 Is now time for a question here yet the member from Bering To the minister responsible for the Pan Am games, I'll maybe give him a moment to get to his seat Speaker Minister since 2011 we've been asking what the Pan Am games will cost the province for two years now We've insisted the budget of 1.4 billion dollars wasn't the real budget you've insisted it was other Pan Am projects like the athlete's village 709 million the Pan Am trails 3.5 million ARL of 456 million the transportation between Up to 90 million dollars the Pan Am secretary at another 10 million dollars We're not included in your 1.4 billion dollar pretend budget after two years of demanding the truth holding your feet to the fire You're back against the wall today. We received an estimate that is almost more than double the Minister and you still refuse to release the exact number for the games. Why do you think it's acceptable play games with the Ontario taxpayers? You're responsible for the Pan Am game. Thank you. Thank you speaker speaker this morning We're a technical briefing and the opposition was invited, but he chose not to get there The tradition of this place is not to mention anyone's Attendance in this place and I would ask the member not to do it again I will Wait for calm finish, please Thank you speaker speaker. We have been up front open and transparent on the pan and para pan American game For example speaker one of the largest item, you know additional investment is the off list village at 700 million that makes up 70% of the 1 billion the off list village has always been the Responsibility of the whole jurisdiction and outside the 1.4 operating 1.4 billion operating budget From the very beginning speaker in the big boat to read and sir in both in the Toronto star and Toronto Sun in 2009, thank you speaker. Thank you supplementary Minister I would have been proud and pleased to come to your technical briefing had I been invited Minister this is the kind of tiring and really frankly kind of sad From the start you've done everything you can to stymie us on funny of the true cost of the pan am games at every stop The list is long minister from hidden budgets to foy request costing more than $3,000 to refusing to answer questions in question period We just witnessed that to blocking investigation of the games and committee sacrificing worthy bills like bill 105 You're determined to hide the true cost of the pan am games to the public You've even resorted to having us sift through 45 boxes of 50,000 documents since you won't yourself open up to the Today because we have your back against the law because you know we have the information buried in those documents We found out that your budget is over 2.56 billion dollars touting for the past three years Minister are these the actions to be indicative of what in Ontario can expect from the supposedly new and open and Transparent responsible governor Minister Speaker, thank you speaker Through you to the member opposite. He was invited. He failed to sew up While while that is not exactly Talking about somebody's attendance. It's tiptoeing around that fact So I'd ask them ever to be very cautious of making any references whatsoever. Thank you very much Speaker I was invited two times to debate on the life so They the opposite fail to sew up. I saw what? Allow me to continue the after this village It is a cornerstone It is a cornerstone of the broader revitalization of the west on land into a vibrant new Makes that use community speaker that will boast over 250 units for low-income rental over 100 units for affordable housing sales the first ever Residents that will house 500 students a brand new The revitalization have been planned since 1980 is almost 30 years speaker. Thank you Thank you I want to offer some clarity here, and I think it's important because the debate needs to take place any reference to attendance in this house or Requirement is conventionally not mentioned and we all know why that convention is important to stick to there's a type of walk between briefings that are not part of the house and Late shows or attendance in the house that is I will listen very carefully to ensure I make the distinction between the two and as for the comments that I'm hearing I'm also hearing some heckling on both sides that is borderline Unacceptable and the parliamentary so I'm going to ask everyone to just bring it down get to the crux of the issue Question answer. We'll leave it at that Final supplementary. Thank you speaker Minister we don't trust you. I don't think the people of Ontario trust you either Your government's been talking a lot about transparency and accountability The premier went so far as to stand up and promise Ontario this government this government is committed to this or at least Simply having a conversation about it yet today openness and transparency have been non-existent when it comes to the Pan Am Games and the Commitment you've shown to doing the exact opposite is astounding minister We've asked simple questions and in return. We've received convoluted answers from a confused minister Today today the estimates confirm that the games will likely cost more than double the 1.4 billion dollar Budget that you've been talking to us about unbelievable minister You've lost control of the games rebuilding trust of the province Maybe you should just simply show up for work and we are resigning today Minister Speaker I don't trust his words Because the member and the party obviously Have never had anything say positive about the Pan Am Games. In fact, they continue to shine a negative light on our local Pan American communities our competing athletes and para athletes over 20,000 volunteers over 26 new capital and infrastructure project and the 250,000 tourists that will be visited the part that they party also Continue to cut ties and then bears our promise with 41 nations Board cutting our reception last month and spreading unfounded allegations and numbers to the public We are planning for the best ever games and the most open and transparent game ever Speaker my question is to the premier print the premier came to Wellington County on October the 11th for her announcement So the environment come to order She was asked about the liberal NDP decision to pull the plug on Sarp Which they did with no warning to the industry. They were about to devastate on CBC French radio the premier admitted the decision and I quote was not a good decision The premier was at the cabinet table when that decision was made, but she didn't speak up The leader of the NDP also had a chance to speak up, but she chose not to Speaker Mike here is my question When will the premier ask the NDP to join her in apologizing for what she has already admitted Premier thank you very much mr. Speaker We cancelled the slots at race chop program because of problems around transparency mr. Speaker and Accountability of the program there were three reports the Zedinsky report the drum and report