 It is now time for Question Period, the leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition. Thank you, Speaker. First, I want to commend and thank the Premier for her opening comments there about the tragedy, the loss of life in Ottawa with the collision today. I want to well echo her comments that the hearts and prayers of Ontario PC members with the families, with the emerging support workers who responded quickly to the scene. I know my colleague Lisa McLeod has already raced back to her riding in moral support of families' impact. And I commend the Premier for a quick response and putting provincial assets to use. Thank you, Premier. Sorry, Speaker. My question to the Premier is very straightforward. Later this afternoon, we're debating a resolution in the name of my colleague from Topical Lakeshore, Doug Holliday, that is calling upon the province to keep its promise, the people of Scarborough, to actually build a subway according to the City of Toronto Council's wishes, which will go all the way to Shepherd Premier. Question. Are you going to keep your promise to the people of Scarborough and support the resolution today? Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And as the leader of the opposition knows that we are moving ahead with building a subway for the people of Scarborough, Mr. Speaker, we need to get going. There's $1.4 billion, Mr. Speaker, that we have put on the table. An additional $320 million for improvements to the Kennedy Station, Mr. Speaker. So well over $1.4 billion is available. That is the money that is on the table. And, Mr. Speaker, as the leader of the opposition knows, if there is other money that we don't know about, if the federal government, Mr. Speaker, is willing to step up, then that is a different discussion. But we are going to build the subway, Mr. Speaker, in Scarborough, $1.4 billion plus $320 million. That's real money. That money is available, and we need to get moving. Supplementary? Well, back to the – quite frankly, Premier, you're breaking the campaign promise. You were clear in the Scarborough campaign that you supported what the city had called for, which is a subway that threw Scarborough Town Centre to Shepherd. You were very clear about that. That was what the TTC had asked for. That's what was supported by Karen Stins, by Andy Biford. And then you unleashed your transportation minister to put a kindly who has been very erratic on this file. He's attacked the mayor, he's attacked Councillor Stins, he's attacked Andy Biford. I mean, he's attacked pretty well everybody under the sun because nobody supports his plan. So I ask you, Premier, clearly the behavior of your minister of transportation has been very erratic on this file. Don't you think that his decision to pull this plan out of his hat is erratic as well? Isn't there a better plan? And why don't you stick to what you originally said and build that subway through Scarborough Town Centre to Shepherd like you promised during the campaign. Just reiterate, we are committed to building the subway in Scarborough, which is what we said during the by-election, but quite frankly, Mr. Speaker, we said long before that that we were committed to building transit across the GTHA, including in Scarborough, Mr. Speaker, and that's what we will do. That the plan that's being put forward by the city is a $3 billion plan. There is no business plan to find the additional funds to build that plan, Mr. Speaker. We are moving ahead with an affordable, funded plan, Mr. Speaker, that will get a subway in Scarborough, quite frankly in a corridor that my understanding from these Scarborough members was always intended to be a subway, was always intended to be a subway for decades, Mr. Speaker, and so we are building that, we are building subway in that corridor, Mr. Speaker. I am pleased that the leader of the opposition is interested in transit, but in terms of erratic support for transit, Mr. Speaker, I would say that has been what's been coming from the opposition. Johnny Supplementary. Well, Peter, what you're doing is you're building a white elephant and you know it. I mean, nobody has supported this boondoggle of the plan. You're basically taking $1.4 billion, and let's be clear about what the standalone Murray Plan is all about, the Murray Wind Plan. You're going to have fewer stops. Order. You're going to condemn people to bus rides for years and years to come. You're going to end the subway at Warden Station. Nobody supports this plan. You actually, well, it's hard to pin you down as it is Glenn Murray, who changes his ideas every single day. First you were for LRTs, and then you were going to build a subway that the City of Toronto wanted, and now you flip-flop yet again. I just want to make it very plain and simple. You promised something during the by-election. It was the right thing to do. Why don't you actually keep your promise to go to Scarborough? You think they're from Scarberia. They should be full citizens in the City of Toronto. Do what you said. Do the right thing. Keep your promise. I've said it enough. Premier. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Well, I really think that kind of language does a disservice to people in this city, Mr. Speaker, and Mr. Speaker, who fought tooth and nail to preserve the integrity of this city. When that member, Mr. Speaker, was sitting in a government that was determined to undermine this city, that amalgamated the city against the will of the city, Mr. Speaker, so, Mr. Speaker, we are building a funded line. There is no point, Mr. Speaker, are not funded. There is $1.4 billion that we are going to use to build a subway, Mr. Speaker. If there is more money that the leader of the opposition knows about, then we should hear about that, Mr. Speaker. Thank you for the question. Here is the opposition. Back to the Premier, Mr. Speaker. Well, Leslie Frost, John Roebergs, Bill Davis, Mike Harris, all Bill Subway's, Bill Subway's on the ground, Allen Station's, Hesse McCauley, Hesse wasn't listening last week, but all do the score again. Please come to order. Thunder Bay out of Culkin, come to order. I am saying it with a straight face. Please finish the member from Eglinton, Lawrence, come to order. Mr. Speaker, but I'll remind my colleagues opposite of the score in the game. The number of subway stations opened for PC government 64. The number of the Liberals, absolutely. I think that Scarborough is off in another planet somewhere. I know when the guling gets tough, here's Scarborough MPPs. Scurry over here, like Mike's afraid to take you on. Well, I'm going to stand out. Thank you. Premier. Bill Davis. If the yelling is stopping you from hearing me say question, that's their problem. No, it wasn't. Trust me. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And there was a time in this province when progressive conservatives did build transit. $416 million renewal of Toronto Street car fleet. We're investing $600 million to build Ottawa's light rail transit. We're investing $300 million in Waterloo region's rapid transit, Mr. Speaker. We're investing $870 million to extend the Young University Spadina line, Mr. Speaker. 