide range of criteria that will help direct us. But again, you need to speak with your small businesses to share with them some of the cost savings that are in place for them. Again, 100 percent of their property taxes, 100 percent of their energy bills they can apply for the $1,000 Main Street Recovery Grant. They can apply for the $57 million digital Main Street program that is helping 23,000 businesses get online so not only can they have the customers that are normally in their shops available, they have the entire world at their doorstep for this valuable investment. Order. They can also apply, Speaker, for the new rent subsidies for the new wage subsidy programs and with respect to insurance they can certainly follow the new gouging guidelines that Premier Ford announced some months ago. Thank you very much. The next question, the Member for Guelph. Good morning, Speaker. My question is for the Premier. Last Friday, Ontario's big city mayors passed a resolution asking the government to withdraw Schedule 6 from Bill 229. The list of municipalities who have passed resolutions in support of conservation authorities is too long to list. 64 organizations are running ads asking the government to stop attacking conservation authorities. People understand that undermining CAs ability to protect us from flooding will cost billions in property and infrastructure damage. It's fiscally irresponsible to act with such reckless disregard for the way CAs have saved lives and money. So, Speaker, will the Premier stand up for the people and remove Schedule 6 from Bill 229 so that conservation authorities can continue to protect people's lives and property? Order. The response to the Minister of the Environment Conservation Parts. Thanks very much from the Member opposite for that question and of course the heckle from the Member from Windsor, Mr Speaker. Listen, this Bill let's Schedule 6 that we put forth in the Bill, Mr Speaker speaks to ensuring there is accountability, transparency, and consistency in our conservation authorities, Mr Speaker. Right now, conservation authorities are unaccountable to pretty much anyone. They're not consistent with the legislation that they're enacting within their conservation authorities and they're not transparent, Mr Speaker. It's hard to get an audited financial account publicly, Mr Speaker. What this legislation will do will ensure that conservation authorities can focus on their core mandate at a watershed level to ensure that they're protecting constituents from flooding and erosion, taking care of conservation land and source water protection, Mr Speaker. In response to the big city mayors, Mayor Drew Dilkins from Windsor wrote, lots of mayors including myself as part of the Interim Mayor's have issues with the conservation authorities and the powers giving them delays and adds cost to projects often much without material benefit. These changes need to be made, Minister Heurig from Mayor Thank you very much. And the supplementary question. Speaker, with all due respect to the minister, the vast majority of mayors are calling for the government to stop the attack on conservation authorities because they recognize that it will cost the people of Ontario billions of dollars in property damage if the government moves forward with schedule six of bill 229. The reality is the reality is is the government's own special flood advisor said that one of the things that makes Ontario unique and its ability to help mitigate flood risk is conservation authorities. The federal government's 2016 study said that one of the reasons Ontario does a better job than other provinces in mitigating flood damage is because of our conservation authorities. So speaker, I asked the minister, will the minister listen to the big city mayors who are asking for more consultation? Will the minister listen to the 64 citizens or questions who are asking the minister to stop attacking conservation authorities and remove schedule six from bill 229 and engage in real consultation with local community? Very much. Minister of the Environment Conservation and Parks. Thanks very much, Mr. Speaker. And I don't agree with the member opposite that these changes conservation authorities are going to cost Ontarians billions of dollars. In fact, Mr. Speaker, it's going to do quite the opposite. This legislation will ensure that all conservation authorities not only becoming accountable and transparent and having consistency in the application of the legislation throughout the province, Mr. Speaker. This legislation will ensure that they are focused on their core mandate focused on protecting citizens from flooding focused on ensuring that we can deal with erosion focused on dealing with conservation lands, Mr. Speaker, and focused on source water protection. Mr. Speaker, right now as of 2017 25 of the CAs in this province out of 36 25 spent less than 20% on flood risk mitigation. Of those 25, 10 spent less than 10%. Mr. Speaker, conservation authorities have gotten away from their mandate. They've crept away from the unfair of people in this province. We're putting them back. We're adding accountability. Transparency and consistency. The member opposite should be supporting those moves to protect Ontarians and the environment. Thank you. And the next question. Once again, the member for Perry saw on the stool. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the associate minister of mental health and addictions. Minister, we have recently seen reports of children and youth across the province experiencing significant levels of stress, anxiety and other mental health and addiction challenges during the COVID-19 outbreak. Parents of my writing are concerned for the mental health of their children. But I know our government has made a commitment to support the mental health of all Ontarians. Minister, could you please explain to the members of this legislature how our government is addressing the mental health of Ontarians, youth and children. The associate minister of mental health and addictions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I'd like to begin by thanking the member from Perry saw Muskoka for that great question. The health and well being of all Ontarians will always be this government's top priority. Mr. Speaker, that's why we're proud to be providing 24.3 million dollars in targeted investments in communities across the province to make it easier for children, youth and their families to access the mental health supports they need. Just