 It is now time for Question Period, the member from New Market, Aurora. To the Minister of Health, the Speaker yesterday, the entire Liberal Caucus, gave Chris Mazza a standing ovation in his response, in response to the Premier's endorsement of his right to practice emergency medicine at Thunder Bay Hospital. Speaker, here's what a medical doctor practicing in Fort Francis had to say in an email, in response to that endorsement by the Premier yesterday, I quote, I hope he meets a patient and or a family that was harmed by the performance of orange. He may finally get a realistic feel for how destructive and incompetent he was, end of quote. Speaker, this Minister fired Chris Mazza for that incompetence. She called him a liar and is suing him to recover healthcare funds that he siphoned into his own pocket. But today he's back on the Ministry's payroll and practicing emergency medicine. What evidence does the Minister have that Chris Mazza has recovered from his normal breakdown, his incompetency, and his disrespect for our healthcare system? Thank you. Stop it. Before we continue, when the question is being put, I would appreciate from the same side no other comments while the question is being put. And when the question is being put, I would appreciate no comments from the other side. And the same goes true with the answer. No comments on that side, no comments on that side. Let's keep it there. Minister of Health and long-term care. Here, the member opposite has a remarkable history of twisting what actually happened, Speaker. And I would say this is just another... I will ask the Minister of Rural Affairs to come to order. No, you did. And I'm also going to ask the Minister to be very cautious of what her verbiage is. I am loathe to think that she would assume that any kind of language that's unparliamentary will be used by caution. Speaker, you're making it difficult for me. But what I will say is the member opposite has a remarkable history of not getting his facts right? Okay. And this is just one more example, Speaker. Yesterday, he's quite right. The member of the Liberal Caucus did give the Premier a standing ovation. The members of the Liberal Caucus gave the Premier a standing ovation because she talked about the importance of due process. And that is exactly the principle, Speaker, that the Premier talked about. That we endorse on this side of the House, Speaker. There is a process. We respect that process. Thank you. Supplementary. Speaker, the principle I want to speak to is the principle of doing the right thing because it's the right thing to do. No one is asking the minister or the Premier to interfere with accreditation. We are simply asking her to do the responsible thing. The minister knows that this Chris Mazza represents to appear at a parliamentary committee claiming... Mr. of Education, come to order. She knows that she called him a liar. She knows that she is suing him to recover precious health care dollars that he siphoned into his own pocket. Has the minister asked for a report from the College of Physicians and Surgeons? Has she asked the person who hired Dr. Mazza for the report on which he based his decision that he was mentally competent and that he was in good health and proper health to, in fact, practice at the emergency ward of the Thunder Bay Hospital? What evidence does she have to allow this man... Thank you. Well, Speaker, in fact, the member opposite is asking that I interfere with due process. And I will not do that. The College of Physicians and Surgeons is the authority, should be the authority, and I respect the authority of the College of Physicians and Surgeons to determine who is fit to practice in the province of Ontario. I will not interfere with that, no matter how many times the member opposite asks me to. You're here. Thank you. Final supplementary. Here goes back to April of 2011. When we first raised questions about Dr. Mazza and Orange in this house, she told us at that time that she has confidence in the steady hand and the very confidence of the board of directors. And as the minister pleaded at that time, she has no authority to intervene. And so under her watch, multi-millions of dollars were wasted. Patients and frontline staff were put at risk. Ten months later, criminal investigation. Ten months later, she fired him. Ten months later, she called him a liar. Speaker, the minister and the premier, and her caucus, may consider the defense of Dr. Mazza worthy of a standing ovation. We happen to feel it's a disgrace and an abdication of responsibility. Thank you. Thank you. The member from Stormont come to order. Minister. Speaker, I've taken full responsibility for getting Orange back on track. And the member opposite knows that, Speaker. Orange is now well into a new tractor. It has new leadership, Speaker. It has a new volunteer board of directors that is delivering results for the patients of this province, Speaker. They measure there how well they're doing, Speaker. And I'm sure the member opposite would like to know how they're doing. Ontario pilots, the most recent report on Orange pilots were available to respond to calls 97% of the time. Orange aircraft were in service 99% of the time. Orange paramedics were available to respond 95% of the time. 96% of Orange's patient transports between health facilities are confirmed within 20 minutes. 90% of Orange's patient transports from emergency scenes are confirmed within 10 minutes. Speaker, Orange is back on the right track. And it's about time. The member opposite recognized the tremendous progress and worked the frontline staff at Orange. Thank you. Good question. The member from Lampington, Middlesex. Well, thank you very much, Speaker. My question this morning is to the Minister of Finance. Minister, under the McGinty wind government, Ontario has lost 300,000 good-paying manufacturing jobs. That is 300,000 Ontario families who don't know where their next paycheck is going to come from and 300,000 men and women who are looking to the province for help and assistance. Minister, under our past prosperity series of white papers, Tim Houdak and the Ontario PCs have put forward hundreds of ideas to help create jobs and grow Ontario's economy. My question this morning, Minister, is a simple one. Where is your jobs plan for the province of Ontario? Where is your plan? Minister of Finance. You've got yours. Yeah, thank you, Mr. Speaker. So let's correct some of the numbers here. Since this party came into government, we've had over 680,000 new jobs created here. Since the death of the recession, Mr. Speaker, not only have the jobs that have been lost have been recovered. 