 is therefore now time for a question period. The Leader of Her Majesty's Royal Office. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Premier. Life is already too expensive in Ontario. Families can't afford another tax, and that's exactly what the tolls on the gardener and the DVP will be. The Premier has the ability to stop these tolls. In 2011, the Premier as Minister of Transportation did just that. She said she would not support the tolls. The Premier should follow that in 2016. Mr. Speaker, will the Premier stop the tolls on the DVP and the gardener? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. You know, the Leader of the Opposition is the Leader of a party that has a long history of not respecting municipalities, of not working with them in partnership, Mr. Speaker, and of taking unilateral action against the will of municipalities. In fact, Mr. Speaker, many of us, myself included, are in this House today because of that kind of action on the part of that party. So, Mr. Speaker, it is not surprising. It is disappointing that the Leader of the Opposition hasn't learnt from those actions, but it's not surprising that the Leader of the Opposition who has no plan for building transit, for building transportation infrastructure in this province, no plan for where the funding would come from, Mr. Speaker, and doesn't really seem to care about those investments that he would be calling on us to take unilateral action against the City of Toronto, Mr. Speaker. We're not going to do that. Mr. Speaker, again to the Premier. In 2011, the Premier was happy as Minister of Transport to say no to the City of Toronto on tolls. Now, all of a sudden, the Premier is saying yes to tolls, yes to taxing our roads. Why? Well, for 13 years, the Liberal government has allowed our infrastructure to crumble. Why? Because the Liberals have wasted millions on shady contracts. Stop the clock. Okay. I'm actually not quite sure how I'm going to handle this because my voice is normally loud enough to get your attention. What I am going to ask you is, let's just keep it down at least a one notch so that I can still participate if I need to. Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have wasted millions on shady contracts and bonuses to Liberal funds, and they've wasted billions on scandals and mismanagement. And, frankly, the Auditor General's report said it was complete incompetence when it came to managing infrastructure dollars. Now, the Liberals have quietly said to the City of Toronto, because we've shortchanged you on infrastructure, we'll let you put this toll on. But the solution to their mistakes is not a tax, a tax, a tax. That doesn't work for Communers in the 416 and the 905. So my question to the Premier is, rather than making drivers in the 416 and 905 the target for your mismanagement to pay for your mistakes, do the right thing and say no. Mr. Transportation. Thanks very much. I think the most important question to be asked of the Leader of the Opposition, and the last couple of days I've rhymed off the list of all the projects that our government is investing in currently in every corner of the province speaker. I think it's only fair. My request goes both ways, and it's not helpful when members are answering the question and somebody from the same side is still hackling. So I'd like to ask all of you to keep it down. I think it's only fair for the Leader of the Opposition to be straight with the people of Ontario. And to let us know here in this legislature what project would he kill first speaker? Speaker, I think the most important question for that Leader is what project would... All right, all right, stop the clock. I'm going to be straight with you. The member from Leeds Greenville will come to order. And if I continue to hear this, we'll go to warnings. Finish, please. Speaker, would it be the extension of go trains to Niagara or Bowmanville? Would it be 15-minute two-way all-day go service speaker? Would it be LRTs in Toronto, Peel, Hamilton? Would it be BRTs in York Region or Durham Speaker? Would it be New Street Cards in Toronto Speaker? The list goes endless. I think the people of Ontario deserve an answer from that Leader. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Premier. And I know the Premier is uncomfortable in answering this. The reality is these tolls on Toronto are not going to be popular with 416 commuters or 905 drivers. It's the wrong thing for the GTA. And I know the Liberals heckle and say where are you going to get the 200 million from that these tolls would bring in. You know what, Mr. Speaker? If you weren't building upside down bridges and paving roads on managing infrastructure dollars, there is no money for infrastructure. Mr. Speaker is pretty clear. You stop liberal waste and mismanagement. You don't need liberal tolls. So Mr. Speaker, will the Premier do the right thing and stop these tolls? Minister? Thanks very much, Speaker. So it's evident from that question that that Leader of that party has no plan to invest in transportation infrastructure. And Speaker, I got to tell you, I have to tell you, Speaker, as anybody who watched that person's career in Ottawa for a decade would know, it's not a surprise to learn that there is no plan coming from that Leader. It's not a surprise, but it is disappointing. It's clear that that Leader doesn't want to own up to the fact that he would kill transportation projects in every corner of the province, Speaker. But I have a quote from another politician, from another Ontario politician, a quote given in 1996 from then-Premier Mike Harris, Speaker. And that quote said, Speaker, there will be tolls for Highway 407 when it is open. And for those who are using the road, Speaker. The member from the PN Carlton will come to order. And I am going to go to warnings, mid-sentence. We're moving to warnings. Finish, please. You did a Conservative Premier talk about tolling Highway 407. That same Conservative Premier. Member from Stormont, Dundas, the South Kling area is warned. Carry on. That same Conservative Premier, that same Leader representing that party, then sold that Highway and killed the Eglinton subway. And to this day, Speaker, those transportation decisions continue to haunt the people of this province. We won't make that mistake. We won't let that happen again. This is the time in which some of you are going to gamble with getting a warning when I'm standing. And it doesn't matter where you sit in the House. New question, the Leader of the Opposition. Speaker, my question is for the Premier. And since I can't get an answer from the Premier on upside down bridges or new tolls in Toronto, I'm going to try something different directly to the Premier on the growing skills gap in Ontario. I have heard stories from across the province from workers who don't have the necessary training from their employers and they need skilled workers desperately and they just aren't there. The Auditor General in the report said, I quote, the Ministry does not collect or... The Minister of Transportation is warned. The Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation is warned. Anyone else? Please. Mr. Speaker, the AEG said, I quote, the Ministry does not collect or analyze the necessary information on the labour force and skills demand to determine which jobs face a shortage of skilled workers. Instead, this government is preparing to set