 It's now time for question period Remember from Perry Salomon My questions to the acting Premier I like many Ontarians was shocked at yesterday's decision by Cliff's natural resources To pull out of the ring of fire What is truly unfortunate is the amount of unheeded warnings that your government received throughout the process The Premier deflected my questions here in the house numerous times and in one instead chose to reminisce about paddling on the Attawapas Gatt River Acting Premier back in April Bill Boer senior vice president of Cliff said quote company officials have yet to talk with Representatives of Premier Kathleen Wins government He went on quote as we approach a year since the agreement in terms that that that's become more of a concern closed quote In September he said since last winter's provincial question change talks with Queens Park have stalled Acting Premier it is clear that the blame lies squarely on the shoulders of your government Who in your government is going to be held accountable for your failure Thank you deputy Premier a minister I will speak I'll refer this to the Minister of Northern Development of Mines Mr. Northern Development of Mines. Thank you very much. Let me begin by saying that our government our province remains absolutely committed This is an extraordinary multi-generational economic development activity no mineral potential worth 60 billion dollars And we know that there is extraordinary interest in this and I will certainly say that I am disappointed with The decision and the announcement that clips made and but also appreciate their continued interest in the project What's really important is that we continue to move forward to develop this project We are going to work diligently to ensure that we are ready to support this development And we're going to remain firmly committed to working with any The fact is Mr. Speaker that we are we are taking strong action to move the project forward Thank you together to create a development corporation. Thank you Well again to the acting career how many generations do you have to wait Acting Premier what is so shameful this is your government has been bragging about developing the ring of fire for years now May 9th 2012 your government issued a press release. It stated Thousands of jobs coming to northern Ontario the release also started a refinery caprio promising to employ 450 people during the construction as many as 450 people in 2015 when it was scheduled to be operational acting Premier your sold hope to the people of northern Ontario and a failed to deliver First nation communities cities like Thunder Bay and Sudbury are all waiting for the investment jobs That this project would bring You're sitting on the largest deposit of chrome I'd ever discovered in North America What's your acting Premier? Why have you failed to bring the promised jobs and prosperity? Thank you minister figure we are working incredibly hard and providing really strong action to move this project forward We are debate. We are establishing a development corporation that will bring together any and all interested partners into this project That surely includes the historic Consultations that are under taken with the mentality for their important partners other industry partners I don't know further discussions with clubs that we intend to continue to have to bring cooperation And may I say make the speaker? We are also making significant investments in communities both first nations and other northern communities Bring it forward and skills got great But let's also make sure mr. Speaker that we recognize how important it is to bring the federal government to the table Calling on them to be Imagine if we are prepared to make very significant That can Do other projects new online the Labrador hydroelectric project, so we need you to come Better final supplementary Again to the acting premier how do things get so far off the rails? The cliffs the major player in the ring of fire has pulled the plug on their development You had plenty of warnings yet even in the face of prominent miners publicly raising concerns about quote Unresolved agreements with the governor of Ontario that are critical to the project's economic viability You insisted that the ring of fire was moving ahead Well yesterday cliffs announced that it would be shuttering its mining camp in the ring of fire Closing offices in Thunder Bay and in Toronto Acting premier. What do you have to say to these hard-working people who are now out of work as a direct result of your government's failure? To be an extraordinary high level of interest among industry among first nations and among me I hope to see the federal government is seen as project We are we are taking very strong after Newark You said it please Because she was Because she was very much engaged and probably even with my mic on didn't hear me the member from Burlington will come to order This project is moving forward mr. Speaker, there's no question about it There's an extraordinary high level of interest and we are gonna continue to have our discussions the formation of the development Corporation is crucial to seeing this project moving forward We are gonna we are bringing together any and all partners and I would like to actually have the Members of the opposite to let a little member the third party recognize the important work that's being done with the first day Because as well we need to create the climate to allow the private sector to get involved, but we understand how That's why we put in place the development corporation That's why we're gonna continue to work with all our partners in this project a 60 billion dollar project in terms of Mineral potential part of the province I've never seen development before Thank you Thank you, and good morning speaker my question is for the deputy premier a month ago my colleague from Perry, San Muskoka told you that cliff said the ring of fire is quote in a tenuous state if the company doesn't have a Transportation route it doesn't have a project the premier's response. She told us that this summer she paddled on the Attawapiscat River That's not an urgent call to action her reply wasn't about the thousands of jobs at risk many of them first nations Her reply wasn't about the wealth that could be created. No. She paddled a hundred kilometers away You and your ministers were warned by cliffs. You have absolutely bungled this once-in-a-lifetime Opportunity it's obvious you have absolutely no plan for the north will you at least take and implement the PC plan for Northern, Ontario Deputy premier minister of Northern development of minds the sir speak your heart. Thank you very much But the speaker our government means absolutely commanded to see the ring of fire project move forward We're committed to smart sustainable and collaborative development. That is why indeed we have set up a Development corporation in order to bring all the partners together That's going to be crucial in terms of making the kinds of decisions we need to make We recognize how important it is to make the right decisions about infrastructure and that's the work that we're going to be doing We need to bring the partners to the table. We are working extraordinary work with our first nations We need to bring the federal government to