 It is now time for Question Period, the leader of Ramassus East Royal Opposition now. Now? Good morning again, Speaker. My question is for the Acting Premier. The Financial Accountability Office was very concerned about the Liberal-Hydro Financing Scheme and asked MPPs to make certain the auditor general approved. But not only did the auditor say the scheme does not meet accounting standards, she said that to flow the costs through Ontario Power Generation, as the scheme called for, will add $4 billion. She said, quote, we're talking $4 billion more than needed just to get an accounting result. Now the Globe and Mail is taking the scandal national with a damning indictment of this government's practices. Mr. Speaker, now that the Liberal Scheme has been disclosed, will the government follow the law and save the Ontario taxpayers $4 billion? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Please rise and once again talk about the policy choice that we made as a government, Mr. Speaker, to ensure that we continue to have a reliable electricity system, a clean electricity system, Mr. Speaker, and an affordable electricity system for the ratepayers of today and for the ratepayers of tomorrow, Mr. Speaker. And the Fair Hydro Plan, Mr. Speaker, the plan that we brought forward keeps the cost of borrowing within the ratebase, not the tax base, Mr. Speaker, because that's the logical thing to do, Mr. Speaker. The policies and the implementation process for the Fair Hydro Plan were designed and extensively reviewed by senior bureaucrat officials, Mr. Speaker, from the Ministry of Energy, from the Ministry of Finance, from the Treasury Board Secretary, from the Office of the Provincial Controller, from Cabinet Office, from the Ontario Financial Authority, from the IESO, Mr. Speaker, from the Ontario Power Generation, and we worked with third-party experts with firms such as KPMG, ENY. Thank you. Supplementary. Well, thank you. Back to the acting premier. The logical thing to do is not spend the extra $4 billion. The Globe and Mail clearly illustrates that not only will Ontario families pay tens of billions of dollars for this liberal hydro scheme, but the secret accounting will cost taxpayers $4 billion more. The article reads, quote, Andre Lauren, the CDHow Institute's research director, said he'd never before encountered such a convoluted arrangement in the public sphere. To him, the use of related party transactions between multiple entities resembles tax avoidance schemes in the private sector, quote, the same accountants that are advising the government, are advising the private sector to build other types of complex accounting structures, he told the Globe. How crazy is this, really? Mr. Speaker, will the government come clean on what the Globe and Mail has titled, quote, bad books? President of the Treasury Board, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know that the members' office are anxious to hear the answer. That's why they ask the question. Speaker, our government presents the province's finances fairly and accurately in accordance with Canadian public sector accounting standards and the impact of the ferrohydro plan will be transparent in the consolidated financial statements of our province. At the core of this issue, Speaker, is a technical issue about whether or not the ISO is a rate-regulated agency and should thus use rate-regulated accounting. The Auditor General does not believe that the ISO should use rate-regulated accounting and we respectfully disagree, Speaker. Instead, the AG is advocating for an accounting practice that shields $17 billion in market transactions over which the ISO has oversight, and those are now transparent, Speaker, and in the public domain. In closing, Speaker, I know that Minerva Opposite mentioned the public. They're waiting, as are we with, Speaker, with bated breath to see what the other side is going to do about hydro, Speaker. We've yet to hear. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, back to the Deputy Premier. It's transparent, all right. We saw right through it. In a statement to the Globe, KPMG emphasized that it had no formal role in selecting or approving Ontario's accounting policies, nor did Deloitte, Ernst & Young, decline to answer questions about its work, according to the Globe and Mail. Yet the Energy Minister keeps saying all of them have approved this government's scheme. All of the firms deny that. Mr. Speaker, do we need another gas-plant-style scandal hearings to get to the truth yet again? The Minister of Energy, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Once again, I'm pleased to rise and talk about the work that we have done with our accounting firms, Mr. Speaker. And the policies and the implementation process for the Fair Hydro Plan were designed and extensively reviews, as I said before, Mr. Speaker, by E&Y, KPMG, and Deloitte. In conjunction with that, Mr. Speaker, we worked extensively with the senior bureaucratic officials, Mr. Speaker, within my ministry, within the Ministry of Finance, within the Treasury Board Secretariat, the Office of the Provincial Controller, the Cabinet Office, Mr. Speaker, as well as the Ontario Financial Authority and the Independent Electricity System Operator, and of course, Mr. Speaker, OPG. Through this work, we considered a range of implementation options and ensured that due diligence, Mr. Speaker, was completed. Once again, these were policy choices that we made to ensure that we continue to have a clean, reliable, and affordable electricity system. Thank you. Listen carefully to the round of three questions, and we're in warnings. New questions. New questions. New questions. New questions. New questions. My question this morning is for the Ministry of Energy. If the $4 billion wasted on the Liberals' unfair hydro plan isn't outrageous enough, Ontarians were shocked last week to learn that the Hydro-1 Board secretly inserted a poison pill into the contract of the Hydro-1 CEO that would allow him to cash in $10 million in severance on the way out the door should he be fired. Mr. Speaker, when was the Minister of Energy aware of this $10 million severance package? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We recognize that executive salaries are high compared to the vast majority of Ontario's salaries and remain committed to Hydro-1's regulation, accountability, Mr. Speaker, and transparency. I'm serious. Finish. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Accountability and transparency through our government's involvement as a majority shareholder. That said, Mr. Speaker, Doug Ford knows very well that Hydro-1 is now a publicly traded company, not a government entity. And his rhetoric won't take one cent, not one cent off electricity bills. Remember from Stormont, Dundas, Southing, Gary is warned. Finish. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Hydro-1's governance agreement is publicly available and we urge the Conservatives and Doug Ford to read it. Its purpose is to ensure that the structure of Hydro-1 benefits ratepayers and has allowed them to find $114 million in savings, translating to lower electricity rates and winter disconnections, enhanced customer service speaker, and I'll get more on the supplementary. Supplementary. Mr. Speaker, it was the Liberal government who sold Hydro-1 when more than 80% of taxpayers said that it was the wrong thing to do for the future of the province of Ontario. Mr. Speaker, it was the Premier who said time and time again. The member from Niagara Falls is warned. Finish, please. Mr. Speaker, it was the Premier who said time and time again in this House that the government retained the right to fire the board and the CEO at Hydro-1. Yet this occurred behind closed doors a $10 million severance package for the $6 million man should he be fired. My question to the Minister of Energy, did he even know about this secret arrangement at the board? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What we do know about is the 25% savings that we brought to all families. The member from Niagara, West Glandbrook is warned. Finish, please. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The 25% savings that we brought to all residents and families right across this province, Mr. Speaker. Again, we recognize that executive salaries are higher compared to the vast majority of Ontario sales, Mr. Speaker. And we're going to remain committed to Hydro-1's regulation and accountability and transparency through our government's involvement as that majority shareholder, Mr. Speaker. But, you know, Mr. Speaker, we continue to be perplexed by Doug Ford's out-of-control and erratic scheme to fire the leadership of the company because he hasn't said what his goal is, Mr. Speaker, and how he will leave this, how this will leave the people of Ontario better off, Mr. Speaker. We know that the rates are set independently by the Ontario Energy Board, not the CEO of Hydro-1, Mr. Speaker. We'll continue to work in the best interests of the people of Ontario. Thank you. Final supplementary. Mr. Speaker. I don't know how the Minister of Energy does it. I don't know how. Every day during question period, he goes round and round and round and round like a broken record. But where was he when the people of Ontario were getting hit with $4 billion more than they should have on the Liberals' unfair hydro plan? And where was he when this secret deal was being cooked up by the Board at Hydro-1 to hand out a $10 million severance package to the $6 million man, the CEO and President of Hydro-1? Where was he? He can spin like a broken record in the House, but does he believe it was the right thing to do to put a secret deal together for $10 million? The Minister of Indigenous Affairs and the Minister of Indigenous and Reconciliation is warned. Minister. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. We've been standing here right in this House helping the people of Ontario as they vote against every single thing that we do to bring forward an affordable electricity system, Mr. Speaker. Making sure that we eliminate coal, they vote against that, Mr. Speaker. Bringing in a 25% reduction for families, they vote against it, Mr. Speaker. I have three on my mind, but I'll go for one. The member from here on Bruce is warned. And I think he knows who I have in my mind. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Again, when we brought forward minimum wage to help families and help individuals across this province, Mr. Speaker, they actually voted against it. We know where we stand when it comes to the people of Ontario. We stand shoulder to shoulder with them, Mr. Speaker. They vote against everything they can to make sure that it makes life more difficult for the people of this province. We will continue to work, Mr. Speaker, for the people of Ontario. You know what, Mr. Speaker? When it comes to making sure that the electricity system is clean, reliable and affordable, Mr. Speaker, it is this government that brought forward the Fair Hydro Plan that has actually helped the people of Ontario will continue to do what's right for the people of this province, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. New question. The member from Kitchener wanted to... Thank you. My question is to the Acting Premier. After 15 years of underfunding hospitals, including five years of frozen, operating budgets for hospitals, does the Premier realize, does this government realize, that you have created a crisis in health care in the province of Ontario? Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. Minister of Health, Long-Term Care. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, our budget this year has laid out precisely what we intend to do, and that is continue to invest in hospital funding as we have each and every year since we took office. And in this particular budget, we're making a historic investment of an additional $822 million in Ontario's publicly funded hospitals. This amounts to an increase overall, on average, of 4.6%. And this will increase capacity, decrease wait-times, and improve access to care for families across Ontario. So we are directly benefitting people living in Ontario, increasing their access to care in our hospitals. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Supplementary. Thank you very much. Again, to the Acting Premier or the Minister, the Premier's budget was more about trying to get headlines than trying to fix the problems that this Liberal government has created. The CEO of Muskoka Algonquin Health Care said, and I quote, hospital funding has not kept pace with many new and rising costs, like hydro. The budget is very disappointing and does not address the multimillion-dollar operating shortfall that we are projecting. Why doesn't this government get it, Mr. Speaker? Thank you, Minister. So I'm certainly pleased to give some specifics as to what our budget actually will mean for the people of Ontario. It will give patients access to 26,000 additional MRI operating hours, 14,000 more surgical and medical procedures, 3,000 more cardiac procedures, and it will give patients access to more essential services in hospitals like cardiac care, critical care, chemotherapy, and treatment for stroke. It will decrease wait-times of hip, knee, cataract, shoulder, cornea, and spine surgery. We're increasing our investment each and every year. We're doing it in a careful, thoughtful way, depending on the demographics of a particular region. We're looking at that with the lens and we're increasing our investments. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Final supplementary. Mr. Speaker, in order to address a problem, you actually have to admit that there's a problem. 15 years of Liberal decisions have created a crisis in our healthcare system. It's in all of our ridings. We're not going to hide from it. But instead of fixing hospitals, Doug Ford would further privatize healthcare or just close hospitals or health programs that Liberals gave the people of this province hallway medicine. Doug Ford is going to give the people of this province parking lot medicine. The good news is that we new Democrats have a plan to fix hospitals and end hallway medicine. But it is important to accept responsibility for what you have created in this province. Will this premier accept responsibility and apologize to the people of this province for creating a crisis in healthcare in the province of Ontario? Thank you. Minister? So, Mr. Speaker, hospital funding in Ontario has increased by more than 65% since we took office in 2003. That's amazing. It now is at $19 billion. In the past two years alone, we've increased operational funding to hospitals by almost $1 billion. And also last year, we committed an additional $9 billion to support hospital infrastructure as part of our plan to invest $19 billion in capital grants to hospitals over the next 10 years to keep our system sustainable for years to come. Healthcare is a very complex issue, Mr. Speaker. We are doing our part when it comes to hospital funding. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. New question to the member from Oshawa. Thank you very much, Speaker, and my question is to the premier. New Democrats have a pharma care plan for everyone. It will cover 90% of prescriptions and no one is left behind. It is actually pharma care for everyone. Why doesn't the premier believe in universal pharma care? Here, here. Acting premier, the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. Minister of Health, long-term care. Mr. Speaker, certainly our government is committed at the end of the day, hopefully to have a national universal pharma care program. Well, we on this side of the house, being the type of responsible government that we are, are moving incrementally towards that goal. And so, of course, we did announce our OHIP Plus program that started on January 1st of this year. Free drugs for everyone under the age of 25. The entire number of drugs is 4,400 drugs that are now covered. We believe this is an excellent step forward. Over a million prescriptions have already been filled, Mr. Speaker. This is the first step, and, of course, I'll elaborate in the supplementary. Thank you. Supplementary. Thank you, Speaker. Again, to the premier. I don't think incrementally is going to cut it. The premier and the government have talked about pharma care, but the reality is the government has had 15 years to act. Why has this liberal government ignored pharma care for the last 15 years? Thank you. Minister? Mr. Speaker, as I was saying, of course, we do believe in incremental improvement as a responsible way in terms of building our budget. And so, of course, we have now increased our coverage in OHIP Plus for all seniors over the age of 65. No deductible. This will be of immense benefit. Again, covering all 4,400 drugs to ensure that no one is left behind. So we have a comprehensive plan. It's going to make a real difference to the health of the community. I do want to point out that the NDP's plan apparently won't take place. It won't be realized until the year 2020. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Final supplementary. Thank you very much, Speaker. It surprises me that this government defends their junior drug plan and their senior drug plan. And it's not fair to call it pharma care when they don't actually care about anybody in between. The premier thinks that children with access to medication also think that they should be cut off when they turn 25. New Democrats don't think so. We don't ask how old you are when you go to the hospital. So we shouldn't care how old you are when you need a prescription. Health care should be universal for a person with diabetes, or asthma, or HIV, or any other chronic illness. They should have drug coverage. They should have coverage on their 25th birthday, their 30th birthday, their 40th, their 50th, and it goes on. Everybody, Speaker. Everybody. It's universal means. So why doesn't the premier believe in universal pharma care? Good. Thank you. Minister. And, Mr. Speaker, I'm sure you will recall in our budget of this year, we took a further step. We introduced coverage for those with no private insurance between the ages of 25 and 65 so that they will have 80% of their costs reimbursed for dental and pharma care. $400 for an individual and $700 for a family of four. This is an excellent step forward. More and more people are being covered. We have one out of two people in Ontario now covered for pharma care. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, my question is to the Minister of Energy. Yesterday, Hydro One's chair released a statement on their egregious $10 million severance package for their $6 million man. Did the Premier or Minister instruct Hydro One to release that statement? And did they coordinate the statement with Hydro One? Yes or no, Minister. Thank you, Minister of Energy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, the board is an entity that works on its own, Mr. Speaker. And so, you know, I wasn't aware that they were releasing that statement. But when it comes to, you know, Hydro One's governance agreement, Mr. Speaker, as I said, that's also publicly available. And we urge the Conservatives to read that, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Supplementary? Well, Mr. Speaker, that's the fourth question today that the Minister's been asked. What he knew about the $10 million severance package for the $6 million man when he knew it, whether this was a coordinated effort between Hydro One and the government. I can't believe, as a former energy minister, that your Hydro Company wouldn't inform you back in November about such a significant change in the rules of the game over there at Hydro One. Minister, last week, the Premier walked out and you ran away from a scrum. So I want to know what you're hiding, why you would walk away from a scrum, and why you're not being forthright with the people of Ontario. You see it, please? The Member will withdraw. Withdraw. Withdraw. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I once again was very happy to answer questions to the media and stay there for about 10 minutes, Mr. Speaker. The only person that I know that is doing the dug and dash as it's starting to get know within the media circles is the leader of the Conservatives, Mr. Speaker, who makes sure that when he answers one question and then disappears in a bust, Mr. Speaker, or actually makes the announcement that he's going to fire the CEO and then leaves it to the member of the Conservatives, Mr. Speaker. I think that's the problem, actually, talking about our government's record of making sure that we brought forward the fair hydro plan that reduced rates by 25%, Mr. Speaker. And I know that they sneakily snuck that into their people's and sneakily snuck, Mr. Speaker. It's new words. Mr. Speaker, you know, they snuck it into the people's guarantee, Mr. Speaker, and then tossed it aside. Thank you. Thank you for any of these things. That one got me. New question, the member from Essex. Thank you very much, Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Labour Speaker, once again, this Liberal Government says one thing when it comes to being a friend of working people and then does another. Once again, this Liberal Government has chosen through omnipotence legislation to introduce changes that favour one party to effectively pick a fight and then stand back and watch. It's a very appropriate and frankly even constitutional for the Minister of the Crown to arbitrarily strip unionized workers of their historic collective bargaining jurisdiction and hand deliver that jurisdiction to another union. Thank you, Speaker. I'd like to thank the member for that very unbiased question. Speaker, in the ICI sector, Speaker, there's been a longstanding dispute between the parties. What we did, Speaker, we got one of the Minister. Speaker, we went out we got one of the preeminent experts on formwork Speaker, Kevin Burkett, world-renowned internationally famous, somebody in the province of Ontario that people rely on to bring neutrality and fairness. He studied the current circumstances around the ICI formwork sector in the province and he made recommendations as to how we can move forward, Speaker. We took that advice, Speaker and then we took it out again to the provincial speaker. An expert in construction law asked for specific recommendations, Speaker. And that's what's before the house as I