 It is now time for oral questions. I recognize the leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition. Thank you so much, Speaker. This morning my first question is to the Minister of Health. We know now that the Minister of Long-Term Care was writing notes about what was happening in long-term care and on April 17th her note was, and I quote, military plan needed, get them in within 24 to 48 hours. That was on April 17th. On April 17th is when Quebec had the military come in to their province and yet Ontario waited five full days before contacting the CAF, the Canadian Armed Forces, to come and help in long-term care. It's clear that the Minister of Health, the Ministry of Health, was part of the selection process, part of the decision-making process around which homes would get military aid. So my question to the Minister of Health is when did she first learn that people in long-term care were dying from neglect and dehydration and that military intervention was required? Good plan behalf the government, the government house leader. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the question from the leader of the opposition. As I mentioned yesterday, we of course are very much appreciate the work of the Canadian Armed Forces in helping out those homes that required assistance. As I've mentioned on a number of occasions, Mr. Speaker, we were clearly on the defensive for the better part of a year when it came to fighting COVID. And part of the reason we were on the defense for so long is because there had been such a lack of investment before we had taken off as lack of investment in staffing, lack of investment with respect to the build of new homes. There was a lack of investment in refurbishing old and outdated homes, Mr. Speaker. We're addressing that now, obviously, with hiring an additional over 27,000 new PSWs, a massive buildout of long-term care homes across the province of Ontario. Four hours of care, Mr. Speaker. Grateful for all the work that the Canadian Armed Forces did, Mr. Speaker, but we're well on our way to putting this behind us. Thank you. Supplementary question? Well, Speaker, it should have been addressed over a year ago. That's when it should have been addressed. The Minister, unfortunately, has decided to avoid questions, but she is responsible. She is responsible for the timing of the deployment of the Canadian Armed Forces to those homes that were in crisis, where people were literally losing their lives to neglect and dehydration. Yet the owners of these homes, the private for-profit owners, deny that this happened. So my question is, does the Minister accept reports from the Canadian Armed Forces that 26 people, at least, died of dehydration and neglect in long-term care homes in our province, or does she believe, as the owners of these for-profit homes do, that the Armed Forces were simply making it up? Mr. Speaker, that is, of course, one of the reasons why the Premier requested and ensured that there was a commission to investigate some of the initial problems that we saw in long-term care homes, Mr. Speaker. Obviously, as I mentioned earlier on in the week, the coroner has been engaged on the file as well. But ultimately, Mr. Speaker, the leader of the opposition is correct. We have to make changes, and that is why, before the pandemic hit, we started to make those changes, whether it was increasing the amount of homes that were constructed. In the years previous, in the decades previous, I think it was something like 600 new beds were built in the province of Ontario that obviously was not something that could be sustained. That's why we invested in thousands of new beds. We're investing in four hours of care, a North American-leading level of care for our residents of long-term care, thousands of new beds, Mr. Speaker. So there is a lot of work that was done before, during and certainly after the pandemic, so that we never see something like this happen again, and we can finally put COVID behind us. Final supplementary. Well, my question is back to the Minister of Health, Speaker. I think she has some responsibility here that she needs to address. People lost their lives in long-term care, as we know, and families lost their loved ones in horrifying conditions. Marilyn Daly lost her sister Daisy in Downsview, long-term care last week, our last year, and here's what she told the press. And in fact, I'm going to ask this page to bring this press clipping over to the Minister of Health so she can see it. Marilyn says this, and I quote, she called me three days before she passed. Oh, my God. She cried. She cried. She said, I'm hungry. I'm hungry. This is what happened to Daisy. She died on April the 14th. The CAF, Navy and Armed Forces, wouldn't arrive in that home until June the 1st. The family is still looking for justice. They're still looking for accountability. The minister knew there were horrors that were unfolding in the long-term care system in these homes. Why is she allowing her government, this government, the conservative government, to deny those families justice and accountability that they were promised? The government is doing no such thing, Mr. Speaker. Of course. Of course, we understand how difficult it was for Ontarians across the province, especially during that first and second wave, Mr. Speaker. We saw that in all of our writings. We saw how difficult it was, Mr. Speaker, for families. We saw how difficult it was for those people who were working inside these long-term care homes. As I've said on a number of occasions, we were put on the defense during the first and second waves in the province of Ontario because for generations of four, for a decade and a half before, there were no investments made in long-term care, Mr. Speaker. When you have a system that was understaffed that had only had 600 new beds built in the 10 years preceding a pandemic, Mr. Speaker, of course there were going to be challenges. That's why we move quickly before the election to address these challenges with respect to staffing, with respect to building new homes. Thousands of new homes are being built. We brought in thousands of new people during the pandemic, and we're starting that before the pandemic, Mr. Speaker. We'll be building thousands of additional spaces. This is something that we want to fix, that we will fix, Mr. Speaker, and put this behind us once and for all. The next question, Mr. Speaker, the opposition. Thank you so much, and my next question is for the Premier. This government's vaccine rollout has been convoluted and confusing to say the least. We've just heard, of course, that the government is now cancelling its commitment to increasing help for the hotspots even though they're still smoldering. There's no plan for the second dose. There's no details for parents around when or if their children can get vaccinated before school starts in September. There are no answers for folks who got their first shot of AstraZeneca. I mean, the question is pretty clear. When will this government, when will this Premier, get their act together? I thank you very much, Speaker, and thank you to the leader of the official opposition for the question. There is a plan. The plan was formulated months ago prior to the delivery of the vaccines. It's being rolled out in three phases. We are now in phase two. I can advise the House that we have now administered vaccines to 6.6 million people, over 50% of the adults in Ontario over age 18. We also have 4.8 million vaccines already booked. We are also proceeding with daily