 It is now time for oral questions. I recognize the leader for Majesty's Loyal Opposition. Thank you so very much, Speaker. My first question this morning is to the Premier. We know that Ontarians are not able to get the health care that they need. Many are living in pain, with anxiety, with the quality of life that's reducing. Wait times were bad before COVID hit, but of course now they have have exploded and they're worse than ever. The Ontario Medical Association estimates the following, 21 million patient services backlogged, 1 million surgeries, millions of diagnostics and preventative care, cancer screenings. Just imagine being one of those patients waiting and wondering why their government doesn't care about the fact that their health is deteriorating. When is this government going to come up with a plan and the appropriate investments to clear the backlogs? Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. Thank you very much, Speaker. We certainly recognize that there are many Ontarians who have been waiting for surgeries and procedures as a result of COVID. However, not to the degree suggested by the member opposite, but nonetheless we've prepared for that. We've invested over $5 billion into our hospital system to create 3,100 more beds since the pandemic began to care first of all for the COVID patients, but now to care for the patients who need to have those surgeries. Now that we've been able to lift Directive 2, we are expecting that hospitals are going to be able to continue with their volumes and we know with the additional money that we've put in we can now do weekend surgeries and evening surgeries. We've put half a billion dollars into accelerating those surgeries. We know that people have been waiting. We're ready to carry on with them. And I can also advise the member that in 2020-2021, the average Ontario hospital completed 88% of their targeted surgical allocation. The supplementary question. Well, Speaker, perhaps the minister can correct her record. It wasn't me that was raising these issues and these numbers. These numbers come from the Ontario Medical Association, a group of folks that I think have the information and wanted to provide it to all of us so that we could get on with these problems. The backlogs have serious consequences for people. I mean, it's heartbreaking to hear what's happening out there. Nearly 50,000 undiagnosed cases of skin cancer is what the OMA estimates. Two and a half years to catch up on knee replacements. A year and a half to catch up on hip replacements, 16 months for high heart bypass surgeries, 12 months for MRIs. Speaker, this needs to be fixed and it needs to be fixed now. Look, people went through hell during the pandemic and then we're told that their screenings, their procedures and their surgeries were being delayed and some still haven't gotten those appointments rescheduled. A million people waiting in agony for surgery. Speaker, why won't this government listen to the OMA? Listen to patients who are suffering in pain. Listen to what we're asking for and provide a plan and the funding necessary to clear all the backlogs. Mr. Hale. Well, our government is certainly aware that there are people who've been waiting long periods of time for orthopedic surgeries, in some cases cancer surgeries or cardiac surgeries, but we're putting the investments in place to make sure that we can relieve their discomfort and their anxiety of the 500 million that I already spoke about in terms of the investments that we've made. In addition to the 5 billion in creating more beds, we put in $86 million to allow hospitals to extend the OR into evenings and weekends. 69, almost 70 million for MRI and CT imaging that's going to represent a 19% overall increase in available hours for MRI and a 30% overall increase in available hours for CT. We've already put $41.5 million into a surgical innovation fund that's letting a number over 100 hospitals, 104 proposals put into hospitals to develop their own solutions or how they can increase their output of surgeries and procedures and additional amounts for $18 million in a centralized surgical wait list. There's more to say and I'll go further in the next question. Thank you. The final supplementary. The quality is that patients in other provinces fared much better because they had governments that were prepared to do the planning and make the investments. In BC we know that 98% of their backlogs were cleared within the middle of last summer because they made the effort speaker. We can actually fix this here in Ontario as well. The FAO in fact identified the scope of this problem last May and in fact has recently called out this government for not making the investments necessary to appropriately clear those backlogs. It is absolutely clear this government has no plan whatsoever. They won't fix the problem because they do not believe in good public health care. So my question is why does this government refuse to listen to the experts, refuse to listen to the OMA, refuse to listen to the FAO, refuse to listen to patients in pain, fix the problem and spend the necessary dollars to get rid of the backlogs? Our government absolutely believes in excellent quality public health care and we've made the investments that absolutely prove that $5 billion into creating more hospital beds, $500 million into allowing hospitals to expand their surgical facilities. Dealing with each and every single hospital bed in the province of Ontario as part of a centralized whole and making sure that we can take advantage of every surgical wait time that we possibly can. We're also making huge investments in health human resources because there's no point investing in more beds if you don't have the people. We are doing all of these things in tandem. It's a significant investment of billions of dollars into our public health care system. If that's not enough money, I don't know what the member opposite would suggest. Thank you, Speaker. All she needs to do is read the FAO report. There's a figure in there. But I want to talk about home care next, Speaker, because this is to our premiere as well. Home care is in a complete crisis right now. It's part of our health care system and Terrians and their loved ones are the ones that are paying for the price, paying the price rather for the home care crisis. There is a severe staffing shortage in our home care system and the providers are just not there. Providers are there, but they have no staff. And so that means that Ontarians can't get the home care services that they need. And what does that mean? That means people who want to get care at home are not able to get it and they're forced to go into long-term care. They don't have the choice to stay at home, which is what folks want. The staff shortage, of course, has been made much worse by this Premier's low-wage policy, Bill 124. The Ontario Community Support Association of Home Care Providers has said that they are sounding the alarm in the sector. And once again, this Premier is ignoring them. So my question is why won't the Premier listen to the Ontario home care leaders and start fixing the problem now, beginning with repealing Bill 124? Our government certainly recognizes the important