 There are no further introductions. It's now time for question period, the leader of Her Majesty's Law of Opposition. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Premier, on Monday I asked the Legislative Assembly to clear the decks of legislation that we had all agreed to to move forward with the programming motion. I understand that our House Leader has come to an agreement with your House Leader. I'm happy to see that. The goal was to clear the decks so we could focus on the big issues, jobs and the economy. This weekend we put our final touches on our plan, our path to prosperity to make Ontario first in jobs and last in debt. Premier, now that we have cleared the decks, where's your plan? What are you putting on the table to make Ontario rise again? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And again, I appreciate the work of the Leader of the Opposition. This is to my mind how minority government has to work, Mr. Speaker, that there is cooperation. And I'm very glad that he has responded to my proposal that we move ahead some pieces of legislation where there is agreement. And thank you, Mr. Speaker. The work that we are doing on youth unemployment, the investments that we are making to make sure that young people have support, that they get the skills training that they need, the investments that we're making in infrastructure, Mr. Speaker, and the supports that we're putting in place. The Minister of Finance and I had an opportunity to meet with some financial leaders this morning talking about the single regulator, the national regulator, that's the agreement we've come to with British Columbia and the federal government. So that's the kind of work that needs to go forward, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I guess the Premier's answer is no jobs plan. The whole point of the programming motion was to clear the decks and to put aside, I know your initial priorities were around teenage access to tanning beds and regulations around door-to-door water heater salesmen. We've agreed to those. We're now moving aside so we can focus on jobs and the economy. The problem I have is I see no new ideas coming from the liberal benches. There are a lot of young people who have their degree, their diploma, they're full of life and expectation, looking forward to getting on with life, buying a home, advancing their career, but they're back home on Mom and Dad's couch. And Premier, respectfully, all we've seen from you are warmed over NDP ideas. You've increased business taxes, you brought in a new tax rate on income earners, a new tax bracket in the province. That's going to cost this job. So let me ask you this. Why do you want to go back to the era of the NDP when Ontario went backwards? Why don't you move forward with a new jobs plan? If you have no ideas, please take some of ours. It's time to get on with the job. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Well, it's very interesting that Janet Ecker was standing beside us this morning. And she was so supportive of the single regulator that we are advancing, Mr. Speaker, confidence by international investors in the country and in Ontario specifically, Mr. Speaker, understanding that we are getting our job, getting our act together, Mr. Speaker, understanding that there's that kind of stability that will create jobs, Mr. Speaker, and it's unfortunate that the leader of the opposition doesn't understand that that kind of confidence is exactly the kind of business environment that will bring investment and will create jobs, Mr. Speaker. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. You know, I stand here and I congratulate Finance Minister Jim Flair, the federal government, for bringing forth the same basic security. Fantastic. But what I'm not asking you, Premier, is to copy the Federal Conservatives' initiative. I think it's good as moving ahead, but I congratulate the Finance Minister. Nor am I asking you to copy Andrew Horvath's program because I think the NDP's plan to increase taxes and drive spending through the roof is dangerous for our province. It's reckless policy. We need to go in the opposite direction. So you're either a carbon copy of the NDP or you're vacant of ideas. So let me suggest one to you. Energy is one of the most important costs of doing business. It's going through the roof on the Liberal Plan. Your pension for forcing wind turbines into communities is dividing the province and really is taking us over the cliff when it comes to economic policy. So if you don't have ideas, we've cleared things aside. Take one of ours. Will you stop the wind turbine movement in the province of Ontario and get it through in time? Previously, thank you. Previously I had made a ruling and made a comment on using names instead of titles and I would ask and remind the member to do that, please. And it raises the debate instead of lowers it, so please adhere to that because it is very functional and when we do it right. Premier, please. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, two things in response to that question. First of all, the leader of the opposition knows full well that the promotion of an advancement of a single securities regulator was in our budget. We said we were going to do it. We have done that, Mr. Speaker. We followed through. We actually proposed a couple of job creating bills in the programming motion. The Supporting Small Business Act, Mr. Speaker, which would actually relieve some of the pressure on small businesses and give them more capacity to hire people, Mr. Speaker, and the Waste Reduction Act, which will create jobs, Mr. Speaker, and neither of those was agreed to. I hope that once we get the programming motion through and those bills that we can agree on, that they will support us on those, Mr. Speaker, because I understand they say they want to support and create an environment where jobs can be created, but we're not seeing that, Mr. Speaker, so I hope they will join with us and support legislation that actually will create that environment. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My second question is to the Premier about Regulation 274. On her point that she made last, it's pretty clear, Speaker, if something creates jobs or reduces spending, we'll support it, but we're not going to support NDP-like policies that are going to kill jobs and raise taxes and problems. Premier, could you listen to your answers closely yesterday on your new policy to have seniority rating for the only reason to hire new teachers? Let me ask you, Premier, can you tell us exactly how many instances of rampant nepotism that you've seen in the college and moved forward with Regulation 274? What exactly is the number? So, Mr. Speaker, as I have said, it's very important that Ontario's teachers have a fair and consistent hiring process across all school boards, Mr. Speaker. That's the fundamental principle upon which we have to base our policies. Last year what we heard was, Mr. Speaker, that this was not the case, that it was not the case, and we took action, Mr. Speaker. So, the Regulation now ensures that teaching candidates are chosen by school boards based on a number of criteria beyond just seniority. But what we've said, Mr. ... Stop, please. Stop the clock. Between the member from Renfrew and the Attorney General, I'm having a hard time hearing the question, so I'm going to ask both of you to tone it down, please. Premier? What we've said is that we're open to improvements to the Regulation. Honestly, Mr. Speaker, I'm not sure where the conflict is here, because we've said that we took action, we put the Reg 274 in place as part