 Being no further introductions, it's now time for question period. The Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opinion. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Deputy Premier. Families in Ontario can't afford their hydro bills, and nearly 567,000 households are in arrears. When is enough, Mr. Speaker? How many people will have to not be able to afford their hydro bills before the Premier and this government will take real action? 600,000? 700,000? 900,000? Will it take a million on tarans and arrears before this government will finally act? I want to know from the Deputy Premier, what is the number before you realize your hydro policy is a complete mess? Mr. Speaker, please. Thank you. If the choice is to continue what you were doing yesterday, I'll continue to do what I did. We'll move to warnings if I need to. That's my last warning about warnings. Deputy Premier. Well, thank you, Speaker. And as we've discussed before, we have a very clear plan to make sure we have reliable energy being delivered in this province, Speaker. We inherited an electricity system that had been badly neglected by the previous government. We've made historic investments so that we can ensure that even on the very hottest day or the coldest winter day, Speaker, people have access to reliable energy. We've also eliminated smog days. We haven't had a smog day, Speaker, for the very reason that we've eliminated more expensive energy, but we've saved $4 billion in health costs because people are not going to the emergency department with asthma. So there's a cost and there is a benefit, Speaker, and we have made a choice. Thank you. I'll be moving to warnings. Supplement, your question. Mr. Speaker, back to the Deputy Premier. Since I can't get an answer about the 567,000 Ontario families in arrears on the hydro bills, I'm going to try a different angle. Yesterday, the Premier said, I quote, we have just come through one of the hottest summers ever and we've had no blackouts. But on September 3rd, the Toronto Star headline read, power slowly restored at city place after blackout. In fact, in fact, Mr. Speaker, there has been not one, not two, not three, but four power outages in a span of two weeks. As odd as it is, I'd like to hear the question from your own side is not letting me do that. Please finish. So, Mr. Speaker, in fact, we've had four power outages in a span of two weeks. My question, Mr. Speaker, the Deputy Premier, was the Premier left in the dark about these blackouts? Deputy Premier. Well, Speaker, if you want to talk about being left in the dark, then, you know, I think there's somebody else in this legislature who has been left in the dark or at least claims to have been left in the dark on his position on the sex ed. These have been made. It's being kept in the dark or at least shall be claimed. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, back to the Deputy Premier. You know, when there's 567,000 Ontario families in arrears, they can't pay their hydro bills and this minister wants to take cheap partisan shots. You know? The members will come to order. New question, the leader of the opposition. Sorry. You have to complete the answer. Mr. Speaker, clearly the Liberals don't want to talk about hydro. I want them to think about Alex. He's had his hydro threatened to be cut off. He uses the help the government has to offer, but it's not enough. Alex has had an organ transplant. He knows he has to eat properly. But Global News says Alex has simply come down to eating or having his lights on. So my question is for the Deputy Premier. How can you turn the back on little guys like Alex? Why won't you help them? Deputy Premier. Well, Speaker, we're very proud of the investments that we've made to support people with low income on their electricity bills, including Speaker of the Ontario Electricity Support Program. I would urge members of the opposition to make sure their constituents know about this important program, Speaker. We've also recently announced we're removing the provincial portion of the HST on electricity bills. But, Speaker, we have a very clear plan. What's not so clear is what's happening across the way, Speaker, and this is real concern. So what we really want to know is what other promises have been made by the chief of staff, maybe by the leader of the opposition. Who knows, Speaker, whether they've promised developers that they'll repeal or maybe scrap the Greenbelt Act, Speaker. Who knows what promises have been made to developers on that front. Who knows if you've promised, secretly, behind closed doors, whether you've promised the business community that you'll strip away Labour, bargaining, rights, Speaker. Let's not talk. Two things. I'm going to use this as a moment to... Just by that last indicator that even when I'm standing, I mean, being ignored. So let's make sure that you are reminded I'm going to move to warnings as quickly as possible because this is getting unruly. And number two, government policy, please, when you're responding to answers. New question. Leader of the opposition. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Deputy Premier. This week, the Liberals appointed David Hurley as their chief electoral strategist. And then this morning we learned that the Liberal government has given nearly $3 million in government contracts to Hurley and his company, the Gandalf Group. In fact, he was building the government at $420 an hour. Families are being forced to pay $420 a month for their hydro and David Hurley makes it in an hour. Why? Because he's a Liberal crony. Mr. Speaker, is this the way that the Liberal government and the Deputy Premier, who happens to be the Liberal campaign co-chair, is this the way of saying thank you and patting his salary for the next election? The opposition simply doesn't know what the process is for contracts such as this. All public opinion research conducted by the Government of Ontario is procured through a fair and transparent, competitive process. The member from Lannark Front and Athletics in Edmonton is warned. The member from Bruce Gray owned Sound is warned. And I'll get you on the next round. Mr. Speaker, every company must be a qualified vendor of record and compete for a project against no less than five competitors, Speaker. And the final decision about which vendor is best suited for a project is made by a committee of at least three nonpartisan public service, Speaker. So I think the leader of the opposition should familiarize himself with the process by which contracts such as this are confirmed, Speaker. Mr. Speaker, back to the Deputy Premier. Last time the Liberals got caught giving David Hurley taxpayer money, they claimed it was a fair, transparent, competitive process. But according to Brian Lilly, senior Liberals who know how cabinet office works said, I quote, they disputed the idea. Government House leaders warned. Very honest. Mr. Speaker, senior Liberals