and our transition panel mr Speaker who identified problems with the slots at race track program What I have said is that in the cancellation of the program there was Not due consideration for the impact and so that is why we put the transition panel in place mr. Speaker That is why we have developed a new program mr. Speaker. That's a five-year Commitment to invest four hundred million dollars to put the horse racing industry on a sustainable path mr. Speaker I've been very clear that I want that I want us to have a sustainable horse racing industry in Ontario my predecessor the Minister of Agriculture I mean social services when he was a minister he put in place the transition panel We are following those recommendations mr. Speaker, so I have been consistent in my message We could not leave the start program in place Thank You supplementary Thank You speaker Mr. Speaker the Liberals have already shown just how little they care for horse racing when they cut them off the knees and in 2012 sad the industry knows that but they also know that Andrea Horvath the NDP let this happen What have said no, but they sacrifice the industry for a huge budget trinkets They would have said no, but they said yes to save their political highs My question to the premier Could she inform the house which party and which leader were the only ones to take a principal stand Against the premier's not a good decision To kill the horse racing industry in 2000 Before we move forward I'll remind all members that we refer to each other in this place either by their title or their Riding I don't want to hear it again Yes, some some people are Premier, thank you very much mr. Speaker well I just I'm going to respond to the part of the question that That seemed to imply that we don't have a plan in place that's going to work And I'm going to quote from some of the people who actually know what's going on mr. Speaker I'm going to quote from the center Wellington mayor Joanne Ross huge mr. Speaker She said for center Wellington This is really good news and this is the on the at the time of the announcement of the five-year plan for center Wellington, this is really good news our agricultural industry has actually been boosted by this announcement When has given five years and there's going to be an investment to make this industry From this day forward it is getting back into this working relationship We've had with the olg in the racing industry and now the community to get back on track to plan for the future This is very good news Paul Walker president of the Grand River Agricultural Society It's building all the foundation for horse racing and moving forward They've put a lot of thought and work into this the biggest part is the integration into the gaming industry without it I don't think any of it would work Before we go to the supplementary, I'm going to ask the minister of rural affairs to come to order Thank You Speaker Only one party has consistently shown support for the Only one party can create a start which led to the unprecedented success and thousands of jobs Only one party stood against the 2012 liberal NDP budget Only one party has produced a bold but achievable five-point plan to put the industry back on track That's Tim Houdek of the Ontario PC But mr. Speaker the industry needs more than a meaningless gimmicking motion from the NDP Emotion to restore what they themselves allowed to collapse We need real action from a team with real credibility on the horse racing pilot When will you get on board with our plan? Mr. Speaker well mr. Speaker the party opposite put in place a program that we have three reports that have have made it clear that the SART program was unaccountable. It was not transparent and it was bad public policy, mr. Speaker So I have some more quotes from Reactions to the announcement of the five-year partnership plan that we put in place dr. Ted Clark the Grand River Raceway general manager It's remarkably better than what our outlook was a year ago today We essentially went from a place of having a new set of building blocks to move forward We've been using some tools with which to work and hopefully we can put them to good work Alex Lark from the Rideau Carlton Raceway. I feel very optimistic though. It's not what we had before Pro it definitely will sustain racing at Rideau and provide our patrons and the horsemen the critical mass that's required to maintain a program And Brian Tropea from the Ontario horse harness horse association the hard work happens now I know if we you really truly believe this is going to sustain the Thank you Thank you speaker my questions for the premier this fall the legislature passed Legislation to hire a financial accountability officer and the government said they plan to have that office up and running by the new year Does the premier still intend on and meeting that goal speaker? The speaker it's critically important that we do have that financial accountability officer in place We have established Committee by members of the opposition to select that accountability officer We await as I as the finance minister I'm awaiting anxiously the work that that committee to is to be done by yourselves by the members of both parties Including you mr. Speaker, so it's up to this house to bring forward the candidates and and then we'll move and I Wait with with baited breath. Thank you mr. Speaker supplementary Well speaker over a month ago the speaker asked each party to name an MPP to the all party Hiring committee why hasn't the government submitted their name speaker? There is a process in place by which a panel is put together and I I know we've discussed this at house leaders meetings and Parties are coming forward with their names and we'll get them out of place And they will go through the usual process to choose a parliamentary officer final supplementary Well speaker the government said they plan to have this office up and running by the end of this year But with a month to go until Christmas they haven't even struck the hiring committee new Democrats Indicated weeks ago that we are ready to get to work We've named our member for the committee speaker when will the premier stop stalling and appoint a member to the hiring committee Member is playing games. She knows there's a process in place By which we work with the clerk and we work with you to get a panel That is put together that panel and turn advertisers for the position. There's an interview process It is the usual process. It's followed for the hiring of a of a parliamentary officer And I expect that it will move forward very quickly with the selection of that individual through the usual process No question The next question is for the premier the financial accountability office was designed to stop spending scandals Before they happen and to give people the people of this province real insight into Ontario's plans when they plan new programs Now it was supported by all parties. It's supposed to