 With no other introductions, it's now time for question period. The member from Prince Edward Hastings. Thanks, Speaker, and good morning. I'm glad to see you made it okay. My question is to the Minister of Energy. After the Auditor General raised concerns about the government's hydro scheme, which will end up costing billions, and then jack up electricity rates to record highs in a few years, the Minister of Energy said, quote, our plan has been approved by her peers, speaking of the Auditor General, at some of Canada's top accounting firms like KPMG, Ernst & Young, and Deloitte. The Auditor General has said as of March 19th that, quote, Deloitte LLP and Ernst & Young LLP have confirmed to us that they provided no formal opinions, no formal opinions, approving the accounting of the so-called fair hydro plan that the government planned to use for its consolidated financial statements. End quote. So, Mr. Speaker, who's telling the truth here? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As we've said all along, we know, Mr. Speaker, that families in this province asked for real and immediate relief on their electricity bills, and that's what we delivered, Mr. Speaker. We made a policy choice. The member will withdraw. We made a policy choice to ensure that we continue to have a clean, reliable and affordable electricity system for the ratepayers of today and that ratepayers of tomorrow, Mr. Speaker. And the fair hydro plan keeps the cost of borrowing within the rate base, not the tax base, because that's the logical thing to do, Mr. Speaker. Electricity financing should remain with the electricity system. So officials from the Treasury Board, Finance, OPG, the ISO, and the Ontario Financing Authority, along with external advisors, that included Ernst & Young KPNGM Deloitte, have worked on accounting related to the fair hydro plan. They, along with the Office of the Provincial Controller, Mr. Speaker, ensured that this plan was in accordance with the public sector, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Supplementary. Mr. Speaker, I know there's a lot of ice across Ontario this morning, but the Minister sure skated around that question. Mr. Speaker, the auditor said KPNGM told us that it has not provided an opinion on the accounting of the fair hydro plan in the government's consolidated financial statements. On March 26, the Minister said this, KPNGM and Deloitte worked on the accounting related to the fair hydro plan. They, along with the Office of the Provincial Controller, ensured that this plan was in accordance with public sector accounting. That was the quote from the Minister of Energy. Mr. Speaker, my question is, is he telling the truth? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The truth is 25% of this population have seen a reduction of 25%, Mr. Speaker, on their hydro bills. The truth is that they voted against it, Mr. Speaker. When it comes to telling the truth, it's this government that makes sure that we're transparent and we make sure that we bring forward everything on behalf of the people. On that side of the House, Mr. Speaker, they vote against everything that we put forward to build Ontario up, Mr. Speaker. Minimum wage. We make sure that we bring that forward, Mr. Speaker, to help the province of Ontario. They vote against it, Mr. Speaker. 25% reduction through the fair hydro plan. They vote against it, Mr. Speaker. 50% reduction on average for those families that are in Hydro-1 areas, Mr. Speaker, and six other jurisdictions. They voted against that as well, Mr. Speaker. When it comes to looking after the people of Ontario, we will take no lessons from that party, Mr. Speaker. Supplementary. Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General, an independent officer of the legislature, has said all of the accounting firms confirmed. They didn't formally approve the Liberal accounting. But the minister says that they did. Deloitte, Ernst & Young, and KPMG offered no formal opinion supporting the fair hydro plan. And remember, this Liberal unfair hydro plan spends millions and billions of dollars over the next 30 years in interest payments to get them through the next election period before rates soar to record highs, highs that we've never seen in Ontario. Speaker, what the minister has said in the House is a direct contradiction to many of the minister's statements. Why is he lying to the House? I'm standing. Not only will the member withdraw, if this becomes a trend, I will skip questions. The member will withdraw. Withdraw, Speaker. Minister of Energy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When it comes to the fair hydro plan, it's this government that brought forward the plan to make sure that we reduce rates right across the province, Mr. Speaker, for all ratepayers, Mr. Speaker. On that side of the House, they voted against it. But the interesting thing, Mr. Speaker, is the people's guarantee, which they once all signed and once all agreed with actually kept the fair hydro plan in it, Mr. Speaker. So talking about hypocrisy, Mr. Speaker, that is something that... will withdraw, Mr. Speaker. The member from Grand Fruit Nipissing Pembroke will withdraw. And the member from Grand Fruit Nipissing Pembroke is warned. And I'm skipping a question. You may finish. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We will continue to work to keep our system clean, reliable and affordable in this province, Mr. Speaker. We will make sure that we work together with the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change to make sure we're meeting our climate change action plan goals, Mr. Speaker, and keep our system clean and affordable. Thank you. We are now in warnings. The member from Nickel Belt. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the premier or the one who will be replacing her. The premier believe hospital overcrowding is a normal thing that should be happening in a first-world healthcare system. Thank you. Can I have your back? Minister of Education Minister of Health Minister of Education Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I want to thank the member opposite for this question. Our government knows that everyone in Ontario deserves high quality care when and where they need it. That's why we are designing a system that absolutely puts patients first. And I want you to know that we're doing this in a number of ways. We're doing this by increasing operational funding. We're doing this by increasing the supports we're building into the system in terms of mental health, in terms of long-term care and in terms of across-the-board funding when it comes to ensuring that our people and our patients are getting the care they need. So let me just tell you, we've made a historic investment in terms of an additional $822 million in Ontario's publicly funded hospitals. This is a 4.6% increase in operational funding. We're also, of course, increasing what we're putting into capital funding. $19 billion over the past two years we've increased operational funding to hospitals by almost $1 billion. So absolutely we're building supplementary. Has the minister seen a hospital where people are being treated in hallways? Does she believe that it is real? So Mr. Speaker, I just want to point out a couple of things. So, you know, first of all