 It is now time for all questions. I recognize the leader of the official opposition Speaker media reports from last night have raised concerning questions about the premier standards for cabinet ministers According to multiple reports Female a female staffer working for the then opposition conservatives came forward with a complaint of sexual misconduct concerning the minister of finance and According to one report she was paid a financial settlement shortly thereafter and signed a nondisclosure agreement Was the premier aware of this and if so what action has he taken? For you mr. Speaker, there was a thorough third-party investigation. There wasn't a shred of evidence whatsoever Supplementary The premier stated emphatically this week that he has zero tolerance tolerance for sexual misconduct and that he will always act decisively to deal with it So will the premier allow for an independent investigation of these allegations? It seems to us that and others have said that the same that when there's a nondisclosure agreement There's obviously something there that people don't want to have disclosed. So I asked the Premier will he have an independent investigation called and asked the minister to step aside while it's being conducted Premier through you mr. Speaker and to the leader of the opposition. I have 100% confidence in Minister Fidelli And again a third-party investigation took place which the leader of the opposition was well aware of just playing politics But what I find ironic that you would actually take a person in my opinion has zero credibility Patrick Brown That lacks credibility is shameful that the MDP are siding with someone that would go after and claim That one of our ministers when they came out publicly and said she had mental health Issues you would actually believe a person like that. You would actually take that person side. That's disgusting That is absolutely disgusting that you would side with someone like Our mind members to please make their comments through the chair Start the clock supplementary Last week the Premier said that any staff person who comes forward will be protected and that he would take any allegations seriously reports Indicate that serious allegations have been made Will the Premier allow for an independent investigation of these allegations and ask the minister to step aside Well, it's being conducted For you, Mr. Speaker serious allegations serious allegations from Patrick Brown Wow, you got to be kidding with zero credibility You actually have the nerve mr. Speaker They come in here and actually throw these accusations a person that attacks people that come out and Say they have a mental illness issue and that what the message does that send across the province? What does it say when someone has the courage to come up and speak out? Now the chance I'll tell you what Patrick Brown's done. He's brought a super strong team together even stronger The media came out Question the leader of the opposition Thank you, Speaker I want to return to the Premier concerning his expectations and standards for his cabinet team in the message that that sends to the province Over the last two weeks there have been serious questions raised about how the Complaints of sexual misconduct for the premier has stated all complaints need to be dealt with seriously They also need to be dealt with Transparency why is the Premier unwilling to call for an independent investigation into these serious allegations? Well again in case the leader of the opposition didn't hear me four other times There was a thorough investigation a thorough investigation with zero evidence And when the media even comes out yesterday and said there's no evidence I'll even listen to the media but for for the leader of the opposition to bring this up in the house and Start playing politics with someone's life is pretty serious I stand shoulder-to-shoulder with my minister of finance We're still going to be working through that shameful disgusting and you should be apologizing Two weeks ago the Premier said that the member for Simcoe Gray had left cabinet and PC the PC caucus for health reasons Then it emerged that he in fact was asked to leave Following an allegation of sexual misconduct the Premier then claimed that he would take all Allegations seriously and urged people to come forward that seemed to be what happened in this case But the Premier is saying he refuses to take these particular allegations seriously Why is the Premier refusing to call a transparent? independent Investigation whereby the information is given to all people who are interested Because this is the minister of finance that we're talking about speaker You mr. Premier This just shows the lack of integrity in this house It shows the lack of integrity through the leader of the NDP these Accusations again that happened a long time ago. It was thoroughly investigated by a third party Zero evidence came out there was an a shred of evidence and again to politicize this and Listening to a guy like Patrick Brown. You've got to be kidding me They've got to be kidding me someone that wants to attack someone and saying that they fake mental illness You know you got to think about that leader of the opposition should look around this room Maybe other people of faith and so-called faked it, you know That's a serious serious accusation and that you know something you want to talk about credibility There is no credibility on the other side of the opposition Speaker over the last week the Premier has been evasive about the standards that he expects from cabinet ministers and staff But this is a serious allegation That requires a serious response the allegation isn't just one of sexual misconduct But that the PC caucus used public dollars to buy someone's silence Will the Premier allow for an independent investigation of these allegations? Have to ask the leader the opposition to withdraw draw The allegation isn't just one of sexual misconduct, but that public money was used To ensure that this information didn't come to light. Will the Premier allow for an independent investigation of these allegations and ask that the minister Step aside while it's being conducted Premier Inside come to order Through you mr. Speaker again Minister of Finance has integrity. He's a man with honor He's