 It is now time for Question Period, the leader of the Mattresses Oil opposition. Speaker, my question is for the Premier. Premier, this last Friday's job numbers provide more proof that your failed economic policies are toxic for Ontario families. Statistics Canada told us that almost 34,000 Ontarians lost their jobs last month alone, bumping up the unemployment rate to 7.5%. That's 34,000 more people who are struggling to feed their families in an Ontario that continues to fall further and further behind the rest of Canada. Your budget will be more of the same policies which landed us in this mess in the first place. It will continue to hurt Ontarians who are losing their livelihoods as a result. Premier, why do you refuse to accept the reality that your failed economic policies continue to hurt Ontario families? Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. Well, there's no doubt that after two strong months of job growth, it's disappointing that this last month's job numbers were not as good as we would have wanted, Mr Speaker. And I think that's the case in other parts of the country as well. But Mr Speaker, that does not negate the fact that what we know right now is needed is investment and support for our economy, Mr Speaker. We do not need what the Leader of the Opposition and his party were proposing, which is to cut and slash and to actually slow the economic recovery, Mr Speaker. We know that investments in infrastructure, support for and partnership with business, Mr Speaker, are what we need to do. And that is the plan that we have proposed to the people of Ontario, and that's the budget that we will be reintroducing today, Mr Speaker. Again, to the Premier. Premier, today's budget won't be surprised to anyone, including the rating agencies who have given dire warnings about the short and long-term impacts of this budget. A 1% increase in borrowing costs could add as much as $3 billion in annual interest payments that the man in charge of the government's coffers assured the press gallery that the bankers aren't freaking. Premier, your finance minister won't be so laid back when the bankers call you, as they did Bob Ray, and I remember it very well, to tell you that Ontario's line of credit has been cut off and that they're not going to lend you any more money. Premier, do you appreciate that this is the reality you will face if you proceed with this budget? That one day, Ontario's credit is going to get cut off or get awfully more expensive. Thank you. Can you see this, please? Can you see this, please? Thank you. Premier? Well, the Leader of the Opposition continues in their pattern of talking down Ontario rather than building the province up, Mr. Speaker. We will be reintroducing the budget that we brought to the people of Ontario, Mr. Speaker, and that budget, that plan, invests in the people of Ontario. It invests in the infrastructure of the province, Mr. Speaker, in communities across the province. It invests in the talent and the skills of the people of the province, Mr. Speaker. And we know that we have to be the best educated and best trained workforce in the world, Mr. Speaker. Our plan makes sure that people will have retirement security, Mr. Speaker. So having an Ontario Retirement Pension Plan in the absence of a federal partner, we are taking leadership. We are stepping up, Mr. Speaker, and we will put that retirement pension plan in place. The Leader of the Opposition is correct. We are introducing the same plan that we ran on, Mr. Speaker. We are reintroducing the budget, which is exactly what we said we were going to do. Mr. Secretary, please come to order. Carry on, please. Did the Minister of Agriculture come to order? Back to the Premier. Premier, I remember very well when Wall Street Bankers called Floyd Laugrin and Bob Ray and said, we're not going to lend you any more money. It led to the breaking of collective agreements right across the public sector and the chaos created by the social contract. And ray days that many people remember. You're ignoring the financial experts. You're moving ahead with the same failed economic plan. 34,000 families on Friday can't possibly agree with your plan. The unemployment among youth is the highest it's been in my 24 years in this house. And yet, for 11 years, you just keep plowing ahead with the same failed economic policies. Premier, you need to change course. You can't ignore the lenders because they're either going to cut you off someday or make money very, very expensive for the government to borrow. That will take billions of dollars to frontline services and hurt services that we count on, like healthcare and education. Why do you persist on this failed path? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Well, I would just note to the member opposite that in the two months prior to these job numbers, the job numbers were up in Ontario, Mr. Speaker. In fact, we've covered more than 460,000 jobs since the economic downturn, Mr. Speaker. So, yes, I am disappointed that last month's job numbers were not what we would want them to be. But that's exactly why the plan that we're bringing forward and the strategy that we ran on, Mr. Speaker, and that we will reintroduce today in the form of our budget is the one that's needed. To make sure that we invest in infrastructure, that we invest in the talent and skills of this province, Mr. Speaker. Finish, please. That we have partnerships and supports like the Southwestern Ontario Development Fund, Mr. Speaker, like the Eastern Ontario Development Fund, the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund, Mr. Speaker. Those supports that allow partnership with business, that allow businesses to expand and allow jobs to be created. That's how we know this is the right plan for the people of Ontario, Mr. Speaker. Do you have a question? The members of the division. Thank you, Speaker. My question is for the Premier. Ontario lost 34,000 jobs last month, bumping our unemployment rate up to 7.5 percent. So let's talk about that. That is the 90th consecutive month that Ontario's unemployment was higher than the national average. That's 7.5 years, Premier. Not a very proud record. Yet your budget raises taxes and somehow still increases the deficit. Your budget also shows interest rate costs or interest costs growing by $1 billion every year. Can you please tell us how higher taxes and higher interest payments are creating jobs in Ontario? Please. Can I consult an employment and infrastructure? Minister of economic development, employment and infrastructure. Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Premier said, while the job numbers in June weren't exactly what we would have liked, the fact of the matter is, Mr. Speaker, when you look at the overall trend, the first numbers fluctuate month to month, very, very, very significantly. 