 It's time for Question Period, the leader of Her Majesty's Royal Opposition. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Premier. While the Liberal government is in the mood of acknowledging their mistakes, I have a suggestion they can acknowledge another one. That mistake would be the fact that this government refuses to make the cost of cap and trade visible on natural gas bills. Mr. Speaker, will the Premier announce that mistake is going to be corrected today? Mr. Premier? Minister of Energy? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Once again, I'm pleased to rise and acknowledge the work that this government is doing, Mr. Speaker, to address climate change, Mr. Speaker. The action of us doing nothing, Mr. Speaker, would have been catastrophic, Mr. Speaker. And that's why it's this government that acted, brought forward cap and trade, Mr. Speaker, and our climate change action plan. As the member well knows, the leader of the opposition well knows, Mr. Speaker, the decision to put the cap and trade on to the bills within natural gas, Mr. Speaker. That was the decision that was made by the Ontario Energy Board, Mr. Speaker. They did consultation after consultation, Mr. Speaker. They talked with the industry stakeholders and they said this was a cost of doing business, Mr. Speaker. And that cost, Mr. Speaker, will not be a part of the conversation as they move forward, Mr. Speaker. But this was an OEB decision, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. That's lame. Mr. Speaker, back to the Premier. The reason this Liberal government does not want to admit this mistake is they want to cover up and hide the fact this is a cash grab. The member has to withdraw. Withdraw. The government is trying to hide this cash grab. $1.9 billion a year to pander to voters, not to help the environment, not to make a real difference. If it was anything more than a cash grab, they'd be open and transparent about it. This is a Premier that promised she would be open and transparent. And this is the opposite of the, this is the exact opposite. So my question, Mr. Speaker, directly to the Premier, in the spirit of being open and transparent, will you do the right thing? Will you make sure that this cost is very visible and the government no longer hides it? Minister of Environment and Climate Change. Minister of the Environment and Climate Change. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I really enjoy the leader of the opposition, the man with no plan. He has no plan to reduce electricity by 25%. He won't support us, but he does have a plan, Mr. Speaker, on climate change. And we're so excited about it. He wants to introduce a carbon tax. A carbon tax that wouldn't put three cents on natural gas cleaner, would put over 12. A carbon tax that wouldn't put four cents on propane, it would put 10, just like BC. He would put not four cents on gasoline, but 16 cents on gasoline. I want to make this clear, so I'll wait. Let me be perfectly clear. I was quite prepared to call the member to order simply because the members on his own side were making enough noise that I could not hear. And that's been going on since we started Question Period on both sides. So you now know that I'm paying attention. And I'm asking that you let us get through this Question Period with reasonable amount of decorum between each other and for each other, particularly on the government side. When someone's answering a question, I'm hearing heckling from the same side. And I'm also hearing heckling from the opposition. Please finish. Mr. Speaker, back to the Premier. Once again, the Minister is simply making it up. You know, this is a cash grab, a cash grab, and the government is trying to hide it. You know, Laurie Goldstein pointed out, once Ontario joins the California and Quebec cap and trademarking next year, all bets are off. Only 80% of the permits were sold last month in terms of the latest auction. Mr. Speaker, how much money will taxpayers be on the hook for because of this disastrous cap and trademark? Minister? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Let me just finish because he keeps on telling us. I thought I was being reasonable, so let's go. Member from Leeds Grant will come to order. And I think there was two others, but I wasn't quite sure which one it was. Carry on. Mr. Speaker, the leader of the opposition keeps on telling us that he likes this BC carbon tax model, which would add not five cents on diesel as our lower cost system would, but almost 20 cents. That would, as he says, he would make him the best leader Michigan ever had to use his words. All right. Member from Leeds Grant will second time. And a few of you, a few of you, member from Simcoe Gray, are pushing me to warnings. So to come anywhere near, and those are numbers at 20 or 30 or 40, 50 under the federal government's cat, Mr. Speaker, that's the minimum amount, Mr. Speaker, that would be required. So if he isn't using the BC model, which costs four times as much as the Ontario model, what is his position, Mr. Speaker? Thank you for the opposition. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Premier. Since the Minister of Education ran away from Alison Jones when she was asked this question, maybe the Premier will answer it for us. I'll give the Premier this opportunity. Mr. Speaker, very clearly, how many Ontario schools are under the threat of closure? Will the Premier please answer? Minister of Education. Minister of Education. Thank you, Speaker. Speaker, we know that when it comes to pupil accommodation reviews and school consolidations, those are very tough decisions that school boards have to make. And that's in fact why we've put a process in place where they need to consult with municipalities, consult with their local communities, and what's important to know that these are locally elected officials in their community that are making these very difficult decisions. It's important that we get that information from those local communities and that's exactly what we have done, Speaker, so that when we're talking about school consolidations, we know that these are decisions that are tough for local decision-makers, Mr. Speaker, and that we're getting that information straight from them. And that's exactly what we're doing, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, supplementary. Mr. Speaker, my question again will be to the Premier. On Tuesday, the Minister said it's not about the number of schools she wouldn't give an arbitrary number. Well, that's great because nobody wanted an arbitrary number. They wanted a real number. So I'll try again, Mr. Speaker. How many schools are under the threat of closure? Is it as high as the 600 schools the Minister previously identified? When will we get a real answer from this government? Will the Premier please answer? Thank you, Minister. So, Mr. Speaker, let's look at the facts. We have pupil accommodation reviews that are happening across the province. There are 43 of those that are happening, Mr. Speaker. We know these are very difficult conversations for locally-elected school boards to have with their communities on that. Mr. Speaker, there are 300 schools that are involved in those very difficult decisions. And Prince Edward Hastings. The 2016-17 school year, through this very difficult process, we have seen boards decide to close 19 schools, Mr. Speaker. So it's important that we respect the