 It is now time for oral questions. I recognize the leader of this Majesty's Loyal Opposition. Good morning, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. There's no question, though, that Ontario's healthcare system is in crisis. But make no mistake, this crisis is by design. This government has underfunded our hospitals, held down the wages of our healthcare workers. And now, after years and years of neglect, the government has tabled a new bill that uses this crisis as an excuse to expand for-profit healthcare in Ontario. Hospitals and long-term care homes are already desperately fighting to retain nurses and doctors in what is really a staffing crisis across the system. And they're now going to face competition from new two-tier investor-driven clinics. Nothing in this bill prevents that from happening. Can the Premier guarantee today that these for-profit clinics will not poach staff from our publicly funded hospitals and long-term care homes? Well, thank you for the question. Thank you for the question from the leader of the opposition as well. I'll tell you, when we took office in 2018, the healthcare system was an absolute disaster. There was hallway healthcare. It was just a total, total mess. Since 2018, we have hired 60,000, I repeat, 60,000 new nurses, 8,000 new doctors. We've put a medical school together that's going to graduate more doctors. Just last year alone, Mr. Speaker, we hired over 12,000 nurses that came on board. We've spent $14 billion more at record in Canada when it came to healthcare. We're building 50 new sites across every single region, community and city, spending over $40 billion, making sure they have the infrastructure they need. I'll finish on question number two there. Thank you. The supplementary question. I guess that's a no, Speaker. That's a no because no matter what this government says anyways, they can't guarantee that. They can't guarantee that because they're too busy fighting in court to keep those workers' wages down in the public system. Meanwhile, we have operating rooms collecting dust in our hospitals and shifts that are unfilled. I want to go back to the Premier again. This bill also includes no actual oversight mechanism to ensure patient safety. The Minister of Health yesterday couldn't even say which body would be overseeing these clinics to ensure that procedures are done safely. Couldn't say that. What concrete guarantees can the Premier make today regarding people's safety in these for-profit clinics? Premier? Speaker, as we're building the health care system, the opposition is blocking it every step of the way. They have no solution, Mr. Speaker, for the 203,000 backlog surgeries. We have a solution. Working collaboratively with the Ontario Hospital Association, working collaboratively with the Ontario Medical Association, working collaboratively with the CEOs of hospitals to make sure we take the burden off the hospitals when it comes to hip replacement and knee replacement or cataracts that are happening right now. We are going to expand it. Just think, you have an elderly mother, an elderly father that's been in pain for a year because they can't get a hip replacement. They're going to be able to get that hip replacement and change their lives every single day. When it comes to the nurses, there's 30,000 nurses studying in colleges and universities that are going to join the Ontario Health Care Team. We will continue building health care to make sure we have the best health care system in the entire world, Mr. Speaker. Supplementary. I'll tell you, Speaker, this government took us from hallway medicine to no medicine, right? Operating rooms are empty. Order. The doors are closed because of this staffing crisis. And the fact is, Speaker, the government is asking Ontarians to just trust them. But the minister said yesterday that they wouldn't be able to share some details because of the, and I want to quote her, business model nature of these new clinics. The minister says there are guardrails, but beyond saying people can't, can complain to the ombudsman, the bill doesn't guarantee oversight for public funds or public safety. So again, how will this government ensure that the interest of patients takes precedence over people who just want to make a buck? Deputy Premier and Minister of Health to reply. Thank you, Speaker. You know, the member opposite will continue to protect a small group of individuals who don't want to change, who don't want to see change. What we are protecting, what we are advocating for are patients. Patients who are waiting far too long for cataract surgery, for hip replacement. We want those individuals to be able to be back with their families, back in their communities, back in their jobs. We're doing that by making the investments that we have with your Health Care Ontario Act. I am very, very proud of the work that our stakeholders have done. Clinicians, hospital leaders, individuals who are working in the system who understand that innovation is not a bad word. We're making those investments, we've ensured through our investments like the medical school in the city of Brampton that we'll have new... Spots? New students starting next September able to be able to have those opportunities here in Ontario in our publicly funded system. Thank you. The next question, the leader of the opposition. This government has shown over and over again that their interest is in a few people getting very rich, not in Ontarians and their suffering. There is a cloud, there is a cloud hanging over this government and I want to go back to the Premier. Yesterday the Premier dodged questions about the curious nature of his cozy relationships with developers. We know that developers just happened to receive some oddly specific ministerial zoning orders and access to protected greenbelt land just months after attending a fundraiser for the Premier's family. So in the interest of transparency I'm going to ask again, did anyone in the Premier's office past or present or any other government staff have a role in making the invitation list for his family's fundraiser? You respond? Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. I think the Premier has answered that on a number of occasions and equally importantly the Commissioner the integrity commissioner has also reviewed that. But Mr. Speaker, what this is obviously about is the inability of the opposition to see what is happening in the province of Ontario. The progress, the prosperity is happening across our province. We want to build new homes for people. We want the people who are coming over 300,000 people who are coming to Ontario each and every year to fill the thousands of jobs that are available because of the incredible investments that have been made by this minister, by this Premier to bring jobs back to Ontario. And you know what they want? They want what everybody wants Mr. Speaker. What my parents wanted, what everybody wants when they come to this country. They want to have the ability to buy their first home. They want to have a community to live in that is prosperous. They want to be able to raise a family, have good schools, safe streets Mr. Speaker. That is what we're doing. Building a stronger, more prosperous, safer Ontario and they'll do everything in their power to avoid that to happen. While the clock has stopped I'll remind the members that we have the Youth Parliament participants in the visitors gallery today and I think we want to show them our best efforts today. Let's start the clock. Leader of the opposition. Speaker, you know I really think that the people of this province deserve answers from the Premier. There is a smell around this issue and a cloud over this government. It goes without saying that when you're the Premier of a province you are held to a higher standard than the other of the bride. Especially when the guest list includes lobbyists and developers who have since received suspiciously favourable changes to the law. The Premier has said his family events have an open door policy. Why then are there reports that some people felt they were being strong armed into paying to attend. Again to the Premier, did anyone from his office help create the invitation list for this event to the Premier? I think that question and the way the Leader of the Opposition has been asking over the last few days is indicative of where the NDP really is at. It's not about the economy it's not about building better schools it's not about building long-term care it's not about changing health care to make it better for the people of the province of Ontario. Forget about the changes that the Minister of Energy has done to ensure that people can afford to pay their bills. Forget about safe streets forget about the students who are going to colleges and universities. The only thing that the NDP care about is bringing down the people of the province of Ontario and what are we doing? We're building back this province stronger than it was before Mr. Speaker We're cutting taxes for people We're building roads, we're building highways We're building transit systems We're building 60,000 new long-term care beds across the province of Ontario Our Minister of Agriculture is doing everything that she can to make one of the most important industries in our province prosperous despite punishing carbon taxes from a federal government Mr. Speaker. We're going to continue to get the job done despite the leader of the opposition. Members for Ottawa Centre to come to order the final supplementary. This is about having a government that Ontarians can trust a responsible government a government that Ontarians could be proud of That's what this is about and these are the questions that Ontarians have and this Premier Mr. Speaker Let's review the timeline Shall we? The stag and doe was in August The wedding in September Just two months later this government broke its promise to the people of Ontario and started carving up the green belt Now we find out that some of the very people who attended the Premier's family festivities suddenly had their land value skyrocket due to this government's decisions Curious But the Premier or the government House Leader even can clear this up right now Did the Premier share his intentions to open up the green belt with developer guests attributed to this family fundraiser Senator Conestoga will come to order Government House Leader to reply Thank you Mr. Speaker The integrity commissioner has reviewed this and I think what he has said is obviously very important Mr. Speaker Look the people of the province of Ontario made a very important decision in June and what they decided to do was reduce the opposition and to elect more progressive conservatives to this chamber to get their priorities done Mr. Speaker That they were coming from the opposition Now Mr. Speaker this is a party who couldn't even muster enough energy up to have a leadership race They had to appoint their leader Mr. Speaker A party that has been so diminished that every elected, selected leader won't even sit in the seat of the opposition leader They want to sit over Mr. Speaker But that's not important What is important is building better for the people of the province of Ontario Building more homes so that the next generation can have every bit of optimism That they can afford to have a home That people can have jobs and opportunity like millions of other Ontarians have had and that people of Ontario I'm sure the clock is on that side The House will come to order Start the clock The next question, the member for Waterloo My question is for the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Two weeks ago Waterloo Councillors voted to defer a $68 million reconstruction project that would have created 800 new homes Why? Because they're not getting answers from the government about how to fund the needed infrastructure to support the new housing Council's decision came after the staff found that Bill 23 is estimated to cost the city between $23 and $31 million over the next few years They paused work on development charges study to allow for more time to fully understand the financial implications of this bill Meanwhile the housing crisis continues to get worse in Waterloo and Ontario Bill 23 is already having a cooling effect on new housing starts Will the Minister go back to the drawing board and truly consult with municipalities to actually incentivize new housing in the province of Ontario The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Thanks Speaker We're very concerned with some of the things we're hearing from the Mayor and Council in Waterloo Obviously we've had a very good dialogue recently with the big city mayors I attended their last meeting and I look forward to the continuing the conversation around development charges as we develop the rules around those DC incentives We do not believe as a government that nonprofits and affordable housing providers should be charged huge unsustainable fees from municipalities We believe the best way to incentivize those costs is to directly eliminate or reduce development charges That's the policy of the government We're looking forward to working with our municipal partners but we're very concerned with some of the things that are being discussed around Waterloo Regional Council The supplementary Well, this Minister created the problem so we're also very concerned with Bill 23 and it's not just home construction that is now being delayed it's actually vital infrastructure like pumping stations, roads, storm sewers water mains This is infrastructure that would help drive Waterloo and Ontario The government promised to make municipalities I quote, whole financially but Waterloo Councillor Freeman said Council doesn't see the tools to actually secure the development charges to pay for that growth Construction on this project won't move ahead now until 2024 because of the financial uncertainty that this government