 It is now time for Earl Questions, and I recognize the member for Brampton Centre. Thank you, and good morning, Speaker. My question is for the Attorney General. Speaker, we're here today because the Premier would rather silence his critics than actually listen to them. People like the parents of children with autism, families of long-term care residents, working people, or even educators. Stop the clock. You can't make reference to the absence of any member for obvious reasons. Apologize to the member for Brampton Centre. Please restart the clock. Thank you, Speaker. You know, the Premier would rather silence his critics than actually listen to them. And as I was saying, this is people like parents of children with autism, families of long-term care residents, working people in this province, and our educators. Speaker, reasonable governments in Canada have election financing laws that clearly spell out expectations for how third party will speak out. And every other reasonable government would have sat down with opposition members, worked out reasonable legislation, and have been ready to pass that. So my question to the Attorney General, why is this government so afraid of working together to write normal election financing legislation instead of using the notwithstanding clause to silence their critics? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, to be clear, Mr. Speaker, we obviously fundamentally disagree with the NDP on this. We know that if the NDP had their way, Mr. Speaker, there would be no rules whatsoever. That is why they worked so hard overnight to try to ensure that there were no rules, no measures of accountability in the system as it is, Mr. Speaker. They believe, in fact, they made amendments at a committee when this bill came before it, they believe that the maximum amount of time should be three months. We don't, Mr. Speaker. We think that to ensure fair elections in the province of Ontario, that we have struck the correct balance, 12 months, with the highest limits in the country, Mr. Speaker. We think it's the appropriate balance, and that is why we're here today, because we think accountability and fairness in our elections is one of the key things that a government can do, and we will stand up for that. Mr. Speaker, it isn't just members of the opposition that disagree with what the government is doing. The courts are pretty clear. What they're doing is unconstitutional and undemocratic. And we get it, Mr. Speaker. We get it. They don't want to respect the courts, nor do they want to respect the people of this province. But the Attorney General should at least have the decency to explain to the people of this province just what he's doing. After he introduced this legislation on Thursday, he actually hid from the media and didn't answer any questions, Speaker. He doesn't want to justify to Ontarians why he'll be the first Attorney General in the history of this province to rip up charter rights and muzzle people's freedoms. Why won't this Attorney General do the right thing, introduce reasonable election financing legislation that respects the courts, respects Ontarians, and respects everyone's freedoms of rights? Well, again, to be clear, Mr. Speaker, I think we all know what the judge said in his ruling is that limits with respect to third-party advertising are important to ensure fair elections in the province of Ontario. The judge confirmed that. The judge also confirmed that putting limits on third-party advertising in the lead-up to an election is constitutional and not against the fundamental rights as guaranteed in the charter, Mr. Speaker. What we disagree with is with the opposition who would seem to suggest that having no rules and having no limitations and having no accountability measures is what's appropriate for the province of Ontario. We saw how damaging that could be in the past, and that is why we are working so hard to ensure that there is accountability in our elections. We think that we have struck the appropriate balance. We know already what the NDP position is because they made that very clear when this bill came to committee. They believe that the maximum amount of time should be three months, Mr. Speaker. We fundamentally disagree with that. We think that we have reached a good balance, Mr. Speaker, and that is why we are here today fighting to ensure those accountability measures in spite of the fact that the opposition want no accountability. Thank you, Speaker. The government has heard from civil liberties experts, from former officials at elections Ontario, through the court case that they lost, and Ontarians, that this is simply the wrong thing to do. The judge found that the government couldn't even defend their own arguments, Speaker, and so their response is to rip up people's rights during a pandemic and in the dead of the night. Speaker, it really didn't have to be this way. Instead of silencing their critics leading up to an election, why did this Attorney General not just do his job? Do his job and actually write better legislation to help protect the people of this province? Of course, Mr. Speaker, we believe we have done just that. That is why when the Justice made his ruling and he confirmed the fact that monitoring and of course ensuring that there are controls in place for pre-election spending is justifiable, is important, Mr. Speaker. We were happy with that. That is why when the Justice also confirmed that it is constitutional to do that, we agreed with that, Mr. Speaker. We also heard from the Chief Electoral Officer of the province of Ontario who insisted that this type of legislation was important. We saw what happened in the years prior to legislation like this coming into place, Mr. Speaker. We just fundamentally disagree with the opposition who would have no controls in place, Mr. Speaker. That is what they were fighting for last night. To be clear, they were fighting for the system as it is right now today in the province of Ontario. Our bill will rectify that. We believe in controls. They don't. We believe in limits. They don't. We believe in fairness. They don't. We will always stand up for fair and free elections in the province of Ontario. Thank you. The next question, once again, the member for Brampton Centre. Thank you, Speaker. And just to be clear, what new Democrats have been fighting for is hardworking Ontarians and protecting people's freedom of expression and their charter rights. That's what new Democrats have been fighting for. Speaker, my next question is to the Premier. On Friday, this government made it clear that they are not going to give PSWs a permanent pay increase. Speaker, permanent pay increases are necessary for our frontline heroes like our PSWs who have done incredible work throughout this pandemic to protect and care for our loved ones. Speaker, they should be paid fair wages to do that work. Why is this Premier so unwilling to permanently increase the wages of personal support workers rather than just provide them temporary pay bumps? Of course, Mr. Speaker, we know how important our PSWs have been to the province of Ontario, not only during the pandemic, Mr. Speaker, but before the pandemic and how important it will be after the pandemic. That is why, of course, we are hiring some 27,000 additional PSWs, Mr. Speaker. We have, of course, increased the wages for our PSWs. Of course, we're the first government to do that, but we recognized even prior to the pandemic how important this sector was, Mr. Speaker. How important it