 It is now time for Question Period, the member from Kitchener County School. Speaker, my question is to the Premier. Premier, it's been one week since the auditor pulled back the curtain on your negligent inaction with substandard winter road maintenance contracts, putting the lives at risk to save a few bucks. For one week, you and your rookie minister have refused apologies. Claiming this time, you're really going to fix it just wait a year. Premier, we've heard your claims before, and they've been empty words. American claims of North American road safety completely ignore the grief of families who've lost loved ones. Those close to Barry residence, Alyssa McEwen, 17, her cousin, Jessica Chamberlain, 18, and Sudbury residence, Tori McIntyre, Corville, 18, and Cole Howard, 19, all killed along Highway 69 in January 2012, despite taking all precautions. Premier, please, no more empty words, take responsibility, apologize, and provide immediate action to prevent tragic winter deaths mounting under your watch. Here, here. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, and Mr. Speaker, before I answer the question, I want to acknowledge the election of two new premiers this week. Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate Wade McLaughlin of PEI and his election on Monday. I also want to take a moment to congratulate Rachel Notley in Alberta last night for her election victory. And I want to acknowledge Jim Prentice and thank him for his service. I enjoyed working with him for the time that he was Premier, and I look forward to working with both premiers. And as you know, Mr. Speaker, I believe that when premiers work together, we can benefit the whole country. So congratulations to the member opposite. I know that the Minister of Transportation is going to want to comment. We thank the Auditor General for her report, Mr. Speaker. We thank her for the recommendations. And as the member opposite knows, we have already begun an internal review. There had already been changes made. There had been more equipment bought. There had been more staff hired, Mr. Speaker. And I know that the Minister of Transportation will want to fill in the details of this. Thank you. As always, I'm starting early. Supplementary, the member from Nippison. Thank you, Speaker. Premier, the Auditor General is clear. Our government knowingly put the lives of motorists at increased risk. Over the 2011 Christmas break, crashes on northern highways left nine children dead. The Auditor General told us you blatantly ignored warnings of staff and engineers. For five years, you knew the contracts were faulty, and you didn't act, and people died. Eight year old, Katelyn McPherson, Andrew Beland, Cole Howard, Tori McIntyre-Coreville, Jessica Chamberlain, Alyssa McEwen, Hillary Ifelsky, Zebrin Rikowski, Keegan Melville. All of these kids were killed over a one-week period. Premier, can you muster even an ounce of integrity and apologize to their families? Thank you, Premier. Minister of Transportation. Thanks very much, Speaker. I want to thank both members from the Opposition Caucus for their questions today. As the Premier has already said this morning, as I said last week, and I said yesterday as well, we do thank the Auditor for her report. There were eight recommendations contained in that report. The Ministry of Transportation accepts all of those recommendations, and I also accept the responsibility of making sure that as we go forward, we will continue to provide the resources, continue to make sure that our area maintenance contractors have a very clear understanding of their contractual obligations, and we will keep building on the progress that was contained or that flowed from the internal review that the Ministry launched in 2013, which was before the Public Accounts Committee asked the auditor to go and conduct a review, Speaker. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. What's up, Premier? You remember from Lenox in Attica? To the Premier. Premier, Melanie Watson was a 34-year-old mother of two young children and a loving wife. She tragically lost her life in January 2014 when her car lost control as a result of unclear snow drifts on Highway 7 outside of Carton Place. Your Minister of Transportation has stated in this legislature that despite cutbacks to road maintenance, you hired more inspectors instead of more plows, salt, and sand. Premier, this section of Highway 7 had countless complaints against it to the MTO about drifting snow and unclear banks. Yet not one of your inspectors did anything about that. Your government saved a few bucks and put the lives of Ontario drivers at risk with tragic consequences. Premier, will you take responsibility and apologize to the family of Melanie Watson? Thank you, Minister. Thanks very much, Speaker, and I'll thank this member as well for his question and his interest in this very important file. Speaker, I know that it might be difficult for the opposition to listen to the complete answer that we provide, but in addition to the 20 inspectors that were brought forward and were brought on by the ministry as a result of our internal review in 2013, in addition to those 20 inspectors, Speaker, as I've said repeatedly, following our internal review, we have added 105 new pieces of equipment, 55 pieces of equipment largely for truck climbing and passing lanes in northern Ontario, and 50 pieces of equipment to help deal with cramps and shoulders in southern Ontario, including... I don't think he heard me because he was telling somebody. The member from Leeds, Grenville, second time. And I just want to stress so it is clearly understood, Speaker, those 105 additional pieces of equipment were brought on and were put into use as a result of the ministry of transportation's internal review following the winter of 2013-14, Speaker, not as a result... Thank you. Your question? The member from North Central. My question is for the minister of education. Minister, you said that you were perplexed, mystified, and had no idea why these boards were striking. Then you blamed the strikes on local issues time and time again. That's a story that no one is buying anymore. Now you say kids aren't in the classroom because teachers have, I quote, a general desire to strike. The other side of the table is dumbfounded by your remarks. Minister, it's your job to know why these boards are striking and it's your job to get these students the education they deserve. Minister, because of your inaction, will you resign before you cost these students the rest of their school year? The answer to that is no. I'm almost uncertain as to where to go with that question. Because there are so many muddled facts in it. I think that what I'll just do is review what's going on, Speaker. We have three boards where the secondary teachers are in a local strike position. I will continue to say that there really has been no clear articulation as to why those local unions have gone on a local strike. What we know is that all three of the boards remain ready and willing to negotiate with their unions, local unions. We know that the Peel Board in particular was there until after midnight on Sunday trying to reach a local agreement. And I actually want to commend the board for the effort that they made. What I can tell... Thank you. Thank you. Stop the car. A reminder to this minister and everyone, when I stand, you sit. And when I say thank you, that's your signal that your time is up. Stop. Supplementary member. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and again to the Minister of Education. When you introduced Bill 122, you promised, and I quote, a clear and consistent labor framework that works for all parties. And the quote, your two-tiered train wreck of a system isn't working for anyone. And you aren't working for these students. Nearly 72,000 students aren't in the classroom right today. Over 800,000 more will be insured on Monday. And it seems like you just simply shrugged this off. Minister, what are you saying to the students and their parents who are worried about the end of the school year? Thank you, Minister. What I will say to the students is that we know that the only way to resolve this is to get to the table and negotiate. We remain absolutely committed to negotiating a collective agreement because that's the way we can make sure that every student, regardless of whether they're an elementary or secondary student, is back in the classroom. We remain committed to negotiating with the secondary teachers and with the elementary teachers. And I want that to be absolutely clear. That's the way to labor peace. And it's the way that the Tories, when they were in control, never ever figured out was how to negotiate. It's also absolutely... A member from the PN Carlton will come to order. One wrap-up sentence. I just want to repeat, we are willing to negotiate. That's how we solve the problem. Thank you. Next thing you know, it should be maybe Leslie Frost for the term while they're in today. Minister, this is a quote from you. And I quote, this is going to make it a whole lot easier for everybody because we know... And that's after the vote on Bill 122. And here's a quote from your Premier. And I quote, it is my responsibility, like whatever fires I need, to light under our folks to get the deal and get it in a way that fits our parameters. And I quote, Minister, clearly the two-tiered train wreck of a bargaining system is not working. I think the Premier should be lighting the fire under you. And if you're afraid of the heat, you should resign immediately. You being mystified... You being mystified is not helping our parents and teachers. Are you attending on ignoring these strikes and negative impacts right through to the end of the school year, Minister? Do you see it, please? Thank you, Minister. I actually have a question for the member opposite. I'd like to know who he thinks it is shouldn't be at the central table. Is it the government shouldn't be there because we supply the money? Is it the school board shouldn't be there? There the employers. Is it the teacher union shouldn't be there? That was the way you wanted it. You just wanted to take over and not have the teacher unions there. Just who is it that you wouldn't have at the central table? Tell me that. I will also remind all members, all members, that third-person discussion through the chair, by going through the speaker, we resist the temptation to elevate the temperature. I remind you all. New question, the leader of the third party. Thank you, Speaker. I'd like to begin by congratulating Rachel Notley and her victory in Alberta. Major impacts for families and businesses throughout Northern Ontario. So my question is, how many... Stop the clock. All members have a right to put a question that I can hear and an answer that I can hear. Please. Selling off hydro will have major impacts for families and businesses throughout Northern Ontario speaker. So my question is, how many committee hearings will the Premier hold in Northern Ontario on her privatization budget and her Hydro-1 sell-off? Thank you. The leader of the third party knows that there are six days of hearings which is exponentially more than previous parties have had on budget hearings. She also knows that the changes that we are making as a result of the recommendations that Ed Clark and his panel brought forward are being made because we know that we need to invest in infrastructure. Now, the leader of the third party apparently doesn't believe that investing in the roads and the bridges that are needed in the North should be a priority. She doesn't believe that expanding Highway 1117 is important. She doesn't believe, Mr. Speaker, that building bridges in Northern Ontario is important. We know that it is, Mr. Speaker. that we can make those investments and that's why we're making the changes and assets that we are, Mr. Speaker. We think that it would be a good thing if she supported us in those investments. Thank you. Never will a new Democrat support the sell-off of our public assets, families and businesses throughout Southwestern Ontario. So my question to the Premier is will she have committee hearings in Southwestern Ontario on her privatization budget on Highway 11? Free Budget and Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs where those hearings were held, Mr. Speaker, in advance of the budget. Windsor, London, Toronto, Mississauga, Cambridge, Ottawa, Fort Francis, Sudbury, Ottawa, Cornwall, Fort Erie, Toronto, London, Mr. Speaker. So in fact, there has been a conversation with people across this province in the lead up to the budget, Mr. Speaker. There will be six days of hearings. Mr. Speaker, that anyone from around the province can delegate to or can feed into, Mr. Speaker. So in fact, there has been a very clear and robust conversation with the people of Ontario, and we will continue to have that conversation going forward. Mr. Speaker, unfortunately the Premier's litany list of places that they visited not once did anybody here that they were planning to sell off Hydro-1 in those free budget areas. In the businesses and