 It is now time for oral questions, and I recognize the leader of Her Majesty's loyal opposition. Finally, Speaker. Speaker, my first question is to the Premier. You know, for weeks the government, the Ford government has dismissed concerns about the impact of the second wave that is having on long-term care. The Ford government seems to not at all be up to the fact that there's a crisis upon us. Last week, the government even compared COVID-19 pandemic the impact of such to last year's flu season. CDV News reports this morning that the government actually excluded long-term care associations in their pandemic planning. And it feels like the government has learned very little from the first wave. With new cases expanding dramatically in long-term care, will the Premier admit that we are in the midst of another crisis, another serious crisis in long-term care? To apply, the Minister of Long-Term Care. Thank you, Speaker, and thank you to the member opposite for the question. First of all, I want to make it clear that our government has worked tirelessly in conjunction with our sector, our various groups, representative groups, to make sure that their voices were heard. And that takes multiple forms. We have been absolutely dedicated to making sure that not only wave two is addressed, but that we shore up decades of neglect for this sector. The long-term care sector has been sadly neglected for years leading up to this. And we're addressing that. Every day we're looking at staffing, capacity, testing, infection prevention and control, PPE. And we're in touch with our homes on a regular basis every day. And to be clear, the numbers really indicate that our homes are doing much, much better. And we have 58 homes that have no resident cases. And we need to take that into consideration. The definition of an outbreak is such that it... Thank you. Thank you very much. Supplementary question. Well, Speaker, the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has been gaining steam for weeks now. For weeks we've been seeing the momentum grow. And the Ford government has been refusing to invest and refusing to listen to the alarm bells that are being sounded by long-term care homes. And they have been refusing to listen to how devastating the results are. Since Friday we've seen 55 new cases in long-term care homes. And once again, residents and workers on the front lines are reporting staff shortages in homes that are scrambling to deal with outbreaks. Why is the Ford government denying this crisis? Mr. Long-Term Care. Thank you, Speaker. And thank you to the member opposite of the question. Not only are we embracing our frontline workers, our long-term care homes to provide them with the support that they need. We are integrating long-term care into the wider healthcare system, coordinating efforts with hospitals, making sure that they have the support, the PPE, the staffing that they need. We are investing, not only planning, but investing $253 million earlier, $540 million just a few weeks ago. A record amount, almost three-quarters of a billion dollars are going out to this sector as we speak. We are repairing, rebuilding and advancing long-term care. And this government has shown over and over again its commitment. A standalone ministry dedicated to repairing what was neglected for many years. $40 million to support homes impacted with the changes in COVID. Sponsor. $30 million to help with IPAC. $61.4 for minor capital repairs. As I said, three-quarters of a billion dollars so far. Thank you. The final supplementary. Well, Speaker, in his testimony to the Long-Term Care Commission, the head of the Ontario Hospital Association noted that he had to send a letter raising concerns about the state in long-term care. And received a callback from the Minister of Long-Term Care, who made quite a startling comment. The minister thanked him for generating momentum for necessary change. So my question is, why was that change being blocked in the first place? Who was blocking it? Was the Premier blocking it? Was the Minister of Treasury blocking it? Who was blocking the need for change in long-term care? Mr. Long-Term Care. Thank you, Speaker. It's clear to all of us the need to generate momentum for long-term care. I think if you haven't recognized that until now, then perhaps you have not been observing what has been going on. We have a situation where the neglect of many decades has been building. And not only is this government looking to address the COVID crisis in our long-term care homes, it's looking to address many years of neglect. And creating a 21st century long-term care system where people can have a place to call home and be treated with respect and dignity. And where staff want to go and work. And this has been ongoing since the beginning of our ministry. We will continue this important work. And I appreciate the support across ministries, across government, particularly in our time of need in long-term care. Your response? I appreciate the work that the Ontario Hospital Association does, and I thank them for their interest. Thank you. Thank you. The next question, once again, the Leader of the Opposition. Thank you, Speaker. My next question is also for the Premier, but I have to say the minister needs to remember that we all know that she went asking for money back in the spring, and she was denied. It was blocked by somebody over there, and the question is who exactly that was has to be answered at some point. But because nurses and doctors and frontline workers have seen this disaster coming for months and months. To quote one doctor, I absolutely am very terrified and worried. In new testimony at the government's long-term care commission ministry of long-term care officials admit that they knew in the summer that the system was going to be short 6,000 PSWs, 6,000. Yet the government failed to implement any recommendations. Not a single recommendation has been implemented from their own staffing report that's been sitting on a shelf since July. With COVID-19, literally, it's a matter of life or death for people in long-term care. Why is the Premier failing to act? Mr. Long-term Care. Thank you, Speaker, and thank you again to the member opposite. We have been acting ever since the beginning, working across ministries with the Ministry of Health on addressing the personal support worker strategy, making sure that we were shoring up our homes. And, you know, you just don't snap your fingers and create people to work in long-term care. We need to do many, many things in order, making it a place where people want to work. And that pipeline, the retention of personal support workers, recruitment of nurses, all of this is being done in conjunction with the ministries working in collaboration with our representative groups in long-term care. This is a process that we need to bring everyone together through and stay focused, and that's exactly what we've been doing. In a crisis I've learned as a doctor, you keep your head, you stay focused, and you will come through. Response? And that's what we've been doing repeatedly, and the money is being spent. Thank you. And a supplementary question. Well, Speaker, I'm glad the minister is coming