 And I thank you therefore it is time for a question period the leader of Her Majesty's loyal opposition Mr. Speaker my question is for the Premier. I would like to ask her about Sudbury But I don't need the Attorney General telling me that it is before the courts. We all know it's before the courts We all know that liberal ethics and integrity is before the courts. We all know the The minister of indigenous relations and reconciliation Has continued while I stood and so now I'm going to give him a warning the members now warned and the banter back and forth is not helpful Please finish we all know the alleged bribery is before the courts We all know that liberal political corruption is before the courts So I'm not gonna ask about that because I want a real answer mr. Speaker Will the Premier support the member from Kitchener Conestoga's a legal pill-press act Will the Premier help put a stop to the use of these machines by drug dealers across Ontario? The Minister of Health is going to want to speak to the details on this But I want to I want to just assure the house and the people of Ontario that the the opioid Crisis that has seized not just not just this province mr. Speaker, but jurisdictions all over the world is something that we are Taking very very seriously. We are fighting. We have put Literally hundreds of millions of dollars into the front line into services and supports for the people who are On that front line and who are dealing with with this very very serious situation I've had an opportunity to sit down with a number of people who are frontline workers I sat down last week at the Minister of Health and the Chief Medical Officer of Health and the Chief Coroner mr. Speaker to to get their best advice both from the front line workers And those officials on what more we could do mr. Speaker to fight this public health crisis Mr. Speaker my question is again for the premier while the premier spends her time Testifying tomorrow during the Sudbury bribery trial the Ontario PC party party is going to continue to fight for better mental health and addiction services Research provided by the Ontario drug policy research network Showed that two on Terrell's die every day from the opioid overdoses I've always said there's no monopoly on a good idea and the premier has an opportunity here There is there's a toolkit here for fighting this chief government web come to order and It sounds to me like there's a few members that need to be told that they're moving to warnings It stops Carry on please mr. Speaker there are a number of ways we can combat this opioid crisis And one of those tools in the toolkit is this illegal pill press act the idea and the suggestion from the member from Kitchener conestoga So rather than partisan responses what I'd hope is the premier would say this is a good idea We're gonna look at it. We're gonna embrace it. We're gonna support question from Kitchener conestoga So can we count on the premier to do that? Will you help those? Hey for the people of Ontario and I will continue to do that mr. Speaker I agree that there is no There's no patent on a on a good idea mr. Speaker It doesn't matter where it comes from and the minister of health in the final supplementary will speak to that But let me just talk for one moment about the things that we are doing because we do have a strategy mr. Speaker We are working to fight the opioid strategy and let me just talk about some of those things We're providing an immediate $222 million boost over three years to enhance and prevent opioid addiction and overdose We're adding more frontline harm reduction workers across the province and I heard that from the frontline workers that they needed that mr. Speaker They need more Numbers in their ranks. We're expanding the supply of naloxone mr. Speaker and doing that free of charge And we're expanding rapid access addiction medicine clinics access to those across Ontario The other issue Mr. Speaker again to the premier I'm disappointed that I didn't get a response on the legal pill presses suggesting from the miniature from the MPP from Kitcher and Conestoga another way that we can help with this is is Understanding that there's a lack of education. There's a lack of awareness of just how lethal this is just two milligrams of fentanyl Is a lethal dose pills are flooding our communities and right now the government has this massive Advertising campaign the government advertising budget is now 57 million up 32 million and instead of using this money for partisan vanity ads that the Auditor General has already criticized Can we not have a commitment from the government to use some of their advertising budget to actually fight the opioid crisis to Actually raise education and awareness on the open crisis So I didn't get a response from the illegal pill press suggestion This is another solution the toolkit directly to the premier Can we count on her support for an advertising campaign instead of vanity ads, but to help fight this opioid crisis? Thank you Premier and Trump care Speaker of course we are investing dollars and working with their stakeholders and developing a Robust and appropriate and sensitive as well an effective public education campaign. That's necessary. It's impossible to address this Comprehensively unless we do that so we're already doing that when it comes to pill presses the the leader of the official opposition Should know I mean as he was a federal member of Parliament that the federal government just passed C37 Which includes a provision that prohibits the unregistered importation of designated devices such as pill presses and frankly It's overly simplistic and it fits with their law and order approach to this crisis that they would focus on something as Simplistic as pill presses that's not going to solve this problem You need a multifaceted approach like we do investing almost 300 million dollars over the next two and a half years I'm still waiting for any good idea Embrace that will prove effective. I want to know what the minute what the member opposite thinks about safe injection sites as well Do you support you? New question the leader of the opposition mr. Speaker My question is for the premier a few months ago the government announced a 6.7 billion dollar purchase of a foreign energy company and as part of the deal Ontario decided to get back in the coal business. So while the premier is testifying in Sudbury's the bribery scandal Hydro one will go ahead with the purchase of the second largest coal plant west of the Mississippi And despite what this government says there really is only one pro coal party in the legislature And that's your Ontario liberal party, you know Because mr. Speaker now own one of the US's top 20 greenhouse gas producing power plants That goes against everything the premier pretends to stand for so mr. Speaker a very direct question to the premier When will the liberals and Hydro one be shutting down their shiny new dirty Mr.. Speaker I