 Next, we have Question Period. And I recognize the member for Brampton Center. For my mic to turn on, perfect. Good morning, Speaker. My first question is to the Premier. The Auditor General's report on the government's COVID-19 response paints a picture of a confused and bloated decision-making process with the Premier in the middle, and experts on public health left out in the cold. Among her findings, the Auditor General says, and I'll quote, Ontario's command structure evolved to become overly cumbersome, and it was not dominated by public health expertise. End quote. Why did the Premier tell people on a daily basis that Ontario's response was being led by public health advice when in fact it was not? The Government House Theory. Thank you, Madam Speaker. We appreciate, obviously, the report of the Auditor General. And, Speaker, you will know that, of course, that all aspects of COVID-19, the battle against COVID-19, have been in coordination with the Chief Medical Officer of Health and Public Health officials across the province, Mr. Speaker. I would suggest that's why we have had such an impressive result in the province of Ontario. If the Auditor General has pointed out areas in which the government can improve and recommendations for future governments who might face a similar pandemic, Speaker, of course, we'll take a look at that. Obviously, this is something that no government has faced in many, many generations. It was a whole-of-government approach that we put in place to deal with this. And that approach, of course, obviously included the advice and support of medical officials across the province. Thank you. Thank you. The supplementary question. Speaker, the Premier has gone on for months saying that he follows the advice of the Chief Medical Officer of Health. But the Auditor General has proven this to be false. And in fact, she goes on to say, and I'll quote, the Chief Medical Officer of Health and other public health officials did not lead Ontario's response to COVID-19, end quote. The Auditor notes that in provinces like British Columbia, the Chief Medical Officer takes the lead. Why is the Premier sidelined Ontario's Chief Medical Officer and other public health experts and told the public the complete opposite? Right. Nice, Leader. Again, Mr. Speaker, the Chief Medical Officer of Health, of course, has been guiding, helping guide Ontario's response to COVID-19 right from the beginning, Speaker. In fact, not only through Wave 1, but as we prepared for the second wave, the Chief Medical Officer's advice helped ensure that a safe restart for our schools was in place. He helped ensure that our second wave action plan was in place, a very comprehensive plan that has helped, whether it was on testing, Mr. Speaker, on contact tracing. And the Chief Medical Officer of Health has been the lead of that. Of course, we work with other Chief Medical Officers of Health in all of the regions and the different public health regions across the province. They have been instrumental in helping us battle COVID-19. They will continue to be instrumental in doing that. The Chief Medical Officer of Health, of course, is one of the co-chairs of one of the command tables, Speaker, he's out there. Often he was at the select committee just last week, Speaker. He will continue to be very important, and I would encourage the opposition to do the right thing and help us extend his appointment right through to September. Thank you. And the final supplementary. Speaker, thank you. And through you to the government house leader, I'd actually encourage this government house leader to read the auditor general's report, because today's report confirms what families already knew. The Ford government has ignored public health experts. Like the Liberals before them, they ignored years of reports and urgent recommendations from the SARS commission. They delayed implementing critical steps to stop the spread, and they refused to take proactive measures to fight back against COVID-19. The auditor general says very clearly, and I'll quote, we saw delays and conflicts and confusion in decision making, end quote. Why did the government create so much chaos instead of accepting the advice from public health experts that could have prevented COVID-19 infections and deaths in the province of Ontario? Thank you. Manos, leader. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Again, Mr. Speaker, the results speak for themselves with respect to Ontario's response to COVID-19. It was a whole-of-government approach to COVID-19. This is something that no jurisdiction has faced in generations. Speaker, we took the lessons from SARS. We took the lessons from H1N1, and we acted very quickly when the first wave hit. In fact, we were one of the first jurisdictions to close down schools thanks to the advice of the Chief Medical Officer of Health and the quick work of the Minister of Education. We were one of the first jurisdictions to initiate a lockdown. We were one of the first jurisdictions to institute a state of emergency, Mr. Speaker. We did all of that by bringing together, as I said, a whole-of-government approach to tackling this, working with Chief Medical Officers of Health in the regions. I am sure that there are instances where the government could have moved quicker. I'm not going to say that there wasn't, but we have learned... Response? Certainly learned a lot, and in responding to a pandemic that nobody has seen in well over 100 years, Mr. Speaker. I think the people of Ontario have done a great job. Thank you. The next question, the member for Domiskaming Cochrane. Thank you, Speaker. My questions to the Premier. For months, the Premier has assisted that all decisions about handling the pandemic were led by the Chief Medical Officer of Health. But the Auditor General was very clear in her findings today, and I quote, the Chief Medical Officer of Health and other public officials, other public health officials, did not lead on terrorist response to COVID-19. Oh, no. If the Chief Medical Officer of Health did not lead the response, who did? Thank you. Good morning, Senator. Again, Mr. Speaker, as I've said already on a number of occasions, the Chief Medical Officer, the advice of the Chief Medical Officer of Health was instrumental in helping us attack not only the first wave of COVID-19, but in also helping us prepare for the second wave, Mr. Speaker. It was on the advice of the Chief Medical Officer of Health in cooperation with public Chief Medical Officers of Health across the province that we put in place a plan to safely reopen our schools, that we increased testing from 4,000 tests a day, up to 50,000 tests a day, Speaker. It is on the advice of the Chief Medical Officer of Health that we have been able to flatten the curve in the first wave, in fact, leading the country. We brought in a state of emergency before any other jurisdiction in the country. Order. We've done that by working with the Chief Medical Officer of Health. But again, Mr. Speaker, it's a whole-of-government approach that we took to this by working with our officials. I note that the members' opposite response certainly don't believe that the advice of the Chief Medical Officer of Health is valued. They stand daily in this place and ask us to reduce the recommendations of the Chief Medical Officer of Health. We'll follow that advice and we'll continue to follow that advice. Supplementary question. The order, General, is very clear. Not only did the Chief Medical Officer of Health not lead on terrorist response to COVID-19, many at the government's command table were actually unclear on what his role was. In her report, the order calls on the government to, and I quote, immediately assess the role and strength of the Chief Medical Officer of Health to lead on terrorist response in addressing subsequent waves of COVID-19. End of quote. Will the government pull the motion to extend the term of the Chief Medical Officer and actually follow the order, General's recommendation? Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. Thank you, Speaker. No, we will not pull that motion. We have the absolute confidence in Dr. Williams. Dr. Williams has been providing us with advice and recommendations since the beginning of this pandemic and was actually in charge of the table. He didn't chair the table because that was an administrative job. We needed Dr. Williams to be able to participate in what was happening at the committee. Dr. Williams has through... Proficial opposition can order. In charge of the response from a health perspective and provided recommendations to our government which we have followed. We're here. And the final supplementary. The order has been clear that the Chief Medical Officer of Health has not taken a leadership role in Ontario's COVID response. And has not been allowed to use the power of his office to take actions that could have saved lives. Wow. She has called the government to assess the role and strength of the Chief Medical Officer of Health to lead Ontario's response. But instead of doing that, the government suddenly decided this week to rubber stamp an extension of his term. Why is the government ignoring the recommendations of Ontario's Auditor General? Mr. Cobb. Thank you. In fact, we respect the Auditor General and her report contains many recommendations and insights that will be helpful to us in dealing with COVID-19. However, there are also some factual inaccuracies contained in the Auditor General's report which we brought to her attention which have been discussed. I have discussed them with her myself. And we have agreed to disagree that there are some issues particularly with respect to the role of the Chief Medical Officer of Health and the role that he's played in this pandemic. We continue to rely on Dr. Williams' recommendations and advice and he has been a leader from a health perspective in this pandemic from day one. We continue to rely on him and will continue to do so. Again, the member for Tamiskam and Cochrane. I'd like to start my question with a quote from Doug Ford from September 25th, 2018. Unlike the Liberals, we respect the Auditor General. We respect the Auditor General. We refer to other members by their ministerial title or their writing name. Place your question. The Ford government suddenly, without any notice, announced plans to extend the term of the Chief Medical Officer of Health and had MPPs sitting here until midnight, literally in the dead of the night in an attempt to force it through before today's report. They knew this report was coming from the Auditor today. Were they attempting to rubber stamp an extension before the rest of Ontario, before the people of Ontario could see the findings in today's report from Ontario's Auditor General? Members, will please take their seats. To respond for the government, Minister of Health. Absolutely not. The Dr. Williams, we have the absolute confidence in him. Dr. Williams has 30 years of public health experience, both as the Chief Medical Officer of Health for Ontario, as well as the local Medical Officer of Health in Thunder Bay for many years. 30 years, he has the knowledge and experience. To have someone else come in as a new person, as the Chief Medical Officer of Health in the middle of a pandemic would be irresponsible and we are not irresponsible. We take this very seriously. We are making decisions in the best interests of the health and wellbeing of the people of Ontario. Absolutely. Order. The supplementary question. Thank you. For months, the Premier has insisted that his COVID-19 response has been informed by public health experts and that every measure was proposed by the Chief Medical Officer of Health. The Premier says he's a perfect dance partner. But perhaps only because the Premier always gets to lead. That's right. Will the Premier agree to put Dr. Williams in front of an all-party committee to review his appointment as the Chief Medical Officer of Health? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. In fact, last night, this chamber did seek unanimous consent to have the Chief Medical Officer of Health appear before a Select Committee of Parliament and that was turned down by the members opposite, Mr. Speaker. In fact, we also tried to put a motion forward to extend and provide more opportunity for the opposition to speak, not once, not twice, but 10 separate occasions. They turned it down, Mr. Speaker. We then went further and asked for unanimous consent to return this House today at one o'clock for further discussions with respect to the Chief Medical Officer of Health. They turned it down, Mr. Speaker. So again, it is the same thing with the NDP. Say one thing, but do another. The next question, order. The next question, the member for Ottawa-West Nippian. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Francophone Affairs Minister. In my writing in Ottawa-West Nippian, there is a French community. It's diversified and dynamic. Recently, I told my community that a new French school would open in Leslie Park. Good news for Franco-Ontarians in Ottawa during this pandemic. Will the minister tell us what concrete measures have been implemented to support the Francophone community since the beginning of the pandemic? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am proud of the various measures that we have implemented in order to support Franco-Ontarians in Ontario during this crisis. In the budget of 2020, we announced a 2 million investment on two years for a fund that would be sent to non-profit Francophone organizations. We have created a working group to support Francophone organizations. This tops on a $500,000 investment that is aimed at supporting Francophone products and services. This answers a need in the Francophone community. Also, we have announced an investment of $1 million to the Pafo community. Mr. Speaker, we listen to the Francophone community. We want to understand their needs during this pandemic. Thank you. I would like to thank the minister for her support to the Francophone community. My office works in collaboration with the APO on various projects. For example, we work on the Francophonie... Maison de la Francophonie. I was happy to celebrate the opening of this facility. I was with the minister, and this was done just before the pandemic started. May the minister talk to us in detail about her new working group with AFO. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you to the member. This new working group working with our minister and the Francophonie Assembly of Ontario wants to optimize the help and support offered to Francophone communities. We implemented various recommendations from the ministerial council during the budget. The aim was to answer to the request of Francophones. We have invested $600 million for broadband Internet. We have invested more millions for micro-credit help for specialized work and also an emergency fund of $25 million for arts and culture. I'm really happy to be able to work with the AFO to help Francophone organizations. I'm happy to offer my support during this difficult time. Thank you. The fan shot. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the premier. In her report today, the auditor general cites example after example of the Ford government's delaying urgent action needed to save lives. Staff in long-term care were working without personal protective equipment for nearly a month after the medical officers first requested it. Staff in long-term care worked in multiple facilities for over a month because the chief medical officer refused to issue an order to for-profit homes. As the auditor notes, provinces that acted earlier saved hundreds, even thousands of lives and failed to act on the lessons that should have been learned from SARS. Will the premier now admit that those failures cost lives in long-term care? The minister of long-term care. Thank you, Speaker. And thank you to the member opposite for the question. We're in a 100-year global pandemic that is affecting the entire world. We must not lose context of that. Global competition for PPE, global competition for supplies, and a government that was moving swiftly and decisively from the beginning, taking the best evidence and the expert advice of not only the chief medical officer of health, but all the science and medical advice and public health care advice that there was culminating in decisions made through the chief medical officer of health for long-term care. PPE supplies were sent to our homes on an as-needed basis. There was no home that went without. Now, we have a much better situation with our own manufacturing here in Ontario in Wave 2. And that is because of a determination and a united front on so many people, hundreds of people working together, not only on the front line, but behind the scenes making this happen and never giving up, being determined to get it done. And we have. Supplementary question. Speaker, families are worried about loved ones in long-term care. Families, loved ones are worried about their loved ones in long-term care. And they aren't just worried that the government failed to learn the lessons from SARS. And countless previous reports, they're terrified because it's been clear the Premier has learned very little. And they have failed the decisions, their decisions have caused 2,000 seniors to die in long-term care. And it's being repeated again. Why is the Premier still refusing to admit that the government has failed seniors in long-term care? Can you take the scene? Minister of Long-Term Care. Thank you, Speaker. Once again, my heart goes out to absolutely everyone who's impacted by this, and particularly to the residents and families and staff affected in long-term care. As the Minister of Long-Term Care, there is nothing more important to me and to our government than our most vulnerable citizens in Ontario. And we will continue to work with everyone who's willing to be a coalition of the willing to do the right thing, to get the supplies to our long-term care homes. As we have been doing, this is in context of a global pandemic where science is evolving. We have been using the precautionary principle all along to the best of everyone's ability, taking the expert advice of our chief medical officer of health, and using every measure and every tool. And I will insist on that as we move forward and as I have done, as our government continues to put the priority in long-term care, the dollars behind it. And you've heard me mention over a billion dollars, and we will continue to advance, rebuild, and repair long-term care. So badly neglect. Thank you. Thank you. The next question, Member for Ottawa. Thank you, Speaker. My question's for the Premier. So for months now, we've been asking for your command table to appear before the Select Committee on Emergency Management oversight. And people all across Ontario have been asking for the same kind of transparency with no response. And I think I know why. The Auditor General confirmed that the command table ballooned to 500 people. We couldn't fit them in this room. Maybe if we got, I didn't even know we could get them in the galleries, which is absolutely incredible. The Auditor General also found that public health advice was diminished, and decisions were not dominated by public health expertise. Every day the Premier stands up and says, I am taking the advice of the docs. I'm taking the advice of the experts. He's listening to the docs. Well, it's very clear, at least from the Auditor General report, that that hasn't been happening. So Speaker, through you to the Premier, why does the Premier continue to say that he's taking public health advice, the advice of experts, when clearly Mr. Health. Thank you, Speaker. And I would say to the member opposite, because we have been taking the advice of the Chief Medical Officer of Health. And the others at the command table. Now, I think it's really important to note the Auditor General did comment on the fact that there were, at some point, 500 people on the call. However, 500 people were not participating in the call. 500 people were on the call to obtain information. They were from various ministries. It's very important when you're dealing with a pandemic, such as we are, that you have a cross-government approach, that there are 13 or 14 ministries involved. Health, of course, is the primary. Ministry of Long-Term Care, Ministry of Solicitor General, others. Education, it goes on and on. It's important for us to know what is happening in other ministries, to get it out of those silos. Member for Lannar, Cronack, Kingston, come to order. But throughout the Chief Medical Officer of Health, the Public Health Measures Table, Public Health Ontario, were the key people at the command table that were providing and discussing the advice and recommendations that they were going to give to government, which we have accepted. It's a comprehensive question. It's a supplementary question. It's a comprehensive question. Speaker, the previous I was saying that Buck stops here. And clearly, the same thing's happening today, because it's not stopping with the Premier. He's not responding to this. So what the Auditor General has said is, the structure's led to delays and confusions. And if you hear what we've been saying in this House is delayed decision-making, like not stopping workers from working in more than one home, like not raising their wages, like not having a plan for school, like not having a plan to move seniors out of long-term care when we've had months, because the decisions aren't being made. And people on those calls are saying, they don't know who's making the decision. So I just want to know, Ontarians just want to know, we all want to know, how are you