 It is now time for oral questions. I recognize the leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition. Thank you, Speaker. I just want to say on behalf of the official opposition, New Democrats, that I hope everyone enjoyed their Canada Day celebrations in a safe and pleasant way with family and friends. Speaker, my first question this morning is to the Minister of Long-Term Care. Media have now confirmed that as COVID-19 loomed last February, the Minister of Long-Term Care requested additional funds to deal with staffing crisis in long-term care. And that request actually was rejected by Treasury Board. Over 1,820 people have since died in our long-term care homes. Can the Minister tell us what she requested and the reason she was given when her request was denied? Minister of Long-Term Care. Thank you, Speaker, and thank you to the member opposite for the question. When we consider the neglect of the 15 years under the previous government of long-term care, it was very clear that capacity was an issue, staffing was an issue. The integration of long-term care into the entire healthcare system through Ontario Health, the use of public health Ontario to give us expert advice and to use the directives to create a positive response ongoing, not only for this pandemic but beyond. And so staffing obviously was part of this and this has been an issue during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was years in the making and our government was looking to fix that. And that's exactly what we were doing with an expert panel with a staffing study that will be released very soon to inform a comprehensive staffing strategy. We know that staffing was an issue. Our government acknowledges that, which is far greater than the previous government. Thank you. Well, Speaker, in February the World Health Organization was warning the world to prepare for COVID-19 outbreaks. And the same month, that very same month, this Minister of Long-Term Care was acknowledging and I quote, severe shortage of personal support workers and other key roles in the long-term care sector. The Minister and government were warned over and over again that staff forced to move from home to home, staff with inadequate PPE, would infect themselves, would infect residents, and of course that happened and too many people died. People deserve answers, Speaker. Did the Minister request additional resources from the Premier and her cabinet colleagues in February? And if so, what was the response? Mr. Long-Term Care. Thank you, Speaker. And again, thank you for the question. We have been back and forth to Treasury Board many times over many issues because long-term care was in such a sorry state when we inherited that from the previous government and years of neglect, decades of neglect. So there was much to do, a new ministry dedicated to long-term care. Summer of 2019, we immediately started to address the issues in terms of capacity, looking at building what was required to address a surge in an aging population. You know, the previous government only built 611 beds in about a decade. Order. And looking at the neglect. So our government, the Ministry of Long-Term Care, the Ministry of Health, many ministries looking, Ministry of Labor, looking across. Response. Government to understand how we can improve and fix long-term care that was so badly neglected. And we've been working consistently, relentlessly to do that. Thank you. Host, come to order. Final supplementary. Well, despite what this minister was saying publicly, it's clear that the minister knew in February that Ontario's broken long-term care system would not be able to fall with the COVID-19 pandemic. The horrifying stories of neglect, rotten food and overworked staff were being sent to the minister long before COVID-19 came into Ontario. In fact, she just acknowledged that a moment ago. Now the premier said they did everything they could, and the minister got all the resources she asked for. So the question to the minister is, is the premier telling the truth? Well, through you, Mr. Speaker, if we're talking about money, we immediately injected $243 million into long-term care. The minister is doing an incredible job. She has a working group together. Order. And we're waiting for the working group to come back until we can give more money to help the long-term care. And at the beginning, the whole world was in a crisis at PPE. We were able to now have 23 suppliers bidding for face masks. The N95 is a surgical mask. We have endless companies producing face shields, producing gowns right now, producing hand sanitizer that we don't have to rely on anyone anymore. God forbid this comes again, or a second wave. At least we're secure in the PPE. We were able to bring the count down to 34 homes out of 626 homes right now in outbreak. And thanks to our great Canadian military and our great minister that works on this around the clock, we were able to reduce the cases. Now we got a handle around it. Thank you. The next question, once again, the leader of the opposition. Thank you, Speaker. My next question is for the Premier. But you know what isn't great, Speaker? You know what isn't great? That over 1,820 people in long-term care have died of COVID-19. That is not great. That is not great. And I think the Premier needs to acknowledge that. He has repeatedly stated that his government took every available step to protect residents in long-term care. He said it over and over again. He's dismissed media reports of the Treasury Board rejection of a plan to fund long-term care as riddled with errors. This is what he says. It was littered with errors. So in the interest of transparency, Speaker, will the Premier waive Cabinet confidentiality and allow the public to see the minutes from Treasury Board and Cabinet meetings where funding and support for long-term care was discussed? Premier? What people have seen, we've got to handle on long-term care. And it's not over yet. There's still a lot of work to do, Mr. Speaker, by no means is this job finished. We're creating thousands and thousands of beds. We promise we'll create 15,000 in the first five years and another 15,000 in the following five years. And that's exactly what we're doing. We're doing a quick build on which we will be announcing, and hopefully you'll be part of it to support it. And maybe if you come up with great ideas, we'll put one in Hamilton as well. But right now, hopefully, we're going to be building over 1,200 beds in a very short period. Brand new, state-of-the-art beds in different jurisdictions around Toronto and the GTA. But we're working our backs off, Mr. I'm sorry, Mr. Speaker, and we're going to continue working our backs off until there's zero