disputed the idea the process was completely nonpartisan and not subject to political direction from the Premier. So I imagine this time was no different. Mr. Speaker, when applying for government contracts is one of the questions, are you David Hurley, the Liberal campaign chair? Or do the Premier and the Deputy Premier intervene after the application process? Maybe you can elaborate on how you find ways through Liberal spin to give your campaign electoral strategies $420 an hour of taxpayer money. It's shameful. This is an important way for our government to gauge the effectiveness of their programs and what people are thinking on various issues, Speaker. And I must say that I think everyone recognizes that every government does that because it's a very valuable tool. Let me give you an example where we learned from public polling, Speaker. The Who Will You Help campaign has made a tremendous difference in attitudes in this province, Speaker. Before the campaign, 37% of Ontarians felt that they had an obligation to intervene when witnessing... Remember from Renfrew Nipissing, Pembroke has warned. Carry on, please. Speaker, before the campaign, 37% of Ontarians felt they had an obligation to intervene when they were a witness to sexual harassment. After the Who Will You Help campaign, that number became... Answer. We knew that because we did an Ipsos read poll, Speaker. And that is important information to test the impact of our... Thank you. Remember from Dufferin Caledon has warned. Final supplementary. Mr. Speaker, back to the Deputy Premier. Putting the Liberal spin aside, $3 million of taxpayer resources, $420 an hour to their chief Liberal electoral strategist. It's just not right. If the process was fair and transparent, as the Liberals say, they need to give us proof. After all, the taxpayers did pay for this polling and research, not the Liberal Party. And they have a right to know what it said. So my question, Mr. Speaker, is will the Liberals release the results for all the polling and research done by David Hurley and the Gandalf Group? It was paid for by the people, and the people should see this data. If you have nothing to hide, release it. The Minister of Economic Development and Growth has warned. Deputy Premier. Well, Speaker, I think it comes to when it comes to releasing information. We're actually hearing from someone who has released way more information than imaginable. Because he's released information supporting one position on sex. Then he released information supporting another. The member from Leeds-Grenville is warned. A reminder to the Minister, to the Deputy Premier. Policy. Carry on. Speaker, I think the Leader of the Opposition might want to check public accounts. Because I think if you looked at public accounts, what you would see is a number of research firms that have contracts with the provincial government. Foreign research, Ipsos-Reed, Strategic Council, ECOS, Enveronix, Harris-Desima. A number of firms compete. Different firms are successful, Speaker, with different bids. That's the way the process works. It's fair. It's transparent. It's nonpartisan. Thank you. New question of the Leader of the Third Party. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. The question is to the Acting Premier. Less than two weeks ago, the Premier of this province was offering or basically telling the people of Ontario that things were going to get a reset. Instead, the last two weeks have been one liberal PR exercise after another. Instead of a reset, people fear things are actually getting worse here in Ontario. The people of Ontario want an actual reset. One that ends the sale of hydro-1, Speaker. One that ends the cuts to hospitals. One that ends the kind of cuts that this government has been undertaking and actually starts to restore hope for the people of this province. When will this government start putting the wishes, the best interests of the people of this province ahead of the Liberal Party? Thank you. Mr. Speaker, the throne speech was an important announcement of initiatives that really are responding to the needs of the people of this province. 100,000 new childcare spaces to the needs of the people of this province, but also responds to the requests of the Third Party. See, here's the problem, Speaker. They are very good at opposing. Even when we do something they've been advocating for, they oppose it. So 100,000 new childcare spaces, Speaker, is an important initiative. Taking the HST off energy bills, the provincial portion of the HST, is something that the NDP had been advocating for and now they oppose it, Speaker. We have a plan, a clear plan. We're moving forward and it's working. Half a million people in Ontario are behind on their hydro bills. Last year, 60,000 people had their hydro cut off because they couldn't keep up with the bills. The Minister of Energy doesn't even know how many people have their hydro cut off this year so far. But it's only going to get worse, Speaker, as hydro-1 continues to be sold off by this Liberal government. This is a moment of truth for the government. This is a moment of truth for the Liberals. Will this government do the right thing and stop the privatisation of hydro-1 and start taking action to get those bills down? Thank you. To the Minister of Energy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I'd like to thank the Leader of the Third Party for the question. Is it important to recognise that the broadening of hydro-1 will continue to build infrastructure right across the province? It's been great for us in Northern Ontario. My colleague, the Minister of Transportation, announced $173 million to help finish Highway 69. We're doing great things, Mr. Speaker, with the broadening of the sale of hydro-1. When it comes to 60,000 people in this province having their electricity disconnected, Mr. Speaker, you don't want to see one person have to go through that. That's why we put forward so many programs. The LEAP program, for example, Mr. Speaker, helps individuals with emergency funds to help pay their bills. You know what, Mr. Speaker? We're doing everything we can to ensure that we keep that number down right now in the province. That's less than 1%. That number is less than 1%. And that's why we recognise it's difficult and acted with a three-point plan, Mr. Speaker. Thank you very much. Speaker, people take pride in our healthcare and education systems in this province, and they expect our government to make them a priority. While this government is focused on the sale of hydro-1 and the future of the Liberal Party, hospitals are run down and overcrowded, and kids are waiting hours and hours to get on a school bus that takes them to a crumbling school. These are the basics, Speaker. The basics, the fundamentals that any government should be able to deliver to the people of their province. The Liberals promised change, Speaker. Why are schools and hospitals still being robbed of the resources they need? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When it comes to the broadening of the sale of hydro-1, every dollar realised from our current assets will be reinvested in Ontario's infrastructure. This sale will support the single largest infrastructure investment in Ontario's history. More than $160 billion over 12 years will also support, Mr. Speaker, 110,000 jobs a year. Our goals in broadening the ownership of hydro-1 have focused on an improved, more customer-focused company, and more infrastructure, Mr. Speaker. I know I was just up in northeastern Ontario a couple of weeks ago, Mr. Speaker. I announced $5.4 million in north bay. I announced over $2 million in capes casing, and we'll continue to see more of those investments in infrastructure as we continue to improve and build Ontario up. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I did remember saying this previously in a question period that I left some leeway last week because of the throne speech in question period for diversity, but right now I'm going to remind all members that your question, your supplementary question should be related to your initial question in each of the areas in which you speak. So I'm going to ask to make sure that we stay back on that. The throne speech itself during debate allows for that diversity, but not question period. So I'm going to remind the members to stay on track from their original question. New question, the leader of the third party. Thanks, Speaker. My question is for the Acting Premier. When young parents can't afford childcare, it makes it harder to build a good life. When childcare is unaffordable, it means parents can't pay down their credit card. They can't save for a house speaker. And if the car breaks down or someone needs to go to the dentist, it becomes a big problem. The Premier claims that she's creating 100,000 spaces for childcare, but young families who could barely afford childcare before the session started are still in the exact same predicament, Speaker. Why isn't this government making affordable, not-for-profit childcare a priority? Well, Speaker, I was here for the throne speech. And I know that the leader of the third party was here for the throne speech, too, where the Lieutenant Governor of this province announced in our throne speech 100,000 new childcare spaces, Speaker. When we do something that the NDP has advocated for in the past, they oppose it. So, Speaker, we are moving forward, starting in 2017, building 100,000 new licensed childcare spaces for the reasons that the leader of the third party has given. Speaker, the Liberal government might look at their throne speech as a chance to get headlines. I think it was actually an opportunity to make the big changes that people need to see. And that's the problem. The credibility of childcare is the huge issue here in Ontario, and this government completely ignored it. And it should be about the people of this province who are worried about their future and worried about the future of the next generation. Without some big changes, it's only going to get tougher for folks here in Ontario. And I need to know, and I think the people need to know, whether or not this government is ready to make those big changes that put the people at the front of the priority list. Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, what could be bigger than a commitment to 100,000 new childcare from infant to four-year-olds, Mr. Speaker? That is going to double the meeting of the demand to 40% from 20% today. Our focus, Mr. Speaker, is ensuring that we provide access to good quality childcare spaces across this province, Mr. Speaker. Answer? Okay, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, our government has led the way when it comes to investments in childcare. Since 2003, Mr. Speaker, we have doubled our funding. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, privatizing childcare and not addressing the unaffordability of it is something that conservatives would do. They're the types that campaign on that kind of stuff. They're the type that actually started the privatization of Hydro-1 in this province. But that's not what this government told people that they were all about. And cutting services like healthcare, education, that's what conservatives do, Speaker, whether it's in Ottawa or here in Ontario. It's not what the people wanted, but it's what they're getting. Things are getting tougher for families, and the government is not stepping up. Before the House came back, they said that they finally understood what people were facing. They said that they would change. So, Speaker, why has everything stayed the same? Thank you, Minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, since 2003, we have doubled the funding in the investments in childcare to almost $1 billion. Mr. Speaker, we have increased access to licensed childcare spaces by 87%. Mr. Speaker, as of September 1, we have ended fees for wait lists in this province. Mr. Speaker, we are committed to providing support to our children in this province, and that's evidenced by our investments and our commitment to 100,000 more childcare spaces over the next five years. We're committed. We're making those changes, Mr. Speaker, because we want to ensure that our earliest learners, Mr. Speaker, have what they need, and those investments are being made today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question this morning is for the Minister of Education. Yesterday, I was looking at the EQA results, and I've got to say they were rather disappointing, Mr. Speaker, disappointed that a former Education Minister under the so-called Education Premier could fail our students in Ontario so dramatically. Since the Liberal Math curriculum came into effect, Mr. Speaker, the numbers have steadily gone down. The test results have steadily gone down. Half of Ontario's grade six students failed to meet our provincial standard. Half failed to meet the provincial standard, and that's despite the fact that education funding is almost doubled while we're educating 70,000 fewer students than we were 20 years ago. We don't need another re-announcement. We need to start getting results, Mr. Speaker. This government is failing our students, Mr. Speaker. When will the government stop failing our students when it comes to math? Thank you. I think the member opposite for this question, because when it comes to Ontario's education, Mr. Speaker, we are well above the OECD average in our scores overall. So we're very proud of that fact. The EQAO results are shining a spotlight on an area that we need to improve, Mr. Speaker. And we are very well aware of that, and that is why, Mr. Speaker, our former Minister of Education, in fact, announced in the spring a commitment to a renewed math strategy, Mr. Speaker. $60 million so that we can provide the supports in our schools where we need it. Mr. Speaker, as of September, we are ensuring that we have dedicated math leads in schools. We're ensuring that there are 60 minutes of protected time in all elementary schools. That's 300 minutes of wait, Mr. Speaker. That's focused on math because we know that our young people need this support so that they can succeed in the future. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, our kids are failing at math in dramatic fashion. We have students graduating, Mr. Speaker, that can barely make change without the use of a calculator. That's completely unacceptable in Ontario. A report from the McKinsey Institute shows that the countries with the lowest youth unemployment rates also put the most emphasis on their math curriculum. We're not doing that here. It's not the student's fault that 50% of them aren't at grade level. It's not the teacher's fault. It's the curriculum that needs to be changed, Mr. Speaker. Students aren't even required to memorize their multiplication tables anymore. Simply throwing more money at the problem isn't going to make it go away. Now, I know that 50% is a much better result than the Premier's current approval ratings in Ontario, Mr. Speaker, but why is the government leaving half of our students behind when it comes to math? Mr. Speaker, I'm the Ottawa citizen, Mr. Speaker, because we have to listen to our educators, and here's what they say. When we are looking forward very much to the renewed math strategy, we know the ministry is providing mathematics supports to all schools, which is fantastic, and looking at particular schools that may need intensive supports. Getting central health with teaching skills will be useful. There are techniques that work very well with vulnerable learners, experiential learning, visual aids, and that will be useful for other students as well. Mr. Speaker, when it comes to our record on education, since 2003, when our graduation rates were 68%, Mr. Speaker, as of this year, they had 85.5%. Mr. Speaker, because we know that we want our young people to be prepared for the world that they will enter, and they have the supports to do so. Wow. Thank you. New question to the member from Hamilton East Tony Creek. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the finance minister. Yesterday, the minister announced that the government had signed a memorandum of understanding with bedrock industries in relation to the restructuring of U.S. Steel Canada. Over 20,000 people are waiting to see how this affects their jobs, their pensions, and their families, and their futures. We must ensure that equal treatment of workers and of pensioners are done in both plans, Speaker. From day one, they have sought the protection of jobs, the restoration of post-employment benefits, and the full funding of their pension plans. Can the minister promise the employees and retirees that this memorandum protects their retirement promises and will fully fund the pension plans? And can the minister promise that the current operations will be preserved at both plans in Hamilton and Nanticoke? Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's an important question that the member asks. It's something that we've been deliberating over for a number of years now since U.S. Steel went into CCAA. And we've taken steps to try to protect the pensioners, the salary workers, and protect those jobs. And the intent of the MOU is all about protecting jobs. It's all about protecting pensions and also protecting the environment while developing those lands that are so precious in Hamilton. And that is exactly what's being put forward, and that's why we've moved forward with signing the MOU with bedrock. It's the only approved bidder assigned by the court. And we have to take every step necessary to foster ways to improve with all stakeholders who are involved with this because it will be conditional upon everyone's agreement, including the union, including the employees, including the pensioners, including the other stakeholders. And that's exactly what we're doing to foster and facilitate this going forward, Mr. Speaker. And I appreciate the question for the member and his advocacy as well. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'll remind the minister that this is a U.S. company. U.S. Steel's ownership was nothing but a disaster for the people of this province. Promise after promise was broken and not enforced by the federal government. Employment declined, facilities were idled, and eventually retirement benefits and municipal property taxes were suspended. It is critical that workers and pensioners have seats at this table and been involved in every aspect of negotiations. They cannot be left in the dark and only getting partial information. People need some hope in Hamilton and Nanocoat. In light of yesterday's news, the local steel workers and my local union have asked for a meeting with the minister of finance to find out and inform him of some of the negative parts of this. Will the minister commit to this meeting with the steel workers of Hamilton as soon as possible to ensure that the workers and pensioners are fully informed about the recent developments? And Mr. Speaker, we have actually been meeting and dealing with the members from the union, and we recognize how important it is to protect the OPEPS, protect the ongoing support, because it's been eliminated. And if it wasn't for the government of Ontario providing those support ongoing to continue with the urgent health care requirements, the claims that are coming forward for dental and other wide other aspects, we need to be there we have. It is a very complex situation, and this is only a first step in trying to facilitate our way through it. So we will continue to advise and work with all stakeholders to ensure that we get the best deal possible with the benefit of our pensioners and our employees and the people of Hamilton and Lake Erie, because we know how important it is to our economy and to Ontario and the whole sector. Is that a risk? We recognize that. We're doing everything we can, Mr. Speaker, to work together to try to ensure that we protect the interests of Ontario and the people of Ontario and the workers in Hamilton and Lake Erie. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Thank you Mr. Speaker. My question is for the minister of energy. Mr. Speaker, over the past few months I've heard concerns from my constituents in Davenport about their electricity bills, concerns I've raised here in the House. So I was very pleased when last Thursday the minister introduced a new bill, the Ontario Rebate for Electricity Consumers Act. The bill is part of a comprehensive package to reduce electricity rates for Ontario consumers. This government has spent the last 10 years making much needed investments in our electricity system to ensure it is clean, safe and reliable. These efforts included completely eliminating dirty coal as a generating source from our system. This remains the single largest climate change initiative in North America and today our electricity supply is 90% emissions free. The minister has introduced legislation as part of a package to build on these efforts by increasing affordability of electricity for all Ontarians. Mr. Speaker, through you to the minister, can you please tell this House what the impact of these renewed efforts will be for people across the province in my constituents in Davenport? Thank you Mr. Speaker and I'd like to thank the member for that question and for her tireless work for the people in her riding in Davenport. There are three elements to our plan to increase affordability for the Ontarians, four Ontarians, and the first is to permanently rebate the provincial portion of the HST of the bills of 5 million families, farms and small businesses right across the province. The average savings from this rebate will be about $130 per year. That's good. The second is to increase support to the most rural customers in order to help with higher distribution costs in these areas. Together with the first rebate, this will represent about $540 per year in savings for these families Mr. Speaker. And third Mr. Speaker is to expand access for industrial customers to the industrial conservation incentive. Very popular. 1,000 Ontario businesses will be newly eligible for this program which can reduce their bills by as much as one third Mr. Speaker. We're making sure that our system is clean, reliable and affordable. Thank you. To the Minister for those answers, I know that these programs will be a significant step for the families and businesses in Davenport and across Ontario. I understand the measures the Ministry is proposing will be in addition to existing efforts and programs to reduce costs for electricity bills. This government has taken considerable action to reduce costs at the system level including renegotiating the Green Energy Investment Agreement saving $3.7 billion and deferring the construction of new nuclear reactors at Darlington saving $15 billion. Just as important as these system-wide efforts are the targeted programs our government will offer families like those who live in Davenport. Mr. Speaker, through you to the Minister, would you inform the House on what pre-existing programs the Ministry offers to all Ontario families for their electricity bills? Thank you, Minister. Mr. Speaker, and it's important to mention that on top of what we're doing from the throne speech, we're actually moving forward on a number of our initiatives that we've had in place to design and in place to help Ontario families with their bills. The Ontario Electricity Support Program introduced this year provides targeted support to low-income households, Mr. Speaker. More than 135,000 Ontarians are already receiving this benefit. The Low-Income Energy Assistance Plan introduced in 2011 is another program designed to help those who need it most. It provides one-time grants of emergency assistance to customers temporarily unavailable or unable to make ends meet. And yet another program I know that's important to me and many Northern MPPs, the Northern Ontario Energy Credit. It provides assistance to low- to modern-income individuals and families living in Northern Ontario. Qualifying families receive up to $224 per year. Mr. Speaker, the goal of this government, the goal as the energy minister, I'm very proud to make sure that we have an affordable access for all of our electricity. New question? The member from Thorne Hill. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, to the Minister of Health, Sabrina Grinn is a Thorne Hill mother of four. Unfortunately, one of her sons requires medical equipment to stay alive, including an oxygen machine, feeding pump, oxygen monitor, and suction device. Due to the need for all this equipment, along with Ontario's increased hydro rates, her electricity bills have skyrocketed. Mr. Speaker, the Grinn family does not qualify for any assistance programs. Will the Minister of Health please explain his concerns of any on the effect of rising electricity costs for those who require medical equipment? Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I'm very pleased to be able to stand and rise to answer the question from the honourable members, specifically relating to the Ontario Energy Support Program. This program is specifically geared to individuals to provide more funding to individuals that have to plug in medical equipment. They can get up to $75 a month, Mr. Speaker, to ensure that when they have medical equipment that we recognize that there's increased costs and that they can utilize this. I would encourage the member to tell that family, to tell that individual to contact their local utility to make sure that they can find out all of the programs that are out there. There's even the Save On Energy Program. There are many, many programs, six of them to be exact, Mr. Speaker, that these families that they can apply for and on top of that, starting January 1st, we will make sure that we can get this legislation passed so they can get that 8% rebate. And it's unfortunate, Mr. Speaker, because it's for families like this that we ask for unanimous consent, but unfortunately, the opposition voted against it. Thank you. Supplementary. As I said in my initial question, the family did not qualify for any assistance from the Ministry of Health, from Power Stream, from any government program. We're seeing energy poverty in this province like never before. Families that are considered middle class and therefore ineligible for these subsidies, such as Sabrina's, are often struggling to provide the basic necessities. Mr. Speaker, due to these skyrocketing electricity rates as a result of this government's policies, Sabrina has been unable to buy new shoes for her two growing daughters. What advice does the Health Minister and perhaps the Minister of Energy have for the Grand Family? Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And once again, I think it's important to recognize that we as a government have heard that there are some families that are having difficulty out there with their electricity bills. And so that's why we acted. We acted with a three-point plan, Mr. Speaker. We put forward this rebate to ensure that they can see this on their bills directly every month. But unfortunately, as I keep saying over and over, Mr. Speaker, they actually voted against unanimous consent to work on this quickly because we have 70 local utilities, Mr. Speaker. That we have to work with. And we want to ensure that these families get access as quickly as possible. I once again encourage all MPPs to tell constituents that are having a hard time to utilize and work with their LDCs to make sure that they can get qualified for these programs and get that money right back in their pocket, Mr. Speaker. Because we've built a clean, reliable system that we all rely on and we're doing it to bring it to the next level to make it as affordable as possible. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question for the Premier. My question is for the Premier. This year in Ontario, there will be the 30th anniversary of the French services in Ontario. The commissioner in his report last June proposed to review the law with 16 recommendations in his report. The government has not made his recommendation which has been tabled. It's time to do something about it. When will the French services act be reviewed? To the Minister of Francophone Affairs. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First of all, I wish a very nice day to all Francophones, men and women, which will be celebrated on Sunday. And this will be celebrated tomorrow in Peace Park with the rays of the flag for Francophone, Ontario. I appreciate the question from the member from Nickel Belt and very proud of the government file 30 years ago. This law was enacted and then in 2007 there was a commissioner who proposed the position created and in 2016 it was declared independent. I've read all recommendations of the commissioner in his report. We are in the process of analyzing not only the review of the French services law but also the put into place the university. We are here since 400 years. 12 school boards 2 college community services as colleges as Francontarian are ready to take care of this university for us. It's time to have a plan to put in place. When are we going to have our Francophone University in Ontario? Again, I wish to say thanks to the member from Nickel Belt for all the work she does in this file. I wish to reiterate the commitment of the government of Mrs. Mathews and the premier. We are putting in place a planning committee and it would be an announcement made very shortly and again a good celebration for Francophone of Ontario men and women. The member from Berry. My question is for the minister of labour. There are many ways for my constituents to find out about their rights under the Employment Standards Act on the Ontario Health and Safety Act. I often direct community members to the online resources if they need specific assistance with an issue. I know that another tool that the ministry of labour uses to inform Ontarians of their rights under these acts is through proactive blitzes. Last session in the house the minister mentioned that over the summer his ministry would be taking part in several blitzes across the province. I'm very interested in knowing how the young worker blitz and the temporary foreign worker blitz ended. These workers are among the most vulnerable in our province and I think it is important that we continue to ensure that they are protected and well informed of their rights. Speaker through you to the minister is there a question on the summer blitz results that could be shared with the house? Thank you. Thank you speaker. I'd like to thank the member for that wonderful question because it really speaks to what we believe in the province of Ontario is that workers have the right to be treated freely by their employers they deserve to be paid for the work they do they deserve leaves pregnancy, personal emergency leaves and they need to be paid the minimum wage speaker. One of the best ways of doing that is you focus on the areas where you think you have the most concern. You go into the workplaces you can tuck the blitzes. What we did over the summer we did two blitzes speaker they focused on young workers and the other focused on temporary foreign workers the goal of these blitzes was to educate employers bring them into compliance we did 343 inspections over the summer speaker a significant number of employers we met benefited from the visits before our inspectors left and this is something we should all be proud of 98 to 100% of those employers were into compliance already so the blitzes are working we recovered $300,000 for young workers in this province. Speaker I want to thank the minister for that answer the minister mentions an important point sometimes employers and employees are unaware that they are either not following the law or that they aren't getting what they are entitled to the ministry of labor website is a great resort but blitzes are proactive having officers out across the province visiting businesses and educating them makes a big difference as the minister mentioned the voluntary compliance rates show that employers want to be doing the right thing but I know that there is still work to be done we need to make sure that all workers including the most vulnerable are protected and educated on their rights and entitlements. Speaker through you to the minister what can Ontarians expect in terms of proactive inspections and blitzes over the coming months? Thank you minister and thank you once again for the question never in the history of Ontario has a government proactively inspected workplaces but the very first government to do that I'll tell you it's working but we don't just do that we also inspect 3500 ordinary employment standards inspections we want to make sure that people are following the law that they understand the law but we're also focusing on those people who sometimes think that they operate outside of the law but the law doesn't apply to them the repeat violators we're sending a zero tolerance message that employers in this province deserve to be treated properly speaker in addition to that we're going to focus on some other areas we're going to be doing blitzes speakers in childcare centers we're doing a manufacturing blitz we're doing tow truck blitzes speaker small manufacturing blitz and the fitness center blitzes we're doing everything we possibly can to make sure employers know what their obligations are and to educate employees so that they know what their rights are speaker new question thank you very much for the minister of community safety and correctional services a year ago today everyone in this chamber was shocked and saddened by the news of the deaths of three women in and around my riding of rent for nipissing pemberg Anastasia Cusick Natalie Warmerden and Carl Culleton were brutally murdered allegedly by a man who had been released on parole I spoke to the then minister of community safety and correctional services who agreed with me we had to do much more to protect women from an abuser once that person had been released he also assured me that action would be taken I and the people of my riding have waited a year for that action we have run out of patience can the minister inform the house victims of violence and all the people of Ontario when your government will take this matter seriously and do what is necessary to protect women question being victimized by their abuser thank you very much speaker and thank the member for the question first of all speaker let me begin by saying that my thoughts are with the victims families friends and the will know and surrounding communities on the one year anniversary