going to fix it? Minister of Health. Thank you, Speaker. Decisions were being made and were made quickly from the beginning of this pandemic. Ontario was the first province that designated the coronavirus as a disease reportable to public health so that the local public health units could then be prepared to test, trace, and contact, do the contact isolation and management. That happened. Ontario declared a state of emergency just after Quebec. Ontario moved into action. So despite some of the statements that were made by the Auditor General, even though we didn't create the public health command table until February, actions were still being taken and continued to happen in a very quick response. We had to create a lab system which didn't exist as a coordinated entity, unlike what was happening in some other jurisdictions. But we needed to create a lab system and we did that in record time. We also created a system for increase our testing from 4,000 a day to 70,000 a day. And I think the results speak for themselves. Ontario right now has the lowest per capita numbers of COVID-19, of any jurisdiction in North America, except for the Atlantic bubble and the territories. That speaks to success, not delay. Very good. Thank you. The next question, the members of Ottawa, West, and Fiume. Thank you, Speaker. The next question is for the Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry. Speaker, just a few weeks ago, the ministry announced that forest fire season had officially come to an end here in Ontario. Back at the onset of this pandemic, there were legitimate concerns being raised that COVID-19 would make it harder for our provincial crews to fight forest fires. As we know, COVID has placed an enormous burden on people across the province. They're worried about getting through this pandemic. They're worried about their health. They're worried about their businesses. And they're worried about their livelihoods. The last thing people need to worry about is having a forest fire rip through their community. Speaker, through you to the minister, could he please tell the House what the government did this year to ensure that Ontario was adequately prepared for forest fire season in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic? To respond, Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry. I want to thank the member from Ottawa, West Nippian for that question, for the excellent question. There's no question that the COVID-19 outbreak presented a new set of challenges for firefighters and communities threatened by fire. Everyone in this House can appreciate it, the added level of risk of fighting fires during a global pandemic. This year, funding for emergency firefighting was increased by $30.2 million at the start of the year to help support fire response activities further into the season. This increase also helped to ensure the ministry was able to put adequate safety measures in place to protect our fire rangers from COVID-19. Speaker, we also placed an even stronger focus on early detection and combating detected fires with full force in order to keep them small. And also we implemented a restricted fire zone across Ontario's legislated fire region from April to May 16 to reduce the risk of preventable human-caused fires. Speaker, we took an approach that would keep Northern and remote communities safe and that's exactly what we were able to achieve. And the supplementary question. I would like to thank the minister through you, Speaker, for his answer. It is great to see that the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry is continuing to take the issue of forest fires seriously and that it stepped up to the plate to make sure that Ontarians were kept safe from forest fires over this last season. Speaker, I want to note that this year's forest fire season was more intense than the 2019 season but lower than Ontario's 10-year average. However, forest fires and the conditions that caused them are very unpredictable as I'm sure the minister very well knows. We can't sit back and rest and just expect the next year's forest fire season will be similar to this year's. Through you, Speaker, can the minister please tell the House what his ministry is doing to ensure that the province is prepared for future fire seasons where we may not be so lucky when it comes to numbers and size of forest fires? Minister to reply. Thank you again, Speaker, to the member from Ottawa, West Nippee. And as he mentioned, the 2020 fire season was below Ontario's 10-year average in both the number of fires and the total hectares burned. This fire season started slowly due to lingering snow cover and above normal precipitation in the spring. In the summer months, for the most part, Ontario did not experience many long, hot or dry periods that would produce extreme fire hazards. Speaker, I want to thank the incredible work that Ontario's Fire Rangers did this year. During the last year, some of these fearless frontline workers were also deployed to help fight in the wildfires in Australia, Quebec and Oregon. As the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, we are committed to adapting to whatever the fire season may look like each and every year. We have a mitigation program in place to minimize the devastation caused by wildfires. We do this by working with municipal, Indigenous and industrial partners to develop info on the risk of living in a fire-free, fire-prone environment, assisting communities in development of community wildfire protection plans. We're working with our partners to protect the people of Ontario. The next question, the member for Waterloo. Thank you very much, my questions to the Premier. Speaker, yesterday the Premier admitted that his new rules for businesses aren't fair, but that it didn't matter because he wasn't really going to enforce them anyway. The Premier keeps standing up in his press conferences and telling us that his heart breaks for businesses and families struggling. But at some point, something else is going to break. And that's the people's willingness to put up with his governments continued, mixed messages and constantly changing rules. One day he's calling people yahoos and telling them he's hitting the roof and the next his hands are tied and there's nothing he can do. So the question is, can the Premier clarify once and for all what rules he expects businesses to follow and which ones he's fine with them ignoring or breaking or should they just follow the government's lead and make things up and hope for the best? Government House Leader. Yeah, Mr. Speaker, I think you see the inconsistency of what we're hearing. The Chief Medical Officer of Health of the province of Ontario has come with recommendations with Toronto and Peele and the member opposite just in this question and last night, the members opposite suggested that we ignore the advice of the Chief Medical Officer of Health and do what they want, Mr. Speaker. We're listening to the Chief Medical Officer of Health. We're putting the people of the province of Ontario first and as the Minister of Health just said that is why we have some of the best results in all of North America, Mr. Speaker. These are very difficult, challenging decisions that we're having to