 Next, we have oral questions. I recognize the member for Tomiskaming Coventry. Thank you, Speaker. My questions to the Premier. On Friday, Ontario reached a tragic milestone, 4,227 people diagnosed with new cases of COVID. At the time, it was the highest number since the pandemic began. Why would the Premier claim on that same day, and I quote, that things are looking pretty good? To respond, Government House Speaker. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. You know, last Wednesday, I think was the day that we started to fight back in the province of Ontario after spending a year on the defence, preparing our long-term care homes, preparing our hospitals, making important reinvestments in the sectors that were so important to ensuring that we got through the first and second wave. Last week, we finally started to fight back by taking the vaccine into the communities that have been most affected by taking the vaccine to workplaces that have been most affected, Mr. Speaker. And the results are encouraging, Mr. Speaker. Over 3 million, if I'm not mistaken, over 3 million vaccines have been delivered to the people of the province of Ontario. We are fighting back, Mr. Speaker. That's what the next 28 days are about. It's about turning the corner, Mr. Speaker. Does that mean there won't be some difficult days ahead? Of course there will be. But last week marked the time when we finally started to fight back and left the defence behind, and we are attacking this virus where it's hurting people the most, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Supplementary. Thank you. This is a crisis the Ford government marches into with wide eyes, wide open, until last Wednesday, it seems. Since February, the Premier was warned over and over again by doctors, nurses, hospitals, and his own experts that COVID-19 would spread. That it would hit workers who couldn't stay home, especially hard, and that our ICUs would be overwhelmed. He denied it then, and he's still claiming that things are looking pretty good. At what point will the Premier stop the denials and admit that we are in a crisis that he created? Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. Thank you very much, Speaker. Well, in fact, what the Premier was referring to was the rate of vaccinations that were proceeding. Over 3.2 million vaccines have already been administered. With that very quickly, the rollout is going very well. There are more and more locations where people can be vaccinated. We just added another 700 pharmacies. We're up to about 1400 pharmacies. We should be up to 1500 by the end of this month. That is what the Premier was speaking about. That is a good rollout of the vaccination campaign because we want every person in Ontario who wishes to receive a vaccine, want to receive one as quickly as possible, and we're doing just that. And the final supplement. We've just learned good news. We've just learned that another 15 people died yesterday. I don't call that good news. There are over 600 people struggling to breathe in our ICUs. Thousands more have seen desperately needed surgeries postponed. Things are not looking pretty good. Will the Premier stop denying the crisis, admit that we need to do much more and provide the resources and measures we need? Whether that has paid sick days, 24-7 vaccination, paid vaccination time, or military personnel? Jan, the Minister of Health. Thank you, Speaker. And through you, Mr. Speaker, I would say to the member opposite what you seem to be denying is the fact that this is happening across Canada. This isn't just happening in Ontario. Look at what's happening in BC and Alberta and Saskatchewan. This is not just happening in Ontario. The variants of concern are now the dominant strain in Ontario. We've been listening to our health experts every step along the way and making the adjustments that we've needed to. We've added over $5 billion to our hospitals in the last year alone. We're making sure that we create the added capacity. That's why we've taken the steps that we've taken to declare the emergency and have the stay-at-home order in effect and doing all of the other steps that we're taking to bring more people and healthcare personnel to ramp down the scheduled surgeries, which is unfortunate but sadly necessary right now, and making sure that we can do the client response and patient transfers so that we can use our entire health system, the entire capacity that assists in the system to make sure that everyone on Ontario who needs to be in an intensive care bed will be able to do so. Thank you. Next question, the member for Brampton East. Thank you, Speaker. Last Friday, when the Premiers asked about the record high amount of COVID-19 cases in Ontario, the highest since this pandemic has begun, with over 4,200 cases reported in a day, the Premier responded by saying, Ontario is doing pretty well right now. Countless people are sick. COVID-19 patients are filling our ICU, small businesses are struggling to get by, our largest school boards are closed in-person learning, and the entire province is in a third lockdown. That doesn't sound like Ontario is doing pretty well. It sounds like a disaster that this Premier led us straight into. Will the Premier finally admit that he failed Ontario with his response to the pandemic? My question is to the Premier. Good morning. Good afternoon, Premier and Minister of Health. Speaker, once again, through you, Speaker, to the member opposite, it is a myth that the Premier made a suggestion with respect to the rate of COVID infections in Ontario. What he was referring to that was going well with the levels of vaccinations. However, having said that, we certainly recognise that there is concern in our hospitals and our intensive care units right now. That's why we are creating the capacity. We anticipate that with the ramping down of surgeries, with the redeployment of staff and of the ability to transfer patients from one hotspot area to another that might not be in a hotspot area, we will be able to create between 700 and 1,000 beds to make sure that we can deal with the incoming influx of patients. In fact, by the end of this week, we anticipate having created 350 net new spots. So we are dealing with that. We are creating capacity. And we are making sure that every Ontario who needs an intensive care bed will get one. Thank you, Speaker. Back to the Premier. Ontario's Friday record high was just beat on Sunday with another record day of COVID-19 cases with over 4,400 cases reported in a single day. Ontario ranks eighth lowest amongst provinces and territories for per capita vaccinations. We are in our third province-wide lockdown since the pandemic has begun. But despite this all, the Premier thinks that Ontario is doing pretty well. Well, I can tell you that in my community of Brampton, folks are not doing so well. Essential workers risk their lives every single day going to work so others can work from home and they're becoming sick because of it. But the Premier chose not to listen to the experts. He chose not to bring in paid sick days. He chose not to adequately fund our health care system. And this is the result. Why? In the face of overwhelming evidence that it can save lives is the Premier refusing