cases. And I want to thank all the frontline workers that work through this with us. They're absolute champions. Thank you. A supplementary question. Well, Speaker, the Premier may know that my colleagues and I have sent hundreds and hundreds of recommendations and suggestions to the government and to his ministers. It would be nice if they'd actually look at them from time to time. But look, despite the Premier's claims, it is absolutely clear that Ontario's response to COVID-19 failed, that the crisis response was a failure with over 1,820 seniors who lost their lives in long-term care homes. There's no other way to assess it, Speaker. There's no other way. 1,820, more than 1,820. And it's equally clear that if the government had taken the action that other governments took swiftly to control staffing and to protect residents, many of those residents and workers would be alive today, Speaker. The Premier says reports that he denied funding requests aren't true, but he refuses to make the minutes public. Will his commission into long-term care be empowered to review cabinet decisions in public hearings? And if so, is he willing to repeat those same details under oath himself? Premier? For you, Mr. Speaker, again, let's talk about the $243 million that the Treasury did put forward. Let's talk about the great working group. You just don't hand over money, and the minister will agree. I think everyone in this room will agree. You don't hand over money without the working group coming forward and saying this is what we need for that, this is what we need for that. And we're prepared, matter of fact, we're anxious to put more money into long-term care. And again, when the leader of the opposition criticizes long-term care, what she's doing is criticizing public health, criticizing Ontario health, criticizing all the great front-line workers that were working their back off coming in, putting themselves, I'm sorry, putting the community in long-term care ahead of themselves. That's what the leader of the opposition is criticizing. We work together with everyone, and that's the way we're going to get through this. We're going to continue working through COVID right across this province. And by the figures that I've seen, Mr. Speaker, we're leading North America in any jurisdiction our size with the lowest cases in North America. Thank you. Well, Speaker, I think that's pretty shameful. I really think that's pretty shameful, what the Premier just said, because I'm not criticizing any of those heroes. I'm criticizing the Premier, and I'm criticizing the government, and I'm criticizing the minister and the entire cabinet, because they did not shore up long-term care the way they should have. And everybody knows it. I don't care about turning for 1820 lost lives. That's what I care about, Speaker. Residents in long-term care, their families and the workers who support them have been sounding the alarm bell about conditions in long-term care for years. We all agree about that. We've been talking about it for years on this side of the House. At the lead-up to the COVID outbreak, though, they pleaded with the government for action, those folks, all of those advocates, all of those frontline workers. They pleaded for action, and it didn't come. It either came too late or it didn't come at all. They don't believe the Premier when he says that the deaths in long-term care were inevitable. They didn't believe when he claimed that it was an iron ring protecting the loved ones. If the Premier truly believes, Speaker, that his government has nothing to apologize for, why is he refusing? Thank you. The Premier. I guess the difference, Mr. Speaker, between our government and the previous government, along with their cohorts, is I stood up many times and I admitted I take ownership of this. I take full ownership of it. We're going to fix the problems that they left behind. Not only $243 million. We put $25 million immediately into emergency funding. We put $88 million for prevention and containment of this virus, just long-term care. $130 million to create additional capacity at the homes. We also increased the level of care funding by 1.5 percent and provided $8 million to support the staff wage subsidy, which is so important to us. And now they are getting pandemic pay because they deserve it and they deserve it moving forward as far as I'm concerned. They're great people. They work hard. And thanks to them, not our government, thanks to the frontline workers, we're getting a handle around it but by no means have we done yet. The next question, once again, the Leader of the Opposition. Thank you, Speaker. My next question is also for the Premier. And if he did so well, then he should have no reason not to call a public inquiry, Speaker. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on the Windsor-Essex region and on the migrant workers who are now confronted with major outbreaks that are spreading rapidly through their workplaces. Unlike other provincial governments, the four government failed to take proactive measures to ensure these workers and these communities would be protected, another failure. Over the last week, the Premier has attacked public health officials for his failure for preventing workers from staying on the job after a COVID-19 diagnosis. And inaccurately claimed that workers were hiding from COVID testing disgraceful. Health experts have been clear that these workers should not be told to keep working when they are sick, when they have tested positive for COVID-19. Nobody should. So why is the Premier ignoring their advice and who exactly is he taking advice from? Premier? Well, through you, Mr. Speaker, on Friday ever since this happened, but let's go just back to Friday. We were able to get all the farmers on the phone on a conference call with Omafra and the Chief Medical Officers of Ontario and down in Windsor-Essex. And I've been in constant communication with the two mayors in Leamington and Kingsville along with the Chief Medical Officers and the farmers. I spoke to the farmers and they called me up to thank me. I didn't call them. They called me to thank me for the great job and make sure that they'll thank me for taking down the heat on Friday. The farm is back up and running. They're producing product. They're shipping it down to the U.S. And they're very, very grateful. And the only way we're going to get through this down at Windsor-Essex, if we all work together and I've told the workers down there very clearly, they're like any other worker in Ontario. They're eligible for WSIB. They're eligible for SERB if they've worked here last year and they have a number. We're moving through this. And until the next stage, we're going