 It is now time for oral questions. I recognize the leader of Her Majesty's Oral Election. Thanks very much, Speaker. I would normally go to the Premier, but he's on his 10th paid sick day today, so I'm going to go to the Deputy Premier with my first question. Yesterday, the auditor confirmed that seniors in long-term care were abandoned to COVID-19, and we all saw the horrifying tragedy that ensued as a result. The minister yesterday refused to take any responsibility whatsoever, any whatsoever, and went on, in fact, in her press conference to blame everybody that she possibly could, including the Minister of Health. Speaker, the Minister of Long-Term Care has now had 24 hours to reflect on her response to the AG's report yesterday. My question would be, is it still her claim that neither she nor this government will take any responsibility or takes any responsibility for the tragedies that unfolded in our long-term care system with COVID-19? Mr. Long-Term Care. Thank you, Speaker, and thank you to the member opposite for the opportunity to clarify. As I said yesterday and have said repeatedly, I take responsibility. I have a duty and an obligation to residents, their families and staff in long-term care, and I have been absolutely consistent with that messaging. So I don't know why that wasn't heard yesterday. I want to thank the Auditor General and her office for her special report on long-term care, and she was very clear and very insightful that it is the long-standing issues in staffing and the lack of new development and redevelopment of existing long-term care spaces that contributed to the spread of COVID-19. And I had a very long discussion with the Auditor General on Monday, which I appreciated very, very much. We will take extensive and ongoing measures to protect the health and safety and well-being of residents. The $4.9 billion that is going to create 27,000 new staff for long-term care on top of the 8,600 and more that we created during the first wave and into the second wave. We'll continue to take measures to shore up a sorely neglected sector. Supplementary question. Well, Speaker, people who lost loved ones in long-term care don't believe for a minute that this conservative government is going to fix our long-term care system and they feel as abandoned as ever. They weren't surprised by the Auditor General's report at all, Speaker, but they were shocked by the response of the Minister of Long-Term Care. Fred Kramer, who lost his mother to COVID-19 in Orchardville, has said this about the AG's report and quoting, No surprises in it. They're getting away with not looking after the people in the homes. Why are they getting away with it in reference to the government? Kathy Parks also lost her mother, or rather her father, to COVID-19 in Orchardville. And Kathy says this, and I quote, I see comments from the Minister of Long-Term Care about how the government is fixing this. They're not. They have no intention. It's heartbreaking. That's how people feel about this government's lack of action in long-term care. What does the Minister, this Premier, what does this government have to say to people like Kathy and people like Fred? Thank you. Minister of Long-Term Care. Thank you, Speaker, and thank you to the member opposite for providing this opportunity to say what we have been doing and have been doing all along. Since the very beginning of our government being elected, we prioritized redevelopment in long-term care, 15,000 new spaces over five years and 30,000 new spaces over 10, in addition to redeveloping homes that were languishing from the 1970s all during the time that you were in support of the previous government in opposition. And I think that that record should be recognized in action of the previous government and the leader of the opposition. We've taken extensive measures, as I've said, on the staffing, on the redevelopment, on the building, on the IPAC, the 27,000 new hires that we are, positions that we are creating for long-term care to address our increasing incapacity. These are long-standing issues that we're addressing. Finally, it's our government. A conservative government is doing it. This is absolutely the facts. Let's deal with the facts. Thank you. The final supplement, please. We get the same story from this conservative government at every single stage of this crisis. They should act to save lives, but instead they fail to act, and then they blame everybody else on their failure when tragedy unfolds. Speaker, we all know what happened in long-term care over decades, first under the Harris conservative government, then under the McGinty, Wynn and Del Ducca liberal government. Long-term care was abandoned by all of these folks, but this minister of long-term care and this conservative government under Premier Ford eliminated inspections. They cut funding. They ignored all of the warnings about what was about to unfold in long-term care. They protected private profits instead of lives, Speaker, and they're still doing all of that. At what point will this government start protecting the lives of people and start putting the lives of people ahead of private profits and their own political gain? Mr. Long-term care. Thank you, Speaker. I'm a big believer in dealing with reality and facts. Students in PSW programs that we announced yesterday, $86 million going to 8,000 new positions, funded positions for PSWs. That means 10,000 more PSWs are being trained in this province this year compared to years prior, something that the previous government never bothered to do. It's also our government that will be leading in Canada with a commitment of four hours of direct care for residents on average per day. This is something that has been left for many, many years. The previous government had report after report. It did not act. And I would ask the member, the opposition leader opposite to understand how many times she actually mentioned even the word long-term care. I think people can go back and look in the handset. It is our government that is taking action on long-term care, the first government in decades. And we will do it and we are committed and we have been ever. The next question, once again, the leader of the opposition. I have no questions to the Deputy Premier, but holy smokes, she's a year late. She should have been doing all of those things a year ago. We lost 4,000 seniors to COVID-19 in long-term care under her watch. So I don't think she has bragging rights, Speaker. But my question now is about the fact that this government, 407 days into a pandemic that's taken now 8,029 lives. Yes, we've now reached a very grim milestone in Ontario. They have refused. Every single day they have refused to bring in paid sick days. And now, yesterday, they announced a pitifully inadequate paid sick day scheme as workers continue to die from COVID-19. I guess my question is, where did they come up with the scheme? Did