 Therefore, it's time for a question period. The member from Bruce will create own sound. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. My question is the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. Ontario seniors are still waiting to see your capacity plan for long-term care. In spite of promises from you and the Premier, neither one of you can say where nor when the promised beds will be built. And that's truly a shame. You've waitlisted 32,000 seniors. In just a few years, there will be 50,000 in the queue, a record that may make, aging in Ontario, a source of national shame. The question I have for the Minister, is it fair to seniors that 14 years later, your government still doesn't have a capacity plan for long-term care? Thank you. Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. Well thank you Mr. Speaker. I'm very proud to stand up and refer to an announcement that was just made several weeks ago by our Premier to build 5,000 more new long-term care beds over the next four years. And to have an even more substantial target of 30,000 new licenses over the next decade, Mr. Speaker. And Mr. Speaker, that is on top of the 10,000 beds that we since forming government in 2003, the 10,000 new beds that we've built with our partners in the long-term care system and 13,500 redeveloped beds as we move on that pathway to 30,000 redeveloped beds by 2025. So this is a substantial new investment. I'm very proud, I was very proud to stand up next to the Premier and the Minister for Seniors to make this announcement a couple of weeks ago. It is, and we announced at the same time, certain priority areas based on the capacity plan that we've developed, including Indigenous communities as well as other parts of the province where we know the need is greater. Thank you. Supplementary. From here on Bruce. Thank you for having me Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. Speaker, I would like to tell the House about Judith and Bill. Bill has Alzheimer's and will eventually need long-term care. But currently he is so lucky because his wife Judith is caring for him at home and they're enjoying life in Bayfield. But in rural Ontario, long-term care beds are often few and far between. Our seniors are sometimes in a position where they mistake the first bed available in their region. But Speaker, what this can mean is being an hour or more in terms of distance, an hour or more away, and that's driving one way. And they're away from family and friends and that's just not right. So Speaker, what can the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care tell people like Judith and Bill and all seniors in Ontario who rightfully expect to live out their final days close to their family and loved ones? Thank you. Minister? Well, Mr. Speaker, so I grew up in a small town. My parents who are 88 still reside there. So they face very similar problems as the ones that were just outlined by the member opposite. So we're deeply committed to making sure that individuals across this province including in rural parts of the province and small towns that they have access to that quality of care. Whether that be in long-term care or other forms of home care or community supports that allow individuals particularly our seniors to reside in their homes or as close to home as possible where they have those supports, caregiver supports, care partner supports as well as other loved ones that can support them but also want to be near them appropriately so. So we're making our investments that 5,000 new beds that was referenced will not only allow the sustainability of existing homes in some of these small communities and in many cases I think allow them to expand but it will also allow us to address those parts of the province including rural parts of the province that are most in need. Thank you. Final supplementary member from P.S.S. Stoker. Thank you back to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care Mr. Speaker. Timely access to home care services is essential for our provinces' seniors especially for the 32,000 waiting on long-term care lists. I recently received a letter describing how an 85 year old man from Restuil is in limbo waiting for home care. Despite suffering from Parkinson's, spinal stenosis and cardiac issues, and despite having been recently discharged from hospital with a catheter, and despite having been assessed as needing daily support, he and his family are facing at least a six-week wait before being assigned a personal support worker. Why is it so hard for this patient to get the care he desperately needs, Mr. Speaker? Why is it that today in Ontario, there are not enough PSWs to provide vulnerable citizens with the home care they need? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We made this year, as we have for the last three or four years, I believe, a substantial new investment in home and community care. To the tune of, I remember two announcements, one was for $100 million in the year, another was recently in the last weeks for an additional $40 million invested directly into home care. And I can't remember precisely what that translates into, but I know that it translates into more than a million PSW hours available for home care clients across the province. We know that the population is aging. We know that we're seeing increased volumes of individuals who want and deserve to stay at home for as long as possible near their loved ones. So we're making those investments to ensure that those resources are available. And we do realize that certain parts of the provinces and certain demographics do face unique challenges or have greater challenges than other parts of the province. So we're focusing our investments through our lens specifically to target those areas of greatest need. Thank you. New question. The member from Elgin, Middlesex, London. Thank you, Speaker. My question is the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. Speaker, during estimates I shared with the Minister a common occurrence in my writing regarding ALC patients. Every month I receive calls from families desperate to get their loved ones out of ALC in the hospital and into long-term care. Unfortunately, you're looking at a three-year wait. Patients in the Southwest Lynn are being told that they can be bumped up the long-term care wait list by leaving the hospital. Speaker, has our health care system reached such a low point that people would risk serious harm and move home just to be designated a crisis patient in an effort to be bumped up the waiting list? Speaker, can the Minister tell the House why patients are being told they can go home to dangerous conditions in order to earn a higher status on long-term care wait list? Thank you. Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. Well, Mr. Speaker, we're committed for our clients and patients across this province to provide the highest quality of care. No one in this province would want someone to go to a location other than the highest quality care and best possible support. In some cases, that's home care for those individuals who are prepared and have the necessary supports to be able to go home. For others, it's transitional care to actually provide them with the specialized resources, if they're complex care patients, if they're in need of rehabilitation, to give them added ability to live independently and have greater strength, emotional and physical, to be able to return to their community and return to their homes. That's why I'm so proud that we announced just over a month ago approximately 600 new transitional beds that will pull people out of ALC where they no longer need to be there and provide them with that specialized support, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Supplementary. Do you remember from Simkelberg? Mr. Speaker, back to the Minister. Mr. Speaker, the shortage of long-term term care beds in my riding is shocking. At Simkelmanner and Beaton, there are 181 people on the wait list. At Good Samaritan in Alliston, there are 100 people waiting. At Bayhaven in Collingwood, there are 58 on the list. At the Collingwood Nursing Home, there are 37. At the Stainer Nursing Home, there are 49. The list at the Sunset Manor in Collingwood is 196 people. And at Creeden Valley in Cremor, the wait list is 18. Mr. Speaker, is the government going to fix this problem or is it going to continue to let seniors go without the care they need? Thank you. Well, Mr. Speaker, we're investing in 5,000 new long-term care beds across this province over the next four years. If the member opposite is looking for a solution and looking to see how we're addressing it, we are addressing it by that substantial new investment. In fact, it's probably the level of the investment when you look at our even bigger target of 30,000 new beds over the next decade. That is a tremendous, almost unprecedented, I would argue unprecedented investment in our long-term care system. Now, we've been doing capacity planning to establish and understand with our partners, with patients and clients and families, as well as their advocates and experts, our partners in the long-term care home system to determine precisely where those investments should occur. And we've indicated that, for example, it should address the ALC issue, where individuals are in hospital but do not need to be in hospital. It needs to address the unique challenges faced by First Nations and other indigenous communities. It needs to address rural and small towns as well. Final supplementary. The member from Selma, Dundas, South Hungary. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister of Long-Term Care. Our seniors population expected to double by 2031 is clear that we need to build a health care system capacity now to meet their future needs. This government, however, has ignored the facts and refused to plan for this pending long-term care crisis. Not only have they pared down home services to the bone, but they've left long-term care patients with less and less available care hours. But now they plan to redistribute subacute hospital beds away from rural and small town urban areas. When too many patients are in the hospital because they can't find a long-term care bed, we know what happens. Surgery cancellations and hallway health care. Will this minister get his priority straight, stop short changing rural and small town urban seniors, and remove the barriers to bolstering long-term care supply? Thank you. Well, Mr. Speaker, I know why they're being critical of the work that we're doing, the solutions that they're providing. It's because they have no plan. Now, I'm hopeful that this weekend they're actually going to merge with a plan on long-term care with a plan on something, Mr. Speaker. But let me quote what Candice Chartier, the CEO of the Ontario Long-Term Care Association, had to say about our plan. Today you and your team have made me very proud to be part of long-term care in Ontario. These so very important investments in this sector will have massive impact on caring for such a fragile population. This is such a monumental moment and I'm truly excited to see what the art of the possible is moving forward. That's Candice Chartier, who's the CEO of the Ontario Long-Term Care Association. Mr. Speaker, I don't remember seeing or hearing such an enthusiastic endorsement of our health care plans as that one right there reflects that we're on the right track, we're making the right investments, and we're developing the plan that we need for this province at this time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Development. Speaker, not only are college students being forced to choose between dropping out or cramming five weeks of learning into two or missing significant amounts of content, not only are they trying to deal with the financial burden that in many cases exceeds the $500 hardship fund but their career plans may also be in jeopardy. We are learning that paralegal students planning to write their entrance exam with the Law Society won't be finished in time for the February exam sitting because of the extended semester, putting these students behind by at least six months. Given the fact that this Liberal government sat on the sidelines for five weeks and did nothing to help prevent or resolve the strike, is the Minister working on a solution for these paralegal students? Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Development. Just for context here, that was the party that blocked the end to the strike. Time and time again they refused to support legislation that would get students back into the classroom. So now they're concerned about the impact of the strike. If they had been in charge, Speaker, the strike would still be going on. So colleges are working very very hard to make sure that students do have the We were doing so well. There are some comments coming from somebody that's even giving the answer as well as those that vast. Bring it down. Finish, please. So Speaker, colleges are working very hard to make sure that students do are able to successfully complete. Thank you. Thank you, Speaker. Speaker, it's not just students preparing to enter a paralegal career. There are many college programs that require co-op or practice hours for students to enter their profession. Students learning to become electricians could have missed their co-ops. Allied health students and nursing students could have missed their clinical placements. Speaker, does the Minister have a plan to work with colleges to ensure that students have the necessary co-op or practice hours and any other requirements they need to write the scheduled certification exams? Thank you, Minister. Speaker, I really would have loved to have heard those kinds of arguments being made when we were blocking that. Speaker, this new concern for students is refreshing, but I do think actions speak louder than words. And when they had an opportunity to act, to get students back, they actually blocked that, Speaker. We've been working very closely with students throughout the strike. One more stand. We'll go into warnings. Thank you. We have been working with students throughout the strike and following the strike to make sure that we can be there to offer as much support as possible to get students back on track, Speaker. Thank you, Speaker. I wish the Minister would put as much energy into supporting students as to spinning her responses. This Liberal government needs to admit its role in this mess, both their decision to sit on the sidelines during the strike and 14 years of Liberal budgets that left Ontario colleges funded lower on a per-student basis than any other Canadian province or territory. With news today of a 91% strike mandate from contract academic staff at the University of Toronto who are concerned about the same