 It is now time for question period. The member from Prince Edward Hastings. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question this morning is for the Premier Speaker. This government likes to say that hindsight is 2020 when they talk about the electricity crisis that they've created in the province. A couple of weeks ago, the leader of the official opposition and I were in Timmins and we welcome the folks from the Timmins area who are with us this morning. Let's go back to 2014 when the city of Timmins paid $3.7 million for electricity. Now Timmins pays $5.3 million for electricity, an increase of $1.6 million on the municipality's electricity budget. So, Speaker, how much more does the Premier think that she can squeeze out of the people of Timmins? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Please to rise and respond to the question relating to what this government has done to ensure that we're finding ways to lower rates for all Ontarians and for municipalities. As the Premier has said in the past, we've done some hard work, Mr. Speaker, the heavy lifting to ensure that we rebuild the system, that no longer is relying on coal and ensuring that we build a system where we have power in the north, Mr. Speaker. I'm going to ask my threesome over here to bring a bill. And if it doesn't, this will be the last time I'll try to be calm about it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And again, invested billions of dollars in making sure that we rebuilt our transmission system that was left in shambles when we took over, Mr. Speaker, back in 2003. And of course, that takes time and money. And what we've done, Mr. Speaker, is find ways of reducing those costs that we've had, and I'll make sure I answer more of that in the supplementary, Mr. Speaker. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Back to the Premier. The government has lit the house on fire, and they're trying to use the garden hose to put out the flames. Speaker, let's go back to 2014. Quinney Healthcare, which operates four hospitals in my region, paid $2.1 million in electricity costs in 2014. It's up $600,000 since then. That's almost 30 percent. And if you go back to 2012, it's up almost $1 million for the hospitals in my region. If the Premier doesn't want to talk about dollars, let's talk about doctors. How many more doctors is your electricity crisis going to cost the patients in the Quinney region of Ontario? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's interesting to hear from that side of the house that they were actually going to close one of those hospitals, Mr. Speaker, and it was this government that actually kept those hospitals open and invested in healthcare to make sure that we have doctors in that part of our province, Mr. Speaker. So let's be clear, and let's look at the facts, Mr. Speaker. We've ensured that we've got programs in place to help hospitals. For example, Mr. Speaker, in my writing of Sudbury, the Health Sciences North saves about $200,000 a year after using the Save on Energy program, Mr. Speaker. They're actually then putting that money back into healthcare services. So Mr. Speaker, there are programs in place. There are systems in place to ensure that we keep the lights on, that we keep the operating rooms with the electricity that they need, and at the same time reducing costs. And we're going to continue to find ways to do more, Mr. Speaker. Final supplementary. It's time for this government to stop doing more because every time they do more it hurts more and more the people of Ontario. You know, Mr. Speaker, just before the end of the business day, yesterday, my office was made aware of a family in Chatham, Kent, down in southwestern Ontario. The same utility that controls both the electricity and the water for this family, Integris, on Friday when their electricity was turned back on, their water was turned off. And they were told that it would only be turned back on when they were no longer in arrears. Cities, hospitals, families, all hurting. That's your Ontario, Premier. That's your Ontario. Everybody is hurting. Speaker, what price is too high for this government? Thank you. You're working on it. Minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are many electricity companies around the province that actually look after both water and electricity. But when they look after the water component, Mr. Speaker, they're looking after that for their local municipality. So I would encourage them to actually contact their local municipality, Mr. Speaker. But we will find ways to continue to do more, Mr. Speaker. Because if we were actually to follow what that party did, we would have left our system in shambles. We would have relied on coal, Mr. Speaker, and we no longer want to rely on coal. We want to ensure that we have a clean system, that we have a reliable system. That's my line. So I would ask the member not to use his line. And it's not helpful when I'm hearing an answer from that side. That side is noisy as well. But it's not helpful when the person asking the question is yelling as well. I suspect he wants to listen. Finish, please. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. You know, coming back to disconnections, Mr. Speaker, last week we had the bill passed this House unanimously, which was great news, Mr. Speaker. And I was pleased, very pleased, Mr. Speaker, to see that the OEB acted very quickly and decisively, Mr. Speaker. So on Thursday, they issued a decision to all local utilities to make sure that they have all of these reconnections connected as quickly as possible. A member from Leeds, Grenville, and a member from Renfrew, Nipissing, Pembroke come to order. New question. A member from Kitchener, Conestoga. Thanks, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Speaker, one year ago, hundreds of patients who traveled here from across the province watched the Liberal government strike down a PC motion. Sufferers had counted on to create a select committee on rare disease treatment. They are here again today, Speaker. One year after the Liberal government announced its own rare disease working group that would quote, now begin ticking concrete action. Speaker, it's been a year. What concrete action has the government taken? Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And I just want to say that we know that many Ontarians have family members who are struggling with a rare disease or disorder and our hearts go out to them, Mr. Speaker. But because these diseases are very rare, often they are misdiagnosed, Mr. Speaker, and I'm very pleased that we've been able to move ahead. Just yesterday, Minister Hoskins announced an expansion to clinics for those needing specialized care. There's also, as the member knows, there's a working group of experts that is in place who can explore how services for people with rare diseases can be improved in Ontario, Mr. Speaker. These are very challenging, very specific situations, Mr. Speaker. And we need to have experts who give us ongoing advice in the interim. The minister has announced an increase to support for clinics, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, supplementary. Thanks, Speaker. Speaker, while we were happy, of course, to see EDS sufferers who were forced to come to Queen's Park last year, get their clinic, the fact is that they had to travel to the legislature in failing health before the minister or your government would do anything. In fact, it seems this Liberal government only acts for Ontarians after they've been forced to come to Queen's Park to beg for life-saving support and the cameras are on. While it may have been politically expedient to finally support EDS once the cameras switched off, so did the hopes for hundreds of thousands of other sufferers with cystic fibrosis, Catalyst disease, PKU, AHS, or a host of other rare diseases. Speaker, it's Rare Disease Day. The cameras are back on. Will the Premier report where and what is the strategy to help Ontarians suffering from all rare diseases? Good question. Thank you, Premier. Thank you, Chair. Minister, I'll call it a long-term care. Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. And as much as the member opposite might want to try to make this political or try to make it partisan, it's been the better part of two years, Mr. Speaker. In fact, this Premier led the charge nationally for the creation of a working group on rare diseases. Exactly. Long before the member opposite raised this in the Legislature. But importantly, Mr. Speaker, we did hear from patients with EDS, with Erdos-Danlos Syndrome, and thanks to their important advocacy and the advocacy of the group that often represents them, ILC Canada, we were able to create a task force which included patients and patient advocates on it, an expert task force and panel that actually led to the creation of the announcement I made yesterday, which was funding of a million dollars ongoing for a partnership between University Health Network and SIC Kids to actually provide specialized care specifically for children and adults with EDS, Mr. Speaker. I'm proud of that decision. That's right. I'll supplement it. Speaker, this minister has had the Ontario Citizens Council report on rare disease strategies since 2010 and has done nothing with it. He told us last spring we would have working group recommendations within three months. We're knee-deep in empty words. What we need is action. If he has the report, he should actually table it today. Speaker, when it comes down to governing, it's all about choices and priorities. Choices to strike down an all-party open, transparent, rare disease. Select committee in favour of a behind-the-doors working group. Prioritizing to spend what's left of our tax dollars on the matters that will best impact the lives of all Ontarians, unlike relocating gas plants. Speaker, will the Premier tell us why when it came to a choice between subsidizing a $140,000 Tesla owner with massive rebates versus spending to treat rare disease, she went with a new car on Tesla? Tesla. Thank you. Tesla. Minister. Well, Mr. Speaker, we decided instead of having politicians make these decisions in the form of a select committee, we knew from advocates, from patients, from scientists, from academics, from clinicians, we knew many of the steps that needed to be taken. So we created a working group, quite frankly, comprised of those experts, Mr. Speaker, a working group on rare diseases. I have not received the final report. I'm expecting to receive it in the coming several weeks. But a working group which is chaired by Dr. Ronald Cohn, a pediatrician in chief from the hospital for sick children, Scott McIntigart, who's the senior vice president of the University Health Network, Crystal Chen, a patient, Guida-Clausa, a patient caregiver, Dr. Richard Ward, a physician lead at UHN and blood disorders programs, Dr. Pranesh Chakrabort, director of newborn screening Ontario. The exact and precise people who should be providing that advice to the government, they're doing that. I'll be receiving it in the next several weeks, Mr. Speaker. Yeah, exactly. The question, the member from Brownlee, Gloria Malkin. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Premier. The Premier has said that she will look at fixing hydro. The Premier has had 14 years to look at solving this problem and four years as Premier. Now, four years as Premier and 14 years as a government to solve a crisis that they helped create. Ontario needs more than a Premier or an electricity minister to look at solutions to this crisis. They need someone who's going to act on solving this problem. Will, so here's a question. Here's a concrete thing that this government can act on. Will this government act to commit to a real promise to end rural delivery charges? Well, Mr. Speaker, there are many ideas that are coming forward and I appreciate the member opposite putting forward some thoughts, Mr. Speaker. The reality is that we have committed to bringing forward a plan before the budget comes out, Mr. Speaker. And that plan will be a plan to reduce electricity prices immediately, Mr. Speaker. We have already begun. The 8% reduction is already on people's bills, Mr. Speaker. That's already being taken off people's bills. The plan we bring forward will mean more immediate reductions, Mr. Speaker. Unlike, I would say, the plan that was brought forward yesterday by the NDP, the cornerstone of which is a pillar, the repurchasing of Hydro One World, which will not take and would not take one cent off one electricity bill, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, here's another idea. Ending time of use fees. Ending time of use fees isn't just a wild policy idea. It'll actually impact people immediately and have a real impact on their lives. Take, for example, Anne Marie. Here's an example. Anne May. Start the clock. Finish, please. Take Anne May, for example. She's a senior living in Hamilton. Now, she's recently been told that she's got to start using an in-home oxygen-making machine and that's going to increase her bill by about $250, which will pretty much double her hydro bill. Now, if Anne May could opt out of time of use fees, she could actually be at home, use her machine during the day, instead of having to be up all night and worrying about how she's actually going to afford to use this machine. Now, the question is, this is how it should be. Hydro is a necessity, not a luxury. Will this government commit to ending this unfair mandatory time of use fee? