 It is now time for question period the leader of Her Majesty's loyal opposition And I'll be saying a speaker to my my colleagues and all sides Thank you for the standing ovation for the birth of a little little maitlin I presume that though was for Debbie because I actually had a lot easier But thank you to my on my colleagues with very kind Best wishes and congratulations. I'm a question speaker is to the premier premier I Notice that when you change your cabinet after minister Jeffrey left cabinet you decided to increase the size of your cabinet Yet again, I think leadership starts at the top. This is the second time we've chosen to expand your cabinet Don't you think that was a mistake? No, mr. Speaker, I don't think it was a mistake and We actually You know, we need we need the people at the table to make the decisions and do the work that is required mr. Speaker and So I made decisions have put two people into Cabinet who are very confident experienced and are bringing very important voices to the table And mr. Speaker in terms of in terms of this in terms of the size of cabinet mr. Speaker I understand no different than yesterday Very up to stand that the leader of the opposition has 34 shadow cabinet positions. So mr. Speaker, that would be You're not getting raises you're not getting limousines you're not getting extra staff No, here's a difference premier, and I think you know this What you've done by adding on additional cabineters now for the second time is it shows that you're more interested in appeasing liberal NPPs and Taxpayers in the problems. That's a problem. I have hard-working MPPs I'm proud of them, but they don't get raises when they're in the shadow cabinet yours do they get drivers and staff So here's a contrast. I want to raise for you. I visited actually a real Cabinet maker the other day surgery and here he runs Hallmark furniture He's actually a real cabinet minister maker He's gone from 40 employees down to four under the liberal government because the cost of doing business I'll actually want to send a signal to him that we've got our fiscal house in order. We're gonna grow the economy I want to see his cabinet business increase, and I want to put yours on a business quite frankly You know I understand that this is a this is a gimmick that the That the leader of the opposition wants to focus on He was a member of a cabinet under a previous government that had 26 members in it mr. Speaker So the fact here to do in this government mr. Speaker. I have I'll have to do what I didn't want to do the member for rent from nipissing Pembroke come to order the member from Nipissing come to order and the member from Chatham Kent Essex come to order Very on please. Thank you very much, mr. Speaker, and I heard someone say that I'm dismissive I'm not dismissive of the concerns of the economy of this province mr. Speaker I'm not dismissive of the need to put in place the strategies that are going to create jobs I am dismissive member from the opposition mr. Speaker who is putting That would actually stop job creation in the province mr. Speaker that would cut the economic growth that would force Good jobs out of the problem. That's what he's putting. We're not it. Thank you final supplementary You know Sadly, you have been dismissive of concerns of Surgery to hear and other job creators cross problems. I mean you once called Manufacturing job losses a myth. I saw it in person sadly now they went from 40 and house leader come to order I want to see them get back up to 40 That's why I'm focused my million jobs plan of creating environment for entrepreneurs like this to succeed to hire again To go to 40 for the 40 the minister of rural affairs will come to order You actually have now more cabinet ministers than you do back ventures and non cabinets I think that sends the wrong signal to job creators about your seriousness and balancing the books of province So let me ask you this very directly. You are focusing on quantity rather than quality of your cabinet I think you should reduce it down to 16. I think that's the appropriate size to send the right signal And a big difference between you and me. So Premier will you accept my challenge actually instead of growing your cabinet Reduce it down to 16 get them focused on jobs in the economy and send the signal to taxpayers that you're serious Thank you for your mr. Speaker, you know, I'm the the leader of the opposition is is focusing on Cost here, you know, there's a lot of work to be done and we I have I have the cabinet that We need in order to make the decisions and put the policies in place that will move us forward but mr. Speaker the the leader of the opposition in fact his party is blocking a piece of legislation that would actually Freeze would continue the freeze on MPP salaries, mr. Speaker So if he's so concerned if he's so concerned about the wages and the cost of MPP's in this part That's enough Order Carry on we don't think it's appropriate mr. Speaker for MPP's to have an increase The leader of the opposition would work with us to freeze the salaries mr. Speaker, thank you new question The leader of the third party. Yeah, sorry the leader of the opposition. Hey speaker back to the back to the Premier Well, look premier. I think you know this as soon as you table legislation and MPP wage freeze wages are frozen I think you know those facts that's done and I've been calling off for that for years But here's the here's the opportunity Premier, let's actually do something that's going to save the taxpayers two billion dollars a year and Send a signal to job careers across the province that we're going to balance the books And create environment for success to set up on tarot to grow the economy and create jobs again to restore hope People like Sergey to hear in the 36 employees that used to work for him So why don't you actually amend this legislation and add in and across the board waitries for the broader public sector? They'll save us two billion dollars Much mr. Speaker, well, I think I think the leader of the opposition knows perfectly well that we are working across There've been billions of dollars saved mr. Speaker because We've engaged in and we are going to continue to work in partnership with our with the employees Within government and the broader public service mr. Speaker the leader of the opposition wants a fight He wants a fight with the people who do the business of this province people who deliver services in this province He wants to fire education workers. He wants to fire health care workers, mr. Speaker He's not interested in making the investments in post-secondary education and in health care that are necessary mr. Speaker He will Supplemental I'll tell you what I'm gonna fight for I'm gonna fight for jobs. I'm gonna fight To do that. It's called a million jobs plan energy under control to lower taxes to balance the books In this province it'll