470,000 more new jobs, net new jobs have occurred. And, Mr. Speaker, it is occurring because of investments that we're making to stimulate economic growth by investing in our people and our skills, by ensuring that we strategically invest in infrastructure and projects that that party neglected all the while they were there and ensuring that we made a dynamic business climate by maintaining our taxes low. We are doing everything possible and everything we make is about creating those jobs, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Speaker, back to the Minister of Finance. Minister, you need to get out of Queens Park and back to reality. The Heinz Plan in Leamington is just another example of your careless approach to Ontario's manufacturing sector, but sadly, Minister, it will not be the last. In fact, as Ontario has been losing out, we have seen U.S. states like Michigan, Texas and Indiana creating thousands of new manufacturing jobs with cheaper energy, less red tape, and importantly, Minister, modernize labor laws. Minister, it is clear that your government does not have a jobs plan and because of that, Ontario's middle class is being completely gutted under your watch. Minister, when will Ontario move forward, remove unnecessary barriers to job creation and modernize our labor laws like Europe, Australia, the UK and most of the United States have already done? Thank you. So, Mr. Speaker, the member opposite, just compared us to other jurisdictions around the world that are falling behind Ontario in job creation. We have over 173% of jobs returned to this province compared to only 80% in the United States and well above OECD countries. In fact, in Ontario, because of our direction into new manufacturing and advanced manufacturing and new sectors of the economy that are going to be necessary for us to be competitive in the future, they want to take us back to areas that we can't compete and yet, Erickson Canada has invested in more jobs in this province. Toyota and Cambridge have invested up to 400 jobs. Ford has invested 2,800 more jobs. GM has invested and secured 2,500 jobs for Cami. We have green-art tire manufacturing in St. Mary's, more jobs. We have more jobs in Brantford, in Brockfield, in Anperia, and in Waltsburg, Ontario. Because of these investments, because of those incentives, companies are seeking to move on to Ontario. Well, Speaker, back to the Minister of Finance. Minister, here are the facts. 1 million people are out of work in Ontario today. 300,000 net manufacturing jobs have been lost. Nearly 40,000 of those since the Premier was coordinated last spring. Our middle class is being gutted and we are seeing plants closing and major layoffs on a daily basis. 1,000 people at Hines. Another 800 at Sears. Well, the United States, like U.S. States, like Michigan and Indiana, are growing and creating new manufacturing jobs at record numbers. Well, as you have blown this off as a mere transition minister, in fact, only Tim Houdak and the PCs have put forward a plan to create jobs, grow our economy, and modernize Ontario's labor laws. Finance Minister, will you finally admit that Ontario was in an economic free fall and that your government doesn't have a single plan to create jobs or grow Ontario's economy? Mr. Speaker, again, he's referencing other parts of the world and the United States that are lagging behind Ontario. We have exceeded our targets. We are not satisfied. We want to do more. That is why we've introduced Supporting Small Business Act, Mr. Speaker, to ensure that 90% of companies in Ontario would be more competitive and exempt from paying employer health tax. Mr. Speaker, the opposition are stalling that very initiative to support small business and create jobs in Ontario. That party is looking at cutting those investments that we're trying to make to protect our future competitiveness. They want to slash and burn and hurt our economic recovery. We reject that option. We will continue to do what's necessary to create jobs, promote growth and ensure that we continue to stay ahead of the curve. We need to do more. We need everybody at their best. They want to divide Ontario. We won't stand for that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Energy. Yesterday the energy minister said that hydro price hikes were quote, a fact of life. Ontario families are paying the highest electricity bills in the country. And they've seen those bills double over the last decade, Speaker. They have one question. Are higher hydro bills a fact of life? Or are they a fact of life under the liberal government? Mr. Speaker, I think we should review some facts. The previous government over governments, Liberal Progressive Conservative of NDP had for 20 years average increase of 3.5% in the rates. The current government over a period of 10 years and through our 2010 long-term energy plan see rate increases averaging 3.4% over a 20-year period, Mr. Speaker. What we can do, Mr. Speaker, is mitigate the rate increases. And we've already taken significant steps, Mr. Speaker. We'll mitigate rate increases and we're going to keep them lower than they have been in the past. But no party over there can guarantee... Cedar, please. Supplementary. Well, for families, we're going to keep them lower than they have been in the past. But no party over there can guarantee... Cedar, please. Supplementary. Well, for families and businesses struggling to make ends meet, Speaker, this is just the latest evidence of how arrogant and out of touch the Liberals have grown. That's right. The Minister claims that these sky-high bills are just a fact of life. Well, let me ask this, Speaker. The $1 billion added to bills when Liberals cancelled gas plants. The $180 million blown when Liberals committed to a nuclear expansion plan that never went ahead. The millions and millions and millions spent daily on private power deals and lavish compensation. All of the government's desperate wheeling and dealing are these things all a fact of life, Speaker. Hello. Mr. Speaker. There are a couple of facts of life, Mr. Speaker. We've moved the energy sector from an energy deficit to an energy surplus. We've moved it from dirty, cheap coal, Mr. Speaker, to a clean system. And, Mr. Speaker, yes, rates have gone up because of significant investments that we have made in the sector to get it up to speed. That includes $31 billion over the last 10 years invested in generation and transmission. Mr. Speaker, I've just listed $20 billion in rate mitigation measures that we have already taken in the last nine months. We're going to continue to do that. We have a policy under the new long-term energy plan, Mr. Speaker, and we will be extremely successful in mitigating rate increases in the future. And, sir, thank you. Final supplementary. Speaker, 10 years ago liberals were elected with the following promise to Ontarians, and I quote, the government's bungling of the hydrofile will cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars and leave businesses coping with impossibly high hydro bills. That's the point of affordable electricity. Well, Speaker, 10 long years later the cost of hydro bills has doubled. Ontario households have some of the highest cost hydro in the entire country. And the government has added billions and billions to those bills by signing and cancelling contracts whenever it suited the political needs of their party. Is this minister really so out of touch that he's really just telling people to suck it up and pay the bill? Mr. Speaker, we have reduced the investment in health care by $4 billion by moving to a clean energy system. We've taken $4 