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When it comes to time of use, Mr. Speaker, time of use actually provides an overall benefit to the entire province by conserving power during peak demand, Mr. Speaker. But we do understand, like the example that was used by the Honourable Member, that there are some people, Mr. Speaker, that do need to use power during peak times. And that's why, Mr. Speaker, we've already started the process with our system operator of looking at actually having some type of alternative plan, having time of use and having a flat rate plan. And we're so far into this, Mr. Speaker, that the OEB has already started a pilot project looking at that. But the important thing for us, Mr. Speaker, on this one case is the individual that needs to use a piece of medical equipment can actually apply for the Ontario Electricity Support Program and see their benefit double, Mr. Speaker. And I do hope that person gets access to that information. Final supplementary. Mr. Speaker, people in Ontario need to see real changes that will actually impact their life right now to make sure that the hydro system is actually working for them. The Premier says they're working on it, but they've had lots of time. They've been in power since before Facebook was a thing. They've been in power since Destiny's Child was better known than... Minister of Infrastructure come to order. This government took power when people were still renting VHS tapes from blockbusters. This government has had a lot of time, but we're not seeing any results. How much more time will it take so that people can see some justice with respect to their energy costs? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We've been in power long enough, Mr. Speaker, to ensure that we've eliminated coal, Mr. Speaker. We've been in power long enough, Mr. Speaker, to ensure that our system is reliable. We're being in power long enough, Mr. Speaker, to ensure that people can actually use our system and not worry about it having a brownout. We actually invested in our system over the last 14 years, Mr. Speaker, to make it a better system than it was there before, to make it a cleaner system that was there before, and to make sure, Mr. Speaker, that people who have asthma can go outside and take a breath of fresh air and not worry about having a smog day, which that we haven't had in this province since 2014, Mr. Speaker. We need to be proud of that. Other states, other provinces, are looking to us, Mr. Speaker, because we've been leading the way in building a system that is clean and reliable, and we are taking it to the next level, Mr. Speaker, to make it as affordable as possible. Any questions? You see it, please? See it, please? New question. I'm from primarily Gormole. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question is again to the Premier. Yesterday, the Premier said that if stopping the sell-off of Hydro-1 is a priority, then investing in infrastructure would have to take a backseat. Now, just because the Premier says that Ontario can't have affordable public power and build infrastructure at the same time, doesn't mean it's true. In fact, if the Premier continues to repeat it, doesn't make it any more true. My question to the Premier is this. I'm pretty sure that Ontario has had public- Minister of Economic Development. Century. And I'm also sure that over that century that we've built infrastructure, we've invested in all the infrastructure. And transportation infrastructure. My question is why can't this Premier do the same thing? It's very interesting. The member opposite makes the assertion that there has been building of infrastructure in a rational way over decades. And Mr. Speaker, that's actually not true. The reality is that there were long periods, there were decades where infrastructure was not built, where investments were not made, Mr. Speaker. And we know that if there isn't a 5% investment in infrastructure year over year, and that can be a combination of federal, provincial, and municipal contribution, Mr. Speaker, then in fact, we're not even keeping up with, let alone building a new infrastructure that's needed. So we've actually tackled that, Mr. Speaker. And we've actually broken that cycle of neglect that had been in place for at least 20 years, Mr. Speaker. Answer. So we're going to continue to build infrastructure because that leads to economic growth, Mr. Speaker, and that leads to the well-being of people in this province. Thank you. Supplementary. Mr. Speaker, the Premier said that, quote, when she travels to other countries and talks to businesses about coming to Ontario, they want to know about infrastructure, end quote. I think that makes sense. And a part of that infrastructure is the cost of hydro. That's right. Now, does the Premier admit that sky-high hydro rates are hurting current businesses here in Ontario and discouraging other businesses from investing in our province? Actually, Mr. Speaker, I will tell you that in all of the conversations that I have had in other countries, the number one, the number one issue that people raise with me is availability of talented, skilled people. That is the number one reason that businesses come to Ontario. If you talk to Thomson Reuters, Mr. Speaker, the reason that they are coming here explicitly is because of a terrific supply chain of well-educated, talented people. So, Mr. Speaker. You see it? Thank you. Final supplementary. This is the same sort of false logic. By talking about the rising price of hydro, I didn't in any way talk about the fact that we don't have a talented pool of people, but it shows this government's lack of logical rationale. They can address the issue. So, while talking on the topic of drawing businesses to Ontario, the Ontario government should also look at what the Ontario Chamber of Commerce has had to say about our current hydro system in this province. The 2017 Economic Report states, the experience that many households have with respect to rising electricity rates are amplified when it comes to businesses. The report goes on to note that the uncertainty with respect to these rates are discouraging businesses from investing here and on this province, and that means less jobs for the people of Ontario. So, here's the reality. We need to invest in infrastructure. We need to build not only affordable public hydro, but a public transit system and transportation infrastructure. But instead of selling a false choice that people don't believe, will the government actually start to do that? Premier. Mr. Speaker, it'd be nice if the NDP would stop talking down our economy. Our business community and the people of this province and the talented people the Premier talked about have worked very hard with this government to build this economy up. They've created 700,000 net new jobs, yet the party opposite keeps talking their efforts down. That's not fair. And then they say that... Minister. Speaker, they talk those efforts down by saying their part-time jobs wrong. 90% are full-time. They talk them down by saying they're not good-paying jobs wrong. 80% are above the average wage. They say that their public sector jobs wrong. 75% are private sector jobs. Mr. Speaker, my question is the Minister of Health and long-term care. Speaker, last week I questioned the Premier about a life-changing therapy for cerebral palsy patients in the province and the barriers created by this government to access the surgery. Later that day, the government decided to approve the surgery costs for Madison Ambrose and St. Louis. While we're happy for Madison, there are many other children waiting for support from this government on the already-approved treatment. Speaker, will the Minister cut the red tape in his ministry and approve the other children who are waiting surgery today? Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Secretary of Health and long-term care. Speaker, and this is a critically important issue. Access to the highest quality health care, in this case a specialized surgery for individuals generally cerebral palsy children that can benefit from the surgery. That's why it is an OHIP-insured procedure. We also rely on clinical expertise of specialists in this province to make that determination whether or not the individual will benefit from that particular procedure. That's what we've done. We've received thus far, I believe, 17 applications for out-of-country care. Of those four did not have the support of their attending specialist. I believe two are still under consideration. And 10, perhaps now 11 out of the 17 have been approved. And those individuals have gone for their surgery and in the process of preparing to go for their surgery in the United States. So this is a good example, Mr. Speaker. I believe where we have a system that is working effectively. I understand there do remain certain challenges and I'm working hard to ensure that our clinical experts are able to provide this care. Thank you, Speaker. Back to the Minister of Speaker. I have over 21 names here of children who are lost in the bureaucratic nightmare this government has created. And unfortunately with this government, the only way to get access to services is to raise it in the legislature. So Mr. Speaker, what is the government going to do for Benjamin, Alessandro, Maya, Athena, Lee, Griff, and JR, Nathan, Sonya, Davey, Ethan, Sophia, Taylor, Tegan, Lila, Bentley, Morgan, Brooklyn, Hayden, Chinoa, and Ben? Their names are on record now. Will the Speaker ask and do the right thing and get the surgery for these children? Thank you. Thank you. Can you see it, please? Can you see it, please? Thank you. Minister? Well, Mr. Speaker, it appears that the member opposite has recently obtained his medical degree. Mr. Speaker, we need to leave it to the clinical experts to make these determinations. Virtually 100 percent of the time where an application for out-of-country surgery is made to the province of Ontario with the support of the clinical expert, that application has been approved. 100 percent of the time, Mr. Speaker. We have two clinics in this province, one in Hamilton, one here at Toronto. We're also working with sick kids in Hall and Bloorview at the possibility of establishing the expertise to actually perform the surgery here in the province, Mr. Speaker, to provide that service not in another country, but here in Ontario. So we have a process, I know the member opposite is wondering how long that takes. It's important, Mr. Speaker, that it's an evidence-based decision. We work with our clinical experts, but 100 percent of the children who have come forward with the support of their families, with the support of their clinical experts have been given the opportunity for that surgery. Thank you. New question, the member from Oshawa. Thank you, Speaker, and my question is to the Premier. The Premier promised that winter hydro disconnections would stop. Well, Georgina lives in Oshawa. She pays her hydro bill to a private company that submeters her apartment building and not to the local utility. This private company is regulated by the OEB, but they are not being told to stop disconnection, so Georgina has had her power cut off. What is the Premier going to do to get Georgina's power back on? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As mentioned last week, we passed the legislation to give the Ontario Energy Board the power to end winter disconnections within our province, Mr. Speaker, and we were very pleased that the OEB acted quickly and decisively on Thursday of last week, Mr. Speaker. The OEB issued a decision to all utilities, and that would include these companies that banned all disconnects, Mr. Speaker, until April 30th, require currently disconnecting customers to be reconnected at no cost and ordered the removal of any load limiters being used to limit electricity use, Mr. Speaker. The OEB has announced a comprehensive hearing and review process for customer service rules, and I'd be happy to speak with the member afterwards to ensure that we can get all of the information to help that one individual, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It would seem that the minister is also disconnected, but I'm more concerned about Georgina right now. Speaker, it turns out that there is a loophole in the Premier's promise that people won't have their power cut off during the winter. The Premier surely must have been briefed about this loophole, but I guess she didn't choose to fix the problem. It looks like the Liberals are more interested again in scoring a political win than really fixing the problem of winter disconnections. Speaker, when did the Premier learn about this loophole, and what is she going to do to close it? Again, Mr. Speaker, the OEB has acted quickly on this and in making sure all local utilities will actually stop winter disconnects, Mr. Speaker. It happened last Thursday. We're making sure that everyone, Mr. Speaker, is going to be reconnected as soon as possible. The important thing, Mr. Speaker, is we acted on this. We started talking about this in June, and now, Mr. Speaker, we're very pleased to see this happening, and we're going to ensure, Mr. Speaker, that we continue to find ways to help all ratepayers right across the province, Mr. Speaker. We're going to come forward with the real action plan, Mr. Speaker, one that's not based off of ideology and not on ideas, Mr. Speaker. We have really good ideas that we're bringing forward, Mr. Speaker. Member from Prince Edward Hastings and the member from Bruce Gray Owen Sound come to order. One wrap-up sentence, please. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. New question. The member from Ottawa Sound. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I was back in my hometown of Ottawa last night at a meeting organized by the City of Ottawa and councillors with regard to the FENT. With this as an important issue, maybe you could listen. The member from Nippian Carlton come to order. This is a serious issue which should concern us all. There have been three deaths in the City of Ottawa in the last two months that we know of due to Fentanyl and Chief Government Whip come to order. The member from Nippian Carlton, second time. Finish, please. Fentanyl and Opiate Overdose and those are the ones that we know about. There are a lot of very sad stories last night and one father, Mike, was telling a story of his son who's been addicted for five years and this is the message that he sent to all of us here. This is new. This is not... Question. Fentanyl is extremely dangerous. What I want to know from the Minister of Community and Correctional Services is what are we doing to get this off? Thank you. Thank you. Minister of Community Safety Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Order. Order. The member from Nippian Carlton is warned. And I don't need anyone else interjecting. Minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to thank the member for Otawa South. I'd also like to thank the member for Nippian Carlton for the work that they're doing on this case to raise it here in the House. One more. My colleague was telling me about some of the stories that he heard yesterday. So, and I think I would like us to not take this on a partisan approach because we know it's something that was, you know, in Ottawa yesterday. We also know that it's across all of our province and I will explain a little bit what we're doing and how I'm reaching out to our chief of police. Thank you very much. Supplementary. I thank the minister and I cannot stress the urgency with which that work needs to be done. What Mike said last night was this is a different drug. One pill can kill you. The second pill can kill you. The third pill destroys you. So, my follow-up question is what are we doing to make sure that we put nalaxalone in the hands of our first responders? Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker and thank you for the member again for his questions. We've recently made some changes to enable all paramedic to administer the naxalone onsite. And I want to say thank you to the great work they do but also the tremendous work our police services have been doing and getting opioids off the streets. And I know they need help, Mr. Speaker, to do better. And Ontario's chief of police have reached out to me to support from our government and I will work with them and their police services to address the opioid addiction crisis and I want to reach out to all the parents of Ontario today in the profound respect and we will not abandon them who will be there for them, Mr. Speaker. Thank you for your question. The leader remapses his royal opposition. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Premier. We all know about the Minister of Energy's mea culpa and hindsight but the Auditor General found that Liberals ignored the advice of their own energy exports when handing out 20 year contracts to Liberal friends. If they had listened to the Auditor General it could have saved Ontario four billion dollars. We also know that the 30 big renewable companies donated 1.3 million dollars to the Ontario Liberal Party. So my question to the Premier is given this hindsight given this regret about these bad contracts will the Ontario Liberal Party return the 1.3 million dollars in donations? Thank you Mr. Speaker pleased to rise you know investing in eliminating coal and building transmission Mr. Speaker as the leader of the opposition talked about was the right thing to do Mr. Speaker because our foresight Mr. Speaker we have a clean reliable system that we can depend on Mr. Speaker but as I said in my speech yes hindsight is 2020 and it was the what was correct Mr. Speaker not the how but I know the leader of the opposition knows hindsight very well because when it came to the updated sex ed curriculum Mr. Speaker he actually used hindsight and changed his mind because they didn't support it and then they did support it and then he wrote a letter Mr. Speaker not supporting it and then he supported it again Mr. Speaker hindsight is something that they know very well Mr. Speaker we've recognized on this side that we actually have invested in a system that has built a system that is very strong Mr. Speaker and we will continue to find ways of lowering rates for it I remember from Chatham Ken Essex will come to order supplementary Mr. Speaker again to the Premier Mr. Speaker I asked a serious question about hydro the government has acknowledged that their Green Energy Act was a mistake they signed bad contracts the response I get from the Minister of Energy was a smear on an unrelated topic so I will try again Mr. Speaker directly to the Premier directly to the Premier how does the Premier reconcile the fact that we've overpaid massively for renewable energy that if we had listened to the auditor general we could have saved Ontario's four billion on their hydro bills and the Ontario Liberal Party received 1.3 million dollars in donations so a very clear question is given this acknowledgement given this maya culpa will the Premier ensure the Ontario Liberal Party returns the 1.3 million dollars to Ontario ratepayers because of these bad contracts Mr. Speaker Thank you Thank you Mr. Speaker again you know the Green Energy Act Mr. Speaker the what was the absolute right thing to do Mr. Speaker the how these contracts were negotiated we of course Mr. Speaker we could do better and that's what we're actually doing Mr. Speaker is we're finding ways of doing better for the people of Ontario and bringing forward a rate mitigation process Mr. Speaker that's going to help all families and all businesses across the province but when talking about savings for people Mr. Speaker we've already done that and we're going to continue to do that the renegotiated Samsung agreement 3.7 billion dollars in savings Mr. Speaker reduced fit prices 1.9 billion dollars in savings Mr. Speaker the LRP process saved 1.5 billion dollars to reduce fit costs Mr. Speaker that was 800 million dollars we've continued to do this Mr. Speaker while at the same time eliminating cold and rebuilding a system that they couldn't care for Mr. Speaker that they left in shambles Thank you Thank you Question number from London Thank you Speaker my question is to the Premier Chris and Robina Willis live in London West with their five children both have jobs but like too many working families they are struggling to keep the lights on any time they fall behind on their hydro bills they must pay hefty fees and a larger deposit leading to bills as high as 1,000 dollars and forcing them to cut back on necessities as hydro rates increase this vicious circle just gets worse Speaker why is the Premier ignoring the crisis face like families face buy families like Chris and Robina Willis and refusing to act now to keep hydro costs affordable We have already begun to take action and we are bringing forward a plan that will continue to take action in the immediate term Mr. Speaker what's interesting about the questions from the NDP is that the document that they brought out yesterday lays out a number of initiatives most of which wouldn't reduce electricity prices and none of which would reduce electricity prices in the immediate term Mr. Speaker it would take a very long time and some of them I have no idea how they would do it in terms of for example asking the federal government to take action and forego revenue so Mr. Speaker we're going to bring forward a workable plan we're going to bring forward a plan an initiative that builds on the actions that we've already taken a real plan that will reduce electricity prices immediately Mr. Speaker Thank you Speaker Speaker Chris and Robina Willis are doing everything they can to keep up they've had to use the food bank multiple times they have removed their children from extracurricular activities now they say they will no longer be able to organize birthday parties for their children Speaker does this government think it is fair to make children pay the price for their failure to take real action on hydro rates Minister of Energy Thank you Mr. Speaker and and I think everyone in this House would agree Mr. Speaker that that's unacceptable that any family would have to do that Mr. Speaker and and that's why we acted and we're continuing to act Mr. Speaker