34 kilometres of dedicated later in York Region for rapid transit process, Mr. Speaker. And the list goes on. $16.4 billion in the GTHA. That's... Thank you. Supplementary. Well, thank you, Speaker. I mean, look, the... I know the members in Scarborough that you have near caucus. When the going is tough, they scurry away like mice. They're not going to stand up to you. I will stand in my place and I will fight for the people of Scarborough. I'll fight for the people of Toronto and we'll fight tooth and nail to make you actually keep your promise to build the Scarborough subway line. Like I said, you've made your promises. Andy Bifer from his experience with the... The Minister of Training College and University of Toronto. Sydney Transit and... The member from Trent, the Minister of Training College and universities will come to order. I will hold for a moment. In some cases, I normally try to keep the clock organized and other times I won't. Thank you. Finish. Well, thanks. I hear some heckling from members of Scarborough. I wish you'd actually raised your voice and cabinet and check your people. I'll be here instead of the cabinet to show some backbone and actually try to reach out to us because you're not going to... Andy Bifer, an expert, well-respected across the field. He says your plan isn't viable. Why do you think the Mayor of Winnipeg knows more about transit in Toronto than Andy Bifer in the TTC or the City Council? Let me ensure that. The member from Peterborough will come to order. Premier. Very much, Mr. Speaker. And the people who speak for Scarborough sit in this caucus, Mr. Speaker. The people who speak for Scarborough sit on this side of the house and they have been consistent. They have been consistent for years. They have said we need a subway in Scarborough and, Mr. Speaker, quite frankly, those have been the persuasive arguments that we have heard and that have moved us to this point. We are building that subway in Scarborough, Mr. Speaker. But here's the issue. We are going to invest in an economic strategy that includes investing in people, investing in infrastructure that communities need, Mr. Speaker. That includes transit in the GTHA and transit across the region and across the province, Mr. Speaker. And it means investing and supporting businesses that will help local economies to grow. That's what we're going to do, Mr. Speaker. Building transit is a fundamental of part of that strategy. I'm proud to address the weak-need liberal Scarborough caucus here. There's one thing they've been consistent in is their inconsistency. Last year they stood here and they voted against subways for Scarborough. Then they were the LRT champions and then during the by-election suddenly there were subway champions and now they're sharing the courage of field mice by scuttling away when they should be standing in their place and fighting for you to keep your promise. We'll see where they vote later today, Premier. Let me tell you this. I know that you don't like me comparing you to Premier McGinty, but I think it's very out. He was known as somebody who would say one thing and then he would flip-flop and break his promise later. At least Premier McGinty would take about a year or so to do so. You broke your promise, he voted Scarborough, within a matter of weeks. So please tell us you're not going to pull a McGinty. Please tell us that you're different from Dalton. Please tell us you're going to keep your promise and vote sure and dump Holiday's resolution in the House later today. Say it again first. Stand up. Thank you, Premier. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I'm very proud of our government's record on investment in transit, Mr. Speaker. From the day we came into office, we made a commitment to building transit and we've been doing that, Mr. Speaker, across the province. And I just want to say, I really, I don't believe that personal attack is necessary. I don't believe that we can talk about the substance of this issue and that is building transit and moving people around the region. Say, Mr. Speaker, is that I was, I had the privilege of traveling in the 680 news plane today, Mr. Speaker. I saw the congestion around the region. This is not about one subway line. This is about building transit, which we are doing and continuing to do. It continues there will be people not out of a job but out of the house. No, not really. It's the, my desire for it to rise, not lower. Leader of the third party, please. Thank you, Speaker. Again, by sharing the condolences and the thoughts and prayers on behalf of new Democrats for the families, the victims, the staff, all of the people involved in the tragedy that occurred in Ottawa this morning and we are hopeful that the community will overcome this tragedy in a way that gets them through it. It's quite a serious matter. Speaker, my question is for the Premier. My question is for the Premier. Will the Premier agree to unanimous consent so that we can open up the scope of the gas plants committee? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I believe that there is a discussion going on among the house leaders right now and I'll let the government house leader respond in the supplementary, Mr. Speaker. Supplementary. Well, Speaker, the Premier refused to answer this question last week and she said opening up the scope of the committee is a discussion that needs to happen and it's repeated again. Well, that discussion amongst the house leaders speaker has happened but answers haven't happened. Will the Premier agree to open up the scope of the gas plant committee so we can ask about attempts by Liberal insiders to influence the speaker? Or will she keep protecting people like the Liberal campaign director and senior Liberal staffers? Mr. Speaker, I'm a bit disappointed. I think the tradition of this house is that negotiations between house leaders happen at house leaders meetings but if the member of the third party wishes to get into it she is absolutely wrong, Mr. Speaker in standing here today and saying no answers have been given. In fact, answers were given, Mr. Speaker, through your ruling. Mr. Speaker, let's review the facts. I think all members of this legislature were concerned about the email exchange that came out this summer. We were concerned about the committee's ruling and we looked at potential ways forward, Mr. Speaker, around the scope of the committee or as the Honourable House Leader of the PC party decided to go ahead with a point of privilege. That point of privilege was very clear on a number of points. First of all that you were not intimidated and second of all that no attempt was made, Mr. Speaker, to intimidate you. So when you were taking a look, Mr. Speaker, now at the question around the scope of the committee I think we have to look at it. Thank you. Stop the clock please. I've tried to be as delicate and understanding as possible