recall As we shut down the last coal fired plant mr. Speaker and in the run-up to that I remember Remember from Leeds Grandville come to order Carry on please you know I remember mr. Speaker because you recognize then I know the member opposite does that That the shutting down of the coal fired plants in Ontario is the single largest Initiative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in North America and I'm Prime Minister in whose government this member sat mr. Speaker Telling how well Canada was doing on reducing greenhouse gas emissions mr. Speaker the record of Canada Rested entirely on the results that we had here in Ontario Shutting down Supplementary this mr. Speaker again to the premier I did not get a response about this decision from Ontario to buy a coal plant Not only did the premier's new purchase come with a coal plant now the deal comes with what Sierra Club called an 800 acre toxic soup waste site Doug Hal senior campaign organizer for Sierra said I quote One thing you need to understand is that you're not just getting a coal plant You're getting a toxic waste site and all the liabilities that go with it Hal added that a vista might be on the hook for a hundred million dollar cleanup. Where is that coming from? Well, thank you hydro one. Thank you premier You're putting on taro on the hook for this mr. Speaker How much hydro one rate payers be paying for this coal plants toxic waste Minister of Energy Thank You mr. Speaker please rise and answer that question mr. Minister because it just shows the lack of understanding on the energy system on that side of the house mr. Speaker Because Ontario rate payers will pay zero mr. Speaker just like their plan mr. Speaker It's nothing. There is no plan coming from that side mr. Speaker 194 days 194 days mr. Speaker Since they talked about coming up with some idea on what to do with the energy sector mr. Speaker what we've done mr. Speaker We've reduced rates by 25% making sure every family and household in this province Actually sees that reduction again mr. Speaker zero from that side of the house now when it comes to ask a vista mr. Speaker They're a progressive utility by most standards ahead of the curve on technologies like net metering EVs are biomass and this just goes to show mr. Speaker how far ahead of the curve We are when it comes to eliminating coal mr. Mr. Speaker again to the premier and I get that their talking points are that on this or attack the opposition attack others The reality is they bought a dirty coal plant the Ontario liberal government order Tending to be against dirty coal is now in the business of buying coal now Maybe it's the liberal members have lost their values. Maybe they no longer oppose Coal but it appears like one liberal may have a different approach liberal MPP Glenn Murray former MPP Glenn Murray And I wish him all the best on his new career and I want to ask this direct question to the premier Did the former minister the environment resigned his seat from cabinet and his seat in the legislature because he was so Disappointed and he could not support the government's decision Thank You mr. Speaker, I know Glenn Murray is very proud to say that it was this government that shut down coal plants like taking Seven million cars off the road mr. Speaker You know mr. Speaker Glenn Murray can talk about actually our energy system being 92% GHG free mr. Speaker, that's something that this government has done Against what they were saying mr. Speaker always the no party on that side I know PC stands for pro coal mr. Speaker and also no, but you know, let's talk about a few things that happened Well, they're sitting on their hands mr. Speaker plenty has happened in the world You know spring has turned and summer and now summer is turning into fall our kids have finished one grade And they've started another and our others have graduated high school and gone on to college and university and are getting Free tuition mr. Speaker, and that's all again while they sit on their hands. It's a hundred and ninety four days They have no idea what to do with energy. They have no idea what to do in this province We'll continue to govern for this people in Ontario New question the leader of the third party. Thank You speaker my question is to the premier Yesterday the Ontario Hospital Association called on the premier to immediately commit to rapid and aggressive new investment in Ontario hospitals the OHA Confirmed in fact what I've been hearing all over this province for far too long the conservative and liberal cuts to health care have Caused a crisis for Ontario families people are waiting hours in the ER They're being forced to spend days on end speaker on stretchers in hallways right here in Ontario's hospitals When will this premier stop the cuts and invest in the health care that? Ontarians deserve Thank you very much mr. Speaker and I I understand that the OHA issued a news release today mr. Speaker and they are Calling for more funding for Ontarians Ontario's hospitals and mr. Speaker We recognize that there need to be needed to be more in Investment in hospitals mr. Speaker and that's exactly why we've increased our investments in health mr. Speaker and particularly in hospitals and so in our budget mr. Speaker there was a 2% minimum Increased to each hospital across the province and overall a 3% investment mr. Speaker $500 million in Ontario's hospitals that we put in place mr. Speaker and that is that An increase mr. Speaker, but we have increased funding every single year But we recognize that particularly for hospitals there needed to be a particular increase and that's why we put that funding in place Mr.. Speaker answer we will continue to work with the OHA We appreciate the work that they do and as I said we have recognized that there needed to be an increase to Ontario's hospitals That's why it was in the budget supplementary and that's why the Liberals didn't listen to the OHA and actually Reduced the amount that they asked for by three hundred million dollars just in this budget speaker in the 2017 budget perhaps they should rethink when they go to their budget process and actually listen to what those folks are saying The last conservative government. What did they do speaker? They closed 28 hospitals fired 6,000 nurses 7,000 hospital beds gone when the Liberals came into power instead of reversing the cuts They froze health care spending for four years for five years after that. They actually stopped increasing To do a flit inflation they reduced the increases to below inflation They continue to worsen the health care crisis across the province hospitals are overcrowded without a major change We're gonna be in big trouble When is this government gonna start implementing the change we need instead of following in the footsteps of the previous You're welcome Well, mr. Speaker, we are making multi-billion dollar investments in the hospital sector And I'm proud to say that the OHA stands beside us They're