 It is now time for oral questions, and I recognize the Leader for Majesty's Loyal Opposition. Thank you so much, Speaker. Speaker, my first question this morning is to the Premier. And it's pretty simple. Canadians are finally going to have some progress on things that are important to them. Families who couldn't afford dental care are now going to be able to do so starting with children this year. That's pretty great. People are skipping their meds. We know that that's the case in Ontario. Some folks are having their meds, cutting them in half to be able to afford their prescriptions. Those folks are going to get a break on the ability to pay for the prescriptions that they need to stay well. The Federal NDP, as you know, led the way, and we support their plan. Why? Because it helps people afford the dental care and the prescription drugs that they need. The Premier is on the record, Speaker, quite clearly opposing pharmacare and dental care. Will he now get on board with the other premiers and the federal government to implement this plan to help Ontarians, to help make Ontarians' lives better, to help them pay for prescription drugs, to help them pay for the dental care they so desperately need? And to apply, the Government House Leader. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Look, Mr. Speaker, since Progressive Conservative Government brought in public health care in the 1960s, we've ensured that it has improved every single time that we've been in government. Of course, we'll pay attention and we'll see what the federal government has to offer. But of course, we would not sign anything that isn't in the best interest of the taxpayer of the province of Ontario. And the supplementary question. Sounds like the way this government has handled the childcare deal, Speaker, and that's not good news for Ontarians. But look, these plans will make a real difference in people's lives. They will make a real difference in the health and well-being of Ontarians. This Premier has never, ever supported a national pharmacare plan. In fact, in 2008, when he took government, he made big cuts to pharmacare. He made big cuts to Ontario's pharmacare plan that really affected especially young people. Young people who suddenly couldn't afford their inhalers for their asthma anymore. That's the record of this Premier. So I'm going to ask very straightforwardly, will this Premier commit to doing what is right for Ontarians? To side with Ontarians? To help them stay healthier? To help them afford their prescription drugs? Will he do that? The government has to. Yes, Speaker. Of course, that is what we've done right from the beginning since we came to office, Mr. Speaker. But I tell you what we're not going to do is we're not going to allow the progress, growth and prosperity that we've seen since 2018 be jeopardized by a coalition government between the NDP and the Liberals, Mr. Speaker. Of course, we're not going to do that. We're going to respect the voters of the province of Ontario and we're going to continue to provide the excellent leadership that we have had, leadership that has seen this province grow, the economy grow, Mr. Speaker, that has seen billions of dollars invested in health and long-term care, that has seen transit and transportation being built across the province of Ontario. That is what we're going to continue to do, Mr. Speaker, because that is what's in the best interest of the province of Ontario. We'll let the NDP and Liberals try to figure out how they can combine and do coalitions. Now, we've seen, colleagues, we've seen what coalition governments between the Liberals and NDP have met to the people of the province of Ontario before. Billions of dollars of debt, out-of-control hydro rates, red tape and regulation and jobs fleeing the province like never before. The people of the province of Ontario aren't going to let that happen again. I can tell you that. The final supplementary. Well, Speaker, notwithstanding the way that the House leader of the governing party has decided to talk about this, the fact of the matter is this is a plan that is going to be good for Ontarians. It will help provinces across our country deal with things like the hiring of more doctors and nurses. It will help to expand mental health services and supports available to Ontarians and Canadians, which is exactly what we need, especially right now. And it will help provinces to invest in better home care, better community care. Yesterday, the Minister of Home Care and Long-Term Care criticized the plan. He's doing it again today. And the Premier, we know, has opposed to things like pharma care. He cut it here in Ontario. He's opposed to dental care. He's cut pharma care, as I said. He cut $330 million out of mental health. And then he complains that there's not enough money for health care for Ontarians coming from the federal government. These are big cuts and bad choices that this board government has already made in the last four years. So can the Premier and his minister explain to the people of this province why they oppose the deal that will help people with their health care, help people with their dental care, their prescription drugs. Why don't they think Ontarians deserve to affordably obtain those things? Someone else later. Unless I'm mistaken, there is no actual deal in front of the provinces with respect to the things that she talks about. And that's just like the NDP. They'll sign a deal before they've actually even seen it, Mr. Speaker. But we shouldn't be surprised, Mr. Speaker. We shouldn't be surprised. This is the same NDP that is now looking to form a coalition with the Liberals. You can just imagine it, Speaker. Can you? I can just see it here. The opposition, the leader of the Liberal Party sitting around the illegal pool that the leader of the Liberal Party built in conservation lands in his backyard, sipping a pina colada, the leader of the Liberal Party saying, I didn't know you liked pina coladas. The two of them thinking about, look at the success that we had in the past. $78 billion worth of debt they accumulated the first time. $140 billion of debt they accumulated the second time. Hundreds of thousands of jobs fled the province of Ontario, Mr. Speaker. But all of that changed when the people of the province of Ontario elected a strong, stable, progressive conservative majority government. And I believe on June 2nd, they'll turn their backs on a coalition of the tax spend and tax and return a strong, stable, progressive conservative majority government. Thank you. The next question, once again, the leader of the opposition. What it shouldn't be is all about this member and his crowing. What it should be about is Ontarians. What is important to Ontarians? What do they need to help make life better? What are their important values that need to be addressed? You know, Ontarians, the second question of the speaker is to the Premier. And it's pretty clear that our province needs to step up and start