 I'm for oral questions. I recognize the leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition. Thank you so much, Speaker. Thank you so much. I just want to start off by saying Oskie Wee Wee was a great game yesterday. Cats and Argos both played very, very well. And of course now we're all on the same team because we're going to Hamilton next week to fight for the Great Cup against Winnipeg. So hope everybody that can be there will be there. But my first question this morning, Speaker, is to the Premier. We've just heard, of course, that New Brunswick is imminently going to be signing their deal for affordable childcare in their province. That means Ontario is dead last. We're the only province without an affordable childcare plan. You know, costs are sky high. Families are really, really feeling the squeeze. They could use some relief, some financial relief. And they could use some hope that we're actually going to get affordable childcare in this province. It's obvious that childcare is just not a priority for Premier Ford. But it is for Ontario families. So my question is, why is this Premier so unable or unwilling to get Ontario families affordable $10 a day childcare? And why did they take so long to even bother to try? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. The Premier is very committed to getting a fair deal for Ontario families. We recognize childcare is inaccessible and unaffordable for so many working parents. That is the reality that families have faced for the last many years as a consequence of inaction by the former Liberal government. But our Premier is standing up for Ontario. We're working with the federal government. In fact, we met with them multiple times, walked them through our numbers, our methodology, and our asks. Which is for a larger investment over a sustained period of time so that we can finally make childcare affordable for parents in Ontario. That is with the federal government. They have our full, complete financials. We look forward to hearing from them so that, yes, we can wrap up a deal that reduces costs for moms and dads right across this province. Here's a list of successful childcare deals that are bringing real relief to families across Canada and more spaces as well. Speaker, so, for example, Alberta families are going to have their fees cut in half, cut by 50% in just less than a month. Saskatchewan families are going to see up to $2,000 in some cases more rebates retroactively until the middle of this past summer. BC families are seeing thousands of $10 a day childcare spaces literally right now being developed in their province. In Manitoba, the ECEs are having their wages increased to $25 an hour as a starting wage. Quebec families, as we know, have long had affordable childcare in their province and it's done wonderful things for their economy. Ontario families, unfortunately continue to pay mortgage-level childcare payments. With the cost of living now so high, why won't the Premier deliver the kind of relief that Ontario parents deserve and get a deal for $10 a day childcare for our families? And the Minister of Education. Well, thank you, Speaker. Indeed, we do want a deal a fair deal, a deal that actually reduces price for families a deal that really helps to solve some of the great challenges of affordability that families are facing that they face for 15 long years in the form of government where childcare rose by literally 400%. Now, I accept and agree with the member opposite we need to do, we need to continue to work hard to reduce costs ultimately the government in our first budget introduced a measure to reduce affordability, rather reduce costs and increase affordability for parents through the introduction of the Ontario Child Care Tax Credit which was opposed by the NDP and Liberals. We also brought in a plan to build 30,000 childcare spaces within our schools, 22,000 of which are approved that was opposed by the NDP and Liberals. And I appreciate that's incremental it moves in the right direction to create more access for parents and ultimately reduces the prices given the explosive increase under the former Liberal government. There's more work to do, we've sat with the federal government, we've given them the data, we await the response that we can get a deal that reduces costs and increases access and ultimately change the trajectories that we can bring down prices for families across this province. It's just absolutely obvious that what this government has done is dragged its feet. They've dragged their feet and now we're at the last province and we still don't have a deal. Affordable childcare means money in the pockets of parents. It's money that will boost the local economy. Money that's struggling families who have actually had a lot to deal with in the last couple of years might see some great opportunity for things to get a little better over the holidays if this government had done the right thing. But instead of a deal, we have Premier Ford playing heady politics, negotiating in the media, fighting with the federal Liberal government and of course as I've already said they waited months and months and months before even trying to get a deal. Why has this Premier failed? Just like the win del Ducca government before his to get affordable childcare for Ontario families. The Premier has been working constructively with the federal government through this pandemic with one aim which is to protect the families we serve and ensure we can get through the worst of this pandemic. That has been a hallmark of his leadership working across party lines and across levels of government with one interest which is to defeat this pandemic and put it behind us. I think that is a strength in this province. He and I and other members of the government working with the feds and making the case of them on an expedited basis to get us the feedback, get us the response I think Ontario families deserve now that they have the full data they requested. It is true that the Liberals created a great affordability crisis in this province from energy to housing and no doubt childcare. That is their legacy. I agree with the member opposite and what we're doing under our government and our Premier's leadership is introducing measures to reduce costs and increase access and working with the feds, they aim to land a fair deal that finally brings down prices for families and ensures it's sustainable for decades to come. Thanks so much Speaker. My next question is also for the Premier. The Premier has consistently opposed COVID vaccine certificates. In July he said and I quote, we aren't doing it. In September he announced it's only temporary. He told Ontarians that the certificate program is going to end on January 17th. But COVID cases as we all see are creeping up. A couple of days now they've been over a thousand cases a day. Who knows what the new variant is going to bring Speaker. So my question is will the Premier continue the mandatory vaccine certificate program after January 17th? Yes or no? The Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. Thank you very much Speaker and thank you to the leader of the