 It is now time for question period. The member from Renfrew, Nickerson, and Kendall. Thank you very much, Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Energy. Thirty renewable energy companies have contributed over $1.3 million to the Liberal Party. Each one of those companies has received a government-fit contract for wind turbines or a contract for solar power. Mr. Speaker, does the Minister of Energy think it's acceptable to take over $1.3 million from companies that received multi-million dollars worth of contracts from his ministry? Does he believe that's acceptable? Thank you. Mr. Speaker, the member would know that the awarding of renewable contracts is the independent responsibility of the independent electricity system operator. They make all the decisions, Mr. Speaker, and they also have a very, very strict regimen, Mr. Speaker, in terms of fairness and equity. They do have a fairness commissioner, Mr. Speaker, on each one of their contracts, Mr. Speaker, and they also do not let us know who the winners are, Mr. Speaker. They might have 100 applications. They might award 10 or 12 contracts, Mr. Speaker. We find out in the press release, just like everybody else in the public. Mr. Speaker, that side, the opposition, Mr. Speaker, they hold $10,000 sheet fundraiser, Mr. Speaker, dinners, Mr. Speaker. They listen to the stakeholders, Mr. Speaker, as does the NDP party, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Supplementary. Finds out in the press release half the time he's quoted in it. Back to the minister. The minister may claim that it's an arm-length process, and he may claim that it's independent from political interference. But $1.3 million from just 30 companies, all of which received government contracts. Speaker, that just doesn't seem right. Can the minister honestly say that a donation to the Liberal Party has never been a factor in receiving a renewable energy contract? Mr. Speaker. As I've indicated, Mr. Speaker, the process is absolutely totally independent. It is conducted by the independent electricity system operator, Mr. Speaker. They have a fairness commissioner. Mr. Speaker, the fairness commissioner has indicated quite clearly, Mr. Speaker, that they were objectively determined. There were no conflicts and no issues in any sense whatsoever, Mr. Speaker, on any of the contracts. Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Final supplementary. Back to the minister, Speaker. He may say in this house that donations have never influenced contracts, but let's just take a look at these wind contracts. 99.4% of all wind contracts were given to companies that made donations to the Liberal Party. More than one turbine, you guessed it, donated to the Liberal Party. So you want a wind contract in Ontario? Looks like you'd better open up your checkbook for a $6,000 dinner with the Minister of Energy. Speaker, how does the minister defend this? How does he explain that almost every wind contract handed out went to a company that donated to the Liberal Party? Before I... I'm standing. Before I move on, the whistling stops. So whoever it is, stop whistling. Minister. Mr. Speaker, in the last award of contracts, there were 16 contracts awarded. And, Mr. Speaker, this is what the Fairness Adviser said about this project. What the Fairness Adviser said. We are satisfied that the evaluation of the proposals was conducted strictly in accordance with the process set out in the RFP. We detected no bias or favouritism towards or against any particular proponent. Order. It goes on to say, overall, we are satisfied that the RFP procurement process was conducted in a fair, open and transparent manner. And that the ISO took all steps necessary to meet all procurement practices. Fairness, openness, and transparency. Mr. Speaker, up. Right after I asked for a quiet, it happens a second time from the member direct. It's not going to happen again. Finish, please. I would take the Fairness Adviser's advice over a politically excited question from the legislator. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. New question from Prince Edward Casteon. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, and good morning. My questions to the Minister of Energy this morning. Speaker, the minister has continuously, and he's done it this morning, talked about an arms length process, an independent process in planning electricity projects in the province. However, 52 ministerial directives issued to the OPA and IESO since 2009 have been signed off on by the current minister or the former minister, the member from Scarborough Centre. 26 of those directives dealt in whole or in part with the province's renewable energy strategy and affected companies who donated $103 million to the Liberal Party, mentioned just moments ago by my colleague from the Ottawa Valley. Speaker, does the minister actually believe it's really an arms length process if two ministers had to intervene personally 26 times? Unbelievable. Mr. Speaker, yes, there is a provision to provide directives to the various energies, Mr. Speaker. I also received requests from time to time from parties on the other side, Mr. Speaker, to look into particular issues that require addressing and it is not uncommon, Mr. Speaker, for us to look into them and as a response to a request from the opposition, we do a directive and we have rectified a situation that needs rectification, Mr. Speaker, at the request of members from the other side. Speaker, the minister has ignored the experts and there has to be a reason for that and I'd like to quote because the ministerial directions were quite specific about what was to be done, both the ministry and the OPA directed their energies to implementing the minister's requested actions as quickly as possible. That was the auditor general in 2011. Another quote, in our survey of former OPA board members, 83% of respondents felt that the ministry's directives had a negative impact on the overall quality, accountability and transparency of electricity planning. That was a different auditor general in 2015. Speaker, why did the minister ignore the advice of experts from the OPA when it came to directives that affected renewable energy companies? What possible motivation did they have had to override their own experts? Mr. Speaker, I want to make it very clear in our government, political donations do not buy policy decisions. Any suggestion otherwise, Mr. Speaker, is completely false. Thank you, minister. Mr. Speaker, we're committed to a rational, depoliticized process. The independent electricity system operator, Mr. Speaker, is independent. When a directive is issued, Mr. Speaker, it's issued with due consideration for the facts and as I indicated, there are circumstances when matters need to be resolved in a way that's satisfactory to the public, Mr. Speaker, and often that's in response to a request from members on the other side. We do make interventions, Mr. Speaker, in the interest of the public, even when the requests are made by members from the other side. Thank you for the supplementary. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The auditor generals have said that the reason that we're in such a mess in this province when it comes to our electricity sector is because of the meddling of these government ministers. Back to the minister, Mr. Speaker, 26 times this minister and a former minister intervened in the energy sector in ways that affected companies that donated $1.3 million to the liberals. 83% of OPA board members surveyed, told the current AG that those directives had a negative impact on electricity planning. As rate payers watch their bills skyrocket in Ontario, what other conclusions can they draw? How else can the minister explain the 26 times that he and a former minister intervened in the electricity sector in ways that affected companies that donated $1.3 million to the Liberal Party of Ontario? Minister? I challenge the opposition to bring forward how many of the winners of these so-called contracts also made contributions to the progressive Conservative Party, Mr. Speaker. They will find that almost in every case, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have a long-term energy plan. Long-term energy plan, Mr. Speaker. We consulted broadly with the public, Mr. Speaker. Victory dinner. And when I sit down, I'll wait for somebody to say something other than the person giving the answer. Minister? Mr. Speaker, I will repeat again that the independent electricity system operator makes those decisions independently. And Mr. Speaker, I will repeat again, Mr. Speaker, that on both sides of the House they have $9,000, $10,000 fundraisers for the same stakeholders who are contributing to the Liberal Party. Thank you. You have a question? The Leader of the Third Party. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the acting Premier. Why is this Liberal government cutting hospital services, closing beds, and laying off frontline healthcare workers, when major hospitals in Toronto and across Ontario are already overcrowded and filled beyond capacity? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, Mr. Speaker, contrary to the assertions of the Leader of the Third Party, we are investing more in healthcare. This year alone, $1 billion more contained in our budget for the healthcare sector that the Third Party voted against, Speaker. So where's that money going? An additional $270 million for home and community care. $75 million for community-based hospice and palliative care. $85 million for community health centers, CHCs, and $345 million for hospitals. Speaker, we are continuing to support the healthcare sector. We're getting better outcomes for patients. We're investing more in healthcare. And I do think that the Third Party should actually take a look at what we're doing and support those changes. Thank you. Well, Speaker, I see what this Liberal government's doing to the hospital sector. I see it very well. According to the government's own information, many of Ontario's largest hospitals and critical regional health centers, Speaker, are running at above 100% capacity. Here in Toronto, the hospital, rather for sick children, more often than not, Speaker, has no available beds. London Health Sciences, no available beds. And hospitals in Ottawa, Sault Ste. Marie, Brantford, Peterborough, Hamilton, and right across this province, Speaker, the hospitals have no available beds. How can the Acting Premier defend the Liberals' cuts to our hospitals when the government's own numbers prove that major hospitals are already overcrowded and forcing patients to wait for the care that they need? Thank you. Well, Speaker, the fundamental change that is underway in our healthcare system, and it is a system in transformation, is about building more capacity outside of our hospitals. Speaker, we still have too many people in hospital who do not need to be in hospital, who do not want to be in hospital, and that's why we're building the capacity in community. Wrap up, please. So if the NDP solution is to build more hospital beds when actually the demand is outside of hospitals, that's where we need to build capacity outside. That's why we're investing in hospital and palliative care and community care because that's where people need the care, Speaker. Thank you. The OECD says that the safe limit on hospital occupancy in countries like the UK is 85%. But here in Ontario, this Liberal government has forced many of our hospitals to operate at over 100% capacity. That means long wait times for patients in the ER because every bed in the hospital is already full. It makes it harder to control the spread of infection, Speaker, and it puts pressure on cleaning staff, and it means that patients end up being treated on stretchers or in hallways because there is no room left in the hospital. How can this acting premier think that cutting hospital services, laying off nurses and healthcare workers, and closing beds will do anything but make overcrowding worse in Ontario's hospitals? Thank you. It's evident from this question that the third party does not understand the challenges in our healthcare system nor the solutions. If their solution is to build more hospital capacity, the most expensive kind of healthcare there is is in the hospital. Instead of investing in the community, well, we have a fundamental disagreement. Our whole approach to healthcare is about providing the care that people need, and that is adequate care. Speaker, in hospitals, in palliative care, outside of hospitals, why the third party wants to build capacity where actually the need is to build capacity in the community. I do not understand, and I actually believe if she spoke to her health critic, she would understand that the capacity we need to build is outside of hospital. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is back to the acting premier, and I don't know how a government would think that you don't need hospitals as part of your healthcare system. Records received by New Democrats reveal that, in fact, unbelievable... Please. Records received by New Democrats actually show, unbelievably show, and I quote, that the ministry does not have standards, or best practices with respect to hospital bed occupancy as it relates to hospital operations. Why not, Speaker? Thank you. I'm tempted to remind the third party that their campaign position was to cut an additional 600,000... 600 million jobs, Speaker. 600 million dollars from Kitchener Waterloo actually volunteered. Carry on, please. So rather than cutting healthcare, we are expanding funding to healthcare, and we are building new hospitals. The member from Cambridge has visited the Cambridge hospital that is under construction providing important care in that community. We have 35 different hospital projects underway, Speaker, because we do believe hospitals are an essential part of the healthcare system, but they're not the only part of the healthcare system. Thank you. This government doesn't have standards. They have no standards, guidelines, or policies for hospital occupancy or policies to deal with overcrowding that this government is forcing from hospitals. How can the Liberal government run a healthcare system without any policy whatsoever to deal with overcrowding in hospitals? I just need to remind the Leader of the Third Party that we are building hospitals across this province, and they are being built to the highest possible standards. We also have the excellent Care for All Act, which requires hospitals to actually publicly report on quality indicators that matter to patients. Things like infection rates, and we are seeing improved quality, regardless of public reporting of quality indicators. So for the Leader of the Third Party to suggest that we have no standards in our hospitals, in our healthcare system, is borderline on the ridiculous, Speaker. Thank you. What is ridiculous is that this government doesn't even know whether or not they have policies on overcrowding in hospitals, and we're informing them for the first time, Speaker. The minister talks about building hospitals, does she talk about the reduction in the number of beds overall that's happening in this province? Obviously she's not. The member from Cambridge comes over. Here in Ontario, Speaker. Liberals have made overcrowding in Ontario hospitals the norm, and this Liberal government has literally no plan whatsoever to deal with it. Instead, their plan is more cuts, more layoffs, and more bed closures. People deserve quality healthcare and where they need it, Speaker. And Ontarians deserve a government that shares that minority. Will the acting Premier take a hard look at overcrowding in Ontario's hospitals and do the right thing and stop the cuts to our hospitals system? See you in a place. Thank you. Deputy Premier. Talk about what was in the budget that the NDP voted against when it comes to healthcare. In addition, $345 million to all publicly funded hospitals, including a 1% base increase. In addition, $175 million to provide patients with access to more services in new and redeveloped hospitals for targeted priority services such as organ and tissue transplants. $160 million to improve access and wait times for hospital services including additional procedures such as knee and hip replacements and knee arthroscopies. $7.5 million for small northern rural hospitals in addition to the $20 million from Hamilton East Stony Creek Transformation Fund. $6 million for mental health hospitals. Speaker, these are examples of investments we're making in the healthcare system that the NDP chose to vote against. Thank you. My question is to the Minister of Children and Children's Services. Experts continue to voice opposition to your decision to cut off IBI therapy to children over the age of five. On April 7th, Autism Ontario put out a statement on the new autism strategy. They said, families who've been on the wait list for IBI services for many years are being doubly penalized by learning they will now not receive this service. This devastating news has added to the financial burden born by families of children as caregivers. The provincial advocate, Autism Ontario families, therapists and many others have expressed concern over your announcement. How many more experts have to oppose your decision to allow children over the age of five to access IBI therapy? Thank you. Thank you, Speaker. And I'm always pleased to get up in the House and speak about what we're doing to help children with ASD. We are talking to the experts. We are talking with parent groups. We are speaking with experts in the field and the child African. In fact, I met with him again this morning so I know what his current thinking and advice is and I'm very appreciative of that. As I've said before, as we move to the new program, the goal is to have more intensive services of a longer duration that are very individualized for all children with ASD. In the meantime, families whose children are on the wait list can go off that wait list and into immediate search and we're working closely with the service providers to make sure families are well supported. Thank you. The only individualized that's happening is you're going from IBI wait list to ABA wait list. Back to the Minister. Sitting News aired a story last week about Dr. Daw and a parent on Twitter who asked him if their child would benefit from IBI therapy, even though he was 6 years old. Dr. Daw stated there is no evidence that your child might not benefit from it. Minister, Dr. Daw is your expert. He chaired the panel that wrote the report that said your decision is based upon. Dr. Daw goes on to say what government has funded was not what we recommended. Listen to Dr. Daw, listen to autism the member from Beaches East George second time. and allow children over the age of 5 access to IBI. Thank you. Just to be clear I don't believe Dr. Daw is part of the current clinical expert panel. Having said that I recognize and respect the work he has done with this government in the past and quite frankly I find his comments unfortunate and regrettable I'll tell you