 It is now time for a question period, the member for Whitby Oshawa. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Premier. Premier, just one week ago we heard some damning testimony from the Ontario Power Authority's CEO Colin Anderson. In his testimony he stated that everyone knew, including you, that the cost to council the Oakville Power Plan was far higher than the $40 million that your Liberal government claimed. Premier, unlike the NDP, we're here to hold you accountable with respect to these decisions. Premier, when did you know that the cost was far higher than $40 million, and will you finally apologise to taxpayers for not letting them know what you knew when you knew it? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I did appear before the committee for an hour and a half. I answered all of the questions. I said that I was going to do that. I followed through, Mr. Speaker. I have done everything in my power to make sure that all the information, all the documents were available and that the committee had the scope to be able to ask the questions that it needed to ask. Mr. Speaker, I want to be very clear that I take full responsibility now for putting in place a plan that will improve the siting of large energy infrastructure in the future. We made an announcement yesterday, Mr. Speaker. We are going to work to develop a new regional energy planning process. There will be the components of strong public consultation, formal municipal input, a better decision-making process. That's what we need to take from this exercise, Mr. Speaker. Well, Premier, over the past few days you've been asked on multiple television and radio shows to apologise for spending more than $600 million to cancel gas plants. You were even pushed by Matt Galloway on Metro Morning to apologise. You refused. Premier, hardworking Ontarians deserve accountability. They deserve to know that every one of their tax dollars is treated with respect and not indifference. We won't be sidetracked by a couple of splashly expenditures. We will do what the people of Ontario have elected us to do, and that is to hold you accountable. Premier, as leader of the province, don't you owe taxpayers an apology? Or will you continue to put party ahead of province? I absolutely respect the role of the opposition and its responsibility to push government and to ask difficult questions and to force open difficult issues. But, Mr. Speaker, I have not been resistant to that. I have opened up the process. I have been very open and transparent about making sure that all documentation will be available, Mr. Speaker, by making sure that there was a process in place. Remember, Mr. Speaker, we suggested that the Justice Committee be broadened so that all questions could be asked. I have said repeatedly that I regret that the decisions were not made differently. I regret that the upfront process was not better and that those gas plants were located and that the decision was made to locate them in that place in the first place. So, we need a better process going forward. Thank you. Well, Premier, it's pretty clear that you don't really think you owe us anything on this side of the House, but I think that at the cost of $600 million— Madam House Leader, come to order. —deserve an apology from you. They've paid enough for it. You are the leader of the Liberal Party. You're also the leader of this province. Isn't it time to act with leadership and take ownership of this decision? Premier, you've been asked in committee. You've been asked in this House multiple times, but still you continue to dodge the question. So, I'm going to ask you, and Ontarians deserve an answer to this. Will you finally apologize to the taxpayers of Ontario for the $600 million that you spent to save a few Liberal seats? Very much, Mr. Speaker. Well, I think I'm in something very important when she raised the issue of ownership. I have taken ownership of this issue, Mr. Speaker. I have said clearly that our government made a decision that was agreed to by all of the parties, but we took the responsibility to implement that decision. Your timing was awful, the member from Northumberland come to order, just as I got it quiet. So, that's timing. Everyone else just kind of bring it down. Premier. Take responsibility for a process that was not right, Mr. Speaker. I take responsibility for putting in place a new process. I regret that the process was what it was. I wish that we had not been in this situation, but, Mr. Speaker, my responsibility is to the people of Ontario. The opposition has a role in forcing open those issues, and we've been working with them. We're going to develop a new regional energy policy, Mr. Speaker. Strong public consultation, formal municipal input, better decision making, the right location at the beginning, Mr. Speaker. OPA and IES soldier report. Thank you. New question, the member from Nipissing. My question this morning is for the Premier. Premier Dalton McGinty followed the same dodge-and-weave approach at the Justice Committee this morning in an attempt to do what he's out of his gun, and that is to put the Liberal Party's interests ahead of the interests of the people. He failed to be forthright to the same question that you, Premier, failed to answer 32 times last week. When did you know that the Oakville Gas Plant Cancellation was more than $40 million? We have sworn testimony from several witnesses, including Colin Anderson of the Ontario Power Authority, who swore everybody in the government knew it was more than $40 million. Premier, you had eight cabinet interactions with these gas plant deals. We know you know the answer. When did you know the Oakville Gas Plant Cancellation cost was more than $40 million? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I know that the government house leader is going to want to speak to the details of the committee interaction today, but I will just say, Mr. Speaker, I answered the questions that I was asked, Mr. Speaker. I was there for an hour and a half and I answered every question that was asked of me, Mr. Speaker. I told the members of the committee what I know and thereby doing the people of Ontario know what I knew and when I knew it, Mr. Speaker. And I have been clear that what we need to do now is we need to make sure that this doesn't happen again, that we have a better process going forward for locating and citing these large infrastructure projects, Mr. Speaker. That's what the process is about. That is the process that we are developing regional energy plans, Mr. Speaker. And that is why the IESO and the OPA will report by August 1st on that new process that will have strong municipal input and a strong consultative component, Mr. Speaker. Just a reminder before you ask for supplementary, I remind all members that any member in this house is to be referred to by either their writing or their title. Supplementary. Thank you, Speaker. Well, that's not quite