 It is now time for Question of the Period, the leader of the National Historic Opposition. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Certainly the introduction of pages is important and it's historic for them to be here and we certainly welcome them all. Now let's get down to business. My question is for the Premier. Premier, Moody's credit rating agency has changed Ontario's debt rating outlook from stable to negative. After 11 years of liberal regime in Ontario, you've managed to double our debt. And paying the interest on that debt is now the third largest expenditure in the budget. When referencing the debt, even former Liberal MPP Donna Cansfield said, this province is in deep trouble. Premier, your proposed budget has caused a credit downgrade to hang over Ontario. Tell us today, does the government's fiscal plan take into account a further credit rating downgrade, which would increase the cost of servicing the debt, or will you assure us that it will not result in a credit downgrade? Thank you. Thank you very much. So what I can assure the leader of the opposition is that we are determined to eliminate the deficit by 2017-18. We have laid that out in our budget, Mr. Speaker. We will reintroduce our budget next week and we have been very, very clear about the constraints that we know have to be put in place, Mr. Speaker. We have been clear about that path to balance. But we've also been clear and we were clear with the people of Ontario as we went through the election campaign. Our plan was based on investments in communities, investments in the talent and skills of our people, our children, our grandchildren, Mr. Speaker. Investments in infrastructure that we know are necessary, whether it's roads or bridges, whether it's transit, whether it's hospitals or schools, Mr. Speaker. Those investments are necessary in order for the province to thrive. And that is the basis of our plan, Mr. Speaker, and it is laid out very clearly in our budget documents. Thank you very much. Mr. Speaker, you claim that you want to build Ontario up, but the fact is the massive debt your government has created is now threatening frontline services that we cherish here in Ontario, like healthcare and education. Even former finance minister Dwight Duncan says that the province's finances are a ticking time bomb. Yet you're still working to push through a budget that the credit rating agencies are already frowning upon. Premier, is it your intention to rush through this budget and shut down the legislature so that you can negotiate new public sector contracts without the legislature being in session to hold you to account? Mr. Speaker, as the leader of the opposition knows, we are back here within 20 days because I said that it was important that we get the budget reintroduced and that we have the opportunity to debate it. And we're willing to stay as long as that takes, Mr. Speaker, to have the budget debated and to make sure that we get the full input from this House, Mr. Speaker. But the reality that the leader of the opposition puts forward, that there are challenges ahead, that's not news to us. We know that there are challenges, Mr. Speaker, and that's why in our budget we lay out the path to balance. We understand the constraints that have to be in place. But, Mr. Speaker, the other reality is that there are investments needed. And I would just call attention to a statement that the member for Wellington-Halton Hills made yesterday in his first member statement. And he talked about the need in his riding. And I will quote in the final supplementary, but he talked about the need in his riding for investments in infrastructure, Mr. Speaker. I just say to the Premier, the Honourable Member for Wellington-Halton Hills has a far better record of picking up those constituents and setting priorities because he was part of a government that set priorities for eight years in this problem and balance the budget. So, Premier, in Europe, in Europe, in Europe they... That'll do. We've seen in Europe where they didn't care about the credit rating or didn't care enough about it and they didn't care enough about their debt obligations. In fact, their debt obligations just kept growing that they actually did have to cut services that we cherish here in Ontario, like healthcare and education. You need to treat the credit rating as sacrosanct to make sure that we spend within our means because we owe that to the hardworking people of Ontario. That's an obligation we have. And we have an obligation to preserve frontline services. Premier, will you take your time with the budget? We'll forgive you if you don't introduce it next Monday. Take your time with the budget. Fix it so that we don't lose our current credit rating. What is sacrosanct to me, Mr. Speaker, is the needs of this province and the needs of the people in this province, Mr. Speaker, and those needs are multifaceted. And as the Leader of the Opposition notes, there are challenges ahead for our fiscal situation and we have laid out our path to balance in our budget. But, Mr. Speaker, we have also a need to make investments in infrastructure and the Leader of the Opposition references the history of the member for Wellington, Halton Hills and his participation in the government, his membership in the government. And his membership in the government, Mr. Speaker, that in fact didn't make the investments that were needed. Didn't make the investments in infrastructure that were needed, which is why yesterday he was standing in this house saying on June 13th today after that, and I'm quoting the member for Wellington, Halton Hills, I wrote to the Premier on June 13th today after the election. We were back at work in my constituency office. I wrote to the Premier to highlight three key issues in my writing. The Highway 6, Morrison, Bypass, Improved Go, Train Service, and High Speed Internet in rural Ontario. So, Mr. Speaker, all... Thank you. New question from Everton Embassy. Thank you. And good morning, Speaker. My question is for the Premier. Good morning, Premier, and congratulations on your success. Premier, the day after you brought in your budget, Moody's rang the first of many alarm bells. They said your deficit represented, quote, a credit negative for the province. They said, quote, the path to balance presents more risk than previously assessed. Premier, this is a clear signal. Yet you're bringing back the same budget next week. Now, we know that your $12.5 billion deficit has already caused cuts in senior physiotherapy, cuts in cataract surgeries, cuts in diabetes testing strips. Premier, I'll ask you what cuts are coming next. Thank you, Premier. So again, Mr. Speaker, the member for Nipissing is kind of playing both sides of the fence here because on the one hand, he reiterates what his leader has said about concerns about the fiscal situation, which I've acknowledged, Mr. Speaker, that there are challenges. There's absolutely no doubt about that, but we have laid out a path to balance and we will reintroduce our budget next week. But at the same time, he talks about the need for more spending, Mr. Speaker. The reality is that we have to find ways to meet the needs of the people of this province. The issues that he raised in terms of health care are part of a transformation of the health care system that is absolutely critical, Mr. Speaker. We must provide services in a different way. We must provide more home care, more services in community, but we must provide those services. We cannot neglect those services, and we must make those investments in infrastructure that we know are needed in the riding of Wellington, Halton Hills and across the province. Thank you, supplementary. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, I'll certainly let the 34 people at the hospital in North, they know that they're part of a transformation and the 60 beds that were closed. I'll let them know that's part of a transformation. Premier, even more warning signals from financial experts came the very day after the election. The financial post revealed that Ontario's borrowing costs spiked the most in six months. BlackRock, the world's biggest money manager, said we were on, quote, high alert for a credit rating downgrade for Ontario and noted that investors were, quote, seeing a deteriorating financial balance sheet. Premier, you're well aware that this will lead to extra borrowing costs, which will take away money from frontline services. Someone is going to feel the pain of your decisions. So who is it that will suffer next, Premier? Is it families? Is it seniors or Ontario's most vulnerable? Thank you, Premier. So, Mr. Speaker, there is a fundamental disagreement between the opposition and us. That fundamental disagreement is that we don't believe that starting with cutting 100,000 jobs and slashing services is treatment centre. The Children's Treatment Centre in North Bay, I think they understand that investment in services is very important. They understand that investment in infrastructure is very important. So we will reintroduce our budget next week, Mr. Speaker. We have laid out a path to balance in that budget, Mr. Speaker. We have laid out the investment strategy as soon as possible, Mr. Speaker. We must do both of those, Mr. Speaker, if the province is to prosper. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Premier, the rating agency sent a further shot across your bow in an attempt to jolt you back to reality. Moody's now downgraded their credit outlook from stable to negative, based on your plan to forge ahead with this budget. A formal credit rating downgrade is now forecast, not only drive up the cost of borrowing for the province, but also for linked agencies such as my city of North Bay, the city of Ottawa, University of Ottawa, University of Toronto, the school board financing authority, all will downgrade along with the province. Rating agencies simply are not buying into this promise to balance in three years. Norm Levine of portfolio management stated, quote, you have not articulated in any way, shape or form how you would get there. Premier, can you tell us today specifically what further cuts to frontline services will make your budget balance? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Well, I will just go back to what I said previously, which is that there is a fundamental disagreement. We believe, Mr. Speaker, that if we do not make the investments in transit, in roads, in bridges, in schools, in hospitals, in the education of our young people, Mr. Speaker, if we do not make those investments, if we do not provide opportunities for young people to have experience and to partner with business and get that work experience, if we do not transform the healthcare system and make sure that we have more home care in communities, if we don't do those things, Mr. Speaker, we believe, and in fact there's good evidence that we will not have the future that will attract business to the province. We will not create those jobs in the short term and in the longer term. So, there is a fundamental disagreement between us and the opposition. We will reintroduce our budget next week, Mr. Speaker, and we look forward to the debate in the legislature on that plan that will build Ontario up. Thank you. New question. The leader of the third party. Thank you, Speaker. My question is for the Premier. The Liberals have put forward a Trojan horse plan. The government is telling Ontarians that it is progressive, but scratch the surface, Speaker, and you'll find some real surprises there, like the fire sale of public assets. You don't burn the furniture to heat the house, Speaker, so will the Premier tell Ontarians what public assets that she's planning to sell off? Well, thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And again, as I said yesterday, the leader of the third party actually ran. Her platform was actually based on the plan that we had put forward, Mr. Speaker. It was the foundation of the fiscal plan that she ran on. So I think I just need to remind her that the plan that we are going to reintroduce next week, Mr. Speaker, is exactly the one on which she based her fiscal plan. So what we have said is that, yes, we are going to make sure that the assets that are owned by the people of Ontario work for the people of Ontario. We have asked Ed Clark, who is the former CEO of the Toronto Dominion Bank, to look at those assets, Mr. Speaker, to make sure that they are working in the best way possible for the people of Ontario so that we can lay out that path to balance and so that we can make the investments that are necessary for the province. Well, Speaker, as the Premier knows, our public assets provide benefits to Ontarians. For example, one of OPG's jobs is to provide electricity without adding in the profit margin. Selling off OPG will turn into another private power company looking to make more money from families and businesses. We know firsthand that privatized power has tripled hydro bills in this province since 2002. Will the Premier tell Ontarians whether she thinks it's the right thing to sell off OPG so it will turn into yet another private power company driving up their bills for private interests? Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition is making a huge leap, and I don't know exactly where she's getting her information, but what we've said is that there are assets that are owned by the people of Ontario. I believe that it is responsible for government to make sure that those assets work for the people of Ontario. I used the example of the 407 yesterday, Mr. Speaker, and I'm going to use that example again because I believe that had we had the government of the day had a process in place to actually look at the 407 and to look at how it could be made, it could have been made to work with the people of Ontario, I don't think it would have been sold off, Mr. Speaker, at the rate that it was sold off, and I don't think that the people of Ontario would have been robbed of that ongoing stream of revenue. So, I believe that it is responsible that the government make sure that assets work for the people of the province. That's what we're going to do, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, final supplementary. Mr. Speaker, in 2013-14, the LCBO put $1.7 billion into healthcare, education, and other very important public services. That's a long-term, stable source of public funds that comes from that agency. Even Mike Harris said that selling the LCBO didn't provide enough bang for our buck. And Ernie Eve said that selling off an asset that generates so much public revenue simply doesn't make any sense. Does the Premier think it makes sense to sell off the LCBO, Mr. Speaker? Premier? Mr. Speaker, I agree with the leader of the third party. The LCBO is a terrific asset and provides a great benefit to the people of Ontario and the leader of the third party is making a leap of logic that is not based in any reality. So what I've said is that we want to make sure that the assets that are owned by the people of Ontario work to the very optimal value possible for the people of Ontario. And I would ask the leader of the opposition now that she's had some time to contemplate whether she will support the budget that we are bringing in. I'm introducing on Monday because it makes investments in transit, in roads, in bridges, in developmental services, Mr. Speaker. In support for personal support workers and home care. I would ask her whether she is prepared now to support that progressive budget that previously she deemed was not acceptable. Thank you. New question. My next question is also for the Premier. The Premier told Ontarians that her plan was a rejection of austerity. But yesterday she wouldn't rule out cutting 100,000 public service jobs and she didn't rule out the fire sale of public assets. So my question is a simple one, Speaker. Will the Premier come clean with Ontarians and tell them whether or not she will rule out the firing of 100,000 people and the fire sale of public assets? Thank you, Premier. It's almost breathtaking, Mr. Speaker. Because what our budget and our plan does is it lays out supports for personal support workers to make sure that personal support workers who are fundamental to transforming the health care system that they are paid adequately. It lays out raises for childcare workers, Mr. Speaker, and the leader of the third party for ports to be supportive of childcare and the childcare system. It lays out $810 million in investment in developmental services. Mr. Speaker, that's something that for years we have known is necessary that there's a gap in our system. People have not had support. People with developmental disabilities, once they age out of school, haven't had the support that they need. We have suggested and we have put forward in our budget that we would make investments in those people. Thank you. I turn to the leader of the third party and say, why won't you... Speaker, the Premier insists she's been up front with the people of Ontario, but she didn't dispute the comments made by the Liberals' hand-picked economist, Don Drummond, who had this to say about the Liberal plan. And I quote, by 2017, I was looking at all surprised if that involved the public sector about 100,000 lower. Now, will the Premier be up front with Ontarians and tell them whether Don Drummond is right about the Liberal plan? So, Mr. Speaker, I think that the leader of the third party knows full well that Don Drummond did not suggest that we were going in with a plan to cut 100,000 workers. He knows that. That's not our plan. And again, I would ask the leader of the third party and I would ask the members who were saying that our plan... Member from Essex, come to order. There's support on top of the things that I spoke about earlier, but there's support for investments in public transit, investments in legal aid support, Mr. Speaker, which is part of our plan, and increased social assistance rate. I would ask for their support for those things. And to the accusation that this will not happen, Mr. Speaker, I am more than determined. We are here sitting in the middle, in the beginning of July, because I am determined to bring back our budget. I am determined to work in this legislature to get it passed so that we can make those investments in a better Ontario. Final supplementary. Well, Speaker, new Democrats believe that government should be investing in the concerns facing families, not adding to their concerns, Speaker. The Premier's plan could see 100,000 people fired and our public assets sold off. Does the Premier think austerity is OK as long as it's clashed with a coat of red paint? Mr. Speaker, I guess again, when the leader of the third party talks about the people about whom she's concerned, does that mean she's not concerned about personal support workers? She's not concerned about childcare workers? She's not concerned about the people who will work to build the transit that we are going to invest in, Mr. Speaker? That she's not concerned about the families who can't get legal aid because they don't have enough support and our plan would give them more support? Is she not concerned about those people, Mr. Speaker? Because my understanding of the NDP seems to be concerned about those people, Mr. Speaker. And Kitchener, Conestoga. My question is to the Minister of Transportation. Just weeks before the election, the former Minister of Transportation announced your government would invest in high-speed rail from London to Toronto with a stop in Kitchener. Of course, he didn't... Stop the clock. I'm going to ask the member from Eglinton Lawrence, the member from Eglinton Lawrence and the member from Hamilton, East Hamilton, East Tony Creek. Take it outside. In case anyone's missed the message, it's not about you two. Please finish your question. Thanks. The former Minister didn't have a realistic cost estimate. He didn't have ridership numbers, and his announcement was routinely rejected by experts across the province. Still, he stuck to his guns, claiming you'd be delivering. Minister, we all know that liberal promises during elections aren't worth setting the