last month, Mr. Speaker, we announced 176 million dollars towards building a comprehensive and connected mental health and addiction system where every Ontarian could be fully supported. And Mr. Speaker, this additional 176 million dollars builds on the 174 million dollars that we invested last year in more funding for mental health and addiction services for Ontarians of all ages. All of this, Mr. Speaker, saw an investment of nearly 60 million dollars alone to support the mental health of our youth and children. Mr. Speaker, this 84.3 million dollars in ongoing child and youth mental health funding since our government took office is just the beginning. There is more to come. Thank you. And the supplementary question. Minister, thank you for that answer. I know my constituents will be pleased to learn that we are continuing to fulfill our commitment our commitment of creating a mental health and addiction system that works for all Ontarians, especially youth and children. Minister, with post-secondary students finishing up exams, we know many are feeling burnt out, stressed and anxious. With COVID, these students would won't be able to get together with friends and family over the holidays, which might usually be part of how they deal with this stress. Mr. Speaker, could the minister please explain to the members of this legislature what we are doing to address the mental health of our post-secondary students? The associate minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And once again, thank you to the member for the question. Mr. Speaker, in addition to the targeted funding to help our children and youth, Minister Romano and I recently announced an investment of $19.25 million, including $3.25 million in new mental health funding to support Ontario's post-secondary students. And this will ensure resources like good to talk mental health line for students remains available 24-7 and will also support campuses in providing frontline mental health services. Mr. Speaker, we've made an historic investment in mental health. Our additional $176 million investment this year brings new investments across the sector since last year to a total of more than $350 million in ongoing annualized funding. And we're on track to meet our commitment to invest $3.8 billion over the next 10 years. We're committed to addressing the mental health issues of the people of the province of Ontario. We'll continue making investments that are good for all the people of the province. Thank you. Thank you. The next question, member for Ottawa Centre. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Premier. Last week's Auditor General report revealed that Ottawa had the longest wait times for the entire province for COVID-19 tests during September and October. During these two months, Speaker, it took for case management to begin 4.5 days. So not only did this fail to meet the ministry's own targets for case management, as the Auditor General wrote in her report, it quote, may have led to further exposure and spreading of the virus. Speaker, this government had all summer to plan for the second wave that we knew was coming, but they left Ottawa high and dry and did not give our public health authorities the resources they needed to stop the spread of the virus. When will they, Speaker, take action now and release the $9 billion of money we know you're sitting on to access public health money to stop the spread of this virus? When? The member for Eglinton Lawrence and Parliamentary Assistant to respond. Thank you, Speaker. I want to be clear that our government continues to work closely with all of our local public health units in the fight against COVID-19 and that includes the local public health unit in Ottawa. The province and the federal government through Statistics Canada provide contact tracing support to public health units across Ontario and most of that is coordinated through Public Health Ontario. Local public health units provide the names, phone numbers of close contacts or of positive COVID patients for the workforce to reach out to and to follow up with ensuring testing and self-isolation and we're supporting Toronto and Ottawa Public Health with additional support through direct assignment of Statistics Canada OPS and private sector staffing. That includes 200 staff coming in the next few weeks to Toronto Public Health and additionally 150 staff provided to support Ottawa Public Health with case and contact management starting over the next couple of weeks. So we've invested a billion dollars in our case and contact management and testing strategy and the Thank you very much. Supplementary question. Speaker You know, Speaker I think you can tell a lot about a government by how they react to criticism and what I've just heard from my friend the parliamentary assistant who made a valiant effort to put lipstick on a pig of an effort that we have seen in the second wave of this virus is that they were not there in September and October. The Auditor General has blown the whistle on this government and what did they do last week Speaker they attacked the Auditor General and you disgraced yourself in doing so. Stop talking to me about billions of dollars of money floating around now. Where were you in September and October? Where were you for the grocery store clerk that had to go to work sick? Where were you for the warehouse worker? Where will you be now? I'm going to caution the member on the use of this language. Member for Eglinton Lawrence to reply. Speaker Our government of course recognizes how important testing and contact tracing are in slowing the spread of COVID-19 and that is why we have been here working every day to develop the best possible strategies for COVID-19 testing, tracing and contact management and we've been doing it over the entire course of the pandemic which is now some 11 months in Ontario and so we have been working every day to put in place all of those systems necessary and to make sure that the resources are there for all of our local public health units including Ottawa which frankly has been doing fairly well in this second wave compared to some of the other jurisdictions. We've got a robust and comprehensive testing and contact tracing strategy in place and we are notified if there are confirmed positive cases there are notified 90% of the time within 24 hours so we're working hard to make sure that those resources are there for Ottawa for Toronto for Peel and all of the other areas that have some challenges with