 It is now time for oral questions and I recognize the leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition. Thank you so much. My first question this morning is to the Premier. Tomorrow the legislature will debate an NDP bill, the Time Care Act, for the fourth time in our legislature. It's a bill that would set in law rather a requirement that each and every person that lives in long-term care is ensured to have four hours of hands-on care each and every day. But we shouldn't be having to debate this bill yet again, Speaker. It should already be the law in Ontario that seniors get this kind of attention. It was one of several urgent recommendations in fact made by the government's own staffing study that was tabled three months ago for the Minister. So the question is we're in the midst of this pandemic and it's killed nearly 2,000 residents of long-term care. So why is the Ford government continuing to study a study that has solutions that we've brought to this house in four separate occasions in terms of long-term care reform? Minister Long-term Care to reply. Thank you, Speaker. And thank you to the member for the question. I can assure everyone in Ontario that our government has been actively working throughout COVID and before COVID to ensure that the staffing in long-term care was where it needs to be going forward after many, many years of neglect by the previous government and from the opposition members across the way. We have been actively looking to shore up staffing using measures through the Ministry of Health as the lead on staffing, understanding the report that was provided by our expert panel. Many of those measures are underway. We are actively supporting our homes in long-term care homes to make sure they're getting the staffing they need on an urgent basis as well as developing the staffing that will be needed as we build more capacity and rebuild and long-term care for a future generation of people needing the care and those on the wait list. This government has committed to long-term care to advancing it and will continue to do. Thank you very much. The supplementary question. Speaker, the four government and this minister haven't just ignored frontline workers and families of loved ones in long-term care. They've been ignoring their own experts. The government's own panel on long-term care staffing called for urgent action, urgent action three months ago to put staff in place and to set standards of care in long-term care. And the four government responded by cancelling inspections and changing the law so that they couldn't be sued for failing to protect seniors in long-term care. The minister either failed to protect seniors or was prevented from doing so. So either way this minister should resign and my question is when will she. Mr. Long-term Care to respond. Thank you Speaker and thank you to the member opposite for the question when we when we understand the the needs of long-term care and the complexities of not only the capacity that we've been working on creating the staffing that we've been working on creating the emergency of COVID we have been active ever since dealing with really what was absolute neglect from the previous government and I do ask the member sitting opposite where were you in the previous years for 15 years you had the opportunity you had opportunities to show up long-term care and you chose not to act our government has created a standalone ministry we are working with other ministries working across government and and so much work has been done the funding has been there the 540 million dollars almost three quarters of a billion dollars will continue to work on this our work isn't done it has only just begun and to repair rebuild and advance long-term care and I make the comments through the chair final supplementary the leader of the opposition. Well earlier this morning I was honored to join Kathy Parks and Ingram Innis two of the thousands of Ontarians who experienced the horror of having their loved ones locked away in long-term care homes during the COVID-19 pandemic's first wave when Kathy and Innis and thousands like them cried out for help for their loved ones the for government didn't just ignore them they canceled inspections and they blocked a public inquiry and now they're even taking away their right to a day in court they protected themselves and the conservative insider lobbyists for private for-profit long-term care homes so will the for government at long last do the right thing fire this minister make the investments that are called for by their own experts months ago blocking families who are seeking justice for the debacle that occurred in long-term care the attorney general to reply thank you mr. Speaker and pleased to stand and support my colleague in all the excellent work that she's been doing we are the first government to come forward with with a minister of long-term care mr. Speaker we were we were doing this before the issues arose we are aware of the 15 years of neglect by the previous liberal government supported by the NDP all the way along who are now shocked shocked and appalled that all of a sudden there are challenges in the sector we are on this it is a top priority for us you've heard the Premier talk about it we're doing everything we can to make sure that our loved ones are protected and we go through this difficult time mr. Speaker I stand again with my colleague who's doing an absolutely fantastic job the next question leader the opposition thank you Speaker my next questions for the Premier but I'd like to say I stand with the families of Ontario who went through hell through this year because their government didn't act to protect their loved ones but look the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic is hitting Ontario families now and they're hitting it's hitting us hard and the experts have been rightly criticizing the for government for their lack of planning for the second wave failure to invest and confusing sometimes incoherent messaging yesterday we learned that the Premier's own MPPs are challenging the public health advice offered by the government then amazingly the Premier claimed that he asked his MPPs to challenge the government's advice and then one of his own MPP said that that was not the case so speaker can the Premier clarify what is happening for worried families out there can they clarify what the heck is going on over there the government hosting absolutely mr. Speaker what we're doing is investing billions of dollars in keeping this province going keeping the people the province of Ontario safe the Minister of Health started off very early ramping up testing from 40,000 all the way up to 50,000 mr. Speaker we've put significant resources into our into our health care system we started building long-term care facilities from day one we started to move towards a blanket of care mr. Speaker when the Minister of Health started after 15 years of neglect to bring Ontario health teams into place mr. Speaker this government has been moving mountains we've been working with our partners at the federal level we've been working with our partners at the municipal level and every step of the way mr. Speaker this member