be in place this year But once again, we hear a lot of liberal talk and see no action Will the premier submit her name to the hiring committee today and get this process as was so Adequately described by her house leader up and running so we can get that office Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker Well, and the process was adequately described by the government house leader and we are going to take part mr. Speaker The name will be submitted and we will move ahead. So mr. Speaker I'm not exactly sure what the problem be the leader of the third party is identifying but I asked about this the other day I know that a name. I know that a person has been identified and that name will be submitted. Mr. Speaker. Thank you People are really tired speaker of seeing a government that can't seem to respect the value of public dollars And they find it increasingly tough to trust a liberal government that cannot Deliver on a simple basic commitment speaker the premier agreed to create the financial accountability office But now she's playing politics and holding up the actual creation of that office because she's not naming the liberal member for the Office and frankly neither have the conservatives named their number member for the office Why can't the premier simply take a small step and provide a name today? Mr. Speaker, I believe that the leader of the third party knows full well that this item is on the agenda for house leaders tomorrow That it is going to be discussed. Mr. Speaker. We are mr. Speaker. We party is going on about mr. Speaker We are taking part. We know that it's important. We want the financial accountability officer in place We'll be submitting a name My hope is that the opposition will be submitting a name as well mr. Speaker and the process will go forward To final supplementary the clock's a ticking your letter was dated October 7th And these two parties still have not named their member this government seems to prefer hiding behind conversation Instead of delivering results. We see it all the time speaker instead of keeping a commitment to close corporate tax loopholes They talked about closing them and then they kept them open instead of moving on a plan to cap CEO salaries They talked about capping them and let the paychecks keep growing instead of making sure Ontarians have a financial Accountability office to help stop waste before it starts the government continues to play games Why should the people of this province believe the premier has plans to tackle waste and put people first if she can't Even keep a basic commitment like having that financial Accountability office up and running by the end of this year, which was commitment Mr. Speaker as I said in my previous answer I think the leader of the third party knows that this agenda this item is on the agenda for house leaders tomorrow The PA to the finance minister is going to be our member mr. Speaker that is the member that we're putting forward We know So I guess I would just like to say that this is a process question. It's very important We are we are in process and we are working with the the other parties Mr. Speaker we would love to have the support of the the third party in getting bill 105 the small businesses act past mr. Speaker that's a substantive piece of work that needs to happen It needs to be done by the end of the year So my hope is that the leader of the third party will work with her members and Because 60,000 businesses in the province will benefit from that mr. Speaker Thank you very much mr. Speaker good morning my questions for the premier this morning The premier lots happened over the last week or so and some of it's gone unnoticed So let me bring you up to speed the latest Ontario job numbers came out and they show that we've lost almost 40,000 jobs in october 16,000 more in the manufacturing sector in october We got the devastating news that Hines is closing after 104 years in operation in leemington throwing almost 800 people out of work and thousands more possibly in spin-off jobs And in the supplier sector a wind power company that your government promised would be able to set up inefficient Intermittent wind turbines is now been given the green light so that it can sue the ontario taxpayers for a decision that you made The opp's cranked up its criminal investigation into the 1.1 billion dollar scandal in your office And a lot of other stuff too premier considering the mess that we're in when are you going to admit that you're not up for this job Thank you Thank you very thank you very much. Mr. Speaker. Well, I appreciate the very diffuse question from the uh, the member opposite But mr. Speaker I am focused on making the investments in people and the investments in infrastructure and the investments in a A dynamic and innovative business climate that are going to allow this province to move to a future that's aspirational Mr. Speaker, I understand that the the role of the opposition is to oppose but mr. Speaker I also believe that it is the role of the opposition parties to work in particularly in a minority parliament To work with government to work together so that we can work it together in the best interests of the people of the province For example, mr. Speaker We have a piece of legislation bill 105 on the books that needs to be passed by the end of the year 60 000 businesses will benefit mr. Speaker small businesses We would really like to see that the conservative party that apparently supports business might work with us so we can create those jobs What we did learn from you last week was that you like to run you you're better at running away from the province's problems That you are running the province of ontario You know if you spend a little more time dealing with the job that needs to be done Instead of lacing up your sneakers, maybe the province that you lead wouldn't be on the road to ruin Our debt has doubled under your government Our deficit is at record levels and the finance minister himself has said numerous times that balancing the books Well, that's not even really a priority for him news released yesterday shows that the bank of canada may double our interest rates That could cost us billions more dollars You are irresponsible with hines now thousands of ontarians in the leemington area are going to be out of work How many more ontarians are going to have to lose their jobs before you change course? Are you just content to see the province that was once the leader in confederation hit rock bottom? Thank you very much mr. Speaker why You know Second time and we believe on this side of the house that ontario has a very bright future and in order for us to realize that future Mr. Speaker system remain excellent mr. Speaker and go to the next level It is extremely important that our health care system that is dealing with uh the western world mr. Speaker that our health care system Is sustainable and that we transform it in ways that people get the services