 It is now time for oral questions. I recognize the leader of Her Majesty's Royal Opposition. Thank you so much, speaker. Speaker, my first question this morning is for the Premier. Yesterday, the Premier rejected advice from teachers, from school boards, from pediatricians, from his own science table, yet again. And he kept schools closed, but promised outdoor graduation ceremonies literally for every single grade. But school speaker have said they can't deliver that. In fact, principals say that the Premier's plan, and I quote, is not practical, it is not possible, it is unrealistic, and it is disrespectful. Is there anyone in our schools, in our children's hospitals, or anywhere who actually approves of this Premier scheme? Thank you so much, Mr. Speaker. And I want to thank the leader of the opposition for the question. Well, you know, Mr. Speaker, when Dr. Brown, head of the science table, came out and said, we're going to have an increase of 6% to 11%, that equals 2,000 to 4,000 new cases. Now, the leader of the opposition may not think that's too much to create spread and create another fourth wave. The difference between myself and leader of the opposition, I don't want a fourth wave. Leader of the opposition wants us to keep going and going and going, I don't. I want to make sure we protect our kids. And as for the doctors, Dr. Peter Juni, I'm going to quote him, Ontario, unlike other places in the world, did a relatively good job. If you compare to the UK, our way of cohorting kids, of masking kids, is much, much better. We have Dr. Juni. We have Dr. Brooks Follis. We have Dr. Foster. We have Dr. Fisman. So we have a lot of doctors that are saying, this is not safe, and I couldn't get a consensus. But we're going to make sure we have a great end of June, great July, and great August for the kids and the rest of Ontarians. And this supplementary question. Well, Speaker, this Premier at every stage of this pandemic has refused to listen to the expert advice. In fact, the Premier asked, he made a big show of asking teachers and principals and pediatricians and experts about school reopening and all agreed to put our children first. Instead, the Premier has done the exact opposite, as he's done all the way along. Alex Munther, the CEO of CHEO, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, says this, and I quote, Ontario kids have been out of school longer than children almost anywhere else in the world. I am overwhelmed by sadness about all this. It feels like we adults have left, let our children down. Why did the Premier ignore the advice of every single person he asked and decide once again not to put our kids first? Thank you, Mr. Speaker, making sure that the spread in the deadly B1617 variant, better known as the Indian variant, doesn't spread. Dr. Low said it's going to be the predominant variant in July, and we want to do that to the people appeal after what we've went through out there. And this all goes to root cause, Mr. Speaker. Root cause is because we have porous borders. We have 134,000 people crossing our borders, our land borders, not even including our two big international airports, Pearson and now Buffalo is one of our international airports because thousands of people are walking across the border and in one week alone, the ones we caught by the way, and there's, I'm sure there's triple that, over 400 cases of these variants came into Ontario in just the last week, every single week. So I'm not going to chance it, I'm going to make sure we protect the kids and I'll like the leader of the opposition on my next question, I'll rattle off 15 doctors that all say, thank goodness you didn't open up the school. Thank you. The final supplementary. Well, Speaker, this premier continues to seek advice and then ignore it, and it's the families of Ontario that pay the price. He ignored the advice to make our schools safe so that kids could engage in education. He ignored the advice to make our students a priority in response to this COVID-19 pandemic. He literally ignored the serious warnings about the likelihood of the third wave. Even as he now points to the fear of variants spreading in our schools, he now says we can open up the economy faster. Speaker, what is going on over there? The variants are going to spread in schools, but they're not going to spread in shopping malls, they're not going to spread in big box stores? And they're applying to premier. Well, Mr. Speaker, I can tell you that we're focused on making sure we meet forward until the kids can go to camp. The kids can go join sports teams. The kids can have a great summer. The leader of the opposition doesn't worry about the kids, she worries about politics. That's what this is all about. Doesn't have a worry in the world. Sitting in the bleachers, throwing stapler shots, it's done absolutely nothing during the pandemic. Well, every Ontarian is working their back off. And thank goodness we have the best healthcare workers in the entire world. And thank goodness we've gone the right direction and there's a reason why the cases have come down. Because of a great plan that we put forward, because the great healthcare workers making sure that people are getting their first and second doses. And it's just amazing how they perform, Mr. Speaker. When you're looking at numbers of anywhere from 140 up to as high as 190,000 vaccinations every single day, they're the heroes. They're the ones that are making things happen. And I'm just very, very grateful for all their support, helping team Ontarian. The next question, the leader of the opposition. This is the first time the Premier's actually shown up to the field in a long time, never mind. So my question is, You can't make reference to the absence of any member today or retrospectively. You're the opposition. So my question is actually to the Premier. Look, Ontario is the only province in our entire country that does not have our kids back in schools. And the failure in this, the failure in getting our kids, not getting our kids back to school, points to I think the need very clearly for a thorough and independent investigation of Ontario's response to COVID-19. We know that it wasn't just schools. This government ignored warnings and marched us right in to the third wave. They left frontline essential heroes literally on their own when it came to paid sick days, when it came to urgency of vaccinations, 4,000 seniors lost their lives in long-term care. From COVID-19, but also from neglect and from dehydration. We, the official opposition, have called for a full public inquiry. Will the Ford government establish one? So this never happens again. The government has to do. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I think I've answered this on a number of occasions. Of course, the Premier was one of the first, in fact, the first leader to initiate a commission with respect to our long-term care. We've had a report from the auditor general, Mr. Speaker. But I think as you're hearing today, the leader of the opposition would like to fly the Mission Accomplished Banner. We're not there yet, Mr. Speaker. There's still a lot of work that needs to be done to get us through this pandemic. And yes, well, over close to 9.5 million Ontarians have received a vaccination that is really, really good news. While the numbers are starting to come down, Mr. Speaker, unlike the leader of the opposition, we know that there is still work to do. So what we're going to do is we're going to focus on that work. We're going to focus on getting our economy back on track. So it is the leading economy like it was prior to the pandemic, Mr. Speaker. And we'll let the leader of the opposition talk about things that really aren't important to people of Ontario right now. What's important to the people of Ontario is getting through this pandemic, getting our economy back on track, and keeping people safe. Supplementary. The legislative session that's coming to a close today started on February 16th, literally days after the science table warned this premiere of the dire consequences of reopening, rushing the reopening of the economy. But this premiere ignored that advice. And of course, as predicted, the third wave arrived in March. And by April, the science table was pleading for paid sick days and the closure of non-essential businesses. And what did the government do? They padlocked playgrounds instead. Speaker, Anthony Dale of the Ontario Hospital Association said this on February 12th, and I quote, an exhausted, overextended hospital sector is likely going to have to deal with a third pandemic wave. The consequences of and responsibility for that rests with the government of Ontario. So will this government start taking responsibility today, launch a public inquiry so everyone in Ontario can learn exactly what happened to make sure that it never can happen again? APPLAUSE To apply to government health theatre. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I'll tell you what we did. We knew that when we came into government in 2018 that there was a number of things that had to be done to improve the health care system in the province of Ontario. We inherited a system that could do 5,000 tests a day. We increased that to 75,000 tests. We inherited one of the lowest ICU capacities in North America, Mr. Speaker. We knew we had to do better, and that's why we started increasing ICU capacity before the pandemic, during the pandemic, and we'll continue to do that after the pandemic is behind us, Mr. Speaker. We knew we had to do work on long-term care because under the Liberals, they built 600 long-term care beds during their time of office, Mr. Speaker. That's why we are building 30,000 additional long-term care beds. We knew we needed new nurses, Mr. Speaker. That's why we're adding 2,000 new nurses. We knew we needed new additional PSWs. That's why we're adding 27,000 PSWs, Mr. Speaker. We knew that we had to do what the previous Liberal government didn't do, Mr. Speaker, and that's put Ontario back on the right track. That is why, before the pandemic, our economy was leading North America, and after it, it will again. The final supplement, Mr. Speaker. Speaker, the people of Ontario have lived through over a year of absolute tragedy. 8,798 people lost their lives to COVID-19 and counting. 4,000 seniors almost lost their lives to COVID-19 perished in long-term care homes from the virus and from dehydration and neglect. 1,638 and counting people lost their lives just in the third wave alone, which we know the government brought upon us. Schools are shattered. Youth are suffering from depression. Are suffering from depression. Parents are beside themselves because their kids are lonely. They're depressed. They have anxiety. They're isolated. Businesses have gone bankrupt and dreams have been shattered, Speaker. The Ford government made choices. Many of those choices made this crisis worse. Many of those choices were literally against the advice of experts. This cannot happen again. So will this Premier acknowledge that people deserve answers, that there are actually lessons to be learned about Ontario's response to COVID-19 and agree to a full, public, independent, judicial inquiry today? Government House Leader. Yeah, Mr. Speaker, there you go. The leader of the opposition wanting to declare victory when we know that there is still a lot of work left to be done in the province of Ontario. It is true, Mr. Speaker, that over 9.5 million Ontarians have received their first and many more are starting to get their second dose. That is true, Mr. Speaker. But there is still a lot of work left to be done. That's why we've made critical investments in healthcare. That's why we've made critical investments in long-term care. That is why we are continuing to make investments in transit and transportation, because we know that as we emerge from the pandemic, we want a strong and vibrant economy. That's why the Minister of Education has ensured that we have had the safest schools in North America, Mr. Speaker. There is a lot of work left to be done to get us beyond the pandemic, Mr. Speaker. There will be a lot of work to be done to ensure that our economy returns to the strongest in North America, that we see the incredible amount of jobs that we had before the pandemic, Mr. Speaker. So while the leader of the opposition wants to cast stones on the people of the province of Ontario, we'll work to make the province of Ontario the best that it possibly can be. Stop the clock. Stop the clock, please. I realize this is the last day or expected to be the last day of this spring sitting at the legislature. And I know members have a great deal of energy and passion that they wish to expand this morning. I want to allow a fulsome debate, but it's getting a little noisy in here. Let's put it that way. I'm going to have to start calling you to order, if necessary, warning you. And of course, the next steps that follow if it continues. Thank you. Please start the clock. The member for Essex. Thank you very much, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. I want to sincerely thank the Premier for joining us today. Speaker, a story in the Toronto Star this week quotes one of the Premier's insiders ruminating on a cabinet shuffle and noting that the Minister of Municipal Affairs, the Minister of Infrastructure, the Natural Resources Minister, and Environment Minister are all on the chopping block. And going on to note that we can find candidates to replace them in 15 minutes. Speaker, can the Premier provide more details on why he's lost confidence in his team of All-Stars? Can you make her a call? As I've always said since the day I got into politics, don't believe everything you read in the news, and I apologize to our great media because we do have a great media. But in saying that, you know something? Order. In saying that, Mr. Speaker, in saying that, I can tell you I've never seen, I've been in politics for 30-some-odd years, I've never seen a better team. I've never seen a better group of ministers, better caucus anywhere. I'll put our team up against any federal provincial municipal team out there. We have a great team. I can tell you one thing, they've done an incredible job. Number one, turning the mess around that we inherited from the Liberal NDP government that destroyed our province for 15 years. We're leading North American job creation, economic development, done a great job throughout this pandemic, from the beginning of this pandemic, we're right up to today, and we're going to get people back to having a great summer because of the great leadership, first of all, the frontline healthcare workers and the doctors, the people of Ontario, and our great caucusing cabinet. Supplemental question. It's not clear who the Premier is consulting nowadays, and maybe I should be directing these questions to Arthur. I knew superstar and the ministers are the Premier's cabinet. Speaker, it seems like the Premier wants to play. Everyone but himself for his government's disastrous decisions. He used to call his team all stars, and Lord knows, Speaker, they have been doing a lot of work, working overtime to protect the King. Now he's telling them, Speaker, that they can all be replaced in 15 minutes, a snap of a finger. Speaker, has the Premier considered taking any personal responsibility or is it everybody's fault but his own? Order. Order. Premier? You're only the member of Essex, the temporary member, because we're going to change that next election. But anyways, and we know we're going to, and he knows it too, but anyways, Mr. Speaker, only the member of Essex will take a shot at a 11-year-old little kid which had more integrity in his baby toe than he has in his whole body. Matter of fact, that's bringing down here. I'm going to caution the Premier on his language. Member of Essex, come to order. Member for Ottawa, South, come to order. Premier, please conclude your response. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, as I was saying, Mr. Speaker, we're doing everything we can to make sure we return the corner on this pandemic. We've thrown billions and billions of dollars supporting our frontline healthcare workers, our education system, over $2 billion. We've just announced another $31 million for mental health, for education, education, you know, we all, doesn't matter what political stripe, Mr. Speaker, we want all of us, we want to get out of this. And we're going to get out of this. I just wish I'd had more constructive ideas from the opposition. And there is no ideas. All it is is criticize, criticize, and we're doing all the work. Member for Essex, again, you can't make reference to the absence of a member. Take a look around. There's a reason. Next question. Member for Whitby. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Health. Speaker, my constituents are concerned about the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on children's mental health. Back in March of last year, our government unveiled a revolutionary plan to provide enterions of all ages with comprehensive and connected mental health and addiction supports. This plan was called the Roadmap to Wellness. I know that Deputy Premier and the Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions haven't stopped working on this plan because they know how important it is for every enterian, Speaker, to have access to the support they need. Would the Minister please update this House on our government's progress with implementing this Roadmap? Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. Well, thank you, Speaker, and thank you very much to the member from Whitby for that important question and for the great work you're doing very well, so thank you. Speaker, our Roadmap to Wellness is moving us in the right direction towards building a comprehensive and connected mental health and addiction system that works for all enterians. We understand that COVID-19 has placed an exceptional burden on all enterians, but especially on our children and youth, which is why as part of our Roadmap this week, we announced over $31 million to help improve access to specialized mental health treatments, increase weightless and weight times, and support mental health and well-being of our province's most vulnerable children and youth by addressing the increased demand for services as a result of COVID-19. This investment is just another example of how our government is supporting the mental wellness of children and youth across the province. And the supplementary question. Back to the Minister, Speaker. I think I speak for everyone in this House when I say we all know that COVID-19 has taken its toll on our children and youth, which is why it's welcome news, Speaker, to hear our government is taking concrete action to make it easier for children, youth and their families to access the mental health supports they need. Will the Minister please tell this House how our investment in expanding mental health services for children and youth will ensure they receive the appropriate care they need in a timely manner in the right setting and improve their outcomes? Minister of Health. Yes, thank you. With this $31 million investment, we're funding targeted initiatives in intensive mental health supports and services for children and youth with complex mental health needs, including $20 million for an across-the-board 5% increase for all core mental health and addiction services, as well as select Indigenous 3.5 million dollars for the step-up, step-down live-in treatment program, $2.7 million at four new youth wellness hubs, Inc. Wealth, Ren Fu, Timmins and Windsor, $2.1 million in annualized funding to support a new virtual walk-in counseling program, $2 million for a new program to help children and youth who require additional one-on-one intensive treatment to transition to child and youth living treatment programs, secure crisis units and or hospital and $1 million for child and youth tele-mental health service fields. Now and going forward, we are working to fill the urgent gaps to make sure that children and youth receive the core mental health services that they need. Thank you. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. We've met with members of the Family Council. They've been fighting for their family members to have adequate air conditioning for over a year. As we all know in heat waves, rooms can become sweltering. We all know that. We were promised that this would be fixed. Yet, we are told that the Minister of Long-term Care no longer even answers their emails. So we were promised the people of Ontario, the families of Ontario were promised that they would no longer have to swelter in those rooms. That this was an issue that the Premier was going to take head-on. Where? Where is that air conditioning? To reply, the Premier. For the question, and ironically enough I have a weekly update with the Minister on where we're going to have the air conditioning. I always look at 100%. Right now we're at 83%. There's a lot of these older homes that need to get upgraded and make sure they put a transformer in there. But 100% of them have cooling areas which is a big, big step forward compared to the disaster we were left with the Liberal-NDP government for 15 years that wouldn't even touch the air conditioning. We put tens of millions of dollars into the air conditioning to make sure we're confident that we're going to hit the 100% to have cooling in every single room. We get updated every single week and we aren't going to stop until we get 100%. But I can tell you one thing, Mr. Speaker the folks in the long-term care are 1000 times better off now with air conditioning than they were under the Liberal-NDP government for 15 years sweltering. That's a supplementary question. Thank you, Speaker. I appreciate the response from the Premier. 83% in cooling areas. But we all know that many of the people in long-term care don't get to the cooling area. We know that. They're in their room. Now in his answer he said 100% in a few months. Is that 100% in every room or 100% in the cooling areas? Because Premier words matter. And when people are in the room and they can't leave and you know it and I know it because my mom was in one of those rooms and I agree. I know that. I respect that. They need to know is there going to be air conditioning in every room in every long-term care home as you just stated because this weekend it's going to be 30 degrees in Tomiskimi. So that's what I heard you say Premier. Is that the case? Premier to reply. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And again, thanks to the great work of the Minister of Infrastructure Ontario we have been working through every single home, individual homes one by one by one and making sure all the mechanics are different in almost every single home we're bringing in transformers we're going to make sure they have the proper electrical power that every single home in every single room in all the cooling areas are going to be right up to date. And saying that Mr. Speaker some of these homes are very old and aged but the brand new homes that we're building by the way 30,000 beds we're going to be creating 15,000 by the first they're going to be state of the art and the older homes we're doing everything we can to make sure we put the capital into those homes until people can have a nice cool summer. Thank you. The next question the member for York said. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Health. Ontarians aren't just looking for an end to the lockdown they're looking for the lifting of all public health restrictions. We will not agree to a new normal. Stage 3 of the government's reopening framework imposes limitations on gatherings, retail and religious services. Unlike Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia, Ontario's opening framework does not provide for a full lifting of all public health restrictions. It appears that this government is unwilling to give up control. My question to the Minister of Health. Why does Ontario's reopening framework not include the lifting of all public health restrictions and unless it is the intention of this government to never go back to normal then what is the precise metric for the lifting of all public health restrictions? Minister of Health. We're not lifting all public health restrictions because we're trying to save lives. That's what this is all about. Saving lives. That's been our priority from the beginning of this pandemic and that is why you will note that today we have 870 new COVID cases. That is the reason why we have to be very careful and very cautious because the variants are still out there. The delta variant which came from India is out there. We have to be very cautious and very careful as we reopen so that we don't go into a fourth wave and lose more people. That's why we have to be very careful and because the federal government isn't doing their part by making sure that we close our borders to make sure that these variants don't continue to come in. My supplementary question. My follow-ups to the Premier. Everything this government has done thus far has been a long-term care, harshest and longest lockdown in the world. Schools closed and devastated Main Street are just the latest. Cannabis, the ongoing disaster and autism, the Ontario Line Streetcar and its own carbon tax, the $1.6 billion teacher fight and the fight on class sizes, municipal cuts, Tavernour, Dean French appointments, Bill 66 Green Bill and the exclusivity on Bill 108. Astonishing structural deficit with nothing to show for. Moody's downgrade and the Avista deal failing, reduction in energy bills or insurance rates, defective stickers and license plates you can't see. My question to the Premier. Why wait a year for the voters to fire him? Why not resign today? Mr. Heritage, come to order. Government House Leader. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Appreciate that question. Look, we heard from this member yesterday who, or two days ago, who suggested that the work that he does doesn't matter. The votes he casts doesn't matter. It's all about Instagram for him. But what I will tell you about the work that he does doesn't matter, Mr. Speaker, to the people of the province of Ontario and the members here, is when Bill 262 convenience store week was passed by the member for Willardale, when Bill 250 recovery month was passed by the member for Don Valley North, when Bill 246, the safer schools bus act was passed by the member for Kitchener Conestoga, Bill 228, keeping polystyrene out of Ontario's lakes by the member for Perry Sound, Muskoka, Bill 217, Filipino Heritage Month by the member for Scarborough Southwest, Bill 173, Occupational Health and Safety Day by the member of Burlington, Bill 112, Lupus Day Awareness by the member for Markham Unionville, Bill 104, Tamil Genocide Education Week for the member of Scarborough Rouge Park, awaiting royal assent today, Bill 255, Sickle Disease Awareness, Bill 230, Frontline Essential Worker Service Week, Bill 271, Persian Heritage Month, Bill 157, COPD. Thank you. The next question, the member for Whitby. Thank you, Speaker. The next question is to the Solicitor General. Speaker, we know that stricter border measures stopped the spread of COVID-19. This reality is backed up by hard evidence and data. All the cases that we have in Ontario can be traced back to an origin outside of Ontario. Speaker, only a few weeks ago the first cases of the Indian variant were detected here in Ontario. Can the Solicitor General tell the House more about how this variant has spread and why it's important to keep up restrictions to stop the entry of these variants at our borders? To reply, the Solicitor General. Thank you, Speaker, and thank you for the member from Whitby for raising this important issue. It has been an ongoing and serious concern of our government. We have consistently called on the federal government to enhance the safeguards at our border. Many of the new variants spread quickly, as the Delta by the World Health Organization. This variant was first detected in Ontario on April 23rd. I spoke about it yesterday, but let's be clear that the numbers are even higher. As of yesterday, Ontario is up to 439 known positive cases of the B1617. For example, Dr. Lawrence Lowe said the B1617 variant could displace and overtake the current dominant B117 in Peel region within one month. We know these variants spread quickly. There are more than 24 other variants currently discovered in the world that have yet to be detected in Ontario. The federal government needs to step up and do their job and protect our borders. The supplementary question. Thank you, Speaker, and back to the Solicitor General. Speaker, we're all aware of how the original COVID virus got here. It was through travel. We know that every variant of concern that filled our eyes to use came from outside of Ontario. Yet, some would have us believe that only a few infected travelers is nothing to worry about, suggesting that travel accounts for less than 2% of cases here in Ontario. Here on this side of the house we've raised this issue more than two dozen times during question period these last few weeks. Yet, Speaker, there's been crickets from the opposition. Back to the minister. Can the Solicitor General reaffirm our government's commitment to standing up for Ontarians when it comes to the border? Solicitor General. Thank you, Speaker, and thank you for the member from WIPI, because if the opposition aren't going to ask these questions then we need to make sure the public understands exactly what is at risk. And I'm happy to stand and answer any questions about it. Our government is taking decisive action and not just when it comes to the borders. The last seven days, one week, we have vaccinated almost one million people which is why it's so important that we are setting records for numbers and speed of vaccines. Even with one dose of vaccine we know we are most likely won't be seeing you in the ICU. The data demonstrates that those who have received even just one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine are extremely unlikely to require critical care. That's why you haven't received a vaccination yet. Please take the time to get one. The federal government needs to do their job, finally step up and take action on our borders and give everyone an opportunity to get their vaccination. Thank you. The next question. The member for Kiwet and all. My question is to the premier. Today, federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh will call for specific actions from the federal government to bring some justice, some peace for indigenous peoples hurting after the discovery of the remains of the 215 children discovered in Kamloops. I know this is a confirmation of what survivors knew, Mr. Speaker. Actions are what are needed now. Otherwise, reconciliation is just a word. Speaker, will the provincial government join the calls here now for the federal government to drop its legal challenge against First Nations youth and join the calls to the federal government to drop its legal battle with the survivors of St. Anne's Residential School. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the question from the member and of course all week he has been focused on this and not just this week. Perhaps a bad choice of words since he was elected and I'm sure well before he has been focused on improving his community and leading us down the path of reconciliation. Look, we have to do everything that we possibly can to ensure that we do better when it comes to reconciliation. I think there are a number of steps that both the federal government and the provincial government working with the federal government can do to ensure that we move this quicker than we have. The member often has talked about the need to improve conditions on reserves. We have to do that. We have to make sure that all of these boil water advisories are lifted. We have to ensure that economic opportunity is abundant in the north and in the north. We have to make sure that we have a good response in the reserves. But really this week the focus of course is on what we found on the horrific circumstances in Canlumson. He has my absolute word and the word of this Premier and this government that we will do all that we can to do better and to make sure that the funds are there to ensure that we do a search, that we make sure that the families are treated with respect and respect. Speaker, back to the Premier. This week I was glad to hear the government house leader in his response earlier that he was concerned about the issue of our stolen indigenous children would be forgotten in the new cycle. That's why we need more than flags lowered in a holiday. We need action. Will the government commit the truth and reconciliation calls to action specifically numbers 71 to 76 relating to our stolen children? And will they commit today to provide resources for communities to find and return our children? I'll reiterate again I hope that I've been very clear this week about the importance to do just that. So if there is again any confusion around our commitment to ensure that we work with First Nations on something that is led by First Nations to ensure that we do all that we can to investigate to ensure that the resources are there not only to just investigate but I think to work with the First Nations community to repatriate and to deal respectfully with whatever it is that we may find in Kamloops is horrific. I think we all agree on that. That's the first step. The second step is to work with our First Nations in Ontario and across the country to make sure that whatever we find is dealt with in a respectful manner in the way that the First Nations wanted to be dealt with that it's led by First Nations and not by a provincial government and I can guarantee the member that we will work very closely with him to do just that. We won't let this die just because of a news cycle. He has my word on that and the word of the Premier and the Minister of Indigenous Affairs. The next question the member for Ottawa South. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Premier. So two weeks ago when the Premier announced the reopening framework there wasn't a word about schools. He had a plan for patios no plan for schools and then after a week of radio silence he issued a 36 hour automated to build consensus. That's an interesting way to build consensus. Largely he got it. The COVID-19 science table the Chief Medical Officer of Health the Council of Medical Officers of Health the Ontario Children's Health Coalition CHEO, Sick Kids all said that schools could be opened safely. Fast forward to this week our patios are going to open our kids they'll have to wait until September. So speakers for you can the Premier explain why he had no plan for schools in the reopening framework and why once again he's ignoring his own experts. Minister of Education. Thank you Speaker and thank you to the member opposite for the question. Our aim as the announcement made yesterday is to protect the summer for families to ensure that children in the immediate term are able to access camps and opportunities in recreation and things that they have been denied over the past years is to ensure we do not risk the progress we have made as a province and to allow kids to return in September to a more stable and more normal school year. I will note though the irony of the position of both opposition parties. In one breath speaker they take the position that schools should have regionally opened on Monday. In the same breath they declare schools are unsafe. How can both be true? How could the members opposite be advocates for getting kids back to quote unsafe schools? The Chief Medical Officer of Health has been absolutely consistent on school safety. The Premier has been consistent and clear on why we've taken this action given the emergence of this variant that originated in India. Our action is to protect our kids, our families and to bring some recovery to the province so that everyone in Ontario could benefit this summer and in September. A supplementary question. The only thing that's consistent is the Premier will do the opposite of what experts recommend. So what the Premier doesn't get is that schools are a pillar of our economy. They allow families to have two incomes, sometimes one income. They support full participation in the workforce which by the way is great for the economy. Bill Davis got it, Dalton McGinty got it, Kathleen Wynn got it. This Premier, he doesn't get it. He says he has a plan for schools this fall. Families and educators, well yeah, they heard that last summer. Our kids need a plan to safely reopen schools in the fall. So far there's no evidence of that. And we don't need another 11th hour back of the envelope plan like we saw last summer. So Speaker, through you, since schools are so important to families and to our economy, when can students, educators and their families expect to see this robust plan the Premier mentioned for return to school this fall? Minister of Education. Thank you very much Speaker. As we announced and confirmed yesterday the plan for September, every student 12 and up in this province who wants a vaccine will receive both doses ahead of September. That is also true for every education staff member of the province. We are one of the first provinces in the nation to accelerate preferential access to those workers for that purpose. Mr. Speaker, we announced $1.6 billion, the same allocation as this year for next year, although the difference is this is entirely provincial dollars. And of course we know with vaccines in the context of our schools and our communities. Speaker, we also have been clear on mental health funding, a four-time increase, a learning recovery plan, $85 million specifically targeting reading and mathematics which we've seen regressions at home and abroad in learning. We've in ventilation when it comes to the improvements of the legacy for next year, 95% of schools have improved their ventilation. In Toronto, for example, 97% of improved filter quality and frequency and 72% of all schools in this province have recommissioned their HVAC systems as a consequence of our investment. That is nation-leading, and we're going to continue to invest, follow the best advice to keep families safe in this province and get a recovery on track. The next question, a member for Whitby. Thank you, Speaker, and my question is for the Government House Leader. Speaker, throughout this sitting, the opposition have been consistently skeptical of our ability to hold safe modified in-person settings of the Legislature. But, Speaker, here we are wrapping up our 13th sitting week. The NDP and the Liberals didn't want the House to come back and wanted to have a Zoom-only Parliament. Speaker, would the Government House Leader please explain how this Government was able to so effectively continue in-person settings to advance our agenda of protecting the people and business of this province? Yeah, the Government House Leader. That's a very important question for the Member for Whitby, and I really think he is quite correct. The opposition consistently wanted us not to return in person and were advocating for Zoom Parliaments, but the Premier gave me one mandate when COVID started. He said, you have to ensure as House Leader that we have an accountable Parliament, that the opposition is still able to do their job, and although they wanted to be home colleagues, we said no, we have to have an accountable Parliament. That's why we made so many modifications whether it was cohorting, whether it was voting in a safe fashion in the lobbies, Mr. Speaker. The investments that were made with respect to