 It is therefore time for a question period. The Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition. Thank you and good morning, Speaker. My question is for the Premier. Premier, one of these CEO salaries is not like the others. Manitoba Hydro, $466,000. Saskatchewan Power, $481,000. B.C. Hydro, $489,000. Quebec Hydro, $543,000. Hydro, $1,6.2 million. Mr. Speaker, how does the Premier justify her $6 million man? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is very important that we acknowledge and recognize, Mr. Speaker, that executive salaries are high compared to the vast majority of Ontario salaries. And, Mr. Speaker, we remain committed to Hydro One's regulation, accountability, and transparency through our government's involvement as a majority shareholder. That said, Mr. Speaker, Hydro One is now a publicly traded company, not a government entity. And Hydro One, Mr. Speaker, also reports that 80% of the company's CEO compensation is paid out only if aggressive performance targets are met, targets that lead to more affordable bills for customers, Mr. Speaker. So since broadening ownership of Hydro One, the company's leadership has already made $114 million in savings for their customers, Mr. Speaker. These significant savings have been realized through enhancement to customer service, Mr. Speaker, and the company's commitment to lowering costs for the rate payers, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Supplementary. Well, back to the Premier. Last year was a windfall for Hydro One execs. The Millionaires Club is a site to behold. The President and CEO, Mayo Schmidt, $6.2 million in speaker, that's after an increase just this year alone. The increase is $1.7 million. The former CFO, $1.2 million. The senior vice president and acting CFO just under a million. The COO made $2.1 million. One executive vice president made $2 million and another $1.9 million. This is outrageous, Speaker. They all make more money than the CAOs of any other hydro company. Mr. Speaker, while the average family struggles to make ends meet, how does the Premier justify paying her Millionaires Club? Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Once again, Hydro One's rates continue to be set by the Ontario Energy Board, Mr. Speaker. And when taking this into consideration, the board is the energy sector's independent regulator with a mandate to protect the province's electricity consumers and it continues to deliver on its mandate. So for instance, last fall, the board kept a portion of executive compensation at Hydro One for electricity customers and they're required to fund that at 10% of base salaries, saving rate payers $30 million over this year and next, Mr. Speaker. And we understand that affordability is critical for families and businesses, which is why we launched the Fair Hydro Plan, which reduced rates by 25% on average for all residential customers and as many as a half a million small businesses and farms, Mr. Speaker. Once again, it is important to emphasize that this salary is only paid if aggressive performance targets are met, targets that lead to more affordable bills for rate payers. Final supplementary. Back to the Premier. I can't believe, Speaker, that this government is defending this. The Premier once said, quote, any decision of that magnitude would require a two-thirds majority of the Hydro One board of directors, which means that having 40% ownership protects us. She added, with 40% ownership of the board, that would require that the people of Ontario have a say. She went on one step further, Speaker, and said, quote, will there be the ability of the government to retain control over major decisions because of that 40% ownership? Yes. So that means, Speaker, the Premier is responsible for these outrageous salaries. Mr. Speaker, how can the Premier be trusted when she is signing off on the $6 million salary? Here, here, here. Thank you. Minister? Once again, we recognize, Mr. Speaker, that these executive salaries are high compared to the vast majority of Ontario salaries. And we remain committed to Hydro One's regulation and accountability and transparency through our government's involvement as a majority shareholder, Mr. Speaker. But let's look at what the opposition is claiming. They're claiming that they're concerned about lowering electricity bills. But when it came for them to take action, Mr. Speaker, what did they do? They voted against the fair hydro plan, Mr. Speaker. And now, because they don't support fighting climate change, they'll have to cut billions in programs that Ontarians count on every single day. They'll have to cut programs like free childcare, like OHIP Plus, like free tuition or dental or prescription coverage, Mr. Speaker. Unlike their half-baked scheme, Ontarians know that we have a plan to increase fairness and create more opportunity, Mr. Speaker. We'll continue to do that for the people of Ontario, Mr. Speaker. We'll continue to act to make sure that we've got their best interests at heart. Thank you. In this round of questions, you've asked me to put warnings on, and I shall. We're in warnings. New question, the leader of the opposition. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Premier. The member from Mississauga Streetsville is proud of this government's debt. He specifically said, quote, we have tripled, referring to the debt, and we're proud of it. The people of Ontario want to know if the Premier shares these sentiments. Mr. Speaker, is the Premier proud that she has saddled our grandchildren with her debt? I think she might have done it. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, let me just talk about the plan that we have been implementing, Mr. Speaker, and we are going to continue to build on as we brought our budget forward, Mr. Speaker. You know, what we know is that there are people across this province, whether it's a family with a teenager who's looking for mental health challenges, and I know that the girls' government group is going to be talking about mental health today, Mr. Speaker, whether it's a young mom who can't find childcare, wants to get back into work, but can't find childcare that she can afford, Mr. Speaker, or whether it's someone working in a minimum wage job, Mr. Speaker, who today has more money in his pocket. Member from Renfrew, Nipissing, Pembroke is warned. Finish, please. Because the minimum wage is now $14 an hour, and we'll go to $15 an hour. Those are the people who we are fighting for, Mr. Speaker, and that is the care that we know is needed in this province. Do you see it, please? Do you see it, please? Thank you. Supplementary. Well, back to the Premier. What we do know is that this government has put our province's future in doubt, Speaker. In no way, in no way at all is tripling the debt, a responsible thing