 It is therefore time for question period. The member from Prince Edward Hastings. Thanks, Speaker. My question this morning is for the Acting Premier. It's about the Liberals' latest gas plant scandal. The Ontario Energy Board warned the government in 2009, this was back in 2009, that rate payers could be built out of millions and the Liberals did nothing about it. They warned the Liberals again in 2011 and again the Liberal government did nothing. Now we know that Goreway wasn't the only gas plant that decided to treat Ontario rate payers like their own piggy bank. This government tried to hide that for years. Mr. Speaker, this looks like a smoke screen on the part of the government and it happened under a succession of energy ministers. Both the members from Scarborough Centre and Ottawa West Nippian were ministers of energy during this misappropriation. So Mr. Speaker, how many Liberals does it take to cover up a $100 million scandal? The member will withdraw. Withdraw. Thank you. Excuse me, without comment. Deputy Premier. Minister of Economic Development and Growth. Economic Development and Growth. Well thank you Mr. Speaker. Handling another minister's file like this is kind of like being a grandparent in some ways. I get to handle the file and work with you on this today and then after the weekend I probably get to hand it back to the minister when I probably had enough of it. So I'm pleased to be acting on behalf of the Minister of Energy today and again Mr. Speaker, let's put this all back into perspective. The IESO was made aware of some potential ineligible costs that had been going on within the system. They fully investigated those costs. They recovered the vast majority of those costs Mr. Speaker. They levied a $10 million fine, the biggest ever levied in these kinds of circumstances. They posted the report and the record on the OEB website Mr. Speaker so it's there for all to see. They've taken steps to ensure that the system's been strengthened so it won't occur again. And Mr. Speaker, I'll continue more about what some future actions are going to be in the supplementary. Mr. Speaker, the member opposite was the Minister of Energy when some of this gaming was going on and his seatmate was also a Minister of Energy while this gaming was going on at Goreway. This Goreway natural gas plant got the final draft of the report from the OEB in July. The government got the report in September. It was made public November 2nd. Amazingly the Goreway executive that was helping write the new electricity market rules didn't resign until last Friday. That was after the Cabinet Office had received their advance copy of today's report by the Auditor General. Speaker, if we pulled the phone records for the Energy Ministry and the Cabinet Office for the end of last week, would we find calls to Goreway Power or the IESO pressuring them for a resignation? Mr. Speaker, this entire process is conducted as appropriately as it should be by the IESO. The Independent Electricity Supplier for Ontario or Systems Operator for Ontario. I say that because I think a lot of people don't know what the IESO is. Mr. Speaker, their job is to ensure that our electricity system is regulated. I might get there quicker. Carry on. Speaker, their job is to ensure that the electricity system is properly regulated. They've done that. They're doing that job. They found some ineligible costs that a company. In fact, there were some other companies, as the member indicated, that they have been here. They take an action. They've cleaned up the system, Mr. Speaker, strengthened the system to ensure it can occur in the future, and they've recovered the vast majority of funds, Mr. Speaker. Final supplementary. Thanks, Speaker. And the member opposite can try and distance himself from this all he wants. But again, he was a minister of energy when this gaming was brought to light by the energy board, and so was his seatmate. Speaker, these liberal scandals have a pattern. First, there's the mind-numbing incompetence. Then there's the lack of oversight. We wonder who's minding the store over there when hundreds of millions of dollars are being wasted in this sector. Then there's the clumsy smokescreen that comes up. Then, like a child called into the principal's office, the government minister hangs their head and tells Ontarians how sorry they are. But because no one's ever held accountable over there by the Premier or anyone in that government, no one actually learns anything, so the same mistakes continue to occur over and over again. There are two former energy ministers in cabinet who both fell asleep at the switch. No one's minding the store to the acting Premier. Why are those ministers still in cabinet? I've been pretty forthright in my responses to the member on two consecutive questions, and the member persists on trying to get political with this. So, Mr. Speaker, perhaps I should respond in kind. Let me remind that member that he's part of a party that better be very careful when they're making allegations of exploitation and gaming. When you look at their tabloid, Mr. Speaker, that they recently put out, talk about gaming people, Mr. Speaker, claiming a 22% income tax cut when it's nothing of this sort, Mr. Speaker. That's just the bogus claim. You look further, Mr. Speaker, and you see $12 billion in cuts, none of which are transparent, none of which are defined. Mr. Speaker, what kind of energy programs are they going to cut? What kind of education programs are they going to cut? What kind of healthcare programs? Mr. Speaker, there are pretty thin ice over there, when they make those kind of political allegations, if you ask me. Thank you. New question to the member from Nipissing. Thank you, and good morning, Speaker. My question is for the acting Premier. Citing non-existent savings, this government callously canceled passenger rail service to North Eastern Ontario as part of a plan to sell off Ontario, Northland. It was only after we called in the Auditor General who revealed there were no savings to be had, and in fact it would actually cost taxpayers $820 million to sell off Ontario, Northland that this government partially halted the sale. Today, Northerners are left without rail service while options in southern Ontario are expanded. Northerners were rightfully furious with the Liberal decision to cancel the service, fearing job losses and the end of an historic transportation option to and from Toronto for medical and other purposes. Speaker, to the acting Premier, does she agree with the PC plan to bring back passenger rail service to the North? Here, here, here. The Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation. Thank you for that question, and I do want to wait till I acknowledge, please carry on. Thank you, Speaker. Speaker, people living in northern Ontario do have the right to rely on public transportation to travel between their communities, especially in those remote communities. They rely on that transportation for essential access to essential services. So what have we done? We are improving the inter-community bus services in northern Ontario, and that's why just this past Friday, we announced that we would work with existing private carriers to continue improving the inter-community bus services. And what that has led to, Speaker, is that communities are going to benefit from that announcement. Those communities include Hearst, Hornpain, White River, Red Lake, Emo, Rainy River, Fort Francis, Attacoken, Red Rock and other communities. We are going to provide a return service five days a week between all communities covered by the ONTC or private characters. Thanks to this new funding. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and back to the acting Premier. While some northern Ontarians relied on the train for remote northern communities, including many First Nations, air travel is the only reliable year-round mode of transportation. The government has shown they do not care about the needs of northerners in many ways, including when they increased the aviation fuel tax by 148%. As a direct result of this increase, northerners have seen the cost of everything from food to fuel to personal travel for medical appointments go up. Our Ontario PC leader has recognized this issue and committed to reversing the 148% increase to the aviation fuel tax for all northern airports large and small. Will the deputy Premier admit that this increase has created unnecessary hardships for Ontarians living in remote northern communities? Will she agree to reverse this tax for northern Ontario? Minister of Finance. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the member knows, aviation fuel tax was previously amended in 1992. It was at 2.0 per litre. The majority of aviation fuel is the federal tax. We have made it clear that the recent decrease in jet fuel prices greater than 4.0 per litre increased aviation fuel has been phased out between 2014 and 2017. As we know, what we are trying to do is ensure that we provide support for those municipalities and regions of the north to ensure that they get more funding, on the other side have consistently denied them. We have put forward increased funding for the OMPF and other support systems for the region. The aviation fuel tax is meant to provide greater revenues for the communities and the member opposite knows that the majority of that is federal government and our proportion of matters is one cent from here. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Final supplementary. Member from Sussay, Marie. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the acting Premier, investments in northern Ontario will not be confined simply to bringing back the north lander or reversing the aviation fuel tax. It's about economic development as well. The Ring of Fire is the single greatest opportunity economically that northern Ontario has ever seen. It's estimated that it will create 5500 sustainable jobs and increases of upwards of $2 billion in government revenues. Under the People's Guarantee Patrick Brown and a PC government will ensure that we are committed to building roads to the Ring of Fire. Since discovered, this government has done nothing but made broken promises and entered into bad faith negotiations with respect to the Ring. After 10 years since its discovery construction of the roads are still not under way. In fact, the Ring of Fire isn't mentioned in the most recent fall economic statement. So Mr. Speaker to the acting Premier, will this government finally admit that any reference they made to the Ring of Fire is nothing more than an election? Sir, municipal affairs, Mr. Speaker. The member opposite missed the announcement in August of this year. The Premier is in Thunder Bay with the Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation, the Minister of Northern Development Mines and myself as we made the announcement, followed through on our commitment. First Nations were in attendance at the announcement at the same time, Speaker, and everybody is aware that they have signed on moving forward not only with One Road in east west but also with the north south from the Kena, Erroland area straight north into Martin Falls as well. So very exciting announcement, Speaker. It still remains surprising to me that members of the Conservative Party will stand in this place and pretend as best they are able that they will somehow provide more fiscal capacity for Northern Ontario municipalities when in fact they are the party when in power, the downloaded massive amounts of financial responsibility onto the backs of residential property taxpayers, not only in Northern Ontario but in every one of the 444 municipalities across this province. Thank you. New question, the member from Tamiskini Caucus. Thank you. My question is to the active Premier. Yesterday we learned that a private gas plan in Brampton gained a liberal government system for managing private electric contracts to the tune of 100 million dollars. We know the company was fined for 10 million by the OEB for the fraud and the Minister of Economic Development growth told reporters they had also paid back the full 100 million. But the amount paid back by the private gas plant is blacked out in the Ontario Energy Report. Will the acting Premier tell us when the people of Ontario will be able to see for themselves that this private gas plan has paid them back in full? Thank you. The Minister of Economic Development and Growth. Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'll share with the member some of the facts on this as they've come forward and some actually reported today. In all, 92... Excuse me. We're in warnings. Thank you. Carry on. In all, the IESO negotiated with the OEB that includes the 10 million fine. The challenge here, Mr. Speaker, is some of these are disputed in appropriate costs that the company would take a different view on as to whether they were inappropriate or not. So there was a... I could call it a negotiation between the IESO and the company to determine which of these costs 92% was recovered in the eyes of the IESO was deemed to be fair to the company but more so fair to ratepayers. Thank you. Supplementary. Again, to the Acting Premier. If it's indeed true that the vast majority of these costs have been repaid by the company, can the Acting Premier tell us when the people will see that on their hydro bills? When will they be paid back for this fraud? Thank you. The fact is that, yes indeed, the 92% of the costs have been or the process have been paid back. I can't confirm that indeed that those dollars have flowed yet, but they will. My understanding is they'd go right back into the IESO and the rate system but you'd have to check