 and I thank all members. It is now time for question period. The member from Elgin Rulesex, London. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Every day, the real cost of this Liberal Government scandals, waste and mismanagement, is being felt by Ontario's families and seniors. Money that should be invested in frontline health care is instead being spent on cancelled gas plants. In order to pay for their scandals and waste, this government has cut $815 million from physician services, 50 medical residency spots, and $50 million in seniors physiotherapy services. These cuts mean that patients are not receiving the quality health care they deserve. Mr. Speaker, will Thursday's budget properly fund health care in Ontario, and will there be more cuts? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Well, I know that the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care is eager to chime in on the supplementary, Mr. Speaker. Health care is a priority for our government, Mr. Speaker. It has been and will continue to be. Since 2003, hospital funding in Ontario has risen from $11.3 billion to $17.3 billion. That's a 53% increase. We're investing $11 billion to expand, renew and modernize hospitals, Mr. Speaker, so those are capital dollars to build up hospital system, Mr. Speaker. We're increasing our investments in home care by 5%, which will, those investments will grow by over $750 million over the next two years. Funding for community supports increased to almost $514 million this year, Mr. Speaker. That's an increase of $41.9 million over the last year. Mr. Speaker, in every aspect of health care, funding has gone up. We understand it's a priority. We will continue those increases. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Back to the Premier. In addition to the $815 million cut from physician services, this budget, this government cut $54 million from the health care budget last year, despite a 6% increase in the federal government's health transfer. Because of that cut and cuts to physiotherapy and eye care, Ontario patients are suffering and it will only get worse. This liberal government is so out of touch, they refuse to admit their cuts are forcing doctors to close practices and forcing hospitals to fire nurses. Mr. Speaker, when will this government put patients first? Will Thursday's budget reverse the cuts to doctors, nurses and hospitals? Mr. Speaker, I don't know how it increase in our budget for health care and increase in the budget for our physicians, how that can be somehow, at all, translated into the sorts of cuts that the member opposite has alluded to. In fact, Mr. Speaker, with regards to our doctors, we had a year of negotiations that led, unfortunately, to no agreement. But we brought in an umpire, third party, a judicator that gave us the best recommendations and implored the OMA to accept what he viewed as a fair offer by the government of that time. Unfortunately, the OMA did not accept his recommendation, retired Judge Winkler's recommendation. And we had to make some changes in order to put patients first, in order to invest an additional $250 million in home care, in order to invest more in mental health services, $138 million of new money over the next three years. Those investments are important to Ontarians, notwithstanding that, Mr. Speaker, our doctors are the best paid in Canada. Thank you. Final supplementary. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Back again to the Premier. Premier, when you cut front-line health care professionals, you're cutting patients' quality and access to health care. I wish you'd get that right. Mr. Speaker, this lower government continues to spew out their fictional figures, and the numbers just don't lie. I'll give you some. Ten nurses were cut at Almonte General Hospital. Seventeen nurses cut at South Lake Regional Health Care. Twenty full-time positions gone in Aurelia Soldiers. Thirty-three job cuts at Cambridge Memorial. And 350 full-time positions gone in the Riding and Nipissing at the North Bay Regional Hospital. All of these cuts were done in the last year alone. Each cut translates into reduced health care for Ontario's patients. Mr. Speaker, when will it stop? Why won't this government put patients first? Stop and reverse the cuts. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, you know, here are some important figures, I think, that the Ontario public would appreciate hearing as well. The PC government of Mike Harris fired 6,000 nurses, Mr. Speaker. And in fact, we know in the last election campaign, they were campaigning on eliminating 100,000 jobs in the broader public sector. That would have translated into approximately 5,000 more health care workers losing their job. Well, the member from Simcoe Gray should look to see that I'm standing. Finish, please. Well, what have we done, Mr. Speaker? We've increased the number of nurses that are practicing in this province by 25,000 since we came into government. I'm not going to play the game of yo-yo. When I sit down, you start. And if it starts again, I'll warn the member. Carry on. We've increased the number of nurses working full time in this province by 30%, Mr. Speaker. We're adding 900 net new doctors to the province this year alone, Mr. Speaker. And we continue to make important investments, including in home care and mental health service. Thank you. Do you have a question? The member from Worcester will answer. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Liberal scandal, waste and mismanagement are having a real impact on the services families deserve. During pre-budget consultations, Ken Lorenzo, senior, a former union president, said the following. Government has a role to provide some humanity, some moral responsibility, some ethical standards to those that we care for. If we can't take care of seniors and are most disabled, then the reality is we're not meeting our moral compass. And I believe he is right. If the Liberals had a moral compass, this Thursday's budget would reverse the cuts to doctors, nurses and hospitals. Mr. Speaker, will this government stop their healthcare cuts and take care of seniors and are most vulnerable? Mr. Speaker, you know, the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care has just gone over the list of investments that we have made that has meant that there are more doctors, there are more nurses, there are more healthcare workers in this province by thousands than there were when we came into office. And we have continued year over year to increase that funding, Mr. Speaker. Now, the member opposite can recite a piece of rhetoric, Mr. Speaker. That doesn't make it true. The fact is, the fact is that there are more health professionals, there are hospitals hiring nurses in this province, Mr. Speaker. There are more doctors by the thousands, Mr. Speaker, than when we came into office. And the member will see in the budget on Thursday that we will continue to increase funding to healthcare because the need continues to increase, Mr. Speaker. Will there be more home care? Absolutely, Mr. Speaker. Will there be more supports for people, for seniors, Mr. Speaker? Absolutely. That has been our record and that is our promise. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Speaker, again, the Premier. During those same consultations, Hank B. Coates of the Christian Labor Association, representing workers in long-term care homes, told us this. They had a resident die at the hand of another resident who was not and could not, based on staffing levels, be adequately supervised. He said they have had residents neglected or hurt because of this pervasive problem. It puts workers in a difficult and often unsafe situation. It was over 10 years ago when the coroners inquest into the Casa de Verde murders recommended proper funding to care for long-term residents. And yet, 10 years later, patient on patient violence and long-term care homes continues to rise. Mr. Speaker, how many more seniors will die unnecessarily before this government properly funds the long-term care homes? Thank you, Premier. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And I want to just say to the member officer that I think that there is more work to be done in our long-term care sector, Mr. Speaker. I think that the acuity of the condition of seniors when they go into long-term care homes has increased, Mr. Speaker. I think that there is a need, for example, for more training for healthcare professionals as they deal with seniors, more of whom are dealing with dementia, Mr. Speaker, and as I say, greater acuity. So that's why we've invested $44 million annually, Mr. Speaker, on the behavioral supports Ontario program. On top of that, Mr. Speaker, there's been billions of dollars invested in long-term care. We've increased long-term care home funding to $3.97 billion in 2015-16 from $2.1 billion in 1304. That's an 85% increase, Mr. Speaker. But there's more that we have to do. And you will see in the budget, Mr. Speaker, that we recognize that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, the Premier. We know it's not just seniors in long-term care homes who are suffering because of this government's waste and mismanagement. Rhonda Gow, a personal support worker, said this at the pre-budget hearings about the lack of safe staffing levels. There is a vicious cycle of higher time loss due to work-related injuries and staff burnout. Rhonda often hears from co-workers who share her worry about the impact of poor working conditions on the residents' health and safety. But what Rhonda, Hank and Ken had to say was wasted on this government. Because the reality is that the Liberals wrote their budget long before these consultations ever happened. Mr. Speaker, can the Premier promise Rhonda, Hank and Ken that Thursday's budget will reverse her cuts to seniors' health care and ensure safe staffing levels across long-term care homes? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm glad the member opposite raises the issue of personal support workers because I heard no support from them and no support from the Third Province, Mr. Speaker. That's why this year, personal support workers will get... The member from Renfrew, do you realize I'm standing? Finish, please. Support workers will get another increase this year, Mr. Speaker, because we recognize how important they are to the system. I also look to the party office now that they've had this attempt around precarious work, Mr. Speaker, that they support the work we're doing to make sure that personal support workers don't have the precarious work situation that they often find themselves in, Mr. Speaker. New question, the Leader of the Third Party. Thank you very much, Speaker. My question is for the Premier. People expect government to invest in their priorities, like health care and reducing wait times, but this government doesn't seem to share those priorities, Speaker. In fact, the Liberals have frozen hospital funding in the last four budget, forcing hospitals to close beds and fire... Member from Newmarket, Aurora. The people of Ontario want good, high-quality health care in their community. They deserve to know if the Premier is going to continue to freeze hospitals in Thursday's provincial budget. Will there be more cuts, Speaker? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Well, as we have said, and I know the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care will want to weigh in on this, but as we have said repeatedly, we have consistently year over year increased funding to health care, Mr. Speaker, and the member opposite when she sees the budget, she will realize that we are continuing to put more resources in place, because we know that the needs in health care are expanding, Mr. Speaker. But here's an issue that I think we need to look at more closely, Mr. Speaker. The Leader of the Third Party is using hospitals and health care interchangeably, Mr. Speaker. The Leader of the Third Party is suggesting that hospitals and health care are the same thing. Mr. Speaker, hospitals are a part of the health care delivery, Mr. Speaker. Hospitals are a very important part of the way we deliver health care in Ontario, but they are not the whole thing, Mr. Speaker. And so I would ask the Leader of the Third Party if she believes that hospitals are all there is to health care in the province of Ontario. Speaker, the Premier may say in public that she wants to protect health care, but the reality is since the start of 2015, more than 1,200 nurses have been handed a pink slip by this Liberal government. No matter what rhetoric this Premier wants to spread, the reality is hospitals have been frozen and nurses are being fired and patients are not getting... Come to order, please. The member from Hamilton Eastonia Creek, please. And I'll use this moment to remind all members when questioning and answering your speaking to the Chair. Please finish. Patients are not getting the kind of care and the kind of response that they deserve at our hospitals. That's the bottom line, Speaker. Committed to protecting health care, which hospitals are a part of, I might add, Speaker. Will she put an end to the front line cuts in our health care system? Thank you, Mr. Health Minister. Well, Mr. Speaker, one thing I can assure the Leader of the Third Party is that we will not return to the days when her party was in power, when they fired 3,000 nurses, Mr. Speaker, when they decreased the number of nurses that were working full-time and brought in more part-time workers. Nor will we return to the years when doctors were fleeing this province because they were so disrespected by the official opposition, Mr. Speaker. But what we've done, and don't take the government's word for it, I know that they refrain from looking at the facts and the statistics. But if we look at the word of the College of Nurses of Ontario, which... And they say that the Ontario nurses reported 86,794 employment positions in the hospital sector in 2014. And it went up, Mr. Speaker, by just under 1,000 to 87,513 in 2015. Mr. Speaker, not the gross, not the losses, also the additions, Mr. Speaker. That is in the hospital sector alone. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last week, the Premier said that Ontario is going through healthcare transformation. Well, let's look at what that transformation has done to healthcare, what the liberal transformation has done to healthcare. Fewer nurses in our hospitals cancelled surgeries for patients, people waiting 200 days or more for home care, and long-term care wait lists that are years long, Speaker. That is not transformation, that is devastation for the patients of this province. Will this Premier stop the cuts and get healthcare working for all Ontarians, or will we see more hospital budgets frozen and front-line healthcare cuts in Thursday's budget, Speaker? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, just because the party's opposite continued to use the word cut doesn't mean that it's true, Mr. Speaker. In fact, year after year after year, our healthcare budget increases. Our investments in those important areas, like home care, are increasing year after year after year, $250 million additional this year, lower, Mr. Speaker. But here's some of the other things that we've been doing. We've been being investing in mental health services, increasing with new funds, $138 million over the next three years. We've created 82 health links to provide that wraparound, coordinated care for thousands and thousands of the most complex patients across the province. 25 new nurse practitioner-led clinics, the first one in Sudbury, Ontario, Mr. Speaker, and we invest in all of our healthcare providers, many, many tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands across the province, who are doing exceptional work. Our wait times are the best in the country and our outcomes are approaching the best as well, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. New question? The next question is also for the Premier. In the 2014 budget, the Premier quietly slipped in a reference to her plan to cut 6% for most ministries every year, including this year. Perhaps she hoped nobody would notice, but we did, Speaker. 6% will mean cuts to everything from food safety to protection of our environment. Will the Premier continue to make things worse by cutting 6% from other programs in Thursday's budget over and above her government's cuts to education and healthcare? Well, Mr. Speaker, the leader of the third party knows full well that we continue to make investments in education. We continue to make investments in healthcare. And I think that the last number of questions have demonstrated that those increases in healthcare funding have been repeated year over year. And we continue to recognize that there's an increased need in healthcare, Mr. Speaker, whether it's in home care, whether it's in hospitals, whether it's in mental health, those are services that are necessary. And we continue to fund those in increased funding. Mr. Speaker, the reality is that our plan is about investing in the people of this province and investing in infrastructure that is needed in every community. Yesterday I was at the Roma Ontario Good Roads Association meeting, Mr. Speaker. And I talked about the increases that we are making to the Community Investment Fund that will allow municipalities to have more money on a formula basis to make investments in infrastructure. Mr. Speaker, Ontarians expect honesty from their government, but the Premier is planning to cut 6% out of other programs and hoping people won't notice. Cutting 6% is not investing, Speaker. It's cutting. Seeing you're cutting 6% from other programs covers a lot of ground, and it's not what I would call transparent. That 6% isn't just a number, Speaker. It could mean cutting support for the most vulnerable Ontarians or reducing even further the safety of roads and commercial vehicles or making it even more difficult for young people to get the speech therapy that they need. Can this Premier come clean, be transparent, and tell Ontarians what other services she'll be cutting in Thursday's budget? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Well, I invite the Leader of the Third Party to read the budget on Thursday, Mr. Speaker, so that she will understand how we are making investments across this province. She will also see, Mr. Speaker, that there are changes being made in the way we do. There are transformations that are happening. There's a process that the President of the Treasury Board has gone through. She has worked ministry by ministry looking at programs, Mr. Speaker, working with the ministries to change programs where they are not delivering outcomes, Mr. Speaker, and to reinvest in programs that are working, Mr. Speaker. I just made an announcement this morning about $100 million that we are putting into services and supports that will help fight violence against Aboriginal Indigenous women, and work to end the violence against Indigenous women. Those are the kinds of investments that are critical. Will there be changes? Are we changing government? Absolutely. We're not going to stay stuck in the past and never change anything. The Premier will understand how healthcare, education, and other services that people rely on are eroding significantly here in Ontario under this government's watch. Ontario's financial accountability officer says that selling Hydro-1 will mean that the province's budget balance would be worse than it would have been without the sale, Speaker. Before the Premier came clean with her plan to sell Hydro-1, she was already planning to blindly slash 6% out of the budget of almost every ministry. The Hydro-1 sell-off will put Ontario an even worse financial shape, Speaker. Does that mean that the cuts will be even deeper than what Ontarians are already experiencing under this Liberal government's watch? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Well, you know, when the budget is released on Thursday, the people of Ontario, including the leader of the third party, will have an opportunity to look at how we are making changes across government and how we are investing in the people of this province and investing in the infrastructure. Infrastructure is a word that encompasses a lot of things, Mr. Speaker, but it means roads and bridges and water systems. It means transit, Mr. Speaker. Those kinds of investments lead to economic growth in the future, but they lead to job creation immediately, Mr. Speaker, and that is critical to our economic stability right now in Ontario. We're in a global and a national economy, Mr. Speaker, where it is our responsibility to take the leadership of a strong diversified economy. We have lots more to do, Mr. Speaker, but we're a little bit ahead in terms of other provinces. It is our responsibility to play to our strengths to make those investments so that we can lead the way and we can be strong in the context of the national economy, Mr. Speaker. Any questions? The member for Whitby, Oswald. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Premier. It's an absolute honour and pleasure to have been elected to represent the people of Whitby, Oswald. They sent me to Queens Park with a clear mandate and they've asked me to hold the government to account for their cuts to health care in Durham region in particular. Under the Liberals Watch, Ontario Shore Centre for Mental Health has had 56 jobs cut, Mr. Speaker, 56 jobs cut. There are much needed nurse positions that have led to wait times up to a year in duration. Mr. Speaker, will the Premier reverse the health cuts in Durham region and will she give my constituents the health care system they deserve? Thank you, Premier. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I appreciate the question. Ontario Shores provides excellent mental health services to many, many Ontarians from across this province and I know that access to mental health services is important as well to the residents of Whitby, Oswald. And I will fight, Mr. Speaker, to continue to ensure that they have access to these crucial services. What the member forgot to mention, again, the opposition talks about job loss. Often job changes occur and because of our relationship with organised labour, we have to lay people off even in some circumstances when they're just moving to another part of the hospital, or they're moving into another program within the hospital. The member opposite, I'm sure he knows, although he didn't perhaps have time to mention, that the changes which are very well thought about in Ontario Shores also mean that 33 new positions will be created, Mr. Speaker. Many of those available to the individuals that he read. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, again to the Premier, would this government's cuts to health care until Shores Centre for Mental Health Science is just the tip of the iceberg, isn't it? Concerned Ontario doctors showed up in Whitby, Oswald to send the Liberals a strong message and we've listened. The government's cuts, Mr. Speaker, are forcing physicians to reduce their office hours and to lay off or reduce staff hours. We know a family doctor in Durham region had to reduce office hours. That has now affected 500 patients. Mr. Speaker, how does the Premier explain to those patients why they can't get a doctor's appointment? Mr. Speaker, I think they need to ask that doctor because there's nothing that we've done that affects access to patient care and our doctors, apart from being the best paid in all of Canada. We continue to invest in them. I want to point out what's extremely important for Ontarians to know. This is about compensation for physicians only. It's not about quality or access to health care services. Physicians will continue to be compensated for every single service they provide. There are no limits to the number of patients that a physician can see. No physicians will ever be asked to work for free. There's no individual cap on what a physician can bill annually, Mr. Speaker. All of these myths that are perpetrated out there by a number of individuals bear no aspect when we're talking about the changes that remain to continue to support our physicians, but to allow us to make those investments in home care and mental health services like Ontario Shores. Thank you, Speaker. My question to the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change. When California launched its cap and trade program a few years ago, large emitters were included right away. Household fuel and gasoline were added two years later. But in Ontario it appears we're doing it the other way around. The government has proposed that Ontario families shall start paying right away, but the large emitters will get a free pass for four years. Why must Ontario families put their money on the table before the big emitters? Thank you, Minister of the Environment and Climate Change. Mr. Speaker, I'm not sure where the member is getting his information from. I think he's confusing the idea of free allowances which help industry transition because you may know there are jurisdictions that do not have a price on carbon yet and we have to protect our industries from those and keep them competitive. But about over 85% of industries, Mr. Speaker, likely as they were in California, will be paying and be paying at a reasonable rate on pollution and will also benefit from dollars coming from cap and trade to reinvestment. And yes, we are proceeding with an across-the-board reduction. But that money is also going back, Mr. Speaker, into a plethora of programs. Many of them already announced in kickstart programs helping people reduce home heating, helping people buy electric vehicles, helping people reduce the cost of living, Mr. Speaker, which California and Quebec did not do in the first instance. And we think we're ahead of the curve. Speaker, in the Minister's consultation document, there are free passes for all large industrial emitters on cap and trade whether they need one or not. But all Ontario families will start paying right away whether they can afford to or not. Ontarians are ready to do their part to fight climate change. But they want a system that is effective, fair, and transparent. Is the government proposing to put out or give out free passes because its cap and trade policy is driven by lobbyists and special interests rather than the need to deal with climate change? Thank you, Minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm going to try and say it again slowly. Thank you. I'm going to say again slowly, Mr. Speaker. The vast majority of businesses we estimate over 85% of large emitters will be paying on the same terms that they pay almost exactly in Quebec and Ontario, which up until today the member opposite supported. So this is not surprising, Mr. Speaker. The NDP has trouble with the environment. Every time it comes to tough decisions, they get all wobbly in the knees and look for excuses not to proceed. Our price on pollution, Mr. Speaker, is a price on pollution and we will have an equitable and fair distribution of the cost, Mr. Speaker. But as they all seem to have taken subtraction costs from ever addition, because they can only talk about half the ledger, Mr. Speaker, I don't know whether it's some sort of dyslexia. Thank you. Quite frankly, Mr. Speaker, there's a major start to clock. I would ask us all to elevate the debate and at any given time members might excitedly say things that I know they don't want to say. And if there's an opportunity withdraw, I would ask that it be withdraw. It would withdraw. I got carried away by my rhetoric. I apologize. The normal procedure is simply a withdrawal. I want to do it right. Just withdraw. A new question. A member from England and Lawrence. From Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. As you know, Minister, many of the good people of England and Lawrence are very impressed with the changes to make local Ontario wines more available to them. And they're also very interested in the accessibility to fruit wines and ciders. I know you made an important announcement with the Premier about more availability. You had a great announcement in Coortha with Mr. Rufa and his local winery there. And what we really want to know is how are these fruit wines especially and local ciders, the craft ciders especially, how are they going to get their hands on them, work, and they purchase them in the state like Toronto and make sure that the farmers and the fruit growers in Peterborough County and Prince Edward County have jobs and continue to expand. Thank you. Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Beglington Lawrence for this question this morning. And I know he's been a tireless advocate throughout the Greater Toronto area to make sure that we develop the sanitary and fruit wine business of province of Ontario. I had the enormous privilege of being with the Premier, the Minister Susan, Mr. Bradley, myself last Thursday when we made the announcement and extending the new distribution channels for VQA wine, cider, and fruit wines in the province of Ontario. Mr. Speaker, the first big change in the distribution of alcohol in Ontario since prohibition was ended in 1926. We're allowing of course cider wine to be supplied at 450 grocery stores across the province of Ontario. This fall 70 stores will carry Ontario cider wines on their shells and up to 35 grocery stores will carry fruit wines. These changes will help winters like Crowthorne Country Wines and the Bittisfalty Trent Lakes and the Wettiful County of Peterborough. In all, these changes will help to stimulate growth. As you know, Minister, through Mr. Speaker, people in all of Ontario, especially in the heart of Toronto, in my writing, they really appreciate our local Ontario wines, the VQA wines, all the wines locally, they just love them. But now they don't quite know too much about the cideries and the cider wines, the fruit wines, and how they could find out more about them, where could they could purchase them, and what about who produces these fruit wines and these ciders, and how can they be available to the local person that wants a nice glass of cider instead of beer or wine? Where can they get their cider? Thank you, Minister. Well, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member from Eglinton Lawrence for supplementary this morning, of course. The Ontario fruit wine sector is growing about 6% annually in Ontario. There are 40 wineries that produce fruit wines in the province of Ontario. We don't know that the cider sectors would the fastest growing segments in our LCBO, and Ontario cider producers produce almost 4 million litres in the last year. That's a lot of support for Ontario's apple farmers. And, Mr. Speaker, fruit wines and ciders will be available at Farmer's Markets this spring. Joseph Kennedy, of course, once said that when his son was elected president in 1860, that victory has a thousand fathers. I just want to thank the Premier this morning, the member from Duff and Caledon, the member from Beesons East York, the former Minister of Agriculture, Leona Dobrowski, and, of course, a great friend of us all, Senator Bob residence. So collectively, we've been about to make these changes to the province of Ontario. Introducing Ontario cider fruit wine made by 100% Ontario Fruit and Grocery Stores of Farmer's Markets will provide a great boost to the agriculture sector. Thank you. Good morning, Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Health. Last month, all three parties toured the province for our pre-budget consultations. What we heard was startling, especially regarding the cuts to healthcare with nursing jobs being cut by the hundreds. We all heard horror stories about patients collapsing on their front steps after being sent home too soon, or seniors crying out of hunger because their caregiver is too overwhelmed. These are real stories from real people presented to our committee. It's too bad the budget was already written and none of these people's issues seem to matter to this government. They're not even concerned, Speaker, about the appearance of listening anymore. My question is, why is the Minister so callously ignoring the legitimate concern of families? Well, Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the question. And I, as Minister, and also as a healthcare professional, have great sympathy for any Ontarian and their family and their loved ones, Mr. Speaker, who is facing healthcare challenges. It's our obligation. It's my responsibility to ensure to the best of my ability and this government's ability that we address in a responsible, effective, timely way as close to home as possible what those needs are. And that is the basis for many of the changes that on behalf of the government and as the Minister I've been implementing in the healthcare system in areas like home care and areas like mental health, working with our frontline healthcare providers to ensure that we continue to improve the services that we provide. I'm gratified, Mr. Speaker, that in many, many indicators, cancer care, for example, were among the best in the world in terms of outcomes. Wait lists, time to wait for, to see for special diagnostic tests or for surgical procedures were the best in Canada, Mr. Speaker. Of course, there's more work to be done. That's the commitment that I've made to Ontarians to continue to improve. Thank you, Speaker. Back to the Minister. Hundreds of frontline healthcare and nursing jobs have been cut across the province by this Liberal government. My hometown of North Bay has been affected the most with 350 job cuts of frontline healthcare workers at our hospital, including 100 nurses. Last week, the Minister of Finance mocked our three budget requests, calling them a fiscal fantasy. So according to this government, it's a fantasy to want enough nurses to provide timely care for our seniors. Speaker, it's apparently a fantasy to expect enough doctors for underserviced areas of rural and northern Ontario. My question to the Minister is this. Does he agree with the Minister of Finance that having adequate staffing for Ontario patients is a fantasy? Thank you, Minister. Well, Mr. Speaker, it's because of some of the changes that we've made. We've begun to address the concerns that were raised just in this supplementary. We have made changes to our family health teams to actually direct those new physicians to those parts of the province that need to also benefit from that comprehensive model of care. We have parts of Ontario, like Toronto, for example, where we have good staffing of our family health teams, and that model is available. But in places like northern Ontario and rural Ontario and small-town Ontario, that's my obligation, is to ensure that those services are also provided there. We opened up a medical school in northern Ontario, which has had a tremendous impact on the availability of healthcare providers, including physicians in that part of Ontario. Right across the north, Mr. Speaker, a dramatic improvement when the intake represents individuals from those communities. They stay in those communities, Mr. Speaker. So there's more work to be done, but we have to also acknowledge the success and the different questions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Education. We recently learned that kids, particularly those with special needs, are being kicked out of Ontario's publicly funded schools indefinitely, some for months, some for closer to a year. Underfunding for special education resources to the point where students with unique needs are excluded from class is absolutely disgraceful. As of 16,000 kids on the spectrum waiting for services wasn't bad enough. Accommodating students with special education needs should be the forefront of this government's education plan, not an afterthought. Will the Minister admit that her government's cuts to education are leaving our absolutely most vulnerable kids behind? Thank you, Minister of Education. Yes, thank you very much, and I do want to assure the member opposite that we're very concerned about the needs of our special