 future. It is now time for Question Period, the leader of Her Majesty's Royal Office. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Deputy Premier. Right now there is 35,000 long-term care beds that do not meet provincial standards. Ontario seniors deserve the highest standard of safety, security and dignity. These beds don't meet that. That's more than half of the province's long-term care beds that don't meet standards. The Liberal government has cut $54 million from the health care budget this year alone. The government continues to erode the fragile state of health care in Ontario. Mr. Speaker, why does this government care so little for Ontario's most frail and vulnerable? Mr. Speaker, why are seniors allowed to live in conditions deemed unfit by their very own government? Thank you, Speaker. I just need to clarify before I hand to the supplementaries to the Associate Minister responsible for a long-term care speaker. I need to make it very clear that the health care budget has not been cut. Any suggestion that the health care budget has been cut is absolutely erroneous. Order. Finish, please. Speaker, it increased last year, this year and will continue to increase, unlike the transfers from the federal government related to health care that the member opposite stood and applauded when he was an MP, Speaker. Mr. Speaker, again to the Deputy Premier, Ontario's senior population is expected to double to over 4.5 million by 2041. Yet the response of this government is to cut $50 million from physiotherapy, seeing falls to rise dramatically. We have seen home care cut to Ontario seniors, nursing jobs have been slashed across the province, entire hospital wings have been closed. There are already 800,000 Ontarians without a family doctor, and yet the government is callously cutting 50 medical residency positions. Mr. Speaker, when will this happen to ensure that seniors get proper health care in Ontario? Well, Mr. Speaker, nothing could be further from the truth. This, as the Deputy Premier just mentioned, the health care budget in this province for years has increased, it's increasing this year, it's increasing next year, the year after that, the year after that. We're making, within that budget, we're making important decisions to continue to improve the quality of care of patients across this province. We've made a significant investment last year to respect and recognize the valuable role that our personal support workers play in the province where almost $100 million of additional funds are going to improve their standard of living and recognize the important role that they play. The changes that we made to physiotherapy resulting in 200,000 more seniors receiving physiotherapy services, let alone as a measure of the great extension of public physiotherapy across the province. Mr. Speaker, we continue to make these improvements. I think he's reflected on the Conservative Government's record of health. Thank you. Final supplementary. Mr. Speaker, again to the Deputy Premier, this fall, Aurelia Soldiers Memorial Hospital will be closing one of their operating rooms. The hospital will have seven fewer beds in complex continuing care. Sadly, they'll be forced to close the geriatric day unit. The nursing cuts will sure to follow, all because the Government will not fund $5 million they need to keep the operating rooms and the beds working in Simcoe North. Mr. Speaker, I'm not out of the hospital. I'm asking a direct question, Mr. Speaker. Will they honor the $5 million critical shortfall at Aurelia Soldiers Memorial Hospital? Thank you. Minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And the member opposite, the leader of the official opposition, is Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm not asking the Government for more rehearsed lines or rehashed photo ops. I'm asking a direct question, Mr. Speaker. Will they honor the $5 million critical shortfall at Aurelia Soldiers Memorial Hospital? The member opposite, the leader of the official opposition should know that we've increased our funding to hospitals across this province by 50% from $11 billion a decade ago to $17 billion today. That's a substantial increase. And it's resulting in increased patient care throughout the province, including in Aurelia, Mr. Speaker. And I know the comments of his predecessor and those who came with regards to our nurses, we're committed to our nurses in the province. We've added more than 24,000 more nurses, including 10,800 RNs in this province over the past decade. So we're committed to continuing to grow our health care system. There's been some engaging of conversations between people that are sitting near the minister and those that are making comments haphazardly. I'm asking for all of us just to listen to the question and answer. Please. The party opposite never even bothered to measure wait times for important surgical procedures in this province. We began to measure those wait times. When we began to measure them, look what we found, we inherited the worst wait times in Canada. We now have the best wait times, the shortest wait times in the entire country, Mr. Speaker. The member from the PN Carlton will come to order. New question, the member from Mr. the Deputy Premier. Ontarians are disgusted about huge bonuses awarded to well-paid Pan Am executives. Speaker handing up to $450,000 to people already paid at least a quarter of a million dollars earns this government a gold medal in being out of touch. Especially when we see hospital services slashed, people struggling to find home care or long-term care and so many families unable to make ends meet. We don't even know what the games cost, but in world record time this minister opens the vault to those who have already cashed in. Speaker, will the government do the right thing by issuing an immediate stop payment on these obscene bonus checks? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to congratulate the member opposite for being the new critic for tourism culture and sport and I want to start by saying this, Mr. Speaker. I had an incredible summer out there across the province meeting our athletes and getting into different communities. In fact, the best way you could have met with a conservative this summer is to show up to a Pan Am game in one of their communities because they were there the whole time. But the story is very different here in the legislature and from the very beginning, Mr. Speaker, the conservatives have been attacking these games. They said we weren't going to be able to sell any tickets. We sold over a million tickets for the Pan Am games. No one's cheering for these games, but Mr. Speaker, 1.4 million people attended our celebrations throughout the province. Mr. Speaker, more than 31 million Canadians tuned in either through the television or radio for the Pan Am, Pan Am game. Member from Leeds Grandville Supplementary. Thanks, Mr. Speaker. Back to the Deputy Premier. But I have to say, Minister, don't put the athletes and the attendees. We're talking about your mismanagement of the operations. The minister and the Premier can't even get their story straight. The minister says the games were under budget, but the Premier admits they don't know yet. Look, the truth is these games only posted the $50 million savings that the claim by the minister because of a $74 million bailout from taxpayers. By my math, that's a $24 million deficit. Another reason why these bonuses aren't deserved. Speaker, in the interest of open and transparent government, will the government support my request to bring in the Auditor General and put these bonuses on the bench until we get the real cost? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First point, the $56 million that we reported as a surplus for infrastructure was reported... The member from Renfrew will come to order and I'm tempted to move right into the warnings, but I'll give you a chance. Carry on. $6 million surplus in infrastructure was reported months and months ago at our technical briefings that these guys didn't show up to actually get the information. In addition to that, Mr. Speaker, the member opposite knows that the compensation package and the bylaws and the rules regulations around TO 2015 was a three-government process and, in fact, the leader of the opposition, his government was part of that process. So I don't understand why it was good enough for the leader of the opposition before when he was in Ottawa, but why is it bad now? Back to the Deputy Premier. Public elementary school teachers are still without a contract. There are 800,000 Ontarians without a family doctor and you're currently calling back doctors from seeing new patients. Eight times for long-term care have tripled since 2005 and this government slashed $54 million from the health care budget. All of that and the Premier is giving pan-am executives a bonus. Mr. Speaker, does the government have no shame or just the wrong priorities? Minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just want to talk a little bit about the compensation structure. Again, it was developed on the advice of a third-party consulting firm that was brought in and it's based on attracting the right type of people over a short period of time to really deliver the type of games that would make Ontarians proud. This was a large budget, $2.5 billion budget. The Ontario government put in a substantial amount. The federal government put in a substantial amount. The municipal government put in a substantial amount and really we wanted to attract the best and brightest from across this country to help us deliver the best type of games and we were able to accomplish that, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. New question. Thanks very much, Speaker. My question is to the acting Premier. The Premier is plowing ahead with her scheme to sell off Hydro-1. She's ignoring 83% of Ontarians who want to stop this privatisation scheme and keep our Hydro in public hands. But rather than listening, Speaker, the Premier is doubling down on the biggest privatisation in this province since Mike Harris. How can the Liberals defend the sell-off scheme when they have no mandate, Speaker? They have no public support and no evidence whatsoever to sell off Hydro-1. Thank you, Speaker. I think the leader of the third party will recall that this actually was in our 2014 budget. This was in our election platform and it actually was in their platform as well because they used our fiscal assumption, Speaker, to develop their plan. Looking at assets is the responsible thing for a government to do. We have a very strong need to build the infrastructure for the future, Speaker, for today and for the future. That infrastructure must be paid for. We have looked at ways in which we can pay for that infrastructure but make no mistake about it. The infrastructure is required. So I am just asking the leader of the third party exactly what infrastructure projects she is recommending that we not proceed. Because the only choice is you build them and pay for them or you don't build them at all. The member from Hamilton East Holy Creek come to order, please. Supplementary? Speaker, I can guarantee the Deputy Premier that this party, the New Democratic Party, is probably the only party in this legislature that would never privatize Hydro One not today and to sell off Hydro One. But to get away with it, Speaker, to get away with it, they need to keep Ontarians in the dark. And that's why the Premier stripped Hydro One of oversight. That's why she removed the ability of our public watchdogs to look into Hydro One and to look out for the people of Ontario. And that's why she refused to let Ontarians have their say in public hearings or in a referendum. How can this liberal government defend the biggest rollback of accountability in the history of our electricity system, Speaker? Well, Speaker, I'm happy to refresh the memory of the leader of the third party. In their nine-page platform, the NDP borrowed our plan, including our plan to maximize the value of our assets. In an interview with News Talk 1010 Radio, the leader of the third party said, and I quote, on May the 7th, there is no doubt we did talk in our platform about looking at some of the physical assets the province owns, Speaker. During the campaign, they talked about looking at assets. After the campaign, when they taken, Speaker, now they are opposed. We need to build this infrastructure. The people of the province are counting on us to build the infrastructure. The shouting is going back and forth enough that I'm asking for you to bring it down. Final supplement. Speaker, I've asked the Premier over and over to come clean with Ontarians about the sell-off of Hydro One. But the Premier stubbornly refuses to bring any openness, Speaker, any transparency, any accountability to her scheme. She's stripped Hydro One of oversight. She refuses to provide any evidence, to release any evidence to the public to back up her scheme. And she's plowing ahead with a sell-off that Ontarians overwhelmingly reject. Why does this acting Premier believe that