460,000 net new jobs created since the recession. We're up 172 jobs, Mr. Speaker, since the recession. And, you know, Ontario's recognized that our job plan was the way to go in the June election when they soundly rejected the PC approach. They rejected the PC plan to fire 100,000 workers and supported our plan to instead invest in education, training, invest in infrastructure. They supported our plan, Mr. Speaker, to create jobs with partnerships through businesses, Mr. Speaker, that are creating over 50,000 jobs for Ontario Economic Development Funds in our partnerships, Mr. Speaker. And they rejected the PC approach to cancel those programs. Mr. Speaker, we're on the right track, and this budget's going to ensure that we continue. Thank you. Supplementary. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Premier, it's almost incomprehensible that you will not heed the warnings of the rating agencies. Moody's has warned you twice now, first on May 2nd and again last week. Then BlackRock has also sent a shot across your bow. Change your deficit financing strategy or be prepared to pay more. Portfolio Management's Norman Levine told you to be ready for multiple downgrades, simply because you show no plans to change your ways. Premier, when you use tax dollars to pay interest, that's money that you continue to take away from frontline services like health and education. You've already cut physiotherapy services for seniors. You've already cut cataract surgeries. You've already cut diabetes testing strips. So Premier, what will you cut next to pay for the extra billion that you're spending on interest next year? Before I go to the minister, I'm going to ask that the whistling stop. Carry on. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the election's over. The people of Ontario have spoken. Enough of the negative rhetoric, enough of the tearing down of the efforts of Ontario businesses to build up our economy. The fact is, Ontario's economy is in full recovery. The fact is, Ontario has now created over 460,000 net new jobs, Mr. Speaker. The fact is, we're up 172% from the recessionary low. Ontario supported our plan, for instance, Mr. Speaker, to partner with the auto sector to support 500,000 jobs. And, Mr. Speaker, they rejected their plan to abandon the auto sector. They supported our plan to invest in our people, to invest in infrastructure, to invest in building a positive climate for investment in Ontario's economy. A plan, Mr. Speaker, that has made us number one in North America, foreign direct investment. It's time for the PCs to demonstrate that they learned something from the people of Ontario. It's time for the PCs to support the budget. Thank you. Can you see it, please? Final supplementary. You call it negative rhetoric. Moody's calls it a negative rating. In the last 10 years, you've doubled our debt. You relied on borrowed money to pay our bills. You've tripled our hydro rates so much so that companies have left Ontario for cheaper hydro. That sent 300,000 manufacturing jobs packing. These are undeniable facts. The budget does absolutely nothing to address the skyrocketing price of hydro. Companies are waiting, Premier. They're looking for leadership. Your announcement that hydro rates are going up by 42% is not what they want to hear. We already have the highest hydro rates in North America. We want to see something different in this budget that will restore affordable hydro rates. Premier, will you deliver that to them? Thank you. Very good, Mr. Speaker. The opposition are just so negative. They seem to get off on talking down Ontario's economy, Mr. Speaker. Well, there's still more work to do. Mr. Speaker, we want to in this budget ensure that we continue to work with our business community. The fact is, as I said, we're up 460,000 net new jobs. The fact is, we're number one in North America for foreign direct investment. We're also number one, Mr. Speaker, when it comes to the mine, we're the number one mining financial center in the world. Our auto sector, our information communication technology center, our financial services sector are among the top two in North America. We're in the top three in life sciences. Finish, please. We're in the top three in so many different sectors, Mr. Speaker, in our economy in North America. Ontario's rejected your negative approach in the last election. So stop talking down on Ontario's economy. Show them that you learned something and support the budget that we're moving forward with today. Thank you. New question for the leader of the third party. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. 34,000 people lost their jobs in Ontario last month alone. And the Premier keeps telling people that the budget is progressive, but it's a Trojan horse plan. It's all where there should be a jobs plan, Speaker. When the Premier reintroduces her budget, will it do anything to reverse failed liberal policies of corporate handouts and instead put in place a real targeted plan to create jobs instead of killing jobs? Thank you, Sandra. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Well, this is the same question that has just been answered twice coming now from the NDP, Mr. Speaker, which is somewhat surprising. Mr. Speaker, what I will say to the leader of the third party, as I said to the leader of the Conservatives, that, you know, we are we are obviously not happy when out of three months, one month the job numbers are down. But the fact is, Mr. Speaker, that we have recovered more than 460,000 net new jobs since the economic downturn. Now, that doesn't mean that that's even across the province. It doesn't mean that there aren't pockets in the province where there is obviously more work to do, Mr. Speaker. And we acknowledge that. We understand that. That there are certain parts of this province that were hit harder than others. And so that's why, Mr. Speaker, it's very important that we have targeted responses and we work with regions of the province to make sure that there are economic development plans in place that are suited to that region. But that kind of work involves building up those regions, investing in them and working with them. Well, Speaker, I want to talk about another hole in the budget plan for the province. The Premier insists that her budget concludes a plan for transit, but it has holes so big in it that you could drive an imaginary bullet train through them. There are holes where you would expect to find, for example, a downtown relief line. And holes where you would expect to find a plan for clean electric trains or a real plan for two-way all-day go in this province. Are you going to deal with these holes, Speaker? Or will Liberals have people waiting at the station yet again? Mr. Speaker, it's, again, I just want to be clear with the leader of the third party that what she is talking about, a plan for transit, is actually what is in our budget, Mr. Speaker. It is in our plan. We actually have a plan for the things that she is talking about. Whether it is the downtown relief line, which is part of the big move, Mr. Speaker, whether it is electrification of the go-lines, Mr. Speaker, so that we can have full-day two-way service, those are actually part of our plan. They actually weren't part of the NDP's plan, but they are part of our plan, Mr. Speaker. That is the budget