that they need mr. Speaker I believe that it is extremely important that we recognize the infrastructure challenges that are facing us As a country mr. Speaker and as a province that we invest in transit that we invest in the roads and bridges in northern Ontario have mr. Speaker that is the aspirational future we see for the province I'm sorry that the opposition doesn't share that with us mr. Speaker if they did we could do wonderful New question the member from net about Thank you mr. President thank you mr. Speaker. I've got a question for the minister of health When our loved ones go into a long-term care home They deserve to know that they will be safe comfortable treated with respect and dignity One of the ways to ensure that our loved ones receive the right care is an iron clad system of inspection And follow up on incidents and deaths in long-term care Until recently the coroner's office investigated every 10th death in the long-term care homes But now this level of oversight has been cut While at the same time w5 expose 61 residents on residents murders And tens of thousands of cases of violence When is this government going to take violence into our long-term care homes seriously and provide the proper oversight? Thank you minister Mr. Health long-term care Speaker I can I can assure the member opposite as I have in many occasions that we take the safety of our patients the residents in long-term care homes Extremely seriously and we take the safety of our Of the workers a speaker in those homes extremely seriously We have passed legislation To allow for stronger enforcement better inspections Of ontarius long-term care homes and sadly neither opposition party actually supported that legislation The coroner has recognized that we do have stronger oversight now than we did before The homes have to develop an implemented policy to protect zero tolerance of abuse and neglect They have a duty to protect residents from abuse and to ensure that residents are not neglected It is mandatory to report abuse speaker. We take this as a very serious responsibility. Thank you supplementary People last week I wrote to the ombudsman to ask his office to investigate Whether the ministry was following up on its own investigations and orders to long-term care homes Shortly before mr. Francisco de silva was killed at the castle view which would tower The ministry had Had inspected the home and issue 10 orders that would have improved the conditions in the home When the ministry ministry issue orders People need to have confidence that someone is checking to make sure that those orders are comply with And that the problems get fixed Did the minister ever follow up on those orders to ensure that they were being enforced minister Speaker I can I can speak to the improvements in the inspections and the follow-up Since we took office when we were elected in 2003. There were 59 inspectors working for the ministry We now have over 140 and we are continuing to recruit new inspectors to add to that speaker We've we've hired 64 new inspectors since september of this year speaker Last year the ministry conducted Almost 24 24 hundred inspections. That's uh homes are inspected on average 3.7 times per year Speaker we've uh, we are working very hard to improve the quality of care And we are not going to stop improving speaker because we're committed to making sure that everyone who comes into a long-term care Is has the confidence that they will get the best possible care speaker. Thank you New question Your self-question Thank you, mr. Speaker. My question is for the minister responsible for senior affairs Mr. Speaker the minister recently joined the premier and the minister of government services in waterloo for a very important announcement The introduction of a new seniors grand program Mr. Speaker this very significant announcement has been extremely well received by constituents Across the province, especially the seniors in my writing of york southwestern Mr. Speaker my office has already received numerous phone calls from local senior groups Expressing their interest and gratitude for this government's commitment to the seniors of this province Mr. Speaker would the minister please inform the house and how this new grant Program will improve the lives of seniors in ontario The minister responsible for senior affairs Thank you very much. Speaker. I want to thank the remarkable member from york southwestern For her tireless effort in advocating for seniors in her writing Speaker indeed. I'm very proud to inform the house that following the Recent economic statement our government has introduced yet another first in ontario's history a grand program specifically dedicated to seniors Speaker is at our government commitment to provide more seniors across our province with the support they need to lead Active engaged life through a new seniors community grant program with this grant We continue speaker to build upon the success of ontario's action plan for seniors and speaker It is extremely important to me as minister responsible for senior affairs the government and I believe every member of the house speaker To continue our strongest effort to provide our seniors Making this province the best province to aging Thank you, mr. Speaker and thank you to the minister for that answer Let me say that the seniors in my writing of york southwestern appreciate a government that recognizes The important contributions that seniors have made and continue to make in shaping our great province And they are excited very excited to have a minister With it with the sole responsibility to advocate on their behalf and to have the opportunity to receive support From the first grant program in ontario dedicated solely to supporting seniors I especially know that some local seniors groups in my writing like the golden age saint fidelis club The pelmo park seniors will appreciate a grant program aimed at assisting seniors community groups So mr. Speaker can the minister tell us more about this grant program Thank you, mr Thank you again speaker to you and to the member as well The grant aims to help seniors groups of all sizes And i'm proud to say speaker that the ground will better allow our seniors to connect within their own communities The grant provides funding to not for profit the groups and organization For project that encourages great social inclusion Volunteers minimize isolation Engage participation and community engagement for seniors across our province Speaker the grant ranges from $500 to $10,000 to help support initiatives that will allow Seniors to contribute to all aspects of a community life And that is aimed at non-profit groups seniors Again, let me say speaker that the seniors built our province and it is Most important that we provide them the uh all the Investment that they need to continue to live an active and connected life in their community. Thank you Speaker my question to the minister of the pan am