 It is now time for Earl questions. I recognize the member for Brampton Center My question is to the Premier Since Ontario reported its first case of COVID-19 in January 3,576 people have lost their lives and while the Premier likes to brag that he's doing well Over 3,000 families have lost a parent a grandparent or in some tragic cases speaker They have even lost a child Every one of those deaths is a tragedy and yesterday the auditor general came forward with a thorough review Highlighting the failures of the previous liberal government and this current government's failure to act. She also offered Serious and constructive recommendations on ways to protect human life throughout this pandemic Will the Premier stop attacking her for doing that and start implementing her recommendations Respond the Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. Good morning speaker, and thank you. Well, of course It's we offer our condolences to all of those families of the 3,576 people who have died because of COVID-19 It's a tragedy it we none of us wanted to lose even one life And we're working very hard to protect the health and well-being of every single Ontarian the report of the the auditor general did contain some Important Ideas about how to deal with some of the systemic Problems that she has witnessed over the years and we were already in the process of implementing some of them Including the modernization of our public health system when of course we were struck by COVID-19 however, some of the issues that she raised were Issues that were not followed by the previous government and we had to quickly act in order to deal with them And we were able to do that response Thank you the supplementary question Speaker throughout the second wave of the pandemic Families have watched nervously as the Premier and his team offered confusing and contradictory directions Claiming to have the support of public health experts who in reality actually disagreed with them leadership means accepting criticism and listening to advice that you may not want to hear Why is the Premier so unwilling to do that and so unable to admit any flaws in this government's COVID-19 response Well, in fact, we have indicated that there were some important recommendations that the Auditor General made Specifically with respect to some of the issues that hadn't been dealt with for many years For example, the pandemic response plan had not been updated since 2013 2013 to 2018 Absolutely, nothing was done. There was also a report by the lab services expert panel in 2015 that commented that we needed to do more to build up our lab panel in the province of Ontario This was commented on by the Auditor General in her 2017 report again Nothing was done so that by the time we were faced with the pandemic We had to create a coordinated lab system Which did not exist and we did that in record time and now the numbers speak for themselves because Ontario now has the lowest rate per capita per 500,000 of any jurisdiction in North America save an Atlantic bubble in the and the territories so the numbers speak for themselves Thank You Speaker Well parents are worried about their kids losing another year of school Business owners are facing bankruptcy and many of them closing working people have lost their jobs and Thousands, thousands have lost loved ones these folks need to know that their government is doing everything it can to protect Our community and prevent deaths But yesterday they saw Premier defending his right to make decisions behind closed doors and attacking a woman who dared to challenge him That's not leadership When will the Premier start listening to advice from not only the Auditor General but Doctors public health experts and front-line heroes from across our province Our government is certainly listening to the experts in public health We're listening to dr. Williams our chief medical officer of health. We're listening to the public health measures table We're listening to public health Ontario and all of the decisions that we have made thus far have been based upon the Recommendations that have come to us from the health experts. We are not doctors over here I'm not a public health specialist. I need to take the advice from those who are that's what I have done That's what the Premier's done. That's what our government has done throughout We are taking every step possible that we can to protect the health and well-being of Ontarians But still being able to keep our schools open that is so important for the social and Mental development of our children protecting our most vulnerable and protecting our communities That's been our focus from the beginning and will always be Thank you the next question the member for Tomiskaming Cochran. Thank you speaker my questions for the Premier The Premier's contempt for the Auditor General was on full display yesterday And she is an independent expert Third-party opinion Independent officer of this house his comments showed a total lack of respect for that expertise the real question is if That's how the Premier responds when an independent officer of the house Offers it offers a critical opinion How are we expected to believe that he would accept The opinion of the chief medical officer of health that he would actually allow the chief medical officer of health Behind closed doors to offer an expert opinion and to abide by how Well the reality is we have great respect for the Auditor General We recognize that there are some situations where there are some criticisms that we are Certainly able to accept we are working on some of the recommendations that she's made in past years Including public health modernization that was underway at the time that COVID struck But as far as the chief medical officer of health is concerned we have been taking his advice You may recall that the Auditor General Sorry, the chief medical officer of health was at the select committee in this house Legislature last Friday and he was asked whether we as a government were listening to his recommendations and his response was yes The government knew yesterday's damning report was coming They knew the Auditor General was raising serious Concerns about the role of the chief medical officer of health and yet Once again in the dead of night. They tried to force through an extension of the contract without any Outside vision instead of doing everything we can to ensure that the chief medical officer of health and Ontario is ready to handle Future waves of this pandemic Will be voting on a motion to rubber stamp that extension order from now Will the Premier do the responsible thing pull that motion and Agree to have the chief medical officer appear before an all-party committee to consider extending his appointment Again, this speaker that appointment Was taken over to two evenings speaker There will be a vote after question period today And I remind the Honourable General and that when a motion was brought forward to this house to have the chief medical officer of health appear before the select committee with respect to this appointment the NDP turned that down Order the final supplementary The