work. It's proven. So let me ask you again pretty great You know, you made another Significant error you weren't even in negotiations with the teachers unions, but you still give them a big pay increase I don't know if I was payback for leadership support, but it was unaffordable We were in negotiations, but you gave them a big pay increase the hundreds of millions of dollars I think we need to go the opposite direction So I'll ask you again my colleague mr. Fidele for nipissing is going to bring forward amendments to the wage-free's act To broaden it to say in the cross-border wage freeze for all of us in the broader public sector It'll save two billion dollars. It's the right thing to do cannot count on your support for this sensible You see this place Mr.. Speaker well, you know since I since I've been in this office I've been fighting for the people of Ontario to bring jobs to the province what I'm saying is he wants to fight With mr. Speaker he wants to fight with the people who deliver services He wants to fight with the people who are providing the education the health care that the people of this province needs I do not believe that that is the way forward I would suggest to the leader of the opposition that if he is really interested in being being a leader in terms of Wage-free's mr. Speaker that he would get the legislation passed that would continue to freeze MPP salaries mr. Speaker that seems like a pretty fundamental step that he should take so we look to him to work with us on that The legislation is going to pass I've been calling for this for years so my point of view Why don't we improve it? Why don't we actually made a big impact on the economy? I mean, I'm happy that finally got the words wage and freeze But let's go a bit further let me ask you this too. I think that if cabinet ministers aren't doing their job They shouldn't be in cabinet, right? And if they can't even meet their fiscal targets, they should dock their pay So another very straightforward amendment we want to make is if your cabinet ministers cannot dock their pay So if they cannot balance the books they're made a deficit just like they didn't be see let's dock their pay Let's actually reduce cabinet pay to give them an incentive to prioritize and balance the books simple Thoughtful straightforward amendment will you support that change the bill doc cabinet's pay if they can't even balance the books Very much mr. Speaker, you know every single minister in this government has worked within their ministries to find efficiencies Mr. Speaker they have worked extremely hard to make sure that we exceed the targets that we're put in place mr. Speaker That work is ongoing. We don't I don't need to punish the ministers They're doing the work that they know needs to be done mr. Speaker We don't need a punitive regime, which is what the leader of the opposition thinks he would need to put in place Maybe that's what he needs in his caucus mr. Speaker. That's not what we need over here To work to make sure that we bring business to this province that we make the investments that are necessary mr. Speaker We are going to invest in post-secondary education We are going to invest in infrastructure and we are going to work with communities to bring those jobs to the province Thank You speaker and let me first congratulate on behalf of new Democrats the leader of the opposition for the birth of his Speaker my question is to the premier families across Ontario are wondering how they'll pay the bills In the last year our manufacturing sector has shrunk by three percent since the recession We're still down 300,000 manufacturing jobs and half a million Ontarians are looking for work. How can the premier defend a status quo to the 500,000 Ontarians who are looking for work? You know I have never defended the status quo I have never defended the status quo the whole time politics mr. Speaker because I do not defend the status quo I believe that there needs to be change and improvement and that we can always improve So when I talk about our plan mr. Speaker which envisions Investing in the talent and skills of the people of this province mr. Speaker the announcement that we made this morning the Minister of Training Colleges and universities and I where we're putting out a request for proposals to increase the capacity of our Post-secondary education system Colleges and universities working in partnership with each other to make sure that we have the capacity where there's growth in the province That's not the status quo mr. Speaker. That's progress. That's what we're fighting Speaker the premier seems more interested in attacking a job creator tax credit and defending her own Status quo plan Universities will come to order Will tell you that they need more to be done the premier knows that when Heinz was laying off workers in Leamington They were hiring workers in a state with a job creator tax credit with the premier tell families Why she's defending the status quo and attacking a practical proposal that will reward job creators and create jobs very much mr. Speaker and Just on I just want to talk about the the situation in Leamington and the Heinz plant just for a moment And I want to I want to just to acknowledge the the minister of children youth services because of the work that she did on The ground working with the community and we worked with the community and in fact Kanko is going to be able to retain about 50 about 50 percent of those jobs at Heinz So, you know, we recognize that it's very painful when a business makes a decision about downsizing mr. Speaker or leaving a community But government's responsibility is to be on top of that and to make sure that there's a process whereby New jobs can come in or those jobs can be retained So that's the work that we did mr. Speaker in terms of the the tax credit notion that the NDP is putting forward the we're open to new ideas mr. Speaker, but we want ideas that work That is a that is an idea that has been demonstrated in other jurisdictions not to work supplementary Well, I'll speak right now. It's interesting that the the Premier talks like republic Republican lines out of the playbook from the US For families worried about jobs all we see from this government is more of the same speaker They keep handing blank checks to businesses who move jobs away and driving hydro rates up doing the same thing and Expecting a different result simply does not make any sense speaker It's not working for people who lost their jobs at Eterject tube in well in just this week or 500 people Who lost their jobs at Kalex in London or 350 people who lost their jobs at AO Smith in Fergus why does this premier keep telling people like these laid-off workers that her plan is working? Well, mr. Speaker, you know the the reality is that we have seen in the last year a hundred thousand new jobs Created mr. Speaker the fact is that we are working