to do. Ontario has the highest debt of any province or state on the entire planet, Speaker. This is crowding out the services we all depend on, like healthcare and education, which is why this Premier fired 1,600 nurses and closed 600 schools, Speaker, more than any other government in the history of our province. This debt is putting an unfair burden on our children and grandchildren. Mr. Speaker, the government's debt is the reason they cut services instead of caring about families. Here, here. No, Mr. Speaker, I know that the member opposite knows that we've built 800 schools. I know he knows that, 780. But, Mr. Speaker, the reality is that if we do not make these investments in people, then we will be in a situation where our economy will not continue to grow. We have balanced the budget this year, Mr. Speaker. We've made investments in infrastructure across the province, Mr. Speaker. And we know that at this moment, what is needed in Ontario is an investment in people, an investment in their care, an investment in giving them the tools so that they can care for themselves and they can care for their families. Mr. Speaker, the member opposite is standing up for a party that has promised that they will cut billions out of education, billions out of healthcare, and billions out of services to people in this country. A member from the P. and Carlton is warned. And I do know that someone in a certain area did say something on parliamentary, but if I actually knew exactly who it was, I'd ask them to withdraw. I'm not playing. Final supplementary. Mr. Speaker, well, the people are disappointed that making up stories for political gains seems to be the new approach of the Premier, Speaker. And quite frankly, we are shocked that this Premier is defending the member from Mississauga Streetsville. What else does she defend from this member? He has advocated for higher taxes on hardworking families. On his website, the member from Mississauga Streetsville called on the federal government to raise the GST by 1%. He wrote, quote, the feds should restore one percentage point of the GST removed during the previous decade, raising it to 6%. Mr. Speaker, does the Premier support the member's statement on new taxes as well? Is she going to be calling on Prime Minister Trudeau to raise the GST? Thank you. Thank you. Very much, Mr. Speaker. Well, I invite the member opposite to read our budget, Mr. Speaker. I invite the member opposite to look at the policies that we're putting in place, Mr. Speaker. I invite the member opposite to talk to the people in his community who are looking for childcare, who are looking for mental health services, Mr. Speaker. Member from Leeds-Grenville is warned. Finish, please. Who are working on minimum wage, Mr. Speaker. I invite the member opposite to talk to those people and ask them their thoughts on getting more support. Mr. Speaker, we know that this party is capable of cutting billions out of the public service, out of education, out of health care. They've done it before, Mr. Speaker, and they would do it again. Thank you. Thank you. The Minister of Children and Youth Services is warned. New question. The leader of the third party. Thank you, Speaker. Speaker, my question is for the Premier. The Premier seems to think that children's dental care cost $50 a year, because that's how much is in her liberal budget to look after kids' teeth. I haven't heard many dentist offices myself, Speaker, that will clean a child's teeth, do an x-ray, a check-up, maybe fill a cavity for $50. If she has, I know a lot of parents will want that phone number. Does the Premier know any dentist who will actually look after a child's teeth for $50, and will she give out that telephone number to the parents of Ontario? Thank you. You know, I actually have no quarrel with the leader of the third party that there needs to be support for families in this province for dental care and pharmacare, Mr. Speaker. We recognize that. We put in place OHIP+. And, Mr. Speaker, for years, we've been working on the Healthy Smiles program, on expanding it, Mr. Speaker. There are 450,000 kids who access important dental services through the Healthy Smiles program, Mr. Speaker. So this for us is not a new issue. This is something that we have been working on, and we recognize needs more work, Mr. Speaker. I'm very happy that the leader of the third party is now coming on side and is concerned about this, Mr. Speaker. We will continue to work with the dentist, with the community, to find ways of supporting. But this money that is in our budget, Mr. Speaker, will help families to access more support for their kids. Thank you, supplementary. Speaker, Hamilton's Medical Officer of Health says that 42% of grade 2 students in Hamilton have tooth decay. $50 per child won't fix that, Speaker. And neither has this Liberal government's Healthy Smiles program. Promising to send voters a $50 check isn't a dental plan, Speaker. It looks more like vote buying. The Liberals have ignored people's... The leader will withdraw. The draw, Speaker. Promising to send voters a $50 check isn't a dental plan. The voters can decide for themselves exactly what it is. The Liberals have ignored people's dental care needs, Speaker, for 15 years. Is this Liberal Premier trying to get votes or trying to get kids to the dentist? Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And as I said, for a number of years we have been putting more supports in the way for Healthy Smiles, all of which improve Mr. Leader and her party have voted against, Mr. Speaker. Let's just be clear about what this program is. There would be reimbursements up to a maximum of $400 per single person, Mr. Speaker. $600 per couple and $700 for a family of four with two children. Mr. Speaker, I know that it is not all that is needed. I know that there's more that needs to be done and we will continue to find ways to support families as they look for care for their kids. Mr. Speaker, we're also putting in place free preschool childcare, Mr. Speaker. We're expanding the free tuition program, Mr. Speaker. It is not in isolation that we were putting these programs in place, Mr. Speaker. We understand that people need support. Putting some dental care and pharmacare in place is part of that, but it's part of a much bigger package of support that we recognize families need across the province. Thank you. Final supplementary. I didn't actually have a plan to ensure children in Ontario can see a dentist. That's obvious. Doug Ford and the Conservatives would be even worse, quite frankly. The solution to a bad choice isn't picking something worse, Speaker. New Democrats will ensure that every child in Ontario can see a dentist no matter where they live or how much money their parents earn. Why doesn't the Premier believe in universal