the table. They made some things important many other projects We sure like to have you over on that side of the house Join our call to have them reach our matching funds the fact is this project And we're doing extraordinarily hard work will continue to do hard work the ring of fire project remains an answer For our premium we recognize the economic development opportunities the thousands of jobs that will be created and we remain confident that indeed Supplementary thank you speaker. Well, thank you for creating another panel Deputy Premier our leader Tim Hootak led a group of us MPPs up to the ring of fire site We all saw firsthand the two actual mine sites that we're going to be developed each would have seen a three billion dollar investment the transportation route adds another billion dollars last week I had the privilege of touring cliffs proposed smelter site in Capriola I must say it really is a fascinating 4,000 acre site and a further three billion dollar investment that would have happened guys You just blew a ten billion dollar deal of a lifetime and you're about to put more people out of work Much of that exploration drill bits and drill rods are Manufactured in my riding of North Bay and Poison And cliffs was four million dollars a month here in Toronto Well, what will you tell those families who are getting their pink slips this morning? It is absolutely Dismissive the member is about a development corporation that's being welcomed by industry that's being welcomed by the First Nations Something that will help us move this project in a way that it needs to happen It certainly is interesting coming from a party as well that is part of their PC platform or white paper We're talking about actually dismantling discarding shutting down the Ministry of Northern Development The fact is Mr. Speaker we remain absolutely committed to this project We are taking strong action to move it forward the formation of the development preparation is absolutely vital We need the federal government involvement We have the provinces commitment to significant investment the industry partners are interested This is a huge project with a great deal of interest. We look forward to continue our conversation with Cliff And it certainly involves this are going to bring this project forward We are going to make this project happen, and we are going to continue the hard work Thank you I'm going to ask that Let me try again I'm gonna ask that we tone it down The member from Lampton Kent Middle Sex will come to order Final supplementary speaker speaker. I have to tell you how appalled I am at a standing ovation for losing ten billion dollar jobs here in Ontario Deputy Premier last week we learned that Heinz is shuttering their plant in Leamington and Shedding a thousand mostly full-time people and we also learned that while you were warned in advance You did nothing Cliff's warned you a month ago that the project needed urgent Action and again you did absolutely nothing your premier went canoeing and jogging But you did nothing these companies despite their warnings, which now have come true And i'm sorry now you're disappointed the northern minister says don't worry the rock is in the ground It's not going anywhere. This is a multi generational opportunity Well, my question speaker is which generation did you have in mind to finally get around to doing something? Minister Politics mr. Speaker and didn't we are disappointed by cliff's decision And I do appreciate that they continue to express interest in the project They have spoken about suspending it indefinitely, but the fact is mr. Speaker We are going to continue to have conversations with them and the fact that we are moving forward with the project In a most definitive and a very action-oriented way, and that's exactly why we have formed the Development corporation we recognize This was a business decision by clefts, and I respect that and I'll let them speak for themselves But we are absolutely committed to seeing this project move forward and this development corporation is absolutely Key to seeing this project move forward. We know we recognize how important Infrastructure decisions are we are prepared to make a significant investment. The province is committed to that investment We need the federal government on board But we also want to bring together the other industry partners who have expected a strong interest in this project They're committed to it. This is going to move forward. This project remains an extraordinary priority for our province Thank you, speaker My question is to the minister of northern development and mines In 2010 the current premier and other members of the liberal cabinet Announced that clefts natural resources would be building a refinery outside of Sudbury When exactly did the government first learn that the clefts project was in jeopardy? Mr. Speaker, we've been we've been working closely with clefts over the last couple of years and we recognize that the decision that they made Our announcement yesterday is very disappointing The fact is that we are continuing to move move forward on the ring of fire project As I would hope the leader of the third party would want us to do and I hope that she will join us And in doing the work that we need to do We need to to put to do a number of actions to make this project come to fruition And those are the actions that we're taking which is why indeed working on the development corporation is absolutely crucial Why it's so important for us to to work continue our work on historic consultations with the Metawel first nations Which is why we need to continue to make the investments that we made to to have skills upgrading and communities running in terms of Capacity building those that's the work that we're going to continue to do This is a huge project. There is 60 billion dollars of mental potential We are going to see this project move forward and we're going to continue to take strong action to see that that happens Beyond issuing a press release announcing quote Thousands of jobs coming what steps did the government take in 2010 to ensure that the jobs that they had so confidently announced We're actually going to appear speaker Mr. Speaker the economic development potential for this project remains very much the same The project is a it's got a mineral potential of 60 billion dollars There is extraordinary interest in this project and that interest continues with cliff's natural resources And but there are other companies as well who are very interested and moving forward on this project We are we are going to continue to take strong action to move the project forward And it would be great to have the third party as well as other members of the other Supporting us and moving together with the development corporation. We've got very interested partners from industry from the first nations We're open to having discussions with them very very soon And the fact is we need the federal government on board as well. We recognize there's lots This is a multifaceted problem. Nobody argues of that But we are going to move this project forward. We continue to remain absolutely absolutely committed to it Final supplementary Speaker the minister didn't mention any steps that they took in 2010 or 2011 or 2012 Two weeks ago the