 It is now time for oral questions. I recognize the leader of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition. Thank you, Speaker. My questions to the Premier. Speaker, the situation in our hospitals right now is critical. In a rare and historic moment, the five largest healthcare unions in Ontario have joined together to condemn this government's inaction on the response to the crisis in our healthcare system. Together, they represent 295,000 frontline healthcare workers who feel disrespected and undervalued by this government. This government has consistently failed to listen to frontline workers. Will the Premier and Minister of Health agree to meet with public healthcare leaders and implement their solutions? Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. Thank you, Speaker. You know, I meet regularly with healthcare providers, healthcare leaders and the industry, because I want to hear about their innovative solutions. And, you know, the investments that we are making and the changes that we are making in the short, medium and long term really truly are making a difference. Would I like to see it go faster? Absolutely. But I am not going to shy away from continually highlighting the fact that it is our government and this Premier that has made the investments in healthcare system, including the addition of two new medical schools in the province of Ontario. One in Brampton and one in Scarborough. Unprecedented and historic investments. You know, the last time we saw an expansion in medical schools in the province of Ontario, Speaker, was a previous Conservative Government. We had a healthcare system that desperately needed attention. It is getting that with this government and we will continue to make those investments. A supplementary question. Thank you, Speaker. Speaker, again to the Premier. We know how little this government cares about frontline workers in our healthcare system. It appears they are starving the public healthcare system to manufacture a crisis and create a reliance on for-profit companies. We are already seeing hospitals and long-term care homes being forced to rely on agency staff and being gouged by the prices that they charge. And instead of investing in permanent, full-time staff, this government has instructed Ontario Health to cut even more resources from staff. How can the Premier justify reducing spending on healthcare staff during a healthcare human resource crisis? Minister of Health? You know, it doesn't matter how many times you repeat a falsehood, it is still a falsehood. I am going to ask the Minister to withdraw and answer. The facts spell a very different story. Where was the member opposite when we were investing? Where was the member opposite when we actually put money in the budget that was going to give a $5,000 retention fee for our very, very hard-working nurses in the province of Ontario? The member opposite in his party chose not to support those investments. Where was the member opposite when we expanded the number of residency positions available in the province? So that in rural, northern and all parts of Ontario we would have more family physicians, more healthcare professionals being able to practice in the province of Ontario? They voted against that. We will continue with our most recent budget, a $5 billion increase in the healthcare budget to make those investments. I'd like to see the member opposite. Well, Speaker, the Minister can cite all kinds of numbers. Talk to the people who are waiting in the emergency rooms today. Talk to the people in the emergency rooms and find out what's real and what's not real. Speaker, this government has no intention of listening to frontline healthcare workers. Unions representing hundreds of thousands of workers are urgently calling for the public sector solutions that this government is not interested in them. We have the space, we have the capacity in our health system. All we need is the political will from this government to repeal Bill 124 to improve workloads to incentivize healthcare workers to remain in the system instead of driving them out. Will the Premier commit to the solutions proposed by healthcare workers to improve access and quality of care in Ontario? Where was the member opposite when we directed the College of Nurses of Ontario to quickly review an expedite and license when appropriate new internationally educated nurses in the province of Ontario? They did not support that. Where was the member opposite when we, through a directive, said to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, we have internationally educated primary care physicians who want to work in the province of Ontario. We want you to assess, review and when appropriate license them. Where was the member opposite? Again, did not support these changes. We will continue to work with all healthcare providers in the province of Ontario when they bring forward innovative ideas and we will continue to fund those innovations because we understand the people of Ontario deserve better than what they've been getting for the last 20 years. My question is to the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services. Yesterday I asked the Minister to do much better for Ontario's youth in care. This government has known about children's suffering in for-profit group homes like hats off for years. In 2018 the provincial advocate for children and youth was circulating a draft report to ministry officials raising concerns about the safety of children in these homes. The report found on a regular basis vulnerable youth were subjected to inadequate care and inhumane punishments. In 2019 the Conservatives fired the provincial advocate and eliminated the office altogether. Curious timing, don't you think? Even worse, the government's own inspection reports of group homes detailed bathrooms covered in black mould, smeared blood on walls and children sleeping on soil mattresses. This government knew they've known for four years and yet these vulnerable children continue to suffer under their care. Why hasn't the government taken meaningful action to help children living in these group homes? Thank you, Speaker. The member opposite makes an important point that our government did know and at that time that more reports were not going to be helpful. The evidence was there and that's exactly why we are redesigning the child welfare system and implementing very important measures that we are monitoring, making publicly transparent and increasing the inspections, increasing the number of inspectors, increasing the number of unannounced inspections. All of these are measures that are making a difference. We're increasing the data collection in a meaningful way. We're consulting with the youth and people with lived experience in the system to make the system better. Their voices matter. We are listening to their voices. We are implementing child welfare redesign. It is very important work as you have outlined and we are taking action on this all this time and we'll continue to do that very important work. Thank