that we are reintroducing, Mr. Speaker, because we said we were going to do it. We are doing that today, and we want to move once we, if we can get the budget passed in the legislature, we want to move to implement it, Mr. Speaker, because those things that the leader of the third party is talking about, those are part of our plan, and we want to make sure they get implemented. Families across Ontario are watching their bills go up, and as people turn on the air conditioning to deal with the rising temperatures, they are watching their bills go through the ceiling. For 10 years, bills have been going up, but instead of a plan that gets rates under control, there is another big hole in the budget. Are people who are paying the bills going to get a deja vu all over again and see their rates go up by 30% by this government? Let me just talk a little bit about what is in our plan, Mr. Speaker, because I don't know whether the leader of the third party quite understands that the budget that we are introducing today is the same budget that we introduced at the beginning of May, Mr. Speaker. And here's the thing. One of the members for Hamilton, Hamilton East Stony Creek says that it was shot down. Well, Mr. Speaker, here's what the member for Hamilton East Stony Creek and his colleagues shot down. $4.2 billion in school retrofits and bills. A made in Ontario pension plan, Mr. Speaker, increasing the Ontario child benefits, increasing social assistance benefits, $810 million to support adults with developmental disabilities, expansion of low income health benefits, $20 million for expanding the student nutrition program, $42 million to prevent and reduce homelessness. And following our budget, Mr. Speaker, the NDP is not supporting any of those, Mr. Speaker, unless, by this afternoon, they have a change of heart and support our budget. Thank you. We see a place. Our culture will come to order. Second time. New question. Speaker, my next question is for the Premier, and although she loves to rail off her little list, this trojan horse budget is filled with all kinds of other surprises that she doesn't like to talk about. We are planning to have a fire sale of public assets, things like the LCBO and our hydro companies, even while they bail out American real estate companies. It's astonishing that the Liberals are planning to sell the LCBO when even Mike Harris said it was too valuable to sell, Speaker. Does the Premier really think it's a good idea to burn the furniture to heat the house? Mr. Speaker, the election campaign, I think she's making it up. The fact is, there have been investments in assets in this province for decades, Mr. Speaker. And investments in assets need to work, assets need to work for the people of the province. So what we have done is we have Asded Clark, who is CEO of the Toronto Dominion Bank. We've asked him to work with the team and to make sure that the assets that are owned by the people of Ontario are working to the maximum benefit of Ontario, Mr. Speaker, because we want to be able to make sure that we have those dollars to reinvest, Mr. Speaker, to invest in the infrastructure and the assets that we know we need for the future. Now, if the leader of the third party doesn't think that's a good idea, then I think she should be clear, because I think investment in the assets that we need today is a responsible thing to do for the people of the province, Mr. Speaker. Supplementary. Mr. Speaker, the Liberals claim that auto insurance bills are coming down, but by talking about approved rates, they're not to talking about the rates that drivers are actually paying. But drivers get a surprise every time that they open the bill for their auto insurance companies, because they're not seeing any savings at all. Drivers know the real story, whether the Liberals code it with shiny red paint or not. When the Premier introduces their budget this afternoon, will drivers see real savings or will be more of the same liberal spin without any real relief for the people who are paying the bills. So, Mr. Speaker, you know, what I hear the leader of the third party doing is going through a list of somewhat connected but disjointed questions, Mr. Speaker. Again, the kind of platforms you had that things aren't necessarily connected, looking for a rationalization, not to support the budget, Mr. Speaker, because there is so much in this budget that is good for the people of the province and the leader of the third party talked about a little list. It's actually a long list of things that are in the best interest of the people of the province, Mr. Speaker. On the issue of auto insurance, the leader of the third party knows full well that on average auto insurance rates are down 4.6 percent. We are on track to make sure that those auto insurance rates come down by 15 percent. She knows that, Mr. Speaker, but she's throwing up this rhetoric in order to justify not supporting wage increases for personal support workers, not supporting new funding for long-term care homes, not supporting expanded mental health and addiction strategy, Mr. Speaker, and not supporting a comprehensive action plan for action. Thank you. Final supplementary. Well, Speaker, new Democrats know exactly where we stand and we know that this liberal plan but it bails out it's a plan to sell off public assets but it bails out public and real estate speculators. It makes life more expensive for people but hands more no-strings-attached giveaways to corporations. And the jobs plan, it's the same jobs plan, Speaker, that led to Ontarians losing 34,000 jobs last month and has led to employment in manufacturing hitting its lowest point in this province since 1976. Not good work from Mr. Speaker. Now, does the premier agree that her budget plan is a Trojan horse plan for Ontario? Thank you. Mr. Speaker, believe it or not a lot has changed in Ontario since 1976 and so it's very important that the government in 2014 have a plan that's relevant to 2014, not to 1976, Mr. Speaker and that manufacturing, it's necessary to partner with businesses so that they can expand and they can keep up globally, Mr. Speaker. Ontario has recovered more than 460,000 net new jobs, Mr. Speaker. We have a plan that will continue to invest in the businesses in this province, support the businesses in this province, support the people in this province who need training that is going to allow them to be globally competitive, Mr. Speaker. Make sure that we have an international trade strategy for the future. It's 2014. We're introducing a budget that's good for Ontario in 2014, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, please. Thank you. A new question to the premier of Ontario. On Friday we learned that Ontario lost 34,000 jobs. That's equivalent to the town of St. Thomas just for your information. The government's strategy of job reduction of high taxes, high costs of government is compromising the livelihood of tens of thousands of Ontarians. And today when the Liberals retable their made budget, Ontario is expected to see a credit downgrade. That will cause further