 Seeing no further introductions, therefore it is time for Question Period, the leader of Her Majesty's Royal Opposition. Thank you, Anne. Good morning, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Acting Premier. Speaker, for seven years the government has been battling yet another business, Trillium Power, in court. And due to the suspicious circumstances with the government files, yet again the OPP were called in to investigate. Yes, Speaker, this is the fifth OPP investigation of this Liberal government. Now today we learned new evidence shows the Liberal government destroyed documents relative to the case. Mr. Speaker, was the destruction of the Trillium documents intentional? Or did it happen when the Liberals wiped the gas plant evidence from their computers? Thank you, Speaker. I thank the member opposite for the question. And I think, Speaker, the member very much knows that we can't comment specifically on the lawsuit from Trillium Power. As the matter is before the course or any matter for that matter, Speaker, that is before the course. But with respect to record keeping, we are, Speaker, committed to being an open, accountable and transparent government. We have taken action to strengthen the laws related to record keeping and we have ensured that there are good policies in place for document retention and staff training. We have worked closely, Speaker, with the Information and Privacy Commissioner and the Chief Privacy Officer and the Archivist of Ontario to ensure that our policies are appropriate. Speaker, the decision to place a moratorium on offshore wind is one our government still believes is correct. It's a decision that we will continue to make based on science and evidence, Speaker, and Ontario will take a cautious approach to offshore wind. Thank you very much. Supplementary. Thank you. Back to the acting, Premier. Well, Speaker, with so many investigations and scandals going on that they can't talk about, it doesn't leave very much left for the Liberals to actually be able to talk. Stop the clock, please. I've heard from both sides and I will not waver from my resolve to have us complete a decorum filled question period. And I'm listening carefully. Please finish your question. As I said, there's very little left, Speaker, for the government to be able to comment on, but we'll try delving deeper into this. A freedom of information request to the Premier's office and Cabinet office turned up no results. All records pertaining to, quote, Trillium and key offshore wind contracts between January 2010 and December 11 were requested. The request turned up zero relevant documents, zero, Speaker, as in none, no documents. It's inconceivable that no one in the Premier's office or Cabinet office wouldn't have used those words. This is exactly what happened in the gas plant scandal hearings. The government said they had no files because they had destroyed them all. Question. Speaker, which Liberal ordered the documents related to this case to be deleted? I want to remind the member opposite again that we take our obligation in terms of transparency and accountability and openness of government very, very seriously. Speaker, we promised to the people of Ontario to open up the government completely and we have done so to an unprecedented degree, Speaker. In the report that was delivered by the then Information and Privacy Commissioner, she credited our government for improving record keeping across the government, Speaker. Speaker, we have sent a directive to all political staff. We have developed mandatory training programs. We have appointed chiefs of staff accountable for record keeping. We have improved archiving requirements. Speaker, we also brought an accountability act that would prohibit the willful deletion of records and in fact has created a penalty to do so. Speaker, the Premier's office have worked very closely with the Integrity Commissioner and the Information and Privacy Commissioner deal with these issues. Final supplementary. Back to the acting Premier. The Liberals say one thing, Speaker, when the exact opposite is true. Trillion powers submitted another freedom of information request. To the Minister of Energy. It was for a period from October 6, 2006 to January 31, 2014. They requested documents with the keywords quote Trillium Power Wind and TPW1 project in Eastern Ontario. The response only indicated documents after March 2013. There were no documents for the FOI. It would appear that the Liberals have deleted every document that pertains to Trillium before March 2013. Speaker, we know emails exist because Trillium themselves had sent emails to the Premier's office and to the Government's office. And yet they say none exists. Mr. Speaker, where are all the documents? I want to remind the member again that this legislature is not the place to litigate matters that are before the course. I know the members opposite would love to do that and they've tried it at many times. That does not make it right. Speaker, there's a very clear rule in this House, the rule around subjudices as you know. Which says that we as legislators must respect the independence of a judiciary. We must respect the process that is ongoing. However, Speaker, I can speak to the very strong action that our government has taken in order to ensure that we have an open government, that we have a government that really have bolstered and strengthened transparency and accountability. In my previous answers, I spoke of very specific measures that we have taken exactly to do so. Not only making sure that we have strengthened the law and put penalties in place for such actions. We have also have gone beyond in putting the right set of policies and training that goes along with it for our staff so that government remains open and accountable to people of Ontario. New question? The Leader of the Opposition. Thank you, Speaker. My question is for the Acting Premier. Well, Speaker, Trillium can't get the evidence from the Liberals. It's been destroyed. But we on this side, we've proven that we know how to get that evidence, Speaker. According to reports, Trillium says emails provided show that the Premier's office and, quote, several other ministries are involved, quote, the ministries of energy, environment and natural resources collaborated behind the scenes to develop a policy specifically targeting Trillium, quote. They say they intentionally favored Trillium's competitor. So, Mr. Speaker, did the Liberals delete all the documents because the evidence supported Trillium's allegations? Thank you. Minister of Energy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Like the Attorney General said, Mr. Speaker, we can't comment specifically on the lawsuit from Trillium Power. As you know, Mr. Speaker, and this House knows the matter is before the courts. But with respect to record keeping, Mr. Speaker, we're committed to making sure that we are a transparent, accountable and an open government, Mr. Speaker. As was said, we've taken action to strengthen the laws related to record keeping and have ensured there are good policies in place for document retention and staff training, Mr. Speaker. That's an important piece in that. We've worked closely with the Information and the Privacy Commissioner and the Chief Privacy Officer and Archivists of Ontario to ensure that our policies are appropriate, Mr. Speaker. But when it comes to placing a moratorium on offshore wind, it's one that our government still believes is correct, Mr. Speaker, and I'll have more to that in the supplementary. