 Seeing none, therefore, it is time for question period. The member from the Pee in Parliament. Thank you very much, Speaker. Merry Christmas, and thank you for your wonderful party last night for all of our deserving staff. My question is to the President of the Treasury Board. There were some astonishing details in yesterday's Auditor General's report. Nine companies billed ratepayers $260 million in ineligible expenses. Only $160 million was recovered. Ratepayers are still on the hook for an astonishing $80 million. That's unacceptable. The money must be returned to the Treasury Board President with a Liberals' Guarantee. Every cent is repaid by the end of the year, by December 31st. Thank you. President of the Treasury Board. Minister of Economic Development and Growth. Minister of Economic Development and Growth. Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Happy to respond again to this issue. And the fact is, Mr. Speaker, the IESO caught on to what looked like some form of exploitation happening to their program. They did some in-depth work over a number of years, Mr. Speaker. They've recovered, I believe it's two thirds in total, of the dollars that they deemed to be ineligible. Many of these ineligible costs were in dispute with the companies, Mr. Speaker. So it wasn't a case where the companies agreed that all of these costs were ineligible. So there was a negotiation that took place. And, Mr. Speaker, the IESO had, I believe it's $168 million that was repaid back because that's the amount they thought appropriate given the discussions they had with the companies. We're working on warnings. Supplementary? Thanks, Speaker. The IESO didn't catch on. They got caught. What were these companies using rate payer money for? Wealthy executives and liberal insiders were expensing raccoon traps and scuba gear. Mr. Speaker, only this liberal government would let wealthy executives expense raccoon tracks while rate payers are afraid to open their bills. When will the money be paid back by December 31st? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I said, the money has been reimbursed, Mr. Speaker. There was some dollars that were in dispute. There was ineligible costs that were identified. The IESO did what they ought to do, Mr. Speaker. They investigated. One of the companies was fined $10 million, Mr. Speaker. They take this seriously. There is no excuse, Mr. Speaker, for any company to try to exploit any system that's in place. But I do say, Mr. Speaker, and I say this sincerely, when a company has the ability to exploit a system, it means there are issues with the system. And that's why the IESO has also strengthened the system, and particularly the definition of what eligible and ineligible costs are, to ensure, Mr. Speaker, that this can never happen again. Thank you, supplementary. Scandals started out four ministers and two premiers ago, and it's still ongoing, and we're still looking for $80 million, Mr. Speaker. I've seen a lot over my time at Queen's Park. Billions wasted here, billions wasted there, but yesterday was different. Yesterday was something else. The auditor revealed, while seniors saw their power disconnected in the dead of winter, wealthy executives were expensing thousands of dollars worth of luxuries. I am not sure which was worse. If it was the car washes, the raccoon traps, the landscaping, the coveralls, the overalls, the parkas, or scuba gear, all expensed by wealthy executives and liberal insiders out of the wallets of rape pairs. Mr. Speaker, the egregious abuse of taxpayer dollars is astonishing. How long was the liberal government going to go to allow their insider friends to expense gear, like scuba gear, and raccoon traps? Answer me that. Minister. The so-called liberal insiders that the members referring to has donated to that party well over $100,000, Mr. Speaker. So if anything, they're PC insiders. So maybe we should be more concerned, Mr. Speaker, because they certainly are more PC insiders than they are liberal insiders. The fact of the matter is, Mr. Speaker, if the member wants to politicize this, so be it. I'll go there, too. That party knows a thing or two about gaming, Mr. Speaker. They know a thing or two about exploiting. When you look at their tabloid document, that looks more like a Teen Beat magazine than it does a platform, Mr. Speaker. You see on the front of that document a claim that they're cutting income tax by 22. something percent. Mr. Speaker, they're doing none of the sort. It's a bogus tax cut they're promising. Mr. Speaker, that's what I call exploitation. Here. You say to please, as I suspected, we're in warnings. Somebody might have already gotten one. Clearly, we're in warnings. Supplementary, the member from Prince already... New question. Correct. New question, Jack. Thanks, Speaker. My question this morning is for the acting Premier. Speaker, the government's panel to write new rules for the electricity system is seriously compromised. We know from the auditor's report yesterday that no fewer than five members of the panel put together by the government either broke existing market rules or were under investigation while they were helping write the new rules for the electricity system. We know that only two members, including one of the co-chairs, was identified by name. Three more companies who game the system for a combined $78 million remain unnamed. So, Speaker, how is it that five government insiders were able to game the system for hundreds of millions of dollars, and this government then rewards them by putting them in charge of writing new rules for the electricity system? Thank you. Thank you. Minister of Economic Development and Growth. Minister of Economic Development and Growth. For life of me, I don't know why the PCs always want to refer to PC insiders as liberal insiders, because they continue to do that. The folks that they're referring to, frivolously referring to, actually donate over $100,000 to the PC party, Mr. Speaker, so that's... They want to get political with this, so be it. Mr. Speaker, this panel is a very important panel. Two members have resigned from the panel that were involved with some of the companies that were deemed to have been exploitive of the previous system, Mr. Speaker. The fact is, though, Mr. Speaker, a number of these costs are in dispute with these companies, and that's fair enough. So, Mr. Speaker, what's important is this panel's recommendations and the market renewal system that this panel is working on that's going to ensure that we have an even more efficient system, Mr. Speaker, put into place by 2019, which is the work that's being done to ensure that we continue to have not only a strong, reliable system, Mr. Speaker, but an affordable system as well. Thank you, Mr. Supplementary. Back to the minister, Speaker. All we know from the auditor's report is that one of the three unnamed companies is a generator. It sounds like the minister knows who we're talking about, so why won't he share these names with us this morning? The company that filed $51 million in inappropriate expenses that ratepayers ended up paying for, this is a serious, serious issue, Speaker. We know that these companies are fighting