 It is now time for our Question Period, the leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition. Mr. Speaker, to the Premier, I want to start by welcoming all the firefighters here today. Many of them are my good friends, and those friends of mine, along with their paramedics and police officer colleagues, continue to tell me that government is holding up access to care for post-traumatic stress disorder. It has been 72 days since I asked the Premier to work with me and the NDP to fast track the third party's bill that would enable faster access to PTSD support for first responders. Mr. Speaker, will the Premier bring back this bill for third reading and pass it today? Not a watered-down version of a government's bill. Do the right thing. Show all firefighters here today that the government stands behind them and supports them. Will the Premier do that? Mr. Speaker, please. Thank you, Premier. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, and I also want to welcome all of the firefighters and all of the guests who are here today to Question Period. And Mr. Speaker, the question that the leader of the opposition has asked, I think, highlights once again a very important issue that we are already working with firefighters on, Mr. Speaker. The fact is that we have worked very well with firefighters over our time in government, Mr. Speaker, in terms of presumptive legislation. We know that PTSD is an issue that has to be addressed. And I don't think, Mr. Speaker, that this is about a particular member's bill. This is about getting it right, Mr. Speaker. This is about putting the supports in place for these first responders who are critical to the safety and the security of all of our residents. All of the residents of Ontario, Mr. Speaker. And so we will continue to work with firefighters to make sure that we have the right supports in place. Mr. Speaker, again to the Premier, the NDP do have a good bill. Don't blindly oppose it simply because it's an NDP ID. It's the right thing to support. The work that firefighters do and the sacrifices they make, the fact that they risk their lives every day for the people in our communities, should mean so much to us. I vividly remember attending the funeral of Bill Wilkins in 2002. Madam Premier, you may remember that Bill Wilkins was the firefighter from Simcoe County. He served as deputy house leader and tragically lost his life responding to a call. The danger is very real for firefighters in the line of service. Many of our communities have seen it firsthand. The families of those lost need our support. Mr. Speaker, there has been no action on this front as well. Will the Premier support a heroes fund similar to what we have with the Canadian forces? Survivor benefits for the families of first responders who have fallen in the service of our province. Mr. Speaker, in terms of actions that have been taken, the Minister of Labour I have asked specifically to come forward with steps on a comprehensive strategy for dealing with PTSD, as well as other mental health issues. The Minister of Labour is working on that and I know he will want to speak to it in the supplementary. This is something that we need to get right, Mr. Speaker. It is very complex. I understand why the Leader of the Opposition wants to make political hay of a particular bill. The reality is, I'm glad that the Member for High Park raised the issue, Mr. Speaker. I think it's very, very... Thank you. I want all of the resources of government to be able to be put behind bringing forward a bill that's going to ensure that we're a leader in prevention, Mr. Speaker, that we're a leader in resiliency, and that we get this right. We are working on that, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, again to the Premier. It's very political when you have a firefighter die in your community. I haven't got an answer on PTSD. I haven't got an answer on the Heroes Fund. So I'm going to try a third question, and maybe the Premier can actually answer it. The most appropriate way for municipalities to ensure public fire safety is through a risk-based assessment of their communities. Currently, there are municipalities making cuts to their fire service without undertaking a risk-based assessment. That causes a serious threat to public safety. This government needs to support a comprehensive risk-based assessment for fire prevention. Mr. Speaker, will the Premier direct Ontario Fire Marshal to develop an integrated risk management tool? Don't pass the buck. Just answer one of my questions. Just one. Mr. Speaker, again, I just say to the Leader of the Opposition these are very important issues. These are issues that we have been working on. We have been talking with firefighters for a number of years, Mr. Speaker, and we've made advances. So as we've talked with firefighters, we've gotten advice on presumptive legislation. Rest cancer, multiple myeloma, testicular cancer were added to the list in 2014, Mr. Speaker. Prostate cancer, lung cancer and skin cancer will be phased in by 2017. I only raised that presumptive legislation in the conversations we've had with firefighters to say to the Leader of the Opposition, we are open. We are open with firefighters. We have discussions with our first responders in order to make sure that we continue to change legislation to put the supports in place. So, Mr. Speaker, will we work with the Fire Marshal to make sure that the right protections are in place? Absolutely. Will we make sure that we have the right resources and policies on PTSD? Absolutely, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, to the Premier, as you're aware, the PCs have put forward a motion to be debated this afternoon with specific points. Maybe the Premier can let us know if she'll be supporting them. So first, as she knows, I was very disappointed when I learned that the government handed out $2.5 million to pay for education negotiations without asking for a single receipt. If that money had been in the education system, it would have gone a long way. The Premier could have funded 75 education assistants with that money. She could have put the money towards special education. Mr. Speaker, will the Premier ensure the Ontario Liberal Party pays back the money to the Ministry of Education to reimburse Ontario students and teachers for the funds that were taken out of the classroom? Premier? So Mr. Speaker, I would just remind the member opposite that he is talking about a negotiation process that has been successful, Mr. Speaker, that students have remained in the classroom, that the negotiations were concluded in line with our net zero bargaining framework, Mr. Speaker. That's enough. I will be tempted to move to warnings if it persists. And that we've done all of this, Mr. Speaker, without making cuts to the classroom. So that process, that was developed, Mr. Speaker, in