 It is now time for oral questions, and I recognize the Leader for Majesty's Loyal Opposition. Thank you, Speaker. Thank you, Speaker. My question this morning, my first question, is to the Premier. The Minister of Education on November 18th said in this legislature, and I quote, it is quite obvious, according to leading medical experts across this province, that transmission is not happening within school. This is, of course, in reference to COVID-19. So my question is, is this Premier and this Government prepared to stand behind that statement? To reply, the Minister of Education. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. It is the position of the Chief Medical Officer of Health from September to the present. He was asked just last week a question on the safety of schools, and he said and confirmed that schools have been safe in the province of Ontario, that three out of four schools in the province do not have a case of COVID, an active case when we close them at the peak of the third wave. Mr. Speaker, we have put in place a $1.6 billion plan. We have followed the best medical advice. And according to medical officers of health in Ontario, the Chief Medical Officer of Health and a variety of other pediatric institutions, including the Scientific Director of the Ontario Science Table, who said, quote, Ontario, unlike other places in the world, did a relatively good job. If you compare to the UK, our way of cohorting, our way of masking kits is much, much better end quote. Mr. Speaker, we're going to continue to follow that advice, and most especially continue to invest to keep kids safe. Supplementary. Today's Toronto Star reveals that on the very following day from when this Minister made the claim about schools being safe, his ministry folks were hearing the exact opposite from experts at sick kids. In fact, Ministry of Education staff wrote the following note, and I quote, is there any transition happening in schools? We don't know. So why was the Minister telling parents and teachers and kids, and in fact members of this legislature that there was no transmission happening in schools while his own team was admitting that they didn't know? Mr. Speaker, the principal advisor to the Cabinet, to the government, and to the province of Ontario is the Chief Medical Officer of Health. Now, all I know, when given the opportunity to affirm her public commitment to him, to the lead scientific leader of this province in the midst of a pandemic, they opted not to renew and instill confidence in him, but we have followed that perspective, and most especially in the context of our testing program. What we have noted is that we're one of the only provinces in the nation that has a targeted asymptomatic testing program. That is an additional layered approach to keeping schools safe. The principal testing agent in Ontario is the Ministry of Health. Last week alone, 20,000 tests were completed. In addition, the Ministry of Education brought in a targeted program to offset and complement testing within our schools to make it more accessible and more available for families. The Chief Medical Officer of Health, the head of the science table, the head of the pediatric, the head of the Medical Officers of Health Council have been consistent and have been clear. Schools in Ontario have been safe. We are grateful for the partnership with local public health and school boards, educators and parents to keep students safe in the province of Ontario. And the final supplementary. Thank you very much, Speaker. Well, you know, yesterday, the Minister of Education made the same claim as he's making now, bragging about the in-school testing. And yet the Toronto Star reveals quite clearly that the testing was woefully inadequate. And in fact, Dr. Ashley Chute from the science table calls the government's approach to testing scattershot and says it was, quote, ultimately doing nothing in terms of our ability to take the data and make any sort of inference from it. In fact, the very best week of this government's testing in schools yielded 8,213 tests instead of the promised 50,000 tests that we've heard this minister brag about time and time again. So why did the government claim that their testing proved that schools were safe when they knew that that wasn't the case? And I'm sending the evidence over to the minister right now. What has been confirmed by the Chief Medical Officer of Health according to his independent analysis of transmission in schools is that they have been safe, that the layers of protection put in place by the province of Ontario following the best medical advice has worked to reduce transmission. When three out of four schools in the height of the third wave had no active cases at all, when 99% of students and 98% of staff had no case of COVID reported through the pandemic. That demonstrates that the $1.6 billion that the layers of protection and that the strict public health interventions we put in place from September escalating them throughout the pandemic as the challenges changed throughout Ontario. It demonstrates we were agile, that we followed advice and we invested to keep kids safe. And the authority is not the minister of education, is not the leader of the opposition. It is the Chief Medical Officer of Health who has been consistent in this province from September through the present that schools have been safe and we are grateful for the partnership to do that for the benefit of children in Ontario. The next question. Once again the leader of the opposition. My next question is also for the Premier but maybe this is the minister's opportunity to get the transfer to a different ministry that he wants. Teachers, education workers, public health experts have all been clear what is needed in our schools and that means smaller classes, fixing backlog repairs that the Liberals left us with, vaccinations and an actual testing strategy that is robust, which we haven't had. Instead what we've had is education cuts in the last budget, the government, the Premier particularly attacking our teachers and the government and this Premier claiming that the experts were backing their plans when in fact they actually told him, they told the minister and the Premier that they were literally flying blind. So why did the government tell parents, schools, teachers, boards, everybody in this province that schools were completely safe when in fact they knew that they had really no idea whether they were or they weren't? Mr. Speaker, the Chief Medical Officer of Health has advised the people of Ontario and when repeatedly asked about the safety of schools, transmission schools have suggested that the protections we put in place following his best advice from September has kept students and staff safe. That is his repeated position on the record to the people of Ontario literally for the past year. The question for leader of the opposition is why do you not take the advice of the Chief Medical Officer of Health and why not accept the independent analysis he has made with the various tables that inform him that have built coffins for students and parents that our schools have been safe when 99% of students didn't have an active case, 98% of staff when three out of four schools didn't have an active case at all at the peak of the third wave. It underscores one truth that the investment we put in place has worked. Now with that said, Speaker, there's 7,000 more staff that were high this year. 95% of schools had seen some upgrade to a ventilation. We have 40,000 HEPA units and HEPA filters been improving air ventilation in schools. Double the public health allocation and yes, the only province in the nation with a targeted province-wide capacity to conduct