with businesses across the province Whether it's through the Southwestern Ontario Development Fund or the Eastern Ontario Development Fund or the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Mr. Speaker, we're working with businesses to help them to make the investments that they will need to be able to Compete globally, you know, that's that's the kind of partnership that I think is very very important That's not the status quo that means that when we work with Ford for example They are able to build a platform that's going to allow them to compete globally mr. Speaker So that kind of advancement is absolutely necessary what we can't do is Spend what we we estimate would be two and a half billion dollars on an employer tax credit that would actually Just subsidized jobs that we're going to be created anyway That's what's been discovered in other jurisdictions So we're going to learn from that mr. Speaker. We're not going to go down that road new question Spend a billion dollars for three jobs for members of her caucus my next questions for the premier in 2011 contemporary security pled guilty to charges for violating its license during the G20 With a premier talentarians who made the final decision to select contemporary security for the panam parapanam game speaker Minister of community safety correction services minister community safety and corrections Thank you very much speaker and thank the member opposite the leader of the third party for this important question miss speaker I think we have to remember that We are this is a very exciting opportunity for the province of Ontario the pen Parapanam games are is a world-class event speaker that puts The our province our province on the map when it comes to welcoming world-class athletes from the Americas Welcoming their their their their families 250,000 tourist speaker This is an amazing opportunity to make sure that we actually also build well-class infrastructure Sporting infrastructure in our province as well speaker the success of these games rely on ensuring that they are safe and secure Ontarians and also for all the athletes that will be participating and that's why speaker We're relying on the Ontario provincial police To decide on the plan of the security. Yeah Supplementary speaker seems like the minister didn't get the memo on accountability and transparency of The government seems to be suggesting that the OPP chose contemporary security But when an experienced Ontario based security firm offered the very same services for 14 million dollars less They didn't get a rejection letter from the OPP speaker They got it from the Ministry of Correction and Community Services What is the government trying to hide by distancing itself from that decision? Speaker So our speaker our focus is to make sure that we have safe and secure Games and sporting event in pan Parapanam take place in 2015 speaker our priority is the safety of athletes the safety of coaches the safety of volunteers the Families the safety of all Ontario speaker and that is why speaker We are relying on the Ontario provincial police to make those decisions They are the they are the people who keep our streets and our neighborhood safe every single day That's why speaker the Ontario provincial police is responsible for the the content of the Request for proposal that was put out They are the one responsible for the evaluation of all the bids and they are the one responsible of selecting The successful bidder in this particular case speaker. Thank you Of the tax dollar that's what I want of community safety and the minister for the Pan Am Games said the decision to choose contemporary Security had nothing to do with the Liberal government But the losing bidder Riley security got a letter from the Ministry of Corrections and Community Safety Telling them their bid hadn't been accepted now You can play hot potato with this one as much as you like over there But the buck has to stop with the minister in charge if the government is so Minister trading Auditor take a look and get some answers for the people who paid the tabs the entire process Followed all the directives and the guidelines of Ontario government in terms of having a fair and transparent procurement process the entire process speaker has been overseen by a fairness Commissioner to ensure that the the process is fair But speaker in the end of the day We are going to rely on the experts on safety and security and that is the Ontario provincial police The opposition speaker may be interested playing in political games with this issue We are interested in making sure that we have successful games and New question remember from Barry The minister's oversight of senior Pan Am personnel speaker is farcical this week in committee 2015 sent Bob O'Dorei to pretend to be the senior vice president of sports and venues He refused to answer basic questions about the Arby win stadium the velodrome Shooting venues and clarified that he's only relevant at game time So why we've been paying him two hundred and ninety two thousand dollars plus seventy seventeen thousand dollars in benefits Plus sixty four thousand dollars in expenses since two thousand and ten Minister why are you paying this guy and who is actually responsible for sport and venues now why wouldn't the Premier shuffle him out Minister Thank you. Thank you. Thank you speaker. I wasn't in the committees all so but I would can tell you is that the pen and game 2015 the mandate is to ensure an efficient and effective deliverable game. This includes stopping Swim lying and organizational changes as appropriate speaker This starving decisions are made by the CEO of to 2015 and I am confident I'm worried confident speaker that mr. Robbie will make decisions for the good of the games We will hope that the party opposite would support the game and mr. Raffy's decision because while he's doing Everything to destroy the game the party opposite are doing everything to tear down the game, but we are not we are promoting the game We're gonna have the best ever and power of hand American game in Ontario That was another great answer another question another no answer Minister it's insulting to the games that you allow adority to take taxpayers for a ride specifically to Miami Rio Mexico Phoenix Jamaica came in islands Barbados Barcelona St. Kitts just to name a few Minister you're you seem to be as oblivious as dear responsibilities as adority is to his he was demoted on Thursday came to committee on Monday playing at his old title But wouldn't answer any questions on venues can someone please resend the email to adority just to let him know that he's Been demoted and doesn't waste committee time anymore consider this minister my technical briefing for you It's Alan Vanson the pedic expense guy who assumed responsibility for sport in venues minister Do you think when adority willfully misrepresented himself a committee