people throughout eastern Ontario, Speaker. So my question to the Premier is how many committee hearings will the Premier hold in eastern Ontario on her privatization budget and the sell off of Hydro-1? Mr. Speaker, you know what the lead of the third party never talks about is the impact, if we do not make the investments that we are proposing, Mr. Speaker, if we do not invest in the roads and the bridges and the transit that are so desperately needed, Mr. Speaker. The leader of the third party also doesn't talk about the fact that we ran on this, Mr. Speaker. The text of our budget says this, Mr. Speaker, and I quote, the government will look at maximizing and unlocking value from assets it currently holds, including real estate holdings as well as crown corporations such as Ontario Power Generation, Hydro-1, and the liquor control board of Ontario, Mr. Speaker. When you ran on that, it was in our budget, it was in our platform, Mr. Speaker. We've been very clear that we needed to use the assets that are owned by the people of Ontario. Thank you. New question. The leader of the third party. The next question is also for the Premier. The Premier knows very well that she did not run on selling Hydro-1. She just admitted it yet again, Mr. Speaker. And yesterday she said we ran on our assets. So my question is, does the Premier think that reviewing assets and selling Hydro-1 are exactly the same thing? Well, Mr. Speaker, what I think of the same thing is what we said, which was we were going to look at the assets that are owned by the people of Ontario, and we were going to work to maximize those assets to make sure that we could have the money to invest in new assets, Mr. Speaker. That's exactly what Ed Clark and his panel have done. That's what we ran on, so we're doing exactly what we said we were going to do. But, Mr. Speaker, the leader of the third party has no plan to make the investments that we have said we're committed to. She has no plan for investing in transit, Mr. Speaker. She puts forward no options in investing in the roads and the bridges that are needed in this province, Mr. Speaker. So we have the responsibility as government to grow this economy, and part of that, Mr. Speaker, investment in infrastructure, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker. You've seen it, please. Thank you. The cost of hydro has major impacts on the family budget. It has major impacts on job management. The sell-off will impact both of those things. It will impact economic growth. It will impact productivity. It is a huge big deal, Speaker. Now, the Premier was not up front in May of 2014, and she doesn't want to hear from the people in May of 2015. Why is the Premier trying to shut out the people who will be paying the price for her wrong decision for generations to come? Mr. Speaker, the leader of the third party knows full well that the regulatory protections that are in place today will be in place once we move in terms of broadening of the ownership for hydro one, Mr. Speaker. She knows that full well. She knows that the Ontario Energy Board sets prices today. She knows they will set prices Remember from Hamilton East, Stony Creek, second time. She knows that those regulatory protections are in place. She also knows that retaining 40% ownership, Mr. Speaker, by the government, that that is the protection that must stay in place for the people of the province. I think she also knows that investment in infrastructure is critical, but she has no plan to do that and she has no alternatives to bring forward, Mr. Speaker, and we have the responsibility to make those investments. Premier of the province would have a responsibility to be up front with Ontarians about her plan to sell off hydro one, but she will still not use that word. She will not use the word sell. She didn't run on selling hydro one and everybody knows it, Speaker. I have some suggestions for the Premier. If the Premier doesn't want to consult with Ontarians, perhaps she could broaden public input or perhaps she could unlock Ontarians ideas or maybe maximize public participation or review what Ontarians have to say. Speaker, you don't have to call them public hearings. She doesn't have to call them public hearings. Will the Premier actually listen to Ontarians in whatever way she wants to call it but just stop the sell-off of hydro one before it is too late? Thank you. Tina, please. Thank you. Premier. Minister of Energy. Mr. Speaker, first of all, a 2014 budget said specifically we would study repurposing assets including our energy agencies, Mr. Speaker. It was clear and strategic about selling off, selling off, selling off. Mr. Speaker, the legislation states the minister on behalf of Her Majesty and the right of Ontario shall not sell, dispose of or otherwise divest any common shares of hydro one ink. If the sale, disposal or divestment would result in the minister on behalf of Her Majesty and the right of Ontario owning a number of common shares that is less than 40% We also have provisions in governance, Mr. Speaker that give two thirds requires two thirds permission to make significant decisions moving forward. So we still have control, Mr. Speaker. And most importantly we are investing in assets which they will not, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question is as well to the Premier. The government and the third party can wax philosophical about whether or not we're going to sell public assets. The member from Bessex second time. Carry on. The government reached a deal with the power workers union on the 14th of April. That was two days before the release of the Clark report nine days before the provincial budget provincial budget which by the way did not include any increase in infrastructure funding and secondly you only decided that you were going to pay down the debt after the leader of the official opposition pointed out that it was the law. These shares that means were bargained away before the public knew anything about the sale of Hydro-1. Isn't it true that the government is not concerned with funding infrastructure from this deal? Nor is it prepared to pay down the debt. It's actually to sell off shares to fund pension plans. The question is who's next. Thank you. Premier. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have made it clear in the budget of 2014 in the economic statement of 2014 as well we made it clear in our platform when we ran for reelection and we made it clear in this budget as to what we are doing and yes we are dealing with all stakeholders that are involved. We are consulting with many Ontarians. We have done so for the past almost two years Mr. Speaker in regards to what are we going to do to invest in infrastructure, invest in transit, invest in the things competitive long term and reinvest those holdings that we have to make even more money for the people of Ontario including Mr. Speaker those that work in the very industries that we're talking about we want everybody to be at their best. Negotiations are underway, ratification has not occurred but I can tell you this Mr. Speaker it is a net zero deal all of us are going to benefit from what we are doing going forward. Thank you. I'll go back to Premier on this because I think it's important that the Premier take responsibility for what the government is doing and how it's communicating to the public in this province. They never intended to sell Hydro 1 to fund infrastructure or to pay down the debt. In fact we now know with the secret deal that occurred on April 14th the real profits that were going toward the Hydro 1 sale were intended to go to pay off a pension plan in order to buy labour peace the question then becomes who's next nurses or is it teachers going to benefit from the sale of Hydro 1 certainly not the taxpayers that's why Speaker I think it's important that as a member from Remfrew Nipissing Pembroke has pointed out the Parliamentary Budget Officer and the Auditor General must review this deal to find out what's exactly in the fine print because we simply do not trust what this Liberal government is doing will you commit? The safe financial accountability officer that the members opposite voted against and Mr. Speaker the very issues that they ran on themselves we have put forward a Trillium Trust that makes it very specific that dollar for dollar that's generated from the maximization of our assets will be reinvested in infrastructure and there is a component it was very clear in a separate lock up for the benefit of understanding what we are proposing to do and that is a component of it does go towards debt so we are being very clear and the member is talking about things that have yet to come to fruition because negotiations are still under way and when they are it will be very transparent and very open and we have been up until this point Mr. Speaker we will continue to do so not only for the benefit of the workers and not only for the benefit of those and ultimately in the broader public that will own a broader ownership of Hydro One but the people of Ontario as well because all of them will be reinvested for the benefit of them and their future Thank you Mr. Speaker my questions to the Premier Premier yesterday the Minister of Education said that class caps are negotiated locally and not talked about at the central table but for weeks she has not been sure why local boards in Durham Rainbow and Peel are on strike Premier maybe your government is so mystified because at one time the Liberals believed to quote Mr. McGinty smaller class sizes allow students to get more of the education they need to learn to read, write and do math at a high level Speaker the teachers have been very clear that this dispute is all about keeping class sizes manageable for the benefit of students Liberal flip-flopping on this issue is quite perplexing Will the Premier finally admit that more than a decade of this government's chronic underfunding of education and flip-flopping on class caps are for students and families to pay the price Minister of Education and I would just simply like to repeat what I said before which is that we are absolutely committed to negotiations I think it's unfortunate that I'm now hearing about issues that might be at the central table one place the local table another place in the elementary and secondary negotiations actually are getting quite confused in the comments that I'm hearing from the opposition when we're talking about early literacy and early numeracy we're talking about making sure that we pay a lot of attention to that at the primary and junior years we've introduced the full day kindergarten program to make sure that we have our children well prepared and I can assure the member that none of the work that we have done with health BK is thank you supplementary I think bill 115 shows the commitment to this government's negotiating the premier and the minister of education seem to call local issues central and central issues local when it's convenient but at the end of the day it's her government that sets the priorities for education the premier's priorities for education are clear cutting $250 million for education this year cutting $6 million from special education and closing 88 good neighborhood schools in response to the labor action forced by these overwhelming cuts the premier and her government have taken to the blame game saying teachers wanted to go on strike will this government stop blaming everyone but themselves and finally take responsibility for creating chaos in our schools thank you to be absolutely clear education funding last year 22.5 billion this year 22.5 billion special education funding has not been cut so the accusations are just simply inaccurate but what is interesting is while we committed 22.5 billion last year and continue to do that the NDP platform was actually to take our numbers and cut 600 million that was the very flimsy platform they were running on it's actually the NDP that promised to cut education funding not the liberals ours is the same the member asked the question new question thank you and my question is to the minister of finance this week is Canadian music week a great time to celebrate our Canadian Ontario musicians such as the members of the cowboys junkie here today to celebrate their contributions to the vibrant and diverse cultural landscapes in the province of Ontario and this year homegrown talent such as kaija lights past junior award Dan Hill who is a constituent or upcoming stars like a band in the beach called the beaches they may well be among the many performers who take the stage this week and Canadian music week speakers a great example of how music performs a key economic driver in Ontario as well as an important part of Ontario's cultural landscape and in addition to great music Canadian music week has an estimated economic impact of approximately 15 million dollars it supports some 230 full time and countless many part time jobs and is bringing tourism to Ontario Canadian music week estimates that over 40% of attendees come from the GT thank you minister of finance well thank you mr. Speaker