 Well, for their introductions, therefore it's time for questions. The member from the Hall of... Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and happy International Women's Day to everyone. Question is to the Deputy Premier. Since her colleague, the Minister of Education, ran away from CP reporter Alison Jones yesterday when asked about school closures, maybe she will answer her question today. Mr. Speaker, how many Ontario schools are under threat of closure? Well, Speaker, and happy International Women's Day as well. I'm delighted to be here today to talk about significant improvements in education right across this province. You know, Speaker, when we took office, only 68% of students were graduating from high school. Only 68% of students. We now have exceeded 85%. So what I can tell you is that our education system is delivering real results. Our students are doing... Stop the clock. No, it's too late. The member from Renfrew come to order. And I'm also going to not invite you to make comments to the people behind me. The convention is ignorance. And I would appreciate the tone remaining civil. Deputy Premier. So, Speaker, when you measure our education system by the success of our students, which is I think a very fine way to measure the success of our education system, Ontario is a world leader. People are coming from around the world to understand what happened here in Ontario. I'm going to ask the member from Bruce Greyhound Sound to come to order. But I'm doing so with the anticipation. I do not want to move to warnings, but I will. Carry on. So, students, I will address in this supplementary the question that was asked. But what's really important is our students are rocking. Thank you. Supplementary. Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Back to the Deputy Premier. So yesterday, the Minister of Education said that it's not about the number of schools and said that she wouldn't give an arbitrary number. Well, that's great because nobody wanted an arbitrary number. They want a real number. Mr. Speaker, how many schools are under threat of closure? Is it as high as the 600 schools the minister previously identified? Good question. Well, Speaker, I think the numbers speak for themselves. Since 2003, we've increased education funding to $22.9 billion. That's an increase of almost 60% since they were an office speaker. And despite declining enrollment, per pupil funding has increased more than $4,500 an increase of 63%, Speaker. Funding for rural boards has increased 43% since we took office. Despite declining enrollment of 14%. So, Speaker, since 2003, our government has opened 810 new schools. Supplementary. Well, Mr. Speaker, I still didn't get a firm number of how many schools you're closing. But let's talk about our Lady of Peace in Vaughan. It was 97% full and it has both an English stream and a French immersion program. But because of this government's twisted priorities, it will close its doors in June. The Liberals may have made up their mind about our Lady of Peace and signal that there will be more closures to come when they voted down our motion on a moratorium on school closures, but it's not too late for them to change course. They can still announce a moratorium today. I'm giving you a chance. So, Mr. Speaker, will the Liberals announce a moratorium on school closures until they can get the process right? You're the one closing the school. Ken Hyde. Deputy Premier. As I was saying, we build, they cut. We have built 810 new schools. Significantly renovated another 780. The member from Leeds-Grenville. In this province. And that includes 450 new and improved schools in rural Ontario, Speaker. We are investing. Member from Leeds-Grenville. Second time. Better school, Speaker. Because we are a party that believes in education. We are a party that believes that every child in this province deserves the opportunity to achieve their full potential. And they do that in school, Speaker. And that's why we're making the investments we are. Thank you. New question? Member from Health and the Fourth of April. To the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. This past week I was showing a letter written to a doctor. It read, Your patient will be placed on the waiting list for surgical consultation. Can you guess how long that wait time was? It is, and I quote, approximately two years. Now, Mr. Speaker, two years is far too long a wait for a surgical consultation. How is that an acceptable wait time for Ontario patients? It's not. Thank you. Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. Well, Mr. Speaker, I'm not knowing the specifics of this case, but generally I would agree with the member opposite that two years is too long of a period to wait. That's why we're working with our physicians, with our frontline healthcare workers, with our primary care providers that are that foundation and often the gateway to specialist access that we're working with them through a variety of different means to speed up that the two elements of referral, which are both equally important, the time for an individual to get from their family doctor or their nurse practitioner to see a specialist in the first place, and then if a specialist deems that a further intervention, a surgical procedure, for example, is required that time as well. So we're working, despite the fact, Mr. Speaker, we have across the board, particularly with regards to surgery, either the best or close to the best wait times in all of this country, Mr. Speaker, we're continuing to make improvements. Thank you. Supplementary. Back to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. On Monday at the Queensway Carleton Hospital, 22 patients were left on stretchers in the hallway waiting for a room. One gentleman was put behind a privacy screen and given a wheelchair to sit in because there wasn't a stretcher for him. Mr. Speaker, stretchers in the hallway, no beds available. Is this the healthcare legacy that this government wants to leave behind? Thank you, Minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, you know, with regards to Queensway Carleton Hospital and other hospitals that have, over recent weeks, have experienced capacity issues, and it is, you know, I don't find it acceptable any more than the member opposite does. That's why we're continuing to make investments so that we can alleviate those pressures. The member opposite needs to, I think, would probably agree that there is an element of this that we saw an outbreak of flu, but also respiratory illnesses this winter. Part of the effect that we're seeing is an annual effect due to the flu, and this flu was worse certainly than it was last year. But, Mr. Speaker, we're making investments, including in Queensway Carleton Hospital and others, to ensure that they have the necessary funding to do the important work they do. The Ottawa Heart Institute, a 4.1% increase in funding last year, Royal Ottawa Health Care Group, a 2% increase in the Ottawa Hospital, a $14 million, 2% increase as well, to help them deal with these capacity issues. Thank you. Back to the minister. Leah Levac, vice president of patient care and chief nursing executive at Queensway Carleton Hospital, had this to say, and I quote, I would say it is a crisis when you are cancelling surgery and you've got 22 patients who are on stretchers and deaths are being pushed aside to make room for hospital beds. So, Mr. Speaker, those are the words of frontline health care workers. How is it acceptable for Ontario hospitals to be forced to use office space as makeshift hospital rooms? It's not acceptable. You have to do something. Thank you. Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. And as I mentioned in the previous responses... Chief Government Whip. We are working... We're making the necessary investments to allow those hospitals and others across the province to deal with those capacity issues. But what we won't do, Mr. Speaker, is we won't make the kind of commitments and promises that the party opposite did to cut 100,000 jobs, many of them in the healthcare sector as they did in the last election. We're not going to do what they did when they were in government, Mr. Speaker, and literally close dozens of hospitals across this province the former Minister of Health is suggesting that they somehow didn't, but the facts remain that they closed dozens of hospitals when they were in government, Mr. Speaker. We won't do that. We will make investments. We made a 3%, almost 3% increase in the healthcare budget last year. We continue to invest in those elements in the healthcare system that we're proud of, and we have some of the best records in the country in terms of performance. Remember from simple grade, come to order. New question, the leader of the third party. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also want to wish all the women legislators and staff and all the people that work in this building who are women, a happy International Women's Day, as well as all the women across the... My question is for the acting Premier. Over the past few months, I've been welcome into the homes of many women in this province who are worried about their skyrocketing hydro bills. Women like Adele from Cambridge, a single mom who fought back tears as she told me how her children go with less because her hydro bill has doubled in recent years. Why doesn't the Liberal government come up with a plan that will permanently lower Adele's hydro bill and invest in the services that her family needs instead of saddling her kids and their kids with the bill? Thank you, Deputy Premier. Well, thank you, Speaker. I want to start by saying that we are implementing a plan that reduces the average hydro bill... Remember from Hamilton, East Stony Creek, come to order. 25%, Speaker. We have already done the first 8%, and we are looking to take the further 17% off later this year, Speaker. So let's remember, we are implementing a plan that will help people like Adele. Speaker, that is for all the households. 25% on average. For those who are low-income families, there's even more support, Speaker. And for those who live in the rural parts of Ontario, there is even greater relief. We have a plan we're implementing a plan it addresses the stories that we heard from people across this province, Speaker. I'm proud of it. I wish the Leader of the Opposition would stand up and say good work. Supplementary. Well, Speaker, Adele doesn't just need lower hydro bills. She needs good health care. She needs good schools for her kids and instead of investing in health care and education, the Premier's hydro plan gives an extra $40 billion to her well-connected friends on Bay Street. Bringing hydro one back into public hands will put $7 billion into the public, it will mean we can invest in families like Adele's again. Doesn't the Acting Premier think that making $7 billion is better than spending $40 billion, Speaker? Thank you. You know, Speaker, I was I was really pleased when the NDP actually came up with a plan to bring down hydro prices because we had heard lots of identification of the problem from the opposition parties, both parties. We didn't see much, by the way, of solutions. So I was very Remember from Stormont, Dundas, and Gary, come forward with the plan until I read the plan. And there just was nothing there that would bring down hydro prices, Speaker. There was nothing there that would achieve the goal that we all want, which is to provide immediate relief for people who are facing real challenges when it comes to their hydro prices. Thank you. Final supplementary. Speaker, if there's nothing there, why did they scramble so fast to put something out themselves? And in hospitals, and in childcare, and in stronger public services, we're going to sell off of Hydro One and returning it to public ownership will give the people of this province a $7 billion payday and lower their hydro rates permanently. How is the Liberal government's $40 billion investment in bankers on Bay Street going to help women like Adele, her children, and her grandchildren live a better life? Thank you. Do you see it, please? Do you see it, please? Deputy Speaker. Well, Speaker, let's be clear. Our plan is fast. It is substantial. It is widespread. It is long-lasting. Finish, please. The NDP plan, sadly, is very vague. It relies on these expert panels to be struck sometime in the future. Their biggest idea to buy back the shares of Hydro One does not take one penny off one bill in this province, Speaker. There is zero evidence that they are keeping it. Carry on. Speaker, as far as I can tell, the only idea in their plan is to get the deputy leader elected leader than Prime Minister of Canada, and he will give that five percent off. New question? The leader of the third party? Thank you, Speaker. My next question is for the acting Premier. In her one-year report on the progress of her community hubs plan, the Premier told Ontarians and I quote, the province needs to remove barriers to community hubs and that she was proud to say that they are doing just that. But a freedom of information document the NDP obtained reveals that the Liberal Community Hub plan is being threatened by what? By the Liberal's own so-called school board modernization plan and they know it. Can the acting Premier tell us why the Liberal government is telling Ontarians one thing in public but acknowledging in private that they are doing the exact opposite? Thank you. Deputy