accurate, Premier. I asked you and the member from Nepean Carlton asked you 32 different times when you knew we still have not received that answer from you. Mr. Speaker, the environment and the government. But your predecessor told the Justice Committee this morning that he had no limit to the cost he was willing to spend to cancel these power plants. He tried to insist he didn't know anything about the costs of Oakville and Mississauga cancellations when documents showed he knew everything and, in fact, his staff actually negotiated with the Oakville proponent. The documents show there were government-instructed counteroffers over three times. Several witnesses have testified to the buckets of costs that were well-known. Premier, I ask you again, who knew the answer we got from Colin Anderson was everybody? I'll ask you. Tell us the date when you knew the Oakville cancellation was more than 40 million dollars. When did you know? I can't help but comment how amusing it is that we're having a discussion here today about various witnesses in front of the committee, including the current Premier, the former Premier. Member from Renfrew, come to order. Two former ministers of energy, Mr. Speaker, that have come forward. And yet, Mr. Speaker, we still await to hear from the Progressive Conservative Party. We await the testimony of the... This is getting ridiculous. I'm getting heckling from the person on the side who's giving the answer. So please, control yourselves. And the same thing on the other side. Carry on. Mr. Speaker, we're awaiting to hear from the leader of the opposition about his costing, about his analysis. And I'll ask the member from Stormont to come to order. You got me up. That means something. Carry on. Mr. Speaker, we want to hear from the leader of the opposition about his analysis, about his costing. While he went out, started a YouTube video surrounded by adoring candidates and told people that if he was elected Premier, it would be done, done, done. Mr. Speaker, we have been forthcoming on this side. Perhaps the Honourable Member and his supplementary will talk about when the leader of the opposition and when various peace candidates will... Final supplementary. Thank you, Speaker. I'm glad you're a mused House leader. Unfortunately, the taxpayers of Ontario are not amused with your $585 million. You said these gas plant cancellations were political decisions. Basically, you and your former leader rolled the dice in order to win a majority government, trying to win those five seats which you ended up winning. Sadly, it did not give you the majority government. You're one seat shy, which is why the PC, sadly for you, luckily for the province of Ontario and the taxpayers, that's why our party and the NDP have the majority in the committees. That's why we actually have these hearings today. In 2011, Dalton McGinty was Premier and you were Vice-Chair of the campaign. You signed off on the cabinet meeting for this Oakville deal. Your government can't be trusted, Premier. Will you call our confidence motion to the floor for a vote? Let's remind everyone who Jeff Yanisic is. He was the Progressive Conservative candidate in Mississauga South, Mr. Speaker. A member from the Pean Carlton. Again, it's a timing thing, come to order. No other words said. Thank you. And on both sides. Please finish. Mr. Speaker, he sent out thousands of robocalls to the citizens of Mississauga South saying the only way to cancel the gas plan was to vote for Tim Hudak and the Progressive Conservatives. Mr. Speaker, we have called him before the committee several times and he has told the clerk to stop calling him. Let's talk about Mary Ann DeMonte Whelan who put out this brochure to thousands of people in his riding saying the only party that will stop the Sherway power plan is the Ontario P.C. Party. On October 6th, vote on terms will see she agreed to come to the committee, Mr. Speaker, in the last minute suspiciously declined and has refused to appear yet. And Mr. Speaker, I could go on. No you won't. New questions. The leader of the third party. Thank you, Speaker. My question is for the Premier. In tough times, people need to know that public dollars are being managed responsibly and well. And as we look at the budget proposed by this government the questions are more important than ever, Speaker, especially when we consider the hundreds of millions of dollars liberal spent cancelling private power deals in Oakville and Mississauga. Can the Premier tell us whether the government knew what the cost would be when cancelling those private power deals or whether they just didn't care? Thank you, Premier. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And again, I have gone before committee and I have answered the questions that were asked of me. And the reality is, Mr. Speaker, the implementation of these large infrastructure projects was going to cost, it was going to cost money. And that is, it's unfortunate and I have said I regret that, Mr. Speaker. But the reality is that every party in this house, Mr. Speaker, believed that those gas plants should not be located in those places, Mr. Speaker. So all of the candidates were campaigning in that community on cancelling those those gas plants, Mr. Speaker. So it's true. We implemented that decision. We took the responsibility to implement a decision that everyone in this house agreed to, Mr. Speaker. And it's unfortunate that there wasn't a better process in place. And our responsibility is to make sure that going forward we have a better process so we will not be in this position again. Thank you. Supplementary? I want to ask the Premier a question that her predecessor refused to answer this morning. Was there any limit to what the government was prepared to do again? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And I understand that the leader of the third party wants this, wants the answers to these questions, but we have provided the answers, Mr. Speaker. We made a decision that the gas plants needed to be moved over. We then had to enter into a negotiation, Mr. Speaker. And that was what was everything because it was the right decision to move those gas plants. The people in the communities made it very clear and it was politicians who decided that we would respond and that we would move those gas plants as both opposition parties agreed to, Mr. Speaker. We implemented that decision. There was a cost attached to it. We needed a better process going forward. Well, no matter how much the Premier refused this to acknowledge it, I was actually asking him a question. How much would it cost to clear up any contracts? But you know what? The government signed the contracts. They knew what was in those contracts. The government had some of the highest paid legal advice going. They knew what the cost would be. The last Premier knew what the cost was going to be high and this Premier knew as well that it was going to be high. But