young people up for failure and no jobs. Mr. Speaker, why is this government failing our young people? Why are they not addressing the skills gap in Ontario? Thank you very much Mr. Speaker and I know that the Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Development is going to want to comment on this but let me just say a couple of things. First of all Mr. Speaker, I agree that there is more to be done in terms of linking the labour market with the labour force to make sure that young people, as they go through school, that they have a knowledge of what the available jobs are and Mr. Speaker that the jobs that are available and the employers that are looking for people have access to the institutions. That has always been the case with colleges Mr. Speaker. We are working right now to give young people more opportunities to have work experiences to make sure that they know what's available and to have those skills infused into the education system but Mr. Speaker, having said all of that, the number one reason that businesses come to this province and expand in this province and I have heard it over and over again is our highly skilled workforce. Supplementary. Mr. Speaker, again to the Premier and it's interesting that Premier would not respond or answer the concerns raised by the Auditor General and I will rephrase it again. The Auditor General says Ontario spends more than $1 billion a year on employment and training programs without proper information about where the skilled workers are needed and where they will actually be needed in the future. The government used to claim they support evidence based policy but this just seems to be photo ops in terms of what it comes to using young people but not actually delivering the skills they need. The Auditor General has made this very clear and it's one thing to thank the Auditor General, it's another thing to actually listen and act. We have a serious skill shortage in Ontario. I travel the province and I hear about employers who can't get the young people for the jobs that are available today and tomorrow. So once again to the Premier, will you actually listen to the Auditor General, will you address the skills gap rather than more of the same? Mr. Speaker, we understand that there is more to be done and to the Auditor General's report I'm not just thanking the Auditor General for the report although I do that but I recognize that there is more that needs to be done which is why we are already taking action Mr. Speaker. If you look at the jobs and the highly skilled workforce report Mr. Speaker that we have received we are already taking action like Siemens Mr. Speaker where there are pilot projects, students, young people having a work opportunity making that link between the workforce and our educational institutions that is the kind of work that is ongoing Mr. Speaker. We recognize that there is more to be done we continue to make investments to make that linkage and Mr. Speaker to provide the data and make sure that the data is available. Unlike the party that the Leader of the Opposition was part of the data Mr. Speaker. We believe that there should be continuous data on the party. Thank you. Mr. Speaker rather than an answer I got an attack on the other party what I'd actually like to appreciate is an answer for a change and so the Auditor General has pointed out we have a serious problem with youth unemployment actually where has the Liberals record in 13 years got us the unemployment rate is now hovering at 15% in training programs that only get one third of the users to full-time employment. So this is a serious question that deserves a serious answer. In 2009 the government said that youth unemployment was a post-recession hangover. Here we are in 2016 and thanks to this government we're leading Canada in youth unemployment. I'm not willing to accept that. I want action from this government to deal with the skills that our young people deserve better from this government. Will the Premier actually listen to the Auditor General? Will she address the skills mismatch? Mr. Speaker, I want to say thank you to the Leader of the Opposition for finally turning his attention to this issue because I can tell you we have been working very hard starting with the Premier's expert panel on the highly skilled workforce. If he was doing this job, he would know what we are doing. He would know that we are placing what the Stats Canada that he caught. He caught Stats Canada. Just to provide you with an example the Minister of Children and Youth Services is warned and the member from Hella Burton, Quartha Lakes, Sparock is warned. The next step is naming. Finish please. I invite the Leader of the Opposition and any member of his caucus to come in for briefing and describe exactly what we are doing. Part of what we are doing, Speaker is fixing the gap left when the federal government cuts Stats Canada, Speaker, taking away precious labour market information. We need that information. We're going to get that information. We are acting on it and I'm very serious. I invite the Leader of the Opposition to actually get informed about what's happening because it is fantastic. Thank you. New question the Leader of the Third Party. I'm going to ask the Prime Minister since last spring we've been asking the Premier to end hospital overcrowding. The auditor reported that any hospital that's filled to 85% is overcrowded. When a hospital is overcrowded it leads to more infections. That means instead of getting better going to an overcrowded hospital could actually leave you sicker. And more than half of Ontario's hospital are overcrowded. New Democrats uncovered documents in their words, I quote, the Ministry does not have standards, guidelines, policies or best practices with respect to hospital bed occupancy. Will the Premier end overcrowding in our hospitals and create a policy for occupancy? Thank you. Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. Well thank you Mr. Speaker and again I thank the auditor general for her focus on hospitals and providing us with a pathway and very solid advice in terms of how we can continue to make improvements. But Mr. Speaker she also acknowledges the substantial progress that has been made in the service delivery that is provided. In fact which is acknowledged by third party entities across this country as being among the best if not the best in the entire country. The auditor general points to the fact that 90%, approximately 90% of individuals who are emergency departments are seen and discharged within the provincial, the national target times. Of those that do require admission to hospital we are making critically important investments both to address the capacity issues, 140 million additional operating funds announced just in the last couple of weeks Mr. Speaker and I'm happy to talk more in the supplementary. Mr. Speaker Kingston general hospital has been overcrowded since 2012 and Kingston isn't alone. Ontario's auditor general has confirmed that 60% of Ontario's hospitals are overcrowded. How many people in Kingston have been treated in a hallway or ended up with an infection due to hospital overcrowding because of liberal government cuts and underfunding. Thank you Minister. Well Mr. Speaker I'm proud of the investments that we're making in Kingston in fact that we're going to announce a planning grant to expand the capacity and