role of the locally-elected school boards as they are leading this process in their communities together with their municipalities, with parents, and with communities, Mr. Speaker. And we know that these are very tough decisions for our boards. Mr. Speaker, again to the Premier, our Lady of Peace in Vaughan, in Maple, 97% full and both English and French emergency stream, very popular school. But because of this government's pupil accommodation review, this government's priorities will close its doors. It's going to close. The school will close in June. The Liberals have made up their mind with our Lady of Peace and signaled there is going to be a closure. And so there's an opportunity here. There's an opportunity to put a moratorium. I was disappointed that the Liberal members voted against our moratorium yesterday, but there's an opportunity for the government to take ownership of this and say no more school closures, and we will support the moratorium. So my question to the Premier is, can she do the right thing and stop closing schools left, right, and center across the province of Ontario? Our students deserve better. Our communities deserve better. Thank you. Thank you. Minister? Speaker, you know, Mr. Speaker, the leader of the opposition talks about what is happening in local communities. And I want to say that we have actually invested $16 billion in school capital infrastructure building 810 new schools, Mr. Speaker, and 780 expansions or changing in the configuration of a school. And, Mr. Speaker, we're doing that to ensure that our students in Ontario receive the best education possible. And of that number, 450 new schools are in rural communities, Mr. Speaker, with $1.1 billion in capital that we're investing. So as we talk about what is happening in rural communities, it's important that we look at the fact that, yes, there are difficult conversations happening in terms of reviewing the accommodation needs in schools, and there's also conversations happening about the investments that we're making in those local communities and building up and strengthening our community. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Premier. Yesterday was International Women's Day, and because of systemic inequality, we all know that women are disproportionately impacted by skyrocketing hydro bills. Women like Valentina, who lives in Branford, she says what keeps her up at night is not knowing when hydro bills are going to increase again. The Premier's plan is nothing more than a band-aid. It offers no comfort to women like Valentina who can't save for their kids' future, because they don't know when hydro bills are going to go up again. When will this Premier understand that her plan is nothing more than a plan to help bankers and instead of helping the everyday people of Ontario, people like Valentina, who need a permanent solution that will actually keep hydro bills down? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, and I know that the Minister of Energy is just raring to answer the supplementary question, but I want to just say to the member opposite that it was International Women's Day yesterday. I hope that he had an opportunity to see the announcement that we made in the morning about leveling the playing field for women. We know 94% of women executives say that they competed in sport and it made a difference to them in their career trajectory, Mr. Speaker. So the announcement we made will mean that provincial sport organizations will be required to have equity policies in place. We're putting money into training women coaches, Mr. Speaker. It was a very, very important initiative in terms of leveling the playing field for women in sport in Ontario. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Sharon is a senior who lives in Sault Ste. Marie. The Premier and this government have heard Sharon's story before. She lives in only one room of her apartment because she can't afford the peak time of use fees to keep the heat on during the day in her apartment. Since the Premier claims that her plan is designed to help women like Sharon, why didn't she put an end to the unfair mandatory time of use fees that leaves Sharon suffering at home in the cold? Second time Premier, Minister of Energy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our plan, Mr. Speaker, will reduce those bills, Mr. Speaker, by 25%. And specifically in Sault Ste. Marie and area, Mr. Speaker, if those folks live on the outskirts, if they're a Hydra-1 customer, Mr. Speaker, if they're an Algoma power customer, Mr. Speaker, they're going to see their bills reduced between 40% and 50%, Mr. Speaker. But it's not only, Mr. Speaker, it's not only, Mr. Speaker, Sault Ste. Marie, that's going to see the benefits. It's right across the province. And yesterday, Mr. Speaker, when I was in Hamilton, the Mayor of Hamilton, Fred Eisenberger was in the news yesterday talking about our hydro plan. You know what he said, Mr. Speaker? Our government's plan to reduce our bills by 25% is a very positive step for their city's hydro customers. He credited our government, Mr. Speaker, with listening to Ontario's and implementing what he calls dramatic reductions, Mr. Speaker. While the party on that side, they've put together a proposal. Finish, please. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I know their proposal is nothing more, Mr. Speaker. Finish, please. Wrap. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's nothing more than wishful thinking, Mr. Speaker, on that side. We're putting in place a plan that offers significant relief, Mr. Speaker, for all Ontarians. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, women across this province are suffering under the weight of skyrocketing hydro bills. Women like Valentina, Sharon, and Meru Malik, a small business owner in Sarnia. Meru had to leave behind her family to take off many of her workers, and now she lives in Sarnia. And that means that she only gets to see her family on weekends if she's lucky. These women and their families expected more from this Premier and this Government than the desperate Band-Aid fix that they revealed last week. When will the Premier stop putting bankers and well-connected insiders ahead of everyday people and the women of this province and put forward a plan that actually puts them and their families first? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. All people within this province, Mr. Speaker, are going to see that 25% reduction. Small businesses as well, Mr. Speaker, are going to see that savings. And that's how why, Mr. Speaker, that we acted, because we heard, Mr. Speaker, we heard from Ontarians that they wanted more relief. We brought forward the 8% reduction, Mr. Speaker, but we heard that people needed more. So we acted, and we brought forward a 25% reduction, Mr. Speaker. Their plan, Mr. Speaker, does nothing. Does absolutely nothing, Mr. Speaker, to help the women that he mentioned. Our plan, Mr. Speaker, will. It helps them in small businesses. It reduces their bills, Mr. Speaker, by 25%. It reduces their home bills, Mr. Speaker, by 25%. What they're talking about, Mr. Speaker, is not even saving a single cent. And their plan doesn't even mention low income and vulnerable people until the last page, Mr. Speaker, saying, wait, we're saying we're going to act by summer, Mr. Speaker. New question to the member from Hamilton and Stony Creek. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Yesterday, freedom of information documents revealed that the Premier knows that she is closing schools at full capacity based on a failed Mike Harris funding formula. Since 2011, the Liberal government closed more than 277 schools. Can the Premier please tell the mums out there which of these 277 schools were operating at full capacity when they were closed? Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member opposite for this question because the very reason why schools are doing accommodation reviews is so that they can review and look at those facts including the utilization of schools, Mr. Speaker, the definition of boundaries for schools and to ensure that they are making the best possible decision on behalf of students in their local communities. That's exactly the work that the school boards are doing in these reviews and that's why we have to ensure that they have an opportunity to have this very difficult but meaningful conversation with their local communities receiving input from municipalities working together with their local boards. We've sent a letter just this week Minister of Infrastructure and I asking them to continue those conversations because they are important to the decisions of the future of their schools. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Let me narrow this down a bit. There have been more than 20 schools closed by the Liberal government in my community of Hamilton since 2011. Some of them, Crestwood, Eastwood Park, King George and you can imagine Sir John A. McDonald, Lyndon Park. Can the Premier tell Hamiltonians which of these schools were closed while operating at full capacity? Minister? Mr. Speaker, I actually just said in response to a question that came forward from the opposition that we've actually invested in 810 new schools in this province and 780 expansions or renovations, Mr. Speaker. More than $16 billion in capital infrastructure invested in our schools. We are continuing to make these investments, Mr. Speaker. Just a few months ago I was in Hamilton and it's a great example of two school boards coming together to make the best decision on behalf of their schools, the French Catholic School Board and the French Public School Board, Mr. Speaker to build one new school that will in fact have a community use and it will also serve the needs of the public. We are making these investments in local communities because they are in the best interest of our students. Thank you, Speaker. Schools play an important role in Hamilton and everywhere else in the province. They support neighborhoods. They bring communities together. Parents in Hamilton are absolutely furious to learn that the Premier has been closing schools that are full. They are furious that the government modernization plan and they know it. No one is fooling anyone here. Here is a couple more for you. Prince Philip, Roxborough Park, St. Thomas and I could go on and on. Can the Premier tell parents in my community and across this province how many of these schools were operating at full capacity when they were closed? We want some details. Mr. Speaker, it's important that we look at what are the facts, Mr. Speaker. What is happening? I just mentioned to the member that 810 new schools were built, Mr. Speaker. In addition, 780 expansions and renovations, Mr. Speaker. When a school board is doing an accommodation and accommodation review is happening, it's really meant for the school board to gather that feedback in terms of the utilization, the condition of the building, Mr. Speaker. And in fact, maybe a conversation like what happened in Peterborough where we had two smaller schools that came together, Mr. Speaker. There's a few people who know what I'm doing. Carry on. Mr. Speaker, like the example in Peterborough where Minister Leal and I had an opportunity to announce $13 million to build a brand new elementary school with new facilities, Mr. Speaker that will offer the best education for us. New question? The member from Prince Edward Hastings. My question this morning is for the Minister of Energy. Last week I asked your Minister about the electricity increases 15% last year alone at Quinney Health Care Hospitals. And your announcement last week won't actually roll back any of that. It barely addresses the increased cost of electricity going forward this year. Instead, what the Minister did was he sided with his big liberal donors in his energy scheme last year. Instead of siding with the doctors and the staff and the patients at Quinney Health Care Hospitals. So my question is this. How many billions of dollars in interest is the scheme that you announced last week going to cost electricity customers in the future? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think it's very obvious, Mr. Speaker, that they don't have a plan, Mr. Speaker. So they're making it up as they go. And I know last week the Honourable Member put out a tweet that he had to correct Mr. Speaker on air when he said, you know what we were saying, and that is inaccurate, Mr. Speaker, just like the question, Mr. Speaker, inaccurate information into Mr. Speaker. We're making sure, Mr. Speaker, that all people in this province see a 25% reduction. Hospitals, Mr. Speaker, because of the structural changes that we are making to the system, Mr. Speaker, they will see a reduction, Mr. Speaker, between 2% and 4%. That's significant, Mr. Speaker. But hospitals also qualify for many of our programs, Mr. Speaker. The Save On Energy program, for example. My hospital in Greater Sudbury, Mr. Speaker, it's a $400,000 a year by investing in the Save On Energy program, Mr. Speaker, and they put that back into healthcare, Mr. Speaker. Supplementary. Mr. Speaker, the price of electricity at 20 healthcare hospitals has gone up 34% since 2012. That's accurate, Mr. Speaker. The minister had plenty of taxpayer money to throw around last week to bail out his government's bad decisions that they've made on the Energy file. And let's call it what it is. A bailout is a bailout, and this bailout is trying to save the liberal hide in the next election. He didn't have a dime, however, last week for the patients and the doctors and the staff at Quinney Healthcare Hospital. So I ask the minister again, Mr. Speaker, how many billions of dollars in interest is his scheme that he announced last week going to cost electricity customers in the future of Ontario? How many billions of dollars? Thank you. Mr. Speaker, we're saving Ontario ratepayers 25% on all of their bills. The only person that doesn't understand about the billions that they're going to cost is, again, that party, Mr. Speaker, and they talked about ripping up contracts, Mr. Speaker. I know the Honourable Member recognizes that they can't do that because it will cost them billions, Mr. Speaker, because they don't have a plan. We have a plan, Mr. Speaker. We're bringing it forward, Mr. Speaker. We're helping businesses. We're helping municipalities. We're helping ratepayers, Mr. Speaker. We're making sure that everyone in this province will see a reduction, Mr. Speaker, on their electricity bills. The only thing that they want to do, Mr. Speaker, is put a carbon tax on and then tax everything when they bring back coal, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. New question. A member from Canora Rainy River. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. The Nickel Lake lumber sawmill employs 25 people near Fort Francis. It has seen its hydro bills jump 50% in the last few years. Mr. Kendall Lundy, the owner, and that everyone's jobs are in jeopardy. His competitors in Minnesota have hydro bills that are half of what he pays. What's worse is that he is subsidizing cheap hydro exports to these competitors, costing ratepayers like Mr. Lundy billions of dollars each year. Why does the Premier's hydro plan have no solution at all to rein in these wasteful hydro exports and reduce overall hydro costs? Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Of course, I'm pleased to rise and talk about the importance of our forestry sector and, of course, the importance of energy is to our forestry sector. And I know the Minister of Natural Resource and Forestry will want to comment as well, Mr. Speaker. But for us in Northern Ontario, we recognize that our large industry play a very important role not only in our Northern economy, but in the economy of Ontario and of Canada, Mr. Speaker. And that's why, thanks to this government, we've downward the near program, Mr. Speaker. The Northern Industrial Electricity Rebate program, Mr. Speaker, which is helping every forestry company within Northern Ontario, within all of Northern Ontario, Mr. Speaker. And that's why we're so pleased to see that our forestry companies and their energy costs, Mr. Speaker, are one of the lowest, not only in Ontario, Mr. Speaker, not only in Canada, Mr. Speaker, but in all of North America, Mr. Speaker. No, you start the clock, sorry. Remember from Tim and James Bay will come to order, and he's about that far away from having to withdraw. And he knows I'm not happy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know the company in Thunder Bay Resolute, they're talking about how their energy costs, Mr. Speaker, are some of the lowest in their entire fleet in North America, Mr. Speaker. We're going to continue to work with our forestry sector, with our mining sector to ensure that they remain as competitive as possible, with the lowest possible prices. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, here's the thing. The Premier's hydro plan does next to nothing to help medium-sized businesses like Nickel Lake Lumber. The sawmill is too big to receive the 8% hydro repaint, and as far as we can tell, it also won't receive the 17% in bill reductions that the Premier has promised for small businesses. It is not big enough to have the capacity to participate in the Expanded Industrial Conservation Initiative. The NDP's plan would reduce hydro bills for all ratepayers, including medium-sized businesses like the Nickel Lake Lumber sawmill. Why does the Premier's plan exclude medium-sized businesses from the 25% in savings she has promised? Mr. Speaker, I encourage the third party to read our plan because medium-sized businesses will qualify under our new expansion of the ICI program, Mr. Speaker. You know what, Mr. Speaker? We lowered the threshold to 500 kilowatts, Mr. Speaker, so you know what? We would encourage them to look at the plan, but when talking about forestry sector, I've got a letter here from Tembeck, a very, very prominent forestry company, Mr. Speaker. Let me quote. Tembeck is able to effectively manage our electricity system cost in Ontario through our participation in a variety and as a result, electricity costs at the Tembeck newsprint operations are comparable to our operations in other jurisdictions and with other competitors, Mr. Speaker. We recognize the importance, Mr. Speaker, of the forestry sector, of the mining sector, of our resource sector, Mr. Speaker, and that's what we're doing, Mr. Speaker, is bringing rates like with programs like the near program that is helping all of our industry, Mr. Speaker. Any questions? Mr. Speaker, my question is also to the Minister of Energy. I'd like to thank the Minister of Energy along with my colleagues, the MPP for Etobicole Lakeshore, Minister Albanese and Minister Souza for joining us with a lively question and answer session with the multicultural press of Ontario. That announcement, of course, of the government's energy plan generated an extraordinary amount of excitement, the 25% reduction of the hydro bill for all Ontarians, otherwise known as the Ontario's fair hydro plan. Speaker, as you can imagine, such significant savings for household costs as a program and initiative, not just for today, but for a sustainable program going forward. In my own district, the exceptional writing of Etobicole North, we are blessed by a huge number of condominiums. So, Minister, I ask you, how will my condo residents benefit from the government's announcement of this 25% reduction in hydro cost? Thank you, Minister of Energy. Merci beaucoup. Thank you very much, Mr. Dirkiker. I thank the member for Etobicole North for that important question and also for all of his work on this file. He and I were together the other night talking to constituents about this. So, ensuring that all Ontario households receive this benefit is important to me and to this government, Mr. Speaker, so I think it's important that we clarify. If you pay an electricity bill for your residents, you will receive this benefit, Mr. Speaker. Regardless of whether you live in a house, a condo, or an apartment, in fact, if your condo has facility costs that are shared among the residents, these shared electricity costs will be also receiving this reduction. This is an essential part of our plan to increase the fairness of our electricity system in Ontario, Mr. Speaker. That's why not only, Mr. Speaker, will you see your bill reduced, but costs will be held to inflation for at least the next four years, Mr. Speaker. We are proud of Ontario's Fair Hydro Plan and the significant lasting relief it will provide. I begin, Mr. Speaker, by thanking the minister not only for this program and your stewardship resulting in this 25% reduction of Ontario's hydro cost, but also physically crisscrossing Ontario to explain the details to Ontarians. Mr. Speaker, as you'll appreciate after decades of neglect of our electricity system, it is heartening now to see the government is taking steps to secure an energy future that is clean, reliable, and most importantly affordable to all. Mr. Speaker, I know that the 25% reduction in hydro bills applies to everyone more than the 4 million households in Ontario, and especially this is welcome in my own area of Etobicoke North. And the minister has previously mentioned that many small businesses as well as farms will benefit from that reduction as well. And I understand there are even more groups in Ontario, so my question is this, Mr. Speaker, will the minister please share with the House how this announcement will benefit other households and other sectors of our economy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And again, I want to thank the member for this question and the opportunity to clarify this important point, Mr. Speaker. The 25% reduction through the fair hydro plan will not only apply to households, but to many other small rate payers as well, Mr. Speaker. Hundreds of thousands of small businesses. The vast majority of farms, Mr. Speaker, that I know the minister of agriculture works with day in and day out with, Mr. Speaker, small offices of all kinds, including not-profits, Mr. Speaker, and charities, retirement homes, long-term care homes, housing co-ops, community agencies, those on retail contracts are with sub-meters, Mr. Speaker, and more and more, Mr. Speaker, will qualify for this rebate. The simplest thing to remember is, Mr. Speaker, if your bill includes the time of use prices, Mr. Speaker, you will be receiving the full benefits of this plan. Answer. Mr. Speaker, this is going to mean major savings for these cross-sections of Ontario, Mr. Speaker, and we're happy to be implementing a plan. Thank you. New question, member from Niagara West Plainborough. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Deputy Premier. Deputy Premier, in June of 2016, your government opened up applications for a Chief Digital Officer, a government executive whose job it would be to make life easier for people through easy-to-use online services and programs. However, it seems that this government doesn't want to actually make life easier for people, Speaker, because eight months have gone by and this Chief Digital Officer is nowhere to be seen. Once again, the Liberals talk the talk but won't walk the walk. When will the Deputy Premier, as minister responsible for digital government, get back to work and find a Chief Digital Officer so that Ontarians can access the services and programs they deserve? Thank you. Deputy Premier and minister responsible for digital whatever. Digital government. Thank you, Speaker. I want to say thank you to the member. This is the first question I have ever received as minister responsible for digital government. It's all about providing services for the public that are faster, that are easier, that are simpler and that cost government less money. We are absolutely committed to moving forward on our digital strategy. Hiring a Chief Digital Officer is very much part of that and I will ask the member to be a little bit patient because, Speaker, this is an important job that we are hoping to fill very soon. Thank you. Speaker, my question is back to the Deputy Premier. Ontarians have seen the result of this liberal government's bungling and digitization before. This government simply can't be trusted to get the job done. Let's look at the facts. eHealth was an eight billion dollar scandal and the role of the social assistant management system or SAMS was a disaster. Now the government has been putting forward C-PIN, the Child Protection Information Network, a cumbersome system that won't even have a searchable database. Consulting costs alone on C-PIN have cost tens of millions. What will the Deputy Premier do to ensure this government delivers a digital system that is actually a service to the people of Ontario instead of another expensive boondog? Good question. There are many initiatives that are already underway when it comes to digital government and I have to say I'm enormously proud of the digital government team in Ontario. They are doing excellent work. One example of this and one that I hope the members and all the members in this House have actually taken advantage of is the new OSAP calculator. This is a tool that allows people, students, elementary school students, their parents, high school students actually understand how generous and transparent our student assistant program now is. What it means is that thousands of students in this province will have access to the education because they have the ability they've earned the right, they've been admitted but free tuition for over 200,000 Ontario's more generous importance. So having that calculator available so people know up front how much aid they can expect is a big, big step forward. New question, the members from Welland? Thank you Speaker. My question is to the Premier. This has been flooded with complaints around the skyrocketing hydro bills from people like Lorna Lampman. Now Lorna has lived in St. Catherine's the the whip may know her for 30 years and says she's never in her life seen a hydro bill so high. Her bills have tripled over the last few years. Her last hydro bill was $600. Lorna is in her early 50s she has a decent job but her husband is on a disability pension and they find themselves having to choose between whether they can put some money away for retirement or whether they're going to pay that hydro bill. Why is the Premier choosing to put $40 billion in the pocket of bankers and ignore the very people like Lorna Lampman who need our help most? Minister of Energy. Mr. Speaker Thank you for the question. It is important Mr. Speaker that we acted to ensure that we're helping people like the Honourable Member had mentioned Mr. Speaker and that's why the Fair Hydro Plan the single largest electricity rate reduction in Ontario's history will be providing a 25% reduction for that family Mr. Speaker and for all families across the province and while I don't know the specifics of that individual family Mr. Speaker the Ontario Electricity Support Program is there to help a families Mr. Speaker and we also increased the OESP program Mr. Speaker by 50% and increased it so more families and more individuals will qualify Mr. Speaker so the OESP program is there to help and on top of that Mr. Speaker on top of that we created the affordability fund the affordability fund will actually help them through their utility Mr. Speaker to actually make their home more energy conservation Mr. Speaker to actually reduce their bills Well thank you Speaker I'm not sure that the minister understands because Lorna doesn't want this pushed on to her children and her grandchildren and it's not just people like Lorna that are worried about retirement that I'm hearing from that are struggling to pay their bills I also recently heard from a young student in my riding who suffers from a disability she expects to graduate soon she worries about her student loans the interest that she's going to have to pay when she's finished her studies but she too is finding that choice do I put some money away for my student loan payments or do I pay the ever rising hydro bills Speaker why is the premier continuing to support wealthy bankers instead of the very students and people trying to retire in this province Thank you Mr. Speaker I'm pleased to say that that individual Mr. Speaker will also qualify for the 25% reduction but on top of that Mr. Speaker by the great work by the deputy premier and her ministry all students moving forward Mr. Speaker and they get free tuition as well Mr. Speaker and that's fantastic so not only are we providing free tuition Mr. Speaker but we're working with folks right across the province to help them reduce their bills Mr. Speaker and yesterday as I mentioned Mr. Speaker I was in Hamilton and you know Mr. Speaker the mayor isn't the only Hamiltonian that's excited about our plan Electra Mr. Speaker they're talking about how the homeowners in Hamilton will see more than 25% savings Mr. Speaker the folks in Hamilton they'll see between 27 and 28% reductions Mr. Speaker because of our fair hydro plan Mr. Speaker that's a significant savings for families and small businesses and that's something Mr. Speaker I do hope that the opposition will support because it is helping all families and we partially remember from the reform of the country well thank you Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker my question to the minister of infrastructure minister folks in rural Ontario are industrious hardworking people who pay their taxes put food on the table put their kids to school and take care of elderly relatives