 So it's now time for question period. Excuse me, my question is for the Premier. Premier, your government has recently been holding consultations on Ontario's climate change strategy, which is really just a cover for your upcoming carbon tax. A price on carbon will increase the cost of everything from gas to groceries. And Premier, we already have received over 13,000 signatures on the PC Stop the Carbon Tax Petition. Premier, my question for you is this. Will you listen to the people of Ontario and say no to a carbon tax? I know that the Minister of Environment and Climate Change is going to want to win it. But I'm just going to take a crack at it to start out with. You know, Mr. Speaker, I think that it is not underestimating the issue to say that climate change is a defining issue of our time. There is probably no issue that is more important for all of us to tackle. And Mr. Speaker, I would go further to suggest that this is not a partisan issue. This is an issue that is going to affect all of us, that is going to affect our children and our grandchildren, Mr. Speaker. And we have done a lot in Ontario by shutting down the coal-fired plants, Mr. Speaker. We have made an enormous, enormous step forward. But the fact is that there is more to be done. There is more that we have to do if we're going to be responsible to generations to come, Mr. Speaker. And we are going to do that. Thank you. Back to the Premier. Speaker, I heard the Premier say there's no issue they want to tackle. I think she meant to say tax. Because really and truly, Ontarians already have some of the highest energy costs in North America. And a carbon tax will only further drive jobs out of this province. Premier, it is unacceptable that your Minister of Energy has nonchalantly stated, business has come and go. But Premier, we definitely don't want a carbon tax to speed up that process driving jobs out of this province. Especially when other jurisdictions such as BC saw a carbon tax increase the cost of farmers and extra $4,300. And in Australia, it raised energy by 9%. Premier, will you heed the advice of the PC Party of Ontario and commit to not implementing a carbon tax? Well, Mr. Speaker, I think that the member opposite might look at other jurisdictions, even in this country, Mr. Speaker. She might look at BC, she might look at Quebec, she might look at Alberta, Mr. Speaker, and see that there are other jurisdictions in this country that have moved forward responsibly. She then might look at other jurisdictions internationally, Mr. Speaker. She might look at Sweden, she might look at where the opportunities have been increased because there has been a regime of carbon pricing. But apart from all of that, Mr. Speaker, the fact is that we cannot sit idle. We cannot pretend that this is not an issue. And I can tell you, Mr. Speaker, there are people in every one of our ridings who are concerned about the fact that they're seeing changing weather patterns, Mr. Speaker. They know that they don't have a federal government that is moving forward. Order. No, no, I'm getting orders so she can finish. And I can hear. Please finish. I know that they don't have a federal government that is putting in place a framework and that it is up to the provincial governments to work together to make sure that we take responsible steps for future generations. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, final supplementary question. Thank you. Back to the Premier. Speaker, Ontarians are concerned about the cost of living and the cost of doing business going through the roof. And Premier, back to you. In last year's election, the only thing you said to the people of Ontario about a carbon tax is that you won't implement one. Premier, as the second of our five budget asks, will you stick by what you said to the people of Ontario and commit in your 2015 budget that you will not put another burden on taxpayer shoulders by levying a carbon tax? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Alberta. I want to say it really slowly. Alberta has a price on carbon introduced by the same party she's affiliated with, Mr. Speaker. British Columbia, which has seen some of the most dynamic per capita GDP growth in Canada, has a price on carbon, Mr. Speaker. Quebec has a price on carbon, Mr. Speaker. California has a price on carbon, Mr. Speaker. New York has a price on carbon, Mr. Speaker. Massachusetts has a price on carbon, Mr. Speaker. Mexico has a price on carbon. They're all seen. China has a price on carbon. Germany and that. Could the members explain her party's position, how she reduces GHG emissions, how she thinks that Ontario can be the only jurisdiction to reduce it without a price on carbon, Mr. Speaker? Because that's fantasy. Thank you. New question. Remember from Jim Cipuson. Premier, my question is to the Premier. Premier, we're just coming off one of the coldest winters on record, and the consequences of your reckless hydro policies are more apparent than ever. Most Ontarians are struggling because the cost of energy is rising much faster than their ability to pay. This is because they're paying 14 cents a kilowatt hour, plus all the extras you slap on like the global adjustment, debt retirement charge, and distribution costs for on peak electricity. When your government took office, they were paying 4.3 cents a kilowatt hour. Premier, the current chaos in the energy system is all on you. The only way to fix it is to change direction. Will you turn away from your failed energy policies, which have damaged our economy, and caused untold misery to ratepayers, and commit to making Ontario, once again, an energy competitive jurisdiction? Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Well, Mr. Speaker, let me just say to the member opposite that the fact is when we came into office, the electricity system in this province was degraded. It had been neglected. It was in no shape to deliver reliable power to people across this province, Mr. Speaker. 10,000 kilometres of transmission line have been rebuilt and repaired, Mr. Speaker, because that party did not put the money into infrastructure that was needed, Mr. Speaker. So, we have done that work. We have made those investments. And we are aware, Mr. Speaker, that there's a cost associated with that. And so I hope that the member opposite, I hope the member opposite is very pleased at the plan that we announced last week. The member from Renfrew, Nipissing, Pembroke will come to order, as will the member from Glengarry, Proskat, Russell. Gary, on please. The Ontario Electricity Support Program, Mr. Speaker, that in fact addresses the fact that people on low income are struggling in many cases, and they need a break, and that's what that program will provide. Mr. Speaker, you know that the primary reason hydro-bills are going up is because of your Green Energy Act and its intermittent allowable and expensive energy. Your announcement last week about the stipends you'll be giving to low-income energy consumers is nothing more than a shell game. Almost every rate payer is struggling to pay their bills, because under your watch, hydro-bills have gone up more than tripled since 2003. People have no faith in your ability to administer this sliding-scale shell game. As the Ombudsman Investigation clearly shows, your team can't even get a simple residential bill right, even though you've wasted $2 billion on your smart meter fiasco. Premier, how much more bureaucracy will be needed to administer this new convoluted program, and how much more will that cost the energy ratepayers of this province? Mr. Speaker, the Ontario Electricity Support