when we brought forward the eight percent reduction Mr. Speaker that's helping you know five million families across the province with small businesses and farms included in that Mr. Speaker but we know there that more needs to be done and so that's why we're continuing right now Mr. Speaker to work and continue to find ways to help families because we know Mr. Speaker that we had to rebuild that system it was paramount for us to eliminate coal Mr. Speaker to make sure that we can have the system that's clean and reliable but we will take it to the next level Mr. Speaker we will work hard to ensure that we make this as affordable as possible for every family for every business right across our province from Windsor to Ottawa to Benora and everything in between Mr. Speaker we're working for everyone in this province Thank you New question the member from Kingston in the other Thank you Mr. Speaker my question is for the Attorney General I know that many Ontarians are aware of what happened last summer with the tragically hip farewell tour a huge number of hip fans especially those in my riding of Kingston and the islands could not get tickets to see Canada's iconic band in a matter of seconds across the province tickets were sold out and they later appeared on the secondary market at very inflated rates this happens with concerts sporting events and all kinds of other cultural events where fans have trouble getting tickets no matter how hard they try this is why I introduced bill 22 the ticket speculation amendment act last fall I was delighted that my PMB was supported unanimously and I'm pleased to be working with the Attorney General to increase consumer protection measures for fans all across this province Question I know that our government agrees that we need to take action Can the Attorney General please tell us about our government Thank you Attorney General Thank you very much Speaker and I want to thank the the member from Kingston and the islands for her leadership on this important issue as she mentioned she bought a private member's bill to make sure that fans do get access to tickets that are affordable that are accessible and in a transparent way what we saw a speaker happen last summer with tragically hips farewell tour where people were not able to get tickets if tickets were available they were available in a much higher price I think bugged many Ontarians it really disturbed me speaker and that is why we have announced our intention to take concrete steps by bringing legislation this spring that will make sure that we are putting fans first in Ontario speaker that we are making sure that tickets are accessible and are affordable for fans speaker so we are working and building on members private members bill in terms of scalping bots and in supplementary I'll give you more information in that regards thank you Thank you Supplementary Thank you speaker I would like to thank the Attorney General for his response many constituents and fans across the province are pleased to hear that the government is committed to taking action on this issue by banning scalper bots our government is sending a clear message to fans that we believe they deserve a fair shot at buying tickets I'm excited to be co-hosting a ticket speculation fan round table at Ryerson digital media zone tomorrow at 7 o'clock to hear from fans I know that constituents from all across this province are very happy with the work already underway to give everyone a fair chance especially when the next big show comes to town I know the attorney general would agree that we need to increase transparency in the ticket selling industry while this is going to be a difficult task question Attorney General please tell us more about our government's plan to ban scalper bots and the work we will be doing in the next months Attorney General thank you very much Mr. Speaker again I want to thank thank the member from Kingston and the islands for her leadership and I very much look forward to joining her tomorrow at the Ryerson University digital media zone for our consultation with fans and we invite people to attend that event at 7 p.m. Speaker earlier today also Speaker we launched an online survey at Ontario.ca slash tickets we encourage Ontarians to please go online and give us advice in four key areas how can we make access to tickets more easy by giving everybody a fair shot at buying tickets how can we make them more affordable how can we make information about tickets more transparent and Speaker of course how can we make sure that these rules are fully enforced this is a challenging task Speaker there is no silver bullet answer we are working with other jurisdictions like New York State as well which have the same kind of challenges to see if we can develop strategies that could be mutually enforceable and I look working with members and Ontarians on this thank you Speaker Thank you New question to the member from Cinnacle Creek My question for the Minister the environment in October 2016 the Environmental Review Tribunal ruled the appellance of the WPD wind turbine project in Clearview Township had proven the turbines would cause harm to human health and irreversible harm to the natural environment in particular endangered bats that live in the area now WPD is requesting a remedy hearing in the hopes of reversing the tribunal's ruling that safeguards the people and wildlife of this province Mr. Speaker why is WPD Canada being given a remedy hearing and the fact of the matter is the government's freedom of information records show existing operational wind turbines in Ontario far exceed the approval limits for bat and bird kills Thank you Minister of the Environment and the end of private change Mr. Speaker I am happy to meet with the member opposite to within the authority I have review the matter the Minister has limits on our authority because we have an environmental review tribunal which I have a great deal of faith in you may remember you the member opposite Mr. Speaker repeatedly question me about the Collingwood airport issue and I said I cannot insert myself in that because I legally have no authority to do it and I would probably have to resign if I did that it's interesting it's interesting it's interesting Mr. Speaker that the that the hearing resulted in changes made by the ERT with no interference from the government or the ministry and I think somewhat to the satisfaction of the member opposite so let's have some faith in our independent tribunal process Thank you Minister it's your policy that tribunal is following it's your green energy act that tribunal is following so you are ultimately responsible for this issue it's been proven that when turbine turbines kill resident bats and also attract migratory bats and kill them as well local residents and governments are spending excessive amounts of their own money doing what the minister should be doing and that's enforcing the endangered species act by refusing to issue permits to high-risk wind turbine projects Speaker this government's green energy act is creating energy poverty at the high cost of electricity and it's now bringing about project poverty by forcing