 It is now time for oral questions and I recognize the leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition. Thank you so much, Speaker. Speaker, my first question is for the Premier. Speaker, back on May 24th, the Premier announced that people should line up for asymptomatic testing of COVID-19. In fact, this is opposite from the advice that he was being given by experts, including his own chief medical officer of health, and we all recall the results. We saw what happened. And in fact, the Premier's own minister was on the side of the experts and pretty concerned by the sounds of it, because at the commission, here's what she said, at the commission into long-term care, the minister of health said in distancing herself from this decision, quote, I would say that this was something that was very important to the Premier and that you would really need to speak to him about that. So, Minister of Health and at least three of the government's top experts all were advising the Premier against massive asymptomatic testing. So the question is why did the Premier ignore the expert advice, ignore his own minister, and I claim he was acting on the advice of the chief medical officer of health, and in fact, he was doing the opposite. Minister of Health to the Premier. Thank you. Well, I can certainly say at the time we were very concerned about community transmission. We were concerned about community transmission, which was then finding its way into our long-term care homes because there were people coming in, essential visitors, sometimes staff who were asymptomatic. It was something that was concerned to the Premier, it was concerned to me, it was a concern to the minister of long-term care, it was a concern to everyone. And so as a precautionary matter, the Premier felt very concerned that we do something and start doing that asymptomatic testing so that we could stop that eight community transmission, but especially that transmission that was going into long-term care homes. A supplementary question? Well, Speaker, we all know that the consequences of this decision of the Premier's, which was contrary to the advice he was being given, were serious. Our lab system became overwhelmed. People could not get the test results adequately or quickly enough in long-term care, which cost folks their lives. There were line-ups. We remember those pictures, line-ups of families with children, sometimes for hours and hours and hours on end to get those tests. It was a debacle. So I guess my question is to the Premier. Why did he suggest that he was taking the best advice necessary to save lives when in fact he knew he was ignoring the best advice? In fact, that was not the case at all. As we were increasing the testing, we were also increasing the lab capacity, which as the member may recall, started about 3,000 tests on a daily basis through Public Health Ontario and grew to a system where now we are able to process over 100,000 tests in a day. At about that time, we had significantly increased our capacity and built a network in very short order, including hospital labs, university labs, community labs, as well as Public Health Ontario. So as we were increasing the testing, we were ensuring that we also had the lab capacity to be able to deal with that. Final supplement. Well, Speaker, look, it's not just the testing. The Premier ignored or acted contrary to advice on the testing, as we've just talked about, on the risks in terms of what was happening to vulnerable people in long-term care, on the framework that the government first announced on all of these situations. The Premier did not act on the advice of experts or, in fact, his ministers, in fact, the Minister of Health, again, couldn't defend the Premier and said to the commission, you really need to speak to the Premier about that regarding the testing. So look, why did the Premier claim he was acting on expert advice when, in fact, it's very apparent he wasn't, and will he attend the long-term care commission himself to have that question asked? Will he voluntarily go to the commission and tell everybody why he made those decisions? Minister of Health. In fact, the Premier has indicated and he has followed the recommendations of the Dr. Williams, the public health measures table, Public Health Ontario, every step of the way from building up our testing capacity, building up our lab capacity, getting the vaccines and setting up the commission that he has with the immunity, the vaccine task force, every step along the way he's followed the medical advice, which has gotten us to a place I would indicate where Ontario right now, and the actions speak louder than words, Ontario right now stands at 72 cases per 100,000, the lowest in Canada except the Atlantic bubble. So I think that something has been done right. The Premier has followed the expert advice of the medical advisers and it's serving Ontario well. Thank you. The next question. Once again, the Leader of the Opposition. Well, Speaker, nobody in this province believes the loss of 4,000 seniors, vulnerable seniors in long-term care is a victory. So it's shameful that the Premier or that the minister responds in that way. But look, I want to talk now about the minister of long-term care and so my question is to her speaker. The minister very clearly told the commission that she knew that there was a problem with access to PPE in long-term care, that she knew that there wasn't enough staffing in long-term care. In fact, she was very worried apparently about what might be happening in long-term care and she also knew very clearly that there was no iron ring of protection around long-term care. So my question is, why did the minister feel it was her role to back up the Premier's claim that there was a iron ring around long-term care when in fact she knew that that protection did not exist? Mr. Long-term care. Thank you, Speaker. There is no doubt that our government took every measure and every tool that it possibly could as the science evolved around this virus. And let me be clear. This is the government that is addressing the systemic issues that have faced long-term care for decades. It is this government that has approved $1.38 billion in surge funding to the sector and it is this conservative government that put forward a $1.9 billion staffing plan that will hire 27,000 new staff and it is this government that announced a training support program for an additional 8,200 new staff. It is this government that is raising the daily average of direct care to four hours and it is this government that is building 15,000 new beds and redeveloping another 15,000. I urge the opposition to support us. Join Team Ontario as we rebuild Long-term Care. Thank you. Any supplementary questions? Well, Speaker, it is this government that failed to learn the most important lesson from SARS and that is the precautionary principle. This minister should have been paying attention to what was happening in long-term care. No one should die when we are waiting for evidence. That is what the SARS lesson was. While we are waiting for the evidence, if we think something is happening, we should act quickly and save lives. Yesterday, the minister said that she knew of anecdotal cases and that there was a paucity of research notwithstanding the fact that she knew that she was worried