here has been an armchair quarterback I appreciated the assistance that they gave us in the early stages mr. Speaker that assistance and that cooperation helped us bring down to make sure that the response that we flatten the curve and I would suggest to the member opposite join the rest of Canada join the rest of us as we work towards one thing keeping the people the province of Ontario keep the people of Canada safe the supplementary question well speaker it's not surprising that the Ford government doesn't like to have to account for his actions that's the way that the premier rules but families are really looking for leadership they're looking for leadership in this pandemic and they aren't impressed by the confusion that they're seeing from the government side prominent MPPs like the parliamentary assistant to education simply ignoring the rules and the restaurant that he ate at literally having to apologize to patrons for his behavior the premier said he bases his decision on the best expert medical advice and then he also says right to your MPPs and lobby them to get the medical advice that you want who does the premier think should be making decisions on public health medical experts or members of the conservative back bench exactly who is making the decisions over there the government out there well mr. Speaker I guess it now finally after all of these years it finally it's clear to me why it is that the people the province of Ontario have only given the NDP one opportunity to serve in government that question alone helps identify and clarify it all for me what we've had is members of our caucus working hard on behalf of their constituents working hard on behalf of the small medium and large job craters in their riding what the member opposite what the leader of the opposition is saying and what she's saying to all of her colleagues and thankfully they don't listen but what she's saying to all of them is ignore your writings ignore your your constituents ignore the people who help keep this economy going ignore the people who've been working hard in long-term care homes ignore the people who have been working on the front lines our caucus won't take that advice mr. Speaker we will continue to work for the people of the province of Ontario and I suspect that the people of the province of Ontario when they hear that question from that member well it will be solid in their mind why they will never return to government well speaker you can't on the one hand say that you're following medical expert advice and then turn around and indicate by your actions that you're doing exactly the opposite that you're working for lobbyists that you're working you know for private interests in your writing that's not how this should roll and it's shameful that the government house leader refuses to acknowledge that what this government is doing is causing mass confusion and making us have a much more dangerous situation in this province than we should but here's where we're at community restaurants are being forced to publicly apologize for the behavior of a Ford government MPP Betty's restaurant has more respect for public health and some of the members on the other side of the house the government this is just a late the latest reminder in fact of this government's lack of planning for the pandemic second wave we don't know who's at the command table what data they're looking at and the government's own MPPs are criticizing the government's response others are ignoring public health guidelines and encouraging their friends and families to do the same when is this government going to get its act together thank you speaker well I would say that we have been very candid with the people of Ontario since the beginning of this pandemic we have always relied on clinical evidence the medical officer of health and the many people who advise dr. Williams we have dr. Williams is our chief medical officer of health but we also have the public health measures command table which is led by dr. Williams of course by Helen Angus the deputy minister of health and by Matt Anderson the president and CEO of Ontario health the that's a command table we also have the public health measures table that includes dr. McEwen dr. Moet dr. Feller dr. Gardner dr. Mackie dr. Romeliotis and dr. Spruitt we've also had numerous technical briefings and other briefings involving the mobile table the command table many other technical response on some of the issues that we are dealing with as a government that is important for all of the people of Ontario to know the premier has always said what I know you will know and that is the way we have acted throughout advising the public the next question the member for Scarborough south-west thank you speaker speaker on Friday cbc's marketplace revealed that routine abuse and violation and violence occur in most homes and there are virtually no consequences for homes that break the law repeatedly the report also highlights that for-profit home like craigley nursing home in my writing and in fact in the time in the two years that this minister has had this file I have raised alarm bells about abuse like this like in homes like craigley nursing home and it's actually frankly insulting to hear ministers ask where were we raising these concerns because it's insulting the people of this province who have raised alarm bells about long-term care for many many years so in the past two years that I have been here I have first raised issues about homes and the abuse in this house I asked the minister to extend the wet law for investigation and accept the recommendation the 91 recommendations from the report questions done is cut inspections and past legislations that actually protect homes instead of the residents so I asked Mr. Speaker will this minister commit to taking immediate actions to address elder abuse in long-term care homes and ensure that long-term care operators are held accountable and residents residents are kept safe thank you speaker thank you speaker and thank you for the question I would like to clarify a few points in in your question and the first is inspections were never stopped inspections were continued the inspections we worked with the the representative groups to make sure that our inspectors were safe that there were lines of communication with their inspectors into the homes that was done with public health that was done through the Ministry of Long-term Care the Ministry of Labor the Auditor General's report in 2015 that recommended homes that were considered high-risk to have high-risk inspections and this was a measure taken by the previous government with the report based on the Auditor General's recommendations and our government has made sure that the inspections are ongoing our homes in outbreak are receiving regular inspections as I said multiple inspections looking at how we support our residents and staff in these homes there is zero tolerance for abuse or neglect response and there are channels to operate and stop that we are taking every measure possible to make sure that our residents receive the highest quality they deserve and the respect thank you thank you we know this government the previous government has had