and like all other Ontarians they are looking to get ahead and want our government to make life easier and more affordable because what I was excited that the ministers recently announced a new natural gas grant which will help communities like the ones in my writing switch to more cost-effective fuel sources spending less money on heating their homes means more money available for their kids education for essential home improvements or take away in an RSP Speaker through you to the minister could you please explain how the newly announced natural gas grant programs will benefit Mike constituents Minister of infrastructure for the question at Roma I was proud to announce that we are investing 100 million dollars to expand natural gas to underserved rural communities Speaker this will go a long way toward making energy consumption more affordable for rural Ontarians and it will leverage hundreds of millions of dollars of investment for natural gas distribution companies rural Ontario will have more access affordability and choice and greater opportunities for economic development access to natural gas infrastructure in rural remote and indigenous communities is a priority for this government and natural gas expansion could save consumers up to 1500 dollars in heating costs every year Speaker the intake for this program will begin this spring Thank you Thank you Speaker my thanks to the minister for his response Minister saving 1500 dollars a year will be a huge plan for farmers and rural families providing access, affordability and choice to rural energy consumers something our government is focusing on it will support economic development in rural communities and that is something of which I'm very proud of this grant program is fully compatible with the energy board decision of natural gas expansion in November and most importantly will provide meaningful support for our community Speaker through you to the minister could he please explain how this natural gas grant program compares to the plans put forth by the opposition Thank you That's certainly an excellent question the fact of the matter is neither the NDP nor the Tories ever proposed any policy to expand natural gas access in rural communities we are investing a hundred million dollars in this program in direct response to feedback we received from rural stakeholders such as the OFA and green house operators our investment will leverage hundreds of millions of dollars in private investment speaker Speaker we're hearing absolutely nothing from the PCs on how they would expand natural gas to rural communities the leader of the opposition has yet to announce a plan or even a single idea that would save rural energy consumers so much as one penny if the leader of the opposition is serious about supporting natural gas expansion then he should get behind our unprecedented initiative to support what we're doing Thank you Speaker my question is for the minister of advanced education and skills development Speaker the minister of advanced education has been in a role for nearly a year and during that time the highly skilled workforce expert panel report was also released Speaker why is this government ignoring its own panel's recommendation and when will this government address the serious skills mismatch that exists in this province Thank you Minister of advanced education Thank you to the member opposite for the question the highly skilled workforce report that was prepared by a group led by former member Sean Conway was presented to the premier and we are committed to actually moving on every one of the recommendations in that report there is a lot of work under way a lot of discussions in fact just yesterday I had a very good meeting with the minister of education and the Canadian manufacturers and exporters where we talked about how they could participate in the highly skilled workforce report particularly around experiential education one of the most important recommendations in that report is that every student by the time they graduate from high school and again when they graduate from university or college have had one meaningful experiential learning opportunity that's a big shift we are committed to achieving that Thank you Thank you my speaker back to the minister of advanced education the auditor general confirmed that youth unemployment rate here in Ontario is hovering at 15% well above the natural average which is clearly unacceptable so my question is simple does the minister believe her government's record of high youth unemployment is acceptable yes or no Thank you Well the answer clearly is no we are working very very hard to focus our work on those groups of people who are facing exceptional challenges speaker and we are listening very carefully to what the auditor general had to say about making sure that we're actually getting results for the money that we are investing in the programs that support young people as they get into the workforce speaker I just do want to remind the member opposite though that his party everybody over there in the last election ran on the platform of firing 100,000 young people who are facing challenges to get through the education speaker and into the work those cuts would have been disastrous speaker and we are committed to making sure every young person in this province achieves their full potential Thank you Member from London Fanshawe My questions to the Minister of Health and long-term care Families contact my office and tell me how worried they are for their loved ones in long-term care Over the past six months 86 year old James Acker has been brutally beaten and sexually assaulted in his long-term care home The home has been cited for not protecting residents and staff from assaults and the same home There is a certain warning for not reporting and investigating abuse Minister, your record on long-term care is truly disappointing How many times does James Acker have to be assaulted before you take action Thank you Minister of Health Whether it is resident abuse or neglect or violence against staff in a long-term care home is unacceptable In fact, it is never acceptable in any of our healthcare environments across this province Mr. Speaker, regrettably and despite our best efforts this violence or neglect or abuse unfortunately and regrettably from time to time does take place That is why we have created one of the most rigorous inspection regimes using the best possible evidence and I'm proud to say that for this home, as for every single home in this province for the past two years entering the third year now we have inspected 100% of our homes When we do, regrettably find that more work or protection needs to take place we take it extremely seriously and I'm happy to follow up in the supplement Thank you Minister, James Acker's family is here today. Tammy Corbino came because you have refused to meet with her The Canadian Association of Retired Persons have also lobbied you to meet with the Acker family and you have refused The Acker family knows that Ontario's long-term care system is so cash strapped that resident on resident violence is not being fixed and one person who can change that is refusing to meet with them in long-term care homes and to meet face-to-face with the Acker family Thank you Minister Veldt As I said, this is an incredibly serious issue that the member opposite has raised It's regrettable that we should have to have