access to dental care, Speaker? I believe in universal access. You know, the lead of the third party talks about universal access and yet the small plan for pharmacare that she put forward would only have covered 110 prescription medications, Mr. Speaker. Our program, which is universal for all children from their birth till their 25th birthday and next year for seniors will cover all 4400 medications, Mr. Speaker. Angle, Mr. Speaker, but I believe that we both understand were we to build a Medicare system today pharmacare and dental care would be part of that, Mr. Speaker. Unfortunately, we can't roll the clock back to 1969 and so we are building in those supports, but do I believe that they need to be broader and they need to be national? Absolutely, Mr. Speaker, and I will continue to fight for that. Good question. The leader of the third party. Speaker, my next question is to the Premier. Maybe she should roll the clock back to 2003. We should have started back then, Speaker. Perhaps we should have a Premier who understands what the word universality means. You know, last week I met Gary in Oshawa who told me about having to pull his own tooth, Speaker, his own tooth because he couldn't afford the dental work. He has a hole in his mouth now and can only chew on the left side of his mouth. Worse than pulling his own tooth was having to leave the dentist's office with his son unable to afford the dental work. I'm not saying that his child would have to wait months in pain until he could afford the dental filling. A delay that made the cavity worse, made the pain worse and made the work more expensive. This should not be happening in Ontario. For 15 years the Liberals didn't help Gary or his son or many, many families like them and their dental scheme still wouldn't. Why not? Our health and long-term care is going to want to comment but, Mr. Speaker, we have not waited until now to address this issue. The leader of the third party would perpetuate that, but that is not true. We have been building the Healthy Smiles program. We recognize that there is a huge challenge for families across the province. This budget introduces a benefit, a new Ontario drug and dental plan program. It will reimburse families up to $700 for a family, a couple with two children, Mr. Speaker. And we've also committed to extending public dental programs to low-income adults by 2025. We recognize that there is a problem, Mr. Speaker. We have been working to solve it. We will continue to work to solve it. This is not a new issue even though the leader of the third party has come to this issue of late, Mr. Speaker. We have been working to find solutions. We've been working with the dental community. We will continue to do that, Mr. Speaker. We are putting this program in place. Well, Mr. Speaker, I guess the premier forgot about the other question when I talked about the 42% of grade 2 students with dental decay. That shows you how ineffective their Healthy Smiles program has been, Mr. Speaker. Jordan Dottori is studying to be a social worker in Sarnia, and she wants to make Ontario a better place for people. She's lucky to have some dental coverage at school, but it's only $500 that she splits between her care and the care of her son. Last week she found out that she's going to need $1,200 worth of work to fix an abscess tooth. Even with her insurance and with the premier's plan, Jordan would be out of pocket, and so she can't afford to get her abscess done. Jordan needs full dental coverage, Speaker. Jordan's son needs full dental coverage. Why doesn't the premier get that? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And certainly our government recognizes the important of good oral health care for the people in this province, and that's precisely why we have, through the years that we've been in government, been expanding our programs in this regard. The premier has mentioned the Healthy Smiles program. This has expanded coverage and now covers some 470,000 children across this province for important dental services. It includes free, preventive, routine and emergency dental services for children and youth from low-income households across the province, and there is no limit to our funding for the Healthy Smiles program. We work with dentists to ensure that every single eligible child has the necessary services available. And of course, with our budget, we have extended this coverage to vulnerable people in the province where they do not have any extended health benefits themselves. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Final supplementary. Speaker, I believe in universal health care. The premier and her government has spent 15 years overcrowding hospitals. I believe in pharmacare for everyone. The premier is picking and choosing who she thinks will help her win an election. I believe everyone should be able to see a dentist. The premier wants to pay for only the premier believe in health and dental care for everyone, Speaker. Thank you, Minister. Well, Mr. Speaker, of course, we didn't pick and choose which drugs to cover in our OHIT Plus coverage. We coverage all the drugs under the Ontario Drug Benefit Plan, those that are deemed eligible for that plan. And of course, we have been providing dental care in many different ways to vulnerable people in Ontario. Our government does provide dental benefits for individuals receiving income support under the Ontario Disability Support Program. For those who are on Ontario works, they also may receive dental coverage when in the need of emergency dental care or to help them get back on their feet and participate in employment assistance activities. We have taken many steps to improve dental care in this province and our budget takes it to the next level. Mr. Speaker, people will be receiving up to 80% of eligible expenditures to a certain limit. It's an excellent step forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Speaker. My question is for the premier. The Liberal government just made a $31 million payout to the Terrell English Catholic Teachers Association a month before the election. Harvey Bischoff, president of the secondary school teachers federation, described a settlement on Friday as a dirty deal that clearly wasn't done. Sam Hammond, president of the elementary teachers federation of Ontario called the payment outrageous. He went on to say is this a way for the Liberals to reward their political allies and retaliate against the elementary teachers federation of Ontario and others for successfully challenging the government's violation of our charter rights. Does the Liberal government share the concerns of Ontario's major teachers' unions? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I'm pleased to rise and speak about this very important issue and to sort of create some clarity about what's going on. First of all, Mr. Speaker, I want to make sure that the member opposite understands that this is the superior court directed all parties to work together to reach a resolution on remedy. And so they directed all of us to do that and I'm pleased to say we have reached agreements with the OSSTF, with OPSU, with QP and with UNIFOR. In addition to this, this is about also mitigating further risks and further constitutional challenges. And so we are moving forward by ensuring, Mr. Speaker, that our school systems continue smoothly without disruptions. And so what we're doing is proactively moving forward with further settlements and agreements with associations to ensure that we are resolving any grievances that may be out there and ensuring that we are preparing for the future. I'm happy to answer more. Thank you. Back to the Premier. A $31 million payout a month before the election is rightly raising some eyebrows and concerns. Whether it's school closures, violence in the classrooms or the mental health prices in elementary and secondary schools, the Liberal government only seems to care about education when it helps their political self-interest. Speaker, is the Liberal government trying to buy support a month before the election? The member will withdraw. Draw, Speaker. Thank you. Minister. I want to point out that the Superior Court directed all parties to work together to reach a resolution on remedy. And so we have moved forward with agreements with the OSSTF, with OPSU, with QP, and with Unifor. And now we have ongoing discussions with five different groups. As you heard, we just settled with OECTA. We're also looking at five different other groups including AFO, OCW and principals to just name a few. Why? Because we want to mitigate the risk of further constitutional challenges. Mr. Speaker, this is called doing our due diligence. Ensuring that the school system is there, is strong, and is working for all parties and everyone there. So to ensure that our children do get the best quality education they can. The parties are at the various bargaining tables, had different priorities in their negotiations, and so it takes time to ensure that we are doing everything we can to reach agreements with all of these various pieces and all of these various associations. But we are doing our best to ensure that we are doing what needs to get done. Thank you. Thank you. New question, the member from Nickel Belt. Thank you Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Premier. Ask any nurse, ask any healthcare professional, any physician, or any families who need healthcare and they will tell you there is a crisis of hallway medicine and overcrowding inside Ontario's hospitals. Under this Premier's watch hospitals have been forced to cut beds, cut nurses, cut care year after year, making wait time longer for people who need that care. But instead of fixing the problem with a plan to end hallway medicine and fund hospital properly every year the Premier is disappointing people once again. New Democrats have a plan to end hallway medicine why doesn't this government thank you Minister of Health, Minister of Health Thank you Mr. Speaker and of course this is really goes to the heart of our budget proposals which I'm sure the member opposite is aware of. We have invested each and every year in our hospitals and in this year in particular we are making if passed if the opposition parties might actually read our budget and perhaps pass it with us we are proposing an additional investment of $822 million for Ontario's publicly funded hospitals so this is a 4.6% overall increase it will increase capacity it will decrease wait times and it will improve access to care for families across Ontario it means 26,000 additional MRI operating hours, 14,000 more surgical and medical procedures and 3,000 more cardiac procedures and of course in many other areas also capacity will be increased through this major investment Thank you supplementary Thank you Speaker for four straight years the Premier froze hospital budget meaning deep cuts to the care that people count on now, patients are being treated in hallways, emergency room wait time have hit record high in hospital from London to Toronto, Ottawa to Sudbury Thunder Bay and beyond are all dangerously overcrowded but instead of fixing the problem this Premier is leaving the hospital sector in the dark without a long term plan to end hallway medicine once and for all why is this government letting people down and refusing to fix the crisis inside a hospital that this Liberal government cuts created Thank you Well in the last week I've had the opportunity to visit many hospitals across this province and I have been hearing from hospital CEOs from board members what exactly are investments going to mean and they are receiving it extremely positively and they know perfectly well that we have made investments each year of additional capacity to our hospitals last year it was some $500 million to hospitals and then of course in the fall because of the poor flu season and some particular circumstances we added capacity across the continuum of care by adding 1200 hospital beds and another 800 spaces in the community for patient care across the province that was equivalent to 6 new medium sized hospitals so here is to know if the third parties plan coming up when we finally do it would again cut the 9,645 beds as they did in the past Thank you Mr. Speaker My question this morning is to the Minister of Tourism Culture and Sport Library support children learn provide resources for students in newcomers and help small businesses and entrepreneurs to develop a valuable role in communities across the province whether they are urban, rural or indigenous and I know how important the Perth Dupont the Bloor Lansdown and the Dufferin St. Clair libraries are in my riding of Davenport In 2016 1141 library service points across Ontario received over 71 million in-person visits 104 million electronic visits. Along with many Ontarians I was thrilled to see in this year's budget additional funding allocated towards libraries across the province this includes support for both operating and digital public library funding Mr. Speaker through you to the Minister can you tell the members of this House more about how important libraries are in our communities Minister of Tourism Culture Thank you Mr. Speaker I want to thank the member for Davenport for that important question Under this government's culture we made a pledge to continue to support services like libraries that boost the quality of life in all our communities more funding is going to ensure that libraries across the province can continue to respond to the needs of residents. Speaker on this side of the House we're always looking for ways to ensure