Program is designed specifically to help people who have the lowest income in the province and who are struggling, Mr. Speaker. And I think that is exactly the kind of support that needs to be put in place. The fact is, we took a dirty electricity system, Mr. Speaker. We shut down the coal-fired plants. We've rebuilt the system. We've made the investments that were needed, Mr. Speaker. And so, we're dealing with a clean energy regime now in Ontario. The other thing that we've done, Mr. Speaker, is we have read... The member from Lyon Arc will come to order. You're inches away. I can handle it. Jim, do something about that. Carry on. Mr. Speaker, we did agreements like the Samson Agreement that will actually save $3.7 billion. We've changed the domestic content for us, Mr. Speaker. We are working with Quebec Unpeak Agreement, Mr. Speaker, that will allow us to get clean power from Quebec, Mr. Speaker, at a time when they need it, and send our power to them when they need it, Mr. Speaker. So we've taken a system that was not reliable. Thank you. Final supplementary. Premier, you're always congratulating yourself on how egalitarian you are, but the hydro system you've created is anything but fair and equal. As revealed by the Sunshine List, salaries for staff at the energy sector are rising sharply. 77% of Hydro-1 employees and 80% of OPG employees made over $100,000 last year. So, at the same time, ratepayers have seen their salaries and 300,000 people in the manufacturing sector don't have a paycheck at all. Because of your economic mismanagement and Ontario's anemic growth since your party took power. Premier, it is your duty to ensure there's balance in the system between the remuneration of employees and the consumer's ability to pay. Ratepayers cannot afford to wait any longer. Will you live up to your own rhetoric, scrap the green energy act, and restore some semblance of balance to our energy system? Premier, this is an economic development point. For goodness' sakes, Mr. Speaker, the people he's talking about are the very people who run our nuclear plants. Do you really think that that's where we should go in terms of reducing salaries? The people who run our nuclear plants? Mr. Speaker, when we go to bed at night, we want to make sure we have the best people in the world running our energy system. Right now, when you look at people like Tom Mitchell, consider it the best of doing the kind of work that he does. We owe it to the people of this province, Mr. Speaker, to ensure we have the best quality people running organizations like OPG, to ensure that those nuclear plants are safe for all Ontarians to be able to know, Mr. Speaker. We have one of the best records in the world when it comes to nuclear. That is not the place to start when it comes to cutbacks. That in this government, Mr. Speaker, will not in any way sacrifice safety for the sake of, Mr. Speaker, anything with regard to cutting back like the member wants. Thank you. No questions. Leader of the third party. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Premier. Will the Premier be introducing a salary cap on public CEOs? And what will that cap be, Mr. Speaker? Well, Mr. Speaker, as the member opposite knows, although she voted against the Act, the Accountability Act will bring in hard caps for senior executives in the broader public sector, Mr. Speaker. And I think that the member opposite recognizes that. And in fact, my understanding is that she also understands that there would be some exceptions. And in fact, an amendment that the NDP brought forward was this, a compensation framework may provide that specified designated executive positions may receive compensation in excess of the limit. So I think the member opposite understands that having hard caps is very important, having a range of salaries at all of those levels is important, Mr. Speaker. And I'm sure that she will work with us on making sure those are put in place. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Energy bills have tripled, and energy CEOs are turning into millionaires in this province. Students in Ontario pay the highest tuition in the country, and there are university presidents who are just shy of making a million dollars. The Premier is firing nurses, and there are hospital CEOs making over $800,000 a year. Can the Premier justify those salaries to Ontarians who can't pay their hydro bills to Ontarians paying student loans for decades after they finish their post-secondary studies or to Ontarians with a loved one who's stuck waiting for the care that they so desperately need? Well, Mr. Speaker, I know that the leader of the third party understands that we have to tackle all of those challenges. It's absolutely imperative that we support people who need services in this province, and we do that in the best way possible, Mr. Speaker. I know she also knows that we agree that there need to be caps on CEO salaries. That's why we have moved on that. That's why we brought the Accountability Act into place, Mr. Speaker, and that those caps are going to be put in place, Mr. Speaker, but there will be a range. And in terms of the expertise that is needed in particular sectors, we also have to understand that that's always going to be the case, that there will be specific expertise that's needed in sectors and as the Member of Economic Development was saying, in terms of running our nuclear plants, Mr. Speaker, in terms of the expertise that is needed, the technical expertise that's needed, we're going to have to make sure that we have the right people doing those jobs and that we pay them adequately but not exorbitantly. Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have been promising to cap CEO salaries for over a decade in this province. But they have both capping CEO pay three times in this legislature. When is the Premier going to put our money where her mouth is and tell the public sector CEOs that enough is enough? Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have to say I'm a bit mystified because we actually have passed legislation that will take exactly those steps. The NDP did not support Bill 8. We passed Bill 8 and I'm very pleased that it received royal assent on December 11th, 2014. So we are moving forward on the executive compensation, Speaker. We are being thoughtful about it and we are moving forward to collect the information, creating salary bands including hard cap, Speaker. This work is underway now. We're well on our way and I'm just a bit astonished that the leader of the third party doesn't even know that we passed that legislation. Thank you. New question, the leader of the third party. Speaker, my next question is for the Premier. Nurses are being fired across Ontario and health quality Ontario says that more than half of Ontarians can't actually see their doctor but hospital CEOs are making over $800,000 a year. Putting healthcare first means making some tough choices and setting some priority, Speaker. Why is the Premier choosing hospital CEOs when she should be choosing patients? Let's just think that we're not and the fact is that there are thousands more doctors in this province. I think it's 96% of people have access at this point to primary care physician, Mr. Speaker, and we've made a commitment to that being 100%. There are 24,000 more nurses in this province, Mr. Speaker, than when we came into office. The healthcare system is undergoing a transformation. There's no doubt about that. More care is moving into the community. There's no doubt about that and that is a transition, Mr. Speaker. But the fact is we have put in place legislation that will cap