 Sorry, it is now time for a question period, the member from the PN Carleton. My question is to the acting premier. Earlier this morning, my colleagues and I sat through the Justice Committee with the Auditor General, while the member from Mississauga Streetsville decided that he would question the integrity and the professionalism of the Auditor General and her findings. In that committee, the Auditor confirmed your decisions surrounding the power plants and the cancellation were favorable to TCE and not to the taxpayer. That political interference from the Premier's office to make TCE whole hamstrung the OPA and cost us more money. That the OPA said that NAPA was not a good replacement location and as a result of that, your government spent an extra $513 million for the relocation of the power plant and GTA. We also know that the government has known since December of 2010 that the number was far greater than $33 million. If proven inept, will you resign? Thank you. Senator please. Thank you. Deputy Premier. Thank you, Speaker, and as has been repeated many times in this House, the Premier is the one who wrote to the Auditor General to examine the relocation. We thank the Auditor and we accept her findings. Speaker, I think as has been said repeatedly in this House, this was a decision of this party, also the PC party, also the NDP party. It was something in which we had found common ground, Speaker. This was a plant that had to be relocated. I have to tell you, Speaker, as you know, the Auditor General has credited the Premier for taking action. She said, I had the opportunity to meet with the Premier. It was good to hear that they're taking the report seriously and that they're taking actions and changing the way things are going to be done in the future. Thank you. That was a pretty good Richard Nixon impression, Speaker, but I can tell you something. The Auditor General earlier today confirmed that there was political interference by this government, not by the Progressive Conservative Party, not by the New Democrats, but by the Liberal Party of Ontario campaign chair of the last election. She signed the document that handed over all of the bargaining rights to TCE to make them quote-unquote whole. That is quite significant and it proves that the Auditor also would say that the cost taxpayers ended up having had nothing more to do but then your own political future. She said that had you cited those plants somewhere else in the GTA, you would have saved the taxpayers $530 million. Question. She also said if we had waited it out, it would have cost us nothing at all. My question, again for this Deputy Premier, will she resign? Thank you. Senator, please. Senator, please. Thank you. Deputy. Well, the answer to that question is no, but I can tell you what we will do and that is that we will fix the system so this does not happen again, Speaker. There is widespread agreement that the original sighting was not appropriate, where that's why we're improving the sighting of large energy infrastructure projects by implementing the recommendations of the OPA and the IESO. Communities will have a say right from the beginning, Speaker. We will get the deciding decisions right from the start, so this will not happen again, Speaker. We're also introducing new rules that are limiting political staff involvement in commercial third party transactions. I believe, Speaker, that the staff in the then Premier's office acted in good faith and are acting on lessons learned, Speaker. Thank you. Final supplementary. If ever there was proof it's time to change the team that leads this province, it was that answer, Speaker. It is that answer that proves that Tim Houdak and the Ontario Progressive Conservatives should assume this government because we wouldn't have done what they did. They created the OPA to remove political interference from energy decisions and then it was the OPA who told your government it wasn't the appropriate location to go to Napa-nee. You ignored them. You cost us $513 million more. You knew if you did nothing, if you let it wait out, we wouldn't have had to pay one red cent. We have a motion of want of confidence on the order paper. I am asking you today, Premier, Deputy Premier, will you call that for a confidence vote? Will you allow members of this assembly to debate that? And will you allow us to vote against this government and make sure that we can have an election for the people of Ontario? Thank you, Deputy Premier. Well, Speaker, I think it might be time for a walk down memory lane. I think the member opposite needs to be reminded of their record when it comes to energy. They might remember the attempt to privatise Ontario. One, Speaker, that led to a $19.5 billion privatisation caused electricity prices to rise, a whopping 30% in Denver. That resulted in a $1 billion, Speaker. That timing. A member from Renfield will come to order. And the government members, when an answer is being given, I need to hear it as well. Wrap up, please. And the member does not help himself either. Now he's been told. Speaker, and if that's not bad enough, they more than doubled the use of dirty coal. Thank you. Thanks for the education, Minister. Minister, we all agree in this legislature that education is vitally important to the future prosperity of this country. Minister of immigration and citizenship will come to order. Please. Mr. Speaker, we agree that we have the best teachers, the most caring teachers and the hardest working teachers right here in the province of Ontario. The only difference is our party wants to see those teachers in front of the classroom while the peers of the Premier would rather see some of our youngest teachers unemployed and at home. The member from New Pee and Carlton has brought forward a thoughtful piece of legislation that brings parents, students and teachers together in support, allows teachers to hire based on their skill, ensuring the best and their brightest are in front of the next generation of students. Parents support this bill, teachers support this bill, and students will benefit greatly from this bill. Minister, will you support the bill and have Ontario teachers and give Ontario teachers the respect that they deserve? Yes, thank you. Thank you very much, Speaker, and I'm very pleased to answer this question. First of all, let me make it perfectly clear that we have said to all our partners in the education sector that we are perfectly willing to work with them to find improvements to the regulation. We admit that there are some problems with this regulation. But what we will not do, Speaker, is rip up