 It is now time for oral questions. I recognize the leader of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition. Thank you, Speaker, and to the Premier. The Public Order Emergency Commission's lawyers have been very clear that if the Premier and Minister Jones don't testify there will be important gaps in this record. For an instant last week it seemed like just maybe the government recognized the value of testifying only declining the Commission's invitation quote for the moment. According to the Premier the buck stops with him but apparently not one of you will be forced to answer hard questions about the impact of his decisions. What changed the Premier's mind between last week and this Monday? The government House Leader. Again, Speaker, I think that the member for the question as he knows this of course was a policing matter. The Prime Minister had made the decision to invoke the Federal Emergencies Act for the first time and by the terms of that legislation of course a federal inquiry into the federal government's use of that act has to take place. That obviously is happening right now. We are assisting the inquiry by ensuring that any key cabinet documents that might help inform the Commission in doing its work are made available to the Commission at the same time. The Deputy Minister of Transportation, the Deputy Solicitor General have also been made available to the Commission as they continue their work into the federal inquiry into the federal use of the act. Thank you. Supplementary question. Yeah, I had no idea that the Premier's state of mind was a police matter but I will move on. On October 17th the Premier told reporters that he'd not been asked to appear before the Commission in Ottawa but lawyers for the Commission revealed that both the Premier and Minister Jones had been asked multiple times to appear voluntarily. With government lawyers being told as early as October 11th that there was possibility of a summons. So this government knew that the Premier and Minister Jones might be compelled to testify before the Premier said he'd never been asked by the Commission to appear. Very curious, Mr. Speaker. Can the Premier explain why he said he wasn't asked? In fact, Mr. Speaker, we have been working with the Commission and assisting them in doing the work that is required by the terms of the legislation when the federal government decided to invoke the Federal Emergencies Act. As you know, Speaker, it was a policing a policing matter. The government of Ontario certainly doesn't direct the police and I'm hoping that the leader of the opposition isn't suggesting that the government of Ontario should be directing police but at the same time it is important to assist the federal inquiry as it researches and investigates the federal government's decision to use the Federal Emergencies Act. That is why we are providing cabinet documents to assist the inquiry and that is why we're providing top officials at the Solicitor General's Ministry and the Ministry of Transportation to assist the inquiry as it investigates the federal government's use of the Federal Emergencies Act. Well again I'll note that to say this is a police matter when I asked what the Premier was thinking when he said what he said is not exactly being open and straightforward. If the Premier keeps hiding from the inquiry, we'll ask just two of the many questions the Commission has for him. We'll ask him right here, save him the bother and expense of having to go all the way to Ottawa. He can answer them here. First, why do the government wait two weeks to invoke provincial emergency powers? Not a police question. And why do the Premier decline to participate in at least two of three tripartite meetings between the City of Ottawa and the federal government? Interesting question Mr. Speaker because the member is right on two occasions we of course had a state of emergency in the province of Ontario and by the terms of the provincial state of emergency and a reopening Ontario Act we created a select committee to review the Ontario reopening Ontario Act. At the conclusion of both of those states of emergency a report is presented to the House outlining why the government of Ontario went with the state of emergency. On both of those occasions a four-hour debate that ensued on the government's use of the state of emergency in the province of Ontario. Now the debate never lasted four hours because after one or two speakers the opposition decided to sit down and not continue the debate on that Mr. Speaker and that is why I continue to say to the member opposite this is not a political issue this is a policing matter that happened in Ottawa and happened in Windsor and that is why we are assisting the federal inquiries to the federal government's use of the Federal Emergencies Act that is why the Deputy Solicitor General has been put forward that is why the Commissioner of the OPP has been forward and that is why we're assisting by providing cabinet level documents that are important to the Commission's work at that time. Thank you Speaker. Last week we learned from the Commission hearings in Ottawa that while the Premier was busy hiding from his political responsibilities the occupation of our city forced kids with cancer to miss chemo and radiation treatments at CHEO. Families of sick children were also forced to pay out of pocket for hotel rooms to ensure they weren't late for surgery. This was a crisis speaker and the Commission wants to ask the Premier what solutions he had in mind to address it. Ottawa residents want to know too. Is the Premier fighting the summons so he doesn't have to admit he had no plan? Just the opposite Mr. Mr. Speaker as I've said on a number of occasions of course we are assisting the Commission. We're assisting the Commission after the federal government Prime Minister decided to invoke the Federal Emergencies Act. Now of course no government has ever utilized the Federal Emergencies Act but by the terms of the act which was brought in a federal Commission of Inquiry has to be invoked so that they can ascertain whether the use of the Emergencies Act by the federal government was appropriate at the time. Now in doing so Mr. Speaker it is important to note that we've ensured that the Commission of the OPP that OPP officials are present to assist the Commission in doing its work because ultimately this was a policing matter. The member should know that the Ontario government does not direct its police and how to undertake its activities. That is why the Commission is investigating that is why they brought forward the Commission of the OPP that is why we are providing the Deputy Solicitor