 is therefore time for a question period, the leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition. Thank you and good morning, Speaker. My question is for the Premier. Well, another week, another damning report is out on the government's faulty fiscal record. This time we hear the truth from the Financial Accountability Office. The FAO agrees with the Auditor General. They too forecast a $12 billion deficit for 2018-19, Speaker, twice what the government has said the deficit will be. The government did not slay the deficit as they claimed. Speaker, in fact, the only thing they've slayed is any credibility of trust or credibility. The government told us one thing when both legislative officers told us the truth, which happens to be a completely different picture. Speaker, why does this government think it can get away with presenting inaccurate numbers to the people of Ontario? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I know the Minister of Finance is going to want to speak to this issue in the supplementary. What I want to say, Mr. Speaker, is that we thank the Financial Accountability Office for their annual economic and budget outlook. And we're pleased, Mr. Speaker, and I'm going to quote from the report that he notes that this year, and I quote, the Ontario economy recorded the strongest pace of growth since the early 2000s and that, and I quote, job growth surged last year with 128,400 net new jobs, Mr. Speaker. So the reality is our economic growth has outpaced that of most countries in Europe, Mr. Speaker, and in North America. Our unemployment rate is at a 17-year low, Mr. Speaker. Now, we know that everyone has not benefited from that, and we have made a deliberate decision to invest in the people of this province, Mr. Speaker, to invest in their care. And I thank the Financial Accountability Office. Back to the Premier. Actually, the Financial Accountability Office was quite revealing. Their report provided evidence, Speaker, that the tale the Premier has told this House about why they're running a deficit is not accurate. The Premier said she chose to run a $6.7 billion deficit this year, saying it was for infrastructure. But the FAO revealed for the first time that that is not true. The FAO revealed that the government already had a $3 billion deficit for 2018-89. This government thought it could get away, get away with that again and got caught. Speaker, now that the FAO has exposed this, isn't the Premier the least bit red-faced for being caught red-handed? Mr. Speaker, we do thank the Financial Accountability Officer for their report. He does highlight the fact that Ontario's economy has recorded the strongest pace of growth since the early 2000s. He does cite the fact that our job growth surged last year with 128,400 net new jobs. And indeed, Mr. Speaker, we are leading North America, the United States and Europe in terms of our GDP growth. And the FAO acknowledges that some of the investments that we're making are tremendously significant to our economy and to our society, Mr. Speaker, including the benefits of support for our farm and care and support for skills and training. Furthermore, he has adopted the position of the Auditor General, which is in dispute with independent world-renowned accounting firms, Mr. Speaker, including members of the Canadian Accounting Standards Board who provided evidence and indication that the principles of accounting that are being adopted are accurate for proceeding as such, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Final supplementary. Well, Mr. Speaker, the report also confirmed our job numbers to go down to 60,000 a year in the coming five years as well. That's something that was also presented in the budget. So the long-term outlook is quite different. But, Speaker, on page 15 of the economic and budget outlook, this is where the truth is exposed, Speaker. The government told us that $6.7 billion in deficit was for infrastructure. That is simply not true in the FAO report. They showed that $3.7 billion is what the promises develop into a deficit and that $3 billion was a hidden deficit for the years 2018-19. Speaker, $3 plus $3.7 is $6.7. They had a $3 billion deficit and why did they try to hide the $3 billion deficit from the people of Ontario? Mr. Speaker, please. Thank you. Minister. To be very clear, we have built lots of prudence. We have reserves. We have contingencies. The Auditor General himself and the FAO have noted that we are very cautious in our assumptions and that they're reasonable. They stated that. We are talking about two issues of dispute, one around pension assets and one around the degree of rate-regulated accounting, both of which are associated with independent auditors and experts who are saying it is absolutely fine to proceed as such. Those are policy decisions that were made. And in the case of pension assets, that is an issue that's been ongoing for 20 years, even when the Conservatives were empowered, Mr. Speaker. They assume the exactly the same accounting principles. We have not done anything other than provide full disclosure. They've had clean audits with the OPG. The Auditor General has agreed that it was accurate. We're going to proceed as such, Mr. Speaker. We have full disclosure. It's fully accurate. We have balanceable and we have a surplus, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. New question? The Leader of the Opposition. Thank you. Back to the Premier. Well, look, they have not disclosed the books. They have not been in balance. They have told the people of Ontario one thing. When both legislative officers have told us the complete opposite, Speaker, so I will review again. Why did they have a $3 billion hidden deficit? That's not full disclosure. That's here. It took the financial accountability officer on page 15 to show us a $3 billion hidden deficit. They were not in balance, Speaker. They have told the House one thing. When the truth is completely opposite, Speaker, I want to know the truth from this finance minister and from this Premier. Why is there a $3 billion hole in the budget? Fine. Thank you. Yes, it will. Premier. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. You know, I just want to say to the member opposite that when I came into this office and when we brought our first budget forward, we made it clear that we were going to increase the deficit in order to invest in infrastructure. We did that, Mr. Speaker. We stayed on track to eliminate the deficit. We did that this year, Mr. Speaker. We have a $600 million surplus, Mr. Speaker. And we have made a deliberate decision and openly, transparently, we have made a decision to invest in people in childcare, Mr. Speaker, in home care, investment in hospitals, investment in tuition, free tuition for students, Mr. Speaker, and in prescription medication for children and for seniors. We've been very clear, Mr. Speaker, about our intention. The member from Prince Edward Hastings will withdraw. He shall. And you're working towards warnings. I'm telling you now. Finish, please. And, Mr. Speaker, the reason that we can have this discussion about our finances is that we put in place a requirement to have a pre-election report. And that is what