 It is now time for oral questions. I recognize the leader of the official opposition. Thank you. Thank you, Speaker. My first question is to the Premier. Since the legislature resumed, families have been concerned by the growing evidence the Ford government is taking hallway medicine from bad to worse. Hospitals operating over capacity, an urgent care center, receiving five patients for every one that it's funded for, and a government that's only brought in 21 new long-term care spaces despite exploding wait lists for long-term care. The government effectively froze hospital funding in its last budget. Does the Premier think this will fix hallway medicine? The question's addressed to the Premier. Minister of Health. Referred to the Minister of Health. Well, I thank the member very much for the question but as the leader of the official opposition will know that this is not a problem that just sprang up overnight. This happened after 15 years of a liberal ineptitude on this file that this is something that we are working very hard to change. We know that there are many different strategies that need to be employed. There's no one single answer to this but with respect to any suggestion that our hospitals are not being funded properly, of course they are. We have added $384 million more this year to hospital funding, a 2% increase for each and every hospital, plus we have just recently made an investment of an additional $68 million to help those small and medium-sized hospitals that had structural funding deficits. Again, according to a funding formula that was created by the previous government. So I will have more to say in my supplemental with respect to the other strategies that we are employing to end hallway health care. The supplementary question. Well, Speaker, with all due respect funding the hospitals at the same dismal level that the Liberals did is not going to fix hallway medicine in our province. I feel that the government was ignoring overcrowding in Brampton and Etobicoke hospitals. It led to more hallway medicine as patients waited longer and longer but it's not just limited to those community speaker. In Markham Stovill Freedom of Information reveals the Liberals left hospitals at 103 occupancy last summer and it's grown to 116 percent occupancy this year. Will the premier acknowledge that the four government budget has taken health care in Markham from bad to worse? In fact, we are working hard to improve the situation between with hospitals having hospitals, long-term care providers and home care providers work together in a way that hasn't happened for years and years and years and I'm very proud of the work that the Home Care Association is doing with the Community Care Association, the Long-Term Care Association and the Ontario Hospital Association. They all recognize there is a patient to be served here. It's not up to any one organization to act on their own. We all need to act together. That is why we were bringing forward the transformation of our health care system to make sure that care is centered around the patient. Now with respect to the concerns that the Leader of the Official Opposition is expressing, we are activating a number of different areas in order to reduce the the need and the the crowding in our hospitals. My colleague, the Minister of Long-Term Care, is working very hard on creating the 15,000 long-term care spaces that we promised the people of Ontario that we would provide within five years and we are going to do that. We are also opening reactivation care centres. Thank you very much. Thank you. The final supplementary. Well things are getting worse and not better speaker. That's the reality. Sudbury's Health Sciences North Hospital has also been left overcrowded. A freedom of information request shows it's been operating at 100 capacity each and every month over the last year. The problem is so bad that patients have taken to social media to share their horror stories. One woman said her mother hadn't had a shower in 12 days. Hallway Medicine and Sudbury under the Liberals was horrific. Nothing less than horrific. Will the Premier admit now that it's worse under his government? Minister Health. What I can say Mr. Speaker through you to the Leader of the Official Opposition is that unlike the previous government that did nothing with this except the last let the list grow, we are taking action on many fronts. As I indicated previously we have opened reactivation care centres in a number of areas where alternate level of care patients i.e. those that don't need to be in hospital that are stuck there are able to go to reactivation care centre where they will receive both some physical as well as some mental health and social rehabilitation with the result that many of these people don't need to go into a long-term care home after all but actually can be discharged home with the appropriate home care supports around them. Similarly we are working with the people that have chronic mental health and addiction issues with chronic mental health problems there are a number of the same people that cycle in and out of emergency departments and hospitals so we know that the answer is is not simply in investing in hospitals but in community supports so that people with those mental health challenges can actually get the care that they need in the community. Thank you very much. The next question the Leader of the Official Opposition. My next question is also for the Premier but what we need is people to actually get the care that they need in their hospitals. That's what we need. The Premier promised to end the hallway medicine crisis by this summer instead in hospital after hospital patients have seen things go from bad to worse. Freedom of information data from Hamilton's Juravinsky hospital shows the hospital was already over capacity a year ago now it's at 110 percent capacity but the staff are worked off their feet trying to accommodate the need and it's taking longer and longer for doctors to even see a patient for the first time. Is the Premier ready to admit he's broken his promise and is content to let hallway medicine progress from bad to worse? Questions addressed to the Premier? Minister of Health. Ferd again to the Minister of Health. As the member should know we are taking steps across the number of areas including in hospital investments we have put as I indicated earlier $384 million more into hospital funding this year over last year. We are going to invest $27 billion over the next 10 years in hospital infrastructure to create another 3,000 new hospital beds to deal with us but I certainly recognize that we also need short-term assistance. These are longer-term goals that we are working on but we need to make sure that we can invest both in the hospitals but also in the community. Now the member indicated that we need care in the hospitals. A lot of care can be provided before people need to get to hospitals so and I think we need to recognize that and we need to recognize the great work that home care services are providing right now that are providing a great response and doing a triage in many respects to people that may appear at