conjunction with our education partners, has been successfully concluded. So the fact is that this new process that, as I say, was developed in conjunction with our partners required new resources, Mr. Speaker. What we have put in place, there are some examples of the way the agreement was paid for, Mr. Speaker, and I'll come back to those in the supplementary. Mr. Speaker, again to the Premier, if your measure of success is successively taking money out of the classroom while you're dead wrong, the PCs still aren't quite sure if these payments are even legal. Section 70 of the Ontario Labor Relations Act says it goes both ways. I need to hear the question and then the answer. Here you go. Mr. Speaker, I guess we've touched a nerve. Section 70 of the Ontario Labor Relations Act says employers can't contribute financial support to a trade union. The secrecy and the backroom dealing gives off the wrong impression, especially since recipients of these payments were engaged in partisan activities and donations. Mr. Speaker, will the government strengthen Section 70 of the OLA to prohibit any future payments? Are you going to continue to do this as your version of business as usual? So first of all, Mr. Speaker, let me once again talk about what I think the measures of success are. Students have remained in the classroom. Our agreements are in... Member from the PN Carlton, come to order. ...fine with the net zero framework, Mr. Speaker. And we did this without making cuts to the classroom. Mr. Speaker, the funds did not come out of the classroom. The cost of this process was funded, let me tell you how. Through early discounted payout of retirement gratuities, through lowering of the cost of sick leave, through making the delivery of professional development more efficient. Mr. Speaker, that's the reality. That's how the agreement was put in place. And no matter how often the leader of the opposition denies that, that's the reality. Those costs did not come out of the classroom and children stayed in the classroom, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, again to the Premier, your story is changing every day. And we only know about this because you got caught, because it got exposed. These payments have too many unanswered questions. And just, you know, I want to remind everyone that even the Toronto Star said that these payments were impossible to defend. The Star said, I quote, there's no reason that they should be kept hidden from the public, I suppose, unless they were used for political purposes. And the recipients of those payments did spend over $3 million engaged in the last campaign. Ontario is the wild west of third party advertising. It's time to do the right thing and to fix it. Mr. Speaker, will the Premier introduce legislation to cap third party election advertising? Thank you. I carry on. Mr. Speaker, question period is always a random access activity these days. But, Mr. Speaker, teachers' unions will be required to provide an accounting of the funds, Mr. Speaker. The money has not flowed. Unions will be required to provide an accounting to show how costs were incurred and what they were. And we will make those details public, Mr. Speaker. We have said over and over again that we will, we're supportive of having the Auditor General look into these costs. But Mr. Speaker, remember, this was a successful process that meant the kids remained in the classroom. We stayed in our net zero framework, Mr. Speaker. And costs were not taken out of the classroom. Cuts were not made to the classroom. Those were my measures of success, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. New question, the leader of the third party. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Premier. Climate change is one of the most important issues in our generation, Mr. Speaker. And it needs... Minister of Education come to order. And the NDP caucus come to order. Thank you. Please put the question. And it needs more than just rhetoric, Speaker. It actually needs a plan. Does this Premier have a plan that she's actually bringing to the Paris Summit? Thank you, Premier. I was very pleased yesterday to put forward the strategy that the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change has been working on. And as the leader of the third party will know, there will be a five-year detailed plan that will come forward in the new year, Mr. Speaker. The leader of the third party also knows that we closed our last coal plant, Mr. Speaker, in 2014. The leader of the opposition also knows that we passed legislation in this House, Mr. Speaker, to make sure that there will be no coal plants to generate electricity in this province ever again, Mr. Speaker. The leader of the third party also knows that we are working on linking our cap and trade market with that of Quebec and of San Francisco, California, Mr. Speaker. She knows that that work is underway. Officials are working on that, Mr. Speaker. She also knows, Mr. Speaker, that the investments that we are making in transit, Mr. Speaker, across this province are very much a part of our reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Supplementary? Speaker, Ontarians were hoping that the Liberals would announce a climate change plan yesterday. Instead, we got a re-announcement that there will at some point be an announcement. The Premier knows, or ought to know, Mr. Speaker, that we've been waiting for a plan since 2008 when Ontario signed on to cap and trade. It took the NDP government of Alberta, Speaker, a mere six months to deal with climate change. But after nearly 10 years, two general elections, two premiers, the Liberals are promising that they are going to have a plan maybe next year. Why doesn't this Liberal government already have a climate change plan? Well, Mr. Speaker, she said she's been waiting. That's right. Pallie waiting for something. She has moved foodshelves to climb. She's catching up, Mr. Speaker. We've shut down our coal-fired plants governments of this country. The Minister of Aboriginal Appearance will withdraw. And I hope that's a signal that I want the tone to change. Final supplementary? Speaker, at yesterday's announcement, this Premier boldly patted herself on the back for releasing yet another strategy but left people waiting again for an actual plan. People want to take action, Speaker. They want to have options. Remember from Eglinton Lawrence? Leadership, Speaker. That's the job of the Premier of this province. Instead, they've got just the opposite from this government and have been getting the opposite from this government for eight long years. Why, after nearly 10 years of study, are we still waiting to see an actual climate change plan from the Liberals? Thank you, Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, I just want to say to the people of Ontario but also to all of the members of