at every stage of the process, the Liberal government has done everything they could to hide the real cost and the details from the public who would be paying the bills. But to even go one better, Speaker, and acknowledge that this government has failed to make transparent and accountable decisions and that this needs to change for the people of Ontario. Mr. Speaker, the leader of the New Democratic Party can't have it both ways. Her candidates who are out in both Oakville and Mississauga talking about the opposition to the power plants let me quote from what was said in front of the Justice Committee like Chairman for Citizens for Clean Air. We met with all the parties and all the candidates and were given commitments by every candidate in the Oakville area that they would support cancelling the plant. He went on to say C4CA was very pleased that all parties publicly committed to stop the construction of the proposed Oakville plant. Let me tell you about Greg Rohn, coalition of homeowners for intelligent power. He told the Justice Committee, yes, the NDP they were against the plant. Mayor Hazel McCallion, Mr. Speaker, someone I wouldn't want to mess with she said and I quote the impression that was certainly given beyond a doubt I think all parties would have cancelled it. There's no question about it. Mr. Speaker, the Progressive Conservative Party, the New Democratic Party, the Liberal Party, we all had the exact same position. New question? Leader of the Third Party My next question is for the Premier Speaker. The Premier knows these are tough times. People know that their money is being people need to know rather that their money is actually being spent in a way that is responsible and that is accountable. Instead, they see the government waste half a billion dollars on gas plants in Oakville and Mississauga and watched as one Premier after another try to prevent them from seeing these costs, try to hide those costs from them. New Democrats think the budget needs because the people are tired of seeing scarce dollars spent as if it's the personal bank role of the governing party. Does the Premier understand why people deserve to see more accountability in their government? Thank you very much Mr. Speaker and I just really have to I have to disagree with the premise of the question in the sense that since I have been in this office I have done everything in my power to open up this process and to allow for the questions to be asked and answered and documentation to be available. I wrote to the AG to the Auditor General on Oakville to look at the Oakville situation he agreed to do that. I immediately called the House back Mr. Speaker we struck committees, we expanded the scope of the committee because the way the questions were being asked they were very narrow and I thought that the committee needed to be able to look at the whole situation. We offered documents from across government Mr. Speaker I appeared at the committee Mr. Speaker the committee has been meeting since February has heard from 25 witnesses I have done everything possible to open up this process and to be accountable to the people of Ontario Mr. Speaker that is my responsibility and more than that I take responsibility for a better process going forward. Supplementary Well Mr. Speaker there's one thing that the Premier misses and that's the fact that people actually want answers not just the process to get there testified at the Justice Committee the Premier who famously said and I quote on the matter of the cost Speaker it's 40 million we nailed that down but of course that wasn't even close to accurate Speaker does the Premier understand that a justifiably skeptical public wants to see a government that's accountable to them when it comes to public money yes Mr. Speaker I absolutely do understand that and I understand that and that is the reason that when I came into this office I said that the process needed to be opened up so that answers could be found Mr. Speaker and I am as frustrated as the leader of the third party that the numbers have changed and it's been very difficult in this complex issue to nail down numbers Mr. Speaker but at the same time I don't think that the people of Ontario would want us not to talk about how to move forward how to put a better process in place how to make sure that we get a budget pass Mr. Speaker that actually will deal with some of the things that are affecting their everyday lives making sure that youth unemployment strategy is in place Mr. Speaker making sure that we are going to be able to invest in the roads and bridges in their communities so companies will come to their communities Mr. Speaker making sure that we're putting the business supports in place so manufacturing can flourish and that we can have some of the issues many of the issues the leader of the third party has raised are addressed in our budget and I hope she will work with us. Well there's one thing that the premier fails to recognize Speaker and that is people want their government to treat them with respect and their money with prudence and waste half a billion dollars on gas plants just to put a few liberal party members first they expect their government to be able so that we can afford to put families first Speaker not liberals but instead they see a government who barely paid lip service to closing brand new tax loopholes that will cost Ontarians 1.3 billion dollars not just once but every single year will the premier admit that her budget fails badly short on accountability and transparency. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker well you know I really believe that the people of Mississauga and Oakville deserve to have a voice in this and I know that there have been voices raised on this they were very concerned about the location of those gas plants Mr. Speaker and their representatives raised those issues over and over again Mr. Speaker and made it clear that it was not a good idea for those gas plants to be located there which is why candidates from all three parties were campaigning and saying that all three parties were committed to relocating those gas plants Mr. Speaker so I have the deepest of respect for the people of Ontario and I have the deepest of respect for the people who live in all of the communities in Ontario Mr. Speaker that's why we acted on the promise that had been made by all three parties that's why we've written a budget that focuses on getting people jobs and helping them in their everyday lives Mr. Speaker and I hope the third party will work with us on that and we're talking to members from the European Parliament. This morning Dalton McGinty appeared before committee and said I withdraw. Thank you. Old habit. The member from Ottawa South testified at committee and said it was quote unquote the right thing to do to cancel those power plants in the middle of an election. You admitted last week that it was a political decision so we can only