 My question is to the Premier. Franco-Ontarians from across our province, in fact, francophones across this country have made it clear to the Premier that he has disrespected the Francophone community. He has made a major mistake. Will he do the right thing, restore funding to the French language university and restore the independent French language services commissioner? Well, through you, Mr. Speaker, Franco-Ontarians have played a major role in Ontario. Even though it's three percent of the population in Ontario, they've played a major role of culture and history in different areas of business in Ontario. And we did listen, because I've talked to hundreds of Franco-Ontarians, as they have my cell phone number like everyone else does. I had an opportunity to speak to them. They really appreciate us being afforded about the university, a false promise made days before the election from the Liberal government to actually use Franco-Ontarians. I'm not too sure what I was withdrawn. Through you, Mr. Speaker, they realize that our province was left in a bankruptcy state. $14.5 billion at deficit we're facing, we're paying interest of over $12 billion a year. They realize they were being used as pawns, and that's shameful to use Franco-Ontarians as pawns during the election. We did listen, and what we did, we're empowering the role of the French language service commissioner under the ombudsman. We have a fantastic new... Supplementary. Once again to the Premier, even though they are a founding people of this country, this is more than just a broken promise. The Premier's dashed the hopes of Franco-Ontarian youth by scrapping the plans for a university and told them that their rights won't be respected by scrapping the watchdog who protected French services. Half measures and damage control won't solve this crisis. Will he do the right thing? Restore funding to the French language university and restore the independent French language services commissioner. Premier. Through you, Mr. Speaker, the opposition is misleading the people. There was no funding. There was no funding. And that's the Premier to withdraw the MPR. Withdraw. To conclude his response. It was on the fiscal budget, but what we did do, Mr. Speaker, we are empowering the role of the French language service commissioner under the ombudsman. We have a fantastic new minister of Francophone affairs, a wonderful person, Caroline, and I'm hiring a senior policy advisor responsible for Francophone affairs in my office. But through you, Mr. Speaker, we have 11 colleges and universities offering 300 courses in French language. And we want those 300 courses to be filled. Unfortunately, they aren't filled. Thank you. Once again to the Premier. Franco-Ontarians have always fought to ensure that they have their place in this province and to defend their rights. Now they have one clear request. To cancel those cuts. Will the Premier do what is necessary? To reverse the project to cancel the French university and the commissioner of French language services? To the Premier. Mr. Speaker, you can't cancel something that was never there in the first place. We go back to the 11 universities and colleges offering the courses. I encourage our young people in high school to fill the courses, fill the 300 courses that we have, and make sure they're filled. So it's our job to get our communities into these French language courses, 300 of them and 11 different colleges and universities across the province, as my opposition leader, a temporary leader, opposition temporary leader knows very well that we support the Franco community in Ontario. I've spoken to hundreds of them. Matter of fact, Speaker, I've spoken to more Franco-Ontarians than anyone in this chamber the last few weeks. Start the clock. Next question. The member for Brampton Center. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question for the Premier. The people of Oshawa were dealt a hard blow this week, but they're already organizing to save jobs and reverse GM's decision to abandon them. Yesterday, the Premier accused them of spreading false hope. Why is the Premier so certain that they're wrong to fight for their jobs? Through you, Mr. Speaker, and to the member of Brampton Center, all I've heard are these leaders get up there, talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, giving these poor people, I feel so sorry for them because, again, my phone has been ringing off the hook. I have talked to hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of GM workers. My first phone call started at 6.15 this morning. Once I talk to the people at GM, they don't appreciate Jerry Diaz giving them false hope when they have to go home and tell their spouse and tell their kids there might be a chance when Jerry knows exactly there's a chance our job is to find new jobs to create an economy and an environment out in the Durham region to attract new jobs, new opportunities. And they appreciated my call, and the members themselves don't agree. Order, start the clock, supplementary. Speaker, across North America, elected leaders from all political stripes say they're ready to stand with GM workers and fight GM's decision to walk away from their communities. Why is the Premier so convinced that all of these leaders are so wrong to keep fighting for good paying jobs here in this province, and that giving up is the best option here for workers in our province? Through you, Mr. Speaker, through you, Mr. Speaker, and to the member of Brampton Center, it's called grandstanding. They know the truth. The Prime Minister knows the truth because the President of GM spoke to me four times. Jerry Diaz knows the truth because he's speaking to the President of GM numerous times. I spoke to the CEO of Ford Motor Company, Honda, Toyota, everyone knows GM is leaving. Our job is rather than talking and giving people false hope, which is the worst thing you could do to a family is create opportunities, new jobs, create the environment by lowering gas prices, lowering hydro rates, making sure that we create a friendly atmosphere for businesses. Because, sir, you, Mr. Speaker, this decision wasn't done in the last six months. It was in the works for the last year and a half. That's the truth of the matter. Start the clock. Final supplementary. Thank you, Speaker. Well, families in Oshawa deserve leadership right now, and they need a government that understands that Oshawa has the skills and talent to succeed and a government that's willing to fight GM to ensure that