 It is now time for oral questions and I recognize the leader for Majesty's loyal opposition Thank you so much speaker. My first question this morning is to the premier We have heard disturbingly that almost a third of seniors over the age of 80 in Ontario have yet to be vaccinated so my question is what is the government's plan to make sure every senior over the age of 80 who wants a vaccination is able to get vaccinated Well through you mr. Speaker Speaking to the the table the other day. We're doing everything we can we're already at 71 percent We booked a hundred over 190,000 appointments yesterday, which is a new record our goal is to make sure that we reach out to every single Senior 80 plus to make sure we fill that that gap We also have mobile units going to areas which have a tremendous amount of seniors Right across this province. So we're going to continue making sure we hit that threshold of a hundred percent very very shortly Everyone's doing a great job out there doing the testing. So thank you Well speaker the reality is that there are many many many seniors who are either Unable to go to a mass vaccination site or are fearful of going to a mass vaccination site And we're hearing some pretty Tragic descriptions of what folks are going through and I'm here one with the premier this morning This is from a gentleman named Peter trainer whose grandson to a woman named Susan Rocklets My grandmother and I'm quoting my grandmother Susan Rocklets a 96-year-old Holocaust survivor who is housebound and struggling with dementia Still hasn't been vaccinated against COVID-19 because she can't go to a vaccination center Somehow premier Ford has not figured out how to provide her with a vaccine at home Despite having had more than a year to figure out how to vaccinate disabled house ban bound seniors so the question to the premier is That there has been a lot of time to plan for this Eventuality there has been a year that the government had to plan to vaccinate seniors How can it be that seniors like miss Rocklets is still unable to get vaccinated in Ontario? The premier you mr. Speaker we've vaccinated over 1.6 million people 300,000 again leading the country bar none 300,000 people over 80 have their double Dose of vaccine we're going to continue on moving forward on this and we're doing everything we can to make sure we get into the homes and Provide people with transportation as well getting from their home over to the vaccination site or the other option is the mobile Units and I have all the confidence in the world. We'll have this up to 100% hopefully in the next Short while there. Thank you Thank you Speaker mass vaccination sites and Confusing booking systems simply don't work for most seniors or for many seniors Let's put it that way for many seniors and so as a result We have literally thousands upon thousands of seniors who have been unable to get vaccinated here in the province of Ontario We have heard the science table a while back recommend mobile units to the government We've seen family physicians a jump on board as well for the mobile units The premier claims that there are mobile units on the road When we know that seniors aren't getting those vaccines in their arms in a convenient and safe way at home So when will this government finally get us act together and make sure seniors over 80 get the vaccines that they need When they are wanting those vaccines In fact our government has planned for seniors and everyone else in Ontario to receive vaccines in a variety of ways through hospitals through mass vaccination clinics mobile clinics especially clinics and also by primary care and In some cases if they're homebound by their home and community care nurses that are coming into their home So that has been planned for that has happened We have started the rollout in our primary care settings in Hamilton peel Peterborough Simcoe, Muskoka, Toronto Wellington Dufferin and Guelph That is going to be rolled out further because we know that there are many seniors that have underlying health conditions people over 80 They feel more comfortable going to their primary care provider in order to receive their vaccine and to understand with their underlying health conditions whether that's safe for them So as we increase the volumes of vaccines going into primary care centers We will see more seniors going in to receive their vaccines there or if they're homebound to make sure that Homecare nurse will be able to deliver the vaccine to them Conversation with their primary care provider Thank you so much speaker my next question is also for the premier But I have to say we started receiving vaccines in this province at the end of the year last year It is now near the end of March And we still have many seniors over the age of 80 who have not received their vaccines Shame on the government for not being ready to get those vaccines into the most vulnerable Vulnerable people's arms in our province But my question is actually about another problem that we have with the covid 19 pandemic And that is the backlog of surgeries and the backlog of procedures that exist in our province last week BC announced that in fact their backlog will be cleared By May of this year. They'll be cleared by this summer When is the provincial government here in Ontario Going to be able to announce that our backlog of surgeries and procedures has been cleared The minister of health We're certainly aware of the backlogs and surgeries of procedures that had to be postponed during wave one and in part during wave two Of covid 19, but we have been dealing with that notwithstanding all of the pressures of covid And the capacity levels in our hospitals. We have been working on those backlogs And we have also invested up to 283 million dollars to support additional priority surgeries Including cardiac cancer and orthopedic surgeries to allow for operating rooms to be able to operate and open During weekends and evenings. We've also invested more than 351 million for more than 2250 new beds at 57 hospitals We've initialized a centralized wait list to be able to make sure that in every hospital We can take advantage of any extra space they have So we have put considerable time and energy and money into dealing with this and we will be able to ramp those up Once more people have received the vaccinations and once the variants of concern have diminished and we'll be able to Do that even faster, but we are working on those backlogs now And the supplementary question Well, speaker almost a year ago now in back in may of 2020 is when British Columbia announced their plan For getting rid of the backlog of surgeries and procedures In fact, they funded it very very well. They hired something like 44 extra surgeons And as I said, they put timelines together. They they announced the goals that they have We have none of that from the provincial government here in Ontario In fact, this government waited until the second wave was upon us before they even acknowledged That we had a problem with surgeries and backlogs It's really a big concern speaker And now we hear from this this minister that there are no targets There are no timelines and the amount of money that the government's talking about is wholly inadequate for the backlog that exists How long is it going to be before the people of Ontario have