issues as college faculty, U of T students could soon be suffering too. Will this Minister finally take responsibility to address the precarious situation of contract college and university faculty and come up with a plan to prevent U of T students from missing classes? Let's listen to what college students have actually said. As I said, we've worked closely with students and student groups. The College Student Alliance says, and I'm quoting, CSA is pleased the student support fund advocated for by CSA is an option for students to receive some financial compensation due to the strike. We are relieved the Ministry has ensured funding is there for students who need it most. Speaker, when it comes to advice, I'm listening to students, Speaker. Let's hear what else they have to say. Again, from the CSA. CSA has worked on details for the student hardship fund with the Ministry since the fund was announced last week. CSA has also asked for the Ministry to allow students who choose to withdraw to have the ability to do so. These students should receive a full tuition refund and no implications on their transcript. So, Speaker, students advocated for a hardship fund, we developed it. Students asked for the option of a tuition refund, we provided that option. Students wanted assurances, there would be no academic penalty, and we would ensure there would be no academic penalty. Thank you. New question, the member from London West. Thank you, Speaker. Again, to the Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Development, I want to share what students are telling us about their experience after this five-week strike. Faye, a student at Humber College, said this of the $500 hardship fund cap, quote, I think the plan is absolute rubbish. That's barely two weeks reimbursement of program fees for domestic students. She said, mostly, we, the students, just feel like we're getting screwed. Speaker, can the Minister explain? By way of explanation, you cannot say directly what you said indirectly. I'm going to ask you to withdraw. That's not parliamentary language. Withdraw. Speaker, can the Minister explain why her government is offering students such unacceptable options? I could quote again what the Coalition Alliance said about the hardship fund. I can't imagine that the member opposite is actually attacking the CSA for their support in the development of this fund, Speaker. I can tell you that this is the first time in the history of strikes in the post-secondary education that this kind of fund has been established. It was established with student speaker and for students. And I just want to go back. Just remember, if the NDP had their way, they have said they would not have ordered them back to work, Speaker. They would still be on strike. Those costs would still be adding up. Time and time again, the NDP blocked the legislation that would have gotten students into the classroom even more quickly. Thank you, supplementary. Thank you, Speaker. As the Minister knows, there is already a severe lack of campus mental health supports. And the stress of this strike, the stress of being forced to either drop out or cram five weeks of coursework into two is too much for some students. One of the students who contacted us said, I'm scared about how it is going to be at college this week. I'm scared about seeing mental breakdowns in the hallway, people being angry and negative energy surrounding the school. I'm scared about everyone's mental health and overall well-being. Speaker, students should not feel scared to be back at school because of the stress that they have experienced. Will this Minister actually listen to what students are saying and direct the colleges to provide additional emergency mental health supports on Ontario College campus? Thank you, Minister. Well, Speaker, once again, it's just a astonishing that this new found concern for students and the impact of the strike on students. That is exactly why we took action to get students back to class. This has been very, very difficult for students, for faculty members, Speaker, for employers in the community who are looking forward to having those students working in their organizations. The strike was tough. It had a big impact. We're doing everything we can to support students to get back into the classroom and back on track for their careers. Thank you, the final supplementary. Speaker, clearly this Liberal government's plan to get students back to class seamlessly is not working. As the Minister knows, students are anxious about the stress of managing a compressed semester and the lack of any other good options. Samantha, a student at Fleming College, said this, Yesterday I had classmates crying and general anxiety and uncertainty. A lot of us are thinking of dropping out. Everyone I have spoken to feels like there is no good option here. I don't think anyone knows how to handle it. Teachers are trying. Speaker, will this Minister direct colleges to offer students the supports they need so that they can feel confident in their ability to finish the semester? That is exactly what colleges across this province are doing. They are well aware of the difficulty that students are facing as a result of this strike. They are doing everything in their power. With increased funding from the province for mental health services on campus, they are really focused on the success of the students. I would just suggest that the member opposite stops feeding the narrative that students should quit. Students should not quit. They should be focused on getting back. They should be supported and getting back. For the member opposite to keep talking about why they should quit is very disheartening for me. My question is to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. The residents of Perth Wellington are paying the price for this government's failure in long-term care. Many seniors are in long-term care beds far from home because of long waiting lists. Families, sometimes even spouses, are being separated. Many more are stuck in hospital beds because they can't get the long-term care bed they need. It's no wonder that people are rallying against the proposed transfer of up to 50 beds from Hillside Manor to London. We can't afford to lose any beds. Does the Minister agree and will the government support my motion to keep these beds in Perth Wellington? The member knows that I've been working very hard on the issue with regards to Hillside Manor and I share his concerns. As I referenced earlier, I grew up in a small town. My parents, who are in their late 80s, still reside in that town. I understand just how critically important it is that we have all sorts of health care options available, including long-term care beds, as close to home, as close to their current residences as possible. Partly because the transportation challenges that exist, and partly because it's important that their family and loved ones and caregivers and care partners are able to maintain that close relationship and visit them on a regular basis. I've been very engaged with the issue of Hillside Manor that we've had, I believe, two public consultations thus far. The member knows as well that there will be no change to the situation at Hillside without my explicit written approval. We are far away from anything in that direction. I'm working to find an option that the community will support. Demand for long-term care beds is beyond