you. Thank you, Speaker. When you're talking about transparency, maybe you shouldn't have fired the provincial child advocate who raised the alarm bells. For years under this government, these children continue to be abused. Continue to be abused. That's not action on the part of governments. That is neglect. This isn't just a failure of hats off. It's a massive failure of this conservative government. They virtually abandoned these children. Children in the care system are subject to physical restraints, little to no food, over-medicating and cruel punishments, including prolonged isolation. Dwayne Ferguson, like Cassidy Frank, was unable to access the care and support he needed at a hats off group home in Hamilton. Cassidy thankfully got out, but Dwayne tragically died by suicide outside of a hats off home in 2014. Yesterday I asked the minister to commit to pursuing an investigation into hats off and she refused. Speaker, will the minister commit today to a full investigation into hats off so that no child spends another day in these horrific conditions and no more children die in care? Yes or no? I remind members to make a comment to the chair on across the floor of the house. Minister to reply. Thank you, Speaker. I repeat once again, this is exactly why we are implementing a new child welfare system. This is part of our child welfare redesign, something that the previous government never did, something that you supported the previous government not to do. So we are doing the work that you never did, and we're making a difference in the lives of children. We are providing more oversight, more accountability. These are important measures. We don't need more reports. We know what needs to be done, and we're doing it. Something that you never did. Thank you. Final supplementary. Thank you, Speaker. And while the minister tries to play politics and shirk responsibility, there are children that are literally dying in these homes. Speaker, I'm starting to see a really disturbing pattern with this conservative government. They aren't doing anything to address the crisis in our children's hospitals. They aren't providing adequate funding to our schools. They aren't addressing the growing waitlist for autism services. They aren't supporting kids in the care system. It's like they don't care about the kids at all. Speaker, will the minister commit to a full investigation into hats off today? Well, you've definitely identified who's playing politics. It's our child welfare system for the redesign, to address human trafficking, to address sexual abuse, to address the inferior situations in some homes. Some homes have been closed. We are improving the oversight. We are improving the accountability. We are improving the inspections. We are improving the number of inspectors. We are listening to the sector. We are listening to people with lived experience. We have done consultations. Twenty new inspector positions across the province to support the inspection and oversight of licensed residential placements. We boosted the number of inspections and we've increased the number of foster home inspections for each licensed renewal. And to increase transparency, we started publicly posting licensing information, something that the previous government supported by the NDP never bothered to do. So don't tell me who's playing politics. I know very well who's playing politics. Once again, I'll ask the members to make their comments through the chair, not directly across the floor of the house. The next question, the member for Oshawa. Thank you, Speaker. And my question is to the Premier. This week, Infrastructure Ontario released a new market update revealing significant cost increases and delays for several of the government's public-private partnerships. The last of the Ontario Line P3 contracts is now expected to be finalized in 2026, an unexplained four-year delay from the date in IO's 2019 market update. And earlier this month, IO signed a P3 contract for the Ontario Line South package that will cost an astonishing $1 billion per kilometer. And just five years ago, for comparison, the Toronto York-Spadina subway extension cost $383 million per kilometer, a far cry from a billion per click. Why have subway costs gone up by more than two and a half times under this Premier? The Associate Minister of Transportation. Thank you, Speaker. An ironic question from the member opposite, but, Speaker, let's start with the fact that the members should well know that construction project costs around the world are facing economic pressures with rising inflation and supply chain challenges, Speaker. I'm glad, though, that the member brings up the Ontario Line because this government is the only government that is filling the transit gap that was left by the NDP and the Liberals for decades, Speaker. We're taking action. We're taking action to fill that gap and putting forward the largest transit expansion plan in Canadian history to the tune of $61 billion. So let's look at the fact, Speaker. The Ontario Line will see almost 400,000 passengers every single day. It will reduce crowding on existing subways. This will put 57,000 jobs within 45 minutes commuting to Toronto and will put 227,000 people to work, Speaker. We're not going to take any lessons from the NDP on building transit. They simply didn't do it. Thank you very much, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. According to the Toronto Star, the Premier's decision to take over the Ontario Line from the City of Toronto was proposed by one Michael Chavez, a private consultant who has embedded himself at the executive level of Metrolinx, a public transit agency. Another embedded private consultant who worked on the Ontario Line was Brian Guess, currently embroiled in the Ottawa LRT P3 fiasco and under allegations of conflict of interest. And the Ontario Line's project director was yet another embedded private consultant named Richard Tucker, whose background is actually in real estate development and not in transit. Speaker, will the Premier admit that there is a connection between the skyrocketing P3 costs and the capture of Metrolinx by private self-serving consultants? Thank you. Associate Minister of Transportation. I'll remind comments through the floor. Speaker, I guess the irony thickens in the supplemental. The reality is, Speaker, that member voted against every single measure to build transit and now questions when this government actually gets it done. In fact, it was that party who called the plan to build the Ontario Line fiction back of a napkin plan. Well, I see shovels in the ground, Speaker. The reality is, these lines are getting built. Well, Speaker, that member and that party not only voted against the Ontario Line, they voted against the Eglinton West extension, they voted against getting us to Pearson Airport. They voted against the fine people of Scarborough with the Shepherd East extension. They voted against the Young North extension and, of course, the Ontario Line speaker. They even voted against $1.6 billion in safe restart funding to keep transit agencies alive during the pandemic. Speaker, the reality is, the NDP, if they had it their way, there'd be no transit in Ontario. This is the only government getting it done for computers in Ontario. The member for Waterloo will come to order. The member for Brampton North will come to order. The municipal affairs and housing will come to order. Start the clock. The next question, the member for Thornhill. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and through you, I ask this question. Like nearly every jurisdiction globally, Ontario is experiencing a labour shortage across almost every sector. At the same time, there are young people in this province who cannot find a job. This is unacceptable. The skilled trades require more individuals than ever who have the most prosperous and respected careers that will provide stability for those workers and their families. By 2026, it is expected that one in five job openings in this province will be in the skilled trades-related occupations. Ontarians expect their government to continuously update initiatives and make investments for all students, ensuring they have the skills required to succeed in the modern world. Speaker, can the Minister of Education please update this House on how our government provides the tools to our youngest learners who need to succeed? Minister of Education. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank the member from Thornhill for the question, and I want to build on the passion of the Associate Minister of Transportation in this House by recognising that this government under Premier Ford has a $160 billion infrastructure plan to build subways and hospitals and schools and transit in every region of this province. To do that, we need people, a talent pool of young, ambitious young people who are ready to take on the jobs of tomorrow. And that's why, Speaker, we brought forth a plan to expand skilled training within our schools because the broader vision from this government is to ensure the next generation of workers and thinkers and entrepreneurs are financially literate, are emotionally intelligent, are ready for the jobs of tomorrow and have the technological fluency that they need to succeed. Mr. Speaker, we know so many young people still cannot get a job late to their skills. Our vision and our investment today expands the dual credit program that will allow more young people to learn within our high schools and get a job at the end of their journey. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I want to thank the Minister for his valuable information. Speaker, it is a fact that a career in the skilled trades is both in demand and well-paying. I am grateful that our government is making a significant effort to support our young people, which will help our economy prosper now and in the future. It is also encouraging to hear the Minister say the dual credit program that our students readily have access to is a priority and properly funded. Speaker, to the Minister of Education, will he please outline how many students will benefit from this program extension and how it will help and provide economic stability to our economy. Thank you. Thank you, Speaker. I want to just note that today with the member from Scarborough Centre, Ajax and the Minister of Finance we joined together to announce a major expansion of the dual credit program which allows students in high school to take college courses to complete towards their apprenticeship training. This is allowing young people who otherwise likely wouldn't graduate not only complete their learning but very promising a 30% increase announced by this government today in apprenticeship learning within our schools 20 to 100 more young people in the coming year will benefit from this learning in addition to a curriculum that finally is labour market aligned ensuring that young people learn skills they can apply and can monetize in a competitive global economy. Our vision and our mission is clear. We want young people to graduate with the skills necessary to compete and succeed in the world. Thank you so much, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Bill 23 is about to eviscerate Toronto's affordable housing construction program. Removing housing services from development charges is going to cost the city $230 million in revenue. It will restrict Toronto's ability to deliver on its 10-year housing targets, invest in new shelter services and carry on with several of its affordable housing development and protection programs. Will the government help Toronto deliver its affordable housing plan and cover the loss in development fees? Minister of Missful Affairs and Housing. Without the New Democrats support, we're supporting Mayor Tory with providing him strong mayor powers to help him meet his share of the $1.5 million homes we're going to be building over the next 10 years as part of our housing supply action plan. And despite the NIMBY chance from New Democrats, we're going to continue to work with Mayor Tory and the City of Toronto so that they can meet those targets in partnership. We're going to continue to provide them the tools to get shovels in the ground faster. And again, the member has to realize that the most significant changes in development charges are exactly the type of homes that she talked about in her question. The deepest differences in development charges are for affordable housing, attainable housing and inclusionary zoning units. I think we can agree, or maybe she doesn't agree, that that's the type of housing that Torontonians need. Thank you. Back to the Premier. We can protect our democratic norms and build housing at the same time. It's not one or the other. The money that is received from development charges is already committed and ignoring the revenue losses from Bill 23 makes virtually every significant program Toronto has to provide affordable housing. Giving the Mayor the power to pass by-laws over the objections of two-thirds of Toronto's elected council will do nothing to fix that. What is the Government's plan to help municipalities build truly affordable and supportive housing? Mr. Minister. That member, how we're going to build affordable housing. We've supported our municipal partners throughout the pandemic. We provided under the leadership of Premier Ford a historic agreement that provided our municipal partners with over $4 billion. This member speaks against the strong mayor powers in Bill 39. I want to remind her that John Tory won a citywide mandate with over 342,000 votes, 36,000 more votes than every city councillor combined. He has a citywide mandate to get shovels in the ground. We're going to give him the tools to get it done. Next question. Member for Perth Wellington. Thank you, Speaker. Under the previous Liberal Government the people of Ontario were subjected to the largest regulatory burden in all of Canada. People in business were overwhelmed by red tape and high taxes. In my riding of Perth Wellington unnecessary bureaucracy drove away jobs, investments and opportunities for small businesses and farm families in my community. Our government must implement better solutions to help people and businesses save time and money. While many regulations are essential to protecting people's health, safety and environment, nobody benefits from outdated, repetitive or over complex rules. Speaker, what action is our government taking to reduce unnecessary red tape to make life easier for people and businesses in Ontario? Minister of Red Tape Reduction. Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I want to thank the Honourable Member from Perth Wellington for that important question. We all know for 15 years under the former Liberal Government supported by the PPP and their failed policies drove away over 300,000 jobs out of our province. All thanks to the unnecessary red tape burden that they created in the province of Ontario. Thankfully, those days are behind us now. We have a government that is truly committed to creating jobs and creating opportunities and reducing unnecessary red tape burden. Since 2018, our government has reduced unnecessary burdens and red tape that held back economic growth and prosperity in our province of Ontario. We have reduced Ontario's total regulatory burden by 6 and a half percent, which led to over half a billion dollars savings in compliance with four businesses. A supplementary question. Thank you, Speaker. And thank you to the Minister of Red Tape Production for its answer and its great news. I'm proud of our government's leadership that is correcting years of mismanagement and unnecessary red tape to implement it under the previous Liberal Government. During these times of global economic uncertainty it's vital that we as a government take prudent action in providing stability and support to our business community. Red tape on individuals and businesses is a key measure that this government can take to support a robust economic environment ensuring our small businesses have confidence. Speaker, can the Minister please tell this House what is being done to continue to eliminate complicated, duplicative and unnecessary red tape? Minister of Red Tape Production Thank you, Mr Speaker. I want to thank my colleague for that question again. He is absolutely right about the need to continue moving forward with our work to reduce the unnecessary red tape, Mr Speaker. That's why yesterday I was honoured to introduce Let's Red Tape Stronger Ontario Act in the legislation, Mr Speaker. If passed, this bill will help Ontario become more competitive, strengthen our local supply chain and make Ontario services easier to access and interact with, Mr Speaker. It includes measures to increase local food production and efforts to ensure our food supply chain, Mr Speaker. It includes measures to get goods to market and improve supply chain efficiency, Mr Speaker. We have been working hard each and every day on this side of the House, Mr Speaker to work with Ontarians, to work with businesses, to find ways to eliminate unnecessary red tape. We're getting it done, Mr Speaker. A Member for Parkdale High Park Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Health. The Ministry of Health acknowledged in a memo this week that Ontario is facing a difficult and complex respiratory illness season. The government's solution to this they're asking family doctors to do more. The minister should know that the healthcare crisis includes a shortage of doctors. There just aren't enough enough, sorry, there just aren't enough primary care physicians. More than one million Ontarians today don't have a family doctor. That is projected to rise to 3 million or 1 in 5 by 2025. What is the government's plan to address the doctor shortage? Mr. Health Mr. Speaker, imagine, if you will, when the auditor general's report came out in 2012 and highlighted the shortage of family physicians in Northern Ontario, they were down by they needed an additional 200 family physicians. Imagine in 2012 when the Liberal government was in power if we'd actually actioned that highlight and that concern. In contrast, I will point to the fact that we have now added an additional 160 undergraduate spots. We have added an additional 295 postgraduate positions. These are positions and opportunities for Ontario residents and individuals who want to practice family medicine in the province of Ontario. They will have that expanded opportunity in the next five years. I am concerned that the member opposite and the party opposite wasn't calling for more action when they had the opportunity to do that in 2018 and the auditor general was highlighting the issue. Supplementary question. Thank you, Speaker. My constituent, Jacqueline and her husband, Donald, are an aging couple who were left to scramble to find a new family doctor this August after theirs retired. Donald is 90 years old and has been treated for prostate cancer for the last 20 years and Jacqueline has been his primary caregiver at home as he needs supervision and help with everyday tasks. They are scared because they are running out of time to find someone to guide them through Donald's treatment and feel that they have nowhere to turn. The shortage of family doctors in this province is literally a situation of life or death. How much longer will Jacqueline and Donald have to wait? Minister of Health The member opposite highlights the exact reason why in the summer I sent a ministers directive to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario saying any individuals who have been internationally educated or practiced in other jurisdictions have the opportunity to get their qualifications assessed, reviewed and ultimately licensed if appropriate. It is precisely why we have done some of those short medium and long term goals because we understand there are immediate needs in our community today right now but we also understand the last plan for the future which bluntly speaker previous governments did not do we are making those investments now to make sure that this is not an ongoing problem in the province of Ontario. Thank you. Thank you Mr. Speaker I wish to bring a very important issue to this government's attention that doesn't seem to be on the radar. Solitary confinement a process broadly recognized to be torture is still being used as a disciplinary tool in our Ontario jails. This ineffective punishment is commonly afflicted on inmates with mental health conditions which are worsened by the cruel and disorienting practice of solitary confinement. Administrative segregation may need to be used occasionally to keep inmates safe but it should be humane and should not be used as a punishment. We need a much stronger system of accountability with tribunals to verify whether administrative segregation is the only course of action to keep inmates safe. My question is will the government do everything in its power to make sure that our jails are not places in which people are being tortured? To reply for the government the parliamentary assistant member for a topical place short. Thank you for that question