Premier. Minister of Infrastructure. Thank you, Speaker. We are actively encouraging and supporting opportunities for community hub speaker to use excess school space in particular. The Ministry of Infrastructure is embracing an active role in making it easier for community partners to offer coordinated services to community hubs. In fact, the Minister of Education has about $450 million Mr. Speaker to work with school boards and communities and municipalities with particular emphasis on rural communities Mr. Speaker to engage community hubs. There are many services in communities that can benefit from coming together in a school around a school and animating the community Mr. Speaker to come together to provide services of people. There's money in the budget Mr. Speaker there are resources that are made available to community leaders to enable them to create hubs Mr. Speaker and it's going to... Well Speaker the FOI also shows that some schools calculated as being underutilized and I'm quoting now from the FOI some schools calculated as being underutilized are actually at full capacity. The government's own documents show that they are closing fully utilized schools based on the failed Mike Harris era funding formula that the Liberals have not had the political will to fix after 14 years. Since this government knows that their formula to determine school closures is broken can the acting premier please explain why their government continues to close schools across this province on mass. Thank you. Minister the Deputy Premier Deputy Premier Speaker I was very pleased yesterday to see that the Minister of Infrastructure and the Minister of Education sent a letter to community partners to municipalities to school boards to say the best solutions are local solutions work together to find the best use of the opportunities in your community to put these schools to work there is hard work to do when enrollment is declining we need to put resources into teaching our students but those schools are an important part of a community we all understand that in our own communities and that's why we're inviting and we're actually putting money into the notion that if communities work together if school boards who serve in the public area can work together if the municipalities and communities all work together to devise proposals for these buildings we want to be supportive of that I'll supplement you People are already doing that and the Liberals are still closing the schools they're doing exactly the same government are telling communities that they support community hubs and they're telling parents they're investing in schools but in reality the Liberal government has closed rather 227 schools since 2011 while knowing that at least some of those schools were at full capacity with some even being used as community hubs housing full childcare centers for example can the acting premier explain to the people of this province why she's closing full capacity good neighbourhood supporting schools when those families who depend on them are watching them fulfill a broken funding formula from 14 years ago Deputy Premier you see it please you see it please thank you Deputy Premier on this side of the house we actually respect school boards and respect the difficult decisions that they have to make but what I can tell you is that we are active partners we have a new model of community hub speaker we think that there are opportunities here we're inviting municipalities community groups school boards to work together to find these solutions but I do want to repeat speaker this is a fact Ontario has opened 810 new schools we have renovated an additional 780 schools that includes 450 new and improved schools in rural Ontario we remain committed to our students we remain committed to ensuring that they have the best spaces in which to learn speaker thank you new question from forward hill thank you and my question is to the Minister of Children and Youth Services Mr. Speaker when I still work as an optometrist and believe me I miss it every now and then I spent considerable time implementing in an eye care clinic I was no IT expert yet I managed to purchase the right hardware software and staff training within a budget in contrast this government has spent over $27 million just to consult on the software design of CEPIN our new child protection information network all of us are committed to the idea of a province wide electronic data system for child welfare but Mr. Speaker can the minister assures that this time the government is implementing a system that will do everything workers and children needed to do well thank you Mr. Speaker and I want to thank the member for the question because it is an important question CEPIN this information network that we're implementing across the province is going to ensure that young people when they enter child protection that their information will be protected but also it will be shared among different protection service agencies so we want to make sure Mr. Speaker that when a young person is placed in protection in Australia for some reason moves to Toronto that there is a communication line and no child is left behind this is our plan to ensure that children are at the centre of decision making and when they move from one jurisdiction to the next that all people that are their place to make sure that they're safe have the right information on time and the most relevant information today thank you supplementary again to the minister Mr. Speaker I think Ontario residents really do believe that Jeffrey Baldwin and Caitlin Samson might be alive today if Ontario's children's aid societies had had a central database that would have flagged their murderers as unfit guardians the government has spent hundreds of millions on CEPIN yet few child welfare agencies are using them and it still needs costly upgrading and training this new database isn't practical and not even fully searchable our social workers are now being asked to be trained stenographers rather than helping children they must spend hours typing since no one seemed to have the thought to make CEPIN voice inputting friendly Mr. Speaker will the minister tell us why Ontario residents should count on his government to suddenly show information technology Mr. Speaker I hope the member obviously doesn't think that this is just an easy task of putting in some information and moving it from here to there we're talking about millions of records that date back many years when it comes to children we need to make sure that the information that's being inputted is done accurately and it's done with efficiency so I'll tell you to date we've moved 40 million records representing 15 societies Mr. Speaker there's a lot of