taking some leadership when it comes to electric vehicles in this province. We have to start addressing climate change. And we know that, of course, this government has a very dismal record in that regard. He cut the rebate for EV vehicles. He ripped out charging stations. He eliminated the incentive for people, everyday people to be able to afford to install chargers. He's dragged us backwards for four years when it comes to climate change. By all measures, he doesn't actually want to have regular working people in this province afford to have an electric vehicle. They're on their own. My question is, why is the Premier refusing to help everyday working people be able to be a part of the transition and afford an electric vehicle in our province? Government House Speaker. Now we're seeing it, right? Now we're seeing the coalition working together because that's the same question that the former Premier asked two days ago. And I tell you what we're not going to do is we're not going to pick a small subset of the Ontario economy and say, here's five, six thousand bucks so you can go buy an expensive $100,000 Tesla. What we're going to do instead, Speaker, wait for it, is we're going to put in place the environment where people want to actually build and manufacture those vehicles right here in the province of Ontario. So as it blows the closing down automotive manufacturing in the province of Ontario, people are investing in the province of Ontario, bringing back hundreds of thousands of jobs. Millions of people are supported by the decisions that we have made that have brought back manufacturing in the province of Ontario. Just last week, the Minister of Northern Development and Mines brought in a critical mineral strategy, Mr. Speaker, which will help us develop batteries, Mr. Speaker. And I suggest that during question period, the leader might want to take a moment to leave and take a look at the announcement that's coming, an enormous announcement for the people of the province of Ontario, more progress on our way to increase cost. A supplementary question. Well, Speaker, this governing party might think that the people who deserve to own electric vehicles are their friends, their buddies who have the money, but I think that the working people of this province should not be dismissed as a small subset, but be acknowledged as the people that drive our economy, that drive our province and make it a great place to live and work. And you can build as many cars as you want, but if regular working people can afford them, they're not going to be able to buy them. Look, Quebec has outsold Ontario in electric vehicle sales for the last three years, each and every year in the number of vehicles sold, even though we have 70% higher population, because this government made bad choices and wrong decisions. BC, with a third of the population, outsold us the year after the Premier ditched the incentive, so it's pretty clear that this government made the wrong choice. Regular working folks need to be able to afford electric vehicles. That's who I'm worried about. Not the rich folks, not the folks that are the buddies of the Premier. People deserve to have money put back in their pockets, Speaker, because let's face it, gasoline prices are really, really high. Let's help our whole province tackle climate change and give everybody an opportunity to be part of the solution. Why does this Premier stubbornly refuse to offer EV incentives to regular Ontarians, to regular everyday working people so they can afford these vehicles? Thank you. Mr. Speaker, I mean, there's so much in that question. She talks about high energy prices, but she supports a $200 carbon tax, Mr. Speaker. How will that impact the very same people who she wants to buy EVs, Mr. Speaker? How does it impact the people when we were seeing Ford leaving? We were seeing GM close down. We were seeing Chrysler say that Ontario was the most expensive jurisdiction to do business, and there was no point in making investments, right? Because of the policies that they supported of the previous Liberal government when they were in coalition together between 2011 and 2014. Now that changed in 2018 when a strong progressive conservative majority government was elected. And what did we do? We ended the carbon tax, Mr. Speaker, lowering energy prices. We got rid of the red tape and regulation that was stifling innovation and manufacturing that saw 300,000 jobs leave. They came back, Mr. Speaker. We put the investments in place and the economy in place so that GM could come back. So that Ford would continue to manufacture. So that Honda would continue to manufacture. And in just 20 short minutes, Mr. Speaker, one of the largest investments in new technology and electric vehicle manufacturing will take place. And I suggest the leader leave and watch that great announcement for the people of province. Thank you. The final supplementary. Well, we all know what ended when this Ford government got elected, Speaker. What ended was electric vehicle charging stations in Ontario. What ended is electric vehicle rebates so people could actually afford to make the choice to transition to an electric vehicle. What ended is the little bit of help that was available to people to be able to put a charging capacity into their own home, Speaker. That's what ended in the province of Ontario. But it doesn't have to be this way. Let's support every Ontarian to be able to afford an electric vehicle. We can actually get that done. It would make my life more affordable for drivers. It would tackle the climate change crisis that faces us. It would bolster our auto manufacturing. It would create great jobs in this province. Look, the U.S. has got a $15,000 incentive that they're looking at right now for electric vehicle purchases. The smart thing to do is for Ontario to put an incentive in place that will equal or increase that incentive. So I guess the question pretty clearly is, why is this Premier refusing to do the smart thing, the right thing, the thing that helps everyday working people transition to electric vehicles by providing an incentive. Let's see it in the budget that's coming up. Come on out, Senator. Let's take a look. They built charging stations at GO train stations, right? This is how smart they were. Now a fast charger, 20 minutes and your vehicle is charged. But somebody who goes in parks at a GO train station in the morning and stays there for nine hours a day, who has his vehicle charged at 20 minutes, they felt that that was the right spot for a charging station. So what did the Minister of Energy decide to do? He decided, hey, why don't I put them in the on-ramps where people actually exit to fuel up? That seems to make sense. That's what he did, putting an electric vehicle. Now the incentives that they put in place, she can talk about it all she likes, were for the richest people in the province of Ontario. It wasn't for the poor, it wasn't for the people who are barely getting