 It is now time for question period a member from the PN Carlton Premier Today the OPP claimed that they don't know exactly when 20 of the 24 computers were illegally Accessed by Peter face How can you stand in this assembly and say definitively that no computers were accessed after February 11th? When the OPP stated today, they could have been accessed up until March 20th Can you tell me exactly what you know that the OPP doesn't? Thank you Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker I think members of the legislature are aware that an officer with the Ontario Provincial Police appeared in front of The Justice Committee this morning and Mr. Speaker he had two messages for that committee The first is that the investigation is centered on the former chief of staff to Premier McGinty and that in fact it had nothing to do with the current Premier In fact, I invite members to go on the Blobamel website They may enjoy the headline of the article that's up about that appearance and I quote no evidence win oversaw Document purge OPP says the second thing mr. Speaker and this is just as important that the OPP conveyed to the committee Is that politicians should stay out of OPP investigations? Politicians have no business in OPP Investigations and that a politician getting involved in an OPP investigation may in fact put that investigation in Jeopardy and mr. Speaker. I think the Honourable Member should follow the advice of the Ontario Provincial Police I would suggest that the Honourable Minister actually checked the transcripts I actually sat through committee and here's what else he said He said those computers could have been accessed up until Transition from mr. McGinty to Ms. Wynn happened almost immediately He said that people that were staffing the transition between Kathleen Wynn and Dalton McGinty Happened almost on a daily basis. He also said he enjoyed appearing before our committee So I'm going to ask you again What could you possibly know about the access of these computers that the OPP doesn't know? How can you stand here in the legislature and say without a shadow of a doubt that no computers were wiped under the watch of the Wynn administration? Are you now taking a book out of Laura Miller's page and calling the OPP liars? I I know that this is a Certain time in our history where things get heated. I'm going to offer caution to all members There is my concern about parliamentary language and let's just make sure we don't go there the acting premium Mr. Speaker, I'm quite happy to quote From Officer Duval of the Ontario Provincial Police who appeared in front of the committee Let me give one exchange. He had with the member from Toronto Danforth Here's the quote I can tell you that based on the information to obtain that I produced It's centered on the action of mr. David Livingston only I'd also like to share with the honorable members what the Officer had to say as well. I've been an officer for 17 years It is an unusual request for a detective or an investigator to testify in the evidence It's been uncovered as we are doing During this investigation is very unusual But please understand that if you require me to answer questions on specific evidence I could potentially threaten the prosecution on any criminal offenses that may resolve from this investigation There is a significant public interest in preserving the integrity of a criminal investigation Order, please I know mr. Speaker that the honorable member likes staying up late watching Hillary Clinton on television But let's leave the Ontario Provincial Police Thanks, I actually have a Netflix program for the minister to watch orange is the new black I hope you looked at an orange But I'd like to say this to to the minister what also the OPP Detective constable said to the assembly is while David Livingston is right now the person of interest They could potentially expand their search warrants as well as potential Ito's that means you're not out of the clear yet my friend So I have a question for the acting premier The Minister of Education will come to order the Minister of Rural Affairs will come to order And it's a little late, but the minister from the environment will come to order Why didn't the government Investigation into the destruction of documents or the alleged destruction of documents after the information of Privacy Commissioner and Kavukian state it in her report in June 2013 that that had happened Were you afraid of what the results might be because you knew Peter question still on the payroll with the Liberal Party? Mr. Speaker I would remind the member when the information and Privacy Commissioner report came out that we responded Almost immediately to all her non legislative recommendations action was taken to put in place The proper regime for record keeping and I would also point her to a piece of legislation Which has been introduced in this legislature which responds to some of the legislative Recommendations of the information and Privacy Commissioner this premier mr. from Simcoe north Taken this her obligation very very seriously and we have seen significant activity over the past year to make sure that Documents are properly maintained by this government. Thank you new questions to the acting premier It's very clear that the premier take her job seriously She pretends she wasn't premier of Ontario for six weeks between February and March of last year I ask again on March 19th your deputy director of human resources Emily Marangoni advise the manager of information technology to remove the special administrative rights used by Peter Feist How did Emily Margoni know to have this access removed on March 19th? And why did she do so on March 19th answer the question? Speaker let's let's go back to this morning We had an officer of the Ontario Provincial Police appear in front of the committee he himself admitted This is an extraordinary situation in which he Outlined two things first of all that the investigation Involves mr. David Livingston there are allegations which are not proven as a very serious matter and the term the time in which Premier McGinty was in office the second thing that he stressed mr. Speaker is that it is not for members of parliament It is not for elected politicians to try to play amateur detective here Let us allow the Ontario Provincial Police to undertake their work They will reach whatever conclusions they reached mr. Speaker and then we will be in a position to respond. Thank you Acting Premier wants to talk about amateur hour He should read the ITO reference to his government and their previous Premier and what bureaucrats said about their government But anyway, I will go back to this what we know is that the OPP could charge further individuals We do know computers could have been accessed up until March 20th We do know that the premier's Transition team took place almost immediately and it confirmed that when Kathleen when won the leadership order 26 She she took access of that office almost immediately When was the first time that the premier the minister of government services? Who's also the house leader and the deputy premier met with David