 Therefore, it is now time for question period, the member from Nipian Corp. I rise today obviously to the acting premier. I rise today obviously on the news of an increase to the hydro rates here in the province of Montreal, yet again making it more unaffordable, which brings me to my next point. As the Minister responsible for energy cavalierly suggests that the cancelled gas plants are a mere cup of coffee a year, I find that profound sense of entitlement has expanded into the rest of the government after rereading the Premier's answers from question period yesterday, I am left with far more questions. In fact, the closer the questions probed into what the Premier knew about the deleted hard drives and when she knew it, she decided to wave off to the government house leader. Specifically, it is unclear to us what the Premier does, why the Premier does not want to detail conversations with the Chair of Transition, Manik Smith had either with her or David Livingston. Will the Premier offer her cooperation today and ensure the former McGinty government house leader, Chair of her Transition team, going to Washington. Manik Smith will turn to this chair. Mr. Speaker, the Premier has been extremely cooperative when it comes to the issue of the gas plants. I can tell you as house leader it was the new Premier who directed me to work with the opposition to establish the Justice Committee with a broad mandate. It can, as members know, meet at the call of the Chair, meaning it has absolute freedom when to meet. And like any committee of this legislature, Mr. Speaker, can call forward witnesses. There's a process in place to work to schedule them and they have certain powers and authorities if people do not want to be forthcoming. But Mr. Speaker, I would remind the member that in terms of this government, Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Health has been there several times. I've been in front of the committee. Other ministers have been, and most important, Mr. Speaker, the Premier has been twice in front of the committee. Thank you. Supplementary. I asked the government acting Premier if Manik Smith would appear before our committee and if she would recall her from Washington. I did not hear an answer. But I did hear the government house leader tell us that they have expanded the role of the committee. Right now, the committee is trying to make government members come to order. And therefore, after my leads, I will have to go back down to that committee because they refuse to allow us to sit next week. That's what's going on in their committee. Last week, yesterday, the Peter Wallace said, quote, I indicated that for successful Premier there would be a series of challenges and these challenges were already known. A letter later he said with reference to the gas plants, we would distinguish and we would talk to them about the records of which the Ontario Public Service was particularly concerned, which were requests made by the Legislative Committee. I ask the acting Premier, when did Manik Smith tell the Premier about David Livingston's plan to delete the hard drives so that these records would not be made available. Thank you. Thank you. Government House leader. Mr. Speaker, the member needs to be very, very careful. There is an active OPP investigation coming in here, Mr. Speaker, and throwing as much mud as possible and seeing what sticks is not an advisable strategy. Mr. Speaker, we have cooperated fully with the committee. Members of the government who have been called have made themselves available. I am certain that Manik Smith, as an employee of this government, will make herself available and work with the committee to schedule an appearance. But, Mr. Speaker, if the Honourable Member wants to talk about the committee, we are still waiting for the Conservative candidates to come before the committee, Mr. Speaker. I believe, Mr. Speaker, I'll have to check my notes, but I believe one candidate has been asked 16 times to come forward and refuse, Mr. Speaker. We have a number of questions for him about the Progressive Conservatives' promise to cancel the gas plants in the last election. Final supplementary. I would remind the government House leader it is not the Progressive Conservative Party under OPP investigation. It is members of his consolation scandal that saved their Finance Minister seat and four other seats in a minority parliament that struck to the very heart of our democracy in this province. If he wants to talk about cooperating in the Justice Committee, he should have his members who are filibustering as... The member from Halton will come to order. The member from Leeds-Grenville will come to order. And I'm keeping track. Minister of Energy, come to order. I'd like you to stop. Thank you. Coming up. Mr. Speaker, you know, the Honourable Member has been here for many years. She still hasn't learned that saying it louder doesn't make it more true, Mr. Speaker. The fact of the matter, Mr. Speaker, why is it was her party that had robo-calls in the last election saying the only way to get rid of the gas plants is to vote Progressive Conservative. It was her party that was putting out tweets, that was putting out press releases and the pièce de resistance, Mr. Speaker. It was her leader who went on YouTube, Mr. Speaker, to say that if he has elected Premier of this province, that gas planet he pointed to it, Mr. Speaker, with a dramatic flourish would be done, done, done. Mr. Speaker, every party of this house made the same promise, Mr. Speaker, and all we want to hear from their candidates is what was there costing, Mr. Speaker, and what was their policy on that? The member from Hamilton, East Stony Creek will come to order. Along with everyone else, new question. Member Ferd from London University. Jen Bonkak, everyone in the Legislature. Speaker, my question is the Minister of Consumer Services. Minister in six years now, my daughter will be learning how to drive and I can tell you as any parent that will be a most frightening day. From the moment our kids are born, we all go through great lengths to ensure their health and safety and the prospect of any child getting on the road for their first time with all the dangers present is a difficult reality for any parent to face. So many parents enroll their children in driver's ed to help them prepare. However, the star revealed today that the Transportation Ministry won't let the public know about unfit driving instructors who have had their licenses revoked. Minister, since the Ministry of Transportation won't, will you stand up and act to ensure the safety for our young drivers? The Minister of Northern Development and Mines. Thank you. I'm actually pleased to try and respond to this question and certainly I think it's important to note the Minister of Transportation takes the issue very seriously. There is a there are obviously is an issue related to the privacy commissioner and there's a process underway which cannot be circumvented so it is before the commissioner difficult to comment in any more substantial way and certainly as we all do we respect the the people's right to privacy as well as the public's right to information. A number of things are clear. A driving school must be licensed by the Ministry in order to offer beginner driver education. It is the school's responsibility to ensure that the instructors they employ are being properly licensed. There is a very close monitoring of the schools and changes