 It is now time for oral questions. I recognize the leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition. Thank you so much, Speaker. Thank you so much. Speaker, right now in Ontario's ICUs, there are some 770 or so patients, people with COVID-19, who are literally struggling to breathe. Ontario is in an absolute crisis with this virus. Yesterday, against all evidence, the government claimed that they were following expert advice from the science table and from other doctors and experts about how to handle this crisis. And of course, we now know that Dr. Lowe has, in fact, started to shut down businesses where COVID-19 is spreading. If, as the Premier claims, all of the appropriate measures are already in place in Ontario to stop the spread of COVID-19, why did Dr. Lowe then have to take the action that he decided to take today? The Minister of Labor, Training and Skills Development. Well, thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Of course, we saw the news this morning with the local decision by Dr. Lowe. We're working closely with public health. But I have to say, Mr. Speaker, we are truly disappointed with the federal budget that we heard yesterday. In fact, the federal government... Order. The federal government worked with the provinces at the beginning of this pandemic to ensure that job-protected leave was the responsibility of the provinces. That's why we move forward the first in the country to ensure that there is job-protected leave, including job-protected leave for those who are getting vaccinated. And the federal government was going to step up with paid sick days. Mr. Speaker, $100 billion more in new spending federally, no improvements to the sick pay program, but I want every worker in the province to know that we have... Response. Next, the supplementary question. Mr. Speaker, Dr. Lowe, the Peel Medical Officer of Health actually had the courage to do today. What the Premier has not had the courage to do? He's filling literally a leadership void that's been left by the Premier of this province. The members of the science table and other experts are speaking out. And in fact, Nathan Stahl, science table member, said this. Another heroic move by Dr. Lowe. Oh, that we could have a heroic move from our Premier Speaker. Member of the Task Force, the Vaccine Task Force, Isaac Bogach, said this. This will really help. Speaker, now that Dr. Lowe, the Peel Medical Officer of Health, has done the right thing, has chosen to act to save lives, will the Premier step up and provide direct financial support to the businesses impacted and the workers impacted by Dr. Lowe's courageous and correct decision this morning? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the question, but to be clear, this is an authority that the Chief Medical Officer of Health, Peel, has had since well before the beginning of this pandemic, Mr. Speaker. As the Minister of Labor just highlighted, of course, we are disappointed that the federal government did not extend further protections to workers. It is something that we will look at. It is, of course, something that the Minister of Labor has just said that it is important to ensure that workers who are infected with COVID that they know that we will have their back, Mr. Speaker. But as I said, look, ultimately, this is a power that the Chief Medical Officer of Health, Peel, has had since the beginning of the pandemic with respect to supports for businesses. I note that the Leader of the Opposition and the NDP provided absolutely zero amendments to the budget bill that was presented by the Finance Minister, Mr. Speaker. They had an opportunity to provide amendments. They instead supported that bill, and I congratulate them for it. The final supplementary. Speaker, Dr. Low in Peel had to step in because the Premier marched us right into this third wave with his eyes wide open, and he is now marching us in the wrong direction. He continues to march this province in the wrong direction. All of the experts are saying the same things. His own experts, doctors, nurses, people on the front lines of the healthcare system are all very clear. What essential workers need is vaccines, not spot checks. What they need is paid sick days, paid time off when they're sick, and to get vaccinated, not playgrounds being closed. Speaker, will this government do their job, finally do the right thing by Ontario's workers, listen to the advice of experts, save lives, and do what's necessary to stop the spread of COVID-19? And to apply the minister's later. Well, Mr. Speaker, getting needles in arms is the top priority for this government. I'm proud to say, Mr. Speaker, that 25% of adults in this province have now been vaccinated. We need to do everything to ensure that we get more vaccines delivered here to the province of Ontario, to ensure that those essential workers that everyone in the province of Ontario gets vaccinated, that's how we're going to move to defeat COVID-19. But, Mr. Speaker, the responsibilities of the province and all provinces and territories was to ensure that there was job protected leave. That was the agreement. The federal government was going to step up with paid sick days for workers. Mr. Speaker, they spent a new spending more than $100 billion yesterday and not even a fraction to deal with the concerns that Ontario has been raising when it comes to protecting the health and well-being of workers. But, Mr. Speaker, I want to assure every worker out there that we have their backs and we're going to be there for them until we defeat COVID-19. The next question. Once again, the leader of the opposition. Speaker, it's clear to workers that their government has abandoned them in the fight against COVID-19. They're Ontario government, Speaker. Their Ontario government has abandoned them. But look, I want to ask another question of the Premier. And the question is to do with the postal code hotspots that were identified by the government that are priorities for vaccinations. They claimed that the decision that they made last week was, you know, directly from the advice of their science table recommendations. So my question is, did the government actually implement the recommendations on the hotspots that came forward from the science table? Yes or no? Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. Yes, we did receive recommendations from medical experts on the identification of the hotspots. Some of the hotspots we didn't proceed with because we needed to take into consideration other information such as hospitalizations in the past, ICU admissions in the past, unfortunately deaths in the past, vaccine hesitancy, issues with respect to language socioeconomic issues as well, barriers that were preventing people from coming forward to receive the vaccinations. So yes, we did receive the information from the medical experts. We then added to it the additional information which was what ultimately ended up in the postal codes that were identified as hotspots that we are dealing with by allocating 25% of the vaccines off the top to fight COVID-19 in those hotspots for the benefit of all of the people in Ontario. Supplementary question. Speaker, today's Toronto Star has a headline that says this and I quote, Ontario ignored its own science tables advice on several COVID-19 vaccine hotspot postal codes. Higher risk postal codes were taken off the list and eight lower risk areas, most of which are in PC writings, were added to the list. In fact, Dr. Anna Banerjee said this on that decision and I quote, someone's intervening, it's not based on science and evidence. My question speaker is who changed the list and will they change it back? Thank you very much, Speaker. And what I would say to the leader of the official opposition through you speaker is somebody's talking about something they know nothing about. And in fact, what happened is what I indicated in my previous answer, that the medical experts at the science table gave us some information about postal codes that they thought should be identified as hotspots. We then took that list, which was then presented to the vaccine distribution task force. We added additional information, such as the socioeconomic data, the barriers that existed to people receiving vaccinations because we want to make sure as many people receive the vaccinations as wish to have it. We wanted to make sure that we could identify those hotspots, work with community agencies to bring people in for those vaccinations. And that is how the information resulted in the hotspots that were identified by our government as the areas where we should put the additional 25% of those vaccines going forward. Order. Final supplementary. Speaker, lives are at stake here in our province. The ICUs are filling up. They're full. They're full of young people, speaker. They're full of pregnant women. They're full of entire families who are sick with COVID-19. What we need is vaccinations going to all of the hotspots, speaker. We need paid sick days and paid vaccination time off so that people can keep themselves and their coworkers well. We need strong public health measures in our province. All of the experts have been giving this government the exact same advice. The science table, the vaccination table, everyone is telling the government frontline doctors and nurses and healthcare workers who are exhausted and terrified are giving the government the same advice. So when, instead of listening to the anti-public health and the anti-science wing of the PC caucus, will this government actually listen to the experts, the scientific experts who are giving them advice? At the start of this pandemic, our government has been guided by our world-class public health experts who've been providing us guidance to safeguard the health and well-being of all of the people of Ontario. We know that we need a balance and straightforward approach. We've been listening to all of the experts. For example, the COVID-19 Health Coordination Table is led by Dr. David Williams, our Chief Medical Officer of Health, by Helen Angus, the Deputy Minister of Health and by Matt Anderson, the President and CEO of Ontario Health. This table reports directly to the Ministry of Health and includes representation from other ministries as well, from long-term care, from children, community and social services, seniors and accessibility, and so, Mr. General, we've also received modeling that has been extremely helpful in guiding the way for our government to take the steps that we have related most recently to the declaration of the state of emergency and stay-at-home order. We have always followed the advice of our medical experts and will continue to do so until we are out of this pandemic. The next question, the member for London West. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Speaker, everyone but this government understands the urgency of paid sick days to protect lives in Ontario. They claim it's not their responsibility, which we heard yesterday and again this morning. They attack the federal government for not tweaking the federal program, acknowledging what we all know, that the federal program isn't adequate for workers who need paid sick days. The Finance Minister said in this House yesterday, and I quote, we also need to protect essential workers who need to keep working during this crisis. Speaker, why does the Premier and his Finance Minister ignore all the evidence that the best way to do that is to bring in paid sick days for Ontario workers? Mr. Labour, training and skills development. Mr. Speaker, we've been advocating for months to improve the federal sick pay program. Mr. Speaker, that's why we reached out months ago and urged Minister Qualtro. I know the Premier talked to the Prime Minister to ensure that payments got into workers' bank accounts faster. Now payments are between three and five days. We advocated for greater flexibility. We advocated to fill in the gaps of this federal program. But, Mr. Speaker, there was a budget yesterday in Ottawa. We wanted to see our borders protected, more secure borders. We wanted to see more vaccine for the people of this province. And, Mr. Speaker, we wanted to see an improvement in the paid sick leave program by the federal government. But let me assure all workers in this province that we will be with them together. We're going to defeat COVID-19, and we've got their backs. Supplementary question. Mr. Speaker, instead of expecting a sick worker to go without pay while applying for a program that doesn't replace their foreign aid, instead of attacking the federal government at every opportunity, this Premier should be focused on getting Ontarians the supports they need. Mr. Speaker, paid sick days would mean workers who get sick would get automatic, seamless support from their employer. It would mean essential workers would know their province has their back. When workers can stay home if they're sick, they protect their colleagues, their families, and the whole community. Will this Premier stop blaming the federal government, stop his ideological opposition to paid sick days, and bring in a program of paid sick days just as health experts recommend and workers desperately need? Mr. Speaker, we were the first jurisdiction, one of the first in all of North America to bring in job-protected leave for any worker in self-isolation and quarantine. If they're home looking after a son or a daughter because the schools are closed, you can't be fired for that. Mr. Speaker, we were the first jurisdiction to bring in job-protected leave for anyone who has to get a vaccination. And Mr. Speaker, it was two weeks ago that the NDP government in British Columbia reached out to us to figure out how to bring in job-protected leave for those getting vaccinated. And of course, they moved yesterday. But Mr. Speaker, it was the federal government's responsibility. That was the deal with all territories and provinces in the beginning to bring in a paid sick days for every worker. There are gaps that exist. Mr. Speaker, the federal government did not move yesterday, but I can assure workers out there we've got their backs. Thank you. The next question, the member for Flamborough Glandbrook. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and good morning. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Finance. In my writing of Flamborough Glandbrook, people recognize the importance of protecting workers and keeping them safe during this pandemic. And that is why I'm very proud this government passed legislation at the start of the pandemic creating job-protected leave. This leave ensured no worker would lose their job if they stayed home to self-isolate or to care for a loved one. Mr. Speaker, that was just the beginning. Premier Ford joined our federal and provincial partners in signing an historic $19 billion safe restart agreement which included $1.1 billion to provide Ontario workers with 10 paid sick days. Mr. Speaker, this government has continued to ask the federal government to make improvements to the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit. Yesterday, the federal government's budget was an opportunity to introduce improvements. Can the Minister of Finance tell this House why the federal government needs to amend the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit to support all Ontarians? Recognize the Minister of Finance to respond. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First off, I'd like to thank the member from Flamborough Glandbrook for that excellent question. And I thank her for being a strong advocate in her community. Mr. Speaker, our government's advocacy for Ontario has delivered real, meaningful support for people and employers across our great province. Mr. Speaker, working closely with the federal government, this Premier has already successfully negotiated 20 additional paid sick days starting from 10 and doubling it to 20 as improvements to the speed which with workers receive their sickness benefits. Mr. Speaker, for months Ontario has continued advocating for additional improvements to the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit and to protect Ontarians, health and that of their co-workers when they are ill or worried that they may have COVID-19. Workers need to know they have immediate access to this program. Mr. Speaker, the government will continue to apply for Ontarians and the Recovery Sickness Benefits they deserve. I hope all members of this House will support our efforts to protect workers in Ontario. Supplementary question. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's great to hear the government of Ontario continues to advocate to improve this very important benefit. Members of my writing will be happy to know that they can apply for up to 20 paid sick days using the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit and expect payments in only a few days thanks to the work of this government. Mr. Speaker, we have heard that the province has successfully negotiated improvements to the benefit already. We know the federal government is aware of this. Governments request to amend the benefit to provide immediate access to relief for workers. Mr. Speaker, yesterday's budget was the right opportunity for the federal government to show support for workers right across Ontario. Can the Minister of Finance tell us why the federal government decided not to improve access to paid sick days for all workers in Ontario? Mr. Finance. Again, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you for that important question. The federal government shares our commitment to protecting people from this virus and beating this pandemic once and for all. And I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Mr. Freeland on the release of Budget 2021. However, Mr. Speaker, as the COVID crisis intensifies, we are disappointed to see that there was no action announced in yesterday's budget to the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit. Mr. Speaker, every member of this House needs to stand up for the workers in Ontario. And this government continues to fight hard for improvements while other members of this House play politics with the health of Ontarians during a pandemic. Mr. Speaker, I, along with our entire government, remain steadfast in our promise to protect all workers. The opposition will come to order. We will continue to advocate on behalf of Ontario and push for the changes to the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit, all Ontarians expect and deserve. The opposition will come to order. The next question, the member for Brampton Centre. Thank you, Speaker. My question is for the Premier. For months, experts, including members of the Premier's own science table, have been sounding the alarm about dangerously high ICU levels. And today, we learned that there are over 760 people fighting for their lives in Ontario ICU, Speaker. But the Premier failed to act. They failed to implement paid sick days. They failed to vaccinate workers in hotspots. And now, ICUs in communities like Brampton are overflowing. Pediatric hospitals are sacrificing their beds. Patients are being transferred to hospitals around the province outside of their communities, Speaker. And doctors and nurses are being put in the horrific position of having to make decisions on who will receive life-saving support and who will not. Speaker, why? With all of the evidence in front of this government, all of the warnings from their own science tables and medical experts, does this government continue to ignore the crisis in our ICUs? Thank you very much, Speaker. Well, we have been listening to the experts all along. We have been listening to their evidence. And I think one thing is really important, Speaker, and I would say to the member opposite through you, that the Speaker is alleging that there is a triage protocol in place in Ontario. There is not. There is not. That is something what we are doing is building capacity in our hospitals. We are making sure there's two aspects to what we need to deal with here. We need to blunt the transmission of COVID-19 in communities, as well as, right now, we need to build capacity in our hospitals, which we are doing. We are in contact with the CEOs of the hospital on a virtually a daily basis. They are working very hard to create spaces. We are creating capacity so that everyone on Ontario who needs to be admitted to hospital and needs to be in an intensive care bed will have a bed available for them. Response? You're supplementary. Mr. Speaker, with all due respect to the Minister of Health, that response shows us how out of touch with reality this Minister is. Doctors are sounding the alarm bells and this government continues to ignore their pleas for help. The government is following a pattern of denying the problem and acting too late. Now the government is begging other provinces for help but refusing the federal government's assistance and the assistance of the Red Cross Speaker. Speaker, healthcare systems in other provinces are also fighting COVID-19. They need their healthcare workers just as much as we do. It was this Premier's responsibility and this Minister of Health's responsibility to help protect people here in Ontario and they failed to do that at every step of this pandemic. This is a national and global failure speaker and it is upsetting and heartbreaking to know that they could have acted and they chose not to speak. With months to plan for this crisis why did this Premier fail to address the issues causing ICU capacity to rise and why does this government think it's another government's responsibility to come and clean up their mess? And allow the Minister of Health to reply. Thank you Speaker and again through