that libraries have the supports in place that they need to thrive by way of comparison Speaker the party opposite does not mention the word culture even once in its election platform and more troubling the leader of the opposition vowed to close libraries during his time as a Toronto councillor he said that he would close a library in his writing in quote a heartbeat and even went so far as to suggest that there are more libraries than Tim Hortons in his writing which was an exaggeration that proved to be false. Speaker our government remains committed to supporting essential hubs like libraries that do connect people with the community and the community and the community. Thank you to the minister for that response libraries are indeed the pillars of knowledge in our city's towns and local communities not only are they a resource to grab your favorite literary titles but they are an integral tool when it comes to supporting our educational institutions and as a mom of two young boys I know firsthand how important libraries are to support school projects and provide help to expand the knowledge and insight of the communities that they service and are meant to connect people to the resources in a way that is easily accessible and efficient. Mr. Speaker can the minister please elaborate on the funding available to libraries announced in this year's budget. Thank you minister. Thank you speaker and thank you to the member for that question and I too was a mother of three spent many hours in our local public library a speaker the member noted that libraries are a vehicle of knowledge within our local communities and that's why I'm proud to say that our government is making the most significant investment in public libraries in a generation we are investing 79 million more into public libraries including 51 million over three years in annual increases and 28 million over three years to launch a province-wide digital public library this investment is going to help public libraries reduce costs of accessing digital content such as e-books and films and give public library users across Ontario access to digital content and speaker this is especially important in rural and remote areas I want to thank the Ontario Library Association and the Federation of Ontario Public Libraries for their strong advocacy for public libraries right across the province of Ontario. Thank you. Member from Lannard Farm, thank you speaker. My question is to the acting Premier yesterday morning the member from Ancaster Dundas Flambore Westdale made a serious accusation he accused Doug Ford and I quote deliberately breaking the law it was then retweeted by former journalist turned liberal shill Ashley Chinati from the Premier's office not only is the accusation egregious and false the law they are accusing the leader of the progressive Conservative party of breaking does not even exist. Mr. Speaker this is quite literally false news it is reprehensible yet unsurprising that a former minister of this government and the Premier's office would have such a distorted view of the laws in Ontario. Will the acting Premier apologize on behalf of the Premier's office to the member for spreading such willful misrepresentations. Mr. Speaker the member makes reference to a situation I believe it's the fact that the opposition haven't really presented their plan and they have a plan but they haven't costed it and what they have they had a plan that they then threw away and I think the real question that's being asked by the people of Ontario is what's your plan how is it going to be costed and what are the effects that people of Ontario what are the cuts that they are making people want to know Mr. Speaker supplementary again back to the acting Premier Mr. Speaker the member from Hamilton from Lancaster Dundas made a false statement there was no response I asked for an apology now maybe as a former minister and in that role he became accustomed to engaging and spreading false news however the facts do matter Speaker and the facts clearly show I I was lenient for a certain amount of time but now you continue to repeat yourself under the premise of a false suit would you please withdraw and stay away from it thank you much information we read on the internet must be questioned in research the Premier's office should not be engaging in those sorts of activities it's unacceptable it's inappropriate and it's intolerable that the former minister is both ignorant of the laws and the facts Mr. Speaker I didn't hear an apology or an answer to my first question will this Liberal government apologize for spreading bull Mr. Speaker the member opposite makes reference to the fact that their leader is making bumper sticker slogans and is not substantiating it with any real facts or determination they had a plan they costed the plan we know the plan put 16 billion dollars in the red come forward and tell the people of Ontario what's in your plan the member from Prince Edward Hastings is warned Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker my question is the Minister of Health Donna Quay gave me a call in my constituency office last week and we've been dealing with Donna's issue since 2016 we wrote a letter to the previous minister she has TM joint disorder and that has to do with the joint in your lower jaw it's a really grey area between OHIP and dental care this lady's been fighting this for 20 years it's got to the point where she needs to have her joints replaced but why she called is because not so much for herself but for others because if she could have had a dental care program some of her problems would have been fixed what is $400 going to do for Donna Quay thank you well certainly Mr. Speaker we understand that there are many dental conditions that can be very troublesome one the member alluded to is temporal mandibular joint pain and I certainly my heart goes out to the individual who is clearly suffering and whatever my ministry can do to assist in any way will certainly pursue thank you Mr. Speaker because we do recognize that dental care is extremely important it's an important aspect of people's overall health and that's precisely why in this budget we have made a proposal to improve coverage for those without a dental plan there are other avenues for people to pursue and in this particular case I will certainly take this case back thank you thank you new question member from Kingston in the audience Mr. Speaker my question is for the minister I apologize I apologize Mr. Speaker thank you for the answer minister but that doesn't help people like Donna who if Donna had access to a dental program 15 years ago she would still be a functioning part of the society instead of if this is not for everyone this might not be totally disabling but in this case it was totally disabling and