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Back to the acting premier. Well, Mr. Speaker, this is exactly how the gas plant scandal played out and ended with a liberal conviction. The government denies the deleted document claims are related to the gas plant deletions. They say, quote, any investigation into the destruction of evidence in the gas plant scandal is irrelevant to Trillium's case. So if it is irrelevant to Trillium's case, that means a separate order was given to destroy documents. So, Mr. Speaker, if it is irrelevant to the gas plant scandal, who ordered these documents to be destroyed? Who was it? Again, Mr. Speaker, the member opposite knows well that we can't comment specifically on the lawsuit from Trillium Power. Mr. Speaker, the matter is before the courts, and that's where it should be, Mr. Speaker. And that's why, again, we all know that we can't comment specifically on this lawsuit. Mr. Speaker, we've talked about the actions that we've taken when it comes to ensuring record retention and document retention, Mr. Speaker. So, you know, one of the things that we've done is when we worked with the Information and Privacy Commissioner, she's credited our government for improving record keeping across government, Mr. Speaker. Some of the things that we've done as a government since we've worked with the Privacy Commissioner, the Information and the Privacy Commissioner, we sent a directive to all political staff outlining and developing mandatory training programs. We also appointed chiefs of staff accountable for record keeping and improving archiving requirements, Mr. Speaker. Those are just a few things of the many things that we did to improve our retention of documents. Final supplementary. Back to the acting Premier. Speaker, I can say all of this sounds hauntingly familiar to the process that ended in a liberal conviction. The deletion of documents was done a year after the Trillium lawsuit began. The government was being sued and they say there are no emails, even though Trillium themselves sent emails to the government. At least those should have come back in the documentation. But the Premier's office and Cabinet's office were busy deleting documents. No wonder there have been five OPP investigations into this government. Mr. Speaker, thanks to the Liberal government, the OPP have tremendous experience recovering deleted documents. What will they find this time? Thank you very much, Speaker. I want to repeat again to the member opposite that he and his party knows very well that you cannot talk about litigation before the court. That is inappropriate. The rules are very clear on that. But, Speaker, as you know, in our power lines we call these pivot questions. They're pivoting away from talking about the kind of cuts they will bring under their party's agenda, Speaker. We know, Speaker, that the Conservatives and their leader, Doug Ford, believe in nothing but cuts, cuts and cuts. They want to cut the minimum wage for hardworking people. They want to cut the corporate taxes for large, wealthy businesses, Speaker. But what they don't want to talk about, the cuts they will bring to our healthcare and our education services. How many jobs of teachers and nurses and personal support workers are they going to cut? Speaker, that is the real issue. That's what they should be talking about. But they choose to pivot to something that is before the court, which they very well know cannot be spoken in this office. Thank you. New question? The member from Nickel Belt. Thank you, Mr. President. My question is to the acting Premier. I think it would be the scariest thing a family has to face. But there's good news. Cancer treatment are improving all the time. There are treatments that once required to go to the hospital that don't any longer because of take-home cancer drugs. But in Ontario, these life-saving drugs often come with a huge out-of-pocket expanse. Why does the Premier think it is okay to force cancer patients to reach deep into their pockets to pay thousands of dollars for these life-saving drugs? Acting Premier, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. Minister of Health, Long-Term Care. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And certainly I'm pleased that our government and the Third Party seem to be very much on the same page when it comes to advocating for a universal pan-Canadian pharmacare play. My predecessor is heading up a Canada-wide committee looking at the issue of all drugs, including cancer drugs. And I'm pleased to see that the Third Party has recently, I think just this morning, had an initiative as it comes to take-home cancer drugs. We are also, of course, very aware that this is an important area, and that's why we in fact do provide free oral cancer drugs to people in patients in a number of different ways. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Speaker, those different ways that the Minister talked about, most of them go through trillion drug programs. But most of the time it takes weeks to get an approval. Just imagine, Speaker, waiting weeks for the government to decide all the while knowing that your cancer is not being treated. Isn't that the last thing family needs after a cancer diagnostic? Thank you, Minister. There are many different ways, as I've said, for low-income families to be able to access these drugs. The Ontario Drug Benefit Program funds oral cancer drugs, including oral chemotherapy for ODG-eligible recipients. We have a new drug funding program administered by Cancer Care Ontario that funds intravenous cancer drugs that are provided in an outpatient setting. CCO also administers the Evidence Building Program and the Case-by-Case Review Program. We currently spend some $479 million on oral cancer drugs, and we increased our funding by 25% last year. I understand the leader of the third party is now proposing an increase of some 9%. In her estimation, she has offered to spend some $43 million annually on this program. I'll have more on the supplementary. The Minister has to read this off of a piece of paper because the system is so complicated. The system is so demeaning that it puts people that are already at a very high level of stress through more stress. She doesn't have to force family to reach into their pocket for these drugs. The Minister has a choice. She doesn't have to force them to wait for weeks for treatment. She doesn't have to force them to go through this demeaning process that she's laying out for us. She can provide true universal coverage for these life-saving cancer drugs. Why doesn't she? Thank you. According to our estimates, the platform just released by the NDP would actually cost some $300 million annually. They are only offering $43 million. In other words, it's just like their long-term care commitment. There's not nearly enough funding in their platform, and frankly, I don't know who could possibly trust them. I think it's particularly disappointing that they are so ready to make these empty promises to Ontario's cancer patients and their families. We believe in real numbers. We analyse very, very carefully. And yes, we read them off a piece of paper tonight. New question, the member from Nicobel. Thank you, Mr Speaker. My question is for the Acting Premier. It has had 15 years to give Ontario family facing cancer the universal drug coverage they need. 15 years, 15 budget, 15 times that cancer patients have been disappointed by this Liberal government. Why would the Premier force cancer patients to wait even 15 more minutes for the cancer treatment that they need now? Acting Premier, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. Well, certainly, Mr Speaker, we do recognise that the cost of certain drugs can be challenging. And that's why in the last five years we have added funding for an additional 68 cancer drugs. And so, just this last year alone, the Ministry spent $467 million on oral cancer drugs for Ontarians. I reiterate a 25% increase from the previous year. This is what we've been doing consistently. We work closely with Cancer Care Ontario and rely on their advice as to which particular drugs should be funded. We rely on the Cancer Drug Implementation Advisory Committee to ensure that there is a high quality cancer care system for Ontarians. Great answer. Thank you. Speaker, I'm asking about covering cancer drugs so that people don't have to reach into their pockets. Cancer touches so many families. So many families know what it's like to receive a cancer diagnosis. And so many families know how scary this can be. But the government can help. We can make sure that life-saving drugs are covered so that these families can focus on treatment and recovery and not have to worry about how to pay for take-home cancer drugs. Why won't the Minister offer these families at least one comfort and make life-saving cancer drugs available to everyone? Thank you, Mr Speaker. And of course, this is why we've taken such massive strides towards our goal of national pharma care through the creation and expansion of OHIP+. And we have also recently in this budget, in the 2018 budget, suggested that we wish to invest $800 million to create the Ontario Drug and Dental Program to support those without an extended health plan. This will help low-income individuals with an opportunity for some funding that they can put towards cancer drugs. We've also, in terms of the Trillium Drug Program, made sure that we've streamlined the application process so that more people can access that type of help through that program. Thank you, Mr Speaker. Thank you. Final supplementary. If the Liberal government wanted to provide universal drug coverage, it had 15 years to do so. It hasn't. If the Premier wanted to provide universal drug coverage, she would have five years to have done so. She did not. Why should cancer patients wait any longer for this Premier, for this Minister to provide true universal coverage for take-home cancer drugs? You see it, please? Thank you. Thank you, Mr Speaker. Well, on this side of the House, Mr Speaker, we're very conscious of affordability issues, obviously those of our constituents, but also in terms of what is responsible in terms of budgetary increases in this important area. And that's why we're working so hard with the federal government. We've been playing a pivotal role in the recent initiative between the Pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Association, the Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association. We are creating savings through these bulk purchasing arrangements, and we haven't actually saved some $3 billion for public drug plans through this initiative. And these types of savings will continue to be reinvested into funding new innovative and life-saving drug therapy. So we will continue to work with provincial, territorial, federal partners to provide equitable and affordable drug coverage for all Canadians. Thank you, Mr Speaker. New question? The member from Prince Edward Hastings. Thank you, Speaker. My question is for the acting Premier. Ontarians were shocked to learn of new allegations against the Liberal government, illegally destroying documents, this time relating to the Trillium Power scandal. The OPP has been called in again. This is the fifth time that an investigation has been carried out into the actions of this government. The trial is set to begin on June 11th, just four days after the upcoming election. It would seem the Liberals were maybe hoping that this story would stay out of the news until after Ontario votes. But Mr Speaker, does the acting Premier know when the Premier was made aware of allegations that the Liberal government again committed illegal document destruction? Great question. Acting Premier. Speaker, I see a bit of consternation on his face and I just warned the member to be very careful in making the kind of allegations he's trying to make. Speaker, this is not the place. Speaker, it's our collective responsibility to ensure that we abide by the rules and we respect the independence of judiciary. This is not the place, Speaker, to litigate a matter that has been before the courts for some time, complex piece of litigation that's working through. There's a date for the hearings to take place. We on this side of the House, Speaker, respect that. I think the member opposite should do so the same. I know he's a law abiding citizen, Speaker, and I think we should be very careful and mindful, Speaker, around trying to insinuate allegations of the kind he was trying to do in the... Thank you. Comments. Speaker, our job in the official opposition is to hold this government to account and that's what we do on a daily basis here. Yet this Liberal government continues to dodge and deny all they want. I think the first three things they learn when they come to office are control, alt, delete. Because we've seen that time and time again over the last number of years. It's the same Liberal government, Mr. Speaker, that once claimed the gas plant scandal was only going to cost $40 million. And that no crimes were committed there. We now know that the gas plant scandal cost $1.1 billion and a senior Liberal is going to jail as a result of that scandal. Mr. Speaker, when it comes to allegations of illegal document destruction, why should we believe the Liberals this time? Thank you. I fully recognize and appreciate the role of the opposition is to have government to account and they should do so on policy issues, Speaker. But that does not give you a carte blanche to talk and start litigating a matter that is before the court, Speaker. If you want to talk policy, Speaker, let's talk about policies. Let's talk about why does the conservatives under the leadership of Doug Ford wants to cut minimum wage for hardworking people. Speaker, let's talk