 It is now time for oral questions, and I recognize the member for Brampton Centre. Thank you, good day, Speaker. My first question is to the Premier. Yesterday the Minister of Health responded to questions about COVID-19 by saying that Ontario is not in crisis. She then went on to claim that we had reached a plateau of 1,700 new cases a day. Unfortunately, plateau was the exact same word she used one month ago. When we were reporting 987 cases a day. Does the forward government think they can just make the crisis go away by pretending that it's actually not happening? The Member for Eglinton Lawrence and Parliamentary Assistant. Thank you to the member opposite and thank you Speaker. Our government from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has worked with the Ontario Hospital Association and we've continued to work together to respond to the challenges that this pandemic has presented. And we've been unequivocal that the health and safety of patients, frontline workers and all Ontarians is paramount. We're extremely grateful to our hospital partners and healthcare workers who continue to care for all of the patients requiring care during these unprecedented times. Our government also recognizes the increasing pressures that the second wave is putting on our hospitals and our health system partners across the province. And that's why we've invested an extra $2.5 billion to support Ontario's hospitals including the creation of 3,100 new beds and hospitals and alternate care facilities across the province. Now more than ever it's really critical that all Ontarians continue to follow the public health advice to help stop the spread of the virus so we can make sure we can get the numbers down and flatten the curve. Thank you. The supplementary question. Speaker, well over the last week the Premier and his team continue to produce stats that fly in the face of what people actually see every day. This week parents saw hundreds of new cases in schools while the government dismissed testing results. Seniors and their families learned that another 84 residents died from COVID-19 and long-term care homes this week. Hospitals are canceling surgeries. Over 200 COVID patients are now in our ICU. Businesses are shutting their doors. And despite this government's claim of a plateau, more and more people are being diagnosed with COVID-19 this week than ever before. Families in Ontario are left asking if this is not a crisis then what is? Member for Eglinton Lawrence. Thank you Speaker and thank you to the member opposite for the question. Our province has always been ready and able to respond to the complex situations that COVID-19 has been presenting us. Everyone in the world is going through a second wave every jurisdiction and that's happening here as well of course. The winter season we knew would present more cases here and that's why we implemented our $2.8 billion keeping Ontarians safe plan. This plan has and will continue to make sure that our provinces hospitals have the resources necessary to fight this virus. As part of this plan of course we've invested over $351 million for more than 2,250 new beds at 57 hospitals and alternate care facilities and it's critical to point out to the member opposite that since March, since COVID-19 has really been here, a total of 3,131 new hospital beds have been built across the province. But we're of course relying on all Ontarians to follow the public health measures to make sure that we also work on flattening the curve. Thank you Speaker. The final supplementary. Thank you Speaker. For people living in COVID-19 hot spots like Brampton, Scarborough and across the GTA for students, seniors and essential workers who have to keep going into work so that others can stay home, this is a crisis. And while the Associate Minister would like to compare other jurisdictions those places are actually getting ready to manage the second wave. This government needs to step up and do the same. Peel's Chief Medical Officer of Health and Brampton's Mayor have joined new Democrats in the call for paid sick days and benefits to protect essential workers in our province. Parents have called for cap sizes to be capped and public health units are pleading after years of cuts. When will the Premier stop denying the crisis, stop trying to save a buck and start helping people in our province who desperately need it? Thank you Speaker. Our government has been working for the entire time. Since COVID-19 came to Ontario to have a plan and to execute that plan and to make sure that people are getting the resources they need. We've spared no expense to make sure that the people of Ontario and our frontline workers are ready and able to combat this disease. And that's why we swiftly introduced the Ontario Action Plan which provided over $17 billion in funding and resources to combat this outbreak and included in that plan was $3.3 billion in additional healthcare investments including $2.1 billion for new initiatives to respond to COVID-19 and $1.2 billion to continue to meet demand for services and build a connected and sustainable healthcare system. We've been putting resources out making sure we have adequate PPE and providing that to everybody who needs it as requested. And I think Speaker the response has been fairly well as you know the member opposite will know our numbers are about 100 per 100,000 which is the best in Canada outside of the Atlantic provinces and so we think we're doing fairly well. Thank you very much. And the next question, member for Tomiskaming Cochran. Thank you Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Long-Term Care. For months, frontline staff, public health experts and even the government's own Long-Term Care Commission have called for an Action Plan to protect seniors living three and four to a ward room in outdated long-term care homes. Yesterday, the Premier said and I quote, we're considering it. Can the Minister of Long-Term Care tell us how many lives are at stake right now in ward rooms while the Premier considers studying the studies, while he considers whether it's worth spending the money, while he considers whether the government should take action to save these people's lives. Minister of Long-Term Care, respond. Thank you Speaker. We've been looking at the safety and well-being of residents and staff in long-term care since day one and that's why we had the original Action Plan, the $243 million to go towards staffing and improving IPAC control. That's why we put in with the fall preparedness plan the $540 million to make sure that the staffing and the supports were there. We continue to add resources to our homes to shore them up. This is not a simple solution as some would have it portrayed. This requires many, many understandings of the age of the home, the community, the individual rights of the residents, the individual desires of the residents, their advanced care plans. In fact, the ethics table was engaged very early in wave one to understand this concept. People