I want to say that ensuring that we are doing the best we can when we deliver health care is a top priority. And it turns out that we're on track. In fact, just recently, just last week once again a third party has validated our health care system as being one of the best in the country. In fact, recently CIHI, the Fraser Institute, the Wait Times Alliance all agreed we are the best for wait times in Canada. And here's what we're doing. We're constantly investing to improve and make sure we're putting patients first. Wait times for cancer surgery are better than the national average for lung, breast, colorectal and prostate cancers. Ontario has the best wait times in the country for lung cancer surgery. Our wait times are better than the national average for hip and knee replacement and we outperform almost every other province for hip and knee replacement surgery. All is to say is that we're on track. Thank you. Final supplementary. Has the minister ever talked to any of the hundreds of people who have gone to a hospital only to be admitted and treated in a shower room, a TV room, a broom closet or a bathroom? Thank you. So, Mr. Speaker, let me just talk a little bit about our capital investments. Just so you are aware, we're investing $19 billion over the next 10 years to improve and expand hospitals. Just think about that. That is a massive investment in terms of hospitals and in terms of capital care. So we are actually ensuring that we're building hospitals, renovating them and taking care of additions. In fact, let me just talk about where some of these capital investments are going. So we're fortunate enough to have sick kids. One of the world's largest and most respected pediatric hospitals in the country and in the world. $2.4 billion for design and construction as part of that massive redevelopment. The new patient care centre will bring vital services including emergency and critical care. And in fact, a facility at the Health Sciences North for Northern Ontario, new health campus for Wawa. All this to say is we're investing across the province and we're building that infrastructure that is needed. Thank you, Mr President. Thank you, Mr Speaker. My question is for the Premier. When the Premier reads the newspaper, here's New Democrat. Listen to people who are telling her there is a crisis in her hospital. Who does she think is responsible for that crisis? The Premier and this government is very much committed to helping in a public health care system. This is something that we've been doing. Doing so from the beginning, making sure that we bring our wait times down in our hospital to make sure that there is new capital investments being made all across the province so that there are better facilities available in all communities across the province. I just see in my hometown of Ottawa Speaker, I see that every single hospital in Ottawa has grown exponentially. We've got state-of-the-art regional cancer care centre at the Ottawa hospital on the general campus. We just built a new cardiac care unit at the Ottawa Heart Institute. We just announced, Speaker, $1.8 billion to build a new civic hospital in my community at the Ottawa centre. These are all important investments to ensure that we provide quality care to Ontarians across this province. Thank you. Thank you, Speaker. Global standard says that safe level of occupancy for a hospital is 85%. But all across our province hospitals are running at over 100% capacity. Why? Does the minister think that hospitals are running at unsafe level of capacity and are overcrowded? Why, Speaker? Just in this year's budget which I hope the NDP will support, Speaker, we are investing more than an additional $5 billion over the next three years to provide more and better access to healthcare services. Our investment, Speaker, will also help reduce the time and stress associated with caring for our loved ones. This includes, Speaker, $2.1 billion in new funding for better and faster access to mental health and addiction services for hundreds of thousands more children, young people, adults. That is the singer's largest investment in mental health care and addiction services ever in the history of our province which is part of budget 2018. We are also, Speaker, expanding OHIP Plus to make prescriptions completely free for everyone up to the age of 25 and over 65. Once again, Speaker, we are the first province in the country to actually provide universal support and NDP will support. Not to mention, we are introducing the new Ontario Drug and Dental Program and reducing rates. Thank you. The Premier and the Liberals created this crisis in our hospital and now people want to know what's next. We know that with Doug Ford, he will cut and privatize. For healthcare that means more hallway medicine. But today my leader Andrea Horvath is announcing a plan to fix the crisis in our hospital. It's going to be hope Speaker. We won't just stop the damage, we will fix it. We know that the Premier says she care, but is she sorry she let things go so bad? Thank you. One thing at one thing NDP and we agree is that Doug Ford will cut healthcare services. It's very clear from their $10 billion they have part of their platform that they're going to be firing teachers and nurses and personal support workers all across our province and that's something that we will not stand for. We have continued to make investments in the healthcare system all across the province and NDP should come forward and support this very important budget that is investing over $5 billion over the next three years to provide better access to healthcare services across the province including healthcare and addiction services. Speaker, just talking about reducing way times, we're investing an additional $822 million in our Ontario hospitals. It's the largest single government investment in hospitals in almost a decade. Not to mention, as I mentioned earlier we invested billions of dollars in new hospitals, expanding hospitals so that Ontarians have state of the art chain available right in their community. New question from Lampton Kent, Middlesex. My question this morning is to the Minister of Finance experts are predicting the price of gas will jump to more than $1.40 per liter in Ontario this summer. This government has already said that their cap and trade carbon tax has pushed prices up by at least 4.3 cents per liter. Speaker it's just another example of how every day the Liberals are making it more expensive to live and work in this province. There are millions of people in Ontario who can't get to work or run an errand without gas in their tank. Why is this Liberal government kicking these people when they're down? Minister of Finance Thank you Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the question because the member opposite makes reference to a commodity price that is traded globally and recognizing that prices have been going up in the commodity price all around the world Mr. Speaker, he also references cap and trade, a market that has been created with the Western Climate Initiative with Quebec, California and we have Jerry Brown here this week My signal not strong enough? We have the Governor here in town talking about the merits because the State of California has been increasing their GDP and they've been growing as