 Therefore, it is now time for Question Period, the leader of our master's will. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. This week we learned that Mucci farms from Kingsville were planning to build another greenhouse. But because the liberal energy policies, they're going to set up in Ohio. The owner of the greenhouse said, I quote, if we had competitive electricity rates, we would be doubling our production here in Ontario. Mucci farms won't be the last company to choose places outside of Ontario because of electricity rates. This must stop. These are jobs we want in Ontario. So Mr. Speaker, my question to the Minister of Agriculture is, when will you ensure these reckless liberal energy policies is going to stop driving greenhouses out of Ontario? First of all, Mr. Speaker, I want to welcome the new member from Narder West Glamoury to the Ontario Legislature. It is an extraordinary accomplishment to get elected at 19 years old. We look forward to the new member making a contribution to the debate here at Queen's Park. So welcome, sir. Good to see you. I want to thank the Leader of the Opposition for asking me a question of agriculture. I think it's the first opportunity since he's been here to ask a question about agriculture. So let's set the context for agriculture in the province of Ontario. That was a compliment. A sector that contributes $36 billion to Ontario's GDP represents 700... That was a compliment. Stop the clock. The member from Glen Gary Prescott Russell will come to order and if he holds it up again, I will have it confiscated and ask him to apologize. I wasn't born yesterday. Minister, you have one wrap up sentence. Mr. Speaker, a sector that contributes 790,000 jobs to the province of Ontario and a last year... Thank you. Supplementary. Mr. Speaker, back to the Minister of Agriculture. First question about agriculture. Maybe the Minister was asleep when we asked question after question on Neonix. Now, back to my question, which he avoided answering. You know, we had Leamington's nature fresh farms expanding a huge expansion in Ohio despite wanting to locate in Ontario. Now we have Mucci Farms setting up again in Ohio despite being an Ontario family and Ontario business that wants to invest in Ontario. Both are ignoring Ontario and choosing to locate elsewhere because of reckless liberal energy policies. For 13 years, you've led us to this point. You're driving businesses out of Ontario. So Mr. Speaker, rather than liberal talking points and spin, what are you going to do to keep these agriculture jobs in Ontario? Without the editorial, please. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the Leader of Opposition. The member from Renfrew, Nipissing, Pembroke. The member from Leeds, Grenville. Come to order. Finish, please. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the Leader of Opposition for his second question on agriculture that he's posed here. So let me tell you, it's a bit rich. They're not getting dead. For this side, to ask a question about agriculture, when they're in office, they close 52 offices around the province of Ontario. You know, that's the reality. So let's, Mr. Speaker, let's... We have more jobs than ever before. Tell us about agriculture. Mr. Speaker, let's talk about some facts here. In 2015, the farm cash receipts of the province of Ontario were $15 billion. A record of the province of Ontario. We created 42,000 new jobs in the province of Ontario. This is a sector that's growing with the support of this government each and every day at the farm. Thank you. It's starting to elevate, and I'll repeat yesterday if needed, trying to give you an opportunity to control yourselves. Final supplementary. Mr. Speaker, back to the Minister of Agriculture and in fairness to the Minister of Agriculture, he is the best Minister of Agriculture that Ohio has ever seen. Ontario. You know, you look at the government's promise of natural gas expansion, and you know, there's no action here. You're preventing investment in the greenhouse gas industry. It's cost investments. Let me read a quote from Stuart McFadden, Chatham Kent's Deputy Director of Economic Development. He estimates that 300 acres of greenhouses were not built in his municipality over the past few years because there wasn't adequate natural gas infrastructure in place. They lost 300 million of investment because of this government's dithering. You talked about natural gas expansion. You're already hurting the greenhouse industry because of electricity. When will you arm your word and actually make sure that expansion happens? Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the leader of his opposition for his third question in agriculture today. Let me tell you. Let me tell you. Let me tell you, Mr. Member from Leeds, Grenadil, second time. Finish, please. Well, Mr. Speaker, let me tell you, he's the best spokesman that New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Louisiana, and California has ever had. We on this side are promoting Ontario each and every day. Through very aggressive trade missions, whether it's to China and India, there's an increased demand right around the world for products and agricultural products that are produced right here in Ontario. In 2015 alone, 42,000 new jobs in this sector, whether it's the greenhouse sector, whether it's primary agriculture, whether it's the processing sector, it's a good time to be an agricultural province of Ontario, Mr. Speaker. New question? Mr. Speaker, since there's no point of asking questions to the minister of agriculture they won't answer them. I'll try the minister of finance. Toes are making life harder in Ontario, more expensive for the people of Ontario. It won't make life any easier, that's for sure. According to the City of Toronto's own study, just over 13% of drivers who will use the DVP in the gardener will be diverted to other areas. The city has said that some of the drivers may take public transit, but the majority will find another route on a surrounding road. Where the Mimico by the lake business improvement area said it doesn't take much traffic to really completely block the streets. We're going to see more traffic, more congestion in the City of Toronto that we can't afford. So Mr. Speaker, again to the minister of finance, can he back up to the House why he thinks tolls are the right thing for Toronto? Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the member from Darfield. What was Darfield's writing again? Oh, Symcoe North. Symcoe North, that's right. Mr. Speaker, the previous Mr. Speaker, the previous leader of the progressive Conservative Party has been putting forward some solutions with their knowledge and I presume support in order for the city member opposite knows the City of Toronto has yet to determine what it is they're going to do and I'm sure that the progressive Conservative Party is dealing with their former leader to determine how best to proceed. We on this side of the house will look at what those solutions will be when and if ever they are proposed. Mr. Speaker, thank you. Mr. Speaker, back to the minister of finance or the member for gas plants if I recall. I will inject myself in this only in so much as you give you get. Except to say this, there is a standing at understanding here that we refer to people by their writings and only their writings or their titles. Nothing else. And that includes questions from the members on the government side with regards to and grandising the ministers. So I'm going to ask everyone to just bring it down a notch and just get this thing done