 It's now time for question period, the leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Premier, according to the Auditor General. This is the first time in the history of Ontario that the financial statements have been released without the Auditor General's opinion. An unprecedented action in Ontario's history and incredibly disrespectful to the Auditor General and the people of Ontario. But why was it released without the AG's opinion? That's the big question. Was it because she discovered the government has an $11 billion hole in their budget? Mr. Speaker, that includes $1.5 billion deficit this year, that's a lot of money. How will the government fill this hole? Is it going to be through new taxes, higher hydro rates, new fees, or will the Liberals just cut services? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Well, let me begin by saying, go Jays, go. We have accepted the Auditor General's numbers for this year. We released the documents despite the divergence in accounting opinions, specific to pension funds between Treasury Board officials and the auditor, as part of our commitment to openness and transparency. Because it was past the date, Mr. Speaker, when that information was to be in the public. In the meantime, we will be consulting with experts on how our pension assets should be accounted for moving forward. Officials will be engaging expert accounting community to support a full understanding of how that should be. Are you sure that we have found ourselves almost in the same spot as we have almost every day at the beginning of question period? I would ask that we try not to shell people down. I just don't think that's an appropriate thing to do. And I'll have to deal with that if I get a sense that that's all that's going to happen. Supplementary, please. Mr. Speaker, back to the Premier. Every time it looks like the Liberals are hiding something, it becomes just a matter of time until they get caught. First they tried to hide the cost of the gas plant scandal. We later found out that it cost over a billion dollars. Then the Financial Accountability Officer caught the Liberals when they were supposed to use the funds from the fire sale of Hydro One for transportation, and then it goes to the deficit. And now the Auditor General caught them trying to hide an 11 billion dollar hole in their budget. Mr. Speaker, I know our grade six students are failing in math, but I at least thought the government knew how to count. I expected better from this government. So my question is, directly to the Premier, why has the Auditor General given your government a failing grade on public accounts, directly to the Premier? President of the Treasury Board. Yes, thank you very much. And I'm very pleased to report that using the numbers that were suggested by the Auditor General, what we really showed yesterday was that in fact we have beat our deficit target, Speaker, for the seventh year of that very important, because what shows that what is happening with the province's books and with the province's fiscal performance is in fact we are managing our economy prudently and we are on target to reach our goal of balancing the budget in 1718. We in fact showed that we had a projection originally of an 8.5 billion deficit. We now have a 5 billion deficit last year. We beat our projection, Speaker. Mr. Speaker, back to the Premier. Sometimes I wonder what fantasy world this government is living in. When it comes to believing this government or the Auditor General, I'm with the Auditor General. The Auditor General is saying that there is an 11 billion dollar hole in the budget and there is now an additional 1.5 billion dollars away from balancing the budget. Why this government continues to ignore and disrespect the Auditor General is beyond me. And on the flip side you have the government saying that everything is fine, that their numbers add up. The Auditor General is saying very clearly that it doesn't... I made mention of it so now I'm going to start to fulfill it. The Minister of Agriculture come to order, the Minister of Transportation come to order. And if I do hear any other interjections I'll deal with those too, especially when I'm trying to get attention. Please finish. So Mr. Speaker, instead of ignoring the Auditor General, how is this government going to make up the 1.5 billion dollars in their current budget? And additionally, Mr. Speaker, how does this government reconcile the fact that they're the first government in Ontario's history to release public accounts without the Auditor General's opinion? It's beyond me. I'm going to ask that the members on the same side of the questioner not interject as well. Premier. Sorry, President. Thank you. So let's go over this one more time calmly. When we tabled our budget in 2015, we projected that the 15-16 year would result in a deficit of 8.5 billion. When we tabled our budget, the current year budget last spring, 2016, we said that the interim projection for a deficit would be 5.5 billion. And what did we actually achieve using the Auditor General's numbers? We achieved a deficit of 5 billion. In other words, we beat the budget target using the Auditor General's numbers by 3.5 billion. The member from Pitching Accounts told us from the order. You do have a wrap-up sentence if you want one. Yes, thank you. So to me, it is good news that, A, we got the financial information out to the public, and B, that we've beaten our deficit target for seven years in a row. New question, the leader of the opposition. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Premier. Yesterday I saw firsthand how great the faculty, the facilities, and the students are at Yes I Can Nursery. I understand why the Premier fought passionately for funding this wonderful nursery nine years ago. And because of that, I can't understand why this Liberal government have turned their back on Yes I Can. The government has made a decision to cancel its annual funding. They have asked Yes I Can Nursery for a wind-down plan from the school. Without provincial support, Yes I Can may have to close its doors, and Ontario would lose 130 precious childcare spaces. Mr. Speaker, why is this Liberal government's turning their back on Yes I Can? Do they not appreciate this is their responsibility? Do not pass the buck, do not say it's some other level government. This has always been funded by the province of Ontario for the last nine years. It's been in existence for 26 years. Helping children don't abandon them. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So far from walking away from this school, which does provide great service to kids, Mr. Speaker, and I have been a champion of the program in North Toronto. It's a great program, Mr. Speaker. And in fact, Yes I Can Nursery school receives $300,000 a year for provincial dollars that flow to the city and flow to the nursery school, Mr. Speaker. That money continues to flow. The reality is, Mr. Speaker, that for some time we have been officials in the Ministry of Education and Children Youth Services have been trying to get the nursery school to sit down and to work to come up with a budget and a sustainability plan, Mr. Speaker. Our provincial officials are perfectly willing to continue to sit with the nursery school. But, Mr. Speaker, there does have to be an open budgeting process. There has to be a conversation with the city officials. We're willing to be part of that, but it has to happen, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, again to the Premier. The Premier continues to stress that, yes, I can continue to operate and there's some flow through funding. That is not correct. According to the local Toronto City Council in the area, who said yesterday at the press conference, they said there is no city mechanism for this autism funding. There is no flow through funding that can be used. Your local Toronto City Councilor is saying you're wrong. This nursery is saying the Premier is wrong. There is only one level of government that is polling funding. Polling $150,000 to take care of these children. It's not right. It's wrong. You fought for these children nine years ago. Why are you banning them today? Why? Be seated, please. Thank you. The way funding for childcare and these programs works is that the money from the province flows to the municipality and the municipality allocates those out. The member from Dufferin County in second time. Finish, please. Part of it is wage subsidy. Part of it is for other programs, Mr. Speaker, but that money flows through to the municipality. That's why it's imperative that, yes, I can, sit down with city officials and, as I say, provincial officials who have been part of the conversation are perfectly willing to sit down with them to come up with a sustainability plan. But, Mr. Speaker, there has to be an open budgeting process. There has to be a sustainability plan and that has to be done in conjunction with the city officials. And I know Jay Robinson, who is the city councillor, would understand that that's the process that needs to happen. Thank you. Final supplementary. Mr. Speaker, in the Premier's response, opening budget process or speaking lines, they're taking $150,000 away. That's why it's closing. You've got the local city councillor saying, there is no Toronto mechanism. You have a Liberal senator come down from Ottawa who's passionate, Jim Munson, on autism funding, saying this is the wrong thing for the government to do. I just want to understand why this government continues to go after these families. First, they took families with children with autism to the courts. Then, they tried to cancel the IBI funding. And now you have 130 kids, many of them, most of them children with autism, and this Premier is abandoning them. No government is walking away. There's no municipal mechanism. There's no federal mechanism. The funding is provincial and you are abandoning them. It's the wrong thing to do. Stop this attack on children with autism. Thank you. Thank you, Mr Speaker. I'm pleased to rise today as the Associate Minister of Education to address this. First of all, I want to make it clear that our government is committed to ensuring that every child has access to the supports that they need. And this is so important when it comes to our children during their early years. Our government is committed to giving our kids the best start in life. That's why we are making historic investments. We are creating another 100,000 licensed child care spaces for zero to four year olds over the next five years. It's a historic investment. We have more than double the child care funding to municipalities to over a billion dollars a year. That is why we are also providing funding to the City of Toronto who then funds a number of local child care programs including the Yes I Care Nursery School at $300,000 a year. We are committed to ensuring that a good program like this gets the support that it needs. Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Premier. Yesterday I asked the Premier about people I met across Ontario who are struggling to pay their hydro bills. They have student loans that they can barely afford. They're paying for child care that's only getting more and more expensive in this province. They're having to stop saving for their kids' education because their bills are simply too high, Speaker. The Premier said she has an enormous amount of sympathy. People don't need sympathy, Speaker. They need action. We'll give you all utility companies. Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Well, the reason that I talked about the sympathy is because we have taken action and we are taking action to deal with the problems that people are facing in their lives every single day and the leader of the third party began by talking about tuition. Well, Mr. Speaker, that's exactly why we believe tuition should be free for students from low-income families. The third party talked about child care. That's exactly why, Mr. Speaker, we think there needs to be more child care, particularly for the zero to four years, which is why 100,000 new spaces over five years is critical, Mr. Speaker. And the fact that we are the provincial portion of the HST off-electricity bills to further reduce bills for people in rural communities, Mr. Speaker, and to work with small businesses so that they will have access to conservation initiatives so they can save money. All of that comes out of that sympathy, Mr. Speaker. Whether this premier chooses to admit it or not, life is becoming more and more unaffordable for the people of this province, all across Ontario. People are already struggling to pay for child care, pay off student loans that they've been paying for a decade, and on top of that, the hydro bill keeps climbing and climbing and climbing. People don't know what to do, Speaker. They didn't vote to turn hydro one or their local utility into private for-profit companies, and they cannot afford for that to happen. Will this allow the sell-off of our hydro system in the province of Ontario? Mr. Speaker, underlying this question as has been the case for many months now is an ideological position that argues that we should not build new transit. We should not make investments in new infrastructure by leveraging assets that have been owned by the people of the province for many years. Mr. Speaker, that we shouldn't make those investments, that we shouldn't invest in new assets for the people of Ontario that are needed in 2016, Mr. Speaker. So we categorically reject that notion. We believe that investing in roads and bridges and transit across the province is necessary. We're demonstrating, Mr. Speaker, that those investments are creating economic growth and we are going to continue to foster economic growth across the province. Mr. Speaker, even the financial accountability officer says the Premier's got it wrong. You don't sell off a revenue-generating asset to pay for infrastructure. It's the wrong, I really think the Premier needs to know, is that all the families in Ontario that I've been talking to are telling us that they cannot afford