official opposition for the question. The reality is there's so much about the Omicron variant that we don't know about yet. We do know it appears to be much more transmissible than the Delta variant that we're currently dealing with. But we don't know about its virulence and we don't know about the effects of our vaccine to withstand the effects of this Omicron variant. So it's too soon to say what we are telling people is to please continue to follow the public health measures that we've been following for many months now. The physical distancing, the wearing of a mask, frequent hand washing and so on. But we're also urging any Ontarians who have not yet received both of their vaccinations, please do so. And if you have children between ages 5 and 11, please get your children vaccinated as well. That's the best work that we can do to protect ourselves against the Delta or any other variant of this virus. I didn't hear an answer to my question. The fact is that the certificate helps us avoid lockdowns. The science table advice was clear. Certificates help keep business open and they encourage hesitant people to get vaccinated. Yet the premiers take on them the certificates are, and I quote, that we're not going to have a split society. That's how the premier frames it. Dr. Peter Uni, the head of the science table, said in November that that's a false frame. He said, and I quote, the point that it's dividing society is an absolutely invalid argument. Certificates are about uniting Ontarians in the fight against COVID-19. So my question is, why won't the premier commit today to keeping vaccine certificates in place beyond January 17th? Our government continues to support the need for the vaccine certificates. It is very important for people to be able to enter certain locations, restaurants and other places for their protection, the protection of other people as well. However, as to when it's actually going to be lifted, we have the plan that we put in place several months ago, but we do have this new variant. We do have Omicron among us right now. And so the same answer that I had for your previous question is we're planning to start lifting things, but if this Omicron variant circulates widely and if it's as virulent as it has been in other jurisdictions, we are going to need to take a look at that. Dr. Moore has said that from day one, that if there is a major change in circumstances, we will have to reconsider, as we're reconsidering every step along the way. But right now, we don't have the pertinent information that we need in order to make a decision. I anticipate that will be come evident in the next several months as we see what happens in South Africa and other jurisdictions. I find it shocking that the minister of health is standing in this house projecting the lifting of these measures and all that does, Speaker, is embolden the empty vaxxers and let them know that they don't have to worry about getting their vaccine because the government's about to lift the measures. Look, the Premier needs to step up here and provide some strong leadership. Ontarians have been doing their part. The vast majority of Ontarians have been doing their part, but they need leadership and public health measures to fight the fourth wave, Speaker. Instead, the Premier is pandering to the anti-vaxxers, as is the health minister, who support them. The head of the science table, Dr. Peter Unie, said this and I quote. Government side, come to order. Government side, come to order. I believe vaccine certificates actually work surprisingly well. That's Dr. Peter Unie, the head of the science table. So will the Premier do the right thing? The evidence-based thing and announced today that he'll continue the use of vaccine certificates in Ontario. Stop sending that. Next. Well, I think it's really important that we be clear because apparently the leader of the official opposition perhaps didn't understand what I was saying. I indicated that we are following the science. We are following the evidence. We are listening to the science advisory table. We are listening to Dr. Moore. We are listening to everyone who's advised them. That is why we have taken the position we have. That is why we set our goal to reopen Ontario. But it was always subject to the caveat that if there is a situation such as a variant that we don't know about, we don't know what's going to happen with it, we'll have to re-evaluate. That's what we're doing. We are waiting to find out what the data is, what it is that we're dealing with this variant. But we're continuing to ask people to continue to follow those public health measures, to continue to get vaccinated, to continue to get the vaccine certificate, because we anticipate we will need it for at least another several months if everything is all right. Maybe for longer than that once we know more about the Omicron variant. So we are following the evidence and we are following the science in every step we take. I'm sorry, I apologize. New question. The member for Scarborough Southwest. My question is to the Deputy Premier. Mr. Speaker, last week the Auditor General's report showed that approximately $210 million in COVID-19 support was given to 14,500 ineligible businesses. Dozens of businesses in Scarborough Southwest in my riding couldn't get Ontario Small Business Grant due to numerous inconsistency in the process. Lack of clear communication and an unnecessarily confusing process, Mr. Speaker. While our community members and businesses continue to suffer, this government decided to close escalation and any inquiries about the grant and stop providing the support altogether. Now will this government take responsibility for their mismanagement of the pandemic business relief program and address the ongoing concerns from small business owners regarding their applications. Thank you, Speaker. Thank you Mr. Speaker and through you to the member opposite and thank you for that question. Clearly Mr. Speaker small businesses who are in our communities right across Ontario have been struggling not just for one month for 21 months through the pandemic and that's why since day one in March of 2020 we provided supports over $19 billion action plan of which $10 billion was for jobs and people and $6 billion of that for businesses and Mr. Speaker we acted swiftly to defer rent and help with the rent payments, property tax, electricity rebates. We provided beyond that supports for WSI premiums. Mr. Speaker we were there day one for small businesses. We continue to be there for small businesses. We've heard from many of the small business and they said the support grants that we provided them were often the difference between keeping the lights on and having them close for good. Mr. Speaker it's nice to hear those big numbers but they're not going to the people of this province they're not going to the businesses that need them. I don't know where it's going maybe this government can tell us where it's going. $210 million people's heard earned money was mismanaged. Speaker I heard from Simon a small business owner from my community whose grant application was initially approved. He was even assured