the ability of those hospitals on a go forward basis to provide the services that are required by those in that community. Providence as well substantial new investment a major capital investment I know the member from Barrie I think it might have been yesterday that made the announcement on the substantial completion for that hospital Mr. Speaker. So we are making incredible investments 12 billion dollars over the next 10 years so we can continue to upgrade hospital facilities that we can address capacity issues on an ongoing basis where they occur but we make those substantial investments an additional almost half a billion dollars in operating costs this year alone for hospitals. I will supplement you. Speaker London Health Sciences has been over 100% capacity for the last two and a half years the Liberal government doesn't even admit that overcrowding exists but anyone who has been to London Health Sciences has seen it firsthand and Liberal underfunding of hospitals is only going to make things worse does this Premier know how many people in London were treated in a hallway and how many got an infection because they were in an overcrowded hospital in London Well Mr. Speaker that's why London is among the hospitals London Health Sciences is among the hospitals which is receiving a substantial investment almost 3 million dollars of additional operating funds that I announced just in the last couple of weeks for London Mr. Speaker for them to address those capacity issues and that's in addition to 345 million dollars that was announced in the budget the budget that they voted against Mr. Speaker in the budget from the spring they had an additional allocation for operating funding I know that they hate it when I refer to their actions but it bears repeating that brief period of time in the 90s when they were in power they had sufficient time to close 24% of all the acute hospital beds in the entire province and they closed 13% of all the mental health beds in the province Mr. Speaker I'm not going to take my advice from that next question Mr. Speaker thank you my next question is also for the Premier yesterday I asked about Glow Juicery in Hamilton the cost of hydro means that Jesse the company's owner might have to shutter doors it's not a new it's not just new businesses Speaker that are facing this kind of crisis Southern Smoke is a restaurant in my riding they're fighting hard to keep their hydro costs down they said and I quote we did our homework on utility costs out of the water they've had to reduce staff to keep things running unless hydro bills get under control life is going to get a lot tougher for small business owners and their employees will this Premier take an important step and stop the sell off of Hydro One Minister of Economic Development and Growth Minister of Economic Development and Growth well thank you Mr. Speaker our Minister of Energy has taken a number of measures to help the very businesses the third party speaking about one of the things that the Leader of the Opposition has done is expand our industrial conservation initiative Mr. Speaker that's not only going to help thousands of new businesses save on their energy bills it'll actually provide up to a third of cost savings to those businesses in addition Mr. Speaker there's a rebate for the provincial portion of the HST that's not only going to every resident homeowner and electricity stakeholder across the province it's also going to small businesses the very small businesses that the Leader of the Third Party is talking about so we've taken measures Mr. Speaker but our Premier said that there's still more work to do and we're going to continue to work to bring down the costs of our energy for the people of this province and the small businesses after reading about Glow Juicery a local Hamilton butcher from C.E. Eliot and Sun reached out to the CBC to the CBC and Hamilton to say this quote we had an almost $4,000 hydro bill for one month this season for our small business it's devastating and quote now that's not a word you just throw around Speaker will the Premier stop devastating small businesses and stop the sell off of hydro one Mr. Speaker we recognize that small businesses have challenges from time to time and energy bills are one of those challenges that's why we've taken the measures that I talked about earlier that are going to save 8% off energy bills for every small business in this province that's a substantial savings we're going to continue to work to ensure that we do everything we can to lower the costs of power the Premier is committed to doing this to do even more but Mr. Speaker I guess what I want to ask the Leader of the Third Party is did she inform those small businesses all those that whole suite of programs that's available to help those small businesses reduce their energy costs or does she just want to play politics with this issue and ask questions so I ask her come clean did you inform those businesses of that entire suite of programs and did you also notify them that as of January 1st they'll be saving 8% off their energy bills thank you Speaker I can tell the minister that everybody in Ontario knows that the NDP finally got the Liberals to take 8% off the bills they should have never put the HSD on those bills in the first place Speaker and everybody knows it but nonetheless these are stories that you hear everywhere you go in Ontario Speaker everywhere you go small businesses are doing everything that they can to bring down their bills and stay afloat but they're watching the cost of hydro grow faster and faster and faster and hydro bills are killing jobs and hurting small businesses across Ontario and that's going to continue unless there's some serious action by this government will this Premier take that kind of action today and commit that no more of Hydro 1 will be sold off to private interests thank you let's talk about jobs in the province of Ontario let's talk about Hamilton 700 jobs year over year since this month last year let's talk about Windsor Windsor's up 11,100 jobs Mr. Speaker many of them too small businesses that are doing really well Mr. Speaker Oshawa 20,200 jobs year over year from last year Ontario as a whole since the global recession up 660,000 net new jobs our unemployment rate Mr. Speaker is at 6.3% the lowest level it's been in eight and a half years so please I ask the leader of the third party don't talk to us about jobs Mr. Speaker that's what we're doing we're creating jobs across this province we're building a stronger economy in spite of the negative rhetoric of the party opposite thank you Mr. Speaker my question is to the minister of services parents of children with autism cannot trust this government to do the right thing take the example of Lisa her daughter was cut off from IBI therapy even though the psychologist recommended she continued the minister's administrator said no to the psychologist's recommendation is the minister trying to save money by once again taking away IBI therapy from children who need it my question Mr. Chairman Mr. Speaker I want to first start by saying I recognize we have parents here who are advocates for young people with autism here in the province of Ontario and going across the province and meeting with different parents and people and having conversations I get the sense that we're heading in a great direction with first half a billion