why I say that because our goal speaker is to get children who have autism faster and more appropriate services regardless of the age and make sure that we transition to the new program in a way that supports those kids. Of course our advice is based on the committee and that reports available on our website but we're still meeting with the clinical expert committee. We're meeting with parents for autism and they're going to help us to make sure families are well supported going forward. Thank you Mr. Speaker my question is for the acting premier the Liberal government has decided that Ontarians concerned about the government's changes to autism therapy will face serious limitations on their ability to purchase nonpartisan advertisements but the government can spend as much as it wants before an election campaign and during an election campaign why is the government putting limits on what concerned parents can say while giving the Liberal government free reign to advertise as much as it wants Consensus in this province that we need to make changes to political fundraising I think there is a strong consensus that we should actually make some important changes including banning corporate donations union donations and so on so we are moving forward with changes we have invited all parties to participate before that legislation was even introduced speaker and it's highly unfortunate that the third party has chosen not to attend meetings. I was very pleased though to hear last week that they have come forward with some ideas on what are the changes we need to make but we are really hoping that we're going to be able to move forward together to make the changes that the people of this province expect us to make thank you again to the acting premier last year your government created a new loophole in the government advertising act Ontario's non-partisan auditor general said this loophole could would gut the province's landmark law prohibiting partisan government advertising the AG continued and I quote these changes would allow the government to spend public dollars on advertising with little of the current independent oversight why is the Liberal government putting strict limits on non-partisan public interest groups like the Ontario Autism Coalition and no limits on partisan government ads is the first and only jurisdiction in Canada and one of the very few in the world to enact legislation that bans government paid partisan advertising in newspapers and magazines, radio television speaker and we pass this historic legislation because we are against government using taxpayer dollars for partisan advertising if you remember back to 2003 prior to the last election you will remember examples of partisan advertising when the then premier of the day appeared in advertisements paid by the taxpayer we banned that speaker we remain committed to banning that so you will find that the Ontario remains one of the very few jurisdictions in the world to ban partisan advertising thank you thank you very much Mr. Speaker my question for the minister of transportation minister we heard regularly about your express concern about road safety and as well as pedestrian safety as one of the government's top priorities in the most recent provincial statistics there were 100 pedestrian fatalities making up 19% of all motor vehicle fatalities in Ontario this is a far cry from the almost 200 reported in the late 1980s however there is more need to be done on this particular file recently I received an email from a student a great 10 student from Dr. Norman addressing concern about distracted driver and as well pedestrian safety speaker through you to the minister can he please inform the house as well as my writing of Scarborough Agent Court what our government is doing to help improve pedestrian safety thank you thanks very much speaker I want to begin by thanking the member from Scarborough Agent Court for her question on this very important topic of course speaker it is a very timely question as today marks the first day of pedestrian safety in the province of Ontario I want to assure the member that this is an issue that the ministry of transportation takes very seriously with the passing of bill 31 last June drivers and cyclists to yield the entire roadway of pedestrian cross over and since oh three speaker we've also doubled the maximum and we've introduced a merit points for those drivers committing crossover violations speaker we also know that our municipal partners have an important role to play in pedestrian safety which is why we continue to assist them in enacting traffic calming measures better mark crosswalks and enhance pedestrian signals we know that our work is not done speaker which is why we'll continue to work with all of our safety partners to keep pedestrians safe thank you speaker thank you to the minister for this response I know there's no easy solution to change drivers behavior but those living in my riding of Scarborough Asian we'll be happy to know that we'll continue to work very hard on this file to keep all Ontarians safe distracted driving can result in the riding of road accident as well as deaths I know that impaired driving can also be a leading cause of accidents in my riding of Scarborough Asian court with may long weekend around the corner mr speaker I know that the OPP will be on high alert for any impaired drivers speaker through you to the minister please inform the house provide more information what the government is doing to help prevent drunk driving on our roads thank you thanks very much again that's a great question from the member from Scarborough aging court we absolutely understand as a government that impaired driving continues to occur on Ontario's roads and again speaker we know that there is certainly always more that can be done since 2003 our government has introduced a number of new laws and penalties to help fight impaired driving these an immediate 90-day drivers license suspension and seven-day vehicle impoundments for drivers who as they say blow over the legal limit speaker strengthening sanctions against drivers caught within the warning range and mandatory remedial education and ignition interlock for convicted impaired driving's recent statistic show speaker that our initiatives are working to curb drinking and driving Ontario had the lowest impaired driving offense rate in Canada