vaccines. Yesterday, we administered virtually 138,000 vaccines. We are well on track to our target of administering vaccines to 65% of adults over age 18 on Ontario by the end of May. I would say that this is a resounding success and that people know how to receive response vaccines because over 4.8 million already have them booked. The Premier and now this minister have been bragging for months that this province's scavenger hunt of a vaccine rollout has been effective when we all know it hasn't. In fact, it's volunteer vax hunters that have been hooking folks up to their vaccines. That's what's happening in our province every single day. It's not the Premier. It's vaccine hunters, vax hunters that are getting people their shots. People who can't get through this government's confusing and convoluted vaccine system are left scrambling. So what does it say, Speaker? What does it say when a group of volunteers working part-time are doing a better job of getting people their vaccines in the province of Ontario than this Premier and his ministers? Thank you, Speaker. I would say to the leader of the opposition through you that what you're suggesting is simply not the case. We have people who are receiving their second dose administration. Their second doses are booked through the booking tool or through the phone administration that we have already. We have already. I'm not sure what how the leader of the official opposition would define success, but I would say at this point having over half of the adults in Ontario over 18 receiving their first dose already is a success. We're on course to 65% by the end of this month. We also have a plan that we've been developing which with the Ministry of Education to also vaccinate young people between ages 12 and 17. Further details of that will be available imminently, but we are well on track to achieving our goal of making sure that everyone who wants to receive a vaccine on Ontario will be able to do so in very short order. Speaker, while Ontarians are forced to play vaccine hunger games, here's what's going on in other provinces. In Alberta today, everyone over the age of 12 can book their vaccine. In Saskatchewan and Manitoba, everyone has been told that they're getting their second doses in July, but here it's all still a mystery. If you're over 12, maybe June, maybe not. If you're waiting for a second dose, your guess is as good as anyone's. Ontarians deserve so much better than this speaker. When is the government going to get their act together and give Ontarians certainty about how the rest of this vaccine rollout is going to go? Thank you, Speaker. There is certainty about how this vaccine rollout is going to go, and it has been clearly explained to the people of Ontario. We know that as of the week of May 24, people over the age of 18 will be able to book across the entire province. We also know that our vaccine rollout in the communities that are the hotspot communities has been very successful, such that people of most ages in the hotspot communities are already receiving five percent more of the vaccines than the people in the non-hotspot agencies. Order. That is why we set this program up in the first place, and it is clearly working. The statistics demonstrate that. Leader of the opposition come to order. As for second doses, anyone who's booked through our vaccine booking tool already has their second dose booked. We've also indicated to pharmacies that they should be booking second doses and in situations where they're finding that difficult, we're working with them to make sure that they can do that. Everybody is in our system, everybody is in the COVAX system, and people will be. Next question, the member for Essex. Thank you very much, Speaker. My question is to the acting Premier. Speaker, last night the CTV reported that the PCs are doing everything they can to quote, protect the king, protect the king. Speaker, it seems they've they're more worried about building an iron ring to protect the king than they ever were about protecting those in long-term care. On top of that, Speaker, the Premier has been ducking public press conferences for about two weeks now. Order. But, Speaker, alas, we know where to find him. Tonight he's hosting a $1,000 tick. Stop the clock. The Associate Minister of Transportation, GTA, will come to order. The member for Northumberland, Peterborough South, will come to order. Start the clock. Member for Essex says the floor. Thank you very much, Speaker. We know where to find the Premier because tonight he's hosting a $1,000 ticket. Zoom call. So, Speaker, my question to the government, why is it that if you're a PC party insider with deep pockets, you can have access to the Premier while he dodges questions about his record from the media? Government House Speaker. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. It's so strange coming from the NDP. We've been in this house since February. And when we came back in February, the NDP were upset that the Premier was too available. He was doing news conferences too often, and they didn't like the fact that he was on TV at one o'clock every day updating the people of the province of Ontario. The opposition has to come to order. Government House Leader has the floor. Sorry, Mr. Speaker. Obviously, I touched a nerve with the Leader of the Opposition because even when the Premier is not going out every single day, more people want to hear from him than they do the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Speaker. I think that speaks for itself. Supplementary. Thank you very much, Speaker. You know, I kind of feel sorry for the Government House Leader. He's been carrying the load for this Premier for quite some time. I want to give him a hand. Congratulations. You're showing leadership where there is obviously a vacuum in this House, Speaker. While the PCs are worried about their fundraising to protect their king, Ontarians are trying to grapple with the realities of this ongoing pandemic. The Government failed to protect 3,700 seniors who died in long-term care, some of whom died without even a glass of water. Our esteemed military, our Canadian armed forces, called that criminal, Speaker. It boggles the mind why the Premier has no time to answer media questions, but all the time in the world, the drum-up cash from his deep-pocketed developer friends. Speaker, we all know the adage, if you can't take the heat, you get out of the kitchen. Speaker, this Premier has left the restaurant completely. Why has this Premier found the time in his schedule to host expensive fundraisers instead of letting Ontarians hold him to account? Obviously, Mr. Speaker, there is nobody that believes anything that is coming from that side of the House, Mr. Speaker. This is a Premier who has been in front of this right from the beginning, Mr. Speaker, whether it was leading into the pandemic, even before the pandemic. One of the things that this Premier ran on was ending hallway healthcare, Mr. Speaker, because of the lack of investments made by the previous Liberal government. We were well on our way to doing that, increasing ICU capacity, Mr. Speaker. He identified the fact that we needed to put more money into long-term care, so that's why we're hiring an additional 27,000 PSWs and building thousands of homes, Mr. Speaker, of new homes and refurbishing old ones. He knew that we had to put the fiscal situation of this province back in a sustainable footing. We started to do that. He knew that we had to make it more affordable for the people of the