 It's now time for oral questions, the leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition. I asked my first question, I just want to say on behalf of Ontario's new Democrats, and I'm sure all members of the House, our hearts go out to the two police officers and the two civilians who were killed in New Brunswick. It is a terrible, terrible tragedy, and I'm sure their whole province as well as their community is suffering greatly, so our hearts go out to them. Speaker, my first question is for the Premier. In less than a day, over 1,600 people made calls to the Municipal Affairs Minister and to Conservative MPPs. They were telling the Premier to stop his undemocratic election meddling. Will the Premier listen to them, Speaker? Premier. Well, Mr Speaker, day after day we come down here and the Leader of Opposition wants to constantly talk about spending more money, adding more politicians, and adding more politicians without any consultation. They wanted to go from 44 up to 47. We consulted the people, and on June the 7th they spoke loud and clear. They spoke loud and clear. They want us to reduce the size and cost of government. It's ironic that the Leader of the Opposition has not come down here once to say, I want to reduce hydro rates, I want to create good-paying jobs, I want to lower gas rates. All the Leader of the Opposition wants to do is get more politicians, do the bidding for her downtown NDP councillors, Joe Cressy, Mike Layton, and the rest of the cronies downtown. Speaker, the Premier did not run on an election platform to meddle in democratic elections. He did not run on a plan to meddle in democratic elections. And that's the worrisome thing, is that he doesn't believe that people's rights to vote for their representatives should be protected. And I do think that they should be protected, Speaker. I didn't vote for Joe Cressy, I didn't vote for Mike Layton, but people certainly did, and they deserve to have the opportunity to vote for their elected representatives. It's not a single member of his caucus actually ran on a plan to meddle in democratic elections. The people of Ontario are telling him clearly to stop election meddling. Will he? Mr. Speaker, we ran on reducing the size and cost of government. We ran on making sure we respected the taxpayers, and last time I did a little count in the City of Toronto, we won 11 seats, half, and actually if you added up all the votes, more votes than the Liberals and NDP combined. My friends, actually we ran, we ran on making sure that we saved the taxpayers money. Everyone knows, everyone knows that the City of Toronto, that it's dysfunctional. Nothing gets done. The Scarborough subway has been up for vote eight different times this change, Mr. Speaker. There's absolute gridlock on their streets, and there's gridlock at City Hall. Final supplementary. Well, Speaker, we'll send the real facts over to the Premier around the voting that happened in the downtown Toronto area, but look, despite the Premier's shutting out of the people of Ontario by not allowing committee hearings on Bill 5, people filled the lawns of Queens Park telling the Premier to stop election meddling. In a single day, more than 1,600 calls were made telling the Premier to stop interfering. Will the Premier respect the people of Ontario and pull Bill 5, or will he behave like a dictator by using undemocratic legislation? Will he behave so inappropriately as people have been criticising him of doing so for the last number of weeks by using undemocratic legislation to settle personal beefs and go after his political foes? Mr. Speaker, we can sit here and debate on how we can increase taxes as the NDP want to do. We can increase more politicians as the NDP wants to do. Increase the gas prices as members of our party want the highest gas prices in North America, the highest carbon taxes. Our party is for reducing the size and cost of government, reducing gas prices, making sure we eliminate the carbon tax, the worst tax you could put on any business or the people of Ontario. We believe in respecting the taxpayers. There's 25 MPs, 25 MPPs, and there's going to be 25 city councillors. Before I ask for the next question, I'm going to remind all members that it's against the Standing Orders and the conventions and the traditions of this House to impute motive, and I would ask all members to observe that rule. All members, next question. My next question is also for the Premier. Last week, the Minister of Municipal Affairs dodged a question about whether the Premier had personally meddled in the Peel Regional Chair election. So I'm going to ask again, did the Premier table Bill 5 cancelling the Peel Regional Chair election because he wasn't able to recruit a candidate to run against Patrick Brown? Well, again, through you, Mr. Speaker, Leader of the Opposition, we ran on two different platforms. Leader of the Opposition ran on increasing taxes again, making big government. Rather than come down here just once, just once, I wish I could see the Leader of the Opposition come down here with something that would respect the taxpayers, some cost savings, maybe just a few cents of cost savings. Mr. Speaker, we've done a lot of things in politics over the years, but nothing has been more popular for the people of Toronto and outside of Toronto than to make sure we reduce the size and cost of government. Now, in the regions, people don't want another layer of government. They don't want another layer of elected officials. Even the Mayor of Mississauga wrote numerous letters to make sure the Leader of the Opposition. Speaker, the Premier did not campaign on meddling or interfering in local elections. This is about settling personal scores. Before tabling Bill 5... Once again, I will ask all the members to stop imputing motive with statements they're making. On both sides of the House. Recognize the member to put her question. Before tabling Bill 5, did the Premier personally reach out to prospective candidates to run against Patrick Brown for Peel Regional Chair? Yes or no? Mr. Speaker, it was unanimous. When Peel Region voted, when Mississauga Council voted, they did not want this. The previous government rammed it through. They also rammed through additional council members of the City of Toronto to make it even larger. More dysfunctional. I can assure you that the Mayor of Toronto is quite happy. I can guarantee you that. He's quite happy to deal with less people. Bill's good governance is not 47 people around the table. He