 It is now time for oral questions. I recognize the leader of His Majesty's Loyal Opportunity. Thank you, Speaker. Over the weekend – sorry, to the Premier – over the weekend, CBC published new information about the amount of protected pickering farmland owned by the DeGaspers family who are powerful landowners and PC Party donors. CBC found another 475 acres bought by the DeGaspers family in 2020 for about $24,000 an acre. They own at least 1,775 acres of greenbelt land within the Duffins Rouge agricultural preserve. They bought this land cheap, because it was protected as farmland in perpetuity. How much does the Premier suppose an acre of this land would be worth after the Premier removes it from the greenbelt and makes it available for development? Minister of National Affairs and Housing. Speaker, at the end of the day, the posting that the government has on the environmental registry of Ontario will grow the greenbelt by over 2,000 acres and provide an opportunity for the government to have a minimum of 50,000 homes built to get us closer to our goal of 1.5 million homes over the next 10 years. The reason that minimum of 50,000 homes is so important, Speaker, is because our best year in over 30 years was last year where we had 100,000 starts in the province of Ontario. We made a promise to the people of Ontario during the election that we would table a plan in place to ensure that we get that goal. That's exactly what the government's done. That's a question. Again, as a Premier, in 2016, the Ontario government sold 425 acres of pickering greenfield in Seton for about $383,000 per acre. If the DeGaspers family's land holdings within the Duffins Rouge agricultural preserve were suddenly made available for development, they would likely be worth at least what the Seton lands were in 2016, probably more. How much speculative profit is the Premier giving his friends and P.C. donors by removing their pickering farmland from the greenbelt? Caution the member and his language. We can't impute motive. Minister of Municipal Affairs. I'm going to ask the member to withdraw. We need to build 1.5 million homes based on the new immigration targets by the federal government that will be even higher. We know that of the 500,000 new Canadians that are coming to Canada, over 60% are going to come to our province, many of which are going to be in the GTA, so we need to ensure that the plan will get us closer to that goal. Order. We are in a crisis, Speaker. We needed to take bold and transformational action as a government. That's why our Building Homes Faster Act puts a plan in place to make sure that we do this, and this is exactly why the government has posted on the environmental registry the comment period regarding these lands. We have a plan to grow the greenbelt, to add over 2,000 acres of protected land into the greenbelt, but at the same time having that minimum 50,000 homes in the ground by 2025. And the final supplementary. Speaker, again to the Premier. Once the DeGaspers family's 1,775 acres of Pickering Farmland are removed from the greenbelt, land worth about $24,000 an acre as protected farmland would be worth at least $383,000 per acre as developable greenfield based on what Seaton land went for in 2016. If you do the math, we find the Premier is about to instantly transfer nearly two thirds of a billion dollars in speculative profit to his friends and PC donors just by removing their Pickering Farmland from the greenbelt. Does the Premier finally understand how corrupt this looks? Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Speaker, former Mayor Ryan of Pickering was very clear to the government that he indicated that he wanted this land out of the greenbelt and to have it as developable land. The current Mayor, Mayor Kevin Ash in Pickering has said it better than I could, Speaker, and I'll quote him now. He said that that land was put in based on political science, not real science. And that is exactly why the government has put forward a plan that will grow the greenbelt, that will add urban river valleys, which I think all members of this House will support. That will add property in the Paris Gulf Moraine. But at the end of the day, we'll have an opportunity to build a minimum of 50,000 homes. I'm with former Mayor Ryan. I'm with Mayor Ash. I'm not going to deal with political science. We're going to deal with real science. Thank you. My question is to the Minister for Municipal Affairs and Housing. On November 16, the minister said he spoke with developers prior to announcing that lands would be removed from the greenbelt. The minister needs to clarify his remarks. Did the minister or any other government or PC party official share with any landowner information about the government's plan to remove lands from the greenbelt before it became public? Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. You know, Speaker, I watched this member on CP24 yesterday. I've heard her in the House. She mischaracterizes Bill 23 often. I'm going to ask the minister to withdraw. Speaker, our government's still clear with Ontarians during the election that we wanted to build more homes, provide more choice, give mayors stronger powers, have a plan in place to build 1.5 million homes. And I've said in this House countless times I will meet with anyone, a municipal official, a not-for-profit, habitat for humanity, you know, Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services, people who build one home a year, people who build 1,000 homes a year. We need every partner nonprofit in the public sector. Every partner in the private space. Couldn't hear the minister. Supplementary. Back to the minister. Last week, the CBC reported that a group of land speculators purchased 37 hectares of farmland outside Ottawa's urban boundary last year. And then earlier this month, the minister overrode the city's official plan and put these lands within the urban boundary, making these very lucky speculators instantly richer. Coincidentally, these speculators together donated more than $12,000 to the PC party last year and this year. My question is to the minister. Did the minister or any other government or PC party official share with any landowner information about the government's plans to add lands to Ottawa's urban boundary before it became public? Minister, you're prepared for housing. This member looked in the camera yesterday and said the Bill 23 cut affordable housing dollars. Not true. Not true. In fact, speaker, Bill 23 actually works collaboratively with the Minister of Infrastructure to create a