 It is now time for question period. The member from NEPES Inc. Thank you, Speaker. Good morning, Speaker. Looks like my question will be for the acting Premier this morning. You hired Don Drummond to map the way out of the financial mess that you got us into. He told us to balance the budget will require, quote, tough decisions and, quote, most of the burden must fall on spending. Now we understand your plan is to shift the focus from restraint and go on a spending spree. Any family, Speaker, having trouble paying their bills knows that you don't run out and buy a swimming pool. What you're proposing over on that side is absolutely preposterous. You're using your MasterCard to pay off your Visa and your Visa to pay off your MasterCard. How do you expect people to believe you can balance the budget by 2017 and 2018? That's a good one. Thank you, Speaker. And as the Premier has said on many occasions, we are implementing Drummond's recommendations. In fact, we've implemented 60% of them. What is absolutely preposterous, Speaker, is when they stand up and say, implement Drummond, implement Drummond, implement Drummond, and then when we do implement Drummond, they oppose us every single step of the way, Speaker. So as the Minister of Health, we've made changes to physio. You've objected to that every step of the way. We work to bring down the price of drugs. You objected every step of the way. We had some tough negotiations with physicians. You objected every step of the way. You got to choose a lane. Well, thank you, Speaker. That's rich, considering this government has added $20 billion to our debt this year alone, just this year. When Moody's downgraded you, they also said that if you don't stabilize the debt burden, you will risk another credit downgrade. You say you're going to spend and grow your way to balance. But the Bank of Canada just two weeks ago told us that Ontario will not meet our growth projections for this year, nor for next. You're not fooling anyone. But we're not the only ones who have seen through this fiscal facade. Yesterday, the revered Wall Street Journal reported that Ontario's fiscal situation is worse than California's and the province will have trouble hitting its target of deficit. And that's before your new spending announcement of yesterday. So Acting Premier, will you please tell us is the Wall Street Journal wrong in their forecast? I think it's pretty clear that there's a real difference between the opposition party and ourselves. Because you know what, Speaker? Order, please. Order, please. Order, please. Minister? Speaker, they have chosen to focus everything on reaching that zero deficit, Speaker. We have chosen growing the economy. We have chosen job, Speaker. We believe that the way they're strength, the way they're economic strength, the way they're balanced is through growth, through jobs, through prosperity, Speaker. We're still on track to balance. But I tell you, our Holy Grail, Speaker, is investing in our people, investing in our infrastructure, and having a dynamic, thriving business community. The only thing they care about is the deficit. We're not like that, Speaker. Thank you. Final couple minutes, please. Thank you, Speaker. The Wall Street Journal isn't the only respected outlet who's not buying this line from you, Acting Premier. The Globe and Mail this week called your plan to encourage corporate investment, quote, equal parts lunacy, desperation, and a return to failed 1970s style state planning. Globe and Mail, the Globe also said, quote, there is a very clear sense in which the Ontario government is playing, quote, blame the victim for the sorry state of the provincial economy. Not your own problem. These are hardly ringing endorsements. They're condemnations. Now is not the time to play riverboat gambler with Ontario's finances. We need real leadership to return to prosperity. With you and me, you're in over your head and you just are not up to this job. Thank you. Please get attention for you to start. Acting Premier. Thank you, Speaker. Our priority is clear. We're focused on creating great jobs, attracting great jobs, Speaker, and we're focused on helping support middle-class families and protecting key services, Speaker. That's our priority. So what people like them, the members of office that don't understand that achieving that zero deficit is a luxury. The member from Redfield, come to order. If it means that people don't have jobs. The member from Leeds, Grenville, come to order. No question. The member from Nepean, Carlton. Thanks very much to the Deputy Premier. Yesterday, the Liberals survived a progressive conservative motion on the gas plants. Thanks again to the NDP for sitting on their hands, abstaining and choosing, of course, the Liberal Party over the people of Ontario. Together the NDP and the Liberals have accomplished a great deal together. They doubled the debt in the past 10 years to $270 billion. They ran together a $12 billion deficit. They together voted to ensure that the horse racing industry would be destroyed in Ontario. They're keeping 1 million Ontarians from being ordered and employed. And, sir, there is one other thing that they've done together. They have found the OPP in order to have investigations into the gas plant scandal and into the orange fiasco. So this marriage between the Liberals and the NDP has been utterly catastrophic for the people of Ontario. Question. Will the Deputy Premier pull her party out of a coalition with the Liberals and actually face the people and get a mandate? Thank you. Deputy Premier. The Speaker, our Premier has made it very clear that we are working very hard to find common ground. The voters of this province sent a minority government to Queens Park and we are working to make minority government work, Speaker. That means working with the opposition party. Sometimes it means working with the NDP party. Sometimes, Speaker. But our job is to make this government work and that means working with both opposition parties so we can continue to improve the lives of the people in this province. Thank you. Secretary. Well, this Liberal government only survived because of the help of the NDP. We have a high jobless rate. It's why we have a high deficit. It's why we have a high debt. It's why we have a disastrous energy policies all aided and vetted by the NDP. But the scandal, the $1.1 billion scandal with the gas plants at Oakville is exactly what the Ontario public is the most angry about. They can't understand why this Liberal government sat in its place for two years and said the cancellation was only $40 million. When that party over there knew for over two years, it would be over $700 million close to a billion which it finally rang into. They also can't understand why the Premier of the province handed over bargaining rights to TCE and also why they obstructed the information and privacy commissioner and chose a more expensive location. But we know that we are all on the hook for $1.1 billion tab. Well, the Liberals finally start to listen to the people of Ontario and see a mandate from them. Thank you. Thank you Premier. Speak