through because thousands of elderly people did not come through. We're at almost 2,000 people now who have died in long-term care, so I'm glad she's getting through. Talk to the family members of those people who have died in long-term care. Testimony at the government's own long-term care commission also indicates that there are potentially thousands of seniors right this moment in rooms of three or four people, including people who live in facilities that are currently under outbreak. For-profit homes say that they'll be putting up dividers. Dr. Yaffe was pretty clear last week. They should not be having more than two to a room, is what she said. So where's the government's plan? And it's for long-term care. Thank you, Speaker, and I appreciate the question. It is absolutely critical that we take every measure possible and use every tool possible, and that's exactly what we've been doing, working with our hospitals to make sure that we have proper IPAC measures in place and that the homes are reminded and the people are retrained there, making sure that we keep an eye on the data and understand those four bed board rooms play a role. And we've been very clear about that since wave one, and we've acknowledged that. And that's one of the reasons why we have had to be very careful with admissions to long-term care. But it's a complex problem. Every choice that we make in long-term care has the potential to have a repercussion somewhere else. So all of these have to be carefully weighed in a thoughtful way so that we coordinate. And that's exactly what we've been doing. And my response goes out to everyone that's been affected by this, and we will get through this. We will get through this. There is light at the end of this. If we work together, stay focused, and roll at the same time instead of... Thank you. Thank you. The final supplementary. Well, Speaker, the people on the front lines of long-term care, the nurses, the doctors, the PSWs, the family caregivers are scared. They are all scared. They worked relentlessly through that first wave and spent the summer ringing alarm bells about the need to prepare for a second wave. Sadly, the Ford government simply did not listen. They chose to save dollars over saving lives. That's what they chose. They chose to save dollars over saving lives. So will the Premier stop dismissing this crisis in long-term care, this crisis that is currently upon us, and start taking action that is desperately needed to protect seniors and save lives? Minister of Long-Term Care. Thank you, Speaker. And we have all along been taking action in a deliberate, focused way and putting dollars behind that. And I want to thank all my colleagues who have worked with me and the Minister of Health to address this crisis in long-term care. We will stay dedicated. We are putting dollars behind it. Three-quarters of a billion dollars so far. Order. More expert panel information on a comprehensive staffing strategy that is being worked on, and that has rolled out as well. Rapid training programs, looking at return of service for PSWs, and we want to make sure that all our frontline workers are supported. The numbers are indicating that our staff are much more secure in their positions. Our homes are doing well with staffing. There are no issues with staffing collapse in our homes. We are getting PPE to them. We have created certainty for our long-term care homes. And we will keep at it. And we will continue to stay focused. And we will make sure that the dollars flow for the supports that our homes need. And we will be relentless. Thank you. The official opposition will come to order. The next question, the member for Davenport. Good morning, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. This question is for the Premier. Mr. Speaker, with COVID-19 cases surging around the province, the risk of the virus being brought into Ontario schools is getting greater and greater. That includes York Region, which is now in a modified Stage 2 and saw its first school closures last week in King City and Woodbridge. Another 34 schools in York Region alone still have active cases under surveillance. Speaker, on Thursday, the Minister of Education held a press conference in York Region against exactly zero new dollars to enhance our school protections, hire staff, or bolster online learning. Why? Minister of Education. Well, Mr. Speaker, thank you for the question. It was just a few weeks ago that we announced for the Region of York likewise in Peel and Toronto and Ottawa additional investments to counter and respond to the second wave and the flu season. And investment in York Region specifically of an additional $8 million to support additional hiring, hundreds of more educators, more custodians, province-wide, over 2,200 more teachers, over 1,100 more custodians. Speaker, we put every layer of prevention in place to ensure schools remain safe. And Speaker, it should be noted, 90% of schools in this province have no reported cases of 4,800 schools. There are four schools that are closed, of which 99.9% of schools in this province are open. Speaker, I recognize there's more to do, but we should be proud of the work. Our doctors and frontline medical practitioners are nurses as well as our teachers are doing to keep every student safe in the province of Ontario. The supplementary question. Mr. Speaker, the minister knows perfectly well that those dollars he referred to were not new dollars. They were federal dollars that were left unspent by this government. Speaker, the minister has been repeating the same funding numbers to us since the summer. And judging by the calls from panicky parents and exhausted teachers and caretakers who aren't feeling supported, that plan is not scaling up to meet the needs of Second Wave. We have Halton, Eastern Ontario, Hamilton, Durham, all on the verge of joining York Region as higher risk COVID hotspots. Why is the premier waiting for the situation to get worse? Why not act now to ensure that schools in these regions have everything they need to remain safely open and to ensure that the online learning needs meet the needs of the students too? Speaker, will the premier release the remaining 15 million in federal funds to support these regions and top it up with some actual new dollars today? Minister of Education. Well, Speaker, what this government announced on Thursday was that for the first time in over a decade we are restoring a meritocracy in the hiring and promotion of new educators in the province of Ontario. After a decade under the former government of advancing seniority over merit, we are ensuring that qualification and young teacher mobility triumphs. It is an important issue that has been supported by the Ontario Principles Council. Supported by the Ontario Public School Board Association. Supported by parents association of course, opposed by the opposition. But, Speaker, what parents expect during this pandemic is safety and quality. We are ensuring both. And that's why we've ensured a historic investment of $1.3 billion. We lead the nation in contribution to the development of Ontario's best teachers at the front of their class. It's about doing every year we can to ensure that parents and students have the very best teacher at the front of their class. The next question, the member for Mississauga Lakeshore. Premier, Ontario is the home to the largest life science cluster in the entire country. We are titans of research and development. We are leading the way in the COVID-19 treatment and vaccine. Rush, Canada has also been a leader in its own right. This company has been at the forefront of development rapid testing kits. This is absolutely critical in the fight against COVID-19. And all of our important work is happening here, right here in Ontario, right here in Mississauga. Speaker, can the Premier please share with many my constituents and all Ontarians about the government's continuing partnership, the leading life science and the development of the community. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you so much to the great member from Mississauga Lakeshore for the great, great question. I also want to give a shout out to my all-star member from Mississauga Streetsville, and she was instrumental in making this happen, Mr. Speaker. Thank you so much for the contribution throughout the world. There's 12 different countries that we're vying for this great facility, and guess who won, Mr. Speaker? We won. Ontario won. The people won. Life Sciences won. There's going to be 500 people, local people. They won as well, because they're being hired for good paying jobs. This is what this government has done. We've created the environment for companies to thrive in. I want to give a shout out to the CEO, Ronnie Miller, for doing a great job and having confidence in our great government. Thank you. And the supplementary question. My supplementary question is for the Minister of Economic Development. Minister, out of all these sites around the world from their operations in Canada, Europe and the U.S., Raj picked us. Raj picked Ontario for their expansion to occur. Last Friday's announcement sends a clear signal. We're going to continue to innovate, grow and thrive. Since taking office, our government has been focused on listening to our partners and to find new and innovative solutions to any challenges our province faces. Working with our partners, we have taken a comprehensive and pragmatic approach to modernize the healthcare system so it is organized around and needs the patients and better health outcomes. And we have continued to support innovation while also making it easier to do business and create jobs. Can the Minister please share about this positive impact this announcement will have on the economy and our government helping to strengthen the advanced manufacturing and healthcare system sector? Questions to the Minister of Economic Development, job creation and trade. Thank you Speaker. There was also great news that now 17,000 more people work in manufacturing today than did pre-COVID. That's the confidence in the manufacturing sector in Ontario. Raj's announcement is not only an important boost to our economy but it demonstrates that businesses recognize Ontario as a willing partner with an environment that will support the business community. We're proud of the environment that encourages greater investment in the life sciences sector and we appreciate Raj's milestone contribution to these efforts. Not only is it going to create jobs for families here and now but it's also going to position us for many future opportunities. It's going to make us even more competitive in the life sciences sector. We're so proud that Raj chose Ontario for this significant $500 million in the future. Thank you. Thank you. My question is to the premier. Testing is an integral part of any plan to contain and end this pandemic. Yet the province has failed to scale up testing for COVID-19 to ensure that Ontarians are getting the testing that is required. Ontarians are having trouble accessing COVID testing having to call multiple pharmacies to try to get an appointment to quote one physician I feel like the pharmacy plan was kind of like chewing gum stuck on the side of something oh let's just add this on end of quote. Why did the government fail to listen to physician and medical experts when they rolled out this failing testing scheme? Premier? Mr. Speaker I'm not too sure what province the member is talking about but I'm sure the heck not Ontario I can tell you that. We're leading the country more than all the provinces combined. We're well over 4.5 million. I hear actually it's 4.7 million very close to that number breaking records all across the country and I just have to point out Ontario has one of the lowest active rates of COVID cases in the country. You imagine that we're in our country per 100,000 Ontario has 41 compared to our friends in Quebec and I love the people in Quebec 104. Manitoba 122. Alberta 65 and from my great friend Premier Legault and he is my great friend he his quote was what I'm telling you is that all big cities and then all states in North America east all have a situation comparable there's one exception and that's Ontario. That was over the age. Thank you Speaker. Physicians are raising the alarm bells that the lack of test and their additional cost to the healthcare system is leading to chaos. Today it's reported that the pharmacy test cost $4 more than a test completed in the public assessment centre. The province has already spent thousands of dollars that could have been better spent in the public healthcare system. The Ontario Medical Association says physicians would have welcomed the opportunity to help test patient but they say that the province did not consult with them. Why did the province not consult with Ontario physician about COVID testing in medical clinics before shifting the testing to pharmacies? Dan, the premier. For you Mr. Speaker, they just amaze me every single day when I come down here all of a sudden they become a born again fiscal conservative which is good. They're looking fiscally for the first time ever since I've been down here but to carry on with Premier Legault's comment another quote from a great premier there's like an exception it is Toronto which has much less deaths than other big cities of anywhere in America's northeast. Not so far found an expert who is able to give me the recipe for Toronto and from Ontario but we're looking forward to it so Premier Legault I'll give you the recipe and obviously we want them to continue to go as well in Ontario. That says everything. Thank you. The next question, the member for Orlean. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Health. Mr. Speaker that's according to the social media campaign of the front bench getting their flu shots last week. Unfortunately regular Ontarians aren't being that lucky Mr. Speaker. Doctors' offices and pharmacies are not receiving the doses that they've requested. Some doctors' offices are receiving 20% of the doses they would normally get this time of year. People are arriving to their pharmacies reading signs come back later we're out of the flu shot sorry you're out of luck there's been no priority given to children no priority given to seniors and no priority given to people with serious health conditions that are the most vulnerable why hasn't the government prioritized the most vulnerable members of our community for the flu shot this year? Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. Thank you very much and I welcome the opportunity to set the record straight with respect to the flu shot in Ontario first of all we started to receive the shipments at the end of September they were prioritized to people in long-term care in retirement homes and in hospitals to make sure that people got the shots that they needed to have. Secondly the shots are coming in regularly from global manufacturers on the schedules that they were supposed to be coming and while it's unfortunate that people are having to wait the good news is that people are getting the message that this is a fundamental principle of our fall preparedness plan and they are going out to get the flu shots are coming in both to primary care clinics as well as to pharmacies and my advice to people at this point is to call ahead make an appointment you will be able to get your flu shot every Ontarian that wants a flu shot will get one we've ordered 5.1 million doses the supplementary question thank you Mr. Speaker my supplementaries for the Minister well we heard that every Ontarian who wanted a COVID test could get a COVID test Mr. Speaker the flu shot takes place every single year the government should have distributing the flu shot down to a science doctors offices and pharmacies are reporting shortages and long lineups 3 weeks to book an appointment 3 weeks to book an appointment for a senior with a serious health condition to get their flu shot at local pharmacies in Orleans Mr. Speaker residents are arriving to the local pharmacy to be denied service one pharmacy in Orleans received 20 doses that's barely enough to vaccinate their staff let alone offer it to the public the minister pointed out that the flu vaccine is the centerpiece of their second wave plan the Premier said that his plan was working why are Ontarians having such a hard time getting access to their flu shot this year Minister of Health thank you there is no shortages of flu shots they are coming in in regular basis we receive as we ordered them and I would like to say to the member through you Mr. Speaker that you're right we had to order the flu shots last year just after the last flu campaign ended we ordered them we made sure that they were going to be in order we have no shortages of shipments we are receiving them from global manufacturers so while there may be time to times pharmacies may run out for a short period of time they are receiving shipments on a regular basis we ordered 700,000 more shots this year than last year and so everyone who needs a flu shot will get a flu shot just as everyone who needs a COVID test will get a COVID test a lot of clock to run I have no choice I feel but to start calling you to order individually if you continue to persist in interjecting when you don't have the floor it's not only outside of the standing orders it's very rude the next question the member for Kitchener-Conestado well thank you Mr. Speaker my question is for the government house leader before the election of 2018 and after more than a decade of liberal and NDP policies that increase taxes, increase red tape and increased unnecessary regulation our small and medium and large job creators were struggling it is becoming increasingly evident that the opposition does not believe in our job creators Mr. Speaker that they prefer red tape to tax cuts and over regulation to sound policy can the government house leader commit that this government will continue to support small business will continue to cut red tape will continue to reduce taxes for those who gave all they have to build a stronger Ontario a member for Waterloo will come to work government house leader let me say very directly to the member for Kitchener-Conestoga yes we will commit to continue to cut taxes yes we will commit to continue to eliminate red tape yes we will commit to proper regulation but not over regulation Mr. Speaker it is very clear and the member has hit the nail on the head we cannot rely on the NDP or the Liberals after 15 years of failed policies that drove business and investment away from this province Mr. Speaker 2018 we started to see a change in ideology which brought jobs investments which brought record growth Mr. Speaker we will do everything in our power to make sure that the failed ideology of the Liberals and the NDP never makes it back to this place and that the member's right of Kitchener-Conestoga remains one of the best places in this province to live, work and invest and to raise a family I think a supplementary question well thank you very much Mr. Speaker and minister while that is good news it is obvious that Ontario job creators cannot rely on the opposition to be partners in helping to build a stronger economy the Liberals spent more than a decade taxing and spending leaving our provincial economy in a mess Mr. Speaker the NDP who supported the Liberals every step of the way now have an opportunity to break from the Liberals and turn the page on their job killing past by supporting the Main Street Recovery Act in this House can the minister assure me that he will do all that he can to help the NDP turn their backs on their job killing past to secure their support for the Main Street Recovery Act the member for Ottawa South will come to order the member for Scarborough Guildwood will come to order the the associate minister of energy will come to order the government house leader will reply Mr. Speaker the member for Kitchener-Conestoga is 100% right in asking me to bet that the NDP vote in favor of the Main Street Recovery Act we know that we're lost the Liberals are lost they will never support anything that cuts red tape they will never support anything that puts more money back into the hard work in people the province of Ontario but the NDP have an opportunity and the Liberals laugh because they know that they left this province a mess over a decade and a half of liberal policies left this province in an absolute mess business and opportunity we're fleeing this province in record numbers the work of this premier and this minister of economic development have highlighted just today the investment from Roche of over $500 million and hundreds of jobs Mr. Speaker yes we will continue to do all we can and I hope the NDP do the right thing vote in favor of the small businesses across the Main Street that you talk about you have the opportunity do the right thing and vote for the Liberals once again the member for Ottawa South will come to order the member for Scarborough Guildwood will come to order the member for Hamilton Mountain will come to order the next question the member for Ottawa Centre my questions for the premier Speaker personal support workers have been speaking out about living conditions and long-term care and that work has saved lives in this pandemic but instead of receiving praise for their actions they risk being punished by their employers advocates warn that as a culture of secrecy at many long-term care institutions particularly for profit institutions and they fear of being silenced or losing their jobs Ontario's patient ombudsman is calling for expanded