Ontarians should be kept in the dark about the single biggest privatization scheme in a generation? Well, Speaker, when it comes to transparency, let me review the record on that. You will recall, as I said earlier, this was included in our 2014 budget. It was included in our platform. It was included in their platform. The advisory council issued an interim report and a final report, both publicly available. We've held a technical briefing and the member from Kitchener Waterloo attended that technical briefing to further ensure transparency. We have brought in Denis de Sautel, the former Auditor General of Canada, to oversee the IPO. The member knows full well that publicly traded companies are subject to different oversight mechanisms than Crown corporations. However, the new Hydro One will be regulated by the Ontario Business Corporations Act, the Ontario Securities Act, the Ontario Energy Board. We will have to file information with the Ontario Securities Commission. Disclose the compensation of their top executive, Speaker. Thank you. New question later in the third party. Questions to the Acting Premier, Speaker. The Premier, and now the Acting Premier, are desperately trying to justify their sell-off of Hydro One. The Premier wants us to believe that she had no choice but to privatize Hydro, but she could not be more wrong, Speaker. The Liberals had better choices, smarter choices, every opportunity to make them. But they failed to make the right choice for Ontario Speaker. And now this Liberal government fears nothing more than public scrutiny of the Premier's bad decision. Will this Acting Premier explain to Ontario Speaker why openness and transparency and accountability are the biggest threats to the Premier's privatization scheme? Thank you. We are investing in infrastructure because this province needs that investment. Make no mistake about it. We're committed to making the largest investment in infrastructure in Ontario's history, $130 billion. Speaker, that's not just about roads and bridges and transit. That's about jobs. That's 110,000 jobs a year that we will be creating as a result of these investments. The Leader of the third party needs to understand that not investing has consequences. There is a cost to not investing. So, again, we're asking, what are you going to cancel? Regional Express Rail, over 10 years, weekly rail trips will go from 1,500 to nearly 6,000 trips. On the Barrie line, weekly trips from 700 to more than 200. Kitchener lines, early trips from 80 to more than 250. Lakeshore Eastline, but maybe it's Hamilton. Maybe it's the Hamilton line that you want to... Thank you. Supplementary? Speaker, the Premier has run out of excuses and all those government members on the back benches are going to have a tough time defending the sale of Hydro One because the Premier could have made a better choice to build the transit and infrastructure... Finish, please. The Premier could have made a better choice to build the transit and infrastructure that our province needs and every single one of those back benches knows it, Speaker. The Premier deliberately instead chose to hand Hydro One to the highest bidder and they know that as well. She deliberately chose to sell off a public asset against the will of the majority of the people of Ontario do the right thing and admit that openness, transparency and accountability is the biggest threat to this Premier's scheme. Thank you, Deputy Premier. So, Speaker, what we are doing is creating new assets. We are creating those assets that are needed for today. Yes, it's true that 140 years ago Sir Adam Beck from London, Ontario had a vision. He saw what Ontario needed at that time in history and they needed electricity, Speaker. The Government of the day acted on that, built that electricity system. The Government of today sees that we need to build infrastructure, Speaker, whether it's a connecting link. Member from Prince Edward Hastings, carry on. Speaker, whether it's Highway 7 between Kitchener and Guelph, whether it's 401, Highway 401 improvements in London 417 in Ottawa, Maley Drive and Sudbury, the Highway 717 between Thunder Bay and Nipagon. Speaker, all of these investments are needed. They are needed now. We are building them now and we have to pay for them and that's why we are taking assets that we have and investing in new assets. Thank you. I think final. Sorry about that, you're right. Final supplementary. This Premier had better choices, Speaker, but she made the wrong decision for the people of Ontario. Her privatization scheme protects her small group of powerful friends from paying their fair share and businesses paying the price for decades to come. Instead of asking the biggest corporations to pay just a little bit more to help tackle congestion and to build infrastructure, this Premier is plowing ahead with a massive privatization scheme. This Premier is following in the footsteps of Mike Harris. Now, will this acting Premier finally admit that openness and transparency and accountability is actually the biggest threat to the Premier's privatization scheme? Thank you. So, Speaker, the NDP are, I think, famous now for having one solution to every problem, no matter what the issue is, their answer is increased taxes on corporations, Speaker, and that is a refrain that the federal leader has joined in as well, Speaker. We are taking a more sophisticated approach. We are taking a number of strategies to pay for this infrastructure, but we are actually investing in the Stoville Line, the Milton Line, the Richmond Hill Line, Speaker, support for SmartTrack, a billion dollars for Hamilton LRT, Speaker, we're doing an EA for High Speed Rail from Toronto to London. Member from Hamilton, East Stony Creek, second time. We've got investments for rural and northern natural gas expansion. That is a vital investment, Speaker. This province are asking for help on the Connecting Leaks program, and we are responding to that. Speaker, these are important investments. These are wise investments. Thank you. And we're prepared to make the decisions. Thank you. I apologize to the leader of the third party for losing track. New question. Member from Dippison. Thank you, Speaker. My question is for the Deputy Premier. Once again, health care and my riding was put at risk by a second round of cuts made by this Liberal government. 