to keep some of the expenses they claim, but we don't know who they are. We want to know who they are. Again, the minister knows who they are. We don't even know if they're still helping write the new rules or if there's another convenient resignation on the way like we stopped writing. President Treasury Board has warned. Were you finished? No. No. You have a wrap-up? I do have a wrap-up. Thank you, Speaker. The ISO's website has been changed this week. Answer. So we no longer know who the current members are, so, Speaker, why is the government hiding its own incompetence if you know who they are? Minister, please tell us who they are. Mr. Speaker, please. Thank you. Minister? Mr. Speaker, two members have resigned from the panel that were part of companies that were indeed considered to have been exploitive of the system. The members of the panel are public knowledge, Mr. Speaker, so the member, you know, it's all public knowledge. But there's an additional member that's been appointed to the panel, Mr. Speaker, and this comes out of the auditor general's recommendations. We've now appointed a consumer advocate to the panel, Mr. Speaker, who will, who's actually an energy affordability and energy low-income consumer advocate that will help ensure that that voice is also heard on this panel. So this is a strong panel with very good expertise on it that's providing good advice. The Ontario Energy Board has indicated that the work that's being done by this panel has been very, very valuable. The PCs may not know about the work that goes into building a clean, reliable, affordable energy system, because they know nothing about that, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. But we do. Final supplementary. Mr. Speaker, I don't think the minister understands the seriousness of this issue. Hundreds of millions of dollars, hundreds of millions of dollars ended up on the bills of hydro customers in Ontario. This is the second liberal gas plant scandal, Mr. Speaker. It's not just the second liberal gas plant scandal. It's the second liberal parkus scandal that we've seen in the last couple of months here at Queen's Park. Mr. Speaker, four ministers, including this one, and two premiers received no fewer than 10 warnings from the OEB since 2009 on this issue, and they did nothing about it. No one did anything. Two of the ministers are still in cabinet, including the one who's taking the questions this morning. He knew these companies were under investigation. If he didn't, he should have known. And somehow these same people that were gaming the system are writing the government's new rules on market renewal anyway. So, Speaker, will the government finally show some accountability, come clean, and tell us who these insiders are that are creating the new rules that they broke? Thank you. Mr. Speaker, the PC insiders are public knowledge, Mr. Speaker. They're donations to the PC party. Member from the P.N. Carlton is warned. Finish, please. The donations to the PC party of over, Mr. Speaker, are $116,149 right on the website. Public knowledge, Mr. Speaker. I don't know why the member's too lazy to go to the website to get the names of the folks on that committee, because they're right there, Mr. Speaker. They're not having you. And there's a new member that's just been appointed, Mr. Speaker, who's going to be a voice for those residents that this government has spoken to in many, many ways through our... Member from Lannarkon, Hattington is warned. Finish, please. Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. This new member of the panel who will speak for people of low-income ratepayers across this province speaks to the folks that we're given a voice to as government, Mr. Speaker, with our minimum wage policy, with our 25% off energy rates, and with our work at workplaces to ensure that they've got a voice. New question. The member from the P.N. Carlton. Thank you. My question is to the acting committee. Yesterday, the AG confirmed that the premier has allowed private power companies to rip off Ontario families to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. From the privatization of power generation by the Conservatives to the sell-off of Hydro-1 by Kathleen Nguyen, the system now seems to be set up to make cash cows of ordinary Ontario families, cash cows for private energy companies. When will this liberal government wake up, realize that our electricity system is broken, and actually do something to stop private power companies from stealing from the families of Ontario? Thank you. Again, another reminder. We use titles and writings in the House. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, I think I've been incredibly forthright about this over the last two days and my answers to the members opposite. So, Mr. Speaker, I think I need to go beyond that. I believe that that party, Mr. Speaker, just can't help but speak about. They have to mention the word privatization 20 times a day. Mr. Speaker, I think what they're trying to bring to the energy system is an arcane philosophical perspective. What they want to do and what they're saying and what their policy is, is for us to socialize the entire energy system with the province of Ontario. Imagine what it would cost for the government to buy out Bruce nuclear. Tens of billions of dollars that party wants to cost ratepayers or taxpayers across this province. And that's on top of their wacky scheme to buy back shares of hydro one that will also cost at least $10 billion. Maybe more, Mr. Speaker. We're talking $10 billion, $30 billion of cost on the taxpayers of this province, on the ratepayers of this province, to businesses in this province. Thank you. Supplementary. Under the Liberal government, Ontario's electricity system contains programs that are paying gas-generating hydro companies $30 million more than necessary each and every year. People are suffering on terror. Hydro rates have gone up by more than 300% on liberals. And some families are being forced to choose whether to heat or eat. Why is this government allowing private power companies to defraud hardworking families who are already struggling? Thank you. Minister? Seriously, Mr. Speaker, this party's talking about rising energy rates. Imagine what's going to happen to our energy rates when you waste $10 billion, waste $10 billion with zero public benefit, zero savings, Mr. Speaker, just to fulfill your philosophical ideas. Would waste tens of billions of dollars, Mr. Speaker, $10 billion to fulfill their philosophical idea to buy back hydro one with zero benefit to the people of this province and the ratepayers of this province as well as spent tens of billions of dollars to purchase energy projects, Mr. Speaker, that are currently private across this province with, again, no benefit to taxpayers. They would destroy our fiscal situation, and they would destroy our economy. Final supplementary. The Auditor General identified another government program that cost families and businesses $19 million over just one year. For most families who are struggling, that money is the difference between having heat this winter or not. Why has this Liberal government repeatedly ignored the warnings