games Minister yesterday, we had a late show sitting following my dissatisfaction with your answer to the question I asked regarding the pan am games transit plans budget All i've been looking for was a simple answer a ballpark figure at the very least of how much the taxpayer will fork over for the pan am games transit Planned, I do not think that that was an unreasonable request So you rose yesterday and talked about the cost of the athlete's village and expansion of Ontario's trail networks But again made no mention of any cost associated with the transit the transit plan Minister the games are less than two years away. Can you tell me right now? What is the budget for the pan am games transit plan? Thank you, speaker. I believe the uh member opposite had uh Minister Murray and his deputy were answering these questions in estimate committee Yesterday or day before Speaker is truly unfortunate that He cannot comprehend the fact that where we are in the planning stages now is completely normal The transportation costs are continuously evolving We have a game foot playing that is over 10,000 kilometer square Order To coordinate outcome to agreement with The game are an unprecedented event order And we have never experienced anything on this scale speaker He cannot be compared answer your business plan with you cannot understand and we will not enlarge those facts Then I really feel sorry for you. Thank you Thank you speaker What I can't comprehend right now is the fact that the minister of transportation announced the budget in estimates Committee yet at six o'clock after the ministry announced the 70 to 90 million dollar budget You still could not answer the question of how much was in the budget I find the lack of communication. Mr. Speaker between the two ministries on this multimillion dollar project very disturbing Minister throughout this pan am fiasco. You've overseen cost overruns Secret budgets and a well-paid executive team that nickels and dimes the taxpayers by expensing for coffee and donuts So it doesn't surprise me When you said yesterday that the opposition's line of questioning on the matter was ignorant disrespectful and damaging Well, as a member of the only party here that stands up for the taxpayer I find your aversion to transparency Ignorant disrespectful and damaged minister Will you apologize to the constituents of my riding and all enterians for your complete mismanagement of this file? Thank you Minister I knew the party opposite had a reading problem. We now know they have a comprehension deficit Mr. Speaker asked for the information the member for berry god, and I went out of my way We my office personally phoned him as did minister chad to offer him technical briefing We've kept you in the loop. What's it? You know, mr. Speaker I was the host mayor of the last pan am games in matatoga people were excited You have been embarrassment to the people of ontario. You've shamed us international conferences You are diminishing the work of volunteers. You are diminishing the work of athletes. You are shameful In her partisan ignorance, you brought to it. You don't even understand You see it, please Oh All right now all mean nice and quiet New question the member from hamilton east stony creek Thank you speaker. My question too is to the minister of tourism sport culture pan para pan games Speaker It seems that this government is making a habit about playing cute when it comes to the real costs of the games Today, there are questions about a ballpark figure for the estimated total costs of the games And we are yet again being stonewalled by the government even more concerning speaker Is that ontario is a guarantor for any deficits? But the government still count tell us what the total price tag for the games will be Speaker will this minister tell me when he will stop playing games when it comes to the cost of the pan am games Thank you Thank you, thank you speaker as i said before this morning with a technical briefing and We offer to the press and also offer to the opposition critic here speaker We are very clear in term of the budget of the pan am game the ontario contribute the 500 million into the 2015 Operating committee and the federal government as well contribute 500 million and the rest of about 400 million By local governments and also donors and also the revenue from From tickets on top of that the speaker. We also Build a village which is 700 million. This is outside the 1.4 And this is a project. This is 20 years in the running The affiliated village will revitalize the west don land. It will create a wyvern community 500 george fund And also a ymca operating there and also it will provide Affordable housing for the last fortunate. Thank you speaker. Thank you Well speaker it appears we have confusion as a new sport Speaker There seems to be a theme with this government's inability to come clean when it comes to cost Today we heard the government is likely recouping 65 million of the 700 million Invested in the athletes village. But again, we don't have confirmation Ontarians want to be assured that the games are going to come in on budget as they keep saying And the best way to do this is by being to lay out the costs and playing figures Speaker when will this minister and this government commit to providing all the numbers and stop playing these games? Speaker i just mentioned about the affiliate village. I think it's clear to the To the member opposite now speaker. Let me talk about the The success of the game and also hosting the game the benefit of having the game here hosting the game Speaker will trigger investment in new and existing sport and recreation infrastructure All right, create a legacy fund to support the operation of facility post games Create 26,000 new jobs 15,000 jobs directly related to the game investment Speaker and other 11,000 plus are projected as a result of the games related investment and tourism Speaker, it will attract 250,000 visitation 10,000 athletes and team officials to ontario Speaker, it will build and train a team of approximately 20,000 Warranty answer. I am excited to be a part of that so to answer your question that I will not I will be enjoying the game. Thank you Thank you speaker my question is for the attorney general attorney general It is my understanding that last week you attended the federal provincial territorial meeting where ministers of justice and public safety From across the country meet to discuss first nation to discuss nationwide priorities Access to justice is a big concern for the people of my writing of scarborough gildwood. So I'm pleased to know that the ontario discussion Also included these initiatives to build a strong more accessible justice system Mr. Speaker could the attorney general please tell this house about the important provincial justice issues He raised on behalf of all Ontarians Thank you very much a speaker. I'd like to thank the member for this question. Yes last week Minister mayor