are at the heart of everything we do and we will continue to take measures to protect them and you've heard the Premier say everything is on the table as we consult with our medical and public health experts. Thank you. Thank you. The supplementary question. I'm going to give you a quick break. There are outbreaks right now in 43 homes with ward bids and 250 residents have died in the second wave of this pandemic in those homes and we all know, we all knew that the second wave was coming. We all knew the minister also knows and has said it many times in this house that ward rooms are one of the biggest risks and we know that in a pandemic every second counts, every delay can cost a life. Yet it appears that this government is still concerned about whether to save money or whether it's really worth it to do this, whether it's worth it to take action. Is it really about the money? You knew the ward systems were a problem. Why haven't you taken action? Why are you still considering it? The response. Mr. Speaker, every resource is being put into these homes over a billion dollars already and that's increasing. As I said, $243 million, the $540 million, the $461 million to shore up the staff. It's a very complex issue and we want to make sure that we are doing everything possible and that's why the concept of transferring residents has been considered since the very beginning. The welfare and well-being of our long-term care residents is at the heart of everything we do and the Premier has said that no expense will be spared. We are doing everything to put the resident and the staff at the centre and I'm going to push back at the time that you had as a supporting in a minority government situation and you didn't do what you needed to do to rebuild those homes. You didn't do it and you are partly responsible for this. Members, make their comments through the chair and not across the floor directly. Final supplementary. Thank you, Speaker. Wardrooms are a problem in this province. Have been a problem for a long time. Everybody knew it. But COVID-19 is a problem. It's not a problem. It's a crisis right now and we know it and those wardrooms aren't something that we talk about that happened 10 years ago. It's happening now. People are dying now and the Ford government knew absolutely right now that those rooms are unsafe and yesterday the Premier said he's still considering on whether they should take emergency measures. When will the Premier, when will the minister of long-term care actually recognise that wardrooms are something that we can't blame on past governments? Wardrooms in COVID are something we have to deal with right now. They have to deal with it right now. Spend the money. Why? Why don't they? Thank you. First, please take your seats. Minister of long-term care. Thank you, Speaker. And thank you to the member opposite of the question. It's exactly what we are doing, making sure that the safety and the well-being of the residents, whether they're in wardrooms or not, in wardrooms are taken into consideration with the expert medical advice, our public health officials, our individuals who are related to the hospitals that are actively engaged with these homes. Our homes are partnered with acute care partners to make sure that the best medical and public health evidence and scientific understanding is used to support the residents in our long-term care homes. But residents in long-term care homes are not widgets. They cannot be moved around at the whim of some individual. They have rights and they must be considered. Their wishes must be considered. This must be done as we move forward to modernize long-term care, make it a 21st century long-term care system that puts residents at the centre and that spares no expense in this pandemic to make sure they get the care they need. Thank you. The next question, the member for Toronto, Dan Ford. Thank you, Speaker. My question to the Premier. Just over two years ago, the Premier unveiled what he called the Made in Ontario Environment Plan. The plan was actually a scheme to make massive cuts. Ontario used to spend $2 billion per year on climate change initiatives. But the government is spending about 20 million this year on climate change and resiliency. A new report today by Environmental Defence shows that Ontario's greenhouse gas emissions have stopped going down and have actually gone up by 10 megatons in Doug Ford's first year in office. Who benefits from this government's war on the environment? Can I ask the member to refer to the Premier by the name, Premier? Okay. Please, your question. Who benefits from this government's war on the environment? The answer is no. Thank you, Speaker. Well, Ontario has a proud history when it comes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Over the past two years, since we reduced our environment plan, if the member had read it, he would note that we already made so many accomplishments, which are listed in the plan. For example, we consulted on the first hydrogen strategy, obviously introducing more clean technology into our transit system, which is a large polluter getting more cars off the road, part of our transit strategy. But it's interesting that the member talks about spending when you talk about bills that are actually going to get cars off the road. They're going to help the environment. The members of the opposition vote against it. And then in addition to that, when we introduced our environment plan, they had no environment plan. They just sat there. And then after our environment plan, they waited, let me see here, Mr. Speaker, they waited 198 days, six months, and 17 days after we introduced our made-in-term environment plan to introduce a discussion paper or a student survey. I couldn't really figure it out, Speaker, on their Green Environmental Deal. Thank you. And a supplementary question from the member for Kingston in the Islands. Thank you, Speaker. And I truly hope the member opposite takes the time to read the report that was released saying our emissions had gone up, because what that actually indicates is that everything they have done is not actually been enough. GHG emissions are continuing to increase under this government. That is the wrong direction. We do not have the time, Speaker, to delay on this. Last year, a court found that the Premier broke the law with his very first action in office when he scrapped the cap and trade program. He has cancelled climate change combative initiatives that were worth $2 billion a year and replaced them with this flawed plan where the centrepiece, the Ontario Carbon Trust, is nowhere to be seen, Speaker. They keep touting their anti-litter day, but the world is on fire. Order. The world is on fire. Order. And they are picking up litter. They pledged $30 million to fight the federal carbon regime in the courts, which is more than they are spending on fighting climate change itself. When will this Premier stop fighting climate action and start actually fighting climate