General why we're providing the Deputy Minister of Transportation and that is why we're assisting by proactively sending important cabinet documents to the Commission so that it can help in doing its work. Accept my next question. Kidsness and chemo treatments isn't just a police matter Speaker it's a crisis and it's a crisis that the Premier had no plan to address. Workers in Ottawa lost thousands of dollars in income because the occupation shut their workplaces down for 28 days. They used up all their savings struggled to pay rent, had cell phones cut off and defaulted on student loan payments. One of the questions the Commission wants to ask the Premier is why he wouldn't attend tripart meetings on the situation and guess what Speaker Ottawa residents want to know that too. Why does the Premier think he doesn't owe Ottawa workers any answers? As I reiterate to the member there actually Ontario wasn't a state of emergency at that time and there was a select committee which was formed of all members of the House which also included the independent members Mr Speaker and that select committee I appeared before that select committee while the the situation was unfolding in Ottawa speaker at the conclusion of the state of emergency in the province of Ontario of course a report was presented to this house and a four-hour debate was convened to investigate the Ontario government's use of the emergence of the state of emergency at that time of course debate on that collapsed when the opposition felt that it no longer needed to review government's decision to have a state of emergency now having said that we want to assist the Commission in its work in the federal government's first ever use of the emergencies act and that is why we're proactively sending him documents to assist cabinet level documents frankly Mr Speaker to assist the Commission in doing its work as it reviews the decision of the federal government and the policing actions during that time thank you the occupiers harass school children and their parents and threatened to drive circles around local elementary schools they trapped people with disabilities in their homes preventing paratranspo from getting downtown they took food from a homeless shelter the Commission wants to know why the Premier waited until February 11 to declare a provincial emergency stop me if you've heard this one before speaker but Ottawa residents want to know that too so will the Premier quit hiding come to Ottawa and testify and give Ottawa residents the answers we deserve in fact mr. Speaker we came to this legislature at the conclusion of the state of emergency in the province of Ontario we said it a report on the Ontario government's use of the state of emergency we allowed for a four-hour debate in this house on the state of emergency now that debate collapsed soon after it began ostensibly because the opposition official opposition come to order warranted any further debate they were in it in essence in agreement on what was what was on the invocation of a state of emergency in the province of Ontario having said that the federal government has a different member for the federal government invoked the state of emergency the emergency act and by the terms of invoking the emergencies act for the first time their process is that there has to be an inquiry into the prime minister's invocation of the act and that is why we are providing capital for Niagara Falls come to order to assist that is why the Commission of the OPP is there and that is why top officials at transportation and the Deputy Minister General are appearing for the Commission my question is the Premier and the people of Windsor would appreciate if the Premier would actually stand up and answer it speaker well protesters shut down the ambassador bridge in Windsor the Premier chose to sit on his hands and do nothing much like he is now the city of Windsor along with the automotive parts manufacturers association and the Canadian vehicle manufacturers association had to file an injunction in attempt to end the blockade this was after the Mayor and Chief of Police wrote to the Premier and Minister Jones requesting additional supports again this government chose not to ask so my question is to part speaker why want the Premier and Minister Jones appear before the emergencies act inquiry committee and explain why they refuse to help the people of of Windsor and the Commission wants to know why did this government the provincial government delay using provincial emergency orders will remember that during that time I appeared in front of the select committee that this house struck with respect to the state of emergency that was invoked by the by the Premier speaker she will know that she asked many of the similar questions and that answers were provided in an extensive appearance in front of the of the select committee that this house struck because that is the process here in the province of Ontario it is a process that we proactively put in place Mr. Speaker we proactively put in place I hear the member for Ottawa say two weeks later actually know a year ahead of time a year ahead of time Mr. Speaker because we wanted to ensure we wanted to ensure that when the state of emergency under the reopening on tarot act was in place that this parliament had the right to overview and to assess what was happening that is why we then brought a report to this house not on one occasion but on two occasion and allowed for hours of debate which they on both occasions allowed to collapse after mere hours Mr. Speaker we did what we had to do to keep the people of Ontario safe Speaker we know that every hour of the ambassador bridge blockade caused a catastrophic impact to our local economy with ripple effects on both sides of the border yet the Premier took days to intervene when it comes to Ottawa he was at the cottage on the snowmobile for part of it Premier Ford and Minister Jones skipped out on several intergovernmental meetings while the blockade in Windsor and the occupation in Ottawa raged on the print this premier claims to be the most accessible and transparent premier ever in history so speaker why did the premier and minister Jones continue to hide instead of coming clean about their delays and inaction i think now we're getting to the crux of it colleagues i think we're getting to the crux of it what you're hearing from the NDP is is that should they ever get the right to form government which we have already confirmed will never happen in the province of Ontario they want to have the ability to direct the police they want to have the ability to order the police how to order their job now the people