 It is now therefore time for question period, the leader of Her Majesty's model opposition. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Premier. On May 1, hydro rates will rise again and life will get even harder under the Liberals. Despite the Minister of Finance trying to convince everyone that hydro prices are going down. Still shaking my head about that. Why would everyone pay more for their hydro bills? Because Ontario families use less energy. Only in the Liberal government's Ontario. I actually thought it was a joke the first time I heard it. Mr. Speaker, does the Premier think it's okay for families and seniors to pay more when they are using less? Thank you. Well Mr. Speaker, individually those people would pay less. Who use less. And Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition knows that the Ontario Energy Board is an independent regulator. With a mandate to protect the interests of Ontario rate payer. That's not helpful Minister. But I am going to say that I will not tolerate outbursts like yesterday. Carry on please. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. And the energy conservation is proven to be successful and provides savings for consumers on every bill Mr. Speaker. And you know the time of use pricing Mr. Speaker offers opportunities for savings. I would also say to the member opposite that the programs that we have put in place to help low income seniors and other residents of the province Mr. Speaker are designed exactly to help those people that I hope the Leader of the Opposition is talking about. Thank you. Supplementary. Mr. Speaker back to the Premier. A letter to the editor in the North Bay Nugget hit the nail on the head. There's some smart folks in North Bay. Murray Byers wrote to the paper and he said he thought the goal was to reduce electricity use. Yet he continued and this is his letter to the editor when electricity consumption actually declines the knee jerk reaction was to increase rates. Just yesterday the Premier announced $43 million in funding for energy retrofits to improve energy efficiency. Yet under the Liberal government that means higher energy prices for everyone. Mr. Speaker can the Premier explain are the people of Ontario supposed to conserve energy or are they supposed to use more energy so their hydro rates don't go up. You've created an impossible situation. As I said before individual consumers who conserve Mr. Speaker pay less on their energy bills. You know the investments that have been made in the electricity system to make sure that we have a reliable electricity system a clean grid Mr. Speaker. Those are investments that were needed because of years of neglect in the electricity system. We've been rebuilding we've been rebuilding this system when we came into office in 2003 Mr. Speaker there were brownouts and blocks. Next time I stand I may have to move immediately into warnings and if that's what's requested it will happen. I would like the member from Simcoe Gray to come to order at least when I'm standing at least when I'm standing. Premier. Thank you Mr. Speaker and the member who was muttering under his breath might want to explain why there had not been investment in transmission lines Mr. Speaker. Why there had not been an upgrading of the grid for the whole time that he was in office Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker back to the Premier. So hydro bills can be summed up like this in Ontario. You use too much energy. You pay more. You conserve energy. You pay more. No matter what under this liberal government you pay more. They try to muddy the waters. They try to confuse this. The reality is they have messed up hydro prices in Ontario. They have messed up the energy sector and they are responsible for it. No matter what because of this liberal government you pay more for electricity and life gets harder. They've already overcharged Ontario according to the AG by 37 billion dollars. And we lost almost three and a half billion dollars in energy over the last two years because of the overproduction. If Ontarians unplug their TVs, turn off their lights and keep the AC off they still pay more. How much longer does the Premier expect the people of Ontario to subsidize power for other provinces and other states? It's ridiculous. Thank you. Premier. You know we've taken strong action to mitigate the cost of energy for families and businesses to introduce new programs to lower costs Mr. Speaker. The Ontario Electricity Support Program which supports low-income families Mr. Speaker has benefited almost 80,000 households in Ontario. Mr. Speaker, we shut down the coal plants. We've invested in the electricity system in this province Mr. Speaker. We don't have smog days. It's a clean grid Mr. Speaker. This party opposite is filibustering the climate change bill. Coming from both sides. Premier. They actually have no commitment to making sure that we maintain a clean electricity grid Mr. Speaker. We don't know Mr. Speaker but what we do know is that they're not interested in today and they weren't interested in it when they... New question. Leader of the opposition. Mr. Speaker, back to the Premier. The only strong action this government is taking is subsidizing hydro rates in Manitoba, Quebec, New York and Michigan. And the only leader that is happening is by the Minister of Energy, the Minister of Climate Change who had to amend his own bill 70 times because he bummed. But let me read with you another note. This one from Matt Barbeau from Sault Ste. Marie and he wrote on our Facebook page he has a cottage that is unoccupied in winter months and uses no power. But it cost him more than his home in town that he lives in year round. And I know the government wants to laugh about this. They're insensitive to the bills that people are struggling to pay. But the reality to my question is why are you putting hard working on chairs in this position? Why can't you get the hydro sector right? Thank you. Premier. Mr. Speaker, I am extremely sensitive to the needs of the people in this province. Mr. Speaker, for a clean, predictable electricity system that is reliable to people and businesses to count on that electricity grid. I'm also very sensitive to the fact that there are low-income and low-middle-income families in this province who need support, which is exactly why the Northern Industrial Energy Rate is put in place. Which is exactly why there are electricity and property tax credits put in place for seniors. Those programs are all designed to help people to be able to deal with energy costs. But I'm also sympathetic to kids with asthma who need clean air. Mr. Speaker, that's why we shut down the coal plants. That's why we've made the investments. And