citizens to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to oppose wind turbine projects and protect the environment Mr. Speaker is the minister committed to protecting Ontario's endangered species or to wind turbine projects take priority Minister thank you very much Mr. Speaker I would be very clear that we have with the Endangered Species Act of the Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry very strong protections a matter of fact we have the strongest protections in North America on endangered species I would also point out Mr. Speaker that we and Quebec and Nova Scotia are the only jurisdictions in the Americas that have greenhouse gas reductions below 1990 levels or have met the Q and a protocol which his party took us out of our energy system now and our environmental strategies have left us as one of only three jurisdictions in the Americas that are below 1990 levels and tracking on that and given the leader of his party and his colleagues who have a track record of destroying international agreements undermining them and increasing pollution in this province and increasing greenhouse gas emissions which would do a lot more damage than just the bats Mr. Speaker New question from Windsor West Thank you Speaker my question is to the Premier for people living in Windsor like Mary even the most basic services are more and more out of reach I'm not talking about luxuries Mary doesn't have a pool a hot tub or even a dishwasher as she says it's just basic living and the price for basic living a $200 electricity bill double what she was paying last year will this liberal government listen to Mary finally admit that electricity is a necessity not a luxury and begin to treat it that way Thank you Mr. Speaker we continue to continue to find ways to help people like Mary and other family in person and business in this province Mr. Speaker we did start by starting on January 1st with the 8% reduction and for those R2 customers in the province 330,000 households Mr. Speaker they're seeing a $60 and 50 cent reduction Mr. Speaker and we know we can do more there are programs in place to help people like Mary I do hope that Mary is looking at some of those programs but we will find ways and we are working hard right now Mr. Speaker to continue to find ways reduce costs but we do recognize that the system that we built Mr. Speaker eliminating coal rebuilding the grid that cost billions of dollars Mr. Speaker and we know that cost actually came at the expense of many families Mr. Speaker and that's why we are now looking at ways of ensuring that we can continue to find some downward pressure on rates and bring immediate action and relief supplementary Thank you Speaker again to the premier not a day goes by in Windsor where I don't hear yet another hydro horror story parents can't buy school supplies for their children enroll them in sports or send them to summer camp all because of their skyrocketing hydro bill businesses can't afford to expand some have already closed I invite the premier to come to Windsor and actually listen to how difficult it's becoming to afford even the most basic needs like hydro food or medication for seniors I'll introduce her to my constituents I'll even buy her lunch people in Windsor need action not more liberal talking points they need more than five dollars off this month and maybe six dollars off the next will this liberal government end the sell-off of hydro one and offer real plan to lower electricity bills once again Mr Speaker as we said there are several programs in place that actually help these families significantly Mr Speaker in terms of dollars that they're saving every month when it comes to their electricity bill we're also making sure Mr Speaker as I said before that that eight percent reduction that started out of January 1st Mr Speaker and that's a significant reduction for many families and farms and businesses right across the province and that took effect as of January 1st and many of those families are now seeing the full benefit to that Mr Speaker now that we're at the end of February so Mr Speaker we recognize that you know what the investments that we made in this system making sure that we're off-call making sure that we have a clean system a reliable system and one that we can count on Mr Speaker that came with a cost and now Mr Speaker we're taking it to the next level we're working hard on finding other ways that we can reduce costs for not only this family as was mentioned Mr Speaker but all families and businesses right across our great province thank you new question the member from Brampton Springdale thank you Mr Speaker my question is to the minister of housing and minister responsible for the poverty reduction strategy Mr Speaker I'm proud that our government has committed to end chronic homelessness by 2025 we recognize that all of us have shared responsibility in the communities that we call home I'm pleased to see that our government has significantly increased the region of Peel's support from Ontario's Community Homelessness Prevention Initiative CHPI helps thousands of at-risk families and individuals retain and find secure housing and allow them to build healthy and stable lives this year Peel is receiving 15.3 million dollars from CHPI and by 2018-19 this investment in homelessness prevention in Peel will grow to 17.8 million dollars Mr Speaker this is great news can the minister please tell the this House how the CHPI increases will help ensure that all Ontarians are given the supports that they deserve thank you minister of housing well thank you Speaker and thank you to the hardworking member for Brampton Springdale for that great question I'm proud to say Speaker that Ontario is a leader in the fight against homelessness to reach our goal of ending chronic homelessness we're focusing on prevention I can report all areas of Ontario received an increase in community homeless prevention initiative we call it CHPI funding this year significantly increase funding in Durham York Peel Halton regions and other communities will help these service managers better support the needs right across their communities this funding will decrease the need for people to migrate to Toronto to seek service CHPI provides services people need to rebuild their lives like housing transportation assistance and life skills coaching Mr. Speaker we're investing more and more every year in all communities in Ontario to help them fight homelessness in their streets Thank you Mr. Speaker I'm glad to see that Ontario is taking strong action by empowering municipalities across the province in this fight against homelessness I want to take this time and recognize the many frontline staff who demonstrate the strength of our community in supporting our most vulnerable in my writing Brampton Springdale a community isn't a bunch of people living in the same place it's a shared sense of responsibility to one another and that both our successes and our struggles bind us together even still we know that more work needs to be done can the minister explain to this house what the government is doing to encourage the community leadership and ensure wraparound