to bring in paid sick days. Well, Mr. Speaker, let me remind the member opposite and all the people in Ontario there's now 20 days of paid sick days available to every single worker in the province of Ontario. In fact, Mr. Speaker, the very first initiative this government brought in was job-protected leave. If you're a worker in self-isolation, if you're in quarantine, if you're a mom or dad that has to stay home and look after a son or a daughter because schools are closed, you can't be fired for that. Mr. Speaker, we also brought in job-protected leave for anyone who has to go and get a vaccination. We were the first jurisdiction in Canada to do that. But, Mr. Speaker, it is clearly a disservice to all workers in the province when a member like this stands up and says that there's no paid sick days for workers. More than 300,000 workers in Ontario are receiving the federal benefit and we tell all workers, go to canada.ca forward slash COVID-19 and you can qualify for sick day pay. The final supplementary. Thank you, Speaker, back to the Premier. Despite being a lockdown, which is meant to stop the spread of COVID-19, today countless workers woke up and had to make the dreadful decision between going to work sick or paying their bills because the Premier continues to refuse to bring in paid sick days for workers and the Premier continues to ignore the evidence that states that workplaces are some of the highest areas of spread of COVID-19 and one of the best tools we have to stop this spread is paid sick days. So I ask the Premier, will you continue to fail Ontario's workers or will you act now, bring in paid sick days and save lives? Mr. Labour. Mr. Speaker, here they go again. There is four weeks of paid sick days available to every single worker in the province of Ontario. The members opposite need to serve their constituents, serve the people of Ontario, let them know that they can go to canada.ca forward slash COVID-19. In fact, Mr. Speaker, it was this Premier, the Premier of Ontario who worked with the other provincial and territorial leaders and the Prime Minister to bring in $1.1 billion worth of paid sick days. There are still three-quarters of that money remaining and every member who does not tell constituents that this is available is doing a disservice to all workers in the province of Ontario. The next question is for Nicolette. Thank you, Mr. President. My question is to the Premier. Ontario's surgical backlog presently sits at a quarter of a million delayed procedures. 250,000 Ontarians have had their surgery delayed. Some had their surgery already booked only to have it cancelled with no new dates in sight. Starting today, the government directed most hospitals to cancel all non-emergency surgery that directive was issued on the same day that the Premier said, Ontario is doing great and everything is fine. Is this what the Premier wants to tell those 250,000 Ontarians waiting for delayed surgery? Ontario's doing great right now. Minister of Health. Thank you, Speaker. In fact, the Premier is very concerned about having to cancel these surgeries as am I, but unfortunately it's sadly necessary. What we need to do right now is to make sure that people that are coming into hospital with COVID are going to be able to be treated. There are younger and younger people coming into intensive care right now. One hospital CEO told me on Friday that she has a 22-year-old in intensive care right now. We need to be able to create those spaces so that these people will be able to live. Now, if someone needs emergency surgery, if it's life and limb saving surgery for cancer, or whatever else it happens to be, they will receive that surgery. Other surgeries will unfortunately have to be cancelled, but they are not being forgotten. We did put $300 million into our budget this year in order to be able to deal with this backlog of surgeries and we anticipate getting back to that as quickly as possible. Response? Once we have dealt with this surge in intensive care beds, but none of these people will be forgotten. Every surgery is going to be important, and we will do it. Unfortunately, because of the variance of concern and the surge in intensive care, we simply have to do it right now to save lives. A supplementary question. Thank you, Speaker. That's not very reassuring to the people who are left waiting. Last week, I met with members of the Canadian Survivor Network. They shared the stats on the number of cancer patients, on the number of pre-diagnosed people waiting for their cancer diagnostic. They shared the number of weeks and months that they wait for a rescheduled appointment surgery procedure. The first wave had shown us that delaying non-emergency surgery is leading to more Ontarians being diagnosed with stage 4 cancer due to the delay in every step of their cancer journey. It did not have to be that way, Speaker. We should have prevented the overcrowding of our ICU. Will the Premier admit that Ontario is not doing great right now, that everything is not fine? Thank you. Thank you, Speaker. In fact, we've taken steps since the beginning of this pandemic last year to create over 3,100 beds to be able to deal with increases in our hospitals. And we've also increased our intensive care capacity by 14%. We still, there is more that we need to do, and that's what we're doing with the orders that have been brought forward and the declaration that it was necessary to step back on these surgeries. Certainly it is a concern, and that is something that we want to get back to as quickly as we can. But Ontario's doctors also support this, and if I could just quote from the release that was issued by the Ontario Medical Association, Ontario's doctors support the government's decision to halt non-emergency surgeries as an unfortunate but necessary step to reduce the death toll from COVID-19. The OMA said the order is necessary to preserve capacity in the healthcare system to treat not just COVID patients, but others with critical illnesses or injuries. So that is the unfortunate state that we're in right now, that this is what needs to be done to preserve lives despite the incredible capacity that's already been created, and we are going to create more capacity. This is not going to be a pause in surgeries for months or years. This is in order to deal with the critical surge that we have right now from the COVID variants, which is happening across the country. Thank you. Next question, the member for Stormont Dundas, South Glen Gary. Thank you, Speaker. I have a question to the Associate Minister of Children and Women's Issues. Speaker, COVID has a social and economic impact on all Ontarians, but it has impacted women across the province the most. 81% of women make up our healthcare and social assistance workforce. There are also many women in retail, education, childcare, and the early-year sectors. Our Minister of Tourism has also talked extensively about those in tourism and hospitality in industries. If it isn't women who have been on the front lines working, it is those who have been taking extra care duties, caregiving duties for those kids and loved ones in their life. Bottom line is, Speaker, we need to have a plan to support these women who are the heroes behind the pandemic. We cannot leave them behind. Speaker, can the Minister of Children and Women's Issues tell the House what the government is doing for women across Ontario, especially during this pandemic? Thank you. The Associate Minister of Children and Women's Issues. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I also want to thank the member for being such a strong supporter and advocate for women in his riding. Speaker, it is true that the pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on women, and our government recognizes that and is doing something about it. And our government has been steadfast in increasing women's economic empowerment and getting more women into the workforce. And Budget 2021 has only reaffirmed that commitment to support women right now and post-pandemic. Just last week, I was with the Minister of Labor, Training and Skills Development and others to speak about our government's initiatives to get more women into trucking. That's just one of the many industries. In our budget, we are investing $117 million to assist women, racialized individuals, Indigenous peoples, youth and people with disabilities who are facing the highest rates of unemployment during the pandemic. As the member stated, many women have unfortunately lost their jobs, but initiatives like the Ontario Jobs Training Tax Credit will have an incredible impact on women who have lost their jobs and throughout the pandemic who want to upgrade their skills to get into new, rewarding careers. Thank you and thank you, Speaker, and thank you to the Minister for that response. It is reassuring to know that the government is focusing on protecting those who have been impacted the most by this pandemic, including women. Initiatives like the Job Training Tax Credit will be very helpful for women and others who have lost their jobs in my writing and across the province. But Speaker, one area that women have taken extra responsibility during this pandemic has been childcare. Many women have left the workforce for that exact reason. To get more women into the workforce and keep mums and dads working means providing choice for childcare. And I've heard this many times in my writing is I have farmers and other jobs that are not typically nine to five, but rather odd hours or shift work. I also know that experience firsthand with my grandchildren. Speaker, can the Minister please explain to my constituents and the House how the government is helping working parents, especially mums, who need to get back into the workforce across the province. Thank you, Speaker, and thank you again to the member from Stormont, Dundas, South Glangari for this important question. Speaker, not a single round table goes by that childcare isn't discussed. That is why our Minister of Education has made childcare a priority and I commend him on his work of building 30,000 childcare spaces in Ontario. Another way we are helping parents today is by providing more flexibility. Through the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Education, we are expanding the care tax credit and the support for parents funding. These initiatives will give working mums and dads choice in the childcare that works for them. This also includes nurses, PSWs, and many others who are doing shift work who may need care for their children in the evenings. Speaker, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to childcare and our government trusts parents to make the decision that works best for them and their childcare needs. The Minister of Education and I will continue to fight for those mums and dads and work together to provide solutions so more women can get into the workforce because our government knows that we are doing the right thing. Thank you. Thank you. The next question is from the member of Scarborough Southwest. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Deputy Premier and the Minister of Health and frankly, we've been at this for the last couple of months. The Minister knows exactly what I'm going to ask. I know exactly what the minister will respond. We are talking about equity in Scarborough. So I'm just going to cut to the chase and I'm going to start with an equitable distribution of vaccines. So I'll start with that today. On April 7, the Premier announced that essential workers, education workers and many other factory workers, technically all essential workers and those living in high-risk communities with postal codes that are highlighted will have access to vaccines. Many of those postal codes that are high-risk are in my community of Scarborough. Yet I'm hearing from education workers, and many others in my community that they have no idea when and where this rollout will be taking place. We have learned from Scarborough Health Network that the delay in this rollout and the mobile clinics are due to the lack of supply and clear communication from this government. Speaker, why this government once again failing the most vulnerable people in our province yet through another poorly planned vaccine rollout? Thank you, Speaker. Thank you, Minister of Health. Thank you very much, Speaker. Well, first of all, I would have to say that I disagree with the statement made by the Honourable Member. Phase 2 of our vaccine rollout is going to be facing older adults, those at risk of serious illness and those in hotspot areas. We know that COVID-19 has disproportionately affected certain neighbourhoods. We've identified postal codes in different units. In fact, there are 15 postal code areas in Scarborough that have been identified that will be treated as hotspot areas that will have more pop-up and mobile vaccination centres as well as those that are available through our booking centre and in our pharmacies. Two of the locations that are already going to be receiving extra volumes of vaccines are Scarborough North, the Taibu Community Health Centre and Scarborough South, the Scarborough Centre for Healthier Communities. We are paying attention to those areas that are at higher risk. They are going to be receiving more vaccines. All of the areas in the hotspot will... Response? Because we know that if we don't deal with the hotspot areas that risk of transmission is going to increase. So the healthier the people are in those communities, the healthier people will be across the entire province. Thank you. Thank you, Speaker. I want to get the facts straight because, for example, Taibu is actually two or three buses from people living in my community in Scarborough South West. So Scarborough is quite large. There are six ridings in Scarborough. We have over 650,000 people and the sad reality is some of the Conservative ridings are having these mobile clinics and we're left behind. And frankly, all of Scarborough has been delayed than other parts of Ontario. I want everyone across the province to get vaccines. Don't get me wrong. But I want my community, the people who are most vulnerable to be getting those vaccines as well. We shouldn't be eight days, two weeks, three weeks. People are confused. They don't even have any slots available. That's not fair. That's not being treated equitably. Speaker, many in my community are worried sick between not having paid sick days or protection in their workplaces and unsafe