role that home care plays in our health care system. It's like a tripod along with hospitals and long-term care. If you don't have a strong health home care system, you don't have a strong health care system. That's why with the Connecting People to Home and Community Care Act, we're modernizing the delivery of home and community care by bringing an outdated system that was designed in the 1990s into the 21st century. We are breaking down long-standing barriers that have separated home care from primary care. And we're working to bring home care into the Ontario health overview and into the Ontario health teams to make sure that people are able to receive the home care that they need close to home. We also recognize that many people who need home care services now have much more significant health concerns than in the past, and so what we're doing is working to make sure that they can get the support they need, whether it's nursing services or personal support workers or whatever else they need, so that more people can stay in their own homes, which is where they want to be, has better outcomes for them and is where they... Thank you very much. Supplementary question. Well, speaker, none of this minister's long story rings true when we know that the staff is not there. The sector is begging, begging the government to solve the problem. The staff is not there and so people aren't getting the care that they need as the minister pretends. Nine out of ten Ontarians, 90 percent, want to have home care instead of going into long-term care, but they're left with no choice because this government refuses to solve the problem. Deborah Simon, CEO of the Ontario Community Support Association, says this and I quote, many have long waitlists and no staff to service the clients. The shortage has led to longer waitlists. Sue Vanderbilt, CEO of Home Care Ontario, says and I quote, we need help. We're in a crisis. My colleague from to Mr. Minkokrin told a story about somebody in his own community that does not have the home care that she needs reliably. The home care sector is desperately calling for this government to step up and solve the problem. A recommendation, make pandemic pay permanent, make pandemic pay permanent so they can keep staff, they can attract staff and keep staff. Will the government do that today? The parliamentary assistant member for Mississauga Lakeshore. Thank you, the member for that question. Our government is incredibly grateful for the contribution of Ontario's health care workers and their critical role that they have played throughout the COVID pandemic, providing patients with timely, safe and equitable access to health care quality care. The protecting this sustainability public sector for future generations acts is designed to protect public sector jobs and frontline service. Ontario's public sector employees will still be able to receive salary increases for seniority, performance and increased qualifications as they do currently. Excuse me, based on the Ontario ONA, nurses receive a graduated salary increase of an average of 4.4% per year, up to 7.1% for each of their first eight years of work. This is on top of their graduated 1% annual raise. Our government priority is the health and safety of all Ontarians and we have been focused on the response of COVID-19. As we continue to respond to the COVID situation here in Ontario, our government remains committed to working with our sector partners to support our value. Thank you very much. Well Speaker, the crisis in our home care system is compounded by the for-profit model that this government and the government before them prefer and I think it's pretty frightening to hear a member stand in this house defending a 1% wage cap when inflation is running at 5%. That means a 4% wage cut for those workers that are dealing with this Bill 124 low wage policy. Often, too often in the for-profit sector, wages are kept low, the quality of care is kept low so that profits can be kept high. Ontario should have public home care, period, end of story, public, not for profit. We should immediately increase the investments though in the interim before we can transfer into that kind of a system so that home care gets the kind of funding that it needs. We should eliminate the wait list so that people can get the care at home and not be forced into long-term care, Speaker. We should rip up Bill 124 and make sure that the sector is able to hire the staff they need to care for Ontarians. Why won't the Premier make those changes, invest in home care, ensure that we get quality not-for-profit care and Ontarians aren't forced out of their homes. Thank you very much. We are making significant investments in home and community care. In 2019-20, we invested an additional $155 million more in home and community care. In 2021-22, we made additional supports of $111 million for high-intensity supports at home program to enhance care for high-needs clients, including hospital alternate level of care patients and the expansion of community paramedicine. Right now, we are working closely with the Ministry of Long-Term Care to make sure that the paramedicine that they offer to people who are waiting at home for long-term care or perhaps just want to stay in their own home are matched with nursing resources and other personal support works and paramedicine that we also have in the Ministry of Health to make sure that we can provide integrated comprehensive care for all people at home that need that care. My question is to the Premier. Last week, a Ministry of Labor Investigator ruled that gig workers at Uber Eats are employees, just as the courts have been ruling in cases around the world. The Ministry's ruling ordered Uber to stop contravening the Employment Standards Act by misclassifying Uber delivery drivers and start recognizing them as the employees they are. Rather than enforcing its own employment law, however, this government decided to change the law instead by introducing a bill that will deny gig workers the basic employment protections they deserve. Speaker, why does this government think that gig workers deserve fewer protections than other Ontario workers? Mr. Speaker, I'm proud of this government under the leadership of Premier Ford. Yesterday, we introduced yet another historic piece of legislation here at Queen's Park, Working for Workers Act. For the first time in Canadian history, Ontario will be leading on this front. To ensure that all workers have more take-home pay, more workplace protections and better opportunities for better jobs in this province, that's why Mr. Speaker is part of Working for Workers. We introduced foundational rights for gig workers. We know that today in Ontario, one in five people are working in the gig economy. That's why Mr. Speaker, our legislation will ensure that they're earning at least a minimum wage, that they have a right to keep tips on top of their wages. When they have a workplace dispute, that's resolved in Ontario, not in a foreign country. Mr. Speaker, I look forward to talking more about a Working for Workers Act in the supplementary question. Speaker, a $15 minimum wage that only applies when an app-based driver has a passenger in the car is like paying