 It is now time for question period the leader of the Magistrate of Opposition Thank You a speaker premier Can you tell us exactly what the budget leaking team is? Well, I know that the Minister of Finance is going to want to speak to to the budget what I will say mr.. Speaker is that as As in previous years under many governments mr. Speaker there is always a plan to Foreshadow the budget we will be bringing forward a budget and we will be bringing forward a budget that will invest in people Mr.. Speaker will invest in infrastructure and it will invest in supports for businesses in this province mr. Speaker We've been clear about that all along we remain committed to making those investments mr. Speaker and I'm not surprised that the Leader of the opposition might take issue with that strategy because he actually does not want to invest in the province mr. Speaker He thinks that cutting programs and undercutting Business and individuals is the way to go. We don't believe that mr. Speaker. We believe investing in people is the way to go You know I Don't think I got an answer from the premier. I'm very simple question So there is no listing in the Ontario civil service is something called the budget leaking team We understand this is a secret team that you've put together So I'll ask you again if you just answer very simple question on behalf of taxpayers. Can you describe exactly? What the budget leaking team is? Who sits on it? And what's the purpose? To the leader of the opposition and to the people of Ontario is that we are preparing a budget We will be making announcements mr. Speaker in advance of the budget as is the practice of government after government mr. Speaker We will be making investments in the people of Ontario We will be making investments in infrastructure, and we will be making mr. Speaker investments in a business environment That will allow the economy to thrive mr. Speaker that that is what I have said all along That is what I have said about our budget that is what will be in our budget And do we have a communications plan mr. Speaker? I've asked the I've asked for order now I'll ask individuals the member from Renfrew nipissing Pembroke will come to order the member from Duffin We'll come to order carry on we have a communications plan absolutely mr. Speaker, and I'm sure that the I'm sure that the Conservatives and the NDP have communications plan mr. Speaker. It's unfortunate Plans may have been released mr. Speaker, but the substance is exactly what I have said we are going to do you final supplementary You know again, I asked a very simple question the premier for some reason Is not telling us exactly if the budget leaking team exists or not Until now it had been kept secret We did hear from whistleblowers Within the civil servants who are very concerned that you are now Drafting Ontario public servants to do the work of the Ontario Liberal Party. It's not their job They have a job to do but it's not to be Liberal Party staffers so Let's be clear about this and I fully expect that you are aware of what's happening in your own office You would have been briefed on this have not come up with the idea yourself So can you please tell me the budget leaking team secret until today is it staffed by political staff question or is it staffed by bureaucrats We are putting together a budget we are putting together and have a communications plan mr. Speaker We are going to be investing in people in this province We are going to be investing in infrastructure and we are going to be working to partner with business mr. Speaker to make sure that they I was out of business this morning in North Etobicoke with MPP Shafiq Khadri, and we made an announcement about investing in club coffee mr. Speaker We're putting five million dollars into that company so that they can expand mr. Speaker so that they can create more jobs And that they can export around North America and around the world mr. Speaker It has everything to do with the budget because the budget is about investing in the economy of the province New question the leader of the opposition You know speaker. I'll try again the Premier who seems to be Avoiding answering my very direct and simple questions, and I'm confused as to why she won't confirm or deny that this secret budgeting leaking team exists Nor will she confirm or deny that she has drafted civil servants To do the work of the Ontario Liberal Party look we fully expect Liberal Party staffers to figure out communications But we do not expect you to draft Public servants to do the work. Mr. Energy come to order and this shows me further speaker a premier who is more concerned About protecting her own job College universities You seem to be oblivious or you could be oblivious what's happening within your own government your own office or the OPP Investigation of potential criminal activity destruction of documents now to this budget leaking team So I'll ask you more time. This is try number four Can you can question that the secret budget leaking team exists? And if so is it staffed by bureaucrats or Liberal Party? Thank you The jobs that I'm protecting and the jobs that we're working to create Oh, Mr. Speaker so are we preparing a budget absolutely our finance officials engaged in preparing that budget? Absolutely, I think the people of Ontario would be shocked if I said no the Ministry of Finance officials are not involved in preparing a budget Do we have a communications? Remember from the P in Carleton will come to order and the member from Prince Edward Hastings will come to order Very much Mr. Speaker and we will deliver on that commitment to bring forward a budget that will invest in the people of this province that will Invest in infrastructure and will support a business climate that will attract jobs to the province. Mr. Speaker That is what the substance of our budget will be I'm going to send over to the premier list of people on the budget leaking team This information was given to us by civil service Concerned that you're abusing your powers premier to put liberal party interests at the answer the taxpayers or the civil service They'd be right. I asked you four times premier if this group existed you refused to answer I don't know why you're being so Extraordinary evasive when it comes to very basic questions here today Are we trying to hide I'll ask for the pages to bring this over to the premier And could the premier confirm that Matthew Sylvain and Kyle McIntyre Stefan Donnelly and others on this list are paid liberal staff or is it as we fear from the whistleblowers? Civil servants that you're drafting to do the work the little question Very much so I will say again to the leader of the opposition. Yes, we are preparing a budget I believe that that is absolutely our responsibility to prepare a budget to work with the officials in finance Mr. Speaker and of course they are they are working to prepare that budget mr. Speaker do we have a communications plan? Absolutely, we have a communications plan I think mr. Speaker that what the leader of the opposition is really concerned about is that he doesn't