they even consult their own COVID-19 experts and advisers when they drafted up this terribly inadequate plan? Minister of Labour. Well, Mr Speaker, we are going to continue having the backs of every single worker in this province until we defeat COVID-19. And Mr Speaker, we were the very first province in the country to bring forward job-protected leave last March for any worker in self-isolation in quarantine if your mum or dad that has to stay home and look after a son or a daughter because the schools are closed, you can't be fired for that. Furthermore, Mr Speaker, we eliminated the need for sick notes in Ontario. And Mr Speaker, I'm proud that yesterday that we announced the most comprehensive plan to ensure that workers are protected. They can stay home when they're sick and we're going to be with workers and small businesses every step of the way until we defeat COVID-19. Mr Speaker, this government's plan that they announced yesterday or the scheme they announced yesterday has been widely panned by pretty much everybody. The science table, of course, wasn't consulted because this government never listens to the science table. Why should they now, I guess? And here's what they say about this government's failure in their announcement yesterday. That the scheme is arbitrary, stingy, and, in the end, foolish. Doctors warn, of course, that it's too few days, that there's too little pay and that it might actually impact workers to put them in an even worse off position than before this scheme is put into place. You know, at a time when the Premier has just taken ten paid days off to appropriately quarantine as the experts advise us to do, why do they think that workers don't deserve the same thing to be able to quarantine completely and not have to make a decision between going back to work sick or paying the bills? Why do they only get three when the Premier gets ten? Mr. Blader? Well, Mr. Speaker, we are going to be bringing forward legislation this afternoon to bring in the most comprehensive plan in the entire country. In fact, Mr. Speaker, we are the very first province in Canada to bring forward paid sick days during COVID-19. In fact, Mr. Speaker, British Columbia's NDP government has refused to bring in paid sick days. But Mr. Speaker, let me discuss some of the plans that's going to be in the legislation this afternoon. We have agreed to ensure that we're topping up the federal program. We want to make that federal program $1,000 per week for four weeks. We're the first province in the country to do that. Mr. Speaker, we are going to bring in, if approved by this House, three paid sick days. That's going to be flexible, open, no sick notes required to ensure that workers in this province, for example, will be paid to get vaccinated. My question to the Leader of the Opposition is, is she going to support us to bring in paid sick days for workers in Ontario? The final supplementary. Thank you very much, Speaker. You know, it's really, really important that the government get this right, and they haven't. People are losing their lives every day. People are 41 over the last 24 hours, lives lost. 8,029 people now that have lost their lives in this province to COVID-19. The ICUs are overwhelmed. 884 ICU patients right now in our hospitals. Essential workers have to put their lives on the line every single day when they go into work, and they shouldn't have to choose between a safe quarantine, as I've already said, and going back to work sick because they can't afford to pay the bills. I mean, I just don't get what this government's problem is. Why won't they ever make the right decisions to support workers, to save lives, and to stop the spread of COVID-19 in our province? Mr. Labour. Well, Mr. Speaker, I am truly disappointed to hear that the Leader of the Opposition and the NDP are going to vote against our paid sick leave program that we're going to introduce this afternoon. Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of Finance and I announced that we're going to bring forward legislation to bring in the Ontario COVID-19 worker income protection benefit. We are the first in Canada to offer the doubling of payments for the federal sick days program. We are also introducing three paid days off for workers who need to stay home if they're sick. If they need to go and get vaccinated. If they need to recover from vaccinations. If you're a worker out there suffering from mental health challenges related to COVID-19, you will be covered under our plan. Mr. Speaker, if you are a mum or a dad out there that has a child at home with symptoms related to COVID-19, you can stay home and be paid. We call on the NDP to stand with us today to stand. Thank you. The next question, member for Scarborough. We're so glad. My question is to the Minister of Labour. Mr. Speaker, throughout this pandemic, we have used the term essential workers. When referring to many of those in our communities like mine in Scarborough or in Peel, Northwest Toronto who never had the opportunity to find a safe alternative to in-person work. Since the beginning of the pandemic, over three million essential workers had to work in common work settings. When our whole province paused to stay home and stay safe, these workers never got to stay home or stay safe. They had to take crowded buses to go to work in unsafe factories, warehouses and other jobs where their health was jeopardised and then their family and community's health was jeopardised. Mr. Speaker, my question is, how do you define if a workplace is essential? Why are we in a stay-at-home order and a state of emergency in the middle of a punishing third wave and the government strategy is to ask people to stay home? So my question is, how do you determine if a workplace or a worker is essential? Thank you, Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the health and well-being and the health and safety of every single worker is our government's top priority. That's why, Mr. Speaker, we have now done nearly 50,000 workplace inspections and investigations related to COVID-19 since the pandemic hit the province. In fact, Mr. Speaker, we've hired more than 100 new Ministry of Labor training and skills development inspectors, which brings the inspectorate to the highest level in provincial history under this Conservative government and I have to remind the member opposite through you, Mr. Speaker, that she actually voted against our plan to hire more inspectors to keep workers safe. We've now shut down 90 unsafe workplaces and job sites related to COVID-19. Mr. Speaker, we have boots on the ground every single day into workplaces, partnering with local public health units to ensure that the health and well-being of every worker is protected. Order. The supplementary question. Speaker, let the record show that the Minister of Labor, after a year into this pandemic, failed to identify how they define essential