crisis levels in my writing. This past March, I told the minister that the wait list for long-term care beds in Helleburton, Cork, the Lakes, Brock was 1,800. That number is now 2,700. That's an increase of 900 people in seven months. These are real people, mothers and fathers, on wait lists, in a Linn that already had the highest ratio of need to available beds in the entire province. The government's solace approach to this issue is completely inexcusable. The minister throws around hollow numbers that mean nothing to real people who are waiting in many cases dying on lists. When will the minister finally get to work and actually start building new long-term care beds in the areas that need them? Well, I think I understand what's going on here. This is the eve of their policy meeting. Here's what we know about the Progressive Conservative Party. We know that when they were empowered, they closed 10,000 hospital beds. We know that they closed more than two dozen hospitals, Mr. Speaker. We know that they referred to nurses as hula hoops, outdated and unnecessary. We saw droves of nurses being let go and laid off and fired. So I know they're trying to divert a little bit of attention away from the fact that they have absolutely no plan. When it comes to healthcare, when it comes to long-term care, when it comes to home care, I'm looking forward to this weekend because, and hoping perhaps beyond hope, that they'll emerge from this weekend with a realistic plan on long-term care that we'll finally be able to hear about. Thank you. New question, members from Charles Danforth. Thank you, Speaker. Speaker, my question to the acting Premier. Two years ago, the Premier promised that a privatized Hydro One would lower rates. Instead, Hydro One is seeking large rate increases in order to pay for its empire building ambitions, including its $6.7 billion purchase of Avista. Not only that, Hydro One now wants Ontario families to pay millions to replace its overpriced smart meters with new prepayment meters. Those meters will allow Hydro One to bypass winter disconnection rules. Will the Premier stop Hydro One from opening up this new loophole and stop the installation of the prepayment meters? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Protecting Ontario's energy consumers and ensuring greater fairness across the energy system are top priorities for our government, Mr. Speaker. In its unapproved rate application on page 2003 in two paragraphs, Hydro One is exploring this technology as an effort to ensure more customer choice. Hydro One has informed me that no customer would be put on any type of payment plan without their consent. Let me repeat that, Mr. Speaker. Customers will have to opt in to be part of this program. Additionally, no residential customer will be without power during the winter months, regardless of any type of meter they may choose to have in the future. This initiative, Mr. Speaker, is just one of the options Hydro One is examining to offer their customers more choice on how they manage their electricity counts. On that side, Mr. Speaker, is fear mongering. On this side is choice for Ontario ratepayers. Supplementary. Well, Speaker, I know many people in a difficult situation can be forced to take a choice they might not otherwise take. So, Speaker, again to the acting Premier, a few years ago, the Auditor General noted that Hydro One's smart meters cost hundreds of millions more than the smart meters of any other utility in this province. And now, having forced its customers to overpay for its botched rollout of smart meters, the privatized Hydro One wants its customers to pay yet again for new prepayment meters. Pre-payment water meters cause serious harm to families in the UK during the Thatcher era. And frankly, we can expect that they will cause serious harm here as well. Will the Premier do the same thing as the British Government eventually did, and that stopped the privatized Hydro One from installing prepayment meters in Ontario? Obviously, Mr. Speaker, the Opposition member didn't hear what I said in the first answer, so let me reiterate this. Customers will have to opt in to be part of this program. This is a choice, Mr. Speaker, that Hydro One is looking at to making sure that ratepayers have a choice, something like we are offering, Mr. Speaker, when it comes to residential price plans, Mr. Speaker. When you're looking at what we have done as a government to protect consumers, we updated the Energy Consumer Protection Act in 2015 to ensure that we're banning door-to-door sales for energy contracts. We increased consumer representation in Ontario proceedings, and we enhanced the authority of the OEB to further protect electricity ratepayers by boosting consumer protection. And we've done all this, Mr. Speaker, while we've lowered rates by 25%. Meanwhile, the third party continues to have no credible plan, Mr. Speaker. We've got a plan to protect ratepayers and make their rates lower. Thank you for the new question, the member from Kingston in the Islands. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Community and Social Services. Our government is committed to building a province where everyone can live free from the fear and threat of violence and harassment. The Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses, one of our terrific violence against women partner organisations, is here today at Queen's Park. OEB is a coalition of first-stage emergency shelters, second-stage housing and community-based organisations who work towards ending violence against women. There are the largest women's shelter association in Canada and represent approximately 50% of violence against women's shelters in Ontario. One of their member agencies, Kingston Interval House, has been supporting women and their children in my riding for over 40 years. And I'm thrilled that their Executive Director Pam Havery, who is the Eastern Region Representative on the Board of Directors of OEB, is here with us. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister please tell the House about the great work OEB is doing across the province of Ontario? Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and to the member from Kingston and the Islands for the question and her advocacy in supporting survivors of domestic violence. I'd also like to thank OEB for being here with us today and for all of the support they provide violence against women's shelters in the province. I'd also like to thank all of the violence against women's staff and volunteers across the province for the work they do each and every day to support the women and their children who have experienced domestic violence. This November, OEB launched their fifth annual Purple Scarf Wrapped in Courage campaign. This year's scarf was designed by local Ontario mixed media artist, Jen Lados, who's here today. The beautiful design on the scarf reads, the courage of a woman alone is not enough. Her artistic vision has produced a scarf that I know many people across Ontario will be proud to wear. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and to the Minister for her answer. We recognise the unfortunate reality that violence against women continues to be prevalent in our society. Last year, nearly 11,000 women and over 6,700 children were served by our 96 emergency shelter agencies across the province. Over 45,000 women and children received counselling services. This government is committed to improving the lives of women and their children and strengthening communities by helping organisations such as OEB and domestic violence and support survivors. We have heard from violence against women agencies that there's a need to increase the training for frontline workers and that there has been an increase in the number of older women who are accessing supports. When we speak of frontline workers, I want to acknowledge them, each and every one, and especially those on the frontline taking those first calls. Can the Minister please outline how he continues to support organisations like OEB and the violence against women's sector as a whole? Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and today I'm pleased to announce that OEB will be receiving over $1 million over four years as part of this government's senior strategy. This funding will ensure that senior specific frontline worker training is provided across the sector. OEB will also be receiving $130,000 from my ministry to deliver additional training on a variety of topics to frontline staff across the province. In addition, my ministry, along with the Ministry of the Status of Women, are moving ahead on an updated domestic violence action plan and the creation of a gender-based violence strategy. We will continue to work across government and with community partners to make this province safer for all women and their children. Mr. Speaker, I encourage all members to join me following question period for a photo on the staircase wearing our gloves and scarves as well as for AO8's lunch reception in room 230. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. A new question to the member from the few and good morning, Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. We have critical long-term care issues in my riding of nipissing. This has created bed pressures at the North Bay Regional Health Center, which is being used for long-term care beds. This government announced reconstruction of our territorial district home, Castle Home, seven years ago. For seven years, North Bay has been waiting to see a real shovel in the ground. Now, Castle Home appeared before the committee last week asking for needed amendments to Bill 160. These critical amendments will allow for the long-term home financing to be born by Castle Home as opposed to relying on the city to borrow. My question is, will this government support my amendments to finally get Castle Home's project moving? I hope so. Thank you, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and this is obviously an important issue. I'm a bit surprised because the member and I are working on the issue of long-term care home in his riding. He hasn't brought this specific issue to my attention. Be that as it may, Mr. Speaker, as I have routinely, uniformly said to all my colleagues in this House that if there are any issues, local issues, or provincial issues, I'm happy to sit down with them and talk through them and see if there's something that we can do to address them. I'm happy to do this as well. But, Mr. Speaker, I do want to emphasize that the 5,000 additional long-term care beds that we're providing for the next four years will help us, including and specifically in high-needs areas in rural and small town and northern parts of this province, will help us to make with our partners the necessary investments to provide additional long-term care homes to an aging population. Thank you. Supplementary. Member from Leeds-Grenville to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. Speaker, here's a dose of reality for the Minister. In Leeds and Grenville, 588 people are waiting for a long-term care bed, but only 35 beds open each month. That means families have to expect a weight of 574 days. It's disgraceful and shows the system is in crisis. My constituents with aging loved ones don't want empty promises. They want action to protect the beds we have and construction of new beds. They want assurances. Growing complaints about quality of care will be addressed. And they want to know when overworked staff caring for our loved ones will finally get some resources. Speaker, the government's had years to fix this. They've only made it worst. When are they going to do something? What we're not going to do is what they did when they were in power. In Temiskamine, home care hours were reduced by 20 percent. In Pembroke, they cut service for 50 percent of their 3,000 clients. In Algoma, 25 percent of clients lost service. In North Bay, 20 percent of all home care visits were eliminated. Even at the time of the pandemic, there was a lot of work to be done. Frankly said at the time, I can tell you I'm hearing from my constituents that they are not being well looked after in the area of home care. This is when the PCs were in power. Tory MPP for Sarnia Marcel-Boubiet said the government was reducing service levels to patients going on to say, I find this unacceptable. I don't care how we do it, but we must make sure that our sick and elderly get the type of care they need and where and when they need it. That is what we're doing, Mr. Speaker. They have a policy conference this weekend. I hope, Mr. Speaker, beyond help, that they're going to address this issue in a practical and acceptable way. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Acting Premier. For nearly five years, the City of Toronto has asked the provincial government to help fund its 2.6 billion capital repair program for social housing. The Premier has repeatedly refused. Yesterday, the federal government announced funding for social housing repairs, but only if matched by the province. Will the Premier finally agree to fund the costs of social housing repairs in partnership with the municipal and federal governments as the NDP has always proposed? Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I want to thank the member Parkdale High Park for the question. Indeed, yesterday was National Housing Day, and what a historic day it was. I joined the Prime Minister and Mayor Tory to hear the announcement of the National Housing Strategy, a strategy which Ontario has been working hard on, a strategy where we fought to ensure that the end of agreement funding for our existing stock of social housing would be protected. And it has been, Mr. Speaker. This means our existing stock of social housing will continue to be affordable and stable, that there will be money to reinvest in repairs of it. Earlier this year, we announced $657 million of funding to help repair our existing stock of social housing. Mr. Speaker, we're on top of the housing file, and we welcome having a federal partner that's finally at the table. Do you see it, please? Do you see it, please? Thank you. Supplementary. Thank you. Again, back to the acting Premier. Mr. Speaker, hundreds of families are in the verge of losing their homes. Hundreds more will not get those homes on a wait list of 170,000 families in Ontario. They wait an average of four years. You know, words won't house them. Only housing will house them and money. Yesterday, and the Minister's right, the federal government offered money to help save those homes, but only if this money is matched by the provincial government. The NDP has committed to this. The Premier has repeatedly refused. Now that the federal government has come to the table with money for social housing, will the Premier finally