 Now it is time for Question Period, the leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Premier. According to the Independent Auditor General, this Liberal government will overpay $9.2 billion for renewable energy contracts. It is the same Liberal government that has received $1.3 million in donations from some 30 renewable energy contracts. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Premier. I'm hoping she can be on the record to answer this. Is there any connection between the reckless renewable contracts for hydro we did not need and donations to her Ontario Liberal Party? No, there's not, Mr. Speaker. And I would ask the member opposite as he goes on his gambit on clean renewable energy, which we have put in place in this province, a 90% clean electricity grid, Mr. Speaker, if his thought is that we should reopen the coal plants. Supplementary? Mr. Speaker, send her some talking points. I'm trying to get both sides' attention. Thank you. Leader? Mr. Speaker, again to the Premier. The Premier's assertion on coal-fired generation, it was the PCs that initiated that diversion because the Premier does not want to talk about the donations for the contract she shouldn't have signed. So my question is $1.3 million to the Ontario Liberal Party from renewable energy companies. Those 30 companies are part of the $9.2 billion that we overpaid in these contracts according to the Auditor General. The Auditor General's numbers are bang on. A reasonable person would conclude $1.3 million to the Ontario Liberal Party, a $9.2 billion taxpayer overpayment because of those same companies. My question, Mr. Speaker, is will the Premier stand here today at Queen's Park and deny those donations had nothing to do with these unacceptable contracts? Mr. Speaker, I've been very clear that fundraising and policy decisions are separate. All of the parties in this House have held fundraisers over the years. We have all followed the same rules. We have now moved to make changes. Right after I say order, please, is start. So that's not very helpful. The member from Leeds Grand Bowl will stop. Carry on. Make changes to those political fundraising rules, Mr. Speaker. But again, I will say to the leader of the opposition, we took a dirty, unreliable electricity system. We have a 90% emissions-free grid, Mr. Speaker. We made changes that led to a renewable industry, Mr. Speaker, that's created over 42,000 jobs. I say to the leader of the opposition again. The member from Leeds Grand Bowl Second Time, the member from Chatham Kent Essex, come to order. The member from Haldeman Norfolk, come to order. And if I hear what I hear again, I'll ask you to withdraw. Leader of the opposition again, is his plan to reopen the coal plants, Mr. Speaker? Final supplementary. So, Mr. Speaker, I guess the $1.3 million in donations is just a coincidence. You know, since I can't get an answer on the donations, I just get diversion tactics. I'm going to ask about something along the same lines on hydro. Hydro Ottawa has asked for a new rate structure. The new plan would see a higher delivery fee for families that were under Ottawa's average usage. So if you conserve energy under this Premier's Ontario, you pay more for delivery. Paying more to delivery, yes. That is absurd, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, will the Premier speak out against this plan? Why should people be punished for conserving energy? How does this make sense? How does this Liberal government condone this? And Mr. Speaker, I will say to the leader of the opposition that I assume he's talking about an application to the Ontario Energy Board where those decisions are made. I'm not going to pre-empt the conversation that happens at the OEB. And we know, Mr. Speaker, that the OEB has accepted applications for increases and has rejected applications for increases, Mr. Speaker. So we'll let that unfold. Our job, Mr. Speaker, is to make sure we have a clean electricity system, Mr. Speaker. Make sure that we put in place programs to support people so that they can pay their bills when there are exorbitant charges, Mr. Speaker. And to make sure that we do everything in our power to continue to support people across the province. That's our role. That's what we're here for, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. New question, the member from Prince Edward Heastings. Mr. Speaker, my question this morning is for the Premier. This morning, Mr. Speaker, the leader of the official opposition is headed to Yes, I Can Nursery School. I know the Premier knows Yes, I Can Nursery School well because it's in her riding of Don Valley West. And the Premier was a good friend of Yes, I Can and she actually helped the nursery get funding for many years. It started as a pilot project and then moved to year-to-year funding all along indicating that sustainable funding was on its way. But the support disappeared and this Liberal government has turned their back on Yes, I Can Nursery School. Mr. Speaker, will the Premier explain why the Liberals turned their back on Yes, I Can? If she answers quick enough, maybe the leader of the opposition can give them an answer when he visits today. Well, first of all, Mr. Speaker, let me just say that I have been to Yes, I Can many times and I have worked with the nursery school to put in place to help them to access funding. And Mr. Speaker, in fact, every year we provide funding to the City of Toronto to then funds Yes, I Can to the tune of $300,000 a year, Mr. Speaker. So there is provincial money that goes into Yes, I Can. Our intention always with Yes, I Can from the time I was Minister of Education was to help them to establish a working relationship with the City of Toronto so that they could work with the City of Toronto because that's the primary relationship. That's how other nursery schools function, Mr. Speaker and it was always our intention that that would be the relationship. So I guess it begs the question, Mr. Speaker, what happened? The Premier used to regularly visit Yes, I Can where she worked closely with the executive director there, Janet McDougal. At the June 2011 graduation, she actually stood up, the Premier did at Yes, I Can and she said Yes, I Can nursery school should be a model of early childhood education in the province of Ontario and we should fund it, she said. But now the Minister of Education staff won't even return a call, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if the Premier believes that the program should be funded then why did it take a visit from the leader of the official opposition today for Yes, I Can to finally get an email return? Because that's what's happened, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Brown is on his way there now and all of a sudden we get an email return. What happened? Mr. Speaker, well, you know, I have worked