with finance and our accountants to determine exactly how that cash flow happens but I appreciate the question and certainly we may be able to determine a more in-depth answer to you and check with our finance officials down the road. Thank you. Final supplementary. Ontario families and businesses are struggling under the weight of soaring hydro bills. Rates have gone up by 300% under this Liberal Government and now we learn that in addition to paying for the hydro they use, families were forced to pay $100 million to a private gas plant company for no reason at all. I'll ask the acting premier again. How will she ensure that the people of Ontario who pay those hydro bills get their money back? Minister? Well again Mr. Speaker, let's be very very clear. $100 million has not been lost. $100 million in fact has been broken. Excuse me. About 100% sure, so I'll just wait. Carry on. In addition Mr. Speaker, the company that was accused of exploiting the process has been fined $10 million, so that money has flowed back into the system Mr. Speaker. Ratepayers are not going to be out. There is a dispute in terms of some of these costs, there's no question. I think that speaks to the system, the definition of what appropriate costs ought to have been and the ISO has strengthened that system as well to ensure that this can happen. It's an unfortunate circumstance. There's no defending the company Mr. Speaker, but at the end of the day the ISO took the actions that it ought to have taken and ratepayers have been able to say to Mr. Speaker. New question. Once again to the acting premier. The OAB report, the newest gas plant scandal says that the team that monitors private electricity companies has been raising red flags about this kind of activity and the liberal government's loopholes have allowed private companies to take money from Ontario families and businesses with very few consequences. If the liberal government knew about the $100 million fraud and the loopholes will let the private gas plant get away with stealing money for so long, why didn't anyone do anything about it until now? Mr. Premier. Minister of economic development and growth. Minister of economic development and trade. Thank you Mr. Speaker. The ISO is the organization that administers these matters and deals with these matters. It's not the minister or the government that engages in these kinds of discussions and these kinds of negotiations with these companies nor do we do the procurement it's the ISO that does that. They identified that there was an issue going on. They investigated the issue. Some time it was apparently very complex and difficult to determine. At the end of the day they determined that there were some ineligible costs that were claimed by this company and a few others Mr. Speaker and they took the action to recover the vast majority of the funds that had been deemed to be ineligible claims and they find this company $10 million in addition to that. So Mr. Speaker I believe they've taken the action they ought to have taken. I don't know if it seems like it's a pretty fair result. Thank you. Supplementary. This is a long standing issue. The Brampton Gas Plan alone was able to defraud the people of this province for almost three years before it was discovered. The OAB report says the system that are in place have created opportunities for exploitation to the serious financial disadvantage of Ontario ratepayers. Why has this liberal government exploited the people of Ontario for so long? Mr. Speaker once again let me repeat the ISO has recovered the vast majority of the funds that were in dispute and indeed levy to find the company in question. So the ratepayers are not out here Mr. Speaker for the vast majority of those ineligible funds so that's I think point number one. Point number two when something like this occurs it doesn't mean that there must have been some kind of a problem or a flaw with the system that was in place in this case it would appear that the definition of eligible costs were probably not clear enough and the ISO has taken measures to correct that Mr. Speaker which is the appropriate course of action for them to take so the dollars have been recovered the ISO has taken appropriate action to ensure this doesn't happen in the future and indeed Mr. Speaker it could be in putting into place where this will never ever happen in the future. Point number two final supplementary this is not an isolated incident there is a systemic issue with how this government allows private energy companies to operate on Ontario the government knew about this fraud and they did nothing for years the OEB report went on to say that and I quote the panel was frequent the panel has frequently commented on the substantial inefficiencies and opportunities for exploitation that are associated with different elements of the design of the wholesale electricity electricity market you knew about it you did nothing I'll ask the acting premier again why has the government allowed the people of Ontario to foot the bill for the shenanigans of private energy companies for so long. Thank you Mr. Speaker I have to correct the member again the funds that are in question have for the most part been recovered when he says foot the bill indeed the OEISO has recovered the vast majority of the funds and levied a $10 million fine to the company there's no defending a company that exploited this system Mr. Speaker at the same time we need to ensure and the ISO is very aware of this that they need to be more vigilant Mr. Speaker and their systems when they put those systems in place to ensure that there is clarity in what eligible costs ought to be or ought not to be Mr. Speaker they've made the changes they need to make to that system I think that's what Ontario ratepayers would expect of them they've recovered the vast majority of funds on behalf of Ontario ratepayers I think Ontario ratepayers would expect that as well and they've levelled a $10 million fine the largest ever Mr. Speaker I think Ontario ratepayers would expect that as well thank you new question Mr. Speaker the Russian Olympic team were not the only folks to receive a band yesterday last night CTV London reported that the Port Albert General Store is closing this winter for the first time in 150 years a direct result of this government's bad policies six employees will be out of work this winter just before Christmas when it reopens this spring speaker the deputy premier a summer client will no longer be welcomed there can the deputy premier explain to the house why she has been banned from the Port Albert General Store and tell us how many other local caucus members have been banned from small businesses throughout the province because of their bad decisions can you see it please deputy premier to the minister of labour minister of labour speaker perhaps the member opposite can