a man that's fighting day in and day out to clean up the mess Patrick Brown has a much credibility as a rock. I haven't been counting the standing ovations But there have been several so far and I will remind members when the standing ovations occur I sometimes can barely hear the member that has the floor and if I can't hear the member who has the floor I'll have to stand up and interrupt them Start the clock next question leader the opposition. Thank you speaker. My next question is also for the Premier a single mom working full-time for the minimum wage will lose an almost $2,000 as a result of the Premier's minimum wage freeze annually Most people working for minimum wage don't pay any taxes at all speaker. They just don't make enough money Does the Premier really expect that that working mom and the other working people struggling to make ends meet on the minimum wage? To believe that a tax cut will actually make up the difference Actually when I campaign through you mr. Speaker I talked to hundreds and hundreds of businesses and majority of them were small businesses Over 80% of the people are employed by small businesses I heard over and over again that they were laying people off from coffee shops to restaurants To hardware stores they were getting rid of people tens of thousands of people lost their jobs under bill 148 what our government's going to do we're going to make sure we give a tax rate 0% tax that people making minimum wage. I talked to Thousands of people that got laid off. I went to universities the students came up to me and said we aren't being hired anymore We went to people with disabilities We went to people They're no longer being hired matter of fact. They're being fired This is going to create tens of thousands We're going to create Hundreds of moms and hundreds of workers speaker that simply cannot make ends meet on the current minimum wage People are here today from across Ontario to Basic dignity on the job to take a pay a pay day off when they get sick without having to pay a Doctor for a doctor's note to be able to pay the bills with a livable minimum wage It's not much but the premier wants to take it away The majority of people earning minimum wage don't even earn enough to pay taxes That is the fact speaker but an increase in the minimum wage was going to make a real difference in their lives The premier's wage fees freeze will take nearly $2,000 out of a full-time workers pocket instead of offering empty gimmicks Why doesn't he just allow the minimum wage to increase to $15? For you mr. Speaker, I'd like to know what the leader of the opposition said to the Thousands of single moms I met that don't have a job because a bill 148 Thousands of people that don't have the money in their pocket that don't have the $2,000 or even $3,000 If you want to support the frontline people of this province, we support the hard-working people That's why they're gonna work with a tax We're gonna create tens of thousands of jobs as you've seen the unemployment rate is the lowest It's been in decades under our administration because companies feel confident We're creating an environment to create great paying jobs Next question the member for Brampton South Mr. Speaker my question is to the Minister of Economic Development job creation and trade First off, I'd like to congratulate the minister on the important legislative progress He's made on the making Ontario open for business On this side of the house, it's clear that months and months of meetings with various stakeholders across this province including job creators, workers and union leaders across Member for Waterloo come to order Creation of this bill There also seems to be a lot of rhetoric on the other side from the opposition about how this government's commitment To one of the countries to the one of the country's highest minimum wages Can the minister inform us how the history of debate on the minimum wage in this house has influenced government policy? Thanks, thanks to the honorable member for the first good question of question period this morning It's an honor to rise To bring some attention to prior debate in this house on this issue Here's what the member from Tomiskaming Cochran had to say about a rising minimum wage if you're gonna create jobs Let's talk about the real issues minimum wage is one of them But if you're gonna trumpet that let's look at everything else that's much higher We went from the lowest hydro cost to the highest hydro costs in the country Thank you liberal government supported by the NDP not only not only speaker are we Providing one of the highest minimum wages in the country, mr. Speaker I want to be certain the member opposite realizes that we're doing exactly what he was asking for our government for the People is making life for what are the same member said this employer many of them rightfully so are very worried and that's a fact We're bringing predictability Thank you to the minister for informing us about what the official opposition had to say about minimum wage During previous debates. It seems to me that the official opposition had some sage-like advice as to how to Proceed with an increase to minimum wage The members opposite should be happy that we took their recommendations on how to proceed Debate in this house regularly Because it's important members be heard as voices of their constituents Yeah, does the minister have any more examples of how debate in this house? Influenced the government's policy regarding bill 47 Well as a matter of fact I do and thanks again to the honorable member of the You know, it's very inspiring to know that the government for the people is doing exactly what the members opposite have been asking about the member For Niagara had this to say we also need a strong practical plan to implement the increasing minimum wage We need to make sure small business has the time to assess the wage increases and have their input heard That's exactly what we did up to this bill We've heard from countless job creators workers and union leaders even the opposition about minimum wage We heard the member opposite loud and clear, but I don't want to leave anyone out Mr. Speaker the member from nickel belt said if we were to increase to $14 right now a lot of those small businesses would not survive Increases