job losses in the province of Ontario. Two specific policies come to mind the Ontario pension plan and the aviation fuel tax could cost Ontario massive job losses according to the CFIB and Air Canada. Does the premier really think that losing not just thousands of jobs but tens of thousands of jobs is progressive? Not a development employment and infrastructure. I have to finish. Let's talk about tens of thousands of jobs. Let's talk about the 50,000 jobs that have been created in this province from the partnerships that we've engaged in our regional economic development funds and our partnerships. Our approach supported by the people of Ontario on the last rejection and last election and your approach to cancel those programs was rejected. Let's talk about the 500,000 jobs direct and indirect in our auto sector, Mr Speaker. We're going to continue to partner with our auto sector. Our jobs and prosperity fund which is part of this budget Mr Speaker will spend $2.5 billion over 10 years to continue those partnerships. You oppose those funds and the people of Ontario and your approach and supported ours. We're going to continue to keep investing in this province. We're going to continue to keep partnering with our business community. We're going to continue to keep Thank you. Supplementary. That rather resolved well and good for an election campaign speaker but John Maynard Keynes once says as the facts change I change my mind. Well the facts did change with a credit downgrade government needs to understand. Fewer jobs mean there are fewer people paying taxes for our schools our hospitals and our infrastructure. That means the Liberals will have to either raise taxes, cut services or do both all while giving our sovereignty over to credit rating agencies in New York and elsewhere in the world. The government needs to be honest with Ontarians right now. This is not the activist center. This is an activist failure speaker. On top of the 34,000 jobs that we lost last month will the Premier admit she is on track to losing tens of thousands of more jobs as a result of this 2014 budget. Thank you. Mr. Speaker as we said last month was not the best month for job creation of the province of Ontario but if you look at the overall picture in the trends we're up 460,000 new jobs since the recession. That's the fact Mr. Speaker is on the right direction. But I want to ask the member to think about this how would it have looked last month Mr. Speaker if our numbers came in 100,000 less because of your plan to cut 400,000 people in this province. Mr. Speaker the people of Ontario chose well in the last election they chose an economic plan that's having results Mr. Speaker that's going to continue to build a strong economy they rejected your plan to lay off 100,000 people Mr. Speaker it's time for you to learn something from that it's time for you to support our budget to invest in infrastructure to invest in partnerships to keep building Mr. Speaker on the economics and set that we've had to date. Thank you. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker my question was for the Minister of Finance but I'll direct it to the Premier last week at the Empire Club in a discussion about Ontario's finances to a group of assembled civil servants the Minister of Finance said come on guys take those happy pills in other words he doesn't think that Ontario's economy is that bad but the reality is that bad Ontario's unemployment rate is now up to 7.5% it's much higher for those who are youth in the province of Ontario good paying manufacturing jobs are at their lowest point since 1976 and according to the latest jobs numbers we are down 34,000 jobs would the Minister or the Premier ask those recently laid off people in this province the good people of this province to just take some of those happy pills Thank you Premier Mr. Speaker I know that the Minister of Economic Development will want to speak to the supplementary but I just want to say that the fact is that we along with other jurisdictions are still recovering there is no doubt that the economic sector in hit Ontario very hard we have a diversified economy but the manufacturing sector in this economy was hit very hard by the economic downturn and we're going through a transition as I said to the leader of the third party it's not 1976 when there was a different kind of traditional manufacturing in this province manufacturing is developing and advanced manufacturing is developing and we're going to have to make those investments to be made in order for companies to be able to compete globally that's why what we're proposing in our budget is so important that we make those investments that we partner with business and that we have an economic strategy that works for all regions of the province I hope that the member opposite will find her way clear Thank you supplementary the national unemployment rate since 2007 that's under liberal governments that include much of the current cabinet that are on that side of the house the loss of tens of thousands of good paying jobs in the province of Ontario is not a time to make flippant remarks your government's plan to create jobs in Ontario isn't working in and hasn't been working for a long, long time will the premier tell the people of Ontario in concrete terms why they should believe anything will be different under this government when there apparently hasn't been a plan since 2007 and will someone on that side of the house please apologize to the people of this province for saying that they should just take some happy pills when they can't get a job in the province of Ontario Question? Thank you Minister of Economic Development Mr. Speaker I would say to the member opposite show little faith in the judgment of the people of Ontario the people of Ontario chose in June to support an economic plan that's created 460,000 net new jobs since the recession they rejected your plan to put in place a silly little job creation tax credit Mr. Speaker that would have given businesses money for creating jobs they would have created in the first place they also rejected your plan to jack up corporate tax rates they heard our economy and they supported our plan to continue to partner with businesses something you called corporate welfare show little faith in the people of Ontario show that you've learned from some of the things that they told you in this election support the budget that we're providing to keep building a strong economy create jobs and invest in infrastructure Thank you The member from Cambridge The question is to the minister of training colleges and universities Speaker each summer as students finish classes and final exams at post secondary institutions across the province they struggle to find summer employment My 20 year old son has many friends that have just finished first or second year college or university Employment during the summer months is important to these youth not just to save money for the school year but also to gain valuable work experience that will help them to find that job or career after they graduate it's our