 It is now time for Question Period, the member from Renfrew, Nipissing, Pembroke. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Premier. It was revealed yesterday that the government spent nearly $12 million on contracts to friends and self-promotion through the Ontario Electricity Support Program. They doled out over $9 million to high-priced consultants and another $2.5 million to their admin. That money was supposed to go to low-income families struggling to pay their hydro-bills. Speaker, can the Premier please tell me and justify how spending nearly $12 million on consultants and self-promotional ads when families are struggling to make a choice between putting food on the table and heating their homes? Just as an indicator, I'm going to deal with this as quickly as possible. The Minister of Children and Youth Services will come to order. Mr. Speaker, we created the Ontario Energy Support Program to help people who are struggling with their electricity bills, people who live on low income, Mr. Speaker. We wanted to make sure, and we want to make sure, that everyone in the province who is eligible for this program will know about it, Mr. Speaker, and will understand how to access it. Right now, there are 145,000 families, Mr. Speaker, who since the program was launched 10 months ago have signed up for the program and are receiving support, therefore paying lower electricity bills, Mr. Speaker. You know, it's actually beyond me how, why the Conservatives would attack a program that's actually designed to help people with their electricity bills. This is a 200... This is a two... I've made it clear that I will be seeking attention for both questions and answers. If it starts up as soon as I sit down, I'll get whoever decided to challenge. Premier? This is a $225 million program, Mr. Speaker. $12 million to do the public education is a small fraction of that amount, Mr. Speaker. Well, 145,000 is a less than a third of those eligible. The people, the people are waiting, but your friends have done very well. Member from Glengary Prescott Russell, the Minister of Education, the President of the Treasury Board, and the Deputy Premier will come to order. And the list will grow. Please finish. There's not a day goes by where I don't hear another hydro-horror story. Another family struggling to keep the lights on. A senior who can't afford their medications or their pay their bills. We hear all of those stories over and over again, and this government has the gall, the audacity to spend $12 million on high-priced consultants and self-promotional ads. Mr. Speaker, this government knows no bounds. Can the Premier tell every senior struggling to pay their hydro-bills or their medications that paying consultants was more important than their welfare? Another question he makes the point, that it is very important that people who are struggling on with their electricity bills, that they have access to support. Mr. Speaker, there are some 300,000 people in the province who still would qualify for the Ontario Energy Support Program, Mr. Speaker. And we need to make sure that they know about that program. So what we have done, Mr. Speaker, is we have put advertisements in print and radio and bus shelters. Next time I stand, we'll go to warnings. But the member from Leeds Grandville, second time. Finish, please. Put notices in ODSP and Ontario Work Checks, Mr. Speaker. Inserts from local utilities, Mr. Speaker, with their bills. Partnerships with food banks, libraries and MPP offices, Mr. Speaker. So I hope that the MPP has a poster in his office and helps people in his constituency to find out about the program. Thank you. Final supplementary. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The inserts cost next to nothing. The ads of $2.5 million were for your self-promotion. What I can't understand is why this rebate wasn't automatically given to those in need. Why were they forced to apply? Why waste $12 million? But the Premier and Minister think that this $12 million was worth it. Or, as the minister said yesterday, that it was money well spent. And if the Liberals think that it was better to spend on consultants and ads, they should have no problem releasing the details. Speaker, will the Premier commit today to release every contract and the details disclose all the details of how this $12 million was spent? Thank you. The thing that was spent to put in place a public education campaign was very necessary because there are 500,000 families in the province, Mr. Speaker, who would be eligible. About 145,000 families. A member from Bruce Gray owned sound. That means there are still more families who would qualify. Mr. Speaker, the member opposite knows perfectly well that utilities do not have personal income information, Mr. Speaker. So it was necessary to set in place a program approach that allowed people to apply. I hope, Mr. Speaker, that the member opposite is letting his constituents know about this program, Mr. Speaker. It's very important. We're now moving to warnings. The member from Bruce, you're on Bruce, and the member from Hella Burton, Quarthorlake's Brock, come to order. You're in before the warning. You're lucky. It has been more than clear, Mr. Speaker, that there are people who are struggling with electricity bills. I hope that they are pointing people who come into their constituency offices in the direction of this program so that those people can get help. Thank you. New question. The member from Elgin, Middlesex, London. Thank you very much, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Speaker, due to the rationed health care system, wait times in southwestern Ontario are increasing and patients are suffering. Last year, I informed the House that hip and knee replacement surgeries were completely cancelled during the months of January to April due to lack of funds. Now, Mr. Speaker, constituents like Ruby and Betty in my writing need to travel over an hour to Strathcroy for knee replacement surgery. However, they both received letters from their surgeons this past week. Our funding that we received for this fiscal year of 2016 through March 2017 has reached its maximum. And therefore, we're not able to book any further patients for total knee or total hip replacements for this fiscal year. Speaker, we're only six months into this fiscal year and we've already run out of money. Mr. Speaker, constituents like Ruby and Betty are suffering because of this rationed care. When will the Premier step in and ensure that healthcare funding last year round? Here, here, here. Serve health, long-term care. Serve health, long-term care. Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I appreciate the question. We know that when it comes to surgical procedures in this province that for most surgeries we have the shortest wait time or among the shortest wait times in all of Canada, Mr. Speaker. But there are areas, we have to be frank about this, but there are areas where we need to continue to make further improvements. And also we need to make sure that that success is well distributed across the province. We do expect our hospitals, when they are provided with an allocation for them to manage that allocation responsibly and actually spread it over the course of the year because there are many surgical procedures that demand those OR times and we expect and look to our hospital officials and leadership to be able to manage those allocations appropriately and we do that using an evidence-based approach and a scientific approach to make sure that people do have access when they do need that access. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Life is getting harder for Doug Price. The frill 73-year-old needs a replacement surgery on his knee today. Sadly, he can't have it and he won't get it for at least another year. His wife, Doris, faced the same predicament when she was told to wait a year for her cataract surgery. The state-canceled surgeries are skyrocketing across our province as a result of this Liberal government's scandal, waste and mismanagement. Mr. Speaker, it's unacceptable that this government can't fund surgeries for patients like Doug Price who are in constant pain and unable to leave their home. Why haven't the Premier and Minister acted on this crisis situation and found a solution so that patients can get the needed surgeries as soon as possible? Thank you, Minister. Well, Mr. Speaker, we increased our budgets of our hospitals this year by more than 2%. And we continue to make investments. And we often do that so there's the base funding that we provide hospitals, but also to reduce wait times. We specifically allocate funds across this province. And we do that generally through what's called a quality-based procedure where we provide that funding to hospitals who have proven their efficiency, their effectiveness in delivering these services as well. So it's a system that has actually seen pretty dramatic improvements over just a few number of years. So we can be proud how we're situated vis-a-vis the rest of the country. But we know that there's more work to be done. And we know, and in fact, for the Southwest, Lynn, as an example, we provided them with significant new funding specifically for hip and knee surgery this fiscal year. We're working closely with the Lynn in Southwest and in other parts of the province to be able to manage those challenges. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Premier. We are joined today by Rethink Breast Cancer, which is a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to empower those who are concerned about and affected by breast cancer. They have been advocating for improved access to breast reconstruction for women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer and those who are at high risk of getting it. According to a report they republished earlier this year, Ontario currently has a one- to two-year wait list for breast reconstruction surgery. This is simply unacceptable and harmful to breast cancer survivors. Manitoba, by contrast, has wait times of only up to six months for the same procedure. Fully half of physicians in Ontario surveyed say they are dissatisfied with the patient wait times for breast reconstruction, and 80% of those surveyed felt a lack of operating room time was the biggest contributor to the long wait times. Will the Premier commit to immediately increasing surgical resources in the province such as OR time so that women suffering from breast cancer can back to their living, their lives, normally? Thank you. Thank you. I particularly appreciate this question and I want to thank... I know we have individuals in the gallery but I want to thank Rethink Breast Cancer for their recent paper that highlights the challenges that are faced. This is such an important issue, Mr. Speaker, that we need to make further progress on this. In April of this year, and I think this was one of the problems, this was the reconstruction, whether it's prophylactic or whether it's following surgery for cancer, it wasn't governed or managed by Cancer Care Ontario. In April of this year, we made that change. As a result, so we've had an expert panel looking at precisely this challenge because it is an acceptably long for women who have to go through this traumatic physical and mental procedure. The challenges that they're facing, we owe that we're obligated to make sure that we're providing a better system and better support to them. We're making the changes to deliver just that. Thank you. Thank you, Speaker. Thank you, Speaker. It's particularly my pleasure to direct my question to the Premier today on this day. The day that 87 years ago, women were actually included in the definition of being a fellow. Continue with the actual question, Speaker. Ontarians are very proud of our health care system and they want to know that it's going to be there for their kids and for the next generations. But they're very, very worried, Speaker, about privatization. The Premier has made some comments and I just need to be and so I'm going to ask the Premier to tell us clearly is privatization of any or all of our e-health assets on the table for this Liberal government? Thank you, Premier. Mr. Speaker, let me just acknowledge that the leader of the third party was at the Leaf Person's Day breakfast this morning with a number of her colleagues and a number of mine to thank her and to thank everyone who has supported as they work to make sure that the law works for women and not against women. So happy Thursday, everyone. I have said, as the Deputy Premier has said, personal health information e-health is not for sale, Mr. Speaker, not now and not now. Supplementary. Speaker, last week the government asked Ed Clark to figure out how much money our e-health assets are worth. Now they insist that all they want to do is strengthen health care. They don't care, Speaker, by asking how much you can get to sell off a hospital. And you don't need to know the sale price of e-health in order to be able to improve it, Speaker. Why should Ontarians trust this Premier that she isn't privatizing our e-health assets? Mr. Speaker, health and long-term care. Mr. Speaker, health and long-term care. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And to reiterate, there is a sale or the commercialization of people's health information. And in fact, Mr. Speaker, what I asked Ed Clark to do last week was to value the assets, to actually take an inventory of what's being created by e-health over the past roughly decades. I'm trying to remember. Did I say we're in the warnings? Thank you. I just needed that reminder. Carry on. I think it's prudent, Mr. Speaker, given that the current mandate of e-health is due to conclude at December of next year. I think it's prudent actually to do an inventory of the assets, to value those assets, to understand what assets have been created across this province. We know others like Canada Health Info has done such. We want to do that to leverage those assets going forward to build an even stronger digital health strategy and system. Mr. Speaker, I'm more worried than I was when I got up to ask these questions in the first place. That's the same language as government used when they talked about selling off Hydro One. Mr. Speaker, that this Premier refused to admit that Hydro One was even for sale in the province of Ontario. In fact, she still insists that Hydro One isn't being sold. She calls it broadening the ownership even though everybody knows what the truth is, Mr. Speaker. To figure out the sale price of our e-health assets and then turn around and say they won't sell anything. It doesn't pass