with Mr. Energy. Mr. Energy. Mr. Speaker, the member will know that speaking of the Oakville gas plant the Premier initiated the Auditor General. The Auditor General did her work. She came in, she provided a report. Mr. Speaker, what is important is that we're moving forward. That's why we're taking action to ensure electricity bills remain affordable for ratepayers. Number one, the clean energy benefit. But most importantly, cancelling or rescheduling the Samsung agreement we saved $3.7 billion over the life of the contract. Changing the domestic content rules in the feed and tariff program. Saving ratepayers more than $1.9 billion over the life of the contracts. Deferring the construction of two new nuclear reactors at Darlington Generating Station avoiding an estimated $15 billion in new construction costs. These are decisions we made over the last seven or eight months. They're making a significant difference. We're pushing the cost curve down. And this member should get with a new agreement. Mr. Speaker, please. Final supplementary. Mr. Speaker, only a party that has a $12 billion deficit would save their overachieving only a party that blew $1 billion would have the audacity to look at the taxpayers and say they were saving them money. This is a premier that is leading his party that has not been elected by the border. And amid this $1.1 billion gas plant scandal she has refused to call a judicial inquiry. She has refused to call a want of confidence motion. And her staff obstructed the information and Privacy Commissioner, an officer of this assembly from doing her job. Stephanie Delmore of Ottawa Vanier wrote to the premier. She says, and I quote, my eight-year-old son was a gog at the idea a billion dollars was spent but nothing was constructed, nothing was gained. Even he concluded that a billion dollars was a lot of stuff for our communities. Stephanie says this. I'm asking you to become more of a grown-up, more of a citizen than a politician and have the guts to face consequences. My eight-year-old son. Thank you. Mr. Energy. Mr. Speaker, that member should have the guts to deal with her leader's position on the gas plant. We have here a quote from Mayor Rob Burden. On October 1, 2011, on the day before the provincial election, at part of the still-under-consideration Mississauga power plant, PC leader Tim Houdtak promises to stop the power plant if he wins the election. After only days before warning that he's sure it may cost another one billion dollars. So he knew the cost. Later in 2013, he insisted it was irresponsible for then Premier McGinty to have cancelled it without knowing what it would cost. Even though it cost far less than Houdtak says he thinks it would have cost when he himself promised to cancel it. This is a new height in hypocrisy even for him. That's an exact quote, Mr. The member, regardless of whether he's reading or not, let's draw a speaker. New question. Member from BGC short. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the acting Premier. Ontarians want to see Ontario's books balanced in a responsible manner. The government signed a plan to open a new corporate tax loophole to help Ontario's largest corporations write off the HST on expenses like whining and dining of clients. Under pressure from the NDP, the government agreed this was a $1.1 billion expense that Ontarians couldn't afford in tough times. When will the government permanently close this loophole or has it abandoned it altogether? Thank you. Deputy Premier. Well, Speaker, we are absolutely committed to be responsible when it comes to managing the province's finances. In fact, last year's spending was down last year for the first time since 1996. On the health care file, we've gone from annual increases of 6% to 7% per year to 2% per year and the health sector understands that that's the way it's going to be for the foreseeable future. We are transforming how we're doing business so that we can actually be responsible fiscally for services that people so heavily rely on, Speaker. So I think that if the member opposite actually paid attention to the books, he would understand that we're being extremely responsible. We're taking our responsibility seriously, but we're not going to cut services. We're not going to slash services, Speaker. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, with the greatest of respect, I asked a sensible question. I got a whole bunch of stuff in my question at all. So I'm going to try a different type. Maybe you can answer this one. Last fall, the government indicated that they were prepared to put a hard cap on public sector CEO salaries that have climbed into the seven-figure range. When will the government take that action? Or is this yet another plan the Liberals plan to abandon? And no, Speaker. We are looking at the issue of broader public sector executive compensation, because I think all of us understand that we need to have a responsible approach to executive compensation in the broader public sector. But I think the member opposite realizes that that is not a panacea. That is not the big fix, Speaker. In fact, in the healthcare sector, the issue around hospital CEO compensation amounts to 0.03 percent of the budget. So, Speaker, yes, it's something we're looking at, but we're realistic to know it's not going to fix everything. Thank you. Final supplementary. Again, no one says it's going to fix everything, but the Liberals promise things and don't deliver. Third tap. Families who have seen the government waste over a billion dollars scrapping private power deals. They blow millions on perks and they break promises of restraint at the top and dump billions of dollars more into new corporate tax loopholes that aren't creating jobs. Why should anyone take the government seriously when it comes to balancing Ontario's books? Well, Speaker, I think I would simply beg to differ with the member opposite, because in fact we are making great progress when it comes to jobs. We have done far better than recoup the losses that we had during the Great Recession, Speaker, and we're continuing to improve outcomes for the people in this province, whether it's health outcomes or whether it's educational outcomes. Speaker, we're creating jobs. We're very focused on creating jobs. Our youth employment strategy has already demonstrated that with concerted effort in partnership with the broader society, we can put young people to work, Speaker. We can put people to work because they're skilled, they're talented, we need to work together to get this economy really moving to benefit all of us. Thank you very much, Mr. Kitchener-Waterloo. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Acting Premier. For more than 10 years, Liberals have been cutting no-strings-attached, blank checks to businesses that aren't creating jobs. Does the Acting Premier still think no-strings-attached giveaways are the way to create jobs? Deputy Premier. Speaker, we have been in a position to support business in this province because that is where jobs are created, Speaker, so we are prepared to work with business community so they can create more jobs for the people of this province. Speaker, I think we have seen some excellent success when it comes to our investment in GM, for example. There are other very good examples of success and I think the member actually knows that because she lives in a community that has benefited from those investments. Supplementary. To the Acting Premier, actually, the region of Kitchener-Waterloo is successful in spite of this government. In 2011, Navistar and Chatham shut its doors and 1,000 people... Order. Order. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In 2011, Navistar and Chatham shut its doors and 1,000 people lost their jobs. This government cut Navistar a $30 million check, but apparently didn't get a guarantee to keep jobs in Ontario. Navistar moved those jobs to a state with a job creator tax credit, something proposed by new Democrats. Later this month there is going to be an auction at the Navistar plant. Will Ontarians get any of that $30 million back? Well, Mr. Speaker, I'm happy to have the opportunity to talk to some of the investments through the Southwest Ontario Economic Development Fund. Some of them very close to the member opposite's hometown. So let's talk about what's happening in Elmira Speaker. Elmira Pet Products got a grant, created 25 jobs, retained another 146 jobs. Speaker for a total of 171. Navistar in 12 received a grant 51 new jobs, created 374 Speaker in Palmerston $250,000 to MSW Canadian Plastic Limited created 9 new jobs, retained 21 jobs. In Woodstock, NASG Canada Speaker created 50 jobs, retained 210. Speaker, this investment is working, creating jobs. All right. Final supplement. Mr. Speaker, another non-answer. People are ready to hear new promises today, but they also remember this government's track record. Over the last 10 years, 300,000 good manufacturing jobs have disappeared. Our province has the highest electricity rates in the country, the lowest productivity growth, and an unemployment rate that is above the national average. The government says their old jobs will be given while they try and roll out a new one. Are Ontarians ever going to hear a credible jobs plan from this government? I don't know why the member opposite is so darn negative, because let me tell you we acknowledge the economy still faces a challenge. We know that, Speaker, but she might want to know that employment is up to 600 jobs since our low in June of 2009, Speaker. We are creating jobs. We are retaining jobs. We believe in the people of this province, Speaker. We believe in the people of this province. We believe they are talented people and we're going to continue to work with the people of this province because we believe that that's the strength of our future. Thank you. Thank you very much, Speaker. We've heard testimony at the Justice Committee from the auditor and from senior officials in the Ontario Power Authority that your government was made aware of the costs of the Oakville Power Plant cancellation months before the Premier appeared before the committee. Your claims to not have known simply are incredible. Cabinet was made aware and the Premier was made aware. She knew that the costs were going to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars, but that's not what she told the public and that's not what she told this House. Yesterday afternoon we debated a motion that gave all members of this House an opportunity to hold her accountable for her actions and the NDP sat on their hands. My question to the Acting Premier is simply this. What secret deal have you made NDP to buy their silence? Order, please. Order, please. This is skating on very thin ice when you pose a question in a manner that impunes whether or not somebody is paying somebody. So I'm going to offer you an opportunity to resist any further reference of the such. Deputy Premier. Government House Leader Speaker. You know Mr. Speaker, the temptation is there with the ridiculous question that's just been asked. Yeah, I'm not going to fall for it because you know what Mr. Speaker? This is serious Mr. Speaker. It is very serious that the opposition over the past several months have stood up day after day after day outlining the situation with the gas plants as being one of the most serious issues before the province and yet they failed to acknowledge the fact that they were in action Mr. Speaker. They were the ones out front, their candidates, their leader that was saying the only way to see the gas plants cancelled is to elect a PC government in the province of Ontario. Mr. Speaker, it is time they came clean. The issues the member raised this morning have all been dealt with at committee, the Premier will go in front of committee but the one issue that has not been raised is their commitment to cancel a clean. This is a very serious issue Mr. Speaker. Thank you Speaker, back to the acting Premier. We know that the Liberals are willing to do anything to cling to power and yet the NDP are steadfast in their commitment to prop them up. If the Premier can be allowed to waste over a billion dollars without any consequences what is to prevent even greater scandals from happening in the future? You have it nine months and all you've done is attempt to get back that union support and today's economic plan your plan, your so-called jobs plan proves that you're doing everything you can to get that union support back from the NDP. Rumour has it that donations to the Liberals are up and that the NDP are down. This government is responsible for scandal after scandal and will excuse itself for doing anything. The Premier has held no one accountable yesterday, the NDP back in Ontario's by refusing to hold the Premier accountable. When will you finally do the right thing and let the people of Ontario pass their judgement on this corrupt, tired old guy? The member will withdraw. Withdraw. Nope. Host Leader. Mr. Speaker. We have tried with some success Mr. Speaker to make this government work. It is true Mr. Speaker. We brought forward a budget. We reached out to both parties. The PC party refused to even read the budget but yes Mr. Speaker we reached an agreement with the new democratic party and in terms of the PC party Mr. Speaker quite recently we had a motion a programming motion passed in this legislature which allowed a number of very important pieces of legislation to move forward through committee so we will continue to make this legislature work Mr. Speaker but I ask the honourable members opposite to continue to show willingness. Right now Bill 105 which is going to cut taxes for small business is stalled in committees because of the machinations of the opposition Mr. Speaker. Let's continue that spirit of cooperation. Let's continue to make this legislature work. Member from Essex. Thank you Speaker. To the acting premier Speaker the people of Windsor-Nessex County have faced terrible uncertainty and anxiety when it comes to the access to cancer surgery as well as thoracic services in our home community. New Democrats have been asking for clarity and assurance from this government for a full week but all we are hearing from the minister is spin