their hydro bills. They're not in Kitchener and in Hamilton in Niagara Falls. They're not alone. It's happening everywhere. Everywhere, they're seeing their bills go up and their paychecks are staying the same. They can't afford private power generation. They can't afford private power transmission. They can't afford private local utilities speaker. The Premier is not an innocent bystander in this mess. She can take action and she needs to take action. Will she stop the sell-off of our electricity system? Premier. Mr. Speaker, as the leaders of the third party continues to try to conflate these issues, I talked about the need for us to make investments in infrastructure and that's the asset discussion. If she wants to have the conversation about the electricity price increases, Mr. Speaker, we are very aware that the investments that have been made in order to upgrade the system, in order to have a 90% clean, emissions-free grid in this province by shutting down the coal-fired plants, by jump-starting a renewable industry, Mr. Speaker, the cost associated with that and the investments that we've made. And so, Mr. Speaker, we have put in place programs to address those challenges. So we've removed the debt-retirement charge, Mr. Speaker, from people's bills. We've put in place the Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit. I think the message is being sent. The O-Income Energy Assistance Program, Mr. Speaker, the Northern Ontario Energy Credit and most recently we have announced that we are going to be removing the 100% the provincial portion of the HST from people's bills. We understand that we need to take action and we are, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Any questions? If I was looking across the aisle at a Conservative Premier and they said to me that they wanted to sell off Geronohydro and every other local utility, I'd be disappointed, Speaker, but I wouldn't be surprised. People expect Conservatives to say that's what they do, but that's not what the Liberal Party ran on, Speaker. People were deeply let down when this Premier announced out of the blue that she was actually going to sell off Hydro-1. Now everybody is worried that she's actually planning to help privatise their local utilities. Will this Premier rule out any further sell-offs? Thank you. Government exists to make decisions in the best interests of the people that it serves. I believe that if a government looks at a problem conceived that has been neglected by subsequent governments, Mr. Speaker, that has not paid attention to the economic growth of municipalities and has not made the investments necessary, then it is up to that government to make those investments and to find a practical way to do that. That is what we have done, Mr. Speaker. We have seen a problem. We trust that problem, and what we're seeing now, Mr. Speaker, is Ontario is one of the leaders in the country in economic growth. That's government's responsibility. Thank you. Supplementary. Speaker, people work really hard to save energy, but at the end of the day, people need to turn on the power to cool their homes, to cook their meals, to do their laundry. So when they see the Premier selling off Hydro One and encouraging the sell-off of local utilities like Toronto Hydro, they see a government helping people at the top make a hell of a lot of money while everyone else has to pay the price. I need to put it on the record. Please withdraw. They see a government helping people at the top, helping people at the top making a heck of a lot of money, while everyone else has to pay the price. People cannot afford it. Will this Premier stop her plan to sell off the Hydro utilities in this province, as well as stopping the sell-off of Hydro? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. The other responsibility that government has is to make sure that as decisions are made, if there are people who need support, that we put those supports in place, and to help people to deal with their expenses on a day-to-day basis. So, Mr. Speaker, we have, as I have said a number of times, we have put a number of programs in place, including most recently announcing that we're taking the provincial portion of the HST off people's bills. But, Mr. Speaker, our responsibility is broader than that. We have to look at other ways that people need support, and other ways that they can participate in the economy. So, for example, Mr. Speaker, making sure that every student in this province has access to primary education, no matter what their income is, Mr. Speaker, that is a responsibility of government. That's why tuition will be free starting in September 2017 for 150,000 students from long-term families that have taken in a package mean that we are paying attention to people's needs on every day. Thank you. I find it astounding that not once did this Premier say it's the government's responsibility because of 80%. The Premier wants people to believe that she has nothing to do with the privatisation of Toronto Hydro, but she's already giving them and the finance minister mentioned it yesterday $100 million in tax giveaways to facilitate that. And she's planning more tax giveaways, Speaker, in the hopes of privatising Toronto's hydro hoping that in fact that move will take the attention away and won't sell off of Hydro One. The problem is that there are people across Ontario who can't afford to pay any more, Speaker, and instead of making things better for them, the Premier is trying to help herself and her party yet again. Will this Premier admit that she's got no mandate to privatise Hydro One or a single local utility and stop all the privatisation from now? You know, it makes me smile when the third party talks about helping us and our friends when she references the decision around Hydro One. It was a hard decision, Mr Speaker. It was a very difficult decision because it was a practical decision based on a need that we saw as we looked to fulfil our commitment to invest in infrastructure in this province. It was not an easy decision. It's one of those decisions that government has to take in order to be able to move forward. So, Mr Speaker, we took that decision because we know that the neglect that infrastructure in this province had suffered over years, Mr Speaker. The lack of investment, the digging of holes and the filling in of those holes and the lack of maintenance across the north, Mr Speaker. That had to stop. We had to find the resources to make the... You do have a wrap-up sentence. Fade that decision, Mr Speaker and the leader of the third party wants to conflate the issue of that decision and electricity prices. It's just not the case, Mr Speaker. My question is to the Premier Speaker. Halloween came early, it appears, yesterday when the government was so spooked by my question about the public accounts that they treated us to a hastily held technical briefing, a press conference and unaudited financial statements. This is unprecedented. It's never happened in Ontario before. It showed an $11 billion hole in their budget