and myself That's what I said. I'd like to thank her for the for the question Last week minister mayor and myself attended the federal provincial territorial Ministers of justice meeting and white horse and there were a number of issues that were discussed with other ministers from other provinces and territories as well One of the key initiatives that we highlighted was the improving of our justice system with the Setting up the the new Aboriginal representation on our jury role system Which is very important particularly to the Aboriginal community One of the other issues that we discussed speaker was the funding of legal aid. You may recall that in our budget We are supplying an extra 30 million dollars for legal aid around the profits particularly for Clinics and for family hands in family health. It's interesting to note that the system used to be At one time a 50 50 proposition between the federal government and the provincial government Right now Ontario spends about 80 percent of the legal aid money And so we urge the federal government to come up with another 30 percent Thank you I thank the attorney general for that answer It is good to hear that this government is helping those in the justice system who need it most My community of Scarborough Gildwood has one of the largest off reserve Aboriginal populations in the province And I know they would be pleased to hear your initiative to increase Aboriginal representation in the jury system But this brings me to my next point the off reserve Aboriginal communities in my riding continue to express significant concern about the inadequate and unsustainable resources for First Nations police services and communities While the First Nations policing program agreements were signed this year First Nations communities and policing leaders expect significant enhancements in subsequent agreements Despite the operational pressures and the increase in office workload and community populations the full-time equivalent Compliment in any of Ontario's First Nations policing agreements has not increased since 2006 Mr. Speaker through you to the attorney general What was the message that this government delivered at the federal provincial territorial meeting regarding First Nations policing attorney general I'll refer this to the minister of community safety and correctional services Yes, I want to thank the member from Scarborough Gildwood for this question Yes, I made it very clear at the meeting that First Nations policing policing need to be addressed Ontario is very supportive of First Nations policing But the federal government approach as to order The federal government will not increase The budget until March 31 2014 and there is more problem. They have a retention problem They have a housing problem They have Almost nonexistent in First Nations community So I have called on the federal government to address it They have Eliminate the police officer recruitment fund and the province Invested four million dollar to make sure that these police officers will remain in the First Nations community Thank you a new question in the marathon leads Thank you very much. Mr. Speaker My question is for the minister responsible for the pan am games minister I'm not sure if you played sports But I want to try to explain something to you before you play the game You need to know and have some rules Otherwise, you have people running around not knowing what to do which pretty well describes mayhem Which is how you've Handled the pan am game so far But it's really no surprise to learn that the budget is now over two billion dollars That's what happens minister when you have no rules and no plan Minister, you wouldn't run a peewee hockey practice without any rules Why do you think it's acceptable to do so for a two billion dollar international sporting event like the pan am games? Minister speaker Another ridiculous rubbish allegation Let me be clear one more time about those numbers speaker Funding the aphelix village has always been clear as part of the ontarian's host jurisdiction responsibilities and budget It was stated in 2009 be bold Emma from Durham come to order 2015 games budget of 1.4 billion It was announced again april the 26 2009 by former minister George Liepman when the site was unveiled at the west thorn land speaker And as reason as our 2013 budget It will reaffirm that the aphelix village is separate from the Our 500 million contribution to the organizing committee's budget Speaker the investment of the pan am aphelix which have been in plan site for over Thank you Thanks speaker back to the minister. I guess I learned something today. He's a pretty good dodgeball player Our basic questions like what it's going to cost to provide security for these games Now we know why the budget is completely out of control It's more than double the 1.4 billion dollars. You've been telling us and we're still counting This is no longer about you and mismanagement. It's clear that you're in over your head You're not up to the job. So i'm going to ask you minister Can you tell ontarians the cost of security for these games? And if you can't will you resign and give the job to somebody else who can start giving us those answers? Minister Speaker Security is paramount We will talk and we will not take any risk with the safety of our citizen It is truly truly unfortunate that They are the member opposite cannot comprehend the fact that where we are in the planning stages now Is completely normal the security courses are continuously evolving as the game plan evolving We have 10 000 athletes and coaches that will be visiting our promise We have 250 000 visitors that will be visiting our promise We have 14 host ministers party and multiple venues to coordinate our become to agreement with speaker The game are unprecedented event in our promise. This is the largest game in 80 years ever hosted by Speaker the game is well-planned and we are in a way track. Thank you Thank you very much, mr. Speaker my my question is to the minister of labor Yesterday the minister stood in this house And announced changes to workplace safety training an online training module and a mandatory poster But I did not hear anything about training standards for fall prevention Ministry of Labor staff have already stated that training standards will not be ready until 2014 2015 We know a standard for fall prevention training was ready in June 2011 I asked the minister three weeks ago why that standard is not already in place Can the minister tell me when he will commit to making safety a priority for the province of interior? Mr. Speaker and I thank the member opposite for for the question and Directly to her safety is the number one priority of this government as a result speaker as you know and all members know That we appointed Tony Dean and an expert panel back in 2009 after the tragic accident That took place that took four workers live In in city of Toronto as a result speaker of of the