that's why we have a clean grid in this province, Mr. Speaker. Do you see it, please? Do you see it, please? Mr. Speaker, back to the Premier. The Premier said that they're delivering predictable. Predictable, the words she used, hydro prices. The only predictable prices we're getting, when you give away three and a half billion dollars of power in two years, the only predictable prices you're getting is in Manitoba, Quebec, New York and Michigan. Because of your government. Helping individuals in Ontario. You know, Joanne McDonald-Schroeder wrote us a note and she said she has two properties up north. One on a vacant lot that has no power at all. The one lot did however have a hydro pole and they got a bill. No hydro, but they got a bill for $179 delivery fee. So my question for the Premier, these bills that you're sending out, these charges to hardworking Ontarians, is that to pay for the four million salary you just gave Ontario's hydro-CO, the highest salary in Canada for a hydro-CO? We'll just say to the member opposite that we have worked very, very hard to upgrade the electricity system in this province that needed to be upgraded. That was not reliable, Mr. Speaker. It certainly wasn't a clean grid, Mr. Speaker, and it had been neglected. Over 10,000 kilometres of line had been built, Mr. Speaker, because that had not been done under the previous government. And there was a cost associated with moving off of coal. Now, if the Leader of the Opposition wants to move back to coal, he better be clear about that with the people of the province, Mr. Speaker, because this afternoon, Mr. Speaker, one of his members is going to be talking about the evils of wind power, Mr. Speaker. One of his members is going to talk about how she doesn't believe... The member from Prince Edward Hastings will come to order. And if the member chooses to say again, as soon as I ask him to stop, then I'll give him a warning. Wrap up sentence, please. About how she doesn't believe in clean renewable power and, Mr. Speaker, her colleagues are filibustering a committee on a climate change bill because they don't believe in that either. The member from Sarnia-Lampton will come to order. Final supplementary. Mr. Speaker, the drive-by smears and whip-by Oshawaan coal didn't work, and they're not going to work right now. We need to address the facts. The facts are hydro bills are going up beyond belief. Abe Everly wrote me a note to say his hydro bill was $98 a month in the summer two years ago. Now they are paying $220 a month. This is just in less than three years. He can't afford it. It's not right. And although the Minister of Finance says hydro bills are going down, I want to ask the Premier directly, do you believe in the Minister of Finance's fantasy world where hydro bills are going down across Ontario, or do you recognize the fact that bills are going up through the roof because of your government's incompetence? Waiter, please. It doesn't really matter where you sit in the House. Just a reminder to the Chair, please. Premier. This leader of the opposition who is out of step with the 150 countries that are in New York today reaffirming their commitment to climate change reduction, this leader whose members are going to fight renewable energy tooth and nail, he can stay on that path that that is his choice. What the Minister of Finance said is that we have a long-term energy plan, Mr. Speaker, and that the rates are not increasing at the speed that we had laid out, Mr. Speaker, because we are applying downward pressure to those electricity rates. We have competitive rates. If you look at our neighbouring jurisdictions, Mr. Speaker, we are going to continue to make the investments in our electricity system. Answer, Premier, please. It's clean that we'll keep it renewable, Mr. Speaker, and we are going to continue to fight climate change. I don't mind the exercise, but if you make me get up right after I sit down, then I'll do it. The member from Nipissing come to order. You have one sentence, please. We are going to fight climate change, and as the Deputy Premier said, what price does the leader of the opposition put on asthma, Mr. Speaker? Thank you. No question, the leader of the third party. Thank you, Speaker. May I start by asking MPPs in the Chamber and others to thank and congratulate the legislative library staff on 30 years of fantastic service with our press meetings. My question is for the Premier. The leaders of the three Ontario's largest political parties, together with Democracy Watch and newspaper editorial boards, are all calling for an inclusive, nonpartisan process for reforming party and election financing laws in our province. Does this Premier believe that the Green Party, Democracy Watch, the editorial boards are all trying to store... Minister of Aboriginal Affairs. ...meaningful reform, Speaker? Mr. Speaker, we have put forward a process that is the definition of democratic because it is the way this legislature operates, Mr. Speaker. This is a democratically elected legislature. There is a process in place whereby legislation is introduced, is consulted upon, and Mr. Speaker, we've expanded that process by proposing that we send the legislation after it's introduced to consultation after first reading My hope was that the House leaders were going to be able to agree on how there might be input from the opposition parties before the legislation was drafted, Mr. Speaker. I still hope that that may happen. And I look forward, I look forward to the consultation where we will get commentary on many of the things where there is consensus, Mr. Speaker, in terms of the banning of union and corporate donations. But we'll get refinement on those because I know that there are opinions around the province and we look forward to hearing those. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, the Premier wants to have new election rules in place by January 2017, and I don't disagree. In fact, I told her that directly. Ontario can have, however, a non-partisan panel that includes political parties and civil society recommend those new rules and we can have legislation based on those recommendations drafted and passed well in advance of January 2017's deadline, Mr. Speaker. It is a timely process, but more importantly, most importantly, Speaker, it is a process that is credible and will be respected by Ontarians. Will this Premier abandon her efforts to control this process in favour of the Liberal Party of Ontario and agree to start the ball rolling today on a non-partisan, open and transparent process that the people of Ontario are now demanding? I want to continue to talk about process. I understand that. She wants to go through a process and then after that introduce legislation and then after that have another consultation, Mr. Speaker, which will drag out the process. I understand that for her own political reasons she wants to continue to have that conversation. What we want to do is we want to get going, Mr. Speaker. We want to get the legislation drafted. I would love to have input from the opposition leaders. I would love to have input, Mr. Speaker, before the legislation is drafted and then we can send the legislation out for consultation. Because there are a lot of questions associated with what should be in that legislation and I would love to hear from the leader of the third party, for example, whether she thinks, as I propose, that we should introduce leadership and nomination campaigns, spending limits and donation rules, Mr. Speaker. I would love to know if she thinks that we should reform by-election rules and what we should do, Mr. Speaker, in terms of by-elections that may be coming up sooner rather than later. I haven't heard from her on those things, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would love to know if this Premier actually believes in the tenets of an open democracy. That's what I would love to know, Mr. Speaker. It's a dream that this Premier continues to hold this untenable position around election finance reform. The Liberal Party, Mr. Speaker, the Liberal Party actually used to believe that it was anti-democratic for one party and one Premier to unilaterally change election laws. Mr. Speaker, a lot changes after 12 years in power apparently because now this Premier is doing her best to discredit anyone who questions her unilateral plan to change Ontario's election rules to favour the Liberal Party of Ontario. Please, Leader. To favour the Liberal Party of Ontario. As one newspaper editorial wrote, changes will be, quote, best delivered through consultation and cooperation, not bulldozing, end quote. That's exactly what I'm calling for, Mr. Speaker. What the Green Party is calling for. What democracy watch is calling for. When will the Premier stop trying to... Thank you. Premier. You know, Speaker, what's kind of interesting in here is that the third party seems to think that they are immune to the issue of fundraising. And I strongly disagree with that, Speaker. In fact, let's just kind of review some of the very special events that have been hosted by the Leader of the Third Party. There was one at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. I bet it was wonderful, limited to 10 guests, $9,975 a person. I'm Speaker. Private stakeholder social at the Gardner Museum. That was... No, it was actually a year ago. A year ago, yeah. And it was 10... A member from Hamilton, East Stony Creek can do a walk-by heckling all he wants. I'm still going to call him on it. Answer, please. Speaker, 10 lucky guests paid a bargain basement $9,975 to a 10. Thank you. I'm sure it was lovely. Thank you. New question? The Leader of the Third Party. Thank you as also for the Premier. I have been ruled that the Liberal government violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms with Bill 115. Will this Premier take this opportunity to apologize to parents, students and education workers for trampling on collective bargaining rights and throwing our schools into chaos? Obviously, it's just come down. Mr. Speaker, I was very clear when I ran for leadership in 2012 and 2013, I was very clear that I had problems with Bill 115. Bill 115 has been repealed. We have established a new bargaining process. We are working with the education sector and I believe that the move away from Bill 115 was exactly the right thing to do. Thank you. When the Liberal government introduced Bill 115, this Premier said everyone did what they thought they needed to do. Actually, everyone from teachers to the Canadian Civil Liberties Association including new Democrats knew that Bill 115 was unconstitutional. Known into chaos in 2012. Why she was part of a cabinet that chose to put political grandstanding and political interests of her political parties of people to free... Thank you. Thanks very much, Mr. Speaker. Again, that I was very clear when I ran to be the leader of this party, I was very clear that I was not happy with Bill 115. I was not happy, Mr. Speaker, with the relationship with the education sector. My career, Mr. Speaker, has been built on partnerships within the education sector on the management and the employee side, Mr. Speaker. I would stand up any day for the education sector to talk to this place. Final supplementary. Some things never change when it comes to liberal self-interest, particularly in terms of their timing. Yesterday, the court ordered the province to discuss the remedies for violating the charter with Bill 115. The Liberals were warned, Speaker, in 2012 that Bill 115 would end up costing our province. And it has in many ways, Speaker. That Ontarians will be on the hook for paying remedies is because the Liberal government thought that trampling on teachers' bargaining rights would help them win a by-election in Kitchener Waterloo. Now, how much, how much is this Liberal government's self-serving decision going to cost the people of Ontario? Thank you. As I said, Mr. Speaker, the decision is being reviewed. And you know, the heckling from the other side is did I vote for Bill 115? Mr. Speaker, I was a member of a cabinet. I was a member of a cabinet and I was working to the very best of my ability to do what... The member from Renfrew's second time. Finish, please. Mr. Speaker, the reality... Wrap up, please. What I'm making, Mr. Speaker, is that at the first opportunity, in the leadership, I made it very clear that we were going to make changes if I was elected leader, Mr. Speaker. We've made those changes and I will continue to work with the education sector to the very best of my ability. Thank you. Last Friday, the Premier met Cliff McIntosh from my riding of Thornhill at the autism rally held at her constituency office. Mr. Speaker, I'm sure the Premier will agree that Cliff, very clearly and ably, communicated the progress he made as a result of starting IBI therapy over the age of five. Does the Premier agree Cliff clearly communicated the benefits of IBI beyond the age of five? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I was very happy to meet Cliff and I was happy to meet the other... There were a couple of other people at the... at my office and I was happy to have an opportunity to talk with them, Mr. Speaker. And to, you know, to make it clear again and I think Laura was one of them and I'm happy to have a further conversation with her. But Mr. Speaker, I also made it clear that what we are doing is making sure that as children come off a wait list where they are not getting service that we move them into service, Mr. Speaker, that has the intensity that is right for them to a program that is tailor-made for them and that there is a transition plan, Mr. Speaker, as they come off the waiting list. One of the fear-mongering that has gone on is that somehow they're coming off a waiting list and there is nothing that will happen. That's not the reality. The reality is that as these children who are not getting service come off the waiting list into a transition they are getting service as part of that transition, Mr. Speaker. And to my mind that is much more important than languishing on a waiting list and getting no service whatsoever. Back to the Premier. Thank you for your call. You promised that you would have a further conversation and that hasn't happened. The Premier spoke to Cliff. She saw how well Cliff articulated the benefits he received from IBI therapy after the age of five. According to your own ministry documents, 85% of the kids currently receiving IBI therapy are over the age of five. 85% of children who will now be removed from this critical therapy simply because they've had a lot of trouble with their children are being removed from IBI therapy May 1st. Removal. No transition plan. Your transition plan is to transition kids onto another waiting list. Premier, it's never too late to do the right thing. Announced today you are reversing your decision and allow kids over five kids like Cliff to access IBI therapy. Thank you. Premier. I think it's important to recognize that children who are receiving IBI services today are not being removed from service. They are being assessed. Speaker, they're being assessed by clinical experts at their next Order. Take a look at the speaker. Minister. Thank you, Speaker. It is a very important point that children who are getting IBI will be assessed at their next scheduled clinical assessment and a transition plan will be developed. If they need more intensive services speaker, they're going to get that service and we will make sure that the plans are very flexible and individual based on that child's needs. That's the intention of the new program. Thank you. Good morning. Good morning, Speaker. My question this morning is to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Good morning, Minister. Speaker, last week the government quietly sent around a proposal to strip tenants of some of their rights. The proposal was sent to just four stakeholder groups and not released to the public. The groups were given just one week to provide feedback. The document basically blamed tenants for the lack of affordable housing in Ontario. The solution according to the government is to give landlords more powers to evict people. Speaker, can the government provide one shred of evidence or any peer related study other than the anecdotes of a few landlords showing that more evictions could create new affordable housing units in Ontario? Thank you. Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Well, Minister, good morning. I'm a member from Windsor-Dagubzi and a member. I always appreciate the members' questions because they're usually substantive and thoughtfully put, and I appreciate that. You know, Speaker, in a perfect world we'd have as dark as that is the members from Land Arc will come to order. We're still I remind the member we're still on this side of the house. In a perfect world we'd have perfect we'd have perfect landlords and we'd have perfect tenants and we'd have no need at all for a landlord and tenant board because everything would be fine. But until we live in that perfect world, we need the landlord-tenant board and the protections it affords and we're proud, Mr. Speaker, of the protections we've provided for both landlords and tenants in the province of Ontario. Well, there could be many reasons, Speaker, why people aren't creating more affordable secondary suites to rent to tenants, restrictive zoning bylaws, high property taxes come to mind, but the government says no. The real problem is tenants. The solution is more evictions. By the way, Speaker, it just so happens that the third biggest campaign donor in Ontario is a lobby group representing wait for it, wait for it landlords. Why is the minister blaming or basing his affordable housing policy on the anecdotes of liberal campaign donors and not on facts and objective policies? Mr. Speaker, there are a number of potential remedies that can help us to increase, enhance the availability of social and affordable housing. There have been some advocates on the other side and we've embraced their advocacy around inclusive zoning, secondary units, what have you. The comments and reflections in the consultation paper are not our proposals, they're things we've heard from the sectors. The fact that we sent it out to four groups, it was a pre-consultation release, sent to four groups that we knew would have an interest who might help us to shape the consultation papers. That's a standard process when you're doing government policy. We're going to be moving ahead. We're going to be looking at potential changes to the Land War Tenant Board, better remedies that will make processes more effective. Mr. Speaker, introduce new protections for both tenants and Land Wars and make it easier for small Land Wars to stay in the game. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question this morning is to the Minister of Northern Development and Mines. Our government is continuously working to support the mining industry in northern Ontario. I understand that our government recently announced a renewed blueprint for now on how we build our industry's well-earned global reputation. As the Minister knows, the mining landscape is constantly evolving and you can just look in my writing of Sudbury with great mining companies that are continuing to evolve. So Mr. Speaker, recognizing this changing landscape and the importance of the mineral sector to Ontario's future is a key part of the mineral development strategy. So Mr. Speaker, please update this House on what this government is doing to enhance our ongoing support for the mining industry in Ontario. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Sudbury for the question. He's absolutely right. The mineral industry is so critical for Ontario and particularly for communities in northern Ontario. Ontario accounts for over 25% of mining jobs in Canada, 26,000 directly, 50,000 indirectly, and the mineral sector is also the largest private sector employer of Aboriginal peoples in Canada. And in addition Ontario is also the leading jurisdiction for the exploration and the production of minerals in Canada and remains a major player around the world. We are committed to attracting new investment, supporting innovation in the mineral exploration development sector. In fact, Mr. Speaker just recently we announced that the northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation will be investing $5 million in a junior exploration assistance program which will help exploration and certainly will be part of our renewed mineral development strategy. Thank you. Thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to the minister for that answer. So Mr. Speaker, it is clear that this government is committed to developing the mineral exploration industry in Ontario. The mining industry is critical to communities like my own as it helps more than 26,000 direct and 50,000 indirect jobs. Funding a program to assist junior exploration will provide financial assistance to qualified individuals carrying out exploration activities. Excuse me Mr. Speaker. Minister, I understand that recently the northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation awarded the Ontario Prospectors Association $5 million in funding to create an incentive program called the Junior Exploration Assistance Program or GEEP. So Mr. Speaker, can the minister please tell us more about the Junior Exploration Assistance Program and the significant of this very, very important investment? Question? Thank you. Minister? Thanks so much Mr. Speaker. This is really a great program. We recognize the challenges in the sector, particularly in the junior exploration sector and we want to be able to provide much needed financial support to see more of those projects come forward. So building on the core expertise of the Ontario Prospectors Association the Junior Exploration Assistance Program or GEEP and the funds associated with will be administered directly by the OPA, the Prospectors Association to junior exploration companies across the north. The $5 million investment to this program we believe can support more than 45 exploration projects. So this will clearly help promote long-term competitiveness and continue to track jobs and investment. We are excited about this program Mr. Speaker. It will help support a healthy competitive and sustainable mineral sector and another part of our plan to build Ontario up. Thanks so much Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Any questions? My question is to the Attorney General. It was disturbing to hear that for over a month a significant SIU report sat gathering dust in your office. The report was an investigation into the fatal shooting of an individual here in Toronto. The SIU investigators did their job but the SIU director did his job yet the Attorney General could not be bothered to do hers. To have the Chief Law Officer of this province ignore this report for so long is tantamount to willfully frustrating justice and clearly demonstrates confused priorities, lack of compassion and absence of sympathy and erodes the public's confidence in her office. Why did the Attorney General report herself the moment she received it and demonstrate the utmost respect not only of her office but more importantly to a grieving family? Thank you. Attorney General. Thank you Mr. Speaker. I'm sure the House that I was very well brief twice on this report and that I've read the report. Mr. Speaker, public confidence in the transparency of police oversight is a priority for our government. So we recognize that there are concern about the current process. We have a responsibility to ensure that the public is being served. That's why we have committed to a public consultation. So it is our objective that the review and public consultation among other things when and how best to release the report. So we will be appointing a reviewer as soon as possible. We have announced that. And my ministry will begin consultation on police oversight in the community. Thank you. Again to the Attorney General my question was about why she didn't do it. This is not just another government report full of numbers and figures. It's an investigation into why someone died. A father, a husband, a son, a person was killed. It is deserving of immediacy not briefs. The Attorney General's lack of action and compassion has brought clouds of doubt over her office. They've embarrassed her colleagues in law enforcement and has exposed her inability to fulfill her duties. Were there just too many ribbons to cut or fundraisers to attend or checks to cash? Speaker, can the Attorney General explain to this House what was so important that took priority over this investigation and justified her turn in her back? Not just on the family of Mr. Locu but on all of Ontario. Thank you. Mrs. Speaker, I've heard the concern in the community. I've heard the concern from everyone from all our stakeholders that the process need to be reviewed. I heard it from the SIU, I heard it from the police officer, I heard it from the community, from the black life matter. I've heard it. So that's why we will initiate this consultation and so again when and how best to release the report. It's important that people feel good about and that are reassured that what is in the report that they cannot see. That's the question that is being asked. So we wanted to answer to the concern of the public and the consultation will help us to find the way when and how best to release the report. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Premier. Speaker, today members of the Ontario Cancer Society, cancer survivors and their family are with us at Queen's Park and they can tell you that no one fighting cancer should have to fight for drug coverage as well. Yet in Ontario today the cost of cancer drug taken at home are not. Patients are forced to pay out-of-pocket for their life-saving medication or fight for reimbursement through personal insurance or trillium. The problem has gotten so bad, Speaker, that one in six cancer patients in this province say that their out-of-pocket drug costs are significant or even unmanageable. Manitoba, Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia all do the right thing. They cover the cost of cancer drug taken at home. Ontario should do the same. Will the Premier do the right thing and extend full public coverage for cancer drugs taken at home? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the question. I welcome the many members from the Canadian Cancer Society who are joining us here today. They know and we all are here, not just in Canada but around the world. We have one of the best chances of survival of anywhere in the world, Mr. Speaker. We cover more than 3,800 drugs to fight cancer, Mr. Speaker, including we have added to that new drug funding amounting to more than $1.5 billion in the last decade, Mr. Speaker. We have in fact tripled the amount of money that we invest in cancer drugs. We have added 57 new cancer drugs to our formulary in the last decade. 