coming from Northern Ontario a lot of times you don't even qualify for Northern Health travel grants so we need people need dental coverage so their life isn't ruined why has this government refused to implement full dental coverage 15 years ago and why does it continue to refuse to do so now thank you Mr. Speaker well I've been here for 10 years and I don't remember the third party who were raising this issue over those years until extremely recently and of course precisely this is why we have introduced our new Ontario drug and dental program I'm hoping the parties opposite will support it because we are taking the next step to ensure everyone in Ontario has access to the health that they need so no matter how old they are what they do for a living where they live obviously we care deeply about the health status of Northern Ontarians and this is a part of our plan to support care and opportunity and make life more affordable for Ontarians and so as the member opposite is very clear I'm sure we are offering the $400 for a single individual $600 for a couple and $750 for a family of four this is an excellent step forward thank you Mr. Speaker I apologize to the member from Tmiskamie Cochran for missing his rotation new question member from Kingston Mr. Speaker my question is for the Minister of Infrastructure this year's budget outlined a bold progressive plan for care and opportunity in Ontario it includes investments in the services people need and deserve like pharmacare, childcare and mental health but it also includes historic investments in the infrastructure that people need to live the best lives possible and fully participate in our economy no matter what part of Ontario they call home I'm particularly excited about the government's latest commitment to broadband infrastructure which was featured in our budget providing access to fast reliable internet isn't just good for the economy it enhances the quality of life it means students can complete their homework online small businesses can make their goods available to a wider audience and people can connect with loved ones question distant communities Mr. Speaker can the Minister please tell us about the broadband investment announced in the budget thank you Minister of Infrastructure Thank you Mr. Speaker thanks to the member from Kingston and the islands for the question Speaker infrastructure is much more than bricks and mortar it is also fiber optic cable connecting our rural and northern communities to high speed internet to participate in the changing global economy Speaker people need fast reliable internet as an essential service that is why our government has already invested $530 million in digital infrastructure since 2007 and this includes $90 million for the Southwest over $62 million for Northern First Nation communities and $130 million for R&D for new 5G networking on top of that Speaker our budget includes an additional $500 million for improved broadband bringing our total commitment to over $1 billion Speaker if the Conservatives actually care for rural and northern Ontario they will vote for these budget measures Thank you to the Minister for sharing some of the details on these essential investments these projects referenced by the Minister of Infrastructure highlight the importance of expanding broadband in Ontario and will further complement previous investments in broadband made by this government I'm excited to hear that these projects have a particular focus on improving access to those living and working in rural northern and indigenous communities in Ontario in addition to allowing rural Ontarians to fully participate in the 21st century economy and access these basic services accessible and affordable broadband is essential to the work that they do Mr. Speaker as you know fast and reliable broadband access is a key ingredient to unlocking enormous economic potential in our rural communities Mr. Speaker, Mr. President can the Minister please tell us about how broadband investments benefit rural Ontario Question, thank you Minister Speaker to the Minister of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs Well, thank you very much Mr. Speaker and I do appreciate the investment it will certainly help the wonderful residents of Kingston and the islands it helps families to stay in touch connect small businesses, connect the world and allows the rural communities to participate and compete in this economy our government is very serious about getting Ontarians connected that's why we're putting $71 million towards the $200 million expansion broadband expansion particularly to my good friends from our regional network approaches like these of course are going to help businesses just last week along with my colleague the Honourable Stephen Del Ducat we're at the Canada candy operation in beautiful Coburg Ontario at the same time we announced announcements that are made to tools at Bear Positary in the city of Corthill Lakes access to broadband has the potential to create and retain high skilled jobs, increase productivity and promote innovation in the province of Ontario this is important corporate investment not corporate welfare Mr. Speaker very good the question the member from Perth Wellington thank you Speaker my question is to the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services last spring I introduced a private members bill the Ray and Walter Act it's named in honour of two North Perth fire service members Ken Ray and Ray Walder who died battling a fire in March of 2011 the bill would require buildings with trust and lightweight construction to display a decal that alerts firefighters ahead of time this information is absolutely essential the Ray and Walder Act passed unanimously at second reading but the bill died when this government for political reasons decided to prorogue the legislature to the Minister now that I've mentioned the Ray and Walder Act will she agree to fast track Mr. Speaker Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services well first of all I want to say thank you very much for the question and for the advocacy on this issue for the member opposite we had a conversation actually once he introduced this private members bill and certainly as a member he is always welcome to reintroduce that bill again in this session Mr. Speaker you know the safety of all of our first responders our firefighters is Paramount and when I look at issues that have arised over the years in quest we have moved forward on creating a fire table an expert a fire table that actually have review the private members bill at that table because what we want is to create a safer Ontario Mr. Speaker and certainly for us moving forward is definitely to continue to work for that safety thank you very much Mr. Speaker back to the Minister Speaker