the hospital emergency departments but may not need to be admitted. In many cases people can go back to their own homes where they want. Thank you very much. Supplementary. Well Speaker the Minister of Health should know that she shorted the request of the Ontario Hospital Association by almost half of what they wanted to just keep the hospitals at the desperate situation that they were already in so the amount that she mentioned was nowhere near what the OHA was asking for in the last budget cycle. For patient safety Ontario hospitals should be operating at no more than 85 capacity the ministers should know that as well that is the internationally recognized standard speaker yet today we see hospitals in Brampton, Markham, Hamilton, Sudbury that are all routinely operating well over 100 capacity that are all routinely treating patients in hallways leaving patients unable to access basics like showers for days at a time. Is the Premier going to acknowledge the hallway medicine crisis is real and start addressing it immediately or is he going to continue claiming that he's going to solve it by next summer. Minister Bell. Well, I can assure the leader of the official opposition I'm well aware of these figures I hear about them every single day and we are working very hard to bring those numbers down. The reality is that this is a situation that has been outstanding for 15 years it's not something that you can just turn around on a dime there's many steps that need to be taken from increasing hospital funding which we have done from building new infrastructure for hospitals to create 100,000 new beds from building 15,000 new long-term care beds which my colleague the minister of long-term care is working on from increasing the supports in our community for mental health and addictions I can tell you that in the consultations that we have done with respect to a mental health and addictions we've heard from hospitals who've said don't provide more facilities for us we don't think that people should need to be in response you need to be able to provide those services in communities so we need to build up those community investments which we are also doing so we're working on many friends to deal with this this is something that is in thank you very much to final supplementary well speaker I have to say I find it odd that the minister of health is saying that hospitals didn't want extra funding when they in fact asked for almost twice what the government gave him in the last budget it seems pretty ridiculous like Mike Harris before him this premier can deny his cuts to health care all he wants or families can see those cuts more crowded hospitals more fired nurses and more hallway medicine last week's report by the financial accountability office confirmed what we have known for some time the four government budget won't address the crisis in long-term care and will make hallway medicine worse is the premier ready to table the mystery plan that will solve this by the summer or is he ready to admit that his his policies are failing patients the minister of health well thank you mr. speaker again through you I think it really is important to stick to the facts the facts here are that we are increasing our funding in health care we are spending 1.3 billion dollars more this year than we did last year in health we're investing in health order because we know that those are the issues that are most important to people and families across the province we are investing across many areas in terms of infrastructure in terms of programs we know that it's important to deal with mental health and addictions we've been speaking about that today in our debate with respect to bill 116 that is an area where we do need assistance and in point of fact I didn't indicate the hospitals didn't want any more funding of course they were happy with the 384 million that was provided as well as the 68 million additional funding but the point that they made was that we all respond to invest in community funding for mental health and addictions because people should not have to be in crisis and go to the hospital only because that's the only place that they know of when they're feeling up thank you very much thank you the next question again the leader of the official opposition thank you speaker my next question is also for the premier as the premier knows the growing wait for long-term care beds is compounding the hallway medicine crisis while the premier's issued news release after news release after news release re-announcing the same long-term care beds that the liberals never built we know that wait lists will keep growing only 21 beds have actually been built and it's clear that most of the new announcements of the beds promised by the forward government MPPs had been announced before can the liberal premier or sorry can the premier tell us how much time was spent repacking liberal announcements as pc announcements that could have been spent actually constructing long-term care beds in our province the questions addressed the minister of long-term care refer to the minister of long-term care thank you speaker to creating a 21st century long-term care system and that includes building 15,000 new beds and redeveloping another 15,000 we've already allocated this year alone 1,814 new beds allocated we have created we have created capacity within the long-term care sector and we're halfway to realizing the 15,000 bed allocations we are well on our way to doing that we know and we acknowledge the ageing population we acknowledge the challenge that we are facing and that your government under the liberals and you supported for for 15 years we acknowledge the neglect that has happened over that time we are addressing that and an aging population we know we need new capacity we are looking to end hallway health care addressing the issues within within our hospitals it is absolutely thank you very much the supplementary question well speaker the premier said that he would do things differently but his plan for long-term care just doesn't sound the same it actually is the same it literally is the same over the last year pc mpp's crossed the province repeating liberal announcements the member for Durham announced the same 53 beds that her predecessor announced in port perry the minister of long-term care announced the same 40 beds her predecessor announced in brampton thousands of re-announcements but only 21 new beds were actually built while the weightness grew by 2800 will the premier tell us how much time was lost and money was spent by liberal and conservative mpp's trying to take credit for long-term care beds that still have not been built minister long-term care speaker and thank you for the question our government contrary to what is being presented by the opposition today our government is committed to protecting what matters most that means including ending hallway health care and we have allocated as i said over 1800 new beds we have reconfirmed the allocations that were previously done to provide certainty to our sector while we consulted with our sector to understand what they needed to assist in creating the capacity