about what was happening in long-term care. How could this minister, how could this premier, how could this government ignore the most important lesson from the SARS commission, the precautionary principle? How can that happen, Speaker? Minister of Long-term Care to respond. Thank you, Speaker. If the member opposite was aware at the time the evidence was still evolving. There was around the world, there was different opinions and that is how science works. Our government is modernizing long-term care and the opposition continues to play politics and stand in the way. During the second wave, they voted against key stabilization measures like emergency orders that allowed for the redeployment of staff and prevention and containment funding for homes across this province. The leader of the opposition herself voted against $10.8 million to date for long-term care homes in Hamilton fighting COVID-19. And she would have denied money to critical PPE staffing and renovations. And after years of advocacy, the NDP couldn't even support our government's commitment to an average of four hours of daily direct care in the budget. We are zeroed in on modernizing long-term care and once again, I say to the opposition join us in being part of the solution. Final supplement. This government and this minister and this premier did not take the most important lesson from SARS. You don't wait for the evolution of a crisis where thousands upon thousands upon thousands of people die because he didn't bother to get ahead of it and take the lessons that you should have taken. But look, this is what Kathy Park said just yesterday. While the minister kept her silence all along, Kathy Park said this yesterday, April 22, 2020, the day we had to bury my father, I speak on national news through unbelievable grief in an attempt to speak out for those who need help. Kathy Parks was not an expert. She wants to know from this minister, imagine what you could have done. Had you actually spoken up? Imagine. That's what Kathy says. How can it be that the minister who knew that the seniors in long-term care were at risk didn't admit, didn't call the premier on the fact that the iron ring was in fact a hollow promise and why did she not speak up and save 4,000 lives in long-term care? Thank you. Minister of long-term care. Thank you, Speaker. And the points made are exactly why we were making every effort on PPE, on testing, surmounting obstacles like the delays that we met with Health Canada being unable to approve rapid tests. These have been ongoing efforts. And, you know, when it comes to families, I've gone through this with family members. I can only imagine how excruciating this must have been for people. This tragedy that not only was unfolding in Ontario, but across Canada and around the world. And so some good must come from this. And that's exactly why our government is addressing all these areas that were so long neglected and rebuilding and repairing a system that was left to decline in terms of a staffing crisis, in terms of the capacity. We're repairing and rebuilding a long-term care sector that was neglected for decades. The capacity issues, the four-bed wardrooms that were left to languish under the previous government and supported by the NDP. We will continue to do the important work to address these issues that set the stage for this tragedy. And we will continue with dedication and commitment to address this. Thank you. Thank you. The next question, the member for Nickel Belt. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Local public health units have started their own vaccination rollout. But like every single step through this crisis, they have again found themselves on their own and in the dark. Mayors, including from the GTHA, are raising concerns that while they have responsibility for running the Prince province vaccine rollout, they still haven't heard back from this government about the funding that they need to actually get this important work done. When will the Premier let cities, municipalities know if they are going to receive any money whatsoever to do the job that this Premier has left them responsible for? Minister of Health. Thank you. And I thank the member very much for the question. In fact, we have been in regular communication with the local public health units, with the CEOs of the hospitals, with the municipalities as well with respect to their efforts to assist with the vaccine rollout. The public health units are receiving financial assistance for the work that they're doing. And we've also asked municipalities to help out with areas for mass vaccination clinics like community centers. Yesterday we were at U of T's, and this is Saga campus, where they're opening a mass vaccination clinic and other areas such as arenas. We are working very closely with municipalities and there are discussions going on with respect to all aspects of the clinics that are going to be brought forward. Supplementary. Well, cities and municipalities are telling us that they've already started to spend the money, even though they have no idea whether they will be able to pay their bills when everything is said and done. Local public health units are moving heaven and earth to overcome this government too little, too late vaccination plan and actually get shots into people's arms right now. They should not have a plan of vaccination strategy based on cross fingers and hope that the check will show up at sometimes in the future maybe if you're lucky. Cities, municipalities need clear answer from the province and they needed those answers yesterday. What is the government waiting for? When is this government going to get its acts together and finally step up with a clear vaccine plan that includes the funding so that cities and municipalities need in order to do their job? Well, in fact, we do have a solid vaccine plan, vaccination plan that involves all 34 public health unit regions as well as the municipalities. Dr. Hillier has been, sorry, General Hillier has been in regular contact with them. I've been involved in a number of the conversations as well. They're dealing with all aspects, the expenses with the clinics, with the organization of the clinics. Some of the public health unit regions have come out in advance of the central booking agency becoming available on March 15th. They're already booking clients to come in to receive their vaccines. They're over 80. In fact, in Guelph Wellington area, they've already vaccinated over 50% of their over 80 population. This is in the context of working within the system that we have. Once our big system comes online on the 15th, it was tested yesterday because we don't want to see it fail as it has in other jurisdictions. We want it to be solid and stand up to the pressure that we know that it's going to be coming with because people are anxious to know when they're going to be receiving the vaccine. But it is a solid plan. It is rolling out and we're making sure that people are receiving the vaccines in a timely manner. The next question, the member for Chatham, Kent, Leamington. Thank you very much, Speaker. My question is to the Deputy Premier who is also our Minister of Health. And this is all concerning the vaccine rollout. Deputy Premier, I know that this topic is on the mind of everyone right now. And I'm sure that