of this truly devastating event my most important priority is the safety and security of every Ontarian as the member knows we're now investing 208 million dollars each year for services that support and protect women from violence we've enhanced the tracking of offenders by improving the way domestic violence probation orders are uploaded to police information centers under the proceeds of crime frontline policing grant we've invested 1.2 million dollars in related domestic violence initiatives and just in fact speaker this past Tuesday we announced $58,000 in the members riding through the OPP Renfrew Detachment to support the Renfrew County situational hub project the project aims to bring together public agencies from the justice mental health and social services sectors to support and help protect individuals from violence in their communities supplementary thank you speaker back to the minister while those supports are appreciated my requests to all of you who have been involved in this specific because I couldn't wait for your government to act within weeks of those murders I introduced my private members bill which would have required all parolees to sign and accept the terms of their release those who are convicted of domestic or sexual violence and who are deemed a risk to their victims would be also would also be subject to electronic monitoring my bill introducing my bill to help victims of violence this afternoon my preference would be for the government to introduce introduce its own legislation in the absence of thus will you support my bill so that the victims of violence will have more protection than they currently have and send a clear message that this legislature places the highest priority on protecting victims of domestic or sexual violence and I would like to thank Mr. Speaker and again to the member I am certainly where the members private members bill it was bill 130 that did die on the order paper but I want to say to the member I'm certainly willing to work with him and I want to commend his advocacy on this particular issue and his his efforts to champion this particular issue what I will say as well speakers that probation by the offender and in addition we have policies in place for the supervision of high risk offenders including electronic supervision when imposed by the courts or the parole board we've implemented additional training for officers with a specific focus on domestic violence and sex offender supervision we've also focused offender programs and resources on medium high risk offenders and continue to do that I want to say to the member today in relation to the specific elements of his private members bill so that we can continue to improve these circumstances and protect women from domestic violence. Thank you speaker my question is to the acting premier back in June the ministry of government and consumer services announced that nine service Ontario offices across the province were under consideration for possible closure including providing vulgar the decision was put on whole pending further review however today we have yet to receive any updates from your ministry as to the result of these reassessments these offices are vital and provide an excellent service to which all Ontarians deserve equal access can you please provide us with the progress is in what is being made as far as the reevaluations I want to thank the minister of government and consumer services thank you Mr. Speaker I thank the member for his question and while at AMO I did meet with several municipality on that particular subject and I have to say Mr. Speaker that our government is extremely proud of the consumer service that our service Ontario location provides to Ontarians including access to a wide range of services such as drivers and vehicle registration land registration insurance of health cards and birth certificate yes indeed recently there was an announcement but there was also an announcement Mr. Speaker that we would be reviewing our decision and this was also part of my decision to meet with people at AMO so at this point I want to we are reviewing the decision and I hope to have some answer shortly thank you Mr. Speaker we have seen the government overturn its decisions in the past and availed attempt to provide short term satisfaction hence your June press release advising my office and the public indicating and I quote blind river may not end up being one of the officers clothes the emphasis on may not a service Ontario office is important to smaller communities public services are being cut and squeezed across Ontario people are really disappointed they didn't vote for these office closures or for the threat of having these offices closed either now they don't know what to expect from this government what assurances can your ministry offer that these closures won't be introduced today or at a later date again I say thank you to the member to raising and I understand how important those offices are as part of our access to government services we are reviewing that's why we are looking and that's why we share that decision with the member to let him know about the decision that we would be reviewing so Mr. Speaker as part of the transformation we are also looking at transformation of services people in Ontario are using other means such as online technology has been improving but at the same time I want to reiterate our commitment to provide the best access to government services as part of my commitment as the minister so I thank the member for his question and we are definitely following up thank you thank you thank you Mr. Speaker my question is for the minister of sport tourism last Friday the premier was in Ottawa to launch the 150th celebration of Canada and will be essential what will be in 2070 which will celebrate the 150th anniversary of Canada to while in promoting the future of our community provide us with a unique opportunity to build pride and optimism in our province inspire our youth and create strong economic social and cultural legacies for all Ontarians can the minister please tell the members of this house more about the exciting plans that were unveiled last week in Ottawa and how our government plans to support Ontario in celebrating Ontario 150 Mr. Mr. President thank you Mr. Speaker in particular Speaker for his advocacy on the Ottawa 2017 celebrations it was my pleasure to join him as well as the rest of our dedicated Ottawa caucus our premier Mayor Jim Watson community leaders to launch Ontario 150 I'm so excited about the energy we saw at the announcement speaker and look forward to building on this optimism as we reach out to communities across Ontario as part of this commitment we've launched a series of grant programs and they include our community capital program $25 million speaker to renovate repair and retrofit existing community and cultural infrastructure our partnership program $5 million to support new