which is much more than has been done by the previous government supported by you while patients languished on wait lists so we are absolutely dedicated to getting this done we're halfway halfway there with our allocations we want to make sure that people can get into the beds when they need them we're also working cross ministry ministry wide with the ministry of health to make sure that we have innovative programs in the community to assist as well there is much work being done thank you very much the next question the member for flamboroll thank you for my question is to the premier premier i am once again absolutely thrilled to be able to rise in the house and share with everyone more great news about economic activity investments happening in my city of hamilton for far too long the city of hamilton and other cities right across ontario were neglected by the previous liberal government that instituted policies and regulations that stifled economic productivity for many people in my city the suit of economic opportunity meant having to leave finally however hamilton and other cities right across the province have a government that values the ingenuity and ability of our highly skilled workers and is willing to put in place policies that support them can the premier elaborate on the new investments happening in my city of hamilton questions addressed to the premier thank you i want mr speaker i want to thank the member from flamboroll glambrook for doing a great job for having a very loud voice in hamilton because guess what mr speaker hamilton has been ignored it's been run by the ndp the socialist opposition destroyed the city for years now now these companies are flowing into hamilton because of our great mbp a new investment from coreback kebek steel company has announced that they're building their first plan in ontario mr speaker it costs anywhere from 50 to 100 million dollar investment 100 000 square foot building 100 employees because they love the policies of this government as we saw the mbp and the liberals destroyed the province ran 300 000 manufacturing jobs out of this province we're creating 272 000 new manufacturing jobs supplementary question thank you mr speaker and my question is back to the premier and premier since our government has come to office there is a flurry of economic activity and hamilton with close to 900 million dollars being pledged for projects including mr speaker 100 million dollars for dhl airport cargo expansion the launch of panitoni's 30 million dollar aeropart warehouse a 40 million dollar expansion of mondaleese candy plant and a 700 million dollar pending deal for hamilton city center by innate developments for reinvention of the downtown mall mr speaker can the premier speak to the larger economic impact our policies are having for the rest of the province since we form government all right the premier to apply i'd like to thank the member once again the economic success we've achieved so far is absolutely incredible our province is absolutely booming right now we haven't seen unemployment uh numbers like this so low in decades mr speaker because we've created the environment for companies to thrive and prosper and and grow within this province they're coming in just by hundreds of companies now know that ontario is open for business and when that happens mr speaker guess what we get more revenues up to the provincial coffers personal income tax revenues grew by five billion dollars because we've created there's 272 thousand more people working now than there were a year and four months ago mr speaker sales tax revenues grew by 1.7 billion dollars reflecting the health and confidence consumer spending corporate tax revenues are up a billion dollars that's where we're getting more money to put into education and 700 million dollars more health care 1.3 billion because question the member for essence very much speaker my my question is to the premier speaker my question is about the integrity and the credibility of this premier speaker yesterday Canadians heard some shocking news from the premier according to an email that he sent supporters the fabric of the nation itself is is at risk unless we send him a tuning a cash grab speaker a cash grab this class would be shocking from any other premier but when it's the premier who posed for magazine covers claiming to be the resistance against the federal government frankly speaker it strains credulity speaker if the premier is remotely serious about this or he wouldn't be trying to fundraise off of it will he apologize today for this crass fundraiser email and return any money that he raised from it premier to reply mr speaker after the last federal election we've never seen this country so divided ever ever had a great conversation apologize to the premier the house will come to order the premier will reply mr speaker had a great conversation with Scott Moe premier Scott Moe from Saskatchewan and premier Higgs along with premier Legault and premier Kenny and we thought it would be a really good idea to and i invited them to Toronto by the way to hold the the cough meeting here but to send a message around the world that yes within a family there may be a few bumps but we want to give the world certainty we want to give the business folks certainty to invest here not only in Ontario but across Canada we have to unleash our energy file that's been stifled for years and years and years under the NDP and the Liberals here they believe in charging people $1.60 per leader for gas thank you thank you the supplementary question speaker the premier mentions the premier of Alberta but it was odd during the federal election to see the premier of Alberta dispatch by his party campaigning here in the GTA while this premier essentially was in the Andrew Scheer witness protection program speaker if the premier wants to claim and pretend that he's Bill Davis he should know that Bill Davis didn't hide during elections and shake people down for tunis speaker will the premier apologize for his crass fundraising email and return any of the money that he's raised from it Mr. Speaker it seems that the member opposite has been very nervous since the NDP candidate or the NDP member of parliament Essex lost to a conservative seems to be auditioning for a job order for an appointment on the floor of the legislature so i will say this to the honorable gentlemen i've been asking the house to come to order over the course of the morning we're not even halfway through question grade i will i know you're writing names i will start singling you out if you don't come to order government house leader has the floor so i would i would say to the honorable gentlemen he's as i said he seems to be auditioning on the floor of the legislature if he wants to talk about cutting red tape if he wants to talk about the importance of free trade if he wants to talk about the importance of balanced budgets then i encourage him to visit the public appointment secretary there'll be an increased conflict stream we'll send that off to the integrity commissioner but if he wants to do all of those things we'd be happy to have him selling Ontario to