has caused with Bill 23 When will the government repeal Bill 23 which is jeopardizing the progress of municipalities across Ontario by eliminating those development fees that municipalities rely on to help pay for the necessary infrastructure Go back to the drawing board Let's get it right The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Speaker, we want municipal partners to work with us and I want to applaud, for example the City of London who just recently passed a motion approving the housing pledge that we've asked all the big city mayors to speak the difference between what we're hearing by new democrats and the government I want to speak specifically to the young people that are in our audience today Unsustainable fees like we see in the GTA are adding $116,900 to the average cost What it means to you is it means another $800 a month on a mortgage over 20 years What are we seeing? We're seeing millennials having to save 20 years to be able to put a down payment on a home That's unacceptable by our government We want all three levels of government to be working together Municipalities, we've heard from many municipalities who want to work with us Very concerned with what I'm hearing from Waterloo Folks, I want you to know something We hear you We want you to realize the dream of a more sure members to please make their comments through the chair I'm going to give you a number of minutes Restart the clock The next question is for Barry Innisville Thank you Speaker Of our province's economy But unfortunately, after 15 years of neglect under the previous NDP supported Liberal government We are experiencing critical labour shortages in this sector In Barry Innisville, thousands of jobs are being unfilled in the trades sector These jobs represent opportunities for people with good paying paychecks with benefits and potential pensions These are jobs that are valued They're important and they're urgently needed for our province to overcome the housing shortage we are facing and to rebuild vital infrastructure Can the Minister of Labor Immigration, Training and Skills Development tell us what our government is doing to address the skill shortage that is currently holding back Ontario from its economic potential Minister of Labor Immigration, Training and Skills Development Thank you very much Mr Speaker Thank you to the member from Barry Innisville who does a great job advocating for the skilled trades in her region of the province Mr Speaker, from day one our government has known the skilled trades needed more attention and investments I'm pleased to share with all members the success of our first ever skilled trades career fairs for students Over the course of 10 days more than 13,000 students had the opportunity to try the skilled trades and learn first hand about the trades from over 90 exhibitors including unions, employers and colleges Later this year we'll be bringing these fairs back and expanding them to even more locations right across the province Speaker, by giving more students a chance to see for themselves how rewarding and exciting the trades are we're setting them up for success and as Premier Ford always says when you have a career in the skilled trades you have a career for life Thank you Our government understands we're going to need skills trades to build up more housing we're going to need skills trades to build up our transportation system whether it's the subway or the go transit critical hospital infrastructure all this is needed we need to get more men and women trained in these great rewarding careers in the skills trades a better prosperous province that is operating in all cylinders Speaker, can the minister tell our government and tell this house what we're doing to make it easier to remove the barriers to entry when it comes to pursuing careers in the skilled trades Minister of Labor Thank you again to the member for this really important question and Mr. Speaker, since we first formed government we have increased the number of immigrants we were nominating for permanent residency by 50% last year I'm pleased to share that a record 40% of those we nominated were in the skilled trades for example in 2018 we nominated 219 construction workers in 2022 we nominated 835 construction workers furthermore we also passed legislation that eliminates the requirement for Canadian work experience to work in the skilled trades here in Ontario we're welcoming the skilled immigrants we need and breaking down the barriers that newcomers face when arriving here in Ontario Speaker, we need all hands on deck to build back a stronger province and a stronger country Thank you The next question, the member for Nicol Belt Thank you Mr. Speaker question for the minister of health Yesterday the minister took a huge step toward the destruction of Canadian medical care the auditor general doctors for medical care the Ontario health coalition Canadian medical association and Ontarians are all saying the same thing the minister's bill will allow corporations to make big profits off the back of sick people yet there is no oversight to protect patients in her bill why not Thank you Speaker Yesterday we made another investment to ensure that publicly funded health care a system that in Ontario people believe in and want to be there appropriately in their communities is going to be for generations to come Our government as the premier mentioned since 2018 14 billion dollars new investment in health care in Ontario What has that investment given us to new medical schools in the words it has given us an opportunity to actually ensure that people who are practicing medicine in other parts of Canada can do that the next day when they come to Ontario we have through your health act insured for generations to come that a growing population that an aging population will be protected under a publicly funded health care system I am incredibly proud of the work that our stakeholders our clinicians our physicians have done and are supporting your health care act today Supplementary question Speaker there has been years of research on private for profit investor owned corporation delivering publicly funded health care services the results are clear longer wait times no incentive for quality care it is not efficient with increased mortality why is the minister destroying Medicare Thank you speaker by boosting the number of publicly funded clinics in community we are actually ensuring that the patients get access to the medically necessary services that they deserve and expect in a timely way the member opposite is willing to have people languish on wait list our government is not going to allow the three additional expansions to cataract in Windsor in Kitchener Waterloo in Ottawa we've done that and those clinically funded programs are already in place and already serving more patients in the province of Ontario we'll continue to make those expansions because I do not believe at my core that it is appropriate