to get Leamington and Kingsville back into stage two very shortly. Thank you. And the supplementary question. Well, Speaker, the Ford government has left communities in Southwestern Ontario in lockdown. And some of the most vulnerable workers in the province, in jeopardy. It's clear that the Premier is not listening to public health experts, Speaker. Local mayors say promised phone calls are never returned. And the workers themselves have seen pleas for assistance ignored. Will the Premier stop the misinformation, Speaker, and admit that forcing migrant workers to work with COVID-19 is inhumane and will make the prices work? I'm going to ask the leader of the opposition to withdraw the unparliamentary comment. Withdraw, Speaker. Will the Premier... Conclude your question. Will the Premier clarify the information that he puts out and admit that forcing migrant workers to work with COVID-19 is inhumane and will make the crisis worse, rather, and invest the resources required to ensure that workers have proper sick pay, safe accommodation, and... Thank you. The Premier to reply. I don't know how to say this parliamentary, but it's just not okay. I return every single phone call. I talk to the mayors. Actually, you can call Mayor McDonald and have a great conversation from Leamington. We're doing everything we can to support these folks and the farmers as well, and they're feeling much, much better. But this is, again, Mr. Speaker, every hurdle that we have faced with the support of the people, support of the frontline workers, we've been able to get through. And then it's not the government. Sure, we push it, but it's the people. It's the farmers that helped us get through. It's the workers that helped us get through. It's the local people from Leamington and Kingsville, and they deserve to get into stage two, because they're hurting, too. Right now, we have three areas. We have the workers, we have the farmers, and we have the public in Leamington and Kingsville, and we want to help them to get back to normal, to get into stage two and stay tuned that announcement will be coming very shortly, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Premier. As we reopen the economy, the health and safety of everyone remain our top priority. As more businesses open their doors, Ontario employers are going above and beyond. This is why I want to commend the work of businesses and constituents in my riding and throughout the province for their leadership during this time. This includes great examples of ensuring safety for workers like businesses, barriers, providing masks to their employees, and sanitizing service frequently. Our government has made sufficient investments and supports that we will continue to do everything that we can to provide whatever assistance is needed during this time. Speaker, can the Premier please update this legislature on our government's recently announced new support? Thank you. Thank you. I want to thank the great member from Mark Unionville. Last week I was proud to announce with the Minister of Labour training skills and development that our government would be providing free health and safety training online for the first time ever in Ontario. There's going to be over 100,000 people, over 100,000 people that are eligible for the first time ever in Ontario. There's going to be over 100,000 people, over 100,000 people that are eligible for this job training. I think it's absolutely critical. We've put over $3 million into this, Mr Speaker. This training will give employers and employees the confidence that they have in making sure when they get hired someone who knows and can create and maintain a safe workplace for customers and their employees. This is good for business confidence and it's good for consumer confidence. Thank you, Mr Speaker. My supplementary question is to the Premier. Premier, this is wonderful news. That is a great encouragement for workers and in my writing across entire province. I want to echo the sentiment of what the Minister of Labour training and skills development stated. Last week's announcement is another example of how we can make things safer and easier when we are there. When people take health and safety training, they not only make sure that they are working safer for themselves. They learn how to keep themselves safer as well. Can the Premier elaborate further about our assistance for training skills development regarding health and safety and other training skills development initiatives supported by the government? Thank you. Premier, I'd like to thank the member again. Mr Speaker, this is a program through the Employment Ontario Network. We put in $3 million and it's amazing. We'll have 100,000 people that have been trained on safety. As simple as these courses cover topics such as infection control, ladder safety, and preventing slipping and trips and falls. I've been in the private sector for 30 years. A lot of people get hurt simply having a messy floor. Rule number one, clean up your floor in your shop because there are a lot of trips and falls. These courses will provide job seekers with the confidence and safely enter and return to the workforce. As soon as you get someone's resume, I look at what training have they had in safety because that's the number one priority for every single company. We're also making it possible for people currently who are members of workplace joint health and safety committees which every single company should have at least two members on the floor and two management levels. Just last week our government was also proud to announce an additional investment of $3.5 million in skills. Thank you very much. Next question, member for Brampton Centre. Thank you and good morning Speaker. My question is for the Premier. Over the last month tens of thousands of people across Ontario have called for fundamental changes to policing and more investments in community services and supports. They see that the current system is broken and black, indigenous and racialized Ontarians are paying the price. All too often, Speaker, with their lives. Last week the city of Toronto passed a motion calling for the Premier to give the city control and oversight over their policing budget. Will the Premier listen to the people and honour the city of Toronto's request? Mr. Listener General. Thank you, Speaker. I don't think that any of us have to be reminded, but I will say that the City of Toronto for the sake of clarity, racism, hatred and discrimination has no place in Ontario. But police services boards also have autonomy on who they hire as their chief and their budgets. Our dedicated frontline police officers across Ontario play a vital role in keeping our community