responsibility as a government to ensure that our young people have meaningful opportunities for success Now that we're a few months into the summer can the minister tell us what the government has done to ensure access to jobs for our young people this summer Thank you Thank you Mr. Speaker I want to thank the member from Cambridge and also I want to congratulate her on her election I'm pretty sure that she will make an excellent MPP for her right Mr. Speaker through my ministry of summer job services the students have been able to search for jobs through my ministry's employment network also they can get help with their resumes and also they can apply for funding to start up their own summer company We are also offering Mr. Speaker a $2 per hour hiring incentives employers to hire students during summer time Our government this year have invested $29 million to connect the students with job opportunities across the province Mr. Speaker and this summer our program will help 30,000 students to find jobs Mr. Speaker helping our young people and the students to succeed is the prime importance for our government Thank you Supplementary Thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you minister for informing the members of the house what our government is doing to help young people find meaningful jobs this summer I'm glad our government has committed to providing great opportunities such as these my 20 year old son is currently employed by just such a program Summer is a great time for our youth to experience something outside of our comfort zone whether this is by doing jobs that allow them to work outdoors or bringing them out of the urban areas and into Ontarians northern and rural communities where our culture is about new experiences for example my son trained to become a fire ranger he got a job this summer with ministry of natural resources near Timmins last week he went to fight a forest fire by helicopter he has learned new skills that were definitely not in his comfort zone a few months ago Speaker can the minister share with the members of this house how our government helps to provide youth with jobs in Ontario's outdoors thank you minister of natural resources on forestry the speaker I want to thank the member for the question and let me offer my congratulations as well to the member on her election I've got a number of former Thunder Bay folks who are living in that riding that are thrilled by your election and I offer my congratulations to you sir the ministry of natural resources and forestry has a long history of offering young people their first jobs in parks, in science and research and in offices across the province in fact MNR is the largest employer of youth in the Ontario public service and in this particular summer we'll be offering over 1,900 jobs to youth being employed in the MNR right across the province and these jobs will be in a wide variety of different sectors for example they might work on a project to create habitat for species at risk help monitor for the health of the forest or assist with community environmental events and those in the stewardship youth ranger program will work on natural resource management and their own communities Speaker I'm thrilled with the role that the ministry of natural resources and forestry continue to play in offering summer employment opportunities for youth right across the province of Ontario Premier last week you stated that you are and I quote extremely interested in the work of the select committee in fact this is an issue that a number of us on all sides of the house have been concerned about for some time however when I asked for unanimous consent for the committee to be restructed so it could table its report you and your government turned it down with a promise of $810 million for developmental services that's going to be tabled in this afternoon's budget the recommendations of the report could go a long way to making sure that you get good value for money instead you are choosing to throw money at a broken system Premier will you commit to restricting the select committee so that can file its final report and deliver the reports and services that individuals and families across Ontario so desperately thank you very much Mr. Speaker and I know that the government house leader will want to speak to the specifics of this issue but the member opposite knows full well that the release of the report and the findings of the committee that that whole discussion is part of the house leaders discussion Mr. Speaker because there is a negotiation going on right now about how the business the house will be done over the the next couple of weeks Mr. Speaker and the member opposite knows that she also where to negotiate I'm going to negotiate some quiet please finish she also knows that the $810 million that we have in our budget for people with developmental disabilities she knows that that is necessary money she knows that there are wait lists and there are programs that people cannot get access to because there is enough money in the system I understand that there needs to be changes but I also understand that there needs to be investments and that $810 million is needed in the system Mr. Speaker so we need that budget to pass supplementary Mr. Speaker I'm anticipating what the house leader is about to say and he's going to say it's all caught up with the work of the house and what's going on there's a very big difference Mr. Speaker between the work of the standing committees and the work of the select committee in order to block what's going on with this select committee $810 million is a lot of money we need to make sure that it's being spent properly but yet you don't even want to hear the reports of this committee why I don't understand why in people thousands of individuals and families across Ontario don't understand either it's a simple thing to do why won't you just say yes allow this committee to do its work to re-constitute the committee so it can follow the report Premier Government House Leader Thank you very much Speaker and I thank the member for an important question I appreciate her work that she has done along with other members of the committee from all three parties on this very important issue as the Premier said in the budget today we are going to be committing about $810 million for our developmental disability sector and an initiative which I hope the opposition parties very much will support and that's why Speaker the conversations that the house leaders are having right now in terms of constituting committees is very important because that involves also the standing committee so that the work that she refers to gets done and as to the member of it be Oshawa if her house leader agrees to the kind of conversation we are having this afternoon we can have that committee established but we all have to work on reconstituting committees as a whole speaker has always been the tradition in the house and we are working hard towards achieving that goal Thank you very much The member from Windsor west Minister of health and long