asymptomatic testing. That is very important and we are proud of the work we have done and we're going to continue to do everything we can for the benefit of students and for their safety in Ontario. Really clear that investment was needed to keep kids safe at school but that's not what's happened in this province. They premier heard it from teachers, from boards, from the science table that they needed to invest in our kids but they just didn't want to. And in fact, the FAO report just the other day indicates very clearly that this government has cut $800 million from education just in this budget and over the next decade those cuts will increase significantly. Cuts to the classroom will not help keep our kids safe. They just won't. That's the reason why our schools aren't open today. So why is the premier cutting education in this province? Why is the premier doing that when it's clear to everyone that our kids need and deserve more investment now? They need it now more than ever before. Mr. Speaker, the reason why schools were closed in the province according to the chief medical officer of health is because community transmission spiked to roughly 4,000 cases a day. That is the reason and the member opposite knows it to be true. That's why we close schools. That's why Nova Scotia announced closers in our regional bases. That's why BC did so in a targeted basis. We have to respond to risk profiles that change. When cases rise in the community, they're reflected in schools. We close them to protect families. We did that repeatedly. In the context of funding, we increased investment by $2 billion as we look forward to September. A $1.6 billion provincially funded increase in resources for COVID, a $500 million increase in the grant for student needs, and a targeted $85 million support for summer learning and learning gaps. We've also quadrupled mental health funding. How can the member opposite suggest there's a reduction expenditure? In the FAO report, when it comes to methodology, the FAO suggests in the context of methodology that the Ministry of Education does not forecast based on compensation hikes. He makes assumptions on what those hikes may be. We do not. When it comes to the investment, thank you. Thank you. The final supplementary. Yet another government attacking an independent officer speaker. It's just getting a bit tired. But look, when it comes to parents, when it comes to students, when it comes to teachers, everybody is desperate to get back into the classroom. Why? Because their kids are suffering. They're suffering from mental health challenges. They're suffering from loneliness. Parents are so worried about their kids and what's happening to them because they can't go to school. And in fact, this government promised that schools would be the first to open and the last to close. Experts, of course, say that that's essential for the mental health of our kids and it needs to be done safely and on a regional basis. However, to do that, we need to have that safety and we need to have that investment. Today, just moments ago, the Star reported that the Ford government is not ready to do that, to make those investments and open those schools. Apparently, they're more interested in classroom budget cuts than in protecting our kids, which is absolutely shameful. So my question is, is the report from the Star accurate today? Will the Premier keep his promise to kids and make the investments to ensure that they do come first in reopening? Mr. Speaker, the government is committed to continuing to invest in schools. It's why we announced some weeks ago a significant enhancement in funding for September. Even though we know that all students will be double of acts for those that wanted 12 and up by September and likewise for our education staff and the general population, so long supply continues to come in, even though we know that the world will change and will hopefully be much better and safer for communities and for schools, we still are funding it at 100 percent, still maintain the double doubling of public health. There's a still having the only province with an asymptomatic testing program, still having PPE being provided for free, three-ply masks for all students, still ensuring cohorting and all the public health measures we put in place this year that the science table chair as well as the chief medical officer of health has said has resulted in safe schools. When 99 percent of students are safe, 98 percent of staff response, we can be confident that the program we put in place will keep has kept students safe and we will continue to invest and continue to support parents, families and children in Ontario. Thank you. The next question, the member for Scarborough Southwest. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Premier. Amaya, a seven-year-old from Scarborough Southwest has been facing an incredible amount of difficulty over the past year with online learning. She cannot focus and misses the support that she used to receive from her educator during in-class learning. When the province finally announced that in-person learning may be available for children with special needs, like Amaya, her mother made the request to her school with no success. My question to the Premier is, Mr. Speaker, what option do students like Amaya have and what does, what has this government done to ensure that accessibility and accommodations for special needs children are prioritized throughout this pandemic? Minister of Education. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. You know, I should have noted the last question and the last answer rather, you know, when the leader of the opposition speaks about the importance of open schools, it was the opposition parties who stood with the unions at the time who called for the government not to reopen schools in February and January. They advocated for keeping schools closed until the state home order lifts. That is their position and they would have kept school closed throughout 2021. We moved mountains working with every medical officer, with the chief medical officer seeking external counsel, pediatric institutions, to get them open to keep them safe. In the context of virtual learning, another choice that would have been removed, they would not have offered parents a choice of virtual learning. And yes, one in four parents opted for it. They made into September. We think that choice is a strength. Recognizing in class learning must be safe, which is why we invested for it. In the context of what we're doing to support virtual learning, we've added an additional $200 million investment to support it. Response. Over 150,000 tablets have been procured, 10,000 internet connections, and a significant increase, including last year and this year forthcoming, to ensure families can get access to the device and support that they need. Supplementary question. Mr. Speaker, it's shameful that I asked about a question about a seven-year-old who needs special need support, and the minister decided to use his opportunity to answer and throw political punches at the opposition. And then he went on to advocate for privatization or for online learning. I am at a loss of words because I'm talking harder. And again, the minister is going to interrupt me while I ask my questions. Speaker, we cannot let students lose a year's worth of learning and development and progress. Students and educators and families are exhausted. They are waiting for this government to make immediate investments in safer, smaller class sizes, upgrade ventilation, and give resources for students with disabilities. For weeks, Amaya's family has been given the runaround, and I hope the minister will move mountain to help