 It is now time for a question period. The member from the Pee and Carlton. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Premier. The government is one that frequently suggests that it is open and transparent. In fact, recent initiatives, whether it's been the open government or Bill 8, were designed to leave the public with the impression that your government listens. Unfortunately, with the Algonquin land claim in much of Eastern Ontario, that hasn't been the case. What's concerning here is while there has been an agreement in principle, many people in the public, particularly in Ottawa, feel left out of the process. So given an entire region of Ontario will be impacted by the land claim, could the Premier provide an update on the status of public consultation? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Well, and I appreciate the question from the member Ops and I know that the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs will want to comment. Let me just say that my understanding of the process that has been underway for many years. Actually, I was just talking 20 years, Mr. Speaker. In order to get this modern-day land claim right has been very comprehensive. And I know when I was in the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs, Mr. Speaker, we were working with First Nations, but working with community groups, Mr. Speaker, working with municipalities to make sure that we landed in a place that would work for everyone. So again, I appreciate the question from the member Ops, but this has been a decades-long process, Mr. Speaker, and it is still underway. No one disputes that the land claim should be between the Algonquin peoples and, of course, the federal and provincial governments. I respect that and I know all Ontarians respect that. However, no public consultation was held until after the fact and only to quote in-field detail of what will be contained in a final settlement. I'm sure that the Premier understands that a claim of this size, which impacts 117,000 acres, over 1 million people and the City of Ottawa, including other residents, municipalities across his province and anglers, hunters, cottagers and landowners. All we're asking for is transparency in the process, moving forward with the additional agreements that will be in place. Will the Premier review the government's plan for public consultation and provide Ontarians with the opportunity for further input into this process? Thank you very much. As I say, Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and the final supplementary will give us exactly where we're at on this. But as I said, 20 years of negotiations, more than 20 years of negotiations, Mr. Speaker, Canada, Ontario. And remember, this is the Canadian government, this is Ontario government, and this is the Algonquins of Ontario have consulted with stakeholders, with legal tenure holders, with adjacent landowners, with cottage associations and members of the public. And my understanding, Mr. Speaker, is also there has been an advisory group that has been part of this process, that has been a parallel part of this process. So it has been very thorough. I appreciate the concerns of the member opposite that everyone who needs to have input but I would just reassure the member opposite and, quite frankly, the people of Ontario that this process has been extremely thorough. It is ongoing and the process has not been completed at this point. Thank you. Final supplementary. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Again, no one disputes the importance or length of this land claim. What is concerning, however, to people across the province, particularly those in eastern and northern Ontario, is that you're not allowing residents the opportunity to have input on harvesting, on land use and on waterways. This government once committed to the public that it would be consultative on negotiations of this type. My question, Premier, is what has changed? Why won't the Premier update the public? We've given her two opportunities to do that today. And why is this government refusing to allow public consultation on the Algonquin land claim, particularly in eastern Ontario? Thank you for the question. The fact of the matter is that this treaty negotiation has been going on for some 20 years. In the last two years, we've been approaching a draft agreement in principle. When that draft agreement in principle became available, we intensified the negotiations. There have been negotiations with municipalities. There have been negotiations with individual owners. There have been negotiations or consultations with cottage owners. Anybody in the Ottawa River watershed on the Ontario side of the Ottawa River has been given an opportunity to attend these consultations. I, myself, as the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs, have conducted three consultations here in the legislature to which all members, Liberal, Tory and NDP, have been invited. And a number of you have attended or have sent staff. We have been open and above board with these consultations. Mr. Crane, who is our principal negotiator, is continuing to have those negotiations. Thank you. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Premier, moving from one set of secret and private negotiations to another. The Green Energy Act has increased hydro rates, has been harmful to wildlife animals as well as to birds, and, according to the Auditor General, has lost us jobs for everyone created we have lost for. Many municipalities oppose wind turbine developments in their communities because the government has stripped them of their locally-based decision-making power. They are now forced to host these wind turbines despite the fact they don't want them. The Leader of the Official Opposition has reintroduced legislation in order to ensure locally-based decision-making is given back to municipalities across the province. The question remains, will the government support the Leader of the Official Opposition's motion and allow us to give back locally-based decision-making to our communities? Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And just before I answer the first part of the question, I understand that Norm Sterling, a former member, where is he? He's somewhere. Where is he? I'm not happy with that one. I'll even tell the Premier, don't step on my job, so I'm just going to do that. But that's my fun opportunity. And I do always want to introduce former members to give them the due respect. You've done that, but I want to make sure that people are aware of a Sterling example. In the West Public Gallery from Carlton, Grenville, 31st, 32nd, 33rd, Carlton in the 34th, 35th, 36th, Lanark, Carlton, 37th, 38th, Carlton, Mississippi Mills in the 39th, Mr. Norm Sterling. She stepped on my job, but Premier, you're now in the middle of your answer. Yes, I apologize. And Mr. Speaker, to the member opposite, I think the member opposite knows full well that when I took on this role as Premier almost two years ago, Mr. Speaker, I made it clear that we were going to change the process. That's exactly what has happened, Mr. Speaker. Mayors spoke to us, communities spoke to us, and we have changed the process so that there is increased control over decision-making by those local communities, Mr. Speaker. That is built right into the process. We are very proud, Mr. Speaker, of the clean renewable energy sources in this province. We're also proud of an industry that was jump-started because of our focus on clean