match? And the answer is, will the Premier finally match this funding, yes or no? Thank you. Do you see it, please? Do you see it, please? Thank you. Minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Ontario has been spending over a billion dollars a year on our social housing. We have been spending more than the federal government on social housing. That is why we are so excited that we now have a federal government that is a full partner with us and with communities to build up the social housing that we need. We need to build more and to preserve what we have. Mr. Speaker, we invested $200 million in our homes for good strategy to provide supportive and transitional housing and communities across this province for vulnerable groups. Mr. Speaker, we have a goal to end chronic homelessness by 2025. The federal housing strategy is now aligning with our long term. New question, the member from Ottawa, Vignette. Thank you, Mr. President. My question for the housing minister and to fight poverty. Yesterday we heard the big announcement, the big national strategy on housing, the Ontario Fair Housing Plan, provokes affordable housing and help hundreds of Ontarians to have access to housing. This is a crucial issue in my riding of Ottawa, Vignette, where we really want to know how to get good, affordable, suitable housing for people. The question of homelessness is top of mind in the riding. We know that sustainable, inclusive communities can only be built if people have a home. And when people have housing, which is adequate and meets their needs, they are better able to participate to the community. About how the national strategy will help Ontario make sure that everyone in Ontario has an affordable and a suitable place to call home. Mr. Speaker, I wish to thank the MP for Vignette and for support for affordable housing. Prime Minister Trudeau and Mayor Tory yesterday at the historic national housing strategy announcement at the Lawrence Heights community here in Toronto, one of Toronto community housing's largest revitalization projects, a project which will now be able to be accelerated as a result of these types of investments. Mr. Speaker, as Minister, my number one goal is to make sure that every Ontarian has safe, secure and affordable housing. And that's why we released our Fair Housing Plan earlier this year, a 16-point plan that comprehensively addresses issues around the homeless home, affordable home strategy and also commits to ending chronic homelessness by 2025. The national housing strategy announcement guarantees us funding to move forward and Ontario will not leave any federal money on the table. We will be working with our federal counterpowers very carefully over the coming weeks and months to work out the details of this to make sure that we can achieve the goals we want for Ontario housing supplementary. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. For the poverty reduction strategy, it's fabulous to have a minister that continues to lead the government's effort on housing needs. Families in my riding of Ottawa, Vanie, have already seen the benefits of the efforts that we've put in housing. Over 1,600 affordable housing units have been created. Over 9,000 affordable units have been repaired. 134 households have received down payment assistance, which is so important. And about over 2,600 people have been prevented from being evicted. So first of all, Speaker, I want to thank the minister for this, for continuing the efforts of Ontario and to all his staff that's doing such a fabulous job. Ontario is working hard to get housing first and making sure that people have access to get the minister update the house on the work that he is and his minister is doing. Thank you. Minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The national housing strategy is great news for Ontarians and builds on the work that we're doing here in our province. Starting January 1st of this year, we doubled the rebate for first time home buyers through the provincial portion of the land transfer tax to make housing more affordable for first timers. We announced the fair housing plan, a 16 point comprehensive strategy that's making housing more affordable for Ontarians, whether they want to rent a home or buy a home. We expanded rent control to all Ontario tenants, bringing more stability and protection to them. We announced $657 million in social housing repairs earlier this year to ensure their existing stock of affordable housing is brought up to a better state of repair. We will commit to ending chronic homelessness by 2025. We invested $200 million in the Home for Good program to ensure that we build more housing for vulnerable communities to help homeless people find a suitable home with supports. Mr. Speaker, my question this morning is for the Minister of Health and long-term care. Hastings and Prince Edward counties have one of the oldest populations in Ontario and they have long wait lists as well for long-term care facilities. At Centennial Manor in Bancroft, the wait time for a bed is 1049 days. That's almost three years, Speaker. At Hastings Manor in Belleville, there's 300 people on the wait list. Thousands of seniors in my riding are waiting for space in a long-term care home and many of them are being sent home from hospital to a very unsafe environment at home and we've heard horror stories about the lack of home care in our communities for these seniors that are being left in very dangerous situations at times. There's been no money for new beds in the last many liberal budgets for new beds. So, Speaker, the Minister has had 14 years to actually address this problem. Why has he not addressed it until now? Thank you. Well, Mr. Speaker, let me address a couple of things because when I was having the engagement with a member from Nipissing and he knows this, Mr. Speaker, he knows that we're bringing forward on the government side the amendment that he has requested that he referred to earlier, Mr. Speaker. So, I'm not quite sure why he brought it up in the legislature. The stakeholders that he's referenced are supportive of the wording that the government is bringing forward. It's actually more accurately prescribed in the government amendments. So, he knows that we are making these changes. He's being told. I'm not quite sure why he asked here. And I forgot to add the context. When I was talking about those massive cuts to home and community care by the PCs, it was because they were the CCACs in 2001, 2002 that cuts were so disastrous. The CCACs at the time were left with a $175 million shortfall due to the PC cuts. Cut supported by the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party, the current one, who was the Progressive Conservative Youth Federation President at the time. The member from Renfrew, Nipissing, Pembroke is warned. Completely ignoring the speaker when he's standing is not very parliamentary. Supplementary. The member from Whitby, Oshawa. To the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. According to data from the Interior Ministry of Finance, the number of seniors is expected to more than double by 2036. The Central East Local Health Integration Network, the second largest in Ontario and which includes the region of Durham and my riding, is facing increasing demands on this long-term care system. This local health integration network speaker has the highest number of patients