you Mr Speaker I would say to the member opposite that what you're suggesting is simply not the case. Since the beginning of this pandemic we have been working hard to make sure that we have both the health human resources and the physical capacity in order to deal with what's been happening. We have created, I don't know if the member opposite really wants to hear me. She's- I'm going to ask the Minister of Health to take your seat. I'm going to ask the Member for Brampton Centre to come to order. I'm going to ask the Government House Leader to come to order. Always innocent. I'm going to recognize the Minister of Health to conclude her response. Thank you Speaker. To continue, since the beginning of this pandemic we have created over 3100 new hospital beds which is the equivalent of six new community hospitals. We have also added 14% to intensive care capacity which is significant in the context of this pandemic. We have also added resources in order to be able to deal with the health human resources that we need. We have allowed for the deployment of people from one sector to another. And finally I would say with respect to what's happening with other provinces and other organizations coming in to help us, we're very grateful for the help that's being offered by the other provinces. And we're very grateful to the Federal Government for their offer of assistance from the Red Cross as well. We know that we need help right now. We have the physical capacity. Respond. We need some more health human resources. And we are using those resources to make sure everyone who needs help will get help in our hospitals. Next question, Member for Ottawa Centre. Very much Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Premier. The Premier has continually said during this pandemic, we follow the advice of health experts every step of the way during this pandemic. Let's review. The science table warned the Government of February about the risk of new, more contagious variants and a devastating third wave. And they advised that you could prevent that third wave further hospitalizations and lockdowns if you just kept public health measures in place. The Premier didn't. The science table gave the postal codes in hot zones where the COVID fire was burning the fiercest. And the Government made a list of its own, almost twice as long, leaving off five postal codes that were very clearly hot zones. And then the science table asked the Premier to limit the number of essential workplaces and implement paid sick days. Instead the Premier gave them shuttered playgrounds and police checks. So, Speaker, how can Ontarians continue to trust the Premier will protect them when he repeatedly denies the science? Mr. Health. Thank you, Speaker. Well, in fact, we have followed the recommendations of our medical advisors at every step along the way during this pandemic. For one thing, we had to start a lab system which wasn't connected, which allowed us to test almost 13 million tests already. We've also acted decisively on the recommendations of the Chief Medical Officer of Health by implementing the province-wide stay-at-home order and declaring the state of emergency. Additionally, by assembling our world-class vaccine task force that's led by Dr. Homertjen of Orange and listening to the health experts, we've also been able to implement a vaccine plan that has seen virtually 4 million tests already implemented. We should reach that total by the end of today. We are delivering the vaccines, 25% extra on top of the original that is going to be received by the areas that have the vaccination hot spots. We are following the health advice that's been given to us at every step along the way in the pandemic, and we will continue to do so until everyone in Ontario who wants to receive a vaccine will have received one. And a supplementary question. Mr. Speaker, well, I don't appreciate the fact that the minister did not address the three things I raised in my first question. I do appreciate the fact that she's here to answer questions every day. So today, there are 768 people in ICUs. Peele's Medical Officer of Health has had to step in and take action to protect essential workers that this government didn't do. We're in a crisis in Ontario. In the words of Dr. Peter Judy from the Science Table, we need to stop having political considerations guide this pandemic. It hasn't worked in the past. It hasn't worked in other jurisdictions. Why would it work in Ontario? Well, ICU admissions continue to rise. The Premier's priority this Thursday night is $1,000 a ticket fundraiser in the middle of a third wave. Why? What planet is that okay on? Question. Ontarians deserve a Premier that is solely focused on getting us through the third wave. So Speaker, through you, when will the Premier follow the science, implement paid sick days, and protect essential workers? Thank you. Thank you. Go ahead. Of course, Mr. Speaker, as the Honourable Member knows full well, this government has been working since the beginning of the pandemic in order to fight this head-on. Mr. Speaker, he will know full well, seeing that he was the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Health and the previous government, that we were left with an ICU capacity that was per capita the lowest in North America, and we moved very, very quickly to increase that capacity, not only with the amount of beds, but with the health, human resources that were needed. He will know, because he was part of the team and the previous government, that they left us without the capacity in our long-term care system, 400 beds. We've increased that by thousands, and we've increased pay for personal support workers in that area. We've increased health and human resources. We put 16 billion extra dollars into healthcare over and above what they did. We were on the defense for the first part of this pandemic because of the situation the previous government left us in, and he is responsible in part for those decisions. And what this Premier has been doing is making the investments so that we could tackle this virus head on and not only tackle it, but defeat it, Mr. Speaker. We have done great things in the province of Ontario, the people of the province of Ontario together, and we'll defeat it. Mr. Prado, I'll say some more to the next question. Member for Flamborough, Glenbrook. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Finance. The COVID-19 pandemic has been a trying time for Ontarians across the board. Families have been unable to gather. Our seniors have been living in isolation. Businesses have had to shut their doors in an effort to keep our communities safe. But the area under the most strain, Mr. Speaker, has been our healthcare system, and yesterday's federal budget made no commitments for the long-term sustainability of Ontario's healthcare system. Can the Minister of Finance inform this House of what Ontario needs to see from this federal government? Mr. Finance. Well, thank you again to the member for that question, Mr. Speaker. The member for Flamborough, Glenbrook, is absolutely right. The federal government tabled the budget yesterday, announced billions of dollars, but did not include any enhancement of the Canada Health Transfer. While collaboration and new funding has helped to address key challenges over the course of the pandemic, COVID-19 has also underscored some long-standing challenges facing the healthcare system that require urgent action on the part of the federal government. Enhancing the CHT remains one of our government's top priorities. Mr. Speaker, currently, the Canada Health Transfer covers less than 22 percent of Ontario's healthcare spending, and this share is expected to decline over the next decade. While demand for services increases, Ontario needs a strong federal partner to ensure we can improve wait times, reduce surgery backlogs, and provide access to more beds and better treatments and come out of the pandemic with a stronger, more resilient healthcare system. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Supplementary question. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I'd like to thank the minister and our Premier for their continued advocacy on behalf of Ontarians. And thank you to the minister for the significant investments made to our healthcare system, included in our government's budget last month, to get us through this pandemic. From long-term care to the province's ICU and hospital bed capacity, our government has identified where our system needs more support. Can the minister elaborate on why an increase to the CHT is vital to Ontario's future? Mr. Finance. Mr. Speaker, thank you again. Our government's budget last month focused on protecting people's health with our plan to defeat COVID-19, as well as protecting people's jobs and economic well-being as we continue to face the pandemic together. Because as I've said many times, without healthy people, we cannot have a healthy economy. And the past year has shown us that we need a long-term committed partner with the federal government to address health care challenges that Ontario is facing. Our need for services will only increase. And it is unfortunate that the federal government would not take this opportunity to meet the urgent, unanimous request of all of Canada's premiers and territorial leaders to significantly increase federal health care funding to cover at least 35% of provincial, territorial health care spending. And we will continue to advocate, and I hope everyone else will, on behalf of all the people of Ontario. Thank you. Thank you. The next question, member for Algoma Manitoba. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. This government is once again playing games with Northern Ontario's post-secondary education. After refusing to provide funding and help Laurentian University, forcing them to slash nearly 70 programs and fire over 100 professors, we now discover that this government was working a backroom deal to let the Northern Ontario School of Medicine sever its ties from Lakehead and Laurentian Universities and become a standalone institution. This decision is very concerning. This partnership has had significant benefits for the medical students, the universities, and for Northern Ontario communities at large. The president of Lakehead University shared in a letter that the university has not been consulted. Can this government let us, can this government tell us why Lakehead University was informed of the decision after it was made? Parliamentary Assistant, Member for Northumberland, Peterborough South. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I just want to address the two issues the member asked about. First and foremost, we do understand the very difficult and personal situation that both students and families and staff of Laurentian University are currently in. But I think it's really important, Mr. Speaker, that we make it abundantly clear. Not only did this government provide increasing funding to our institutions, not only have we stood tall with over 80 million in supports for Laurentian, offering an additional million dollars for midwifery program. But Mr. Speaker, after this very difficult reality of the financial situation that this institution's in, we made it clear 90% of students are not affected by these decisions and the 10% who are, we're working aggressively with each, with the institution who's working in turn with those students to ensure pathways to graduation. And I'll address the second question in my supplementary. Thank you, Speaker. Supplementary question. Mr. Speaker, I return to the Premier. On April 7th, we have seen two former mayors of Thunder Bay and Sudbury call on the government to make the Northern Ontario School of Medicine an independent degree granting education institution. It suddenly became policy just a week later. Considering that the president of Lakehead was not informed, it is safe to assume that the government probably did not consult with First Nation communities who have close ties with the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. Can the government provide some level of transparency as to why this decision was made and tell us who they actually consulted with? Member for North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, we did introduce legislation that if passed would establish Northern Ontario School of Medicine and University of Dehurst as two new independent degree granting universities in Northern Ontario. Both institutions provide a high quality of education, Mr. Speaker, and this is making it possible for students to access medical healthcare and healthcare professions training in French at these top-notch institutions. Mr. Speaker, and he asked who we consulted. Perhaps he might want to speak to members of his own caucus. Mr. Speaker, the member of Thunder Bay Atacoken said, it is in the best interests of Northern Ontarians that Nausen be secured against any disruptions and that Northern Ontario's universities be properly supported so that they can in turn continue to support residents in the cities that they are located. Mr. Speaker, we absolutely agree. That's why we introduced this legislation that if passed will have these two standalone institutions offering degree granting in the North, expanding opportunities for Northern Ontario students. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The next question, the member for York Centre. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the government house leader. On Friday, the solicitor general said, quote, moving forward, police will have the authority to require any individual who's not in place of residence to first provide their purpose for not being at home and to provide their home address. Police will also have the authority to stop a vehicle to inquire about an individual's reason for leaving their residence. When asked about that yesterday after question period, the house leader said among other things that he appreciates it was a challenging weekend, certainly with respect to communication and that it was in the government's best weekend communication wise and that they can do a better job communicating. My question is, will the government house leader apologize to Ontarians for his suggestion that the mobility restrictions enacted last Friday were a miscommunication? And will he apologize for his government's attempt to impose martial law in Ontario? Mr. Lister General. Thank you, Speaker. As I mentioned yesterday, we have refocused Ontario Reg 8-21, the enforcement of COVID-19 measures for police officer or other provincial offenses officer has a reason to suspect that you are participating in an organized public event or social gathering. They may require you to provide information to ensure you are complying with these restrictions. It is critical for all Ontario citizens to respect the stay-at-home order to stop the spread of COVID-19 and the very transmissible variants of concern. Thank you. What's up, Demetri? Thank you, Speaker. The government house leader always talks about his government listening to the experts. They hid behind the experts for every failing policy decision while abdicating leadership. On Friday, the government shut down almost all outdoor recreation, including soccer and baseball fields, tennis, golf, and more of the things that bring joy and health to kids and adults. But according to the government's own experts, the risk of transmission outdoors is negligible. And in fact, this particular government action was against their advice. Doctor after doctor expressed astonishment at this government's misunderstanding of the virus. Ontarians are wondering how and why the government would come to such an informed decision. So my question to the government house leader, will he listen to his experts, to all experts unanimously, and to common sense and walk it back and not just the playgrounds, but all outdoor recreation? Will you let them play? Remind the member to make his comments through the chair, the government house leader to respond. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the question from the Honourable General, and I recall that he was a very enthusiastic supporter of all of the measures that we took in this place from, I believe it was February of, or actually March of 2020, Mr. Speaker. He was... Member for York Centre, come to order. Government house leader, conclude your response. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I remember he was a very enthusiastic supporter of the economic measures that we brought in. He was an enthusiastic supporter of the initial lockdown, which went much further than some of the other lockdowns that we've had. He was an enthusiastic supporter of when we brought in a number of other restrictions, I believe in March he voted with us, April he voted with us, May he voted with us, June he voted with us. When we extended the session into July so that we could continue to have an accountable government, Mr. Speaker, he voted with us, I believe in September he voted with us, in October he voted with us, in November he voted with us, I believe in December colleagues he might have voted with us as well and for parts of January. Thank you. Thank you, that includes the answer. The next question, the member for Flamborough, Glenbrook. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And my question is to the Minister of Finance. Mr. Speaker, yesterday the federal government's budget did not include any measures to protect our borders and our citizens from COVID-19. For example, the week of April 4th after the 10th, the data available shows that no fewer than 39 international flights landed at Pearson Airport with confirmed cases of COVID-19. On these flights combined, more than 450 rows of passengers are considered affected by the confirmed positive cases. Mr. Speaker, depending on the size of these planes, we are talking about between 1300 and 2700 people. The spread of COVID-19 and our dangerous variants of concern is only made worse by cases coming in from other countries. Mr. Speaker, will the government call on the federal government to secure our airports as the federal government should have done months ago? Minister for now. Thank you again to the member for Flamborough, Glenbrook, for that very good question. Mr. Speaker, everyone knew that the variants were, the new variants were a threat but the federal government did too little, too late. Canada could have avoided a third wave with stricter border measures that kept the variants out or with more vaccine supply sooner to better protect people. In the face of weak border measures and limited vaccine supply, Ontario is doing what is necessary to slow the spread of COVID-19. By first pulling the emergency break and then implementing a stay-at-home order, we have reduced the mobility and avoided the worst-case scenario, but we need the federal government to step up and take real action in securing our borders. Mr. Speaker, the data from last week, April 11th through the 17th shows that at least 16 international flights landed at Pearson Airport with confirmed cases of COVID-19. On these flights combined, more than 120 rows of passengers are considered affected by the confirmed positive cases. The spread of COVID-19 and dangerous variants of concern is only made worse by cases coming in from other countries. Mr. Speaker, will the government continue to call on the federal government to secure our airports as the federal government should have done months ago? Again, the Minister of Finance, Bruce Bond. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And the member, Mr. Speaker, is absolutely right. Our government has been doing its part, but the provinces can't not beat this third wave alone. We need the federal government to step up. We need more vaccines and tighter border restrictions to prevent more variants of concern. While other countries, like France, are banning flights from hotspots, the federal government did away with enhanced screening for passengers from Brazil, where one of the new variants originated. To ensure we're able to beat this third wave, the federal government needs to get serious about closing our border, make testing mandatory for inter-provincial travelers at airports, and get more vaccines into more arms in Ontario and across the country. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Next question, member for University of Rosedale. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. I have surveyed local businesses to find out how the Ontario Small Business Support Grant is helping the business community in University of Rosedale. Many businesses aren't eligible, but for those who are eligible and who have applied for financial aid, 80% of the businesses that answered this survey have not received any money. Your program is broken. It's broken for Habiba Sarani, an esthetician and small business owner of 15 years, who was told in January their money would arrive any day. But Habiba is still waiting and nobody is returning her calls. Just like the thousands of others, the small business owners in my writing. So Premier, when will small businesses in University of Rosedale finally receive the support that they are eligible for? The member for Flamborough Glenbrook and Parliamentary System. Mr. Speaker, our government understands that small businesses need our support, which is why we introduced the Ontario Small Business Support Grant, and we have made over $1.5 billion in payments so far to over 100,000 small businesses across the province. As part of the budget announcement, our government is providing an additional round of payments to eligible businesses. Small businesses that are eligible for the Ontario Small Business Support