by, barely getting by because of the policies that they supported with them. What we're doing is building a strong economy, hundreds of thousands of jobs coming back. Those auto workers who are laid off or who are out of work are now back in their facilities, building the next generation of vehicles for generations to come and everybody will be able to afford it. Thank you. The next question, the member for Thunder Bay Attic Oaken. Thank you, Speaker, and my question is for the Premier. Speaker, the Northern Ontario Health Travel Grant continues to be a major issue in my riding. It's an issue across the North and people are not happy. We have rising prices across the province, especially at the pump. In Attic Oaken today, people would like to know that gas is $2 a litre, $1.92 in Thunder Bay. And I spoke with a constituent who makes regular trips to Manitoba to obtain specialist care. She's been doing this for years. Margaret says that that trip now costs her 30% more and all the other costs associated with travel are up. Yet the travel grant rates remain the same. Premier, when is this government going to raise the rates for the Northern Health Travel Grant? Thank you to the member for the question. We recognize that many residents of Northern Ontario face unique health care realities compared to people living in other regions of the province, sometimes need to go out of province to receive care. And so the Northern Ontario Travel Grant program is continuously undergoing quality improvement to make sure that it can respond to the needs of people living in the North. The 2021-22 allocation for the Northern Ontario Travel Grant was $48.2 million. And I would like to indicate that in the 2021 fiscal year, the Ministry of Health received and processed 143,495 applications and 138,000 in change. 96.2% of the applications were approved. 95% within 30 business days. I know that there was a concern previously about timing in terms of receiving the grants back. We have increased to 95% of the 30 business days. So we are responding to the needs of Northern Ontario. Thank you, Speaker. Again, to the Premier, people can't afford to wait for this government to do the right thing. People are suffering. This is something here all the time for my constituents. And as I said, the rising cost of living is putting pressure on everyone. The people that need to travel for medical care are struggling. Many of them are on disabilities, especially when they have to pay up front, they have to wait for their reimbursement, and then it doesn't cover the costs. It's putting people into debt and others just can't afford to get the health care they need. Everyone in this province has the right to get health care they need, whether they live in Thunder Bay, Atacoken or Toronto. When is this government going to fix the travel grant? When will Northern Ontario get equal access to health care? Well, I can certainly agree with the member that people in Northern Ontario deserve equal access to health care that everyone else in Ontario receives. That's why we're continuously upgrading the Northern Ontario travel grant to make sure that it does respond to the needs of people. And in November 2020, the program introduced a revised application form that allows clients the option to provide banking information to receive approved program payments by direct deposit. This is certainly a great improvement on what used to happen in the past where people had to wait for long periods of time in order to receive reimbursement. And this is especially helpful for repeat users of the program and will eliminate the wait to receive a check by mail. So it is crucial to point out that check payments remain still a payment for Northern Ontario travel grant patients, but we are continuously working to make sure that the program can respond to the needs of patients in the quickest possible way so that they can receive the health services that they need and deserve. Good end. The next question is from the member for Bruce Gray-On Sound. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. My question is for the great MPP for Pickering Uxbridge and the Minister of Finance. Minister, there are credit unions all across my riding of Bruce Gray-On Sound and as the Minister would know these are especially important institutions to so many rural interns and small businesses in the agriculture, tourism and hospitality sectors all across Ontario. As the government looks towards long-term economic recovery and prosperity, it is important that Ontario's financial institutions remain resilient and innovative. So Speaker, through you, could the Minister of Finance please tell us how the government and his ministry plan to support and grow a healthy, strong and competitive credit union sector? To apply, Minister of Finance. Thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to the member from Bruce Gray-On Sound. Round of applause. That's great. My colleague is completely right. Credit unions provide important financial services to many Ontarians and are vital to so many of Ontario's small businesses. Mr. Speaker, that's why we have revised the 1994 Credit Union Case Popular Act to address outdated red tape, reduce costs and burden for the sector and increase choice for clients. What a concept. After comprehensive research and of national and international standards and extensive consultation with the industry, we are certain that Ontario's credit unions have a framework that fosters growth, are consumer focused and are safe and sound so that credit unions can better serve their members and constituents. Mr. Speaker, our government is always looking for ways to help keep more money in the pockets of hardworking Ontarians and ensure small businesses have access to safe, modern and diverse financial services close to home. Supplementary questions? Thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to the Minister for that response and his great work to steward and foster all of our finances in our province. It's great to hear that this government has modernized the Credit Unions and Case Popular Act with these much needed changes. After 15 years of liberal mismanagement, it's good to be part of a government that is working for the taxpayer in so many ways. With so much going, ongoing economic uncertainty and the pressure that so many Ontarians are under with inflation and rising costs, Ontarians want some certainty as to what to expect. So through you Speaker, could the Minister give us some more detail on these changes to credit unions and just how these changes fit into the government's plan to build Ontario and keep money in the pockets of Ontarians? Thank you again Mr. Speaker and thank you again to the member from Bruce Gray, Owen Sound. Colleagues, my colleague is right. Ontarians have faced a tough couple of years from the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic effects. Our government understands that. That is why these changes to modernize and provide credit