speak. Supplementary. Speaker, the Minister of Labor, the Premier and the Minister of Economic Development have concocted this plan in schedule 14 of the budget bill to strip the historic jurisdiction from thousands of Launa members in the concrete forming sector of our construction industry. And if you listen closely, you can hear them right now on the front lawns ready to fight this legislation. Speaker, not only will this cause immediate labor shortages but it jeopardizes the economic welfare, the pension security of retirees and the health and safety of workers in this sector. It will also impede the productivity of a sector that has literally built the communities in this province. Speaker, will the Minister reverse this draconian legislation and create a level playing field for all workers in this industry, remove the dangerous precedent clause that the Liberal government brought in through their budget legislation? Do you see it, please? Thank you. Minister? Speaker, as we spent the last couple of years going through this process Speaker, it's been a longstanding dispute we've tried to remain as neutral as we possibly can. Speaker, the Honourable Member certainly has taken a side on this Speaker and it's clear what side he's coming from to the detriment of all the carpenters that have worked along with us on this as well Speaker so very clearly I can see that there's one side being represented here our job is to represent both sides Speaker, that's why we bought in the arbitrator, why we bought in the expert Speaker, their recommendations Finish please, Rep. Speaker, their recommendations is to level the playing field and ensure that we have continued furnace in the province of Ontario. Northern eastern Ontario, no change affecting the labourers or collective agreements and in the extended GTA Speaker, we're enforcing the Thank you. Member from the Lancaster, Dundas, Flamborough, Westale Thanks very much Speaker. My question is also for the Minister of Labour. Minister, spring is seemingly finally arrived and it's now time for students around the province to look for summer jobs. In my area, the folks at the Goodwill Career Centre work hard to help students find jobs across the city. Last year they placed over 300 students into summer jobs and this year the demand has increased. The Goodwill Career Centre message is if you're between 15 and 29 and you're looking for employment, we can help. I believe that many of these jobs pay minimum wage which is now much higher than it was last summer. It is so encouraging that despite what we've heard from critics students in my writing are benefiting from a thriving summer job market and increased minimum wage. Minister, can you please tell us more about what we can expect to see around the province as a result of the increase in the minimum wage? Thank you. Thank you Speaker and thank you to the Member from Lancaster, Dundas, Flamborough, Westale for that question Speaker. We all know the previous Conservative Government froze the minimum wage, $6.85 for nearly 10 years when they were in charge Speaker. As a result people in this province who were working sometimes 35-40 hours a week sometimes two or three jobs just to get by Speaker could not get by. We knew we had to do better that's why we raised the minimum wage 12 times Speaker since 2003. It's now more than double that it was when it was frozen for all those years under the previous Government but we know at the same time the economy of the province of Ontario has grown. Our province is leading the G7 when it comes to economic growth unemployment numbers as low as we've seen in years Speaker 820,000 new jobs and thanks to the minimum wage Speaker more Ontarians are able to benefit from that growth that's something we should be proud of Speaker. Thank you supplementary. I've seen that firsthand in my community and while we have businesses expanding and creating wealth not everyone was seeing the benefits of this growth. There were parents who were working full-time and finding it difficult to provide the essentials to their family let alone save to get ahead in the future the increase to a $15 minimum wage means that they can more easily take care of themselves and their families I found it disappointing when our colleagues in the opposition voted against increasing the minimum wage even more so when their leader promised he would roll it back. The simple fact is that these families they roll back to the $15 minimum wage they cannot afford the leader of the opposition's plan to take money out of their pockets Minister can you detail how our plan is different? Thank you again to the member for this very important question to people Speaker who need help a lot our plan is simple what we're going to do is raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour of January 1st of next year that is different Speaker from the leader of the opposition he promises to roll that back Speaker and to take that money directly out of the wallets of working people Speaker this is money they rely on to put food on the table keep a roof over their heads it's lunch money Speaker it's money for shoes for the kids feet these are the families that need our help Speaker these are the people that rely on this and at the same time economists have already settled that an increase to a $15 minimum wage means more money nothing the leader of the opposition can say by taking that money away from these people changes that fact we know it's the time to invest in things that are going to help families while they focus on making the richer Speaker we're focusing on efforts like the minimum wage and OHIP Plus Good question, the member from Leeds Grendel That's good, my question to the action Premier the Liberals have held a total of 39 campaign style announcements Oh it's an expensive question at the estimated cost of $7500 each event that brings the total amount spent campaigning on the taxpayers dime by the Liberals to $292,500 The Liberals are now under investigation by elections in Ontario Wow, these events have to stop Mr. Speaker will the Liberal Party pay back the taxpayer Thank you Thank you very much Speaker and I appreciate the question from the member opposite I think the member opposite has been exaggerating what elections in Ontario have said in terms of their sort of boiler play response they gave when they receive complaints like the one they have received from the conservatives Speaker our focus is to make sure that we are talking about this very important budget this budget that actually provides for a plan for care and opportunity for the people of Ontario budget that ensures that the people of Ontario get an increase in their minimum wage to $15 an hour by January 1st 2019 that ensures that farmer care is expanded to a senior 65 and more not to mention investment in building new hospitals making wait times down The reason the member opposite and the conservatives don't want to talk about that is because they are going to cut the wage that are so deserving for the people of Ontario Back to the acting creamer Speaker this government is so desperate to cling to power they'll stoop to never before seen lows there's no amount of taxpayers dollars that they won't use for their own self-serving needs Speaker how much more taxpayer dollars will this government spend campaigning How many? How many more? Clearly Speaker clearly the conservatives had a busy weekend and they're trying to do everything in their power to deflect from the scandals that continue to emerge from