158 full-time frontline staff have been fired from the North Bay Regional Health Centre. More than half of them were nurses. This is on top of the 197 frontline health care workers already fired at the hospital. Again, more than half of those were nurses. Speaker, this is devastating for the community, the workers and their patients who are now rightfully concerned about access to quality health care. Speaker, do the Liberals have any questions whatsoever over squandering a billion dollars on the gas plan scandal money that could have been used? Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm happy to talk about North Bay Regional Hospital as well. The new hospital that was built and opened I think four years ago as a result of the capital investment of this Liberal government. When that hospital was built and when it amalgamated with a site in Sudbury as well it was determined and found by the hospital as well as the Linn that certain issues needed to be right-sized and in fact the efficiencies of the hospital were lower for certain programs and services and the costs were higher than other hospitals in the north similar hospitals in the north or other hospitals around the province. So what's been underway for the last several years is to actually take account of the fact that the expenses and the lack of efficiency of the hospital needs to be addressed so the quality of care which I can speak to in the supplementary is maintained but the hospital is as efficient as it can be. Back to the Deputy Premier nothing he said gives any comfort to the people of North Bay. Speaker in this new hospital they just closed 60 beds in this brand new facility that he spoke of. They're not just cutting in my righty speaker hundreds of nurses and frontline health care services have been cut in hospitals right across Ontario Leamington, Chatham, Newlisker, Dimmons, Sudbury, the Sioux, Orillia, Quinty, Scarborough and just this week we learned that frontline cuts in Ottawa led to higher re-admission rates. The auditor general warned that this liberal government's continued deficits will lead to the crowding out of important programs. Speaker we now know exactly what the auditor was referring to. What is this liberal government going to do to deteriorate health care services in North Bay? Thank you. This is ironic coming from the party that ran on a platform of cutting 100,000 public sector cuts. Start the clock. I'm not amused. Please finish, wrap up. Mr. Speaker, funding for North Bay has increased by over 100 million in 2003 an increase in funding of 128%, Mr. Speaker. We've also provided the hospital Actually that's your time and the member from Nipissing second time. New question. The member from Bramley-Gormaldon. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. My question is to the deputy premier. We learned this morning that the OPP have been trying to get and trying to find a court to lay charges in their months long investigation into the alleged bribery of a liberal candidate in the Sudbury by-election. It seems though that this attempt to lay charges has been stalled. The OPP commissioner is quoted as saying that he is frustrated at the fact that he's confident that his members of the OPP have done an exceptional job. It seems that charges are imminent. That charges will be laid. What is this government doing to ensure that this investigation is installed further so that charges can be laid and so that Ontarians can learn the truth what would happen with the bribery scandal? Thank you. Governor House Leader Well thank you very much Speaker and I must say that I'm very surprised to hear this question from the member opposite who happens to be a lawyer who presumably knows how the system works and he knows that a system is very independent and arms length from the government. Speaker from day one we have been absolutely clear that this investigation is arms length from the government is being done undertaken by the proper authorities and it will their processes that will determine the entire investigation and the process. There is no engagement there is no interference from the government and that is absolutely clear. So I am now sure Speaker what the member opposite is trying to ask except for he is trying to interfere he is seeking interference from the government and an arms length process which is totally unacceptable Speaker. Thank you very much Mr Speaker I'm sure the government agrees that the OPP do phenomenal work in our communities and they've done an exceptional job here. They seem to think that a case is made that there is enough evidence to proceed to charges against a senior member of the Premier's office. The Liberal government has repeatedly promised that they will be an accountable and transparent government. The people of Ontario want and demand a transparent and accountable government. So when there is an allegation of bribery something as serious as bribery involving a senior official in the Premier's office it raises some serious questions and Ontarians deserve to have those answers. We know that a criminal investigation and now potential upcoming criminal prosecution will provide those answers. But we need assurances that the government will provide the necessary support and resources for this investigation proceeds to a prosecution. Will this government commit to providing the support to this investigation? Thank you. I've never heard a question with them any ifs and mays and good and maybes and should as I just did in this question. Speaker is absolutely clear that this is an arms length investigation arms length from the government no charges have been laid at this point and speaker let me be absolutely clear that when it comes to any elements of prosecution this matter is being in the hands of the public prosecution service of Canada. It is not being done by the Delft by the Ministry of Attorney General investigation. We move this entire process in the hands of the public prosecution service of Canada which is part of the federal Ministry of Justice. This is arms length speaker all the resources of the process of the system are always available and I urge all the members especially members like the member opposite who happens to be a lawyer to respect the process and don't urge the government to interfere in the process. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker my question is for the Attorney General. As recently as Tuesday I have been reading newspaper articles and hearing public outcry regarding a recent federal court of appeal decision that was handed down. My constituents in Halton as well as myself would like some clarification about the case. Mr. Speaker I understand that the federal appeal court ruled from the bench that the federal government's policy forcing face coverings such as Nicobes to be removed while taking the Canadian citizenship oath violated the citizenship act. Mr. Speaker the act clearly states that candidates for citizenship must be allowed the greatest possible religious freedom when they take the oath. I had read that Ontario intervened but was wondering if through you the Attorney General could provide some clarification on the case itself as well as Ontario's position on the matter. Thank you Mr. Speaker and I want to thank the member from Alton for this very important question. As Attorney General in Ontario I welcome the federal court of appeal dismissal of the federal government's appeal over a ban on face coverings at citizenship ceremonies. A guiding principle Mr. Speaker of our government is to treat everyone with dignity and respect and to accommodate diverse identities as outlined under the Charter and the Human Rights Code in Ontario. It is imperative to ensure that this principle applies to all women in our province regardless of their religious belief. That is why our government of Ontario intervened before the federal court on appeal in this case in support of Ms. Iskoash position. For this reason above if leave to appeal this matter is granted by the Supreme Court of Canada Ontario will intervene to defend the right and freedom we hold so dearly. Thank you. Mr. Speaker I'd like to thank the Attorney General for her excellent answer. Now one of the concerns I've heard from my constituents is that the federal government's insistence that women remove their face coverings for citizenship ceremonies isn't just an inappropriate position from the perspective of religious freedom it's also inappropriate on a gender basis. The federal government's position discriminates against women. Mr. Speaker can the minister please inform the house on the government's perspective regarding the gender bias inherent to the federal government's position and face coverings at citizenship ceremonies. Thank you. Attorney General. Mr. responsible for women issues. The minister responsible for women's issues. Thank you speaker and thanks again to the member from Halton this is a very important and serious question and absolutely this federal policy which I'd like to note has been struck down decisively by the court twice is inappropriate on so many levels and of special concern to me and the impact it has on women. We know that women's clothing choices have often come under unwarranted attention and judgment as a reflection of their character and trustworthiness. Whether it's NACAB or a miniskirt that is not okay. It's simply not okay to deny the dignity and autonomy of any woman to wear what she wants. Can I please have this referred to government policy? It's true when the result of not complying with a federal directive. So from an Ontario women's perspective we're very concerned about this and we support this woman as her case moves forward. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you speaker. My questions for the minister of community and social services. Minister we all know the importance of community living associations throughout Ontario. They provide support and services for people with intellectual disabilities, their families and communities across the province. Unfortunately your government downloaded the cost of pay equity to the local level. Premier's Ray, Premier's Harris, Premier's Eve supported pay equity funding but the wind government has not. Many community living associations are facing financial pressures in which they are able to meet their pay equity obligation which is resulting in the elimination of services and support in our communities. How can you expect the many community living associations in Ontario to meet their pay equity obligations and still maintain a viable organization that looks after some of the society's most vulnerable. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker and thank you to the member for the question. Certainly the situation with community living Elgin is one that I have become very familiar with and our ministry is working very closely with that organization to ensure, first of all, the most important aspect of this particular situation is that individuals continue to have access to services and supports that they require and that partners and staff in the sector are fully supported in that work. Certainly the organization which of course is an independent organization with its own board of directors is a transfer payment agency of our government. They are expected by us to provide the services to the individuals and the families that require them and we are monitoring the situation at community living Elgin extremely closely. Thank you Mr. Speaker I'm glad you mentioned my writing. Community living Elgin has announced it plans to eliminate 17 full-time positions 64 staff cuts as well as close the drop-in center at the Talbot teen center eliminate the day support programming at Two Curtis Street and shut down a group home on East Street and this is based on a plan approved by your ministry these cuts are reality because in the path in part because of a deficit caused by the unfunded pay equity in the province of $300,000 but minister my writing is not alone and as other community living associations across the province are facing the same situation minister are you going to correct your financial mismanagement by punishing those most vulnerable Mr. Speaker my ministry is monitoring the situation at community living Elgin extremely closely in fact we are conducting a financial review of that particular organization and this will take a number of weeks to complete that review I want to assure everyone that in fact community living Elgin has received increasing funds from our government they are changing some of their service provision to in fact include programs where workers are ensuring that there are wraparound services around individuals so that they can in fact be more included in the local community and this is all being monitored very closely to ensure that concerned families and individuals are satisfied with the type of services that are being provided and we will continue to monitor the situation closely thank you speaker my question is to the acting premier parents and students deserve stability in our schools but for more than a year this liberal community has failed to reach new collective agreements that protect the quality of publicly funded education and respect all of our teachers and education workers 382 days after the last contracts