to minimum wage, mr. Speaker shouldn't be about politics. They should be about stability for our job creators Start the clock next question member for Hamilton Mountain. Thank you speaker My question is to the premier Ontario's provincial advocate for children and youth provides independent non Partisan oversight to the people of Ontario The advocate's job is to protect children and to be a watchdog on behalf of the children of this province and Raise their voice to the government. Can the premier confirm if he plans to scrap their office today later today? Mr. Children community services social services and women issues. Thank you very much minister children community and social services Thank you very much speaker. I do appreciate the opportunity and I appreciate the question from the member opposite We are going to continue to support children in this province This is a very important portfolio that I've been privileged to have been assigned by the premier of Ontario We have been working with many members of the legislative assembly including the Independent officers of this house and we will continue to work with those that want to seek to protect children in care children in the justice system and I can assure everyone in this legislature that the fiercest child advocate in this province will be me Supplementary, I don't think I know how to respond to that. I'm gonna go back to the premier Back to the premier speaker The child advocate provides vital oversight It is a voice for children in this province who so often don't have one The child advocate calls out governments when their policies harm innocent children The fact that the foreign government wants to do away with their voice says something Terrifying about the plans for this province for our most vulnerable children. How can the premier? possibly justify this decision Mr Well, you know, I'm going to say thank you to the premier I've never worked with a leader that has been this attentive to the people of the province of Ontario And I can tell you over the last 24 hours personally attentive and supportive of me personally and our minister of finance And I can tell you something if you want to fierce advocate in the province of Ontario. It's premier Doug Ford Start the clock next question the member for Durham Speaker my question is for the minister of health and long-term care Speaker this government appreciates the importance of financial and social supports for those suffering from mental health issues That's why during the election we promised to prioritize fixing our mental health system With one in five Ontarians affected by mental health It's clear that this is an issue that affects every person in this province and in my riding of Durham either directly or indirectly Can the minister please inform the house? What our government is doing to address mental health in this province? I'd like to thank the member from Durham very much for her question and for the continued great work that she's doing in her riding But she's absolutely correct when she said that our government promised to make a mental health and addictions a priority in the province of Ontario Mr. Speaker that is why our government is committing to spend $3.8 billion over 10 years to finally I say finally develop and implement a comprehensive and connected mental health and addiction system in our province This initiative will also include housing supports to further alleviate pressures on the system I envision in Ontario where patients don't need to be in crisis to receive timely access to mental health and addictions treatment The fact that we are so far from that reality is quite frankly shocking to me We can do better and we must do better We will create a mental health and addictions care system that works for all the people in Thank you to the minister for that response I'm proud that our government for the people is delivering on a clear promise that we made to the people of Ontario Our government understands that front-line workers are the backbone of our health care system They go above and beyond the call of duty every single day Speaker our government appreciates Ontario's front-line workers in our health care sector and will ensure these hard-working Ontarians are supported with the resources necessary to succeed every day Can the minister please tell the house how our government will ensure funding will benefit those who need mental health and addiction services minister Thank you again for the question and mr. Speaker the premier and I Have committed to ensuring that each dollar goes directly to services that will make a significant impact for patients in this province Our funding will go towards improving front-line care Reduced wait times and improved access to mental health and addiction services We know we need to work with our partners to find the right solutions And this includes organizations like the Canadian mental health organization the children's mental health Ontario and Addictions in mental health Ontario Our government is committed to building a comprehensive and connected Mental health and addiction system that works for the people of Ontario Thank You mr. Speaker my question through you is to the premier today the media reported that the government Intends to make cuts to the office of the environmental commissioner and might even abolish that office all together Is the premier firing the environmental commissioner or otherwise? What changes will he be imposing on her office? President the Treasury Board through you mr. Speaker thank the member opposite for that question I'm going to remind everyone in this house that this is not the rumor economic statement It is the fall economic state and we've been working hard since day one to restore trust in this province to renew accountability Mr. Speaker and to reestablish Transparency which may be funny to the order the opposition But I think the rest of the my caucus and the rest of Ontario take very seriously mr. Speaker Every action that we take is about restoring fiscal planning so that we can provide and support the core services for our Not just this generation once mr. Speaker, but also to support future generations because that's what we were elected to do Thank You mr. Speaker it would be very easy to dispel a rumor with