Livingston or any member of her transition team to discuss the Deleted emails and the gas plants Thank you deputy acting premier mr. Speaker Again, I will go to Officer de Val of the Ontario Provincial Police quote his words I can tell you that based on the information to obtain that I produced its centred obviously means the investigation on the action of Mr. David Livingston only The member from Toronto Danforth goes on and says have more warrants been executed than this and the officer says no You know mr. Speaker, you're not getting anywhere across the way with this. Let me share again Let me remind members what some of the media are saying about this dog and pony show Globe and mail April 1st the conservative leaders aggressive attempts to score points without the facts to back them up our Reminding Ontario voters why they haven't warmed up to them the Toronto star The leader of the opposition went far beyond with the facts show Toronto star April 1st every time Thank you. I can go on. No, you can Final supplementary Beaker the reality here is that this is a government that is not telling the true story to the people of this province They're not telling the whole story It is very clear from the government's eyes from the OPP's ITO We know for example these computers could have been accessed up until March 20th We know that the transition took place very quickly between the two former Premier and the current Premier We know for example that many members of that former Premier staff are still working with this government Including in that minister's office. Now, let's talk about David nickel You threw him under the bus yesterday wins Kathleen. We're gonna send you out of town, too I'm gonna take I'm going to the Minister of Energy. I'm trying to address As I warned earlier, this is getting desperately close that was too close for my comfort And I'll ask the member to refrain and all members to refrain from making any references whatsoever to truth-telling Carry on mr. Speaker. I I'm a very patient individual I'll quote officer devolve once again in an exchange with the member from Toronto Danforth about the investigation He said and I quote I can tell you that based on the information to obtain that I produced It's centered meaning the investigation on the action of mr. David Livingston only but let me go back to my quotes And mr. Speaker. I never thought I'd do this, but I'm gonna quote Margaret Wente in this morning's globe Despite the rantings of the progressive conservative leader of the opposition There's nothing so far to link the Premier to the gas plant scandal even my conservative friends think the leader of the Opposition is bad news. He comes across as a small-town bully Judgements just keep piling up his attacks in the Premier over the gas plant are both shrill and unnecessary Mr. Speaker Speaks for herself Thank you To the acting premier does the liberal government believe that liberal operatives should be offering their full cooperation To the OPP's investigation into the gas plant scandal Mr. Speaker Again, I will go to The OPP officer Mr.. DeVal who appeared in front of the committee and I will Provide a quote of what he said this morning. It is my understanding. However that the OPP has received cooperation From senior government officials in this matter. There has never been an issue the government has provided full cooperation, mr. Speaker in terms of The premier has appeared several times I've appeared in front of the committee the minister of energy mr. Speaker We are offering the fullest cooperation to the Ontario provincial police as they undertake this very important undertaking Thank you supplementary Well speaker the fact is this morning at committee the OPP confirmed that liberal operatives Including one who worked for the Ontario Liberal Party up until this very weekend speaker declined to provide a statement To the OPP does the acting premier think that that's acceptable? Mr. Speaker I would urge anyone that the OPP approaches to be fully cooperative as I said on this side of the legislature when it comes to Anyone who is involved with or works for our government? We have been fully cooperative the OPP confirmed that this morning I think there have been other references that were made in front of the committee about the cooperation With this government. We certainly take this matter seriously mr. Speaker, but at the same time I I provide the same caution to the leader of the third party mr. Speaker that what we learned this morning from the Ontario provincial police Is it's best for politicians not to involve themselves in an investigation and to allow the OPP to reach conclusions? Independently and not jeopardize the proceedings. Thank you final supplementary Speaker can the acting premier tell us why key liberal operatives liberals that he and his team worked with for many years and Through many campaigns may have refused to talk to police. Does he know why they would have wanted to refuse to talk Mr. Speaker Again, all I can do is quote the officer and I apologize to the officer the inspector I should have used his proper title Inspector Andre DeVal with the OPP who said it is my understanding. However, the DOPP has received cooperation from senior government officials in this matter OPP have clearly stated at the committee this morning and also in the documents before the court that In this case the accusations are against one person. They are unfounded accusations. Mr. David Livingston the former chief of staff to the former premier mr. Speaker and the OPP Obviously has freedom to ask or question any individual and of course Encourage everyone to cooperate fully with them and speaking on behalf of the government I can say that our government is cooperating as was outlined by inspector My next question is also to the acting premier we learned today that the government's own Cyber security unit was conducting an active internal Investigation of the wiping of data in the premier's office. Was the premier's office aware of this speaker? Mr. Speaker again there is an active OPP investigation going on It involves as has been outlined in the documents that were produced on Thursday in the court It involves the actions of the former chief of staff to the former premier mr. David Livingston They are serious allegations everyone acknowledges that they are unproven and mr. Speaker What we learned at committee this morning are two things first of all that they involve that period of time when premier McGinty was premier not the current premier and the second is that we should not be conducting police investigations here on the floor of the legislature Thank you supplementary. Well, that's why they should have called the public inquiry a year ago speaker She was in the dark about key details of computers being wiped in the Until newspaper reports emerge speaker now How is that possible if the government's own cyber security unit was investigating? Mr. Speaker Again last Thursday there were some documents made public about an investigation that was being undertaken by the Ontario provincial police That document spoke about one individual come door. There are