community safety is a top priority for this government not for those who just work to all Ontario families. We have been strengthening our justice system from top to bottom guided by three goals keeping communities safe holding offenders accountable and delivering justice for the people of Ontario. We have been clear that the segregation that was allowed to drag on unconscionably by the previous governments will not stand under our watch. The record shows that we have had a four year moratorium on all correctional officers recruitment in Del Ducal Liberals to thank for those conditions that now our government is facing. It is our progressive conservative government that has made changes to ensure segregation is not overused. To continue this progress we have made landmark investments of over $500 million in the correctional system including the hiring of 500 new staff and bringing infrastructure and investments to the staff. We are very Thank you The supplementary question Speaker people with mental health struggles are dramatically over represented in Ontario's prison and that's a fact. Part of the problem is that police are the main responders for mental health crisis which results in people with addictions and mental health issues being put into the justice system instead of receiving the care that they need. The crisis response teams help avoid this by facilitating partnerships between police and mental health and addictions professional. Yesterday I met with mental health and addictions professional who see the heartbreaking effects of this issue every day and they told me that the funding for these teams is insufficient to address the need for recruitment and retention. People experiencing a mental health or addiction crisis are in need of mental health care not jail time. So what is the government doing to expand mobile crisis response teams for these essential services so we can keep people out of the justice system and save taxpayers money. The official mental health and addictions. Thank you for that question because it is something that our government takes very seriously. As everyone knows in this house it is $5,000 $525 million in annualized amount to ensure that we build a continuum of care. One of the things that we look at is not just the treatment and the detox we are also looking at ways that we can divert people away from the emergency rooms and the justice system. One of those methods is to have mobile crisis intervention teams. Mr. Speaker I can say that under this government we have had more teams established both under the ministry of health investments and under the watch of the solicitor general to ensure that these teams are in place to ensure that people are getting the appropriate treatment when and where they need it and brought to places where they can truly get help and not necessarily in the correction system. Thank you Mr. Speaker We are all aware of the added strain that the pandemic caused on our healthcare system. This strain is not only occurring in Ontario but is being experienced across Canada because of the policies of neglect and mismanagement from the previous Liberal government our healthcare workforce faces huge challenges to address our current healthcare system needs we must expand our workforce starting with recruiting and training healthcare professionals. This is particularly important in smaller communities that often first severe staff in shortages. Mr. Speaker can the minister of colleges and universities please explain what our government is doing to train more frontline healthcare professionals. Thank you Minister of colleges and university Thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to the member for that question coming from a rural area myself I've seen firsthand the challenges that smaller communities have faced because of the pandemic. While we have seen some of the best and brightest working in our hospitals and healthcare facilities we recognise that we can always do more to ensure that they are supported and that staffing levels are meeting the demands of our system. Last year alone we had over 25,000 nursing students studying at an Ontario college or university and since 2016 our post secondary institutions are graduating on average 15% It's not just about getting students in class it's also about investing in their education. That's why our government is investing $124 million over the next three years to support the clinical education of student nurses to get the hands on train they need to succeed. They simply cannot get in the classroom. The people of Ontario can be assured that the world-class training our grads receive will have them job ready and able to tackle even the most challenging times of the pandemic. Thank you speaker, thank you minister for that wonderful answer. I appreciate what the minister had to say about investing in Ontario nurses but we must ensure that these support go towards the region with the highest need. Rural, remote and northern Ontario communities continue to face severe shortage of healthcare human resources professionals. With retiring healthcare professionals in the field, young people are not filling to the job they needed to maintain the same level of care for residents. Mr. Speaker, can the minister please outline what our government is doing to ensure that the residents of rural, remote and northern Ontario communities continue to receive access to healthcare professionals. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Mr. Collins from the university. Thank you speaker and thank you again Mr. Speaker, I have been working closely with the minister of health, the minister of long-term care to ensure that we are not only fostering education for healthcare professionals but that we are also addressing specific regional and community healthcare needs across the province. Earlier this year our government launched the Ontario learn and stay grant which is going to be a huge asset for underserved communities. In the simplest of terms if a student enrolls in a school in Ontario programs of need and commits to working in that community in their area of study for two years the government will cover their education. Through this grant we are investing $61 million to support 2,500 new healthcare professionals in addition to the thousands more we are supporting through various ministry initiatives. Whether you are in North Bay, Sarnia, Belleville, Thunder Bay or in any other identified communities, local colleges and universities will be trading the next generation of healthcare professionals that will support local healthcare needs. I am very excited about the learn and stay grant and look forward to sharing an update in this house about its success in the future. Thank you. Gas prices remain far higher in northern Ontario than in the south. In the northwest the average cost of gas was $0.30 more per litre than in the greater Toronto area. In the north the price can range drastically from town to town for no discernible reason. Can the Premier explain to northerners why there are