retail workers only when they are cashing out a sale. This is not even close to what gig workers have been calling for. Not only will most gig workers be unlikely to see a $15 minimum wage for the hours they work, but they will continue to be denied overtime pay, vacation pay, public holiday pay, termination pay, WSIB coverage, and other employment protections. Speaker, why is this government more interested in protecting the profit margins of app-based companies than in making sure that gig workers can actually earn a minimum wage when they are on the job? Mr. Speaker, we are the first place in Canada to bring forward foundational rights for gig workers. We know that the world of work is changing, and that's why we're ensuring that gig workers receive at least a minimum wage. They have the right to keep their tips on top of their wage. They have the right to know how and when they're going to be paid, Mr. Speaker, to bring transparency around their paychecks, including gig workers getting pay stubs for the first time in Canadian history. We are going to ensure that when there is a workplace dispute, they're resolved here in Ontario, not in a country somewhere around the world. If companies want to do business in Ontario, they're going to play under Ontario law and play by Ontario's rules, Mr. Speaker. I can tell you the world of work is changing. We all know that the economy is changing. One in five people work in the gig economy. We will ensure that under the leadership of Premier Ford, we'll work for workers every single day. Next question, the member for Carlton. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Finance. Over the course of the pandemic, I've been hearing from constituents about how much they appreciate the support this government and Premier Ford has provided to them during these past two years. For many businesses, the support they received has kept them afloat and allowed them to reopen safely. So, Speaker, through you, could the Minister tell us what this government is doing to support Ontario's businesses? Thank you. To reply, the Minister of Finance. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the member for that great question. Mr. Speaker, the member is right. I myself have heard from businesses that our supports have made a difference between keeping the lights on and closing them for good. Throughout the pandemic, we have made available supports of over $300 billion for grants. We've provided rebates for property tax and electricity. And, Mr. Speaker, we've provided cash flow support to the tune of $7.5 billion for provincially administered taxes. Mr. Speaker, our government is also making money available for businesses in Ottawa impacted by the recent occupation. Mr. Speaker, small businesses are the backbone of our economy here in Ontario and will be the driving force as we continue to recover from the pandemic and plan for our economic recovery. Thank you. Ms. Supplementary Question. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Minister. I recall when the Minister visited my riding of Carleton back in November to meet with some of the small businesses in my riding and to speak with them about the supports that we are providing to help them get through this pandemic. And, Mr. Speaker, as the government is phasing out COVID restrictions and workplaces and businesses are fully opening up, many in my riding of Carleton are feeling optimistic about the future and the direction our province has taken. But we also know that more needs to be done and our businesses are relying on us. So, Mr. Speaker, through you, can the Minister tell this House what our government is doing to ensure we continue to recover from the pandemic and build a stronger Ontario? Thank you. Minister of Finance. Thank you again. And, Mr. Speaker, to be clear, there is still a lot of economic uncertainty here at home and around the world. Supply chain challenges, international geopolitical instability and, of course, the rising cost of living continues to be a challenge for governments everywhere. That being said, our government has laid a strong financial and fiscal foundation on which we will continue to build Ontario. Speaker, for 15 years the Del Ducal Liberals mismanaged this province and said no, no to transparency, no to building, and no to growth. Mr. Speaker, that's why we have a plan for recovery that includes saying yes to new hospitals, yes to new highways, yes to supports for workers, for growth, and putting more money in the pockets of families and making life more affordable. Mr. Speaker, Ontario is getting stronger and we will continue to build Ontario's long-term economic prosperity. Thank you. Next question. My question to the Premier Speaker, Hamilton experienced 97 Code Zeros last year. This is a terrifying event that means there are absolutely no ambulances available to respond to an emergency call. And this is a direct result of overcrowded and underfunded hospitals. Last year, paramedics spent 32,000 hours waiting to drop off patients that backed up emergency wards and the problem continues to grow. Hamilton's Mayor stated it's a vexing problem but one that rests with the province. The Ontario government needs to address the associated problem of hallway medicine in hospitals. Through you, Speaker, will the Premier commit to addressing the root cause of Code Zeros in Hamilton and end the continued underfunding of our hospitals? Thank you very much. Well, there's several issues that the member has raised with their question. One is the issue of ambulance delays. There are several places in Ontario that are experiencing that and that's why we are committed to strengthening the dedicated offload nurses program to help improve ambulance offload times in emergency patient care. We've invested $16 million to 20 municipalities to help ambulance be able to return to the community faster and to be able to respond to more emergency calls. This funding is expected to support more than 164 equivalent nursing positions in 49 hospitals while increasing ambulance availability by 449,000 hours. That represents a return on investment of more than 51 ambulances available to respond to 9-1-1 calls. So we are continuing to respond to that. I will respond to the issue with respect to hospital funding in my supplementary. Speaker, back to the Premier. I mean this problem Hamilton continues to grow and it's a crisis and you know what the government's most recent suggestion was? Paramet was batching that paramedics should double the number of patients that they're caring for in emergency rooms. It's deplorable and this is an insult to paramedics who are already working beyond capacity. I spoke to the president of Hamilton's paramedics union. Hamilton paramedics want this government to know that the solution to hospital underfunding cannot be solved by asking paramedics and other front-line staff to do more with less. So again through you Mr. Speaker ask the Premier knowing that inaction will cost lives. Will you commit today to reversing the underfunding of our hospitals? In reality our government has made historic investments in our hospitals. Since the beginning of the pandemic we've invested over five billion dollars to create over 