has Ontario Mr. Speaker Furthermore, there is an alternative and the alternative that the Governor is proposing is a carbon tax ultimately which is going to cost taxpayers and the residents of our province more money taken out of their pockets in this budget, we provided measures for affordability they should be supporting us Mr. Speaker Supplementary? When the price of gas jumps it raises a price of almost everything that people buy The terrible energy decisions made by this government have already faced a choice to heat or eat. Now new fears are rising about being able to afford fuel to get to work, groceries to put on the table and other basic necessities. The price of the liberal cap and trade carbon tax is only making this situation worse. What does this liberal government have to say to the thousands of people worried that her government's policies will once again force them to make heartbreaking decisions for their families Mr. Speaker Minister of the environment and climate change Well thank you Speaker and thank you for that question you know Speaker, it appears that the member opposite and the members of the PC party care about the regular folks of Ontario but in fact their opposition to fighting climate change their opposition to our cap and trade clearly demonstrates that they really don't care about folks here in Ontario I can tell you Speaker their attack on climate change their attack on our cap and trade process is an attack on the health of Ontarians it is an attack The member from Hauliman North Folk is warned and the member from the West Glenbrook can hide his hand in front of his face all he wants I still recognize the voice I've been around right, finish please Thank you Speaker let me continue that the PC attack on climate change, the PC attack on our cap and trade program is an attack on Ontario business an attack on Ontario residents and we won't stand for that New question, the member from Niagara Falls Thank you Mr. Speaker my question to the acting premier in 2013 you promised the people of this province you see a 15% reduction in their auto insurance rates here we are in 2018 and not only have we not seen that reduction but last Friday we found out our insurance rates were actually going to go up yet again The member from Ancaster Dundas Westdale is warned finish please That money that comes out of people's ability to pay for their food pay for rising costs of gasoline and pay for these out of control hydro rates Premier, you admitted in this house that lowering auto insurance rates by 15% was a stretch goal Will you now admit it was never a goal at all and that you're unwilling to act as these rates continue to climb yet again Thank you Minister of Finance The member opposite does make reference to the fact that rates on auto insurance rates have been challenging and we have taken many steps to try to maintain and reduce when you rate it for inflation rates have actually gone down on average by 11% but more important all across Canada rates have been going up while in Ontario they have not but we must do however is continue to be diligent and that's why we've taken the measures from the government office measures to provide for additional programming to reduce those costs of claims to thereby reducing premiums over time more importantly there is some fraud that needs to be eliminated Mr. Speaker we're taking those steps we're working hard to do so Thank you Supplementary Thank you Mr. Speaker and anything you've done to correct auto insurance has hurt victims Back to the acting Premier Last year a report found that Ontario had intensive auto insurance premiums in Canada and yet compared to other provinces Ontario is one of the lowest levels of collisions We ask you to end postal code discrimination and you won't do it We ask you to lower auto insurance rates by 15% and you won't do it When is enough going to be enough and when are you going to seriously look at actually lowering people's auto insurance rates instead of watching them skyrocket Thank you Mr. Speaker has noted we did take steps numerous steps and that is why in Ontario the rates have not been going up but more importantly our Ontario for auto insurance plan we have created independent medical examination centers we provided improvement for victims by creating a standard treatment plan for those minor injuries we've established a serious fraud office which is currently costing the system up to $1 billion in bogus claims we're working with the law society for contingency on fee reforms we've given fiscal greater teeth to conduct a postal code review so that we can be certain that we are not then penalizing rural communities and northern communities that don't have this instance so we have to be mindful of that as well and FISRA the new oversight body of auto insurance and the regulatory power has provided for increasing innovation and consumer protection mechanisms so that we can create that expert panel to provide proper guidance throughout this process Thank you Mr. Speaker my question is the Minister of Labour Minister over the past number of years I've spoken with countless families about the nature of their work as how the nature of their work has changed these families are working hard to put food on their table and take care of the children but they were finding that the money runs out before the month while this opposition may not be shared by those across the aisle I firmly believe that everyone who works 35 or 40 hours a week shouldn't have to struggle to get by that is why I'm so pleased our government has made substantial changes to our workplace laws this includes of course the increase to a $14 an hour minimum wage Minister can you please inform this House about how these changes came about and what employees can expect as a result Thank you Thank you Speaker and thank you to the member for that question the conversations that the member outlines that he's had in his community echo what we've all heard across this province over the past three years when we embarked on that very extensive and comprehensive review of our employment laws we knew that things had changed in the province of Ontario since we looked at them last what we heard loud and clear from the people of Ontario was it was time to make some changes that's why we moved forward with our plan to create the fair workplaces in the Better Jobs Act we made the following changes Speaker increase minimum wage two paid personal emergency leave days increase vacation Speaker equal pay for work of equal value domestic and sexual violence leave Speaker Speaker we didn't have support from everybody in the House which is disappointing but not but I'm very proud of the work we've done to increase a lot of ordinary people in the province of Ontario Well, thank you Minister we know our economy is doing well it has led the G7 economic growth for over three years now since the recession we have created over 820,000 new jobs and our employment rate is the lowest point since 2001 our business expanding creating wealth and I believe that everyone deserves to share in that prosperity and yet these are those who and yet there are those who believe if there's still not time for these changes they believe it's too soon they believe $15 and hours too much they believe the working people of this