to have people waiting for medically necessary procedures in their community it is unfathomable to me that the member opposite doesn't understand by expanding what is already in place in the province of Ontario with over 800 community clinics that we do not see an opportunity here to serve the patient better thank you speaker Thank you speaker my question is to the minister of indigenous affairs and northern development because of the policies of the previous liberal government supported strongly by the NDP jobs were driven out of our province holding back our full economic potential Ontario's northern remote and indigenous communities experienced these losses and setbacks most severely that is why it is vital that our government partner with and promote economic development in indigenous communities to create more opportunities for businesses and jobs throughout the province indigenous economic development further reconciliation it creates opportunities to strengthen relationships with indigenous partners can the minister please inform the legislature on how our government plans to increase economic prosperity for indigenous communities in Ontario the minister of indigenous affairs I want to thank the member opposite for the extraordinary work he does on behalf of his constituents I am proud to serve with a premier and a caucus that has put a particular emphasis and a top priority on economic development and prosperity for indigenous communities across this province let the record reflect that now national chief to develop a wealth prosperity table with indigenous business leaders and political leaders across the province and regional chief hair's suggestion that manifest itself in a fund Mr. Speaker to ensure that indigenous businesses have a place in the supply chains in every sector of economic opportunity in this province Mr. Speaker they are manifesting themselves we are pleased to work with them as full partners Mr. Speaker and our own ministry has come up with two exciting programs to ensure that indigenous communities and businesses play an integral role in Ontario's economic prosperity thank you speaker and thank you to the minister for his response businesses are only part of a vibrant economy and there are additional ways to amplify prosperity and build up all of Ontario indigenous communities and organizations are providing leadership in developing infrastructure and growth plans that build businesses and create employment opportunities investments with first nations partners will ensure long term economic growth for indigenous communities and for all of Ontario let's continue investing in indigenous communities and creating more opportunities for everyone speaker can the minister please explain to the legislature what our government is doing today to support prosperity in indigenous communities there sure are ways Mr. Speaker our ministry's own funds and now applications are open Mr. Speaker through the indigenous economic development fund three important tranches the economic diversification grant the business and community fund and the regional partnership grants these focus on training opportunities that are pertinent and specific to economic opportunities close at hand to indigenous communities Mr. Speaker we have the indigenous community capital grants program I like to call it the bricks and mortar program in Greenstone just a week or two ago that the kennel gammasus development corporations got a lot of opportunities there for growth in that region Mr. Speaker but they need a building to operate and to be fully integrated not just on reserve Mr. Speaker off reserve where all of the action is taking place in and around their communities Mr. Speaker full partnerships with indigenous response and their economic development corporations is what this government's priorities are moving forward so we can ensure indigenous businesses and communities are fully integrated into economic prosperity for this great member for University Rosedale thank you speaker my question is to the Minister of Health while the government is proceeding with its for-profit surgery plan there are operating in Toronto that are sitting empty sick kids hospital is not able to open two of their operating rooms because of staffing shortages at a time when 3400 children are waiting for necessary surgery Minister why are you proceeding with for-profit surgery delivery when we have operating rooms sitting idle in public hospitals Minister of Health thank you speaker you know there is no doubt that we want to make sure that our most challenged and youngest patients have health care where they need it when they need it I will never ever talk down sick kids they are world renowned hospital that has been providing exceptional care including I might suggest when we saw a surge in RSV and in fact it was actually sick kids sick kids clinicians nurses doctors who stepped up and assisted community hospitals to make sure that they had the same level of knowledge and appreciation of how to deal with children coming into their emergency services. When we saw those surges in our sick kids hospitals across Ontario we made immediate investments that have now turned into permanent investments including pediatric ICUs. So the hospitals themselves the clinicians staff have stepped up and we as a government will continue to support their work to make sure that our most vulnerable are protected. Thank you. Minister there was nothing in that answer that indicated how you are looking at increasing capacity in public hospitals. I want to go back to the minister of health this isn't just an issue with sick kids the university health network told me their ability to meet overwhelming surgery demand is not because of a lack of operating rooms it's due to a staffing shortage. UHN is cancelling scheduled surgeries because they don't have the staff and allowing for profit surgeries is not going to alleviate the staffing shortage it's just not. Minister my question to you is this what is your plan to solve the staffing crisis in public hospitals in order to increase operating room capacity in public hospitals. Mr. Health I will tell you what our government already has done and that is encouraging and offering a 30 million dollar post pandemic surgery recovery plan that actually allowed publicly funded hospitals that had capacity to be able to expand their OR operating hours. The many many hospitals have stepped up and done that specifically related to our pediatric population which all of us understand is critically concerning area as I said in the fall when we saw the RSV hitting our pediatric hospitals in particular most dramatically we did a number of things including making additional investments in ICU beds that have now become permanent. We have more pediatric ICU beds speaker in the province of Ontario today than we did as recently as six months ago. We will continue to make those investments Premier Ford had made it clear that our hospital