She's made it clear that she no longer wants Windsor to provide services but the member from Windsor West has been evading the issue and implying that she supports thoracic services in Windsor. So can the acting Premier come clean and tell us what the Liberal government's position is on Windsor's thoracic services today? Thank you, thank you Premier. I can assure the people of Windsor that they will continue to have access to first-class cancer services speaker and anything suggesting that they won't is simply fear-mongering speaker. They will receive those services in Windsor. The member from Windsor West and I actually met this morning with Michael Sharar, the CEO of Cancer Care Ontario, so that we could have a further conversation about this particular situation speaker. I think it's commendable that the member from Windsor West would take the time to understand the issue, to advocate for her community and her commitment to quality of care is paramount speaker. So we know speaker that there is a relationship between volume of surgeries and quality of care. Cancer Care Ontario has driven improvement in cancer care that has benefited all Ontarians and we'll continue to work on this issue speaker. Supplementary. The speaker of this government is all too happy to put out contradictory statements and to provide empty assurances but the grim reality of the situation continues. Windsor and Essex County residents are faced with the loss of thoracic services under the threat of losing all cancer surgeries. Just yesterday the CEO of Windsor Regional Hospital told the media that the threat from Cancer Care Ontario has yet to be withdrawn and the hospital's concerns about the loss of thoracic services has not been addressed either. So will the acting Premier let my constituents know if her government is done playing games and is ready to take action to protect Windsor's health care services? Absolutely speaker. I am committed to excellent care for the people of Windsor area as I am for every other part of this province and I think it's very important that the member opposite understands that the $6 million plus that is received by the Windsor hospitals from Cancer Care Ontario will continue speaker. That funding will continue because people in Windsor and area count on that funding to get the cancer care that they need. So speaker we are continuing as I said to work on the issue specific to one type of surgery but cancer care services will absolutely continue in Windsor and for the member opposite to suggest otherwise it's simply irresponsible. Thank you. My question is to the Minister of Education. I know that Ontario's publicly funded education system is recognized as one of the best in the world and I'm extremely proud of our accomplishments as our success is based on the talent dedication and hard work of those in our education community. Mr. Speaker we have a lot to be proud of. Today 71% of students are achieving the provincial standards in grade three and six combined which is up 17 points from 54% in 2002-2003 and graduation rates are up 15 points from 2003 to 83% in 2013. While we have seen great progress over the last 10 years I know we can't become complacent with this success. Mr. Speaker I was pleased to hear that the Minister recently visited Ottawa to talk about the next phase of education in our province. Can the Minister please update this house on the consultations you have been requested. Thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to the member from Ottawa South for raising this initiative. You know we do have a lot to be proud of when it comes to our accomplishments and education and now is the time to build on that success and redefine our vision aspirations and our goals not just for the system but more importantly for our students. I was pleased to be able to travel to Ottawa recently to participate in our provincial consultation on how to take our education system from great to excellent. I've also had the pleasure of traveling to Thunder Bay, Sudbury, London, Richmond Hill and Mississauga recently to hear directly from parents and our partners in education. We're asking questions about what skills do students need to thrive in the 21st century. How do we support student well-being and how can we get better use of technology in our schools and a host more questions that will help direct our vision for education in the future. Thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to the Minister for bringing us up to speed on these next phase of consultations. I agree that is important for us to continue to look forward on how we can take our system from great to excellent. We are already recognized globally as having one of the best publicly funded education systems in the English speaking world. Mr. Speaker we need to continue to work and strive for the best for our students. Mr. Speaker through you to the can the Minister describe to this house what she hopes to learn from these consultations and when we will finalize this next phase for education in Ontario. Thank you Minister. Thank you Speaker and thank you again for the question. It's important to note that this consultation has been a broader check-in than just with our usual education stakeholders. We've been talking as well to business to chambers of commerce to nonprofit agencies and communities throughout the province and to our students and to our parents. And we're talking about how to improve in areas like critical thinking creativity problem solving and communication skills. All skills you need for a variety of jobs in our province. We're talking about whether we should be teaching students more about entrepreneurship and financial literacy. What does that mean. What's the role of technology in our classrooms of the future. So speaker this really is a broad range of topics with a whole host of people from every community. So we are looking forward to the release of a new vision early in 2017. Thank you. Question to member from Algin Middlesex London. Thank you speaker. My question is to the minister responsible for the Pan Am games minister yesterday in estimates committee. I asked your colleague the minister of transportation when we can expect to see the transit plan for the Pan Am games. And I have to say his response was quite interesting. Your colleague said that we might get the plan in the next few weeks but they won't really have a clear picture of the cost until the games are finished. That begs the question why even have a budget. If your strategy for the Pan Am games is just to endlessly build the taxpayers why even make the budget. The sad thing is given the minister of transportation's comments and your record whatever numbers come out of the Pan Am games transit plan will have no credibility. None. Minister do you agree with the minister of transportation. Do you also have no clue what the Pan Am game transit plans are going to cost. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much for the question. As you know the Pan Am game is a huge undertaking by the promise. From 2015 there will be 41 countries. The competitor come to Toronto and the game will attract about according to CIPC 350,000 tourists coming to our town. That's a lot of tourists. Until 2015 are leading the development of an integrated transportation plan for the games. Transportation planning for an event of this scale is complex, takes time and involves many organizations including the promise, municipality, transit systems and security planning. We are working closely with the OPP and municipal police to ensure that transportation will be safe and secure. Thank you, speaker. Thank you supplementary. Thank you, speaker. My question is to the minister responsible of Pan Am games as well. Minister you can't keep using complexity as an excuse for not having a budget. It's precisely why you need a budget. Even your own colleague yesterday threw you under the bus for the Pan Am transportation busing estimates yesterday. Apparently you won't have transportation costs figured out until after the games. Very perplexing. Let me remind you the value of having a real budget ahead of time is to ensure the people who are paying for the games are being respected and that you're being accountable. Why don't we even have ministers? But there lies the second problem minister. None of your Pan Am budgeting to date is credible. What do they do? Anytime you need more money you just buried it in another ministry and your game of Mr. Action is over. I want to know how much is buried in transportation. In any other ministry, Minister, the Pan Am transportation plan be another hidden extra above and beyond the $1.4 billion deep-water Pan Am budget. Thank you, thank you, speaker. A transportation master plan that will guide our operations as we prepare for the games and is on track. Past Game Speaker have revealed their transportation plans 12 to 18 months before they are underway and we plan to match that timeline speaker. We're also working together on an integrated stakeholder outreach and engagement plan which will be used to guide transportation related communications to all stakeholders. Speaker, transportation costs have not been fully defined. The games are the first time the province has undertaken a transportation plan exercise of this magnitude. Speaker, cost will be identified as a transportation planning process. It's completed and the full scope of the transportation needs is better understood. Thank you, speaker. Give a new question to the members from Davenport. Thank you, speaker. My question is to the acting Premier. Nuclear officials are preparing to transport a toxic stew of liquid bomb-grade uranium by armed convoy from Chalk River, Ontario to a South Carolina reprocessing site. This so-called high-priority mission marks the first time that authorities have attempted to truck highly enriched uranium in a liquid solution. This announcement has alarmed nuclear safety groups on both sides of the border and there sounded an alarm for far greater government scrutiny. What safeguards has this government put in place to protect Ontario residents from this potential dangerous practice? Mr. Premier. Mr. of energy. Mr. of energy. I know that nuclear safety is a responsibility of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. It is 100% responsible. It provides the oversight, accepts a responsibility for it, Mr. Speaker. We work very closely with that agency when we're asked to and the member should know that. He's raising concerns. I will pass those concerns on to my federal counterpart and I'm sure like in every other case when the NDP has raised concerns about the transportation of nuclear products that they have been properly dealt with and no incidents have occurred from them. The record is impeccable, Mr. Speaker. Wow. Thank you, supplementary. Thank you, speaker. Back to the acting Premier. This government has to understand there are grave public safety issues at stake here and the trucking of nuclear waste through our communities requires proper government oversight. In August, a truck with radioactive cargo on the busy I-75 highway near Troy, Ohio caught fire but despite the fire emergency nuclear regulators in Canada where the cargo originated and in the U.S. were not informed of the incident. Will this government provide hard evidence that the transport of liquid uranium poses no danger to the public and ensure that local officials are given advanced notification of the transport of nuclear waste through their region? Nuclear safety is a top priority for Ontario and it has been for the 40 or 50 years that we've been in the business. Nuclear power has been safely providing electricity in the province for 40 years. The most importantly, Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission and Transport Canada are responsible for issuing transport license applications related to nuclear materials in accordance with stringent regulations for compliance and connection with public safety and emergency preparedness. As the federal regulator, the CNSC would not allow the transportation of any equipment material if there were a risk to the public or the environment. The type of incident he's referring to in the United States has not occurred in Ontario and it won't Mr. Speaker. Thank you Mr. President. My question is for Maria Sergio who is the minister in charge of senior affairs. Unfortunately in the society that we live in this more and more often involves elder abuse, mental, physical, even financial. The WHO defines abuse of older adults as a single or repeated act or lack of appropriate action occurring in any relationship where there's an expectation of trust that causes harm or distress to an older person. The reality is this, Speaker, seniors are often the victim of fraud. They tend to be trusting and generous individuals which of course can make them pray to fraudsters. Speaker, given the minister's role at the Ontario Senior Secretariat, I would like to know personally and I'd like Ontarians to know what actions is our government taking to protect our seniors? Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. I'm very honoured to be able to answer the question by my colleague, the members for Etobicoke North. Our seniors are not only trusting generous but very giving as well. Speaker, I have to say that thanks to their contribution that they have made our country, our province, our community, they are much better off today. Speaker, shielding and safeguarding, protecting our seniors, it's my responsibility that of the government and every member of the House. We introduced legislation seeming to combat elder abuse, to raise education and to educate as well. We injected more than $8 million into 2003 Speaker, including the bill of rights for seniors and zero tolerance as well. More than that, Speaker, let me say that in the next few days we have been extra reason to remember our seniors. Those brave men that on November 11th, they fought in the first, second world war and the Korean war so we can enjoy freedom today. When it comes to our senior speaker, we can never do enough. We will continue to do everything we can for the safety and protection of our seniors. Speaker, I appreciate the response, diligence