new attainable housing program on government. There's something that everyone is not going to take any lessons from the NDP's jiggery pokery in terms of how we're going to put housing forward. We're not going to allow jiggery pokery. You've got to withdraw. The final supplementary. Minister, what I'm not hearing from you is a no. I'm going to ask again, did the minister or any other government or PC party official share with any landowner information about the government's plan to remove lands from the green belt before it became public? Yes or no? Renfrew, Nipissing. Can Brooke come to order? Minister, Ms. Voltaire's housing response. That's public. That's we're encouraging Ontarians to provide comment on the environmental registry of Ontario. The plan is simple, speaker. The plan is simple. We're going to add to have an order of over 2,000 acres to the green belt and the 15 properties involved will provide us with a minimum of 50,000 homes to help get to the 1.5 million home target over the next 10 years. The government has said all of the bills that we've tabled yesterday was my 10th that we were going to put forward a plan that's going to get us closer to that. Every policy, every posting, every opportunity we're providing for comment in this legislature puts us closer to that 1.5 million goal to allow the families who want to realize the dream of home ownership, the seniors that want to build the downsides and the new cons who want to have a home that meets their needs in their budget. That's what every policy we're putting forward as a government gets us closer to speed. Thank you. The next question is a member for Toronto Centre. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. In two days on December 1, the Connect Clinic, a virtual only health clinic, will have to close this door entirely to its 3,500 trans patients who live across rural and urban Ontario. These individuals need gender-affirming health care, Connect Clinics lead physician and founder, Dr. Kate Greenaway wrote to me and I quote, because of the changes to the physician services agreement, we will no longer be able to provide life-saving care. We're expecting the need to close the clinic in response. Speaker, will this government help save the clinic? Will they help deliver the alternative funding plan that's needed to stop the cut to ensure that gender-affirming care continues in Ontario? Yes or no? Deputy Premier and Minister Huff. Thank you, Speaker and thank you for the member opposite for raising this question prior to question period. I want to be clear with the people of Ontario that we are not eliminating or forcing individuals to close virtual care clinics. What we are doing is we are equalizing to make sure that people have access to their family physicians in person. It is a change that we have negotiated with the Ontario Medical Association who took it to their members and voted on it in support. And I might add, first time since 2012 that we have had an agreement with the Ontario Medical Association without the need for arbitration. This is a good system of balancing the need of in-person care with the important use of virtual care. Thank you. And a supplementary question. Thank you, Speaker. I'm desperately pleading with the minister to help me keep the lights on at this life-saving health clinic. The government's new limited virtual care billing fee will not cover the clinic's operating expenses. Clinic patients come from across Ontario, rural and northern Ontario. They cannot all travel to Toronto. They come from Sudbury. They come from Sault Ste. Marie. They come from across this great land. Although the Physician Services Agreement is finalized, Speaker, this government must reverse the funding cuts to connect clinic through an alternative funding plan. It's an option before the government. Speaker, I'm looking for an answer. We have two days to save this clinic. We have two days to save this health service. Will the government help us do this? Thank you. Minister of Health. Thank you. So again, I want to reinforce virtual care is absolutely has a place in the province of Ontario. What we are doing is equalizing it to make sure that individuals also have access to their primary care in person. We've done that through the OMA agreement. The member office raises an important issue, but there are other opportunities like community health clinics that provide specialized service. Those types of services will continue within the province of Ontario because we understand how specialized services offer unique opportunities for people who have special skill sets to work with a specialized population. We're continuing to do that, but we need to reinforce that having individuals access their primary care positions in person as well as virtual is an important part of how we provide appropriate care in Ontario. The next question, the member for Windsor to come see. Thank you, Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Francophone Affairs. Ontario's Francophonie contributes to our cultural wealth and economic growth. Promoting it beyond our butters is essential for its continued prosperity. Ontario recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Wallonia Brussels after the Francophonie summit in Tunisia. Speaker, can the minister tell us more about the partnership opportunities with the International Organization of the Francophonie and the resulting benefits? Thank you, Speaker. I thank my colleague for this excellent question. Ontario's participation at the International Organization of the Francophonie summit related meetings and its economic forum provides the province with an opportunity to explore international cooperation ties and promote the province's economic assets with member states and governments of the OIF. Ontario wishes to take advantage of partnership opportunities with OIF members and their delegations in order to to continue our discussions with our partners such as Wallonia Brussels with whom we have signed a memorandum of understanding to explore potential bilateral exchanges in the commercial, educational, touristic and cultural fields and to support our efforts to support Francophone entrepreneurship. Thank you, Speaker. Thank you to the minister for that response. I'm happy to hear about initiatives that help promote Ontario's Francophonie. Our Francophone community deserves an environment that is conducive to its development so that it can continue to participate actively in the province's prosperity. Speaker, can the minister tell us more about Ontario's Francophone economic