province should wait although they won't say for how long I know the families in North Hamilton West simply cannot wait those who are earning minimum wage deserve a wage that helps them make ends meet and save and save to go ahead Question? Minister in your plan can Ontario expect $15 minimum wage is that subject to change? Thank you Thank you Speaker thank you again for the supplementary Speaker it's very very simple we're going to be increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour as of January 1st 2019 Speaker Speaker we know we know the party across the aisle plans to cancel the increase to $15 to take money away from minimum wage earners that's money they rely on for food Speaker, for rent for transit, for living expenses we on this side of the house don't think that's fair Speaker we don't think it's right we don't think Ontarians should have to wait any longer we phase the minimum wage in over 18 months it's going to be tied back to inflation after the January 2019 increase what it means is it ensures that more workers are benefiting from Ontario's economic growth Speaker you add that to free tuition to rent control to OHIP plus it's just another step towards increasing fairness and creating more opportunity Speaker Speaker we're standing up for workers we have their backs the PCs should come along with us New question? The members from Starville and University River Thank you Mr. Speaker we're standing up for the acting premier the headline in this morning's Toronto Sun Rist quotation biggest fraud in auto insurance is liberal promise to lower race protection clause acting premier under the liberal government watch the auto insurance rates have increased 29% much higher than the inflation rate yet Ontarians already paid 55% higher than the Canadian average and remain the highest car insurance rate in Canada while having one of the lowest claims despite your previous promise why the people of Ontario paying the highest insurance rate in Canada under your leadership Good question Mr. Speaker Minister of Finance Mr. Speaker let me correct the record there the member opposite makes reference to the inflation adjusted term of auto insurance rate he's absolutely wrong if he takes that effect if he takes that measure rates have gone down on average by 11% Thank you Thank you Mr. Speaker through you to the acting premier again Provision election is just around the corner what kind of election promise you're going to make the people of Ontario this time Let me see if I get this right the member opposite has referenced the fact that auto insurance rates have gone up but they've actually have gone down and then he says that what action should we take Last test I won't fail then he makes reference to the steps that are being taken but then he says they're not which in fact they are like the fraud office like the work we're doing with the programs to reduce the overall cost of the auto insurance which is in fact too high in Ontario we acknowledge that that's why we've taken the steps that we have to eliminate some of the fraud Mr. Speaker they vote against those very measures that are helping Ontarians so we will continue to do what's necessary to establish that fraud office to ensure that the minor claims are immediately attended to and ensure that we get rid of the fat that's in the system that's taking abuse Mr. Speaker they should support us on that issue No question the member from London West Thank you speaker my question is to the Acting Premier I'd like to refer the Acting Premier to a document from London Health Sciences Centre called the hallway transfer protocol that was approved on January 31st the protocol sets out the rules for the transfer of patients from the emergency department to the hallway from critical care to the hallway and from the post anesthetic care unit to the hallway the rules include stairwells are not to be used structures are to be lined up on just one side of the hallway patients should be regularly assessed for sleep deprivation in order to prevent incidents of violence Speaker will the Acting Premier accept responsibility for his government's chronic underfunding of our healthcare system that has allowed hallway medicine to become normalized at London Health Sciences Centre Thank you Acting Premier Minister of Education on behalf of Minister of Health and Long-Term Care Minister of Education on behalf of Minister of Health and Long-Term Care Thank you Mr. Speaker and I want to thank the member opposite for that very important question Speaker we recognize that our growing and aging population is facing increasing pressures and that we need to ensure that we are building a solid healthcare system and so speaker I want to talk about some of the things that we are doing in fact in our budget we are making deliberate choices to invest in care for the people of Ontario by investing not just in one place and in one sector but across the board we're investing in hospitals we're investing in home care we're investing in mental health and we're investing in long-term care why because we recognize that we are investing in the people of Ontario because it means a better quality of life Mr. Speaker I want to talk a little bit about what happened under the NDP's watch let's just talk a little bit about their track record after all the NDP's plan will cut 9,645 hospital beds like they did in the past is that what's going to happen is that what's going to happen with your new plan our plan supplementary Again to the acting premier speaker last Thursday the London and District Academy of Medicine held a patient care forum for Londoners to share their experiences with our healthcare system in 2014 David Cameron Tuxera waited four days in a London Health Sciences Centre hallway earlier this month Don Warren waited five days in a London Health Sciences Centre hallway Speaker, hallway medicine has been a reality in London for years and this Liberal government has done nothing to fix it does the acting premier think my transfer protocol at LHSC is an acceptable solution to the years of budget cuts that have led to people lining the hallways of London Health Sciences Centre on a regular ongoing basis Can you see it please Can you see it please Thank you Thank you again Mr. Speaker I want to talk about the investments that we're making so absolutely we are doing everything we can to ensure that we're building a solid healthcare system $822 million in operating funds that's a 4.6% overall increase to increase capacity decrease wait times and improve access to care for families this funding is definitely going to benefit the people of Ontario whether it translates into 26,000 additional MRI operating hours 14,000 more surgical and medical procedures and more cardiac procedures in addition to all of this $19 billion in capital grants to ensure our world-class hospitals will be there to support our province in the future including $2.4 billion as I mentioned for sick kids $1.9 billion over three years to make life more affordable for millions of Ontarians through prescription drugs, OHIP Plus and Ontario Drug and Dental Program Thank you Mr. Speaker my question is to the minister responsible for poverty reduction strategy Speaker on this side of the house we recognize that empowering individuals and families to reach