such huge differences in the price of gas across the province? Thank you. I of course know that Ontario families and workers are being affected by inflation and high global gas prices and it's particularly true in northern Ontario obviously Russia's invasion of Ukraine has had geopolitical consequences that Ontario is not immune to. Our government has been taking numerous steps back in 2018 scrapping cap and trade and then recently extending the 5.7 cent gas tax cut for another year. My issue would be the sort of hypocrisy of that question coming from the NDP. I'm going to ask the member to withdraw the unparliamentary remark. The question coming from the NDP that seems to Member will take her seat stop the clock. Member must withdraw the unparliamentary remark. You have to stand up and say it just start the clock. I withdraw. And conclude the response. Coming from the NDP where if the party cared about gas prices I would suggest turning their advocacy to the federal carbon tax or perhaps to the member's own party individuals in which campaigned on a promise of a 35 cent gas tax increase which would cost Ontario families literally thousands. The answer is simple speaker oil and gas companies who continue to rack up huge profits government side come to order. Oil and gas companies who continue to rack up huge profits are gouging people in the north just ask the minister of northern development who said last week I can't explain the price variations in the north it's a bit of a wild west phenomenon. Will the premier reign in the companies who are gouging northerners and end gas price gouging in Ontario. Thank you Mr. Speaker through you to the member opposite I don't know breaking news Ontario and Canada are part of the global economy affected by the global supply change in the price of oil and gas around the planet but Mr. Speaker let me say this for the 8 million drivers in Ontario many I'm taking the subway to my next meeting right after this but many in this province can't drive their kids can't take a subway to take their kids to school can't take a subway to work they have to drive to get to work we're providing relief to those 8 million drivers Mr. Speaker let me also say this in the fall we're also helping others including those on Ontario disability program we increase the earning exemption from $200 to $1000 a month and Mr. Speaker I quote from the CEO the newly appointed CEO of the Ability Centre I'll quote today's ODSP policy announcement in the Fez are a game changer the changes to ODSP clawbacks are the most significant policy change since the beginning of ODSP thank you Mr. Speaker my question is to the Minister of Indigenous Affairs and Northern Development because of the leadership demonstrated by our government we are ensuring that all Ontarians have an opportunity to participate in our growing economy we recognize that Indigenous communities deserve reliable sources of energy they deserve infrastructure that connects them to our province and they deserve the opportunity to participate fully and meaningfully in our shared economy prosperity Speaker can the Minister of Indigenous Affairs and Northern Development please inform the House on how our government plans to increase economic prosperity across the North Minister of Northern Development and Indigenous Affairs Thank you Mr. Speaker and I want to thank the member for the question I have some great news today Mr. Speaker the community of Kingfisher First Nation one of our isolated communities in the north from Kiwetnam comes from there is going off diesel generation Mr. Speaker our government led the charge Mr. Speaker after a long period of time where the previous government was slow to the mark on this and there are 24 communities in the Watte Power Group 17 of them are isolated Mr. Speaker they're onboarding now they're building an 1800 kilometer line that will help improve electricity capacity and stability in these communities Chief Mamakwa I think said it best access to reliable energy will lead to many improvements for our people and the community schools households businesses have been negatively impact by frequent power outages improvements to healthcare education food security and technology are on the way that's something to celebrate Supplementary question Speaker thank you Minister for his response under the previous liberal government supported by the NDP they drove jobs out of our province and failed to unlock Ontario's full economic potential especially for the people of Northern Ontario Speaker we do not believe that this is fair it is clear that transformational investments in infrastructure will lead to long-term economic growth across all of Ontario and deliver investments for the north Speaker can the minister please thank you for the indigenous led projects and the benefits they will provide for their communities in rural remote northern areas of our province Thank you Minister of Northern Development we have the Watt Power line we have the east west high what's next I'll tell you about some isolated communities just to the east of the Watt Power communities they are in Yabmatum, Nisqandiga Nibbani-Mak, Webequate these communities have a couple things in common yes Mr. Speaker they surround the ring of fire once in a lifetime opportunity Mr. Speaker to unleash the potential of the north and be involved in a fully integrated supply chain from earth to electric vehicles Mr. Speaker the single biggest environmental policy that any sub-sovereign government could advance but it's also an opportunity for the corridor to prosperity to bring the same kinds of things that Chief Mamakwa talked about better sources of electricity new opportunities for businesses in that region so that young people will have a fair line to a good job it's time to rally behind the corridor to prosperity will the NDP Mr. Speaker stand with us when we make those kinds of investments next question remember Goa Thank you Mr. Speaker my question is to the Premier earlier this week I was proud to have a table of motion to ensure that key tests for detecting prostate cancer is fully covered under our University health care system one in eight Canadian men are expected to receive a prostate cancer diagnosis in their lifetime 28 will be diagnosed with prostate cancer today in the province of Ontario we also know that black men are significantly higher risk of getting prostate cancer this year 10,500 people will receive the horrible news they have prostate cancer 1,750 will die that means nearly 5 people will die every day with prostate cancer 100% of the people that are detected early with prostate cancer will survive 5 years or longer so my question is early detection using PST test can save lives will the government move forward on this motion and ensure that no barriers to early detection of prostate cancer in Ontario Mr. Health Thank you Speaker and thank you for the member opposite for raising this important issue and highlighting the value that we have and we have put in the province of Ontario on the early detection because we