province of Ontario for our small, medium and large job creators to do business here, to live here, Mr. Speaker. We are in the process of doing that, and we'll continue to do that, Mr. Speaker. And before the pandemic, we led the nation in job creation, and as it ends, we will do the same. The next question, the Member for the Humberland, Peter Burrow said. Thank you, Speaker. Speaker, we know that stricter border measures helped stop the spread of COVID-19 and the deadly variants. The reality is backed up by hard evidence and data. In fact, many of our fellow G7 nations around the world have implemented strict border measures to stop the spread of COVID-19 and variants of concern. Speaker, we also know it isn't just about our international borders. It matters to inter-provincial travel and COVID entering from other provinces as well. When we push the federal government to do their part, it's important that Ontarians know that their government is doing their part as well, Speaker. So can the Solicitor General remind the House what our government is doing to protect our borders? Thank you, Speaker. Thank you very much to the Member for the Humberland, Peter Burrow South. I know this is an important issue for him personally, for his constituents, but also for the people across Ontario. That's why our government took an important step this spring and issued an emergency order, restricting travel into Ontario through land and water crossings from Manitoba and Quebec. We continue to ask, compel, beg the federal government to restrict air travel. It's time for the Prime Minister to do his job. We are, and he needs to address the border issue by implementing COVID testing requirements for domestic flights just as he has done for international travel. Thank you. And the supplementary questions. Thank you, Speaker. I know it's reassuring for constituents of mine and Ontarians to know that this province is making an effort and doing their part. Speaker, I just spoke to a constituent of mine, Mike, this morning, and we spoke about a very concerning article that I read in the CBC this morning, where it mentioned that luxury and private executive jets are flying into this country with impunity. I think most Ontarians presume that after a year of this pandemic, our Prime Minister and our federal government would do something to secure our borders, be it luxury jets, be it private executives, we know there are loopholes, be it the cabbies and the industry at Niagara and Ogdensburg that are fueling a mass exodus of people walking across our border, completely flaunting these rules. Speaker, more needs to be done, more needs to be done. So back to the Minister. Can she provide any specific more examples of what our government's doing and specifically the emergency orders to help stop the spread? Thank you, Speaker. And the Senator Jenner. Members, absolutely right. We know that the new variants did not come to Ontario. They are coming here from other parts of the world and in fact other parts of Canada. The OPP alone have turned away over 4,500 travellers attempting to come into Ontario. While Ontarians are being asked to stay at home, some travellers have wanted to travel to Ontario for frankly very trivial reasons. Some travellers have been turned away as they were out for a drive and going to play pool. One individual suggested that bringing empty beer cans into Ontario to get a refund is essential travel. To be clear, it's not. Another risk bringing COVID in from another province to go grab a cup of coffee. Ontario is taking all the steps it can to stop the spread of COVID-19. It's time for the federal government to do their job. Thank you. The next question, the Member for Waterloo. Thank you very much. My question is for the Premier. Yesterday I questioned the Premier about what evidence was used to close outdoor recreational activities. According to the science table, the example the Premier shared with us, and I quote, was not at all what they said. The Premier said he had a yes-no chart of what you can do and what you can't do. In fact what the chart showed is that as long as you have two of the three criteria like staying two metres apart, wearing a mask, staying outside, this is what the science table has said, then your activity should be considered low risk. Speaker, I'll give the Premier another chance or anyone on that side. Can you please explain to the people of this province what scientific evidence was used to close outdoor recreational activities? They deserve an answer. The Minister of Health. Well, I thank the member very much for that question, and we certainly do encourage people to be outdoors, especially with the weather, getting much nicer. We want people to be able to spend time outdoors for children, especially it's important. And what you do, people can go out, they can go for a walk, can go for a bike ride, walk the dog, all of those activities. So we know that it is important for people to be outdoors. There are some situations though where people are in closer contact and for that we encourage people and ask people actually to continue to follow the public health measures that we know work. If you can't maintain the physical distancing, please wear the mask, do the physical distancing wherever you can. Frequent hand washing and all the measures that we talked about since the beginning of the pandemic remain in effect. The supplementary question. Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. The chart that the Premier referred to yesterday clearly states in big letters at the top and I quote, outdoor settings are considerably safer than indoor settings if precautions are taken against these new variants. In fact, I'm going to send the chart over to the government side. Those precautions as advised by the science table are two of the three, being outside wearing a mask or maintaining a two meter distance. To make it even clearer, the science table went out of their way yesterday to say, and I quote, we are encouraging the government to reopen appropriate outdoor facilities where people can either mask or be two meters apart. So to the Premier, to the health minister, to anyone on that side of the house, we are weeks into the third wave. Why does this government continue to resist scientific advice on opening outdoor amenities? The Premier knows he's wrong. The people of this province know you're wrong. Please do the right thing, walk this back and let people go outside. Well, there is no question that the outdoor transmission happens much less often than indoor transmission and we do encourage people to be outdoors at this point, especially with the weather getting nicer. With a long weekend coming up, we encourage people to be outdoors as much as they wish to. However, there are some situations where we are wanting to limit mobility. That's the guide behind it. We heard from the medical experts that yes, being outdoors is good. We also heard that we need to limit mobility while we're still dealing with the variants of concern. So we have to put those two things together and we are encouraging people to still be cautious because we are still not in the clear yet. While we are starting to see our numbers go down in our hospitals and our intensive care units, we still need to follow those public health measures, but we do encourage people to be outdoors as much as possible. I think that's important for physical health, as well as their mental health. Thank you. And the next question, the member for Cambridge. Thank you, Speaker. Good morning. My question is for the Premier. My constituents are shocked when I tell them there are no laws in Ontario setting consequences for individuals committing voter fraud in an internal political party's election. Calling the police will not help you. In November of 2019, I table private members bill 150, the ensuring transparency and integrity in political party elections act to remedy this problem. If it were to become law, the bill would, for the first time in Ontario history, set consequences for voter fraud in an internal party election. Despite the Premier telling the media in 2019 that he was against the bill, it unanimously passed second reading. But since then it's been stuck with the standing committee and general government where it hasn't even come up for discussion. Does the government plan on bringing bill 150 to the House for third and final reading so it can become law and finally make it an offence in Ontario to manipulate internal party elections? Government House Leader. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. As you know, it's not the government's responsibility to order how committees do their business. We'll let the committees identify which business they want to bring forward on their own. Thank you. And the supplementary. Speaker, I'm not the only one who thinks there's a problem with internal party votes. A few days after I introduced bill 150, the campaign manager of the governing Ontario PC Party recently announced that lobbyist Corey Tanike had this to say on the CBC about votes held at party conventions to review a leader and I quote, it's always rigged. The people administering it are in a huge conflict of interest. They see, they set when the delicate selection meetings are, they set all the rules around it, they can put their fingers on the scale in a very undemocratic way. And if the past is to be a predictor of the future, we'll see that again because that's what we always see end quote. Mr. Tanike also has firsthand experience. You see, he was the co-chair of the 2018 Ontario PC Party Convention that was supposed to elect that party's executive but which resulted in more ballots cast than voters who voted and is now before the courts. Does this government, whose own Ontario PC Party has seen election irregularities, decide internal elections under two different leaders, support bill 150's attempt to set consequences for such behavior or not? To respond? Government hose leader. Again, Mr. Speaker, look, it's the government doesn't order the committees, independent committees of the legislative assembly order its business. Mr. Speaker, we have a number of private members bills that have made the floor of the legislative assembly from both sides of the house. In fact, today we will be debating a private members business from the member for Willardale, another piece of business from the member for Muskoka, and a good bill from the member from Scarborough Southwest. Mr. Speaker, what unique circumstances all of these individuals have from both sides of the house when they brought bills forward and had them pass is that they've worked with their colleagues to get them to the floor of the house. And look, as government house leader, all I can say is for the member to do the same, work with members on both sides of the house, and hopefully the members will agree to bring the bill forward at committee, and hopefully the members will agree to bring it to the floor of the house, and hopefully members will agree to pass it. Next question, the member for Willardale. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. This is a topic that's come up a couple of times this week in the legislature speaker, but it continues to be a major issue in my writing in Willardale, and it has to do with stricter border controls. We know that the variants of concern are coming in from outside-eyed borders. It's a shame the opposition heckles and laughs during this, because this is no laughing matter. Ontarians have made serious sacrifices over the last year and are frustrated that after all of that difficulty, these variants of concern come to order. Outside of Ontario, Speaker, and the majority of cases today are these very variants of concern, Speaker, and we've seen jurisdictions do better around the world. I'm talking about Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Speaker, we need stricter border controls to get these variants outside of Ontario, to keep them outside. But it's not just international travellers, Speaker. COVID-19 and variants enter Ontario from other provinces as well. So while I'm going to continue to urgently request real action to secure our borders, this is just not a priority for our Prime Minister. My question to the Solicitor General, can she update the members of this House regarding what our government is doing to get the federal government to act and protect our borders? Thank you, and I very much appreciate the member from Willardale's engagement on this file. It's really a great opportunity for all of us to share what we have been doing as a government, and frankly, what our federal partners have not been doing. So we continue to advocate for federal government to restrict travel through federally regulated aviation. Our government has written three letters with very specific and urgent requests to the federal government asking them to take action only to get a vague and frankly, non-responsive answer. That's why we have once again sent another letter to our federal counterparts to implore them to take action now. It's time for Prime Minister Trudeau to take this seriously and address the border issue by implementing COVID testing requirements for domestic flights just as they did for international upon our request. Thank you. Thank you, Speaker. And frankly, when I speak to my relatives overseas from other jurisdictions, and I tell them that the federal government here has not even put in place PCR testing for our travelers, domestic travelers, they're shocked. Rightly so, Speaker. This is a change that would be critical for travelers who are now sitting beside untested travelers who may not even know that they're at risk. Speaker, we need to protect Ontario for incoming cases of COVID-19 and these dangerous variants, whether they be domestic or international sources. And this should not be a political issue. And I wish the opposition was not heckling this because this is something which join efforts on, Speaker. So back to the minister. Can she provide any details on the most recent letter to the federal government? Thank you. And again, thank you for allowing me to share some of the details. So we know that limiting travel and mobility is the best way to slow the spread of COVID-19 and their variants. We asked Ontarians to do their part and they're following the public health advice. Meanwhile, despite the last three letters asking the federal government to test domestic travelers, they have refused to do so. The Premier of our province has repeatedly asked the federal government to step up and do their job. In our most recent letter, we asked the federal government to, A, ban on all non-essential travel, mandatory PSR testing for inter-provincial travelers, and end to the loophole at our land borders and proper enforcement of hotel quarantine. We continue to be very clear to the federal government, we're employing them to take stricter measures in our borders to protect our citizens. Thank you. The next question, the member for Parkdale High Park. Speaker, Ontarians who received their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine are anxious about their second dose. Bill, a constituent who received his first dose of AstraZeneca in March, spoke for thousands of Ontarians when he asked my office, when and where can I get my second dose? Can I get a Pfizer or Moderna shot in lieu of the AstraZeneca? I am confused and worried. Ontarians shouldn't have to ask these questions six months into the vaccine rollout. Speaker, Ontario will have 300,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine next week. My question to the Premier is, what is the government's plan for these doses? And will Ontarians, who received the first dose of the AstraZeneca, get some answers about their second dose? Thank you, Speaker, and thank you very much to the member for the question. I'm also in that situation. I also received the AstraZeneca as my first dose. However, what I can also tell you is that the Chief Medical Officer of Health out of an abundance of caution has put a pause on the distribution of doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine because of the concerns with the vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia or otherwise known as VITTs. This is out of an abundance of caution for the health and safety of all Ontarians. What we are waiting for right now is recommendations from NASA, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization, as well as Health Canada, to advise us with respect to the safety of further doses of AstraZeneca. But what we do know is that based on international studies, any possibilities of harm or risk with respect to a second dose of AstraZeneca is much, much more limited than any concerns with respect to the first dose. And we are also receiving information and the boards are reviewing it based on what's happened in the UK where they have mixed doses of AstraZeneca first dose and another type of vaccine for the second dose. Thank you. Supplementary. Speaker, Ontarians who received their first shots at a pharmacy or a pop-up clinic are worried about their second dose as well. Their second appointments were not automatically scheduled and many are still waiting to be contacted months later. Pharmacists tell me they've heard nothing about a plan from this government. People want to know who will contact them to schedule their second appointment and when. So my question to the Premier is, how will you ensure that no one falls through the cracks of your convoluted web of different booking systems because we have a system to deal with that? As you will know, people who have booked through our online booking system for their first dose come to receive their second dose time. Pharmacies are also using their system that they use for the administration of flu vaccines booking appointments. We've directed them to be able to book the second dose at the same time as the first dose. Not every pharmacy has done that but we are working with them to ensure that they are in touch with people for their second doses and anyone who's received doses at pop-up clinics or mobile clinics, they are in the system. They are in the COVAX system and they will be advised well in advance of the time for their second dose. Thank you. The next question, the member for Scarborough Guildwood. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Deputy Premier. Research from the Katusi Center for Social Medicine and UHN use national FSA data to demonstrate that people who live in hotspots in Toronto and Peel are on average twice as likely to be racialized and more likely to meet low-income thresholds. This pandemic has shown the need for evidence and equity in health. People in hotspot postal codes are more likely to be working throughout the pandemic in low-wage essential jobs which puts them more at risk. Yet Ontario lacks in collection and availability of this necessary data. The government put forward Bill 283 which requires the recording of some data during vaccination but does not require individual socio-demographic data. Speaker, we will be presenting amendments to address this gap. Will the PC government work with us and support these changes so that we can better track and address any gaps in terms of health outcomes for people in hotspot postal codes by mandating the collection and individual socio-demographic data in our vaccination process? Minister of Health. Thank you. Well, I thank the member very much for the question. As she will know, the bill that is now before the House will require the essential data that we need about the name, contact information for the person and the type of vaccine that they received in case there is a need for booster shots in the future where we don't know yet. We don't know no one knows yet what we will require in the future for revaccinations or booster shots. However, with respect to the collection of socioeconomic data, this is very important information to collect. I agree with you that this is something that we are going to be collecting on a volunteer basis from people, asking them with respect to the sex, their gender, sorry, their ethnicity, their total household size and income, so that we can understand those issues and make good decisions for health across the province to make sure that it is equitably informed and planned. So this information will be collected should this bill pass and it will be protected. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Speaker. And back to the Deputy Premier. If you say that data is essential, then we should make it mandatory. Having a voluntary collection just creates a patchwork and it doesn't give us the health equity information we need. So my question is about bill 283 in terms of how the government will go about helping and supporting the collection of that data, making sure that it's safe to do so, but also the reporting of the results, because we know that there is a problem with vaccine hesitancy in some communities and the government is late in tracking the data on vaccinations because it's already underway. So we're just catching up and we are missing a big piece of it without the socio-demographic data. You already have collected some of this data on the testing side. And my question to you is that at a minimum, will you make that data available so that we understand the health equity outcomes of this pandemic on individuals in this province? Mr. Health. Well, this information will be collected on a voluntary basis. First of all, it's voluntary for people to receive the vaccine or not. We know there's going to be a certain percentage of the population who will choose to decline the vaccine. In the same way, we are providing people with the opportunity to give us that socio-economic data that is this is not something which in our view should be mandatory. We are encouraging people to provide this information. But if they choose not to, they will not be denied a vaccine. But this is important planning information going forward. We are protecting privacy, working very closely with the Information and Privacy Commissioner as I indicated before. But this is going to be information that will be available in a non-personally identified way for the people in health and for people of Ontario to understand where the gaps are, where we need to fill in. Response? And we will work to do that as time goes on based on this information. The next question is from Northumberland, Peterborough South. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Solicitor General. With our vaccine rollout entering high gear, there's a lot for Ontarians and constituents of Northumberland, Peterborough South to be excited about. Every day of the week, Speaker, we're setting new records, new milestones. In fact, I was really excited to see that just over, in just over a week, we got another million jabs in arms. And again, I'd like to salute the remarkable volunteers, the Rotarians at the Coburg Community Centre up in Trent Hills in Norwood at the Garnet Record Arena and all over this province that are helping make this happen. Speaker, one of the key components of this month's strategy is to funnel more vaccines into hotspot communities to address the fire where it's worst. Speaker, can the Solicitor General update the legislature on this strategy this month and on the great progress we're making to vaccinate Ontarians? Thank you very much and it is exciting news. We always said that May was going to be a great month and indeed it is. With an increased supply of vaccines, we've been able to make it easier than ever to receive a vaccine in hotspot areas to help stop the spread of COVID-19 and protect our hospital capacity. As members will recall, we helped decrease COVID-19 transmission and hospitalizations. We committed to allocating 50% of vaccine shipments for the last week and this week to hotspot communities. That equals a half a million doses, Speaker. This targeted rollout has allowed over 54% of Ontarians age 18 and over who live or work in a hotspot neighbourhood to receive at least their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Thanks to these efforts, hotspot communities now have a higher vaccine coverage rate than non-hotspot communities, reversing the trend over the past two weeks. It's working, Speaker. Thank you, Speaker, and thank you to the Minister. I know members of my community find this success exciting for them and their loved ones because we want our lives back. I'd like to thank the Minister for working with me and I know so many members of this legislature to understand the nuance in our own community and to support us in our local vaccine efforts. Speaker, making vaccines as accessible as possible, as accessible as possible, is key to a successful rollout. I know it's challenging in communities, in rural communities like mine with rolling hills and hard to reach rural communities. Speaker, I was pleased that part of this strategy includes workplaces and mobile vaccination clinics. The Minister knows how strongly I feel about mobile vaccination clinics, so can she update this House on this aspect and the nuances of Ontario's vaccination strategy? Thank you, Speaker. Thank you. As the member notes, it is important that we offer Ontarians a number of ways to get vaccinated, including mass vaccination clinics, pharmacy pathways, primary care practitioners, but also the workplace and mobile clinics he referenced to literally bring the vaccine to you where you work. Our workplace-led clinics have been off to a strong start. For example, the Ontario food terminal has vaccinated over 2,300 critical workers in the province's food industry. The BAPS community clinic has led the way with over 20,000 doses administered through its vaccine campaign and mobile teams led by the province are out every day vaccinating small and medium-sized workplaces in Toronto, Peel and York Region. Through innovative solutions like these, we are well on our way to achieving our goals. Thank you. Thank you. The next question, the member for Niagara Falls. Thank you. My question is to the Premier. This week is National Nursing Week, and the theme is we answer the call. For the past 14 months, we've seen the incredible strength, courage and commitment our nurses have for caring for our communities. These heroes have answered the call. Unfortunately, it seems this government doesn't feel the same way. Nurses in Niagara are clear. They feel of a complete lack of respect from this conservative government. Nurses on the front line of this pandemic work long shifts, get drinks of water, with limited staffing support, help COVID-19 patients breathe or hold the hands when their families can't. Yet the Premier won't repeal Bill 124, which sends a signal that the nurses aren't valued by this government. Nurses in Niagara and right across Ontario deserve better. They deserve to be paid fair wages, have mental health supports, proper PPE. When will this government stop denying nurses the support they need and deserve? Stop calling them heroes while disrespecting them. When, when will the Premier and this government answer their call? Parliamentary Assistant Member for Walden. Thank you very much Speaker and yes, the members correct nurses are very much valued. That is especially true by our government and we appreciate the hard work they've been showing us, especially during this very difficult time. Speaker, the reality with Bill 24 is that Ontario's public sector employees are still able to receive those salary increases for seniority or for performance, merit, increased qualifications as they normally would. This legislation allows for that reasonable wage increase while respecting taxpayers and the services that they rely on and it's important to note that since the Bill's introduction that collective agreements covering over 340,000 unionized public sector employees have been settled in compliance with this act. That's 40 percent, 40 percent of unionized employees in the broader public sector speakers. So we're going to continue responsibly managing our finance here in the province of Ontario while respecting and appreciating the hard work of nurses and happy nurses. We support all of those nurses. We need to make sure those services are available for today and for generations to come. Thank you Speaker. To the Minister of Labor, this year, Ontario Nurses Association's theme for Nursing Week is still standing, still strong, still proud. A theme that reflects the challenges that nurses have withstood throughout this pandemic and their remarkable resilience and dedication. During the pandemic, nurses have worked hard each and every shift months after months. They are exhausted yet they persevere and continue to care for us. The courage, the professionalism, the compassion they display is humbling. Ontario nurses have been called heroes but the province have denied them the PPEs they need. The government thank them, then denied them paid sick days and WSIB coverage when they get COVID-19 at work. They have been praised for working long, difficult days and nights for months on end and then denied negotiating rights and workplace protection from the Ford government. Question. Will the Minister respect nurses and withdraw Bill 124? Thank you very much and of course we respect the hard work of our nurses. As I said in my previous answer and that's why our government has responded with a $51 billion financial package that has significant supports for countless Ontario families and businesses, including our hard-working frontline workers and Speaker, it has to be said again that this Bill 124 still allows for those salary increases. It just does so in that reasonable scale, Speaker. We still recognize nurses for their abilities, their increased qualifications, their seniority and Speaker. That doesn't change and that is evidenced by 40 percent of unionized employees being able to settle under compliance with this Act, Speaker. What we need to ensure is that we respect these pay increases for our hard-working frontline workers but again this has to be a sustainable system put in place for today but for generations to come and that's exactly what this government is going to do. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Deputy Premier and it's Nursing Week in Ontario and I have to give a shout out to my favorite nurse, my mother Mary and I truly believe to this day that thank you. Is there a solution to the primary care challenge to just have a nurse in every family? It stops a lot of ER visits and a lot of doctors visits but and the Deputy Premier is already aware of this. It's expected that the number of nurses leaving the profession will substantially increase due to the stress and workload that they're experiencing this year. They're going to leave younger and we know that's going to happen and we know that there's a nursing shortage and a shortage of nurse practitioners in this province and the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario has written to the Minister of Colleges and Universities asking if we could increase the enrollment by 400 for nurses and 70 for nurse practitioners, Ontario's universities have that capacity, they let the Minister know that and we know that we need more nurse practitioners in long-term care and acute care and corrections, primary care. So Speaker through you, will the Deputy Premier support the RNAO's urgent request to increase the number of students enrolled in nursing programs this fall? Minister of Health. Thank you very much to the member for the question. This is a very important issue and we are all grateful for the heroic efforts that our nurses have gone through over the last 16 months. We know that they're under incredible stress, they're burnt out, they are exhausted but they keep going and so we wish them a Happy Nurses Week but more than that we we all express our appreciation and thanks to them for the incredible work that they're doing. But we know who are stressed, will likely leave after the worst of this pandemic is over. We have offered some mental health supports and counseling to them to help deal with some of the issues. I have discussed this with nursing groups during this week as a matter of fact but we also know that we need more people in our system. We know that we need to hire thousands more of all types of nursing professionals, nurses, personal support workers and others and I'll deal with the balance of your question with supplementary. I'm looking forward to the minister's response and I do very much appreciate the fact that every day I'm here to ask a question that you're here to answer it. So I asked the minister you know review the RNAO submission I think it's really important that we take action now it's urgent you know the fall is coming up quickly institutions need time to ramp up and I look forward to response. My supplementary is with regards to scope of practice so we all know scope of practice is generally pretty glacial it's been that way for decades and decades and I know there was some movement forward for nurse practitioners in June 2019 the ministry of health expanded NP scope of practice including point of care testing ordering computer CTs ordering MRIs. However these changes were expected in the winter of 2020 and I understand you know given all the things that were happening that that was a challenge. So we also know that their their scope can be expanded further so what I would like to know from the minister as well as the answer in terms of the question spaces when they plan to increase the scope of nurse practitioners as they planned in June 2019. Minister of Health. Thank you well for the first part of your question yes I can tell you that we will take into consideration RNAO's request for more positions in our educational facilities for more nurses to graduate we know that we need more nurses with the people who will probably be leaving as a result of COVID-19 and especially in long-term care with the increase in care to 4 hours from 2.75 hours so absolutely I will take that seriously into consideration. Secondly with respect to scope of practice some of the work that has been going on in the Ministry of Health has been delayed because of the efforts that we've had to make to deal with COVID-19 but yes we are can still considering scope of practice for a variety of health professionals including nurse practitioners so thank you for the question. The next question member for Brampton East. Thank you speaker my question is to the solicitor general in December of 2016 Mr. Solomon Fikiti died struggling to breathe as he lay on the ground of his jail cell in Lindsay as he's awaiting a mental health assessment. He was shackled and pepper sprayed after guards had placed a spit hood over his head. The details of this case are well known and some of the guards involved or in question admitted wrongdoing but no charges have been laid and the concert of government continues to sit on the correctional services oversight in investigation report regarding Mr. Fikiti's death. Will the solicitor general do the right thing? Make this report public and take a step closer towards justice for Mr. Fikiti's family. Thank you speaker you know there are so many things that we have been able to do since forming government particularly in corrections and I will highlight some of those because I think the example that the member shared is very disturbing for many of us so when we formed government when we had the opportunity to actually make some investments in corrections we did that decisively and we did it quickly you will remember that we committed to hire an additional 500 correctional officers investments in expanding jail capacity so that we don't have to house people in very small cells in in two or three people to a cell these investments are going to protect individuals who are in our correctional facilities they're going to correct they're going to protect our correctional guards and and other staff who work in these institutions ultimately they're going to make a better society because we're putting in the programming and getting this done finally we have that opportunity in government. Thank you speaker back to this Mr. General my question is about Solomon Fikiti and at the time of his death Mr. Fikiti had not been convicted of any of any crime he was sick and he's in need of care in the wake of the government's correctional services oversight and investigation report into his death two out of the six correctional officers involved were fired but the conservative government refuses to make the report that led to this to these firings public at a bare minimum Mr. Fikiti's family and his community deserve answers as a starting point towards closure in this horrific and ongoing ordeal justice can't be done while this critical information is hidden will the Solicitor General release their government's report to the public regarding Mr. Fikiti. Thank you speaker you know there's no doubt when individuals come into our institutions that when they come in with mental health issues or with other concerns like drug addictions it is a very challenging environment it is frankly again why we as a government have made a commitment and invested we've invested in ensuring that facilities have ion scanners so that people are not bringing in contraband into our facilities it's ensuring that our staff are better coped are better trained to understand and deal with individuals who have mental health and addictions issues these are very challenging times when our community has to deal with the issues that come into our institutions but we are doing everything possible to make sure that our staff are well trained and well qualified and ultimately