those jobs don't go to China or Mexico, but stay right here in our province of Ontario. Instead, they have a Premier who's telling Oshawa families that there's no point in even trying, no point in even trying to fight for their jobs. Again, through you, Mr. Speaker, this is a terrible, terrible situation for the people of Durham, but there's only one scenario that it would be even worse. What would even be worse if the NDP got elected to be 7,500 people at the Pickering Nuclear Station? That would be out of work as well, and their families. That would have been even more of a disaster. You listen to the Prime Minister saying, his staff saying, all options are on the table. Well, Prime Minister, you can't be promoting carbon tax on Monday, and I wonder why jobs are leaving on Tuesday, because jobs are leaving because of that terrible carbon tax, because of the cap and trade, because of the highest hydro rates in North America, the highest taxes, the worst labour laws right here in Ontario, but guess what, Mr. Speaker, we're changing it. We're making, we're turning the corner, and making an atmosphere and an environment. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Speaker, I have said I will fight alongside workers in my community, and so I will bring their questions directly to the Premier. Michelle, a worker at GM, writes, quote, Jennifer, thank you for standing up with us in this fight. I am a second generation auto worker. I was born and raised in Oshawa. General Motors raised me. I paid for all my birthdays, extracurricular activities, medicine when I was sick, and dental, food, school, and the roof over my head. My father and I have given our blood, sweat, and tears to this company, and have always supported them by purchasing the vehicles that employed us. I am absolutely devastated knowing that I am soon to be out of a job with hardly any notice. I worry how I'm ever going to get through Christmas, let alone how I'm going to pay my mortgage with no job. I hurt so badly inside thinking about what I will face in this next year. I hurt because we currently have a Premier who doesn't care about me or my family or General Motors having a manufacturing presence in Canada. End quote. Michelle's question to the Premier is, quote, why does my government not care about me and my family? End quote. Through you, Mr. Speaker, I guess what I said about the Prime Minister applies to the NDP. You can't support a job-killing carbon tax and wonder why companies are leaving by the droves. That's a big issue. Member for Ottawa Centre, come door. My friend from the Durham region, I would like to know what the NDP is doing to create new jobs other than voting against a bill that gives money back to the most needy people in society, lowering hydro rates, getting rid of the job-killing carbon tax, scrapping Bill 148, which was a job-killing bill. What is the NDP doing? I'll tell you what they're doing, Mr. Speaker, they're doing nothing zero. As you're sitting there running around talking, we're out there creating new jobs. We're going out there, as we did in Southwest Ontario, opening new plants across this province. We're going to continue to open new plants, attract new countries. I'm going to ask the Premier to withdraw. The House will come door. Start the clock. Supplementary. Thank you, Speaker. And what I am doing is standing alongside my community because I believe Ottawa is worth fighting for. The Premier has spoken to GM. I have spoken to them, too. It sounds like we are in for really uncertain times. However, I know better than to count Ottawa out. But on day one, the Premier said it was over. He threw in the towel without a fight. Speaker, my community does have some hope. The thousands of GM workers, their leadership, and the tens of thousands of workers in the automotive supply chain have some hope. One would think the Premier would want to meet with them to see where that hope comes from and make sure that he has indeed considered every option to keep those jobs. So my question is, why does this Premier have no hope at all? Through you, Mr. Speaker, I'm just wondering if anyone from the NDP even spoke to the President of GM. And the answer is no. The answer is no. Order. I wonder how many people the NDP talk to, frontline workers. I've talked to hundreds. I've talked to hundreds. And it's amazing, Mr. Speaker, when I talked to him on the phone, again, starting at 6.15 this morning, my last call was at midnight last night. And I talked to him, and every single call when I speak to him, they say, you're right, Doug. And by the way, we're no fans of Jerry Diaz. I heard that over and over and over again. All he was doing, one person described him as a 1930 union member sitting in front of his members, banging on the table, but doing nothing. We're doing something. We're out there. We're creating jobs. And we will create jobs for each and every person that lost their job. And I can tell you, Durham will be booming under our next question. Start the clock. The member for Northumberland, Peterborough South. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. Over the past few days, our government has laid out a plan to help workers affected by GM's recent announcement, the closure of their plant in Oshawa. We know these workers are going to need help transitioning to new careers over the next year. I know personally, our Premier has responded on the ground, has responded to hundreds of calls and hundreds of more text messages. So my question is to the Minister. Can the Minister update this House on steps our government is taking to help workers in Oshawa? Mr. Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. Thanks, Speaker. And thanks to the member from Northumberland, Peterborough South, who is with the Premier and I and our Minister of Environment and the President of the Treasury Board and other caucus members from the Durham region in Oshawa, meeting with officials there, meeting with the CEO of the Chamber of Commerce, talking about the next steps for Oshawa after the closure of General Motors, which seems imminent as far as car and truck production is concerned in late 2019. Speaker, it feels like the Premier and I have been on the phone for the last week constantly, talking with business and civic leaders in Oshawa, but also across the entire auto sector, working with them on how we can make it easier to build cars in Ontario, how we can make it easier to sell cars and drive cars in Ontario. Mr. Speaker, that's a real plan and how we're going to dig ourselves out of this. What the Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities is doing with the rapid re-employment team, that's a real plan, Mr. Speaker. Mugging for the cameras, that's not a plan. Stop clock. Number four, Waterloo, come to order. Order. Start the clock. Supplementary. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Minister for his work on behalf of a number of my constituents affected by this recent announcement. You know, constituents like Jim who reached out to me, who's looking in a time of uncertainty for certainty. He's certain in his skills training and he's looking for certainty from this government and that's what we've given them, certainty in skills training, certainty in linking jobs into transitioning to a new career in the next year ahead, not desk banging and not grandstanding. Mr. Speaker, we know that efforts on the grounds to help General Motors workers find new careers, but there's more our government is doing to improve the prospects for workers and businesses in Ontario's auto sector. Can the Minister elaborate on the Premier's commitments regarding our government's plan to help Ontario's auto sector? Minister. Well, Speaker, as a matter of fact, I can. We've already done a lot, including passing the Making Ontario Open for Business Act and the Premier said it yesterday. You can't be out there in favour of a carbon tax on Monday and then complain about job losses on Tuesday. It just simply doesn't balance. It doesn't add up. Getting rid of the regressive job-killing carbon tax, the cap and trade system that we had in place here for the last couple of years in Ontario is going to help us build cars. It's going to help us buy cars and it's going to help people drive cars. That's a real plan. But we're also committed to working with the federal government in a full court press to get rid of section 232 tariffs. Those are on steel and aluminum. We want to get those tariffs lifted, Mr. Speaker. They're an attack on auto sector jobs and manufacturing jobs on both sides of the border, Mr. Speaker. I've spoken with the U.S. Ambassador. I know the Premier has spoken with the U.S. Ambassador. We're going to do everything that we can to make sure that Ontario is the best place to do business in North America. Restart the clock. Next question, the member for Essex. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Speaker, the Premier likes to make a big show about giving out a cell phone number, but this week it seems like he's not too happy about the nature and the volume of calls that he's getting from the Oshawa region and the workers at GM. Speaker, the President of Uniform Local 673 tweeted yesterday, quote, Duck Ford called our national president, Jerry Diaz, to ask if he can stop Uniform members from calling him on his personal cell phone regarding GM. Speaker, does the Premier think that if he can stop the calls from coming in, the people in Oshawa won't care that he refuses to fight for their jobs? Through you, Mr. Speaker, when I did speak to Jerry Diaz, I told him there was a lot of rude, nasty, swearing going on, attacking my family, attacking my brother, and I said to him, I wish you would get your members the rude ones to stop calling, but the good ones that I've talked to, 99% of them, and there was 99% good calls, and when I spoke to them, I found out one thing, Jerry Diaz doesn't have too much support within his own Uniform Union. That's what I learned. I learned that people actually realize and appreciate the truth. They know the biggest problem here are the tariffs. The tariffs are killing the auto sector, and I made it very clear if the Prime Minister wants to do something, get rid of the carbon tax, get rid of these job-killing tariffs. That's the truth. I've talked to more GM workers. Thank you. Start the clock. Supplementary. Speaker, the Premier can blame the Prime Minister. He can blame Jerry Diaz in a question yesterday to the Minister of Economic Development. The Minister said that he had been on the phone. Your government has been on the phone with GM for weeks and months, but it's pretty clear that still GM spoke with Ford that they've decided to get the hell out of Dock. Remember the King Vaughn? The Premier is in for quite the education this week. The women and men fighting for their jobs in Oshawa aren't the trained SEALs and bad guys who do standing ovations on command, and they're not Dean French's temper tantrums aren't going to scare them. For the workers watching at home, who may not have the Premier's number, but want the Premier to fight for jobs. I'm going to caution the member on intemperate language and ask him to withdraw. It's your offensive remark. Speaker, thank you. For the workers watching at home who may not have the Premier's personal cell phone number, but want the Premier to fight for their jobs, can the Premier confirm that his cell phone number is still 4168052156? Let me say that again. 4168052156. Is that what it is? Premier? Boy. You know something. You know, through you, Mr. Speaker. Through you, Mr. Speaker. Through you, Mr. Speaker. I'm glad that people talk to me. You don't get stuck in a bubble like the opposition does. They get stuck in this ivory tower. They say they're for the working people. Through you, Mr. Speaker. They aren't for the working people. They're there for the Jerry Diazis and the rest of the defensive unions. They aren't there for the frontline union workers. It's amazing. And the best thing that happened, Unifor did send out my number. And the best thing you did is remind people to call me. Because once you speak to all the people and you actually talk to them and you get into trouble. Thank you. Constant interjections. I can't hear the member who has the floor. When I'm constantly calling members to order, start the call. This government has done tremendous work to date supporting our law enforcement and providing them with the support the need to help our communities save. Whether it's aligning the standards for police carrying and administering responders or replacing the crumbling public safety radio network to ensure frontline responders have reliable modern tools and resources. And yesterday, our government announced an additional funding to initiate to support our law enforcement in helping victims of crime and keeping our communities safe through the civil remedies grant program. Mr. Speaker, can the Tony General provide us the details of this programs and benefits it will provide to the Ontario's law