waiting for long-term care placement and the highest time to placement in days in Ontario. Clearly, speakers of the Liberal Government's previous commitments aren't meeting the long-term care needs in the region of Durham. Will the Liberal Government commit today to provide the long-term care resources to address the long-term care crisis in the region of Durham? Thank you, Minister of Health. Mr. Speaker, 5,000 new beds over four years and 30,000 over the next decade is the commitment that this government made. But this is all useful context. The cuts that they made when they were in government to home care. The 10,000 beds, acute care beds that they closed. The nurses that they fired. The hospitals that they closed. So I'm expecting with this weekend's PC conference in perpetual cuts that they're going to emerge this weekend with yet another plan to devastate our health care system. The public remembers, Mr. Speaker, it wasn't that long ago. When the measures taken by that party, when they were in power, supported by many, if not most of the members opposite. Still today, those cuts were devastating to a health care system that took years to rebuild. But rebuild it, we have, and we're making those critically important investments, including a long-term care that will continue to provide that highest quality care. Thank you. Any questions? The member from Nicobelt. My question is for the Deputy Premier. Should be safe at work. But just last week, the Ontario Council of the Hospital Union released a shocking poll. It showed that violence against health care worker is getting worse, not better. Two out of three frontline health care worker report being physically assaulted last year. 83% were verbally abused and nearly half of all of our health care worker were sexually harassed or assaulted. This is not acceptable. Why is this government ignoring the violence inside our hospital and doing nothing to protect our frontline health care workers? Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the member for that very, very important question. And yes, nurses play a huge integral role in the provision of our services we receive in health care. And we know what we've seen over the years is an increase in violence in those settings. We fully accept that and know that we need to do something about that. The way we've approached it, Speaker, to make sure that every worker in Ontario is in a healthy and a safe workplace, Speaker, is to bring forward our workplace violence prevention and health care leadership table. It's a phased approach. The group has spent about the last year talking about the provision and the improvement of violence prevention in our health care sector, in the hospital sector. They came to a consensus, Speaker, that was organised labour at the table, management from the hospitals, health care professionals, my own staff, Speaker. I can follow up in the supplementary as to the progress this group is making. Thank you. Supplementary. Back to the acting Premier. This is an ongoing issue, Speaker. I wrote to the Premier in July of 2015 asking the government to take action to protect workers in our health care system. But two and a half years later, we see this Premier continue to let them down and continues to ignore the violence that they face inside of our hospital. Two out of three health care workers would not have been physically assaulted each and every year if proper staffing level were in place. But the Premier has squeezed their hospital funding and is making the problem getting worse. When will the government stop making excuses and start taking action to ensure that every health care worker goes home safe to his or her family at the end of every shift? Thank you, Minister. Speaker, I appreciate the question, but I would argue with the fact that or with the assertion that we have let these folks down. We've done exactly the opposite, Speaker. What we've done is we've sat down with the people that are most affected, with the people from organised labour, from the management of the hospital, Speaker, and we've worked through a plan. We've talked to people that are on the front lines, that see this on a daily basis, that know what needs to change in order for these places to become the safe places that we want them to, Speaker. We're working on the advice. We're sending MOL into each and every hospital in the province of Ontario, Speaker. We're moving it into other arenas of health care, Speaker, into long-term care homes, into doctor's offices. Anywhere where those valuable health care professionals are working, Speaker, they deserve nothing but the best when it comes to health and safety in this province, Speaker. We're determined that by working with the groups affected by moving ahead on the leadership table, Speaker, we're all going to fix this together. Thank you. New question to the members from the Tobacco North. Thank you, Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Transportation. Speaker, as the MPP for Tobacco North, of course, I appreciate the many historic investments our government is making in Toronto Transit projects. That includes over $12 billion for projects that have been completed or under construction or will soon be underway. And I'd like to personally thank Minister Dalduca for being in my writing almost every few weeks to make yet another welcome announcement. This includes, Speaker, for example, a $2 billion Finch West LRT, which will, of course, serve my community, and has eight stops right within my own writing. We've seen significant progress to date on these investments. And, of course, there's more work to be done, but this will help commuters across my writing and, of course, beyond. Will the minister elaborate on the measures that we will implement? Minister of Transportation. Thank you very much, Speaker. Of course, I want to begin by thanking the member from Tobacco North not only for his question today, but for the fact that he's been a champion for the last 14 years for the good people of Tobacco North, very supportive of all of our transit initiatives from the Finch West LRT to the Spadina subway extension to go regional express rail and so much more, Speaker. So last Friday I was absolutely delighted to join with representatives from all three levels of government to mark a very exciting milestone. In now less than 30-day, Speaker, I think it's about 24 days from today, the Toronto York Spadina subway extension will open to service for the public here in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area. Now, I said, Speaker, on Friday at the announcement that we made that I cannot personally wait until the morning of Sunday, December the 17th, to hop on that first train that's going to leave York Region, the Vaughan Metropolitan Center Station, and head all the way down to Union Station with my two young daughters who are 10 and 6, Speaker, because I want them to see, thanks to our Premier and our government's investments, what their transit future looks like. And I'll talk more about this in the follow-up. Thank you, Speaker, and thank you to the minister. This is actually very and a certified big deal, Speaker, and I'm truly looking forward to December 17th. Speaker, the TYSSE is just one part of our plan to build an integrated transit network. And now more than ever, commuters have unique needs and they need a transit system that can deal with them wherever they