can get a lot more done with 25. And by the way, Mr. Speaker, we're saving $25 million. That could go right to the police to start fighting crime. One more time, I will remind members we're not imputing motive in our questions and in our responses. Start the clock. Final supplementary. Mr. Speaker, there are rumours that the Premier personally tried to recruit Charles Sousa to run against Patrick Brown for Regional Chair. Sousa did not run and instead the Premier decided to table Bill 5. The government side will please come to order. I can't hear the Leader of the Opposition. I can't hear the Leader of the Opposition. Once again, I have to ask the Leader of the Opposition not to impute motive. Will the Leader of the Opposition please put her question? And instead the Premier decided to table Bill 5 which cancels the election altogether. So my question is, does this Premier think it's justifiable to table legislation and cancel local elections whenever he can't pick the winner? Mr. Speaker, Leader of the Opposition ran on a lot of rumours. There was rumours that she made a mistake of $5 billion but it wasn't a rumour. There was a truth. There was rumours they can't do math but it's actual fact they can't do math. There was a lot of rumours, Mr. Speaker, during the election. Mr. Speaker, the people voiced their opinion. They voiced their opinion on electing 76 members across the province to make sure we turn this province around. We get ourselves out of the debt, the $340 billion debt that we're facing. People are sick and tired of paying the highest hydro rates in North America. We're going to change that. We're reducing hydro rates by 12%. We're reducing the gas prices by 10 cents a litre and we're going to put money back into the taxpayers' pockets. The House will come to order. Member for Timmons, please come to order. Government side will come to order. Okay, next question. Start the clock. Leader of the Opposition. Speaker, my next question is also for the Premier. Late on Friday, the government ordered a halt to previously approved overdose prevention sites that the government had previously approved. The Premier is interfering with local health care experts and frontline workers who have been crystal clear. These sites save lives. Why is the Premier putting lives at risk? Premier, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. I'd like to thank the Leader of the Official Opposition for the question. In fact, they're concerned with respect to opioids and other overdoses and drugs. A major concern to us, patient safety is critical. What happened last week in response to a question from your member from London was that we extended one clinic to September 30th from the middle of August to the end of September, which puts it in alignment with all of the other supervised injection sites in Ontario, which then closed down unless federal approval is then granted. So we are putting them in alignment with that. Are we going to open new sites until we have reviewed the evidence to see what the evidence suggests? No, we're not. That just makes sense. We're not going to put them into operation. In fact, a decision is going to be made not to continue with them. What we want to do is make sure that we keep those that are open until a decision is made for what putting a pause. Thank you. Speaker, people can't get treatment if they're dead. Dr. David Journing, the head of clinical pharmacology and toxicology at the University of Toronto has said this, and I quote, these places save lives, connect people to addictions care, reduce the spread of HIV and hepatitis C, and save the health system money. Save the health system money. We need more of these sites, not fewer. How much more evidence does this Premier and his health minister need and how many people will they let die until they're satisfied? The fact remains there are a number of these clinics that are already open. The ones that are not being opened in Thunder Bay, St. Catherine's and Toronto will have to wait until the review is done because there is evidence on both sides. We need to make sure that we review all of the evidence to understand what is happening. What is happening that is saving lives? What else can we do to save more lives? Are there other examples that we should be looking at besides supervised injection clinics? Patient safety is important to every single member of this house and we want to make sure that if we do go ahead with more supervised injection sites that we're doing it we're using the best possible evidence and the best possible practices. Question, the member for a totable Lakeshore. Mr. Speaker, my question today is for the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services. Speaker, our government for the people campaign on a promise to improve public safety in this province and provide the brave men and women of our police services with the resources they need to perform the duties safely and effectively. Filing gun violence and gang violence requires that men and women of our police services are listened to and that they receive the tools and resources we committed to providing them. To the Minister, how will the new funding being provided to our police services help tackle the problem of gang and gun violence? Minister of Community Safety. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the member for a totable Lakeshore for her question this morning. First of all, Mr. Speaker, our community is of paramount concern to our government. Recently, we announced $25 million in new funding to support the Toronto Police Service in its efforts to combat gun violence, disrupt gun activity, and crack down on the trafficking of illegal guns in the City of Toronto. Too many people, Mr. Speaker, and too many neighbourhoods are living in fear of gang and gun violence. Mr. Speaker, our government is listening to police and investing real money to help them keep their communities safe from gun and gang violence. This problem is bigger than just Toronto, Mr. Speaker. Organised crime... ...response... ...that starts in Toronto, ends up spilling over into other communities. Time for talk is over. It's time for action. Promises made, promises made. Restart the clock. Supplementary question. I would like to thank the Minister for his response to this incredibly important topic, not just the people of Etobicoke Lakeshore, but the people all across this province. This announcement of additional funding for the Toronto Police Service is needed to address the