are made as they are necessary to keep the schools answered with provincial standards and certainly it's important for consumers to make an informed choice. There is a list. Thank you. This is typical of the government. He asked a question about transportation. He asked a question about protecting consumer rights and we get the Minister of Northern Minds answering the questions. My next question to Mr. Health will probably go to the Minister of Natural Resources to get an answer. It's ridiculous this government. Minister our children are learning to drive. We put the safety in the hands of our driving instructors. Minister you can help me but why don't you answer the question next time. Minister I expect our children to learn to drive from someone who is professional and licensed by the government. Therefore every parent puts in their trust to the Minister of Transportation to ensure that people teaching our young drivers adhere to standards of conduct and bad instructors are removed. Yet in the Toronto Star over a year for over a year I've been trying to obtain the names of roughly 300 instructors who have lost their licenses. These instructors have lost their licenses for reasons ranging from sexist and obscene language with students to selling alcohol and hosier band cigarettes. Ministry will not act to protect their people. Ministry why can't a parent find out which instructor has lost his license because they visit a strip club during an incarnation. Thank you. Minister. Mr. Speaker I mean the member I think should understand certainly can't should understand that the issue is in front of the Privacy Commissioner and it's certainly not appropriate for anybody to circumvent the process of the Privacy Commissioner you would understand that and and obviously we need to respect that process. The fact is that there is a list of approved drivers education schools as well as those whose status has been revoked that is posted on the MTO website that is there for all to see and certainly choosing a school from from that list is certainly the safest way I think it's fair to say to ensure that young drivers are being taught by approved schools and by licensed instructors. This is an important issue Mr. Speaker. I wanted to gain a serious answer to the minister and again a process that's in front of the Privacy Commissioner. Thank you. Final supplement. Thank you Speaker. I don't know why the minister herself could not read those notes to me. I had to pass it off to the minister of mining and northern development however minister I understand why your government isn't transparent when it comes to the gas plants you're looking out for your own skin however we're talking about the safety of our young drivers at the very least we expect the government to be open about that in the world of the internet how is it not possible there's not an online ministry database where parents can find out if their child's instructor is licensed or not it stuns me that the simple common sense approach eludes the ministry and this government minister why does your ministry continue to fail our children minister well again mr. Speaker this is an issue that I think everyone takes seriously and there is a process underway with the Privacy Commissioner but the fact is I mean and minister Murray were you here would very much want to to affirm the fact that we monitor the the driver education schools very very closely and and do make changes as necessary to keep those schools in line with provincial standards certainly consumers are in a position I think to make it a forum choice there is a list of approved drivers education schools as well as those whose status has been revoked on the mto website so certainly uh choosing a school for that list I think is the the best way to ensure that young drivers are being taught by approved schools and licensed instructors again this is something that is under the purview and be looked at by the Privacy Commissioner thank you as innocent as it was I will and to be consistent I would ask and remind all members that you do not reference anyone's attendance in this house new question the leader of the third party thank you speaker my question is to the acting premier last summer on the advice of Sean Truax the forensic coordinator for the province of Ontario computers were seized from an offsite government office in Ottawa at 180 Elgin Street when did the government learn of this speaker Mr. Speaker I can speak only for myself as minister of government services I learned of this particular incident or the details of it this morning from the Justice Committee hearings at the same time Mr. Speaker I think members are aware there have been some media reports about the OPP undertaking their investigation but I would remind the member again as minister I have made sure that I have stayed out of the OPP investigation and in fact I would I would advise her to do the same thing thank you supplementary well speaker these were the government's own experts who feared that a computer was being accessed and potentially wiped clean so this is not the OPP that I'm asking about speaker I'm asking about the government's own internal people surely the government's own experts briefed the minister responsible can the minister confirm that a briefing happened and when Mr. Speaker there is and there was an active OPP investigation I have been very forthcoming Mr. Speaker that last summer I had a discussion with my then deputy minister he has since retired from the public service and he said as you know there's an OPP investigation going on and our ministry will be cooperating and doing some work with them do you wish to be brought up to speak do you wish to be briefed what have you on it and I said absolutely not myself and my members of my staff want to stay out of the OPP investigation it will be entirely inappropriate for me to know any of the details of that but I did ask the deputy minister to make sure that the ministry cooperated fully with the Ontario provincial police as it's appropriate Mr. Speaker final supplementary Speaker can the acting premier tell us when whether any staff from the premier's office were using those computers in Ottawa Mr. Speaker I kind of anticipate this Perry Mason route that she's going down and I know there was reference made Mr. Speaker to the member from Ottawa South today a committee I would like to Mr. Speaker put on the record Mr. Speaker that the court document makes very clear that the OPP or the ministry in cooperating with the OPP looked at a total of 52 hard drives and of those they found 24 of the Mr. Speaker have been accessed through these codes which are of course the topic of this investigation I can assure the leader of the third party that the member from Ottawa South at that point who was working in Ottawa for the premier that his computer was not accessed Mr. Speaker using these codes new question my next question is for the acting premier speaker but I can tell you that the mocking of the opposition in the job that they're trying to do to hold this government to account on a 1.1 billion dollar scandal looks very bad on the premier speaker tell us who was accessing those computers in Ottawa Mr. Speaker I think what looks what looks really bad Mr. Speaker is a leader of a political party who seems to be counseling the government to interfere into an OPP investigation and seems disappointed Mr. Speaker that we decided not to interfere in an OPP investigation