 It is now time for question period, the leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Premier today, the Premier backpedaled on her reckless climate change plan. She now says she won't ban natural gas. Every time we ask about changes to the building code, the Premier dodges and deflects. Now we're hearing of the new net zero carbon homes which the Minister of the Environment can't even define. Mr. Speaker, it is practically impossible to heat your home without natural gas and be a net zero on emissions, unless you live in the base of a wind turbine. Knowing that, Mr. Speaker, will the Premier admit this is just liberal spin on phasing out natural gas? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. While we were very proud, I was very proud to be with our Minister of Energy, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Minister of Economic Development and Minister of Transportation today, Mr. Speaker, to announce and reveal the climate change action plan, Mr. Speaker, to put more details into the public realm so that people can understand how we are going to tackle climate change. Because on this side of the house, the discussion is not about whether we tackle climate change, Mr. Speaker. That's the discussion that's being held on the other side of the house. On this side of the house, we are tackling climate change, Mr. Speaker. And we're doing it— Seated, please. Seated, please. Thank you. Supplementary. Excuse me. Stop. No. Please. Mr. Speaker, again to the Premier. Ontario's hydro rates are skyrocketing, forcing many families to turn to natural gas to heat their homes. The Premier's solution to this? Just raise natural gas prices higher than electricity. Sure, you may be able to keep a natural gas stove or barbecue, but heating your home with natural gas will no longer be an option. On top of that, Mr. Speaker, the average net zero home, according to Natural Resources Canada, can cost $150,000 more than the average home today. Excuse me. Stop the clock. The Minister of Aboriginal Affairs, the member from Scarborough North, the Minister of Energy, come to order. Tobacco North. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, obviously the government doesn't like it when facts get in the way of their spin. Natural Resources Canada says that a net zero home can cost $150,000 more. So, Mr. Speaker, my question to the Premier is where does she expect home buyers to find another $150,000? Mr. Speaker, I would say to the Leader of the Opposition, where does he expect any of us to find another planet to live on, Mr. Speaker? Students from Chester Public School at the announcement this morning, Mr. Speaker, they're all studying climate change and they know us to take action. So, it's up to us to help home owners, Mr. Speaker, to use less energy, save more money through home energy retrofits, Mr. Speaker. It's up to us to help reduce pollution by investing in transit and electric vehicle incentives. That's what our plan does. And to support businesses and industries and manufacturers to be competitive, Mr. Speaker, and to develop the technologies that are going to be. Mr. Speaker, again to the Premier, so let's recap. A new home, that's now going to cost you $150,000 more. To heat that home, it's going to cost you $3,000 more. But don't worry, the Premier assures us these costs will lead to business growth in Ontario. Well, Mr. Speaker, wrong again. The money generated from cap and trade will see businesses send, hear this, $300 million to California by 2020 and another $3 billion to California by 2030. Mr. Speaker, why does the Premier want to make life more unaffordable for families and businesses in Ontario? Everyone in this house wants to combat climate change, but no one in Ontario supports a radical, eye-opening approach. Will you do the right thing and make Ontario more affordable? Thank you. Will you say it, please? Thank you. Premier. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. You know, Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of Energy and Climate Change and I were at a green building conference. There were construction companies and developers and builders from all around the world, Mr. Speaker. There were companies from Europe, Mr. Speaker. There were companies from the Caribbean, from the States, all over the world, Mr. Speaker, because these are builders who have technologies ready, who are looking for jurisdictions where there's a framework in place, Mr. Speaker, where they can build the kind of efficient homes and buildings that they're capable of building. So they are very, very eager to do that work here in Ontario, Mr. Speaker. You know, and when the leader of the opposition talks about ideology, the ideology that we're fighting in this legislature is an ideology that says that climate change isn't a problem. Do nothing. Don't take action, Mr. Speaker. Don't look at the costs of climate change. Just sit on your hands. That's not what we're going to do, Mr. Speaker. We're moving forward. Thank you. New question? The leader of the opposition. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Premier. Since I can't get an answer on sending $3 billion to California, let's talk about education. A Ministry of Education document reads, ultimately a school's condition reflects the state of commitment of one generation to the advancement of the next. That sounds right, but if that's true, this government isn't making a very strong commitment to Ontario's students. Across the province schools have fallen into disrepair. In fact, Ontario has a capital repair backlog of $15 billion. What kind of commitment is that? Mr. Speaker, how many more years will students have to learn and teachers have to teach in our crumbling schools? We must do better. Will the Premier commit to that? Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I know the Ministry of Education is going to want to comment, but I want to just assure the member opposite that we have been investing. We'll continue to invest in school upgrades, Mr. Speaker, since $2,313 billion has resulted in nearly 755 new schools and more than 720 additions and renovations around the province, Mr. Speaker. Over the next 10 years, the commitment going forward, Mr. Speaker, $11 billion to help build new schools and to renovate, Mr. Speaker. That commitment is a real commitment, and you can look at the record of the building and the renovation that we've done in order to measure the impact that we will have going forward. $11 billion over the next 10 years, Mr. Speaker. We recognize that the condition of schools is very important. We'll continue to make those investments. Chief Government WIP, come to order. Supplementary. Mr. Speaker, back to the Premier. This government may believe that a $15 billion repair backlog is acceptable, and they justify it with their spin. But the reality is the government isn't doing enough. Just listen to what the grassroots organization fixed our schools had to say. Classrooms are 10 degrees to 12 degrees in the winter are not an anomaly across this province. And in the spring and the fall, on a third floor of an old building, it wouldn't be uncommon to be in excess of 30 degrees, certainly not optimum learning conditions. Ceiling towers are moldy and collapsing. That's from this grassroots organization. These conditions that set our children up for success, absolutely not. We need to have the proper schools. Mr. Speaker, the Premier can't blame this on local school boards. Mr. Speaker, she was the former Minister of Education. Why has the Premier a blind eye to this state of disrepair of far too many of Ontario schools? Thank you. Minister of Education. Yes, thank you very much. And I'm pleased to respond to this question. You know, Speaker, we currently are in a $1.25 billion program over three years to address school renewal and school repairs. And in addition to that $1.25 billion that's specifically for school repair... Member from Renfrew, come to order. In addition to that money, we actually also have a $750 million school consolidation fund. And what that helps us is it helps schools, school boards to maintain the schools that remain open after a round of school closures. They can actually renovate those additions, replace, renew. So we've had a massive investment in school safety and conditions. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, back to the Premier. The Minister of Education brags that they have a $15 billion problem and they're going to deal with 7% of it. How could all those students in those schools where there's mold and disrepair. Let me share a story. You know, there was a six-year-old child who received a concussion because she was going to the washroom in her school and the washroom door fell on her. Auditorium sealants have collapsed during school hours putting students at risk. John English Junior Middle School in Etobicoke is home to 900 students. The school is in critical condition and needs $20 million in repairs. Listen to what a student from Runnymide Public School had to say. Some kids have to wear their winter coats in class. Well, for others, their classrooms are so hot it's hard to learn. Our bathrooms don't have locks so they can't even have privacy. That's from a student. Mr. Speaker, how do we expect children to learn while they are forced to wear winter coats in the classroom? Will the Premier commit to dealing with the huge list, the backlog of $15 billion to fix those schools? Yes, thank you. I must comment that if I hinge on a bathroom door needs fixing, the caretaker should probably fix the hinge on the door. But let's talk. You mentioned schools in Toronto. So let's talk specifically about the Toronto District School Board. The school condition improvement allocation, which is based on average school condition in particular boards, has increased by four times. We've quadrupled the number from $29 million to $112 million. That's a massive increase. And we have directed every school board in Ontario to use the proceeds of disposition when they sell one school site to pay for the renewal and repair of their remaining sites, which actually gives school boards a significant passion flow that they have control over. Thank you. Thank you. No questions? Third party. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Premier. The final report into the mercury contamination in grassy narrows was released publicly a week and a half ago. It says that high levels of mercury in grassy narrows Wabagoon River suggest there may be an ongoing source of mercury in the system. The government has had this report, Speaker, since April. Will the Premier tell Ontarians whether the government is aware of any sources of ongoing mercury contamination in grassy narrows? Thank you. Well, let's just take a moment. The Minister of Aboriginal Affairs is going to want to comment. But I had the opportunity to attend the beginning of a meeting that the Minister had with scientists from the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change and from his own ministry, Mr. Speaker, with the Chief from grassy narrows. And so I had the opportunity to meet with the Chief and one of his colleagues. And Mr. Speaker, we are very serious about looking at the recommendations in the report, making sure that we are doing everything in our power. And I had an opportunity to talk to Chief Fobuster and to say to him that, you know, when I went to grassy narrows and I talked to the scientists about the mercury that's in the sediment in the lake and in the river, there was no, at that point, there was no knowledge of increased mercury or ongoing mercury poisoning, Mr. Speaker. Answer. If that is the case, we need to discover what that is and we need to look at whether there are ways that it can be cleaned up, as I said, without doing further damage. Supplementary. Well, Speaker, perhaps the Premier can tell Ontarians then whether the government is actually monitoring the water in the Wabagoon River. So they know definitively whether or not there is new mercury contamination in the Wabagoon River and grassy narrows. Thank you, Premier. Minister of Aboriginal Affairs. Minister of Aboriginal Affairs. Thank you. As the Premier has said yesterday afternoon, I and my Assistant Deputy Minister, scientists from the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, along with the Minister himself, Minister Murray, met with Chief Fobuster and one of his officials. We had an agenda of some five items on the agenda. This mercury pollution issue was obviously one of those items on the agenda. As a result of that meeting, I have committed to going to grassy narrows on June 27th. I will be accompanied by Minister Murray. We will be also accompanied by a number of Ontario scientists and having spoken to the Minister of Health this morning, Minister Hoskins. He's re-arranging or attempting to re-arrange his schedule so he can come to grassy narrows also. We take this issue very seriously and that's why the Premier and three ministers have met with the Chief and will continue. Thank you. To date, this Premier has refused to accept all the scientific evidence that shows that mercury in grassy narrows can be overrun. The people of grassy narrows and the children of grassy narrows First Nation continue to get sick and continue to worry. It is time to accept the truth, Speaker. It is time to begin some action on reconciliation. It has been decades. This government has been in power for over a decade. The question is, when will this Premier begin the cleanup of grassy narrows in the Wabakin River? Thank you. Minister. Minister Murray. Minister of the Environment and Climate Change. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. The report, the very good report that we received talks about the need for an immediate field study. In addition to the ongoing monitoring that the scientists in the Ministry of Environment have been doing both on fish and water. Minister Zimmer, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs, and I met with the Chief. We tabled a comprehensive 12-month plan for full field studies and to be able to determine how the mercury could be extracted without causing additional harm to people and to the environment. We agreed that the First Nations and the Chief Minister would make those decisions with the support of both ministries. As Minister Zimmer said, we have a follow-up meeting with our team of scientists, and we will be up there working under the leadership of the First Nations, providing with them all the resources they need to properly action and solve this problem, Mr. Speaker. New question? The Leader of the Third Party. My next question is also for the Premier. For weeks, the Premier and her ministers have tried the crisis in health care instead of fixing it. Ontarians need health care that they can count on, not a press release speaker, not a commercial that says everything is fine. When will this Premier stop denying that Ontario's hospitals need more than $3 billion in critical maintenance and get on with the job of fixing the hospital? Thank you, Premier. Recognize that there needs to be continuing and ongoing investment in health care. That's why there's more than $1 billion, Mr. Speaker, in our most recent budget, including $345 million for hospitals. That's why there's an $11 billion and $12 billion in 10 years. Sorry, I'm getting the 12 and the 11 between education and health care, Mr. Speaker, because we're investing in both health care and education, Mr. Speaker. So the $12 billion over 10 years that we are investing in the bricks and mortar of hospitals, Mr. Speaker, we fully recognize that those investments need to be made. That's why we've made the commitment of the dollars, Mr. Speaker. This Liberal government is in denial in terms of the mess that the health care system is in in this province. If you take your loved one to a hospital, you want to know that the medical professionals have the tools and the resources that they need to provide the care that they're trained to give. I met a nurse on the weekend who told me that her hospital was so under-resourced that she was concerned for her license and that the poor quality of care that she was forced to provide was causing her serious, serious mental anguish each and every day when she walked in the door after a shift. She actually had to quit her job, Speaker, to maintain her personal and professional integrity as a frontline nurse in a hospital. Now, when will this premier stop denying that there is a crisis in health care and give frontline health care workers the resources that they need to provide the quality of care that they deserve to provide and that patients... Thank you. Health and long-term care. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I know that the leader of the third party this weekend, she met her at the Opsu offices in North Bay. She didn't bother to walk down the road to the hospital and actually visit the hospital, see for herself, talk to the hospital administration, talk to the staff working there. At a hospital that has made exceptional progress in improving the outcomes of Ontarians in that part of the province. But, Mr. Speaker, we have on so many different measures. If we look at the Conference Board of Canada's 2015 health report, according to them, the health of Ontarians was not only viewed favorably amongst Canadian provinces, but it was evaluated by the Conference Board as the seventh best in the world, Mr. Speaker, placing ahead of Japan, ahead of Germany, ahead of the United Kingdom, and ahead of the United States. Thank you. Final supplementary. Speaker, I think it is disgraceful that a minister of this crown, a minister of this government that pretends to be progressive continues to use unionization in a pejorative fashion in this health shame and critical maintenance. I've met nurses who have been fired from hospital, Speaker, and I have met hospital... Come to order. Please. I've met hospital administrator, Speaker, CEOs of hospitals who have told me that they have been forced to close beds because of liberal budget cuts. What this all comes down to, Speaker, is that patients who need care in hospitals are not getting the care that they need because hospitals are being cut. Instead of denying this crisis in healthcare, Speaker, when will this Premier step up to the plate and deal with the crisis that she has created? Thank you. Mr. Speaker, union representatives and their members know that this government has a deep and profound respect for them. We meet with them as decisions. But where I won't have it both ways, Mr. Speaker, is when the leader of the third party claims that 300... Minister? When the leader of the third party claims that 350 nurses and healthcare workers lost their job at North Bay Hospital, when, in fact, since the amalgamation of 21 layoffs, Mr. Speaker, and where I draw the line is where she claims that 1,400 nurses lost their jobs last year. When the truth, Mr. Speaker, is that... Where the third party come to order? 