workers or an essential workplace. We call them heroes, Mr. Speaker, who have deemed their labor essential, but we fail to take decisive action on how to protect them. In an early April memo from the Ministry of Labor outlined that just in 2021, they found 15,000 workplace COVID infractions, but only stopped unsafe work 24 times. We have been using the term essential worker to undermine the marginalization faced by those who are working precarious and low-income jobs that have put their health and safety in danger. Workplaces have been reported as a key driver in the COVID-19 numbers we have seen in Ontario. We are hearing from our community, from our health workers, that overwhelmingly those who are failing to falling sick are the ones working in congregate settings in factories like chocolate factories and cosmetics factories. So, Minister, my question is, why are these places like chocolate factories and cosmetics factories open, truly in a state of emergency? Why are you not taking decisive action to stop unsafe and non-essential work? Thank you. Mr. Labour? Well, Mr. Speaker, the health and safety of every single worker is being the government's priority from day one. In fact, Mr. Speaker, as a member opposite knows, because she supported this legislation, back when the pandemic, this invisible enemy hit Ontario, we moved decisively. We brought in job-protected leave that is impacted at all by COVID-19. They can stay home. They should stay home. Their job is protected. Mr. Speaker, we went further. We eliminated the need for sick notes in Ontario during COVID-19. And, Mr. Speaker, it was a spring of last year when this pandemic hit the province that we brought in hundreds of guidance, resources, tip sheets, posters, in dozens and dozens of multiple languages, Mr. Speaker, we moved to Ontario.ca forward slash COVID safety to ensure that employers knew what they needed to be doing, that workers knew what they needed to be doing. And, Mr. Speaker, we moved quickly to hire more than 100 new Ministry of Labour Training and Skills Development inspectors. And I credit them, Mr. Speaker, they've gone to 50,000 workplaces. They've done inspections and investigations and will continue to do so. Next member's question. Michael. Thank you very much, Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Health. I know our government, yourself in particular, have been working day and night to ensure the swift and equitable rollout of vaccines across the province. Or Ontarians across my right. And the province have continued to ask me when it will be their turn to get the vaccine and when can life return to normal and things get back to the way they used to be. Would the Minister please provide an update to the members of this House on the rollout? Minister Pell. Thank you, Speaker. And thank you to the member from Aurora for the question. Since day one, our government has been committed to vaccinating Ontarians as quickly and as safely as possible. And just a little over a week ago I stood in this House and spoke about the significant achievement we had made in making sure that we had administered over 3 million doses to adult Ontarians across the province. Well, today I am delighted to inform the members of this House that yet another milestone has been reached and we have been able to administer over 5 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccines. We know that many Ontarians are anxiously awaiting their turn and we're anxious to get the vaccines to them. And that's why this week we allowed individuals 45 and older who live in hotspot neighbourhoods to book vaccinations through appointments in our booking system. We are committed to delivering the most successful vaccination campaign in the country, Mr. Speaker. A supplementary question. Thank you, Speaker. And I want to thank the Minister and all those on the front lines for helping us administer these crucial vaccines. It's quite reassuring to see that light at the end of the tunnel grow brighter and brighter as more and more vaccines get put into arms. Speaker, while times are difficult right now for every Ontarian people can take comfort and the fact that our government will not rest until we defeat this virus which is why we committed to inoculating 40% of the population by the start of May. Would the Minister please provide an update on our province's progress with achieving that goal? Minister of Health. Yes, thank you again, Speaker and thank you again to the member for the question. Our government understands that vaccines are our way out of this pandemic which is why we have worked nonstop to ensure we can get as many shots into arms as quickly as possible. We are committed to ensuring that every Ontarian who wants to receive a vaccine will receive that vaccine as soon as possible and this dedication has led us to record breaking. Just last week we administered over 130 doses per day for three days in a row. The continued success means we are on track to exceed our target of having 40% of the adult population vaccinated with their first dose by the end of this month, by the end of April. As we've said time and time again we will do whatever it takes to make sure that we can protect the health and well-being of all Ontarians. Thank you. Next question, the member for Parkdale High Park. Thank you, Speaker. David owns a home decor business in my riding. He applied for the Ontario Small Business Support Grant in January and was approved on March 14th but he has yet to receive a dime. Sandra Lee owns a photography business and was approved for funding on March 7th. More than 50 days later she's still waiting for payment and the government is not responding to their emails or phone calls. Small business owners have been locked down for months. They will go bankrupt without this support. My question to the Deputy Premier is simple. When will the small businesses get the funding you approved? The Associate Minister for Small Business and Red Tape Production. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker and thank you to the member opposite for bringing that forward. We are working around the clock. We have hired over 100 extra individuals to support and ensure that businesses get the money that they need. To date we have processed over 107,000 payments directly through the first phase of the program totaling $1.5 billion. 