expired this premier has no excuse no excuse for not being at the table and working as hard as she can to reach tentative agreements with elementary teachers and education workers has failed to do all week and send the education minister back to the bargaining table today so speaker for a fleeting moment just a fleeting moment I thought maybe the member opposite would stand up and say I'm really pleased to see that a tentative agreement has been reached with the third teachers union I am very have signed tentative agreements speaker and they are in the process of ratification that is very good news for all the students of Ontario speaker and their parents Ontario students deserve the very best education in fact we are proud that we have one of the finest education systems in the world speaker and we want to maintain that when it comes to negotiations with etfo the member opposite knows that in may etfo decided that it did not want to negotiate it walked away from the table in may finally were able to come back on September 1st we are very interested in reaching a settlement with them speaker and we will continue to work when they are ready to come back thank you thank you speaker I'd be happy to see the government back at the table with etfo and all education the premier and education minister have had over a year to negotiate new agreements with all of our dedicated education workers and teachers they have failed to deliver the stability that parents and students deserve now the premier thinks she can short real bargaining by trying to impose a deal and then walking away from the table speaker that's not how it's done but once again we see the premier is more interested in helping the federal liberal campaign than she is in negotiating agreements that restore stability in our classrooms how can the acting premier defend this liberal government's failure to get back to the bargaining table get back to real negotiations and reach agreements with all of our teachers and education workers thank you I can assure the member opposite that we've been working very hard to reach that agreement we did table a comprehensive approach speaker we are waiting for them to respond to that approach I can assure you that when they are ready to respond to that we will be at the table in a nano second speaker we want kids to be in a good learning environment we want teachers to be free of the stress that comes with labor uncertainty speaker we are very motivated this has nothing to do from our side with the federal government but speaker we are working with CUPI we are working with other educational workers we want that peace and stability in our classroom and I am delighted that we have had success with OECDA with OSSTF and now AEFO speaker thank you Mr Tourism, Culture and Sport this summer I was thrilled to be one of millions of Ontarians we caught up in the Pan Am Fever it was hard to miss Mr Speaker there was something for everyone thrilling athletic competitions amazing musical performances and cultural experiences from across the Pan American countries whether it was through the torch relates to touch 130 communities in Ontario or a celebration that was held during the games across the province Ontarians were cheering the athletes furthermore thousands of enthusiastic volunteers like Scarborough Asian Corps youth Cindy Yu and Lena Lee who made the games possible they supported the athletes and were cheering their achievements throughout the games through you to the minister can he please inform them about how the people from the province the countries around the world participate in the Pan Am and Para Pan Am Games this summer Mr Tourism, Culture and Sport and Scarborough's Pan Am, Para Pan Games thank you Mr Speaker I want to thank the member from Scarborough Asian Corps for her question but also for her support for the Pan Am, Para Pan Am Games I know that she's absolutely right Ontarians love the Pan Am and Para Pan Am Games there was a lot of hard work put into it it took a lot of hard work from our ministry and our partners across Ontario but also several members in this house I know Minister Nakvi was responsible for coordinating a strong security plan was very successful Minister Del Ducca kept the region moving and I'm very thankful for his work Minister Ducca looked at infrastructure were able to come $56 million under budget with their infrastructure and of course the premier who is a strong advocate for sports and athleticism here in the province of Ontario but there are also members opposite that showed up to support our athletes and I want to support the members in the opposition who showed up for supporting our athletes because it was very important for the success of the games thank you Speaker thank you Minister I know that our government bid on these games not only for the incredible excitement that occurred during the games but also provide a legacy that would benefit our province for generations to come in Scarborough we are fortunate to have a new state of our art aquatic centre to provide much community recreation space for university students and the Scarborough community the facility is expected to serve 1,000 to 1,500 students per day from the University of Toronto Scarborough campus this facility will provide lasting legacy not only for the high performance athletes but also students support groups community residents of all ages and abilities Speaker through you to the Minister can he please inform the House about the legacy left behind by the Pan Am and the Par Pan Am Games Thank you Minister Thank you Mr Speaker and the members right there were a lot of new facilities built and some retrofits with our existing facilities that were here in Ontario and if you look around the GTA and across many parts of the province these facilities bring in a renewed sense of inspiration to our athletes and people involved in amateur sport across Ontario when you go out to Milton and look at the velodrome it's just transformed that landscape the members right about Scarborough the aquatic centre it's transformative and we built into the plan over 90,000 hours of community use for people to get into those buildings and use those facilities but in addition to that during the Pan Am Games I was proud to see that spending was up in fact we had an 8% increase in the chronicle debit transactions during the same time the previous year and hotels were sold out it was such a success Mr Speaker and I want to thank everyone involved for being part of that success Thank you Thank you Mr Speaker my question