the world as well Mr. Speaker thank you speaker my question is to the premier when this government took office they inherited a strong economy the FAO had to interrupt the member for Scarborough Guildwood because i couldn't hear her because of the noise coming from the government benches have to be able to hear the person asking the question and i apologize to the member for Scarborough Guildwood and recognize her again start the clock thank you speaker the FAO called it four years of robust growth low unemployment the lowest in decades very strong revenue growth despite the evidence this government continues to create a manufactured deficit it's an illusion misleading ontarians and justifying asked the member for Scarborough Guildwood to withdraw her unparliamentary remark withdraw and deep cuts to vital social services that support low income and vulnerable communities people who receive social assistance as their main or only source of income often have to choose between paying rent question food on the table why are you premier persisting with your manufactured deficit and cutting a billion dollars from social service thank you very much thank you i'll remind all members to make their comments through the chair was there another did you hear another okay premier to reply mr speaker it's staggering what i just heard absolutely staggering we came into office we lost 300 000 manufacturing jobs so so much for the economy booming our healthcare was a disaster we had the highest hydro rates in north america people were leaving companies didn't want anything to do with apologize to the premier i apologize i'm going to ask this side of the house now to come to order so i can hear the premier premier you have the floor please reply thank you mr speaker i heard over and over again as a crisscross of province these companies would leave in a heartbeat if we never won this election and thank god we won because those 272 000 people that when so-called the mpp from scarborough was saying it was booming 272 400 people did not have jobs they were worrying about how they're going to pay their rent how they're going to pay their mortgage put food on the table response those 272 400 people now can do things they might otherwise not be able to do mr speaker we have this province booming like we've never seen right across north america supplementary question thank you speaker again to the premier in tomorrow's fall economic statement will you commit today to reversing the 1.5 cut made to the previous government's planned increase to social assistance and improving social assistance for people who need it yesterday the daily bread food bank released a report and detailed troubling trends in food bank reliance in ontario not only is food bank use on the rise in my riding of scarborough gildwood but clients are mainly racialized indigenous or disabled and they are over represented in food bank use more than two-thirds of food bank clients live in private rental units and are vulnerable to precarious housing and homelessness even in small towns in rural ontario people have begun to see more visible signs of homelessness on the rise question premier will you stop the reckless cuts to services that the most vulnerable in this province depend on and reinstate the planned increase in so once again i'm going to ask all members to direct their comments through the chair the premier to apply their community and social services the minister of children community and social service thanks very much mr speaker there's a lot to unpack and a lot to correct in that question from the member opposite i can tell you that our government has increased social assistance rates increased social assistance rates by one and a half percent we've also worked to reduce red tape for those involved in working in social assistance and i can tell you that's been met order great great enthusiasm by those social workers who are at odsp offices and at ontario works offices they're now actually able to spend more time working with their clients to get them into employment mr speaker and i know the premier was just mentioning the 273 000 jobs that have been created in ontario under this government's watching just over a year mr speaker and our goal is to link those people those 900 000 people who are on social assistance into full-time employment so they can stand on their own they can become taxpayers in ontario mr speaker and continue to provide that safety net to those who are thank you thank you the next question the member for northumberland peter burrow south thank you mr speaker my question is for the minister responsible for small business and red tape production mr speaker we know that excessive red tape burdensome reporting requirements when gone astray stifles innovation and stifles job creation in fact we saw practical ramifications of that under the previous government when over 380 000 regulations double that of the next highest province stifle job creation and the member opposite who brought up supposed job creation maybe less just government jobs can tell that to craft food house which shut down in my riding can tell that to general electric employees that were laid off in my riding so thankfully on june 18th last year we saw a new government can the minister responsible for red tape production please share with the house some of the practical steps he and our government have taken to increase job creation and create jobs in this great province the associate minister of small business and red tape production thank you very much mr speaker and i want to thank the member from northumberland peter burrow south for being a strong advocate for businesses across this province mr speaker under the leadership of premier forward of the minister of economic development job creation and trade are open for jobs open for business policies have helped create over 272 000 new jobs in the province of ontario it's about competitiveness mr speaker making ontario open for business more competitive a more competitive ontario will lead to higher productivity levels better jobs and higher standard of livings more incomes higher incomes for families across this province mr speaker we are looking forward to building on our open for jobs open for business policies and making ontario the economic engine of canada once again the supplementary questions thank you mr speaker and thank you to the minister for that answer i know that when constituents visit me in my office they're not looking for handouts mr speaker they're looking for how to enrich their lives they're looking for better jobs they're looking to grow their family and mr speaker they're looking to contribute and give back to their community and have the conditions and the required job in order to do so mr speaker i'd like to ask the minister specifically what he's doing for truck drivers i know i have a lot of truck drivers in our community who drive around the clock mr speaker we know the only driving the previous government was doing was driving our economy into the way spin so mr speaker can the minister please tell us what steps he's taken for truck drivers in our community or other small