this legislature that they can be very proud of what's happened in Ontario. We have made the greatest greenhouse gas emissions reduction in North America, Mr. Speaker. And say, look at what we've done in Ontario. She has the right to do that because she's part of this initiative, Mr. Speaker. And I think if the leader of the third party talked to businesses around the province, they'd know we're working with them right in that trade system, Mr. Speaker. They know it's real. They know that we need to work together with them because they know it's going to make them more competitive and it's going to make allow them to innovate. That's why we're implementing it, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Thank you very much, Speaker. My next question is also for the Premier. Yesterday, the Premier re-announced your plan to make an announcement to address climate change. She talked about being a leader in green energy. But in order to do that, Speaker, Ontario will need an electricity grid that actually serves the public interest, not just shareholders. Unfortunately, the Liberals are selling off Hydro-1. That's a big step backwards, Speaker. Will this Premier commit to how much Hydro-1 will be spending on conservation programs going forward? Thank you very much. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Well, and I know the Minister of Environment and Climate Change really wants to answer one of these questions, Mr. Speaker. I would just note that climate change was not mentioned in the Ontario NDP platform once, Mr. Speaker. Well, she wanted to take the HST off gasoline. She wanted to take the AQ, Mr. Speaker. A move that every environmentalist who read their platform said, that's a bad idea. That's not going to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. That's not going to deal with climate change. So in fact, Mr. Speaker, they had an anti-plan. We're moving forward with it. We're implementing it. But Mr. Speaker, we have already come a very long way. We have reduced greenhouse gas emissions more than any other jurisdiction in North America. Mr. Speaker, please. Thank you. Supplementary, please. Thank you, Speaker. Public hydro agencies in other provinces already invest more in conservation than we do here in Ontario. And they have lower electricity rates, Speaker. Instead of learning about what works from provinces like Manitoba, B.C., or Quebec, this Premier is learning from Nova Scotia, where the rates are sky-high and the private power company there is actually fighting against conservation measures, Speaker. Can this Premier actually answer my question and commit to how much hydro one will be investing in conservation, Speaker? So, Mr. Speaker, all my ministers want to answer this question, Mr. Speaker. But I need to make a point here because the leader of the third party is doing something that I think at this moment in our history is not a good idea. What she's doing is, apart from having been passive on climate change, she's trying to drive wedges among the provinces. And what we've done at the Premier's table is we've actually worked together, Mr. Speaker. I've worked with Alberta, I've worked with British Columbia, I've worked with the maritime provinces. So contrary to what the leader of the third party is trying to do, we've actually forged a Canadian energy strategy. That Canadian energy strategy has climate change and GHG reductions as part of it because of work that we have done at that table with the Premier's, Mr. Speaker. So the leader of the third party might just want to talk to some of her counterparts in other parts of the country and understand that provinces working together has been a very good thing for this country. We now have a federal government that's going to work with the provinces. Thank you. We're going to take our places. Thank you. You see the face? Thank you. Final supplementary. Quite to the contrary, what I'm doing is trying to encourage this Premier to learn the lessons from what other provinces have successfully done with public electricity systems. And this Premier knows that that's exactly what I was trying to say. Yesterday, this Premier said that the cost of inaction on climate change was too high. And I agree with her on that fact, Speaker, instead of taking the kind of action, action speaker that would lead to better energy conservation, this Premier is selling off Hydro One, which is likely going to mean less conservation here in the province of Ontario. Will this Premier admit that selling Hydro One is the wrong decision for Ontario? It is wrong for our economy. It is wrong for our environment. Thank you, Premier. Thank you, sir. Mr. Speaker, I just want to say three things. The first thing I want to say is this. And in Norway and in the Netherlands and in the UK, they've put climate change above partisan politics. But let's just look at what we've done, Mr. Speaker. We already had a plan. It's finished. It achieved a 6% below 1990 level. It just completed. It was the most successful climate change plan in North America. We now have a strategy that is more detailed and more comprehensive. If you compare it to Quebec or California, the strategic document is not the action plan and we needed one. And we've invited the only province that's invited by opposition critics, the member for Toronto Danforth and the member for here in Bruce to be part and we now know that our federal government is including our official Ontario delegation. I think we're the only province doing that in the previous federal government work. We need to work together on this. This province has the deepest reductions in North America. No one holds a candle. Thank you. Just a reminder when I stand you sit. New question? The member from here in Bruce. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday the minister held another photo-well about the looming cap and trade scheme revealing little to no details at all. Speaker, in attempting to say nothing at all, the minister unfortunately said more than we could have ever hoped. Speaker, when Alberta unveiled its plan this past Sunday, think about the amount of burdens exactly what the cost would be. $470 per household a year by 2018. But the minister's answer to that same question yesterday was, we're not focusing, nor has there been a lot of discussion of our lives. Minister of the environment. Minister, Mr. Speaker, how can this minister possibly move forward with cap and trade without telling Ontario businesses and Ontario families what it is going to cost them? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm glad and I hope the members accept that our invitation to join our official delegation in Paris because what you will see, Mr. Speaker, is a place like Switzerland which has deployed 25,000 ground socio-thermal and has the most comprehensive program in Europe on lowering heating and energy bills by switching people away from expensive power to end homes and non-polluting. And it has now has some of the lowest energy cost to that by creative adaptation of technology. The cap and trade system has been in over a year of negotiations and discussions with industry, environmental groups and homeowners. If you look at British Columbia and you look at California that had these pricing systems in, they've had the strongest GDP growth and some of the strongest job creation. So part of the reason that I asked you to join us is to meet conservative administrations like in the UK that are successfully managing these projects because we need a more sophisticated less partisan response to lethal opposition. Mr. Speaker, it's all about the cost. Alberta's government told the people on day one yet we're almost a year into this process and the ministers order. Start the clock. Speaker, the minister still can't answer a simple question. What's it going to cost? When asked yesterday if food prices would go up or if energy prices would go up all he could muster speaker was we're hoping not. Well, Mr. Speaker, hope is not a strategy. Clearly the minister hasn't done his homework. He hasn't even tabled a cost benefit analysis. Speaker, will the minister finally tell this house and the people of Ontario what they can expect to pay per year under their cap and trade scheme? Thank you. Minister. So, Mr. Speaker, three things. Let's just deal with the other cost, the cost of inaction. Insurance rates are going up. One hour of rain three years ago in July cost us $600 million when the minister of transportation will tell you we lost eight meters of track. $600 million could have built an LRT line in this province, Mr. Speaker. Food, Mr. Speaker. California is now in the most severe drought. That's 34% of our food and probably more than half of it in the winter, Mr. Speaker. Those are real things affecting family budget. The cost of inaction, Mr. Speaker, is unacceptable. And let's look at the 28 jurisdictions that have some sort of card price. Their CPI, their cost of living index are not going up faster than those that don't. A matter of fact, they're driving productivity. And I know industry has gone to the member opposite and is supporting this because they can internalize these costs and they can make their plants more productive and they can reduce their operating costs by using the system. Mr. Speaker, we have four cap and trade systems already in place in Ontario and not one of them has driven costs. Thank you. Good question. And then Mr. Trottle Danforth. Thank you, Speaker. Yesterday, Speaker, the Premier had the nerve to quote well-known member from Renfrew the second time about climate change. As an MPP, I've watched the Liberals slash programs that help families invest in conservation like the Ontario Home Energy Savings Program. Who's the question for, please? For the Premier's. Thank you. And delay taking action on climate change over and over again. We're not going to take any lessons from this government on environmental responsibility. There's an essential question. Are Ontarians going to see a real climate plan next year or will it be more rhetoric and more re-announcements? Thank you. Mr. Energy. Mr. Speaker, the member speaks to conservation occasionally, Mr. Speaker. And I would expect, Mr. Speaker, that if it was that important he'd be on his feet talking about a conservation every day. We're very proud of what we've done in conservation, Mr. Speaker. Just last November and December, we've won utilities, LDCs in the province of Ontario signed a six-year contract, Mr. Speaker, that will see us work towards conservation target of 30 terawatt hours in 2032. It's a very aggressive target and they're now reaching, Mr. Speaker, they've announced 106% of their target already. Mr. Speaker, our conservation programs in Ontario are tremendous success. And if he wants to talk about climate change, ask him to talk, as the Premier said, about cost going off carbon, off coal, Mr. Speaker, which has reduced our costs by $4 billion in terms of environmental costs and other healthcare costs, Mr. Speaker. Well, I guess the Premier didn't want to answer the question. I'll go back to the Premier. Ontario's non-partisan environmental commissioner has said Ontario's going to miss its 2020 greenhouse gas targets in action. Yesterday's government announcement on climate was a re-announcement that they would make an announcement about a plan at some point in the future. The government has been re-announcing its intention to take action since 2008. In the meantime, we're another year closer to 2020 and the government claims it has a plan coming next year. Will the Premier commit that her plan will actually get us the greenhouse gas targets we're supposed to meet in 2020? Minister of Environment and Climate Change. Thanks. Do you know, Mr. Speaker, this is the most serious issue of our generation. Our Arctic is going to be 7 or 8 degrees warmer, no matter what we do. And I would ask that every member of this House go and Google what an 8 degree warmer Arctic, which is inevitable in 2050, will mean to our children or grandchildren. We have to leave our children as good a legacy and healthy a planet as we inherited from our parents. Mr. Speaker is better or as good as any other in North America. Our action plans that we have completed, unlike almost every other one of the world, achieved their targets. Very few did. We achieved 6%. And Mr. Speaker, the strong measures we're taking, not being afraid to tell the truth and be honest about this, is a cap and trade system that will close the 20% gap we had. And we reported that 20% gap and then we took measures to do it. And when we'll meet our goal, we have reported shortfalls and we've taken strong bold corrective actions to improve. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Labor. And today we are joined by firefighters from across Ontario, from the Ontario Professional Firefighters Association. And Mr. Speaker, I know that on behalf of all members of this legislature, on all sides of this House, that I can say that every one of you today deserves our respect and our gratitude for keeping Ontarians safe. In a lot of us South and across Ontario, hard-working women and men put their lives on the line each and every day to ensure that our friends and families back home in our communities are safe. They show courage, valor and bravery when they leave the fire hall and head to what could be a dangerous situation. Mr. Speaker, I know yesterday that the Ontario Professional Firefighters Association conference, could the Minister provide us with some of the things he spoke about yesterday? Thank you. Thank you Speaker and thank the member for that excellent question. And yes, I was down at the association speaking to the conference yesterday. And like the member