collective agreements. The member from Durham is dangerously close to being asked to withdraw. Finish, please. Thank you, Speaker. We don't have a white paper policy document that says lay off 10,000 teachers needs some improvements to this regulation, in fact. I've just announced the appointment of some people to look into this and I'd be happy to follow up with that supplement. Mr. Speaker, what the minister is telling us is that she doesn't want the best teachers teaching our kids in our classroom. Let me tell you about Jason Trin. Jason is a talented teacher with a master's degree in molecular biology. After filling in at two of Toronto's top high schools, he was honored with the premier's new teacher of the year award. He was also handpicked to design a summer math camp and was so successful that he was credited for boosting grade nine math scores. But Jason can't find a job. He can't even get an interview because he sits 800th on the seniority list of more than 2,000 teachers. Under regulation 274, principles are forced to hire whatever names happen to be at the top of their seniority list. Jason Trin is the type of teacher we need in front of our classrooms. I would hope and would like to think that his award actually means something. Minister, why don't we think that our children deserve the best teachers in front of our classrooms? Are you going to get the award? Thank you. It's interesting that they want to talk about the best teachers. We actually... The member from Halton is now award and the member from Leeds, Grenville, come to order. Carry on. We actually happen to think that when school boards have hired people to be occasional teachers, when they've interviewed and hired people to be long-term occasional teachers, that that is in fact a pool of really great teachers. We think that school boards have been responsible in choosing long-term occasional teachers. Apparently they don't. But speaker, we are not ripping up collective agreements. We have a different approach about how to deal with unions than they do. And we have said from the beginning, both the premier and I that we will... Thank you. Final supplementary. Minister, this is about fixing an unfortunate mistake to ensure fairness for teachers and nothing else. I urge this government to support this bill and send it to committees so we can have an open conversation about what to do about this situation. We know the NDP tried to shut down debate on this bill. As we know where their interests lie, and that's what we have come to expect from them. But being in government means that you have to do what's best for the people of the province of Ontario, not just what's best for the special interests that helped get you elected. We are on the side of parents. The PC caucus is on the side of principals. We are on the side of students. And we are on the side of teachers. Why is the government, the NDP and the special interests the only ones left standing on the other side? So, please members bill, repeal Regulation 274 and let's get the best teachers in front of our students. A little bit of perspective here on recent history. We are the people who said we're not ripping up collective agreements. We're going to sit down with our partners. We're going to have some conversations and reach memorandums of understanding with each and every one of our partners. And as a result of those conversations working together, we have a school system this year which is calm, which has extracurricular, and that's as a result of working with people not just saying we're going to rip up the collective agreement. We will continue to work with people to look for solutions, but we're not laying people off. We're not ripping up collective agreements and we're not repealing. We're not repealing a regulation. We're working to improve it. Thank you. Your question, the Minister from Toronto, Dan Ford. Thank you, Speaker. My question to the Minister of Energy. Minister, the Auditor General said that the cabinet minute that the Premier signed on arbitration tied the OPA's hands. Why did the Premier tie the OPA's hands when it was dealing with TransCanada? Deputy Premier? Sorry, Minister of Energy. Thank you. I thank the member for the question, Mr. Speaker. The Auditor said a number of things in a report, Mr. Speaker, included in that report was the following quote, making assumptions about future events and their effects involve considerable uncertainty. Accordingly, readers should be cautioned that while our estimates differ from estimates that was previously announced by the OPA, they will also likely differ from the actual costs and savings that will be known only in the future. Mr. Speaker, the people on the government side, including the OPA, throughout these conversations dealt in good faith. Any documents that were produced with respect to the negotiations were done in good faith. There were different perspectives, Mr. Speaker, on the facts. The auditor has referred to that, and accepted the auditor's report, Mr. Speaker. We've accepted it. I have accepted it. Mr. Speaker, we've taken strong action to ensure that power plants are properly siding in the future. Thank you, Supplementary. I guess the minister didn't like the question. Didn't want to answer the question. The Premier signed a cabinet minute that tied the OPA's hands. The auditor general said there was nothing that gave the OPA any strength in their dealings with TransCanada. She signed a deal that took all the protections for Ontarians and cut them off at the knees. Sold us down the river. Why, why did the Premier sign this arbitration agreement? Did she not understand or did she not care? Mr. Speaker, in October 7th, 2010, the government publicly committed to relocating the OPA plant and the OPA sent a termination letter to TransCanada Energy. The arbitration agreement reflected promises that have already been made in the OPA's termination letter to TCE on October 7th, 2010. And as per the auditor general, just this morning, Mr. Speaker, the arbitration agreement just reiterated the original letter sent from the OPA to TransCanada. Even MPP Peter Tabens, I should say the member for Toronto Danforth, agrees there was nothing extraordinary about this cabinet director. On April 11th, he said, I don't see it as a smoking gun. We knew, we knew that cabinet was approving this process, so this does not surprise me. He's reinventing history, Mr. Speaker. There's no history to reinvent. The auditor said when people signed deals, they should know what they mean. Did the Premier decide she signed a cabinet minute that left Ontarians guaranteeing