the way it should be done. Please. Mr. Speaker, a lot may not sound like a lot to the minister but according to a fair driving study that was published on driving.ca they expect the tolls on the DVP and the gardener could be as high as $12. Knowing the government's past and their history of having prices skyrocket, I'm very concerned that this is going to make Toronto and the 905 unaffordable computers. I know this is a sensitive spot for the liberal benches because they can't defend these liberal tolls. Once again, my question to the minister of finance is how does he justify tolling the DVP and the gardener? Thank you Mr. Speaker and I appreciate the member opposite reminding everyone that I fought hard for my community and I always did right from the very get go right through to the end Mr. Speaker I'm proud of that and they followed suit Mr. Speaker and they failed. We delivered on this side of the house. He's talking about toll roads. Toll roads that she forgot that he actually sold because somehow he didn't remember like he didn't remember that he supported the health curriculum that didn't support the health curriculum that did so that did not he has no idea as to what's going on Mr. Speaker because they sold the 407 that's a billion dollars annually that we lose to this side of the house and that cost every Ontario in this house. Mr. Speaker please Mr. Speaker please Mr. Speaker back to the minister of finance the DVP and the gardener they don't have the necessities for commuters they don't have a choice they need to go to work they are too important they are far too important for this government to use as a cash grab on hard working commuters Mr. Speaker this is an attack on commuters it's not just the mayor of Mississauga that has expressed reservations we're hearing reservations across the 905 in the city of Toronto so once again for the third time Mr. Speaker my question for the minister of finance is giving the city of Toronto permission to toll the DVP and the gardener when commuters can't afford it thank you Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker thanks very much Mr. Speaker I appreciate the third question from the leader on this particular topic I think we covered this ground yesterday here in the legislature both myself the minister of finance everyone on this side has said of course if the city of Toronto has a formal plan with council approval it will review that plan very carefully but Mr. Speaker we also covered off a couple of other important topics yesterday in this same realm number one would be that our government has the most ambitious transit and transportation expansion plan in Ontario's history we are making unprecedented investments in transit and transportation infrastructure in Toronto in the GTHA and right across the province of Ontario we're going to continue to do that we also did cover off the fact that we have yet to see a plan from the leader or that caucus with respect to how they would continue to build up transit and transportation here in the province of Ontario the minister of finance referenced the fact that on this particular topic on this particular topic speaker it was that leader's party that sold the 407 in 1998 for 100 years for 100 years speaker we're moving in the right direction thank you you're a question to remember from about people whose hydro has been cut off about small business who are forced to relocate to the US and often in some circumstances shut down entirely and every time I ask these questions the minister of energy stood up and said everything is fine the government is working and the government is doing a great job and everything is fine can the government explain how the premier on one side says that she's made a mistake that there's a problem here but the minister of energy thinks that there isn't a problem the minister of energy thank you mr. Speaker I'm very pleased to always stand up and talk about the great programs that we have in place to actually help small businesses with some of their energy costs mr. Speaker and we recognize the importance of small businesses I know yesterday we met with many of the chambers from northern Ontario to talk about the importance of the near program mr. Speaker that's helping many of our industries throughout the north we also recognize mr. Speaker that some of those industries in southern Ontario are very important to our economy and we recognize the importance of the near program mr. Speaker that's why we brought forward the 8% mr. Speaker that 8% reduction is actually helping many of those small businesses and also last week in Hamilton mr. Speaker I worked with the FASCO creating 81 jobs they're reducing their energy usage and saving themselves over $100,000 mr. Speaker that is fantastic work that we're seeing on this side of the house we're trying to find ways to help businesses right across the province mr. Speaker the cost of hydro is making people feel like they can't build a life for themselves and they can't see how the next generation is going to have a future when they see local companies force a relocate to the states when they see local companies shut down they don't see how they see jobs leaving and they don't see how the next generation will have jobs here in this province instead of providing help the minister just keeps on responding by saying everything is fine there's no problem here there is a problem people are struggling, businesses are suffering we need to do something about it and the sale of hydro one is only making the situation worse will the government commit today to finally ending any further sale of hydro one thank you mr. Speaker when we're talking about the next generation the next generation to be proud that they actually can go outside and breathe clean air we've eliminated coal mr. Speaker we're meeting our GHG reductions 7 million cars mr. Speaker have been taken off the road because of our closing of coal plants mr. Speaker that's actually seen healthcare air pollution deaths and hospitalizations dropped by 23% and 41% respectively mr. Speaker that's doing a lot for the next generation but we know there's more work to do and that's why we brought forward the 8% reduction with the HST mr. Speaker permanently reducing that off of the hydro bills and when it comes to small businesses mr. Speaker the ICI program is actually going to help over a thousand new businesses across the province lower their electricity rates lower their GHGs because you know why mr. Speaker we recognize that reducing GHGs creating jobs and lowering rates is something that this government will do for the next generation mr. Speaker thank you very much mr. Speaker the premier promised that she would be different she made people believe that she would be different and what happened is she's letting down families just the same way in fact she's letting them down even worse she's not only letting down families she's also letting down small businesses in this province who want these small businesses want to hire they want to grow they want to innovate but they can't even stay open let alone try to do these innovative things nobody voted for this nobody voted for 60,000 people to be cut off from hydro one no one voted for this government to cut off hydro one in the first place when the premier finally told liberals that she'd made a mistake does that mean that she understands that selling off hydro one is a mistake and that she's going to commit to not selling off any further stock of that thank you mr. Speaker you know when it comes to the broadening of hydro one mr. Speaker we know