he committed contempt? Thank you, thank you speaker for the question speaker on this side of the house We understand and we understand how to manage the game on the other side Let me give you some example here The member opposite us when was the last time minister Order Minister let me help him speaker. It was held in 2011 allow me to give another example here Someone treated a six inch toy patchy in Sochi member opposite us why pen and mascot patchy was in Sochi again Let me help him mascot patchy was not in Sochi But I'm sorry, and his empathy is well at the light speaker through you to the member stop attacking the game Thank You Thank you speaker my questions to the premier Families in Ontario Premier want to see a government that will respect their hard-earned dollars So they're asking why the government picked a more expensive pan para pan security bid Speaker does this premier agree with the editorial in today's Toronto star calling for a review by the auditor because she has failed to be transparent with the public And I know that the the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services has already answered some of these questions But he will want to comment on the supplementary, but What I want it what I want to assure the people of Ontario is that we believe that having the pan para pan games in Toronto and in the region is a very good thing. We believe that having a safe Secure games is of paramount importance. Mr. Speaker We believe that having the OPP make those decisions and make the recommendations to government Of course the ministry was involved, but the ministry did not make the selection Mr. Speaker the OPP Selected CSC selected the company Mr. Speaker and this company has been involved as I understand it with nine other Olympic and Paralympic games, Mr. Speaker that this is a company that has demonstrated track record and Mr. Speaker We are relying on the OPP whose business it is to understand security to make those decisions Speaker Families deserve full accountability and well the new Democrats are asking who signed the contract with the U.S. Firm that has violated its own license Why we didn't choose a more affordable option. It's clear that decision was made by the government premier According to OPP inspector Mike McDonald the commissioner signed off on the security contract And then went off to the ministry for a final bid and the last bit of vetting if you will This lies squarely on the feet of the government Speaker is this premier going to continue to stonewall the auditor to Or will she listen to growing calls for accountability and support and a full investigation by the auditor of Ontario? Thank you very much speaker speaker the fact of the matter is that Ontarians want a Successful world-class event in pan-pan in games in Ontario They want safety and security of these games the world that we live in speaker safety and security is a paramount issue As you know, so we need to ensure that we that we work with the Ontario provincial police We need to ensure that the Ontario provincial police which is responsible for safety of our streets and our neighborhoods every single day are the one responsible for the safety of athletes of coaches of Families of volunteers of all Ontarians speaker when it comes to this game the company that is chosen have vast experience in providing safety and security for multi Sporting events like this particular one including just the winter olympic Sochi 2014 Vancouver 2010 London 2012 in 2016 and speaker speaker. This is not a subject for political games This is an issue of safety and security of games and of all Merci monsieur le présent ma question. Thank you, mr. Speaker My question is for the minister for community safety and correctional and services I know that developmental services are of course much needed as a physician I see firsthand the necessity impact and benefit of such services speakers You'll know this delivery of these services has changed dramatically over the last few years Our government has moved towards inclusion in which people the developmental disability now live as independently as possible Out there in the community where they want to be speaker My question is this now that institutional care is a thing of the past a relic from days gone by Can the minister explain the decision tree? How are the supports for individuals with developmental disabilities determined? Thank you Well, mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to answer the members question I want to say at the outset that I'm truly humbled to have the opportunity to be serving this Particular sector during this dramatic time of transition You know families have told us that every adult with the developmental Disability should be assessed in the same way. We believe that we've also heard that people should only have to go to one Place to apply for supports. That's why our government created the developmental services Ontario in legislation So that that in fact could happen before the DSO's People with similar needs often receive different levels of services and support today, mr. Speaker There's more consistency and increased fairness for people applying for services However, transformation is a long-term plan and we're going to continue to work with everybody in this house as we make Developmental developmental services sector fairer more flexible and sustainable. Thank you. Thank you Minister not merely for your answer today, but also for your ongoing heartfelt advocacy I appreciate that your description of the transformation of developmental services an important first step However, many families across my riding and across the province need demand expect and anticipate that more action will be taken As you know minister It has been said that the mark of a just society is how it takes care of its most vulnerable Ontarians need to know that their government gets that speaker. My question is this What is the ministry doing to strengthen developmental services for Ontarians? Thank you, minister. Well, mr. Speaker to paraphrase the premier I'm not here to defend the status quo, but we're here to advance Advanced changes. We're taking immediate action to improve services address housing needs and promote innovation It supports for adults with a developmental disability We created an interministerial housing task force that will recommend innovative housing solutions. Good first step We're also investing three million in projects across the province That will increase community inclusion and help agencies pursue innovative partnerships We're investing over 1.7 billion in the developmental services sector, mr. Speaker And we recognize that the man is growing and we need to do more That's why I was so happy to support the idea of developmental services Select committee and why I'm looking so very much forward to their final report with recommendations Thank you your question