it's the only thing that you can think about as it remains your top priority. Getting the vaccines in the people's arms is the most important task at hand right now. And I know under the leadership of General Hillier, our province is in steady hands as we are implementing a great plan that has ensured that top priority populations are being fully vaccinated. This includes successful vaccination programs administered in our long-term care homes, residents in our retirement homes, vaccinating our frontline healthcare heroes and Indigenous partners in remote communities. Speaker, can the Deputy Premier please share with my constituents in Chatham, Kent, Leamington more information about the vaccination rollout and what it means to all Ontarians? Thank you. Minister of Health. Well, yes, thank you very much to the member from Chatham, Kent, Leamington for the question. And I first want to congratulate the member on the great news about the birth of his granddaughter, Shiloh Benat. That is wonderful news. Great congratulations. But the member is correct. The vaccination rollout is our number one priority and it depends on every member of Team Ontario. I first want to thank the leadership of General Hillier and our frontline heroes. Over 727,000 vaccines have already been administered in the province of Ontario. Our public health units are doing a fantastic job and there is an overall plan. That's why it was a real privilege yesterday to be a Trillium Health Partners, University of Toronto, Mississauga and the Region of Peel Clinic yesterday. Clinics like this will play a major part in our vaccine rollout across the province. Ordered. Supplementary question. Thank you very much, Speaker. And again, thank you, Deputy Premier for your kind remarks. Baby Shiloh is doing fine. I almost want to break into an eel diamonds on Shiloh, you know. However, we are seeing innovation and leadership throughout this province from different public health units. In my region, the Chatham, Kent Public Health Unit has begun vaccination appointments for those over 80 years old. Out in Ottawa, people over 80 who are in high-risk neighborhoods have been able to book vaccination appointments using the city's flu immunization booking system. In Toronto, a pilot program to bring COVID-19 vaccines directly to Toronto seniors living independently is already up and running and in wealth. They've begun the process of vaccinating residents over the age of 80 after completing vaccinations for residents and staff at all of the long-term care and retirement homes. As more vaccines come in, we'll put up more mass vaccination centers. So, Speaker, can the Deputy Premier please elaborate to this legislature more about the groundbreaking work being accomplished at mass vaccination centers across the province? Mr. Bell. Thanks once again to the member. During conversations that we had with local public health units and heads of council last week, we made it clear that we will need them every step of the way to help execute and improve on this plan. This will be a team effort that we're going to see right across the province no matter if it's the hospitals or the public health units or even the private sector as well. And here's one example of one of the mass vaccination centers set up from the folks at U of T in Mississauga and what leadership they have shown. And clinics like this will play a major partner provincial vaccination plan. Our plan is the most comprehensive vaccine distribution plan in Canada tailored to each one of our 34 public health units. With the great news about a third vaccine now approved for use, we accept shipments will become more reliable and consistent over the coming weeks and months and hopefully will allow us to vaccinate more Ontarians within a much shorter period of time. Thank you, Speaker. The next question, the member for Brampton Centre. Good morning, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Yesterday this government once again voted against giving workers in Ontario paid sick days. Voting instead to continue forcing families in places like Brampton to choose between going to work and getting sick or staying home but not being able to pay the bills. Speaker, this Premier has already said that he thinks that spending money to keep families in Brampton safe is a waste of money. Speaker, why does the Premier think that families in Brampton aren't worth investing in? Mr. Speaker, training and skills development. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I'm pleased to rise to answer this question once again. Mr. Speaker, the very first piece of legislation that this legislature approved when COVID-19 hit the province of Ontario was job-protected to tell every worker in the province if they're impacted by COVID-19, if they're home in self-isolation, if they're in quarantine, if you're a mom or a dad that has to stay home and look after a son or a daughter because of the disruptions to the school system that you're not going to be fired for that, furthermore, we eliminated the need for sick notes during COVID-19. But, Mr. Speaker, we negotiated a $1.1 billion deal with the federal government in partnership with all provinces and territories to deliver now four weeks of paid sick days for every single worker in the province of Ontario. And I would implore every opposition MPP to come clean with their constituents, let them know that there's four weeks of paid sick days for every worker in Ontario. A supplementary question. Speaker, many hardworking families in Brampton are stuck between a rock and a hard place right now. Our chief medical officer of health, Dr. Lowe, has been crystal clear. Essential workers across the region of Peel are still going into work sick because they cannot afford to miss a day of work. Our mayor has been clear. Paid sick days will save lives in our city. Speaker, families in Brampton have been on the front lines of this crisis, but years of neglect by the Liberal government in our health care system have strained our health care resources, and now large numbers of essential workers are being ignored by this Conservative government. Speaker, again to the Premier, despite what this government thinks, families in Brampton are not a waste of money. It's actually the fiscally prudent thing to do so that we aren't straining our health care resources in our city. Speaker, when is this government going to stop new Democrats and finally give families in Brampton the paid sick days they need to stay safe? Members, please take your seat. Mr. Labour, you're required once again. Mr. Speaker, the opposition party won't take yes for an answer. There is now four weeks of paid sick days for every worker in the province of Ontario. And Mr. Speaker, to quote the leader of the opposition on February 16th, she said, what we want to see is paid sick days in Ontario. Ten paid sick days, seven. Rather ten sick days, seven paid. And yes, that would be employers responsibility. Mr. Speaker, there's $800 million left in the bank account. There's four weeks of paid sick days for every worker in the province of Ontario. It's up to every elected official to let the workers know that this program is out there for them. That's what we're doing on this side of the house. You should join us. My members connect the comments through the chair and after I clear across the floor. The next question, the member for Ottawa, South. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Long-Term Care. Speaker, I've read the Minister's testimony before the Long-Term Care Commission. And in it, she repeatedly states that she raised concerns about staff working in more than one home, asymptomatic transmission, and the need to stabilize the workforce. And clearly, given the Minister's training and experience, she knew there was a lot at stake. So last spring, BC and Quebec moved quickly to stop workers from working in more than one home and to raise their wages to stabilize the workforce. It took Ontario one month to do the same. One month in a pandemic. So, Speaker, through you, can the Minister explain why it took so long for Ontario to take the same action as BC and Quebec? Minister of Long-Term Care to respond. Thank you, Speaker. And thank you to the member opposite for the question. You know, in hindsight, you go back and you say what was happening, what was the historical information that was understood at that time. And many, many people were working around the clock to address these issues. If we look at Long-Term Care homes, they were in the front lines against COVID-19, only in Ontario but around the world. And we were using every option at our disposal to prevent and contain the spread of this virus. We implemented surveillance testing for residents and staff. And this helped to slow the outbreaks by catching new cases early. And the Premier pushed personally, and so did I, to have every resident and staff member tested in Wave 1 as part of our testing strategy, which is absolutely key to asymptomatic spread. Despite the reluctance of some, we pushed for implementation of rapid testing in Wave 2. And more than 1.5 million rapid tests have been shipped to over 550 homes. The previous government, propped up by the opposition, had 15 years to bring about the quote-unquote revolution in Long-Term Care. Thank you. Order. The supplementary question. The Minister of Health said that he had a flu testing wide open, which impacted Long-Term Care, so I'd like to remind the Minister of that. And it's like we learned nothing from the first wave. So last June, Quebec said we need to get 10,000 PSWs, and they went out to find them. They only got 7,000. But at the same time, homes were begging this Minister for a plan. That plan came in September. And in that plan, there was $14 million to recruit and train PSWs. And $42 million for security guards in Long-Term Care. The plan didn't protect residents from the second wave. More people died in the second than the first. There was no iron ring. So the Minister announced last week the same plan, essentially the same plan that Quebec did eight months ago. Eight months ago in a pandemic. It's too late, Minister. Question. Speaker, through you to the Minister, why did it take your government's eight months to announce the same staffing strategy as Quebec did last June? Minister of Long-Term Care. Thank you, Speaker. If the member opposite would get his facts straight, it would be much easier to have a discussion. The reality is Quebec hired orderlies. They are not PSWs. Quebec is not able to hire 10 PSWs. And they lost trainees through attrition, who then had to pay back the government. This is not the approach that we took. We used the resources that were available to us, making sure that we marshaled the hospital sector. We created matching portals and many of our efforts helped homes in stabilizing their staff. And it's been neglected for many, many years. And our government knows that the previous efforts by the previous government supported by the NDP were grossly deficient. So we're committed to increasing quality care. And $1.9 billion by 24-25 annually to go to supporting the requirement for 27,000 new positions. We've taken action all through this. And up $115 million to help train 8,200 new personal support workers. Next question. Thank you. Thank you very much. My question is to the Minister of Government and Consumer Services. Speaker, ski resorts and amusement parks are an important economic driver in Ontario. They play a critical role in the success of Ontario's tourism sector. These attractions employ thousands of Ontarians and contribute to Ontario being a truly four-season destination. There are also countless businesses and jobs on the success of these attractions. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, ski lift and amusement device operators have been acutely impacted. Just yesterday, Speaker, I met with two ski resorts by a Zoom who shared their hardships that they've experienced due to COVID. Now ensuring that these businesses and world class attractions they support have the support they need throughout the pandemic that is a priority of our government. So can the Minister of Government and Consumer Services speak to the support being provided to ski lift and amusement device operators? Minister of Government and Consumer Services. Thank you to the member from Chatham Kent. Not only is he a very proud grandpa but he's very proud of his riding and I know he works so hard because of that pride. And I'm pleased to answer his question with regards to what our government is doing to provide relief not only for ski hills but for amusement parks across Ontario. And if we're doing this, we're facilitating this through our oversight of the technical standards and safety authority as well as the electrical safety authority as well. Speaker, on an annual basis fees are typically paid to TSA for regulatory services like licenses and safety inspections under the assumption that ski hill operations would resume. But we all know that due to the pandemic, amusement parks and ski hills alike, unfortunately we're unable to operate through their peak season. So Speaker, I'm very pleased to share with you that these fees for this year will be returned to them. And we're providing approximately $2 million in financial support to enable TSA to refund the fees already paid for the 2021 season and we're reducing ESA's oversight for the upcoming year. Thank you. Thank you very much. Supplementary. Thank you very much Speaker. And thank you Minister for that insightful response. This is very welcome news. Speaker, by providing financial support to the ski and amusement sectors we are helping to address the financial barriers that many ski lift and amusement device operators are facing. It's important to enable a healthy tourism sector. The recovery of this important sector will be largely dependent on Ontario's success in combating COVID-19 pandemic. So therefore Speaker can the Minister of Government and Consumer Services explain what further supports may be available to support this very important industry. Minister of Government and Consumer Services. Thank you Speaker. As we were questioning earlier we are actually looking to ESA to enable their recipients, their registrants if you will, additional relief by $150,000 and the Canadian Association of Amusement Operators has noted that this fee waiver will be a huge savings for the industry. And over and above that beyond the two oversight fee waivers supplementary transfer payment funding $150,000 may be available to TSSA in the current fiscal year on an as needed basis to help with the provision of additional temporary relief. And you know Speaker it's very important to recognize that we all continue to look for ways to support our industries throughout this province but I'd also like to take this moment to give a shout out to TSSA they've hit a milestone. I'd like to congratulate them on the release of its new infrastructure IT system. This is another critical step to modernizing as a regulator and moving towards a risk-based approach as technical safety and standards are upheld in Ontario. Thank you very much. Next question member for Thunder Bay out of Covid. Thank you Speaker. My question is for the Premier. Thunder Bay is still in a Covid crisis. Our cases keep rising we're in lockdown and the capital is filling up. Finally more resources are on the way but this government took so long more help is needed for months the opposition has proposed sensible choices like paid sick leave and capping class sizes so we can stop this lockdown cycle yet this government won't work with us. What is this government's plan to put Thunder Bay for the long run to make sure this doesn't happen again? Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. Thank you Speaker and thank you very much to the member for the question. This is an obvious concern with respect to the breakouts in Thunder Bay and that's why last week the Chief Medical Officer of Health working with the local medical officer decided to apply the emergency break to put Thunder Bay into grey lockdown area to prevent further transmission and to make sure that our hospitals and healthcare services are not being overwhelmed. Additional supports have been provided there's been additional money that's been placed into the hospital to allow for more beds to be created but it is the variants of concern that are a priority right now in dealing with them trying to get them under control. We know from the modelling that's been done that the variants are going to become the dominant strain within the next several weeks but we're very aware of the concerns in Thunder Bay and are sending extra help to help the local medical officer of health deal with this outbreak. Supplementary question. Again, my question is for the Premier. While we're on the subject of COVID in Thunder Bay, I wanted to speak about providing healthcare at home. As we speak, I would like to thank the Premier for providing healthcare at home. As we struggle with high rates of community spread in Thunder Bay we could provide care at home instead of hospitals. This is one more way we could keep people safe. My constituents Shawna receives transfusions every day at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Science Centre. Shawna would greatly benefit from having her treatment in her home but because she can take care of herself without help transfusions at home are not funded. What will the ministry do to help as many people as possible to stay safe and receive the healthcare they need at home? Minister of Health. Thank you. Well, the member is absolutely right that we are doing whatever we can to make sure that people can be treated at home if their health condition permits it. That's why we passed the Connecting People to Home and Community Care Act which is going to modernize the delivery of home and community care by bringing an outdated system that was designed in the 1990s into the 21st century. There are many conditions where people can be treated at home. Dialysis is one example. Overnight dialysis and others as well but we're taking further steps to make sure that we are going to be able to allow people to stay in the comfort of their own home to receive treatment either by visiting nurses or personal support workers or in some cases we're able to make sure that we can connect people to a virtual assistance so that they can monitor their conditions at home without having to go either out to see their family doctor or to be admitted to a hospital. So we are redesigning and modernizing the system so what you've suggested can actually happen that people can be cared for in their own homes. The next question. The member for Don Valley East. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Long-Term Care. Mr. Your testimony to the Long-Term Care Commission makes it clear that while you and your deputy minister were concerned and you actually advocated for stronger and earlier restrictions in long-term care, those concerns were ultimately ignored. On June 17, 2020 the Premier told this House that the Minister of Long-Term Care had more experience than the entire opposition combined. Speaker, through you why does the minister believe that the Premier chose not to listen to her her deputy minister and her ministry over concerns when it came to earlier restrictions and increased staffing in long-term care homes? Minister Long-Term Care Thank you, Speaker. And thank you to the member opposite for the question. We were listening to the experts. Long-Term Care Homes are the frontline in the fight against COVID-19 and certainly as a family doctor for many, many years who started at age 14 looking after seniors. I spent 46 years looking after seniors and advocating for them. So this is very close to my heart. We implemented surveillance testing of residents and staff. It helped slow the outbreaks. And this layers and layers of defense while the science evolved why the experts around the world disputed the evidence it took months for the evidence to come forward. And as a minister of long-term care I took my responsibility my obligation and my duty very seriously. So when we go forward we understand the importance of staffing the importance of the capacity and both these two key areas were left to languish for so many years we're building 15,000 new beds. Thank you. Thank you very much. The supplementary question. Thank you. Thank you, Speaker. It's clear that the Premier was not listening to the minister of long-term care. Speaker the Premier told Ontarians that he was going to build an iron ring around long-term care homes. And on June 24, 2020 the Premier told this House that his minister of long-term care was up later than anyone else in this chamber making sure that that iron ring was there. But clearly there was no iron ring. And we know thanks to the minister of health that the Premier had no problem overriding the advice of the chief medical officer when it came to opening up COVID-19 testing to all Ontarians last spring. So Speaker, through you if the minister doesn't believe that the Premier chose to ignore the concerns that she voiced why did she not speak out sooner to ensure that there was in fact an iron ring around our long-term care homes here in Ontario. Minister of long-term care. Thank you Speaker. I'd like to remind I'd like to remind the chamber that it was the Premier who spent was constantly looking for PPE bringing manufacturing of PPE PPE to Ontario. And it was the Premier who listened to my concerns about asymptomatic spread about issues surrounding the lack of capacity in long-term care the lack of staffing and is the Premier who every step of the way made sure to advocate for more testing because that is exactly what we needed in long-term care because of asymptomatic spread. It is the Premier who went to bat for all the residents in long-term care and I appreciate everything that he did for Ontarians and continues to do. We're