 It is now time for oral questions. I recognize the leader of Her Majesty's loyal opposition. Thank you, Speaker. Before I start, I just want to acknowledge that Eid starts this evening and into tomorrow. I want to wish Eid Mubarak to all of our Muslim friends who are celebrating the end of Ramadan in the next 24-48 hours. And I also want to acknowledge that today is International Nursing Day and thank all of the nurses who have worked so hard to help get us through this COVID-19 pandemic. They deserve our respect and gratitude. And I can say to Greg, congratulations. I was just talking to John Vantov here, our house leader who says any of us after 33 years would be not looking as young and vigorous as you in retirement. Anyways, my question is to the Premier. Thank you for the opportunity, Speaker. The Long-Term Care Commission, as we know, obtained notes from the Long-Term Care Minister about some of her thoughts around what was happening at the beginning of the first wave of COVID-19 and long-term care. And on April 17th, she wrote this, military plan needed get them in within 24-48 hours, homes spiral down quickly. Now, the Premier didn't ask for the Canadian Armed Forces to come in until about five days later. So my question is, why did the Premier wait five days to act on this urgent issue? To apply on behalf of the government, the government house leader. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. As the leader of the opposition, I know from yesterday's question period, the question period before, of course, we were very grateful for the Canadian Armed Forces and the service that they provided the people of the province of Monterra. And of course, I know that they were active in other provinces as well, Mr. Speaker. Look, as I said yesterday, we were, of course, and I know the leader of the opposition will appreciate this, that we were on the defense for the better part of a year on the first wave of COVID-19, primarily because of the situation that the previous Liberal government had left the province's long-term care homes in, Mr. Speaker. But we moved very quickly to address that both before the pandemic, during the pandemic and since, Mr. Speaker, whether it's on a staffing strategy to bring in 27,000 additional PSWs, Mr. Speaker, a buildout of our long-term care homes, thousands of new homes, refurbishing of old homes, we can eliminate the war at homes, Mr. Speaker. A lot has been done. More needs to be done, Mr. Speaker. But as I said yesterday in the day before, very grateful for the work of the Canadian Armed Forces. It's a supplementary question. I would hope that the Premier would show one iota of respect for these families and answer the questions that they have as to what went on in long-term care. The military personnel, when they arrived, found two particular homes that were in disgraceful disrepair, infested with cockroaches, infested with other animals, mould, mushrooms growing in the homes. They also found 26 seniors who died, not of COVID-19, but of dehydration and neglect, is how they put it, dehydration and neglect. When all they needed, and I quote from the military personnel, was water and a wipe down. The Minister of Long-Term Care knew that the Canadian Armed Forces needed to be called in urgently on April 17th, but yet they were not requested until five days later. So my question is, when did the Ministry of Long-Term Care, the Minister of Long-Term Care, ask the Premier to call in the military? Your Honor, Premier. Thank you very much, and I want to thank the Leader of the Opposition for the question. You know, first of all, again, I want to thank the military. I've always supported the military. They did a great job. They came in when we were under a crisis, and there's no secret about long-term care being under a crisis. And I first want to acknowledge the families who lost loved ones and who were impacted by what happened in long-term care. It was tragic and it was very troubling. It was a terrible situation. Our government called the Commission to action to provide accountability and justice to the families as soon as possible. It now, now all of our responsibilities are to fix the system, the system that was broken, Mr. Speaker, for 15 years, a system that was ignored for 15 years under the NDP and the Liberal government. We're throwing hundreds of millions of dollars fixing the system. We're making sure we're building new long-term care beds, new long-term rapid care facilities in long-term care. We're going to fix the problem that was neglected for 15 years under the Liberal NDP government. Thank you. The final supplement. It's really clear that the Premier just slid past the obligation for accountability and justice for those families. And that is not acceptable. The military trained for combat were actually, these folks are expected to see the worst in their training, right? They were horrified by the very thought of having to go back into those homes. They didn't want to go. In fact, one person said, the thought of doing so sucked the life right out of you. One medic said that he saw more death in one week alone in long-term care than he had seen in all of his tours of duty combined. On April 17th, the Minister of Long-Term Care noted that the military were needed immediately in 24 hours. And yet it didn't happen. So did she not pass that urgency on to the Premier or did he just decide to wait five days instead of being urgent in the response? Premier? Again, Mr. Speaker, as our military folks went in there, we're very grateful. We're very appreciative. And it just showed, and I came out numerous times, there was problems. There was holes in the system. Again, ignored and created for 15 years. Not even 15 years. Not Bob Ray, not Mike Harris, not Dalton McGinty, not Kathleen Nguyen could even fix the problem. They ignored the problem. Matter of fact, under the NDP Liberal government, they created 600 beds. We're going to create 30,000 new beds. We're going to hire 28,000 new PSWs and nursing staff. We're going to make sure every single home has air conditioning. And again, I go back to the CBC Reporter that brought that up. And we're listening to people. So as of yesterday, they have a plan over 90% of the homes are going to have air conditioning into the rooms, into the common areas. We're going to fix every single problem that decades and multiple governments of all stripes failed. We will fix that problem once and for all. The next question, leader of the opposition. Thanks, Speaker. My next question is also for the Premier. Speaker, on May 26th of last year, the Premier promised families who watched their loved ones die in horrifying conditions in long-term care that they would have justice. And they would get an investigation into what happened to their loved ones. And again, in July, the Premier made the promise, and I quote, I made a commitment to our long-term care residents and their families that there would be accountability and justice. This is the Premier's own words back in July. But a year later, I mean, I'm sure the Premier knows this, but I'm going to remind him, because he seems to have forgotten, in response to the last question I asked, the accountability and justice has yet not arrived for the