change, Speaker? Order. Member for Barry Ennisford. Speaker, what the member is saying, it just proves that we've been saying all along, the only plan the opposition have for the environment is a tax plan, not an environment plan. And in our made-in-environment plan, it is a plan. It's not a discussion paper, it's not a survey. And more so, it's a constant evolving document which we're actually consulting on even more now to add additional measures. But, Speaker, let me lay out some of the things that we are investing in. Order. If the opposition read our budget that we just introduced, they would have saw that we have $3.7 billion in green bonds to help finance public trans initiatives, extreme weather resiliency infrastructure, energy efficiency and conservation projects and Ontario remains the largest issuer. Member for Kingston and the Islands, come to order. The Minister of Labor, come to order. We're not going to tax Ontarians, we're going to help them and give them the first responsibility and the tools they need to help protect their environment. Member for Davenport, come to order. But frankly, what are you going to tell in response like youth for Lake Cinco that it's not enough for them to clean up litter? That's a shame, Mr. Speaker. We should give our next generation hope that they can do something for the environment. House will come to order. Member for Sarnie Lampton. For that speaker. Glad you brought them to order. My question, Mr. Speaker, is to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. We know that this year in particular has highlighted how important it is to have a place to call home. COVID-19 has shed a light on the pleasures felt in our community housing systems and underscored the urgency to create more affordable housing. With winter well underway in Ontario, can you elaborate on our government's commitment to building more affordable housing throughout Ontario? The Parliamentary Assistant and Member for Milton. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank the member from Sarnie Lampton for that question and for his hard work on behalf of his constituents. And it is an important question, Mr. Speaker. Years of liberal inaction put pressures on our community and affordable housing system, and I agree. COVID-19 has highlighted the need to create more affordable housing that thousands of Ontarians depend on. We are making direct investments into more affordable housing, reducing the upfront cost. Mr. Speaker, pressures on our partners working to build more affordable housing and accelerating the construction of affordable housing units right across our Great Province. Previous Liberal government's inaction is why we launched our Community Housing Renewal Strategy, which is investing $1.5 billion this year alone to help sustain, repair, and grow community housing to help end homelessness right across our province. Thank you. The supplementary. Well, Mr. Speaker, I'd like to thank the Parliamentary Assistant for that response. It's great to see a government making these types of investments that will ensure Ontarians have a safe place to call home and supporting our most vulnerable. We know many Ontarians have been struggling financially throughout this crisis, including those living in affordable housing. Will the Minister please speak to what ways we are providing direct financial assistance to those in need? Member for Melton. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank the Member from Sarnia-Lampton again. I am proud to say that Ontario was the first province, Mr. Speaker, to sign on to a portable housing benefit under the National Housing Strategy with the historic $1.4 billion Canada-Ontaria housing benefit. Thousands of Ontarians have already received a direct monthly rent assistance payment to help them pay their rent, Mr. Speaker. This is direct money that can be used anywhere across Ontario. That means if an individual's location of employment changes, they can take this benefit with them and not be restricted to live in units only available in certain areas. We expect the number of people who receive this benefit to continue to grow each year. Our government will continue to focus on ensuring every Ontarian has a place to call home, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. The next question. Member for Davenport. Good morning, Mr. Speaker. This question is for the Premier. In a letter to parents sent in April, the Minister of Education promised that no decisions on schools would be made that do not, and I quote, promote the health, safety and well-being of our children and students. Since then, the government voted no to capping class sizes at 15, while class sizes grew more crowded. They shot down safety concerns of frontline education workers, and now we know they spent millions on political consultants while public health officials were sidelined. Only now, with over 5,000 cumulative cases in our schools, are we seeing the start of, and I mean very small steps, toward asymptomatic testing of students in some areas. Speaker, through you to the Premier, will the government keep its promise to parents and deliver a comprehensive, asymptomatic testing program so we can keep our schools safe? Mr. Speaker, we will continue to follow the advice of the Chief Medical Officer of Health, who has fully endorsed our plan. We have worked with the Chief Medical Officer of Health and the leadership team of the command table since the spring to develop a plan that has enabled Ontario to reopen schools safely, putting into context the member opposite's numbers. There's 84.3% of schools that do not have any active cases at all. And this morning, for students, 99.92% of students do not have an active case and 99.87% of staff do not have an active case. Now, Mr. Speaker, our plan is designed with every layer of protection in place, from more public health nurses to comprehensive masking to more teachers, 2,700 to 1,200 more custodians to the doubling of public health nurses, everything we can do, everything we can do to protect our schools. That's what the premier's commitment is. That's what we will deliver to the people of this province. Supplementary. Mr. Speaker, I can assure you that no parent or guardian whose child is being exposed to COVID at school is comforted by this minister getting up in this place every single day to say, hey, relax. The kids are all right. Tell that to the families at Thorncliffe. The fact of the matter is, Speaker, we don't yet know how COVID is being transmitted in schools. These pilot testing projects are going to help, but basing them only in areas with the highest infection rates is really missing the point. We need a clear picture of what the virus looks like in our schools across the province so that we can plan for a safe and orderly return after the holiday, one that doesn't involve major outbreaks. When will we see a plan to ramp up testing? Or are you going to, as a government, wait, continue to wait and see till it's too late yet again? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we introduce asymptomatic testing amidst the second wave because we want to make sure that we are able to target and isolate any cases within schools of students or staff or their families that may have COVID without symptoms. We want to ensure we isolate those cases from schools to mitigate further spread. The point of asymptomatic testing focused on the highest risk communities with high rates of positivity is to capture those that may be carrying the virus in schools so that they are not no longer within schools. So that's why Member for Davenport come to order. That's why we launch asymptomatic testing and the first Sardine Lampton come to order. Following the advice of the Chief Medical Officer of Health, we've also doubled public health nurses. We've also expanded investments within our schools just a week ago. We've provided stabilization. The Member for Davenport will come to order. Minister of Education will conclude his response. We've provided additional funding to hire more than 2,700 teachers, more than 1,200 custodians. Mr. Speaker, I recognize fully, as I think we all do, honestly, the great challenge of COVID-19 as community transmission rises. The government has seized to keep schools and kids safe. We'll do that every step of the way in this province. The next question, the Member for Guelph. Good morning, Speaker. My question is for the Premier. Ontarians have paid a high price this year. The pandemic has brought crisis-level financial stress to all businesses. So the last thing they should have to worry about is flooding and damage to their properties. The Ontario Federation of Agriculture is asking for substantive amendments to Schedule 6 of Bill 229. Over 150 organizations, including AMO and the Ontario Big City Mayors, representing people in every corner of this province are asking the government to remove Schedule 6 from Bill 229. Speaker, flooding is only going to get worse, especially since the government's so-called environment plan is leading to a dramatic increase in climate pollution. So will the Premier listen to the people of Ontario and remove Schedule 6 from Bill 229? Speaker. The Parliamentary Assistant Member for Barians. Speaker. My heart does go out to the farmers and certainly the government is making our changes on flood mitigation and frankly it will help our conservation authorities treat flooding very seriously to help those very same farmers you're discussing. If only those conservation authorities spent more than right now they spend less than 20% of their budget on flooding. So if they spent a little more on flooding perhaps that would help. But Speaker to put in context in 2017 there was 25 conservation authorities were spending even less than that and they were spending closer to 10%. So these changes are going to help conservation authorities help those farmers who are so in need of flood mitigation. Thank you. And supplementary. Speaker with all due respect to the member opposite the conservation authorities the big city mayors AMO literally organizations representing everybody in this government to stop attacking conservation authorities. We know that it costs $43,000 to repair a flooded basement. In my writing I paid $2.80 to the conservation authority to protect me from flooding. That is a deal. That is a deal that this government is taking away because they're completely undermining the science-based and evidence-based decision-making power of conservation authorities. So I'm asking the government at a time when people already have so much stress in their lives why are they increasing like gutting flood protection in this province? Number four Barry and his wife. Thank you Speaker and nothing can be further from the truth. In fact it's these changes they're not going to be gutting flooding it's going to actually be increasing flood mitigation and in fact in our plan we talk about people who are trying to there's an individual who's trying to plant trees around their home speaker and I know the member opposite would appreciate that but guess what they couldn't do they couldn't actually do that because the conservation authority was getting in a way there's miscipality in my backyard who couldn't build a drainage pipe to prevent flooding because the conservation authority wouldn't allow them the proper permit to prevent flooding so these are the changes we're making to help the entire farmers network a farmer advocate organization that was established in 2002 announced today it's formal support for the changes conservation conservation authority's act thank you Mr. Speaker next question member for Sarnie Lampton thank you Speaker and my question is the ministry of economic development job creation and trade Mr. Speaker Ontario's main street small business and hard hit by the effects forced to adopt adapt to a new normal of needing PPE implementing safety and social distancing policies and reaching customers online and planning further ahead into the future will the minister of economic development and job creation and trade outline to this house how our government has stepped up to protect and support our small businesses and help them recover over the longer term the Parliamentary Assistant member for Mrs. August thank you Speaker and I want to thank the member from Sarnie Lampton for the incredible work he does supporting his small businesses Speaker we all know that small businesses are the backbone of Ontario's economy and our government will always be in their corner small businesses have made extraordinary sacrifices to keep their employees safe their customers confident and their communities strong that's why we are providing the main street services for eligible small businesses in the retail food and accommodation and other service sectors with less than 10 employees to help offset the cost of PPE this grant will cover the cost of buying face masks sanitizer gloves sanitizing wipes and even plexiglass dividers and temperature monitors we encourage all small businesses to apply for the grant our government speaker is standing with main street businesses and we remain thank you very much the supplementary question well thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to the parliamentary system for that fulsome and informative answer Mr. Speaker I hope small businesses and entrepreneurs across our province take advantage of the PPE grant in the weeks and months to come our government understands that buying businesses recover longer term is another will the minister outline support we put in place to ensure our main street small businesses grow beyond COVID-19 thank you parliamentary assistant thank you speaker for Ontario to recover our small businesses need to recover and their services and sales must be shifted online our $57 million digital $2500 dollar digital main street grant to embrace digital marketing shop here powered by Google will see skilled students hired to build websites and online stores for businesses future-proof