salaries. That legislation has passed. The NDP did not support it, Mr. Speaker, and nonetheless, that legislation is going forward and those caps will be put in place. Thank you. Our hydro bills are paying the CEO salaries of public hydro companies. Two executives particularly are making over a million dollars each. Now I think these priorities are backwards, Speaker. The hydro system should be working for us, not the other way around. And as long as Ontarians own our hydro companies, we can say that enough is enough. Even though this Liberal government seems to think that the status quo is fine. But if the Premier sells off Hydro 1, Ontarians lose, Speaker. We might not have any idea how much of our rates are going straight to the executive salaries. And if Liberals sell it off, Ontarians can't say enough is enough to those executives, Speaker. Privatizing Hydro 1 might be good for executives, but it's bad for ratepayers. Will the Premier pull the plug on selling Hydro 1 since he owes salaries will stay transparent in the province of Ontario. So let's be clear, Mr. Speaker, about what the leader of the third party is actually asking. She's saying stop the review of the assets that are owned by the people of Ontario. She's saying don't reinvest the money that we might be able to realise, the benefit we might be able to realise, don't reinvest that in infrastructure that's needed for the 21st century, Mr. Speaker. Don't build transit and transportation infrastructure roads and bridges that are needed across this province because she actually doesn't agree with making any change, Mr. Speaker, that would allow us to do that. Well, I say to the leader of the third party, that is not where we're going to go. We are going to make those investments. We ran on that plan, Mr. Speaker. It is the right plan for the future of this province. It is the right plan for the economic development of communities across this province and we're going to make those investments. Mr. Speaker, the Premier is cutting healthcare. She's closing schools and she's selling off public hydro companies all because she says the cupboard is bare. Well, if the cupboard is bare, Speaker, why are there millionaires on the sunshine list? Leader of the third party, how she construes the building of 725 schools since we've been in office and repairs to 700 more as closing schools, Mr. Speaker. Because the fact in infrastructure, in hospitals, in schools, in the renovations, consolidation of schools that allow for programs to be delivered in a way that makes the best sense for kids in communities across Ontario, Mr. Speaker. We've worked with local school boards in order to do that and those decisions have been made and they're not easy decisions. I understand that. Every time there's a change, I've been a school trustee. I know how difficult it is to make a change in the configuration of schools in a province, but the fact is, Mr. Speaker, we have to do it in the most thoughtful way possible. We have to work to create hubs where we can, Mr. Speaker, and we have to make sure that kids have access from kindergarten right through post-secondary to the best programs in the world, Mr. Speaker. No questions. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Labor. Minister, in 2009 the WSIB slush fund was first flagged as underperforming and returning little value. These suspicions were raised once again in 2012 concerning the value of this fund. And again, last year a KPMG audit recommended that the program be shut down as it provides zero value for money. Minister, last week you told this House that by 2016 these programs will be corrected. Minister, we know the Chief of Staff, Tom Tien, made almost $350,000 at the WSIB last year. Is he the reason it takes seven years to shut down a slush fund in Liberal Ontario? Thank you, Minister of Labor. Well, Speaker, on this side of the House, we take work and health and safety very, very seriously. We bring a business practice to it. I think it's something we can be proud of. This is a program that was bought in 1990. It's been here for a long time. Speaker, it funds several organizations. It funds the OFL. They help training on claims management for those people, for those organizations so that they can help the workers that need to avail themselves of the system. The navigation skills are the assistance to get through that system. In 2012, shortly after new leadership took over, we conducted an audit like we should on programs in government. We implemented those improvements. We told the employers that this would be a transition year and we're implementing it in 2016. Speaker, we've handled this responsibly. The WSIB has handled it responsibly. I think it's something that Arturians should have confidence in this system, Speaker. Thank you. Thank you, Speaker. Back to the Minister. Since questioning your WSIB slush fund minister to the Ontario Federation Labor, I received letters from union leaders across the province. When I receive form letters from union leaders rather than real stories from injured workers, I have no doubt that this program is nothing more than a slush fund. Minister, not one beneficiary of this program has contacted my office, however many union officials have, but not one single injured worker. Minister, since I haven't received a letter of support for the grant from injured workers, I'll ask you have you received any letters of support from injured workers and if so, will you share them with me and this House? Thank you. Speaker, as I mentioned in the previous answer, this is a grants program that's managed by the WSIB and funds those organizations in this province that assist us in dealing with the issues that surround injured workers that return to work or trained for new employment. When I hear about the Randy Hillier slush fund speaker, that is not what this is. The Randy Hillier slush fund may be something else that I'm unaware of, but after the audit was conducted, we made changes to the system. It was obviously it was obviously some changes that could be made to improve things for injured workers in the province of Ontario speaker. Since the audit is general's report in 2009 we've seen a transformation at the WSIB. It's a good news story that we share with the people of the province of Ontario because we know that injured workers employers and those employees are now getting the services they should be under this plan speaking. In some of the Ray Park tab and hearing it's getting dangerously close to getting extremely personal and the advice I've given since the beginning and I will adhere to today is you address individuals in this place by either their title or their writing. That tends to help. The second part to that is it's also getting dangerously close to making accusations that would be unparliamentary. Stay away from it. And I'm not asking for any comments from anybody at this moment. New question. The member from Nickel Belt. Thank you Mr. Speaker. My question is for the premier. The premier seems to think that if she buries her head in the sand and refuses to acknowledge that the bribery scandal in Sudbury exists. If she says over and over and over that what happened out there doesn't matter in here. That if she wishes for it hard enough to go away that she will make it true. But ignoring an issue speaker does not make it go away. My question is quite simple. When did the premier call first Mr. Jerry Lawheed then Mrs. Patsarbara in order for them and your alleviate to offer him a job. So Mr. Speaker what I have actually said just to clarify to the member opposite is that there is an investigation going on. That