families who lost loved ones in long-term care, for the survivors of the horrors that happened all through last year. Speaker, my question is, a year after nothing has happened, why did the Premier break his promise to these families? Again, through you, Mr. Speaker, I just want to remind the leader of the opposition. I was the one who called for the commission. I was happy that the commission was putting together a report. I was happy the auditor general called for a report. I was happy that we called on OPP if there was anything that went wrong illegally to go in there and investigate. It was our government that did it. And according to the commission report, I'm going to quote this, many of the challenges that had festered in long-term care sector for decades, chronic underfunding, severe staffing shortages, again, under the NDP leadership and liberal leadership, outdated infrastructure, poor oversight, contributed to deadly consequences for Ontario's most vulnerable citizens, during the pandemic. That was quoted from the commission. All my question is, Mr. Speaker, what did the leader of the opposition do for 15 years? Order. 15 years when these homes were in disarray. We're going to fix the problem. We're going to build thousands of new beds. Thank you. Supplementary. Speaker, the reports are many. There's just no doubt about it, but they describe horrors. Of course, we've just seen recently some military reports debriefing notes from the military. Here's what they were dealing with. Cockroaches and animal infestations. Residents literally abandoned in their beds crying out for help. Management denying military teams access to crucial, crucial information in the charts of these, the medical charts of these residents. One Canadian Armed Forces member said this, and I quote, management should be charged. That's what the military opinion was of the situation. So why didn't this premier act immediately? Why did he break his promise to the families in Ontario for that justice and accountability that they so deserve, Speaker? To this day, he is still denying accountability and justice for families. Why? Government House. I think just the opposite, Mr. Speaker. I think what you've seen is that the premier was, as he just said, was very quick to ensure that Commission of Inquiry was called. The Auditor General has done an investigation on this, Mr. Speaker. We had started well in advance of the pandemic to address some of the problems that we knew were part of the long-term care system, the chronic underfunding of the system, the fact that only 400 beds had been built, or 600 beds, excuse me, in the decade leading up to the pandemic, Mr. Speaker. So we're addressing a lot of those issues. So thousands of new PSWs that will be coming into the system, thousands of new beds, refurbishing old, outdated buildings, Mr. Speaker. Four hours of care. These are all of the things that we're doing, in addition to the transition to Ontario health team, so that there is a blanket of care, whether it's long-term care, home care, acute care, response, increasing ICU beds. We are taking the actions that should have been taken decades before. We're doing it now before, during, and after the pandemic. The final supplementary. Well, Speaker, our Canadian Armed Forces personnel were pretty clear. In their opinion, what happened was criminal. This was criminal is what they said. So I wrote to the OPP Commissioner last week and on Monday I received a response that they are reviewing my request, asking them to look at what the CAF described. This Premier, this Minister, any one of those cabinet members on the other side should have taken the initiative to march those Canadian Armed Forces notes and reports straight over to the OPP for review. My question is, why instead of doing that, did they bring legislation forward to protect private operators of long-term care and the government from accountability and justice? Members, please take your seats. And the Premier to reply. Again, Mr. Speaker, just to compare notes here, over a few short years, a couple years, our government were investing $9.6 billion that the previous government and the NDP which never, never do. They just left it there. They invested zero into long-term care. We're exceeding the NDP's own platform target of 30% increase in spending by 2028. With our pandemic pay program alone, we have 8,636 staff. On the budget, we contain $4.9 billion in new funding over four years to reach standards of four hours of care, which is unheard of, which is really unheard of of the four hours of care. So we're blazing a new trail in Canada with this four hours of care in the US and a lot of people are going to follow our lead. We announced $9.3 billion. Thank you. Thank you. Official opposition will come to order. The next question. Member for Waterloo. Thank you very much. My question is to the Premier. Speaker, three weeks ago, a journalist asked the Science Table's Dr. Peter Juney if the Science Table advised the Premier to close outdoor recreational activities like tennis and golf courses. Dr. Juney said, and I quote, no, of course not the opposite. Ontario Science Table has been clear allowing the safe outdoor recreational activity is smart. And by shutting these things down, the Premier and cabinet are not getting to the root cause of the pandemic, which is indoor spread. Restrictions on the outdoors disproportionately affect and harm children and people who don't have access to their own green space. So my question is to the government and to the Premier, who advised who advised cabinet to close outdoor recreation facilities in the first place and what evidence was used to make that decision? Premier. You, Mr. Speaker, you know, I have a great deal of respect for the Health Table and the Science Table. We did receive a couple of messages there to limit mobility. So we wanted to limit mobility. And when I asked Dr. Brown from the Science Table, he has a little chart, yes, no. What you can do, what you can't do. And when it was outdoor playgrounds, I just saw it last week and we'll send a copy over to the Leader of the Opposition. It had a big no to it. Yes, to open it up if everyone wore masks. Mr. Speaker, how many people, when you drive by those playgrounds, do you see wearing a mask? You don't see anyone wearing a mask. So there was a little bit of a message. Limit mobility, make sure everyone stays at home. But in other cases, if they go out, everyone has to wear a mask. I understand that. The good news is, Mr. Speaker, the good news is numbers are leveling off. So the protocol and the guidelines are working. And Mr. Speaker, I listened to everyone, but I listened to Dr. Williams. He's a Chief Medical Officer and he believes that people need the limit mobility they need to stay home. Thank you. Speaker, on Monday, the Toronto Board of Health unanimously voted to ask the government to walk back the closures of outdoor amenities. Closing these facilities was not based on science or health. Dr. De Villa put it nicely saying, there's a real opportunity to use the outdoors and use the warm weather as allies to help us support people in enjoying better physical health and enjoying better mental health. And at the same time, doing it in a way that