problem of gun and gang-related violence in Ontario, and especially within the City of Toronto. Mr. Speaker, the brave men and women of our police services desperately need the necessary tools and resources to address gun violence, and I know the Minister will continue to deliver on these government's commitments to ensure public safety across our great province. Again, to the Minister, what actions will your ministry be taking to ensure that the streets of Toronto and all of Ontario's communities remain safe? Minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and again, I want to thank the member for her question. Mr. Speaker, our government is taking the necessary steps to help combat gun and gang-related violence, so we can restore public confidence in our police services and ensure our streets and communities are safe. Mr. Speaker, tackling gun and gang-related violence requires the brave men and women of our police services to have access to innovative investigation tools and technologies. This new funding will provide our police with cutting-edge digital, investigative, and analytical tools that our police need to fight the guns and gangs in 2018. Mr. Speaker, I have stated before in this legislator that the status quo has failed and we are the only party in this house that is prepared and remains committed to doing something about it. Promises made. Promises done. Next question, the member for Toronto Danforth. Thank you, Speaker. My question for the Minister of Finance. Not once during the campaign did the Premier come forward and detail his plan to slash Toronto City Council and cancel regional chair elections. Nobody heard it during the campaign from the Premier or any candidate. This is a decision that was arrived at quickly with no consultation in a back room. The government claims that the Premier consulted people on this policy. Can the Minister confirm whether or not the Premier consulted with any former members of this house about regional chair elections? Minister of Finance. Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Thanks very much, Speaker. Before I address the question for Toronto Danforth, I want to recognize in the public gallery a great parliamentarian, the Honourable Peter Van Lohen. Welcome to Peace Park. Speaker, I'm very pleased to take the question. As I've stated in this House many, many times, the Premier consulted tens of thousands of Ontarians and Torontonians during the election. Our government was brought to this House with a clear mandate to reduce the size and cost of government. And that's exactly what we're doing in regards to Toronto City Council. We believe that having 25 MPs and 25 MPPs and again having that same electoral district for the 25 city councillors is a good thing. That's exactly what's in Bill 5, Speaker. Thank you. Thank you, Speaker. Well, I'm surprised the Minister of Finance wouldn't answer a question, but I'm going to try it again. Before this piece of policy suddenly appeared in the House, there were reports that the Premier's people were trying to get someone, anyone, to run against Patrick Brown, who by the way wasn't running in Toronto. Is the Minister aware if the Premier or his inner circle attempted to recruit Charles Sousa to run for Peel Region Chair against Patrick Brown? Speaker, I tried to do this on Thursday. I want to correct my record from Thursday in response to a question from the member for Toronto, Danforth. I used the word 10%. I meant to say 10 cents a liter on gas prices, so I want to correct my record. The Speaker and the Chair at the time on Thursday afternoon wouldn't allow me to correct the record. However, I think our record we were straight with Ontarians. Again, reducing the size and cost of government is exactly what we're doing with Bill 5. We believe again that having the same electoral district, which federal MPs, the 25 of them, represent that jurisdiction in the City of Toronto. It's the same electoral district that we on this side and on that side of the House represent. Opposition will come to work. There's no reason why 25 city councillors cannot represent the same electoral district. Opposition, the NDP. Thank you. Next question, the member for Oakville. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services. Speaker, gun violence remains a concern for many Ontarians. During this election, Mr. Speaker, our government for the people remain committed to providing the brave men and women of our provinces police services with the resources and tools they need to perform their jobs effectively and effectively in order to restore public safety within our communities. Mr. Speaker, our government for the people remains committed to ensuring that our police services are listened to and we're able to restore and enhance public safety throughout this great province. Speaker, will the Minister please explain to the members of this legislature what actions his ministry is taking in order to ensure we tackle this problem of gang and gun-related violence? Minister. Mr. Speaker, and I thank the member from Oakville for his question this morning as well. Mr. Speaker, during the election campaign, our government for the people promised to restore the 12 million in funding that the previous Liberal government cut from the fight against gang and gun-related violence within the province. Our government for the people has not only kept its promise, but we have doubled our commitment. This new 25 million is not only the vital first steps towards tackling gun and gun violence in this province, but it will ensure that our police services are provided with the necessary tools and resources that we will have committed to providing for them to do their work. With this new funding, Mr. Speaker, we will ensure that all Ontarians are able to feel safe and secure with their own communities. Gun violence is a menace to our communities and will never be tolerated by this government. Thank you. Supplementary question. I would like to thank the minister for his response. With the most recent announcement by our government for the people, I am certain we can effectively tackle the issue of gun and gang-related violence in this province. Our government for the people is listening to the brave men and women of our police services who deserve to have their necessary tools and resources to perform their duty safely. With the recent announcement of the new funding to our police services, I am proud to stand here knowing our government has kept another one for the