cases and now people are getting Thank you very much Next we have the member for Ottawa Vanu. Thank you Mr. Speaker my question is for the Premier Testing and tracing in Ontario has been a story of stop and start confusion and mix messages because there was no comprehensive plan According to the Auditor General laboratory testing case management and contact tracing are still not all being performed in a timely timely enough manner to contain this spread of the virus many of us are pleased to see the government embarking on testing in schools and neighbourhoods with the high transmission rates but it's very hard to trust that this will be applied systematically when up to this point we've seen much confusion on many of the initiatives of the government as of November 27 there was still a backlog of over 54,000 tests the government has said that they intend to build testing capacity to 100,000 tests per day by the end of 2020 we are officially December so what specifically is the government doing to meet this target Member for Eglige and Lawrence and Parliamentary Assistant Thank you Speaker our government recognises how important testing is in defeating COVID-19 we've made it clear that it's a priority the sooner we identify those cases the sooner we can stop the spread of the virus and that's why we have been begging the federal government to approve rapid tests we have finally have some rapid tests coming out but they're not widely available those tests will help but I have to remind the member that the testing works in a system process so there's a pipeline of tests people get tested the tests get to the laboratory the laboratory processes the tests then we have the results that takes a period of time so 54,000 backlog you suggested is not a backlog it's the test to be processed that day and we can process that many tests in a day Speaker we have actually processed 58,000 tests every other day you will see that the number of tests that we can process are going up and we've managed to get up to 58,000 we're going to keep going and make it better thank you and the supplementary question thank you Speaker designated essential caregivers are a very important part of the solution for providing much needed support to the system and it's really important that they have access to their loved ones in long-term care homes however since the start of the pandemic access to efficient and timely testing has been an obstacle to allow them to play that important role I was pleased to hear that rapid testing has been deployed to some long-term care in retirement homes but essential caregivers are not included in this testing strategy and they have to meet the weekly testing requirements I have heard directly just this morning in fact from family councils their observation is that while some long-term care home will offer the testing to essential caregivers recognizing the need for this many homes are not so my question is can the minister provide clear guidance to long-term care homes so that essential caregivers can be tested on site and be able to provide much needed timely assistance the response minister of long-term care thank you speaker and thank you for asking a very very good question something that we value very much are the essential caregivers in our long-term care homes they are really critical to providing care to their loved ones and that's why we've made sure that they are able to go into the long-term care homes even when they're in an outbreak each resident has the ability to designate an essential caregiver for an outbreak situation and the testing for the not only for the staff but also for the caregivers is something that we've been making sure to address in a timely way so that the caregivers can get the testing done in a way that is convenient for them so we recognize the issue that you raise and we're working on that so I appreciate you raising that thank you the member for subject thank you speaker questions for the premier the considerate government's first attempt speaker at administrating a wage enhancement happened this summer it took literally months from the day of the announcement to the date when the workers actually received a pandemic top up months to take money from the federal government and get into the hands of Ontario's workers that was during the first wave now that we're in the second wave workers are hopeful that the obstacles that created those delays have been resolved however the premier announced a temporary wage enhancement for public sector PSWs in October it's now December and the money still hasn't flowed from the considerate government to the employers or to those workers even more frustrations the considerate government has provided no information on when this money will come aside from the October first announcement and press release nobody seems to know anything about when the money from our healthcare hero for our healthcare heroes will be coming employers are frustrated and workers are disappointed when will these workers receive this temporary increase the government house leader thank you very much Mr. Speaker as you know the President of the Treasury Board has been working extremely hard on ensuring that our the pandemic pay that was introduced by this this government and if I'm not mistaken supported by all members across the aisle gets out to all of our all of our frontline workers Speaker it is my understanding that this pay has been transferred to our partners and all all of those healthcare heroes should be getting them thank you supplementary question thank you Speaker and back to the Premier Terry Roshford is a PSW for my riding of Sudbury he's worked at Pioneer Manor for nearly 10 years Terry loves his job he's proud to be helping during the pandemic Terry also represents his union he's a QP area rep and his area covers workers in Sudbury Sault Ste. Marie North Bay and Timmins Terry said it was extremely difficult for him his colleagues and the patients when the pandemic struck almost overnight their world changed hours and shifts were changed vacations were cancelled the workplace demanded more for them and they responded with everything they had Terry says it's sad that it took a global pandemic for this province to value their work but he and the workers he represents were happy when the government announced the PSW temporary wage enhancement but this will be the second time this government has announced a wage increase without a clear plan to distribute those funds why does the government