of province of Ontario remember full well what happened when they had the authority to do anything they bankrupted the the province of Ontario now can you imagine imagine the NDP now standing in this house and suggesting that the government of Ontario should direct the police on how to do their jobs the conservation officers that are here are trembling in their booth at the thought that this crew might be ordering them how to do their jobs how about we allow the police to decide how to police the product the official opposition will come to order please start the clock next question the member for a topical lecture well thank you very much important question for the minister of long-term care speaker from 2011 to 2018 the Liberal government they actually produced only 611 long-term care beds and that's all that was added to our system order you know what for many years the Liberal government propped up by the NDP overlooked the realities of Ontario's aging population and we're indifferent to their needs as the needs of our aging population becomes more prominent the failure of past governments to plan ahead was not only neglectful but disrespectful to Ontario residents and our seniors who need care their inaction and failures have contributed to the gaps that are evident today speaker what is this minister doing to address the growing needs for long-term care beds in this province thank you speaker and thank you to the member from Etobicoke lakeshore for the question after years of neglect from successive governments we have made a commitment to fix long-term care our government is investing 6.4 billion to develop new beds as well as redevelop existing beds to meet modern standards currently in the development pipeline we have over 60 000 net new beds and upgraded beds but this is only one component of our plan to fix long-term care we are also improving the quality of life and care for residents we are doing this by hiring and retaining personal support workers installing air conditioning in every residence room and increasing care to a new standard of four hours per resident per day this is up from just over two hours our government is making historic investments in long-term care to fix years of liberal neglect and to get it done for the seniors of ontario well thank you speaker and i want to thank the parliamentary assistant for his response speaker as ontarians age their health care needs grow and these needs are felt throughout the community through increased demands for hospitals retirement homes long-term care and emergency services the parliamentary assistant mentioned that the government is building approximately 60 000 new and upgraded long-term care beds across this province and i'm pleased and very thankful that 256 new beds are coming to my riding of a topical liquor brands mirroring the age of retirements and with many others already requiring long-term care it is important that these beds are built quickly and efficiently speaker can the minister please provide an update on the status of these projects thank you speaker and thank you once again to the member for the question as of september 44 long-term care projects are currently under constructions or have already opened their doors i've had the pleasure of visiting some of these beautiful new homes but building these beds is only one part of our government's plan to fix long-term care we recognize that many ontarians need additional support right now to stay in their homes which is why we haven't invested in community paramedics through this service paramedics conduct in-home visits and remotely monitor the health of ontarians just this morning there was a testimonial in the northumberland news which said this program has helped keep my mom out of the hospital since we have been on the program her anxiety is down and she is doing much better the northumberland chief of paramedics said working with our community partners this is another opportunity to make health care services more easily accessible to vulnerable residents this is exactly thank you thank you very much thank you speaker the crisis of health is getting worse every day and we have a government that is not offering immediate solutions to help our communities the hospital in my writing as requested in help for physicians to help leave the burden from the anesthesiologist to help them and support them the premier continues to tell them to share their ideas and their opinions to help ease the pressure from the system then why didn't the government answer since the call was made months ago thank you very much mr speaker and thank you to the member opposite for the question unlike previous governments in Ontario which were supported by the opposition and dp our government has taken many steps to improve the physician supply including expanding medical education ontario's international medical graduate program using other non-physician health care providers to provide team-based primary care the northern and rural recruitment initiative and the northern ontario physician retention initiative as well as locum programs and i know you're speaking about your situation in your community in the north we've expanded education for medical students as i said including at lake ridge hospital the northern ontario school of medicine as well and we have those northern initiatives as i indicated that help provide physicians in the north we're certainly going to continue to work on improving the physician supply in northern communities and all other communities in ontario my writing as submit a letter to request a follow-up since september and i offered a copy in person we've also asked another follow-up in october and we still haven't received an answer mr speaker if that's not the end what about the request from ontario north health east in relations to bill seven because the Notre Dame hospital should be evaluated in relations to patients in alc and offering help in our communities will your government finally respond to our requests from hospitals to help our population in an efficient manner and the response member fragmented lords thank you very much mr speaker and thank you again to the member opposite i haven't seen the letter that you referred to but our government is responding and as i was saying the things we're doing in the north include the northern and rural recruitment and retention initiative program which began earlier but offers financial incentives to physicians to establish practices in rural and northern ontario and they grant about 80 to 117 thousand dollars paid out over four years while the physician establishes a practice there they're available in any