 Therefore, it is time for Question Period, the leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Premier. Grandview Children's Center offers amazing programs for children in Durham region. The center is life-changing for many children and their families. So when I heard there are 2,500 children on the wait list, I was shocked. Grandview is in desperate need of an upgraded facility, but this government continues to do nothing and back away. There are 970 children with autism who are waiting for ABI services, and the average wait time at Grandview is 521 days before beginning treatment. The government has an opportunity to make a difference. Actually, the Liberal MPPs from Durham have written the Premier pleading for investment here. So my question to the Premier is will the Premier commit today to listen to her own members, to listen to the Grandview Children's Center and get shovels into the ground to help these children with autism because it is the right thing to do? Minister of Children and Youth Services. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank the member for the question and also for the members on this side who have been advocating for this facility. Mr. Speaker, thank you. The member opposite has brought up the issue around autism here in the province of Ontario, and the member knows very well that this government will invest half a billion dollars of additional funding to autism here in Ontario, which is the most historical investment into autism, not only here in Ontario, but right across this country and probably North America as a whole. So we're very proud of the fact that we're able to make investments into our children here in the province of Ontario, and this investment is historic and it will make a huge difference in the system. Mr. Speaker, back to the Premier, and hopefully I can get an answer from the Premier. It's one thing for the Minister to say that they're making it a priority, but not answer the question about Grandview. There are almost a thousand kids on the wait list waiting for ABI therapy. There is a wait list of 521 days per child, and it's one thing to say you're going to make this a priority, but we're not seeing shovels in the ground. We're not seeing commitments of actual dollars to these important projects, and it's not just Grandview in Durham. Look at Yes I Can Nursery in Don Valley West. Yes I Can is going to have to close its doors and Ontario could lose another 130 precious childcare spaces. It's not too late to say Yes I Can Nursery. This government has the opportunity to do the right thing, whether it's an Oshawa with Grandview, whether it's a Yes I Can in the Premier's own writing. I'm asking the Premier directly, will you provide the funding for these centres so children with autism can have the help they need? Yes or no to Grandview? Yes or no to Yes? Thank you Mr. Speaker. I want to talk about capital investment into our children's treatment centres here in the province of Ontario. Since 2008-2009, this government has invested over $300 million into capital investments into our children's treatment centres. When the member opposite, the Leader of the Opposition is talking about autism and programme investment, again Mr. Speaker, we're talking about a half a billion dollar investment into autism here in the province of Ontario. This is unprecedented. No government in the history of this province has done anything like this government and we're very proud of our records. In addition to that, that half a billion dollar investment will create 16,000 new spaces across the province of Ontario and we're aiming to reduce wait time so it's six months or less. We're going to create more diagnostic hubs across the province and we're going to make sure that our children here in the province of Ontario have what they need to be successful. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, again to the Premier and for a third time I'm going to ask the Premier to address this. The government has taken families of children with autism to the court. They've kicked thousands of children off the IBI treatment wait list. They refuse to build the much needed and desperately needed expansion at the Grandview Children's Centre in Oshawa. And soon enough this government we've forced to close, yes I can, nursery in the Premier's own riding. Desperately taking away a service for those children that need it. Mr. Speaker, this government's attack on children with autism and their families must stop. This has been continuous, this has been unrelenting. The Liberals can't take back their lawsuits but they have an opportunity for these two centres with yes I can and Grandview to actually offer support. So rather than government talking points of what they might have done ten years ago or twenty years ago what Premier Hepburn might have done, I would ask a question to the Premier. Will you fund Grandview? Will you fund yes I can? Yes or no? Don't pass the buck. Please answer the question. Mr. Speaker, we're not talking about ten years ago or twenty years ago. We're talking about today and there's a big difference between this government and what the opposition opposite has brought forward. We're talking half a billion dollars of new investment into autism and Mr. Speaker he's talking about two separate things. On one side he's talking about services and then the other side he's talking about capital investment. We've made over three hundred million dollars in the last several years of new investment, capital investment into those facilities. A half a billion dollars into the services for autism and the member opposite knows that this government has done more for autism than any government before. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Can you see it in place? Can you see it in place? New question. The leader of the opposition. Mr. Speaker my question is for the Premier since I can't get an answer on their commitment to children with autism let's talk about hydro. Last weekend the Premier acknowledged the hydro crisis was her mistake. A mistake she apparently never saw coming. But as CBC's Robin Urback put it, aside from the repeated incessant warnings there was no warning. She also added besides the dozens of reports, years of consumer prices, dire financial warnings, protests over unaffordable hydro bills there was no way they could have seen this coming. So Mr. Speaker when did the Premier realize she had made a mistake? Was it when she learned people couldn't afford to pay for the bills to have food on the table? Was it when she realized the seniors were living in energy poverty? When did the Premier realize she made a mistake? And Mr. Speaker for the fourth time will the Premier answer the question? Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. Well you know the member opposite knows that we have worked for some time Mr. Speaker to reduce costs whether it's taking the debt retirement charge off people's bills or whether it's putting the Ontario energy support program in place Mr. Speaker or whether it's renegotiating the Samsung deal which takes billions of dollars out of the system or whether it's making a decision Mr. Speaker not to go ahead with new nuclear build which actually they oppose Mr. Speaker. So we have made a number of changes. What I have said Mr. Speaker is that the mess that we had to clean up when we came into office under the previous Premier the mess that had been left by the previous government the electricity system was in disarray Mr. Speaker there had not been the investments that there needed to be made Mr. Speaker there had not been decision making so as far back as the NDP government where there could have been deals with Manitoba that actually would have bent the cost for Mr. Speaker those decisions were not made we had to clean up a mess we cleaned it up and there's a cost associated. Mr. Speaker back to the Premier I thought the Premier acknowledged responsibility she admitted a mistake and now she's back to blaming everyone except for her government when every report when all evidence suggests is because of their mistakes a media mistake is the first step but this emission is too little too late just ask the people of Owen Sound whose mayor calls his latest hydro bill I quote ridiculous for 13 street light accounts the city consumed $442 in electricity in a one month period however their total bill was over here this $10,000 nearly $5,000 for delivery fees over $4,000 to pay for their Liberals mysterious global adjustment fee Mr. Speaker I agree with the mayor of Owen Sound that is ridiculous Mr. Speaker how can the Premier justify a bill like that $10,000 when only $442 to use it's ridiculous thank you very much Mr. Speaker so in my first answer I talked about the changes that we have made I talked about the reality that we had a mess that had to be cleaned up which we have done Mr. Speaker and I say now as I said on the weekend Mr. Speaker that there is more that we need to do and I take responsibility that we have to focus on people's day to day costs Mr. Speaker I understand that and I also understand that the changes that we have made and the cleaning up of the system and making the system reliable had a cost associated with it Mr. Speaker so we know there's more that needs to be done Mr. Speaker on the issue of municipalities I understand that there are some municipalities that may be speaking to the opposition but Mr. Speaker the reality is that on that front as well we have been working to undo a burden that was put on municipalities by the previous government Mr. Speaker we have been taking costs off the property tax bill of municipalities Mr. Speaker and we've been doing that because we believe that municipalities needed more room to be able to deliver services a tune of $3 billion but we've taken off those property taxes Mr. Speaker again to the Premier how is it an apology when you continue to blame others and take no responsibility you know global news shared a story about a Kingston, Ontario couple and their struggles paying their skyrocketing bills because of the liberal hydro crisis the family had been without electricity since August the hydro one cut off their bill for not paying their bill then a generous donor in the neighbourhood paid off that bill they now have their lights on for the first time in a few months but it shouldn't take the generosity of a donation from a kind neighbour too many Ontarians are in this predicament sadly the government just doesn't seem to care will the Premier finally show some compassion not allowing neighbours to take care of someone that can't afford their hydro bill and I want not a Band-Aid solution I want a real solution and I don't want to hear about a PST rebate that doesn't even cover the clean energy rebate will we have real meaningful changes not Band-Aid solutions people can't Order to the leader when I stand you stop Premier Thank you very much Mr. Speaker you know I understand why the leader of the opposition might want to deal with an issue like this in a very simplistic way I understand that I understand that that's a tactic that's a political tactic the reality is Mr. Speaker is that there are a number of things that are going on at the same time the reality is that we did need to clean up the electricity mess Mr. Speaker the solution that has come from the other side is to do nothing to not make the changes that were made not make those investments Mr. Speaker and stick with coal stick with a dirty grid stick with air that was polluted Mr. Speaker that's not a solution and to not make the investments that are necessary so we rejected that notion we have made the investments that are necessary and I know Mr. Speaker I know it clearly that there are people in this province who have to pay too much on their electricity bill we are going to take the PST the provincial portion of the HST off their bills and we know we have to do more Mr. Speaker we are very clear about that new question the leader of the third party thank you so much for the premier does the premier believe it's unethical for someone to request or accept a bribe to run for office even if the law does not specifically address it thank you Mr. Speaker thank you very much absolutely on this side of the house as all members would say that you know any form of a bribery is unacceptable Speaker if the member opposite is asking these questions in light of a case that is ongoing as we have discussed before in this matter that issue is before the course it will be highly inappropriate to discuss the facts of those cases or to litigate this case before this house there is a very clear rule of subjudice that exists in this house that warns us that we should not be we should not be dealing with discussing the matters that are before a court or a tribunal and I'll arch again all members of the House Speaker to respect that very important rule and you have ruled on that as well Speaker as other speakers and let the court pursue the matter thank you supplementary Speaker a federal prosecutor said Mr. of Energy asked for special treatment so he would resign as an MP and run for the Ontario Liberals and while Pat Sarbara and Jerry Lahid have been charged for offering a bribe there is a loophole so that the person allegedly requesting a bribe or receiving a bribe isn't covered by the law does the Premier believe bad ethics are okay if they fall through a legal loophole very good Speaker again this is a matter there has been subject to extensive investigation this is a matter where allegations have been made charges have been laid based on the investigation done charges are laid against two individuals which are not members of this House Speaker those