says, we owe a great deal to those people that put their lives on the line in dangerous situations for complete strangers, for people that have never met. Be happy to share what I spoke about. We all know that PTSD is a very serious issue. It's entered the public consciousness in a way that it hasn't before. I'm hoping that this house will work cooperatively to get to that solution that we need. We're working on how we approach that change. We've had first responders roundtable, first responders summit. Quite recently, the Premier obligated to have a meeting early in the new year. I want to particularly thank the member from Parkdale High Park. She's held this house's feet to the fire on this issue and I think she deserves credit for that speaker. In order for Ontario to be a leader in this speaker, we can do better than Bill 2. Bill 2 is a great first step. We can improve it. That's what I obligate to do Speaker. Thank you. Thank you Mr Speaker and Mr Speaker for sharing those points on post traumatic stress disorder which you spoke about yesterday and I too congratulate the member from Parkdale High Park. Speaker, I know that Mr continues to make sure that we do all that we can for firefighters. It's because of the critical work that firefighters do that our government is making the priority to do our best to protect them just as they continue to protect us. Last year the government announced it was extending workplace protection for firefighters by adding six cancers to the list of presumptive diseases to be work related. I know that we made these changes so that the firefighters who are sick and suffering can use their energy on the most important duty which is getting better for their families. Speaker, through you to the minister I'd like to know what else this government is doing to ensure that our frontline workers are given increased protection. Thank you Mr Speaker and once again my thanks to the member for that question. On the association yesterday I also mentioned some of the other things we're working towards that are going to benefit our firefighters and all first responders in this province. Earlier this year we introduced bill 09 which if this house passes is going to address how survivor benefits are calculated by the WSIB for a worker who dies of an occupational disease or who had no or low earnings on the date of that diagnosis simply because they were retired or they weren't able to work it passed what it would allow the WSIB to do is to continue the current practice but also enshrine it in legislation it's not something you should do it's something that has to be done in the future I'm also happy to talk about just last week we moved to ensure that all injured workers are finally treated the same in this province with indexation speaker whether you're fully disabled partially disabled you deserve to be treated the same. Thank you Thank you and good morning my question is for the Premier Last week's hand-delivered letter to the Premier's office stated that North Bay is in a state of chaos the disruption at three of the largest employers falls firmly at the feet of the Liberal government Patients and staff at the hospital are still reeling over the 350 cuts made to frontline healthcare the workers at Ontario Northland are locked out Uniform is looking to the Premier as they're willing to go to arbitration Nipissing University is in its fourth week of a strike this is causing grave concern with the students and parents calling worried that the semester will be lost Nipissing University is the third largest employer in our city and this strike is also now affecting businesses the city is hurting speaker I ask the Premier again will she act to get all sides in these disputes back to the table Thank you Speaker and thank you to the member for the question this province has an excellent record of dispute resolution in fact 98% of all agreements are reached without a strike without a lockout so obviously in cases like this when there's a disagreement we should be speaker we want them to result in a resolution that both parties can walk away from feeling that they've been able to resolve their difference at the bargaining table we're confident in this case as well that by working together those parties can reach a settlement what we do at the Ministry of Labor is we've got some of the best arbitrators some of the best mediators in the country speaker they've been involved in this the remaining at the table is to reach the successful resolution that we want them to reach speaker the past track record is any indication Ontario resolves these issues at the table Thank you Back to the Premier you have created strife at our hospital Ontario Northland and Nipissing University the problems at Nipissing were created in no small part with significant cuts to funding for teacher training I wrote to the Minister on this issue first as a concerned Mayor and again as MPP in 2014 these cuts had a disproportionate large effect on Nipissing where education students accounted for 30% of total enrollment I warned that without adequate transition funding the Liberal cuts would put the University in a precarious financial position Speaker, we're certainly pleased that a mediator is trying to get the both sides together but what is the Premier going to do to preserve the vitality of Nipissing University over the long term Thank you Thank you Speaker and thank you to the member once again for his interest in this issue we're committed obviously to supporting Ontario's post-secondary education system among the best in the world we have more people entering that system than I think many other jurisdictions but each one of those universities each one of those colleges by its nature is an autonomous institution it's got responsibility it's reached a mature level where it handles its own labour relations it handles its own HR issues and that includes collective bargaining and the record of success that this province has in collective bargaining tells me as Minister of Labour that this is the right thing to do is to get mediators in there to get arbitrators in there and to let these people bring their best to the table because we encourage all the parties to work together because we know working together these people will negotiate a first element for both parties Thank you Thank you Mr Speaker my question is to the Premier today Toronto firefighters are watching not just here but all over the province hoping to finally hear that this government will bring in legislation to recognise post-traumatic stress disorder as a workplace injury this is not rocket science that's all they're asking for they have been waiting Mr Speaker eight long years my bill has passed second reading and it's been tabled five times I regularly get calls from desperate first responders with no place else to turn because this government won't