of a negotiation. We believe that there are problems with it, which is why the Minister of Education is working to get input in order to make the changes and implement those changes. I think the leader of the opposition needs to take yes for an answer, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Supplementary? The Premier says that this is fair and consistent. Premier, there's nothing about the teacher of the year being bumped down to 820th on the list, because you run for ... And she says consistent. This is consistently unfair to sideline the best teachers, because you made a backroom deal with the unions. Now, clearly, you couldn't answer my question on how many complaints there are in Epidism. I think that's quite frankly a phony excuse. It was part of your cave into the ... The member from Northumberland came to order. He's asking the question. It's not a very unfair hiring policy. Now, you used the word overcorrection. I see by the Minister's comments that now you have working groups and you have an expert panel to study Regulation 274 to death. Question? You talk about an overcorrection. Why do you need two or three panels to study this? Why don't you just do the right thing? Pass me some of Cloud's bill. Let's move on and put the best teachers on board. Thank you. Can you see it, please? Can you see it, please? Thank you, Premier. Mr. Speaker, what I said was that we need the fair ... We need the hiring practices to be consistent and we need them to be fair. We've said that we believe that there are some issues with Reg 274. That need to be corrected. So what the Minister of Education is doing is gathering the input that she needs so that we can get it right, Mr. Speaker. And I hope that the leader of the opposition, even though the question that he's asking is designed to undermine the relationship between government and organized labor. That's really what's at the heart of the question. But I hope the leader of the opposition understands that we are willing to make changes to Reg 274, that we are gathering that input and that we will implement changes, but we are going to get it right, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. First place. Measure twice. Cut one. The question is, why didn't the Premier get this right in the first place? Why did you bring all of this in? You know, what do we want to see? We want to see in Ontario where the teacher of the year actually can be in a job in teaching our kids not put to the bottom of the list because he doesn't have the right connections with the teachers' union. Minister of Energy comes to order. Policy. And quite frankly, Premier, your use of language of overcorrect. Orwellian. I don't think you actually can demonstrate there's a problem to begin with, but if there was, why don't you solve that problem? Sorry. Minister of Immigration and Citizenship will come to order. Minister of Energy will come to order. Please finish. Overcorrection, that kind of double-speak would make Orwell blush. You just do the right thing. You have to withdraw that. You don't? Another fan of Orwell? Double-speak. Aldous Huxley? I'll go with Huxley instead of Orwell. I withdraw, Speaker. So Premier, let me just ask you directly. Instead of overcorrecting, studying panel after panel, the study, study after study, just do the right thing. What's the teacher of the year to work in a classroom helping out our kids? Do the right thing. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So the reality is that on this side of the house we really believe that publicly funded education can continue to improve. Which is why, Mr. Speaker, we've made the investments that have allowed kids test scores to go up. We've got 82 percent of kids graduating from high school, Mr. Speaker. Now it's the member from Northumberland's turn. And I want to make a point here very quickly that I've kept track of who I've asked a couple of times. The next one will be a warning. The reality, Mr. Speaker, is that the opposition's plan for education would fire 10,000 people from the system, Mr. Speaker, would cancel full-day kindergarten, which is already demonstrating benefits for our youngest students, Mr. Speaker, and would cut funding across the system. That's how they would improve education, Mr. Speaker. We've seen that before. We know what happens to the education system when the leader of the opposition is in charge, Mr. Speaker. We don't buy into that. We believe in the publicly funded education system. We believe in those relationships and continue to improve, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Thank you, Speaker. My first question is to the Premier. Earlier today, the Liberal Government put forward a motion that would ram a bill through the House at the behest of a single company. Alice Dawn, one of the Liberal Party's biggest donors. Can the Premier explain why she's supporting shutting down debate to ram this bill through the House? Premier. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the leader of the third party for the question. What we're engaged in right now is trying to make the minority government work, and the leader of the third party knows that in the spring, she and her party voted for a programming motion, Mr. Speaker, because she understands, I think, fundamentally that in order to be an agreement to move legislation ahead. So that's what we're doing. We're moving ahead bills like the local food act, the act that would protect kids from getting cancer and the tanning bed situation, Mr. Speaker. We're moving ahead consumer protections, including wireless contracts, Mr. Speaker. So those are the kinds of things that need to move ahead. There are a number of different kinds of bills as part of the programming of a private member's bill. We're going to work to make sure this legislation gets to the point where it can be debated. It can go to committee. That's how you make a minority parliament work, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yesterday New Democrats asked the Premier who she had met with regarding Bill 74, a bill to help one of the Liberals' biggest donors. We didn't get an answer to that question, Speaker. So can the Premier tell us today what's been lobbying her to support this bill? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And again, I will just say that there is a range of bills as part of this programming motion, Mr. Speaker. I'm on the record saying that this particular piece of legislation is about an anomalous situation that was created in the 1950s, Mr. Speaker. But it needs to go to committee. It needs to be debated. We need to have a full discussion of it. So we need to go ahead. That's what the programming motion is about. That's why the leader of the third party voted for a programming motion in the spring because she fundamentally knows that that's how minority parliament has to work. So we will continue to work to get legislation through to the point where it can be debated, where there can be public hearings, and I look forward to their input. Thank you. Final supplementary. Speaker, media reports indicate that lobbyists with connections in the liberal and conservative parties put this bill together to ensure quick passage for their client. Now, the conservatives would propose the bill was the way it was supposed to work, and the liberals would help them pass it. Can the premier tell us whether this, in fact, is the case? Again, Mr. Speaker, I think it would be very helpful for us to be able to get these pieces of legislation. There's a full range of them in the next stage. I'll be an equal opportunity speaker because there's equal opportunity heckling