people. Again, to the minister, how will this new funding allow our government to tackle the problem of gang and gun-related violence? Minister. I thank the member again for his question. Prior to announcing our government's new investment of $25 million in our police services, we consulted with the Toronto Police Service including Chiefs Mark Saunders on how best to invest the money to make a substantial improvement to public safety. I know that our community safety partners know where the resources are needed and know how best to utilize them. Over the coming weeks, I will continue to meet with our community safety partners to ensure that we are able to identify the best possible strategies to combat gun and gang-related violence within this great province. Ontarians deserve to feel confident in their own safety and the safety of their families. Too many Ontarians and too many communities are having in fear of gang and gun violence. Our government is listening and we will continue to take real action to keep our neighbourhood safe. Thank you. Next question, the member for Davenport. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Premier. Schools start across this province in just a few weeks. Does the Premier believe that kids should learn about consent, same-sex families and cyber bullying? Minister of Education Minister of Education Back through you to the member opposite. I appreciate the question and I again have every assurance that teachers are going to be being very responsible and utilizing the curriculum last used in 2014 to put students on the proper path and in addition to that in tandem, while teachers are utilizing the curriculum last used in 2014 we're going to be focusing in on other promises and focuses of our campaign. We are committed to improving math scores. We are improving and addressing EQAO and I must say we need to remind it's a new week so I'll remind the party opposite in opposition that even their former deputy leader said parents need to be respected and that's a promise that we're going to keep. Thank you very much. Mr. Speaker this really shouldn't be so difficult. This should not be so difficult. It's a pretty straightforward question that I asked of the Premier. The Premier is sending a message to young people that making Charles McFaddy and Tanya Granite Gallon happy is more important than their safety and health. This is pandering it's disgusting and it is potentially dangerous. While the Premier stopped pandering to conservative radicals and ensured young people are taught about consent and inclusion about cyberbullying and have the tools they need to be safe in our province. Thank you. Mr. Speaker what I've got coming from that party opposite it's absolutely used in 2014 and they're going to get kicked out of school. Mr. Speaker I might add I hear the member from Waterloo maybe she should read the Kitchener Waterloo record from last week where even the former Liberal House Leader John Malloy said that the Liberal Party did not get the curriculum right in 2015. Start the clock. Next question the member for Scarborough Guildwood. Mr. Speaker my question is to the Premier I'm inherited from the Liberals and economy in Ontario. The member for Scarborough Guildwood has a right to ask a question just like any other member of this House and the speaker needs to be able to hear the member for Scarborough Guildwood and I would ask the Government side again to please respect that. Start the clock the member for Scarborough Guildwood. The last Liberal Government left Ontario with unemployment at a 20 year historic low just in July the number in Ontario is doing economically well. Why is this Government taking us backwards at high speed and cancelling programs like the basic income pilot and the planned increases to social assistance. Mr. Speaker a stable social safety net is essential to safe, healthy and strong neighbourhoods. Don't you think that this is the time to invest and not to make cuts in people's lives? Premier could you live on $721 a month? Premier She's covered about five ministries there. Well Mr. Speaker I wasn't too sure where the member was going she covered so many different ministries but I'll tell the people of Ontario what we inherited. We inherited the highest debt in sub-national debt in the entire world. Still after scandal after scandal under we inherited people losing 300,000 manufacturing jobs right here in Ontario. We inherited a financial mess that we had to get in inquiry going. We're doing a line item by line item audit to find out who was getting rich off the taxpayer's money. Government side will please come to order. Start the clock. Supplementary question. Speaker a gain to the Premier. My question is relating to the people of Ontario. There are 4,000 people participating in the basic income pilot and in my writing of Scarborough Guildwood 38,000 people live on O.W. and ODSP daily. I am asking this Premier to look in the eye and say you don't deserve an education you don't deserve proper nutrition. You don't deserve to have you deserve in fact to have your kids taken away from you because you can't afford to make the rent you are government side will come to order. I met with Hardy, Cody and Elana who are devastated by this government's callous, mean spirited decision to kill the basic income pilot and to cut O.W. and ODSP supports. This hurts the 38,000 people in my writing who rely on these funds to support each and every day. The Ford government says that the best solution is a job. So through you, Speaker, will this Premier commit today to saving the $400 basic income supports exemption for people on ODSP and O.W. and keep this incentive in place for people. Thank you. Premier. I just found a one hand clapping. Through you, Mr. Speaker, I'll tell the member from Scarborough Guildwood what the people of Scarborough want. They want a three stop subway that the government of the levels that changed Scarborough Guildwood was a big streetcar champion. The election started jumped over the subways back to the streetcars. The member Scarborough Guildwood scraped through the election with 60 people, but I'll tell you what the government gave us, what the people of Scarborough Guildwood gave us, and the people of Ontario gave us. They gave us a majority government in the Premier's office. The member for Peterborough Fourth. My questions for the Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks. In a recent national post article, the question was posed. Why are carbon taxes so