kids like Amaya. Like many other families who are trying to access support, despite having all the documentation like medical notes, Amaya is still on a workplace to be considered for in-person learning and accommodations. So my question is, Mr. Speaker, why is the government failing students like Amaya and so many others across this province? Mr. Speaker, when it comes to virtual learning, yes, it is important to start on the basis that we are the only party in the legislature that have provided that family with that choice. Step one, step two, in the context of our funding for virtual learning, we have increased the investment by $225 million, which has provided literally over 195,000 devices that have been procured this year. We have nearly 10,000 internet connections. In Toronto District School Board serving nine in 10 families currently have access to their own devices that were provided in part by the boards. We've done an incredible amount of work to build up the infrastructure. Remember, we set a high standard in Ontario. We set the high standard in the nation that at least 75, 70% of the 300 minutes of instruction must be done in live synchronous Zoom learning that was opposed by the members opposite. High standards, access to the choice and of course in the context of mental health supports and special education given the circumstance of the family you've mentioned. We've increased the funding by $3.2 billion. It's the highest levels ever recorded in Ontario history and we've quadrupled mental health funding from the former Liberal government at the peak of their spending to $80 million representing a 400% increase in supports for kids. Thank you. Next question, the member for Granton West. Thank you, Mr Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Health. Last week, the minister stood up in this house and provided us with an update on our government's vaccine rollout. She let us know that we achieved our goal of providing the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine to over 65% of all Ontarians over the age of 18 ahead of schedule. Not even a week later and our province has already surpassed another milestone by administering over 9 million doses to Ontarians across the province. Mr Speaker, my constituents are eager to get both their first and second doses so they can get back to the most important things like spending more time with friends and family. Would the minister please tell the members of this house how our government plans to accelerate vaccines to those most vulnerable across the province? The Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. Thank you, Speaker and thank you to the member from Brampton West for his question and for his incredibly hard work on behalf of his constituents. Since day one, Speaker, our government has been committed to vaccinating Ontarians as quickly and as safely as possible. That's why, starting yesterday, we opened up the eligibility for accelerated second dose appointments starting with individuals aged 80 and over beginning as of May 31st. For those who want to get their second dose sooner, appointments can be rebooked through the provincial booking system, call centre, public health units and through pharmacies. If there is sufficient vaccine supply, anticipate that the majority of Ontario residents will be able who choose to receive the vaccine will be able to be fully vaccinated by the end of summer. Speaker, we are going to do everything that we can to make sure that the most vulnerable in our communities receive their second vaccine doses as quickly as possible. And the supplementary question. Thank you, Minister, and thank you to all those on the front lines for helping us administer these crucial vaccines. Mr Speaker, it's reassuring to hear the minister talk about our plan to ensure that most vulnerable like our seniors over 80 are able to receive the second dose they need out of schedule. If the success we have seen so far with our vaccination rollout is any indication of what's to come and Terrence can rest assured that we are well on our way to fully vaccinating everyone who wants it to wants to be by the end of summer. I know a number of factors were considered when determining how to accelerate our vaccination program. Mr Speaker, would the minister please tell this house how more and Terrence can expect to get their second doses sooner over the summer. Minister of Health. Yes, and thank you again very much for the question. To support this accelerated rollout the province has developed an anticipated schedule for eligibility to accelerate second doses based upon confirmed supply. This began yesterday with individuals turning 80 and over in 2021 becoming eligible to rebook their second dose appointment for a sooner date if they wish to do so. Next individuals age 70 and over are scheduled to begin doing the same the week of June 14th. The rollout will continue to expand eligibility for second dose appointments based upon the date of the first dose. Mr Speaker, we will continue to further accelerate the rollout of second doses as the federal government determines and confirms increased vaccine deliveries. Accelerating second doses will provide more protection to Ontarians sooner. Every dose administered means we are one step closer to the end of the pandemic and I encourage all Ontarians to get vaccinated and continue following public health advice. Thank you. The next question the member for Kiwet and Allen. Thank you Mr Speaker to the Premier. Today we are collectively still in a time of grief and reflection. We grieve for the 215 children found on the site of former residential school in Kamloops and the thousands of children we know that never came home. These children should have lived their full lives and their grandchildren would be here today. And this is people and this province deserve justice and they need it today not not that decades from now. Yesterday the government committed to searching former residential school sites a search that should be ended business led but things are going if things are going to happen and change we need to see funding timelines from this government. When can we expect a real plan from this government to back up their commitment to indigenous people? Kiwet. To apply the government I would say here. Thank you very much Mr Speaker as the member knows both myself and the Minister of Indigenous Affairs and the Premier made this commitment yesterday. So we will as I said yesterday it is important as the member has just said that we work with First Nations to ensure that this gets done in a way that is both respectful of the traditions of the First Nations and is done in a way that ensures that we are able to fully investigate and ensure that we are doing really what as the member said what should be led by First Nations and making sure that we get this done appropriately. I don't think anybody is going to disagree with the member with the member opposite. I know that the Premier and the Minister are very much in line with that and we will be working very closely continuing to work very closely with First Nations to ensure that it gets done. Supplementary the member for Toronto Centre. Thank you Speaker and respectfully back to the government House Leader what I didn't hear there was an actual commitment to funding. Speaker entire generations of children were lost to residential schools. As Indigenous people living in Canada today we're all survivors of Canada's genocide. Despite the ongoing systemic racism that attempts to erase us we're still here. Ontario must confront its colonial past and take action to secure justice for all those who survived the trauma of residential schools and who are still experiencing the