main street street will allow digital marketing professionals to help businesses grow through our Ontario together fund we've provided $2 million to support 47 small businesses training financial advice and planning help we're also providing $131,000 for chartered accountants of Canada to develop an online financial literacy tool to help businesses recover and manage financial risks these new thank you very much next question member for London North thank you very much speaker my question is to the Premier this Conservative government has spent weeks defending their Ontario's most vicious opponent of gay and trans rights to write to grant university degrees at his Canada Christian College yesterday Conservative MPPs did remove a section from bill 213 but it was a section on a code of conduct for marriage efficiency which was removed after groups like campaign life coalition complained it would promote same-sex marriage why did the government happily amend the bill for these groups but ignore the thousands of people who don't want Charles McVidi handing out university degrees the parliamentary assistant member for Northumberland Peterborough South thank you Mr. Speaker we know that enabling legislation for private faith-based institutions has existed under governments of all stripes and we have these procedural safeguards going to the post-secondary education quality assessment board we have that and these matter Mr. Speaker these safeguards Mr. Speaker I think it's important to remind the member of the importance of PECAB and some measures built in for example in nomenclature change organizational review we talk the board reviews mission statements administrate administration capacity financial stability student protections Mr. Speaker these are available publicly for all Ontarians to see this process has been integral in ensuring a world-class education system for years and it will be integral going forward and this government will stand by procedural fairness and follow the process thank you Mr. Speaker this is a supplementary question my question is back to the premier the members spoke about processes but one of the processes is the committee process and that's to listen to the public to listen to Ontarians and I'd like to say that the human rights code is integral here in Ontario the government can no longer no longer credibly claim this is a better process they were happy to amend the bill but somehow they can't find it within themselves to do the same thing for the thousands of Ontarians who said that granting McVidi more power and influence would be harmful and dangerous Speaker there is still time for them to do what is right the thing this legislature asked them to do admit they were wrong and stop their plans to make Charles McVidi a university president the response parliamentary system thank you Mr. Speaker on this side of the house we are going to follow the PECAB process and I find this very confusing the member opposite and I'll quote Mr. Speaker because it seems to me that some members on the other side do understand and value the PECAB process I'm going to quote from the member from Hamilton West Ancaster Dundas as an institution within my constituency with vibrant undergraduate programs she goes on to say I urge a speedy consent be given to the PECAB recommendation regarding a faith-based institution in her writings need for a timely process Mr. Speaker on the one hand members on that side support the PECAB on the other hand they want government and politicians to intervene Mr. Speaker on this side of the house we will all case member for Hamilton Mountain come door the member for Waterloo come door parliamentary system will conclude his response they don't want to listen to the words of their own members because on this side of the house we will always stand by the procedural fairness and stick by the PECAB process thank you Mr. Speaker the next question the member for Ottawa for the Minister of long-term care earlier this week we learned that the independent long-term care commission the government appointed is still waiting for the minister to release key documents outlining the government's decision making process in its response to COVID-19 on Tara's long-term care homes the commission says that the continual delay in releasing requested documents is impeding its work she would know that one of those commissioners is Jack Kitz who was appointed on Tuesday on Tuesday the minister was quoted saying she wants to get to the bottom of this it certainly doesn't feel that way and we know from the auditor general report that the documents exist so speakers through you can the minister commit to no further delay in getting the documents to the government commission that they need to do their work thank you speaker Mr long-term care thank you speaker we've committed to this since the very beginning in fact when we struck the commission the point was to understand any early guidance they might be able to provide as well as to understand what transpired with the spread of COVID-19 in our long-term care home so this has been our commitments since the very beginning to be transparent to provide the documents that the that the commission requests and we've given the commission greater expansion in terms of reference and they have the ability to ask for those documents and to receive those documents and that's what we're in the process of doing we've been giving documents and sharing them with the auditor general with the patient ombudsman we are continuing to provide the necessary information to our ability while we deal with the the problems in our long-term care home so we're committed to doing this we will continue to work we understand how important the work that they're doing is and Ontarians have thank you the supplementary question the minister's right Ontarians have questions and the commission is asking them on their behalf and it certainly doesn't feel like the minister wants to get to the bottom of this and it just feels like further delays you know we remember last winter when we delayed this government delayed more than a month from preventing workers than working more than one home or raising their wages like other provinces did once to get essential caregivers back into the home or how long-term care homes are still waiting for a plan to get people out of four-bed ward rooms how long it took to get the armed forces into Ontario's long-term care homes that needed it and I've been asking a question for three days and it looks like that one's going to get delayed too and I know what the outcome of that should be so I know what the outcome right now should be with your own commission minister will you commit of relevant documents that they need Mr. Blanchard care thank you speaker we worked decisively and actively during all of this this has been an integrated effort with public health Ontario with medical experts taking the advice of our public health officials across ministries across governments this is a process