the Ray and Walder Act responds to a real gap in firefighters safety it could save lives as soon as it's passed I was grateful for the strong support I received from local fire chiefs the Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs and from all parties in this legislature I know the government recently issued a bunch of regulatory changes under the fire protection and prevention act but they ignored the obvious trust and lightweight identification it's time to take action if the government doesn't agree why did they support the Ray and Walder Act at second reading and when will they finally act on it thank you Minister so again Mr. Speaker I very much appreciate the question and certainly I know that many members in this house have worked hard and I was a member once that brought forward private members bill certainly it is our hope that their work will not be lost Mr. Speaker we have proposed a comprehensive deal with the opposition party to carry over all private members bill but under the new management Mr. Speaker the conservative act actually refused this agreement and I want to share that in the house Mr. Speaker because certainly that means that only the only way that those bills can go forward is for them to be reintroduced so certainly if a deal could have been reached Mr. Speaker we value all of the efforts of our members to introduce so again I'm very sorry that a deal could not be reached under your new leadership thank you new question the member from Toronto Danforth thank you Speaker my question to the acting premier in March the lake simcoe region conservation authority illegally approved a massive development that would pave over the paradise beach island grove provincially significant wetland I say illegally because this development clearly violates the provincial policy statement prohibits such developments will the premier direct this rogue conservation authority to follow the law stop this development and prevent the loss of this provincially significant wetland thank you minister of natural resources and forestry for natural resources and forestry thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you for the question indeed I think while the ministry administers the conservation authorities it does not really oversee the operational decisions of a conservation authority however we are looking into this particular file to see whether there are any things that that has not been done properly so no approval or permit are required from MNRF from the ministry for this proposal we've already ascertained that and we know that the conservation authority regulates wetlands under their development interference with wetlands and the regulation that's appropriate so we are actually looking whether there are things that can be done to see what has happened here but up to now we know that we cannot interfere in operational operational decisions of the conservation authority thank you supplementary thank you again to the acting premier this is the first time that a rogue conservation authority has run roughshod over the province's laws to protect wetlands and natural heritage my friend the member for welland has warned about how the Niagara Region Conservation Authority appears to have been captured by private interests the NDP tabled amendments to fix this problem when the government updated the conservation authorities act the government members voted those amendments down why is the premier allowing conservation authorities and developers to ignore her government's own laws to protect wetlands and natural heritage thank you thank you for the question obviously we are continuing to look at what are the avenues possible but as of now we have ascertained that it's an operational decision that they have made and we are continuing to look as to see what are the possible appeals that can be taken from that decision so that's where we are as of now certainly I think wetlands protection are immensely important for this government we've continued to put forward really strong protections for wetlands that's what allows us to continue to preserve the natural heritage and we will continue to do so thank you member for beaches east of York well thank you speaker my question is to the minister responsible for early years in child care now speaker I am very proud our government is committed to supporting families of access to quality and affordable child care all across our province and our government has taken and been a proud champion for Ontario families taking strong action to transform the way child care is delivered in our province in my riding of beaches east York I represent a diverse range of people including a large number who identify as First Nations and Mady speaker as you know the parties opposite have yet to mention anything in their platforms about child care for those living on on reserve communities but creating cultural diverse and relevant child care in early learning spaces positively impacts our youngest learner sense of self and it will lead to better outcomes so speaker will the minister responsible for early years in child care tell us what this government has been doing to meet the needs of indigenous families and children living on reserve minister of education, minister responsible for child care in the early years thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to our hardworking member from beaches east York for this very important question Mr. Speaker, Ontario recognizes the value of culturally appropriate early years and child care programs in First Nations, Mady and Inuit communities in fact our government is committed to working closely with indigenous partners to support a strong early years and child care system for these communities in our recent budget Mr. Speaker we announced an investment of $1 million over three years to support the expansion of licensed child care in First Nations communities I think it's amazing news this funding will help build valuable supports for young First Nations kids to help them get a strong start in life. In addition new capital funding will also be available to First Nations to support the construction or retrofit of new and existing child care facilities this will help create valuable spaces. Well thank you Speaker and I want to thank the minister for her response and that a great announcement and the amazing transformational work that she is doing to reform day care in the province Speaker and I know that indigenous youth are among the fastest growing population groups in Ontario and that they face significant outcome and achievement gaps and this commitment of over $40 million towards child care improving this child care on on reserves is a very significant program for children's families and communities. Child care is an integral part of parents economic