going on, including the clock. Premier. It would be very helpful to get these pieces of legislation to the next stage, get them to the point of having public hearings, Mr. Speaker, and then I look forward to the input of the NDP and the people who are locked other pieces of legislation, Mr. Speaker. The reality is everyone in this house comes from across the business and labor spectrum, Mr. Speaker. We meet with people all the time, every single day, people who bring their interest to us and we together have to sort out what is in the best interest of the people of Ontario. That's how government should work, Mr. Speaker, and that's how we're trying to make this a minority. Thank you, Speaker. My next question is also to the Premier, and it's a question of people who elected us expect us to work hard and deliver results for them, Speaker. And today, they're wondering why the Premier is bending over backwards and using extraordinary measures to ram through a bill to help one single company out of their obligations to their employees. Now, it looks to them, like the Liberals and the Conservatives are working together to help well-connected insiders for a big donor. Does the Premier have any other explanation? Speaker. Order. If you haven't figured it out by now, I'm trying to bring it down. Premier. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Well, I'm surprised at the use of language like extraordinary measures, Mr. Speaker, when the NDP voted for the motion in the spring because they understand that in a minority parliament, in order to move legislation forward, that's what needs to be done, Mr. Speaker. And I am the first politician to say I want public debate and I want an opportunity for the public to have input into legislation, which is why I want to get these pieces of legislation to the next stage so that they can have the hope that the leader of the third party fundamentally understands that that's how we need to make minority parliament work, and I'm glad there's the opportunity to move these pieces of legislation where there is agreement forward. Thank you. Supplementary. Speaker, Mary Billen is working hard to make ends meet. She's here in the legislature today with us. Like a lot of Ontarians, she was told that her auto insurance rates would be coming down. The premier promised in order to pass the budget. So Mary was awfully surprised to see her insurance rates go up instead of down, from $1,850 to $2,000 a year. Now at the same time as Mary was working hard to pay her bills, Alice Don made more than $2.5 billion in revenues. So why is the premier working with the conservatives to help put a well-connected billion dollar construction firm ahead of people like Mary who make this province work? Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. Well, the government has to be able to do more than one thing at a time. So in fact, Mr. Speaker, we are working on bringing auto insurance rates down and we've spoken to that many, many times. At the same time, we need to see pieces of legislation go through Mr. Speaker. And I think that the key words of the leader of the third party used there was construction, Mr. Speaker. There are thousands of people working in construction in this province right now, Mr. Speaker. I want that to continue and I just bet that some of those workers have made donations to the NDP, Mr. Speaker. Final supplementary. Well, Speaker, people elect their politicians to deliver results for them. And I've been clear new Democrats are going to continue to put people first. But this is what they see from Liberal Speaker. The government tells drivers they need to wait for relief. The government tells seniors they need to wait for their promised home care improvements. But when it comes to well connected insiders and donors, the government, the Liberal Government with the help from the Conservatives works overtime to help them out. Now, why is the Premier's priority with the Conservatives to help out their well connected friends rather than getting the results that Ontarians deserve? Very much, Mr. Speaker. Ontarians deserve jobs. Ontarians deserve to have opportunities to support their families. And we are working very hard to make sure that we create the environment where business can thrive, Mr. Speaker, so that those jobs can be created. And my guess is, Mr. Speaker, that some of the people like the Member for London Fanshawe and the Member for London West would have a perspective on this and it would be one that they might want to share with the leader, Mr. Speaker. The other reality, Mr. Speaker, is that we all as members of political parties meet with people of range of people all the time, Mr. Speaker, and having supporters and having those supporters make donations is part of what we do. My understanding, Mr. Speaker, is that there are many companies that have donated to all three parties, including the company in question who has donated to all three parties, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Your question is to the Minister of Natural Resources. Minister, as you know, the Committee Reviewing the Arrogant Resource Act is wrapping up and expects to release our report within a few weeks. Member from Hamilton East, will come to order. And the Member from St. Hamilton East, Tony Creek, will come to order a second time. Ask your question and the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs will cease. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One issue that came up very early in our review that surprised many of the members is the fact that the word recycling is actually not in the ARA. We've seen the stockpiles of aggregates and we understand that if we allow recycled product, we can take some pressure off the need to constantly find new product. It's good for the environment. It's good for business. It's good government policy. Do you agree that encouraging the use of recycled aggregates is good policy for the government to adopt? Thank you, Speaker, and please respond to the Member's question. I'm certainly well aware that the Member has a private member's bill advocating for this and I thank her, in fact, for the work that she's doing on the Committee, as well as on the Committee that took the time to visit many places in Ontario and hear firsthand from residents, from businesses and other organizations and individuals about the importance of modernizing the Aggregate Resource Act. So, Speaker, what I would say with respect to the Committee's report, pleased to have their final recommendations and their review completed, our Ministry will review these recommendations and look forward to presenting changes. Thank you, supplementary. As I said, I am debating and I hope people will participate in Bill 56, Aggregate Promotion Recycling Act. It would ensure that publicly funded projects cannot exclude the use of recycled product. We all understand that MTO is actually doing a very good job. What we need to do is let that MTO practices, best practices be transferred to municipalities and other publicly funded institutions. Can I get your insurance minister that you will support my private member's bill? He will also move quickly to ensure that recycled product can be used for all taxpayer funded projects. Thank you, Minister. Thank you, Speaker. I don't want to say specifically with respect to the contents of your bill and the way that it's worded with respect to everything that's in it, but what I will say is that, and the member quite correctly recognizes the provincial government and other levels of government's efforts to use recycled aggregate in the construction of new highways and other