in 2014 which is 40 percent 47 percent excuse me lower than the national average speaker but until no mothers fathers sisters brothers and friends are lost to impaired driving we will continue fighting to make sure that our roads as safe as they can be thank you my question today is for the acting creamer earlier this month I wrote to Ontario's auto czar Ray Tangay regarding Ontario's climate change action plan more details of this plan today including dramatic targets for an a quote a zero emissions or electric vehicle in every multi-car household driveway within eight years on quote speaker it seems this government refuses to allow business in the free market to drive innovation and demand we've already seen manufacturers pack up and leave the province putting thousands of people out of work now the premier is telling the few remaining manufacturers in this industry that is her way or the highway speaker this plan represents a crushing shift for Ontario's 16 billion dollar auto industry in the over 100,000 auto workers across Ontario speaker how many jobs lost across Ontario if this liberal plan is implemented well speaker I know the minister will want to speak to the supplementary but I do need to say speaker that this government is committed to taking strong action when it comes to climate change we feel the responsibility to the planet to our kids to our grandkids we are prepared to take that action the third party although it pretends that it supports the opposition says that it supports action on climate change the leader even said that he had the support of the entire caucus but what we're seeing is there's support for the words there's support for any actions so we are prepared to take actions this is not easy change but this is vitally important change speaker so I'm proud of the direction we're going and I do wish that the opposition would actually be prepared to support the action and not just say the words supplementary speaker back to the acting premier the minister of the environment has already indicated his desire to close down interiors nuclear nuclear industry and today we have confirmed that his plans will threaten interiors vital auto sector as well speaker you would know that interiors lost general motors and Windsor the Ford plant near St. Thomas and the GM plant in Oshawa could easily be the next to go taking with it 5.7 billion dollars in annual GDP clearly the minister of the environment's plan is one that could tip the scale and drive auto manufacturers and thousands of good paying jobs out of Ontario speaker is a liberal government committed to working with and building up interiors auto sector or does the acting premier agree with the minister of the environment who said that interiors auto industry is and I quote missing courageous leadership the member from Prince Edward Hastings second time the member of the minister of Aboriginal affairs and if you say something else you'll be gone deputy when the auto sector was facing huge challenges the opposition party said let them fail let them close we stepped in with the support of the federal government I'll go there the member from Leeds Greenville is warned the member from Nipissing come to order and the member from Renfrew come to order carry on speaker they wanted to abandon the sector they wanted those jobs to be lost 500,000 Ontario families depend on the auto sector for their livelihood it's a vitally important sector for us member from Lampton come to order and we will continue to support the auto sector even though the opposition party says we should abandon that sector new question follow Danforth thank you speaker my question to the minister of energy last week the minister of energy told this house that Ontario earns a net profit from the surplus electricity we export to other jurisdictions he said the IASO will confirm that last year we made a net profit of $350 million speaker this would be an astonishing reversal of what the auditor general described in her most recent report she said that between 2009 and 2014 Ontario was paid $3.1 billion less for its electricity exports than what we paid to generate that power that is a net loss of $3.1 billion why is the minister still using the term net profit to describe billions of dollars in net losses thank you Mr. Speaker the import and export of electricity is the responsibility in terms of governance of the independent electricity system operator the IASO Mr. Speaker and they trade in electricity imports and exports on a daily basis as do all of our surrounding jurisdictions New York state, Quebec, Manitoba etc we work amongst ourselves Mr. Speaker we never hear about selling or giving electricity away Mr. Speaker that does occasionally happen but we never hear of the times we sell it to Quebec for example and earn $15 or $20 million in three or four days Mr. Speaker when they're short of electricity in the wintertime Mr. Speaker they will indicate that there's a net benefit last year of $320 million Mr. Speaker on the import and export of electricity and that supports the quote that I often use in the morning Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker in the past the minister has had to stand in this house and withdraw the claim that Ontario was making a profit on these sales he has had to withdraw the IASO last year Ontario exported nearly 22.6 thousand gigawatt hours of electricity the minister himself the average cost of producing that electricity was $83 per megawatt hour and so the total cost to generate that exported electricity can be roughly estimated at about $1.9 billion will the minister either confirm that Ontario exported electricity last year at a price that was $350 million above the amount it cost ratepayers to pay for or will he withdraw his statement on Ontarians earn a net profit on electricity and stop misleading the house the member will withdraw what no I told the truth the member to withdraw if the member does not withdraw I won't name him the member from Toronto Danforth is named Mr. Speaker there is a lot of confusion on the import export of electricity Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker however I want to refer to an expert in the subject Mr. Speaker and the quote is any power we sell to the US member from Hamilton is surplus power it's opportunity power it's pure profit in terms that it's power that otherwise would