billion out of the health care system. But, Mr. Speaker, let's look at some of the other experiences. About a year ago, the Conservatives issued their white paper to privatize Ontario pair generation. And I want to read from the Toronto Sun. What did they say? Who would actually keep in mind the Tory government in Ontario that tried to do that with electricity generation promised it would lead to lower hydro rates? Instead, it led to exactly the opposite. Rates skyrocketed among rapid Tory patronage and the Conservatives faced with rising public fury a bad scheme. We have rectified the system. We have improved the system. Our decisions have been strategic moving forward and $20 billion out of the rate base, Mr. Speaker. And the rates will be mitigated. Thank you. New question. Leader of the Third Party. The Liberals have done nothing but follow the folly of the Conservatives on the hydro. Here is actually to the Acting Premier. Over a year ago, the Liberals promised to bring in a hard cap on executive compensation in the public sector. Can the Acting Premier tell us whether the plan has changed? Deputy Premier? The Speaker, I'll take the first question. I'll pass the supplementary. I can tell you that managing public sector compensation is a very important part of our plan to control costs and to protect frontline government services that Ontario families rely on. So we froze salaries for executives at hospitals, universities, colleges, school boards and provincially owned electricity companies. The topics of compensation plans are frozen, Speaker. Base salaries cannot be increased. In addition, the overall performance pay envelopes at designated employers are frozen. MPPs, I think it's important to note, Speaker, that we will also continue to see our wages frozen five years in a row. Speaker, is there more to do? Yes, there is. And I look forward to the supplementary. The Minister can reply. Thank you. Supplementary. Chief Speaker, I'm surprised the Minister of Health could deliver that response with a straight face. Look, today the House will vote on a bill to cap public sector CEO salaries at twice the level of the premiers. We've seen the government offering vague promises about taking some action on this file, Speaker, but as usual we haven't seen any action. Will the Liberals actually take action today and vote to cap public sector CEO salaries? Thank you. Minister of Government Services. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. This is not about vague promises. This is about a commitment in the 2013 budget, which that member and her party supported. Mr. Speaker, the 2013 budget was clear that we are committed as a government to examining additional measures to manage compensation costs, including considering hard caps. That examination is underway and the results will be announced forthwith. But you know, Mr. Speaker, the member represents her bill, and it was very interesting when you reviewed her press conference yesterday. She referenced a particularly high salary when the members of the press pressed her on it. She said, oh, well, we'd have an exemption for it. So, Mr. Speaker, you can't have it both ways here, Mr. Speaker. This is a complex matter, Mr. Speaker, and the bill that she has forwarded does not take into account the many, many nuances that need to be dealt with in a policy that comes forward. Final supplementary. Well, Speaker, the average household income in Ontario is a little over $70,000. They're paying the highest electricity bills in the country, the highest auto insurance premiums in the country, and they're scrambling to pay for caring for their aging loved ones. They're the ones who pay the bills to make Ontario work. And when they see public sector executives like the CEO of Hydro One get a raise of $70,000 a year, more than their entire household will earn in that year, they feel like their government just isn't getting it. Does the acting premier think that the CEO pay hikes are the best investment of public dollars? And if not, why the heck are they not doing anything about it? The Honourable Member cannot take yes for an answer. The simple fact is in the 2013 budget which her party allowed to pass we made a commitment to examine it. But Mr. Speaker, this is a complex issue. Again, I remind of her press conference yesterday. She mentioned a I believe it was an Ontario an OPG official who has paid an exorbitant amount and someone pointed out that that person had special technical skills. So you know what the leader of the third party said? Oh, we'll have an exemption form. I mean, come on, Mr. Speaker. You come forward with a simple solution to a very complex problem which does not work Mr. Speaker and you have to swallow yourself whole in front of a press conference. Mr. Speaker, we need a considered response. That is the work that we're doing and we will follow up on our commitment made in the 2013 budget that her party allowed to pass. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services. Minister, in May 2012 you announced that you had ordered your ministry to review how police officers across the province respond to calls involving those with suspected mental illness. This was following three fatal shootings in the province of Ontario. In an interview, you stated that we need to take a step back and what is done elsewhere and to come out with recommendations. Minister, members on this side of the House haven't seen any indication of any investigation. Could you please give us a report on the status of this investigation today? Thank you. Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm pleased to answer this question. To deal with the side of the police, it's not an easy matter. Most of the time, they don't know when they have a call. Who is in the front of them? That's why I have asked my ministry to work with the police force in Ontario and see what is the best practice that we have in Ontario to deal with mental illness and to look what is being done also elsewhere in Canada and in the world. Each police force across the world are dealing with such a very important issue and we are all sharing our experience to put forward the best approach. Thank you. Supplementary? Well, Mr. Speaker, I think it's pretty clear from that answer that pretty much nothing has happened since 2012 and the need is becoming even more and more urgent. You announced the need for the review following the deaths of Rayal Jardine-Douglas, Sylvia, Klibengatis and Michael Elegann. These individuals all suffered from a mental illness and were killed and a police standoff. Since then there has been another death with the shooting of Samia Teim in July of this year. Minister, we need to prevent further deaths like this from happening again. Will you stand in your place now on what you're prepared to do to make sure that deaths like this don't ever happen again? Thank you. Mr. Speaker, according to the member who asked the question there's nothing that has been done. I'll say that there's a lot more that has been done than when our party was in power because there was nothing that was done. I take mental illness and addiction very seriously and again that's why I asked my ministry to launch a review of our police interact with mental illness last year and we have completed the first stage of the large step of the review and we have analyzed what was done in the past 25 years and the report from the coroner. We have identified, like I said best practice across the country USA and UK and Australia and we have a review of the existing guideline and model adopted by Police Service in Ontario and we have reviewed leading academic research and we are currently working on the next step and we will continue until we have the right solution. Thank you very much. New question? Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the minister of rural affairs. Yesterday I had the opportunity to meet Walter Palachuk a Heinz grower in Leamington. The other side of the house might remember Walter. He's the head of drip irrigation incorporated and they were awarded a premier's award of excellence for their work on irrigating tomatoes. Wow. But as of November 14th Walter can no longer grow tomatoes and the current business risk management programs do not cover disappearance of a market like what's happened with the Heinz closure. So not only were the 740 people at the highest plant losing their jobs but farmers have lost their markets for tomatoes and they don't know where to turn next. Will you work with the growers to create an emergency transition program and a long-term plan for the industry in Leamington? Thank you, minister of rural affairs. Well, thanks very much, Mr. Speaker. As you well know and the member knows the premier in a role as minister of agriculture and food and the minister of economic development, trade and employment in Leamington last Friday they had extensive consultations with all the players involved in that and everyone in this house Mr. Speaker is disappointed with the Heinz decision but you know, Mr. Speaker, there was an interesting program on the agenda last Monday evening with a professor from the University of Guelph he went through the whole Heinz decision from A to Z I recommend all members of the house take the opportunity to look at that program and we know today from media reports, Mr. Speaker from Leamington, Ontario there's a number of entities there's a number of entities, Mr. Speaker that are looking at opportunities in Leamington to work with the tomato growers to make sure that they have a future in that fine community of Leamington. Thank you, supplementary. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Once again back to minister of rural affairs the Heinz growers had a three-year commitment from the company to buy their tomatoes and they invested in their crop this fall based on that commitment their markets disappeared the risk management program doesn't work and even if another entity steps up it doesn't help them for this year's crop because it's unlikely that that will get all put together in time for this so will you minister, step up to the plate and stand up for the producers with those contracts who has disappeared and work with them to actually make sure that they can go to the bank and go to FCC and say yes we are solvent and we are still in place thank you Minister Mr. Speaker I want to reiterate that the premier in a role as minister of agriculture and food the minister of economic development trade were in Leamington last Friday they had an extensive and comprehensive round table with all the producers and the people and the economic development officers we have staff from the Ontario minister of agriculture food on the ground right now looking for a perspective opportunities for a new entity to continue manufacturing of tomato based products in that community we are looking forward for a continuing cooperation of work with all the players in that community and let me tell you Mr. Speaker I met with a number of agriculture commodity groups this morning and the program is one of the most successful programs for agriculture the province of Ontario Mr. Speaker your question well thank you Speaker this question is to the minister of tourism culture and sport Ontario supports sport and recreation in our province providing assistance to amateur and high performance athletes alike and that's what it's always taken if a community a province seeks to develop Olympians professionals and international stars in sports Ontario needs to continue as a leader supporting athletes at the grassroots level we need to start early getting children interested in sports to develop as individuals and to stay physically and mentally fit community centers sports associations and other programs help shape future Ontario sports role models minister how does Ontario promote youth to become involved in sport, fitness and recreation thank you minister thank you Speaker I want to thank the honourable member of Massachusetts Strictsville this Saturday November the 30th is national sports day it is our country's celebration of sport from grassroots to high performance it is an opportunity for all Canadians to celebrate the power of sport to build community national morale and facilitate healthy active living local organization committees and schools from coast to coast will open doors to celebrate sport at the local level with events that include festivals triad days open houses and pet rallies that celebrate sport at all levels since 2003 our government has invested over 752 million to support sport and recreation programs thank you Speaker minister support for fitness and recreation means everyone has to pitch in municipalities can't do it all alone operating on just the property tax base and through program fees community sponsors also need to know they're part of a team in my youth I was a hockey player and a swimmer and governments then invested the funds to build indoor arenas and pools we developed our best swimmers divers water polo players and synchronized swimmers because our elected leaders had the foresight to build facilities athletes needed to develop and compete award winners or not kids developed a strong body and a solid work ethic being able to compete as young athletes made us better people as adults later in life minister what is Ontario doing to give today's kids the same chance to develop and compete as past generations of kids had thank you minister thank you again for the question speaker participating in sport and recreation is vital to the health and well-being of all Ontarians our government recognizes the importance of Ontarians being active in sport and recreation we want our promise to be a healthy prosperous place to live to work and to play speaker in 2012 2013 we provided over 23 million to our sport partners to promote participation and excellence in sport across Ontario including almost 10 million for the quest for gold program over 7.5 million to support Provincial sport and multi sport organizations and almost 4 million for our key service delivery partners speaker through our answer we are helping our athletes reach the highest level of competition and promoting ribbon and healthy communities across Ontario thank you speaker new question