community defined as rural using the rarality index and in all five of ontario's northern urban rural reference centers at timmins north bay sudbury sous-saint marie and thunder bay we've also got the northern physician retention initiative which provides eligible physicians in northern ontario with a seven thousand dollar retention incentive paid at the end of the fiscal year if they continue to practice full time in northern ontario beyond an initial four years we're going to keep working on initiatives to make sure we have the physician supply we need in the north and elsewhere thank you next question the member for richmond hill speaker my question is to the associate minister of housing recently a report from the union bank of switzerland stated that toronto and gta have one of the riskiest housing markets in the world according to the study the report says that the home prices have raised increased by 17 percent in toronto and gta compared to a year ago the study also highlights low level of housing under construction that the local housing prices are rising rapidly due to the high demand of speculation the prices of housing is becoming more and more and more more and more unaffordable for people who want to move into richmond hill speaker can the minister please share what our government is doing to help build more homes and provide housing opportunities for my constituents in richmond hill thank you very much good morning speaker and i want to thank my uh hardworking colleague from richmond hill for that wonderful question and certainly for our tireless work in our community mr speaker so we know housing prices have skyrocketed we have seen report after report saying the same thing which is why we have committed to introducing a housing action plan every year to address the crisis that we're currently in mr speaker our most recent bill more homes built faster which was introduced just earlier this week expanded on our agreement to work with municipalities by introducing as of right policies speaker these new measures allow up to three units to be added on a residential property without needing a bylaw amendment or having to pay development charges this means basement apartment main residence the garden house can be converted into a home without any barriers it will immediately increase supply and provide some relief for local residents like those in richmond hill speaker this is just one of the many ways our government under the leadership of premier four is getting it done for ontarians to build 1.5 million homes in in the next 10 years the supplementary question speaker thank you to the associate minister of housing for the answer my constituent in richmond hill are concerned about the economic future and the ability to own a home they are worried about rising interest rates and the lack of houses being built they are concerned about what kind of house housing options will be available for them if they will be able to live in the communities they grow up in we are at a critical juncture to address this problem for the future generations that is why we need our government to take urgent action today and ensure that houses are being built speaker once again to the associate minister what is the government doing to help build homes and build the homes faster again thank you very much speaker and thank you to my colleague for the follow-up question speaker we will be building more homes and building them faster by reducing unnecessary costs and expenses that are passed on directly to the consumer we're making it easier and more predictable for builders to determine project costs and timelines so more homes can be built on budget and on time speaker we're also setting local municipal housing targets in 29 of the largest municipalities to encourage home construction and development for example speaker right here in the city of Toronto we're asking the city to build 285,000 more homes in 10 years and in my writing which i am proudly sharing with my colleague from Richmond Hill we're asking the same for the city to build more than 27,000 new homes in that same time period mr speaker we are taking the necessary bold steps that are needed to get more homes built faster our most recent bill adds to the foundation that is required to build 1.5 million homes with mr speaker we are laser focused on making sure Ontarians have a house to go to every single night one that is loving and safe for them and we will not waver from that commitment big words speaker my question is to the premier Devan Freeman a young man from Jordan island first nation was 16 when he disappeared from the group whom he was in and died by suicide his body was found six months later at the end question to Devan's Devan's death Mimi Singh a lawyer for Ontario said that this government could only endorse the spirit of the provincial recommendations speaker is it the position of this government that recommendations designed to prevent the deaths of indigenous children misconceives democracy community and social services thank you speaker and thank you very much for the opportunity to to reply the death of a child is a tragedy and first and foremost i want to offer our governments and my thoughts to devan freeman's family and loved ones and our government wants every child and youth to have a safe and loving and stable home and for families to be strengthened and communities to be strengthened and supported through preventative services and early intervention and that's why we've embarked on the child welfare redesign and that we will continue that work knowing the importance of these recommendations our government is taking the time to review and properly consider them so that we can offer the right solutions that makes the lives of children and youth better thank you speaker we know that recommendations of these systemic issues that harm children have been presented over and over again we have these recommendations from the inquest from the deaths of children jeffrey baldwick and katlin samson from 2014 and 2016 now we have them from the inquest from devan's death it is unacceptable for this government to use jurisdiction and democracy as an excuse to withhold resources that could implement these recommendations speaker uh why is this government not properly supporting these recommendations from the inquest into the death of devan freeman thank you again and i want to be clear that our government is supportive of all of the recommendations but we want to make sure that the coroner's jury had an opportunity to to review and see them and so i also want to say that i'm grateful and our government is grateful to the jury to the