the fact of the matter Mr. Speaker the fact of the matter Mr. Speaker is that the OPP identified 24 computers that have been accessed and if the Honourable Member wants to consult the court document that was released the list of the individuals who owned or who used those computers is right there the committee was asked Mr. Speaker I understand to confirm whether the member from Ottawa South's computer was one that had been accessed and I can tell you Mr. Speaker I consulted with officials and it was not thank you supplementary well speaker I don't know about you but I think that there's a real duty that's called the ministerial responsibility for a minister to know what's happening within his own minister and there's a dereliction of duty when it comes to this minister Mr. Speaker tell us what sort of information might have been found on those computers in Ottawa Mr. Speaker again I think what looks bad is a leader of the third party who is trying to conduct an OPP investigation here on the floor of the house what also looks bad Mr. Speaker is a leader of the NDP who decides that that playing these OPP games is more important Mr. Speaker than asking about health or asking about education or asking about transportation or asking about the issues of the day the fact of the matter Mr. Speaker is the court document is clear there were a number of computers there were access through these codes which is at the center of the investigation it even lists who they were as to the details of the investigation Mr. Speaker I'm going to leave that to the Ontario Provincial Police as is appropriate Mr. Speaker I'm going to allow them to do their work and I'm going to allow them to reach their own conclusions and not interfere as a leader of the third party thank you final supplementary figure only the liberals could be so arrogant and out of touch as to consider the work the opposition's doing as being a game the investigation that their own staff are running they claim they hardly even know Dalton McGinty anymore and the other liberals that they worked with for a decade and if we're keeping track they're also so surprised that cancelling the gas plants were going to cost 1.1 billion dollars and I imagine they had no idea that Kathleen Wynn's signature was going to be ending up on that final deal order stuck paying the higher and higher hydro bills in this province aren't surprised at all when is this government going to start answering questions Mr. Speaker the advice to not interfere in an OPP investigation is not coming from me Mr. Speaker it is coming from the Ontario provincial police the same Ontario provincial police which recently appeared in front of the Justice Committee and said the type of interference that we're seeing here in this legislature could in fact jeopardize the investigation Mr. Speaker the leader of the new democratic party cannot have it both ways Mr. Speaker she cannot ask for the police to look into it and reach conclusions and then come in here and interfere it through inappropriate questions Mr. Speaker by not dealing with the facts and dealing Mr. Speaker with this issue the way she has if anyone needs to apologize Mr. Speaker it's the leader of the new democratic party thank you very much and good morning Mr. Speaker my question is for the finance minister yesterday the Bank of Canada revised its growth outlook downward from 2.5 percent to 2.3 percent it comes on the heel of a Fraser Institute report that concludes Ontario is dragging down the rest of Canada's economy now we know our revenues are down and will continue to go down we also know you have a four and a half billion dollar gap in the budget the one that you kept secret from the financial community knowing all these shortfalls your response is to go on a 5.7 billion dollar spending screen just like the BLT document we exposed said you would so minister Ontarians have figured it out your math simply does not add question when are you going to come clean and admit to this legislature you have no plan to save Ontario from the trouble you got us into Mr. Finance Mr. Speaker we've had a budget that we presented last year that illustrated that we had exceeded our targets year over year in fact last year we always did that we became the lowest cost government because of the efforts that we've taken in terms of austerity we've been very disciplined and determined in doing so we also recognize and I just provided a report at the financial at the fall economic update telling the world as to where we stand relative to our numbers and again we're on track to balance by 2017-18 we then came forward with a long-term plan illustrating the very challenges before us all the while recognizing what we must do Mr. Speaker is invest in our future to ensure we have economic growth and greater prosperity the opposition members on the other side would rather us cut investments into health care and education at the expense of Ontario public for their own personal gain Mr. Speaker that is not what we're going to do it's not about the fortunes of that political party it's a fortune of Ontario that we're most concerned about thank you Speaker well we've already heard from the government's minister of transportation that they will be cutting health and education so we already know where those cuts are coming from as well as seeing a flagrant disregard that this government has for taxpayers money and of course minister by that I mean the $1.1 billion gas plan scandal spent to save your very seat all this when Ontario's per person GDP is 5.6% lower than the rest of Canada we now have the third lowest rate of private sector job creation in the country our annual growth in business investment is barely half of the rest of Canada's and your answer you go on a spending spree while raising hydro rates and raising taxes all the experts tell us that if Ontario adopts smarter policies that's lower hydro rates and lower taxes we could improve our economy minister will your budget reverse the disastrous path you've been leading us down so as a speaker Ontario has actually been we've had 180% of jobs returned to this province since the depth of the recession we have taken steps necessary to grow our economy and create jobs and our budget coming for on May 1 at 4 o'clock in this very legislature we'll talk specifically about those measures measures which the opposition failed to recognize they failed to recognize that what we must do now is continue to invest in our economy ensure that we have an open and dynamic business climate to attract those investments because the companies are and the jobs especially small business are the job creators we're talking about more opportunity for all Ontarians Mr. Speaker not one government and we'll continue to do just that and furthermore as we grow and invest in our economy contrary to what they would prefer on that side which is to do across the board cuts and put in jeopardy that recovery we will continue to stand behind those businesses and behind Ontario public My question to the mayor from Kitchener Waterloo Thank you very much Mr. Speaker my question is to the acting premier the Liberals have a long record of promising everything and delivering nothing it's happening again on transit for Kitchener Waterloo on March 18 the Liberals promised all day two-way go service but gave us no timeline then they changed their mind and told us go express rail won't serve Kitchener at all instead the minister cooked up a new