that it was a tough decision mr. Speaker that's why we do the heavy lifting on this side mr. Speaker because we know that the investments that we're making in infrastructure are creating jobs and building Ontario up and the sale of hydro one as everyone in this house knows mr. Speaker has no direct link with the increase in race mr. Speaker we know that the OEB just made a decision two weeks ago that didn't see an increase in rates but when it comes to hydro one and the broadening of the sale and the investments that we're making mr. Speaker I can talk about what happens right into my own riding of Sudbury mr. Speaker Maley Drive 26 million dollar investment by this government to expand Maley Drive and Sudbury we've got many other things happening throughout the northeast many other great infrastructure projects they're happening right across our great province mr. Speaker and that's the great investments being done by the minister of transportation the minister of infrastructure we recognize that there's a lot of work to do on this and we're building Ontario up and creating thank you speaker my question to the deputy premier the minister of the environment and climate change promised to clean up the English wabugun river system to the satisfaction of the chief and to the health of the people but the premier won't start the work because she claims the science isn't in scientists say quote the fear is needless and quote we think and other scientists think these cleanup methods are benign and won't cause any damage to the ecosystem speaker my question to the acting premier will you listen to the science and start the cleanup of the English wabugun river system environment climate change environment and climate change thank you mr. Speaker and I had a private conversation the other day with the member opposite to explain in some detail what's going on and let me just reiterate Dr. Rudd was funded by the ministry of environment through the first nation to undertake the study the study mr. Speaker I have in my hand the study asked for about $600,000 worth of very specific work outlined in chapter 7 which is being done right now the agreement which is now concluded and we are just we expect to have it signed by the chief any day now that hasn't held the money up from signing is to present these options and the risks of the different types of interventions that Dr. Rudd asked for that will be finished by June it will be presented to the community and the community will make the choices of which interventions they want to do supplementary well speaker I'm glad that matter was raised I'll go back to the deputy premier Dr. John Rudd whose research and recommendations or what this government has to go on says the cleanup can safely get underway today but the money $300,000 this government says it's invested in field work hasn't arrived my question will the acting premier tell this house on the record how much of that $300,000 has actually been released this partnership under the agreement of the political accord between first nations and the government requires that we cannot spend or act in a first nation without the consent and agreement we have had three meetings now on the political committee that ministers Zimmer and I sit on with the chief the agreement now is finalized it is literally rating one signature the first nations negotiated in good faith we think that the agreement is solid I have asked for an immediate meeting with Dr. Rudd because in his report he advised caution and specific measures to be taken if he is now of the view that this can move ahead more quickly we will not hesitate to advance the agenda the only reason we haven't advanced the agenda more quickly answer because we have to finalize the agreement with the first nation money has already been flowing to cover their bills and we've been taking action to do this and we have to finish the meeting with Dr. Rudd's advice final supplementary well speaker notwithstanding that I thought we would actually get the number however I will go on to my next question deputy premier as you well know enough is enough when will this liberal government start the cleanup of the grassy narrow area so that the fish would like the number we have received $20,000 in bills from the first nation which have been paid in full I have not received a single bill or cost yet from any of the research teams which are actually out there working right now if we did we'd advance the money as of this last couple of days when I think we now have just waiting for one signature all of that money will flow the $300,000 that we are spending is already being flowing so the vast majority of the money is either in play or being spent what has to happen what actions should we do should we do extraction should we do covering which of these should we do I will say again if Dr. Rudd's advice who we have great respect for and I can read through and my measures that he's recommended and the work plan that he wrote that we're actually following on a different basis if he wants to revise his advice we will accept that advice thank you new question Mr. Speaker I want to thank the people of Niagara West Glamrock for giving me the privilege to represent them it's an honour to stand in this house my question is for the Minister of Health the hard working people of my riding have fought for the West Lincoln Memorial Hospital in Grimsby for years in fact the community fundraised $13.6 million in 2012 this liberal government cancelled the project they promised in 2011 it's been four years since the West Lincoln Memorial Hospital project was shelved Mr. Speaker will the Minister of Health commit to the people of Niagara West Glamrock and give the West Lincoln Memorial Hospital the funding it deserves again without the editorials please Mr. Health long term care thank you Mr. Speaker and I'm honoured to be the recipient of the first question from the member of Niagara West Glamrock and I welcome him to the legislature and appreciate this question and it's important to mention that all of the candidates in the recent by-election made specifically made the reference the importance of building health care including supporting and furthering the infrastructure and the delivery of health services through the West Lincoln Hospital they made it a priority during the campaign as did the member opposite to individuals in that community that's why we've increased their funding this year that's why in fact just recently as recently as last week I announced in the 140 million additional dollars that go to operating expenses for hospitals that included in that list is the West Lincoln Hospital through the Hamilton Health Sciences because of course Hamilton Health Sciences is responsible for the management administration of the hospital they do have some very real infrastructure needs at that hospital as well we're working closely with Hamilton Health Sciences and the West Lincoln Hospital supplementary back to the minister the people in the riding I represent health fundraisers for over a decade to help raise funds for the hospital redevelopment but this liberal government made a promise to the people of my riding in 2011 and then turned their backs on them in 2012 so it's time for the liberals to honour their commitment it's time to stop playing politics with people's health and this project the funding it deserves Mr. Speaker when will the minister announce the promised funding for the West Lincoln Memorial Hospital now we're getting evidence of why I ask you not to say anything when I'm standing minister well thank