support the Investments that we're putting forward he The minister of community states the minister of community social services come to order and for the third time the member for men from the Sorry second time. Yeah And because you're counting you only have one left Surprising to me that the leader of the third party would be somewhat exercised about investments in the province It's not what he supports. She opposes making investments. He opposes supporting business He opposes supporting the talent and skills of this province, mr. Speaker So I don't expect him to agree with us, but I do expect him to understand that we're going to bring that budget forward You know we on this side of certainly appreciate the premier showed up for question pretty today just wish we had some answers So you've had the list to study this looks to me like the liberal party that once again is more concerned about keeping their Government limousines their cabinet minister titles and spending whatever it takes to keep your jobs I'm more concerned about creating good jobs a better take So I guess this is my last chance. We'll continue to ask this pretty good Can you confirm or deny the existence of the hitherto secret budget leaking team? And can you tell me also that your plan is to make 39 different spending announcements? totaling five point seven billion dollars in the next 21 days That's the information we've had from the whistleblowers and if that's true We're gonna find the money You say this please premier minister of finance The first of all I Know how to do that and you're wasting your own time I called for you to do it, and I don't want the responses either Just adding impact mr. Speaker right just want them to listen very carefully And this is what is happening, and this is what I can't confirm Member from Dufferin we on this side of the house Preparing a budget a very forward-thinking plan one that'll be released in the coming weeks here in this very house One that is being used and worked on with a number of officials from the ministry Including members of our political staff One that includes a roll out of a comms team that I am very proud of and the people of Ontario Will be very proud of this budget as well because it speaks to the needs of that community And it talks about investing in our people it talked about being very strategic in our investments of infrastructure and creating jobs Very dynamic business climate Decide to stop the last people Leader of the third party. Thanks speaker. It's nice to be missed I want to thank the premier for showing up to Queens Park today as well to question period The people of this province deserve answers to speaker and the buck stops with the premier when it comes to answering them What services was Peter faced applies supplying to the Liberal Party in the last week? Let me first say that I know that the leader of the third party who? Puts herself forward as a champion of the north will understand that it was very important that I meet with The businesses that I met with yesterday and so St. Marie that she Remember from Prince Edward Hastings come to order second time Carry on. She will know that it was very important for me to meet with the folks at Algoma University Mr. Speaker to talk about the expansion to their athletic complex, Mr. Speaker She will know that it was very important for me to visit with the students at Francis Clare school, Mr. Speaker So she would know because she does put herself forward as a champion of the north Mr. Speaker that it is not Appropriate to make plans weeks in advance and then cancel them. Mr. Speaker So I was I was very pleased to have been able to be in to St. Marie, Mr. Speaker, and I'm happy to answer her Other questions in the supplementary A premier who preaches accountability should know that that takes showing up in the Legislature to answer questions Services were abruptly terminated over the weekend If he was merely providing routine services as the Liberals insist why was his contract terminated? Well, thank you very much. Mr. Speaker. I worked all day yesterday until midnight and I did not I have never walked out of this Legislature so Collegations on Thursday about the former chief of staff of the former premier's office in the former premier's office, mr Speaker following these revelations. We we put in place an internal investigation. We conducted that it was determined that the company Previously did occasional IT services in the caucus office under the former premier and and in the party office And that was until that was until January 2013 and then those those IT services With the party mr. Speaker Until we discovered and those on Sunday. Those services were terminated. Thank you Mr. Faces work closely with the Liberal Party and the Liberal caucus for some time as the premier has Indicated yet this internal Liberal Party investigation of his services brought about his immediate termination What exactly was found in that investigation is what I would like to know from the premier speaker Well, mr. Speaker what I said was that This IT company did some work with the caucuses services, mr. Speaker Before I was in this office until January 2013. I was not in this office until February 11 There was a continuation. There was some work that was done by the liberal for the Liberal Party Until we did our internal investigation after the allegations came forward on Thursday as of Sunday Those services were terminated mr. Speaker, and so that is that is the decision that we made on Sunday, mr. Speaker new question Thank you speaker my next questions also for the premier for more than the for more than a year people in the Premier's office have known that the partner of a liberal staffer came into their office to wipe their computers at least That's what they told OPP investigators But for a year the premier and her staff never came forward never shared these facts with the public and now we learned the same Individual was working for the Liberal Party even while this premier insisted she didn't know him yet now They expect us to take the Liberal Party at their word when they say there's nothing more to see Does the premier think that saying I know nothing about this is good enough? Mr. Speaker I learned of the allegations on Thursday and the allegations are against the former chief of staff of the former Premier mr. Speaker it has nothing to do with the staff member who is being mentioned by the leader of the third party nonetheless, mr. Speaker We are in this process. There is a police investigation going on. They are doing their work We need to let that we need to let that work unfold mr. Speaker, and I have said quite clearly I am happy to debate and have been for the last year answering questions about the relocation of the gas plants mr. Speaker I have appeared before committee We have opened up the process and that is appropriate debate mr. Speaker the allegations that the that the leader of the third party is Commenting on mr. Speaker those are part of a process that the police are undertaking right now. Thank you On Friday, I wrote to the premier making it plain