scheme to build high speed rail in 10 years and now a senior vice president would go tells us that we are lucky to have just four trains a day speaker two-way all-day go high speed rail or just four trains for the people of Kitchener Waterloo Deputy Premier the minister of transportation Mr. Speaker I am very ever breathed but very happy to be here we are we are moving right now on track acquisition as the member knows very advanced that we're in the final stage as we will soon own 80% of the track to Kitchener Waterloo and these have been very difficult negotiations we're very excited we are moving on two-way all-day go in spite of the federal government cutting back V at the same time we're increasing it we are going to have high speed rail to Kitchener running at 320 kilometers and London and Kitchener and we are over the next decade and we're going to transform the transportation system as promised Mr. Speaker thank you supplementary thank you very much Mr. Speaker perhaps perhaps the problem is is that the minister doesn't understand what two-way all-day means it means that 10,000 people who live in Toronto can get to Kitchener Waterloo in the morning because that's where those jobs and then the people from Kitchener Waterloo can actually get to all-day long right now there's four trains and it's clear the Liberals have lost their way they'll promise everything they'll deliver nothing because they focus on keeping their own jobs rather than creating jobs for Ontario Speaker the cities of Kitchener Waterloo and Guelph have been clear they're calling for full-day two-way go-train service on the Kitchener line even the government admits all-day go will create 33,000 jobs but instead of working with our community to fund the local plan the Liberals are busy promising everything else to distract from their own record of ways Minister of Education will come to order they remember from Eglinton Lawrence will come to order no you're not helping wrap up please thank you there are 33,000 jobs at play but instead of working with our community to fund the local plan the Liberals are busy promising everything else to distract from their own thank you waste-delay and mismanagement thank you why are you refusing thank you minister thank the member for the friendly question and I want to ask her if she can take yes for an answer fairly not so I would be very clear we are doing all day two-way go that's already underway we already have trains running that will be yes it is happening expenditures have been made for years they're accelerating I meet with Carl Zaire Ken Sealing Mayor Fontana Mayor Farbridge my friend John Malloy Liz Sandles Deb Matthews we have been working with this community and business leaders for a year not just consulting working with them they want high-speed rail they're getting four stations access to Pearson airport in under half an hour from London about an hour from London hour and 10 minutes from London downtown to Pearson answer 320 kilometer an hour trains Canadian technology we're kicking butt Mr. Speaker we're getting it done no question the member can start by building thank you speaker speaker my question is for the minister of labour for many community groups and organizations April 16th Mark stop the member from Hamilton East Stony Creek will come to order second time and the member from Trinity Spadina the member from Eglinton Lawrence can just I don't need your help Equal Pay Day is recognized in countries around the world including the United States Australia member states of the European Union and yesterday we became the first province in Canada to recognize this important reminder of gender pay gap as you may know this day was chosen by community groups to represent the amount of extra days per year on average women must work annually to match annual earnings of men through you speaker can the minister tell this house and women in my riding across Ontario what your ministry is doing to improve the position of women in the workplace and to improve pay equity in the question thank you minister of labour thank you speaker and thanks to the fine member from Scarborough Gilwood for the great question our government recognizes the valuable contribution that women make in making a more equal a more just and a more prosperous society right here in Ontario I know in the supplementary the minister responsible for women's issues can speak more broadly to the investments that have been made to improve the status of women in Ontario but let me say speaker I'm very proud that my ministry is taking action to improve the status quo of all workers including women by proposing changes to label legislation to help vulnerable workers and by increasing the minimum wage I'd also like to command our employees at the pay equity office for the hard work they've undertaken investigating settling resolving complaints related to the compensation of employees and what a traditionally female dominated occupation excellent there's always more to be done and that's why we've asked the pay equity office to hold a round table to discuss ways to address the gender wage gap and sir I was really happy to be a part of that discussion I look forward to some excellent advice speaker thank you speaker and thank you minister for that answer I know that our government has taken a very important step by increasing the minimum wage with the majority of minimum wage earners being women this increase has a direct impact speaker I am also proud that we are helping women in the workplace by strengthening workplace protections I know the pay equity office and as the minister said is working very hard when it comes to advising employers and employees about their rights and responsibilities however speaker even with all of these important initiatives the gender wage gap still exists through you speaker will the minister share what our government is doing to address this wage disparity and ensure that women can participate fully in the economy thank you minister speaker the minister responsible for women's issues first possible for women's issues thank you and thank you for allowing me the second part to the question and thank you to the member from Scarborough Guildwood for the question on this issue as well I'd like to first thank the pay equity commission for the roundtable that they hosted yesterday that myself and the minister of labor attended look forward to the recommendations that come from that our government has taken actions we've taken concrete actions to improve women's economic status and help close the gender wage gap a lot more than has been done in the past Mr. Speaker we've demonstrated this commitment by helping women access better jobs through major investments in education training programs and the pay equity commission thousands of women have been provided with training and educating for better jobs our government is also investing significantly in child care and full day kindergarten we will continue to work hard to break down thank you all of these barriers for women up today and leaders of tomorrow thank you new question the member from Perry Salma School Cup thank you Mr. Speaker my question is the acting premier acting premier since you've been in power the auditor general has released special reports investigating orange air ambulance the missus auger gas plant and the oakville gas plant in all three of these cases the flow of public funds to indirect recipients and third party service