term care the people of Windsor have been clear we need a new hospital to serve our families today planning is underway to select a site, drop master plans and determine future uses for existing facilities but our community is worried about its commitment to deliver a new Windsor hospital on time Speaker will the minister commit to delivering funding for the new Windsor hospital or is he planning to delay a project that our community desperately needs Minister of health and long term care Thank you Mr. Speaker and I appreciate the question it gives me the opportunity to indicate what we have done in terms of the planning process already underway for the potential future needs of the Windsor area we invested Mr. Speaker $2.5 million towards the preliminary planning process to develop which are important aspects of this process to develop the scope and governance for a proposed new acute care hospital in Windsor and I want to say Mr. Speaker that Windsor regional hospital as well as Hotel Dieu Grace healthcare and community partners are all currently working together with the Erie St. Clair Lynn and developing that stage one proposal Mr. Speaker so planning our healthcare future is a collaborative process we're very eager to hear that important feedback from the Windsor community Mr. Speaker healthcare austerity continues under this government's Trojan horse budget three straight years of frozen budgets mean hospitals are sending more services to private clinics and charging patients more for parking and other user fees and a firm commitment from this government that a new hospital will be fully supported by the provincial government and delivered without any delay Speaker will the minister tell us how much funding this government will provide to deliver the Windsor hospital on time Thank you Mr. Speaker and I think the member opposite would agree that we shouldn't make decisions without having that important community input and that's precisely what this planning proposal is set up to do for the member opposite if she's interested in actually learning more of the details I would offer to have my ministry provider with a full briefing so that she's up to speed on precisely what our plan is and the action so I hope you take me up on that offer for a briefing from the ministry but in terms of her comment about austerity the truth is absolutely the opposite and particularly for Windsor 93 more doctors as of 2012 since compared to 2003 the Erie St. Clair Lynn now has 588 more nurses than they had in 2005 and of course as she knows well the Chatham Cant Health link I would hope she knows well the health link is providing this amazing coordinated care to the areas most complex patients just a few examples how we're investing in Windsor Health Thank you Mr. Speaker my question today is for the minister of children and youth services minister we know that life can be challenging for children with communication, developmental and physical disabilities it can also be very difficult for the families involved in my writing of Barry I have met with and heard from families that are facing these challenges I am always impressed by their constant strength and unrelenting commitment to support and advocate for their children I have heard from many Barry families including those of the children attending the ASD class in my school about the difficulties they face getting special needs services for their children my question Mr. Speaker can the minister please inform this house about what our government is doing to address the concerns and challenges that these families face when trying to access special needs services Thank you Mr. Speaker First I want to congratulate our new member from Barry on her successful election I would also like to thank the premier for asking me to take on this very important role As you know when I was the parliamentary assistant for the minister of children youth services I undertook an engagement to explore ways to improve programs and services for children with special needs I met with families, researchers service providers and cities all across Ontario to discuss how our government can improve programs and support for services we offer families and children with special needs I have heard from families that navigating the system is indeed difficult, stressful and tiring I have heard that rehabilitation services are often inconsistent these findings form the basis of my report which along with advice from leading experts went on to inform our new strategy Thank you Mr. Speaker I would like to thank the minister for her answer and I commend her for all of her efforts when it comes to reaching out to families and experts to improve the services our government offers I know that experience will serve her well in her new role as the minister of children and youth services Ministers the concern you heard during those engagement sessions are similar to the concerns I have heard in my writing in Barry You mentioned that your report formed the basis for our government's new special needs strategy Mr. Speaker my question is to the minister could she please inform this house of the details of the new strategy and how it improves services for children and their families Thank you minister Thank you I did hear from families that navigating the system can be a very challenging process that's why we will be hiring service coordinators to make for child care easier and easier for their families I also heard from experts that early intervention is so important that's why as part of our strategy we will introduce a new preschool development screen that will connect children and families to the services they need sooner I also heard that access to rehabilitation services is very inconsistent as children move through the system that's why we're integrating the delivery of these services by making access seamless from birth through to the school years By implementing this strategy our government is ensuring that children and youth throughout Ontario can reach their full potential Thank you Premier earlier this year you said you were going to take middle class tax hikes off the table but then just weeks later you turned around and slipped an excessive budget which will be imposed on all passenger and cargo flights once this tax is in effect the cost of goods will rise and Ontario flights will become the most expensive in Canada So Premier do you still think your aviation fuel tax won't affect the middle class or are you just hoping Ontarians miss what you're really happy in Buffalo and Syria Minister of economic development and infrastructure Well thank you Mr. Speaker this is part of the budget that we'll be tabling later today Mr. Speaker the fact of the matter is we're going to build public transit in this province we're going to invest $29 billion over the next number of years to do that and it does require some revenue to us Mr. Speaker at least we've laid out where the revenues are going to come from and it's very clearly in the budget and yes it is challenging and it will be challenging for the sector but Mr. Speaker we