would be if we were to tackle hallway healthcare in the province of Ontario. That's why we began a staffing study. That's why we are continuing to make important progress. I'm very proud of the fact that this government has put in place additional supports for our PSWs. I am somewhat concerned that the opposition has consistently voted against those measures, Mr. Speaker, but despite the opposition voting against those measures, despite them voting against the increases in healthcare spending, despite them voting against increases in healthcare, we'll continue to do the right thing for the people of province of Ontario and invest in those people that have made such a difference in the province of Ontario. Supplementary question. Speaker, personal support workers serve on the front lines of this pandemic and everyone in this house and the province knows that this government failed to create an iron ring and protect seniors and workers in long-term care. And for far too long, under both liberal and conservative governments, these workers have been overworked and underpaid. The Premier has a clear choice, Speaker. He could be helping to fix our broken home care and long-term care system, but instead he would rather that we'd be debating changes to the Election Finances Act. So, Speaker, my question to the Premier is, why isn't he ensuring that our frontline healthcare workers receive a permanent pay increase rather than these temporary, band-aid solutions that this government thinks is enough? Of course, Mr. Speaker, we began reforming the system the day that we took office. As you know, actually even before we took office, we were seized on the fact that hallway healthcare had to end in the province of Ontario. We knew that we had to do something with long-term care. We knew that despite the fact that the NDP failed to hold the Liberals accountable when they were in a coalition with them between 2011-2014, we knew we had to do something about it. That's why we are hiring 28,000 additional PSWs. That's why we are hiring 2,000 new nurses. That's why we are building 30,000 long-term care beds in the province of Ontario. That is why we were moving to the new system of Ontario health teams, Mr. Speaker, reforming our healthcare system so that it could work better for the people of the province of Ontario. That is why we have the leading record levels of investment in healthcare, Mr. Speaker. There is more work to be done for sure, Mr. Speaker. There is more work to be done, but we are well on our way to fixing the rights that were left to us by the wrongs that were left to us by the previous government. Mr. Speaker, I'm quite proud of that. There is more work to be done, and I hope the opposition will finally join us. Final supplementary. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We're here today because this government can't get its priorities straight. And as millennials like to say, it's pretty suspect that this government would rather use the nuclear option on the Constitution than do what's right and fix working conditions for personal support workers in the province of Ontario. Our long-term care homes are still facing staffing shortages, Mr. Speaker. 46% of those homes don't actually even provide air conditioning to residents in their rooms. That is a crisis that we should be discussing here, Mr. Speaker. And we know that part-time hours that these PSWs are receiving are simply not enough for them to build a full-time career. What they need is a permanent pay increase and better wages to ensure that we can retain them in our long-term care sector. So, Speaker, again to the Premier, when is this government going to start doing what's right and give our front-line heroes in healthcare the permanent pay increase that they deserve? Again, Mr. Speaker, I think the only thing that is suspect is that the Honourable Member and her party, along with the Liberals, have voted against every single one of these measures that we have done to improve working conditions for our PSWs. Mr. Speaker, when we said we were going to increase the amount of PSWs in the system by 28,000, what did they do? They said no. When we said we want to hire 2,000 more nurses, what did they do? They said no. When we said we want to build 30,000 new long-term care beds before the pandemic, during the pandemic, and after the pandemic, they said no, Mr. Speaker. When we said we want to transition the Ontario healthcare system to one of Ontario health teams, a blanket of care, Mr. Speaker, what did they say? They said no. This is typical of the NDP, typical of the Liberal Party, Mr. Speaker. They talk a good game, but when it comes to actually getting things done for the people of the province of Ontario, it has always been a progressive, conservative government that gets things done for the people of the province of Ontario, Mr. Speaker. I'm proud of that. Thank you. The next question, the Member for London West. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Speaker, in the aftermath of the London terror attack, the London Muslim Mosque, the National Council of Canadian Muslims and Muslim community leaders in London and across the country called for a National Action Summit on Islamophobia to engage the federal, provincial, territorial and municipal levels of government in dismantling both violent forms of Islamophobia as well as systemic Islamophobia. The leader of the Ontario NDP wrote to the Prime Minister and the Premier to urge support for the summit, and yesterday the federal government announced that the summit would be convened before the end of July. Speaker, aside from passing a non-binding motion early this morning, what concrete and immediate actions will this government take to begin the difficult work of ending Islamophobia in Ontario? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Let me just say that first and foremost today, in particular, our thoughts are, of course, with the family and friends of the victims and certainly for this young boy who has suffered an enormous tragedy. And while I can, Mr. Speaker, just to thank all members who paid truly a wonderful tribute yesterday when we return to this place. Clearly, there's more work that needs to be done. I don't think anybody would disagree with that, but we will take our time. We will work with our partners at the federal and municipal level. We will work with our police forces across the province as we have been doing since we took office. Quite frankly, as governments in the province of Ontario have been doing for a long time. This is not something that is a conservative issue, an NDP issue, a liberal issue. This is something that is a legislative assembly of Ontario. This is an issue that is important to all of us, and we will all have to work together to get it right. This is a moment of incredible grief and pain for my community. Muslim families are afraid to walk in our streets. Muslim parents are struggling to explain to their children why people hate them and why their families are targeted with anti-Muslim violence. The Muslim community has waited long enough. They need action, not just words. Speaker, the motion passed by this legislature this morning expressed support for the anti-racism directorate. Will this government commit today to restoring the funding that was cut from the anti-racism directorate? And will they commit the additional funding that London organisations like the Muslim Resource Centre for Social Support and Integration will urgently require to respond to the