about private hydro companies gaming the system and leaving the people of Ontario to pay the price? Thank you, Minister. Well, I'm not sure what other program the member is referring to, Mr. Speaker, but it's a fairly general question. But I'll go back to where I went in my first response. You know, it's one thing to ask questions, and this is Auditor General Day. So we know that it's a good day for the opposition. There's lots of material for them to come at us on, as there always are. And that's part of the accountability of the system that we have here, Mr. Speaker. But they also have to be accountable for what they stand for. And right now, this party has a policy that will cost this province $10 billion of waste, Mr. Speaker, to buy back shares of hydro one with no benefit to the people of this province. The member from Essex is warned. Meanwhile, Mr. Speaker, we are working diligently to do everything we can to bring down the costs of energy in this province. We're providing people with a 25% cut in their energy rates, which is in part because we're working hard to bring down the costs. We've also built a clean and reliable system, Mr. Speaker. That's the envy of North America, something everybody in this province can be very, very proud of. New question. The member from Tomiskimi, Copper. Yeah, I think Premier. Earlier this week, we learned about a private gas plant in Brampton that stole over $100 million from Ontarians. Yesterday, the AG said there are eight other power producers who could be gaming a liberal system at a cost of $260 million to the province of Ontario. But only $168 million of that has been recovered from these companies. What is the government doing to force the private gas companies to pay the full amount back to the people of Ontario who are actually overpaying their hydro bills because you're failing to regulate the private power system? Thank you, Premier. To the Minister of Economic Development. Minister of Economic Development and growth. Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I understand that question, Mr. Speaker. And I think I've explained it, but I'll explain it once again. The fact is, Mr. Speaker, that there were some companies that were exploiting the system that was in place. And Mr. Speaker, IESO did a very thorough investigation of that. They've determined one that the member mentioned, Goreway, that has been fined $10 million. The vast majority of the funds have been repaid, Mr. Speaker. Some of those funds were in dispute. They were deemed ineligible by the folks at IESO. But the companies were in disagreement with them. There were some cases where some of those funds, or some of those costs, Mr. Speaker, may not have been as clear as they needed to be. And that's why the IESO strengthened the system and the definition of what eligible costs are. So they negotiated a settlement with those companies that they deemed to be fair to first off to ratepayers, but also, Mr. Speaker, fair to the companies. Thank you, supplementary. I wonder if the raccoon traps are in dispute. The $260 million consists of claims for things like staff car washes, carpet cleaning, scuba gear, and raccoon traps. And that $260 million represents 40% of the claims paid out by this one government program between 2009 and 2015. That means that nearly half the claims OK'd by electricity regulators under this liberal government program could be fraudulent. And had nothing to do with generation of electricity at all. When will this government finally realize that the privatization of our energy system is hurting, is penalizing the people of Ontario? Thank you, minister. Well, Mr. Speaker, some of the costs, like the costs that the member referred to, were pretty obviously not eligible costs. And they're the ones that would have been paid back, Mr. Speaker, and rightfully so. And Goreway, of course, was fined $10 million on top of that because there was a very obvious example of exploiting the system that was in place. The key is, Mr. Speaker, when these things are identified, that government agencies like the IESO identify the problem, investigate thoroughly as they did, recover the dollars that ought to have been recovered, Mr. Speaker, and IESO has done that. They've negotiated with these companies to ensure that the funds that they deem should be recovered have been recovered. And, Mr. Speaker, they've changed the system to ensure that, in fact, strengthen the system. I'm sure this won't happen again. I think on the surface, Mr. Speaker, that's a good approach. It's unfortunate that this has happened. Thank you. And I think the IESO has learned from it. Final supplementary. New Democrats put out a detailed plan almost a year ago that would require the electricity system to work in favor of Ontario families. And now we have the PC Hydro Plan, which has basically slapped some blue paint on the $40 billion liberal borrowing plan. Only new Democrats are ready to tackle this problem and bring down rates. Why isn't the government? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, Mr. Speaker, I'm not going to defend the TV, the PC Hydro Plan, but certainly, Mr. Speaker, we have a plan to build a clean, reliable, affordable system, energy system in this province. By contrast, Mr. Speaker, what the NDP are putting on the table for people is to waste $10 billion, maybe more, Mr. Speaker, to buy back shares of Hydro One. And, Mr. Speaker, with absolutely no benefit whatsoever to the people of this province, absolutely no benefit whatsoever to the energy system, Mr. Speaker. At the same time, they want to buy out all the private suppliers in Ontario that have been here. Many of them are very long time. That's going to cost tens of billions of dollars. So we're talking $30 billion, $40 billion, that's either going to come off the tax base or they're going to hit hydro rate, rate payers with incredible rate hikes, Mr. Speaker. Families, businesses, they would destroy our economy, Mr. Speaker. New question, the member from Dufferin Kaladin. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Deputy Premier. The auditor general has reported that the wind liberals have spent $17.4 million on government advertising. The auditor said that the primary goal of these ads were to, quote, foster a positive impression of the government party. These include a $3 million infrastructure campaign which the auditor said were self-congratulatory and aimed at ensuring the government gets credit for its potential future spending plans. $17.4 million is a 33% jump in advertising in a single year. Are Ontarians to take it as a coincidence that the government has increased its advertising budget by 33% the year before an election? Wow. Thank you. Deputy Premier. President Treasury boy. President Treasury boy. Yes, thank you very much and I'm very pleased to respond to the question and to the report from the auditor general. And I'd like to begin by noting that, of course, we are and continue to be the only province in Canada that actually has government advertising legislation. I also want to talk a little bit about the numbers because it is true that the numbers increased from last year's estimates. But that's because, primarily