57,000 businesses have also received a second automatic payment of that fund as well totaling another $850 million over $2.4 billion in direct supports have gone to these businesses. We recognize that there are still some challenges we are working through those and we are going to ensure that those businesses get the money as soon as possible because we do understand that this is a very challenging time and we are happy to look into those and support the member. This minister has no clue of the reality on the ground. So many small businesses are having problems with this program. Steve owns a moving company. He was told to upload his financial documents but the link he was sent doesn't work. He has called and emailed small business owners like Steve are trying to survive the pandemic. They need support now, not in weeks or months. They need an application system that works. When you promise something you have to deliver it or you're just wasting people's time and putting them through help. When can Steve and thousands of small business owners expect to hear from their government? Thank you very much Mr. Speaker and understand the member opposite and the concerns that she has put forward but we have also ensured that there are over 100 people tripled the support staff behind the program recognizing that we need to ensure that the money is getting out to all of these individuals and businesses. $2.4 billion of direct support has been paid out to small businesses. We'll continue to make sure that every eligible business that has applied for the program gets the money that they need. We've also ensured that they have access to getting 100% of their property tax paid, 100% of their energy cost paid. They can apply for the digital main street program which is up to $2,500 support grants and we also recognize that the federal government has programs in terms of 90% of their rent relief that could potentially be covered as well as 75% of their wage subsidy. We will ensure that we do everything we can to get the businesses the support they need and that's why $2.4 billion have flowed directly to small businesses across Ontario. The next question, the member for Scarborough, Scarborough Guildwood. The next question is to the premier. 30 days ago your government released its budget. There was no mention of a couple of billion dollars for paid sick leave. There was only an assumption that the pandemic would be over and you put a billion dollars into prudence. It is clear that the government did not want to support Ontario workers or they would not have resisted a paid sick leave program that medical experts and really all workers have been demanding since the pandemic began to protect themselves and their families. It is clear that the government's budget that they tabled last month was out of date before it even landed. The government finally put forward as paid sick leave program or is putting forward one which is full back measures and does not fully protect Ontario workers and demonstrates how clearly out of touch this government is. So will the premier commit to a fiscal update that contains the financial requirements for better paid sick leave, vaccination leave and testing so that we can keep the people of Ontario safe and ensure that a booster program is built into it. Minister of Labor training and skills development. Minister, I'm very excited about the legislation that's going to be coming forward this afternoon. In fact, Mr Speaker it is going to be very flexible very generous, very open the most comprehensive plan in all of Canada. In fact, Mr Speaker Ontario is the first province in the country to bring forward paid sick leave during COVID-19. So Mr Speaker, I hope the member opposite will support our legislation but I do want to point out one of the other important initiatives and parts of our legislation that will be coming and I said this yesterday Mr Speaker but we are also going to ensure that all small businesses and employers are reimbursed unlike the Ontario Liberal plan that came forward Mr Speaker that really would have bankrupted thousands of small businesses across the province and most importantly Mr Speaker workers wouldn't have jobs to go back to. Our approach I believe is the right one and we're going to stand with you. And the supplementary question. What happened to the Premier's promise for the best program in North America? Clearly you have not delivered. For over 400 days we have been calling for a paid sick day program. All members of the opposition have been doing that and Speaker this Government has fallen far short. Just look to the south. They have given workers 80 hours of paid sick leave to cover aspects of the pandemic. So Speaker three days is not enough to make things worse the government included all sorts of other things into the program that really deserves its own plan. So will you commit to the 10 days that the experts have been calling for because every day you delay and drag your feet people are at risk. So will you make this program much more realistic by providing 10 days and make it permanent so that people can have paid six days moving forward. Mr Speaker let me remind the member opposite that we announced that we want to double the federal program to $1,000 per week for four weeks plus three paid sick days. This is the most comprehensive plan in Canada. If a worker needs to take time off to get vaccinated they can be paid. If a worker needs time off to recover from a vaccination they can be paid. If a mum or a dad has a sick child at home or symptoms related to COVID-19 they can stay home and be paid. Mr Speaker if a worker in Ontario needs to take time off to get vaccinated they can stay home and get paid. This is the most generous open and flexible plan balanced because we're reimbursing all small businesses and employers. We plead with the Ontario Liberals to finally step up, stand with workers in Ontario and join us today. The next question. The member for Mississauga East Cooksville. Mr Speaker my question is to the Solicitor General. With Ontario's vaccination campaign ramping up across the province this month I know that access to the vaccine in convenient locations is a top priority for many especially those who rely on public transit or who work jobs outside of traditional 9-5. Can the Solicitor General outline how our government has ramped up pharmacy vaccine clinics as part of this two of the province's vaccination plan especially for my community here in P. Thank you. Thank you and thank you very much for the member from Mississauga East Cooksville. I know he and I have had many conversations about the various phases and stages as we get a more steady and increased supply of the vaccines. So access to a convenient location to receive the vaccine is critical particularly for those who might be hesitant about getting the vaccination but where there's ease of access a deciding factor can help. That's why we've been working hand in hand with pharmacy partners from across Ontario to rapidly build up capacity in pharmacies allowing much greater local access within their communities. To date nearly 1500 pharmacy locations are able to offer the vaccines including more than 150 in seven of which are able to offer 24-7. Ontario's pharmacy and primary care practitioners have collectively administered almost a half a million doses of vaccines since they began only a few short weeks ago. Thank you speaker. Thank you very much speaker and speaker through