businesses so that we can continue to once again be the engine of the canadian economy thank you mr speaker the associate minister thank you very much mr speaker our government is focused on making driving more efficient for ontario's truck drivers each year ontario's truck drivers must complete multiple inspections in order to operate on our roadways first they must complete an annual inspection that can take up to three hours additionally they must take another inspection which can take another hour mr speaker we're simply reducing this and putting it into one inspection that will help save time and costs for professional truck drivers across the province mr speaker it's about common sense regulation changes that will save time and money and help us make ontario more competitive and build on the 270,000 new jobs that we have helped create under the leadership of premier report it's about making ontario more competitive and driving more investment into this province and ensuring that hardworking families have access to thank you very much the next question the member for niagra center thank you speaker my question is for the premier yesterday the minister for the environment assured us that the government was working with municipalities to upgrade their water systems to remove lead pipes will the premier then please explain why the minister of infrastructure has cut its contributions to the clean water and wastewater fund by 100 this year questions addressed to the premier minister of environment minister the environment conservation thank you very much mr speaker and thank the member for that question and you know i'll read something from health canada that they put out when they change their guidelines are their limits this year health candidate has messaged that municipal drinking water is still safe and that nothing has changed overnight about the excellent quality of our municipal drinking water canada and municipal utilities to provide their communities with the safest water yesterday the safest water today and they will continue to provide the safest water tomorrow health canada recognized that there are aggressive targets that cannot be achieved overnight there are significant challenges to meet them mostly outside municipal authorities to address mr speaker our government and was willing to work with municipalities and work with the federal government to ensure that municipalities have access to when they do an upgrade to replace those pipes there's a green infrastructure fund that's out there right now and we hope the municipalities are putting in recommendations or projects that will fix those systems within the municipality but response mr speaker the testing is undergoing in all municipalities it's public it's on record we're the best in canada reporting and ensuring that those uh those tests are online and active and are ready for the public to uh thank you very much the supplementary question again to the premier speaker according to this year's estimates for the ministry of infrastructure provincial funding for the clean water and wastewater fund was cut from 111 million last year down to just $1,000 this year only $1,000 for a program that provides funding for municipal water infrastructure so cities and towns can have safe drinking water how can the premier claim he's helping municipalities improve their infrastructure when he has completely cut provincial funding for the program that helps municipalities improve their water infrastructure thank you very much mr speaker and just last november the chief drinking water inspector reported that ontario's drinking water is one of the best protected in the entire world 99 percent of municipal residential drinking water systems meet ontario's drinking water standards 95 percent of schools and daycare centers and over 87 000 test results meet ontario's standard for drinking water mr speaker again i asked the member opposite to reach out to his municipalities as mine has done and put together a project for the green infrastructure fund that is the way to access funding at this point between federal and provincial government to help with alleviate the cost but mr speaker the municipal municipalities are continuing to do their necessary testing and reporting the ministry of environment is continuing to oversee the test results and if there is an adverse effect they have remedies in place to ensure that action is taken to take the appropriate measures to ensure that people are kept safe in their drinking water and anybody out in their residentials can go to the municipal office and ask for testing of their own tap water to see if there is a response but mr speaker we have a strong safety water drinking program in place and we're continuing to support that in this government next question the member for don valley north thank you mr speaker my question is for the minister our colleges and universities speaker as you are aware November 3rd and 9th is scared trade week all across the province we are celebrating our trade people and the incredible works they do to keep our province moving in the near future one in five jobs will be within the skilled trade and with such a high demand we need to be sure we have people to wear them so mr speaker can the minister tell us about how this ministry is preparing our students for the jobs of today and tomorrow and how we will address the employment gap within the skilled trade to ensure more students and these great provisions thank you question is to the minister of colleges and universities thank you mr speaker and thank you very much to the member from don valley north for that very thoughtful question and for his great advocacy on behalf of all of his constituents in fact mr speaker thank you the member joined myself in the premier just earlier this year for a tour of senica colleges center for innovation technology and entrepreneurship where we got to see firsthand the great and incredible work that our colleges are doing to prepare our students for incredible careers in the trades and i can't think of a more proud profession to be a part of than the trades mr speaker just look at the roads we drive on the buildings we work in the hospitals we get our care in and the schools we get our education in who built them the trades and with all the advancements in technology there's no better time than now to be a part of the trades so i would encourage everyone in this house response media gallery to spread the word be proud be professional join the trades the supplementary question thank you mr speaker and thank you to the minister for the answer it is great to hear that our government is actively taking step to ensure that our post-secondary education system is adaptive and responds to the needs of businesses in 2019 a career in the skill trade does not necessarily look like the career of the past more than ever students need to be equipped with the most up-to-date education possible speaker can the minister tell us more about how our post-secondary institutions are creating the next generation of trade people and highlight some of the exciting opportunities before them thank you thank you minister