important stakeholders and partners and we look to them for advice on an ongoing basis and mr. Speaker as the premier mentioned a few moments ago in the last two years more than a billion dollars into hospitals Specifically over the next 10 years mr. Speaker. We're putting 20 billion dollars into hospital infrastructure for new beds for expansions for redevelopments for brand new hospitals There are 34 projects either underway right now or in the planning stage across the province 3.1% funding increase and these are all matters that of course the third party in the last budget voted So we will continue as we have every single year make important investments, and we're working with our partners Ontarians Ontario families know that our health care system is not working nurses and frontline health care workers know that our Health hospital and health care systems are not working. They know that long-term care is not working Doctors know that our health care system isn't working and now hospital administrators are telling the premier that the health care system In Ontario isn't working the premier and the minister of health are the only two people or seem to be the only two people in Ontario who don't recognize that the health care system isn't working Is this premier really that out of touch speaker or is it just not a priority for her liberal government? Well, mr. Speaker the Leader of the third party is correct when she referenced the fact that the pcs when they were in government closed Approximately 10,000 hospital beds and they're correct when they said that that the pcs yesterday I believe that they fired more than 7,000 nurses when they were in power But mr. Speaker it's important to recognize in the five short years when the NDP were in power They not only closed 24 percent of the acute care beds in this hospital Close to the pc record mr. Speaker 9 645 beds hospital beds were closed by the NDP in five short years. They closed Unbelievably 13 percent of the mental health beds in this province as well And in their last budget before they were defeated They actually decreased the hospital funding by one percent So we're not going to take lessons. We're going to make the investments that our stakeholders ask us to make My next question is also for the premier speaker The Ontario hospital approach association said that one of the causes of the crisis in hospitals right now Is that there's not enough care available for seniors outside of the hospital setting? CEO anthony dale has called on the premier and her liberal government to make investments this year Just to stabilize the urgent situation in hospitals and also other care facilities like long-term care homes What will the premier be doing this year to make sure our parents and our grandparents have access to a safe place to live When they get and where they get the care that they need as they age Well, mr. Speaker, I appreciate the question from the leader of the third party because I think she has hit on and certainly Has recognized as we do that this is a complex situation That there is a continuum of care that is needed mr. Speaker a continuum of care That won't be solved by just one initiative And so that means that there are people in acute care beds in our hospitals Who do need to be somewhere else and I had the opportunity to meet with With health care advisors and with the minister of health last week, mr. Speaker And we talked about just that how do we make sure that in every community across this province Where there are people who are in an acute care bed in a hospital that there is either the support for them to go home Or there is a bed in a Long-term care home or mr. Speaker that we find ways to work for example with other sectors with the retirement home Sector, mr. Speaker to find ways to find appropriate beds for these these Thank you supplementary Look speaker the people of Ontario should be able to access the care that they need when they need it 14 years of liberal government and they still can't access the kind of care that they need when they need it Speaker our professionals should be given the resources that they need to provide the care to people in this province The resources that they need to do their job speaker enough is enough People all over Ontario are suffering at the hands of this liberal government The premier has cut and frozen health care budgets for far too long And she even refuses to do a broad inquiry into the dismal state of Disrepair in our long-term care system. How can this premier ever even hope to fix our problems? In long-term care if she refuses to figure out what the problems are Well mr. Speaker i'm going to ask the minister of health to comment in the last supplementary But mr. Speaker we have never frozen or cut the health budget mr. Speaker never We have increased the health budget year after year after year mr. Speaker And I would just say to the leader of the third party I recognize and we recognize that this is a complex issue We recognize that as the demographics shift and as our parents and our grandparents age mr. Speaker and as we age Those of us who are baby boomers mr. Speaker we recognize that there is going to need to be a continuum of solutions This is not an a simple fix mr. Speaker. There isn't a single thing that we can do You know mr. Speaker my mom is going to be 89 in a couple of weeks and my dad is 91 And I can tell the leader of the third party that it's not a simple thing To be with people as they age and to help them find the right place to be and mr. Speaker That story is being played out across this province Obviously this the liberal government is not up to solving complex issues when they increase a health care budget And they still can't solve the problem The premier should not be proud of this record speaker the care homes and our that our parents and our grandparents live in are understaffed That's no secret. Perhaps she hasn't been in one But they are understaffed and the frontline workers are forced to do too much with too little Our hospital association is warning that a crisis is coming a serious crisis is coming if something immediately Isn't done about the liberal cuts Why is this premier so out of touch that she doesn't see that health care is a priority for the people of ontario Even if it isn't a priority for this liberal government Premier Long-term care Sure health long-term care. Well, thank you, mr. Speaker and uh, I have to say That I do appreciate the fact that the leader of the third party finally Actually did acknowledge that our health care budget Increased this year just like it has every single year since 2003. It has never been frozen. It has never been cut It has increased year after year after year mr. Speaker order mr. Speaker that includes Leader of the third party come to order Finish please And mr. Speaker that includes our funding over the next three years. We are Investing an additional 11 billion dollars into our health care system