their own parties It's questions that people asking about them Is it the sudden nomination of 11 conservative candidates entirely bypassing the democratic nomination process Is it a speaker that ashamed about commitment to removing police oversight in our province that was recently passed business house oversight Have that discussion outside of the house Answer please Or is it speaker the nomination of somebody like Tanya Granik Alan as part of their party who is known to take anti muslim stand who is known to take anti muslim stand who is known to take anti muslim stand who is known to take anti muslim stand That's what they're trying to distract from Thank you Thank you speaker My question to the acting premier Over the weekend an investigation by the Globe and Mail confirmed what the NDP has been saying for the past year The premier is wasting 4 billion dollars on a complicated private financing scheme The sole purpose is to conceal the fact that she's using debt to artificially lower hydro bills prior to the election After the election hydro bills will skyrocket yet again rising by more than 70% over the next 10 years Ontario families and businesses will be forced to pay back the billions in hydro debt plus another 21 billion dollars Why is the premier spending billions of dollars to mislead Ontarians into believing she's lowering The member will withdraw Withdraw speaker Why is the premier spending billions of dollars when over the long run she's actually driving hydro bills up even higher Thank you Thank you Mr. Speaker Once again we reiterate the fact that we made a policy choice Mr. Speaker This government made a policy choice to ensure that we continue to have clean, reliable and affordable electricity for rate payers of today and for rate payers of tomorrow Mr. Speaker And the fair hydro plan keeps the cost of borrowing Mr. Speaker within the rate base not the tax base and we did that Mr. Speaker because that's the logical thing to do and that's how it's been done for decades Mr. Speaker Electricity financing should remain within the electricity system Mr. Speaker And so we worked within the my ministry with officials within the Ministry of Finance within the Treasury Board Secretariat the office of the Provincial Controller Cabinet Office Mr. Speaker and of course three outside audit experts Mr. Speaker were available and our due diligence was completed Mr. Speaker and I'll answer more in the supplementary Thank you Mr. Speaker Again to the acting Premier the Premier's $40 billion hydro borrowing scheme will not only drive up hydro bills over the long run it actually violates public sector accounting standards emails obtained by the auditor general approved that government officials knew this from the start of the signing this scheme the Premier knew that her private financing scheme would break the rules but she chose to go ahead anyway and needlessly waste an extra $4 billion Why is the Premier breaking the rules wasting billions of dollars and destroying public trust in government just so she can win an election I confess to making an error I should have deferred it through next time so I will give it to the acting Premier to give it back to the Minister of Energy if he wishes Thank you Mr. Speaker So let me be clear and let's talk about what two world class accounting firms had to say in statements about rate regulating accounting within the public sector accounting standards KPMG said on the basis of our extensive research deliberations and the opinion from another major accounting firm we believe that the accounting policies adopted by the independent electricity system operator are in accordance with the Canadian public sector accounting standards Mr. Speaker Deloitte concluded that any regulatory assets and liabilities recognized through the appropriate application of these policies would meet the criteria for recognition under the Canadian public sector accounting standards Mr. Speaker and additionally Ernst & Young is OPG's financial auditor who insulted on an ongoing basis Mr. Speaker when talking about wasting billions of dollars their plan Mr. Speaker is to buy back millions of shares in Hydro One and it will not take one cent off electricity bills for Ontario families they voted against the Fair Hydro Plan we reduced rates by 25% Mr. Speaker New question? The member from London North Centre Thank you Mr. Speaker My question is for the Attorney General Mr. Speaker this is a representation of Indigenous people racialized people and marginalized people in our justice system Mr. Speaker this is a big concern for myself for our colleagues and I know for the Attorney General the current system seems to exclusively look at criminal behaviour and not at things contributing factors such as homelessness poverty, mental health or addiction issues Mr. Speaker there is a lack of a holistic approach so I think we need to ask ourselves how can we start taking a person-centered approach help address some of the underlying factors that may be causing people to engage in criminal behaviour I know in the recent budget we announced a new project called Community Justice Centres and I'd like to ask the Attorney General to explain how they will lead to a more holistic approach for people and I would like to thank the Member for this important question Speaker Ontario is moving forward with creating Community Justice Centres to provide a new and innovative approach to criminal justice that increases access to justice services while reducing barriers faced by vulnerable people especially people from suffering from mental health addiction issues. Community Justice Centres move justice out of the traditional courtroom and into a community setting to help connect individuals to critical issues of crime before during and after entry into the justice system. These centres are hubs that bring together services justice, health, mental health and addictions, housing, social services tailored to the unique needs of individual communities. Community Justice Centres will strive to ensure that each point of contact with the police or justice system can be an opportunity to provide meaningful intervention that reduces the likelihood of further offending or victimization. This is part of Ontario's commitment to work together to provide efficient and effective services to communities. Thank you. Supplementary. Thank you to the Attorney General for his answer but also for making this a priority. Speaker I'm very optimistic we've seen CJC's Community Justice Centres established in over 70 different communities around the world and there's very strong evidence that it reduces recidivism reduces reliance on incarceration and enhances community safety and well-being. It's especially important for me because as a member for London North Centre one of the three pilots will be located in my community. Speaker in London one third of charges late in the city are committed by youth between the ages of 18 and 25. I'm very pleased to hear that each location will have community specific models that will be set up to be best equipped to deal with the community they are located in. Please Attorney General can you tell us how the three different community justice centres will reflect the communities they are placed in. Thank you Attorney General. Extensive consultation our government has identified three community justice centre models in Canora, London and Toronto's Moss Park. In Canora speaker Ontario's planning to implement an urban community justice centre that