 It is now time for Question Period and I recognize the leader of the official opposition. Thank you, Speaker. My first question this morning is to the Premier. Yesterday, Global News, the Toronto Star Ryerson School of Journalism and others revealed the results of their investigation into contaminated water in our schools and daycares. The results are beyond disturbing. They revealed that over a two-year testing period, there were 646 instances of lead exceeding federal safety regulations in daycares across Ontario. Will the Premier tell Ontarians exactly what he plans to do to bring that number down to zero? Questions to the Premier. Minister of Environment. Verte to the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks. Thank you very much for that question from the member opposite. You know, I want to thank again the journalists that did that study across the entire country which showed that Ontario was a leader with regards to reporting and publicly displaying the results across the entire country. Back in 2017, my ministry passed Ontario Regulation 23 slash 07 which requires all fountains and consumption of taps within our schools and daycares to be tested by 2020. We're pretty close to coming up to completion of that task which we have an understanding of the test results within our schools. If there is a non-compliance going on within our school system, there's a public school system must contact the Board of Education, they must contact the Board of Health, they must contact the Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks and come up with a plan in order to make those taps safe, whether it's shutting down those taps in there, bringing in bottled water or doing flushing, but we follow the guidance of the medical officers of health within our regions to come up with those plans. Thank you. The supplementary question. Well, Speaker, in that long list that the minister railed off, I didn't hear him say the word parents one single time. The report reveals that parents of students in schools where dangerous levels of lead have been found have been kept in the dark. Information is not relayed directly to parents whose children are being exposed to toxic levels of lead every day. So will the Premier commit today then, Speaker, to being proactive and transparent with parents in Ontario about lead in their children's schools and daycares? Minister. Thanks again for that question, Mr. Speaker. And although the data is available publicly, the member opposite is correct that parents aren't directly notified of results. Back in 2017, again, the Minister of Education sent a letter to all boards, school boards throughout the province that they should look at implementing ways to send those results to parents across the school systems if there are bad test results. Some have complied, some have not. I'm currently speaking with the Minister of Education who's sitting beside me here to look to how we can remedy that situation going forward. We know we can do much better. Ontario is a leader, Mr. Speaker, with regards to reporting and testing of the water systems within our province. We will maintain to be leader. We will do better. We will do more. And I look forward to our conversation with the education to rectify that situation across the province. The final supplementary. Well, Speaker, yesterday's report on water quality in Ontario schools highlights the multi-billion dollar backlog in school repairs. Yesterday in government estimates hearings, the Minister of Education was forced to admit that the backlog has gone from bad to worse under the Ford government. The repair backlog was $15.9 billion under the Liberals, and now it stands at $16.3 billion. Hardly surprising, since one of the first things this Premier did in office was cut $100 million from school repair budgets. Will the Premier reverse his cuts and immediately fund the necessary school repairs to get the lead out of our children's water? Minister of Education. Referred to the Minister of Education. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, what we affirmed at the committee yesterday and for all families to hear in the province today is that this government is allocating $13 billion over the next decade to improve schools in every region of the province of Ontario. Mr. Speaker, what I also made clear is that we're maintaining a $1.4 billion allocation to maintain our schools. After 15 years of dereliction of duty where we had a multi-billion dollar backlog that we inherited, we must do more. We must do more to improve our schools. And Mr. Speaker, we are putting money in the front lines more than ever before to ensure that our schools have the maintenance they need to ensure that they have the facilities that are conducive to positive learning for all students in the province of Ontario. The next question, the member for Brampton Centre. Thank you, Speaker. Yesterday's report highlights schools in the Peel District School Board as having the highest rate of lead in Ontario at a shocking 773 instances. How long will this government continue to expose children in Peel to dangerous levels of lead in our school system? Who is the question addressed to? I ask the member for Brampton Centre. Address to the Premier, my apologies. Premier? Minister of Environment. Referred to the Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. Thank you very much, Speaker. And thank you for that question. And we do take our lead results across this province very seriously. I do want to tell Ontarians. I know the member's opposites are speaking heavily with regards to their areas of concern, but 99% of our municipal drinking water systems are passing with regards to lead content. 95% of our children's daycare centres in schools are passing with regards to lead content. Now with regards to issues that arise in schools where they go beyond the legal limit, the standard that we've set as a government, there's precautions to put in place. Like I mentioned earlier, contacting the Board of Education, contacting the local Board of Health, contacting the Ministry of Conservation and Parks. And through the Medical Officer of Health, a remediation plan is taking place to ensure that children are not susceptible to that water. Whether it be closing down the tap system, flushing the system, bringing in bottled water, plans are put in place to ensure that those schools are safe if they go beyond the lead levels that are currently part of our standard. A supplementary question. The member for Timmons. Mr. Speaker, my supplementary is to the Premier. This is a major problem across Ontario. It's not just, you know, isolated schools. In Timmons, Timmons High Invocational School that is owned by DSB-1, District School Board Number One, had tests done where 56% of all the tests came back would result showing levels of lead that exceed the regulations. And in one case, one test came back at 100 times over the regulation. So the schools want to know, and the school boards want to know, first of all, what are you going to do to help defer the cost that they have to pay in order to flush these lines on a daily basis and when are you going to provide them with the dollars to fix the water so our children and others in schools are not at risk? Thanks for the chair. The question has been referred to the Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. Thank you for the member of Timmons for that question, Mr. Speaker. And as I said, we take water safety seriously. This is not an issue that was just created overnight, Mr. Speaker. This is decades and decades due to the fact that the province used to build schools with lead pipes. They haven't been replaced yet. The member opposite even sat in his house when he was government. What did he do to replace the lead pipes in the school systems in order to make that fix? We don't want to work together, Mr. Speaker. We are putting over half a billion dollars into our school systems in order to fix the situations. We look forward to working with the school systems in order to fix those lead pipes. We are going to continue to be the best in the province at monitoring the lead levels and ensuring our children are safe in our schools, in our daycares, and ensuring the municipalities are below standard so that people across the province can continue to enjoy the water that we hold dear in this province. 