that although I would like it to be immediate it is not and it takes time to coordinate what we do in one area affects another and we've been with our fall action plan with the action plan earlier in April all of these entities have been involved in this process of creating the safety and the well-being of our residents in long-term care this is a global pandemic this has never been seen before in our lives and so there are many many good people working on this the $461 million to improve the pay for our long-term care workers who are the heroes at the front lines of this these measures are being worked on constantly and have been ever since the beginning and we'll continue to do that Thank you very much The next question is for Sarnia Lamkin Thank you Speaker my question is to the Minister of Children and Women's Issue Speaker as we know in this house the rights of a child and youth and welfare system and the youth justice system are following and the child family services act and just like most legislation it's hard to comprehend all the legalese and make sense of what is written that is I'm afraid the kids this legislation impacts because they deserve to know and understand their rights Speaker it's also important that parents and caregivers can access and read this same legislation in plain language so that they're able to provide the best care possible they need to be able to get this information in an easy location that is free in this house and my constituents of Sarnia Lamkin that children and youth as well as their parents and caregivers across this great province will be able to learn about their rights in an accessible and simplified format Speaker I'll go to the Minister for Children and Women's Issues Speaker thank you to the member from Sarnia Lamkin for that question and I commend him for introducing a PMB this afternoon that will further support children in care Speaker the member is absolutely right and I think it's important to understand that children and young people are protected by the Child Youth and Family Services Act know their rights they need to know where to go if they have questions or concerns and they need to be able to find this information in an accessible place as part of the work to redesign Ontario's child welfare system our government created the children and young persons rights resource it is a web page that uses written in youth friendly language and easy to understand you don't need to be a lawyer to understand it it also provides information on where a child or youth can go to seek help such as the ombudsman or mental health supports Speaker we want to ensure that all children and youth are able to not just hear but to know their rights and to learn about them in a way that is easy to understand and I'm proud to continue this work to help these young people thank you and thank you to the minister for that response Speaker the minister mentioned child welfare redesign this is an important undertaking and children and youth have not been supported as they should have been for years one area of importance that I was pleased to see for the minister was a quality standards framework something that was recommended in the chief coroner's expert panel report of 2018 and developed however similar to the CYFSA the quality standards framework is long and can be difficult to read children and youth deserve to know what they can and should expect in terms of care from foster parents from children age societies and what kind of services they are able to get they respond to their culture and their identity Speaker can the minister please commit to this she will listen work with advocates and those thank you Minister to reply Speaker and thanks again to the member for the question every single child should have the same high quality and standards of care in the province whether you are in the child welfare system or not these services should be available no matter your race religion sexual identity or where you live I can say confidently that we are working to create a youth friendly version of the type of care as expected Speaker the framework was developed in consultation with district school boards youth with lived experience indigenous and 2S LGBTQ partners mental health agencies and more and we will continue to work with them to ensure that the youth friendly version going forward will be beneficial to the children and youth that are impacted I'm also proud to say that we are working with our sector partners to be proposing new advice as this work is being phased in over the next two to three years Thank you Thank you The next question the member for Kiwetanaw Good morning Mr. Speaker my question is to the Premier it isn't right in a rich province like Ontario all communities don't have clean drinking water the Skanaga First Nation continues to have no drinking water they have been evacuated for 45 days Mr. Speaker we are not animals we are not ghosts we are people just like you we should be able to turn on our taps and simply have a drink of water if Ontario wants to develop the north and if you want our nations to work with you honour treaty number nine bring the people clean water why is Ontario continuing to ignore the crisis Thank you very much Mr. Speaker and obviously as always I think all of us appreciate the comments of the member opposite who obviously has unique circumstances across his writing the Minister of Indigenous Affairs and as well as the Minister of Environment earlier did express disappointment that the federal government denounced that it was not going to be meeting the targets that set with respect to water in our First Nations communities Mr. Speaker we will continue to press the federal government to ensure that they meet that commitment and of course we will continue to work cooperatively with our First Nations partners the member is absolutely correct this is something that we all need to work very very hard on and he has certainly has my word in the word of this government that we will continue to press the federal government to meet their commitments thank you and the supplementary question it's not fair to plagiarist fictional ping-pong on the lives and the health of people in the popular premier it isn't right it is Speaker it's really important to hear these messages from young people of Niskanaga they say and I quote I don't want to go through what my grandpa has been through for 25 years go live in Niskanaga and see how it feels getting no clean water you're welcome to stay in my house and see end quote Speaker B. Daven is nine nine years old and she has no faith in government to help she said I would be surprised if they fix the water properly we'll want Terrio do what's right and make sure B. Daven grows up with access to clean drinking water from the house again to reply Thank you Mr. Speaker again the member is correct I don't think anybody on either side of the house is going to argue with the fact that First Nations community across Canada just across Ontario have a