 It is now time for oral questions. I recognize the Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition. Thank you, Speaker. Thank you, Speaker. My first question this morning is for the Premier. We know that the Long-Term Care Commission obtained notes from the Minister of Long-Term Care regarding what was happening in long-term care with COVID-19. On April the 17th, 2020, just last year when we were in the first wave, this is what the Minister had jotted down in her notebook, and I quote, military plan needed. Get them within 24 to 48 hours. Homes spiral down quickly. The Premier didn't ask for the Canadian Armed Forces to help Ontario until five days after that note was jotted down and they didn't arrive until 12 days later. In fact, they didn't arrive to Downsview until early June. So the question is, why did the Premier wait five days after this note was written by the Minister to actually call the CAF to get some help to those homes? Good question. And to reply, the Government House Leader. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And the Leader of the Opposition is correct in how important the Armed Forces was to helping us stabilize some of the homes through the first wave. Mr. Speaker, as you know, there was a whole of government effort, especially during the first wave to improve capacity in our acute care system, as well as assist in the long-term care system, Mr. Speaker. As I mentioned yesterday, look, we were on the defense for a better part of a year when it came to fighting the first wave of COVID ostensibly because of the situation that we had been left in by the previous government. We are making significant progress in ensuring that our long-term care system is better equipped not only to handle future pandemics, God forbid that that should happen again, but to provide the best quality of care for the people of the province of Ontario who have been so important to help them build this province. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Supplementary question. Well, Speaker, the military debriefing notes tell quite the horrifying story of what they found in long-term care when they did arrive. Two homes down Zune Hawthorne were infested with cockroaches. They also found 26 seniors who died when all they needed was water. The Minister of Long-term Care knew that the Canadian Armed Forces were needed on April 17th, and yet they didn't arrive for over 12 days. The Premier didn't even ask for them until five days after she was aware that they were necessary. So did the Minister of Long-term Care not bring this necessary request to the Premier's attention, or did the Premier simply not act on it quickly enough? Will you apply? The Government has a statement. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Look, as I've said, and I'll say it again and I'll say it throughout question period, I suspect the Armed Forces was in a very important part of helping us stabilize a number of long-term care homes in the province of Ontario through the first wave. We saw across Canada that, in fact, our long-term care homes in many provinces needed the assistance of the Armed Forces in particular in both Ontario and in Quebec, Mr. Speaker. We were moving very, very quickly throughout the first wave. As I said and I'll repeat again, Mr. Speaker, we were left on a defensive posture for much of the first wave as we attempted to catch up to the lack of investment that we had inherited. Mr. Speaker, whether it was infection prevention and control measures, whether it was renovating old homes that needed to be fixed, quite frankly, the addition of greater capacity in the system, dealing with the health and human resources, Mr. Speaker. There's a lot of work that needed to be done that we inherited. We're getting it done, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. And the final supplement, please. Thank you, Speaker. Back to the Premier. You know, the military are people who are trained for combat and they are actually trained to expect the worst. The military staff in the notes that we saw indicate that they were horrified at the very idea of having to return to any of these homes. In fact, the very thought of it in one person's words is that it sucked the life right out of you, the idea of having to return. One medic said that they saw more death in one week in their long-term care stint than they had in all of their other tours of duty combined. On April 17, the Minister of Long-Term Care indicated that she needed to get the CAF, the Canadian Armed Forces, into long-term care immediately. But there was a delay. So the question is, who's responsible for the delay? Is it the Premier that delayed or was it the Minister of Long-Term Care that didn't identify to the Premier quickly enough to get the CAF? Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I said, the Canadian Armed Forces played a vital role, especially in the first wave in helping us address some of the shortcomings that became evident in long-term care homes when the advice or the request was made were very appreciative of the Armed Forces coming in. They did it as quickly as they possibly could in both Ontario and in Quebec, Mr. Speaker. But the whole system highlights and the Commission Report highlights the problems that we inherited in the system, whether it was underfunding, Mr. Speaker, whether it was homes that were old and in desperate need of renovations, whether it was the health and human resources. PSWs who have been working so hard for so long, but were underfunded, Mr. Speaker. So we moved quickly before the pandemic, during the pandemic, and since the pandemic to address the things that we knew, some of the problems that we knew were happening in the long-term care, Mr. Speaker, whether it's four hours of care, firing 27,000 additional PSWs, Mr. Speaker. The Armed Forces was an important part of the first wave, Mr. Speaker, and we're appreciating all of the work that they did for us. Next question, once again, the Leader of the Opposition. Thanks very much, Speaker. My next question is also to the Premier. This one is going to be about vaccinations, and particularly the second doses. People are very anxious to know when it is that they're going to be able to get their second shot. And they want to know so that they don't have to scramble at the last minute like they've had to do for the first shot. Four months is what was expected, but now apparently that may change because vaccines are coming more quickly. My question is, what is actually the government's plan to get the second shot into people's arms? Mr. Hill. Well, we are in phase two of our rollout of the vaccines, and we are now receiving sufficient quantities, particularly of the Pfizer vaccine, that we will be able to provide people with their second shots at the appropriate time. We have booked, actually yesterday, we did 112,000 vaccines, and we're at a total of 6,350,000 right now. So we are on track to deliver vaccines to 65% of adults over age 18 by the end of May. And of course we can now provide vaccines, the Pfizer vaccines to young people age 12 to 16 as well. So that is rolling out. People will be able to receive the