 It is now time for a question period for the member from Whitby, Oshawa. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Queen. The release of the Metrolinx report yesterday opened up a whole new realm of taxes and fees for Ontario's taxpayers. You may call them revenue tools, but a tax is a tax is a tax. These taxes will cost the average family $1,000 per year. All income students who don't even drive will get taxed $140 a year, and seniors on fixed incomes will be taxed $120 a year. Premier, why don't you do the hard work of combing through your budget to find $2 billion worth of savings before you go to your automatic default provision and hit Ontario family, seniors and students with yet another tax? Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. To paraphrase my colleague, the Minister of Training, Colleges and University, congestion is congestion is congestion, Mr. Speaker, and the reality is that we are going to have to deal with the congestion in the Greater Toronto Hamilton area. The reason we're going to have to deal with that, Mr. Speaker, is that for decades there has not been the work done that should have been done. That's the reality. We are playing catch up, Mr. Speaker. There are projects that were started. There was a line that was to be built along the Edlington, along Edlington, Mr. Speaker. The hole was dug. The hole was filled in by the previous government, Mr. Speaker. If that subway had been built, it would be running today, Mr. Speaker. I'm going to start right off. Normally I have to deal with it. Stop the clock for a moment. Normally I have to deal with the opposition while the Premier is speaking. Now I'm dealing with members of her own cabinet and her own side heckling while she's trying to answer, and that doesn't change anything. It doesn't change anything. I'm asking for some spiral up instead of down. So if those people that want to heckle, they better be in their seat so that I can tell them to stop heckling, and I think somebody's got my message. Finish please. Mr. Speaker, and to respond, the point I'm making is that there has been a neglect of this file for many years. That's right. When we came in 2003, we started building transit, Mr. Speaker. We need to keep going. That's why we need an investment strategy. Thank you. Comments please. The government managed to find $2 billion to pay connected e-health consultants. You found another billion dollars to cancel two gas plants. EchEven found a couple of million dollars to buy Chris Mazza's speedboat. Premier, based on your government's track record, surely you can find $2 billion if you do the hard work of coming through the budget if transit is truly one of your government's priorities. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, and let's talk about what we actually need to do here. This is a $50 billion plan, Mr. Speaker. It's over a couple of decades in the future. We need to continue the building that is going on right now in the GTHA, and we need to build out to that broader plan. This is an annual investment that needs to be made, Mr. Speaker. The reality is that that kind of commitment has not been made in this province. We need now to recognize that our economic growth and our economic stability, quite frankly, is at stake. Every year, we're losing billions of dollars in productivity by not having that transit in place. We need to work on people's quality of life. We need to recognize that building transit can affect people's daily lives, and that's why we need to make these investments, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Final supplementary. Well, Premier, this is ultimately about your government's priorities. Over the last 10 years, you have consistently spent money on your partisan priorities and not those of the average Ontarians. Your government does not. You've got a management problem. It's time to do right by Ontarians. Go some leadership. Will you promise us today in this legislature and the people of Ontario that you will not implement these new taxes and you will do your job and find $2 billion annually from the existing budget going forward? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. This most certainly is about our priorities, and I am very proud of our priorities. Our priorities are make sure that we deliver the services that people need every single day. Our priorities are making sure that we have the teachers in our schools that kids need. Making sure that we have the doctors and the nurses and the nurse practitioners and the midwives that people need in their lives, Mr. Speaker. Making sure that the infrastructure that has been neglected in this province for decades is built, Mr. Speaker. I am proud of those priorities, and the reality is that this province has needed a dedicated plan for building transit and repairing and building infrastructure for years. They haven't had it. We're going to put it in place, Mr. Speaker, and we're going to provide that infrastructure that's needed in the future for the children and grandchildren that's in this province. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Any questions? Remember from the deficit. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Premier. Premier, I'm looking through the Gas Plant Scandal Treasury Board documents last week. It would appear that your Whiteout team noticed a few gems in the House Leader's notes. Carry on, please. Thank you, Speaker. Here's in the House Leader's notes for last year's budget meeting to buy the support of the NDP. The last sentence reads, and I quote, The proposals should be enough to avoid an election. That's your government's sole mission, to stay in power at all costs. Premier, how can you find a billion dollars to buy NDP support, a billion dollars to cancel gas plants, a billion dollars to subsidize hydro bills, a billion dollars for e-health consultants, but you can't find a billion dollars to build new subways and highways? Thank you very much. To invest in subways, Mr. Speaker, and in transit, and in light rail, and in roads and bridges, across the GTHA and across the province, every single year we have invested billions of dollars in infrastructure, Mr. Speaker. Let me just be clear in terms of the work that we have done around the relocation of the gas plants and why, Mr. Speaker, I believe that being open and transparent is exactly what was necessary. Working in collaboration with the people in the legislature, I ran in my leadership on that. The notion that somehow working in collaboration with the opposition and working to put forward a budget that would allow us to continue to govern in a minority parliament and continue to work with the folks across the floor, I think that's our responsibility, Mr. Speaker. I think that's what I said when I ran in the leadership, it is what we've been doing and we're going to continue to work with you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Premier, for the cost of your gas plant scandal, which your own Treasury Board says will reach close to a billion dollars, you could have built the entire length of the Eglinton Crosstown, or you could have paid for 40 kilometers of dedicated bus rapid transit connecting Burlington, Oakville and Mississauga with a BRT direct to Kipling. In your 127 billion dollar budget, if you found just 2 percent of savings across the entire government, you would have two and a half billion dollars a year. That's your two billion dollars for your big move and five hundred million dollars left over to pay down debt. Premier, we don't have a revenue problem in Ontario. You have a spending problem. Why do liberals always default to new taxes to solve Ontario's problems? Mr. Speaker, the member from Renfrew, nice and easy. I'm talking to you. Premier. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. It's an interesting line of questioning. The same line of questioning is used when the members opposite talk about investment in education. The same line of questioning is used when the members opposite ask about investment in education. Remember, from Johnson and Caledon, from North, that they would cut those services across the board. We have been working very hard to constrain cost, Mr. Speaker. We know that eliminating the deficit is extremely important. We're on track to do that by 2017-18. But in the interim, we cannot ignore the reality that if we are going to have growth that we need. If we're going to be able to take our place in the global economy, we've got to invest in infrastructure, particularly in the GTHA, because we're losing productivity because of the lack of infrastructure. So, making those investments in transit is the economic and sound thing to do, Mr. Stitt. Premier London, Economics International, a globally respected independent economic consultancy, said your feed and tariff program and green energy subsidies will cost $46 billion. In other words, it's roughly the cost of the entire big move, yet it hasn't increased green energy production one bit. How do you explain to Scarborough residents that you now need even more money from them, yet they still won't get subways? How do you explain to the people elsewhere in the GTHA that their energy bills will continue to skyrocket, their gas bills will go up, their HST will go up, all because of liberal mismanagement? And Premier, on a personal note, how can you explain to the residents of Northern Ontario that you can't afford Ontario Northland? Premier, how can Ontarians trust you with even more nickel of their money? I will answer the question, Mr. Speaker. So, I just want to speak to the issue of the Ontario Northland, because I want the people of North Bay and the people of North Eastern Ontario to know that Minister Govelle is working very hard to bring those North Eastern voices into the discussion around Ontario Northland. He has made a commitment that the advisory panel will look at what the options are and make sound decisions on that issue. And I think that it's very, you know, it's very good to have a question from the member opposite on the issue, because it's important to me that we have a rational transportation plan for Northern Ontario and North Eastern and Northwestern Ontario. Mr. Speaker, we need to invest in transit in the GTHA. There is no question about that. The members opposite are working... Okay, we'll start. The member from Halton is warned. Finish, please. And the member from Renfrew. Is that enough? Thank you. I have a question so far from the members opposite have not acknowledged the reality that we need to build transit in the GTHA. We have to do that. There's really no debate about that, Mr. Speaker. And we're working our level best to find a way to make those investments. Thank you. Your question? The Leader of the Third Party. Thank you, Speaker. My question is for the Premier. New Democrats have been working hard to make life more affordable for people by giving FISCO a mandate to lower auto insurance rates by 15%. Would the Premier agree that raising insurance rates by 30% for lowering them is not a measure that will make life more affordable for drivers in the GTHA? Very much, Mr. Speaker. We need to get the budget passed. There's no doubt about that, because we have said in the budget that we are going to work to reduce auto insurance premiums by 15%. We said we want to get on that right away. The reality is that until we get the budget passed, we can't implement the budget. So I look forward to the debate on the budget. I look forward to moving ahead and being able to implement it. And a part of that is helping people in their day-to-day lives. And one aspect of that is lowering those insurance premiums, Mr. Speaker. So we want to get the budget through the legislation. Speaker Susan Wright is a driver from Bramley. And she just got her notice that her auto insurance premiums are going up by more than 30%. Her driving record has not changed, Speaker. She hasn't had sudden accidents or claims on her insurance policy. She's one of several people who have contacted us about premiums that suddenly seem to be rising just to take some action. Remember from Northumberland come to order, please? Please put the question. Can the premier explain to drivers like Susan why her government right now is approving massive increases at the same time as they're promising to provide? So, Mr. Speaker, let's be clear. Rates have actually reduced by 0.3% year over year since last year. What we're doing right now, we're asking FISCO to take controls and measures appropriately to ensure that rates do not go up. We recognize and the member opposite makes reference to a specific case. I don't know the particulars of that individual, but I do know this. We need to get this budget passed. We need to ensure that we give FISCO the powers necessary. We need to provide legislation and provide the oversight that we all agree in order that we can reduce rates and in order that we also go after the root causes of the fraud that's also there. So, we're working towards that. We've taken the measures over the last two years to reduce some of that fraud. It's translated in certain reductions of some of the auto rates. What needs to be done? I agree with the member opposite. We cannot allow rates to go up at this time. Let's get this budget passed, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Final supplementary. Let's be clear, Speaker. What needs to be done is this government needs to tell the auto insurance industry they can't let rates up. Auto insurance premiums by 15%. At the same time, right now, Speaker, drivers are getting 30% increases on their renewals. New Democrats want to make sure that good drivers pay less next year than they're paying today. Will the government commit to protecting drivers like Susan from increases before the decreases? Mr. Speaker, of course we're committed. We put it in the budget. We made it clear that's exactly what we want to do. We've already assessed the fact that the rates have gone down on average, not up. If I have to go to the individuals immediately and do so, I've done it and I will do it again. It is too much. Answer, please. And some of the measures that we're asking for is to appoint a review for any dispute resolutions, as the member office has just made reference to. We want to continue in the definitions of certain impairments. We've already started