expert panel We have recommendations to bring bring about the biggest transformation In health and safety in the province of Ontario in 30 years and we are implementing one by one every single Recommendation that was actually approved by this legislature unanimously Speaker for the last couple of years and I was very proud yesterday to announce in this house that we are going to be Answer mandatory awareness training for all workers and supervisors and I thank all members for their support for that initiative Mr. Speaker years go by in this government consults years go by workers die Since june nine workers nine workers have died from falling accidents in this province Including Christopher bird cell in hamilton kevin reposo in toronto Nicola and in wadalu the minister has the recommendations from the 2011 dean report which were wholeheartedly embraced by their government Fall prevention training was a priority to be implemented in 12 months The province provinces workers deserve more than posters as we have seen in newfoundland Mandatory training standards will save lives when will fall prevention training become mandatory in the in ontario The member opposite to perhaps read the dean dean report where she will see The recommendations are made but requires a lot of extensive work in terms of exactly what those Safety standards be and we have been working extremely hard speaker through our chief prevention officer which is first of his kind in all of canada in in Consulting with labor in consulting with businesses and municipalities to make sure that we have got the right kind of standards in place They're already standards in place. We're looking at the for the enhancing them speaker. There is a draft standard out For consultation as we speak and very soon speaker will be announcing The implementation of those standards speaker. Let me be absolutely care Answer one life loss at a workplace is one too many and we will continue to work extremely hard to make sure that every single worker Thank you speaker. I've got a question this morning for the minister of health and long-term care Speaker most of us take the simple act of breathing for granted But every year more and more people across this province are being diagnosed with a horrible disease called chronic obstructive pulmonary disease COPD It includes chronic bronchitis. It includes emphysema and what it does is it slowly damages the sufferer's airways It makes it harder and harder for them to breathe. Unfortunately today speaker. There's no cure for this disease Speaker being that today is world COPD day. I ask the minister through you speaker What are we doing specifically to prevent more ontarians from contracting this deadly disease? Thank you minister health long-term care. Well, thank you speaker and thank you to the member from oakville for this question Speaker anyone who suffers from COPD or has a loved one who suffers from COPD knows how horrible a disease this is It takes a toll on a person's lungs But it also takes a toll on their life speaker. It can prevent people from participating in activities that The rest of us take for granted speaker It gets worse as you grow older and it can lead to premature death Speaker COPD is treatable But it is not curable speaker But it is preventable and we know the best way to prevent COPD is by stopping smoking That's why our government has taken a very strong action to toughen up tobacco laws and encouraging ontarians Who do smoke to quit smoking and better yet not to take it up in the first place Earlier this week speaker I was pleased to introduce new legislation that if passed will go further to protect ontarians from getting COPD Thank you speaker I'm pleased to see that we are taking that strong action this necessary That's going to protect ontarians from getting further COPD Now I know ontario is a leader in canada when it comes to controlling tobacco Among other things with the support of most members of this house. Anyway, we banned smoking indoors in public places And enclosed spaces We've also banded in motor vehicles when children are present The minister mentioned the new legislation she introduced earlier this week a through you speaker Would the minister please tell this house a little bit more expand about this next step in the government's smoke-free ontario strategy Thank you minister Thank you speaker, and I am pleased to say that our smoking rate is coming down speaker Uh, we currently have the second lowest smoking rates in canada, but that is not good enough speaker We aspire to have the lowest smoking rates in canada And that means we have to make significant progress when it comes to smoking So as I said earlier the best way to reduce those rates is to prevent people from starting in the beginning That's why our legislation would ban the sale of flavored tobacco products that make smoking more appealing to young people It would double the fines for people who sell tobacco to kids It would make them the toughest fines in the country It would also protect ontarians from secondhand smoke by prohibiting smoking and playgrounds and sports fields And in restaurant and patio restaurant and bar patio speaker This is an action that we are taking to save lives speaker, and I urge all members of this house to support that legislation Thank you new question My question for the minister of natural resources minister You recently announced the closure of the MNR fire base in pembryk and I have to wonder how well that decision was thought out Well, the loss of jobs and the impact on local families will be devastating in of itself You have significantly compromised our ability to fight forest fires with this decision As you know response time is critical small fire spotted quickly can be dealt with quite easily But once they get a full foothold it can be disastrous Minister I've met with senior members of the fire crews in pembryk Yes, they're worried about their jobs But safety remains their paramount concern. Absolutely. I would ask that you would postpone this decision for one year Until a thorough analysis of its effects can be done and minister Not your analysis a thorough analysis so we can understand the effects of this decision Thank you speaker and appreciate the question The member is well aware that ministry of natural resources is going through a modernization and transformation with respect to our fire operations We'll continue to operate from 33 fire bases in the province of ontario Our top priority with respect to this program is to protect people property and our natural resources The member is aware I did speak to the mayor ed jack and o in pembryk as well as the mayor and kirkland lake bill and newy As well as the mpps that were That are affected by this in their particular writings and let them know with respect to the Transformation that this was happening in the case of pembryk the one full-time employee will be relocated Offered a relocation to halla burton and two