participants that were involved in this very difficult inquest and we are reviewing the recommendations and we look forward to them informing our continued work in this child where child welfare redesign and in this case thank you question member for ottawa study speaker my question is for the premier last february the residents of ottawa injured three weeks of lawlessness lawlessness in their downtown court people's personal safety public safety were both under threat people suffered women couldn't walk to work and feel safe the families couldn't enjoy their neighborhoods they couldn't go to a park businesses were closed and for two weeks this premier did nothing families want some answers as to why the premier did nothing for two weeks two weeks they deserve answers and speaker quite frankly they deserve an apology they deserve the premier saying i'm sorry that you had to endure that and my inaction caused it to go longer question speaker the question is simple will the premier stop his court action apologize to the citizens of ottawa and give testimony in front of the inquiry it's really unreal what i what i'm hearing there mr. speaker the member from ottawa he knows it's a federal inquiry he lives there he lives there into the federal government's use of the federal emergencies act not the provincial emergency act this is about the federal government as much as much as a member wants to play politics and pretend that it's a provincial situation as much as the member wants me to direct the police he knows i don't direct the police i don't direct municipal police i don't track provincial police and i do not remember the rcmp top officials from the opp that were running the operation in conjunction with the municipal police and the rcmp in my opinion they did an incredible job but again to the member from ottawa he knows it's a federal issue he knows it's a federal inquiry and that's up to the federal government not up to the provincial government up to the federal government therein lies the problem exactly the same problem that happened last february it's someone else's problem it's not my problem i'm not going to worry about it and the problem is when it comes to public safety and people's security it's all of our problem and speaker the premier was not there for the residents of the city of ottawa and i you know speaker you know the premier may win a court next week but he's losing every single day in the court of public opinion and i can remember three premiers in this province who when they were called to testify who when they were called to testify before a committee government side court were there premier megiti premier harris premier win what makes this premier any different they did this because it was the right thing to do they didn't shirk their responsibility they knew that susan reek and dory with the office so speaker through you i'll ask again will the premier simply drop his court action apologize to the city of ottawa and do the right thing take his responsibility and testify before the inquiry in ottawa thank you speaker through you mr mr speaker as the public saw i was out there non stop speaking to the people he was hiding in his basement let me be very clear this is a federal opposition inquiry and i love mr speaker on the side come to order i i love that he uses previous premiers had an inquiry i gotta remind him he was part of the most politically corrupt government this province is up with the premier take his seat the premier must withdraw the unparliamentary comment i withdraw start the clock you may conclude your answer in a few seconds left the next question the member for renfrew nipissing pemberton speaker under the previous government the mining and critical minors minerals industry were not a priority an Ontario's economy suffered as a result that is why our government needs to take urgent action to strengthen Ontario's economy meet our climate goals and secure good jobs for the people of Ontario by partnering with this sector speaker people all across Ontario know how crucial investments are to the mining industry and how vital it is to secure them speaker could the minister of mines please provide an update on how our government has delivered for the people of ontario as it relates to mining sector investments to apply the minister of mines mr speaker thank you for the question from the member from renfrew nipissing pemberton i recently attended with the premier the opening of valley's coppercliffe south mine it was a tremendous event the uh the uh valley was extremely happy to see the premier go underground uh to celebrate this reopening of this complex valley spent over 900 million dollars to redevelop this mine and they're going to spend another 900 million dollars with the cretin mine to do the very same thing now they're going to spend 1.8 billion dollars to produce copper and nickel and cobalt minerals that are essential essential to produce the batteries that are required to decarbonize our economy response Ontario's economy and this is totally supported by this government and this premier we're very supportive of this we're very ecstatic that this is happening in ontario under the leadership of this premier thank you and the supplementary question thank you speaker and i want to thank the minister for his response speaker in the past projects in the mining industry have taken decades to plan assess and put into production we all know these timelines are simply not good enough especially if we expect to meet our climate goals ontario's mineral exploration and mining industry can be a global leader once again if our government steps up and delivers much needed support speaker we have a significant opportunity to create thousands of jobs by opening new mines and expanding existing ones could the minister of mines please provide concrete examples on how his ministry is cutting red tape and streamlining processes associated with mining projects answering the call for urgent action mr mine once again mr speaker thank you very much for the question for the member from renvrowness of being in pembroke mr speaker our message is simple we cannot go grain without mining and ontario is the best place in the world to mine the time is now to eliminate unnecessary regulatory burden improve timelines increase transparency and improve business creativity creativity mr speaker we built the creek mine in three years and perhaps that was a little too fast but we've got to do better than 15 years to build mines now right now we're developing regulations that will help exploration companies find the critical minerals mines for the future and promote innovation new strategies