and they tried to hide it by admonishing and undermining the auditor general. Despite the auditor's warning, this past June of accounting changes in her and then again in the 2015 auditor's report in Chapter 2 which I'll have one of the pages to cover. The government has been aware of this speaker for quite some time and they want to know as Ontarians how this government is going to pay for it. Are they going to cut services to kids with autism? Is it going to be even higher hydro bills, new taxes or are they going to trick us with all of the above? Thank you. Isn't it the Treasury Board? I think, Speaker, we should maybe go back to the beginning of the story which is that while there certainly has been an ongoing discussion between the public servants who do the accounts and the auditor general not I would say the politicians for the report, while there's been an ongoing discussion, the first notification that we got that the auditor general would not treat the pension treatment which had currently been used for the last 14 years. The Chief Government whip is warned. Particularly when giving an answer, let's not interject. For the past 14 years, since 2012 the auditors of Ontario have approved a particular accounting practice for Pimp. Leader of the member was to try to be helpful member from the P.N. Carlton second time. We were faced with the situation that the auditor presented us on September the 13th with written information that she was rejecting the treatment used in the past. Thank you. The member from supplementary, the member from Nipissing. My question is for the Premier. Yesterday the auditor general confirmed there's an 11 billion dollar hole in the government's budget. Rather than co-operate with the auditor general, the government went into full panic mode with a desperate news conference. Rather than address management, the government continues to break their legal obligations. They stonewall the province's independent officers. Speaker, there's a pattern here. And now they have released unaudited financial statements. No verification from the auditor general. Speaker, people in Ontario want to know what this government is hiding and how it affects them. I ask the Premier if the auditor general refuses to verify their numbers, how can we ever trust anything they tell us? We had advice from our public servants who we certainly hold in high regard that the books should be treated one way. We had advice from the auditor general that the books should be treated another way. The way cabinet resolved this was to actually pass a regulation that the auditor general's treatment would be used in 2015. So I would point out that using the treatment that the auditor general asked us to use, that in fact what we have is a five billion dollar deficit, which is three and a half billion dollars lower than what we originally projected in the budget speaker. We do not have some sort of panic as the person over there seems to think. What we have is the desire to get this information to the public so the public can figure out what is going on. But I want to assure you, we use the auditor's numbers. Thank you. Any questions? My question is to the Premier. The Premier promised to be better that she would ensure vulnerable children are a priority, but that has simply not been the case since September 18th QP workers in local 49-14 representing child protection, administrative and support staff at PLCAS have been on strike. Replacement workers are being paid outrageous amounts. No wonder there is distress in the system. Will the Premier step up and ensure that PLCAS workers can get back to doing the important work they do for vulnerable children? The Minister of Labour is going to want to comment in the supplementary but let me just say that I believe that negotiations have to be between the parties who are involved the best deals are found at the table. So I hope that both sides will come together and we will find a way through the negotiation. That is the way the collective bargaining process works best. Thank you. The minister should be protecting children instead of being forced to walk picket lines. Children need stability. The children's aid system definitely needs stability. Vulnerable children should be the priority of this government. Making sure that people who work with them are respected is a key part of that. When will the government stop making, when will they start making this about children in care and making sure that the people who provide the services are respected? Thank you, Speaker. As a former president of a children's aid society in this province, I well understand what the speaker is talking about when she asks about these types of issues, but we should be proud of the labor relations record we have in the province of Ontario. Collective agreements are reached in well over 90% of the disputes are reached without a resort to strike action speaker. When we reach an impasse speaker, Thank you. Thank you, Speaker. When we reach an impasse, like we have in this regard, Speaker, we have some of the best arbitrators, we've got some of the best mediators, the best conciliators speaker in the country that make themselves available to ensure that the parties are able to come to the collective agreement at the bargaining table. I would urge the parties to get back to the table and strike a deal. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the minister of advanced education and skills development. This spring our government made the exciting announcement that we're going to be making OSAP more generous for all students and actually making tuition free for low income students. Mr. Speaker, could the minister give us this house an update on what this government is doing to make free tuition a reality? Thank you, Minister of Advanced Education. Thank you, Speaker, and thank you for the question from the member from Etobicoke Lakeshore. When qualified students are prevented from attending post secondary education because of cost, we all lose. We are all better off when all students are prevented from attending post secondary education. That's why we're working hard to implement the most ambitious reform of student assistance in North America. I'm very happy under $50,000, but we're also supporting families that's progressive speaker, so up to $160,000 family income, those students will still receive aid, improved upfront grant speaker. I'm getting free tuition. So what we're saying to students is you do the work, you get the marks, you get accepted, we'll make sure that money does not stand in the way of our education. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the minister for her answer. Generous financial assistance is so important to ensuring that under represented students are able to reach their full potential. However, we know that some low income students never even applied education, let alone OSAP, because they assume the cost is too high. The sticker price of going to school can present a very real hurdle for low income students who may have a hard time understanding what financial assistance they may be eligible for. Through you, Mr. Speaker, can the minister tell us what our government is doing to tell students about these changes? Thank you, minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think that's absolutely right. Yes, financial barriers can keep students from pursuing higher education, but the perception of high costs and the fear of taking on debt can be a roadblock in and of itself, and that's why we're working hard to spread the word about OSAP reform. We're going to college and university fairs, we're talking to guidance counselors, we're going around the province to make sure that young people understand what doors our new OSAP can open for them. I had the opportunity to tour the Ontario University Fair, the Metro Convention Centre. 130,000 people attended that weekend, Speaker. I visited the old OSAP booth, I spoke to students, I spoke to parents, staff manning that booth said it was the busiest they've ever been. People are excited about this, but I'm also asking MPPs from all sides of the house to make sure students in their riding know that the doors of opportunity are open in Ontario. Thank you. Thank you, Mr Speaker. My questions to the minister of natural resources and forestry. After five years, four ministers, many FOIs and conversations with the I finally received some information regarding the special purpose account. As you know, the money collected from hunters and anglers licenses, royalties and fines is to be used solely to improve hunting and fishing in Ontario. However, I was shocked to see the money from hunters and anglers was going to purchase houses and psychologists. Speaker, would the minister be able to explain to hunters and anglers of this province how buying homes and paying for psychologists improves angling and hunting in Ontario? Thank you very much Speaker and I thank the member opposite for the question today. I wanted to take this opportunity to thank the conservation officers who provide enforcement for our hunters and anglers and programs throughout Ontario. Thank you very much. The member is talking about the special purpose account for our fish and wildlife programs. It costs about $100 million annually to pay for the fish and wildlife programs and services across Ontario. In 2015, the SPA the special purpose account gained $70 million and that goes to provide fish and wildlife management activities across Ontario. Some of those pieces talk about monitoring fish and wildlife populations, fish culture and stalking, fish and wildlife research management and planning, conservation of officers and enforcement, draws and licensing activities and hunter education to support that across Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, the lack of transparency and details continues with this new minister. Each minister I've dealt with four of them over the past five years have tried to hide the truth about expenditures and special purpose account. This summer, the Elmer District stakeholders received a response from the MNRF in regards to find out details of the special purpose expenses in our area. The response they received from the ministry was they do not track expenditures for the fish and wildlife special purpose account. However, the Financial Administration Act requires that receipts and disbursements be recorded for special account purposes. We know they have the information for hunters and anglers. Will the minister now release the details outlining how money from the special purpose account were spent and an explanation of how these monies have improved hunting and angling in Ontario? I'm not going to ask them to draw but the member was dangerously close to making an accusation that I cannot accept so I would warn anyone after this point not to go down that road, please. Supplementary. Thank you very much, Speaker. And again, I think the member opposite for the supplementary question. Staff that is funded from the the Fish and Wildlife Special Purpose account include but are not limited to biologists, scientists, conservation officers, fish culture staff, field staff and administration staff. Spenditures related to staff salaries and benefits are paid through the Fish and Wildlife SPA for those staff performing fish and wildlife management activities across Ontario. There are directives and guidelines in place that govern benefits and staff relocation entitlements when required. We have a process within the ministry to review each year program costs within the ministry and the Fish and Wildlife SPA. It costs about again, $100 million to pay for the Fish and Wildlife but yet that member when asked to pay for an increase in budget voted against that budget Thank you. Order, please. New question, the member from Kitchener Waterloo. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Speaker, this government has refused to give information to the financial accountability officer. They have attacked and they have undermined the auditor general for this province repeatedly over the years and now they have tabled the public accounts without the auditor general's opinion for the first time ever. There is a pattern here, Speaker. This government is making the kind of history that leaves people deeply disappointed. Will the Premier admit that this was a mistake and work with the auditor to retable audited public accounts for the province of Ontario? The Treasury Board? The Treasury Board? I will be absolutely delighted to table the public accounts but I cannot do that until we have an audit opinion from the auditor. That is why yesterday we released the consolidated financial statements in our annual report which is the same financial information is because we are awaiting an opinion from the auditor and I would point out that we in fact passed the deadline for the tabling of the public accounts last on the 27th and I am not able to table the public accounts until we have an opinion from the auditor. So when we get the opinion from the auditor I will indeed table the public accounts. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, they have an opinion. They just don't like that opinion. They are promised to have the most transparent and open government in Canada but that is not what people are seeing. The government is trying to avoid accountability very clearly. By tabling financials without an audit the Liberal government is releasing numbers that suit them, not the people of this province. We believe that the government should be about serving the people not the interests of the Liberal Party. Will the Premier commit to retabling the public accounts with the agreement of Ontario's nonpartisan auditor general? So just let me restate I do not have a written opinion from the auditor general. Once we have a written opinion from the auditor general I will be very happy to retable the accounts and they will say that we have not submitted financial statements which we released yesterday which is that the province has beaten its deficit target for the seventh year in a row. We have projected deficit, in fact we achieved a $5 billion deficit and that that is in fact the number that the auditor general requested that we use is $5 billion. $5 billion deficit which is $3.5 billion better than what we had projected in last year's budget. Thank you. Thank you Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister responsible for accessibility. Mr. Speaker, one in seven people in Ontario have a disability and this ratio is expected to increase to one in five over the next 20 years as our population ages. I speak regularly to the constituents in my writing of Davenport about accessibility in Ontario. They come in all the time and tell me that while Ontario has made great progress there is still a lot that we can do to remove barriers and increase accessibility for people with disabilities. Through the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act and Ontario's Action Plan the government has made a commitment to make Ontario accessible by 2025. With the House, some of the great work this government has done to move forward to make Ontario accessible by 2025. Thank you. Thank you. I want to thank the member from Davenport for this great question. October as we know is disability Employment Awareness Month and I will make a statement in the House this afternoon on that. I am happy to take this opportunity as Ontario's first minister for accessibility to share with the House what makes Ontario a leader in accessibility through our AODA and our Action Plan we are building on our strengths and sharpening our focus to engage businesses and promote cultural shifts. We have launched a marketing campaign focused on raising awareness of the employment standard for employers and later this year's speaker will be releasing our Provincial Employment Strategy for People with Disabilities and I completed the first ever review of the customer service standard and initiated the review of the transportation standard which is currently under way speaker and I am happy to share more in the supplementary. So thank you to the minister for sharing this information with the House it is great to hear that this government sees the value and importance of making Ontario accessible for all. I hear from my constituents all the time both business owners and customers about opportunities they have missed because of the barriers people with disabilities face. One of my constituents Sharon uses an electric scooter and visits my office regularly she recently told me that when a business is accessible not only do customers with disabilities serve to gain but the business benefits as well. While we know that organizations will make their services accessible gain a competitive advantage for businesses and businesses and organizations are unaware of this great opportunity. Can the minister explain how the government is engaging with businesses and business owners to understand the value and importance of becoming accessible. Thank you minister. Thank you I want to thank the member again for the question. We know that for business being accessible speaker is not just the right thing to do but the people with disabilities and their 2.3 billion family members friends caregivers and colleagues that amounts to $8 trillion speaker of disposable income globally that some businesses are unfortunately missing out because of the lack of accessibility greater accessibility Ontario of course means greater opportunity for all we're raising awareness through campaigns we're engaging in public education and providing support for businesses and of course regularly conducting compliance inspection audits we're working to ensure they're not only compliant with the law but to help businesses see the value of being compliant as well and we recognize the importance of making our province fully accessible. Thank you. Thank you very much My question is to the premier we've been listening to the minister of energy lauding your hydro rebate plan for rural insurance where farmers have been especially hit hard by increasing electricity bills Mr. Speaker farms run in energy and energy rates are one of the most expensive cost for our farmers yet the minister is telling farmers that off-peak is the ideal time to use electricity and I quote just farm during off-peak hours and you'll save money lots of money a third of your bill so my question for the premier is how can she explain just how her time of use prices would be of any use to a farmer Thank you so much Thank you Mr. Speaker I'm delighted to respond to the member's question because it's yet another example Mr. Speaker of the chameleon like tendencies of the new PC party one minute they're telling us Mr. Speaker that we should be trying to find ways to lower energy rates we come in with a rebate program that provides 8% across the board for users, small business users farmers and others and in all parts of the province Mr. Speaker much more than that all we get from the member opposite is critique and criticism Mr. Speaker we've responded to some of the concerns of our farmers I know our Minister of Agriculture listens very closely the concerns our farmers raise and Mr. Speaker we've brought in put in place a program that will provide significant discounts on energy costs for our farmers and for residents across the province Thank you Mr. Speaker I'm going to go back to the premier again I'm going to realize that her Liberal Protection Plan for Ontario farmers is moot she berates would be a serious game-changer for farmers the Ontario Federation of Agriculture has told you that a 4 to 100 could free up more than $1 billion a year of new disposable income for rural interns to invest in and build our rural economy but maybe the premier and her minister know better so I asked her how does she imagine getting Ontario's 360,000 dairy cows to give milk during off-peak hours Mr. Speaker I would refer this to the Minister of Agriculture Minister of Agriculture for rural affairs Thank you very much Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker I want to thank the supplementary for the member this morning in fact it's interesting enough you know I always read the commentary for the Ontario now I'll stand the member from Renfrew come to order Minister? Well thanks very much Mr. Speaker and I read the I read the very commentary from the Ontario Federation of Agriculture we have the President at our gallery today and it's interesting when our colleague the Minister of Energy announced the program there was a very positive commentary from the Ontario Federation of Agriculture in fact by the threshold level of the ICI there will be more far businesses the province of Ontario that could take advantage of that program Mr. Speaker Thank you Mr. Speaker Thank you Mr. Speaker Farmers are the foundation of our huge agricultural sector 750,000 jobs depend on farmers The risk management program was designed by farmers to insure them against the boom and bust cycles in agriculture the Liberal Government captured the program I didn't hear who the Liberal Government I said to the Premier