solutions to those who need our help the most Well thank you Mr. Speaker and again thank you to the member for the question and to our municipal partners across Ontario who are working hard to end homelessness speaker we began our work by striking an expert panel on homelessness and used their input to shape the path our path and the path forward we're focusing our efforts to prevent homelessness on those most at risk including the chronically homeless homeless youth indigenous people and individuals transitioning out of provincial institutions speaker we know chronic homelessness is a serious symptom of other obstacles like drug addiction mental health challenges and disabilities so in the coming weeks we're moving forward with an unprecedented investment in housing with supports to help eliminate the obstacles that keep people in a cycle of homelessness freeing them to rebuild their lives and maintain stable homes and I really look forward speaker to sharing the details sir thank you your question and member from leads Grendel my question is for the minister of environment I want to replay the facts speaker in February the minister of the environment announced the $14,000 Tesla luxury car rebate I have the press release right here to prove it it's supposedly a part of his action plan and around the same time the minister's former chief of staff started working at tesla but then the minister claims his office had nothing to do with the decision it was the minister of transportation so my question speaker is simple yes or no did the minister of environment's office participate in the luxury car rebate program thank you very much Mr. Speaker I think we've been very clear on this it was last spring that the decisions were made and they were made by the government that the ministry of transportation is the administrative unit they develop the program and number three Mr. Speaker the person involved the staffer did exactly what I would want and I think we'd want our staffers to do they immediately upon looking to leave government went to the inter-tegrity commissioner met with the Tegrity Commissioner I got a letter that was copied on that the integrity commissioner said that they followed all of the rules and I would hope that we would have respect for people who follow the rules Mr. Speaker which was the case here and that should end it Mr. Speaker thank you so thank you again I want to reiterate this press release from the government on this program change came from his ministry the ministry of environment and climate change it's time for this government to put their money where their mouth is maybe their emails where their mouth is I filed an ordered paper question I can go under freedom of information but I'm going to ask the minister this question will he release all of the emails that contain the word Tesla that were issued by his former chief of staff yes or no Mr. Speaker I will say it again this decision was made by the government last spring clearly made by the government the decision was made last spring the member from Renfrew Nipissing Pembroke is warned and the member from Nipissing will come to order finish please again when the when the political staffer involved decided to leave government he did what every political staffer should do went and met with the integrity commissioner did a full disclosure then got a letter back giving him complete clearance and rules to follow and he followed those rules Mr. Speaker again the thank you oh sorry thank you new question the member from Tomiskimi Cochrane thank you speaker my question is for the premier the horn granite curling club is a cornerstone in the community of Nilsker as are many curling clubs and ice rinks and tragically a few years ago it burned to the ground and through the dedication of its members and support for the community it was totally rebuilt it's totally modern it faced a huge challenge but now it faces an even greater challenge last year the membership fees for the horn granite curling club were forty two thousand dollars their hydro bill was forty six thousand dollars so you know where that's going how is it that we've come to this that our real way of life is being destroyed by your hydro policies Mr. Speaker it is great to talk about curling Mr. Speaker I know Sudbury has a great curling club as well and the Coppercliff curling club Mr. Speaker have come to me and talked to me about their electricity bill Mr. Speaker you know what I did is I put them in touch with their local utility their local utility that went in and worked with them on the save on energy program Mr. Speaker and the save on energy program Mr. Speaker is now saving that curling club thousands of dollars every month Mr. Speaker so I encourage that member to utilize the local utilities that are within your area use the programs that are in place Mr. Speaker because we rebuilt this system we've made sure it's clean and now we're making sure it's affordable for every single business and for every single person in this province Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker thank you some supplementary Minister with all due respect this example it's a brand new facility they've done everything that they could to save energy they have worked with every program available as have most people in this province I'm sure most the vast anyone comes in our office we make sure that we look for every program available and yet this club and many others like it are in danger of closing because they can't pay their hydro bills the real question is the real question is your ministry has analysts policy analysts experts long-term energy plans how did you not foresee this happening why did it have to come to crisis before you realize that oh the people in rural industry can't pay their hydro bills oh perhaps you have to do something how how did it come to this with your energy program minister thank you mr. Speaker it came to this mr. Speaker because for decades the opposition parties when they were in power never invested in the system and it was up to us to rebuild it mr. Speaker and that doesn't happen overnight mr. Speaker we've rebuilt the system we've made sure it's clean we've made sure it's green mr. Speaker and now we've made sure that we've got a system that we can rely on we're going to continue to work hard mr. Speaker for the folks that are in rural parts of our province we've started mr. Speaker with the $60 and 50 said triple rp reduction mr. Speaker we're going to continue to find ways of finding programs at mr. Speaker that will help these organizations just like we did in Sudbury just like we've done in Thunder Bay just like we've done right across our great province mr. Speaker and we'll continue to find ways to help not only in rural but in urban parts of our province mr. Speaker thank you we're still at the standing order 38a the member from Leeds Greenville has given notice of his dissatisfaction with the answer it was questioned given by the minister the environment climate change concerning the electric car rebate program this matter will be debated today at 6 p.m. there are no deferred votes this house stands recess until 3 p.m. this afternoon