profits for a private power company? Why would the Premier ask Ontarians to back up TransCanada and not themselves? Mr. Speaker, I believe the auditor general also said at committee this morning that she had received a number of legal opinions. Those legal opinions indicated that had this been litigated and would not have been in the interest of the province. The costs would likely have been higher. So there are different perspectives, Mr. Speaker. I read the quote from the auditor general that said we should look at these facts cautiously, Mr. Speaker, and from different perspectives. She has been very objective, she's been very fair, she's been very neutral in her findings, Mr. Speaker, and particularly when she says that the arbitration agreement was only iterated, the original letter sent from the OPA to TransCanada. Mr. Speaker, I believe that answers the question. Your question, the member from Timothy James Bay. To the Minister of Fire, to the Minister of Energy, the auditor quite is objective. She's saying you guys wrestled yourself to the ceiling. You took... I'm sorry, I do need clarification. You said two ministers, energy. Thank you. So let me do this all over again. Let me declare what the auditor was saying this morning. She was saying that this government wrestled itself to the ceiling when it came to a settlement with TCE. You took the most expensive route in order to settle this thing where you could have got out for absolutely nothing. So the question is why did the Premier, the current Premier today sign a cabinet document back then that led to us having to pay these people over 685 million? Mr. Manager. Mr. Speaker, I think he just asked the same question. It had to do with the Premier signing with respect to the arbitration agreement. So I want to repeat the answer, Mr. Speaker. The arbitration agreement reflected promises that had already been made in the OPA's termination letter to TransCanada Energy on October 7th, 2010. And the auditor general this morning said the agreement just reiterated the original letter sent from the OPA to TransCanada. And so, and as I said the energy critic for the NDP said, I don't see a smoking gun. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Supplementary. The fact is, your Premier, Kathleen Nguyen, signed an arbitration agreement on behalf of the cabinet. That is what led to the settlement. If the government had chose to do nothing and allowed force major or to allow that contract to end as it naturally would have in 2016, you would have not had to pay what you did. So I ask you again, how can you stand in this house today and say that you guys did what was best for the people of the province of Ontario when it came to the settlement of this contract? Just a minute. I remind the member and all members to use either the title or their writing, please. Mr. Speaker, the question is directed to the activities of the Premier. And Mr. Speaker, this Premier, the first opportunity she returned from come to our second time. She reconvened the committee. Secondly, she directed all of her ministries, which had never been asked for before, to make documents available that were asked for by the committee. Mr. Speaker, that resulted in well over 160,000 documents coming to the committee. Unprecedented offer from the Premier was to open up the papers in the Premier's office. I believe it was the first time in the history of this parliament, Mr. Speaker, and 30,000 pages of documents from the Premier's office. She was open. She was transparent. She was up front. She was honest. She showed tremendous leadership on this issue, Mr. Speaker. Thank you for the supplementary. Some leadership, it cost the 685 million. The point is, your member from Mississauga Streetsville this morning at committee was trying to get the auditor based all of her findings on her assumptions. Now, the auditor, being a very clever person, knowing her job, said that was not the fact. In fact, her findings are based on fact, so it's clear that your Premier, you as Minister of Energy and along with the rest of this government, is trying to basically not accept what the auditor had to say. Why are you fighting what the auditor had to say and trying to say that these are all facts? Mr. Speaker, in the premise of his question, he said, this cost us a lot of money. It did. $675 million, Mr. Speaker. And the Premier accepted responsibility for that and apologized for that. But I will say, Mr. Speaker, that $675 million should be compared to several other decisions that were taken several months ago. Number one, the decision to renegotiate the song contract, Mr. Speaker, removed $3.7 billion from the rate base, Mr. Speaker, compared to this number. The decision to remove domestic content, Mr. Speaker, removed $1.9 billion from the rate base, Mr. Speaker. That's $5.6 billion that we've taken out of the rate base and that more than covers that number, but it doesn't excuse that number, Mr. Speaker. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question this morning is for the acting Premier. Minister, I'm sure the next liberal election campaign ad came to me last night after the bombshell that was dropped this week and it goes something like this. The eHealth scandal, $2 billion. The orange scandal, hundreds of millions of dollars. The gas plant scandal, $1.1 billion. The Pan Am games, priceless. There are some things in life that money can't buy, but if you're a liberal in Ontario, there's always the taxpayer. Minister, when are you going to stop making Ontario people pay for your scandals and your incompetence? Will you call the non-confidence motion? Get a mandate from the people of Ontario before you misappropriate any more of taxpayers. Before I go, I'm going to caution everyone that if we're going to dangerously go down a slippery slope of trying to say something indirectly that you can't say directly, I'll nail it right away. So let's be very cautious, please. No, I don't need any editorials. Deputy Premier. Well, thank you, Speaker. The member opposite maybe wasn't around when his party was in power, so I think he needs to be reminded of some of the extraordinary legacy his party when they were in power left for the people of Ontario. The attempt to privatize Ontario Hydro-1 led to a 19 billion dollars. I don't need armchair quarterbacks. The member from Renfrew, Nepissing, Pembroke is warned. Finish, please. So, Speaker, just the Hydro-1 attempt to privatize cost Ontario taxpayers, rate payers 19.5 billion dollars. And they tried to privatize electricity prices rose 30 percent in just 30. And to make it worse, Speaker, some