failed but right now the responsibility the balls on the court for this government my office was contacted by Amanda whose grandmother Madeleine was a resident at Craig Lee until her death on September 20th she recounts the horrific conditions that Madeleine was found in and describing and I quote the food left to rot in her room the markings on her arms her refusal to eat her weight loss her incoherence and delirium she would decline the and the home would tell us that she was improving and quote following following Madeleine's death the family went to her room to find evidence of rats and cockroaches in her belongings mr. Speaker so I asked this minister again because right now people are not safe in many homes what will she do to make sure that residents are kept safe in their homes and we do not have elders being abused in long-term care homes because clearly they're not doing a good job thank you and thank you for the question thank you speaker it is it is devastating and heartbreaking to hear stories such as this and my heart goes out to the families to the residents to the staff and unfortunately the system was broken and it had been broken for many years and that's why this government has made long-term care a priority that's why these issues that were long-standing and were exposed by COVID-19 in a fulsome way for society to see for society to see the neglect that had occurred in these homes for many many years and our government has created a standalone ministry to address this issue not only the pre-existing problems but the problems amplified by COVID-19 the inspectors public health the integration the public health spot information it is a cross-ministry effort across government across agency we will put every measure every tool into work and we're doing just that thank you very much the next question the member for Barry in a speaker under the previous government or manufacturing sector was battered by hydro insurance red tape and taxes hundreds of thousands of jobs in entire regions of our province were struggling the latest challenge of manufacturing our manufacturing sector has been COVID-19 which has put the health and security of our workers supply chains and jobs at risk Speaker will the Minister of Economic Development job creation trade update this house on our government support for a world-class manufacturing sector Mr. economic development job creation and trade thank you to the member from Barry Innisfil with our support of the CMEs Ontario made program businesses across Ontario continue to line up to showcase their products and their Ontario spirit on support Ontario made dot ca through our Ontario together fund we recently announced a two and a half million dollar investment as part of Greenfield global's 75 million dollar expansion to make medical grade alcohol for hand sanitizer at their plant in Johnstown and Ontario world-class workforce has the confidence of the farm pharmaceutical giant rush which announced a 500 million dollar investment to create 500 highly skilled made in Ontario jobs in Mississauga and to build a global supply chain hub speaker our government will continue to raise the warrants of made in Ontario goods to invest in manufacturers and our supply chains and to attract good quality jobs and investment at every opportunity for that answer and the positive news we look forward to visiting support Ontario made dot ca and for more Ontario together funding announcements I know in my riding Joe me innovation automations CSB drives South medic protamax all manufacturers they're stepping up to the plate it's been six months since the full onset of COVID-19 in March so I wanted to ask the minister if he has other examples of manufacturers that stepped up to the plate and respond to the challenges of COVID-19 speaker the response from business owners and workers from across the province has been incredible they have continued to demonstrate the best of Ontario's spirit recently stats can showed that Ontario gained 168,000 jobs in September alone of which almost 52,000 were in the manufacturing sector with that milestone employment in manufacturing in Ontario is now 17,000 jobs higher than pre COVID levels speaker this is a significant bit of news but we know there's much more to do unlike the previous government which lost over 300,000 manufacturing jobs we work to reduce business costs for manufacturers by over $5 billion a year through lower costs lower taxes and less red tape bonds speaker those fundamentals are still in place which is why manufacturers continue to make Ontario their new home thank you the next question the member for Kitchener center thank you Mr. Speaker my question is to the premier the premier slipped arts and science degree granting by Charles McVity into legislation that's supposed to be about helping small businesses recover from the pandemic now the only reason anyone can come up with is because it's a payback payback to a long-time friend of a premier's even when that friend has made a career out of bigotry homophobia transphobia in Islam a folk have to interrupt the member you can't impute motive all right but place your question okay the government's only justification for doing this now is that an independent assessment board will ultimately decide if McVity's college has what it takes to grant these degrees but that application has now mysteriously disappeared from the review website and before it did it stated that legislation was imminent is the government ready to drop the charade and just admit this is a favor to a long-time friend thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to the member opposite for the question I understand that there's a process there's an independent review I think everybody in the legislature people at home who are watching who work at for a company they understand that there are review processes it's an independent process we cannot interfere in an independent process in terms of the website pkab has said that there was an issue with the web compliance of the application and they are working to have it posted publicly again very soon thank you mr. Speaker until now Charles McVity's college has only issued degrees in religious programs like theology but their plan is to get into arts and science degrees yesterday the faculty association at the University of Waterloo wrote to the minister and to the premier and they wrote I quote I was shocked to learn that your government intends to allow the Canada Christian College to award university degrees in arts and in sciences the publicly funded university model that we have in Ontario requires further investment not dilution by enabling privately funded institutions to offer poor programs on an apparently equal footing so my question why is the premier rushing degree granting status through this omnibus bill for his buddy Charles McVity when real universities need further investment and especially during this pandemic thank you very much mr. Speaker and I think everybody here is aware that Ontario has a long proud history of supporting all religions and religious institutions we have a long proud history of supporting our independent colleges at university and enabling legislation for private faith