3100 more hospital beds. That's to respond of course to COVID but it's also to respond to these surgeries and other procedures that people need to have now. We've also created and it's invested $778 million to help hospitals keep pace with patient needs and increase access to high quality care. $760 million to support with the hospital beds. $300 million initially than another $200 million to reduce surgical and diagnostic imaging costs and we're also investing $342 million beginning in 2021-2022 to add over 5,000 new and up-skilled nurses and registered practical nurses as well as 8,000 personal support workers. So we're making investments in the hospital size capacity in the health human resources. We've also been compensating hospitals for the incredible expenses that they've incurred into the billions of dollars over the last two years. We are absolutely making sure that we can do everything possible to continue to have an excellent... Thank you. Thank you very much. The next question. The member for Guelph. Thanks, my question is for the Premier. Yesterday the international panel on climate change released the bleakest report yet on the risk and costs associated with the climate crisis. People's health, lives, and livelihood are at risk right now. The science is overwhelmingly clear that we must crush climate pollution and protect nature so nature can defend us. Wetlands are essential to reducing the risk and costs of the climate crisis. But we've already paved over 75% of them in Ontario in this government plans to pave over even more. So, Speaker, will the Premier say yes to protecting people's property, pocketbooks, lives, and livelihoods by permanently protecting provincially significant wetlands in this province? Goodbye, the Premier. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and the environment is so important to all of us. Mr. Speaker, I'll tell you the difference between our government and the previous government that was propped up by the NDP. They all talk about the environment, but they do nothing zero. I'll tell you what we've done. We've spent billions of dollars in investment on electric vehicles. We're attracting some of the largest companies in the world to build batteries right here to get rid of gas-fueled cars. We're going electric in this province. We're going to be one of the largest manufacturers of electric vehicles anywhere in North America. Right in the backyard of the leader of the NDP. We invested a half a billion dollars for green steel to build those green vehicles. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Order. Stop the clock. Order. Restart the clock. The supplementary question. Speaker, the climate fires are raging all around us. It is obvious, and the Premier has brought a little red shovel to fight them instead of a big fire hose. Everything that the Premier said in that answer is completely undermined by the actions of this government. Building of Highway 413, which will create 87 million megatons of climate pollution over the next two decades, building the Bradford Bypass, 87 million kilograms of climate pollution each and every year, ramping up gas plants, 300% increase in climate pollution in the next decade. Speaker, the government's actions undermine every answer the Premier just gave. So, yes, let's make Ontario leader in electric vehicles. But will the Premier Speaker commit today to putting forward a plan that will crush climate pollution in half by the end of this decade? Thank you. Thank you to the member for that question. Speaker, the member didn't put forward one tangible action, but I will. DeFasco Speaker, six megatons of GHD reductions thanks to actions of this Premier. Mr. Speaker, the Ontario line, the largest investment in public transit in this province's history, using low carbon procurement, this is the most environmentally friendly major transit project in this province's history. And finally, the climate change impact assessment. Mr. Speaker, working with all levels of government, lower tier municipalities to build climate change resiliency. Again, something previous governments could have done, they didn't, we did. Finally, Mr. Speaker, I was with the Minister of Infrastructure on wastewater, making historic investments to build resiliency in our stormwater and wastewater systems. Because again, we're planning for growth with a climate friendly agenda. They could have, they didn't, we did. Thank you, Speaker. Dr. Clark. We start the clock. The next question, the member for Peterborough Caworth. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Labor, Training and Skills Development. Our government, under the leadership of Premier Ford, is making every effort to protect and support our Ontario workers. I'm proud that safe employers in the Peterborough region have done their part to get us through this pandemic. However, these responsible employers who put their customers and their workers first need to know that our government sees their hard work and that we're there for them. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell us how the recent announcement of distributing surplus WSIB funds rebate will support safe employers like those of my riding at Peterborough Caworth? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And I want to thank the member from Peterborough Caworth for that great question and for his leadership advocating on behalf of workers in his community, Mr. Speaker. After historic underfunding and mismanagement, we are driving generational change at the WSIB. Recently, I was proud to announce a $1.5 billion rebate to more than 300,000 safe employers right across the province. For the Peterborough region, Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to share with a member that merchants and shopkeepers along Main Street near him will be getting $2.6 million. Speaker, 95% of those receiving rebates are on Main Street. They're small businesses. That's money they can use to pay their workers more, expand their operations and invest in new technologies. Simply put, Mr. Speaker, tax cuts create jobs. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And through you, I'd like to thank the Minister for that response. I know many businesses in my riding can't wait for the check to arrive in the mail. After years of a government that drove jobs and investment out of our province, it's clear this government is building back our province stronger than ever. Mr. Speaker, putting money back in the economy means more take-home pay for those who put in an honest shift. Money is always better in people's pockets and not in the government's. So, Speaker, through you to the Minister, can you please share more about the steps that you're taking to support the recovery of our cities and towns so that our communities can grow once again? Mr. Speaker, and I should correct my record. The small businesses in the Peterborough region, Mr. Speaker, will be receiving $6.2 million. That'll really help the local economy and families in that area. Under our government, WSIB rates have been cut in half to the lowest they've been in more than 20 years. Our latest WSIB rebate builds on the $2.4 billion that has already been given back to employers through premium reductions. And we've done this all without impacting any of the benefits or services provided by the WSIB that workers and their families rely on. Our government is saying yes to bigger paychecks for our workers. We're saying yes to rewarding safe employers that keep their workers safe. And we're saying yes to creating more jobs not only in Peterborough, but right across the province. Question the member for a university, Rosedale. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Nine months ago, I wrote a letter to the Premier warning them about core development group. Core development group is spending a billion dollars buying up single family homes across southern Ontario, only to rent them out to the very same Ontarians who have seen the dream of home ownership crushed by skyrocketing house prices. Now this government has made it easy for investors to buy up dozens, in this case sometimes hundreds of homes for profit. And that means that every day Ontarians are being outbid and outcompeted, and they just want to buy one home that they can live in, have pets, have guests and grow old in. The laws clearly need to change to ensure that homes are for people first. And so my question to the Premier is this, what is your plan to stop big speculators from core from destroying the dream of home ownership? Minister of Finance. Mr. Speaker, thank you to the member opposite for that very, very important question. There's no question, Mr. Speaker, that we have a housing crisis in this province, Mr. Speaker. It's driven by a severe shortage of supply. I think we can all acknowledge that for rental housing and affordable home ownership is beyond the reach of many hardworking Ontarians. Mr. Speaker, let me say this, I'm very proud of this Premier and this Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing who are building new homes in Ontario. Mr. Speaker, over 100,000 new homes were built in 2021. The last time that number was reached was 1987. 1987. Mr. Speaker, no question there is more to do on the supply side than the Minister has shown great leadership there. Finally, I will say things like the nonresident speculation tax are types of tools that we're looking at to make sure that we have enough demand based supply for the people of Ontario. Thank you, Speaker. Back to the Premier. Now core development group says it's trying to provide affordable housing for Ontario residents, but the reality is very different. The rental homes speculators typically create are expensive and precarious. Now core development group has already begun to mass evict long-term residents from newly bought properties so they can hike the rent. And one of the tenants being evicted is Gina Rosignol who lives in Chatham. Gina was bullied into signing a contract saying she would leave her home for seven years. Now Gina is raising her nine-year-old autistic granddaughter Sophie. She lives on social assistance and fears her family could become homeless because she cannot afford to rent anywhere else. Now Gina is unable to sleep or eat well because she is so stressed. This government has helped speculators make record profits while renters have been forced to deal with rising rent, stagnant wages and inflation. Premier, what is this government's plan to protect tenants from eviction and make housing affordable again? Thanks Speaker and through you I want to thank the honourable member for the question. Always pleased to stand in this house and talk about the measures that our government is doing to create opportunities so that everyone in Ontario can have a safe secure place to call home. As in the first question the finance minister talked about some of the measures on the demand side that we're looking at in terms of the non-resident speculation task. I've been very open right from the first day I stood in this legislature speaker that we have a supply problem in this province. We put a number of measures forward on the rent side and I can remember back when it was Minister Fidelli that tabled our fall economic statement in 2018 and the party opposite and that member opposite indicated that there wouldn't be any increase in purpose-built rental in this province and she is absolutely positively incorrect. She was wrong. We've seen construction of purpose-built rentals going back to the early 90s and we're going to continue to build upon that plan. We've indicated that we've had a three pronged approach in terms of consultation. We've got lots more to say in the future. Thank you very much. The next question to the member for Ottawa. Thank you Speaker and my question is for the Premier. Before I start my question I want to say directly to the Premier that as a resident of Ottawa I have never felt so abandoned and let down by a provincial government or a Premier as I did in the three-week occupation of Ottawa. So today the COVID-19 measures in Ontario are being dropped. No more capacitance, no more proof of vaccinations and we're all really tired of COVID, really tired of COVID and we're happy that things are looking better. But the most important thing we can learn about COVID that we know about COVID is it can surprise us. So we need to be ready if it tries to surprise us again and the most important tools that we need to have ready are masking and vaccinations. Ontario is at the back of the pack for vaccinating five to 11 year olds right at the back pulling up the rear nowhere near our target we're stalled. So Speaker through you does the Premier does this government have a plan for Ontario to lead the country in vaccinating five to 11 year olds so that we'll be ready. Minister Health. Thank you very much Speaker and yes we do have a plan for increasing all Ontarians who are able to receive the vaccine five to 11. We've recently started with our rollout of third doses to seven to two sorry 11 to 17 year olds which is going very well. We are leading overall the country in their vaccination rates. We have a last mile strategy that we're working on where we have mobile clinics we have govacs buses we have clinics they're happening in schools. We have them across the province and we're working on increasing the number of children age five to 11 who are receiving the vaccines. We also have availability of physicians for parents to speak with if they have any concerns about the vaccines that are operating out of a hospital for sick children in Chio so that people can make an informed decision about having your child vaccinated. The supplementary question. Members don't lie we're at the back of the pack. Two weeks ago the Premier said this about COVID vaccines. It doesn't matter whether you get one dose or 10 doses you can still get COVID. Premier COVID vaccines provide protection against severe disease hospitalization ICU admissions and for some people death. And although they don't eliminate transmission they do reduce it. So Premier it doesn't take much to undermine the work of thousands and thousands of health care workers in this province but you did it in one single quote on one day. Ontario's the Premier that gets up every morning up every morning and says what can I do to get vaccination rates up for kids? Not a Premier who's creating doubt around vaccines. Ontario is right