and I appreciate the member from beaches east york for this very important the two-way dialogue that's going on right in front of the chair is not helpful minister of finance thank you mr. Speaker and once again I'd like to thank the member from beaches east york for a very important question and you should be clapping because Ontario mr. Speaker is home to Canada's largest and one of the world's most diversified music sectors Ontario's music industry represents over 80% of Canada's total music industry revenue and generates over 429 million dollars in revenue for the province every year and our government is committed to strengthening this critical industry we took a strategic step forward to develop the live music industry in Ontario by launching the live music strategy and the Ontario music fund in 2013 which over 19 million in funding has now been provided to support live music industry throughout the music industry through the music fund and celebrate Ontario mr. Speaker now more than 90 unique music festivals across the province have occurred and the Ontario festival of small halls and east to the Kingsville folk music festival in the south west to the Budweisery music festival in the north is creating and generating tremendous support and highlighting the talent in our province mr. Speaker well thank you speaking with all the brew haha on the other side I didn't hear you asked to put the question I appreciate the minister was able to get the gist of it and I thank the minister for his answer now this year my riding of beaches east York six organizations were supported by the Ontario music fund including sing Canada's premier festival featuring acapella music sing will draw performing artists and participants students and general audience from across Ontario go back in the United States to my writing to take part in this extremely unique event and this summer I look forward to attending so many of the festivals taking place in and around the GTA and supporting our music talent in Ontario which is made possible by support of the Ontario music fund including the beaches jazz festival now speaker will the minister please share with our members and the rest of the members of this house how our government is recently strengthened the music fund in the 2015 budget the speaker the Ontario music fund originally announced in the 2013 budget which was by the way opposed by the members opposite is creating a business environment where Ontario artists can thrive while helping the industry become even more competitive nationally and internationally as a result of the fun Ontario sales exports and live music offerings are increasing to continue this growth through the 2015 budget our government if approved can announce that our plan will provide the Ontario music fund a permanent annual $15 million investment together with our partners our goal is to drive economic growth create jobs and ensure Ontario's talent thrives here at home and here's a quote from SEMA president Stuart Johnson it says this the Ontario government's commitment to make the Ontario music fund permanent will give our industry the confidence to invest in Canadian artists for years to come Mr. Speaker we are truly proud of Ontario's outstanding talent thank you all for your great work good question spring is here and with the avenue spring line is again upon us as you know in the gallery are victims like Will Yelland a young man from my riding is in the prime of his life and is having it stripped away by this horrific disease he travels the United States for treatment paying tens of thousands of dollars out of his own pocket others have bankrupted have lost farms treatment of Lyme disease is fraught with conflicting unresolved medical, scientific and political dimensions Premier what will you tell people like Will Yelland up in the gallery and so many others that are here today and across the province of Ontario thank you thank you Mr. Speaker I appreciate the question the member opposite knows I was born and grew up in his riding as well and fully understand the risks of Lyme disease in the long point area and the prevalence across this province it's a very serious problem and as a public health expert as well from a medical perspective I'm more than familiar with the dangers associated with Lyme disease and Mr. Speaker I believe and this government believes that we need a strong evidence based strategy for Lyme disease it's very important to me and that's why not that long ago I and the government we developed a provincial Lyme disease action plan Mr. Speaker and this action plan will ensure very importantly strengthened engagement and collaboration with stakeholders and advocates and it will promote a close alignment of Lyme initiatives at the federal and the provincial and local levels this action plan Mr. Speaker I'll talk about it more in the supplementary but it is very action oriented and that will be clear in just several moments thank you and again premier there are allegations shortcomings in the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease directed both at mainstream medicine and at your government social media as well has been accused of creating inaccurate medical information and pitches for dubious treatment some in the United States we have government for a reason for province wide surveillance education we need guidelines for prevention identification and management of this disease all members of this legislature have agreed voting for a private members bill voting for a motion again premier you have a majority you have the power what can your administration tell these people today thank you minister thank you Mr. Speaker and what I can say today is that we are acting on the recommendations that we've been provided in terms of this action plan where we're going to I've asked a number of months ago Public Health Ontario to establish a Lyme disease stakeholder group to review the existing educational outreach opportunities in the province Mr. Speaker this action plan very specific includes a review and update of existing public awareness materials guidance documents including a review of testing diagnosis and treatment protocols based on the latest evidence and science Mr. Speaker prevention tick surveillance protocols basically the entire spectrum of what we need to do to develop a renewed strategy in this province comprehensive one which will effectively deal with this serious problem which I should add as well the member opposite responsible for the environment and climate change thank you reminded me of with