with this nursery school and Mr. Speaker, dozens, dozens of organizations in my riding over the years, Mr. Speaker and my hope was always that Yes, I Can would work with the City of Toronto and would be in a relationship with the City of Toronto that would allow them to add access on going funding, Mr. Speaker. It was never the intention that there would be direct funding from the Ministry of Education and I can tell you I was the Minister at the time, Mr. Speaker. I was working with the Ministry of Children Youth Services at the time and Mr. Speaker, that was never the intention. So, you know, we're still trying to get the Yes, I Can to work with the City of Toronto to find a way so that they can get on top of the $300,000 which they already get funding for, Mr. Speaker, that they would work with the City of Toronto and establish a relationship that would allow for that funding. That was always the intention, Mr. Speaker. Final supplementary? Thanks again, Mr. Speaker. Perhaps the Premier was just going around making promises everywhere that she can't keep but, you know, the one thing is... Order. Finish, please. Thank you, Speaker. There are available childcare spaces in Toronto and Yes, I Can is one of the nursery schools that has space but, Mr. Speaker, they don't have the funds to support these children. In fact, they're actually turning away three kids a week. Yes, I Can has the space but not the funding and I read what the Premier said when she was there in 2011. She said the funding would be on the way. The years of liberal scandal, waste and mismanagement have pushed aside important programs like Yes, I Can right here in her own riding. Mr. Speaker, why should a program like Yes, I Can be forced to turn away deserving children who need a space? Thank you. Mr. Speaker, you know, I think that it is a good idea that we look at what is actually happening in childcare in this province. We are moving to create 100,000 new childcare spaces, Mr. Speaker. We're investing in autism because the thing about Yes, I Can is that it's a blended program, Mr. Speaker. There is an autism component to it and there's a nursery school component to it, Mr. Speaker. And I have said, as the member opposite notes, I've said it's a very good model. I think it's a very good model. I think that it's something that should be looked at by other nursery schools across the province, Mr. Speaker. But the reality is that all those nursery schools need to work with the municipalities. They need to have a relationship with the municipality that's how it works. We've been trying to get Yes, I Can into that relationship so that they could have that sustainable funding. I still hope that will happen, Mr. Speaker. New question, the leader of the third party. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Premier. Last week I was in Niagara Falls where I met a couple named Laura and Fran. They were in their house. They had invited me to come and speak to them about their hydro-bill speaker. Laura and Fran have seen their hydro-bill increase over the last two years by more than $300. But as it happened, I arrived at their home at the very same time as the mail carrier who happened to have their new hydro-bill with him at the time. The bill was more than $600 and as much as the government wants to jeer, the fact of the matter is that put Laura into tears that morning, Speaker, because they were already struggling to be able to make their bills. Now, Laura and Fran can't afford a privatized hydro-system, Speaker, where the bills keep going up. Hydro costs are going up because of the privatization of Hydro-1 and everyone knows it. Will this liberal government stop any further privatization? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. On this side of the house, we are very concerned that people have the support to be able to pay for the things in their lives that they need and that are necessary to their quality of life, obviously including electricity. And so that's exactly why we put in place the Ontario Energy Support Program. It's exactly why, Mr. Speaker, we took the debt retirement charge off people's bills and it's why we're doing more. It's why we're taking the provincial portion of the HST off people's bills, which I would remind the Leader of the Third Party of something that she thought was a good idea along with other people around the province. She thought that was a good idea. We are doing that, Mr. Speaker. We are also increasing support for people in rural communities. So, Mr. Speaker, we're acutely aware of needing to support people in their lives every single day and that's why we put these programs in place. Mr. Speaker. Speaker, later that day I was in Hamilton and I met a woman named Hannah. Hannah is a single mom. She's got two kids and like every other mom she wants her kids to have every opportunity, Speaker. A few years ago her hydro bill was around 100 bucks. Her last bill was $324. Her bills are so high, Speaker, that this single mom has had to stop putting money in her son's R-E-S-P's. That means a tougher future for her son, Speaker. Hannah and her sons can't afford privatization and higher bills. Will this Premier stop the privatization of Hydro-1? Mr. Speaker, I understand that the lead of the Third Party wants to make this false connection that she continues to make about Hydro-1 and the changes that we've made at Hydro-1 and electricity prices. The reality is we have made significant investments in our electricity system, Mr. Speaker. We inherited a dirty, unreliable system, Mr. Speaker. We have built more than 10,000 kilometers of transmission line. We have moved to a renewable system, Mr. Speaker. 90% emissions-free electricity grid. All things that I would have thought the NDP would have supported, Mr. Speaker. And at the same time, we know we need to invest in infrastructure. We need to invest in transportation infrastructure. That's what the expansion of the ownership of Hydro-1 is about. Not the linkage that the leader of the Third Party is making, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Final supplementary. For the reality is consecutive, conservative and liberal governments have been privatizing our electricity system and that's why the rates are out of control. The next day I met another woman named Kristin and she was in Kitchener. She had just finished university. She's got two kids and she's paying $1,300 a month for childcare. She has $40,000 in student loans and her most recent Hydro bill was three times higher than at the same time as last year. She doesn't know what to do, Speaker. The government isn't making childcare any more affordable but they're profiting off of her student loans and they're planning to privatize even more of Hydro-1, Speaker. Kristin and her husband are on the edge. Like 80% of Ontarians, they don't want Hydro