dollar new dollars going into autism here in the province of Ontario Mr. Speaker that's creating 16,000 new spaces and increasing the amount of spaces for ABA during the transition period we want to build a wait time of six months or less and increase access to early diagnosis through creation of five more regional diagnostic hubs here in the province of Ontario I think Mr. Speaker we're doing the best job when it comes to building a school that works with young people and families with autism here in Ontario sounds like you need to meet Lisa Lisa's daughter has been removed from the therapy she needs even though a psychologist said she should continue parents like Lisa want to be sure that their child needs therapy when they need it and receive it when the government removes children from life changing IBI therapy parents and this government will the minister ensure Lisa's daughter gets the therapy that you promised thank you we're building a new autism program here in the province of Ontario that really aims to build the best program not only here in Canada but right across North America since we announced the changes in June 1,866 families are signed up for the $8,000 payment 369 families have opted for receiving the $10,000 payment and Mr. Speaker it goes on and on and on collectively that's almost $20 million invested through the transition if she were able to see my eyes she would know that I'm looking right at her and we've been working with parents and groups right across the province in fact we're working with the Ontario autism coalition and I'd like to thank them for their advocacy and in fact Mr. Speaker the president of the coalition said he was quite pleased with the progress that's being made in autism all right I gave you a chance to remember from Dufferin Gallard and Ms. Warren new question the member from Hemp my question is to the premier yes I can nursery in Toronto provides programming for children with autism but those programs are in jeopardy because the government is cutting their funding your government claims this was one time funding but yes I can has been receiving this funding for the last nine years and they have built programs with the understanding that they were working towards sustainable funding but out of the blue the funding was cut will the premier restore funding to yes I can so that no child is left behind thank you Mr. Speaker as the member opposite knows I have worked very closely with yes I can over the years Mr. Speaker there is still $300,000 that flows through the City of Toronto to yes I can nursery Mr. Speaker that's ongoing funding to support the excellent program that's available at yes I can Mr. Speaker and I've also said in this house and I have said to the owner of yes I can that if she and her team are willing to sit down with the municipality Mr. Speaker and talk about all of the work towards a sustainable model we obviously would like to see that happen that hasn't happened Mr. Speaker and even in the face of that funding continues to flow the $300,000 continues to flow to yes I can there is a great program at yes I can Mr. Speaker and I hope that the owner of the nursery school would go and have that meeting with the City of Toronto and lay out the business plan so that a sustainable model could be supplementary a single mother of a daughter who has severely autistic lived in Brampton her doctor told her the best thing for her daughter was to attend yes I can in Toronto wanting the best for her child the mother moved with her two small children to an apartment in the Premier's own riding of Don Valley West so that her daughter could attend yes I can the girl is now in specialised communication classes at yes I can full time however if funding is not restored those classes could come to an end will the Premier commit to children needing autism and funding that they will make she will make children a priority and restore the funding to yes I can Thank you Associate Minister of Education for Early Learning and Child Care Associate Minister of Education Thank you Mr. Speaker and I want to thank the member opposite for this very important question and I want to point out that of course she understands that yes I can nursery provides a valuable service but I want to start out by pointing out that the party opposite actually voted against investing in child care so I find it very interesting that when it comes to talking about our investments they are here and wanting to question where we are investing and how we are investing so let me explain to you first of all how we do invest child care when it comes to investing in child care we do not invest directly instead we flow funding through municipalities we leave it up to those local service managers to make those Thank you let's come to order please Thank you finish please Thank you Mr. Speaker and I apologize I am passionate about this and I do want to point out that we actually fund yes I can nursery through the city of Toronto $300,000 that's a lot of money the funding that they got was one time transitional and the executive director knew that Thank you New question Well thank you Speaker my question today is to the Minister of Government and Consumer Services So yesterday all three parties voted unanimously to pass Bill 47 the Protecting Award Points Act Thank you of the House for fast tracking this bill important bill for consumers across Ontario reward points will no longer be able to expire based on time alone so Speaker over the past few months I have heard from many people in my constituency and across the province who are worried and they were extremely anxious and anguished about their expiring reward points they were angry about the lack of fairness about having something that they weren't taken away for them so I'd like to ask the Minister of Speaker will she inform the House about this particular piece of legislation that we're going to have and I want to thank the member from beaches east York for his question and his strong advocacy on this issue and for consumer protection as a whole congratulations simply put the people of Ontario are fully behind Bill 47 and it makes Ontario a world wild leader in rewards points protections everyone on this side of the House fair marketplace and this is why we're standing up for consumers Mr. Speaker it's unfortunate that we had to drag the PC party to begrudgingly vote for this year it reminds me on the banning of expiring date on gift card in November of 2006 when the official opposition voted against the legislation on this consumer protection initiative was an important part of Mr. Speaker the government is committed to strong consumer protection and a fair marketplace and Ontario King Town on the members of this side thank you I stand you sit that's the rule supplementary well thank you Speaker and I want to thank the Minister for that great explanation and the fantastic work that she is doing to protect consumers in the province of Ontario on this side of the House we have been standing up for consumers when you purchase a gift card and you earn your reward points you will be protected so Speaker these protections ensure that consumers have confidence in the value and the benefits that are advertised as part of a loyalty program but I've heard from so many people who have characterized this as an early holiday Christmas present Speaker can the Minister inform the House