minister and issued another press release Pledging to create a development corporation for the ring of fire when the minister made that announcement speaker Did he already know the cliffs would be pulling out? Minister as the as the leader will know there was some very encouraging positive comments that were expressed After we announced the creation of the development corporation and those comments will continue We are having very important discussions already already had very important discussions with a number of potential partners for the development corporation And those will continue in fact, they will be redoubled We recognize how important it is to to make decisions related to infrastructure and the way to do that I think is to bring the potential partners together So certainly that includes discussions with members of industry who are obviously very much involved in the ring of fire Recognizing the long term let along the medium term economic development potential for this all across northern Ontario In terms of the creation of jobs that's still our priority. The fact is again We need to have the federal government join us matching funds We've seen them support other major projects across the country. We need them at the table I look forward to having an opportunity to sit down with the federal minister Thank you. The federal ministers say they're committed to the project. We need them New question the leader of the third party Questions for the minister of northern development and mine speaker and you know what nobody likes the blame game We don't want a blame game. We want jobs in this province. That's what the government should be focusing on Our counting on the jobs and prosperity that the natural resources of the ring of fire actually bring But they worry that the development corporation announcement is once again About a desperate government scrambling to get ahead of bad news Instead of getting something done for the people who need jobs Can the minister provide any detail whatsoever about this development corporation that he announced two weeks ago speaker minister If the speaker this is certainly not about the blame game This is about bringing all of our partners together on a project with extraordinary economic development potential for northern Ontario A project with extraordinary mineral potential up to 60 billion dollars We are very committed to seeing this project move forward. The development corporation will bring those partners together Bring industry together. We hope to bring first nations as partners to the project as well We certainly are inviting the federal government to join us for that project as well The fact is that's the key to making the decisions that certainly need to be made related to infrastructure related to a transportation corridor And that's why we are so keen to move this development corporation forward So may I say mr. Speaker this project continues to be a huge priority for us the opportunities for economic development Answer the noise continue to be enormous and that's why we are staying so committed to this extraordinarily important thank you Speaker the premier promised that thousands of jobs were coming those were her words But once again when people desperate for work look beyond the press releases They see a government without any plans any details or frankly any idea what they are doing The only jobs the liberals seem to rally about and seem to really care about is their own jobs Speaker does the minister have any evidence whatsoever that liberals took look took anything Any meaningful steps whatsoever to actually deliver on the jobs that they had promised the thousands of jobs that they had promised Back when the premier promised them The fact is that we've seen some really interesting opportunities Which are the mining supply and services sector that have come about as a result of the opportunities We're going to be seeing the ring of fire, but in terms of the actions that we have taken I do hope that the leader through if I were to recognize how important our historic consultations with the mettle first nations are Clearly we need to work with them and we are very much happy to work with them Bob Ray representing the mettle first nations Frank Yacobucci representing the provincial government It's absolutely crucial the first day to see those benefits And in fact, I know the leader third party has called on us to make that happen That's a very important part of the process as is the fact that we need to bring our all of our partners together in this development corporation That will be a key element in moving this project forward We need to make decisions related to infrastructure. This will allow us to make those decisions And certainly again, Mr. Speaker, I can only say how strongly committed we are to seeing this project move forward It's a huge priority for us final supplementary Speaker across ontario people are worried about jobs and they see unemployment above the national average 300,000 jobs lost in manufacturing and the highest electricity rates in the entire country in fact the entire continent And their government reaction is a promise to conduct studies strike panels and churnout press releases Beyond the top we keep seeing the same old status quo speaker How can anybody take this government's job plan seriously when it's obviously written on the back of an envelope or maybe on the back of a press release Speaker our our role in our commitment is to see that the best value possible for all ontarians And that's exactly what we are doing with the ring of fire project We all understand it isn't true. It is truly a multi-generational opportunity with a huge mineral potential And we recognize that the need the right decisions need to be made and the right climate needs to be provided That's the hard work that we have been doing and that that speaks to the hard work that we will continue to be doing We continue to be very very excited about the opportunities, but it's important that we do it right Which is why indeed establishing a development corporation with such a key part of the process It's why indeed the historic consultations with the metropolis nations are so absolutely vital It's why the investments that we've made in skills upgrading and community capacity building is so important This is all part of a large project. We're committed to it. We're going to stay committed to it. It's a huge project My question is to the deputy premier deputy premier yesterday in parallel In sarnia announced it was closed its blending division at sarnia citing inability to be a competitive in ontario This means lost jobs and investment imperial lost jobs and opportunities for the local trades and lost business for local suppliers And lost tax revenue for the city of sarnia deputy premier Will you do anything to kickstart our economy or generate investment on ontario? And did you do anything to compete for those jobs in imperial and the supporting jobs in the local community? Economic development trade and employment Minister of economic development trade and employment. Thank you, mr. Speaker. This is precisely why a year ago We created the southwestern ontarian development fund I don't get things quiet for the last shot shots Carry on So mr. Speaker, of course the party opposite the