to be sold off. They want to give their kids a great life but it's getting harder and harder. Not easier, Speaker. So will this Premier stop any further sell off of Hydro-1? I actually don't know where it's coming from but I have been hearing some whistling and it'll stop. It's not appropriate in the House. Premier. I have an enormous amount of sympathy for the people that the leader of the third party, Kristin and Hannah and Fran but I have enormous sympathy for them and I hope, Mr. Speaker, that the leader of the third party in her conversations with them that she talked about the programs that are in place. I hope she talked about the Ontario Electricity Support Program. I hope she talked about the Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit, Mr. Speaker. I hope she let people know... Thank you, Premier. I hope she let them know that there were options. Also the leader of the third party has mentioned post-secondary education a couple of times but Mr. Speaker, we are moving to make tuition free for low and low-income people. The leader of the third party doesn't want to acknowledge that but that is just one of the things that we're doing to help people in their lives every single day. My next question is also for the Premier. The 2015 budget created a brand new tax giveaway to encourage cities to sell their local hydro utilities and there could be more handouts coming, Mr. Speaker, to quote one media report last week that the wind's government will be all ears if Mayor John Tory asks for concessions to expedite the sale of Toronto Hydro. To quote another, the province believes that privatizing Toronto Hydro is a good idea and Queen's Park is interested in helping it make it happen. Now I think Ontarians deserve to know, Speaker, whether these media reports are in fact true. Is this Premier going to give new tax breaks for the privatization of hydro utilities while at the same time families continue to pay more and more every day? Thank you, Premier. Mr. Speaker, I know the Minister of Finance is going to want to speak to the tax issue. What I will say, as I've said before, it is entirely up to the City of Toronto, their council and their Mayor to decide what they want to do with Toronto Hydro. Mr. Speaker, that is where the decision lies and it is up to them to have the discussion. It is up to them to make a decision and then Mr. Speaker to move forward. It is not up to us at the provincial level to make that decision. It is up to the City Council. Everybody knows that this Premier is primed to sweeten the pot for the local utilities to be sold off and that's the matter that I am trying to get at in this question. The Liberal Government is already encouraging the privatization of local utilities like Toronto Hydro through major tax giveaways that they have already announced and Liberal insiders are suggesting that the Prime Minister wants to sweeten the pot sweeten the deal even more to further facilitate the sell-off of these local distribution companies. People in Ontario cannot afford any more privatization in our electricity system, Speaker. Will this Premier stop pushing the privatization of local distribution companies? Mr. Speaker, ultimately, as mentioned already by the Premier, the decision is up to the Council of the City of Toronto as it was for the City of Hamilton who decided to, in Horizon and other LDCs, decide to merge and in fact are in the midst right now of looking at Brampton Hydro to enable greater cost savings and enable better delivery for their consumers. Consequently, the Toronto Hydro is making their decisions. It's not the province of Ontario. We have, of course, indicated that transfer tax reductions occurred in the last budget from 33% to 22%. But Toronto will have to pay that tax as will any other municipality should they decide to go to a private investor. Should they decide to merge with other municipalities they'll get the benefits thereof as did Hamilton, Mr. Speaker. All we want to make certain is that the consumers of this province have the best delivery of service by their hydro-electrical service. Thank you. How a finance minister, Speaker, can imagine that putting private profits ahead of decent rates is going to benefit the public is beyond me, Speaker, because that's what privatisation does. It puts the profits in the interest of the people. People are having a hard time making gents meet, Speaker. Laura, Fran, Hannah, Kristen are all barely hanging on. Something has to change, Speaker, and it has to change now. Ontarians cannot afford a privatised hydro-1 and they certainly can't afford a local utility, a local hydro utility and a private for-profit company. The Premier would like us to believe she's just an innocent bystander in all of this, but she's actually making things worse with her tax giveaways. So will this Premier commit to stopping any further sell-off of hydro-1 and not to incentivise any sell-off of local distribution companies? Thank you. Mr. Speaker, there's a number of things the member opposite has mentioned. One is we're not encouraging LDCs to find savings and if they merge or if they decide to do other things they'll have to pay their taxes accordingly. Furthermore, Mr. Speaker, the member opposite doesn't talk about the benefits of broadening its ownership so that we can reinvest in the things that matter. In Hamilton, for example, with the LRT and other investments that can create even greater value in return. And, of course, the province of Ontario will be the major holder of hydro-1. We will not allow more than 10% from any other provider or any other investor to, again, safeguard some of those conditions. But the member opposite makes reference to a number of other programs that she's obviously not telling her constituents that are available to them to further alleviate some of those cost pressures for their benefit, Mr. Speaker. And I hope the member opposite does explain to their constituents those benefits and if she's not then she's not doing her job, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the president of the Treasury Board. Last week you informed the House that the public account would be delayed. They were not tabled on the 30th of September as they were supposed to be and I understand that the Liberal government is challenging the Auditor General's accounting methods. A Liberal told us last Friday that the Treasury Board has proposed to hire outside consultants to review the books and the Liberals want their results to stand. It simply sounds like the Liberals are once again questioning the credibility of the Auditor General. Mr. Speaker, how many accounting firms is the Liberal government prepared to hire during this dispute with the Auditor General and how much money is this expected to cost with all of these extra consultants. Thank you. President of the Treasury Board. Yes, and