reduces the spread of COVID-19. Speaker, there's overwhelming evidence and support for safe outdoor activities. Instead of cabinet ministers debating the question to golf or not to golf, please take this question off the table and focus on opening schools and creating safer workplaces. Work with our science table to lift the restrictions on outdoor recreation with clear communication guidelines. This is possible. Will the government commit to this action today? You actually can do something right, right here, right now during this pandemic. Premier. Speaker, I appreciate the question. I always go down to root cause. Root cause. Why are we in this situation, Mr. Speaker? We're in this situation because... Take receipt. Opposition, come to order. Premier, please reply. The variance, we know 90% of all cases flew into this country, came across the border in this country. And one-third, one-third as a report came out, one-third of the people that are supposed to be staying in a quarantine hotel don't even bother staying in there. We have thousands of people that come through the Pearson, 150,000 in the last two weeks crossing the borders into Canada with two separate rules. Two separate rules. There's thousands of people coming here with the variance and it's being spread right across the province. We need the federal government to have tougher restrictions at the land borders, tougher restrictions at Pearson, tougher restrictions flying in from across the... Thank you. The next question, the member for Willowdale. Well, thank you very much, Speaker. You know, I don't think there's any doubt that we all agree that Toronto is a world-class city. And one of the biggest reasons for that is because of my neighborhood of Willowdale. But Willowdale's not without its challenges. And one of those challenges is that my neighborhood has the dubious distinction of being the only neighborhood that I know of, Speaker, in the country that has two subway lines, that dead end in our neighborhood. And this is a big deal for Willowdale-ers. It's... Our subway maps have been embarrassing for decades and when you look around the world to other world-class cities like New York, Paris, Seoul, their subway maps look like cobwebs, Speaker. And it's something that is important to the people of my neighborhood. So yesterday marked a big day for our government because we heard an announcement confirming that the funding was there to get these projects built in the greater Toronto area, including in my home neighborhood of Willowdale. So my question is to the Associate Minister of Transportation, what will this announcement made yesterday mean for priority transit projects in the GTA? Question. The Associate Minister of Transportation with responsibility for the GTA. Thank you very much for the question. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yesterday was a great day. We did it, Mr. Speaker. We achieved what Benny called was the impossible. I want to thank the federal government for endorsing the Premier's Transit Plan. Since 2019, Minister Mulroney has been advocating for transit infrastructure investment to get a good deal for Ontario. Combined with the province's $17 billion commitment, the Transit Plan for the Greater Toronto Area marks the largest subway expansion in Canadian history. We now have secured funding for our Ontario line, our three-stop Scarborough Subway, the Young North Subway extension, and of course, predominantly tunneled Eglinton Crosstown West extension. Residents in Toronto and York Region can rest assured that our subway plan will be built. Well, thank you, Speaker. And I agree with the Associate Minister. Yesterday is a fantastic day. Not only did thanks to the efforts of our health team get six and a half million doses, first doses into the arms of adults here in Ontario, but this is a project that we campaigned on, that the Premier campaigned on, and said, we're going to get subways built. It's one of my election promises, Speaker, to no longer have two subway lines at dead end in the Great Riding of Willowdale. So I agree, I share the optimism of the Associate Minister, but forgive Willowdaleers for being questioned. They're wondering how we're going to make sure that we actually get shovels into the ground. So back to the Associate Minister, Speaker. How is the province going to seize on this opportunity to make sure that we actually get this thing right? The Associate Minister. Thank you very much. Our government is committed to re-envisioning how transit is built and the people it will serve. While building our transit expansion, we will also be building transit-oriented communities, dynamic, complete communities centered around good planning principles. We have all seen over the past 13 months that people living within large urban centres like Toronto and York Region have been confined to their immediate neighbourhoods. This further demonstrates the need to build complete communities around transit that can connect people to where they need to go and to essential services. Communities where everything you need is within 15 minutes walking around your neighbourhood. That is the dream, Mr. Speaker. It is time to make public transit more attractive option and to rethink the way we plan and build infrastructure projects as we lay the foundation for Ontario's lasting prosperity. Thank you. The next question. The member for Toronto, St. Paul's. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. We now know that the Financial Accountability Office estimates that the surgical backlog in Ontario will require $1.3 billion in nearly 3.5 years to clear. But the government's budget is approximately $700 million short of what is needed to get folks the surgeries they desperately need. The government's failure to provide this money means that our community members across Ontario will suffer worsening health conditions, pain, loss of mobility, and severe depression. My question to the Premier is, will the Premier and his Conservative government spend the money which they have and clear the surgical backlog ASAP? And if not, what is their rationale for not investing in people and leaving our community members in unbearable pain? Thank you. I reply to the Minister of Health. Thank you, Speaker. And thank you to the member opposite for the question. Unfortunately, we have had to postpone some surgeries and procedures. As we did between the first and second waves, we are now having to do this in the third wave because, as the member will know, our hospitals are very crowded right now with COVID-19 patients as well as our ICU. Although the numbers are starting to go down, they are not yet at the point where we can resume those scheduled surgeries and procedures. We are watching this on a daily basis because we know that many people have been waiting for a long time to have these surgeries done. But I think it's also important to note that prior to this phase coming forward, we had already put over $500 million into bringing forward these surgeries so that our hospitals could operate longer hours, evenings, and weekends. We are on our regional wait list. And as soon as we can get back to performing those surgeries and procedures, we will certainly do so because we know