and member from Oslo Mr. Speaker my question for the minister of national resources Minister Thursday last I informed the house of a controversial four day deer call in the short hills Provincial park which took place from November the 21st to the 24th and which will occur again from today until December the 1st the owners are allowed into this very small 6.6 km2 provincial park as I stated there has been a serious safety questions arise because of the small nature of the park and the fact that there are nearly 100 homes are located in close proximity as you know many residents of the area have serious concerns over public safety and minister as reported this year's hunt was no different there were again incidents of public safety in fact your own ministry is investigating them at this time in the deer call in the short hills Provincial park thank you minister thank you speaker and please respond to the question as the member knows full well the result of the hunt is part of the Haudenosaunee First Nations exercising what are their traditional treaty rights from the NANFAN Treaty which is signed in 1701 so Ontario has an obligation to uphold their treaty rights and the hunt to proceed the Ministry of Natural Resources does have staff on site they are patrolling the site it's a 660 hectare park the Niagara regional police are there as well and the OPP to ensure safety the days that have been specified the 6 days are days in which there is very low visitation to the park so we are obviously ensuring safety would be irresponsible of the provincial government to not participate in stopping to ensure safety of these activities given that we are obligated to uphold federal treaty rights your staff say that the basis of the call is an attempt to manage the control of the overpopulation of deer in the park last year there were only 7 deer harvested during the call and it was reported again that last saturday again only 7 deer were taken minister not only did the short hills hunt fail to meet your objective but in not allowing a managed open hunt to all through the lottery or draw the MNR is missing an opportunity to increase revenues to the SPCA minister if you are going to continue to control the short hills deer population are you considering allowing a managed hunt consistent with your deer management strategy in the rest of the province where it is necessary to bring populations in the balance and protect habitat Speaker I am somewhat confused by the members question with respect to safety first the members talking about safety and the cost of safety and who is there to help ensure this is safe and in the same question in the supplementary the members saying we should broaden the hunt perhaps and have more hunters in there shooting deer so I am a bit concerned about that this is about treaty rights for the Haudenosaunee First Nations and we are being responsible in providing appropriate safety 21 deer have been harvested to date and we obviously expect that more will take place in the coming three days and the remainder of the hunt but I have to assure the member that safety is the top priority and I would also indicate that I have responded to folks publicly through an open letter and they should also be expressing concerns in the area to the federal members Malcolm Allen Dean Allison and Rick Dijkstra who are responsible for overseeing the federal activities that are reached with the First Nations in the province of Ontario the province is doing everything it can to ensure that safety is first and foremost and I also want to say that the minister of environment thank you new question to member from Welland thank you speaker my question is to the minister of energy under this government's watch electricity prices have doubled in this province one of the casualties of the doubling of these prices is the curling club in my hometown of Welland now the government said this morning that participating in sports and recreation is vital but Frank Belcher from the Welland curling club the president says because of high electricity prices his club is in danger of closing they are now paying close to $7,000 a month during the season on hydro alone how does his government justify doubling the hydro prices and the pain it's causing for the residents in my hometown of Welland and across this province Mr. Speaker as I mentioned earlier we have rebuilt the system we've invested $31 billion Mr. Speaker that puts pressure on prices pushing them up we are now in a surplus situation and we're now reducing the amount of investments that are going into the rate base which will mitigate them in the future in the meantime Mr. Speaker we've created a number of programs to be of assistance to people in the interim period and that includes Mr. Speaker an industrial conservation initiative industrial electricity incentive program northern industrial electricity rate program order Ontario feed energy benefit which also assists farmers and small business people I would be happy to sit down with the member and review the bill she's referring to to see whether or not there are price mitigations in any of these programs that could be of assistance to her to Mr. Speaker thank you supplementary well minister recreational facilities such as the well and curling club are at the heart of the social activity in small town Ontario if clubs like this one are being hurt because of skyrocketing electricity prices it means that other community centers like arenas and other sports complexes across the province are also being slammed so how's this government justify the doubling of electricity prices under its watch the harm it's doing to communities and what is it going to do to actually help these entities in our communities across this province thank you minister speaker Mr. Speaker we have a long-term energy plan which was initiated in 2010 which projected average increases over a 20 year period of 3.4% as I mentioned earlier Mr. Speaker because of the investments that were necessary in the system to get a clean system to eliminate dirty coal and put pressures on the system in the meantime Mr. Speaker we created a number of price mitigation programs to help the people across Ontario including a 10% discount which is a clean energy benefit Mr. Speaker we have also taken strong steps in the last nine months to reduce price increases in the future Mr. Speaker and that includes $20 billion taken out of the rate base and the prices in the future Mr. Speaker thank you new question from Ajax Pickering thank you Mr. Speaker my question is for the Minister of Energy yesterday the minister announced that the Ministry of Energy will be releasing the 2013 long-term energy plan this coming Monday when it comes to the electricity system in Ontario one of the things I hear most often above from my constituents of Ajax and Pickering in Durham is that they want to know more about their energy bills the environment and the overall energy system as our electricity system has been modernized with the advent of smart meters smart grids, energy apps and the time of use pricing it is important for Ontarians to know why and how