has parallel criminal and restorative justice processes. These two streams would for example support increase indigenous leadership in the provision of traditional and restorative justice practices. In Moss Park Ontario will implement an urban community health and justice centre that focuses on improving the social determinants of health that can lead to contact with the community. I'm very pleased to hear that you can connect transition aged young adults with critical supports at an early age and provide targeted interventions addressing the specific needs of that population. Overall this is a $14 million invested in our justice system and speaker I truly worry about if the conservatives under Doug Ford were to be elected. With their promise billions of dollars will be spent on the justice system. Thank you speaker my question is for the minister of advanced education and skills development. The York university strike has now gone for nearly two months impacting more than 51,000 student speaker. A letter from the vice president academic posted recently to the university's website said this. If the strike does not be sufficient time to offer all of our summer terms. Speaker will the minister finally take action to get the 51,000 students back into their classroom. Well Mr. Speaker I want to thank the member opposite for the question this is obviously a very serious situation as it affects and it impacts students. I would like to remind the member opposite that York is still open and students are still attending classes and they have been through the duration. That being said Mr. Speaker this government has taken action. The minister of labor has appointed an experienced mediator to bring the sides together to talk to each party and to find a path to resolution Mr. Speaker. So we are working on this issue and supporting both parties because the best deal is a deal that is made at the table. We have been urging both sides to come to the table to resolve their issues. Too many times. The member from Welland is warned. Carry on please. And to find the compromise that is necessary in the best interest of the students of York University Mr. Speaker we have been taking this as a very serious issue and have been working towards supporting both parties to come to a resolution and we will continue to do so Mr. Speaker. Thank you supplementary. Good to the minister Speaker this could be the last opportunity the Liberal government has to act. To save the semester of tens of thousands of students and allow them to graduate in June. Classes are on the verge of being cancelled Speaker and many students summer job placements are at risk. Speaker why does the minister continue to put thousands of students lives on hold? I would like to inform the House because the member opposite is not providing specific and correct information Mr. Speaker. York University has in fact put plans in place. They have been doing so for quite some time starting first and foremost with keeping the University open so that students can attend classes Mr. Speaker and just last week they announced additional supports so students can either have an assessment on their term or if they have experienced hardships that they can come to the University and receive the necessary supports. Mr. Speaker our concern first and foremost is for the students at York University. We are urging both sides that are involved in this to come back to the table to get a deal that recognizes that both sides will have to compromise in order to reach a deal and put the needs of the students first and foremost Mr. Speaker. No question. The member from York University. Well thank you very much Mr. Speaker my question is to the Minister of Health Minister you will know there are 20 hospitals in this province that are considered medium sized hospitals Timmins and District Hospital is one of those hospitals. When they heard the funding announcement that was made by your government that supposedly hospitals were going to get 4.6% as an increase they thought well this is going to go a long ways to helping us. The problem is that Timmins and District Hospital doesn't get the full amount it gets .9% so as a result our hospital is looking at a deficit next year of close to 5 million dollars which is going to be catastrophic when it comes to service delivery Minister can you tell us what your plan is to address the shortfall in funding these 20 medium sized hospitals across the province including the Timmins and District Hospital Thank you very much Mr. Speaker we made it very clear that when we talked about a 4.6% overall increase we meant an average increase. There are many areas of this province with very high growth and tremendous population increases and so this increase of 4.6% is an average obviously the smaller hospitals have not received necessarily that amount of an increase. The funding formula is being reviewed and has been reviewed in a manner to increase fairness and equity in terms of the number of patients served, the acuity of the cases this is done in conjunction with our lins, in conjunction with the Ontario Hospital Association as well in fact the president of that association co-chairs our funding review committee that is made up of representatives including those from medium sized hospitals Thank you Mr. Speaker supplementary Madam Minister these are medium sized hospitals these are not the small ones and I'm not going to take issue with that but the point is that these hospitals are trying to provide services in an atmosphere where they've cut to the bone already. Timmins and District as you well know has done everything including privatizing their sleep lab in order to save about $60,000 in an already managed hospital. These hospitals have done everything that they can in order to trim out any kind of excesses that they don't need and we're seeing it when it comes to patient services. You know as well as I do that in the system when you look at hospital funding the deficit that is incurred by these 20 hospitals about $400 million there's a surplus of about $400 million with all of the other hospitals that they get in surpluses. This is a question that is evenly distributed. Hospitals like TDH don't end up with a deficit and are treated like every other hospital in this province so they can provide the services that people need. Thank you Mr. Speaker and I do appreciate the great efforts of many hospitals in terms of finding efficiencies and actually just at this point I'd like to give a shout out to some of our amazing healthcare workers. My husband was at Southlake Regional Health Service last week and I can only say that our nurses, our doctors everybody, the food lady everybody just shows amazing caring and I was so impressed by our wonderful healthcare workers. I just wanted to just do that for our very important caring group of people. In terms of continuing to work with the funding formula the member obviously has brought forward an issue that is of importance to the medium-sized hospitals. We certainly are committed to continuing to work to ensure that the appropriate funding is there. It is certainly our commitment that we provide adequate funding for people to receive the type of care they need where they need it. Thank you Mr. Speaker. New question, the member from Davenport. Thank you Speaker and my question this morning is to the Minister of Education. After inheriting an education system that was disrepair a fact that was affirmed by the elementary teachers I met with in my office