because, that there was... The member from Renfrew and Ipissing, Pimbroke, is warranted. Primarily because money that had previously been in ministry advertising lines were consolidated into the central advertising line. So when you actually compare or apples to apples, then you find out that, in fact, there was only a $6 million increase in the advertising budget. And I'd be happy to explain that. Supplementary. I think you need to explain it to the auditor. The government continues to claim that they are complying with the legislation, but they neglect to mention that they were the ones who watered down the legislation and it actually weakens the auditor general's oversight. The AG report shows that there is a massive loophole in government legislation. The loophole has allowed the government to spend nearly $5 million on digital ads, Facebook and social media, with zero approval needed from the auditor general. That is why, under the People's Guarantee, Patrick Brown and a PC government will return the auditor general's oversight to the government. Thank you. President Treasury Ward. So if we could just sort out some accurate information about the legislation. The original legislation, which they support, did not give the... The member from Leeds Grendel is warranted. Give the auditor the authority to review. The legislation which does give the auditor the authority to review digital advertising is our revised legislation, which currently exists. So to go back to what I was saying before, it is true that there is a $6 million increase in the bulk media by line this year. That is related to the fact that we are translating into more languages. It is the fact, related to the fact that we insist that all government advertising be compliant with the Ontario Disabilities Act. And that, in fact, the cost of digital advertising has gone up, not because so much the volume has gone up, but just that the cost of placing an ad in digital media has gone up because it's a more popular. New question, the member from Nicobill. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday, the auditor general revealed that 16 P3 hospital, where the ongoing maintenance and repairs have been privatized by this Liberal government and the Conservatives before them, those hospitals are being forced to take money from nursing and frontline care to cover millions of dollars in maintenance costs that the private contractor refuses to cover. Every hospital that the auditor general contacted told her the exact same thing. They are not seeing the benefits that were promised under this privatized model. How can this government force our hospital to take money away from nursing and frontline care just to mask the failure of this health care privatization scheme? To the Minister of Health, the long-term care. Minister of Health, long-term care. Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I appreciate the auditor general's report. I said yesterday that I accept all her recommendations as they pertain to health care. But I want to talk about another report, Mr. Speaker, that came out this morning from the Fraser Institute. You gotta love the Fraser Institute. So the Fraser Institute just came out this morning, finds that Ontario has the best wait times in the country. Once again, Mr. Speaker. And in fact, four weeks better than the next closest province. And only one of only two provinces in Canada to actually improve wait times from 2016 to 2017, Mr. Speaker. We have the shortest wait times from GP to specialist. We have the shortest wait times from specialist to treatment. We have the shortest wait times for Sincere Scans, Mr. Speaker. We have the shortest wait times for MRIs. And I'm really happy I have a supplementary because it's a long list, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Supplementary. Back to the acting Premier. Those P3 contracts were supposed to cover all hospital maintenance costs. That was the entire point of signing those contract. But now hospital are being forced to divert their operating funds. Funds that this Liberal government froze for four years straight. Money met to hire nurses, open up new beds, cut wait times, provide quality care. That money is instead being diverted to pay private company that won't hold up their end of the deal, that refuse to do the work. Why is this government forcing people to wait longer in our hospital system? Forcing nurses to work without the proper staffing level instead of stopping this massive failure of this healthcare privatization scheme. Minister. Well, Mr. Speaker, again, I appreciate the report. We invested over a billion dollars over the last two years in our hospitals for their operating budgets. Mr. Speaker, we've invested 1.3 billion additional dollars over the next three years for wait times. The member opposite spoke about wait times twice in that supplementary. We have, Mr. Speaker, according to the Fraser Institute just this morning, the shortest wait times in the country for ultrasounds. The shortest wait times in the country for radiation oncology. The shortest wait times in the country for general surgery. The shortest wait times for gynecological procedures, Mr. Speaker. The shortest wait times for ears, nose, and throat. The shortest wait time for colonoscopy, Mr. Speaker. The shortest wait times for treatment for breast cancer. Shortest wait time for treatment for lung cancer. Cancer of the cervix, cancer of the larynx, and prostate cancer. Thank you Mr. Speaker. My question for the Minutes of Environment and Climate Change. The Honourable Chris Ballard. Speaker, yesterday we announced the results of our 4th Carbon Market Auction and the auction generated more than $420 million bringing the total proceeds for this year to $1.9 billion. Speaker, you'll be pleased to know that our government guarantees that 100% of these proceeds will be reinvested into programs that will help Ontarians make more sustainable and affordable choices. Funding for projects like the GO Regional Express Rail prepares to schools, hospitals and social housing, new bike lanes and energy efficient home retrofits. Speaker, can the Minister please explain to this Chamber more about the green investments that we're able to make through the proceeds of our cap on pollution? Thank you, Minister of Environment and Climate Change. Well thank you Speaker and thank you to the member from Topical North for that important question and as a medical doctor I know that he really understands the importance of making sure that the province fights for clean air, clean water and clean land. Mr. Speaker, the results of the latest auction show that our plan is functioning as designed. Businesses across the province are engaged in the market. As the member mentioned the auctions from our carbon market have generated a total of $1.9 billion this year alone. Speaker, by legislation every dollar collected is being reinvested into projects that fight climate change. Earlier this week the Minister of Transportation announced that we're providing $93 million of cycling infrastructure to municipalities across the province. Last week I announced $64 million for hospital energy efficiency. Our plan is focused on investing in