unions an opportunity to expand services such as some insurance products makes Ontario's credit unions more innovative, more competitive and most importantly allows them to better serve Ontario and their communities. Mr. Speaker, all of this is part of our plan to build Ontario and keep more money in the pockets of hardworking Ontarians. That's why we're increasing the minimum wage to $15. It's why 760,000 workers are getting a raise. We've eliminated the license plate fees and we've removed in the region of Durham the expensive and unfair tolls on the Highway 412 and 418 as put on by your leader, Mr. ... your leader over there as well. We're working on addressing many other things for the hardworking people of Ontario. Thank you. Next question, the member from London wants. Thank you Speaker. My question is to the Premier. This government's cuts to education and its failure to support our schools has created a mental health and staffing crisis within our education system. The Thames Valley District School Board estimates that student mental health needs are four times greater now than before the pandemic. At a time when people for education reports that the majority of Ontario schools do not have the resources to address those needs. Mental health leads for Thames Valley teachers and education workers are also skyrocketing, increasing 44% over the last year. Speaker, why is this government ignoring the mental health needs of both students and education workers in Ontario? Mr. Nagle West, Parliamentary Assistant. Thanks to the member opposite for the question and I wish to also acknowledge that mental health is an important issue to each and every member in this House and it's an important issue to each and every person in the province of Ontario. It's one of the areas that I believe is in consensus on ensuring that we're working together to improve the mental health of the province and respond to the needs of students and of every Ontario and alike as well as the needs of of course our staff and so I want to speak a little bit about some of the investments that the government has made in mental health but specifically that the Ministry of Education under the leadership of Premier Ford and Minister Lecce have ensured that they're responding to the challenges of the pandemic because we do recognize that families, students and staff alike have gone through a lot over the past two years ensuring that we're supporting them. Some of the ways we've done that Speaker is by quadrupling the mental health allocations to our school boards to ensure that they have resources in each and every classroom to support students as they go about their day and ensuring that also staff are supported and I'll speak more about that in the supplementary question. Supplementary question. Speaker, not only are more Thames Valley staff being pushed to the breaking point but the complexity of staff mental health needs is also increasing. That's why the Thames Valley District School Board voted last month to create a full-time staff mental health lead and they are urging the government to provide stable annual funding to address staff mental health needs throughout the education system. Speaker, not only is this an obligation of school boards as employers but it is essential if staff are going to be able to support students. They can't do this if they are struggling themselves. Speaker, will this government reverse the cuts and start investing in a comprehensive plan to repair the disruption stress and damage that education workers and students have experienced over the past two years? My thanks to the member opposite and to just clarify for anyone watching I want to be very clear that this government has increased the funding for mental health in our education system by 421.6% since we came to office. That's a war that could group prior to this government's investments in this area but for many many years we saw the Wendell Duke of governments fail to take actions that were necessary but our government has stepped forward and some of the ways that we've done that includes $25 million for local priorities that supports the mental health of students. We've seen mental health funding increased by $10 million alone this year totaling $90 million. We've invested to create 1,200 new regulated mental health workers in school communities province wide with more of these critical workers such as psychologists, physiotherapists and of course social workers being hired this year in Ontario schools and we're also working closely with our implementation partner School Mental Health Ontario to bring a consistent evidence based approach to mental health promotion prevention and early intervention to students across all Ontario provincially funded school boards and I appreciate the member raising this important issue. Next question, the member for Ottawa. My speaker now my question is for the Premier. The government introduced Bill 100 as a response to the occupation of Ottawa and the blockade at Windsor. There's not much of anything in there for Ottawa and the truth of the matter is the PMER actually had all the tools he needed to use to protect the citizens of Ottawa during the occupation. He just chose not to use them so our law order premier, well he looked the other way because he wanted the occupation to be somebody else's problem, Justin Trudeau's problem, Jim Watson's problem here's the problem he made it worse for the citizens and businesses of Ottawa and it's funny we haven't seen the premier much in the last couple months in Ottawa but that's not what the question is about they now have a 36 million dollar tax bill for policing costs, extra 36 million dollars to the taxpayers of Ottawa that's an extra 2% on everybody's tax bill now this government shares some responsibility in that tax bill so will the government do the right thing and support the citizens of Ottawa by sharing policing costs with the federal government? Order Government House Leader Again this is something that the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing addressed the other day we will be working closely with them and I know this is something that the Minister along with the AMO table will be working at and looking at, I know the Minister also of multi tourism is also working very closely with the Mayor on this particular issue, thank you Supplementary, the member for Ottawa Vanu. Thank you Mr. Speaker and I need to read some of the elements that are mentioned here so if the government is claiming that bill 100 is meant to restore business confidence after block 8 then I'm telling you that it does nothing to restore Ottawa business confidence in the ability of this government to have their back in fact this bill does nothing in response to the occupation that happened in Ottawa and it does nothing to indicate that the government cares if it happens again the response of the government in Ottawa has been delayed and insufficient the funding support has been delayed