thank you again mr speaker you know i am so humbled and privileged to be a part of this ministry where my job is to make sure that our students our post-secondary students find great paying jobs that is why i started out this role meeting with the presidents of all of our post-secondary institutions all 45 of them and i learned something very very unacceptable mr speaker and that was that the program approval process took sometimes in excess of two years so immediately we made changes to that mr speaker and before the house even resumed last week we had already brought that program approval process down six months and with 81 percent of all trade apprenticeship training happening within the college system these changes to the program approval process will allow more students to gain better access to programming and to ensure that our schools can give them the tools they need to access programs and training in the trades in these proud professional careers thank you mr speaker the next question member for that important thank you mr speaker my question is to the premier we know from teachers and students and families just how bad this premier's cuts are making things in our schools and now a new report from people for education shows that student mental health is suffering because of it the report shows that not only are there fewer supports and staff available at fewer hours thanks to this government's cuts but to make things worse these cuts are particularly hurting rural students across the province students teachers and our schools are suffering will this government do the right thing reverse these cuts and stop making life worse for students and their families questions addressed to the premier minister of education referred to the minister of education thank you speaker i want to thank the member opposite for the question and i certainly agree that there needs to be more done to support our most vulnerable kids in the class in urban and rural schools english and french and every region of this province mr speaker the report calls for a more proactive intervention approach to mental health positive mental health intervention for our youngest it's why mr speaker this government announced a historic investment more than doubling the mental health funding in the province of ontario from 14 to 40 million dollars as well mr speaker hiring 180 full-time psychologists psychotherapists and support workers to support high schools right across the province mr speaker the report the report also calls for de-escalation training for our staff for our administrators and principals and we're doing that through a new investment announced just two weeks ago mr speaker i know there's more to do and i think if we could work together as parliamentarians to ensure young people have the support they need we could all know that our young people have the support needed to get through the difficulty and adversity of mental health challenges the supplementary question thank you mr speaker the minister can talk the talk about mental health but his cuts are making things worse for the most vulnerable children in our schools let's talk for a moment about facts and not fiction the upper canada district where cuts have meant they've lost their psychological associate and all 24 mental health and behavioral support workers that is shameful speaker simply put investing in mental health in our schools saves lives cramming more kids into overcrowded classrooms makes it harder for students to get the vital attention and mental health supports they deserve again to the premier will he listen to principals teachers and the experts scrap the cuts and stop jeopardizing the well-being of ontario's students questions been referred to the minister of education thank you speaker the premier and all members of this caucus are absolutely committed to supporting the most vulnerable in the class it is why mr speaker our government announced more than doubling mental health funding for the most vulnerable children in schools from 14 to 40 million it's why mr speaker for children with autism when they're on the spectrum we more than double the funding order we more than fund double the funding order for kids with a st it's why for kids with special education needs we're investing more than any government in the history of this province a 3.1 billion dollar investment to help those children mr speaker these are the facts 180 new psychologists psychotherapists and social workers supporting high schools across our province i know there's more we can do but this government is leading by example investing the front lines and supporting most vulnerable kids in our classes the next question the number four flamboyant thank you mr speaker my question is for the minister of government and consumer services as the minister knows the auditor general released her value for money audits on tarion last week the report the report found that tarion failed to properly provide the consumer protection required when builders do not honor their warranties to new home buyers the auditor also found that tarion dismissed thousands of requests for homeowners who missed tarion's tight deadline to put it simply tarion is not doing nearly enough to protect ontarians as they buy a new home can the minister explain what actions our government is taking to ensure that ontarians are being properly protected when buying a new home questions to the minister of government and consumer services thank you very much mr speaker and first of all i'd like to thank the the member from flamboyant grand or glennbrook excuse me for that amazing question because this is a very important issue across ontario and i can tell you the first thing that we started doing was we started to listen and we started to meet with stakeholders because speaker we understand the importance of making sure that there is proper warranty in place for new home buyers and you know i have to remark on the fact that just last week the member opposite from humber river and black creek actually noted that in the auditor general's report there was a complete lack of oversight by the kathleen win liberal government and i agree wholeheartedly on that because we've heard time and again examples of homeowners that have been essentially had the carpet yanked out of them because of the failure of that past liberal administration response i can tell you what we're doing we have taken steps to establish a separate regulator we're reviewing the feasibility of a proper insurance program i've used my minister's power to compel the disclosure of executive thank you very much the supplementary question thank you mr speaker and back to the minister it's reassuring to hear that you and our governments under the leadership of premier ford are working to strengthen protections for home buyers in addition to having concerns with protecting new home buyers the auditor general found that terry on lack transparency and accountability our government must ensure that ontarians can have confidence that terry on is fulfilling its mandate to protect ontario home buyers speaker could the minister outline how the government is transforming