 It is now time for a question period, the leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition. Thank you, Speaker. A question to the Premier. Premier, yesterday I talked about your failed record when it comes to job creation in the province. We didn't add in the new jobs in the entire year of 2013. And sometimes I'm not sure what's worse, your jobs record or your fiscal record, because now we have under the Liberal government doubled our debt and we have the highest level of debt of any state or province in North America. This is very troubling. The two are related, I believe. So Premier, would you agree with me that we want to send a signal that we're open for job creation to restore hope that people in this province that it's important to balance the budget and pay down the debt as quickly as possible? Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And I want to just thank the member opposite for the question and to say to him that employment rose in this province by 95,000 jobs, Mr. Speaker. Over the last year, he knows that. And I think he knows that since June 2009, we have net new jobs of 440,000, Mr. Speaker. So in fact, I think he knows that the way that we are working to work with communities, to invest in communities, to work with businesses and work with Mr. Speaker. I think he knows that that is actually the way to go. We are not going to buy into our support of plan, Mr. Speaker, that it would actually push good jobs out of the province that would undermine labor, Mr. Speaker. And the strategies that the Leader of the Opposition is interested in would actually cut jobs, Mr. Speaker. Would cut programs and slash programs across government. And we don't believe that is the way to build to an aspirational future, Mr. Speaker. Clearly, Premier, your plan is not working. We're losing 300,000 factory jobs. We're deep and dead. And it seems to be a basic sense that the plan isn't working. You try a different plan. You try a different path. And well, yesterday, you and the Leader of the NDP were basically arguing over what taxes to raise and when. The Ontario P.C. Party was laying out our plan to create a million jobs in the province by the way to restore hope. We continue that path on how we get Ontario working again. My colleague from Etobicoke Lakeshore, Doug Holiday, is introducing a bill later today called the Financial Accountability Office of Iraq. It would basically compel the new Financial Accountability Officer to look at areas of managed competition, to ensure that we contract out where possible, where it makes sense for taxpayers, services to get the best quality at the best price of the taxpayer. Premier, can I count on you to support Doug Holiday's very sensible, thoughtful, important-looking bill? Mr. Speaker, please. Mr. Speaker, please. Thank you. Premier. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And the member's question is about achieving savings. And just yesterday, we announced changes to the public sector retiree benefits, Mr. Speaker, which will save, I think, at full maturity a billion dollars, Mr. Speaker, a year. So that is a very important and significant change. I hope that the leader of the third party supports that and thinks that that is a good idea. I haven't seen the private member's bill that the member for Etobicoke Lakeshore is going to bring forward, but I understand that he couldn't identify any areas where this particular idea would apply. So the notion of contracting out, which I guess is at the root of the issue, he couldn't identify whether he thought contracting out. Teachers was a good idea, or contracting out the police. He didn't have an answer to that, Mr. Speaker. So like the million jobs plan that the leader of the third party talked about, it is magical thinking, Mr. Speaker. We don't engage in magical thinking. We have a plan, and that plan is working. Final supplementary. Magical, just price of thinking over there. You know, back to the Premier, I guess when it comes to our deep indebtedness of working jobs, I'd wish to engage in any kind of thinking whatsoever. I'm a little worried by your answer that you weren't watching Doug Holiday's press conference. He laid it out. It follows on the Drummond Commission recommendations. Basically, I think there are all kinds of areas. We asked financial accountability officer to give advice. I'll give you one off top of my head. The TDSB under your watch was paying $3,000 to switch electric circuit. You know, in your own home, if you were to change electric circuit, unless you can do it yourself, you'd look for the best price, the best quality for an electrician. You do that in your home, but Premier, when it comes to taxpayers' dollars, why don't you do the same sensible thing? Why do you lock into a contract that costs $3,000, or something that should be 10 times less expensive, and shows respect for the taxpayer in this great promise? So I think the leader of the opposition knows, Mr. Speaker, that we have already adopted 60% of the recommendations that Mr. Drummond put forward. And I want to talk about our plan, because the leader of the opposition, who is engaging in what really is magical thinking, because there are no specifics about how we would move forward, except we know that there would be deep cuts and slashes to programs across government, and there would be laying off of thousands of teachers and thousands of people who work in the healthcare sector. So what we're saying, Mr. Speaker, is we believe that this is a time that we need to invest in infrastructure. We need to invest in roads and bridges and in transit, Mr. Speaker, across the province. We believe that skills and... Members from home, come to order. That that is an area where there needs to be support. We need to make sure that young people, all the young people in this room today, Mr. Speaker, have the opportunities to develop the skills that they need to take part in the 21st century. Those are the kinds of investments that we're making, Mr. Speaker. Thank you for your presentation. Come along with us. Thank you. You have a question? Neither of the opposition. Mr. Speaker, let me give you another example that Doug Holiday's bill would fix, and why I think that you should support Mr. Holiday's bill. I think it's sensible, it's proven, it's working everywhere else, but for some reason you're standing away here in the province of Ontario. Again, under your leadership, the Toronto District School Board, because they're locked into a particular contract with a government union, paid $143 to install a pencil sharpener. $143 to install a pencil sharpener. If you were to go to Staples today, that same pencil sharpener would cost you $20. So I ask you again, Premier, why are you forcing taxpayers to pay $143 for something that should cost $20 maximum? Good question. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. The leader of the opposition is aware, or I assume he's aware, that the Toronto District School Board is... The member from RIMS for Nipissing Pembroke will come to order, and as soon as I sit down, the next person that decides to jump when there's quiet, I'll get you too. My understanding is that the Toronto District School Board is moving to address these issues where there was a contract in place that was not reasonable, Mr. Speaker, but I think it's important to understand that at the base of this question that the leader of the opposition is asking is an attack on organized labour. That's actually at the root of it because this right to work legislation that he has proposed that really is at the heart of his notion about where the economy should go is an attack on organized labour. It's an attack on the gains that organized labour has made over decades, Mr. Speaker, and in fact would drive our workforce to the bottom, Mr. Speaker. That's where he wants to go. I'm going to go there with him, Mr. Speaker. I still understand, Speaker, why the Premier is not supporting such a simple, proven concept. Everywhere else it's been tried, it's saved anywhere from 15 to 30% for the taxpayer. Let me take this back to the big picture why this is important. Not only does it then improve the quality of services, it means we have more money to invest then in maybe that new drug to help treat Parkinson's, to help treat cancer. Money that we can actually use to balance the books. And when we send that signal that we actually have our fiscal house in order, we get new investment, more jobs in our province. That means the young people here today from all over Parliament can find their future here in the province of Ontario, not out in Alberta or British Columbia. So I guess, I've given you two examples. I've got a whole list I can go on and on, but I don't understand why you don't just give me yes for an answer. It's proven, it's thoughtful, and it's about time we made this happen in our province. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Well, as I say, I have not seen the piece of legislation. I'm happy to read it and to look at it. But, Mr. Speaker, if there's anything specific in it, I'm happy to look at that. Again, this is a savings question and I pointed out that yesterday we announced retiree benefit changes and I will just say, Mr. Speaker and correct my record, it's a $1.2 billion savings, Mr. Speaker, $1.2 billion savings over the next five years. So my hope is that the leader of the opposition would see that that's the kind of move, that makes sense, that's the kind of work that we have been doing and we will continue to do. And then he would understand that investing in the future, investing in transit and roads and bridges across the province, investing in skills training for young people, making sure that our young people have the opportunities as they are getting in the youth employment strategy for placements and job opportunities. That's the kind of work that is necessary right now, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Final supplementary. Well, you know, again, Premier, I don't think it's standing up for taxpayers when you're paying 10 times the cost for a pencil sharpener. Imagine the cost across government. The auditor general looked at your own spending in service Ontario, for example, and found those that were in managed competition for service Ontario in a safer way than those that were government run. It seems eminently sensible. To me, the sense of signal that Ontario is open for business for job creation against them, I'm on the side of taxpayers on this and I'm inside of the young people who actually want to find a future in the province of Ontario. The problem I think with you is you're on the side of the special interests who are getting rich off of these fat contracts. I guess the only reason why you can't give me a yes or no is you're on the side of special interests, wanting to stand up for taxpayers, getting our fiscal house in order, and being Ontario open for investment. Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I'm on the side of mothers and fathers and grandfathers and grandmothers across this province, Mr. Speaker, who want to make sure that their children have the opportunities that they need. I'm those who are taking their nieces and nephews to school, who are helping families to get to school and they need transit, Mr. Speaker. They need transportation opportunities to be able to help their families to get into work and get back from work, Mr. Speaker. I'm on the side of young people who want a good start in life. There are already 7,600 young people who have had an opportunity to start a youth employment strategy. New question, the leader of the third party. Speaker, my question is for the Premier. I am sending across the Ontario Liberal Platform for 2011 to the Premier. These are the commitments that the Premier as a candidate and campaign co-chair to the people when seeking to support, to sit here in this legislature. Can the Premier tell me, Speaker, on which page the plan for new tolls to happen? Thank you, Premier. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm happy to have this question but I really have to say that it is amazing to me that the leader of the third party continues to disemble on her position in terms of building transit in this province, Mr. Speaker, and investing in infrastructure. It's beyond me how the leader of the third party can actually believe this is not a moment in our history when we need those kinds of investments. When people need those kinds of investments, Mr. Speaker, we know that productivity is lost because we don't have adequate transit in the GTA. We know that Northern communities struggle to pay for their infrastructure, Mr. Speaker, and we know that those kinds of investments are necessary. So I would have thought that of all the people on the other side. I did hear, I did get a chance to understand one of the words that the Premier said and I would ask to excuse me, I would ask the Premier to withdraw. I withdraw. Supplementary. No, it's not there. In fact, it's exactly the opposite speaker. The Premier and her party promised the people that they would not raise taxes on households as campaign co-chair is the Premier aware of the commitments that she was actually elected on. Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Well, there's been a lot of talk about change in Ontario, Mr. Speaker. I wasn't the Premier in 2011. I'm the Premier now, Mr. Speaker. And the member from Leeds, Granville will come to her. Finish, please. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I don't know if you all may have liked it when I wasn't the leader, but I am the leader now, Mr. Speaker. And we have a team. I hope she will support us in investments in transit and take a position on building infrastructure across the province. Minister for rural affairs is now warned. Carry on. It's not just the platform. The Liberals went out of their way, Speaker, to assure people that they would not raise taxes, tools or fees. The Liberal leader went further and made their contribution. We will not raise taxes. The party issued a statement saying, quote, dvp, our gardener expressway, unquote, is the Premier ready to admit that she has no mandate to hit families with new taxes, tools and fees. So, Mr. Speaker, we have been we have been as a government investing in transit since 2003, Mr. Speaker. We're going to continue to do that. Shouldn't that we need a revenue stream to continue to build transit is completely consistent with what we have been doing. But, Mr. Speaker, I would suggest to the leader of the third party that she that she that she talked to us about what's going on in her own caucus because, Mr. Speaker, there are members there are members who actually agree that this is something that she looked at. At a public meeting run by Metrolinx, the MPP for Davenport said we'll look at revenue tools to make sure they're fair and meet the purpose. 