vaccines at the appropriate time. And because we have additional supplies, if we are able to reach that target and people are coming forward, we may be able to shorten the time frame. But people already have their appointments for their four month shots, and so they will receive them, maybe sooner than that, but they definitely will receive them within that time frame. And the supplementary question. People don't know when they're getting their second shot. Those shots are not booked. I haven't got a... Stop the clock. Member, please take your seat. The government side will come to order. The government side will come to order. The Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry will come to order. The member for Niagara Falls will come to order. I'm going to ask the Leader of the Opposition to withdraw. Oh, withdraw, Speaker. And finish your question. The government's rollout of the vaccinations has been a mess. It has been chaotic. I was saying... Stop the clock. The Solicitor General will come to order. We're not going to have this. I apologize to the Leader of the Opposition. Please start the clock. It has been saved by the public health units. Thank goodness for them. They have to fix the rollout problem, Speaker. Instead, they're busy with a blame game. Now always pointing at somebody else. Look, the sign-up system was convoluted. It excluded family doctors. The rollout that meant that people who needed the vaccines the most got them at the end instead of at the beginning. So the question is, what is the plan to fix this chaotic system for the second dose? Can the government show us one? Stop the clock. The Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry is warned. We know what that means. If I have to speak to you again, you'll be named. Please start the clock. To reply, the Minister of Health. Thank you very much, Speaker. In contrary to what the Leader of the Official Opposition says, we have a very organized rollout. Our vaccination campaign is rolling out well by virtue of the fact that 6.3 million doses have already been administered. That's almost half of the population of Ontario. And we are on track to book and vaccinate over 65% of the adults over age 18 by the end of May. I don't know anyone who would call that a failure. It's moving forward. We have our booking system where people can book online or they can call to book an appointment. They can receive their vaccines through a mass vaccination clinic, through pop-up clinics, through pharmacies. More and more pharmacies are being added every day through primary care offices. We're making it as easy as possible for people to be vaccinated. And we already have another 4 million people booked to receive their vaccines. So I would call that a coordinated system. The final supplementary. Speaker, public health units and communities have come together to try to fill the holes in this government's vaccine rollout. In fact, people are calling it a scavenger hunt to try to get a vaccine. They're relying on things like vaccine hunters. Vaccine hunters Canada to get a vaccine here in Ontario. It has been a mess. The question I have for the government, the government which is very, very focused on partisan ad campaigns, but not so focused on cleaning up the vaccine rollout, there is an increased supply and I think we're all pleased about that. But the question still remains, who is going to get their shots? When are they going to get their shots? How are they going to get their shots for the second vaccine? That's what people need to know, and that's what this government should be able to provide in terms of information. So no more excuses. The vaccines are here. What's the plan to get the second shot into people's arms? And again, Minister of Health to reply. Thank you, Speaker. Well, the facts speak for themselves. There are 104 million doses already organized and booked. We are rolling this vaccine plan out. We're making it very easy for people who are offering more and more pharmacies to be able to offer vaccines. In some of these pharmacies, they're open 24-7 or you can walk in. We have the mass vaccination clinics. We have clinics that are going to people's workplaces. We have a plan. The plan is being delivered and the plan is working, Speaker. The next question, the member for Brampton East. Thank you, Speaker. Two weeks ago, all of Canada was talking about Brampton's COVID-19 crisis. We had one of the highest positivity rates in the entire country. Countless people were getting sick, and many were dying. Tragic stories from Brampton were being heard across our nation. From the utterly devastating accounts of loss of life to essential workers who had to choose between going to work sick and paying the bills. But despite all this national attention, two weeks later, the concert of government continues to fail Brampton. We still have one of the highest positivity rates in the entire country, and essential workers are still getting sick. Workers are risking their lives every single day, moving this economy so others can work from home. They deserve more than three paid sick days. Will the concert of government commit today to treating workers with the dignity that they deserve by bringing in two weeks of paid sick days? Mr. Labour, training and skills development. Well, thank you very much, and I want to begin by thanking the member opposite for supporting our government's legislation to pass a comprehensive package that includes 23 days of paid sick leave in record time here in the legislature. Thank you to the NDP, thank you to the independent Liberals for joining with our government to ensure that workers do not have to choose between their job and their health. I can assure the member opposite we're going to continue working every single order to protect the health and safety of every single worker until we defeat COVID-19 once and for all. And a supplementary question. Thank you back to the Premier. When you're in a crisis, you don't do the bare minimum. You pull out all the stops. You do everything possible to save lives. But from the beginning of this pandemic, we have seen a clear track record from the Conservative government. They are continually doing the least possible to help Ontarians. Half measures are continually being brought forward and not enough help is being given to communities that need it the most. Now, the Conservative government is warning that Ontarians should be prepared for at least two weeks of a stay at home order enclosure. But while they've warned of longer lockdowns, the truth is the Conservative government had every opportunity to stop the third wave, just like they had every opportunity to get this crisis under control sooner. Both times, instead, they chose to stand by and do nothing. We need more paid sick days. We need more vaccines. We need more support for hotspot communities. We're in a crisis and people are dying. When will the Conservative government start acting like it? Well, we have been taking action throughout this pandemic, and especially as far as Peele and Brampton are concerned, they are receiving their fair share of vaccines. In fact, in the month of May alone, we will receive 432,960 