this morning is for the Deputy Premier Mr Speaker the decision to sell Hydro One was made behind closed doors by the banker that the Premier brought in to be the training wheels for the Finance Minister there has been no public consultation I just want to share with you comments from one Ontarian the government has no mandate to sell off the grid and there has been no public consultation or debate about such a sale he went on to say selling the crown jewel of our electricity system was a very serious mistake that was said in the legislature not by me or the opposition leader it was said by former Liberal Cabinet Minister Sean Conway Mr Speaker, members of the Liberal Party have raged against selling Hydro One in the past now they're perfectly okay with selling it off to their buddies on Bay Street Liberals sitting in the cabinet opposed the fire sale of Hydro One Mr Speaker, how do they feel about Ed Clark having more say than they do Good question Well, Mr Speaker the member opposite is interested in some quotes from days gone by I've got some for you too so I've got some quotes from the member from Simcoe Gray who said let's just listen to what he said the government announced on December 12th 2001 that it has decided to privatize Hydro One we believe this decision best serves the interests of Ontario taxpayers and electricity the member from Simcoe Gray he'll remember that he also said over the long term we believe that the restructuring of the electricity system in Ontario will impose sufficient market discipline but that's not enough there's more Speaker on January 24th 2002 he said we believe this decision best for the interests of Ontario taxpayers and electricity customers some people mistakenly refer to electricity competition as deregulation it is not Thank you Thank you Mr Speaker I've got to warn the Liberals that the fire sale of Hydro One is spreading and let's continue the theme here of throwback Thursdays I've got another quote from someone from eastern Ontario who said Ontario families want affordable, reliable electricity and carries electricity to their homes is a disaster for consumers he then went on to warn that selling Hydro One was a reward for corporate friends and that people want the sale stopped you know who said that Mr Speaker that was their former Premier Dalton McGinty who said that Premier no stranger to handing government contracts to the Liberal Pals knew that Hydro One was just going to be a bottomless trot for well connected insiders Mr Speaker will the Premier stop the Hydro One sale or is she eager to do exactly what Dalton McGinty warned and stop her friends pockets On a serious note I would advise the member to be very cautious of the type of language he used in his last sentence I really do need to point out that when the PCs were in power and they were busy selling off Highway 407 you'll remember that I suspect and well the member doesn't want to be reminded selling off Highway 407 a fire sale price no ongoing revenue actually was helpful to us as we designed a program that maintains a de facto control speaker for the people of Ontario your plan was to sell 100% of Hydro make no mistake about it you wanted no oversight we are broadening the ownership we are generating some assets so we can invest in other assets speaker this is an important initiative to undertake because of people right across this province whether there are big cities or small towns rural areas, medium sized cities they are all asking for an exit infrastructure the only way we can do that speaker is by using leveraging existing assets so we can build new ones thank you for your question thank you speaker my question is to the Minister of Agriculture Farmers across Ontario become very frustrated with the government seemingly unwillingness to develop regulations regarding the UNICC that actually work on the ground the first sign was when they held the EBR consultations in the middle of planting season when farmers had no time to talk about the regulations and things haven't gone any better for example speaker you need a certified crop advisor to approve your needs assessment for UNICC we agree with that, farmers agree with that but the crop advisor can't be affiliated with any company that sells seed so the majority of crop advisors are now out of the game people that farmers have trusted for years does the Minister actually believe that these people aren't competent thank you speaker well thanks so very much Mr. Speaker to you to my friend from Timbiske I want to thank him for his question this morning as we do know there is a legal case that is pending on the regulations and I can't comment on that but basically but basically Mr. Speaker we've identified four majority factors one is pollinator health the province of Ontario number one there was two severe winners that have caused an impact on pollinator health two the fact is that there's a number of hives in Ontario that have been invaded by the Verola bite three there's the management issue of the hives between professional managers and hobbyists and four the blanket use of neonix across the province of Ontario the bottom line Mr. Speaker I'm afraid it'd be to get access to the Mr. Speaker to our farmers in Ontario thank you once again the minister asked a specific question I didn't get an answer so I'm going to rephrase it and I'm a farmer I've used the same certified crop consultant for 20 years Terry Phillips from the Timbiske Mag Co-op I've trusted him he's told me at times you know John you shouldn't spray because it's too late or it's not effective or maybe you should rotate more according to the government is not qualified to give me advice on neonix that's ridiculous and I'm glad I'm a farmer to be able to say that and the minister should take heed that a crop advisor is a crop advisor they're certified and if they're not certified tell me why you don't believe in their certification thank you thank you Mr. Speaker the member from Brooklyn Gallaudet I want to thank the member for his supplementary question because I just found out something this morning the member from Mr. May Crankford had this to say on May 7th to the chat of Daily News as a party we believe there is room for more regulation I've used neonix on my farm they're very effective but perhaps Mr. Speaker they were overused do we believe there should be stronger regulations Mr. Speaker he said yes thank you very much good question the member from New Mercador question is to the minister of economic development employment and infrastructure minister I know your