you Mr. Speaker and I believe the member will agree that the West Lincoln Hospital is part of Hamilton Health Sciences we're working closely with them and the leadership at West Lincoln Hamilton Health Sciences is putting together a proposal where they're prioritising their infrastructure investments which of course is including the West Lincoln site Mr. Speaker but it's important to reference so we've increased the funding for Hamilton Health Sciences including West Lincoln for 10 by 10 million dollars just this year we gave nearly five million dollars specifically to West Lincoln earlier this year for infrastructure and other upgrades Mr. Speaker so we are working hard and we've made unprecedented and we'll be making unprecedented investments 12 billion dollars over the next decade for infrastructure I look forward to working with the member from Niagara West ground as we look at the Hamilton Health Sciences proposal for infrastructure going into the future thank you new question the member from Waterloo thank you very much my question is to the acting Premier Mr. Speaker buried deep within the government's fall economic bill are changes that will put the health and safety of tens of thousands of workers across Ontario at risk these changes completely ignore recommendations from a 2010 expert panel report on occupational health and safety and in an email the government says this will remove I quote the burdensome processes like routine inspections there are 3000 people on the front lawn of Queens Park we've heard from hundreds more of concerned workers in labour groups over the last week appalled at these changes shock that no consultation took place with those who have the most to lose will the government do the right thing and ensure that the tens of thousands of workers across our province are protected while they're at work and remove these schedules from this finance bill thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to the member for that very very important question speaker the health and safety and protection of all Ontario workers is a top priority and it's a focus at the Ministry of Labour I'll tell you what the members talking about is the accreditation process speaker and the objective of an accreditation or an employer's recognition process is to enhance the delivery of health and safety services in order to enhance health and safety within the workplace if past speaker of this proposed legislation is past what we have an accreditation is a potential to benefit Ontarians and to all those who work in the province speaker it's going to empower business to improve their own internal health and safety speaker what it does speaker it's proven to improve health and safety within companies speaker it saves lives it prevents injuries we on this side of the House support this I can't further imagine why the NDP would not thank you Mr. Speaker what this government has done is that they have forgotten that you cannot build Ontario up without the work of skilled trade workers in the province of Ontario this isn't speculation it wasn't a note from senior government staff the same day that the bill was introduced that these changes will reduce the burden of unnecessary processes like routine inspections the research and the evidence based data is clear that workplace health and safety is better with more not less enforcement the non-governmental institute for work and health reports that I quote employers do take steps to prevent work related injuries for employees when there are direct consequences to them speaker will the government do the right thing make workplace safety a priority and reverse its decision to start advertising workplace health and safety in Ontario you see it please you see it please thank you minister thank you speaker and thank you again to the member for the supplementary it is a very very important issue speaker what this will allow the MOL to do the ministry of labour to do is to focus resources on the places where we need to focus on places where the injuries are taking place the places where the fatalities are taking place and speaker I know the member talked about research she might want to do her homework speaker three Canadian jurisdictions have accreditation processes in place you've got Alberta you've got British Columbia you've got Nova Scotia clearly speaker when those programs are put into place health and safety improves speaker incidents went down increased hazard reporting took place reduced rates of lost time injuries speaker improved health and safety environments these are all things speaker that we want for the health and safety of workers in this province instead of making chief political point speaker she might want to put the health and safety of workers in the province of Ontario first speaker you see it please you see it please start the clock the member from Kitchener Waterloo will come to order minister of agriculture will come to order new question the member from Brampton West thank you Mr. Speaker my question is for the minister of children and youth services children and youth who come into contact with the youth justice system have unique needs we strongly believe in the importance of rehabilitative programs in a safe environment that help our youth successfully transition back into their communities one such facility that aids this process is the Roy McCrackery youth centre that facility located in Brampton we recently announced that the interior government is repurposing this centre minister why is the Roy McCrackery facility being repurposed thank you Mr. Chairman thank you Mr. Speaker I want to thank the member for Brampton West for this important question and I know the minister of community safety and correctional services will want to weigh in on the second part of the question Mr. Speaker in 2003 and 2015 we saw a youth crime rate drop by 46% Mr. Speaker I think that's great news for everyone here in the legislature today it means that our youth strategy here in the province of Ontario is working our strategy focuses on prevention and diversion programs and we're moving young people away from formal court proceedings into diversion and alternative programs diversion program can include job skill trainings, mental health treatment family counseling and education and tutorial services as a result Mr. Speaker we have seen an 81% drop in youth custody admissions here in the province of Ontario since 2003 Mr. Speaker the repurposing of this facility is good news for Ontario thank you very much Mr. Speaker my next questions for the minister of community safety and correctional services that youth justice youth justice admissions have declined over 80% since we came into power is a testament to the successful rehabilitation and reintegration programs our government has put in place in turn it frees up space within our adult correctional system where I know the minister is working very hard to address capacity challenges and provide supports for individuals with mental illness I understand that we have hired 36 dedicated mental health nurses in facilities across the province since 2013 and are partnering with CAMH and others to provide specialized mental health training for correctional officers can the minister of community safety and correctional services please expand on what the Roy McMurtry means for correctional transformation and for our efforts on behalf of those with mental illness minister of children and youth services community safety and correctional services minister of community safety and correctional services thank you very much