understand that early detection and ultimately treatment leads to far better outcomes based on clinical guidelines established by the Canadian task force on preventative health care OHIP currently funds prostate specific antigen test for men who are one receiving treatment for prostate cancer two being followed for treatment for prostate cancer and third suspected of prostate cancer because of their family history and the results of their physical exam absolutely Ontarians who are concerned should be speaking to their primary care physicians because they can get that test through those conversations if the family physician clinically assesses and deems that that is appropriate Thank you Thank you Minister am I running golf tournaments in Fort Erie to pay for the test nobody should have to run a golf tournament to get a test in this country or this province Speaker back to the Premier across our current country currently eight out of ten provinces and three territories fully covered the PSA test were requested by a physician that means Ontario is one of the few exceptions across Canada when it comes to ensuring everyone has equal access to this test this test is an important tool in the toolbox for physicians to ensure early prostate cancer early detection will save lives and money upwards to $16 million in our health care system for the second time I was happy to be joined by Dr Edmonds from the Canadian Cancer Society to introduce my motion he was able to discuss the importance of early detection why does the government refuse to join eight provinces three territories and listen to the Canadian Cancer Society and cover the PSA test and close with a prostate in Ontario so we can save lives thank you Thank you Speaker and again I absolutely support the members advocacy on early detection and having those conversations with your primary care physicians but most international and national guidelines and recommendations are included including the Canadian Task Force on preventative health care and the American College of Physicians they recommend against screening for prostate cancer against the PSA test using the PSA test due to the lack of evidence we need to have clinicians making these decisions not politicians absolutely have the conversations with your primary care physicians but let's leave the clinical advice to the clinicians and the experts in the field Thank you Speaker we're hearing alarming reports in the media about a sewage spill in Hamilton as reported this spill has been ongoing for the past 26 years from reports in the media the spill was only discovered inadvertently from previous video footage the people of my riding and all Hamiltonians are concerned now about the soundness of our community's water infrastructure system Speaker my question is to the Minister of the Environment Conservation and Parks what is our government doing to protect Hamilton's water infrastructure to stop events like this from happening again Thanks for the environment conservation and parks Thank you Speaker and I want to thank the member for that question and her important advocacy and leadership for the people of Hamilton Speaker let me be abundantly clear this is absolutely unacceptable upon hearing of the situation in Hamilton I was angry like many of the good people of Hamilton including my family that live there I was angry for the people who are yet again hearing about how their city and the lack of oversight has failed to protect their waters Speaker I was angry that this lack of oversight has happened for 26 years Speaker even after all that the people of Hamilton have gone through I'm happy to report Speaker that upon notification of the spill my ministry took immediate action we sent an environmental officer over to Hamilton who's working closely with the municipality to block any further sewage flow to stop further environmental damage and move immediately to address this situation I look forward to informing the legislature of further action that this government is taking in the supplemental action it's clear that action needs to be taken and that questions need to be answered on behalf of the people of Hamilton serious problems related to water infrastructure and environmental safety standards should never take over two decades to be addressed for media reports it appears that the system of due diligence and oversight was lacking for an extended period of time the people of Hamilton deserve better regarding their critical water infrastructure system Speaker what further action is our government and in particular the minister of environment conservation and parks pursuing to ensure that this situation is properly addressed through the environment Speaker I think the member for that question again the continued lack of oversight is simply unacceptable and I had a very good conversation with the new mayor of Hamilton speaker and I commend her for speaking of transparency for speaking of being transparent with the people of Hamilton speaker I and our government agree that's why a speaker immediately upon learning of this latest spill and speaking with the mayor of Hamilton I've instructed my ministry to require Hamilton to audit its entire sewage infrastructure and come up with a remediation plan to clean this mess up I'm going to work closely with the new mayor and the city of Hamilton to address this so that this never happens again it's unacceptable the people deserve better and thanks to this member from Hamilton they're going to get it Thank you Thank you Thank you speaker my question is for the minister of health Medical Radiation Sciences is here today they represent radiation therapists radiological nuclear medicine and MRI technologists they are the healthcare professional who perform critical diagnostic test and therapy on the front line of our healthcare system they recently pulled their members who said they are overworked burnt out and facing the same staffing shortages as all professional working in healthcare right now this is a message that all healthcare workers are trying to get the government to acknowledge to respond Minister how long will the government take before they take actions to deal with this health human resources crisis in medical radiation sciences Thank you for raising this important question I want to also acknowledge the incredible work that all of our allied health professionals have been doing throughout the pandemic whether it was prior to vaccines the incredible assistance that happened again entire healthcare system stepping up and making sure that Canada and Ontario were second in the world speaker to make sure that our citizens were protected you know when will the work start it started in 2020 when we as a government made an investment and said we are building a stronger more robust healthcare system by adding an additional 12,000 health human resources we are doing it with investments in our colleges we are doing it investments in new positions available for people who want to be in the healthcare professionals we started that in 2020 we will continue