partner is behind. The next question the member for Don Valley East Thank you Mr. Speaker My question is for the Premier Yesterday this government presented a plan for healthcare that inspired zero confidence that it would protect patients or ensure fair, equitable, timely access in our province. It avoided the root causes of our crisis and made a series of promises that we have no reason to believe will be acted upon. This government promised they wouldn't touch the green belt and then they carved it up. They promised they would sign up 8,000 children to the Ontario autism program this year and instead they just let the waitlist balloon and stopped reporting data. They told us there wasn't a crisis in healthcare even as at least 158 emergency departments closed across our province. And now the government is presenting a superficial plan for healthcare that makes vague promises about guardrails for some of the very same problems they have been consistently ignoring since they came into power. Question. Mr. Speaker why should anyone trust anything this premier and government has to say? The Deputy Premier and Minister of Health The short answer speaker is the investments are being made, the announcements are being made and we're seeing the results of those investments. When we in August directed the College of Nurses of Ontario to expedite process and when appropriate licensed internationally educated nurses we had a historic number of nurses being licensed in the province of Ontario. 6,000 nurses that in 2022 now have the ability to work in their communities in healthcare and hospitals across Ontario. We've made those investments by announcing not one but two medical facilities medical universities that are going to train more physicians because we understand that those investments need to be happening. Now would I have liked to see those investments happen 10 years ago? Absolutely. But we're getting it down now we're fixing a system that frankly was ignored for far too long under previous governments. Thank you. Supplementary question. Mr. Speaker I'm glad that the minister of health touched on nurses because in August of this year she promised she would look at the massive problem of temporary for-profit nursing agencies in our province. Well, we're still waiting. We have already seen the poiseous effects of profits in long-term caring which seniors died in droves and this government did nothing except introduce legislation to protect the most negligent operators and then award them more contracts and now this government is enabling for-profit operators to siphon healthcare workers out of our public healthcare system. As bill 4 pushes them out, temporary nursing agencies are pulling them out. Many of these agencies engage in unscrupulous recruiting practices like hiring out of parking lots or the institute harmful contractual obligations that stop nurses from working in the location of their choice. Others engage in rampant price gouging allowing hospitals to be charged three or four times the normal rates. Will this government explain why they have not fulfilled their promise to take action on temporary for-profit nursing agencies? Minister of Health. Thank you Speaker. I'm sure the member opposite appreciates and understands that nursing agencies and healthcare agencies have been in operation for many many decades in the province of Ontario. They are a way to deal with surges and challenges that we have when we see disproportionate rate rise in illness or issues. I must say I find it interesting that the member opposite would choose to focus on something that exists in the province of Ontario. We have 800 community surgical diagnostic clinics in the province of Ontario which by the way the previous liberal government approved and allowed to operate for many many years. Why? Because I think they do understand that there is value and there is a place to ensure that people have access in their community in a timely way. We will continue to do that work. Next question. The member for Kitchener Conestoga. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker and my question is for the solicitor general. I first want to take a minute and thank the courageous and dedicated police officers from the Waterloo Region Police Service. Every day these men and women put their lives for our community not only in Waterloo Region but across the province. So Minister just recently Waterloo Region Police Chief Mark Crowell stated that his officers respond to a minimum of 3,000 mental health calls annually. According to a report by Waterloo Region Police their officers attend about 9 to 10 mental health calls and 5 to 6 attempted suicides each day. These calls represent complex issues Mr. Speaker and our officers need the appropriate tools to support and address them. So through you to the Minister what is our government doing to help our officers appropriately respond to these types of calls? Good question. Well thank you Mr. Speaker and I'd like to thank my friend our member from Kitchener Conestoga for his excellent question. Our government has revamped training for police who are now better prepared to identify situations where people are in a mental distress. And I want to highlight and showcase the Ontario Police College in Elmer, Ontario a place that does extensive training for over 1,500 amazing cadets that will graduate this year to keep Ontario safe. And we're not stopping there. Ontario is currently funding 18 mobile crisis response teams to ensure better outcomes and appropriate responses. And we're investing more than two years to keep all of Ontario safe. Mr. Speaker these are incredible people who will protect us every day. A supplementary question. Thank you very much Speaker and back to the Solicitor General and I want to thank him for the response and we do benefit from one of those teams in Waterloo Region, the Impact Team which is phenomenal. We have crisis clinicians embedded with our police officers who are able to actually go out to these calls and I did want to actually just highlight a couple more things that Chief Kral has mentioned and he further indicated that a really different approach for police officers to respond appropriately to mental health issues as needed and he stated and this is Chief Kral if we can find any way to off-board the call to alternative responses whether it be a non-police response or a follow-up from a mental health professional and that's the direction that we're going to go. So the Chief also stated there's still room for improvement with police service aiding for greater alternative service deliveries so through you again Mr. Speaker how is our government supporting our frontline officers in responding to the increasing number of mental health related calls? Well Mr. Speaker and again thanks to my friend from Kitchener Conestoga we continue to take action with funding by our government the crisis call diversion program in Waterloo went live in November 2022 