 It is now time for Question Period. The member from Renfrew, Nepesing, Pembroke. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Premier. Premier, during this pre-budget period, we've tried to impress upon you how reckless and dangerous your fiscal and electricity policies really are. Sadly, it seems we're not getting through. I know you have enough staff so that every call and every email to your office is screened by a legion of loyal Liberals. Here in opposition, we often deal with those on a personal basis. We hear from constituents in desperate circumstances because their hydro-bills are skyrocketing while their incomes are stagnant and the tax burden grows heavier. But this does not seem to matter to you. Rate prisoners' profits currently don't know how they're going to pay this month's hydro-bills and where will they be in five years when their bills have doubled yet under your failed disastrous energy policies? Premier? Mr. Speaker, I thank the member opposite for the question. I would say to him that he knows full well that we have worked very hard to reinvest in and rebuild the energy system in this province. The electricity system when we came into office had been neglected. It was degraded across the province. It was not reliable. We had to make investments. 1,000 kilometres of line just an example had to be rebuilt. The fact is that that cost money. The legacy of the party opposite was that they had left that degraded electricity system. We've made those investments and we recognize that we have to have some support for people who need some help. I hope that as the member opposite responds to those emails he lets people know about the programs that are in place and I'll speak to those in the supplementary. Supplementary? She conveniently ignores the $50 billion of global adjustment that people are paying in this province. You keep ignoring the $27 billion debt of the Ontario Electricity Financial Corporation like it doesn't actually exist. Your ignorance and bliss mentality won't make the problem go away. Energy rates have continuously increased since your government came to power in 2003. This devastating trend of escalating rates will only worsen through your sale of Hydro-1. If you sell 60% of Hydro-1 you will restrict the OEFC's ability to pay off the electricity debt. This will result in higher rates for electricity consumers, even higher than your 42% planned increase under your long-term energy plan. You're going to, Premier, ask you this question. Are you going to follow the law in the Electricity Act and use the proceeds from the Hydro-1 sale to pay down the electricity debt? Thank you, Premier. So the supplementary has gotten to where this member really wants to go, which is he doesn't believe that we should be taking the tough decisions required to invest in infrastructure in this province, Mr. Speaker. That's essentially what he is saying. But let me go back to the issue of people who need some support. He knows full well that no matter what we do in terms of Hydro-1 the Ontario Energy Board will continue to set rates, Mr. Speaker. The Ontario Energy Board has been setting rates. They will continue to set rates, Mr. Speaker. But even in that reality, we know that there are people who need support. So, for example, the low-income energy assistance program provides emergency financial support for families and individuals who are having trouble paying their bills. The Save on Energy Home Assistance Program helps consumers save on energy costs by improving the energy efficiency in their homes, Mr. Speaker. The fact is that we recognize that there are supports necessary. We have programs in place, but we are going to invest in infrastructure, Mr. Speaker. Final supplementary. Those programs are nothing but distractions to take people's attention away from the disasters that you've put upon them. Your rushed announcement to sell Hydro-1 shows you have no plan to protect ratepayers from further increases. You're motivated by a short-term goal to fund your wish list and in turn of no problem making things worse than hammered since you came to power. You're ignoring the elephant in the room. As rates rise in Ontario and become more and more uncompetitive, you've driven businesses out of the province into the arms of lower-rate jurisdictions and have made electricity unaffordable for the average down. The ratepayers of this province who have built up the energy assets, like Hydro-1, over the decades, they are the ones who need the break today. But you seem determined to double down on your disastrous policies. Ratepayers of this province have to suffer before you provide real, sustainable energy relief. The elephant in the room that was in the room when that party was in power was that there needed to be investment in this province. There needed to be investment in the electricity system. There needed to be investment in infrastructure. None of which the opposite. Some of the noise I'm hearing is coming from people who are supposed to be seated elsewhere. Finish, please. None of which the opposite party undertook, Mr. Speaker. We are undertaking those investments. But let me continue to make sure that the member opposite understands the programs that are in place because if his concern is for people who are struggling, Mr. Speaker, he will want to know about these. So as he knows currently the Ontario Clean Energy Benefit, which is a 10% discount for residential consumers and small businesses and farms, is in place, Mr. Speaker. What I hope he's aware of is that the new Ontario Electricity Support Program will come into effect, Mr. Speaker, when the OECB expires and that provides targeted support for low-income families, Mr. Speaker. I hope he's aware of that and he lets his constituents know Mr. Speaker. I beg for your indulgence because I've been handed a note the there's another guest that has been inadvertently missed, Louise Rousseau in the Speaker's Gallery, who was shot and recovered from a violent crime, so we welcome you to the House of Representatives. I apologize to the members. I thought it was important. So we now have new questions. The member from the PNC. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And yes, the delay I think was necessary. That was important. My question is to the Premier. On April 20th, regarding power rates, you said the way that the rates are set by the OECB. That's how they're set now, and that's how we will set them in the future. Those protections are in place. Yet, on that same day, the OECB announced a 15% increase and now consumers will be paying twice as much on peak. My definition and the Premier's definition of consumer protection are miles apart. In fact, she hasn't sold a single share of hydro on that. But prices are going up making it more difficult for Ontario families. Will the Premier tell this assembly right now what her sale of hydro will please finish? Will the Premier tell us right now what her sale of hydro one will cost Ontario ratepayers and what it will cost Ontario families and what it will cost Ontario seniors? Well, I think the member opposite made one of the points that I want to make, Mr. Speaker, which is these are unrelated subjects. The fact is that the Ontario Energy Board has set rates and we laid out a long-term energy plan, Mr. Speaker, and in that we forecast what the rates were going to be, Mr. Speaker, and the... Goals both ways. Just announced by the OECB are actually lower than what was forecast in the long-term energy plan, Mr. Speaker. So the fact is that we are working very hard to take costs out of the system so that those prices can go down. And, you know, the member opposite references the off-peak and on-peak prices, Mr. Speaker. Yeah, we want to drive we want to drive conservation, Mr. Speaker. I know I know that the party opposite has not the slightest bit of interest in conservation, Mr. Speaker, or environmental concerns. They have no interest in reducing greenhouse gas. None of that is of interest to them, Mr. Speaker. The fact is it is of interest to us and having a decent gap between the off-peak and on-peak actually drives conservation. Thank you. The member from Renford come to order. I'm catching up. And the member from Prince Edward Hastings second time. Supplementary. Not even rational. And the Premier knows it because they changed their long-term energy program and their plan several times in the last five years. In fact, the sale of Hydro-1 wasn't even in it. In fact, it wasn't even in their platform. Electricity rates have tripled three times since government has come to power in 2003. The OAB continues to raise its rate and they're going to continue to drive up rates because we have to pay for the energy experiments by this government, whether it's industrial wind turbines or whether it is the smart meter or tax machines. The Minister of Economic Development second time. Why, at a time when Stephen Harper's government is making it easier for Ontario families to survive. Aiglington Lawrence will come to order. Start the clock. Premier. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I would just note that the member opposite couldn't even keep a straight face. When she was asking that question, the fact is that decisions, you know, and that they've made decisions for their political reasons, they've made decisions that if you're doing fine, if you're wealthy, then we're going to help you do better. But what they didn't do was they didn't tackle the tough issues that are facing every province in this country, Mr. Speaker. They make sure that you have an equity and that you have an equity and that you have an equity and they make sure that you have an economic future and we're going to support you in that economic development. They didn't do any of that, Mr. Speaker. They just said if you're rich, we're going to help you get richer. Attorney General, come to order. I'm not sure who said that, but I would appreciate immensely if the member would stand up and withdraw. I'm not asking for editorials either. Final supplementary. It is hard to keep a straight face around here given the embarrassment that we're going to see at four o'clock this afternoon and the pressure that is still in deficit when the federal government can balance their own. Minister of Government and Consumer Services, come to order. Carry on. Thanks, Speaker. Minister of Tourism and Culture and Start. Ed Clark said he can't guarantee that hydro rates won't go up. And as our old friend in this chamber, Dalton McGinty once said, the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. So I think we're in for a doozy of a hydro rate increase. Again, rates have tripled since you've come to power. They're going to spike another 42% going up $100 per family in the household across this province. And just this week it was announced electricity rights are raising again by another 15% in May. And tell us how much her sale of Hydro-1 is going to cost Ontario families more struggling under her government. Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Well, you know, the budget that we are going to bring forward is going to be a responsible one that is based on the plan that we ran on and that we are committed to and that is investment in this province, Mr. Speaker. And it did include a review of assets, Mr. Speaker. We said we were going to do that. We have done that in order that we can invest in the public transit and the roads and the bridges that are needed all across this province, Mr. Speaker. You know, when the previous... in power, Mr. Speaker, they had an opportunity to tackle many of these big issues. They chose not to. They neglected the electricity system, Mr. Speaker. And yeah, they worked toward balancing their budget. And the way they did that, Mr. Speaker, was very similar to what Mr. Harper has done. They balanced their budgets on the backs of municipalities, Mr. Speaker. They downloaded costs to the municipalities. We've uploaded those costs, Mr. Speaker. We're not going to municipalities or residents, Mr. Speaker. I'm going to tell you what Stephen Harper said. Do you have a question? A member from Bramley-Goromole. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Last April, the Premier made a promise to Ontarians. She said, and I quote, she would not cut education. Well, we've seen teachers fired, schools closed and families thrown into chaos. In fact, just last week Windsor families saw and learned that 21 early childhood educators were being fired. People didn't vote to see their schools closed and teachers fired. Will today's budget reverse these cuts? Mr. Speaker, and I know the Minister of Education is going to want to speak to the specifics, but let's just be clear, Mr. Speaker. The funding for education has not been cut. It will not be cut, Mr. Speaker. And in fact, if the member opposite had an opportunity to look at the grants for student needs, which is actually the section of the budget that applies to education, those numbers are already in the public realm, Mr. Speaker. He would see that despite the fact that there are fewer students in our education system, Mr. Speaker, the funding has remained stable, which in fact means that there is more money per student in the system, Mr. Speaker, this year than last. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In fact, the Premier made another promise. She said she would not cut health care. Yet I would ask the Premier to tell that to the 17 RNs fired from Southlake Regional Health Center, the 50 nurses fired in Ottawa, the 11 nurses that are being fired in Thunder Bay, and to the seniors who are losing 28 beds in that region. Ontarians didn't vote to see nurses fired or hospitals closed. Will today's budget reverse those cuts? Good question. Minister of Health, long-term care. Minister of Health, long-term care. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And Mr. Speaker, that whole caucus knows that the truth is that there are 24,000 more nurses employed in this province than where a decade is in other health care professionals. My critic, of course, the member from Nickel Belt yesterday scared the heck out of a lot of people when she said the Lake Ridge Health Center was letting go of 20% of their genetic technologists, laying off senior technologists. These positions, she said, have a direct impact on the patients at Durham. The truth, in fact, is the complete opposite of what she said. And in fact, the hospital in question was so irritated by her response in the legislature yesterday that they're issuing a letter today to correct the record she's talking for now to address this more specifically. Thank you. Final supplementary. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Ontario drivers pay the highest. I would like order, please. Start the clock. Final supplementary. Ontario drivers pay the highest auto insurance rates in Canada. The Premier told Ontarians that they would see a 15% reduction in auto insurance by this August. But with four months to go, the Premier is not even halfway there. The Premier promised not to cut health care, but we've seen nurses being fired and hospitals being closed. The Premier promised not to cut education, but we see teachers being fired and schools being closed. The Premier promised to reduce auto insurance by 15%. Yeah, we've not seen that yet. Stop the clock. Associate Minister of Health Long-Term Care. The member from Newmarket, Aurora. And I probably got four more than I'm going to come and get you. That's enough. Please finish. The Premier promised to provide a 15% reduction to auto insurance. Will today's budget ensure that Ontarians get the reduction that they were promised? Mr. Speaker, I'm prepared to go through this one hospital at a time if they want to. I'm going to give the member the opportunity as well to correct his record when he said we're closing hospitals. There's not a single hospital that's closing around this time. They disagree that patients will be impacted. In fact, they said technology has changed. They now use university health network lab for better tests and faster results and better quality. All three still have jobs. From your own side, I want to hear the answer. And from this side, the member from Dufferin Kaladin will come to order. And the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs is warned. The injections are not appreciated. And I thank the member for the correction. Very helpful. New question. Mr. Speaker, many Ontarians are still trying to remember the promise that was voted to sell off Hydro-1. The Premier made lots of promises during the last election. She promised 15-minute all-day go rail service to Kitchener. She broke that promise last Friday. But she never said anything about selling off Ontario's oldest and most valuable public assets. She never made that promise, Mr. Speaker. That was an election promise from the Common Sense Revolution. We're lucky that the Ontario public forced Mike Harris to break that promise. Why is the Premier breaking her promise to run a progressive government while keeping an election promise from the Common Sense Revolution? Thank you. Well, Mr. Speaker, making decisions like the investment in transit and transportation infrastructure, the magnitude that we are, Mr. Speaker, are very important decisions because they are decisions that are going to have an impact for generations to come. The member opposite knows full well to 15-minute full-day two-way go service, Mr. Speaker. She also knows that there are sections of line around the province, and I know the Minister of Transportation will want to speak to this, where we have to negotiate with CNCP and we have to make sure that we can move forward. But, Mr. Speaker, the fact is we did run on reviewing assets. We said that part of our plan to invest in the infrastructure, the roads and the bridges that are needed around this province would be that we would look at assets built up by this province, Mr. Speaker, and owned by the people of Ontario, and we would leverage those. The member from Dufford Calendar is warned. Carry on. In order to invest in new assets, and we would retain ownership, Mr. Speaker, which is exactly what we're doing. We're retaining ownership of Hydro One, Mr. Speaker, broadening that ownership, but we will make sure that we make those investments that we committed to, Mr. Speaker. In the last few years, Hydro One's profits have gone up. Meanwhile, interest rates have gone down. And yet the Premier thinks it makes more sense to give up those rising profits instead of taking advantage of falling interest rates. It's just not fiscally responsible. For every dollar in interest, the government would save by selling Hydro One, and Terrians will give up $2 in Hydro One profits, lost profits. Mr. Premier, does the Premier think Hydro Two is bigger than one? Mr. Speaker, what we know is that contrary to what the third party would like to suggest, we cannot just keep borrowing to make these investments, Mr. Speaker. We have to... Finish, please. So Mr. Speaker, the fact is that we ran on a plan to make the investments that we know are needed in terms of transit and roads and bridges, Mr. Speaker. It means within the Greater Toronto Hamilton Area, it means outside the Greater Toronto Hamilton Area, Mr. Speaker. We know that companies want to come to Ontario, but they are not going to come if we don't have the infrastructure that will allow us to be competitive in the 21st century. So that's why we're going to make these investments, Mr. Speaker. Final supplementary. Thank you again to the Premier. Mr. Speaker, the Premier's fire sale of Hydro One will mean giving away millions of dollars in annual profits to Bay Street. Once you sell it, it is gone, gone, gone. The Premier says this money will go to infrastructure and just like the Harper Government, the Premier wants these to be public-private partnerships. The Auditor General found that of the 8 billion that the Government wasted on public-private partnerships, 6.5 billion of this went to the pockets of Bay Street financiers. The Minister of Economic Development is warned. Finish, please. 