 It is now time for oral questions. I recognize the leader of the Official Opposition. Thank you, Speaker. My first question is for the Premier. Another morning brings more news of more forward government cuts to healthcare services the families rely on. Municipalities report that Ambulance and Paramedic Services will see their funding frozen at 2017 levels. And the Ontario Telemedicine Network has eliminated 44 frontline staff jobs. Can the Premier confirm these latest healthcare cuts and explain why the government feels Ontario families can do without these services? Questions to the Premier? For you, Mr. Speaker, I have to tell you. I had a real interesting visitor, Mr. Speaker, yesterday. It was a grade 11 student from Lindsey. And he couldn't figure out why the opposition couldn't figure out where all the spending went for the last 15 years, that they doubled the debt. They increased the debt by 200 million. And this is a grade 11 student. He said to his friends, he said he'd go up to his friends and say, when you turn 18 and your parents give you a credit card, and it's just accumulated debt, and you're paying interest, you're paying interest, do you want to continue racking up the debt or do you want to pay it off? And once he explained it that way, all his friends in grade 11 said, yeah, it makes sense, pay off the debt. My point is, Mr. Speaker, the NDP doesn't understand it, but a grade 11 student gets it. It's all about spending, spending, spending, that they put our province in debt. That's what it's all about. Order. Order. Start the clock. Supplementary question. Say, Speaker, what the Premier doesn't get is the vast majority of hardworking families in this province don't give their kids a company or a credit card when they turn 18. They are particularly irresponsible. Order. Order. The Ford government had claimed that they intended to... Stop the clock. The government's side will come to order and allow the questions to be asked so that I can hear them. Restart the clock. Leader of the opposition. The Ford government had claimed that they intended to boost the amount of virtual medical care in Ontario, but now their handing layoff notices to 44 of the very people who provide that service. The Premier's promise that no government employee would lose their job is about as credible as his promise that parents of children with autism would never have to demonstrate on the lawns of Queen's Park again. Why is the Premier breaking his promise to protect healthcare jobs? Minister of Health and long-term care. Thank you. Well, in fact, the situation with the Ontario telemedicine network is this. They're making thoughtful, pragmatic decisions about how they're using taxpayer dollars, which is what Ontarians expect them to do, and they expect us to do. With respect to the emergency department services, we are streamlining and modernizing the service by consolidating dispatch and service delivery into regional locations and adopting new models of care to build a sustainable connected system. This is all part of our overall plan to modernize our healthcare system to make sure that patients receive the care that they need. They receive connected care throughout their journey in healthcare, which is not the situation that we have right now. We want to center care around patients, and that's what we're delivering on. Final supplementary. The Speaker, their plan to streamline and modernize is simply a cloak of cuts that this government is putting in place. People don't actually see a plan for healthcare, Speaker, but the people who ensure that our ambulances arrive on time and our children are vaccinated, they don't see a plan either. All they see is cuts and chaos, cuts to public health units, cuts to ambulance services, cuts to telemedicine, cuts to OHIP coverage. If the Ford government truly has this plan, Speaker, why do doctors, paramedics, nurses, Reeves, chairs, and mayors all tell us that the only plan they see is a plan to cut and hurt families? Minister, to reply. Thank you, Speaker, through you. I just want to correct the record of what the leader, the official law physician just said. We are actually adding more, over a billion dollars more into our healthcare system. And in our budget, we will protect what matters most to make sure that we actually have a healthcare system and have an education system in the future because we sustained and received a $15 billion deficit. That is a huge amount of debt. And what we are doing is building up the things that are most important, the things that people most care about. Healthcare is probably top on that list. And I can tell the leader of the official opposition that healthcare providers are very, very enthusiastic about the changes that we're bringing about. We are receiving numerous applications already for local health service providers. So to suggest that people are not happy is entirely wrong. People are very happy that we're making the changes that we're making and can't wait to get started. The next question, leader of the opposition. Thank you, Speaker. My next question is also for the Premier. But here's the newsflash for the minister. He believes that all of these people have one opinion and the government has another opinion and the governments might right and everybody else is wrong, Speaker. Everybody can see through what this government is claiming. Yesterday, in fact, municipalities also received some shocking fallout from the Ford government's big budget cuts. Support for regional tourism is ending effective this year, blasting yet another multimillion dollar all in municipal budgets. Can the Premier tell us how much his province's affordable cost municipality and property taxpayers? Mr. Speaker, I'm going to repeat what the Minister of Health just mentioned. Has the leader of the opposition ever added up everything that she's promised? We're in a 15 billion dollar hole. All the people, Mr. Speaker, all the people up in the stands there are everywhere else. They're $23,000 in debt. The largest sub-sovereign debt in the entire world, created by the NDP and the Liberals. It's unsustainable. I wonder if they run their family budgets the same way they would run the public's budget, because they don't care, it's not their money. Our government's worried about the people's money. We worry about what is most important, which is healthcare, which we increased $1.3 billion. They worry about education. They're going to increase $700 million. No teachers are going to lose their jobs. Seniors are going to get debt full care that they've been waiting for for years. That's what matters to people. Not about spend, spend, spend, tax, tax. Thank you. Supplementary question. The City of Toronto estimates the Premier's download is draining $100 million out of city budgets this year alone. And London has been forced to contemplate a property tax hike to backfill the Premier's cuts. The Ford government budget is forcing municipalities to choose between property tax hikes, cuts to services, or both. When the Premier ran last year, he didn't tell people that he'd be Ontario's first tax and cut Premier. Why is the Premier raising taxes and cutting services? Questions to the Premier? Minister of Municipal Affairs. Thank you for referring the question to me. We were crystal clear at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario Conference, the Roma Conference, the Osum Conference, the Noma Conference. We inherited a $15 billion deficit from the Liberal Party, supported 97% of the time by the end of the year. We made it very clear that we were going to do a line-by-line review of our expenses to ensure that we get value for money and we look at every program, every policy, every service, and we put people first. We try to, again, through the Minister of Finance budget, we are putting forward a budget, a responsible and sustainable budget, a very thoughtful budget that protects what matters most to people. But we made it very clear to all of our partners, whether they be Ontario's 444 