long-term trauma that the London Muslim community has experienced? Thank you, Speaker. I think all of us were shocked, appalled, frustrated, angry when we heard what happened in London last Sunday. But for this member to continue to suggest that the anti-racism directorate has been cut in any way is completely and utterly false. And I want to reassure the members opposite, the members listening and the people of Ontario that the anti-racism directorate continues to do excellent work, continues to offer grants for individuals and organisations who are building exactly what you are asking for, which is to ensure that we get rid of all of this hatred that continues to build in our community, whether it's Islamophobia, whether it's anti-Asian. The work is happening, the funding has not been cut and we will continue that work as a government and I hope as parliamentarians. Thank you. The next question, the member for Willowdale. Thank you and good morning, Speaker. My question this morning is for the Associate Minister of Small Business and Red Tape Reduction. Speaker, we know that small businesses are the backbone of our economy, but we also know that they're the beating hearts of our communities. And that's the case in thousands of communities throughout our province and they've been hit hard, Speaker. However, we have taken our first step on the roadmap to reopen and yesterday was encouraging to see that small businesses were opening and welcoming back patrons in their communities. And the feeling of joy, of relief, of hope was palpable in Willowdale. I know that was the case throughout the rest of our province, Speaker. With this period being a real struggle for small businesses in Willowdale, it's been a fight and our government has been there to be with those businesses in step from the beginning of the pandemic to help them in this fight. So I'm hoping, Speaker, through you to the Minister, can the Minister remind this House the ways the government has supported and continues to support small businesses throughout this very difficult period? Associate Minister of Small Business and Red Tape Reduction. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And I want to take the opportunity to thank the member for Willowdale, not only for his question, but also for being a steadfast supporter of small businesses and working day and night to support the recovery and ensure that they have the supports available. Mr. Speaker, since the start of the pandemic, our government has provided supports to small businesses, whether that be in the form of rental relief, whether that be in the form of the Main Street Relief Grant, which gave businesses an opportunity to expense the rising costs of PBE that they face, whether it be the small business support grant that provided now up to $40,000 grants to these businesses to help them get back open and help them weather the storm. We've put forward over $2.9 billion in direct supports to small businesses across the province through this response. We have put forward the property tax relief and the energy rebates that total 100% of their costs to also support them during these very difficult times. Thank you, supplementary. Well, thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Minister for that. It's encouraging to hear that those supports have been there for small businesses. You know, I know it's not just about weathering the storm that is COVID-19, but positioning these businesses for success in the future as well. And that's why our government has also introduced a series of permanent reductions to doing business in the province of Ontario because we know that when we do reopen this economy, it won't be Ontario against Quebec or Ontario against New York. It'll be Ontario against the rest of the world who will also be competing for that edge to have job creators root here in our great province. Now, Speaker, one of the greatest or the hardest hit sectors in this province and in Willowdale have been the restaurant sector. And I know that Patrick Lee of Nome has been incredibly hard hit. You know, we've heard from members opposite of Mustang Sally's in London. Very hard hit. We know that Barbara Stevens, who owns a restaurant in Willowdale, has been very hard hit. So, Speaker, I'm wondering if the Minister can explain how this government has helped local businesses, restaurants during these challenging times and how they can continue to serve our communities. Associate Minister. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And once again, thank you to the member opposite. You know, I frankly remember the conversation with the member opposite and Barbara Stevenson from his writing who brought up the specific issue with her restaurant with respect to delivery fee costs related to her business through third party food delivery services. Mr. Speaker, we were the first government in all of North America to introduce legislation to cap those fees, Mr. Speaker. Not only that, we allowed through regulation, third party delivery apps to work with small business restaurant owners to deliver alcohol through their platforms that also gave support to these this much needed sector. We allowed for allowing restaurants and bars to expand outdoor patios to be able to follow public health guidance as well. So, Mr. Speaker, we're going to do everything we can to support these businesses through this very difficult time and in the future as well. Thank you. The next question, the member for Davenport. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This question is for the Premier. Speaker, Ontario's students have been shut out of schools for longer than in any other province. Regional medical officers of health, the chief medical officer of health, leading experts and now 400 doctors who have signed an open letter all called for the government to prioritize safely reopening schools, yet they remain closed. Worse, the legislature adjourned without ever seeing a plan for a safe return to schools in September. Speaker, why is the Premier willing to move heaven and earth to save his own political bacon but won't lift a finger to ensure our kids get back where they belong in the classrooms? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the member opposite for the question. Our Premier's commitment is to ensure students return in class in September where they belong. We're doing so with a plan to get every student, 12 and up vaccine, double dose ahead of September. Likewise, for every education worker in the province of Ontario, from a bus driver to a teacher, an EA and an ECE, we are firmly committed to ensuring kids return. We know how consequential it is for their development and for their education. It's why, Speaker, we have renewed a $1.6 billion investment, renewing the public health nurses, ensuring asymptomatic testing is in place. Likewise, the enhancement of cleaning of our schools. There's a $1.6 billion allocated of which $300 million to hire more staff and do everything humanly possible. Falling the best public health advice to ensure students and staff remain safe. As the Chief Medical Officer of Health of this province today has affirmed they have been safe throughout this past year. Thank you, Speaker. Aren't they, or they aren't they? Thank you. Actually, Speaker, this so-called plan that the government talks about is just another attempt to look like they're doing the most. Well, actually, they're doing the least. The Independent Financial Accountability Office found that education spending is