Auditor General was simply saying what numerous health experts in frontline staff and hospitals and long-term care have been saying for months It's time to stop gagging health experts advising the government The other recommended that the government follow the recommendation of the SARS Commission Which is and ensure all recommendations made by the chief medical officer of health are released publicly in order to ensure Transparency for the people of Ontario The people of Ontario deserve to know what advice the chief medical officer of health is giving to the Premier Will he release that information? Thank you, Speaker. Well, in fact that information is released virtually on a daily basis Virtually on a daily basis we the chief medical officer of health spoke in the select committee last week He indicated very clearly that he makes his recommendations his recommendations are accepted by us and then We make the policy that goes through cabinet and then it's publicly reported in addition Dr. Williams appears twice a week at his own briefings without any politicians around to Answer questions of the media to answer questions. They're coming from the issues that the public wants to know about Dr. Williams has been front and center Leading the public health response to this throughout nobody's gagged nobody's muzzled We are listening to what our public health experts have to tell us and we are following their recommendations and We've come through this There's been 1576 deaths that is very very sad and I'm not bragging about what where we are However, it is important to know that Ontario Does have the lowest rate per hundred thousand of any jurisdiction in North America? So clearly we must be doing something right and we must be listening Thank you very much The next question the number four nickel belt. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the premier Was very clear in her report One of the reason we are behind in our COVID-19 response is because the formal liberal government refused For over a decade to implement important recommendations from the auditor general to implement the recommendations from the SARS Commission and implement numerous other report Speaker it's been over two and a half years since this government came to office Bringing with them big promises to clean up the liberal waste and patronage appointment Except really the only thing we've seen is that they've managed to do is to replace them with their own So we know that the premier has not kept that promise Does he have any regret? Thank you speaker, and I thank the member very much for the question. In fact, you are absolutely right We were behind in terms of our ability to start dealing with the COVID-19 crisis because of the fact that the previous government Had not followed up on the recommendations of the auditor general had not followed up from two thousand to two hundred 2013 to 2018 to follow up on the pandemic plan had not done the work necessary to create a Coordinated lab sequence. We did that. We did that in record time. We now have a coordinated system We've updated the technology to connect the labs with the testing stations We have moved forward with public health modernization, which is something that was Recommended by the auditor general We were moving forward to deal with some of the issues that had been quite frankly neglected by the previous government and we did that in record time during the midst of a pandemic with the assistance of Dr Williams and all of the public health experts that were advising us Supplementary question Speaker we also learned yesterday from the auditor general fact-based report was that on top of sitting on Important recommendations the former liberal government also refused to update the province emergency preparedness plan and strategy So again to the speaker to the premier speaker It has been two and a half years Will the government admit that their choice not to fix these liberal messes sooner took us from a bad situation And made things much much worse than they needed to be What I would say it is very unfortunate that we were left in this situation when the pandemic started because of the Inaction of the previous government. However, we did rise to the occasion because it's a pandemic lives Dependent on it and we acted quickly. We were the first province to indicate that COVID-19 was a reportable disease which allowed the local medical officers of health to start their work in testing and contact tracing We were the first to close our schools to protect our children We were the second to declare a state of emergency right after Quebec and we launched into action immediately because we knew that quick action had to be taken So we're able to increase our order from 4,000 tests per day. We're now at the point where we can test 70,000 per day We did 47,000 tests yesterday. We have a little connected lab system We have the 34 medical office response in constant contact with the doctor Williams providing us the local Responses to what they need to do coordinated by dr. Williams So we have created a system to deal with the pandemic in record time and thank you very much The next question the member for mississauga streetsville. Good morning speaker in September our government introduced its return to school plan This comprehensive plan has enabled our children to continue with their education has allowed for vital and safe Socialization in occurrence and has given parents comfort that their children are safe in these difficult times We have seen countless medical professionals speak up in support of the government's plan And about the need to keep schools open for the benefit of all children in Ontario With that in mind with the minister of education, please share the efforts the government has taken so far That has led to the safe reopening of schools. Thank you Thank you very much mr. Speaker I want to thank the member for mississauga streetsville for the question and for the interest in ensuring that Ontario students Can go to class safely each and every day We are at the halfway mark almost in this school year and I think we should irrespective of our political differences acknowledge The massive amount of work by our frontline doctors nurses teachers EAs ECs principles everyone on the front lines working together if there is one truth we could accept as a legislator it is that there is a real focus and Collaboration happening on the ground to keep our kids safe 1.5 million children in this province are learning each and every day With every layer of prevention in place Endorsed by the chief medical officer felt the very individual who gave us the advice supported by all parties to close schools In the spring and reopen them this September. We have fully funded our plan We have over 2700 more teachers over 1200 more custodians on over a hundred and a 48,000 More devices and more than 600 other public health nurses together these investments our protocol is keeping our province and our kids safe The supplementary question Thank you speaker and thank you to the minister for the answer Schools remaining open is invaluable for our children and