based degree granting institution has happened under governments of all stripes thank you very much mr. Speaker next question the member for Ottawa venue mr. Speaker my question is for the minister of long-term care recently we learned of a memo that was sent to long-term care homes in September that told them they were on their own when it came to ensuring that they had enough staff to manage a second wave of COVID-19 no later than yesterday a resident of Ottawa venue's mother is in a residence with confirmed cases told me that testing was taking too long with delays for testing and delays to get results the early recommendations of the long-term care commission are addressing these exact issues the commission said the province should implement its own existing staffing plan and ensure residents have better access to testing and faster results will the minister listen to the commission and put in place the staffing plan and improve testing and other recommendations without further delay and ensure that necessary funds are committed in the upcoming budget mr. Long-term care thank you to the member opposite for the question the staffing is a multi-ministry effort the lead on staffing and the human resources is through the Ministry of Health our Ministry of Long-term care have the expert panel report which we have taken to heart and have been acting on having input into the overall human resources strategy we put dollars behind that we certainly appreciate the commissioners interim report an early report for guidance it is very much appreciated and very much aligned largely aligned with what we are doing and so very much appreciate the importance on staffing which we said since day one and five hundred and forty million dollars announced just a couple few weeks ago four hundred and five million dollars going to that to help with staffing supports and I promise to give staff confidence in the long-term care homes that they work in so this work has been ongoing and we'll continue to do that work and we thank the commissioners thank you my mr. Speaker my question again for the minister of long-term care the number of long-term care and retirement homes battling outbreaks in Ottawa right now is higher than it was back in April I know the ministers fully aware of this but it is difficult to understand that we have not done what was necessary to avoid the devastating effects of the second wave having a standalone minister of long-term care one would expect that proper attention and sufficient resources are devoted to provide effective care and protect the health of her family members in these homes the minister admitted yesterday that she knew since taking office at the head of the ministry that staffing was an issue so what exactly has the minister done since then and between the first wave and the second wave to address the obvious challenges of shortage of staff to protect her long-term care residents and their families thank you again ministered long-term care to respond as I've said before here in the chamber we're addressing the long-standing neglect neglect of staffing over many many years by the preceding government as well as dealing with the emergency situation that COVID-19 has caused in our homes and I can tell you that the vast majority of the 17 homes in Ottawa have no resident cases whatsoever and our homes are doing very well they're stabilized we have the integrated response through the hospitals we are shoring up staffing we are using the Red Cross assistance and I thank them for their assistance as well we are using a multi-pronged approach to get rapid deployment teams whether it's community paramedics Red Cross Hospital and actively working with the Ministry of Health Ministry of Labor and others to shore up the staffing overall so this is a two-pronged approach one dealing with the emergency situation one long-standing and we will continue to do that our homes are getting the support they need and an outbreak situation is is a somewhat misleading because the vast majority of those homes have no resident cases the next question the member for Carlton thank you mr. speaker mr. speaker the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed that now more than ever Ontario's programs and frontline services need to be more convenient reliable and accessible for the people and businesses of Carlton and Ontario one way that our governments are successfully adapting to our new normal is by providing more digital services and embracing modern technologies and I'm proud to say that this government is ending 15 years of inaction on the part of the MVP supported Liberals in fact mr. speaker just last week the president of the Treasury Board launched Ontario onwards COVID-19 action plan for a people-focused government which will allow healthcare professionals to rapidly and securely access patients health records improve access to broadband and cellular services reduce red tape for local businesses among other things mr. speaker what the president of the Treasury Board tell the house more about how we are planning to move Ontario onwards the independent members to quiet down over there parliamentary system to reply thank you very much thank you very much speaker and I'd like to start by thanking the hard-working member for Carlton for that excellent question speaker the world has changed and government must change with it that's why we're expanding the range of programs and services available online simplifying the government's role in people's lives and businesses Ontario onward COVID-19 action plan for a people focused government includes more than 30 projects that will change the way people and business interact with government apparent mr. speaker for example could easily access their children's immunization record a senior could securely share health information with caregivers mr. speaker it's just the beginning we're undertaking and across the board modernization of the entire government and we are moving Ontario onwards mr. speaker thank you and the supplementary question thank you mr. speaker I'd like to thank the parliamentary assistant to the president of the Treasury Board for his response and also just mentioned that I know that the people of Aurora Oak Ridge's Enrichment Hill are well served by their hard-working MPP mr. speaker it's great to hear that unlike the previous government this government is working for the people and we know that by improving access to programs and support for frontline government services including health care and service Ontario we are helping businesses and individuals make it through the COVID-19 pandemic one of the projects identified in the action plan focuses on a digital wallet which Ontarians could set up for themselves or their business I have heard that the digital identity wallet would allow me to share personal information while avoiding the need to scan and send in identification insecurely through email through you mr. speaker can the president of the Treasury Board should tell the house more about the digital identity wallet absolutely mr. speaker and I thank the member again for the question speaker we're thrilled to announce the development of the digital identity wallet to the people