about why they just want to give big tax breaks for large wealthy businesses and then lose all that important revenues that we get as government to provide essential services. Why, Speaker? Because they're going to cut those services as well. They're going to undermine our education system. They're going to undermine our healthcare system, which is going to result in at least one of the estimates around loss of 40,000 jobs. Speaker, these are teachers that we rely on. These are education workers that we rely on. These are nurses and personal support workers we rely on. So if they want to talk policy, let's talk about those important policies that are going to harm the province. Thank you. No question. The member from Windsor to come. Speaker, my question this morning is for the Minister of Health. Good morning, Minister. Speaker, more than a thousand people in the Windsor area suffer a heart attack or have a cardiac event each year. But the Liberals only fund rehab programs for half that number. Instead of weeks, patients have to wait anywhere from three to six months to get in a rehab. Seeing the need, a new private cardiac rehab center just opened up last week. They'll take you right away, but you have to pay for it. Speaker, why has this liberal government paved the way for private health care by underfunding our health care system in the Windsor area? Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and we know how critical it is to have access to high quality cardiovascular services in Ontario, including rehab services. And of course, we've been increasing our investment in this regard over the last several years. We, in fact, just this year, are investing an additional $25 million that will result in more than 3,000 new cardiac procedures. And we know that rehab for a number of these individuals is extremely important. So we have, of course, increased our funding for in-hospital rehab to a tune of across the board for all hospital funding to $822 million, representing a major increase to the sector over the last year. So, of course, we wish to continue to deliver high quality and specialized services, including rehab services across the province. And I'll have more to say in the supplementary. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, supplementary. Speaker, the Canadian Health Care Coalition says private rehab clinics can prey on vulnerable patients who may not always know their rights. This American style of health care should have no place in Ontario. Windsor's Hotel View Grace Hospital Health Care gets 1,300 referrals a year for its cardiac wellness program and is only funded for 500. Speaker, how can the public have any faith in the Liberals at all when it comes to properly funding our public health care system in Ontario? Thank you, Minister. Mr. Speaker, since 2015, some six cross-provided teams have been piloting integrated innovative models across the province for patients who require short-term care at home after leaving hospital for a variety of conditions. And so we're using these lessons learned from these pilots to inform the future of what the best practice in cardiac care is in Ontario. And of course, for cardiac patients, rehab services are provided to hospital inpatients or outpatients when they are needed at no cost to the patient. We will continue to expand services in Windsor and across the province, Mr. Speaker. Any medically necessary physician services to assess patients and treat cardiac risk factors are insured services. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. New question. The member from Barrie. Thank you, Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Labour. I'm proud to represent so many amazing women from my riding of Barrie. The women I represent work in all industries and sectors. They work hard for our community, and we are stronger because of their dedication. However, there remain barriers that prevent their full participation in the workforce. Most notably, women continue to earn 30% less on average than men. That gap is larger for racialized women and even larger for women with disabilities. This is unacceptable. It is time to close the gender wage gap. We know that increasing women's economic participation is the right thing to do for the sake of equality and for the good of our economy. Minister, what have you done to close the gender wage gap? Thank you, Minister of Labour. Thank you to the member of Barrie, which is just north of the green belt from us here, Speaker. We've made investments in childcare, Speaker. We've made investments in healthcare. We've raised the minimum wage. We've bought in measures such as equal pay for work of equal value, Speaker. But we know there's more to be done. That's why we bought forward pay transparency legislation. First province in all of Canada, Speaker, to introduce a comprehensive package of measures that's going to increase pay transparency. The legislation is a new tool in our toolkit and it's going to promote workplace equity. It's going to shine a light on paying equity, Speaker, on biases. It's going to help employers to eliminate them. In my mind, Speaker, this is one piece of legislation that should have passed this House unanimously. So let me thank the NDP for their support on this historic legislation. But tell you how deeply disappointed I am that Doug Ford and his Conservative Party turned his back. They turned his back on the women of this province, Speaker. Thank you, Minister. I too was disappointed about Doug Ford's Conservatives voting against the Pay Transparency Act. And so were the women in my community. The Conservatives chose to ignore the fact that a woman in Canada takes home only 70 cents for every dollar a man makes. They chose to put their business buddies ahead of the hardworking women in this province. This comes also after they voted against raising the minimum wage and increasing protections for vulnerable workers. It is not fair. I'm proud that our government is working hard to create a better, fairer Ontario for all women and girls. I'm proud to support our upcoming budget that includes measures to improve women's economic stability. Measures like restoring the funding to the Pay Equity Commission after the Harris government slashed it in half. Minister, can you tell us how our government is increasing women's economic participation? Thank you, Minister. Thank you again to the members whose writing is, as I said, just north of the great green belt we have here in the province of Ontario. Thanks for your leadership. We've got pay equity, robust pay equity legislation, that a human rights code speaker, requirements to ensure employers can have differences in pay. Stop the clock. I would, I'd like to hear the minister's response from the government side. Finish, please. Speaker, we've improved our workplace laws. We've increased the minimum wage. I know the opposition party wants to roll that back speaker. We're increasing it to $15 an hour. Free prescriptions, free tuition for young people. Investing in women's equality, Speaker. Speaker, last week's vote was a tremendous opportunity for people to throw