that it's time for a public inquiry into the gas plant scandal and the cover-up I have yet to receive a response from this premier will the premier finally call the public inquiry I'm going to ask the the leader of the third party to withdraw withdraw Premier so well we actually had this conversation a year ago mr. Speaker I said that we were going to open up the process We've done exactly that the committee has seen tens of thousands of documents mr. Speaker I think hundreds of thousands of documents have had witnesses I have appeared before the committee twice and mr. Speaker my understanding is that the committee is still calling Is still calling witnesses the the fact is there's an investigation that's ongoing We need to let that unfold mr. Speaker, and I think that you know the reality is the only reason we're having this discussion Is because we did open up the process mr. Speaker. We opened up the process We made it clear that we were going to provide any of the information that was relevant. We have done that We will continue to do that Speakers the only reason we're where we are now is because we have a minority Parliament and this government has been forced Stuff paying the bills speaker the premier story is pretty hard to believe the Liberals keep insisting that there is Not good enough the premier leads a liberal party that wasted over a billion dollars and now has key political staff under criminal investigation by the OPP entry anti-racket squad if the premier is Actually interested in getting the facts out why won't she allow for a completely independent truly unbiased public inquiry? Best category mr. Speaker, and they are doing their work And Responsibility states made and there were things done that should not have been done and there were decisions made that should not have been made And I have said that we needed new rules and we're putting those new rules in place mr. Speaker We have new rules about document retention. We have training that has taken place with all staff mr. Speaker We have worked the minister of energy is putting new rules in place in terms of citing energy infrastructure mr. Speaker We have made changes over the last year as a result of this discussion That has nothing to do with being in a minority Parliament That has to do with the integrity of this government and our understanding future mr. Speaker Remember from Nipissing My question is for the premier premier our leader Tim Houdak has presented you with evidence of your secret budget leaking team codenamed BLT It's reminiscent of the existence of codenames during the gas plant scandal with titles like project vapor and Project Apple the BLT's purpose is to leverage the size and scope of the Ontario civil servant Towards the goal of doing pre-election campaign work of the Liberal Party The plan is to have taxpayer play paid employees leak out 39 budget plan details over the next month This is the same self-interested behavior We saw when the Liberals blew one billion dollars to cancel two gas plants to save five seats Since the advice of their own advisors and the civil servants When will you end the practice of putting the Liberal Party ahead of the people of Ontario? Mr. Speaker let's be clear to all those that are listening and watching let's be clear to all Ontarians This is not about the fortunes of any political party who are doing political gimmicks and playing cheap tricks to try to get and play at the lowest level of Politics mr. Speaker It is Untoward what they are doing. This is not about the fortunes of that political party there or any But the fortunes of Ontarians mr. Speaker. We are going to deliver a budget. It's in progress Now that you've finished the member from Lampton Kent Middle Sex will come to order second time Carry on mr. Speaker the budget is in progress. Nothing has yet been finalized We want everyone to know that the budget will be presented right here in this very house For the people of Ontario and we have asked people of Ontario for their submissions all of us have been working on this together Mr. Speaker the opposition has decided not to thank you Thank you speaker. I must say Premier I think the lowest level is co-opting tax-paid employees to disclose your secret This BLT confirms the fact that the Liberals are withholding the 2014 budget from the public and from the credit rating agencies To use it as a political tool to help in their reelection bid even more damning the Liberals budget leaking team Also oversees the use of taxpayer dollars to advertise and promote these new liberal initiatives Basically, the Liberal Party has co-opted tax-paid Ontario government employees to run a certain time for the next month Safe hands you keep talking about are found to be digging into taxpayers pockets yet again to get you reelected What's so safe about that? Minister of Finance, thank you, Mr. Speaker the member opposite Repeatedly asks for transparency and more information the member opposite wants us to come forward with our long-term plan Which is coming in the coming week the member opposite wants that budget presented in this house The member opposite wants it to be audited and wants the integrity of those numbers to be confirmed, which they are in fact Mr. Speaker Ontario the end the government of Ontario was rated the top in in the nation for integrity of our numbers and Disclosure of what we are doing mr. Speaker We'll continue to work with all of our stakeholders We're and I am very proud mr. Speaker of the staff at the Ministry of Finance and the work that that team has done Alongside myself and others to present a budget that is wholesome and yes very aspirational because it is long-term in its view They choose not to do that mr. Speaker. They choose gutter politics They choose to smear the very individual that are working on behalf of the public service for the benefit of others Thank you speaker my question to the premier will the premier say right now That she thinks Peter face should come to the Justice Committee and answer questions Mr. Speaker I Procedural I think all all members realize is a very serious situation the Justice Committee is looking into the matter There's a process in place in which they Can come forward with witness lists and call those witnesses forward and I think we should allow the committee to Undertake the work that's set out and to determine which witnesses it wishes to call and undertake that process Thank you supplementary. Well, I didn't see that coming Again speaker to the premier as we heard in committee this morning. We're having a hard time reaching mr. Face Are the liberals prepared to use the information they have to help us locate them or better yet? Does the premier know where he is? Mr. Speaker I would I would point out that when it comes to members of the government Including the premier including the minister of energy including myself mr. Speaker We have made ourselves available to the committee in terms of Other witnesses mr. Speaker it's up to the committee to decide what that list is and to Pursue the matter as it seats fit there are Processes that are in place