this discussion at all but it's a reality that we're facing so that's why we're taking a number of measures In fact, we've already spoken to introducing shortly in the legislature additional measures that we believe are important to take to not only reduce and eventually eliminate such violence whether it be resident on resident or whether it be resident to staff that additional measures to ensure that those long-term care homes that need to do more Mr. Speaker are not only complying with the act but that we have the tools in place to ensure that that compliance doesn't indeed happen and then take place but we take this issue after this serious Mr. Speaker and of course if the family is here I'm not sure if they're in the gallery so I do see that they are here I'd be happy to have some words with them and speak to them after question Thank you Mr. Speaker My question is for the Minister of Transportation When our government announced that we were moving forward with the Union Pearson Express that indicated air link between the downtown core and Pearson International Airport it was clear that this was exactly the type of investment that Toronto needed both for the city's economy and for the environment After going into service it was also clear that riders loved the UP Express but it was clear that the initial ridership levels weren't meeting our expectations I know that our government was very clear that something needed to change to reduce the fares an action Mr. Speaker that many of my constituents in Davenport had called for I have heard that this course of action has had a huge impact on the uptake of the service Mr. Speaker, can the Minister please provide an update on the current status of the Union Pearson Express ridership Thank you, Minister of Transportation Thank you very much Mr. Speaker I want to begin by thanking the member from Davenport the GTHA Speaker for her advocacy and for being such a strong champion she is absolutely correct Speaker she is corrected after its launch the UP Express ranked very high on customer satisfaction but not high enough on ridership today Speaker we are celebrating a very important milestone one year ago today our lower fares for the Union Pearson Express came into effect after lowering the fares we quickly started to see the ridership grow I am very pleased to say today Speaker that the UP Express ridership has quadrupled with daily ridership now averaging upwards of 9,000 riders per day Speaker that's great news for people visiting our city and our region and our province Speaker it's also great news for commuters in the West End of the GTHA including those who live in the wonderful riding of Davenport Thank you very much Speaker Thank you Speaker and thank you to the Minister for his answer and I couldn't agree more Davenport is a wonderful riding and while certain members of this House jump at the opportunities to criticize our government's investment it is very clear that it's paying off those ridership numbers show a huge increase from what we saw previously and I have no doubt that they will continue to grow and I know that some days it's been standing remotely on the Pearson UP Express and I know that since the fares have been reduced I've heard from many in my community that the UP Express is now a real affordable option for them some members in my community who work at the airport use it daily while so many others now use it as a way to move between the downtown port and Davenport this shows the versatility of the service Mr. Speaker will the Minister please provide an update on who is exact who actually is using the UP Express specifically how many riders are non-airport commuters like the people I've heard from in my community Mr. Speaker I thank the member from Davenport for the follow-up question she has 100% one thing I didn't mention in my initial answer in 2016 the Union Pearson Express moved over 2.3 million people between the airport and the city of Toronto a downtown Toronto also interestingly for us to know one year after lowering those fares one in every four passengers roughly 25% on the UP Express is a regular commuter making advantage of the fact that Union Pearson Express fares match existing go fares on that same corridor and I couldn't help but notice when the member from Davenport was asking her follow-up question members of the NDP caucus for making a lot of noise I don't know why members in that caucus wouldn't be supportive of more affordable fares more options for commuters in the west end of Toronto better transit service except to say as is typical for members of that party we don't have a path forward we do we're proud of it we're going to keep building speaker thanks very much thank you very much my question is the minister of community and social services Judson Harnick's 18th birthday was on January 9th but there was no celebration you see Judson is severely disabled he developed a brain tumour at 3 suffered a massive stroke at 4 and is at the level of a 4 year old and that will never change but he's also a member of the community and social services from cutting his supports in half to $860 from $1900 a month on his 18th birthday they also put him on the passport waitlist which we all know is a deeply flawed messy and long wait on behalf of Judson and his family I asked will the minister admit that the progress promised on the passport funding waitlist has been a complete mess and a sham thank you very much I'm obviously not able to comment on this specific case but certainly my ministry and our government does understand the difficulties that families can face in some cases where there are very challenging issues related to medical complications for those with developmental disabilities those perhaps with some behavioural issues these are very difficult and challenging situations for families and for caregivers and so on in terms of our passport waiting list we are actually ahead of schedule in eliminating wait lists we now have we have actually increased by so we have some 20,000 people now on passport there's much more to do of course we acknowledge that but this is a program that is really transforming individual situations thank you Mr. Speaker back to the minister minister we have no idea what you've done you talk about the waitlist it's a 2014 waitlist that you're proud to actually get caught up on this is 2017 at the end of the day people don't expect a 3 year waitlist they want action and passport funding when they need it what they want minister is leadership they want to know that when the programs are there you're not transforming Judson's life you're making a mess of Judson's life and his family are struggling because of it the fact minister you've been in charge for 3 years keep getting deeper I want to know through you Mr. Speaker to the minister how much longer did Judson and other families just like him in crisis have to wait to get real leadership real programs and real services thank you Mr. Speaker the reality is that we spend $2 billion every year supporting individuals with developmental disabilities 3 years ago we initiated an absolutely unprecedented investment in this sector $810 million over 3 years and I think as we all recall that party opposite voted against that particular initiative and looking at their platform back in 2014 neither of the opposition parties had anything to say about these most vulnerable Ontarians our government is