1,000 nurses according to the College of Nurses of Ontario met new jobs were created. The member from Renfrew come to order. Second time. New question. The member from Leeds. Thank you. My question is for the Premier. This morning the auditor general tabled her special report on the Pan Am and Par Pan Am games. And despite the government's claims, the auditor general's report confirmed that the Pan Am games were neither on time nor were they on budget. In fact, the operating budget, and it's right here in black and white in the auditor general's report that contributed significantly more dollars. In fact, 304 million dollars or 61% more. In fact, she also highlighted that the bundling of capital projects contributed to the project's delay and significant deficiencies. So we all know, Speaker, that the Pan Am lucrative bonuses were all tied to showing up for work. But also they were shown to show for exceptional performance goals. They could have stopped this. They could have told them not to get this money. Why did this government look the other way? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I want to take this opportunity to first thank the auditor general for the report and I want to thank the member opposite for the question. Mr. Speaker, on the very first page of the report, the auditor general states, and I quote, Ontarians can take pride in the fact that the 2015 games went on a major hitch. Mr. Speaker, she continues to say they left a legacy of infrastructure for athletes and the general public to use and led Canada to its biggest ever haul of medals for the Pan Am, Parapan Am games. Mr. Speaker, these are high praises coming from the auditor general. It doesn't stop there, Mr. Speaker. The AG states that the games were, and I quote, praised for their smooth operations by the Pan American Sport Organization and the America Paralympic Committee. She also highlights, Mr. Speaker, how all three levels of government leveraged the games, highlighted that the games accelerated the West Onlands by about 10 years. Mr. Speaker, we are so proud of these games. Thank you. The report is pretty clear. 61% over 304 million dollars. Speaker, back to the premier. In September, I asked the minister to freeze the payment of all our transportation until the auditor general finished her report. He answered by telling me these are the most transparent games in the history of the country and despite the ministers gloating, the auditor said she was unable to obtain answers to certain questions and could not obtain some documents she requested. The auditor wasn't able to access all computer hard drives, hardly open and transparent for a government that has a shady history when it comes to hard drives. Speaker, what was the government hiding on these missing hard drives? Directives from the minister to not pay those lucrative Pan Am bonuses? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm proud of the legacy of the Pan Am games. Mr. Speaker, the auditor general speaks exactly about the highlights of this legacy for these games here in Ontario. Mr. Speaker, we increased volunteers here in the province of Ontario and the auditor general says some 23,000 people served as trained volunteers for the games and a new volunteer website was introduced to link game volunteers to future volunteer opportunities here in Ontario. The AG talks about how we encourage youth sport stating that the Pan Am Parapan Am game kits program also helped motivate children and youth to participate in sport in more than 4,250 games. The AG states the games help fund the completion of 250 km stretch of the trans-Canada trails here in Ontario which provides continuous trail from Windsor to Ottawa from Fort Erie to North Bay. It's only the progressive concerns from the very beginning who didn't understand the power of these games and we are proud of the Liberal government. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, my question to the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change. Today the government finally released its climate change plan. The plan is unoverdue and much needed but for this plan to sustain public support it needs to be fair effective and transparent. Low income rural and northern communities face a disproportionate burden. Climate change action will cost them more of their income than other Ontarians. They will need some extra help but when you look at the percentage of total spending this plan offers very little support for these communities. Why does this action plan offer so little support to low income rural and northern communities? Thank you. Minister of the Environment and Climate Change. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. I want to thank the member not only for his question but for the very hard work he did on the bill and nothing makes the minister happier than the environment minister when the critic said we should do more. There is billions over a billion dollars Mr. Speaker of support for affordable housing and apartments and for single family homes. In the north this will be particularly powerful as the Minister of Energy said earlier today the savings I believe are in the range from $100 to $1300 per home for rural and northerners through the types of programs that are available to them. We recognize that northerners don't have some of the choices that people in the south and large cities do so we are putting disproportionately more money into those programs where the highest cost level and where things like transit and energy choices are more limited Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Mr. Speaker the NDP proposed that Ontario follow California's example by dedicating at least 25% 25% minister of cap and trade funds to programs that directly benefit low income rural and northern communities who are facing a disproportionate burden to notwithstanding what you said minister we don't see that 25% allocation the government rejected our proposal instead out of the minister wants to spend northerners will get just $1 to $4 million to replace their wood stoves it's the only explicit commitment to the north how can the minister sustain public support for his climate change action plan when he won't address the unfair burdens carried by low income rural and northern households. Mr. Speaker I appreciate the question again so the members reading from page 67 of the plan and which is a dedicated program he's right that recognizes wood stoves right above it it says for all Ontarians because we're one Ontario $500 to $600 million for home retrofits and energy systems and that right underneath it for near-carbon incentive rebates another $180 to $220 million I would suggest since no income lens unlike California doesn't apply to a group of expenditures but we have to demonstrate across all of our expenditures that we've met the equity test that all monies can be applied in these situations northerners are eligible for all of this money we're working through municipalities in the north and we'll be working with municipalities