99% of municipal tests are below the lead standards and 95% of these schools and daycares are as well, Mr. Speaker. We stand beside our people working day in and day out in our city to keep our water safe and we'll continue to support them. Thank you. Thank you very much. The member for Toronto Centre. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and again to the Premier. In my writing of Toronto Centre, Ingle Noot Community School has a 25% failure rate for lead in the water. Ingle Noot Community School is a very special school in my writing. It's a place where many 2S LGBTQ youth find a safe and supportive learning environment. But, Speaker, you cannot thrive in a school where you cannot drink the water and the World Health Organization confirms that there is no safe level of lead. But with one in four tests done at Ingle Noot exceeding the recommended levels, the students and staff at the school are in real danger every single day. What is the Premier going to do to make sure that no more lead tests at Ingle Noot come back over the federally mandated limits? Minister of the Environment, Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. We obviously have a shared commitment to improving the state of facilities in schools in this province. It's why, Mr. Speaker, as noted by the Minister of Environment, 95% of schools are meeting that standard, childcare in schools. However, we acknowledge there's more to do. It's why we've allocated a historic $13 billion 10-year long-term commitment to provide predictable funding to our school boards to improve capital. Mr. Speaker, the Honourable General of this province in 2015 asked the province to have a 2.5% allocation when it comes to renewal. Mr. Speaker, I'm proud to confirm we are meeting that request. In fact, for the Toronto District School Board, we have a 4% commitment being delivered for that school board to ensure that they need, that they meet their maintenance needs so that every student in the City of Toronto is able to work and live and be educated in a community that is safe, that is positive and conducive to learning in Ontario. The next question, the member for Kiwetnong. Miigwech, Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Premier. This week is Treaty Recognition Week in Ontario. Across Ontario, people have gathered for Treaty Awareness events in schools, universities and public libraries. These events help the public to have a better understanding of treaties as we are all treaty people. First Nations continue to honour our treaties and to share our land and our natural resources. Mr. Speaker, I want to be very clear. We never ceded our land to the government entirely. Nor did we ever give up our sovereignty as nations. Does Ontario believe it is truly living up to the spirit and intent of the treaties? Miigwech. The question is addressed to the Premier. Minister of Education. Heard to the Minister of Education. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the question and I believe all Ontarians, all Canadians accept that we have more to do when it comes to meeting our commitments to the First Nations and UNMAT people of this country who have made immeasurable contributions. An important part of that is the next generation of young people know the history, the shared history and the culture and the diversity of language that exists within the First Nations communities of this province. It's why, Mr. Speaker, our government has expanded and enhanced education learning of First Nations history from grade one to eight. It's why, Mr. Speaker, we've added ten additional courses for secondary students so that they know more about the incredible contributions of First Nations. We take our responsibilities seriously. We believe that there is a tremendous economic opportunity and potential within our First Nations community, a fast-growing community in this province. We're going to continue to work with them in good faith to ensure that they're able to reach their full potential, get economic opportunity, realize the dreams that this country should be able to provide for the first peoples of this country. Thank you. Supplementary question. Treaties are more than contracts and real estate transactions. Actually, they are sacred agreements that set out for us on how to maintain our relationship with newcomers then and now. The Crown has a role to play in this relationship, too. First Nations cannot be the only ones holding up their side of the treaty. We come to you and ask for help in getting clean drinking water, safe housing, and proper infrastructure. If Ontario honoured the treaties, as they were intended, we wouldn't be asking these questions. Is the government, is Ontario, are you prepared to share the resources as part of treaty number nine and the Robeson treaties, yes or no? To the Attorney General. Refer to the Attorney General. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm pleased to rise and address the members' issues. We all agree, and those who know the history of the Williams treaties in central Ontario understand how some in the past things have not always worked the way that they should be, and that there should be a level of respect and that we should come to agreement on some of the fundamental important pieces. But it's not just a piece of paper, it's not just a discussion, Mr. Speaker. It's about action coming out of that. That is why the Minister of Indigenous Affairs and myself were in Kenora recently talking about the justice centres, standing with Treaty 3 and Chief Fiddler and NAN, talking about the important work that we need to do with First Nations to actualise the agreements that we have, to make sure that they're having an impact in the communities where they need to. And so I'm pleased to work with the member on issues as they arise to make sure that we're taking action where action is needed in ways that we can. And to work with our federal counterparts as well to make sure that this is a holistic approach to the issues and not just singular motion with no action. We are committed to action, and the Minister of Indigenous Affairs talks consistently about levels of response and engagement. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Next question, the member for Sarnia Lamp. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Premier, as you know, we have an amazing country in particular our own problems. We are truly blessed with an abundant natural resources and world-class citizens who are the annually of the world itself. Thanks to our government's leadership, we are finally turning this country's economy around, putting in place policies that will help all Ontarians thrive. Unfortunately, we can only do so much. Interprovincial trade barriers act as hurdles that divide this country and make us less competitive. Can you speak, Premier, to the impact that interprovincial trade barriers have had on our potential economic output and what our government is doing to address these burdensome regulations? Questions addressed to the Premier. For you, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank our great MPP from Sarnia Lampden for the questions. Absolutely, champion. The impact, Mr. Speaker, on interprovincial trade regulations are staggering. A major roadblock to economic growth right across this region. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Speaker, previously called the interprovincial trade regulations, and I'll quote, a tyranny of small variances. The Senate Committee of Banking and Commerce stated that regulatory overlap and negatively impacts the cost of Canadian economy up to $130 billion. We're working at the cough meeting. We're working to tear down those barriers to make sure that we can trade freely across this country. And what it comes down to, Mr. Speaker, is just regulation over regulation. That's putting a burden on trade. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, supplementary question. Thank you, Speaker. And back to the Premier. Thank you for that answer. Premier, those are some astonishing numbers and speak to how action is needed and needed right away. We are seeing an increased episode of division and uncertainty in this country that's on before. Addressing economic trade barriers should be the top of mind for all of our leaders. Our country is strengthened by ensuring goods and services are able to move through this Federation with minimal disruption. As a time of increased protectionism in this world, we should be doing all we can to help ensure that our companies and entrepreneurs have all the support they require. Premier, can you speak to Ontario's role in helping to bridge this divide on this issue? Premier? I'd like to thank our great MPP. As we saw, Mr. Speaker, in the last election and after the election, this country is divided. It's an Ontario spot to stand up, unite the party. Unite the country, I should say, right across all provinces. Order. Thank you for the cheers. Unite the country right across this great country, Mr. Speaker. Again, we've offered Toronto to host the cough meeting. If the chair accepts, we will come here because what is good for Canada is good for Ontario, Mr. Speaker. What's good for Ontario is good for Canada. We will unite this country and unite it, we stand divided. We fall, Mr. Speaker. Thank you very much. The next question, the member for Hamilton Mountain. Thank you, Speaker. My question is for the Premier. Yesterday, the Premier made comments about my hometown, the city of Hamilton. Question period gets pretty partisan sometimes and it can get pretty heated. But yesterday, the Premier insulted the entire community. It's bad enough for the Premier of Ontario to call any part of the province destroyed. But when he attacks my hometown, the great city of Hamilton, we take it personally. Is the Premier ready to apologize? Questions addressed to the Premier? For you, Mr. Speaker, as the member from Hamilton heard, it wasn't about the great people of Hamilton because they're incredible. They're starving for jobs and they have a great MPP that's actually, for the first time, bringing jobs to Hamilton. They have an investment of $100 million from DHL. We have three or four companies going there and investing. Do you know why they're investing, Mr. Speaker? Because they love our policies. They love that we're tearing down the regulations of red tape. They love the idea of us giving $5 billion of tax credits to encourage businesses, to create the environment for Hamilton to thrive for the first time, my saying, Mr. Speaker. Hamilton has a voice with our great MPP sitting up there, attracting businesses, right in the leader's backyard, and the leader didn't even know about the expansion of DHL. A supplementary question. Hamilton is filled with some of the hardest working people you won't ever meet. They didn't inherit million-dollar companies from their parents. Instead, they work hard for their bills and take care of their families. Which, by the way, is getting harder and harder every day under this government. Order. Hamiltonians deserve better than a Premier insulting their town and trying to take credit for the good things that they built before this Premier was in that seat. If the Premier's really interested in helping Hamilton, he could stop firing our teachers in our schools and nurses who need to do that. The Premier to reply. Mr. Speaker, the MPP actually have no policies whatsoever. Their policies would decimate job creation in the city of Hamilton. That's the legacy of MPP governments, Mr. Speaker. Mind you, there's only been one MPP government in the province of Ontario, because the people of Ontario have never wanted to go back to that misery, Mr. Speaker. What they do, though, Mr. Speaker, is because they don't have any policies that are personal. So if you've worked hard, you've earned and made a good living, they talk you down, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the people of Hamilton are like all of the people of the province of Ontario. Like my parents who came here worked very hard. They came with nothing, like a number of members of our caucus. They made something of themselves. Instead of talking down to those people who have worked so very hard in the province, Mr. Speaker, please take your seats. Order. The House will come to order. Restart the clock. The next question, the member for Lanark Frontenac, Kingston. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Government and Consumer Services. It disappoints me to have to ask, but it's far too important not to and it deserves a considered response. There are thousands of honest, reputable builders in Ontario, but there are some bad players. The Tarrion Audit revealed that nearly 10,000 people were ripped off by Tarrion on defect defects in their homes. Builders refused to fix another 4,000 homes. Staff are often unqualified and provide false information. And executives line their very deep pockets while protecting bad builders. Three audits by the Auditor General and the report by Justice Cunningham have all revealed the same thing. We all know what the problem is. Money is more important than the little guy. Speaker, will the Minister answer this? Is Tarrion a warranty regulator or a protection racket? The Minister of Government and Consumer Services. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, and I appreciate the question very much because it allows us the opportunity to stand up and talk about for the little people that the member alluded to just moments ago because the people in Ontario, whether they're buying a home or buying a condo, it doesn't matter what size of home, it's the most important investment that they make in their lives and we want to make sure that there are rules in place to protect them. And I think the biggest thing we need to do in Ontario is after 15 years of dismal, absolutely a dismal record on this issue, we want to make sure that we educate on Tarrions because first and foremost, Tarrion does not provide warranty, the builders provide insurance and so we recognize straight away that we need to ensure that consumers are educated with what is needed in terms of priority decisions when they're entertaining buying a condo or a home. I'm pleased to share with you that we accept it readily the Auditor General's report on October 30th and we're moving forward and in fact in terms of compensation hours to make sure that executive compensation was disclosed. Thank you, thank you very much. A supplementary question again to the Minister well tens of thousands of people have been ripped off by Tarrion under the Liberal Administration it continues today. Despite the Minister's tinkering yesterday in this House as she stated that I quote homeowners have had the rug pulled out from underneath them end quote Tarrion remains an unaccountable rogue agency that is engaged in corrupt business practices. It's also controlled by an Association that has contributed vast amounts of money to all political parties. Speaker, people need answers. Has the Ministry been cautioned or directed by current or former political operatives to turn a blind eye and keep their hands off Tarrion? Will the Minister make public her mandate letter to dispel these concerns of political interference? Let's put an end to this. Well, Mr. Speaker, I can tell you with absolute certainty that our government is standing by homeowners. I can tell you with absolute certainty that stemming back to the very thoughtful watch from Minister Smith and Minister Walker we have been taking progressive steps to make sure that we're protecting homeowners and we're making sure that the executives that have been spoke about by the member opposite are actually stepping up and doing the right thing. I'm pleased to share with you that just yesterday my ministry we received a letter from the board chair and he is absolutely confirming that they are moving forward on the requests that we have made to make Tarrion more accountable and make Tarrion absolutely a body that is in taking care of our homeowners be it first time new buyers for homes or hondos because both of those opportunities have to be protected when it comes to that very important decision and investing in a home. So again, we've acted on Justice Cuttingham's recommendations 27 to be specific. Thank you. Thank you very much. Next question. The member for Tarrion. My question is for the associate minister of small business and red tape production. Minister, between our mining sector forestry industry and energy policy, we know that northern Ontario is responsible for billions of dollars of economic activity and tens of thousands of jobs related to our rich supply of natural resources. Hard working northern Ontarians are doing more than their fair share helping to Tarrion. Could the minister tell this house what is in the package concerning northern Ontario's critical mining industry? Questions to the associate minister of small business and red tape production. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker and thank you to the member from Perth Wellington for all of his advocacy for job creators across the province. The member is 100% right that northern Ontario's growth and economic development is key to Ontario's success and the future our plan is working. Under the leadership of premier forward and the minister of economic development, job creation and trade we have helped create an environment for over 272,000 new jobs in the province of Ontario in the past 15 months. The key part of Ontario's economy, the mining industry accounted for nearly $10 billion worth of minerals in 2017 creates more than 26,000 direct jobs and 50,000 indirect jobs in Ontario. That's why we are making common sense changes to make a mining more competitive in Ontario. Uncertainty and both time lines have been making it harder for mining operations in Ontario. We are proposing 45-day guarantees to make sure mining can be more competitive and continue driving more investment in northern Ontario. Thank you. A supplementary question. Thank you, Speaker and thank the minister for that answer. It is a major part of the northern economic development that is also critical for Ontario's bottom line. Could the minister tell us what other ways this package proposes to support job creation and economic growth in northern Ontario? Minister Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In addition to providing certainty for our mining sector, we are proposing measures to help our forestry sector. Ontario's forestry industry generates over $16 billion in revenue and supports approximately 155,000 direct and indirect jobs. Today, forestry companies are caught up in duplicative approval processes that cost time and money to industry. Mr. Speaker, these delays have cost many of these forestry operations to close. Our package proposes to streamline approvals for forest operations by ending unnecessary duplication in the process. It is about making common sense regulatory changes and getting out of the way of job creators so they can do what they do best. Create good opportunities for hardworking families across the province. Mr. Speaker, we are making Ontario more competitive and we look forward to building on Ontario and making it the economic engine of Canada once again and building on the 272,000 jobs that we have been able to create since being elected. Thank you. Next question Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Premier. This week, Ontario is celebrating national skill trees and technology week. While the government is busy patting themselves on the back, there are cuts to education or rubbing youth, young people, of the opportunity they need to get into the trees. Schools have had to cancel construction and technology classes and one school completely has to cancel construction and technology classes and technology classes. No matter how hard the minister tries to spin it, this cancellation means only one thing. Fewer opportunities to learn about the skill trades. One in this government going to reverse their cuts and stop making life harder for those who want to enter into the skill trades. Questions addressed to the Premier. The minister of labour, skills training, the minister of children and youth last week along with the parliamentary assistant for education where we announced a historic investment in the skill trades and additional 50,000 students this year benefiting from our investment over 10 million more dollars this year to incend more young people to enter the skill trades, to enter the apprenticeship and the high paying dignified jobs that exist in this country. We appreciate in remote regions of this province, in the north, in the south-eastern west, in every region we know there is a supply issue of labour talent in this country. We are working hard to skill up this province and incend young people