of us remember that they hid from the people of this province a deficit. Thank you. You see it in place? Thank you, Speaker. And Minister, let me tell you the difference between what you're talking about and what we're talking about here. You've clearly lost the moral authority to Ontario. Your government misappropriated dollars. And here's the key for partisan political purposes. You treated the Ontario taxpayer like they were your own slush fund, like they were your own ATM machine. Just because the NDP is prepared to prop you up and just because the NDP will support that kind of behavior doesn't mean we will hear. Just because the NDP is prepared to let you throw good money after bad at the Pan Games, they haven't learned their lesson. We have. We won't let it continue. Minister, you shouldn't be allowed to spend one more red cent in this province. Will you call the non-confidence motion? Let the Ontario taxpayer decide once and for all if they're going to support this strong government. Member from Cambridge will come to order. The member from Hamilton, East Stony Creek will come to order. And if he goes in his seat, I'll say it again. Answer, please. Speaker, you know the testosterone here is a bit in overdrive but let's try to reflect on the history of this province, Speaker. When the PCs were in power, they hid a deficit from the people of this province of $5.6 billion deficit. Speaker, you talk about moral authority. They saw the horrors of students dropped out of high school before they completed. And as a law country speaker, we've gone from the worst to the first speaker when it comes to high school growth rates around the world education system in one short decade, Speaker. Thank you all. Will you say it, please? Will you say it, please? New question? Member from Toronto, Danforth. Thank you, Speaker. My question to the Minister of Energy. The Premier has said over and over, mistakes were made. It's a shame about Oakville and Mississauga. And then you bungled the cost of the cancellation. But, Speaker, an apology isn't much to say. I want to go around and do the same thing over again. Has the Premier learned those lessons or is she currently repeating those same mistakes in St. Clair with the replacement for the Mississauga plant? Mr. Energy? Mr. Speaker, reference is made to the Auditor General's report again. And I want to make reference to an Auditor General's report, but not the one that she just released. A few months ago, Mr. Speaker, the same Auditor General confirmed the public accounts for Ontario for the first time in 12 years the cost of provincial government declined. And we continue to be the only province in Ontario that is bettering our deficit reduction targets, Mr. Speaker. We act responsibly. We're continuing to act responsibly. And, Mr. Speaker, if they're prepared to go to Ontario, let them start talking about their policy. Let them start talking about their leader, Mr. Premier, who in one week says he's going to cancel the window contracts. And the next week he says he's not going to cancel them. We don't know where he stands, Mr. Speaker. And I defy him. Thank you. Supplementary. It appears the minister isn't following this line. The Premier said the government could start consulting before citing power plants. But Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley is quoted saying, this decision we were not consulted on. They simply made the announcement and then we were told it was coming to Lampedon County. Local residents are starting to raise health issues sort of like deja vu all over again. The Premier seemed to be making the same mistake come to order. The member from Lampedon, Lawrence, you're not helping. And if you go to your seat I'll tell you the same thing. Finish, please. Does the minister realize that apologies don't count for much if you keep making the same mistake over and over? Mr. Speaker, the critic for the NDP wants to get into the quote game. Mr. Speaker, I have a few quotes. Mayor Hazel McCallion, we have been opposing this power plant Sarnia Observer. Our area accepts and welcomes these kinds of projects. Sarnia Observer, recent Claire Township Mayor I told the minister the community would view it as a very positive thing for all of us. That's the mayor Mr. Speaker. Local trades people are glad to learn a natural gas plant will be constructed at the Lenox Generating Station. It's been a slow summer for us. This is very good news. Mr. Speaker, unanimous vote on the part of the Napa Neat Council accepting the plant. We have two communities, Mississaug and Oakville, who are happy that these plants have been moved and there are two willing host communities who are happy to have them, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the minister of trading colleges and universities. As you may be aware, today is World Mental Health Day. World Mental Health is a growing concern amongst our young people in my riding of Ottawa South, especially our post-secondary students. With psychiatric disorders compromising 60% of all identified disabilities at our post-secondary institutions, we cannot sit idly by. As exams and essay season heats up, the parents in our communities want to be sure that their kids have the support they need to succeed. Mr. Speaker, can the minister please tell the House what the support for post-secondary students struggling with mental health issues? Thank you. This is an incredibly important issue. One in five Ontarians, which means one in five of our young students experience some form of mental illness, such as anxiety, eating disorder, schizophrenia, depression, and 70% of mental illness is identified during our teenage years. Imagine dealing not only with the stresses of day-to-day school life, not only with maybe being away from home for the first time in your life, but also having to deal with some form of mental illness. So, Mr. Speaker, we've rolled out a number of supports. In fact, our $27 million Youth Mental Health Innovation Fund has already announced over 20 new programs right across the province with our colleges and universities. That's also why, Mr. Speaker, we recently announced our Good to Talk Helpline, a free, confidential, anonymous service that offers counseling mental health information and connections to local resources 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, very, very important service for our students. Mr. Speaker, it's great to hear that the province is tackling mental health and investing in programs that will help our young people, get the access to the help they need to succeed. It is especially important to hear that students will have access to Good to Talk Helpline 24 hours a day and seven days a week. We must do everything we can to support our young people in all the ways they need and deserve. However, Mr. Speaker, I've also heard that the government is investing in 10 projects across the province that will provide further on-campus assistance and mental health programs. Parents and students in light can agree that these programs are just as necessary in the East as they are in Toronto and they would like to be assured that the institutions across the province are committed. Speaker, through you to the minister, has the government committed to any of these projects at the post-secondary institutions in Ottawa? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think it's an excellent question. Absolutely, these projects are rolling out right across the province. I can assure the member of that. In fact, there's been two rounds so far of approval. It's actually 20 projects, 10 announced last week, 10 announced in the spring. So far it's been invested. And one of my favorite projects, in fact, is at Carleton University in partnership with the University of Ottawa in the members' region, as well in partnership with the Ottawa Carleton District School Board. Mr. Speaker, Carleton University and their partners have received $640,000 over two years to work with and identify students that are at risk at the high school level and then provide a wraparound support services as they transfer into Carleton University. Actually, it's a groundbreaking program. It's very innovative. And I think, Mr. Speaker, what it's going to lead to is better results for those students right through to ensure that those students, if they do suffer from some form of mental illness, don't lose the school year or worse, Mr. Speaker. So this is a program we're very excited about. I'd like to thank all members from all parties because I know they all support these kinds of initiatives for their support. I'd like to thank our partners and the colleges and universities for their work we've been doing to roll them out. New question? A member from Barrie. Mr. Speaker, it must have been a pretty good Pan Am party last night. So I guess my question is to the Deputy Premier. $1,000 ahead. Minister, all those foreign dignitaries you treated this week to your $500,000 parties want to know if they'll be safe for the TO 2015 Games. Your current one-line budget item is supposed to include the total security costs. But here's some comparative security costs for you for the last few multinational sporting events. London, $1.6 billion. Vancouver, $1 billion. Turin, $1.4 billion. Minister, I hope you're not depending on cutting corners like granting special police powers to security guards to save your budget and keep Ontarians safe. Minister, what is the exact amount of the total security plan for the Pan Am Games? Mr. Premier. Minister of Finance. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the question. The member opposite has been apprised of the ongoing deliberations regarding budgeting of the Pan Am Games for the last two years. He's well aware from the outset as to what it's taking place and how it's going to be costing. He knows fully well that, and I put it in the budget, I've also put it in our first quarter results of the year. I'm going to go back to the issue of security, but more importantly, what was really shameful was that the members opposite chose not to receive delegations from across South America. People who came to our country, we are displaying Canada at its best in Ontario and they chose to dismiss them and to neglect them. These are people that are coming not to support Ontario, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. It seems to me, Speaker, that the most investment is coming from the Ontario taxpayer, not from the delegates that got paid thousands of dollars to fly here and put up here in Toronto. Several weeks ago, the TO 2015 CEO met with our party leader and I and went presbythroat another number about security, $113 million for security. It wasn't clear if that was a potential services item or if that is another one of your surprise budget items hidden off the Pan Am book somewhere. Either way, a Pan Am security source indicated your security budget, whatever it is, has been well overblown already. Your lack of planning is the biggest security risk to date, Mr. Have you buried extra money outside the games budget again and how much exactly is the total security cost? Yes or no? What is it? So, Mr. Speaker, we have issued and recognized the complexity of these games. That's why we're working in tandem with 2015. It's also why we've taken the extra step to ensure that security is installed and necessary by hiring a number of security and other groups to support these games. But let's also recognize, Mr. Speaker, that the influx of the tremendous amount of tourism that's coming to this province, the 10,000 athletes and officials that are going to attend, the extraordinary amount of celebrations and enthusiasm and the pickup that's going to have for our province is tremendous. But more importantly than that, it's the legacy that's going to be created by all of the community centers, the athlete villages, the athlete venues across southern Ontario for the benefit of future generations. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. They should be standing for Ontario. Thank you. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Acting Premier. I think it's been pretty well established that the Liberal Government wasted over a billion dollars to guarantee the profits on a private gas company and to save a few seats in around Mississauga and Oakville. But while they were doing that, they also decided to dump the ONTC structure on which northerners rely. And a year later due to United Northern Front we've put a hold on that. But imagine our surprise when we come to find out that jobs that could be done in North Bay at the shops are still being outsourced to other countries. And our own shops aren't being allowed to bid. Our private contracts, private companies still more important to this government than good jobs in Northern Ontario. Thank you, Speaker. I appreciate the question from the member opposite. The member opposite knows full well that the Minister's Advisory Committee has been set up and recognized that the status quo was no longer an option. I think everybody agrees to that. They recognize that there needs to be a new plan to help strengthen transportation infrastructure in Northern Ontario. Something that has been an incredible challenge