education children. One of the things that happened when we did the safe schools review back when the Premier was the Minister of Education, the whole matter of exclusion came up. And just to explain, Speaker, you know, because you were in the business of principaling. But one of the principal's most important roles is to ensure that all the people in the school are safe. And there actually is the ability for a principal to exclude individuals from a school to ensure the safety of everyone else. We know that sometime that is inappropriately used with special education students, and I'll be pleased to carry on after that. The Minister's misplaced priorities are leaving our most vulnerable children behind. More than $6 million in special education funding was cut from Toronto school boards last year alone. We know that more cuts are coming in this impending budget. The results of underfunding in education are clear. Countless educational assistants have been fired. Supports in classrooms are at an all-time low, leaving kids with unique needs out of the classroom with no options or timelines. Can the Minister please explain why she doesn't think that all kids in Ontario deserve a right to equal access education? Yes, and I want to make it clear that in fact, under Ontario legislation, all children with special needs are in fact entitled to an education. With exclusion, as I wanted to say, we actually changed the law so that if a parent is concerned, they have a right of appeal of that exclusion. That never existed in Ontario law before. The parent does have a right of appeal on an exclusion. On the matter of funding speaker, students with special education needs are receiving approximately $2.72 billion this school year. That is an increase, not a cut, an increase of $225.7 million, or 9% since 2012-13, and a 68% increase, $1.1 billion since 2002. Thank you, Mr. President. A number from Northumberland, Quintira. Thank you, Speaker. My question to the Attorney General. Attorney General, navigating the law system without the help of a qualified legal profession can be a daunting task. In the area of family law in particular, many people are accessing the family justice system without the help of a lawyer, either for reason of cost or because they think they can manage the system on their own. In fact, your ministry estimates that as many as 57% of people in their province are currently doing so without legal assistance. Speaker, can the Attorney General please speak her efforts to make the family law system more accessible? Thank you, Attorney General. Mr. President, thank you to the member of Northumberland, Quintira West for his very, very important question. And, Mr. Speaker, access to justice is a great priority of mine, not just in the area of family law, but across an legal system. The honourable member is correct. Far too many Ontarians proceed in family law matters without legal representation. As the member said, nearly 63% in some areas, 70% of individuals and families go to court without assistance. We hope that by expanding the range of service available, more families will get access to the help they need. To this end, we have asked the honourable Anne-Marie Bankello, former Chief Justice of the Ontario Court, to lead a review in ways to make a family system more accessible for those unable to afford a lawyer. Justice Bankello will consult with a wide variety of stakeholders across the legal community. Thank you, Speaker. I thank the Attorney General for a response. I'm pleased to hear that our government is taking steps to ensure all citizens have access to the advice they need to properly navigate the family law system. I also know that not everyone who needs a family legal service qualifies for legal aid. Expanding the range of family legal service available will no doubt help many families in Ontario get access to that much needed help. Could the Attorney General elaborate on the focus of Justice Bankello review in seeking to provide more accessible legal assistance in family law matters? Thank you, Speaker. Thank you, Attorney General. And, Mr. Speaker, thank you very much to the MPP for this important question. Justice Bankello will consult with stakeholders from across the legal community and the family they serve in asking whether paralegal or other legal service providers such as law students or law clerks should be allowed to endorse certain family law matters. Law students, paralegal and clerks offer a wide range of legal expertise and variety of legal services in many different areas of the law. This review will help us determine if and how it would be appropriate for them in the area of family law. Mr. Speaker, we want Ontario families to have more choice and we hope this consultation will help us provide more affordable access to the family law system in the province. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. Minister, last year you and the Premier were sent a letter from a family doc in my writing who outlined the negative impacts your government's cuts to physician services would have to patients in her group practice. In the letter, the doctor warned that as a result of your cuts they were considering shutting down their blood lab. As of January 1, the lab is closed. This government's actions are resulting in cuts and essential services that residents in my writing and across Ontario rely upon. After the minister received this letter and I raised this issue with him, did the minister meet with Dr. Meg or respond to her concerns? Well, Mr. Speaker, I have to admit that I'm somewhat confused by the line of questioning because the question prior to the new member from Whitby talked about, implored us to make further investments in mental health at Ontario shores. But then the supplementary referred to his wanting further investments for our doctors, Mr. Speaker, and this is the line of questioning here as well. We are investing new dollars, Mr. Speaker, in mental health services, $138 million over the next three years. We are increasing our physician services budget this year compared to last year. We'll increase it again in the year following. But, Mr. Speaker, we have to make sure that we're providing the patient-centered care that Ontarians need and deserve, and that requires sometimes asking our physicians to hold the line. It requires our best paid physicians in all of Canada to hold the line so we can invest in home care, in mental health services, in all of those services that Ontarians hold dear when they do face those health challenges and need our help. I don't know what's so hard to understand. Last year in Dufferin County there were five labs, now there are two. A 73-year-old constituent now has to travel 30 minutes each way and wait in a line outside in January because the lab in her hometown has been shut down. The only remaining lab in Orangeville was closed between Christmas and New Year's. This is completely unacceptable. Will the minister restore funding to physician services in the upcoming budget so patients in my riding can receive lab services they need without having to stand outside? Again, Mr. Speaker, I find it difficult to understand. On the one hand, the member is asking us to increase our investments to community