when it comes to questions in the House particularly in this particular instance it has come up again albeit from an original general idea. What you see happening now is that you're getting responses and questions geared to a decision that's already been made in this House and I'm asking that it be avoided it is not good for us not here in this House today but in the overall tenor of the place and the overall history of what could go on in the future. So I'm asking members to be very sensitive to asking questions about a ruling that's already been made to prevent the discussion that's happening. So I'm going to continue and I would ask the leader of the third party to make a comment. Thank you speaker. Last week the premier passed the buck for opening the scope of the gas plants committee to her house leader so we did our job and we took the issue to her house leader we asked for unanimous consent to expand the scope of the committee exactly what she told us to do but speaker we haven't got an answer now the premier likes to talk about openness but when it comes time to do the right thing and open up the scope of the gas plant committee as her predecessor was now will the premier keep her promise keep her word and back up our motion at the committee to do its job. Thank you. Mr. Speaker we have weekly house leader meetings we had a one last week those discussions are usually kept confidential but the leader of the third party wants to get into it. We had a discussion Mr. Speaker and we said we would continue that discussion no matter what the matter is Mr. Speaker and I'm aware of what you've said but Mr. Speaker your wording was very clear of what happened in that meeting Mr. Speaker and what the new Democratic party seems to be asking Mr. Speaker is that we hold hearings into an incident that never happened and I wonder Mr. Speaker why the... Stop the clock please I thought I was pretty clear but here's the problem I'm going to ask the question or give a different answer to accomplish the same thing as long as you stay away from the ruling I'm asking you to avoid the discussion of the ruling finish please Mr. Speaker I think we have grave concerns that the motion that has been put forward by the new Democratic party would do nothing to advance the work of the committee and Mr. Speaker I don't think so but in light of especially in light of your ruling Mr. Speaker and I trust that that is in order New question the leader of the third party Thank you Speaker my next question is also for the premier people actually want to trust their government and they want it to keep its promises they hear premier talk about fairness instead this is what they see they see her considering new taxes and tolls of up to a thousand dollars per family he's moving ahead with a tax loophole that will let corporations write off the HST on mails and expenses does the premier think that that's fair well Mr. Speaker I don't accept the premise of the question so here's the reality we are committed to and I've just had a series of exchanges with the leader of the opposition about our commitment to building transit and the leader of the third party I would have thought that would be supportive of building transit in the Greater Toronto Hamilton Area and Mr. Speaker building transit beyond the fact is that the reference she's making to what she's calling a loophole is not in fact a loophole Mr. Speaker the Minister of Finance has been in touch with the federal Minister of Finance and that is Mr. Speaker a separate issue because the reality is we need transit in the Greater Toronto Hamilton Area successive governments have not built transit and we need to continue to do that if we're going to be competitive into the future so our commitment stands we are going to continue building the infrastructure that we need to keep our economy cooking and to get it going Mr. Speaker people have watched as this government has played game after game after game with their public transit Minister of Transportation promised the people of Scarborough a subway but instead of a real plan now is a hot mess and people are more and more concerned that they're going to be stuck with the bill now does the Premier think it's fair to ask people to pay more this is the premise of the question does the Premier think it's fair to ask people to pay more while the province is opening up new corporate tax loopholes it's a matter of fairness that's the premise of the question Speaker thank you very much Mr. Speaker this is the question of fairness and we're not opening up new loopholes that's just not the case and what is not fair it would be for us not to continue to build transit it would not be fair to ignore the reality that people need options they need to be able to get on a train or get on a bus or get on a light rail vehicle they need those options in order to be able to move around the region in order to be able to get to work in a timely way to take their kids to school to visit their family members Mr. Speaker when I was in the 680 news plane today what I saw was as much traffic coming in to Toronto as going out of Toronto Mr. Speaker because people in Brampton and people in Newmarket and people in Durham may work there but they also may work in the city and vice versa people in downtown Toronto to continue building transit Mr. Speaker to not to do so would not be fair final supplementary Mr. Speaker people are tired of a government that cares about holding on to power but doesn't seem to care about the people who elected them the people of Scarborough were promised a subway instead they've gotten a messy messy fight that's going nowhere fast the people of Ontario were told that the government was going to be fair and the girls are moving ahead with corporate tax loopholes or liberal policy that gives a break to corporations letting them right off the HST whatever way you want to describe it it's the same outcome so they're going ahead with that policy but at the same time they're asking everyday people to get ready to have to dig into their pockets and pay even more now does the Premier think that that is fair President thank you Premier so I'm just going to step back from this for one second just so you know we're talking about our transit policy because we have a transit policy Mr. Speaker the reality going forward without a way to continue building transit and the leader of the third party to this point has put forward no strategy for building transit going forward Mr. Speaker my question is for the Premier as my leader has stated under the strong leadership of Premier Lestric Frost John Robarts, Bill Davis and Mike Harris Conservative governments have opened 64 subway stations it's hard to get one side when the other side chirps up when I'm trying to get quiet member put your question please thank you Mr. Speaker I guess it's unfortunate that the members opposite don't wish to really know the true history but these gentlemen that I just mentioned they're the true subway champions for our subway station 64 now in