pcs chose not to support that Will come to order and retaining six thousand jobs in southwestern ontario last week I met with imperial oil out in calgary also met with another important sarnia company nova chemicals headquartered in calgary I had meetings with both of them I have great confidence in the chemical and petrochemical industry in that part of ontario And I will continue to work hard to make sure that we support investments and send the creation of new jobs And it is succeeding mr. Speaker Thank you Deputy premier back to the deputy premier again You might ask how that fund's working out for you imperial oil founded in lampton county in 1880 And that's had over Been over a hundred years and sarnians and created great jobs After 10 years of your liberal government skyrocketing energy prices and anti-business policies companies across this province are heading for greener pastures A deputy premier we sought at lemington's hinds facility last week and other Cliffs just announced today and of course an imperial oil and sarnia deputy premier the hits keep adding up Will you finally agree that your government is bad for business in ontario? It's time for a change from the team that's leading ontario. Just apologize and resign Attorney general Attorney general you uh, you ain't seen the speaker met No, you have nowhere close Minister Well, mr. Speaker as the official opposition continues to denigrate and talk down our manufacturing sector as I mentioned just last week I met with two companies that had their bases in the sarnia lampton area I met with their executives to continue to promote investment in that important area And I need to remind the legislature as well Of course at the pcs opposed back in 2008 the support that we provided to the auto sector If they had have got their way mr. Speaker gm and chrisler would not even be in this province In this country, we're very proud of what is happening in our with our businesses and our manufacturers We continue to invest in that sector Mr. Speaker good morning, my question is to the minister of northern development and mines For over five years the liberal government has failed to develop a framework for northern development in the ring of fire But this inaction hasn't stopped the government from issuing press releases touting opportunities that they've done no work to develop Cliffs the biggest player in the ring of fire pulled out announcement Is not only a blow to job creation in the province but demonstrates most clearly that this government has no plan for northern job creation If this government is actually doing work, why can't we get a briefing on what this development corporation plan is? Which is the government belatedly announced two weeks ago Thank you. Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker. We have a very clear and detailed action plan for the ring of fire project That is why we are so keen to move forward with the development corporation And well, I appreciate that the uh the member and and the third party may want to play politics with This issue the fact is that we are work moving forward in a number of direct ways to move it forward That certainly includes the uh the establishment of the development corporation Which is crucial to bringing all the partners together It certainly includes the historic consultations with the first agent which are vital It includes our capacity building in terms of a briefing. Mr. Speaker I would certainly be very pleased to we had an opportunity to discuss this Yesterday, we will be very pleased to have that set up for you But in terms of the project itself absolute commitment for us continues to be a huge Opportunity for northern ontario could be a huge economic potential for jobs We're going to continue to work to develop to keep working on our action plan to move this project forward. Thank you supplementary Well, mr. Speaker a plan to enact a plan to implement the plan to put in a plan into action is not action The ring of fire is once in a lifetime opportunity for people in ontario Last year this government made a big announcement that it had reached a deal with cliffs That would create processing jobs in capriol that would build infrastructure Last night's announcement sadly proves that there was no deal No plan and that government in action on this opportunity is costing the province jobs Why did the government stall for five years instead of creating a framework for developing the job creation in the ring of fire? Mr. Speaker We have had a very close working relationship with clubs that we will continue to speak with them about this There are other companies who are very very interested in the ring of fire development as well This is a huge economic development opportunity which everyone in This house certainly knows about and many people in the province know about that's why we have got a clear plan moving forward That's why we have made it so important to invest in skills upgrading That's why we have invested significantly in capacity building That's why we are involved in these historic consultations of the first nation The member office that understands how important that is and perhaps most critically That's why we are so excited about the establishment of a development corporation because we recognize that indeed that will be Bring it together all the partners to move this project forward. Thank you, mr. Speaker Your question the members involved Thanks very much, mr. Speaker speaker my question today is for the minister of community service community safety and correctional services the ontario provincial police Is responsible for policing almost one million square kilometers of land across our province Over 100,000 square kilometers of waterways and two-thirds of the municipalities in a province that makes up almost 40 Of the country's population day in and day out speaker OPP officers are patrolling our roads and highways helping ontarians where they're in need when they're in need And providing excellent police service to keep communities safe Our government and the OPP are committed speaker to ensuring the safety of all ontarians Like all first responders OPP officers are running towards dangerous speaker whenever one else is running to safety On tuesday our government introduced bill 133 an act to amend the ontario provincial police Collective bargaining act could the minister please explain to the house the intentions behind this bill Thank you minister I want to thank the member from von for this question. I couldn't agree more with his comment This morning OPP officers are vital to ontario if our communities are not safe Then we cannot build the successful Confessionate and united province that I believe all parties Year are striving for but we need to level the playing field for the OPP officers So This bill if it's passed will amend the ontario provincial police collective agreement act 2006 And would make the labor right of OPP officer consistent with the right of officer working for municipal police services So we want to make the system fairer across the province And I really look forward to working closely with both the opposition party who have And or said this bill. Thank you very much. Mr. Thank you very much, mr. Speaker speaker It's great to hear from the minister that we are making