33 oral treatments as well in reference to the member opposite. We know that there is more work to be done. The CCO, the Cancer Care Ontario is working on this together with my ministry. Supplementary? Well, it has been reported that called for equitable access to cancer drugs regardless of whether they are administered in a hospital or at home. The ministers have had this report for a year and a half. This report says and I quote public drug coverage for take home cancer medication should align with the funding model for hospital administered drugs. As simple as that, Mr. Speaker. Cancer patients have been waiting for a year and a half for governments to act. They are tired of waiting, Speaker. They are frustrated. They cannot afford to keep paying out of pocket for drugs they need to literally save their lives. Will the premier and the minister stop stalling, stop delaying and provide full public coverage for at home cancer drugs? Mr. Speaker, as a government and as a ministry there is everything we can to provide the highest quality of care including for cancer patients around this province. I know that there is more work to be done. We are well aware of the cancer care Ontario work that they have done and is ongoing. My ministry is working with them as well. We have made available either through the Ontario drug program or through Trillium for example opportunities for individuals that are challenged. But I want to end as well Mr. Speaker I know the member opposite knows about the Ontario cancer system and she herself said just a couple of years ago saying that she marveled as to where we are at in Ontario with cancer services. We are one of the best in the world and I think that part of this is because of the fantastic work that CCO does every day. I agree with her on that. I think cancer care Ontario does an exceptional job. They provided us with important advice Mr. Speaker. More than almost 4,000 drugs are used. There is more work to be done we are prepared to do that work. Thank you Mr. Speaker. My question is for the minister of transportation. My constituents in Barrie are very excited to see our government reinstating the connecting links program as part of budget 2015. For some time municipalities told us that making connecting links projects eligible under the other infrastructure project was not sufficient. That is why we now provide small rural and northern municipalities with expanded access to predictable, stable and annual funding. While the opposition refused to support the reinstatement of this fund in 2015, Ontario municipalities including Barrie have continued to praise our government for delivering on this file. Mr. Speaker, can the minister please tell the members of this house more about the new and improved connecting links program? Thank you. Minister of transportation. Thanks very much Mr. Speaker. I want to begin by thanking the outstanding member for Barrie for being an extraordinary representative for that important community. Last year this government was extremely excited to announce the reinstatement of a stand-alone connecting links program as part of our budget 2015. I was very pleased recently to be in Ontario to highlight some enhancements that are being made to this important program. This government speaker is now committing $20 million to municipalities through this program in 1617 with funding increasing to $30 million per year by 2018-2019. This is just one more important way that we are showing our long-term commitment to Ontario's rural and northern communities and to the families that live there. Something that the opposition clearly does not support against this funding in budget 2016. So Speaker, while the opposition has chosen to vote against providing municipalities with more infrastructure funding we'll continue to take decisive action to build Ontario up. Thank you. Is he recognizing? Thank you Speaker and I want to thank the minister for his response. I like many people living in my riding was thrilled to hear that our community will be receiving funding through this new program. There are 352 connecting links in 77 municipalities across the province. Many members of this House have connecting links in their ridings. Because of the demand for the program was so high this year I understand that there have been some concerns expressed by municipalities that did not receive funding in the first intake. These municipalities have questions about the process that was used to select this year's recipients. Please tell members of the House more about the application process used for the new connecting links program. Thanks very much Speaker and I appreciate the members follow-up question. Applications officially opened in November and we were pleased to receive a total of 60 applications from right across the province of Ontario. Ministry staff evaluated funding applications based on technical lead and safety issues. In our first intake Speaker these projects included those coming from across the province whether in Barrie or Smith's Falls or Speaker in the riding of Peterborough and Havelock and many regions the highest priority projects typically involve bridges or pavement and very poor condition Speaker. Ministry staff will continue to be available to municipalities in order to provide advice as needed. We would encourage all municipalities Speaker that can qualify for funding thanks to apply for the next intake of this program expected to be announced later this year. Thanks very much Speaker. Thank you for your question. Remember from a simple break. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Whenever I tell the minister his government is putting pilot safety at risk by allowing the WPD wind turbine project near the Collingwood regional airport I get the answer that Transport Canada and Nav Canada aren't concerned because the Collingwood airport is a registered aero drone and not a Transport Canada certified airport. Therefore its operational airspace is not protected by Transport Canada that means Transport Canada will not interfere with the province's decision to approve the placement of wind turbines within the operational airspace of the airport. Hence flight risk namely the 500 foot tall wind turbines the Liberals want to put a stop being reviewed or assessed by Transport Canada or Nav Canada as they have no authority to act. Will the minister finally his government is putting pilot safety at risk by allowing this wind turbine project to proceed. Thank you. So first of all the member opposite and I appreciate his concern is a former member minister of the environment so I know he's very familiar with how these decisions are made. The first is these are not decisions made by the minister. I do not have any say at all and my job is to protect these decisions by the director from Mr. Speaker becoming political. So this is a director's decision made on technical evidence. The director Mr. Speaker insulted several times with Nav Canada and Transportation Canada I have in front of me Mr. Speaker her notes three pages from about half a dozen meetings at each and every time Nav Canada and Transportation Canada who are the experts unlike myself and the member opposite said there were not safety issues here that were at all material. Surely he doesn't want to supplement you. Mr. Speaker I think the minister should be ashamed of how dismissive he is of not only the concerns of the people in my riding a simple gray but pilots across Canada from North America. This is a very busy regional airport. 