The Liberal Government captured the program in the boom but since 2012 farm gate prices for corn, wheat, beef and pork have plummeted by half Premier will you lift the cap on the risk management program to help protect farmers from the oncoming bust Thank you Thank you very much Mr. Speaker I do appreciate the question from the member from Timissue and Carquin who's been an agriculture leader in the northeast The fact of the matter is it was a predecessor of mine, Carol Mitchell that canvassed broadly to all commodity groups that are not covered by supply management the province of Ontario it was this government that brought in a risk management program the only province in Canada that has such a program we did so to alleviate the challenges that they have prices that are determined by the Chicago exchange to level the playing field to give them support the 100 million dollar program is a place to do it and by recollection as Mr. Speaker we got no support for the opposition benches when that was in our budget Thank you Once again to the Premier the fact of the matter is that program was designed by farmers and the government to be bankable and predictable but then the government capped it so it's no longer bankable and predictable the fact of the matter is thousands of jobs rely on the stability of the farm community because as farmers get economically squeezed their processors can't rely on their products because they might not be there the government expects farmers to be stewards of the land with all their environmental rules yet they don't come through with the programs that actually help farmers survive once again will this government remove the cap to maintain the stability in the agriculture sector so we can retain the thousands, the hundreds of thousands of jobs that sector creates Thank you Well Mr. Speaker I want to thank the member for his supplementary the fact of the matter is we brought this program when Carol Mitchell predecessor Biden was here the reason we did so Mr. Speaker is because farmers in Ontario that are not covered by supply management wanted stability in their industry we want to get away from ad hoc programs so this government of course had extensive consultation with the non-supply management group in place we brought in a risk management program for Ontario farmers that's bankable and predictable to make sure we can address those concerns like we've had this past summer when parts of Ontario had unprecedented I was in the field meeting with those farmers to make sure that they knew that our program risk management program was a place Mr. Speaker to help them New question? The member from Perth Wellington Thank you Speaker My question is for the minister of community and social services it's about the families in crisis and many more on the brink they don't have the services they need to care for their adult children with developmental disabilities some families have no funding at all many are left sitting on wait lists the Ombudsman's report concluded that the government response to their plight was unreasonable and wrong the minister knows how important this is yet there was no mention of services for individuals with developmental disabilities in the throne speech why not Speaker and when will the government's response improve to something better than what the Ombudsman defines as unreasonable and wrong Minister of social community and social services Thank you very much Mr. Speaker and thank you to the member for the question because it gives me the opportunity to say how much I respect the individuals with developmental disabilities in this province, their families their caregivers and the challenges that they in fact face and certainly the comments made by the Ombudsman I found to be entirely unacceptable and this is why we're working so hard to ensure that no individual is left in unacceptable circumstances and this is why on this side of the house we're working so very hard many ministries are involved to ensure that we have seamless service for these individuals so my colleagues the Minister of Children and Youth the Minister of Education and I are particularly engaged in this file and this of course is why we have shown our commitment to those with developmental disabilities we are now spending some $2.11 billion per year on this particular sector Thank you Mr. Speaker Thank you Thank you Speaker I'm sure the Minister is sincere but the government continues pushing families to the brink of crisis before they take notice the Hintz family who I represent is one example we appreciate the Minister's interest but this family has endured months of stress and uncertainty the Forty family also needs help Lucas Forty needs passport funding but he's been on the wait list for over a year when Lucas turned 18 his funding stopped even though he is the same person with the same needs he was the day before now he has to use his ODSP check for all of his needs what will the Minister do for Lucas and his family and why did this government still say it's the same birthday by cutting off services to those with exceptional needs Thank you Mr. Speaker and of course I cannot comment on individual cases in this House but having said that I want to assure every member that if they become aware of urgent situations I and my ministry officials are anxious to look into the situation and look at any possible avenue of support and having said that I want to reiterate that our government did in fact introduce a budget that included $810 million for the sector over three years a budget that was voted against in fact by the opposition members and these funds have been put to exceptionally good use we're now supporting some 42,000 individuals with developmental disabilities direct funding for passport now to more than 18,000 individuals and we're currently supporting some 18,000 individuals for residential supports Thank you Mr. Speaker Thank you Mr. Speaker My question is to the Premier According to Statistics Canada there are about 1.8 million people who live in rural Ontario the Premier has told Ontarians in rural Ontarians that they will see an additional 12% in average savings off their hydro bill from an enhanced rural rate relief program but as it turns out only 330,000 rural customers will see the extra savings including non-residential customers When will the government tell the people in Kenora Rainey River how many of them will be getting 20% off their hydro bills and how many won't Thank you Minister of Economic Development Thank you Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker the changes that we made are going to provide 110 million dollars of support and relief to rural and remote customers and Mr. Speaker that information was put forward when the minister made the announcement so it was very clear to those residents Mr. Speaker as to where it applies and where it doesn't and Mr. Speaker I know that the ministers work very closely with communities to identify where this applies at the end of the day Mr. Speaker every resident in Ontario gets an 8% discount