doses to Peele region, which will make Peele the public health unit with the second highest doses rate per capita in the province. So we are sending sufficient quantities to Peele and to Brampton, of course, specifically in terms of places where they can be received. There are over 150 pharmacies, seven of which will be running 24-7, four hospitals, hotspot facilities. We have the 40 primary care sites in Peele region, and we also have workplace clinics at Maple Leaf Foods, Maple Lodge Farms, Amazon. Now, we know that there are 25 postal homes that have been designated as hotspots in Peele region, and the entire region is receiving sufficient quantities to make sure that anyone who wants to receive a vaccine in Peele will be able to receive them. Next question, Daniel Day. Thank you very much, Speaker. Speaker, this week I've been having many encouraging conversations with my constituents in Willowdale, and it has to do with Ontario's COVID vaccine campaign, which has clearly moved into the next gear as doses enter the province at almost double the previous rate. Over the last few weeks, Ontario's had an army of healthcare workers that have set records when it comes to needles and arms, Speaker, and we've soared past the goal of getting at least their first dose by the end of April. Very encouraging to hear, in fact, from the Health Minister that over 6.3 million doses have been administered, perhaps best of all, the last million doses being administered in nine days, and the million doses before that in just eight days. That's really good news, Speaker, and very encouraging for my constituents in Willowdale. So, Speaker, my question is for the Solicitor General. With so much forward momentum on the vaccine front, what can members expect from Ontario's COVID-19 vaccine campaign? Well, thank you very much to the member from Willowdale. You know, this is exciting times as we see the increase in doses coming from the federal government. We know that Ontarians are very excited about the rollout of Ontario's vaccine campaign, and there is a lot to celebrate. As you said, after smashing through our goal of 40% of adults receiving at least their first dose in the end of April, we've set an ambitious goal for the end of May. 65% of adults receiving at least their first dose, and we are well on our way. Ontario's expected to surpass 50% of adults in the next 48 hours will have received their first dose. It's incredible. With an average daily average of 120,000 vaccines being delivered every single day, we can all be proud of the tireless work of thousands of healthcare workers and many, many volunteers who are assisting in this rollout campaign. It's exciting news, it's great news, and we are well on our way to getting seeing the end of COVID-19 in Ontario. Thank you. Supplementary question. Well, thank you, Speaker, and I share that sentiment of excitement, and so do the people of Willowdale and Toronto. After such a difficult year, this is the good news I think we're waiting for. The City of Toronto where I represent nearly 1.3 million vaccine doses have been administered, and this represents approximately half of the population in our great city. And it's clear that with the vaccine supply ramping up in the province, the goals that we've set for the month of May are well within reach. So, Speaker, given these developments in the vaccine rollout, I'm hoping the Solicitor General can update the House on what expansions to vaccine availability have been introduced this month, and what will be introduced in the weeks ahead. Thank you, and thank you for your enthusiasm on this very critically important stage. You know, with the stability in vaccine supplies comes stability and our ability to expand the eligibility ranges. That's why we started off the month by expanding eligibility to all of those in 18 in above 114 hotspot neighbourhoods across 13 different public health units, as well as a series of planned expansions based on age and at-risk. Starting today, for example, individuals with at-risk conditions such as dementia, diabetes, sickle cell disease, as well as the second phase of people who cannot work from home, including grocery store, restaurant and transportation workers are eligible to book an appointment to receive COVID-19 vaccine. Due to the increased vaccine supply, we are adding at-risk health care workers and dialysis patients to the list of those eligible to book. It's exciting news, and I hope that people take the advantage of when you book, book quickly, because we have the vaccine for you. Thank you. Thank you very much. My question to the Premier. A nightmare, ridiculous, just an awful experience. It just looks like rank amateurs top to bottom. The government simply doesn't seem to know what it is doing. These are quotes, Speaker, from business owners describing the Ontario Small Business Support Grant Program. Countless MPPs in this House have now shared stories of the significant problems their constituents have experienced with this program. The government needs to correct these issues. You need to expand the ability. You should not be stalling on this any further, and you need to ensure that businesses that are closed through this third wave can receive additional support. Will the government commit to doing that today? To reply on behalf of the government, the Member for Willowdale and Parliamentary Assistant Minister of Finance. Thank you very much, Speaker, and I appreciate the Member from Waterloo bringing up the Small Business Support Grant Program, a grant program which has received 1.5 billion dollars. In fact, Speaker, over 75,000 businesses have received a second iteration of that grant program. That's 1.1 billion dollars, a total of 2.6 billion dollars being paid out to these small businesses with an average wait time of 12 days to get cash in hand, Speaker. Speaker, of course, there are a large volume of businesses that have applied to this good program, and that's why we have doubled up on the resources of the government. But what's very curious is that the member stands in her place today and calls for further support. When she has voted against every single one of those support measures, including the double of the Small Business Grant, which has helped about 1,000 businesses in Waterloo region help whether the storm that is COVID-19. My question to the member is, hopefully, if the government does introduce new measures, that she will support in the future. I just heard, the minister, are you going to do that? That's what we've been calling for since last April. Come to the table. Another quote, Speaker. I've never seen a program that just didn't have anyone there. There's no one you can write to, no one you can call. There's no other number to ask to be elevated to speak with someone else ever. This lack of meaningful work to be done to help the affected sectors like tourism and the event venues in Waterloo region, bigamans and the Princess cinemas, all of us have examples. They have not been able to generate revenue for a year. Businesses are about to be closed for another two weeks. That's another two weeks, business owners will be on their own without help from this government. They are at the breaking point. You need to do some work to fix the small business program. When are you going to put some additional funding on the table? When are you going to expand the eligibility? Thank you. Thank you. Speaker, thank you. To answer the question of when, well, from the very beginning of this pandemic, this government has been there. Working with all levels of government and what the NDP has done to make sure that every single one speaker, whether that was a PPE grant for the smallest of small businesses, whether that was a reduction, permanent reduction to small business property taxes of up to 30%, whether that was broadband infrastructure investment, elimination of the EHT, a tax on jobs for the smallest of small businesses, digital main street program to help businesses retool and sell their products online. Of course this is a tough time for small businesses. That's why the next question is for Don Valley East. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question through you to the minister responsible for anti-racism. Can the minister update and inform this House about the alarming and unacceptable increase in anti-Asian racism and how these extreme forms of hate have impacted Asian Canadians in our province over the last year? To respond, the Solicitor General. Thank you, Speaker. The member opposite is absolutely right. There has been a disturbing increase. We all appreciate and understand that it is coming from misinformation and misinformed individuals who are targeting a particular group suggesting that that is the cause of the COVID-19 outbreaks. It's terribly unfortunate. We have been working within the anti-racism directorate and frankly across government to educate, inform and ultimately go after and shut down these individuals who are misinformed and are hurting our communities in a way that is truly, truly indefensible at this time. Thank you. Is that the next question? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank the minister for the answer but the government has frankly done little over the last year to combat systemic racism and stop hate. Last week I asked the minister why the new anti-racism strategy, the updated strategy did not mention even the word Asian once within the entire document. Instead of pledging action, the minister made reference to a grant which a small portion of it of that grant actually benefited one organization that's combating anti-Asian racism. Speaker, we need this government to stand up to hate and to protect the rights of all Ontarians including Asian Canadians. Speaker, it starts with this government taking initiatives and creating a strategy to tackle anti-Asian racism. But Speaker, because of the minister's continued lack of focus on one of the fastest growing hate in Canada, I plan to bring forward a change to the legislation, the Anti-Racism Act today and I want to know if the minister will support those changes to include anti-Asian racism in the Act. Mr. General. Thank you, Speaker. Well, I look forward to reviewing the private members Bill. Obviously, I have not had any insight into what he is bringing forward, but I'm happy to review it. I think it's important that we talk about the actions that our government has taken. You mentioned grant programs like they're inconsequential and I think that is very unfortunate because the enthusiasm and the encouragement that we have received talking to organizations saying this will help us, this will help educate, this will help protect us and ultimately it will help inform all Ontario citizens. So again, I will remind the member, anti-racism and anti-hate grant will provide $1.6 million in total funding will be accessible to communities throughout Ontario and provide funding to community-based projects. The organizations of communities asked us for these investments. We have done that and they are very pleased and I'm happy to be working with them on this. Thank you. The next question. Member for Willowdale. Thank you very much, Speaker. I continue to have some frustrating conversations with my constituents regarding our border control measures, Speaker, and we know that the majority of cases today are variants of concern. These are dangerous and it's a pretty clear message from the Prime Minister that this just isn't a priority for him in tightening up our border controls. This is problematic for the people of Willowdale and our province because we know that these variants originate from outside of Ontario. So while our government continues to urge our federal partners to request real action to secure our borders, we're going to continue calling on them in a vocal way, Speaker. You know, it's not just international travelers that are the concern. Of course, there are people coming in from other provinces carrying the variants and my question is for the Solicitor General. I'm hoping that she can share with the House what is our request to the federal government when it comes to these domestic travel questions so that Ontarians can remain safe from these dangerous variants of concern. Solicitor General. Well, thank you, Speaker. You know, our request to the federal government was really simple. It was three. One, to actually shut down the land and water international travel that is happening between our southern partners. It was to make sure that when domestic visitors come in, they get tested immediately at the border. What we are finding as we've highlighted previously is when a domestic traveler comes into Ontario and goes back to their place of residence or where they're visiting, then books and appointment, then gets the test, then waits for the results of the test. How many people did they interact with? How many people did they put at risk? We're seeing the variance increase. There's a very simple fix that the federal government could do and that is test people when they arrive at the border. The third and final thing, of course, is make sure that when individuals self-isolate they do the proper follow-up and make sure that they're doing the right thing. Thank you. And the supplementary question. Thank you very much, Speaker. I hope I don't sound too frustrated in the legislature today. It's just the frustration of my constituents are at a boiling point because it's been a tough year and that's the case for people all over this province. And after making those sacrifices over a very difficult year, it's fair of Willow-Dellers to expect some sort of action from protecting us from dangerous variants of concerns. And I know the Liberals are heckling me and call this about xenophobia. It's absolutely not about race. This is about protecting Ontarians against these dangerous variants of concerns and putting in safeguards at the federal level to make sure that we protect all Ontarians. So, Speaker, back to the minister. Can she provide examples of the concerning trends from incoming travelers at Toronto Pearson? Pearson being, of course, Canada's largest airport in the region of Pio. Minister General. Well, thank you, Speaker. Yes, unfortunately it is a disturbing one and a very direct one. So, we know that the P1 variant of COVID-19 has been connected to a