go to waste or not be generated that's the quote from the former minister Mr. Speaker the member from Prince Edward Hastings second time and the member from Bruce Gray on sound come to order the member from Simcoe Gray come to order Attorney General come to order wrap up please as I said Mr. Speaker I think the member said the member from Prince Edward Hastings is warned you're finished new question the member from Foreign Hill come to order thank you Mr. Speaker my question is for the minister of the environment and climate change Mr. Speaker it's encouraging that we finally have recognition by one time naysayers that climate change is real and that we need to work together to reduce carbon emissions if we're going to mitigate the serious effects of climate change Speaker we know that early adoption of carbon pricing is going to be good for Ontario both from an economic standpoint and it's going to drive down costs and give businesses a competitive edge Ontario has committed to a 15% reduction in GHGs by 2020 37% by 2030 and by 80% by 2050 Speaker could the minister please give this house more details on the proposed timeline for early adoption of carbon pricing in the province of Ontario thank you minister thank you thank you Mr. Speaker and I want to thank my colleague from Kitchener Centre for an excellent question Mr. Speaker presuming or hoping that this legislature will soon pass the bill 172 and then subsequently the government would pass the regulations associated with that we would probably see our first carbon auction early in 2017 before the spring that would set up the first trading market later within a year or so we would start to negotiate the linking with Quebec and California and open up what will be one of the largest and most stable carbon markets as well and we have a lot of work to do we have very close collaboration with the auto sector with mining with forestry because this is a very very significant investment pretty much unprecedented one in all of those industries Mr. Speaker I would like to thank the minister for his response and for being a champion of the environment here in Ontario taking leadership on this issue is no doubt challenging and the minister is never one to shy away from a good challenge the early adoption of carbon pricing by passing bill 172 is of the utmost importance we know that through the committee process this government work closely with the NDP to strengthen the legislation we listened to stakeholders during public presentations in committee and made some very thoughtful changes to the legislation and in particular the updates focused on making the bill more accountable and more transparent Speaker could the minister please offer this house more details on the changes that were made in the committee stage to improve the legislation Thank you minister Thanks Mr. Speaker I would like to thank my critic in the New Democratic Party Mr. Speaker there are a couple of things that came forward out of that process one of them was a low income lens on all of our investments and the reporting with that and I want to thank the third party we work very closely on that Senator Kevin De Leon the senator pro tem in the California Senate has developed a model program which we think is quite exciting we also worked with the third party for the annual investment fund Mr. Speaker we took what we heard from stakeholders through that process Mr. Speaker at committee and looked at several helpful suggestions that came through many of those changes relate to reporting accountability fairness this cap and trade system here on Ontario will probably have the standard of reporting and verification pretty much right now Thank you My question is to the energy minister natural gas provides 76% of home heating across this province including in the city of Ottawa and with a wave of Glen Murray's magic wand this government wants that to go away As the member does know we refer to someone either by their writing or by their title make sure it happens please and go away but that magic will come at a price we know that the annual cost is at least $3,000 to the average homeowner I ask you how is the single mother on fro family responsibility going to be able to get that money whereas the senior citizen on a fixed income going to find that money and whereas the young couple pursuing their dream of buying their first home going to find that money Mr. Speaker I pay for that extra $3,000 a year when the government kicks people off of natural gas Thank you Mr. Speaker I think it's a very fair question for the member to ask Mr. Speaker and as members would know there's been extensive series of consultations with stakeholders probably the most intensive consultation that we've seen in the energy sector with respect to this issue but Mr. Speaker let's look at some of the facts that indicate where we're going Mr. Speaker our esteemed budget provides that cap and trade will take $24 per year off of residential bills and on average will not cause any increase Mr. Speaker not with starting that particular policy Mr. Speaker we also have Mr. Speaker throughout the process we've had tax credits which have benefited Mr. Speaker residents of Ontario to the extent of $400 million every year we are going to have cap and trade revenue Mr. Speaker allocated to protect electricity thank you supplementary is there anyone in this house or in this province that believes this liberal government will do anything but increase the price of hydro in the province of Ontario I don't think so Mr. Speaker and I think if the minister wanted to look at the facts he'd look at the last 13 years this government's been in office and how prices have skyrocketed now I'm not sure why the minister wouldn't clarify who was paying because Adrian Morrow was quite clear in the Globe and Mail that the plan will cover the increased cost of electricity is the government writing a check to every single natural gas $3,000 a year annually where will the money come from will it end up on everyone else's hydro bill there is no doubt that this plan will not only cost the people who are being kicked off natural gas more money it will also cost everyone else on their hydro bill so I ask the minister one more time how much more will it cost everyone and where the government said it was going to go off they said it could never be done Mr. Speaker we actually