 last call for introductions. It is now time for Question Period, the member from Prince Edward Hastings. Thank you and good morning Mr. Speaker. My question this morning is for the minister responsible for the Pan Am Games. Minister, in my hand I have the financial section of the TO 2015 bid book. Nowhere in this is there an actual line by line cost of the project associated with the Pan Am and Parapan Games. Your ministry and TO 2015 officials keep promising that the projects are on budget and that they're on time, which is pretty easy to say when you don't provide a budget outlining the line by line for these costs. Your government really has no intention on being transparent minister. Minister, where's the publicly available TO 2015 budget so the taxpayers can actually see how much these games are going to cost them? Minister responsible for the Pan Am. Thank you Mr. Speaker and I want to thank the member opposite for this opportunity to really talk about the great things that are happening in Ontario, especially the Pan Am Games that are taking place next year. Thank you. Finish please. As the member knows, these games are the most transparent games in the history of any sporting event in this country. In fact, these games are put under the Freedom of Information Act. You can access that information through an FOI. We've had two technical briefings. In fact, I think both critics in the past have attended one of them, but we have had two technical briefings and we will go forward with another technical briefing very soon before the fall hits. We're very proud of these games. Thank you. Supplementary. It's quite a statement, Mr. Speaker. I'm sure the media would love to see the budget. I know taxpayers would love to see the line by line budget. Minister, quite honestly, your excuse is for the venues so far. We're talking about the Tim Horton Stadium, which is the new home of the Hamilton Tiger Cats. Eventually, it was late. It's not on time. It's not on budget, but your excuse for why it was late was because of winter. Here's a news flash for you. We're building projects in Canada and winter does happen here. Minister, in order to host these games, you had to sign over 25 different memorandums of understanding with new or retrofitted venues. In this bid book, it says that the venues are going to cost $75 million. We know that the Hamilton Stadium has cost over $100 million. Question. Will you commit—that's just one, by the way. Will you commit to tabling all the signed MOUs in the legislature so that taxpayers— I stand, you sit. Minister? Well, thank you, Mr Speaker. What the member opposite won't tell you is that we are $50 million under budget when it comes to our venues. Here in the province of Ontario, thank you to Infrastructure Ontario for bringing us under budget. That's 10% under budget than what we originally—and you know what? If you want to get into details about venues, let me go through a few of these venues, Mr Speaker. Today, I am so proud to announce that the Aquatic Centre at Scarborough University of Toronto campus is complete. It's officially being handed over. Minister Speaker, that was slated for $248.9 million. You know what the cost is? $205 million. I'm going to go to the House of Nantes and celebrate what we're doing when it comes to the Pan Am Games. Because it is the largest multi-store service in the history of not only this city, not only this province, but this entire country. You should be proud. Thank you. You say it, please. Thank you. Mr Speaker, the tryouts for the Toronto cheerleading teams were last week. They were last week. There's no reason to cheer about these games and everybody out there knows it. Minister, let me just remind you that your government lowballed the orange cost. Order. Finish, please. Minister, your government lowballed the cost of orange. It took the Auditor General to get to the truth. You originally said the cost of the gas plant scandal was 5% of what the Auditor General showed the final cost as being. Is it going to take calling in the Auditor General to find out how much these games are actually going to cost? Because you're not being open and you're not being transparent in sharing the actual cost of the games. Are you going to stall? Are you going to slap a final price tag on the games and then tell the people of Ontario that these games are on budget after it's too late to do anything about it? Thank you. Good question. Minister. Thank you, Mr Speaker. And again, I have to say we've had the most transparent games in the history of any sporting event in this entire country. We have had technical briefings on two occasions and I think the opposition member who's responsible for the file before only attended one of the two. We will have another one and I invite you to join me. But let's go through this list of other events and see where they are. Mr Speaker, we have the Athletic Stadium at York University. It was originally budgeted for $52.9 million. I can report that the cost is $45.9 million. So that's under budget. Mr Speaker, these guys across, the opposition members will tell you when things are going back, but they won't say when things are going good. And these games are going well. We're under budget when it comes to our infrastructure. And then you just stand up and compliment this government for it. Thank you. Good question. Members from Duffer and Callaghan. Thank you, Mr Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Education. Minister, a chart prepared by your own ministry shows huge discrepancies between the funds given to the 72 school boards across Ontario to assist students with special needs. In my own writing, the Upper Grand District School Board and the Peel Board of Ed both received some of the lowest per funding for students at $365 and $339, compared to some boards receiving well over $1,000. Minister, we all understand that a student with a learning disability will need similar resources to succeed, regardless of where they live in Ontario. Can you please explore why there is such a massive variance in the resources allocated to students with special needs in different parts of the province? Well actually, no, start the clock. The member from Hamilton East Stony Creek and the member from England and Lawrence will take their conversation somewhere else other than this house. Finish, please. Yes, thank you very much. I'm very pleased to respond to the question. We are now spending $2.5 billion on special education in this province. And special education is relatively unique in our funding model in that boards must spend all the money allocated for special needs students on special education. But in fact, the vast majority of that money, the biggest chunk of that money, is allocated on a per pupil basis so that you count the number of pupils in Upper Grand and allocate a per pupil amount. It's known as SEPIS, the special ed per pupil amount. So the bulk of that $2.5 billion is on a per pupil basis. Thank you. Minister, arguments like that don't hold water because Peele is getting $300 and there are boards that are getting $1,600. It's not there, it's not equitable. Regardless of where you live