massive outbreak in Brazil. And we know that travel remains a major vector for transmission. Just across the border from Hamilton, the Buffalo Airport has a full webpage dedicated to transportation for Canadians. I don't need to remind members of how some travelers move across the border to avoid airport quarantine. Even though our government is taking extra precautions by closing our inter-provincial land borders to help keep out the variants, we do not control our international borders. All levels of government must work together to keep our citizens safe including those carrying variants of COVID-19 traveling into Ontario, which is why we will continue to call on the federal government to help secure international entry points and further strengthen screening at our borders. Thank you. The next question, the member for BTC-Stuart. My question is for the Premier. BTC-Stuart is home to communities of essential workers who have no choice but to work precarious jobs with no benefits. They've watched neighbours evicted. No work, no home. They can't take that risk so they go to work, sick or not. Premier stayed home for 14 days to ensure he wouldn't get his family sick but he's only willing to give three days to essential workers and as a result, they and their families are ending up in the ICU. And as much as the government would like everyone to believe that the COVID-19 fire raging in Ontario is entirely due to plain loads of foreigners, the science table and critical care doctors have been clear it is driven by workplaces. When is the government going to put a program of paid sick days that will allow workers to stay home when they are sick and Ontario to heal? Thank you. Mr. Labour, Training and Skills Development to reply. Well thank you very much Mr. Speaker and again I would thank the member opposite for her support in our provinces paid sick leave plan. In fact Mr. Speaker we were the first province in the country to bring forward paid sick leave for workers. It's a comprehensive plan of 23 days so workers don't have to choose between their job and their health. Mr. Speaker the health and safety of every single worker in this province and their families and their communities is their government's top priority. We will continue to stand with workers every day until COVID-19 is defeated. Thank you. Speaker what we have in Ontario is a perfect storm of bad policies. Last March the Premier promised that nobody would lose their housing due to COVID but that turned out to be a fairy tale. Thousands upon thousands of people who lost income due to COVID have been or are being evicted to couch surf or into homelessness because there's no moratorium on evictions for arrears and no rent relief. Essential workers in beaches east York are terrified of losing their housing. Three days of paid sick days are simply not enough to allow people to stay home or to stem the tide of workplace infections. And ultimately all of Ontario is suffering as a result. When is the Premier going to do the math and give people the paid sick days they need to stay home when they are sick so that we can end the devastating cycle of lockdowns and begin to rebuild our lives? First Minister Spahn I'm going to caution the member on the use of language and now ask for the reply from the Minister of Labor. Again I thank the member opposite party for supporting our comprehensive package to support workers. 23 paid sick days are available to workers in this province. Again Mr. Speaker we're going to continue to ensure that every worker is protected so they don't have to choose between their job and their health and we'll be with workers every single day until we defeat COVID-19. Thank you. The next question the member for Guelph. Thank you Mr. Speaker. The next question is for the Premier. Small businesses are hurting barely hanging on if they haven't gone out of business already. The third wave has forced small businesses to close for a third time. In their speculation that they will remain closed well into next month. Speaker small businesses are doing their part to save lives but they need the government to have their back. The next question will the Premier triple the Ontario small business support grant to help small businesses survive the third wave. To reply the member for Willardale. Thank you Speaker and I think I've mentioned in the cells I have a great deal of respect from the member from Guelph. We've had many conversations with the small businesses not just in his writing but throughout this province through our work with the finance government has responded in step with our partners at other levels of government to provide a blanketed measure of support and we've introduced a series of supports not just the small business support grant program but help with hydro with fixed costs like property taxes reducing we're eliminating in many cases attacks on jobs the EHT for the smallest of small businesses in fact speaker but it's curious to hear that the member from Guelph is calling for a third round of the small business support grant program so the question yes or no is if we introduce more support measures will the member finally support and vote in favour of the supports in the supplementary question Speaker I think small businesses wanted a yes response to my previous question the bottom line is is wave one and two supports inciting those will not get support from small businesses through wave three especially when the current program is broken I just want to quote one of many small businesses who reached out to me I just got off the phone with the call center and I got a hurry up and wait that they don't have any timelines on payments speaker businesses simply cannot hurry up and wait I can tell you as a long time it's important so I will support a third round of funding and a system that is fixed so speaker through you I ask the government will you expand the eligibility criteria of the small business grant bring in a third round of funding and fix the existing broken system again the member for world able to reply well thank you speaker I appreciate the passion from the member from Guelph and it's important to talk about the supports that the businesses in Guelph have received I mean in the first iteration of the grant program they had received over 11 million dollars this helped well over 700 businesses in the area of Guelph now the member has voted against that but in the second round these businesses will be given more support and of course we are not through this storm that is COVID-19 and I will work with that member and his family to make sure that we are listening to them about where these targeted measures can best help these small businesses because what I have in common with that members I too am from a background in small business my family made a new life for themselves in this the best country in the world based on small business and we need to help them so I encourage that member to reach out to my office let's get the job done let's put COVID-19 in the rearview mirror and make sure that our businesses are safe. My question is for the solicitor general since first learning of COVID-19 last year I know that our