unpopular? Surveys in Ontario. Carbon taxes are regressive, actually hitting the lower income households the most. People are worried about competitiveness and employment effects. People view the high personal cost too high. Carbon taxes are believed to be ineffective in reducing emissions. They're nothing more than a tax grab. And finally, and most importantly, they don't believe governments can be trusted. And I think, in a way, I've heard these concerns over and over again. Can the Minister of Environment explain what the plan is to rebuild that trust and help those who've been most impacted? Mr. Speaker, through you to the member from Peterborough and thank you for that question. And I know you work very hard on behalf of your constituents, and this is an issue of trust among Ontarians. And that loss of trust came from a government that didn't listen. Our government has taken the time to listen. That is why we were elected. We have promised to restore accountability and trust, and we're doing that by putting money back in people's pockets by scrapping the cap and trade carbon tax, reducing gas prices, and helping the job creators to employ Ontarians. In addition, we're going to be making $15,000 jobs in Ontario. Good for Ontario families, good for the economy. The elimination of the cap and trade will eliminate billions of dollars of costs for families. It will bring quality jobs back to Ontario by lowering the cost of competition, stabilizing hydro rates, and cutting the job killing red tape. Speaker, the carbon tax area is over. Ontario is open for business. Our plan is to put people... Thank you. It's clear that this government has the people in mind and understands what actions need to be taken in order to rebuild the trust that the people of this province lost over the last 15 years. This government has kept more promises in the last month than the previous Liberal government did in the last 10 years. With the continuous slip-ups by the Federal Minister of Environment, it appears there's uncertainty toward the approach of the federal government on the carbon tax. The people are concerned that they will in turn invoke attacks to replace the one that our government is clearly fighting so strongly to eliminate. Can the minister assure Ontario residents that we'll do everything in our power to ensure the federal government is not able to impose this carbon tax on us? Mr. Speaker, through you to the member, the short answer is yes. We have committed to take the federal government's disposal to fight the Trudeau carbon tax. We didn't get elected by Ontarians to eliminate the last Liberal government's carbon tax, which was killing jobs and bad for families just to have the federal government impose it. So yes to the member, we are taking every step possible. My colleague, the Attorney General, as you know, is following this through the courts and we will continue to fight in the interests of Ontario families. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Premier. Increased gun violence in the GTA has devastated families and shaken our communities. In the wake of the horrific shooting on the Danforth last month, Toronto City Council has taken action bringing forward a motion to ban handguns in the city. It is obvious that in a city of 2.8 million people, these are the types of measures we need to consider as letting the government protect our communities. But the Premier's refusal to even consider this policy is astonishing and it shows a lack of leadership. Why does the Premier refuse to consider a policy that could save lives? Premier. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you for the question. As we've said and as we've always said, the safety of the public is a paramount concern to this government. Our concern must be to ensure guns do not get into the hands of criminals. Gun violence has no place in Ontario and these brazen indiscriminate acts have to stop. Mr. Speaker, illegal guns cross the border into our province every single day. This needs to stop as well. We will look to work with the federal government to ensure that sentencing is tougher for criminals who have committed these acts and ensure the bail system is doing its job to keep our communities safe. We also remain committed to providing our frontline officers with the tools and resources they need so desperately to do their jobs. That is our commitment and that is what we intend to do. Thank you. Supplementary. Mr. Speaker, last week community members from the Zero Gun Violence Movement came to the table that poverty is the root cause of this issue in their communities. Yet the premier's slash social assistance increases cut $330 million in annual mental health funding and squashed the basic income pilot pushing vulnerable people to poverty. Will the premier show real leadership in addressing the root causes of gun violence? Mr. Speaker, as we've stated over and over again gun violence has no place in Toronto or anywhere else in the province of Ontario. Gun violence destroys lives and is a menace to our communities. With the rise in gun violence on our streets it's clear that the strategies that have been used up to date have not worked. We remain committed to our police services across the province and to provide our officers with the tools they need to do their jobs. With this part of our strategy we will be continuing our consultations with communities to determine what other tools are needed. We understand that the root cause of gun violence is more than just the use of guns on the street and those are the issues that will be addressed through an integrated approach through our health, through our housing and through the other ministries as we develop a total strategy. Thank you very much. Next question, the member for Scarborough Aging Court. Good morning, my question is to Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Minister, Premier Ford spoke to thousands of Ontarians in Toronto and right across the province during the recent provincial campaign. They told him they were sick and tired of big government that wasted their tax dollars and fails to fix the problems in their lives. Our broad consultation gave us confidence we are on the right track with our plan to reduce the size and the cost of Toronto Council and to make it work for the people of this great city. Minister, who was consulted on the decision to increase the city council to 47 members? Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Thank you, Speaker. I want to thank Scarborough Aging Court for that excellent question. The idea the Boundary Review had tremendous public support is a myth. In the OMB appeal, expert witness professor Andrew Sancton noted no record was kept of the 192 people who appeared at public meetings or the 600 who filled out an online survey. Did the same 10 people attend meetings and count as 100 participants? We actually don't know. We said being charitable, they heard from 2,000 people. That's 0.1% of the city's electors. In Sancton's words, a tiny self-selecting group of engaged citizens and councillors. Speaker, that's not consultation. That's an echo chamber. Thank you, Minister. It helps to explain how the review could have come up with the ridiculous recommendation to make it easier when it was already dysfunctional. Certainly it was a very surprising outcome for Torontorians because for years many people, including some councillors, tried to cut the size of councillor in half. But like the NDP, councillors who love big government always voted to put their interest ahead of creating a smaller, more effective council. Minister, can you tell us how the lack of public participation affected the outcome of the boundary review? Minister. Thank you for that question. With so few public members being involved, the loudest voices during the boundary review were the incumbent councillors. The result, said Professor Sancton, is the interest the consultants ended up advancing were those of incumbent councillors and not the public interest. He concluded that there is absolutely no evidence of broad public support for a larger council. When you speak to politicians, you get bigger government. But when you speak to real people, like Premier Ford did, you understand that they want a smaller, more effective government that puts people first. And that's exactly what we're doing with Bill 5, the better local government act. That's what we're doing. Start the clock. The member for the House of Representatives for the Premier, auto insurance, postal code discrimination is a shameful practice that is hurting Ontario drivers. The last year alone, my community of Brampton has seen premiums increase at a rate that is nearly five times higher than the provincial average. Will the Premier today, in this House, commit to ending the unjust practice of postal code discrimination? And if so, do you expect this change to happen? Premier? Minister of Finance? Thank you very much, and I want to thank the member for the question. Speaker, there are nearly 10 million drivers in Ontario who expect this province to do everything we can to lower auto insurance rates and make travel more affordable. But Speaker, what we know so far is that the deal, the official opposition, brokered with the Liberals on auto insurance, has been an abject failure. Absolute failure. Nowhere near the 15% reduction that was promised by the Liberals in a deal brokered by the NDP in nothing more than a photo op, Speaker. Absolutely nothing more than a photo op. Meanwhile, Speaker, we will continue to work with the industry and the regulators to do everything we can to lower insurance rates in a responsible manner. Thank you, Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am frankly shocked by this answer. I expected this to be an easy answer from the Premier. Just four days ago, the Premier told members of the Punjabi media that they would expect to see post-cold discrimination ended before Christmas. Why is the Premier immediately breaking his promise and putting the interest of private auto insurance companies ahead of the people of Ontario? Mr. Finance. Thank you. Once again, Speaker, the official opposition now has absolutely nothing whatsoever to show for that politically motivated deal that they made, except for the fact that Ontario drivers are continuing to pay the amount which is amongst the highest premiums in Canada. Quite frankly, the NDP should be absolutely ashamed that they broke the deal that was nothing at all other than an absolute photo op back in that day. Auto insurance rates are indeed linked to claim costs. In a deal that once again only exists because of this broken deal. So, Speaker, we will continue to work with industry and regulators to do everything we can to make a real difference in auto insurance rates, not another photo op. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport. Mr. Speaker, last week I was shocked to read that the City of Victoria intended to take down a statue of Sir John A. McDonald. These attempts to erase parts of our history do nothing to educate people and our only political correctness run amok. Can the Minister inform the House what our government intends to do to preserve John A. McDonald's legacy and encourage a more fulsome teaching of Canadian history? Thank you. Thank you to the member from Carleton for her question. It's an important one. Sir John A. McDonald is a central role in our national story. He did more to found our nation than any other father of confederation here today without Sir John A. That's why our government wrote to the Mayor of Victoria to say we'd be happy to give Sir John A a new home here in Ontario. Members of the Chamber, the first portrait you see is, of course, the fathers of confederation. And a statue of our first Prime Minister stands proudly at the southern end of the grounds of Queen's Park. History matters. And we need to acknowledge the important role Sir John A. McDonald played in Canada and Ontario's history. Good supplementary. Mr. Speaker, back to the Minister. I thank the Minister for her answer. 