a clear plan of when that backlog how that backlog Is going to be dealt with by this government Minister health Well, of course there are targets and timelines to be met here But of course we also have to recognize the fact that we are dealing with variants of concern that are putting more people into hospital Because it's much more transmissible needing more intensive care beds and resulting in greater care than Than some of the other patients. So as we are trying to deal with the volumes of surgeries and backlogs We also have to recognize that competition for that space. We need to take care of the people with covid as well So it's not possible to give a specific timeline But I can certainly advise the member opposite through you mr. Speaker that we are working on that and we have We have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in creating over 30 100 more beds Since this lifetime last year that's six community hospitals. We've amped up the space and capacity We have a centralized waitlist now to be able to make sure that we can take advantage Of any space that's available in any hospital and we've invested hundreds of millions of dollars in allowing for extra time For these surgeries and procedures to be conducted So we are working on this because as difficult as it is and as sad for a family to lose a member due to covid It's equally sad to lose someone due to cardiac or cancer lack of care and we are very cognizant of that Thank you very much What we need to recognize is that there are thousands upon thousands upon the hundreds of thousands Of Ontarians some of whom are waiting with pain with anxiety with cancers that are spreading through their bodies For some kind of signal from this government that they have a handle on the backlog crisis When it comes to surgeries and procedures in fact a bare minimum is a figure of 277 7000 patients that are waiting right now one cancer patient said this to city tv It's frustrating. It's terrifying Of course it is and what is even more terrifying as this this government is not putting out any clear plan No clear funding no clear target about when these surgeries and procedures are going to be addressed When will the government make a clear announcement and put the investments necessary in place to clear the backlog of covid related procedures And and cancer surgeries and other health requirements Once again the minister of health Well, as the leader of the official opposition indicates people are feeling frustrated. They're very concerned We certainly understand that we know that many people have been waiting long periods of time for cardiac cancer surgery orthopedic procedures as well And we want to make sure that they can receive those surgeries and procedures as soon as possible And we have spent over 2.8 billion dollars in Keeping ontarian safe planning for future waves of covid 19 Which is in order to deal with both covid but also to deal with people that are waiting for those other surgeries now I think it's important to note speaker that people who have had very serious life Threatening situations have been assessed and have been assessed every step along the way So if they need surgery immediately to save their lives or to prevent things from worsening very quickly They are receiving those surgeries But for other people we are investing hundreds of millions of dollars in order to speed up those surgeries So that people can get on with their lives Thank you. The next question the member put to miss coming cocker. Thank you speaker my questions to the premier Last week a group of anti lockdown Protesters gathered in sarnia in defiance of local public health rules and called on the government to overturn local covid restrictions That were put in place to save lives and keep people safe In response The member for sarnia lampton said he applauded the protesters He applauded Despite covid numbers spreading like wildfire in his community and pleas from mayor and council for more support The local members seems to be cheering on protesters My question to the premier Does he agree with his backbench member? Or if he doesn't will he ask his member from sarnia lampton to apologize for the confusion that he has caused The question Speaker listen the member for sarnia lampton has a has been a strong member of this legislature throughout the the covid pandemic he has Been very forceful in ensuring that In assisting us in making sure that this house this house is safe that this legislature is safe that we bring forward legislation to keep the people of the province of ontario Safe, I think all members at some point in time certainly uh Support people who want to to protest even if that protest is incorrect protest in in my opinion, mr. Speaker look I have a great faith in everything that the member sarnia lampton has done And I and I know the member opposite knows that the member for sarnia lampton Lampton is an honorable member who has served with distinction in this chamber and I know that He would probably appreciate that and despite the fact that he's been forced to ask this question about the members for sarnia lampton I know that he uh, I know that he knows how good a person he is and how hard he has worked throughout the pandemic Supplementary question It was an interesting wink I got from the house leader there Last week as a local conservative member was cheering on anti-maskers and anti-lockdown Protesters in his community the mayor of sarnia wrote to the premier Pleading with the government to increase their access to vaccines and supports The sarnia lampton area is currently in an active o-break and are desperate for help But the only response from the conservative Mayor bradley said he was surprised he hasn't heard back from anyone in the province's office yet In the premier's office yet. He even marked his letter urgent which made it even more confusing Speaker, he's now sent another letter Can the premier confirm that he's going to answer mayor bradley in his call for support. Thank you The premier to reply Well, first of all, I want to thank the the member for the question What I recollect and what I've been told by the 444 municipalities or mayors. I should say in wardens I'm the only premier in the history of this province has given their cell number to every single one of them There's not a day that goes by i'm not talking to a half a dozen to a dozen mayors or wardens around this province So I'll make a point of making sure I call the the mayor down there and provide any support but In in saying that You know any mayor knows and I've said it numerous times On on the calls with them that they can give me a call Send me a message and I'll guarantee I'll I'll get back to them, but I'll make a point of Getting getting back to him personally Thank you very much the next question the member for aurora oak reaches richmond hill Thanks very much speaker My question is through the minister of long-term care After decades of neglect in which the previous government was unable or unwilling to add meaningful numbers of new spaces to long-term care supply I was pleased to see the minister of long-term care and the minister of finance In a major step forward along long-term care development and their announcement speaker Is proud to be a part of a government that is moving forward to repair and