parents alike During this second wave We are seeing a troubling pattern of growing case numbers in the community and it has been said multiple times by Dr Williams Dr. Yaffe and many other medical professionals that schools reflect the community that they are in Would the minister be able to share what new efforts the government is taking in order to combat covid 19 in hot spot areas In order to protect students education staff and their families. Thank you minister of education Thank you very much speaker for that opportunity. I want to invoke The chief medical officer of london chris macky whom i spoke to recently Members opposite were heckling sort of who can make these claims. Well, let's listen to the chief medical officer of london Perhaps he is an authority to the members and the new democrats and liberals quote A lot of what is happening in schools is a reflection of what is happening in the general community Our schools have excellent protocols No doubt, but that's the case for school boards across this province and quote the truth is speaker There is an acknowledgement and a consensus amongst the medical community first off that schools Remaining open are foundational to the wellness and the mental health of our kids I think we could accept that premise collectively the second is that the intervention we put in place the protocols The layers of prevention the investments in air in air in airflow improvement the investments in hiring of teachers In distancing and the actions we've taken to cohort kids All of this led by our frontline staff and education are keeping kids safe And it is not a coincidence speaker that when you compare us response We have they have four times higher cases per 100 000 schools. We are doing something right We're going to continue today to build up our plan and keep all staff all students safe in ontario The official opposition will come to order The next question the member for waterloo Thank you my questions to the premier yesterday The premier stood at his podium and attacked the auditor general for raising crucial questions about his own choices And his government's covet 19 response It was weird though while the premier had harsh words about the ag when it's his own inaction That's being called out He had nothing but praise for her when she was doing her job under the previous government And I'd like to quote. This is what the premier had said unlike the liberals. We respect the auditor general We respect working with the auditor general Unquote and his health minister had glowing reviews for the ag's work when it wasn't her job on the line as well And I'd like to quote. She has said we do support the work of the auditor general We do listen to what she has said. We think she is thoroughly competent She knows what she's doing. This government used to believe that value for money audits are an important Accountability tool. So my question is to the premier. What has changed? Deputy premier and minister fowl. Thank you speaker. We do respect the work of the auditor general We always have however in the case of this particular report There were some factual inaccuracies that we raised to the auditor general and asked to have an opportunity to discuss them The auditor general points to a document that she indicates was signed off by the deputy minister of health Indicating that the deputy minister agreed with the contents of the report In fact, the document that was signed by the deputy minister Simply indicated that she had provided the auditor general with all of the information that the auditor general had requested pertaining to her investigation But also attached 21 pages of factual inaccuracies. That's what we object to We want the report to be based on the actual facts and we have a disagreement With the auditor general on many of the contents of the report that were not factually accurate supplementary question I never thought I would hear a minister in this house Challenge the qualifications of the auditor general Speaker and it's not just the premier and his health minister who were praising the auditor general in the past The minister of municipal affairs and housing told us and I'd like to quote Our independent officers of the legislature exist to provide the public with unbiased reports and recommendations that rise above the politics of this place And I find it disgusting that the government would risk Eroding the confidence and trust in those officers because they fear taking an electoral hit Or the culture minister has said and I quote Ms. Lizzyk plays an essential role in holding our government accountable. Her work should be valued and commended Not disregarded and demeaned as the government has done in the past Gee, I wonder what has changed speaker The government's choices have hurt the people on the side and order attacking the auditor general does not change That will they admit that this isn't about the AG It is about their own failures to act on behalf of the people of this province Absolutely not in no way are we challenging the qualifications of the auditor general Neither myself nor the premier nor anyone in this government The auditor general does play a very important role as an independent officer of the legislature I completely respect that however It is important that the information that is coming to the auditor general and upon which she bases her reports Are factual factually correct in many cases the information was not correct For instance any suggestion that we were slow in starting our response to covet 19 is not correct Any suggestion that we were not relying on the advice of dr. Williams is not correct There were many inaccuracies that the deputy minister tried to bring to the attention of the auditor general Dr. Williams did as well and I did as well I only found out about this report coming forward the day before it came forward I asked the auditor general to delay the publication of a report so that we could deal with these issues And try and resolve these discrepancies But the auditor general refused to do that The next question remember for all you have Uh, thank you very much. Mr. Speaker my question is for the premier The auditor general revealed the multimillion dollar organizational chart that the premier has put in place for the covet 19 response A structure comprised of some 30 committees over 500 participants with the most important committee being the central coordination table When the high when the auditor highlighted the challenges with this cumbersome Process the premier told her to stick to her job the job. She was hired for She wasn't a health professional and so this wasn't her place Basically, mr. Speaker the premier told the auditor to stick to her knitting While ontario's has hired a chief medical officer of chief medical officer of health to provide health leadership The chief medical officer isn't a part of this committee In fact, mr. Speaker the committee is comprised of career bureaucrats professional communicators and political operas So why did the premier pay millions of dollars for a slow bureaucratic cumbersome committee full of red tape? To hear from people. He doesn't