enforcement? Thank you Mr. Speaker. The Attorney General. Thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to the member from Mississauga Malton for the question. Our government takes the safety and well-being of Ontarians very seriously and we are always working to find ways to support initiatives that help us achieve those goals. Which is why yesterday our government announced that through the civil remedies grant program we will be providing $1.5 million in funding to help 17 police services across the province keep our community safe. This year's funding will help law enforcement agencies run 21 programs to assist victims and prevent unlawful activity. These include programs such as Project Enhance in Sudbury which will receive $77,000 to prevent and combat sexual exploitation, human trafficking, organized crime and opioid trafficking through state of the art surveillance equipment. Mr. Speaker the government values and respects the work our law enforcement does and we want to ensure that they have the resources they need to continue their work. Thank you. Wow, 21 programs that will receive funding this year throughout the province and spoke about one of these projects. Mr. Speaker this is certainly a good news for many communities across the province. Our law enforcement agencies do fantastic work in supporting victims of crime and working to prevent unlawful activities and it is reassuring to know that they have the support and the resources to do that. You spoke about one of the projects in Sudbury receiving support from the government. Can the Attorney General share this house? The additional projects of a government is supporting to bolster Ontario's law enforcement. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Attorney General. Mr. Speaker I'd be delighted to provide that information. Many of these projects are aimed at combating human trafficking and supporting survivors of this heinous crime. Project Safe Horizons Eyes Open in Barrie will receive $92,000 to fund outreach for information sharing across all Ontario police services and outreach to local businesses to increase awareness of human trafficking. The SEEDS project in Branford will receive $93,000 to help create an international database of individuals addresses and vehicles associated with human trafficking in the community. The exit strategy in Windsor will receive $99,000 to provide officers with advanced technology and training to enhance their ability to identify both victims of human trafficking and perpetrators. The program will also provide support to community partners allowing for a multi-disciplinary approach to rescuing victims. Mr. Speaker I'd love to be able to list all the projects but as time is short a complete list can be found on the Ontario newsroom website and I encourage everyone to check out the report and project and speak to them. Thank you. Next question, the member for Hamilton Mountain. Thank you Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services. Speaker, Anna is one of the speakers who joined us in the media studio this morning. She is a fearless youth advocate. She is also a former crown ward. She's a social worker and she is joining us here today in the gallery. Anna knows what the system is like and she knows how important the advocate's office is for youth who are hurt, abused or taken advantage of. To her, the big question is where are young people supposed to go now? Like many, Anna knows this cruel decision to cut the child advocate's office makes absolutely no sense. The government must restore the independent child advocate's office that can make sure that voices of vulnerable youth in this province are heard. Will the minister commit today to reversing this hurtful decision? Minister of Children, Community and Social Services. Thank you very much Speaker. I appreciate the question. Obviously it's great to see Anna at the legislature just over a week ago. She was actually in my office as the minister responsible for children's issues and I was listening to her and other children and adults with lived experience and that made my resolve even more stronger to make sure that we uphold a stronger and higher standard for child protection in the province of Ontario. That's why we are moving towards the Ombudsman who has a stronger oversight capability than the child advocate did. We are going to ensure that there's a turnkey unit for children, especially there and finally one of the things that I think is most important is with respect to the Ombudsman and the coroner, they have investigative powers that are able to provide my ministry and as well as youth detention centres with recommendations as a result of their investigations and they're stronger than what the advocate had and we're going to continue to do that so that's why I've asked for all pending investigations by the child advocate to be reviewed by our Ombudsman. Ombudsman is reactive and the coroner is when children are already dead. In Ontario it's unbelievable that the forward government would cut the advocate's voice to save a few bucks. Today the gallery is filled. People are watching from home. These are people who have experienced care. They're advocates and they're parents and they want to share their disappointment and disgust of this decision. This cruel decision means that children and youth will be left to fend for themselves. Left without an independent dedicated officer of this legislature to speak out solely for these children's needs. Speaker, why does this minister believe that children and youth do not deserve to have their voices heard by an independent officer of the Ontario legislature? Thank you. Thank you very much speaker. Obviously the move that we're making strengthens oversight and accountability. It will strengthen the investigative side of this and I think the member opposite I used to be a children youth critic so I do know a thing or two about what I'm talking about. Where the member opposite gets confused from time to time is she thinks the investigative unit is the same as that that's why I've created three tables. One for Hamilton Mountain, come to order. One for youth in care and one for youth in custody and they look for directly to me who's accountable to the Premier and the people of this province and to suggest that we are going to have this embedded within my ministry is disgraceful and fear mongering. Once again, I'm going to inform the speakers having a great deal of difficulty even listening to what the person has the floor has to