classrooms, families, teachers, workers, quite frankly, everybody is facing uncertainty regarding their livelihoods, their health. On Friday, we've heard the Premier say Ontario is in pretty well. Unbelievable. Ontario is called in the epicentre in Canada. And for those of us seeing the third wave unfold, that's the reality that I'm not sure what the Premier is facing. Speaker, when will the people of Scarborough, especially those who urgently need to be protected, like essential workers, can rely on the vaccine rollout of this government? And if they cannot give me a date, then please tell us. Is there an actual vaccine? Thank you. And the Minister of Health. Thank you, Speaker. I think the best way to test it is simply not the case. In fact, Scarborough is receiving an equitable volume of vaccines. In fact, there have been 15 areas, 15 postal codes identified in Scarborough, as high as any other part of Ontario. They are receiving an equitable number of vaccines. People are being vaccinated. We are making sure that we have pop-up areas, that we have mobile vaccine testing, that we can go to apartment buildings, to make sure that everybody who wants a vaccine is going to get one. So any suggestion that Scarborough is not receiving their fair share is simply not the case. We are treating everybody across Ontario equally. We're targeting the hot spots because we know that because of certain determinants, that people need to receive these vaccines as soon as possible. That is for the benefit of everyone in Ontario and certainly for the benefit of the people in those communities. And Scarborough is receiving its fair share. Thank you. The next question, the member for Scarborough-Gildwood. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Health. Last week I asked the Minister about paid vaccination leave for frontline workers in my riding of Scarborough-Gildwood in places like Brampton, which are hot spots so that people can take the time from work to get vaccinated and not have to choose between the health of their families and feeding their families. It is a choice that they shouldn't have to make in a pandemic. I essentially heard that this was not something that you were looking into. And you know, the government has said that they would do, the Premier himself has said that he would do everything is on the table and he would do anything possible to save lives. Paid vaccination leave is not a new idea. Jurisdictions like Saskatchewan and New York have introduced paid vaccination leave to allow workers to get the vaccination during working hours. We know that those that are affected the most are people in diverse communities who oftentimes are the essential workers without option of not working. They have to work to keep food on their table and a roof over their head. Yet they need this vaccine because they are the most affected by the pandemic and the vaccination rates. You know this. So, Speaker, I am putting paid vaccination leave on the table today. Will your government do the same and step up so that these workers Thank you. Minister of Labor training and skills development. Thank you very much and I thank the member opposite for that question. Mr. Speaker, let me begin by congratulating the people of Ontario. More than three million vaccinations have been given out to date and every day, Mr. Speaker, we are setting new records. Mr. Speaker, as the Deputy Premier and Minister of Health said earlier, we announced yesterday 700 more pharmacies are going to be delivering vaccinations. That brings a total to about 1500. My message to all employers, to all workers, please continue to work together. I'm going to get through COVID-19. There is light at the end of the tunnel. By the end of the next 28 days, Mr. Speaker, 40% of adults in the province of Ontario are going to be vaccinated. That's great news, Mr. Speaker. I look forward in the supplementary to talking about being the first province in Canada, the first in all of North America to offer job protected leave for those workers to get vaccinated. Mr. Speaker, job protective leave ensures that people can't get fired when they get sick, but it doesn't offer them a continuation of their salary so that they can stay home and get well and continue to feed their families. It's not enough. Why is your government slapping itself on the back for vaccination rates? You're lagging behind other provinces. Ontario often leads in Canada. So don't slap yourself on the back as if you're doing a great job in terms of vaccination rates. Why is this government so slow to act? Our front line health care workers are doing all that they can to fight this devastating third wave. So why isn't the government doing what it can do? The Toronto Star reports through data from the Toronto Public Health that 68% of workplace outbreaks come from offices, warehouses, construction site, food processing plants and these workers need protection. So my question is, will you deploy the rapid testing that is available in Ontario's factories and schools as well as N95 masks to keep workers safe? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Let me again begin by thanking and congratulating the people of Ontario. More than 3.2 million vaccinations to date, Mr. Speaker. That is how we're going to defeat COVID-19. But Mr. Speaker, the health and well-being of every single person in this province is our government's top priority. In fact, Mr. Speaker, that's why on Thursday we launched an inspection campaign. Hundreds of inspectors went into warehouses, food processing plants, distribution centres, big box stores, malls on Friday and Saturday, 260 sites were visited. We issued a number of orders and 16 tickets, Mr. Speaker, to employers and to managers and supervisors. Everyone has to continue doing more following public health advice for every employer out there. They need to go to Ontario.ca forward slash COVID safety more than 200 resources in multiple languages are available to them. And Mr. Speaker, I'm proud to say that more than 5.5 million rapid tests have been deployed to workplaces. The next question, once again, the member for Stormont Dundas, South Lynn Geary. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I have a question for the Minister of Government and Consumer Services. Mr. Speaker, this pandemic has demonstrated the need for made and Ontario solutions. Our government has taken the extraordinary measures to protect people and their businesses. The enabler behind many of these measures has been the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services, which has been an engine behind our pandemic warehouse in particular. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister of Government and Consumer Services explain how her ministry has ensured that we have the supplies we need to continue the fight against COVID-19? Recognize the Minister of Government and Consumer Services. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the member from Dundas, Stormont and South Lynn Geary for that important question. And, Mr. Speaker, I want to share with you that since the beginning of the pandemic, my Ministry of Government and Consumer Services have been partnering together with a multitude of ministries to make sure we have an all-a-government approach to take action on this front. As you know, we stood up supply Ontario. We partnered with Ontario together, and we leveraged made in Ontario procurements to fill our pandemic warehouses. As we announced last week, Ontario made N95 masks are now rolling off the line at 3M Canada's Brockville plant. A milestone. A milestone, Speaker, in a major federal provincial procurement of 55 million respirators annually to protect front-line heroes and create good jobs for years to come. All of Canada will benefit from the stable domestic supply of N95s. And here in Ontario, my Ministry is working quickly to get these important pieces of PPE to those who need them. Thank you. Members on the opposition side come to order. Supplementary question. Thank you, Speaker. This is great news to hear. Quality PPE is essential in keeping our province running and protecting the health of our front line. We know that the necessary public health measures have forced many businesses to adjust their operations. We have been working hard by families and companies across the province. Beyond PPE, getting money into their pockets has been a major priority for this government as it's getting needles into arms. To do this, we've needed the robust online platforms, call centers and transfer payment systems. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister of Government and Consumer Services explain how her Ministry providing this customer economic response? Minister of Government and Consumer Services. Thank you very much. I am very pleased to share with everyone in the House and those watching today that since March 2020, my Ministry of Government and Consumer Services have worked with 15 ministries to launch 28 emergency COVID-19 programs worth more than $4 billion in funding through Transfer Payment Ontario. This includes $147 billion to small businesses to date with a second round of payments coming soon. And the Support for Learners program providing an additional $300 million to support students in learning. And again, we will also be supporting the tourism sector with a program that will be announced by the end of this month. Mr. Speaker, we have also supported the Ministry of Health on the vaccine rollout. And I can tell you last week we hit a record, a daily record well over 300,000 appointments per day in one day. And we heard about the number of vaccines that have been realized to date. So Mr. Speaker, Ontario Ministries are coming together to execute an all-of-government approach. I am pleased with the efforts of Government and Consumer Services for protecting health. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Mr. Speaker, the Premier promised that when it came to fighting COVID-19 he would take a fire hose and put it right down on top of every hot spot in the province and stop at nothing to support these communities. But today, CBC is reporting that for hotspots in Hamilton where cases are spreading like wildfire the Conservatives aren't even willing to send a garden hose. CBC's review of the data identified seven postal code zones that have felt greater impact from COVID-19 is official criteria. But for some reason, they're not listed as hotspots by this government. So my question is, why is the Premier still playing with matches when hotspot communities like Hamilton are on the verge of becoming an inferno? Well, thank you, Speaker. Well, I thank the member very much for the question. In fact, the original hotspots were identified based on historical data and on transmission records and hospitalizations. We are working to deal with those hotspots right now as well as the rest of Ontario. But at saying that, we want to make sure that we can get all of the adults, first of all over 50, first of all in the hotspot areas, vaccinated in Toronto and Peele areas. There'll be adults over age 18. But that doesn't mean that other hotspots won't be identified as we go further. If there are surges, there is a small reserve that we hold back to be able to deal with some of those surges and some of those additional hotspots, and we'll certainly deal with them readily as well. Thank you, Speaker. It's not just Hamilton that's been left behind by the Premier. In Windsor and Essex County, we have higher case counts, higher positivity rates, and higher hospitalizations than some of the Premier's other hotspot areas. But we've still been left out in the cold and on our own. Thanks to Dr. Christopher Layton and our Chief Medical Officer of Health stated this week that we are still weeks away from addressing people in our region in Windsor and Essex County with chronic health conditions and disabilities. This is ableism to the largest extent. We saw what happened last year when the Conservatives refused to support our region case counts and outbreaks spiked, and we had some of the highest numbers in the province. The variants are spreading too fast for us to be ignoring communities again, Speaker. We're also seeing how the government is still doing to support Windsor and Essex County and Hamilton and everywhere else finally going to get the support that this Premier keeps promising and keeps failing to deliver. Senator Hull. I would say, Speaker, that all areas of Ontario are being considered. Some areas, Toronto and Peele right now account for approximately 60% of COVID-19 transmission. It's obviously necessary to lessen the number of people in the province because the Government of Ontario will be very pleased to know that a planning grant has been given for the creation of a new hospital in that area, which is going to help people, of course. It's going to take a while to get a hospital built. But the people of Windsor and Essex are being considered. This is a major development and a major expenditure that the Government of Ontario wants to make in the Windsor and Essex area. I think it's important to make sure that all the surgeries are being ramped back. That's why we're redeploying staff and that's why we're transplanting patients to make sure that across the entire province, regardless of where you live, if you need to be in an intensive care spot, you will have one across the province of Ontario. Everyone is being treated fairly. Everyone in every part of this province. Next question. I think we're going to have more than 100 patients in ICU. That number is going to continue to rise. We've had more than 4,000 cases in the last two days. Throughout this pandemic, the Government has been two weeks behind, two steps behind this virus. Reacting to it more than planning for it. Last Friday, the Premier said, and I quote, we have mobile units as we speak going out there right now to get people vaccinated in high priority hospitals. It's going to take a while to get those things going. Local public health units, well, nobody told them that announcement was being made. They're caught by surprise. Why were the plans to deploy mobile units not made months before? Why did the Premier give people the impression that they were out there in neighbourhoods right away to do vaccinations when they clearly were not? Order. Mr. Health supply. In fact, plans have been made to deal with increasing numbers of COVID-19 cases since the beginning of this pandemic. Since the very beginning, hundreds