accomplished it Mr. Speaker and at this time Mr. Speaker we have seen us electricity system in North America if not in the world Mr. Speaker similarly going forward Mr. Speaker with cap and trade we will create the mitigation measures that will there are a couple of members that have already been warned the next step is unique one wrap up sentence please Mr. Speaker rates went up in Ontario by 2.5% about a month or two ago it went up by 4% Saskatchewan thank you new question my question is to the deputy premier last week Dr. Ian Da the chair of the government's own expert panel on autism came out against the government's plan he said quote what the government has funded was not what we recommended you can't claim to be making decisions based on science but you're ignoring the experts behind the scene that deserve access to the promised life changing therapy that they were promised it's time to put kids first this liberal government needs to stop thinking that they know more than the clinicians and speak to the experts who are sounding the alarms what is the point of appointing an expert panel if you're just going to arrogantly ignore them does the deputy premier disagree with the chair of her government's own expert panel on autism it's important for me to say yet again that Dr. Da is not the current chair of the clinical expert committee he was and also it's very clear if anyone is looking at where we are bringing this program forward that we have based our designs the goals of the program based on that clinical committee that yes he did chair before so we're continuing to work with the current committee and we're continuing to listen to experts and I would also say the member of the third party was quite supportive of some of these principles that the committee spoke about and she said late last year for children waiting for age sensitive treatment which helps autistic children the lists are long studies after studies show more effective treatments happen when you're delivered before the age of 7 so she can answer supplementary okay speaker this doesn't even make sense he was the chair of the committee who put forward the panel that you made your decision on and now he doesn't agree with you so you throw him under the panel is only one of a growing number of voices of clinicians and experts coming forward minutes from the October 2015 meeting on the advisory council on special education state that 93% of those receiving IBI are 5 and older 93% speaker that means that the government knew back in 2015 that this plan would only leave 7% of children in need of life-changing therapy I guess now we know where the 5 year age cap came from it's obvious that this decision was all about money this government is balancing the budget on the backs of kids with autism will the deputy premier admit that this decision was based on saving money thank you minister well speaker I've said before and I'll say it again I'm very concerned about the tactics of the opposition is not a partisan issue speaker we're investing 33 million new dollars and creating 100,000 new spaces I've heard what Dr. Daw said I'm puzzled by what he said the reality is the work that's been developed on this program is based in large part on based on what the clinical expert committee said I've met with the current members of the clinical expert committee they are going to play an ongoing role the member from Hamilton Mountain second time other stakeholders the right kind of programs in place the member from Hamilton Mountain is Warren wrap up please I think we all want the same thing we want the best support and outcomes for children with ASD and we're working on that we're doing that through this new program and we're supporting those children who are languishing on a weight list by putting in immediate service and we'll continue to make sure they get the information and the communication new question the member from Kingston in the Ireland Mr. Speaker my question is for the minister of community and social services minister as you know our government is committed to improving how we deliver social assistance as part of our efforts to support vulnerable Ontarians so that they can participate in our economy and in our communities this is why our government is introducing a new reloadable payment card although we encourage all of our clients to use direct bank deposits to ensure that they receive their payments in a timely manner that is secure efficient and convenient many of them cannot open or maintain a bank account these are some of the most vulnerable people in Ontario Mr. Speaker can the minister please explain how a reloadable payment card will make life easier for Ontarians on social assistance thank you Mr. Community Social Services thank you Mr. Speaker and to the member for the question the reloadable payment card is one way we are moving social assistance into the 21st century and providing better service to our most vulnerable clients the card works like a debit card but does not require a bank account Mr. Speaker the new card will make it unnecessary for clients to rely on expensive check caching services or put themselves at personal risk by carrying large amounts of cash it will offer 30M withdrawals per month and unlimited in store or online payments and purchases and it will also increase security with PIN and chip technology clients will also be receiving support from their case workers in learning how to use the card Mr. Speaker we have begun the test phase of reloadable payment cards with clients who volunteer we will get their feedback before we out the card more broadly this summer thank you Mr. Speaker and to the minister for her answer this government clearly recognizes the importance of improving services to clients as part of this wide reaching improvements to social assistance in Ontario having safer and less expensive access to benefits is important for the most vulnerable among us I understand that local ODSP offices have been provided with information to help them reach out to community partners including the police and advocacy groups to raise awareness about new card it is crucial that these service delivery improvements also make efforts to enhance the social inclusion of clients and it is great to hear that this new reloadable payment card will contribute to the school will the minister elaborate on how the reloadable payment