efforts to make sure that more labor rights To make labor rights consistent for all police officers in ontario So I understand speaker the proposed changes will move the management rights clause out of the legislation And into the collective agreements for uniformed and civilian staff Speaker I have a two prong follow-up question for the minister of community safety and correctional services If the bill is passed speaker how many uniformed and civilian staff will be impacted by the changes and secondly Were these amendments meant to pass as part of the budget? Thank you, minister. Yes. Thank you. Thank you, mr. Speaker if passed these changes would ensure more consistency between the OPP police association collective bargaining and With that said nine thousand OPP a members would be impacted Mr. Speaker these amendments were meant to pass as part of the 2012 budget The removal of these measures in committee was an error And one that the other parties agree was not intentional So I know this item is something that the official opposition and the third party supports I believe this give us a great opportunity to show ontarian that we can work together on common goals And I really look forward to that opportunity and closing. Mr. Speaker I wanted to show my great appreciation for these nine thousand men and women who works with the OPP On every day basis. Thank you My questions to the acting premier Premier I continue to point out the supreme court of canada has in fact ruled the profits made of off of revenue Neutral programs like drive clean are an illegal tax and must be repaid legal So I was surprised to see that your environment minister ignored the letter. I sent him earlier this month Outlining how the liberal government could bring itself in line with canadian law It's quite simple actually first stop imposing illegal taxes today second pay back the 19 million dollars That's been taken from the pockets of ontario drivers But you continue to refuse to take either of these steps deputy premier How do you expect ontarians to have any respect for your government when you have no respect for canadian law? Wow To the minister finance Sure finance. Thank you, mr. Speaker Yeah, as noted in the fall economic statement, we are addressing drive clean. We want it to be revenue neutral We know that the work done over the many years with the drive cream program has helped to improve our quality of life and protect public health And also reduce emissions. We also mentioned at great length the need to provide for consumer protection It's not just drive clean. We're also looking at ways to control Cell phone use and and and contract pricing to save consumers more money And in this case we will do our effort to ensure that drive clean remains revenue neutral Notwithstanding the fact that over many years it was subsidized And the taxpayers were actually covering the the excess cost of the drive clean program throughout that time Thank you So we'll have back to the acting premier the ontario pc party has now been calling on the liberals to scrap drive clean For more than two and a half years And now nearly everyone agrees it's time to phase out the program in fact Even officials in your own environment minister say it's time to end drive clean because the program has in fact Outlived its usefulness Now I couldn't help but notice that the ndp leader hinted earlier this week that she'll support keeping this temporary program running indefinitely If you lower the fees by a couple of bucks So deputy premier will you continue to force ontario drivers to pay hundreds of dollars for your fault to e-test As a result of your collusion with the ndp Mr. Speaker the drive clean program brought forward by the other government no less Was a good move. It is about saving lives It is about it's it's also about controlling emissions improving The the the environment in which we live and it has taken hold and we have made a lot of advancements We will continue to work with the program to ensure that it's revenue neutral and reduce the cost of consumers To protect the interests of all concerns speaker. I think that's appropriate thing for us to do Thank you very much, mr. Speaker my question is for the minister of economic development and trade Less than a week after Heinz announced it would close its Liebington plant We learned that Heinz will invest 28 million to expand its facility in Ohio and create almost 250 new jobs there Get this The reason they chose Ohio was the state enabled job creation tax credit that netted Heinz 513 $100,000 for moving Liebington jobs there new democrats have long called for a similar job creation tax credit here in ontario 740 people will be will be out of work in Liebington and 46 ario tomato growers will lose a significant contract because Of this government's inaction. Why did this government ignore the advice of new democrats and refused to implement a job creation tax credit That would keep jobs here in ontario Thank you, mr. Speaker and I appreciate the question and of course Uh, I think all of us are disappointed very disappointed with the decision of Heinz to close the plant in Liebington Of course, they're also closing two plants in the united states as well and they made this based on business decisions However, we've been working very hard. I've spoken with the local officials the local MPP Of course, uh, my staff have been on the ground yesterday meeting with members of the supply chain to make sure that we do Whatever we can for them tomorrow I've got my my ministry together with training colleges and universities sitting down at the union the employees We're looking at all possible options In fact, I'll be traveling to Liebington tomorrow myself to meet with the local officials and the leadership there the business community To see what we can do and everything from repurposing the plant to uh, perhaps looking at a cooperative opportunity But certainly our first priorities for the employees of their families and the problem Again to the minister it is amazing that you have 10 trade offices around the world But you don't have a made in ontario jobs plan On tuesday the premier stood in this house and she said they had done everything that we could To keep this plant from closing everything But she had but had she created a job creation tax credit along the lines that new democrats had suggested There would be a good chance there would be some hope That those 740 Liebington workers wouldn't be losing their jobs. How can this premier claim that her government Did everything that they could when you outright rejected a new democrat solution that would have saved 740 Liebington jobs Minister Well, mr. Speaker judging by her the your supplementary question I'm not sure if she's proposing to do what her government did in the 1990s Which is to close our international trade missions because we're not going to do that We we believe that it's important in fact the future of ontario businesses is to find those Those opportunities overseas in the emerging and new economies to be able to increase their the jobs here in ontario To find for their services and goods other opportunities But we're working hard with the employees the union the labor the labor representatives as well as the local businesses and the local leadership In hinds