innovative new strategies to recover critical minerals from old mine tailings there's much to more there's much more to do mr speaker but we'll never we'll never stop driving efficiencies into how the mines are developed response because we know how important it is to ontario and the globe to mine these critical minerals to support decarbonization of economy in ontario and to secure the supply chain again all efforts that are led by the premier here in ontario next question thank you very much speaker and to the premier the public order emergency commissions lawyers have been clear with this government that if the premier minister jones doesn't testify there will be important gaps in their record for instance last week it seemed that just maybe the government recognized the value of testifying only then declined the commission's invitation for the moment according to the premier the buck stops with him but apparently not when he's being forced to answer very difficult questions about the impacts of his decisions has the premier's mind changed how did the premier's mind change between last week and this monday in fact in fact mr speaker order disappointed to see that the opposition is not happy to see me on my feet college i don't understand i certainly value them i i guess but listen mr speaker i i've said on a number of occasions that we actually have been assisting the commission right from the onset of course it's important to assist as the federal government act requires the that the that there be a commission of inquire following the federal government's decision to enact the federal emergencies act of course we're going to assist that's why we provide a cabinet level documents we're assisting by ensuring that the commissioner of the opn and other policing officials who were there on the ground helping the ottawa police service and who have important information are testifying in front of the commission because it was after all a policing matter so one would expect bonds police officials would be their colleagues that is why the deputy solicitor general officials from the ministry of transportation are also on the ground so we have been assisting the commission and we will continue to do so mr speaker as required thank you speaker my question is to the premier to the premier only i want to answer from the premier he's in the house on october the 17th the premier told the reporters that he had not been asked to appear before the order of ottawa but lawyers for the commission revealed that both the premier and minister jones had been asked multiple times to appear voluntarily with government lawyers being told as early as october the 11th that there was the possibility of a summons so this government knew that the premier and the minister might be compelled to testify before the premier said he had never been asked by the commission to appear curious mr speaker very curious can the premier explain why he said that he was not asked to appear the mr speaker as i've said on a number of occasions i'll say it again and i'll i'll order i'll help the uh the members of official opposition come to order the action that took place in the uh the federal emergencies act of course is as i've been saying a federal emergencies act it was a policing act that took place during the convoy protest mr speaker now the commission has asked for our assistance and that is why we are proactively providing cabinet documents that is why the commissioner of the opp order is uh is is testifying member for davenport come to order member for ottawa center come to order decisions are also providing assistance to the commission as it does its investigation into the prime minister's decision to use the federal emergencies act we will continue to assist the commission because that is what we should do now at the same time for ottawa center come to order proactive things here in this house with respect to our state of the state of emergency it is too bad that the opposition at the time never thought it was important to participate in those debates in this house in fact when we had his discussions and debates over what was happening there they chose to sit down on their hands mr speaker and end debate next question the member for don galley mark thank you speaker in the last few weeks we have seen an increased number of crimes especially once involving firearms in some of these incidents criminals have deliberately attacked police just last week police officer on duty and scarborough have to escape near death from an active shooter as well but are there recent charges this involving attacks on our police i know i speak for everyone in this house and conveying our heart fear sympathy and support to family members of slain police officers speaker my question is to the solicitor general what is our government doing to address the recent assaults of violent crimes thank you mr speaker to reply to the solicitor general and thank you mr speaker i'm grateful to the member from don valley north for his important question and recent attacks against police officers are completely unacceptable and especially at this time we remember the sacrifice made by constables hung and north rip and russle and we can't thank our police officers enough for their heroic work that they do to keep ontario safe monsieur le président je suis just speaker i am proud of our police officers who protect ontario every day their lives on the line every day and we recognize that police officers deserve our support and respect and we will provide the police with the tools and resources they need to keep us safe and most importantly we will have their backs each and every day a supplementary question thank you speaker and thank you for the minister's response speaker organize the crimes is a serious issue especially in large cities like toronto people in my community are concerned about gang activity in their neighborhoods and the people are my writing of don valley north don't deserve to live in the fear because of the access of criminals speaker the city of toronto is home to a culturally diverse population good neighbors unfriendly people it is not a home for gangs engaging in criminal activities speaker what is the ministry of solicitor generous approach to dealing with gang crimes thank you mr speaker let's do general well thank you mr speaker once again my thanks to the member from don valley north first question since our government came into office we've invested over 300 million dollars in grants for policing in the city of toronto alone and more than 28 million of those monies were allocated through our anti-gun and gang strategies the we are working