providers was outside the current mandate of the provincial auditor acting premier do you agree that the auditor general should be given the tools to do their job and ensure that taxpayers are getting fair value for their money there you are acting deputy premier minister of government services minister of government services thank you very much Mr. Speaker I know that the honorable member has a private members bill which is before the legislature this afternoon and I think all of us look forward to the debate and the discussion I think all of us recognize the important role that's played by the auditor general we also anticipate a very important role by the financial accountability officer at the same time Mr. Speaker we do have to balance that with the appropriateness of going too far when it comes to those who are merely dealing with the government and not part of the government that is the balance I think that will be the topic of debate this afternoon and I can certainly say on our side of the legislature Mr. Speaker we're looking forward to hearing the debate and the presentation from the member as well as participating in it thank you supplementary thank you Mr. Speaker again to the acting premier a number of audits are currently in progress including a review of the community care access centers smart meter usage and the winter roads maintenance program these investigations all involve public money flowing to third party organizations acting premier my private members bill will allow the auditor general to follow the money to third party recipients to help complete these audits and make sure taxpayers are getting good value for their money acting premier will you support bill 190 when it is debated for second reading this afternoon and give the auditor general the tools to do their job minister of government services minister of finance mr. Speaker minister of finance so mr. Speaker it's uh it's important that we all recognize the need for greater transparency and greater accountability it's one of the reasons that we in this house on this side of the house have taken numerous steps to to do so in fact cd have Institute has recognized that the government of Ontario has become one of the most transparent one of the most accountable governments anywhere in Canada we've been rated top in the country because the integrity of our numbers we recognize the important work that the auditor general does it's one of the reasons we brought forward the financial accountability officer to ensure that we get not only an auditor general looking at the past results but also making certain that going forward we institute proper systems to ensure that integrity continues and we're doing that in treasury board we're doing that with our sub treasury board committee will continue to act responsibly for the benefit of the public good and taxpayers value will be protected thank you news question the member from Brambley Laura Malton thank you very much Mr. Speaker my question is to the acting premier the Liberals continue to insist that they want openness and transparency in the waste of the 1.1 billion dollar gas plan scandal and in the deletion and wiping of emails and and hard work and hard drives but today their actions tell a different story today they tried to stop the justice committee from sitting ontarians deserve answers and we they did not let this happen today why did the liberal members spend the morning trying to stop the justice committee from sitting Mr. Speaker I'm happy to bring the honourable member and in fact all members of the legislature up to speed the fact of the matter is that the justice committee has decided to sit next week Wednesday morning and afternoon and Thursday afternoon Mr. Speaker and what members may find a little bit curious and perhaps members of the press or the public is how could the committee meet during question period well the fact of the matter is Mr. Speaker that the committee has that power and authority the reason why it has that power and authority because I as house leader negotiated with the opposition Mr. Speaker on the direction of the premier who said she wanted to have the committee to have that sort of responsibility to undertake to sit when it felt when it felt it was in the best interest Mr. Speaker and we're here to see it hold a number of hearings next week give them supplementary Mr. Speaker well just to inform the the government house leader I was actually in the committee and members of the liberal party voted against sitting to tell a different story they talk about getting answers to the gas plant but they said no to a public inquiry they talked about being transparent and open but they voted against sitting additional days in the justice committee why are the government saying one thing about accountability and transparency but doing another why are they voting against transparency why are they against accountability Mr. Speaker again we have a justice committee and it may sound arcane Mr. Speaker but it meets at the call of the chair what that means Mr. Speaker is it's up to the committee to decide when it meets I would also Mr. Speaker advise members of the legislature if they haven't noticed there's more of the opposition than the government more of them than us which essentially means the opposition Mr. Speaker is helping to drive the agenda of this committee but at the same time Mr. Speaker I think all of us would agree let's let the committee undertake its own work and I would ask the honorable member as this is question period I'm very very surprised that he has no issues about education Mr. Speaker or health care or a variety of issues that he wants to raise in the house today but Mr. Speaker I'm always happy to answer questions about committee procedure thank you new question the member from the top of the north thank you Mr. Speaker my question is for for the attorney general man the minister may I station and access to justice are important issues across Ontario as you will know Speaker as a and as former Speaker Peters will know Mr. Frank Iakabuchki released a report recently that outlines important recommendations lighting the path to increased aboriginal representation in the justice system I understand that the ministry of the Attorney General has established an implementation committee to address Mr. Iakabuchki's recommendations as well as announced the announcement of the co-chairs of the justice advisory group to provide advice to the Attorney General on broader justice issues affecting first nations Speaker my question is this will the Attorney General inform this chamber about the steps we are taking to fortify solidify and strengthen relationship between aboriginal peoples and the justice system Thank you Attorney General Mr. Speaker I want to thank the member from Etobicoke North for his question Mr. Speaker Mr. Iakabuchki report has helped the ministry build on its ongoing efforts to improve participation of first nation individuals on jury roles and strengthen our provinces justice system overall the new assistant we have created a position of assistant deputy attorney general for aboriginal justice and this individual will be recruited through an open merit based process beginning this month this is the first recommendation to be implemented in consultation with the jury review implementation committee formed last September 2013 to oversee the implementation of recommendation in Mr. Iakabuchki report and I want to take