11,000 takeoff and landings a year. The fact that up until this point you've been hiding behind Nav Canada and Transport Canada. I'm glad to see you didn't do it today because you know you've been wrong all the way along. It's a regional airport not a certified airport and I have but it's you guys that changed the law and took away the planning authority from local municipalities so that they could direct where these things project should go. And no local municipality would ever put 500 foot tall, 50 stories tall wind turbines within 2.1 nautical miles of the end of a runway. That's about four seconds after you take off Mr. Speaker and government planes go in there and Gary will help you when you're in a runway and you have to go into that airport. Especially when it's snowy or foggy or rainy we're just off Georgian Bay. Change the law cancel this project Minister Thanks Mr. Speaker This is a kind of passing strange. I didn't know the member office that was an expert in aviation or environmental law Mr. Speaker The difference Minister Thanks Mr. Speaker. I actually asked Mr. Speaker about the history and they reviewed this as the director and found several cases where there are many aerodrones and airports in which there are similar structures and similar proximity to the airport. I have an airport in my constituency Mr. Speaker where the planes fly past very tall buildings and smokestacks that are much closer than anything in this case. But the preposition of the member Mr. Speaker is that we should not the doctor's decision can be appealed to the ERT of which six people are. Another expert Mr. Speaker Thank you. My question is for the Premier High pressure door-to-door sales of hot water heaters and air conditioners is a problem in many communities across the province including my community in Hamilton. Often it is the most vulnerable elderly and infirm residents who are the victims of these tactics and the pressure to sign into high interest leases that end up costing them tens of thousands of dollars in interest that they have no hope to ever repay. There are countless stories of these tactics being used by companies like the Ontario Energy Group. The Ministry of Community and Consumer Services has known about these tactics of this company for years now since 2009 but only last week was it announced that the company is facing charges and only in new market. It took so long to lay these charges and why is the scope of the investigation limited to just one area of the province? Thank you. Thank you very much. I appreciate the question from the member opposite. We take these issues very seriously with respect to consumer door-to-door sales. It is one of the reasons why we passed Bill 55 the stronger protection for consumers act which in fact expanded the length of time that consumer has the right to get out of a contract. In Ontario for any contract there is a 10 day standing rule where an individual can for any reason whatsoever decide that they don't want to be in that contract and they have that ability. We also have an enforcement division in the ministry they have been investigating on an ongoing basis. There were 142 charges laid with respect to a particular company. That matter is going obviously before the court. We take action speaker where it is appropriate to do so and we're standing up for consumers on a daily basis in our ministry. Thank you. One of my constituents a widow on a fixed income received a notice that her home has a lien on it from this particular company. Her option pay high monthly payments for a hot water heater that she didn't need or pay up to thousands of dollars to break a contract she never signed. What does the premier have to say to this widow in my community who has to pay up or lose your house notice from this company and doesn't have time to wait for the government to get around to looking at this company's actions in Hamilton. Thank you. We are very concerned about any individual who may be misled at the door about their particular contract. They have the ability to get out of their contract. We know in section 14 of the legislation that if an individual has a disability if they don't understand the contract if there's a language barrier they in fact have up to a year to get out of that contract if there's a particular individual who has not contacted our ministry I'd be happy to take that information be happy to be aware of that information the ministry will act. Absolutely speaker we are concerned about these issues we continue to strengthen this legislation to protect consumers in Ontario and I encourage those individuals to bring those concerns to our ministry. Thank you. Thank you Mr. Thank you Mr. My question is responsible for Elders The number of seniors is growing rapidly particularly true in my own riding of Etobicoke North as you may appreciate in the last century one of the triumphs of medical science and public health is that life expectancy is almost doubled from 40 to 85 but of course seniors years can be a time of a second childhood of frailty and compromise of activities of daily living and so seniors are often confronted with a decision tree where they have to think about downsizing giving a comfort of their own home where they may have lived for many years and even raised their family so seniors have many decisions to make for example they may ask what should they do where should they go what type of housing may suffice and how much will this cost Speaker can the minister please inform this benefits of a retirement home and what these have to offer our seniors Thank you minister responsible for seniors issues Thank you to my colleague for this very good question Returning home speaker our community designed for seniors who want to live in lifestyle and