in Ontario, you should appreciate, you should expect that your government will assist your child with a special need. The Libs have been in power for more than a decade and it's time that you take responsibility for the students languishing on these wait lists. No amount of justification or talking or explanation can justify the current funding model where a school board is given $1,600 per student while others, like students in Dufferin and Peele region, receive less than 20% of that amount. Your budget doesn't address this inequity and families are tired of being told there's no resources to help their son or daughter with a special need. When is this government going to admit there is a problem and what steps are you taking to address the problem? Surely the member has it wrong. The budget and the grants for students need to address this problem, which is that the high needs amount has in fact been a subject of concern. We struck a working group. The working group composed of special needs and its school administrators, folks from all over the province suggested a new funding model for the high needs amount. And the budget this year, the grants for student needs in fact are implementing a gradual transition to a high needs funding amount, which what I would point out the chair of the Peele district school board said is a great improvement and thank us for implementing a new funding model for a high needs amount for special education. Thank you. Final supplementary. I don't think parents and children who need special needs are interested in a lecture. I think they're interested in some action. It's not in the budget. I've looked at it. You've talked about full day learning. You've not talked about actually solving that inequity where certain boards get over five times what other boards get. Another waiting list that's plaguing children with special needs is access to assessment. As you know, a formal assessment is the key to receiving services students need to thrive. It gives them a legal right to services or a right to wait on another waiting list. People for Education's 2014 report on special education includes quotes from principals who mention a three year wait for an assessment. I have parents calling my office. They have to make a choice between waiting three years for board assessments or paying for private assessments at a cost of $3,000. It's simply out of reach for most Ontario families. Will you address the wait time for assessments, the wait time for services and finding inequities between boards? I find it very surprising that the member opposite having identified an issue which was a difficult allocation of the high needs amount and saying why don't you fix it when we point out that we are in the process of fixing it and in fact are in the process of implementing a new model for high needs then turns around and says well that doesn't matter I don't care. We're doing exactly what the member asked us to do and in fact the Peel District School Board has an action that we are addressing the problem that we identified. So I don't know how on earth we make the member opposite happy if he identifies a problem and we're in fact fixing it. Thank you. Thank you. New question for me of the third party. Thank you speaker. My question is for the Premier. Does the Premier think the LCBO headquarters and GM shares combined are worth $3.15 billion? Minister of Finance. No, Mr. Speaker, it's not. New question. Last speaker, the Premier's plan counts on at least $3.15 billion from assets and so the LCBO headquarters and the GM shares are worth significant sums but certainly not $3.15 billion as the Finance Minister has just acknowledged. So the question is an obvious one. Where's the money coming from, Speaker? So Mr. Speaker, that's why we have Mr. Clark and the council and doing their work reviewing effectively and appropriately the values of our Crown Corporations, our assets and how we can basically we're talking about looking at those products. The member just spoke about real estate and shares and companies where we're not getting the most productivity and the best value for our taxpayer to do an asset swap to find better ways to invest it. Would you rather have shares of GM that are there as a passive investor or would you rather us build a subway? Do you want us to have real estate holdings in downtown Toronto or do you want us to build an LRT? Do you want us to have roads and bridges up in the north or do you want us to hold on to real estate in Hamilton in your own riding? We are trying to make it more productive and more effective for the people of this province for the long term and for across the road. The Liberals are holding a blind auction where the public are the only ones who are being left in the dark. On the one hand they've already been asking have an asking price of $3.15 billion speaker and on the other hand they won't tell the public what's for sale. Is it the LCBO? Is it Hydro One? Apparently no one will say but someone's clearly done the math speaker. Why is the Premier and her finance minister refusing to tell Ontarians the whole story about their fire sale of public assets? We're not refusing to tell anything. We're actually trying to put it in the budget. We're making it clear that we're going to be reviewing assets. We're going to be reviewing the operations of our Crown corporations. We're going to ensure that we maximize its value and provide greater dividends for the province of Ontario and for the taxpayer. And the Council's principles are as follows. One, the public interest must remain paramount and protected. Decisions must be aligned to maximize value for Ontarians. And the decision process will remain transparent, professional and independently validated. What we want is to ensure that we're maximizing the values of the operations of our assets and ensure that we do better than we've been. You could put your head in the sand and pretend that there's no need but there is. There's always a requirement for us to do more. My next questions are to the Premier about Liberal promises, frankly. The Liberal plan is good news for auto insurance companies, but let's talk about what that means for families. Yesterday the Minister of Finance refused to commit to this year's target for getting auto insurance rates under control. As the Liberals can't keep their target this year, the question is, can the Premier tell drivers whether they'll ever see the 15% savings in auto insurance rates? Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. And the fact is that auto insurance rates on average are down more than 5%, Mr Speaker. And the leader of the third party's own candidates made comments during the election that they were getting better auto rates, Mr Speaker. The fact is, we are on track. We have committed to a 15% reduction. And had we been able to pass the legislation that would have taken further costs out of the system, we would be farther along. But we will reintroduce that legislation, Mr Speaker. But here, in terms of the impact of our budget on families, I think that the leader of the third party knows perfectly well that personal support workers will receive more money and wages, Mr Speaker, as a result of our budget. The families of personal support workers will be supported, Mr Speaker. Childcare modernization, Mr Speaker, and investments in early learning will make an impact on people's lives, Mr Speaker. Well, Speaker, families are in fact wondering exactly what the Liberal plan does mean for them. There is a growing chorus, Speaker, of economists, of editorialists, of bond-rating agencies who are raising red flags about the Liberal's ability to keep their promises and pay the bills. That puts important services in this province, Speaker, like health care and education at risk. With this in mind, why does the Premier think now is the right time to open up new loopholes for CEOs to write off their luxury expenses in this province? So, Mr Speaker, here's what I think it's time for. It's time for us to get our budget passed so that we can move on implementing $2.5 billion in jobs and prosperity found over the next 10 years, Mr Speaker. To help businesses like Ubisoft that I was at this morning with the Minister of Economic Development and Employment and with the member for Davenport, that has created 300 jobs, 330 jobs, Mr Speaker, since 2010 by partnering with government. I think it's time to invest $130 billion in public infrastructure, Mr Speaker. I think it's time to invest $11.4 billion in hospital expansions and redevelopments. I think it's time to start developing a made in Ontario retirement pension plan. It's time to increase the Ontario child benefit. It's time to invest $810 million in developmental services, Mr Speaker. And it's time to expand low-income health benefits. All of that's in our budget, Mr Speaker. It's time to implement those things. Final supplementary. Mr Speaker, the Liberals promise to make the tough choices, but the bottom line is that this budget opens up new loopholes for CEOs while people who work hard every day and play by the rules are finding that life is getting harder and harder instead of easier. Now, is that what the Premier had in mind, Speaker, when she said difficult choices have to be made? How exactly difficult was it for this Premier to choose CEOs over everyday families? Well, Mr Speaker, we clearly have not done that. And the leader of the third party knows that. What we have done is we have brought back a budget to this legislature that would put $50 million in place for a new local poverty reduction fund. We've brought back a budget that, as I have said, would increase wages for personal support workers, would put new funding in place for long-term care homes, would support in vitro fertilization funding, would expand mental health and addictions, Mr Speaker, would put in place a comprehensive Aboriginal action plan, Mr Speaker, and would invest billions in retrofits in our schools, Mr Speaker. That's what our budget has put forward, Mr Speaker. Those are the things that we will implement. And I know that the leader of the third party understands that and is looking for every reason not to support our budget, Mr Speaker, but there is a long, long list of reasons that she should be supporting this budget, Mr Speaker. Do you have a question? The member from Kitchener-Prime School. Yes, thanks. My question is to the Minister of Labor. Minister, the Labor Board recently dismissed the region of Waterloo's appeal against a Carpenters Union certification bid. And you know what was the defining evidence was, in that case, the region fixed a toilet handle at an addiction center and installed a sign at a bus station. A toilet? Now the region is subject to the same labor rules as a private sector construction company. And as a result, the region is now locked into a labor monopoly. Minister, nobody agrees the system is fair. They know it's broken. That's why they now want the government to live up to its word and seriously consider fixing the Labor Act. So Minister, will you agree to work with me today to restore open tendering in the region of Waterloo? Good idea. Thank you, Speaker. I do thank the Honourable Member for the question. The OLRB has released its final decision in regards to the matter that they were dealing with the Carpenters Union and Waterloo. Mr. Speaker, as you know, the OLRB is an independent quasi-judicial tribunal that we use from time to time in this House. As such, it would be inappropriate for me to comment or to pass judgment on the decisions of the Board. But however, it's important to note, Speaker, that if the municipality is unsatisfied with the Board's decision, they're able to reapply for classification as a non-construction employer. It's that simple, Speaker. The municipality has rights to move ahead in the process. And I would expect that they would ascertain as to whether they will use those rights. We know that, for example, non-construction employer classification was granted to the Windsor-Asset Catholic District School Board and the Independent Electricity System Operator as examples of where organisations have used the rights that they have to get the decision they would like to see. Supplementary? Minister, that's a horrible answer to a question, especially when you come into the region of Waterloo. They've already gone through the process, Minister. They've already gone through the process and they lost. They lost. This isn't a political issue. Because I can tell you it isn't for the thousands of qualified trace people who've been now prevented from working on publicly funded infrastructure in the community where they live, work and pay taxes. This is an issue of fairness. Doesn't seem fair to me. That hard-working men and women in my region want to see the government fix. They don't want to see their elected representatives stand by and allow a loophole in the Labor Relations Act to bar them from working on the very infrastructure that their taxes pay for. Minister, wouldn't you agree that it's only fair to give all qualified trace people an equal opportunity to bid on public infrastructure? Thank you. Thank you, Speaker. On this side of the House, we're very, very proud of our track record. We enjoy labor peace in the province of Ontario. About 97% of collective agreements are solved without any resort to strike or to job action at all. But you know, I'm not surprised that the member from Kitchener, Conestoga, is unhappy with the OLRB's decision because, in fact, what the parties did was they used the rules that were put in place by his party to reach this decision. This isn't something that was bought in by this government. This is something that was bought in by your government. And certainly, if you made a mistake along the way, I'm open to suggestions as to how that might be fixed. But you've got to remember that these are rules that you bought in. You asked the parties to apply those rules. This is a ruling that's been handed down. If you have suggestions as to how we might correct what you obviously think is a mistake of yours, we'd be very, very happy to look at it. Thank you, Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. To be able to trust our health care system and providers, when things go wrong, they want the help of an independent third party that they can trust. But this government refuses to listen to patients to their family and to health care workers. The Liberals' new patient ombudsman very clearly works for the health care system and reports to the Minister. It will be perceived as bias by people who have lost faith in our health care system, abilities to help them. Will the Minister explain why truly independent oversight of our hospital and long-term care home is so unacceptable to this government? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm glad to have another opportunity to say how excited I am about the proposed legislation that contains within it the creation of the position of the patient ombudsman. It's not a position that looks across government in all sectors of society that are important to Ontarians. It's an individual who he or she will be solely responsible for looking at the health care sector, the needs of the patients, the clients, to make sure that individuals and their families are getting the best possible care that we can provide. And this is an individual that won't be housed within government, will be in an agency of government, the most appropriate one, I believe, health quality on Ontario at arms length to the government, producing an annual report which will be made public, which will have quite frankly the power the ombudsman has as well. And the ombudsman, I should add, has oversight of health quality on Ontario where this person resides. The minister says that the patient ombudsman will have the power of the ombudsman, but that's just not the case. The patient ombudsman, for example, does not accept complaints from family members or from NPP, does not accept complaints from ambulance services, health unit or home for special care. It does not investigate decisions or recommendations. It needs a warrant or a consent to enter a facility and it is not an independent officer of this assembly. Your decision is not based on evidence, it is not based on best practice. Why does the minister insist on saying the patient ombudsman is good enough for Ontarian when every other province and territories has ombudsman oversight of their health or system? Well, Minister Speaker, I'm confident that we're actually doing something which is better than those other provinces and territories. It's an individual that's wholly focused on our health care system. And here's what we actually base the legislation on the Ombudsman Act. We consulted with the ombudsman on the creation of this position. Here's what the patient ombudsman will be able to do. We'll be able to investigate both in response to a complaint or initiate his or her own investigation. Like the ombudsman, the patient ombudsman would have the ability to enter premises for the purpose of an investigation, a city to require the production of information and documents in connection with an investigation without entering a premise. Following an investigation, the patient ombudsman would be able to make recommendations not only to the CCAC, the LINZ, the hospital at issue, but also produce a report which is publicly available. And as I mentioned, the patient ombudsman that we consulted with for this position will have oversight of health quality Ontario, which is where this individual will reside. Thank you. New question, members from the Republic of North. Thank you, Mr. President. My question is for the Minister of Development. Thank you, Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Northern Development and Mines, the Honourable Michael Gravelle. My future. So I hope, Minister, that you will not give us a Trojan horse response. Speaker, our government has committed $1 billion for the development of the Ring of Fire. Realising this project's full potential will not only bring thousands of jobs to the north, even Etobicoke north, but will also have a real positive impact across Ontario. That's why getting this project right is essential. Bringing together different proposals from First Nations communities, key mining companies at different levels of government is needed to ensure that this project success. Speaker, my question is this. Can the Minister please inform this House about the 60-day commitment to establish the Ring of Fire Development Corporation? Thank you. A great question from the Government of Etobicoke north. Thank you very much. Congratulations on your victory as well. And certainly, Mr. Speaker, our government is setting very tangible benchmarks so that we can drive smart sustainable development forward in the Ring of Fire. And that is why, as of July the 3rd, when our government laid out our vision during the prone speech, we also marked the beginning of our 60-day commitment to establish the Development Corporation. We recognise the need to facilitate the creation of a business structure that can align interests and advance strategic infrastructure development in the Ring of Fire in a way that benefits all Ontarians. All of our partners will make crucial infrastructure decisions for the Ring of Fire and utilise the $1 billion we created. Our government is going to continue to work with all of our partners to ensure that we meet that 60-day deadline. Our next benchmark in this great project's development. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Supplementary. Thank you, Minister, for the update on the strategy and the initiatives. I think Ontarians appreciate and deserve a clear, sound, strategic plan that will help realise this tremendous opportunity. Speaker, it was some degree of astonishment, however, when I realised the approach that the 3rd party was taking regarding the Ring of Fire. The NDPs seem to demonstrate their inability, perhaps even their incapacity, to provide sound economic policy. Speaker, their recent platform allocated $0, not a nothing, goose egg, butt kiss to the Ring of Fire. To be clear, it wasn't omitted from their platform. The NDP had one line item from the Ring of Fire and it said zero. I'm encouraged, Speaker, that our financial commitment of $1 billion will help build a much-needed transportation infrastructure for this project. Speaker, the Minister speaks about how benchmarking is important. Would he please inform this House about how some of our government's milestones in this essential area of economic development are proceeding? Great question and a very clear point about the very muddled platform commitment by the NDP, which wasn't really there. Speaker, this is a complex project, but with the right mechanisms and the right benchmarks we have and we will keep this project moving forward. Certainly, signing the historic landmark framework agreement with all nine Metallifer states because the Premier win was part of that was a very significant achievement. Committing $1 billion to the Ring of Fire infrastructure is another example of how we are driving this great project forward. And may I say, Mr. Speaker, our 60-day commitment is but another example of our government's strategic approach to realize this multi-generational economic project. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. New question from Paul Hill. Another question to the Minister responsible for the Pan Am Games. On CFRB this past week, I heard the Minister say that he expects GTHA municipalities to reduce traffic congestion by 20% in anticipation of the Pan Am Games next summer. Minister, you are punting responsibility to municipalities you've saddled with these games. By spending money on things like VIP lanes you have lost an opportunity to invest in measures like synchronized traffic lights that would make a real impact on gridlock. Will the Minister tell this House why he has chosen a Band-Aid solution over a plan to improve the lives of millions of Ontarians? Good question. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate that. The Pan Am Games that are going to take place, well, it is Patchy's birthday today. So happy birthday, Patchy. It's his first birthday. So congratulations, Patchy. Pan Am Games are going to be an incredible event. It's going to be broadcast over 300 million people. We'll have over 300,000 people come into the GTA and the Golden Horseshoe to celebrate our athletes not only from Ontario but from right across Canada and from many countries in the Americas. And obviously we're going to have to invest a lot of time and energy into making sure we get our transit right. And I know the Minister responsible for transportation would like to weigh in on this question. But we're going to really bring a lot of excitement here to the province of Ontario. And we're going to do everything we can to support them. And in fact, Mr. Speaker, we're going to have a lot of people from all around the world supporting us. And in fact, the last time we had dignitaries come down, I remember the party opposite turned their back on those countries. Minister, it's hard to get excited about going to see a game when you know you're not going to make it to the game because you're sitting in gridlock. And I can't imagine how the athletes and the officials are going to feel. Your government decided to host these games with no regard for the impact on families and commuters. Now you're telling the GTHA municipalities they're on their own when it comes to gridlock for games you've said will be bigger than the Vancouver Olympics. You've chosen sky-high executive salaries over gridlock improvement measures. Minister, will you apologize to the GTHA taxpayers for the transportation nightmare that's yet to come? Absolutely. Minister, responsible for transportation? Thanks very much, Mr. Speaker, and I thank my colleague, the minister responsible for the Pan Am Games for his opening response but also for his outstanding work on this file. You know, it's interesting, absolutely. I have the pleasure, Speaker, of being the neighboring MPP to the member who's asking this question is someone who's proud to represent a York Region riding. I think it's important to remember the Ministry of Transportation working in conjunction with the other ministries that are affected in a robust plan to make sure that we're able to move not only our regular commuters around the GTHA, but also the athletes, also all of the other volunteers and everyone else who is associated with the Pan Am Games around the entire games area in the most effective, efficient way possible. And I think, Speaker, with about a year left until the games are actually taking place it would make the most sense for the members on all sides of this house to work with us, to work with stakeholders, to work with municipalities and partners to make sure that these games are as successful as they will be. I call on the member opposite to work with us on this. Thanks very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Like many others, our province's mayors, regional chairs and councillors are struggling to understand a fundamental contradiction in this budget. On one hand they're told that the funding to municipalities is going up and on the other hand, when you look at the actual budget you find it includes annual cuts of 6% per year to most ministries in a group that includes municipal affairs and housing. Speaker, the government cannot give and take it away at the same time. Will the minister come clean and tell municipalities how much their programs will be cut? Thank you. That's a great question. Sure. Mr. Speaker, we on this side of the house pride ourselves in the relationship we've been able to develop with the 444 municipalities across Ontario. Indeed. We continue to meet our uploading schedule which neither of the other parties we commit to in the last election which is important for our municipal leaders. But most importantly of all we continue to dialogue with our partners at every opportunity. I'm pleased to stand at this house today Mr. Speaker say the first thing I'm going to do as the new minister is a tour I'm calling the building bridges tour and we're going across Ontario to consult over and above the AMO consultations on issues of importance and in an effort to find how we can work more effective together. Mr. Speaker, table 2.19 on page 244 the budget says something different. Mr. Speaker as the government decides how to cut 6% each year for 3 years lasting budgets by a total of 3 billion per year history shows that municipalities are often an easy target as Brock university professor David Siegel pointed out yesterday municipalities should be very worried with this budget almost 20 years ago Mike Harris figured out that if he cut transfers to municipalities forcing deep cuts to municipal programs municipalities took the blame not the province and municipalities are still suffering those consequences Mr. Speaker will the minister please tell us how much of the 3 billion dollars will be going to municipalities Thank you Mr. Speaker we're continuing with the uploading as all members of this house should know and as our municipal partners expect and appreciate we have a memorandum of understanding with the 444 municipalities which they signed on to which defines the timing of the upload and how that's handled they're happy with that we have since 2014 provided a combined benefit of over 2 billion dollars to municipalities that's over 3 times the level that was in place in 2003 I think we've got a really good record and a good relationship with municipalities and I can pledge to the members of this house that that relationship will continue to improve under this thank you thank you very much it's great to be back my question is for the associate minister of health with responsibility for long term care and wellness and I'd like to congratulate you on your appointment to cabinet finally it's summer here in Ontario and we're spending a lot more time outdoors especially after that long harsh winter that we just experienced and now many families in my writing are spending their weekends at the cottage they're hiking or biking across our beautiful countryside or they're just finding a beach to play on or maybe they're just relaxing at home being outdoors can and should be fun but it also carries some risks families in gpr and across this province are wondering what they can do to protect their kids through you speaker could the minister tell this house how families can enjoy the sun while staying safe thank you associate