whistleblower protection right into this government the PSW's who spoke out likely save lives encourage the actions of our armed forces and that should be commended. Speaker will the premier strengthen whistleblower protection for frontline healthcare workers who speak out of what they've witnessed yes or no please respond Mr. Long-Tran care thank you Speaker and thank you to the member opposite for the question again my thanks goes out to all the frontline workers personal support workers nurses pharmacists medical directors everyone who has been so courageous during the first wave and who can continue to bring their dedication and compassion to our long-term care home supporting our residents so that's the the very most important thing is the people and when we look at the long-term care situation with whistleblower protection the long-term care homes has that we have added extra layers there is a protection through a phone line that family members can call residents can call personal support workers can call we're making sure that we're hearing and working with the Ontario personal support workers association and continuing to develop measures so that we can have the very best care for our residents in long-term care and supporting our personal support workers thank you a supplementary question Speaker unfortunately for PSW is watching at home the answer was no this government is not going to guarantee that you have whistleblower protection so please keep the pressure on because we need to make sure that the people who are calling out the awful scenes in our long-term care facilities have this legislature support one anonymous PSW wrote to the Ottawa citizen stating this speaker one after another of the residents started dying I was scared to come back after a few days off not knowing how many people would be left it's not right it's so short-staffed and the bodies of people I cared for are piling up please do something to save the workers and the residents who have survived so far speaker the least this government could do the least they could do is honour the courage of PSWs like this so they have real protection minister not phony protection the kind of protection on this person is asking this government to implement steer clear question minister yes or no are you going to protect their free speech are you going to let them be run over by for-profit companies tied to your government remind all members to make their comments through the chair Mr. Long-Term Care to apply thank you speaker and thank you for the question our personal support workers again are the backbone of our long-term care system and there already is whistleblower protection but I believe in continuous improvement and we are looking at more ways that we can support our personal support workers we've looked at the $3 per hour increase for our personal support workers in Long-Term Care making sure that it's a place where they want to come and work we're looking at a staffing strategy and we'll have that by the end of December this has been informed through an expert panel we're looking at making sure that we have a measure of leadership and good governance in our Long-Term Care homes there are many layers to this to instill a sense of pride for our personal support workers and I am very proud of the efforts that I have made our ministries made our government has made in working with the associations that represent Long-Term Care and the personal support worker association of Ontario and I can tell you that we have a good working relationship and we will continue to build on this in the future thank you very much the next question the member for Scarborough Guildwood thank you speaker my question is to the premier thousands of Ontarians who require care live in homes that are supportive and congregate care settings such as St Vincent the society for St Vincent DePaul in my riding of Scarborough Guildwood residents in group homes are some of the most vulnerable people in hospitals and Long-Term Care there's no publicly available data about the status of COVID-19 in these settings and they lack the same transparency and oversight necessary to keep residents and staff safe to protect residents and staff in group homes and prevent a repeat of the outbreak and deaths that we saw at participation house in Markham last spring and I know premier you were aware of that situation will you commit to daily data updates and reporting on COVID-19 cases in congregate settings similar to Long-Term Care schools and child care centers thank you government house leader will reply thank you very much I thank the honourable member for the question look first and foremost let me just say as the member noted participation house of course is in my riding and they do phenomenal work and have continued to do phenomenal work through the pandemic and today Mr. Speaker I just wanted to quickly address one thing during the pandemic there was a number of misinformation that was going on about the workers at the participation house and I thank the member for giving me the opportunity to say this those workers worked tirelessly to care for the people in participation house and that has never stopped despite the misinformation that was out there with respect to congregate care settings I know that the minister of youth and community services has been working very hard working with stakeholders to make sure that our homes are protected to make sure that they have the necessary response to make sure that in the participation houses instance they are continuing to work with Mark I'm still the hospital to make sure that the residents received the best care possible thank you supplementary question thank you speaker back to the premier I choose to believe the workers and the staff who are repeatedly reaching out to my office for support so there is something that is missing and providing transparency in the data is a first step speaker this government has treated our most vulnerable residents appallingly throughout this pandemic including those with disabilities who rely on ODSP for so many on ODSP the income support is not enough to pay rent and to put food on the table and we know this because we know that food bank usage is soaring in Ontario including in my riding of Scarborough Guildwood the federal government has recognized this they have provided a one-time $600 payment to those receiving disability tax credits to offset those costs what is the government of Ontario doing other than a haphazard approach where you actually have to get permission from your case worker for benefits that have now come to an end so my question is the pandemic is not over the second wave is just beginning thank you the associate minister for children and women's issues thank you Mr. Speaker last several months the COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on all of our communities and I am pleased to share that more than 250,000 recipients and families received the emergency benefit that we introduced back in March as a temporary measure to help individuals who may have faced additional costs during the pandemic. I am pleased to share with you that the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to have