record straight. Minister, was this high-speed rail across an actual commitment, or was the former Minister just selling one of your election plans? He's an ideas guy. Minister of Transportation. Well, thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, and I want to begin by thanking and actually welcoming the member from Kitchener Kona Stoga back to the legislature and thanking him for this question today. I also understand that he is the PC caucus' transportation critic, so I look forward to working closely with him and all other members on all sides of the House to make sure that we deliver on the plan that the people of Ontario have elected us to do, Speaker. And that means that for communities like Kitchener and communities right across the province of Ontario that it's crucial that we begin to get on with the work at hand, that we begin to make sure that the 29 billion dollars that we've earmarked for transit and transportation infrastructure get rolled out so that communities like Kitchener and communities across this province have the benefits from those investments, Speaker. Thanks very much. Mr. Minister, Toronto Star transit expert Greg Gormick says, your quote, back of the napkin high-speed rail plan is so out of sync with reality that its failings don't warrant cataloging and it's not hard to see why. When the former minister made your high-speed rail commitment he couldn't offer any details. He just said that he had a study somewhere which backed up his claims. Although he refused to release the study during the election, he told the media, quote, one of the first things we want to do if we're re-elected is to get those studies out there. Minister, in the spirit of transparency will you release this mystery study or will you continue to hide it because you know it won't back up your claims? Thank you very much Mr. Speaker and I thank a member from Kitchener and it's important for everyone to understand that we are working very hard to finalize a business case for this particular project but one of the things that I do want to highlight in my response today is how proud I was to serve alongside the former member from Kitchener Centre because of his extraordinary advocacy for his community and how much I'm looking forward to working closely with the new member from Kitchener Conestoga who is right here that's right from Kitchener Centre Speaker who I know will continue to be a champion for her community. As I said we are committed on this side of the house to making sure that we implement the $29 billion worth of crucial public infrastructure, public transit and transportation investments that are needed right across this province. I know the people of Kitchener and communities right across Ontario are delighted to know that we want to roll up our sleeves and get back to work to make sure that we deliver positive results for all of Ontario. Thank you Mr. President. My question is for the Minister of Health in long-term care Public health care advocates are at Queen's Park today to oppose this government plan to push even more services out of our hospital and into private for-profit clinics. In 2012 the Auditor General found over 800 private health care facilities in Ontario and 97% of them are for-profit. Now this government Trojan Horse budget includes a third straight year of hospital budget freeze which means cuts to hospital increased user fees and even more private for-profit clinics. Can the Minister tell Ontario why his government is so intent on cutting hospital services and expanding private for-profit clinics in Ontario? Thank you Mr. Speaker and I appreciate the question that I'm happy to talk about the government's plan to improve quality of care and I would think that the member opposite would also agree that it's important to provide care to people where they need it when they need it as easy as possible and I want to emphasize I want to say I'm glad as well I will be speaking with the Ontario Health Coalition in about an hour's time they have an important day here and a number of important issues but I want to emphasize that we're only going to move these procedures into not for-profit clinics and all medically necessary procedures performed in these clinics will be covered by OHIP and a good example is the Kensington Eye Clinic which I suspect the member opposite supports that here in Toronto has provided cataract surgery, low risk procedures to nearly 12,000 patients in Toronto the GTA in fact around the province helping to reduce times for cataract surgeries by 60% in the Toronto Central Linn so it's this kind of movement which is going to provide better quality of care Thank you, supplementary This government is moving services from an area that is not for profit, has oversight and accountability into the community that has no oversight, no accountability and no way for people to most believe them with low choice but to carve out services and hand them out to those private providers you're not going to be able to get a colonoscopy, an MRI or an echogram into our publicly funded, not for-profit trusted community hospital under this government plan you will have to go to a private for-profit clinics with all sorts of fees associated to them the government talk about being progressive but what I see underground is not when will the minister recognize that his government healthcare agenda is quite open to more privatizations where the real winners are the private clinics, not the patients Thank you Mr. Speaker that is simply not true and the member opposite needs to understand what the facts are, I'm not sure if she's even read our platform and our action plan and what we propose to do here's what we're not doing Mr. Speaker we're not creating private for-profit clinics we're not charging patients for OHIP services we're not cutting care for hospitals, we're not moving care further from home, this is what we're doing we are shifting some routine low risk procedures out of the hospital and into the community through not for-profit clinics, just like our hospitals are not for-profit, I think the member opposite supports our hospitals being not for-profits we're talking about not for-profit institutions in the community, we're talking about two new midwife led birthing centers in Toronto and Ottawa that are giving expectant mumps more choice in where they deliver their babies and the member opposite would support that type of community care which is bringing great quality of care through not for-profits in the community where patients are at a better cost to government and better result for the patients themselves thank you the member from Trinity Spadina question thank you Speaker my question is for the minister for health and long-term