speaker I want to thank the member from Brampton west for asking about this important issue and I also want to commend the minister of children and youth services for his leadership on this issue and working with our ministry across ministries to develop what will be a welcomed addition and a center that is much needed in the province of Ontario this 192 bed adult female detention center is part of the conversion for the Roy McMurtry youth center which will also include a much needed 32 bed mental health unit for female inmates it will be opening in 2018 and it will in fact be the first dedicated female mental health unit in the province of Ontario the additional 192 beds is the latest step of our transformation of our correctional system and investments that we're making adding to nearly 380 new beds that we've created with facilities in Windsor and Toronto as well as the 112 bed regional intermittent center in London this is part of our investment strategy and modernization of corrections in Ontario thank you thank you speaker my question is to the deputy premier there are thousands of skilled tradesmen and women who have traveled from across this province lost a days of wages to be here to protest against Bill 70 schedule 17 which threatens their livelihoods and their careers these skilled tradesmen feel that this government has betrayed them and has stabbed them in the back with schedule 17 it will take the decision making and determination of scope of work and recognition of their trades out of the hands of the college and puts it into the hands of the OLRB speaker will this government take schedule 17 pull it out and throw it in the trash where it belongs thank you deputy premier minister of labour minister of labour thank you I appreciate the question numbered from the members as he stands up the will college exactly Pre clues when we are doing a college of trades implementing procedures that have come out of the den report that have come out of chris Bentley taking a look at the college of trade speaker speaker the college of trades is a is an organization that brings all the skill trades in the province of Ontario together there's some tough negotiations going on speaker as this college seeks to establish itself and promote the skilled trades in the province of Ontario what we saw today speaker was part of a healthy discussion that we're having with skilled trades around the province that that that's going to continue speaker we're going to reach a resolution on this I'm convinced thank you speaker again to the minister a healthy discussion requires two parties you weren't out there and nobody else in the Liberal Party wrote there this government is in a rush to ram legislation through and it's been their stock in trade all the time it is disrespectful of the people of Ontario it's disrespectful to the thousands of people who are on the front lawn of Queens Park today speaker it's both incredulous and absurd that this minister would place a determination of scope of work and trade recognition into the hands of the OLRB it's wholly unsuited and it is prejudicial to our skilled trades speaker once again to the minister will you stand with our skilled trades out there with them and take schedule 17 pull it out throw it in the garbage and stand up for skilled trades I'm gonna strike so why don't you stop minister of labor speaker thank you very much again for the question but let me put there let me be clear speaker if there's any individual member in this house that is stood in the way of the College of Trade speaker since its inception it would be that member speaker they've opposed the college of trades every step of the way while skilled trades in this province while the men and women receiving the same determination in their jobs that professions have the doctors have the lawyers have the nurses have this member did not want the skilled trades to have a say in their own future speaker he felt somehow they couldn't do it speaker what they're asking us to do today speaker and I won't do it what we want to do speaker is enshrined risk of harm as a key recommendation for college enforcement speaker that is going to keep people saying that is going to respect scopes of practice speaker there's a lot of questions and certainly there should be questions and coming from that member it just doesn't bring true new question walk by heckling is not allowed new question remember from message thank you speaker speaker my questions to the acting premier speaker this government has been consulting with stakeholders in the beverage alcohol industry for three years for three years they've heard from Ontario's craft distilleries they have heard that this small group but growing industry needs a competitive environment in Ontario and they need a graduated rate of taxation based on the leaders produced rather than the bottom not unlike what Ontario's craft brewers have the premier's right hand minister Ed Clark has been having conversations engaging in dialogue and discussing bill 70s changes to spirits taxation will destroy a small growing local farm to glass industry can the premier explain why her advisors and her government ignored what craft distillers have been telling us your finance thank you mr. Speaker I appreciate the question recognizing of course how important the distillers are as well as our wine industry and our cider industry our beer industry all of which are providing jobs and creating more opportunities for the province of Ontario and as a member opposite noted they are having an existing system today which we're trying to remember trying to improve in fact that current share is around 39% per bottle mr. Speaker as we implement the changes being proposed they'll be getting a greater percentage in case you didn't hear it you have a second time and now that's the third time which means it's a warning minister the speaker we are improving the suppliers margins here from 39% to 45% we're making it better and we recognize that there's some more that they would like to do and we're having those discussions as well thank you supplementary thank you speaker speaker the government can claim that they're helping out the craft distillers but this is what the craft distillers themselves are saying Charles Benoit of the Toronto distillery company said that his distillery will be closing on January the 31st if bill 70 passes other Ontario craft distillers are looking to sell their products internationally instead of right here at home because it doesn't make sense financially speaker this government should be doing everything it can to support small distillers to support new manufacturers and to support growing sectors of our economy can the acting premier explain why instead of helping Ontario's craft distillers her government has decided to make it almost impossible for them to succeed Mr. Speaker the industry has grown 10 times since 2011 as a result of the measures we put forward the distillers were well aware of what the cost were involved when they commenced we are now improving their margins to make it more effective for them we're having ongoing discussions we're promoting we're providing promotional distribution Mr. Speaker enabling them have access throughout all of the stores going forward we're providing 250 liters of spirits as promotional distribution and we're expanding their sales opportunities we are working with the distillers we recognize the importance to our province we're making their margins more improving their margins and we're working towards doing even more Mr. Speaker the distillers know