information that is being moved so that represents 37% of all children and family records to date have been moved so we've got a plan moving forward we didn't want to do this overnight because you know we have to be careful on the approach we have five more societies that are scheduled to be moved over into the CEPIN system and Mr. Speaker I'm proud of the progress we've made but we need to do this in a very careful way so we don't make mistakes and it's suggesting we that she's doing thank you I wouldn't risk it new question the member from the member from nickel belt thank you Mr. Speaker my question is for the Minister of Health and long-term care Carmen Sebastian is a 68-year-old woman who has advanced stage cancer she is one of the 100,000 Canadian women who get diagnosed with cancer each year on Friday Carmen got a very disturbing voicemail telling her and I quote that there was a province-wide shortage of chemo drugs and her treatment would be delayed indefinitively Speaker I cannot imagine the worry and the stress that Carmen and dozens of other patients went through this past weekend Carmen has a simple question and I hope you'll agree that she deserves an answer why was there no backup plan to prevent cancer patients like Carmen from having their cancer treatment cancelled Mr. Health long-term care well thank you Mr. Speaker and by speaking directly to Carmen I can only imagine the unnecessary stress and anguish that she and her family and loved ones had to go through as a result of that phone call Mr. Speaker it is important that those of us in the legislature Carmen and Ontarians know that this was a national issue it wasn't specific to Ontario it was the result of a quarantine done by Health Canada of a number of thousands of vials of 5FU which is a specific anti-cancer medication used in a number of situations including breast cancer when we were alerted to this on the same day Friday of last week in Cancer Care Ontario as well we immediately contacted Health Canada and put into motion a process that resulted in Monday afternoon more than 3,000 vials of this cancer curing, treating medication being released by Health Canada Supplementary Speaker our health care system failed it's failed people like Carmen who had to live having her cancer treatment cancelled I would like the government and the minister after he agreed that he learned about this last Friday I would like him to answer another question that a lot of Ontarians are wondering about will the minister tell us exactly how many Ontario hospital actually ran out of this chemo drugs and how many patients were affected and had their cancer treatment cancelled because of this shortage Thank you Minister After we got involved on Friday through the ministry in Cancer Care Ontario in conversations with Health Canada they understood just how much of a priority this was over 3,000 vials were released Monday afternoon McKenzie Health received vials yesterday afternoon they have now have either rescheduled or in the process of rescheduling every single one of those individuals they're opening a clinic as well this weekend and are confident that within the week they will have provided the appropriate treatment to all of those individuals we have a mechanism in place Mr. Speaker to ensure coordination and I can also say that McKenzie Health was the only hospital that was impacted by this shortage was McKenzie Health Mr. Speaker Thank you Mr. Speaker my question is for the minister responsible for the status of women Today is International Women's Day and we celebrate the achievements of women and look ahead at the work that needs to be done to create a fairer society In fact just last Friday we were reminded of the fight that we as a society still face I along with thousands of other Canadians was appalled to hear that there are those that still believe a drunk can consent Last September I hosted a sexual violence and harassment community networking and advocacy session in my riding of Kingston and the islands This session brought together key members of our community who work tirelessly to fight sexual violence and harassment I know that our province has done extraordinary work to fight this mentality and on Monday I was pleased to see an update on sexual violence and harassment action plan This is a step in the right direction but I know and we all know that there's more work that still needs to be done Through you to the minister can you please update the house on the ongoing work being done around sexual violence and harassment Minister of the status of women Thank you Speaker and thank you to the member for this very important question and her ongoing advocacy on this issue I would like to mention a woman, a mother the statistic that one in three women will experience some form of violence in their lifetime is absolutely unacceptable to me All Ontarians deserve to feel safe from sexual violence and harassment in their communities, workplaces, homes and schools In this province we believe strongly that consent has to be affirmative and ongoing Yes means yes and no means no to the health and education curriculum which we launched with our two public awareness campaigns it's never okay and who will you help We not only want to erase awareness about sexual violence but also challenge attitudes and encourage behavioral change After all we must talk to our children about safety Speaker this is all a step in the right direction we're calling on all Ontarians we all have to role to play in ending violence Minister for her answer I know that this government recognizes the importance of educating the public on sexual violence and harassment Speaker unfortunately the members in this house are well aware that violence against women remains a real danger in society In fact more than 10,000 women and over 6,900 of their children were served by a violence against women shelter last year Let's be clear Violence against women impacts us all not just the women who are victims it's their children, their families and also their communities Speaker our government recognizes this and has increased spending on programs to reduce violence against women by over 60% since 2003 However we know that there's more work to be done Could the minister please outline how we continue to support the violence against women sector in Ontario Minister Minister of community and social services Minister of community and social services Thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to the member from Kingston and the islands we both visited Kingston interval house in her riding and it was obvious that she was recognized as a great supporter of women fleeing domestic violence My ministry invests $147 million annually to support the violence against