 It's now time for oral questions. I recognize the Leader for Majesty's Loyal Opposition. Thanks very much. Thanks very much, Speaker. Speaker, I'm going to ask my first question this morning to the Minister of Long-Term Care, and I'm going to start by quoting directly from the Commission report. Twenty-six residents died due to dehydration prior to the arrival of the Canadian Armed Forces team due to the lack of staff to care for them. They died when all they needed was water and a wipe down. Yesterday, this Minister repeatedly refused to answer a basic question. When did this Minister, responsible for long-term care, know that seniors in long-term care were dying from neglect and dehydration? Minister of Long-Term Care. Thank you, Speaker. Any loss of life in these circumstances during this pandemic has been tragic, and the reason we called in the military, the Canadian Armed Forces, was because all the measures that had been taken were not sufficient to address the growing demand, and that is why they were called upon. We know that the staffing collapse in these homes from multiple reasons is what necessitated calling in the military. It still took time to get them into the home, and COVID was a very rapid threat. So I've said before that I am committed to making sure that long-term care is a better place to live, a better place to work. These lives lost cannot be in vain. We will improve these conditions, and that is currently what we're doing. With the staffing, the new capacity, the IPAC measures, we are working to make sure that these lives were not lost. Thank you very much. Supplementary question. Well, Speaker, the Minister is still not responding to the question. The Minister of Health hasn't responded to questions. Nobody on that side of the House is taking any responsibility. They're not being accountable for what happened to long-term care with COVID-19. In fact, it's clear that government ministers knew exactly what was going on in long-term care. In fact, the CEO of the RN AO, Doris Grinspen, gave a testimony to the Commission that says the Minister of Treasury, Board and Finance was calling her to try to get help for Orchard Villa, and I quote from the Commission's report from Doris's testimony. So I got the phone call at about 11 o'clock p.m. one day, and in that phone call was the Minister telling me, can I help with Orchard Villa before things were public? That it was a disaster what had happened with the residents. Speaker, did this member, did this Minister of Long-Term Care, receive the same kind of panicked calls from the Minister of Finance with the same kind of information and the same kind of request for help? Thank you, Speaker. I have said time and time again that I take responsibility for this. For the well-being of the residents, for the staff and for the families. And in fact, that is why I came to politics in the first place, out of concern for the issues surrounding the neglect of long-term care. Having witnessed it personally with my family members, I know how hard it is on families. Having witnessed it as a physician for almost 30 years. And so there is no doubt that I have a sense of responsibility for this. And I have said it, repeatedly. I do not know why this does not seem to register with the member opposite, the leader of the opposition. She does not seem to want to acknowledge that for some reason. We are taking responsibility for a broken system. And COVID moved so fast. We heard this time and time again, you know, a home would be fine at the beginning of the week. And within days, it was a war zone. I have said that repeatedly. So speed was of the essence to work with our medical officers of health, the chief medical officer of health, Ontario health, the acute care sector to bring to bear on these homes the support that they needed. And we can... Thank you. Final supplementary. Here, what is clear is the ministers in this government were protecting each other and worried about things going public instead of protecting seniors and worrying about them. In fact, on March 30th, 2020, this minister stood with the premier and claimed that there was going to be an iron ring put around long-term care, which we all know never happened. On March 31st, the next day, the minister's own staff were pleading for more PPE in long-term care. And then, of course, in early April, a few days later, the minister of finance is begging the RNAO to send nurses into Orchard Villa pleading for help. I asked this minister one more time, Speaker. When did she know that seniors in long-term care homes in Ontario were dying of neglect and dehydration? Minister of long-term care. Thank you, Speaker. I've told the member opposite repeatedly that the reason we called in the military was because the speed with which COVID moved in some homes made the homes into a war zone. It happened very quickly. The premise of your question is bordering on obscene. And the reason why is because all of the ministry, public health, medical officers of health, thousands of people have been working to shore up these homes. And they were no match for COVID-19. And so to impugn, to impugn that there was any attempt in terms of what you have just said is inaccurate, is not based on any fact, it is unfounded. What we were doing 24 hours a day was trying to get support to those homes with an unknown virus that wasn't fully understood with a shortage of supplies globally. We were taking every measure and working collaboratively with all the partners to solve this problem. And I reject the... Thank you. The next question. Again, the leader of the opposition. It's also for the minister of long-term care, but I can assure her what is obscene and what Ontarians think is obscene is 4,000 seniors dying from COVID-19 in long-term care because they didn't do their jobs. But look, the current Canadian Armed Forces, again, to the minister, arrived on April 29th. They started to go into the homes. And of course, their report was released on May 29th. Certainly, in between the time they arrived and the time the report was made public, this minister would have received some kind of updates as to what was happening in these long-term care homes yet. On May 19th, the minister told this house and I quote, our government has acted quickly and responsibly and will continue to take more action at a rapid pace until this pandemic is over, which we all know never happened. There was never any rapidity. So what does this minister say to families? What does she say to the families who were... She was supposed to be protecting when she wasn't doing so. When the armed forces found those people pleading for water. Let's face it, this minister needs to resign. Will she do so? Thank you, Speaker. It is devastating to families. There's no doubt about that. I have taken responsibility for their well-being and their welfare and it is devastating to all the people who have been working around the clock, the staff, the public service, the frontline providers, the emergency services, the funeral homes, everyone who has come together to try and provide the support in a time of a global pandemic, a hundred year pandemic, a hundred years since the