committee rooms to allow them to be hybrid, but really colleagues, the credit goes to the clerk and to the people who work in this place, who made this place the safest place in North America so that we could do our jobs and the people could be held accountable. I am so proud of what this Parliament has accomplished and I really thank the Speaker and the clerk and his team for allowing this to happen Mr. Speaker. Back to the Government House Leader Speaker, earlier this year the NDP accused the Government House Leader of being aggressively bipartisan. On this side of the House I think we wear that as a badge of honour. As a badge of honour Speaker. Can the Minister please tell this House how the Government has worked across party lines to strengthen our Democratic institutions? Government House Leader I must admit Speaker. Member for York Centre come to order, the opposition come to order. Government House Leader, please reply. Mr. Speaker, I must admit that I was shocked when the opposition House Leader debated against changes that we were making to committees and suggested that I was being too bi-partisan. She opened up her statement by saying the Government House Leader is being bi-partisan but here's what we have done. We've added time for PMBs to allow us to catch up for the lost time during the pandemic. We've introduced mechanisms for additional debate and new forms of debate. We implemented mechanisms for additional committee meeting time created and effectively used take notes debate to draw attention to matters of provincial significance. We secure cross-party support for the recognition of the importance of Line 5. We unanimously passed a motion to construct a Holocaust Memorial on the grounds of Queens Park. We virtually eliminated the use of time allocation. We accelerated the estimates committee process to ensure accountability and oversight and cross-party lines to appoint the first Poet Lord of Ontario. We appointed Dr. Kiernan Moore as the Chief Medical Officer of Health and by the end of today we hope to have passed 27 bills, 13 government bills and 17 private members of the community. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The next question, the member for Windsor West. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. For 14 months healthcare workers have been on the front line as this pandemic tore through our province. It was these workers who cared for our loved ones as they battled COVID-19. It was these mostly women workers who put their own lives at risk repeatedly over the last 14 months in order to keep us all healthy and safe. Unions representing these workers have been affected by COVID-19. Ontario health care staff have bravely stepped up to provide care during the pandemic at great personal cost. As inflation begins to soar, their incomes are being cut in real terms while police, fire and other male-dominated essential workforces are exempt and in fact some of them had their salaries go up. Speaker, how can this Premier call healthcare workers, heroes, then suppress their wages, refuse them fair pay, full-time care and force many of them to live in poverty? Will the Premier treat these heroes like the heroes they are and repeal bill 124 now? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Of course, we can say that they're heroes because they are heroes, Mr. Speaker, because they have helped lead us through this pandemic. Better than virtually any other place in the world, Mr. Speaker, it is these heroes that have led to over 9.5 million vaccines in people's arms, Mr. Speaker. It is why we are going to make investments, dramatic investments to increase the amount of PSWs by over 27,000. It's why we're adding 2,000 nurses to the system as well, Mr. Speaker. Bill 124 of course ensures that our frontline healthcare workers can see increases as they advance up through the pay scale, Mr. Speaker. We wanted to ensure that, but Mr. Speaker, I guess, unlike the opposition, we know that they're here. That's why we're making important investments in the healthcare sector, Mr. Speaker, so that we can have even more of these heroes working to get us not only through this pandemic, but to give our health maker, our healthcare system the best in the world. The Member for Windsor West, Dr. Meckley. Thank you, Speaker, and I'll remind the government health leader again that it is these workers, these heroes, these women whose wages you have suppressed, trampled on, on their collective bargaining rights. It's these workers you have refused, paid, sick tased, and full-time jobs. It's these workers. So don't pat yourself on the back for what you're doing. Speaker, the government is now offering sinus bonuses of up to $75,000 to Canadian nurses working in the U.S. to get them to relocate to Canada. Here's a news flash for the government side of the House. Canadians have left and continue to leave to work in the U.S. because this government and the liberals before them refuse to provide stable hours, fair pay, permanent, paid, sick days. Nurses have set it for years and they need full-time hours and a fair wage. If the work conditions don't permanently change for nurses, no signing bonus is going to stop them from leaving the field. So instead of looking for short-term solutions, will the Premier agree to thank nurses, show them the respect they need, and repeal bill 124? Government House Leader. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. We're not patting ourselves on the back. What we're doing is getting the work done for our frontline healthcare workers, Mr. Speaker. It is very interesting to hear the opposition. Of course, colleagues, we all know that between 2011 and 2014, the opposition had the opportunity to put an end to what was then a disastrous situation. We're talking about the government. What did they choose to do? They kept them empowered. Did they talk about long-term care? No. Did they talk about transit and transportation? No. Did they talk about subways? No. Did they talk about improving healthcare? No. Did they talk about wages for our PSWs? No. Did they work on hiring new nurses? They accomplished something. They accomplished nothing. It is why the people of the province of Ontario have never but one time given them the opportunity to serve in government, and I dare say they'll never have the opportunity again. The House will come to order. The House will come to order. Leader of the opposition come to order. The Government House Leader come to order. Member for Scarborough-Gilwood is the next question. My question is to the Premier. The Government has done so much for the government. Most of the 20,000 childcare spaces created were from the previous Liberal Government. The current Government has only managed to create 900 spaces in 2019 before pandemic spending became the priority. A key take away from this pandemic is the essential role of childcare and its key role in making economic growth possible. In terms of childcare investments, we will not get women into the province's workforce. In fact, women lag men by 15% in terms of pre-pandemic employment. Speaker, we will not grow out of the pandemic recession if we go back to this Government's 2019 childcare investments. The economy cannot grow if we do not have affordable childcare available. The FAO says we will take this Government until 2027 to create the 9,000 childcare spots that they promised. Will the Premier commit to doing better with $10 a day care as the federal Government has offered? Mr. Speaker, what the FAO confirmed is that 20,800 spaces are on track to be built. We are well on track by 2023-24 to meet our commitment of 30,000. It's why we expended $1 billion over five years to do it. In fact, we are part of that plan if you even look at what happened in the broader market. Last year alone, 16,000 net new spaces were created in the province of Ontario because we've created the conditions for operators to grow. In fact, it's not just about supporting the