Thank you speaker speaker my questions to the minister of transportation he's just set the side there so we can hear Minister now what has become typical liberal fashion? You're trying to lay blame on everybody but yourself when it comes to winter maintenance contracts Like everything else is a right way to do things and a bad way to do things Your NDP partners probably don't agree, but outsourcing can be a good thing in fact from 1996 to 2010 Ontario had a good outsourcing model for winter road maintenance and it worked It saved taxpayers lots of money made sure our roads were clear and safe only since 2010 have there been severe issues with winter road maintenance So what happened in 2010? The answer is your ministry changed the or outsourcing model you tinkered with a model that was working and now it's broken Oh, dear minister. We finally take responsibility and met the problems of a snow clearing this year or yours Hello Minister of infrastructure and transportation. Thank you very much. Mr. Speaker. It is I The the persons my honorable critics should take a little tour of northern Ontario Going back to 1996 and they have a long list Laundry list of things that that government did to northern Ontario that undermined an infrastructure Disinvested in its highways closed schools and hospitals No, no one Party in power, but mr. Speaker We have contractors who are well paid They signed contracts that had very clear performance standards in it Most of those contractors are meeting those standards My job as minister is to make sure that we get good value for tax dollars And we have safe roads and my ministry is working hard to ensure that those standards are met And I will not interfere or politicize the proper enforcement of law or Or or interfere with public servants holding contractors. Thank you to comply with their contracts, but you speak. Thank you Supplementary. Thank you, sir. No, Speaker minister once again You were given a model from the former PC government. Yep that worked and you broke it I guess the solution The government to come and fix things Minister before 2010 we had a hybrid model that awarded area maintenance contracts for more densely populated areas and Managed outsourced contracts for more rural areas particularly in the east and the north an engineer from your ministry minister wrote a report in 2005 that stated and I'll quote that The managed outsourcing delivery method was expected to produce the most cost-effective service in the provinces rural areas So the model that the former PC government set up not only provided better service It also saved more money yet your government completely ended all managed outsourced contracts in 2010 Minister regardless of the blame game that you play on media and through Twitter Can you finally admit that this failure is yours and yours alone? Thank you the minister, you know, mr. Speaker the member opposite it should should Discover Google and click-click because a lot has been written since 2005 and a lot of studies and reports We are now delivering Snow removal and winter maintenance and summer maintenance contracts at a lower cost level getting better value for dollar than they ever got when they were in government mr. Speaker and Mr.. Speaker they absolutely outsourced 100% of MTO laying off 3000 ministry of transportation employees and they did it at the time So we could never change the model again in any substantive way now Mr. Speaker this model is working very well across the vast majority of Ontario and we are reviewing it in a couple of Areas where there are problems mr. Speaker where we have low populations and a lot of road And the resources are not working the way we'd like them Thank you order New question the member from London West Thank You speaker my question is to the Minister of Health and long-term care Speaker there is a mounting crisis in London because of a lack of mental health beds this week We learned about 18-year-old patient Jennifer Watts who was forced to sleep on the hospital floor in the emergency room at Victoria Hospital This is not an isolated case it reflects a systemic problem as a London health sciences Executive said today. We cannot continue on this path and expect different results. It is time for fundamental change Can the minister explain when this fundamental change is coming? I can tell you speaker that I was Very disturbed when I heard the story that the the member opposite is referring to I know the hospital Investigating they are understanding what happened and we have to make sure that that does not happen again Speaker we are investing heavily in supports for people with mental health challenges We are doing a lot to keep them out of hospital out of the emergency department. Is there more we need to do? Absolutely. Yes speaker. There's more we need to do in London and as I say I know Remember from here on Bruce we'll come to order So this does not happen again, but we also need across the province to do more to support people with mental health challenges That's why we have made some significant improvements including answer 24-hour Crisis line speaker that is actually helping people get the right care. There is more to do and I'll thank you supplementary supplementary Thank you speaker the minister talks about investing in mental health services and making improvements But the reality tells us a different story London is about to lose almost 150 psychiatric beds and there isn't sufficient capacity in the community to meet the needs of patients one of my constituents in London West has been living at London Health Sciences Center for 10 months because there is nowhere else for him to Live safely in the community The lack of community services means that patients with mental health diagnoses end up in crisis And I left waiting for days in the emergency room. I asked the minister again What is she doing to address this crisis in London and across the province? Thank you I would be the last person to say that our work is done when it comes to providing care for people with mental health challenges What I can say speaker is we are making Significant investments and will continue to accelerate that speaker because we know that by Supporting people with mental illness outside of the hospital. We can reduce their reliance on hospitals that work is well underway And I I hope the member opposite has actually had a briefing and if not I would be more than happy to arrange it about how the investments we're making specifically in London are Making a difference. Have we done everything we need to do? No. Have we come a long way? Yes. Thank you speaker My question is to the Minister of Energy Minister Trans Canada recently submitted the project description for the proposed energy Pipeline project to the National Energy Board The first formal step in the regulatory filing process and speaker some Ontarians have voiced concerns about the