to reduce the illegal firearms that's an absolute priority for government will continue to invest in ontario's gun and gangs program and to take action important action to stop the illegal firearms that are coming into our province at the international borders and i urge and i urge our federal counterpart minister mendicino to go to the border make an announcement and step up the inspections at the border so that ontario can keep itself safe thank you the next question my question is to the premier ontario prides itself on its natural resources which are protected by conservation officers who are trained and equipped to handle poachers high-risk arrests search and seizures and much more these officers often find themselves in remote areas alone with little to no backup readily available for decades they have been requesting reclassification and higher pay in line with comparable positions like opp officers why has the government not taken steps to rectify the issue and ensured that ontario has the resources it needs to protect and grow the province's natural resources mr natural resources and forestry thank you mr speaker and i just want to say that conservation officers in ontario play such an important role they have done so for generations they will continue to do so for generations and we thank them for that every single day they have over 200 000 interactions a year with members of the public making sure that they're educated making sure that they are following the rules and it's a big promise mr speaker and when they needed more this government provided more 25 new conservation officers in ontario bringing the number to over 200 this government supports our conservation officers i look forward to meeting with them this afternoon and discussing their concerns my door is always open to the great conservation officers here in ontario thank you thank you question again to the premier this ever-expanding wage gap has led to a shortage in conservation officers leaving an insufficient number of officers to protect ontario's natural resources recruiting 25 is a start 124 is a barrier these officers play a vital role in the continued protection of ontario's natural beauty and ensuring the safety of individuals that are enjoying ontario's vast resources attracting and retaining the best qualified conservation officers is a challenge with the ongoing wage discrepancy does the government have a plan to recruit and retain conservation officers mr natural resources enforcement thank you mr speaker and as i said my door will be open this afternoon and always open for further discussions but i'm aware that opsu and the employer are working on a classification review and understand that members from our enforcement branch are part of the committees to work on the review of this classification they'll make sure that the work skills and importance of conservation officers are specifically discussed as part of that review and i'll just remind this i was again 25 new conservation officers doing incredible work throughout ontario we thank them every single day question the member for Essex mr speaker my question is to the minister of children community and social services every year in october children's aid societies lead the dress purple day campaign across the province to raise awareness about the role we must all play in supporting vulnerable children youth and families in our province dress purple day is an opportunity to raise awareness for all of us including among children and youth about their right to safety and well-being in all spaces my question to the minister is this how is the government helping to raise awareness for dress purple day thank you speaker and i'd like to thank the member from sx for the question thank you and for his good work keeping children and youth safe is a responsibility that our government takes very seriously and it's taken seriously by our partners in children's aid societies across ontario and in fact everyone across ontario has a role to play in the well-being of children youth and families today people across the province will wear purple to show support and remind ontarians ontario's children and youth that the help and support they need is available there are 50 children's aid societies in ontario including 13 indigenous societies help and support is a phone call away no matter where you live on dress purple day we celebrate communities and families and remind ourselves that every child and youth has the right to be safe and supported and no one is alone thank you mr. speaker we can see all members on all sides of the house today are wearing purple including myself to show their support for vulnerable children youth and families and while dressing in purple demonstrates our support for this important campaign and helps raise awareness of everyone's role in supporting children there's more that we can do to address some of the challenges vulnerable children and youth are facing speaker my question to the minister is this what concrete actions is the government taking not only to protect vulnerable children but also to ensure that they feel supported sir thank you speaker the member of Essex is absolutely right we want every child and youth to have a safe and loving and stable home and families and communities to be supported and strengthened through preventative measures and services and early intervention and we want youth in care to feel supported and prepared for the future and that's why we've embarked on the redesign of child welfare and through which our government is introducing new initiatives to improve the quality of care in licensed residential placements these include developing a new framework for what residential care looks like increasing and enhancing oversight and accountability of licensed residential settings adding 20 new positions across the province to support the management inspection and oversight of the children's residential services system every child and youth deserves a safe loving and stable home and our government will continue to work to deliver that next question the member for what are the news my questions to the minister of finance today the financial accountability office released a very interesting report their fall economic and budget outlook it details projected funding shortfalls of 40 billion dollars across all sectors over the next six years 23 billion dollars shortfall in health six billion dollars in education four billion in children community and social services if you want to keep children safe i would invest in them 2.6 billion in post-secondary and a 2.3 billion dollar shortfall injustice meanwhile the government