conclude it was a right thing to do politically and he also refused to acknowledge how much was too much in order to cancel those power plants and save those seats. We don't know a billion, two billion, three billion he wouldn't say speaker. We also know that Carol Jamison that sorry Shelly Jamison Joanne Butler, Colin Anderson David Livingston and David Lindsay all said that you needed an outset how much this was. Are you refusing to tell the assembly what you knew when you knew it because of those costs? Because you're afraid and you will be Thank you very much Mr. Speaker I went before committee I told the committee what I know I know that the government house leader is going to want to speak to the details of the committee actions but Mr. Speaker I'm not afraid I was not afraid to go to committee I was not afraid to say what I knew Mr. Speaker and I believe categorically that the decision that was made was in the best interest of the people of Mississauga the people of Oakville and we needed a better process going forward Mr. Speaker on the issue of the political decision I have said quite clearly that it was a decision that was made by politicians and it was a decision that was going to be made by liberal politicians or conservative politicians or NDP politicians Mr. Speaker and that is the extent to which it was a political decision we all agree that those gas plants should be relocated Mr. Speaker we implemented that decision and I've been very open about that With respect Premier I don't want to hear from the government house leader you own this you are the campaign chair for the liberal party you signed the memorandum to cabinet you are now the Premier of Ontario you knew the true cost and you have not told this assembly what that true cost is despite my colleague from Nipissing and I asking you 32 in committee asking you exactly what those other testimonies said you knew you knew from the outset it was over 40 million dollars you made this decision to save seats including the finance minister who sits beside you our question back to you minister Premier not to the government house leader are you withholding what you knew when you knew it because your caucus your cabinet and yourself would all be held in contact Premier when I resolve I'll win carry on Mr. Speaker I'm not surprised that the honourable member I'm not surprised that the honourable member doesn't want to hear from me because unfortunately I remind her of something Mr. Speaker and that is the fact that her party aggressively Mr. Speaker aggressively campaigned against those plants and said if they form government they would cancel it and Janisik they are a candidate who will not appear in front of committee put out a told Mississauga news only conservative leader Tim Houdak will cancel the eastern power gas plant slated to be built on Laurel and Avenue he tweeted Mr. Speaker and Ontario PC government will stop the plan for good Mr. Speaker he was involved in sending out thousands and thousands of robo calls as he toured the site and said if he became Premier it would be done, done, done. Do you see it please? Do you see it please? You'll be surprised. New question. The member from Toronto, Danforth. Thank you Speaker. To the Premier, Premier real leadership means asking tough questions, being accountable. Why didn't the Premier ever ask her predecessor how much it cost to cancel the Oakville and Mississauga gas plants when she was on the campaign as co-chair when she was signing cabinet documents or when she became Premier. Premier? Thank you very much Mr. Speaker and I think that you know I think that is a legitimate and a good question. The reality is Mr. Speaker that there were negotiations that went on and and it it was a confidential negotiation it was a business process Mr. Speaker and as we have seen there were not firm numbers available Mr. Speaker and we relied on the information that was given to us by that through the Ministry of Energy that came to them through the OPA Mr. Speaker that is the reality that is what I said at committee because that is the truth Mr. Speaker and we dealt with the numbers that that were given us. I think what's extremely important Mr. Speaker is we put in place a better process going forward we're proposing an improved regional planning process that would lead to a better a better placement of these large pieces of energy infrastructure going forward Mr. Speaker. Thank you supplementary. Speaker the liberal scandal over the cancellation of the gas plants caused the last Premier to lose his job along with that of the Minister of Energy. Ontarians expect accountability yet the former and current Premier's both say they never talked about costs no matter that she was the co-chair of the election committee the liberal campaign she signed cabinet documents authorizing expenditure of funds or when she was appointed Premier ignoring these problems doesn't mean they're going to go away is that the sort of leadership we should expect. Minister of Energy Minister of Energy. Mr. Speaker the question of the establishing costs has been a challenge from the beginning I think everyone would agree with that Mr. Speaker the important point here the important date is September 12th 2012 and September 12th September 24th 2012 the OPA filed a 216 page contract which set out the sunk costs and it set out formula in terms of calculating the cost. Mr. Speaker it's important to know that a couple of weeks ago when the CEO of the Ontario power authority was here before committee he came with two different costs and he also had provided a third different cost two or three weeks earlier Mr. Speaker and the opposition in that particular committee had a fourth cost. Thank you. We had the honour general look. Thank you. New question. The member from Mississaug, East Crossfield. Thank you Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Infrastructure and Transportation. Speaker as we all know our government tabled a budget last week a budget that's a roadmap to not just a prosperous Ontario but also a fair Ontario. I have to tell you this that I actually looked up the titles of the past 17 budgets and never does the word. That's enough. I was just mentioning that I actually took the trouble to look at the titles of the last 17 budgets and this is the first time the word fair or a word like fair pops up a testimony to the values of this premier and this government and I'm very proud to be part of that. Coming back to the question as a speaker I know that the budget question a lot about our transit and I just wanted the minister to speak. It's particular. I guess you asked for it. The member from Northumberland, Quinty-West is warned. Carry on. Minister if you could speak to the particulars of the transit plan in this budget. Thank you. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. We are right now increasing our investments in transit over the next three years Mr. Speaker. We are starting this year with $3.5 billion next year it grows to $4 billion and just over $4 billion in 2015, 2016 Mr. Speaker. We're doing this for a very good reason because Ontarians need to get to work, they need to get home, young people need to get to jobs and transit is critical for that. So we see a Mr. Speaker. $4 billion going into the brand new beautiful subway cars operating in downtown Toronto. $600 million on Ottawa's LRT a really remarkable investment. In Kishore Waterloo Mr. Speaker we have $300 million in that community. That's remarkable RRT plus 870. The test was put and I'm putting it. The member from Northumberland, Quinty-West is named. If you guys haven't got the idea that I'm not happy right now you better get it. Finish your answer please. Thank you Mr. Speaker. We have $870 million right now in a trust on the move Ontario Trust which is building the largest expansion of our subway system in decades Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker this is resulting in 30,000 jobs for Ontarians across the province which is a remarkable investment and a great return on investment in transit. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Thank you Minister for that update on transit. I know that the constituents of Mississauga East Cooksville will be very pleased to hear about our continued commitment to transit but the reality minister is that if you live in Mississauga not everybody can take transit. A lot of my constituents do take the highway so I also wanted to get an update on what this government and what our infrastructure plan has in store when it comes to our highways. Thank you Minister. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. The member who's been such a great advocate for transit and transportation investment is quite right Mr. Speaker and there are synergies between the two so we are adding 16,000 new parking spaces on our go line so if you're on your way into town and you're in traffic you can jump onto a go service as well but specifically on highways Mr. Speaker we are widening key sections of highway 401 of the GTAHA and highway 417 in Ottawa. Highways 11 and 17 between Thunder Bay and Nippagon Mr. Speaker and the rather remarkable Herb Gray Parkway getting ready for the new bridge crossing in Windsor which is critical to trade development Mr. Speaker. We have improvements to highway 17 in Renfrew County 401 Mr. Speaker in Northumberland County and highway 66 in Northeastern Ontario. Finally Mr. Speaker we have the expanded extension of highway 427 to Major McKenzie in York Reasons and new HOV lanes Mr. Speaker on sections of highway 401 404 and 4010 427. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Premier. Last week in the Justice Committee you refused to answer the question as to when you knew that the cancellation of the Oakfield gas plant would be exceeding 40 million dollars. In fact you refused to answer that question no less than 32 times. This in spite of the fact that seven witnesses including the OPA CEO Colin Anderson testified on the road that you and all of your cabinet knew all along that the cost would exceed 40 million. A recent poll found that a large majority of Ontarians believe that your government has not been truthful about the cost of the Oakfield plant cancellation relocation that you've provided to the public. Premier your credibility is in tatters. There's only one thing left to do. Call our want of confidence motion so that this assembly can decide on your faith. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker and as I said many times I went to committee I answered the questions that were put to me I told the committee everything that I knew and that is that is part of my attempt to be as open as possible Mr. Speaker and to provide the answers and to provide the documentation that was being asked for. But Mr. Speaker in terms of the confidence motion you know we have a very large confidence issue before this house right now and that is the budget Mr. Speaker and the budget speaks to the need to address issues that affect people's everyday lives it speaks to the need to put in place the conditions to create jobs to work with business Mr. Speaker to make sure that that young people have an opportunity to have a placement or a co-op or an internship Mr. Speaker so that they can have an opportunity to get into the workplace because youth unemployment is an issue that we need to deal with those are the things that I believe we need to be dealing with right now Mr. Speaker I hope the member opposite is going to read the budget and that he may consider supporting us I hardly think a budget co-written by you and the NDP is a confidence issue premium the obstructionist tactics by you and your liberal party are now well established your former staff have shown to have selective memory your government denies unequivocal evidence contained in released documents your government claims that sworn testimony by witnesses and committee is false it is clear that your government will do anything to avoid coming clean and allowing the truth to get out you're afraid to face the truth I don't know how any member of this house can prop up this government in good conscience I ask you again premium will you today call on this assembly to debate our want want of confidence motion so this issue can be dealt with once and for all please be seated please thank you premier theater woman how she feels sir speaker afraid to face the truth this is the preserve energy come to her she became took over the office asked the auditor general look into the matter offered a select committee which they rejected mr. speaker she offered a complete document search across government they rejected it mr speaker if we want to talk about the truth mr. speaker let's talk about jeff yannisic where is he mr. speaker why will he not appear in front of the committee let's talk about mary and demonte well and why will she not appear in front of the committee and talk about her brochure that said the only party that will stop the sureway power plant is the ontario pc party and what about the leader of the progressive conservatives mr. speaker who keeps saying he may show up a committee maybe the seventh but no maybe the 14th if it's his schedule mr. speaker when the premier was there and the leader of the opposition should offer the same respect to this legislature and to this committee thank you speaker question for the minister of health and long-term care the company that contracted the outsourcing of the diluted chemo drugs their testimony was in start contrast to that of marquisee the supplier of the diluted chemo drugs but to ontario's patient all they see is a lot of finger pointing but none of the accountability none of the oversight that they know is needed will the minister admit that her office stood back and did nothing while oversight of our health care system vanished thank you minister also long-term speaker i