renewable energy. But we knew that there were some changes that had to be made, and we made those changes, Mr. Speaker. Thank you so much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Norm Sterling here today, Speaker. He was the first to tell me I should run for the Ontario PC leadership and I support his determination. I also supported Norm Sterling back in 2009 when we, on this side of the House, all unanimously opposed the Green Energy Act, which, by the way, overrides 21 different pieces of legislation, including the Heritage Act and the Planning Act. So wind turbine developers can build wind turbines in communities that don't want them without any pushback by local residents. Now, despite what the government claims, their new procurement process promises more community input, but it hasn't really changed. Just ask the 72 unwilling host communities across this province. The only way to truly allow municipalities and their residents to have their say on wind turbine developments is to support the Leader of the National Opposition's bill. So will the Premier listen to rural Ontario and restore locally-based decision-making once and for all? Thank you. Let me just be clear what the member opposite is suggesting. What she's suggesting is that we tear up contracts that are already in place. I do. The volume of the reaction is in direct proportion to the veracity of what I'm saying, Mr. Speaker. The reality is that I came in with a sign that said we were going to change the process. We have changed the process. There is more local control, Mr. Speaker. We have built that right into the process so that communities can have that control. Quite frankly, Mr. Speaker, I think is a good thing. I think it's a good thing for there to be that kind of local control. I also think it's a good thing that our clean energy policies have created more than 42,000 jobs, Mr. Speaker. That's a very important aspect of our economic recovery and we will continue to work with communities and make sure those decisions are made locally. Final supplementary. There's no reason, of course, Mr. Speaker, that to find a liberal in rural Ontario is a rare sighting indeed. One of the biggest challenges that this government has is credibility with rural and remote communities across all of Ontario. The rural urban divide is caused by disastrous policies like the Green Energy Act. If the Premier is serious about enfranchising rural Ontarians, she would support the leader of the official opposition's bill. It is reasonable. It is never too late to admit you are wrong. Will the Premier reverse her decision to override 21 separate pieces of legislation and make wind turbine developers go through the same processes any other developer would have to go through in the province of Ontario? Yes or no? Mr. Speaker, because of the policies that we have put in place, the air is cleaner in Ontario. We have 27,000 people, Mr. Speaker, in the clean technology sector. Because of the policies that we have put in place and because of the industry that we jumpstarted with, Mr. Speaker, when I travelled to China with a Minister of Economic Development Trade Employment and the Minister of International Trade who were able to take clean tech companies with us, Mr. Speaker, and talked to leaders in China who are desperately looking for solutions to the terrible pollution problems that they have in that country, Mr. Speaker. We live in the world. We do not live in isolation from the rest of the world. It is our responsibility to do everything we can to have a cleaner environment that's the side that we are on, Mr. Speaker. Can you see it, please? Can you see it, please? Thank you. New question. The leader of the third party. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We rely on social assistance account on every penny. But when a family sees a check for nearly $200 reduced to $1.70, or a family of five gets a support check for $5, that means they're stuck, Speaker. The Premier and Minister yesterday insisted that this was only an issue with overpayments and that people weren't hurt. Now we know that that's not true. Will the Premier correct her record? I actually said that there were my understanding was that there was about 1% of the checks of the 500,000 checks that go out every month, Mr. Speaker, where there was a problem and I didn't actually know in those 1% of checks what the issue was, whether it was underpayment or overpayment. But what I asked first thing yesterday morning was that we checked into that that we make sure that people were getting money and that those situations were rectified, Mr. Speaker. I am absolutely in agreement with the member opposite that people who are dependent on the social assistance system need our support and we need to make sure that they get the money that they rely on because it is imperative that they have that every month. So the Minister is working on that, Mr. Speaker and I wish that this technological issue hadn't happened, but the system will be better in the long run, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, some of the most vulnerable Ontarians are being hurt by a computer problem that the government was warned about last February. The Premier was saying that problems with social assistance management system are just minor glitches, but this is what people were facing. One parent was owed $170 and 35 cents for the transition child benefit, but instead she got $1.79. And a family with five children got an assistance check for $5, Speaker. That minor glitch might be the difference between making rent or not for that family, Speaker. Will the Premier make sure that she does everything she absolutely can to make sure that all of the issues that are outstanding are addressed immediately? Absolutely, Mr. Speaker. I absolutely will do that and the Minister and I have spoken this morning and she is in communication with municipalities. She is going to be talking to some of the offices to get a handle on exactly what is happening at the local level. She has already spoken to some of the municipalities leadership, Mr. Speaker. And I am not minimizing in any way the impact on individual families. I understand that that is a very serious problem for an individual family. But, Mr. Speaker, we are introducing a new system that will help those individual families and all the families like them to get better service because case workers will be able to spend more time with them once this system is updated. It is not acceptable that certain families would have had to undergo this problem, Mr. Speaker, and we are working as hard as we can to make sure that those situations are rectified. But I want the system to work better for them in the medium and long term, Mr. Speaker. Those very same problems that the Premier has insisted are just minor glitches have meant that people's support checks were going to their Xs to non-existent bank account speaker, to former trustees for those people. The Premier was warned about these problems nearly a year ago, Speaker. Why did she ignore the concerns that were being raised and rush into a computer system that wasn't ready causing havoc for hundreds of Ontarians? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There was no rushing into this process. It was a very well thought through process and it has not been perfect, Mr. Speaker. Every month $570 million worth in checks is sent out in Ontario Works and ODSP payments, Mr. Speaker. $570 million checks. The outstanding overpayments, the issue that we're dealing with right now is in the order of $123,000. So, Mr. Speaker, mostly the system worked, but there were some situations that I have already said are unacceptable and for those families that was not a minor glitch. For those families it was a very serious thing and we are working to rectify it, Mr. Speaker. And as I said, in the long term, in the medium term the system will be better for all of those families because their workers will be able to spend more time with them, Mr. Speaker. Your question? The Premier and her minister have insisted that they acted as soon as they learned about problems with their new computer system, but the government got a letter from frontline workers back in February of 2014. That's nearly a year ago. In fact, I'll send it over to the Premier as a reminder. Will the Premier come clean and admit that she was warned nearly a year ago in that letter that there was nothing until the whole issue blew up just a couple of days ago? The fact is that this implementation has been ongoing and as there have been concerns, those concerns have been addressed. It did not mean that there was no problem with the implementation. We've already acknowledged that there were problems, but, Mr. Speaker, I have no way of knowing whether this letter to Opsu was identifying issues that actually were addressed in the implementation. My suspicion is that they were. I certainly will double check that with the minister. But, Mr. Speaker, the reality is that this is a system that needed to be updated. The new system will allow caseworkers to spend more time with their clients. And that is the objective. The objective is to have better time spent with the clients. I am absolutely clear, Mr. Speaker, that it's unacceptable that some families can pass this issue with this implementation. We are working on making sure that it's correct. Well, Speaker, it wasn't just Ontario's frontline workers who were warning the Liberals. They were consulting with Minnesota and Maryland, two states in the U.S. who use the same software, Speaker. Last December, the Governor of Minnesota wrote to the lawmakers of SAMS and said, quote, your product has made it impossible to provide Minnesotans with reasonable customer service. That sounds familiar, Speaker. Why didn't the Premier listen when red flags were being raised by other jurisdictions using the same software that failed Ontarians just so recently? Mr. Speaker, let's just look at this situation. So this system is used by Australia, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Germany and New York City, Mr. Speaker. This system will deliver social assistance programs more efficiently, Mr. Speaker. It will give clients 24-7 access to a portal that will allow them to get their case information, Mr. Speaker. I think that is a very good thing that people are able to get their case information. They can get it at any time of day, Mr. Speaker. Kira Hynek, who's head of the Ontario Municipal Social Services Association said this. She said it's going to be a better system than the one we had before. Mr. Speaker, it seems to me that that has to be the measure of the changes that government makes. Are the systems that we put in place better than what we had before, are the implementations as smooth as they can be? Yes, Mr. Speaker. And do we have to correct when we do that? Mr. Speaker, the fact is when the alarm was sounding about a computer problem that would mean major problems for the most vulnerable Ontarians, the Liberal government stuck its fingers in its ears. People on social assistance have a difficult time making ends meet already, Speaker, and with the holidays around the corner, it's even more difficult. The problem that was created by the Premier meant that some people got only a little bit of touch. This isn't a glitch, Speaker. It's an issue that's affecting people's lives in a very, very serious way. Will the Premier immediately call her minister into her office and haul her on the carpet about why this went so wrong? Mr. Speaker, that may be the way the leader of the third party deals with people, Mr. Speaker. If we work together, we find solutions, we make sure that conversations. I know that she is working very hard to make sure that this situation gets addressed. And here's what I'm focused on today, Mr. Speaker. I'm focused on making sure that next month, this doesn't happen. That we make sure that whatever the issues were that they don't happen next month and we make sure that in this month, because I agree with the member opposite, this is a time when families are gathering and we want their resources, that we make sure that people get what they are entitled to in this next round, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. New question? A member from Bruce's very own sound. Thank you very much, Speaker. My question is the Minister of Community and Social Services. Minister, in response to the scandal brewing with your billion dollar, quarter billion dollar social assistance management system, SAMS, or SCAMS, that resulted in 20 million over payments to 17,000 individuals in a small glitch that you fixed in an effective way. The frontline staff disagree with you. They made over 6,000 calls to report problems with the new system. Again, it's your word against theirs. Clearly, they don't want you to sweep this under the rug. Minister, will you be transparent and accountable and recommit to restriking the estimates committee so we can get to the bottom of this and prevent any more nightmares for these people? Thank you. Thank you. I want to thank our frontline workers and our municipal partners for their very hard work on this issue. I know that they're working over time and I want to acknowledge that adapting to the new system has been stressful and we do thank them all for their patience. We will continue to support local offices as they get comfortable with the new system and they have our support. We have sent out additional staff to local offices and as we've said so many times in this house both yesterday and today, when an error was identified by those frontline workers, we immediately took action to reverse the impact of that particular error so that within 24 hours approximately 99% of payments were stopped or retracted immediately. We know that checks went out yesterday. I would like to say in terms of those vulnerable people, if you notice an error, contact their case worker. Thank you. Supplementary. My question is the Minister of Community and Social Services. Your own confidential ministry documents show problems that were identified last October a year ago. You had to delay implementation in March and then again in July. You knew there were problems. It obviously weren't fixed but you went ahead anyways. I would like to be in estimates and identify these and to testify. Minister, if you really want to thank the frontline staff and respect them, you'll commit to allowing them to restrike the estimates committee and allow them to testify. Minister, will you do the right thing? Will you restrike the committee and allow those frontline workers to come and tell the truth? Thank you, Mr Speaker. And while we acknowledge that adapting to the new system can be stressful, with case workers and our service delivery partners to help them learn the new system and support them in this transition. When I received the letter from Opsu and from QP, I actually visited a couple of offices to see the training firsthand. I attended at the Hamilton office, the municipal office. I went out to the new market office of ODSP and I could see that there was a need for more training and I immediately took action and instructed my officials to ensure that everyone would feel better when we went live in mid-November. So even before implementation, the ministry made significant investments in training to help frontline staff prepare for the transition and over the past three years, we've been working with our service delivery partners including frontline staff on the requirements, design and testing of the new system. We have trained some 11,000 users in approximately 257 offices and we know that at the end of the day they're very good. Thank you. New question? The member from Welland? Thank you, my question is to the Ministry of Community and Social Services. Each month, 375,000 people turn to food banks in this province. That is a 20% increase. 