at the bottom of the pack for vaccinating five to 11 year olds at about 58 percent. So speakers for you what is the Premier's plan to put Ontario number one in vaccinations for five to 11 year olds to keep children and their families safe? Minister of Health. Thank you the Premier supports vaccination and so does our government we're continuing with our rollout we've administered over 31 million doses to date more than any other province or territory and that means our percent of Ontarians age 12 and older are benefiting from the protection of a first dose of the vaccine and more than 90.1 percent are fully immunized. We are happy to advise that approximately 55 percent of children age five to 11 are receiving doses and we're continuing with our vaccine rollout both in schools and across the country with primary care as well some parents would prefer to have their child vaccinated by their family doctor nurse practitioner whoever it happens to be and we're continuing with that rollout. We are going to make sure that every parent who wants to have their child vaccinated age five to 11 is going to have the opportunity to respond in their community and close to their home. Next question the member for Scarborough Rouge Park. Thank you Mr. Speaker my question is to the Minister of Economic Development Job Creation and Trade. Speaker under the previous Liberal Government supported by the NDP manufacturing jobs flood the province by the thousands they gave up on the hundreds of thousands of families that work in our supply chain and that speaker is simply unacceptable. The workers across this province are relying on our government to right the wrong of almost two decades of economic mismanagement by returning Ontario to being a manufacturing powerhouse. So Speaker can the Minister of Economic Development Job Creation and Trade please outline how the government has taken the necessary action to bring back Ontario's critical manufacturing sector. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Speaker we heard from the business community and we put our plan into action. First we focused on every area that a government has some control like WSIB taxes and red tape. As a result we lowered the cost of doing business in Ontario by seven billion dollars each and every year. Then we put business supports in place to stimulate regional development. This is given our manufacturing sector the certainty they needed right here at home. In Brighton we saw Premier Tech invest 18 million dollars in new equipment to make herbicides and other sustainable agriculture and horticultural products. Speaker they're not just brightening lawns and gardens they're creating jobs they hired 52 people the day we were there. Our government invested 2.8 million dollars through our Eastern Ontario Development Fund. This is one of the thousands of Ontario business success stories showing that Ontario is getting stronger. The supplementary question. Thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to the minister for his response. Speaker it's great to hear that our government is taking action to grow our manufacturing sector after years of liberal mismanagement and neglect. To encourage that growth Ontario needs to have the right supports in place to ensure investments will lead to continued prosperity for families working in manufacturing. Can the minister please provide an update on our recent investments that will secure Ontario's manufacturing sector for the years to come. Thank you Mr. economic development. Speaker we recently visited MediCap labs in Windsor where they made a 38 million dollar investment. Now they are an Ontario leader in the dietary and nutritional supplement manufacturing sector with the help of almost a million dollars from our Southwestern Development Fund. They have added state of the art advanced manufacturing equipment but more importantly they added 50 people to their workforce. Now down the street in the town of Old Castle a dynamic mother and son duo are bringing their version of great food to supermarkets throughout the world. Cedar Valley selections invested a million dollars to expand their line of all natural salad dressings and a brand new line of their own pita chips. The province has provided a $162,000 grant to support this dynamic duo as they attempt to supply 1,500 stores by the end of the year. Speaker this is another example of the thousands of Ontario business success stories showing that Ontario is getting stronger. Good morning Mr. Speaker this question is for the Premier. Speaker it's more expensive than ever to live in Ontario these days especially for working parents. That's because they continue to pay the highest child care fees in all of Canada in all of Canada. While families struggle to make ends meet and more women are pushed out of the workplace the Premier has dithered and delayed signing a federal deal that would deliver relief. In fact Speaker it has now been over a month since the Premier told us a deal was very very close. So Speaker on behalf of every parent watching today when will this government stop wasting time and deliver $10 a day child care? To respond the Minister of Education. Thank you Speaker I think parents want to know why when the members opposite had an opportunity liberals and new democrats coalescing together to even support incremental savings for the people we represent for working parents and for the students of this province you voted against it. Mr. Speaker we introduced in our first budget the Ontario child care tax credit appreciating it saves roughly $1,250 per child new democrats liberals opposed it then we enriched it to $1,500 a year you oppose that. We put a billion dollars in our budget for the next five years to build 30,000 more child care spaces that are accessible and yes affordable new democrats and liberals coalesce again to oppose it and when we during this pandemic at the peak of difficulty on working parents permitted 1.8 billion dollars roughly a thousand dollars per family in direct financial support new democrats and liberals voted against it but this premier is going to stand up the just so you know to get that best deal for the people of this province. Thank you Mr. Speaker my baby is turning 21 in a couple of days every single day of her life my party has fought for affordable child care every single day. Speaker the minister has been making the same excuses for months and every day he spends spinning is another day that families are left on their own paying outrageous child care fees families like my constituent Paula a working mom of two who pays over $1,200 a month for child care that's about a quarter of her family's monthly income at a time when everything is getting more unaffordable. Speaker again while every other province and territory in this country has lowered fees this government either can't get it together to reach a deal or they're what waiting for some kind of pre-election ploy which is it and how much longer will this government make families wait for $10 a day child care. Mr. Speaker it is unusual for me to be quoting the center for the Canadian Center for Policy Alternatives but here's the headline from BC where the new democrats govern quote some of the