rebuild long-term care in ontario The investment of 933 million on top of the 1.75 billion already committed In 80 new long-term care projects will lead to thousands more new and upgraded long-term care spaces across the province My question to the minister is what impact will this announcement have in my writing of aurora oak reaches richmond hill To respond the minister of long-term care Thank you. Thank you speaker and thank you to the member for aurora oak reaches and richmond hill for his question These 80 projects will lead to an additional 7,510 new and 4,197 upgraded long-term care spaces across the province That's major progress and in the honorable honorable members writing this allocation alone Has two new projects moving ahead mong shang long-term care has been allocated 288 new spaces to create a net new home through the construction of a new building in richmond hill as part of a campus of care mong shang provides culturally sensitive care to the chinese community chart. Well aurora has been allocated 128 upgraded spaces and this project will result in a 192 bed home through the construction of a new building in aurora and will replace Wardrooms with ones built to modern design standards in a new building and I thank the member opposite for the member Here right with me right next to me For all for his good for his good work. Thank you The supplementary question Thanks very much speaker my supplementary is also to the incredibly halt working of minister of long-term care That's great news in my writing mr. Speaker and i'm sure my constituents are going to be incredibly Pleased to hear it after decades of neglect It's heartening to see our government being Being the one to do fix the problem of long-term care in our province mr. Speaker addressing capacity sorely needed Upgrade is long overdue mr. Speaker and we all saw the dangers Wardrooms posed during the pandemic as the financial accountability officer found in a 2019 report The previous government built 611 net new beds between 2011 and 2018 So it's crucial we catch up on this important work mr. Speaker Wondering if the minister can tell us again what will be the impacts of these new construction and upgraded question in your creature Thank you. Thank you speaker and you know The good member is correct when he notes the previous government's record While the liberals were content to build 611 spaces province-wide over seven years our government will build 608 new spaces In this mpp this member right here in his writing alone The projects across york region will create net new capacity of 2974 spaces After years of neglect and indifference From the previous government From the previous government will be this government That repairs and rebuilds long-term care in ontario the neglect of the previous government Is stunning and set the stage for what we saw In this pandemic these new spaces and homes will give ontario Residents confidence that they can receive the care they need when and where they need it Remember for thunder bay out of culture. Thank you speaker today. My question is for the premier Last week dr. Janet de mille our public health officer from the thunder bay district unit called thunder bay called on thunder bay to become a covet hot spot My constituents are upset and angry and they want this government to do something Small businesses that have been shut for months are desperate People are frustrated by the lack of vaccine appointments available. Will you Premier through you speaker declare thunder bay a covet 19 hotspot and get the situation under control Thank you speaker and I thank the member very much for the question In fact thunder bay has been a hotspot in the past and we have allocated significant resources to assist In order to get the numbers down that we are there now 30 assigned provincial case managers there that were sent to assist the public health unit in order to doing the Case management and contact tracing We now have 90 percent of the cases are reached within 24 hours and 87 percent of cases reached within sorry within 24 hours. Yes, sorry the number of cases have gone down significantly from 32 On saturday to 27 on sunday to 16 cases most recently So the numbers are coming down putting the thunder bay in the situation where they are with respect to being in the gray zone Has been helpful with the assistance that has been provided by public health ontario and others to help keep those numbers under control The supplementary question Thank you. And my question is again, I guess to the to the premier Everyone wants hope but for months the covet crisis in thunder bay has been building We have an outbreak in our low. We had an outbreak in our local correctional facility that spread throughout our community And now our jail is being packed again While our local health care frontline workers are keeping us safe They are overworked and exhausted and need this government to do more With our regional hospital limited capacity. It makes sense to vaccine as many people as possible Yet people over 60 are able to get vaccines in toronto, but not in thunder bay What is this government doing to do the to do right? What are they going to do right now? To help the people of thunder bay Again the minister Thank you, speaker. Well in addition to the additional 30 case and contact managers that have already been provided to thunder bay There has also been a total of 2.7 million dollars But it has been invested in the thunder bay hospital, which has helped to add Over 30 new beds and I can certainly advise speaker that we are planning to roll out The vaccine plan as we receive additional doses We have not had significant volumes of doses until quite recently We did receive 466,830 doses of the Pfizer vaccine yesterday Those are going to be sent to the public health units based on their population and based on their need So if there's still a significant need in thunder bay, there will be additional volumes of vaccines that will be sent there They are available at mass vaccination clinics. They are going to be available through pharmacies We have approximately 125 pharmacies right now in the Toronto, Windsor and Kingston area Those are going to be doubled across Ontario in the next short while Anyone who is over 60 years of age can now receive the asterisks zenica vaccine at a pharmacy And anyone 75 and older can receive the vaccine of Pfizer or Moderna at a mass vaccination clinic There will be other clinics out there Thank you very much The next question member for York Centre Thank you speaker my questions to the minister of education of all the harms inflicted by this government through covid response The greatest harm inflicted is on ontarius children The minister forces kids to remain silent during lunch the minister is making kids wear masks outdoors Kids are afraid to cough in class because a teacher may report them This government makes kids scared with daily tv commercials that if they hang out next to another child Someone may die Last week I met with two parents from Etobicoke North a catholic school in the premier's riding has plexiglass around the desks At recess each class is confined to 20 by 50 box drawn on asphalt from time to time The teacher walks around with a two meter stick enforcing distancing kids who aren't distancing lose their break and are told to