50% of TTPs operational funding and she said, do we need more money for transportation? Absolutely. The leader of the third party. Premier Speaker, in fact the Premier who's the MPP for Don Valley West who took $4 billion out of transit city families haven't seen a raise in years and they're watching the bills pile up. But instead of making life more affordable instead of respecting the middle class families that sent us here the Premier is telling hardworking families that they're going to have to pay more even after promising that she wouldn't. What does the Premier have to say to those families, Speaker? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I know that the leader of the third party is aware that when I was Minister of Transportation that $4 billion stayed in the transit building. What I was just speaking is that we're working very hard to make sure that their lives are better including investing in transportation infrastructure and transit. And also, Mr. Speaker, making changes like changes to the minimum wage and making sure that that minimum wage as it increases over the next two years, we're going to be bringing in legislation, Mr. Speaker, to create that indexation. I hope that the leader of the third party and her caucus would support that, Mr. Speaker, because I would think that the NDP would think it would be a good idea to have a rational plan for minimum wage going forward. Thank you. The Premier says she doesn't want to play let's make a deal, but it seems that she can't deal with the NDP in the last election. Liberals are looking to hit household budgets with new taxes after explicitly promising that they wouldn't. What does the Premier have to say to those from the Speaker? Well, again, Mr. Speaker, what I have to say to people across the provinces, we are going to make investments in transportation and infrastructure including transit. We are going to do that in the fairest way I would have expected, Mr. Speaker, is that we would have had support from both parties and the opposition, Mr. Speaker, because I know that the PCs understand that having decent infrastructure and having modern infrastructure is important to the economy and actually saves businesses money, Mr. Speaker, but I especially would have expected from the NDP, Mr. Speaker, that they would have understood that that kind of investment is an investment in the future and it's critical for the people across this province. Thank you. The Premier likes to talk about fairness, but this is what people see, new HST loopholes will let corporations write off the HST when they gas up the company car at the same time as Liberals create a brand new gas tax for the moms in Sudbury or Thunder Bay or Brampton, a party that was elected on a promise not to hit household budgets with new taxes, toils and fees getting ready to do it yet again. What does the Premier have to say to those moms and those families? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Well, again, I really believe that it's important that a government take leadership on the long-term issues that are going to affect people's lives. If we do nothing, Mr. Speaker, it's important that we support the government by pushing aside those long-term issues and hold on to short-term quick fixes, then we are not doing our job, Mr. Speaker. So I would say to the leader of the third party, it would be wonderful if we could have a conversation about retirement security, for example, as a long-term issue that has a concern and believes about what we should do in terms of retirement security. I believe that having CPP enhancement would have been the best way forward, Mr. Speaker. The federal government doesn't want to do that. We are going to put together an Ontario plan. I hope that the leader of the third party will see that as worthy of her support as it will make a huge difference to people and to the future. Any questions? The member from the Public Relations. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the member. I hope I'm reading you incorrectly, because I seem to sense that you've already, I guess, taken a position on the bill that I'm about to put forward this afternoon. I want to assure you that this is not to do with politics. It's to do with good management of the government and it's to do with the best use of scarce resources, that being the tax dollars. Now, we found out in the municipalities, particularly the municipality of Toronto, that we could save a lot of money and look outside of the way that we're normally providing service. Now, I think that all municipalities should do this, but I think the lead has got to come from the province of Ontario, and that's what the bill is all about. We're asking the financial accountability officer to report questions and opportunities to use alternative service delivery to save money. Now, this can be done, and it's only a review of the matter, but it needs your support, and I'm sure it will do this. Thank you, Premier. Mr. Speaker, I know the Minister of Government Service is going to want to speak on the specifics. I haven't, as I said, I haven't read the bill. I know it was just released this morning, and I was in meetings. I have not had a chance to look at the legislation, Mr. Speaker. I don't know what the specifics are. We are world leaders as the Minister of Transportation is noting in our Alternative Financing Procurement, Mr. Speaker. We have developed very strong alternative models of financing and procurement, and we continue to do that work, Mr. Speaker. I understand that the analogy this morning that was made was with the City of Toronto contracting out garbage, Mr. Speaker. Well, we don't pick up garbage. We don't have that function, so I don't know exactly what functions the member is talking about. We'll look at the legislation and we'll take it from there, Mr. Speaker. It's obvious to me there are two things happening here. Don't point your finger. Don't you dare point your finger. We've got two different conversations going on. That's not helpful, and it's also not helpful to do the shout-down stuff that's happening. So let's just bring it down, please. Supplementary. Yes, to the Premier, Mr. Speaker. This is also recommended in the Drummond report. It's in the 40% that you haven't done. And it's also recommended by the Ontario Chamber of Commerce that we take a look at alternate service delivery. It's also recommended by the Ontario Chamber of Commerce that we take a look at alternate service delivery to reduce the cost of this government. It can be done. The City of Toronto could save $35 million contracting out its garbage for the entire city. It should have been done in 2000, but it wasn't done. So that