about how this bill will provide a gift to consumers for the holiday season thank you thank you to the member from Beaches East York for his festive supplementary Mr. Speaker I want all Ontarians to know that they don't need to worry if they have points that are about to expire as bill 47 is retroactive to October 1st of this year this means that you can continue saving all those points for a trip or that next big gift Mr. Speaker with the holiday shopping season upon us that Ontarians will be happy that they can be at ease with rewards points we are committed to continuing to work with rewards points companies to ensure consumers are protected and have confidence in every purchase they make and every points they earn loyalty points are a promise and now it is a promise that has to be kept Mr. Speaker this is all part of our government's plan to put consumers first thank you new question the member from Renfrew Nipisi thank you Speaker my question is for the Premier this morning was revealed that all appeals in the Windstream NAFTA case are now over the case has been won by Windstream with taxpayers being on the hook for at least $28 million in response to my question on October 17th about this issue Mr. Speaker the Minister of Energy said Ontario is carefully reviewing the case in order to determine our next steps while I say to the Premier the next step is going to be to cut a check the federal government will have to pay up front we realize that but we all know that this mistake is the premier's and Ontarians will ultimately pay Speaker is the Premier prepared to apologize Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. It's important to remember that at the early stage in development the tribunal said, thank you very much, that the decision was driven by genuine policy concern that was not sufficient scientific support for establishing an appropriate offshore wind product and that's very important. The leader of the opposition was talking earlier about the need for evidence-based decisions Mr. Speaker and this is very much an example of it. The Ministry of Environment has been working very hard to review that. The consultants work is coming in and should be released. Certainly I would certainly hope the member opposite would want to see this work through and see an evidence-based decision made and within the accordance of the law and the tribunal ruling. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Bigger decisions have been made. This government made the wrong decision to build turbines in the Great Lakes. Then they signed contracts to have them built and then for political reasons to save liberal seats they canceled the contracts. Now they've got to pay and this is not only the 28 million dollars for the court case but the federal government had 10 lawyers on the case at a cost of 8 million dollars. The provincial government, the wind government had 20 lawyers on the case and refuses to reveal the cost of that legal team. Speaker will the Premier today reveal the absolute total cost of the legal team so the people of Ontario know just how much this latest wind mistake is going to cost. Thank you. Minister. I want to be very clear and I think folks should take a deep breath. When these turbines were proposed there were in the world no offshore wind turbines in fresh water bodies of water. No fresh water lakes had wind turbines. Decision was made by the Ministry of the Environment that work was needed to be done to do that. As you would know that Lake Ontario and Lake Erie are the two most stressed lakes in Ontario and likely in Canada with highly fragile ecosystems Mr. Speaker. Remember from Renfrew Nipissing, Pembroke is warned. I'm going to stop trying to make sure things are even here. Minister. So I would hope the member opposite would see it since they argue for evidence-based decisions that that kind of research that's been done over the last two years is absolutely critical to making this decision and trying to proceed. The alternative is not to do. Remember from Prince Edward Hastings is warned. New question. Member from Kitchener Waterloo. Thank you very much. Speaker my question is to the Premier. This morning in their haste to ram through Omnibus Bill 70 liberal members of the Finance Committee voted down amendments that would save Ontario's craft distillers. Instead Bill 70 will devastate Ontario's craft distilling industry. Distillers have been working with Minister Clark I'm sorry Mr. Clark's advisory council for over two years. They want the same treatment as craft brewers a graduated tax to give small producers a fighting chance and they deserve a fighting chance. It's a matter of fairness. Ontario's 16 craft distilleries are small local businesses trying to become pillars of their local community. Speaker can the Premier explain to Ontario's craft distillers and their customers why she's opposed to fairness? Minister of Economic Development and Growth. Well thank you Mr. nothing could be further from the truth. Our Finance Minister has been working very closely with our distillery industry. It's an industry that's growing in this province actually it's growing in leaps and bounds and what he's put in place Mr. Speaker something they've asked for that's going to provide them with some breaks in terms of the the amount of dollars rebates they get back from the LCBO so they'll be getting more dollars to their bottom line not less so the member is grossly misinformed Mr. Speaker on this particular matter and she really ought to check with the Ministry of Finance to update her information because Mr. Speaker the measures that the Minister of Finance is moving forward with if passed will benefit our distilleries small medium and large. Thank you supplementary. Well I would like to tell the minister that the distillers open their books and I believe them over your government any day. Clark and his advisory council forced Ontario's craft distillers to sign non-disclosure agreements. This premier allowed her hand-picked banker to tell small business owners that they weren't allowed to speak to their own MPPs about issues that they were facing. This is Kathleen Wynne's Ontario. I remember this premier used to talk about openness and transparency. Ontario's craft distillers were blindsided by Bill Seventy. It will force many of them to sell their products abroad instead of and sell their products abroad instead of an Ontario change their business models entirely or simply just shut down. Speaker will this premier change her mind make a commitment to fairness and allow a graduated rate of tax for craft distillers in the province of Ontario. Let's be very clear about this. Let's break it down to a bottle of spirits. A bottle that costs $40 a distiller's current share of revenues about 39 percent. Changes that the finance minister is proposing would increase their share of revenue to about 45 percent. No matter how you cut it no matter how you spin it more money will go into the pockets of our small medium and large distillers. So you're dead wrong Mr. Speaker and you better do your math because more money will go to the small medium and large distillers no matter how you cut it. Thank you. Thank you Speaker. My question is also to the Minister of Development and Growth and I'm going to persist on him explaining what I'm going to ask Speaker. I know our government is doing much to support new manufacturers