to support existing municipal programs and add to those. Thank you my question is for the minister of northern development in Mines many people in northern Ontario and in my riding of Sudbury are involved in the mining and mining exploration industry companies conducting mineral exploration are part of an important early step in the mining cycle and it is critical to the success of the mining industry that the government supports their development Mr. Speaker so last month Mr. Speaker announced the junior exploration assistance program and what this government is doing to support Ontario's mining industry I understand that recently the first round of the Jeep program closed and funding has been announced Mr. Speaker so Mr. Speaker can the minister please update this house on the progress of the junior exploration assistance program and how the government is supporting mineral exploration in Ontario from northern development of Mines Thank you so much Mr. Speaker and thank you to the member for Sudbury for that question and as always I appreciate his great commitment to Ontario's mining industry certainly all members of our government understand the mineral sector is vital to our economy and to our future prosperity that is why in December we announced an investment of $5 million through the northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation to support this new junior exploration project to provide the Ontario Prospectors Association to aid junior exploration companies to conduct their plan exploration work in northern Ontario we knew it was timely to support this I'm very pleased that following the first round part of applications I was pleased to announce that we were supporting 32 projects from 25 different companies for an investment of $2.7 million something that was very welcome from all the junior exploration companies the association has announced that a second round of applications is now in the works the end of May 30th go to the end of August thank you Thank you Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker and I also want to thank the minister for that answer I know it's encouraging to see this government actively supporting the mining and exploration industry in Ontario Mr. Speaker and as the minister knows and mentioned the mining industry in Ontario supports 26,000 direct jobs and it is important to note Mr. Speaker it is the largest private sector employer of indigenous peoples in Canada so Speaker I understand that in addition to supporting the mineral exploration companies and projects the junior exploration assistance program and the Ontario Prospectors Association are providing resources for members of the public and indigenous people who are interested in becoming prospectors so Mr. Speaker can the minister please tell us more about the prospectors training program and how this will help grow the prospecting industry in northern Ontario Thank you so much again Mr. Speaker this is a great question we need more prospectors in the province of Ontario and later this summer the Ontario Prospectors Association will be engaging in this new exciting initiative aimed at training new prospectors across northern Ontario we're working in partnership again with the OPA to deliver five-day prospecting training courses to members of the public interested in learning more about prospecting and possibly becoming prospectors this supports our government's mineral development strategy and its commitment to educate, to recruit and to retain a highly skilled exploration workforce in Ontario they'll be working with geoscientists from the Ontario Geological Survey trainees thank you very much trainees will develop such skills as rock and mineral identification and geological map reading they'll also learn about what government programs are available to assist in their prospecting endeavour certainly together with initiatives like this the Jeep program we talked about earlier we're going to be supporting a mineral sector that's healthy innovative and sustainable thank you good question to members from Prince Edward Hastings thank you Mr. Speaker my question this morning is for the Minister of Education Minister two days before most parents and kids were notified of the consultation process that was beginning for provincial and demonstration schools the government held a secret meeting about the future of the demonstration schools I've got a few questions for the minister this morning can the minister confirm if such a meeting was held on February 21st yes or no and was the only agenda item for that meeting quote an exit strategy to close demonstration schools in June 2017 yes or no and if those were both things that did happen why would they why would this government spend 1.8 million dollars on a consultation process when really the decisions had already been made to close these schools in June of 2017 thank you well the reason we would have a consultation process is obviously that no decisions were made went out to consult we recognized obviously that there are some issues around enrollment in our schools for the deaf in some cases we realize there's issues around the number of children with severe learning disabilities that can be served by demonstration schools in the way that they're presently offered there's only actually 160 children per year that leave the programming all across Ontario that's offered for severe learning disabilities and demonstration schools but had were any decisions made prior to the consultations absolutely not that's why we had consultations supplementary speaker back to the minister this government's plan or lack of plan I guess has caused chaos for these students and it's caused chaos for the parents it's caused chaos for the employees that's why they're rallying again today outside the schools in Belleville and Milton and London and Ottawa of these provincial schools the freeze on school enrollment during the consultation has forced these parents into limbo they won't know until June 24 whether their children will be accepted into a demonstration school and as a result they're unable to tell their home school boards whether they'll have to deal with a student with the learning disability now we have kids with severe learning disabilities who don't know where they're going to go to school next year and the schools which are cutting millions of dollars in special education programming don't have a place for them either if the premier doesn't fire this minister next week she's doing all students in the