have the choice of support for daily their daily living residents should feel safe speaker and comfortable in an environment that reflects their own homes and not a facility they may provide services such as meals preparation, pitting assistance, administering medicine the service of a healthcare professional and much more speaker seniors choose a retirement home for freedom of the home enjoying privacy while knowing someone it's aware of their well-being belonging to our community of peers and participating in social activities and having an answer knowing that they are living in a safe and secure environment speaker seniors expect safety and the comfort of a home without the worry or work Thank you Thank you speaker Thank you minister Mr. Speaker is the quality, the standards of living its upkeep and facilities seniors often raise questions in my own riding of Etobicoke north about the level of services care and safety for example what resources do they have when they face problems while living in a retirement home who is responsible for monitoring the units to ensure they are in good condition who is responsible for the upkeep and maintenance finally when a problem arises the minister please inform this chamber about how Ontario seniors in a regulated retirement home to seek redress how they can seek redress when problems arise thank you minister thank you to the remarkable member from Etobicoke north about 50 000 residents and seniors living in retirement home speakers they have very strong protection under the retirement home act legislation speaker introduced first by this house back in 2010 the act speaker also created the retirement home regulatory authority which educates inspector retirement homes to ensure they meet the standards that they are required as of july 2012 speaker a retirement home that wants to operate has to obtain a license and comply with the retirement of the act including speaker protecting seniors from cancer and neglect mandatory standards of care mandatory safety plans including emergency fire plant mandatory staff training and hosting very prominently the seniors below all right thank you speaker thank you no question the member from storm octana south point gary the minister of government and consumer services you gave direction to public services to appoint a practicing real estate professional from susie marie to the real estate council of ontario you did so despite knowing that your three appointees to the board must come from outside the profession to ensure consumer voices and interests are fairly representative by doing so you overruled the public appointment secretariat and your own mandate it's disturbing and sad that the reaction to getting costs was to another patron's appointment was to throw your ministry staff under the bus the memo memo was approved by no less than three senior ministry staff but the email the memo clearly expresses the opinion you are breaking the established rules on public appointments ministry you got caught and rather than responsibility you're blaming senior officials who are just doing their job will you step aside question the integrity minister completes investigation thank you minister government and consumer services mr mr speaker this question is completely reprehensible the member is being critical of me for making an appointment that i never made and for not following advice i never received my deputy did not have that information the deputy did not receive that information that is disgusting we have a open transparent public appointments process that applies to all ontarians and we follow that in our ministry speaker i cannot believe this individual a junior level staff person in our ministry who is helping his office with another matter related to our ministry inadvertently sent his constituency staff an email and attempted to recall it it had confidential advice to me that i had never yet seen nor the deputy had seen and instead of recognizing not he chose to politicize it and make a media service out of order please thank you it's uh it's never too late to ask somebody to leave oh i would please join me in welcoming in the east members gallery the member from the former member from ottawa center in the 34th 36 37 38 parliament mr rickard pat also um also i have some extremely sorry and sad news no this is uh i'm bound i'm bound by duty to announce it this is the last day for our pages for their service to ontario i've also been told that they're volunteering to come back next week uh the government house leader on a point of work i think i also want to introduce a good friend who's visiting from ottawa mr art event choke welcome to queenspark we have a deferred vote on government notice of motion number 64 relating to the allocation of time on bill 172 an act of respecting greenhouse gas calling the members this will be a five minute bill sure please all members please take their seats all members please take your seats on wednesday april the 20th 2016 is jasps move notice a government notice of motion number 64 all those in favor please rise one at a time be recognized by the clerk is jasper jasper mr bradley madame sir suza his win his win his matthew mr huskies his sander his sandals his mccharles mr quinter mr quinter mr coal mr colt mr tacar mr tacar mr brard netty mr delaney mr delaney mr dillon mr delin mr orzetti mr grovelle mr grovelle mr mcmeakin mr mcmeakin mr murray mr chan mr chan mr morridi mr cotoh mr cotoh mr leal mr flinn mr zimmer mr zimmer mr amla long mr quadri mr dixon mr dixon his mangas mr crack mr crack his mom his mom his hunter his hunter mr sergio mr del duke mr del duke his domariland mr frazer mr frazer mr anderson mr anderson mr baker mr baker mr baller mr baller mr dong mr dong mr hogar mr hogar mr koala mr molly mr mcmalli mr martin mr smiggyrie mr smiggyrie mr mcman mr milchin mr this night is night u haras the pot mr potz mr rinaldi mr rinaldi his graniel his tibo all those opposed these rise one at a time be recognized by the court mr thompson mr thompson mr harner mr harnamans mr harnamans mr wilson mr wilson mr jones mr jones mr brown mr brown mr fiddell mr fiddell mr yakibusky mr hillier mr hillier mr miller perry soundless goka mr miller perry soundless goka mr mcnaughton mr mcnaughton mr scott mr basher mr barratt mr monro mr baler mr bailey mr sph..... mr smith mr harris mr harriss mr nickles mr nickles mr martel mr mcdonnell mr mcdonnell mr coons maps ma sha Belgium andina western'Stres canonz mr tabas mr miller Hamilton eastony creek mr miller Mr. Natashak, Ms. Forster, Ms. Campbell, Mr. Montauk, Mr. Hatfield, Ms. Gretzky, Mr. Gates, Ms. French. The ice being 53 and the ice being 38, it's time to motion carry. There are no further...