investigation is taking place outside of this house Mr. Speaker. I've been very clear in my statements in public. I've been very clear in this house over and over again the decisions that I made Mr. Speaker. We're very happy to have the current member of Sudbury with us on this side of the house Mr. Speaker and Mr. Speaker I will continue to work with the authorities in the investigation outside of the legislature. Well Speaker someone had to tell Mr. Jerry Lawheed to call Andrew Olivier on behalf of the premier and offer him a job. I know Mr. Lawheed good enough to know that it is not his style to do that kind of call without strict direction. Mr. Lawheed reported the result of his call to Mr. Olivier then someone had to tell Mr. Sorbara that she needed to follow up which she did. She called Mr. Olivier and said and I quote you now been directed asked by the leader in the premier to make a decision to step aside to allow Glenn to have the opportunity basically have the opportunity in contested. The OPP said and I quote these references to the premier's authority threatens the government's integrity. Mrs. Sorbara and Mr. Jerry Lawheed's action called the integrity of the government into action. My question why is the premier letting that happen? Thank you very much Speaker and again I remind the member opposite as the premier just did that there is an active investigation that is going on outside this legislature. By no means is avoiding the issue what she is doing is respecting the process a process that is independent than what happens in the legislature or what the government does and I think Speaker we should all respect that process the member opposite knows very well that the premier or any member of the government cannot interfere and interject in the process. In fact even the chief electoral officer speaker said in his report that I am either deciding to prosecute a matter nor determining anyone's guilt or innocence. Those decisions are respectively for prosecutors and judges Speaker as I have said earlier before none of us here in this legislature are prosecutors or judges. They are independent roles we should respect those roles and we let those individuals do their job. Thank you Speaker. Thank you Mr. Speaker and my question is for the Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry Minister, constituents in my writing of Sudbury are concerned about changes to Ontario's moose hunt that your ministry is proposing. An article in a local newspaper stated and I quote, Ontario hunters are up in arms over a plan to shorten the moose season which they argue goes far above and beyond what is necessary to sustain viable populations. Speaker moose hunting is a proud part of our heritage and an important part of Ontario's economy. In fact recreational fishing and hunting provide more than four billion to our economy each year. Many small businesses in our province several of which are in my writing rely on hunting and fishing tourism to support their economic viability. Minister, my constituents are concerned about what impact these changes will have in their lives and their livelihoods. Through you Mr. Speaker could the minister explain to my constituents why his ministry is proposing changes to the moose hunt. Thank you very much I want to thank the member for the question and he's right speaker. There are a number of people and groups out there who are alarmed by what's coming forward but I would say in fact that many of the people that are most affected by the changes we're bringing forward are the people that get it the most who understand that the sustainability of this population is what's most important. In fact I would say in my community of Thunder Bay there are people that are telling me absolutely to shut the hunt down. Speaker it's taken years to get to this situation and it's going to take us some time to fix it but I'm not going to kick the can down the road. We need to make some decisions and we need to make sure that we get this absolutely right. What these groups and these people don't agree on is what steps need to be taken to fix this particular problem. But what these people and these groups agree on is that steps need to be taken. Speaker I'm going to take those steps new numbers are in they can continue to be not good. There's more coming forward but speaker we have to make some decisions we have to fix a problem that's taken years to create and we're going to get it right. Thank you Mr. Speaker and I thank the minister for recognizing the important role that the moose hunt plays in our economy and in the north. And in the Sudbury area Mr. Speaker tourist outfitters rely on their ability to provide a variety of hunting and fishing opportunities. Outfitters like Lang Lake resort and Espinola for example rely on moose hunting tourism for their business. These outfitters bring tourists from all parts of the province into the Sudbury area and support our local economy. Mr. Speaker with these changes to moose season businesses and members of my community want to know how these changes will impact them. Everyone agrees that we need to ensure our moose population is sustainable for future generations but I'm hearing from some of my constituents that there may be other opinions about how to move forward with the moose hunt. Question. Hunters, tourist outfitters and the public all want to ensure that we are making the right changes to Ontario's moose hunt. So can the minister talk about how he's going to protect the economic interest of our moose population without the north? Mr. Speaker again I thank the member for the question. In the phase one consultation most of the work that we did was for the tourist outfitter. The member is very correct in saying that. That's one of the criticisms that the ministry has historically received. We're only looking at the tag allocation for the resident hunter and for the tourist outfitter. Phase two will change that. I've made a very clear commitment to the groups that are interested in this issue that the phase two consultations that will begin very soon will look at other opportunities to sustain this population that are very hard last year to ensure the tourist outfitters. Those people that have made a private sector investment whose livelihood depends on this to a large degree weren't negatively affected. We kicked the numbers back a number of times to the ministry and said it wasn't good enough. The flying's been done. We've invested in industrial inventories. The numbers are not good. There's more information coming soon. Phase two will take a broader look at how we're going to try and sustain this population. Thank you very much. On April 15, 2014, the Premier filed a lawsuit against the member for Niagara West Glambrook and me for questioning her involvement in the cover-up of deleted emails in the Gasplan scandal. The next day, on April 16, 2014, the members for Renfrew Nipissim Pembroke and Simcoe North referred to the suit as a slap or nuisance suit during debate on the Public Participation Act. That same day, the anti-slap bill was also sent to die in committee. At the time, the bill had a retroactivity clause. Former Attorney General John Garrison said, quote, the rule will apply to suits before the bill comes into force, thus allowing for the dismissal of strategic litigation. Did the Premier kill the anti-slap bill the day after she launched the lawsuit because it would affect her attempt to motion the opposition? We didn't, Mr. Speaker. And I know the Attorney General is going to want to speak to this, but I think the member opposite knows that retroactive rulemaking is not something