care it's my privilege to represent Trinity Spadina, one of the most culturally diverse lightings in Ontario every day I'm reminded that our country is so great because of the contributions of newcomers we're a welcoming country that is at the core of what makes us Canadian so two is our commitment to universal healthcare, the radical notion that no one should be denied care when they need it but Trinity Spadina and across the country were deeply disappointed by the federal government's decision to reduce health coverage through the interim federal health program I understand there was a reason federal court ruling on those changes could the minister tell the house about this decision and how it relates to Ontario government policy thank you thank you Mr. Speaker and I'd like to first thank the member from Trinity Spadina for this excellent presentation and congratulate him on his election to the legislature changes Mr. Speaker to the interim federal health program a program and a population that I know very very well left many refugee claimants with little or no health coverage this was a serious abdication of the federal government's responsibility to protect some of the most vulnerable people in our society and it showed a lack of compassion Mr. Speaker a federal court ruling late last week and calling it unconstitutional even calling it cruel we've all heard of heart wrenching examples a patient who suffered a retinal detachment an incident that often leads to blindness whose surgery was cancelled when he couldn't afford it we learned of a diabetic patient only kept alive by free insulin samples provided by a pharmaceutical company that doesn't reflect the values I know we share as Canadians making sure patients get care when they need it is the right thing to do Mr. Speaker Thank you Thank you Mr. Speaker I'm pleased that the court have recognized an upheld principle that underpins our commitment to universal health care the court decision is a step in the right direction but I understand that the federal government may appeal in the meantime it is clear that the ministers remarks that there are many people who need care right now but are no longer receiving it through the Interim Federal Health Program Speaker through you could the minister tell us what is being done to ensure refugee claimants are getting the care they need Thank you Mr. Speaker the members write some refugee claimants face health challenges while waiting for the federal government to determine their status and cuts to the IFHP the federal health program has let them unprotected and put our doctors and our health care workers in an untenable position forcing them to choose who should and who shouldn't be treated so that's why our government the provincial government opposed vigorously this decision and it's why we joined with other provinces to reinstate access to essential and urgent health care services for refugee claimants through the Ontario Temporary Health Program the federal court's ruling said all along Mr. Speaker that our health care system must reflect the principles of fairness and certainly compassion Mr. Speaker providing the right care for those who need it Thank you Mr. President Thank you Mr. Speaker through you to the Premier Premier on June 4th you received a 20 page document and letter from the municipality of Grey Highland seeking your recommitment to move forward to the Grey Bruce Health Services Markdale Hospital on June 24th where I reiterated my support for the hospital project Premier over the years your government has had lots of conversations about this project Regrettably it's going on 11 years since your government pledged to build this hospital and 9 years since the great people of Markdale and area raised $13.2 million which still sits in the bank Premier will you please tell me can you confirm that infrastructure money will be allocated in the budget that your government made to my constituents was not purely made for partisan political purposes Mr. Speaker Minister of health and long term care Well I thank the member officer for the question and of course we're working closely with Markdale Hospital to make progress on this important capital investment I appreciate the member bringing it to our attention again and it reflects the significant infrastructure investment capital investment that we're making in hospitals right across this province it's a multi-million dollar investment in fact even when you look at one aspect of this are small and rural hospitals we've invested over $115 million towards capital investments to strengthen and care this year alone this fiscal year 91 different projects across the province where we're working with partners important partners like Markdale to make sure that we're making that progress with capital and operating investments to ensure that the quality of care continues to improve for patients and so badly needed Mr. Speaker again to the premier to be fair six years ago you did actually erect the sign promising and committing to this project to the Markdale Hospital you know this hospital project is a profound concern and need to my constituents the community stepped up to the challenge and raised $13.2 million as part of their challenge and they want you to honour your commitment Premier I respectfully ask you do you accept that the case for a rebuild is strong and on what timeline do you envisage this redevelopment taking place yep Mr. Speaker well thank you Mr. Speaker and I'm pleased that the member opposite like I'm sure many members in the conservative caucus acknowledge and agree that infrastructure investment is of vital importance to this province going forward and so they $129 million billion investment over the next 10 years that this province is making and how much is it for hospitals pardon me $11.4 billion specifically for hospital capital investments I'm glad that you acknowledge the importance of that we are working closely with Markdale there are no doubt that there will be further conversations to see how we can move that project forward in as expeditious a manner as possible I'd be happy to sit down with the member opposite to talk to him I know this is a different project to him and I look forward to seeing how we can continue this project together Thank you Thank you Speaker my question to the Premier yesterday I asked the Premier how much this government plans to pocket from the whole or partial privatization of the LCBO and Ontario power generation I asked because on page 4 of the Liberal Parties infrastructure program it clearly states the plan is to pocket $3.15 billion from the sale of public assets the Premier and the Minister of Finance refused to answer my question yesterday so I'm giving