they use these tools Mr. Speaker can the minister please tell us what the steps the government are taking to increase energy literacy Minister of Energy I want to thank the member for his question as I mentioned yesterday in the House Speaker promoting energy literacy among Ontarians is a top priority for the Ministry of Energy in keeping with this theme yesterday we launched a new web portal dedicated to educating Ontarians about their electricity system the website called Empower Me provides an excellent overview of Ontario's energy sector and explains how generation transmission and distribution networks function together to ensure everybody has access to the clean and reliable electricity they need the Empower Me website is accessible to Ontarians of all ages and I would highly recommend that members encourage their constituents to take advantage of this resource Thank you Speaker the Empower Me website sounds like something that would definitely many of my constituencies would find very very useful all of this in the House today should agree that we need to continue to do more to promote energy literacy around Ontario in fact the need to do so was identified by consumers directly and through a number of recent reports including the Drummond Report the Auditor General's 2011 report and the Environmental Commissioner 2011 and 2012 annual reports constituents in Ajax and Pickering and Durham would like to understand how the system works and knows the ways that they can reduce their energy consumption which would help them save on their hydro bills and all of their energy bills and help the environment can the Minister please tell us if the upcoming long term energy plan might include more tools to allow more Ontarians to become more energy Thank you Minister of Energy I do remember that we can do a better job of informing Ontarians about the state of our electricity system in fact we heard this throughout the summer when we visited several writings in the province to gather input from Ontarians on the long term energy plan the website offers a number of video shorts that explain electricity generation distribution, transmission and conservation the site also includes an interactive electricity bill infographics and interactive exhibits about Ontarians supply mix and smart grid innovations encouraging a better understanding of the energy system and empowering consumers is a theme that will be reflected in the long term energy plan Mr. Speaker there are videos on that site that are very very simple and explain how the system operates and it explains how they can benefit from it including how they can lower their high power Thank you very much Mr. Speaker my question is for the Minister of Finance Minister of the Premier's words of support for local food Ring Hollow and I see how you let the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation treat Ontario's local food producers People like Nigel Smith in my writing who makes fantastic cheese at Bush Garden Farmstead Cheese in Rear Lakes Township MPAC is turning this amazing cheese makers experience sour one of the first visitors to Nigel's farm wasn't a customer it was the MPAC Taxman who slapped him with an industrial classification industrial is the opposite of what happens here yet this ridiculous decision cost Nigel an additional $1200 on his property tax point Minister will you have a conversation with MPAC and explain to them the difference between traditional and industrial Mr. Speaker I appreciate the question I really do and we are looking at MPAC now we are having a review parliamentary assistant to the Ministry of Finance is doing an outstanding job alongside the Ministry of Affairs and Housing on ensuring that we have a competitive environment we want to make certain that our company succeed and especially our members who are the creator of many jobs so I welcome the question we will endeavor to review exactly what is what is occurring over there and as I said a review is certainly underway around MPAC all around the province thank you Mr. Speaker thank you very much back to the Minister you know Minister if you want local food you can't send the tax men into Hasseldon Nigel Smith spent three and a half years cutting through your red tape with a glass cheese and MPAC jeopardizes operation with just one visit to the farm I'm also going to tell you about Terry and Dave McGurn from Edgewood Farms who for the first time in 12 years kept their pancake house closed they gave it up because MPAC demanded that they pay a commercial assessment for a six week operation shutting them down wasn't enough Speaker MPAC then came and Hasseldon essentially interrogated Terry about displaying maple syrup owning a cash register or even part of a pancake griddle it was absolutely disgusting how many more businesses farm businesses will impact shutdown before you and the Premier do their job so Mr. Speaker a report has just come out today reaffirming how Ontario is much more competitive than most jurisdictions in the OECD and in North America around its tax regime and Mr. Speaker we took initiatives to introduce the HST to enable those companies to be even more competitive which the opposition oppose Mr. Speaker and more importantly the members asking a question about finding ways to make taxes more affordable for businesses and entrepreneurs he should stand up and support small business act Mr. Speaker that is what we're doing to save those taxes and they're holding it up so Mr. Speaker I'll endeavor to look at what you propose or what's happening I would be happy to do that more importantly I wish you would stand up for those small businesses by supporting with this act Mr. Speaker your question the third party thank you Speaker my questions for the Minister of Energy the people of Thunder Bay are telling this government that a biomass peaking plant won't cut it when it comes to the meeting the demands for energy for the future of the projects in the Northwest the Premier told NOMA the Northern Ontario Municipal Association that she hears their concerns but the Minister of Energy stood in this legislature yesterday and said he prefers to take advice from government bureaucrats in Toronto so just who is calling the shots when it comes to making decisions about power for Northwestern Ontario Speaker thank you Mr. Energy Mr. Speaker I would suggest the people of Thunder Bay who are calling the shots on this particular issue we've had extensive consultations with them with the task force that was set up in the committee the chair of the task force has indicated that he's pleased that we're converting the Thunder Bay station to biomass he did raise some questions about the supply of the material we discussed alternatives how that could be addressed and that issue will be addressed Mr. Speaker Thunder Bay will have the energy it needs when they need it Mr. Speaker the whole Northwest under the plan that the OPA has rolled out Mr. Speaker will have over $2.5 billion of invested in transmission for generation Mr. Speaker it's a great plan a lot of research went into it tremendous consultation with the aboriginal communities