and Ontario has invested over nine million dollars over three years for community engagement and well-being branch with the crisis call diversion program I want to give a shout out to the great Chief there Chief Kral the crisis diversion program engages mental health professionals in the Waterloo Regional Police Communication Centre with the goal of diverting appropriate mental health related calls away from traditional dispatch police response. Waterloo Regional Police Service is a leader in addressing mental health through the lens of public safety and we are grateful for their partnership in this issue. Next question the member for Toronto St. Paul. Thank you Last weekend City News shared documents obtained via freedom of information revealing that the Premier and the Minister of Transportation are directing Metrolinx to withhold information from the public about what has gone wrong with Eglinton Crosstown P3 project Little Jamaica and midtown businesses and residents have endured over 11 years of construction disruption in Toronto St. Paul's and now this P3 project is delayed yet again and this government refuses to tell us why. My question is to the Premier. Will the Premier and the Minister of Transportation stop keeping secrets from the public, stop gas lighting my own community and tell us why the P3 project is once again delayed and when it will finally be completed. Thank you I'm going to caution the member of her language and to reply the Minister of Transportation Thank you Speaker. Ontarians deserve a transit system that is reliable and safe to use and right now our focus is on ensuring that the Eglinton Crosstown is safe when it is complete Speaker we've learned from the experience in Ottawa with the Ottawa LRT that you cannot rush a transit system to open before it is ready to do so. The project is currently in one of its most critical phases that will inform with greater certainty exactly when we can say that it will be complete but Speaker progress has been made we're seeing major intersections along Eglinton open including Mount Pleasant and Brent Cliff Road this is good news for businesses, for residents, for commuters we know this is frustrating that's why our government has provided funding for businesses that have been affected but Mr Speaker let me be clear we are focused on getting it open as soon as it is safe to do so Member for Toronto St. Paul's come to order. Supplementary question Member for Ottawa's Centre Back to the Minister because it was the Minister that answered the question from Toronto St. Paul's but I didn't get an answer The Minister said yesterday in this House Speaker she was asked why was Metrolinx directed to withhold information from my colleague from Toronto Danforth and my colleague from Toronto Centre about the Ontario line she told this House in her answer that that was an unacceptable act that she did not condone what was learned from City News is that this has happened again information has been withheld from the public about the Eglinton Crosstown LRT at the direction of this Minister and at the direction of the Premier Speaker why is this Minister demonstrating a pattern in this House of withholding information to the public about transit systems we need an answer to the question this morning Transpiration Well the pattern of behaviour that Ontario should be interested in is why this member and the party opposite keep asking about transit delays when this government puts forward a piece of legislation that will address transit delays such as the Building Transit Fast-Track each and every one of them voted against that legislation we can have it both ways Mr Speaker I have said since the beginning I understand the frustration and we are working very hard Metrolinx is overseeing the projects to ensure that it opens in a way that is safe for transit riders that is what Torontonians deserve and from the member opposite who knows how important it is not to rush a transit system to open before it is ready it is ironic that he is asking such a question I wonder if he has actually read the recommendations and the report that came out of the public inquiry into the Ottawa LRT Mr Speaker we are focused on making sure that Torontonians get the transit system they deserve even though the members opposite keep voting against it Mr Speaker my question is to the Minister of Energy Ontario has one of the world's cleanest electricity systems with over 90% of our power generation creating zero emissions because of our government's leadership and support we are fixing the mess in our energy system that the previous Liberal government created when energy is reliable affordable and clean our whole province wins we have heard from the Minister many times that nuclear power and hydro electricity are the backbones of our energy system as they provide low cost reliable and emissions free electricity my constituents want to know what leadership our government is demonstrating in seeking innovative energy solutions for the future and to respond the Minister of Energy well thanks very much Speaker and thanks to the member from Whitby for the question from small modular reactors to battery storage our government really has embraced innovative and bold energy solutions and that also includes last week's announcement of a new hydrogen innovation fund this fund is $15 million that's going to be invested over the next three years to kickstart and develop communities for hydrogen to be integrated into Ontario's clean energy system including hydrogen electricity storage this launch marks another milestone in the implementation of our low carbon hydrogen strategy positioning Ontario as a clean manufacturing hub for hydrogen this fund is going to help us lay the groundwork for hydrogen to contribute to our diverse energy supply that we have in the province Mr. Speaker to help us build on the clean energy advantage that we now enjoy in Ontario the supplementary question back to the Minister Speaker but what's clear is that our government must support innovative investments in clean technologies like hydrogen that will position Ontario as an energy leader as we have seen energy prices and the stability of our energy grid are linked directly to Ontario's economic competitiveness now under the previous liberal government surplus electricity generation from Ontario's nuclear and hydroelectric fleets were sold at a loss Speaker to competing jurisdictions ensuring we have the right energy supply mix is critical to restoring Ontario's economic and competitive edge can the Minister of Energy please elaborate and how our government will ensure we have the right energy supply mix and how this will benefit hardworking families here in Ontario the Minister of Energy Speaker the member is absolutely correct we inherited a terrible mess when it came to our energy sector in Ontario and the hydrogen innovation fund that we've now rolled out over the last week will unlock Ontario's hydrogen economy