that for a fact all the industry knows as a change on being bought forward and it's the greatest amount of change we made since prohibition Mr. Speaker we are now providing beverage alcohol cider beer and wine and grocery stores and that is a compliment to the entire industry thank you Mr. Speaker my question is for today's ever-popular Minister of Labor when I look around I've already spoken to that and it'll not happen again to the Minister please I am proud to see so many women representing and working hard for their communities in Ontario women are present in all industries and sectors across the province however despite our participation throughout the workforce we know that barriers remain barriers that prevent full participation by women in the workforce most notably women continue to earn less than average than men I know that both the Minister of Labor and the Minister responsible for women's issues have been working hard to break down barriers that women face as a government we believe in the critical role that women play in Ontario's economy and support fair workplace policies and equal opportunities for everyone can please inform the House how our government is currently working to close the gender wage gap Minister of Labor thank you the member for that very very important question and for her continues to support our support and the involvement that she's taken in this very important issue last week speakers the 30th anniversary of the introduction of Ontario's pay equity act and what I did on that day speaker was I announced the new working group that's going to deal with the gender wage gap at something that the steering committee recommended we do to make practical decisions to move forward on this issue speaker we haven't made the progress none of the three political parties over the past 30 years have made the progress we should have made on this issue speaker the working group's got 14 organizations to community member speaker they're going to represent business labor human resources advocacy groups this group will be diverse it's going to have a very wide reaching network and provide us with that practical advice and the feedback on how we should be very very specifically addressing the issue and the wage gap thank you I want to thank the minister for his answer and mr. speaker my supplementary is for the minister responsible for women's issues I know that in addition to gender wage gap working group our government is taking steps to empower women women plan important role in contributing to a healthy economy and it is essential that we ensure that there are economic opportunities for women and all Ontarians I know that earlier this year our government announced that Ontario will be setting and implementing targets for women on public and private sector boards removing barriers to the advancement of women ensures that more Ontarians have equal access to economic opportunities I have spoken to several members of our faculty and management at Queen's University in my riding of Queen Kingston and the islands about this issue and I look forward to meeting with the Usa members today to discuss question mr. speaker through you to the minister what else is our government doing in this area thank you minister responsible for thank you speaker now again I want to thank the member from Kingston and the islands for her efforts on this very important work to close the wage gap for women in Ontario we have many initiatives underway speaker which includes creating a hundred thousand new licensed childcare spaces and as a member mentioned ensuring that at least 40 percent of all appointments to provincial boards and agencies by 2019 are women and making workplaces and campuses and communities safer through our sexual violence and harassment action plan in addition to this speaker we continue to support programs to help low-income women gain new skills and opportunities since 2003 for example more than 2,500 women have participated in training through our women in skills trade and information technology program and sir micro lending program for women in Ontario helps low-income women build and grow their business and the employment training for women provides women with specialised thank you new question the member he encouraged me my question is to the minister of health as we last engaged on the Ottawa hospital 48 hours ago lots changed the Ottawa hospital board last night unanimously rejected the tinnies pastor location for the rebuild of the civic hospital and I was pleased to learn that each and every member of the Ottawa liberal caucus also endorsed as I have the preferred experimental farm site as well and today the NCC will will formally ask or provide the recommendation to the federal heritage minister with the new information I'm hoping that the minister of health will share his our position with local health care professionals and elected officials on our preferred location for the new Ottawa hospital to the federal government today thank you thank you Mr. Speaker and I appreciate the question as a follow-up from the one asked before earlier Mr. Speaker it's vitally important that any decision with regards to the provision of health care particularly when it comes to the sighting of a new hospital that were committed to that that be a community led process that there be wide and thorough consultation with the community that the community board as represented by the Ottawa hospital board that it plays as it is a leadership role in determining the future sighting of the hospital that and I'm gratified not simply the member opposite but the the five members of the liberal caucus who represent the Ottawa region and Ottawa itself that are intimately engaged and advocating on behalf of the this the new construction of the Civic Hospital Mr. Speaker answer was there was a recommendation provided by the National Capital Commission last week we understand that it is now up to the federal government in consultation to look at that recommendation supplement thank you very much minister I appreciate your response I do appreciate that all members from from Ottawa support the preferred site at the experimental farm and the community led processes have time and time again proven that the best place to rebuild the Civic Hospital is at the experimental farm it is not a community led process when it is the National Capital Commission it's unelected it's unaccountable and the three members the only three members from Ottawa actually did not support the NCC's recommendation so we're asking for your leadership it's been a long process and everyone from former mayors and the former CEO of the Ottawa hospital to our current elected MPPs and the Ottawa Hospital Board have spoken with one voice to needs pastor is not an appropriate location for the Civic Hospital as the funder of the hospital rebuild will the minister commit to not only funding the new Civic Hospital but speaking to the minister of heritage federally to ask that the reconsideration of the of the land go back to the original question thank you minister well mr. Speaker I'm confident that with the process in place the decision taken by the community board of the Ottawa Hospital the support provided to that board by the five my five caucus colleagues that represent along with the member opposite Ottawa in the Ottawa region the the process that we have in front of us including the role of the federal government and the minister of heritage that I understand that the board is has a very positive and collaborative relationship with the federal government and in