it's important to the people of Ontario. A supplementary question. Speaker, the surgical backlog is impacting my community members like Gloria Sr. who has been waiting in excruciating pain now completely immobile because of delays to her hip replacement. Failing to invest and clear the surgical backlog means people like Gloria will see their health decline for months, even years before surgery is scheduled. These delays can cause irreversible decline in health and has worsened conditions like Gloria's degenerative osteoarthritis. All she's ever known is that she's on some wait list, some mythical wait list. She doesn't know where she is on the wait list, how long it'll take, who's wait list, nothing. This government is responsible for her care. But since last summer, she has heard nothing, not even whether or not she'll have to wait weeks, months, or years for her surgery. The lines of communication are non-existent for Gloria and many others who have contacted me and the government. Question. Why is the conservative government failing to provide essential health care funding to help people like Gloria get the surgery they'd so desperately need? You've got the funds, help Gloria. Thank you. I remind members to make the comments through the chair, not directly across the floor. Those minister of health, please reply. Thank you, Speaker. I think it's important to note that it's not, money will be helpful when we're able to resume those surgeries so that we can start hastening them. Right now, it's a question of space in our hospitals. Right now, our hospitals are full of COVID patients. We are starting to see the numbers go down. We're starting to see the numbers in our intensive care units go down. But right now, we need both the spaces in the hospitals and the staff to care for the very ill COVID-19 patients. But we recognize that others are waiting. We have put $500 million into hastening these surgeries when we're able to do. And we are watching this on a very careful, daily basis. This is a priority for our government to make sure the health and well-being of all Ontarians is our top priority. We want to get to those surgeries. But we are not able to do that until the numbers come down more in our hospitals. Member for Toronto, St. Paul's come to order. The next question, Member for Ottawa. So thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Premier. It's been 12 days since the long-term care commission released their final report outlining 85 recommendations that the government must undertake to improve conditions in long-term care. On Monday, I introduced a private members bill 290 that fulfills the 85th recommendation in that report. The bill mandates the government to report on the progress they've made in implementing the remaining recommendations in the commission's report in one year and again in three years from now. It's the easiest and simplest measure in the report for this government to implement. So, Speaker, through you, will the Premier make reporting mandatory by passing Bill 290 or introducing legislation of his own that will require the government to public report on the progress that they've made to implement the commission's recommendations? And to reply to the Premier. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank the member for the question and I'm glad Johnny come lately just all of a sudden came up with this after being down here for 15 years. Just going to interrupt the Premier. Will we use writing names or ministerial titles? Apologize, Mr. Speaker. Again, I'm glad that the member the member has come up with this after 15 years of coming down here and being able to build what was it, 600 homes? We take the commission's report we take the commission's report very seriously. We're well on our way to making sure that we fix the problems in some of the areas that the commission came out with and Mr. Speaker, just to again remind you we've allocated over 20,000 beds to date more than two thirds of our 30,000 commitment and there are thousands of beds under construction as we speak right now the rapid builds. We have rapid builds going around the Toronto and the GTA that are going to be ready by 2022. We're hiring 27,000 new PSWs and nurses. And again, I go back to the four hours of daily direct care. Thank you. The supplementary. You know, the Premier said last May that he built an iron ring around long-term care. That never happened. More residents died in the second wave than the first. And then after the release of the military's report which outlined how 26 residents died from dehydration and other squalid conditions. The Premier said, and I quote, we've launched an investigation and the results will be turned over to police. That never happened either. And the answer that I'm hearing from the Premier right now feels like the same thing. Don't worry, we're going to take care of it. Well, Ontarians can have no confidence that the government is going to take care of it. So, Speaker, the Premier can assign blame wherever he wants and make fun of me. But the reality is, our collective responsibility is to ensure that every single one of those recommendations in the report is reported on. So, I'm going to ask the Premier again, and hopefully can just a simple yes or no, will he pass legislation mandating the government to publicly report on the progress in the recommendations of his own long-term care commissions report. Thank you. Premier? Again, through you, Mr. Speaker, I again, I find it very rich and ironic that the member of the Liberal Party that was down here for 15 years did absolutely nothing to protect the most vulnerable. Did nothing to protect the long-term care system as a whole. We are moving. People can see the difference as we, right now, they can see the difference. We're making sure that we're making the appropriate changes that the Commission recommended. Making sure we made the appropriate changes that the Auditor General recommended. A proposition come forward. We're going on our way to making sure that we have a sustainable long-term care system in this province. We're pouring money into it. We're pouring and the staff into it. As I mentioned again, 20, 28,000 new PSWs, nurses that these two governments sat by and watched it all happen and did absolutely nothing to protect these most vulnerable people. We're doing something. Thank you. Thank you. The next is by order. Order. Order. Order. Okay. I'm going to caution everybody on their language. Order. The next question, the member for Willowdale. Well, thank you so much, Speaker. You know, I think it's clear to me that Willowdale's a very special place, but I didn't always live there. 