roadways, it's very important that we increase and continue to increase the use of recycled materials to reduce the impact on the environment and to reduce other negative effects on the environment. So what I will say, Speaker, is that we are committed to doing everything we can to support municipalities, to support the use of recycled material in the construction of various projects throughout the province. Thank you for that, and we look forward to bringing back recommendations that everyone in the House can review. Thank you. My question is to the Premier. Earlier this morning, when speaking to the media, you insisted that the Ellis-Don bill was a conservative priority, and that's why you were using extraordinary measures to ram this bill through the House. We all know that there are some Conservative members that have raised very serious concerns about this bill. The House Leader has been trying to get this bill passed as your Government House Leader, and it was the Liberal Caucus who showed up en masse in this legislature to allow this particular bill to pass when it was at second reading. So does the Premier seriously expect people to believe that the Liberals had nothing to do with this bill? I don't know where to begin in terms of correcting the record just said. No one's ramming anything through the House. Mr. Speaker, we stood this morning, I stood in this place and introduced the programming motion, which deals with eight bills and the formation of a select committee that would look into the developmental services situation here in the province. What the motion does, Mr. Speaker, as all programming motions do, is it sets out a pathway, an agenda moving forward for debate, discussion, and voting on all these issues. Mr. Speaker, nothing is being rammed through. It is a schedule that's going forward and as the Premier said, there will be plenty of opportunity for debate, discussion, and votes, and in many cases including the bill referenced by the member, public hearings into the matter. Mr. Speaker, there is nothing different from what we did this morning to what we did last spring with the support of the member who just asked the question. Premier, you said that you were going to do things differently. You said that you would not ram bills through this house, and specifically, you would not trample on workers' rights, but suddenly you're doing the complete opposite and the beneficiaries happen to be one of the Liberals biggest donors in Ontario. So I ask again, why has the Premier suddenly decided to cut off the debate and ram this bill through the house? Mr. Speaker, I added a little strange that this was the member who supported the Government and we put forward a programming motion to pass the Financial Accountability Officer Act. And at that point when he spoke to it, I never heard him call it ramming through the house. We have put forward a programming motion that deals with eight bills and the creation of a select committee in the process of examining those eight bills. There will be plenty of time for discussion, for debate in the case of the bill that he's speaking about public hearings and Mr. Speaker there will be votes on the floor of this legislature and I speak as a house leader in a Parliament Mr. Speaker. Nothing gets rammed through here. There will be a vote Mr. Speaker, and there's more of them than there are of us, so we're going to have to see where the chips fall on all eight of these bills that come forward Mr. Speaker. Nothing is being rammed through. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. My question today is for the Minister of Economic Development Trade and Employment. We all know, Speaker, how important trade is for helping expand Ontario's economic reach in the province's presence on our global stage and I also know my role as Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Finance just how crucial Ontario's trading relationships are with respect to helping to stimulate our economy. Millions of people across Ontario benefit from the goods that Ontario imports and businesses across Ontario benefit from the goods they export abroad. Recently our government announced a new trade strategy at a reverse trade mission held right here in Toronto. Speaker through you to the Minister, could the Minister please provide an update on the recent trade announcement and what this will mean for Ontario's economy. Thank you Minister of Economic Trade Development and Employment. Thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to the member from Vaughn the House today about the announcement I had the opportunity of making early this week alongside the Premier on Monday at the province's first ever global export form attended by more than 600 businesses from across Ontario. Mr. Speaker, our trade strategy is going to enhance Ontario's export potential through a four pillar approach. First we will diversify our markets Mr. Speaker especially to emerging markets emerging economies. That's where the growth is taking place and that is where we need to be. Second we will encourage more and more of our companies and we will support them to export especially our small and medium-sized businesses. And third we will build Ontario's brand abroad. Lastly we will streamline our resources to make it even easier for businesses to trade. This strategy will help to ensure that through trade we can grow our economy, create jobs and communities right across the province. Thank you. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker and I thank the minister for that update. While it is great to hear how our government is strengthening our global presence through the trade strategy, there are many businesses in my riding of Vaughan that are an example of the strong network of relationships that exist with respect to international trading. And therefore speaker I know that many businesses located in my riding will wonder what this trade strategy might mean for them and how they may benefit from what our government is doing. Speaker could the minister please speak specifically to how our trading strategy will help businesses in my riding of Vaughan and the businesses across the province of Ontario. Well thank you again to the member from Vaughan and for the opportunity to speak to the specific benefits for businesses across the province. Mr. Speaker, diversifying the markets where we export makes good business sense. It will allow companies to gain further market access to new economies helping their businesses grow. By expanding our reach through international trading centres like the upcoming opening of our international marketing centre in Brazil this coming January our government helps to facilitate the trading potential of companies from Ontario. We'll continue to help companies like North American Stamping Group located in Woodstock Armo tools in Middlesex County companies like Conestoga Meats and Breslau a successful co-op exporting already to 30 countries around the world in Elmira Pet products. Four companies in southwestern Ontario that have benefited from funding from the government from the southwestern development fund. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Premier in June 2012 federal bill C311 became law. This piece of legislation removed the federal criminal offence for consumers ordering and or transporting wine across borders. British Columbia Manitoba and Nova Scotia since have removed restrictive provincial barriers. B.C.'s Liberal Premier Christy Clark has even asked you personally to remove legislative barriers to inter-provincial wine trade in Ontario. Ontario has fallen behind other wine producing provinces due to the lack of action by your government. Presently your government is restricting adult Ontarians the freedom of choice during our tourism and small family owned businesses that make up the vast majority of our wine and grape growing industry. Premier, do you think it's right that Ontario consumers do not have the same market access to wine as other wine producing provinces? I know that the Minister of Finance is going to want to comment on some of the specifics but what I want the member opposite to know is that when Premier Clark and I had our conversation at the Council of the Federation we want to see the wine industry in Ontario, in B.C. and across the country grow, Mr. Speaker. We want to see it expand. We absolutely do. So Mr. Speaker we are working on a new wine strategy and I am very eager to put forward some ideas that I think would expand our industry and as part of that having an ongoing conversation and continuing to work with the Government of B.C. is very much on our radar Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Your Ontario is the largest wine producing province in the country. The grape growing and wine producing industries are of immense importance to this province. The two industries combined provide Ontarians with over 14,000 full-time jobs and provide the province with an annual tax revenue of $444 million. In addition to this every bottle of Ontario wine sold generates spend of $40 which spread over sectors including tourism and agriculture creating jobs and pushing our economy forward. In British Columbia, wine sales have increased after they changed their law to allow for inter-provincial wine shipments. Will you support Bill 98 this afternoon and allow for Ontario wineries to benefit from inter-provincial trade? Thank you Mr. Speaker. I think the member opposite in some respects responded to his own question in fact and in Ontario as a result of some of the parameters we put in place and the expansion strategies that the LCBO has made to increase access and distribution and promoting local VQA wines here in Ontario we've been able to develop an industry that's why we just recently opened special our Ontario wines boutiques in LCBO outlets featuring over 500 quality wines right here from Ontario. We're opening these stores right across the province. We're going to continue supporting on industry because you're right. This is a valuable industry for Ontario and to provide and access right across Canada we are more than willing to buy those wines and distribute and share with the rest of Canada and the rest of the world for that matter. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker an insurance expert showed that this question is to the Premier an insurance expert showed that the auto insurance profits have been five times more than this government has claimed and now the Premier is ramming through a conservative motion designed to help one large corporation particularly a construction corporation Ontario's large insurance and construction companies have been for decades some of the largest donors to this Liberal Party. Why is this government continuing to support the rich and powerful over the ordinary Ontarians struggling to make ends meet? Premier Minister of Finance So Mr. Speaker again the member is talking about promoting and ensuring and protecting consumers and that's why we've taken action for many years now to find ways to reduce the cost of claims to fight for our consumers and protect drivers right across the country or right across the province at the same time of course we're dealing with a multitude of issues to promote economic growth and to promote construction and to promote jobs in this province and that doesn't come at the exclusion of any other opportunity but I'll say this to the member here's a quote from CAA CAA auto insurance company of Ontario has applied for a rate reduction with the financial services commission of Ontario to help keep its auto insurance costs down for good drivers we say and it says and I quote we applaud the provincial government with them to help bring some relief to the pocketbooks of Ontario motorists we share the same vision for the government to help keep auto insurance costs manageable for everyone and it's working Thank you very much Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker to Ontarians this is what the priorities look like it seems like this government is ready to do whatever it takes to benefit large corporations large corporate donors but they continue to ignore the benefits or the concerns of Ontarians struggling to make ends meet this is like Mary and Mike Billan whose insurance policy went up by 6% from $1,852 to $1,995 this summer at a time when these these folks had no insurance claims no accidents did not change their car the Liberals promised to reduce auto insurance over the summer but instead the Billans saw their insurance rates go up at a time when millions of Ontarians are struggling to make ends meet struggling to pay their end of the month bills why is it this government's priority to continue to shovel more favors towards its largest donors So Mr. Speaker one of the things that we are doing as opposed to just talking and creating uncertainty and misinformation because the fact of the matter is rates are going down and here it is in 2000 the cooperators the cooperatives general insurance company again insurance company has said again insurance rates for private passenger automobile clients in Ontario effect of August October 15th is going down the cooperator was in a position to pass on savings to his clients due to the positive impact of the auto insurance reforms in Ontario that's not taught that is action action which your party acknowledges by way of a memo who would I quote the NDP and truthfully say they've broken a promise because we're delivering results for all Ontarians Thank you Mr. Speaker and my question is for the minister of research and innovation in this knowledge based economy investing in programs and projects that support research and innovation is critical research and innovation translate into jobs, economic growth and provide the answers to our questions the path from research to commercialization is a journey with many steps along the way as a government it is important that we invest in all stages of research from basic research to the commercialization and marketing of products and services Ontario has an impressive record when it comes to research it is the birthplace of many important discoveries that have had huge impacts not only in Ontario but around the world such as the discovery of insulin by Banting and Best Mr. Speaker through you to the minister of research and innovation what is our government doing to support research so that important and innovative breakthroughs are possible Thank you minister of research and innovation Thank you Mr. Speaker I thank the member from Oak Ridge's Markham for that question Mr. Speaker our government recognizes the importance of research and innovation for the economy of our province our investment includes $126 million commitment to the perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo that supports cutting edge research in foundational theoretical physics through the Ontario Research Fund we have invested $1.3 billion Mr. Speaker to build research facilities in this province and our early research and award program Mr. Speaker has enabled researchers build their research teams and also train over 1200 highly qualified researchers for this province Mr. Speaker I am proud that our investments our government's investments has made our province a research