of Ontario a digital identity wallet stores identity credentials on smartphone or other devices helping people and businesses verify their identity anytime anywhere a small business owner could cut through red tape for example by registering for licenses and permits online a farmer could register a farm vehicle online without needing to spend a day in the car speaker Ontario onwards is about making government services more convenient reliable and accessible for the people and businesses of Ontario Mr. speaker digital identity is just one of the many projects announced as part of Ontario onwards Ontario's COVID-19 action plan for a people focused government a plan that will make government more effectively for Ontario's people and businesses speaker it's an online one we can't have an offline government thank you speaker residents from Sudbury and Coppercliffe are frustrated they cannot get their flu vaccine in my writing Jacqueline trainer a senior from Sudbury she said that she can't find anywhere to give enhanced flu shot another constituent who is a retired position in my community said he tried finding a vaccine for him and his wife they tried three pharmacies in one walk in clinic all four locations told them they had their orders on backlog they couldn't even book an appointment until they had a better idea when the vaccine would be coming this government's lack of planning keeps failing senior speaker they fell them in Sudbury they fell them in Coppercliffe and they fell them across Ontario how could the Premier completely underestimate the demand for this year's vaccine and let down so many seniors thank you very much speaker thank you in fact we did plan for this pandemic we ordered 700,000 more shots this year than we did last year the orders are coming in they were orders were set virtually a year ago because we have to order them far in advance we planned that they would first be delivered when they first came in at the end of September to long-term care homes to hospitals to retirement homes that were participating and other places of congregate care excuse me congregate care so that we could protect those vulnerable residents but also shipping to primary care facilities to doctors offices to nurse practitioners and to pharmacies we have already received over 4 million of the virtual 5.5 million doses that we've ordered they have been shipped out they are being received on schedule I'm very happy that people are going out to get the flu vaccine many people this year that have never had it before but that is why some are having temporary shortages and I'd like to speak to the fact that there are no shortages in my response to the supplementary question remember and cast your dundas I have to say mr. Speaker that I find it insulting to hear this minister brushing off the real concerns of the people of across Ontario frontline healthcare workers like our family doctors in Hamilton play an important role in keeping us safe that's why it's so distressing to hear from constituents and physicians alike who are unable unable to obtain flu vaccine a constituent least recently received this message from their doctor we are terribly sorry to inform you that we will no longer be able to run our previous planned flu vaccine clinic please note that the flu vaccine shortages throughout public health is a systemic issue and applies to all family physicians in the surrounding area our constituency office are flooded with calls and emails from people that cannot get the flu vaccine and I can only imagine it's the same for the PC MPPs as well so mr. Speaker why does the premier or this minister what do they have to say to doctors and their patients across Ontario who are trying to keep safe and healthy but are not able to get a flu vaccine because of this disastrous shortage there is no shortage there may be a temporary shortage in some of the pharmacies and we take the concerns of nurses doctors and patients across Ontario very seriously because we know every year thousands of people are put into hospital because of flu and some unfortunately die so we are very pleased that so many people are taking this seriously but we have ordered we ordered over 700,000 more flu vaccines this year from last year and through Health Canada we've also been able to order an additional 350,000 doses so we have over 5.5 million doses that are coming to Ontario so any shortage that's happening in either a doctor's office or in a pharmacy right now is a temporary shortage we have no indication that there any shortages worldwide we are receiving off from global manufacturers on a regular basis there are no backlogs there are no delays we are receiving the shipments and people will get the flu shot thank you the next question the member for Don Valley West very much mr. speaker my question is for the Minister of Education last week I asked about schedule 2 and bill 2 13 that would allow can at Canada Christian College run by Charles McVity to become a university and to issue degrees in arts and science and I want to acknowledge the member for Kitchener Center who raised this issue first in this house mr. Speaker as so many have now pointed out McVity is a man who has repeatedly made vile comments about the LGBT community about Islam and has propagated hatred the fact that he is being rewarded either for that behavior or for supporting the Ford campaign in the last election or both should be a cause for great concern for anyone who values democracy in our diverse society but mr. Speaker the message that this action sends goes far beyond this specific case in fact it encourages institutions to rely on the protection of this government even if they insist on harboring bigotry and case in point for some months the Toronto Catholic District School Board has refused to sanction at least one of its trustees for behavior that appeared to be a breach of its own code of conduct question the board commissioned a report in 2019 concerning the trustees conduct and if the allegation was that trustee Michael del Gran violated the trustee code of conduct by using similarly vile language to Charles McVity thank you thank you thank you the question has been placed and I'm going to recognize the Minister of Education to reply thank you very much mr. Speaker what I said at the time is that the trustees commons were unacceptable and deeply disturbing we live in a province where we accept all people from all walks of life of all heritage faith orientation gender place of earth this is the strength of our country and I feel very strongly about this is why in the health and physical education curriculum the first curriculum I unveiled we took significant action to counter homophobia in fact in the context of teaching young people about homophobia we introduced in grade two a section specifically dedicated to seeing the visible and invisible differences to counter this form of bullying that exists within our schools we know there's more to do but I have spoken out unequivocally and strongly against that trustee Toronto Catholic saying that it was unacceptable and urging the board to commission an investigation and we look forward to accountability for those students who've been offended response