accusations about that was confirmed in front of the committee this morning What it said mr. Speaker was that they were pursuing these accusations potential wrongdoing in the on the course of Mr. David Livingston the former chief of staff to the former premier what we heard this morning mr. Speaker was a confirmation of that It did not involve the current premier who has answered numerous questions here in the legislature into the media and the other piece of advice mr. Speaker is that politicians should keep their noses out of this Answer be having a police investigation here in the floor of the legislature. Thank you final supplementary She speaker. I hope the Liberals have learned a lot more than that from what's going on with the gas Speaker the Liberal government keeps insisting that they'll be open and accountable that they are open and accountable that they'll be sharing all Information but what people see are key Liberal operatives Refusing to respond to OPP requests for interviews a premier Who's frantically firing people and acting shocked when the public hears details of multiple investigations going on under her nose? And in her office now is this the brand of Liberal accountability that the people of Ontario Expect is this good enough for the people of Ontario? What they are seeing is is theatrics in the part of the opposition Who are trying to position themselves as police officers? This is a very serious matter mr. Speaker and the fact of the matter is there is a tradition in this Province that when the police are undertaking their work Politicians get out of their way and you know mr. Speaker. I have some quotes for the NDP as well Let me quote the Toronto star March 30th the leader of the NDP involved indulged in conventional Opposition mischief by implying police were now focusing on questions about the period after the premier was sworn in and became premier a Clear misreading of the OPP documents the globe a male March 31st There is nothing in the documents that suggest any records were deleted after Ms. Wynn was sworn into office on February 11th 2013 mr. Speaker Let's let these third parties to speak for themselves and the analysis of the mischief that is going on from the opposition Speaker my questions to the minister responsible to the pan parrot pan American games Minister you've commissioned a shipyard in Belfast Maine to custom-build you a 45-foot limousine boat for the games Let me remind you limousine boating is not a pan am sport neither is an exotic liberal spending and since there's no Limbo boat line item in the pan am budget. Can you please tell the taxpayers minister? How much will this ship cost? Another question Pan and parapan American game because what the member opposite doing he want to tear down the Hamilton Stadium He want to tear down the Milton He want to tear down the aquatic center He want to tear down What you as a captain of the ship of an expedition The member opposite speaker they want to run down our athletes right who trained their whole life to compete in this game Speaker they want to run down the coaches who prepare our great athletes They want to run down our game and everything they work so hard for speaker They want to tear down our relationship and sir castle nation speaker. They want to tear down the spirit of the game Thank you speaker. Thank you Minister if there's anyone responsible for tearing down and destroying the spirit of the pan am games, it's you Minister hiding spending doesn't reduce spending you've ordered yet another foreign contract a tree foil marine to build your lavish limo boat Plus three water taxis clearly. You don't know anything about this. So let me fill you it This company's renowned for tech savvy and high cost even the company president has said that the people look at the price and say They must be out of their mind But that's the price they go for and just because you want to be cool from your dignitary friends It doesn't mean you can help yourself to unlimited taxpayer funds minister I'm gonna ask you again. How much money is your limo boat costing to build transport here just get it over Thank you speaker Speaker That'll do Speaker Leon. We're working very hard to be were pen and game as According to the president of parcel The international body for Pan Am the president said Ontario will host The best ever Pan and Parapan American Look at our standing speaker so far The capital project is all on time on budget or under budget and recently speaker we forecast the budget down 49 million That's an answer speaker and recently again speaker. We roll out the Transportation framework we roll out the security framework speaker. We are building. Thank you best ever game Thank you New question Thank you speaker my question to the acting premier when Peter feist was allegedly in the premier's office Deleting emails. He had a contract with the Liberal Party and the Liberal caucus Can the acting premier tell Ontarian's who was paying Peter feist for his work at that time? Was it the Liberal Party or the caucus? The same mr. Speaker, I'm very very patient individual we have commented before on Peter feist and His work that he did for the Liberal caucus under the former premier and the work that he did under the Ontario Liberal Party The Honourable member is standing up here today and asking what I believe are detailed questions related to an ongoing police Investigation and I'm quite shocked mr. Speaker considering the fact that he was in committee this morning and would have heard inspector Duval give a very clear warning to members of the Legislature of the fact is that you respect the police Investigation you do not conduct a police investigation on the floor of the legislature and in fact mr. Speaker He may himself be jeopardizing the police investigation by engaging in this type of behavior in the Legislature It really is beneath that Honourable member. Thank you supplementary Well, Speaker, I believe these are straightforward questions, and I expect a straightforward answer from the acting premier OPP documents alleged Peter feist came into the Premier's office and wiped out computers and was under contract of the Liberal Party and caucus Will the government provide Peter feist invoices for his work that day and any other work wiping out government computers Mr. Speaker as I said we have Spoken in the house about Peter feist involvement both the Liberal caucus service bureau and the Ontario Liberal Party The first under the former premier and the second up until the last Sunday We have offered this information to the proper authorities. Mr. Speaker. I wish to make clear We'll let the police reach whatever conclusions they want We have no indication that the invoices or any of the work done or in any way related to the allegations About the former chief of staff in the former Premier's office, but again, Mr. Speaker I warn the Honourable member as inspector Duval said this morning And I quote if you require me to answer questions on specific evidence I could potentially threaten the prosecution on any criminal offenses that may resolve from this investigation I think mr. Speaker all members