to see themselves particularly underrepresented groups and women so they can see themselves pursuing these wonderful dignified high paying jobs where we have announced a historic investment in the skill trades, to ensure more young people enter this critical sector of the economy. The supplementary question. This minister can say anything he wants about his so called investment in education. He also said not one teacher would lose their job and we know that wasn't true either. The Ontario public school board member to withdraw. The Ontario public school board also said that the state government, there will be limited opportunities for students interested in the skill trades. One school has already scrapped the specialist high skilled major a program designed to help kids interested in the trades and trades get jobs. Again to the premier. It's not just students who are going to suffer under the cuts will as well. Why does this Premier not think that Karen deserves better? I refer to the Minister of Labor training and skills development. Well thank you very much Mr. Speaker and I will say the only thing that the member opposite had correct in his question is that this week is national skilled trades and technology week in the province of material. Mr. Speaker, with the Minister of Education and right across the government we're providing more opportunities to young people right through our education system to explore that opportunity of getting a great job in the skilled trades. Mr. Speaker, my friend, someone I work very closely with, Arlene Dunn who is the Canadian Building Trades Union Director recently said to me Mr. Speaker that we are going to be short 260,000 skilled trades jobs in the next 10 years across Canada. Mr. Speaker, a lot of these jobs pay over $100,000 per year, Mr. Speaker. That's why we continue to educate our students, talk to parents, talk to guidance councillors about the hope and opportunity in the skilled trades right here in Ontario. Thank you very much. The next question the member for Willow did. Thank you very much. My question is for the Solicitor General. Monday marked the start of Crime Prevention Week in Ontario, an opportunity to highlight how the public can work and support our frontline police officers and first responders in preventing crime. Now, more than ever, criminals rely on increasingly complex methods to victimise law abiding people and to evade capture. In addition, in communities like mine and across the province, we hear stories of young people caught in a cycle of violence, often leading to criminal activity. Speaker, can the Solicitor General tell this house how the police services are working with the public and community partners to prevent crime and why these partnerships are so vital? To the member from Willowdale, you know, he's absolutely right. The opportunity that we are having today during Crime Prevention Week as we mark it with preventing crime, protecting people and having the police association join us here in an education day is important because it is not just our police services that protect us, Speaker. It is citizens. It is community groups. It is the engagement that we need and we expect from our leaders in all areas, whether it's in education or our workforces. I trust and I hope that members opposite and across all political spectrums are meeting with their police services members today because they can share some very true depictions of how we can make a difference to make their job easier and our communities ultimately safer. Thank you, Speaker. The supplementary question. Thank you. And Speaker, through you, thank you to the Minister for that response. I know all of us agree on the importance of preventing crime in our neighbourhoods. Many of our communities have faced increased gun and gang violence recently, which I know is a concern for all of us in this house. Tackling the scourge of gun and gang violence is a key priority that requires the support of many of our government's ministries, including the Solicitor General, the Attorney General and the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services. Through you, can the Solicitor General please tell us what actions our government is taking to prevent and tackle gun and gang violence in our communities? Thank you to the Member for Mullerdale. Now, it really is a multi ministerial, all government approach and working with our partners in with the Police Association of Ontario, with the Ontario Chiefs of Police. We have some very concrete ideas that they have brought forward and we are moving forward on. Of course, guns and gangs do not limit themselves to municipal boundaries. And so our investment of $16 million to develop a comprehensive province-wide strategy to tackle guns and gang violence includes meaningful intervention and prevention for at-risk and gang-involved youth, tough enforcement, suppression and prosecution for serious offenders. These are all pieces that we are working on because we are listening to the feedback from our frontline officers. And if I may, I would like to invite the members of the POA who are here today for our Lobby Day to join the Premier and I in his office after question period to continue that conversation. And thank you for your service. Thank you, Speaker. My question to the Premier. Yesterday, 11,000 scientists worldwide, including scientists here in Ontario, signed on to a statement calling on governments to recognize that we are facing a climate emergency. Ontarians are already feeling the impact of that climate crisis from people facing floods on the Great Lake to First Nations communities forced to evacuate because of wildfires. Ontario has to be a leader taking on this climate crisis. Will the Premier reverse course today? Will he join new Democrats, scientists, youth and governments around the world and declare a climate emergency here in this province? Premier? Minister of Environment. Referred to the Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. Thank you very much for that question opposite, Mr. Speaker. And we do take our work and fighting climate change and ensuring we have a healthy environment very seriously to the side of the house. Last year, we proposed a draft environmental plan for the province of Ontario and started implementing some of those processes as we go forward. It's good to mention that we've put forth our mission performance standards to the federal government which will target large emitters of greenhouse gases in this province. We're waiting whether or not the federal government will accept those results but what that will do we'll lower the make sure that the polluters at the highest level are lowering their emissions over time. We're going to be coming out with our new heavy truck emissions program which will target the diesel trucks that are on our roadways to lower their emissions. Mr. Speaker, we've changed the mandate for renewable additives to gasoline ethanol. We'll go up to 15 percent in our gas fund by 2025 and we've started our work towards renewing our recycling program this province. We'll divert organic waste and plastics away from our our landfills and ensure that we create the new circuit. Thank you very much. Your self-elementary question. Speaker, again to the Premier, I hope he considers this an important