minister of long term care and health responsible for wellness and thanks to the very hard working member for Glenbury Prescott Russell speaker I want to start by saying how pleased I am that his constituents are out there enjoying the summer and being active and I hope that he will be able to join them soon our government is committed to keeping Ontarians healthy and speaker there is no better way to stay healthy than to be active and fit and there's no better time in a cold country like ours to stay active and fit than in the summer I urge all Ontarians to get out there and enjoy the great outdoors canoe go hiking go swimming and this is especially important for our kids because we know as parents and grandparents intuitively that our kids are not as active as they should be in fact studies show that's our kids are spending 62% of their times in active and we must answer to get them active but it's really important that they stay safe and that's why we urge them to use helmets thank you no no supplementary thank you speaker and thank you minister for that comprehensive and thoughtful answer speaker with the growing problem of childhood obesity I know how important it is for our kids to get out and play and exercise whether it's exploring a park participating in sports swimming in a pond or a pool or a lake we should all be encouraging our children to be exploring Ontario's great outdoors speaker I know some people they love the rain and so do I but the minister spoke about protecting our kids from skin cancer I know that's something that parents actually worry about they make sure their children are using sunscreen wearing light clothing to protect the skin or from the sun and it's harmful ultraviolet rays but the sun isn't the only source of danger speaker to you could the minister inform the house what else is the government doing to protect our children from skin cancer thank you minister thank you speaker and the member for glendary Prescott Russell is absolutely right there's more than one way to increase one's chances of getting skin cancer telling bad usage in particular presents a particular risk especially for our young the international agency for research on cancer has shown the risk of developing skin cancer increases by 25 percent when tanning beds are used before the age of 35 and that's why our government took action passing legislation October 2013 that will prevent young people from using tanning beds in Ontario this came into effect I'm happy to say on May 1st of this year and this was very timely because previously tanning bed use has been increasing more than doubling between 2006 and 2012 for grade 11 and grade 12 so speaker now that we have this legislation it's going to protect our kids from exposure to artificial ultraviolet radiation and tanning beds I'm just going to ask all of us to have a safe summer thank you the minister of health minister over three years ago I first stood in this house to raise an important issue about the discrepancy between residential hospices are funded in Ontario and I've since raised this issue with your government several times and yet nothing seems to be happening if you look at my writing the north end hospice receives funding from their Linn while the south end hospice has been told that the Linn's don't fund residential hospices at all minister hospices are there for those that require treatment the end stages of life the alternative for many people is to stay in the hospital at a much higher cost in fact the cost can be upwards of 10 times more expensive an intensive care bed as you know averages close to $3,000 per day in hospital while a hospice bed averages between $300 to $500 minister you have a clear opportunity to save taxpayers some money by supporting hospices across the province will you do that thank you minister of health well thank you Mr. Speaker and Mr. Speaker we do support hospices across this province in fact we were the first government to invest in hospices and we want to be sure that at this important moment in an individuals and their families and friends life that Ontarians have dignity through their final days and we've now committed to a palliative and end of life strategy and myself along with the associate minister will be working on that as we go forward it was referenced in our platform as part of this plan in fact Mr. Speaker we're funding 20 more hospices across the province almost doubling the number of people in Ontario who will have access to this high quality end of life care and it's important it builds on an earlier strategy or end of life strategy from 2005 which at that time was a $115 million program to provide that dignity and that important support that quality health care to those individuals who so badly and so importantly deserve it well thank you for that answer and minister you might want to adjust your number I think it's 22 of the 35 hospices that actually receives nothing from government and the 13 that do they receive a limited funding just for the nursing and personal support costs so all of the capital as you know is fundraised by the local community and in fact I wish to talk to the central Lynn because Matthew's house hospice in Alliston runs four beds they run completely without funding at all from the government one of the 22 and the attitude that the Lynn has taken there is how dare you go ahead and build a hospice and not have government approval ahead of time or government funding in place what a horrible attitude that the ministry has in terms of they should be thanking the people for raising millions of dollars for putting the four beds in place and for covering the up to $650 per year operating costs and 80 people have gone through there average length of stay is 10 days according to the formula that's $2 million you save of healthcare dollars by supporting hospice so will you support Matthew's house well thank you mr. Speaker and I thank the member opposite in fact he's making a good argument for supporting what we've proposed in the budget in our platform which is developing a specific palliative and end-of-life strategy across the province it's important that not only the system works better but we want an overarching provincial policy framework when it comes to this end-of-life care it's so important that we not do it I'm not suggesting in this instance this is the case but it can't be on an ad hoc basis it needs to be very proactive it needs to engage members of the community it needs to have a provincial policy which is the foundation of how we engage individuals and support but we are the reality is mr. Speaker we're investing significantly more money it's in our platform we'll be finding ways to implement that going ahead and we're going to be basing in part by a very important working group that was set up just last December and residential hospice working group which is going to which is consulting widely and it's going to be providing us with the recommendations that we need to develop that important strategy for residential hospices as well as the other palliative care thank you mr. Speaker good morning to you and you should try to smile a little bit