a simple answer the environmental commissioner The environmental commissioner of Ontario is an officer of the legislature whose job it is to provide independent assessment of the state of Ontario's environment the commissioner and minister administers the environmental Bill of Rights Which guarantees the public's right to be notified and consulted on government decisions? The commissioner's most recent report flagged the potential loss of funding for the Water Protection Act framework This this is the same party that already brought us the walkerton crisis and is currently being sued under the environmental Bill of Rights is the premier targeting the ECO because he does not want to answer to the public on his environmental record President the Treasury Board, thank you again mr. Speaker and I'd like to clarify to the member opposite that it and I'm sure he Would agree that it would be unethical for us to front-run the fall economic statement and we're Also want to acknowledge the great work that the Minister of Conservation and Parks and doing is a man full of integrity And I also want to take this opportunity stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the minister of many things who's been brave and Through this period and also to the minister of finance I'm wearing yellow tie because we stand in solidarity, but I'll go I need to hear the next member that has a question Start the clock. I recognize the member for Scarborough gildewood. Thank you speaker. My question is to the premier Your government's own research shows that investments of the past liberal governments that we were making in health care education justice and social services Has aided this province these investments provided much needed services. I apologize to the member for Scarborough gildewood. I Apologize I'm going to give you extra time the government has to come to order Apologize once again member for Scarborough gildewood I did much needed services to the people of Ontario like basic income social supports Environmental protection fair workplaces and even teaching things like consent, which we sorely need They were also made according to the FAO because Ontario had to catch up This province was behind because of years of austerity. It was subject to under a previous conservative government Will your government's economic statement bring back austerity measures and eliminate programs and services that the people of Ontario rely on Premier Treasury Board President of the Treasury Board. Well, thank you, mr. Speaker and thank you to the member opposite for that question Mr. Speaker our government was elected because we said that we would do things differently than the previous liberal government We need to reform public services that puts Reliability and the taxpayer at the centre of everything we do to get the finances in this province back in order We need to reform public services in a way that puts reliability and the taxpayer at the centre Every action that we take has been about responsible fiscal planning and a more sustainable Government precisely so that we can protect frontline services and jobs while investing in priorities for the people of Ontario Mr. Speaker, I very much look forward to the whole house does to hear from the Minister of Finance at one o'clock You're all invited You know, you have to be clear and open with the people of Ontario about what this all means in fact Will exacerbate the fiscal challenges that we face and in fact We are at risk of losing the progress that we've made in this province Your government is here to make sure that all Ontarians have health care education justice and social services that they depend on so I ask you again premier Will your government continue to make investments in the services and the supports that the people of Ontario Relay on or will you return to the austerity of the 1990s? Well, thank you again mr. Speaker and to the member for that question You know when she speaks about The path that we've inherited from the previous liberal government what she's done is she's indebted the province not only for this generation But for future generations and that's what we're gonna fix Find it very rich to hear about Making things clear and open as the she says the previous liberal government did that's why we had the Commission of Inquirer We were told this we don't have a six billion dollar deficit. We got a fifteen billion dollar deficit That's why we did a line by line review that showed us that this province is falling behind every other province And is not protecting core services let alone providing the funding for future services in health care and education For bridges and tunnels mr. Speaker, that's what the people elected from us expect of us, and that's what we will do My question today is for the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services People have continued to raise concerns with me over the province's ability to ensure the safety and well-being of the public Currently individuals are sitting in foreign prisons Waiting to return to this province after fighting for terrorist groups such as Isis and Hamas This is simply unacceptable Speaker Justin Trudeau's government has failed to act We cannot stand by while convicted terrorists are waiting to return to Ontario Ontarians who choose to participate in these barbaric acts of violence Do not deserve to be welcomed back with open arms Could you explain to the members of this legislature what actions our government is taking to target those Who choose to leave Ontario to commit these barbaric heinous and Indefensible crimes Thank you, and I would be happy to do that But first I want to thank my colleague from Peterborough co-authors for introducing a private members bill that actually deals with this issue directly The terrorist action Sanctions act will act where our federal government has led us down I can assure you that a Premier Ford led government will have no welcome at No welcome home parade for people who choose to fight our allies to hurt our great men and women who are working in uniforms with our with our own citizens and the citizens of our allies we will not be part of the charade of saying you are welcome back and there is no Sanctions Speaker I thank the minister for her response Justin Trudeau's public safety