safe. Municipalities are responsible for ensuring adequate and effective policing in the community. The City of Toronto and the Chiefs of Police have the authority to use the tools and resources they believe are necessary to ensure community safety in the communities they serve. The province provides funding support for police services on key community initiatives. And I will remind the member office that some of those community initiatives include guns and bullets. And I will remind the member office that some of those community initiatives and priorities. It's important that the police services boards have those oversight. It's also important that we as a government ensure that our communities continue to be the safest in North America. And the supplementary question. Thank you, Speaker. Last week, black community leaders gathered here at the legislature to talk about the changes that have been made to existing government commissioned reports that have sat on the shelf, gathered dust because liberals and conservatives failed to implement them. The City of Toronto has also called for an overhaul of police oversight bodies and expanded instances when officers can be suspended without pay. Premier, will you listen to the community and enact these recommendations? I think we cannot accept what the member opposite is saying because many of the recommendations that have been brought forward in, for example, Justice Tullack's recent recommendations, have already been implemented by police services across Ontario. I talked about the community saving and policing grants that help tackle guns and crimes such as human trafficking, domestic and sexual violence. We have confidence in our police services boards, our police chiefs, and the individuals who serve in our communities. We have to ensure that they take that consideration when they serve their community and they do so under very, very challenging situations. I would respectfully ask the member to go and have a drive along with the police when they are answering those questions. They are incredibly challenging and to suggest that they are not doing everything within their professionalism. Thank you. Thank you. The next question is for the Premier. Premier, I wish you would stay. But we do know that the Canadian Armed Forces left the struggling long-term care homes. They were there to help us. We also know, Mr. Speaker, that the government took two months to give itself the power to take over long-term care homes. We have also learned that in January and February, the minister of long-term care brought two Treasury Board submissions to stabilize the workforce in long-term care. My question to the Premier is why were both of those Treasury Board submissions rejected? Minister of long-term care to reply. Thank you, Speaker. And thank you for the question. Our government took an integrated comprehensive approach with Ontario Health, the command table, public health Ontario, and our ministry along with the command table were actively monitoring those homes. And you've heard me mention before about the coding, the red, the yellow, and the green. We monitored those homes and were acting in response and anticipating issues which is why we began to organise to have the Armed Forces come in. And I am tremendously grateful to the Armed Forces for assisting us in our time of need. And looking at other province, our neighbour also needed assistance. We are the two largest populations in Canada. The Canadian Armed Forces was there for us in our time of need and we will continue to take and take the measures necessary to repair and move in advance long-term care forward. Supplementary question. I appreciate the response although I don't think it was an answer to the question. I think that's important. He wants to be transparent Ontario needs to know what he knows as he says. So I have yet to receive a response and we know that it took the government more than a month to do the same things that BC and Quebec did right away to stabilize the workforce. And it sounds like the minister tried to do the same thing. Order. I have said before the government's response has been flat footed. It's more like paralysis. So my question to the premier is this will you release those agendas will you release those submissions and can you explain to this legislature why the decision making process for increasing the pay and staff and long-term care took so long. Minister of long-term care. Thank you speaker and thank you for the question. There were many issues leading up to this pandemic and through this pandemic and moving forward. Whether it's capacity whether it's staffing whether it's looking and shoring up in integration with our acute care sector whether it's integration with academic centres to understand the research that needs to be done to address an aging population. Everyone's known for decades that our population was aging. The first government to take the long-term care sector seriously in the way that it needs to be done. We cannot repair what lasted for decades of neglect in a short period of time in a few weeks or a few days. We certainly took every measure possible. We used every tool possible and we will continue to do that creating a resident centred long-term care system ready for the 21st century that will be our commitment to the long-term care sector. We've heard the Premier say it. We all say it. We are committed as a government to long-term care. Next question to the member for Brampton West. My question is to the Minister of Transportation. In recent months we have seen a surge of violence and criminal activity within the towing industry. It's a cause of concern for our government and all interiors. It's intolerable, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister tell us about the recently announced task force and the role it will play in improving standards for the towing industry? Thank you Minister of Transportation. Thank you to the member from Brampton West for the question. I want to begin by acknowledging the member for Thornhill for the work that she's done on this file and the efforts that she has made to address criminal activity in the towing industry. I was pleased last week to join the Minister of Health and the Solicitor General to announce the immediate action that our government is taking to crack down on criminal activity in the towing industry. That jeopardizes the safety of operators and everyone who uses our highways. Mr. Speaker, enough is enough. As Minister of Transportation I'm committed to ensuring a high standard for the towing industry to keep Ontario's roads and highways among the safest in North America. We've established a task force to develop a provincial oversight