three times on the phone that his money will come soon. He was relieved that some support will be given to him during this difficult time. Speaker just later Simon received a rejection email with a list that he had never seen before for qualification. Simon expressed anxiety and fear of the future of business. Anxiety for six months and then he was denied of the support Mr. Speaker. The auditor general report actually highlights a lack of central tracking for business relief funds poorly defined eligibility criteria and exclusion of businesses who needed the support. We can see these issues clearly in our writings across all the members' writings really because we heard from so many different writings including others in Scarborough Speaker. Why did the government allow a program that was so critical to small businesses that was a lifeline speaker for small businesses and for our economy frankly to be grossly mismanaged causing uncertainty and fear for small businesses. Thank you Speaker. Thank you Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker you know what was important through the second way was to get money out the door to many of those businesses and I remind the member opposite that over 100,000 businesses received support. Mr. Speaker many of those businesses were struggling and continued to struggle and that's why Mr. Speaker many are struggling to this day and that's why this deputy Premier and Minister of Health is encouraged everyone to get vaccinated in this province in fact we developed the verify app so that businesses could go to 100% capacity safely with double vaccinations as proof of vaccination. Mr. Speaker we continue to be there for small businesses we'll continue to provide the supports from small businesses and we'll continue to support the families and hardworking people of this province. Next question remember for Brantford Grant Thank you Speaker. Mr. Speaker Ontario I would like to thank all the students and parents deserved so much more than what they received for 15 years under the previous Liberal government and we know what their track record was closing 600 schools across the province of Ontario the most expensive childcare program in Canada and the cost of living rising at a dramatic rate undermining the interests of middle class and working families in the province of Ontario parents deserve a government committed to improving flexibility and affordability and building new schools. Following school closures and repair backlogs province wide we need to see substantial investments to ensure Ontario remains a leader in world class learning new modern and connected schools remain critical to the growth and learning of young people across this province. So Speaker through you can the Minister of Education tell this house what steps he is taking to ensure a continuity of innovation and excellence for Ontario learners Minister of Education Thank you Speaker. I want to thank the member for Brantford Grant for the question I very much agree that Ontario families and students deserve modern schools that are accessible internet connected with the high standards of air ventilation I'm proud that under our Premier's leadership we are investing over $1.5 billion in capital projects supporting 76 net new schools being added to our province as well as 43 major additions this represents 26,000 spaces underway within our schools expanding them for the benefit of children. Today there are 105 projects, construction projects underway 350 approved in the province of Ontario and it's going to make a big difference nearly 100,000 more student space are being added to our province as a consequence of our investment in partnership with the Minister of Infrastructure and Minister of Finance and so many others to build this province build spaces build schools build modern child care after a decade of neglect and closure under the former Liberal government there's more work to do Speaker we're going to continue to invest to build new Thank you. Supplementary. Speaker I want to thank the Minister for his response to build these schools and child care spaces our province will continue to rely on the skill and expertise of skilled trades professionals a report by the apprenticeship youth advisers called for the government to recognize the invaluable contributions that skilled trades make to our infrastructure all while providing good paying lifetime jobs to youth. Mr. Speaker we know that for too long skilled trades were neglected by the previous government and were framed as less than a university degree more also needs to be done to erase the stigma associated with skilled trades careers so that young people and their parents recognize that the trades are a pathway to success. Skilled trades training for youth will be key to meeting the labor demands of our generation including building schools all while providing quality pensions benefits and pay to those in the industry. So Speaker can the Minister of Education tell at this house that what the government is doing is doing working with schools across the province to encourage engagement in the skilled trades. I again want to thank the member for his question and for his leadership and getting child care spaces approved in his writing just weeks ago in the Catholic school board system but Speaker we know by 2025 one in five jobs will be in the skilled trades we're also aware Speaker there's 100,000 person short fell today and so we have to take action this is why the government in partnership the Minister of Labor has been working since day one to fill those gaps with qualified young people to fill those rewarding opportunities. We announced a 90 million dollar investment in the skilled trades we've expanded the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program with the aim of bringing roughly 63 recruiters literally into our high schools to recruit to incentives to create meaningful pathways for all students at the province particularly women racialized children indigenous and others who are underrepresented within these exciting careers. Speaker we've also expanded investment within our school system and in our curriculum starting in kindergarten literally to inspire young people to pursue these careers we're going to continue to invest and continue to encourage more young people to enter these jobs right across the territory. Thank you Mr. President. My question is for the Minister of Health. Critically ill they can deteriorate unexpectedly that is why the standard of care in our ICUs is one to one nurse to patient ratio registered nurse registered respiratory therapists and community members are raising serious patient safety concern about Southlake Regional Health Centre in New Market Aurora. Southlake like all hospital in Ontario have seen eight years of budget freeze or billow inflation increase the rest of the time. They have adopted a team based nursing model in their ICU that means that now the one fully trained ICU RN monitors her patient but she must also monitor RNs who are not trained in critical care nursing. That is not one on one speaker that is not best practice. Will the Minister of