development strategy and international partnership opportunities? Mr. President, the summit of the International Organization provides irrefutable proof that French is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. The future of the French language is the future of French Francophone businesses. And that is why it is through a Francophone economic development strategy that Ontario continues to support Francophone entrepreneurship and innovation qualified by legal workforce and the promotion of the Ontario Francophonie as an economic advantage. Our presence within the UIF allows us to promote Ontario's Francophonie. This is how by expanding the circle of economic relations beyond our borders we continue to contribute to the growth and prosperity of Ontario. Thank you, Speaker. The next question, the member for Waterloo. Thank you, my questions to the Finance Minister. Speaker, this government has a history of underspending on the public services that people rely on. Today, the independent, non-partisan Financial Accountability Office released their second quarter update and it is no surprise to see that once again the province is spending less than planned in key areas including 859 million less in health 413 million less in education and 244 million less in children's and social services. Why does this government have such a hard time investing resources that they promised to do? And to reply, thank you very much, Mr Speaker. And if we look at that FAO reported shows that we invested over $3.6 billion more than was invested in the same period last year. That means more than a billion dollars extra in health care, $879 million in education, $518 million on children and social services. The member opposite knows that this is a snapshot in time. It does not take into full consideration the investments that have been made are going to be fully realized in hospitals, school boards across the year. And this was shown through our public account this year. We made the largest investment in public health over $5.2 billion a year over year increase to support our health care investments across the province. The member opposite knows this. The FAO also acknowledges this and will continue to make sure we have the investments and supports there to ensure that Ontarians and members across this province receive the care they need. A supplementary question. It is such a shocking disconnect that this government has from the lived experience of people in this province. At a time when our pediatric hospitals are overcapacity due to an early respiratory season it is indefensible that public health spending was $500 million less than planned. That is money that could have been spent on a comprehensive widespread vaccination campaign including and advertising blitz and pop-up clinics to keep our provinces children safe. Budgeting is about choices. The government at one point acknowledged that this money had to be spent. There was a need for it and they failed to do it. Why did the government choose to underinvest in public health by half a billion dollars? Again, President of the Treasury Board. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. Every step of the way this government has put forward record and historic spending into health care as we saw last year. It is unfortunate that the members opposite have voted from the NDP and Liberals have voted against every single one of those measures. The larger injuries to health care spending in this province, the members voted against that that was shown in the public accounts. They voted against hospitals in Brampton, voted against hospitals in Mississauga, in Windsor all across this province voted against increasing and supporting medical schools so we have the doctors and nurses of tomorrow. The members opposite voted against every single one of those investments year over year. We put $5.2 billion more than last year in health care spending. The largest increase in the entire country and the history of this province and we will continue to ensure that we make the necessary investments to sport health care across. The next question for Brantford Brandt. Thank you, Speaker. Ongoing labor shortages, global shipping disruptions and declining processing capacity are significant concerns that continue to impact our agri-food sector. In my writing of Brantford Brandt, I am proud of the over 1400 agri-food businesses that all serve a critical role in contributing to our province's economic prosperity and job creation. With one in every eight jobs in Ontario coming from the sector expanding and enhancing the agricultural industry should be a priority for our government. Speaker, can the Minister of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs please share with us how our government is growing and supporting the agri-food sector in Ontario. Minister of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And not only do I appreciate the amazing work that the member from Brant offers his constituents and the agri-food industry, but I very much appreciate the question because I'm pleased to share with you that after the agri-food industry in Ontario has been ignored for years through the Liberal government and their friends in the opposition benches, I am absolutely pleased to share with you that our plan to grow Ontario forward has been incredibly well received by all stakeholders agri-food sector. You know, Ontario is poised to build a secure and stable supply chain and grow Ontario is our strategy to ensure that our agri-food sector in this province has certainty in its supply chain and it's the result of conversations that I've had for over a year with our stakeholders like food and beverage Ontario. Your response? The number one challenge is a labour shortage. So through building a strong supply chain growing our labour workforce as well as innovation and research the future's bright for Ontario's agri-food industry. Thank you. Supplementary question? Speaker, thank you to the minister for her response. It is great to hear that our agri-food sector has a government that is working with them listening to them and addressing their concerns. Unfortunately ongoing global economic instability is adversely impacting the agricultural industry worldwide and at home. This sector needs reassurance that our government will continue to show leadership and take action to remove barriers and lift burdens so that this vital industry can continue to prosper. Speaker, can the minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs please elaborate further on how our government