want to go, whether it's parents picking up their kids or students attending post-secondary classes. And residents in my own community of Etobicoke North Speaker are expecting our government to respond with a transit network that speaks to such needs. Speaker, would the minister please provide the members of this House with information on how the new Line 1 subway extension will fully connect our region, including my community of Etobicoke North? Thank you, minister. Thanks very much, Speaker. I thank the member of the Etobicoke North for his follow-up. He's 100 percent right. This is a certified big deal, Speaker. The TYSSE will play an absolutely critical role in helping people to get to work or to school and back home again faster than they do now. And this is because the subway extension, Speaker, will also connect various regional and local transit systems together. For example, in York Region, the Bond Metropolitan Center and the Highway... Correct me if I'm wrong and we're in warnings. And there are people that have been warned? I see. I see. Carry on. I was saying, Speaker, in York Region, the Bond Metropolitan Center and Highway 7 stations will serve as hubs for Viva and York Region transit. The Downsview Park station will connect GO passengers on the ferry line to the subway, to the TTC, meaning that you won't have to go all the way down to Union Station to transfer to the TTC. Fundamentally, Speaker, the opening of this Spadina subway extension demonstrates once and for all where the government that built subways, they were the government that killed and filled them. Thanks. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Health and Long-Tongue Care. I recently visited the Eion Community Wellness Center in my riding Scarborough Rouge River. I understand from my visit that this government had not increased the long-term best for the last 12 years. And when I was at the Monson Long-Tongue Care fundraising earlier this month, I was told that their waiting list is seven years long. Some of the seniors on the waiting list actually died while waiting. Mr. Speaker, my question to the Minister is why is there an announcement for new beds? Is there an election in the Eion? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, Mr. Speaker, I'm happy to finally hear from the member opposite from Scarborough Rouge River. Thank you on this issue because I can tell you that all of the liberal members who represent Scarborough and the Scarborough region have been relentless in working with me in a collaborative way to continue to provide. Mr. Speaker, I hope the thousands of viewers today can hear the enthusiasm coming from this side of the legislature when it comes to Scarborough and Scarborough health care. We're absolutely committed. We're committed. We've given them a planning grant as well as for Durham to plan for the future of health care in that important region. And investing, making capital investments across the board at the hospitals and the communities. We recently we recently opened many, many things. Thank you. To the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, I have visited every long-term care facility in Sioux St. Marie and the waiting lists are upwards of four years long. And in some cases, we have in some cases and approximately a thousand seniors are waiting for beds alone in our city. With an aging population, the reality is that the demand for these beds will only increase in the years and in fact the months to come. Many seniors are required to sign 90-day contracts to be moved into transitional beds on the promise that they will receive the long-term care they need in the imminent future. All too often they are asked to re-sign these 90-day contracts over and over and over again. And sadly, Mr. Speaker, some of our seniors never survive to see an end to that cycle. Imagine your loved one being forced to sign these 90-day contracts over and over again, only to die before they get to the home they were promised. My question is, what will you do, Minister, to ensure that the seniors in Sioux St. Marie get the homes they need now? Thank you, Minister. Mr. Speaker, we have no idea what's going to come out of this weekend's policy conference by the PCs because the PCs have no plan, Mr. Speaker. Their leader has no plan. So we can only go about what their leader has done in the past. And we know that in 2013, he was a member of the Federal Conservative Government that closed down the Health Council of Canada. In 2012, Patrick, the leader of the official opposition, his federal government closed the National Aboriginal Health Organization. And of course, of course... I don't care what time it is, you're still not going to get carried away. Mr. Speaker, we all remember when he voted for a budget that acts the Canadian Refugee Interim Federal Health Program that cut off healthcare to thousands of refugees, and of course, most notably voted to reopen the abortion debate, Mr. Speaker. The Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation with Withdraw. Mr. Speaker, I make that choice. The tone is going to change. We had deferred vote on the motion of second reading of Bill 174. Sorry. Point of order, the member from Nipissing. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to put forward a motion without notice to split Bill 177, and I have tabled that motion yesterday. The member from Nipissing is seeking unanimous consent to put forward a motion without notice to re-agree. I heard a no. Minister of Tourism, Culture and Support on a point of order. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Forgive me for being late on these introductions, but they're important. We have members of the Ontario Public Library Association and the Federation of Ontario Public Libraries with us today, Mr. Speaker, including, I'm proud to say, the CEO of the Burlington Public Library, Maureen Berry. That's the library in Ontario, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. We have a deferred vote on the motion of second reading of Bill 174, an act to enact the Cannabis Act 2017 in the Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation Act 2017 and the Smoke Free Ontario Act 2017 to repeal two acts and to make amendments to the Highway Traffic Act respecting drugs, alcohol and other matters. Calling the members, this will be a five-minute bill. On November 2nd, 2017, Mr. Nackman moved second reading of Bill 174, an act to enact the Cannabis Act 2017, Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation Act 2017 and the Smoke Free Ontario Act 2017 to repeal two acts and to make amendments to the Highway Traffic Act respecting alcohol, drugs and other matters. All those in favour, please rise one time and be recognised by the court. Mr. Nattishap. Mr. Nattishap. Mr. Besson. Mr. Bantaw. Mr. Bantaw. Madam Jelena. Madam Jelena. Mr. Tabas. Mr. Tabas. Ms. Sattler. Ms. Sattler. Ms. Taylor. Ms. Taylor. Ms. Armstrong. Ms. Armstrong. Ms. Fykes. Ms. Fykes. Ms. Forster. Ms. Forster. Ms. Humantz. Ms. French. Ms. French. All those opposed, please rise one at a time and be recognised by the court. Mr. Hillier. Mr. Arnaud. Mr. Arnaud. Mr. Harden. Mr. Harden. Mr. Wilson. Mr. Wilson. The ayes being 59, the nays are 26. The ayes being 59, and the nays being 26, they could declare the motion carried. Second Reading of the bill. There are no further deferred votes. This House stands recess until 1 pm this afternoon.