harmful intergenerational impact today. We need funding a commitment to funding from this government to search the grounds of all the former residential schools in Ontario for all of the lost children and that funding has to come with a commitment that that search is Indigenous led. Will this government follow through on their commitments today? Provide a plan provide funding provide a commitment that the search of the residential schools will be Indigenous led. Will you do that today so that we can have justice for survivors and their families? Someone else here. I apologize I thought I was very clear yesterday that we are making that commitment to fund this Mr Speaker. I thought I was clear yesterday that it would be that we would be working with the Indigenous community to ensure that it is done in a respectful manner Mr Speaker. I know that the minister minister Rickford reiterated that just yesterday so if I need to be even clearer yes absolutely positively this is extremely important this is not something that a week from now we will forget just because it's out of out of the news cycle as we heard the words of the member from Kuat and yesterday very very powerful words we see what's out front of this legislature and we see what is happening across this country and people want us to build on the work that we have done the minister Rickford has done but on this issue yes I don't know if I how much more clear than that I can be the answer is yes. Thank you. The next question the member for Cambridge. Thank you Speaker good morning my question is for the Premier a couple of weeks ago before the long weekend the government unveiled a roadmap to reopening which actually contained no indication of when life would get back to normal or fully reopen and at the same time of the press conference the government began debate to extend emergency powers under bill 195 the reopening on Ontario Act until December in the plan they have followed with the approach of Justin Trudeau and Dr Theresa Tam linking vaccine rates to a limited return to some everyday activities but have not indicated how many Ontarians receiving a vaccine it will take to allow for life to return to normal if they ever plan to let life return to normal if 80 percent of Ontarians receiving a vaccine is not enough for return to normal under this plan what is the number is it 100 percent and to respond the Minister of Health thank you Speaker and thank you to the member for the question well the roadmap to reopen is based on vaccination rates of course to get into stage one we need to reach a 60 percent of all adults of 18 being haven't been vaccinated which has already happened we're at at least at 67 percent as it's being stand now with over 9.2 million vaccines already have been administered but there's also some public health indicators that also need to be met in terms of the number of new cases today we are down to 699 cases which is a huge improvement there's still as a ways to go but it's also based on number of people being admitted to our intensive care units the R factor the public health ability to recover but these are realistic indications and numbers based on what our medical experts have advised us and what the modelling has shown us so we are gradually and carefully reopening because the last thing we want to go into is a fourth wave but we have been advised that the levels that we have suggested for the roadmap to reopen is realistic and achievable and then the supplementary question speaker with this government the goalposts are always moving in january 2021 we were told life would get back to normal with 1000 positive cases per day by may we heard it was 500 to 600 cases now apparently case rate has nothing to do with it as the minister just said it's about vaccine rates but the fine print of the government's plan as again she said also says plus key health indicators this vagueness is not a plan and coupled with the extension of emergency orders until december it suggests they have no plan to reopen our province can the premier please publicly disclose to ontarians what is meant by these plus key health indicators part of the plan that is an addition to vaccine rates we want exact numbers this is a limited reopening plan what is it dependent on minister of health thank you well the road to reopen is very clear with three stages that we will need to move through very carefully in order to be able to reopen the province we've seen what's happened with the variants of concern that are still out there that we need to move very very carefully through this to slowly gradually reopen the province but as the member would see from stage three that we are going to then be opening the last areas that haven't been opened for a very long time things like closed in cinemas concerts all of those other areas that will be met and will be available based on these achievable targets that have been very clearly disclosed to the people of Ontario in addition to the vaccination rates there's the hospitalization rates the icu factors the public health rates the r factor all of those have been very very clearly discussed with the people of Ontario and as I indicated earlier these are realistic and achievable targets the people of Ontario are helping very much with having receiving the vaccinations we've been able to accelerate the second doses and we are confident that we'll be able to hit these milestones and be able to open Ontario back up at the appropriate thank you the next question the member for Brampton West thank you Mr. Speaker my question is to the Solicitor General we know that stricter border measures stop the spread of COVID-19 this reality is backed up by hard evidence and data all the cases that we have in Ontario can be traced back to origin outside of Ontario Ontario is finally getting closer to opening yet now we are hearing about the federal proposal to unlifting border restrictions we know that it isn't yet just about international travellers from overseas COVID-19 can enter Ontario from the United States too so can the Solicitor General remind the House what our government's position is on opening our borders so soon thank you and thank you to the member from Brampton West for this important issue that he has raised I and we have consistently called on the federal government to enhance our safeguards at our border it's disappointing but unfortunately doesn't surprise me that the federal government is looking for ways to reopening the border the Prime Minister needs to take the border issue seriously but instead he keeps ignoring Ontario's concerns Ontario is starting to see some incredible progress as a result of everyone's sacrifices finally we can see our numbers gradually coming down our vaccines are at a record level averaging approximately a million doses a week it's time for the Prime Minister to take this seriously just like we are and address the border issue by implementing stronger requirements not by seeking out ways to remove them thank you the supplementary question thank you speaker and thank you to the minister we are all aware of how the original COVID-19 virus got here it was through travel every variant of concern that filled our ICUs came from outside of Ontario although we all look forward to our American friends being able to visit once again now is not the time back to the minister can she explain why this is not the time to have a return of American travelers Solicitor General to once again reply we know that mobility is a factor in the spread of COVID which is why that now is not the time to open our borders yesterday I spoke about the importance of our border controls with our neighbouring province of Manitoba and how it is working on one