explain when you had the chance to stand up for working people in the province of Ontario speaker you turned your backs on remember from Lanark Frontenac Lennox and Addington is warned and I'll wait for the others you'd like to add to the chair please thank you speaker I would like to thank all the people in the province of Ontario currently make less than $15 an hour half of those people more than half of those people speaker are between the ages of 25 and 64 that's the time when they're trying to raise families pay rent buy clothes for the kids put the kids through school put food on the table speaker this party opposite has denied these families the opportunity to do that like this speaker speaker we all had an opportunity to stand up for working people in Ontario these guys turned their backs on the speaker you see it the minister of infrastructure is warned supplementary speaker again back to the deputy premier this party this government just doesn't get it because these six people will be earning $0 per hour because this owner has no other options but to close and speaker I am sure this is just one example of many more to come in the people's guarantee we will still move forward with minimum wage increases just more slowly this is an approach that the Ontario chamber of commerce said would mitigate job impacts by 74% so speaker will the deputy premier sign on to the people's guarantee and help us fix the mess that her government has made and save jobs and small businesses throughout Ontario remember from Lampton Kent middle sex is warned if you all want to get the last word I do a little louder and I'll warn you minister speaker quite the contrary to what the members asserting when the opportunity was given to this house to support working people the member from here on Bruce is warned carry on speaker to support working people in the province of Ontario these guys refuse to stand up and be counted speaker the Ontario economy is leading the G7 in economic growth we've got unemployment numbers so low speaker that we haven't seen in decades speaker the Ontario economy is doing well speaker and when this party had an opportunity to vote just last week they voted against paid sick days for Ontario workers they voted against child death leave crime related leave disappearance leave pregnancy leave domestic violence and sexual violence leave speaker these folks had an opportunity to stand up for working people in the province of Ontario member from the PN Carleton is warned I'll do this all morning if you'd like carry on speaker and then they put out the glossy magazine that tells us they've lost $1 billion in cost they don't know what to do to it speaker then they tell us they're going to roll back the minimum wage speaker thank you new question the member from Niagara Falls thank you Mr. Speaker my question is to the acting premier yesterday a publicly owned Niagara on the lake hydro issue a simple and straightforward request keep your political message off our residents bill nobody likes to receive a bill but right now the Ontario Energy Board forces local distributors to print local messages on their bill they're forcing utilities to include lines that refer to savings from their hydro scheme savings that aren't actually there the so called savings this government is forcing them to print is nothing more than cost they kicked down the road a plan which won't lower bills and won't bring hydro back into public cans my question is simple Mr. Speaker local distributors are asking the Liberals to stop forcing them to produce bills that they contain their political advertising for a plan they don't believe is actually creating savings will the acting premier listen to local distributors to the minister of economic development and growth economic development and growth speaker I think the only people in this province that don't want rate payers to know they're getting a 25 percent cut on their energy rates are the NDP and maybe the PCs Mr. Speaker so I understand why the member would be upset that rate payers are being informed that their bills are going down by 25 percent Mr. Speaker this government doesn't design the energy bills in fact we've heard and I'm sitting beside a previous energy minister we've heard time and time again from rate payers Mr. Speaker that they want to see ways to ensure that the bills are easier for rate payers to understand that's what the OEB is looking at Mr. Speaker on behalf of rate payers I think they're doing some good work in that respect but I do understand why the member wouldn't want them to be aware of their 25 percent cut to their energy rates Mr. Speaker answer thank you Mr. Speaker and again to the acting premier let me coat Jim Ryan the chair of the publicly owned Niagara Lake Hydro Utility he said putting political messages on invoices is simply wrong and frankly we agree of them keep your political spin off our people's hydro bills residents to answer his response residents are smart enough to know that if their bills have gone up 300 percent they aren't seeing savings no matter how many times you write it on their bill with the acting premier stop insulting people whose bills have skyrocketed because of bad decision and remove and remove the political messaging from the people's hydro bills as requested by local distributors thank you thank you minister thank you Mr. Speaker there are no political messages on the bills at all Mr. Speaker informing rate payers that they're getting 25 percent off their energy cost is information information that they deserve to have in spite of the efforts of the NDP to ensure that they don't know that they're getting 25 percent off why would the member not want his constituents to know Mr. Speaker that their energy rates have gone down by 25 percent the only reason I can think of Mr. Speaker is a political reason on their part that they don't want their members to know that we've brought energy rates down in the province of Ontario by 25 percent we're very proud of that at the same time Mr. Speaker he ought to let his constituents know that we've also built a clean reliable and affordable energy system in the province of Ontario Mr. Speaker it hasn't been easy it's taken a lot of investment it's taken a lot of time but Mr. Speaker Ontarians have a clean reliable affordable energy system that they can be proud of thank you Mr. Speaker my question is for the minister of the status of women today is a day of national remembrance and action on violence against women it is an emotional day for women and Canadians across the country who remember with great sadness the events of December 6 1989 we will hold an annual commemorative event in my riding of Kingston in the islands at Sydenham united street church organized by Lee Martins and I thank her for her efforts on December 6 1989 14 young women were murdered at Lickhole