ministry has been very involved in our government's efforts to spur innovation in this province and sharpen our competitive advantage in the global marketplace one way we've done this is through creating an innovation hub at Mars a hub that works to equip innovators and organizations with entrepreneurial skills required to compete in the 21st century thank you carry on please thank you Mr. Speaker as I was saying Mars has been a critical component for fledgling private sector startups and health sciences researchers despite this important mandate I understand Mars has had troubles in past with respect to its least up situation minister does the project still pose challenges thank you minister of economic development very thrilled this morning to be able to say to you Mr. Speaker that we really have turned the page on Mars this has been a challenging year and it's great to see that happening when the financing of the west tower ran into difficulties associated with the global recession many said that this province should walk away Mr. Speaker we didn't we consulted real estate experts Michael Nobrega and Carol Stevenson we got some good advice and just as importantly we had the courage to take that advice it was unfettered advice Mr. Speaker it was good advice last December when we announced that our government was stepping up to put Mars on solid footing we had the full confidence Mr. Speaker that west tower would be a success today I can now confirm that Mars has attracted a really interesting and effective mix of innovative tenants that will drive research innovation and commercialization it's now 70% least well on the way to be fully least Mr. Speaker this is a success well thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you minister for that exciting update and I know that that this project is something that is very important to not only residents in my writing of new market aurora but of course to residents and business people across the province it's exciting and I'm so glad to hear that the minister stuck to his guns minister recently the government announced that a new innovative tenant was joining the ranks at Mars and was setting up their Canadian headquarters here this is surely an important milestone for a significant project such as Mars JLAB is a major research and development engine for this health and biosciences companies transformed science research into breakthrough healthcare products the members opposite have been criticizing the project at every step Mr. Speaker but now it seems that the building is leasing up on time and that things are moving forward smoothly thank you before we finish again another reminder for all members let's stay focused on how we present the question in the third person to the chair Mr. Speaker our government is very pleased that JLABS has agreed to establish its largest research innovation life science incubator here in Ontario there's no question Mr. Speaker that JLABS is a clue for this province's bioscience sector the competition was stiff from other jurisdictions and we won that business Mr. Speaker because we stepped up with investments that helped ensure that that investment came here instead of other places in North America and because also of the availability of the Mars West Tower JLABS ended up at Mars but we were pursuing them regardless of wherever they wanted to go in Ontario Mr. Speaker they chose Mars because it was the perfect location for them the members opposite urged us to walk away and leave that building rock to give the ground Mr. Speaker instead we stepped up and the result of the construction of companies like JLABS that are proven innovation engines they're going to drive our bioscience sector forward here in the province of Ontario thank you Mr. Speaker your question the member from the hall of the member for the minister of transportation we're approaching one year since construction has been shut down on the Kuga Bridge on provincial highway number three because of intimidation the minister's letter of August 14 when the construction was paused due to a request from the Adonissey Development Institute or HDI out of six nations while they walked out on the bridge and the construction workers left the temporary bridge was a problem for farm machinery for large trucks it's an eyesore I regularly receive calls from Kuga wanting to know when the new bridge will be completed the original was built in 1924 when will construction workers be allowed back on the bridge the minister of transportation's letter in August noted a date for resumption of work has not been scheduled can he now tell this house if a date for start-up has been set thanks very much speaker I thank the member opposite for this question I know he's raised this particular issue in the legislature in the past and some of my colleagues on this site have had the chance to answer as well of course the ministry of transportation we know it's important to this particular part of the province we are in consultation on a regular basis not only with our partners and stakeholders in the community but also the ministry of Aboriginal affairs to make sure that we are successfully fulfilling our responsibilities with respect to the duty to consult we will continue speaker to endeavor to reach a resolution on this very important matter I have no concern whatsoever of course speaker with respect to keeping this particular member should he have additional questions offline outside of the chamber itself to keep him in the loop as they say with respect to what's happening in this particular part of the province and speaker as soon as the ministry can provide a comprehensive answer by a specific update I'll be happy to provide that information thanks very much speaker there are no deferred votes this house stands recess until sorry excuse me sorry I did I see a point of order point of order the member from Burlington speaker a point of order to introduce some late arriving guests speaker on behalf of the minister of natural resources and forestry and as legislative assistant Corey Preston I'd like to welcome Corey's parents Ron and Kathy Preston to the legislature today they've come all the way here from Walstown Ontario to join us we're pleased to have you here welcome to Queen's Park thank you minister of health thank you Mr. Speaker I was remiss in not introducing the family of our page captain today with her parents Marie Kamal and brother Hasan in the gallery big no further points to words there are no deferred votes this house stands recess until 1pm this afternoon