mr. Speaker. I know speaking on our side of the legislature We were very very disappointed mr. Speaker and we wanted the conservative candidates in the election There were same ones who made claims that the only way to have these gas plants canceled was to elect the mr. Speaker We wanted them to come before the committee and talk about their financial analysis about the policy work that was done Mr. Speaker and They in fact didn't appear in front of the committee but mr. Speaker as far as this government is concerned We have cooperated Fully with the committee in terms of witnesses and the documents that have been requested Thank you, my question is for the minister of northern development and mines Speaker as a member for missis aga east cooks well I cannot forget and my constituents cannot forget that our community Is on the traditional lands of the missis aga first nations And that is why i'm proud of our government's strong record and our premier strong record on consulting and working with numerous Aboriginal communities across ontario by creating the ministry of Aboriginal affairs in 2007 We are continually strengthening these important partnerships I hear that ministers say in the house that ontario is taking action to drive smart Sustainable and collaborative developments in the ring of fire Mr. Speaker can the minister of development and mines? Please educate the house on and on how ontario is ensuring a collaborative approach to ring of fire development with the Aboriginal part Minister northern Particularly thanks to the member for asking that question and the timing may I say is impeccable our commitment to a collaborative approach was Was demonstrated very clearly just this past Wednesday when I had the privilege of Of signing on behalf of the province a landmark agreement with the nine metawa first nation chiefs And what's so important is that will ensure that the metawa first nation's really benefit from the ring of fire development This regional framework agreement is an absolutely vital step in a historic community-based Negotiation process and it really doesn't show that first nations and ontario will work together to advance the ring of fire opportunities and the agreement lays the framework for regional long-term environmental monitoring Enhanced participation in environmental assessment process resource revenue sharing a number of important factors a tremendous day We're looking forward to moving forward at the ring of fire Thank you speaker and thank you to the minister for the update this collaborative approach is truly impressive And it is this type of collaborative approach that makes our mining sector a canadian leader in exploration Development and responsible and sustainable exploration. The minister stated that this Framework agreement was just one of many ways. We are moving forward on the ring of fire Mr. Speaker through you to the minister. How is our government moving forward on this nationally significant project? Good minister Well, thank you again for the question and I very much appreciate the description This is a naturally significant project project because that's exactly what this multi-generational project is and To make sure that everybody in the house knows everyone else knows are we are leading the creation of a Development corporation to move the infrastructure process forward We've often said the premier said we're moving on a parallel path the first nation Negotiation process was absolutely vital and we made a great step forward last week But certainly we've begun real discussions with Several of the key partners as we move forward with the important process We've retained Deloitte an experienced Company related to governance issues And we are very keen to continue to move forward on that aspect of the development of the project as well What what I want to do today though is that once again call on the federal government to partner with us As we're our development corporation to develop vital infrastructure with this region They've invested in many other nationally significant projects. Thank you newfoundland british columbia and alberta. Thank you Thank you My question is to the premier Yesterday the government house leader admitted that peter fast worked for the ontario liberal caucus At one point and for the ontario liberal party under your leadership until sunday Given the severity of the opp allegations involving mr. Fast during the time he worked for her party And surrounding the deletion of emails and wiping her drives in the premier's office Can the premier as liberal leader tell this house if mr. Fast had undergone a security clearance before he accessed sensitive files either for her party or for the premier's office And I just I just want to repeat for the the member office that that We learned about the allegations on thursday about the former chief of staff of the former premier So the individual about whom she's speaking Was not the subject of these allegations But uh following the revelations about the connections and internal investigation was conducted and it was determined as I have said That this particular Company did some work previously For the caucus for the caucus office under the former premier that ended in january 2013 There was some service provided by the company to the party office until sunday Because having uh having determined that this person still was doing some work We uh we terminated that service on sunday mr. Speaker and as I said We made that decision as soon as we determined that he was providing services Thank you supplementary. Well, this is a reasonable question on terrians And I'm sure liberal party members would want to know We know that mr. Face has refused to speak with the opp over the 1.1 billion dollar gas plant scandal We know we're having a very difficult time reaching him to come into the justice committee And we'll deal with the speaker's warrant at the time comes um Given the nature of this scandal and the opp revelations And given mr. Fast's alleged role as an employee of the liberal party of ontario I ask again As leader of the liberal party who had this individual under your employment up until sunday Did he or did he not undergo a security clearance to deal with these sensitive files either through the legislative assembly Or through your party Well again, mr. Speaker as I as I have said this was work that was done for the caucus office under the Former premier mr. Speaker and the allegations that That came to light on thursday were allegations against the former premier's former chief of staff You know, I would say to the member opposite the committee, which we whose scope we opened up, mr. Speaker The process which we initiated in order to get information into the the public realm mr. Speaker Will continue to do its work and I you know I know that the committee will continue to call people to speak to it And I that is as it should be that is exactly when I came into this office That is exactly what I said should happen mr. Speaker So we're going to let that process unfold and uh, we'll leave it to the committee to uh to call the people Who they