as you know Speaker, I did announce to the House last week that we would be delayed in tabling the public accounts this year which actually are due on the 27th 180 days after the end of the last fiscal year and clearly we have not met that target. We are continuing to work with the Auditor General to finalize the statements. In fact, Minister Sousa and I did meet with the Auditor General and there is one rather complex accounting issue that remains outstanding and we are working to resolve that with the Auditor General. Thank you. Speaker, I guess the question remains what is the Liberal government hiding in these public accounts and how many consultants are they prepared to hire and at what cost in order to undermine the credibility of the Auditor General? On Friday three senior Treasury Board bureaucrats accused the Auditor General of being politically motivated. They said that quote they have been doing this the same way for 13 years and she's trying to change it. My question, Mr Speaker were these senior bureaucrats speaking on behalf of the Treasury Board and does the Treasury Board Minister actually hold their point of view? I can tell you and what I told you last week is that there is absolutely nothing to hide Speaker. In fact what I can tell you is that not only will we meet this year's deficit target we'll exceed this year's deficit target. So I'm actually very pleased. In fact I'm anxious to get the public accounts into the public venue because I don't want the public to be concerned that there is some sort of some sort of a mystery here. We want to share the good news of our accounting because it actually means that we're on track not just to meet this year's deficit targets but to balance our budget next year Speaker. Your question? The member from Essex. Thank you very much Speaker. My question is to the Premier Speaker. Thousands of people rallied here at Queens Park over the weekend for decent jobs for decent futures for their families for schedules you can plan a life around and for $15 an hour minimum wage thousands like Raniera Bravo who works in construction as a contract worker when she really should be a full time employee. Thousands who want to be able to afford their bills and pay their rent, who want to put food on the table and maybe even plan for their future. Speaker will the Premier act on the evidence follow the lead of Alberta and increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour? Minister of Children and Youth Services come to order please. Thank you to the member for that. Excuse me. Minister of Children and Youth Services come to order. Premier Minister of Labor. Thank you for the question to the member opposite. Speaker I was aware of the people that came down to Queens Park over the weekend and they're asking for us to take another look at the changing workplaces speaker and what's happening out there in the world of work and we know speaker that the nature of the work in the province of Ontario is changing. It's changed since the Employment Standards Act was last looked at in the 1990s and 2000 on the Labor Relations Act and that's why we're taking the positive step speaker of putting in a changing workplaces review. We've had two advisers being traveling the province of Ontario to organize labor. They've been talking to people about the impact that work is having on ordinary people's lives in the province of Ontario. They have an interim report out speaker where they brought back the findings, they brought back some of the options that would deal with those findings speaker. Speaker the changing workplaces review is designed to address exactly the issues that the member is talking about. Thank you. The workers for their children yet are finding it harder than ever to get ahead don't think that a living wage should be impossible and new democrats don't think that a living wage should be impossible either. Will the premier listen to Ontarians to the workers that gathered here over the weekend and increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Thank you. Thank you once again to the member for that question speaker. You go back and remember between 1996 we had one of the lowest minimum wages in the country speaker. It was frozen for that entire period of time speaker. It was frozen at $6.85 speaker. We knew we could do better and what we wanted to do was put a process in place that allowed for regular increases to the minimum wage speaker and for the last few years speaker we've been leading the country when it comes to the provinces in this country and the minimum wage. Alberta has moved ahead a little bit at this point in time. What we have is stability. We've got predictability and what we'll be doing speaker in 2019 is reviewing the minimum wage again. It's got a five year review but people in this province can rely on regular increases that are based on CPI speaker. That's something neither party was able to do in the past. Thank you. Thank you speaker. My question is to the minister of economic development and growth. Minister, innovation is incredibly important to the future of Ontario's economy. We're making investments for our future. Just two weeks ago in my writing of Trinity Spadina IBM officially opened an innovation hub to give some of the best startup companies access to supercomputing technology to help them scale up and I understand that Ontario Government is a partner in this new venture. I have heard from many constituents about the importance of innovation activities and investments in order to help our business in Ontario propel into the global marketplace. Minister, can you please tell us more about the IBM innovation hub and what our government is doing to help businesses stay competitive and innovative in this global economy. Thank you. Thank you Mr. Speaker. I want to thank the member for Trinity Spadina for that question and for joining me a couple weeks ago at a very important launch. The fact is Mr. Speaker that we're very committed to home growing innovation. That's why we invested $22.75 million from our jobs and prosperity fund to help the IBM innovation hub get going. You know Mr. Speaker, there's a reason we invest in companies that drive disruptive technologies and we were at that launch together with the member a couple weeks ago and Dino Travisani the president of IBM Canada and I said this but I thought it was a really important thing to say our job is to support businesses that outthink the limit of possibilities I couldn't agree more Mr. Speaker and that's why this government continues to invest in disruptive technology continues to ensure that our smaller companies have the capability of scaling up and Mr. Speaker this new hub is an exciting new hub that's going to help us do that. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Thank you Minister. This is wonderful news and it shows that Ontario is definitely focusing on helping businesses becoming a part of fierce global competitive race. I know that IBM could have gone to other jurisdictions but they chose to be Ontario to take advantage of our positive business climate and our talented people. Investments like these means a lot of means a lot to many startups and entrepreneurs in my writing and as well as to others across the province. I want to tell us more about this innovation hub specifically how it will support the start of the business and entrepreneurs in my writing. Thank you. Thank you Minister. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Here in Ontario we're second in North America to California when it comes to ICT companies. That's a really important place to be and that's the result that didn't happen by accident. That's the result of the investments we've made in our education system it's part of the investments we've made in nurturing our talent. Now the IBM innovation hub is one example that really demonstrates our commitment to innovation to creating jobs and building a strong economy. This hub will provide entrepreneurs and startups with the support and the advanced technologies that they need to scale up and compete globally which is so important. It will help them move rapidly from their business plans from research to commercialization and provide the expertise and mentoring they need to compete on a global scale. Mr. Speaker this new investment in the IBM innovation hub helps to ensure that Ontario is at the forefront in leading technological disruption innovation. Mr. Speaker we're really proud that companies like IBM are making these investments in this province and what we're creating in the terms of building that new economy. Thank you. Thank you Mr. Speaker. To the Minister of Education last week the communities across Eastern Ontario were shocked and learned that their community rural schools might close after forming an integral part of the community for life for generations. Although the Board has scheduled the community consultation sessions on the issue the government cut the consultation period and removed consideration for the value of schools to the community and the local economy for the pupil accommodation review guidelines. Families are left feeling their opinions won't matter. Mr. Speaker the premier challenges for our agri-food industry to grow to the over 30 billion it contributes to the economy. So why is the Minister ignoring the basis of rural economy. Thanks very much Speaker and I want to thank the member opposite for this very important question. Mr. Speaker we know that decisions around school closures are some of the hardest decisions that our local school boards have to make and this is why our government requires school boards to consult Mr. Speaker to consult with communities to consult with parents to consult with those that are directly impacted by this very difficult decision. This is not just about school building Speaker this is about ensuring that we have enough schools enough students in schools so that boards can make a decision what is in the best interest of students learning and the programming options that are available to students in the best possible facility. Mr. Speaker we have helped school boards to do these kinds of projects through a $750 million school consolidation fund. We know that these are difficult decisions for boards and that's why we're supporting them with an appropriate process. Speaker back to the Minister this is entirely the first time the government has deprived communities of meaningful say in decisions affecting their future. The Green Energy Act took away the right to prevent industrial wind farms and solar development if they are able to. Two years ago they closed the Kent Flag culture college without local consultation. It is a trend where the cabinet thinks it knows better. Ontarians deserve not only to have a say but to be heard and listen to when it comes to their future. Rural communities rely on local schooling in order to thrive. Pupils spend less time on buses and can maximize their learning extracurricular and family time. This is the first time the government has been able to support local jobs. Will this minister commit to ensuring that this government finally listens to the economic and community needs of rural Ontario. Mr. Speaker our government has clearly shown that it's committed to ensuring that students in rural schools have an equal opportunity to excel at schools. Mr. Speaker not only are we providing additional funding to reflect the issues that are impacting our rural communities but we are providing support for community hubs. That's an opportunity for school space that is available to be used more broadly for needs in the community that have been identified. We have provided the additional supports that school boards need in order to do so. Unlike the party opposite when they were in power that actually cut and consolidated without consultation and without input from the opposition Mr. Speaker. We are not taking any lessons from the opposition Mr. Speaker. We are working together to ensure that our schools have the supports that they need to provide the best possible learning environment for all of our students here in Ontario. Thank you Mr. Speaker. My question is for the premier. Good morning premier. As you know the merits of Windsor and Tecumseh declared a state of emergency last Thursday. We had five hours we had two months of rain in 15 hours. The storm water system didn't fail but it was overwhelmed by the amount of water in such a short period of time. Thousands of homes had flooded basements. Will the premier commit to providing provincial funding to assist some of the homeowners hardest hit with flood damage and no insurance or little or no insurance? Mr. Speaker let me just say that I know that all of us in the legislature were thinking about the people in Windsor over the weekend and I made sure that our minister was going on. He's on site today Mr. Speaker to have a tour and to see what's happened. It's a terrible situation and I know people will be very worried. Mr. Speaker I know that the member opposite knows that there are programs in place. One of the concerns that I have had is that often the money doesn't flow in a timely way Mr. Speaker so the minister is there he's working with the mayors and we are right there to support the residents and there always are assessments that have to happen in terms of the municipal infrastructure and then the private damage so that's the conversation that the minister is having with the mayors today Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Mr. Speaker some of the homeowners were told by their insurance companies that they now had a cap of $5,000 in any claims. This news was totally unexpected they