committed to addressing the long-standing neglect by the previous government for staffing, for capacity $1.9 million annually by 2024-25 it is a conservative government that is bringing the solutions to long-term care after decades of neglect and the self-righteousness wafting from the order order the next question Member for Chatham Kent Leamington Speaker my question is to the Minister of Children and Women's Issues Speaker last week on Monday we celebrated Human Trafficking Awareness Day we heard from the Solicitor General and this Minister about the devastating impact trafficking can have on individuals and their families it's also unimaginable that some would do something so horrific to another person we also heard that many victims are children and youth which potentially robs them of their well-being and futures this type of crime is disgusting and it cannot be tolerated I'm also proud to say that I've held three public seminars the last one had in excess of 600 people present comprised of parents, grandparents students, children, teachers, etc I'm grateful to community groups in Chatham Kent and Leamington for their assistance Victim Services, OPP Chatham Kent Police Services Chatham Kent Health Alliance and of course we also heard from survivors a real-life eye-opener can the Minister inform my constituents who haven't attended my town halls and other Ontarians what some of the signs of trafficking are the Associate Minister of Children and Women's Issues Thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to the member from Chatham Kent Leamington for that question and thank you for your incredible advocacy to support victims and survivors of human trafficking I would encourage all members of this House to host similar virtual town halls at this time it's incredible that you had over 500 people come out Mr. Speaker, raising awareness is the first line of defence in combating human trafficking that is why our first pillar in our anti-human trafficking strategy is raising awareness these signs include abuse such as bruising, cigarette burns, branding or tattoos of names or symbols not being allowed to speak for themselves don't have any belongings or money for children and youth in particular as they are being groomed you may notice that they are withdrawing from skipping school and hanging out with older groups of people wearing new clothes or changing their appearance like hair colour these are just some of the many signs that we all need to be aware of Trafficking can occur anywhere and to anyone it can be your daughter, your grand daughter your sister, your best friend at school your neighbour or even you and I encourage all Ontarians to go to ontario.ca to look for more signs about trafficking thank you thank you very much thank you minister for that response the minister is absolutely right raising awareness is the first line of defence but we cannot do that only in this house we need to be raising awareness and informing people about trafficking across Ontario it is imperative that more people understand that trafficking is happening and it's also equally as important that individuals know where they can go to get help so I thank the minister for providing that website and of course the phone number is on that website speaker one thing I often hear when speaking about this issue that it only happens in big cities like Toronto and not in small towns or areas like mine there are many other misconceptions about trafficking across the province speaker did you know that 401 it cuts through Chatham Kent and is not too far from Lemington as well motel and hotel owners need to be more aware of what's actually going on speaker clearly more needs to be done to inform the people of Ontario including our children and youth of what could happen so therefore speaker can the minister inform the house what she's doing and what this government is doing to raise more awareness about this issue the associate minister thank you speaker and thanks again to the member for that question speaking human trafficking can happen anywhere and to anyone and it is not limited to big cities that being said children and youth are more targeted and more vulnerable as well as indigenous women and girls 2SLGBTQ plus individuals and those in the child welfare system that is why we created programs last year to help these individuals learn about the signs for themselves and for their friends I want to commend again the minister of transportation for working to raise awareness at on routes across the province speaker I am also so proud of our government and the campaign we launched to raise awareness as many in the house have seen we worked to create ads for children youth and parents so they know the signs these ads could be seen across different media platforms and I also want to encourage everyone to go to twitter and check out at stop trafficking to learn more it's a great tool to and full of information speaker this is a crime that can quite occur and devastate lives but if we all work together to raise awareness and inform our constituents about it we can save lives and build better futures thank you the next question member for Parkdale High Park thank you speaker my questions to the premier over the last year small businesses have suffered like never before they are counting on timely and reliable support from this government that's why I'm alarmed by the number of small businesses in Parkdale High Park who have been unable to access the Ontario small business support grant some are waiting for a decision more than six weeks after applying and others have been denied the grant because of a wrong assessment small business owners and workers cannot afford to wait the bills are piling up what is the premier doing to address this thank you very much speaker and I'm glad to hear the member address the importance of assisting small businesses throughout this very difficult time speaker I want to remind this house of just a few of the measures we've introduced from the beginning to support small businesses to reduce property taxes up to 30% a permanent measure for small businesses the NDP voted against that speaker we reduced the EHT tax on jobs that means 30,000 of the smallest small businesses in this province will save on that tax the NDP voted against that speaker we invested 680 million dollars an additional investment into broadband infrastructure bringing the total to a billion dollars speaker the NDP voted against that in fact when it comes to actually putting action behind the word speaker the NDP has a lot of talk but when it comes to the action speaker to support small businesses what do we get from the NDP crickets the supplementary question speaker one small business owner in my riding has been waiting for weeks just to be able to make a small change to his application another was asked by an administrator to send documents to an email address that doesn't exist these operational failures are acceptable for small businesses on the brink of survival can the premier ensure that every small business affected by these issues will receive the Ontario small business support grant thank you very much speaker and I'm very proud of this small business program in fact over a billion dollars a billion dollars has reached the hands of the small businesses throughout Ontario speaker