20% since this government launched its poverty reduction strategy in 2008. When it comes to putting food on the table and a roof over the heads of Ontario, the Liberals have failed to get the job done. The government's inaction has left hundreds of thousands of people in poverty. Will the minister admit this Liberal government has failed to address the desperate needs of Ontario families living in poverty and failed to reduce the use of food banks in our province? Thank you, Mr. Speaker and thank you to the member for Welland for the question. As I'm very struck, our poverty reduction strategy under the very capable leadership of President of the Treasury Board to address a number of issues as it relates to poverty. But in particular I think the member should know that our government is committed to making long-term improvements to social assistance programs. It's in my mandate letter I will continue to work in this regard. So we have made it a priority to improve the social assistance system and help people in need participate fully in our communities and our economy. So building on the rate increase I believe you probably voted against it in the 2013 budget. Government will increase social assistance rates again in 2014, voted against twice by the member of the third party and so we are adding an additional 1% for adult Ontario works recipients with disabilities received. Well the minister can make excuses but the numbers speak for themselves 130,000 children rely on food banks each and every month. That's a staggering number of kids going hungry in this province. 700,000 meals are served by our amazing food banks who do a lot of fundraising each and every month. And the numbers of families turning to food banks for the first time increased by over 20% this year. That's a reality of poverty in our communities. That's a reality of failed liberal policies and promises. Will the minister admit that with no target no timeline and no urgency to reduce poverty this liberal government still has no real plan to improve poverty for many Ontarians in this province. Thank you. Responsible for the poverty reduction strategy Mr. Speaker. The President of the Treasury Board has made a commitment to reduce poverty reduction. I completely reject the argument being made across the way that our poverty reduction strategy is not making a real difference in the lives of people. Let's take for example a single mom with two kids working full time at the minimum wage job. When we took off as her income would have been less than $20,000 it is now that family is doing far, far better now because of the changes we have made but we are by no means finished Speaker. We are just beginning our work on poverty reduction. In our first strategy we identified eight indicators because poverty is also about breaking the cycle of poverty improving outcomes for kids in schools all of our eight indicators Speaker have demonstrated that we have made progress. Our new poverty reduction strategy is looking very closely and strategically at the issue of homelessness we can eliminate homelessness we can eliminate chronic homelessness and that is what we are going to do Speaker. Thank you Mr. Speaker. To the Associate Minister of Health and long-term care and wellness Minister the health safety and satisfaction of our long-term care home residents is a high priority for the government. Indeed the fact that you have been appointed to oversee our long-term care homes is evidence of that we are well aware that the government is obligated to ensure residents' rights, safety and quality of life for those in long-term care. Part of how we do that is through the inspection system for long-term care homes although I am familiar with this process the people of my writing in Ontario may be interested in this initiative. Mr. Speaker could the Associate Minister provide us with some background on the essential purpose of long-term care home inspections. Thank you. Associate Minister of Health and long-term care responsible for long-term care. Thank you Speaker and thanks to the member from Ottawa Orleans for this very important question. Speaker the member is quite right. Premier has indeed charged me with long-term care and in particular my number one priority is the safety of all 77,000 residents in Ontario's long-term care home and it is in this context that we have committed to performing a comprehensive annual inspection of all of the 632 homes. The inspections which are unannounced ensure that long-term care homes in Ontario are indeed providing the highest care. The inspections serve not only to find out if there are any weaknesses but also to work with long-term care homes to improve our processes so that indeed our residents continue to feel truly at home and certainly at home. Mr. Speaker we'll be glad to know that the Associate Minister of Health and long-term care and wellness is concerned with senior safety and is making long-term care homes inspections top of her priority. However speaking at someone with a background in senior in long-term care I'm apprehensive about the sheer number of inspections that have to occur in one year period. Speaker through you to the minister can the Associate Minister assure us that the ministry has properly trained staff to deal with the volume and enforce these inspections at 630 long-term care homes per year. Minister? Thank you Speaker and thanks again to the member for this important question and I want to reassure the member and the house that indeed we do have the capacity at the ministry to conduct inspections at all 632 homes and that is why we have hired and trained additional long-term care inspectors in 2003 the ministry only had 59 inspectors working today we have 170. The supplementary inspectors hired will enable my ministry to ensure that every single long-term care home inspection is scheduled by the end of 2014 my ministry has taken concrete steps to ensure the accuracy and in-depth of new resident quality inspections. These inspections are resident focused with an emphasis placed on quality of care and quality of life. All inspectors are placed a high importance on interviewing the resident family council and staff of the establishment thank you Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Thank you Speaker. My question is the minister of natural resources and forestry. Minister yesterday your government levied a new tax grab in the form of service fees to hunters and anglers of this province an increase of 23% in certain instances Minister this isn't a basic one fee for all services but a fee for each and every service. It means $2 is added to each