choose to call thank you new question the members from the town of antler Thank you speaker again to the premier can the premier tell ontarians If she discussed the gas plant cover-up with her cabinet secretary and what the secretary told I would want to remember to withdraw that comment I will withdraw Can the premier tell ontarians if she discussed the gas plant matter and Records with her cabinet secretary and what the secretary told For years Well, the uh, the member opposite knows full well that I have Been before the committee twice. I have answered all the questions about what I know about this matter mr. Speaker I have repeated it over and over again. Mr. Speaker. He can check answered He can look at the records from the committee mr. Speaker I've been very clear about my involvement, which really mr. Speaker was very limited What is what is critical mr. Speaker is that he understand and that the people of ontario understand that I have taken Responsibility mr. Speaker. I have said that there were decisions made that should have been different I have said that there were processes that needed to be changed and we have changed those processes We have put new rules in place about document Retention mr. Speaker. We have trained all of our staff. We have uh, Working with the minister of energy put new rules in place about citing infrastructure energy infrastructure Those are the actions that we have taken in addition to opening up the process around these questions There are a lot of words there speaker, but no answer Does the premier expect ontarians to believe that the head of the ontario public service? A gentleman Who told police that he was uncomfortable with the goings on in the liberal premier's office? Never once talked to the premier about the destruction of emails that happened during february and march of 2013 Mr. Speaker the Again the member opposite is talking about actions that took place before I was the premier mr. Speaker As is mr. Speaker that the allegations that have come forward and the last few days have been about the former Former premier's office at former premier's chief of staff mr. Speaker and indeed I have had many conversations with the secretary of cabinet about how to change the rules and make sure and to make sure that the The document retention rules and the training was put in place mr. Speaker. We have had conversations with the The privacy commissioner in order to put the right frame working place That's what we have done mr. Speaker and we will continue to cooperate with whomever Questions of us mr. Speaker Thank you, mr. Lebris da. Thank you mr. Speaker. My question is for the minister of labor Before posing the question speaker I'd also just like to thank the premier for advanced manufacturing announced in my own writing the topical north just an hour ago Speaker the inaugural question to our new minister of labor It has been said that how a society deals with its youth will determine its prosperity And of course our investments include things like full day kindergarten all the way up to world class schooling Something that's of course valued by my own residents in utopical north But for many young folks, it's still difficult Challenge for them to acquire positions and placements in internships Our youth employment fund has in fact helped 9800 young people find meaningful employment Which is of course commendable yet internships. There's still a lot of Issues associated with that through my question is what are we? Doing to ensure that young people in my community who start a new job will be paid for the work that they do Thank you speaker and thank you to the fine member from utopical north for that very timely question We all know the building a strong workforce is also about building safe work for workplaces and fair workplaces In in arterio speaker the rules on internships are very very clear It doesn't matter what your job title is what your position is If you perform work for someone you're covered by the employment standard act And you deserve to be paid the minimum wage Because a narrow exemption for co-op students speaker for trainees and for the self-employed The ministry's been extremely active on this issue to try and get the word out to others We've reached out to post-secondary institutions employers and job sites to make sure there's no confusion We've also updated our web page done a lot of work on social media to make sure that everybody in Ontario Understands the rules on internship Minister Flynn for your first answer as our newly Minted minister of labor. I know that the labor ministry will be uh under good stewardship under your watch I appreciate first of all your outlining the strong rules for internships here in Ontario My own constituents value this as we're reaching out to young people businesses and institutions But I still hear from folks in my own riding the ministry of labor though It's there to help them sometimes they have a challenge to reach out to them We've also seen as you know very well issues within the publication industry in the press with regard to unpaid internships So my question is minister, how is the ministry exercising oversight and making sure that these youth are protected? Thank you Speaker and once again, I'd like to thank the fine members from Etobicoke north for the thoughtful question I can assure the members that the government's working very hard to ensure that our youth's rights are protected We're the very first government to conduct proactive inspections and while they're out in the field the enforcement officers specifically ask about internships We've invested an additional three million dollars per year for this proactive enforcement We're making sure that more businesses are inspected and more workers rights are protected This spring we'll be conducting a blitz that's going to look directly at this issue Any concerns regarding arrangements can be referred to the ministry of labor's hotline 1-800-531-5551 Confidential help is available speaker in 23 languages We'll review any and all campaigns to enforce these rules So speaker we're working very hard to ensure that Ontario's youth have a solid and a very safe start to their work life Thank you, mr. Speaker my question is for the premier Premier you seem to have your dates low crossed up. So I want to lay this out for you You met with the leader of the official opposition on january 28th 2013 And asked him to stop pursuing the truth about the 1.1 billion dollar gas plant scandal Then on february 7th you wrote to the auditor general to ask him to expand the probe on the gas Gas plant scandal to include the oakville power plant But between that time the opp says peter faced was in the premier's office purging documents off computers How can you be responsible for taking meetings on the gas plant? Scandal by asking the auditor general to further probe the gas plant scandal But be completely removed from the deputy chief of staff's it savvy boyfriend destroying files on the gas plant scandal Premier you're ministerially responsible for that office. Why don't you explain? You know mr. Speaker, let