make. Nobody likes to have to make these decisions but we're doing it because it is in the best interest of the people of the province of Ontario because the sooner we flatten this curve, the sooner we return a strong vibrant economy. Thank you. And the supplementary question. So it's actually the auditor general who has said that, Mr. Speaker, we believe the auditor general and but let's let's retract here. If you're a big corporation who's got extra cash to hire the Premier's friends and PC party insiders, the rules don't apply. If you're openly breaking the rules but you run a barbecue restaurant in the Premier's backyard, you can do whatever you want. But if you're a small mom-and-pop shop just barely hanging on, you're out of luck. You're on your own. And you wonder why people are so frustrated. But after reading the auditor's report this morning and realizing that the Premier had no idea what he was doing in any part of this pandemic, I guess it makes a bit more sense. Speaker, through you to anyone over there. I guess who's anybody who's willing to step up and finally provide some leadership. Does this government just not have a clue of what you are doing or do you just not care? Members, please take their seats. Government host leader. Again, Mr. Speaker, a strange question given that the rules that are in place today in Piel and in Toronto are the same rules that were in place through the advice of the Chief Medical Officer of Health in March, which they approved of, in April, which they approved of, in May, which they approved of, in June, which they approved of, throughout half of July, which they approved of, Mr. Speaker. Now all of a sudden, they want us to set aside the advice of the Chief Medical Officer of Health and do what they say, Mr. Speaker. The only inconsistency here is from the members of the opposite. We have places in this province, in particular, Piel region with a high positivity rate. We're going to focus on getting that rate down, protecting the people of Piel region, protecting the people of the city of Toronto. When they had the opportunity to stand in their place and debate this last night, they chose on 11 separate occasions to say no, Mr. Speaker. Well, I said we would bring this legislature back early today. They said no, Mr. Speaker. The only people who are irresponsible are the NDP. Order. Order. The House will come to order. The official opposition will come to order. The next question, the member for Lanark, Frontenac, Kingston. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Premier. Let's review the facts rather than the fiction of COVID. COVID is from the family of coronaviruses, the same family as the common cold, and shares about 80% of the same characteristics. The majority of people have immunities to COVID. That is why so few people have symptoms and are infectious. The young and the healthy are not at risk. An asymptomatic transmission is now known to be a falsehood. The PCR test is false, faulty, according to the government's own experts. Lockdowns are ineffective, as stated by the who and many other doctors throughout the world. And as CTV reported last week, 98% of all deaths in Canada occurred in long-term care. As your long-term care minister has already publicly stated, it's much like a bad flu season. Speaker, the Premier's daily theatrics are looking a lot like a cheap soap opera selling drama and fear. The question's been placed. Deputy Premier and Minister of Health to reply. Thank you, Speaker. And what I would like to say to the member opposite through you, Speaker, is you must be joking. You must be joking. Over 3,500 people in Ontario have died from COVID. We are doing everything in our power to protect the health and well-being of the people of Ontario. We have had to take the steps that we've had to take. Nobody wants to take these steps. We recognize that there has been serious difficulties for many as a result of this. But if we don't take action, there are going to be many, many more people that are going to die. And we don't want that. And I'm sure no one else here wants that. We have to take the reactions that we're taking to save lives. Yeah. We start the clock. The supplementary question. The Premier, I believe the first vaccine the people of Ontario need is an injection of facts and truth about COVID. The truth is that 98% of all deaths in Canada have occurred in long-term care. The truth is 99.5% of infected people will fully recover. The truth is a number of cases is not a measurement of risk or infection. The truth is, in the name of helping, we're harming both the healthy and the vulnerable. The truth is we're passing on a legacy of extraordinary debt to our children and grandchildren. Speaker, the truth is that the fear being created by our Premier with these daily theatrics is doing far more harm than the virus ever could. Speaker, can the Premier please tell the people of Ontario what evidence is he waiting for and what will ever convince him that his policies are far more dangerous than the virus? Minister of Health. Thank you, Speaker. Well, I would say again through you, Mr. Speaker, to the member opposite, the actual facts are not, as you state them. The actual facts are that people have died, 3,500 people have died. The suggestion you've made it is that if people are long-term care and they die, somehow it doesn't matter. We think it does matter. People are people. We respect our seniors. We need to protect them. They are the most vulnerable people in our society. It is our responsibility and our duty and our honour to protect them because of what they've done for our country. We need to take the steps that we're taking. We recognise that there are difficulties for people economically. We are providing economic supports, but you can't have an economy that's going to function if you don't have healthy people. And that is our primary responsibility to protect the health and wellbeing of the people of Ontario. That's always been the case and always will be the case. The next question, the member for Ottawa, West Nippian. Thank you, Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks. Since the 1960s, the natural landscape and threats, such as excessive nutrients and pollutants, invasive species and climate change have put significant stress on the ecological health of Lake Simcoe. This has resulted in poor water quality, degraded habitats and a collapse of the cold water fisheries. After significant concern and calls for the former government to finally take action to improve and protect the health of the Lake Simcoe watershed, a Lake Simcoe Protection Act was introduced and in the following year, in 2009, the Lake Simcoe Protection Plan was released. Speaker, the restoration and protection of Lake Simcoe and the Great Lakes have been included in this government's Made in Ontario plan. Given that it has been 10 years since the Lake Simcoe Protection Plan was announced, can the minister tell the House what improvements have been made in Lake Simcoe over the past decade? To reply for the government, the member for Barry Innesville. Thank you, Speaker, and thank you to the member for Ottawa, West Nippian for that question. Due to the collective efforts of our government and its many partners, we are