down $800,000 from last year. The COVID funding isn't even guaranteed past December. And once again, school boards are being forced to deplete their reserves to make up that difference. Last year's school plan led to shuttered classrooms, growing case numbers and closed schools. We can't afford more of the same this fall. The premier who would invoke the notwithstanding clause to fight a parking ticket for goodness sake. So again, why won't this premier use his powers to support students getting safely back to school instead of running roughshod over our charter rights? Mr. Speaker, the premier has and our government has been firmly committed to ensuring students remain safe. It is why we have put in place a plan with $1.6 billion of resources, following the best advice of pediatric experts and the chief medical officer throughout this past year. The consequence of that plan is that Ontario has one of the lowest case rates for youth under 20 in Canada. That is not a coincidence. It is because we have put in place a plan which Dr. Juni, the head of the science table, said is strong and comparatively to jurisdictions like the United Kingdom is actually a very good plan that has kept kids safe. Now, looking to September, vaccinations for every student 12 and up, vaccinations to them for every staffer, investments for asymptomatic testing, enhanced screening, as well as better cleaning of our schools. We have 96% of schools in Ontario have realized improvements to air ventilation. We're going to continue in December, get the job done, keep kids safe and get them back to class. Next question, the member for Guelph. Good morning, Speaker. My question is for the premier. No one is contacting my office asking the government to use the notwithstanding clause to violate their charter rights. But thousands of people are contacting my office demanding that the government make the necessary investments so children can return safely to in-person learning. Students, parents and educators are especially upset that the premier's reopening plan said nothing, nothing, Speaker, about reopening schools. And here we are weeks later and schools are still not open. So, Speaker, through you, can the premier explain to the people of this province why the legislature is having an emergency debate about using the notwithstanding clause to undermine their charter rights and the premier has still not delivered a clear and comprehensive plan to reopen schools safely. Minister of Education. Mr. Speaker, this government can do both. We can protect our democracy while investing in quality public education. That is exactly what the government is doing with a 1.6 billion dollar allocation for September. It's why we have renewed every resource we put in place this year which has helped us lead to having one of the lowest case rates in Canada right here in Ontario. We're proud of that, but we know we can continue to improve which is why we're expanding the efforts to improve air ventilation within our schools over the summer. $450 million specifically targeting improving over 2,000 projects in Ontario. Over 1,000 schools will realize that benefit. We're going to continue to support asymptomatic testing. The only province in this country that has that capacity province-wide to deploy wherever it is needed. We have doubled the public health nurse allocation. We have a plan for learning loss. Mental health funding is four times increased when compared to the former Liberal government. And we appreciate the challenges, the learning loss challenges that have arisen which is why we have an $85 million plan targeting reading and math to lift those scores and support students in Ontario. Mr. Supplementary Question. With all due respect to the Minister Speaker, Judge Stis Morgan said that the government's bill 3-0, or their election financing bill, is unreasonable and unconstitutional. The bottom line is we have two months to go until we need students back in the classroom. And parents want to know what is the plan. The one thing they have made very clear along with educators is that the hybrid model does not work, period. It might save the Premier some money, but it doesn't deliver the quality education our students deserve and our province needs. So Speaker, at the very least today, can the Minister reassure parents, students and educators that the hybrid model will not be used in next year's educational year? Minister of Education. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. What we can assure parents is that unlike the members opposite, we will ensure parents have a choice this September for in-class learning and virtual learning, which we believe, given the unknown nature of this pandemic, is prudent in the coming school year. It should be clear. There is no member in this legislature other than the Progressive Conservatives who believe in that principle of choice for parents given the lack of predictability in the context of the pandemic. And we think parents benefit from that choice. Almost 25% of parents exercise that choice this year and they may enter the future. With that said, our commitment is to ensure the in-class experience is safe, stable and more normal for children, which is why we have prioritized students, prioritized education workers, all of them to get double-dosed ahead of September to maximize the safety of schools. We didn't have that last year, but we provisioned for that this year. And we made students and staff a priority by giving them expedited access to the vaccine, $1.6 billion in COVID resources, $85 million in learning laws, and a $500 million increase in the grant for students to ensure school boards are well-resourced to protect students and keep them learning in September. Thank you. The next question, member for Willowdale. Thank you, Speaker. You know, yesterday was a really encouraging day and Willowdale just driving up and down Young Street, seeing the businesses reopen. And you could really sense that positive vibe, that people can get, that hope is really here. And that we're finally about to get through this terrible period in our history. It was really nice to see people, families enjoying meals, drinks on a patio. And I know we're heading in that right direction, Speaker. But Willowdale's are still anxious to get their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. And I know that our government's working around the clock to find the most effective vaccination campaign in our history and administer that campaign, Speaker. So my question is to the Solicitor General. Would the Minister please provide an update to this House on the progress our province is making on the COVID-19 vaccine rollout? Thank you, the Solicitor General. Thank you. And thank you to the member from Willowdale. It has been a very exciting couple of weeks on the vaccine rollout. Our government has said from the beginning that we are committed to having one of the most effective immunization campaigns in the country. By the end of day yesterday, we had surpassed 11 million doses of the COVID-19 given to Ontarians all across Ontario. The success is yet another sign of how effective our government's vaccine plan continues to be as we receive more doses from the federal government. In order to build off this success, we recently announced that the next phase of the vaccine rollout is ahead of schedule. Starting on Monday, which is two days from now, we will be launching accelerated second doses for individuals in public health units where the spread of the