world has ever seen anything like this. And I want to acknowledge all of the people that have worked so hard to provide the care to these homes. When that fails, that is what we had to do, is call in the military. And I understood the need to get them in swiftly, but even the military took a number of days to come in. And so when we look at the speed with which COVID moves, we need to understand the learning process that the whole world was going through and all the people that were working so hard to support these homes, the residents and staff and families. Thank you. Supplementary question? For over a year, this minister denied the crisis in long-term care instead of stopping it. She refused to support seniors in long-term care. She stood by the Premier's fallacy of an iron ring around long-term care. She actually said in this House that they were moving quickly and reasonably, literally while the Canadian Armed Forces were finding people dying of neglect in long-term care homes. Speaker, this minister has tried to save the Ford government and save her own reputation instead of saving people in long-term care. How can anybody expect this minister can fix things when she can't even admit to her mistakes? Will she resign today, take ministerial accountability for the things she was supposed to do and didn't do to protect seniors in long-term care? Ministered long-term care to reply. Thank you, Speaker. If the leader of the opposition had done her job during the time that the previous government neglected long-term care, if you had been a voice, if you had taken the opportunity that you had years and years of runway that you wasted, that the leader of the opposition closed her eyes to, go back to the Hansard, look how many times she even bothered to mention the long-term care word, look at your failure. I was left to pick up the pieces from a devastating 15 years of neglect. I will not be spoken to that way by the leader of the opposition that neglected this sector and the opposition at the time neglected this sector. Order, order, order, order, just a second. I'm going to remind all members to make their comments through the chair, not directly across the floor at each other. This is the final supplementary. Speaker, this minister has not even committed to implementing the recommendations of the Commission. It is unfathomable that she didn't simply say, yes, we're going to implement every one of those recommendations. Instead, what we saw was staff literally being abandoned by their minister during this crisis. Many of them have now left the sector and understandably so. We now have an immediate staffing crisis that is worse than when COVID-19 hit Ontario in the first place. The commissioner said clearly, staff need higher wages right now. Staff need full-time work right now. We need more staff right now, not three years from now, not two years from now, right now. Five days later, the minister still refuses to apologize, still, as you just saw, will not admit to her failure. This minister needs to resign. Will she finally do what she should do, resign from her position? Thank you, Speaker. You know, I really don't know where the leader of the opposition is coming up with this distortion. Our government has addressed on a continuing basis, even as I became the minister of long-term care, looking at the staffing, looking at the capacity building, and we've been doing this all throughout the pandemic with a sense of urgency, understanding the need for the sector. In the first wave with the pandemic pay, we were able to hire 8,600 and more staff into long-term care. We began before that with a staffing expert panel to inform us on what we could do to improve the staffing. We have created capacity in our colleges, our public colleges, for over 8,000 students to be trained by the fall. We have another program with career colleges and district school boards. We have an Ontario reserve senior support system that we arranged in the first wave. I do not understand where you're getting this information from. We've been very clear. We're building the capacity. We're building the staffing. We're building the IPAC. We're doing all these recommendations and working on them, some of them prior. Thank you. The next question comes again to the Leader of the Opposition. Thank you, Speaker. My next question this morning is to the Minister of Health. The CEO of the registered nurses said that the Minister of Finance called her about the crisis unfolding in his riding in Orchard Villa. And I'm going to again quote from her testimony. So I got the phone call at about 11 PM one day and in that phone call was the Minister telling me, can I help with Orchard Villa before things were public? That it was a disaster what had happened with the residents. And he was excruciatingly in pain. So the government knew, Speaker, what was unfolding in long-term care. Ministers knew what was happening in the long-term care sector. They knew the staffing problems were serious and that people were losing their lives, that people were abandoned in their rooms. Did the Minister of Health receive the same phone call with the same information and the same plea from the Minister of Finance? To apply for government health, Speaker. Again, Mr. Speaker, as the Leader of the Opposition will know, and I would certainly hope that members opposite were doing the same thing that members on this side of the house were doing. We're engaging with our community members, whether it was long-term care, retirement homes, individuals in community support groups, Mr. Speaker. We were all engaging and we were all working very hard to see how we could help. I don't see how the Leader of the Opposition opposite can suggest that members of parliament shouldn't be doing that on a daily basis, especially given the fact that this is a global health and economic pandemic. But the Minister of Long-Term Care is quite correct. Many of the issues that we face were issues that we inherited. After decades of neglect in the sector, we have made a commitment to make them better. We inherited a system that was woefully underfunded. We inherited a system that had not been built out, that did not have spaces. I had a 118-year waiting list in my writing before this government was elected, Mr. Speaker. We're making changes to make lives better for the people in long-term care, Mr. Speaker. It's a responsibility we all have, all of us on both sides of the House, and we all will get the job done for Senators. Mr. Speaker, what this Minister forgot to mention is that the Ford government was cutting long-term care in 2019's budget, and in 2018, one of the first things they did was cancel the comprehensive resident quality inspection. So they really do have a problem with their own history. But look, the same minister, the same minister that denied more funding for long-term care in February knew that there was a disaster unfolding. He wouldn't cough up the money. The disaster continued to unfold. The entire Ford cabinet knew what was going on, and yet they all continued to claim there was an iron ring around long-term care. How is that possible? The Minister of Long-Term Care, the Minister