believe have the expertise to provide health advice Thank you very much speaker Well, the member has raised another area where there were perhaps a misunderstanding or some factual inaccuracies in the report of the auditor general There were several tables that she spoke about One was the central command table that was never set up to be a health table That was set up as a table that was going to coordinate the response among the many government ministries Who had a role to play in dealing with covet 19? It wasn't just about health It wasn't just about long-term care. It was about many ministries solicitor general education Colleges and universities many so it was to help get the Ministries out of their silos and be able to speak to each other Because that communication is essential quick communication when you're dealing with a pandemic being able to make those decisions quickly It was not meant to be a health table in the sense of having public health specialists there It was a coordination table now dr. Williams did get involved from time to time when they were discussing Specific health issues, but the main table for dealing with health issues Was the command table which we are required to set up during a pandemic that was set up. Thank you very much Thank you the supplementary question Thank you, mr. Speaker my supplementals also for the premier for months Mr. Speaker the premier told ontarians. He was listening to doctors doctors would guide his government's actions Doctors would inform the government on what they should do to handle the pandemic and like most ontarians mr. Speaker I thought the premier was talking about medical doctors But lo and behold thanks to the excellent work of the auditor general We learned that the pandemic's most important committee the one that filters all of the advice and information to cabinet The one that the minister claims is responsible for the whole of government approach Doesn't actually include the province's most senior medical professional In fact, mr. Speaker the most Important committee responding to coven 19 is full of political operatives spin doctors, mr. Speaker who Contribute to providing a coven 19 advice So why is the government filtering their coven 19 advice through political and communications advisors? Instead of allowing medical experts medical leaders to do the job the government hired them for to provide advice Mr. Health Well, um, as I just indicated the central command table was not the one that made the health decisions That was at the health command table of which dr. Williams was deeply involved He was at every single meeting as were the public health Ontario as was the public health measures table Which had a number of the local medical officers of health on that committee as well as other public health experts That was the table that advised the government about the measures They were recommending that we take and I don't know but perhaps the member Didn't see the the presentation made by dr. Williams at the select committee last week where he was specifically asked If the government was following his recommendations and he indicated. Yes He's also available twice a week to the members of the media and to the public to answer questions He's indicated very clearly that we have been listening to the health advice We have been receiving since the beginning of this pandemic and we'll we'll keep on doing so Thank you the next question the member for mississauga streetsville Mr. Speaker my question is to the minister of municipal affairs and housing Minister as you know, we are now in the second wave of the pandemic and the cold weather has arrived The government took decisive action during the first wave and announced the first phase of the social services relief funding Which went directly to service managers and indigenous partners This funding was critical to provide urgent funding for rent banks purchase ppe And expand homeless shelters, especially in peel region and my riding of mississauga streetsville Can you please explain what your government has done to prepare for our most vulnerable for the second wave ahead? Of the winter months. Thank you Thank you the minister of municipal affairs and housing thanks Thanks, speaker, and I want to thank the the member from mississauga streetsville Not just for the question but her tremendous advocacy in the city of mississauga and the region appeal So thank you very much for the question I'm i'm pleased to stand at our house today to speak to our Government's commitment to help the most vulnerable especially in the face of the second wave of covet 19 Last month the speaker. I was pleased to stand proud to stand with our premier and and fellow ministers to announce the second phase of our social services relief fund This funding is part of our government's $510 million investment to support homeless shelters create and renovate more than 1500 housing units and provide additional Fundings for rent banks across ontario our most vulnerable need our support speaker And i'm proud that our government stands with them investing in their safety The supplementary question Thank you, mr. Speaker and thank you to the minister of municipal affairs and housing for that response Minister as the member for mississauga streetsville I know that people in my riding have been hard hit throughout the pandemic including our most vulnerable I want to be able to tell my constituents exactly how our government is helping vulnerable ontarians in my riding Can you please explain how this funding will be used in peel region to protect those who need our help? Thank you Minister of municipal affairs and housing thanks again speaker through you to the member for mississauga streetville That is a very important question. Our government recently approved the region of peel's Entire business case for their second round of the social services relief fund funding This means that peel region will receive 9.7 million dollars in new funding for important initiatives like providing rent assistance for an additional 625 households the acquisition of an emergency Family shelter upgrades to existing shelters in the region hiring new staff Purchasing food new linens new PPE Mr. Speaker these investments will ensure that our partners have the resources that they need to Protect our most vulnerable citizens that continue to battle this crisis. Thank you for the question The next question the member for davin port. Thank you, mr. Speaker. Good morning My question is to the premier yesterday's auditor general report revealed the government spent 1.6 million Dollars to develop the government's confusing and very ineffective command structure And another 3.2 million to develop their disastrous school reopening plan All of this money nearly 5 million public dollars went to consultant companies Rather than to keeping the people of ontario the children of ontario safe from covet 19 How can the government possibly justifies these astronomical expenses? Mr. Speaker we have unveiled a plan with 1.3 billion dollars of investment That should not be an abstraction to members opposite It happens to be the highest