powerhouse not only in Canada but in the world Thank you Thank you Supplementary Thank you Mr. Speaker I'm so glad to hear that our government is taking steps to support innovation that will drive Ontario's future economy and create jobs in this global economy it is critical that we promote collaboration and build on our research strengths investments in research will help Ontario remain competitive our government does recognize that bringing leaders across sectors together is one of the best ways to drive innovation through collaboration best practices can be shared ideas can be exchanged and important resources pool together Mr. Speaker through you to the Minister of Research and Innovation what is our government doing to promote collaboration across sectors so that our research can be translated into commercial products and services that help create jobs and economic growth Thank you Thank you Mr. Speaker and I thank the member from Oakley's Markham for that question Mr. Speaker our government recognizes the importance of investing in research to commercialization life cycle Mr. Speaker by bringing together our world class researchers leading research institutions and also a strong private sector we are helping to turn great ideas into products and services that the world market needs them and wants them since 2003 Mr. Speaker our government has invested approximately $493 million to support Ontario centres of excellence which are helping connect industry to our researchers in our academic institutions also in June 2003 Mr. Speaker we announced the collaboration voucher program which will help businesses of all sizes to develop and refine their products and services Mr. Speaker our government is ensuring that Ontario remains the powerhouse of research in Canada and in the world Thank you Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker Thank you Mr. Speaker my question is to the Premier Premier this afternoon there will be a vote on bill 97 the natural gas Superhighway Act 2013 Bill 97 promotes the use of cleaner and more affordable liquefied natural gas as a transportation fuel for heavy-duty freight vehicles in Ontario South of the border private investment has spent hundreds of millions of dollars building fuel stations and developing the next generation truck engine technology will take advantage of this clean fuel BC, Alberta and Quebec have already taken legislative action to support their truck industry and the economic benefits that come from it Premier Ontario is late to the game will your government support the natural gas Superhighway Act and help put Ontario back in the fast lines Minister of Energy I thank the member for the question and certainly for the initiative there has been a lot of action with respect to gas and oil transportation and additional usage in the economy we are listening to the stakeholders we are going to look at your private members bill very carefully it's a private members bill so obviously each member will be able to make their own choice on that but there is a resurgence in the interest of natural gas for transportation we are following it very carefully and we will continue to listen to the industry thank you back to the minister if that's the way she likes it Madam Minister medium and heavy duty vehicles make up just 3% of the vehicles in Ontario highways today yet they contribute over 30% of the greenhouse gas emissions that come from on-road sources bill 97 the natural gas Superhighway Act by promoting the use of liquefied natural gas a cleaner next generation transportation fuel will help the sector of transportation industry by cutting the emissions by over 30% Minister, well your government talks a lot about doing what is right for the environment but the natural gas Superhighway Act is where the rubber meets the road Premier, Minister will you commit today to paving the way forward to the natural gas Superhighway Act and cleaner air for Ontario Mr. Speaker the principle of the bill, the private members bill makes a lot of sense however Mr. Speaker we are talking about significant infrastructure investments we are looking at the possibility of public-private partnerships we have a lot of industry stakeholders who have spoken with the minister of infrastructure with people in the minister of energy the additional use of more natural gas liquefied natural gas is an agenda item that needs to be dealt with needs to be dealt with seriously and we are taking it seriously Mr. Speaker we have a new question for the third party thank you Speaker, my questions for the Premier Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre is bursting at the seam the hospital has been forced into Code Gridlock more than 15 times since January 9 months after the problem was supposedly fixed with a plan from the local Linn the situation only continues to get worse while this government puts all of its energy into passing legislation that will benefit one Ontario construction company more and more patients in Thunder Bay are getting care on gurneys in alcoves and wading areas because every bed in their hospital is full is this the government's idea of transforming health care in the North Speaker Mr. President thank you Speaker and as the Premier said earlier it is possible to do more than one thing at the same time Speaker and that's what our government is doing the member opposite knows that we're really working hard to improve care across the province including Thunder Bay in Thunder Bay since 2003 we've built 668 new long-term care beds we've developed 134 bed Speaker through the Centre for Excellence for Integrated Senior Services we are in the process now of constructing a 544 bed long-term care home in Thunder Bay we're investing more in community care so that people can get the care they need in the most appropriate place home whenever possible Speaker I know that this is an issue that the Northwest Lynn and the people of Thunder Bay it's not hard to resolve we're not there yet but we're on the way Speaker the reality is that hospital overcrowding is nothing new under this liberal government in Thunder Bay and across the province hospitals are stuck between a rough and a hard place patients who should be in long-term care facilities or getting care at home are stuck waiting in hospital while the patients who need to be in hospital beds are stuck waiting on gurneys in the hallways tell us why your government is more focused on passing a bill to benefit one of their biggest donors than it is in meeting the health care needs of the people of Thunder Bay well Speaker I think the leader of the third party would be interested to know when the progress is being made in Thunder Bay Speaker the ALC rate in Thunder Bay Regional Speaker that's the rate for patients who are in hospital who could be and should be served elsewhere Speaker there's been a 38% reduction in ALC between September 2010 and April of this year we've also seen an increase of 25% in the discharges to the community with supports the right changes are being made Speaker this is a work in progress the job is not done I want to tell you we are very much focused on reducing ALC pressures and Thunder Bay and making sure that the people in Northwest Ontario get the care they need if you have a new question Mr. Speaker my question is to the that's not helpful either Mr. Speaker my question is to the Attorney General in February of this year the province received Justice Frank Yakibuchi's report First Nations representation on Ontario juries Speaker my riding of Scarborough Guildwood is home to one of the largest urban Aboriginal populations the report made a number of