you thanks to the Solicitor General. I know so many constituents are ready to roll up their sleeves to get vaccinated when it's their turn and these pharmacy locations are a great step in the campaign to get all Ontarians vaccinated but of course pharmacies are only one avenue through which Ontarians can get vaccinated with vaccine supply coming into Ontario expected to rise even more than it was in April. Can the Solicitor General share how pharmacies fit into Ontario's broader plan to ensure vaccines are as accessible as possible to the people. Thank you. Again Mr. General. Well thank you and again thanks to the member. I I'm proud to highlight Ontario's multi-pronged approach to ensuring everyone has access to vaccines as soon as supplies increase. This includes pharmacies primary care practitioners as well as hospitals and mass vaccination clinics as the backbone of our vaccine plan. We've also been working to bring vaccines directly into communities through mobile and pop-up clinics in hotspot neighbourhoods. This includes vaccine clinics in workplaces starting with Amazon, Maple Lodge farms and Maple League farms which also offer vaccination to the surrounding community. Additionally community-based clinics continue to open including the BAPS temple, Brampton and Mac Islamic centres and the World Sickness Earth Association. More will open as our supply of vaccines increase and arrive consistently. Thank you Speaker. Thank you. Next question for Waterloo. Thank you very much my question to the Deputy Premier. The Premier is on his 10th paid sick day today and we know that he still has another four in the bank. But for some reason he thinks that frontline workers only deserve three temporary days. What's good about him is that he's a privileged worker in this case the Premier is not good enough for essential workers who do the fundamental work in this province. So my question through you Speaker to the Deputy Premier can you explain why the Premier who says he's for the people thinks that he deserves better than the vast majority of Ontarians? Well Mr Speaker if the Government accepted the NDP's proposal or the Ontario Liberal proposal there wouldn't be businesses open in the province because you would have crushed thousands of small businesses across the province because you're going to put 100% of the cost on those small mom and pop shops across the province which is wrong. Mr Speaker our plan is generous. It is flexible and it's open for workers. We're going to stand with workers and families to get through COVID-19. Mr Speaker Ontario is the first in Canada to offer double payments for the federal sick days program to $1,000 per week for four weeks plus three paid sick days that's 23 days in total Mr Speaker. This includes a time off for people who get vaccinated who have to recover from vaccinations that they're having mental health issues related to COVID-19. We call on the NDP to stand with us and stand with workers in Ontario. I'd like to tell the minister your mishandling of this pandemic has crushed businesses. We're in our third lockdown in the province of Ontario. So while the premier gets to sit at home and collect his full paycheck over $4,500 thus far he's still forcing I'm going to interrupt the member. You can't make explicit reference to the absence of any member in the House. I don't need the assistance of the government side with this. Thank you. Please conclude your question. Thank you very much Mr Speaker. He's still forcing everyday Ontarians to jump through hoops wait for weeks and just hope for the best while they're unable to pay for their bills. Where did you come up with the three days? Where did you roll the dice and keep gambling with the lives of the people of this province? If the premier deserves two weeks at his full salary why is this government trying to tell Ontarians that they deserve anything less? Mr Speaker I joined with the Minister of Finance yesterday to announce that we would be bringing for the Ontario COVID-19 worker income protection benefit. This will be the most comprehensive plan in all of Canada amongst all of the provinces. In fact Mr Speaker we're going to double those federal payments to $1,000 per week. It was an injustice that the federal government was paying workers here in Ontario below minimum wage. We're going to double those. Mr Speaker we're going to bring in three additional days. That's 23 days for workers in this province but we're going to go further. We're also going to step up and support workers so they have a fighting chance to prosper and grow through COVID-19 and after COVID-19 but most importantly Mr Speaker we want to ensure workers are protected they're kept safe. We defeat COVID-19 and that every worker has a job to go back to when COVID-19 is done. Thank you. Next question the member for York said. Thank you Speaker my question is to the Minister of Health and it has to be asked today because there are rumours that this government may adjourn to hiding when we're needed here most to deal not just with the COVID pandemic but the subject of my question which is the mental health pandemic created and continued by this government. Four days ago the CBC aired a story with Dr Justina Morrow an emergency room physician in Ottawa she said quote our department is filled with patients right now with mental health problems and patients also presenting who had no prior mental health history who are coming with a mental health crisis some of them are attempting suicide because they just don't want to live anymore during COVID and there are some elderly people due to isolation. Speaker this is caused by the longest and toughest lockdown on the planet. Everyone in this room knows it you get the same calls I do the Premier and this Minister are responsible for this catastrophe so I'm pleading with her now on behalf of millions of Ontarians will you please end this lockdown The Deputy Premier and Minister of Health Thank you Speaker the short answer is no of course we're not going to end this lockdown it's saving people's lives there have been thousands there have been thousands of people who have lost their lives and that is tragic that is truly tragic however if we had not taken member for York Centre is warned there would be many many more lives lost we are trying to preserve the health and well-being of the people of Ontario and save lives that's why we have to continue with this lockdown and that is going to be important for the mental health capacity of people going forward we know there's going to be locked issues relating to mental health as a result of the shutdown of surgeries and so on but at this point we have no other choice we have to be able to take care of anyone who needs to come into our hospitals we need to slow down the transmission in our community that's why the lockdown is absolutely necessary that we continue at Member for York Centre heard me he's been warned