last week our government has made it our top priority to invest in teachers, education workers and students and our publicly funded education system. The focus is to support the people of Ontario including all students and thousands of staff who support student success. Ontario is an international leader in education. We are building a new foundation that supports mental health supports and additional supports for students with special needs. Minister could you please share what our government is doing to support student achievement and their well-being. Thank you Minister of Education and it is responsible for early years in childcare. Thank you to the member for this important question. Mr. Speaker our government is making historic investments in education including our investment in education to a historic $24.5 billion. This funding will add 2000 more education workers in our schools so that children will have access to more mental health workers, guidance counsellors and education assistants. Speaker we are also equipping students with mental health supports in education such as coping and resiliency skills as early as kindergarten and we are increasing investments in art education to $21 million. This speaks to our top priority of supporting student well-being. In fact since 2003 our government has added 40,000 education workers to our publicly funded education system. These investments in education are so important for student well-being and will go where students and educators need it most. Thank you Speaker and again to the Minister of Education. I am proud to represent a government that cares and is committed to providing support to the people of Ontario and access to mental health workers was highlighted by the teachers I met with last week as being paramount for student success. What's clear is that when we hear talks of efficiencies across the aisle we know that means cuts. We can't afford to go back to a time where education is on the chopping block. In fact Mr. Speaker cutting just $1 billion from our schools means thousands of teachers and education workers would be fired. I know that our government is focused on care not cuts by providing much needed investments in special education mental health and an increase in guidance councillors in our schools. Minister can you tell us more about how investments in education are supporting Ontario students? Thank you Minister. Thank you Mr. Speaker and thanks again to the member for this important question. Mr. Speaker this $24.5 billion investment will mean so much for staff and students. Instead of making cuts we are making a clear choice to invest in helping our students achieve excellence in Ontario schools. Speaker we are providing envelope permanent funding of $300 million over three years to support students with special needs. This funding will clear special education assessment backlogs and wait times while reducing stress on parents, teachers and students. Just think about that and in addition to more staff we will be able to support students across the province. This includes social workers, psychologists, speech language pathologists. Speaker on this side of the house we know that we need to invest in our students and invest in our school system and make sure our children are on a strong path to success. Thank you. Question the leader of the opposition. Thank you Speaker the frontline mental health care and addiction workers are feeling and struggling with an increasing burden every day in this province. In many places in Ontario many of those struggling with mental health and addictions don't know where to go for help. In my riding in Nipissing some head to the Nipissing district social service board office which is in city hall in north bay. One man showed up there last week and promptly collapsed in the hall, unresponsive. EMS was called and he was rushed to the hospital. You can imagine how traumatic this is for the staff and for clients who are present at the same time. After 15 years speaker we shouldn't be at this point. To the acting Premier I ask is this really the legacy the Liberals want to leave? Thank you. Minister of health and long-term care. Minister of health long-term care. Thank you very much Mr Speaker. And of course we have increased our investments in mental health and addictions dramatically over through all the years that we have been involved in government. And of course our investment in the 2018 budget is a historic investment of some $2.1 billion. It's the largest investment in services. Now we don't know much about the PC's plan but we do know that the leader of the official opposition has said that he is going to cut funding for supervised injection sites. This is obviously an addiction issue. We know that these harm reduction sites provide wraparound services for some of our most vulnerable people, supports that are saving hundreds of lives. So before the member opposite questions our budget I'd like to hear a little bit more about what they are considering to do about mental health addictions other than cutting the budget. Thank you Mr Speaker. Back to the acting premier. The opioid crisis is well documented and deaths continue to rise to all time highs in Ontario more than a thousand people last year alone. In the northeast Lynn which encompasses my district of Nipissing, opioid abuse cases and mental health disorders are double the provincial average. The CAO of the Nipissing district social services board believes the local situation is in crisis. The board chair says quote, too many vulnerable people in our district are suffering needlessly. They are asking our northeast Lynn to establish a district crisis task force. Speaker to the acting premier will the minister of health direct the northeast Lynn to work with our local officials and take action on this final. I'm having real difficulty reconciling the question from the member opposite with his leaders comments most recently this last week. Of course we've been extremely conscious of the opioid crisis. And this is why we're investing $222 million over three years to combat the opioid crisis. And of course part of our strategy has been expanding harm reduction services. Hiring more frontline staff and improving access to addiction supports across the province. So now we have made naloxone kits available to pharmacies, public health units and police departments. And we have also made a new proposal spray available. Mr. Speaker we are doing everything that we possibly can to combat this public health crisis. We will continue to do so and I will take no lessons from the member opposite on this file. New question, the member from Welland. Thank you speaker my question is to the acting premier. I think the minister of health and well and well in writing and across Ontario cannot get the seniors care that they need. Over 32,000 people are on the wait list for long-term care. And too many people simply cannot get the seniors care they need. They can't get it in their own language. They can't get their own foods and cultural activities that they've lived their entire lives to get. Why has the minister of health long-term care? Mr. Speaker we certainly acknowledge that we have a collective responsibility to support our seniors and to ensure the very best quality of life. And that is why our government has almost doubled funding for long-term care since 2003. As healthcare advancements continue, our population is living longer and developing care needs that are becoming increasingly