question. It's time to get real. It's time to listen to people. It's time to listen to the science. It's time to get to work on a plan for actually addressing the climate crisis and what was just listed off is not going to deal with what we're facing. We all know that. It's time to stop throwing public money at a failing court case. That is a waste. It's time to stop pretending that inaction or minor action is a solution. Time to get work building a prosperous and low-carbon Ontario. Will the Premier commit today to reversing course and coming up with a real plan to tackle the climate crisis? It's been referred to the Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker and we are taking our role in the environment very seriously. Ontario leads the way with reducing greenhouse gas emissions 22 percent below 2005 levels and we continue on that process Mr. Speaker. We've also done other things with our plan that are working towards a healthy and clean environment Mr. Speaker. We've issued a $950 million green bond to capitalize on the province's ability to raise funds at low interest rates to go towards public transit initiatives, extreme weather infrastructure, energy efficiency and conservation projects Mr. Speaker. We've uh wait for the report from the special vision and flooding. What is missing through the conversations over the years in this province Mr. Speaker is resilience and adaptation to climate change. We've incorporated that into our plan to fight climate change. Not only are we going to deal with the causes of climate change and the high admissions in this province. We're also going to work with municipalities and individuals to ensure that they're able to adapt and become more resilient to the changes in climate change Mr. Speaker because we're taking our job seriously with regards to the environment. We will build a healthy economy and we'll balance that with a healthy environment Mr. Speaker. Thank you very much. The next question is a member for Perth Wellington. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker my question is for the Minister of Government and Consumer Services. Speaker the data economy offers tremendous opportunities for companies based in Ontario to develop data driven business models and unlock the commercial value of data. Creating jobs and growing businesses is a central part of how our government is improving the lives of Ontarians each and every day with the ever growing potential ever growing potential of a data driven economy. Speaker can the minister please tell this house how the government is helping to promote trust and confidence in the protection and use of public data while stimulating the economic growth. The Minister of Government and Consumer Services. I would like to thank the member from Perth Wellington for the question as I really appreciated his participation in a seminar and consultation that we hosted last week in Stratford because I have to share with the house as the member alluded to data is a resource that has limitless potential but we need to be very thoughtful as to how we move forward with it and that's why I'm very pleased to share that our government is developing a provincial data strategy first of its kind in Canada that will help Ontarians and businesses alike to benefit directly from the data economy but assuring all the while they could be confident in personal privacy and cyber security. To accomplish this goal we have done many things we're hosting online and in-person consultations we've released three consultation papers that we're soliciting feedback on and we've also pulled together an all-star task force a digital and data task force made up of industry and academic experts that are really interested and and helping us hone our consultations to address the thoughtfulness that needs to thank you thank you very much supplementary question thank you speaker and I want to thank the minister for her answer and for joining me at the first real round table in Stratford on Ontario's data strategy last week I know many Ontarians will be very glad to hear of the action of the minister that of the actions the minister has taken to ensure that businesses and members of communities across the province are giving the are given the opportunity to work with our government as it builds this data strategy. Mr Speaker as part of the development of the data strategy our government recently launched its third discussion paper on the theme of smarter better government can the minister tell this house what our government is doing to make government better utilizing can the minister tell this house what our government is doing to make government better utilize data to improve services for the people of Ontario and what is our government doing to make government data more open and giving Ontarians more control over their own data minister again thank you very much to the member from Perth Wellington for that question and our goal is to make sure that we're we're chipping away and breaking down data silos because we're serving Ontarians best when they only have to tell their story once and so our goal is for Ontarians to trust the cyber and the opportunities that are going to be presented to them we've been studying the top 10 services out on service Ontario for example and we're moving those top 10 services online so again their Ontarians will not be experiencing those long line-ups that we see across the province and you know it's going to be easy for Ontarians to access their stickers for their licenses their driver's licenses or their health cards most importantly we're listening because again this is a journey that is going to revolutionize the manner in which we govern and we're being very thoughtful and listening to the response and the opportunities that we're hearing from our Ontarians be their academics experts or somebody who just wants to make sure that their personal information is safe and secure thank you very much the next question the member for Spadina for York thank you very much mr speaker my question is to the premier today thousands of students at universities across the province are walking out of their classrooms to protest this government's cuts to OSAP I've had students call my office in tears who thanks to this government's cuts could not afford to return to school this year I've talked to others who are working full time jobs while studying full time because their OSAP grants and loans were cut in half premier students should be spending their time studying not worrying about making ends meet will you do the right thing and stop this attack on students and reverse these reckless cuts minister colleges and universities referred to the minister colleges thank you very much mr speaker and to the member for the question we're all aware that changes were made by the previous government to the OSAP system before the last election in fact on the eve of the last election mr speaker and those changes that were made were principally made in a fashion in which these changes allowed students to access OSAP that came from higher income families and they were receiving grants now the auditor general has reviewed the changes that were made and she noted that OSAP had increased by over two billion dollars within the first year it got so expensive mr speaker