the smell test, especially when they're not now talking about leveraging that very asset. We've seen more than 10 years of privatisation by this Liberal Government in the healthcare sector and we cannot take any more. Why is this Premier so interested in the money she can get for our public e-health assets? Thank you. Can you see it, please? Can you see it, please? Thank you. Mr. Speaker, it doesn't matter how many times she tries to say it. E-health is not for sale. E-health is not for sale. What we're doing is we're actually looking at what has been created over the past roughly decade. We're moving into a new phase of a strategy where we're going to be able to provide better support for consumer-facing e-health and digital health systems. We're going to build on the fact that 80% of family doctors across this province are already using e-health that most diagnostic procedures are already digitised. We're going to look at that. It's the prudent thing to do. The mandate is coming to a conclusion at the end of next year. Please do not be selling e-health. Thank you. My next question is also for the Premier Speaker, but I got to say in October of 2014 this Premier said she wasn't selling off Hydro-1, and look where we are now. But on Monday, you know what I sat down with a woman named Mariez Gallo. Mariez lives in Sudbury with her husband Chad and her two beautiful young daughters. Mariez has watched your Hydro bills go up by nearly $100 since the same time last year. They cannot save for their kids' future. And she's concerned about whether she can afford even entering them before and after school programs like sports for example. Like people all across Ontario the sell-off of Hydro-1 means life is getting tougher for folks like Mariez, her husband Chad and their daughters. And it means it's harder for them to give the future that they want to give to their children. She's actually not putting money away from her husband's fees because she's taking that money and using it for her Hydro bills. Will the Premier stop the sell-off of Hydro-1 so it doesn't get worse instead of better? So, Mr. Speaker again, I thank the leader of the third party for the question and I know that it serves the leader of the third party's interest to conflate these subjects. Mr. Speaker, I know that she's trying, she tries to make changes with Hydro-1. Mr. Speaker, the reality is that we have made massive investments in the electricity system in Ontario we have shut down the coal-fired plants we have built over 10,000 kilometres of line Mr. Speaker and we've done that so that we could have a clean grid in this province, a reliable grid Mr. Speaker and there's a cost associated with that and we've recognized that and so we are working to take costs off of people's bills Mr. Speaker we are also working to help a family like that so that they have the supports that they need whether it's childcare Mr. Speaker 100,000 new spaces whether it's tuition Mr. Speaker making sure that by the time those two kids get to post-secondary they have the support that they need whether it's a free tuition if they're low income Mr. Speaker or supports that they need those are the kinds of things we're doing to support them. Right here in this House a 20% reduction for families in rural, remote and northern communities like in my part of the province will actually be a significant savings for many families but people in Sudbury Speaker people in the minister's own riding people like Marie's and Chad are not getting those savings instead they're watching their bills go up and turning Hydro 1 into a private for-profit monopoly is only going to make it worse regardless of what the premier claims we've seen it happen over and over and over in virtually every jurisdiction across North America when you privatize your electricity system the costs go up for the public. The question is will this premier stop any further sell-off of Hydro 1 and ensure that people get a break. Thank you Thank you Mr. Speaker Please rise and answer the leader of the third party's question when it comes to the great riding of Sudbury we have talked to the families there and all the families in the great riding of Sudbury will be receiving that 8% reduction Mr. Speaker if this legislation passes today Part of the issue Mr. Speaker is that the NDP doesn't have a plan when it comes to energy so they don't understand the whole process Mr. Speaker when we're talking about North Eastern Ontario my part of the province there are over 69,000 families Mr. Speaker that we'll be receiving benefit, Mr. Speaker, and we're very proud of that, Mr. Speaker. When it comes to Hydro 1, we can talk about we're on track, Mr. Speaker, to ensure that we're going to realize the target of $9 billion generated through the IPO. And let's talk about Greater Sudbury again, Mr. Speaker. We can talk about investment after investment after investment, $173 million for formating of $69, $26 million for MailE Drive, $20 million through OSIF, Mr. Speaker. This is fantastic for the North, and I'm very proud of these. We are at warnings, cupping your hands to make sure a megaphone makes it louder. It's not conducive to applying what the speaker is looking for. And it also is not helpful when someone is giving an answer that the chipping comes on from the same side that provokes. So it stops on both sides. Final supplementary. Thank you, Speaker. You know, it's not just people, Speaker. This is Ontario Small Business Week. Small businesses across the province cannot afford their hydro bill, Speaker. Wherever I go, whether it's Sudbury, whether it's Kingston, whether it's Hamilton, whether it's right here in Toronto, Niagara, you name it, Speaker. I talk to small businesses everywhere, and they're all telling me the cost of hydro is the difference between growing or going out of business. According to the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, one in three small businesses, one in three, say the cost of hydro has a negative impact on their ability to invest in the future of this province by investing in their businesses. They simply can't do it. Will this Premier give some hope and confidence to small business people and start getting hydro costs under control by stopping the sell-off of our hydro system, stopping the sell-off of hydro lines? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I'd like to thank the member for highlighting small businesses and the importance of small businesses because we recognize that on this side of the House, Mr. Speaker. And let's take a look at a couple of examples, Mr. Speaker, about the programs that we are offering and how they support small businesses. Donalees, Irish Pub and Berry took advantage of, you know, the business refrigeration initiatives offered through PowerStream, Mr. Speaker, and they received more than $2,500 in one-time incentives and will save them $2,400 annually on energy. Arbor Memorial, a funeral company, has its head office in Toronto. They used incentives from the Save on Energy program to green their office, upgrading their intensive HVAC system, $100,000 per year in savings, Mr. Speaker. Canada Malton, company up in Thunder Bay, one of the very first announcements that I was able to attend, Mr. Speaker, through the Save on Energy program. They got $25 or $2.5 million back. They're saving $1 million a year, Mr. Speaker, in their energy programs. We get small business on this side, Mr. Speaker, and we help small businesses. My question is for the Premier. A constituent of here in Bruce recently called me about a 73-year-old wife who needs to have orthopedic surgery. She has been waiting since July 2015 for surgery on her knee. That's 15 months, and frankly, that's unacceptable. My office called the surgeon, and we talked to their staff, and we were told that they actually have 300 people on a wait list, some for as long as two years. Speaker, the surgeon's office explained that the wait times are due to government regulations which dictate, although a surgeon is available, they're only to perform surgeries as funding permits. Speaker, why should people's quality of life have to be put on hold because of this Premier's wasteful spending and mismanagement? Speaker, what I would like to know, what does the Premier have to say to these people? Minister of Health and Long-Term Care? Well, Mr. Speaker, I'm the first to admit that there's more work to be done, but we need to recognize exactly where we're situated here in Ontario. We have, among the best wait times, we're the first to have measured them by the way, among the best surgical wait times in the entire country. In fact, in the last decade, we have decreased the wait time for a hip replacement by 42%. We've decreased the wait time for knee replacements by 51%. We've decreased the wait time for cataract surgery by 37%. There's dramatic improvements. In fact, for hip and knee, more than 80% of individuals achieve those replacements within our targeted amount of time that we aim for, what's called a level for target, Mr. Speaker, but there is more work to be done. We also expect to be able to work with our hospitals and our clinicians so that those patients who do require those procedures more urgently are able to get access to those surgeries urgently. Thank you. Supplementary to members from North Central. Thank you, and back to the Premier. Premier, my constituent, Duncan Drummond, has been on the emergency wait list for shoulder surgery for over seven months. An emergency list, which upon investigation we find, is 100 people long. A hundred people are waiting on an emergency list. At this rate, it will be another two years. He is number 101, and his granddaughter describes his condition as a pseudo paralysis on an arm that leaves him in agonizing pain. Mr. Duncan's wife and daughter are here today in the hope that you will understand how important it is for him to be moved along at a faster rate than at this time. To the Premier, when will you exercise your constitutional obligation to provide health care for my constituents and the rest of the province? Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I want to acknowledge the Duncan family being here today. And this is an important issue, and I'm pleased that they are able to see the discussion. We need to continue to improve. There's no question. But for those individuals that do urgently require procedures, we expect clinicians and hospitals to be able to put them to the top of the list, Mr. Speaker. And we have made significant improvements. We continue to do that. We continue to invest millions of dollars in bringing down wait times. But when you look at knee replacements alone, our wait time, average wait time, is half of what it is in the OECD, Mr. Speaker. There are, for hip replacements, the OECD, the Economic Countries, the Organization of Economic Development, their average wait time for hip replacements is 121 days. Canada's is 85 days for hip replacement. Here in Ontario, it is 70 days. So we are at the front of the line, Mr. Speaker, but there, of course, is always more work to be done in concert with our frontline clinicians and surgeons themselves. Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Mr. Speaker, in 2013, this government promised to reduce auto insurance rates by 15%. The rates didn't come down. They campaigned on this promise in 2014, and again, no surprise, the rates didn't come down. But in fact, what's going on is, for the second quarter in a row in 2016, rates are actually going up. But what makes this even more offensive, Mr. Speaker, is that our benefits have been slashed, and this government has allowed the insurance industry to slash benefits. So my question, Mr. Speaker, is, has the government just given up on this promise to reduce auto insurance? Thank you, Premier. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the question and the concerns that we all have about reducing auto insurance rates, about ensuring there's fairness in the system, about ensuring that consumers are well protected. Ontario continues to be the most generous in terms of benefits still. But we have reduced rates. They have been going down on average almost 10%, Mr. Speaker, and that's important. And it's not at a point in time that matters. It's an ongoing basis to provide sustainable reductions in the cost, in the fraud, in the engagements of certain activities within the sector that have to be improved, and that is being done. It's being done in consultations with the sector. It's being done with consultations with the public. And all in all, consumers are demanding greater affordability and they want choice. And Ontario is providing both, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, the reality is over the past two quarters this government has approved rate increases. They've approved it. Another reality is the government controls rates. They have the ability to control auto insurance rates in this province and they're simply not doing it. What they are doing, though, is allowing the insurance industry to exploit the people of this province. They've allowed them to slash benefits so tremendously. And what's so offensive is it's not just all people of Ontario. It's even the most seriously injured people who are seeing their protection slashed. Now, the government claimed that this was a stretch goal. They never really intended to achieve this goal anyways. But that's not what the people voted for. The people want to ensure that the next generation has an affordable life, that they can afford to live in this province but it's not helping when rates continue to increase. When will the government stop prioritizing insurance company profits over protecting the people of Ontario and finally commit to affordable auto insurance rates in this province? Thank you. Mr. Speaker, the fact of the matter is auto insurance rates on average are going down. That's just simply not true what the member said. On occasions there are points where rates vary depending upon specific companies. There are over 110 companies that participate in this industry. But all in all, Mr. Speaker, our reforms have been put in place. Programs have enabled us to further reduce rates overall. We are improving the degree of victims who get the responses in a timely manner. That was also a problem, Mr. Speaker. That is being done. We have been doing a lot of work in regards to reform the system to provide better service to consumers and victims but at the same time providing for greater affordability. It's being done on a number of reforms that have been acted and that are continuing to be so. Some of them were delayed because the members of the opposition and that party specifically voted against measures that would have enabled us to act more quickly. We are doing what's necessary, Mr. Speaker. Auto rates are going down overall. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. This week, provincial and territorial health ministers from across Canada met with federal health minister Jane Philpott and Indigenous leadership in Toronto to discuss several key aspects of health care. From what I have seen in media reports, much of the discussions were on the future of the federal health transfer. I know that the federal government has a role to play in the sustainable funding of our health care system, not only in Ontario but across Canada. Would the Minister be able to provide us with an update of those very important discussions? Thank you, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We had an excellent two days of meeting here in Toronto with my provincial, territorial and then yesterday federal health minister colleagues. And, Mr. Speaker, although we didn't agree on everything, we did agree that a stable financial base is essential for all of the provinces and territories to be able to continue to provide the high-quality services that we do. And I know that Minister Philpott agrees with that as well. We had an excellent two-hour session with national Indigenous leaders and their organizations yesterday morning. It was powerful to hear from them and the specific recommendations and proposals that they put forward. It's important to note, because I think most Ontarians don't understand this, that roughly 80% of the dollars that go towards health care across this country, 80% of it is provided by the provinces and territories. Only about 20% by the federal government. We're hoping to maintain that federal share. We think that's the fair approach today. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thanks to the minister for that response. I also believe it is important that we have a strong federal partner finally in order to sustainably fund health care in Ontario, and I look forward to further updates. Minister, would you be able to inform the House how incoming funds are directed entirely towards improving health care for Ontarians? Thank you, Minister. Well, Mr. Speaker, you know, historically, 50 years ago this year Medicare was created in this great country, and there was a commitment to share 50%, 50% between the federal government and the provincial and territorial governments. That has declined down, as I mentioned, to about 20% being the federal contribution. We want not to maintain that, but to bring it back to where it used to be in terms of the historical partnership that did agree. But I want to reassure Ontarians that every single dollar that we get through the Canada Health Transfer for health care from the federal government goes to health care. When you look at, in Ontario, that contribution now from the federal government amounts to about one and a half percent of our annual health budget that we get from the federal government. And of course, as many of you know, that in many years our budget for health has gone up by five or six, sometimes even seven percent. And, Mr. Speaker, it certainly has consistently been above 1.5%. So we're looking for a fair relationship. We're looking for an increase to the federal contribution, so it respects history. Thank you. Thank you very much. I have five hours as well to the Minister of Health. In Ottawa, we have the second longest wait times in Ontario for MRIs. The government says that 90% of those needing a, quote, non-urgent MRI should get it within 28 days, but the Sean Blaine Lynn said it could take up to 132 days, not 28. Ottawa's hospital CEO, Jack Kitz, also told the Ottawa Sun, quote, without more resources, I don't want to leave you with any misconception that going from 132 days to 28 is really a big issue to 28 is realistic and according to the Ottawa citizen the government also won't pay the operating cost for the Ottawa Heart Institute's new MRI so the government is failing my constituents and the people in Ottawa Vanier who will be going to the polls on November 17th with unachievable targets because of unavailable cash why is this government setting targets it can't meet because of payments that they won't make to operate these MRIs. Minister of Health long-term care, Vinnie Wich. Thank you Mr. Speaker I just wanted to consult with my colleagues because I understand that the member opposite was at the Queensway Carlton announcement last Friday with the Premier where we announced a fantastic new senior specific it's called an ACE clinic which will make a dramatic impact you were sure and so when it comes to MRI you know I will definitely address the issue substantially now and in the supplementary but we are making considerable progress again on MRIs and CAT scans and ultrasounds we're either at the top in terms of the shortest wait times in Canada or very near the shortest wait times we're measuring them and we're making significant progress Mr. Speaker we're we realize that we need to continue to invest particularly in these important diagnostic procedures and we need to make sure that those that need the procedure most urgently get it thank you supplementary the member from Thornhill thank you very much Mr. Speaker my questions to the Premier Isaac Krause of Thornhill has worked in Canada most of his life and he paid his taxes but now he's 62 years old and diabetic he had a family doctor for 30 years who suddenly retired and Isaac said he panicked he knew what was ahead Mr. Speaker he tried to find a new family doctor and he was called in for interviews as though he was applying for a job and rejected he believes that doctors did not want to take him into their practice due to his diabetes Mr. Speaker does the Premier understand the challenges faced by patients with diabetes and other illnesses it was problem Mr. Speaker we expect all our primary providers to to welcome individuals into their practice regardless of what their medical history might be in fact it would be unethical to do anything but that Mr. Speaker so so I don't know the specific case but I have to ask the question with all of the questions coming this way on wait times in terms of access to family doctors in fact we have 900 new net new practicing physicians that work in this proposition every year but I have to ask the question if wait times are so important if hospital investments are so important MRIs are so important why the heck did that party vote against our budget this spring with a three hundred and forty five million dollar investment in health care Mr. Speaker it begs the question if it was so important to them now why wasn't important to them then Mr. Speaker question the members from London Fanshawe Speaker my question is to the Premier the Minister of Health just said that the average wait times for hip and these surgeries is 70 days in Ontario while people in London are waiting nearly four times as long for hip and knee replacement and the Ministry of Health reports on their website the provincial wait time is currently 209 days but my constituent Jean Cassidy has been waiting three hundred days for her surgery and that's not counting the time she spent waiting just to see a surgeon in the first place if surgeries are