in fact the average waiting time for those applicants for the small business support grant program speaker is 12 days 12 days speaker and that means that people in Toronto have received over 200 million that is real relief that businesses can put towards weathering the storm speaker now when it comes to certain application the ones that are more complex or the ones that have errors will take longer but the average time is 12 days speaker and I want to encourage the member if there are challenges with that to contact us we will help them through that application process to make sure that we are able to do that until COVID-19 is a memory for all of us thank you the next question the member for York thank you speaker my question is to the minister of education parents and caregivers all over Ontario are shocked and scared by the cruelty of child isolation policies articulated by regions and school boards across the province peel in York regions ask parents of dismissed cohorts to keep children isolated from others including family doctor Richardson and especially for young children that could prove significant and long lasting psychological effects yesterday associate chief medical officer of health clarified that the province would like kids to be completely isolated along with one caregiver and kept away from the rest of the family but use common sense what common sense speaker how about single family parent households or parents working shifts away from home this government keeps inventing policies that defy human life public health has simply lost their mind my question to the minister does he disagree with the doctors who insist that child isolation policies may amount to child neglect will he immediately put an end to such policies and will he apologize for the cruelty displayed by this government and public health Ontario the deputy premier and minister pal thank you speaker well as the member may know that guidance has been changed by doctor low he's not recommending complete isolation for children as a result of COVID and he has walked that back he did actually when he attended at the University of Toronto Mississauga campus vaccination clinic yesterday he indicated that his guidance had been misinterpreted and he clarified it so it's not as terrible as the member is suggesting it's very reasonable considering the guidelines that we all need to follow the supplementary question speaker I have not heard a response and in fact the chief medical officer of health clarified that it should be a separation with one caregiver but this is a cruel and unusual policy is almost province wide Lampton wants children to stay in their room at all times including meals TDSB Wellington County and others have similar policies Dr. Fulford a pediatric infectious disease specialist from Hamilton doesn't understand how any healthcare professional moves so far away from doing harm doing no harm but they would propose to incarcerate a child in a room for 14 days as spokesperson said the minister had absolutely nothing to do with the development or approval of these guidelines then or now that's the minister of education so the minister of education is advocating responsibility and tries to pin this debacle on public health the government loves to say that there will always tell clear advice of the public health experts the episode taught all Ontarians everything we need to know about the state of public health in the province of Ontario my question to the minister of education given the experience of the last few days with cruelty and incompetence by public health authorities on full display do you still believe that it's appropriate always rely on the advice of the experts at public health Ontario the response minister in fact the the leaders of public health Ontario have done a tremendous job at containing covid and now setting up the vaccination clinics and giving advice with respect to children in fact what the medical officers of health have always advocated is for a quick return for children to school that is one of the most important things that we can do for the child come to order and allow the minister to reply minister of health to reply thank you speaker the mental health and physical health of children is one of the most important things that we need to protect during this crisis and our public health units have done a tremendous job of doing that and bringing forward very sensible recommendations for us but the return to school is something that we brought back as forward as quickly as possible because we know that is vital for the mental and physical health and we know that mental health is going to be very challenged as a result of this even after everyone has been vaccinated the mental health concerns will persist and putting hundreds of millions of dollars into helping children and young people with their mental health concerns the next question remember for Algoma Manitula my question is to the premier the Ontario tourism industry is suffering they are angry and they are crying out for help my writing of Algoma Manitula and many outfitters face circumstances similar to those of Michelle and Tom Watson at KB launch who lost over 90% of their clientele due to the border restrictions accumulating growing debt month after month is not an option for these tourist outfitters within the tourism sector premier the bleeding continues while this government stands idly by businesses are dying and so is Ontario's tourism will this government step up and expand emergency programs to finally ensure that all Ontario tourism based businesses are included thank you very much speaker and of course we recognize on the government benches and we have from the beginning of this pandemic that the tourism sector has been severely impacted by COVID-19 and that's why we've outlined a series of small business measures throughout this pandemic from the beginning of since March of 2020 supporting these businesses not just today but allowing for permanent tax reductions whether it was the EHT the tax on jobs or property taxes for these operators so they can not only weather this storm today but be prosperous once again tomorrow speaker I'm glad to hear that the members opposite are finally talking about small business businesses that have a lot of support they voted against it all year last year they voted against it in the budget this time around and recognizing that more needs to be done when we table our budget this year the NDP will support the measures we're going to have to continue to support the tour operators here in the great province of Ontario the supplementary question speaker here's a few more proposals to help this government and the tourism based businesses across this province immediate grants that have many businesses simply don't qualify for help as the current criteria and funding is far too limited New Democrats propose a series of measures through the SAVE Main Street plan to help small businesses keep their head above water will this government take the measures I just mentioned expand the eligibility of the Ontario small business support grant today and actually ensure that our tourism industry survives this unprecedented crisis thank you very much thank you very much and I want to let the house know that over almost 80,000 successful applications have been