number of challenges that governments at all levels need to work cooperatively to resolve and it is long overdue that we do that the member is correct the federal government made a commitment in working with the provinces and territories part of that commitment dating back to 2015 that it would solve the water crisis on many of our First Nations reserves they've recently announced that they would not be able to honour that commitment the ministry of environment here did signal his intention to continue to work very aggressively and cooperatively with the federal government to take all of the measures that the Ontario government could do to assist the federal government should they be able to honour this commitment I do agree with the member and we will continue to press the federal government on his behalf Thank you The next question the member for Ottawa Vanier Thank you Mr. Speaker my question will be addressed to the Premier Conservation Ontario which represents the 36 conservation authorities at the following to say about schedule 6 of bill and I quote we are asking the government to withdraw schedule 6 because these are not administrative budget related amendments but rather are significant amendments impacting public policy and for which adequate and specific public consultation has not occurred these proposed amendments are deserving of the sober second thought provided through specific consultation and then debate in the legislature and quote explain why these changes have been included in the ominous budget bill instead of being proposed in a separate bill so that they could receive the careful consultation and public consultation that they deserve The Parliamentary Assistant Member for Barry Innisfil Thank you many aren't here and don't have time to wait for flood protection and flood mitigation which is not enough to make changes later on we have to think about changes now to help people with flooding and to help constituents who have written into the ministry environment saying for example a property owner was trying to plant five trees and the owner was trying to plant 500 trees around his property couldn't get it done you had someone who was trying to restore their shoreline to prevent from flooding couldn't get it done and so it was this government that's making the changes so those individuals couldn't get it done prevent flooding and help their surrounding environment And a supplementary question Mr. Speaker according to the conservation Ontario website in the case of the Hamilton conservation authority the board chair Lloyd Ferguson who I will note is also a city councillor said that provincial contributions only amount to 2% of their revenues municipalities on the other hand generally contribute over 50% of the funding while most of the remaining amounts is self-generated despite this there is still a lot of pushback from both authorities regarding the proposed change in bill 229 given that the province has invested so little in the work of conservation authority can the minister explain why the government should move forward with such controversial changes when they are opposed by the very people who actually are investing significantly in the work of the conservation authorities Thank you speaker and if she's talking to conservation authorities perhaps she can talk to the conservation authority that told her leader Dalduca not to override their conservation authority to plan a pool in his backyard so if they really care about the environment they should speak to their own leader but what's more if you care about conservation authorities helping prevent flooding perhaps the member could also know that she should encourage many more conservation to spend more on flood mitigation for example as I mentioned in 2017 there were 25 conservation authorities that were spending less than 20% of their budget on flood mitigation and then 10 of those 25 conservation authorities were spending even less than that closer to about 10% so again Mr. Speaker we're focused on again helping Ontarians with flood mitigation making sure we protect land, water and air and of course make sure that we're preserving any damage on the environment when it comes to natural hazards that are not a lost center thank you speaker today is the international day for people with disabilities and 60 disability organizations sent the premier a letter today and my question is for him in September the government's bioethics table for the COVID-19 response recommended which patients should be refused critical medical care if overwhelmed hospitals rationate but to date the government is keeping a promise that it comes necessary but Ontario has to be prepared will the premier keep his promise to be transparent to people with disabilities publicize the COVID-19 plans of critical triage protocol and do what is the proper thing make these bioethics table recommendations public thank you speaker and thank you to the member opposite for the question Mr. Speaker the health care system effectively managed surges and future waves of COVID-19 and that's why we invested an additional 2.5 billion or an increase of 13% from last year to support our hospitals throughout the pandemic and build capacity including 3100 new beds across health facilities it's critical that I remind the member opposite that for a potential worst case scenario due to the spread of COVID-19 to be clear this was a draft developed for engagement and consultation and should not be used we've also asked our bioethics table to ensure that concerns and perspectives of indigenous people black and racialized communities persons with disabilities and others who may be disproportionately affected by critical care triage due to the spread of COVID-19 and it's even worse now we're in a global crisis and yet this conservative government provided zero automatic income support not even a meager increased ODSP or OW the supportive housing crisis is out of control the wait list is well over 20 years long April's daughter has developmental disabilities and has lived in a psychiatric hospital ward personally aware of across the province and I'm sure there's many more there are people who have been promised supportive housing some even have a spot held in a home but we're told by this conservative government that there's no funding for them so they languish in the hospital with no quality of life this conservative government holds the solution and the funding in their hands but refuse to make this right will the Premier make this a priority today the associate minister for children and women's issues thank you Mr. Speaker thank you member for your question our government took immediate action to protect our province's most vulnerable people and frontline staff who care for them in residential settings through the COVID-19 action plan for vulnerable people we implemented measures that will help to stop COVID-19 at the door of these facilities through measures like enhanced screening this plan builds on our previous investments