access to the government's discretionary benefits program to assist with one-time exceptional needs. Our government is working to build a more responsive, efficient and person-centered social assistance system that will get people back to work and help the economy recover from COVID-19. Just recently minister Smith announced that the government is working to build a more responsive and person-centered social assistance system to assist with one-time exceptional needs. I am pleased to share with you that the COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on all of our communities. I am pleased to share with you that the COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on all of our communities. I am pleased to share with you that the popular supportSilver cruisingGRX could take place. Only the NDP would make it even more difficult to undertake a central construction projects, keep people employed during an unprecedented global pandemic. Will the government commit to rejecting this irresponsible NDP proposal. Thank you very much. I want to thank the members for clear. As a member for Kitchener Conestoga rightfully pointed out, the NDP are about killing jobs and opportunity and investment. So let me say to the member for Carlton very clearly, we will do everything in our power to reject this job-killing proposal by the NDP, Mr Speaker. This Premier made it very clear at the start of this pandemic that essential construction will continue. Our small, medium and large job creators across this province said they needed our help. They didn't need obstacles to grow. The Minister of Labour has been doing everything in his power to make sure that workers are safe, Mr Speaker. So I say very clearly to the NDP, reject this motion and focus on building Ontario, vote in favour of the main street jobs and recovery act, Mr Speaker, because it's the right thing for small businesses, it's the right thing for the province of Ontario, not killing jobs, not closing down construction. Thank you, Mr Speaker. And through you, Mr Speaker, when will we see, what will we see from the NDP next? That's my biggest concern. The NDP call on the government to open schools and then they call on the government to close schools. They want us to spend without a plan and listen to them instead of the experts. Now, Mr Speaker, they want to stop people from working when they need it most and when the economy needs it most. Will this government commit to supporting workers, businesses and essential construction projects? Yes or no? Yes, Mr Speaker, we will. We will continue to do everything in our power to make sure that this economy and this province moves forward. We saw what the policies of the NDP, what would happen if we follow the policies of the NDP. In fact, we had it for 15 years under the Liberal Party, Mr Speaker. Under the Liberal Party, job killing taxes was the order of the day. Under the Liberal Party, they increased red tape. Under the Liberal Party, they increased regulation. And, Mr Speaker, what happened? They left us the most indebted sub-sovereign government in the world. And they had an opportunity to go in a different direction. They chose to put a leader in place who decides to ignore all the rules, Mr Speaker. It might be a small thing to build a pool in your backyard. But it is indicative of what the Liberals do, Mr Speaker. It's one set of rules for them, another set of rules for the people of the province of Ontario. What we will continue to do is work for all of the people of the province of Ontario, creating jobs, creating opportunity, creating investment, because that's what the people of the province of Ontario want. The next question is for Niagara Falls. Thank you, Mr Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Workers in Ontario have the right to know their workplace is safe. Yet this conservative government will not disclose when or where COVID outbreaks happen in workplaces. This means that there's a workplace outbreak. Workers and the public won't know. It not only puts their health and safety at risk, it increases the risk of community spread. It removes a critical piece of information we need to find COVID hotspots and stop the spread. Nowhere was it more clear than with outbreaks and deaths on farms, in meatpacking plants, and long-term care. My question is to the Premier. Will your government be fully transparent and tell Ontarians which workplaces have outbreaks? Mr. Labour? Well, thank you very much. And I thank the member opposite for that question, Mr Speaker. We have worked every single day to protect the health and safety of every worker in this province. We've spared no expense to protect families and the public and workers in every workplace and on every job site in this province. In fact, we've increased the number of inspectors going out. I'm proud to say that as of today we've done about 24,000 investigations related to COVID-19. We've also doubled our phone line capacity. If any worker out there is afraid for his or her health, they can call the Ministry of Labor Training and Skills Development, and we will investigate every call that comes in. But Mr. Speaker, we also made a historic announcement just two weeks ago. The Premier and I announced that we're going to be hiring nearly 100 new inspectors to continue communicating health and safety guidelines to employers and to continue enforcing the Occupational Health and Safety Act. Mr. Supplementary Question. That response had nothing to do with the question, but I will say to the Minister, if there's an outbreak at Queen's Park, we're all told, why are we any different than any other worker in the province of Ontario? Mr. Speaker, again to the Premier, reporting COVID outbreaks is critical to making companies accountable and stop community spread of the virus. When we look at long-term care, home care, employers with the highest volume of compensation claims, all but four of them are private for-profit homes that were short-changing our seniors and putting their lives at risk just to increase their profits. Workers are going into these homes without knowing if they are infected people in their workplace. They don't know if there's a potential to be exposed. Transparency saves lives. I'm going to repeat that, Mr. Speaker. Question. Transparency saves lives. Premier, when will your Conservative Government give the people of this province full and transparent disclosure about which workplace have ongoing outbreaks and past outbreaks? Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the employers of this province. The overwhelming majority of them stepped up during this pandemic to work with their workers in their workplaces to protect everyone. Mr. Speaker, I think back to the very beginning of the pandemic. The very first health and safety guidance document that we put out was for construction. While the opposition wanted to shut down construction and put 550,000 people out of work, we worked with the largest labour leaders in this province, representing hundreds of thousands of workers to keep everyone working safely. That's a record I'm proud of. And, Mr. Speaker, we have spared no expense to protect the health and safety of every worker. Just in the next number of months, we're going to have 507 inspectors on the ground. That's the largest amount of inspectors in the history of this province to communicate guidelines to work with businesses. But, Mr. Speaker, the most important thing is to protect the health and safety of everyone. Thank you. A member for Cambridge. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Health. The rhetoric of this government in handling COVID-19 is alarming and sinister. Months ago, this government could have taken decisive action. They could have pushed the Prime Minister to shut the borders immediately. Instead, they dithered, choosing instead to campaign and pal around with the Prime Minister while putting in place ever-changing half-measures and intermittent lockdowns without the data to back up their decisions. They blew it. And now they blame and threaten the people of Ontario. On October 9th, the Minister's press release stated that regional lockdowns were necessary to, and I quote, avoid the need for harsher measures in the future. Four days ago, the Premier said he was ready to, and I quote, put down the hammer on Ontarians. Will the Minister please tell us what other hammer-like measures this government has in store for the people of Ontario? Thank you. Minister of Health to reply. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Well, there's a lot to deal with in this question, but what I can tell you is that we have taken every step that we've needed to take throughout this pandemic. We've never faced anything like this in Ontario before, and we've taken measures as we saw the rise and wave one. We took the measures that we needed to take, and we were able to get the numbers down under control to below 100 for several weeks in August. The number of cases have continued to rise, and we are taking an appropriate look at how we need to deal with it, with bringing modified Stage 2 levels to Ottawa, Peel, Toronto and now York Region. We don't want to lock down the entire province. Nobody wants that. People need to earn their livelihood. We are taking the steps necessary to make sure that we can protect the public and make sure that we can also protect the economy. Those are steps that need to be taken. We are taking very careful measures based on opinions, recommendations, advice that has been given to us by many experts. Thank you. Supplementary question. Thank you, Mr Speaker. Case data from the past week shows the intermittent regional lockdowns have no correlation to an increase or decrease of COVID cases by region. If it worked, for the last week, we should have seen the regions where lockdowns were not imposed, making up for growing increase in the share of total cases. Over the last week, Peel saw its share of total cases increase from 16% on October 9th to 23% on October 18th, and Ottawa saw its share of total cases stay the same. During the same week, the total COVID cases from the areas not included in the three lockdown regions decreased from 327 to 212. Will the Minister finally admit that these measures, shutting down businesses, are not controlling any increase or decrease in cases? And will this government finally end these intermittent lockdown measures? Speaker, first of all, through you, Mr Speaker, I need to remind the member that the numbers that you see today don't necessarily reflect the actions that we took only several days ago. It is during a period of incubation that we have to receive these numbers, that they are increasing in these locations. And the measures that we bring forward based on the advice we receive from the Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr Williams, from the public health measures table, from the other tables that are involved, including the mental health table, that gives us advice. Tell us that we need to first of all look at the number of cases in an area. We also have to look at the public health response, the ability of public health to respond, the ability of our health system to respond in terms of hospitalizations and places of care for people in long-term care hospitals and retirement homes. And then we have to look at the community transmission. We are looking at all of those issues as we make these decisions. And we want to make sure we take a measured, careful approach that protects the health and safety of the people of Ontario first. Thank you. The next question, Member for University of Roseville. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Jesse Ketchum Public School has won a 485 schools in Ontario with positive cases of COVID-19. Teachers have been waiting up to 10 days to get back their test results, 10 days. With the supply teachers covering the shortage of virtual teachers, it has been impossible to replace teachers self-isolating and waiting days for their results. In addition, in the case of Jesse Ketchum, Jesse Ketchum just lost two more teachers last week due to the shuffling at the TDSB. So with cases of COVID-19 on the rise and more and more schools being disrupted because of outbreaks, testing delays are making it even more difficult to manage the outbreak and find teachers to teach our kids. Without a good testing system, we cannot keep teachers in the classroom, kids in schools and parents at work. Speaker, when will this government fix our testing system so no one is left unnecessarily waiting? Minister of Health. Well, we certainly agree that testing is absolutely important to protect the health and safety of all Ontarians, including our children. And that is why we have developed a very robust testing strategy. We started out only being able to do about 3,000 tests per day through Public Health Ontario. Since that time, we've created a network of over 40 participants with helping with the lab capacity. But we've also expanded to over 150 assessment centres. We've expanded into pharmacies for people who are asymptomatic that need to have testing. And we have tested over 4.5 million Ontarians. We have the most robust testing strategy in the entire country. We're testing twice as many as all of the other provinces and territories combined. So we do have testing capacity. We are increasing our tests, but also the timelines we're reducing for people to receive their test results. Most of our Public Health units have their test results back within 24 hours, over 90% of them. Thank you. What I'm hearing on the ground is that teachers are waiting 10 days for a test. That's a long time. That is too long. Back to the Premier. Peter is a grade 7-8 teacher at Jesse Ketchum. Peter's class has had two cases of COVID-19 and he and his class are now self-isolating. Because of a lack of replacement teachers, Peter has lost his prep time and he was given zero time to prepare for the immediate switch to online teaching. In his 27 years of teaching, Peter told me that he has never felt so run down or worked so hard, and we are only in October. The Ontario College of Teachers warned us in September about the shortage of certified teachers across the province. They warned us. And now schools have been forced to cancel classes because they are unable to replace staff who are required to be in self-isolation. Speaker, why did the government's back-to-school plan ignore