that it wasn't sustainable any longer we needed to protect the future of OSAP for future generations that is what we've done not only have we protected it for future generations response we've also reduced tuition by 10 percent saving students more money keeping money in their pockets so they can get the education mr speaker the students who are not able to return to school this year because of your OSAP cuts do not feel protected by this government it did double tuition fees in this province and then as an act of penitence tried to increase OSAP but now your government has actually cut it by 670 million dollars and not only that they've jeopardized funding for student fluid banks for women's centers for LGBTQ centers on campus given that the minister received over 3 000 letters from students begging this government to reverse this heartless decision it is clear that these cuts are making life worse for students and families across the province why does the premier think that students don't deserve the financial support they need to access college and university while this government squanders money on lucrative appointments for friends and family minister reply thank you again mr speaker again if you don't want to take it from us listen to the auditor general two billion dollars in the first year 2.7 billion dollars within the next three years that's double the cost of the OSAP system double over budget it was not sustainable we needed to protect it for future generations mr speaker these changes had to be done to ensure that we would still have OSAP for our students what we've done now is reduced tuition by 10 saving students 450 million dollars across the province mr speaker and that's not for a single student that is every single student across this province will see those savings mr speaker that is a significant savings for students we're keeping money in their pockets and making sure that they have access to high quality education the education they need mr speaker and the education that they deserve and we're making sure that OSAP is there for the students who need it most here thank you the next question the member for Barry Ennisfield thank you mr speaker my question is to the minister who inspires women and young people today the minister of children and youth issues in Ontario as we know i have women make up 48 percent of our labor force yes we can do better for hard to often women are underrepresented in science technology math and engineering we can do better and in fact women make up less than four percent of skills trades labor the skills trades labor force yes mr speaker we can do better unfortunately among those that who work in those sectors we often they're often concentrated in part-time low paying or administrative roles with so many satisfying high paying jobs in these sectors we can do better and something needs to change so i wanted to ask the minister if she can inform this house what our government is doing to ensure that women are represented in all aspects of the growing STEM economy the associate minister of children and women's issues thank you speaker thank you to the member from Barry Ennisfield for that question it's a great opportunity to always talk about what our government is doing for skilled trades in Ontario speaker by 2021 one in five jobs in Ontario will be in the skilled trades and with so many people retiring in the coming years the need for skilled labor is ever increasing this also means that we need more young people in skilled trades in STEM and who better to join such a rewarding sector than women speaker we need more women in the skilled trades in STEM women like Negeen who i met yesterday with the associate minister of energy or Julia who i visited on her construction site Negeen is an engineer for ontario power generation and Julia is a site supervisor for bridge con construction both of these women add so much value to their companies that allows them and the company to grow and to thrive i want to thank all of my colleagues for working to end stigma response around the trades and let all ontarians especially women know that ontario is open for skilled trade jobs and open for skilled trade business the supplementary question thank you to the minister for that answer i know this topic is a very passionate subject for the minister and i congratulate her on all her hard work i know she's been working all summer meeting with different organizations and people who care to get more women into the workforce give women a hand up when it comes to being in the workforce and also pursuing the skills trades yesterday i noticed that the minister had been meeting with paro and the wyca in toronto and was talking about all the great work that they have been doing to make sure they're providing more opportunities for women in the skills trades and for them to enter the workforce so i was wondering if the minister could highlight some of the other groups and individuals that she's been speaking to and working so hard with to encourage more women to pursue such important sectors like our skills trades thank you again to the member for your question speaker women's earnings are crucial to the well-being and financial stability of their families that is why we are working hard to let young women and girls know that skilled trades and technology are not just for boys this means making women and girls aware of the opportunities in these sectors and providing the right training to help them succeed in their studies and their careers one organization that is actively working to promote skilled trades for all students but a step especially young women is kick-ass careers founded by pat williams and jamie mcmillan who i introduced earlier in the gallery jamie is a journeyman iron worker boiler maker through her organization kick-ass careers she works hard to take her success in the skilled trades field and teach girls and young women how rewarding a career like hers can be i'm honored to meet with her this afternoon after question period and talk about the future and what we can do to get more females involved into skill trades and technology sectors thank you the next question the member for winzer to come see thank you speaker my question was to the premier or the deputy premier i guess to the acting premier good morning all speaker before the election the premier promised to help those involved with harness horse racing because they've been put under the thumb of the well-connected woodbine entertainment group by the previous liberal government but instead of helping the harness horse association the premier is watching woodbind squeeze them even further in april ontario racing stopped funding the ontario harness horse association and told its 3 000 members to join a rival association that is controlled by woodbind thousands of jobs connected to local tracks in communities such as lemington dresden london and sarna are now at risk will the premier or the acting premier intervene to reverse this decision and restore funding to the oh h a government to respond recognize the member or the president of the treasury board thank you thank you mr. speaker and i rise for the first time in this session so i welcome all members back to the house and thank you to the member opposite for a very important question you know