cancelled again in London like they were last year Jean will be waiting until April to get the surgery she's needed for more than a year when will the Premier admit there's a way crisis in London and step up to fix it now Mr. Speaker I appreciate the question and I appreciate the fact that the member opposite has has repeatedly brought this forward and brought it to our attention it's an important issue it's it's when it comes to the Southwest Lynn we are working very closely with the Southwest Lynn as we speak Mr. Speaker to to make sure that access to surgeries including hip and knee replacement for example that they are provided when they're required and and part of that is a triage right that as I've repeated that those who urgently do need that procedure need to go to the top of the list and that is up to the clinician and the hospital to be able to make those arrangements there's also the opportunity through the Lynn to talk to the Lynn because there are different surgeons that provide this some have longer wait lists and others some work longer hours than others there are different hospitals that have different wait lists as well working with the Lynn and with their primary care provider or their specialist they can often find ways to dramatically shorten that way and having said that I am working closely with London with the Southwest Lynn and I'll speak to more in the supplementary thank you supplementary speaker I'd like to hear the Premier's answer to that no matter where you live in Ontario you should be able to get the surgery you need without having to wait for months on end I've spoken to Dr. Raj Kapal an orthopedic surgeon in Strathcroy who is incredibly frustrated by the pain that his patients are forced to live with because the Liberal government's decisions every day he sees patients who are waiting far longer than they should have to for surgeries that they need and he has a simple question for the Premier why won't this Liberal government properly fund surgeries for patients in London and across the Southwestern Ontario when our wait lists are out of control Mr. Speaker it's there's nothing more important to me than to work towards providing services and procedures when people need them in a timely fashion I work every day to achieve that and I am working with the Lynn the Southwest Lynn with the hospitals involved in the London area as well and I expect in the very near future we will have arrived at a solution which the member opposite I think can have confidence is going to result address the issue that she's addressed appropriately today we we have made significant investments we have seen dramatic to the order of 50% declines in wait times over the past decade we've invested two billion dollars just in wait time reductions in the last roughly decade in this province with regards to the Southwest Lynn I'm working directly with them I expect in the coming days we'll have a solution that the member opposite can have confidence in well thank you speaker my questions for the Minister of Economic Development and growth speaker as you know small business are an important and core part of the engine of our economy and he provides many good paying jobs for companies for people across Ontario and in my riding beaches East York we know that we thrive in the success of our small business and our entrepreneurs and we have organizations like DECA the Danforth East Community Association that helps small businesses in pop-up shops and retail malls to get their businesses started for 25 years speaker as you know I work as a self-employed consultant assisting many small businesses with their growth and I also co-founded number of small businesses which continue to employ people to this day so I understand the challenges faced by small businesses in Ontario so speaker this week is small business week we've had some conversations already about how important the small business owners are to our economy and we are celebrating their continuing contribution so big speaker can the Minister advise this legislature about what our government is doing to help small businesses compete and grow globally this is a great week to acknowledge the fact that Ontario is now producing some of the best startups some of the best small businesses that are producing some of the most sought after innovation anywhere in North America today but mr. Speaker that's not happening by accident that's happening because we've taken a number of measures to help small businesses reduce their costs for instance mr. Speaker we completely eliminated the capital tax saving small businesses hundreds of millions of dollars and I ask you mr. Speaker we're the opposition on side with us when we did that absolutely not mr. Speaker we produce the corporate tax rate for small businesses that's given them a 13% advantage tells the south of the border the NDP want us to jack that rate up even further we're not going to do that mr. Speaker because we support our small businesses mr. Speaker we brought in the HST tough political decision sir mr. Speaker that is saving businesses hundreds of millions of dollars and the NDP don't want them to have that savings they're still not supporting that mr. Speaker work thank you supplementary well thank you speaker I am delighted to hear this minister talk about all the incredible programs that we're putting in place to help small businesses grow and compete globally and it just shows that we in Ontario are focusing on helping businesses stay ahead in the global economy and in Beaches East York I can tell you that many small businesses are saying that the best thing that governments can do is to reduce unnecessary burden and sometimes speaker governments just have to get out of the way and that those who are creating the job do their job and I know that the minister has been recognized numerous times nationally for his commitments to reducing unnecessary regulatory burdens and so while we celebrate the progress that we've made I know what small businesses really want to hear is what else we are planning to do to help Ontario be more competitive and support the creation of small business and jobs across Ontario so speaker will the minister tell us about the initiatives he is taking to make Ontario a global leader in reducing red tape and the cost associated operating small businesses thank you mr. Speaker I know the members been a very valuable spokesman person for small business for many years and I thank him for his leadership in that area and he would know that we are absolutely passionate about making Ontario the easiest place in North America if not the world in which to invest and operate a small business that's why mr. Speaker week we've completely restructured our government and how we we how we regard regulatory burden we've established a regulatory modernization committee that starts from the top up mr. Speaker our secretary of cabinet Ned Clark are sort of the the siphon where all good ideas come through to ensure we can move at the pace of business mr. Speaker so it doesn't take us five years to initiate a good idea but takes us mr. Speaker a matter of weeks if not months speaker we set up a regulatory center for excellence to root out and eliminate red tape and we set up our challenge mr. Speaker where we're tackling sector by sector challenges that