charges are now being prosecuted in a court of law Speaker the Minister of Energy has not been charged with anything whatsoever he continues to do his job in an honourable way in that role Speaker it is not appropriate as I said earlier to be discussing this matter in this legislature this is an active matter a legal matter dealing with two individuals in the court to respect the process Speaker the Premier and her House Leader insist that everything is okay because the Minister of Energy hasn't been charged at least one reason perhaps that he hasn't been charged is because of a technicality a loophole it's a basic of good ethics not to offer a bribe not to ask for a bribe and not to accept a bribe because the挺 as I mentioned earlier is to put forward legislation to close that loophole Minister my question is a fundamental one will the Premier support tomorrow? First of all it's disappointing political cheap shots, Speaker, when we are dealing with real matters that are before the course that deals with individuals who have been alleged to do some serious things, Speaker. It is only appropriate, Speaker, that that matter be dealt with within the course. If the member opposite has a bill, that bill will go through the process, Speaker. That is a part of this House. It will be properly debated. It will be properly consulted. I look forward to participating in that conversation. I look forward to listening to the point of views of the others, but, Speaker, you don't just bring provisions like this and expect that they be passed on a whim in the House when they have not gone through a serious analysis or discussion, when we have not done serious consideration and deliberation, and I have heard from people like the Chief Electoral Officer, which is a very important part of the process. That's right. New question. Sorry. Yes, new question. The leader of the third party. My question is for the Premier, but I have to say I don't recall asking for unanimous consent for immediate passage of the bill, just whether the Premier actually thinks it's a good idea. Anyway, the Premier apologised to the Liberals on the weekend, although I'm not sure exactly what she thinks her mistake is, because, frankly, nothing's changed. She's still planning to sell Hydro-1, which will drive up costs even more for the people of Ontario. This is the kind of thing that makes people cynical, Speaker. The Premier's apology gets headlines, just like in 2014, but then she goes right back to helping her friends and ignoring the people of this province. Will the Premier show that her apology means something and stop the sell-off of Hydro-1? Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, what I said on the weekend is absolutely consistent with what we have been doing, Mr. Speaker, which is to work, to take costs off people's bills. We recognise, I recognise, that the upgrades that we have made in the system, the changes that we have made in the system, Mr. Speaker, to make it reliable, to make the grid clean, have a cost associated with them, and that people are bearing an undue burden, Mr. Speaker. And we are making changes, including taking the provincial portion of the HST, which was suggested by many people, but including those people was the NDP. And so that is happening at the beginning of January, Mr. Speaker. No matter how many times the leader of the third party conflates the issue of the broadening of the ownership of Hydro-1 with the issue around electricity costs, Mr. Speaker, that does not make it so, does not make it true. The reality is that the Hydro-1 issue is about building infrastructure in this province, Mr. Speaker, and we are going to continue to make those investments that are needed for the economy of this province. Mr. Speaker, the people of Ontario can't pay their Hydro-bills. Who would have ever thought that the people in this province cannot pay their Hydro-bills? Having your power cut off because your bill has doubled and you can't afford it is the reality for far too many people in this province today. A hollow apology to a gathering of Liberals is not going to help those people. It doesn't help anyone, except perhaps Liberals who want to feel better about themselves. Will this Premier stop making this about her and her Liberal family and start making it about the people of this province and commit to stopping any further sell-off of Hydro-1 so that the privatisation of our electricity system ends once and for all in this province? Mr. Speaker, I must say that there are people in this province who are having trouble paying their electricity bills, so taking the debt retirement charge off their bills is about them. Creating the Ontario Embassy Support Program is about them. Putting off new generating projects is about the people of Ontario and the costs that they can bear. Taking 8% off people's bills starting January 1st is about the people of Ontario. Building infrastructure, building roads, building bridges, building transit, which a previous version of the NDP would support. That's also about the people of Ontario. We're going to continue to make those investments and at the same time recognise that we have to continue to take costs off people's electricity bills. Both things are necessary. Mr. Speaker, does this Premier know that over 80% of the people of this province do not support the sell-off of Hydro-1? Hearding, and everybody knows it. People have lost their jobs because Hydro costs have meant that their employers have not been able to keep them on. People can't pay their bills and they're having to make the choice between groceries and keeping the lights on. Continuing the privatisation of Hydro-1 means that insiders get richer, the friends of the Liberal Party get richer, and more ordinary Ontarians will be hurting. That is the reality of privatisation in this province from the day that party started it in the late 90s. Now, how can anybody, anybody at all, take this Premier's apology seriously if she is still helping her friends and making life harder for the people of Ontario by continuing on the wrong-headed path of the sell-off of Hydro-1? Mr. Speaker, if the leader of the third party wants Ontarians to take her seriously, she's going to have to start dealing with the facts. And the fact is, Mr. Speaker, the broadening of ownership in Hydro-1 has nothing to do with Hydro-1 waits in this province. Absolutely nothing. You've got to be honest with the people of this province. You've got to be factual with them, Mr. Speaker. If you want credibility, you've got to deal with the facts. And that is pure and simple the facts. We're investing in public transit, Mr. Speaker, because we have the Premier that has the courage to make the tough decisions you need to make to build transit, to build roads, to build bridges. Minister. Mr. Speaker, I've come to the conclusion there's two