completely reject that notion i can tell you that we have one of the finest cancer care systems in the world the member opposite has acknowledged that we have an excellent cancer care system with very strong oversight but it we have learned that it was not perfect we have learned that there are steps that need to be taken and that are being taken to be able to give the assurance to patients that when when their doctor orders a drug they get exactly that drug in exactly the concentration that was ordered speaker that work is going is ongoing as we speak we aren't wasting time we're moving forward fixing that issue speaker we're also looking forward to the uh uh committee report and the report of dr jake teeson who is looking at the safety of the entire cancer drugs answer thank you supplementary thank you mr speaker well the minister has done nothing while outsourcing grew and with it the risk of errors i asked met by yesterday what had they done to mitigate that risk that higher level of risk their answer was really clear nothing it's not their job it's the ministry of health's job to provide oversight and accountability but the truth is they fail in their primary responsibility does the minister agree that it is time to adopt better measures of accountabilities and oversight so that ontario's patients can start to rebuild their faith and trust in our health care system speaker um you can rest assured that i am as committed to resolving this issue as anyone it is people in london in my community who have have been impacted by this other communities as well i think everyone in london either knows someone or knows someone who knows someone who was impacted by this we must pay attention we must make the changes that will strengthen our system further and that's exactly the work that dr jake teeson is doing right now thank you mr speaker my questions for the minister of tourism culture and sports ontario has emerged as the largest live music market in both canada and north america it is a business that generates 455 million dollars in revenues and contributes 252 million dollars annually to the national economy great question to ensure that we truly become a world leader constituents in my writing of scarring where asian court have asked what is the government doing to coordinate live music marketing and promotions plan they want to know how ontario existing resources and creating opportunities to promote music while utilizing online resources speakers for you to the minister what is the government doing to actively precision ontario as a global destination to live music and music tourism thank you thank you thank you thank you for the question i want to thank the member from scarborough agent god for asking speaker ontario's entertainment and creative industry support 300 000 jobs generating 20 billion dollars to our economy this is why in a recent budget we have committed providing 45 million in grants over three years starting this year for new ontario music fund speaker the fund will support ontario's live music positioning the promise as a leading member from hamilton east stony creek come to order music in addition speaker our government is providing over five million through syllabi ontario to host music festivals and events throughout the year through this funding speaker combined with our new ontario and sir we are strengthening ontario position on the map as a premier destination for live performances thank you thank you speaker this music to my ears i want to thank the minister for his leadership and ensuring that we turn up the volumes on the world stage and bringing canadian recordings to global audience there's no doubt the government's budgetary commitments will sharpen our competitive edge to make ontario a global music capital the culture sectors overall certainly plays a key role in driving an innovative creative uh economy where in ontario and it contributes more than 20 billion dollar annually to that economy i know in my writing a scarble agent called hundreds of youth perform create and seek an opportunity in the city and across ontario speaker through you to the minister what is the government doing to invest in creative talents we're so proudly processing ontario thank you minister thank you again speaker in addition to the 45 million ontario music fund speaker we will also providing eight million to support messy horse revitalization the renewal thank you the renewal of this iconic landmark will allow messy hall to continue to contribute to the growth of ontario's performing arts scene as a fully functional modern venue speaker as well our government will provide funding of nine million over three years to support the canadian film center supporting educational program for a one-stream television and new media speaker ontario cultural scene is an incubator of great talent this is why we will continue to invest and make our promise a creative heart and world class destination speaker the bottom line creating jobs and strength funding our economy thank you thank you the premier premier within 72 hours of releasing your big spending job killing budget two major manufacturing companies shut down their ontario plants waterloo furniture and kitchener is relocating to michigan and putting more than 230 people out of work while heavy equipment giant counterpillar is closing yet another ontario factory this time in tronnell and throwing in an additional 330 workers out of a job it is clear that ontario's manufacturing sector no longer has confidence in the maginti win whorebath government that's right premier will you explain how this house can have confidence in your government when your lack of leadership is driving away business and causing us ontario thank you mr speaker and uh of course it is uh truly unfortunate and very upsetting to hear whenever a company chooses to close or relocate its its business and we're obviously very concerned about the well-being of the workers and their families and are working hard with them not only my ministry but the ministry of training colleges universities in fact we have through our rapid re-employment and training services within an hour of us being notified one hour of being notified by of a plant or facility closure training colleges universities actually reaches out to the employer as well as to the union they've done so in both cases both here in toronto with caterpillar and and in with with nape and void in in kitchener and in the supplementary because i i don't want the viewers let alone the opposition to not be aware of what the important thing we're doing i'll speak to that supplementary thank you speaker and back to the premier but what is sad is reality that is facing of the province of ontario and that is that we have nearly 600 000 men and women out of work in an unemployment rate of seven point seven percent even worse ontario's unemployment rate has been above the national average for 75 consecutive months with