and support projects across three different streams existing facilities that are already built or operational will be used to evaluate how hydrogen can support Ontario's clean grid we are also going to help build new hydrogen facilities that can grow our capability to use hydrogen and lastly the fund will enable research to study new and innovative applications for hydrogen here in Ontario so by making these investments early we're paving the way for the growth of our own hydrogen economy in Ontario we're cleaning up the mess that was left by the previous Liberal government and bringing a stable Ontario energy supply to Ontario it's just one more part of our plan to build Ontario's clean energy advantage and to make Ontario a leader in the latest frontier in energy and that would be the hydrogen economy Mr. Speaker my question is for the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services children and parents are being betrayed by this Conservative Government's autism program a recent news report shared the story of a mother who's moved out of province for better services after being told her child would have to wait until 2027 for a determination of needs assessment another mother was forced to take a leave from work simply because she had to sit with her son in school because he is stuck on a wait list with no end in sight it is beyond clear that this government and this minister have failed what is the minister going to do to overhaul this broken system Mr. Children Community and Social Services thank you Speaker and I frankly I reject the premise of that entire question our government is implementing a world leading program that has been created by the autism community for the autism community it is a comprehensive needs-based program we are meeting our benchmarks as we said we would all children at the beginning of this year have received an invitation and if anyone hasn't checked their email box or answered the phone or received the letter then they need to do so this is a comprehensive program with mental health occupational therapy physiotherapy, speech therapy this is an ongoing effort to create the supports that vulnerable children and families need and our government is continuing to do that work we have been doing that work throughout the issue is how unfortunately there is information that goes out into the media that is perhaps incorrect to look into that and find out what is true in that statement so thank you for bringing it to my attention the supplementary question the program that the minister is talking about is sending out invitations is not giving kids services you need to fund the programs you need to ensure there is actual services available with children in them what does it say about Ontario that this conservative government is knowingly depriving children with autism of the supports they need each every opportunity for a good life for five years this conservative government has been announcing and re-announcing changes to the Ontario autism program and yet children are falling further and further behind this minister promised to fund 8,000 kids into court clinical services by fall of 2022 but in October just 1,511 children had entered into service agreements that's not actual service this is 19% of their target this government has failed to reach a benchmark can the minister provide families with any guarantee that children will receive services in a timely manner yes or no Mr. Children Community and Social Service thank you that is exactly what we are doing and again I reject the premise of your question the reality is we have five times as many children okay I'm going to ask the member for Hamilton Mountain to come forward and withdraw oh withdraw the minister can reply the reality is we have five times as many children receiving supports than the previous government before our government came in in 2018 30,000 children receiving services and a comprehensive approach we are meeting our benchmarks and there are more children than ever before receiving the supports that they need and we absolutely we listened the autism community wanted a new program we developed a new program that is world leading and we are implementing that program access OAP is responsible for intake that is happening that is happening and despite what the member opposite says I can tell the public with all complete honesty we are implementing the program by the autism community for the autism community that they asked us to change and we're doing exactly that and we'll continue this important work next question the member for Eglinton Lawrence my question is to the associate minister of housing Toronto regional real estate recently published its 2023 market outlook and 2022 year in review reports and these reports indicate that high borrowing costs have resulted in a market shift from home ownership to rental demand other industry voices such as the building industry and land development association and the federation of rental housing providers of Ontario are urging all levels of government to take action regarding policies that are purpose built rental development we as a government need to take these matters seriously and take action to ensure families and individuals can still access our housing market can the associate minister please share what our government is doing to address this market shift thank you very much and I want to thank my honourable colleague for Eglinton Lawrence not only for the question that she does on behalf of her I actually had the opportunity and the pleasure to speak at the event that the member is referring to and in my remarks I emphasise just how important it is for us to continue building on our collective efforts to increase housing supply increasing supply is a big part of the solution to the housing crisis and our government under the leadership of Premier Ford alongside the municipal minister and the parliamentary assistant Mr. Speaker will continue to introduce policies that will get more shovels in the ground and for us to build homes faster and I'm proud to say Mr. Speaker that last year we saw the most purpose built rentals on record with just under 15,000 homes Mr. Speaker let that sink in for a second Mr. Speaker we set the record for the most purpose built rentals ever in the province of Ontario so it's clear Mr. Speaker our policies are working and we're hitting supplementary question Mr. Speaker thank you to the associate minister of housing for the answer in the same report published by the Toronto regional real estate board the market outlook for 2023 emphasises the need for more rental supply to keep up with rising demands rental vacancy rates are projected to fall and competition between rental households will increase in 2023 owning or renting a home provides a sense of place and pride in community it offers individuals and families economic security for decades even during turbulent times so with the team we have at the minister of Mr. Pilferes