comments made by that and the supplementary question Mr. Speaker then I would ask the minister to ask that board to release the report so that the community can understand how and why trustee del Gran was exonerated this is a government that ran on objection to the very sex ed curriculum the health and physical education curriculum that you're talking about and so there is a very little faith that this government actually supports those ideas Mr. Speaker we have made great progress in our province in our country on the recognition of rights of all people to be their authentic selves but that progress has been hard one and it's fragile when people like Charles McVidi and Michael del Gran who are privileged men in positions of authority are still able to espouse hateful ideas with impunity we all lose it should not matter that Charles McVidi supported Doug Ford in his leadership bid and in the 2018 election it should not matter that Michael del Gran was budget chief to Robert wrote to Mayor Rob Ford these men should be held question high standard that we demand of every child in our publicly funded schools they should be expected to be compassionate decent role models for all Ohio that hold them in high esteem I asked mr. Speaker again will the government refuse to expand the power of Charles McVidi and will it release the report that went to the TC DSP so thank you thank you parliamentary system for thank you very much mr. Speaker and we've had this question already today basically there's a process in place there's an independent review we're all awaiting the outcome of that independent review and then we will be order on this side of the house I'm sure people will agree order we have a long history of supporting all religious institutions in fact all three parties mr. Speaker have a history in Ontario of supporting all religions all religious all religious communities and all religious institutions thank you very much next question the member for Perry Thomas Mr. Speaker my questions for the Minister of Government and Consumer Services Speaker COVID-19 has had a tremendous impact on how much we rely on online services more than ever Ontarians across the province are using digital platforms to take care of personal and professional businesses online I understand Ontario onwards Ontario's COVID-19 action plan for a people-focused government will make this easier than ever my constituents and all Ontarians want to know that when they use our online services or share data with the broader public service their personal information is being protected this being cyber security awareness month with the Minister please explain what this government is doing to ensure that my constituents data is protected the Parliamentary Assistant to apply thank you thank you to the members from Perry sound a skoker for that important question mr. Speaker as the threat of cyber crime grows and changes so too muster defenses and preparedness that is why our government continues to leverage the cutting edge of Ontario's cyber security expertise to protect our digital service platforms and the information shared with us by business and the public earlier this month in collaboration with Ryerson University we held our first ever virtual cyber security conference for the broader public sector designed to support public sector organizations to keep pace in an environment of rapidly evolving threats and an increasing demand of digital public services this conference exploits the current and future cyber risks and focused on how to implement best practices and protect vital information and systems our ongoing partnership with Ryerson will support government staff response operate safely online supplement your question thank you Parliamentary Assistant Bailey for that response the uptake of digital services is not something new and we saw a significant uptake well before COVID-19 in fact many Ontarians already provide their personal information to the government and government agencies as with private businesses Ontarians rely on the government to keep their data protected when it is submitted and digitally stored Ontarians need to know that the government is keeping this information safe can the Parliamentary Assistant please tell this house and the people of Ontario actions this government has taken to ensure this data is being managed safely thank you thank you again to the member for raising this very important issue it's important that Ontarians know that our government understands these concerns and is proactively working to address any threats to their personal information the initiatives I mentioned earlier building the expansion of the provinces cyber security centre of excellence established last summer as a key part of Ontario's cyber security strategy COVID-19 has meant that more Ontarians or never are relying on digital platforms to carry out their day-to-day tasks with the increased reliance on these platforms there's a strong need to protect the integrity of our data and digital economy that is why our government recently launched consultations with key stakeholders to improve the provinces privacy protection laws improve accountability and safeguard that information our government is committed to protecting Ontario and their data privacy thank you the next question member from a shkega walk James Bay thank you Mr. Speaker my question is for the Prime Premier whereas the Minister of long-term care said that she did everything that she could to limit the spread of COVID-19 people in the north are still waiting for help from the province the pioneer long-term care centre has only five nurses and five PSWs that are doing everything that they can to provide adequate care there's 63 seniors that are waiting are on a wait list and the wait list on average is four years to have access to this care Premier do you think that people in the north deserve to wait four years to have access to care that they need minister long-term care thank you Speaker I appreciate the concerns across Ontario that's why our government is has been continuously working to address the capacity issues the staffing issues in long-term care that were so badly neglected for so many years under the previous government we are working across ministries with the Ministry of Health working with the reports that have come to us taking active measures putting funding towards the staffing whether it's for personal support workers or for our ends for the rapid tracking for the nurses and the PSWs the return of service 26 million dollars to help retain and recruit for our PSWs 52 million dollars just announced in September 405 million dollars just a few weeks ago to address the operational aspects and the staffing supports that are needed this is multi-ministry as I said before and we will continue to work to address the concerns all across Ontario thank you Speaker the Premier has spoken at length without offering any concrete measures in the pioneer long-term care center they're struggling to meet the needs of the population in Hearst there's no transitional beds and at home care are sparse services the long-term care center is asking for 12 supplemental beds they've had discussions with the former liberal government