Mr. Speaker and that includes in this year's budget Important investments that will result in individuals being able to see shorter wait times More long-term care better staffing Uh alternatives to long-term care We're investing a hundred million dollars into a dementia strategy So we're making the investments not where the third party necessarily wants them But where our stakeholders and patients in ontarians need Thank you new parkings member from kitchens Thanks, my questions to the premier A year after I tabled the ontario service dog act those with disabilities requiring service dogs still await the legislative accommodations They should already be guaranteed And so while the premier makes her Sudbury bribery trial debut tomorrow We will be continuing to fight for the rights of children with autism here at queen's park We will continue to fight for the accommodations that have been denied to a nine-year-old Kitchener boy with autism kenner fee accommodations that should be guaranteed and yet denied By the warlu catholic school board and now the human rights tribunal Will the premier join our fight for this vital access and step in to ensure kenner and other children with autism Don't have their required service dogs taken away from them when they get to school. Good question Minister thank you speaker. I want to thank the member for this important question Um, of course our government's very committed to continue to break down the barriers faced by people with disabilities And those needing supports accommodations whether uh, their students adults people at work The laws pertaining to service animals are very clear speaker And accessibility means giving people of all abilities that right to participate in everyday life So we we have standards in place And organizations must allow Uh person disability to be accompanied by a guide dog or other service animal in public Areas the standards the accessibility standards do not define what type of animal is considered And we know that guide dogs Are also covered as part of the blind persons rights act So we have standards in place around service animals. We have laws there And I know the minister of education will uh, follow up in the supplementary in terms of the issue in the school board Thank you Because we all know and in this particular case schools are not public facilities and therefore are denied so Um, a oda regulations already mandate service dog accommodations As the minister mentioned and the enteral human rights code speaks to duty to accommodate persons with disabilities Doctors teachers and international training schools have all testified of the importance of nine-year-old kenner service dog ivy Yes, yet kenner is still denied a service dog at school What's worse kenner is one of many with autism ptsd hearing or other disabilities requiring service dogs being denied access So while ontarians raise their voices with my petition to open access to registered service dogs and owners I'm asking the premier to save us the signing sending and tabling of that petition If she believes in accommodations for service dog users, she could step in today question Will she do it? Will the premier step in and ensure the public accommodations kenner and so many requiring service dogs should be already guaranteed Minister sorry my apologies minister of education Thank you minister of education. Thank you speaker and speaker I know that this has been a challenging situation for kenner and his family And while the ontarian human rights commission has ruled in favor of the board in this instance Mr. Speaker, we expect school boards to consider the needs of students And and to put those needs first and foremost in every decision that they make And and that includes Appropriate accommodations and supports for students in our school so that they can They can be successful. Mr. Speaker, and that is why we are working to in to put together Accessibility standards for education and that's something that we are in the process development, Mr. Speaker Because we want we want to have programs and supports in place whether that means individual accommodations Having extra time physical alterations to the classroom and that Thank you New question the member from kits me or water Mr. Speaker my questions to the premier Premier the people of this province deserve a government that respects the democratic process But at the Sudbury trial yesterday We learned that your party only abides by the democratic process when it benefits them Instead of having a democratic nomination race like the local writing association wanted There was confusion about who would become the candidate First there were rumors that mr. Olivier would be appointed then the minister of energy was appointed Stop the clock Come to order Minister of finance come to order finish please I realize that the government does not want to hear this question But the people of this province knows that the premier is going to court to more Best comment i've heard We will Try again, please Thank you Was the premier aware that the Sudbury writing association had requested a democratic Nomination meeting and not an appointment from her office Well, thank you very much speaker I will remind the members again as I did yesterday that This line of questioning is inappropriate this matter is before the courts and the member opposite know that Member from Hamilton mountain come to order Finish please thank you speaker that was saying this matter is before the courts It will be highly inappropriate to answer any questions in relation to the proceedings that are ongoing. Thank you Thank you supplementary Very much again to the premier in exchange for becoming the liable candidate in Sudbury two of the minister of energy's former staffers Received paid positions from the liable party. These paid positions are well documented in emails Clearly there was a lot of pressure to appease not only the minister of energy But also the writing association and mr. Olivier In fact, mr. Barra is on the record with mr. Olivier and I quote Of course you recognize the position that we're going to find ourselves in here Where she's going to have to make a decision around the appointment versus allowing this to go ahead To the premier is that why you agreed to the minister of energy's demands Thank you very much speaker Well, I speak speaker the opposition is fully entitled to waste their their time by asking questions that they know Is inappropriate to ask in this house because they relate to a legal proceeding On this side of the house speaker this premier and this government will continue to focus on issues That will result in building a fairer ontario like raising the minimum wage Speaker to $15 an hour so that we have fairer workplaces like making sure that one third of all full-time students in our province Are attending college university for free like what we have seen speaker that they're they're more new New students are able to go to college