and insufficient and now we have a legislation that clearly says to the businesses and residents of Ottawa that they're on their own we have been calling and are once again calling on the government to provide more funding support to the business and workers and to the city of Ottawa and to commit to an open and transparent review of the ministry of the Solicitor General and to the Ontario to the occupation will the premier do that to reply Solicitor General thank you speaker happy to respond bill 100 is all about ensuring that Ontario and the trading partners that Ontario actively participates with have confidence that when our businesses are impacted through illegal blockades we're going to be able to do something quickly about it it speaks to how much trade goes back and forth between our number one trading partner of course the United States the ambassador bridge in Windsor is a very clear example I just spoke to Mayor Dilkins on Monday about this very issue we need to have processes and frankly legislation in effect that are going to be able to ensure that our police officers when they need to can act quickly I can't speak highly enough about the cooperation that occurred between the RCMP the OPP the municipal police forces across Ontario who stepped up and reacted and responded to remove these illegal occupations but in hindsight we now have legislation that will allow them to react even faster thank you next question Mr. Speaker my question is for the Minister of Infrastructure for far too long municipalities across the province have not received the financial support they need to address their vital infrastructure backlog this is especially true in large parts of northern Ontario Ontario's small rural and northern communities are at the forefront of our efforts to build Ontario for the future and many of them are facing an infrastructure deficit due to the lack of action from the previous government government support is highly important to maintain the health, safety and well-being of northern and rural communities and it is crucial as we continue to focus on our commitment to building Ontario Mr. Speaker through you what is the government doing to support the infrastructure needs of municipalities in my writing of Perry Sound Miss Coco the minister of infrastructure thank you very much Mr. Speaker and thank you so much to the very hardworking member in our fall economic statement our government committed to increasing funding to our small rural and northern municipalities through the Ontario community infrastructure fund through this fund Ontario's municipalities are seeing a net increase of one billion to two billion over the next five years to support infrastructure projects like roads bridges, water and wastewater systems this is the largest increase to OSUF since its creation as part of our OSUF commitment more than 19 communities in parts of northeastern Ontario including the town of Perry Sound and the township of Sigwin we'll see over 4.4 million to support local projects and we'll provide 30,000 residents with the safe and reliable infrastructure that they deserve through these investments Mr. Speaker we are protecting the quality of life the supplementary question thank you Speaker and thank you to the minister it's great to be part of a government that is committed to supporting and building Ontario and I'll add to that minister's list I know there's significant investment in the pool wellness centre in Perry Sound and also the Sigwin Perry Sound airport are two big projects the government is supporting for years northern Ontario was ignored and neglected by the previous government because of the lack of investments in public infrastructure in fact it was the same government that shut down critical infrastructure in the north when they decided that it was a great idea to close the Ontario northland passenger rail and sell Ontario at a mere $61 million loss Mr. Speaker through you with the minister of infrastructure please explain what other initiatives our government is taking to support key infrastructure again thank you to the very hardworking member for the question our government is devoted to building northern Ontario we're taking significant measures to ensure the health safety and well-being of our northern residents one of the ways we're doing this is by investing in the redevelopment construction of a new hospital to serve the Winnebago area health authority this project will better serve the six communities of Ottawa Piscat Fort Albany, Keshishuan, Moose Factory and Pawana by providing them with a new hospital an elder care lodge visitor hostel, accommodations additionally as the members know our government has put forward legislation if passed will cut red tape and ensure all Ontarians are connected to reliable high-speed internet service I want all northern Ontarians to know that this government under Premier Ford's leadership has their backs next question member for Kiwet good morning my question is to the Premier projects like the proposed Ring of Fire will have an unchangeable impact on the ways of life for the people that live across the North especially indigenous people done right this has the potential for opportunity for First Nations but let's be honest Ontario is rushing environmental assessments in the area and will be the major beneficiary if and when the roads and the mines are built Speaker First Nations that have concerns about the Ring of Fire and want more cautious approach are not being heard Ontario ensured that development in Treaty 9 territories happen with free prior and informed consent with all First Nations affected Mr. Northern Development mines, natural resources and forestry in a significant departure from what's actually happening on the ground in fact we have two indigenous communities leading the environmental assessment processes for the corridor to prosperity we understand that there's more communities that might be interested in this we don't actually build mines we put those communities in that region in the best position possible to make decisions for what that region could be the potential as the member finally has alluded to holds for tremendous economic prosperity done right we're incredibly encouraged by the signals from the new company that has acquired a considerable stake in that region but we're going to focus Mr. Speaker on the kind of legacy infrastructure that the communities have asked for a corridor to prosperity Mr. Speaker that improves access to health and other service programming Mr. Speaker an opportunity to flaunt broadband access to those communities and enhance the conditions under which those communities live in in the future Mr. Speaker Thank you very few members of this government have visited Flying First Nations in 39, 35 and Q. Ednickson's forming government but those who are familiar with the north, the far north and who come from there know what that families and neighboring communities first nations have close ties and