and support the growing sector of our economy including the province craft distillers. I understand the Premier Advisory Council on government asset and ministry of finance have been consulting with small distillers on our best to support them to grow their business and scale up. There are a number of proposed changes in Bill 70 that will impact how Ontario craft distillers operate. There seems to be some confusion as out to whether the proposed changes will benefit Ontario craft distillers. Can you provide some clarity as to how these changes will help craft distillers. Thank you. Mr. economic development. I agree Mr. Speaker. The opposition is very confused on this particular issue. But let me say that our government is committed to fostering a more innovative and dynamic business environment in Ontario including for the rapidly growing craft distillery sector. Very exciting sector in this province. That's why our Minister of Finance listened closely to Ontario distillers and introduced legislation that have passed would remove the LCBO markup and commission structure at onsite distillery retail stores and replace it with a new tax structure. The result will be improved sales margins for distillers on their onsite retail locations. For example as I said earlier a $40 bottle would see their revenues go from 39% Mr. Speaker to 45% a substantial increase to their bottom line. Good news for the distillery industry. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Back to the Minister of economic development and growth. Onesite retail is crucial to small producers success and we value the contribution distillers make to our local communities. In less than five years the number of distillers in our community has grown. That is evidence that there is a bright and promising future for craft spirits here in Ontario. I'm aware that there are additional supports available from our government to distillers through various economic development funds. Distillers are already benefiting from opportunities through the Eastern Ontario Development Fund, Southwestern Ontario Development Fund, North Ontario Heritage Fund and the Ontario Centre of Excellence Fund. Can you tell us what other ways we are supporting this rapidly growing sector? Thank you Minister. Mr. Speaker we know that attracting new customers is important to distillers and we want to provide them with more support. That's why we've proposed in Bill 70 a tax exemption on up to 1250 litres of spirits for promotional use. We're also working to ensure that distillers will be able to sell their products directly to bars and restaurants. These changes are designed to improve their bottom line, help them invest higher and grow so that their businesses can continue to create jobs in this province. This is a sector I believe that's growing about tenfold. Something we're excited about and I'm pleased that the Minister of Finance has listened closely to the sector and is taking measures to help them grow even more. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Thank you. New question? The member from Kitchener, Conestoga? Yes, Speaker to the Minister of Health. The minister in the years since my motion to treat rare disease suffers have welcomed the news of a working group and steps towards actual treatment here in Ontario. And even as we welcome that action, many are concerned that recent shocking murder charges against the Ontario Neural Surgeon and the death of his wife may set them back further. As our hearts and prayers go to the victim's family and dealing with this unspeakable tragedy, we are also mindful of the impacts extending into the rare disease community. Speaker Erica Crawford is a brave 21 year old. After years of living with the draining effects of EDS, finally had hope of surgery by the only doctor in Ontario to be selected to do it. A doctor now facing charges. Speaker, rare disease and EDS patients have waited far too long. Erica Crawford has waited too long. Will the minister commit to ensuring these families don't fall through the cracks again? Thank you, Minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I want to thank the member from Kitchener, Conestoga and commend him on his substantial and ongoing advocacy on behalf of people, individuals with rare diseases. And also, Mr. Speaker, allow me to express my sincere and deepest condolences to the family, to the friends, to the colleagues of Dr. Alana Frick-Shamji, whose life was tragically cut short, brutally cut short, Mr. Speaker. It has absolutely devastated anyone who knew her. It has devastated the medical community across this province, Mr. Speaker. And she was a much loved, highly respected family doctor, physician leader practicing at Scarborough General Hospital. And I will address the critical aspect of ensuring that the patients of the neurosurgeon who is alleged to be behind her murder, I will address that issue in the supplementary, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, supplementary. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Erica was scheduled for surgery yesterday, but she's not the only one. There's 31-year-old Lindsay Wilson and many more EDS patients desperately awaiting surgery. This was the only doctor selected to perform that surgery in Ontario after working alongside EDS expert Dr. Frazier Henderson in Maryland. Until now, the Crawfords had to go to the U.S. and spend $200,000 on care with Dr. Henderson. And we're hopeful for the promise of OHIP-covered surgery here in Ontario, by an Ontario doctor, only to have that hope dashed. Speaker, Erica's father, Darren, tells us that Dr. Henderson is more than willing and able to come to Ontario to perform that surgery himself. Will the minister explain what he'll do to allow EDS patients the surgery they've been waiting for here in the province of Ontario? Mr. Speaker, I remain just as committed to patients across this province with Air Los Danlos Syndrome or EDS. We we've invested upwards of a million dollars specifically for a unique clinic at Toronto Western Hospital through University Health Network to provide support for individuals with EDS, to guide them through the treatment pathway, to refer them to the specialists that they require, the surgeons that they require if necessary. In with regards to the care that would have been provided by the neurosurgeon that was involved in the program, my ministry has been working. In fact, they were working over the weekend and are working this week closely with University Health Network in Toronto Western to ensure that those patients that have been negatively impacted by this horrible tragedy, that they that commitment remains and they will get the specialized service that they deserve. That's my commitment to them. It hasn't changed, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Your question. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Today, as we remember the 14 women who died at a cold polytechnic, we also recognize the many women in Ontario who struggle to flee from violence and abuse. One of the essential programs that helps vulnerable women stop the cycle of violence is the Family Court Support Worker Program which provides specialized services such as safety planning, preparing for court and assisting women to file restraining orders. Through an FOI, I've learned that the Premier and her government reduced funding for this already underfunded but highly effective program. Why did the government cut funding to a program designed to support women who experience violence? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I know the minister is going to want to comment in the supplementary, but let me first just say I appreciate the member acknowledging that today is a day that when we remember a horrible tragedy. But in addition to that, Mr. Speaker, we recognize that those incidents of sexual assault and violence, gendered violence, misogyny continue, Mr. Speaker. And so it behooves every single one of us to speak out against that violence, Mr. Speaker. Our government has made increased investment in the services to support women, anyone who's escaping violence. Mr. Speaker, we will continue to do so. We will continue to raise this issue and continue to raise awareness as well as make those investments and Mr. Speaker, as well as working to put legislative changes in place that that protect victims, Mr. Speaker and prevent these these incidents from happening in the first place. Thank you, Speaker. Again, to the Premier, there has been no increased investment in the family court support worker program. And in fact, women and community advocates have told me repeatedly about how effective the program is in helping women leave abusive relationships, which is why demand for the program has been increasing. The government's own briefing notes speak to the success of the program. Cutting funding just doesn't make sense, especially when it's vulnerable women who are paying the price. Speaker, given that today is the national day of remembrance and action on violence against women, will the Premier take action and commit to properly funding the family court support worker program? Attorney General. Thank you. Thank you very much, Speaker. And I'm more than happy to answer this question and, of course, start by, first of all, recognizing that today, of course, marks a very special day in terms of all of us collectively standing and saying no to violence against women. But, Speaker, just not today, we have to do that every single day and we all have to work collectively. And that is why, Speaker, our government and our Premier has spent so much focus and emphasis on ensuring that we stand against both violence against women and any sexual violence and harassment that may exist. And collectively, Speaker, just not the Ministry of the Attorney General, but a variety of ministries are working together through our violence against women around the table to ensure that we've got effective programming in place. And that is why, Speaker, we've programs like the partner assault program, we've increased funding and other programs like that as well. Speaker, I, as the Attorney General, very much committed to ensuring that these programs are strengthened. Thank you. No question. Member from Trinity Spadano. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Municipal Affairs. Land use planning is vital to the growth and development of all Ontario communities. But it's not always a smooth or easy process. My writing of Trinity Spadano has seen unprecedented redevelopment in the recent years. The growth has brought positive economic impact to my community. However, the plans proposed by developers sometimes conflict with the wishes of the communities. Some of my constituents and my local city councillor have expressed concern that not enough weight has given to the local decision makers when decisions go to Ontario Municipal Board. With the Minister, please explain how his ministry is working to help municipalities to have a greater say in local planning decisions and ensure the OMB supports the well planted neighborhood of Ontario. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Minister of Municipal Affairs. Speaker, thank you very much. And I want to thank the member from Trinity Spadano for his question and his advocacy on this issue. Speaker, I would mention other members of our caucus as well the member from Etobicoke, Lake Shore, Peter Millich and Scarborough Agent Court, Sue Wong have all taken a strong advocacy role in this particular file, held their own public consultations on the OMB reform. And I want to thank them for their work. But speaker, where I'd like to start is by letting people know, I think it's important that the work we're doing today through this consultation is not the starting point of reform that we have brought to the OMB. As far back as 2007, we enabled all municipalities across the province of Ontario to create their own local appeal bodies. To this date, unfortunately, none have undertaken that authority. It's good to see that the city of Toronto through resolution back in March has started the process of moving forward. Had that been in place, Speaker, fully two-thirds of all Toronto cases before the OMB that have gone there in 2015 and 2016 could have been dealt with at the local level. This will build on that work, Speaker. It's not the starting point. Thank you very much. And I look forward to the supplement. Thank you, Speaker. I want to thank the minister for his answer. I'm pleased to learn that our government is taking action to put more decision-making power in the hands of local residents because that is fair and ensures sustainable growth. I recently attend one of the public consultation on the government's OMB review in my writing at the Convention Centre. I want to take this opportunity to thank all staff who have worked hard to facilitate the province-wide consultation. I myself and a member from Davenport will be hosting our own consultation with our residents soon. We look forward to submitting our findings to the ministry and I encourage all members of this House to host their own consultation and pass on their constituents' view on OMB to the minister by December 19. Speaker, through you to the minister, can he tell us more about the OMB review process and how Ontarians across the province can participate in this process? Thank you, Minister. I thank the member for his question and I want to acknowledge, this is a two-pronged approach. Our ministry is dealing with half of it. I also want to thank the minister of the Attorney General for his work on this particular file. Speaker, at the end of the day the goal is for us in our ministry through what we call a scoping exercise is to have more deference to what we would say is local decision-making authority. But, speaker, at the end of the day I do want to say that we do believe that it is important that there be some form of appeal mechanism in place for people that have a strong interest when it comes to local land use planning decisions. It's important to note, speaker, that all jurisdictions in Canada, all provincial jurisdictions have some form of an appeal mechanism. And in fact, if they did not speak the only method of appeal that people that would have an interest in this file or issues related to this file would be through the courts. We would think that that speaker would be unattainable for some people. They wouldn't be able to afford it. The timelines associated with that would not be good. So, speaker, we're moving forward. We're pleased with all that have been engaged with us so far. And we look forward to bringing recommendations in the near future. Any questions or members from Black and Black? Well, thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question