particular the minister and her ministry with regards to this process I'm confident that they've established a community led community driven process including the leadership driven by the leadership of the Ottawa Hospital Board a community board mr. Speaker I'm confident that the right decision will be taken on answer thank you no question thank you mr. President my question for the minister la santé for ministry of health AIDS Day I want to thank the people living with HIV in Ontario AIDS service organizations for their response to the epidemic we have made real progress but there's still more to do every single year eight hundred Ontarians get diagnosed with HIV AIDS that's far too many we must do better for nearly two years now we've been waiting for the minister to sign off on the new plan to reduce HIV infection in Ontario and provide better care for people at risk of infection today we are still waiting why is the minister taking so long to release Ontario new HIV strategy thank you well mr. Speaker we should be proud of the success that we've seen over the past decade past several decades in Ontario in terms of reducing the negative impact of HIV infection the outcomes that we're seeing both in terms of the prevalence that the new cases that we're seeing which continue to drop in the province but also with the therapies available which are turning what was a scourge across the world several decades ago to what is seeing being seen more and more as a chronic disease I think the member can appreciate as we have been developing a strategy for the next 10 years mr. Speaker that it's important that we have widespread significant consultation particularly with those frontline individuals those individuals on Terrians who are living with HIV those advocates and frontline workers that are supporting them mr. Speaker answer that's the consultation that's been underway we're very close at releasing your strategy mr. Thank you supplementary thank you speaker two years to sign off on a new HIV AIDS strategy is a very long time AIDS service organization like Richard Ranville from access in Sudbury are doing incredible work on the front line but every year that the minister way 800 more people's health and lives are in danger the new strategy is done speaker it is supported it needs to be released after two years are waiting the minister needs to sign off will the minister mark World AIDS Day tomorrow by finally at long last releasing Ontario new HIV strategy that we've all been waiting for that would be a great way to mark World AIDS Day tomorrow mr. Speaker I agree with the member opposite but it's important that the public not think or believe that we have been standing still we have been investing significantly in continuing to provide supports to prevent to treat to support those living with HIV and AIDS mr. Speaker and primarily doing that through funding these same organizations that are at the front line the advocates that the member opposite is speaking to so we've spent I think I believe an appropriate amount of time while we continue to engage and continue to invest continue to make demonstrable progress we've we've taken an appropriate amount of time to make sure that we get the strategy right a strategy that in fact reflects the hard work of those frontline workers the advice and expertise of those who are not HIV mr. Speaker we're going to be releasing that strategy very very soon thank you mr. President my question thank you mr. Chair my question is for the minister of consumer services and first I am very happy and very proud that represent the people of the webinar is one of the concern and one of their concern is the proliferation of establishments on the payloads and earlier the minister announced a new rules to protect the consumer and those are transaction with financial services consumers that are vulnerable that can fall into debt within the because of those establishments and this is a considerable difficulty for the family mr. Chair can the minister tell us what is the plan of our government to protect our Ontarians from those people who are doing those payday loans thank you mr. Chair first let me agree that welcome the new MPP from Ottawa venue I am very happy to have an ally here Franco from ally and I know that she'll do an excellent work for the elected for the voters of her county and not only do we have new MPP it was exceptional but also highly qualified and I would like to say I would like to thank the MPP for her excellent question and I am aware of that is this is an issue that is very important in our writing mr. Chair consumers should have access to an equitable market or financial services that is not unreasonable for them at this bill if it is passed we'll reinforce the financial protection for consumers and mr. Chair we believe strongly that we should have an equitable market and well-informed for all Ontarians continued work on this issue it's a very important work for my constituents I am pleased that our government is taking concrete actions on payday loans which are something that I hear a lot in Ottawa venue mr. Speaker I've heard about the concerns of several members on both sides of the house about how payday loans can be a problem and and require some immediate attentions I we know that payday loans are a last resort for many Ontarians and we need to make sure that the risk of boring is reduced mr. Speaker can the minister update us and provide further details in her plan to strengthen consumer financial protections from Ottawa venue for the cement some supplementary mr. Speaker if the proposed legislation is passed a rulemaking authority will be able to set out standards that lenders must take into account when determining a boring abhorrence ability to repay it will restrict high-frequency borrowing it will provide repeat payday loan borrowers with an extended payment plan option and improve enforcement powers to address unlicensed lenders mr. Speaker I know that people sometimes need to borrow money to pay their bill people that have bills to pay may have to we need to maintain accessibility to these short-term loans while helping ensure that at risk Ontarians do not fall into debt trap sir should build 59 be passed Ontario would become a national leader in taking actions to better protect consumers from the risk of payday loans thank you mr. Speaker well this government tries to convince Ontarians we've turned the corner on er wait times a recent initiative from Grand River Hospital paints a different picture residents in kwr being asked to foot the bill themselves to reduce er wait times since patients are waiting longer than they should really speaker in a letter to neighbors the hospital foundation indicates we do not have enough er doctors to serve our growing community but it's not too late while the government's funding has failed to meet er demands the letter explains that your gift of $30 $50 or whatever you can will help us bring more emergency physicians to Grand River Hospital well speaker can the minister explain why Kitchener Waterloo residents are being hit up with fundraising letters to support er need that her government has failed to provide well thank you mr. Speaker and I appreciate the question what I can tell the member opposite is that since 2008 when we first introduced our er strategy to reduce wait times in er and we began mr. Speaker by actually publishing and making transparent and available to the public what those wait times were which is something that the party opposite the official opposition never did mr. Speaker but what we saw since 