means from 2012 years, they wasted over $400 million of taxpayers' dollars. And at the same time, they come up here to the province and have been able to balance their own budget, save the money that we can save, provide the service that we need to provide, and do it in the best way. Will you support it? Thank you, Premier. Has it even been introduced? You know, Mr. Speaker, at first in passing, I'm surprised that the member is the critic for the Ministry of Government Services, wouldn't have stood up today and congratulated the government on our move yesterday on retiree and the member of yours. I realize he hasn't been in the leadership or in the legislature, but he would have seen, Mr. Speaker, that our government has taken numerous steps to find more creative ways to deliver services to the people of Ontario in an efficient and productive way. But, Mr. Speaker, we have driven by what makes sense not by the type of ideology that we've seen from across the way, the type that has led to the, let's have a private conversation. Mr. Speaker, I'm not prepared today to stand here and take lessons from the party that brought us privatization of the 407 and how government can bring forward these services. Good question. The member from Algoma, Manitoula. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and good morning to you. My question is to the Minister of Northern Development and Mines. In November of last year, after CLIFT several NDP attempts for information on this new development corporation were called premature by the government. Even the federal government is requesting details that the province just doesn't have. Last Friday, the minister announced that it had hired consultant firm Deloitte to set up a development corporation, the same development corporation that had already been announced three months prior. How much is Deloitte getting paid to come to the government already announced it had created? Thank you, Mr. Minister of Northern Development and Mines. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you for the question. May I say, Mr. Speaker, despite the lack of support that we're getting from the other side of the house, that we are making important and significant progress on the rate of fire. May I say that the creation of the development corporation is absolutely key to that. We recognize there need to be resources before we've got to be able to get the resources out of the ring of fire and obviously to market. That's why that's so important. And we also, working with our potential partners, certainly including industry, First Nations, and potentially the federal government hopefully, we recognize that we want to move forward with the kind of expertise that Deloitte can provide to us. They have the governance expertise, they have the legal expertise to be able to pull together aspects that I do want to speak about particularly related to how important it is our work with the First Nations and perhaps I'll get to that in the supplementary. Thank you. Well, again, the minister, the past three years, the NDP has been calling on the government to take a leadership role in creating a real plan that will benefit job creation in the province. Time and time again, the government kept using rosy press releases on agreements without the press to back them up. Our ring Deloitte is an admission that the government never had a plan for ring of fire development in the first place. Will this government stop giving out consultant contracts to outside firms and do its job by coming up with a serious plan for ring of fire development instead of wasting another five years. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, we from the submarine officer, the members of our government, how important it is to get it right and indeed it is very important that we get it right and that's why indeed I think we're getting support from our industry partners and getting support from many others in terms of the retention of Deloitte being that key to probably pulling the establishment of the development corporation together. It's crucial but also on that parallel path are the very important negotiations that are taking place between the first nations. We're working very hard to bring that to a position where we can make a more formal announcement about moving forward. That's crucial to this as well. I know that the member knows that but in terms of the development corporation, we are moving forward in a very positive way. We're getting support for that and the development corporation and support for the work that Deloitte will give in terms of the expertise they can provide to us. Thank you very much. Thank you Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Mr. of the Environment. My constituents have raised a number of concerns regarding the previous session. Particularly they've observed the government's troubles in advancing laws to address the challenges faced by our environment here in Ontario. Those who care about Ontario's environment were dismayed to watch the Protection of Public Participation Act addressed on five separate occasions over the last two years without progressing to a vote. Further, the official opposition ate up much of committee time for the Great Lakes Protection Act allowing only four amendments to be voted on. Mr. Speaker, through you, can the minister please speak to the speed of environmental bills moving through this legislature? Thank you Mr. of the Environment. I do understand the concerns of his constituents. I'm always fragile in order to restore and preserve its beauty and value for the current and as well as for future generations action has to be taken now and economic and environmental opportunities I think are being lost and that's as a result I think of political jockeying which happens in this house from time to time. Mainly when I hear the bells ringing and for long debates and so on. I recognize the Conservative Party who has been supporting this legislation to help us out with this programming motion. I hope they will give it some favorable consideration because I think it would advance the cause of the environment. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Thank you Mr. Speaker, I understand both desktop and desktop, I heard the question and it was getting desperately close not to being on government policy and the minister was whooshing enough to type wrote walk that up I'm going to ask and listen carefully to the supplementary that it's about government policy. Carry on and I don't quarterbacks. Thank you Mr. support of the third party to work towards the greater cause of protecting Ontario's environment. Mr. Speaker, it is a shame that the economic environmental opportunities were lost in the previous session due to political gains being played by the official opposition. Through you, would the Minister of Environment please remind the people of Ontario why we need to pass these important pieces of environmental legislation and how they would ensure a healthier future for our environment and our economy. We need these laws to protect the Great Lakes for example and that's Bill 6. We have widespread support for the proposed Great Lakes Protection Act from health and environmental groups and as well as municipalities. We need to expand recycling the Waste Reduction Act would if passed create opportunities for business investment and jobs by harnessing the economic value of waste and we need to these laws to stop polluters from intimidating community groups are trying to protect their own neighborhoods. Again I respect the fact that the Conservative Party has decided to be against most of these environmental laws. One not but most of them. That is why I am asking all members of the House including my colleagues in the Democratic Party who have spoken in favor of these bills in the House and in committee to work with us. We want to get these bills moving so we can continue our conversation with the stakeholders and provide them with the opportunity to present their advice and recommendations to all members of committee. That's where the House should work and I hope that's going to be the case. Thank you. My question is to the Premier. During the recent ice storm and the power outage it was clear that the province's emergency management preparedness plan was either ignored or it was lacking or perhaps it was both. Whether it was the disregard of basic communications channels. Order. Order. All right let's go to the people now. Whether it was the disregard for basic communication channels of operation to opposition MPPs or the glaring reality that politics not progress was behind the giveaway gift card Piasco. It was clear that this government put postal code politics ahead of plan for Ontarians. In the aftermath of the ice storm the Ontario Progressive Conservative Caucus asked for a select committee to study the province's emergency preparedness protocol. Question. Quick response in the future. I'm sending my page over our direct request to the government house leader as well as our proposal and I would ask the Premier to stand in her place and agree with that. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. Well I can tell you having met every day during the ice storm with the leadership from emergency management Ontario and Hydro 1 Mr. Speaker. I know that they were on the ground in every community that was struck by the ice storm Mr. Speaker. They were working hard to make sure that all of those lines were reconnected Mr. Speaker and that people got their power back and they did it Mr. Speaker around the clock. There were workers there were workers on the ground. It was complicated. It was complicated because of the tree coverage Mr. Speaker. It was complicated because of the bread the bread of the storm. But the fact is that those workers were on the ground and their leadership was engaged across government to make sure that every resource whether there was an emergency declared or not Mr. Speaker and the member office knows that there were not emergencies declared except in one jurisdiction but across the board in every jurisdiction every resource was available to communities. Members from Northumberland will come to order. The workers leadership is not in question. It is your leadership that is in verbal briefings from you your energy minister or anyone over there. You chose to give gift cards out in the city of Toronto but not to opposition areas until much later in the day was missing in action and I will say this minister you showed leadership. The minister the minister of education will come to order. I am going to say it again just to make sure you heard it. The minister of education will come to order and then the minister the member from Renfrew is prepared to receive another one. I will give it to him but he's on the edge. Please finish. When the minister of energy was Maravoto on regional chair he actually displayed leadership at a time of crisis. I don't know why has changed with him perhaps he's now a lapdog for this government but what is not acceptable was the postal co-politics that were playing in seats that they can win at the expense of people in other affected areas. Let me ask the time will you call the select committee. Will you put progress before politics. Very much Mr. Speaker. Well I really have to say that I honestly believe that this is a shameful question because the fact is that there were people working across the province Mr. Speaker. The member opposite knows perfectly well that the gift card program which is a small part of our attempt to to offer some support was offered in every community Mr. Speaker. Every municipality that was affected was offered and they took it up Mr. Speaker and the member opposite knows that. My understanding Mr. Speaker is that the member for Nepean Carlton's office was offered a briefing and that was declined Mr. Speaker. I enforce some decorum and I I resent I resent when I do get control and we do get calm somebody uses as an opportunity to start it again. You have 10 seconds. That it was my understanding. If that's not the case then we will look into that. There are two reviews that are happening Mr. Speaker as a part of the response to the ice storm. Thank you. There's the after action report and the supply chain review. Good question. Member from Nicodale. Thank you Mr. Speaker. My question is for the minister of health and long-term care. 72-year-old Kelly Muah Essayase is a very sick woman. She, like 600 other people seeking care at Trillium Health Group in Toronto, had her CT scan read incorrectly by a radiologist. Due to this error Mrs. Essayase's cancer was not diagnosed and the treatment was not provided. This hospital has admitted to Mrs. Essayase that they made a mistake that they made an error. Does the minister think that it is sufficient for the hospital to admit that they've made a mistake or do they have a responsibility to help and care for patients like Mrs. Essayase who has suffered because of these errors. Question. Thank you. Minister of Health and Long-term Care. Well thank you Speaker and thank you to the member opposite for the question and of course I am prohibited from speaking about individual cases but I can assure you Speaker that all individuals with urgent care needs are treated in our hospital Speaker regardless of their coverage. That is an obligation under the Public Hospitals Act that people are treated. Hospitals cannot refuse to treat or admit an individual if the refusal would thereby endanger the person's life regardless of the individual's residency or insurance status. So Speaker this of course is an issue that I think everyone is concerned about and are investigating what has happened in this particular situation. Thank you. Supplementary. Speaker after months of misdiagnosis Mrs. Essayase ovarian cancer was finally caught but and at advanced stage and then the worst happened surgeons refused to operate. The family feels abandoned by the healthcare system and by the hospital. They feel that their mother is paying with her life for their mistakes. Speaker the minister must hold the hospital accountable. She has to make sure that they take responsibilities for their mistakes and the way it impacts patient. When will the minister do her job and ensure that the hospital do their part to help the people affected like Mrs. Essayase. Minister I can assure you that Trillium Health