small business face we're determined to reduce the regulatory burden for small business and make Ontario more competitive thank you mr. Speaker my question is for the Premier the situations tell me they'd be stranded on wait list for for necessary surgeries in the last year alone I've heard from 10 people forced to wait in pain for hip and knee replacements back surgery thyroid cancer surgery and a stem cell transplant and he is one of them before he got in touch with my office he was told it could take two years for hip replacement surgery and he said it best I just don't get the incompetence of the health system within Ontario and I hold the Minister of Health totally responsible for this in-app process underfunded unprepared and unsympathetic is this the kind of system that the premier is proud of mr. Speaker I'm starting to sound like a broken record here that it still boggles the mind mr. Speaker why they would vote against in fact of that 345 million dollars in new money to go towards our hospitals alone little let alone the billion dollars that we added to the health care system which they didn't support either elements but a significant part of that 345 million dollars was invested specifically and wholly and entirely in further bringing down wait times for important procedures like hip and knee and back surgery mr. Speaker we we saw that aside we are continue we've made I would describe it as dramatic progress where we're the best or among the best in Canada we're better than many many jurisdictions around the world do we have more work to do of course that's why we're making these investments it's unfortunate they didn't support the supplementary member from back to the premier a constituent from my riding Joe had a consultation for hip surgery at Strathroy hospital in September 2015 last month 12 months later he was informed that the earliest he might expect the surgery would be April 2017 but likely much later speaker this is a minimum 560 day wait but while residents of Strathroy wait and wait many who seek care elsewhere in the province are experiencing average weights fewer than 80 days mr. Speaker residents of Strathroy are concerned about this liberal government's rationing of care where one region appears to be getting better health care than another do you agree that wait times from my constituents would be reduced if you funded health care for residents of Strathroy at the same rate that you fund health care elsewhere in Ontario question well mr. Mr. Speaker I have to draw the line mr. Speaker because when they were empowered mr. Speaker they didn't even measure wait times but when we came when we came into government and started measuring wait times we found that their wait times were the worst in Canada mr. Speaker the worst when now they're the best mr. Speaker they are the best and the wait time alliance report card wait time from the Fraser Institute which you'll like notes in Ontario continues to receive straight A's for wait times in five key service areas hip replacement air surgery knee replacement surgery cataract procedures cancer radiation and coronary artery bypass graph the Fraser Institute says we're getting straight A's on precisely the issue that they've been raising all morning mr. Speaker I think is reprehensible that they voted against the budget that would have made further improvements and they're trying to discredit a process where we've seen answer medic improvement verified by independent third party thank you new question the leader of the third party thank you very much mr. Speaker my question is for the Premier yesterday's city of Toronto report on childcare demand and affordability highlights what families across this province have known for years speaker and that has access to affordable childcare in this province has reached a tipping point three quarters of Toronto's families can't afford licensed childcare which costs an average of twenty two thousand dollars a year that's unacceptable speaker parents are being forced to delay going back to work because they can't find a childcare spot for their child but far too often it's also because they simply can't afford to pay for those spaces childcare is beyond the reach of most family these days the Premier must do better by the families of this province when will this government deal with the affordability crisis in our childcare sector associate minister of education responsible for early years in child work should minister of education thank you mr. Speaker and I want to thank the member opposite for that very important question and I'm pleased to talk about our plan absolutely mr. Speaker we understand that Ontario families are facing challenges when it comes to finding affordable childcare in the province and that's why we are making a historic investment but that's also why affordability has been front and centre in the conversations that we have been having about childcare let me just talk a little bit about our commitment we are committing to create a hundred thousand new childcare spaces for children zero to four years old that is an historic investment an investment that also means that absolutely will include childcare subsidies to support families this conversation cannot happen without about affordability and so I'm pleased to answer and talk a little bit more about our plans to ensure that affordability is part of our plan to the hundred thousand spaces the government talks a lot about creating those child care spaces but the report that was tabled the other day at the city of Toronto shows very clearly that affordability itself is the key issue here they say quote simply creating spaces isn't enough growth requires requires addressing affordability this premier promise to be better on issues like childcare speaker but she's let families down families and children in this province deserve access to quality affordable licensed childcare now we know that childcare is a smart investment speaker that supports the economy and helps families to build a future and if they can access it but the problem is they can't access it will this premier step up and address the affordability crisis that we have in the childcare sector thank you Mr. thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you again for the question as I mentioned earlier we have heard from parents and childcare professionals about the need for increased access to affordable care and we have been listening that's why those conversations are ongoing and that's why we are committing to making affordability part of our plan when we transform the way we are delivering childcare in this province now we are committing to a hundred thousand new spaces over the next five years but in addition to that we are also looking at budgets we've included an operating budget of 600 to 750 million dollars which will include subsidies and will include a conversation about where those subsidies are needed so I look forward to chatting with early childhood care workers also with parents and of course with community leaders out there about where the needs are but we are providing the city of Toronto 351 million dollars to assist with childcare thank you mr. Speaker my question is for the Minister of Municipal Affairs this week is local government week in the province of Ontario and local governments or the