the last 10 years under Premier Dono McGuinty and Kathleen Wynn the Liberals have opened exactly none they haven't opened one station my question Mr. Speaker is when are you going to open a station and what's taking you so long Mr. Speaker the party opposite is proposing an insanity they are proposing to abandon years of planning a route that has not changed since Brad Dugud was a city councillor the member for Scarborough South center Mr. Speaker we have a fully funded completely provincially paid for subway to the Scarborough Time Center that you voted against even the heckling is one thing but props is another stop please and like every other time every other time in most of my adult life when there was a fully funded subway ready to go to the right place you voted against it you opposed it you stopped it and you're trying to do the same nonsense again Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker they've yet to answer the question when are you going to open your first subway station you haven't given us an answer to that yet the only thing about you that's consistent is the fact that you always change your mind and you do nothing nonsense announcements where you've got partners and you don't include the partners you don't even consider the fact the federal government said up until September 30th they wouldn't be prepared to make an announcement but you've just ignored that the city of Toronto voted when I was on that council and I supported it to build that subway up the shepherd but you've ignored that as well now when are you going to start listening to your partners and when are you going to get a darn subway station open Mr. Speaker you know I know they don't have many Toronto members but the one that they do have should get out more Mr. Speaker there are dozens of subway stations being built right now there are boring machines all up and down the Scarborough line there there are building machines up and down Eglinton Mr. Speaker there are we are now working on extending the waterfront there is 16 billion dollars being invested now we did this once before we did this once before we had a couple of governments that actually started building transit and then just at the moment the holes were all digging the stations were open you filled them in a matter of fact the member sat on his hands when I cancelled the Sherway extension in his own constituency they filled in Eglinton John Tory wouldn't be doing this Tim Hudak would Mike Harris would and that's the kind of Tories you are I think for the the short moment that I have and that I intend to ask you to listen to what I have to say it's unfortunate that we do start coming to personalizing issues in the House and that I have been trying my best to try to elevate the debate I want to make a simple comment it's not within my power to force you to do something you should intrinsically be able to do yourself new question the member from Nicolabelle thank you Mr. Speaker for the premier on June 8, 2011 my community lost two good men two minors Jordan Fram and Jason Chenier in a deadly accident in my writing evidence were in cover and shared with our community that clearly showed that their deaths were preventable a year later in 2012 the government finally laid nine serious charges but yesterday we were all stunned to find out that the government had agreed to a plea bargain and dropped six serious charges Premier you owe it to my community to explain why did your government agree to drop six charges so my thoughts and prayers are with the families of the two people who were lost the Ministry of Labor has completed its investigation charges laid under the Occupational Health and Safety Act as the member knows a total fine of a million dollars 50,000 plus 25% victim fine surcharge was imposed this is the highest total fine ever levied in Ontario for contraventions of the Occupational Health and Safety Act protecting workers and keeping them safe on the job is the Ministry of Labor's top priority it is what they exist to do and obviously one worker killed on the job is too many and our government will continue to work hard to protect the health and safety of workers across the province 11 miners have died on the job since 2007 and yesterday plea bargain is cold comfort to the families who have lost loved one people in Sudbury want to know who in your government agreed to this plea bargain and why did you do it people in Sudbury want to know who in your government agreed to drop those six charges and why did you do it because right now for the people in Sudbury we really don't understand how could this have been done and Speaker I don't understand either very much Mr. Speaker and I think the member opposite knows that I don't have the details of some of the specifics that she has she's asked me what I do know that corners inquests are automatic Mr. Speaker for all mining and construction fatalities so there will also be a corners inquest into these fatalities to follow Mr. Speaker so that more answers will be available so I think those are the kinds of reviews that need to happen Mr. Speaker I know the Minister of Labor was working with all parties and as I say that corners inquest will follow Thank you Mr. Speaker my question is for the Minister of the Environment when it comes to the issue of waste I believe we all want to protect the environment and pass on a cleaner healthier world for not only our children but our grandchildren I understand that embracing individual producer responsibility for managing products at the end of their lifespan here in Ontario continues to be an ongoing discussion Speaker through you the environment provide the house with an update on waste management in Ontario and speak to individual producer responsibility Thank you Mr. Speaker we've heard from the environmental commissioner we've heard from both opposition parties from stakeholders in the recycling system and from the public and that we've heard that the old waste diversion framework that we inherited is fatally flawed there's a consensus that we need a new approach to increase recycling to better protect our environment that's why we introduced the Waste Reduction Act the proposed act would require individual producers to be financially and environmentally accountable for recycling the goods they sell in Ontario the act would be used to boost recycling in the lagging industrial commercial and institutional sector the government has been carefully reviewing public and stakeholder feedback on the act and strategy and the documents were posted on the environmental registry on June 6 of this year we will continue to work with producers with municipalities with service organizations and with other partners to make the proposed legislation even stronger and I look forward to that input from everybody again my question is for the minister of the environment residents want to know that products at the end of their lifespan are being recycled they want to be sure that their household hazardous waste are being safely and properly