side of the border cases are increasing and we will continue to help Manitobans with 34 Manitobans currently in Ontario's ICUs Ontario has had to make great sacrifices to get to the point where the stay-at-home order is being lifted at 1201 last night for the first time in months there were hockey fans in person watching the Leafs game and despite the unfortunate results the return of sport is an exciting step in the right direction we have seen how just a few travelers infected with the new variant can set us back literally for months this is not the time for the federal government to lift restrictions at our borders thank you thank you and the next question the member for Brampton East thank you speaker since the beginning of this pandemic I have repeatedly stood in this house and raised the alarm about Brampton's healthcare crisis Brampton has only one hospital Brampton Civic and it has been pushed to the limits as frontline workers there have cared for Bramptonians who are struggling to breathe during this devastating third wave we have consistently had the highest positivity rates and our hospital has struggled to care for people who are getting sick across our city on the weekend the Toronto Star published a story where they shared the harrowing accounts of healthcare workers at Brampton Civic who had to deal with this pandemic firsthand Jennifer Shields a registered nurse described how COVID-19 hit Brampton Civic she said now we see whole families the mom and dad upstairs on a ventilator the son coming into our ER because he can't breathe this time around it's really feels like more of a nightmare when will the conservative government finally work to stop this COVID-19 nightmare in Brampton by giving us the resources we need to fight and beat COVID-19 my question is to the Premier Deputy Premier the Minister of Health thank you very much Speaker and to the member opposite I would say through Mr Speaker that Brampton has been receiving extra resources and extra help recognizing that there are a number of traditional hot spots in the Brampton area as well as hot spots that have been further identified by the local medical officer of health that is why we took into a fact that into effect along with other hot spots in the province of Ontario and for two weeks during the month of May we took 50% of the vaccines that were coming in and dedicated them to the hotspot areas in order to boost the vaccination rates and make sure that people would be properly protected from COVID-19 that strategy has been extremely successful and I could advise the House through Mr Speaker that we now have areas in the hotspot areas that have 8% more people vaccinated than in non-hot spot areas Brampton received its share because of the number of hotspot areas that were identified and we'll continue to follow up with all of the politics that we have for to continue with first and second doses and the supplementary thank you Speaker back to the Premier Brampton has been left behind by the conservative government since day one of this pandemic Brampton has been but because Brampton has been fighting and organizing we've been able to get supports because of our advocacy the conservative government left Brampton behind when it came to testing the conservative government left behind Brampton behind when it came to vaccines but because we organized we were able to get the 50% allocation of vaccines that Brampton and other hotspots required but now just as we're turning the corner and finally bring cases down the conservative government is going against the recommendations of the science table and halting the 50% allocation of vaccines to COVID-19 hotspots we are not out of the woods yet this is a pandemic and we can't stop now that we're finally getting ahead of this virus will the conservative government finally listen to the science do the right thing and make sure that Brampton and other hotspots continue to get the 50% allocation of vaccines that we need so we can beat COVID-19 thanks for the help thank you speaker and through you Mr. Speaker I would advise the member opposite that several of the items that he mentioned are simply not the case with respect to the recommendations of the science advisory table on the 50% of the doses being allocated for a longer period of time that was before they realized that we were receiving almost double the number of doses from the federal government so in actual fact we have fulfilled the wishes of the science advisory table and as I indicated earlier that strategy has been incredibly successful with boosting the number of people in hotspot areas receiving the vaccine over non-hotspot areas so Brampton because they've had that number of hotspot areas identified they have been well treated by this strategy and continue to be well treated with the vaccine rollout in the sense that there are over 150 pharmacies in peel that are seven of which are operating 24-7 there are 40 primary care sites for hospitals in 18 over 18 over pop-up sites in hotspot areas so Brampton is receiving its fair share first of doses with respect to availability of vaccines and with respect to accessibility for people to increase their second doses by accelerating them further Brampton is receiving more than its fair share as compared to thank you the next question member for Ottawa Vanya thank you Mr. Speaker my question is to the minister of health the opioid crisis in our communities has reached an alarming threshold and this health crisis requires more attention from the province drug use overdoses and addictions continue to increase costs to governments for services such as shelters healthcare and emergency services both Ottawa and Toronto have seen a very concerning increase in overdose during the pandemic and this is not only true for those both cities but it's also true for the rest of the province we hear about this crisis like every day so my question is what is the government currently inactively doing to mitigate the impacts of the opioid crisis and protect vulnerable Ontarians the minister of health thank you well I thank the member very much for this question this is an extremely important issue there is no denying the fact that the opioid crisis has increased with the pandemic and we take this crisis very seriously that is why we have first of all approved and funded 16 consumption and treatment services sites in Ontario with others with pending applications so the CTS sites not only save lives by preventing overdose related deaths but it also connects people to primary care and other services in the event that they are ready to enter rehabilitation and treatment in addition we have also invested up to 194 million dollars in emergency mental health and addictions funding to expand easily accessible mental health and addictions care during this COVID-19 pandemic it is something that there is more work to do but we have certainly identified this as a priority and we are working towards expanding those services and funding Order supplementary question I thank you Mr. Speaker and again to the Minister of Health for my follow-up Mr. Speaker mayors of Ottawa and Toronto are both asking for the province to do more to address this crisis that continues to take the lives of so many people a safe supply of drugs has proven to drastically change the lives of those who use drugs in addition to the surrounding communities businesses and residents during the COVID-19 period it has become even more clear how current responses are not sufficient in protecting our residents and communities from the negative impact of addictions the Ministry of Health said it was looking into a safer supply program that was back in February but there has been no update yet so