of a multitude of licenses. A hunter and angler must purchase such as an outdoors card, various fishing and game licenses and tags for each for the harvest. This comes in addition to the yearly price increases to license. This isn't a simple $2 increase as you like to portray. Minister you justify these new fees based on your claim the special purpose account is declining however nobody knows the details of the special purpose account because you're ignoring legislation and refusing to table the documents. Minister instead of releasing new fees why would you not release the details of the special purpose account to show hunters and anglers of how their money is being spent. Thank the member for the question. Speaker I would say that when the conservators brought in the special purpose account the intention of the account was to be funded to the tune of about $100 million annually about 66% or $66 million of that would come from the licenses and fees that were paid by hunters and anglers in the community across the province of Ontario. It's our intention to continue to try and meet that percentage base from the hunters and fishers from the fees that they pay if we don't do that the very programming that the account was intended to provide for can't be met. I know that the member opposite has a very keen interest in that I know he's had briefings where he's asked about expenditures from this account within his own writing and it's the intent of this account to be able to continue to meet that mandate providing hunting and fishing good programming fish and in the province of Ontario. That's the intention speaker and I would say as well I'll provide the further information on this in the supplementary. Thank you. Minister I've asked the questions I just want an answer. Minister if only the hunters and anglers knew how their money is being spent. I've recently just found out that over 14% or 9.9 million of the special purpose account money that has to be used in the management of resources like deer and fish goes to administering the system licensing system that your government has created over half of that money goes to the United States none of which is invested in our economy or resource management in fact over the course of the contract that you signed over 34.12 million dollars of the special purpose account will go to the United States instead of finding efficiencies in the administration of the system you create new fees minister hunters and anglers like most Ontarians do not trust this government with their money minister why we not show some good faith repeal the new fees release the special purpose accounts documents and bring the licensing system home to Canada where it belongs before the fees that the member refers to came into effect on December 1st of this year there was a significant period of consultation that was undertaken going back at least one to one and a half years ago the decision was made that the fees would come into effect on December 1st and it's not as if these fees just came forward and were forced down the throats of anybody speaker there was significant consultation undertaken and I know that the the OFAH came forward with a view that rather than having a little bit every year that perhaps this was the presentation or the approach that they would prefer on a go forward basis speaker the member raises a fair point I said in a response to a question that he asked last week that those reports that he's been asking about will be brought forward in very short order I can't speak to why they have been recording the past over three years it's our intention to have them tabled within the legislature in the very near future thank you thank you speaker this past weekend I met with people in my writing of Windsor west to hear stories about how the CCAC service cuts have impacted their lives to the minister of health and long-term care thank you the table was hosted by our leader Andrea Horvath and I was accompanied by my colleagues from Essex and Windsor to come see we heard from people like Sandra Havens and Sharon Mueller who had their home care services reduced or cut off completely these are the same service cuts that the minister of health and long-term care has been denying for weeks now that the minister can no longer deny that these service cuts are affecting real people will he finally commit to ceasing further reductions in CCA services and restore services to all those service cuts minister Horvath the long-term care thank you Mr. Speaker I'm aware of the leader of the third party hosting this meeting and rally this past weekend in Windsor and speaking to some of the individuals of concern it's unfortunate Mr. Speaker that for this meeting that the CCAC was not invited to attend as well so that they could actually hear some of these concerns from the public Mr. Speaker and I know on November 10th I know the member opposite and two of our colleagues met with the CEO of the local Erie St. Clair CCAC and talked about the plans going forward to address the deficit and Mr. Speaker it's important to understand the challenge that Erie St. Clair CCAC is facing there was a review done by the Linn and by the CCAC some time ago it was made to a projection of a deficit and part of that Mr. Speaker was evidence that showed that the level of nursing services provided by Erie St. Clair was actually 33% Thank you Supplementary Speaker the same day that the CCAC received an influx of funding people in my riding continue to be told that their services were being reduced or cut off Peggy Hoover was told that the CCAC and that this duty now fell to her Sandra Havens who suffers from MS was told last month that her assistance from community care access center was being completely cut off while I'm relieved that the CCAC is less burdened by debt the issue has always been more than spreadsheets will the minister apologize to my constituents and commit to providing them with adequate home care Thank you Mr. Speaker and the member opposite knows that I'm working very closely with the Linn as well as the CCAC but I mentioned that Erie St. Clair when they did the analysis they found that the level of nursing services was actually one-third higher despite similar demographics one-third higher than it is for the province and in fact the patients that are in the mild needs category is twice as high as what it is in the provincial average so the CCAC CEO I think responsibly undertook a review to see how they could bring that CCAC more in sync with the rest of the province and we did in fact it was on my instruction last week that an additional $4.1 million was provided to the CCAC that actual process was in process long before the member opposite raised her concerns here in the legislature and we'll continue to make sure that they get back to balance and it may take an additional year to do that we're going to make sure that patient care does not suffer Mr. Speaker Thank you Mr. Speaker my questions to the minister of citizenship immigration and international trade Minister, Ontario is consistently ranked the number one province for immigrants to call home many of my constituents tell me that one of the biggest challenges facing new immigrants is the transition to a new workforce for many high school newcomers the qualifications needed in their field differ from their home country in order to start providing for their families and integrating into their communities newcomers need assistance to find a job in their field Minister, could you tell