proposal including some of My own constituents in Glen Gary Prescott Russell don't heckle we can hear them part of which The pipeline goes through and in East Hawksbury Recent federal election has limited the scope and time allocated for National Energy Board hearings And this can limit community and public participation in the regulatory approvals process So speaker many Ontarians are interested in knowing what role the province will play in the regulatory process And whether they will have the opportunity to provide their input and express their concerns in the project Can the minister please tell the House what role Ontario will play in hearing the process and what the government is doing to ensure the voices of Ontario Speaker I thank the member for this very important question This issue is a federal responsibility before a more restricted national energy energy board process So when it comes to large pipeline projects It is vital that all governments take the time to hear from experts community municipal aboriginal and business leaders To ensure that all voices can be heard during the regulatory process That's why we have asked the Ontario Energy Board to engage with stakeholders First Nation and Métis communities And the public and complete a report that will represent the interests of all Ontarians The OEB is hosting community discussions along the proposed route which began Tuesday in Canora And will continue until April 8th with the last meeting in Cornwall And when Ontario intervenes in the national energy board process hearings The OEB's work will ensure that the voices of all Ontarians are heard and their interests reflected in our submission Thank you very much minister for that comprehensive answer I know my constituents in Glengarry Prescott Russell appreciate the opportunity to give their feedback and express their concerns on the proposed Project the consultations will not only be a forum for Ontarians to provide their input But also to learn more about the proposed project itself This is important because my constituents are asking what's in it for Ontario What does the province stand to gain from the project and what criteria will the government use when assessing the proposal So speaker through you Will the economic benefit to Ontario be considered as part of the approvals process and what principles will the government use When evaluating the project. Thank you The supplementary is also a very important question. Mr. Speaker the project must generate significant economic activity for Ontario And move resources across canada in a safe and economic manner However, it is vital that the proposal only move forward once it adheres to clear principles The highest safety and environmental standards must be met The duty to consult with aboriginal communities must be met There must be world leading emergency response programs including financial security for any environmental damage cost Current consumers of natural gas must be protected with regards to price and supply And it must demonstrate economic benefits and opportunities to the people of ontario over the short and long term Part of our government's work will be to identify those benefits and opportunities And to ensure that when we intervene We can do so having considered all of the factors that are important to ontarians. Thank you new question the member from home in Norfolk The ministry of energy I met with a local couple recently. They own a modest 790 square foot house Their last month's electricity bill $641 234 was delivery charge Oh minister will you explain to this couple why their heating bill is so high? Is it the cost of transmission? The cost of regulation Is a generation the cost of fuel? Your green energy act Is that your debt retirement charge? Is that your hst? The list goes on global adjustment. Is it because of the cancelling of electricity natural gas? Generating stations Or is it your mismanagement and lack of a plan? First of all, mr. Speaker. It's their retirement charge not ours right Mr. Speaker We have been making the system reliable clean and affordable We took over a system or deficit mr. Speaker a system that was dirty We cleaned it up mr. Speaker with our new generation more expensive than their dirty coal mr. Speaker That definitely put pressure on a member friend mr. Speaker Realizing that there was pressure on prices mr. Speaker. We put the 10% discount on the bill number two We created the member from Which can give individuals up to 963 dollars per year mr. Speaker and a maximum of 1097 per year for qualifying seniors We also have an order in Ontario and sir, mr. Speaker So we have taken significant steps mr. Speaker to accommodate that But he must remember that consumption has gone up by between 10 and 20 percent January over January because of this winter and if you choose to deny that Thank you supplementary Well, it is winter. Tell us something we don't know but I can't take that answer back to this couple But I can guarantee cheaper rates under a hood act government Point four at peak. Why is that? You have a surplus of power, but you subsidize Unneeded wind solar and then you spill hydropower you shut down nuclear you export at a loss Why the high prices? Is it opg cost overruns? Is it hydro one inefficiencies? High salaries Cost of smart meters Smart grids you get the farm club. How happy do you do a minister? What do you tell this couple? They can't afford to eat their house The member from englandton laurence come to order minister of energy Mr. Speaker what I would start telling them beginning mr. Speaker Is that that member voted against a 10 discount which is called the ontario free energy benefit That member voted against the ontario energy and property tax credit Which saves qualifying individuals up to nine hundred and sixty three dollars per year That member voted against the northern ontario energy credit mr. Speaker He voted against the low-income energy assistance programs, mr. Speaker and what he has not done, mr. Speaker He has not told his customers that these programs exist because he's embarrassed that he voted against The leader of the third party Thank you, speaker. My question is for the premier The premier has repeatedly promised in this legislature that there will be a 2014 Horse racing season in fort eerie the racetrack has done everything asked of them speaker Now we're just days away from a looming deadline of april 1st when a quarterly rent check needs to be paid Is it it's time to stop the dithering speaker? Can the premier ensure this legislature today that there will be a 2014 racing season at the fort eerie track? Yes, mr. Speaker. There will be a 2014 season at at the fort eerie mr. Speaker There absolutely will be I understand that there was a meeting yesterday And I understand that there wasn't a resolution at that point But there will be a season at fort eerie mr. Speaker. We are working with