of Health, the Minister of Finance, now the government house leader, none of them will take any responsibility for 4,000 seniors losing their lives in long-term care because they wouldn't spend the money and they wouldn't act quickly enough to save those lives. They all need to take some responsibility. When will they? Let's be very clear, Mr. Speaker. We will accept responsibility for the things that fall under our watch, and that's why we are making significant investments. But to be clear, Mr. Speaker, all legislatures for a number of years share the responsibility of the woeful inadequacy in this sector, woeful inadequacy of this sector, a sector that had not been invested in for decades. We immediately moved to make investments in long-term care before the election. We talked about ending hallway health care. That is why the Minister of Health brought forward Ontario Health Teams a blanket of care, Mr. Speaker. That included long-term care, included acute care, included ICU is a home care for communities, Mr. Speaker. We've made those investments, Mr. Speaker. We're adding homes every single day. The largest build-out of long-term care in the history of this province, Mr. Speaker. What happened is completely unacceptable. We accept responsibility for those things, Mr. Speaker. But to be clear, generations of parliamentarians who have sat in this place have failed seniors, but we will make sure that that stops, and we started to make sure it stopped in 2000. The next question, the member for Brampton West. Thank you so much, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Small Business and Red Day Production. Mr. Speaker, for weeks now on this side of the House, we have been calling on the federal government to secure our international borders and stop the flow of COVID-19 variants into our country. Mr. Blair and Mr. Haidu don't think this is a serious concern, but since February, thousands of international travellers have tested positive for COVID-19 variants of interest and variants of concern. Mr. Speaker, does our government recognize the seriousness of variants of concern of flying in through our airports and driving in our land borders? What is the government doing to address this? Associate Minister for Small Business and Red Day Production. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. More than 5,000 air traveller passengers have tested positive for COVID-19 since February. The Premier and this government have constantly been asking for the federal government to secure our borders and keep Ontarians safe. But the federal government has dragged their feet. We now have confirmed cases of the B-1617 variant in Ontario, in Quebec, in British Columbia. We needed stronger action like countries in the UK, Australia, who were able to secure their borders and keep their communities safe. Mr. Speaker, we will continue to call on the federal government to close all the loopholes. You can still take a connecting flight into Ontario and carry one of these deadly variants into the province. We need to protect Ontarians. We need to keep Canadians safe, and we need to ensure that the federal government takes stronger actions on our border. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. More than 90% of new cases in Ontario are variants. The B-117 variant, first found in the United Kingdom, is now the dominant form of COVID-19 here in Ontario. The federal government does not think securing our borders is a priority, but if they had taken action before it was too late, we may have been able to avoid this third wave. Mr. Speaker, it is still better late than never. Will the Minister call upon the federal government to finally take action to secure our borders? Mr. Speaker, we know the significant impact that these variants are having across Ontario through the third wave. We know that 90% of current cases are from variants. We now have confirmed cases of B-1617 variant in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia. We need stronger actions. Premier Ford led the country in implementing testing at our airports before the federal government was able to do anything. We have secured our land borders. Independent members come to order. At our land borders in Manitoba and Quebec, currently people are flying to the United States to avoid quarantining and crossing and walking over our federal borders in New York and Windsor and other places. We need the federal government to act now to secure Ontarians, to keep Canadians safe, and we're calling on the federal government once again to address the borders and secure Ontario. The next question, the member for Toronto Danforth. Thank you, Speaker. Speaker, my question is a Premier. Last year, a shadowy group called Vaughn Working Families spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on ads attacking teachers. Well, at the same time, this government attacked teachers every day during their contract talks. The Vaughn Working Families Group is a front for a company called Vaughn Health Campus of Care, who were longtime big donors to the PCs. We wrote to elections on Ontario about the attack ads as they may be considered illegal under election laws. And now, a full year later, after the ads ran, we've received confirmation the RCMP is now investigating. Now that the RCMP is involved, is there anything else this Premier or his Minister of Education would like to tell Ontarians what they know about these attack ads against teachers? I have, I guess, unlike the member opposite, I have full faith in elections on Ontario to continue to do its job, Mr. Speaker. What I do know when it comes to whether it's education, whether it's health care, whether it's transit and transportation, the member is quite correct. We are making significant investments to keep our students safe through COVID-19. The member opposite is quite correct. We are making significant investment in transit and transportation so that we can get people moving around so that we can unleash the potential of the Ontario economy once we get through this COVID pandemic, Mr. Speaker. But obviously, in the short term, we're going to remain focused on making sure that we keep the health and safety of the people, the province of Ontario, top of mind, Mr. Speaker. That is why the Minister for Small Business and Red Tape so effectively pointed out how important it is that the federal government step up to the plate finally and secure our borders. If the member opposite wants to be helpful, he can call his federal cousins in Ottawa and ask them to push to secure the Ontario border so that we can keep these variants out of the province of Ontario. Supplementary question. Thank you, Speaker. And again, to the Premier, I guess they didn't like the question. One of the people clearly involved is Quinta Lanabale, is a development lawyer. This Premier appointed to be Vice-Chair of the LCBO. He's also been a very generous donor to the PCE and supported the Health Minister when she ran for the party leadership. We asked the Government Agencies Committee to bring Mr. Anabale forward so we could ask questions but the government blocked our attempts. Now the RCMP are involved in getting to