highest child care fee increases were in BC last year end quote the most expensive child care system other than the democratic leadership of the new of British Columbia in this province we're going to build a we're going to build out a plan that supports accessibility and affordability and we're going to stand up to the Prime Minister of Canada to ensure we get the best deal for Ontario families that is our job that is our responsibility and we're proud to work hard to land a deal that is affordable for families in this province. Thank you Speaker my questions to the Minister of Labor today the province of Ontario ended the imposition of passports the passports dehumanized millions of Ontarians everyone now agrees with me that the passports do not prevent transmission and they did not prevent the last lockdown the passports are not based on science the politics of care and division I can't hear the member for York Center because of the volume of the voices on the other side of that was I must hear the member who's asking the question and I didn't need to hear the minister who's answering it please start the clock the member for York Center can continue Speaker in spite of the heckling the government knows that the passports are not based on science but politics of fear and division they're stained on Canada's history but how about the mandates if we don't need the passports then why let the mandates ruin lives and careers and what about the tens of thousands of Ontarians if not hundreds who were fired suspended resigned or retired because of this minister's discriminatory policy Speaker will the Minister of Labor have courage to stand up for workers correct this injustice and support my jabs and jabs bill this Thursday and to reply the Minister of Labor training and skills development well Mr Speaker what I will do is stand up on behalf of the Premier of Ontario on behalf of the government of Ontario and thank the millions and millions of people of this province that for two years work together every single day to defeat and battle this pandemic and I have to tell you if it wasn't for the people of Ontario like the Premier always says we wouldn't be where we're at today it's March the first the restrictions are going and Mr. Speaker we're getting back to life as normal here the supplementary question Speaker history will regard passports and mandates is one of the greatest injustices of the 21st century on February 15th the Premier admitted that the vaccine does not prevent transmission I wrote to the Minister of Labor two weeks ago asking him to discuss the jobs and jabs bill but haven't received a response the charade is over and this is not just on the government it's on the independent liberals who abandoned their classical roots it's on the NDP the non-democratic party who abandoned working class people and are not setting up for jobs but after two years of denial most members are willing to admit that the lockdowns were harmful and the passports did not work so I ask everyone here to do what's right and ban the mandates my bill is retroactive to September 1 let's pass the jobs and jabs bill and give many Ontarians a to get a chance to get the jobs back will the minister please support my bill government side come to order once again minister labor Speaker again I'm proud to stand in this house on behalf of the progressive conservative government in this province to thank the people of Ontario by working together we have saved thousands and thousands of life lives in this province and Mr Speaker as a Premier says it's not because of him and it's not because of the government it's because of the people and Mr Speaker we're all looking forward to getting back to life as normal and we're heading in the right direction Mr Speaker today is a great day for freedom in this province for businesses in this province and for working class families to get back to normal thank you Mr Speaker my question is to the Premier my writing this but I know for york is the fastest growing writing in the country our population grows by 10 000 people per year and we need schools across the writing Liberty Village is now has 14 000 residents but no school we need two more schools on the east waterfront we also need a school in the west don lands and the site for the west don lands school is ready to go but we need the government to allocate the funding to build the school building the school is one of the top priorities for the tbsb will your government allocate funding for the west don lands school in the upcoming budget thank you very much Mr Speaker I want to thank the member opposite for the question I was very excited to join the Minister of Infrastructure just a few weeks ago in the members writing to announce Ontario's first elementary school built in a condo in the province it is the major investment 44 million dollars the new lower young precinct for 455 students this is an innovative partnership that's supporting growth and vertical communities where more families are living Mr Speaker we're going to continue to invest to build schools we have 500 million dollars this year alone to build new schools after a decade of closure under the former government again back to the premier one of the barriers to building the schools that we need is a government regulation that prevents many boards from collecting education development charges in Toronto for every condo that is built the developer has to pay two thousand and two thousand dollars in education development charges to the catholic board but nothing to the public board both boards need education development charges to build the schools they need and while the government regulation saves developers money it costs taxpayers tens of millions of dollars the condo school the minister just mentioned will cost 44 million dollars all of it coming from taxpayers and nothing from developers both will your government change the regulations so that all school boards can collect education development charges to build the schools we need not just in spadina fort york but across ontario and will the pre will the minister or the premier whoever answers the question please start with a yes or no minister of education just speaker yes we're going to continue to build new schools as a sharp contrast to the former liberal government who closed 600 schools that is their record and that is why we cannot go back to the steven del ducal liberals we need to move forward with a plan order to build modern schools that are well-ventinated internet connected and accessible for all children of all exceptionality speaker mr. speaker we are building over 19,700 student spaces as we speak in the province of ontario because of ontario's investment it is a major exchange and we recognize for the member opposite and likewise for our members in urban communities in toronto uh in otto and hamilton and other parts of ontario that we need to support those families that families raising kids in a condo deserve access to a school in their community we know that is important we have a plan in place to invest in fact for the first time in the history of ontario we partnered with the private sector working with the school board to support a project that's