climate change this is thank you thank you speaker my question is to the premier the film and TV industry in our province is growing the world leader it now generates 1.8 billion dollars a year creating 31,000 full-time jobs 31,000 jobs speaker but in the budget the government cut the tax credit that industry banks on reliable and stable tax credits are what the global film industry looks for in a jurisdiction but that's not even half of it speaker the cuts will be immediate if you're shooting on a production now I feel this government promised well too bad you're good not getting that money what's worse the producers weren't consulted there was no warning speaker speaker why didn't this government consult this major industry thank you Mr. Speaker we're very proud in the side of the house to support the film industry in Ontario and we recognize how important it is to our economy as well it is why Ontario continue to be the most generous in all of Canada to support the industry and we do work closely with them recognizing how effective it is in providing not only more jobs and create more economic activity it also enables the province to showcase itself around the world to the extent that we are a good and dynamic place to do business but it's passing strange from the NDP to ask a question about providing support for business all the time they're asking us to cut supports to cut loopholes not to provide for that and all of a sudden they are on side so Mr. Speaker Ontario will continue to provide tax credits to the film industry and we will continue to work with them remember from Kitchener Waterloo's second time supplementary against business in Alberta Hollywood speaker Hollywood noticed this big time production companies employing thousands are now actively talking and contacting Toronto about taking their billion dollar businesses elsewhere they are calling this government cuts a bait and switch because they weren't consulted when this film industry leaves they call it burning a jurisdiction evidence suggests it takes 10 years for a jurisdiction to bounce back speaker it sounds like this is a one size fits all treasury board decision done without consideration or consultation so my question is will the premier at least grandfather the changes to the film industry's tax cuts so the productions already there are not and will continue minister we remain committed to growing our cultural industries and the film industry so the key to that success by the way is sustainable tax credits focus on keeping Ontario the best place to invest and do business most competitive and through the 2015 budget we're continuing to support our creative industries through the Ontario music fund which now receives a permanent annual 15 million dollar investment or more than $439 million in the 2015-16 budget for our cultural media tax credits as well as $6 million in 2015-16 and a 10 million a year starting in 2016-17 in a renewed interactive digital media fund the Ontario film and television tax credits will save our domestic producers $7 million annually as well we will foster economic growth we will continue to lead support a film industry in Canada and we'll work closely with our industry partners throughout thank you thank you Mr. Speaker my question is for the minister of citizenship, immigration and international trade this government has made it a priority to increase trade and investment to grow the economy now my writing of Halton has a diverse and thriving economy that would benefit significantly from opening markets around the world for small and medium sized companies Mexico is one of our NAFTA partners and is Ontario's fifth largest source of exports and third largest importer many businesses and academics see Mexico not only as an existing trade partner but also as a market for Ontario's expertise in energy life sciences and infrastructure to name a few Minister how is this government working to strengthen Ontario's relationship with Mexico in order to increase investment and economic opportunity throughout the province great question thank you minister thank you Speaker and I want to thank the member from Halton for asking a question about trade, Speaker just last week I was in Mexico I had some good news to bring forward in 2008 Ontario opened an international market center in Mexico City this center has just been recognized by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Mexico with an outstanding business award for the effort to improve trade and investment between Ontario and Mexico and I want to congratulate our SEO Trinnell Ramsey for her outstanding work in Mexico City secret while in Mexico City and Guadalajara the city that hosted the last Pan Am game I was able to promote Ontario as a number one destination for foreign direct investment in North America a proud legacy of this government and our premier thank you Speaker thank you for the update Minister I'm pleased to hear that your trade mission to Mexico was so successful now according to the conference board of Canada every 100 million dollar increase in exports creates approximately 1000 new jobs for Ontarians this is great news for businesses in my writing that depend on exporting goods for their economic prosperity with the success in Mexico I'm sure we can expect many new opportunities for the people of our province Speaker would the minister be able to tell us how he envisions Ontario's future with respect to trade and investment and we need to take concrete steps to ensure increase economic growth in Ontario our premier knows that the key to improving Ontario's economic future lies in trade and investment using Ontario diversity to leverage international markets present us with unique opportunity to increase diversity this is why along with many of my cabinet colleagues have land missions focused in the area of agriculture, energy, research and technology just to never feel to Ontario's priority trade markets we will continue to open and diversify Ontario's trade portfolio and leverage opportunities such as the pan American international market. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. My question is to the minister of municipal affairs and housing minister early this week it was announced that the wait list for affordable housing in Ontario has reached a record high. It's now over 168,000 families. We've been ringing the alarm bell since last year about the money intended for social housing being distributed. You said you shared some of our concerns. According to the documents from your ministry the draft report from the third party review of the HSC was due on April 10th and the final report no later than April 24th. Minister, will you be transparent and release the report to the legislature today? Thank you. Minister of municipal affairs and housing. Well, Mr. Speaker, when we get to the generic part of the question the lack of affordable housing and social housing is a problem and it's a serious concern. It's one we take seriously and it's one that's best solved by working in partnership with other levels of government. Now I know the official opposition's idea of partnership was to download all the housing partners. To a very great extent they're doing a wonderful job and we're going to continue to work with our municipal partners to move the social housing file forward with our expert panel on homelessness and some other initiatives. It would sure be nice to have a government player at the table and I think you know who I'm talking about. Minister enough is enough you've been using the review as an excuse to stall for months but while you've been waiting for that report the waiting list for social housing just keeps on growing will you commit to make the report public when you finally receive it but start today to help those 186 68,000 families who are waiting for housing by allowing social housing providers to opt out of paying the inflated prices to the housing services corporation. Quit stalling and quit giving the money away and build housing. Minister well Mr. Speaker we're working every single day to move these issues forward that's why recognizing the serious challenge we set up the expert panel on homelessness and they're doing some great work they'll be reporting very soon that's also why we convinced the federal government to renew the affordable housing strategy which will see $810 million invested. It's also why we're engaged right now we kicked it off the long term affordable housing strategy we want to make sure we get it right and that's what stakeholders in the field are telling us we need to do and of course we've increased the chippy funding which is our municipal partners to more faithfully and helpfully respond to the very real needs facing concerns across our province. Thank you. Do you have a question? Thank you Mr. Speaker my question is to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care Minister may his Lyme disease Awareness Month and a time to remember the thousands of Canadians who are affected or suffering with Lyme disease. The 2015 tick season has begun and doctors and veterinarians have already begun removing ticks from people and animals across the province. We are going on six months since my motion calling for a provincial strategy for Lyme disease passed unanimously in the house can the Minister please provide me with all our guests with an update on your progress with this Lyme prevention strategy Minister of Health long-term care Thank you Mr. Speaker I appreciate the question from the member opposite and I should start by saying that we've launched an action plan which covers virtually every aspect of this important disease and I know the third party despite what the opposition their denials I know the third party agrees that with climate change and increasing temperatures it actually is becoming worse it's more serious it's more pressing that doesn't take away from the urgency to deal with this appropriately and Public Health Ontario is reviewing our 2012 technical report on Lyme disease prevention and control I mentioned that our action plan already underway includes a review of the testing the diagnosis the treatment protocols based on the best evidence available in the United States the infectious disease society of America the American College of Rheumatology the Academy of Neurology are currently working on new guidelines that will inform our work as well but most importantly and I appreciate the fact that the stakeholders the advocates are here today I will continue to meet with them and benefit from their advice and their expertise to guide us on developing this new strategy supplementary Minister I get to the minister a critical component in the development of Ontario's Lyme strategy is the consultation with the stakeholders named in the motion all of whom have joined us here today if the stakeholders that will speak for patients are not consulted we will get absolutely no changes made to Lyme education testing and treatment and patients will continue to suffer the clock is ticking minister when will these stakeholders be called together and consulted in order to develop Ontario's Lyme disease strategy you've had almost six months look around minister do you see all the people your so called to action plan has taken no action these people have traveled great distances to having their voices heard how much longer do these people have to suffer until we finally take actions on Lyme disease thank you minister well Mr. Speaker the member opposite knows very well that this and he's not portraying it as this at all this is a non-partisan issue and I want to speak to the the individuals the stakeholders the advocates the those that suffer from Lyme disease that are here with us today and I appreciate the seriousness of this disease and I commit to working with you now and going forward it was specific to my request that I asked Public Health Ontario to develop a standalone Lyme disease stakeholder group to work with us on an ongoing basis as we develop this strategy and I intend to make sure that we constantly and on an ongoing basis are benefiting from your advice this is an extremely difficult issue and I appreciate more than anything else the pain and suffering that many of these individuals have to endure and I know as well that they feel that the government and primary care providers haven't necessarily been there to the degree that they should have been at that difficult moment in time I commit to them to working with them to develop a strategy thank you minister thank you speaker my question is for the minister of community and social services today we're very pleased to have Family Ontario with us here in the legislature Family Service Ontario and its member agency play an integral role in this government's efforts to address violence against women and our transformers transformation of Ontario's developmental services system Family Service Ontario represents approximately 45 not-for-profit member agencies across Ontario that provide community-based mental health services and programs to over 250 thousand individuals and families annually from