discussions with a number of initiatives and stakeholders around the province. We want to make certain that claims are reviewed. It's part of our budget. It's part of our request. We also know in our discussions with those insurance companies, we've been very direct in telling them to maintain the rates at what they are. They've actually been lowered on average by 0.3 percent. We need to get this budget passed. We need to work together. Let's not make reference to one individual case that we don't know the particulars of. And it's unfair for the member office to... Thank you. Thank you. That's enough. New question, the leader of the third party. My next question is to the Premier Speaker. New Democrats have been very clear. We don't think it's fair to ask families to pay new tolls and taxes at the same time as the government is opening new tax loopholes for corporations. I asked the Premier about whether she would work with Ottawa to close her new corporate tax loophole. Yesterday the Minister of Finance said and I quote, we've had this discussion and we're continuing to do so. What's the status of that discussion, Speaker? Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. And I know that the Minister of Finance will want to speak to the specifics of that contact with Ottawa and I think that the leader of the third party knows that we do not have full control over those mechanisms which is why we have to work with Ottawa and that's why the letter has been written and I'll let the finance minister speak to those specifics. But Mr Speaker, at the root of this question again is a question about whether the third party supports the building of transit in the GTHA. It seems to me, Mr Speaker, that the members in that party understand very well how critical that infrastructure is to the economy of this region. Also understand very well, Mr Speaker, that the quality of life of the people who live in the GTHA, the moms who are trying to get their kids to school and to daycare and back home again, the dads who are driving on the highway, Mr Speaker, they know that there needs to be a responsibility taken by government to make those investments. I hope the third party will work with us, Mr Speaker. Well, Speaker, what we understand very well over here is that the Premier is planning to open a brand new corporate tax loophole that will ensure corporations can write the HST off on gasoline and other items. But on the other hand, she's musing about making families pay a new gasoline tax. Does the Premier think that's fair, that families should pay more and corporations should pay less yet again? Mr Speaker, we have said many, many times in this legislature, both I and the Minister of Finance, that the characterization of that relationship on the tax regime with the federal government is just not accurate. The fact is, Mr Speaker, we have written to the federal government, we have said that we would like to extend the situation as it exists now. It is not a new loophole, Mr Speaker. It's not a loophole. It's something that was negotiated with the federal government when we changed the tax system, Mr Speaker. So we will continue to work with the federal government on this. But, Mr Speaker, I think the question that we do have to grapple with is, is the third party going to support the investment in transit in the GTHA? We know it's needed for people in the day-to-day lives. We know it's necessary for the economy. We need their support on that investment. Mr Speaker, final supplementary. Let's be clear about what this looks like. The Premier's new corporate tax loophole will make sure that if two cars roll up to the pump at the same time, the executive in the company car won't have to pay the HST, and the mum with the kids in the minivan will. In fact, if the Premier goes forward with the gas tax, it means that the mum in the minivan is going to be paying more and more and more. The Premier is ready to ask families to pay more, while she tells corporations to pay less. Does she really think that that's the balanced approach? So, as the member opposite asks, let's be clear. And let us be clear. You're talking about restricted input tax credits. It's not a loophole. It's not a tax break. It's not a tax giveaway. And it's not new. We have written the Minister of Finance federally to extend that exception as we all agree in order for us to continue meeting our balance, in order for us to do what's necessary to protect the interests of our tax payers. But we agree that we want to have these extended, but we also recognize that it has to be done in tandem with the federal government. What's happening is if they get a tax rebate or in 2017-18 because they're all relative to other different issues, because it's not just vehicles, then it's not just meals and entertainment. It's also telecommunications and it's also energy. So, all of this is coming up. We're asking them to have them extended. It's not a tax loophole. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. New question. The member from New Market of Rural. My question is to the Premier. Speaker, it took five years for Metrolinx to deliver a funding proposal for its transit plan. And the best that they could do is to come up with a proposal to add two billion dollars in taxes onto the backs of Ontario taxpayers. Mr. Speaker, please reject that proposal. Ontario families and businesses reject that proposal. Even the new Democrats reject that proposal. The Premier tells us she wants to have a conversation about adding two billion dollars of taxes to Ontario families and businesses. Here is our proposal. While the Premier is having her conversation, will she agree to a select committee of this legislature? Question. That has a mandate to find two billion dollars of savings out of the waste and inefficiency that is rampant. Thank you. You've seen it, please. And come to order. Premier? An infrastructure. An infrastructure. Thank you. Thanks very much, Mr. Speaker. It's an interesting question that's being asked from a member who, in just, I could go through numerous decisions of the party opposite in power, Mr. Speaker, but the seven billion dollar loss on the fire sale of the 407, the eight billion dollars in stranded debt. There's 15 billion dollars that this tends to be like that, Mr. Speaker. You guys majored in wasting money on a scale unprecedented by anybody who ever sat on the side of the house. We need no lessons, Mr. Speaker, from the members opposite on multi-billion-dollar disasters. We can't hold a candle to them if we tried, Mr. Speaker. But their record on transit, Mr. Speaker, and their neglect of it, is legendary across North America, Mr. Speaker. When they were in power, you cannot find a subnational government that's so abandoned transit, so critical to young people in our jobs. They froze funding for go transit, Mr. Speaker, and the line-ups all along the way to the line, Mr. Speaker. We're legendary. Supplementary, Mr. Speaker. For a non-partisan approach to solving this problem, Speaker, Speaker, the budget, the budget. So trying to understand the psychology of the situation, this is where I get the emails that often tell me, why don't you just