of millions of dollars have been placed into creating 3100 new hospital spaces and an increase in 14% in our intensive care facilities. We have been listening to the medical experts at every step along the way. And then the case came forward. We're dealing with something different with respect to these variants of concern. We've been listening to that from the experts. We've been following the modelling data. We've been taking steps to be proactive to deal with the situation. That's what we've done with every step along the way. That's why we started the emergency shutdown a week or so ago. That's why we then followed up with the state of emergency and we started to create 700 to 1,000 more spaces in our hospitals, including 350 net new spaces by the end of this week. So we have been listening and dealing with the situation. COVID is moving fast and we are moving fast too. We know we need to be nimble. We know we need to be nimble. Thank you. Thank you. Let's all do respect, minister. Ontario's doctors, Ontario's nurses, Ontario public officers of health care. We don't need to run a campaign publicly to say, we need you to do this three weeks after they told you to do a lockdown. That's not nimble. This morning CBC reported that five neighbourhoods have been deemed hotspot despite their COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations and death rates being below the provincial average. Hotspot neighbourhoods are given priority access to vaccines. These neighbourhoods are in government were selected, even though they experienced less impact from COVID-19, less hospitalizations, less deaths than many other neighborhoods. For example, a postal code region in Canada, a writing of a government minister, is deemed a hotspot despite lower rates of hospitalization and death than some 300 other neighborhoods in Ontario. So, Speaker, through you, can the Premier explain to Ontarians how these four postal codes were selected despite not needing criteria to be deemed a hotspot? And Speaker, I would say to the member opposite, through you, that any suggestion that any postal codes were selected for any reason other than the fact that they were hotspots and experiencing high rates of transmission is really beneath you. It's really honestly beneath you. We have been listening to the doctors. We have been listening to the records. We have been watching the transmission records. We know that those hotspots that we've identified are areas that are having high transmission. That is how the decision is made about the postal codes that we are selecting to receive extra doses of vaccine. Order. The next question, the member for Stormont Dundas, South Wing Gary. Thank you, Speaker. My question goes to the Associate Minister of Transportation. Speaker, we need to recognize the importance of building transit that meets the needs of future generations. As we consider the expected population growth for the GTA, critical transit infrastructure will be necessary to connect people to their jobs, homes and families. Speaker, last summer, this government passed two pieces of legislation to build transit faster and to adopt new, modern approach to building new stations better. Today, the government has identified the first two subway transit-orientated communities. Could the minister please speak about the significance of this news? The Associate Minister for Transportation, GTA. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Thank you to the member for the question. We are making incredible progress on our four priority subway projects, but we are not only building faster. We are taking action to build the right way through a thoughtful, integrated approach based on smart planning principles. Today, we shared preliminary plans with the City of Toronto to build two proposed transit-oriented communities located at the future East Harbour Transit Hub and Corktown Station along our Ontario Line. This is the first step in bringing to life our shared vision of more housing, more jobs and more community spaces within walking distance of reliable and fast public transit. Mr. Speaker, we have a unique opportunity to build stations and complete communities to truly make sense for the hardworking people of Toronto, and we are working closely with the City of Toronto to get it done. And the supplementary question. Through you, Mr. Speaker, thank you to the minister for that answer. And I'm pleased to see that this government is taking steps to advance these important infrastructure projects. I also recognize that the province is committed to working closely with our municipal partners to ensure collaboration. While it's important that the government partners come to the table, we also know that public and stakeholders have a big role to play in the success of these infrastructure programs. Could the minister please share how this government plans to involve the communities that will be served by these proposed transit-oriented communities? The Associate Minister of Transportation. Again, thank you very much to the member for the question, Mr. Speaker. The future East Harbor Transit Hub and Quarktown Station were chosen as the first transit-oriented communities for a reason. The two sets of preliminary proposals would offer current residents and future generations a great quality of life with better connections to what matters most. As set out in the Ontario's transit-oriented communities program, we will work closely with the public to understand the unique needs of every single individual community. And I cannot stress enough our commitment to working with the city, heritage experts and Indigenous partners on a thoughtful plan to commemorate the rich history of the First Parliament site where a future Quarktown Station will be located. With that, Mr. Speaker, I'm excited to share that we expect to launch the public consultations in the summer and fall of this year. Thank you. The next question is from London North Centre. My question is for the Premier. A few days ago, the Premier told Ontarians that the province is doing pretty well right now. Doing pretty well is not what anyone on the front lines has said. In fact, London's N6A postal code has the highest COVID-19 positivity rate in the province, the highest, yet this government refuses to declare it a hot spot. Wasting time will cost people their lives. Last week, the leader of the official opposition, and I, along with members from London Fanshawn, London West, met with parents and educators. Educators like Sandra are on the front line and tell me they've never felt more unsafe or more scared. While Scott said the government's empty promises of enhanced safety protocols have not come to fruition. Speaker, how can the Premier tell parents, teachers, education workers and kids that he believes they're safe enough right now? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. We have been working closely with the Chief Medical Officer of Health, who has said that schools have been safe in Ontario, but recognizing fully, as the member opposite has rightly pointed out, that rising community case numbers are most concerning to the province, and creating great challenges to our health capacity. In the words of Dr. Kergy in York, he said, and I quote, I know we've been under a lot of pressure to try to close schools, however we believe that our schools in York Region have a lower level of transmission occurring, largely due to all the processes that have been put in place. When you ask medical experts, including Dr. Mackie in London, he said, transmission in schools is exceedingly rare in our area. That's likely the case in other places as well. It was likely in the community. At the end of the day, Speaker, we put in place a plan with an aim to keep schools safe. That is our number one priority. The rising case numbers in Ontario raise great concerns to all of us, and we're working with the Chief Medical Officer of Health to make sure that our families could be safe through the third wave. Thank you. Thank you, Speaker. Questions to the Premier? Somebody's still trailing when it comes to vaccination, Speaker. And due to the number of COVID cases in all sub-area schools have been closed since March 15th. Fast forward today, it's four weeks later. Sub-area schools are still closing definitely. This weekend, the Minister of Education told all schools across the province they had better planned to be open. However, when he announced the April break vaccination registration for education workers, he excluded sub-area as one of the priority areas. It's going to be pretty hard to open if none of the teachers get a vaccine, Speaker. My question to the Premier is, does the Premier still believe that Ontario is doing pretty well right now? And how can he claim that schools are still safe? Thank you, Speaker. Well, I guess it bears repeating that what the Premier was referring to was vaccination rates, not in terms of the number of COVID cases. And in terms of vaccination rates, we are doing very well. 3.2 million doses have been administered, and we anticipate by the end of April, 40 percent of Ontario's adults will already have it vaccinated. I understand that in the London area, for example, 45 new pharmacies were opened up yesterday to provide the AstraZeneca vaccine. That's to make sure that we can deal with the vaccinations in as many locations as possible, from the mass vaccination clinics to the primary care offices to the pharmacies, to the pop-up clinics and mobile clinics. Everyone who wants to receive a vaccine in Ontario will be able to receive one, especially with the creation of these new pharmacies that are now available to provide the vaccine's 45 additional ones in the London area. Thank you. The next question, the member for Glen Gary Prescott Russell. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Premier. Hundreds of thousands of essential workers going into work during a fierce third wave of COVID-19 have been abandoned by this Premier and his government. Patients are showing up at emergency rooms younger and sicker, and many of them got sick at work. Mr. Speaker, the Premier can't keep getting this wrong. Our vaccination efforts need to be focused on the people we know are acquiring COVID at work and are spreading it, our valuable essential workers. It's time Ontario joined other provinces in vaccinating essential workers at risk during an outbreak. Mr. Speaker, how much longer will this Premier and this government make essential workers risk their health? Where is the Premier's plan to ensure the thousands of essential workers who have been bearing the brunt of this pandemic get vaccinated before it's too late? Mr. Labour, training and skills development. Well, Mr. Speaker, once again, congratulations to more than 3.2 million people in the province of Ontario who got a needle in their arm, Mr. Speaker. We are moving mountains to ensure that the people of Ontario get vaccinated as quickly as we get supplies through the federal government. But, Mr. Speaker, we are moving to vaccinate essential workers in those hot spots. But, Mr. Speaker, I want the member opposite to know and all members that the health and safety of every single worker is our government's top priority. That's why, Mr. Speaker, we hired 100 more additional Ministry of Labour, training and skills development inspectors to go into workplaces. That brings Ontario's number of inspectors to the largest amount in provincial history. And, Mr. Speaker, the opposition parties voted against that. And to date, Mr. Speaker, as of yesterday, I'm proud of our inspectors. They've done 46,000 workplace inspections to protect the health and safety of every single worker. Supplementary question. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, every day we see more and more stories of confusion and chaos when it comes to the Premier's non-plan to vaccinate the province. Last week's declaration by the Premier that everyone aged 18 and over in the designated hot spots can get vaccinated, caught public health units and even health ministry staff by surprise. No arrangements had been made for people younger than 50 in those hot zones to book appointments. Yet, there was the Premier telling everyone 18-plus in hot spots that they could get vaccinated. Again, no plan. Again, chaos and confusion. Again, playing with the health and safety of Ontarians. Mr. Speaker, over one year into this, why does this government continue to fail Ontarians by having absolutely no plan, no strategy, and as we can see clearly now, no idea how to handle this pandemic? Minister of Health. Thank you, Speaker. In fact, our vaccination plan has been highly successful. Over 3.2 million vaccines already having been administered. Our booking tool has already booked another 2.3 million vaccines. In fact, we already booked to the end of April into the first of May so that every vaccine that we're receiving is accounted for and people have a response for it. This is rolling out across the province. We have conversations every other day with all the public health unit, public officers of health, as well as their hospital CEOs. They are very well aware of what the plan is, and they are working in their own regions to do the vaccines in the way that seems best to them, including making sure that they have a plan for any vaccines that have not been delivered by the end of day if people have not been able to show up for their appointments or whatever. They have a system to make sure that every single vaccine can be used by the next person in lineups, being a front-facing person, a medical officer, or a person who is delivering front-line patient care. So we are using every vaccine, none of it is being wasted, and again, as I said, we have 2.3 million more doses booked, more people to receive the vaccine. Thank you. Thank you very much. The next question is from Mr. DeWalk, James Spade. Good morning. Bonjour, Monsieur Prisant. Good morning, Mr. Speaker. In a letter sent to the Premier, the mayors of the five largest cities in Northern Ontario are demanding this conservative government to put a break on the public health cuts, and their intent to fold 34 public health units into 10 large entities. As the Mayor of North Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, Thunder Bay, Sudbury, and Timmons right, the centralization and cut, and I quote, will immediately and dramatically reduce the province's public health capacity, end of quote. Premier, we are in the middle of a third wave that you fail to prevent. Mayors are demanding to stop cutting health services in Northern Ontario. Will you listen? Thank you, Mr. DeWalk. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, yes, of course we'll listen. We understand the work that the public health units are doing is very important, has been important since the beginning of the pandemic. They are our partners in working through our plan, because they know their own units best. They know where people live, what's the best place for them to receive vaccines, whether it's at pharmacies, whether it's in mass vaccination clinics or a combination. In fact, we've also helped them financially. We have provided $212 million in mitigation funding to public health units in both 2020 and 2021 to ensure that municipal adjustments remain capped at 10%. We're also providing public health units with an additional $100 million this year to address extraordinary costs related to COVID-19, support the rollout of the provincial vaccination plan, and maintain critical public health programs and services. So, yes, we are supporting public health units. Speaker, in the fall of 2019, prior to the onset of the pandemic, the Premier's Conservative government sought to cut the provincial public health funding, so all municipalities would pay 30% of costs. It is obvious today. In the middle of the third wave, those cuts targeted most essential services like public health units, and it jeopardizes Ontario's health. It already covers very vast areas. This pauses many issues, for example, with mass vaccination clinics. Does the Premier believe that spending money is more important than access to health care and the well-being in Northern Ontario? Well, thank you, Speaker. In fact, the member is speaking about ancient history. We've moved on since 2019. We made sure that we capped with mitigation funding to make sure that the public health units in both 2020 and 2021 did not have any increase at more than 10%. We've also recognized the importance of the work that we're doing. And even before COVID started, we asked Mr. Jim Pine to come in to speak to municipalities, to speak to public health units, to understand what we needed to do to modernize our public health care system, which is something that was pointed out by the Auditor General on several occasions. We were working towards that, and once we're through the worst part of this pandemic, we will be going back again. Mr. Pine will be completing his consultations with municipalities and decisions will be made then about what needs to be done. But there's no question. We very much value the work that is being done by our public health units right now in terms of testing and vaccination. Thank you. My question is for the Deputy Premier. Now, I just, I wanted, I have a lot of respect for the Deputy Premier, but here's what we have. The Premier said last week, he gave the impression that mobile units were out there fanning across, ready to do 18 plus in areas. That's the impression he created. He had a pharmacy rollout that didn't target hotspots, didn't go into Peele, didn't go into Scarborough, didn't go into Northwest Toronto. Okay. And then the second tranche of that didn't go into places like the center of Ottawa, or to Vanier. And then on top of that, we had the region of Peele being offered 5,000 vaccines for Amazon, one business. Okay. They were turned down. And now we have this order, what I mentioned about that postal code. I know that postal code. It has Scotiabank Place. It has large businesses. The data doesn't show it. So I'm asking the two things. Can you please communicate to the people of Ontario clearly why you made these decisions? And can you commit too to giving the opposition a technical briefing about your vaccine rollout so that we can understand the decisions that you're making, what the data is? Thank you, Speaker. Well, yes, of course, we're pleased to provide a technical briefing on the vaccination plan and the vaccination rollout because it's all being based on the clinical evidence and the data. All of it. We rely on the public health units to provide us with that information. We see the daily totals. We see where they're coming from. That's why we're placing the vaccination units where they are. We have got mobile and pop-up testing. As a matter of fact, in certain parts of Toronto, in one of the Liberal members' writings, they were canvassing apartment buildings. They went through several apartment buildings. They came through, knocked on people's doors. If people weren't home, they left them a message and said, we are coming back tomorrow and we will come back to vaccinate you. As a result of that, over three quarters of the building showed up to be vaccinated. So any suggestion that we're not moving forward with that is not the case. We are proceeding with that. We are going into workplaces and we are going into places of worship to make sure that people can receive the vaccines that they need. Thank you, Speaker. Back to the Deputy Premier. Urgent action is needed now. We are facing a triage in our hospital system. This is a horror for those doctors who have to make that decision. We are encroaching on patient rights by transferring them without consent to save their lives. We understand that. But sending vaccines to green zones at the same amounts as those in grey zones will not solve the problem, will not get us out of lockdown when we need to. So my question to the Deputy Premier, we must prioritize hotspots for vaccines so that we can get those jabs in people's arms as quickly as possible and stop this virus. Will you do that? Will you send the required vaccines to those hot zones, yes or no, so that we can save lives? Thank you. Minister of Health, her client. Thank you. Well, the short answer to that is yes, we are prioritizing hotspots. That's how we know we're having this rate of transmission. If we don't prioritize hotspots and then we make sure then what is going to happen is there's going to be more transmission across the entire province. But I would like to make one thing perfectly clear because the Member raised this issue. No triage protocol has been activated in Ontario. What we are doing is making sure that we're going to create the capacity that we need for people to be able to be treated in hospital. That's why we declared the state of emergency and the stay at home order. That's why we've asked for surgeries to be set back except for emergency surgeries. That's why we're asking for more people to come on board and be redeployed from other areas. And that's why we're asking people to be transferred in situations where perhaps they might not agree, but we will make every effort to make sure that they are transferred somewhere close to home because we know it's difficult for patients and families if that has to happen. But please be assured and please I would like the people of Ontario to be assured that we are taking every step that we need to take to make sure Thank you. This is a question period for this morning. We now have a deferred vote on the motion for third reading of Bill 257, an act to enact the Building Broadband Faster Act 2021 and to 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 and I'll ask the perks to prepare the law.