go back inside For re-education. This is pure evil. My question to the minister of education Does he actually believe he's keeping kids safe or will he take responsibility for the harm? He's inflicting to ontarius children Minister of education to respond Thank you speaker the greatest harm we inflict on children is when we close schools Which is why the premier has been so decisive in keeping them open in this province mr. Speaker 99 percent of schools are open We're proud that we have leaned into and followed the public health advice of the chief medical officer of health We're also pleased to see students in school socializing learning for their own development and for their mental health With I think is something that all members in the house would accept is a metric by which we need to continue to be Concerned about and focused on we put in place a protocol with full investment fully supported by the chief medical officer of health With the aim of keeping schools safe, and I'm pleased I think perhaps we would agree the member officer that schools have been safe places for learning contrary to the Um or the alarmist rhetoric of the members office The fact is 99 percent of schools are open today while we deal with the variance of concern 99 percent of staff and students do not have an active case The fact is in our asymptomatic response Positive rate remains low will continue to follow the facts the science and keep these schools open in this province Mr. Speaker, I think the minister rehearsed a an answer to a different member opposite I'm saying that kids are not safe from this government in school And we have not heard an answer from the minister over the weekend The minister of education was busy taking selfies while quote catching up with seniors All while families of love ones are denied visitation rights by his government shame on this government But in last friday's news release the government said that it will work with health officials to determine measures for quote outdoor activities where the risk of transmission is minimized close quote Speaker study after study is telling us that with few statistical exceptions that kids are almost at no material risk of covet And even though the minister tries to take credit for everything under the sun Credible studies are telling us that children spread the virus far less than adults I invite the members to read yesterday's article in the half post on this topic So my question to the minister of education if the risk of transmission is minimized during outdoor activities Then why does he force school children to wear masks outdoors and will he commit now to repeal this requirement? Minister of education Mr. Speaker, we have followed the best medical advice with the aim of keeping schools open That is why we have adopted the recommendations of the medical community There is a consensus in the country without the exception to the rule We happen to be the first in the nation to have adopted these protocols to be fair In the context of masking all provinces have a similar approach In the context of Outdoors we've asked where distancing cannot be maintained and mask can be worn at the end of the day What we're trying to mitigate is the potential transmission Of covet and the truth is as the chief medical officer of health has said when we talk about cases per day quote in schools The overwhelming majority over 90 of those cases have come from the community in the school They were not transmitted in the school community And therefore it underscores that schools have been safe And we're proud of the fact that 1.5 million children are physically in a school The remainder the next half a million are learning remotely online Our province has stood up a system of quality education both in school and online and that will continue under this government The next question remember for aurora oak ridges richmond hill Thanks very much speaker. My question is to the minister of education Earlier this month was international women's day a day where we all celebrated the achievements of women It was also a day that highlighted the effects that the pandemic has had on working mothers and families as well as the importance of having Accessible and affordable child care providing care for children has statistically fallen on women more than men Leading to a reduced involvement in the overall labor force by women Would the minister of education explains explain how the child care would be made more affordable and accessible For working mothers and families to ensure they can truly be part of the economic recovery Minister of education Thank you. I want to thank my colleague from aurora oak ridges for the question And yes, we do believe child care is critical to the restart of our economy The government the premier my colleague the minister of children and women have been absolutely focused on ensuring that We create a system that is more accessible and more affordable Respectively after 15 years of the former liberal government where the Ontario became the most expensive first or second most expensive jurisdiction on the on the province In the country to have child care and that's unacceptable for working people That's why the province has initiated a program called the support for learners Where we put money directly in the pockets of parents 900 million dollars in the pandemic Alone to provide immediate relief to families who need it most We've also allowed affordable before and after school programs that before under the former liberal government Were prohibited from operating after three hours. We now have given them an extension to operate well beyond that to provide affordable care We've also ensured the child tax credit That providing children under seven years old with a relief up to $6,000 per child children up to seven to 16 $3,700 in the pocket of families because we recognize childcare is expensive We're going to continue to focus on affordability accessibility for parents in Ontario And the supplementary question Thanks very much speaker and thank you to the minister for that informative answer speaker It's clear that the priorities for parents regarding childcare Are affordability Flexibility and accessibility now It's also important to recognize that each family is different and there's no one size fits all when it comes to caring for their children We've certainly made progress by announcing the addition of 1,770 new childcare spaces since the start of the pandemic We in 2020 our government invested over 2 billion as well as enabled access To 234 million in federal funding as part of the safe restart agreement to support additional costs incurred by childcare providers With all that in mind my question to the minister is What more can be done to meet the priorities that parents have when it comes to childcare? Minister of Education Thank you. I thank the member again for the question in this province under our government and premier's leadership at billion dollars Is being allocated to build 30,000 new childcare spaces within schools over the next five years 30,000 spaces In addition to the 16,000 that were created in this province last year alone when we speak with the federal government I think I heard a member opposite remark. It was federal dollars. The federal government contributes precisely 2.5 percent