treated the current 2002 legislation has been widely criticized for being inefficient for stifling competition by mandating recycling clusters and for not rewarding design or recycling innovation speaker through you could the minister of the environment please share with the house the proposed new waste reduction act would implement a new regulatory approach that transforms the municipal hazard special waste and electrical waste programs from what they are today to producer responsibility incentives that deliver solid environmental performance thank you Mr. Speaker should I must say the answer to the member is a resounding yes yes it will bring a new approach that ends the old recycling monopoly mandated in the 2002 legislation yes it will implement real individual producer responsibility yes it delivers solid environmental performance and economic efficiency in fact the members question reflects precisely the sentiments reflected in a news release from my very good friend from Kitchener Conestoga and I have listened to all members of this house I have listened to all of those who would have any direct involvement in recycling and waste aversion the province want to know and I am looking forward with enthusiasm and optimism to strong support from my good friends of the opposition thank you Mr. Speaker my question is to the premier just a few weeks ago at AMO I listened very carefully as the premier spoke to municipalities and committed that she would work with them in partnership on infrastructure and transit just a few days later her transportation minister made an announcement about a subway plan that neither the TTC nor the city of Toronto and even her agency Metrolinx seemed to know nothing about I would like to know from the premier what happened to that spirit of cooperation that she committed to at AMO and will she agree to set that imposed plan aside and work with the city of Toronto and the TTC to build a subway to Scarborough the way that it was promised so pleased to be able to work with municipalities across the province because as the member opposite knows infrastructure investment in one part of the province looks different than another part of the province so the 100 million dollars that we have put into the roads and bridges and infrastructure fund for rural and northern Ontario will build a different kind of infrastructure than the light rail and the bus rapid transit and the subways that we're building in the GTHA but I'm surprised that the member opposite would focus on this one line because the reality is he knows perfectly well that York region is in drastic need of improved transit Mr. Speaker and that it's very important that we move ahead it will be impossible to build the Young Street relief line that's needed in order to be able to expand into York region because that has to happen in order to be able to do that without a revenue stream Mr. Speaker so we're committed to building transit across the GTHA Well Speaker the reason I'm focusing on this one line is because that is the basis of our discussion today and it is the subject of our motion this afternoon we are wanting very much to take the Premier up on her commitment to work cooperatively with municipal partners while the municipal partners in this particular case is the TTC the city of Toronto and I'm asking once again will the Premier simply in the spirit that she committed to work with municipalities agree to keep the promises that the Liberal Party made build that subway into Scarborough the way it was committed and support our motion this afternoon will she do that? Thank you very much Mr. Speaker we're building the subway into Scarborough we're building it on the same route that was detailed in the big move Mr. Speaker we are building that subway that commitment is strong and it's funded remember Mr. Speaker it's funded that $1.4 billion that we have to get moving Mr. Speaker the member opposite my guess is and I don't know but my guess is when he was Minister of Transportation he knew that there was a need to build transit in the region Mr. Speaker my guess is that he might have advocated for transit building within his caucus Mr. Speaker unfortunately no one took him up on that if he did in fact do that advocacy Mr. Speaker but we are we are building in the region we know how important it is in Hill and Oshawa and Brampton and Mississauga we know Mr. Speaker how important it is that we stay on track and build the transit that's necessary for this economy to thrive Mr. Speaker Thank you, new question My question is to the Minister of Training and College University Minister students need access to good quality university programs students are struggling to afford the costs of PSE and many simply can't afford to move away from home to attend specialized research universities today elite government report has been circulated that suggests the government could be forcing universities to specialize and reduce the range of degrees they offer Ontario universities already received the least funding per student than any other province in Canada this government refuses to place students at the center of their policies why is this government forging ahead with plans for drastic changes without even consulting students Mr. Speaker, students are at the center of all the decisions and all the policies we're making when it comes to post-secondary education strategies in fact Mr. Speaker I have been sitting down all summer with the sector in a series of round tables working together to go move forward and move our system into a state of competitiveness global competitiveness I've also been sitting down at the same time with students to talk about the very same issues and we've had some great input from students all summer long and we continue to respond to that input I've said to the member that very soon will be announcing changes to flat fees to deferral fees something that students they don't believe in the current system is fair to students we also brought in a 100% off tuition program with which is benefiting 230,000 low and middle income students today across this province Mr. Speaker, it's all about listening to students Thank you Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker, forcing universities to specialize and reduce their graduate and undergraduate courses undergraduate course offerings was a part of the government consultations last year yet now the government is forging ahead with secret discussions with unnamed educational leaders to impose such a change forcing universities to specialize could reduce regional access to degree programs undermine university autonomy and lead to a system to have and have not universities will the minister stop looking at the cost-saving measures behind closed doors and start consulting with students about the changes it's secretly considering Mr. Speaker I'm not sure how to respond to the secret meeting comments because those discussions have been known by everybody including the media we've been talking about the fact that we're