in this region. I want to assure the member opposite that we are committed to investing in transportation infrastructure in Northern Ontario and in the region to ensure that northerners that need service and access to transportation get that service. In working with the Minister of Northern Development and Mines he is very acutely aware of these challenges and these issues and he will continue to work with the local community to ensure the most effective solution for the region. Thank you. Supplementary. Thank you, Speaker. Once again my question why SUP is to the Acting Premier. I think everyone is aware, especially in Northern Ontario, is that the Ministries of Vibraries Committee they are charged with the job of advising the minister how to restructure, how to come up with a plan for the ONTC. I think we are all in agreement in that but how can they come up with a plan when you tie the ONTC these hands and you don't allow them to bid on contracts to actually make money for the company. You are spending money on lawyers, you are luring up, but you are not letting northerners actually try to rebuild their company. You are trying to save your reputations while we lose our jobs. Thanks, Speaker. The member knows well that the Minister of Northern Development and Mines is very committed to addressing this issue in a way that meets the objectives and the realities of Northern transportation challenges and is committed to working with these communities. That is why this advisory group was set up. So while the member opposite is making some claims Speaker, there is an advisory group that we are going to be taking our advice from and working with to ensure the most effective solution is reached in this area. This is an acknowledgement that everyone recognizes the status quo is not an option in this area. There has been a significant financial loss in the area with respect to the operation of the ONTC and we are going to continue to work with the communities to find the best result. Thank you. Thank you, Mr Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Employment. Minister, this week marks small business month across Canada and it is the chance to highlight small businesses and the hard working people who run them. There are many small businesses in my writing of York Southwestern such as Christina's Antiques, Kaplan Appliances the Golden Wheat Bakery just to name a few who are small business owners who are working to make it work for themselves and working to create local jobs in Ontario. Mr Speaker there is always great fulfillment of a successful small business and it coincides with our government's commitment to creating the right business climate to attract and support business. Mr Speaker through you to the Minister how is our government supporting small businesses across Ontario? Thank you, Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Employment. Thank you Mr Speaker and thanks to the member from York Southwestern for her question. She is a great advocate for small businesses Mr Speaker we've recently introduced Bill 105 the Supporting Small Business Act which if passed will ensure that 60,000 small businesses will pay less employer health tax and will eliminate that tax altogether for 12,000 small businesses right across the province and Mr Speaker we've made funding commitments over $88 million to support businesses through our two regional economic development funds. Our work to cut red tape Mr Speaker has eliminated over 80,000 regulatory burdens in the last five years. Savings of more than $265 million for businesses in Ontario and of course we've permanently cut the small business corporate income tax rate from 5.5 to 4.5% and eliminated the small business deduction tax. Thank you Mr Speaker and thank you Minister for the update. Small businesses contribute so much to Ontario's economy. They are important partners for Ontario. They help build vibrant and strong communities. Communities such as the Portuguese, the Spanish, the Vietnamese, the Somali community, the Italian community of all of these communities have a strong presence in my writing and obviously I continue to actively participate as much as I can in them. I continue to receive although many questions from constituents about jobs created by small businesses as well as broader questions about job creations as a whole across our province. Mr Speaker could the minister please provide me with an answer to take these communities about what our government is doing to help small business create good meaningful jobs in my writing and the rest of the province. Minister. Well I thank the member again for the follow-up question and the opportunity to speak to the minister. Mr Speaker, small and medium-sized businesses represent over 99% of all businesses in our province, which means of course they are a highly significant source of employment for the people of Ontario. Communities across the province, rural, small town and urban benefit from these important jobs and as jobs minister I know how important having a good meaningful job is and making it easier for small businesses to create jobs is an important part of our business. We have a number of business businesses, we have a number of business departments and supports we provide. Supports like the Ontario network of entrepreneurs helping to bridge knowledge and experience to help entrepreneurs start new businesses and our 57 small business enterprise centers right across the province helping to support small businesses and entrepreneurs as well. We are also looking forward to hearing from you. My question is for the minister of health and long-term care. Minister over the course of my time here and well before that, your government has been promising the residents of Thornhill and Vaughn a hospital. We have yet to see a hole in the ground and the sign at the corner of major Mackenzie and Jane is starting to look well tired and rusty and battered sort of like your party and now to further complicate matters there appears to be a problem. Who has titled to the 80 acres of land where the hospital is to be built both the city of Vaughn and a private corporation seem to have an interest. My question is this does your ministry or the city of Vaughn hold clear title to construct a hospital on this 80 acre tract of land or have you left this or any part of it in the hands of a private corporation. Minister of health and long-term development in the growing, thriving community and the people of Vaughn and Thornhill deserve a hospital speaker and we're going to deliver hospitals to the people of Vaughn before he was elected to