Ontario's future and creating a more fair society where we all benefit from clean air. Thank you Minister. Third parties in fact recognize that our plan is creating fairness and opportunity for Ontarians by investing in a greener future for our province. Earlier this week we saw expert analysis that reveals that the leader of the opposition's new carbon tax scheme would in fact cost more but do less for Ontario families than our current plan. The Envaro and Economics analysis shows our plan will reduce greenhouse gases by 82.2 megatons by 2022. The PC leader's new carbon tax will in fact do far less reducing emissions by just 28.8 megatons. The difference is equivalent to taking more than 11 million cars off the road. And the new report of Envaro and Economics reveals that our current plan to cap emissions from businesses almost three times as effective and comes at half the cost. Could you talk about the measures from our government? Reductions for the cheapest price. And thank you Speaker. Thank you again to the member for that question. Speaker I'd like to take a moment to speak about real guarantees not flip-flop guarantees. Our cap on pollution guarantees real emission reductions that will improve the air quality, reduce Ontario's carbon footprint and it guarantees this will come at the cheapest price possible for families and businesses. Speaker the same economist the PC cited a few weeks ago in their glossy magazine said our cap and trade program would drive down emissions nearly three times more three times more than their carbon tax scheme would. It appears the Conservatives have cherry picked the numbers in their scheme Speaker. This same expert analysis shows the Conservative carbon tax is also more expensive and costing Ontario families and businesses a total of 15.1 billion. Meanwhile Speaker our plan guarantees three times more savings. Thank you Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Community Safety. Yesterday we learned from the Auditor General that the Cabinet Committee on Emergency Management has not met for several years and that the last provincial risk assessment was done six years ago based on data from 2009. The AG says that as a result Ontario is simply not prepared to deal with large-scale emergencies. Emergency management staff are untrained they have large turnover and a major IT project has been bungled. What an unbelievable failure on the part of this Premier and this government. Protecting the safety and security of its citizens is the first and most important responsibility of any government. Why does it take an Auditor General's report for this government to realize that they have no emergency plan to keep 14 million Ontarians safe. Thank you. Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services. Well thank you very much for the member opposite for the question because I want to reassure Ontario and then let me be very clear Mr. Speaker. We can respond to emergencies and we have responded to emergencies and the Auditor General agreed with that. Couldn't our emergency response be more efficient? Yes. This is why we recently launched our new emergency management action plan. Our plan is based on an earlier independent review and we were actually very pleased to see that the finding of our review are consistent with the Auditor General's comments and recommendation. We know that emergencies and disasters are happening with greater frequency around the world and while they are maybe rare in Ontario we know we must be proactive and prepare. We are also for the member opposite to know we are recruiting our new first Chief of Emergency Management to champion the change that we're making. Thank you. Supplementary. Well Mr. Speaker back to the Minister. When this same question was asked of the Minister by a reporter yesterday she responded by talking about climate change. What about terrorism? What about cyber threats? What about disaster prevention, mitigation and recovery? Here here. The shocking thing is this government's cabinet committee didn't even meet to prepare for the Pan Am Games or G20. Unbelievable. They sat on their hands for more than five years and now they have claimed that they are working on it. It's ridiculous. Given the dangers in the world today when will the government finally get around to fixing these huge holes in our province's emergency management system? Well I'm very happy again about the chance to talk about the comments that's raised by the member opposite. Mr. Speaker again over the past five years our cabinet committee of emergency management has been engaged on a number of emergencies. These include the 2012 forest fires in non-turn Ontario, the 2013 ice storm, the 2015 Pan Am Games and the 2017 southern Ontario flooding. These engagement ensures that member were prepared if a committee meeting were required. The cabinet committee of emergency management actually as I said yesterday met earlier this week and we will be reconvening this committee regularly as we implement our emergency management action plan. We know that while emergency bv rare in Ontario we must be more proactive, prepare and ready for anything. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Thank you, new question the member from Windsor West. Thank you Speaker. My question is to the acting Premier. Yesterday the auditor general reported that this Liberal government has neglected social housing for so long that there are now more people waiting for social housing than actually living in social housing. The wait list in Ontario has grown by 36% since the Liberals have been in power. That's 185,000 families. In my writing in Windsor we have 4,000 people, families on our wait list. Yet the number of social housing units mandated under the Housing Service Act has grown by zero. Some families have to wait close to 10 years before they are provided with a place to live. Imagine their lives in those 10 years. Could anyone in this household on that long before their families had a safe, secure place to live? Why has this Liberal government refused to ensure that there is enough social housing to meet the needs of struggling Ontario families? Thank you Mr. Speaker. I'm very pleased with the question from the member opposite. Mr. Speaker, let me tell you what we have been doing for social housing. During our period in government 20,000 units of affordable housing have been built in this province. Mr. Speaker, specifically to the member opposite, during that period of time 320 new units of affordable housing in Windsor have been created. Almost 6,000 affordable housing units have been repaired in Windsor. 307 households in Windsor received down payment assistance, and thousands of evictions have been prevented. In addition, Mr. Speaker, through our programs we're assisting with the refurbishment of our social housing stock thanks to the funds from the cap and trade program, which will be in jeopardy if another party comes into power. Mr. Speaker, we're active on this file. We are creating more housing and creating more affordable housing for Ontarians. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Back to the acting premier. What this Liberal government has done has increased the wait list for social housing by 36%, and put a hundredth of homelessness. In the late 90s, the Conservative government downloaded social housing onto municipalities without providing a way to pay for it. The Liberal government clearly liked the Conservative policy because they have refused to reverse that ill-conceived decision. Then in 2013, this Liberal government went even further. They cut provincial funding for municipal housing, social housing, by $150 million a year. And now, about a third of all social housing in Ontario is at risk of being lost forever due to the expiry of contracts, which will allow private landlords to convert social housing into condos. What would this Liberal government do to save these social housing units, and will they commit to building enough new units to meet the needs of Ontarians? Our government this year announced an investment of $657 million to repair our existing social housing stock. We announced $200 million in investments for affordable housing to ensure there are most vulnerable populations, the homeless, victims of domestic violence, victims of human trafficking, get homes that we can build with appropriate supports. The member opposite is correct in noting, as the Auditor General does on page 730, that between 1996 and 2002, there was no affordable housing built in this province. That was by the Ontario PC Party, the Ontario Party of Cuts. And because their platform once again is silent on the issue of housing, we can only assume the $6 billion of cuts will come out of the housing budget. We are increasing. Thank you. New question? Member from Ottawa South. My question is for the Minister of Seniors Affairs. Minister, I read yesterday that you were at the Activity Haven Centre in Peterborough to announce the Ontario Age-Friendly Community Recognition Award. In 2015, Ontario launched the Age-Friendly Community Grant Program, providing $1.5 million in funding to 56 projects which help local governments and organisations transform their communities to become more physically and socially inclusive for seniors. I know this program has already benefited seniors in my riding of Ottawa South through places like the Council on Aging and the Heron Senior Centre, and I know that it's continuing to impact more and more ridings across the province. Will the Minister of Seniors Affairs inform the House about the Ontario Age-Friendly Community Recognition Award, please? Thank you, Minister of Seniors Affairs. Oh, thank you, Speaker, and I want to thank the member from Ottawa South for that question and also his advocacy for seniors. And indeed, he is right, Mr Speaker. I was in Peterborough yesterday with the member for Peterborough and I was there to make an important announcement. Just to give some background, Mr Speaker, earlier this year in the summer, my ministry had announced the Age-Friendly Community Recognition Award program. It's the Ontario Age-Friendly Awards program. And what this program does is it's going to recognise communities, municipalities, towns across Ontario that make an effort to make their communities age-friendly. And what I announced yesterday, Mr Speaker, is that nominations are now open. Communities and municipalities can apply online. So I'm going to urge all of my colleagues here go back to your ridings and make sure your municipalities apply. Thank you, Mr Speaker. Thank you. Supplementary. Thank you, Speaker. Speaker, I want to thank the Minister for her answer. It's important that we recognise the work that's being done for Ontario seniors by countless communities and organisations across the province. This new program will encourage collaboration among communities and promote grassroots action to meet the needs of Ontario's growing seniors' population. I'm also aware that this government will be expanding the successful Age-Friendly Community Grant program. And could the Minister plea of seniors' affairs please explain to this House about the expansion of the Age-Friendly Community Grant program? Thank you, Minister. Thank you, Speaker. And the member from out of the south is absolutely right. Mr Speaker, as some of you may remember, earlier in November, I joined the Premier in announcing Ontario's Action Plan for Seniors, an action plan that we are calling Aiding with Confidence. It's a 20-point program, Mr Speaker. And one of the centrepieces of that is we are going to be increasing our investments in Age-Friendly communities. In fact, we will be investing $7 million more in providing municipalities and community organisations with the funding so that they can go ahead and implement to make their communities more age-friendly. This builds, Mr Speaker, on the fact that in the past we have funded 56 communities across Ontario with the Age-Friendly Planning Grant. The communities went ahead. They did their planning and now this money will help them implement that plan. Thank you, Mr Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Question. The member from Elgin, Middlesex, London. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. Speaker, yesterday's annual report released by the Auditor General focused primarily on the government's failures in the province's health sector. Her report includes chapters on out-of-date lab fees, cancer patients not having access to the drugs and services they need, and rampant government waste. What's worse, this government was warned about these issues years in advance. Take, for instance, the 2009 warning to expand stem cell transplant projects. This government ignored these warnings, resulting in millions of dollars and unneeded lives lost. Can the minister explain to the House why they chose to ignore these warnings? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the question. In fact, we've increased our stem cell funding in this province by 600% over the past five years. In fact, earlier this year announced an additional $31 million to expand capacity here at University Health Network at Sunnybrook in Hamilton Health Sciences. But, Mr. Speaker, I think it's important for us to imagine for a moment what an AG report would look like under a PC government, with the $12 billion of cuts. And I want to talk about the fact that there's so-called historic investment in mental health. And we all agree how vitally important that is. But their proposed investment is a mere one-fifth of the investment that we've made over the previous 10 years. And, Mr. Speaker, if you look at it, and so they're describing it as the largest mental health commitment in Canadian provincial history, it is anything but. Look at our record over the last 10 years compared to what they're proposing. And they're proposing one-fifth what we have ourselves invest. Thank you. Supplementary. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I speak of waste and incompetence and mismanagement, and the government delivers liberal spin and mistruths. The member will withdraw. I withdraw. Carry on. To the minister. Speaker, 65 patients have traveled to the U.S. for stem cell transplants, and it's estimated another 106 will seek treatment over the border before Ontario brings up their standards. Had the government listened to the capacity warnings in 2009, they could have saved the taxpayer over $90 million. Unfortunately, it took a few high-profile cases of people dying waiting for treatment before this government deemed it a priority. Speaker, will the minister apologize to the Ontarians who have had to seek life-saving treatment outside of the province because of this government's mismanagement? Mr. Speaker, I will never apologize for funding and providing life-saving treatment, whether that treatment is required in Ontario or whether it's required in another part of this world, Mr. Speaker. We've increased the funding. We're increasing our capacity. Weightless are going down. More and more Ontarians are having that transplant, that stem cell treatment here in the province. But, Mr. Speaker, I have to go back to the fact that if we just compare the first year of the proposed conservative spending on mental health with our record of our first year to have that 10-year period, in fact, they're proposing to invest $151 million in their first year. Our first year, we invested $600 million new dollars. Their second year, they're proposing $190 million. We invested $650 million. Third year, $215 million. Our's $800 million. Mr. Speaker, over their first four years, they would invest $814 million new dollars. We invested in our first four years more than $3 billion. New question to the member from Kitchener Waterloo. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Acting Premier. Liberal government advertising has hit a 10-year high, and I'm sure it's coincidental how advertising has peaked in an election year. Ontario's auditor has reported that 30% of those ads are what she would call partisan ads. But because of the legislative changes made by the Liberal government, the Auditor General now has no choice but to approve those partisan ads. That means public dollars are being used to promote this Liberal government and this Liberal party. This is just one of the reasons, Mr. Speaker, why the people of this province no longer trust this government. Will the government stop running partisan ads today? Yes, thank you very much. And as I noted earlier, Ontario does remain the only province in Canada that actually has rules around government advertising. So that, in fact, when we look at government advertising, we have a definition of partisan advertising, which says that you can't advertise a party. You can't have political figures from Cabinet in the ads that, in fact, there are very tight rules about what is and is not allowed. But people keep referring back to we should go back to the old legislation. And quite frankly, the things people are concerned about actually would have been perfectly acceptable under the old legislation. Let me remind you what the old legislation said. It said that it was okay to inform people about government programs, policies and services. Thank you. Supplementary. Again, to the acting Premier, I do not understand, nor do the people of this province understand how you can justify defending this program. It is indefensible. Public advertising should serve the public good, not help a desperate government hold onto seats. It wasn't just that the Premier was using public dollars to promote their hydro scheme, or ads for programs that didn't actually exist, but they actually used public dollars to try and target opposition MPPs. Ontarians have every reason to feel letdown by this Premier and by this government. Will the acting Premier stop these advertising campaigns today, or is she going to keep using public dollars for partisan liberal ads? As I say, by the old standards which they claim are the correct standards, it was informed people about government programs, policies and services. That's exactly what the fair hydro ads did. Or it was okay if you were talking about changing social behavior and the public interest. Who would you help? Exactly that. Climate change, informing people about the reality of climate change. Exactly about talking to people about social policy. These ads are exactly on target under the old rules and the new rules. You know what, Speaker? I've heard lots of complaints from members opposite about how we don't spend enough money advertising in small-town media. We do advertise in small-town media and what do they do? They complain. Thank you. New question? The member from Scarborough Agent Court. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. Speaker, diversity has always been one of Ontario's greatest asset in my writing on Scarborough Agent Court. This diversity makes a stronger and more successful province. I'm pleased to learn that last year our province welcomed over 110,000 newcomers, including the many thousands of Syrians refugees living in my writing of Scarborough Agent Court. We need to ensure all our newcomers are successful in this province. Speaker, it is vitally important that we work with our federal partners to ensure our immigration system is working effectively to keep this province prosperous. It is my understanding that our province has without a formal agreement with our federal partners since the last agreement expired in 2011. Speaker, through you to the Minister, can she please inform the House how her ministry is working with the federal government to ensure our shared goals of harnessing contribution make our process. Thank you, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to thank the member from Scarborough Agent Court for her question and her continuous interest towards immigrant communities. Ontario's relationship with the federal government continues to grow and improve. On November 24th, I welcomed here at the legislature Federal Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Hon. Ahmed Hussain to officially sign the Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement. The Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement, or COIA, sets a new path of cooperation between our province and the federal government, which will allow us to effectively lead and manage immigration policy and to welcome newcomers. The agreement includes commitments to bilateral collaboration and selection policy, as well as increasing and improving economic immigration. Mr. Speaker, COIA will help Canada and Ontario fulfill our shared goals of maximizing the contributions immigrants make to the economic and social and cultural life of our country. Thank you. Supplementary. Thank you to the Minister for Marie Stong. It is encouraging to hear that we are more doing more collaboration with our federal partners. Speaker, Statistics Canada's projection shows that immigration will continue to be the key driver of population growth in our country in the coming decades. And I am sure the Minister would agree with me that immigration is especially crucial to Ontario's future to mitigate the impact of aging population. In my writing, Mr. Speaker, alone, 21 percent of my constituents are seniors to address the labour shortages and to continue to draw the benefit of diversity. Mr. Speaker, the immigration is essential to ensure a stable and consistent population to balance the need of a labour market and to keep our economy moving in the right direction. Speaker, through you to the Minister, can she please inform