of Ontario's childcare budget They speak a big game, but when it comes to putting money Into the pockets of families and to the province 2.5 Percent of the total contribution whereas the the provinces and the and the parents of this province bear 97 percent of the cost We want the federal government to provide flexibility We want the federal government to provide more investment And we welcome them to deliver on the aim of this province to make Childcare in Ontario more accessible more affordable more flexible for the families of this province Thank you. The next question the member for Ottawa center. Thank you speaker My question is for the premier. I suspect it'll be answered by the minister of education. I hope it will Joanne low vice president of the children's hospital east in ontario recently told the media speaker that there's been a 30 Percent increase in the need for youth counseling and addiction services and a staggering 60 percent increase in reported youth eating disorders compared to last year We know public schools are crucial places for youth to receive the support they need But instead of investing in mental health supports and smaller class sizes We've learned from the ministers 80 am recently that the covet money that had been invested this year will not be renewed for the fall Speaker our office has been inundated With sincere appeals from families that want this minister to commit that that 1.6 billion dollars that was in The system this year is going to be there in the fall because we are going to be dealing with the residual impacts of a mental health crisis With teenagers and staff. We don't want to hear spin We want to hear a commitment that that money is going to stay in the system for kids and for staff Thank you, mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker Our government takes the health and well-being of all Ontarians very seriously Especially when it comes to children and youth And the roadmap to all this specifically deals with children and youth and making investments to ensure That their health is well maintained their mental health was looked after And mr. Speaker when it comes to eating disorders, this is something that's become More prevalent as a result of covet 19 and the work that's being done In terms of what our government has to do to help children and youth that are having these mental these these kinds of mental health disorders And mr. Mr. Speaker our government has done and is doing a great deal to assist those with providing additional investments I was proud to recently announce an additional 24.3 million dollars being invested And that includes three point seven million dollars for a new eating disorders program Another eight hundred thousand dollars to support the creation and operation of eating disorders Ontario And mr. Speaker that is only the beginning of what we are going to do to ensure that the children and youth Thank you very much Thank you, Speaker I actually through you I feel bad for the member having to answer the question the way you did Because what that money has meant for Ottawa is the additional three beds In our eating disorders unit at shield three beds three beds 60 increases in reported cases Three beds So this is a serious question. This is a a party that is in government. You're not in sales You're in government Families want to know Are you going to recommit that 1.6 billion dollars that was supposed to be Continuing for because we are going to be dealing speaker with the residual effects of a mental health crisis Particularly among teenagers this fall. We want to know and minister bethansaw the statement tomorrow Is that 1.6 billion dollars going to continue flowing to schools or not? Yes or no, please answer the question I will again remind members to make the comments to the chair the associate minister to reply Mr. Speaker, thank you and thank you to the member opposite for that follow-up question As I mentioned the health and well-being of all Ontarians Especially the children and youth of this province is extremely important to our government And as indicated in the roadmap to wellness if you took the time to read it You would see that the lifespan Of of the individual including children and youth is clearly delineated and for the first time A government is taking real action to ensure that investments are made that are directed to that period in the lifespan of the individual So if you want to talk about what kind of investments 24.3 million dollars in targeted investments to make it easier For children youth and their families to access mental health supports They need that's in addition to the money that was invested through the ministry of education To ensure that we had additional mental health care workers in the schools In addition to that 176 million dollars were investing and the other 174 million were investing Almost 60 million dollars went to support mental health for children and youth Now when you take a look at what we've invested 94.8 million dollars in ongoing investments for children and youth Thank you very much Thank you The next question remember for glen gary prescott russell. Thank you, mr. President. Thank you, mr. Speaker My question is for the premier Great sacrifices and immense strain Ontario's health care workers have injured throughout this pandemic The majority of these workers are women la majorité de ces travailleurs sont des femmes In fact, many of them are here today outside the legislature right now. We can hear them from this chamber They're asking this government to recognize their value in our society by taking concrete action Including turning part-time work into full-time jobs with benefits providing guaranteed paid sick days Ensuring access to the appropriate PPE and making the pandemic pay increase permanent When will the premiere will start to respect those frontline workers who took care of us during the pandemic Thank you very much, mr. Speaker. I'm glad the member raised the question that it highlights again further 15 years of neglect from The previous liberal government that she is now a member we understand fully how important Women are and have been in combating and defeating this this pandemic We need look no further than this this legislature, mr. Speaker in addition to the the brave people out front The minister of health the minister of long-term care the leader of the opposition the member herself Strong women who have helped guide us through this pandemic And we will all work together to ensure that those heroes whether they're psw's whether the moms who are at home With their families those taking care of of elderly parents. There is more work to do. Absolutely I completely agree with with the honorable member. It is why this government has been so focused On on building up Both an economy and taking care of problems that we inherited from the previous liberal government And she is absolutely correct. This is one of them and this is one of the areas that we will continue to focus on to make even better Thank you, mr. Speaker. This is not a definite answer So we'll continue to ask the question reports that one third of long-term care workers have not received their covid 19 vaccine Despite being eligible since december. Why many don't get paid sick days and can't afford to miss a shift and be docked pay