seeing progress towards protection and restoration efforts that are so important to the natural areas and features in the Lake Simcoe watershed. This summer, the Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks released a 10-year report on Lake Simcoe to detail the progress that Ontario has made on this vulnerable body of water. Some key improvements highlighted in the report are the improved dissolved oxygen in the deep waters that's helped the fish population and the creation and restoration of 120 hectares of wetland and the restoration of 15 kilometres of degraded shorelines. Speaker, we made great progress so far and I look forward to building upon these efforts with great partners like our youth for Lake Simcoe and Zoe and her team who continue to help us protect and restore Lake Simcoe. Thank you. Supplementary question. Thank you, Speaker. I know that this is an important priority for my friend, the MPP for Berry Innisfil. Achieving the objectives of the Lake Simcoe Protection Plan in the long term requires continued commitment from all partners and levels of government. Speaker, recent research shows that due to concerted efforts of government and other partners, phosphorus loads from sewage treatment plants in the watershed have been reduced by approximately 50% since 2009. In the lake, total spring and ice-free phosphorus concentration have dropped significantly from 1980 to 2018. These are promising proof points of progress but restoring Lake Simcoe will take longer than 10 years to complete. Speaker, it's important that the government conduct ongoing scientific research and monitoring. It is also critical that the plan adapts over time so that it continually addresses emerging threats. So, can the minister please inform the House about what the government is doing to support future improvement efforts in Lake Simcoe? Member for Berry Innisfil. Thank you, Speaker. And we have solid commitment amongst all my provincial colleagues along Lake Simcoe and our government has continued its commitment to protecting Ontario's water resources and addressing the most significant challenges facing Lake Simcoe and the significant environment challenges that is. That is why we are engaging in public consultation with stakeholders on the review of the Lake Simcoe Protection Plan. We'll continue to invest ongoing research and monitoring like we continue to do in education and actions around Lake Simcoe. And most recently, we announced actions on Lake Simcoe by providing 481,000 in provincial funding for four new partner-led projects that are key in making sure that we restore and protect Lake Simcoe and its watershed. This is in addition to the already 15 partner-led projects that are underway in the watershed that have received over 375,000 funding from the Ministry of Environment, Conservation, and Parks. Speaker, we'll continue to ensure that each project we support results in the best outcomes for Lake Simcoe and its watershed. And we look forward to learning more about the federal government's funding commitments to support ongoing improvements. Thank you. The next question, the member for Scarborough Southwest. Thank you, Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Scarborough families are struggling right now. They're not only experiencing abnormally high COVID-19 cases, they're also slipping further into poverty and unemployment. Some Scarborough ridings have positivity rates and actually some of them border my riding as well as some of the government members ridings have positivity rate of 15%, some of the highest in the province, combined with low testing capacity and an overwhelmed hospital system. But still, this government is refusing to act. After years of being under overlooked and underfunded by liberals, this conservative government has brought us to a breaking point. When will the government, Mr. Speaker, commit to providing the people of Scarborough with the resources, including enough testing, contact tracers they deserve so people are not falling through the cracks? Thank you, Speaker. Minister Powell. Thank you, Speaker. And I thank the member very much for the question. We certainly recognize there are parts of the city of Toronto that are considered hotspots where there's very serious concerns that are high positivity rates and people are living in apartments where there's maybe several generations of family there. I think this is a situation that really calls for all three levels of government to take action. We have had several discussions I have with Mayor Tory recognizing that parts of Etobicoke, parts of Scarborough are very hard hit areas. He has requested some assistance from the federal government with respect to quarantine accommodation, which I certainly would agree with and which we will both ask the federal government to assist in providing that so that if someone is diagnosed with COVID that they can move away from their family members and be isolated themselves until they're well. Response. But there's also work that we need to do on the provincial level, which I'll be pleased to speak about in my supplemental. And the supplementary question. Thank you, Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I do appreciate the response and I do appreciate the intention, but we need action right now. The government is sitting on $9.3 billion in unallocated pandemic support money, and yet here we are. And I know yesterday we heard the government members talk about how that's safe for a rainy day, but it's pouring. And I don't know what kind of storm we're heading towards, but we need to act right now to stop the spread from getting further into these communities. Where is the money going that the $9.3 billion that's allocated because it's not coming to our communities? My office is getting calls every day from across Garborough and not just Garborough Southwest, actually, across Garborough about workplaces with COVID-19 cases and about having to go to work sick, lack of PPE, not enough testing, about families losing the businesses they've worked so hard to build. And about having to stand in line at food banks, just check out some of the lines at our food banks, losing their shifts due to lockdown and now facing the risk of eviction. And I could go on, Mr. Speaker. But my question is, what will it take for the government to see that with each day this government refuses to act? People in Garborough, many of whom are racialized, many of whom are working precarious jobs, are at the risk of losing their livelihoods. Thank you. To respond, the member for Willoughby. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to direct that member's attention to Page Blood and 73 of the budget, about two-thirds of the way down the page. She will see three drawdowns on the standard contingency, on the health contingency, as well as the people and jobs fund. And if we go to Page 187 at the bottom of the page, we will see the remaining contingency at the bottom of the page, Speaker, is $2.6 billion, not $9.3 billion, as that member asserts. Whereas the money gone was another question she asked. Well, Speaker, when our front-line health officials said they need more masks, we were able to provide 600 million of them. When our front-line health officials said, we need more gloves, we provided 900 million of them, Speaker. When the commercial rent relief program came upon us, we were able to respond with $241 million in direct supports. Speaker, this government has moved through a prudent and adaptive matter through this uncertain and changing situation that is COVID-19. We will not apologize for treating taxpayer money with respect throughout this difficult time. Yes! The next question, the member for Glen Gary Prescott, Russell. Thank you, Speaker. Question to the Premier. The Premier is allowing big-box stores to remain open during the Toronto and Peel region lockdowns because they'll limit the number of people in their stores. Small business owners can do that. They've proven it to us. But no, the Premier is forcing them to close while allowing big-box stores to remain open and sell the very items that small business owners make their living from. The Premier said he spoke to the CEO of Walmart Canada and concluded it would be a, quote, logistical nightmare for big-box stores to close off aisles with non-essential items. Yes, it would be quite the nightmare for them to spend an evening of reorganizing to continue to rake in millions in profit. Do you know what the real nightmare is, Mr. Speaker? The hell that small business owners are going through right now and the complete and continued failure of this government to support them when they need it most. So, Mr. Speaker, why can't small businesses be allowed to operate with very strict limits the same way big-box stores have been allowed to? Where's the logic in this? Mr. Vellis. Thank you, Speaker, and thank you to the member of the question. The logic here is the fact that with the big-box stores, they are selling essential goods and services that people need to live through the course of the pandemic. Many of them have pharmacies. Many of them have grocery sections. That is why they're staying on. It's difficult in a pandemic. It's difficult to make these decisions, but that is the reason why they're staying open so people can have access to the goods and services that they need in order to be able to live through this pandemic. As for the smaller stores, I know this is difficult for many small businesses. However, even though they can't remain open, they are still able to receive orders online or by telephone. People can still pick up from them, and we encourage people to do that. We encourage people to shop local, to shop with their local small businesses, to support your local restaurants. Do takeout orders. Response? We need to help each other get through this pandemic, and that is the way that we can show our help to the small businesses, to the restaurants and others that have to be closed during this period of time for the safety of the people in both. Thank you very much. The supplementary question. Merci, Monsieur. Thank you, Speaker. Speaker, Ontarians are ready to do their part to avoid COVID-19 spreading, but right now people are losing patience. If big box stores can open, because they can limit the number of people going in, why can't the government trust SMEs, our SMEs, to do the same? So to the Premier, what are you telling SMEs that you're forced to close their doors who are selling the same items as big box stores and are following protocols and procedures? How are you justifying favoring big box stores which is affecting our SMEs, those Ontarians who are living hell because of what you're doing? The Associate Minister of Small Business and Red Tape Production. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And as I have said many times before, there is no sugarcoating it. This is a very difficult time for businesses, small businesses in particular, but I think it's irresponsible for the member opposite to cast out on the advice of public health officials. Every decision this government has made, these are some of the toughest decisions when it comes down to closing businesses, but it is based off of the best public health advice that we are receiving. In my community, I have community transmission rates of, or sorry, positivity rates of 20%. So I urge the members opposite not to politicize this. This is support that we are bringing forward to small businesses, $600 million. We doubled the relief programs, and 90% rent relief for those impacted by these restrictions. Response? But these guidelines have been supported by public health and recommended to us by public health officials. Thank you. The next question is from St. Catharines. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Last week, I had a 70-year-old grandmother, a residential school survivor, Melito Soup in St. Catharines, evicted from her home. This is because the landlord-tenant board failed her. Before the eviction hearing, Melito's family's lawyer could not successfully fax a stave eviction order to the landlord-tenant board, and no one would pick up the phone despite dozens of attempts. Eventually, the family had to express post-it. The landlord-tenant board eventually responded with an approved stave eviction two days before the sheriff derived, an older stamp with a request date that was wrong by weeks. The worst part, the landlord-tenant board never sent the order to the sheriff, so she was evicted anyways. Will the Premier stand up today and tell the residents in Niagara and St. Catharines how he will fix this mess so that residents like Melito are not left homeless during a global pandemic? The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing to apply. Thanks, Speaker, and I want to thank the honorable member for the question. I wanted to know that we've been working very diligently with all of our municipal partners to try to keep people housed during the pandemic. As members of this House will know, the Attorney General moved very quickly early on in the pandemic. He's been working diligently with Tribunals, Ontario regarding issues around the backlog at the landlord-tenant board. But in the interim, Speaker, we've had exceptional cooperation with our 47 service managers and our two indigenous program administrators. Many of them have been bolstering their rent bank and have been helping those most vulnerable. While I don't know all the details of this situation, I will tell the member that we will review what has happened to her constituent. We will make the residential enforcement unit available and make them aware of the situation. I thank her for bringing it forward today. The supplementary question. Thank you, Speaker. I think it might be a little too late. This story is tragic, but this is not news to you. Last month, legal clinics across this province sent you a report about these issues with the landlord-tenant board during COVID-19. I here in St. Catherine's tenants and landlords having to wait on the phone for four hours, problems with accessing their virtual hearings, fax machines that do not work, paperwork was lost, lands in junk mail are filed late, like in the case of miso soup. We are lucky in St. Catherine's to have the passionate, hard-working Niagara legal clinic, but they cannot fix this chaos that the landlord-tenant board does. But you can, you refuse to provide a rent subsidy for tenants and landlords during this pandemic, but even worse, we