and heartfelt commitment of the minister in this portfolio. As a physician and parliamentarian, I am seeing more and more elder abuse in my various capacities. I believe that from my writing of Etobica North, there is however a certain degree of reassurance to know that the province understands the importance of combating elder abuse and that the machinery of government is mobilized in this regard. Seniors, their contribution, their hard work, their collective wisdom are all precious resources. Even so, Speaker, sadly, many seniors are taken advantage of financially, even by their own family members. Speaker, how is Ontario working with other Canadian jurisdictions to alert seniors about financial fraud, whether it come from friend or foe? Minister? Speaker, thank you very much to the member from Etobica North. Thank you very much. And it's very, I have to say that the member from Etobica North is a real champion and it's a remarkable member when it comes to our senior speaker. And I have to say that the question couldn't come at a better time when we are celebrating National Seniors Week throughout Canada. And the theme, in fact, is fight fraud and protect our seniors finances. Speaker, I have to say that I had the pleasure a couple of weeks ago of participating with members from all the federal, provincial and territorial ministries with respect to raising the issue of seniors. And I am very proud as an Ontario minister for the province of Ontario to bring forth to the table and get approved a answer with respect to power of attorney and joint bank accounts. Speaker, I have to say that when it comes to our seniors in our province, in Ontario here, there are no boundaries. And I hope that this close forever member of the House. Thank you. The member from Halton. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions to the Minister of Health. Minister, tomorrow will be the 10th day since you promised to respond to Kim Fletcher about the crisis that she and her family face. That means that's another 10% of her medically predicted life expectancy has gone by while you have continued to do nothing. Minister, yours is a sacred trust, one that you choose to ignore when it comes to highly vulnerable individuals like Kim who look to you as their last resort and their court of final appeal. So today I'm taking the matter directly to the people of Ontario and I'm issuing a province wide petition on Kim's behalf. The question is, Minister, will you at least now act on that sacred trust and respond to the voice and the will of the people of Ontario? Well, thank you, Speaker, and I can assure the member opposite and everyone else in this province that I take my responsibility as Minister of Health extremely seriously. I know, I know, Speaker, that people are counting on me to do my job well so they can get the health care they need when they need it, Speaker. The member opposite continues to heckle. I find that disgusting, frankly. Speaker, I think it's important that the member opposite understands that when it comes to funding cancer drugs, we have tripled funding for cancer fighting drugs. For every $1 they spent, we are spending three, Speaker. We are blessed in this province to have excellent cancer care. We have amongst the highest survival rates in the world, Speaker. We have those results because we rely on science to make our decisions. Thank you, Supplementary. Thank you, Speaker. That increased spending isn't helping Kim, is it? Minister, the petition I'm releasing today concludes the Ontario Parliament call on the Premier and the Minister of Health to extend OHIP funding of the drug Avastin so that Kim Fletcher and others like her can have as much time to enjoy with her family as possible and to tell the wind administration that our health care system includes Kim Fletcher. Again, I ask you, Minister, why doesn't your health care system include Kim Fletcher? In my health care system, people get access to the drugs they need based on their condition, not based on an MPP that they might know, Speaker. We apply the same rules to everyone, Speaker. To single out one for exceptional access is not consistent with my commitment to provide excellent care to all Ontarians. We rely on science, Speaker. We rely on evidence. The members opposite have chosen to disregard evidence, to disregard science. I think that is wrong, Speaker. I believe because I do feel I am put in a position of enormous responsibility that I must rely on evidence so that we can get people the care that you that care that will help them. Thank you for the question. Let's give a round of applause. Speaker. Seniors in the London area are facing unacceptable wait times for cataract surgery. My constituents are writing me as surely as they are writing the Minister of Health in distress. Who too, please? Because of the year-long wait times for this. Who, please? Oh, my apologies. The Minister of Health. Excuse me. She's been getting a lot of questions, so I just forgot to introduce her. Do you want me to start again, Speaker? No? Okay. So I'm going to start with the my constituents have been writing me, Minister, surely as they've been writing you in distress because of the year-long wait times of this necessary surgery. Speaker, optimologists warned this government that problems were brewing and the Liberal government chose to ignore their concerns. Question. Now seniors are waiting, are paying the price. Does the health minister think it is right that seniors need cataract needing cataract surgery are forced to wait for a year or longer in her own hometown riding? Well, Speaker, I welcome this question because this this party has a very strong record when it comes to focusing on getting wait times down. In fact, Speaker, we have recently for the sixth year in a row received straight A's from the Wait Time Alliance Speaker. Our wait times are lower than anywhere else. We've made great progress, Speaker. Province-wide we've cut five months off wait times for cataract surgeries. In the Southwest, Lynn Speaker, when we took office people were waiting 351 days. They were waiting a full year for that surgery. We have cut that wait time in half, Speaker. Across the province, we have reduced wait times for cataracts. We've reduced wait times for various surgeries and diagnostic tests. We're very transparent about it. You can go online and see what wait times are for any procedures in any hospital in this province. Thank you. Supplementary. Speaker, living with reduced eyesight can impact every aspect of someone's life. One constituent wrote about this year-long wait time and I quote, this is unacceptable. My quality of life as a senior is grossly affected. I have problems with glare and this may affect my driving. This not only affects me but also affects my immediate family as I am I am not able to pick up my grandchild my grandchildren after school which will cost my daughter after school care. The Minister of Health seems more concerned with patting herself on the back than taking the concerns of our constituents seriously. Speaker, my question is simple. Can the minister tell my constituents when cataract wait times will be reduced? Thank you, Minister. Speaker, for all of the reasons that were mentioned in that letter that is why we have really focused on bringing wait times down for cataract speaker. So across the province wait times are down significantly speaker. We were the first ones to actually measure publicly post publicly report and and invest money to bring those wait times down. We have seen tremendous success speaker. In fact I bet the member opposite would be interested in knowing our wait time success in other procedures. 