the House what action Ontario is taking to help our immigrants transition Thank you Minister of Citizenship Immigration and International Trade Thank you Speaker and I want to thank the from Brampton West for asking as an immigrant myself I know how critical it is for Ontario to develop programs that will help the newcomers Ontario recognizes that really every four working age immigrants arrive in Ontario have a post-secondary education when we can effectively engage them in our workforce everyone will benefit this is why Speaker we have 92 active bridge training projects in place to help highly skilled newcomers assess licensor and employment in their field Speaker so far our projects have assisted close to 50 thousand newcomers in over 100 professions continue their career in Ontario we are proud that Ontario bridge training program is working, thank you Speaker Supplementary, thank you Thank you Minister for the answer the minister is not the only immigrant here today in fact many members from all sides of the house came here from another country or are the children of Canadian immigrants we should be able to agree that newcomers are a vital part of Ontario's economic and cultural fiber they need and deserve our help to integrate and adapt particularly in the workforce but instead of what should be a united front we too often see newcomers being treated as a second priority Speaker will the minister tell us what the Government of Ontario is doing to ensure that the programs newcomers need are being protected Good question Thank you again the Speaker for the question our bridge training programs held highly skilled immigrants from a variety of field and we are committed to continuing these services Speaker we have budgeted to contribute over 63 million over three years and in 2014 alone we provided over 26 million dollars to these programs without this funding bridge training services we cannot be able to operate we are making sure that highly skilled immigrants from around the world can obtain the fast track training and customize the services needed to quickly and effectively transition into our workforce Ontario, Canada is the land of hope and opportunities for newcomers our goal is to help them succeed because we know that newcomers succeed Thank you New question I would like to speak to my question to the minister of health and long term care Minister on the same day the Erie St. Clair Lynn gave millions in bailout dollars to one group they told another group they need to prove their work Community Care Access Centre has managed to run a $5 million deficit only 8 months into this current year The CCAC's CEO salary has jumped 37% in the last 5 years and the number of employees making more than 100,000 has more than doubled to 21 from 9 during that same time period this agency was given a multi-billion dollar bailout now compare that with the Leamington District Memorial Hospital one of the province's most efficient small hospitals whose obstectrics unit unit's future is unsecure so my question minister says why is the Leamington District Memorial Hospital left hanging while the CCAC is given bailout after bailout Thank you Well Mr. Speaker I don't know how the member opposite can say that the CEO's salary has increased that dramatically over 5 years since she only started at the CCAC in May of this year but Mr. Speaker I have to say that apart from the fact that bill 8 addresses the specific issue I think one part of the question that the member opposite asked which is the issue of executive compensation and I do want to say as well that the proportion of CCAC funding that goes to executive or management level compensation has actually decreased substantially since 2007 the administrative costs that are attributed to our CCACs has also declined over a similar period of time so I think that's one of the steps in putting in place but importantly bill 8 I think is going to give us additional tools so that we can address that issue of executive compensation Thank you Follow the money back to December of 2012 the Erie St. Clair Lynn was forced to postpone knee and hip replacement surgeries because it had used up its budget the same scenario happened last year and this year we're waiting with $4.5 million in funding and now the CCAC is forcing your hand forcing the Ministry of Health to actually give them a $4.1 million bailout yet Leamington District Memorial Hospital remains with a $2 million shortfall forcing obstetrics to close now Minister Leamington residents cannot understand why this government has millions to spare each time the Lynn or CCAC run out of money for the highly efficient Leamington District Memorial Hospital obstetric clinic so my question Minister is this why are your appointed health bureaucrats held to a different standard of accountability than rural hospitals where is the Minister I guess what I'm beginning to understand is that the third party wants an increase to the budget to the CCAC and the official opposition wants to see a decrease to the funding to the CCAC but with regards to Leamington Hospital specifically and I know that the member opposite has been involved and concerned about the impact on potential changes to the obstetrics unit there in the hospital he does know that the Leamington District Hospital is working closely with the regional Lynn so Lynn not the CCAC to look at various options there was a meeting on November the 27th as well between the hospital as well as the Lynn and community members to enable all sides really to speak to and address this important issue of obstetrical services roughly half of the individuals the residents in the Leamington area currently deliver have choose to deliver in Windsor at the regional hospital already but I'm committed to making sure that we have an open and transparent process led by our Lynn or served by the ministry with community involvement and certainly with the hospital what the best outcome should be Thank you Thank you to the President of the Treasury Board Mr. Speaker yesterday this government ran through amendments to bill 8 that's 11 pieces of distinct legislation all in one Harper style omnibus bill Liberal committee members voted against granting the children's advocate investigative powers over his entire mandate they voted to open up questions over the ombudsman jurisdictions around court rulings shockingly they voted against the patient ombudsman a true independent ombudsman making him a true independent ombudsman they won't be able to investigate infectious diseases outbreaks that happens in private clinics and we know that diseases happen in an investigative in an investigative way all of this happened in fewer than 3 hours Mr. Speaker how can this government say this government is transparent and then that ran through legislation that is so deeply flawed Thank you Mr. Speaker I am delighted with the progress of bill 8 it says you know it's been a long time coming we've introduced this legislation long before came in this form unfortunately was blocked when the NDP forced an unnecessary election moving forward and I'm also very pleased and I want to thank the committee members for having done an excellent job they actually accepted amendments from opposition parties and I was very pleased to see that the bill actually was improved thanks to the work of the of the members opposite so that's good news speaker so what we're doing is moving forward with important accountability legislation for many many many many months because it has been