will the government commit to supporting the expansion of safe supply to provide immediate support to address this alarming health care issue and bring relief to our communities Minister of Health our government is committed to providing more supports for people struggling with a mental health or addictions crisis our roadmap to wellness was initiated just before the COVID pandemic struck last March we are committed to putting 3.8 billion dollars into our mental health and addiction system over the next 10 years we put in 175 million dollars new funds last year 176 million dollars this year went to both mental health and addictions funding there will be an announcement with respect to mental health funding later on today and addictions funding coming very shortly however I can advise that we have in addition to the consumption and treatment services site we've put 4 million dollars to nurse practitioners for detox services to improve the medical management of clients who are withdrawing from substance use 8 million dollars for addiction state and eating care and 3.5 million for in-home and mobile withdrawal management services and there is certainly more to come but as I indicated earlier we do take this very seriously and are taking action thank you the next question the member for Brampton West thank you Mr Speaker my question is for the minister of heritage sport tourism and culture industries our government in consultation with the chief medical officer of health recently released its roadmap to reopen a three-step plan to safely and cautiously reopen the province and gradually lift public health measures this was great news for our province and great news for the sectors this minister represents having said this many tourism industry small businesses in our province are going to need assistance to safely reopen after having been shitted for so long can the minister tell us for the Ontario tourism and travel small business grant has been supporting these sectors since it was announced a few weeks ago minister of heritage sport tourism and culture industries thank you very much Speaker and I want to thank the honourable member for the question it's important that we continue to talk about Ontario's hardest hit sectors in this legislature so that when we eye economic and social recovery we'll be prepared and that's why we have in conjunction with the with the minister for your centre come to order the ministry of government the government and consumer services as well as the ministry of economic development job creation and trade created the 100 million dollar Ontario tourism and travel small business grant to date we paid out over 13.1 million dollars to small businesses across the province with an average payment of up to 17,000 dollars and it takes about six days to approve the payment this is incredibly important as we continue to invest in in our sectors we are going to be announcing another hundred million dollars for tourism recovery as well as later this summer we'll be able to enact the 150 million dollar travel incentive because we want to make sure that the travel and tourism industry is going to be protected as we move forward the supplementary question thank you mr. Speaker and thank you minister it sounds like these tourism small businesses are taking advantage of this great program and it must be very beneficial to be able to use the support in whatever way makes the most sense for this their business there's no question that these small businesses have suffered dramatically throughout this pandemic with our government announcing its roadmap to reopen what other supports is this government providing to help these tourism businesses succeed when they can reopen minister much as you know we have the hundred and fifty million dollar travel incentive the hundred million dollar travel and tourism small business tax credit as well as the the grant story as the as the hundred million dollar recovery fund and we are going to continue to make significant investments into our regional tourism organizations and I'm delighted to say that Michael Crockett president and CEO of the Ottawa tourism recently said Ottawa tourism welcomes the support of the Ontario government as it recognizes that the Ontario tourism industry was hit first hardest and will take the longest to recover from the effects of the pandemic owners of tourism businesses have been resilient and creative over the past 14 months and while several aid programs have been launched some businesses have still fallen between the cracks programs such as this are incredibly helpful allowing businesses to continue employing Ontarians and contributing to the vibrant quality of life we enjoy we have a spectacular double bottom line within this ministry speaker and I am intent on making sure that we continue to preserve and protect it thank you the next question the member for Kitchener Center thank you Mr. Speaker my question is to the Premier last year this government snuck in a degree granting university for Charles McVeedy they put it into legislation that was meant to help small and medium-sized businesses thankfully the review board PECAB projected the application today we can all put this entire Charles McVeedy university behind us I have new legislation that will be tabled that will rip up that deal between the government that they cut with their buddy Charles McVeedy it will also bring new accountability and transparency to the PECAB process so Ontarians will see how these decisions are made and being Pride Month it's never been a more fitting time to take a stand against bigotry and intolerance so it's a simple question Mr. Speaker will the government do the right thing and support my bill this week yes or no the parliamentary assistant member for Northumberland Peterborough said thank you Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker as we've said from day one this government values and will always lean on the expert independent advice of the post-secondary education quality assessment board we've said we would respect their decisions and we've done just that thank you Speaker please supplement your question thank you Mr. Speaker and back to the Premier Charles McVeedy's college is campaigning to keep this legislation on the books and to ensure it receives royal assent for it they're claiming widespread fraud and alleging damage to their reputation Speaker and Terrians have had enough of this nonsense the house leader himself said in an interview on Monday that this has been difficult for his government it's time to turn the page on this troubling chapter brought to us by this government the government can support our bill rip up this legislation so my question is simple why won't they do it again please supplement your system thank you Mr. Speaker again as the government said we rely on the expert independent advice of the PECAB process and we've done just that Mr. Speaker it's leaning on independent processes like that that we've seen an expansion of OCAD University of Algoma in the North it's leaning on those independent processes that we've seen our high quality post-secondary education sector expand in this province a sector that has expanded through OSAP eligibility for Indigenous Institute something that this government's worked on that I've really enjoyed working in partnership with our Indigenous Institutes on it's through that that we've expanded mental health supports to support our students through the challenging COVID-19 realities it's through working with our sector Mr. Speaker and working with the independence of the universities and colleges and how they're governed that we've expanded for the first time in over 20 years nursing seats to support in our