Supplementary question Speaker this government and this government has no shame they know the harm they're causing particularly to children lockdown is not the only option it has never been part of our pandemic planning and we know how much harm the lockdown is doing Dr. Jane Little an Ottawa pediatrician told the CBC yesterday I believe quote we've never seen this level of kids with major depression and suicidal thoughts Dr. Roszkowski Chief of Pediatrics at Queensway Carlton said it's not the pandemic that's causing this it's this government it's the lockdown it's the school being closed it's isolation that Ontario kids cannot bear anymore stop pretending it isn't happening so I asked the minister one more time on behalf of 2 million Ontario children will you let the kids again will you let them live again will you end this lockdown Minister of Health at the risk of repetition I would say no again because we are trying to save the lives of children adults seniors in this province this lockdown is necessary we've also brought forward our road map to wellness we knew that there were many people having mental health and addiction issues before this pandemic even began which is why we brought forward our road map to wellness program that is going to extend mental health and addiction services to the many people that need them they were not all caused by this lockdown some were exacerbated by the lockdown but they were not caused by this lockdown and we are going to work to make sure that every person in Ontario who needs mental health or addiction support will receive that next question the member for Aurora or bridges Richmond Hill thank you very much speaker my questions once again to the minister of health I'm aware that our government's vaccination strategy is focused on immunizing those most at risk older adults if they contract COVID-19 and hotspot communities who have been especially hit hard by this virus I know many Ontarians are anxious to receive the vaccine so would the minister please inform the members of this house how our government is making sure every eligible Ontarian who wants a vaccine is able to receive one minister of health thank you speaker and thank you again to the member from Aurora or bridges Richmond Hill for this our government has said from the beginning that our focus will need to be on protecting the most vulnerable in our communities which is why we are using a variety of delivery channels for vaccines to ensure that every person who wants to receive a vaccine can do so one of these delivery methods are mobile vaccination teams which have been deployed across the province and just recently started administering shots to those 18 years of age and older in select hotspot neighborhoods in Toronto and Piel additionally we included childcare workers in our vaccine prioritization to ensure these vulnerable workers are protected from COVID-19 this is a team effort and we will continue to work collaboratively with vaccination sites and other healthcare to ensure that we have the most successful vaccine program in the country member for Aurora thank you speaker I want to thank the minister and that's fantastic to hear that our government is making every effort possible to ensure vaccines are getting to those who need them I also know that we have made significant strides in the areas of testing in order to make sure Ontarians who need a test can receive their results swiftly I've also been told that our world-class testing system allows public health units to quickly be notified of positive cases of COVID-19 to take the proper steps to notify individuals and keep their communities safe would the minister please provide this house with an update on our province's testing strategy thank you thank you again to the member for that question and speaker our government knows that testing is very important in defeating COVID-19 and we've made it clear that testing is a priority the sooner we can identify cases that can stop the spread of this virus which is why we've made significant investments in our testing strategy that has seen over 14 million Ontarians tested we've been committed to protecting the health and well-being of Ontarians from the beginning of this pandemic this ongoing effort will ensure timely access to testing targeting testing to vulnerable communities and expanding the capacity to process COVID-19 so we will continue to work with Ontario Health and our sector partners on ramping up mobile testing and community testing in addition to having targeted testing campaigns for vulnerable populations across the province thank you speaker the next question the member for London North Centre my question is for the deputy premier speaker the province's vaccine has been an inconsistent and confusing mass that is excluding far too many people two of my constituents Colleen and Richard are both 58 and registered for vaccines at shoppers in Costco the minute they became available weeks later they've not received a call or any information as to when they can expect their vaccine Colleen asked me how is this possible that we were on the waiting list first but people in the next demographic are getting it before us this whole thing is a mess none of this is making any sense why is Ontario relying on a slap shot system with multiple vaccine waiting lists that leaves Londoners like Colleen and Richard falling through the cracks Minister Health for the question but I would say in fact we've had a very successful vaccine rollout we've already had vaccines delivered over five million vaccines have been delivered to date we are on track to reach our priority of vaccinating with at least one vaccine dose 40% of the adult population of Ontario by the end of this month we've also booked over 2.9 million tests through our online booking portal in addition to the testing that is available and the vaccinations that are available through our pharmacies we have over 1400 pharmacies now available to provide vaccines many of them are starting to offer that 24-7 so that people with different work schedules can be accommodated this is a great success we are making a priority to protect the health and well-being of Ontarians and we are well on our way with over five million doses already administered Member for London Orch Centre supplementary Five million doses is kind of a miracle with the lack of coordination the daily blame routine in the leader list deployment this supposedly business friendly system but instead the deployment has been a disaster it's back to the deputy premier speaker while Londoners like Colleen and Richard wait for a pharmacy to call them other Londoners have had to turn to social media in the hopes of chasing down a vaccine a few minutes after sending out a tweet about eligible vaccines one shoppers in London was overwhelmed with people hoping to get an appointment the pharmacies appointments were all claimed in less