them. They are They know that we want we want fort eerie to to thrive mr. Speaker. They'll be a 2014 season Speaker this Isn't just happening in fort eerie The future of subbury downs is also in doubt because they can't get a straight answer from the liberal government either Fort eerie officials feel as though the government has waited until the last possible minute And are now retracting the number of race days races purses and commissions That could keep the fort eerie racetrack operating the premier promised action to save these tracks And save the good jobs these tax tracks provide Is she going to deliver speaker or is this yet another empty liberal promise? Yes, mr. Speaker. We are delivering and in fact there are Wood vine mohawk flamborot georgian downs western fair clinton handover and grand river have plans in place Mr. Speaker fort eerie there is going to be a 2014 season that process is in place Sudbury, kawartha dresden, hyrotha, leemington, ajax, redo carlton the negotiations are happening mr. Speaker Those plans are under discussion. There will be seasons. There will be plans and we have we have acted on our commitment Mr. Speaker Thank you speaker Speaker i've heard from people in my riding of scarborough gildwood About the issue of violence against women and girls in the aboriginal community scarborough gildwood You have to identify the minister, please Absolutely, this question is for the minister of aboriginal affairs Scarborough gildwood has one of the highest off reserve native populations in ontario We know that across canada the rate of violence against aboriginal women is almost triple that of non aboriginal women And the rate of spousal homicide for aboriginal women is eight times greater than for non aboriginal women About 15 percent of aboriginal women report suffering from some form of intimate partner violence two and a half times Greater than among non aboriginal women national data in canada reveals that 75 of aboriginal girls under the age of 18 experience abuse 50 of whom are under 14 and sadly almost 25 percent are younger than the age of seven Given the tragic reality of these statistics and the national scale of this epidemic through you, mr. Can the minister tell us what our government is doing to address this important issue? Now thank you for asking about this very important issue I and this government are deeply troubled by the rate of violence against aboriginal women This violence must stop and collaboration amongst all ministries and community partners Is the key to under to ending the violence? As the member rightly stated in the question, this is a national issue that requires a national strategy I along with my provincial and territorial counterparts from across canada made this clear To the federal minister at a recent meeting of ab of the aboriginal affairs working group in winnipeg And furthermore as chair of the council of the federation in 2013 our premier made this position clear Ontario supports the call by the national aboriginal organizations for a national inquiry The federal government however recently tabled answer special parliamentary committee report into the missing or murdered aboriginal Women I am disappointed that the report did not support the call for a national public inquiry. Thank you Thank you speaker and thank you minister for the work that you are doing on behalf of the aboriginal community in Ontario The people of my riding of scarbo guild will be reassured to know that ontario is showing leadership in our efforts to advance this important issue However, despite the federal government's assertion that they have already taken concrete action It is clear that they have failed to respond to the call from national aboriginal organizations Provincial and territorial ministers and the council of federation national aboriginal organizations like the native women's association of canada have expressed their continued frustration and disappointment in addressing this key issue in the aboriginal community Mr. Speaker through you to the minister Can you inform the house on what ontario is doing to reduce violence against Aboriginal women and girls in the absence of a national strategy question. Thank you minister The special committee's failure to respond to the action call for a national inquiry is a lost opportunity It's a lost opportunity to demonstrate real commitment to putting an end to all forms of violence against Indigenous women and girls My friend michelle odette who is the president of the native women's association had this to say quote I was shocked. I was mad to see how they gave the report that title invisible women It's not like we're under the carpet right now. We are not invisible Mr. Speaker these women and girls are not invisible to me. They're not invisible to this government I can tell you that through ontario's joint working group on violence against aboriginal women I am working closely with all of the other relevant ministers as well as a many average Organizations to find ways to tackle this terrible issue We will work to ensure a long-term strategy that includes the initiatives to prevent violence to better support victims and we My question is to the premier Moments ago the toronto star and the auto a citizen revealed that david livingston the former chief of staff to dalton maginti Gave access to outsiders To wipe clean 24 hard drives They are pursuing a criminal breach of trust Against the former chief of staff to the liberal government That carries a penalty of up to five years in prison For the 1.1 billion dollar gas plant scandal My question to the premier Can you confirm to this assembly and to the people of ontario? Order please one of the 24 computers was not that of yours While the co-chair of the liberal campaign The member from halt will come to order Premier, thank you very much. Mr. Speaker and obviously this is a very serious allegation My understanding is that a couple of news outlets are reporting that police search warrant alleges So these there's an allegation that That david livingston committed a breach of trust for illegally wiping computers. That's all I know, mr. Speaker And we have said all along that we would cooperate with the OPP investigation We have done that we will continue to do that and obviously this is a this is a serious allegation And it is exactly why we have we have worked to Work with the police and answer any of their requests and work in complete Incomplete cooperation with them and we will continue the member from red fruit come to order supplementary It is clear that this government has not been completely forthcoming with members of this assembly Over the 1.1 billion dollar cancel gas plant. In fact The OPP and the Ottawa citizen article are alleging that during the transition period after McGinty had resigned from office Under a cloud of allegations over the cancellation of gas plants in mississauga and oakville