relationships that go back to time before colonization Speaker governments divide interests of all the time to get the outcomes that they seek what we're talking about here is colonialism in action those methods do not have not worked for hundreds of years and we cannot keep using them and expect a different result why is this government providing first nations and families by forcing the road proponent communities to carry out the crowns burden of consultation for the EAs and the Ring of Fire area The short answer is Mr. Speaker that the communities ask to but I want to thank my colleagues who have made trips up into the north especially the isolated communities obviously COVID prevented us from visiting as many as we would like Mr. Speaker but here is another important truth and reality that shared not just by municipalities across northern Ontario but indigenous communities as well they want in Mr. Speaker probably the single biggest environmental policy ever advanced by any jurisdiction in the world how do we know well the co-leader of the NDP was just talking about electric vehicles and electric batteries as Ontario's next opportunity and we agree Mr. Speaker that's why we want to make sure that from exploration to electric engines indigenous communities and municipalities across the great northern Ontario can be counted on Mr. Speaker for one of the best economic and environmental opportunities this province has ever seen. Next question Thank you Speaker through you my questions to the Minister of Health two years ago just before the pandemic my staff requested a meeting with the Ministry of Health officials along with myself and the doctor of podiatry during the pandemic we recognized that there was much going on in the ministry they were lockdowns hospital backups vaccine rollout staff shortages but now we have re-requested this meeting now that things are opening back up Mr. Speaker due to a 30 year old piece of legislation no new podiatrists are allowed to register in practice in Ontario no other health profession has ever been restricted in this way it's discriminatory it makes no sense every year in Ontario approximately 1200 people have a major lower limb amputation from complications of vascular disease and or diabetes with an annual direct health care costs of approximately 70 105 million dollars diabetes are on the rise amputations are on the rise health care costs are on the rise so Minister will you meet with the health segment in this particular area over the next few weeks either in person or virtually Mr. Health Thank you Speaker and I thank you very much to the member for the question I understand that there are concerns that there aren't enough podiatrists in the province of Ontario I believe it is a question of semantics because first of all choropedists and podiatrists are the only recognized and registered foot specialists in Ontario and the main difference between the two is where they were trained and educated choropedists represent the largest number of foot specialists in Ontario and currently there are 600 choropedists and 60 podiatrists in Ontario practitioners in the US or those who came to Ontario before 1993 are referred to as podiatrists while those who came after 1993 or who are educated in Ontario are called choropedists so I believe that whatever you call them choropedists or podiatrists there are over 660 of them in the province of Ontario and they are serving Ontarians very well Thank you Speaker back to you to the minister you have been in government for since 2018 and back in the spring of 2011 you were quoted stating that the current podiatric cap makes no sense and you supported this removal with an aging population the need for this to be addressed is becoming more urgent successful implementation of organized integrated lower limb preservation efforts have shown reductions of up to 85% in amputation rates saving millions in health care dollars so let's provide standardized best practice lower limb saving care to patients and communities close to 60% of podiatrists patients feel that this lack of podiatry these people are over 80 or sorry over 55 years of age we are in a crisis so Ontario has a lower ratio of podiatrists the population compared to anyone else in the developed world soon we will not be able to find a podiatrist minister you can fix it now will you agree to a meeting no later than April 14 I will remind the members to make their comments through the chair Minister of Health I would suggest to the member opposite that there is no crisis that there is no significant problem because we already have both co-operatives and podiatrists are qualified to provide these specialized foot treatments and while we aren't accepting any more podiatrists because we stopped in 1993 we are graduating co-operatives who are eminently qualified to perform the work that you have suggested we have over 600 in Ontario right now and we are continuing to qualify people as co-operatives they are equally as qualified as podiatrists and that is what we are doing in the province of Ontario to make sure that the people who require these foot treatments whether it is due to diabetes or something else are going to be cared for by a qualified professional next question is for the Minister of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs Agriculture is the backbone industry in our province that financially supports about 1 in 10 jobs it has a long history as an economic driver in my writing of brand for brand which is home to over 163,000 acres of rich agricultural farmland I recently visited Maple Point Farms a family owned farm and to Heather Bootsma and her father Paul it was a great visit and it is using vertical farming to grow microgreens all year round and I have to say you can purchase them at the incredible brand for farmers market a 21st century agri-food sector needs a government that invests in new technology to strengthen and grow our province's robust food system would the Minister please tell us how she is helping farmers and food processors in her writing adopt new technologies to grow their operations strengthen our food supply chain expand to new markets and create new jobs in Ontario Minister of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs thank you very much Speaker I want to thank the member from brand for that important question more importantly his incredible support for farmers and our rural communities in his writing and Speaker he is absolutely right innovation is absolutely the key in Ontario's agri-food sector and you know just recently as I've been out and about across Ontario I attended the Ontario Association of Agricultural Societies AGM and I was taken by one of their seminars it was titled old ways will not open new doors and how appropriate is that because it's exactly that kind of thinking that's going to help grow our rural communities and most importantly strengthen Ontario's agri-food industry and it's through programs Ontario's agri-tech