off their bill that's where it starts 8% off their bill significant rebate Mr. Speaker we heard very much from residents and we've responded we know that there are challenges in rural Ontario as well and we know Mr. Speaker that we've responded to that because depending on where they're at whether they're in remote communities or not they'll be getting up to 20% off their bill which is good news Mr. Speaker thank you Mr. Speaker new regulations will force local utilities to start adding special government messaging about the rural rate relief on their hydro bills but you can bet that those bills won't mention that most northern and rural Ontarians are not getting the full 12% savings in the rural rate relief and they need relief one woman in my riding recently wrote to me about the out of control of the high hydro rates she said my husband is on disability my goal now is to work until 70 and then drop dead because she simply can't afford to pay her hydro bill and too many others in Kanora Rainey River are literally being driven out of the province because of the high hydro rates when will the premier tell us how many people in Kanora Rainey River will actually get the full 12% in rural rate relief thank you Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker as I said before the new regulation includes an additional $110 million of support for rural and remote residents it's very important that we do that and it does depend on whether they're in an urban area or a rural area those rules have been outlined and Mr. Speaker they'll have to work through that to determine where in fact those residents live but we've been very clear about it that the people in this province get an 8% discount we've heard, we've responded Mr. Speaker we're ensuring that those residents get a break on their energy bills Mr. Speaker I think that's what the people in this province expect and I think they'll be very pleased to get that it'd be nice if the NDP were positive about it thank you Mr. Speaker the member from Kingston in the audience Mr. Speaker my question is for the Minister of Labor often when we think of occupational injuries we think of those that cannot be seen by looking at a person a cut or a broken bone over the course of the last few years we've heard more about all sorts of injuries that can occur in workplaces that we cannot spot by simply looking at someone mental health is an example of this another example are pains and strains are MSD's musculoskeletal disorders exactly the type of work being researched by Dr. Rainbow and his team at the state-of-the-art high-speed skeletal imaging laboratory at Queens University these injuries can be debilitating and impact Ontarians from working to their full potential or even at all can the Minister please share with the House what the Ministry of Labor is doing to prevent MSD's in Ontario workplaces thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to the member from Kingston the islands for her tremendous advocacy when it comes to occupational health and safety speaker and she's correct not all the illnesses not all the injuries that take place in the workplace are actually ones that we can see Speaker every day workers in this province use their muscles their tendons their ligaments their joints they lift they carry they sit they stand they move in a variety of ways Speaker in order to do the work in the job they have sometimes that can put a little bit too much demand on your body can cause pain discomfort but it can lead to more serious injuries Speaker and it can lead to something called MSD October is the month that we recognize ergonomic speaker our Ministry of Labor our health and safety partners will be raising awareness of MSD's right throughout the province of Ontario so Speaker I want to take this opportunity to encourage employers and workers to take part in these planned activities it's going to prevent injuries Speaker there's no understanding order 38A the member from Elgin Middlesex London has given notice of his dissatisfaction with an answer to his question given by the Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry concerning expenditures on the special purpose account this matter will be debated today at 6 p.m. we have a deferred vote on the motion of closure and the motion is second reading of bill number 2 calling the members this will be a 5 minute bill let's take your seats thank you on September the 21st 2016 Mr. Nack we move second reading of bill 2 with various statutes with respect to election matters Mr. Dugud has moved that the question be now put all those in favour of Mr. Dugud's motion please rise one at a time be recognized by the clerk Mr. Dugud Mr. Bradley Mr. Nack Ms. Sandler Ms. Wynn Mr. Matthews Mr. Hosskins Mr. Shirelli Mr. McCharles Mr. Delady Mr. Gravelle Mr. Murray Mr. Chan Mr. Meridian Mr. Hunter Mr. Leo Mr. Flynn Mr. Orzetti Mr. Codrick Mr. Dixon Mr. Dixon Ms. Manga Ms. Crack Mr. Ballard Ms. Nidu Harris Mr. Fraser Mr. Anderson Mr. Baker Mr. Don Ms. Hogarth Ms. Kuala Ms. Martin Mr. Milch Mr. Pot Mr. Bernal All those opposed please rise one at a time be recognized by the clerk Mr. Wilson Mr. Hardim Mr. McCloud Mr. Jones Mr. Brown Mr. Clark Mr. Fidelli Mr. Hillyer Mr. Miller Mr. McNaughton Mr. Scott Mr. Monroe Mr. Bailey Mr. Walker Mr. Harris Mr. Van Mr. Singh Mr. Horvath Mr. Tabin Mr. Miller Mr. Taylor Mr. Nattesha Ms. Armstrong Ms. Campbell Mr. Monta Mr. Hatfield Mr. Gretzky Mr. Gates The eyes are 51 the nays are 40 The eyes being 51 the nays being 40 I declare the motion carried Mr. Naughty has moved second reading of bill 2 An act to amend various statutes with respect to election matters Is it a pleasure to house the motion carried I heard a no All those in favor please say aye All those opposed to the motion please say nay In my opinion the ayes have it Calling the members this will be a five minute bill Mr. Naughty has moved second reading of bill 2 An act to amend various statutes with respect to election matters All those in favor of the motion please raise One at a time be recognized by the clerk Mr. Nattesha Mr. Bradley Mr. Del Duque Mr. Horvath Mr. Shirelli Mr. Duque Mr. McCharles Mr. McMeaghan Mr. McCall Mr. Gravel Mr. Murray Mr. Chan Mr. Moriti Mr. Hunter Mr. Leal Mr. Flynn Mr. Orzetti Mr. Orzetti Mr. Caudry Mr. Dixon Ms. Manga Ms. Crab Ms. McGarris Ms. Wong Mr. Fraser Mr. Anderson Mr. Baker Ms. Kuala Ms. Martin Mr. Milchin Mr. Rinaldi Mr. Brineo Mr. Hillier Mr. Brown Mr. Wilson Mr. Brown Mr. Fidella Mr. Miller Mr. McNaught Mr. McNaught Mr. Monroe Mr. Bailey Mr. Walker Mr. Harris Mr. McDonnell Mr. Pettipi Mr. Choe Mr. Singh Mr. Novo Mr. Tabby Mr. Miller Hamilton Mr. Taylor Ms. Armstrong Ms. Campbell Mr. Humont Mr. Hatfield Mr. Gretzky Mr. Gates Those opposed, please rise one at a time and be recognized by the clerk. Nays are zero. The ayes being 91, the nays being zero. I declare the motion carried. Second reading of the bill. District Lecture Project de loi. The bill be ordered for third reading. To move on to the back of what the other commentof. Thank you. Peace, my name is