and the people in the area Mr. Speaker I don't know why she's hammering this obviously it's for political reasons there is no issue of reliability Mr. Speaker for the electricity and thunder yesterday the minister of energy waved off legitimate concerns raised by the common voice Northwest energy task force by saying and I quote they will not have to worry about their energy generation Thunder Bay has heard that line from liberals before Speaker after two previous power plant cancellations that cost the public $20 million you'll forgive northerners if they don't take this government at its word when will the minister take the advice of Northwesterners on electricity for a change Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker the leader of the third party has no evidence for what she is saying Mr. Speaker the evidence is that Thunder Bay will have a reliable system of electricity reliable generation Mr. Speaker and I would like the leader of the third party to come with some evidence of her stand does it happen she has no technical evidence she has no experience evidence in any way shape or form it's all anecdotal Mr. Speaker the system in Thunder Bay is reliable they'll have electricity when they need it and they'll have much more transmission than they have now Mr. Speaker the member from Ottawa South thank you Mr. Speaker my question is for the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs Aboriginal youth are Canada's fastest growing demographic and also the fastest growing potential workforce almost half of Aboriginal peoples First Nation, Inuit and Métis in Canada are less than 24 years old we know there exists a gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people both in terms of education outcomes and income Mr. Speaker we also know that the success of Aboriginal people in Ontario is essential to the success of all Ontarians we also know that in Ontario we're working together to build successful, vital province where everyone has the opportunity to connect to contribute and achieve their goals only in this way can Ontario be the fair and just society it aspires to be Mr. Speaker can the Minister inform the House what Ontario is doing to narrow this gap thank you Minister of Aboriginal Affairs Mr. Speaker on November 18th I represented Ontario at the Aboriginal Affairs Working Group in Winnipeg as a recent national chair of the Aboriginal Affairs Working Group for the past number of years our government has supported the continued call for a first ministers meeting on Aboriginal education with Aboriginal leaders we've been urging the federal government to work with us and the Aboriginal leadership to close the gap on these issues it is really important to address that enough for the federal government and all of the provincial and territorial Aboriginal organizational leaders to be at the same table to find the solutions to these important issues at the Working Group the provincial territorial ministers and the national Aboriginal organizational leaders discussed a range of opportunities to reduce barriers to education and increase opportunities and I also work with my colleagues in recommending that the federal the federal minister have more dialogue with his provincial counterparts on these issues we look forward to working with the federal government on these issues we need the federal government supplementary thank you Mr. Speaker it's good to know that Ontario is shorting leadership in the effort to advance these important issues Mr. Speaker I understand that another priority of the Working Group is to end violence against Aboriginal women and girls about 15% of Aboriginal women in Canada who had a spouse or common law partner in the last 5 years reported being a victim of spousal violence more than twice the proportional among non- Aboriginal women missing and murdered Aboriginal women represent about 10% of the homicides in Canada despite the fact that Aboriginal women make up only 3% of the total female population Mr. Speaker I know earlier this year Premier Gwynne joined her provincial counterparts at the Council of the Federation to bring the call of the National Aboriginal Leadership on the federal government for an inquiry into missing and murdered Aboriginal women Mr. Speaker through the Minister update this House on how the Aboriginal Affairs Working Group is addressing this issue Thank you Minister Thank you Mr. Speaker again this issue of missing and murdered Aboriginal women is huge across the country and again at the Winnipeg conference and I was there last year and I was there just recently and all of the National Aboriginal Leadership the team called on the federal government to launch an inquiry into missing and Aboriginal women and the federal government has not taken up that challenge has not taken up that initiative we continue to press the federal government the National Aboriginal Leadership continues to press the federal government the National Aboriginal Women's Leadership groups continue to press call, but so far we haven't even had a nibble on this issue. Last year when I was in Winnipeg the federal government didn't attend. This year the federal government attended for a part of the morning to discuss this issue, and then went off to other duties. This is an important issue. We need the federal government to handle it. Thank you. New question from the members of Bruce Curry on sound. Thank you Mr. Speaker. My question to the minister of health and long term care. Minister two days ago in response to our leader's question about the Niagara South hospital project, you suggested I ask you a question about a hospital build in my riding. Firstly minister, thank you for the offer. After ten years the Markdale community no doubt appreciates your offer to answer our long standing question about the construction date for the new hospital. Secondly I kindly remind you that your government did challenge Markdale to raise $12 million for the new facility, which they did, and then you provided four million in planning funding to erected and erected a sign on the site advising a new hospital's forthcoming. So minister, please tell us, what is the intended construction date for the new Markdale hospital? I tell you this is really getting exciting here because the party that was opposed to building new hospitals, the party that voted against building new hospitals has now decided that building new hospitals should not be a priority. They have seen the light and it is a very happy to active conversations with Grey Bruce health services that I have had a meeting personally in my own office with leadership from that organization speaker. We acknowledge that the people of Markdale actually need an enhanced health care speaker and we are working hard to make that become a reality and it is wonderful to have the support of the party office. Speaker again to the minister, well ministers thank you so much but you know what conversations don't provide health care. With all due respect minister you encourage me to ask you about the Markdale hospital project. If you are not prepared to talk about the new Markdale hospital