their full potential is the right thing to do we know that a fair Ontario is one that builds every one of us up no matter who you are where you're born that's why our government choose care and progress instead cuts we also know that there is more work to be done in this area Speaker last week the minister released the poverty reduction strategy annual report for 2017 this annual report details province progress on a target like the reduction of child poverty and the reduction of depths of poverty in Ontario could the minister highlight the progress shown on this year's annual report Minister responsible for housing minister of housing and responsible for poverty reduction Thank you Mr. Speaker and I want to thank the member for Trinity Spadina for the question Mr. Speaker I'm so proud to say that Ontarians are really seeing the results of our poverty reduction initiatives the number of children living in poverty is decreased by 19,000 that's a decrease of 24.2% from 2012 we've made investments in full day kindergarten for 260,000 4 and 5 year olds the Ontario child benefit is being delivered directly to individuals and families with low and moderate incomes the OHIP plus pharma care program is providing free prescriptions to Ontarians 24 and under and we're raising the minimum wage to $15 to make sure that working Ontarians can make ends meet we know our economy is strong not everyone is benefitting from that but we're doing everything we can to lift Ontarians out of poverty provide them with more opportunity and more fairness Mr. Speaker I would like to thank the minister for the answer I'm happy to say that my constituents are feeding the benefits of this government's investment through the local poverty reduction fund the province has funded the scouting court community centre in my writing of Trinity Spadina the scouting court community centre offers programming targeted to underservice and culturally diverse groups bringing 500 to 600 visitors daily we also know that there is more to be done it has become clear to my constituents and all those living Ontario that coming June 7th a stark choice is to be made Speaker how will my constituents to know what stand to be lost given the $9.6 billion fiscal whole resulting from the PC's decision to walk away from the cap and trade program well Mr. Speaker I spent four years on Toronto Council with Doug Ford and while his brother had the common touch Doug Ford is out of touch whether it's 9.6 billion fiscal whole does he understand what that means while he was spinning ferris wheels and shopping malls on city council he had no idea about the services that Torontonians depended on from government and he has no idea what Ontarians depend on just one billion of the cuts that he would put in place would roll back all of our housing initiatives in this province it means cutting our programs to help those who are homeless it means taking away the basic income pilot it means cutting real dollars away from our social housing retrofit the person who claims that he cares about the little people and the ones in social housing he's going to cut the money that's going to fix their homes Doug Ford is out of touch Mr. Speaker can you say it please can you say it please no question the member from principle thank you speaker my question is for the premier does the premier believe that a six million dollar salary is acceptable for the CEO of Hydro One thank you minister of energy thank you mr. Speaker once again we talked about this last week but at first I'd like to start off with the weather that we've had over the last couple of days I want to thank all of the Hydro One workers the utilities right across the province for making sure that they get us back and connected so we can have power right across the province as well mr. Speaker moving forward we recognize that salaries mr. Speaker are hard to imagine for many families right across the province mr. Speaker that you know the board will continue to monitor this and mr. Speaker they need to ensure that you know they are bringing forward savings for the rate payers last year the executive at Hydro One were able to find a hundred and fourteen million dollars in savings that led to lower bills for customers mr. Speaker supplementary mr. Speaker back to the premier it's actually shocking to see the liberals defend the six million dollar man and the salary of the CEO at Hydro One when people across the province are struggling to pay their electricity bills they're having to choose between heating and eating under the liberals we've seen the cost of electricity rise by three hundred percent mr. Speaker my question is for the premier does she believe that a six million dollar salary is acceptable for the CEO at Hydro One minister of advanced education is warned minister thank you mr. Speaker once again to the people of Ontario find it acceptable but that party votes against giving them a twenty five percent savings mr. Speaker to the people of Ontario find it acceptable that that party votes against anything to do with climate change mr. Speaker on this side of the house we make sure that we continue to act in the best interest of the people of Ontario the conservatives mr. Speaker will do nothing nothing to lower electricity bills for Ontario families by talking about firing the CEO of Hydro One that doesn't take anything off of anybody's bills mr. Speaker and let's you know let's see what the well-respected business journalists that are talking about mr. Ford's reckless plan mr. Speaker he said the oppressive conservatives have been obsessed with the broadening of ownership spreading misinformation about this company mr. Speaker excuse me withdraw my apologies mr. Speaker I do withdraw that's all you have to say just withdraw thank you thank you he also pointed out that the opposition party seem to forget or leave out every single time Mr. Speaker it must get approval for any rate changes from the Ontario Energy Board and which factors in issues such as employee compensation when making its decisions thank you very much new question remember from well in thank you speaker my questions to the Premier for almost two years my constituent Norm Fowler and his 92 year old wife low income seniors have been fighting with Hydro One to get full compensation after Hydro Cruise accidentally blew up their appliances at their rent geared to income residents in Thorold that's right Speaker 220 volts went through their building at 61 Ormond street in Thorold instead of the intended 110 volts destroying the appliances and Hydro One is refusing to pay the full compensation of $1100 to them Speaker Ontario Democrats have been warning about privatization of Hydro and here we are cutting corners and seniors are left in our community to bear the brunt why is the liberal government allowing vulnerable low income seniors in our communities to pay the expensive price for this government's short cited decisions Thank you Mr. Speaker I want to thank the member for the question and I can say that there are other customers from this complex that are coming forward as well Mr. Speaker and submitting claims and Hydro One will be reviewing every single one of those claims and assessing them on their individual merits Mr. Speaker and I understand that Hydro One is working hard to resolve