polytechnic in Montreal they were young women engineers and their lives were cut short by a senseless act of misogyny by a man who said he wanted to kill feminists minister can you tell me what this province is doing to challenge every day the deeply rooted attitudes that lead to violence against women thank you Mr. Speaker and I'd like to thank the member from Kingston in the islands for this very important question Speaker 28 years have passed but we will never forget what happened to those 14 young women and girls who have suffered violence in this province as the minister of the status of women it is my priority to ensure that women and girls feel safe in this province and to help build a society where women can live free from the fear or threat of violence but Mr. Speaker the harsh reality is that 83% of domestic violence victims are women the reality is that women are four times more likely to be victims of homicide the reality is that one in three women will be victims of some form of sexual violence or harassment in their lives Speaker that is why we are working tirelessly to improve the province's response to domestic violence and to create a gender based violence strategy our strategy will integrate the sexual violence and harassment action plan ending violence against indigenous women plan or human trafficking initiatives and update the domestic violence plan supplementary Mr. Speaker I would like to thank the minister for her answer and I think that the statistics are truly alarming my colleague is right we need to take action to change attitude and perspectives on gender violence because this affects us all Speaker hashtags like me too have shone a light on how prevailing sexual violence and harassment are in our homes our workplaces and our communities women are showing enormous courage and strength by speaking out and we need to make sure they know we are listening gender based violence impacts not only survivors but their families, their workplaces their communities and their relationships forever Mr. Speaker can the minister please outline specific new policies that address the needs of survivors of violence and their families in our communities across the province Mr. Speaker and thanks to the member from Kingston and the islands Mr. Speaker I am pleased to speak about the cross government supports we are providing to Ontario women and here is what we are doing working with the ministry of labour we will be providing paid leave for survivors of domestic and sexual violence this means a survivor can keep their job and escape a violent and abusive relationship to seek support and safety domestic violence and human trafficking escape violent situations by providing faster access to housing through our portable housing benefit these survivors will receive priority access to income based social housing I am also pleased to report that frontline workers in the hospitality health education and community services sector are now able to access training to help them recognize and respond to sexual violence and harassment on the job it's part of it's your shift we are working hard to build a future free from the threat and fear of violence for women Mr. Speaker thanks Mr. Speaker my question is for the minister of transportation last week I saw another tragic crash on highway 401 in my riding that left two people dead and four injured mayors and leads took their concerns about highway safety to the minister way back in March after a horrific fatal collision involving a hazardous chemical they demanded action to make the highway safer and protect motorists and first responders and the minister ignored them for six months here's how Prescott Mayor Brett Todd described the minister's response we waited six months to get the first meeting we lost a great deal of time speaker the minister is meeting with these frustrated mayors on December 15th having wasted so much time spinning his wheels what measures will he announce to end the carnage on our highways thank you speaker thanks very much I want to thank the member for his question of course I've said many times in this chamber that whenever we have any injury in particular any fatality on a highway anywhere in the province it is something that the ministry obviously takes very seriously and our condolences go out to the families of the loved ones that are involved I have had the opportunities and the member from Leeds Grenville would know this he and I have actually specifically chatted he's come to see me about this particular challenge that municipal leaders and the traveling public in eastern Ontario are facing the member did neglect to mention I've already had one in-person meeting in Kingston with his mayor and a collection of other mayors from eastern Ontario took place a number of weeks ago I found it to be a very productive meeting I heard a variety of opinions and input provided by the mayors from eastern Ontario I think that they felt that that first meeting that took place weeks ago was a worthwhile meeting and a very set of very solid foundation for how we intend to move forward and as I committed to at that meeting that took place weeks ago I expect to have an update in the next number of days to provide to the thank you supplementary back to the minister I want to remind the minister that the mayors aren't coming to the table just to hear him talk the only commitment this minister has made is that widening the increasingly congested highway to six lanes we need isn't happening despite the dangerous conditions he says eastern Ontario can wait let me tell the minister that's unacceptable and we need to hear real solutions since May there have been 16 people killed and 18 people injured on the 401 between Trenton and Cornwall speaker the snow is flying and the busy holiday travel season is upon us again my question why did the minister waste so much time and what measures is he going to announce to make eastern Ontario highways safer and save lives thank you minister speaker thanks very much you know as I said in the first answer to this member we at the ministry I specifically take this this area of responsibility extremely seriously I have said on many occasions the safety of our roads and highways from my perspective is not meant to be nor should it ever be a partisan issue speaker I have to say I have to say despite my best efforts to convey that message not only to that member and to his leader and to their team and also to our municipal partners it is borderline shameful that this member would stand to take some sort of partisan jab over an issue that is extremely important to me to the ministry to the traveling public and ultimately to his constituents the member from Niagara West Glenbrook is warned carry on speaker as I was saying as members in this house know for the last 16 consecutive years the province of Ontario has ranked