before and speaker I'm pleased that this bill has passed has gone through committee and will be back in the house very soon for third reading thank you supplementary again to the Treasury Board President I mean you called the election just for the record Mr. Speaker this government this government can say start the clock finish please thank you Mr. Speaker this government can say what they want about bill 8 but it won't change this fact yesterday they voted to limit the powers of the child advocate yesterday they limited powers and oversight over the patient Ombudsman a 52 billion dollar budget and they've actually opened the door only for oversight by invitation only in the healthcare sector Mr. Speaker how can this government say they're open and transparent when they created a patient Ombudsman designed to fail thank you well speaker I am I'm actually looking into a nomination to the Stephen Lee clock award for a legislative MPP speaker because that might be the funniest line we've heard in this house in a long time speaker so you know I'm very pleased as I said that bill 8 is moving forward and actually I correct my record the legislation around orange oversight has been before the house for three years we couldn't get it passed so I'm delighted that this necessary legislation is being passed so let's just remind ourselves what we're getting in this legislation we're going to include municipalities school boards publicly funded universities we're establishing a patient Ombudsman this is a fantastic step forward we're giving the provincial advocate for children youth new powers to investigate that's very good I know you're trying to justify why you won't support the bill but I tell you this is very very good and important legislation new question from the public thank you Mr. Speaker my question is for the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services as you'll appreciate Ontario has and continues to aspire to have some of the safest roads in North America but even so with the holiday season fast approaching my constituents in Etobicoke North and Ontarians across the province are worried about the potential road safety related to impaired driving caused by drugs or alcohol are often a judicious combination of both it's unfortunate to say this speaker but during the past decade in Ontario more than 2,000 lives have been lost and more than 50,000 people have been injured in collisions involving impaired driving these numbers are intolerable and there's absolutely no room for impaired driving of any kind in this province recently I attended a kickoff event for the 2014-15 holiday ride campaign to remind my constituents about the importance of this issue Speaker will the Minister please explain to this house some of the details that we're taking to discourage the very serious problem of impaired driving in Ontario thank you very much speaker I first want to thank the member from Etobicoke North for attending the kickoff event for the holiday ride campaign speaker the ride campaign is a year round initiative that seeks to discourage impaired driving and catch drivers who drive while intoxicated during the holiday season police in Ontario conduct more ride spot checks our government is committed to supporting this important initiative and to keeping Ontarians safe from impaired drivers since 2008 and 2009 speaker we have double the ride grant program funding from $1.2 million to $2.4 million annually to support more spot check activities across the province speaker doing last year's campaign $1,059 impaired drivers were taken off the road making our streets that much safer I look forward to providing more information on specific initiatives we take it in law speaker to make our road safer as well thank you supplementary I believe all members of this chamber will be encouraged to hear about the success of last year's holiday ride program and about the number of impaired drivers taken off Ontario's roads but I think it's clear and objective to note that our government's targeted funding of the ride program thus increasing the number of spot checks has saved lives however while they're very important in catching impaired drivers ride check speaker only one tool that police have to fight this problem unfortunately the statistics continue to demonstrate that many people in Ontario find themselves or choose to find themselves driving while intoxicated minister would you please share with us what else is our government doing to prevent people from drinking and driving these holidays thank you minister thank you speaker and I agree with the member 100% that ride program is one way of making sure that people are not driving while intoxicated but speaker unfortunately the reality is that some people do still drink and drive during the holiday season which is totally unacceptable that is why speaker we have some of the toughest measures in North America to further discourage impaired driving including things like immediate 90 day driver license suspensions and ignition interlock devices our government speaker has also made penalties for impaired driving even stiffer as of December the first 2010 individuals can have their vehicles impounded for 7 days on the spot if their blood alcohol level is above the legal limit so speaker I ask all of our members through you to keep a visual and eye to encourage friends and neighbors not to drink and drive and make sure we have a safe holiday season in America new question the member from Oxford thank you much Mr. Speaker my question is to the minister of municipal affairs minister winter has started an area from Buffalo to the east coast have already been hit with massive storms but here in Ontario municipalities are experiencing a single dollar of assistance for the ice storm that hit them a year ago it turns out the delay is that your ministry took 9 months to produce an application and it didn't give them training on the forms until 11 months after the storm minister is this your idea of emergency assistance well speaker we don't unfortunately control the weather I I'm tempted to say that's a federal responsibility but that would be rude so I wouldn't say that but I can say that when the ice storm hit we moved very very quickly to meet with a number of municipalities to put in place an application of $190 million to help respond to that we met with AMO and the big city mayors and others around how we would determine the distribution of that we got some good information from that and we use that information to frame the approach around the application for assistance there were a number of municipalities conservation authorities that qualified they are working at getting the information together and as that information comes in we will respond as quickly as we can to get that money back to our municipalities and conservation authorities well minister according to your ministry you've only received so far one completed application we're less than a month away from the deadline minister that's not the only problem with this program you hired an Alberta company to help with the accounting and the processing of 58 municipal claims and your claim to the federal government at a cost of $2.8 million so they are getting $46,000 per application to review in this process now minister a year later not a single dollar has gone to help municipalities but nearly $3 million went to an Alberta company would you call that a great success of the disaster program I think the disaster relief program is going to be a