Health listen to the concern of her constituents and act now to make sure that every patient admitted to the ICU gets nothing less than one on one. Thank you. Thank you very much to the member for the question. Our first concern has been the health and well-being of volunteers throughout this pandemic and that includes when they are admitted to hospital. So we recognize that and I am sure the member opposite will know that there are concerns with respect to health human resources right now and so we have made other accommodations but always with patient safety first and foremost in our minds. We are making massive investments in educating more nurses, more locations in our colleges and universities. We are training more people to become intensive care nurses, emergency nurses, surgical nurses but that doesn't happen overnight. But whatever the health human resources we are putting into intensive care the people of Ontario can rest assured that they will receive excellent quality care in nursing and any other resources that they need. That will happen through the pandemic and that they are after. It takes three to five years of intensive care experience to become an ICU nurse or the successful completion of a critical care course in the last two years and critical care experience. But at Southlake Hospital nurses have left and continue to leave the ICU so they are now hiring brand new nurses some with less than one year of med surge experience and providing care to critically ill patients. How is this safe speaker? This is a cut to the ICU. This puts patient at risk. Nurses, respiratory therapists, concerned community feels like they are not being heard by their NPP, the minister. They want to know the concrete steps that the minister will take to promote retention, recruitment and training of critical care nurses at Southlake and every other hospital in Ontario that provide ICU. Thank you speaker. Minister of Health. Thank you. Well I'm certainly very pleased to respond to the question that the member has raised. We have been taking every steps possible to recruit, retain our qualified health human resources. The member is absolutely right that it takes several years in order to train someone to become a nurse in intensive care. For example, we are spending those resources to do that to make sure that we can have a program where people can be trained to be able to achieve that status. But at the other end we are also training more nurses. But with respect to the specific question that you asked there are always qualified intensive care nurses in intensive care. They will always provide supervision of anyone who has maybe not achieved that status. So there are qualified professionals in every aspect of our healthcare system including intensive care with the appropriately trained nurses. That will always continue. Thank you. The next question, the member for Don Valley West. Mr. Speaker, I listened very closely to the answers that the Minister of Education gave to the question just a moment ago and I give credit to the government for its focus on skilled trades. I think that it's an interesting expansion into experiential learning. I think it's important. But given Mr. Speaker that this government has consistently proclaimed that it's a government that is intent on building Ontario's economy, it's really inexplicable that it has consistently undermined the public and funded education system which is the single most important investment in a future strong Ontario economy. As soon as this government was elected it demonstrated its disdain for publicly funded education by cutting staff, setting untenable class size increases in both elementary and secondary schools in order to cut millions of dollars from the system. Cutting student aid for university and college students and when COVID hit this government dragged its heels and then the investment was well short of what was needed. Now there's a child care deal on the table Mr. Speaker from the federal government that has not been available to any governments before. Why has this government not signed the child care deal with the federal government? Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. I do know that the premier has increased investment every single year in publicly funded education. The highest levels ever invested in the history of this province speaker in sharp contrast to the former liberal government that perhaps increased investment but didn't get a good return on that investment. Young people couldn't pass their great six math average. Six hundred schools closed and we created a massive deferred maintenance backlog with the standard of our schools simply regressed by 16 billion dollars. Unacceptable. I appreciate that which is exactly why we are investing over 590 million more dollars this year within our budget to improve the standard within our schools. That's why we're investing half a billion dollars to build new schools and yes it is precisely why we're working to make child care more affordable. I joined the Minister of Infrastructure two weeks ago to announce three thousand additional affordable accessible child care spaces for families within publicly funded schools. Now the former premier is right because the federal government has a lot to contribute 2.5% today's insufficient. We're asking to step up their investment. Let's get this deal done. I appreciate that the government has continued the building of the hundred thousand child care spaces that had already begun under our government. I appreciate that. I think that's a good thing that they have continued on that plan Mr. Speaker. When we took over government in 2003 68% of kids were graduating from high school. When we lost government in 2018 86% of kids were graduating from high school so this is the last question that I'm going to have the privilege of asking in 2021. I sincerely hope that when we're back in the legislature in 2022 Ontario will have signed a child care agreement. We just heard statements in honour of the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. We know that there are many women who are more at risk today than they were two years ago because of COVID and that child care is something that could help. Speaker toddlers at home and their anxious moms and dads today are completely oblivious to the provincial election cycle. They don't know and their parents don't care how signing a deal with a federal liberal government will affect the provincial conservatives in an election. They all just want to see affordable child care option. That is what is on the table right now. Will the government come to a child care agreement with the federal government before the dawn of the new year and put the anxieties of those families to rest? Thank you Speaker. I think many families anxieties rose when they saw their child care bills increased by 400% under the former liberal government's tenure. That just isn't acceptable and that is their legacy but Speaker we do recognize that the federal government currently contributes roughly two and a half percent of Ontario's child care funding. That is in need of a significant increase which is why