this opportunity to thank Judge Iakabuchki for his wonderful report thank you Mr. Speaker supplementary thank you Madam thank you Mr. Minister for your answer and your contribution of Mr. Iakabuchki our government is taking meaningful steps towards effecting real positive change in the way the first nations participate in Ontario's justice system specifically in enhancing participation on juries we know for example that throughout Ontario first nations peoples are significantly underrepresented not just on juries but among all those who work in administration of justice court officials prosecutors defense counsel and judges Speaker can the minister expand on how moving forward on these particular recommendations will help build inclusive and respectful relationships with our partners in the aboriginal communities thank you Mr. Speaker thank you Minister of Aboriginal Affair Minister of Aboriginal Affair thank you Speaker Speaker the addition of an assistant deputy attorney general aboriginal justice is a critical step in addressing the aboriginal justice issues it fulfills a key recommendation of the justice Iakabuchki report it will do two things this new position the position will strengthen relationships between aboriginal communities and government number two it will improve trust and understanding amongst aboriginal and non-aboriginal people and communities and number three it will lead to new supports and programs for aboriginal peoples as a part of the effort to find the best possible candidate for this position the recruitment process will include extensive outreach to aboriginal organizations and communities across Canada Speaker my colleague the attorney general and I will continue to move forward in implementing the recommendations of the report we will continue to work to ensure that First Nations are adequately represented in Ontario's justice system thank you new question the member from Perth Wellington Mr. Speaker my question is for the attorney general my private members resolution called on the government to implement a comprehensive long-term solution to joint to reform joint and several liability insurance for municipalities and to do it by this June it received overwhelming support from AMO from the insurance Bureau of Canada from insurers in Perth Wellington and beyond and from over 200 municipalities support continues to pour in it was debated and received overwhelming support from MPPs from all parties that was almost two months ago since you became attorney general what action have you taken on this file and well when will you get it done good question Mr. Speaker legal liability reform is an important and complex issue I understand that this issue has been a significant concern of municipality for some time and the AMO has asked the government to consider the impact of the law of joint and several liability on municipal insurance the ministry of the attorney general has worked with AMO to develop possible ways to address municipal concern magazine process of consulting with AMO and the legal community on two option under consideration and the consultation period has been extended answer is expected to to be concluded on Thursday April 16, 2014 thank you supplementary with all due respect Speaker that's the same answer I heard four years ago yeah when I was a councillor North Perth that hasn't changed Speaker I know this minister is new to the job but we need to know when she will make this happen her government has been promising reform for years but they have never made it a priority nothing I hope she will do better AMO and many municipalities are just the minister without portfolio you can't hop scotch heckle so just I hear you wherever you are finish please thank you speaker AMO and many municipalities are supporting a combined model which would replace reason which would place reasonable limits on the damages that could be recovered from municipality in Perth wellington municipalities including strafford in the county of wellington are asking you to support this minister the time for consultations is over question when will you respect the will of the house time is running out as the member said there is some municipality were supporting it and some who are not supporting it so we have been examining model use in other jurisdiction we have examined model use in united states in particular and they have a wide range of approaches proportionate liability in which each defendant is only liable for the proportion of damage he or she has caused is controversial because it can mean that a seriously injured plaintiff as to absorb a significant loss we have looked at what is done in saskatchewan so as i said you know we are consulting we are working with the official in my ministry and we will answer and form the the member later on thank you new question member from nagar falls speaker my question is to the acting premier the nagar region has one of the highest unemployment rates in ontario city councilors in saint captain unanimously pass a motion to develop jobs and investment strategy by cooperating with the nagar region other municipalities and the nagar industrial association we met with nagar businesses who support the ndps plan of a target tax credit to create jobs nagar regional leaders are taking their own measures to do what this government should be doing creating jobs and a plan that works will this government finally admit it crosses it's crossed the board corporate tax cuts aren't creating jobs and until regional leaders in nagar how it will support their job strategy thank you deputy premier the minister of economic development trade and employment to economic development trade and employment well uh thank you mr. Speaker and i appreciate the question as well it's important to understand that nagar is facing unique challenges to that region partly because of the the dependence in the past and the presence on the manufacturing sector and it's refreshing as well to see the hard work that is being done by the citizens there and the political and business leaders in fact the economic development corporations for the region as a whole have recently quite exceptionally mr. Speaker increase their coordination and they understand that by collaborating they can actually compete even better as a region and we're seeing although the unemployment rate I acknowledge in the nagar region is unacceptably high it is coming down considerably over the past year and certainly since the height of the recession and it's benefiting from the job creating initiatives that this government is is making as we see that unemployment employment rate come down and we see the growth in manufacturing jobs once again thank you supplementary mr. Speaker manufacturers in nagar are saying they are in danger of being poached by the states across the border low power costs in new york state generated by hydro one and sold at an enormous loss is being used to lure nagar companies away and industrial consumer in new york in new york can purchase electricity from ontario 30 to 45 percent lower than a competing company in our province will this government fix its broken hydro system that is increasing hydro bills for ontarians and more importantly driving manufacturing jobs out in agra and into the states thank you minister to the minister of energy mr. of energy mr. Speaker the member needs to get his facts up to speed mr. Speaker we had a broken system we now have a system that creates a surface we