have so much trouble making good on their promises especially when it comes to healthcare heroes in this province I think the member actually thank the member for that question because I think it parts of it were very good he highlighted the fact that for far too long in this province our long-term care workers our PSWs in particular were not recognized as the important part of the healthcare system that they clearly are that is of course why this government moves so quickly after being elected in 2018 to recognize healthcare our PSWs that's why we were so happy to be able to recognize our PSWs that's why we brought in Ontario health teams because we know that they're an important part of that healthcare mix that's why we made critical investments in long-term care that is why we looked at the staffing strategies within our long-term care homes with our PSWs that's why we increased the wages of our PSWs this is exactly why and I appreciate the member for bringing that up it is unfortunate that we had to wait so long to have that done over 15 years through a minority government propped up by the MPP this government moved very quickly because we recognized how important our PSWs are and I thank the gentleman Terry for his service and all of the PSWs for their service the next question the member for Orland thank you very much Mr. Speaker my question is for the Minister of Health recently recently cystic fibrosis community here in Ontario and across Canada was thrilled to hear that Vertex Pharmaceuticals intends to submit an application to bring tricafted to Canada much like COVID-19 cystic fibrosis is a disease that has devastating impacts on the lungs and one's ability to breathe the main difference Mr. Speaker is that when COVID-19 is behind us order stop the clock government house leader will come to order the member for Timmons will come to order and if you want to continue this conversation you can do it outside the chamber and I can facilitate that as well if need be order order start the clock again the member for Orleans thank you very much Mr. Speaker when the COVID-19 virus is behind us cystic fibrosis patients will still be living with this terrible reality as the minister and the parliamentary assistant know the pan Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance is currently negotiating pricing for or combi and Kaleitico other gene modulators developed by Vertex the same company will the government stand up for Ontarians with cystic fibrosis and take a leadership role in having the can Panadian Pharmaceutical Alliance negotiate a price for tricafton now in conjunction with the current negotiations for or combi and Kaleitico to respond member for Eglinton Lawrence thank you Speaker our government takes the needs of all Ontarians very seriously and we know that those living with cystic fibrosis are very hopeful that new drugs can provide some relief from the stress that they have to deal with every day and let me be clear we too hope all of these new drugs are able to provide the promised improvements we know that access to these new drug therapies is important especially in less common diseases with significant health impacts and where there are limited treatment options but there is an established evidence-based process for making funding decisions which considers the clinical effectiveness of the drugs safety patient input affordability and the effects on other health services this process ensures the safety and the efficacy of every new drug product as well as the sustainability of our provincial health care systems we're aware that Health Canada has granted Vertex a priority review for Trikafta and now that Health Canada has granted it for Trikafta Vertex will have 60 days to submit the drug for review by the federal agency and the supplementary question thank you Mr. the president Camille thank you Mr. Speaker Camille Rochon is a 12 year old and girl she has a cystic fibrosis clinical trials showed that Trikafta is the biggest improvement when it comes to cystic fibrosis and results showed that it can be approved and it could reduce death by 15 percent the federal government support Trikafta however patients like Camille who are vulnerable people cannot waste more time Mr. Speaker will our government support Vertex so that once that it's approved it can be distributed largely to patients thank you Speaker we take the struggle of cystic fibrosis patients like Camille very seriously and their families frankly we take their struggles very seriously and we recognize that access to these new drug therapies is important with these less common diseases that's why we're very happy to see that conversations are proceeding but let's be clear it's not as simple as Ontario sitting down and meeting with the drug manufacturer the price negotiations are conducted through the Pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance and furthermore Ontario is just one of many participants at the table for these talks and it would be really inappropriate or premature for us to provide a timeline for completion however the member can rest assured that we too are looking forward to the results of these conversations and diligently monitoring the situation Vertex has provided the following statement Vertex has confirmed that they are planning to move forward with future CF medications in Canada Vertex has also confirmed that Health Canada has granted priority review and that they have 60 days to submit their file to Health Canada thank you the next question the member for Humber River Black Creek thank you Speaker my questions to the Premier thanks for reporting by the Toronto Star we're learning of the alleged theft of at least 11 million dollars meant to help needy Ontarians during the pandemic yesterday the Premier I re-announced the same educational grant program with few details about how his government will prevent any future fraud can the Premier please tell Ontarians how his Conservative Government could lose track of so much taxpayer money and what they're doing to get it back and the government has given a spot thank you very much Mr. Speaker Honourable Member we'll know yes the Premier did yesterday announce in cooperation with the Minister of Education substantial supports for parents with respect to the issue raised by the member it is very very serious as he knows that is something that is before the courts and as such Mr. Speaker we cannot comment on that thank you thank you that concludes our question period for this morning