Grant will automatically receive a second payment in an amount equal to their first. For small businesses, this means no additional application, no submission of new forms that will be automatically deposited this spring. If a business received $20,000 through the grant program, they would automatically receive another $20,000. Our government will be there to support small businesses during these difficult times. We will have their backs. This supplementary question. My question is back to the Premier. Quite frankly, I sent this survey to 14,000 people in my writing in every single BIA, okay? And of the people that answered, and there were many of them, 80% of the people who are eligible and who have applied have not received their money. This government does not have their back. It has taken 11 months and two province-wide shutdown for this government to finally offer some support. And now we are in our third state of emergency and there is still no money flowing to business owners in crisis. No money for Eric Freeland of Eglinton Dogwalking who said he was horrified by how disorganized the program is. No money for Bill Sower, a taxi driver who wants to know why more small businesses can't be approved. And no money for Vic Galati, who owns Canada Watch Imports, who's been waiting for aid since January. Vic told me that when he called the government's helpline, the staff on the phone admitted that the whole program is a mess. Premier, your staff people. When will small businesses and University of Rosedale and across Ontario finally receive the support that they are eligible for? Good question. Thank you. Thank you for flying board, Landl. Mr. Speaker, and I would like to remind the member opposite that our government has already issued over $1.5 billion in payments to over 100,000 small businesses across Ontario. And while the process saw a high volume of applicants, we understand that the extreme sense of urgency many small businesses are feeling during this difficult time. We are working to further accelerate the processing of applications to ensure that businesses get the support that they need as quickly as possible and have taken many, many steps to speed up the process. We have tripled, tripled the number of public servants that review applications and have increased the resources required to process them in a timely and responsible way. As part of our 2021 budget, our government is providing an additional round of support to help eligible employers impacted by necessary public health restrictions. Mr. Speaker, as more Ontarians get vaccinated, this government will be there to support small business, recover, rehire, and rebuild stronger than ever before. The next question, the member for Cambridge. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Premier. Speaker, for over a year, this government has suggested that any question or criticism in this legislature regarding the government's use of lockdown restrictions was beyond reproach. It was all based on science, they said, and as instructed by the doctors, the government was powerless to do otherwise. Last Friday, we saw otherwise. The Premier and Solicitor General announced the banning of parks and playgrounds, and then less than 20 hours later, they changed their mind. Within days, Ontario Science Advisory Table publicly stated, no such advice was given. Will the government finally admit that it's locked down restrictions for the last year that have resulted in Ontario just now entering a phase of peak transmission have been decided entirely by them and not by any anonymous doctors and not based on any pseudo science as they have claimed? Government House Leader. Actually, no, Mr. Speaker. The member will know because she did sit in caucus for a number of months and was privy to many of the same discussions that all members of the caucus have had. And of course, members of the opposition have had in the many briefings that we have provided with them, including with Dr. Williams. And of course, the Solicitor General has attended along with Dr. Williams and other public health officials, the Select Committee on Emergency Management with respect to COVID response, Mr. Speaker. So the member will know full well that much of what we have been doing on day in and day out, not only leading into the crisis to renew our public healthcare system after the 15 devastating years of liberal government, but she will know that all of the actions that we have taken throughout this pandemic have been focused on one thing, keeping the people of the province of Ontario safe. And she will recall of course on those many caucuses that she also had the opportunity to discuss the data that was provided by public health officials. Supplementary question. Thank you, Speaker. Debating and voting on lockdown restrictions and other powers provides for better decision making, but all of that was stripped away last year with Bill 195, the Reopening Ontario Act. Just yesterday, Global News reported following the government's disastrous announcement banning parks and giving the police unprecedented carding powers that a government MPP said on the record, caucus is never consulted on lockdown measures or reversals. The Premier doesn't want feedback from this legislature or his own caucus or the doctors or the scientists on the province's advisory table. Will the Premier finally admit using Bill 195 to skip the legislative process on the use of lockdown restrictions in exchange for decision making done in secret and behind closed doors was a mistake and has resulted in worse outcomes for Ontario? Government House Leader. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. If I recall, the member opposite voted against that measure and I commend her for that. She voted against the measure that she's now talking about and ultimately left the caucus as a result of that. She was, that was, of course, unlike... Order. Of course, that was unlike the member for York Centre. Okay, ask the member for York Centre to come to order one last time. Government House Leader. Here, as I said, the member opposite had an opportunity to make a decision on the ROA, the bill that she talks about, and she voted against it and I commend her for doing that. She felt that it was important for her to do that. That's of course unlike the member for York Centre who voted in favour of that bill, colleagues, and a number of the other measures. We think that these, the measures that we have brought forward have protected the people of the province of Ontario, have really given us the opportunity to keep as many people in the province of Ontario safe despite the challenges that we inherited from the previous Liberal government and despite the failings of the federal government when it comes to vaccines and border issues. Thank you. Next, we have the member for our last time. Thank you, Speaker. Yesterday, just after midnight around the clock, checkpoints were set up at the five bridges and two ferry crossings that connect Ottawa and Gatineau at the behest of this government. Speaker, they did not consult our Mayor. They did not consult our Chief of Police. The checkpoints yesterday caused chaos, resulting in 90 minute delays for some commuters, including nurses and teachers who our