me just say this that uh, I came into this office Knowing that there was uh, there was a need for an opening up of a process around the relocation of the gas plants I knew that mr. Speaker it was discussed during the leadership race We talked about it and we knew that there was going to need to be a different process Whereby information could be brought into the public mr. Speaker, and so I absolutely Came into this office and wanted to do everything that I could to make sure that there was the opportunity for the public For the members of the opposition, but for the public also mr. Speaker more importantly to have the information That was needed. We opened up the process. I said I was going to do that and that's what we've done Premier the best offense is a good offense, but your house of cards falls to pieces when you can no longer muzzle the people around you You tried to muzzle the member from nipissing after you redacted the wrong documents in the estimates committee You're trying to muzzle the leader the opposition and the member for an apian carlton To change the channel on your 1.1 billion dollar gas plant scandal The problem is premier that no one takes you seriously Premier you can't even muzzle your own government bureaucrats and prevent them from leaking out your class political spending plans How can you call yourself an open honest and transparent government when you refuse to answer questions? And can't go a day without dragging honorable members of this legislature through the mud Premier it doesn't get much lower than that. You should apologize to the people of ontario for your smear campaign Chris Bentley thank you very much mr. Speaker I will debate uh, I will debate issues that uh have a basis in truth that are Honest mr. Speaker that have evidence to support them. I will debate those any day mr. Speaker Which is why I said that when I came into this office It was very important to me that we open up the process and we we uh provide any answers to questions that were put Forward mr. Speaker and that we broaden the scope of the committee so that those answers could be brought forward mr. Speaker And in terms of uh in terms of our budget I'm happy to talk with the member opposite about our plan for the budget mr. Speaker I'm happy to talk about how important it is I believe that we invest in the people of this province and not cut their programs not cut their health care not cut Thank you very much mr. Speaker New question member from bramble league or more Thank you very much mr. Speaker my question is to the premier People throughout the ops and senior liberal ranks told the police that they knew that computers in the premier's office had been tampered with But the premier claims that she had no idea When did she for the environment will come to order second time the premier's office had been wiped and emails deleted Mr. Speaker there were allegations that came forward on thursday about the former Premier's chief of staff the former premier's chief of staff mr. Speaker The former former premier's chief of staff never worked for me mr. Speaker He was never in my office. He was never part of my staff. So let me just repeat the allegations that came forward on thursday Were about the former premier's chief of staff mr. Speaker that person has never worked for me and was never in my office Thank you. Thank you very much mr. Speaker. Let me clarify some dates The opp court document says They believe and i quote they believe david liveson committed the offense of breach of trust by allowing peter faced to access 24 computers in the premier's office between the 6th of february and the 20th of march 2013 Did peter faced a race computers while the premier was in office? Again, mr. Speaker, let me just be clear again The allegations are about the former premier's chief of staff the individual the other individual that the member opposite is named Mr. Speaker is someone who did provide service to the liberal caucus office up until january 2013 I became the premier in this office february 11th Mr. Speaker and so he no longer was providing services to the liberal caucus He was providing that individual was providing some services to the liberal party when these allegations against the former premier's chief of staff Came to light. We did an internal investigation Determined that this person was still providing some service to the liberal party not in my office But to the liberal party and we terminated those services mr. Speaker. Thank you The member from pond Thank you very much. Mr. Speaker. My question today is for the minister of tourism culture in sport Speaker according to tourism toronto last year We welcomed the largest number of overseas visitors on record This is great news for toronto and I can certainly see why tourists would want to visit the entire region There are many attractions to enjoy including the art gallery of ontario the royal ontario museum And rickley's brand new aquarium which opened this fall with tremendous success And as the member from vaughn speaker I'm also very proud to have wonderful attractions in my community like lego land the mc michael art gallery And canada's wonderland right within driving distance of toronto Speaker can the minister please inform the house regarding how we are working as a government to stimulate even more investment for ontario's Tourism industry. Thank you. Mr. Tourism culture in sport Thank you. Thank you speaker and thank you for the question speaker The weather is warmer The daylight is longer. I'm very pleased to rise today to talk about tourism Speaker our government understand the important role that tourism sector plays in building strong economy And creating jobs as some of the fact speaker It creates hundreds of thousands of jobs and generate billion dollar to our economy Our tourism attraction stimulates local economies and help make ontario a premier Tourism destination speaker. This is why my ministry support investment projects by the pirate sector Throughout the planning and development phases. The member is right We invested in the new gridly aquarium of canada in toronto that will attract an estimate and two billion visitors In this first year of operation. That's great for ontario. Thank you speaker Thank you very much, mr. Speaker And I thank the minister for his response and for the outstanding job that he's doing for the people of ontario As he mentioned the tourism sector is a key component of toronto's cultural and recreational fabric But it's also speaker responsible for generating jobs and revenue for the province The tourism sector generates billions of dollars for ontario's economy and supports over 300 000 jobs It was also and importantly the single largest employer of young people in the province Supporting tourism has truly helped to raise the profile of ontario as a world-class destination Making it a great place for international visitors to invest Speaker, can the minister please update the house regarding what actions are being taken to ensure that tourism remains an essential part of ontario's economy new minister Thank you. Thank you speaker