6.5 billion of this went into the pockets of Bay Street financiers. So the Government will sell Hydro One to Bay Street in order to pay for P3s that benefit Bay Street. Mr. Speaker, when did the Government decide to sell the province of Ontario to Bay Street? Mr. Speaker, is that because of the strategy that we undertook to get the infrastructure built? We actually saved 8 billion dollars in terms of the risk that we could have spent. Just be clear that the party opposite also has not made it clear and has neglected to remember from Renfrew and Nipissing, Pembroke is warned. Carry on. I think there's a budget this afternoon, so if anyone wants to test, I will name. The third party has neglected to mention, Mr. Speaker, that in the plan that Ed Clark brought forward, we've made it clear that the Government will retain control. Mr. Speaker, our Government's been clear that broadening the ownership of Hydro One, retaining 40% ownership, Mr. Speaker, Ontario will remain the largest shareholder. No other entity will be able to own more than 10%, Mr. Speaker, and we will have control over the board and the chair. Mr. Speaker, those protections are in place. Thank you. Member from Central North. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions to the Minister of Education. The Minister of Students are still out of the classroom in Durham. It's our fourth day, and already we're getting a number of emails and letters and phone calls to our offices. No one is buying your excuse that these strikes are local. To the Speaker and to the Minister, there's simply no negotiations taking place for the lockdown on April 27th and an appeal on May 4th. So that's 71,000 students across this province. Minister, have you given a coherent explanation yet, or do you now realize the strike is because of years and years of liberal mismanagement? Thank you. Minister of Education. Yes, what I'm pleased to report is what I've been able to report for the last few days is on the central table that the school board associations representing the employer, the government representing the funder and the unions representing the secondary teachers in the English public system are all at the table. We all continue to work on negotiations because I think we all share the belief that the way to resolve this situation is to reach a negotiated collective agreement. None of us want to see those students missing class. We all think that we need to get the students back into class as quickly as possible. And the way to do that, Speaker, is to negotiate a collective agreement and that's what we are working on at the central level to carry hard right now. Supplementary. Thank you. Back to the Minister. So in four days, high school students are going to see picket lines in Sudbury in 11 days after that in Peel. That's four days for your staff to ensure that you aren't mystified or perplexed when another board walks away from the table. And I said before, there are no negotiations taking place at the local level. When you changed the bargaining system you said and I quote, it's quite clear now that the government has a requirement to bargain in good faith end of quote. Minister, if it's so clear, you're going to be going prompt and peel first. Minister of Education. Actually the members got his facts wrong because negotiations are ongoing in Rainbow and Peel. In fact, they've actually asked for a mediator from the Minister of Labor in each case to help support those. But Speaker, I'm not going to take a lecture on how we have managed education centrally from the party that is part of its platform committed to firing 22,000 education workers including that they would manage the education system. That was going to make for great labor relations when they arrived on the scene and decided to fire everybody. I quote from the PC campaign and the leader of the day Mr. Hewdach was asked when he was leader during the campaign will mean fewer. New question? A reminder when I stand Minister, you sit. New question, member from Welland. Speaker, my question is to the Premier. In my writing of Welland and across Hamilton, Niagara, Haldeman and Brandt members of Opsu 294 have been on strike since April the 10th. They have been on strike since April the 10th. They have been on strike since April the 10th. They have been on strike since April the 10th. Four-profit care partners have shown no respect for frontline nurses and refuses to bargain. The CCAC four-profit contracting out is yet another example of this government's right-wing austerity and privatization agenda. It's obvious the four-profit system is not too busy selling off our public assets to ensure that healthcare workers working for four-profit agencies are treated with respect and dignity. Minister of health and long-term care. Minister of health and long-term care. Well, Mr. Speaker, it's of utmost importance to this government that we respect our healthcare workers, the more than 100,000, well over hundreds of thousands of healthcare workers around this province that do the same thing. I think it's important to understand that we are concluding as the member is referring to within our home and community care system, but also in our hospital system. That's why that respect and dignity that we afford to those important frontline workers that we're continuing to invest in that important sector of this economy and of a service that's so important to Ontarians. I think it's important to understand that we are very, very, very, very specific to our personal support workers that are so essential across all healthcare environments, but particularly in the home and community sector. We've made a commitment to them to increase their wage to a minimum of 1650. We're giving them a $4 increase over a three-year period. Mr. Speaker. This past week I've received a letter from a nurse who has been a patient of care partners for six years. She says without the nurses, she would be a young, immobile woman in a convalescent home, wasting away without interaction with others. These nurses have given her a second, a third, a fourth, and a forever chance at her life. It's clear that patient care is being directly impacted because of care partners failure to bargain, let alone bargain in care, not profit. Why is this liberal government doing nothing to make sure that these for-profit healthcare agencies respect the bargaining process, work in harmony with frontline workers to ensure that the 1600 patients in this area, patients like Denise, continue to receive good quality care that they need. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The member opposite knows in this area that we are not employers, but we do implore both sides, quite frankly, to negotiate a solution which is respectful of the workers and respectful most of all of the individuals, the clients that the member opposite is referencing. That's why in January of this year as well I received the report from Gail Donner on home and community care to continue to help us shape the future for that important part of the future and the year after that. So it will be compared to last year, it will be almost a three-quarters of a billion dollar increase in the budget that goes to home and community care. In this specific example, again I would just simply implore both parties, the employers, we are not the employers in this case, and the employees to negotiate a solution which is respectful to all parties. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the member for Kitchener Center I can tell you that public transit is a very important issue to people living in my community. Last week our government announced that we are going to be unlocking assets by offering shares in certain public assets so that we can invest in transit and transportation across the province. And on Friday the Minister of Transportation and the Premier Kathleen Wynn announced plans for regional express rail. The Minister of Transportation and the Premier Kathleen Wynn announced Mr. Speaker, but people living in my community want to know exactly how these investments are going to benefit them. Can the Minister please provide clarity as there seem to be some members from Hamilton East Stony Creek come to order? As to how these investments are going to help my constituents living in Kitchener and also the Waterloo region. I want to begin by thanking her community for being such a strong advocate speaker. Speaker, as everyone knows our government is making the single largest infrastructure investment in Ontario's history through the Moving Ontario Forward Plan. This plan will invest 13.5 billion dollars in improvements across the go transit network to increase ridership and reduce travel times which will result in more than a doubling of peak service and a quadrupling of off-peak service compared to today and reduce transit trips by as much as 50%. On the Kitchener line alone, Speaker, Go service will increase to more than 10 times current service levels and in addition, those living between Kitchener and Grammar-Lee will benefit and express service to and from Union Station on the Kitchener line. We will continue to work with CN who owns a portion of the Kitchener line to find ways to make commuting faster for those living in Kitchener. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I want to thank the Minister for his answer. It is encouraging to hear that people living in my community can expect to see increased go rail service through the Moving Ontario Forward Plan. And as the Minister of Transportation noted, we are making the single largest infrastructure investment in Ontario's history. But there are still critics who are suggesting that our government is not doing enough to invest in transit in transportation in Waterloo Region. Can the Minister please tell members of this House what other investments our government is making in transit in transportation in Waterloo Region? Thank you. I thank that member for her question. Speaker, I fundamentally disagree with anyone who suggests that we are not investing in transit in transportation in Kitchener Waterloo. And Speaker, just look at some of the incredible projects we have underway in that important region. We will also add two additional morning and afternoon peak period tricks between Waterloo Region and GTA on the Go Service. We are making critical investments in Kitchener Transit Speaker. And for members of the opposing parties, the member from Kitchener Conestoga and the members of Waterloo Region will also add two additional morning and afternoon peak period tricks between Waterloo Region and GTA on the Go Service. The member from Kitchener Conestoga and the member from Kitchener Waterloo, they should remember that when they had the chance in 2012 and 2013 and 2014, they and their parties voted against every single budget to deliver for their communities. Thank you. New question, the member from Leeds Grandville. Thanks very much, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. The people of Leeds Grandville they know you can't manage it and it's just an attempt to distract people from your disastrous Hydro-1 sell-off and your inability to manage our economy. But what they're most upset is that rural Ontario has been left empty-handed with your half-baked plan. But true to form though, you haven't missed an opportunity to taxes. Premier, why are the people of my riding good enough to pay your $100 million beer tax but get none of your 50 licenses? Well, Mr. Speaker, and I would just say to the member opposite, I think he knows that there was inherent unfairness in the model of the beer store. That had evolved over time, Mr. Speaker. And as Ed Clark looked at the assets in this province and realized that inherent unfairness could be addressed, craft brewers for example, Mr. Speaker, around the province repeatedly that they couldn't get access to shelf space, Mr. Speaker, that they couldn't grow their market share. So the changes that Ed Clark has proposed and that we are adopting will address some of that unfairness. But Mr. Speaker, what we know is that in some small towns and rural communities, if there is a grocery store and a beer store, Mr. Speaker, and LCBO or an agency store, Mr. Speaker, that that distribution network is working quite well and what we want to do is set up a situation where actually the grocery store, a grocery store in a community or a beer store would shut down, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. After the Premier, Premier, you know the fact is none of your licenses are going to communities under 30,000 in population. You know that that cap shuts out my entire riding and most of rural Ontario. That means an innovative grocer like Neil Osport can expand and hire new staff. Not because he doesn't have the ability but because you say his store is located in the wrong part of Ontario. It's the same thing for Lynn Lamming at Kittley grocery in Toledo. You're picking winners and losers based on geography. That's wrong and if you were truly the Premier for all of Ontario, you'd make sure that in this afternoon's budget you would change that 30,000 population cap. Will you do that and allow businesses to compete based on merit and not their postal code? You know what Mr. Speaker is saying is that he thinks basically we should just open up the distribution network and beer should be available everywhere Mr. Speaker. Just be careful because when you look at other jurisdictions where that has happened Mr. Speaker what you see is the beer price goes up by about $5 so the fact is we are trying to find that balance of keeping a distribution network Thank you. When Ed Clark and his team looked at the distribution network and they looked at the prices in other jurisdictions Mr. Speaker what he determined was that if we were to go through some of those jurisdictions and have beer everywhere Mr. Speaker the price would go up so what the Tories are saying is they finished asking the members of the League of Jungle to come to order and now he's warned. New question the member from London Fanshawe Speaker my question is to the premier London is home to one of the most of the