great success precisely because precisely because we're insisting on accountability and making sure that the party that on the opposite side often calls for accountability and transparency but when we practice it largely in response to the federal regulations that the member from Oxford come to order third time and you ask the question I have a lot of respect for the member particularly when he lets me answer the question Mr. Speaker there are accountability mechanisms that are part of this co-program every single dollar that's being paid to the accounting firm assisting us in this important task will be retrievable from the federal government and the accountability mechanisms in place are largely as a result of the federal requirement thank you Mr. Speaker my question is to the minister of health in just a few minutes at noon care givers and hospital staff will rally against the government's cuts to our local hospital it's been reported that the hospital will have to cut 18,000 nursing hours cleaning hours cut their operating room hours by half and close the cafeteria it's hard to know what's going to be left why is this minister pushing head with cuts to our hospital and northern patients deserve more care not less minister of health thank you Mr. Speaker and we're not making cuts to Tomiskaming hospital but I do understand the concerns that are being raised by the citizens of that area and their concerns that I'm taking very seriously with the northeast lin myself the deputy of my ministry will be traveling as well to meet with the lin leadership of the northeast lin shortly to understand better the concerns in the Tomiskaming area and the catchment of that important hospital we currently are funding the hospital to the tune of $19 million this year as the member opposite knows it a new CEO was hired in February of this year she's initiated a voluntary operational review to identify areas of improvement in the hospital I think something we should all get behind and agree with but my ministry and the lin will continue to work closely with the lin to find a positive solution final supplementary thank you speaker we know what the government's been doing to small and rural hospitals their budgets have been frozen for three years but when you freeze a budget for three years that is effectively a cut nothing else has been frozen okay there's no way that a government can act nursing hours cut operating time by half and still expect the patients to be served especially and I'm glad the minister recognized northern terror especially when the closest full service hospital is two or three hours at least away once again please minister do the right thing look at the effects of the hospital and act please the minister Mr. Speaker that's exactly what we're doing and in fact you know the opposite is apart from what the member opposite is alleging we're actually investing more in our small and rural hospitals we're not we didn't our small and rural hospitals because of their unique characteristics we're exempt from the quality improvement transfer the funding transformation not from the quality but from the funding transformations that we've made over the last few years we've created a dedicated 20 million dollar fund specifically to our small and rural hospitals as well we've since 2003 we've invested more than 115 million dollars extra dollars deputy house leader can move his chair but he can't these are hospitals that we take very seriously they provided an incredible high quality service to their communities we're working closely with them we know our lins take this as seriously as I do and as my ministry does we'll continue to work with them point of order from the member from Kitchener Waterloo thank you very much Mr. Speaker I'd just like to correct my record I mentioned in my first part of my question infectious diseases happen in private clinics thank you you member from Bramble League or Malta thank you very much Mr. Speaker I invite all members of the house to join me in welcoming three special guests to the house Majinda Paul Kaur who is the legal director the international legal director for United States Ranbir Singh who is the Canadian director for United States and Gurpreet Singh a teacher and a reservist with the Canadian forces United States is a United Nations recognized organization doing humanitarian work around the world thank you very much we have a deferred vote on the motion of third reading of bill 10 an act to enact the child care and early years act 2014 to repeal the day nurseries act to amend the early childhood educators act 2007 the education act and the ministry of training college the ministry's act to make consequential related amendments to other acts calling the members this will be a five minute bill all members please take their seats all members take their seats please on December 1st Ms. Sandals moved third reading of bill 10 all those in favor please rise one at a time be recognized by the court Mr. Bradley Mr. Shirelli Ms. Win Ms. Matthew Mr. Hoskins Mr. Charles Mr. Quinter Mr. Cole Mr. Tukar Mr. Dillon Mr. Carter Mr. Orzetti Mr. Mcmeakin Mr. Murray Mr. Chan Mr. Leal Mr. Flynn Mr. Zimmer Mr. Delaney Ms. Hunter Mr. Sergio Mr. Morrow Mr. Jassek Mr. Del Duca Ms. Damela Mr. Frasier Mr. Anderson Mr. Baker Mr. Ballard Mr. Dahl Ms. Hogarth Ms. Kuala Ms. Mollie Mr. Pots Mr. Rinaldi Mr. Reneal Mr. Miller Hamilton Ms. Sattler Mr. Natashack Ms. Armstra Mr. Singh Ms. Forster Mr. Manta Mr. Hatfield Ms. Campbell Ms. Gretzky Ms. French Please run Mr. Huda Mr. Hardim Mr. McLeod Mr. Fidele Mr. Clark Mr. Miller Ms. Jones Ms. Thompson Ms. Monroe Ms. Scott Mr. Bailey Mr. Hillier Mr. Walker Mr. Marto Mr. McDonnell Mr. Pettipies The ayes are 70, the nays are 23 The ayes are being 70 and the nays being 23 I declare the motion carried Third reading of the bill, 20 a.m. next year Be it resolved that the bill do now pass and be entitled as in the motion. We have a deferred vote on the motion of the second reading of bill 7 an act to enact the burden reduction reporting act 2014 and the partnerships and jobs and growth act 2014 calling the members this will be a 5 minute bill, same vote calling the members this will be a 5 minute bill On November the 18th Mr. Dugard moved the second reading of bill 7 All those in favor please rise one at a time be recognized by the clerk Mr. Dugard Mr. Bradley Mr. Shirelli Ms. Win Ms. Sandals Ms. McCharles Mr. Quinter Mr. Cole Mr. Takar Mr. Bardinetti Mr. Dillon Mr. Cadre Mr. McMeakin Mr. Murray Mr. Chen Mr. Leo Mr. Flynn Mr. Zimmer Ms. Hunter Mr. Sergio Mr. Morrow Ms. Jassek Mr. Del Ducat Mr. Dammler Mr. Frazer Mr. Anderson Mr. Baker Mr. Ballard Mr. Dom Ms. Horvath Ms. Hogarth Ms. Koala Mr. Nadeau Harris Mr. Potts Mr. Rinaldi Mr. Arnott Mr. Huda Mr. Harding Mr. Pidella Mr. Clark Mr. Miller-Perry Sound Muskoka Mr. Dunlop Mr. Thompson Mr. Barrett Mr. Monroe Mr. Scott Mr. Walker Mr. Smith Mr. Nichols Mr. Marto Mr. McDonnell Mr. Pettipies Mr. Gates Mr. Miller-Hamilton Ms. Sattler Ms. Taylor Mr. Natascha Ms. Armstrong Mr. Singh Ms. Forster Ms. Gretzky Ms. French Please rise one at a time, be recognized by the clerk. The ayes are 92, the nays are 0. The ayes being 92, and the nays being 0. I declare the motion carried. Do you have the bill? Do you have the lecture? Pursuant to the order of the house dated to November 27, the bill is ordered, referred to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs. There are no further deferred votes. This house stands recessed until 3pm this afternoon. Thank you.