recommendations the top two of which were the establishment of both an implementation committee and an advisory committee addressing the underrepresentation of First Nations people on juries is vital to ensuring equal access to and faith to the justice system Speaker through you to the minister what steps have been taken to act on these recommendations and what has our government done to ensure enhanced First Nations participation in Ontario's justice system Thank you Mr. Speaker and thanks to the member for this very very important question ensuring equitable access to justice is critical to the building of a prosperous Ontario report last February my ministry immediately set to work to try to implement as the members already mentioned the two main recommendations that have setting up an implementation committee and an advisory committee now recognizing that solutions to increasing First Nations representation on jury roles can only occur by working directly with First Nations we immediately met with them we've appointed a committee just last Thursday right here in Toronto Speaker made up of two co-chairs one of the co-chairs is Deputy Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler and the other co-chairs Irving Glasberg and Assistant Deputy Minister it's an 11 person implementation committee with a vast variety of backgrounds and expertise it will allow them to contribute to the development of innovative practical ways of getting more aboriginal folks on juries the committee Mr. Speaker is made up of an equal number of members thank you it is good to hear that this government is taking meaningful steps towards affecting a real positive change in the way First Nations participate in Ontario's justice system specifically in enhancing participation on juries it is important to the people in my writing of Scarborough Guildwood that focus and attention be given to get this right in Ontario First Nations people are significantly over represented in prisons yet they are significantly under represented on juries as well as among all those who work in the administration of justice in this province whether as court officials, prosecutors defense counsel or judges I also know that in my writing and throughout this province aboriginal peoples constitute the fastest growing population within our population with a medium age that is significantly lower than the median age of the rest of the population given these realities will the minister further tell this house what the government is doing to address these issues and ensure First Nations people receive equal access to justice Mr. Speaker it is further supplemented due to minister of aboriginal affairs Speaker ensuring equitable access to justice is critical it is fundamental to building a society in Ontario I have every confidence that this committee with such very strong First Nations involvement will provide the best advice and the best leadership to ensure that First Nations have meaningful representation on juries but Speaker it goes beyond just ensuring greater First Nations representation on juries the work of this committee is equally important in supporting all the efforts to ensure that First Nations individuals know that they are a necessary and an vital part of the administration of justice the administration of law and of justice begins with faith in the justice system without faith in the system all else fails I am sure I am supporting entirely everything that the Attorney General is doing to ensure that First Nations have the important representation on juries Thank you Thank you Thank you A question to the Premier It is important for us to spend with other means that way we can afford the things that we care about and every dollar wasted every dollar in debt interest wouldn't go into priorities like helping out especially in the east children or building new hospitals like the Wesley Kimora hospital or a new hospital in south Niagara on May 3rd 2012 Dr Kevin Smith came up with his report around the Niagara health system and I commend you. I think Dr. Kevin Smith was in this due choice in that position. One of his recommendations was to build a new South Niagara hospital. I think of my parents who are in good shape but they eventually need those services, their neighbors, their friends and down the road they're going to need a hospital that's actually built in this century not halfway through the last. A modern facility that will do justice to the incredible skilled nurses, personal support workers we have in our hospital. So I support the new hospital in South Niagara why after a year and a half haven't you? Well a speaker this is a stunning change of position and one that I welcome speaker. I do want to acknowledge the exceptionally fine work that Dr. Kevin Smith has done in the Niagara health system speaker. I think it's fair to say now that the people of Niagara are getting better care and feeling more confident in their health care system. The issue of the hospital I think some of us will remember it wasn't very long ago where the position of the leader of the opposition was to not build any more hospitals including the one in West Lincoln speaker because there just wasn't enough money. I do remember very clearly there was a budget that we voted on that include funding for capital projects and the party voted against that bill speaker. So I welcome the support this is great news and we will continue to work to improve care in Niagara. Supplementary? Well you know it's it's an unfortunate minister of health makes remarks that she knows are not keeping with the facts speaker. I remain a champion of the West Lincoln Memorial Hospital of the South Niagara site. I've been on the record for that. The problem is that you waste so much money you don't set priorities or your fund projects simply and let me make this case. I'm puzzled why the liberals in the NDP are opposing the South Niagara hospital. Dr. Kevin Smith has said that an investment of $850 million over the next 30 years is cheaper than spending $1.1 billion to refurbish the well-owned Fort Erie, Port Colbran and Niagara Falls sites. He also makes a case that'll save $10 million a year in operating expenses by consolidating which means better health care for patients. So let's start making these decisions based on politics. Let's set priorities. Why don't you move ahead with West Lincoln and at the same time why after a year and a half of dithering and delay why don't you get behind people of South Niagara and say yes to a hospital built in this century not halfway through the last. Well speaker I welcome the new and improved leader of the opposition who actually believes in investing in capital infrastructure. The member opposite knows that there are many steps that must be taken in order to make a big decision about a big capital investment like a new hospital and there is a very lively conversation underway. I think the member from Welland would say that there is not unanimity around the decision to build a single hospital in South Niagara but as NHS gets a new leadership in place we will be looking speaker for proposals from the hospital from the land on what services would be included in a new hospital. No decision has been made because no proposal has been received but we do know there's much conversation and happy to answer. I'm happy the leader of the opposition has weighed into this debate. Thank you. New question. A member from Trinity Spadina. Thank you speaker my question is to the minister of municipal affairs and housing. Toronto's chief planner is conducting a planning study of the Bathurst Street area in my writing. Rio Canada developer