model for the industry that will increase safety and enforcement, clarify protections for consumers, improve safety standards and consider tougher penalties for violators. I look forward to receiving the task force's recommendations and future consultations with stakeholders as we determine the best path forward. Thank you. The supplementary question. Thank you to the Minister for her response. It's clear that this is a significant step forward in ensuring public confidence in an industry that supports everyday maintenance in times of need on our highways. My supplemental question is over to the Solicitor General. I have heard through my constituents and through the media reports of very concerning criminal activity within the industry. A recent spike in violence including instances of corruption, torching of tow trucks and the firebombing of offices is a threat to Ontarians and public service owners and operators work hard to provide an important public service and they need to be able to do their vital jobs without a fear of intimidation. Can the Solicitor General share how the towing task force will help address criminality within the industry and threats to public safety? Great. Thank you to the member for Branch and West for his interest in this important issue. The dangerous tow truck war being in Ontario is a threat to everyone including law of lighting, tow truck operators and the public. Our policing partners have been instrumental in working together to respond to this growing threat and bringing the issue to the public's attention through key initiatives such as the York Region Police Project Platinum. By working collaboratively with our policing partners including the Ontario Provincial Police and members of the Ministry of the Solicitor General, we will help this determine tougher standards for the industry and shut down criminal activity that puts enterians in danger on our roadside. Consumers deserve nothing less. Thank you. The member for Davenport. My question is for the premier. Mr. Speaker, even with a very difficult school year behind us anxiety is growing among parents about what the fall is going to look like for their kids. Parents want to know how schools can return to work if their children are only in school part-time and they want to know how schools can safely reopen with 15 student classes and simultaneous emergency remote learning when the government hasn't put forward a single new dollar to hire more teachers. Even the money that this government is putting forward for COVID-related cleaning amounts to just $800 per school. When will the premier treat this issue with the funding and support required to truly and safely reopen our schools? Thank you very much Mr. Speaker and thank you to the member opposite for the question. Mr. Speaker, the government is committed to reopening schools but keeping kids safe is our paramount priority. It's why we sought the advice of the chief medical officer of health who's guided us along the way and the message from the chief medical officer in the command table is to be prepared for all circumstances. It's why we've asked school boards in this province to be prepared for any circumstances so that kids continue to learn irrespective of the challenge they manifest. With respect to funding every board in the province of Ontario will receive more funding this year than any year before in the history of this province. In the member opposites board and Toronto district school board $55 million more to better prepare them for the challenges ahead dealing with COVID-19. Overall we're investing more in the grant for soon need in any government in the province of Ontario. We're also investing in the hiring of custodial staff. In fact $200 million the support for student funds to hire the staff we need to keep kids safe. Our commitment is to get kids in class in September. We will do that with more funding, with cleaning, with protocols in place that ensure students in September are safe and unloading. And the supplementary question. Mr. Speaker, and I tell you this plan does not meet that challenge. Mr. Speaker, the challenge of COVID-19 requires bold and creative solutions to ensure that every child gets the education they deserve. That means looking at available community spaces and putting them to use. It means hiring more teachers, custodians, EAs, ECEs providing income supports like parental leave and paid sick days and a massive investment in capital repairs to ensure our schools are safe. Instead of leaving this to the boards to solve their problems without money to back it up, will the Premier show some leadership to collaborate with our education partners and bring in a plan that finally puts our children first? What's going to ensure students remain the priority speaker is being prepared for every challenge on the horizon. It's why we're asking boards as many provinces across the Federation has done to be prepared for this to happen. We're also asking board members to make a sense application to make sure the kids remain learning and safe. In the context of funding, this progressive concern of Government is investing $15 million more than any Government in the history of Ontario to procure 37,000 more Chromebooks. It is this Government is investing $10 million more after doubling the mental health budget in the province for mental health care. In addition to funding, we're ensuring that there's public health guidance so that students, when they return to class, could do so with confidence that they will be safe in September. The next question, the member for Ottawa, Vania. Thank you, Mr Speaker. My question is for the Solicitor General. Earlier this year, Justice David Cole released his final report as the independent member of the Ministry of Human Rights. Justice Cole found that the Ministry remains non-compliant with many of its most substantial obligations, including the collection of human rights data, implementing independent oversight of the use of confinement and conducting regular mental health reassessments for inmates. As the Minister knows, the Ministry is legally obligated to comply with all of these obligations. The Ministry has lost in the system like Adam Cappé was, and that isolation is not being used as an alternative to treatment for inmates with mental illness. Last Wednesday, the Ontario ombudsman found that the Ministry remains non-compliant with 13 separate commitments made in 2017 to improve oversight for inmates. Could the Minister explain why it's legal obligations and comply with the jansalment? Thank you. The Solicitor General. I want to thank both Justice Cole and Professor Hannah Moffitt for this report and their recommendations. The report will further inform our ongoing and future policy changes and updates. We are pleased that Justice Cole notes all 31 of the time-specific deliverance deliverables in the Consent Order were successfully implemented by the Ministry in a timely fashion, including enhanced mental health screening for inmates and formalizing timelines for screening and assessments, revising operational policies on segregation and special placements of inmates, establishing methods to track conditions of confinement for inmates and publicly releasing data on segregation. This would not have been possible without the excellent work within the Solicitor General's Office and, most importantly, the incredible dedication that the corrections officers who are serving in those institutions. It's because of their work that this was able to happen. Thank you, Speaker. And the supplementary question. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With respect, the Ombudsman report of last week disagrees with your statement. I want to say that in 2018, the previous Liberal Government passed the Correctional Services Act. This Comprehensive Corrections Reform Bill, if enacted, would immediately bring the province into compliance with the Jan Settlement. And according to the Ombudsman report itself, substantially address many of the remaining 13 commitments to his office. While this bill achieved royal assent, the Government is simply refusing to put Pyramid into force. It's just sitting there. If they choose to, it could be proclaimed into force. And I'm not sure that any of those longstanding issues would be immediately addressed. Will the minister put partisanship aside, recognize the gravity of these commitments for overseeing vulnerable inmates and commit to proclaiming the Correctional Services Transformation Act into force to immediately and substantially address the ministries' overdue legal obligations? Thank you. I'm not sure if the member opposite announced a couple of weeks ago. $500 million in corrections. 500 new staff in corrections. And those are staff who are going to work in mental health, they're going to work in programming, they're going to be corrections officers. 500. So last November, we took action by introducing regulatory changes that require an independent review of inmates in administrative segregation conditions that least once every five consecutive days. I believe that the work that the corrections division is doing is incredible. It is actually transforming how we deal with individuals. We've taken action to better identify which inmates have mental health needs and responding appropriately to best support those inmates. This includes mental health screening of all inmates upon admission and reassessment at least once every six months. There are times when separating inmates and individuals from the general population is necessary for health, safety and or security reasons. Thank you. Thank you very much. The next question, the member for Hastings, Lennox and Attington. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question today is for our fine minister of economic development, job creation and trade. You know, one of the main tools we have in our fight against COVID-19 has been the PPEs, the math, the gloves, the sanitizers, the face shields to protect all of our frontline workers, certainly our first responders and of course all of the people of Ontario. And I think you have to have your head in the sand not to realize that COVID-19 has spread to high, high levels right in every corner of the world. PPEs are in high demand given that the disease has spread to over 180 nations. We're so fortunate to live in a province that is a leader now. A leader in the manufacturing and production of so many PPE facilities that entrepreneurs are working to provide the product that we need for the safety of our people. So Mr. Speaker, can the minister update this House on how our government is working? He is working to bring these entrepreneurs together to secure the supplies of PPEs that we so desperately needed and are now delivering. Thank you. Minister of economic development. Thank you to the member from Hastings, and Addington for the question. The Ontario spirit of production, innovation, and problem solving is nothing short of amazing. In March we called on Ontario businesses to help fight COVID-19 with production capabilities and ideas through our Ontario Together website. And Mr. Speaker they have stepped up. 27,000 offers of help have been received. 18,000 have been converted into almost 630 million dollars in purchases of personal protective equipment. That's 25 million gowns for our nurses and doctors. 173 million gloves for our paramedics and police. 123 million masks for our social workers and support staff. And over 4 million face shields for our front line. We thank all of the businesses, the entrepreneurs and the organisation to help in this task. And Mr. Speaker certainly thank you minister and Mr. Speaker a sincere level of gratitude and thanks has to go to all of the industries and businesses that the minister has been able to work with to develop the teamwork necessary to provide the safety and protection for the people of Ontario. The support of all these Ontario businesses and entrepreneurs, it's been critical really, absolutely critical in our fight against COVID-19. Because ensuring that our front line workers and our first responders have the PPE that they need to defend themselves and the public against COVID remains one of the key priorities of this government. And I'm so, so impressed and pleased that the minister has taken this challenge first-hand and has built an incredible network of entrepreneurs to be able to bring forward the solution that we as the province need. So to the minister, Mr. Speaker is harnessing the entire manufacturing might that they have in this fight against COVID-19. Again, the minister of economic development. Speaker, Ontario has weathered every past crisis with businesses employees and government working together and COVID-19 was no different. We launched the Ontario Together Fund to help companies rapidly retool production and enhance their manufacturing capability. This $50 million fund has already supported SouthMetic and Barrie with $1.8 million. Sterling Industries in Concord with $1 million and Virox Technologies in Oakville with $850,000. SouthMetic will make $175,000 oxygen masks a week and triple production of specialty masks to $35,000 a week. Sterling will boost their face shield output to $1 million a week. Virox will up its production and disinfectant wipes to $6,000 cases a day while creating 20 new jobs. Across Ontario, businesses are retooling to make PPE and, Speaker, we are proud of these