Delta variant is a concern. Our government will continue to work with our partners around the province to ensure Ontarians who want to get fully vaccinated have an opportunity to book that second dose. Thank you. Dr. Mankey, the member for Willowdale. Thank you, Speaker. And it's very encouraging to hear over 11 million doses have been administered in our province and we're heading in that right direction, Speaker. But in my writing, I still hear from people, not just in Willowdale, but all throughout the province who have concerns of these new variants. And certainly the last thing anybody wants is to have a fourth wave upon us. And that's why we know that vaccinations are crucial, because if you're fully vaccinated, you are likely not to need hospitalization. You are likely not to need an ICU bed. So, Speaker, back to the minister. Can the minister provide further details about the impact of Ontario's vaccine rollout? And, Mr. Mr. General, what's up? Thank you. You my pleasure. Together with the Ministry of Health, the vaccine task force, we are well on our way to achieving our goal of over 70% of Ontarians vaccinated with at least a first dose and 20% with a second dose. This important milestone could not have been achieved without the tremendous efforts of our vaccine task force, the Ministry of Health and frontline healthcare workers coming together to stop the spread of COVID-19. This truly was a team Ontario effort. We are grateful to all the hardworking public health units, mobile vaccination centres, healthcare practitioners, community partners. It goes on and on who are working together to ensure Ontario is vaccinated. With the consistent supply of vaccines, we are well positioned for the next phase of our rollout to make sure that every Ontarian who wants to get a vaccination will have an opportunity to do so. Thank you, Speaker. Thank you. The next question is a member for Key Wet and All. Good morning, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Our hearts and our prayers are still with the families of the nations of the children found in Kamloops, a residential school who did not get to return home. We also heard this week of 104 more children's remains found on the site of a residential school in Brandon, Manitoba. In light of Ontario's commitment to locate the burial sites of indigenous children around the province, we have to listen to residential school survivors, family members of those who went to residential schools and our community members. Will this government commit a plan to locate these sites that is indigenous led? Mr. Indigenous Affairs. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I appreciate the member's question. I also acknowledge his letter that he sent while we've generated a response to it. It's important to understand for the benefit of the member opposite that many of his ideas are, in fact, his work well underway, and we look forward to supporting with the full resources of this province and technical expertise, mental health supports to identify, repatriate, and commemorate, Mr. Speaker, this horrific tragedy, one of the darkest chapters in the history of this country, Canadians and the people of Ontario stand shoulder to shoulder with survivors, with their families and with their communities, and we're committed to do this important work with them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, supplementary question. Back to the premier. Finding and locating our lost children at residential school is a sacred responsibility for our peoples. This process must be led by First Nations communities and leaders. This approach, the approach by Ontario on this matter must be indigenous led, community-based, survivor centric, and culturally sensitive. We have experts that can do this. We must begin immediate and decisive action for the children who are still missing from residential school across Ontario. Will Ontario commit to making sure there are resources to locate these burial sites at residential school across the province? Again, the Minister of Indigenous Affairs. Well, again, Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that the member has acknowledged that Ontario is working towards this. We have done some work with the section 70, recommendation 71 through 77, that pertain to burial sites, but truly, Mr. Speaker, and I think there's consensus across this country and every legislature, speaking to many of my colleagues across the country, that we have to redouble our efforts, Mr. Speaker, to make sure that there are sufficient resources, Mr. Speaker, that this is an indigenous led process, that the technical experts are there, will be there to support indigenous survivors, communities, and their families in their efforts, Mr. Speaker, to identify, repatriate, and commemorate, Mr. Speaker. There is no question. It is unimaginable in my mind, as a father of two school-aged children of this tragedy. And I can assure the member opposite, and all members of this House, as the Minister of Indigenous Affairs and a former signatory to the Indian Residential School Agreement, that we will work with survivors, their families, and their communities to make every effort to work through this process. A member for Orléane. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, and good morning. The government has callously decided to invoke the notwithstanding clause to override the courts and restrict fundamental rights protected in the charter. This is now the second time the government has threatened to use the notwithstanding clause after losing a court case. Mr. Speaker, it's important to remember that the charter protects our rights to speech. It protects our rights to organize and to demonstrate. And the charter protects our freedom to pray to whatever God we choose or to not pray at all, Mr. Speaker. It's these fundamental protections that differentiate Canada from so many other countries around the world. Now, the government has said that they believe they've found a balance in overriding our fundamental rights. Mr. Speaker, when so many people are under attack for who they are, for their gender, for their sexual orientation, for their religion, why does the government believe that now is the right time to overrule our fundamental rights in the charter? Mr. Speaker, I think the reason why we're so passionate about ensuring that our elections are fair in this province is because it is fundamental to how we progress as a society. Generations of Ontarians, generations of Canadians have sacrificed so much to make sure that we have the freest country in the world, Mr. Speaker. And it is our job as parliamentarians to ensure that that continues. I fail to understand how the member's opposite cannot appreciate how important it is to ensure that we have fair elections. It is something that the chief electoral officer has asked us to do. The judge in his own, in his ruling, suggested and confirmed that these restrictions are needed. The judge also confirmed that these types of restrictions are not against people's charters' rights, Mr. Speaker. So what we have done is confirmed. A 12-month program, which we think is balanced off by the highest spending limits in the country, which includes the federal spending limits, Mr. Speaker. I think we've hit the right balance, and we will continue to do all we can to ensure and improve our electoral system, Mr. Speaker, to make it even fair for the people. And a supplementary question. Well, Mr. Speaker, if the government truly believed in the