government has been committed to taking all the necessary steps to ensure that our communities remain safe and healthy during these unprecedented times. Protecting Ontario includes taking swift action to support that to secure to make sure that our borders are secure from all of our province that are carrying these dangerous variants of concern now speaker we heard some extremely concerning news recently that cases of the P1 variant have quadrupled quadrupled from Thursday to Sunday in the Hamilton region as we continue to manage this third wave of the virus in this province speaker I'm hoping the solicitor general can address the continued need for strict measures at our border now so that the P1 variant doesn't grow from what it has already become. Thank you Mr. General. The member is absolutely right the case that you mentioned in Hamilton they've seen the number of cases tied to the worrisome COVID-19 variant first identified in Brazil more than quadrupled in the past week as of Sunday the P1 variant considered more spreadable and possibly more dangerous to young people has been confirmed in the last 14 Hamilton residents up from just three cases reported Thursday this is how quickly variants can move through our community speaker we've been testing for the P1 variant and it wasn't there last month although we have identified P1 in Ontario there are many more variants and mutations that have not yet been detected in Ontario our current cases are dominated by variants that come from other jurisdictions and all of which come from Ontario through travel once again we ask the P1 to take the action to keep these variants out of Ontario and our communities. Thank you. Thank you speaker and you know we continue to hear I think in all of our writings these concerning stories from constituents about what they feel are very weak border measures to protect against these variants of concern and I know I certainly heard my share you know we need to make sure we work together here to tell our federal partners to say that this is a concern for all of us here in this province protect us against these dangerous variants it's a simple request so speaker my question back to the solicitor general can she explain why we still need to have concerns about keeping travelers carrying COVID-19 out of Ontario given that the variants are already here in our province Thank you speaker so we know that these new variants did not originate in Ontario they're coming here from other parts of the world and indeed other parts of Canada we asked Ontarians to do their part and they're following public health advice meanwhile the federal government refuses to even test incoming passengers the premier of this province has repeatedly asked the federal government to step up and do their job we need to ensure that our borders are secure do you know that the population larger city of Mississauga passed through Pearson airport just since January the majority were not even required to take a PCR test Ontarians expect that most travelers should and will be tested will the members opposite join us in calling on the federal government to implement PCR testing for all travelers it's time for the federal government to take this seriously Thank you the next question the member for Hamilton Thank you very much Mr. Speaker my question is for the premier tenants at Rebecca towers in Hamilton is asking for help the rise the high rise building is home to seniors essential workers newcomers and working class families and it now has over 100 confirmed cases of COVID-19 the outbreak in the building has been growing since March and it is located in a community that has a test rate of 22% yet this area is still not a provincial hot spot my question to the premier is why were the tenants at Rebecca towers left to get sick or die without the province acting to get this community more resources more vaccines and urgent help I think the honorable member for the for the question she she knows much of the the plan for this month especially with the increase in vaccines that we received from the federal government has been to attack some of the hotspots across the province hotspots that have been identified by both the science table and by the local public health by public health units what she raises obviously very very concerning and I'm sure it's something that we will work with public health in Hamilton to address I thank you not only are the tenants of Rebecca towers facing a horrible COVID-19 outbreak but they are also facing the consequences of this government's terrible housing policies in the middle of this pandemic the tenants are fighting and above guideline rent increase and the building has fallen into complete disrepair with only one elevator in service and no regular cleaning in common areas it is no wonder COVID-19 is spreading so quickly Rebecca towers needs a safe building and the whole community need their vaccines now why has the province allowed landlords to raise the rents and let buildings like Rebecca towers fall into such a level of disrepair that it is making people sick and die during this pandemic government thanks again Mr. Speaker as you know throughout the pandemic when there have been shutdowns previously we entered gray zones of course evictions were stopped across the province we brought in rent freezes obviously it is very important when it comes to vaccine distribution that we hit hotspots Mr. Speaker as you know and as the member opposite the hotspots are the focus of our vaccine distribution plan for this month it is very important Mr. Speaker as the Minister of Health has highlighted that we get to these hotspots we are identifying hotspots by working with local public health but also working with the science table Mr. Speaker but I can assure the member opposite that we will certainly follow up with local public health officials in her areas her constituents deserve access to the same vaccine distribution program thank you thank you the next question my question to the Minister of Health on May 3rd CDTV ran an article about a Toronto woman who died from kidney cancer because her surgery was delayed three times cancer, heart procedures, hip replacement knee surgeries and cataroc operations are cancelled daily by government directive yesterday the FAO revealed that Ontario's backlog of surgeries will take more than three and a half years to clear it up but the most astounding fact is that almost all beds saved by cancelling surgeries are sitting empty surgeries of real patients are being cancelled to save beds for computer modeled COVID patients and while the field hospitals are barely being used there are more than 6000 employees at the Ministry of Health has anyone done the math on how many people will lose their life because surgery was cancelled versus how many lives will be saved as a result of the cancellation or commitment to the house to undertake a study and report to the house the question is simple, what is the estimate of the number of people's lives are saved from COVID by cancelling surgeries versus what is the estimate of the number of people that will lose their life as a result of their surgeries to reply to the