the bottom of this shady group, the Vaughn Working Families. Ontarians deserve to know if the Premier's still fine with Mr. Anabale's role at the LCBO. Will the Premier now allow the Government Agencies Committee to bring forward Mr. Anabale for questions about his involvement with Vaughn Working Families? Again, to be very clear, Mr. Speaker, I am very confident that Elections Ontario has what it needs to ensure that all those who are participating or want to participate in elections in the province of Ontario do so fairly. And Mr. Speaker, again, unlike the member opposite, I have confidence that Elections Ontario will do that. At the same time, Mr. Speaker, we are going to continue to remain focused on what's important to the people of the province of Ontario and what's important to the people of the province of Ontario right now is that we chart a path out of this COVID-19 mess, Mr. Speaker. We are seeing variants of concern out of control at our borders. That's what we need to focus on, Mr. Speaker. We need the assistance of the member's opposite to help us to convince the federal government to secure our borders. In the meantime, Mr. Speaker. In the meantime, Mr. Speaker, we are doing everything that we can to make sure that all Ontarians get vaccines in their arms. Over five million doses. Member for Don Golly, East Chumdorter. That is great news to the people of the province of Ontario, Mr. Speaker. We're doing all that we can. We're attacking this virus and response. There is a light at the end of the tunnel and very soon we'll be able to unleash the potential of the Ontario economy and get people back to work, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. The next question. Member for Simcoe Gray. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Long-Term Care. 36% of people living in Wasaga Beach are seniors. The town is one of the top 10 postal codes in all of Canada for its high percentage of senior citizens, and that number is rapidly growing. Surprising that Wasaga Beach has no long-term care beds, in spite years of my asking for them. Residents are forced to leave their community to access care. My constituents are perplexed that last month's budget made no mention of long-term care in Wasaga Beach. We were hoping for some beds. Can the Minister give my constituents an explanation? Minister of Long-Term Care. Thank you, Speaker, and thank you to the member from Simcoe Gray for the question. Wasaga Beach is a community like so many that the previous government neglected with respect to long-term care. The previous government, the previous liberal government, only built 611 new spaces between 2011 and 2018, and they failed to meet the needs of communities across the province, like Wasaga Beach. Our government is making up for lost time, and along with building new homes, we're taking innovative approaches to solve long-standing problems. In November of last year, our government announced the expansion of community paramedicine programs. This initiative will help seniors stay safe while living in the comfort of their own home. Both Simcoe and Gray counties were offered places in our government's expanded community paramedicine program. And the supplementary. Well, thank you for that answer. The minister may know, Speaker, that at least two companies are prepared to fill the void for long-term care beds in Wasaga Beach. PrimaCare applied two years ago for a 160-bed facility in the community, and Jarnet Health Services hopes to locate a Greenfield facility there, providing for 96 seniors. Both of these are reputable companies with approved and track records. They have the resources, the experience, and the commitment to deliver the urgently needed support that my constituents need and deserve. And, Speaker, I certainly appreciate the pressure on the government, on the minister, in terms of the need for long-term care beds across the province, and as a former minister of health. I kept track of this issue quite clearly over the years, and I was astounded for 15 years that the previous government built no beds. They took credit for 6,000 beds that Mike Harris had put in place of the 15,000 that he built during the first part of the McGinty government, but they built no net new beds over 15 years. So I know there's a backlog. I just want you to consider Wasaga Beach, top 10 postal codes in Canada for senior citizens. We need beds. Minister, will you give them serious consideration in the next round of allocations? Mr. Long-Term Care. Thank you, Speaker. And again, thank you to the member from Simcoe Gray for his question. The most recent group of allocations prioritized upgrading older homes in response to the lessons learned around improved infection prevention and control measures, particularly the elimination of three-and-four bed wardrooms. This was addressing, also the addressing the growing needs of diverse groups, including francophone and indigenous communities, and promoting campuses of care to better address the specialized care needs of residents. Applications that have not received an allocation in this round will be kept and considered for future potential allocations. In addition to the 750 existing spaces at nine homes in Simcoe Gray, there are currently three projects in the development pipeline that will build 121 new spaces and upgrade another 169 spaces to modern design standards. And so I thank the member opposite for his question. Thank you. Thank you. Next question, the member for Brampton West. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Colleges and Universities. Speaker, in addition to an inadvocate and ineffective water measures that have been challenging our provincial public health response by bringing variants of concern into the province. On Friday, Prime Minister Trudeau once again confused Canadians with his message that interiors had requested a ban on international students. Speaker, this came as a surprise to me. Our government has always been very clear on the protocols for students and residents coming or returning to interior and the public health guidelines they must abide by to help in our efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Speaker, would the minister please help to clear up the confusion that the prime minister created? The member for Northumberland, Peterborough South and parliamentary system. Thank you, Speaker. And thank you to the member for that important question and for all of his work advocating for a better post-secondary future in his community of Brampton. Mr. Speaker, he is right that there was a lot of confusion caused by the prime minister's remark. So perhaps we could take this as a learning lesson for all of us and set the record straight. What this government has called for and what we've been very clear on in four letters to the federal government is to take stricter measures at the border to prevent variants of concern from entering this country. We've called for a ban on all non-essential travel. We've called for mandatory PCR testing for inter-provincial travelers. We've called to close the loophole at our land borders and we've called for proper enforcement of hotel quarantining. Mr. Speaker, we