say because of the constant interjections. Therefore I will call you to order once and I will warn you and if I have to speak to you again you'll be named. Hope that's clear. Start the clock. Next question. Thank you. My question is to the Premier. First and foremost my heart goes out to the Oshawa and the Durham community. I can imagine what those families are going through right now. Two of my brothers are auto workers and they were not surprised by the news on Sunday night. It's not unusual for lines to have to fight for products in this sector but this government's response has been so under the flag dejected. GM employees don't want retraining they want their jobs. In 2013 Pies announced that they were closing Leamington operations 740 jobs were at stake. It was a done deal but the government of the day did not sit back the collaboration between the previous government municipalities and business saved 250 jobs what is the screeners doing to save those GM jobs right now? Premier. Through you Mr. Speaker before I answer the question of the Scarborough Guildwood member I went to the painters union there was about 600 people and guess who I saw I saw the provincial parliament from Scarborough Guildwood and I introduced her and told the crowd they did a great job but I'll tell you one thing it was a real wake up call for the member over there Mr. Speaker because I've never had a warmer reception when I walk through those doors everyone standing on their feet I went all the way through the room my point is frontline union members support this government they don't support the NDP they don't support the levels because they know the levels of NDP destroy this province they made it our competitive they had 300,000 manufacturing jobs leave this province under their watch they bankrupt this province thank you Speaker Premier it's not about you it's about those workers and it's about those workers and their families Speaker Member for Stormont, South Glen, Gary is born and the next government is what are your plans for a changing economy you talk about the 300,000 manufacturing jobs you refuse to talk about the 800,000 jobs that are created like every other place in the world is experiencing a changing workforce automation, innovation, technology what are you doing to lead this province into a new era of work because you have said the ship has sailed and that is not good enough it is not good enough for those workers it is not good enough for those families they want leadership what are you doing in the face of a changing economy to make sure you stand up for Ontario jobs are we just going to be importers of hundreds and thousands of vehicles and Premier through you Mr. Speaker and the member of Scarborough Guildwood we'll tell you what we're doing we're changing every law that they destroyed this province on that's what we're doing we're changing 148 which we did it's the best bill we put forward bill 47 creating jobs we're lowering hydro rates under their watch we have the highest hydro rates in North America the number one issue when I went across this province and talked to small, medium and large businesses they were killing it the regulations under their government there's 380,000 regulations that they created there's the carbon tax cap and trade destroying this entire country companies left by the droves they left to attune a 300,000 manufacturing jobs now the door is open for business people know Ontario is open for business I would remind the House when the speaker stands up your microphone goes dead we will have order in the remaining 24 minutes of this question period start the clock the member for Kingston and the Islands thank you Mr. Speaker and through you I apologize I made a mistake I have to recognize the member for Mississauga Centre of the Treasury Board my constituents in Mississauga centre are concerned about how government spending balloon over 15 years of liberal mismanagement when the NDP supported this spending it's clear that there was little oversight and even lack of government practices when they mattered the most in fact one of the key points from the line by line review was that the liberal spending was not based on evidence was decentralized and was out of control it's clear Mr. Speaker that the fall economic statement tabled by the Minister of Finance earlier this month is going to improve our province's fiscal standing if we want a prosperous province we have to change the way we spend and behave please tell us how announcements in the fall economic statement will help the government spending President of the Treasury Board thank you Mr. Speaker Saga Centre for that great question the line by line review showed that labour costs are our single largest expenditure across government totaling about $71 billion shockingly under the Liberals agencies were not required to have their bargaining mandates approved by government well Mr. Speaker as part of our promise to restore accountability to government that lack of oversight ends right here this week I informed my colleagues that agencies with collective agreements expiring at the end of the year must seek bargaining mandate approval from the Treasury Board and let me be crystal clear in no way does this impact collective bargaining rights instead it ensures that the people footing the bill the taxpayers of Ontario will know what the final amount will be supplementary Mr. Speaker thank you to the President of the Treasury Board for that excellent answer the practices of the previous Liberal government are indeed shocking is taking bold action to increase accountability and oversight on spending in fact the line by line review showed that every 1% increase in compensation related spending translated into a staggering $720 million in additional costs it's clear that after 15 years of Liberals signing blank checks on the backs of the people of Ontario our government is taking action well Mr. Speaker the taxpayers are not just sound bites they are the very foundation what we are working for a government that respects the taxpayer can the President of the Treasury please inform this House what the impact of this new accountability initiatives will be Mr. Speaker thank you Mr. Speaker thank you for the member the line by line review revealed that for 15 years the Liberals were signing the paychecks they were letting someone else fill in the blanks if we want this province to prosper if we want our public servants to be sustainable we must change the way that government behaves this