that is seen favorably by the courts. It's not something that we have engaged in, Mr. Speaker. And to the issue of the suit that I brought, Mr. Speaker, I have been very clear all along that I believe that debating substance is important. I think debating the truth is important, Mr. Speaker, but allegations that are completely baseless that are not based in any accurate assessment of a situation, Mr. Speaker, I don't think that that is right. And I have said all along that I would always debate the truth, but untruth I'm not interested. Thank you. Stop on the statement. That's quite a statement. It's also quite a coincidence the lawsuit was launched on the 15th of April. She decided to kill that bill off on the 16th. The previous two incarnations of the bill had the retroactivity clause until it didn't suit the premier. On December 1, 2014, the Public Participation Act was reintroduced, again for the third time without this clause. John Garrettson says about this submission quote, obviously the bill is weaker quote, it probably shouldn't be gone. The premier must know how this looks. It appears she killed her own law for her own political gain. This is on the heels of her role in the canceled gas plants and most recently the Sudbury bribery scandal. She thinks she's above the law and that the law doesn't suit her, she changed it. Is there any length this premier of Ontario won't go to cling to power? Mr. Speaker, I would say to the member opposite that we're very committed to the anti-slot legislation. We have been all along the retroactivity. I think there was a concern. In terms of the other issue, Mr. Speaker, if the two members would just apologize, Mr. Speaker, the whole thing would go away. That's all we're talking about. All I was concerned about was that there was a completely unfounded allegation, Mr. Speaker. The accusations were made on the eve of an election. They were completely Accepted. Mr. Speaker, they were a complete fiction. All I'm saying is that just apologize, retract those, Mr. Speaker, and the whole thing goes away. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, my question to the premier. Last week we asked the premier to provide a guarantee that Hydro-rates wouldn't go up as a result of her plan to privatize Hydro-1. We didn't get idea how Hydro-1 would be managed if it was privatized. If the government has no idea how Hydro-1 would be managed, how can the government prevent costs from going up? Mr. Speaker, I don't have the transcript in front of me, but I think the Minister of Energy was probably saying that you didn't have any idea how the Hydro-1 would be managed. But Mr. Speaker, what I know is that this line of questioning intensified on the very day that we announced the Ontario Electricity Support Program, which is a program to give some relief to the lowest income citizens in this province, lowest income residents. I would have thought that the NDP would have been concerned and would have been supportive of such a program. I know that they are not supportive of making a change in our assets. I know they are not supportive of investing in transportation, infrastructure, transit and roads and bridges across the province. I don't know why they are not supportive of that, but they are not supportive. But I would have thought that they would have been supportive of a program that would help the lowest income residents in this province. Last week we learned that the CEO of Hydro-1 last year earned more than three and a half times as much money as the Premier herself. The government has done a poor job at controlling executive salaries, but if Hydro-1 is privatized, the government will have even less control over executive salaries and less control over hydro costs. How can the government control executive salaries and hydro costs when it is giving up oversight and control with this misguided privatization scheme? This whole gambit and this whole debate would be much more rational if the NDP actually had a plan for any of this. If they had a plan to build transit, if they had a plan for the electricity system. You know the National Post on March 6, 2014 talked about the energy plan so-called the NDP's energy plan and the National Post said that the NDP's energy plan veers straight into crazy talk. The fact is that there is no consistency in terms of what the NDP is asking for. They have not put forward a coherent plan, neither for an electricity system that would be reliable and affordable, nor for investments in transit that would give us a 21st century infrastructure that we need across the province. Until they have those plans, it is pretty hard to debate with any kind of credibility. Thank you, Speaker. My question today is for the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. Minister, in my riding of Etobicoke's Centre, we have one of the highest percentages of seniors of any riding in Canada. I have heard from many of those seniors and they have expressed to me how important it is that they have access to home and community care as they age. I have also spoken to many people in my riding who are not seniors but who are caring for seniors. People who are caring for their elderly parents while also caring for their children and raising a family, and often with limited resources. And they have asked me for help. They have asked us for help to ensure that they can access the home and community care that they need to support their aging parents. And whether this challenge, to address this challenge, is obviously important that we continue to deliver high quality home and community care for the people of Ontario. Minister, could you specifically outline what work your ministry is doing to ensure access to high quality community and home care in communities like Etobicoke's Centre? Thank you, Mr Speaker, and thank you to the member from Etobicoke's Centre for this very important question. I'm pleased to tell you how our government is improving health care for seniors with complex health conditions across Ontario. I was pleased to be at Toronto Rehab last week to make an announcement that our government is investing more than $40 million in specialized rehabilitative care right across the province to help our seniors recover from illnesses and injuries so that they can continue to live independently at home. This is a program called Assess and Restore, Mr Speaker. Unfortunately, most of Ontario's 1.9 million seniors are healthy and use the health care system only occasionally, but a small number of our seniors living in the community about 150,000 or 8% of them have complex care needs, and this program is geared specifically towards them. We know that sometimes long hospital stays can result in debilitation or muscle loss, weakened bones. For too many seniors, that means moving into a long-term care home prematurely. This program means still allowing them to continue living independently. Thank you, thank you, Mr Speaker. Strong community-based care is not only a preferred method of care for many seniors as they can remain in their homes and out of hospitals, but it obviously also provides relief to families. It's also a much cheaper form of care than the hospital-based care that is often the alternative. My constituents and particularly seniors in Etobicoke Centre have also been asking me about physiotherapy. This is a service that's critical to many of people in my community, and my understanding is the government's working to improve services in a number of ways, and I've heard about things such as one-on-one physiotherapy for long-term care residents with assessed need, enhanced access to exercise and fall