women sector Last summer we opened a new shelter in Elgin County and earlier this winter I announced the building of a new shelter in Dryden Through the $1 million rural realities fund we help rural, remote and northern communities address the unique challenges they face Along with partner ministries we launched Ontario strategy to end human trafficking Part of the strategy is a partnership with the native Ontario women's association to deliver five indigenous human trafficking liaisons Mr. Speaker our government continues and supports and services to ensure we're building a safer future for every woman and girl in this province Thank you Mr. Speaker Thank you very much Mr. Speaker My question is Minister of health and long-term care Alistair and Mary McCarroll have been together for 69 years They're community builders even helped build a nursing home The international odd fellows in Rebecca's home on Brook Street and Berry When Alistair and Mary get sick and frail the province's long-term care system forced them apart The minister has stated in this house that spousal reunification in long-term care is and I quote extremely and personally important to them and keeping couples together is the highest priority There is no other priority My question then is if it's so extremely and personally important and if there's no higher priority then why have Alistair and Mary been forced to live apart for over a year Minister of health long-term care Thank you Mr. Speaker I appreciate the learning of here in the legislature Mr. Speaker of this this couple and we not that long ago we had a situation in another part of the province where I have to say the member NDP member at that time engaged me very directly privately and we worked hard together collaboratively to try and find a solution Ultimately we were successful in finding a solution for those individuals that for a variety of reasons find themselves in similar circumstances so I would invite the member opposite I would be enthusiastic overjoyed in fact to have the opportunity to work with him to see if we might resolve this particular case Thank you Back to the minister Well minister Premier Nguyen wrote the family last month to acknowledge the separation said she'd asked you to deal with it so either she didn't do what she said or you're not doing anything with the file sadly the mccarrows are not the only couple forced to live alone and die alone under your long-term care policies there are others who have been told by the CCACs that due to high wait times the mccarrows case is 3.5 to 5 years it's not even worth trying to live together in long-term care the fact is you left in terror with a severe shortage of beds as of today there are 6,500 seniors on your wait list a list that will double to $50,000 within 5 years the interior association of non-profit homes and services for seniors and the interior long-term care association have asked you to start fixing this mess by adding at least 2,500 beds in the upcoming budget given the heartache, given the inexcusable weight and the suffering of all these seniors minister will you commit to adding those beds as an absolute bare minimum Thank you minister Mr. Speaker the member I think knows that we have committed to redeveloping 30,000 beds over the next number of years but over approximately the last decade we have added 10,000 new beds to the long-term care system and we continue to make important investments and I need to Mr. Speaker as well now I do recall the couple in question and I do recall it because the member from Barrie has been discussing this case with me and is directly involved and directly involved with my ministry in trying to resolve it and we have been working hard through the ministry with the member from Barrie to resolve this particular situation Thank you Thank you My question is to the acting Premier 2017 marks the 30th anniversary of pay equity legislation in Ontario after 30 years however the lack of active enforcement of pay equity laws has contributed to a gender wage gap that is stuck at 30% a gap that is significantly wider for immigrant and indigenous women and women with disabilities the closing the gender wage gap steering committee called for amendments to the pay equity act in its final report last August more than six months after the release of that report nothing has happened Can the acting Premier explain why she is dragging her heels on the immediate actions like amending the pay equity act that would make a huge difference to close the gender wage gap for women in Ontario Thank you Minister Labour Thank you Speaker and thank you to the member for that excellent and timely question Speaker there's no doubt I think all members in this House will agree that the gender wage gap will be a big part of the community of Ontario and across every jurisdiction and we need to deal with it Speaker other parties in the past have said they would deal with it Speaker but they haven't Speaker we haven't made the progress it needs to be made the conversation that is taking place right now in the province of Ontario Speaker involves some very real work that was done by the government they came from the civil service Speaker they bought us their best advice we're moving that on now Speaker we've got a group together of some of the best minds in this province some of the best minds on this issue Speaker their first meeting is scheduled for April the 13th I want Ontario to be a leader in this we should all want Ontario to be a leader in this it's simply timed the level of tolerance for the gender wage gap simply has expired the member for Weldon thank you Speaker this government has had 14 years when the non unionized auto manufacturers recently sought changes to workers personal leave the premier changed the law for them overnight through quiet regulation when large construction firms like Alice Don sought reforms that negatively impact workers you quickly change the laws for them what are you going to do today for the majority of low-paid workers in this province almost 60% of them women to have a decent secure work that pays at least $15 an hour minimum wage thank you Speaker and thank you again to the member as I said this is a very timely question Speaker and I'm proud to stand in this House Speaker with the changing workplaces review with the gender wage gap study work confronting issues where the solution has escaped previous government Speaker we're taking concrete action when the advice came forward Speaker from the gender wage gap working group there was work to be done in the future but they told us there's things you can do right now and we acted upon that Speaker gender based analysis is used by this government it's required when we're passing any policy