state of the art and respected medical facilities in the country yet Londoners of all ages have contacted my offices including seniors with mobility issues and limited incomes telling me they are forced to wait in some cases for years for appointments with a medical specialist or told to leave London for that service Premier can you explain why people living right beside a world-class facility are being told they can't have access to it Mr. Kaufman from care Mr. Kaufman from care Thank you Mr. Speaker the member opposite knows that we're making a lot of progress to bring down the wait times for a whole number of procedures in fact for those surgical procedures that we are measuring we went from last place when we came into office in 2003 to first place in the entire country so those investments that we're making and continue to make are paying off but I know the member opposite will want to acknowledge along with me some details of an announcement that was made earlier this week that affects her city of London which impacts in a positive way patient care as well and I'm happy to speak to that in the supplementary Thank you supplementary Speaker back to the Premier Premier after wasting billions of taxpayer dollars on e-health, orange scandals and now you're cutting frontline nursing jobs across the province government is dismantling one of the most respected healthcare systems in the world piece by piece Can the Premier explain why all Ontarians including the most vulnerable seniors and low income families are being further penalized by your inability to safeguard their healthcare tax dollars Thank you Minister of Health Thank you Mr. Speaker and in the last decade in London specifically we've increased our funding to hospitals by $272 million and in addition as I referred to earlier we've made significant investments as well almost $100 million in investments to bring those weight times down in a significant portion of that in London and $14 million to the London Health Sciences Centre alone so we are making those important investments Mr. Speaker I want to reference as well earlier this week where the province approved funding in London for the operation of a new mental health crisis centre and I know the member opposite is interested in this and the head of the Canadian mental health association in Middlesex said this is really great news for folks with mental illness and addictions 24-hour walk-in centre that will provide 10 beds for one to three day stays for people suffering a crisis but these are the important investments thank you a new question the member from Kingston in the islands Mr. Speaker my question is for the Attorney General as the minister knows assisting victims of crime with the respect and services they deserve when they need it the most has always been a priority for our government I know this is an important issue for the people in Kingston and the islands and I'm proud of the support that this government provides in light of our guests who have received recognition for their outstanding efforts in victim services could the Attorney General please enlighten this house on some of the core services that this government provides to victims of crime through the victim assistance crisis Ontario program Attorney General let me say a big 10 to this wonderful MPP from Kingston and the island and I know that she's very very involved in this very important our government has been and will continue to be a leader in upholding victims right while providing the services they need victims in Ontario have timely access to support such as 24-7 in person crisis intervention at the request of police and hence support for vulnerable victims including the development and personalized service plan and referrals to other community support and services when needed. Mr. Speaker these are just a few examples of exceptional services our government has made available to victims of crime to assist them in their time of needs thank you Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker this morning we recognize a group of outstanding individuals involved in frontline care of victims the victim services awards of distinction is an annual ceremony in which the Attorney General presents awards to individuals or organizations that have made significant contributions to the provision of victim services in Ontario. I am proud to say that one of the award winners Pamela Cross is an accomplished lawyer from my riding who is well known for her deep commitment to improving women's access to justice and for her tireless advocacy for abused women right across this province. Mr. Speaker could the Attorney General please tell us more about these awards. Thank you Attorney General Yes Mr. Speaker I was very impressed this morning with these people who work days in and days out for victim services they are our hero in their respective community this morning we had these wonderful 15 recipients they have been nominated for this award because they raised the profile of victims issue in Ontario volunteers can't last hour of their time and delivered exceptional services in innovative ways to better serve victims of crime Mr. Speaker I was very touched this morning to see a group from Sault Ste. Marie who delivered wonderful services last year you know to the victim families from Iliad Lakes I was there with them I saw firsthand how dedicated they are and how important this service is for the victims so I want to thank them on behalf of the legislature this morning for everything they do and everything they have done Thank you Mr. Speaker Thank you very much Mr. Speaker my question to the minister of the environment twice in the house this week you reference the Apple industry as you will be aware the industry has approached your liberal government many times and I have written and spoken in this house about the need to initiate an orchard revitalization program yet we receive nothing more than lip service the industry is eager to rebuild to increase export prospects and in fact to the ag sector to create 120,000 jobs the entire industry can be rejuvenated for an investment of 25 million over 7 years Minister will you do more than spew hot air and ask your government to commit to supporting investment in apple growers Thank you Mr. Speaker One of the things about climate change is it is very difficult on farm and farm communities we know that which is why we are taking strut strong measures in Ontario and working with California Quebec, British Columbia, Manitoba New York and many other jurisdictions because we realize that we've got to create better conditions Mr. Speaker we also know that North Americans are going to be more reliant on Ontario food in the future because of the droughts in places like California which produces 30% of our food so we have to work very closely with the farm community which