98% of cancer surgeries are being done within the the priority levels for target speaker. 100% of bypass surgeries, 94% of cataract surgeries, 89% of hip replacements, 85% of knee replacements, 61% of MRIs, 87% of CT, 98% of general surgeries, 92% of pediatric surgeries. Speaker, wait times are a big focus of our ministry and we're seeing the results. Thank you, my question to the members of Auto Orleans. Thank you, Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Children and Youth Services. Minister, in my writing of Auto Orleans I often meet and listen to families as dual members of this house. One concern that I hear frequently from parents is that they want to know that the right services are in place for their child's development. This is a universal concern and I know that in Ontario where providing some of the best supports available anywhere in the world. As a parent and grandparent myself, I note these types of services make positive impacts in the lives of children. My question is, Mr Speaker, can the minister please tell this house what we are doing as a government to help children grow up to be healthy teenagers and then healthy adults. Thank you. Minister of Children and Youth Services. Thank you, Mr Speaker and thanks to the member from Auto Orleans about this question. First off, my number of children here, welcome. Welcome to all the children visiting us here today. And it's for you that this question is very important. I'm a parent as well as everyone knows and nothing's more important to me and I think everyone in this house to make sure that children are prepared for school and life. And let me say, I can say that there are much many more programs available today than there were when my kids were young. My ministry is investing $261 million in healthy development services and supports directly for children and their parents. For example, we're providing Healthy Babies Healthy Children program with $89 million. This program supports women, children and their families from prenatal period through to a child's transition to school. Through programs like this, our government is able to directly assist in the healthy development of our young people. This is part of our government's commitment to provide children with the best possible start in life. Thank you, Speaker. And I would like to thank the Minister for her answer. It is very clear to me that this government takes the responsibility of healthy childhood development seriously and is making significant investments. However, this is an area where there is always improvement to be made. As a government, we need to be constantly looking to improve the services we provide and also seek out new and better methods. I understand that in March of this year, a Healthy Kids panel released report with recommendations to improve health childhood development, specifically reduce childhood obesity. I am pleased that our government establishes this panel to help combat such an important issue. Can the Minister please tell us more about this report and how our government is responding? Thank you, Minister. Thank you very much. And again, thank you for the follow-up question. And first, I'd like to thank the Healthy Kids panel for their report that aims to improve the health and well-being. The report made a number of recommendations on some important ministry of children and youth services programs, as well as recommendations across government as well. These include our poverty reduction strategy, student nutrition program, and the mental health and addiction strategy. All strategies that we are investing in. We're committed to reviewing the recommendations in order to inform our future. And in fact, Speaker, Minister Matthews and I are co-chairing a working group on the Healthy Kids panel report to review each of those recommendations. That group will be extremely important to move toward this government's goal to improve early childhood and development services. Again, we're committed to working with our colleagues across ministries to inform next steps. Thank you. New question. The member from Chatham, 10th Essence. Thank you very much, Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Energy. Minister, I'm sending these energy bills to you. I'd like to appreciate you taking a look at them and I'll leave them with Page Serran. Thank you. Minister, earlier this week, I met with a business owner from my writing who showed me his massive energy bills. Most notably, his global adjustment has skyrocketed. And if you look at his bills, you'll notice that he's using less power than two years ago but paying much more and his global adjustment has almost tripled. Another business owner told me that he quote is considering leaving Ontario and moving to the Detroit area where he can get cheaper rent and his energy costs would be half of what they currently are. End quote. Taking jobs and tax revenue from my community. Minister, my question is simply this. If you were in my shoes, what would you tell these business owners? First of all, Mr. Speaker, I would tell those owners that we have made significant investments in the energy system because of the negligence of that party when they were in government requiring us to spend $21 billion in new generation, Mr. Speaker, $10 billion in new transmission and that pushed electricity rates up. As a result of those rates going up, Mr. Speaker, investments which were absolutely necessary to create a reliable and clean system, we created a number of programs for the energy sector, including the Clean Energy Benefit for Families for Industry and that includes small business and farmers, Mr. Speaker. The Energy and Property Tax Credit, Northern Ontario Energy Credit, Northern Industrial Electricity Rate Program, Industrial Conservation Initiative, Industrial Electricity Incentive. In addition to that over the last seven or eight months, Mr. Speaker, we've taken major steps to put pressure to put prices down, Mr. Speaker and that included about supplementary. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, Mr. Speaker, actions used to be louder than words and I really hope that you're not misleading Ontarians. I withdraw. Mr. Speaker, my writing of Chatham Ken Essex has lost over 10,000 manufacturing jobs since this government took place in 2003 and we cannot afford to lose any more. You tell turbine companies not to produce energy while you continue to pay them for not producing energy. All the while, more and more turbines continue to be built up not only in my writing but throughout Ontario. Here's the reality, Minister. Energy costs are doubling and crippling manufacturing. Businesses and families are struggling to pay bills and keep their lights on. Admit that your green energy act is a failure. Minister, will you admit that you do not have a real plan to lower energy rate? Thank you. Thank you, Minister. Mantid and as I said earlier today in question period by renegotiating the Samsung agreement, we saved rate payers $3.7 billion over the life of the contract. Changing the domestic content rules for the feed-in tariff program, we saved rate payers more than $1.9 billion over the life of the contract. Deferring the construction of two nuclear reactors at Darlington generating station, Mr. Speaker, is avoiding an estimated $15 billion for the new construction. All of those would have put pressure on costs going up. Mr. Speaker, these are going to put the right pressure on our investments to push costs down. And we will be releasing our long-term energy plan within several weeks. And I ask the Minister to await that and he'll see exactly what the future holds for us. Do you have a new question? We're from Canora Rainey River. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Natural Resources. Grassy Narrows First Nation was not consulted in good faith when the long-term management direction of the Whiskey Jack Forest on their traditional land was developed. MNR plans show that clear cutting on traditional Grassy Narrows territory will start as early as 2014, despite the community's strong objections. In 2012, Premier Nguyen visited Grassy Narrows as Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and talked about rebuilding Grassy Narrows' relationship with Ontario to get it right. Yet the exact opposite is happening. Will the Minister uphold his duty, do the right thing, and consult with Grassy Narrows to obtain their consent regarding any forestry plans on their traditional lands? Minister of Natural Resources. Thank you, Speaker. And I certainly appreciate the question from the member. We obviously are very concerned about the participation of First Nations in the forestry industry and their activity. The member knows full well that there is a court challenge that is going to the Supreme Court as a result of the province being successful in a case that took place earlier with respect to the province having the right to be able to issue harvesting licenses in the area. We are certainly committed to working with the Grassy Narrows First Nation. We value their involvement and their participation in forest harvesting. As the member knows as well, wood from the Whiskey Jack continues to provide economic opportunities for First Nation communities as well as the local mills and also including a mill that is owned and operated by a local First Nation member. Under the contingency plan, there is no planned harvest blocks located within the Grassy Narrows self-identified traditional lands but we are very mindful of this issue and are committed to working with the Grassy Narrows First Nation. Supplementary. Thank you, Speaker. This Liberal Government's disregard for the consultation process is causing serious problems with economic development in addition to endangering this province's relationship with First Nations. Grassy Narrows believes that MNR officers are interfering with their community members as they go about performing their regular traditional activities on their traditional land instead of engaging in real consultation. Will this government commit today to coming to the table engaging with Grassy Narrows in serious consultation and obtaining their consent when it comes to activities within their traditional territory? Speaker, you know nothing to be further from the truth. Our government is committed to participating and working with actively the First Nations in this area with respect to the Whiskey Jack Forest as well as the Grassy Narrows First Nation. The member also knows that Wood that comes off the Whiskey Jack SFL goes to support a mill that is owned and operated by a local First Nation member and that the 10-year Crown Forest Sustainability Act as well as the Forest License Management Plan that is actively being undertaken is inclusive of First Nations interests and rights and we are very concerned and are very actively working with the First Nations to ensure their participation in this area that is so vital to their livelihood. So, Speaker, you know I'd say to the member opposite, we're going to continue to do that. We have a strong relationship in working with our First Nations, a strong partnership with First Nations and I'm certainly very pleased with the progress that we've made. Thank you, a new question. The member from Scarborough News River. Thank you Mr Speaker. My question is to the Attorney General. Legal Aid Ontario plays a vital role in providing access to justice throughout the province by providing high quality legal aid services in a cost-effective and efficient manner. Speaker, too many constituents who are in need of legal advice find it can be very costly and that may deter them from seeking appropriate legal advice. In most recent budget, our government made a commitment to expand funding to legal aid Ontario. Speaker, can the Attorney General please share how this new funding will expand services and how it may expand access to justice for low-income Ontarians and some of the more vulnerable citizens? Thank you Attorney General. Thank you very much for the question. It's unfortunate there won't be enough time for a supplementary speaker because this is a good new story. I'm happy to tell you that our government this year has committed an extra 30 million dollars in extra funding over the next three years for Legal Aid Ontario with a specific emphasis on family law services and legal aid clinics. Now that's in addition to 150 million dollars that was given over four years back in 2009, Speaker. The unfortunate part is that whereas at one time legal aid was the joint responsibility of the federal and provincial government and the funding was on a 50-50 basis, currently we're only getting 20% of the total funding from the federal government. Next week there will be meetings with other provincial and territorial ministers as well as the Minister of Justice and this is certainly one issue that we'll be addressing with him at that point of time. There is access to justice whether it's in the criminal courts, the civil courts or family court is absolutely essential if we want to have a good system of justice in the province of Ontario. There's so much to standing order 38A the member from Elgin Middlesex London has given notice of his dissatisfaction with the answer to his question given by the minister responsible for the 2015 Pan-Para-Pan American Games concerning the Games Transit Plan. This matter will be debated Tuesday November the 19th at 6 p.m. My dear friends this is the last day for our pages and we wish them well. I do believe they've done a tremendous job and they do us they do us proud and they do their families proud as well. There are no deferred votes this house stands adjourned until 1 p.m. this afternoon.