 It is now time for oral questions, and I recognize the leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition. Thank you so much, Mr. Speaker. My first question this morning is to our Premier. At every stage of the second wave of this pandemic, the Ford government's lack of planning has created chaos and confusion. The Premier keeps insisting we're flattening the curb, while cases mount. And his own MPPs ignore public health rules. Today's Toronto Star reports of experts warning the Ford government that hundreds of COVID-19 infections may be going absolutely undetected in the province of Ontario, because of the province's deeply-falled testing regime. When will we see investments in testing and tracing that should have been in place in our province months ago? The Member for Eglinton Lawrence. Thank you, Speaker, and thank you for the question. Our government has made enormous investments in testing, including a billion dollars recently to improve our lab capacity and testing capacity. And we did, for a long time throughout the summer, run asymptomatic testing of anybody who wanted to present for testing. And what we found out was that by testing a number of people who were asymptomatic, we weren't actually detecting many positive cases. In fact, we have quotes from a member of the Queen's Infectious Disease Specialty Division, Dr. Gerald Evans, who said that asymptomatic people provide less information at this point in the pandemic, and we know we're going to have lots of people with common cold symptoms who are going to present for testing. We need to be able to find the ones that are real COVID so that we can control them with contact tracing and isolation. So it is important that we dedicate our resources to the people who really need the tests, and that is what we have done with our new plan. Thank you. The supplementary question. Speaker, there continue to be hotspots around Toronto, in fact, in the Northwest, that don't have the testing capacity that they should have. And we were supposed to have 55,000 daily tests here in Ontario. None of that's happening. The second wave of COVID-19 is also, at the same time, devastating long-term care homes again, just as it did in the first wave. And every day the Minister of Long-Term Care insists that the growing number of outbreaks and cases isn't a cause for concern. Well, I disagree, Speaker. The government has expressed, at the same time, support for the Long Overdue Time to Care Act, which adds more staff, four hours of hands-on care in long-term care. But in a briefing yesterday, the Minister of Long-Term Care informed me that the government doesn't intend to have a full staffing plan in place until sometime next year. Other provinces have worked overtime, Speaker, to boost the number of staff in long-term care homes. Why was this government so unprepared and still moving at such a glacial pace? Minister of Long-Term Care, Dirstan. Thank you, Speaker. And thank you to the member opposite for the question. I've got to clarify that that is not what happened in that meeting. And so I am adamant that there is a staffing plan. It has been on the go ever since we were concerned about the crisis in long-term care and the PSW crisis ever since we became a ministry. So to hear the member opposite say that is absolutely stunning. It is stunning. And I take great offense at anything that I would have said in a opposition briefing to be distorted in this manner. I take great offense. And so there is an ongoing plan, not only to deal with the overarching issue with staffing in long-term care, but also emergency efforts to stabilize staffing in long-term care. And we've put dollars behind that plan and we continue to put out more measures and continue to put out more dollars. And I'm just absolutely amazed that that could be distorted in that way. The final supplementary. Well, Speaker, what is truly stunning is the Premier's failure to plan for the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in our province. And that failure has left people in our province paying the price while he scrambles to get ahead of crisis after crisis. He claims testing is a success while hundreds of infections go literally undetected in our province. He tells people they have to follow the rules while his own MPPs ignore the rules and face no consequences for doing so. When will the Premier stop making this up as he goes? When is he going to stop making excuses for his team when they break the rules and start making investments that should have been made months ago? Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. Thank you very much, Speaker. And I think it's really important to bring forward a few points of fact with respect to this question. One is that we have invested over a billion dollars in testing, tracing, contact management, and so on. Secondly, we have the most robust testing strategy in the entire country and we have recently exceeded a target of five million Ontarians have already been tested. That's a third of the entire population. So we have a very robust testing strategy and we do recognize that there are some areas northwestern Toronto, for example, being one area where people aren't coming forward. We have to remember the testing is demand-driven. It depends on how many people go in. But in some cases we know that people aren't coming in, so we are going to them. We have mobile test units, we have pop-up testing centres, and we're working with local organizations that already have established trusted relationships with the people in these areas. And so we are going to them if they feel reluctant to come to us. So we are going to make sure that everybody who needs a test is going to be able to get a test. The next question, the Leader of the Opposition. Thank you so much, Speaker. My next question is for the Premier. But look, 934 cases today, 35,000 tests done, not 55 as it should be. A backlog of 40,000 up again. And the grim reality that we've now reached over 2,000 deaths of seniors in long-term care. Certainly nothing to brag about over there. But I have a different focus, Speaker, and that's about the avoided questions that this Premier has continued to avoid. To give his friend an extremist Islamophobic, homophobic, transphobic Charles McVeedy the right to grant a university degree for his Canadian Christian College in the midst of this COVID-19 pandemic. They insisted that McVeedy was playing with the same rules as everybody else, every other post-secondary organization when he applied to have his university designation. Yet days after questions were raised about the government's decision, the college application mysteriously disappeared from the internet. Is the government still claiming that this is a normal process? Parliamentary Assistant, Member for Thornhill. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Just this morning I was the first time that I used technology to read a statement into the House and we all know that technology has a few bugs. I was talking to my colleagues about it and I had it backed up sort of on my phone so that if this one somehow didn't connect to the internet because it was through a Google document that I would be able to use my phone. So in terms of technology not always working, we've all experienced it. It's a frustration, it's a frustration for our students and our businesses across the province. That's why our government is focusing on ensuring that we have better broadband connectivity throughout the province and rural areas. And if any applications to government websites experienced any difficulty or had to make any changes, my understanding is that an application was put on, then taken off and changes were made and put back on again. Perhaps those applications have to be done through some type of Google document where changes can be made and they don't have to be taken off. It's something that we can all discuss here in terms of better use of technology to provide those services. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The supplementary question. If that isn't one of the lamest excuses I've heard in this House, I don't know what is. Absolutely lame. Coincidentally, this disappearing document reappeared yesterday on the internet but without 91 of the original pages that were first put on the internet, including statements that clearly show that Mr. McVeedy took loans of more than half a million dollars from the college and that information is now redacted. Why has this agency allowed Mr. McVeedy to remove the information and more importantly, why did the government and why is the government still claiming that removing this information was merely a web compliance issue? That is shameful and people deserve an explanation of what sneaky things are happening over there. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So as we have discussed in the legislature, there is an independent process that is taking place. Members from all religious communities are welcome and invited to participate in any applications that our government puts forward or any changes or any services that they need. Enabling legislation for private faith-based degree granting institutions has happened under all governments of all political stripes. Again, this review is being undertaken by the Independent Nonpartisan Post-Secondary Education Quality Assessment Board, we call it PCAB. And PCAB is made up of independent experts and individuals with significant experience of post-secondary education administration. I don't know exactly how the process is conducted, but I trust in those experts to ask any questions that are offered into the application. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. The final supplementary. Something just doesn't add up here. Something just doesn't add up again. This government is back to its normal behaviour. The redacted information shows other members of the McVidi family getting sizable loans as well from the Canada Christian College. In fact, Ryan McVidi, Charles' son, is both the college's vice president and its legal counsel. And of course, the college let Ryan take two loans worth more than $400,000. The decision to rewrite the law to help a friend of the Premier with a history of hate speech is absolutely indefensible. Absolutely indefensible. So why would a government agency help Mr. McVidi hide this information? And more importantly, why did this government help them by claiming this was nothing but a web compliance issue? Nobody believes it. Come clean and tell the people of Ontario how Mr. McVidi got special treatment from the Premier to try to get his college accredited. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. All my colleagues in the House are aware that there are certain processes that we have to follow, whether it's here at Queen's Park or in our constituency offices. It's the hardest thing, I think, to explain sometimes to new staff in terms of that we're there to support, we're there to ensure that they're provided with the right government services, but we're not there to intervene in any applications or any reviews of applications or things like that. And it's a very tricky, difficult spot for us sometimes to give advice without being seen as intervening. So we know that this process specifically that we're discussing today has been in place for 20 years. Numerous institutions have had legislation proposed based on the review by PCAB. All three political parties have proposed legislation in support of this process in the last 20 years. And I think that in general, there's always processes that we need to look at again. We were talking about the use of technology, and I think that maybe some changes are going to have to be made based on better use of technology in the processes of providing the services to all of our constituents. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Do you order? Order. The House will come to order. The next question, the member for Kitchener Centre. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The next question is to the Premier. Mr. Speaker, it's more and more clear. There is absolutely no defense for the government's decision to make Charles McVeedy's Canada Christian College into a university. The information redacted from Canada Christian College's application shows that Charles McVeedy's wife, who is also a vice president of the college, has awarded herself the title of doctor despite lacking any qualifications to do so. The more the government tries to defend the decision, the less defensible it gets. So my question, will the government immediately pull this bill? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I can speak to the process that is taking place. An independent review is taking place. I would not want to be seen as somebody who is intervening in any kind of independent process, and I would suggest that everybody in this room would not want to be called out for intervening in an independent process. I believe that we should all wait for the independent process to take place, and then we can have whatever discussions we want to have on what they rule in terms of the application. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Supplementary question. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are speaking about legislation. They are speaking about the process, and that is the problem. Back to the Premier. Faculty associations have serious concerns about what this legislation means for the quality of post-secondary education in Ontario. Muslim Ontarians are worried about giving Charles McVeedy an even larger platform for hate. Members of Ontario's LGBTQ2West community are sick of being harassed after years of homophobic and transphobic comments from Charles McVeedy. And Ontarians know our province's reputation takes a hit when the Premier piles around with Mr. McVeedy. So my question, why won't the government stop this now and pull the legislation? The response? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And it's my understanding that we have to wait until the independent review process takes place, until the experts complete their review. And then I guess we will have to see what that review is. It's impossible to surmise what questions the experts may have to the applicant. It's impossible to surmise what answers the applicant might have to those questions. And it's equally impossible to surmise what the results of the independent process and review will be. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. The next question, the member for Flamborough Landry. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Speaker, our province is currently facing the second wave of COVID-19 and winter is fast approaching. Our government took decisive action during the first wave by providing critical social services relief funding to municipalities and indigenous partners. This funding was necessary to provide rent relief, expand shelters, and purchase PPE. Will the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing please explain how the government is preparing our partners for the second wave of COVID-19? The Member for Milton and Parliamentary Services. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Let me just start off by thanking the member from Flamborough Glenbrook for her amazing work on behalf of her to each and every day, Mr. Speaker. It's an honour to stand in this house today to speak to our government's plan to help vulnerable Ontarians during the second wave of COVID-19. Yesterday, following several days of local announcements by MPPs across our province, our government announced $241 million in new investment for municipalities and our indigenous community partners, Mr. Speaker. This funding is part of our government's $510 million investment to support homeless shelters. Mr. Speaker, create or renovate more than 1,500 housing units and expand the rent support program right across this province. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Any supplementary questions? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And clearly, this is evidence that our government is taking the safety and well-being of vulnerable Ontarians seriously. We all know that funding is important but only if it's going towards community projects that keep our community safe. Can the Minister please assure this house that the funds are going to projects that will benefit those that need it most? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank my honorable colleague once again for this important question. Mr. Speaker, it's important and that's why we've asked our municipal partners to submit business cases for the available funding and that's why we have now approved the investment for our partners, Mr. Speaker. For example, the City of Hamilton provided a compelling business case and will in fact receive over 11.3 million dollars in social services relief funding. This funding will be used to support the health and well-being of residents and will go towards projects such as operating an isolation center, three hotels and enhanced drop-in services and assist in acquiring a facility and renovate two existing emergency shelters in the area. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The next question. The Member for Davenport. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good morning. My question is to the Premier. Speaker, the Thames Valley School Board is reporting that 1,000 students are being moved out of schools and online, motivated by recent COVID cases in the Board. The Board's Director of Education told the London Free Press he's very concerned and I'm going to quote him here. Please understand we have left no stone unturned, no budget and no funding. The Board's Director of Education in Ontario work where basically we are funded to run one model. Speaker, across the province, families, students are anxious, teachers are getting close to burnout and boards are struggling to meet the need with scant resources and it's only the end of October. The government seems to think their work here is done. When will the Premier deliver more supports to ensure our schools are safe? Thank you very much, Speaker. Thank you to the member for the question. It was just two days ago. I was proud to join the Minister of Conservation, Environment Conservation and Parks to announce a new school for the people of London. We announced a new school cost of roughly $60 million to build. They saved the art of school for over 800 children, five new childcare spaces. They reduced classroom sizes well below the provincial average of last year. We appreciate the difficult task of concurrently providing in-class learning that is safe and quality online learning. It's why we funded virtual schools and administrative support. It's why we extended technology to more families in need. It's why we ensure broadband modernisation to all high schools in the province which is the case in the province of Ontario today. We understand there's more to do. We're working with the government to help school boards in London to rebuild schools after a decade of neglect by the former Liberal government. The supplementary question. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What the Minister needs to understand here is the need is now. It's not a year from now when the new school is finally built. It's now. Every time a board is forced to change their delivery models because of a lack of funding, it compounds the stress of the school. 70% of teachers responding to a CBC news survey said physical distancing between students was not happening. A third of them said they were considering changing professions or retiring. Yet as cases are going up, there's a real sense out there that the Minister is already running a victory lap on his plan and not seeing the reality of what's happening on the ground. So, Mr. Speaker, before they hang the mission accomplished sign up, will the Minister roll up his sleeves and start to address these gaps in his plan? Mr. Speaker, thank you very much. The member opposite rightfully speaks about quality education and I will note that her party was silent when this government took bold action to ensure that the seniority, the hiring system within our schools predicated on seniority comes to an end when the members opposite would defend the liberal record of bringing in a plan that ensures promotion and hiring is most exclusively on seniority. One comes to think that it's not about students in fact, it's about preserving a system that worked well for our unions but not for our kids. And this government is actually going to ensure that quality and diversity and mobility of the next generation of teachers actually leads the way. And that's what we're doing in the new math curriculum. We're making sure mental health support, we're investing two rounds of capital, we're billion dollars to rebuild schools today and in the future. And yesterday I joined the premier under the Minister of Infrastructure's leadership a 700 million dollar one-time infusion of investment to rebuild schools to expand child care, to make our HVAC systems more better off to reduce the risk within our schools. This is a significant investment. Thank you very much. Good morning, Speaker. My question is for the premier. It doesn't take a sixth sense to know that small businesses are feeling spooked. They've been screaming at this government to extend the commercial eviction ban but it expires tomorrow. Before the new commercial rent program is in place meaning that we could be waking up to the dawn of dead businesses on Halloween. Speaker, small businesses are in the jaws of closure right now and they need this government to exercise the threat of eviction. So will the premier finally end the nightmare on Main Street and extend the ban on commercial evictions until we're through this COVID-19 pandemic? The parliamentary system. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank the member opposite for that important question, Mr. Speaker. We know that COVID-19 has had significant impact on the small businesses who are all essential to Ontario's economic recovery, Mr. Speaker, to help businesses continue to recover from COVID-19. Our government passed bill 204, Helping Tenants in Small Business Act 2020, which reinstates and extends the temporary ban on evictions of small commercial evictions for federal provincial rent relief program. We want to continue to protect businesses from being locked out or having their assets seized. We encourage landlords and tenants to continue to work together because we have to work together to overcome COVID-19. That's true for protecting public health and for protecting our economy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. The supplementary question. I want to thank the member opposite for that important question. I want to thank the member opposite that the commercial eviction ban passed in the bill that the member cited expires tomorrow. Small businesses are asking for an extension of the commercial eviction ban until the new rent relief program is in place and we don't know how long it's going to take the federal government to pass that legislation. Meanwhile, the government says again it's tough talk and no action. Small businesses have no idea how to even apply for this money that's been allocated. So, Speaker, can the parliamentary assistant tell us and tell more importantly tell small businesses how and when they will be able to apply for the help that the Premier promised over a month ago? The Parliamentary Assistant, member for the bill. Thank you very much, Speaker. And thank you to the member. I know that during our 522 stakeholder meetings throughout the meetings from the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs, we heard directly from small businesses and the difficulties they're going through but also through the pre-budget consultations at the Ministry of Finance and our Premier in his countless conversations with the members in Ottawa and we filled the gaps as we've progressed through these very uncertain times that is COVID-19, Mr. Speaker. That's why our government has to be prudent and adaptive and that's why we introduced an additional $300 million. The details of which will be available in short order to help businesses with fixed costs like their hydro rates, like bringing down other taxes as well as helping them with their property taxes. So, to that member opposite, I say this coordination will continue to provide the relief that small businesses expect and to them that small businesses out there are messages clear, this government will always have your back. The next question, the member for Hastings, Lennox and Addington. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The fall outdoor season is here. Hunting and fishing are crucial economic drivers for small and often family owned businesses, certainly not just my riding, but in a great many others across this province. Can the national resources and forestry explain how our government is supporting this industry and the growth of the outdoors and the resource-based sector here in the province of Ontario? Parliamentary system. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. It's an excellent question from the member from Hastings, Lennox and Addington and I know that this member is a great advocate for the sector and for his community. Hunting and fishing are not only valued pastimes in an integral part of our Canadian heritage but the sale of more than 1.8 million outdoors cards and other fees directly support continued fish and wildlife management here in the province, Mr. Speaker. Hunters and anglers are not only stewards of the land, but they also spend more than $560 million and $1.6 billion a year, respectively, supporting countless jobs and many rural and northern communities. And since day one, this government has been listening and responding to their concerns. This includes expanding various free fishing opportunities and designing a fairer and more consistent approach to moose tag allocation and distribution. I look forward to working with the minister, this member and this government to support this sector in the years to come. Thank you and I look forward to the supplemental. Supplementary question. Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would certainly like to thank the Parliamentary Assistant for that great support of response. I know that our government is 100% committed to supporting the growth of this sector which is so, so important to our businesses and businesses as I mentioned, not just my writing, but across this great province. To ensure that this sector will benefit my constituents, though, and many others for this year, but most importantly also for many more years to come, can the minister explain our government's initiative to promote fish and wildlife sustainability in this province and offer, as I might add, due to the circumstance with COVID, advice for Hunters and Anglers on Remaining Safe. Member for Kitchen and Conestoga. Well, thank you again to the member for that great question. So on the sustainability piece, we are designing a new bait fish management strategy to address invasive species and fish disease as well supporting this important industry. We are proactively updating the chronic wasting disease prevention and response plan to ensure we can act quickly if this disease that affects deer and moose populations is detected here in Ontario, Mr. Speaker. Regarding the pandemic, we ask that all Hunters form a plan well in advance on how to safely hunt and camp together on the advice from local public health and chief medical officer. Fishing and hunting remain open here in Ontario, Mr. Speaker, with all rules and regulations in effect and our fantastic frontline conservation officers will continue to patrol and manage our natural resources here. We'll continue to support them and all the Hunters and Anglers here in Ontario. Thank you, Speaker. Thank you. The next question is for Hamilton Mountain. My question is for the Premier. This morning, the Ontario Autism Coalition held a press conference to mark the one year since the government received the advisory panel report. The minister promised that the new autism program would be launched by April 2020. But families still have no core services, no access to therapy that their children need. The minister has failed to deliver on his promise to quote the president of the OAC quote, I feel like we were intentionally deceived or the minister and his staff are incapable of delivering on their promise and quote, why has the premier failed over and over again to deliver on the needs-based autism program? The response? The associate minister of children and women's issues. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to start off by thanking the advisory panel for all of their hard work. Our government is adopting the key pillars of the Ontario Autism Program as a strong foundation for the needs-based Ontario Autism Program. In line with their recommendations we established an implementation working group which has been providing input on how we implement the key elements of the new program. The minister and the working group have been working hard as we continue to make progress on the implementation to date. I'd like to remind the member of the work that has been done so far. We've launched the foundational family services a key element of the panel's report including family and peer mentoring caregiver workshops and coaching so families can support their child's ongoing learning and development. We launched a variety of early years supports focused on younger children on the wait list to help build skills in social communication, engagement, speech and language and emotional regulation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The supplementary question, the member for Thunder Bay Atacoka. My question is for the minister of children, community and social services. My constituent Alina Cameron is beyond upset with the Ontario autism program delays. She has told me her daughter Fiona is finally receiving care and seeing wonderful progress but funding will run out in February and she fears all that progress will disappear. The cost of Fiona's care is $93,000 per year and her family cannot afford to pay for it. Across the north, thousands of families are facing heartbreaking decisions about their children. Minister, what is this government's plan for delivering autism services to families in northern Ontario? The associate minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. More than 28,000 families are receiving support through existing behaviour plans, childhood budgets and interim one-time funding as we transition to the new needs-based system. That's more children receiving support than at any point in the program's history. I mentioned early year support as an example. Thousands of children and caregivers have already benefited from programs like more than words, takeability by the Hannon Centre. As we continue our implementation work, programs like these will help young children build their skills in speech and language, emotional regulation and communication. Recognising the impacts of the COVID-19, we have extended the amount of time for families to spend their childhood budgets and interim one-time funding by six months. Our government will spend $1.2 billion over two years to support children and youth with autism as we transition to the new needs-based Ontario autism program. The next question, the member for Scarborough Guildwood. Thank you, Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Finance. In your government's first budget, the word beer was mentioned 12 times. The word women was mentioned a mere four times. We have seen this government overlook women time and time again from preventing the Pay Transparency Act from coming into force, defunding rate crisis centres and disbanding the expert panel on violence against women. Now more than ever, women in Ontario are at risk of losing hard-won gains in the workplace as the COVID-19 pandemic has clear gender impacts on women's employment. Experts have been ringing the alarm bell about the she-session and need to invest in a she-covery but the government has been silent. Speaker, through you to the Minister, what investments are planned in the upcoming budget to mitigate the economic impacts of COVID-19 on women and have you finally put your budget through a gender-based lens? The Associate Minister for Children and Women's Issues Thank you Mr Speaker and thank you to the member for your question. Just recently the Ontario Chamber of Commerce came out with a report exactly on this issue. All levels of government need to be working together to help women now but also in the future. We need to ensure that women aren't being left behind by championing them in the workforce and getting them back into the workforce. This is something our government was already doing before the pandemic. We're working to address the fact that women continue to be underrepresented in many sectors that are critical to our province's economic growth such as science, technology, engineering, math, manufacturing, construction. I can also tell you that Minister McNaughton, Minister Omano and Minister Leche have been working very hard on this. I know we've been working to raise awareness and work across various sectors to get more women and girls into high-paying jobs that are very rewarding. Increasing gender equality in the workplace and getting more women into sectors where they are underrepresented is more than just a nightmare. The supplementary question. Women need more than empty words and the minister is right. The federal government announced their plan in their throne speech. What has this government done? The minister's sentiments are meaningless unless women see results. Women are trying to balance work, childcare, and they are disproportionately in low-wage front-line work that has been impacted by COVID-19. Economists are predicting a K recovery for Canada where some are recovering more quickly because they can continue to work at home while others are lining up in the food banks. In Windsor, a trained PSW had to give up her job because of lack of childcare. The minister ought to know the impacts of the pandemic are more severe on BIPOC, on Ontarians with disabilities, on women, on small businesses but we've seen that there has been no real action on these files. While the government sits on $9.3 billion in reserves and unallocated funds what programs is this government investing in to ensure that all Ontarians can recover quickly from this economic recession? Thank you very much. Thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to the member opposite. We are fighting for all Ontario workers. Everyone in Ontario should have the skills they need to get a good job. It's how we're going to be competitive. This year we're investing $1.2 billion to help over 1 million people. Programs that respond to the skills of individuals and the labour needs of employers. This includes $418 million to help protect employers and job seekers. $191 million to support apprenticeship training and employers who host them. $187 million to train unemployed job seekers and retrain employed workers. I could go on and on. On October 7th Minister McNaught and I announced additional $75 million over two years to