investment of any province in this country by far and why Why did we do that? Why did we unlock 1.3 billion dollars of federal dollars of reserve dollars and of provincial monies because in this province this government believes The continuity of learning is important is foundational And we will do everything we can to safeguard the gains the progress made by our frontline teachers parents and kids to keep Schools open. It's why the minister of health under her leadership in the premier Have taken action province-wide with further restrictions to ensure we keep schools open to ensure our kids And our seniors and the most vulnerable remain safe We will continue today and those and going forward to build up our plan Respond to this risk and do everything possible to reduce community transmission in this province The supplementary question Thank you, mr. Speaker Well, I understand why the minister doesn't want to respond to this because half the schools in this province now have COVID-19 cases Every single dollar That you put that this government puts in the pocket of consultants is a dollar that should have gone To keeping families in this province safe And the truth is that this government didn't like what teachers and epidemiologists what the experts at SIG kids What parents the advice they were giving them for free? They didn't like it So they went out and they paid us consultants millions of dollars to tell them what they wanted to hear Good Mr. Speaker Kids are being pulled out of classrooms to quarantine because of uncontrolled outbreaks in this province teachers are exhausted From trying to do everything in their power to help their kids because the government has failed them Why did the government waste so many millions of dollars instead of listening to the health and education experts? Right here in the province of otario Mr. Vegetation Speaker the true failure is the campaign of fear advanced by members opposite instead of standing with parents All of whom face anxiety as we deal with a global pandemic We're not an island and of ourself we deal with this global challenge And what are we doing in this province the member opposite thankfully introduce a data point which I know She normatively is averse to doing here's a statistic That hopefully to an objective mind not an ideological one may instill some confidence 99 0.94 percent of students of this province do not have an active case most importantly 99 0.8 percent of students never had a case of covid Speaker I recognize for each and every case it creates angst But when you compare a plan for example to the next largest province They have roughly four times the rate of transmission than in ontario for schools Responds I know that is inconvenient and I know it frustrates The member for davin port will come to order the minister of municipal affairs and housing will come to order I'm going to move on the next question Member for scarborough gildwood Thank you speaker. My question is to the premier unlike the premier I want to thank the auditor general for her report that she tabled yesterday All her findings were signed off by officials The ag notes that when testing and contact tracing is done effectively a person's likelihood of transmitted covid 19 Can be reduced by 80 percent That's why ontarians were shocked to read that the province was delayed in expanding testing capacity Despite warnings to the chief medical officer of health by public health ontario It has long been clear that the government's plan has been in response to covid 19 has been opaque reactionary and marked by disorganization secrecy and chaos Now we know that the chief medical officer's advice has been filtered by a political committee ontarians deserve answers on how our leaders are making decisions with life And death decisions. We have just cleared another grim milestone of death Speaker through you to to the minister or the premier Will you commit today to work transparently with public health officials instead of working around them to restore the trust and confidence? Thank you very much minister of health It's hard to know where to start with that question First of all on the assertion that the auditor general made that her report was signed off By the deputy minister of health that is not the case nor would it be appropriate for the Deputy minister to sign off that is a decision for elected politicians to make What the deputy minister signed off on was as I indicated earlier I was a document indicating that she had filed and provided all of the information That the auditor general had requested for the purpose of her investigation But she also attached 21 pages of factual inaccuracies that were not dealt with and I think that's really important to remember In the context of the auditor general's report There are some comments that she makes with respect to some systemic issues, which we of course accept Some of them relate to the failures of the previous government Their failure to act their failure to update their pandemic response plan since 20 Thank you very much. Thank you And the supplementary question Thank you speaker speaker. I'm not going to quibble about who signed off on the report This government has a very poor record of officials signing off on their reports The government's delay and fractured leadership has severely hampered the ability of public health units to carry out This process effectively in response to covet 19 in october the toronto public health was so overwhelmed That it made the difficult decision to suspend contact tracing outside of outbreaks in congregant care settings These local units need support speaker They are now being asked to do more by this minister and this government They need funds to do outreach in covet hotspot areas They are asking for the support and despite the downloading of responsibilities to the public health units This government has not provided any additional funding since the outset of the pandemic And they were shamefully left out of this government's recent budget Speaker through you back to the minister Will you commit today to adequately funding public health units to do the important work that this province requires and that they are Thank you very much Thank you speaker to say that I disagree with everything the member opposite said would be a huge understatement We have put money in we have put billions of dollars into protecting the health and well-being of the people of ontario We have put over a billion dollars in testing tracing and contact management We have put extra resources into the hotspot areas into toronto and peel We are moving forward with all of the recommendations that we were given by the chief medical officer of health and the many other Public health officials who have knowledge of what needs to be done here through public health ontario through the public health measures table And the many many public health physicians that stand behind them that are volunteering their time to suggest that we are not acting on their response Is is completely wrong because Again, I have to speak for the numbers they speak for themselves If we were doing everything wrong Why