granted in the province and that means that $1.1 billion has been flowed to these businesses who need help right now recognizing of course that the tourism sector has been hit very hard speaker hundreds of millions of dollars have been allocated to support this ministry more of course needs to be done more will be done to support these hardworking businesses and we look forward to working with the members opposite for that recovery path we're hoping this time around that the members will actually support and vote in favour of those measures that support small businesses instead of standing in this house every day and rejecting through action the support measures that we put in place we look forward to that collaboration and I'm encouraged to hear the member opposite very much member for Scarborough thank you speaker my question is to the premier in a few weeks the temporary residential evictions moratorium the Canada emergency wage subsidy and the Canada emergency rent subsidy are scheduled to end while the federal government has indeed stepped up to help Ontarians weather this pandemic the provincial government continues to hoard $4 billion in standard contingency funds with just four weeks left in the fiscal year individuals throughout the province are making sacrifices based on the understanding that we need to support each other and to get through this pandemic we are only beginning the process of vaccinating all Ontarians and we still face the threat of COVID variants small businesses in Scarborough and on main streets across Ontario need certainty speaker does the premier intend to extend the moratorium on evictions until we have everyone in this province vaccinated and we can truly open the economy and get people back to work government house thank you very much Mr. Speaker I appreciate the many questions within that look as we said right from the beginning as the premier has been very vocal upon when we started out with this pandemic a certain commitment was made between the government the federal government and the provincial governments the federal government would handle transversed individuals and people and that allowing us to pour billions of dollars into health and long-term care Mr. Speaker that is a commitment that has worked well that is why we have been saying right from the beginning that we need to have cooperation not only with our federal partners but with our municipal partners of course it's been enunciated by the Minister of Labor with a one point over one billion dollar plan for sick for sick pay so we will continue to advocate for the people the province of Ontario to continue to have the resources that we need for health and long-term education we are of course continuing to encourage the federal government to continue with programs that help individuals as well as those that we are the supplementary question Mr. Speaker this government continuing to hoard billions of dollars in contingency funds is not working well for everyday Ontarians Mr. Speaker we have seen from the FAO's Labour report and from Stats Canada that tourism restaurants, hospitality and service sectors have been the hardest hit by COVID-19 it is also understood that these sectors will be the last to recover once the pandemic is over last week the City of Toronto announced it has cancelled all outdoor events up to and including Canada Day celebrations across the province expectations have been already drastically reduced for 2021 an example of this can be seen in Stratford where the Stratford Festival announced its season will be merely 5% of normal year's attendance if it is cancelled or scaled back the spin-off jobs will will not come back either we see a youth unemployment rate of 22% so is this government in its upcoming budget investing in skills development for jobs seeking Ontarians Member for Willardale well thank you Speaker and there is a lot to unpack in that answer there and more supports will be outlined for small businesses I look forward to tabling that budget later this month but the opposite continues to mention contingency funds I guess the member thinks that if she repeats the same claim again and again that somehow it will become true but Speaker the reality is that every dollar of the historic $13.5 billion contingency set aside to support and protect the lives and livelihoods of the people we serve has been used Speaker hard stop and I know the Liberals are stuck playing partisan games and referencing numbers from the second quarter of last year our government is planning for today preparing for the future during this very uncertain time so if the Liberals can't join us and it learns planning for that future please join us in the here and now please join us at least in 2021 thank you Mr. Speaker this question is for the Minister of Education Speaker a school in Scarborough is closed today due to an outbreak of COVID-19 where at least four people have tested positive for a variant of concern as of this morning COVID-19 cases are now being reported in over 13 percent of Ontario schools with 23 schools closed due to outbreaks 262 new school cases what's just as concerning is the number of asymptomatic cases that we do not know about a month ago the Minister finally announced support for asymptomatic testing for schools promising a program that would ramp up to 50,000 asymptomatic tests a week where are they where are they Mr. Speaker as of Friday only 2,853 tests have been conducted province wide in the last seven days this Minister knew last summer his own officials were saying get an asymptomatic broad testing program in place he refused when will the Minister pick up the pace Minister of Education I appreciate the constructive thoughts as always I want to just note some data points because obviously the member opposite does not check the web where we actually post our asymptomatic data since we started province wide this winter and as we started posting transparently the number of cases outbreaks in school closures since last September or the few provinces that did that at the beginning in York region we have 18 more schools identified for asymptomatic testing 31 in Hamilton 75 in the member city 124 in Ottawa 11 in Waterloo the list continues let me edify the member on the results so far in peel of the 118 tests conducted in the past days 0 cases were identified in Hamilton Catholic where 114 tests were completed 0 cases were identified in Hamilton Wentworth where 142 tests were completed 0 cases were identified Mr. Speaker there is about roughly 99.5% of schools that are currently open 99.5% are open 86.7% of schools have no active case report at all we are going to continue to invest to keep our schools safe thank you that concludes question period this morning I beg to inform the House that pursuant to standing order 101C a change has been made in the order of precedent on the ballot list for private members public business such that Ms. Burns McGowan assumes ballot item number 60 and Mr. Glover assumes ballot item number 75 we now have a deferred vote on the motion for second reading of bill 245 enact to amend and repeal various statutes to revoke various regulations and to enact the Ontario Land Tribunal Act 2021 the bells will now ring for 30 minutes during which time members may cast their votes I'll ask the clerks to prepare the logs