we're at the table. We've met them many times. The Premier and our government have demonstrated our willingness and ability to successfully negotiate with the federal government be it the safe restart agreement of $4 billion outcome benefiting Ontario families or the federal funding that the Minister of Transportation helped lead negotiations on the GTA subway expansion and the Hamilton LRT and the opposition members riding. We know we can get a good deal. We of course aspire to get one as soon as possible. We are not the obstacle here. We provide the information to the feds. We hope that they will respond in kind to land a deal that reduces costs and increases access and finally makes child care more affordable for the people we serve. Thank you. The next question member for Hal Burton for the legs problem. Thank you Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services. As members of this chamber have already observed today marks 32 years since the tragic events at Montreal's Ecole Polytechnique I'm sure I speak for all members of this House. When I say that it is imperative for the government to do all that it can to help prevent violence against women and to support victims of this horrendous crime. Speaker through you to the Minister what has the government done to provide support to women and members of the LGBTQ2S Plus community who have been victimized by senseless acts of violence and abuse. Minister of Children, Community and Social Services. Thank you Speaker. I'd like to thank the member from Hal Burton, Quartha Lakes Brock and for her important work on behalf of her constituents. I'd like to assure the member and all members in this House that our government has been steadfast in our commitment to preventing violence against women and is taking action to address violence in all forms against all genders. And this year speaker our government is investing 202 million on important violence against women initiatives. These dollars will fund emergency shelters, counseling 24-hour crisis lines, safety planning, child wellness programs, child, excuse me I'll correct that, child witness programs transitional and housing supports and much more. We're working across government and across jurisdictions to stop violence against women and to end human trafficking. Thank you. First supplementary question. Thank you Speaker. I'd like to thank the Minister for her response and I'm pleased to hear that the government is committed to addressing this issue and taking concrete steps to protect the people of Ontario who are at risk. With my supplementary I'd like to focus in on one particular horrendous form of violence against women that overwhelmingly impacts vulnerable women and girls and that is human sex trafficking. As I am sure the Minister knows a disproportionately large number of the women trafficked are indigenous, racialized and young underaged women and girls who are particularly vulnerable to offenders. Can the Minister tell the House what the government is doing to prevent another incidence of this terrible crime? Children can be in social service. Thank you Speaker and thank you again to the member from Halliburton, Coortha, Lakesbrock. As the member will know last year our government launched our five year strategy to combat human trafficking and sexual exploitation of women, children and at risk youth. This comprehensive 307 million dollar action plan is focused on raising awareness, protecting victims and intervening early, supporting survivors and most importantly holding offenders accountable. Speaker our government is committed to working across jurisdictions and with all members of the community to ensure a multifaceted approach that provides more education, more prevention, more protection and more support for survivors especially children. The issue of violence against women and girls is one that demands every single one of us to work towards change and I can assure the member and this House that our government is committed to doing our part. Thank you. The Member for Kiwetnau. My question is to the Premier. Last week the other general released their 2021 annual report. We have an agency under the Ministry of Environment with a mandate to improve drinking water in First Nations. In Kiwetnau there are 14 First Nations under long term boil water advisories including this Canada who is almost at their 27 years of anniversary of living with no clean drinking water. Speaker it is shameful that governments including this one enables this structural racism or you can call it racism period. Why is it that the government refuses to step up to ensure all Ontarians have access to clean drinking water no matter where they live. Thank you Speaker. That member is right and I appreciate that question for too long. This has been simply unacceptable the reality of challenges in getting clean drinking water in First Nations communities. That's why our governments working closely with Aqua and Walkerton agencies of government collaboratively with First Nations and the federal government to support resolutions to long term drinking water advisories. We know that Indigenous Services Canada provides funding for First Nations for water and wastewater services on reserves 100% for design and construction and 80% for operating and maintenance costs. First Nations are not mandated to meet Ontario's regulatory framework as this is a federal government lead however we're not stopping that. That's why Aqua is working closely with a number of Indigenous communities that's why working collaboratively with the auditor general Aqua is launching for the first time under this government both a mandate to Walkerton to work with Indigenous communities and an Indigenous advisory circle that will be Indigenous led to work to improve water quality on First Nations communities. Supplementary question. The auditor general stated that Ontario clean water agency is hesitant to support First Nations struggling with boil water advisories. Apparently they are hesitant because they need to achieve full cost recovery. I didn't realize getting people clean drinking water was only important when there was money to be made off it. Speaker leaving people to live their whole lives under boil water advisories is nothing to be proud of. When will Ontario begin to subsidize these technical services so they can help more First Nations in Ontario under boil water advisories. Thank you. And again I thank the member opposite for that question. Aqua is in First Nations communities around Ontario regardless of whether they receive cost recovery or not. That cost recovery is given to the Indigenous communities from the federal government and quite frankly under my leadership as minister and under this premier we don't care we will be there to support regardless of the reality. That's why Aqua has been in the Skandja on a 24-7 basis since November of 2020. We will continue investing in Aqua and Walkerton to work with Indigenous communities. We will continue working with Aqua. I recently just met with the chair of their board and who reported to me that they are well on their way with the Indigenous advisory circle that is