operators, it's about supporting the parent. The opposition parties had a choice in the last budget to stand with families to support the care tax credit which provides 300,000 parents with up to 75% of eligible expenses. In the recent budget, we topped it up again. Now 90% saving on average per child $1,500. That's going to make an incremental difference. In the context of the Federal Government's $10 a day program, we are working with them to date. The Federal Liberals contributed whopping 3% of the budget. They must do much more and we're going to negotiate in the best interest of families to provide flexibility and affordability that parents deserve. The world has turned to embrace economics and it is leaving outdated models behind. It certainly doesn't sound like this government comprehends the times that we are in. This is the worst economic crisis in the last 100 years and partisanship doesn't apply. Speaker, online learning and lack of childcare leads to reduced labour force participation rates mainly for women. Looking at the numbers, the pandemic and effectively change the childcare debate from we cannot afford to invest in childcare to we cannot afford not to invest in childcare. It is an economic imperative. A $1 investment in childcare yields $1.50 or even $2 in economic return growing our labour force participation increasing our GDP and increasing overall revenues to the province. Child care investments will boost employment improve wages and make our businesses more competitive all while creating better outcomes for our children and our families. So, Speaker, which side of history will this premiere be on? Minister of Education Well, we know where the track record of the Liberal Party is. The legacy is closing 600 schools in the province of Ontario. The most expensive childcare program in Canada and the cost of living rising at a dramatic rate undermining the interests of middle class working families in the province of Ontario that is their legacy. Now ours is one of improving flexibility and affordability, building new schools I am proud that our government has expended literally well over $2 billion to build new schools in this province which is going to be critical for rural, suburban and urban centres in the province. We have supported the creation of 16,000 net new spaces last year alone in childcare and we acknowledge the price and the cost of childcare for working parents a regrettable legacy of the former Liberal government which is why we have introduced a childcare tax credit targeting parents with affordability with $500 per child and we are going to continue to be on the side of working people by making childcare more affordable and building new schools in this province. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Three years ago the Conservative government voted down my bill which would have actually lowered car insurance rates the Conservative government said that they would act on their own to lower rates but guess what? Three years later just like the Liberal government before them every single year the Conservative government has been in power they have allowed billion dollar insurance companies to increase their rates for Ontario drivers despite the fact that over the past year we have been in a pandemic there are far fewer cars on the road than ever before now I want to be very clear car insurance rates only go up when the Conservative government allows them to go up so my question to the Premier is this why is he letting billion dollar car insurance companies to rip off Ontarians and why won't he use his power today to mandate lower car insurance rates for drivers across Ontario Thank you for your reply on behalf of the government the government host leader I have a strange question coming from this member in the NDP now I can appreciate he wasn't elected in 2011 when the NDP held the balance of power in this place and their only requirement to keep the then Liberal government which they agree was a disaster in power was that they do something on auto insurance now in 2011 that auto insurance rate went up did the NDP throw the Liberals out? in 2012 auto insurance went up what did they do? kept them in power 2013 it went up what did they do? they kept them in power because they agreed that all that needed to happen was a stretch goal because that's all that mattered we understand how important it is to make things more affordable for the people the province of Ontario that is why we are working so hard to increase affordability for people bringing taxes down ensuring that we have a vibrant economy on every measure the NDP have voted against that we will continue to work for Ontario taxpayers the supplementary question for Brampton North my question is to the premier as the auto insurance critic I have been working and fighting trying to make sure that this government works with me to lower auto insurance many times in this legislature I talk about how high auto insurance is in Brampton we play some of the highest auto insurance in the entire country I have written to the premier I have written to the minister of finance asking them to help to lower auto insurance and make life more affordable for Ontarians sadly I have heard nothing from this government the government cannot sit back idly and do nothing I have talked to taxi drivers truck drivers and they have also said they can't continue their business because auto insurance rates are too high the premier has said and my member mentioned as well three years ago that they would lower auto insurance but they have not lowered auto insurance insurance rates continue to go through the roof now the member opposite says it's a stretch dream it's a stretch goal to lower auto insurance I want to ask the government when or actually why have they not been able to lower auto insurance for the people of Ontario who they need right now I am glad the member opposite agrees how ridiculous accepting a stretch goal is to reduce auto insurance rates what's even more ridiculous is that member and his party accepted that as a condition of keeping the liberals in power between 2011 and 2014 I am glad that he agrees that that is ridiculous Mr. Speaker it is absolutely ridiculous this is a government that has actually brought down auto insurance rates modestly more work needs to be done but here is the good news we are continuing to make life more affordable for the people of the province of Ontario cutting taxes as the minister of education just talked about making day care more affordable even more great news for the people of Brampton Mr. Speaker because of the hard work of our members in Brampton they are getting a new hospital there there is better transit and transportation go train services there is so much happening for the people of Brampton of the lack of work done by the NDP members our two members in Brampton have done so much for the people of Brampton the future looks good for the people of Brampton but more importantly for all Ontarians because of the hard work that this government is doing the next question the member for Orleans thank you very much Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker the long-term care development program which is administered by Infrastructure Ontario is offering 23 acres of surplus government land for the building of new long-term care facilities in an earnings call it's reported that representatives from Siena said the program I quote would benefit Siena's properties and we have submitted our applications for the program in our view the long-term care development program would make many projects financially feasible end quote the open market period for this program closed on January 27th and four months later Mr. Speaker no winner has been disclosed now according to public disclosures the NPP for Oakville the parliamentary assistant for infrastructure has private holdings in both Siena and Chartwell Mr. Speaker the public has an interest in knowing what