kinds of politicians in this place. There's those who talk a big game, and those who have the courage to take action and do what they need to do to make things happen in this province and build a strong... Thank you. You see it here, please? You see it here, please? Start the clock. New question. Member from Leeds, Grenville. My question is for the Premier. The Liberals continue to allow a member of the legislature who's been accused of seeking a bribe to sit as a minister of the Crown. This just goes to show you that integrity is a foreign concept when it comes to the Liberal Party. So I wasn't surprised yesterday when the Premier defended her Minister of Energy, but maybe the Premier has seen the light. Maybe she's willing to restore the integrity and trust to the Premier's office that Ontarians expect, like it used to be. So I'm going to ask her again. Mr. Speaker is the Premier finally ready to accept the resignation of the Minister of Energy. Well, Speaker, I was hoping for a moment that the member was standing up to apologize for his behavior yesterday. Speaker, about a particular case that they probably remember. It didn't happen that long ago, 2009, when the current PC member for Halliburton, Covart the Lakes Brock, resigned her seat and accepted a paid position on the same day. Speaker, the Sudbury Star reported Scott trade seat for head office jobs. The Sudbury Star went on to say PC Lori Scott was given the job Friday of getting the opposition party ready for the next election in exchange for giving up her seat. The Peterburg examiner in the in exchange for giving up her seat, Scott is taking on the enormous responsibility of the election. Supplementary Ontarians will expect that you to apologize for not asking for the Minister to step in. Since the Premier is so staunchly defending her Minister of Energy, the same way the Premier defended Pat Sorbera here in the Legislature, I hope she is willing to defend her actions in a court of law. I know she doesn't have to attend or testify in court, and I know the Premier doesn't always do the right thing. Order. But here's her chance to avoid another mistake. Mr. Speaker, will the Premier waive her privilege and appear as a witness? Will the Premier testify in the trial of Patricia Sorbera? Thank you. Speaker, there's a more recent example that I think raises a lot of questions when it comes to the ethical cloud the Member Opposite speaks about, and it relates to the Scarborough Rouge River Bilet. Now, Speaker, I think all of us remember the very embarrassing flip-flop flip-flop flip of the Leader of the Opposition on the sex ed curriculum. So there was a candidate who was very clear about her opposition to the sex ed curriculum. She wasn't flip-flopping at all. Order. She was clear. Her name, Queenie Yu, and she was a candidate in the Scarborough Rouge River Bilet. Member from Kitchener Waterloo. But, Speaker, then what happened in some mysterious and secret exchange was the P.C.'s top aide sent an email to Queenie Yu. Thank you. New question. The Member from the Tenants James Spick. Thank you, Speaker. I'm not sure what that had to do with the question, but my question is to the Premier. For years, this government has been putting their interests first. Bad ethics are okay as long as there is a legal loophole to get out of it. It's time to close those loopholes. This afternoon, I'll be introducing a bill to put voters first and make it clear that asking for a bribe is just as big as an ethical violation as asking for a bribe. Will the Premier support this bill? Well, thank you very much, Speaker. You know, the only thing I know about this bill so far is what the member opposite said in a media scrum, where I believe he wasn't able to answer most of the questions that the media put forward to him. I look forward to reviewing the bill when he gets the chance to table the bill. I'm assuming this afternoon, Speaker. The member opposite has been a long-standing member of this House. So, therefore, I know, Speaker, that he knows the process of this legislature very, very well. He knows what it takes to have a second reading debate. I'm sure he's got a slot at some time where he will debate the bill. I'm sure there will be a slot when he will debate the bill. I look forward to to being part of that debate. Then a matter goes to committee and then you get to hear from the public member knows that a substantive bill like this needs serious Chief Government WIP second time supplementary. Well, Minister, you're arguing that this is somehow complicated. It's pretty simple. Either it's illegal to accept a bribe or to solicit a bribe. That's all we're trying to do here. There's nothing complicated. It seems to me, and I think it seems most Ontarians, if it's illegal to offer a bribe to somebody not to stand for office or to stand for office, the same should be true as trying to solicit. So I ask you the question again. Will your government support this legislation when we call for the bill to be passed? Will you yes or no support it? Speaker, I'm not going to determine whether or not I'm going to vote on a bill without even looking at the bill. Speaker, what kind of question is this? It's a simple bill. It's a simple concept. Show me the bill. Let's have a debate on the bill. I look forward to having those considerations. Speaker, you're talking about an ongoing process. What the NTP is doing is nothing less than playing politics. Speaker, there are two individuals who are presumed innocence, who are part of the process. They have been only engaged in suing the name of an honorable member of this House Speaker. And their whole motivation for this bill, what I understand so far by listening to the member opposite is to try to sully a member's name even further. Speaker, let's have a debate. I look forward to your bill. I'm sure he's got that bill drafted. Sometimes soon, Speaker, there will be a debate. There will be deliberation. We'll get to hear from other people like the Chief of Electoral Officer on that, Speaker. Thank you. Thank you. Any questions? The member can pick your center. Thank you, Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Education. We know our government is increasing investments in education all across Ontario. And thanks to those increased investments, graduation rates are up, test scores are up, and more students are attending college and university. And we all know that the Conservatives ran on a plan to make deep cuts to our education system. And many of us remember the turmoil with teachers and the education system when they were in power. Speaker, we reject that approach and we're taking a different path by making unprecedented investments in the future of students. And those investments are paying off no matter where a student goes to school. Speaker, could the Minister please tell this House about how the