we are discussing openly and transparently, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Supplementary. Well, thank heavens we had a pre-election report from the Auditor General who exposed a $12 billion deficit instead of the nonsense the government told us. And thank goodness that the Financial Accountability Officer came out today and explained that, yes, indeed, we do have a $12 billion deficit, not the nonsense the government told us. And he further drilled down and showed us in that deficit is a $3 billion existing hole in the budget. The Premier just doubled down saying that she made a deliberate choice to go into $6.7 billion deficit. That is absolutely not true. It's a $3.7 billion that she's saying she's investing there. $3 billion of it was a hidden secret hidden hole in the budget. I want to know. We all want to know. The people want to know. Why did it take the Financial Accountability Officer this morning to come out and tell us? You did not say the deficit. Thank you. Members on both sides are asking me to move to warnings, and I shall. We're in warnings. Premier. You know, Mr. Speaker, I do understand why the member opposite would be so frantic, because he holds the book that the information he's saying is secret is printed in black and white, Mr. Speaker. Because we are being transparent, Mr. Speaker. And what we are not... Member from Leeds Grandville is warned. Member from Prince Edward Hastings is warned. And I missed a third, but I threw him under the glass. Mr. Speaker, he has the information because we have made it available and made it transparent. Mr. Speaker, I also understand that he would be additionally frantic because he's dealing with a leader who is behind closed doors making deals with big developers. Mr. Speaker, we have consistently been open about our finances. We have consistently supported the green belt, Mr. Speaker. We believe that our environment is precious, and once that land is gone, it's gone forever. Mr. Speaker, I am... The Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs is warned. Final supplementary. Well, thank you, Speaker. The only people hiding anything in this legislature is this government, Speaker. And thank heavens, the FAO showed us the $3 billion hidden deficit that this government had. And he explained why, Speaker. He actually told us how this $3 billion hole came. And quite frankly, it's no surprise to anyone on this side of the house. He has told us it's because they ran out of things to sell. He said the government will see weaker revenue gain due to the loss of time limited and one-time revenue. That money was one-time sale of assets. They sold Hydro One, they sold buildings, they sold chairs, they ran out of things to sell, and now they have a hidden deficit. They told us that it was a $6.7 billion deficit when $3 billion of that deficit was actually a structural deficit. It was built for you, Speaker. It is a deficit that they ran out because they stopped running out of things to sell. Speaker, why did they not tell the people about this hole? Mr. Speaker, very quickly, it was this government that actually passed the Fiscal Transparency and Accountability Act precisely because that party... The Leader of the Opposition has warned. A member from Simcoe Gray has warned. Carry on. That party did, in fact, hide the deficits. Furthermore, Mr. Speaker, we brought in the FAO as well, recognizing the need to look at projections going forward. And this is what we're talking about is projections, Mr. Speaker. Forty years has passed. They've only balanced the budget three times. We've done more than that, Mr. Speaker, almost twice as more. Furthermore, there are public accounts. There's the actual results that are achieved. Third-quarter results have shown that we have balanced the books and we have a surplus. DBRS just, again, made the connection and said that we are double A-rated and stable, Mr. Speaker, because of the fact that we have done so. Furthermore, we are putting forward 230 billion over 14 years for those capital improvements, and we've exceeded our target year-over-year. Thank you. New question? The member from Nickel Belt. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This question is for the Premier. On April 1st, the funding for eight hospital bed at Guelph General Hospital ran out. The hospital says it still needs the bed. It is operating at 111 percent occupancy. It is seeing 64,000 patients per year in an emergency room billed for 45,000. Why is the Premier forcing the patients to be treated and admitted in the hallways at Guelph General Hospital? Health and long-term care. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And, of course, we're monitoring situations across the province at all times in terms of issues where there is a capacity challenge. And we are addressing this, Mr. Speaker. As you know, through our 2018 budget, we are investing an additional $822 million in Ontario's publicly funded hospitals. And overall, this is a very historic increase overall. 4.6 percent. High growth areas, obviously, are looked at with an eye to improving their situations. And we work with our lins on a very systematic basis. We look at the need in each particular area of the province, and we ensure that the funds are available in each particular hospital. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Speaker. The government funded some temporary beds during the flu season. At the time, Guelph General Hospital needed an extra 16 beds. The government paid for eight of these beds. But on April 1st, the government took away the funding for these beds, even though the hospital still needs them now. Why won't the minister provide enough funding to treat Guelph area's patient with the dignity they deserve? Mr. Speaker, I hope the member of the third party recalls that last fall we did create some 2,000 extra beds across the province. These are spaces that we did annualize in our funding to a tune of $187 million. We're continuing to work with the lins looking forward at the coming year, and we will ensure that people in this province get the care they need, where they need it, when they need it. And this is an ongoing evaluative process that we go through. We are listening to the needs across the province, and we will ensure patients get the care that they need. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Final supplementary. Something is not right here, Speaker. On April 1st, the government took away the funding that you had given in the fall. Those eight beds are no longer funded at Guelph General Hospital. The CEO of the hospital said funding for the hospital has not kept up with population growth. It is happening throughout our province, in all of our hospital. The minister's hospital funding freezes has met service cuts to patients. It meets that patients are treated and admitted in hallways and sometimes in bathrooms. The Premier likes to complain against the cuts from the Conservative government, but when will she accept the responsibility for the cuts to the hospital funding that she alone is responsible for? Thank you, Minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the case of the Guelph General Hospital, we are working with that hospital very closely. We've been in communication with the CEO, the chair of the Board, to understand their particular pressures at this moment. We are committed to maintaining the surge beds that were announced last fall. We understand that growth pressures exist across the province. Obviously, the last winter there was an exacerbation with a very severe flu season. But we are going to continue to monitor and work with our hospitals across the province to ensure patients get the care that they need and where they need it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Thank you, Speaker. On April 19, the Ontario Energy Board announced what at least seemed to be good news. Hydro rates were not going up. But it turns out that this was just government propaganda. Because if you dig just a little bit further, you find that actual hydro costs have jumped by roughly 10% from last year. The government is using borrowed cash to hide these true costs from the public before the election. Why won't the Premier just tell the truth that our $40 billion hydro borrowing scheme will send bills skyrocketing by 70% after the election? Thank you. Minister of Energy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The fair hydro plan, as the member is well aware, is bringing forward and has brought forward, Mr. Speaker, a 25% reduction for all families across the province. And then that, Mr. Speaker, is being held to the rate of inflation for the next four years, Mr. Speaker. And then the long-term energy plan, Mr. Speaker, also shows that costs are being pulled out of the system to keep our system reliable, clean, and affordable for all people right across the province, Mr. Speaker. It is good news, Mr. Speaker, that the OEB brought forward no rate increases this year. And we'll continue, Mr. Speaker, to work with all our partners to ensure that we keep having a system that is reliable, a system that is clean, and is an affordable, Mr. Speaker. For us on this side of the House, we made sure that we acted on it for the opposition party, Mr. Speaker. They voted against that. Supplementary. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, again, to the Premier. The Premier is using borrowed cash to hide the true cost of hydro before the election. But background documents buried in the Ontario Energy Board's website show the truth. Actual hydro costs have jumped about 10% from last year. Those are the costs that Ontario families will still have to pay after the Premier's payday loan comes due. Leaked government documents show that hydro bills will rise 70% over 10 years, starting after the election. Will the Premier tell Ontarians the truth that our hydro borrowing scheme drives bills up even further over the long term, not down? Thank you, Minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Once again, there's a document called the Long Term Energy Plan. I encourage the member to read it, where he will see that the actual rates are actually lower, Mr. Speaker, moving forward than it would have been even four years ago, Mr. Speaker, and where that projection would be. We invested, Mr. Speaker, in the Fair Hydro Plan to make sure that we could reduce rates by 25% for everyone across the province, Mr. Speaker. They voted against that, Mr. Speaker. And you know what, Mr. Speaker? They have no plan when it comes to actually reducing rates. What they want to do is eliminate the Fair Hydro Plan. They want to raise rates by 25%, Mr. Speaker. On this side of the House, we brought forward a plan made for we helped all families right across the province and 500,000 small businesses and farms, Mr. Speaker. And those that live in rural and northern parts of our province, they continue to see rates anywhere that have been reduced between 35% and 50% on average, Mr. Speaker. We will continue to act on behalf of the people of Ontario and helping them, Mr. Speaker, keeping a clean, reliable and affordable city. Thank you. Final supplementary. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And again to the Premier. Thank you, Speaker. And again to the Premier. Minister of Energy was positively gleeful last week after the Conservatives released a hydro plan that kept all of the worst liberal hydro policies. The Conservative plan will keep the Liberal government's $40 billion hydro borrowing scheme which will drive bills up by more than 70% after the election. The Conservative plan will keep private profits on our hydro bills and will keep hydro one privatized. And the Minister of Energy couldn't be happier. Why on earth is this government celebrating the fact that the Premier's hydro policies have been endorsed by Doug Ford? Thank you. Minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the NDP platform when it comes to electricity has them buying back billions of dollars in shares of hydro one that will not take one cent off of electricity bills for Ontario families and businesses, Mr. Speaker. I don't know why they think that's a good idea. On this side of the house we brought forward a plan, Mr. Speaker, that reduced rates by 25% and they voted against it, Mr. Speaker. When it comes to first nations when it comes to individuals living on first nations, Mr. Speaker we eliminated the delivery credit, Mr. Speaker. They voted against that. When it comes to low income individuals, Mr. Speaker and their plan wasn't even mentioned until the last page, Mr. Speaker. We make sure. Member from Essex is warned. Finish, please. So, Mr. Speaker, let's think about this. They're going to spend billions buying back shares of hydro one that actually will not do anything to lower anyone's electricity bills but those billions of dollars that they spend will mean that they will have to close schools, close hospitals. What are they going to cut, Mr. Speaker? To make sure that they can buy back a plan and a company that won't save anybody anything, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. New question. Member from Prince Edward Heastings. Good morning, Speaker. My question is for the Premier. First, the Premier gave Mayo Schmidt millions of dollars when she made him the CEO at Hydro One and now we know that he's become the $6 million man. Then the Hydro One Board gave themselves millions of dollars and raises and tried to make it impossible to hold them to account. We don't know how big the Millionaires Club is but it's $412 million large. Finally, yesterday, your government Premier voted against reviewing compensation at Hydro One. So, Speaker, to the Premier, what we really want to know is when is the Premier going to start to stand up for electricity customers in the province of Ontario and not the Millionaires Club at Hydro One? Thank you. Mr. Energy? Mr. Energy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It was this government and this Premier that actually stood for families last year when we bought for the Fair Hydro Plan and that party stood and voted against it, Mr. Speaker. It was this government and this Premier that actually brought forward the Ontario electricity support program to help individuals to help seniors, Mr. Speaker, and it's that party that voted against it, Mr. Speaker. We made sure that we brought forward our concerns to the Board and