need those revenues and unlike your approach Mr. Speaker was to find those revenues by laying off 100,000 public servants Mr. Speaker that's where your savings were going to come from we are we do have revenue tools they're part of the budget Mr. Speaker it's never easy and I don't expect any sectors that are impacted by those revenue tools to be pleased with that at the same time Mr. Speaker it's in the interest of ensuring that we build public transit in this province that we need to make these challenging decisions so back to the Premier again Premier in your desperate race to raise more revenue you've put forward another punitive tax hike without any consideration of its economic consequences in fact the airline industry says when it asks you for an economic impact assessment on your aviation fuel tax you couldn't provide one Premier we all know it's the policy of your government to tax first and ask questions later we'll have time to chart a new course so Premier will you do the right thing and remove this tax hike from your budget or will you recklessly move forward with no regard for middle class Ontarians and our economy Mr. Speaker our budget was clear and our platform was clear and Mr. Speaker we're going to build public transit in this province and it's not easy but we've laid out a path to get us there unlike the member opposite in his party and unlike the other opposition party Mr. Speaker it's not easy and we're going to have to work together as a province and we're going to have to work with our business community and in this case Mr. Speaker the aviation sector Mr. Speaker we will work with the airlines to ensure they can adjust to these challenges but Mr. Speaker this tax hasn't been touched since 1992 they're paying less over as a percentage than other fuel Mr. Speaker in our economy and the fact of the matter is Mr. Speaker in order to ensure the competitiveness of our economy and our quality of life we need to invest 29 billion dollars Mr. Speaker in public transit and transportation in this province we're going to get that job done it's not going to be easy but we've laid out a path to get there Mr. Speaker and I commend you commend the budget that we're about to bring forward and ask for your support Thank you Mr. Speaker my question is to the minister of transportation I first arrived at Queens Park I've been working with all parties to get year-round GO train service to Niagara Falls the 12 mayors, regional chairs businesses and residents of my riding have been clear it's time for the government to deliver daily GO train service to Niagara Falls in fact during the campaign the chair of the cabinet promised to get the job done he admitted the well and canal was not a problem after all he committed the government to deliver GO train service in 2015 Speaker after all the delays will the minister of transportation commit today to ensuring year-round GO train service all the way to Niagara Falls if not, why not Thank you very much Mr. Speaker and I want to thank the member of Niagara Falls for that question I know it's an important question for the community that he represents and also for the people who have Niagara region speaker but what I want to particularly do this morning is pay tribute to the member from St. Catharines who is an individual who has long been a champion for making sure that we can continue to invest in his region and that member from St. Catharines understands, Speaker, as we do on this side of the house why it is so crucial that we pass the budget that we put before the people of Ontario that includes 29 billion dollars for investments in crucial infrastructure including transportation, including transit and I sincerely hope that the member from Niagara Falls who has put forward the question this morning will encourage his colleagues to work with us to pass the budget so that we can keep moving Ontario forward Thank you Mr. Speaker Deliverals were very clear during the campaign they said they would expand GO service outside the GTA they said they would deliver GO service at the people and business of Niagara Falls need and the chair of the cabinet couldn't have been more direct when he promised year round GO train service to Grinsby St. Catharines and Niagara Falls in 2015 he said I'm committed to it and the government is committed to it in 2015 Speaker, will the minister confirm that year round GO train service will be delivered all the way to Niagara Falls Thank you Mr. Speaker Well thank you very much Mr. Speaker and I thank the member opposite for his supplementary but again I say to that member and I say to his leader and the rest of the folks on that side of the house that is why it is so important for them to listen to what took place during the course of the recent election campaign to heed the voices of the people of Ontario work with us on this side pass the budget so that over the next 10 years $29 billion in all kinds of fantastic projects for Niagara region and for the rest of the province whether it's the GTHA or beyond and I said in my initial answer speaker that the member from St. Catharines has long been a champion for additional investments in his community and because of that member the member from St. Catharines local leadership he has been able to deliver positive results for his community including GO train summer service and GO buses to Burlington and I want to thank the member from St. Catharines for his advocacy and for his being a strong champion for the people of Niagara region Thank you Mr. Speaker first of all I would like to congratulate you for your election my question for the minister of energy Part of our energy platform for the province conservation of course is an important component I continue to receive a number of inquiries from my own residents in the great riding of Etobicoke North about energy conservation but speaker my residents are not merely interested in doing their part to save the planet but more particularly how energy conservation initiatives can affect their own personal consumer energy bills they want to know speaker in a word how they can save money now in my fourth term here in parliament speaker I have seen our government's energy strategy evolve and how we have worked to publicize strengthen, foster and reward a culture of conservation speaker my question is this please inform this chamber about the specific actions and the latest thinking that our government is taking to promote energy conservation for the province Thank you Mr. Speaker I thank the member from Etobicoke North for his interest in this matter conservation is one of the cleanest and most cost-effective energy resources it offers consumers a way to reduce their bills and reduces the need to build new generation transmission and distribution infrastructure and that is why our government made conservation first a key element of our long-term energy plan so we can build on the work that has been done to foster a culture of conservation in Ontario as we plan for Ontario's electricity needs we will invest in all cost effective conservation before new generation