43 years ago, in fact, I was born in Etobicoke and Etobicoke in that time has changed a lot. The population is boom, but it's not just the west end of our city. It's west of Etobicoke when you look to peel. I mean, Brampton is now the sixth largest city in our entire country, Speaker, and our subway system, sadly, has changed very little in that time of four decades, Speaker, and that's unacceptable. The Eglinton Crosstown West extension is going to run nine kilometers and bring more rapid transit, desperately needed transit to Etobicoke and Mississauga. So, Speaker, my question is to the Associate Minister of Transportation, I'm wondering if the minister can tell us when this line may be an operation and why it is so vital. To reply, the Associate Minister of Transportation, GPA. Thank you to the member for the question and of course, I would be very happy to speak about the Eglinton Crosstown West extension. If you live in Toronto, Mr. Speaker, you know that the suburbs are not as well served when it comes to public transit as the downtown core. With the predominantly tunneled Eglinton Crosstown West extension, residents in Etobicoke will finally have access to fast, reliable public transit. Now residents who rely on the TTC Member for Toronto, St. Paul's, come to order. We'll have shorter trips and many residents won't have to rely on their car to get around the city. It will also better connect Mississauga and Toronto residents and allow for service integration between Myway and the TTC at Ramforth Station. It also has the potential to connect people to the largest employment hub in the GTA, which is Pearson Airport. Mr. Speaker, we are connecting people to places, people to jobs and truly building a transit network that the people of the GTA can be proud of. And a supplementary question. Thank you, Speaker, and thank you to the Minister. And I want to share with the House a story that many well- willow dillers are all too familiar with. And it's the painful story that I had to do for well decades, really, of getting to the train to go southbound at Shepherd Station during morning rush hour. And having to take the subway north to Finch just to get a spot to get downtown. Speaker, willow dillers know that transit in the city has just been, well, frankly, not good enough for way too long, Speaker. And the Minister talked about the Eglinton West project and priorities. But that's just one of four priorities. We also have the Ontario line which willow dillers desperately need to get relief for those commuters trying to get downtown to provide that seamless connectivity for the great city of Toronto. So, Speaker, my question is back to the Associate Minister of Transportation. How is the Ontario line going to reduce gridlock and congestion that has been plaguing our city for decades? Thank you for the question. The 16 kilometre Ontario line will provide more than just rush hour relief. It will not only reduce crowding on the TTC's line one, but it will connect people of the people of Toronto like never before. As you mentioned, it will include 15 stations that will link communities from east to west, north to south with a travel time of only 30 minutes from Ontario Place to the Ontario Science Centre. This line will also provide many communities north of Pape such as Thorncliffe Park and Flemingdon Park with access to a subway line, Mr. Speaker. We are expecting over 380,000 daily boardings on this line. Over 250,000 more people will find themselves within walking distance of transit resulting in 28,000 fewer vehicles on our roads. Rush hour crowding on subways will also be reduced by tens of thousands of people which will go a long way in making transit a more attractive option post-COVID-19. The next question, a member for Windsor West. Thank you, Speaker. My questions to the Premier. COVID-19 took a deadly toll on long-term care homes. The Premier promised an iron ring around long-term care in the first wave of COVID-19 yet more seniors died in the second wave than in the first as iron ring was a myth. It never materialized. At the village at St. Clair in my writing hundreds of residents and staff got COVID almost 40 people died. The CAF and long-term care commission reports confirmed this government failed long-term care residents. Staff carried the burden of the pandemic on their shoulders largely alone ignored by this government. I quote staff told the commission about crying before, during and after work vomiting in locker rooms from stress and watching residents whom they loved die in great numbers. End quote. Lives could have been saved if this government this government now had stepped up to protect staff and residents instead they put a legislative iron ring around private for-profit corporations and themselves. Speaker will the Premier take responsibility for his failure to protect long-term care staff and residents and implement the long-term care commission's recommendations immediately. Government House Leader Thank you very much Mr. Speaker of course as I've said we are well on our way to doing just that Mr. Speaker there is no doubt as I've said on a number of occasions we were certainly on the defense for the for the first part of of the COVID-19 crisis and predominantly we had had seen what the under investments by previous governments had meant to long-term care under staffed not enough long-term care homes I talked about the enormous waiting lists in my own riding with respect to long-term care home placements we had outdated homes that needed to be refurbished Mr. Speaker so we saw a lot of that the pandemic yes the pandemic made it worse but we were trying to catch up before during and after so what we've done as the Premier's talked about hiring thousands of additional staff Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker building hundreds thousands of new places Mr. Speaker four hours of of care there is a lot of work that needs to be done we are finally on the response of this province when it comes to attacking COVID-19 Mr. Speaker over six million the doses in arms we are on our way to a better long-term care system to a better result for all long-term care thank you and the supplementary Mr. Speaker to the government house leader to be on the defense you actually have to be in the game instead of on the sidelines like your government was 4,000 long-term care residents died on this government's watch the Canadian Armed Forces report revealed 26 seniors died from neglect simply needing water and a wipe down I'll say it again Speaker seniors died because they weren't given water and that was during this conservative government's watch it is on them the long-term care commission wrote and I quote as a result of staff shortages and with no family members to help residents were confined to the rooms for extended periods without access to recreation programs or visitors end quote and quote many residents experience symptoms of what is known as confinement syndrome end quote families could have safely been there to get residents water and provide support congregate care homes continue continue to this day to refuse residents access to their designated caregivers as this government tinkers with unimpossible directives Speaker my bill 203 the more visit more than a visitor act past second reading is September will the premier immediately make a law so no resident and congregate care is forced to suffer from neglect or isolation like this again reply the government house leader Mr. Speaker it it certainly is on us it is on us to fix the system that was broken and that's exactly what we're doing before the pandemic order Mr. Speaker we had identified the serious problems in long-term care under staffing we knew that staff was getting trained but not staying in the system so we studied that Mr. Speaker and now we've come