complex. We have a recent budget. The 2018 budget we're investing $300 million over three years to increase staffing in long-term care beds. This is in a course in addition to our announcement of 5,000 new long-term care beds over the next four years. We are working hard to ensure our seniors live in safety and dignity. Mr. Speaker and we will continue to do so. Thank you. Supplementary. Well Mr. Speaker after 15 very long years, anything this government wanted to do, they could have and should have done already. But since this government took office 15 years ago, the problems in seniors care have gotten worse. Not better. Weight times for long-term care have increased by 270 percent. And families in my riding, the well in riding are stuck waiting for care for their grandparents and their parents. With just 45 days left in office, does the premier regret not making seniors care a priority and leaving people, seniors across Ontario without the care that they've badly needed? Thank you. Well Mr. Speaker, of course through the years our plan for health care has been extremely comprehensive. And the member opposite will know that seniors do like to stay in their own home for as long as possible. We have been managing at home strategy a number of years ago, increased funding for home care and we have continued to increase that each and every year. When it becomes unfortunately necessary for people to leave their homes, we have strengthened our retirement home community with new regulations in terms of safety and so on. We of course have announced our expansion of long-term care beds, over the next decade, and we're continuing to rebuild and refurbish long-term care beds across the province as well. We have a comprehensive plan. We will continue to ensure our seniors live in safety and dignity. Question, the member from Tobacco North. Thank you, Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Environment and Climate Change. Speaker, last week was Earth Week and yesterday was Earth Day and of course to celebrate I encourage community members in my own writing of the Tobacco North to take actions like recycling, taking public transport as well as reducing energy consumption. I'd also like to compliment the leader of the opposition Doug Ford for perhaps his only initiative on greenhouse gas reduction and that is from hiding from the press and getting rid of the media bus that would accompany him across Ontario. I believe that will save on greenhouse gas emissions across all around. Speaker in Ontario, we're making it easier for everyone to do their part by investing billions of dollars in green programs including $94 million cycling infrastructure hundreds of million dollars in energy efficiency retrofits for homes, schools, hospitals, social housing and beyond. Speaker, our cap on pollution is $2.4 billion and counting. And despite the unseasonable weather, cold when it's hot when it's cold, unseasonable flooding there's a complete denial of climate change on the other side. Speaker, I'd ask the Minister to please address our government's programs in this way. Thank you, Speaker. And thank you to the member from Topical North for that question which asked so many questions. I wish I had a lot more time to answer them all. I can tell you, Speaker, that on this side of the house we take the environment very seriously. A cornerstone of our protection of the environment is our protection and our fight against climate change and that means our cap and trade system that we have here in Ontario which in its first year reduced industrial gas, greenhouse gas pollution, Speaker, and raised $2.4 billion in proceeds every penny of which we are reinvesting into programs to further reduce greenhouse gas pollution across Ontario. Speaker, I don't think getting rid of the media bus is a good idea. It takes transparency away. They can't ask the members opposite. Do they believe in climate change? Thank you. The member from Halliburton, Quartha Lakes, Brock on a point of order. Thank you, Mr. Speaker and I'd like to introduce some family here from Winnipeg, Manitoba, my niece Teresa Lyons and her friend Cole. Welcome. We have a deferred vote on the motion for second reading of Bill 8, an act to amend the Consumer Reporting Act and the technical standings, standards, and Safety Act 2000 calling the members. This will be a five minute bell. All members, please take your seats. On April 12th, 2018, Ms. McCharles moved second reading of Bill 8, an act to amend the Consumer Reporting Act, technical standards and Safety Act 2000. All those in favour, please rise. One at a time, be recognized by the clerk. Mr. McCharles. Mr. McCharles. Mr. Nackley. Mr. Nackley. Mr. Bradley. Mr. Bradley. Mr. Del Duke. Mr. Del Duke. Mr. Del Duke. Mr. Del Duke. Mr. Del Duke. Mr. Del Duke. Mr. Del Duke. Mr. Del Duke. Mr. Del Duke. Mr. Del Duke. Mr. Del Duke. Mr. Del Duke. Mr. Del Duke. Mr. Del Duke. Mr. Del Duke. Mr. Del Duke. Mr. Del Duke. Mr. Del Duke. Mr. Del Duke. Mr. Del Duke. Mr. Del Duke. Mr. Del Duke. Mr. Del Duke. Mr. Del Duke. Mr. Del Duke. Mr. Del Duke. Mr. Del Duke. Mr. Del Duke. Mr. Del Duke. Mr. Del Duke. Mr. Del Duke. Mr. Del Duke. Mr. Del Duke. Mr. Del Duke. Mr. Del Duke. Mr. Del Duke. Mr. Del Duke. Mr. Del Duke. Mr. Anders, Mr. Bakker. Mr. Baker, Mr. Donk. Mr. Donk. Mr. Hogar, Ms. Hogarth, Ms. Queado, Ms. Queawalla, Ms. Martin, Ms. Martin, Mr. Potts. Mr. Potts, Mr. Mıktinel, Mr. Mıktinel, Mr. Harner, Mr. Harner, Mr. Hardimab, Mr. Wilson, Mr. Wilson, Ms. Jones, Mr. Jones, Mr. Fedeli, Mr. Fiedeli, Mr. Clark, Mr. Clark, Mr. Smith, Mr. Smith, Mr. Yakibuski, Mr. Yaqibuski, Mr. Miller, Perry, Sam Muskoka, Mr. McNott, Ms. Scott, Ms. Thompson, Ms. Thompson, Ms. Marto, Mr. Yurek, clear the motion carried. Second reading of the bill, 2nd lecture due to perjury of the law. Pursued to the order of the House stated April 19th 2018, the bill is referred to the standing committee on general government. We have a deferred vote on the government notice of motion number seven relating to the allocation of time in bill 31 in act implemented budget measures and to enact in amendment various statutes calling the members this would be a five-minute vote. On April Nineteen 2018 the Spouser Move govern and notice of motion number seven relating to allocation time on bill 31 in act implement budget measures and to enact and amend various statutes. All those in favor, please rise. One at a time be recognized by the clerk. Mr. Nackley. Mr. Nackley. Mr. Bradley. Mr. Bradley. Mr. Del Duca. Mr. Del Duca. Ms. McMahon. Ms. McMahon. Mr. Sousa. Mr. Sousa. Ms. Nighty-Harris. Ms. Nighty-Harris. Ms. Jazz. Ms. Jazz. Ms. Shurelli. Mr. Shurelli. Mr. Chan. Mr. Chan. Ms. McCharles. Mr. McMeek. Mr. McMeekam. Mr. Chacar. Mr. Chacar. Mr. Dugan. Mr. Dugan. Mr. Koto. Mr. Koto. Mr. Leo. Mr. Leo. Mr. Flynn. Mr. Flynn. Mr. Tebow. Mr. Tebow. Mr. Tebow. Mr. Tebow. Mr. Tebow. Mr. Tebow. Mr. Tebow. Mr. Tebow. Mr. Tebow. Mr. Tebow. Mr. Tebow. Mr. Tebow. Mr. Tebow. Mr. Tebow. Mr. Tebow. Mr. Tebow. Mr. Tebow. Mr. Tebow. Mr. Tebow. Mr. Tebow. Mr. Tebow. Mr. Tebow. Mr. Tebow. Mr. Choe. Mr. Bisson. Mr. Bisson. Mr. Vantone. Mr. Vantone. Ms. Fife. Ms. Fife. Mr. Tabbins. Mr. Tabbins. Mr. Monta. Mr. Monta. Ms. Sattler. Ms. Sattler. Ms. Taylor. Ms. Taylor. Ms. Forster. Ms. Forster. Mr. Hatfield. Mr. Hatfield. Ms. Gretzky. Mr. Gates. Mr. Gates. The ayes are 48, the nays are 32. The ayes being 48 and the nays being 32 are declared the motion carried. There are no further deferred votes. This all stands recess until 1 p.m. this afternoon.