in in Liebington to do whatever we can to make sure that that there are opportunities for these Employees going forward and as I mentioned i'll be there tomorrow By ministries already on the ground training colleges universities is there working with the union employees We're working hard to make sure that this is a positive result Thank you Merci monsieur le président ma question Thank you, mr. Speaker My questions it for the minister Developing economic development The incremental engine of job growth a cornerstone of our economy It's been estimated that something on the order about 99 of ontario businesses are in fact small or medium sized Of course, I see this vividly as I tour my own riding in vittobicoke north as we have quite a vibrant sector in addition to our residential areas These enterprises are encouraged and heartened to learn that our government's plans for jobs and growth Will support small business cut red tape and invest in infrastructure necessary to create a dynamic and innovative business climate From my briefings. It's clear that the supporting small business act is part of this plan Speaker can the minister please inform this chamber about this act It's impact on the bottom line of small businesses in my riding of vittobicoke north and broadly across the province Minister of economic development trade and employment. Thank you to the member for his question And he's right that small businesses are critical to the strength of our economy as jobs minister I've had the privilege of meeting with many many business owners right across this province They're moving our economy forward their innovation is not only making our economy more dynamic But it is creating jobs mr. Speaker This is why our government wants to offer every support we can and incentives to help make doing business in this province Easier that's why we've introduced bill 105 The supporting small businesses act this act will cut taxes for 60 000 small businesses Mr. Speaker and eliminate that tax all together for 90 of the small businesses in this province Businesses behind this bill mr. Speaker the Canadian Federation of independent business supports this act They've said by passing bill 105 you have the opportunity to demonstrate your commitment to supporting the province's job creators This is answer their press release and mr. Speaker. I've got additional Issues that I'll address in the supplementary Thank you minister. I appreciate your comments regarding these long sought after changes to the Ontario tax regime And I get right to the point. What is the importance of finishing third reading passing this bill and proclaiming this as Ontario law? Thank you minister Oh, mr. Speaker not passing this legislation before the house rises means that tens of thousands of our small businesses will have to pay Higher taxes in the new year more taxes means less money to Spend on expanding their operations on going global and on hiring youth. It means less growth mr. Speaker for our economy We've already eliminated 80 000 regulations pertaining to businesses. We've launched our 295 million dollar youth job strategy We've eliminated the small business surtax the capital tax Mr. Speaker I call on all my colleagues in this legislature to support the supporting small businesses act to make our economy stronger And make doing business for the entrepreneurs and business leaders that contribute so much to this province Thank you speaker to the minister of health Speaker it's been Some two years that we've heard from the minister of health that all is well at orange Here are yesterday's headlines from the Toronto star Orange and danger helicopter pilots federal trope says order The globe and mail orange's lack of training and danger pilot safety federal report says From the Toronto sun next tragedy inevitable and less service stripped of error operations And speaker today we find That last friday there were no helicopters available in thunder bay in moussine And in canora due to helicopter pilot shortage And we continue to hear from frontline staff That the error operations of orange are in serious trouble question speaker three federal reports Continuous input from front lines. Why does this minister not acknowledge that the aviation Aspects of orange should be outsourced even the ceo agrees with that Well speaker i i have to say that um That there's been an extraordinary change at orange and change does take some time But i have to say that the new leadership team at orange is extraordinary It is an exceptional group of leaders speaker I believe that even the member from new market aurora has on several occasions acknowledged The skills and the expertise of that new leadership. They are doing their work I have confidence in them that they are doing the right thing speaker And uh, you know when I look at someone like dr. Andrew mccallum who is prepared to come and work as president and ceo of of orange Speaker he came to that job when it was a very difficult organization to take over He is an exceptionally well qualified person with experience in trauma speaker With experience as a pilot This is a man who is leading real change at orange and I think it would be appropriate that was reported that change Thank you Well speaker then why doesn't the minister listen to dr. McCallum? Here's what dr. Andrew mccallum told the public accounts committee two weeks ago When I asked him if divesting the aviation operations of orange will be considered as part of his strategic plan I quote from dr. McCallum's testimony. The short answer is yes We're open to all models Proper strategic planning should consider all aspects of what the company does And what's best for the mission that the company is trying to achieve Why isn't she listening to dr. McCallum the ceo is willing to look at all options But when I put the same question to the minister just days after that Her response was an emphatic. No, we will not do that Would the minister tell us would the minister tell the pilots and the paramedics and dr. McCallum question Why she is preempting orange's own strategic plan to consider outsourcing the aviation operations of orange As speaker I would urge the member opposite to actually take a look at hansard what he suggested that we do is privatize orange I tell you we are not going to privatize orange the member opposite I would say you check hansard check hansard speaker You know the the there is a um there is an ideologic Speaker on the party opposite to privatize services. They privatize the 407 I think we all know that we have lost billions of dollars in revenue as a result of that scheme Uh, they they've they had a failed privatization of hydro the rates skyrocketed 30 speaker because of that commitment to privatize I take advice from dr. McCallum. Your question was about privatizing orange and privatizing orange is not a plan speaker Thank you speaker. My question is to the minister of transportation and infrastructure. Good morning minister Because there was no ministry oversight hundreds of deficient girders were installed along the herb gray parkway It happened because there was no clause in the p3 construction contract That called for independent testing and inspection reports to be sent to the ministry Today the highly respected canadian council of independent labor