listen and in many cases won't even take their calls these firefighters paramedics and police offices are the people that we call when we need help but when they need us all we can say is just keep waiting how much longer will we keep first responders waiting thank you Mr Speaker I know that the Minister of Labour is going to want to reinforce some of what he has already said but just to be clear Mr Speaker we take the call of our firefighters we absolutely meet with them we have taken action based on their advice Mr Speaker I use the example of presumptive legislation we have taken their advice in terms of the importance of the PTSD legislation Mr Speaker we are working with them the Minister of Labour is working with them to bring forward the right policy Mr Speaker and to build on to build on the work that the member opposite did in putting together her private members bill but Mr Speaker we have to get this right we only can do that in conjunction with the frontline responders with those workers and that is what we do Mr Speaker thank you back to the Premier so far this year there have been 31st responder suicides because of PTSD in Ontario 8 years 8 more years of more suicides 8 years already one suicide Mr Speaker is one suicide too many Labour Minister Flynn promised that the legislation would be tabled this month and now all of a sudden we are hearing January we are far behind other provinces on this Alberta has had this legislation since 2012 if the government fails to see the urgency in this I don't know what else we can do first responders are asking will more have to die before action is taken Minister of Labour thank you Mr Speaker Minister thank you Speaker in a sense the member has answered her own question the solution she brought forward were for people that have already contracted PTSD it was a good start but very very clearly it became evident that what you also wanted to do as part of a comprehensive strategy was ensure that people didn't contract PTSD in the first place what we obligated to do in conjunction with working with first responders working with the police departments with the fire departments with the EMS detachments around this province was to build on their best practices so when we bring forward our PTSD legislation in the very near future it will be the best in this country simply put Bill 2 is a good start it got us talking about it it put the issue on the table it's no more near as robust as anywhere else in this country that has legislation I want Ontario to lead this country not to follow this country put a country for PTSD thank you new question member from Holden thank you so much Mr Speaker my question is for the Minister of Energy Minister it was a pleasure having you visit my riding of Halton this week to announce a big step forward for our energy sector based on the high turnout at Monday's announcement I think we can all agree that this is an exciting time in energy technology I'm proud that my riding will be home to a new energy storage project new energy storage technologies allow for electricity to be captured and then use later on demand this means more control over the time between when electricity is generated and when it has to be used this can mean savings in the past decisions about electricity have largely been based on real time demand and how or when it can be delivered but new energy storage technology is changing that Mr Speaker through you to the Minister can you please tell the House about the benefits of energy storage thank you Minister of Energy Mr Speaker it was a pleasure to visit Milton with the member from Holden Mr Speaker it was an exciting opportunity to discuss the work Ontario is doing to incorporate energy storage into our system storage remains one of the world's most innovative aspects of energy policy particularly because of the incredible potential it represents and storage technologies add stability to our power supply and is a technology that has the potential to revolutionize the way we operate our electricity system instead of needing to use at the time it is produced often when it was most expensive storage allows for system operators to hold back electricity for use at optimal times instead of building costly generation for use only a few times a year we are now starting to store the electricity from existing generation for periods of peak demand and this could mean tremendous cost savings for the system and for consumers when fully developed thank you thank you minister I am excited about the benefits of energy storage and the opportunities they provide for improving Ontario's electricity system it opens new doors the possibilities offered by new storage technologies are definitely game changing I am thrilled that my riding of Holden will be home to Baseload Power Corporation one of the cutting edge companies that will offer a plan for energy storage this new project will have the ability to store up to 8 megawatts of energy I know my constituents will be happy to hear that new sources of energy storage have the potential to strengthen the economy create jobs and lower costs for consumers very important it's fantastic to see so many Ontario companies leading the pack in innovation Mr. Speaker, through you to the minister could he please tell the House about the province's second phase of energy storage procurement that has created this technology into Ontario's electricity system Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to being a global leader in energy storage this week in Milton we announced that the IESO has selected 5 proponents representing 9 projects for energy storage contracts totaling 16.75 megawatts with this announcement Ontario has completed our long-term energy plant commitment of procuring 50 megawatt of energy storage technology Ontario is already an energy storage leader with real-world experience integrating energy storage technologies like advanced batteries, flywheels and pump storage the companies that have been awarded contracts Mr. Speaker will provide a valuable contribution to our grid allowing us to store electricity over longer periods of time in the process we will improve reliability increased flexibility and efficiency of our networks to reduce costs for electricity consumers Thank you Mr. Speaker My question is for the Associate Minister of Health and Long-term Care I recently attended a meeting with the Board Chair and CEO of my central east Linn where we discussed the Linn's integrated health service plan Linn's and service providers continue to roll out palliative care community teams gain community teams and other investments in home and community care Despite these investments for home care when it is no longer safe for Ontarians to stay at home they deserve to know that long-term care beds will be provided for them My central east Linn is in crisis It has the lowest