continue to be very clear, crystal clear, to the federal government. We're imploring them to take stricter measures at the border. Speaker, we know that 90% of variants of concern are entering through our improperly enforced borders. And Speaker, now is not the time for division. Now is not the time for the sort of division that the Prime Minister's remarks create. Now is the time to work together. We again call on the federal government get strict, get real at our borders. And the supplementary. Thank you Speaker and I want to thank the Parliamentary System for clarifying the confusing and incorrect statement that the Prime Minister made on Friday. I know that many international students and post secondary institutions were concerned about what these measures would mean and were looking to their provincial government to once again step up when their federal government would not. This has been the case for paid sick leave, Mr. Speaker, imposing strong but necessary restrictions to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and now standing up for our international students. Speaker, would the Parliamentary System please elaborate on what our government is doing to ensure that international students entering into interior are doing so in a safe way that does not pose a risk to themselves, their classmates and all interiors. Thank you Mr. Speaker and again thank you to the member for that important question. So let me be clear again what we are calling for from the federal government is strict border measures, adequate screening and properly enforced quarantine. What we have done with our post secondary institutions with our designated learning institutes in the province of Ontario is we've worked actively with them, each of them and their local public health officers to develop individually tailored solutions for proper quarantining and measures for arriving students. We've done it to ensure the safety of those communities, to ensure the safety on campus and to ensure safety of those students arriving Mr. Speaker. And while I'm at it Mr. Speaker when we work collaboratively together with our institutions we've increased mental health supports on our campuses. When we work collaboratively with our institutions Mr. Speaker we've supported them with microcredentials. When we've worked collaboratively we've launched free PSW training to tackle the health professions backlog. Mr. Speaker when we work together we can accomplish anything. That's why we're calling on the federal government work with us listen to the municipalities secure our borders now. Thank you. The next question member for Niagara Centre. Thank you Speaker through to the Minister of Health this government's failure to prepare for the third wave has left our hospitals on the verge of collapse. This means that while ICUs beds are overflowing thousands of essential surgeries have had to be delayed. Tragically we're now hearing stories of cancer patients who've lost their lives after canceled surgeries. This government's failure to provide hospitals with the support they need is only going to make stories like these more common. What is the Minister's plan to address the hospital capacity issue and will she make the necessary investments now to save lives in Ontario's hospitals. Minister of Health. Thank you very much and I thank the member for the question. In fact we have invested over five billion dollars in our hospitals since the start of this pandemic. We've created over 3400 new beds equivalent of six large community hospitals. We've created several hundred new intensive care spaces because of the increasing volumes of COVID-19 patients. We knew we're going to be coming into our hospitals. We have prepared for that throughout. We are preparing to deal with expanding our capacity yet again and making sure that we have the health human resources in order to operate in those situations. As to the surgical backlogs it is unfortunate that it's necessary for us to pause in some of these surgeries because of the influx of COVID patients. However despite that we were able to do over 420,000 surgeries since the start of the pandemic for people who required surgery for cardiac cancer for other reasons. And as soon as the numbers start going down both in terms of the number of cases response and the number of people in hospitals we will get back to that as quickly as we can because we know many people have been waiting for surgeries for a long period of time and that is a priority for us to make sure they get the surgeries that they need. And the supplementary question. Well I guess that means there is no plan speaker. Disgovernments now padding themselves on the back for telling hospitals that they might be able to avoid the worst of their triage protocols. To be clear people are already dying because of hospital capacity. They're dying because they've had life saving surgeries canceled. They're dying in hospitals hundreds of kilometers away from their homes and families. And even if we avoid the province's worst case scenario this has already been the worst case scenario for many Ontario families and for the doctors and nurses working on the front lines. My question again to the health minister will she take responsibility for the capacity crisis? And what is she doing now to save the lives of patients in our hospital system? Mr. Health. Well I would say to the members of you Mr. Speaker that we have been creating capacity. We have been dealing with this since the beginning of this pandemic we've been creating more space in our hospitals. As far as dealing with the surgical backlog previously we invested over 500 million dollars in order to expand the operating hours in our hospitals to evenings and weekends to make sure that we took a regional look at our regional waiting list so that we could expand our surgeries into all of our hospitals. This is something that we will continue once this pandemic the crisis of this pandemic is over because it makes use of all of those spaces and gets people into operating rooms and surgeries to have their necessary work done as soon as possible. There are many steps that we have taken and that we will continue to take to make sure that the people in our hospitals are frontline healthcare heroes who have been at this for over a year now we can never thank them enough for the work that they're doing we're too grateful for all of that but we have been working alongside our healthcare workers beside our hospitals to make sure that we have the capacity that we need so that anyone coming into our hospitals thank you the next question the member for Scarborough Gildwood thank you speaker my question is to the minister of long-term care I wrote to the minister and her government about the state of long-term care and the government slow response to COVID yet despite many calls especially from families to protect residents and staff your government was slow to respond and even took a summer break on page 129 of the commission's report it's titled slow late and reactive the early provincial response can you tell this house what you did in the months of July in August to prepare for the second wave of the