laboratories Claims dozens of other road and bridge contract Also lacked as independent testing clause Will the minister investigate and report to this house An all mto and infrastructure ontario construction contracts that do not require independent safety testing and inspection reports Thank you, minister transportation Thank you very much and good morning to you. Uh, my friend from windsor take up see, um The uh, we we actually Have gone through in the last several months. We have inspected every girder production facility All mto projects are tested As you obviously know from the windsor experience and others we do do destructive testing when necessary I have met with this very respected body. We've had a number of conversations I have asked them uh to deliver their criticisms in a paper the adm Jerry shappu has uh has reviewed this And I think that's well, I appreciate their concern. I don't think that's a fair representation of the facts There is uh systemic there will be tougher uh rules and regulations as a result of what happened in windsor essence But I also want to point out Is all of those girders were tested twice and are being removed and paid for by the private company At full cost recovery We can let's admit it the p3 experiment with the short warranty periods has failed Let's get back to the old proven method of requiring independent testing and inspection With the results given not to the contractor minister, but to the people paying the bills Facing public safety may be endangered here Taxpayers may be faced with the cost of repairing or replacing this infrastructure years earlier than expected Will the minister end this failed warranty experiment and direct mto and infrastructure ontario To ensure all infrastructure projects require independent safety testing Mr. Speaker, well, I I respect my friends in the third party. There's a very good reason I'm not a member of that party and it's because of the ideological bent This is a classic example of it. Mr Mr. Speaker We have had we have had over 80 afp projects, mr. Speaker Over 80 all of them have been under budget All of them have delivered billions of dollars of savings and when there's been errors the private sector has had to pay for In spite of the evidence the ideological bent of the NDP won't allow them to be pragmatic enough to realize This has been a huge success. So The party of pragmatism over here always enjoys the blinkers of the right and our left And this is another one of those old ways we always used to do it lack of innovation Which is why the third party mr. Speaker. Thank you Thank you, mr. Speaker my questions for the minister of education This week in my writing of scarborough agent course students are participating in bullying prevention and awareness week activities We have all heard heartbreaking stories where students have been bullied by the peers And some of us in this house may have experienced bullying firsthand Mr. Speaker bullying is a serious issue affecting the learning and it must be addressed This week we all need to take time not only raise awareness about bullying in our schools But also look for ways to prevent it from occurring mr. Speaker through you to the minister Can she share with the house what action our government is taking in stopping but more important preventing bullying in our schools Thank you minister of education. Yes. Thank you speaker And thank you to the member for some scarborough agent court for raising this important issue The member's absolutely right speaker Prevention plays such an important role in combating bullying in our schools Which is why almost two years ago we introduced legislation bill 13 the accepting schools act For the first time ever we defined bullying and legislation So that every student every teacher every principal and every parent knows what we are talking about when we say bullying It's not okay in our schools The accepting schools act requires school boards to develop a bullying prevention plan It must be created in consultation with local communities and made publicly available And schools are also required to conduct school climate surveys to check on the effectiveness of their bullying Answer plans Speaker all members of the school community need to be involved in in promoting respectful and caring relationship To make sure that every student feels safe and accepted Mr. Speaker and thanks the minister for her response very appropriate to her response We have in the gallery there bunch of young students visitors and we're talking about issue affecting your class and your school And that's the right thing to do Some of the initiatives on how our government is addressing bullying in our schools and bullying Preventions however, mr. Speaker we see and hear that more and more bullying go beyond the classrooms and a schoolyard Technology have allowed bullying to follow the students wherever they go Mr. Speaker through you to the minister Can she share with the house what action our government is taking to confront the growing and troubling problems of bullying Affecting our students. Thank you minister Yes, thank you speaker and cyber bullying has been a concern of our government for many years That is why the accepting schools act explicitly defines cyber bullying as a form of bullying And in fact our education act already stated that if a principal believes that actions which occurred online Had a negative impact on the school climate the principal has the authority to take action i.e. Discipline the responsible students Speaker i was also pleased to learn just yesterday that the federal government will be dabbling legislation To amend the criminal code to combat cyber bullying I know my colleague the attorney general and our government have been calling on the federal government To make it an offense to distribute intimate photos or video recordings of a person without that person's consent Speaker these are all important steps being taken to combat bullying We are all responsible for combating bullying in schools and in the workplace Very much, yes speaker My question is for the minister of training college and universities Minister the highly successful red seal programs allow tradespeople holding Certificates of qualification in their respective provinces to have mobility in their trades These red seal holders achieved a higher standard in their examinations Only Quebec does not participate and we all know what's going on in Quebec A very credible contractor right here in Ontario has hired a red seal plumber from vc He came back to Ontario to help his ailing father Now we find out that under the college of trades and their trades equivalency assessment That it will take a minimum of six weeks before he can work and a fine of up to ten thousand dollars for both him And the employer if he works at all during that six week period Are we not trying to create jobs here in Ontario? You know Enough is enough of this nonsense of this ridiculous red tape and bureaucracy What are we going to tell companies like this? They need the help now They've got a qualified person that can do the work now We'll both your liberal government and your and your ndp friends agree that we have to finally abolish this liberal movement I go once and for all Conceded peace Thank you minister of training