will be sitting on 44 billion in unallocated contingency funds will the government be transparent with the people of this province and allocate these contingencies to ensure that there are no painful program funding shortfalls answer to the people order minister finance to respond well thank you through you mr speaker to the member opposite for for that question and i thank her for acknowledging that we have a prudent plan for the people of ontario for the mr speaker when i when i listen i think to myself you know did the member opposite and the members opposite across the floor but they make the historic and unprecedented investments in health care when they had the opportunity no did they make the investments in long-term care and highway order public transit did they do that mr speaker did they do that mr speaker did they make the investments to provide housing order families and to the people that come to this great province that want a home and a roof over there did they do that when they had the opportunity no mr mr speaker order the answer is very clear this government has a plan to build ontario to make the investments in infrastructure and support labor to get the job done response speaker i would never refer to a 23 billion dollar shortfall in health care as historic for the right reason it's historic for the wrong reason the afa report confirmed that ontario has the funding to invest in this province ontario is projected to run a 23 25.3 billion dollar in surpluses over the next six years despite this the government still thinks it's acceptable to cry poor and hold wage increases for our lowest paid education workers at 1.25 percent or continue to enforce the destructive bill 124 all while food bank usage hits an all-time high for children and for seniors in ontario these policy choices are unconscionable they are irresponsible the will the government commit today to paying education workers a fair wage repeal bill 124 you can do it you can pay those people the what they deserve and and double the od sp rates this is about choices this government is making the wrong choices for the people of this province do your job members to make your comments through the chair not directly across the board minister finance can respond thank you mr speaker i'll make my comments through you to the member opposite mr speaker i'm sure the member opposite took the time to read the 241 pages in the plan to build ontario that this premier took to the people of ontario on june 2nd and it was roundly endorsed take a look at the historic investments in health care historic unprecedented investments in health care in historic and unprecedented investments in education historic and unprecedented investments in social services mr speaker i'm sure she's taken the time to look how we're supporting families and workers and businesses in this province under the leadership of this premier rebuilding the economy through the leadership of our minister of economic development bringing jobs what a concept bringing jobs back to ontario good-paying jobs bigger paychecks remember for winter to come see i'm missing mr speaker my question is for the minister of francophone affairs in my writing of windows they come see i'm happy to know that the project was selected under the francophone community grants program and that is the diversity that unite us project at the epelmois organization can the minister celebrate a bit more on the objectives of the program and now this program supports francophone businesses and stimulates economic recovery mr francophone affairs thank you mr speaker i'm very happy that the people in which it can benefit benefit from this program to support frankly the program which double its budget that is now two million dollars helps the dynamism of francophone communities at the local and regional level the program to support ontario francophone it's a central initiative of the francophone economic development strategy and one of the objectives is to encourage and simulate the francophone economic a reprisal by action commitment to the program the francophone community plays a significant role in our province's cultural and economic success speaker besides the francophone community grants program can the minister of francophone affairs tell us a little bit more about the francophone economic development strategy thank you mr speaker last week during my visit to the tronto global forum i was able to highlight ontarius francophonie by addressing all of the participants we know that the future of the french language is great linked in ontario to the prosperity of francophone businesses and that's why we have established this francophone economic development strategy first in the history of ontario this strategy aims to encourage and support francophone entrepreneurship increase the number of francophone and bilingual workers in ontario and mr speaker we will continue to promote ontarius francophonie as an economic asset for the first time in the history of the province of ontario thank you speaker my questions to the premier ontario has a child care workforce crisis in the last month child care centres in susan marie sarnia and on manitoulin island have closed because they couldn't find enough qualified child care staff ontario doesn't even have enough workers to operate the spaces we have now let alone the 71 000 new spaces this government has promised speaker child care workers have been clear that they need higher wages a salary scale and decent work standards to stabilize the workforce will the government consult with child care workers and do what's needed to solve this crisis thank you mr speaker i appreciate the question from member opposite we do agree that we need more workers which is why under the plan signed with the federal government a better deal with three billion more dollars on the table because our government had the political wisdom to stand up to the chuteau government to get the best deal for the students and parents we represent and if we follow the advice of the new democrats and liberals specifically we would have let a third of operators in the members riding be precluded from participation denying moms and dads in this province the rights to affordable child care after it rose by 400 under the former liberal government we know as conservatives we can do better we can make life affordable we could hire more workers and increase their wages as we are doing every year over the course of this agreement a minimum standard a dollar increase every year to make it more competitive to retain these workers and finally increase the access and affordability for the people we represent