ontario's interest rise over 14.5 billion dollars per year it is no properties while i was telling him to come to order he was still barking so the member from eglinton lorence come to order carry on and hamilton he's don't need your help on that one uh premier with ontario's interest rates set to rise to over 14 and a half billion dollars per year it is no wonder that manufacturing companies are fleeing from ontario's huge debt layers of red tape and liberal gas plant scandals premier when do you admit that you and your government are not equipped to address the jobs and debt crisis in this province and in fact no longer hold the confidence of this house well mr speaker i still can't understand why the member opposite continues to beat down our businesses and manufacturers across this province and since it's the bottom of the recession mr speaker we've created nearly 400 000 new jobs we brought back all of the jobs that were lost and then 50 more including 50 000 just last year in fact in the auto sector just last month they had the best april since 2008 manufacturing in february has gone up as well across the country led by ontario in fact it was four times in february the consensus estimate and most of that actually has been through production so we're working hard i hope the member opposite sees in the budget and will support it the efforts that we're making 295 million for youth employment we've continued for an additional three years the accelerated capital cost allowance which is the very well received factor has estimated 250 million dollars and increased the threshold for the employer health tax these are the measures that our experience want that support our businesses thank you mr speaker and my my question is to the premier premier's race tracks across ontario closed down and thousands of related jobs are lost in rural ontario this government is trying to reshuffle the decks and devise a special casino hosting deal for toronto now the dug forward booster club to the extreme right of me are evidently big fans of downtown doug's toronto casino plant i want to know if you are too well the premier finally show her cards on the new casino formula and come clean on uterians about how much she's anteeing up to convince toronto to host a downtown casino so mr speaker let me be clear yet again we are treating the entire province equally we're not making a special deal for toronto or any other region we recognize the importance of the olg we all appreciate the transformational changes necessary to accommodate better value for these investments and we also know that it that there's a lot of money at stake to support hospitals and education in our social programs so we will continue to do what's right for the people of ontario and we're not giving any special favors to any region speaker rural ontario is being dealt a massive blow with the decision to cancel the slots at racetrack program thousands of jobs are being lost across the province due to the cancellation and thousands more will be lost in the near future premier this isn't penny p knuckle and grandma's parlor ontarians have a right to know if their governments play a backroom deal for big states why is this premier seriously is there any doubt that i have to mention that i could go again please finish thank you speaker why is this premier seriously considering a hosting option favoring toronto over all other communities mr speaker the whole premise around the transformational change of the olg is in fact to secure more jobs support the industry and support those communities that are affected what we want is to resolve and actually further the situation in those border towns that are being affected negatively at this point so i thought and i would believe that all members of the house would support the initiatives that we're doing to try to protect those communities and to ensure that people who are affected are better served and we will continue to do that but no region is going to have a special deal mr speaker no region at all thank you speaker i've got a question this morning for the minister of child and youth services we're all aware in this house that this is child and youth mental health week across the country today almost one in five children suffer from a mental health illness approximately 70 percent of all mental health illnesses begin in childhood we're all aware of the importance of providing our children and youth with the right supports when it comes to their mental health in my own community of oakville this is a concern i hear often from my constituents so speaker would the minister please tell us in the house what we are doing in this year's budget to ensure that the mental health specifically of ontario's children and youth is being looked after minister i am i'm waiting i hope you're bringing up this very important issue today especially this week later today i will be delivering a statement on how mental health issues affect our families and communities and also how this government has made providing the right support a top priority i'm extremely proud that in this year's budget funding for the comprehensive mental health and addiction strategy is increasing to 93 million dollars and this budget investment is necessary to give young people the essential supports they need the investment in this budget will help to deliver services when and where children and youth need them thank you supplementary thank you speaker and thank you to the minister for that answer i'm glad to hear this government's made a strong commitment in this budget to the mental health and children of youth in ontario because it's sorely needed i know that in my community of oakville frontline mental health services and programs that are available to young people can make a huge difference in their daily lives those services that are in able to engage youth can make a big impact in the path that they decide to take and on the road to their recovery so helping young people realize they're not alone can with can literally in this case mean the difference between life and death the question is speaker what is the government doing to ensure that more frontline services will be available to all of ontario's youth that's your children and youth services thank you speaker our government has has made progress in our mental health and addiction strategy in the last year my ministry has made significant investments to ensure that all children and youth have timely access to frontline services 456 new mental health workers were placed in communities across the province to go along with 144 new mental health nurses in schools some of these centers that provide the services i have worked to their to these workers these services work and are needed in our schools as well my ministry is hiring 80 new aboriginal mental health and addiction workers for high needs aboriginal communities our investments will help over 35 000 young people across