new oversight effort will apply to 24 agencies accounting for approximately $2.6 billion annually in compensation costs Ontarians can be assured that we are taking action for government spending and are implementing appropriate oversight measures Mr. Speaker not only will this government approve the numbers going on those checks but in the memo line we will have one word and one word only accountability restart the clock now the member for Kingston again thank you Mr. Speaker and through you my question is for the Premier yesterday the Minister of the Environment Conservation and Parks was asked whether the government's new climate change plan would use tax dollars to pay polluters and Mr. Speaker shocking I know but the minister did not answer I'll ask again is the Premier flipping the principle of the polluter pay model upside down by forcing taxpayers to pay polluters instead Premier through you Mr. Speaker our plan is a fabulous plan our Minister of the Environment is going to be rolling that out today but let me tell the people here the Paris agreement 2030 goal is 30% guess what Ontario's at 22% already we will hit we will make sure we hit the 30% by the end of 2030 because we have the best plan when we went across the province people want clean air they want clean lakes they want clean rivers they want clean parks and I can tell you the people that want to pollute the companies that want to pollute we're going to come down twice as hard on them thank you Mr. Speaker I hope the Premier has time to read the Paris climate agreement at some point yesterday yesterday the Minister was asked to explain where he will find the money to pay for his climate change plan and again he refused to answer and then the PC caucus gave him a standing ovation for that so I will ask again how will the Premier pay for his climate change plan Premier Minister of Transportation Minister of Transportation thank you TAP thank you Dharma TAP thank you TEP and listen our functionality for today today clinic we will d West we're going to build resilience to climate change just like extreme weather The next question is for the Minister of Infrastructure and it's a question I'm very eager to ask. Yesterday I joined our Premier, the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care and the Minister of Infrastructure for an exciting announcement in my riding of Niagara West that will cut hospital wait times and end hallway health care. Yes, I'm proud to say that unlike the previous Liberal government, our government for the people is prioritizing investments in essential health care infrastructure projects. And I'm so proud to have worked with the community and my predecessor and former PC Tim Hoodak to look after the needs of families and seniors in my communities. Since I was elected two years ago I've been fighting for a rebuild of the West Lincoln Memorial Hospital so that patients across the Niagara region will have the quality health care they deserve and expect. Can the Minister please share the great news of how we are delivering infrastructure for the people of West Niagara? Well, thank you very much and thank you to the member for Niagara West for that question. Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to making life easier for the people of Ontario and our government is committed to ending hallway health care. Those two core principles come together in the Ministry of Infrastructure touching countless lives. Yesterday I was honored to join our Premier, the Minister of Health and the great member from Niagara West for a truly historic announcement. The West Lincoln Memorial Hospital, Mr. Speaker, is over 70 years old yet on average each year more than 25,000 people visit the ER and approximately 1,000 babies are born in that hospital every year. Starting in December of this year our government is investing eight and a half million dollars in upgrades to that hospital which will serve that community in the time ahead. Mr. Speaker, our government will continue to invest in the right infrastructure at the right time and in the right place. The West Lincoln Memorial Hospital is most certainly a promise made, promise kept. Thank you Minister. I'm so proud of yesterday's announcement and I know my community is very very excited about this big news. I'm proud to be part of a government that stands for the people of this province and I need to thank the Premier, I need to thank the Minister of Health and the Minister of Infrastructure for standing with the people of Niagara West yesterday. My company, my community has been long waiting for this time. We know that the Minister of Health prioritizes patient safety over all else and has been working tirelessly to end the days of hallway health care in our province. Can the Minister of Health please elaborate on the importance of yesterday's historic announcement with respect to fixing our health care system and ending hallway health care? I want to thank the member for his question for being a tremendous advocate on behalf of his community. Patients in Ontario want to know that the care they need will be there when and where they need it and our government for the people understands that. That's why yesterday I was proud to stand with the Premier, with the Minister of Infrastructure and the great member from Niagara West to announce that our government is investing $500,000 to a planning grant that will go towards the redevelopment of the West Lincoln Memorial Hospital and $8.5 million in money for much needed infrastructure repairs. The fact is that hallway health care is a multi-faceted problem that is going to require innovative and new solutions. And this announcement yesterday is part of that plan. Our government is determined to ensure that everyone in Niagara West and everyone in Ontario has access to excellent quality health care in excellent quality situations. Thank you Speaker. Through you to the Premier, auto manufacturing has been the cornerstone of the Niagara region's economy for over half a century. The news that the GM plan in Oshawa will be closed by the end of next year is causing anxiety for all those that rely on the auto sector for their livelihood. I, the member from Niagara Falls and the member from St. Catharines, stand shoulder to shoulder with our brothers and sisters in Oshawa. The events of this week illustrate that now more than ever Ontario needs a comprehensive auto strategy. Will this government do the necessary work to develop an auto manufacturing strategy for Ontario to support