should take the advice of inspector Duval to heart Thank you new question Thank you very much speaker my question is to the minister of community and social services Speaker last year the government announced a number of changes to social assistance across the province These changes were a first step in a plan to reform Ontario social assistant programs with the objective of removing barriers and increasing opportunities for everyone to participate in the workforce and Since the start of the process to reform social services in the province many of my constituents Speaker and glingary Prescott Russell would like to know what changes they can expect some Constituents have mentioned that there might be a merger of Ontario works in the Ontario disability support program Speaker through you can the minister clarify if this merger is in our government's plans And could he let us know of the good work being done to reform social assistance in Ontario? Thanks, mr. Speaker, I'm delighted to respond to the Honourable members question And I want to speak a bit about our future plans for social assistance reform in particular I get a lot of questions about the merger of old W and ODSP mr. Speaker Speaker our government is committed to making social assistance work better for our clients Our plan is guided by the advice we receive from Lincoln Shake report and by the conversations We're having with clients advocates and other partners Speakers let me be very clear about something Our government has considered the recommendation that both programs be merged But we believe keeping them intact is the best way forward For this reason we will not I repeat not be merging the two programs We've heard loud and clear from virtually everybody that this isn't the way to go So we're looking forward to improving the programs as they exist Thank you very much minister there's always an interest in the way social assistance programs Are delivered across this great province and providing services in an effective manner is important Ontarians expect services that are easy to access and are responsive to their needs However, Speaker, it's absolutely crucial that social assistance recipients understand that reform is necessary at times To ensure that the system works better for the long term Speaker it's very quiet in here speaker the minister indicated that Ontario works And the Ontario disability support program will not be merged It was Please finish Speaker that Speaker the minister indicated that Ontario works and the Ontario disability support program will not be merged Could he please tell us if there are still ways we can improve how these programs operate Or if recipients should expect the status quo The speaker needs help but not necessarily that kind mr. Speaker absolutely not It means instead of spending time on merging programs We're focusing on making both programs work better at supporting people and removing barriers to employment Our multi-year reform plan is for objectives To motivate and support people to be successful in the workforce To provide mr. Speaker more adequate assistance to deliver modern responsive services from dufferin calla And ensure public confidence in the system. We are making progress on harmonizing the rules and benefits We are making practical improvements to benefit clients Like testing peer mentors to help clients achieve their employment goals indeed minister We have come along that sir social assistance affects almost 900 000 people every day Reform is taking time. We're doing it right by consulting with the people Thanks for your question the member from bruce gray and one sound Mr. Speaker my question is the minister of transportation Last november the members of this house unanimously passed my private members resolution to set up an all party committee to study Transportation needs in rural and northern Ontario. We're now into the spring session in over four months of no action from your government Minister will you agree to honor the wish of this house? So this committee can be set up Oh, okay, I'll take it The minister of transportation and infrastructure The government has never speaker the action premier. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker, I mean it's interesting The fact of the matter is that the honorable member is is talking about a process question The fact is that our government has been very proud of its record of activity when it comes to northern Ontario when it comes to rural areas When it comes to the subject areas that that he puts forward, mr. Speaker I don't think we necessarily need another committee, mr. Speaker in order to take the type of action Which I know that the minister of transportation has taken and is going to take over the coming months as we deal with these Transportation issues throughout these areas throughout the province. Mr. Speaker. We don't need another committee. Thank you supplementary Sadly, mr. Speaker, that's the typical answer that we do get when we talk about rural and chirol Again back to the minister of transportation and hopefully he'll pay more attention and give me a good answer this time Minister, you know that presently in rural and northern chirol public transportation is essentially non-existent You've heard through me and through rural and northern residents as well as anti poverty groups Including the united way of how critical it is we action this transportation study Following the cutbacks by via rail and greyhound bus services and your government's divestiture of unchirol north land As many as 2 million people in some 390 communities north of the gta today can't readily access Transportation to get to work to doctors appointments or to visit family and friends Again minister, will you do the right thing? We have set up this all party committee immediately Transportation infrastructure, thank you very much, uh, mr. Speaker I I just want to Try to get my head around what the member is trying to suggest here because When his party was in power The last the last the last few years they were empowered mr. Speaker They spent 1.4 billion dollars on infrastructure, which was an all-time low Today we're spending 14 billion dollars a year on infrastructure We are spending 10 dollars in rural ontario for infrastructure for every one dollar the conservatives spent So this party that's supposed to be pro rural spent 10 cents for every dollar we spend in rural Rural infrastructure and the reason The reason that the honorable member has so many problems is because his party empowered is what his Party continues to do cancel via cutback service cancel projects and that's why we have a problem We don't need a committee. We need to keep spending the way we are and investing in rural ontario Thank you very much, mr. Speaker. My question is to the acting premier The liberal government has denied knowing anything about the police investigation But today in justice committee with our witness detective constable duval from the anti-rackets branch of the opp Indicated that the opp was interviewing current political staff In this building and during business hours How is it possible that the government had