Partners is actively working with the patient and the family to address their concerns. That work is ongoing speaker and I can also tell you that Cancer Care Ontario has put in place evidence-based protocols for determining when patients need chemotherapy or surgery speaker. Ultimately physicians are responsible for making healthcare decisions in consultation with patients and their families. Speaker I can assure you that people who work in healthcare in the province of Ontario are as fine a group of people as we could find anywhere on earth. They are dedicated to providing the highest possible quality of care to patients and if something does go wrong they are the first to look at that and say what can we do to make sure this does not happen again. Thank you Mr. Speaker. My question is for the minister of transportation and infrastructure. Minister I'd just like to first of all take this opportunity publicly to thank you for taking time recently to visit my own writing of Etobicoke North to make an important announcement which of course will benefit to my constituents. Of course I'm well aware of how our government is making record investments in public transit and of course these will have echoing and recurring benefits for all of my residents. My constituents rely speaker on go trains and buses to get tuned from work in school as well as of course transport family friends and visitors to our vibrant community. The GO system helps to reduce congestion on the roads and helps to keep our air clean. Minister I'd ask you to please inform this house and through this chamber as well as my own residents about some of the details of the transit investment that we recently announced together. Thank you minister. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker and I want to thank my friend from the Etobicoke North. He speaks French once in a while here. He is a huge advocate for transit and he has fought very hard for the people in Etobicoke North to see some very basic improvements. What we're seeing right now at the Etobicoke North station Mr. Speaker is is an expansion of the platform so it can handle 12 car trains. Very importantly the station is being rebuilt so it can be wheelchair accessible which is a huge priority for us to ensure that we're meeting our commitments to university accessibility. We're improving the bus loop and as for many Ontarians heated shelters Mr. Speaker which this winter is a particular gift and also because in communities where people use their cars within communities we are adding a 200 parking 200 lot parking garage Mr. Speaker a very big improvement for the people of Etobicoke. Thank you supplementary. Thank you thank you speaker and thank you minister I'd like to of course formally and officially thank you for the update and the upgrade to the Etobicoke North GO station. I know my community continues to benefit from the ongoing investments that our government is making whether we're talking about health care community safety or in this case transportation and infrastructure. Nevertheless adding to the list of troubling policy commitments that the Honourable Leader of the Opposition is making I was a little bit dismayed to learn that he might halt infrastructure spending for communities like mine. Each speaker through you to the Minister of Transportation would the minister please inform this house what are some of the investments that we're making in communities across Ontario. Thank you minister. Mr. Speaker what's what one of the areas that we don't talk a lot about is our highway program which is almost three billion dollars Mr. Speaker. We're working right now on twinning highways across northern Ontario the Windsor Essex Parkway now not only has it been a success in the sense that we're building one of the most important trade routes it's actually provoked the construction of the new presidential bridge the most important trade quarter. But Mr. Speaker to maintain economic growth in jobs we have to spend five percent of our GDP on infrastructure anything less would mean a loss of jobs and competitiveness. We're very proud Mr. Speaker that after 30 years of less than one quarter of one percent being spent by this government we are now at two percent of GDP about 13 billion dollars. The municipalities Mr. Speaker are doing their job. They've reached the one percent goal of GDP. The federal government Mr. Speaker as Mr. Flaherty when he said. Answer finance minister I commend him he's been incredibly consistent. He's now got the federal government down somewhere between a quarter and a half of GDP which will kill jobs and undermine the future of the economy. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. My question is for the minister of training colleges and universities. Minister you know now by now that your outdated racial system is costing tens of thousands of Ontario citizens. Citizens like these young men and women in the audience here today an opportunity of a good career in the trades you must surely know that by now our young people are taking their apprenticeships in BC and Alberta while you dither and allow the interior college of trades to become a new barrier for job creation and economic growth right here in this province. You brag about seeing more more women and more aboriginals enter the trades and yet they are the first to be subjected to your three to one racial or system that is costing them valuable valuable opportunities. So when minister can we expect to see you get on the side of young men and women and support the position of Tim Houdak and the PC caucus and support a one to one racial system here in the province. You seated please. Thank you minister of training college and universities. With all of these young people here today what a great opportunity for me to have to smoke out the party opposite on their position when it comes to ratios. I want to say to the young people through you mr. Speaker here today that when that party was in office in eight years they reduced journeyman trade ratios apprenticeship trade ratios by zero. The MVP in all of their years of office had won. Mr. Speaker in our years of office before the college of trades got put in place we did eight reductions eight times more than the NDP. I can't do the math because they did zero since the uh since the college of trades has been up and running they've done 14 in less than a year. So mr. Speaker we've done 22 trade reductions trade ratio reductions compared to zero that you did when you were in office. I think that's a pretty darn good track record. I think the people in this audience can add a lot better than you can mr. Well mr. Speaker that is the same boring and unenfor unenfor message that you've been subjected to for months. The fact of the matter is that only only two trades have been approved by your cabinet forecovering installer and snet finisher. The other 22 are a joke you've never approved nothing nothing you've approved and just yesterday your interior college of trades regulation review committee had an emergency meeting to pass regulations for the for the I guess now 22 trades that you say you have been saying are already past that following a meeting a letter to ron