over the last weekend, Mr. Speaker, our government urged Hydro One's Board to revisit its executive compensation model and that's exactly what they're doing. As the largest shareholder, we welcome the Board's decision to re-examine the compensation model, Mr. Speaker, which will include independent advice as well. The Board's decision to increase the executive compensation was done without our involvement, so changes to compensation, Mr. Speaker, and severance that were adopted by the Board were released to us in March 29th. We acted and we are now making sure that we can have that review through the Board, Mr. Speaker. Thank you very much. Supplementary. Mr. Speaker, it was this Premier and this government that handed out the multimillion dollar salary to the CEO of Hydro One and then it sat idly by and watched it ever increase. Only we can't see all of it, Mr. Speaker. You know, yesterday in the legislature members on the government side were trying to justify the salary of the 6 million dollar man. They're trying to defend the indefensible. This government's legacy on electricity is the same as its legacy on everything. Mountains of new debt. A select few base readers that are getting rich and everyone else in Ontario is getting stuck with the bill. On Monday, the Premier will send out the energy minister to say that the compensation is being reviewed and on Tuesday, every liberal votes against reviewing it. That's what happened yesterday and they're trying to justify the 6 million dollar, Speaker. When will the Premier show some leadership and finally deal with the millionaires club at Hydro One? Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We brought forward over the weekend our role to, as the largest shareholder, asking the Board to revisit their executive compensation model. They're doing just that, Mr. Speaker. Because we found out about this at the end of March through the management information circular. The Board now acknowledges that as their largest shareholder, which is this government should be engaged on such material issues and that changes are needed. So while Doug Ford and the PCs would take that erratic and reckless approach and fire the Board and do absolutely nothing to reduce rates, Mr. Speaker, we believe it's a stable solution that exercises our authority as the largest shareholder. And so with this in mind, Mr. Speaker, our government will abstain from voting on the say-on-pay shareholder resolution at the Hydro One Annual General Meeting, which is in May, Mr. Speaker, May 15th, to give the Board the necessary time to re-examine the matter. Our government continues to focus on fairness for all people in this province, Mr. Speaker. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The next question is to the Premier. Speaker, for 15 years, this Liberal government has known about excessive executive salaries in the broader public sector, but has done almost nothing to rein in executive compensation. This week, Londoners learned about proposed salary increases for Western University senior administrators. The Liberals have allowed Boards of Governors the freedom to select their own comparators to determine salaries without the right to ensure that the comparators are valid. This can lead to significant salary increases far beyond what is reasonable or appropriate. Similar concerns have already been raised about nipissing university, and we expect to hear more as university compensation frameworks are posted across the province. Why has this Liberal government refused to put meaningful controls in place to rein in executive compensation in the university sector? The member from Scarborough Centre is warned. Premier. President of the Treasury Board. President of the Treasury Board. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank the member opposite for her question as it gives me an opportunity to not only address this issue, but to put some facts around it that are extraordinarily important. Our government froze salaries across the broader public sector in 2012, and negotiated them more recently. We put some really important pieces in place. So, for example, our framework enforces strict rules that prohibit executives from receiving unnecessary perks such as prerequisites signing bonuses, retention bonuses, unrestricted severance, because we remain committed to ensuring that fairness and accountability in the way that these broader public sector executives frameworks and pay our structured salaries, we did away with cash housing allowances, vehicles required, and so on. I'll speak more in the supplementary about what we're doing in terms of our framework for our broader public sector salary speaker. What is even more troubling is that decisions about executive salary increases are being made after a decade of liberal underfunding of the post-secondary sector. For years, Ontario has had the highest university tuition and the highest rate of any province in Canada. This has undermined the quality of post-secondary education for students and led to an explosion of contract faculty. It has contributed to deep divisions between administration and academic workers at York University and jeopardize the career plans of thousands of young people at York with the strike now in its ninth week. Speaker, does this liberal government believe that increasing the salaries of senior university students is more important than the quality of education that Ontario post-secondary students receive? Thank you. Thank you, Speaker. The member opposite speaker in her question talked about what's more important and the juxtaposition. I want to say, Speaker, that as a government it's important to strike a balance between attracting really fair and reasonable compensation packages for the broader public sector. We remain committed to ensuring fairness and accountability in terms of how that compensation is managed. But overall, Speaker, we believe the people of Ontario have the right to know how their dollars are being spent and they deserve a clear rationale for why executives are paid what they are and that's why we implemented the broader public sector executive framework in 2016. This framework requires enhanced transparency and compensation and framework so that the public can understand and appreciate and it's an important exercise in democracy and accountability, Speaker. Ontario now have the opportunity to provide feedback as well, Speaker. We're proud of our public servants in this province and we've taken these important accountability measures. Thank you. New question. The member from Trinity Spadina. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Tourism. The Minister of Tourism, Culture and Tourism has given us a place to enjoy a family fund and life music and build happy memories and taking the beautiful waterfront. We have been moving forward with our ambitious vision to transform Ontario Place into modern, vibrant year on waterfront destination that engaged residents and visitors of all ages. Yesterday the Minister made an exciting announcement at Ontario Place Beautiful Space. Speaker, through you to the Minister, can she tell us what Ontarians are looking forward to this summer? Thank you, Minister. Thank you, Speaker, and thanks to the fantastic member from Trinity Spadina for that question. So, Speaker, last year we made very significant progress in transforming our vision into reality. We opened the Trillium Park in William G. Davis Trail and added seven and a half acres of green space to the waterfront. We hosted free family fund with Winter at Ontario Place. It featured a skating rink and light installations and I'm happy to share with you all today that we're going to keep the momentum going. This summer, Ontario Place is going to be hosting a music series every Thursday featuring emerging artists from every genre including Indy Rock, folk, hip hop and jazz. There's going to be family dance and music performances every Thursday afternoon. We're also going to have outdoor activities such as beach volleyball and free skating on the outdoor synthetic rink. Stay tuned. I look forward to unveiling some exciting new details in the supplementary. Supplementary? Thank you, Speaker. It's fantastic to hear that the vision that proposed mixed outdoor and indoor features including more green space, more activities like beach volleyball and a waterfront trail around the entire site. The urban park and the trail is dramatically transforming the Toronto waterfront with a new green space that celebrates the nature and cultural legacy of Ontario Place. As a local member, I know how important it is to gather feedback from the public including the residents from Fort York, Liberty Village, City Place, Bathoskey and surrounding neighborhoods. Thank you, Speaker, through you to the Minister. Can she tell the member of this House about the next steps of Ontario Place revitalization? Thank you, Minister. Thank you, Speaker, and thank you to the member from Trinity Spadina who by the way joined me yesterday at our beautiful waterfront to announce our next milestone in the rebooting of Ontario Place. So, Speaker, just a few months ago I announced our plan to design a new green space. It's going to be known as Celebration Common and it will be Toronto's newest waterfront park. It's coming in at a size of about 14 football fields. The park is going to include a children's outdoor play area, walking paths and trails, a beach area for outdoor recreation and water sports, and lots of room to host large-scale festivals. And most importantly, there's going to be plenty of green space. Speaker, on this side of the House, we believe in protecting our environment, over paradise. I'm confident that Celebration Common is going to become Ontario's new urban backyard where people can kick back and enjoy Toronto's beautiful waterfront. Thank you. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Speaker, the Liberal government is trying to strong-arm the horse racing industry into accepting a deal that might hurt them just two weeks ago. The government sprang a massive, long-term funding agreement on horse people. It's nearly 200 pages and written in complex legal language. And here's the kicker. They gave the racetracks, breeders and horse people until May 1st to sign the agreement, or else. Why is this government playing politics with horse people's livelihoods and pressuring them to sign onto a 19-year agreement in the final weeks before an election? Thank you. Minister of Finance. The member opposite makes reference to the fact that we have now strengthened and sustained horse racing and breeding by putting $105 million 19-year agreement. We've also provided an enhanced horse improvement program that is extended year-over-year by OMAFRA. We have a new what's called a race track sustainability and innovation fund. $6 million over three years to support regional race tracks and expand the revenue sources. And, Mr. Speaker, OLG is also providing additional funding to supplement those race tracks that may be experiencing shortfalls and enable long-term decisions about horse breeding. More importantly, we've established a new board. The Ontario Racing Board will now be responsible for all the strategic plans and with also providing the service provider to ensure that those funds are transparent and accountable. We're making it that there's going to have to be horse breeders on that board and small tracks on that board. Five seats for race tracks, five seats for breeders and an independent chair. Thank you. Supplementary. Mr. Speaker, back to the Premier. The Minister of Finance claims his long-term agreement, quote, will provide the stability needed to strengthen and sustain horse racing and breeding in Ontario. And yet that same minister has approved plans to rip the slot machines out of the Downs, Ajax Downs and other community race tracks threatening their future viability. Now on the cusp of an election campaign, his officials are threatening to freeze out horse people if they don't sign on to a 19-year deal. Sign it or else. The deal they haven't had a deal that they haven't had time to read. What happens if one or more race tracks refuse to sign? Will the government cut off their funding? Or will they set aside politics and let horse people have meaningful input after the election? Minister of IMAFRA. Minister of Agriculture Food Rural Affairs. Thanks very much, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the supplementary from the member from Perth Wellington. The reason that we chose 19 years, Mr. Speaker, $2 billion over those 20 years because would you have insight on how the industry in Ontario works on a cycle? It usually works three to four years before a horse, whether it's a standard bred horse or a thoroughbred horse. Member from Halliburton Corp, the Lake Spurrock is warned. As we consult widely with the industry, a thoroughbred horse or standard bred horse usually takes three or four years from the time it's born to the time it gets traded and anything shorter than 19 years, you don't have the confidence in the industry. What are the things this government want to do to make sure there's a future path for all 50 tracts of the province of Ontario? New question. Member from Oshawa. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Volunteer firefighter Gary Kendall died in 2010 in a dangerous winter river being trained by an unregulated private trainer. For corners inquests, they didn't get one. No one did anything to prevent another tragedy. Five years later, firefighter hopeful Adam Brunt died while taking a private unregulated rescue training course on a dangerous winter river with the same unregulated private trainer. Adam died while 11 other students helplessly tried to save him. Two unnecessary deaths, no one held responsible. And finally, after two men died, the families got a corners inquest. I've been pushing to protect firefighter trainees for the past three years. I immediately adopt all corners inquest jury recommendations to keep future trainees safe was passed unanimously. You said it was urgent, you said you'd take action. Premier, what's the status of the changes and actions needed to ensure no one is ever put at risk like this again? Have all of the corners inquest recommendations been adopted yet? Minister of Community Safety Correctional Services. Minister of Community Safety Correctional Services. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And you know what happened in this incident is a tragedy, Mr. Speaker, and my thoughts are with the families and colleagues of those two trainees who passed away. I really commend the member opposite in her advocacy on this matter, and I know this is something she's worked very, very hard over the past years. Our government has carefully is carefully addressing Mr. Speaker the findings and the recommendation of the corners inquest into these debts and the office of the Fire Marshall and Emergency Management took immediate action and suspended the water rescue program at the Ontario Fire College after this inquest, Mr. Speaker. Our government continues to work with the fire safety technical table where our fire safety partners and experts meet to discuss the fire safety challenges and that table are looking at the recommendation, Mr. Speaker, and certainly we hope to have solutions. Thank you. Thank you, Speaker. Again to the Premier and you can't suspend a training program that didn't exist in the first place but it's been eight years since Gary died it's been over three years since Adam died since this government hasn't chosen to figure out how to protect firefighter trainees. I have worked for three years on this and I have figured it out for you. My bill 58 the Brunt and Kennel Act lays out a comprehensive regulatory and safety framework to hold private trainers to account and keep firefighter trainees safe. Alongside the families of Adam Brunt and Gary Kendall the Ontario Professional Firefighters Association safety advocates across the province and legal experts we have finally completed this necessary legislation to ensure deaths like this cannot happen again in the province of Ontario. It has been a long and emotional journey to get here but here we are with my legislation in front of us and still with time on the clock. Premier, will you promise to keep our firefighter trainees safe and ensure bill 58 passes through this house and into law before the end of the session? Thank you. Thank you minister. Thank you very much and certainly the safety of the firefighter is very important and I want to commend them for all the work that they do all across our province and we are taking action to modernize the fire safety delivery in Ontario. Part of this modernization is to ensure our world class firefighter have the support they need ensuring firefighters are fully trained and certified in their role is critical for their safety and the safety of the public. This is why we are proposing that firefighters be certified to the National Fire Protection Association Standards and this align with the occupational health and safety act which requires that employee receive sufficient training. My ministry will continue to work and I as a government and the minister will work to make this proposed requirement as seamless as possible and we will continue to engage to ensure that every single firefighter in this province are safe. Thank you. Thank you. My question this morning is for the minister responsible for early years in child care. Minister, our government is committed to making sure families have access to high quality inclusive and affordable child care. This is what my constituents in Davenport want and expect. Under Doug Ford's plan, families will receive a rebate of just 34 dollars a month. This proves just how out of touch he is with the needs of family on the ground. Our government's recent announcement of free child care for preschool aged children from age two and a half to when they are eligible to start kindergarten will help ease the financial burden on tens of thousands of families. Families will save an estimated 17,000 dollars per child allow parents to go back to work when they choose and help give children the best start in life. Can the minister expand on her announcement last week and what this means for parents in my riding and across Ontario and what are they looking for to access child care? Minister responsible for early years of child care. Thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to the hard working member from Davenport for that important question. Speaker, the reality is that we know that parents and children are benefitting from Ontario's high quality child care programs. But we also know there's more work to do. That's why we continue to build on our commitment to help 100,000 more children get access to quality affordable licensed child care because we are building a solid foundation for our families. So last week we announced that our government is investing 78.6 million dollars in capital funding to build more than 3,100 licensed community based child care spaces. Think about that. We're building spaces right where families need them. Speaker, our investments are giving thousands of Ontario families support while Doug Ford's child care scheme is a 1.3 billion I promise to cut programs that ease the financial challenges families face. Thank you. Supplementary. I want to thank the minister for that answer and last week's announcement is indeed another step forward to creating affordable and accessible child care across our province. It's clear that our government is truly transforming the way child care is delivered in Ontario. There's no question that more access to child care is critical for Ontario families. However, could the minister please explain what makes last week's announcement so important and how this will help families in my writing of Davenport and across Ontario in diverse situations access child care. Thank you. I'm pleased to answer the members question. We are taking a number of important steps to ensure that every child and family in Ontario has access to a high range of quality and affordable care. Public spaces like places of worship community centers and indigenous friendship centers strengthen our communities and creating child care spaces in these community hubs will make them even stronger and give families access to child care right in their neighbourhoods. Just think about that. Child care spaces for families where their child will be safe and well cared for close to home. This is an important step in our commitment to invest in families and bring free child care to preschoolers across the province. The party's opposite will do nothing to build more capacity for child care or the workforce to deliver that care. Our government is focused on building even stronger communities for children, families and for the future of this province. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. of a concrete medium barrier. But that stretch of 117 km between those two areas remains untouched and with the scheduled building of the Gordy Hell Bridge and Windsor transport traffic is only going to worsen in the coming years. Premier, you know I've advocated for this for many years, and you told me and this legislature that a barrier would be built. We need a concrete barrier. So Premier, what do you actually plan to do? And when do you plan to do it? Thank you Premier. Minister of Transportation? Minister of Transportation. Thank you very much and I want to thank the member for this question and I know that we were together just shortly after I took over this portfolio with people for along that stretch of 401 in order to look at the issue. We will be building a concrete barrier. And in the meantime why we are doing the environmental assessment and continuing to do the necessary work to widen the stretch of 401 to add the concrete barrier. We are going further than that because I don't want to wait for the length of time it's going to take to make that barrier. This year we will be starting to install high tension cable barriers in almost half the stretch between Tilbury and London to make sure that there's protection right away. It's going to take us time to continue the necessary work. We committed that at the time when we are continuing to move forward. The rest requests for proposals are going out to build this immediately. Thank you. Supplementary. Thank you. Well back to the Premier. Carnage alleys, narrow lanes and dangerous curvatures are extremely hazardous especially in winter. I traveled this road frequently from Chatham to Toronto. As a matter of fact in 2017 there were five fatalities on that stretch. Three were from crossovers including the fatality of a five-year-old girl and her mother. This year on April 25th a double crossover of a transport and minivan occurred. Thankfully not fatal but accidents continue to happen on a more frequent basis. I've raised this issue several times before while the construction on 401 between Tilbury and Highway 40 was finishing up last year. Your ministry official stated in a meeting with the build the barrier group from Chatham that the contract could be opened up to include building a concrete barrier at that time but sadly it wasn't. My petition quickly gained more than 4,000 signatures. Premier we need a concrete barrier not a cable barrier. Why won't you build a concrete barrier? Thank you. Now. Thank you very much speaker and again this is not a partisan issue. We are moving forward in the short term to protect that length of highway as soon as we can. The member was there with the technical experts. He knows that it takes time to do the environmental assessment up to a year or two. Then we have to do the design to widen the highway. You cannot put a concrete barrier on a four-lane highway. It has to be expanded. While we're doing that necessary work we are going forward this year to make sure that that stretch of highway is protected. We've found a way to expedite the process. We will be installing those high tension cable barriers that are 97% effective in other jurisdictions to stop the crossovers. Contrarily I would like to know where the PC stands on this issue. We know that there's no dollars for infrastructure along that area. I don't know how they're going to pay for it. I'm like Doug Ford. We're moving forward to make sure it goes quickly. Order please. Thank you. New question the member from Timmons James Bay. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. My questions to the Premier. A number of people across Ontario like in Timmons are trying to buy these electric cars because they want to do the right thing. And in Timmons we have a number of people that have actually bought them. But here's the problem unless you charge it at home you can't go anywhere because the company KSI to which your government gave the contract due to build the charging stations is not servicing and fixing their charging units that break down. So I've got a guy who calls me the other day leaves Timmons because he wants to drive towards North Bay for something. Leaves Timmons can't get a charge out of the station in Timmons because it's been broke for a while and not fixed. Drives down to Erleton gets to the Erleton and finds out that one hasn't worked since last August. So he had to go back to his dad's place plug his car in overnight so that he's able to drive back to Timmons get his gas car then drive back down the highway to go do what he had to do. When are you going to fix these KSI units? Thank you very much and I appreciate the question overall along the way because it allows us on this side of the house to talk about the great investments that we've been doing in electric vehicles in the province. We're up 120 percent of the strongest jurisdiction for people to continue to purchase electric vehicles saving our environment but we are continuing through our electric vehicle chargers Ontario program to continue to expand the number of charges available throughout Ontario. We understand that we have had some issues along the way to make sure that the the chargers are in and working but some of the vehicles on the on the road now take less time to charge all together. We are very happy to be changing over from from a vehicle system that is causing more carbon to be put in the air to making sure that we have clean vehicles moving forward. Minister the car can't move forward has got no charging system. The system has been broken since last August in Erleton apparently from what this individual was telling me. How can you have a system in place that people can't use and boast about how your program is working is beyond me. So I ask you again could you please get on to the people that you contracted these chargers to such as KSI to ensure that if they install these things that they keep them operational and people don't get stranded as my constituent did. Thank you very much and I wanted to again thank the member for the supplementary but our program has provided Ontarians with incentives to help purchase over 16,000 EVs and over 3,000 home and workplace chargers. We expect to see the numbers grow. We understand it's frustrating for those who are unable to get into use chargers that may be broken. We're continuing to work with our contractor to get in there and expedite the process to not only install them but to actually repair them and keep them going. Because of our commitment to charging infrastructure, drivers know that they can still travel the distances they otherwise would have with a traditional vehicle. We're continuing to work with those areas. I'd like to know this from the NDP. Are they going to vote for the budget that contains investments that we've made in the past to continue to make sure that we have more electric charging vehicles and systems around Ontario? Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Environment and Climate Change. There's a great deal of concern in my community of Ottawa and in the Ottawa Valley about Chalk River Laboratories. Canadian nuclear laboratories is planning to build a disposal facility for radioactive waste near the Chalk River Laboratories. The site would hold approximately 1 million cubic metres of low and mid-level nuclear waste and it is less than one kilometre away from the Ottawa River. Speaker, I've heard these concerns and I too am concerned. I worry about the risk that nuclear waste could contaminate the Ottawa River. So Speaker, my question to the Minister is this. What is our government doing to ensure the protection of the environment and human health in regards to this proposed project? Well thank you Speaker and thank you to the member from Ottawa South for that important question and for his continued advocacy on behalf of his constituents because it is Speaker, a very important issue. We understand why it is such an important issue too and that's why experts from my ministry have been actively participating in the public commenting process as the federal government moves ahead. In fact, last August my ministry submitted comments to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission for the draft Environmental Impact Statement Speaker. The comments and concerns provided by my ministry included concerns around stormwater management, the limits for contaminants and the sharing of public information around monitoring locations. We know how important it is to get this right. That's why we're engaged with our federal partners and we'll continue to work on behalf of the member's constituents. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker and thank you Minister Speaker. This is an ongoing process and it's important to ensure that our natural environment remains protected. The Ottawa River is an important source of drinking water, a natural home to many animals and species as well as a resource or a resource of recreation for many. The Ottawa Riverkeeper, Ecology Ottawa, local First Nations and individuals have expressed their concern that the proposed near-surface disposal facility being built is being built because of the potential impacts nuclear waste could have on the river. Early this year my constituent Oli Hendrickson wrote to me expressing his concerns that non-radioactive contaminants like PCBs and dioxins in the facility's waste could fall between the cracks. Speaker can the minister please explain what our government is doing to protect the Ottawa River in regards to the Chalk River Waste Disposal Site. Thank you Minister. Well thank you Speaker and thank you again to the member from Ottawa South for that very important question. You know I just want to reiterate Speaker that these are very real concerns and we need to be vigilant. I understand the jurisdictional issues with this facility but it's still important for us to protect our communities here in Ontario. So that's why my ministry submitted comments to the federal government's proposal to ensure all precautions are being taken around this project. You know as a result Speaker the provinces of our comments the federal government changed the project to include only low level types of nuclear waste. Speaker the federal government has also ensured us assured us that the waste intended for disposal in the proposed project will meet all of the required international guidelines as well. Again I want to thank the member for Ottawa South for his advocacy and we will continue to monitor this project. Thank you. New question. The member from Stormart Dundas South, Hungarian. Thank you Speaker to the Premier. Recently tenants in the senior citizen social housing development in my writing were told some shocking news. They were informed that due to necessary cuts they would now be responsible for mopping the floor and washing the countertops. They were just handed industrial equipment and told folks get her done. Over 90 percent of the tenants have balanced their mobility issues. Many use walkers and most are in their 80s and 90s. They deserve a safe living environment. The government has consistently shortchanged municipalities with inefficient infrastructure funding cutting the Ontario municipal partnership funding and neglecting the needs of rural Ontario residents. It's cutting municipal transfers to such low levels that it results in making seniors in affordable housing mop the floors really the right way to treat the people who built this province putting that risk and injury as a way to solve this government spending and debt problems. Thank you very much Mr Speaker and I do you know I really do commend the member opposite for his concern about infrastructure funding for municipalities in general Mr Speaker. We certainly have a housing plan we're working with the federal government to put in place more affordable housing more supportive housing we have we have increased funding to municipalities for housing Mr Speaker and change the change the flexibility that allows them to make investments but Mr Speaker it was it's very interesting to me that this member is standing in this place and asking a question about this when his leader Doug Ford was in Cornwall and said that municipalities were going to have to make cuts in order to be able to continue to get infrastructure spending at all if he were the premier Mr Speaker so I really I encourage the member to have a conversation with his leader because if infrastructure funding for municipalities is dependent on cuts Mr Speaker that doesn't bode well for the future. Thank you. I wish to turn to the member from Leeds Grandville on a point of order. Point of order. I'd just like to ask for unanimous consent to have a moment of silence for my MP Gord Brown. Gord passed away this morning in Ottawa. He was an amazing MP Speaker we will be dreamed as young young men to once serve in this legislature and in House of Commons and we we realize that I want to express on behalf of the House our deepest sympathies to Gord's wife Claudine and his two sons Chance and Tristan. We're going to miss him I'm going to miss him like Speaker who's like a brother to me and Eastern Ontario and the province in our country mourn the loss of Gord Brown so I would appreciate consent to to have a moment of silence. The member from Leeds Grandville is seeking unanimous consent for a moment of silence to pay respects do we agree. I would ask everyone in the House to please rise for a moment of silence in honor of MP Brown. We do have a deferred vote of the government notice of motion number eight relating to allocation of time of bill 53 enact respecting the establishment of minimum government contract wages calling the members this will be a five minute bell. All members please take your seats on May 1st 2018 Mr. Chan moved government notice of motion number eight relating to allocation of time of bill 53 enact respecting establishment of minimum government contract wages all those in favor please rise one at a time to be recognized by the clerk. Mr. Nackley Mr. Bradley Mr. Dalluca Mr. Dalluca Mr. McMahon Mr. Zimmer Mr. Zimmer Mrs. McGarry Mr. Morrill Mr. Morrill Ms. Molly Ms. Molly Mr. Codrie Mr. Codrie Mr. Crack Mr. Crack Ms. Wong Ms. Wong Mr. Fraser Mr. Fraser Mr. Anderson Mr. Anderson Mr. Baker Mr. Baker Mr. Don Mr. Don Ms. Hogan Ms. Hogan Ms. Kuala Ms. Kuala Ms. Martin Ms. Martin Mr. Potts Mr. Potts All those opposed please rise one at a time to be recognized by the clerk. Mr. Wilson Mr. Wilson Mr. Arnav Mr. Arnav Ms. McLeod Ms. McLeod Ms. Jones Mr. Jones Mr. Fidelli Mr. Fidelli Mr. Smith Mr. Smith Mr. Jacob Us Mr. Be Sym there They live Mr. ? Mr Mr. Mr. Tavis. Mr. Tavis. Mr. Miller, Hamilton, East Stony Creek. Mr. Miller, Hamilton, East Stony Creek. Mr. Shimanto. Mr. Shimanto. Mr. Sadler. Mr. Sadler. Mr. Natascha. Mr. Natascha. Mr. Armstrong. Mr. Armstrong. Mr. Forrester. Mr. Forrester. Mr. Hatfield. Mr. Hatfield. Mr. Gretzky. Mr. Gaines. Mr. Gaines. Mr. Gaines. Mr. French. The ayes are 47, the nays are 33. The ayes being 47, the nays being 33, I declare the motion carried. There are no further deferred votes. This self-stands recess until 3 p.m. this afternoon.