number of beds available and the highest number of those in need in Ontario In Halliburton, Cork the Lakes Brock alone, just one part of the Linn there are 770 people and the wait list for long-term care and that list continues to grow When will the Minister deliver the palliative beds for long-term care Thank you Thank you Mr. Speaker I want to thank the member opposite for her question. I also want to thank her for recognizing the investments we've been making in home care Thank you so much for that I want to assure her that in addition to home care we continue to invest in long-term care as well as in these investments Mr. Speaker that the long-term care wait times in Ontario have been reduced by approximately 45% just 10,000 new beds that we've brought online since coming to office investments like the redevelopment in beds that we have already made and we continue to make The members opposites are asking me where? Well let me give them some examples how about this I'm sure about 30 years 2015 in Waterloo with the deputy premier and members of the PC caucus for the opening of a long-term care Mr. Speaker the government keeps saying that they are going to address 30,000 more beds. At the recent health achieved conference the minister of health spoke about change that's supposed to improve our health care system and provide better access for Ontarians the minister talked about closing the gaps between different areas including equitable access you've had 12 years to review and develop a long-term care capacity study to ensure that there is equitable access across the province we've been waiting for 12 years for that capacity study to make sure that the beds are where they need to go so in Heliburton County one of my homes needs to know when they will be refurbished and if they can get more beds allotted in order to make it sustainable or they're going to leave that community they may not stay so Mr. Speaker will the minister tell us when the capacity study will be done and if it will be done before the refurbishment plan so we know it's fair and equitable thank you this is Mr. Speaker now we plan existing beds so we plan on redeveloping all existing beds the program is open we've reached out to all long-term care homes across Ontario that are interested in redevelopment to come to us with the proposal a number of them already have I look forward to announcing them in the near future but I thought the member opposite might be interested in this particular redevelopment it's fair view large Mr. Speaker and on September 25th I was there for the reopening of their brand new redeveloped long-term care home in the middle of Central East Lane thank you Mr. Speaker Thank you Speaker thank you Speaker my questions to the Premier the government intends to ram through its omnibus budget bill this week we heard that this morning at least one part of that bill would allow cabinet to release a single company corporate construction giant Alliston from its 60 year obligation to respect labour agreements on its work sites the Premier herself voted against the Conservative bill this last year Speaker will the Premier tell this house if there's any conflict of interest to declare between her government and Alliston Thank you Thank you Speaker Thank you again to the member for this question What we've done here is we've taken a situation where an agreement surface from the 1950s that simply wasn't in place anywhere else in the province of Ontario a particular company there was an initiative about a year or two ago that brought forward a solution that would have favoured one side I didn't think that was fair Speaker what I did is I invited both sides sit down for a weekend with Kevin Burkett one of the best that this country has to offer and they were able to reach an agreement that would allow for regulation to allow for the extinguishment of the agreement but to put something else in its place So what will happen now Speaker as a result of this should be passed is that both parties will leave this exercise feeling like they got something out of it Speaker I think that's a good resolution Thank you Well that didn't really answer my question on the issue of conflict Speaker So the Premier has got to know that this looks bad that her Liberal government is basically gifting legislation not connected insiders and their friends Speaker I'm going to remind the member I gave this morning yesterday and I'll give it again today if it gets anywhere near close to making an accusation as I know you could I'm going to stop it Speaker was the Deputy Premier known to have close ties to executive of Ellis Dawn was she part of any discussions at any point and has she declared a conflict of interest in drafting any section of this bill Speaker the member is better than that the question that's being asked Speaker simply is not applicable to this situation at all there's a situation there's a very tough situation that we sat down we've hammered out a deal Speaker what the member speaks out for no part of that deal I understand there's an employer side to this I understand there's an employee side to this there's a building trade union side to this but for the member to suggest that that's simply I think you're better than that Speaker Thank you you see the please you see the new question the member from Scarborough Mr Speaker my question is for the Attorney General Minister ensuring access to justice is an essential part of maintaining confidence in the justice system for the people of Ontario while I commend you for the steps you have taken to address this such as the recent increase in funding towards legal aid clinics we all realize that there is always more work to be done this past Monday the Family Dispute Resolution Institute of Ontario held an annual general meeting to discuss ways in which family mediation techniques and processes can increase access to justice for everyday Ontarians the institute also named this week Family Dispute Resolution Week the Family Dispute Resolution Institute is not the only provider in the province for dispute mediation processes Speaker those individuals who work in the field should be congratulated for their excellent work Attorney General please elaborate on how Family Dispute Resolution techniques contribute to general progress Thank you Mr Speaker First of all let me say thank you to the member of Scarborough I know that he is very very interested in that topic and I was very pleased to be invited to the Family Dispute Resolution Institute first annual general meeting last Monday it was very artwarming to see how many individuals are committed to helping families navigate often difficult emotionally charged situation this dispute resolution Mr Speaker can be a great way to solve issues as it often faster less costly alternative this can be especially important in the area of family law going