changes to the funding formula are benefiting rural Ontario schools? Thank you, Minister of Education. Thank you, Speaker. And I want to thank our brilliant member from Kitchener Center for that question. The party, we believe that no matter where a student goes to school, they should have all the resources that they need to succeed. And that's why we've made changes to the funding formula to benefit rural Ontario. Increased funding to support the higher cost of purchasing goods and services for small and rural school boards. Increased funding for transportation, which recognizes the greater distances traveled in rural areas. Invested in top-up supports to rural schools to fund the heating, lighting and maintenance costs. Provided funding for additional principles, even though the local PC member wanted to fire education workers. Finish please. Even though the local PC member wanted to fire education workers in their communities, we increased our investments to these important rural schools because our party believes that no matter where you go to school, students should have the resources that they need to succeed. Thank you, Speaker. I'd like to thank the Minister for her answer. Our government has shown it is committed to ensuring that students in rural Ontario have an equal opportunity for an excellent education. In the 2015-2016 school year alone, this government is providing $3.7 billion in funding toward rural school boards. Again, the Conservatives had an abysmal track record when it comes to education. We've seen the only policy that they want to talk about is sex ed, except they can't even seem to decide where they stand on that. When they were in power, they thought a good education policy was to run government-funded ads, attacking our hard-working teachers. Speaker, given this history, can the Minister please inform this House of our long track record of increasing investments in rural school boards, even when the PC members were against it? I want to thank again the member from Kitchener Centre. We've worked hard to make Ontario's education system one of the best in the world. Our graduation rates are at 85.5%. Your question, however, was specifically about rural school boards, so let's look at Leeds-Grenville. For example, for Leeds-Grenville Catholic school boards, funding has increased by approximately 54.5%, 73% since 2003. Since 2003, we've also supported 16 new schools that are either open, under construction or planned, including North Grenville District High School, Thousand Islands Elementary School, St. Marks, Meadowview Public School. Even though the member from that area ran on firing teachers in his own community, we will continue to build Ontario's education system. As I made note the other day, I am concerned that you start talking about somebody else's riding. I will start to interject. I don't like that practice from either side, when anyone declares doing something or saying something about another member's activity in their own riding. Stay focused on policy, stay focused on the concerns of what you're supposed to be covering. New question, the member from Elginville. Thank you very much, Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. The government continues to ration health care. Yesterday, the Fraser Institute concluded that patients across the country are waiting longer than ever for care, including Ontario. Wait times are up by 10% this year. Surgeries have been cancelled across the province, but the government no longer funds health care 12 months of the year. Mr. Speaker, when will the government properly fund health care and work with our frontline health care professionals to deliver top quality care? Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I'm happy to answer this question with regards to the information that has come out from the PC's favourite institute, I think the Fraser Institute, that specifically looks at wait times across the province. And I'm pleased to say, Mr. Speaker, that overall, when you measure wait times, the Fraser Institute has indicated that we have the shortest wait times in all of Canada in this province, Mr. Speaker. And it's really quite exciting, and it shows the result of our investments in wait times, specifically, nearly $100 million focused just on wait times this year alone. But the time to get from a GP to a family doctor, for example, to a specialist, we are the shortest in the entire country, 25% below the national average. And when it comes to that also important time from specialist to the procedure or the surgery or the treatment that you require, we're the second shortest wait times in the entire country. And 20% below the national average, Mr. Speaker. So we're making important improvements. I'm happy to continue to address this supplementary. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's nice that the government picks and chooses what reports to look at. But if you look at the Commonwealth report, the Commonwealth report has shown that Canada... Order, please finish. The Commonwealth Fund report shows that Canada is 12 when compared to other countries in the world. So the minister is happy with being the best of the worst. The sissi of the house wants to be the best in the world, and they are far from doing so. But wait times aren't the only problem in the healthcare system. The government continues to grow the bureaucracy to the detriment of frontline healthcare professionals. Yesterday, the Registered Nursing Association of Ontario came out against Bill 41. Last week, the OMA came out against Bill 41. He's burning out our healthcare professionals. And after all this feedback, the Minister of Health calls the OMA a bunch of liars. Mr. Speaker, will a minute... First of all, when I stand you sit. Second of all, you will withdraw. Withdraw. Minister of Health. Mr. Speaker, we were talking about the report he referenced, the Fraser Institute report. So we have, in all of Canada, we have the shortest wait time to get a CT scan. We have the shortest wait time in all of Canada to get an ultrasound. We have the shortest wait time in all of Canada to get an MRI, Mr. Speaker. Wait times for general surgery have gone down 30%. Minister, the member from Berkeley owns sound second time. Wait times for medical oncology from 2015 to 2016 have gone down by 39% in the last year, Mr. Speaker. And elective cardiovascular surgery waits have gone down by 36%. All from the same report that that member happily referenced. There is more work to be done, but I think we should all be proud of a healthcare system that's delivering to Ontarians and is the shortest in terms of wait times overall in the entire country and the indicators that I've demonstrated as well. Those important indicators in terms of getting to a specialist and getting your treatment were the best in the country, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. New question to the member from Toronto, Danforth. Speaker, thank you. My question to the Premier. Yesterday in response to our question, asking the Liberal government to commit once and for all to clean up the Wabagoon River of the Mercury that has poisoned the people of grassy narrows, the Minister of the Environment said, and I quote, we will get the cleanup to the satisfaction of the Chief and the health of the people of grassy narrows. This morning Chief Fobuster of Grassy Narrows made this statement, quote, I invite the Premier to put this historic commitment in writing and sign it alongside me in proper ceremony so we can know it is real. Will the Premier immediately contact the Chief to sign the commitment for cleanup of grassy narrows once and for all? Thank you. Well, Mr. Speaker, I have had conversations with the Chief. I have been to grassy narrows, Mr. Speaker, and we are committed to doing everything in our power. As the Minister of the Environment said, we are committed to doing everything in our power to clean up grassy narrows, Mr. Speaker, to take that mercury out of the ecosystem, Mr. Speaker, to make sure that we do everything and we are as diligent as we can be and as we have been in other situations like the one that the member for Nickel Belt raised yesterday. Mr. Speaker, that's why there's $300,000 to support water, sediment and fish sampling in the area. But Mr. Speaker, as I have said many, many times, we are not going to act in contradiction of science that would say that if we take certain actions, we will make the situation worse. We're not going to do that. So one of the Japanese experts who has recently made a report, Mr. Speaker, said it is possible that things get worse because of the turning of the soil and the water. I quote, Mr. Speaker, we will do everything in our power, but we will not make the situation worse. Mr. Speaker, the minister, sorry, again to the premier, the minister said the liberal government will get clean up to the satisfaction of the chief and the health of the people. It couldn't be clearer. The people of grassy narrows desperate for help heard the words of the minister. My colleagues and I heard the words of the minister. The media heard the words of the minister. Again, now that the minister has finally committed, when will the premier sign an agreement with the chief of grassy narrows and when will she begin the cleanup of grassy narrows once and for all. Thank you. You see that please. Thank you. Premier. The climate change. Mr. Speaker, and I think the member opposite would know the significance of what I'm about to say. My colleague, the minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation accepted a pipe during a pipe ceremony when he and I spent the day with Chief Favrester. If you understand the significance of what it means to accept a pipe from a chief and both of us participated in the pipe ceremony, that is one of the most profound commitments I have ever seen taken on by a minister. Maybe you could show some respect because this is important. Not interrupt. I listen carefully because I think this is an important issue. So when that pipe was accepted, that is a profound commitment by this government and by two ministers to see this through. As a matter of fact, the chief and the First Nation has been quite specific in tabling Dr. Rudd's report, which is two pages of actions. More specifically, we have committed to, we are already months into fulfilling those commitments and funding it. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the minister of health and long-term care. I know health care is a top priority for our government, providing all Ontarians with timely access to the care they need, whether at home, in their community, or in one of the outstanding hospitals, is of the utmost importance to our government, but also to me as a member from Barrie. I know our government increased funding for health care by a billion dollars to 51.8 billion this year. And because of these continued investments in our health care system, we have seen major progress in Ontario. Last week in the fall economic statement, our government reaffirmed our commitment to investing in Ontario's health care system with a brand new announcement of an additional $140 million for hospitals across Ontario. Can the minister of health and long-term care please tell us more about the progress Ontario has made and about the investments we continue to make to provide patients with high quality care? Thank you Mr. Speaker and I appreciate the question from the member from Barrie. And of course earlier this year in the spring budget we announced a $345 million investment in our hospitals Mr. Speaker. And in addition to that, taking the total to over a billion dollars investments in palliative care, in preventive medicine, in mental health, in a whole set of initiatives including reducing our wait times Mr. Speaker. And I think it bears repeating the Fraser Institute report that came out yesterday has agreed with us that we're making significant progress in reducing wait times. We're the best in the country, we're 25% below the national average and we're first in the country the shortest wait times for CTs and MRIs and ultrasounds. There's more work to be done Mr. Speaker but it demonstrates that that focused investment in our health care system, the more than 2% increase allocated this year alone, that is having an impact which is being seen and felt by patients across this province. Thank you minister for that response. I know that all the hospitals across Ontario will be excited to hear that our government is continuing to make important investments that will help patients and their families receive better care and quicker access to services at every hospital across Ontario. These investments will translate to better care for Ontarians, lower wait times and as a result improved health outcomes. We all know the Conservative Party has a terrible track record when it comes to health care. When they were in power they thought good health policy was seeing how many hospitals they could close. Our government is taking a different approach and we're seeing the benefits of this approach throughout the province. Mr. Speaker, through you to the minister can you inform this House about the investments our government is making throughout Ontario but especially in rural communities to improve health care. Thank you minister. Well Mr. Speaker we recognize that our rural and small town communities have unique challenges when it comes to the delivery of health services and I'm proud that I've worked very hard quite frankly with all parties with all members of this legislature to ensure that that the provision of services that those programs and services that Ontarians depend on are maintained. And just to take