innovation program $22 million in over 170 projects across this project our province that will enable our farmers and our food processors to continue to innovate and open new doors the supplementary question Speaker it is so refreshing that we have a provincial government that is in tune to the realities of farming and food processing in the province of Ontario that $22 million program is going to benefit farms in my writing like Cherry Produce in Oakland who is using this to support to invest in a robotic hoeing machine and to Cindy Tota of Tota Farms a fourth generation ginseng farm who will be modernizing their irrigation system to increase efficiency and output these farms are family owned businesses that have been in operation for over 50 years and this funding will help them modernize so that they can be successful for the next 50 years I am sure they and other farmers in my writing are eager to know more so back to the minister could she please tell us more about this investment and the projects being funded across the province through the agri-tech innovation program Thank you Thank you very much speaker and again I'm very pleased to be able to go across this province to the people who are leading by example and through the leadership of Premier Ford and our entire government we're investing in the agri-food industry like we've never seen before in 10, 15 or more years and the most important part is we're enabling farmers and food processors alike to innovate and the agri-tech innovation program will enable stand alone assembly lines it will enable more efficiencies and better data management and that is what's going to drive our agri-food sector forward for years to come and I can tell you that you know it we're saying yes we are saying yes to innovation we are saying yes to presenting the right tools and the right programs that our farmers can use to grow our sector and most importantly Premier we're building this agri-food sector consumers have confidence in Ontario growing agri-food products thank you very much thank you the next question the number for beaches eastward my question is for the Premier one of the very first acts of this government in 2018 was to slash a much needed raise to ODSP and OW rates in half in four years they have never raised them we have watched homelessness soar we have seen food and housing costs rise through the roof by two years of a pandemic the daily bread food bank reports that food bank use rose by 53% from 2014 to 2020 much of that driven by insufficient disability support I know because I have been on the street and in encampments speaking to housing workers and unhoused Ontarians that a great many of the newly unhoused people live with a disability this is on this government's shoulders when is the government going to raise social assistance rates and ensure that people living with a disability can afford to actually live Mr. Children Community and Social Services thank you speaker and thank you for that question I'd like to clarify first of all when our government came to office in our first year we raised the rates for ODSP and OW to make sure that we address this issue it is something the Liberal government had a chance to do and waited until it was going to lose the election to raise the rates we delivered on that promise we delivered on $1 billion in social services relief we have delivered on $8.3 billion annually in supporting ODSP and OW and our government is committed to helping people who have lost their job or who are unable to work they have access to the discretionary benefit they have access to the temporary support they have access to our food banks and we have we have the Ontario Trillium Foundation to provide grants to help eligible non-profit organizations including food banks $83 million the ODSP and OW are simply one part of a multi ministry across government approach to this issue thank you that is an absolutely outrageous silver spoon out of touch answer people are literally dying of hypothermia on the streets in one of the richest cities in the world skyrocketing rents mean that working people as well as people living with a disability are being forced to choose between keeping a roof over their heads and eating and often they are losing that roof over their heads many are black, indigenous and other people of colour many live with a disability and they are not a long term solution liveable social assistance supports are a solution a liveable $20 minimum wage is a solution rent control and fixing the financialization of housing that underlies the rent evictions and constant rent hikes those are solutions when is the government going to put in place policies and solutions systemic change that ensures that all Ontarians can stay housed and afford to eat thank you thank you thank you thank you to the member opposite our government has been looking at understanding across ministries how we address this issue that's why we've been looking working with the ministry of education for child spaces it's why we've been working with seniors in accessibility for dental care for seniors it's why we've implemented programs through the ministry of municipal affairs and housing to address these fundamental issues it's why we have created the micro-credential strategy through the ministry of labour training and skills development $75 million over two years it's why we've created the road map to wellness through the ministry of mental health and addiction through the ministry of health to improve the life of these people that our government needs to continue to support people when they are vulnerable when they have a time of need and that's exactly what we're doing with the Ontario child benefit with the care tax credit with the lift credit and it is our vision to work with all our partners and we are asking the federal government to come to the table to agree to their campaign thank you next question thank you Mr. President thank you Speaker on January the minister of education was saying that the province was close to sign a deal in terms of child care however for this government it was more important to fight with the federal government in terms of concluding a deal for child care instead of saving families in Ontario and these costs are really affecting our families when a deal is signed will this government keep on providing proactive payment to these families which they have never received in before response Speaker as you know in 2018 child care system was broken when we took power however we kept on working with the federal government to obtain and to sign a deal that will be in the best interest for the province of Ontario we're just not going to sign a deal that is not in the best interest of Ontario we want a deal that gets us to the $10 a day child care that is something that families can count on for generations to come and not that is simply in the best interest of a small subset of people right now we're very close but we won't sign a deal that