first or second across North America for road and highway safety it will be my pleasure to continue to work with Mayor Todd and the rest of the eastern region mayors and the OPP and the ministry to make sure that we get this right thank you very much thank you speaker to the acting Premier yesterday I rose in this house to talk about a man named Essa who died trying to escape the horrific conditions in an unlicensed group home Essa paid the landlord almost $4,000 for one month in that mouse infested basement where he frequently was locked inside sadly Essa's situation is not unique you can see the cockroaches swarming almost like a moving carpet one man said of his time in an illegal home countless other residents have reported unsanitary linens overcrowding and going days without food my colleague from Welland introduced Bill 135 in May which would establish a framework for the licensing of these homes if the government is not willing to create more spaces in long-term care and affordable accessible housing then the very least they could do is establish a framework for licensing is this liberal government willing to make the commitment today pass Bill 135 and license and regulate these group homes the minister of health minister of health long-term care well Mr. Speaker I'm happy to speak to this important question that's raised by the member opposite that this that these stories from individuals who rely on their these environments care homes, group homes to provide the necessary supports to provide an environment which is conducive to their getting well and staying well Mr. Speaker that these reports are definitely troubling so that's why as a result I think the member understands that there are a variety of individuals who may avail themselves of these types of residences so this is necessarily an effort that requires work across ministries but I've asked my ministry to take the lead to look at the situation in care homes and group homes particularly those where we find vulnerable individuals and to interact with stakeholders and clients and residents themselves to find out what more can do to help them back to the acting premier we finally know who is responsible for this issue the minister of health who yesterday said that it was a cross ministry issue meaning that the people who have lived and died in these horrendous conditions should look to all the ministries that have failed them the ministry of health has failed to ensure there are enough long-term care beds mental health supports and housing for people leaving hospitals the ministry of community and social services has faced decade-long wait list for housing the ministry of seniors affairs has failed to address dire issues of seniors living in poverty the ministry of housing and poverty reduction strategy has failed to provide support to municipalities to crack down on these unlicensed homes with numerous safety violations saying that this is a complex multi-ministerial issue does not excuse this liberal government for ignoring this problem for years will we get a commitment to take action today so that nobody else has to live or die in these horrendous conditions appreciate it please appreciate it please thank you minister well Mr. Speaker the member opposite surely knows that municipalities have oversight they have the regulatory ability to pass bylaws and many if not most of them do and I know she's heckling right now this is a very serious issue and we're taking it seriously Mr. Speaker there's no government before this government that has stood up for and created stronger regulatory environments for long-term care homes Mr. Speaker we strengthened oversight and responsibility for childcare for day care for retirement homes which were completely all of those were completely unlicensed under an NDP government Mr. Speaker unregulated so we have provided the strongest regulatory environment for these facilities in the history of Ontario and I have committed to have my ministry take the lead to look at group homes and care homes Mr. Speaker which contain a variety of individuals under municipal oversight and we'll look at it with stakeholders with residents to see what might be done Mr. Speaker any questions alright we have a new question the member from Carlton Mississippi Mills thank you Mr. Speaker my question is to the minister of housing Eli Sagbini is a landlord who is suffering the unfairness of the landlord and tenant board and the rules which heavily favor the tenant Eli had a tenant who did not pay the rent on August 1st he filed the landlord and tenant board N4 form on August 2nd the landlord and tenant board L1 form on August 16th went to a landlord and tenant board hearing on September 18th got an eviction notice for September 30th and called the sheriff on October 2nd to post an eviction notice on the tenant's door to leave by October 12th the tenant left two and a half months had passed and Eli is out of pocket $4,000 plus costs this isn't fair minister can you help Eli by restoring fairness for him thank you minister of housing thank you Mr. Speaker and I want to thank the member for Carlton Mississippi Mills for the question and I want to express empathy towards Eli Sagbini and to reassure that we understand their concerns and that there are protections in place for situations like these small landlords have a critical role to play in providing housing throughout the province and we know that the vast majority of landlords are fair and reasonable and are hardworking the RTA which came in effect in January 2007 lays out the legal framework for governing landlord-tenant relationships in Ontario and it also created the landlord and tenant board and we're proud that the landlord tenant board is able to answer approximately half a million calls per year from tenants and landlords and process about 80,000 applications per year tenants and landlords may apply to the RTA as well as go to small claims court to resolve disputes and we're committed to supporting this cooperative system that helps both landlords and tenants Mr. Speaker to the minister of housing again Eli Sagbini is a small business man who is struggling to cope with the landlord tenant rules that are not fair to landlords Eli offers the following suggestions for changes 1. Create a problem tenant directory 2. Allow landlords to collect a damage deposit 3. Shorten the time for the N4 form notice of application from 2 weeks to 1 day 4. Shorten the time for the L1 form application to the hearing from 4 weeks to 1 week and 5. Reduce the landlord application fee from $190 to $50 the same as the tenants these changes would create fairness for landlords and tenants minister will you make these changes thank you Mr. Speaker and I want to assure the house that we're committed to ensuring that landlords and tenants are always protected under the law and this government