will deliver results in this sector. Thank you. Minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs. Thank you very much. You know, our government through grow Ontario is making measurable targets that will allow us to track the progress to implementing this 10-year strategy like boosting the amount of food produced right here in Ontario by 30% by developing 250 more made in Ontario agri-food innovations and technology and we're looking to grow the workplace the workforce in this province by 10%. These targets are backed up with amazing investments from our government. $10 million in the food security and supply chain fund, as well as the $25 million strategic processing fund. Our stakeholders are incredibly pleased that they finally have a government that understands the importance of the agri-food industry and our grow Ontario plan has real goals with tangible actions and our strategy represents a bold vision built on a commitment that is second to none and it will also raise awareness of the amazing food produced right here in Ontario not only for our consumers in this province but around the world. Thank you very much. Speaker, last week Global News reported that Metrolinx has sold eight parcels of land since March of 2021. None of these lands were used for affordable housing. Seven out of eight parcels went to private companies including large scale developers. This is the same public agency that previously reneged on its agreement with the Jane and Finch community to hand over land for a community hub. It is clear that Metrolinx thinks it can ignore its duty to serve the public interest. Does the Premier think that Metrolinx a public agency can ignore its duty to serve the public interest as well? Thank you very much. Thank you to the member for the question, Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, under the disability portfolio under our government's leadership we are very carefully looking at surplus properties that we can then use for government priorities like affordable attainable housing like building long-term care homes Mr Speaker. This is a strategy that our government developed. We are well underway to building more long-term care homes as well as more housing in the province of Ontario. Mr Speaker, as an agency of the province, Metrolinx is mandated to follow the Ontario Realty Directive which has a stated purpose of, and I quote, effective and efficient management of government realty including active consideration of provincial interest with respect to social, environmental and economic purposes of realty end quote. It is clear Metrolinx does not care about provinces interest with respect to social, environmental and economic purposes. All it cares about is selling off public land to the highest bidder. Will the premier ensure that surplus lands owned by public agencies like Metrolinx are used for affordable housing or at the very least for public purpose? Thank you very much Speaker and I want to thank my colleague for the question. As the minister of infrastructure alluded to earlier, we are looking at every possible scenario to improve housing in the province for the people of Ontario. Through the community renewal strategy we invested over $4.4 billion over the last three years to make sure that housing is available and in particular to our most vulnerable. Through our latest initiative, the bill that passed yesterday, bill 23, we will have more homes affordable offered to Ontarians. We are lowering fees for Ontarians so that we can get more housing built. Unfortunately over the last few years we have seen both the Liberals and NDP oppose and vote against every single housing built that we put forward. This side of the house we are for housing. We are for building homes on the other side. They are opposed housing and they will vote against every single housing built. I ask them to change their direction of building housing and support Ontarians in our mission to make sure everyone's coming. Many of my constituents in Don Valley West especially Thorncliffe Park don't have a family doctor much like 1.8 million other Ontarians. Healthcare workers have been saying repeatedly that they are overwhelmed. On November 24th, 2022 the health minister said we will continue to work with all healthcare providers when they bring forward innovative ideas and we will continue to fund those innovations. I don't believe Ontarians are seeing that statement in action. Nurse practitioners have put forward an innovative solution that could provide relief even if temporary more nurse practitioner led clinics. My question through you to the health minister is the government in fact committed to investing in innovative healthcare solutions such as nurse practitioner led clinics now to address staffing shortages to help support healthcare workers and to create more access to Ontarians to get the medical attention they need. Minister of Health So we are absolutely investing in those innovative practices but I have to say it's a bit rich it's a bit rich to come from a member representing this party who the previous premier liberal premier admitted that they did not invest appropriately in healthcare and long-term care in fact eliminating 50 residency positions while we have continued to expand through health school expansions first historic expansions in Mississauga and my apologies in Brampton and Scarborough the first expansions in medical schools since wait for it a previous conservative government in northern Ontario so patients are we taking those ideas that are coming from our healthcare professionals 100% we are but I will take no lessons from this party on how thank you very much any supplementary questions Speaker the health minister talks a lot about healthcare capital investments yet despite that under this governments watch healthcare workers are overburdened they're struggling to have access to family doctors under this government they're having their surgeries cancelled under this government and they are all asking for this government to help in October Ontario's five largest healthcare unions requested an urgent meeting with the premier and the health minister to work on real solutions to the as of Thursday they had received no response the unions say that quote the PC quote unquote plan is failing miserably they said they're taking to help people who need care it's not working when will this government listen to the practical advice of healthcare workers to help Ontario to need care now the members the minister of health did the members support when we issued a ministerial