help apprentices cover their living expenses during in-class training. We're going to upgrade their facilities and purchase new state-of-the-art equipment and provide upgraded safety equipment to ensure in-person training. Our government is standing up for all Ontario employees and getting this workforce back as we move forward. Thank you. The next question for the member for Mississauga. Thank you Mr. Speaker. My question is the work for the Minister of Infrastructure. Earlier this year the federal government approved a special stream of funding provinces could use to support the building of critical infrastructure approaches. Ontario municipalities desperately need more funding to help rebuild and grow their local economies in the aftermath of the state COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of the federal government announcement, municipalities across the province including the city of Mississauga which I am proud of providing the province to provide this infrastructure dollars that would help create jobs, grow the economy and get shovels in the ground. Can the Minister commit that this government will in fact take advantage of the COVID stream to help building needed infrastructure in Ontario communities? The Parliamentary Assistant and Member for Oakville. Thank you for the great writing of Mississauga Erin Mills' first question. She recognizes the flexibility that the COVID-19 resilience stream will have to provide for communities and organizations across this great province. And while Ontario would have liked to have seen new funding from the federal government, we do appreciate the flexibility to reallocate funding to address critical issues relating to this pandemic. These issues can be addressed with investments in specific types of infrastructure projects that were previously not within the scope of the ISIP program. We are committed to delivering on the investing in Canada infrastructure program. And we are committed to investing in infrastructure projects which will protect the health and well-being of Ontarians, including investments in long-term care as well as education projects. We're making it possible for communities right across this great province to get shovel-ready projects underway sooner and help kickstart their local economies. Thank you. The supplementary. It's good to hear that the province will be taking advantage of the COVID resilience funding stream. I'm sure I speak for the members on all sides of this house. When I say we would have liked to see new funding from the federal government to support critical infrastructure projects. But in absence of new funding, I think we all appreciate the flexibility you mentioned this new stream provides. Mr. Speaker can the minister or the PA tell this house and the residents of my communities in Mississauga how much funding will be available for Ontario and our communities through the COVID-19 resilience stream and how this much needed funding will be used. Thank you, Speaker. And back to the member from Mississauga, he will be pleased to know that the combined federal and provincial funding will be $1.05 billion under the new resilience stream as part of the ISIP program. Aligned with federal eligibility criteria municipalities can invest in projects such as retrofits, repairs and upgrades for municipal, provincial and indigenous buildings. COVID-19 infrastructure includes measures to support physical distancing. This includes active transportation and infrastructure such as parks, trails, foot bridges, bike lanes and multi-use paths. Projects that would assist with disaster mitigation including natural infrastructure, flood and fire mitigation, tree planting would also be eligible. Additional details about the COVID-19 resilience stream and intake opening dates will be available in the days and weeks ahead. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The next question, the member for Toronto Centre. Thank you, Speaker. My question is for the Premier. The Premier has promised Ontarians that no one would lose their home during a pandemic. Just last week I heard from William, a tenant in my riding in Toronto Centre who lost his job in March and has since struggled to pay his rent. He signed a repayment plan with his landlord but it's become unmanageable. Speaker, rent is due on Sunday. William is worried he could be evicted and forced out of his home in a matter of weeks. Why won't the Premier stand by his promise that no one will be evicted and ban residential evictions while we are still in the midst of a pandemic? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank the member opposite for the question, Mr. Speaker. I think we can all agree this year has not been like any other which is why our government has frozen rents for Ontarians 1.7 million rental households, Mr. Speaker. The legislation ensures that the vast majority of tenants in Ontario do not see a rent increase in 2021. As we work closely with the Government on 2021 as we work to get Ontario back on track and we have also amended the RTA to mandate that adjudicators consider whether a landlord has made an effort to negotiate repayment agreement with their tenants before a landlord and tenant board can issue an eviction order for non-payment rent from March 17, 2020 onwards. This change emphasises the landlords efforts to negotiate a repayment agreement and with their tenants and to help maintain tenancies as opposed to resorting to evictions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And respectfully back to the Minister rent freezes won't stop evictions we need an eviction ban. Housing advocates are urging this government to consider the dire consequences of evicting vulnerable tenants during this pandemic. The neighbourhood group, which is an organisation is hearing from an increasing number of tenants who are unable to pay their rent even with a rent freeze. Families who are kicked out of their homes have no option, Speaker. Shelters are full. People are sleeping in tents in parks. Where does the Minister suggest that these families go? Tatania Chatterjee, a tenant with an eviction notice told the neighbourhood group and I quote, for me, eviction would mean nowhere to go. It would mean reducing to act and ban residential evictions to prevent tenants like Tatania from becoming homeless. Member for Milton. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Again, I want to thank the member opposite for that important question. Mr. Speaker, our government recognises it's a serious concern right across this province and it's one that our government has been working really, really hard ever since coming into power under the leadership of our Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Part of the reason why we continue to introduce measures to help those that are in need, Mr. Speaker. I would also like to point out that every single measure that our government has introduced to help tenants and help Ontarians right across this province unfortunately opposition has opposed virtually every single one of those, Mr. Speaker. I would encourage the opposition to get on board and help support this government if they're really interested in supporting Ontarians rather than playing politics with these important issues. The next question, the member for Don Valley West. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Colleges and Universities and I was copied on the letter that the Minister received from Okufa the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Association some days ago where they expressed their alarm at the government intending to allow Charles McVeedy's Canada Christian College University and award degrees in Arts and Science and they talk about him as someone who openly holds deeply rooted Islamophobic, transphobic and homophobic views. Mr. Speaker, this is a body of thoughtful academics who care deeply about post-secondary education in Ontario and they go on to say that the Ontario government should not grant accreditation and degree granting privileges to institutions that do not meet the anti-discriminatory and anti-hate speech principles outlined in the Ontario Human Rights Code. That seems like a sensible bar, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when the organization that represents 17,000 faculty and academic librarians across the province urges the government to change course does that not convince the Minister that he and his government are on the wrong track? The Parliamentary Assistant, Member for Don Hill. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker and again, as I've mentioned repeatedly, it's an independent process and I distinctly recall the Attorney General for the former Premier when she was in government being asked numerous questions and I admitted it was by my party about police investigations a lot of different times and he said he cannot comment because it's under review, it's in the courts, it's in a process and he cannot comment. So again this is under an independent process, this is under review by the independent experts on that committee. I think we will allow the independent experts and professionals to do their job and we will await their review. Thank you very much. Supplementary Question Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker I am not asking about the PCAB process I am asking Mr. Speaker about the legislation that was brought in a pre-emptory way to this House Mr. Speaker, that's the question that I'm asking Minister of Education also received a letter this week on the issue of behavior of Michael Del Grand at the Toronto Catholic District School Board and I'm sending a copy of the correspondence that will have it. Kyle Iannuzzi who's a former school trustee and a young gay man writes to urge the ministry to intervene in order to secure the release of the report on the homophobic bigoted behavior of and language of trustee Michael Del Grand Mr. Speaker, if this government chooses not to act on these two matters, if it decides that the behavior of Charles McVity and Michael Del Grand is acceptable, then it will be impossible going forward for any one of its members to distance himself or herself from their vile attitudes. It is not enough to say that you believe in the rights of every human being to be accepted for who they are it is not enough to wear a pink shirt or to march in a parade or to cry crocodile tears when a young person is laughed or bullied or worse homophobia, transphobia, racism hatred, thrive, in silence and in the fear of inaction when you are in a position of authority you have the chance to stand up and do the right thing otherwise your words ring hollow will the government take action ? Members would take their seats Member for Thornhill to respond Thank you very much Mr. Speaker and again there is a process related to all of these questions and that is an independent review that is part of a process you can be asking questions related to the process but in fact if there is an independent review taking place related to it I would not be recommending that anybody comment that is just the way it is there is an independent process I am waiting for that independent process with its experts to review the application and I guess we are all waiting for the results of that independent review of the process Thank you very much Mr. Speaker Thank you the next question Member for London West Thank you very much Speaker My question is to the Premier Peter Chaffee emailed me yesterday to express his frustration after attempting unsuccessfully for the 20th time to get the high dose flu vaccine at various pharmacies and at his doctor's office Kingsley Abel emailed me last week frustrated by almost a month of daily calls to local pharmacies and booking multiple doctor appointments only to have to cancel and rebook because no shots were available Mike Kerr emailed me saying he is tired of getting the same message week after week either there are no vaccines or the allotted quota has been reached Speaker why has this government failed to ensure an adequate supply of vaccines so that Londoners like Peter and Kingsley and Mike can get their flu shots Mr. Bell Thank you Speaker Well I thank the member very much for the question but I must say I don't agree with your conclusion I would say that our flu campaign has been extremely successful extremely successful Last year we ordered 5.1 million flu vaccines which is 13.7% more than the year before 700,000 more than the year before we are also able to order another 350,000 flu vaccines with the assistance of the federal government 5.45 million shots we then asked the people of Ontario to please participate in this flu program an essential element of our fall preparedness program to protect themselves their families, their friends, their neighbours and they did I think it's really important to note Speaker that 800,000 vaccines have already been delivered just through pharmacies this year alone whereas this time last year it was 150,000 so our flu campaign is being very successful all Ontarians who are participating Thank you in response to the Minister of Health I don't think people on the ground think the flu campaign was quite as successful throughout the province Pharmacy and to miss me shores held a flu clinic took reservations a couple weeks ago 750 people came out and they had the vaccine for them Hi! The next week they got 650 people booked and they ordered 750 doses and this successful and they ordered just like the Minister of Health said she ordered they ordered 750 and they got 10 doses 10! Meanwhile in Kirkland Lake on the pharmacy door it says we have used all of our available doses and will not be receiving any more doses in the near term I will post again when the situation changes Minister ordering the doses and getting them into people is two different things this was supposed to be a robust part of your COVID campaign and you can't even get flu shots into the people of Ontario What? Minister of Health to respond Thank you Speaker well this is a robust part of our fall campaign and it is working over 4 million vaccines have already been shipped to public health units and distributors 