colleges and universities Thank you, mr. Speaker I think what the member opposites trying to do is every challenge that exists in the skilled trades mr Speaker and apprenticeships or anywhere in that sector is the is the fault of the college of trades mr Speaker there's been challenges between uh provinces in terms of uh ensuring that we can we can have uh Have our workers flow through our apprenticeship programs and our red seal programs mr. Speaker For a very long period of time in the provinces in fact and the federal minister Are working together to try to resolve those issues mr. Speaker for the life of me I don't know why the member continues to be obsessed With trying to do away with the college of trades. Why would you be against a body? That's going to provide greater consumer protection for those that hired skilled trade workers Why would he be against self-governance for this industry something that traditionally conservatives are in favor of Why would he be against an industry mr. Sir a body mr. Speaker that's going to promote the skilled trades To a young answer you go on mr. Speaker i'd be happy to but i think you're going to tell me to close off very soon So i'll stop now and i'll finish my uh my discussion in the supplementary supplementary Well Speaker mr. Minister the it was a trades equivalency assessments been done by the college of trades It wasn't done before you created this monster I didn't give you the name of the contractor and you know why because we're afraid your enforcement cops will go to harass them That's what they're doing The fact you even have a trades equivalency assessments is an insult to the highly skilled canadian tradespeople These people want to work in our province You know we you know we're losing Heinz we're losing cliffs we're losing all these different companies This guy actually wants a job and he's got a job to go to So now because of so much negativity At uh around the college of trades. We now know that you've hired an expensive communications department down there We'd add the by the way at the expense of the tradespeople So no it's not david tabuchi. It's a whole group and a whole new group of communications people down there Trying to deflect the letters to the editor. They're wanting pat billings Right to the right to right to the editor to try to deflect the negativity around the college of the college of trades First of all, let's uh turn it down second of all Comments to the chair are most appropriate because then I can deal with the heckling So don't respond to it Wrap up, please and we'll go to the minister So minister we now know that you and your nvp friends are fighting for the working family's money But can't you all agree that it's time to join with tim hudak and the pc caucus and get rid of this ridiculous college of trades Thank you minister Well, thank you, mr. Speaker I You know for the life of me I don't know why the member would be opposed to all the good things the college of trades is doing He points to things that have been in existence long before the college of trades came along And things that somehow just because we set up a college of trades those challenges will somehow mysteriously disappear There are still challenges in the college of trades in conjunction with our government In conjunction with provinces and territories across the province will continue to work on those issues But mr. Speaker, why would he be opposed to our our efforts through the college of trades that crack down on the underground economy? That's something mr. Speaker that skilled trades people want us to do Why are you trying to get in the way of that? Why would you be opposed to to the college of trades efforts to ensure that our workplaces across this This province health and safety is being maintained Why do you want? Why would you be opposed to our efforts to protect those who have worked so hard to get their credentials? Mr. Speaker, it's time to stop playing politics. Thank you. It's time to stop working with our skill Thank you, mr. Speaker. My question is to the minister of labor Jimmy velgakis. My constituent has diabetes and is on a hunger strike outside the wsib office. He's also 72 years old It's been 10 days and jimmy is ill His lawyers and all of us are frightened that we will lose him Two years ago Wsib made a promise to jimmy that he would get a fresh hearing based on the merits and justice of his case But that promise was broken As you know, I am also fasting along with jimmy because no response from wsib has been forthcoming None whatsoever and I've tried Minister will you step in to save jimmy's life? Mr. Member, thank you very much Speaker and I thank the member opposite for asking the question I I share the members concerned about uh, mr. Welgakis's Health and his safety and I urge The gentleman to end his under hunger strike speaker In order to sustain and of course protect his health The member opposite and I have spoken about this issue speaker The member knows that as the minister of labor, I'm not able to get involved in the particulars of a case I cannot speak about the issues and the merits of the case both the wsib and the workplace safety and insurance appeals tribunal are in arms length Agencies and it will be highly inappropriate for me to speak In in any detail in any specifics about the merits and issues of this case I just really hope that mr. Welgakis and the hunger strike And be able to get back to health. Thank you speaker commentary Thank you, mr. Speaker Mr. Welgakis jimmy is a man of great dignity and great commitment. This is the second hunger strike He's been on in two years. He's not going anywhere So I know what the rules say, but I think this is a situation that calls for compassion and calls for justice And calls for someone to act especially this minister outside of those rules if necessary Uh on tuesday the ofl is staging a rally in support of jimmy. There will be hundreds out on the street in front of wsib Civil liberties has also been involved to settle jimmy's case wouldn't cost a lot of money We're talking about a fairly small amount here more to the point at this point and particularly in the season Mr. Speaker, we're leading up to christmas Asking you how much is your ministry's promise worth I'm also asking how much is a life worth to your ministry Speaker again, uh, I am very concerned about the health of mr. Welgakis and And uh, I I urged the member opposite that I think we need to convince mr. Welgakis to end his hunger strike His health is far more important and paramount than anything else Speaker my understanding is that that his uh, his claim was heard by wsib now in Two instances, uh, it has gone to uh to appeal most recently There was a second review that was done in 2000 In 2012 there were two hearings that was done and a decision was rendered speaker earlier this year He still have a recourse to further request a reconsideration to the workplace safety and insurance appeal tribunal and of course judicial review at the superior court of justice But I think what's most important speaker for all of us is to urge him to end this hunger strike And and be safe and healthy. Thank you speaker I have one shout out and that is the member from mississauga east cooksville is celebrating a birthday today So happy birthday Thank you