well prepared to deal with all of the issues that occur within our 26 institutions thank you speaker. Thank you the next question the member for Ottawa sir. Thank you Mr. Speaker my questions for the minister of education so yesterday Dr. Vera Etches auto's chief medical officer of health said that if local COVID-19 indicators keep declining it would be safe to send students back to school. Mr. Speaker it's likely that other communities will find themselves in this situation so my question is simple to the minister can the minister please let Ontario families know whether the government is planning a regional approach to reopening schools. Minister of education to reply. Mr. Speaker obviously we all are committed to having children in school we know how important it is for the mental health and development the chief medical officer of health has said we continue to face challenges in the province the context of high rates of transmission albeit they seem to be coming down that is good but we cannot let our guard up we are seeking his advice on the way forward what we have done in the meantime as we await that advice and scientific analysis is put in place a plan a 1.6 billion dollar investment as we look forward to September to ensure we can keep schools safe and keep them open as the chief medical officer of health has confirmed multiple times to the people of Ontario that our plan has worked to keep kids safe one of the lowest rates of positivity case rates rather for youth under 20 in the nation that is because we listened to the science because we invested in because we followed the best advice of the chief medical officer. Thank you for your answer minister so the question has are you planning for it so one of the challenges is you know you should plan for the advice that you may get before you get that advice so I just needed to know that answer so maybe you can provide that in the supplementary answer so but this is about another plan you know access to affordable childcare is a game changer for families and restarting our economy women have predominantly shouldered the childcare burden throughout this pandemic either leaving the workforce or having to try and manage both at home and we know that every dollar that's invested in childcare returns $2.50 to the economy and that full participation in the workforce is the best thing we can do for economy so we've recently put forward a plan to expand access to affordable licensed childcare to allow parents mostly women to reenter the workforce. So speakers for you what is the government planning to do differently as we come out of this pandemic to ensure that licensed childcare is accessible and affordable to all Ontario families. Minister of Education. Part of our plan is to make sure that those that work within our schools and our childcare centres can be vaccinated and we're very proud that all staff the work within our education space are able to get vaccines as we look forward as the Minister of Health and Solicitor General has confirmed expanding that to young people age 12 and up that is a game changer as we look forward to a more safe more stable more normal September for the kids of this province who deserve that after a year of disruption and we're proud to be investing $1.6 billion to be to be investing four times the rate of what the former response 100% increase in mental health supports to help kids in this province get through this adversity we're going to continue to invest and follow the best advice that the Chief Medical Officer. My question is for the Premier Ontario small businesses have struggled from the beginning of this pandemic businesses watch their finances dwindle and their doors closed while the government claimed to have their back it took eight months until those supports came the Ontario small business support grant was a lifeline that hasn't reached far too many businesses Nadia opens the tires bakery and sweets in February of 2020 she told me that she recently applied for the OSBSG received a secondary email requesting a void check in a bank statement only to get shut down after supplying them she and run sport clips one of the first to shut down the lockdowns and has been mistakenly told her business is ineligible she's emailed again and again with no response I'm here to tell this government they're not doing enough to help small businesses will you reopen the OSBSG and expand eligibility so people like Nadia and Jean can keep their businesses afloat in their employees page well thank you speaker and to Nadia and Jean this government will continue to make sure we support small businesses and when it comes to the support grant program already two and a half billion dollars is floating to the hands of these small businesses in the second round alone over 75,000 businesses have received over 1.1 billion dollars but the member voted against that it's very important to note that that the member not only voted against that but against every support measure from the beginning of this pandemic most recently order reductions in hydro cost reductions in property tax costs elimination of the eht the tax on jobs the member voted against that investments into broadband infrastructure historic investment of four billion dollars the member voted against that the member voted against or 0.9 billion dollars to commit to the nation for an hour of care for the resident long-term care home speaker so how how come to order speak to the london businesses who have received over 30 million dollars in the support grant program and justify his voting record and the opposite you know speaker the government may be here to cast stones but the ndp has been calling for business supports since april 2020 glad this government finally stood up but they haven't done enough speaker there are other businesses in my writing that haven't even yet for why our lives come to order danie is one of the many other small business owners of your children community and social services companies she first applied for this grant in january but her application sat under review for months finally in april after the deadline had passed she found out her application was denied she was not given a reason even though the government has stated they always provide a reason for rejection to make matters worse there's no appeals process in place for danie to challenge this decision why does this government keep turning their backs on small business owners like danie instead of offering a helping hand do the right thing well thank you speaker and i'd like to remind danie uh that the ndp the opposition since april of last year has voted against every single support measure for danie and his business speaker every single one but here's the most curious fact for me speaker after second reading of the budget where the opposition has an opportunity order to put forward constructive feedback ideas on how to handle small businesses well the independent members put forward several amendments and we're going to work collaboratively with them to achieve those outcomes number four north of the ndp speaker zero amendments zero suggestion we can go right through our lunch if we want next we have a deferred vote on the motion for second reading of bill 272 an act to amend the ministry of health and long-term care act with respect to the inclusion of advanced glucose monitoring devices in the assistive devices program the bells will now ring for 30 minutes during which time members may cast their ballots i'll ask the clerks to please prepare the lobbies