wants to bypass the planning process and has asked the Ontario Municipal Board for an exemption from the interim control bylaw. It wants to push ahead with a big box retail development with a massive parking lot and on one of the most congested streets in Toronto. My question. Why are developers and construction companies like Rio Can and Alice Dawn able to rush to the head of the line with this government while communities must wait for much needed reforms of the Ontario Municipal Board. Minister of municipal affairs and housing. Thank you speaker and I want to thank the member from Trinity Spadina for the question. Obviously he knows I will not be speaking about a court case as before the OMB currently but I guess I think I appreciate the the conversations we've had about the Ontario Municipal Board and about the planning system and his desire to make the system stronger and certainly we believe that the OMB plays an important role in land use planning issues and hearing those appeals and certainly we try to provide some balance to land use planning around the province and I look forward to any advice he has with regards to the consultation we will have on land use planning going forward. Thank you supplementary. The Ontario Municipal Board recently approved a 26 story tower on Front Street East in part of the historical Old Town of York. It overruled the city's planning staff, city heritage experts as well as the city's design review panel. The Ontario Municipal Board dismissed the planning expertise of some of Toronto's most respected architects, planners and historical conservationists. When will the government reign in the arrogant and unaccountable Ontario Municipal Board and put communities first, not large construction companies and developers? Obviously you're talking about a specific issue and I appreciate the question from the member. We believe local government has an opportunity to set up local appeal boards if they choose and we've created a number of tools for municipalities but we also recognize that there can be opportunities for a better process and that's why I look forward to hearing from community groups from municipalities from a number of stakeholders. I heard from Bill and OHB last Friday about their concerns with the Ontario Municipal Board and I look forward to your advice going forward into the consultation in the fall. Thank you. Thank you. New question, the member from Mississippi East Cokesville. Thank you Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Consumer Services. Speaker as you know I represent the downtown core of Ontario's third largest city so it's no surprise that I have my share of condominiums in my riding and I also get my share of complaints from condo owners and a number of those complaints seem to revolve around the condo manager. Now speaker anybody who has lived in a condominium knows that a condo manager, a good condo manager can make a building and a poor one can break it so given the key role condominium managers play in the lives of condo owners how do we know these individuals are qualified to be in the positions they are in? The job of a condominium manager comes with great responsibilities so how does one know that their manager is qualified and effective in that role? The member from Mississippi East Cokesville is quite right to be concerned about qualifications of condo managers also known as property managers they have a huge role to play in condominium communities and as she mentioned in stage one of our process to review the condominium act this is a concern that was repeatedly raised the issue of property managers or condo managers and the property managers themselves speaker have raised this issue they want to see standards and licensing for people in this area so speaker that's why our government took an early step in the condo review to announce our intentions to establish these kinds of standards to modernize the condominium act and just on Tuesday this week we released stage two of the condo review process it's on track speaker the qualifications of property managers was highlighted in that review this is very important to ontarian speaker because property managers do affect the quality of life for condo dwellers and we have to ensure they have the right qualifications to carry out that responsibility so we're moving forward we're on time with this thank you and i look forward to reporting more of the house we have a deferred vote on the motions for third reading of bill 95 an act to establish a financial accountability officer calling the members this will be a five minute bill would the members take their seats please all members take their seats please it could be a rush to be last uh i'll wait and see too on september the 25th mr. daluka moved third reading of bill 95 all those in favor these rise one at a time and be recognized by the clerk mr. suzer mr. maloy mr. bradley mr. garrison mr. garrison mr. jeffrey mr. win mr. win mr. mathews mr. hoskins mr. hoskins mr. mccharls mr. quinter mr. bartelucci rick função ad personality mr. koal mr. Dillan mr. dillon mr. dugud mr. duga mr. mcmeacon mr. mhn mr. chan mr. susie brita mr. xarell mr. delaney mr. delaney mr. flinn mr. flinn mr. mcne PRESIDO mr. bal psychiatry mr. kucto mr. sirgeo mr. nappy mr. coveton mr. zimmer mr. bauxen mr. bauxen Mrs. Albanese, Mr. Dixon, Ms. Jasek, Ms. Hunter, Mr. Frazier, Mr. Del Duca, Ms. Wong, Ms. Damerle, Mr. Crack, Mrs. Mangat, Mr. O'Toole, Mr. Wilson, Mr. Hartman, Mr. Fidelli, Mrs. Elliott, Mr. Hudak, Mr. Yakibusky, Mr. Miller-Paris on Muskoka, Mr. McNaughton, Mr. Dunlop, Mr. Holliday, Ms. Jones, Ms. Monroe, Mr. Chedley, Mr. Clark, Mr. O'Lathe, Mr. Bailey, Mr. Jackson, Mr. Smith, Mr. Harris, Mr. Sherman, Ms. Scott, Mrs. McKenna, Mr. Walker, Mr. Leone, Mr. McDonnell, Mr. Pettipies, Mr. Milligan, Mr. McClaren, Mr. Nichols, Ms. Horvath, Ms. Yubison, Ms. DeNovo, Mr. Marquesi, Ms. Angelina, Mr. Pru, Ms. Taylor, Mr. Tabins, Mr. Singh, Mr. Milligan to the Stony Creek, Ms. Forster, Ms. Campbell, Mr. Vantop, Mr. Shine, Ms. Armstrong, Mr. Manta, Ms. Fife, Ms. Satter, Ms. Satter. Opposed, please rise, one at a time, and be recognized by the clerk. The ayes being 89 and the nays being zero. I declare the motion carried. Meeting of the bill, President Nutschert, pleasure to work. We have resolved that the bill be now passed and be entitled as in the motion. Being a member for the Tobacco Lake Show on a point of order. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the members' West Gallery, it's my pleasure to introduce Rita Halley. Rita is the secretary of the University of Toronto Campus Conservatives. She's an absolutely delightful, charming young lady. She helped my campaign, and I'm just delighted to see her here today. Member from Bramley, Gore-Multon, on a point of order. I introduce Mary and Mark Billon in the gallery today, who are guests from my riding. Thanks. Good. He's touched on a point of order. I'd like to take the opportunity to introduce my guests from the Gujarati Seniors' Samaj of Mississauga, who are in the West Lobby. I think there's about 30 of them. Speaker, I have a point of order. More than 24 sectional days have passed, and I'm still awaiting an answer for written questions, 299, 300, and 301 from the Minister of Energy on the cost of refurbishing the Darlington nuclear power plant. To save and accept that point of order, the others were not a point of order, but we welcome our guests. That's a point of order, and I'm going to see and encourage the answers to come forth with, and we'll see to that answer. There are no deferred votes. This House stands recessed until 1 p.m. this afternoon.