if any role the parliamentary assistant is playing in the selection process given his personal financial interest in the for-profit long-term care sector can the Premier assure Ontarians that the parliamentary assistant has had no role in the creation of the program taking part in discussions about the program or been involved in the selection to reply to the government Mr. Speaker first and foremost let me just say this that I know the member for Oakville has proactively reported everything to the integrity commissioners all members should do full stop this member knows that that has been the case but I'll tell you what the member for Oakville has done he has worked very hard to bring increased infrastructure to the people of Oakville after a decade and a half of darkness from the previous liberal government this member of this team who's helped us restore a balance to our fiscal situation in this province to cut taxes Mr. Speaker but this member for Ottawa Vanny in his short period of time here what has he accomplished well let's remember that this is the man who was in charge of building a rapid transit system in Ottawa that didn't work was over budget Mr. Speaker we will take no lessons from this particular member who in his very short time here has focused on what he thinks is working for the people of his riding Mr. Speaker I will stand beside the member for Oakville who has done such tremendous work for his riding Mr. Speaker any day that concludes our question for this morning pursuant to standing order 36a the member for Ottawa south has given notice of his dissatisfaction with the answer to his question given by the minister of education concerning schools this matter will be debated on Tuesday September 14th 2021 Mr. Speaker the member for Ottawa south as a point of order Mr. Speaker I just as it's the end of the session I just think it's really important for us to say thanks to the clerk the sergeant of arms and everyone who works in this assembly for keeping us safe keeping us organized making this house work as well as it has despite the answers from the other side so I just think we need to say thanks it's an opportunity for us to do that right now and I would like to ask for the adults the host for a moment in my first year as Speaker I ended our spring sitting with a special message of thanks to the incredibly talented staff of the assembly and I also acknowledge the hard work of all members on behalf of their constituents last year as we are all well aware the spring sitting ended up a little bit differently with much uncertainty of what the coming months would bring we knew not what was to come we united in our faith in the people of Ontario so we are once again at the conclusion of yet another spring sitting entering what appears to be the final year of this parliament and I once again want to take a moment to express my sincere appreciation to everyone who has worked so diligently to ensure we can meet safely here in the chamber whether working here in the building or remotely the staff of the legislative assembly have continued to uphold the values of integrity inclusiveness, collaboration and excellence in their dedication to serving Ontario's parliament there have been many challenging issues brought before the House in the last year and I want to thank each of you the members for your passion and perseverance in public service if we work together to build a brighter future for all the people of Ontario well we cannot know with certainty what the future may hold it's very encouraging to see the people of Ontario continuing to come together though at a distance to vaccinate it and do their part to help us return to the activities we have missed so much in the last year gathering with family and friends going out to our favourite local restaurants and shops attending concerts and events and yes even going to a leaf skate and with the leafs there's always next year I know that each of us are looking forward to returning to our writings and continuing to work hard on behalf of our constituents through the summer months as we always do and I look forward to what we can accomplish in full knowledge that the resilience, compassion patience, courage and gratitude that have brought us thus far will only multiply as we rebuild our province and together work to make Ontario fairer stronger and more prosperous than ever before keep well, stay safe and take care thank you very much and the Government House Leader on a point of order thank you sir and I do appreciate that and all of the words coming from both sides let me just as well add my voice to a thanks to all of the hard work that the Speaker and the Clerk and his team have done I think that the province of Ontario and the way the legislature has run has really been an example for all legislatures across this country and in fact across North America I think we should all and I know we are all be very very proud of the incredible work that has allowed us to continue to be here I do I do take my job as being a bridge builder very serious Mr. Speaker so I do want to thank the opposition House Leader the Whip and their entire team Speaker they have done a great job Mr. Speaker as has the House Leader for the Liberal Party, the Green Party and even my good friend the member for York Centre who I don't often agree with in fact I probably never agree with Mr. Speaker he has done a decent job on a good job Mr. Speaker I will say this this has been a very challenging and difficult time but I would say that the people of the province of Ontario have seen the best of what Parliament can offer on both sides of the House and the people of the province of Ontario should be very proud if they can be of the members of Provincial Parliament who work on their behalf we've agreed when we've needed to agree but when we have disagreed it has been very passionate and vigorous debate and it has always been done respectfully Mr. Speaker so thank you to all members for doing that and I wonder if I might Mr. Speaker I'm not sure if I overstep my bounds but if I might ask the ushers to join us on the floor so that we can give them thanks for all of the hard work that they have done I know the page program hasn't been done for months but the ushers always behind the scenes doing a tremendous amount of work for us and I wonder if I might ask them to join us on the floor if you would agree sir so that we might also thank them for their hard work. I do hope Speaker that these temporary measures that we have put in place will be over in September and that we can have a full return to all members of the Provincial Parliament and to all members back in the chamber the gallery is full and that we can make these masks a thing of the past in September so have it happy and safe. I think on the same Board of Order Speaker and I appreciate the opportunity and I appreciate all the words have been said and I'm not going to repeat them but I would also like to thank the people that we never see the security people who ask me those six questions every morning the people who disinfect the people my favorite the people in the cafeteria I'm a big fan of the cafeteria but those are the people of Ontario and they're an example of the people we all serve and we don't always agree and I will accept the Government House Leader sometimes he is a bridge builder and sometimes it's a Bailey bridge and sometimes it's one of those moat bridges but but we all have a purpose to serve and I think we all are doing it to the best of our abilities each and every Ontario and it's our job to serve them and I think we're all trying to do our best thank you very much for being our referee and thank you for everyone thank you very much thank you we now have the third vote on the motion for third reading of bill 276 an act to enact in a man various acts the bells will ring for 30 minutes during which time members may cast their votes I'll ask the clerks to please prepare the lobbies