going to make a difference for families in lower young and to be fair right across this province thank you very much mr. speaker mr. speaker my questions for the premier ontario families are struggling the cost of living has skyrocketed under this government the premier promised lower hydro rates and they're up the premier promised lower gas prices and they're up you can't even enjoy a beer at the game mr. speaker without staring down another broken promise from the speaker from this uh premier ontario families are struggling and looking for leadership the premier is dithering on a child care deal that would deliver $10,000 a year to average families he's delivering or dithering on delivering a budget to support families he's dithering on funding ontario schools hospitals and providing support for municipalities and he's dithering on making life more affordable for ontario families every province in the country not going into an election has been able to present a budget on time why is the premier dithering on supporting ontario families order to reply the government house leader if only the liberal liberals had dithered on anything over the 15 years had they dithered on increasing taxes we wouldn't be where we were had they dithered on spending people's money and accomplishing nothing we wouldn't be the most indebted sub-sovereign government in the world mr. speaker had they dithered on their child care reforms we wouldn't have the most expensive child care in the province in the country mr. speaker had they dithered on closing schools there would be 600 more schools for kids to go to had they dithered on hydro mr. speaker we wouldn't have had the most expensive hydro rates in north america and we wouldn't have lost 300 000 manufacturing jobs mr. speaker had you only dithered on something for 15 years it wouldn't have taken us this long to get ontario moving in the right direction again so i beg you i beg you continue to dither continue to sit in that corner because nobody in the province can afford a liberal government again come aside we'll come to order member for york senator will come to order the member for renfrew nipissing pambrook will come to order start the clock supplementary question i thank you mr. speaker my question is also for for the premier the cost of living under this government has skyrocket ontarians are struggling with higher grocery prices higher housing costs hydro rates are up not down gas prices are up not down and the government's response to these challenging circumstances is to offer families 120 dollars mr. speaker 120 dollars but as the premier is offering families 100 bucks in the very same bill he's saving himself and the finance minister 15 grand mr. speaker to put that in perspective for every dollar that the premier is proposing to save ontario families he's saving himself personally 75 bucks mr. speaker why is the premier more concerned about keeping money in his pocket than supporting ontario families i think the member for the question but but let's be very clear let's be very clear bill 84 which the member is referring to is a confidence vote mr. speaker it is a confidence vote and i would i am very excited to see if the opposition ndp and the opposition liberals are going to vote against the measures and bill 84 mr. speaker will they vote against giving people 120 bucks more in their pocket mr. speaker i i can't wait to see because mr. speaker i want to suggest to you when you talk about affordability it is best order bill 84 it is bested in bill 84 they mr. speaker the ndp talked a big game but during debate they changed their mind and realized that it is a good thing bill 84 and i know they didn't even want it to go to committee because it's such a good bill they wanted it fast track to third reading speaker more money in people's pockets eliminating stickers on cars more money in people's pockets i dare you to vote against it remind the members to please make their comments through the chair not directly across the floor order the minister of energy will come door and the next question start the clock the member for toronto center thank you speaker my questions for the premier speaker small businesses in my writing of toronto center uh recently reached out to my office with concerns about eligibility requirements for the small business support grant kyle works in the tourism industry specifically and told me that i quote my business operations have been severely impacted my business is now facing a third year of revenue loss the province has again left businesses and families like mine without support while incapacitating our operation uh end quote kyle's uh business uh was not eligible uh for the small business support grant i also heard from clint who told me that uh his business is also not getting the support that they need from this conservative government clint wrote to me and said i quote all events spaces and offices that we cater to were forced to close people don't hire caterers for five people our revenue in january is down over 85 percent from december question and quote speaker we need businesses like kyle's like clint's to fuel our economic recovery but this government continues to exclude them uh because of their industries for the small business support grant will you commit today to fixing the gaping holes in the eligibility requirements for the small business support grants to support these businesses in my community the associate minister of small business and red tape production thank you speaking i do want to thank the member opposite for the question speaker our government recognized that small businesses impacted by public health measures required immediate support so they could continue serving their communities and employing people across our province our goal was to get money into the businesses quickly because we knew these employers were affected by the strength of public health measures through the new ontario covet nineteen small business relief grant we're providing ten thousand dollars for eligible businesses and this builds on the three billion dollars that we provided last year to well over a hundred and ten thousand businesses speaker we so far as of yesterday have given eight thousand nine hundred and ninety five applicants have been paid ten thousand dollar deeds over ninety million dollars nine thousand one hundred and forty one applications are currently in progress this is unprecedented this is hysterical sorry historic and i'd like to remind everyone we provided to over three hundred million dollars to help offset fixed costs including property taxes hydro natural gas bills and last year we also gave all of those businesses a thousand dollars for eligible ppe to keep their employees and their customers safe thank you very much thank you that concludes our question period for this morning and pursuant to standing order 36 a we should inform the house that the member for ottawa south has given notice of his dissatisfaction with the answer to his question given by the minister of health concerning kids vaccines this matter will be debated today following private members public business there being no further business this morning this house stands in reset until 3 p.m