more mr. Speaker it's not becoming of you to having that long pout on you only the members can make me smile my question is directed to the minister of northern development and mines minister your government promise during the election to establish a ring of fire development corporation within 60 days of assuming government just like you promise during the election that you would go ahead and invest a billion dollars into the ring of fire with or without a commitment from the federal government to match the funds even though your budget said that the billion dollars was contingent on the feds buying in well minister which is it will you go ahead and invest a billion dollars into the ring of fire regardless of whether the feds sign on question or not the people of northern ontario deserve to know I appreciate the question and indeed we have been very clear the premier was very clear during the campaign and we're very clear now that the one billion dollar commitment is indeed locked in place we are going to move forward with this project we've made a number of significant commitments including moving forward with our 60 day commitment in terms of forming a development corporation but that is not the same we should not be putting on expecting the federal government to match our billion dollar commitment the fact is that we want to realize the full potential of this extraordinary project which includes a community access that indeed I would call on all members of the opposition but certainly those on the official opposition side to support our call on the federal government to match our dollar but our commitment is in place as is our commitment to move forward on the development corporation and the great work that we're doing with First Nations Thank you Mr. Speaker Supplementary Thank you Mr. Speaker once again to the Minister of Northern Development Mines I'm glad to hear the minister now knows when his government's 60 day commitment to the creating the Ring of Fire Development Corporation begins yesterday the minister confessed he wasn't sure when the 60 day guarantee actually begins he admitted he wasn't clear whether it's 60 days from being sworn in as minister or 60 days from the throne speech the minister then went on to say that this development corporation would be set up by the end of the summer I have been I have been asking for briefing on this plan but have been told it was premature will you commit to a date when the people of the north will see a development corporation up and running Minister it's day 14 tick tick tick I appreciate the question although it is coming a little bit late in question period we confirmed earlier in question period that indeed on July the third was when the clock starts ticking so to speak towards the 60 day deadline and we are going to meet that commitment work with our partners to meet that commitment but it's a little ironic coming from a party during the campaign put in their platform so support for the ring of fire and with that platform commitment was $0 so for you to start speaking but us not being sure about deadlines or timelines we are committed to the $1 billion we call on the federal government to match those we are committed to our 60 day establishment of the ring of fire development corporation as of July the third it started that date to timing and indeed we are committed to continue to work extremely closely with the metara first nations in terms of the future of the governments on regional process with the ring of fire this is a great exciting project we need the support of everyone in the legislature to make this project happen a new question a member from the political center my question today is for the minister responsible for seniors affairs Mr. Speaker as many of us in this legislature know the number of seniors in Ontario is growing at a significant rate and in fact the number of seniors over 65 is projected to double by the year 2036 this shift in demographics offers opportunities but it also offers challenges in my own riding of Etobicoke's center we have one of the largest proportions of seniors of any riding in Ontario so the services that our government provides are critically important not only to seniors but to their families in the community many of the seniors I have spoken to in Etobicoke's center have asked where they can find more information about the services available to them whether they be for recreational activities lifelong learning possibilities and how this government is helping seniors to access the information they need to continue to be active members of their communities good question Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker the first chance I have to congratulate you on your reappointment and I also wish you a very healthy and long life for I know that if I know you want to smile but it is because at the end of your term Speaker you will be the longest serving Speaker of the House and I have to say congratulations on that too so the longest member as well Speaker I want to congratulate the wonderful people of Etobicoke's center for electing such an energetic representative and I know that he will serve the people of Etobicoke very very well Speaker we know that we have a lot of seniors today and we're going to have a lot of seniors tomorrow we don't have to go as far as 2036 we need to look at 2016-17 to know that we will have more seniors over the age of 65 than under the age of 14 we have the guide to program for senior Speaker which is a wonderful document and I will not do it on my supplementary thank you supplementary thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to the minister for that response I know the guide that the minister refers to covers a range of topics I also know it's covered rather it's written in a variety of languages to make it as accessible as possible I think it's important that it get into the hands of people in our community in Etobicoke's center and across Ontario can the minister please take his time in the supplementary to expand on what's in that guide because I think this would be to the benefit of my constituents in Etobicoke's center that they understand what's contained into communities across Ontario thank you minister again I have to say thank you to the member because he's on top of an issue that is also an issue important to the people of Etobicoke's center the guide in new format it's a very user friendly speaker and on top of the English and French languages thanks to the wonderful work of the Ontario senior Secretariat we have managed to produce and deliver make it available in also another 14 languages including Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Gujarat, Italian, Korean, Polish Portuguese, Punjabi, Russian Spanish, Tamil, Urdu and Vietnamese speaker the guide it's extremely well received and it contains a lot about information about active living, caregiving transportation, housing and a lot more it also includes a very key contact section for numbers of which seniors can avail themselves speaker this is one of the plans but we will continue to make Ontario the best place where we can do this. Thank you. Thank you. My question is to the Premier Premier why is Ontario the only province to believe that the creation of a provincial pension plan is the best way for people to save for retirement no other province or government thinks this is a good idea Prince Edward Island is the latest province to back out of supporting your proposed Ontario pension plan. Premier at a time when businesses and families are struggling to stay afloat why are you increasing payroll taxes and decreasing take home pay. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker and I know that the Associate Minister responsible for the Ontario retirement pension plan will want to speak to the supplementary but I really need to say that it is very important that the member our first choice all along would have been to have had the Canada pension plan enhanced and we agree with provinces across the country that that is what should have happened but the federal government Stephen Harper would not engage in that conversation Mr. Speaker he said that he wasn't interested he did not want to do what every province across the country knows Mr. Speaker which is to negotiate a new and enhanced Canada pension plan so if the member opposite has a way into the hearts of the federal government her federal cousins we would be more than happy to work with the federal government but in the absence of that leadership we are going to stand up for the retirement security of the people of Ontario. The federal government understands how to answer the question about increasing payroll taxes to make home pay. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business says the new pension will hurt small and medium size businesses that simply cannot afford to make the employer contributions and says that this this plan will kill not create jobs Ontario is the only province moving forward with this job killing plan. Why are you making it harder for Ontario businesses and families to survive? Thank you Mr. Speaker and I would like to thank the member opposite for the question and congratulate her on her critic role for pensions and you've asked a very important question of why do we need to create a made in Ontario retirement pension plan and the simple fact of the matter is people are not saving enough for retirement and we cannot put our population at risk by not taking action now. The fact of the matter is CPP is inadequate to meet the needs of retirees capping out at $12,500 and in fact the average in Ontario is $6,800 and that is not enough income to sustain people. The fact of the matter is two thirds of people are without a workplace pension plan so those means are not enough as well so we are moving forward in Ontario and providing an Ontario retirement pension plan so people can retire with adequate income security. Any questions? Mr. Speaker my question is to the minister of education. Minister on Tuesday the minister said she was delighted that they started to talk to boards about how they can make the use of school space. The members of the local community group care have a plan to work with the not-for-profits groups like the Boys and Girls Club and the United Way to create a new community hub and to keep their school open. Will the minister be delighted to listen to the community of Nagorno Lake and ensure that this government invests in keeping parliament school open. Good question. Minister of Education. Yes and I think we need to back up a little bit because what I think the member is obliquely asking me is will I overturn a decision by the board to close the school and in fact I have no legal authority to overturn a decision by a board to close a school. It is the fact that during NDP government, during PC government, during Liberal government the Education Act has always given the local school board the exclusive authority over the ability to close a school. So if what he is asking me is will do I have the authority to overturn a decision that has already been made, the answer is actually no. Minister. In your own budget. It says that the government will recognize the importance of schools in small communities but at the same time your budget seems to focus on a plan to close schools more than anything else. This budget lays out a specific plan to use $750 million to close schools but doesn't have a program to keep them open. Will the minister promise to take action on the importance on the importance of small community schools and set aside a committed fund to keep schools open like Parliament Oak. Question. Because in fact our budget does have in it a dedicated fund for community use of schools but that is a fund that would be based on application only. The school board would have to apply the government for that community use as part of a business plan. It is not intended to be to suddenly give me the authority to overturn but certainly if a board comes forward and says we have a plan here that is a plan to transition just to community use of a particular building then absolutely there is funding and budget to engage in that conversation but the board needs to approach the ministry with that as part of their plan. Thank you. Mr. Speaker it came to my attention earlier this week that one of the respected members of the press gallery Richard Brennan celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary he and Vicki celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary and Vicki Brennan who were married on July 13, 1974 in Ingersoll, Ontario they have two children Andrew and Kelly and Kelly was married just a couple of days after the after the election Mr. Speaker congratulations to her two grandkids Mason and Audrey they met in Ingersoll they had their first date at the bank and I just want to say that all of us we want to especially congratulate Vicki Member from Algalan Tulin asked me if there is a reason for me to smile this is it and it's for Vicki I have to say that's not a point of order but I'm sure that all of us share the joy of Richard and Vicki we have a deferred vote on the motion second reading of bill 14 an act to implement budget measures and an act to amend various acts calling the members this will be a five-minute bill your seats please members take their seats please second reading of bill 14 all those in favour please rise one at a time be recognized by the clerk Mr. Sousa Mr. Bradley Mr. Shirelli Mr. Matthew Mr. Hoskins Mr. Dugas Mr. Quinter Mr. Cole Mr. Dillon Mr. Quadri Mr. Gravel Mr. McMeakin Mr. Murray Mr. Chan Mr. Moriti Mr. Coteau Mr. Leal Mr. Flynn Mr. Zimmer Mr. Crack Mr. Wong Mr. Sergio Mr. Tomorrow Mr. Dalduca Mr. Frasier Mr. Anderson Mr. Baker Mr. Baller Ms. Hogar Ms. Kuala Ms. Mollie Mrs. Martin Mrs. McGarry Mr. Harris Mr. Rinaldi All those in favour please rise one at a time be recognized by the clerk Mr. Harnam Mr. McLeod Mr. Wilson Mr. Hudak Ms. Jones Ms. Thompson Mr. Monroe Mr. Walker Mr. Smith Mr. Harris Ms. Fife Ms. Horvath Ms. Angelina Mr. Tavins Mr. Miller Hamilton Ms. Sadler Ms. Taylor Ms. Armstrong Ms. Forrester Ms. Campbell Mr. Hatfield Mr. Manta Mr. Gates Mr. Gretzky Mr. Johnson Mr. Putz Mr.ondern Mr. hardin Mr. Vahem Mr. 8 Mr. Sweet Mr. Mom Mr.uelle Kil Nine Mr. Stauffer Mr. Teich