every age group and socioeconomic status one of these agencies is located in my riding of Cambridge Family Counseling Centre of Cambridge and North Dumfries offers counseling and outreach services for women and families in a safe, caring and respectful environment minister can you please elaborate on the important work that Family Service Ontario does to support Ontarians and how your ministry supports them in this community of social services Thank you Mr Speaker and to the member from Cambridge for the question as the member has said the work of Family Services Ontario or FSO and their agencies touches thousands of Ontarians and helps to make the lives of the people they serve better through funding provided by my ministry FSO agencies provide intensive counseling and therapy for survivors of sexual abuse and family violence they have designed effective and timely early intervention counseling services for male perpetrators to keep women and children safe from domestic violence they also offer programs for children and adults with developmental disabilities and caregiver respite services and supports the services provided by FSO and their member agencies are vital I value the work done by FSO and will continue to work closely with them in order to support Ontarians in need Answer, thank you Supplementary Thank you minister clearly this government and your ministry value the work that Family Service Ontario does to support some of our most vulnerable individuals with the recent investments in the developmental services sector and specifically towards the passport program I'm hearing about the progress for individuals and families in my community some of whom I provided care for in the past as a care coordinator for CCAC In fact since last fall 6,000 people have been approved for new passport funding almost half the budget target of 13,000 which was expected to take four years the passport program offers direct funding for individuals and their families to use for services that Family Service Ontario agencies offer the work that FSO does to support families in a variety ways is crucial today FSO here in the legislature for an exciting announcement Minister can you share the details of this news with the House please Thank you Mr Speaker and as part of the government's ongoing efforts to reduce violence against women and most recently with the premier's launch of it's never okay an action plan to stop sexual violence and harassment it's clear we are committed to working with this sector building on the work of the action plan we will be funding a two year pilot Family Service Ontario this project will explore the effectiveness of joint counselling for couples in lower risk situational couple violence and whether early intervention might lead to a prevention of future domestic violence this pilot will serve 100 couples who do not have the means to pay three pilot sites will be established one northern one rural and one urban and a focus will be placed on serving the aboriginal community as well as families I thank Family Service Ontario for their hard work and for being at Queen's Park today Thank you Premier Premier the members of our Canadian Armed Forces make a commitment to our country that is virtually unparalleled when they join up they know that there is a very good chance they may be asked to fight on behalf of their country to put their lives in danger willingly and unreservedly however when they are ready to leave the forces or have to leave due to a medical condition they often don't have the easiest time finding new employment Premier this afternoon I will be introducing a private members bill the Veterans Employment Act that will allow current and past members of the Canadian Forces to be able to apply on a priority basis for Ontario government jobs provided they are qualified Premier you stand with me and support the principle of hiring veterans in the Ontario Public Service Thank you Premier I want to thank the member opposite for the question and also to thank him for his current and past advocacy for members of the Canadian Forces I know that all members in this house value the hard work and the dedication of the Canadian Forces and the sacrifices that members of the Forces make we are open to exploring any options Mr. Speaker that would demonstrate that value that we place on the Forces we know that the experiences and training and the skills of the Forces are valuable they are valuable here in Ontario and so I haven't seen the bill I haven't seen what the amendments to the Public Service Act but certainly we are open to looking at those Mr. Speaker Thank you Thank you Premier Premier the average age of Canadian Armed Forces Regular and Reserve Force personnel at release is 37 on average there are 7600 Canadian Armed Forces Regular and Reserve Force personnel who leave the military each year both the government of Canada and the province of New Brunswick have recently released excuse me legislation that provides for priority hiring of veterans in their public services as we are about to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe I cannot think of a more fitting time to consider how we can help the veterans of today so rather than a question Premier I'm going to thank you for your response and hope that we can work together on moving this legislation forward I welcome you to even the legislation as a liberal idea that would be fine with me Thank you Premier Mr. Speaker and as I say look forward to looking at the amendments to the Public Service of Ontario Act but I want to just take this opportunity to talk about some of the things that we have done that I think are in the same spirit that the member has in his advocacy has brought forward so we passed legislation that eliminates the 90 day OHIP waiting period for military families to ensure that they have immediate access to quality health care we amended the Employment Standards Act to create job protection provisions for military reservists who are called to serve we introduced veterans license plates to recognize the dedication and commitment made by past and current veterans available free of charge and in 2007 Ontario designated the portion of Highway 401 and the Don Valley Parkway as the Highwood Heroes so all of those things are consistent with the spirit of the private members The Associate Minister of Finance on a point of order Thank you Speaker I would like to take this time to introduce my intern Alexandra Sherwin welcome Thank you there being no deferred votes this house is recessed until 3pm this afternoon