definitely tourism is an essential part Of the province economic development and investment attraction strategy Speaker, my ministry continues to implement our tourism investment strategy Launched in november 2012 that aims to raise the profile of ontario as a place to invest Here are some examples of the projects that we are working to support speaker the fort eerie canadian boulder speedway Which recently broke ground Skylight developments georgian wally project and the triple properties proposed Durham life project in pick rate in addition speaker to our own investment attraction effort My ministry is also working closely with the ministry of economic development trade and employment There's significant investment attraction as well. Thank you speaker Premier one that promises top bureaucrat peter wallis was before the justice committee last june He gave testimony that in hindsight is quite shocking to power phrase. Mr. Wallace He said that in the midst of a scandal that paralyzed your government with the minister of energy facing contempt charges With the former premier having been chased from office and after years of questions about missing emails from the office of the premier then As the incoming premier you apparently asked no questions about the retention of email records and neither did any of your staff Mr. Wallace testified that conversations about document destruction in the premier's office would take place on a Political to political level So tell us question. Why did you and your staff fail to ask routine questions of the outgoing staff? Is it because you already knew the answer and you just wanted to appear to be ignorant when the police came not Mr. Speaker as as I have said I knew when I came into this office that we needed to change the process around the relocation of the gas plants I I was aware of that it was part of my uh It was part of my platform when I came in as the premier mr. Speaker And so in those early days what I was working on mr. Speaker was how we were going to open up the process How we were going to make sure that all the questions that the uh that the opposition And that the public wanted answers to would be would be answered mr. Speaker That's the work that we did in those early days. That's why the process got opened up mr. Speaker That's why there's as much information as uh as there is in the public realm mr. Speaker And I you know I am glad that we have had the opportunity to Provide the opera provide the opportunity for the committee to do its work It continues to do its work and answer that's as it should be Supplementary Thank you back to the premier premier this comes down to your credibility And your claims of ignorance are no longer believable We know from sworn testimony from the head of the public service that your staff made no inquiries about email records That were the subject of substantial interest in this legislature and elsewhere What we don't know is what conversations took place between political staff in the outgoing premier's office and your office about the work Peter face performed on behalf of the ontario liberal party You're implying here today that your staff is fundamentally incompetent and that some conspiracy of silence exists in your office Where no one asks the inconvenient question What is your defense enough is enough? Is it not finally time to let the people of ontario pass judgment on your? Sorry Me that for the last year there have been many difficult questions that have been asked and answered mr Speaker and we have shied away from none of those we have answered the questions We have provided documentation and most importantly mr. Speaker We have acknowledged that there needed to be changes We have changed the rules and the protocols around retention of information We have changed the rules and the structures around Locating gas plants and energy infrastructure mr. Speaker We have acknowledged that communities need to be more involved and they need to have more buy-in and that is what is happening So we came in I came into this office Understanding their need to be changed as mr. Speaker. We have moved ahead and we have made those changes Thank you new question Thank you very much mr. Speaker. My question is to the premier Has the premier or any member of her caucus or staff been investigated by the opp? Mr. Speaker, I you know, I know that the uh that the member opposite understands that there's an opp investigation going on And we need to let that we need to let that unfold mr. Speaker I think what I think what is really critical is that we talk about how do we how do we make sure that That we have the right rules in place that we have had the right process And I I would suggest mr. Speaker that I came into this office And I knew that we needed to open up the committee process so that there could be A more complete a more complete discussion of the issues which is why there have been hundreds of thousands of documents Mr. Speaker dozens of people who've come forward have come to the committee and answered questions including Myself mr. Speaker and the former premier and the committee continues to do its work The opp is doing its investigation mr. Speaker and the committee is continuing to uh to ask questions and to And to provide information for the public. That's as it should be mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker my question was whether anyone has been investigated has anyone been interviewed Uh, I didn't really hear an answer. I heard a lot of spinning We're learning from former staff That they're refusing to be interviewed by the opp Will the premier state now that she believes are liberals Both past staff and present staff should be offering their full cooperation to the opp as they conduct the investigation Mr. Speaker why will the opposition not deal with fax the facts mr. Speaker we're outlined in a Balluminous document that was released by the courts last week and mr. Speaker if he wants to know the names of some of the I believe the member from nipissing was interviewed by the police and the member from cambridge was interviewed by the police But the fact of the matter is mr. Speaker What this document concluded is that there were allegations serious allegations against one individual The former chief of staff of the premier this document asked for permission to grant get a warrant to Continue the investigation to see if there are any basis for those allegations I would think it'd be prudent for all members of this legislature To allow the opp to do their work and to deal with the facts is outlined in this court document Thank you new question the member from missus sardine streetsville Thank you, uh, mr. Speaker my question is for the minister to for fracafold affairs Uh, it's been a few weeks now that the university of guelph Announced the closing of the alfred campus The ministry of training colleges and university informed us after which that the boreal college and city signed a An agreement in principle to maintain agricultural Training in the region We are proud of our government That was able to find a solution as quickly