does ontario stand Number one in north america in terms of the lowest number of cases per hundred thousand Thank you very much. Thank you The next question member for mississauga streetsville Thank you speaker My question is to the minister of finance We all know that small businesses are struggling due to covet 19 and we've seen an incredible Economic uncertainty here at home and around the world I know our government is making unprecedented investments to support businesses today and help them survive the global pandemic But our job creators will no doubt need help even when the crisis is behind us minister What is the government doing to prepare ontario today and plan for our economic recovery tomorrow The parliamentary assistant member for one of them Thank you very much. Mr. Speaker. I want to thank the member from mississauga streetsville I know that small businesses in her riding are facing an incredible challenge during the second wave And she's been an unrelenting unrelenting voice for them here at queen's park Speaker one day and hopefully soon covet 19 will be behind us And when that time comes every jurisdiction in the world will be competing for jobs and investments Ontario must be ready And while our focus right now is on protecting ontarians and supporting businesses We're also looking around the corner and laying that foundation for recovery That's why in our budget ontario's action plan support protect recover Our government is investing 4.8 billion dollars in measures that provide direct supports to businesses today And set them up for success and growth tomorrow The supplementary question I thank the parliamentary system for that answer Ontario is the economic engine of our country and my city of mississauga is home to some incredible job creators For years the previous governments burdensome red tape skyrocketing hydro bills and rising taxes Droll companies jobs and investment out of my community As the parliamentary system noted when this pandemic is behind us Ontario can't afford to be second Can the minister of finance explain how the 4.8 billion dollars of investment in ontario's recovery Will provide the immediate support businesses need and make us competitive for the future global economy. Thank you Thank you speaker ontario's action plan focuses on reducing the immediate Fixed costs that job creators pay today like employer health tax a tax on jobs The provincial portion of commercial property taxes and industrial electricity rates just to name a few These are real costs for businesses speaker big and small and they're paying it today And that's why our government is reducing them or eliminating them permanently And as every business owner knows speaker a dollar saved is a dollar earned But these measures also lay the foundation for future economic success The reductions in electricity costs for example will take ontario from the least competitive jurisdiction for energy To one of the most competitive out there These measures speaker have an instant impact But they also prepare us for that important economic success in the months and years ahead when covet 19 is nothing more than a memory Thank you Thank you very much the next question the member for london fanshaw. Thank you speaker. My question is to the premier After covet 19 outbreaks were initially reported in two Units at london health sciences center university hospital on november 10th and november 11th The middle sex health unit is reporting that outbreaks have now spread to all medical floors at the hospital With that with that news there are significant cases among patients and staff the people in my community are worried They're worried for their loved ones at work In or are getting treatment at university hospital and they're worried for themselves in case they need urgent care According to dr. Mackie medical officer of health The expanded outbreak is alarming and said the health unit is working closely with the hospital officials to implement additional measures Including halting admissions for the next week, but they cannot do it alone How is this government going to help london health sciences university hospital pull through this crisis? Thank you very much minister of health Well, I thank the member very much for the question. This has been a concern at a number of hospitals in ontario with covet because of staff Contracting covet and some of the the patients as well However, they have specific procedures for outbreak management Within those hospitals that they are working on to contain The spread to make sure that the staff if they're ill, of course, they need to Be tested and and be at home But for the patients there there are rigorous procedures that are set in place We are involved with the hospitals on a daily basis to understand if they need any further Human resources or any other resources in order to deal with that But we are finding that the hospitals are doing a very good job at containing the outbreaks and protecting the patients within the hospital Supplementary Speaker i've heard from families who didn't learn about the outbreak from the hospital Even though their loved ones was receiving treatment from there. They learned about it from the media I've heard from families who after being assured their loved one was in a safe place in the hospital They received a call the next day informing them that their loved ones had caught covet I've heard from families that due to the resulting changes to the hospital's visitor policy They've had to fight to be by their dying loved one side Needless to say this is a horrible reality that no family should have to live through What is this government's plan to ensure that no other family has to live through this horrible tragedy? Thank you. I believe there are several issues here One is the issue of community transmission That I know dr. Mackie is working very hard to contain and he provides us with regular updates About what is happening in his community. He speaks with dr. Williams and then decisions are made whether to move Your community from green to yellow yellow to orange orange to red with increasing restrictions based on that So that is one way that we are dealing with that is by being in touch with the local medical officer of health And putting in more restrictions if that's necessary in the community in the hospital most hospitals right now Have patients with covet within their hospitals and they are using very very specific precautionary procedures to deal With the with both the patients as well as the staff making sure that the staff have the necessary Personal protective equipment making sure that only certain staff are working in those areas We are working very hard to contain their response with respect to covet within every hospital And they do a very very specific Careful procedures for dealing with that Thank you very much the next question member for guelph Speaker my question is for the premier Oakville Burlington Alton Hills Mississauga Guelph Thunder Bay Milton the list of municipalities asking this government to cancel its rollback back A flood protection is growing by the day Despite the patronizing claim