throw the bums out and having the armchair quarterbacks advising me on how to do that. I'm not taking your advice because I honestly believe we can race to the top. Finish your question, please. Speaker, I find the government's reaction to that comment very passing strange. It's the premier who made that suggestion that we should be approaching this on a non-partisan basis. Speaker, the budget of this government is $127 billion. The waste is rampant. We all know that. One year it's e-health, the next year it's orange, the year after that it's gas plants. We know all of us in this place on all three sides of the house know there is a great deal of inefficiency and waste. I'm going to repeat my question to the premier. Not the minister of transportation. Will she agree to strike a select committee of this house with a mandate to find the waste and inefficiency of $2 billion so that we can fund transit? If the party opposite and some of the members opposite who sat at the cabinet table can point to in their almost decade in power one single transit project they invested in Mr. Speaker, I will do a wave and clap for them but they can't. What we can point to Mr. Speaker is their brilliant record which was to take bulldozers and fill in the Anglington cross-town line and subway. That was their transit record Mr. Speaker. This is a party that more single-handedly in government is responsible for the transit crisis we face today Mr. Speaker. No party in this legislature has a worst record. So while the business community Mr. Speaker, while the business community is begging the party opposite to engage in this conversation because of the $6 billion they are losing and well thank you. New question to member from Nicolbel. Thank you Mr. Speaker. My question is for the minister of health in Lantankir. The expert investigating the diluted chemo drugs. Dr. Teesson talked about the fact that the outsourcing of drugs for use in hospital has exploded in recent years and he noted the lack of oversight and said he was worried. My question is simple is the minister also worried about this contracting out of hospital drug preparations. Thank you speaker and what's vitally important is that we have the highest quality of drugs for all of our patients and I think we would all agree that cancer patients in particular need to have the confidence that they are getting the drugs that have been prescribed for them speaker. I am delighted that Dr. Teesson has taken on this challenge to give us advice on on the entire cancer drug supply chain. I think members of committee heard yesterday that he's taking that responsibility very very seriously. He will be reporting back to us in coming weeks speaker and I look forward to seeing his report. Supplementary. Well speaker Dr. Teesson said that in the past he wouldn't have been worried about the preparation of these drugs because most of them were being done in our hospital in a highly regulated environment but as the for-profit industry exploded in Ontario the needed oversight has not been provided by the Ministry of Health. Speaker hospitals have been encouraged by this government to move services out to contract out often to the for-profit industry but this change has not been properly done. Will the minister take her responsibility seriously and provide the comprehensive oversight? That is her responsibility. Speaker absolutely that the that oversight is essential that is exactly why I have asked Dr. Teesson to give us advice on how to ensure the safety of our cancer drug speaker. I think he is a highly qualified person. I know he is a highly qualified person. He is doing his job thoroughly speaker. I do not want to prejudge his findings. I think it's very important that we give him the time he needs to give us a thorough report and then we will act on that speaker. Thank you. New question from Brent West. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Transportation. Yesterday Metro links the agency tasked with planning transit expansion in the GTHA came out with their long-awaited investment strategy report. This report outlined their recommendations on how to pay for transit and it also talked about the immense cost of congestion and gridlock to Ontarians. Speaker many of my constituents in Brampton West can spend many hours in traffic or in transit each day. And I must say that many of them are very pleased to hear the hear that building public transit is a priority for our government. We can all agree that there is a distinct need to reduce gridlock, improve air quality and build strong communities. Minister please tell us on why it's so important for us to move forward and invest in transit projects in the GTHA now. Thank you Mr. Transportation Infrastructure. Thank you Mr. Speaker and I want to thank the member and our friends from Peel Region for their support on this. Mr. Speaker this is critical and I just want to stop and pause here and give us a bit of reality on where we're going. We spend less per capita than any other province in Canada so we have a lower envelope already for all of our basic services Mr. Speaker. No other jurisdiction not British Columbia, not Alberta, not Quebec, not California, not Oregon, not Massachusetts. No one has built transit without raising some of these revenues. It has never happened. People who tell you that you can build a major regional transportation system without additional revenue are fibbing Mr. Speaker and that's a polite word for my mother's probably watching. Mr. Speaker, if we don't do this, the business community alone and our residents will lose 2.7 billion dollars a year. That's the loss of summer jobs for their kids. It's lower household income, it's time away from families and it's the impossibility of getting a job because if you don't build a car, there's no bus to take you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you Minister for sharing some of the facts on the cost of gridlock on our economy. The Metro Lynch report recommended several revenue tools that should be used to fund new public transit expansion. Even though the cost of gridlock is estimated to be so high and our transit system is in need of a dramatic expansion, some of my constituents want to know how some of the proposals might affect them. Now that the report by Metro Lynch has been presented to the government, could the minister please tell us on what the government's next steps are? Some way to Brampton. Thank you Minister. Sir, I was talking with my colleague Minister Jeffrey, Mr. Speaker. It took her two hours and 15 minutes to get to work from Brampton today. We are the party in this house that thinks that's unacceptable. Her son Ryan would like to spend more time with his mom. She already is committed to a public life which is taxing enough. Minister Jeffrey's situation, Mr. Speaker, isn't any different. When I am out in Oshawa and in Ajax and Pickering, the Chamber of Commerce, the Residence Association, the regional municipal politicians are saying get this built. Mr. Speaker, we will make sure that we take as little additional revenue as absolutely possible. We are also understanding that the cost, that that $6 billion is taxing Ontario families and that's real money that they know is missing and opportunities in lower household income. Mr. Speaker, this government stands with the people of the DTHA to improve their quality of life, to let their mom spend. Thank you. New question. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services. Minister, in response to my question yesterday over the Elgin Middlesex Detention Center, you announced you wanted to explore the possibility of creating local oversight boards at our jails. While I always welcome increased accountability, I also welcomed your 12-point action plan last August because you said it would solve the problems at EMBC. Almost a year later, the violence continues to escalate, threatening the safety of our correctional officers. And now we're saying, well, we actually need a local board that will oversee the implementation of such plans. Minister, you have hundreds of ministry staff, dozens of managers at facilities, province-wide, and nearly 150 correctional officers at EMDC alone. How many more people do you need to do your job? Thank you very much. And I want to thank the member from Elgin Middlesex for his comment. But his comments are not very appropriate. As I have said, the safety of our correctional officers and our inmates are my top priority. And in Elgin Middlesex, we have always sent our best manager there. It's a difficult situation right now. And we are working very hard with the management there, with the union, with the correctional officer to improve the situation. And we just implemented 24-hours nursing. And we have just also approved 11 new correctional officers. So on this side of the house, I want to make sure that the situation improves at Elgin Middlesex correctional officers. Thank you, minister. My comments are always appropriate when I'm standing up for my constituent. What does stop with you? Unfortunately, the closure of the blue water, Owen Sound and Walkerton Jails overcrowding continues to put a strain on EMDC. When addressing these problems, you waited until receiving multiple lawsuits from inmates and pressure from myself and others to advise your 12-point action plan. You assured us it would work and restore safety to the jail. Then, after a year that included a near riot, a fire and regular weekend lockdowns, you announced yesterday another plan to supposedly add more oversight. You keep tossing forward promises and back of the envelope plans while maintaining overcrowding is not the issue. Minister, do you now regret closing the blue water, Owen Sound and Walkerton facilities? Thank you, minister. Mr. Speaker, on this side of the house, we wanted to improve the situation in our correctional facility and to close institutions that were built before Confederation. I'm not going to apologize for that. There is, and we are working with the membership there to improve the situation. But one question that I need answer for, it's why who is not doing this job when there is drugs going into the facility? Who is not doing his job when there is knife going into the facility? So that's something that I want an answer and answer soon. In the mid-time, we are looking at appointing a new board that will help us to improve the situation there and to have also a better communication with both the union, with the community and let's hope that we will see a major improvement soon in that facility. Thank you. Question, a member from Essex. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Premier, it's clear that your government's OLG privatization plan is in chaos. You've fired the President and CEO of the OLG, Paul Gottfried, and the entire Board of Directors has subsequently resigned. Yet you say that it's full steam ahead on this wrong-headed privatization scheme. Will the government admit that its OLG privatization strategy is a total mess and scrap this misguided plan once and for all? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And I appreciate the question. And what we're in the process of doing right now, Mr. Speaker, is there's an interim chair and board in place. We have said quite clearly that there are aspects of the modernization strategy that need to go ahead. We want to have them go ahead, Mr. Speaker. But there are some issues that we really feel need more focus. One was the integration of the horse racing industry into the whole strategy, Mr. Speaker. That was a point of divergence between us and the former chair of the board. And the issues, Mr. Speaker, around the fairness across the province was very important to us that whatever formula, whatever strategy was put in place, was even handed in terms of its treatment of communities across the province. So those are issues that we are going to have. The new board will be working on, Mr. Speaker. And we all recognize that there have to be changes in terms of the OLG and a modernization process. But, Mr. Speaker, we want those two principles to be in place. Thank you. I can supplementary. Speaker, it's time for this government to admit that it has a gambling problem. It's addicted to the revenues that it thinks will pour in from privatizing the OLG. But the government should know, the government should know that the first step in addressing this failure is admitting that you have a problem in the first place. The fact is that it's very unlikely that the projected revenues will ever materialize. Will this government finally admit that it has a problem and scrap this misguided privatization plan once and for all? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Well, it is interesting that question coming from the party that brought casinos to the province of Ontario, Mr. Speaker. And so in terms of that revenue stream, the reality of the new stream is part of the revenue that goes into the provincial treasury to pay for schools and hospitals. And it's very important money, Mr. Speaker. We recognize that. But we have to make sure that the industry functions responsibly and functions in a way that is consistent with the principles that we hold. So, Mr. Speaker, I have been very clear that having the horse racing industry as part of the gaming strategy, I think it's going to lead to a more sustainable horse racing industry across the province. That was the recommendation of the transition panel and that is the recommendation that we are going to be operating on. So we need leadership at the OLG that is going to implement that part of the strategy, Mr. Speaker. I look forward to that. Thank you, Mr. President. A member from Thunder Bay out of Culkin. Speaker, thank you very much, Speaker. My question through you is to the Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Employment. The minister, our government recently tabled its 2013 budget, a budget about creating jobs and helping people in their everyday lives. We've put together a strong plan to help people across the province, and this plan will create jobs and give all Ontarians the chance they need to succeed. One of the key elements in our plan is to work with businesses to expand markets for Ontario goods and services beyond the borders of our province so that Ontario businesses can access high growth markets so that they can go global. Speaker, through you to the Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Employment, could the minister please inform this House what this government is doing to expand its global economic presence and strengthen Ontario's capacity for innovation and job creation right here. Thank you. Question. Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Employment. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the member from Thunder Bay, Hattakoken for his question, and I'm pleased to inform the House of a recent announcement our government has made to support innovative businesses and capitalize on emerging opportunities within the global economy. Last week I visited the riding of Lambton-Cant Middlesex to announce support from the Ontario Government's Southwestern Ontario Development Fund. Mr. Speaker, I was looking forward to standing side by side with the local member, the MPP, from Lambton-Cant Middlesex. I invited him to the announcement and I was, as I meant to, looking forward to standing side by side, but I was forced to make this announcement on my own. This investment has helped to attract an investment of nearly three and a half million dollars from Armo Tool, a company specializing in advanced manufacturing. This investment will enable Armo to expand its exports by a third. It will help maintain 139 jobs and Mr. Speaker, it's investments like these that generate the kind of growth that helps us compete not only the long-term, short-term, but in the long-term. Speaker, thank you and Minister, thank you for that response. It's good to hear that our government's plan to help create jobs while promoting Ontario on the global stage is working. Speaker, well it's good to see that the manufacturing sector is developing and that there are many new technologies we need to make sure Ontario has a competitive edge with these new technologies so that we can compete in the global marketplace. Speaker, through you to the Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Employment, could the minister please tell the House how Ontario is helping these new technologies thrive and gain that competitive edge in the global marketplace? Here, here, here. Minister? Well, Mr. Speaker, it is true. Ontario needs to help businesses compete on the global stage and in fact I'd say we have a responsibility as a government to do this. That's why one of my ministry's efforts is on the water sector market which is a global market that is growing at a very, very rapid pace. Water shortage is becoming, it already is a global issue due to increasing population and economic growth and climate change. Ontario we all know is blessed with incredible fresh water resources and so we have a strong competitive advantage in the burgeoning blue economy. Last week I visited with the team at Anderson Water Systems and with Minister McMeekin in his riding of Ancaster Dundas, Lamberow-Westdale we announced a funding partnership that will contribute to Ontario's blue economy and help Anderson Water Systems to expand their water treatment facilities and expand their exports all over the world. Mr. Speaker, our support for Anderson Water Systems is just another testament to our government's commitment to a sustainable and prosperous economy. Do a new question and then we're from Lenton, Kent, Middlesex. Thank you very much. Mr. Speaker, yesterday I brought your attention that you have put 25,000 contact call centre jobs at risk across Ontario due to your rushed decision to cancel the Apprenticeship Tax Credit. This liberal NDP budget decision will kill thousands of jobs without any consultation. Premier, yesterday I spoke with Alliance Eye Communications in downtown London. Sadly with this decision Alliance is being forced to consider relocating their business and their 300 jobs to the United States. With 600,000 men and women out of work why are you and the NDP so determined to drive businesses and jobs out of Ontario? So Mr. Speaker, thank you again for the question from across the way. We recognize how important it is to have the apprenticeship training tax credit in the past to promote those initiatives which will stimulate employment and enable those apprentices to have full-time jobs. Exactly. The fact is it's not happening with regards to call centres. However, however, call centres are still eligible for other provincial apprenticeship trade programs. Employers of call centre apprentices are eligible to up to $1,000 bonuses for each apprentice who receives and completes their training and receives their certification. We've also introduced in our budget $195 million Mr. Speaker for a youth employment fund to enable those companies to hire some of our young people to provide those skills enable them to have full-time employment as well. We want to work and I believe the members across are also supportive of recommendations made by Drummond. This is one of them. He's recognized some of these investment tax credits are not doing its full extent. We want to do the right thing. We want to employ people. We want to stimulate that growth. Back to the Premier. Premier, North Bay has an 11.3% unemployment rate and you're putting up to 800 jobs at risk there. London has a 10% unemployment rate the highest of the big cities in Canada and we're putting thousands of jobs at risk in London at places like Alliance Eye Communications. Shame, shame. Windsor has a 9.3% unemployment rate a little better than London but still feeling badly under the McGinty win Horvath government and you're putting good jobs at risk there too. Premier, what's the decision to kill the apprenticeship tax credit and risk up to 25,000 in partner jobs? Your decision or was it forced upon you by your NDP puppet masters? Before I go to the answer I'm going to ask the member from Hamilton East Tony Creek to come together and if there's a continuation of the dialogue I'm going to ask you to look up the old British way of saying take it outside. Thank you Mr. Speaker and the member opposite also should be aware that we highlighted this initiatives in the 2012 budget. We recognize and ask those very companies to come forward with more advancements and be more productive in terms of supporting those employees. Now we also want to make reference to the fact that these tax credits did existed came into being prior to us making substantive tax reductions for corporates making tax reforms to make them even more competitive. We want to ensure that the environment in which these businesses operate is a competitive environment but also is to the benefit of those employees and those individuals. We want these companies to stay in Ontario we want these companies to provide and to serve but we want the people that are being employed to get the benefit of why we're investing in them and that's not occurring at this point so we want to take the proper steps going forward. Thank you and your question the leader of the third party. Thank you Speaker my question is to the Premier the MPP for London Fansha wrote a letter to the Premier's Minister of Correctional Services three weeks ago asking her to provide a progress report about dangerous conditions at the Elgin Middlesex Detention Centre instead of progress we learned that another Correctional Services Officer was attacked in fact stabbed in the head over the weekend at the EMDC to this day the Minister has still not responded to the letter that was sent by the member for London Fansha will the Premier take real and immediate action to protect the lives of workers and inmates in Ontario jails immediately. That is very good, Minister. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Correctional Services. Mr. Le Président Mr. Speaker we answer all letters in the most speedy way and I don't know I'm not aware when this letter was sent but I'll make sure that we answer the letter and as I said previously you know the health and safety or of both our Correctional Officer and our inmate are my priority and I've been I've been working very diligently with my Deputy Minister and the ministry staff to improve the situation there. So we have developed a 12 point plan and we are in the process of putting it in action and also we have now the 24 hours nursing as it was required which is a good progress and we have to prove the ironing of Eleven new Correctional Officer and in the supplementary I'll go on thank you supplementary thank you Well the letter was sent three weeks ago Speaker and perhaps if it was speedily dealt with this injury could have been avoided this past weekend the Algin Middlesex Jail is just the tip of the iceberg unfortunately Speaker in the last three days four Correctional Officers have been stabbed in jails in Ontario two in Niagara one in Maplehurst in Milton and one in London dangerous conditions in jails across the province continue to endanger the lives of workers and inmates yet your minister cannot find the time to take action to actually correct the problems seems to be some giggling on the other side Speaker it's quite disconcerting Premier will you take action immediately to secure Ontario jails for the safety of the workers and the inmates who are there Minister so Mr Speaker and we have improved the situation there I know that this incident it's unfortunate and it's unfortunate when a Correctional Officer is being you know attacked and hurt and so we take it very very seriously so but the question remind you know like I'm told and they have improved the situation thereby making sure that they do their wrong that you know everybody that comes in is investigated and to make sure that they don't have they don't have drug they don't have matches they don't have lighter they don't have knife but the question remind and that's what I asked my my staff to answer the question why this is happening whose fault it is and who should make sure that this does not happen to make sure that the other Correctional Officer are safe when they are working in the institution thank you very much Hamilton East Stony Creek will come to order the member from Glengrade Puska Russell thank you speaker my question is for the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing this spring has been specifically devastating for many municipalities across the province that have experienced severe flooding homes and businesses have been damaged or destroyed in places such as Minden Hills Marksday Warren and in Moosenee this flooding has resulted in significant damage to municipal infrastructure but has also meant that many Ontarians have lost their possessions and their homes Mr. Speaker can the Minister tell us what the government is doing to help the people of Ontario who have experienced flooding and may have lost their homes thank you speaker and I want to thank the member for the question this has been an extraordinarily difficult spring for a number of municipalities across Ontario and I want to extend my condolences for those individuals have lost possessions or their homes or their businesses during the flooding I want to recognize the hard work of the residents of the staff and the first responders in some of the affected communities in Bracebridge Huntsville Bancroft Quartha Lakes Minden Hills South Elgonquin Marksday Warren Ramara and Moosenee and I want to offer them my heartfelt thanks for all their hard work exactly thank you speaker and I've had the opportunity to meet with the Mayor of Bracebridge and the Mayor of Huntsville and I've seen firsthand the devastating impact the flooding has had on their communities that's why last week our government and committed up to 18 million dollars through the Ontario disaster relief assistance program to help those affected communities across central, eastern and northern parts of Ontario the money will help them clean up repair their homes and small businesses and help them rebuild the central municipal infrastructure like Bracebridge thank you supplementary thank you speaker and thank you minister it's good to hear that there is action being taken to help rebuild after these devastating floods when disasters like this happen families are often caught off guard and they often lose many of their possessions in addition to their homes families and individuals are in desperate need to replace essential items like clothing shelter food or medicine some of the basic items that we take for granted but they are essential items that every Ontarian needs to continue to live their lives Mr. Speaker can the minister tell us if there's any new initiatives being taken to assist those who may have lost so much because of the recent flooding in their community thank you minister thank you speaker and I'd like to thank the member for the question because it's one that's been raised with me before while committing the 18 million dollars to help communities rebuild we've also been working hard to help those affected Ontarians recover from the disaster affected municipalities and their appointed disaster relief committees can give interim payments to residents of up to a thousand dollars to help them begin the process of recovery that's good moreover if an individual is in need of immediate financial need they may be eligible to receive emergency assistance through Ontario works this emergency assistance gives individuals immediate financial assistance they need because of a crisis or an emergency situation such as flooding the amount provided may include money for basic needs such as food shelter clothing and I want to reassure all those affected that our government continues to work with the municipal partners to help residents and all the affected and so as we cover that's great to you new question great question thank you member for Prince Edward Hastings thank you speaker my question this morning is for the premier premier over the last decade the Liberal government is responsible for chasing 300,000 manufacturing jobs out of the province your budget even shows that you've tried to make up for this loss by adding hundreds of thousands of public sector jobs to the government payroll now your government is threatening even more manufacturing jobs by trying to get rid of the industrial exception I've heard loud and clear from manufacturers across the Quinty region that this is a serious concern for them and not just keeping jobs but it's threatening the closure of these facilities as well