our most valuable exporting industry, yes or no? Premier? Well, the good news, through you Mr. Speaker, the good news when I spoke to the President's GM that they're keeping the St. Catharines engine plant, that I personally have gone through numerous times in my previous career and they're great people out there. But we're going to have some good news, even maybe in a month or two months about the Niagara region. We're going to have great news, just stay tuned. Mark my words, it's going to be fabulous for the Niagara region because now businesses around the world see this government as open for business. They realize that they're going into a business friendly province that they haven't seen for 15 years because again the NBP propped up the Liberals 97% of the time on a job killing carbon tax and I just wish order I just wish my friend from Niagara would go into St. Catharines and talk to these people with me and tell them I'm for the carbon tax which is going to hurt your jobs. We're allocating a minute for questions, a minute for responses when the speaker stands up, your microphone goes dead. Just to remind the House I don't like the hand gestures either, remember for Brandt for Brandt, call to order. Start the clock. Supplementary, remember for Wynzer. Thank you Speaker, back to the Premier. Wynzer is standing shoulder to shoulder with our brothers and sisters in Oshawa. In 2010 our GM plant shut down and we lost 1,400 good paying jobs. We will be feeling the economic impacts of the Oshawa closure in Wynzer too. There are over 300 local companies that are part of the Oshawa supply chain, mold makers, tool and dye, part makers and more. On July 18th I asked this conservative government if they would commit to creating an auto strategy. They refused and we've lost thousands of jobs. My constituents are going to fight for auto jobs in Oshawa, Wynzer and across Ontario. They, we, are not going to give up as easily as the Premier did. Will the Premier join the fight for our auto jobs? Will he work with industry and workers including Jerry Dias to create an auto strategy? Premier? Through you Mr. Speaker, we have an automotive strategy. We have a job strategy and it's the same thing to all manufacturers no matter if it's automotive or any other manufacturer. I had an opportunity to go to Wynzer and go through the facilities. Tremendous amount of automotive part manufacturers, other manufacturers and guess what I heard Mr. Our taxes are too high. The hydro is too high. Kill the carbon tax. Get rid of Bill 148, the same steps. It's the same policies that the NDP supported their cousins, the Liberals 97% of the time because there's one thing the Liberals and NDP love are high taxes. Hurting the frontline worker, taking more money out of their pockets. We believe in putting more money into the pockets of the hardworking people here in the province until they'll be able to go out and do stuff. Stop the clock. Start the clock. Next question, the member for Hastings, Lennox and Addington. Thank you to our team of colleagues for your time and support. Mr. Speaker, my question is for my neighbouring minister of natural resources and forestry. Our government for the people was elected for the mandate to make life easier for all Ontarians and after 15 years of neglect we are doing just that. That's why along with many of my constituents who are active hunters and fishers from across this province are so excited to learn about the modernization of Ontario's fish and wildlife licensing service. In particular the ability to finally print game tags at home. It'll make life easier for people to get outside and to enjoy our great outdoors, especially those folks who live in our rural communities. So today can the minister update this house on the timeline for the implementation and when our constituents can finally enjoy the new features of this updated service. Minister of Natural Resources Forestry. Well thank you Speaker and I thank my neighbour from Hastings, Lennox and Addington for the very excellent question. He's quite right. This is an exciting time for Ontarians who take advantage of our greatest natural resource, our beautiful outdoors. Approximately 2 million hunters and anglers use our automated service to purchase outdoors cards and hunting and fishing license products. This past Monday my ministry launched our new Fish and Wildlife Licensing Service or FALS. In keeping with our promise to make life easier for the people of Ontario my ministry wants to improve the way that hunters and anglers do business with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. Interacting with your government should be seamless and we've replaced the old service with one that serves everyone in the province. The new system includes features such as a single outdoors card and a licensed summary that can be printed at home or saved on a mobile device. We are continuing to improve the service in a few short months. People will have the ability to buy all of our hunting and fishing products online, print them at home, spend more time doing what they love in the great outdoors. I will speak more in the supplementary. Thank you. And I certainly want to thank our Minister for your decisive, quick, timely response to the concerns echoed by all of our members from across this legislature. And I certainly know that many of our constituents are looking forward to finally do this convenience. I've been able to print their tags from the comfort of their own homes. And under the leadership of Premier Ford and the Minister, our hunting and fishing communities finally have a government that is on their side, one that recognizes them and their concerns and works for the people. So whether it truly what this is, this is common sense, colleagues. It's common sense changes like free fishing licenses for our greatest heroes, our veterans. Or approving the fish and the wildlife servicing lines. Our government has and continues to demonstrate the customer service mentality that Ontarians expect and they deserve. So Mr. Speaker, on behalf of our constituents, those who may not have access to the technology necessary to print the products online or print them to a mobile device, will the products minister still continue to be available through traditional means? Thank you. Minister. You again to the member, a great advocate for his constituents as well as for hunters and anglers across Ontario, Mr Speaker. And that's a great supplementary question. I think that's important to note that just because we're adding new features to the updated service, it does not mean that we are taking away other features. We recognize that not everyone will be able to fully use some of the mobile and online features of the new system. This service will continue to be available at over 700 license issuers and participating service Ontario locations across the province. In addition, our Natural Resources Information and Support Centre will continue to sell products over the phone and are happy to assist anyone with questions about our new system. This is a great time to be an outdoors enthusiast in Ontario, and I thank the member for their interest in this new service and look forward to improving the options available for my ministry so that folks can get outside faster and easier than ever before and enjoy the great outdoors. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Question to the member for Toronto, St. Paul's. Good morning, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Education. Yesterday, in light of recent events at St. Michael's College Hospital, I held a town hall in my riding of Toronto, St. Paul's, called Breaking the Silence, where parents, youth and community members gathered to have courageous conversations on how to keep our kids safe. One parent expressed concern that their child would be a target of bullying because they don't fit in with the school's sports culture. I heard from other parents that incidents like this call for systemic change where a culture of silence and stigma needs to be shifted. Speaker, can the minister tell us how the government is combating bullying in our schools when the minister is sitting back as our kids are being taught by outdated, dangerous health and physical education curriculum? Thank you. Minister of Education. Thank you very much, and, Speaker, first and foremost, I completely reject that premise that the member opposite actually put forward, because the fact of the matter is the member, I appreciate the empathy that she is absolutely spot on. We need to be standing by ever seated in Ontario, and the fact of the matter is families matter, and that's why we have the consultation going on for the parents. The member opposite or whoever was heckling said, what about the parents? We agree. What about the parents? We heard from them loud and clear during the campaign this past spring, and that's why we introduced this comprehensive consultation for the parents.ca, because we want to keep talking about what we need to do to improve our curriculum, as well as our learning environments in our classroom. Students, teachers, parents are providing such great, rich information. We're going to be on the right track after this conversation. Supplementary. Thank you, Minister of Education, for the non-answer. My question is back to the Minister. The conversations I had with parents covered bullying, gender-based violence, and social media safety. And by the way, they were not convinced that the parent consultation had anything to do with actual parents or kids. They expressed a desire to have more information tools, to combat these issues at school and at home, to address the various ways in which bullying and harassment manifest itself in child's lives every day. One parent said that their kids need more information on who to turn to when they witness or experience bullying or violence. Every single person in the room asked for more information on consent. What is this government doing to ensure that our kids feel empowered to speak up for themselves or others when witnessing or experiencing violence or bullying again? Thank you. So much. We're doing so much more than the past administration. I have what's thrown over to me is nothing but bullying. I will not be bullied into our border. St. Paul's is warring. This is completely based on what the parents wanted. I ask her to submit her report to fortheparents.ca. Thank you very much. This is the shortest standing ovation so far. Member for Kitchener, Conestoga. Thank you, Minister. The question is also for my neighbouring Minister, the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Farmers in my riding have been facing challenges with the high levels of dawn or vomit toxin in their corn. Yesterday, I was happy to inform them that the Minister announced our government in partnership with the federal government is providing assistance to farmers experiencing revenue loss because of high levels of vomit toxin through the Canadian agricultural partnership. Farmers in my riding were happy to hear that our government is providing help for our farmers in addition to any assistance farmers may receive from insurance coverage and agriculture. This support will help ease the impact for affected farmers and assist the entire grain sector in better managing challenges caused by this plant disease in the future. Can the Minister please tell us what type of assistance farmers with high levels of vomit toxin in their corn can expect from our government? Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, and thank the member from Kitchener, Conestoga for a dedicated leadership on this issue. I was pleased to announce yesterday that our government together with the federal government will be providing assistance to farmers with high levels of dawn on their corn through the Canadian agricultural partnership. We're going to be opening an application process aimed at covering a portion of the eligible farmers expenses from on-farm testing for vomit toxin levels. We're also supporting new projects to help address challenges at different points in the value chain such as finding ways to best process or market the impacted corn. We're partnering with the grain farmers of Ontario on research and new action to reduce the frequency and impact of high levels including finding temporary options to store corn and improve grain quality. Our government is committed to continuing working across the value chain, the grain farmers of Ontario, the federal government, on any next steps. Thank you. That concludes question period for today. Member for Orléans, it's informed me she has a point of order. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I had a promise on Monday to provide some literature to our Premier and our Minister of Francophone Affairs. I did. I just want to make sure that it's on record that I'm handing this to the Premier and just to make sure that he understands it's not 3 percent but 4.7 percent. It's not a point of order. This house is recessed until 1 p.m.