Indigenous led. It's a principle I learned when at the Royal College. Never about us without us. That's why we're working with the Indigenous communities. That's why we've launched an Indigenous led advisory circle. We will always respond and work in close collaborations with Indigenous communities across the province and I appreciate that member's question. Thank you speaker. The next question, the member for Guelph. Good morning speaker. My question is for the premier. Nurses are at a breaking point overworked, underpaid and underappreciated. The ONA says that hospitals face an 18 to 20% nursing vacancy rates. ICUs have reduced capacity because we don't have as many nurses to staff them. The surgery backlog is worsening because we don't have enough nurses to staff operating rooms. The nursing shorty just putting pressure on our healthcare system affecting patient care. Ontario desperately needs a plan to retain nurses to shore up our healthcare system and that starts with fair wages. So speaker, will the premier do the right thing to show nurses the respect they deserve and revoke Bill 124 so they can negotiate a fair wage for the services they provided Ontarians? Thank you very much speaker. As has been mentioned on a number of occasions in this house, we understand that is why the Minister of Health has been putting so much resources into rebuilding the healthcare system across the province of Ontario. Bill 124 of course is an opportunity to ensure that we save jobs across the province of Ontario but it hasn't stopped us from investing in working with the minister of colleges and universities to ensure that we bring in more new nurses. I think we're adding some additional 2,000 new nurses, Mr. Speaker, but at the same time as we build up more ICUs, as we build up more critical care beds, as we build up 30,000 additional long-term care units, the investments that are being made historic investments frankly in Brampton and in Mississauga with the Peel Hospital. We understand how important it is to bring on new nurses, Speaker, and not only new nurses but PSW is at this. So there is a lot of work to be done, Mr. Speaker. We're making the investments in order to get this work accomplished. Thank you. Supplementary question. Speaker, what the government needs to understand and I believe the people of Ontario understand that you can build more physical space. You can expand physical capacity but if you don't have the people, the people to work in those hospitals, in those operating rooms, in those ICUs, you're not going to be able to provide the health care that Ontarians need. On November 14th, the Registered Nurses Association called on the government to revoke bill 124 within 30 days so nurses could get the pay raise they deserve. Because frankly, freezing their wages with today's inflation rate is the same as a pay cut. So Speaker, the clock is ticking. The 30 days are almost up. Will the government listen to nurses, show them the respect they deserve, and revoke bill 124. Thank you. The government knows they do. It doesn't know about preserving jobs across the public service. It doesn't of course restrict individuals who receive promotions within their category from receiving those that augmented pay. But what we heard a lot of the time too, Mr. Speaker, was the fact that the lack of investments being made by the previous government in terms of our hospitals was causing people to leave the province. We saw that so often with our doctors with nurses, Mr. Speaker, we did not have the facilities that were keeping back in the tops and the best on the brightest back here. So that's why these investments in a Brampton hospital, the investments that we're making in Peele, the investments that we're making in Niagara, the investments that we're making in long-term care are so important to bringing the best and the brightest back to Ontario and keeping the best and the brightest here, Mr. Speaker, because I agree with the Honourable General. It's not just about wages. It's not just about building these facilities. It's about investing in the top notch quality of healthcare that the people of the province of Ontario demand. And we're finally getting that done. Thank you, Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Speaker, we all know Ontario is in a housing crisis. Young families, seniors and hardworking Ontarians are desperate for housing that meets their unique needs. The previous Liberal government sat on their hands for 15 years and said no to addressing the housing crisis. In 2020 the year after our housing supply action plan was implemented Ontario had the highest level of housing starts in a decade and the highest level of rent starts since 1992. But we all know there is more to be done. I understand that this morning the Minister announced that our government is cutting red tape in the city of Guelph. So, Speaker, through you, could the Minister tell us how this will lay the groundwork for future development as much of it needed for housing and how will the government protect the city's drinking water supply for years to come? Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Thanks, Speaker, and I want to thank the honourable member for that question. I was pleased to be in Guelph this morning. I joined Mayor Cam Guthrie to announce that I'll be issuing a Minister's Zoning Order that will speed up approvals to allow for the development of new housing on the Dolan quarry in lands in the township. Also we'll be protecting valuable drinking water for the municipality. Just like all other Minister's Zoning Orders issued on non-provincially owned land the MZO comes at the request of City Council. Together with our local municipal partners our government is using the MZO tool to get critical projects in the ground faster. Things like affordable housing, healthcare facilities, long-term care. We need to move at a pace that Ontarians deserve. The announcement today demonstrates our response to ensure that critical local priority projects can be built as fast as possible. I'll have more to say in the supplementary question. Thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to the Minister for his response and sharing that information with the House. Speaker I'm pleased that our government is using the MZO tool to speed up critical projects such as much needed housing long-term care beds and even hospital expansions all while ensuring the local municipality remains in the driver's seat the entire time. And while I understand the Minister has already fast tracked 3,700 long-term care beds and created over 46,000 jobs through the use of ministerial zoning orders. The citizens of Guelph are depending on our government to not only offer up new opportunities for housing but also protect Guelph's drinking water. Can the Minister through you Speaker tell us what this announcement means for the current and future residents of Guelph. Another great question from the member for Oakville. As he stated this is a partnership between the city we're using the minister's zoning order tool to protect Guelph's drinking water for the people of Guelph. Speaker under the leadership of Premier