Herculean commitment to bring in 27,000 more health care workers Mr. Speaker we respect the independence of our academic institutions and the independence of the PECAB process as we said from day one thank you Speaker Thank you the next question the member for York Senator Thank you Speaker to the Minister of Education we've all been hearing from parents across the province we heard the 70% sick kids study kids helpline calls doubling Hamilton Children's Hospital and CHEO we all heard the Canadian Pediatric Society that Ontario's kids are increasingly anxious depressed and suicidal what can be more important than that the Minister stood in front of this house for months and peddificated that schools are safe that there was no transmission I agree but not because of ministry or public health abracadabra but because they're kids they don't transmit much we know this already so when the pressure got to this Premier he started blaming the teachers unions and threats of injunction for not opening the schools then instead of listening to the chief medical officer who wanted to open schools the Premier wrote to 54 stakeholders looking for political cover and still got the same advice almost unanimously open the schools so why minister despite the advice the lack of transmission the harm done to our kids why aren't Ontario schools open today the government house leader thank you very much Mr. Speaker I appreciate the question from the Honourable gentleman as you know Mr. Speaker this is of course a member who has come both ways on this four months he was very supportive of the measures that this government has had taken in order to ensure that the safety of the people of province of Ontario he of course was very supportive of measures taken March April May June July Mr. Speaker and then back in September we learned yesterday though of course that his efforts from September October November and December were actually not for him but were for our benefit Mr. Speaker so I thank him for the sacrifices that he made in helping attempting to help this government Mr. Speaker the Minister of Education has always made sure that our schools are safe and the people of the province of Ontario is safe despite the transition of the member opposite to somebody who no longer seems to have that as a priority the supplementary question thank you Speaker to the Minister of Health for 15 months the Minister and Premier told us they were listening to Dr. Williams until Dr. Williams wanted to open schools and they didn't two days later they announced that Dr. Williams is getting replaced but in fact Speaker that was not the first time they didn't listen to Dr. Williams Williams testified before the long-term care commission that he did not believe in asymptomatic transmission until late summer Speaker the rationale for the lockdown is stopping the spread of asymptomatic transmission to keep 15 million people Ontarians at home but why if Williams didn't believe in asymptomatic transmission last spring then why did we go into lockdown my question to the Minister of Health is it a coincidence that Dr. Williams is getting replaced after publicly wanting to open Ontario schools and if Dr. Williams did not believe in asymptomatic spread until last summer as he said under oath then does the Minister deny that the decision to go into lockdown was a political decision and not a medical decision the government house speaker thank you very much Mr. Speaker look the only person who seems to really be flip-flopping is the member opposite we have been very clear from day one that it was our intention to ensure that the safety and security to the people of the province of Ontario we enthusiastically voted to ensure that safety Mr. Speaker on many occasions in fact the member opposite did just the same as I've said he did so in March April May enthusiastically member for York center come to order now we're finding out he says who cares Mr. Speaker so now we're finding out that the members' votes never really matters order the minister of heritage come to order member for York center come to order member for Hamilton mountain come to order leader of the opposition come to order I'll allow the government house leader to conclude his answer look Mr. Speaker I think when the member just said who cares how he votes I think that speaks volumes about him now I understand why the members for Ottawa Vanier and Cambridge and the house leader for the Liberal Party seemed to sink down in their seats every time he gets up and asks a question the next question member for Niagara Falls thank you Mr. Speaker my question to the Premier Premier today is injured workers day this is a day when injured workers demand respect and demand not to be ignored they're fighting because in this province right now injured workers are four times more likely to live in poverty once they're injured one in five workers are living in extreme poverty after an injury which is less than $10,000 per year and just over 40 percent report an income a less than $15,000 a year one in five workers in this province have lost their homes because of an injury one of the ways we can stop this is by immediately outlawing the practice of deeming and making WSIB focus on helping injured workers like it was supposed to will the Premier support my bill bill 119 today and make that a reality or is he proud of Ontario's record when it comes to injured workers having to live in poverty Government House Leader Yeah, look Mr. Speaker as I've said on a number of occasions when members bring bills forward private members bills forward I expect them to work with their colleagues on both sides of the House to gain support for those bills so that when it comes to to committee and if it does make it back into the House that a majority of the House supports that bill so really Mr. Speaker I'm certainly not going to as a Government House Leader order that people on all sides of the House do the work that I know the member opposite is very passionate about I know he will continue to do that work I know he's passionate about his private members bill and I know that he will continue to reach across both sides of the aisle so that when it does come back to this House for third reading he hopefully will have the support of the entire House and all members on both sides the supplementary question thank you Mr. Speaker again to the Premier injured workers have been clear under this Government if you're injured at work you have a 50% chance of living in poverty under this Minister being injured to work as a sentence to a life in poverty they're also clear WSIB is broken it's failing workers in the province of Ontario even during the pandemic it has been denied benefits for over 800 front-line healthcare workers will the minister or the Premier stand up today tell injured workers that they are right that WSIB is broken and has failed them and commit to fixing it will they commit to supporting two bills I have table before you one to end deeming and one to provide every front-line worker our heroes that you call heroes who catches COVID-19 with presumptive coverage so you can get the benefits they need and deserve thank you Mr. Speaker I think we know how important it is that workers across Ontario and really frankly across Canada are safe Mr. Speaker I am pleased of course that the WSIB is on a sound footing Mr. Speaker I know that they are the primary mechanism by which we are delivering the paid sick days right now but having said that again Mr. Speaker I can't imagine that the member opposite would want the government house leader deciding whether a private member's bill should pass or not it really is up to the member to do what other colleagues on his side of