sitting down with the sector in round tables to talk in detail we're sitting down with students and I've been talking to media all summer long about these so-called secret discussions Mr. Speaker, anybody following education in this province knows that we're working on a differentiation policy, knows that we're working on improving credit transfers so students have an easier ability to transfer through the system from college to university to university and college to college they also know Mr. Speaker we're looking at important issues like online learning these are transformational issues they're challenging issues but they're places we need to go to maintain our globally competitive post-secondary system and we're going to keep working in the interest of students to ensure we continue to provide that globally competitive system Thank you Thank you very much Mr. Speaker my question today is for the minister of economic development trade and employment manufacturing and food processing companies have operations or headquarters in my community in my riding of Vaughan with the global recession now behind us here in Ontario many of my constituents have come to me with questions regarding job creation and economic development opportunities now I know Speaker that our government recognizes the strengths coming out of different parts of the province of Ontario and we also recognize that regional economic development initiatives help to create a strong climate for our domestic businesses to succeed and grow. Speaker through you to the minister could the minister please provide the house with an update one that I can take back to my constituents to let them know about what our government is doing to bolster economic development in Vaughan in Ontario Thank you Mr. Speaker and thanks to the member from Vaughan as well for this important question yesterday after with so many of my colleagues here in the legislature after visiting the international plowing match the privilege of visiting Kitchener and Waterloo and making two important announcements totaling over 1.6 million dollars Mr. Speaker which helped to create more than 110 new jobs and protecting and sustaining nearly 500 more these of course are out of the Southwestern Ontario Development Fund I want to say Mr. Speaker that these the Southwestern and the Eastern Ontario Development Funds are among the best funds that my ministry has to support local projects, local businesses and in fact under Premier Wynn's leadership since February alone these two funds have created with the private sector partners and retained nearly 7,000 jobs across the province leveraged our 26 million dollar investment so far has leveraged more than 250 million dollars from the private sector Thank you very much Mr. Speaker and I thank the minister for that very informative answer and for all of his hard work on these files it is great to know what kind of work our government has been doing over the last number of months to support sectors across the province so that as the minister mentioned they can leverage investment and create good meaningful jobs the people of Ontario have worked together to create a strong economy which has relied on major sectors like manufacturing like the auto sector and recently of course the Premier announced renewed funding to help promote locally grown food in the agriculture sector Mr. Speaker through you to the minister could the minister please inform the house what the ministry is doing to make strategic investments into these key sectors here in Ontario Thank you minister Mr. Speaker I had two important and I have to say highly interesting and informative visits yesterday one was to a company called Conestoga Meat Packers in Breslow employing 475 people in fact 50 of those new of those of that workforce are employed because of the investment that this company has made and with today get together with the Ontario government he arrived there there's a big sign outside saying we're hiring they're looking at 100 new employees they're going to be increasing the plants capacity by nearly one third they're exporting to 30 countries around the world it's a fantastic company and then I went down to Cambridge to Kinetics Noise Control fascinating company as well we're creating jobs together in partnership with them making this investment very interesting that this company actually in the new jobs created are producing acoustic materials used in the tunnel ventilation system for the new Shefford subway line so yes we are building transit in Toronto and it's creating jobs in Cambridge Mr. Speaker Thank you The question was going to be for the Minister of Environment but I'll go to transportation because it is transportation related residents in the north part of Dufferin County have been receiving letters that they are for the first time going to be required to complete a drive clean test before renewing their driver's license my constituents have not moved and yet they are now being asked by MTO to pay for a drive clean test because Canada Post has changed the postal codes when I wrote on behalf of residents asking for an explanation your ministry told me it was an oversight that they have been exempted since the program began and now they must pay Minister it appears that this decision to include them now more than 10 years later is simply another cash grab by your government Are your recent postal code changes just a minor excuse for you to squeeze more money from hard working Ontario drivers Thanks Mr. Speaker I will the first thing Mr. Speaker I'd like to say to the member I want to thank her for her question and I promise I will follow up in particular of the case and appreciate that there is some frustration there with the constituent of yours and that's the job of MPP's here and I commend her for raising the issue what we are trying to do Mr. Speaker is as our other jurisdictions in Canada as one of the members opposite pointed out I have some experience in one of those is that most provinces are running to a cost recovery for automobiles for example my mother who is 86 just retired she gave up her car to pay for things that those of us who drive cars so when you get your driver's license or you are paying to get the air quality standards so our kids would ask Mr. Speaker we ask people to pay a modest rather than taxing everybody it's a cost recovery measure it's consistent with one of the provinces and what the states are doing and it's good policy Mr. Speaker Order In case the member from Renfrew didn't hear it I get this because supplementary please Mr. this is not about cost recovery this is about a cash grab these people did not pay they have been exempt from the drive clean program suddenly I've been working on this for three months all I'm getting from your civil service is they must pay now they should never have been exempt what are you going to go back ten years and charge them for it I want to see this decision changed ultimately I would actually like the drive clean program to be eliminated Mr. Speaker