made in Ontario solutions. Member for York Southwest. Thank you. My question is for the Premier. Mr. Speaker, on June 17th, I wrote the Premier and the Health Minister regarding the concerns of my residents and myself about the lack of local testing capacity in my community of York Southwestern. Our community is home to many frontline heroes, nurses, technicians, BSWs and hospital staff all make their home here in York Southwestern. They need and they deserve access to the testing they need to help keep themselves and their families safe. As an identified hot sport areas, when can our underserved community get the testing that is so overdue? Good question. Minister of Health. We know how important testing is as we are dealing with COVID-19 and as we move into the fall when we will be dealing with the flu season as well. We have made testing a priority to the point that we have now the highest testing capacity in Canada, the highest per 100,000 testing capacity. We routinely test between 20 and 25,000 people per day. But what we have done is change our testing strategy over time to respond to the needs of communities and what's happening in different parts of the province with respect to COVID-19. We want to make sure that we're going to be able to test in areas where there are outbreaks. We want to make sure that we can test in areas where there are vulnerable populations such as people in long-term care homes and other areas where there is no congregate living. And we want to be able to do testing in workplaces and other areas to understand what the impact is as we open up from stage 2 and prepare to get ready for stage 3 to understand what the public health impacts are of this loosening of restrictions. Supplementary question. Thank you again, my question, Mr Speaker, is to the Premier. The City of Toronto recently released mapping data showing elevated numbers of cases in my community of York, South-Western that is even with the long-term care excluded. But still, this Conservative Government refuses to act and refuse to do whatever it takes like they promised they would to keep our community safe. We need pop-up testing units an additional facility opened for ongoing testing in preparation for possible second wave. The Farmer-Humber Memorial Hospital at 200 Church Street may be the best solution. Will the Premier commit more testing in identified hotspots areas in Toronto? Well, absolutely. We are continuing to expand our testing strategy. Currently we have the capacity to test approximately 25,000 people per day. We are going to be increasing that because we know as we get into the fall season there will be a number of people who will unfortunately become ill and we won't know until we do the testing whether they have flu which can be very dangerous in and of itself or whether they have COVID-19. So of course we are going to continue to expand our testing strategy because we want to make sure that we can go into areas that are hotspots areas of outbreak. We have over 100 assessment centres now. We have several pop-up assessment centres and we're going to continue to expand them because we know that the needs of people are going to continue to increase again as we move into flu season. So this is a priority for us, the testing, and then of course the contact management as well. So we're going to expand in both of those areas so that we can keep the people of Ontario safe wherever they live in the province. My question is to the Minister, our Minutes for Affairs and Housing. Speaker, last week our governments announced a significant investment to help provide an improved housing for homeless Ontarians. COVID-19 has shown everyone how important it is to have a place to call home where they can feel safe and secure. Speaker, could the Minister please explain how this new round of social services relief funding will help communities across Ontario improve housing for our most vulnerable. Thank you. Wow. Thanks, Speaker. I want to thank the member from Don Valley North for that great question. He is right. I was honored last week to stand with the Premier to announce an additional $150 million to stop the spread of COVID-19 in our shelter system and to keep vulnerable Ontarians safe. This funding brings our government's total social service relief fund investment to $350 million and continues to build upon our COVID-19 action plan for vulnerable Ontarians. This new investment will allow our municipal partners to fund long-term innovative housing solutions so they can be better prepared for emergencies. These funds, Speaker, can also be used to provide food, shelters, supplies. It can also be used to renovate our shelter system. At a time when sheltering at home has become essential, it's important of having a home stronger than ever, Speaker. And I want to say that this is another reason and another way that we're helping to address the homelessness problem in our province. So again, thank you for the question. And a supplementary question. Thank you, Speaker, and thank you to the Minister for that response. I'm proud to be part of a government that takes homelessness seriously. And I know that this new funding will be critical in my riding up down valley nodes and the communities all across Ontario. Speaker, I look forward to seeing the innovative housing solutions that our municipalities propose. Speaker, could the Minister explain how this program is rolling out? Thank you. I want to thank the member for that great question. Our government is working, as I said in the first answer, to create longer-term innovative housing solutions in communities right across this province. Local service managers and our indigenous program administrators know what their needs are, and we're working with them to get their best advice on how to move this program forward. Our government has already moved forward to support a number of innovative projects. In the member's own city of Toronto, we were proud to respond to a City of Toronto request for a Minister's Zoning Order to help them complete a very innovative modular home development offering 56 units to house homeless in Toronto. These homes will help the city respond to the COVID-19 outbreak and will help to relieve the strain on our shelter system. There are still a number of steps to go in the planning process, but I'm excited that this project was a partnership with the city, and I'm looking forward to having more updates on it in the future. Thank you very much. Next question, the member for University Rose. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Parents in my writing are worried about the Conservatives' failure to plan for the return to school in the fall and what that failure is going to mean for them. Megan is a single parent. She works as an electrician, so there is no way she can work at home. And like many parents, Megan is worried about the government, about how the government won't be making decisions about reopening schools. She fears they won't be making them until just days before, leaving everyone in the lurch. I can tell you, last minute the Government will force parents into making drastic and last minute childcare plans that aren't going to work. That's not going to hurt parents and their children, and it's going to hurt parents and their children, it's going to hurt our entire recovery. When is this Government going to let parents know the plan for September? Minister of Education. Thank you very much, Mr Speaker, and thank you to the member opposite for the question. Speaker, what we have learned over the past is that government must be prepared for all circumstances, because students have a right to an education. They must continue to learn with a quality education before them led by their teacher. And so, Speaker, what we've asked school boards to do is to be prepared for all circumstances. Yes, a conventional, day-to-day, in-class model for students with heightened health and safety protocols. A second option is an online delivery. God forbid that is required again. And third, what we've asked is to be prepared for the future. And, Mr Speaker, we've asked to be prepared for the future based on public health advice co-ordinated 15. Mr Speaker, school boards are required to have their plans done by the first week of August. We'll be communicating thereafter on the way forward. Our obligation is to keep them safe. It's why we put more funding in place for cleaning. We put together a clear guidance document that provides a framework for our school boards on the way forward. It's what we're going to continue to follow, Mr Speaker. Member for Nickel Belt supplementary. Thank you, Speaker, also to the Premier. The lack of a plan for childcare and education is going to hurt families throughout our province. But in the North, where access to childcare was already at crisis level, it's going to be really difficult for us. My constituent said, and I quote, last week we lost our licensed childcare. No room due to Ontario's Operative Directive to Reduce Staff Ratio. She goes on to say, I am terrified for September. How is a single parent expected to work full time without childcare for rotating school days? Premier, she wants to ask you, where is the childcare plan? Where is the support for working parents? And how are women able to participate in the labour force and remain sufficient without childcare? Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. It is interesting to know that the former question from an urban member and now a more rural remote member sort of opposing the concept of a regional approach to reopening, because Mr Speaker, I think it is fair to say that the risk of COVID is not linear in Timmins than it is in Toronto. And the reason why we have proceeded on this basis is because of the approach that is responding to the reality on the ground. With respect to childcare, we have put in place a plan to reopen childcare. Many childcare centres are reopening right across the province as we speak. And it is based on more sustainability funding for our operators, leveraging federal support, on more support for cleaning as well as for PPE for our operators. Our focus in the discourse is the government's commitment to protect consumers. Operators are able to get that funding, should they, so long as they keep the space and so long as the fees do not increase in the province of Ontario. The next question, the member for Barry Innisville. Thank you, Mr Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Labour Training and Skills Development. The Canadian construction industry alone will need 300,000 skilled workers. It is a crucial journey person's critical projects like in my riding with the new GO train station, bridges, highway for 100 to name a few, but projects all across the province will cost more and take longer if we don't have the right skills trades and journey persons in place. But Mr Speaker, that's alright because our government is giving hope to Ontarians again by investing in building up success, by building up success. I'm going to ask the Minister if you can tell this House why it's so important to build on a meaningful career in the skills trade sector. Mr Labour. Well thank you very much Mr Speaker and thank you to the member from Barry Innisville for that excellent question here this morning. Through you Mr Speaker, as Ontario carefully reopens these skilled trades are an essential part of the recovery and future of Ontario's economy. The $5 million makes a total of $5 million which will go towards reaching youth, educators and parents to show everyone the skilled trades are meaningful career options. Mr Speaker about one in five new jobs in Ontario over the course of the next five years is expected to be in the skilled trades. So we must continue to promote the trades and give young people access to these careers that we're building. Thank you Mr Speaker. Thank you to the Minister for that answer. I know he's even building up success in his own backyard with his daughter who's teaching her skills trades by building her own tree house Mr Speaker which is very commendable. It's something I hear from parents in Barry Innisville as well. They're worried for their children. They want them to go to school and be able to get a job right away but they're worried for their children and we have many city councillors in Innisville specifically Kenneth Fowler who's really encouraged by the efforts our government is putting into skills training and the financial supports we're giving to those skills. So I want to ask the Minister if he can tell us a little more about what he's doing to promote skills trades both in elementary schools and secondary schools. Thank you. Thank you again to the member from Barry Innisville for his organized workshops, events and activities for the youth in an effort to build and support a strong and diverse skilled workforce. This pandemic has underscored the importance of this work. A lot of young people don't know about the opportunities out there. This investment will put our proud men and women in the trades in front of 125,000 students from grades one to 12. Mr Speaker we will continue to build on the investments our community has made and on our strong partnerships with businesses, trades people and organizations like Skills Ontario to ensure a prosperous future for these kids. That concludes our question period for this morning. This House stands in recess until 1pm.