2.2 million more doses this year than during the same time last year we have also prioritized vulnerable Ontarians with the first shipments of the doses to make sure that we can protect them those people in long term care homes in hospitals, retirement homes in other places of congregate living we have also set aside $28.5 million in order to be able to procure more flu vaccines if we need them and as a matter of fact yesterday Minister to request a procurement through the federal government reserve and we are working with them as well as private sector partners in order to obtain more flu vaccines from some of their responders from some of the manufacturers these shipments don't occur in one shipment as I believe you already know they are shipped over a period of time in shipments that were designed months and months and months ago the shipments are still coming in tomorrow the next question the member for Guelph my question is for the minister of municipal fairs and housing the minister is expected to rule any day now on a request from Pickering for an MZO to clear the way for a development that would pave over 57 acres of key natural heritage features including a provincially significant wetland that is vital for cleaning water and preventing flooding southern Ontario has lost 75% of its wetlands the town of Ajax is opposed to this development the Toronto Region Conservation Authority is opposed to it and I quote they do not support development within wetlands particularly provincially significant wetlands so speaker my question to the minister is will the minister uphold rules to protect wetlands and say no to this request the parliamentary assistant member for Milton thank you very much Mr. Speaker I want to thank the member opposite for the question once again Mr. Speaker I can confirm the minister is aware that Pickering has requested the MZO and is currently reviewing the request I can also confirm that every single MZO issued by the minister on non-provincially owned land has been at the request of the local municipalities MZO those are just one of the tools that our government uses to get critical local projects moving Mr. Speaker I think we can all agree especially during this COVID-19 pandemic how important it is to get Ontario back on its feet and to kick start the recovery of our economic thank you Mr. Speaker any supplementary question thank you speaker I think it's important for the minister and the minister to hear from local voices about what they think of this proposal I want to quote the mayor of Ajax allowing up to four million square feet of warehousing distribution space to be built on 57 acres of key natural heritage and hydrological features including provincially significant wetlands significant woodland and significant wildlife habitat would be precedent setting would not be taken lightly Speaker wetlands prevent flooding the cost of flooding is skyrocketing that is exactly why the PPS protects provincially significant wetlands and so I'm asking the PA and the minister will you listen to those local voices that are saying protect wetlands and prevent the risk and costs associated with flooding I want to thank you Mr. Speaker I want to point out once again to the member opposite that every single MZO issued by the minister on non provincially owned land has been at the request of the local municipality Mr. Speaker ministerial zoning orders assist our governments to get shovel ready projects off the ground faster these are all critical critical projects Mr. Speaker as I pointed out earlier will help get Ontario back on track for example Mr. Speaker between 2011-2018 just 600 long-term care beds were added to our long-term care system under the previous government you know through just three MZOs issued by the minister Mr. Speaker we are building almost 1300 long-term care beds more than a double over the several years thank you Mr. Speaker next question member for Hamilton West and thank you my question is to the premier back in May I asked the premier what was being done to protect residents in retirement homes because at that time a horrific outbreak was raging at the Martino owned Roslyn retirement home in Hamilton 86 residents contracted COVID and 16 people died just this week Emerald Lodge owned by the same for-profit operators had to be removed from the government has learned nothing from this tragedy because the same for-profit owners are still in business and the violations just continue to pile up 126 alone in this year in Hamilton Kathmar Manor Dundas retirement place Montgomery home Edgemont Manor they all face a multitude of violations that remain unaddressed so my question is how bad is too bad the government is committed to protecting the health and safety of residents their families and dedicated frontline workers who are supporting them and I want to express my sympathies to all of those who have been affected by the stressful situation involving retirement homes that are owned by the Martino family and I want to express my sympathies to all of those who have been affected by the retirement homes that are owned by the Martino family our government does not tolerate any violations of the retirement homes act or its associated regulations and any complaint made about a retirement home to the retirement homes regulatory authority is taken very seriously and dealt with appropriately we're committed to protecting the health and safety of residents families and the dedicated community and I want to express my sympathies to all of those who have been affected by the retirement homes regulatory authority addressing these empty words because what we heard the regulator say is they don't take revoking licenses away from homes lightly but you know what we don't take lightly the health and well being of seniors living in this province if you read the violations and the orders it's very familiar to the conditions documented in the CAF report on long-term care again how bad is too bad and how long is this government going to hide behind the regulator when it is your job to protect people why is nothing being done why are these homes still allowed to operate under these terrible conditions and what is this government going to do don't hide behind the regulator what are you going to do because that is your job to protect the health and safety of residents families and frontline workers supporting them in retirement homes I should point out you mentioned Emerald Lodge which is not a licensed retirement home and that would be regulated under the retirement home act so the retirement homes regulatory authority is doing its job by enforcement powers using its enforcement powers to make sure that licensed retirement homes aren't meeting the required standards look we inherited a broken system from the former government after 15 years of mismanagement we have taken concrete actions to make things better for our retirement home residents and their families will continue to do so our government will continue to monitor this situation and work to make things better thank you that concludes our