That david livingston arranged to get special computer access so that one user Stop I uh I'm going to warn the minister of the environment This is serious They allowed an outsider to have access to wipe hard drives in the premier's office during the transition period between dalton McGinty and the new premier The question I asked was very serious was one of them yours Can you can you can tell this assembly today without a question of doubt that you did not have any of your hard drives leaked or deleted The member from here on bruce come to order the member from durham come to order The member from durham is warned The member from durham You know the next step not another word Premier of government services Mr. Speaker, this is a serious matter and I would Member for berry come to order Carry on. Mr. Speaker. I would warn the honorable member. We have the member from rent from nipissing pembroke is warned We're going to get through this without the interruption Carry on. Mr. Speaker. We have a system here where the police can investigate Remember from Cambridge come to order the member from boxford come to order the member from the helgens and little sex london come to order And one more time and you'll be named Carry on. Mr. Speaker. The police are looking into a particular situation I think all members of this house would agree that the best thing for members of the legislature to do is to not speculate To not comment on a police investigation to allow the police to do their work Mr. Speaker to stand here in this house Somehow like a judge and jury and prosecutor the fact of the matter Mr. Speaker is we have some media reports mr. Speaker about a police investigation Let us allow the police to do their work And in terms mr. Speaker of coming forward with information I would comment on the hundreds of thousands of pages Thank you new question the member from trotter dad for you. Thank you speaker To the premier Newspaper outlets are reporting that the opp have alleged criminal breach of trust against McGinty chief of staff over email deletions in the gas plant scandal When did the government learn of these revelations? Well, thank you very much mr. Speaker. I just got a note a few minutes ago Saying that these allegations had been made mr. Speaker We have cooperated with the Ontario provincial police. We will continue to cooperate with the Ontario provincial police There is an investigation ongoing mr. Speaker and that is that is what I know at this point mr. Speaker Thank you supplementary Speaker we have asked before and I will ask again Should charges be laid will the premier support appointment of a special prosecutor in this case Mr. Speaker I appreciate the theatrics But we have a police investigation and I think members Understand mr. Speaker that when the police are looking into a situation that members of this legislature in fact in many instances The member from the p.m. Carleton will withdraw and I called her to order as well Here I am throughout the operation of the legislature There is a clear division between the work that we do and the work that law enforcement does and the fact of the Matter is mr. Speaker we allow the police to undertake their work. We don't speculate We don't jump to conclusions. We don't act here like judge and jury mr. Speaker We allow the police to undertake their work and I would caution all members on that side of the house That that's exactly what we should do. We should allow them to undertake their work and reach their conclusion And I'll try to interfere through questions in the legislature. Thank you new question the member from mr. Saga streetsville Well, thank you speaker speaker this question is for the minister of the environment Minister every year hundreds of thousands of vehicles that were once fresh off the showroom floor with that new car sent Have deteriorated to the point that they are old obsolete not serviceable They become heaps beaters junkers Many of these buckets of bull shouldn't even be on the road However, minister end of life vehicles contain both parts that are still useful And hazardous substances that need to stay out of our environment Although nearly 95 of all end of life vehicles generated in Ontario are recovered in pole or in part There is recycling and there is recycling Minister what is Ontario doing to ensure that end of life vehicles are properly and safely recycled? Thank you minister of the environment. Well, thank you for an excellent question as the member stated the End of life vehicles contained potentially hazardous materials must be kept out of the environment and valuable materials that can feed our industries About 600,000 vehicles are junk seats here in Ontario Most some process to recover valuable use parts for high value metal recycling We want to ensure end of life vehicles are properly managed to protect the environment and human health That is why my ministry is proposing environmental standards for end of life vehicles and to regulate facilities that process them Through the environmental activity and sector registry We're consulting on standards that would ensure facilities that dismantle end of life vehicles And to do so properly including removing And safely managing petroleum liquids and hazardous materials such as the nerve toxin Which is called mercury the standards are now posted on the environmental bill of rights. Thank you public review and comment Minister of finance a point of order. Yes, mr. Speaker point of order I um once again I seek unanimous consent that the question on the motion of second reading of bill 177 An act to amend the legislative assembly act be immediately put forward without further debate or amendment And that the bill be ordered for third reading And that the order for third reading of bill 177 Be immediately called and that the question on the motion for third reading of the bill be put without debate or amendment The minister of finance is seeking unanimous consent to that the question on the motion of second reading of bill 177 an act to amend the legislative assembly act be immediately put without further debate Or amended and that the bill be ordered for third reading and that the order of the third reading of bill 177 be immediately called and that the question on the motion of the third reading of the bill be put without debate or amendment Do we agree? I heard a no Member from simcoe gray on a point of order. Yes, mr. Speaker I seek unanimous consent that the sponsorship of bill five An act to freeze compensation for two years in the public sector Be transferred to the member for nipissing The member from simcoe gray is seeking unanimous consent That the sponsorship of bill five and an act to freeze compensation for two years in the public sector be transferred to the member of nipissing Do we agree? There are no further There are no further votes this house stands adjourned until 1 p.m. This afternoon