2008 is an improvement in the wait times for and a decrease in the amount of time that Ontarians have to to wait in their er's and there's a recent report that I referenced earlier from the Fraser Institute that showed in recent years despite an increasing population increased visits to our er's an aging population with more complex conditions despite all of that we are continuing to see a decrease in the past seven years eight years mr. Speaker a decrease in the wait times both for the the high-acuity visits as well as the less-acuity visits mr. Speaker supplementary thanks be girl send them over a couple of letters so he knows what I'm talking about so just last year Grand River Hospital had to cut 68 staff including 23 nurses due to the government's lack of sense familiar this year they're having to go hat in hand to the community just to meet our er needs as the fundraising letter explains over the past few years we tried very hard to cut wait times doctors have shifted their hours and staff have it ensured efficiencies in patient flow and while they've done their part the letter notes that each year the ministry only funds one er resident and this is not enough to meet our shortage to help cut wait times please give today so please give today will the minister tell us what we can mark him down for $30 $50 what are you give me only he provide whatever you have your pocket to support er needs at Grand River Hospital in Kitchener Waterloo mr. Speaker here's what you can count on me for you can count on this government for 1.379 million dollars for Grand River Hospital Corporation that I announced just last week mr. Speaker just last week almost 1.4 million dollars for Grand River Hospital that's in addition to what we announced in our spring budget mr. Speaker which was three hundred and forty five million dollars including funding for Grand River an additional hundred and forty million dollars over across this province so mr. Speaker we are committed to our hospitals as evidenced by the almost three percent mr. Speaker increase in operating costs for budgets this year alone that investment will help with er wait times it will help us make even more progress than what the Fraser Institute demonstrated to us that we are decreasing wait times to the point where we are among the best in Canada thank you the member from Scarborough Agent Park on a point of order thank you very much mr. Speaker I have two very special guests here visiting as a Queen's Park Pamela Hart and Lisa Powell from the a new young native woman shelter who are here today for the annual third annual shoebox drive and encourage every member to come and participate thank you on the point of order speaker I noticed in the public East Gallery today the leader of the Green Party of Ontario Mike Schreiner welcome back to thank you mr. Speaker and a point of order if I might be able to correct my record from this morning in response to a question from the leader of the opposition he did ask the question to be back on October the 8th 2015 and I want to make sure the record was correct it was okay I just noticed two friends from the Labour's International Union North America Jason Audie and Jason McMichael are here to join us today to see the proceedings thank you I beg to inform the house that I have today laid upon the table the 2016 annual report of the Office of the Auditor General of Ontario we have a deferred vote on the notice of motion number five relating to the allocation of time to keep hurting my neck turning this way a lot we have a deferred vote on the notice of motion in number five relating to the allocation of time of bill 70 an act to implement budget measures and an act in men various statutes calling the members this will be a five-minute bill members please take your seats on Tuesday November 29th 2016 Ms. McCharles move government notice of motion five all those in favor of the motion please rise one at a time be recognized by the clerk Ms. McCharles Mr. McCharles Mr. Naqvi Mr. Bradley Mr. Dalduca Mr. Dalduca Mr. Sandals Mr. Sousa Ms. Matthews Mr. Hoskins Mr. Sharelli Mr. Sharelli Mr. McNican Mr. Tecari Mr. Cole Mr. Bernetti Mr. Delaney Mr. Dillon Mr. Dillon Mr. Murray Mr. Chan Mr. Moriti Mr. Koto Mr. Hunter Mr. Hunter Mr. Leo Mr. Flynn Mr. Tebow Mr. Tebow Mr. Orzetti Mr. Cordry Mr. Dixon Mr. Dixon Mr. Dixon Ms. Manga Mr. Crack Mr. Crack Madam LaLonde Ms. Domerla Mrs. McGarry Mr. McGarry Mr. Moro Mr. Moro Ms. Jasset Mr. Zimmer Mr. Zimmer Ms. Albanese Ms. McMan Mr. Bally Mr. Bally Ms. Nidu Harris Nidu Harris Ms. Wong Ms. Wong Mr. Fraser Mr. Fraser Mr. Anderson Mr. Anderson Mr. Baker Mr. Baker Mr. Don Mr. Don Ms. Hogarth Ms. Hogarth Ms. Koala Ms. Molly Ms. Ms. Martin Ms. Mr. Miltjen Mr. Miltjen Mr. Potts Mr. Rinaldi Mr. Rinaldi Mr. Reneal Ms. Reneal Madam Madam Dorosie Madam Dorosie Please rise one at a time to be recognized by the clerk Ernet Mr. Hardiman Mr. Hardiman Mr. McCloud Mr. McCloud Ms. Jones Mr. Brown Mr. Brown Mr. Clark Mr. Clark Mr. Fidelli Mr. Fidelli Mr. Yakibusky Yakibusky Mr. Hillier Mr. Hillier Mr. Miller Perry San Muskoka Mr. Miller Perry San Muskoka Mister Mccnaughtonarring Mrs. Scott Mrs. Thompson Mr. Perry Mr. Monroe Mr. Bailey Mr. Bailey Mr. Ostr renew Mr. Unterhoe Mr. Walker Mr. Smith Mr. Nichols Mr. Martin Mr. Merton Mr. McDonnell Mr. Pettipies Mr. Kattie Mr. Koh Mr. Cho Mr. Vandtop Mr. Singh Mr. Tabin Mr. Miller Hamilton heat Stony Creek Mr. Miller Hamilton East Stony. Donary deja cang this are strong by the Angelina Mr. Hathfield. Mr. Hathfield. Mrs. Gretzky. Mr. Gates. Mr. Gates. Mrs. French. The ayes are 52, the nays are 38. The ayes are 52, the nays are 38, declare the motion carried. We have a deferent motion for the closure of the motion of the second reading of Bill 59. Same vote. Same vote. The ayes are 52, the nays are 38. The ayes are 52, the nays are 38, the motion carried. Madam LaLonde has moved second reading of Bill 59, an act to enact a new act with respect to home inspections and various acts with respect to financial services and consumer protections. Is it the pleasure of the House to motion carry? I heard a no. All those in favour please say aye. All those opposed please say nay. In my opinion the ayes have it. Calling the members this will be a five minute bill. Madam LaLonde has moved second reading of Bill 59, an act to enact a new act with respect to home inspections and various acts with respect to financial services and consumer protections. All those in favour please rise one at a time to be recognized by the clerk. Madam LaLonde. Madam LaLonde. Mr. Matthews. Mr. Bradley. Mr. Deluca. Mr. Sandals. Mr. Sousa. Mr. Sousa. Mr. Matthews. Mr. Hoskins. Mr. Shirelli. Mr. Shirelli. Mr. McCharles. Mr. McMeekin. Mr. McMeekin. Mr. Tkar. Mr. Tkar. Mr. Cole. Mr. Cole. Mr. Ells. Mr. McDonough. Mr. McDonough. Ms. McDonough. Ms. Scott. Ms. Thompson. Ms. Thompson. Mr. Barrett. Ms. Barrett. Ms. Monroe. Ms. Monroe. Mr. Bailey. Mr. Bailey. Ms. Rosterhoff. Mr. Osterhoff. Mr. Walker. Mr. Walker. Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith. Mr. Hrus. Mr. heartbeat Mr. thereafter Mr. Caul. Mr. b того. Mr C arguments to tab matters to tell Mr. Miller Haim pronto now put it Mr. Nadashak, Ms. Armstrong, Ms. Angelina, Ms. Fife, Mr. Hatfield, Ms. Gretzky, Mr. Gates, Ms. French. The ayes are 90, the nays are zero. The ayes being 90, the nays being zero. Declare the motion. Carry. Shall the bill be ordered for third reading? Minister. I would ask the bill be referred to the Standing Committee on Social Policy. There are no further deferred votes. This house stands recessed until 3pm this afternoon.