terry on to ensure their number one priority is always to protect ontarians we're buying a new home minister thank you very much mr speaker and uh i want to put it on record that we very much appreciate the report that the auditor auditor general tabled on october 30th you know she had some very viable suggestions and rationale as to why home insurance for new home buyers need or warranty i should say home warranty for new home buyers needs to be reviewed and i'm pleased to share with you that i said we're meeting with stakeholders and terry on is taking their responsibility in the previous oversights very seriously and they too are being progressive and we're working very closely with the board of directors to make sure we get home warranty for new home owners back on track another thing i want to share with you is that we're also taking a look at what we need to be doing to protect condo owners in the province of ontario as well and we're going to be reviewing and responding very diligently to make sure that we get back on track for condo owners and new home owners after the dismo performance of a failed liberal government and i look forward to talking thank you very much the next question the member for muskegawak team failed thank you mr speaker my question is for the premier long-term care in ontario is in crisis as a financial accountability officer exposed the number of seniors waiting to move into long-term care facilities have reached a record high people like my next showpuff of hers have to be taken care of by their family at home mrs showpuff is 87 years old has problems speaking can no longer cook or bathe herself and can cannot control her bow movement she needs to be in long-term care speaker why is this government cutting long-term care funding when people like mrs showpuff are left on their own for fighting for human dignity questions to the premier minister of long-term care and referred to the minister of long-term care thank you speaker and thank you the member for the question for the first time in ontario's history this government is prioritizing the needs of our most vulnerable people 15,000 new beds for long-term care 15,000 to be redeveloped and we've been working with our sector we heard very soon after becoming a ministry a dedicated ministry to long-term care that there were issues in some of the funding streams and we've addressed those there have been no cuts to long-term care i repeat that no cuts to long-term care that the previous government supported by the NDP 90 of the time ignored the issue for 15 years long-term care people waited on wait lists 15 years we are working with our sector we are making sure we get our most vulnerable into the beds that they need and deserve to help caregivers thank you thank you very much the supplementary question speaker there are hundreds of hundred cases like mrs. shoepoff in northern ontario my mother's one of them for the facilities we host and campus casing which has 88 beds there is another 98 seniors on the wait list a large number of hospital beds are occupied by people on the wait list in Hearst the bandit pionier's wait time is three years three years speaker where we are talking about the people that have built this province people have done their due part to live the rest of their lives surrounded by love and care speaker why did this minister believe that senior like mrs. shoepoff can wait three years to obtain the service they need and deserve thank you speaker and thank you again for the question we recognize the issues that have been many many years in the making under the neglect of the previous government we just don't add water and create a long-term care bed these are real people recognizing the families and the caregivers and all the the impact that it has on families i feel that very strongly our government is making sure that we are streamlining the processes to get shovels in the ground people in the beds faster caregivers supported we are working cross ministry to make sure that we have staffing addressed that we have the funding envelopes that are needed this is so much more than the previous government ever did or ever thought of doing my own family has been impacted by this i take it personally our government is dedicated to getting 15 000 new beds open supporting people in the community and we will continue to work every day to get that done thank you mr. speaker mr. speaker my question is for the minister of labor training and skills development over the next five years one in five jobs in ontario are expected to be in trades related occupations this week people and organizations all over canada are participating in national week for skilled trades and technology the sector close to my heart but rising awareness is not enough urgent actions is needed to break down barriers so people can enter this rewarding exciting and well paying jobs building a skilled trade workforce is a priority can the minister please tell us what the government is doing to make it easier for people to join the trades the minister of labor skills development training well thank you very much mr. speaker and thank you to the member from mississauga erin mills for that very important question mr. speaker we do have a challenge on the horizon urgent action is needed to ensure we have highly skilled workers to build ontario's future mr. speaker my friend and canada's building trades union director arlene dunn says the construction sector needs 260 000 new workers over the next 10 years mr. speaker our government is going to deliver for this generation and the next generation that's why we move swiftly to end the college of trades reduce membership fees for those in the skilled trades and lowering the apprenticeship ratio mr. speaker we want to create an apprenticeship system that's free from red tape easy to navigate and unlocks the potential of our young people so they can have a lucrative and great paying career thank you minister i'm glad our government is taking this important step minister giving someone a hand up sets them on the path to success it's how we put people first those who enter ontario skilled trades choose choose important careers that lead to secure jobs rewarding work and a good quality of life mr. speaker can the minister please tell the house how the government is helping young people and underrepresented groups join the trades thank you minister well thank you again to the member for that question mr. speaker great careers await our young people in the skilled trades last week i was honored to join the minister of education the associate minister of children's and women's issues and the member from a nagger west to announce the expansion of the specialist high high skills major mr. speaker we now have programs in over 700 high schools right across this province to encourage young people to enter the trades but our commitment mr. speaker to the trades doesn't stop there last year in ontario 1600 young people were exposed to jobs in the skilled trades through ontario's pre-apprenticeship training program this program gets groups like newcomers to canada women francophone youth at risk and others