level of government that has the greatest impact on our day-to-day lives mr. Speaker there are thousands of people across the province who work hard to make our communities work better for us mayors and councillors school board trustees firefighters police officers paramedics librarians planners bylaw and building inspectors public health nurses and many others these workers are opening their doors this week so that young people in our province can see how local government works for us and school boards also are opening up across the province to teach students about local government would the minister provide some detail on some of the efforts surrounding local government week thank you very much and I want to thank the the member from Etobicoke Lakeshore for the question and I want to thank the Association of Municipal Managers clerks and Treasurers of Ontario as well as he's mentioned in his question speaker local government workers and school boards and associations for the work that they're doing to incent I believe and to offer a springboard of opportunity for the next generation of elected people in the province of Ontario they're doing it through a variety of means as you've heard in the question speaker through tours through open houses and through contests speaker I remember very clearly being elected in 97 to municipal council in my riding of Thunder Bay out of Coken and our clerk at that time a lady by the name of Elaine Balita was a tremendous leader in the community of Thunder Bay incredibly experienced incredibly sincere and hardworking and I think that's people like Elaine Balita and the work that they're doing this week in local government week during local government week to yield and provide benefit to all of us in the province of Ontario in the years ahead and I thank them for their efforts Mr. Speaker I want to thank the Minister of Municipal Affairs for his answer and as you mentioned the Association of Municipal Managers clerks and Treasurers of Ontario is supporting efforts to celebrate local government week they have materials for students and teachers available online and these materials do a very good job of outlining how much local government contributes to our day-to-day lives local governments planner communities look after local roads manage our waste disposal provide recreation facilities pools gyms parks libraries they implement our government's policies in many cases and anytime we're at a park taking our kids to school visiting a library or traveling down the street we're benefiting from the work of our local government Mr. Speaker could the minister explain how the government of Ontario supporting municipalities and local government workers with all of the important important work they do for the minister thank you again to the member for the question and and speaker I just want to start by saying that as a government we take our relationship with our municipal partners very seriously and I think speaker we have demonstrated how seriously we take that relationship in very very tangible ways you know speaker when we were first elected in 2003 as government in the province of Ontario the financial assistance that was flowing to the municipal sector in Ontario was 1.1 billion dollars today speaker in 2016 13 to 15 years later total financial assistance through on pf and our uploads now totals 3.8 billion dollars to the municipal sector a speaker speaker that's an increase of 2.7 billion dollars and if you're from Peterborough like the member from Peterborough he round that up to around three billion speaker that represents about 15% on the municipal tax base for the average municipal taxpayer in the province of Ontario that we have provided in assistance through only two of the programs that we are providing for municipal partners thank you new question to the minister of health wait times to receive cataract surgery in muscoca have tripled with an aging population demand for these surgeries is going up year over year the same time this government has chosen to fund fewer surgeries the Spokane health care are doing the best they can in 2015 2016 they perform 253 cataract procedures over and about the number that was funded by the government these surgeries were performed at an operating loss to try and meet the demand from local communities surgery before took six to nine months on the waiting list but now takes a year to a year and a half this is unacceptable speaker with a minister commit to put an end to the increasing wait times and the people of muscoca and those living in rural Ontario well thank you mr. speaker and you know miss coke algonquin health care is a great health care organization and they're doing a fantastic job in providing care to members of their community we to impart through the increased funding in the budget this year and to recognize the important work that they're doing and the needs that they have that we increase their budget by over $500,000 this year alone which is helping them to continue to provide those the important services but mr. speaker I have to because cataracts were mentioned I have to go back to the fact that the Fraser Institute themselves gave us a straight a as a province specifically on our delivery of cataract procedures when they're looking at wait times this is the wait time alliance report card mr. speaker and they they gave us a straight a in five different areas already referenced the others but they gave us a straight a cataract is there more work to be done of course that's what this new money to half million dollars is going to help you we have a deferred vote on the motion of third reading of bill 13 an act in respect to the cost of electricity calling the members this will be a five-minute bell would all members please take their seats all members please take your seats thank you on October the 18th 2016 mr. T-bowl moved a third reading of bill 13 all those in favor please rise one at a time be recognized by the pool mr. T-bowl mr. Matthew mr. Bradley mr. Bradley mr. del Ducat mr. del Ducat mr. Sandals mr. Sousa mr. Sousa mr. Wynn mr. Matthews mr. Hoskins mr. Hoskins mr. Shirelli mr. Shirelli mr. Duga mr. Duga mr. McCharles mr. Mc meakin mr. Mc meakin mr. Takkar Mr. Takkar mr. Cole mr. Cole mr. Bardinetti mr. Bardinetti mr. Delaney mr. Delaney mr. Dillon mr. Dillon mr. Grevelle mr. Grevelle mr. Murray mr. Muri mr. Muridi mr. Mirridi mr. Cutot mr. Cutot as Hunter mr. Hunter mr. Lill mr. Lill mr. Or is Eddie mr. Or is Eddie mr. Quadris mr. Quadris mr. Dixon mr. Dixon man got his manga Pan-crat mr. Crac Madame La La La. Mr. Miller, Harrison, Muskoka, Mr. McDot, Ms. Scott, Ms. Thompson, Mr. Barrett, Ms. Monroe, Mr. Yurek, Mr. Bailey, Mr. Walker, Mr. Smith, Mr. Nichols, Ms. Marteau, Mr. McDonnell, Mr. McDonnell, Mr. Pettipies, Mr. Pettipies, Mr. Cole, Mr. Choe, Mr. Choe, Mr. Vantop, Mr. Vantho, Mr. Miller Hamilton, East Stony Creek, Mr. Miller Hamilton, East Stony Creek, Mr. Natascha, Mr. Armstrong, Mr. Hattfield, Mr. Gretzky, Mr. Gates, Mr. French. All those opposed, please rise one at a time and be recognized by the clerk. A is your zero. B zero, declare the motion carried. Meeting of the bill, 20 minutes. We have resolved that the bill do not pass and be entitled as in the motion. There are no further deferred votes. This house stands recess until 3 p.m. this afternoon.