to do that work Thank you Thank you The Association of Medical Radiation Science is just the latest group of health professional raising concern about understaffing the backlog of diagnostic MRI, CAT scan, PET scan will not improve without them today representative from 295,000 healthcare workers are here to try to get the government to pay attention to this crisis to listen to their solution will the minister agree to listen to health representative Abhishek Poh Unifor and SCIU who are here today at Queen's Park they have solutions will you meet with them Again I will say I am open and available to all innovation and ideas that people bring forward the premier and I had an opportunity to have a round table with the representation of nurses and the ideas coming forward we are now driving those forward and saying how can we implement that how can we add to what we have already done with the learn and stay program to ensure that young people who want to train as RNs in the province of Ontario have that opportunity through free tuition and books how do we expand the opportunities so that we do not have a continuation of the backlogs in diagnostic imaging and other critically important services that the people of Ontario deserve in their communities we've done that work we will continue to have those conversations and listen to those innovations and I am very proud of the fact that we have health care workers in the province of Ontario who continue to give 110% because they know it's what they can do in their community and it's what the people of Ontario expect next question the member for Oakville North Burlington Speaker I am proud to represent the great people of Oakville North Burlington a community that is home to a thriving and innovative economy of entrepreneurs regrettably under the previous liberal government the goal of unlocking entrepreneurship and business opportunities for women was not fully supported the cost of child care red tape and taxes quickly spiraled out of control making entrepreneurship too complex and costly thanks to the investments made by our government Ontario is now seeing as a competitive and supportive place for businesses to invest and create jobs Speaker can the associate minister of women's social and economic opportunity please explain what our government is doing to help young women entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses Thank you Thank you Thank you and I think the parliamentary assistant to the minister of economic development job creation and trade and commend her for the work that she's doing to bring forward a private members motion to further the important work to end intimate partner violence now Mr. Speaker a contributing factor to intimate partner violence is economic hardship and women feeling like they are forced to return to bad situations and that is why our government is getting more women into jobs than ever before we are investing 117 million in employment and training supports so that women have access to training for in demand skills and we are making Ontario the best province to do business and women are an integral part of that as part of our plan to build Ontario our government is investing a further 6.9 million to enhance the investing in women's program and expanding it to up to 10 locations I'm excited by this expansion it's helped almost 6000 women already and this year hasn't ended and Mr. Speaker if you've heard me say it when women succeed Ontario succeeds Supplementary Thank you Speaker and thank you to the Minister for her response our entrepreneurs are a critical foundation to Ontario's economic growth and prosperity but as we know starting a business is hard work and filled with great risk unfortunately under the previous Liberal government supported by the NDP the dream of small business ownership was challenging and costly our government is reversing the harmful and destructive policies of the past I know that small businesses in my own community of Oakville North Burlington serve a vital role in the strength of our local economy Speaker can the Minister share with us what our government is doing to help empower women to unlock their full economic potential through entrepreneurship opportunities Mr. Minister Thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you for the questions just look at the name of my ministry Mr. Speaker social and economic opportunity these two things have not been paired by accident it's because our government knows that for women to thrive and succeed in Ontario's economy they first need to overcome social barriers that are holding him back like dealing with gender-based violence trying to succeed in a field where women are underrepresented or if you're trying to navigate the system and access services you're not going to be able to take control of your economic future and we are working to address those underlying issues so that women can enter entrepreneurship challenge free and stay there when I met with power of women that organization and Thunder Bay dedicated to advancing women and investing in women's futures recipient their services were able to help many women through the COVID-19 pandemic pivot from brick and mortar to the online market successfully and continue to grow their business in the post pandemic economy Mr. Speaker if we're going to create a successful and robust post pandemic economy women must be at the forefront of the entrepreneurial and in leadership roles and again Mr. Speaker when women succeed Ontario succeeds Thank you very much Mr. Speaker Strizing in accordance with standing order 59 to outline the order of business for next week on Monday November 28th in the afternoon we will proceed with bill 46 bill 46 the less red tape stronger Ontario act we will continue with bill 46 in the morning of Tuesday November 29th in the afternoon routine there will be a statement by the ministry by the minister by minister Fullerton on the wrapped encouraged campaign for women abuse prevention month in the afternoon we will again continue with bill 46 and in the evening private members business will be private members notice of motion number 15 the member for Windsor to come on Wednesday November 30th in the morning back to bill 46 in the afternoon there will be a statement by minister McNaughton excuse me on McIntyre powder afternoon back to bill 46 and in the evening a members notice of motion number 19 standing in the name of the member for Oakville North Burlington and on Tuesday on Thursday excuse me December 1st in the morning we will be back to bill 26 strengthening post secondary institutions and students act in the afternoon back to bill 26 in the evening we will be dealing with bill 27 standing in the the name of the member for Windsor to come on Wednesday in the evening we now have a deferred vote on the motion for second reading bill 24 an act to amend the regulated health professions act 1991 and the independent health facilities act to address unfair fees charged to patients for health care services call in the members this is a five minute bell