this legislature has been a tireless advocate of that new hospital and I in fairness want to thank the member from Thornhill who also has stood up and supported this infrastructure project even though the party I'm afraid does not support hospital infrastructure but the member opposite I think should drive by the site there is a new sign speaker that went up this week celebrating the site of the future hospital and thank you while her answer is finished I want to be able to hear the rest of the answer and the member from Lampton Kent middle sex is not helping supplementary please if only a sign could offer dialysis there are a few things more important to a community than a hospital and the residents of Thornhill and Vaughn are restless minister for the past five years Vaughn residents have been paying additional taxes to the tune of 16 million dollars that have been collected since 2012 and yet no date to break ground or start construction this is just wrong a previous health minister and a previous finance minister in fact turned taxpayer dollars over to the private corporation in aid of future hospital activities where did that go there is a lack of clarity a lack of transparency and oversight here and we both know that and now it is unclear who the land belongs to minister you know as well as I do that a hospital cannot be built on private land so minister please end the ambiguity who owns the land and when will the hospital be built and I'm going to ask because I didn't put the question but I'm going to ask the member from Bruce Grey Owens down not the heckle when he's asking the question answer please well speaker I'm feeling this might be a friend so now I'll stand up and tell the member from Bruce Grey Owens down to your warrant ask the member from Holton about that well speaker I'm so happy to have this question because I'm happy to assure the member opposite and the people of Vaughn that we're going to make sure we proceed with this site and let's imagine what's going to be there speaker we will have emergency and surgical services operating rooms acute inpatient intensive care beds diagnostic imaging specialized ambulatory clinics the people of Vaughn deserve this hospital the member from Vaughn has been a fearless advocate for this hospital construction will begin in 2015 and we're moving ahead thank you speaker this liberal government is notorious for making bad bets and losing big but it's easy to wager when you're playing with your own money sorry I need to I need to ask the member to put the question to who acting premier I'll start again this liberal government is notorious for making bad bets and losing big but it's easy to wager when you're not playing with your own money this week the auditor general confirmed they gambled away this government gambled away a billion dollars to save a few liberal seats in Oakville and Mississauga but by scrapping the racetrack slots in Fort Erie you gambled with the livelihoods of many people in Fort Erie and track communities across this province the premier says she's sticking up for rural Ontario question what is she doing to make sure the final race and isn't the last race in the 116 year history of the Fort Erie tracks thank you Mr. Rural Affairs well thanks very much Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker this government put in place a panel three very distinguished former cabinet ministers the province of Ontario Mr. Stobelin, Mr. Buchanan Mr. Wilkinson the pre-bearer over a month ago issued a letter to the panel a five year plan to make sure that horse racing in Ontario is sustainable, transparent and to get fans in the tracks we're moving forward with that plan the plan is going to be complete in the next little while and we'll have the opportunity to make sure that there's a horse racing industry in the province of Ontario to be stayed in the future for the years to come thank you Mr. Speaker Liberals have a bad habit of scheduling news press conference just before a long weekend let's hope it's no coincidence that the horse racing transition panels report should finally come down tomorrow the horse racing industry has been waiting for good news for a change from this government if this government can blow a billion dollars on gas plants surely it can spare some change for the horse racing industry when those people who rely on the horse racing industry sit down this weekend will they be giving thanks or will they be worried about an uncertain future for horse racing in Ontario thank you thank you Mr. Speaker well thanks very much Mr. Speaker we've already made a lot of progress in the horse racing industry in the province of Ontario we've committed up to 180 billion dollars to support the industry over the next three years as it adapts to a smaller and more sustainable model Mr. Speaker John Soeplin a former very distinguished member from that caucus over there served in cabinet sent that the SARP program wasn't transparent wasn't sustainable and he's been the advocate for a new five year plan to come in the province of Ontario to make sure that we have horse racing on a sustainable basis for the years to come good question a member from, sorry, Scarborough Agent Corp. can Mr. Speaker, my question is to the minister of Ladies�� municipal affairs and housing. Mr. Speaker, this past Monday was recognized as the United Nations World Habitat Day. Countries and communities around the world highlight that need for housing for the world's most vulnerable population. It might be tempting to look outside Canada's border. The need for affordable housing exists right here in Ontario. I know that I have heard about this urgent need of all segments of my community, whether they're old or young, whether they're new or new entire Ontario, I'll live here for many generations. Because at the end of the day, my constituents, Scarborough agents for like every Ontario need and deserve a place they call home and take roughage from the world. Mr. Speaker, through you to the minister, can she please tell the House what our government is doing to affordable housing, investment for affordable housing, to ensure every Ontario is not left out in the cold? Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for this very timely question and I'd like to recognize the importance of World Habitat Day because we believe all Ontarians deserve to have a safe and secure place to call home. Because having a place to call home is often the first step out of poverty. It's the first step to allow a most vulnerable a chance to recognize and realize new opportunities and allowing them a better quality of life. That's why our government has invested $3 billion in our affordable housing strategy. That $3 billion is more than any previous government. This investment means that 263,000 existing units have been repaired or renovated and that 17,000 new affordable housing units have been created. New affordable housing such as eight Chichester Place where our government along with our partner partners invested over $25 million to create 210 new units for low-income seniors and people with disabilities. Our government will continue to invest in affordable housing that will strengthen it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm pleased to thank the minister for her answers and I'm sure my constituents are pleased to hear that we are investing in housing and supporting the vulnerable community. We have made significant investment in affordable housing. Toronto and communities across Ontario need stable, predictable funding for social and affordable housing and this needs stresses across Canada. That is why Claude de Fond, the president of Federation of Canadian Municipalities, has caused a lot of trouble to take up the political role alongside the provinces and municipalities to restore the balance of Canadian Canada's housing system. Mr. Speaker, through you to the minister, could you please explain to the House what our government is doing to ensure that the long-term partner in the federal government to ensure Ontario cities and towns have the predictable housing funding that they need. Thank you, minister. Thank you, Speaker. You know, investing in housing is a societal issue and it takes three levels of government, municipal, provincial and federal, at the table to solve this pressing issue. And although our government was encouraged by the decision of the federal government to extend its commitment to affordable housing in their budget, I am worried that the federal government's commitment to affordable housing will actually evaporate over the next 20 years. That's why our government will closely watch the upcoming thrown speech from our federal partners with a close eye to ensuring that they will live up to their moral obligation to invest in more affordable social housing. Because investing in affordable housing is investing in Ontario's infrastructure and its people. These investments pay dividends, creating jobs for Ontarians, while continuing to provide housing for Ontarians most vulnerable for decades to come. Thank you, Speaker. Thank you, Speaker. My question today is for them. On Tuesday, minister, you were in my riding of Huram-Bruce to visit Bruce Power. In your travels, you had to have seen the 158 turbines already up in that community. By the way, yesterday, the liberal secret Samsung project near Concarton was just approved. Minister, you just blew a billion dollars on large energy projects in Oakville and Mississauga because those communities didn't want them. Your Premier said you need to learn from past mistakes, but sadly, your government hasn't. The secret Samsung deal means over and above the 158 turbines already up. Another 90 turbines, 100 feet taller than the ones already in place, are going to be inflicted on unwilling host communities in the municipality of Concarton and the county of Bruce. Minister, can you explain to the residents of the Concarton area why right from the start you're choosing to disrespect your unwilling stance? There are some people that are on the edge, and I can add others. Minister of Energy. Mr. Speaker, I think the member is talking about existing wind contracts. Maybe the member from Dufferin-Caladin. The member speaking about existing wind contracts, Mr. Speaker, and the leader of the Conservative Party several weeks ago said that he would respect existing wind contracts, that he wouldn't tamper with them. Then, Mr. Speaker, he went to the international plowing match and he said that it's open to change them or deal them or amend them, Mr. Speaker. We've learned that you don't cancel existing contracts, Mr. Speaker, if nothing else. She is suggesting that we change existing contracts, binding contracts, Mr. Speaker. What is important is that we've had a renewable policy that has eliminated dirty cold burning generation to virtually zero in this province, making this province healthier, and that party opposes it. Thank you. Supplementary. And I know the member will listen. Minister, you know the truth always comes out. So why don't you just come out with your hands up and give it up before the AG completes a report on the multi-billion dollar boondoggle, this liberal failed green energy scheme is going to be proven to be. Just come out now. Samsung's ARMA project alone is approved to generate 180 megawatts. This is translated into $1.2 billion, just for that 180 megawatts. All for electricity Ontario doesn't need. You have a chance to do right here, minister, but you and all your caucus, if you continue to proceed and even the NDP for propping up your awful policies that are crippling Ontario, need to be ashamed. Your green energy plan is criminal. Minister of energy. Mr. Speaker, I would like clarification from the leader of the opposition and view of the fact that they're asking for an election. Mr. Speaker, let them say whether they will cancel existing wind contracts. Mr. Speaker, we have renewable energy in this province because that government member from the PN Carlson might not know this, but I don't have to wait for the clock to expire to have anyone leave. And it could be at any time. Is that a challenge? Then I would recommend her not to say anything. Carry on. Mr. Speaker, we've invested in clean renewable energy in this province because that government increased dirty cold burning generation up to 25% of our total generation. Mr. Speaker, we have reduced that to almost zero. And Mr. Speaker, the former minister of energy from that party over there, Mr. John Baird, is down in Washington taking credit for the fact that we have reduced coal in this country, meaning in this province, Mr. Speaker, and he is taking credit for the federal government and something we have done to give energy, that minister of energy was increasing dirty cold burning generation. I beg to inform the House that I have laid upon the table the 2012-2013 January report from the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, entitled Serving the Public. And I would also like to ask my friends to join me in celebrating and thanking our pages, as this is their last page. I thank them for their very, very fine work. There are no deferred votes. This House stands recessed until 1 p.m. this afternoon.