and they've made several requests to this conservative government the region needs more beds in order to meet francophone seniors needs will the Premier recognize the need of francophone seniors and will he meet the needs the cultural needs and the francophone needs in the region of Hearst thank you Speaker and thank you to the member for the question our government values the cultural differences across Ontario and we recognize the importance of long-term care homes to be able to provide for services in the language of their of the residents and that is why we have many homes that are our staffed and supported in those measures we continue to create tools and efforts and put funding behind it to provide the retention and the the pipeline of service providers whether it's nurses or whether it's psw's or whether it's other support staff I value our personal support workers our staff in long-term care homes as does our government and we are taking every measure possible to make sure that our homes have the support that they need and their cultural differences are respected and valued we'll continue to put respect and dignity for our residents at the forefront of our decision making thank you thank you very much the next question the member for Cambridge thank you very much mr. Speaker and good morning my question is for the premier during this period it is important that the government avoid providing inconsistent or false information as mentioned on sunday the Toronto Sun reported that the premier had no idea two of his MPPs the member to withdraw say the Toronto Sun reported that the premier had no idea two of his MPP signed a letter to the chief medical officer of health on monday the premier said he knew the letter was coming and even urged it later ctv reported a third version of the story I was hoping the premier could tell us which version of the story is correct did he know and urge his MPPs to lobby the chief medical officer of health or did he not know and why are sources in the government providing different versions of the same story to the media and the public doesn't the premier believe that inconsistent information to the media during a pandemic only works to erode public trust the government house leader to respond thank you very much mr. Speaker I think I answered this yesterday in the house the member for Burlington and the member for Milton were responding to what was a difference of opinion between the mayors and the chief medical officer of health of Halton with respect to stage two the members the two members wrote to dr. Williams in an attempt to help offset or break that log jam mr. Speaker so that they could provide additional data I think it's something that we would hopefully all members would would act in in very much the same way the member is quite correct in in suggesting that the premier had already spoken to the mayor of Oakville and was aware of the issue and of course the member for Burlington spoke with the premier and let the premier know that a that a clarifying letter to help break this log jam in Halton was coming forward and the supplementary question mr. Speaker another inconsistency in the information provided yesterday the premier said he told local politicians in Halton to push back against the chief medical officer of health if they weren't ready for another lockdown suggesting that it was the chief medical officer telling the premier to consider this move but the chief medical officer of health told c tv news he made no recommendations and neither did any local Halton medical officers of health which version of the story is correct why the inconsistency in information provided to the public is the government okay with confusing the public or not or is this the government's way of passing the buck government house leader again mr. Speaker I think it's it's actually fairly obvious that there is a growing disagreement between especially the mayors of Halton and their chief medical officer of health I if I'm not mistaken mr. Speaker the chief medical officer of Halton added extra measures beyond some of the measures that we had introduced in the region that the mayors were not supportive of so there is a disagreement between elected officials in Halton and their chief medical officer of health we of course encourage them to to to work together I applaud both the member for Milton and the member for Burlington for trying to do their best to break the log jam between the two it is the the member is quite correct when there is an inconsistency between elected fish elected officials and the medical officers of health it does raise problems and it is our job to make sure that that we close that gap mr. Speaker that's what we have been doing right from the beginning of this pandemic response the advice from our our our medical officers and and again I applaud both members for doing what we would expect all members in this place would do when it comes to disagreements between their medical officers of health thank you thank you very much the next question member for Parkdale High Park thank you speaker my questions to the minister of long-term care last week I asked the minister of long-term care for action to contain the outbreak at lakeside long-term care there are now three deaths 26 resident cases one hospitalization 10 staff and two essential caregiver cases there are still delays in getting test results results of tests done three weeks ago were either not received at all or were received much too late to do any good why is the government allowing the outbreak to rage on minister long-term care thank you speaker and thank you for the question we are making sure that our homes have the support that they need all 626 homes are partnered with a local hospital to support them making sure that the infection prevention and control expertise is available to our homes taking every measure possible the testing the surveillance testing is being done on a rotating base of every 14 days and in sometimes more frequently than that the backlog has been cleared from the testing and that is the ministry of health managing the testing but i'm happy to speak to the aspects surrounding the testing in long-term care the backlog is an essential piece to understand now that that is cleared the testing in our homes will will improve to make sure that we have the rapid testing to have all the tools that we need to really prevent COVID from getting in in the first place it is an invisible intruder and that is something that a long-term care homes across the world have been grappling with but we will continue with the testing that is ramping up and it is up to 50 000 tests possible per day so this is something that thank you very much and the supplementary question back to the minister lakeside long-term care has uhn as a partner already and yet the outbreak continues the government's own long-term care commission findings highlighted that homes across the province are dangerously understaffed and so is lakeside the commission has urged the minister to implement staffing study that has been sitting on her desk since july will the minister commit to the staff residents and families at lakeside that she will implement the long-term