have processed that limits access to justice. Mr. Premier, what are you doing for tenants in the second wave of the pandemic when the landlord-tenant board is struggling to function and creating a crisis of evictions in Niagara and in St. Catherine's? Thank you. I remind the members to make their comments to the chair, the response, the member for Durham, parliamentary assistant. Thank you, Speaker. I appreciate the chance to speak on such an important priority for our government. Throughout the COVID-19 emergency and recovery, our government has been focused on keeping Ontarians safe and addressing the impacts of COVID-19 on tenants and landlords. The landlord-tenant board began expanding operations in August to resume hearing cases brought by tenants and landlords while continuing to prioritize the health and safety of Ontarians. Speaker, we recognize we want the LTV to be able to draw on its full operating strength as it manages these unprecedented challenges, a big backlog, while acting on the guidance of public health experts to keep Ontarians safe. As a result of the work we've done to urgently appoint new adjudicators, the LTV can count on a roster of adjudicators larger than its usual complement, more than twice its normal capacity, Speaker, as services gradually resume, this full complement of adjudicators will strengthen the LTV. Thank you very much. Thank you. And the next question, the member for Simcoe Gray. Thank you, Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Health. Since I last raised this issue in this house, Ontario has lost another young boy to cystic fibrosis. The death the CF community believes was totally avoidable if he had been given access to the life-saving medication Trikafta. After months of delay over uncertainties regarding pricing policies, Health Canada has now finally granted priority review status to Trikafta. Beth Fanstone, who the Minister knows, informs me that the Federal Minister of Health has committed to working with the Pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance and the provinces to expedite the drug approval process and the Pan-Canadian pricing process for Trikafta and other vertex CF drugs. So my question, Speaker, to the Minister of Health is, can she tell Ms. Vanstone and her daughter, Maddie, what Ontario is doing to expedite these processes? The Minister of Health. Thank you very much. And thank you to the member for your question. I know this is a matter of particular interest and concern to you, as it is to me as well. This is good news from Vertex. So Vertex has indicated that they are moving forward, of course, with this request to Health Canada for a priority review. They've indicated they're planning to move forward with future cystic fibrosis medications in Canada. Vertex has also confirmed that Health Canada has granted priority review and that they have 60 days to submit their file to Health Canada. I don't believe the submission has been made as yet, although it's expected to be made very soon. As soon as that's done, as soon as it's approved by Health Canada, we will do everything that we can in Ontario to move forward because this is great news for people with cystic fibrosis and we want to make sure that this medication can be available to them as quickly as possible. A supplementary question? Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I take the minister on her word as an honorable member and a fantastic human being that she'll do everything she can. But, you know, when you look at this for the years, we've been talking about our Cambie and Kaleidiko and now Trikafta, all Vertex, cystic fibrosis drugs. The frustration is unbelievable in the CF community. As you know, in my writing, I have two little boys, one boy's on a trial of Kaleidiko and he's doing very well. His little brother not doing so well with cystic fibrosis because he doesn't have access to these life-saving drugs because of the cost. So the frustration's huge, a 12-year-old boy just died and if you look at the thousands of emails on the internet with the cystic fibrosis community, they truly believe that Trikafta would have saved this young boy. So I just, again, plead on behalf of these patients to do everything you can. You're going to be the largest purchaser of these drugs in Canada, so you've got influence. Please continue to do everything you can to date the process hasn't been working. Please do everything you can to improve it on behalf of these patients. The minister of health. Thank you. You're absolutely right. This is a matter of frustration to people across the province of Ontario. Probably each and every one of us as members has constituents that either have cystic fibrosis themselves or have children that do. This is a very important matter for me. There at the ADM in the Ministry of Health provides me with updates on a regular basis because I am as anxious as anyone to provide these medications because I know they are life-saving, all three of them. But particularly Trikafta seems to have a particular potential. So I can assure the member and assure the members of this House that we will do everything that we can to move this forward as quickly as possible as soon as it's been reviewed and approved by Health Canada. So thank you. Thank you. The next question, the member for York Southwest. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Premier. I'm getting many calls and emails from small businesses, owners and employees in my riding of York Southwestern. Very concerned about the government's recent announcement regarding COVID-19 lockdown and why the must close their doors to the public. But big box stores remain opened. These businesses barely survived in the first wave and now just before the holiday season, they cannot keep their doors open for customers. These main street businesses and their workers in our community deserve direct support and consideration. With $9.3 billion air marketer for pandemic relief from the federal government, why, Mr. Speaker, this government sitting on this money and selectively not spending on small businesses and workers who desperately needs this time? To respond, the associate minister for small business and red tape production. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. We recognize that the economic and financial burden posed upon our small businesses across this pandemic has been significant. That is why last week we doubled the funding available to these small businesses to $600 million. Businesses that have been impacted by these restrictions can apply immediately online through a single portal, a very easy application. On top of that, Mr. Speaker, we have provided direct supports through programs like digital main street that help businesses, $57 million investment, the largest investment by any government to help businesses go digital. We have put forward the main street PPE grant, $60 million of investment to help small businesses cover the cost of PPE. On top of that, those businesses can also be eligible for 90% rent relief in those areas of restrictions. These are difficult times for our businesses, but we are always going to be here to support them. Thank you very much. That concludes our question period for this morning. We have a different.