it another shot another opportunity Premier will the government tell this house how much is slotted into the government's fiscal framework for the full or partial sale of these core public assets Mr Speaker the member opposite knows if he looks at the budget the numbers that we have laid out in terms of our projections in terms of our revenue in terms of the investments that are necessary but he's asking a question that I've actually already answered what I've said is that we have asked Clark and his team to look at the assets that are owned by the people of Ontario to make sure that they are working to the very best benefit of the people of Ontario I believe that it's government's responsibility to do that to make sure that we optimize the value of those of those entities whether it's real estate Mr Speaker or whether it's an organization so that's what Ed Clark is going to do with his group Mr Speaker absolutely keep the house and the people of Ontario apprised of the optimization of those assets but I don't have the specific answers at this point Mr Speaker because we've asked him to do that work to supplementary the $3.15 billion asset sale figure from your platform is interesting because 15 years ago the Mike Harris PCs sold off highway 407 for $3.1 billion on the scale of sale if you know you're going to raise at least $3.15 billion from overall asset sales you also know how much you're planning to get from the whole or partial sale of OPG, LCBO and Hydro 1 so this time please answer the question how much of the $3.15 billion that your platform says will be raised through asset sales comes from the sale of LCBO and Hydro 1 Mr Speaker the member for Toronto Danforth is jumping to a conclusion that is not a fork on conclusion Mr Speaker he's leaping to an endpoint that may or may not be the case Mr Speaker he's engaging in a hypothetical that I am not going to I'm not going to go down that road Mr Speaker so the reality is we've asked Ed Clark to make to look at the assets that are owned by the people of Ontario and the member raised the issue of the 407 because it reinforces my point which is had there been a process when the previous government was in office had there been a rational process to look at that asset the 407 I believe that different decisions would have been made and the people of Ontario would have benefited much more and would not have lost that asset and the ongoing stream of revenue that is lost to the people of Ontario by a government that did not take the time and did not take the responsibility to do it right Thank you Mr Speaker my question through you is the Associate Minister of Health and Long-Term Care now when our parents and grandparents and maybe sometimes some members of this house can no longer be cared for in their homes and they need to transition to long-term care and in my community of beaches in York there are many who are transitioning but we want to make sure that they are kept and they transition to homes that they we want the best possible care for them when they transition and I know that investing in long-term care has been a priority for our government it's an important part of that and is redeveloping older facilities so they can provide state-of-the-art care in renewed space could the minister inform this house of the government's plan for long-term care reinvestments Thank you Thank you Speaker and I'd like to begin by thanking the member from Beaches East York for the question and congratulations on an excellent win I'm committed to the 77,000 residents who live in Ontario's long-term care home facilities that they will get the highest standards of care and a big part of this commitment speaker is our plan to modernize our existing facilities and that's why our budget had money set aside so that we could help our long-term care operators to redevelop and modernize 30,000 beds unfortunately the PCs and the NDP voted against this budget I look forward to the reintroduction and passage of this budget speaker so that we can start on with the work of redeveloping and modernizing these 30,000 beds and investing in us Thank you Thank you Minister and to you Mr Speaker I'm sure that the residents of the long-term care facilities in the Beaches East York such as True Davidson's Acres and their loved ones we're very pleased that this government has plans to redevelop and create so many more beds in the communities and in the cross the province but as we all know in the long-term care facilities it's not just the residents who depend it is not just residents who are hardworking nurses they need personal support workers and other frontline healthcare workers in this long-term sector Speaker through you would the minister please tell us what the government is doing to ensure that residents and long-term homes receive the best possible care that they can get Thank you Thank you Speaker and thanks again to the member from Beaches East York I also want to thank the thousands of Ontarians who go to work in long-term care homes to care for our family and friends our government has that is why funded over 10,000 new full-time frontline staff in long-term care since 2003 and we have provided homes with 20 million dollars so that they can provide training to their staff to improve safety of our residents and advance the quality of care we've also hired over 600 full-time staff since 2011 through our behavioral supports Ontario to improve care for residents with challenging behaviors and we're adding 75 nurse practitioners in our LTC homes to prevent unnecessary ambulance use prevent injuries and improve resident care and we've brought in tough legislation to protect residents by allowing stronger enforcement and better inspections of long-term care homes we will continue to make investments in our long-term care sector question from Perth Wellington thank you speaker my question is for the attorney general speaker in February my private members resolution called on this government to implement a comprehensive long-term solution to reform joint and several liability insurance for municipalities and to do this by June AMO, the insurance bureau of Canada insurers in Perth Wellington and beyond and over 200 municipalities have supported it all parties in this legislature supported it yet the June deadline has passed I will ask the minister this question when will you get it done thank you from the general thank you Mr. President and I want to thank the member for asking and be so persistent with the question however this legal liability reform is an important and complex issue and I understand that this issue has been of significant concern for municipality the AMO the association of municipality of Ontario has asked the government