that relates to this government Speaker needs to go through a gender wage gap lens Speaker that wasn't done in the past it should have been under this government it is being done Speaker we're moving ahead on this issue we're determined to put an end to the gender wage gap in Ontario wow thank you Mr. Speaker this question is for the Minister of Housing and Minister responsible for the poverty reduction strategy on behalf of many of my constituents in Davenport I'd like to raise a critical issue an issue I have raised in the past rental costs are rising at a dramatic pace in the Toronto area I've heard from my constituents about a lack of stability and the price of their rents making it difficult for people to find affordable rental options this is an issue that does not just affect those who are less fortunate but often times middle income earners and young professionals who are just building lives and careers in the city not being able to budget free housing leads to insecurity that makes it difficult for one for one to plan for one's future Mr. Speaker what is the government's position on rising rental costs in Davenport and across Ontario thank you Mr. Speaker thank you to the member for her steadfast advocacy on this issue Mr. Speaker finding an affordable house in a community we love as a goal we all share it's about putting down roots it's about raising a family each day in a place we truly love I know Ontarians face real challenges in our booming market as they search for an affordable place to live too many are feeling the pinch of a rental market that's struggling to keep up with demand through the Residential Tenancy Act we provide protection for tenants the act ensures that rent increased guidelines are kept to a maximum of 2.5% per year for units built before 1991 Speaker 2017 the rent increase guideline is 1.5% but we know there's more that needs to be done and that's why we're looking at ways to ensure and increase protections for tenants supplementary thank you Mr. Speaker and I'm pleased to have had many important conversations with the minister about the rising rents facing my constituents and always appreciate his attention to this critical issue Mr. Speaker I'm pleased that the minister shares and understands my concerns individuals and families deserve the peace of mind of knowing that they can secure an affordable home they'll provide them with a reliable foundation where they can live comfortably secure employment raise their families and thrive that's what we all want the supply of affordable rental units in Toronto is dwindling and government must take action to address this Mr. Speaker will the minister inform this House what actions he's undertaking to get more affordable rental options into the market thank you minister well thank you and thank you again to the member for Davenport Speaker ensuring a robust supply of affordable rental units is critical to ensuring people have options to choose from this includes working with our municipal partners to make secondary suites those are the self-contained residential units that already exist in many homes available quickly helping communities better respond to renters needs we've also just passed legislation that allows communities to use a new tool a tool called inclusionary zoning to require affordable units be created and kept long term in new residential developments our government is also freezing the municipal property tax on apartment buildings to provide some relief to renters Mr. Speaker 82% of rental units in the province are pre-1991 buildings and because of that they're protected by rent control but I know booming areas face concerns I'm continuing to look at ways to increase the supply of rental options across the province New question? Thank you very much my question is to the minister of community safety and correctional services in May 2016 your Liberal government announced that the Elgin Middlesex Detention Center's main facility would have its body scanner installed by the end of this month after a drug overdose death at EMDC former minister said that he would prioritize the installation of the body scanner now the new minister's office is saying that the scanner is prioritized for installation in the fall of 2017 you keep using the word prioritize I do not think it means Speaker how exactly does failing to meet a deadline meet prioritize Mr. Community Safety and Correctional Services Thank you I would like to wish all women here a very happy International Women's Day I thank the member opposite for his question first off one of my most important responsibility as a minister is the safety and security of our staff and our inmates and Mr. Speaker our government has recognized the challenging surrounding contrabanded our correctional facilities which is why we've announced $9.5 million funding to install body scanners at each and every facility across our province by 2018 Mr. Speaker this makes Ontario the first jurisdiction in Canada to install body scanners at every jail we've installed one of the first scanner at the adjoining regional intermittent centre right next to the EMDC where we can have inmate scan in exceptional situation and EMDC will be getting a body scanner this year and I can confirm that 11 facility Thank you Well words are empty they need to be followed up with action now back to the minister Ontario's gold standard jail, Toronto's South Detention Centre was recently called a billion dollar hell hole by Toronto Light Magazine the jail has been a disaster from the start unbreakable windows were broken by inmates, officers worried that inmates would grind glass into powder and blow it in their faces they were told by management to wear goggles negative pressure rooms for inmates with serious airborne diseases regularly malfunctioned the software system controlling cameras intercoms and locks regularly stops working when asked why a female officer was trapped in an elevator with inmates for an hour the staff were slapped with a threatening memo to keep quiet well it didn't work staff keep speaking out and the truth has been told about the cell Speaker to the minister why did the government go ahead and resign despite warnings from the auditor general and staff and I want to thanks the member for his good question Mr. Speaker we recognize the hard work and I want to take the time today actually to recognize the hard work of our correctional officers our nurse our maintenance staff and our cooking staff everyone that works with challenging situation at times every day to keep our institutions and our community safe I recognize that the Toronto South Detention Centre is not without its challenges and we know that more works need to be done to make life and to live it up