1867 was a different time and we should not judge our founding fathers solely on the knowledge we possess today. As a famous saying goes, those who do not learn from history to quote Minister Smith's letter, he says that we should be treating John A. McDonald's legacy as a better way to learn our own history. Can the Minister tell the House how bringing the statue of John A. McDonald to Ontario would help Ontarians with our complicated history? Again, through the Speaker, thank you to the member for her question. There's no denying that Sir John A's role in our history is a cause for much confusion. Because history is complicated. People are complicated. But there is no doubt that 125 years ago after his death our first Prime Minister stands as an important Canadian within the creation of our country. We encourage Ontarians to learn more about our first Prime Minister by visiting statues like the one on the opposition side cited throughout Ontario including at the front of Queen's Park. Thank you. Next question, start the clock. Member for Sudbury. Speaker, my question is for the Premier. Sarah is a constituent of mine and she's worried that he announced 1.5% cut to social assistance where we turn us to the deprivation of the Harris years. Sarah recalls how as a child when the former Conservative Government cuts came her family was evicted, how they had to move on to campgrounds and how they slept on relatives' floors. I think the Prime Minister described these cuts as cruel and unnecessary. Speaker, Sarah wants to know what the Premier has to say to the people who will lose their homes, being able to eat or able to buy medication because of his cuts. Premier. Minister of Health. I thank the member very much for his question. There's no question that there's more that we need to do for people who are receiving social assistance in Ontario. In fact what has been done for both people on Ontario Works as well as people on OBS. So that is an increase but of course that's not the end of it. There is more work to be done. The Minister is already working on that she has 100 days, about 90 days now in order to complete her review to make sure that we can provide people with the support they need to move forward in their lives not to sit where they are. We want to make sure that people can find jobs, those that are able to work outside of poverty. That is what the Minister is concentrating on. That is what we want to do for the people of Ontario. The poorest citizens of this province and many of them are able to work like you and I are. We're expecting rates to go up by 3% this year. 1.5% is less than that by half. Since I suspect the extent of consultation we'll see is only whatever has been discussed at the Cabinet table. With the Premier of Ontario's today the backs of social assistance recipients are already planned. In fact what we want to do is help all people receiving social assistance those people who are temporarily out of work and those people who are not going to be able to work because of their disabilities. We want to make sure that we can help them move forward. The 1.5% increase that is happening is helping people is it all that we intend to do? No. Our government for the people wants to make sure that we can help everyone and while the guaranteed income pilot was a pilot and evidence indicated that it wasn't working and it was only for a very small number of people. We want to make sure that everyone who needs assistance in the province of Ontario is going to do it. That is why the Minister is undergoing a thorough consultation to make sure that we get it right and we can help people move forward and get a job which is the best social assistance. Next question the member for Cambridge. My question is for the attorney general. On June 7th the people of Ontario elected a government for the people that promised to deliver tax relief for families and small businesses. The commitment was simple but important. Put an end to the cap and trade scheme and fight the costly federal carbon tax. I'm pleased to see that this government has already begun to take steps to achieve that with the introduction of bill 4 the cap and trade cancellation act the premier's announcement that Ontario will be participating in Saskatchewan's challenge of the federal carbon tax in the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal and that our government will be launching its own challenge in the Ontario Court of Appeal. While we know that the Trudeau Liberals carbon tax will drive up the cost of good and services Ontarians rely on every day some have wondered about the rationale for participating in two challenges. Mr. Speaker can the attorney general highlight how challenging the federal carbon tax will make a real difference in the lives of Ontarians. The attorney general. Thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to the member from Cambridge for her question. Our government did campaign on a promise to the people that we would work hard to put money back in taxpayers' pockets, reduce the price of gas by 10 cents a leader and bring real tax relief to families. And challenging the federal carbon tax is one of the ways we are keeping the promise and standing up for the hard working people of Ontario. On June 7th the people, the voice of the people rang out loud and clear across this province. Over the past 15 years the cost of living has become too high and too many people were struggling to keep up with paying their bills Mr. Speaker. They wanted change and a government that could deliver it and that's why we are here today on this side of the house with a mandate to challenge the costly federal carbon tax in court. Mr. Speaker we made a promise and today I'm proud to say we are keeping that promise. I know in my writing too many people have struggled with the high costs brought on by the previous government's misguided policies. It's reassuring to know that this government is taking swift action to bring relief to Ontarians and making life more affordable once again. I know the federal government recently announced that they have scaled back on the scope of their plans with regards to federal carbon tax, a move that can be understood as acknowledgement that this tax is not achieved environmental objectives. Mr. Speaker, can the Attorney General outline what this means for the Ontario government's strategy moving forward and if this changes anything with respect to the provinces challenge in the Ontario Court of Appeal? Response the Attorney General. Mr. Speaker through you I'm happy to respond to the members follow up question. As I said our government was given a clear mandate to stand up for hard working Ontarians and to oppose carbon tax, which is why our government remains committed to challenge the constitutionality of the Federal Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act. While the federal government has announced upcoming changes to the act that will scale back its scope Ontario's position is that this act imposes an unconstitutional tax on Ontarians and is outside of federal jurisdiction. Our government knows that a strategy on climate change is important, but we also know that this can be good environmental stewards without digging into people's pockets. Mr. Speaker, our government stands firm in its commitment to use all available resources to challenge the federal carbon tax and I have full confidence in the soundness of our legal position, but it