minister has attempted to express his lack of sympathy to those convicted terrorists who wish to return to Canada We've heard only talk We have seen absolutely no action from Justin Trudeau's government Terrorists who've committed heinous crimes against their country and their province deserve to be severely punished for their actions Speaker we simply cannot wait for Justin Trudeau to take action the federal government has waited too long Far too many Ontarians are concerned for their safety and the safety of their families to the minister Could you please update the members of this legislature on the steps our government for the people? Is taking to keep our communities safe from those who choose to leave Ontario and commit vicious and barbaric crimes Thank you so much. I think it's an amazing opportunity We will have this afternoon to talk further about this detail with your private members bill But just because the federal government hasn't done their job. I can assure you we will do our when these Terrorists choose to come back to Ontario They are not going to be welcomed and they are most importantly not going to be getting any benefits from the people from the government of Ontario People of Ontario deserve to know that their safety is paramount to us We will do that and we will not be giving benefits to people Next question the member for London West Thank You speaker my question is to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care a Freedom of Information request at London Health Sciences Center revealed that since 2014 6190 Alternative level of care patients have waited more than 100,000 days in the hospital. That's the equivalent of almost 300 years These are often elderly and vulnerable people who could be discharged but have nowhere to go The result is so many patients being treated in the hallway that earlier this year LHSC was forced to implement a hallway transfer protocol Speaker Londoners deserve to know what is the plan to address the shortage of beds Not just in our hospitals, but in the community as well Minister of Health and Long-Term Care well I can certainly agree with the member that the number of people who are alternate level of care patients in our hospitals is not Acceptable but that is what we inherited after 15 years of the previous liberal government that unfortunately That is not something that just happened overnight That's been growing and growing and nothing has been done about it But we are going to do something about it. That was one of our central campaign promises that we are going to end hallway Health care, we promised and we're delivering on our promise to create 5,000 long-term care beds 50,000 long-term care beds in the first five years and 30,000 in 10 years We've already announced 6,000 beds that are already working on that each and every day Speaker the problem in London is getting worse 621 alternative level of care patients are at London Health Sciences Centre Already by August this year so far this government's commitment to new long-term care beds has come without firm timelines and with little Transparency we've heard an announcement about flu surge funding But none of the funding has been allocated to London Speaker after a decade of liberal cuts my community needs stable permanent funding for hundreds of beds We need beds in the hospital. We need beds in transitional care, and we need beds in long-term Will this government commit today to sustainable long-term funding to fix London's hallway health care crisis? The thing that we have announced so far has been absolutely open and transparent and will continue to be we've already announced 6,000 beds that are in production. They're actively working on that There's no firm timelines because it depends on production What is actually being done in each individual project? I'm sure you that they will be in operation as soon as possible because we know that there are already over 30,000 people not just in the London area, but across the entire province They're waiting for long-term care beds to be created So that is something that we are looking at each and every day in the Ministry of Health We're not waiting six months any long period of time to create it as soon as applications are ready We take a look at what he brings in the area stir transportation Applications are and whether they're introducing innovation and what it is what the project is that they're introducing so we are applying the correct objective criteria to each application and we are moving on it as soon as we can Thank you speaker my question is for the Minister of Environment conservation in parks This morning the people in Ontario awoke to the lowest gas prices that we have seen in over a year Tesla were lined up this morning to fill up their tanks knowing that every cent counts This is proof that the people of Ontario need these kinds of savings It has been made clear though that the Trudeau liberals plan to implement a carbon tax on the people of Ontario So can the minister please tell members of this legislature how the elimination of cap and trade carbon tax is saving the people of Ontario and my ride Mr. Speaker through you to the member from Kitchener South Hesbler and thank you for her question It's a very very timely question Ontarians did wake up to to some of the lowest gas prices that they've seen in a very long time On on Bailey and Ajax. It was a buck 11 I heard from a number of my colleagues that in their writings it was well And of course this is in part due to the elimination of the previous liberal governments cap and trade program that has saved Families 4.3 second order 5.7 cents a liter for diesel. Mr. Speaker $264 a year. This is going to save families. This is money back in Ontario families pockets And mr. Speaker, it's just the beginning for a government that appreciates that families come first communities come first Mr. Speaker, I'd like to first thank the member for the answer for that question and all the work that he is doing for the people of Ontario and refer to men's come to order the Trudeau government continues to suggest that a price on carbon is apparently The best solution to reduce emissions They suggest that returning the funds back to the people of Ontario will in turn make this move less impactful However, we've learned