one example in terms of our commitment we're working very closely with Brockville General Hospital and I know it's in the the the the writing of Leeds Grenville and as part of that 140 million dollar announcement that was in the fall economic statement that goes to our hospitals an additional 3.2 million dollars is going to Brockville General Hospital alone Mr. Speaker and when you look at that increase in addition to the funding that they received earlier this year through the budget and through the Linn answer 15 percent increase in the hospital funding for that one hospital alone in Brockville which I know is very important to the member thank you the question the member from first Wellington thank you speaker my question is for the premier Mike Carter owns or operates Food Town an independent grocery store in Milnerton Mike wanted to reduce his hydro bill he also wanted to do his part to conserve energy so he participated in hydro one small business lighting program to help install energy efficient lighting but he went further he also replaced his freezers and refrigerators a very major investment my question speaker is pretty simple having done all the right things having invested tens of thousands of dollars to become more efficient does the premier agree that Mike should expect a lower hydro I would think so of economic development and growth well mr. Speaker I'm absolutely sure that the member would have shared with Mike with regard to his business that that he'll be as of January first getting an 8% cut in his hydro rate they mock at that mr. Speaker as though six to eight hundred dollars a year isn't much to a small business six to eight hundred dollars a year if it's around four thousand dollars of his costs which sounds like about right for the kind of business he's running that's six to eight hundred dollars that'll be going back in Mike's pocket because of the very important decisions that this government has made decisions that you obviously don't support so maybe you should explain to Mike or maybe the member should explain to Mike why he doesn't think Mike's entitled to that six to eight hundred dollars that our discount is going to provide him thank you supplementary thank you speaker i'm glad the minister brought up the 8% reduction speaker if the if the premier had any common sense the answer would have simply been yes his bill should go down right but in liberal Ontario it's never so simple millward and food town lowered its consumption and because Mike now averages less than 50 kilowatts per month how did hydro one respond they jacked up his delivery charge they switched him from something called general service demand to general service energy and the result his delivery charge more than doubled all because he's not using enough energy his overall bill is up 30% and it's not even winter so speaker i would like to ask the premier i would like the premier to answer mike's question and i quote how do you even begin to justify something so stupid here please thank you mr. speaker this the minister of energy has taken a number of measures to reduce the costs of power in many different ways within the system trying to improve the system looking at more efficient ways of delivering the services and he's continuing to do that but what he's bringing forward July 1st is something that's really important to small businesses to families and to organizations across this province an 8% reduction in their energy bills as of January mr. speaker that's important that's going to help small businesses like mike's small business but on top of that mr. speaker for those small businesses we've also gotten rid of the capital attacks for mike's business we've also mr. speaker harmonized our the sales taxes that's saving businesses like mike's thousands of dollars in administration costs we've also got a number of issues we've also reduced corporate capital taxes our capital taxes for businesses like mike's answer about 13% lower than the american average mr. speaker that's a substantial amount of assistance for our small businesses but as the premier said on the weekend we've got still got more work to do thank you new question the leader of the third party any questions for the premier in my city of hamilton joanne prio manager of emergency and community services has sounded the alarm bells that homelessness and prevention program has run out of money in part because of soaring electricity rates which have created a critical need for programs that help vulnerable people with assistance for hydro bills vulnerable people in hamilton and across the province are paying the price for this premier's mistake of selling off hydro one a vague apology won't save the homelessness prevention program or help pay the bills stopping the sell-off of hydro one and getting cost under control will what concrete concrete steps will the premier take to ensure that vulnerable vulnerable people in my community and in communities across this province don't fall through the cracks because of soaring hydro bills thank you mr housing responsible for poverty reduction minister of housing and responsible for poverty reduction well thank you thank you speaker and thank you for that very important question you know speaker first and foremost the the manager who has raised this alarm was a very valued member of our of our expert panel on on ending homelessness and we we really valued her input and the work that she did and continues to do within the city of hamilton there are a lot of fantastic programs that the city is running our government speaker recognizes the more moral imperative to end homelessness in ontario and as part of our efforts to end homelessness we launched the community homelessness prevention initiative on january 1st of 2013 chippy as it's called funds 100 percent it's a 100 percent provincially funded investment and speaker it aims to improve access to adequate suitable and affordable housing and homelessness services thank you supplementary advocacy organizations around the province speaker like campaign 2000 are all reporting an increase in child poverty rates in hamilton the connection between increasing poverty and the sell-off of hydro one and increasing hydro rates is absolutely clear and i'm really glad that this premier's minister values uh miss preals opinion uh i will quote her again quote we've basically run out of money we've had a huge spike in october that we didn't expect in terms of people needing help with their hydro bills a program and quote a program aimed at preventing homelessness in the city of hamilton has actually run out of money to help vulnerable people because of skyrocketing hydro bills when will this premier do the right thing for the people of ontario and stop any further sell-off of hydro one and ensure the hydro bills come down for the long-term and oh thank