their weight behind these measures. Doug Ford's Conservatives made it very clear women's equality is not a priority. Thank you. Thank you, Speaker. My question was to the acting Premier. We already know that the Liberals have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on campaign-style announcements. Now the Toronto Star, son, I'm sorry, is reporting that the Premier's seven... Order for you. Start the clock, please. Now the Toronto Sun is reporting that the Premier's seven town halls cost taxpayers $209,000. Campaigning on the taxpayers' dimes has to stop. When will the Liberal Party pay back the taxpayer? Nobody trusts them. Well, Speaker, I think the member should be applauding the Premier for doing town halls across the province and listening to the people of Ontario, and that's exactly what those town halls was. Speaker, it's not a very easy thing as all members know because we all have held town hall meetings in our communities where you invite your constituents with you in white. I would ask the member to listen to the response, please. Finish, please. Speaker, the Premier held seven different town halls in all corners of the province to hear directly from voters about their concerns, their anxieties, and their hopes for the future, Speaker. This was all part of her effort to be open and transparent and to hear directly from voters and the lead-up to the budget, something that Speaker Premier's and leaders should do. And, Speaker, of course there's cost associated with it, but it was open to all Ontarians. Thank you. Supplementary. You are responsible. The government's spending of taxpayers for partisan purposes is not limited to campaign-style announcements in town halls. For the Premier, it also includes over $17.4 million the government has spent last year on partisan advertising. When Doug Ford campaigns, he doesn't send the bill to the taxpayers. When will the Liberals reimburse the taxpayers? Speaker, I am defending the Premier as the leader of this province and of this government, her right to listen and talk to Ontarians. And that is what exactly she's doing. That is her job is to be out and about in communities and talking to Ontarians. I'm trying, and I know you are. Carry on. I don't know why they're so worked up that the Premier was hosting a whole big town hall that was open to all Ontarians. We're questions. The member from the Nippian-Carlton will come to order. Carry on. Well, Speaker, as the MPP from Hastings himself said, this is how MPP, for example, gets your pulse on what the community is thinking on a number of different issues by hosting a town hall. And I think it's a good idea that politicians should be finding out the pulse of our local community, and that's exactly what the Premier was doing. New question. The member from Essex. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the acting Premier. Premier, for months, farmers and residents in North Kent have complained about black well water, which started appearing after Samsung began pile driving construction for its new private for-profit wind farm. The Premier won't listen to these farmers and residents. She prefers to listen to Samsung, which insists that pile driving cannot cause black well water. But earlier this month, the Ministry of the Environment banned pile driving construction for a new private wind farm in Chatham Kent. So the Ministry of Staff have acknowledged that pile driving is a risk to ground water in Chatham Kent. Why hasn't the Premier? Speaker, to the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Minister of Small Businesses on behalf of the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change. Minister of Agriculture. Well, thanks very much, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the question of the member from Essex. Our government takes concerns regarding groundwater quality very seriously as prioritized environmental protection is part of the renewable project construction. That's why we put strict requirements of process in place like projects like this. It's our government that's created these requirements with strict measures of oversight in order to provide the highest level of protection for our environment. If the developer does not follow these requirements or processes adequately, the project may not proceed. This is an issue that I know by calling. The Minister of Climate Change has been dealing with extensively. Thank you. Thank you, Speaker. Ministry staff have confirmed what farmers and residents of Chatham Kent have known ever since their well water turned black. Pile driving is putting their groundwater at risk. The Ministry now has banned pile driving at a private wind farm in Chatham Kent. But this ban comes too late for farmers and residents in North Kent where independent testing has shown a 14,000% increase in Kettle Point black shale particles which are known to carry heavy metals such as mercury, arsenic and lead. Speaker, will this government listen to North Kent farmers and residents and do the right thing and conduct a health hazard investigation today? Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the supplementary question from my colleague from Essex. I know the Minister of Climate Change has responded to this issue. I know that he continues to have his ministry officials engaged in this particular issue. And we all know whether you're in Walla or Windsor or Coburg or Cobacock, we want to make sure that quality water, the purest water we can for every resident in the province of Ontario, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. New question. A member from Lambton, Kent Middlesex. Well, thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question this morning is to the acting Premier. This government has spent almost $23 billion of taxpayers' money on business support programs over the last five years. We already know that most of the grants go to the oldest, wealthiest corporations with 80% of the money being handed out by invitation only. This morning, a new report was released by the Financial Accountability Office which examined 12 of these programs. Shockingly, the FAO found no evidence to show that any of these programs produce actual results. Mr. Speaker, how can the Liberal government spend billions and billions of dollars with no evidence that taxpayers are getting value for money? The Minister of Economic Development and Growth. Thanks very much, Speaker. I want to thank the member for his question, and I want to go beyond that to thank the FAO for the report that came out a little bit earlier today. Speaker, the member asking the question talks about the evidence that demonstrates that the plan that our government has embarked on over the last number of years with respect to strategic supports for business. What's the evidence that it's actually working, Speaker? And I would simply point to the fact that Ontario's economy is stronger today than it's been at any time in recent memory. We know, and the members in the Conservative Party know, since the depths of the economic recession, we've created more than 800,000 jobs, Speaker. We know, for