independence of the courts and the ruling of the court, they would not have moved so quickly to hold their charter. They would have worked to amend their legislation to find restrictions that would fit within the judicial ruling, Mr. Speaker. But once again, this government has lost a court case. And once again, they've moved quickly to undo our rights by implementing the Not Withstanding Clause. There was a time, Mr. Speaker, when conservatives believed in the authority and respect of an independent judicial system. Prime Minister Mulroney said, for me, the backbone of our democracy, the strength of our democracy is the independence and confidence of our court system in Canada and that we have one that would rival any in the world, Mr. Speaker. If the government truly believes that we have a strong and authoritative and independent court system, why are they choosing to overrule our fundamental rights so quickly after losing their court case? Government House Leader. Mr. Speaker, I don't think anybody is surprised to hear a member of the Liberal Party trying to seize on an opportunity, on a loophole, on anything to get back to a system that they took so much advantage of beforehand. What is clear to me today, Mr. Speaker, and what has been clear all night by the members of the Liberal Party is that words simply do not matter and actions do not matter to them, Mr. Speaker. The very instant that they had to set aside the controls that were put in place, they wanted to seize on it, Mr. Speaker, because the Liberals do not want controls. They do not want fair elections. They want to try to use every advantage, Mr. Speaker, that they could, the way they did for 15 years, Mr. Speaker. So it doesn't surprise me that the member opposite is voting against and talking against these types of controls. We will continue to ensure that the elections in Ontario are held fairly, Mr. Speaker, that they are fair to everybody. We will act on the recommendations of the Chief Electoral Officer of Ontario and we will put in place those recommendations that the justice in his rule and confirm, Mr. Speaker. We will not stop working to make elections fair just because the Liberals can't win when they are. Next question, the member for Willowdale. Thank you very much, Speaker. Under the former Liberal government, too many students were failing to meet the provincial math standard. Discovery Math was a failed approach and the curriculum is outdated, 16 years old and disconnected from the skills that young people need today. This was true until the past week when the Minister of Education revealed the new Grade 9 math curriculum beginning this September. This builds off the modernized Grade 1 to 8 math curriculum he introduced last year. For over a decade, Speaker, students in Ontario have not been prepared for the jobs of today and for the jobs of the future. Please share with this legislature why implementing this curriculum will make a difference for many students in Ontario. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank the member from Willowdale for his advocacy for financial literacy and curriculum modernization in this province. He is absolutely right for 16 years. The math curriculum in elementary school Grade 1 to 8 and in Grade 9 had not been updated, which is I think an abdication of leadership to ensure curriculum is aligned with the life and the job skills that young people need. It is no coincidence we have twice the rate of youth unemployment. We have to ensure that they learn real-life application. It is why Ontario is proud to be the first province in Canada to mandate coding from Grade 1 to Grade 9. We are very proud to have strengthened financial literacy, creating mandatory learning within the Grade 9 curriculum which actually builds upon the knowledge that is now in the Grade 1 to 8 curriculum. We are ensuring practical skills that the student learns about the concept of interest, of debt, of savings, of personal budgeting, of paying taxes, of potentially taking a mortgage and paying tuition for life after high school. This is about ensuring we give young people competitive advantage to seize the potential to get jobs of tomorrow and ultimately deliver on our commitments to end the former Liberal government's discovery math curriculum. Thank you. As the minister knows, one of the best benefits of this new curriculum is the beginning of the end of streaming in Ontario secondary schools. Streaming is the practice that consistently had adverse impacts on students from historically disadvantaged groups and communities. Youth and families have been making decisions in Grade 8, Speaker, that will determine the career prospects that are open to them in the future. Grade 8, Speaker, this immediately created a divide between students, further disadvantaging them in the applied stream. So, with this in mind, Speaker, through you to the minister, can the minister please share with the legislature how this new math curriculum will be beneficial to all students in our province? And the minister of education. Thank you, Speaker. I think it is fair to conclude that the streaming practice in this province had disproportionate impact on black, racialized and Indigenous students in the province. Speaker, students enrolled in applied courses are four times more likely not to graduate. 33% of students in applied transition to post-secondary education when compared to 73% in academic. In Toronto District School Board black students represent roughly 12% of the student population and yet they have twice the rate likely to drop out. This is unacceptable and it is this progressive conservative government that is committed to ensuring every single young person is able to achieve their full God-given potential. That's why we're ending early streaming to open up the doors for more careers to create pathways to the skilled trades to college and university and to good paying jobs that we know young people can't achieve. We're also ensuring there's additional equity supports to support black Indigenous and racialized students. Additional access to tutoring, to leadership and graduation. We're doing everything possible to ensure they succeed and that we continue to have a modern curriculum that leads young people to success in the economy. Thank you. The next question. The member for Toronto, St. Paul's. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Last night we fought back against the government's plan to use the notwithstanding clause to essentially silence critics, silence the very people that this government's bills and inaction have hurt the most during this pandemic. Rather than supporting our communities or small businesses for instance the government is prioritizing elections and wealthy donors. Our first weekend of step one reopening and many businesses didn't make it quite frankly, Speaker, last year because the government wouldn't fund them. Some businesses like our our Oakwood hardware run by Anne Sorentes that business is hanging on by a thread and frankly she has applied for the Ontario Small Business Grant and is waiting and waiting and waiting to get a response. Quote from Anne Does the government understand the fear and stress that vague answers like maybe you don't qualify I can't help you, causes people? Question. The question is, will this government ensure she gets her Ontario Small Business support grant application so she doesn't have a mental health breakdown and lose her business and lose a pillar in our community of St. Paul's. Thank you. We're glad the Associate Minister of Small Business in red tape production. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker and thank you to the member opposite every eligible business that is applied to the small business support grant will receive their funding. We have tripled the support staff on the back end to ensure that we can get through these applications as quick as possible. I would ask the member and I happy to work with the member to look into the specific case as well to see how we can get the businesses the support that they need and we understand that this has been done but at the same time this program has delivered over $2.9 billion in direct support to those small businesses that have been impacted up to $40,000 in a grant along with the other supports that we ask other businesses to apply for like the property tax rebate up to 100% the energy cost rebates up to 100% the digital maintenance response the largest investment to help businesses go digital in the history of this country and continue to look forward to working with the member opposite to help that business. And the supplementary question. Thank you speaker and for the record Oakwood hardware absolutely is eligible for the Ontario small business support grant so I look forward to working with the government to ensure that Anne gets her funding ASAP. It's cousin the Ontario tourism and travel small business support grant also leaves out our community art galleries among many other integral parts of our community's wellness business economy arts and heritage. The conservative government's roadmap to reopen has left out our art galleries and museum spaces from the Ontario tourism and travel small business support grant I'm wondering are our art galleries our museums they employ thousands of people and I'm wondering isn't safe job creation critical to reopening our economy speaker my question is to the premier will this government support visual arts in Ontario and outline precise percentage based capacities for art galleries and museums indoors and social distance based capacities for outdoors so they can get on with it and reopen and bring great joy and inspiration to our communities will the government also properly fund the community museum operating grant CMOG which has been which has not been increased in nearly two decades thank you thank you government house leader thank you speaker honestly a lot to unpack in that question Mr. Speaker and honestly I think it's a good question and I tell you why it's a good question because the arts and culture sector is responsible for billions of dollars in economic activity in the province of Ontario it's responsible for hundreds of thousands of jobs it is one of our most important sectors and that is why the sector of culture has been working flat out to ensure that as we come out of this pandemic all of our cultural institutions our tourism sector is supported we learned a lot from the impact of SARS across the province as minister McLeod has said on a number of occasions those sectors were the first to be hit and they will take the longest to come back that is why we are initially putting in resources to help that sector because it is such an important sector to our economy we cannot have a growing economy without a vibrant arts and culture sector Mr. Speaker we understand that we are going to make sure that it comes back bigger and better and stronger than ever before next question the member for Tanger thank you good morning my question is for the premier a couple of days ago the financial accountability office released a report on this government's economic and budget outlook from the spring the report stated that even though the government claimed in its budget that it would be balancing the books by 2030 they are unlikely to do so the report claims that even in 2030 Ontario will be $17.8 billion short of a balanced budget as a result of permanent spending that was created by this government does the government have any plan to balance the budget ever parliamentary assistant to the minister of finance and member for Willowdale thank you very much Speaker and I appreciate that question from the member opposite it is very important to take the finances here in Ontario seriously and have a path to balance and I want to start by thanking the financial accountability office for their hard work there are two important points here the first one is to note that both the 2021 budget and the FAO's report take a very long term view to 2029 and 2030 with great variability and risk in that long term fiscal planning and the 2021 budget recognizes this and I'm going to quote the FAO who said the 2021 budget has significant prudence in planned contingency funds combined with the reserve to keep program spending in line with the demand for services over the medium term Speaker the second point I want to make is that this government has made a commitment to be transparent with the people of this province we have not missed a single financial reporting period we have a path to liberal government who missed eight of their last 14 reporting periods we are going to continue Speaker to head towards balance and be transparent with the people we serve it sounds like there is no plan to balance the budget it wasn't only the financial accountability office who had concerns with this government's budget earlier this week the Fraser institute released an analysis of this government's most recent budget whereby even excluding the government spending on COVID related measures the report concluded one despite criticisms of past governments the Ford government has generally continued the fiscal policies of the Mcintyman governments with respect to spending and debt and two when it comes to spending deficits and debt the evidence clearly shows there's been no significant policy shift accompanying the change in government in Ontario is the premier proud that he has finally achieved his goal of his government and party becoming an extension of the liberal governments of the preceding 15 years Parliamentary Assistant Member for Willidale Thank you Speaker and I remember when the member opposite sat next to me on this side of the house that we talked about the importance of fiscal transparency and I'll remind the member that in our first two years in this government we cut the liberal deficit in half in a very short amount of time Speaker through prudence and spending hit us and the right the right time to spend Speaker is when the people you serve are in harm's way so I will not apologize for making sure we protect the health and safety of the people of this province Speaker we will return to balance we will be transparent with the people of this province unlike the last liberal government who seems to be offended by that very comment of transparency Speaker we are returning to balance we will communicate with the people of this province every single step of the way the member for Don Golly East will come to order next question Thank you Speaker my question is for the Premier in my community there is significant backlogs and surgeries at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Science Centre not only that the hospital predicts that there will be many additional surgeries needed for all the people who put off seeing their doctor during the pandemic the COVID-19 pandemic laid bare the need for more health care investment in Northern Ontario yet this weekend we aren't talking about health care why is this government invoking the notwithstanding