who are unemployed or underemployed on track to becoming a skilled trade mr. speaker our government is building the workforce that ontario needs today and for into the future thank you very much thank you the next question the member for london west thank you speaker my question is to the premier speaker this government's decision to fund hospitals well below the rate of inflation just like the liberals did is forcing london house sciences center to reduce staff and close beds putting london patients at risk to deal with a 53 million dollar deficit created by both liberal and conservative governments london house sciences center is cutting staff hours and implementing a hiring freeze the equivalent of eliminating 165 full-time positions in october it also announced the closure of 49 hospital beds leaving even more london patients to be cared for in hallway stretchers speaker can the premier explain how cutting the equivalent of 165 staff and closing 49 hospital beds will fix london's hallway medicine crisis the question is addressed to the premier minister of health or to the minister of health thank you well i thank you very much for the question but in fact the london house sciences has received funding across the board as part of the 384 million dollars the extra this year over what was paid for last year now the hospital does make their own decisions as you know they have their own board of directors they have to meet their own funding requirements within their own budget and so the decisions that were made by london was made very carefully but also made to make sure that patients were not going to be disrupted that they are going to combine what's going on with these services that will no longer be provided by the hospital will be provided in the community so the hospital has worked very hard to make sure that there's no patient disruption but this was something that they needed to do in order to meet their own budget requirements and that was their decision has nothing to do with funding with respect to uh funding by the province the supplementary question speaker 11 of the closed beds are in the burns and plastics unit which means the unit is effectively shutting down nurses with specialized training and treating burns will be redeployed to other areas of the hospital when burn patients come in these nurses if they are available will have to leave the other patients they are caring for compromising the care those patients receive vulnerable burn patients will have to be transported through the hospital for special treatment increasing their risk of infection speaker does the minister believe that removing the burns unit from london health sciences center is good for patient care minister thank you well the hospital in this case is an enacting a capacity plan to standardize their approach to patient access and flow while improving patient safety and service quality and they are making changes according to the level of demand that they are experiencing which is what i would expect all of us would expect them to do they are making these changes based on what's available in the community based on the level of demand that they're experiencing and what is necessary in order to enhance capacity in other areas so they are making decisions based on what's happening within their own community and within their own hospital that is something that is up to them is something they discussed with the ministry of health we're supportive of their efforts to make sure that they can live within their funding envelope while still delivering excellent quality patient response which of course they are going to continue to do the next question the member for Scarborough Rouge Park my question is for the associate minister of children and women's issues speaker the fact is simple that we need more women in the workforce unfortunately we know that gender stereotypes and gender biases develop early in life and affect the choices made by girls and young women often these biases follow women into the workforce to combat these we need investments into programs that encourage and assist women to get into the workforce and move move into leadership roles it was a pleasure to host the minister this summer when we went to YWCA Toronto and spoke with staff and alumni of the moving on to success program can the minister share what kind of investments and initiatives we are making to support women in the workforce great question questions to the associate minister of children and women to the member from Scarborough Rouge Park for that question and it was great to visit your riding this summer our government knows the value of women in the workforce and I was honored to visit the YWCA this summer with my wonderful colleagues from Scarborough area they work with women and girls to provide them with the skills and help them find employment I also had the chance to meet with Paro Centre for Women's Enterprise in Thunder Bay about the great work they're doing to encourage female entrepreneurs and they are celebrating 25 years of excellent work this November 7th and I wish them all the best speaker our government supports 23 women centres across Ontario that work to increase women's employability social inclusion and safety which can lead to their fuller participation in the economy it is through organizations and initiatives like these that we can raise women up get more women in the workforce and build a better Ontario concludes our question period for this morning I want to draw members attention to the fact that tomorrow we have a very special guest visiting the legislature award-winning author Terry Follis and we put notices on your desk I would cordially invite all of you to attend point of order the member for Osher thank you speaker I rise on a point of order pursuant to standing order 99 which deals with the written questions as per 99d the minister shall answer such written questions within 24 seasonal days and 99e which states the answers to such written questions shall be given to the member who asked the question that's me and to the clerk of the house speaker I rise on this point because my question number 126 to the minister of tourism culture and sport table on May 1st was due yesterday and my question number 127 to the minister of infrastructure was also tabled on May 1st was also due yesterday I'd like to know when I can expect answers from these ministers wish to advise the house that the member for Osher what does indeed have a valid point of order and I need to remind the ministers that they are required understanding order 99d to file a response within 24 seasonal days to a written question and the responses are now overdue and I would ask both the ministers that they give the house some indication as to when the response will be forthcoming and I recognize the minister of heritage very much speaker with the name change of the ministry we had a little bit of a delay we have signed off though with the new letterhead so thank you very much for raising it and bringing it to our attention and we are going to make sure that you get the information as quickly as possible this house is in recess until three p.m