johnson by the interior home builders so you're right into panic mode so we already know that the ration review teams are too biased to go to one to one racial but at least minister when will you finally get cabinet approval to change some of the ratios when in fact you could have done this earlier this year. Of course you know and mr. Speaker you could have done it without even forming the interior college of trades you could have done it for yourself you want to brag about that we don't need the interior college of trades let's abolish it once and for all. Thank you minister. Mr. Speaker I think if the member really cared about the people in the audience here today and if he cared about young apprentices he would want to support the college of trades because the college of trades mr. Speaker has a mandate to promote the skilled trades with their young people it has a mandate mr. Speaker to provide skilled trades people with the ability to govern themselves mr. Speaker what he's not saying to the young people here today is he wants to go back to the days where politicians ran the skilled trades mr. Speaker back in the Tory days when we had zero trade ratio changes mr. Speaker young people in this province don't want to go back to Mike Harris young people want to be followed with the liberal government mr. Speaker that's going to continue to grow the skilled trades going to continue to help young people get into the skilled trades and that's what the college of trades is going to do stop the politics and start standing up for the young people of this province. Thank you. Thank you speaker. My question is to the minister of community safety speaker in the wake of the horrendous retirement home fire in Lille there Quebec on january 23rd the minister of health is quoted as saying on cbc one thing she wants to do is go back and look at the accelerating the mandatory installation of the sprinklers sprinklers are being installed in older long-term care homes operated by the ministry of health as it rebuilds its facilities but that program is scheduled to last until 2025. Speaker the minister of health says she'll accelerate implementation in government care facilities but can the minister explain that the government has a plan for protecting the vulnerable people in our province in the what are they going to do in the other facilities and when. Thank you. Thank you very much for this this question and I know that the minister of health would like to answer the second question and first of all it is very unfortunate what happened in in Lille verte in Quebec it's very very unfortunate and my heart goes to the family who lost a loved one there. We are proud to be the first province to make sprinkler mandatory in existing retirement home and long-term care facilities. We're very proud and we we did it it was not an easy process but we did it with everybody at the table and I want to take this opportunity today Mr. Speaker to thank all of those who came to the table and willing to do a compromise to make sure that we will achieve you know this is very important milestone in the public safety. So let me say again that we are on the only government in the country to do this and thank you. We'll continue to make sure that the our seniors are safe in the facilities thank you very much. Well Speaker the Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs worked on the issue for years with very slow success from the time I raised this issue until the 2013 consultation six seniors lost their lives in retirement home fires while this minister did nothing. Those deaths didn't inspire to get moving more quickly on the issue but sadly it seems to have taken the recent tragedy to get her colleague moving on it. Even in the wake of the comments by her colleague this minister has done nothing to address the implementation periods for the regulations passed by this cabinet last spring. Speaker will this minister commit to providing an update this week on the status of the implementation of the new regulations and provide this legislature an accelerated timeline for each part of the regulations to protect the people of this province. Question thank you. Minister. The minister of power. Just to help volunteer. Well thank you Speaker and anytime there is a tragedy like we saw in Leo Verde of course we all look to see what lessons can be learned and that's exactly what we are doing Speaker. I think it's important to note that 70% of our long-term care homes do have sprinklers the remaining 30% are slated for redevelopment to bring them up to today's standards which of course will include sprinklers Speaker. Important to note that it's not only about sprinklers when it comes to fire safety Speaker and we have taken significant steps to make sure that that all of our residents do are as safe as can be Speaker. In fact we provided 20 million dollars to support long-term care homes to come up to code Speaker and to develop evacuation plans to develop safety plans enhanced fire protection equipment fire safety training for staff all of our long-term care homes must and do have a comprehensive fire safety plan. Thank you. Thank you Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Children Youth Services. In Ontario we have some of the best and brightest young minds and what is encouraging many of them are want to give back to the community they're talented they're creative and driven in my writing a Scarborough agent corner no many of the young people like Kevin Wong, George Zoo, Alice Wang, Akil Johnson and Tamara Zemera are not afraid to step up in terms of challenge and be part of the solution. Like many young people in Ontario they need our help they need mentorship they need guidance to realize their full potential. In fall of 2013 Mr. Speaker our government announced new funding for youth programs at Mars Discovery Districts. Through you Mr. Speaker can the Minister of Children Youth Services tell the House what is included in the curriculum of this program and tell us more about the status of this initiative. Thank you Minister, responsible children and youth services. Thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to the member from Scarborough Asian Court for this very important question today. The member is right Ontario has many exceptional globally minded youth who are passionate about their communities and about making a difference in their communities and in fact there are a number of them with us here today. We recognize that for that for them to realize their potential and succeed they need to build the right skills, have access to the right resources and make the right connections. That's why I'm proud that our government is investing in the Mars Discovery's Studio Y Ontario Social Impact and Youth Leadership Academy with our first group of cohorts with us today. Fellows at Studio Y will take part in an intensive skill development curriculum. It will include training on leadership, project management, entrepreneurship, community building and governance. In January I had the opportunity to meet the first cohort and I was amazed by their positive energy. These promising youth have the drive, determination and talent to become leaders