university because in the past they were not able to do so because of the policy changes that we have brought forward In in making sure that Families from low-income families Kids from low-income families are able to attend college university These are the kind of things people Speaker the people from Sudbury and all across Ontario working from and that's what they expect of the government Thank you, mr. Speaker my question this morning is to the minister of housing and minister responsible For the poverty reduction strategy and let me just start by congratulating him on his appointment to cabinet The opportunity to talk to my constituents in Davenport about how our government is helping people get ahead In an ever-changing economy from the many changes to osap and providing free tuition for many families across Ontario to providing To ohit plus which will be providing over 4400 prescription medications for free to those under 25 I've also talked a lot about rent control and I heard from families in Davenport that they feel there is A greater sense of stability and fairness in the rental market Some advocates would like to see the removal of vacancy to control which means when a unit becomes empty A landlord can increase the rent by whatever they want Speaker through you can the minister explain why the government has not removed vacancy to control Thank you minister responsible for poverty reduction strategy Thank you, mr. Speaker and I want to thank the member from Davenport for the important question Our policies like rent control are designed to create greater fairness and opportunity for the people of Ontario Thanks to our fair housing plan All renters and I repeat all renters in Ontario now know their rent is not going to increase beyond two and a half percent At the same time our government understands that if more landlords are Participating in the rental housing market, there will be more affordable choices available for tenants And through our plan landlords will continue to have the predictability and flexibility to negotiating start Starting rents based on current market values With new tenants as well as with vacant units So mr. Speaker, we're going to continue to implement our plan Working very to ensure that the rental system is fair for all ontarians Thank you speaker, and I'm glad the riding I'm glad the government has listened to the concerns of the people in my riding of Davenport And enacted the fair housing plan to protect renters from across the province from sudden dramatic Rent increases again to the minister of housing and the minister responsible for the poverty reduction strategy Rental and housing prices are rising in centers of prosperity around the world Including the greater horseshoe area One of the primary reasons is because people want to live in great communities like Davenport And Etobicoke Lakeshore with more than 80 000 people coming to Ontario each year It's important that we are able to keep up with the growing demand for housing People in my riding of Davenport want to make sure that we maintain a healthy supply of housing for the people in Ontario What is this government doing to ensure that Ontario maintains a healthy supply of housing? Thank you minister Thank you speaker our government under the leadership of premier win is committed to making it easier for the people of Ontario to buy or rent a home Our plan is to increase supply and rein in speculation It's about creating stability in the market and addressing affordability It's exactly for that reason that our fair housing plan contains 125 million dollar program to help stimulate more Or rental housing. It's why we're freeing up provincial lands to develop up to 2000 new units of housing It's why we've created a Dedicated housing development group to improve planning timelines and cut red tape and get shovels in the ground And it's why we're working with our municipal partners to get secondary suites on the market as quickly as possible Mr. Speaker our government's are unlikely conservatives supports housing in this In Ontario support social housing affordable housing and market housing and will work to New question remember from Bruce gray on sound thank you speaker my questions for the education minister Speaker while the premier testifies tomorrow on the Sudbury bribery trial The Ontario pc party is fighting for child care spaces for children, especially in rural entero Parents whose children were in before and after school and child care spaces in schools You closed are scrambling to find another option I want to know how many child care spaces could have stayed open if you hadn't shut down all those schools across entero Minister of education minister Women's issues and responsible for child care Minister responsible for child care and Thank you, mr. Speaker I'm proud to rise today and talk about some of the great work that we're doing when it comes to Transforming the way we deliver child care in this province Let's not forget that we are making historic historic investments in child care and we are Pledging to move forward with a hundred thousand new child care spaces But mr. Speaker I'd like to thank the member opposite for the question because the early years are important And we want to give children the best start in life And so by doing that our number one priority is to make sure that we are delivering programs that are safe And in good in good situations for our children And so what we are doing is asking our schools to be able to provide parents where desired Before and after school care on demand in the numbers that they require You're right it is historic and it's transforming when you close 700 schools across this great province Certain how it can't be safe when there's no places for them to go to Am I riding alone? You and I still haven't announced if you'll reinstate Close schools or what will happen with the license before and after school and child care spaces at paisley central and be repressed schools I want to know minister How many daycare spaces did you close when you shut down 700 schools across entero And how many millions of dollars did you waste shutting them down? Mr. Speaker we know that most families for most families the work day doesn't begin and end with the school bell And that's why our government is committed to make sure school boards offer before and after school programming for six and 12 year olds It's a commitment we made to families in 2014 and starting in september of this year. We have been delivering We've been delivering on that province across on that promise across the province Let me just tell you some of the things that we are doing We are increasing access for families and children by building on the success of full day kindergarten We have created flexibility in the system We have revised our framework so that we can enhance and build on existing practices And the bottom line is these families are benefiting from these changes families now across the