today is to the Premier. In December of 2015, Ontario's Auditor-General Bonnie Lissick reported that this government had handed out hundreds of corporate grants totaling $1.87 billion. Many of these were handed out by invitation only, as we all know, with most going to the largest and wealthiest companies. Speaker, I have asked for this list to be made public so that all taxpayers can see how their money has been spent, what companies receive the money, and how many jobs, if any, were created. Mr. Speaker, my question this morning is very simple. Why won't this liberal government make the list of corporate grant recipients public for everybody in the province of Ontario to see? Minister of economic development and growth. Minister of economic development and growth. Well, Mr. Speaker, let me answer that question quite simply. We are, and we will. We've made, we put forward on a website all of the investments that we've made because we're very proud of them from, I think, it's 2013 forward, something like that. And then for the investments prior to that, we're in the process of putting them online as well. We're very proud of those investments, Mr. Speaker. But we do have an obligation to go back to the businesses to let them know what's being put forward, what's being made public so we don't hurt their, so we protect their, what are they called? Commercial integrity. So, but what we are very, very proud of the investments we've made. In fact, Mr. Speaker, we're now up to $3.1 billion of investments that we've made. That's leveraged $31 billion of private sector investment. 175,000 jobs. We want every one of those jobs to be put on the website. So, Ontarians know that we support those jobs. And the member. Thank you. Supplementary. Well, Speaker, back to the Premier. I first started asking for this government to release a list of all corporate grant handouts 326 days ago. And so far, just like the auditor general and all MPPs, I've been stonewalled. So it makes me wonder, Mr. Speaker, what is the reason for the Liberals to keep the list of nearly $2 billion that was handed out to private corporations secret? Is it because most of the money went to liberal-held writings? Or is it because they got caught in a cash-for-access scheme where liberal friends secured contracts like the wind energy companies? Mr. Speaker, taxpayers deserve to know. Will the government release the full list today of the 374 companies that received billions of dollars from Ontario's taxpayers? If not, then why not? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. David, please. Never too late to get a warning. Minister. Mr. Speaker, we're proud to put that information out. We want every Ontarian to know that we've invested $3.1 billion in our business support programs that's leveraged $31 billion of private sector investment and 175,000 jobs. And Mr. Speaker, to be sure, a good majority of those or many of them, most of it, has gone into conservative writings more than liberal writings. Liberal writings since 2013. 72.89 million of the Jobs and Prosperity Fund. Conservative writings, 85.74. Mr. Speaker, in the Regional Economic Development Funds, liberal writings, $13.95 million since 2013. Conservative writings, $18.86 million. Mr. Speaker, he's got his numbers reversed. We're creating jobs in every writing across this province, including the member opposite who I think has received about $2 million worth of business support programs and tens of thousands of jobs. We're proud of... Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for the Minister of Education. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for the Minister of Education. Last week, the Minister announced that six people would be announced. Last week, the Minister announced the six people that would be announced. And unfortunately, the announcement excluded young people, people who have invested themselves more in the creation of a French-language university. The announcement hurt people, and it was something that AR4 felt was bad. The mandate of the community is to improve higher education in the centre and the south-west of. And people want to know with when the government will take the first step to have Ontario University managed by and for Frank-Wantarians. Minister, Minister responsible for Frank-Wantarians. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I thank the member for Nicol Bell. I want to say again that things advance. The work by the Planification Committee is an essential step to establish such a university. And it's the appropriate response to the demands of the community to have more post-secondary education. We've announced this fall, the nomination of Dr. Diana Adams as a head of the board. And people applauded this decision because she's the best-placed expert to establish a solid plan for this institution. And let's be clear, Mr. Speaker. We, on the side of the government, we want that this post-secondary institution work and be there for a long time and that francophones and emerging students decide to continue their post-education in French. And for that, merci. Thank you. Time for question period is over. We have a deferred vote on the government notice of motion number six relating to the allocation of time on bill 541, an act to amend various acts in the interest of patient-centered care. Calling the members. This will be a five-minute bill. Yeah. All members, please take your seats. On December 5th, 2016, Mr. Nackley moved government notice of motion number six. All those in favor, please rise one at a time and be recognized by the deferred. Mr. Nackley. Mr. Nackley. Mr. Bradley. Mr. Bradley. Mr. Del Duca. Mr. Del Duca. Mr. Sandals. Mr. Sandals. Ms. Wynne. Ms. Wynne. Ms. Matthews. Ms. Matthews. Mr. Hoskins. Mr. Hoskins. Mr. Shirelli. Mr. Shirelli. Mr. Dugud. Ms. Albanese. Ms. McMahon. Mr. Ballard. Ms. Nidu Harris. Mr. Fazer. Mr. Anderson. Mr. Baker. Mr. Don. Ms. Hogar. Ms. Koala. Ms. Mollie. Ms. Martin. Mr. Milchin. Mr. Potts. Mr. Rinaldi. Ms. Verneel. Madame D'Rosie. All those in favor, please rise one at a time and be recognized by the deferred. Mr. Wilson. Mr. Arnott. Mr. Harden. Ms. McLeod. Ms. Jones. Mr. Clark. Mr. Fidelli. Mr. Yacobuski. Mr. Miller Parry Selmascoka. Mr. Miller Parry Selmascoco. Mr. Mcknott. Mr. Mcknott. Mr. Skott. Mr. Barrick. Mr. Mlanro. Mr. Mlanro. Mr. Urik. Mr. Urik. Mr. Bailey. Mr. Bailey. Mr. Osterínhö. Mr. Osterง набraja. Mr. Wauker. Mr. Waller. Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith. Mr. Harris. Mr. Degin które. Mr. Nikols. Mr. contradktor Ton. Mr. McDonnell. Mr. Koe. Mr. Koe. Mr. Cico. Mr. Miller Hamilton East Tony Creek Mr. Miller Hamilton East Tony Creek Ms. Sallar Ms. Taylor Ms. Taylor Mr. Natascha Madam Jelena Ms. Fife Ms. Fife Ms. Yamanta Ms. Yamanta Mr. Hadfield Ms. Gretzky Ms. Gretzky Mr. Gates Ms. French Ms. French the eyes are 52 the nays are 39 the eyes being 52 and the nays being 39 I declare the motion carried there are good Minister of Economic Development growth on a point of order thank you Mr. Frick I just want to correct my my record in a little bit of lingering jet lag I think I said that I referred to the leader of the opposition when I meant to refer to the Minister of Energy and one of my answers and I thank the Deputy Premier for bringing that to my attention so I had no idea there are no further deferred votes this house stands recess until 3 p.m. this afternoon