then you need to tell the hospital staff, the patients, the donors and the volunteers what they should do at the sign that you erected on their site in celebration of the new bill announced over ten years ago in the region as well that you won't compromise their health care and that finding money for their hospital projects is just as important as finding money to cancel gas plants. Minister, will you do the honorable thing, restore faith in elected officials by honoring the commitment made by your liberal government to the people of Markdale and build the Markdale. You see it? Thank you. Minister of health, long term care. Well speaker I think that the member office should talk to some of his colleagues who have been blessed with new hospitals and their riders who will know that it does. There is a process speaker. I'm sure the member from Simcoe North could talk about Waypoint, the member from Barrie could talk about the Royal Victoria, the member from Cambridge could talk about Cambridge Hospital, the member from Burlington even though she voted against the speaker we're going ahead with the Joe Branta Memorial Hospital expansion, the member from Halton could talk to you about the Milton District, the member from Leeds Gravesville could talk about Brockville Mental Health, the member from Elgin, Middlesex London would be more than happy to talk about St. Thomas Elgin, the member from Remfrew, Nipissing, Pembroke, who would aptly talk about the dialysis at Remfrew Victoria Hospital, the member from Wellington Hall and the Hills, I know would be more than happy to talk about those proven history of building the hospital infrastructure our patients need and I'm delighted to have the support now change of heart of the consumer part. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the acting premier. Recently I received a letter from the regional government. They will be asking this government to improve rail services to Kitchener Waterloo again. In 2011 with much fanfare, this government announced the GO train with service was coming to Kitchener Waterloo. Constituents in my riding were promised rail service to Toronto that works for them. They were told that service would start with four trips in the morning, four trips in the afternoon. Eventually two way all day service would connect Kitchener Waterloo to Toronto. Yet people are only getting half of what they were promised. Two way all day service won't happen for at least another 15 years. My constituents need transportation options that allow them to get to work. When will this government follow through on its promises and provide the rail service that the region of Waterloo needs? Well, Speaker, I can tell you that the member from Kitchener Center has been a passionate and strong advocate of enhanced transit from Kitchener to Toronto. He's done an excellent job. As the member from Kitchener Center said, we've done so well. People want more of what we're doing. Speaker, I can tell you that we will continue to improve transit in this province. We're committed to getting people out of cars and on to public transit. Since 2003 we've invested more than $16.1 billion in public transit and that's more than 7.7 to go transit. Our commitment is very clear. We're committed to public transit and we will continue to make sure that we get as many people out of cars and into public transit as possible. Thank you very much, Speaker. Constituents and businesses in my riding are looking for more than empty words. Rather than wait for this government to live up to its promises, tech companies are taking matters into their own hands. Google, BlackBerry, Open Text, all of these companies have been forced to provide shuttle services to their employees in the region. At a recent CityAge conference, leaders of the 800 tech companies that employ 30,000 people in Kitchener Waterloo repeatedly stressed the importance of rail service to the region. When will this government include the rest of the province in its transit plans? I think we have found common ground because our commitment is exactly to public transit that the member opposite is asking for. We know it's important and we know that the Waterloo region is one of the largest and fastest growing urban regions in Ontario. That's why we've committed up to $300 million to support rapid transit in Waterloo region. This project will connect the cities of Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge while linking up with the growth of transit services. More good news. The federal government has joined the province. It has committed up to $265 million. This is the single largest transit infrastructure investment in the region's history. In total, we've committed $400 million to public transit to Waterloo region since 2003. This is great news and we're moving forward together. Pursuant to Standing Order 38A, the member from Leeds-Granville has given notice of his dissatisfaction with the answer to his question given by, I'm waiting for quiet, with answer to given by the Minister of Finance concerning MAC impact and regulations against local food production. This matter will be debated Tuesday, 6 p.m. The member from the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs on a point of order. Speaker, I would like to introduce Adela Juan, who's a policy advisor over at the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs here. But here's why she's in the legislature today. Because when the United Way did its fundraising campaign at the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs, she bid about $100 to come and visit Christian period and then have lunch with the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs. So welcome. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I ask all the members in the House today to join me and welcome you. A good friend of mine, I call him brother, though he's a little bit older than me. Mr. Harpagin Singh Tello. Member from Durham on a point of order. Nice teacher, Nancy Derrick, who is the grade five teacher at Charles Bowman School in Bowmanville. Welcome to Queen's Park. Thank you. The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. I'd like to welcome Rosemary Sather, President and Author, and she is the President of the Black History Society of Ontario. Welcome. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I take the liberty of introducing Ajax Councillor Joanne Dives who is in the audience on the far side this morning with a number of other residents who are working to protect our Ajax waterfront and improve the water quality and availability in that area. Thank you very much. Maybe it's my problem but I remind members that we've set aside time for doing introductions and it's very difficult to try to allow for this to happen if we're not going to stay with the procedures. So I remind you please if you know they're coming and they're not here, introduce them during that time period and it'll still show up on the record and it shows that you cared about their visit. So I appreciate your cooperation on that issue. There are no deferred votes. This House will stand recess this afternoon until 1 p.m.