than an hour leaving countless people scrambling figuring out what to do next Tristan one of the Londoners lucky enough to get a shot said I think it's kind of bizarre that we have people who are older than myself on waiting lists to get the shot meanwhile there's people like me who can just roll right up Speaker it needs to be as easy as possible to book a vaccine it shouldn't feel like winning the lottery why is it that Londoners are finding out about how to get their vaccine on social media instead of from their government Well speaker I would say to the member opposite it's incomprehensible to me how you would consider the delivery of over 5 million vaccines in a short order in a little over a month is a failure in fact it's a great success and we are continuing to roll out those vaccines with over 2.9 million vaccination appointments already booked not to mention the vaccination appointments that are being booked through the vaccines the pop-up clinics that we have the many clinics that we have in various workplaces we're continuing to deliver the vaccines one of the problems we've had in the past has been the vaccine supply when we didn't have reliable supply chain we didn't have reliable delivery of vaccines but that is changing as of next week we are receiving significant amounts of the Pfizer vaccines we are receiving the Moderna vaccines we are going to be able to increase the number of pharmacies and other clinics are going to be able to provide them and we're going to be able to continue our job of making sure that every person in Ontario who wants to receive a vaccine will receive one in a timely manner the next question member for Ottawa Vandy my question is to the minister of labour it's really great that the government is finally taking action with a provincial paid sick days program after over 400 days into the pandemic maybe we can agree that this does not qualify as proactive and decisive action for paid sick leave to work it needs to be simple quick and seamless instead this program requires that employers be able to pay workers salaries uninterrupted submit claims and wait until they are reimbursed the science table has clearly outlined what a paid sick leave program needs to look like to be effective at bringing the numbers down this program does not fulfil those requirements in the US the introduction of an effective paid sick leave program resulted in an estimated 50% reduction in the number of COVID-19 cases per state per day so knowing the science why then the government implement a universal and accessible paid leave program that would provide uninterrupted salary support for a minimum of 10 days minister of labour well thank you very much and thank you for this very thoughtful question in fact Mr. Speaker when the minister of finance and I made the announcement yesterday we ensured that we let people know that employers are going to pay the workers and then the employers will be reimbursed through the province and the WSIB is going to be administering that program for us to reimburse small businesses and all employers as quickly as possible but Mr. Speaker we do need to continue all of us together work together to get through COVID-19 in fact Mr. Speaker we need the federal government to accept our offer to double that payment to $1,000 a week for four weeks that will ensure that workers in Ontario are getting $25 per hour to stay home when they're sick and that will incend people so they don't have to choose between a paycheck and their health supplementary thank you Mr. Speaker and again to the minister of labour I hear from essential workers in my writing feeling abandoned by this government every single day many have gone to work sick because they need to provide for their families this no doubt contributes to the continued increase of number of cases in my writing this new program falls short of what is required to bring the changes and behaviour that we need to see to bring the numbers down but the implementation of this program requires the urgent cooperation between this government and the federal counterparts does the minister commit to cooperating actively and urgently with the federal government to implement a comprehensive plan as soon as possible Mr. Labour Mr. Speaker yes next question thank you speaker Mr. College and University tomorrow is April 30th April 30th is a significant date in Sudbury right now because the first phase of Laurentian University insolvency process will come to an end MPP Jamie West has stood in this legislature repeatedly asking your government to step in and stop the CCAA process and there's no more time to waste I'm here to ask once again will the minister put in place a moratorium on this process we need to maintain all programs and allow all students to graduate in the program they intended to graduate from without having to take any extra courses or pay any additional fees this entire situation should not fall on the back of these students will the minister finally do the right thing and save Laurentian University MPP Mr. South and parliamentary assistant thank you speaker as I've said in this house before Mr. Speaker we understand the very difficult situation that students families and staff are going through at Laurentian University I want to make it clear Mr. Speaker that 90% of students affected 90% of students have not been affected and that the 10% who have we are working actively with the institution to answer your question directly yes we will ensure pathways to graduation yes we will ensure they are not disrupted Mr. Speaker we're working closely with the institution to do that and while I'm up Mr. Speaker I want to say we've increased funding for capitals for our universities increased funding supports to support with COVID-19 offsets we've increased funding for our francophone institution $74 million this government commits to francophone education in the north we've increased funding for our indigenous institutes and while I'm at it we've expanded funding for our university when it comes to securing our post secondary future in the north this government has been there every step of the way thank you Mr. Speaker thank you Mr. Speaker Minister of Francophone Affairs the CCAA is about to be over tomorrow Francontarians all agree whatever which group we're talking about we are talking about one thing we talked about what we're expecting from the ministry we want this university to work for and with Francontarians as a minister for the francophone affairs what do you think thank you thank you thank you Ontario invested in post secondary studies in French we will invest $74 million in 2021 that's added to the million dollars we've already invested if the federal government really wants to support Francontarians and post secondary studies in French the government he should this government should start by offering more services what is really disturbing about what we're