pandemic in long-term care to protect vulnerable seniors and to remedy the staffing that the Canadian armed forces the FAO labour unions members of the opposition the media and families were calling on you to do will you accept an act on the 85 recommendations that make up the recommendations of this report make them public as is requested in recommendation 85 on an annual basis to this legislature on your progress Mr. Long-term care thank you speaker you know we've been very clear since we asked for the commission to be set up for long-term care we've been very clear about our intent to make the report public which we have done we've also been very clear about making sure that we address the recommendations in that report to understand what we've already implemented what needs to be implemented we are completely open to addressing all of those 85 recommendations as soon as we understand what has already been done and what is in progress and what needs to be done and you know the difference is really that our government is taking action that reports really littered the landscape the political landscape under the previous liberal government supported by the NDP report after report after report on direct hours of care four hours of direct care on the capacity issues and then you know the member opposite from Ottawa South he knew full well that the ward rooms posed a threat and in terms of this looking at preparedness absolutely we worked around the clock with many many partners the chief medical officer of health public health Ontario we created thank you the supplementary question so Mr. Speaker if the member the minister knew the threat why were you slow to act and that's really the question and the substance of this report I will send you the letter I wrote to you on March 27th and again on May 19th you know my question was specifically what did you do over the summer to prepare for that second wave because there were more deaths in long-term care in the second wave than in the first and so you know I've been listening to the response and it doesn't go far enough this report is devastating it's devastating to the families to the staff and to the people who are closest impacted minister through you speaker will you apologize today to these families and if you can't bring yourself to apologize you must resign my members to make your comments through the chair minister long-term care thank you speaker you know the the report is very insightful and I thank the commissioners for their insights I really think that it was intended to provide us with guidance order and that is what it has done so you know in late june if if uh the center would choose to listen I will I will I will give her the information she's looking for in late june of 2019 our government created the first standalone ministry of long-term care to address the systemic challenges and the commission is very clear in the report of these long-standing systemic issues numerous times throughout the report and and just a few months later COVID-19 struck our province our government has consistently relied on the chief medical officer of health Ontario health public health Ontario countless medical experts and last summer preparedness assessments were carried out across the province to help long-term care homes with emergency and outbreak prevention this was in addition to shoring up the the staffing in the home using the resident support aids hiring 8600 plus higher higher into into long-term care with the pandemic pay homes were encouraged to to work with their hospital partners and Ontario health assisted with that this was a a collaborative cooperative effort and and absolutely we must take responsibility for repairing this long-neglected system and we will continue to do order member for Ottawa south come to order the next question the member for Brampton thank you Mr. Speaker my question is for the Minister of Infrastructure last month I had the pleasure of joining our federal and municipal partners representing our government to announce infrastructure investments that will improve the local public public transit system in the city of Brampton Mr. Speaker I was thrilled to see that our government has invested over 58.2 million dollars for the latest Brampton transit project this funding will help ensure that Brampton's residents and visitors will be able to access more efficient and safe transit services getting people where they want to go when they want to get there I'm proud that our government is working with our municipal partners and federal counterparts to get these projects built and I know my constituents are looking forward to a faster and more live well commuting experience can the minister tell us how she's working with the federal government and our municipal partners to make meaningful investments for the people of Brampton the parliament your assistant member Brobeville yes thank you very much Mr. Speaker I'd like to thank the member for this important question and for his continued advocacy on the on behalf of the people of Brampton we now have nominated over 760 projects to the federal government for ISEP for approval this includes 140 road bridge air and marine infrastructure projects for a total provincial investment of more than $115 million in over 200 public transport transit infrastructure projects throughout the outside GTHA public transit stream and let me tell you Mr. Speaker although COVID-19 has forced the world to slow down we have not stopped building since January we've made nearly 60 joint virtual events like the one the member mentioned delivering exciting news about infrastructure funding in partnership with the federal government nonprofits and municipalities these projects can finally go from shovel ready to shovels moving to get much needed infrastructure projects built thank you Speaker we have heard both the minister and the premier say that our government is investing $145 billion in Ontario's infrastructure over 10 years for broadband broadband connectivity transit and highways schools and hospitals and we know that this is a record level infrastructure investment part of this investment includes the project I announced on behalf of the minister of infrastructure last month this project includes the construction of nearly 400 000 square foot transit maintenance and storage facility this facility will accommodate about 250 buses and well will help improve the quality capacity and safety of transit infrastructure in Brampton it will also support future installation of infrastructure to service electric buses and that will mean cleaner more efficient transportation for all Bramptonians this was very welcome news by my community can the parliamentary system explain when can we expect more infrastructure investments like the one recently announced and you don't go thank you Speaker and as you know the project announced in the city of Brampton is part of more than 200 public transit projects we've submitted four of you and recently received approval on from the federal government this multi-government collaboration is a primarily an example of how everyone can benefit when governments work together our ministry