to its full potential we need to hire more staff reduce the lockdowns and improve the overall condition of the institutions in fact I was there a couple weeks ago I visited the jail and I saw a group of passionate staff who are dedicated to maintaining law and order in our society and through this visit I got a sense of the progress actually that needs to be made so Mr. Speaker our government is committed to the transformation and I'm working on this thank you the leader of the third party thank you speaker my questions for the acting Premier this government talks a lot about childcare but we see no action they talk about the need to get women back into the workforce and the reality that childcare is just too expensive for a lot of families but when it comes to taking action this government fails last week the Liberal government voted against investing in not-for-profit public childcare centres can the acting Premier tell us why she believes private corporations should be making money off children thank you the minister of early years in childcare speaker thank you Mr. Speaker I want to thank the member opposite for this very important question speaker I want to be very clear about what we mean when we're talking about funding for childcare operators this type of funding supports subsidies subsidies for low and middle income families it actually supports programming for children with special needs and supports increased wages for skilled childcare workers and early childhood educators what I'm trying to say is essentially this funding follows the child speaker absolutely we understand the important role non-profit play in our childcare systems that is why in Ontario 77% of childcare centres were non-profit past capital investments have only gone to school based not-for-profit childcare speaker that's our families expect us to give them more options not fewer that means ensuring that all Ontarians have access to quality affordable childcare spaces rural areas and urban areas well speaker all evidence points to the fact that not-for-profit and public childcare is higher quality and in fact they are being served better in not-for-profit and public childcare speaker that's just the reality that exists but instead of supporting that model the liberals are spending public dollars on for profit private childcare I guess this shouldn't be a surprise speaker she always seems this liberal government always seems to prioritise the well connected and well for beaches east York second time liberal government must understand that regular families need support and that investing in non-profit childcare is the best way to help the people that really need it why did the acting premier and her liberal government want to see childcare being traded on the stock market and kids being profited off of by private companies minister I'm so happy and pleased to be answering this question because absolutely we are building childcare in this province we are transforming it making it more accessible and more affordable for all Ontarians not just for some Ontarians the bottom line is this not all Ontarians have access to for profit and not for profit centres in this province we have to build a system that supports all Ontarians in some instances in northern areas the only way to create more access is to ensure that those centres in those areas actually get the support they need we are not going to go in one route or the other we are going to ensure that all Ontarians can see it thank you the member from Barrie my question is for the minister of labour as you have already heard today is International Women's Day this day celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievement of women but it also challenges all of us to seek change in society the theme for this year is be bold for change which calls for a better working world a more inclusive gender equal world Ontario has been bold for change and in particular our minister of labour has been looking at change in the working world through the gender wage consultations can the minister please update the house and talk about the progress we are making thank you I want to thank the member for that question and the interest she has and the advocacy I also want to wish everyone a happy International Women's Day to the women, to the men, to the boys and girls in this house this should be a day that we are all engaged on speaker because I am so confident that the be bold for change theme is going to continue to get people all over the world engaged on this issue this is an issue that begs the attention of all members of this house it crosses partisan lines this government is absolutely committed and to build on the progress we have already made as I outlined earlier speaker the first meeting of the group is April the 13th we are going to get the best advice we are going to get the best feedback and we are going to make sure that the advice we have received in the past is implemented we have taken those immediate steps speaker that we could take without further consultation and speaker we are bold for change in the province of Ontario we are going to increase fairness in this province I want to thank the minister for his answer and for being such a strong advocate for closing the gender wage gap he is right we all need to work together because international women's day reminds us that despite our progress there is still work to do on average women still earn less than men and simply put this needs to change we also know that all women across the economic spectrum are affected by the wage gap but the gap is more pronounced for women who are minorities Aboriginal newcomers or living with disabilities Deloitte reported that the gender wage gap represents 2.5% of Ontario's GDP and closing it could generate 11.6 billion in increased annual consumption of goods and services speaker through you to the minister can the minister please explain what else our government is doing to ensure women continue to play an important role in our working system I want to thank the member again speaker it's not only the right thing to do the fact of the matter is that equality for women when it comes to the Ontario economy to any economy speaker simply makes good business sense as well it makes sense for workers it makes sense for business it makes sense for our economy speaker it increases productivity it strengthens skill sets it's a healthy workplace it prepares for the workplace of tomorrow speaker it was great to see the Ontario Federation of Labor here at Queen's Park this morning contributing to this very important conversation speaker women play a critical role in our labour force the minister of labour were determined to improve the working lives and conditions of all