calls to hire more teachers to prepare for this very situation? Thank you, Speaker. It was this government that put in place funding to hire over 2,000 net new teachers. But, Speaker, some weeks ago we wrote the Ontario Teachers Federation. We called on our teacher unions to waive the 50-day rule, which precludes retirees from re-entering schools beyond 50 days. We need them to do so, and the unions have responded respectfully saying, quote, there is no evidence of a shortage of teachers, which is ironic given the member's question and perhaps her ideological affinity for labour in this province. But the point, Speaker, is that we know every school board, every responsible and objective leader knows that there is a shortage, which is the basis for why we are asking them to rescind the rule. Days ago we announced a plan to rescind Regulation 274 Wilts to allow principals to move swiftly and quickly to hire the right teacher for the job. We need all members of this House to stand with the government, stand with parents to get the teachers our kids deserve. The next question, the member for Glen Gary, Prescott Russell. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Long-Term Care. Last week, the Prescott Russell residents, a long-term care residence in my riding in Hawkesbury, was reporting 35 active cases, 35 cases, Mr. Speaker, for context. This is a residence of 125 seniors. And we've just learned that over the weekend there was the first death associated with this outbreak. The residence has been in full isolation since last week, creating anxiety, chaos, stress and very real and understandable disappointment. Disappointment as long-term care homes across the province are yet again forced to scramble to manage outbreaks, a situation that was foreseeable, manageable and avoidable if only the government had prepared. And now with CTV reporting today that long-term care associations were left out of the planning discussions, unbelievable. How could the Minister and this government fail, not once but twice, to protect the most vulnerable people in our society, our seniors that depend on us? Mr. Long-Term Care. Thank you, Speaker. And thank you to the member opposite for the question. I want to reassure the member opposite that Prescott Russell is receiving the support that it needs and that we are monitoring and closely monitoring every day, making sure that we understand what their staffing situation is, what their PPE situation is. And this is a home that the Red Cross has been activated for as well as paramedics, as well as the local hospital, Hawkesbury General Hospital. So Prescott Russell is being supported. And unfortunately, there are homes where there are still significant numbers in outbreak like this. But I want to reassure Ontarians and the staff that are in the other, the 96% of Ontario long-term care homes that are not in outbreak, that we are doing everything to make sure that they have the support that they need. And we're putting dollars behind that. And our hearts are with them and we'll continue to do everything possible. Thank you. And the supplementary question. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Minister for that answer. Again, to the Minister and the Premier. This summer, when the Premier was asked why he was nominating all of his candidates so early before the scheduled election, which is almost two years away, he replied, we just want to be ready. The Premier was all about getting ready for the next election, but clearly wasn't getting ready for a second wave. He said this wave was a big surprise when we knew very well from experts everywhere that the second wave was coming and it was going to come at us hard. People are getting sick, businesses are hurting, families are separated, the consequences are serious, Mr. Speaker. Why did the Premier spend the summer doing a premature victory lap campaigning across the province for reelection instead of preparing for the second wave and protecting Ontarians from its health and economic consequences? Thank you, Speaker. And thank you for the question. I reject the premise of that question. There is no doubt that continuous work has been done working across ministries, working across the sector, outreach, listening, acknowledging the issues and understanding that there have been lessons learned from the first wave. Science was evolving. Our medical experts are advising. We're taking that advice. This has been ongoing. The planning never stopped. We were left with neglect from decades. Previous government neglect for decades. On top of that, a COVID crisis and on top of that, planning for future waves of our elderly. We continue to do that relentlessly. We will continue to do it with focus and determination and I will make sure that our long-term homes receive the help that they need and my heart goes out to everyone that's experienced loss or pain from COVID-19. Thank you. My question is for the acting Premier. My community is located in Toronto's northwest end and like the Premier's own riding has been one of the hardest hit by this pandemic. Because of this, many parents are choosing to keep their children at home and in effect, some are now being punished for this decision. Jennifer, a mother in my riding is still waiting for her son in grade two to start virtual learning. The probability of a second wave of COVID-19 this fall was widely predicted as early as the outset of this pandemic, meaning there has been plenty of time to prepare for the school year. But yeah, here we are today, a month and a half into the school year and so many children across this province are still waiting for the education from home as promised. Speaker, in fact, they've been touting online education for over a year and a half, but in their moment to shine, they forgot to turn on the light. With so much time to plan ahead, why are many parents across this province still waiting for virtual education to begin for their children and how much longer will they have to wait? Mr. Speaker, at the beginning of this pandemic, we undertook a plan to provide online learning as an option for parents. When we did so then, as we stand today in this legislature, we do not have the support of all parties in the context of developing this program nor do they support at the time. But, Speaker, notwithstanding their opposition then and now, our government continues to be committed to building up a program which we developed in real time over the past months, working in partnership with our educators by hiring virtual principals, by expanding internet access to every school, by procuring tens of thousands of more devices, and yes, by giving the funding to the school boards to hire virtual teachers, we are doing everything we can, recognizing, Speaker, that as parents make decisions based on public health risk, that they may make movements and mobility between the in-class, the online. We're going to give them that choice, we're going to respect the choice, but we're also going to give our school boards every resource and every opportunity to do the difficult work that they're undertaking to ensure quality education for their children. Thank you. That concludes Question and Period for this morning.