that this carbon pricing is also going to be subject to GST a Cost that would then not be returned to the people of Ontario Just yesterday the federal minister of environment indicated that this was just the starting point and that even more Targets will be looked at later How much can we expect? Ontarians to pay before it is enough Can the minister of environment conservation and parks tell us what the Trudeau carbon tax will actually cost Ontarians? Mr. Speaker through you to the member We can for four months now the federal government has been asked how much will their carbon tax cost and they've given no answer But fortunately because of the FAO's report. We know that $648 is the price in 2022 per family of this carbon tax now to put that in terms of the price of Gasoline that's another 35 cents a liter So on today's price in Ajax the families there would be paying $1.50 a liter the members quite correct though The minister the federal minister said that's just the beginning. Let's get this in place And then we'll raise the price Perhaps as high as the NDP members have talked about the highest carbon tax in the world $150 a ton mr. Speaker that would mean gasoline and Ajax today would be over $2 a liter mr. Speaker That's the price of an NDP solution. That will be the price of a federal government solution Doug Ford and our government here will protect families Next question the member for Thunder Bay Atticoke. Thank you speaker. My question is for the premier The nurses at Thunder Bay district board of health are still on strike I asked the minister of health two weeks ago what your government was doing to resolve It but the strike continues leaving my community without these vital frontline workers I think of Kayla a nurse who works in healthy babies healthy children programs She works with families with children from prenatal to age six to support their growth and development She supports new parents doing home visits and phone calls and check-ins For many new parents nurses like Kayla are the only support they have Kayla is just asking for a fair collective agreement from her employer So they can get back to work improving the health of my community What is the government doing to resolve this strike immediately? Thank you very much for the question This is something that of course the ministry is not able to get directly involved in We do hope that there is an agreement reached it. I know this has been going on for some time But we hope that an agreement can be reached that's satisfactory to both parties as soon as possible And we are following it closely because of course patient care is our first and foremost consideration Thank you speaker To the Premier these public health nurses have been on strike for over a month It is time for this government to do more than deflect the problem because the work they do is so important One of the people on strike is a nurse She's a street nurse her name is shelly. She goes out in the community To meet people where they live in their homes shelters or on the streets She protects her community from infectious disease outbreaks like tb hiv std's And blood-borne infections The work she does also reduces hospital wait times She can't do her work now and that puts our community at risk What will this government do to encourage this employer to negotiate a fair collective agreement So nurses like shelly can get back to work protecting our community Well, we certainly appreciate that the work that the nurses are doing across the province of ontario It is important and vital care. They provide safety of patients of course is first and foremost So we are following closely, but I'm sure that you would not expect us to interfere in those negotiations That is something that is beyond the mandate of the ministry And we respect the conversations that are going on and the negotiations that are going on So we do hope that they will come to a resolution Sooner than later so that the nurses can continue to provide the excellent quality care that they provide in the community Thank you for aurora oak ridges richmond hill. Thank you very much speaker Thank you speaker my question is for the minister of tourism culture and sports minister I was thrilled to learn that you traveled to susan mary this week to meet with tourism operators in northern ontario Regarding consultations for ontario's brand new tourism strategy While northern ontario already plays a critical role in opening ontario for business This government aims to bolster tourism in the region This goal is a genuine effort to revitalize and support northern ontario's economy Would the minister be able to update the house on his visit to susan mary and the importance of this initiative And uh, thank you to the member for aurora oak ridges richmond hill for this question Once again, I would like to acknowledge the terrific work of my predecessor minister jones and laying the foundation for a very successful summer The previous minister had announced province wide Tourism consultations at the tourist industry association of ontario's summit last month in windsor I was grateful to continue the work by visiting the sue earlier this week While I was there I had a chance to attend destination northern ontario agm and the algoma kinawabi travel association agm I also toured the machine shop and canadian bush plane heritage center It was a very productive trip and a very interesting one where I got a chance to hear from local tourism operators And I look forward to uh in supplementary to answer some more questions supplementary Through you speaker and the minister. Thank you very much for that great response And thanks for the work that you have already begun I'm glad to hear that your trip in northern ontario was productive and will undoubtedly have benefits To the community in short and long term It's also encouraging to hear that our government is actively listening to the experts and frontline workers As to how we can strengthen tourism in ontario's north minister I'm sure I can speak for all members when I say this I'm glad that we are going to take steps to make tourism a sector more vibrant across this province While the former liberal government failed to recognize the importance of tourism in northern ontario this government fully acknowledges Through