to separation or divorce it can be a very difficult experience for everyone involved and especially Mr Speaker the children I would like to personally congratulate everyone who is involved in this area and I applaud them for the work that they do I look forward to expanding on the topic of dispute resolution Thank you Mr Speaker Mr Speaker I thank the Attorney General for that answer dispute resolution does seem realistic and cost effective way for families and individuals to reach an agreement it also seems as though it could be less emotionally taxing experience I know that some of my constituents and friends have gone through often exhausting taxing and expensive separation and divorces unfortunately children are often caught in the middle while I'm happy to hear that the Attorney General attended the Family Dispute Resolution Institute of Ontario I'm curious to know what else this government is doing to ensure the families who are going through difficult periods have the proper support Could the Attorney General highlight what her ministry is doing in this area for people of Ontario Thank you Attorney General Yes Mr Speaker after attending the conference this week I have to say that I was very impressed with the number of people who have committed themselves to helping families get through time most importantly we offer family mediation services to help parties resolve conflict outside of court this can be a good way for parties to reach decision quickly and in a cost effective way family information centres provide free help on family law issues such as divorce or a child custody this is improving access to justice in family law which we all know can be an emotionally charged and sensitive area we are also building a simple, easy to use online service that will make it faster for parents to set up or change child support payments without going to court I am proud to say that this will be the first of this kind in Canada with a goal of launching this service by summer 2016 Thank you Mr Speaker Thank you very much Mr Speaker my question is for the premier this morning, premier over the last two years we have seen 200 positions and over 20 million dollars cut from the local hospitals in the Quinney region we are talking about one of the largest retirement communities in the province one of the most visited for tourists and one of the largest communities for veterans in Ontario 162 positions including nurses were cut just last week at Quinney healthcare my constituents who use Prince Edward Trenton Memorial and Belleville General Hospitals have seen bed cuts, service cuts and nursing jobs being cut so my question basically is to the premier how much tighter can she put the screws to Quinney healthcare before she breaks these small rural hospitals Thank you Minister of Health long term care Thank you Mr Speaker I want to begin by saying that my expectation is the Minister of Health is that our hospitals have a responsibility to ensure that the patient care that they provide is of the highest quality and the services are there to meet the needs of their communities and that includes the four hospitals that the member opposite is referring to that come under the umbrella of the Quinney healthcare corporation now it's true that QHC has been working to manage within their budget they have of course the member opposite talked about the eliminated positions that are being proposed at this stage Mr Speaker they've had conversations about the job losses he of course left out the fact that 38 of those positions are actually vacant today and also they are creating 78 new positions he failed to mention that which has a significant impact but nonetheless and notwithstanding that clarification I'm working very closely with the member from Northumberland Quinty West all the hospitals in the region including the Trenton hospital which is being affected by these changes Mr Speaker that answer is just not going to sell in the Quinty region over the last five years you've cut $36.5 million how do you expect to maintain the same kind of service that you say you expect when you've cut that many jobs from our local hospitals and don't take it from me and don't take it from the grassroots efforts that are underway in the Quinty region or even the Ontario Health Coalition take it from the emergency room doctors at those local hospitals who have sent a letter to Quinty Health Care saying that the cuts are definitely going to impact patient care there negatively the Minister of Health was happy yesterday in the Belville Intelligent to say we've always maintained the expectation is that service to patients will not be impacted but when you're making those kinds of cuts Mr Speaker it has to have a negative impact I would like the Premier to stand up I would like everyone in charge over there I would like her to guarantee no more cuts no more shortfalls in local hospitals in the Quinty region or do I just have to I would remind the member when I stand and stop Minister of Health well thank you Mr Speaker and again the member opposite neglected to mention that last year due to budget pressures we stepped in with $3.9 million of mitigation funding to Quinty Health Care they're doing the same as well as they face these pressures because there is that expectation that the quality of services don't suffer now a year ago we had discussions that resulted in me providing additional funding for one of the hospitals that the member opposite was concerned about but I have to say over the course of this calendar year I haven't heard a word from the member opposite about Quinty Health Care Corporation or the four hospitals but I have almost on a daily basis been working with the member of his ward so it's fine for him to stand up near the end of the game to make these allegations but I would expect him to do it with a member from Northumberland Quinty West is working with the local communities to make sure we have a solution for sure the standing order 38A the member from here on Bruce has given notice of her dissatisfaction with the answer her question given by the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change concerning the cost of Ontario's trade plan this matter will be debated today at 6pm the member from London West on a point of order I'd like to welcome a student from London who has come to Queens Park to shadow me today Aaron Quigley is here in the members gallery thank you the Minister of Government and Consumer Services I was also a remiss this morning I want to introduce Marion Petrov a friend of a close policy advisor who is an international relations student at the Monk School at U of T welcome, thank you Mr. Speaker I wanted to welcome Jennifer Lapel to Queens Park today she is the CEO of the Clearview Public Library System welcome there are no deferred votes this house stands adjourned until 3pm this afternoon