no inkling of what was happening while police were roaming the halls And interviewing and conducting Mr. Speaker, I uh Again, I I suggest that after question period the honorable member may want to go to the global mail website And read the headline of their coverage of what inspector duval said today and the conclusion they reached that in fact None of this activity occurred under the current premier He may also want to take a lesson from inspector duval when he warned legislators that their job is not to interfere in police Investigations that may even it may even hamper it. You know, mr. Speaker. What's interesting is that uh, the member from von from von, uh, asked asked a number of questions Of the inspector The first set of questions, mr. Speaker involved the allegations The the the scurrilous allegations that have been made by the leader of the opposition If they were true or supported by the ito inspector duval gave a very simple answer No, answer then the member from dawn said I notice or von, excuse me I notice in reviewing the ito and looking at the list of names that in fact even members I Supplementary thank you very much I trust the discretion of detective constable duval and asking the questions that he thought were appropriate And I asked the acting premier to answer this next question There were opi investigators at queen's park over the course of weeks They were around a half a dozen visits and at least 14 interviews conducted in this building But somehow the government claims that they knew nothing about this investigation nothing about this until last week Does the acting premier understand why ontarians would have a difficult time understanding this or accepting this? Mr. Speaker, I think it has been a matter of public record that the opi have been investigating for some time What happened last thursday mr. Speaker is some documents were made public by the court In them were some accusations very serious accusations against the former chief of staff to the former premier And at that time the premier indicated that that's the first that she had learned of them I think for most ontarians it was the first that she she had learned of them But again, mr. Speaker, let me go back to the exchange with inspector Duval and the member from dawn so to be clear if an individual's name is listed in this ito Does that necessarily mean they have committed a crime or they have actually engaged in any wrongdoing? No, then he said the member from von I notice in reviewing the ito and looking at the list of names That in fact even members of the pc caucus and the ndp caucus are listed in the ito Just out of curiosity. Why are the names in the ito and he answered the inspector some of them were witnesses for this police investigation The fact is mr. Speaker the police have undertaken their work and as inspector duval caution. We should allow them to Merci monsieur le président ma question est pour le ministre de développement économique du Thank you, mr. Speaker. My question is for The minister of economic development And employment question concerns our government's commitment to become north america's leading jurisdiction for social enterprises To encourage businesses to have a positive social cultural environmental impact while of course generating revenue That's our positive plan to create jobs and grow our economy in september ontario launched its social enterprise strategy A comprehensive plan to grow the sector which already represents 10 000 social enterprises across the province 68 of which have a focus on poverty reduction We're creating the conditions for businesses to thrive in a socially conscious way Especially important my own writing a bit tobiko north question my question is this can the minister Please inform the house about our accomplishments in social enterprise Minister of economic development trade and employment Thank you, mr. Speaker. Uh, mr. Speaker social enterprises as the member just said our businesses and not for profits that have positive social environmental and cultural impact and ontario is already a leading jurisdiction in Social enterprise, but our goal mr. Speaker is to make ontario the number one jurisdiction in north america for social enterprise And to do that we've created the office for social enterprise in my ministry to support this initiative And as part of our strategy the government has launched a four million dollar social enterprise Demonstration fund that builds the capacity of our early stage high growth social enterprises We also are working to connect social enterprises with global investors It will be a one trillion dollar market globally within the decade mr. Speaker We want our social enterprises to be able to tap into that market So we've partnered with social capital markets with mars and royal bank of canada to host an international social finance Conference just last month here in toronto mr. Speaker. Thank you supplementary Thank you speaker and minister speaking doctor to doctor. I appreciate your overview I know my own community of itobico north will be pleased to hear that our government has been active in connecting investors and social Entrepreneurs, especially since many social enterprises hire youth And other vulnerable communities in my own riding like many members in this house having a large youth population Therefore I have many conversations with constituents about the strides that we're making for their jobs and social enterprise strategies I believe speaker. It's important that we've taken the initiative to establish an office to coordinate social enterprise activities across Government this of course will streamline the process Speaker my question is this what are the other supports that we've developed to help the social enterprise sector Develop and thrive in this globalized economy. Thanks. Thank you Thank you mr. Speaker and mr. Speaker We've also supported the establishment launch of the social venture connection a an exchange Which is the first in north america social finance. It's the first in north america social finance platform that connects Impact investors with investment ready social enterprises. We've also announced we're moving forward with social impact bonds But mr. Speaker, I'd be remiss if I didn't take a moment to acknowledge again Tim Jones, who's the CEO of artscape a great social enterprise here in toronto that strengthens arts and culture tim Was recently awarded a very prestigious international honor from the schwaab foundation and has been named social entrepreneur of the year So congratulations tim Thank you new question member from chattom kent sx Thank you speaker. My my question is to the minister of natural resources With cottage leases set to expire at the end of 2017 The rondo cottagers association has fought to keep the 120 year old community intact You have been cooperative as have previous m&r ministers The cottagers were relieved when you told them That there was no appetite to throw them out However a letter to the cottagers stated march 25th From assistant deputy minister tracy mill stated that it is the park's goal to and i quote Restore and rehabilitate the park