card will make it safer and easier for people to receive and use their social assistance benefits thank you minister moving to a reloadable payment card means that clients have more control over their money with the ability to make point of sale purchases and online payments and purchases the card will not identify the card holder as a social assistance client or a recipient of government services in fact we have already received positive feedback from the front lines an ODSP manager from Windsor said and I quote the reloadable payment card helped one of our ODSP clients by ensuring that he did not have to carry cash which would have made him vulnerable to theft and made it easy for him to purchase the things that he needed the cards are also easy to issue it's nice to have a simplified process that also helps clients Mr. Speaker we're committed to making life easier for our clients and the reloadable payment card will make something of that thank you Mr. Speaker there seems to be no limit to how much pain this government will inflict on homeowners and small business in order to get their way it's been confirmed in a leaked cabinet document that Ontario is going to eliminate natural gas the energy source that provides 76% of the provinces heating this is the energy source that all analysts have said is the most efficient way to provide heat to homes and businesses you're going to force them to heat electrically in a province with the highest electricity prices on the continent we know that the environment minister doesn't care what it costs people to live but we do this government needs to adopt a realistic plan to cut emissions without crippling our economy hurting families and small businesses will you commit to that today minister minister of environment climate change contrary to what the opposition says we are not banning natural gas at all number two we have a very robust minister of energy could tell you about this rural extension program for natural gas which we're very supportive of it's a very critical part of our energy and our climate change strategy and we will as other jurisdictions have reduce emissions from buildings but that does not come at the expense actually it's the opposition that doesn't want to support the cap and trade revenues going into the auto sector going into families to help roll over costs building the capacity of our electricity system Mr. Speaker they have a system that actually would leave Ontarian stranded we actually will be investing in Ontarian businesses and in natural gas Mr. Speaker thank you the minister of environment changes every day I know his own minister of energy would say this guy is all over the map Speaker the fossil fuel elimination plan will cost 42,500 jobs in the oil and natural gas sectors and will drive up the cost of doing business for everyone in the province of Ontario they want to drive people to heat their homes electrically and drive electric cars the question remains where will they get the electricity shutting off natural gas to homes presumably they're going to shut down natural gas-fired power plants and with the environment minister saying we're going to be shutting down nuclear plants within 10 to 20 years where will you get the electricity is it not time to rethink this strategy stop pretending you can be something so that you can appeal to the green champions and begin to think of ways to reduce our carbon footprint that will not destroy families and thank you minister thank you Mr. Speaker the opposition famously said that they wouldn't vote for the budget wouldn't read the budget before they made up their mind maybe that's why they have a problem let me read from the budget the province paying 63 the province is also developing programs to help communities partner with utilities to extend access to natural gas suppliers to support access to natural gas and electricity and it goes on Mr. Speaker the budget and the climate action plan are compatible Mr. Speaker this government has a very strong plan to invest in energy in this province and in reducing climate change these are complementary not contradictory initiatives Mr. Speaker maybe next time they'll read the budget and then decide how they're going to vote for it they won't be so confused Mr. Speaker thank you the member from Leeds-Grenville on a point of order thanks very much Mr. Speaker I have two order paper questions on the docket order paper question number 565 and 566 that I believe now are late they're over five months late I just would like the associate minister of health and long-term care to respond to these two questions thank you thank you I am going to go to the deputy house leader they are overdue and I'm going to ask him to maybe advise the house this resolved to the satisfaction of members of the house the member from Northumberland Quincy West on a point of order point of order I would like to wish my wife a 46 wedding anniversary today the member from Bruce Gray Owen Sound on a point of order thank you very much Mr. Speaker paper questions dated November 30th they're overdue numbers 541 and 543 from the associate minister of long-term health and care long-term care thank you deputy house leader I am told the questions are overdue I'll defer to you to give us a response please again Mr. Speaker anyone who rises in the house with this particular matter I'll be happy to look into it as deputy house leader and to resolve it to the satisfaction of members of the assembly thank you minister finance on a point of order Mr. Speaker I'd just like to take advantage of a welcome to this house two entrepreneurs, business people from my riding Mr. Bob and Heather Kirby from Starline Productions are here today welcome to Queens Park point of order Mr. Speaker I'd like to correct my record from earlier this morning during lead questions I inadvertently said the wrong number for the amount that's been raised by the liberal party when referring to renewable energy projects the number is actually 1.3 million thank you Mr. Speaker the member from Beaches East York on a point of order yes thank you speaker on behalf of the minister of education and the MPP for Guelt I want to welcome Justin Richardson mother and Anna Sophia Deaton sister of our page captain today William Deaton it's already done thank you there are no deferred votes this house stands recess until 1pm this afternoon