up with a plan to hire 20 over 27,000 new psws for the system Mr. Speaker we knew that there was chronic underfunding which led to no new homes being built before the pandemic Mr. Speaker we would we began building thousands of new homes including 600 new spaces in my riding alone during the pandemic we announced even more funding for long-term care homes on our way to 30,000 new long-term care spaces Mr. Speaker we began to phase out the wardrooms Mr. Speaker because we saw that that was a problem we Mr. Speaker are moving mountains to fix a system that had been so chronically underfunded in the 15 years before we got there it's our responsibility to fix it and we thank you the next question the number for R.A.M. thank you very much Mr. Speaker my questions for the Minister of Health Mr. Speaker the minister knows very well that there have been significant challenges organizing booking and distributing the first dose of the vaccine and now more and more Ontarians are approaching the timeline to think about their second dose an anxiety about how this is going to work is sinking in some people have received an exact date for their second dose others have received information that's more nebulous some have been given date ranges some have been giving telephone numbers to follow up others have received absolutely no information or whatsoever now the government has also ended the use of AstraZeneca for second doses and provided very little information as to what those means what that means for the hundreds of thousands of Ontarians who received it as their first dose needless to say Mr. Speaker the process for the second dose isn't looking like it's going to be much better than the first so when will the government come forward with a clear plan and process to ensure all Ontarians understand how to receive their second dose to reply the minister of health thank you very much speaker and thank you to the member for the question actually there is a very clear plan in place that is rolling out very well we have administered vaccines to six point almost six and a half million people which is over 50 percent of the population of Ontario over 18 in addition to that we have 4.9 million doses already booked for some for second doses some for first doses the plan is rolling forward it is clear if you have booked your vaccine your second vaccine your first vaccine through the online booking system you will already have your second dose booked so the pharmacies have asked to use their own booking system which is the system that they use for booking flu vaccines we have directed them to book the second dose at the same time as the first dose that is happening in most of the pharmacies but not all of them right now and we are working to get them to move forward with that so that people everyone in Ontario will know when their second dose is with respect to AstraZeneca the member is right we have put a pause on further doses of AstraZeneca while we await the results of reviews to be done by Public Health Ontario Health Ontario and Health Canada thank you thank you supplementary thank you Mr Speaker and thank you for the heckles from the Solicitor General but what is clear Mr Speaker is that not all pharmacies are booking the second dose pop-up clinics aren't booking the second dose there are tens if not hundreds of thousands of Ontarians who don't know when they're going to get their second dose and now with the AstraZeneca situation that number is only completely multiplied exponentially Mr Speaker everyone can understand that the science is evolving but it's hard to understand how an important meaningful decision that was made or announced yesterday could have been done without there being any kind of path or clear information going forward the government has already elongated the second dose of the vaccination window and so it has time to decide and to communicate but communications isn't this government's forte we all know that Mr Speaker and just in time delivery question while it works for Amazon and Walmart doesn't work for your health so when will the government tell those hundreds of thousands of people who have already received AstraZeneca how and when they're going to get a second dose of the vaccine Mr. Health very much well I would just indicate to the member opposite that the vast majority of people aren't due to receive their second dose if they receive the first dose of AstraZeneca until June so that there is time for us to receive the information that we need to receive from Health Canada order from Nassie with respect to the continued safety of AstraZeneca the health and well-being of the people of Ontario are our foremost priority and so we have them already in the system we know when their second doses are coming up and when it has been determined what the second order should be if it's not AstraZeneca because we are awaiting results of the Nassie determination of what's gone on in the UK people will be informed we have a system we already have four million people that are booked for their second doses we've already given 50% of the people of Ontario over 18 their vaccines clearly the system is working thank you thank you the next question the member for Willowdale well thank you very much speaker and my question is going to be back to the associate minister of transportation because we can't ignore the great people of Scarborough and I see from the members opposite that we have two members representing Scarborough and I think they'll agree with me when I say that the people of Scarborough have been way too long underserved when it comes to their transit needs for far too long so I'm sure they join me in celebrating yesterday's announcement because it was a really big deal it announced funding for three stops along the subway expansion in Scarborough speaker and this is something that the people of Scarborough have waited way too long for so my question to the associate minister how will these three stops address the community's transit needs and help improve the quality of life for the people in Scarborough that's their transportation GTA thank you very much Mr. Speaker it's no secret that the three stops Scarborough extension was something that the government's MPPs have been fighting for which includes the the Honorable Minister of Seniors and Accessibility the MPP for Scarborough Centre the MPP for Scarborough Agent Court and last but certainly not least the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Transportation the MPP for Scarborough Rouge Park the plan will bring the TTC's line to Subway Service nearly eight kilometers further into Scarborough extending from Kennedy Station to Shepherd Avenue and McCow and Road this extension will provide greater connectivity to go transit and the Eglinton Crosstown LRT our projections show 105,000 daily boardings 38,000 more people and 34,000 more jobs will be within walking distance to transit thanks to the Premier the people of Scarborough will finally get the transit that they deserve and that they have been waiting for supplementary thank you Speaker and thank you to the Associate Minister for that answer I've now asked about the east part of our city the west part of our city and a relief line for downtown but