workers in Ontario including women on International Women's Day with labour and business continue to make Ontario one of the best place in the world to work new question the member from kitchener comes over my question is to the acting premier this government's federal liberal counterparts in Ottawa today have an opportunity to take a great legislative step towards ending genetic discrimination and yet well government members here in Ontario seem brave enough to take that step provincially and I commend for his private member's bill that would take similar steps their federal cousins seem to be getting cold feet after federal attempts to gut the bill last month the justice minister has been pulling our premiers to drum up further opposition the justice minister is looking for advice bill s201 goes to a vote this afternoon will the government assure their federal cousins today that the people of Ontario have time for constitutional jurisdictional excuses they want action and genetic discrimination will you agree thank you very much speaker and I thank the member opposite for asking the question albeit an odd question because sounds like this is the question that the member should be asking in the federal parliament because he is talking about a federal piece of legislation that is not up for debate in this house he is referring to a bill called s201 which may be voted in the house the federal minister of justice I understand has advised her caucus that the bill may be unconstitutional because of division of powers between federal and provincial governments under the constitution of Canada whatever the case may be speaker that is a decision of the federal parliament and of the federal minister of justice and has very little to do with this parliament thank you very much supplementary I will remind the minister that the federal justice minister issued your government a letter asking for input and so therefore it does become an Ontario issue and so speaker of course Ontarians and Canadians deserve to live free of discrimination in fact constitutional experts consulted on the federal bill agreed that it does not overstep on jurisdictional boundaries the government member from Eglinton Lawrence here in the province of Ontario your member he appalling that they are hiding behind this provincial jurisdictional constitutional excuse for not ending discriminatory practices in province he called it mind boggling and I agree with that member the federal justice minister has turned to premiers for support will the premier give her support to end genetic discrimination yes or no once again speaker this is a federal matter I am in not any position as the attorney general for the province of Ontario to be giving constitutional advice to the federal government they have a very robust ministry of justice speaker they have a very robust constitutional branch and they have the full capacity to be able to provide any legal advice whatsoever the federal minister of justice has written I believe to the council of federation and I leave it to that secretariat to be able to find but it is not our place to be giving advice on constitutional matters to the federal parliament that is solely within the sole discretion of the federal parliament what I know is speaker that under our human rights code we have very clear laws when it comes to discrimination on any grounds that includes grounds like genetic discrimination I do want to applaud the member from Eglinton Lawrence for bringing a private member dealing with genetic discrimination and I believe that bill has passed through this on second reading thank you thank you very much Mr. Speaker my question is to the acting premier two weeks ago striking workers from York University and the University of Toronto came to Queens Park to hold a silent vigil I had the opportunity to hear some of their stories one in particular hit hard this cafeteria worker on strike a single mother paid just $12 an hour found it impossible to make ends meet just providing lunch for her daughter is always a challenge through tears she told me that sometimes she has to ask the bus driver to let her on for free so that she can go to work a single working mother shouldn't have to struggle or strike for fairness in Ontario this woman works in a public institution on contract it's an example of the ever growing precarious work in this province over the last 13 years workers at York just settled with no help from this government for $15 an hour will this government raise the minimum wage for all workers in Ontario to $15 an hour thank you to the Minister of Labour Minister of Labour Thank you and thank you for that very important question and I do applaud this element that was reached in that regard Speaker Speaker between 1996 and 2003 we had a frozen minimum wage in the province of Ontario in increase one speaker 685 since 2003 to the present date Speaker we've increased the minimum wage by 64% a total of 10 times Speaker what business asked for was flexibility Speaker what the workers asked for Speaker what the workers asked for was fairness and they wanted to know that increases were coming on a regular basis Speaker Speaker the minimum wage right now in Ontario is $1,740 Speaker it goes up every single year and it's predictable Speaker and when the advice was asked for Speaker when we went out to poppy advocates where was the NDP nowhere to be proud Speaker they didn't raise their voice when the workers of this province completed the NDP it is absolutely never too late to be asked to leave Speaker the fourth follow-up .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. concerning genetic discrimination okay this matter will be debated today at 6 p.m. government House leader on a point of order thank you speaker in my answer I I said that the member from Eglinton Laura's private members will has passed second reading I meant to say it's past first reading all members have the right to correct the record and the minister of infrastructure on a point of order speaker want to correct the record to my answer today the number should be 50 million and not 450 million speaker thank you minister community mr. community safety and personal services merci monsieur the president thank you mr. speaker just would like to recognize our young parliamentarian that are here Alidia Philippe du collège catholic merbleux Alina Zoui du collège catholic merbleux sannaizir du collège catholic merbleux carlie angèle pierre du collège catholic merbleux jasmine zemny de l'école secondaire publique jizal la longue cléman c'est avait de l'école secondaire catholic béatrice des loge et matieu cassie joua reste de l'école secondaire publique l'ouriel qui sont avec they are with us today thank you very much