will continue to work with the federal counterparts to secure timely project approvals and much needed funding to fill the infrastructure deficit left by the previous liberal government for communities like yours in Brampton we know there is more work to be done but we can't do it alone that's why the premier and the minister of infrastructure continue to work with the federal government for advocating for up to seeking an additional 10 billion dollars per year over 10 years to get shovels in the ground for infrastructure projects through strategic investments we can continue to help improve the quality of life for everyone in Ontario thank you Speaker the next question the member for Oshawa thank you Speaker and my question is to the premier yesterday the federal government announced that it would take over the environmental assessment process for the highway 413 mega project that would cut through the green belt just last week the minister of transportation claimed there was a quote strong case and quote for this highway project even though the most recent review found that this six billion dollar highway pet project would only save drivers maybe 30 to 60 seconds per trip maybe in fact the only people who still think there is any case for this project are the well connected speculators who own land along the corridor whose political donations have filled the coffers of the PC party and who are doggedly clanging to their hopes for this highway will the premier reverse course on the 413 and cancel this wasteful and destructive gift to his friends and donors thank you Mr. Speaker and I thank the member opposite for the question it's unclear at this time what this federal designation means for this project we don't know the scope of the federal impact what the scope of the federal impact assessment would be or whether a full federal impact will be sought so we look forward to receiving more information from the federal government who has already acknowledged how robust Ontario's individual EA processes the impact assessment agency of Canada has concluded that concerns surrounding environmental impacts are and I quote expected to be addressed through federal and provincial regulatory processes that already exists Mr. Speaker as recently as March of 2020 the experts at the impact assessment agency of Canada review the evidence and declined to take further action against the GTA GTA West project the agency stated that time that the GTA West does not fit the criteria for a project to be considered under the impact assessment act response the goal of this project Mr. Speaker has always been to address congestion and population growth for the people of Ontario the federal government is seeking additional information and the province of Ontario will collaborate with the federal government thank you the supplementary question members for Hamilton West and Cass unfortunately the the federal government has also excluded the Bradford bypass from its environmental assessment but like highway 413 the Bradford bypass would cut through the green belt and like highway 413 it runs along land owned by well-connected developers who are donors to the PC party despite the obvious risk to Ontario's irreplaceable farmland like the Holland Marsh this conservative government is still rushing to begin construction on this highway why when so many people are still suffering during the pandemic is the premier instead focused on paving over the green belt and paving over farmland on behalf of his friends and his political donors and to apply again the minister of transportation well as I've said the goal of our government and of these projects has always been to address congestion and population growth in the greater golden horseshoe a population boom is coming to the greater golden horseshoe Mr. Speaker and there's no getting around it our government believes that expanding the highway network must be part of the solution so that we can get people and goods moving and create good jobs we cannot rely on transit alone the opposition is taking a pass on addressing congestion in this rapidly growing area if you're a union member who works in road construction the opposition is not on your side if you're a parent living in York region order who drives to work the opposition is not on your side Ontario is investing 82 billion dollars in transportation over the next 10 years 21 billion in highways and bridges and 61 billion in transit Mr. Speaker our government will explore all options to build transportation links whether it's transit or roads order the next question the member for gondola east well thank you very much Mr. Speaker my question is to the minister responsible for anti-racism since the beginning of this pandemic Mr. Speaker there's been an alarming rise in anti-Asian racism here in Ontario more specifically a 40% increase in hate incidents here in the province minister you recently put up put out an update to the anti-racism strategy in the middle of this pandemic and to my surprise the 30 page document that the minister put forward failed to mention any form of anti-Asian hate or racism in fact it failed to even mention the word Asian once so Speaker my question to the minister why did the minister think it was okay to put forward an update to the anti-racism strategy and fail to address the issue of anti-Asian racism especially considering it's one of the fastest form of hate in this country to reply the Solicitor General Speaker and thank you for raising this critically important issue it is disturbing when we see rises in any form of hate speech but particularly when we're dealing with the pandemic and to now see that individuals are using this opportunity to deal and and spread vile hateful messages about people it it's frankly why we as a government have invested and partnered with our communities to now offer anti-racism and hate grants we all appreciate and understand that zero tolerance is critical but we need to provide some assistance to those organizations and to do that we have established a new anti-racism and anti-hate grant this program through a collaborative approach with community partners can ensure we advance the most effective solutions in the fight against racism and hate and I will thank you let's have a romantic question well thank you very much Mr. Speaker and thank you to the minister for the answer Asian Canadians should not have to bear racist effects of this pandemic and the government really needs to step on and include anti-Asian hate within their strategy but Speaker racialized Ontarians are not only being targeted outside the walls of this legislature they're being targeted within the walls of this government as well the government's decision to have people stopped by the police randomly and to provide their name and address otherwise known as carding was impulsive and poorly thought out minister you have the privilege and the duty to protect racialized Ontarians here in the province of Ontario but Speaker not only did the minister announce this new policy from what I hear she was the one who actually championed this decision what was the minister thinking as the minister responsible for