office has spoken to. Speaker, no one in Ottawa asked for these changes. People in Ottawa and Gatineau live and work on both sides of the river, and every day 180,000 trips are made between the two cities. The Mayor and the Chief of Police are both calling on this government to immediately walk back these measures. For something no one in the city asked for, will the government, Speaker, listen? Will they stop the wasteful checkpoints and focus instead on all those resources going into a paid sick day program right now? Thank you, Governor. Thank you, Speaker. I think it's important for people to understand that in fact, Quebec has also enforced a border restriction because we understand that the variants of concern have a very rapid transmission rate, and we need to do everything in these extraordinary times to protect our health care system and our intensive care units. I will say that when the Premier and I spoke to the Chiefs of Police on Friday, we did reinforce how critically important it was to ensure that the border crossings were protected. We are working collectively with Manitoba and Quebec to ensure that it's in place and that the citizens in our respective provinces remain safe. Thank you, Speaker. Supplementary question. Speaker, the people of this province are crying out for leadership. They're crying out for a government that is going to deliver the emergency measures. Our opposition caucus is on the table time and again. And what are we getting distracted by? A government that comes with ideas out of nowhere, not guided by experts, and then retracts them the day later. In Ottawa, Speaker, we suspect this is going to be the latest half-brained casualty of checkpoints where our officials were not consulted that probably won't last the week. That's what our mayor believes. So my questions are the Premier. And I would love to hear an answer, Speaker, from the Premier. Is he going to invest this waste of resources into a paid sick day program and to a vaccination coverage and testing program that we actually need, not these useless checkpoints? Thank you for the member from Ottawa. Allow me to quote from Mayor Watson on April 1st. Don't travel between Ottawa and Gatineau during the four week shutdown. Mayor Watson urges for the moment, I'm asking that residents of Ottawa stay in Ottawa until the situation stabilizes in the city. I agree. Jim Watson on December 31st, Ottawa Mayor urges skiers to avoid trips to Quebec ski hills. We don't have any legal means at this city to prevent that from happening, but I think out of an abundance of caution, people should stick to their own communities and help us find the curve. I agree with Mayor Watson. March 24th, mayors of Ottawa, Gatineau ask residents to limit inter-provincial travel. Please stay home, but if you must cross the river to help our families and friends, remember to take every necessary precaution. I support Mayor Watson's words. Thank you. The next question, the member for Don Valley East. Well, thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Premier of Ontario. Premier, since the beginning of the pandemic, people have been flooded with information and research, sometimes contradictory and often rapidly changing. But there were a few things that everyone seemed to agree on, and one of them was the effectiveness of paid sick days. Everyone except this Premier. Speaker, time is running out and we need action. Premier, even if you have personal doubts about the effectiveness of paid sick days, why not try something that all experts are saying will save lives? Speaker, through you, why has the Premier consistently ignored the advice of Mayor's public health officials, his own science tables, doctors, nurses, opposition parties, the majority of Ontarians, and perhaps even members of his own caucus? Mr. Langer, you're in high school development. Well, Mr. Speaker, the very first initiative our government took was to bring in job-protected leave for every worker in the province. If you're a home in self-isolation, if you're in quarantine, if you're a mom or a dad who has to stay home and look after a son or a daughter because of the disruptions to the school system, you can't be fired for that. We went further. We eliminated the need for sick notes in Ontario. And we also were the first province in the country to ensure that people had job-protected leave to go and get vaccinated. But, Mr. Speaker, we worked with the federal government. We implored to the federal government in the months leading up to this budget to improve the sick day program for workers across the province. We were extremely disappointed, Mr. Speaker, because all the provinces had the responsibility to ensure that they brought in job-protected leave. The federal government said that they were going to take care of sick pay. But, Mr. Speaker, clearly there are apps there that can assure workers out there that we have their backs. That's not the magic question. Well, thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. You know, I'm talking about paid sick days. I'm talking about paying bills. And this minister opposite is talking about sick notes. There's been a complete failure by this government when it comes to leadership. Leaders, premiers, prime ministers, they go into those positions because they have to make tough decisions. Sometimes, especially in crisis, they need to change their minds and actually do the right thing. Speaker, the issue isn't partisan and it's not about the premier. No one cares about how he goes about changing, just making sure that change is properly done and we don't care who gets the credit. We just want what's right for Ontarians to be done. Speaker, my question through you to the minister. Will the premier do the right thing and commit to allowing to a free vote for my bill that's coming up this Thursday, Bill 247, so members of his caucus can vote with their constituents and their communities? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And I'd be remiss if I didn't say it is. Certainly nice to see the Honourable Gentleman. I know he's been working very hard seeking the federal nomination in his writing, Mr. Speaker, so talking about cutting and running when things get tough, but he can do me a favour since he is seeking to be a federal member of Parliament and leaving this place, Mr. Speaker, if he's successful. He can bring a message to the federal government to do a better job on vaccines, help get those vaccines here quicker and he can do a better job on the borders. We have heard time and time and time again that our borders are a problem, Mr. Speaker. So if he could take... Member for York Centre is warned. Government House Leader, conclusion. So if he could take that message to the Prime Minister that we need our borders secured, that would be a wonderful message for him to do that, Mr. Speaker. I'm disappointed that he's chose the easy path, the path of leaving and abandoning the people of his writing at a time when they needed him most and seeking a nomination for a different level. But I can assure the people of that writing that the Progressive Conservative Party will make sure that they are represented accordingly, Mr. Speaker, now and after the next election. Do you have a question, Jared?