also knows that small business people have so much to offer this province and we understand the pressures that are sometimes put on them so Mr. Speaker I note the member has listed a number of suggestions that he has but I want to remind the house that before a tenancy starts under the residential tenancy act it allows landlords to do the due diligence to do credit checks references guarantees with the human rights comply with the Ontario human rights code when they ask these questions landlords do have the opportunity to do this due diligence and we maintain that by doing this landlords can protect themselves it provides for a fast track eviction process it allows landlords to evict when deliberate damage is done to the unit and it protects other thank you Mr. Speaker my question is to the minister of economic development and growth there's a lot going on with the global economy and a lot of uncertainty it appears that here we can be confident that Ontario's economy is headed in the right direction parents in my community want to know that their kids are going to have access to employment workers want to know that their jobs are safe for saleable future owners want to know that Ontario is a good place to invest and grow business Mr. Speaker I want to assure the people and families in my riding a berry of just how strong our economy is today can the minister please can the minister please provide an update on Ontario's economic progress in light of this month's job numbers thank you Minister of economic development and growth thank you Mr. Speaker that this past month we've seen a record amount of job growth in Ontario we're up 43,500 net new jobs in the province of Ontario Mr. Speaker that is the largest increase since February 2008 before the global recession we also passed another milestone last Friday Mr. Speaker we've now created over 800,000 net new jobs since the global recession more accurately that's 143,200 net new jobs we continue to lead the country in growth the G7 in growth our unemployment rate also hit a new low Mr. Speaker at 5.5% that's the lowest unemployment rate we've seen in 17 and a half years in the province of Ontario Mr. Speaker there's every reason to be confident that Ontario's economy is doing well today and we're headed in the right direction Mr. Speaker to supplement it thank you to the minister for that answer this is great news for the families all across Ontario there's no question that our investments in people and infrastructure and our business growth initiatives are paying off for the people of this province there's no question that this economy is doing extremely well this is shown again by the fantastic job numbers this month 43,500 net new jobs in one month is remarkable along with the lowest unemployment rate in 17 and a half years at 5.5% in fact last year in my writing of Barrie unemployment was the highest in the province at 7.9% now it is at 3.4% the lowest in the province and second lowest in the country that translates to over 17,000 jobs in my hometown of Barrie in the last year alone Mr. Speaker, there are uncertainties today in the global economy whether it's NAFTA, Brexit or emerging technology can the minister outline to this house what risk exists in our economy going into thank you minister Mr. Speaker, Ontario is in a position of strength and being in a position of strength means that if we stay the course Mr. Speaker we can withstand any risks that emerge in the changing global economy be it risks from NAFTA or emerging technologies or any other types of global change we've also stepped up when it comes to the new economy Mr. Speaker we want to ensure that we're at the cutting edge of technological development I would say Mr. Speaker today that Ontario is not only a leader in economic growth for today's economy we're going to be a leader in economic growth for many decades ahead Mr. Speaker which means we will be able to pass on to our next generation to pass on to them that comes with the opportunities that many of us have had in the past maybe even greater opportunities Mr. Speaker that would not be happening Mr. Speaker without the investments we've made in our people, our talent and innovation Mr. Speaker and infrastructure thank you any questions? Thank you Mr. Speaker to the Minister of Children and Youth Services so a group home in Oakwood in my riding burned to the ground killing two people including one child this sad incident highlighted many flaws in our provinces management of group homes this past week we saw a disturbing article in the Toronto Star about the abuse and violence faced by group home staff as well as the lack of training and oversight by the ministry as a member of the government's panel reviewing residential care system you know your system is based on the flimsiest of foundations when you have absolutely no standards on who can do this work the Ontario provincial advocate for children and youth had previously said he is fed up with the situation but we have seen little action from this government why is the government allowing our children and care workers to live in such terrible conditions? Mr. Speaker I want to thank the member opposite for the question the events that took place in our riding were very tragic and you know my heart goes out to everyone who is involved the workers, the family, the community as a whole the experiences shared by the group home workers with the Toronto Star I know is a very difficult article for many to read I wanted to take a moment just to acknowledge the bravery in the folks to sharing their stories that were captured in that article service providers and workers play an important role in the lives of young people in care and they have a strong influence in the day-to-day lives of young people who are in their care immediately following the fire multiple investigations were started by local and provincial authorities some which are continuing Mr. Speaker and the ministry continues to offer its full support and cooperation in those investigations the places that children live in must be welcoming and they must meet their needs and we're doing work reform to ensure we better position young people in success supplementary Mr. Speaker the government needs to start treating our group home workers and high needs children like people not statistics I had written to the minister last April I even filed an order paper question to see if I could get some real answers from this government unfortunately the Toronto Star article shows that this government just isn't listening first they failed to implement key recommendations from the residential services review panel to create a single oversight body for the system even though they could have included that in bill 89 we tried to reach out to the ministry to address an increase in violence quote there was silence will the minister stop