from government that they are helping conservation authorities achieve their goal Conservation authorities are saying that bill 229 Will gut their ability to protect us from flooding at a huge cost to people in communities Because they are giving the minister the power to override science-based decisions So speaker can the premier explain to the people of this province How the minister can possibly be better qualified to determine the safety of building on a flood plain Then experts trained in watershed management and flood mitigation To respond for the government the member for berry innisville and parliament Thank you speaker well over the past year and a half As you know the government consulted broadly with a wide range of stakeholders About the role of conservation authorities protecting and preserving interiors natural spaces and through those consultations One being in my backyard of berry We heard from many organizations conservation authorities environmental organizations He will cross the province of how we can improve the consistency and transparency of all CAs And and through that we've made several changes for proposing but it still means we're still resolute in our commitment To making sure we have far-reaching changes that increase the accountability consistency and transparency and of course These proposed changes are a mechanism that that we want to ensure that there's consistency across the sector And that we can listen to all parties involved and One thing that we want to be crystal clear on speaker is that In any myths response is about permitting decisions and the decisions are still based on science that are considered in section 28.1 and just as they did previously that will continue and full stop from there So we don't need to fear longer. Thank you Supplemental question Speaker speaking of the member opposites backyard I'd like to quote from a press release from the lake simcoe region conservation authority Calling on the province to I quote Repill schedule six a budget measures bill 229 I'd like to offer a second quote from the same conservation authority and I quote The changes will in fact strip conservation authorities of our ability to ensure that people Infrastructure in the environment are protected from damage and destruction that cannot be repaired So I don't know who the government Consulted with but it doesn't seem like they consulted with and or listened to the very people Who for over 70 years have made ontario a jurisdiction the question to prevent flooding So I asked the member opposite through you speaker Will the government listen to local leaders today and commit to removing and canceling their attack on conservation authorities ability to protect Number for baryannisville Thank you speaker and I and I think the local conservation authority further work And I work quite closely with them actually on improving that lake simcoe as I mentioned yesterday in this house But let me be crystal clear to help us any myths that about the minister's Purning permitting decisions in these situations that the member is discussing The exact same criteria standards definitions or rules will be considered and the rigor remains unchanged in these changes Decisions will be based on science. That's considered in section 28 one a bnc in the act Just as they did previously that will continue full stop Municipalities and provinces will continue to be able to work with conservation authorities and rely on their advice and support for appeals and planning decisions increasing accountability consistency and transparency by streamlining land use planning processes through the one window approach But the liberals the greens they like to pontificate on Like the pulpit about the importance of conservation authorities But interestingly enough not once is it featured in their environment plans Thank you. Thank you. The next question member for windsor to come to you. Thank you speaker My question is for the premier of the government house leader. Good morning minister Speaker, we're dealing with a worldwide pandemic. We're told to wash our hands frequently to protect ourselves My windsor office tells me people are having their waters shut off Because they're falling behind on their payments Speaker y is a government allowing local utilities commissions to cut off water service during a pandemic Thank you very much, mr. Speaker and I do I do appreciate the honorable member for raising for raising this with me I have done a little bit of work on it since he first raised it with me. It's my understanding and he is quite correct that local utility did provide a A moratorium on disconnections in march, which they have since Let let expire obviously we're going to take a look at that. Mr. Speaker. If my understanding is this is the same utility that was charged by the antero energy board significantly significantly charged by the antero energy board for Disconnecting hydro Earlier than they should have so he raises a very important point. Obviously, this is extremely important and That's the information I have for him right now and I will look into it further for him Supplementary question. Thank you speaker some utilities commissions contract out their bill collection services These contractors just don't care about a pandemic or hygiene. They just want their commissions Will the government give us a clear commitment today? That no one else in Ontario will lose their access to water Because they've fallen behind on their bill payments and being hounded by collection agencies And the government Again, again, as I said, thank the honorable member He sincerely brought this to me a little bit earlier And I do appreciate that have been doing a little bit of work since he first brought it to me. He is quite correct having access to To water during a pandemic is incredibly important. So he has my Firm commitment that upon the conclusion of question period today. I will Reach out to the minister of energy and inquire for him immediately on this The next question the member for Ottawa band Thank you, mr. Speaker. My question is to the premier speaker in a recent environmental audit the auditor general Highlighted the failure of this government to ensure meaningful public participation in decision making processes Regarding the environment concerns included not giving the public ample time to respond to complex proposal Not notifying the public of decision in a timely manner and not providing a sufficient amount of information to the public In bill 229 the government continues this trend of trolling caution to the wind and making reckless changes To the statutes that protect our our environment without meaningful Consultation could the premier explain what concrete actions if any are being taken to address the auditor's general concern As they relate to the proposed changes to conservation authorities under schedule six of bill 229 To reply on behalf of the government the member for berry in a spill and parliamentary system Thank you, speaker And we thank for for the for those findings and as I mentioned earlier, of course There's examples of when our government is working to