this matter Mr. Speaker Well Speaker it's been two years that these seniors low income seniors have been waiting for their restitution this error was made at the hands of Hydro One at a residence in my riding that houses low income tenants most of them seniors there now have been forced to pay $1100 to replace their own expenses meanwhile under the liberal governments watch Hydro One executives received $11 million in compensation last year again I asked the premier why does the liberal government continue to allow vulnerable seniors in my riding to bear the brunt for short cited and ill informed decisions Thank you Mr. Speaker once again as I said earlier I understand that Hydro One is actively looking into this customers concerns as we speak and they're also working with the complex where there are other claims being submitted Mr. Speaker you know that said since the broadening of the ownership of Hydro One it has become a better run company under new management Hydro One is improving on a number of service metrics Mr. Speaker first one Hydro One has indicated it has improved the quality of their call center interactions through improved training for staff and performance management additionally since the broadening of ownership around $114 million in savings which help keeps rate payers bills low Mr. Speaker and I know the biggest idea that the NDP has when it comes to energy is to buy back shares of Hydro One will again do nothing to reduce bills Mr. Speaker Hydro rates continue to be regulated by the Ontario Energy Board who have the mandate to protect rate payers Mr. Speaker Thank you Mr. Speaker and my question this morning is to the Attorney General Justice is a key issue that many people across Ontario face daily and I know that our government has made record investments into improving access to justice but there is always more that can be done specifically for our most vulnerable these people are often low income and often marginalized and racialized they need our support the most because as we know the justice system can often be a lengthy and costly process I can guarantee that all of the members have stories about how constituents in going through their cases or trials cannot afford a lawyer they then turn to legal aid in my own riding of Davenport the west Toronto legal clinic and legal aid Ontario overall has been instrumental in supporting those who most need the support but they need more help Can the Attorney General please detail how our government intends to bolster legal aid Thank you very much Mr. Speaker Thank you very much for your report for the question Speaker, we know how important access to justice in Ontario is that is why Ontario is providing more people with affordable access to legal services by increasing the financial eligibility threshold for legal aid by another 6% As of April the 1st Speaker, this year about 140,000 more people are now eligible to receive the legal services they need regardless of the provinces, investments in legal aid Ontario, also known as LAO, to increase access to legal aid services for low income and vulnerable people, province-wide. This is part of Ontario's 2014 commitment to expand access to legal aid services provided by LAO to an additional 1 million Ontarians in 10 years. With more than 500,000 additional people who will be eligible for legal aid, Ontario is now more than halfway to this very important goal. Thank you Mr. Speaker and I would like to thank the Attorney General for his answer. That is excellent news and I'm sure that this funding will be a lot of help in not only my writing of Davenport but across the province in every member's writing. Despite this major investment, I have heard that there are certain communities or groups who have unique needs and whose services need to be tailored towards them. For instance, in my writing of Davenport, in fact across Toronto, there is a large LGBTQ2 community, many of whom have very specific needs. This community has a significantly higher rate of sexual and domestic or intimate partner violence and very low rates of reporting. As many of us have heard, they also have a strained relationship with the justice system. Can the Attorney General please explain how we are going to invest in supporting the LGBTQ2 community? Thank you Minister. Thank you Speaker and the member from Davenport asked a very important question. Speaker, as I have stated, supporting a most vulnerable is a major priority for our government. In our recently announced gender-based violence strategy, we announced a $242 million investment that commends our province to providing further support for survivors and those who are at risk of gender-based violence. We also announced a new pilot speaker. Our government is piloting Canada's first-ever LGBTQ2 community legal clinic right here in Toronto. Speaker, this clinic will be made to meet the need for specialized legal support within this community and work to address the high rate of sexual assault and hopefully encourage people to step forward and improve reporting of abuse. Speaker, because of our government understanding, these sort of investments are crucial to building an inclusive and supportive province. Thank you. New question, the member from Leedscramble. Good morning, my question is for the Premier. Mr Speaker, in the last two weeks, how much money has the Liberal spent campaigning on the taxpayers' dime? Good question. Mr Speaker, and why the member opposite would not want us to talk about the budget plan that we brought in. I understand that they don't want to talk about child care. They don't want to talk about investment in home care or long-term care. They don't want to acknowledge that right now people in this province, even though our economy is growing, even though our unemployment rate is the lowest it's been in 20 years, that not everybody is feeling the benefit of that. We need to step up as a government and provide the care and the tools that people need to be able to care for themselves and care for their families. I understand why this party would not want to talk about that, Mr Speaker, because they have no idea and no plan for how they would meet those needs, how they would help people to care for themselves, Mr Speaker. And so I get why they don't want us talking about our budget, as we do every year, Mr Speaker. Decided, please. Decided, please. Supplementary. Back to the Premier. The Liberals have held no fewer than 25 campaign-style events over the last two weeks. This comes at an incredible expense to the taxpayer. Speaker, will the Liberal Party pay back the taxpayer for their campaign-style events? Put some money in there. So, Mr Speaker, let's talk about what we have been saying as we have been talking to the people of Ontario since we brought the budget in, Mr Speaker. As we do every year, we talk about what is in our budget so people will know what it is we're debating in the legislature, Mr Speaker, and what they can expect as we implement the budget should it pass in the legislature, Mr Speaker. So, we're talking about investing more in seniors' care, Mr Speaker, and in fact, giving caregivers some support when they're looking after an older, loved relative, Mr Speaker, giving them some money to actually be able to keep up the house, Mr Speaker. We are talking about