That's simply not right. Mr. Speaker for over a year women have borne the brunt of this crushing pandemic We have seen firsthand how important they are to the healthcare system, especially in long-term care Providing full-time work paid sick days access to PPE and permanently raising their wages will stabilize the sector Something that we all know is badly needed. Mr. Speaker Will the premier commit to these reasonable requests to ensure staffing sustainability in our long-term care sector Again the governor's leader. Thank you very much, mr. Speaker and again, I appreciate the member's question It really does highlight Just how bad the situation that we inherited from the previous liberal government She is quite quite correct for far too long for after 15 years. There was no staffing strategy with respect to PSWs. There were no Investments in long-term care There was no ability for us to turn around PPE very quickly But it is through the hard work of the minister of health the the minister of long-term care the minister of women's issues That we were able to do that. We were able to provide sick days through our cooperation with the federal government That's up to 26 days. Mr. Speaker And the recent investments by the minister of long-term care with respect to The largest build out of long-term care response is history order a long way in addition to the other the other Investments that we've named mr. Speaker, but the member is quite correct It is shameful that over 15 years the liberals didn't focus on this. We are and we'll get the job done Next question the member for willow day Thank you very much speaker Last week's anti-asian attack in Atlanta, Georgia has left my community members shaken And is a stark reminder that racism and hate remain an unacceptable presence in our society Racist attacks like these cause unimaginable physical mental and emotional harm Speaker willowdale is one of the most multicultural places in the world I've heard from many constituents and they're really worried that what happened in georgia might happen here They're worried about the increasing amount of hate speech being shared not just in person but online They're worried about the safety of their kids their friends and their family Speaker we must stand united in condemning these acts and attitudes that allow them to thrive Speaker my question is to the solicitor general. What can enterians do to stand up against racism and hate in our communities? Question is to the solicitor general Thank you speaker and thank you to the member from willowdale for raising this important issue I think it is something that we can all universally agree needs to be dealt with quickly Let me begin by being absolutely clear that racism hate and discrimination in all its many forms has absolutely no place in Ontario We know that Ontario and canada is not immune to racism according to stats canada in 2017 police reported criminal Incidents in canada motivated by hate Jumped by 47 percent and unfortunately the largest provincial increase occurred here in Ontario of 67 percent Standing against hate motivated crime takes all of us both as a government and individuals And in my supplementary I would like to just share some of the things that we've been able to do as a government Thank you and the supplementary question Thank you speaker and thank you to the minister for her answer I know it'll mean a lot to the people of willowdale and this province In addition to my own writing, I've heard from people across our country speaker that they are concerned Speaker, I have I've personally witnessed and experienced racism here in Ontario. I've heard disgusting language being shouted at my immigrant parents I've seen discriminatory discriminatory practices target against minorities Speaker, I think we can all agree that racism is is never okay And that immigrants are a vital part of our canadian society or identity. They contribute so much to our communities It's extremely sad to hear that racism continues to negatively affect the lives of and livelihoods of the people of this province And it is heartbreaking to hear that people of asian descent are being attacked by bigots and racists Through you speaker minister Can you share with us what actions ontario is taking to combat anti asian racism in our community? And ensure that hate has no place in ontario Mr. Listener general Thank you Speakers so we know that racism exists. So let's talk about and share what we are doing We are working together with our partners across government and with community organizations throughout ontario to build spaces That are anti racist and inclusive for all Earlier this year we announced the local recipients of the ontario safer and vital communities grant designed to partner community organizations with local police services to tackle discrimination Foster greater inclusiveness and address the increase of police reported hate crimes Through this grant we've supported projects launched by groups such as the chinese cultural center in the gta And the heritage skills development center with the specific focus on tackling hate that targets anti asian hate This funding will also be complemented with ontario's new 1.6 anti racism and great grant which is currently being designed in collaboration with community groups across ontario Thank you for your interest in this matter The next question the member for niagra center Thank you speaker three three to the premier businesses in niagra and across the province are desperate for the appropriate supports Including consistent and clear directives from the provincial government. I spoke with fred davis Owner of breakwall brewery in port coburn fred's done everything he can followed all the guidelines Now he faces a third wave fred and other business owners across my riding have said that the current government's programs Are not enough to support businesses. They're difficult to access and frequently don't offer enough To compensate for at the time putting the application together Small businesses are struggling and this government has made things harder with a lack of support Unclear directives and 11th hour announcements making it difficult for them to plan When will the premier listen to small businesses and provide them the support they need to survive covet 19 The associate minister of small business and red tape production. Thank you very much, mr. Speaker And thank the member opposite for the question We understand the immense challenges that have been based by small businesses across the province And I've had the ability to speak to to many of them and host over 130 round tables Since the start of the pandemic Last month or two months ago our province put forward one of the largest support programs to help support small businesses The interior small business support grant which gave grants of up to $20,000 to eligible eligible businesses as of today. We have 97 thousand Businesses that have applied and been accepted with over 1.3 billion dollars paid out to support There is still a lot of work to be done and we'll continue to have those conversations And support those small small business owners across the province Who continue to be backbone of this economy and businesses that will continue to support And the supplementary question Speaker businesses in Niagara frustrated