to its Natural state this will continue to be the goal of the ministry For years ahead unquote Cottagers are rightly concerned minister that her statement means the cottages are doomed for demolition These are mixed messages minister my question is is the removal of the cottages within rondo imminent and if so Will you make the final Thank you minister natural resources Thank you very much speaker and appreciate the question from the member opposite the member opposite Knows full well, uh, we've been working together on this staff from my office Matt within february 12th of this year to discuss this issue I don't believe the messages are incompatible in the sense that we're doing everything we can to ensure that the Ecological integrity of the park is maintained as the member opposite knows there's a high Number of endangered species in this park area. This is the last area of carolinian forest in the province That's contained within this park and there are 285 cottage leases in this park as well That have been extended over 21 year periods of time For a number of for a number of years So we need to get this right as the member knows we're committed to working with him and the cottagers to find Moving forward Thank you speaker the City foot dock at rondo provincial park was extensively damaged by ice over this harsh winter A local petition to save it has gathered over a thousand signatures online And the ontario federation of anglers and hunters have added their support for the repair of the pier The rondo cottage association has even They're open to negotiations to even help pay for the repairs Now this pier was used for swimming Fishing walking and even enjoyed by many residents in my community and tourists for decades The big dock as it's called is unique to rondo and a main attraction Respectfully minister in the words of the anglers in my riding. Are we going to fish or continue to cut bait? Can you say today that the historical structure will not be removed from the park and repaired this year question? Thank you Thanks speaker and again thanks to the member for the question You know one of the challenges with respect to this park as the member knows full well is that Cottagers in the park have benefited from the payment in lieu by the ministry, which is totaled almost $900,000 a year in taxes being paid to the community at chatham kent In lieu of taxes that probably should have been paid by cottagers as the member knows The ministry is under incredible pressure with respect to these types of infrastructure investments We have these types of needs all across the province and we want to prioritize and use our resources as best possible to remediate and improve these types of Infrastructure projects so again, we're committed to working with the member and look forward to a solution moving forward As the member also knows there were environmental and economic studies that were supposed to be done They are nearing completion We should be able to release those in the next several weeks and we'll have more to say about that So look forward to working with the member My question is to the acting premier does the acting premier thinks the people of Ontario Should be paying for partisan ads that promote the governing party instead of the public interest Absolutely not mr. Speaker, which is why when we came to power We were so offended one of the first things we did mr. Speaker was undo The practice of the former progressive conservative party which used taxpayers money I remember as an ontarian being disgusted with the countless flyers that I was receiving in my mailbox of a partisan nature which mr. Speaker had Were put forward by the government paid for with taxpayers money But we're not promoting the progressive conservative party. That's why when we came to power mr. Speaker We passed legislation in 2004 I believe it was to make sure that in those three key areas radio and tv Newspapers and billboards that mr. Speaker those That they serve the appropriate uh the appropriate uh purpose that they were being put out for mr. Speaker Thank you supplementary well to the acting premier that legislation has got loopholes so big You can drive a train through the dark things So I ask you again We know in the last three months you spend 30 million dollars and partisan ads Put forward by the government and by the broader public sector and you continue doing it I'm going to ask you the question once again Are you prepared to close those loopholes in order to stop the people and stop those agencies from spending money That could quite frankly be used for better things Mr. Speaker, I think we have to be careful here. We brought in a new regime when it comes to advertising mr. Speaker quite frankly Disgusted with what had gone on under the previous government We expect uh all taxpayer funded advertising to apply to that regime or to adhere to that regime, mr. Speaker at the same time We asked the auditor general to focus on those three key areas, mr. Speaker radio and tv Newspapers and billboards mr. Speaker and ensure provide that double check that double piece of mind That in fact that these ads are appropriate mr. Speaker. There is nothing wrong with government advertising mr. Speaker They talk about valuable government services mr. Speaker But the fact of the matter is we have brought in a regime that I am very proud of Particularly in the face of what we saw in the province of Ontario for eight very long years New question members in scarborough gillwood Mr. Speaker my question is for the minister of Aboriginal affairs According to the 2011 census almost a quarter of first nations people in canada live in Ontario more than in any other province 80 percent of the Aboriginal population in Ontario lives off reserve with 62 percent residing in urban centers My riding of scarborough gildwood has one of the highest off reserve Aboriginal populations in the province The population is young and growing with 36 percent comprised of youth age 19 and under compared with 25 for non-Aboriginal And a growth rate a historic growth rate of 32 percent I know Aboriginal people living in urban areas face unique challenges like higher unemployment rates Lower health status and a lower rate of high school graduation than non-Aboriginal Approximately 37 000 Aboriginal people are living in question alone with large populations in Ottawa Sudbury and Thunder Bay Mr. Speaker can the minister tell us how government is working to improve and deliver services to Aboriginal people living in urban centers Thank you speaker On monday just this past monday. I was pleased to announce along with the minister of infrastructure and the minister of health and culture That the province is transferring a section of land On the site of the pan am para pan am games athletes village to the Anishinaabe health center in Toronto Here a world-class healthcare and dynamic Aboriginal community and cultural center will be built following the games And i'm very excited to share that my ministry and i will be taking on the responsibility of acting as the lead facilitator In this important initiative We will work directly with Anishinaabe