full-time staff the other two full-time staff will continue to be in place The seasonal staff of approximately 20 of which there are six Will be offered other opportunities Throughout the province and we fully expect to have a similar complement Basically the same number of fire staff Moving forward next fire season Minister heard you talk about this how this will not affect safety. I vehemently disagree I've heard you say this will save money. I don't believe it for a moment The reallocations are actually going to cost more You do not take into consideration all of the non fire related activities that fire crews Provide for the citizens of that area and for the m&r such as rebuilding of docks rushing assistance when spring floods occur To add fuel to the fire no pun intended and I know Ed jack and oh well Perhaps you should have talked to tammy steward the mayor of head claren mariah where they have no Firefighting capabilities whatsoever. They border along our crown jewel of algonquin park and they don't have a fire department They rely on the m&r to provide their fire services. You're taking that away And it's just telling them now that they're going to be supported question. Please Minister, this is a bad decision. It's going to come back to haunt you Will you reconsider and postpone this for one year until a proper analysis can be done? Thank you minister Thank you, uh, speaker and you know, I say to the member, uh, our government has recently made an investment of 47 million dollars In additional, uh, support for three fire bases in ontario and howlburton and Sudbury and in armstrong As well as for the first time Flight simulation equipment that ontario pilots will have in this province where they previously had to Leave ontario our concern obviously is to be nimble and to be able to respond where these fires arise We'll continue to have 33 bases in the province of ontario. We will be able to respond in a timely way We'll have virtually the same A complement of fire protection services staff out there, uh on the landscape and we're continuing to make investments I remind the member as well that we were on a trajectory in this ministry to lose another 40 million dollars in our budget And I want to commend the premier for putting 40 million dollars back into the budget of m&r Support additional investments in this province Okay, no question the member from Algoma mandatory. Thank you, mr. Speaker. My question is to the premier this morning Ontario hydro has announced that it will cut off snowmobiles from using trails in hydro corridors unless they pay half of the property taxes On that land needless to say snowmobile clubs do not have the funds to cover property taxes for hydro corridors And there's now talk that the province wants to cast the cash strap Municipalities to cover the cost in an effort to download When will this government stop passing the buck and come up with a real solution so that snowmobiles can use trails uninterrupted this winter season This is not a matter of a cash grab it's a matter of insurance and safety issues between The ministry of infrastructure and the ministry of energy The decision is under review right now Because of some of the concerns. This is an old piece of legislation. I will gladly follow with the member. Thank you supplementary Once again to the premier during my constituency during my constituency week I met with the espanola and district snowmobile club and heard from many other snowmobile clubs Algoma Manitoulin who are a non-for-profit organization that help bring tourism to the province and to their communities This government has shut down trails and parks across ontario shut down tourist information stations and restricted access to crown land And now wants to restrict winter recreational activities for ontarians. This just isn't right Will the premier intervene and allow trails to stay open for snowmobiles in ontario Mr. Speaker as I said this matter is under review. I will take it up with the member opposite once the review is complete Thank you. No question the member from blingary post dot russell. Thank you very much speaker My question is for the minister of natural resources The benefits of the forestry sector brings to ontario's economy is of critical importance to many communities in ontario Speaker i'm sure that you're aware as many are in the house the forestry industry has faced some challenges In recent years due in part to the crash of the us housing market and the global economic downturn Our government is working hard to strengthen ontario's forestry industry and bring jobs in this sector back to northern ontario Speaker the ministry of natural resources made an announcement last week in wawa about a new wood pellet production facility that will bring Value added jobs to the township as well as diversify the economy Speaker could the minister please explain how this new facility will benefit northern ontario. Thank you minister now for resources Thank you very much speaker and appreciate the question from the member from glen gary press got russell This is an important question And the forestry industry is seeing a resurgence Our government is wholeheartedly behind and doing everything we can to help boost Jobs in the forestry sector last week. I was in wawa a company Called ren tech was there as well and they're investing In a plant in wawa that has been idle since about 2009 This is going to create 40 jobs 100 construction jobs to reconfigure the plant and 200 forestry jobs In surrounding communities It is an incredibly important investment for a community that has struggled in recent years And is another sign that the forestry industry Is rebounding the CEO of ren tech had this to say we're grateful for the backing of ontario and the ministry of natural resources To support our investments. We're excited about bringing Safe world-class businesses To regional jobs and economic opportunities to ontario's local communities and first nations. Thank you speaker Premier on a point of order. Thank you very much. Mr. Speaker I just want to reread a quote into the record, mr. Speaker because I I missed a piece in the middle And it was garbled and I just want to make sure a simple correction It is a correct Well, it is a correction because it was a chunk that I believe I missed I haven't seen the hands It so I don't know mr. Speaker, but I then offer then what you believe is the chunk, please Um, okay I believe it was this sentence. I feel very optimistic that though it's not what we had before the program was cancelled It definitely will sustain racing at redo and provide our patrons in the horseman the critical mass that's required to maintain a program I believe that's the piece that I missed thank you, um I uh I allowed that to happen because correcting the record is a point of order and it can only be correcting the record instead of Requoting. Um, there are no deferred votes. This house stands recessed until 3 p.m. This afternoon