province I believe the last number was 83 percent of schools in the province Nerve supplying before and after school care to those families when they needed it Thank you, speaker I were joined in the members gallery today by the Ontario network of injured workers and a number of injured workers in this province Here's the Ontario workers compensation system has failed workers who find themselves injured on the job As it stands today, if you're a worker in this province who gets hurt well at work Unable to continue doing that job and reliant on benefits from compensation to meet your needs or your family's needs WCIP has a pop I suspect it's the minister of labor, but I need to hear it Suspect it's the premier WCIP relies on a policy called deeming that is Pretending that a worker actually has a job that you don't actually have to cut your benefit payments For a government that claims to be so in tune with fairness and so in tune with workers in this province It has led Workers into deeper and deeper poverty. When will the government put an end to deeming fix the WCIP policies? Minister of labor Thank you speaker and thank you to the honorable member for that question speaker The number one priority of the minister of labor the person that occupies that seat and the minister of labor as an organization Is to ensure the people that go to work in the morning come home safe and sound at the end of the day to their family Ontario remains one of the safest places in the world to work Unfortunately, speaker. We're not at zero yet accidents do happen fatalities do happen speaker And when they happen the injured workers deserve the respect and the dignity Of a good wsib system that allows them either to return to work quickly or that is impossible speaker allows them to Deliver a life of respect and dignity with the earnings that should go along with that speaker So we've done a number of things to change that over the past few years the worker is right I think if you go back in years the system often didn't work I hope to address some of the things we have done in the supplementary speaker. Thank you Back to the minister of labor then we need to ensure that workers injured on the job receive the protections and the benefits they deserve We have Jenny zow with us here today She spent every day for five years on a knitting machine in a factory here in toronto After five years she was sent home with a long list of repetitive strain injuries back severe carpal tunnel She had surgery and she could not return to work even though her injuries were confirmed by doctors But wsib was able to cut her benefits deeming that she could be a walmart greeter A phantom job that she could never get nor did she ever have jenny went into severe depression She was unable to get treatment. She suffered from insomnia and she had to sell her house She now lives in a basement just to make ends meet and she had to apply for cpp Speaker I ask this government again. When is the premier going to fix our broken system of compensation and make sure that injured workers Are given the benefits and the protections that they need Speaker thank you again to the member for the supplementary and as I said a priority of this government is treating peaches People that have been injured on their job with the dignity and the respect that they deserve speaker And we're prepared to make those changes when the case is made that something should be changed speaker For example, we bought in full indexation for both partially fully disabled workers by this January Full cpi coverage that injured workers deserve new amendments We bought forward in this year's budget to the workplace safety insurance act to end benefit clawback speaker Due to the eligibility for old age security benefits for those injured and speaker You'd wonder what those two things had to do with each other with each other speaker Their improvements to the act their improvements to the way that things that have been done Their improvements that have been made to The lot of injured workers in this province speaker and they're both things that that party voted against Now they're standing in the house and telling us about improvements that could be made speaker When the case is made and the case was made in 2007 So New question member from berry Thank you speaker. My question is for the minister of transportation I know that one issue that many cyclists face is that they can't ride their bike all the way to work Despite how much they would like to Hopping on their bike is an important part of their day But for some the distance just doesn't lend well to completing their trip this way That's why I know a number of cyclists who want to bike for part of their trip and make transit or carpool to close the gap But right now many cyclists I talked to haven't don't have this option because the infrastructure is securely To securely store their bike before heading to the next stretch of their trip just isn't there yet This is a problem and I and one I think deserves action from our government if we're truly committed to promoting cycling in Ontario Speaker would the minister please inform the members of this house If there are any plans to provide this much needing needed cycling infrastructure. Thank you Minister transportation. Well, thanks very much the speaker Of course, I want to begin by thanking the member from berry for her question And for her ongoing staunch advocacy for her community and for cycling and transit on highway infrastructure Investments right across the province of Ontario Just this past spring speaker our government announced a historic investment of 50 million dollars To support commuter cycling infrastructure right across Ontario Now when we first announced this fund speaker We launched the Ontario municipal commuter cycling program and promised more news on other programs that will be coming With respect to this unprecedented investment. Well speaker. I'm so pleased to say that today I joined another colleague the minister of tourism culture and sport in burlington to provide that important update this morning speaker We announced that we are making it easier for cyclists to safely store their bikes With eight new bike lockers at each of our 15 commuter parking lots across the gtha Including a lot of highway 400 and s a road up in berry speaker this investment and more like it We'll help ensure that people finish the first and last mile of the trip my bike And encourage even more people to carpool. Thanks for Thank you speaker back to the minister speaker people in my community of barrier constantly looking for new Active ways to get to work during the week and get around the city with their families on the weekend I'm so glad that the minister recognizes this and is taking important strides towards building a more cycling friendly province in addition to the announcement this morning We're seeing important progress on a number of initiatives that enable and support cycling in