province a disservice does the minister think it's appropriate that the students who need the education system should have to guess about where they're going to school next year the minister the member knows perfectly well the application process for students who are going to who wish to attend a demonstration school is ongoing there's an application process for students who wish to a change to attend demonstration schools every year as I just mentioned there are 160 places for students in demonstration schools throughout the province at the four demonstration schools so there's an application process every year where students don't know until the spring whether or not they will be one of the students who's been accepted my concern is that we have students all across Ontario with severe learning disabilities who actually don't have the sophisticated programs available that are available at the demonstration schools and we don't think that you should have to thank you the member from Hamilton East Tony Creek my question is to the premier this morning as you know the auditor general revealed the Pan Am games went shockingly over budget Ontario's original budget for the games was $500 million the cost so far is $804 million and climbing that's 61% over budget this is almost at the levels of e-health and orange of waste yet seven months ago the minister stood up and had the audacity to claim that the Pan Am games had come in under budget speaker enough is enough we can't trust even simple arithmetic with this government what is the premier going to do is hold people accountable for wasting $300 million plus of provincial money thank you minister of tourism and health and sport minister of tourism and health and sport thank you Mr. Speaker and I again want to thank the member for the question Mr. Speaker in 2009 there was a bid book the bid book had $2.42 billion for the games the entire amount Mr. Speaker $100 million under budget by the time you recorded in your last technical briefing Mr. Speaker the auditor general highlights the games were so successful that I quote public attention to the games also grew as the number of Canadian metals continued to be one the CBC which broadcast the games in Canada expanded its television coverage three times to respond to this demand Mr. Speaker so that wasn't once twice three times Mr. Speaker that's because these games were the most successful Pan Am pair of Pan Am games in the history of these games supplementary well Speaker if I inflate the prices originally I can come under budget too Speaker the incompetence is incredible the incompetence let me quote let me quote the report the other funding partners for the Pan Am games the federal government the municipalities and the universities in a total contributed 96% of their 2009 commitment so Speaker everyone else came under budget but the government went 61% over budget how can the premier possibly excuse this and to make matters worse this is the piece to resist on Speaker the TO 2015 board decided last August to award full executive bonuses despite the interim figures were not being in and despite being fully aware that it had gone over the operating budget why did the premier authorize some of the highest differences in history on the sunshine list when she should have known that TO 2015 had spent over budget in light of the Auditor General's report well thank you Mr. Speaker the Auditor General's report underscores that the governance of the games was best in class the AG states that the governance model was and I quote Mr. Speaker a good model for multi and cross-disciplinary projects like the games and that the governance led to the AG saying that on an overall basis TO 2015 exceeded its sponsorship targets by 29% it also leaves the AG says that the vast majority of infrastructure projects Mr. Speaker came in at or under budget like the stadium Mr. Speaker everyone knows that the games were a massive success it had boosted our GDP by 3.7 billion dollars created 26,000 jobs and has left a legacy for all of us to be proud of thank you Mr. Speaker the member from Hamilton East Tony Creek please come to order new question the member from Berry thank you speaker my question is for the minister responsible for women's issues minister May was sexual assault prevention month and we all know that sexual violence has a devastating impact on the lives of victims and their families I find this unacceptable and do not believe that sexual violence should be tolerated in Ontario or anywhere else it is important that we support survivors and work towards changing attitudes and behaviors that lead to such violence this means changing the conversation engaging Ontarians discussion about sexual violence how to prevent it and how to inspire behavioral changes minister could you tell me how you are working towards changing behaviors that lead to sexual violence and fostering this discussion thank you minister responsible for women's issues thank you I want to thank the member from Berry for this very important question and this is an extremely important issue speaker and we must all work together towards solutions so part of it's never okay our action plan to stop sexual violence that we launched last year established the creative engagement fund which is a 2.25 million dollar investment over three years to support artistic projects that raise awareness and provoke discussion about challenging issues and sexual violence and harassments these projects can include things like performing art writing music photography or murals and traditional aboriginal art the artists and the art organizations will partner with sexual violence and harassment prevention organizations to ensure that their projects are informed by the experience of survivors and those working closely with them these project speaker will start conversations and work towards engaging all Ontarians in discussion on ending sexual violence in our process thank you thank you speaker the minister for that response I'm glad to hear that we are fostering awareness to support survivors this confirms our government's commitment to ending sexual violence and working towards prevention it's never okay states that we are establishing several methods to spread information and generate new ideas about how to end sexual violence so I'm curious to know how these efforts are making a difference I understand that recently the first recipients of the creative engagement and innovation funds were announced after a competitive