you through you uh to the minister to through you speaker to the minister Can the minister just tell us how important the tourism sector is to the north? Thank you, uh, mr. Speaker and once again, thank you to my colleague for the question Mr. Speaker, I can tell you that this government is committed to creating the environment for business To succeed in the province tourism accounts for four percent of the gdp of the province That's more than agriculture mining and forestry combined It's an industry that supports over 390,000 jobs here in ontario and generates 34 billion dollars in economic activity I know northern ontario welcomes 8.2 million visitors And spend 1.5 billion dollars annually One out of every four businesses in the north is tourist related The tourism industry is the largest employer of youth in the north response And mr. Speaker with all the beautiful landscapes and vibrant outdoor and activities It is limitless in terms of potential. We believe in the Thank you My question is to the acting premier In march kwame omowa was illegally evicted from his home in my writing His new landlord forcibly removed him his four roommates and their belongings onto the street Despite the police charging the landlord with assault and despite the landlord and tenant board ruling it was an illegal eviction Kwame has been unable to return home He is now living in a homeless shelter and his mental health is suffering Acting premier, what is your plan to stop illegal evictions and help renters keep their homes? acting premier Minister of municipal affairs and housing Thank you, senator speaker I want to thank the honorable member for the question It's a very serious situation and I know all members of the house And our municipal partners are very concerned with the level of housing that social housing opportunities we have in ontario I think we can all agree speaker that in the Greater Toronto and hamilton areas. We're in a crisis when it comes to the supply housing and I think it It is very important for all members of the house no matter what political stripe that we put a plan in place To deal with that serious supply problem So there are a number of of very crisis situations we have and I know that as the the weather gets colder Some of those situations get even more critical I think our government always looks at the at it with a lens of how can we cooperate? How can we work with our 47 service managers our two indigenous program administrators? The private sector and the public sector and I'll I'll say more in the supplementary speaker Thank you. My question is back to the acting premier. Uh, this isn't this isn't just about supply and community housing Kwame's experience is part of a very scary trend There has been a hundred percent increase in the number of applications to evict renters for reasons other than non payment of rent Once you are evicted it is very difficult to find an affordable apartment in the city The vacancy rate in toronto was the lowest in 16 years and the average rent for a one bedroom apartment is now the highest in canada The landlord and tenant board is simply not doing enough to help people who are facing illegal eviction Acting premier, what is this government going to do to stop these growing trends which have good tenants facing homelessness? Thanks speaker and again, thank you for the question There there needs to be a lot of work done in our system speaker There's no there's no doubt about it the the landlord tenant board some of the issues that The member was speaking about there there does need to be more resources And I'm working with the the attorney general on that on that issue in in terms of of housing supply I appreciate her comments. There's many partners in this speaker I while i'm very pleased that the federal government has a renewed interest on the housing file I think there are many things we can do. I think the I think that we can streamline the situation I think we can work across Sectors and you know rather than heckle me From the opposition benches. I think this is a non partisan issue. I think we can all work together It doesn't matter whether it's the municipal government federal government whether water will come to our Private sector partners whether it's our response We all need to work together to ensure that the system is transformed and that we create more supply That's the bottom line speaker Mr. Speaker, my question is to the minister of environment conservation and parks minister last week the Trudeau government announced their plan to stop cooperating with our government and not distribute the 420 million dollars owed to Ontario families from Ontario's low carbon economy fund and instead gave it to organizations and programs of their choice their reasoning siding our government's unwillingness to cooperate with the federal government and for keeping our promise to the people of Ontario to scrap the ineffective Ineffective cap and trade carbon tax Unbelievable can the minister speak to the work our government is doing to stand up for the hardworking Ontario families Mr. Speaker through you to the member from missus of sagamalton and thank you Thank you for that question Our government was elected on a promise a promise to get rid of the cap and trade program and to fight the Trudeau carbon tax Mr. Speaker the federal minister of the environment has talked about cooperation The federal minister of the environment has said that she wants to collaborate and work with us But that so far has gotten her ripping money out of out of ontaria And that has also got them imposing attacks that they know that ontarians don't want mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker, what else has the federal government's approach gotten them a year ago? Mr. Speaker there was one province approached to the federal government's climate plan today, mr. Speaker After the election in New Brunswick there are now six six governments across the country Six governments representing a majority of Canadians who understand that a carbon tax is bad for families Doesn't help the environment and mr. Speaker. We're taking steps to Thank you. Thank you minister. Thank you for your response Thank you for leadership and thank you for standing up for the people of ontaria in combating these job killing