prevention classes for seniors in community settings, and expanded in-home and clinic-based physiotherapy for seniors. Services like this that are based in the community go a long way in helping families as they juggle that challenge I raised earlier of caring for aged loved ones while also raising a family. Minister, could you please tell the House more about the work that you are doing to strengthen physiotherapy access across Ontario? Thank you, Minister, long-term care. Well, thank you to the member again, and part of my announcement last week, I was also able to say and announce that Ontario is expanding access to physiotherapy into primary health care settings across the province by investing more than $4.2 million to add physiotherapy services across 25 more family health teams, nurse practitioners led clinics, and community health centres. So an estimated 71,000 people, including seniors, will now be able to access physiotherapy at the same place where they receive their primary care health services. So improving health outcomes for seniors is also part of the government's plan to build a better Ontario through its patients first action plan for health care by providing patients with faster access to the right care, better home and community care, the information that they need to stay healthy, and a health care system that's sustainable for generations to come. Providing seniors with more supports will allow them to live safely and independently at home and enjoy a better quality of life. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Community and Social Services. Minister, last week you not only defended your broken social assistance computer program, you proclaimed it a success. You told the House, and I quote, at the end of the day we have been extremely successful, end of quote. Mr. Speaker, I am sure the people waiting in line at social assistance offices and the front line staff working overtime to clear the log jam would disagree. Minister, do you have any concern that your high-priced consultants will share your confidence about SAMS when they produce their preliminary report tomorrow? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And certainly we have been successful in terms of the fact that we have ensured that we've processed four successful pay runs for both ODSP and OW monthly payments. Payments to some 570,000 families each month. This is our priority. So we have made some 2.5 million payments to our most vulnerable families in total. And of course, I want to thank all the staff that are working so very hard on the front line to ensure that this is happening. I know that they have had a number of frustrations, but actually the production of these checks has been a wonderful step forward for all those vulnerable families that rely on these payments. And we have accommodated them in the way that we have with all this hard work and the number of the improvements that we have made to date on SAMS. Thank you, supplementary. Thank you, Speaker. Again to the minister. The fact is this minister's testimony continues to be at critical odds with the facts. It's clear that if SAMS is working as intended there would be no need to keep funding millions into the system nor to hire consultants to mitigate a mess so big that the government's entire IT department could not fix it. Minister, the preliminary report is scheduled for tomorrow. Will you, in the spirit of government openness and transparency, make the report publicly available upon its release? Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. And yes, indeed, I'm looking forward to this report from a third party technical advisor, PricewaterhouseCoopers. I understand we'll be delivering this week this report. I'm looking forward to hearing those results. We will certainly be communicating the the themes that we hear in that report. It is an interim report. They have been engaging with stakeholders across the province. I attended a meeting with frontline workers and PricewaterhouseCoopers to ensure that the issues that were important to the people using the system were being fully communicated to PricewaterhouseCoopers. I look forward not only to this interim report but of course to the final report that I'm sure will have a far more fulsome response to the issues around Santa. Thank you. No question. No from London West. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Speaker, with the release of the sunshine list, Londoners were stunned to learn that the President of Western University made almost one million dollars last year more than double his annual salary. He is the fourth highest paid public sector employee in the province because of a deal negotiated with Western's Board of Governors for twice his salary in lieu of administrative leave. With the university cutting staff and increasing class sizes, this double payout is a slap in the face to Western students, faculty, staff, alumni and the community. Premier, will your government step in to prohibit university boards of governors from negotiating similar double payouts to university presidents? Thank you, Mr Speaker. And thank you for the member for that question. Mr Speaker, our government is committed to investing in our young people. That's why we have been investing heavily in our universities and colleges over the past 11 years, 12 years, Mr Speaker. In the meantime, we know that Ontarians have all the right to make sure that their tax dollars are spent properly. And that's why, Mr Speaker, we have brought the Accountability Act which has been passed last year and received royal assent in December. Mr Speaker, in the meantime, we have frozen the executive salaries and we expect firmly that members that were brought the public sector executives they follow the freeze and salaries and wages which we have introduced. Mr Speaker, the president of Western is not the only senior university administrator among the top 10. The president and CEO of University of Toronto Asset Management Corp is in third place at a time when the university claimed to be unable to pay teaching assistants more than poverty wages, forcing grad students and TAs to strike for fairness and recognition of their rights. Speaker, Ontario students are among the fastest growing group of food bank users and are already paying the highest tuition in the country. They face planned year-over-year increases in tuition to make up the chronic shortfall in post-secondary education funding. Premier, how can your government justify hiking tuition fees and increasing reliance on contract faculty while allowing universities to negotiate these kind of salaries to senior university administrators? Mr Speaker, as I said earlier, we have been messing heavily in our universities and colleges as well as we have invested in our students. Mr Speaker, we have introduced 30% discount on tuition fee for our students which have been a great success, Mr Speaker. With regard to the specific question, Mr Speaker, the president of the University of Western Ontario, he opted not taking an administrative leave. That's why his salary has been increased. That's our understanding and in relation to University of Toronto Vice President for Asset Management, there was an article in his contract so that he can receive performance bonuses. So these are all the things which have already existed in the contracts of those executives. But as I said earlier, Mr Speaker, we have introduced Accountability Act. We are working very hard to make sure that executives in the broader public sector, their salaries will be frozen and will be under certain regime. Thank you, Mr Speaker. The question