application process speaker could the minister tell us about these first recipients of funding from the action plan and how they are contributing to the conversation thank you minister thank you again I want to thank the member for the question so last week last month actually speaker we announced to be 11 recipients through the creative engagement fund ranging in topics from consent great culture gender quality to challenging attitudes that actually cause sexual violence I look forward to seeing the results of the work of the 11 recipients in the future and as mentioned the action plan also established a innovation fund that's a three million dollar fund with the intention of providing organizations with the means to create pilot projects like flexible employment programs support units and bilingual intervention methods this year the innovation fund is supporting seven projects across the province they include projects on vertical framing to provide flexible employment to survivors of human trafficking research and to provide support services for francophone immigrant women and the development of technological tools for sexual survivors very important work good question Mr. Speaker my question is for the minister of transportation as the minister will recall on January 20th town of Houghton Hills Mayor Rick Bonette and staff regional chair Gary Carr and I met with him to discuss transportation issues in the town of Houghton Hills at that meeting the minister indicated that while the GTA West corridor study had been put on hold he would have an update for us soon that was almost five months ago now the minister asked the question how does the minister define the word soon the uncertainty surrounding the GTA West corridor study is impacting the ability of the town of Houghton Hills to plan for the future our riding was opposed to alternative 4-3 and we need to know where this is going will the minister explain the hold up inform the house of the status of the GTA West corridor study and tell us when he's going to be making a public announcement of what's going to happen next Mr. Speaker I appreciate the question from the member from Wellington Houghton Hills I remember that meeting that he asked for with his municipal with partners from the municipalities in his particular area it was a great meeting speaker in fact not the first meeting that I've had the privilege to take part in with that particular member who is a very strong advocate I will admit of course for his community speaker as we said I believe it was in last December when we were pausing the environmental assessment on this house a decade ago and I think every member in this house would recognize that the world of transportation and transportation planning has changed dramatically over the last decade and I suspect we'll continue to change and transform in the next number of years and decades speaker as soon as we have completed the review internally that's being undertaken currently we will provide a public update speaker thanks very much at the January 20th meeting we also discussed the need to find truck traffic along highway 7 including the possibility of an act in bypass there are serious concerns which have been expressed by the town council and residents about the ever increasing truck traffic along highway 7 in Acton as well as in Georgetown and Norville I share those concerns and I tabled a resolution in this house last fall to draw attention to the problem it's still on the order paper the town of Houghton Hills has offered to partner with the MTO on a study to examine the problem and come up with a long term solution the town has even offered to cover half the cost of the study will the minister commit to partnering with the town of Houghton Hills to carry out this study and work together with us to find a long term solution thank you very much speaker I also thank the member for his follow-up question I am always happy and the ministry of transportation is always happy to work with members on all sides of this house and our municipal partners to find appropriate solutions to the challenges that we face I know the ministry we're still having an internal discussion about that very specific funding support request from Houghton Hills speaker and again as soon as we have an update with respect to that particular item happy to share while I have the opportunity speaker also once again congratulate that member and our members from Guelph and from the Hamilton area because not that many weeks ago speaker we did approve the Morrisden bypass a significant infrastructure project thank you very much thank you speaker my question is to the minister of education this government continues to deny children with autism vital therapy while also cutting frontline education workers who help children succeed parents at the Toronto Catholic Board are concerned as the board is being forced to eliminate 56 education assistants this government has cut over half a million dollars to that board this year making the problem worse in Windsor the public board continually faces a shortfall of nearly five million dollars in special education funding government cuts to education leave school boards scrambling to fill gaps in service will this minister of education admit that forcing school boards to make decisions based on dollars and deficits is leaving students with exceptional needs behind thank you minister of education thank you very much and I'm pleased to respond to the questions about funding for school boards but I think we do need to focus on some of the facts so for example from the Windsor Essex the greater Essex school board in Windsor their enrollment has gone down this year and by the board's own calculation they have a 700,000 dollar decrease because their enrollment dropped by the board's own calculation they have 6,000 unutilized spaces that is 6,000 seats it's actually costing them 6 million dollars a year to maintain those 6,000 unutilized seats so the idea that we've cut spec ed funding just isn't true what has been cut is enrolling funding thank you Mr. Speaker back to the minister of education Ontario families know that when 8 million dollars is cut from special education funding across 25 school boards and 1 billion dollars in dedicated education funding goes unused over the past 3 years their children are not a priority at the upper grand district school board over 500,000 dollars in cuts mean that the amount of time that education assistance can spend with students will be reduced in