are now using that strong position in the electricity system mr. Speaker to create a program called the IEI program mr. Speaker that creates energy for people who are creating jobs mr. Speaker at about 50 percent of the regular rate and we've just announced seven across the province including in Welland mr. Speaker and in Pembroke rent through mr. Speaker we've created 140 jobs by using this program to to restart a paper plant that had been stopped mr. Speaker we're across the board competitive with our industrial programs mr. Speaker we're going to continue to evolve them and we are competitive with northern states we're competitive with other provinces in the industrial sector I invite the member to come to my office and we'll review all the programs for them and the benefits for the industrial thank you new question member from Vaughan thanks very much Speaker Speaker my question today is for the minister of health and long-term care Speaker for many seniors physiotherapy can be the key to a full and active life whether it's getting out of the house to get groceries taking part in exercise and sports or simply taking a stroll with their grandchildren thousands of older Ontarians benefit from the hard work and attentive care of our physiotherapists and that's why so many people in Vaughan were concerned about the changes that our government made to the delivery of physiotherapy this past summer many spoke to me and wondered what this would mean for them would it interrupt their care would it make it harder for them to access services Speaker yesterday I had the distinct pleasure of announcing that our government will be investing eight hundred thousand dollars to support the addition of four new publicly funded physiotherapy clinics in my riding of Vaughan I know how important this will be for so many living in my community Speaker could the minister please tell the house just how this investment will benefit seniors in Vaughan Thank you Mr. President and thank you to the member for Vaughan and I tell you he is a passionate advocate for seniors in his community and I agree with the member that physiotherapy does help ensure older Ontarians lead healthy active lives Speaker before we move forward with our plan to improve physiotherapy for Ontarians seniors in many communities simply had no access to publicly funded clinic based physiotherapy services waitlist for home based physiotherapy were far too long now we're more than doubling the number of publicly funded physiotherapy clinics in the province that means ninety thousand more Ontarians will be able to receive clinic based physiotherapy in their communities in Vaughan our investment will provide access to physiotherapy services to over 2000 individuals and at the same time answer for funding the community care access centers to provide in-home physiotherapy to 60,000 more people across the province this will help increase thank you thank you supplementary well thank you thank you speaker and I thank the minister for her answer and I thank her for acknowledging the work that takes place in my community of on regarding supporting seniors just a couple of Fridays ago speaker the minister responsible for seniors and the premier of Ontario we're in my writing at a healthy seniors roundtable discussing issues of importance to seniors in my community more than 700 showed up for that event speaker and I know they were delighted to hear about the work that we're doing for the minister responsible and for the premier speaker there's a growing aging population in Vaughan as there is in communities across the province Ontario's aging population will put an increasing strain on health care resources in years to come now I know that the minister of health has taken very strong and meaningful steps to ensure the successful delivery of the McKenzie Vaughan hospital something very important to me and to my community but there is a growing recognition that health promotion is vital to helping people prevent people from going to the hospital in the first place or being re-adapted to discharge could the minister please speak about other investments being made in Vaughan to help keep our seniors out of the emergency room thank you minister uh speaker the members absolutely right in saying that the McKenzie Vaughan hospital will be delivered on time and I can tell you he has been pushing that project forward but we I think we all agree that we must do all we can to keep people out of the hospital in the first place that's why this year speaker we increased our investment in home and community care by six percent to ensure seniors can get high quality care close to home and we're creating community health links to provide collaborative care for the most complex patients and as part of our physiotherapy reforms we're expanding community exercise and falls prevention classes to more locations across Ontario we will be able to offer this free publicly funded service to 130,000 seniors including 10,000 in the central in the members area we'll continue to work hard to ensure older Ontarians are able to access to lead healthy and independent lives in their own homes thank you your question the member from Oslo thank you Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker I have a question for the minister of training colleges from university minister as you're well aware University of Ontario Institute of Technology was first established on the basis of a new model with Durham College utilizing a shared services aspect for their facilities and operation this worked well at the start over subsequent leadership at UIT did not have the desire to allow the shared services model to continue the end result is the splitting of the services in Durham College had to pay over 3.2 million dollars in additional unbudgeted costs only to have UIT rehire Durham's severed staff minister is happening again and this time the taxpayers in Durham College is anticipating paying an additional half a million dollars or more minister can you commit to review the Durham College UIT operations and have all players acting the best interests of the taxpayers and in the original intent of the agreement I would agree Mr. Treating College University Thank you Mr. Speaker I appreciate the question from the member this is one of those questions I'm actually happy to get in this legislature unlike many others that we often get and the reason why I'm happy to get it is it gives me an opportunity to say through the legislature to both Durham and UIT that it's really important that they do everything they can to work together and ensure that that partnership which actually is a fantastic model for the rest of the province remains successful Mr. Speaker my job isn't to micromanage these partnerships or microarrange these arrangements but my job is to put forward an expectation to all parties that they're going to do everything they can to work in the best interests of students the members raise the issue with me in the past I've been to Durham College just recently met with Don LaVisa there and did a tour of the college it is a fantastic partnership it's a great model it appears that there might be some more work to do and I think both of us to make sure that they do the work they need to to make the partnership Minister the process is continuing on and quite frankly there's a lot of concern that the IT division may be next on the block for the shared services aspect this substantially impacts not