again I want to thank the member opposite she's doing her job as an MPP I thank her for raising this issue it's obviously a big province with 13 million people one of our jobs in the house Mr. Speaker is to speak up for people who sometimes get overlooked and I appreciate her doing that again it's cost recovery one of the things this government is also doing is by law it has to be cost recovery and we cannot overcharge for more than the cost of the service and that's good and transparent Mr. Speaker one of the things that my friend the Minister of Government Services the Honourable John Malloy is doing is he's working on an open data process so that people will actually be able to go on and see the cost of services and they'll be able to see the price and that will be completely transparent Mr. Speaker as we're doing Mr. Speaker our planning transit lines they can see that for example the Scarborough Town Centre justifies a subway and some of the other options make no sense so we're all about open data and evidence Mr. Speaker so people can see for themselves and make their own judgment thank you Mr. Speaker Waterloo thank you Mr. Speaker my question is for the Premier it's not just the people in Scarborough who are trying to figure out what this government's transit plan is people outside of Toronto want better transit service to get to work and travel out of town instead people in Kitchener Waterloo and nearby communities have seen our via service cut and have been left with a go train service that isn't meeting the transit needs of our residents last night people in St Catherine's came together because their via service cut is being cut they want to know what's going to happen with their transit in Niagara what is the Premier going to do to improve transit in communities outside of the GTHA thank you Mr. Minister for the transportation and infrastructure Mr. Speaker I want to thank the member for Kitchener Waterloo because I know this is again a very sincere question and well asked the issue is this the Conservatives in Ottawa that would be our friends who filled in the Eglinton subway line and Froze Go transit service also have benefited another gift being completely consistent in their behavior being the contrary of their rhetoric they cancelled half the via service from Kitchener Waterloo to Toronto interestingly there's been massive reductions on via service the Ontario Liberal government as it always does added two trains to Kitchener we thought we were increasing by almost 50% the service to Kitchener because we realized it's important to realize is that we were just offsetting cuts by the Federal Conservatives the same people over there that tell you they're subway champions and via champions when they get into power and have the coaster so I regret that the people in Kitchener Waterloo have the same service they had before the difference is they have two more go trains and two fewer via trains and the feds cut the service as soon as they started it it's not just via service this government promised two way to Kitchener Waterloo and Townsend but while the government is picking fights over a Scarborough subway it has delayed two way all day go service for almost 15 years the government cancelled the Ontario bus replacement program which helps municipalities like mine without subways to maintain their bus fleets commuters, students and families outside of the GCHA are wondering why their transit priorities are at the bottom of the pile when will the premier stop playing transit and begin building transit for Ontarians who have waited long enough thank you Mr. Speaker Chair, ceiling, Mayor, Zare are wonderful friends they're nonpartisan during elections they're positive folks they pay one third of the costs or more sometimes of transit in Kitchener we pay one third and because it doesn't have a 416 area code the federal government pays one third it's a great relationship here in Scarborough we're paying 100% of the cost and we're building it to the only place that makes sense and the same place that's been in the plan this is the only government that's not changing the plan the city's changed the plan to go under single family homes and to miss the Scarborough Townsend how do you build a subway to Scarborough that doesn't go to the Scarborough Townsend we haven't changed anything, the lines on the map are the same, the opposition suggest the lines have changed, clearly they don't read budgets and they don't read maps I should refer them to the colleges and universities for some upgrading Mr. Speaker we have added the service I think your question remember from Mississauga streets well thank you very much speaker this question is also for the Minister of Infrastructure and Transportation Minister in western Mississauga transits a big issue we need that plan capacity expansion of the third and the fourth track on the Milton goal line people want to leave their cars at home and they need viable transit options when they need to commute and when they need to go where they have to go to go to school or to go to work good transit planning and implementation is not just what you do it's when you do it and how you do it and how you involve people in the communities along the transit corridor and in the service areas in the implementation Ontario uses some database tools to help plan transit routes all derived from data from our urban environment would the minister please describe what data our government uses to help plan transit routes Thank you Mr. Speaker a matter of fact the Ministry of Transportation which does the work not Metrolinx has the richest databases as does the growth secretary I have offered all of this data to my opposition critics so they can see the same numbers I see you will see why the Ministry of Transportation and Metrolinx said stick to the original plan and build the subway to the Scarborough Town Centre because those data Metrolinx and I corridor are built on two things the big move and places to grow and the Scarborough Town Centre is an urban growth centre it will generate lots of ridership we know from millions of dollars and years of planning there the same thing in Mississauga the here Ontario LRT is absolutely critical to reducing congestion when put through the I corridor process we will have a lot of investment in jobs Mr. Speaker as well as have high ridership as will the Eglinton Crosstown and in closing Mr. Speaker we also modeled some of the past projects Thank you Member Minister making decisions based on how people use transit and on what their urban environment looks like now and in the future is important so is using technology to let people have their say and to test their opinions to test their preconceptions and theories against what reality is now and what reality will be in the unfolding future the I corridor application is open to the public and our residents in Lisgar, Meadowvale and Streetsville would like to use it that type of involvement would keep people from supporting idiotic policies like filling in evidence