ensure canadian Ontarians have additional time to share feedback Of course, it was through this government that we made changes to the ebr to encourage more public Consultations and its ability to be something that's easier for people to use so they can add the comment But in addition Is a scene on in july the ministry initiated a 45 day consultation period on proposed amendments to eight class environmental assessments Four proposals to extend projects related to indigenous land claim settlements projects within provincial park conservation reserves and select Ministry of transportation projects Additional consultation time was also provided for indigenous communities as well as other agencies Who specifically requested extensions? So there is proof that we have extensions and again in september the ministry also posted proposed list of projects That would be subject to comprehensive assessment for 60 days Comment period and so these are examples of how we have been opening up. Thank you very much the supplementary question Speaker watersheds are not bound by municipal borders The failure of one municipality to protect its watershed affects every municipality within that watershed This is exactly why each conservation authority includes multiple municipalities So that the entire watershed is managed in a consistent way The changes proposed and built 229 However would require conservation authorities to make separate agreements with each individual municipality Meaning that some municipalities could decide to protect their watershed while others do not Can the premier explain how allowing each municipality to manage their section of the watershed in their own way? We'll contribute to stronger overall watershed management in ontario Great Again the reply member for baryannisville. Thank you. Thank you speaker. And again, we're helping conservation authorities reach their goals by improving Improving their operations and giving them more transparency, but it's rich coming from the member because You know, she represents a party that carved into the green belt 17 different times making it look like swiss cheese So I question their ideals on the environment and even their own leader del duke and she knows this Had railroaded their their own conservation authorities recommendation so that he He can put in a private pool, mr. Speaker So when it comes to the interests of ontarians and of course protecting the environment This government has a legacy of protecting the environment whether it's the living legacy find the okrages marine It was under a conservative government in 1946 that george a duke's government created conservation authorities And we're continuing to focus on conservation authorities and the response that we mentioned our environment plan Unlike your party who doesn't even mention them in your environment plan. Thank you The next question the member for hamilton west and castor dunbass Thank you, mr. Speaker. My question this morning is for the premier The city of hamilton mayors across ontario provincial watchdogs citizens groups like environment Hamilton and thousands thousands of ontarians across the province Have raised concerns with schedule six of bill 229 This will gut the ability of conservation authorities to protect our wetlands and our watersheds Yet the mpp for flamborough glambora has called these legitimate concerns Just a lot of noise from special interest groups My question does the premier support these types of comments Member for barry anisville to reply Thank you, speaker and our focus is clear our conservation authorities are featured in the made interior environment plan Which lays out a framework for how we're protecting the environment not only strengthening and improving our conservation authorities by Delivering on something the outer general Pointed out in her report, which is the lack of transparency. We had conservation authorities across this province that were Building out wetlands something that I know members opposite would disagree with and so again This is a common standard across Again proving the record of this government when it comes to the environment and improving conservation authorities Like I mentioned We were the it was this government that created the conservation authorities under george a Drew and we won't be taking lessons from the new democrats who Had several chances to talk about the environment and their platform and conservation authorities It wasn't there and then they introduced their green new democratic deal And it had no mention of conservation authorities So it's interesting that you're curious about now, but all along this government has been taking action And we're delivering on goals and accomplishments. Thank you. Thank you Supplementary question Speaker I would just like to say this government is not taking lessons from anyone when it comes to the environment And with answers like this all I can say is thank goodness for the auditor general Because the auditor general just issued a scathing report on this government's record on the environment I mean the auditor general among others saying that you are not giving the public enough time to weigh on Important environmental issues that that impact their communities This bill just does exactly that I mean the auditor general in fact said that you're not even compliant with with the environmental bill of rights But what we see is pc donors being awarded development contracts Impacting provincial significant wetlands and ministerial zoning orders that are being taken place in protected wetlands So my question really how is anyone in Ontario supposed to take you seriously? And supposed to trust that you are making decisions for what's best for our environment and not for your donors For my members to make their comments through the chair To reply the member for Barry Innisville. Thank you. Thank you speaker and again When it comes to strengthening this environment, we have a proven record. We're not just talking the talk We're actually walking the walk again and strengthening on conservation authorities again talking about cleaning up our communities I mean the member opposite might find it laughable But these are things that matter to people so they can actually be empowered to do something about their environment And and practice personal responsibility something that I know members opposite Don't believe in personal responsibility is up to them. They would ban everything in life But on this side of the house, uh, every member of our, uh, our office cares about the environment Whether it's the minister's transportation through her transportation bill Who's lowering greenhouse gas emissions by getting less cars of the road off the road Whether it's our minister of tourism culture and sport who's increasing the amount of people They're connecting with nature by improving tourism in our parks Mr. Speaker, I can name countless examples of other members of racaucas who care about the environment because on this side of the house Not just the minister of the environment Thank you very much that concludes our question period for this morning the government hosts