the house have done and what colleagues on this side of the house have done advance that private members bill advance it through the committee gain the support of a majority of the members on both sides of the house and a bill will pass Mr. Speaker I can't reiterate this again at no point as I as government house leader going to order whether people should vote for or against a private members bill I'm very pleased by the fact that we've caught up through COVID and that we're up to date on our private members bills I'm very pleased that we've broken records on the amount of key and private members bills that we have passed and I know how passionate the member is on this and I know he will do the work that is needed to get this bill through committee and if he's successful get a majority to support in the house to pass them The next question the member for Ottawa sir my questions for the deputy premier speaker and my question is about the planning preparedness of this government for the response to COVID-19 so in Ottawa we're on day two of not being able to book a second appointment for people over 80 it's been that way since 9 a.m. yesterday and I know the member from an APN's phones are ringing off the hook too so one hour one hour seniors were able to book their vaccines one hour and this is especially frustrating Mr. Heritage come to order for seniors over 80 who've been trying to book their second appointment who had a problem with their first appointment and then there's a whole bunch of seniors I know the member from the APN knows this as well too who didn't get a second dose appointment it's still not working today so to the deputy premier can Ottawa seniors over 80 get a commitment from you that this problem will be fixed by the end of the day Mr. Heritage come to order Minister of Health to reply thank you speaker and I can certainly advise that we have a very successful online booking centre which is now being used to accelerate second doses which you have referred to as a matter of fact over 102,000 were booked just yesterday however we are aware that there was a clinic configuration issue that arose yesterday in Ottawa that allowed some individuals to book into clinics that did not have available appointments however we were asked by Ottawa Public Health to take a pause to fix the situation I understand that the situation has now been resolved thank you Ottawa well thank you deputy premier and I do want to say I don't think that it's up yet and it's still very frustrating for seniors but I would like to ask another question about planning and preparation for the COVID-19 and two weeks ago almost two weeks ago the premier when he was talking about the reopening really had nothing to say about schools there was no plan about opening schools not a plan nothing and then the next week on the Wednesday or Thursday he says I want consensus so he fires out a letter that's an ultimatum we still don't know what's going to happen parents don't know educators don't know this is really unfair and what it shows is this government hasn't taken an approach to education that has any planning involved with the partners it's not like we didn't know that we might open up schools in June it's not like we didn't know that in April no plan so speaker is there going to be some sort of plan coming forward for schools so parents and educators will know what's happening this summer and in September to reply the minister of education of course speaker it's why we announced some weeks ago the grant for student needs which the member opposite knows is the principal funding vehicle in that announcement we confirmed a 1.6 billion dollar resource for COVID-19 that includes the continuation of asymptomatic testing corner includes the doubling of public health nurses of cohorting of active screening and of course includes the support for additional staffing and custodians and educators in the schools Mr. Speaker we've also unveiled the minister of heritage come to order member parado a south come to order an 85 million dollar program the largest summer learning program in Ontario history to support more kids to do credit recovery and to help them reach ahead for courses in the year ahead also more support for tutoring for math in areas of literacy numeracy trying to strengthen those learning gaps that have grown over the pandemic globally and Mr. Speaker when it comes to our school board funding there's a 560 million dollar net increase year-over-year that underscores our commitment to safety and to quality learning in September the next question member for Hamilton now thank you very much speaker my question is for the premier McMaster Children's Hospital in Hamilton is seeing a dramatic increase in children seeking mental medical help for mental health issues this past fall twice the number of children were in with eating disorders and substance use issues while the number of youth being treated for suicide attempts has tripled compared to the same time this time last year before the pandemic I hear from families across the province who have absolutely nowhere to turn before the pandemic access to mental health services for children and youth was already at a crisis point now we're seeing the demand for mental health services rise even higher as the pandemic continues according to children's mental health Ontario there were 28,000 children and youth on waitlist two and a half years long for mental health supports speaker my question is simple what is this government doing to protect our children and youth in the province of Ontario as this pandemic continues to drag on thank you speaker and thank you very much to the member for the question we're certainly well aware that there is an increased need for mental health and addiction supports not addiction so much for children for adults but for mental health supports for children youth adults as well as seniors this is something that we have addressed with our roadmap to wellness which was launched just before covid struck but we now know that as covid itself we deal with that physical aspect of it the mental health issues will remain for many years so we have been helping our children mental health supports by increasing their funding by five percent last year to allow them to hire more staff to be able to reduce their waitlist that is something that we are working on today we will be having an announcement very soon about additional supports that we're going to be putting into this sector because we do recognize that those needs are acute and the waitlist are long thank you very much point of order the government house leader thank you very much Mr. Speaker just two quick points of order inadvertently I forgot to seek unanimous consent for members to wear the pin symbolizing Italian heritage month so I'd seek unanimous consent for members to do that government house leaders seeking the unanimous consent of the house to allow members to wear a pin recognizing Italian heritage month agreed agreed government house leader thank you speaker pursuant to standing order 9g the afternoon routine tomorrow shall commence at 1pm members for Scarborough southwest on a point of order thank you speaker I would like to on the first ever Filipino heritage month celebrated in Ontario I would like to wish the Filipino community and everyone across this province a very happy Filipino heritage month in June thank you very much question period has come to an end next we have a deferred vote on the motion for third reading of bill 283 an act to amend and enact various acts with respect to the health system the bells will now ring for 30 minutes during which time members may cast their votes I'll ask the clerks to please prepare the lines