we can't ignore the northern part of our city and beyond Speaker right now the subway station thank you our subways end at Finch Station I mean Finch that's not as far north as our city expands and certainly we need to make sure that we expand Subway Service beyond Finch so looking north people looking north to the people of York Region Speaker this is going to greatly benefit the people of York Region who've been waiting for a subway expansion for way too long so I'm wondering if the Associate Minister can tell us about this line how it will address the much needed transit needs in the region and finally get these subways built in the city of Toronto and beyond thank you very much to the member as I mentioned in my earlier responses a priority for the government is not only to invest in public transit infrastructure but also ensure regional connectivity building to connect the people of York Region with the City of Toronto this project will extend the TTC's line one service north from Finch Station to Vaughan to Markham to Richmond Hill with up to four stations along an eight kilometer extension riders won't have to transfer the trip will be easy and convenient for example travel times from Young Street and Link South Road area to downtown Toronto will be reduced by as much as 22 minutes but the point is Mr. Speaker none of this would be possible without the premier championing public transit expansion right here in the GTA and for that we say thank you the next question the member for Scarborough southwest thank you speaker my question is to the the premier speaker yesterday the Toronto Star reported on internationally trained physicians who are forced to sit on the sidelines and watch as this pandemic unfolds people are dying said Dr. Shafi Bria and our government is failing to use the tools at hand I've spoken to Dr. Bria and many other qualified physicians who are asking why the province chose to spend resources on flying in doctors from other provinces when we have untapped resources here at home will the government call on the thousands of qualified ready to practice internationally trained physicians who are here in Ontario speaker and desperate to help relieve the pressure of this punishing third wave thanks for the help thank you very much speaker well we are very grateful for the people who have come in from other jurisdictions to help us but we also recognize that we have very many talented health professionals in Ontario as well and we have asked some of the people who have been trained in other jurisdictions who are now living in Ontario to help out they have applied through the portal and they have been matched with hospitals long-term care homes and other locations so we're grateful for their efforts and we are utilizing their talents as well and the supplementary question speaker that portal was an insult to a lot of these physicians because of this government's inactions and what we're hearing from the hospitals is that patients will be left waiting three and a half years for surgeries as a result of COVID triaging yet there are over 13,000 internationally trained physicians here in Ontario 3,500 of home have already taken all their qualifying exams and have been working in our healthcare systems in various capacities and who are left out of this province's pandemic healthcare strategy speaker they want to help Dr. Pooja is an ENT specialist and a surgeon from India who has spent years working for free and unpaid jobs simply to help people and gain experience in a crisis like this it makes no sense to leave talented and eager people on the sidelines so again my question is Mr. Speaker why won't this government let Dr. Pooja and doctors alike relieve and revive our healthcare system as we navigate this punishing third wave thank you speaker Minister of Health thank you very much well I'm sure the member will be aware that it's the College of Physicians and Surgeons that makes that determination as to whether someone will be able to practice in their specialty or as a family doctor in Ontario that is up to the physician to make arrangements to write the exams and whatever needs to be done to be approved by the college to practice in their desired area however the internationally trained doctors and others are of great help in our hospitals right now we have matched them with as close as possible to the work that they wish to do through the through the portal and they are performing incredible work on the front lines working with patients with COVID and other with other issues as we fight this third wave but their talents are appreciated they are working in the system and they will continue to do so and we are grateful for their work thank you the next question the member for Scarborough Guildwood thank you speaker my question is to the premier with children and parents having been stuck at home for the better part of the year parents are concerned about the growing learning gaps for children women careers and earning potential are also developing gaps as well parents are wondering about what their children can do this summer what are the plans for summer programs how is the government going to address support to these learning gaps if summer is cancelled what does this mean for september speaker children parents and women are looking for some leadership from this government the federal government and the Ontario Liberals put forward an option of hope with a $10 a day daycare plan and programs for before and after question will this government put aside its partisan politics and work with us on providing hope to Ontario families to respond government outseater thank you very much Mr. Speaker it's as as usual a very multifaceted question from that from the member opposite the member of course will will understand that we are doing everything that we can by all of the public health measures that we have put in place to ensure that Ontario can get back to normal as soon as possible Mr. Speaker that has been the goal of the measures that we have brought in place really since the beginning but surely during this this third wave the member will of course obviously recognize the fact that we've also flooded into high risk areas vaccines 50 percent of vaccines are going into some of these high risk areas essential workplaces Mr. Speaker so the goal of the government is to get things back to normal as soon as possible for all Ontarians Mr. Speaker and that includes for our students the minister of education brought forward I think through this past year nationwide leading program to make sure that our souls are safe for our for our children I know the minister of finance has been working to ensure that that women who have been impacted by the the pandemic more so than others have a better place in our economy Mr. Speaker look thank you and the supplementary question thank you Speaker and back to the premier Speaker we know that the COVID hotspot communities are still raging with test positivity in the morning side postal code in Scarborough the test positivity per 100,000 is well over 1200 Dr. Williams Ontario's chief medical officer said that in order for this province to reopen the test positivity has to be well below a thousand per 100,000 residents in our