health to bring together appropriate Aboriginal partners So the hub meets the diverse needs of the Aboriginal people This hub will serve as a place for learning and innovation for sharing traditional and modern culture and knowledge answer And if and it can provide a variety of services, mr. Speaker We are working for a space where the Aboriginal community can gather in this great city the aboriginals Supplementary Thank you speaker and thank you minister. It's great to hear such good news This really points to the whole government approach Ontario is taking to support the aboriginal community Projects like this are the building blocks to a relationship built on trust and mutual respect with urban aboriginal peoples in Ontario We know that a constructive cooperative relationship with aboriginal peoples in Ontario leads to improved opportunities and a better future Not only for aboriginal people, but for all people living in Ontario Given the landmark nature of this announcement, mr. Speaker through you to the minister Can the minister expand upon the land to be transferred? When will the community health center and aboriginal hub be built? Thank you minister speaker to the minister of infrastructure Mr infrastructure transportation. Thank you very much and uh, I want to thank my friend from from scarborough gildewood Who I know shares a great passion for the Culture of indigenous people. We're very excited about this mr. Speaker. This is 2.4 acres of land It will be transferred. It has been legally transferred. It's in the ownership now of the ashinaabe health Foundation who are working through the ministry of aboriginal affairs with other urban aboriginal groups and partners to See the development of this site as a legacy project mr. Speaker After the pan am game so construction will start what's going on right now Is douglas cardinal is the architect that they've selected for the project and the planning will be going ahead for a comprehensive cultural performing visual arts employment Entrepreneurship as well as wellness and and the practice of traditional medicine mr. Speaker We think this will be transformative to the future of aboriginal people I want to thank the minister of health the minister of heritage and culture and my colleague the minister of average Well, thank you Thank you new question. Remember from Thank you very much sir. Mr. Speaker my question is for the minister of community safety and correctional services Minister, it's your job to ensure law and order is maintained in ontario Which are failing to do that when it comes to cracking down on contraband tobacco Promises like increased fines are meaningless if you don't give the opp and municipal police forces the authority And resources to stop illegal cigarettes from reaching the streets As you stand idly by hundreds of millions in tax revenue go up in smoke in the livelihood of about 75 000 ontarians In the convenience store sector are threatened Can you tell me exactly what enforcement tools and resources you've given police to butt out illegal contraband Oh Thank you very much speaker, and I I thank the member opposite for As as the critic to my ministry for asking a very important question. I also speaker Very much look forward to working With both the critics the member from leeds granville and the the member from london west on important issues around a community safety the speaker Speaker these are these are very important issues and and obviously I I am getting Brief on them one by one to have a better understanding of as to how we ensure That on issues like contraband contraband tobacco that we are as effective working in partnership with other police services working in partnership with the rcmp So that we curtail The the the imports of contraband and the use of contraband and al tobacco in our province I look forward to the ideas From the member opposite in that regard because I think speaker frankly speaking. It's a shared responsibility for all of us Thank you Speaker back to the minister almost every speaker on monday when we debated your bill 131 Mentioned the government's lacking on the illegal tobacco trade And you look at the the issues in the province. You've essentially done nothing and the latest ontario convenience store associations Study shows that i'm right your failure to give police the tools They need means illegal cigarettes now comprised nearly half of the market in some locations more than 70 municipalities have passed resolutions Asking you to get illegal smokes off their streets Jurisdictions like kebac prove that if police have the power to enforce Revenue goes up and the supply of contraband tobacco goes down But it starts with you doing your job and putting hard working ontarians ahead of criminals When are you going to do your job? When are you going to crack down on illegal cigarettes? If you see them, please. Thank you minister Speaker, uh, speaker i have full confidence and the government has full confidence in the job of the opp and other local police Services do and it comes to cracking down on an illegal tobacco speaker There is a very robust relationship between the opp the rcmp And other police services from other provinces and other And municipal services in making sure that we're taking concrete steps in in illegal activities around contraband tobacco And i speaker if you if you look at the results since 2008 for example more than 223 million illegal secrets 2.5 billion untaxed cigars and 74 million grams of untaxed fine cut or other tobacco products Have been seized by the ministry of finance investigators and inspectors Speaker, there's a lot of work that is already being done among police services on a very A complicated scheme. Uh, in fact that is employed And and we have full confidence on our on our police on the rcmp and other municipal services They'll they continue to do the work and they turn illegal tobacco is controlled and approved Question the member from Trinity stradina Thank you speaker my questions to the minister of municipal affairs and housing Last summer the previous minister of municipal affairs promised to reform the Ontario municipal board But the government's review says and i quote This consultation will not discuss or consider eliminating or changing the omb's operations Practices and procedures and a quote The government is bowing to developers who do not want any changes to the omb It's another bait and switch People are tired of hearing this government promise one thing to communities and then deliver something else on behalf of developers Will the new minister do what his government has promised and review the omb itself? Speaker thank you very much and i want to thank the member for the question I do understand very clearly that this particular member has expressed a specific interest in this issue For quite a period of time what i can tell him Is that there has been a significant consultation that has been undertaken on the specific issue If i remember correctly the consultation began In the fall of last year and concluded in the in the early winter of this year somewhere around january of 2014 That consultation has completed