ignoring these calls for action and take this issue with the seriousness that it deserves thank you minister thank you Mr. Speaker so Mr. Speaker we've taken immediate action to address some of the issues the members raising we increased the number of unannounced inspections of licensed residents we've confirmed licensed residents are compliant with the current fire code and we established an intensive site review team to conduct enhanced inspections of the site Mr. Speaker the interesting thing about this question I don't want to make this question a contentious back and forth but we put forward a whole new framework for residential services for young people and we put forward a blueprint we've modernized many of the aspects that we're talking about today and still we don't know why the Conservative Party voted against bill 89 which modernized services for children in this province so I still have to ask why didn't we have cooperation from the Conservatives thank you teachable moment exactly why you're supposed to speak to the chairs when I stand if you're speaking to the chair you'll know I was standing and I also would you like me to interject also the interjections were not helpful either new question a member from Windsor to come thank you speaker my question is to the Deputy Premier good morning seven months ago I had a private members bill passed second reading it called for a change in the law to allow whiskey to be sold where it's been made in Windsor for the past 130 years and speaker you may recall that the owners of Hiram Walker sold the Canadian club brand but it's still made under contract by the same people in the same place red tape and the current regulations don't allow whiskey bottled under contract to be sold where it's produced I've been told senior policy advisers claim changing the law might impact international trade policies speaker could someone over there point me to the exact language or clause in some agreement that states the simple change is just too much work for liberals to undertake thank you Deputy Premier Minister of Finance I appreciate the question from the member opposite who's been advocating strongly for his community to maintain the heritage centre for Canadian club heritage centre open recognizing how important it is for tourism and his community and I applaud you for the tremendous work you're doing he also recognizes that the private members bill is before the committee and there are some elements of the bill that would cause precedence in respect to selling liquor and alcohol outside of an LCBO store recognizing that we have made and tried to accommodate the new owners of Canadian club who have yet to state that they will in fact maintain it open even after we put forward this issue but I welcome and I can talk more about this in supplementary thank you supplementary speaker the Canadian club heritage brand centre as the minister has referenced is a palatial building one of the most significant in Ontario if not North America 15,000 people a year used to tour the building every year it's Windsor's second most visited most popular tourist attraction after Caesars it's been closed since March since this issue erupted why won't the Liberals pull out all the stops put on their thinking caps and find a solution so that the bottling of whiskey can be sold or a few bottles of whiskey can be sold after a tour and the doors of the brand centre can reopen to the public thank you minister so Mr. Speaker as a member also knows we do offer some of those privileges when it's being produced within those locations that's not the case here and the member opposite I know doesn't want unintended consequences in regards to social responsibility and other measures and again the owners of the heritage centre hasn't yet even requested this I know the member wants it and so do I but the owners have not stood up and the owners are not guaranteeing that they'll maintain it open even after we put this forward and the precedent it would set would be precarious right across the province I know the member doesn't want that but I do feel for his need and I would like to see a solution in that respect too thank you Mr. Speaker my question is to the minister of health and long-term care providing Ontarians with timely access to the care they need whether at home in the community or one of our many institutions community and our outstanding hospitals is of the utmost importance to our government over the past 14 years our health system has improved significantly we've increased our investment in health care each and every year allowing us to treat more patients and provide better care, reduce wait times to some of the shortest in the country our government has increased funding for our hospitals since 2003 and in our most recent budget we announced an additional 9 billion to support hospital construction projects across the province today across Ontario there are 34 major hospital projects underway that will provide additional capacity state of the art facilities for people across the province including planning for a major rebuild for Michael Cairn hospital in my riding of Beach's East York will the minister of health, long-term care please inform the house of the great news surgeons at Toronto Western hospital minister of health, long-term care well thank you Mr. Speaker so in the last few days we've had two great hospital related announcements on Friday I had the honour of being in Windsor and in fact I have to give a shout out to the three Windsor and Essex MPPs because we announced a brand new multi-billion dollar hospital for Windsor and Essex state of the art that's going to be providing the absolute highest quality of care of both Windsor County and Essex County and of course yesterday Mr. Speaker I was at Toronto Western hospital here in Toronto with the member from Trinity Spadina to announce an investment in the order of 100 million dollars to completely renew and renovate and expand the operating theatres the surgical suites at Toronto Western hospital a hospital that we all know is so well known for their advanced care training and capacity in areas like neurosurgery and many other surgical specialties so a big shout out to the people of Toronto Western an important investment that will enable those doctors, surgeons and other teams to do even better My question period is over Minister of Education on a point of order Thank you Mr. Speaker it is my pleasure today to welcome some very special guests to Queens Park the Ontario Principals Council President Clinton as well as Allison Aughton Executive Director please welcome them as they visit with us today Thank you I beg to inform the House that the following document was tabled the 2017 annual report from the Office of the Auditor General of Ontario there are no deferred votes this House stands recess until 3pm this afternoon