hotspot communities we are nowhere near achieving that so my question to this government is what is your plan to extend the 50% vaccine allocation to COVID hotspot communities like the morning side community in Scarborough so that we can get people vaccinated as quickly as possible and look forward to all of Ontarians reopening from the lockdown Mr. Hall thank you very much well the member will be aware that we have dedicated 50% of incoming vaccines for the weeks of May 3rd and May 10th to get the numbers down in the hotspot areas and I can tell the member that this is working that we are seeing a difference that the numbers that are being delivered are helping to turn around the numbers that we're seeing in the hotspot areas we're starting to see the numbers come down in terms of overall cases we're starting to see the numbers come down in intensive care and so it's clear that the plan is working that this two weeks of intense saturation of cases within the writings with the hotspot areas is actually working and there will be information that will be available very shortly with more specific information on that Thank you Mr. Speaker my questions to the Premier people from my community are finding housing unaffordable when they have to rent residents are finding the market overpriced and cruel Ashley Callahan is a single mother of four recently evicted by an investor that does not reside in St. Catherine's Ashley almost ended up on their streets with her children when she was unable to find a rental place then she found one at the last minute Ashley is an ODSP recipient and so almost all of her money now goes to rent at $2,000 a month her new rent is double which she had to be paying before that is what the affordability deficit looks like in Niagara it is rent or food Speaker Premier what are you going to do today to address a widely outdated provincial assistance program and a housing market that leaves residents with nowhere to turn Chairman House Leader Yeah a very good question from the member opposite especially given the fact that this government has been working on affordability really since since day one and I know the member would appreciate all of the things that we have done to make it more affordable to live in the province of Ontario and we understand how important it is for people to have rather their first home a place to rent but that is why yesterday's announcement and what the Premier has been working on so hard with respect to transit and transportation is so important because it's not just about transit and transportation it's about as the Associate Minister talked about transit oriented communities and I'm sure the members opposite would agree with me that when you have transit oriented communities when you build homes where people can get around and move around it will make a huge difference for the people the province of Ontario so whether it's transit oriented communities that is coming through this massive investment whether it's the expansion of GO train services two way all day GO train services in different parts of the province where it has never been before including in the member's own area Mr. Speaker there is a lot of work being done more to do and I hope the member will support us on making a life more affordable thank you Mr. Speaker when you're living on ODSP you cannot even afford transit let alone put food on the table last week the local paper reported skyrocketing food applications in Niagara that same week our social sector in Niagara released a joint statement that they need help from upper levels of government this is the canary in the coal mine creating an affordable housing market is one solution also so is increasing what social assistant recipients benefit from especially when it comes to paying rent or buying a home in Niagara as it is becoming increasingly more difficult families like Ashley that are recipients of Ontario disability program are receiving below poverty support from this province and this government question premier commit to a long overdue review of Ontario works review the Ontario disability support program program to ensure families like Ashley will not be pushed into a housing market where they cannot afford to put food on the table for their children thank you the associate minister children and women's issues thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to member for that question and like yourself I have heard your housing concerns across the province we know programs like Ontario works and the Ontario disability support program are so critical to helping those who have lost their jobs are those who are unable to work but the system itself is facing challenges that limit our ability to help these people get back on their feet and the COVID pandemic has exasperated those challenges working alongside our municipal partners we have developed a shared vision for social assistance we are moving ahead to improve services along with the minister of labour training and skills development we are improving access to employment and training services and helping to connect those people with meaningful work in their own communities we are also making it easier to access services with new digital tools and modern systems these changes will transform the system to provide better support for our most vulnerable people and allow front-line service providers to focus on supporting those people thank you and next question the member for both thank you speaker good morning I want to thank nurses on international nurses day and just say it's never been more clear how essential nurses are to caring for our loved ones to use the premier's term nurses are the champions of the pandemic health care heroes but the premier has capped their wages at one percent these heroes deserve more than kind words they deserve a real pay increase not a below inflation wage cut so speaker will the premier repel bill 124 and give our health care heroes the pay raise they deserve thank you member for will avail to reply well thank you very much speaker and our government absolutely supports our critical front-line workers and that includes our nurses and I want to wish them all a very happy nurse week and we will celebrate the vital services that they provide every single day to protect the health and safety of Ontarians speaker Ontario's public sector employees under bill 124 will still be able to receive salary increases for merit seniority performance increased qualifications as they do currently and it's important to note order since its introduction collective agreements covering over 340 000 unionized public sector employees have been settled in compliance with this act speaker this represents over 40 percent of unionized employees in the broader public sector our government will continue to protect the people of Ontario the finances of Ontario and a sustainable public sector in Ontario not just for today but for many generations to come thank you that concludes our question period for this morning next we have a deferred vote on private members notice of motion number 157 as moved by Ms Andrew the bells will now ring for 30 minutes during which time members may cast their votes I'll ask the clerks to please prepare the lobbies