directive to the college of nurses and to the CPSO to expedite the qualifications assessments and ultimately for internationally educated graduates did the member in the party opposite do that did the member opposite when we added 160 undergraduate seats and 295 postgraduate positions for individuals who want to practice in the province of Ontario where was the member opposite we are making those investments in the short and I would like to think that at the end of the day they will understand that these investments which should and could have been done 10 plus years ago are now being done under Premier Ford in our government the member for Sault Ste. Marie thank you Mr. Speaker research from the Canadian mental health association reveals that residents of northern Ontario have higher self-reported rates of poor mental health compared to the provincial average under the previous Liberal government people living in the north had limited access to essential mental health services Speaker this is not right nor is it fair access to care in our province should not be dictated by where a person lives every Ontarian deserves accessible mental health and addiction services that is why our government must support the mental health needs of individuals in rural remote northern and indigenous communities Speaker can the associate minister of mental health and addictions please share with this house how our government ensures improved access to mental health and addiction services province-wide Thank you Mr. Speaker and the member from Sault Ste. Marie is correct the north has been neglected for far too long this is why I've been travelling in the north and I've had the opportunity to visit many of the cities in rural and remote communities and just recently in October I had the opportunity to meet with Carolyn Carl and team deck a local addiction recovery group who lost children to addictions and I was honored to speak with them listen to their experiences and learn more about the needs that we must do to fill the gaps in their community to give better care to individuals and Mr. Speaker we're filling those gaps as a government I was in North Bay last week with the Minister of Economic Development Job Creation and Trade to announce an expansion of the North Bay Addiction Centre of Excellence at Canaveral College this is an investment of 4.5 million dollars to build 53 beds not only to help people in the north to provide better supports and build on the continuum of care in northern Ontario supplementary question thank you again Mr. Speaker and thank you to the Minister for that response building more beds and training additional staff are integral to expanding our mental health care system however we know that there is no one size fits all approach in supporting individuals with mental health and addiction services recognizing the uniqueness of service needs is paramount in northern Ontario and with our indigenous communities unique barriers confront indigenous communities in accessing mental health care services that is why our government must support and enhance indigenous community based programs that are culturally focused Speaker can the Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions please explain what our government is doing to ensure that indigenous communities receive the care that they deserve thank you Thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to the member for that question the trauma that was suffered by the residential school survivors as well as the intergenerational trauma to their families and communities requires a focused commitment to culturally appropriate services Mr. Speaker, $2 million of the Canada investment will go towards servicing indigenous populations in addition Mr. Speaker we're also providing support to several indigenous led organizations to deliver evidence driven land based care $3.8 million for the St. Joseph care group and Villaco Adnishnabek family care to open 34 new beds in Thunder Bay $4.2 million to the partnership group for addiction services Mr. Speaker, there are just three of the incredible investments and initiatives that are being made as a result of the addiction recovery fund which is going to open 400 treatment beds, 7,000 treatment spots and I might say 56% of which will be in Northern Ontario Mr. Speaker, we're building partnerships with our indigenous communities because they told us there's going to be nothing about us without us and we're listening thank you next question the member for Hamilton My question is for the Premier a couple of weeks ago we brought up the issue of operational room assistance replacing scrub nurses at Hamilton Health Sciences but we have seen no action to date the Minister of Health speaks of innovation but this is not innovation we need this is reckless gambling with patients lives to save a few bucks when will the Premier stop replacing nurses in the operating room and ensure Ontarians have safe, high quality surgical care Mr. Health You know, High Berkeley is never going to replace facts in this place or in Ontario so for clarity what we have is the Hamilton Health Sciences have worked alongside through the innovative partners at Niagara Health and Mohawk College to establish a credentialing program that enables various existing members of the health care team to gain competencies required to practice as operating room technicians and attendants these HHS team members include medical device reprocessing department tax health care aids and support providers this is part of the innovation that Hamilton Health Science proposed and we funded thank you proposing what they know is safe in our operating rooms over 4,000 community members have signed petitions calling on this Premier and his government to stop cutting corners and compromising their surgeries Speaker when you go into a hospital you want to know that the right people are in the room to give you the right care when you need it Ontarians deserve nothing less than experts and specialized nurses on their surgical team will the Premier do the right thing and stop using their surgical innovation fund to replace nurses registered nurses in the operating room Mr. Health Speaker where do I start so first of all this is prepping surgeries this is prepping the surgical rooms it is not part of the surgical team it is part of the surgical team in terms of they are preparing the surgical units they are technically trained and actually making a difference in efficiencies and improving so that we can do additional surgeries now Hamilton Health Sciences spent a