standing up for them and we are doing everything we possibly can to help situations exactly as was described thank you Mr. Speaker good morning to you this week I attended my question is to the premier this week I attended the annual P.DOT conference where I had the chance to talk to many stakeholders from the mining sector and this is what I heard premier despite 70,000 current jobs depending on the industry this is where we were way down on the list when it comes to investment attractiveness and policy effectiveness only 6th in Canada where we should be first investors have no confidence in this government's policies this Liberal government keeps saying it plans to spend a billion dollars in the last budget to develop infrastructure in the Ring of Fire but Mr. Speaker besides lawyers bureaucrats and accountants on Bay Street where is the progress Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker the member in one question talked about two different topics he's one moment he's talking about the Ring of Fire in the first instance he's talking about investment in Ontario in the mineral development sector so let's deal with the first half of it first fundamentally the member is wrong the increase in the exploration sector in the province of Ontario is going north it is getting larger than it has been in the past I'm not sure who the member was talking to at PDAC but I think that for those of us who attended that conference on this side of the house we're hearing a very very different story the industry is optimistic they feel very excited about the way things are going in the province of Ontario right now and actually Speaker the numbers the raw numbers when you look at exploration dollars being invested in the province of Ontario this year the projection and the increase last year speak very positively about what's going on here in our province Speaker so we're very proud of that and on the second half of this question I'm happy to talk about that and supplementary First Nations communities minors prospectors and other people from industry are frustrated with the lack of leadership from this government this Liberal government has a copy and paste approach to infrastructure plans and the last three Liberal budgets without actually developing even a trail to the Ring of Fire First Nations are asking as well as industry and many across Northern Ontario what has this government done and where have you been Mr. Speaker the people of Ontario deserve better First Nations are asking for action and when will you start delivering results and ignite the Ring of Fire Thank you Well Speaker I think that if you talk to the nine member Metawa First Nations communities they will tell you very clearly what we've done and where we've been but again Speaker this is no different than the question that was asked by the PCs a little while ago where they want to frame the mining sector in Ontario in the context of only one project and of course Speaker that is their goal to make it look like things are not going well as I said to the member from the opposition the official opposition there's currently three mines under construction in the province of Ontario exploration dollars are increasing from where they were in the past and of course when they're not this has reduced or compared a relative to global demand and global price if the price is down obviously exploration is not going to occur if they can't make money at it Speaker there's three mines under construction right now the mining sector is doing well the near program the Northern Industrial Electricity Rate Program is a big part of that currently ten mines benefit from that it's a competitive sector Thank you I would like to I would like to to the francophone model Parliament it do not copy at home it's better than the government and we shouldn't do it according to the 38A action with this question given by the minister responsible for advanced education and skills development concerning skills mismatch this matter will be debated Tuesday March 21st 2017 before we move to deferred votes I want to tell the members that this is the last day for our pages we want to thank them very much for the wonderful service that they did we do have a deferred vote on the motion for closure and motion to second reading of bill 84 calling the members this will be a five minute bell all members please take your seats members please take your seats on February 21st 2017 Mr. Murray moved second reading of bill 84 an act to amend various acts with respect to medical assistance in dying Mr. Bradley has moved that the question be now put all those in favor of Mr. Bradley's motion please rise one at a time be recognized by the court Mr. Bradley Mr. Nack Mr. Del Ducca Mr. Sandoz Mr. Sousa Mr. Haskins Mr. Chacar Mr. Quinter Mr. Cole Mr. Dillon Mr. Murray Mr. Chan Mr. Murray Mr. Koto Mr. Flinn Mr. Tebow Mr. Cotten Mr. Crack Mr. Domino Mr. McGarr Mr. Wong Mr. Anderson Mr. Don Mr. Mollie Mr. Milton Mr. Pot Mr. Renaldi Mr. Reneal Mr. Rosier Mr. Wilson Mr. Hardiman Mr. Clark Mr. Fidelli Mr. Miller Perry Mr. Thompson Mr. Bailey Mr. Wauker Mr. Martin Mr. Pettipi Mr. Choe Mr. Sing Mr. Tabbins Mr. Miller Hamilton Mr. Taylor Mr. Armstrong Mr. Kamble Mr. Monta Mr. Hatfield Mr. Gates The Ayes are 50 The Nays are 33 Mr. Murray Mr. Murray Mr. Murray Mr. Murray Mr. Murray Minister. Thank you Mr. Speaker I'd ask that the bill be referred to the standing committee on finance and economic affairs. It shall be done. We have another deferred vote on the motion closure of the second reading of Bill 89. Call on the members this will be a five minute vote. I'm thank thank you because we're in the middle of a bill in the middle of a call I will make that call. We have the same vote. Same vote on closure. Same vote on closure. Carry. The ayes are 50, the nays are 33. The ayes being 50 and the nays being 33. I declare motion carried. Mr. Cotto has moved second reading of Bill 89 enact to enact to enact the Child Youth and Family Services Act 2016 to amend and repeal the Children and Family Services Act and to make related amendments to other acts. Is it the pleasure of house the motion carry? I heard a no. All those in favor please say aye. Opposed say nay. In my opinion the ayes have it. Call on the members I heard a no. Call on the members this will be a five minute bill. Not know how hard it is not to say something. Mr. Cotto has moved second reading of Bill 89 enact to enact the Child Youth and Family Services Act 2016 to amend and repeal the Child and Family Services Act and to make related amendments to other acts. All those in favor please rise one at a time be recalled by Mr. Hatfield. Mr. Gretzky. Mr. Gretzky. Mr. Gates. Mr. Gates. Mr. French. Mr. French. All those opposed please rise one at a time be recognized by the clerk. The ayes are 83, the nays are zero. The ayes being 83 and the nays being zero. I declare the motion carried. Mr. President de Loire. Minister. That's the bill be referred to the Standing Committee on Justice Policy. Before we dismiss I just wanted to offer all of you some time for your family during this particular break but I know and I want to go on record as saying that most of you work very hard during these breaks on contrary to what some people would recommend. So I want to say thank you very much for the work that you do in your life. There are no further deferred votes. This house stands recessed until 1 p.m. this afternoon.