Minister of Health thank you speaker first let me assure the member opposite that the beds in Ontario hospitals are unfortunately filled right now because of COVID they are filled with people who are there for other reasons people who have had surgeries but they are filled we are very concerned about the levels they are starting to go down the numbers and intensive care units are starting to go down but we are not in the clear yet we still have a lot of work to do and that is why we have had to postpone some of the surgeries and diagnostic procedures during this third wave as we had to between the first and second waves we are looking at the situation on a daily basis as it stands now over 88% of our hospitals most of our hospitals have completed 88% of their surgeries for the year and we are looking at ways that we can catch up to those surgeries when we come back out of it but I can assure the member opposite that the beds in our hospitals are full right now that is not computer modeling, they are full supplementary I can say I invite the minister to make the CCCO public so the public can see how many beds are actually full ICU capacity has never went above the 83-84% mark so speaker my question was reasonable the minister always says that the goal is to save lives so why does she have the courage to study if she is actually costing more lives then she is saving clearly she doesn't have the confidence to own her decision but speaker it gets worse because apparently the province is cancelling all elective surgeries and that includes surgeries of ambulatory patients who don't need a bed yesterday the Globe and Mail read an opinion piece by Dr. Nam a professor of surgery at U of T specializing in urological cancers Nam is turning away patients due to the directive to cancel surgeries he says for cancer surgeries waiting treatment the hopes of being able to beat cancer were severely harmed by a stroke of a pen he doesn't understand why the order applies to ambulatory patients who do not require a bed after a surgery and this is true not just for questions what is the minister's excuse for canceling outpatient surgeries will she please just own a mistake and send the order and restore cancellation thank you minister of health thank you speaker well there's a lot there but I'll try to answer part of your question one is that if people we've already conducted over 420,000 procedures and surgeries since this pandemic began last year so that if someone has cancer or they have a cardiac issue that is threatening their life they will receive surgery and I want the people of Ontario to know that if you need to be in hospital please go to the hospital the hospitals are safe and if you need surgery for cardiac or cancer care you will receive that surgery to save your life this is something that is not done by politics this is done by medical professionals who assess every case to determine whether that person needs to have surgery right away or whether it can be delayed for a point in time I am confident that our medical experts are making the right decisions I am confident that we have a plan it is very unfortunate that we have to delay some of these surgeries and procedures but I can assure the member and I can assure the people of Ontario that we are looking at the numbers on a daily basis and as soon as we can restart that procedure in surgical we will start to work on that we will because we know thank you very much the next question the member for Niagara falls thank you Mr. Speaker my question to the premier there is a housing crisis in Niagara people from my community can't afford to buy a house families are torn apart kids forced to leave our community they were raised in to find a home of their own a recent report showed that there is a high probability the largest drop in Canada residents of Niagara are getting priced out of the market people are evicted from their properties purchased by investors and they can't find an affordable rental unit they end up on the streets this is driven by greed and it has to end the average home price in Niagara is nearly $750,000 families in Niagara have not seen wage increases at the same level so my question Mr. Speaker what is the premier going to do today to address this crisis and make it so people can afford own a home in Niagara thank you very much I really appreciate the question because it is something this government has been focused on from day one Mr. Speaker we have consistently talked about affordability on this side of the house it is ironic to hear a question from the member opposite who has voted against every single measure to make this province more affordable for the people of the province of Ontario including those first time home buyers who are doing exactly what he is saying they are saving they are trying to put money away so that they can buy their first home and it becomes very increasingly difficult when if you listen to the opposition governments are digging in your pocket and taking away all of that extra money that you should be putting away for your first home Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker we know how important it is for people to be able to buy their first home and that is something that this government has been focused on from day one so I really invite the Honourable General and the Opposite to work with us to bring down costs for people to make it more affordable to buy homes so that more people can enjoy the first home that he is talking about Thank you again Mr. Speaker and back to the premier I spoke with young people in my community that are saving whatever they can to buy their first home right now the dream of being a homeowner is becoming just that a dream it's sadly reality for many hardworking first time home buyers homes for sale are getting multiple offers and bidding wards selling well over asking prices sometimes $100,000 over asking what average working in Ontario can afford that people ready are facing rental evictions in our community and at alarming rates the rate list for affordable housing in Niagara is so long the average weight is over a decade again Mr. Speaker the question is will the premier finally stand up to speculators investors only interested in padding their own pockets support the hardworking people of Niagara and the practice of greedy speculators driving up housing costs will he take action to make homes in Niagara affordable again for our kids and our grandkids and their grandkids I certainly would expect that the member opposite would expect that this is a whole of government approach to ensuring that there is availability you have to ensure that there is availability and supply is there for people just earlier today the member for Kitchener talked about two way all day go trains service that this government has brought to his region Mr. Speaker that makes it more affordable and easier for people to work in different parts of the province this is one important feature the minister of infrastructure has brought in a groundbreaking over $4.5 billion broadband project which will see all of the province of Ontario connected to broadband making it essential because more people will be