to consider the impact of the law of joining several liability on municipal insurance and my ministry the ministry of the attorney general the legal community on two option are under consideration one of the model is a modification of joint and several liability and it could look very simple for some of us but it's a very complex issue and indeed you know there is this bill is passed there will be a winner and loser and that's why that's what we have to consider before moving forward thank you Speaker with in all due respect this has been going on since I was a councillor back in the municipality of North Perth and that goes back seven or eight years that I have heard about this issue AMO and many municipalities are supporting a combined model which would place reasonable limits on the damages that could be recovered from an municipality in Perth Wellington municipalities including Stratford and the county of Wellington are asking you to support this Minister the time for consultations is over municipalities have spoken my question is this when will you get her done thank you AMO chair you know this is a complex issue there is two different model that have been suggested one of the model that the member is talking about it's a model that was adopted in Saskatchewan and you know we are reviewing this model and another model will limit municipal liability for negligence in road maintenance two times the proportion of damage but like I said you know in one of the two or in the two situation there will be a loser winner and loser and it's a very complex matter and we wanted to make sure that we have it right before we move forward thank you very much thank you my question is for the premier when Ontario families need hospital care they should be able to trust that there is room at their local hospital but that's not the case in Thunder Bay for much of this year Thunder Bay regional health sciences centre has been literally in gridlock they have funding for 395 beds but they routinely have 30 more patients waiting for a bed they are doing the best they can to provide care speaker and that's pushed their deficit to 5.5 million dollars so my question is this when will the government step up and provide the funding for hospital beds that Thunder Bay so obviously needs thank you Mr. Speaker and I'm really happy to get this question actually because we have provided that funding and we are making important improvements to health care in Thunder Bay members from Thunder Bay Superior North and the member from Thunder Bay Attic particularly for their hard work and their advocacy for this vigorously on this issue recently we announced that we're investing almost 14 million dollars to improve access to emergency care and to enhance community health care services measures which will improve not only those types of services but of course the hospital based care that's available to residents of that region and this funding is going to support Thunder Bay's three largest health care providers Mr. Speaker the Regional Health Sciences Center, St. Joseph's Care Group and the Northwest Community Care Access Center. These are important measures I'm happy to speak in more detail in the supplementary. The Liberals have made many many promises but the fact is that health care austerity continues under this year's Trojan Horse budget another year a frozen hospital budget means there's not enough hospital beds in Thunder Bay and their deficit is ballooning now this government's decisions are putting pressure on everything from staffing to laundry services in fact the way the hospital is coping with the lack of funding is to open 300 new parking spots to raise money off patients to try to pay their bills now when will the Premier announce a real plan to address the gridlock in the Thunder Bay Mr. Speaker well again Mr. Speaker the facts just don't match with what the member opposite the leader of the third party is saying we're creating 26 new hospital beds to help more people with long-term illness or disabilities receive the specialized care that they need we're funding up to 17 more spaces in supportive housing so that seniors and people in need of care can remain independent and out of hospital Mr. Speaker we're expanding a nurse outreach program up to 500 more seniors and people with complex needs with home care services again to keep them as close to home as possible and out of hospital staffing 10 acute care hospital beds to treat up to 600 more patients per year and helping to recruit up to 10 full-time and 14 temporary emergency room doctors to improve access to urgent care these are the steps that we're taking we're investing dollars to do that they're important improvements to that region that important region so I'm not sure where the member opposite is trying to go to we are seeing the progress that we want to see in terms of quality of care Mr. Speaker my question is for the minister of labor Speaker this summer many young people are starting new jobs in restaurants golf courses and retail shops around the province I know in my community of new market Aurora the numerous golf courses auto part manufacturers like Van Robb and Upper Canada and Magna will offer many new job opportunities for you but the statistics show minister that young people are three times more likely to be injured in the first three months of their job than experienced colleagues Mr. Speaker through you to the minister what are we doing to ensure that our newest and least experienced workers are safe at work thank you Speaker and let me first congratulate the fine new member from new marketer congratulations Speaker the question is a very important one we're all saddened in this house when we hear of a workplace fatality when it involves a young person and the family and the coworkers of those who have been injured or killed I know her hearts go out and the more tragic or the equally tragic part of that is that these incidents that lead to injury or death are indeed often preventable as the member said it's true and young workers are most likely to get hurt so that's why the ministry contacts an annual safety blitz for new and young workers and the goals of this blitz are very very simple speaker we ensure that new and young workers are properly oriented trained and supervised we ensure that their employers are taking every reasonable precaution to protect new and young workers but speaker we need everyone playing a role in this and sleeping our workplace is safe and the blitz is going to raise awareness of workplace health and safety amongst our young people Thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to the minister for that response we know that our youth are helping to build a stronger and more