partnerships and collaborations with youth and about youth and to empower them and finally $7 million in community celebration funding I have every expectation that these programs will engage our youth celebrate our shared identity and I look forward to more information the supplementary speaker thank you very much thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to the minister I would like to echo the minister's commenters regarding the success of the events of launching last week we want to celebrate Ontario 150 University in Ottawa the 150 University of Ontario is a very important thing to create communities 150 will also lay the groundwork for the next 150 years so we want all Ontarians to start thinking about what this milestone means to them I appreciate the impact of the granting programs the minister has referred to and know that they will have a province-wide impact in bringing Ontarians together and supporting our communities the minister also announced that there will be additional initiatives across Ontario in the year ahead can the minister please inform about what we can expect in the coming year thank you thank you Mr. Speaker thank you to the member of Ottawa south to share the highlights of Ontario 150 with all Ontarians and with this house they include a new logo an updated version of our unofficial anthem a place to stand celebrations in our nation's capital and in communities across Ontario and customise programming at many of our agencies and attractions in addition as a part of Ontario 150 Toronto will host the 2017 Invictus Games and international sporting events for wounded soldiers these games will really demonstrate the transformative power of sport and we look forward to sharing more in the coming months on what Ontarians can expect in 2017 key investments and initiatives which will show Ontario the world's enhanced tourism and welcome citizens from across our globe I look forward to working with our federal and communities partner speaker thank you for this thank you to the thank you to the deputy premier the ministry of transportation has been consistently among the top criticised agency in the Ontario government and for good reason Ontarians of all ages are inconvenienced at almost every interaction with our ministry with lost files and needless delays medical reviews are a glaring example when a doctor reports the driver is potentially unsafe they will suspend a license immediately when a doctor says the driver is okay however the ministry reserves the right to sit on the file for 30 business days speaker the hardworking Ontarians jobs and livelihoods at risk how can the government justify such an insensitive and bureaucratic action to the minister of infrastructure minister of infrastructure I thank the member for the question and for his initiative with his private members bill that's an issue that we've all dealt with in our constituency offices it's a common issue that we face the provincial government as you know the ministry of transportation puts a very very high priority on public safety and high priority on responding particularly to the senior citizens who have had to deal with these medical issues so we are currently meeting or exceeding our 30 day customer service standards processing 90% of cases within 10 days and so far in 2016 we are meeting our customer service standards 99.5% of the time that's a very very strong response to that particular concern that seniors may have our government's mandatory reporting for physicians and optometrists is an important way we are working to continue to make our driving safe for individuals using Ontario roads thank you constituents come to my office begging for help because they are both to lose their jobs due to this unjustifiable six week delay they have families to feed and bills to pay people in my region rely on driving work and basic living assessments providing service means being accountable transparent and effective it takes an hour to enforce positions advice to suspend a license why should it take 30 days to take his advice to reinstate it will the government support my motions afternoon for calling for five business day service guarantee for the reinstatement of a driver's license following a positive medical review Mr. Speaker again I want to thank the member for his interest in this particular issue it's of interest to all of us we deal with it in our constituency offices you know every week every month Mr. Speaker and on June 2nd 2015 our government passed bill 31 speaker which is making Ontario's roads even safer by expanding medical reporting requirements clarifying mandatory and discretionary reporting requirements in future regulations and setting out what specific driver information must be provided by mandatory reporting forms to mandatory medical reporting speaker the ministry of transportation applies consistent medical standards that are designed to balance road safety and mobility for Ontarians these standards are basic medical standards under the highway traffic act and detailed national medical standards established by the Canadian council of motor transport administrators CCMTA new question thank you Mr. Speaker my question is to the acting premier transit riders hope the throne speech would have a plan to improve transit service and lower fares they were let down Mr. Speaker not only is presto expensive there is a cost just to buy an empty card it makes it extremely difficult for social service agencies to give out transit passes especially as tokens and tickets are phased out the city of Ottawa in fact is threatening to take the province to court because presto is using its government enforced monopoly to demand higher commissions from Ottawa transit riders Ottawa riders currently pay 2% of their fare to presto presto wants tanned this outrageous cash grab transit ridership at harm low income people why is the government making low income people pay for the government's decision to force this costly fare payment system on to Ontarians Mr. Speaker I understand that the TTC is working closely with presto on implementation across the entire TTC system this includes making single fares available to users and developing a system that works best for those commuting in Toronto and while the TTC and presto work to iron out the details of this rollout speaker specific questions on this issue should be directed to the TTC the TTC is managing the system the TTC is working and the city of Toronto is working with the province to iron out the issues around presto but the responsibility for operations and the rest with the TTC thank you speaker thank you member from that report on a point of order I just couldn't let today pass by without recognizing the special day it is for a very special person here on this side of the house our very own MPP Arthur Potts from Beaches District has birthday today there are no deferred votes this house stands recess until 1pm this afternoon