capable of making positive social change in Ontario for years to come. Thank you Minister for the response. I'm pleased to hear that Studio Y program at Mars is up and running. It consists of promising groups of young people. The skills of these young people will develop while at Mars will undoubtedly help them and have an impact in the community. When we empower young people with skills and talents they will also make our province more prosperous and fair and will benefit all of us. Minister I understand in January during your tour you made a challenge to the Studio Y cohort. Through you minister Mr. Speaker can you please ask the minister please share with the House the challenges that she issued to the youth in Ontario. Thank you minister. Thank you again and yes as I indicated so the program focuses on community building and good governance and I wanted to provide the fellows with an opportunity to get involved in shaping actual public policy. As we all know one of the programs in my ministry is currently the student nutrition program. A program that provides close to 700,000 children each year with nutritious food every day. Some of the agencies that deliver this program have identified challenges in effectively purchasing, storing and distributing program food. So I issued a challenge to the group and this is the challenge to apply their creativity to explore and design innovative solutions to generate greater efficiencies in food purchase, distribution and storage to maximize the impact of the program. Their work will help us better deliver a great program in schools. I look forward to hearing about their progress and their final recommendations at the end. Thank you. Thank you. Your question? The member from Perry Sound, Ms. Colton. Thank you Mr. Speaker. My question is the Minister of Northern Development and Mines. Minister it has been three months since you announced plans for a Ring of Fire Development Corporation. Since then it's become increasingly clear that your November announcement was just a last-ditch effort to provide cover for Cliff's decision to pull out of the Ring of Fire. Now your recent decision to enlist third-party advice as all the makings of another empty press release from a government desperate for good news story. On the Ring of Fire your government is big on announcements but very light on specifics. So Minister please answer my simple question. Is your much talked about Ring of Fire Development Corporation even incorporated? Thank you Minister. Welcome to the Ring of Fire. Mr. Speaker, listen we are making very significant progress on the Ring of Fire project and one of the important aspects of that is indeed the creation of the Development Corporation and we're working very closely with our many potential partners. We're working very closely now with the member from Durham will withdraw. Mr. Speaker, thank you. And we're working with their strong support in terms of the retention of Deloitte which has the expertise and governance and putting together corporations such as this. So we're going to continue to work with them. What we would like to see would be more support may I say from the members in the opposite side of the house perhaps support very directly connected to the federal government. We have made it very clear that we are prepared to make a very significant investment in the Ring of Fire recognizing how important the infrastructure aspects are. Thank you. It will be great to have the federal government on side. Premier had a meeting with Prime Minister. Thank you. Supplementary. Thank you Mr. Speaker. I didn't hear any answer to my question about whether the whether the development corporation is incorporated despite the announcement a few months ago and I find it hard to imagine how anybody could trust your government on this file. We are still waiting for the thousands of jobs company in Northern Ontario promised in your government press release dated May 9 2012. So here we are two years later and still no jobs. So now your plan is to hire a consultant to provide advice and we've watched as your government ignored taxpayer funded expert advice in the past and it's no secret that establishing a transportation link is critical to the project. So minister why is your government installed in the past two years and creating reliable access to the Ring of Fire. Thank you minister. Mr. Speaker we have met him so very much how important it is to get this project right and we're determined to get it right and we're getting the kind of support that we would like to have in terms of the formation of the development corporation from our partners. Very good positive response about the announcement about the retention of a company such as Deloitte with the expertise they have but it's also very important that we get it right in terms of the work we're doing with First Nations and I again it would be great to have your support in that regard. I mean clearly the the work that we are doing with the Metalla First Nations with our negotiator Mr. Yagabuchi Mr. Ray representing Metalla is absolutely valid because we need their support. So we're on a parallel path. This project is one that we all need to be very keen on working together on. It's a complex one but progress is being made in a very significant way and again it would be wonderful to have your support to persuade the federal government to recognize how important it is because they make this substantial contribution to this project as well. The Premier on a point of order. Point of order Mr. Speaker I just want to correct my record. The question that was asked by the member for Napaean Carlton the Minister of Energy's office did offer a briefing on December 24th to the member. Her office replied six days later and did not take up the offer and energy did provide updates to critics and in fact briefed the member for there's a there's a fine line between correcting one's record and adding extra comments and I will take that as a an actual corrected record. However having said that I was not I'm not privy to the the last piece that you said. So I did see the member from Napaean Carlton rise on a point of order. Press release that the Minister of Energy's office sent to me I could have found it on the website however. The member on a point of order. I'd like to introduce Kirstie Landrow and Riann Perry two members of Model of Parliament from the Great Riding of Bruce Gray-Olen Sound. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Minister of Health long term. Speaker welcome to Melissa Cargianakis from London, Ontario who's joined us today and I'm sure to learn a lot. Thank you. A member from Kitchener Waterloo. He's also from Kitchener Waterloo the Model of Parliament. The member from Perth Wellington on a point of order. Thank you Speaker. I'd like to welcome Catherine Hopp and Anna Staffen from my writing of Perth Wellington. The member from Eglinton Lawrence. I'd like to note and introduce the creator of Gattanoque Ale who's here all the way from Gattanoque, Ontario. There are no further there are no deferred votes this afternoon so some stands recessed until 3 p.m. this afternoon. He's ready to see there are no further introductions.