example, that our unemployment rate is lower today than at any other time in the last 17 years, Speaker. We know that we've been below the national average as it relates to unemployment, and now for almost three consecutive years. And we know that the province of Ontario's GDP is outpacing not only the rest of the country, Speaker, but the entire G7. I would suggest to the member asking the question that though we thank the FAO for his report, the evidence is in how lives across Ontario have improved because of our investments. Supplementary. Well, Mr. Speaker, back to the minister. In 2012, the Drummond report identified approximately 50 business support programs in Ontario. Today, there are over 100 such programs on the books. Of the 12 that the FAO examined, only three collected performance measures and only five had any targets or benchmarks. Minister, you're handing out $5 billion every single year. This government doesn't seem to know what programs are running or what, if anything, they're actually accomplishing. Minister, is this just another liberal slush fund? Thanks very much, Speaker. I don't want to repeat what I said in the opening answer to the first question, but again, every single economic indicator, whether we're talking about unemployment, whether we're talking about GDP, whether we're talking about how consistently, consistently the statistics point to the fact that lives have improved and that our economy has gotten stronger, Speaker. All of that evidence is clearly there. And the member opposite has heard me answer multiple questions on this topic in my time in this particular portfolio, Speaker. But I would also point out that when we talk about how strong the economy is, it also means that the lives of people across the province of Ontario are getting better because of the economic prosperity. Jobs, the jobs that we're creating via our strategic investments are helping to improve lives in every corner of Ontario. And specifically, because I know this member has talked about some of our regional investments, Speaker, I want to point out that the South Western Ontario Development Fund invested in Lampton, Kent, Middlesex, $3.5 million to help create and sustain. Thank you. No question, the member from Timmins James Bate. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This question is for the Minister of Health. Madam Minister, as you know, the Francophone community is working very hard with you, with me, with your ministry, with the Lins and other entities to finally create a healthcare center at Timmins. It's been 28 years since we've been trying to create this center. It's the largest Francophone community that doesn't have a healthcare center. We know that we have your support and we know that you've worked with the community, with myself. But we're waiting for the news. We were told that the letter was signed, but it wasn't sent or wasn't received. Which was it? Will this center be open soon? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have been working very, very hard on this particular initiative. Our government truly values the work of community health centers when you have interprofessional teams working together. And on this specific initiative for the Francophone community in Timmins, we're well aware of the need for that particular community health center to be appropriately funded. And I would just ask the member opposite to stay tuned. I believe that he will hear some news on this regard in the very near future. We do understand how important it is to access primary care where you have the ability to speak in obviously one of our two official languages. And so this is why we are committed to community health centers across the province. And the member will be hearing very, very soon as it relates to Timmins. Thank you. Madam Speaker, supplementary to the minister, this is the complete sort of the journey that Timmins has gone through and being able to serve people when it comes to health centers. We first funded the Missaway Health Center that serves our First Nations brothers and sisters in the community. We then opened two Lins, one in South Porcupine, not Lins, but family health teams, one in South Porcupine, one in Timmins. But what's always been missing is the Francophone component so that we're able to better serve the community. So we are, we've been working on this hard and we are awaiting the final letter and I will deliver it myself. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our government is absolutely committed to improving access to high quality French language health services across the province and the passage of the patients first act in 2016 did provide a solid framework for renewed partnership and brings increased focus on enhancing equity. And in fact the Minister of Francophone Affairs is currently reminding me of this particular importance when it comes to health care. And so just to speak a little bit about the interprofessional care teams that we currently have in the province we have some 294 of these serving some 4 million people. Obviously we want to expand this type of care. It's extremely valuable to ensure that people not only have access to the language but are comfortable in but also to the excellent health care that they truly deserve. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A new question. Oh, a member from St. Catherine. Mr. Speaker, I have a question for the Minister of Health, long term care. We all have a collective responsibility to support our seniors and ensure the best quality of life. That is why our government has almost double funding for long term care since 2003. We know we have a growing and aging population in Ontario and across Canada but our government is making critical investments in elder care. Our 2018 budget proposes an additional $650 million in home care over the next three years and the expansion of OHIP plus that will provide free prescription drugs to seniors over 65. In the fall we also introduced aging with confidence Ontario's action plan for seniors. Can the Minister of Health and long term care please inform this House of the investments our government is making to support the needs of seniors in our communities and to caregivers who work often with those seniors. Minister of Health, long term care. Thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to the member from St. Catherine's who is obviously a great advocate for seniors in his community and for giving me the opportunity to discuss our government's plan. Mr. Speaker, last fall our government committed to 5,000 new long term care beds by 2022 and 30,000 new beds over the next decade. We accepted numerous proposals from communities across the province. We consulted with the Lins in each of the 14 areas across the province and we're now allocating 5,000 beds. These include nearly 500 new beds for indigenous communities and over 1,500 new beds for specific cultures including and I know the member from Timmins James Bay will be interested in this for francophone communities. Mr. Speaker, these investments will keep people out of hospital and help more people get the care they need at or close to home and in the community. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker, I know the constituents in the city of St. Catherine's will greatly benefit from these new beds. I was pleased by the way to have 96 new beds announced in my writing to make that announcement in the city of St. Catherine's 13 new beds for the regional municipality Niagara Homes, 81 at Pleasant Manor and Virgil and 66 new beds in Welland. All of our constituents will benefit from these investments in care. Our home care investment includes $180 million this year alone to provide 2.8 million more hours of personal support including caregiver respite as well as 284,000 more nursing visits and 58,000 more therapy visits. Our budget will provide $300 million over three years to increase staffing in long-term care homes. That means every long-term care home in the province will benefit. Speaker, can the Minister of Health and Long-term Care please share more of the details about the support for seniors? Thank you again to the member for that question. Not only are we building an additional 30,000 new long-term care beds but we're also developing every older long-term care home by 2025. We've already redeveloped some 13,500 beds and we know how critical this is to the sector. We're glad that both parties have endorsed our plan to create 30,000 new long-term care beds where we're yet to see any costing to accompany the PCS commitment and how this would fit with the cost of dollars worth of cuts is unexplained. Cuts that would have to come directly from frontline services in our health care system. Mr. Speaker, on this side of the house we're continuing to choose care over cuts. Thank you. Your question? Thank you very much, Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Health and Long-term Care. Speaker, this Liberal government has outdone itself yet again. As reported in last week's Ontario Farmer Health Amendment rabies regulation is going to affect generations of tradition and the celebration of the best of the best when it comes to exhibiting animals at local fairs, petting zoos and riding stables. And Speaker, for goodness sakes, there are already federal rules that have banned exhibition of contaminated animals which I will send over to the Minister for her information. So Speaker, I have to ask that you do not insist on proper consultation with all of the players impacted by this amended regulation. Thank you. I'd be happy to obviously learn a little bit more about this particular initiative. I am surprised that the member opposite didn't approach me or through our MPP liaison which is a usual protocol in these cases. I would like to pass this on to the Minister and consult with the appropriate officials just to find a little bit more about the member's concerns and what exactly she is concerned about. Thank you, Mr Speaker. Thank you. Supplementary? Well Speaker, here is some information. Here in County 4-H Leader Darryl Bergsmus said this heavy handed approach will have a huge negative impact at its saying that the 14-day consultation period was, and I quote, not sufficient to allow for a proper investigation. In this question period, Speaker, I have to ask the Minister to do the honourable thing and suspend this amended regulation until proper consultation has been facilitated. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, having a little bit more information now is helpful, and I'll certainly take the issue under advisement and look into it very, very thoroughly. Thank you. Thank you very much. A new question, the member from Toronto, Danforth. Thank you, Speaker. My question to the Minister of Education. Last week I asked the Minister about the need for an equivalent francophone high school in East Toronto. Without reiterating her claims that she's supporting both French and English boards, without simply stating she's allocated funds to Conseil scolaire via Monde for a French high school in the East End at Greenwood, without passing off the responsibility to the school boards, when will the Minister finally step up to her obligation to ensure that these children's charter rights are respected and that equivalency is provided? Thank you, Minister of Education. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I want to thank the member opposite for this question. Mr. Speaker, our government is absolutely committed to supporting both French and English school boards across the province to build better schools to ensure all students have safe and healthy environments in which to learn. Since 2003, we have actually provided $208 million in capital funding to CSVM Monde. In this time, CSVM Monde has completed 25 projects, including eight new schools, 17 additions. We recently announced this year we're providing $80 million to support nine capital projects for French language boards, more than $16 million to be invested in the VMON school board to support the creation of a new French high school in Toronto. This school will become the fourth public French language school in Toronto, and local elected trustees are responsible for deciding the most appropriate pupil accommodation arrangements for schools of the board, including the location of the new French high school in Toronto's East End. Let me refer again to the minister. Gérémie is a young Francophone student whose passion is soccer. The Greenwood site, chosen by the conseil scolaire VMON, does not have a school yard, and the TDSB states that, quote, the Greenwood site is not an ideal property for an operating school because it does not have its own sports field. Gérémie and other young students who want to be part of the sports world will go to better equipped English schools before they give up sports. What steps will the minister take to ensure that the Francophone community in the East End of Toronto has access to a quality sports field for a French high school? Thank you, minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And Mr. Speaker, I just want to be clear that we are absolutely making investments when it comes to French language schools in the province. In fact, that's what I was trying to point out. And one of the things I want to point out also is that enrollment is absolutely increasing. In 2016-17, over 105,000 students were attending French language schools, an increase of 13 percent since 1998. Test scores are rising in French language schools. For grade six tests, over 81 percent of students have consistently met or surpassed the provincial standard in reading, writing, and math. Over the past five years, 80 percent of students in French language schools have consistently met or surpassed the provincial standard in EQAO. And they are consistently achieving high results in the grade 10 literacy test. All this to say, Mr. Speaker, that really enrollment is increasing, the achievement is there, and our investments are increasing. So I don't really understand what the member opposite is asking about. Thank you. New question? The member for Kingston and the Islands. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Economic Development and Growth. Our government has put a priority on building a strong relationship with our American partners. And that's because we know that free trade creates good jobs for workers in both Ontario and the United States. Ontario is a top customer of 28 states, and in 2017, two-way trade between Ontario and the U.S. totaled nearly $400 billion. Premier Wynn and our entire government has been actively engaging with the American decision makers and the Premier has met with nearly 40 state governors. Last week, the Premier was in Detroit to meet with Governor of Michigan, Rick Snyder, and sign a memorandum of understanding between Ontario and Michigan. Minister, can you please share more details about this agreement with one of our most important trading partners? Thank you. Minister of Economic Development and Growth. Thanks very much, Speaker. I want to thank the member from Kingston and the Islands for her very important question. I am delighted to have the opportunity to speak about how our government has consistently stood up for Ontario workers and for Ontario businesses. I also want to comment on the mature and thoughtful partnerships that we've built up over time with our U.S. state leaders. Together, Ontario and specifically Michigan account for nearly a quarter of North American vehicle production. And our collaboration through two previous MOUs has led to the first cross-border automated vehicle test in North America. Ontario and Michigan are vital trading partners. Quite simply, we build great things together. And through this latest MOU, we look forward to continuing to work closely to grow our bilateral trade and identify shared export opportunities. We are also committed to working together to expand on trade opportunities and prove our transportation corridors and protect and restore the vital Great Lakes ecosystem. I want to thank the Premier and the entire team for their hard work because we're seeing, I'll tell you more in the second answer. I'm glad you will. Supplementary. Thank you for your answer. Our Premier has a track record of meeting with state governors and advocating for Ontario's interests over 40 governors in all. That's impressive. And this MOU with Michigan is only the latest of many achievements in this regard. A month ago, Ontario signed a memorandum of understanding with Indiana to continue building on our strong partnership with them. But leadership and cooperation sometimes means knowing when to forcefully and respectfully disagree. When push comes to shove, our Premier will always stand for Ontario workers and businesses. And our government introduced the Fairness and Procurement Act to respond to bi-American legislation in New York State. And our Premier stood side by side with the steel industry and its workers when the US administration threatened to impose tariffs on our exports. Minister, can you reassure this House that our government will continue to stand up for Ontario workers and businesses? Thank you very much, Speaker. I thank the member for her follow-up questions. Mr. Speaker, our government has always and will always stand up for our workers and our businesses here in Ontario. We believe that free trade benefits our economy on both sides of the border, but free trade, Speaker, must also be fair trade. And when that's threatened, our Premier and our government have stood up and will continue to stand up and fight for our workers. Speaker, let me remind this House that when US states introduced protectionists by American legislation and when the US administration threatened to harm our steel workers, the silence from the opposition, particularly the Conservatives, was deafening. When we stood up, Speaker, they said stand down and that's absurd. Workers know they cannot depend on Doug Ford and Ontario's Conservatives to fight for their interests. They know that only one party has shown that it's willing to stand up for Ontario, stand up for our workers, stand up for our companies and stand up for our Green Bell, Speaker. And that's Ontario's Liberals. Thanks very much. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care Minister. As you know, for a great number of years since you've been in office, Liberals have been in office, my writing has been fighting for the redevelopment of two hospitals, the Collingwood General Marine Hospital and Stevens Memorial Hospital in Alliston. Your predecessor quite nicely gave us a bit of money for the planning process just about a month ago, $500,000 for each hospital. But as you know, each hospital was spent well over a million dollars of their own money, frontline patient money, to go through the planning process. We don't have approval yet. I was just wondering if over the last month there's been a change of heart at the ministry and you might see your way to approving these projects before the registrar. Mr. Speaker, and of course it is our goal to ensure that Ontarians have the health care that they need, where they need it, and we have been working very very hard in this regard over the last number of years. Of course, as the member knows, we are always consulting with our lins to find out exactly where the need is greatest and proceed with the planning process in an orderly fashion. Obviously, due process is extremely important to ensure that all the eyes are dotted and the T's are crossed and so we are working in that regard. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just waiting for the member from Chatham Cadets 6 to finish. Thank you. Supplementary. Well, back to the to the minister. Minister, we've been waiting a lot of years and we've spent a lot of money and both our lins agree that these projects need to go forward. The community, even without the go-ahead from your government, both communities, have raised, pretty much raised their community share. So we're doing our part. We need the government to do your part. And after all, I think everyone would be very happy, including the Liberal candidate in my riding for this election, who's the Premier Sun-in-law. So maybe if you want to keep your job over the next couple of weeks, you'd announce these couple of hospitals. Minister. And as I've said before, we know that infrastructure is absolutely vital to provide the kind of high quality health care in our communities. And we've been investing very heavily in that infrastructure to provide these types of facilities. And certainly, I would like to commend the community for their part as as related by the member for some co-north in terms of the fundraising that they've been able to achieve. This is obviously good news, and I'm sure we will yet again look into the matter. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank the members for going easy on me today. That was really good. I appreciate it. No, I know you did. I do beg to inform the house that the following documents were tabled. A report entitled Lottery and Gaming from the Financial Accountability Office of Ontario, and the report entitled Business Support Programs from the Financial Accountability Office of Ontario. There are no deferred votes. This house stands recess until 1 p.m. this afternoon.