care commission's interim recommendations immediately thank you speaker and thank you for the question however i am going to push back on this continued narrative that is absolutely misleading that something has been sitting on my desk it has not i will i want to clarify this we have been active on this ever since we had the report work has been ongoing this is a narrative that continues to to pop up and i want to express my sincere regret that this narrative continues despite the clarifications that i've given over and over again the work is continuing always was and will continue we will advance long-term care we will will repair it from decades of neglect and we will rebuild long-term care that means staffing and capacity and innovative programs and determination much better than the previous government ever bothered thank you i should remember for all in thank you very much mr speaker my question is for the minister of long-term care at the beginning of the pandemic the premier said that an iron ring would be built around long-term care homes and despite uh despite his statements unfortunately thousands have become sick and and died over the course of the pandemic after months and months of dithering the government finally announced that they would have a long-term care commission because the premier wanted to take urgent action last week the commission highlighted the urgency of the situation in long-term care mr speaker and asked the government advised the government to fix the chronic under staffing in the long-term care homes moreover the commission reminded the government that they know exactly how to do this already that they've had a report since july telling them how to move forward with staffing in the sector the government now has two reports telling them exactly what to do to fix the staffing crisis in long-term care when is the government going to take action again the minister of long-term care i will repeat thank you speaker and thank you for the question i will repeat what i have said numerous times before is we have taken swift action all along across ministries across levels of government working with the federal government to understand streams that we can work with them on providing the necessary training and and retention for ps w's and support workers in our long-term care homes and across the health care sector for that matter this work has been ongoing and we've been putting dollars behind it improving the the wages for our personal support workers an increase of three dollars per hour a four hundred and sixty one million dollar commitment a five hundred and forty million dollars put out just a few weeks ago to support the operations and in our long-term care homes sixty one point four million dollars to make sure that our our homes have the necessary supports for infection prevention and control to encourage stabilization of our homes we continue to put out dollars behind the actions that we're taking to support our homes we'll continue to do the work the work that was never done under the previous government and the supplementary question i thank you mr speak my supplementary for the minister well clearly the government's own commission doesn't think that's good enough because they've asked for timely action on their advice to be taken mr speaker this is their report not my words but let's also look at what's in their report they've included sentiments from people they've heard from as part of their review so far mr speaker sentiments like that it's devastating and emotional that people are lonely and depressed that people feel muzzled and trapped that they're broken spirited that the situation in long-term care was terror awakened terror awakened mr speaker the government has asked experts for advice experts have given the government advice when are they going to take it minister long-term care thank you speaker and thank you to the member opposite for the question we have been taking the advice of experts all along whether it's our chief medical officer of health experts surrounding virology or infection prevention and control this has been ongoing and we make sure that our homes have the support that they need this is a challenging unprecedented situation affecting long-term care homes across the world our most vulnerable people are in long-term care and i want to express my my deep condolences to everyone who has been impacted by this all of us have in some way all of us have been touched by this and we have to continue to do the work that is absolutely necessary to shore up staffing and i appreciate the work of the commissioners to provide this this guidance this is something that we have been working on ever since we started as an industry with a sense of urgency and i appreciate the the input and guidance from the commissioners thank you thank you and the next question the member for london west minister of health speaker george white is living with al s and relies on home care for bathing toileting feeding and transferring from his wheelchair to his bed but the chronic shortage of psw's at paramed has meant that george is regularly forced to sleep in his wheelchair because there was no evening psw last week he sent me this email quote pyramid has reached a new record for service providers four out of the last six nights they did not send a psw to put me to bed that means i've been in soiled diapers for at least 14 hours for those days from 2 p.m. until 6 a.m. that is inhumane speaker i agree clearly privatized home care is failing people like george white will this government agree to end the unreliable understaffed and unaccountable for-profit home care system and make home care public minister of health thank you speaker and thank you to the member for the question well i appreciate that george's situation is unacceptable i don't agree with with the solution that's been proposed by the member what we are doing however i can advise that we are putting 457 million dollars to increase home and community care capacity as part of our coveted preparedness plan for the fall because we recognize that there may be some people who can be cared for at home which is where they want to be instead of in hospital but we know that we need to put more resources into that and that's why we've put that 457 million dollars into it which will greatly increase the number of visits that will be available to people and the number of hours that they will be available by the same token we also recognize that there has been a shortage of personal support workers that while we're graduating thousands of them there are also thousands of them that don't stay in the in long-term care or it as personal support workers either in long-term care or in home care that's why we are increasing their hourly rates to encourage more people to stay in the as personal support workers but we recognize there are other issues that affect their working conditions why they may not want to stay in it we're still undertaking our discussions with a personal support workers association and with other stakeholders to encourage more people to come in to work both in long-term care as well as in home care thank you that concludes our question period for this morning