and housing as just mentioned by the associate minister I have a lot of confidence that we can build more housing that people will be able to access and I want to ask the associate minister once again what other approaches is our government implementing to address the rental shortage now and for the future thank you very much Mr. Speaker in addition to the record purpose built rental starts that we had last year our latest piece of legislation more homes built faster act offers incentives for the construction of more rental units by reducing development fees of 25% on three or more bedroom units a 20% discount on two bedroom units and a 15% discount on one bedroom unit speaker to further increase rental supply we also introduced as of right policies in our most recent bill to allow for more units to be constructed on existing residential lots our legislation allows for basement apartments garden houses residential houses to have up to three rental units without obtaining additional building permits or pay any additional development fees speaker Ontarians deserve to have affordable options when it comes to housing and as we've said before we're going to continue fighting for every Ontarian to make sure that they do it thank you speaker question to the premier during the Renfrew inquest the jury was clear that significant change needs to happen in the way Ontario provides treatment to those who perpetuate intimate partner violence but Ontario has not responded to this recommendation international women's day is fast approaching how many more women will have to suffer preventable violence and death at the hands of perpetrators before Ontario will make meaningful changes in the system that's supposed to protect them to reply the solicitor general well thank you Mr. Speaker and I want to thank the member for the question our thoughts continued to be with the victims of the families and friends and all those impacted by the tragedy everyone has a right to feel safe in their own homes and their own communities free of intimidation and the threat of violence Mr. Speaker the ministry of the solicitor general has provided an interim response to the office of the chief coroner for Ontario we will continue working across government to provide updated responses in advance of the anniversary date of the verdicts release and this will allow time needed to continue to carefully review and consider recommendations provide a whole of government response and ensure meaningful steps can be identified and taken to address these issues Mr. Speaker we are going to get it right any supplementary question yes thank you very much providing a response by actually not answering the question is no response at all we know that systems and programs can't be perfect unless you fix them when I was growing up my dad would always say if you know something is broken you got to fix it can the government explain how many times it has been worn by the inadequacy of the services that they provide to perpetrators of intimate partner violence and why won't this government actually fix it today when will we get a commitment when will you fix this thank you the associate minister thank you Mr. Speaker and I think this is a great question but you know when I went to the Renfrew County to see the reveal it was very clear that Femme Sy doesn't just hurt close family it hurts a whole community and Mr. Speaker we are taking action on February 10th the government did provide only part one of Ontario's response in the office of the chief coroner and that reflects the progress that we're making so far but Mr. Speaker across government we are taking action to make sure women are kept safe we are investing in programs and organizations like some of the many who came here today to see that women are given the freedom and the opportunity to be free and live in their communities like our investments in investing women's futures program like our investments in just so many others and Mr. Speaker we take this very seriously we believe women should be safe and we did we did send the national action plan to the FBT for the justice ministers for justice ministers with a written request that they commit to taking further action to improve the justice system responses also thank you the next question the member for Grant for Grant Mr. Speaker I appreciate the opportunity to ask this question of the Minister of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs I am so proud that agriculture is one of the largest economic sectors in my riding of Branford brand with ginseng crops being a major product our farmers work day in and day out to get Ontario made products to market that helps support our economy and from the bottom of my heart to all the farmers in my riding thank you for putting the best quality food on our tables every single day but speaker over the past few years our ginseng growers have been hit by significant challenges in their primary overseas markets due to supply disruptions as a result of COVID-19 our government must show leadership by recognizing appreciating and understanding the complexities and uniqueness of ginseng can the minister please share how our government is supporting the sustainable growth of this industry thank you for their culture food and rural affairs express my appreciation to the member opposite for the amazing advocacy that he shares not only on behalf of Brant County farmers but also ginseng growers and you know in the fall of 2021 I went into that region of Ontario to visit first hand ginseng growers to see how the pandemic had impacted their markets at a global level and we were very quick to act it was our government under the leadership of Premier Ford and my ministry team that came together with our ginseng growers to introduce an industry led pilot program that ultimately led to stabilizing this particular industry and I'm really pleased to share with you that most recently we participated in a trade mission to both Japan and Vietnam and it was in Vietnam where we secured three specific ginseng MOUs we had the Ontario ginseng growers association sign an MOU the Vietnamese pharmaceutical association and we also had a local Ontario ginseng company sign additional MOUs with business to business opportunities lying ahead of them so speaker the bright future lies ahead for not only ginseng growers because they have a government that stands with them and understands agricultural and market issues but they also have a government that believes it's important to stand with them as we build back our markets around the world Thank you that concludes our question period this morning the member for St Catherine to the point of order Thank you speaker and I know this isn't really a point of order today but I would like to wish my number one supporter my husband, my best friend and the first lady of St Catherine a very happy 60th birthday for being no further business at this time this house stands in recess on still 3pm