doesn't help generations of parents to come that's our responsibility as a government I hope that they would help us get to that Mr. Speaker Thank you Mr. Speaker this government keeps on playing in the negotiations table and this keeps on costing to Ontario families the premier did not give those details and those financial information to the table so that they can understand what is needed on this side of the chamber we recognize that the families are suffering and we will keep on providing them a repayment of $276 million Thank you Speaker as I mentioned the previous government gave us a system that was already broken and that's the reason we want to sign a deal that will be in the best interest of the taxpayers they left us a system that is the most expensive childcare system in Canada Speaker that is the record of the previous Liberal government we don't want to continue on with that system that is why we are working very hard to come to an agreement with the federal government the first offer on the table did not meet the needs of parents in the province of Ontario it did not get us to tend all day childcare and the premier said that simply was not good enough we are working very hard we are very close and I think the parents in the province of Ontario can be assured that what we do is in their best interest next question the premier the vibrant city of Brampton is home to over 24,000 businesses classified as transportation and warehousing which alone contribute about 11% of the city's GDP the COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the important role the trucking industry plays in serving the day to day needs of residents and businesses in the city of Brampton and across Ontario many truck drivers risked their lives to ensure that goods were delivered and that they were interrupted with little to no support from this government precarious working conditions rising insurance premiums and operating costs are leaving small trucking companies unable to operate when will this government step up to the plate and help truckers with the support they need and start regulating the commercial auto insurance industry well thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to the member opposite it's an important question Mr. Speaker since our government was elected we've been in keeping it close watch to make sure insurance companies are treating Ontario and rate pairs fairly including the trucking industry and we're very thankful to the trucking industry you know Mr. Speaker they kept our goods moving right through the height of the pandemic they made sure that our shelves were stocked they crossed the borders that's why it was so important to take the action that our government took to clear that illegal blockade at the Windsor border so a big shout out to the people of Windsor for doing that Mr. Speaker we're continuing to work with as she knows that the commercial insurance industry is not regulated by Ontario but we're keeping a very close eye making sure that our truckers continue to be able to support all of us across the province supplementary Mr. Speaker New Democrats have tabled several bills and motions that call on the government to step up and help owner operators with surging insurance costs and the underlying driver shortage that we have here in Ontario I've spoken with members of the transportation and trucking community and they are concerned that the current cost of doing business is unsustainable many indicating that they have already taken trucks off the road because of the rising insurance costs that help truckers some of them who are paying over $15,000 a year in insurance costs and as my colleague from Mashika Walk James Bay said bluntly and I'll quote how much more does this government think that small trucking businesses can take end quote when will the government ensure that truckers receive the supports for rising fuel costs and the insurance premiums that they are forced to pay Mr. Speaker I again appreciate the question and Mr. Speaker as she well knows that as I mentioned in the first answer to the question commercial insurance is not regulated in Ontario meeting that policy terms vary from insurer to insurer and between each policy that said Mr. Speaker we've worked very closely and we're pleased to see that the insurance bureau of Canada, IBC and their members utilizing industry develop solutions such as the business insurance action team also known as BEAT has been very helpful to help find viable insurance solutions for small businesses in Ontario's hospitality sector and of course in the sector that she names you know the other thing that I think is really important to truckers until families right across the province Mr. Speaker is having a job many House Leader talked about job creation you know Mr. Speaker last month Ontario created 194,000 new jobs that's 194,000 more families to put food on the table the next question the Member for Good Good morning Speaker my questions for the Minister of Health over the course of this pandemic we have learned of the devastating consequences of delaying a cancer diagnosis and treatment by just a few weeks or months I recently learned of a young woman in Ontario who developed metastatic breast cancer this past year what's troubling is she has waited almost a month for approval from Ontario's Trillium drug program to help pay for her take home treatments then after the delay to her access she still has to pay thousands of dollars as a deductible while off on long term disability can the Minister explain why young adult cancer patients in Ontario face these drug access issues while those in western Canada do not Minister of Health thank you Speaker and thank you to the member for the question the health and well-being of all of the people of Ontario has always been our government's primary concern whether it's by reason of COVID by reason of a cancer diagnosis or cardiac condition whatever it may be receiving a cancer diagnosis we all know is very stressful and concerning for people and we know that they need to have received treatment as soon as possible and have access to the drugs that they need and the Ontario public drug program does provide drugs for eligible recipients as you will know the Ministry of Health has established a science based approach to making funding decisions which consider the clinical effectiveness of the drug the safety, patient input cost effectiveness, affordability and effects on other health services so I can advise that take home cancer drugs are funded through the Ontario Drug Benefit Program and the Ontario Drug Benefit recipients pay the usual cost sharing amount as per any drug benefit program claims of up to $2 or $6.11 per eligible prescription and any deductible payment so our goal is to make sure that people receive affordable cancer drugs as quickly as possible so that hopefully they can return to full recovery thank you for the question that concludes our question period for this morning