Ontario including the development of the cycle on action plan two desk Point zero which will involve collaboration with stakeholders the ontario cycling tourism plan and the ontario municipal commuter cycling program The minister of transportation spoke about the carpool lots including the lot in my community of berry But I understand there was another important question Answer or announcement this morning speaker Can the minister inform this house about the steps this government is taking to make Cycling community easier for cyclists. Thank you minister Minister tourism culture in sport Minister tourism culture in sport Thank you, mr. Speaker, and I want to thank the member from berry for that question this morning I was pleased to along with the minister of transportation make it a very important announcement That appleby go train station in my riding of berlington about the future of cycling here in ontario To the commuter bike program our government is investing more than two million dollars to create 28 bike rooms At 26 go train stations in the dta These bike rooms will be installed and will provide storage for more than 200 bikes making life easier and more convenient for ontarians By enhancing their transportation options Speaker we'll keep making these critical investments because our government knows that investing in cycling infrastructure Connects our communities promotes an active healthy lifestyle Enhances quality of life and simply because speaker. It's the right thing to do We know too that getting more people on bikes more often is a shared priority with our municipal partners. Thank you very much Thank you very much speaker. My question is for the premier while the premier spends her time testifying tomorrow during the February bribery trial the ontario pc party is fighting for the health concerns of our constituents It's not very helpful i'm trying to get them to come to order Finish please Speaker over the summer I continue to hear from constituents who told me stories about their health concerns from industrial wind turbines These people included norma schmidt, carlis tercura, joan black and randy glazier Whose wife along with residents of their trailer park have been negatively impacted by the turbines All of them have told me over and over how they report issues to the ministry of environment and climate change And then they do not see any action taken on their files Clearly the previous minister either failed in his attempt to try and make a difference or He just gave up Will the premier commit to directing the new minister to ensure that the ministry takes noise complaints seriously And finally finally starts taking measures to address the harmful effects Thank you Well, thank you To the member opposite for for that important question because I know Issues around wind turbine projects Continue to pop up every now and then and I can I can say quite frankly speaker that Our ministry takes concerns around wind turbine construction very seriously whether it be Noise complaints or whether it be impacts potential impacts on water We take that very seriously because the the the health of ontarians is is paramount speaker So, you know, we we understand that that various projects have been appealed We we understand that very Various projects have been taken to the to the environmental review tribunal consulting with the public is paramount Consulting with the public is paramount And we make sure that that we consult we make sure that we monitor mr. Speaker And that we we're sure that we stay on top of the issues throughout Action speak louder than words Speaker the previous minister committed to coming down to here in bruce to visit with some of my constituents Who have reported over and over again Detailed problems while living close to industrial wind turbines for goodness sakes We will all remember the previous minister even agreed and I quote That no one should have to suffer noise or noise pollution from any source And certainly not wind turbines in their community speaker in august I sent the current minister a letter inviting him to visit some of these sites while he's in my Writing for the international applying match. But speaker. I have yet to hear a response Will the minister Be permitted by the premier to accept my invitation and visit with some of the Ontario residents Continue to raise significant concerns about industrial wind turbines minister Well, thank you speaker. You know speaker There has there has not been a single renewable energy project that the party opposite the pcs have ever supported here in this house Not a single one speaker You know If if if it were up to them speaker They put an end to all the efforts we're making to create a greener and more sustainable province, but you know what Speaker we remain committed to a cleaner future And I can tell you speaker that that thanks to the clean air and clean energy Ontario has saved more than four billion dollars. That's four billion dollars In annual health and environmental cost Unlike the pcs, we're not going to sit idly by speaker renewable energy projects They are necessary and a crucial part of our low carbon switch You see what it plays New question the leader of the third party Thank you speaker my questions for the premier The number of temp agency offices in Ontario has grown 20 20 in the last decade Hundreds of thousands of people in this province now rely on these agencies for their paychecks But the premier's new labour legislation doesn't go far enough to protect them on the job Just last weekend We were reminded in the media of the squalid and dangerous conditions that many of these workers face Some like 20-year-old aminah dyabi losing their lives because they had no other choice But to work in unsafe conditions Will the premier commit to doing the right thing by amending bill 148 to better protect temporary agency workers speaker Yeah, the leader of the third party for a very important question And yes, we were as concerned as you are when it comes to the growth in temporary help agencies in the province Ontario and let me say right from the start speaker anybody that loses their life of work anybody that's seriously injured at work speaker Our thoughts go out to them. It's something we try to prevent on a daily basis The the investigation on that speaker obviously is is still under review Charges, uh, I'm not sure of charges will be laid or not or I'm not sure of that process Is something we should be talking about speaker But what we want to do is ensure that temporary help workers rights are protected while they remain on the job What we've done speaker through the fur workplace in the better jobs act bill 148 is to ensure that these workers are paid The same as their full-time counterparts when they're performing essentially the same work They're given at least one week's notice when the assignment ends early speaker and they have access to a more fair and transparent Organization system speaker