ineffective carbon tax We have heard over and over again in this legislature from the members not only us for all parties that life is unaffordable for ontarians Yet yesterday the sole green MPP member from golf called a press conference to advocate for a policy That would push the price of carbon so high so high that it would force the people to surrender their cars Can the minister promise the people of ontario that we will respect their mandate and not betray our promise To oppose our carbon tax and highlight what our man made in ontario will include. Thank you Mr. Mr. Speaker and through you to the member and thank you for that question Mr. Speaker our government is going to bring former to a plan on the environment a plan that supports families A plan that's balanced in terms of the environment and also the economy and he's quite right The member of the green party did did propose a plan yesterday and he proposed a number of solutions And I thanked him both both personally and on twitter for for many of the suggestions, mr. Speaker Many of the suggestions that are added to the five thousand suggestions that we've already received through our consultation Which by the way is available still until this friday at the climate change website But mr. Speaker despite the entreatments of the later of the green party. We will not We will not break our solemn bow to the people of ontario. We will not bring back a job killing regressive carbon tax Start the clock next question the member for trolling st. Paul's good morning, mr. Speaker My question is to the minister of tourism culture and sport In august 2018 the government cut five hundred thousand dollars of programming funds promised to systema toronto Systema toronto provides musical and intellectual opportunities to children in in vulnerable communities Systema supports marginalized children social emotional and academic development through access to musical instruments and music education Minister kath minister kathleen win and the liberals shouldn't have used children as political pawns But now this minister is in the position to the right thing by these children On behalf of children families and young artists will this government reverse It's callous decision and reinstate the funding promise to systema toronto. Yes or no minister of tourism culture and sport Thank you, mr. Speaker and thank you for that question With a core focus on physical activity ontario's after school programs provide no cost or low cost fund safe supervised activities so over 21 000 students in grades 1 to grade 12 during the school year at over 400 program sites in priority neighborhoods across the province Applications to these expand the program are not being considered at this time We appreciate the work of the systema toronto program and its accomplishments in providing after school music education in priority neighborhoods The systema program does not meet the core physical activity programming Requirement of ontario's after school program funded by the ministry of tourism culture and sport The ontario government is currently supporting systema toronto through a three-year ontario trillion foundation grant Thank you for the non-response minister. Glad to see that the arts don't mean anything to the government Anyway, systema delivers positive results for the families living I apologize to the members The government side will come to order Give the member extra time Positive results for the families living in communities struggling with some of the highest child poverty rates in toronto Kids participating in systema toronto's programs are more likely to achieve higher test scores Putting them on a path to better results in school arts education programs and reducing barriers to participating in the arts Build healthy and vital communities Particularly when we encourage the artistic talents of our young kids So I ask what other funding cuts to the arts and initiatives that support arts education programs Can we expect from this government? Thank you, uh, mr. Speaker Just to be clear our ministry has approved support to over 120 organizations to deliver No cost or low cost fund safe activities to more than 21 000 students These programs will be delivered at over 400 sites in high priority neighborhoods across ontario Just to be clear Just to be clear a few weeks a few hours before the election was called the previous liberal minister Signed a letter promising systema half a million dollars The liberal minister knew no paperwork had been submitted and no money was budgeted The liberals didn't even bother to tell systema. They didn't meet the qualifications They're all Set for them after school programs Systema deserves an apology from the previous liberal government. Our government was Thank you Thank you, mr. Speaker Access to affordable energy is vital to the future prosperity of our province Families depend on natural gas as a more affordable source of energy to heat their home Power their tools and keep their businesses open Speaker natural gas is bountiful in ontario yet Many ontarians, especially in rural or remote parts of our province do not have access to this commodity Can the minister outline our ambitious plan to leverage the private sector to deliver natural gas to tens of thousands of ontarians? Minister For his strong advocacy and calling on our government government to expand natural gas Across a rural and northern communities Mr. Speaker, we made two commitments during the campaign one was to open ontario for business The second was to lower energy bills for families for businesses And for everyone across the province Our legislation that's working through the legislature right now, mr. Speaker will enable The private sector to expand natural gas to 78 new communities in the province of And mr. Speaker that means nearly 35,000 new households in ontario Will be able to save up to $2,500 per year in energy costs, mr. Speaker I'm proud to say promise made promise Pursuant to standing order 38 a The member for university rose dale has given notice of her dissatisfaction with the answer to her question Given by the minister of municipal affairs and housing Concerning illegal evictions. This matter will be debated Tuesday at 6 p.m. There being no deferred votes this house stands recessed until 1 p.m