as they did the minister could Could she could the minister tell? The chamber what was done for the fracafold community? Thank you Mr. Speaker last saturday was at rockland for The francophonie gala of prescott russell and everyone wanted to Thank me thank our government And the and the member for a glendary prescott russell for the extraordinary work that was done in order to keep The francophone alfred college open alfred was the first French speaking college in ontario And participants to this event to the gala last week wanted to thank me Because alfred college will remain a french speaking college managed by a french speaking faculty and staff Right now there is a committee Looking into a transition program with boreal college Ministry and the union of farmers who that will ensure the parity of the college Thank you madame minister I see the importance of post Secondary education and the creation of a strong francophone identity For the community in ontario i meet people myself young people on my writing Who wanted to continue their education in french and i am proud to let them know about our action plan to improve french francophone access to education in the center southwest region and i know that many for post secondary institution Have many tools at their disposal By and by asking a designation under the french services act To make sure that their courses their train french language training courses Be insured Can the minister talk to us a bit more about this? Thank you for this Important question. Yes, we're always Proud to say that our young francophones Can study from kindergarten to university in french. There are requests for a designation under the french language act Hearst university boreal la cité are all designated institution and we are studying a request by University of terroir, but At the alfred college wishes to have the designation to ensure That it will stay alive because under the previous government the college was threatened many times of closures So the designation will ensure The perennedy of the college. Thank you for my colleague From the writing for his work on this time The speaker of my question is for the premier premier once again You've been caught telling a story that just doesn't add up and ontarians are seeing right through it You told us peter faced wasn't in your office But you and your liberal party had a contract with him until he became politically inconvenient More than 80 witnesses many of them liberals including you have come before the gas plan hearings But it took the threat of jail door slamming for laura ramie to cop What was what was really going on in the premier's office? Now you're using a lawyer to make arguments that you can't make for yourself Because you've lost the moral authority to lead and no one believes you Premier you continue to talk about these safe hands, but according to the opp the only liberal safe hands are those at handcuffs The member opposite is talking about is someone who Who worked and did some service for did some work for the caucus office? Before I was the premier mr. Speaker up until january 2013 continued to do some work with the liberal party mr. Speaker and That work was terminated on sunday. That's the reality mr. Speaker But the third vote on the motion for allocation of time on bill 122 An act respecting collective bargaining in ontario's school system calling the members This will be a five minute bill all members take their seats, please all members take their seats, please Mr. Malaya's move government notice of motion number 43 all those in favor stand raise run at a time and be recognized by the clerk Mr. Maloy mr. Maloy mr. Bradley mr. Shurelli shurelli madame Mr. Sousa miss win miss win miss math Mr. Nackby mr. Nackby miss sandals sandals mr. Hoskins mr. Hoskins mccharles mccharles mr. Quinter Mr. Tukar mr. Tukar mr. Burrard netty mr. Burrard netty mr. Cole mr. Cole miss kansfield Mr. Dillon mr. Dillon mr. Dugan mr. Dugan mr. Grevelle mr. Grevelle mr. Mcmeek mr. Mcmeek Mr.. Cham mr. Cham Mr.. Mury mr. Murray mr. Moro mr. Moro mr. Leo mr. Leo mr. Gehritson mr. Gehritson mr. Delaney mr. Delaney Mr.. Mcmeek mr.. Mcnilly mr. Mcnilly Mr. Concordry mr. Cadre miss albanese is albinese mr. Morini mr. Moriri mr. Sergio mr. Sergio mr. Flynn mr. Flynn mr. Zimmer mr. Zimmer mr. Balkas de Bulkas Mr. Dixon mr.. Dixon mr. Ms. Jackson, Ms. Mangat, Ms. Hunter, Mr. Del Duca, Ms. Wong, Ms. Damerler, Ms. Dahmerla, Mr. Crack. All those opposed, please rise one at a time to be recognized by the public. Mr. Leo, Mr. Wilson, Mr. Arnold, Mr. Hardiman, Mr. Fidelli, Ms. Elliott, Mr. Huda, Mr. Yacobasco, Ms. McLeod, Mr. Miller, Perry Samaskoca, Mr. Barrett, Mr. McNaughton, Mr. Dunlop, Mr. Holliday, Ms. Jones, Ms. Monroe, Mr. Chudley, Mr. Clark, Mr. O'Toole, Mr. Willat, Mr. Bailey, Mr. Nichols, Mr. Jackson, Mr. Smith, Mr. Harris, Ms. Thompson, Mr. Eury, Ms. Scott, Ms. McKenna, Mr. Walker, Mr. McDonnell, Mr. Hillier, Mr. Pettipis, Mr. Milligan, Mr. McLaren, Ms. Marto. The ayes being 43 and the nays being 36. I declare the motion carried. I'll finance on a point of order. Order on April Fool's Day. I'm hoping the opposition will accept the pay freeze by the following. I seek unanimous consent that the question on the motion of the second reading of Bill 177 and act to amend the Legislative Assembly Act be immediately put without further debate or amendment and that the bill be ordered for third reading and that the order of the third reading of Bill 177 be immediately called and that the question on the motion for third reading of the bill be put without debate or amendment. Good idea. The Minister of Finance is seeking unanimous consent to the question on the motion. I'm getting through this before you say that. The Minister of Finance is seeking unanimous consent that the question on the motion of the second reading of Bill 177 and act to amend the Legislative Assembly Act be immediately put without further debate or amendment and that the bill be ordered for third reading and that the order of the third reading of Bill 177 be immediately called and that the question on the motion for third reading on the bill be put without debate or amendment. Do we agree? I heard a no. There are no. The member from Simple Gray on a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent that the sponsor show up a Bill 5 and act to freeze compensation for two years in the public sector be transferred to the member for Nipissing, Mr. Speaker, so that we all freeze our pay across the public sector. Simple Gray is seeking unanimous consent that the sponsorship of Bill 5, the member from Simple Gray is seeking unanimous consent, the sponsorship of Bill 5 and act to freeze compensation for two years. What the member from Renfrew, Nipissing, Pembroke is now warned. I seek unanimous consent that the member from Simple Gray is seeking unanimous consent for the sponsorship of Bill 5 and act to freeze compensation for two years in the public sector be transferred to the member of Nipissing. Do we agree? I heard a no. There are no deferred votes. This House stands recessed until 3 p.m. this afternoon.