competitive economy here in Ontario and I was encouraged to hear about the minister's annual health and safety blitz I think it's very important to be out there in the summer educating and enforcing safety rules as students work to save the college and university but surely the minister's safety blitz cannot go to every single workplace in the province Mr. Speaker through you to the minister what is the government doing to ensure that all new young workers have access and an understanding of their basic health and safety rights also what is the ministry doing to ensure that those youth whose first language is not English are properly trained in health and safety Thank you Thank you Mr. Speaker and thanks to the member for another fine question I want to assure the legislature that this ministry takes health and safety very very seriously reducing injuries eliminating fatalities number one priority for this ministry last fall we passed a regulation that made it mandatory for all workers and supervisors to complete basic health and safety training now as of July 1st of this year just recently workers and supervisors are required to have taken this training I should note that that includes everybody in this room including yourself we have made it easy to complete this training online at the ministry of labor website or through free workbooks available at service Ontario locations across the province it comes in many languages English, French, Chinese, Spanish Punjabi, Portuguese, Hindi just to name a few it's true that many Ontarians will already be aware of these basic rights and responsibilities but the exercise we're going through with the mandatory training that came into effect is going to make a good system even better Speaker Thank you Thank you Mr. Speaker to the Premier just before you became liberal leader in 2012 you made a commitment to eliminate Ontario's deficit through your 2017-18 I promise you continue to reiterate I'll go back to your quote of 2012 when I say we need to stay on government's physical plan balancing the budget by 2017-18 I mean it so you say in three years a zero deficit however your hand-picked economist Don Drummond projects in three years he projects in three years a $30.2 billion deficit Premier how do you square this $30.2 billion discrepancy Well thank you Speaker I think I would advise the member opposite to actually read what Don Drummond had to say about that the point he was making was if we did nothing that is the reality we would be facing Speaker is a made very clear step to reduce our deficit That's enough finish please We are committed to balancing the budget by 17-18 Speaker and we've had to make some tough decisions in the past in order to move to that direction and every single time we took a difficult decision you stood up in opposition to that so what I'm saying is that all of us agree all three parties agree we must get to balance so we're looking for constructive ways to get there you do have some responsibility to support the transformation Thank you The member from Bruce Curry Owen Sound will come to order supplementary Back to the Premier we have no indication from you of how your promise will be kept Nothing will come of nothing Your Minister of Finance is expecting revenue shortfalls in the coming years Back to the Premier Is it selling assets cutting government programs and services for families, seniors vulnerable in our society jacking up taxes on the middle class or do you plan on breaking your promise to balance the books in three years What is the plan for 17-18 Is it to cut government spending by 30.2 billion dollars is that the plan Thank you I think all of us are looking forward to the budget being introduced next week I don't think there will be any surprises though because we've committed to introducing the same budget that was not supported by either party when we introduced it earlier this year it clearly lays out a path and Speaker we have actually become the lowest spender in the country on a per capita basis our program spending is down to 1.4% annually looking ahead to 1.1% annually Speaker we're on track to beating those deficit targets but what I don't understand is that we seem to have a parity everywhere but my writing attitude in their writing but no spending overall Speaker recent reports say that parking fees at the Jerevinsky Cancer Center in my writing of Hamilton Mountain would be raised to as much as 25 dollars a day which is a 25% increase one patient who travels to receive care puts it this way quote they know they have a captive audience and quote parking fees now to a healthcare levy on sick people Speaker when will this government follow through on its election promise to cap out of control parking hospital fees Thank you Mr. Speaker and I appreciate the question because it gives me the opportunity on behalf of the government to remind the members opposite that in fact in our platform during the election we committed to putting a cap on parking fees at hospitals at our health facilities and I agree with the member opposite but it's incredibly important that access to our healthcare services is provided in an equitable fashion so we intend on moving forward as we committed in our platform and I'm glad that I suspect we're going to have the third party support on that Yeah Supplementary Speaker just so the minister knows the fees have already been increased last week so the Canadian Medical Association and New Democrats called hospital parking fees to ensure to healthcare access and an unnecessary stress on patients and families the Liberal government may not see it but the people in my riding and people across this province need relief now from these out of control parking fees we haven't seen any directive to the hospital administrators to cap the fees even though you made the pledge during your election campaign since the government since then the government's been silent my constituents are hoping that this is not just something that was said at election time Speaker, when will this minister act immediately and cap hospital parking fees Thank you Mr. Speaker and I'm glad to have the member opposite support it's too bad that you didn't put it in your platform so Mr. Speaker we're going to be working closely with local communities facilities because one size does not fit all the circumstance in a particular community or locality is different from one to the next so we're going to work in a responsible fashion and we're going to cap or in some cases cut hospital parking fees so I want to leave the members with a message it's never too late to receive a warning nor it's never too late to be named there are no deferred votes this house stands recessed until 3 p.m. this afternoon