after applying for nearly every government program Ryan Navajo owner of tailgates bar and grill and well and spent months Attempting to access the commercial rent subsidy when his landlord was being difficult He applied and was approved for the small business grant two months ago And is still not received funds or any indication of when he will receive them Ryan tells us that every week it's a struggle to see if they will make it to the next Ian Goodwin owner of Niagara air tours in Thorold applied for the same grant two months ago There's still no word if he's been approved while small businesses struggle This government caters to big box stores and talks about serving booze at 7 11 Will this government in its budget ensure that small businesses get the same support they give big box stores corporations and the premier's friends Associate minister Thank you very much. Mr. Speaker This government will always have the backs of small business owners as we have done since the start of this government We understand that there have been Some businesses who haven't been able to get a quick enough reply, but we have hired over 100 people to help sort through those Applications and and today we have over 97,000 applications that have been paid out This government has put forward other support programs. I understand the member Mentioned the commercial rent relief program We are in conversations with the federal government as well to help support businesses who are trying to access that program We also have 100 of energy costs property tax rebates that businesses Can access in lockdown and red zones So we have the 57 million dollar digital main street program that we have also put forward to help support businesses come online Mr. Speaker there is still a lot more work to be done And we look forward to continuing to work with small business owners and designing programs that they can access I like the small business support grant which has paid out over 1.3 billion dollars to small business owners The next question the member for qual Thank you. Speaker. My question is for the premier Reports released by the ontarian nurses association have revealed that frontline healthcare heroes are suffering from a mental health crisis 60 percent of nurses in long-term care are experiencing symptoms of pdsd 67 percent of all nurses don't have adequate access to mental health supports The stress of staff shortages lack of PPE burnout Low pay and the tragedy of witnessing elders die alone Are placing an unbearable burden on frontline heroes Speaker these heroes need support now Not four years from now So will the premier make a commitment to these heroes in tomorrow's budget To provide the increased funding for lt state c staff This fiscal year and accelerate supports for funding mental health services Thank you. The associate minister of mental health and addictions. Thank you, mr. Speaker and thank you for that question First off, I'd like to begin on behalf of our government on behalf of all of us thanking all our frontline workers for the incredible job they're doing Day in and day out putting their own lives at risk not knowing what's going to happen when they get home at night And also looking after our most vulnerable people in the hospitals people in the long-term care homes the psw The list goes on and on and on we recognized early on mr. Speaker that there was A huge cost associated with the work that these individuals do each and every day And as a result of that we turned very quickly within the roadmap to wellness to create the supports the virtual supports needed To help the individuals we started off with internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy Which now is serving between that and the other programs over 62,000 people in the province of ontario And we specifically focused one Program to help people that are our frontline workers and at this point mr. Speaker there were over 2,600 people that are taking advantage of those virtual services, but this is just the beginning of what we're doing for our frontline workers Thank you and a supplementary question Speaker with all due respect to the associate minister the statistics Contradict what that answer just said And I also want to point out That our youth Are also experiencing a mental health crisis McMaster reports their eating disorder program increased emissions 90 percent The number of youth in hospital for suicide attempts tripled Six kids sick kids 25 Member of york center will come to order. I apologize to the member for guelph Thank you speaker sick kids is reporting a 25 increase in youth seeking help Speaker the bottom line is is everything is not okay Soothing words will not solve the crisis I'm asking the government to cancel things like highway 4 13 Question their priority straight And will they commit To providing 4 billion over 4 years in mental health funding instead of extending it over 10 years because the crisis is happening today Again the associate minister Thank you mr. Speaker When we talk about the pandemic We have to remember that mental health was a concern in this province long before the pandemic came to us We're in a situation now where we are doing and investing The first time by the way an historic amount of 3.8 billion dollars in the mental health and the well-being of individuals Yes, it's being invested over 10 years, but let's stop for a moment I'm going to ask the uh, associate minister to please take a seat. I'm going to ask you to stop the clock I'm going to Ask the member for york center one last time to come to order Start the clock the associate minister Thank you We have to stop and ask ourselves Where did we start three years ago? And I can tell you for a fact because I've been in the sector for over 10 years We started with no system. You want to talk about broken? You want to talk about lack of access fragmentation? Well, it existed everywhere and our initial investments the minute we got into government But to start to build a system and that system is going to take time to build you cannot undo The lack of effort in 15 years in just two short years We will fix this system and we're focused on doing that as a government Over the last year thousands of Ontarians have lost their jobs through no fault of their own Tanisha constituent from my riding lost her small business because of the pandemic Back in november. She asked her corporate landlord for either a rent reduction Or just simply the option to break her lease without penalties so she could leave Her landlord refused tanisha took out a loan to pay for her rent in december and january But by february. She simply couldn't pay. She was out of money And now tanisha's landlord is threatening to evict her Why won't this government step up and provide tenants like tanisha the supports they need to stay in their home Thank you very much, mr. Speaker Look, we certainly understand them. That's why we have been working so very closely with our with our federal federal partners to put in place series of programs to protect people Like tanisha there was a number of for a number of months a an eviction freeze across The province of ontarian including an extended one in in some of the gray Gray lockdown zones, but as the minister of small businesses It's highlighted there are a number of supports that have been