Ford our government is saying yes. As the member mentioned we're saying yes to building more homes we're saying yes to expanding our health care facilities and our long-term care capability. We're saying yes to protecting our environment. When Guelph City Council requested the MZO to cut red tape to clear the way for new development that will also help protect the city's drinking water our government was pleased speaker to say yes. I'm proud that this initiative shows that there's a balanced and responsible approach to growth for our government. It protects the natural heritage features upon and the drinking water source beneath the quarry alongside the future creation of housing. This is a fantastic announcement for the people of Guelph unlike the Liberals and the NDP who always say no. Speaker my question is to the Premier earlier this month I wrote a letter to the Minister of Government and Consumer Services and Minister of Health about an important issue raised by one of my local constituents. We're all still waiting for a response. When she went to renew her OHIP card using the online service she found it was only available to those who hold an Ontario drivers license. This is exceptionally limiting for her as a person with a specific disability that prevents her from driving. The CNIB foundation in my writing has also flagged this issue to the Ministry over two years ago noting how this system requirement excludes people who are blind partially blind or blind deaf across Ontario. Speaker with expired health cards no longer accepted as of February of 2022 what is the government doing to remove this barrier that disproportionately impacts people with disabilities. Thank you. Thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to the member opposite for the question. I want to be very clear first and foremost that you can renew your health card the same way you always could renew your health card at a service counter at a service Ontario that hasn't changed in any way shape or form. What our government has done with our modernization efforts which we are very proud of as we continue to work towards modernizing Ontario making sure that we have a process that is first but not digital only. All of our health cards can be renewed and at the present time there is a process that requires the drivers license to be used for that purpose and we are working on trying to ensure along with our great Minister of Health we have been working towards trying to ensure that there are additional ways that we could get our health cards renewed just like all of the other cards but Mr. Speaker I want to be crystal clear that the way in which you would have renewed your health card in the past still do the same type of renewal processes that you always could and we are just making it better Mr. Speaker. Supplementary question. Speaker modernizing systems shouldn't leave people with disabilities behind. My supplementary question is again to the Premier. The CNIB as I said flagged this issue to the government over two years ago so the delay it's been a two year delay is frankly inexcusable in fixing this glitch but sadly this government doesn't have a good track record frankly with accessibility issues. In 2019 the AODA report by David Omley described this government's progress to meeting the 2025 Accessibility Action Plan as glacial and in the over 1,000 days that have followed there has been utter inaction. This government's failure to consider how the driver's license requirement would unfairly burden people with disabilities who are unable to drive wasn't just inconvenient it is actually discrimination. Speaker can this government explain what they're doing to consult specifically with disability advocates to lift not just this barrier towards full accessibility but every other one frankly that still exists in this province to meet the 2025 commitment. Thank you. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. I mentioned last week in the house I know that the minister is working very diligently on this. We understand how important it is to have all communities have access throughout the province of Ontario. Something that we have to work with in conjunction with our municipal partners and our federal partners speaker. At the same time we recognize the contributions of Mr. Omley in that report as I said last week the minister will have more to say on this in the future. Thank you. Next question the member for Scarborough Gildewan. Thank you speaker my question is to the premier. Ontario had paid sick days for all working Ontarians before this government reversed that right given to workers in 2018 during this pandemic doctors nurses teachers and countless others have asked this government to bring them back workers were going to work sick unable to afford taking time off to get vaccinated. Ontarians need paid sick days to slow the spread of COVID-19 and its variance of concern and to make it easier to get vaccinated. This government dragged their feet for over a year and the current program is set to expire less than four weeks from now on December 31st. Speaker does the premier once again plan to make workers choose between a paycheck and their health? Will parents be forced to take unpaid time off to get their children vaccinated or will this government do the right thing and extend 10 paid sick days to Ontario workers. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. The Liberals waited as I said last week 5,110 days to bring in sick days in the dying days of the previous administration. That's 5,000 days Mr. Speaker. We brought in sick days working with our federal partners we brought in over 20 sick days for the people of the province of Ontario. Sick days that can be used to bring your kids to get vaccinated because we know how important it is. We brought in job protections right at the beginning faster than any other government across this country brought in job protections to ensure that anybody who was impacted by COVID had their jobs protected Mr. Speaker. We are continuing to work with our essential workers because we know how important it is to keeping the economy going. That is why the premier made it a priority. We didn't wait 5,000 days. We didn't wait for four or five different administrations to get it done. Like so many other things we're getting it done in our first term of office. Supplementary question. Well Speaker, it's ironic that this government, this PC government under a premier forward took less than 200 days to cancel those same sick days. Shame on you. Speaker, in my riding of Scarborough Gildo we have many parents who must work multiple jobs, long extensive hours and yet we expect them to be able to take their kids to get them vaccinated. The guidance that this government has provided to elementary schools acknowledges that in the winter the virus is like to spread more rapidly. Has this government updated its guidance since the Omicron variant? Seeker, we need to make sure that parents know that their children, regardless of background, regardless of circumstance, can get vaccinated. Only 21% of 5 to 11 have been vaccinated to this point. Will the government