Premier will you get off the back of the manufacturers of the province and stop trying to make government the only growth industry in Ontario thank you very much and I noted the members spoke to his chamber of commerce about this issue last week so I I appreciate the the heads up on the question as I've already indicated to the member from Dufferin Peel Calvin Dufferin Calvin a couple of weeks ago you should have a question that we I was not satisfied with the overall consultation that took place we have therefore put the matter on hold we are doing our own consultation within the ministry right now dealing with the industrial exemptions as speaking speaker that has been on the books since 1984 and we will be dealing with this issue before the 1st of September thank you supplementary thank you very much speaker and the last thing that manufacturers in the Quinty area need is more consultation from this government you know it's consultation that's going to lead to a strategy that's probably never going to be implemented this government with the help of their NDP farm team are killing manufacturing across Ontario a Trenton VP of a manufacturing facility brought you and me minister saying that currently they estimate the cost of doing business in Ontario is 30 percent higher than the rest of Canada and she estimates that if this exception which as you say has been in place for almost 30 years it'll add another 30 percent or more to the cost of doing business manufacturers need room to innovate they need less red tape not more they need the competitive advantage that this exception gives Ontario is when you're either keep the industrial exception for the manufacturers in place or tell the workers that are working today that you're not interested in keeping their jobs in Ontario Mr. Speaker I'll refer to matter to the Minister of Economic Development Trade and Employment Thank you Minister of Economic Development Trade and Employment Mr. Speaker I have to say it continues to be disappointing that the official opposition that the only role that they take is to be rate and beat down our manufacturers and our businesses that are working so hard across these provinces and for a decade and even a member from Prince Edward Hastings will come to order if you carry on you won't have a chance to say it Attorney General will come to order the member from the member from Lantan Kent Middle Sex will come to order the Minister of Rural Affairs will come to order next ones next ones our warnings are out carry on please Thank you Mr. Speaker and I have to say that when you look at the facts we've created over 400,000 jobs since the bottom of the recession it was one of the best months and 9,000 new manufacturing jobs were created in this province when you look back at the 400,000 jobs created answer 97% of those jobs are full-time positions more than half of them are in the private sector New question Thank you Mr. Speaker my question is to the Minister of Economic Development Trade and Employment Eight years after the accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act was passed people with disabilities continue to be denied service at restaurants and stores and cities like Toronto and Windsor advocates fear the government is failing to properly implement and enforce the act in fact the law requires the Minister appoint an independent review panel by May 31st to review implementation of the act and get Ontario back on schedule for full accessibility has he done that Oh yes Minister Thank you Mr. Speaker and I thank the member opposite for this very relevant and important question and I know she's as proud as I am of the AODA the accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act that was passed in this legislature in 2005 in fact it was Ontario it was one of the first jurisdictions that she knows in the world to actually go from a complaints based regime to a more proactive regulatory regime so we reviewed as was required under the legislation several years ago I think the report actually was presented in 2010 the reviewer at that time with Charles beer and I'm happy in the supplementary as well to talk about specifically what his recommendations were and how we've moved both on those in the specific question that the member brought to that Thank you Mr. Speaker I repeat the Minister is to an appoint an independent review panel by May 31st and he has not done that in effect this government is breaking its own law it's in fact also promised to effectively enforce the accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act and it's not doing that either companies with more than 20 employees are supposed to have reported their customer service policies to the ministry by now but the minister won't say how many companies have actually filed these mandatory reports why is the minister refusing to provide this basic information and breaking the law by not setting up the independent review Minister well as the member's opposite has indicated is that the the disability the OADA requires a review every three years now when we reviewed back in 2010 again Charles beer very outstanding reviewer actually recommended strongly that we delay the next review until 2014 to the spring of 2014 Mr. Speaker we're not going to do that we've decided that this is important that we're gonna we're gonna review this this year we're in the process of determining the scope of that review again based on Charles beer's recommendations in 2010 we're so we're actually moving faster than his recommendations to do this to a point of reviewer determine the scope I look forward to having announcements not in the very near future thank you the member from simple gray on a point of order on a point of order Mr. Speaker I'd ask all members to welcome Mr. Matthew Thornton who's in the Speaker's gallery today Matthew served all parties in this house as a former legislative page and is a currently on the staff of the Ontario real estate association welcome Matthew thank you the senior on a point of order thank you very much Mr. Speaker and if the legislature would indulge me I'd like to introduce the whole family the dad Frederick and mom Lynn Ho and daughters Larissa Stephanie Elizabeth and son Matthias welcome to welcome to the letter just before I turn to the member from Cambridge I'll I'll correct the record because he was my intern too so he was an intern thank you the member from Cambridge Mr. Speaker and keeping with the theme of these point of orders I recognize Professor Hank Jasex here today with his graduate class from McMaster University who are here to learn about government politics in Ontario and I look forward to talking to them later today I think it's time member from Brewster you're on sound on a point of order Speaker and I again I did this earlier but I'd like to recognize yet another Michael Harris who did work here at Queens Park and he and his class are here from OSCBI thank you Speaker I beg to inform the house that I have laid upon the table the night 2012 annual report of the information and privacy commissioner there are no further there are no deferred votes this house stands recessed until three o'clock this afternoon