never have been told that before as we know unprecedented storms are causing catastrophic damages across Ontario. Will the premier do everything in her power to help home owners and municipal leaders in these situations? Thank you. We obviously will and the member I know that we do the province does assist with damage to eligible private property the discussion is just what's eligible what's not what's municipal what's private so that's the conversation that is happening now but we absolutely will do everything in our power to support people in this time of great need and wish them all the very best because it's in these early days after flooding that there is no emergency needs and the minister is on the ground to assess those Mr. Speaker. Thank you. This question is for the minister of housing and the minister responsible for the poverty reduction strategy. Mr. Speaker stable and affordable housing is one of the most important determinants in the healthy life filled with opportunity. The research is increasingly clear that access to affordable housing is vital to progress across sectors from health and education to our economy and to safe neighbourhoods. It's essential to increase investment in innovations, products and programs that tackle critical housing issues. Minister as Ontario continues to grow we must ensure that all our communities including my riding of berry remain affordable and accessible to the people of all income levels. Minister, inform the House what recent investments Ontario is making in affordable housing. Thank you. Minister of housing. Well thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to the member from berry for that question and for her ongoing commitment to helping vulnerable members of society. Our government's vision is that every person has an affordable home to provide the foundation to secure employment, raise a family and community. That's why during the summer I was pleased to announce together with my federal counterpart that more than $640 million in new funding will be jointly invested by the federal and provincial governments over the next two years to support the housing needs of Ontarians. We've also committed to spending $168 million in provincial funding to help build, renovate and provide affordable housing across the province. Through our renewed partnership with the federal government and joint investments in affordable housing across Ontario, we're working to ensure our most vulnerable citizens are not left behind. Thank you. Thank you, Minister. I'm glad to hear of the new investments our government is making in affordable housing. It's needed all across this province. Mr. Speaker, Canada is one of the few developed nations that does not have a national housing strategy. I'm glad to see that the new federal government is working with the provinces and the territories to change this. I know Ontario welcomes our new federal partner and the opportunity to engage in this strategy as we have long called for. We are pleased to share the same values, have common priorities and agree that all Canadians deserve housing that is safe and affordable. With the Minister tell the House that the government is ensuring that Ontario's affordable housing interests will be included in the national housing strategy. Thank you, Minister. Well, thanks again to the member for that question. Mr. Speaker, over the summer session I had the pleasure of meeting with federal provincial and territorial housing ministers in Victoria to begin work on a national housing strategy. During the meeting I highlighted Ontario's priorities for a national housing strategy. This government believes the strategy must address long-term funding, a full continuum of housing, how to align with the goals of Ontario's long-term affordable housing strategy update and it must focus on outcomes for people rather than specific program approaches. As part of this work, I've also hosted roundtables all across Ontario to hear what housing and municipal planners want to see in a national housing strategy. I look forward to bringing what I've heard from these consultations to the next national meeting in November and continue to discuss Ontario's priorities. Thank you. My question is for the Premier. Premier has given the Minister of the Environment a mandate to, and I quote, report back in fall 2016 on options to reform the regulatory process for permits to take water for purposes, and quote, work with the Minister of Finance on pricing options for water takings for bottled water in Ontario, and quote, will the Premier inform the House how this will unfold? Will there be public consultations? Will interested groups and individuals be invited to make comments? Will municipalities be included? Will they release the recommendations before the Cabinet makes final decisions? How will the Minister be able to do all this before December? And does the government plan to use this money as a cash grab to pay for its out-of-control spending? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I know the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs is going to want to comment, but I just want to reiterate what I said this morning when I was asked by the media, Mr. Speaker, which is this, that I believe that it is very important to have consultations. So on the question of consultation, absolutely. We need to have input from people around the province on our most precious natural resource, which is water. Ontario has such an enormous gift of clean water. We need to be impeccable stewards of that water, Mr. Speaker. So we do need to have a consultation. In the meantime, Mr. Speaker, there are some pressing issues around permits that have been extended, permits that need to be dealt with. And so we need to take some actions, Mr. Speaker, in the immediate term. But does there need to be a broader conversation? Absolutely. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, the Mayor of the Township of Centre Wellington is seeking a meeting with the Minister of the Environment to discuss their current situation regarding the middlebook property and Nestlewater's interest in it. I hope the Premier will direct the Minister to meet with Mayor Kelly Linton. We continue to maintain that our groundwater is essential to the future of our communities and it must be protected. We need to continue to take a science-based approach to whether or not permits are granted, taking into account the long-term growth plans of communities. Three weeks ago on September the 12th, I tabled the Private Member's Resolution stating my position that any increase in provincial taxes or fees for water bottling companies must be substantially shared with the municipalities in which they're located. Will the Premier commit to this House that municipalities will receive a fair share of any increases charged to the water bottling companies? Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member from Welgan-Halton Hills for the supplementary. Particularly this past summer, a drought conditions experienced by many of our farmers across Ontario. We do know that water is a precious resource and we have balanced the needs of all Ontarians, including consumers and farmers when requests from businesses. Achieving this balance, Mr. Speaker, coupled with the taking climate change events and integration courses as government's goal, this is an important issue for Ontarians from every part of this province. We want to make sure that we address it by taking a rational, evidence based approach that responds to community concerns. We're looking at this more closely from a provincial wide perspective and we'll be making an announcement soon on the next steps of Mr. Speaker. I heard this from many of the participants that were at the meeting today. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Thank you Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Premier. I wish to inform the Premier that the good people of Gogama and Metagome First Nations have reached the tipping point. On Monday October 10th, they will be holding a protest on Highway 144 as the road between Sudbury and Timmins. Why Speaker? Well because this government won't order this to clean up the oil out of the Makame River from the train derailment. On Monday Highway 144 will be a busy road with the usual truck traffic, people coming back home or from school after celebrating Thanksgiving and it is hunting season after all so add to this hundreds of hunters. Do the right thing right now Premier and order CN to clean up this ongoing environmental disaster. Thank you. Minister of Transportation. Minister of Transportation. Well thanks very much Speaker. Obviously everyone on this side of the House appreciates the question from the member from Nicol Belton. She would know at this point that a number of us, myself included and the current Minister of Energy and the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change and a number of MPPs on this side of the House have a number of months ago Speaker paid especially close attention to what's taking place. I know that I had the opportunity days after the derailment to be in Gogaima myself to meet with people from that community, to meet with CN and others. We on this side of the House take rail safety at all times extremely in an extremely important way Speaker. I personally had conversations with my federal counterpart about the importance of making sure that whether we're talking about northern country that rail safety remains a priority Speaker. We'll continue to work with the residents in this area and with CN to make sure that we get it right. Back to the Premier. The Premier just said that we have to be impeccable steward of our gift of water but yet since the ice came off the water this spring I've asked this Government dozens of time to come and help but they won't. I don't get it Speaker. It won't cost a cent to the province to order CN to clean up their mess. There are companies on the ground on site in Gogaima that are ready to do the work. Will the Premier do the right thing for our water today and for our water for generations to come and order CN to clean up the mess. I think so. Thank you Minister. Well thanks very much Speaker. I want to emphasize again to the member from Nickel Belt that this is an issue that we on this side of the house take very very seriously. I mentioned in the earlier answer that a number of us have had the chance to be in Gogaima since the derailment Speaker. We understand how important it is to make sure that we get this right and of course we understand how critical it is that people living in the province of Ontario have access to have access to safe water Speaker. That's a fundamental principle and we understand that so we will on this side of the house Speaker continue to work with the residents with CN. I know the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change and others on this side of the house understand how important it is that we make sure that we get a right and I would emphasize again from transportation's perspective in particular Speaker we will continue to push the message of rail safety at the same time. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs. Minister our government has made a historic commitment to investing in infrastructure across this province. Through the moving Ontario forward plan we are committing 31.5 billion dollars to improve the transportation transit from Cornwall to Windsor. In fact 16 billion of that funding will go to communities outside the greater Toronto Hamilton area like the eight municipality in my riding in Northumberland and West. The Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund or as we call it OSEF has helped small and rural municipality investing critical infrastructure like roads and water mains. Across Northeastern Ontario 116 communities will receive a total of 58 million over the next three years to support their local infrastructure. Our government has recently announced that it's providing campus casing with 2.8 million in funding for infrastructure upgrades. Minister can you please tell us how OSEF has managed many communities across rural northern Ontario. Minister of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs. Mr. Speaker I want to thank the member from Northumberland and Quinty West for his question this morning. Mr. Speaker we do know before the member entered this meeting he was the most distinguished mayor from Brighton Ontario and I recall the member of course was a leader with Abo and Roba and just recently I had the opportunity to re-read some of his old speeches that he made to those organizations and what's been very consistent about his message back then of course was the need to continue to invest in rural infrastructure province of Ontario. Mr. Speaker just to give you a little bit of an example in the 1990s there was a committee called the who does what committee and I remember that they made the recommendations and I was part of the those days Mr. Speaker the who does what became the who got done in committee that was municipalities because they provided no funding for infrastructure in Ontario. Supplementary. Minister it's important to ensure that we have infrastructure in rural and northern communities to build a future that's bright for young Ontarians. I know that members upset like to claim that we're only investing in transit in Toronto and it's nice to see that our government is committed to helping rural communities meet their infrastructure needs. There's always more that we can do and throughout forums like rural Ontario Municipal Association annual conference speaker in particular they requested that more