based subway lines that are already under construction Minister how can Ontarians use the I corridor application to see how government decisions on transit are actually made Minister Thank you I appreciate the members both interested in transit and information technology right now today you just go click click on the MTO site and what cascades down is the richest source of data and open source data there clearly available to the TTC to developers and to citizens to understand that and to the opposition and I met with and offered it to them I've actually offered that our staff will give them a completely independent briefing Metrolinx is doing this when we actually started planning the Metrolinx projects we did not have the advantage of this data Mr. Speaker I gave a presentation this morning so we are now improving our performance I have said to the members opposite if you actually believe in evidence based decisions based on land use, access and ridership take the ideas what you'll find a new line Mr. Speaker has no ridership it actually doesn't go to the Scarborough town center it goes under single family homes unless you want to tear up the upper middle class Scarborough Thank you New question, the members from Simple Great Thank you Mr. Speaker My question is for the Minister of Finance Minister on May 18th three years ago the pension benefits amendment act received Royal Assent after getting all party support in this house very well this legislation is needed to help thousands of public sector employees merge their pension benefits so that they can retire with benefits they've already paid for on March 30th two years ago I asked your predecessor the Minister of Finance why he had since ignored this bill and not introduced the necessary regulations at that time his response was and I quote we are engaged in a range of consultations those regulations will be promulgated shortly end of quote can you stand up in the house today and tell us anything different on this issue than your predecessor told us two years ago Minister of Finance Thank you Mr. Speaker I appreciate the question and I appreciate the concern from all sides of the house when it comes to retirement planning in the province of Ontario and it's one of the reasons because too many Ontarians almost 40% don't have a pension plan or retirement savings plan in our budget more recently the one by the way that you didn't support which is the pool of RSV plan a PPRP an employer plan and alternatives to try to support those Ontarians in need and we will continue to also advocate for enhanced CPP with the federal government Thank you Mr. Speaker Supplementary Minister I couldn't have been more fair to you I spoke to you just after you were sworn in as Minister of Finance I handed you a letter to five letters since last December on this issue I've raised this in the house on several occasions I did a private members bill that was debated in this house and voted upon thousands of paramedics thousands of MPAC employees through no fault of their own in the late late 90s had their employer changed they might have been working for the calling wood hospital ambulance service and are now working for the county of Simcoe so their pensions would have been merged automatically if they were police officers moving from the calling wood town police to OPP because it's in the police act four years ago your predecessor did put it in the budget three years ago it received royal assent but we've been waiting three years there are thousands of public servants and everyone's riding waiting to retire this doesn't cost you any money you simply have to transfer the money so that all the credits are put together in one pension plan and they get the pension they paid for Mr. Speaker I appreciate the enthusiasm and the spirit and the concern by the member I do but what is important is what has been done and what we continue to do to support those Ontarians who require support and there are speed in fact pension reform is underway it's in this budget something that you didn't support we have it on page 276 talking about some of the requirements and some of the initiatives that are underway now in fact some of the work that we've done has actually been able to support and save taxpayers of the $2.4 billion this year alone while protecting pensioners we need to ensure that a pool pension plan exists that all those initiatives and all those individuals have safeguards we would support your recommendations provided you also support what's in it and we need your help the member from beaches east of York thank you very much Mr. Speaker to the Minister of Finance in April of this year my office was contacted by Randy and Jeanette McGibbon Randy along with 87 other employees was laid off when Unilever ceased to operate in 2002 the former employees have been waiting for 11 years for surplus pension funds that belong to them as one member said and I quote him I hope we get our money before we die the Financial Services Commission of Ontario has had this file since 2007 and nothing has happened except delay after delay a speaker the Minister of Finance seems to think that 11 years is a reasonable amount of time for these workers to wait but my question to him will the minister now instruct FISCO to take immediate action on this file so that these workers can finally receive their money 11 years after the fact Minister of Finance again I appreciate the question and I appreciate the concern being expressed I will in fact endeavor to review exactly what the member is asking we all want what's best for those families who are impacted we want to ensure that those that have invested do have their money we want to ensure that those that are deserving of support receive it thank you Minister out of point of order as an MPP born raised in Scarborough I take great offense to remarks made by the PC leader earlier in question period I know where you headed please I know where you headed it's not actually a point of order except to say that any member that says anything in this house has an opportunity and a right if they believe they've said anything that's untoward that I myself did not catch or any other member did not catch if there was anything said in this I'll wait I'll provide time for any member who wants to correct their record at any time and if there's somebody here that wants to do that now I will be free to do so and if not the member from Sumco Gray on a point of order Mr. Speaker I seek unanimous consent from the Committee on Justice Policy to allow questions related to the motivation and intent of Liberal staff and advisors to meet with the Speaker regarding the Speaker's finding of a primary facial case of privilege but shall not include the Speaker's confidential discussions the member for Sumco Gray has asked for unanimous consent to put forward a motion do we agree I heard a no the member from Cambridge is not making himself any brownie points right now there are no deferred votes this House stands adjourned until 3pm this afternoon