empowerment and research shows that children benefit significantly from access to high quality child care including improved education health and employment outcomes. So Speaker can the minister please tell us about how much more our government has been doing in the kind of incredible transformational work that we have been doing with our partners to support a better brighter and more prosperous future for our indigenous youth. Minister of indigenous relations and reconciliation. Thank you Speaker this is a landmark commitment to expanding and improving child care on reserve it's another demonstration of our government's commitment to help indigenous children and youth grow up healthy and reach their full potential. Our reconciliation action plan and journey together provides $250 million towards initiatives including recreation based on life promotion programming for indigenous youth and other anti-racism projects our $45 million OSAP overhaul and this is very important has driven up a 35% increase in indigenous people receiving OSAP grants those people are now off to colleges and universities and could look forward to rewarding lives in this province and through our $222 billion first nations health action plan we are improving food security and mental health for indigenous youth. Speaker it's a shame that when I stand you sit no question remember from Niagara West Lambrick Thank you Mr. Speaker my question is to the acting premier families in my riding of Niagara West Lambrick are horrified by the hallway medicine of this government after 15 years families face longer wait times more service cuts and less frontline workers. I recently heard from Lane and Melissa Tattison of Smithville their family has been plunged into a very dark time since September when their son was diagnosed with pandas Melissa says we have essentially been denied treatment in Ontario despite living adjacent to one of the largest city centers in Canada and have been forced to fly out of province to Alberta to access treatment why is this government showing this lack of care to Lane, Melissa and their six sons Thank you Mr. Speaker and I certainly would like to hear directly from the member opposite about this particular case because in some cases there are potential solutions and of course our heart goes out to this family that's having some difficulty but this is precisely why Mr. Speaker we have made the deliberate choice to continue to invest in care for the people of Ontario and so we're investing more in health care in hospitals in particular having visited a number in the last week or so and seeing the improvements that we're making the reduction in wait times that people are facing I'm really encouraged that our investment is exactly what we need to do and of course hospitals are just one part of the entire puzzle. We need more home care, mental health care long term care, all part of our health care system. Thank you Mr. Speaker Thank you. Supplementary My question is back to the acting Premier. I also spoke recently with Dr. Julian Owen a physician from Grimsby and he said that he and his colleagues are frustrated with this liberal government's approach to health care physicians across the province feel like they are being treated unfairly throwing money at the problem doesn't work when the government has created 15 years of structural issues Julian said frontline care providers don't actually feel like their voices are heard. We aren't being listened to and we can't trust any of the Liberals promises. Speaker why will the Liberals actually listen to doctors like Julian and stop forcing them to practice hallway medicine Thank you. Mr. Speaker, I'm surprised that the member opposite from that particular writing is raising the question of his local hospital. I understand that the Harris government was prepared to close that. Exactly. And so of course I'm really pleased that our government has continued to invest in health care across the spectrum and of course we value our health care professionals including health care physicians but also all those hardworking nurses the personal support workers each and every one of our health care professionals is The member from Niagara West Glam Brook is warned. Wrap up sentence please. So this is precisely why we are increasing our health care spending by 5% to improve the capacity of our world-class health care system. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the acting premier across this province people are struggling to make ends meet some are forced to take on debt just to feed their families and keep a roof over their heads this is where predatory payday loan stores find them and often take advantage in some cases these outlets charge annual fees of 390% on loans despite repeatedly asking this government to intervene they've done very little to address this issue. Cities like Toronto Hamilton, Ottawa are trying to curb payday lenders because they know that they pray on people who are experienced hard times. Since this government inaction is forcing cities to protect their residents themselves payday lenders why won't this government just step up and protect all interians? Thank you. Minister of government and consumer services Mr. Speaker. Thank you. And thanks to the member for the question and he'll know that bill 59 putting consumers first act 2017 amends a number of provincial statues relating to alternative financial services and it's all about protecting consumers speaker who use payday loans alternative financial services and through these amendments we've made the rules stronger we've reduced risk for consumers accessing these services and we've reduced the cost of borrowing speaker the ministry consulted heavily with stakeholders all kinds of groups to help inform the current direction we've taken the regulations have been consulted on as well speaker and new rules come into force July this year so we're very happy that we've taken this action to protect consumers and respect businesses in our community as well Thank you. Pursuant to standing order 38A the member from land art front has given notice of his dissatisfaction with the answer to his question given by the acting premier concerning incorrect news this matter will be debated tomorrow at 6 p.m. Pursuant to standing order 38A the member from Perth Wellington has given notice of his dissatisfaction with the answer to his question given by the acting premier concerning incorrect news this matter will be debated tomorrow at 6 p.m. tomorrow at 6 p.m. the member from beaches east york at a point of order Thank you speaker it's come to my attention that the speaker of this house celebrated a birthday on saturday I like us all to wish him a happy birthday the speaker of this house loves to be reminded of how old he is until 1 p.m. this afternoon.