municipalities, that we expected them to do the same. We expected them to review every policy, every program, every service, and put people first. Yesterday we heard from Toronto Mayor John Tory Speaker and Welsh Mayor Cam Guthrie, both of whom are speaking out about the Premier's thoughtless cuts, both of whom are, or were, well-respected card-carrying members of the Progressive Conservative Party, and they were both very clear. The Premier likes to call it what we're seeing aren't efficiencies, they are, and I quote, straight-up cuts. Why is the Premier so committed to forcing painful cuts and painful tax increases at the same time that will only hurt Ontario families and make life more expensive? Why is he a tax-tax-tax cut-cut-cut Premier Speaker? Members, please take your seats. I'm referred to the Minister of Municipal Affairs. Speaker, I want to remind the Honourable Member that back in March, before the end of the fiscal year, we provided 405 municipalities $200 million, unconditionally, to be able to help drive efficiencies, to be able to have service delivery reviews if they felt it was important, to be able to modernize their IT, to be able to work with some of their neighbours on shared service agreements. The largest municipal modernization fund that has been provided, and we made it flexible. We made it so that one size doesn't fit all, so that if a community decides they want to be more efficient and more effective, that we put some money into it for them, that we gave them the opportunity to have those type of conversations, but make no mistake, Speaker, we inherited a financial mess from the previous government, and we asked all of our partners, especially Ontario's 444 municipalities, to work with us to continue to consult the groups that the Honourable Member... Thank you. Thank you very much. The next question, Member for Davenport. Mr. Speaker, this question is for the Premier. For months, this government has assured us they are listening to Ontarians when it comes to the future of public education, pointing to their call-ins and their online surveys as proof, but it's clear, Mr. Speaker, that students and parents feel they haven't been heard. The public backlash to their education cuts is real, and it is growing. Something else that appears to have grown substantially is the cost of those so-called consultations. The Ministry's initial contract for service cited a maximum cost of $200,000. Now we've obtained government estimates showing that the total cost came in at $973,000. Can the Premier explain how this government managed to spend nearly a million dollars on a so-called consultation he was only going to ignore? Questions for the Premier? Through you, Mr. Speaker. You know something I get tired about hearing from the radical left about cut, cut, cut. What I want to say is this province better off now than it was when we got elected before? The 123,000 jobs unprecedented, by the way, that was created because we created the environment for companies to thrive and prosper and grow. And when they thrive, prosper and grow, they hire employees, Mr. Speaker. We focus on what matters. As I said earlier, we put $90 million to 100,000 seniors for dental care. We put $2 billion for childcare that matters to working families. We ended up putting $1.3 billion into healthcare. Protecting all teachers added another $1.6 billion, $700 million more into education. Our economy is on fire. We have more jobs out there available than we have people to fill those jobs. Ontario is smiling. Thank you. Order. Start the clock. Supplementary questions. Mr. Speaker, I understand why this makes the Premier uncomfortable. But every day we are hearing new reports of teachers, and this is back to the Premier. We're hearing new reports of teachers and education workers being handed their walking papers, courses being dropped from student schedules, and school boards facing major budget shortfalls as a result of this government's cuts. Yet this government somehow found a million dollars to pay for 37 telephone call-ins online questionnaire only to ignore the results. Given the cost of this consultation, the Premier should be able to tell us how many people asked for their kids to be jammed into larger classes, how many asked for fewer adults in schools, and fewer course options for students, and how many said their child deserved less from their education system. Let's give them a round of applause. Premier. Minister of Education. Thank you very much, Speaker. I would like to share with everybody listening today and to the member opposite as well as her party that we are listening and we're getting it right. And you know what? The fact of the matter is, our consultation was absolutely historic, and we listened. Do you know what? People were asking us to conduct a board governance review. So what did we do? We included it in our budget. And people were telling us Indigenous studies are very important. So what did we do in our budget? We've recognized where, from grades 9 to 12, we're introducing an absolutely encompassed curriculum that our Indigenous partners are going to be pleased with. People have asked us to make our education system more accountable, and that's what we're doing. And that's why we're looking forward to working with our labour partners and our education partners to realize that there are efficiencies at the administration level. So that we can absolutely focus in on a great learning environment in the classroom for teachers and students across Ontario. Thank you very much. Next question, the member for Willowdale. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Government and Consumer Services. Minister is responsible for Ontario's new home warranty program run by Tarion. Now many Ontarians have voiced their concern with Tarion and have called for the reforms to the structure and practices of the organization. In February, the Minister announced our government's plan to transform Tarion to ensure it better protects new home buyers. The Minister outlined a number of initiatives our government has taken to fix Ontario's new home warranty program. These changes, of course, are even more important now that our government has announced its housing supply action plan. More homes for Ontarians means more new home buyers in need of protection. Mr. Speaker, could the Minister outline the initiatives his ministry has undertaken to transform Tarion? Minister of Government and Consumer Services. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank my friend, the honourable member for Willowdale MPP Stan Choll for his great work and representation of his people in Willowdale. And for the great question. How stands the beauty? Our government is taking action to protect hardworking Ontarians when they make one of the biggest purchases in their life, a new home. We recognize that consumers across the province have serious concerns with Tarion and we are committed to fixing it. Mr. Speaker, our plan to transform Tarion includes establishing a separate regulator from Tarion for new home builders and vendors to address conflicts of interest. We're exploring the feasibility of a multi-provider insurance model for new home warranties and protections in Ontario. We're introducing proposed legislative amendments that will enable the government to require Tarion to make executive and board compensation publicly available and to move to a more balanced, skill-based, board composition. And we're introducing new initiatives to better inform and protect purchasers of cancelled condominium projects. These measures will help ensure that going forward Tarion is accountable, transparent and provides quality service for the people of Ontario. Thank you. Supplementary questions. Thank you, Speaker. And through you, thank you to the minister for his response. I know Ontarians will be glad to hear the actions the minister is taking to transform the program and strengthen protections for home buyers. In addition to protecting new home buyers, our government is committed to ensuring to enter the housing market. I know the minister has a key role to play in our government's plan to expand housing availability for the people of Ontario. In addition to the changes the minister just outlined, our government's housing supply action plan also contains additional reforms to Tarion. Speaker, could the minister outline these aspects of the transformation and how these changes will help protect Ontarians and expand access to new homes in this great province? Questions to the minister. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank the honourable member MPP Cho Stan is the man for the people of Ontario. The member is absolutely correct that a key component of our government's plan to improve housing availability for Ontarians is strengthening protections for new home buyers by transforming Tarion. Our proposed changes address key consumer concerns hurried during consultations. We're doing this by supporting greater quality and new home construction through proactive risk-based inspections during construction. We're enabling greater transparency through access to information on the track record of builders on Tarion's Ontario Builder Directory and we're enhancing dispute resolution so that quick, fair and consistent decisions can be made. These measures are in addition to the initiatives announced earlier this year to transform Tarion and supports our plan to build more housing and reduce housing costs. Mr. Speaker, buying a home is likely the most significant financial decision most Ontarians ever make in their life. We're doing this by supporting more Ontarians with a way to make that step and that they will be projected when they do so. Thank you, Speaker. Next question, the member for Essex. Thank you very much, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. The Premier seems completely unable to curb his government's spending of taxpayer dollars, the people's money on foreign junkets and the gravy train of six-figure jobs for the Premier's friends. But that hasn't stopped him from insisting that he knows best when it comes to this Premier for his reckless cuts. Will the Premier be taking his show on the road touring Ontario and offering budget advice to municipalities suffering from his four government cuts? Questions to the Premier? Through you, Mr. Speaker. What the member doesn't realize, I guess he's never experienced it, when you're involved in an organization, a government this size, and it's been a bankrupt government around the world, all the investors ended up leaving, and they didn't want to invest any longer. You have to go out to some of the world's largest investors, which I did with our All-Star champion, Finance Minister. We're able to raise funds to pay for their debt. That's ironic. We're raising funds over in the U.S. to pay for your debt. That's right. We went out there. We attracted Fortune 500 companies. They're excited. They're opening up jobs here. That's what it is all about. The Minister of Economic Development went over to India again to tell the world that Ontario's open for business, open for jobs, open for investment, and it's coming in. You can see it coming in. Our jobs have been created, 123,000 new jobs, and billions and billions of dollars, a new investment because of this government. Here it is. Supplementary question. Rambling, Speaker. What the Premier seems to conveniently forget companies like Chrysler, GM, and Ford started cutting jobs the minute after he was elected as a Premier of this province. So maybe you should check the facts before he starts rambling off in Coherence. Speaker, the fact is that municipal leaders, even card-carrying ones, know that this Ford government budget means. It means higher property taxes or cuts to services, or both, Speaker. Now we know that the Premier loves hiking property taxes because that's exactly what he endorsed at City Hall to pay for the Scarborough subway. Speaker, does the Premier understand that sometimes conservative municipal leaders don't want a Doug Ford-style cut and cut government? We refer to each other by our ministerial title, or our writing name is applicable, not by our surnames. Premier to reply. Again, through you, Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, we're creating an environment that needs to thrive. People are thriving. You ask any business owner from the person that has a convenience store to the companies that employ thousands of people, you ask them who they support. They support this government because we're lowering taxes, lowering hydro bills, putting money back into the common folks pocket. We ended up giving a tax break that they're paying 0% tax to the lowest income people in the entire province. They're paying 0% tax because our government as a theory, Mr. Speaker, you put more money into the people's pocket, they'll go out and spend it that they might otherwise not be able to spend when you have the debt, when you're being taxed to death, when you see a carbon tax that is absolutely destroying the economy across Canada, people are paying more for gas, paying more for heating bills, we're doing the opposite. We actually lowered gas by four and a half cents, we lowered the home heating bills. We are focused on what's best for the people. Thank you. Thank you, East Cooksville. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the minister, my question is for the minister of children, community and social services. Yesterday I'm going to ask the members to come to order to allow the member for Mississauga East Cooksville this time to ask his question in such a way that I can hear him. I apologize to the member. Yesterday another report was released confirming the federal government's failed border policies. The auditor general found Canada was ill-equipped to deal with the surge in illegal border crossers seeking asylum by crossing at unauthorized ports of entry. More than 42,000 asylum seekers have entered Canada between official border crossings since this crisis began two years ago. Can the minister please explain to this house how our government is managing under the federal government's failure? Very good. To the minister of children. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I really appreciate the advocacy for the member of Mississauga East Cooksville who has come to this country and made a great life. We're very proud of you. And I appreciate the question because, Speaker, this is something we have consistently raised in the government for the past 11 months with the support of entry that is not known as a legal or authorized port in Quebec which is sending thousands of people across the border into Ontario which is costing our taxpayers $200 million in growing. But don't take our word for it. The federal auditor general has just agreed with the parliamentary budget officer as well as the Toronto neighbourhood studies process to suggest that this is a process that we cannot continue to support in the province of Ontario because there are two things. One is the Canadians do not have confidence in the border. As you know, federal border crossing is a sole jurisdiction of the federal government. However, the downstream cost on our shelter systems in our two largest cities in Ottawa and Toronto is over $80 million. Thank you. Opposition will come to order. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. After the previous Liberal government failed to stand up to their counterparts, it is refreshing to have a minister who will fight for Ontario's taxpayers. It appears the Prime Minister and minister-responsible feel they can spend their way out of this issue. The 2019 budget committed $208 million in new funds for the immigration and refugee board to help clear the backlog. Speaker, it's hard to imagine how we'll clear such a backlog as more illegal border crossers arrive each day. Can the minister please tell us how we are standing up for Ontario's taxpayers? Good supplementary. I have joined every single Premier who joined our Premier, Premier Ford across this great province, across this great nation, through our territories as well as the other provinces and calling on the federal government to pay for its bills at its broken border crossing. You don't have to take my word for it. Every single Premier of every political stripe in this country signed on the federal government to pay for it. The Parliamentary Budget Officer who is an independent officer of the federal parliament has agreed the Auditor General federally has also agreed. That's why we continue to call on Minister Bill Blair and Minister Ahmed Hussein to provide Ontario with $200 million, which is $84 million in shelter costs in our two largest cities and $90 million in social assistance costs and growing and over $20 million in education costs. The reality is simple, Speaker. It has no control over its border but it does have control over its finances and we want our $200 million. The Member for Niagara Centre. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Families devastated by flooding across Ontario were relieved to hear the government announce that disaster relief assistance will be available as they prepare to put things back together. But they're worried that the promise of assistance will dry up as soon as the cameras go away. The government has promised to address the long delays and cumbersome paperwork that have afflicted this program and left people without support they desperately needed. Will the Premier tell people applying today for disaster relief today when they can expect the support they're applying for? Questions to the Premier? For you, Mr. Speaker, my heart breaks when I went up to Muskoka, up to Ottawa. I've been up to Muskoka several times and made sure I saw the damage myself, made sure our Minister of Natural Resources, the Minister of Environment, was involved. I gave my word to the Mayor of Muskoka Lakes and the Race Bridge Mayor and the Huntsville Mayor that we'd put a task force together. Mr. Speaker, I'm so glad to announce yesterday we sat down with the ministries. We're putting a task force together. It's taken us two days to get that going which is unbelievable in government when emergencies happen. So we're reaching out today actually to the three mayors. We're going to be heading up there again to pay them a visit to sit down and we're going to have the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Environment, plus the three municipalities up in the Muskoka region along with the Ottawa region. And we're going to come up with great ideas how we can take care of the watershed up there to make sure we can prevent the flooding in the past and control the water a lot better here. A supplementary question. Mr. Speaker, families who have watched their homes disappear under flood waters shouldn't be left waiting for years for the help as they put things back together. Following the tornado that hit the Ottawa region last year only seven of 111 applicants have received the disaster funding they applied for and residents of Windsor flooding in 2017 are still waiting for the assistance they applied for. Will the premier be clear today that help will come when the cameras are gone and commit that these people will receive support when they need it, not years from now? Premier, Minister of Municipal Affairs. Thanks Speaker and I'm glad that the premier mentioned the task for us and I want to thank Premier Ford and also all of my ministerial colleagues including my seat mate, the Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry for all of their work that we're doing. As the premier said, the safety of the people of Ontario is our top concern of our government and my ministry specifically. I want to thank all of the first responders, all of the municipal staff and everyone who's on the ground including the men and women of our Canadian Armed Forces for assisting in this disaster. As the member will know we activated the disaster recovery assistance for Ontario's program back at the end of April in the Renfrew and the Pembroke area which I traveled to with the minister last week. Huntsville and Bracebridge as the premier referenced and as well yesterday we authorized Draio in Coortha Lakes in the Ottawa region including Clarence Rockland the Township of Alfred in Plintaginit and the Township of Champlain will continue to work with our municipal partners always wanting to make the program possible. Good job. The next question, the member for Don Valley East. Thank you Mr. Speaker. My questions to the premier. Premier, public health in Ontario has embraced a preventative health care strategy that not only saves money but saves lives and one would think that this government would understand that but unfortunately they've put ideology ahead of science and data. Speaker through you to the premier can he explain how cutting funding to public health will help make our health care system more better. Questions to the premier. Minister of health. For the minister of health and long-term care. Thank you very much for the question. We are modernizing our public health system. It's important to do that to make sure that people are protected and receive the essential services that they need. There's been a lot of incorrect information out there about the effects of these changes. There are small changes over the course of three years. They are bringing forward. We want to make sure that local communities can concentrate on the things that are most important like making sure that children are being vaccinated. We're in dangerous territory in some parts of Ontario with respect to that because we require a certain percentage of the population to be vaccinated in order for everyone to be safe. We want to make sure that nutrition programs are going to continue. That is continuing with funding from the ministry of children community and social services and that children with special needs get the help they need to take care of their children. All of those things are essential. We recognize that. That is something that with the funds that the local units are receiving from the provincial government, they will be able to continue. We have to focus on priorities. We have to focus on what is most important. Thank you. Supplementary question. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, back to the Premier. If the government will not accept public health care and there was a breaking point, Mr. Speaker. The SARS outbreak took place under the 50-50 formula recognizing the crucial role that public health plays in preventing outbreaks. The former Liberal government increased public health spending by 25% that year. We know that this government wants to take us back to the 90s and only fund half of public health. But Premier, you have a duty to look ahead, to strengthen the public health care system, not to undermine it. So, Speaker, through you, how does the Premier think that these massive cuts will help prevent a future public health care crisis? The question has been referred to the Minister of Health and long-term care. Well, thank you. Through you, Mr. Speaker. I would say let's look at the facts and let's look at the math. We inherited a $15 billion deficit as a result of things that your government did. $15 billion. The health care system, a better education system, a better financial system, certainly not. We have to take the steps necessary in order to make sure that we have sustainable services for the future. We are protecting what matters. Health care education matter. And we are taking every step possible to make sure that we do our responsibility to the people of Ontario to be responsible financial stewards to do the same. With the funding they will be receiving on public health from the province, they will be able to do it if they concentrate on the essential priorities. And I'm sure that they will and we look forward to working with them in order to do that. The next question, the member for Miss Saga. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Solicitor General. Mr. Speaker, the rising trend of opioid overdoses across the country and in Ontario is a public health crisis that demands action. In an effort to fight back against the opioid crisis, I recently introduced my first private members bill, which if passed would mandate that all police services across Ontario be trained in the administration of Naloxone. Naloxone is a life-saving medication that can temporarily reverse the effects of an opioid overdose and allow for medical help to arrive. Mr. Speaker, can the Solicitor General please explain to this House how our government is empowering police to revive? Just to the Solicitor General. Member for Miss Saga Centre, you know, as a registered nurse I know that she has a particular interest and insight into this issue and how we can do more work to support our everyday heroes on the front line. Last fall, our government made changes so police officers would not be subjected to an automatic criminal investigation when they used Naloxone in an unsuccessful attempt to revive someone with an overdose. It was the right thing to do. This amendment enabled police officers to carry out their duties without fear facing a criminal investigation, but more importantly, it helped save lives. Police should be subject to the same rules as other first responders when administering this potentially life-saving measure. Police officers are often the first to arrive on the scene of an emergency. In a medical emergency, they do what any first responder would do. They try to save a life. These changes were important. They sent a message to our front line responders that we are going to have their backs when they need it. Thank you. Supplementary question. Thank you very much, Minister, for your answer and for your continued advocacy and steadfast leadership when it comes to ensuring the safety of our province. Mr. Speaker, we know that many overdoses happen in a victim's home and police officers are often the first to arrive at the scene. The brave police officers in my riding and the rest of the province are treated the same as firefighters and paramedics when it comes to the administration of Naloxone. This is the right thing to do for our men and women in uniform who are key first responders in the opioid crisis. Mr. Speaker, could the Solicitor General please share more about our government's commitment to supporting public safety in Ontario? Solicitor General. It would be an honour, Speaker. In less than a year, our government would like to support and respect and support public safety heroes then, frankly, the previous government did in 15 years. We fixed and passed legislation that restores respect to the brave men and women of the police and puts public safety first. We announced two phases of our plan to crack down on gun violence and break up the gangs who prey on our young people within our communities. We recently highlighted our government's commitment to move ahead with building a new state that will keep correctional officers safe and better protect the people of Ontario. Mr. Speaker, we're just getting started and I will have more to announce soon. Thank you. Next question, the member for Kiwetno. My question is to the acting premier. Recently the government proposed legislative changes to the Endangered Species Act, reviewing the Far North Act and changes to the Environmental Assessment Act. The language used by the government to describe these proposals is that this is all about deficiencies and nothing else. But these changes can't take place without real, prior and informed consultation and consent of First Nations. What is the government's plan for meaningful consultation with our citizens, including First Nations before moving ahead with these changes? The question is addressed to the Deputy Secretary. To the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Thank you, Mr. Speaker and I want to again state that we continue to want to engage in our Indigenous peoples and all of our communities about our environmental policies. I speak as part of our More Homes More Choice Act, we've worked very directly with the Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Parks, Conservation Parks. Our government is working very diligently as part of our More Homes More Choice Plan. We've brought forward a key piece of our made in Ontario environmental plan that will help turn our housing crisis forward. So I appreciate the members comments about some of these environmental, they're still posted on the environmental registry and they're engaging of our stakeholders. And again, I look forward to the feedback that we get. We have received a tremendous amount of feedback from the public and Indigenous communities to date. Supplementary question. Miigwech, Mr. Speaker, back to the Acting Premier. The purpose of the current Environmental Assessment Act is for the betterment of the people of Ontario by providing conservation and wise management of Ontario's environment. The Metawa Chiefs will work on an enhanced environmental assessment process with Ontario and have insights, strong insights actually, on making improvements to environmental laws that can bring certainty for communities and industry alike. Why has not the Premier not responded and not taken the time to meet with Metawa Chiefs on the Ring of Fire Developments and the approach including First Nations and this is making in the north. Minister. Speaker, through you to the Honourable Member, consultation with our Indigenous communities is very important to us, whether it be in my Housing Supply Action Plan whether it be in our Made in Ontario Environment Plan if the Minister of Indigenous Affairs was available today he would talk about the extensive consultation that we've had regarding a number of these matters. I appreciate the number of folks in the room and I will pass along some of their comments involving our Made in Ontario Environment Plan. Again, from my perspective and some of the things that I'm carrying forward in this legislation things like the changes to our Endangered Species Act things for our Environmental Assessment Act, which I might say a number of the things that we're exempting under the Environmental Assessment Act are very low risk projects that in no other jurisdiction in Canada, they're part of the environmental assessment process. These are things like snow plowing, creating bike lanes, creating community parks. No other jurisdiction includes those in the environmental assessment process. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. My question is to the amazing Minister of Transportation. We all know that our roads and highways are among the safest in North America but I'm sure that we can all agree that there's always more that can be done to ensure that Ontarians are safe getting from Point A to Point B. I know that there are a number of safety measures in the Act that, if passed, will increase the safety of every person who uses our roads, highways and bridges. The people of Ontario expect our government to make the roads safer for them and we are doing just that. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister of Transportation share with the legislature some of the proposed safety measures in the Getting Ontario Moving Act? Questions to the Minister of Transportation? Thanks very much Speaker and I think he truly is a champion for transit near Harry and I can't remember a day which I haven't heard from her on the transit file. But Mr. Speaker, last week I was thrilled to table the Getting Ontario Moving Act as well as a number of proposed regulatory changes that will cut red tape, save businesses and taxpayers time and money and help keep Ontario's roads the safest in North America. We are doing this because it's our fundamental belief that we need to put the people of Ontario safe. We are proposing increased fines for slow moving drivers that travel in the left-hand lane because when people drive dangerously slow they're putting the safety of others at risk and if pass a legislation we'll make learning to drive safer by introducing a new offence for any driving instructor that violates a zero blood alcohol or drug presence requirement. Mr. Speaker I look forward to sharing more in my supplemental. Mr. Speaker for his great response our government continues to keep the people of Ontario front of mind in every decision we make. In fact no matter what the service, regulation program or policy we want to hear from all Ontarians and involve them in decision making. Mr. Speaker our number one priority is keeping the people of Ontario safe whether at home, work or during their commute. This is why we are working to ensure we have a safe and efficient transportation network. It is important to work together to find ways to make sure Ontario roads remain among the safest in North America. Will the Minister of Transportation please share more about the proposed regulations and safety measures. Minister. We do have a number of proposed safety measures in our bill and regulations and we're proposing stronger fines for driving carelessly around maintenance and construction workers, tow truck drivers and cyclists to use the HOV lanes, a much safer part of the road for them to use and as I announced a couple weeks ago we'll give municipalities the tools they need to target drivers who threaten the safety of children crossing roads on their way home or to school. Mr. Speaker Ontarians expect the government to enact laws and regulations that keep them safe especially our highways. We are committed to increasing the safety of every person who uses our roads, highways and bridges. And Mr. Speaker I don't know why the NDP, the NDP and the NDP don't want to make our roads safer. Hopefully when second reading comes around they'll hop on board and support our government with these changes. Thank you very much. Next question for Brampton. Thank you. Thank you Speaker. Today we are all wearing pins, all members of the House to commemorate and recognize Children's Mental Health Week. Recognition Speaker is long overdue but the time for action is now. Children in 18 months in order to access the vital help they need. According to the Children's Mental Health Ontario one in five children and youth has a mental health issue in our province but only one out of six of these young people will get the support and specialized treatment that they need. Yet this government has provided less than a quarter of the $150 million that CMHO needs to support children and youth with mental health services. Will the Premier reconsider and provide the full funding needed to treat youth mental illness, prevent youth suicides and prevent children from unnecessary hospital visits here in our province? I recognize the Deputy Premier to reply. Thank you. I certainly would agree with the member opposite that we do need investments in our mental health and addiction system particularly with respect to Children's Mental Health. That's why during the election campaign we committed to spending $3.8 billion over 10 years matching the federal commitment of $1.9 billion. We are making sure that we make investments in the proper way that's what the people of Ontario expect us to do. Just the other day on Monday I made an announcement of an additional $174 million of mental health funding. We want to make sure that we reduce wait times for children receiving mental health care. We know that students are also in need of additional funding. Our colleges and universities are being overwhelmed by the mental health and addiction's needs of their students but we need to do it in a careful way. We need to make the right investments and so as a matter of fact I am meeting with Children's Mental Health Ontario and the Youth Action Committee to talk about their suggestions for how we can improve mental health services for young people, for children and young people. We have been hearing from many groups so far but we need to hear from the people who are receiving services or who need to receive services so I'm looking for it to... Thank you. A supplementary question. Thank you Speaker and back to the acting Premier. Today a group of young Ontarians have come to Queen's Park to ask the Premier to invest in their future as the minister says she'll be meeting with them later. These pins and ministerial statements are not enough when young people's mental health initiatives continue to be under the help of children who remain waitlisted for over 18 months for the urgency mental health supports that they need. The Premier promised to match the federal government in mental health funding by committing $3.9 billion over 10 years. But this year's budget for mental health is actually all just federal money there's no new commitment from this province. Ontario's children cannot wait any longer Mr Speaker. Please tell us why this government has once again failed to invest in young people here in Ontario. Members please take your seats. Minister to reply. I would thank you Speaker and through you I have to say I completely disagree with what the member has just indicated we have made the commitment to spend $3.8 billion over 10 years and as a matter of fact with respect to the announcement that I made on Monday of an additional $174 million which was part of our budget plan and which will include more supports for children and youth we are going to make sure that children get mental health assistance in schools as well as in the community. We're also going to make sure that people who are homeless are going to receive housing supports people with severe mental illness get better support through mobile crisis teams working with the Solicitor General's office and that young youth and adults get faster access to addictions treatment but we certainly recognize the need for faster access for children and youth to get services and connected services there's also a problem with youth transitioning into adult services where they get dropped when they're 18 and then they can't get picked up again for services. We want to work with children and youth we want to hear from them directly about their Thank you very much the next question to member for Northumberland Peterborough South Thank you Mr Speaker today is for the Solicitor General Mr Speaker, Ontario's government was elected with a mandate to improve public safety across this province and to provide the hardworking front line staff in our correctional facilities with the tools and the resources they need to accomplish their duties safely and effectively each year during the first week of May we celebrate the significant contribution made by correctional officers, probation and parole officers, nurses social workers, recreational staff and so many others to keep Ontario safe. Mr Speaker to help mark this important week could the Solicitor General please explain to this house how our government is supporting the efforts of front line heroes in our correctional facilities Questions to the Solicitor General Thank you Speaker and thank you to the member from Peterborough from Northumberland Peterborough South for this important question whether it's behind institutional walls or in our communities correctional officers and their staff are essential partners to Ontario's justice system through their hard work and dedication these professionals perform important supervision, care and rehabilitation duties and help keep our communities safe their diligence and professionalism does not go unnoticed by our government Over the course of the coming week the member from Brampton South my excellent parliamentary assistant will be visiting correctional facilities and probation and parole officers across the province to learn first hand the front line workers about the challenges they experience in their day to day work keeping our communities safe let me be clear our government will always support correctional staff and their vital work which is essential to protecting Ontario communities and families Thank you Speaker Mr Speaker I thank the minister for her response and for taking the time to