should they should they choose to organize speaker? I'll uh, I'll address others in the supplementary speaker Speaker today in Ontario too many shady companies contract out risky work to temp agencies because our laws Are written so that if a temporary employee is hurt on the job speaker the company isn't held Fully responsible and yes, I call that shady our laws make it easy for unscrupulous employers unscrupulous companies to save money by hiring temporary workers And allowing them to get hurt instead of investing in permanent employees and training them properly Why is this premier? Willing to let families who are already struggling just to get by risks their lives in dangerous workplaces in the province of Ontario Speaker as I said earlier we have bill 148 before the house speaker We made the unusual move of bringing it or taking it out to the public after first reading Excellent because we know that people have a lot to say on these issues We know that it's something that we can There if we get the right input from those members of the public We can do what needs to be done speaker a lot of it is enforcement as well speaker employment standards officers What we're proposing to do at the ministry of labor speaker is higher up to 173 more people to go out of proactively inspect Perhaps like the one that was mentioned in the star speaker We can get into 10 percent of the workplaces in ontario on an annual basis speaker And that's something that we're unable to do right now with the hiring of those people There's a number of changes that will impact on temporary help agencies in the past speaker They all come out of the changing workplaces review And I don't know speaker the third party referred to that review as a waste of time I don't think anybody in this province believes that that was a waste of time speaker And of course you remember to be just these talk Well, thank you speaker and my question is to the attorney general Now speaker we are all very much aware of the large number of a legal store dispensaries that are selling cannabis And they're popping up all over the province and especially in the gta The police will shut them down and sometimes the very next day they'll open up again illegal dispensaries So the federal government as we know has tasked the provinces to determine their own regulations and approach to retailing cannabis Once it has become legalized And I know that in my community of beaches east york and others across the province We all have questions and concerns about the impacts of this coming federal legislation Into legalizing cannabis cannabis. So speaker Can the attorney general please clarify what the government is intending to do to shut down these dispensaries to keep these dispensaries shut down So then they don't continually pop up and will his speaker Will the will the attorney general explain to us the role that his ministry is playing Thank you, attorney general Thank you very much. Uh, speaker. I uh, thanks the member uh for the important question Speaker ontario is proposing a safe and sensible framework to regulate Recreational cannabis within the province even as it becomes legalized cannibals will remain a carefully controlled substance in ontario Subject to strict rules when it comes to both lawful use and retail Speaker our aim from start has been to protect youth promote public health and road safety Focus on prevention and harm reduction and eliminate the illegal market and speaker So what we have proposed a retail model that takes a sensible control approach of a new standalone Cannibal stores and an online retail channel that will service the entire province Speaker we also are sending a very clear message to pot shops that have opened across our communities They are operating illegally now And they will be illegal under the new rules They will be shut down speaker We were heartened to hear a statement from the ontario association's chiefs of police Which said that our preliminary review of the proposed legislation is that the government of ontario has heard and responded positively to the likes of ontario's police See the supplementary Well, thank you very much speaker And I want to particularly thank the attorney general for the incredible and important work that he's doing on this file It's a very onerous obligation that the federal government has passed down to provinces And I believe the attorney general in this government is taking excellent excellent response in order to reflect the concerns of ontarians Now speaker, I know that the attorney general's office has done extensive consultations over the summer Including an online survey that to gauge that public's Interest in how we should best retail legalized cannabis And I know that members of my community are pleased to hear of the safe and sensible approach the government is taking To how cannabis can be legally retailed in the province of ontario how they can purchase marijuana Combating the illicit market speaker is a key to keeping our cities and our most vulnerable as safe as possible So speaker on july 1st 2018 question We are hearing that it will be 40 new stores open for distribution along with online delivery access Which is extremely important. So will the minister explain how the government will decide on the new location? Attorney general Thank you, mr. Speaker, and I'd also like to thank the member from beach this east york for the question Mr. Nackley and I and our colleagues have been working diligently on this strategy As you know, the federal government is set to legalize recreational cannabis next july and we're working hard to be ready We've consulted widely on retail strategy to ensure we get this right And since our announcement our safe and sensible approach to retailing distribution of cannabis has received support From addictions and mental health ontario from mad canada from the cancer canadian cancer society and labor groups That's because the lcbo has a strong record of selling controlled substance in a socially responsible way And their experience will be indispensable as we establish 150 stand-alone retail outlets by 2020 as well as online delivery We have we have ongoing discussions with the municipalities regarding the role of these retail stores We'll continue to engage with municipalities and other partners from across the province as we cite 150 stand-alone stores And together we are going to do away with the list of activity and closed The member from the typical center on a point of order I just wanted to make everyone aware that the ukrainian-canadian congress on terror provincial council is hosting a ukrainian heritage day flag raising today at noon At the courtesy flagpole and all members are welcome. Thank you Minister of labor on point of order Correct my My record indeed churches have been laid in the case that was referred to the matter is before the court speaker Question period being finished is this house stands recessed till 3 p.m. This afternoon You