remembers from Barry. Thank you, Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, my question through you is to the minister of training, colleges and universities. Minister, digital technology has become a fundamental part of our daily lives. I know that even our youngest students in JK and SK use digital technology skillfully. Being able to connect with each other online has broken down borders and offered us an amazing wealth of information right at our fingertips. But it's critical that we always think about how we can leverage this technology to benefit all Ontario students and how we can improve their learning experience and make their education more flexible and affordable. Minister, can you inform the House about our government's efforts to build a world-class post-secondary education system that is a leader in innovation and online learning? Thank you, Mr Speaker. I want to thank the member for that question. Mr Speaker, I am proud to say that Ontario has a strong foundation in online learning and digital learning. At the post-secondary level, Mr Speaker, we have the highest number of online learning course registration across our country, Canada. Earlier this year, our government announced an investment of $42 million over three years, Mr Speaker, to launch online Ontario. Online Ontario, Mr Speaker, is a new collaborative centre of excellence that will be available in time this year in the September 2015-16 school year. It will help students save money as well as time avoiding needless duplication of courses and by helping to speed up the process for those wishing to fast-track their learnings. We know that, Mr Speaker, more accessible and user-friendly post-secondary education will help our young people to succeed. Thank you. Thank you, Mr Speaker. And thank you, Minister, for that answer. I'm glad to hear that our government is committed to driving quality and innovation in Ontario's post-secondary system. But I know that in the past, transferring post-secondary credits from one college or university to another has been a very long and difficult process for students. Many students in my writing of Barry want the flexibility to easily transfer relevant credits between different colleges and universities in this province. Through you, Mr Speaker, to the Minister, can you inform the members of the House on how our government is improving credit transfer opportunities for Ontario students? Thank you, Minister. Thank you, Mr Speaker. Again, thank you for the member for that question. Mr Speaker, our government is committed to giving students more flexibility and choice when it comes to post-secondary education. We are doing this by increasing credit transfer opportunities for our students, Mr Speaker, and introducing new tools to help the students become more mobile. Since launching the credit transfer initiatives in 2011, our government has partnered with our colleges and universities to triple the number of transfer credits available for our students. Just recently, Mr Speaker, colleges Ontario and the Ontario Council on Articulation and Transfer announced that business diploma students in Ontario colleges seemingly can transfer their courses from one college to another. We are also proud, Mr Speaker, of supporting a website called ontransfer.ca, which is a real time for students to discover which credits they can transfer and which pathway is right for them. Our government, Mr Speaker, will continue to work with our partners in the university and the college sector to make sure that our students have mobility across the province. Thank you for your question, Minister. Stories of culture and sport. This weekend, the Globe and Mail published a story on the ROMS Crystal Project. The story highlighted a problem of accountability within the Royal Ontario Museum's Board of Governors. The organization, which is a separate entity from the museum, functions much like a hospital foundation and is supposed to manage fundraising and donor recognition. In this case, however, the Board in which members are appointed by your ministry was stacked with many of those whose donations were outstanding. This led to yet another secret bailout from this government. Minister, what will it take for you to step up and bring accountability to the public appointment process under your ministry? And will you admit that your lack of oversight has now forced yet another taxpayer bailout of a government agency? Well, thank you, Mr Speaker. I want to start by saying how proud I am of the work that the Royal Ontario Museum has been doing here in Ontario, but they're a world-class museum and they're recognized globally. Mr Speaker, we have over a million people that come into Toronto each year to visit the Royal Ontario Museum. And our tourism sector here in the province of Ontario, which the Royal Ontario Museum is part of, because culture and tourism, that's what our museums are all about. We have contributed $28 billion in Ontario to help build our economy. And the Royal Ontario Museum is a key part of that economy. There is a loan that is outstanding with the Royal Ontario Museum. I'm fully convinced that the Royal Ontario Museum is on track to repay that loan. And I'll be able to give some more details in the supplemental. Well, I'll be looking forward to those details, because we didn't get any in the first-hand answer. So the problem with oversight is not just with the Royal Ontario Museum Board of Governors. Before the Christmas break, I asked about the outstanding annual reports for Ontario Place. I finally received a copy of the table 2011 annual report three weeks ago, four years late. The Metropolitan Toronto Convention Centre Corporation annual reports have been left outstanding for years at a time. And last Friday, it was revealed that four waiters are listed on the Sunshine List, making over $100,000 a year. So do you have any idea of what's going on at these agencies? They're not watching our public dollars. When are you going to take your job seriously and provide proper oversight? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In regards to the annual reports, every single annual report from my agency has been signed by me. They're in process. And I'm quite confident they'll get to this legislature as soon as possible. I'll give you the fact that I was only halfway up, so that's good. I'll leave you alone on that one. Carry on, please. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In regards to the $249 million loan, which we contributed to, the federal government contributed to, 70% of that loan has been repaid by the Royal Ontario Museum, 70%, and they are on track to pay that loan back. The Royal Ontario Museum is an incredible institution here in the province of Ontario, and I'm proud of the work that they have done and their board has done. Thank you. Thank you, Speaker. And my question is to the Premier. This morning, Unifor released a report detailing the catastrophic impact that the possible closure of the GM plants in Oshawa would have on our economy, have on our community, and the province as a whole. According to the report, Ontario would experience a loss of over 30,000 jobs, and our GDP would decline by more than $5 billion. In the meantime, this government continues to sit on its hands while our community lives with uncertainty and braces for impact. Speaker, will the Premier help to put our community at ease and commit to doing everything in her power to ensure that this scenario does not become our reality? Minister of Economic Development and Infrastructure. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank Jim Stafford and I want to thank Jerry Diaz and Unifor for their leadership. In bringing forward this report, and yes indeed we know and they are confirming that Oshawa really does mean tens of thousands of jobs, billions upon billions of dollars of economic development and impact on our GDP. And that's why we're working tirelessly, Mr. Speaker, in partnership with Unifor. Our number one priority right now is to ensure that the future of the GM plant in Oshawa remains bright. We have every reason to be optimistic, and Jerry Diaz would say, and did say the exact same thing this morning. We're working in partnership to make sure we do that. My hope is that that report, though, makes sure that the NDP recognize how important this is. And rather than kind of equivocating when we make these important investments, stand with us when we make these important investments. Thank you. Thank you. Supplementary. Thank you, Speaker. General Motors has been building cars in Oshawa for over a century, but in spite of our strong history, the future remains uncertain. Ontario was once a leader in the automotive industry, but under this government, our share of production continues to decline. When the government had leveraged as a shareholder, they opted not to use it. When they could have been strengthening our auto sector, they've turned their back. So Speaker, will the government make a real commitment to the automotive industry in Ontario and implement a comprehensive automotive strategy? Unlike the NDP, Mr. Speaker, we don't equivocate. We take action. And Mr. Speaker, this government has invested more in the auto sector than any government in any generation before us. And Mr. Speaker, we will continue to make those investments. And I'll tell you why we'll make those investments. They're working. We've seen $4 billion of investment since November in Ontario's auto sector. That's a record amount of investment. In fact, Mr. Speaker, that $4 billion represents more than we've probably seen in many years, Mr. Speaker. Things are going well in terms of our investments in the auto sector, but we're going to continue to work tirelessly to continue to land mandates. Oshawa is our number one concern. But Mr. Speaker, even GM just recently invested $560 million in Ingersoll. Good news. Honda, $857 million in Alistair. Chrysler, $2 billion in Windsor. Mr. Speaker, we're going to keep working with the sector. We're going to keep building. Thank you, Mr. President. The member from Beaches East York. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Government and Consumer Services. Good, Minister. Now, Speaker, my riding of Beaches East York is home to numerous forward-thinking small businesses. Constituents like Cal Bruner of Caseware, a world-laning software company, are proud of the contributions they're making to Ontario's economy and to a stronger province as a whole. And the Minister of Government and Consumer Services, your mandate, is to deliver effective procurement practices that ensure the best value for the money and the guarantee of transparent, accountable investments. And I personally think many of the businesses in my riding would form productive mutual-benefitly agreements with our government. Speaker, will the Minister speak to opportunities that may exist for not only the large businesses, but small and medium-sized businesses to engage our government? Thank you, Speaker. I want to thank the member from Beaches East York for the question and for raising this important issue. I certainly share my colleague's confidence in Ontario businesses and our government continues to provide opportunities, whether it be building roads or developing software or providing maintenance equipment. Participation in provincial procurement is open to all qualified vendors, regardless of size or location, through our vendor of record program. In fact, the vast majority of businesses we deal with are small and medium-sized Ontario businesses. Our investment reflects both quality and competitiveness of Ontario vendors and in 2013-14 the stats reveal that 89% of all procurement payments were made to Ontario vendors. It's a great program, Speaker, and I'm happy to follow up on our supplementary. Thank you, supplementary. Yes, thank you, Speaker, and thank you to the Minister for informing us about these numerous opportunities for agreements with the Ontario government. I realize that these agreements serve multiple purposes, delivering efficient and effective services while providing excellent opportunities for local entrepreneurs. It is equally important that taxpayers are assured that goods and services are procured through a fair and competitive and user-friendly process that benefits all Ontario's. And I understand that the Ministry of Government and Consumer Service has worked to simplify bidding processes for interested vendors, making sure all postings are visible and easy to access. These types of initiatives reduce time and effort required for vendors to bid on procurement opportunities. Will the Minister of Government and Community Services explain to the House how simplified bidding processes work effectively with vendors? Thank you, Minister. Thank you, Speaker, and again to the member from Beaches East York and thank you for the question. Streamlining the application process is very important and we have carefully ensured that our vendor perspectives are considered in this process. After consulting extensively, we've created a shorter, simpler procurement documents that are standardized with appropriate conditions and I've streamlined the process. In fact, Ontario is the first government in Canada to move to a fully electronic tendering system. While vendors used to be charged for assessing procurement opportunities, they can now download these documents free of charge. And using electronic tendering has received positive feedback from the vendor community. Our system improves notifications that help reduce the number of incomplete bids, eliminates the cost of printing and shipping materials, and we've added a form-based evaluations that allow officials to complete more procurement in less time. Speaker, I'm certainly pleased with the progress with respect to the procurement and our vendor record program. Thank you. The member from Eglinton, Lawrence. Yeah, point of order, Mr. Speaker. On a point of order. I seek unanimous consent to have a moment of silence for the two construction workers who died on the job last week in Toronto. The member from Eglinton, Lawrence is seeking unanimous consent to have a moment of silence in honour of the two construction workers killed in Toronto on site. Do we agree? Agreed. I would ask all members of the House to please rise for a moment of silence to pay our respects. Thank you for that kind gesture. The member for Cambridge on a point of order. Thank you, Speaker. I just wanted to introduce today the grandparents of the page from Cambridge, Alisha Burke, her grandparents, Donna and Howard Pham joined us this morning. So welcome to Queens Park. So thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce to the legislature Kevin Toda, who is visiting here from McGill University in Montreal. He's a political science student who has come here today to listen to question period. Welcome. Thank you. The member from Keelon, Bruce. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I would like to draw attention to the fact that both Lisa MacLeod and Christine Elliott are celebrating their ninth anniversary today and coming to Queens Park. Thank you. Happy anniversary. There are no deferred votes. This House stands adjourned until 1 p.m. this afternoon.