clause and hurting our democracy instead of investing in our hospitals Good question Well Mr Speaker the member will know that of course that all of the investments that we made in health care we announced that we were going to increase ICU capacity in the province of Ontario and we started to fund that she voted against that when we announced that we were going to move to Ontario health teams and put significant resources and investments in that to make that happen she of course that member of course voted against that Mr Speaker when we announced that we were going to hire 28,000 additional PSWs the member voted against that Mr Speaker when we announced 2,000 new nurses the member of course voted against that as well Mr Speaker when we announced 30,000 long term care beds the member voted against that Mr Speaker so despite the voting record of the member opposite we will continue to make important investments in health care in the province of Ontario to really rebuild the system that we inherited from the Liberals that was an absolute disaster Mr Speaker we're making great progress thank you Mr Speaker thank you Mr Speaker again my question is for the Premier for decades the north has needed more health care investment over 100,000 people across northern Ontario do not have a doctor there was a problem before the pandemic now the problems are getting worse not just in northern Ontario but across the province the financial accountability officer estimated there was a cumulative backlog of elective surgical procedures of nearly 250,000 in March 2021 and this will rise to 420,000 by this September in his most recent report they also estimated a cumulative backlog of non-emergent diagnostic procedures of 1.6 million in March of 2021 and that it will rise to 2.5 million by September these are big numbers these are big problems yet this government has other priorities why is this government focused on silencing its own critics instead of doing more to solve Ontario's health care crisis government health leader well Mr Speaker again I guess I'm surprised because you know when we came to office we had a commitment to end hallway health care and we started making important investments before the pandemic now the member of course voted against that Mr Speaker now I know the NDP can only focus on one thing at a time but when you have the responsibility of governing one of the largest province in the country often you're asked to focus on more than one thing at a time now when she talks about the surgical backlog she will of course remember by the minister of finance on the recommendation of the minister of health and of the premier significant resources were put in place to deal with the surgical backlog significant resources now Mr Speaker you may ask me given that investment how did the member vote well she joined the rest of her NDP and her colleagues in voting against those recommendations but despite that resistance of the opposition we're going to make those investments next question the member for Don Dolly East thank you very very much Mr Speaker this past week has been very overwhelming for Ontarians particularly people of the Muslim faith today marks the week since the tragic event took place in London where four people were were killed by a terrorist and we know that today is the funeral and you talk to people in my community and people across the province and I'm sure members in this legislature have had some pretty tough conversations there's a real sense of fear out there of sadness there's anxiety and people are looking at this government and all members of this legislature for answers my question to the minister responsible for anti-racism is this what plan is the minister going to put in place to address Islamophobia and what plan is the minister going to put in place to ease some of that fear that people have here in Ontario thank you to reply the assistant general thank you speaker and I must say I appreciate the member opposites approach because I think that collectively we need to deal with this head on and continue to do that as a government as I said previously as parliamentarians and in our communities the anti-racism directorate has been doing some excellent work and we have already in the past years invested over 1.6 million over two years to create a new anti-racism and anti-hate grant program and it is to support government's commitment to collaborate with communities must be community and organisational led the anti-racism directorate and our government will support that work through grant programs but at the core we know and I know you know that this has to be something that all of us collectively agree that must be dealt with as a community as a government and as a society thank you supplementary question thank you very much Mr. Speaker I have an answer but five years ago Mr. Speaker and I'm committed to working with this minister to look for ways to find solutions I think all of us in the legislature are but five years ago we put forward a plan here in Ontario and it was produced by the people of Ontario because we had a consultation to address Islamophobia which is the fastest growing and continues to be the fastest growing form of hate here in Ontario on page 32 of the plan we discussed that we engage in community organisations to get ideas public education campaign funding resources but also to put together an advisory committee which did exist under the old government and was removed an advisory committee five of them to be exact and one of them to address Islamophobia which this government removed so my question back to the minister is this will the minister commit to just taking a look at the old directorate plan and commit to putting back the advisory committee to address Islamophobia here in Ontario Mr. Minister thank you Mr. Speaker even during the pandemic I have to say the work that the anti-racism directorate has been able to do to your point working with communities has been very heartening because it has been more challenging to engage in those individuals but as I said even during the pandemic we've worked with civic action we've worked with the network for the investment of black communities we've worked with the Toronto district school board the children's aid society of Toronto we've worked with the Durham district school board that work will continue but what we have done is we've expanded to ensure that agencies community organisations that are working on the ground can partnership with our government to make sure with the anti-racism the Islamophobia everything that at its core is not what Ontario and Canadians stand for and we will continue that work and I know that the member opposite is passionate about it and we'll assist in that program thank you the government house leader has a point of order I've already been informed of it point of order just in accordance with standing order 59 I hope the speaker will appreciate that although the speaker will announce when the house does adjourn that we will stay adjourned until Monday it is our intention to recall the house tomorrow at 1pm thank you thank you Member for Diamondport I believe has a point of order I'd like to correct the record during my question to the Minister of Education I mistakenly said that the independent financial accountability office found that education spending is down 800,000 from last year of course I met 800 million Mr. Speaker thank you there being no further business this morning this house stands in recess until 1pm