of the OSEF be dedicated to formula based funding so that they had a predictable source of infrastructure money can the minister please explain whether rural municipalities will be receiving more formula based funding under the OSEF as they requested. Thank you minister. I want to thank the honourable member for supplementary so I talked about his previous speeches. Now I can quote one from his latest speech. He said that just recently over the next three years we'll be investing $670 million. That's right $670 million over three years and the Ontario Community Investment Fund. As the member mentioned our municipal friends asked for more of that funding to be formula based and I'm glad to see the province devoted funds to help us re-violate some of the funding that has been provided to our municipal rural partners over that period. Just a couple weeks ago our government announced through the OSEF Hastings County City of Balvo Prince Edward County will receive more than $12 million in formula funding over the next three years. Mr. Speaker that's a record by anybody's support of funds to help us re-violate our roads, bridges and other important infrastructure. It's very desolate and a welcome investment at the Maricampus Casings. Thank you. Thank you Mr. Speaker. My question is to the premier. On September the 19th my liberal colleague from Peterborough the Minister of Agriculture Food and Real Affairs was quoted in the Peterborough examiner as saying to promote the interests of agriculture getting others in the Ontario Liberal Government to listen is a challenge. Minister. I want to thank the member from Corthill Lakes, Halbert Brock for the question. It's a little like getting a fastball right down the middle of the plate. So I want to tell the Honourable Member what we're doing. This government has provided unprecedented support for the Agriculture Committee of the Provinces of Ontario. A sector Mr. Speaker has provided $1 billion to Ontario's GDP each and every year. Mr. Speaker you don't achieve those kind of results without getting the support from the premier. Every member from this Cabinet and every member from this caucus to make sure that that happens each and every day. Mr. Speaker at 5.30 a.m. this morning 790,000 Ontario's got up to get their jobs at this support sector. Something that I want to tell you. I want to thank the minister for the curveball but really he simply confirms the disregard that this government has for our farmers and for rural Ontario. Hardworking rural Ontarians and workers in our agriculture sector are facing difficult conditions including the crippling costs of hydro, the overburden of unnecessary regulations and outright government intrusions into the way they do their work but they're pleased for relief and support from this government are going unanswered. So Mr. Speaker will the premier or the minister of agriculture rural affairs name the members of caucus who do not support it. Well Mr. Speaker I want to thank the member for the supplementary. Not only do I have fastballs, curveballs and cutters I can hit them all at any time when they throw them at me. But let me put this in context Mr. Speaker a number of years ago you want to talk about support for farmers. A number of years ago my predecessor Carol Mitchell brought forward a plan to provide a hundred million dollars for risk management program for farmers in the province of Ontario. That party and that party never supported it. So we'll talk about support for agriculture and we'll continue to support agriculture Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Thank you. Any question Mr. Speaker. My question is to the premier. When people in Ontario need surgery they should be able to get it regardless of where they live in the province. But people in my community are waiting as long as 449 days for hip or knee replacement. One of my constituents Louise West has been told that she will have to wait 27 months more than two years for knee replacement surgery all the while paying for pain relief out of her own pocket. We are at a critical moment speaker if we don't cut wait times in London more and more people will continue to suffer. When will the premier take action to increase funding for surgeries in the London area so that people in my community are no longer forced to wait longer than anyone else in Ontario for the surgeries they need. Thank you. Thank you to the member for the question. Mr. Speaker we recognize that more work needs to be done when it comes to wait times across this province but I'm proud of the success we've had including in London where in the last decade we've reduced the wait time for hip surgery by 15% in the last decade at the same time we've reduced that 90th percentile which is how we measure it by 32% over the last decade for knee replacement. In fact the budget that the member opposite voted against earlier this year wasted an additional $50 million including half a million dollars going specifically to the south west Linn for wait times to continue to provide and offer those services but Mr. Speaker we do recognize that from time to time and wait lists, wait times are based on a whole set of factors including the prioritization that our clinicians themselves make but I'm happy to address it more and the success we've seen in the supplementary. Thank you supplementary. Thank you speaker wait times have gotten worse under this liberal government not better. People who need surgeries cannot wait months on end to be able to walk again, stand again or live without constant pain. The wait time for knee replacement at London Health Sciences Centre is 108 days longer than this government's target wait time. People in London are suffering and this premier isn't doing anything to help. When will the premier put people first for a change and cut wait lists for surgery in London? Well Mr. Speaker we are working with the south west Linn I know the south west Linn is looking at the particular situation in London as well but I resent the implication that somehow we're focusing all our attention on other parts of the province because when you look at actually a hip replacement, a hip and knee around the province today Mr. Speaker the shortest wait time in the province for a hip replacement is not in Toronto as the member I'm sure would suggest but it's actually at North Bay General Hospital followed by Blue Water Health in Sarnia, Sue area hospital and then Cambridge Memorial Hospital in fact we have the best wait times in Canada Mr. Speaker we have wait times that are better than the UK, better than Canada and in fact when you look at knee replacement surgery we're approximately half of the average in the entire OECD and below the OECD average and the best in Canada Mr. Speaker Thank you Here being noted for votes the south stands recess until 1pm this afternoon