you speaker uh so i mentioned uh chippy funding and the chippy program in the first uh the first go-around you know i can say that uh starting in 2017 we've increased funding by 15 million dollars each year for the next three years to that fund and that's that's an awful lot of money the total investment in that program to over two billion dollars by 2019-20 significant investments that recognizes our government understands it the moral imperative to end homelessness in ontario uh under chippy the city of hamilton it's uh it's received in 2015-16 over 19 million dollars uh that's going up by about 200 000 dollars more each year and coming so mr speaker it's also important to note that municipalities they're empowered to choose how those funds are used based on their local needs new question from kingston in the island thank you mr speaker my question is to the minister responsible for women's issues human trafficking is a devastating crime and a human rights violation that results in serious and long-term trauma some of the most vulnerable poor people in our society are at most risk of being trafficked it overwhelmingly targets young women girls and boys and in particular those in indigenous communities it is our duty to act decisively and effectively to protect them from exploitation i know our government takes this issue very seriously and recognizes the devastating impact human trafficking has on victims and their families and so mr speaker could the minister share with the house what our government is doing to combat human trafficking in ontario i know how much it means to the province thank you minister responsible for women's issues thank you speaker and i want to thank the member from kingston and the islands it's a very important question our government is taking strong action to end human trafficking speaker we've listened to experts service providers and most importantly survivors to develop our groundbreaking and comprehensive strategy on human trafficking it's a 72 million dollar four-year plan that imposes greater consequences for traffickers create stronger protections for those at greatest risk of being trafficked and provides better supports for survivors of human trafficking so that they are never trafficked again speaker our human trafficking strategy helps not only the girl next door but women of all ages racialized indigenous women and even boys speaker we know human trafficking in ontario disproportionately affects indigenous communities which is why we have developed a hundred million dollar long-term strategy and violence against indigenous women we're working hard with a number of ministries on this very important strategy thank you supplementary thank you for that in answer minister 72 million dollars is really a huge investment to combat human trafficking and i know that in kingston and the islands the kingston police force is also working on this issue i'm proud of this government for taking such a strong stance on this issue and sending a clear message that human trafficking is not tolerated in ontario ending this deplorable crime takes the coordination and cooperation of many ministries of across government and that is exactly what we're doing mr speaker could the minister go into some further detail about what our government's ministries are doing and i know it takes a lot of collaboration and and to build an effective framework what we're doing to build an end to human trafficking in ontario thank you minister thank you speaker and members right we've made quite a bit of progress since this strategy was announced just this past June our anti-traffic coordination office speaker has been established and our government has named jennifer richardson as the director of the new provincial anti-human trafficking coordination office that will be run from the ministry of community and social services uh miss richardson is an expert in sexual exploitation issues and will bring best practices and lessons uh from her experience in manitoba to here in ontario as well the police college is working with police stakeholders and other experts to develop their human trafficking course in addition to hiring three victim with victim witness service workers the ministry attorney general will establish a human trafficking prosecution team with six new crowns speaker we are expanding the benefits available under the answer quick response program to better serve victims and we're increasing funding so that our service providers can better support victims of human trafficking as part of victim crisis thank you Ontario program so lots going on thank you new question and member from Prince Edward Hastings thank you very much mr. Speaker my question this morning is for the premier premier we've heard numerous stories this morning about how people are doing what the government tells them and trying to keep their hydro bills down and the vik johnson community center in mississauga hockey arena did just that they actually spent forty thousand dollars uh to bring in energy efficient led products new led lights it cost them forty thousand dollars they did actually save a lot of electricity they used forty three thousand five hundred kilowatt hours less electricity but did their bill go down mr. Speaker their bill actually went up twenty three thousand dollars anyway speaker only in liberal ontario could you cut your electricity usage by that much and still have your bill go up now i know there's a lot of hockey fans in the legislature i'm not sure if the premier is one or not we have red kelly the hockey hall of famer in the house here with us today but the manager of that facility wants to know i'd like the province to tell us how they're going to fix it and we all want to know premier we heard your mea culpa how are you going to fix this minister of economic development and growth we have responded to similar questions like to this in the past but i can't resist premier and i'm sorry to the member opposite you brought up hockey red kelly was in the house today and those of us that are old enough to remember will remember when landy mcdonnell daryl sitler ian turnbull and borea sawming led the lease to the to the the stanley cop semi semi finals but what did they power that on speaking of energy and power what did they use something we haven't thought about before pyramid power so maybe pyramid power is the answer mr speaker to the members question anyway i just want to let me just close by saying the members question was a serious one some people are wondering what i'm talking about because they didn't follow that the members question was a serious one we take it very seriously and we'll continue to work hard to bring down the price of electricity for those businesses answer thank you there being no deferred votes this house stands recessed until one p.m this afternoon sorry too late