is why the Ontario Federation of Agriculture has endorsed cap and trade as an option because they realize that there are huge opportunities for farm communities in sequestration and in offsets and they also realize that we've got to act on climate change to protect apple production and other important products in this province Thank you Mr. Speaker Back to the minister Minister enough of the verbal fog you're quick to find money when it's politically convenient to cover one of your many boondoggles however when the apple industry suffered severe production losses you offer little more than hollow words and platitudes Minister if you are sincere if you really want to make a difference and protect the thousands of jobs in this industry and ensure apples continue to be growing in Ontario you will do more than exhale exhale hot air into the atmosphere Minister your last budget failed to recognize this important agriculture partner can the apple industry count on an investment being included in today's budget to ensure the sustainability of this key agriculture partner and healthy food source or is it simply more hot air that will save the planet Minister we have the agri-food fund Mr. Speaker but I want to take a moment here because Don McCabe in the Ontario Federation of Agriculture is on the minister's action group and they're there for one reason Mr. Speaker is that the money that comes to us through our climate strategy has to be reinvested back into things like electrification of public transit but it also has to go to help farmers and businesses adapt Mr. Speaker which is so critical Mr. Speaker the member opposite is a member of a party which we cannot understand what their position is on climate change they seem to have no understanding at all of the risks involved or the damage Mr. Speaker just two days ago Mr. Speaker the federal government that had no support for farmers and climate change that had not a red penny thank you thank you I'm also asking the member from here on Bruce and the member from storm on Dundas and South Bend Gary to come to order and I've asked you twice the member from Nicobel thank you Mr. Speaker my question is for the Minister of Health and long-term care the minister of health says that he sees primary care is the front door of our health care system and I fully agree with him that our systems are struggling to recruit and retain health care professional the very people who can open the door for patient under the liberal compensation and primary care has been kept low and it has been frozen for the last nine years that means that now one out of five nurse practitioner position in primary care is sitting empty and patients are forced to work longer for the care they need in northern Ontario and the nurses are even worse will the minister finally act today to attract nurses and health care professional back to primary health care team and give them a reason to stay thank you Mr. Speaker and I've had quite a number of conversations with our nurses and the associations that represent them about this specific challenge and we need to admit it's not just nurses alone it's other health care practitioners in certain environments and in retention that I'm looking at the ministry is very seriously it's important to address effectively but I want to also I have to go back to the answer yesterday of the member opposites claim I want to be helpful to perhaps help her to correct her own record where she talked about the claim in Sudbury that Sudbury was cutting 42 positions Mr. Speaker and health sciences north once again and I'm happy to go through each hospital just to help the member opposite what the truth is health sciences north in Sudbury has confirmed Mr. Speaker that no nurses will lose their jobs and in fact none of the efficiency measures are expected to result in nurses being laid off at the hospital the hospital statement that the issue said I'll continue with this and supplement it thank you our primary care teams are working hard to keep families healthy and patients love them but this liberal government is refusing to recognize healthcare professional for the hard work that they do and refusing to attract new talents to healthcare sector primary care sector Ontario nurse practitioner in primary care are the third lowest paid in this entire country what does that mean that means that enrollment has also fallen by third we will have further problem recruiting and that means thousands of patients are without the care they should be getting from the primary healthcare team minister you can fix the problem today will the minister act to recruit and retain healthcare professional in primary healthcare team or will he allow his government to stand back and break yet another promise minister well Mr. Speaker before we came into office there were no nurse practitioner led clinics now we have 25 clinics around the province of Ontario but to get back to health sciences north that said that it anticipates that no nurses not the 42 as claimed by the member opposite no nurses will have to leave the system there are also an additional 44 vacancies Mr. Speaker for registered nurses and registered practical nurses and to get back to Lakeridge hospital perhaps the member didn't hear she does have the chance to correct her record of course calling it a devastating impact on quality of care 20% of the staff doing genetics at Lakeridge being laid off according to her well in fact the hospital is disagreed patients will not be impacted in fact patient care will be dramatically improved because they're using better technology better tests faster results and all three individuals that she's talking about still have jobs Mr. Speaker thank you Mr. Speaker my question is for the minister of labour Ontario's mining sector directly employs 27,000 Ontarians and supports a further 50,000 jobs through its supply chain and support activities our mining sector is the strongest in Canada with the total production top of $10.7 billion it's clear that Ontario's mining employers are benefitting greatly from the skills and hard work of the men and women who work in our minds minister in 2013 your ministry convened a mining health safety and prevention advisory group to review mining practices in the province recently speaker the minister was in Sudbury to announce the completion of this advisory group's work so will the minister please enlighten this house as to the results of that review thank you Mr. Speaker I'd be very very happy to do that and thank you to the honourable member for that excellent question recently by the honourable member from Sudbury Ontario's chief prevention officer and we opened the mining workplace health and safety conference and we accepted the final report that was put forward by the mining health safety and prevention advisory group this excellent report