including up to $40 million to support organizations that provide residential services like our developmental services agencies as well the 2020 budget includes an investment of $30 million over the next two years to support both residential and non-residential service providers in the social services sector as they continue infection prevention and control measures I ask the member will you support our budget and support the workers hard and developmental services in Ontario next question the member for Cambridge thank you very much Mr. Speaker good morning my question is for the premier last week I said that the government forcing shoppers into the same place like a few big box stores for all of their shopping needs is a great way to maximize the spread of an airborne virus like COVID-19 recently 50 retailers sent a letter about the rate of spread the government claims to rely on science so I ask what does the science say about customers overcrowding and all gathering in a few stores rather than being spread out among all retailers in terms of increasing the rate of spread of COVID-19 the response the minister of economic development job creation and trade thank you very much thank you our province has moved Toronto and peel region to lock down some regions to new restriction level in keeping Ontario safe and open framework those necessary measures are being taken to some community transmission of COVID-19 to keep schools open safeguard our health system that there is $600 million that is available to them to assist in 100% of their property taxes during this period, 100% of their energy costs during this period. There's a $1,000 main street recovery grant that they can apply for. There's a $57 million digital main street grant they can apply for. And I'll address that. Thank you. A supplementary question. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. You know, in that same letter from the 50 retailers to the Premier and the Minister of Health, they asked on behalf of all retailers that the government allowed them to reopen with reduced capacity rules. Just yesterday, the Premier's favourite tabloid, the Toronto Sun, published an article with data from the province that claimed that the government could only identify 106 cases linked to retail shopping. That's 0.1% of 116,000 COVID cases to date, and that includes employees. Fitness only accounted for 206 cases. Restaurants only 227 cases. So, what scientific data did the government use or rely on in deciding that retail stores, restaurants and fitness centres should be closed to reduce the spread, or did the government just make it up? Minister to reply. Thank you, Speaker. The Chief Medical Officer of Health and Health Experts continue to provide advice to our government using a wide range of criteria and, Speaker, we continue to listen to them. But, again, I urge the member to talk to these businesses and let them know that there is $600 million available. And, Speaker, there are very few who have applied for this funding so far. We need them to know that there's $57 million. They can take their business offline and go online. They have a $2,500 grant that will assist them to put their business online and have a worldwide audience. Speaker, these are the kind of supplements that our government is providing these businesses in their time of need. The next question, the member for Waterloo. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question to the Premier. Yesterday, the Premier admitted once again that his plan that puts big box stores first and small main street shops last was, quote, unfair. But then he tried to blame the province's top doctors for giving him the advice. We just heard it again. Speaker, we know from the AG's report that despite what the Premier and the Conservatives say, the CMO has never been driving the province's pandemic response. If he's looking for someone to blame, the Premier needs to look in the mirror. This week, businesses from across the province wrote to the Premier calling on him to fix this unfair plan and stop making things worse for everyone, not named Walmart or Costco. They're going to be fine. Main Street not so much actually to date as of August in the province of Ontario. We've already lost 13,500 businesses. CFIB has said that one in seven businesses are at risk. In KW and Main Street, we've already lost 25 businesses. They're gone. Question. Mr. Speaker, we know what businesses need. They told us they need and they deserve direct financial support. What is this government waiting for? Mr. Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to reiterate the exact direct government support. As I stated a moment ago, $600 million, up from $300 million, is available. Every one of those businesses in the Toronto and Peel region in the lockdown can have their entire energy bill paid for every day that they're in lockdown. They can have all of their taxes, property taxes paid for in that lockdown. They can apply online for a $1,000 PPE grant. There's 60,000 of them available. We've only heard from 1,350 of those businesses so far. There's 60,000 available. There is a $57 million program available to help them go online. There is a rent subsidy that pays for a tremendous percentage of the rent. There is a wage subsidy that pays for a tremendous amount of their wages. We need these businesses to go online, register, and get the money flowing. It's there. It's been committed to them. Thank you very much. That concludes our question period. The government house leader has informed me that he has a point of order he wishes to raise. Thank you. Government House? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Speaker, in accordance with standing order 59, I wish to outline the status of business for next week. On Monday afternoon, we will be debating Bill 229, which is an act to implement budget measures, on Tuesday, Bill 229. On Wednesday and on Thursday, Mr. Speaker, we will be having the opportunity to debate two motions which the government will soon be bringing forward, which I'm sure the honorable members across the way will be very excited to see. On Monday, we will be dealing with private members business, ballot item number 44, standing in the name of the honorable member from Cambridge, on Tuesday ballot item number 45, the member for Ottawa South. On Wednesday ballot item number 46, in the name of the member for Toronto Centre, and on Thursday ballot item number 47, standing in the name of the member for Oakville. Thank you, Speaker. Thank you very much. We now have a deferred vote on a motion for closure, on the motion for third reading of Bill 222, an act to amend various acts in respect of transportation-related matters. On December 2nd, 2020, Ms. Mulrooney moved third reading of Bill 222. Mr. Calandra has moved that the question now be put. The bells will ring for 30 minutes, during which time members may cast their votes on Mr. Calandra's motion that the question now be put. I'll ask the clerks to prepare the lines.