hearing from that member opposite is that Mr. Speaker the NDP have had only one opportunity to form government in this province one and in this question we see why what a chilling foreshadow of their attitude towards post secondary education they want politicians to decide they want politicians to intervene in independent processes led by educational experts perhaps the most concerning Mr. Speaker is they want thank you very much the next question the member for Ottawa South member for Ottawa South has the floor I live a few blocks away from the general campus the Ottawa hospital and I've always heard orange helicopters going overhead they're very close so they're very loud there's a story, there's a family up there I hear more helicopters now because we have to move people and I want to tell you one of those stories one of those stories is about Jamie Newian's uncle who's 72 years old there was no room for him in the ICU at Scarborough they transferred him to the Montfort hospital he died there no family no supports alone they had to bring his body back and they got a bill for a thousand dollars it's a lot of money for a lot of people and so my question to the minister is Mr this is Ontario can you commit to ensuring that this family isn't out of pocket for this and that we ensure that patients who pass away are repatriated to their family at our expense thank you well first of all it is a tragic circumstance that this person passed away so far away from their family and my sincere condolences go out to his family but you're absolutely right no one should have to pay for this transportation and every effort is being made we will ensure that this family is reimbursed I understand they had already paid the cost but we will ensure that they are reimbursed and we are working with the hospital right now to ensure that and we will make every effort to make sure this does not happen to anyone else thank you I thank the minister for her answer and what I would like to hear you say is that you will use your existing authority to instruct hospitals that patients regardless of transfer whether dead or alive we do not face any bill for the circumstances that we find ourselves in I know what it's like to have a loved one transferred just two nights ago my family and I were up waiting for that decision and thankfully our relative was transferred to a hospital in the adjacent community people are afraid people are concerned for their loved ones and they don't need to feel is a health system that is letting them down because the virus is doing that job so I really need to be able to tell Jamie today from my community in Scarborough that this was a mistake we are very sorry and it will never happen again to another family Minister of Health well I would say to member opposite you're absolutely right this should never have happened this is a very very difficult situation I know for many families where their family member who may be very old needs to be transported to another hospital another part of Ontario to receive the care that they need but they should not be paying for the costs nor will they be required to pay the cost in the future this information will of course be made available to all our hospitals as I said before should not have happened and we will make sure it doesn't happen again so thank you thank you the next question the member for York South West thank you Mr. Speaker my question is for the Premier my riding of York South West is designated one of high risk we still wait mobile pop-ups and permanent facility I have heard the government talk of facine hesitancy the only hesitancy in our community is access to vaccines in addition to this government needs to pay workers so they do not lose wages while getting vaccines and those essential businesses they work at are asking the government to help arrange uncover casters of vaccinating workers on the spot will the government be proactive and move to take those effective measures to protect workers and their families Mr. Thank you thank you very much to the member for the question we are going to be accelerating our efforts because of the vastly increased supply of vaccines that we will be receiving throughout the month of May primarily Pfizer but also Moderna and we are going to be having more coming to mass vaccination clinics more to primary care centers more to pharmacies and more to pop-up and mobile clinics in workplaces or in places like industrial parks for example where people from smaller businesses can come at a time that's convenient to them perhaps on lunch hour and a break after work where they can come in and receive the vaccines we want to make this as easy and as accessible as possible for people and with the increased vaccines that we will be receiving we will be doing that in those pop-up mobile clinics throughout the province Thank you very much that concludes our question period for this morning I understand the government host leader has a point of order yes thank you mr. Speaker mr. Speaker I'm fairly confident that if you seek it you'll find unanimous consent to revert immediately to introduction of bills The host leader is seeking the unanimous consent of the house to revert immediately to introduction of bills agreed agreed introduction of bills I recognize the minister of labour training and skills development well thank you very much and I thank all colleagues mr. Speaker I move that Lee be given to introduce a bill entitled an act to amend the Employment Standards Act 2000 and that it now be read for the first time Mr. McNaughton has moved that Lee be given to introduce a bill entitled an act to amend the Employment Standards Act 2000 and that it now be read for the first time is it the pleasure of the house that the motion carried carried This is a bill entitled an act to amend the Employment Standards Act 2000 first reading of the bill from your lecture due for a little while I'll invite the minister of labour to briefly explain his bill if he chooses to do so well mr. Speaker people shouldn't have to choose between their job and the health that's why we're bringing forward legislation today to bring forward to all workers and their families in Ontario the most comprehensive plan of all the provinces in Canada to ensure that there's three paid sick days legislated through the Employment Standards Act and that we continue to push the federal government to double to $1,000 a week for four weeks thank you thank you introduction of bills point of order I would seek unanimous consent to immediately pass the Employment Standards Act 2000 Government House leaders seeking the unanimous consent of the house to immediately pass the Employment Standards Act the bill pertaining the Employment Standards Act 2000 it was just presented agreed heard and no I'll say one last time introduction of bills there being no further business this morning this house stands in recess until 1pm