able to work from home and live in diverse parts of the province we're hearing from across the province different members I heard from them talking about all the people that are moving to his community from the GTA this is what we need to do Mr. Speaker open up more parts of the province so that people can have their first home it's more affordable Mr. Speaker and this government has taken a whole of government approach to make sure that it happens next question thank you very much Mr. Speaker my question is for their premier Mr. Speaker it's been weeks since the federal government presented Canada's national child care plan Ontario Liberals have committed to working with the federal government to implement families on average $10,000 a year per child this is money that families can use to save for post-secondary education put away for retirement or pay down their personal debt this is a lot of money Mr. Speaker especially in those early years of parenthood one might think the premier would react enthusiastically and get on board with the federal partners to deliver real relief for families but Mr. Speaker that's hardly the case we all remember that it was conservatives who killed the last national child care plan and I feel like the premier's government is about to do it again so Mr. Speaker why won't the premier do the right thing partner with the federal government and provide $10 a day child care to all Ontario families to reply the minister of education thank you very much Mr. Speaker I want to thank the member officer for the question I will remind him that when his party was afforded with the honour of serving for 15 years the cost of child care rose to the most expensive and the second most expensive system in the nation that is not a program or a metric by which any member of this legislature should be proud of what we are doing in this house in our first budget as a recognition that child care was inaccessible and unaffordable was we introduced the child care tax credit a credit that is flexible recognising the amount of tax will raise their children in keeping with their values and recognising the inherent cost of raising every child irrespective of the use of institutional day care what we have done is introduced a credit that provides up to 70% of eligible expenses supporting 300,000 families in the most recent budget speaker we topped it up to answer the question yes we are going to work with the federal government I have spoken to Minister Ahmed who is saying myself on this matter as we work together to make child care more accessible and affordable thank you very much and the supplementary question is what is the impact of the child care tax on the workforce during COVID-19 an analysis by RBC shows that working age Canadian women are leaving the workforce at a rate 10 times higher than men the she-session is real and the government does not seem to have a plan to do anything about it increasing women's workforce participation has the potential to grow Ontario's economy by $7 billion a year without child care and yet Mr. Speaker the government seems unwilling and uninterested to deliver affordable child care to Ontario families Ontario Liberals have committed to delivering $10 day licensed child care and to ensure the economic dignity of child care workers there is an opportunity for transformation in child care and throughout the economy so through you will the premier join us in working with the federal government to deliver Ontario families $10 a day to reply the minister of children community and social services very much Mr. Speaker and as the minister of education just mentioned he is working very closely with the federal government as I am and my colleague minister Dunlop is as well we know that and the government is certainly aware that COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted on the economic and social well-being of women across the province and that they've been affected both at home and in the workplace and that's why we're working hard to ensure that there is more child care space available for them to access and we will be working with them given the investments that we have made in child care to ensure that we're working towards the goal that the federal government has set in their recent budget up on Parliament Hill but Mr. Speaker our government wants to build a province where every woman and every girl is empowered to succeed because promoting women's full economic participation supports Ontario's continued growth and prosperity and that is the goal of our government here in Ontario Mr. Speaker the next question the member for Tomiskaming Cochran Thank you Speaker my question is to the deputy premier and earlier in the question period in response to the leader of the official opposition Mr. Speaker stated I believe that everyone in the province when they got their first vaccine would be have an appointment set for the second vaccine I would like to ask the deputy premier to confirm that that is actually the case Order Minister of Health Actually yes to clarify it's warned Minister of Health I can advise that we have over four and a half million people booked for their first and second doses already and over a million of them were booked in the last week so this is something that it depends of course where you make your appointment through whether it's through the central booking number or through a pharmacy but through the central booking system that we have over four and a half million already booked for first and second doses Thank you Speaker that clarification because that did not come through in the first response for an example I got the vaccine through a pharmacy specifically my wife and I we specifically asked for a date for the second vaccine and we were told you will just have to keep booking and that is part of the issue with the vaccination program that there are many streams and people are confused and I'm glad that the Minister clarified that but I would ask could please clarify more widely because people are clamoring for information and each time it's partly explained just adds to their confusion and to their fear could you please do that Thank you Thank you Well we are providing people with information as broadly as possible and now people have choices about where they can receive their vaccines they can be received through their primary care provider and that's happening for a lot of people with pre-existing health conditions that want to understand whether it's safe for them with their health conditions to do that mass vaccination clinics pharmacies of course so we're adding more pharmacies by the week we're also adding 4,400 pharmacies offering vaccines by the end of May we also have the pop-up and mobile vaccination clinics we want to make it as easy as possible for people to receive a vaccine wherever they live in Ontario and whatever time of day because we have many of our pharmacies also offering vaccinations 24-7 we're going to continue to work on that so that everyone who wants to receive a vaccine first and second dose will be able to do so that concludes our question period for this morning this house stands in recess until 3pm