only the member the union membership who are working under Durham College but then have to move over to to UIT in the case that they don't move over where these individuals end up not only that but also the impact on the budget of Durham College as they are the ones holding the original contract Minister can you ensure that the best interests of the union workers who are working on behalf of Durham College and UIT as well as the impacts on the budget are minimized thank you Minister Speaker my expectation of all of our post-secondary partners is they're going to they're going to be fair on everything that they do my other expectation is everything they do is being done in the interests of their students because first and foremost I have a responsibility I think we all do to see our post-secondary system through the eyes of our students and I know when going out there and I may have a bit of a conflict here Mr. Speaker because my son I think is applied and is accepting to go to Durham and that's one of the reasons I was out there so I may have a bit of a conflict here but what amazes me about that campus is the interaction between the university students and the college students and the programs where you can start in Durham College work your way up into a university program it is a fantastic model it's really important we all work together to make sure it continues to work in the best interest of students thanks for the question your question member from to miscommuny Cochran thank you speaker my question is to minister in northern development mines Mr. Murray I'll answer this the government has announced that the LNT refurbishment shops in north bay will remain in public hands but it has failed to outline a long-term growth plan for the division in fact that announced announced the refurbishment of polar bear express as a way that that to revitalize that division but that's only a part-time job it won't provide enough employment for the for the for the future of the refurbishment shops this cast doubt on the government's intentions for ONTC will this government act to ensure a real strategic plan is outlined for ONT's future the services and the good local jobs it provides minister in northern development mines well thank you very much for the question I really do appreciate it certainly I was very pleased to be in north bay a couple of Fridays ago to announce that indeed we are keeping four of the five divisions of the ONTC in public hands and that does include the refurbishment shop and we're very pleased we're able to provide 17.6 million dollars in in work in terms of the polar improving the polar bear express refurbishment rail freight as well and obviously the motor coach as well we are conscious that indeed there's more work to be done in terms of the transformation of those divisions that will be held in public hands that does include opportunities we see synergies with metro links and we're hoping that will be an opportunity in fact it's an opportunity we're planning to have more serious discussions about very very soon so this is part of a longer term plan Mr. Speaker it's the commitment is very strong in terms of keeping those lines in public hands and we look forward to further discussions to continue that transformation thank you supplementary minister the people in the north in northeastern Ontario have been waiting two years they've united them you've started the MAC committee the MAC committee has done a lot of good work work for a long-term plan and what we got was an announcement to refurbish part of the ONTC's own rail cars and that was announced as as the strategic plan to save the refurbishment shops that's not a plan that's an announcement and we don't want to hear talk about a plan we want to hear we want to hear that there is with metro links you could do that they're both public companies that was the start when when they lost that contract years ago that's when we realized that what you were trying to do with the ONTC thank you thank you very much minister thank you very much good to speak I mean I'm fair game we are very very committed to to a long-term plan and I know you don't want to in any way minimize the hard work that was done by the ministeral advisory committee because indeed they have and indeed this is part of a full transformation may I say the ministeral advisory committee is going to stay in place I asked each of the members when we when we made the announcement related to the four alliance taking public hands will you stay on the map for will you meet again we have more work to do there is work we want to do in terms of a of a strategic alliance with metro links that work needs to get done we need to put forward a real business plan that will make it work we recognize that but I guess most of all speaker what I want to say we are so committed to to a long-term transformation the OTC it is a sustainable one and I want you to know that the answer work will continue with all the advice we'll be getting from the map and others like yourself get it out thank you any questions a member from mississauga streetsville thank you very much speaker speaker this questions for the minister of transportation minister western mississauga's neighborhoods of lisgar meadow veil and streetsville are perfect places to cycle in the good weather if that good weather ever comes on our very many biking trails cycling is part of a healthy lifestyle and in mississauga we are much we are very very active cyclists would the minister please tell me what his just recently announced investment in cycling in ontario entails and what can we expect for cycling as ontario rolls out the program thank you minister very much for transportation mr speaker first I want to thank the member for his leadership as a cycling advocate and his private members bill on bike month is going to be very important to this house but what we've done is we've set up a fund for 25 million dollars mr speaker over the next three years this will fund municipalities and our partners and not-for-profits in building new models of cycling infrastructure and innovation whether whether it's in Ottawa or whether it's in chatham or whether it's in ignees every community right now is embracing this mr speaker but it actually leads to a much bigger story mr speaker which is that going forward our entire 14 billion dollar a year answer budget will include cycling facilities every road highway bridge every hospital so we will become we believe in the next decade the most cycling friendly jurisdiction in north america mr speaker and I want to thank the member for his question in the speaker's gallery today we have guests mr jerry Meyer from the institute of future legislatures in the university of british columbia as a guest of the former member from elgin middle sex london in the 37th 38th 39th and speaker in the 39th steve peters attorney general on a point of order here i'd like to correct my record in my answer to the member of perth wallington apparently I said justice yakabutsky when I meant justice yakabutsky I wouldn't want my friends from renfrew pembroke never seen to be too excited I have not yet appointed him to the band thanks thank you to remember from Ottawa south on a point of order I do want to add I did not I left out Isabella's grandmother jerry and her jerry o'brien and her parents rob o'brien and angela chicada here here there are no different votes this house stands recessed until one p.m. this afternoon