providing child care, free preschool child care, Mr Speaker, for two and a half to four-year-olds. One of the interesting things that the Leader of the Opposition talked about was that was a ridiculous policy because it was for unborn children. Mr Speaker, government exists to put in place the conditions for all children. Can you see it, please? Can you see it, please? Thank you. New question, the member from Oshawa. We just updated Ontario's employment standards, and then you and your government secretly threw in an exemption to limit the personal emergency leave in bereavement days of auto workers. You specifically set your sights on auto workers. This isn't right and it isn't fair. The minister has said that this exemption will help to keep Ontario competitive in the global market. Speaker, Ontario should not be competing in a race to the bottom. We should be setting the standard when it comes to workers' rights. Why does the Premier think it is okay to give auto workers fewer leave days than everybody else? Thank you. Minister of Labor. Thank you, Speaker, and thank you to the member for that question. Speaker, on January the 1st of 2017, after we'd had a consultation with the industry, with stakeholders, and with others involved in the auto industry, Speaker, we put in place a personal emergency leave pilot project in the auto sector. What it required is that auto sector's employers, with more than 50 employees, provide each employee use of up to seven personal emergency leave days, as well as up to three days for the unfortunate death of a family member should that occur, Speaker. Speaker, it was a very specific recommendation of the special advisers of the changing workplaces review. Now, as a result of that, Speaker, of the actions we took on Bill 148, as of January the 1st of 2018, the 50 employee threshold was removed. And for the first time ever, Speaker, all employers in the auto sector are required to make personal emergency leave available to each employee, Speaker. Thank you. Supplementary. Thank you, Speaker. And again to the Premier, you put a specific target on auto workers. However, in my community of Oshawa, cleaners in the GM plants are finding they are being redesignated to auto workers so their leave days can be limited too. When this House was reviewing Ontario's employment standards, both the Liberals and the Conservatives voted against the NDP amendment that would have ensured that everybody had access to the same leave days guaranteed in the new Employment Standards Act. Now we can see why you voted against the fix. This government now can unfairly target any workers in the whole auto industry. I know the Minister has been meeting with Uniform on this issue and I know auto workers in our communities want to know, will you commit today to amending the Employment Standards Act to ensure that all workers get the same access to leave days? Thank you, Minister. Mercedes, please. Mercedes, please. Thank you, Minister. Thank you, Speaker. And thank you to the member for that supplementary speaker. Speaker, with the autostrategy we have in the province of Ontario, we're committed to the success of this provinces auto sector. It's a very highly competitive global economy. And we're going to make sure that that success speaker is shared with the employees that work in the sector. As a labour reforms work out speaker, we continue to engage with stakeholders. This is a pilot project speaker that was put in place in some ways an improved speaker, in some ways it had a neutralizing effect on personal emergency leave. Last week, Speaker, I was able to sit down with Uniform, with a number of people that work in the domestic market speaker, those that work at Toyota, at Honda, Speaker. We're working towards a resolution of this issue, Speaker. We said we would do an evaluation of the pilot project. We're keeping our word. That's exactly what we're doing, Speaker. Thank you. Good question. The member from Beaches East York. Well, thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation. Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples is a top priority for our government. And it's important to recognize that reconciliation is not just an event or an apology. It's a journey that we have committed to taking together with our Indigenous partners. And Speaker, in Beaches East York, I am so proud to go to my local schools and during the morning announcements hear the acknowledgement we make to Indigenous people because I know the next generation is growing up, better understanding their responsibilities to work together. So, Speaker, I understand that last week the Minister was joined by Indigenous partners and former Ministers to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the creation of his ministry. Speaker, will the Minister please tell us more about this event and the work that the Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation has been doing in his tenure and what the Ministry over the last 10 years has been doing together with our Indigenous partners? Thank you, Speaker. Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation. Speaker, the story of the Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation begins with the tragic April Wash Provincial Park actions. But for eight years following that, the then Harris government ignored calls for Indigenous Peoples for an inquiry into the April Wash crisis. But within a month of taking office in 2003, then Attorney General Michael Bryant commissioned an inquiry. The inquiry report recommended, among other things, that the Ministry of Indigenous Relations be established. Last week, I was joined by Indigenous partners and former Ministers and civil servants and other stakeholders to celebrate the 10th anniversary of this ministry. The Ministry closes gaps and removes barriers. It supports cultural revitalization It's a meaningful source of resolutions to the historic grievances of Indigenous Peoples. Thank you. Supplementary. Well, thank you, Speaker. I want to thank the Minister for not just his answers, Speaker, but for the stalwart work that he puts into his ministry and building bridges with our Indigenous partners. In the story of the Ministry's creation, I hear of a government that listens, that cares, and that takes action. Realizing a pause of social change can take a long time and we've seen a great deal of good come from the work that this ministry has done across government over the past 10 years. In fact, in just the past four years, I've seen our government officially apologize for Ontario's role in the residential school system and make a historic $250 million commitment to reconciliation through the journey together. We've also committed $108 million to take action to end violence against Indigenous women. And we've passed the Tree Recognition Week Act, making Ontario the first province to officially celebrate this week in November. Finally speaking, we've made Indigenous history and culture a mandatory part of Ontario's curriculum and Ontario's culture. Can the Minister tell us more about these incredible steps that we are taking together with our Indigenous partners moving towards reconciliation? Minister? Speaker, last year a week we heard from Indigenous partners who joined us for this celebration just how significant the