meet with front line workers in my community I will tell you that my constituents are heartened to hear this government's commitment to public safety and front line workers like those at Brookside and Workworth corrections in my riding this week the province of Ontario correctional services staff will pay tribute to those who have fallen in the line of duty at the annual correctional services ceremony of remembrance at Queens Park Ontario formally honours the contributions and sacrifices of the provinces correctional services staff for the year Mr Speaker could the Solicitor General tell us how our government is working with front line heroes in our correctional facilities to provide a safer Ontario Solicitor General Thank you Speaker and I cross all party lines and the general public actually participate in the ceremony tomorrow because as he spoke it is very emotional and very important to acknowledge though it goes unseen by most Ontarians who have correctional service professionals help make Ontario one of the safest jurisdictions in the world we do not take this for granted which is why we renew our commitment to corrections officers probation and parole and other correctional staff over the past several months our government has made improvements at adult correction facilities across the province including better health and wellness supports for correctional officers reconfirming Ontario's commitment in Thunder Bay expanding the female unit at Monteith correctional complex having a dedicated canine unit at the Elgin Middle Sex Detention Center and increasing safety at the Canora jail by upgrading infrastructure and strengthening partnership between the correction staff and officers if the NDP members actually spoke to their corrections officers they would hear about the investments Thank you very much Next question Thank you speaker my question is for the premier this conservative government is making massive concessions to the auto insurance industry in their regressive new plan right there in black and white the government is planning to allow insurance companies to jack up drivers insurance rates even more if they don't have perfect credit by allowing insurance companies to ask for your credit history to determine how much you have to pay that will be devastating to families in areas like Humber River Black Creek, Brampton, Scarborough even the premier's own writing who are already overpaying because of the neighbourhood they live in what you pay for auto insurance should be based on your driving record not where you live and not based on your credit rating Premier, what on earth does credit rating have to do with your driving record Good question to the premier Minister of Finance Thank you very much for the question it's so clear speaker that the liberal NDP system of failed stretch goals on auto insurance is broken it is completely broken they have done nothing about this our plan that we proposed in the budget will provide choice will provide choice for families it's putting the drivers first it will allow the drivers to be able to select items for their own insurance it will allow the insurance companies to offer options to drivers that they can't option that they are no longer aren't available today this is an opportunity speaker to modernize to digitize you'll be able to use an app now for your driver insurance instead of having it on a pink form in your glove compartment we're modernizing government we're transforming government we're digitizing government and auto insurance we're building a program speaker supplementary question I see that the minister doesn't want to talk about that dark secret in their auto insurance plan the conservative government voted against my bill the lower automobile insurance act that would have lowered auto insurance premiums by for millions of Ontario's drivers according to economists and auto insurance expert Dr. Fred Lazar my bill could have lowered how much drivers have to pay for insurance by dollars a year province wide instead this government is giving rich auto insurance companies new discriminatory tools to go after drivers based on their credit rating why is this government siding with rich auto insurance companies over Ontario drivers who are being gouged that's right minister Premier drivers across Ontario have been pushing for 15 long years for change to this file we are bringing that and rather than meaningful change meaningful change from us we continue to hear these programs from the NDP and the Liberals that go absolutely nowhere so let's hear from a couple of professionals the Canadian automobile association the CAA insurance is pleased to see that the 2019 provincial budget provides Ontario motorist greater choice around auto insurance so that coverage better suits individual needs the insurance bureau of Canada the Ontario government's multi-year plan to fix auto insurance is a win for consumers these changes will give consumers greater choice in their coverage and better control over the price they pay for auto insurance it's so awful to see that this government opposition is not going to support this budget and bring choice and lower cost for insurance for the families of Ontario next question the member for Hastings Lennox thank you Mr. Speaker today my question is for my neighbouring minister of natural resources and forestry the rather quiet neighbour our government for the people we understand just how important the forestry industry is for the people of Ontario and I know both the minister and I are personally aware of the impact yet for 15 years the previous government they ignore this extremely important industry that fall right by the wayside completely ignored it well I know the minister of natural resources has been working hard to make Ontario open for business and open for jobs so can the minister update this house and how our government is directly investing in the forestry industry questions to the minister of natural resources and forestry thank you very much Speaker and I want to thank my neighbour from Hastings Lennox and Addington he's right we are making Ontario open for business and open for jobs I recently visited Killaloo to see first hand how our investment of 5.5 million dollars over 5 years has helped to protect local jobs at Ben Oakham and Son a family run sawmill it was great to be there with Dean Felleber and his wife Tanya Dean is the fourth generation at Oakham and Son it is one of eastern Ontario's largest lumber producers and the province's biggest producer of red and white pine lumber this investment will help protect over 100 jobs and help the sawmill compete with anybody in the world it has been too long since the government invested in such an important industry and I can tell you that the supporting success stories like Ben Oakham and Son is just the beginning for this government because we stand 100% behind our forestry sector a supplementary question thank you minister and certainly I can advise all people if you've ever been to Killaloo you're definitely missing something so minister it's really exciting to see our government taking measures to make Ontario really the best place in the world to do business it's one of our government's number one priorities to grow the economy and help create and protect our jobs Mr. Speaker I'm getting really really tired of seeing this 15 billion dollar industry just neglected and flushed down the toilet by 15 years of inaction of this previous government so I know this investment in the development of a forestry strategy are only a very few number of the ways that this minister is helping companies like Ben Oakham and Son continue to thrive here in Ontario so Mr. Speaker could our minister please inform this house and how this industry and this investment is beneficial to the entire forestry industry minister thank you very much thank the member for supplementary since being founded in 1956 Ben Oakham and Son has gone from a small circular sawmill producing about two million board feet to two sawmills