anti-racism why didn't the minister stand up and do her job and stand up for racialized Ontarians and put a stop to this backward decision here in the province of Ontario Mr. Mr. general thank you Speaker so as I mentioned I would like to highlight some of the investments that our government has has been doing working collaboratively with our community organizations including a $3 million anti-racism and anti-hate grant to support community organizations and their important work across Ontario a new anti-racism and anti-hate grant program through a collaborative approach with community partners this new granting program $1.6 million in total funding will be accessible to communities throughout Ontario and the provide investments to community-based projects that address systemic racism and hate focusing on anti-black anti-indigenous anti-Semitic and Islamophobia finally the new investments build on our investment of $1.7 million through the safer and vital community grants funding 26 new community-based programs to combat hate-motivated crimes throughout partnerships with organizations and local police services we will continue to do our work with community agencies and and thank you for raising this issue because it does disturb me when we hear about individuals who are using a pandemic as an opportunity to highlight and and raise false suggestions individuals within our society thank you thank you next question the member for London Fanshawe thank you speaker and my question is to the minister of health speaker I want to read what a London constituent Christopher wrote to me I'm an advocating for my brother who was 69 and has been diagnosed with stage four pancreatic liver cancer and has been given a window of three to six months currently his access has been good concerning appointments but things are now starting to be postponed and I am seeing a decline in his strength since being diagnosed three weeks ago when he received his first vaccination he produced a letter and was he produced a letter from his doctor and was told not good enough we need a letter from a medical oncologist you get your next shot in August speaker he says his brother could be dead by then he's not alone speaker Barb Mcquarrie a London resident undergoing cancer treatment told cbc news that she also had to jump through hoops and still hasn't gotten the second dose will this government work with public health units pharmacies vaccine teams to ensure that cancer patients can seamlessly access their second shots Mr. Health Mr. Speaker and thank you to the member for the question I'm very sorry that your constituents are having such a difficult time obtaining their second shots we have been taking advice on who should receive the second shot earlier from our medical experts based on the clinical evidence we know that to people who are in long-term care homes over the age of 80 need to have them within a period of time and that there are certain types of cancer that must where people do need to receive their second shots earlier there are several types that have been identified to us but certainly we would be happy to work with you to bring your constituents issues before the medical experts to see what can be done to accelerate their second shot thank you I'm glad to hear that speaker but also we've heard from advocates and they say that the guidelines for exceptions in Ontario aren't clear and many patients are still waiting weeks and sometimes month for their second dose Martin Elias the Executive Director of Maloma Canada said when Ontario came out with these guidelines no one on the ground knew what they were and patients were going to their appointments for their first vaccine and we're still getting booked for their second dose four months later now that we're seeing this that the hospitals are providing recommendations to patients about second doses but it's not happening everywhere it really depends on where you live speaker many cancer patients have had their diagnosed or treatment delayed which is a very stressful experience on top of that they have to navigate this incredibly complex system will this government work across the province to assure equity exempting cancer patients from delayed second doses of the vaccine Minister Hart thank you very much and of course I would certainly agree that equity is very important across the province for all cancer patients to make sure that if they require the second dose in an accelerated manner that they will get that we do have a table on the vaccine task force headed by Dr. Dirk Hyer who is consulting with other medical experts to understand who needs to have the second shot accelerated we know that transplant patients do and people with certain types of cancer but we're learning more every day I can certainly refer this and if you can provide me with the information regarding a constituents I will absolutely provide it to the medical experts to see what can be done for them thank you the next question the member for Ottawa Van thank you Mr. Speaker I want to ask my question to the minister of municipal affairs but Pumir says I should direct my question to the minister of environment so while it was minister in the environment the new chair of the green bell council voted against its creation concerned it would be difficult to remove land from the protected area I have no doubt that Mr. Sterling will support the government priorities but I'm afraid those priorities do not support the environment so my question is as the government not taken into account Mr. Sterling's previous stance and actions on the matter or did the government hope the people were not paying attention to reply minister of municipal affairs and housing thanks speaker I want to thank the honourable member for the question I do find it strange coming from this party a question given the fact that they carved up the green bell 17 times and removed 370 acres from it you know I've said many times Mr. Sterling shares my vision of growing the green bell we're in the middle of a consultation as members know and I believe we have a great opportunity to grow the green bell in a very significant way since its creation in 2005 but you know don't don't take my word for it take a former minister of the environment for the Ontario Liberal Party Jim Bradley who said and I quote here's an individual Norm Sterling who was responsible for the Niagara escarpment plan an enduring legacy for him his initiatives in legislative reform will endure for many years and through many parliaments speaker I agree with Jim Bradley and I look forward to working with Norm Sterling on growing the green bell thank you that concludes our question period for this morning next we have a deferred vote on a motion for closure on the motion for second reading of bill 283 an act to amend and enact various acts with respect to the health system on April 29th 2021 Ms. Elliott moved second reading of bill 283 on May 4th 2021 Mr. McNaughton moved that the question be now put the bells will ring for 30 minutes during which time members may cast their votes on Mr. McNaughton's motion that the question be now put I'll ask the clerks to prepare the longings