Halton the projected cumulative impact of special education cuts is 18 and a half million dollars over 4 years perhaps this minister can focus on facts and stop manipulating them September September is coming September is coming thousands of students with autism will enter schools that do not have the resources to meet their needs why is this government balancing the books on the backs of students with special needs so let's talk a little bit about special education funding since 2003 we have actually increased special education funding by 70 percent we have increased it from 1.14 billion to 2.76 billion we have not cut special education funding that is one of the areas which has actually gone up most quickly is special education funding she talked about the Toronto Catholic district school board it's had an increase of 3.3 million in special education funding so we know that the idea that this party office at promulgates that we're going around recklessly cutting back ed funding is just not true and what I can say about the issue of autism is that we actually have a program called connections which when children are coming off of IVI treatment the school board do you question the member from Scarborough Lazy Park who is responsible for seniors affairs in June of each year Ontario celebrates and recognize contribution seniors make in our communities with many local events and activities across the province seniors are valuable members of our community through the knowledge, experiences, skills and energy in my writing of Scarborough agent court I have a number of active seniors who participate in many programs like the happy caring seniors performance group hosted by the association and the Villa elegance program promote senior state active healthy and connected both of these community groups recently received funding from senior community grants for their programs Mr. Speaker, through you to the minister can he please inform the house about how Ontario's senior secretariat is supporting seniors through the month of June Mr. Speaker thank you speaker our refreshing it is to hear the members from Scarborough aging courts speak so passionately about the seniors in her writing speaker and I know that this is a sentiment that is expressed by every member of the house speaker June 2016 it's the 32nd annual seniors month in the province of Ontario to recognize the important role that our seniors play Mr. Speaker the team for this year is seniors making a difference seniors not only make a different speaker but they enjoy doing what we have proposed to them with all the plans and the activities that we are planning for the month of June the month of June speaker it's dedicated solely to the seniors and OSS it's involved in organizing so many activities hundreds of activities in our province speaker and I am very delighted to hear that Scarborough aging court is planning to attend and celebrating the seniors during the month of June speaker I want to thank the minister for his response and for the work of the Ontario senior secretaries providing Ontario seniors minister we know that by acknowledging senior contributions and how they are making a difference in our community we are fostering a more aged inclusive society a society that is not one generation against the other during the seniors month as you said earlier minister that I will be taking part in a number of senior events in my writing including the official opening of the new care first centre which have been providing quality care to seniors in Toronto and York regions for the past 40 years every day Mr. Speaker I hear concerns about many non-profit groups regarding challenges in finding funds to operate their free community programs that keep seniors active in our community Speaker through you to the minister can he please explain to the House what funding is available to community groups to support their seniors programs What a great question Minister Speaker I want to thank the member from Scarborough aging court again for the question but let me say that it was the primers decide and her strong support for our senior that she wanted solely and a plan dedicated to and I have to say Speaker that the Ontario senior Secretariat staff has been very busy in shifting to another 700 application this year alone but seniors the most wonderful 10 years that the seniors organizations have embraced the call to the program and so far we have we have had some 544 programs that have enjoyed activities in our province of Ontario Speaker and so the Monday speaker again this is a reminder to every member we have celebration going to the province and I hope that the members will find the time to join the seniors and really tell them that no question the members from Thank you very much Mr Speaker last week the premier said that she wants to work with all parties in the House to create legislation to combat the BDS movement which seeks to destroy the only democracy in the Middle East Israel as a member of the Jewish community I'm keenly aware that this movement is built on hate and lies a few days ago New York Governor Kumo stood up to anti-Semitism by signing an executive order to ensure that those who boycott Israel get boycotted themselves sorry that's Governor Komo will the premier please tell us what legislation she is proposing and how will be more than just words which will actually have the power to end the discrimination of anything associated with Israel and the Jewish community on our campuses well I just need to correct the member opposite I never talked about legislation Mr Speaker I said we needed to work together with the opposition our government is a strong strong supporter of Israel Mr Speaker we always happen you know that's why I was in Israel strengthening and promoting our relationship and our our trade ties Mr Speaker I made a statement when I was there I said that BDS is not the position of it's not my position nor is it the position of our government Mr Speaker and it's unacceptable for students or parents or children to feel unsafe or to feel discriminated against wherever they are Mr Speaker whether they're on a campus whether they're in their communities Mr Speaker so our government will never support a climate of fear or hostility that's why we set up the basis for our government Mr Speaker we are absolutely clear in our position I have made a statement Mr Speaker and I stick to that question period is over there are no deferred votes this house stands recess until 3 p.m. this afternoon