speaker contains 18 recommendations on how the mining sector can be improved I'm proud to say that this government accepts each and every one of those recommendations some of the final recommendations employers will have multiple management programs in place workplaces will enhance ground control protections to track and monitor seismic activity the ministry will work with employers and labour to conduct regular mining sector risk assessments employers will have plans in place to manage hazards that cause occupational disease speaker this isn't the end of the process it's part of continuous work that's going to go on to make Ontario's mines in Canada thank you Mr. Speaker Ontario's mining community will be pleased to know that the government's making the health and safety of Ontario's miners such an important priority I understand that the mining workplace health and safety conference based much of their discussion around the report and its recommendations Mr. Speaker and Mr. Speaker that the announcement was well received by all of the stakeholders particularly in my community of Sudbury Speaker through you back to the minister of labour can the minister please outline some of the things people are saying in reaction to the mining health safety and prevention advisory groups final report thank you minister thank you speaker the honourable member is absolutely correct the report based on the work of the people that did it is receiving praise from right across the mining sector employers and labour groups alike let me give you some of the quotes Wendy Fram the mother of a young man who was tragically killed in a mining accident she says I am pleased that the government has listened to the mining community is taking positive action to make Ontario's underground mines safer John Perkwin for the United Steel workers speaker the health and the lives of thousands of women and men who work in the mining industry in Ontario are dependent upon the improvements that are being recommended Chris Hodgson from the Ontario mining association itself these recommendations bring us closer to the goal we all share of zero harm in the workplace we believe the recommendations that are being put forward in this report will assist Valais and all companies within Ontario's mining sector in becoming safer places to work that comes from Andy Robson from Valais speaker these are just a few examples of what is being said about this excellent review based on the hard work of everybody from Ontario's mining thank you Mr. Speaker my questions for the Minister of Environment and Climate Change this morning Minister on Monday the Ontario Court of Appeals ruled against your ministry and in favour of the Prince Edward County field naturalists in their quest to keep an industrial wind turbine factory from destroying the delicate ecosystem on the south shore of Prince Edward County the opinion by the court stated that the environmental review was correct in using expert evidence that showed the project would result in serious and irreversible harm to the ecosystem when it refused to grant approval to this project back in 2013 Minister will you do the right thing in this case? Will you save the blending turtle? Will you protect the environment in Prince Edward County? Will you prevent your ministry from wasting further taxpayer resources by refusing to join any more appeals launched by the developer Ostrander Point GP Incorporated Mr. Speaker I love blending turtles and I was very pleased that and I want to commend the people of your constituency for their activism and we have a very good process of environmental assessment and court process with our environmental bill of rights in the world and this minister respects that and should think the people should come out ahead in these processes Mr. Speaker I cannot comment in detail because of my role and I think the member knows the restrictions that I have I will go one further though because this is something that's important to me I would be quite happy to meet with you because I think we have larger issues of biodiversity loss with climate change and we have challenges right now with neurotoxic pesticides including water and vertebrae and these issues are becoming more acute Mr. Speaker but I would there are some other environmental concerns with other species that I think we both share which Thank you Minister this isn't just another community group that's opposing this project although thank you for commending their efforts in Prince Edward County one of the intervening parties that joined the field naturalists in Prince Edward was Nature Canada which is an ecosystem in southern Prince Edward and you've not only turned a blind eye to the fact you've actively committed taxpayer resources to helping the developer destroy an ecosystem your own experts minister at the Environmental Review Tribunal the Ontario Court of Appeals and Nature Canada who by the way do believe in wind power but just not at this particular site are telling you that this project is environmentally destructive will you commit here today that the Ministry of Environment not waste any more taxpayer resources in aiding the developer in further appeals for this project either in court or at the ERT will you do that end taxpayers involvement and your ministries involvement put the shell game and end this Thank you Minister Mr. Speaker the role of the environment minister is the end of an adjudicative process with the environmental assessments and other things and it would prejudice any process for me to comment on that specifically but to say that I'm not concerned about it would be quite wrong and I would go further because as I said earlier I would describe what we're facing right now on this planet as a biodiversity crisis we are tracking to lose about one third of our species right now on this planet and it's very serious you talk to farmers you talk to folks with cottages we are losing species at an unprecedented rate I cannot talk about the specifics of this Mr. Speaker but I do believe the members sincere in the concern as are his constituents and I would be happy to meet privately with him to discuss this because I do believe that I'm accountable to him and other members and I wish I could be more forthcoming but I can't without compromising my position as Minister Thank you Mr. Mohler has given notice of his dissatisfaction with the answer of its question of the premier concerning the government beer sale plan this matter will be debated at 6pm on Tuesday the minister of training college university is on a point for it Mr. Speaker it is my privilege to welcome my former high school teacher Mr. Hassan Ali Rahid accompanied by her grandfather and I don't think he's going to look my way either there are no deferred votes this house stands recessed until 3 p.m. this afternoon. No. 1 p.m. this afternoon.