work of the ministry was. As we mark the first decade of this new ministry devoted to Indigenous issues, it is important to look back and take stock and rededicate ourselves. But Speaker, I am worried. I am worried that this ministry is at risk if the Conservative government is elected next fall. Speaker, we've seen time and time again that Indigenous issues are at the bottom of the Progressive Conservatives agenda. They voted against our $250 million commitment to reconciliation twice, not to mention our $1 billion commitment to the Ring of Fire infrastructure. Speaker, reconciliation is more than worth it's action, it's commitments. This government has shown that the official opposition has not and will not. Thank you. Can you see it, please? Can you see it, please? Thank you. No question to the member from Elgin Middle Sex Land. Thank you, Speaker. Speaker, my question is to the Premier, Premier, surgery wait times in Ontario have reached catastrophic levels. Last week, Ottawa resident Ruth McKenzie witnessed firsthand your government's health care failures when her surgery was cancelled moments before going under the knife. And a question for the Premier is does she think it's acceptable to cancel surgeries moments before scheduled surgeries that take place? Good question. Mr. Speaker, I don't know the specifics of that situation and I'm sure that the member opposite will share it with the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. But Mr. Speaker, again, I hope that this concern that the member opposite is expressing will encourage him to vote for the budget, Mr. Speaker, in which we have included a significant investment $822 million, Mr. Speaker, to hospitals, including, Mr. Speaker, more funding for home care, more funding for mental health care, Mr. Speaker. I hope that this member sees that it is imperative that we continue to invest in our health care system. Every year, Mr. Speaker, we have included an increased funding to our hospitals, to home care, to health care across the province, Mr. Speaker. But we recognize we recognize that there is more that we need to do. So I hope the member opposite will be supporting us as we bring forward our budgetary change. Supplementary. Thank you, Speaker. Back to the Premier. Speaker, it's interesting the Premier answers that question as such considering it was her government to froze hospital funding for five years. It was her government that attacked our doctor it's her government that built the infrastructure of bureaucracy reducing the funds reaching our patients in the front lines. Mr. Speaker, this government has been a failure in managing health care and is only promising the world as a last minute game in order to gain votes. Mr. Speaker, this is the second time the surgery for Mrs. McKenzie has been canceled because of this government's failures. Last month it was canceled because of overcrowding in the hospital because the government failed in supporting the hospitals during the flu season. Two canceled surgeries of one month but it's becoming the norm in this province. Last month the London patient had to have their bypass surgery canceled the last moment for the fourth time. It's unacceptable the level of care this government is providing to people in Ontario. Will the minister call the Ottawa hospital and ask that that surgery reschedule ASAP? Well again Mr. Speaker I don't know the specifics of the individual case that the member opposite is raising but I know that he will share that information with the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. But it's interesting Mr. Speaker what the member opposite said about the budgets from year to year Mr. Speaker we have increased funding every year to hospitals and across the health care system Mr. Speaker an organization like the Fraser Institute Mr. Speaker which I think the member opposite can agree is not exactly an organization that is friendly to our government but the Fraser Institute has joined with Kaihai Mr. Speaker the wait times alliance they have all agreed that Ontario is at the very top the best for wait times in this country Mr. Speaker so that is the reality that's the truth of the situation that we are leading the country in terms of wait times Mr. Speaker but even with that we recognize that there is more that we can do and again I call on the member opposite to support the budget because in that budget is a significant increase in funding specifically to hospitals as well as to mental health and to home care Mr. Speaker Thank you Today in the Speaker's gallery we have some very special guests the Honourable Edmund G. Jerry Brown Jr the Governor of California he's also accompanied by Juan Alasio the Consul General of the United States also the former MPP for the riding of Nipissing during the 34th and 39th parliaments and currently Ontario's representative in Washington Ms. Monique Smith One more time my wife Rosemarie Point of order the Premier Order Mr. Speaker and I just want to add my welcome to yours to Governor Brown and to thank him this morning at Mars we had a terrific session on climate change on the the cap and trade system because our markets are linked California Ontario Quebec and we are reducing pollution in our three jurisdictions and moving ahead and leading the world Mr. Speaker The member from Tobico Center on a point of work Cap and Trade Doug Ford Legislature to help you welcome two leaders of the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance who joined us partway through question period we have with us Stephanie Bolotto who's the VP University Affairs at Wilfred Wilfred Laurier University and a member of Ussah Steering Committee and Landon Talk who's Ussah's VP Finance Welcome to Queen's Park We have a deferred vote on the motion of second reading of Bill 6 an act to enact the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services Act 2018 Correctional Services and Reintegration Act 2018 to make related amendments to other acts to repeal and enact and to revoke regulations Calling the members this will be a five minute bell All members please take your seats On March 27th, 2018 Madame Lalon moves second reading of Bill 6 an act to enact the Ministry of Community and Safety of Correctional Services Act 2018 and the Correctional Services and Reintegration Act 2018 to make related amendments to other acts to repeal and act and to revoke the regulations All those in favour of your eyes one of the time be recognized by the clerk Mr. Gates Mr. French All those opposed please rise one of the time be recognized by the clerk Mr. Nichols Mr. Nickles Mr. Harden Mr. Harden Mr. Clark Mr. Clark Mr. Smith Mr. Smith Mr. Smith Mr. Yakubusky Mr. Yakubusky Mr. Hillier Mr. Hillier Mr. Miller Perry Salmaskoka Mr. Miller Perry Salmaskoka Mr. Mr. McNot Mr. McNot Mr. Scott Mr. Scott Mr. Scott Mr. Thompson Mr. Thompson Mr. Barrett Mr. Barrett Mr. Marteau Mr. Marteau Mr. Yurek Mr. Yurek Mr. Walker Mr. Walker The ayes are 55, the nays are 18 The ayes being 55, the nays being 18 I declare the motion carried Second reading of the bill Mr. Yurek Mr. Yurek Mr. Yurek Pursuant to the order of the house dated April 12, 2018 the bill is ordered referred to the standing committee on justice policy There being no further deferred votes this house stands recess until 1 p.m. this afternoon