lot of time working with their partners like Mohawk College to make sure that they can additionally skill existing staff members that are working in the system and we continue to see this kind of innovation making a difference because we know that there are so many incredibly capable health human resources that are working in the system and want to improve it unlike the member opposite we will come to order the next question the member for Haldeman Norfolk my question is to the solicitor general minister I come from a riding with a great deal of hunters target shooters and gun collectors I want to make it clear that these are not the folks shooting up cities gangs and organized crime are largely responsible for that on October 27th I wrote to you asking if Ontario will be joining Ontario and the Yukon in saying no to Justin Trudeau's gun buyback I haven't received an answer yet Speaker I've read what the federal government is proposing and it's not worth the paper it's written on and it certainly will not curb gun violence or crime I know talking about guns makes some of you uncomfortable and I'm sure some of you will peg me as some sort of gun toting Beth Dutton I'm not which makes me more credible I have no interest to protect here I have no interest to save lives I'd be the first to stand in my place and vote in favour to help to help those students like my colleague from Scarborough Guildwood mentioned earlier this morning until then we all need to exercise common sense Speaker to the minister will you be saying no to committing Ontario police resources to assist in the federal gun buyback Mr. Speaker I want to thank the member for the question I want to make it clear those who possess illegal guns will not be participating in the C-21 program and this is obvious and that's why we're treating combating gun and gang violence as a priority but we're telling our federal government to step it up at the border because this is a priority and I did just that when I attended in Halifax at the federal provincial and territorial meeting and I will continue to step it up at the border this is important now and we have to keep Ontario safe because we know that every gun almost every gun that is used in an illegal activity in Ontario is coming from across the border Thank you Speaker and thank you to the minister I'm not sure though if that was a yes or no I'd like to remind the minister that from a provincial perspective this is a policing resources issue and I'm glad to hear you say that it's not legal gun owners who are the problems Speaker, participating in the buyback will remove police from our streets which will put more power into the hands of criminals there will be fewer police to investigate domestic violence homicides and even the real problem of gangs and smuggling feel good headlines on the 6 o'clock news never translates into good public policy and in this case it gives the people of Ontario a false sense of security at their very large expense I am happy to hear that you want to push the feds to stop the smuggling of illegal weapons into Ontario and join Toronto Mayor John Tory in his call for tougher bail reforms for other provinces in one territory agree with me Speaker to the Solicitor General I like what you're saying but are you saying no to Justin Trudeau's gun buyback Remind the members to make the comments through the chair Solicitor General to respond Well Mr. Speaker I want to thank the member for the question and I'll just repeat again the problem is not with the legal gun owners and to be clear those who possess illegal guns will not be surrendering their guns as part of this program I've seen for myself when I toured at the border with a member from Sarnia Lampeden at the St. Clair River I saw exactly where the drones came in with the illegal guns and I went with the member from Sault Ste. Marie to his border and I saw the proximity between and the Ontario border the federal government must do more our message won't change we are telling the federal government step it up, less talk and more action The next question is the member for Thunder Bay Attic Locust Thank you Speaker My question is for the minister for seniors and accessibility Unfortunately due to years of neglect and underfunding from the previous Liberal Government seniors in my writing were left discouraged and isolated They lacked the resources and opportunities they required in order to stay active fit and socially connected in their communities Speaker can the minister please tell the house what our government is doing to support our seniors throughout Ontario and in my writing Thank you Minister for seniors and accessibility I'd like to thank the member for such an important question and I'd like to congratulate him on the marvellous world he's doing for his writing Thunder Bay Attic Locust Mr Speaker it is my pleasure to share with the house today that under the leadership of their fantastic member the Thunder Bay Museum located social planning council and the township of economy will each receive a senior community grant this total of $62,724 will help deliver programs and support to help seniors to stay fit healthy active and socially connected to their community Thank you Thank you Thank you to the minister for his response and all the great work he's doing on his file we know that social isolation can lead to serious health effects and reduce the quality of life for our seniors that's why our government must provide the necessary resources for our seniors to ensure they can remain active fit and socially connected to their communities can the minister of seniors and accessibility the government is doing to safeguard and support Ontario's seniors population Thank you Minister of seniors and accessibility Thank you to the member for another good question Mr Speaker we are providing senior community grant in every single writing in Ontario since 2018 we have invested close to $22 million providing $1,249 $249 senior community grant to community groups all across Ontario Mr Speaker our government is providing the tools and resources for organization across the province empowering seniors to continue being active participants in their communities When we work together we can ensure ensure that seniors can access the quality program service they need and deserve Thank you Thank you Thank you Speaker The latest report from Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Housing says there were 52 Femicides in Ontario this year One woman or girl killed I think we can all agree is one too many Each of these losses were