the province we are proud of these achievements and through this year's budget we will continue to move forward your question is for the minister of economic development trades and employment minister i hope you're aware of the dire problems facing marinas and other small businesses in georgian bay because of declining water levels in the upper great lakes marinas and other businesses have had to spend tens of millions of dollars of their own money dredging the bay in order to be open for this summer season sturgeon point marina in mesaga beach for example has spent 130 000 dollars on dredging and has an annual additional business loss of 20 000 dollars because of the low water levels without the dredging hundreds of people will be without work and the tourism industry will suffer minister with your responsibilities and economic development and employment how will you assist these marinas and other small businesses thank you minister of economic development training and employment natural resources natural resources thank you i want to thank the member opposite for the question obviously this is an issue that's top of mind for all of us in the province as you're aware the ijc has recently released a report with respect to the changing water levels and the challenges that we're facing you know and there are a number of factors causing this and there are obviously some effects that individuals and businesses are facing in the georgian bay area i will tell you that this friday i will be with the premier number of other ministers at the phenom conference i know we'll be hearing firsthand about those particular challenges and at the ministry of natural resources we're going to do everything we can to accelerate the dredging permits that are going to be requested because we know that there's a there's a finite period of time that this needs to be done in to ensure that these businesses can operate i'd like the minister of economic development to actually answer this because it's a jobs creation a question minister the low water levels on georgian bay have become a natural disaster that could possibly impact thousands of tourism jobs marinas have had to spend millions of dollars dollars that they do not have just to open for this season clearly we have seen millions of dollars spent by your government on power plant closures and a dysfunctional regional tourism organization georgian bay marinas and other businesses need your help so these jobs these jobs can be saved real jobs the state of michigan has a program and the checks are being sent out when can interior marinas expect the same treatment as the pit as marinas in in michigan again speaker i want to thank the members opposite for raising this very very important issue and on this side of the house we're also very concerned about the low water levels and the potential negative impact that is having in our communities and with respect to our businesses and our industries the minister of tourism i know has spoken to me about this issue minister of municipal affairs is also very concerned about this we are going to be in the area for the phenomenon conference this week and i'm happy to engage with those individuals bringing that to our attention i have had some conversation with individuals and organizations with respect to dredging and ensuring that they have the opportunity to get their tourist operations moving so that those businesses can put people to work we are very concerned about that we're going to do everything we can to ensure that process takes place uh a factory and that those businesses can get the support that they need thank you speaker my question is to the minister of municipal affairs and housing speaker yesterday i met with constituents of davinport who are paying the price for a gaping loophole in ontario's rent control law like tens of thousands of other tenants across ontario these people live in rental units built after 1991 which means they are not covered by rent increased guidelines in the residential tenancies act as a result these tenants face large and often arbitrary rent increases they're simply not affordable speaker will the minister commit to close this outdated loophole which exempts these rental units from rent control thank you minister of municipal affairs and housing thank you speaker and i really want to thank the member for the question this is certainly an important issue in our government has consistently shown commitment to protecting tenants across ontario the residential tenancies act from 2006 provides tenants and landlords with strong balance protection while fostering a robust rental housing market though rental buildings built or first occupied under uh after november 1991 our exempt from most rent caps under the tenancy residential tenancy act these tenants are not without protection we understand how important stability in the rental prices are for tenants that's why the rental tenancy act still only allows for one increase per year requiring a 90 day written notice to tenants of all residences uh rental residences we also established the landlord tenant board that will answer independent body that works with the authority to adjudicate disputes between landlords and tenants new supplementary speaker thank you with all of you respect that's not the issue this loophole serves no purpose it has to be closed it's created a two-tier rental market on ontario it's left almost 60 000 ontario tenant households vulnerable with no rent control tenants in ontario including many people who rent condos face uncertainty in financial hardship so when will the minister acknowledge this unfairness and protect all tenants in ontario from this loophole minister so speaker as i was saying this landlord and tenant board uh the tenant can take the landlord to court and certainly if the maintenance tenants aren't being met or if there's a if then landlord needs to make repairs we also eliminated automatic evictions allowing all tenants who face eviction an opportunity to get a fair hearing because we think that's important we think it's important to balance protection of tenants with the encouragement of building new rental opportunities certainly this uh we want to make sure that tenants have a safe and affordable housing and we know that the city of toronto is preparing a report on this issue we look forward to hearing ideas from the opposition as well as other stakeholders about making residential tenancies uh affordable and we want to work with them as well as the uh residential tenancy act we want to seek consultation of people who are affected by legislation that affects them uh in a in a negative way so i appreciate the question thank you your policy job the minister of immigration and uh citizenship on a point of order nice rosemary sadler for the ontario black history society who's in the west gallery here y'all know the fur coats this house stands recessed until three p.m. this afternoon