put in place for small businesses As the minister of education has talked about their supports in place for parents Is there more work to be done? Absolutely. Mr. Speaker, but tomorrow the minister of finance will highlight additional measures For the people of the province of ontario things that i'm sure tanisha can can look forward to and all ontarians look where we have Been over a very Difficult year. We're still fighting our way through this this covid 19 pandemic We have done a great job people of the province of ontario together There is more work to be done. Mr. Speaker, we recognize that and we will get the job done Thank you Can you supplement your question? Thank you speaker and respectfully back to the to the government house leader The eviction ban is over And your government just yesterday voted against rents rent subsidies for tenants in ontario You are currently doing absolutely nothing to keep tenants housed in the province of ontario Speaker immigrant black indigenous and racialized communities have been hardest hit by covid 19 A lot of these folks are have lost their income due to the pandemic because their jobs are precarious And that's not their fault many now have outstanding arrears and are at risk of being evicted at ltb hearings Which is the landlord and tenant board? And these hearings are lasting as as little as 60 seconds people are being evicted in less than a minute speaker Yesterday this government voted against an ndp motion calling for rent support that would have prevented tenants like my constituent tanisha And thousands of families across the province from being pushed out of their homes into poverty or into homelessness Why is this government continuing to put lives at risk and refusing to take action to stop covid evictions? To the end the government house leader thank you again, mr. Speaker I thank the member for the the question, but the member will know that not only have we put significant resources Into assisting people through uh, covid 19 working in close cooperation with our federal partners who Who focused on transfers to individuals such as the serb? Throughout this mr. Speaker there was an eviction ban as the member highlighted Band that was extended throughout the gray lockdown zones zones including through Through the city of toronto at the time Look, mr. Speaker. We are going to continue to do more not just to support tenants But to ensure that there is An ample supply of affordable housing in the province of ontario, but I asked this member This is a member who has protested and has been fighting against additional Housing Affordable housing in her own riding housing that would support people like tanisha's response So we are going to continue to focus on the people of the province of ontario and people like tanisha who need our help They're looking for a hand up and tomorrow the minister of finance will highlight even additional measures to do just that Thank you The next question a member for or now Thank you very much mr. Speaker my question is for the government I'm mr. Speaker the government seems intent on spending billions of dollars to put our environment and our children's futures At risk after spending hundreds of millions to cancel clean clean energy projects They're now continuing to pursue a six billion dollar mega highway that nobody wants It won't save commuter's time the municipalities that will serve don't want it and it will destroy 2000 acres of prime farmland it will impact watersheds that flow into lake ontario And worse mr. Speaker they've spent all of this money Threatening to darken our children's futures when it could have been spent making their futures brighter It could have been spent modernizing schools improving ventilation improving broadband connectivity It could have been spent building the best schools in canada, mr. Speaker my question Will the government put our children's futures first will they cancel highway 4 13? And instead put that money into building the best schools in canada Mr. Transportation for this point Thank you, mr. Speaker And I thank the member opposite for the question and the opportunity to talk about the gt us corridor Mr. Speaker there is a strong case for moving forward with the gta west corridor by 2051 the population of the greater toronto area will be approximately 15 million people and our road infrastructure needs to keep up We need to take action to alleviate congestion commercial traffic will not just go away the liberals abruptly paused Cancelled the environmental assessment process to it without any plan to accommodate future population growth Mr. Speaker we want to get this right That's why we are fully committed to the consultation and study process a comprehensive environmental assessment process to determine Whether or not we should proceed with the with the gta s gta west corridor To determine mr. Speaker whether it is the right project for york halton and peel regions. Thank you And the supplementary question Well, thank you, mr. Speaker six billion dollars would certainly build and modernize a lot of schools It would be the most ambitious construction and renewal project in generations Progressive conservatives like bill davis used to understand that investing in education was the key to building a brighter and more prosperous tomorrow Unfortunately, this modern conservative movement chooses to darken that future by attacking teachers cutting funding and pursuing pursuing Reckless environmental schemes that will only do damage for generations The government would rather spend six billion dollars on a mega highway that nobody wants and will only save these future commuters 30 to 60 seconds They want to spend six billion dollars Destroying farmland that feeds our families watersheds that flow into our sources of drinking water And they want to spend six billion dollars making it harder for our children to adapt to climate change in the future Mr. Speaker, why is the government continuing on this course of recklessly endangering our children's future? Why won't they simply cancel 4 13 and invest that money in schools instead? minister transportation Mr. Speaker, well, it is truly ironic to hear the liberals boast about their plan Against highways and in favor of education. Let's consider the highway 407 east for instance, mr. Speaker Which was planned and constructed while the liberals are in government for 15 years That 43.4 kilometer long highway, mr. Speaker Affected 100 hectares of forest 30 hectares of wetland which were removed during the construction of the highway and approximately 330 hectares of green belt were paved mr. Speaker the cost of that highway Three billion dollars that the liberals when they had the chance could have invested in school repairs and construction But they didn't mr. Speaker when they had the chance they didn't mr. Speaker I will not take any lessons from the liberals on highway construction and environment protection. Thank you We now have a deferred vote on government notice of motion 104 relating to allocation of time on bill 257 An act to enact the building broadband faster act 2021 and make other amendments in respect of infrastructure and land use planning matters The bells will now ring for 30 minutes during which time members may cast their votes. I'll ask the clerks to prepare the lobbies