preventable through action on the many recommendations this government has at hand to address the systemic issues the systemic issues that make it difficult for women and children to escape violence in the first place actions on affordable housing supportive housing inclusive wage parity paid emergency leave doubling ODSPOW benefits because there are folks with disabilities who are victims of violence Just to name a few My question is to the premier Will this government put their words into action by implementing the many recommendations that official opposition that community agencies have provided to finally end gender-based violence in Ontario Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Mr. Speaker and I think the member opposite for the question precarious low paying jobs keep women in crisis in an abusive homes in very dangerous situations and Mr. Speaker that's why this government is investing in increasing women's economic participation because it's good for families we have invested over 18 million 25 community-based organizations and educational institutions to help women facing the socio-economic barriers develop in-demand skills to enter re-enter the workforce Mr. Speaker we understand that when women are economically empowered when women are able to take care of their family they have the choice and the opportunity to keep themselves safe and Mr. Speaker we are doing that in this government we are investing in women because we do believe that when women succeed Ontario succeeds Mr. Speaker women cannot be economically empowered if they can't afford rent food or the basics back to the premier community-based investments like interval and transitional houses save lives yet they still don't receive annualized funding like many other public sectors do what this means is that resources that could be put into preventing violence are instead put towards administrative hurdles and the precarity of short-term financial outlooks my question is back to the premier will he commit to funding gender-based violence prevention and intervention through annualized funding so that frontline workers counselors, agencies, sexual assault rape crisis centers, shelters and all the community-based spaces and human beings who are caring for folks who have experienced violence aren't left nickling and diming which squeezes staff and the programs needed and ultimately hurts women and children Thank you Thank you Mr. Speaker and again thank you for the question and Mr. Speaker we are doing just that we are investing in the programs and organizations that are supporting women investing in women's futures programs 6.9 million in that program to see women get the skills and the development and access to in-demand jobs that pay very well Mr. Speaker women need the opportunities to be the drivers of their economic future in order to have the ability to get out of damaging dangerous homes and Mr. Speaker we are also investing in child care and addressing the barriers that are preventing women from being economically empowered Mr. Speaker we are making these investments we are going to continue to make these investments and speak to community organizations to understand what they need so that we can address them and get women into the driver's seat of their economic future. Thank you Next question the member for Cambridge Thank you My question is for the minister of colleges and universities Speaker one month ago the minister of colleges and universities talked about the new agency intellectual property Ontario and how work would shortly be getting underway to support this agency's mandate. So I'll keep my question short and brief can the minister inform the house on what progress has been made and when can Ontario expect to see some impact of IPON Mr. Colleges and Universities Thank you Speaker and thank you for the member for that question. I'm always happy to talk to the legislature and talk about the amazing work our intellectual property and research sector is doing. As a member mentioned I announced last month that IPON CEO Peter Cowan and board chair Karima Boa would be hard at work this month laying the groundwork for the agency just last week I invited both Peter and Karima to Queens Park to meet with me and update me on the progress they have been making and how our government and we can better enable their ability to create a meaningful culture shift in the community. I'm proud to say that since the announcement IPON is well underway in making the concept of an Ontario first and Ontario driven intellectual property strategy into reality. 2023 will be an incredible year for our research and businesses and I cannot wait to see how they join the IPON framework to better leverage their work for the benefit of Ontario and taxpayers. Thank you I want to thank the minister for that answer. I'm glad to hear work is underway but what I didn't hear in that first response is exactly the benefits that will be going through this organization. The idea of Ontario first and driven sounds excellent but I want to be able to go back to my members in my writing this week and tell them exactly why IPON is something that will impact their lives and how it fits into the government's philosophy of getting it done. Through you Speaker can the minister explain exactly the benefits of IPON is intended to bring to the province of Ontario's taxpayers. Great question. Well thank you Speaker and thank you to the member for wanting to know more about how MCU is protecting and promoting Ontario based research. I cannot underestimate the vital work of the work researchers and institutions do in making the critical advancements in our knowledge understanding and capabilities in STEM related fields but when we invest in these projects and we invest in our people we need to be assured that those doing the work and the taxpayers who help fund these projects are the first to benefit. IPON will work with our research and business sectors to create a more robust culture around protecting Ontario based intellectual property and how to use the economic and societal benefits of the research to fuel further research and economic activity in this province. In short with IPON we are putting Ontario in the driver's seat not only for research ideas but transforming research into new technologies, methodologies and capabilities that will fuel Ontario's future economic and societal prosperity. Thank you. Thank you Mr. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Question for the Premier. In the City of Greater Sudbury 40% of paramedic time is spent waiting to offload patients to Health Sciences North overcrowded emergency department. The City of Greater Sudbury Speaker is huge if an ambulance and the paramedics are stuck at the hospital that leaves the good people of Beaver Lake, of one of the first nations of Levac up to one hour away from emergency services. Does the Premier think that it is okay to leave the people of my riding waiting up to one hour for paramedic emergency care to arrive? The Minister of Health. Thank you Speaker. There is no doubt that paramedics play a vital role in our healthcare system and we have done some innovative things in the last number of months that are assisting the are highlighting exactly what the member opposite is referencing the dedicated nurse offload program that we have put in place investing over $23 million to ensure that hospitals who wish to hire a dedicated nurse offload position can do so so that paramedics can more quickly get back into the road and into our community. The 911 changes that we have made to ensure that paramedics with patients approval can take that individual to somewhere other than an emergency room whether that is a mental health facility from care facility has really made a difference. We are making those investments because we see that we have an excellent workforce that really understands how at their core we can assist patients in our communities. Thank you. Well paramedic effectiveness is directly linked to the quality of the dispatch system that sends them to the calls. Did you know speaker that Ontario is the only province that does not have 911 everywhere? Every year in my writing people in distress find out that the paramedics are not available. The paramedics are there but you need to dial a 1-800 numbers that nobody knows. When is the premier going to modernize our province emergency dispatch system to ensure that 911 is available everywhere in Ontario? Mr. General Thank you Mr. Speaker as the member knows and I thank her for the question because calling 911 is a lifeline that ensures access to first responders in an emergency response and keeps communities safe. 911 services as the member knows will be upgraded to the next generation 911. This is something that our government is committed to and I want to just state again that everyone in Ontario has an equal right to feel safe in their own communities and the next generation 911 coming to fruition. The next question the member for Niagara West. My writing of Niagara West and across the entire Niagara region our government has made substantial investments in the GoTrain network to ensure that commuters are able to go from Toronto into Niagara and back in record time. These investments have expanded our entire network across the entire GTHA system but Speaker accessibility is very important as is ease of access. That's why I know it's so important that in select locations across the GTHA we've seen the Ministry of Transportation expand the PrestoTOP program. I'm wondering on behalf of the people of Niagara West in the entire Niagara region if the Associate Minister for Transportation can tell my constituents if they soon will be able to access the PrestoTOP program in Niagara and in Niagara West specifically. Associate Minister of Transportation Thank you very much Speaker and to the amazing member of Niagara West who works tirelessly so thank you. Here's the thing Speaker, he brings up a very good point because it's not just about building record transit which this government is doing. $61 billion to expand the grid a spider web of transit. It's also about making sure that riders have a more convenient experience throughout the GTHA and it's interesting to hear the Liberals heckling during this question because they had decades to build transit. They simply did nothing at all. The question about credit card tap the world seems to have this ability to tap with your credit card and go on to your transit system it's very convenient, it makes life easier especially when there's line-ups at the PrestoKiosk Speaker, since August 300,000 riders have been able to tap their credit cards on Go, Brampton Myway and Oakville Transit and that's working including your smart device which is important to note because a lot of people have that ability on their technology. It's coming to the rest of the GTHA next year when that number is right. Supplementary question Thank you very much, I appreciate the response from the Minister and the investments that are being made by the Ministry of Transportation and Metrolinx in expanding GO Train access across the GTHA including into the Niagara region it's an important hub to be able to access of course the beautiful sites in Niagara and for people to be able to have that ease of transport is something that I know I hear from my constituents that they value greatly. I know it's important as well that our government takes a digital first approach to ensure that we are able to have people access government services in a safe and effective manner and in one that makes life easier for them and their families. Can the Minister explain more about how this program will ensure ease of access to the GO Train network and ensure that more people are able to hop on the GO Train perhaps down the road in Union Station and visit some of the unique sites that Niagara has to offer. Associate Minister Speaker, another great question and what the members highlighting here is it's about choice. It's not just about digital, it's about having the ability to pay in different means and giving the riders of this great province the ability to have that option. That's exactly what we're doing. Again interesting to hear that the Liberals are so vocal on this issue because under their watch they wasted $470 million in cost overruns at millions more on faulty Presto machines. They simply not only didn't build transit, when they did they got it wrong. This government believes in doing things differently. For every dollar we're investing in our transportation network $3 is going to invest in transit this is the only government that's going to get it done for commuters in this province. Question period for this morning. For some understanding order 36A the member for Don Valley West has given notice of her dissatisfaction with the answer to her question given by the Minister of Health concerning listening to healthcare workers about innovations for our healthcare system The matter will be debated today following private members public business there being no further business this morning this house stands in recess until 3pm