and to ensure we aggressively pursue all conservation options we set a 2032 conservation target of 30 terawatt hours enough to power a city the size of Toronto Thank you Thank you Mr. Speaker I appreciate minister the strides that Ontario has made in energy conservation under our government and speaker while I do appreciate the encouragement I receive constantly from the member from Hamilton East Stony Creek and his consistent technique I would invite him at least to sit in his own seat while he does so Speaker I understand that according to the energy requirements we have already improved Ontario's conservation rating from C minus to an A plus over the past seven years Speaker that's a rating that's going in the right direction Yet Speaker there is always more work to be done particularly on such an important file as energy we must continue to give electricity consumers in Ontario more tools to help them conserve energy in their homes and businesses Speaker could the minister please tell the House what programs consumers in small businesses to help them conserve energy and save money saving energy Mr. Speaker saving energy means saving money for every dollar invested in energy efficiency Ontario has avoided about two dollars in system costs the same is true for consumers energy you don't use is energy you don't pay for through government programs consumers now have access to information and funding to choose the most energy efficient appliances and products for their homes and for their businesses we will also introduce new financing tools including on bill financing for energy efficiency retrofits starting in 2015 Mr. Speaker and the peak saver plus program is about some consumers reduce their consumption up to nine percent you won't hear from the other parties talking about conservation I think the opposition Mr. Speaker new question thank you thank you my question is for the minister of training college universities minister I want to congratulate you on your appointment to this position as you know and I hope you've been briefed on this Bernie the electrician unions long time lawyer shared a number of racial review panels for the entire college of trades including the review for the electrician trade and the application for judicial review the Mr. Fishbean was in a conflict of interest when he shared the electricians review panel as he failed to disclose his long standing professional relationship as a lawyer with the electricians union the electricians union was one of the participants in the racial review Mr. Fishbean recommended their proposal for the racial review of the electricians trade Mr. Speaker a conflict of interest is very unacceptable to interians particularly when it comes to decisions affecting their careers and businesses so I'll ask the minister will the minister direct the college of trades to ignore Mr. Fishbean's recommendations and order a complete new review for this trade Mr. Speaker I want to thank the member opposite for that question Mr. Speaker investing in people of Ontario's prime importance for this government that's why we have created the Ontario College of Trade for the first time in the history of this province the trade people they have the same right as doctors dentists teachers it's not for the politicians it's not for the workers to make decisions for them that's why we have created the Ontario College of Trade Mr. Speaker in the past just over a year since the college started its operation they've made a great progress Mr. Speaker they have reviewed 33 professions and after that they have reduced ratios which the member opposite has always asked question this is a chamber about reducing the ratios they have reduced the ratios for I believe 14 professions and also they have introduced one more profession into the compulsory category so they have been doing great job Mr. Speaker within the short time they start operation thank you very much minister and I think the first thing you better get briefed on this college of trades your government and your biased appointment of the electricians union lawyer has raised apprenticeship ratios for electricians from 3 to 1 to a convoluted 6 to 1 6 to 1 ratio review so minister your new 6 to 1 ratios for electricians is a barrier to entering the electricians trade and it affects small businesses do you not understand that so why won't you reject the bias advice of the electricians union's lawyer and your bias process and lower apprenticeship ratios for electricians to what we want 1 to 1 ratio that's what we want also one of the 500,000 people thank you Mr. Speaker the ratios are basically the number of journey person the teacher to the students and this is the decision that the college should be making not me, not politicians, not bureaucrats that's why we have created Ontario College of Trade and that's what they are doing in the past just over a year since their operation Mr. Speaker they have reviewed 33 professions actually the ratios for 14 professions they have been doing great job Mr. Speaker and we are going to review appoint advisor to the Ontario College of Trade in the near future so that the college operation could be reviewed in general so that is our position Mr. Speaker and I'm sure the member opposite who comes from the trade background himself he knows this very well that it's very important that the trade people they have to decide on their own the ratio of teachers to the students at this profession thank you Mr. Speaker my question is to the minister of training colleges and universities according to the Ontario undergraduate student alliance our province is failing an alarming number of post secondary students fully two thirds of students are worried that they won't have enough money to complete their degree at approximately $8,000 Ontario has the highest undergraduate tuition fees in Canada and concerns about taking on huge debt loads are causing some students particularly those from underrepresented groups to think twice about university education Speaker how can the minister defend a budget that does nothing to improve access to post secondary education does nothing to reduce barriers and make sure we are leveraging the talents and skills of all of our young students Thank you Mr. Speaker I would like to thank the member opposite for that question Mr. Speaker since we came to the office in 2003 we have invested heavily in secondary and post secondary education actually our higher education plan with 6.2 billion dollar investment has been and is the biggest and the largest investment in post secondary education as a result of this heavy investments in our post secondary education we have created 170,000 more spaces for our students so that our young people can get higher education in our universities and colleges Mr. Speaker we have reduced tuition fees by 30% which the member opposite and his party actually voted against that 30% reduction this saves $530 million to our students in order to be able to continue their education Thank you Mr. Speaker There are no deferred votes and recessed until 1pm this afternoon