that produce over 31 million board feet each per year when we support producers like Ben Oakham when they succeed so do the harvesters that provide their logs and the other producers that depend on their products this was not just an investment in Ben Oakham and Son but an investment in the community and a forestry sector as a whole we're creating an environment where jobs will be created in the forest industry so much confidence in the future of this industry as we develop a forestry strategy and send the message to our forestry partners that we're behind them not trying to stand in their way and I hope that my colleagues on the other side in the NDP will stand with us and support our forestry industry as we try to bring it forward into the 21st century thank you that concludes question period for this morning the minister of government consumer services has informed me he has a point of order thank you very much Mr. Speaker I'd like to correct my record this morning speaking about the housing supply action bill I stated inadvertently that we had 283 surplus properties that will be disposing of in government putting those money back into the programs that we value most it should have actually been 243 surplus properties Mr. Speaker and we're looking forward to selling all those and bringing that money back to the people of Ontario it's entirely in order for members to correct their own record and I appreciate that the next one with a point of order is a member for Brantford Brandt thank you Mr. Speaker and I hate to steal your thunder but I want to welcome to the house my friends from Faith Lutheran Church Wilhelm Ogendach Art Oswald, William Kneeb, Elizabeth Mongeon and former member here my friend and mentor David Newman from the 34th parliament and his beautiful wife, Alfreda welcome to the legislature government house leader appears to have a point of order thank you Mr. Speaker, I just wanted to pass along to the house because a lot of people have been asking about funeral arrangements for the member from King Vaughan Stephen Leche and his mother Teresa, I can tell you that Veseo funeral home in Woodbridge will be a visitation on Thursday from 2 to 4 and 6 to 9 and then 6 to 9 on Friday night as well and the funeral mass will be taking place on Saturday morning at 11.30 and that's at St. Margaret Mary Roman Catholic Church on Highway 27 I just wanted to pass that along to everyone very much for that information Member for Stormont Dundas, South Glen Gary here's to the point of order I wanted to welcome Raymond Hood the former executive director of the counseling and the support services of Stormont Dundas and I'm Glen Gary and welcome Queen Spartan is it a point of order Member for Richmond Hill on a point of order thank you Mr. Speaker I would like to welcome Mrs. Tracy McGuthers executive director of New Shore Hudson director of counseling and group services for Catholic community services of York Region Mr. Speaker family service Ontario and its 47 members agencies are hosting a brief luncheon in committee room 228 to 223 at noon and I encourage all members to attend to learn about the long history of providing community based mental health protection services in Ontario thank you very much Member for Waterloo on a point of order of the counseling collaborative of Waterloo Region Lisa Ackie from Interfaith Community Counseling Centre and Carries and Family and Community Services and Diane McGregor from KW Counseling Services are also here today and we'll be joining them for the reception thank you we have a deferred vote on a motion for closure on the motion for third reading of Bill 87 an act to amend various statutes related to energy call on the members this is a 5 minute bell members to please take their seats on May the 1st 2019 Mr. Rickford moved third reading of Bill 87 an act to amend various statutes related to energy Mr. Clark has moved that the question now be put all those in favour Mr. Clark's motion will please rise one at a time and be recognized by the clerk Mr. Smith, Baird Quinn Mr. Walker Mr. Fidele Mr. Ford Mr. Clark Mr. Hardiman Mr. Bolo Mr. Baird Mr. McDonnell Mr. Bailey Mr. McNaught Mr. Jones Mr. Rickford Mr. Miller Mr. Coe Mr. Gill Mr. Johnson Mr. Kallani Mr. Parsley Mr. Skelly Mr. Mark Mr. Triantiflopoulos Mr. Osterhoff Mr. Clark Mr. McKenna Mr. Nickles Mr. Cousindover Mr. Romano Mr. Harris Mr. Gimar Mr. Naught Mr. Rashid Mr. Smith Mr. Bauer Mr. Kuzeta Mr. Dunlop Mr. Babikis Mr. Pang Mr. Tanagasi Mr. Roberts Mr. Sabab All those opposed to Mr. Clark's motion will please rise one at a time and be recognized by the clerk Mr. Tattie Mr. Vantoff Mr. Natascha Mr. Sattler Mr. Beggum Mr. Chaw Mr. Yarr Mr. Linda Mr. Armstrong Mr. Kernahan Mr. West Mr. Gates Mr. Gretzky Mr. Miller The ayes being 66 and the nays being 40. I declare the motion carried. Mr. Rickford has moved third reading. A bill 87 an act to amend various statutes related to energy. Is it the pleasure of the house that the motion carry? Read some noes. All those in favor of the motion please say aye. As opposed to please say nay. I opinion the ayes have it. All in the members this will be a five minute bill. Mr. Rickford has moved third reading. A bill 87 an act to amend various statutes related to energy. All those in favor of the motion please rise one at a time and be recognized by the clerk. Mr. Rickford. Mr. Watson. Mr. Watson. Mr. Smith Van Quinty. Mr. Thompson. Mr. Bethanfalve. Mr. Fidelli. Mr. Ford. Mr. Yure. Mr. Maroni. Mr. Clark. Mr. Yacobusky. Mr. Hardiman. Mr. Trebolo. Mr. Barrett. Mr. Pettipies. Mr. Marthau. Mr. McDonnell. Mr. Bailey. Mr. McNought. Mr. Scott. Mr. Jones. Mr. Chosgar Bernoy. Mr. Phillips. Mr. J. Mr. Phillips, Mr. Miller, Perry, Salma, Skokra, Mr. Koeh, Mr. Downey, Mr. Gill, Mr. Koeh, Mr. Cullandra, Mr. Serma, Mr. Parsa, Mr. Skelly, Mrs. Martin, Mrs. Triantafilopolis, Mr. Ossahal, Mr. Park, Ms. McKenna, Mr. Nicholl, Ms. Cusendoba, Mr. Romano, Mr. Harris, Mr. Gamari, Ms. Hogarth, Mrs. Kara Hollis, Mrs. Feige, Mr. Cho Willidale, Mr. Crawford, Mr. Crawford, Mr. Koeh, Mr. Ossahal, Mr. Ossahal, Mr. Ossahal, Mr. Ossahal, Mr. Ossahal, Mr. Ossahal, Mr. Ossahal, Mr. Ossahal, Mr. Ossahal, Mr. Ossah Mr. Kanger, Mr. Pachini, Mr. Cramp, Mrs. Wye, Mrs. Tangry, Mr. Anon, Mr. Rashid, Mr. Sander, Mr. Smith, Peterborough Quartha, Mr. Bowman, Mr. Cusetto, Ms. Dunlop, Ms. Canapathy, Mr. Babikian, Mr. Baber, Mr. Payne, Mr. Tanagasa, Mr. Robbers, Mr. Sebao, Mr. Sebao. All those opposed to the motion will please rise one at a time and be recognized by the clerk. Mr. Tavis, Madam Jellemann, Ms. Sting Brampton Center, Mr. Vantos, Mr. Vantos, Mr. Bisson, Ms. Horvath, Mr. Natashak, Ms. Fite, Ms. Sautler, Ms. Begum, Ms. Shaw, Mr. Mamakwaf, Mr. Yarra, Mr. Montal, Ms. Lindo, Ms. Armstrong, Ms. Stiles, Mr. Kernahan, Mr. West, Mr. Gretz, Ms. Stevens, Mr. Gretz, Mr. Gretzky, Mr. Fretz, Mrs. Fretz, Mr. Miller, Hamilton East, Stony Creek, Mr. Sting Brampton East, Ms. Andrew, Mr. Hatfield, Ms. Taylor, Ms. Birch, Mr. Birch, Ms. Burns-Bagel, Mr. Arthur, Ms. Bell, Mr. Glover, Mr. Rekhosevich, Mr. Harden, Ms. Montefouro, Mr. Hassan, Mr. Fraser, Ms. Witt, Mr. Schreiner, Mr. Schreiner. The ayes are 66, the nays are 40. The ayes being 66, and the nays being 40, I declare the motion carried. Be it resolved that the bill did now pass and be entitled as in the motion. The Minister of Energy, Northern Development Mines has informed me he has a point of order. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, relieved to make the vote for my own bill, but today I'm joined by two constituency staff, all the way from Canora and Dryden. Friends, join me in welcoming Lorna Wood from Dryden and Linda Nelson from Canora. Captain, apparently, has a point of order. So thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have in my hot little hand here the announcement from Buckingham Palace, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the name of their newly born baby, Archie, Harrison, Mount Batten, Winsor. Congratulations. This House stands at recess until 3 p.m.