act to make sure that they work with school boards to do in-school vaccinations for all students in light of the risk we are now facing with the Omicron variant and we know that in the winter months the transmission is more. Thank you. Minister of Health. Thank you and thank you very much to the member for the question. We know that with the threat of the Omicron variant coming forward we still know the details about it but we know that we're still dealing with the delta variant here in Ontario so we're advising all Ontarians to please get vaccinated first and second vaccinations for adults and booster doses as well. We've lowered the age now from 50 to 69 year olds. They will be able as of December 13th to be able to get their third doses and with respect to children we have over 226,445 children already been vaccinated 21% of the population that's in 10 days only. We already have over 180,000 appointments booked so we thank the parents of Ontario for taking their children to be vaccinated. That's the best way for us to emerge from this pandemic and people are responding accordingly we're very very grateful for that. I'll make the comments through the chair. The next question is from Niagara Falls. Thank you Mr. Speaker. My question is to the premier I want to talk about a constituent in my riding a constituent who deserves respect of this entire house. His name is Byrd Sissler. He's 106 years young he's a second world war veteran and a lifelong resident of the great town of Fort Erie. Byrd's been trying to get into a long-term care home in Fort Erie for six months. Imagine in this province veterans can't get immediately get placed in a long-term care home in their own community. If anyone should get a bed in a long-term care home the day they need one is Byrd Sissler and frankly any veteran in the province in this great province. So my question is this how can it be that in this province there are veterans like Byrd who wait months for a long-term care bed. Thank you. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker and the honourable gentleman is correct it shouldn't be the case in the province of Ontario. It never should have been the case in the province of Ontario Mr. Speaker. That is why we get so angry when we talk about the failures of the previous government which build 611 beds in the last two administrations and over 10 years they only managed to build 611 beds. To put that into context Mr. Speaker all of the new writing is building a thousand new beds in our first term. That is why we put a priority on building 30,000 new beds. That is why the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing is being so aggressive in ensuring that we get MZOs to support over 3700 brand new beds Mr. Speaker. All initiatives that the members opposite voted against not only an hour time in office but when they supported the Liberals between 2011 the balance of power could have ended the fiasco that were the last two Liberal administrations. They chose not to Mr. Speaker but on behalf of your constitution we will get the job done. Well back to the premier and I wasn't going to get political about Bert because I don't think he deserves to be political right now what he needs is a place to be taken care of. I visited his home just a couple weeks ago. His sons and his daughters were taken care of him. Bert you know when he was 104 he was still bowling. He had to stop because he couldn't go down the steps to the bowling alley he's got countless trophies from bowling. He used to go to the fundraisers to the fire hall and he'd eat a full breakfast. This is just before COVID and I sat with him. I was amazed. He had three pancakes. He had scrambled eggs. He had juice. He had toast. And I ate my little part that I ate. He ate the whole thing at 104 years old. And you know Bert was there for us in World War II like a lot of veterans were. He answered the call. He went over there. He fought for his country. He fought for our freedom. He was there for us. And today I'm asking everybody here let's be here for Bert. Let's be here for his family who have given everything to him. They love their dad to death. They just can't do it anymore. They can't take care of him at night the way he should be taken care of. So I'm saying to you please he was there for us. Let's be there for him. What Bert needs is a safe publicly funded not-for-profit long-term care bed which guarantees four hours of hands-on care every single day. Speaker will the Premier immediately implement a plan to get Bert and veterans like him into publicly funded not-for-profit beds in their communities for Bert and his family. Thank you very much. As I just said from day one it was so important for us because there are so many people just like his constituent who fought so hard for this country who fought to build this country. You didn't just have to fight hard in a war people like my parents who had come to this country and worked their tails off for generations Mr. Speaker. Worked their tails off and contributed. They should have access to the top quality health care that we demand. They should have access to long-term care. They should have the best education system. They should have the best transit and transportation systems. This is one of the richest communities one of the richest jurisdictions in North America Mr. Speaker but on so many different ways we have failed the people. That is why we set out right from the beginning to make those investments in the priority that were so important. Rebuilding health care. Rebuilding long-term care Mr. Speaker. Rebuilding our education system. Building roads and bridges Mr. Speaker because we know that this province can be so much more than it was when we took office in 2018 so that we can honor people like him who fought so hard to give us our freedoms. Thank you Speaker. My questions to the Minister of Health. Earlier this year doctors said it was okay for pregnant mothers to get the vaccine and now we're seeing substantial rise in stillbirths. Speaker to the Minister I'm only reporting what I've discovered here what Trish had publicly stated. It was a well-known in the midwifery community that people opting for the jab have seen stillbirth rates rise exponentially. Speaker we have heard from a hospital joint chief of staff saying that the rise in stillbirths is erroneous while I've been informed by frontline health care workers who have witnessed this tragedy firsthand they've chosen to report these stillbirths to protect the public. We also know that CPSO and hospitals are muzzling staff. If these incidents are not being reported properly then in my opinion is medical fraud. So my question to the Minister is who do you believe hospital administration or frontline nurses and doctors who are willing to risk it all Thank you very much. That concludes our question period for this morning. Member for Nickel Belt has a point of order. A quick point of order Mr. Speaker. I want to congratulate my colleague John Vantoff from Timiskim and Cochran for becoming a granddad yesterday. Congratulations for being no further business this morning. This house stands in recess until 1 p.m.