the detail is within the ministry Within a shorter period of time i would hope i've asked ministry staff for information back on this piece They have the consultation they're reviewing the materials and at some point i would hope in the not too distant future They will get back to me with what they believe the next steps will be when it comes to this particular issue We are sourced somewhat in the ministry still uncertain as to what the minister or the members of PMB would accomplish and so we're taking this all into consideration and hopefully in the not too distant future We'll have something more to bring good response very And the changes that uh that you're planning mean nothing without changes to the omb itself The omb will still decide whether an appeal goes forward or not Last year in the waterloo region the omb ignored the provinces places to grow at and approved a sprawling development 10 times bigger than what the rules allowed The omb does not respect official plans or even provincial statutes When will the government keep its promise and reign in the unelected and unaccountable and out of control omb Speaker thank you very very much i go back to the original point i was trying to make the member opposite is putting forward A position in fact i think it was in the media not too long ago Was it kitchen or waterloo region where he was where he was speaking to them about his desire to see the omb completely dissolved At the same time when he was in kitchen or waterloo He suggested to them that we should do away with the omb But at the same time we need to create some other mechanism to deal with these issues Well, we already have a mechanism you disagree on what the mechanism Is and whether it should still continue to exist But at the same time you seem to be suggesting we need something Well speaker what we're doing is part of that consultation that land use planning a consultation that was done across the province Is considering potentially changes to the omb as it is currently constructed We'll have information coming back on that in a not too distant future There is a provincial interest here to be maintained. We believe in that position and very soon hopefully very soon I don't want to put a timeline on this. We'll be in a position to discuss this at a great Thank you Thank you, mr. Speaker my question is for the minister of citizenship and immigration Speaker six individuals from my writing of scarborough agent court will be receiving an ontario's volunteer service award for 25 years of service to a non-profit organizations One of these volunteers warned Canada got a name is receiving this award for his outstanding work with the international movement for tambo culture Speaker volunteers who donate the time energy skills and knowledge to cost close to the heart are true leaders Heroes in our community ontario has a long and proud traditions of volunteerism It is estimated the ontarians volunteer over 800 and six eight hundred sixty million volunteer hours annually Speaker through you to the minister. Can he please inform the house? How our province recognize these valuable individuals to the ontario volunteer service awards Thank you, mr. Speaker I'd like to thank the member from scarborough agent court for the question And I look forward to joining her on april 16th at her volunteer service awards in scarborough This year over 11,000 volunteers will be presented with the ontario volunteer service award 55 ceremonies will be held across this great province from now until the end of june I'd like to remind and personally invite all members of this house to please join their local communities as we Celebrate the recipients and handing out the awards for the across this great province Mr. Speaker Our province is the number one destination for newcomers when newcomers choose our provinces because they know how highly We place a value on fairness equality and social justice They know that ontario fundamentally believes in offering a hand to someone in need They know that we take care of our neighbors and our communities And we take care of our population Each year six million volunteers across the province help make their communities a better place to live The volunteer service award is a unique platform to acknowledge the hard work of local volunteers. Thank you supplementary Thank you speaker. I would like to join the ministers and congratulate all the 2014 award recipients Speaker I know that our government support a number of initiatives to help to encourage and promote volunteerism in ontario Speaker We also know that promoting and acknowledging Volunteerism is a part of our government's plan to invest in the people and organizations that enrich our communities And I want to share one example, mr. Speaker for almost nine years I see on a weekly basis young people in my riding a scarborough agent called Volunteer in a reading program to young children So I wanted to pay tribute to these young people as well as volunteer in local nursing home and seniors facility Speakers through you to the minister. Can he please update the house on other ontario honors and recognition programs? Thank you minister Thank you, mr. Speaker and again I'd like to thank the member for her question And that is correct Our province has several programs to acknowledge the dedication of our six million volunteers here in ontario In fact, i'm happy that the members brought up a youth initiative in her local community And I'd like to remind the members that this spring will be kicking off the seventh annual change the world youth challenge This year's campaign has been expanded to six weeks The official goal is 30 33 000 young people aged 14 to 18 And they will volunteer for at least three hours Additionally this spring one of my favorite ontario awards will be presented the june callwood outstanding achievement award of volunteerism The late june callwood committed her life to action and social justice particularly those related to vulnerable communities In her lifetime. She founded or co-founded more than 50 different organizations Mr. Speaker All of the awards ceremonies mentioned today not only honor individuals But the reminders of the value of being an active and engaged citizen here in the beautiful province of ontario. Thank you Mr. Speaker I I look for some guidance from you on a very very important very important point of order It has come to my attention. Mr. Speaker that it is your birthday this weekend And I'm wondering if I could seek unanimous consent on behalf of the legislature to wish you a happy birthday That's uh, that's not a I thought I was going to get past this one from the member from uh, the member from durham would appreciate this very much I don't want anybody to know It doesn't matter I uh, I appreciate it Member from renfrew nipesting pemberk on a point of order that we won't be sitting tomorrow I would like to wish my colleague jim wilson A happy birthday tomorrow And also my brothers mark and marten tomorrow as well They say there's something special about april Anyway, there are there being no deferred votes. This house stands recess until 1 p.m. This afternoon