labs, and on the other hand, she's asking us to give more money to physicians. Mr. Speaker, I have to reiterate what I did earlier to reiterate that physicians will continue to be compensated for every single service they provide and to ensure that we stay within our budget, which is increasing for physicians each year, to stay within that budget. We're reducing modestly the amount we pay for individual services, but there are no limits to the number of patients that a physician can see. No physicians will ever be asked to work for free. And on average, the discount that we've applied, that modest decrease in compensation, if you were on average, as they are, a $368,000 physician receiving that level of compensation from the government, this would result in that amount decreasing perhaps to about $350,000, Mr. Speaker. But there's nothing that prevents physicians from extending their hours, seeing more patients, there's no cap. My question is to the Minister of Health. Time and time again, my leader, R. Caucus, has stood up and pointed out the reality. Hospitals in this province have been flatlined for the past number of years, and that's resulted in services being diminished in those hospitals. You continually stand in his house and say that that's not the case, everything is fine. But this flies in the face of the experience that constituents across Ontario are feeling. I have a constituent in Moonbeam, Mr. Donna McIntyre, who needs heart surgery as a result of a condition that he suffers. He gets referred to a hospital in Hamilton, he gets there at the end of January, and the guy who's the surgeon says, you need to get in, you need to get in quick. The problem is, he's then told, you have to wait at least six months because of cutbacks at the hospital that have had to be done because of the reduction in budget when you flatlined it. How could it be the case that this guy has to wait six months to get surgery that is life-threatening? Is that a fair way to treat this man? Thank you. The Minister for Health and Care. Well, Mr. Speaker, certainly it's concerning any time we hear a story, if accurate is the member, and I only assume that it is accurate, where an individual who truly needs heart surgery on an expedited basis is unable to receive that. But allocations for surgical procedures are made through the Ministry, to the lens, to the hospitals, and we ask our hospitals to responsibly manage that budget and be able to prioritize with the clinicians, with the clinical experts. It shouldn't be the Minister of Health or my Ministry that decides who should get a procedure when and where, and so we rely on those clinical experts to actually truly prioritize who needs that surgery on an urgent basis. And I have no doubt, Mr. Speaker, that in the vast majority, the huge majority of cases, those clinical experts do precisely that, working in concert with the hospitals, with the allocations that are provided that allow for the surgery to happen in a timely fashion. Minister, what Dana wants, and what patients across this province wants, is when they're sitting across from the surgeon who says, you need surgery, you need it quickly, they want to know at the end of the day it's going to be done. But the system, the way it now, it runs as a result of your flatlining the budgets in hospitals across this province, the doctors are saying, even though this is surgery that needs to be done in a pressing way, it's not only been pushed back five or six months. When Dana called the hospital again on February 8th, a week later, he was told, well now the lineup is going to be six to nine months. Imagine what this man feels like. He's one constituent, one patient in the province of Ontario who happens to have brought his case into my office. There are many, many more. We need to know from you now, Minister. Are you going to make sure people like this don't have to wait an extraordinary amount of time in order to be able to get surgery that is life-threatening? Well, Mr. Speaker, and I appreciate the supplementary. And I'd be happy on this individual case as well, which Mr. Speaker is an anomaly because I've heard many, many cases where that prioritization does occur, where the surgery is provided on an expedited basis according to need. And that's how our healthcare system works and the hospitals have the ability to prioritize with the clinical experts in this case. But I'd be very interested and it would be important to me to follow up on this individual case. So I'd ask that the member and I have an opportunity to discuss that so I can find out precisely what went on in this particular circumstance. Thank you. Your question? The member from Ottawa, Alleyon. Merci, Monsieur. My question is to the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport. As a member from Ottawa, Alleyon, I want to take a moment to welcome Michael Crocker to the house. Michael is the newly appointed President and Chief Executive of Ottawa Tourism, the second largest regional tourism organization in Ontario. And of course, the RTO responsible for marketing the beautiful writing of Ottawa, Alleyon. Mr. Speaker, tourism is alive and well in Ottawa. We enjoy attraction like the National Gallery of Canada, Space Museum and Rideau Hall. The Ottawa River features attraction like white water rafting, kayaking and cruise boat tours. We have the Calypso Water Park, the festival throughout the year like Winterloot and Canada Day. With tourism playing such an important part of my writing, I'm interested in hearing what the government has been doing to support the growth of the tourism sector in Ontario. Thank you. I'd like to thank the member for Ottawa, Alleyon for this important question. Tourism impacts every single region of this beautiful province. It's a $28 billion sector representing 4% of our GDP and over 350,000 jobs here in the province of Ontario are attributed back to tourism. Today, we have many members who support the tourism sector through business and working through associations, represented through the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario, tourism joining us here in the legislature. Through our efforts, Mr. Speaker, over the last few decades, we've continuously built tourism here in the province of Ontario. We're going to continue to build tourism in the province of Ontario, and it's led to a record-breaking year for tourism here in the province of Ontario, with the most roomstays in many regions across this great province. We'll continue to address Mr. Speaker as a province, and I'd like to thank the member again for the question. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, Minister. The business climate for tourism in Ontario has never been better, and with the Canadian dollar attracting more tourists from the U.S., our biggest market, and targeted investments supporting key festivals and attractions, I am confident that the sector will expand. In fact, it is estimated that tourism in Ontario will grow from 4.2% of our economy to 9.6% by 2021. With over 40% of the sector's job held by Ontarians between the age of 15 to 24, that good news for youth employment. The importance of tourism and youth employment seem to be lost on the PCs, Mr. Speaker. The last PC government provided less than $63 million a year, and in half of what our government provides annually. Through you to the minister, what's the next step the minister is taking to ensure that our government is supporting continued growth in our tourism industry? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, thank you to the member for Ottawa Orleans, who is a huge advocate for the tourism sector in Ottawa and also throughout the province. Mr. Speaker, I had the opportunity to join the member from Kitchener this past week to talk to leaders in tourism from the region. We talked about tourism and its potential continuous growth here in the province of Ontario, and we're going to have more meetings in Toronto, Peterborough, Sudbury, Ottawa, Niagara, Pembroke, Muskoka and Hamilton to name a few. This is only part of how our governments continue to build a strategy so we can continue to grow the sector here in the province of Ontario. I'm also working with the federal government. We've come up with a $30 million fund to market Ontario and different parts of Canada to the Americans in the south so we can continue to develop and build on tourism here in Ontario. Thank you. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. Speaker, last week I hand delivered a letter to the minister outlining the growing concern of Dr. Shortages in my writing of Chatham-Can-Essex. Sometime over the next few years, our community stands to lose a number of family doctors to retirements. As Chatham-Can has not been deemed a high-needs area, it is subject to the province's one doctor in, one doctor out policy. Speaker, by trying to replace doctors one at a time, will always be chasing the problem. Patients fall through the cracks and be left without primary care providers for extended periods of time. Speaker recently, a local doctor passed away. I knew her well. She was my doctor. Her untimely death left nearly 2,800 patients without care. So, Speaker, to the minister, where should these patients go? Thank you. And I appreciate receiving the letter last week from the member opposite. And also the good work we've been doing together on leaving to obstetrics to make sure that we retain the ability of women to have their births at that hospital, that community hospital. But on this matter, there's no restriction at all on physicians coming to and practicing in Chatham-Can. Mr. Speaker, a physician can go there and start practice under fee-for-service. They can go there and start practice under a family health group. They can replace a retiring physician at a family health team, Mr. Speaker. They can actually ask to and create a new family health team in Chatham-Can. Under new rules that we've created to ensure that what we've done is we want the majority of those family health teams to actually be located in the high needs area where those family health teams currently don't exist tonight because it's such a great model. I think it's an opportunity that all Ontarians are trying to distribute it more fairly. But there are so many modalities, Mr. Speaker. They can start in a family health team as a local, Mr. Speaker. There's a long list of opportunities for physicians to come to. Thank you, supplementary. Thank you, Speaker. Well, thank you, Minister, for that response. You mentioned Leamington. Well, guess what? I have a question for Leamington. Once again, the future Speaker of Leamington's birthing services is in jeopardy. The search is on at Leamington District Memorial Hospital for a new OB-GYN. And its only one is set to leave for Windsor the end of May. The clinic will stay open, but will it be staffed? To the minister, Speaker, the ministry has approved the $1.2 million, a million dollars, rather, for the operation of the OB unit. But the chief nursing executive and vice president of patient services, Cheryl Dieter, says more is needed to run the clinic. They need an additional $400,000. Specifically, any OB candidates that have to relocate to the area are going to want a guaranteed salary as the unit gets back on track. And they need the guarantee in writing. So, Speaker, to the minister, what action will the minister take to ensure birthing services stay? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The member knows this has been an absolute priority for both of us, to make sure that obstetrics is maintained. In fact, because of his hard work and my involvement and my ministry's involvement, we've created a model which brings in midwives as well to the practice, to what's happening at Leamington Hospital to provide a holistic approach to the delivery of birthing services. We did provide an additional $1 million in new funding last year, or the current fiscal year, rather, to allow that transition to take place. Now, I know the OMA has opposed the funding, what he's asked for, but we will be going ahead to ensure that the, that was guaranteed is necessary to be able to attract obstetricians to Leamington Hospital do occur, notwithstanding the opposition that the OMA has provided to us doing just that. Thank you. New question from the member from Oslo. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the minister of economic development, employment, and infrastructure. Industry giants like the CEO of Ford Motor Canada have said, and I quote, right now, as the TPP stands, there will be no positive outcome for Canadian manufacturing, end quote. In fact, the TPP is expected to put 20,000 Ontario auto jobs at risk and cost 1,500 jobs in my community of Oshawa alone. We can't afford to lose any more. These aren't just stats, Mr. Speaker. They are people. They are families. Minister, can Ontarians expect to see a firm commitment to creating good-paying jobs in this week's budget, or will they see more of the same stretch goals that the government has become so fond of? Thank you, Minister of Economic Development, Employment, and Infrastructure. Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I welcome the voice of the member opposite in joining us, as we have expressed concerns to the federal government regarding some of the rules of origin that could impact our industry. The industry as a whole, it kind of depends on where they are in the industry as to whether they're for or against the changes. But at the same time, we've expressed concern on behalf, in particular, of the auto supply parts industry to the federal government to take a very, very close look at the impacts as this moves forward. We're concerned about the timetable compared to Ontario and U.S. companies in terms of their, the rules of origin and how quickly that timetable excels. And we've expressed those concerns. This is a trade agreement that was negotiated by the federal government without the provinces at the table, like CEDA. But we'll continue to stand up for our auto sector and everything that we can. The Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on a point of order. Mr. Speaker, on a point of order in the members West Gallery today, I want to introduce a good friend of mine, Patrick McCarthy, who is the CEO of OmniHealthcare, which is headquartered in the city of Peterborough. We welcome him here today. Thank you. I hope that you know if this vote to the south stands recess until 3 p.m. this afternoon.