the benefits for the horse racing industry are entirely managed by the horse racing industry themselves so as a result the association representing the horse racing industry across the pros is leading this transition and we've encouraged everyone in the ontario racing community to sit down with all parties in order to develop a workable solution we remain committed to the success of the horse racing industry mr. speaker i will also remind the members opposite that our government has taken clear action to support rural communities through new investments to help the provinces horse racing industry create and protect jobs and mr. speaker as has been mentioned many times we will continue to commit to creating the conditions for lots of good jobs in this province and we'll have more to say in the supplementary supplementary question speaker grooms trainers drivers owners and breeders should be free to choose their own representatives they should not be forced to join an organization controlled by a powerful toronto based corporation that wants them silenced and gone right on rural communities in ontario count on the thousands of jobs provided by the horse racing industry will the premier the president of the treasury board the finance minister the attorney general and everybody else meet with the ohha stop the attack on rural ontario reverse ontario's racing unilateral decision and allow those in harness racing to decide for themselves who can best represent their interests again the president of the treasury board thank you mr. speaker and again we're going to harness every opportunity to uh to thought i might uh i might get a little bit of levity but no i guess not mr speaker um you know our our government apologize to the minister he may reply mr speaker you know our government is uh reversing the damage done to the horse racing industry by the previous liberal government for example our optional slots at racetracks program is returning slots and providing increased support to eligible racetracks because mr speaker unlike the others we understand the importance importance of horse racing to our local communities and that is why we continue to support the industry mr speaker but let me tell you what we uh what we plan to do we inherited the largest subnational debt in the history of this province mr speaker we inherited a massive deficit later on today mr speaker the minister of finance will talk about how we continue the positive work to create the opportunities for ontarians to create jobs so that we can have all those people that want to work in this great province will continue to have a job join the 272,000 that have already got jobs thank you the next question the member for Etobicoke Lakeshore thank you mr speaker is for the minister of heritage sport tourism and culture industries in september i had the pleasure of joining the minister for a tour of sinnespace one of the many production companies that make their home right in my writing of etobicoke lakeshore during her visit we toured the set of umbrella academy a netflix hit based on the comic book series of the same name which i binge watched the next couple of days and it was an excellent production according to netflix this toronto production provides up to 1850 local jobs each and every year through their investment and we had the opportunity to meet the caterer who said you know what i just live down the street and i can drive up here to work every day it's great to see the local jobs and people get to live right in their community mr speaker could you uh could the minister please update the house on the value of the film television creative industries and what they do and what they bring to our province very much speaker for my first question is the new minister and the first minister of heritage sport tourism and culture industries that fuels a spectacular double bottom line that is first to preserve and protect our cultural fabric as we do in storytelling as well as looking at the economic imprint of 71 billion dollar economic imprint within this ministry the member opposite or the member is right it fuels a 1.9 billion dollar economy in film and television and creates hundreds of thousands of jobs speaker i say that we are the world in one province and next week i'll have the opportunity to showcase ontario to the rest of the world as i join the canadian film center music canada uh the uh motion picture association of canada and so many more in la as we meet with executive senior executives of apple tv universal netflix disney nbc and so many more so that we can continue to grow the bottom line for these job creators the supplementary questions thank you mr speaker and thank you to the minister i look forward to seeing what comes of your trip and the opportunities it presents for ontarians as you show international conglomerates that our government is truly open for business mr speaker last week the minister spoke to the economic club of canada on her ministry's dual bottom line the ministry of heritage sport tourism and culture industries is an economic powerhouse contributing billions of dollars to our economy and hundreds of thousands of jobs can the minister tell us how she's leveraging this expanded portfolio to protect and preserve our cultural heritage while growing the minister's ministry's total economic imprint minister to respond thank you very much speaker again i'd like to thank the member uh for her question in drawing a very important distinction that we have within the ministry when we combine heritage culture sport and tourism as well as industry we recognize as ontarians that they contribute to over 71 billion dollars in economic activity and when they're creating jobs and putting paychecks in people's pocket well then we can build and protect on what matters most and that is our health care and our education and our infrastructure this ministry combined allows for about 12 billion dollars in general and revenues for the government of ontario and next week when i'm in los angeles i can't wait to speak to more job creators as well as those creators who are creating amazing talent in the province of ontario looking forward to its speaker and looking forward to working with the member thank you that concludes our question period for this morning i understand the member for gulf has a point of order thank you mr speaker i'm seeking unanimous consent to put forward a motion without notice regarding independent members responses to ministerial statements gulf is seeking the unanimous consent of the house to put forward a motion without notice regarding independent members responses to ministerial statements agreed agreed again i recognize the member for wealth i move that notwithstanding standing order 35 e the green independent member and the liberal independent member for auto south split the time allocated for responses for independent members on today's ministerial statement by the minister of finance shiners moved that notwithstanding standing order 35 e the green independent member and the liberal independent member for auto us south split the time allocated for responses for independent members on today's ministerial statement by the minister of finance is it the pleasure of the house that the motion carried This house stands in recess until 3 p.m.