is ultimately up to the courts to decide the issue. Start the clock. Next question, the member from Muskegee Walk James Bay. Mr. Speaker my question is for the Premier. People who are riding Muskegee Walk James Bay have been struggling with the Northland bus service that just aren't good enough. For one of my constituents recent change to the bus means a 26 hour bus trip to get from Berry to Cappos casing. It now takes two days for those traveling from Sudbury which only takes six hours a drive away. Because of the lack of coordination with transfer. This is unfair and just not good enough. What does this government have to say to my constituents who have settled for second class bus service for far too long? Premier Mr. Transportation Well thank you very much Speaker and thank you to the member for his question. The challenge of transportation in remote areas is not a new one but it's one that we take very seriously. When we see situations where people are not getting to the destinations that they require it's of a great concern to us. I'm along with the Minister of Northern Development and Mines and Ontario Northland we're continuing to wrestle with the challenges that were faced with transportation in remote areas. It is something that we are continuously trying to improve we are committed to better transportation for the people of Ontario to ensure that their needs are met we recognize there are challenges but we are, as a government we are committed to try to face them in the best way we can. Thank you very much. Supplementary Mr. Speaker to the Minister knows how hard it is for people to move around the north. Whether it's due to poor maintenance of roads or limited or no access to public transportation communities across the north are struggling to move around. This is not new. First the train to Cochrane was cut. Next came cuts to Greyhound. Mr. Speaker to the Minister will the government commit today to restore Ontario Northlander? Minister Well thank you I thank the member for supplementary. What I do not thank is his party for supporting the Liberals and the Liberal government to deny the people of the north the transportation that they so badly needed and when it was cancelled now we are going to be hearing about the problems that are resulting from that cancellation but let's be perfectly clear let's be crystal clear it was the NDP that supported the Liberals with the cancellation of the Northlander. I say to the member and I recognize that you are only a new member in this legislature so you have not been here for the history we are committed to better transportation throughout this province but it's not going to happen overnight we are to undo the damage of a government that ran this the member will take a seat former speaker used to say when the speaker stands you sit thank you start the clock next question member for King Bond thank you Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker hardworking, tax paying law-abiding people in this province support our plan to do more with less and to reduce the size of government we are doing what the opposition could not conceive doing which is putting the public interest over political self-interest Minister through you Mr. Speaker can the minister alone why why we must pass this legislation without delay and get the fifth largest economy in this country back on track Minister thank you again speaker and through you I want to thank the member for King Bond for his tremendous advocacy on this issue he's absolutely right Bill 5, the better local government act does something that I think many Ontarians and certainly many Torontonians have wanted for a long time and that's a council that isn't dysfunctional a council that is streamlined that uses the same boundaries that federal MPs and federal MPP use so that speaker so that when that election takes place October 22nd they'll have a streamlined council that's ready to work and make those very important decisions people in Toronto don't want a dysfunctional council they don't want a council that for goodness sakes speaker their last council meeting took six days for a council meeting this is exactly what Bill 5 is going to remedy it's going to have a council that is ready and willing to work and to make those important decisions on October 22nd I again ask the Thank you Thank you minister for having the courage to fight for taxpayers in this House Mr. Speaker the people in my riding of King Bond want this legislation passed they want to see improvement to the efficacy of government they want to see taxpayers save money and they want to make the largest city country accountable minister can you outline how the better local government act will improve the effectiveness of government and enhance accountability of city government through the member for King Bond having a council that's very clear and the citizens of Toronto will be very clear they'll know who their federal MP is it's the same boundary they know who their provincial MPP is it's the same boundary it's going to be very clear to them to represent them at City Hall I think there are a tremendous amount of Torontonians that have been waiting for this for a long, long time if we left it to the NDP they're always going to stand up for more politicians they're always going to stand up for bigger government we ran on a very very distinct platform to reduce the size and cost of government there were no questions for us but I have to say there were a few questions for the NDP why didn't Andrea Horvath stand up against the anti-vectorate element of her party why didn't Andrea Horvath stand up to the NDP thank you point of order the member for Waterloo thank you very much Mr. Speaker I just wanted to welcome my high school teachers Pat and Sam Pelagy from Harbour Collegiate visiting me here today at Queensborough I was a model speaker point of order the government house leader I just wanted to welcome Jennifer Yee she's the owner-operator this is her first visit to Queens Park today very much I recognize the government house leader on a second point of order I believe you'll find that we have unanimous consent for a moment of silence to honour the two Fredrickton police officers and the two residents of Fredrickton who were shot and killed in the gun violence in the New Brunswick capital on Friday night government house leader is seeking the unanimous consent of the house to honour the families there being no deferred votes this house stands in recess until one o'clock this afternoon