the House that steps are taken to specific aspects of immigration in the province and ensure fairness and opportunity for all. Thank you. Thank you. And once again, I would like to thank the member for her question. Mr. Speaker, our ministry has been working closely with the federal government and in the months ahead, additional annexes to Coya will be signed to formalize federal and provincial coordination and French-speaking immigrants, international students, and the role of municipal governments as partners in immigration. Coya will also help Canada and Ontario share information and data more effectively to inform policy as well as program planning and evaluation. Also announced that the signing was a commitment from the federal government to provide $21 million over the next three years to Ontario's bridge training program to go along with approximately $70 million from the province. This investment will help reduce the barriers that skilled immigrants face when seeking employment in this field. By working together, we help Ontario's communities become more inclusive and stronger. Thank you. Good question. The member from Kitchener, Conestoga. Thank you, Speaker. We all agree that those impaired, whether from alcohol or drugs, should not be driving. Sorry, Minister of Transportation. Thank you. They shouldn't be driving, period. And so we wonder why in Bill 174, the Liberal government's time-allocated response to federal cannabis legislation, it fails to ensure approved drug screening testing for all drivers. Speaker, a regular G-driver suspected of alcohol impairment would be compelled to take a breathalyzer. But if they're suspected of drug impairment, they're not compelled to take a swab saliva test. Will the minister tell us why his government is failing to ensure proper testing for all drivers with cannabis legislation around the corner? Thank you, Minister of Transportation. Thanks very much, Speaker. I thank the member for his question. I've said this many times in this legislature and elsewhere. The safety of the traveling public is the Ministry of Transportation's number one priority. It's why we've introduced in past legislation on a number of important initiatives relating to road safety over the last three, three and a half years, Speaker. A number of months ago, the Premier, myself and other members of the government side, I did announce that we are moving forward with proposals that are embedded in legislation that's currently under consideration in the legislature that would help Ontario's traveling public transition safely to the new reality that will exist here in this province and right across this country post-July 1, 2018, when cannabis is in fact legalized, Speaker. In that legislation, as the member knows, there are measures that will help particular sets of drivers, all drivers generally speaking, but particular sets of drivers, novice drivers, commercial drivers, young drivers. There's a zero-tolerance standard that will be set. And, Speaker, the question about the technology that needs to be available to help us get right over that final hurdle is something that the federal government is focused on, both that and I'll follow up on the supplementary question. Thank you. Supplementary. Actually, not all drivers, in fact. Other jurisdictions understand the importance of approved fluid screening for drug impairment. New Brunswick ensures all drivers to take the screening, but Ontario limits the testing for young, novice and commercial drivers only, while the rest of the driving population is subject to just the roadside sobriety test. As community members meet today to consider what little input the Liberal government has allowed on their Omna Cannabis Bill, we will be putting forward an amendment to mandate oral screening for all suspected drug-impaired drivers. Mad Canada has written in support, and I'll read their quote. The current restriction of using the oral fluid screening devices for only novice and commercial drivers is a major policy flaw and will greatly restrict police officer's ability to apprehend drug-impaired drivers. Mad Canada gets it. New Brunswick gets it. Will the minister join us later today and support our amendment to keep our road safe here in Ontario? Speaker, I think the only person in this exchange who doesn't get it is the member who's asking the question. There is nothing in our legislation or in the Highway Traffic Act that prevents law enforcement from pulling any particular driver. Regardless of what the impairment might be, alcohol, drugs, or anything else, distraction, there's nothing in the Highway Traffic Act that prevents law enforcement from taking that driver off the road. There are a number of measures already contained in the act, some of which were passed in Bill 31 in this House a number of months ago. In the case of novice and commercial and young drivers, it's a zero-tolerance standard that's being applied, but that does not mean that non-novice, non-commercial, and non-young drivers can in fact drive impaired. We're working with the federal government on what the appropriate level of impairment will be and what the ultimate technology will be that's used at the roadside. We've announced that previously. Having said that, I do look forward to having a conversation with the member and this legislation will continue to navigate through the legislature as it certainly should. Thanks very much, Speaker. Thank you. The members from Sarnia-Lampton on a point of order. Point of order, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to introduce Mr. Blake Morrison, a teacher at St. Patrick's Catholic High School in Sarnia, with a number of students, I think 46 in total, from grades 10, 11, and 12, from my writing of Sarnia-Lampton. And like everybody, welcome. The Minister of Environment and Climate Change on a point of order. Well, thank you, Speaker. I just want to correct my record. Our climate change plan will reduce emissions three times more than the conservative plan and cost half as much. Thank you. Minister of Education, point of order. Thank you, Speaker. I'm very pleased to welcome two schools from my writing of Scarborough-Gildard, who are visiting Queen's Park today, St. Thomas More Catholic Elementary School, as well as Maplewood High School. Thank you. Members from Sault Ste. Marie on a point of order. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just wish to correct my record. Yesterday I made a statement with respect to pet scanners and I stated that there were between Northern Ontario and North Eastern Ontario there were no pet scanners. I meant to say between Sault Ste. Marie and North Eastern Ontario there were no pet scanners. Thank you. And if in fact somebody required a pet scan, they would have to travel to the GTA. Thank you. Thank you. Member from England to Marks. I'd like to welcome my good friend and guest, a real mensch from the writing and the king of Lakewood, New Jersey, is Rabbi Laser Neiman. Welcome. He's getting ready for Hanukkah. First day of Hanukkah is Tuesday. Don't forget, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. There are being no deferred votes. This house stands recess until 1 p.m. this afternoon.