 It is now time for question period the leader of Her Majesty's loyal opposition The lead questions are to be stood down for the official opposition It's now time for the continuation a point of order for them. No, not a point of order The member from Tim is James Bay and mr. Speaker as well. We'll be standing down our leads awaiting a premium We we do require consent to stand down so I'm going to seek unanimous Yes, I am I'm now heard that the the lead is also stood down and requested to be stood down by the third party So now our consent will be to stand down both leads Do we agree? Agreed I will now turn the rotation to One moment, please I have been informed I Have been informed that the deputy premier will be responding to questions to the premier today so I will now I will now request that the Unanimous consent to actually be rescinded Let me be clear Excuse me Let me be clear about that. I mentioned this once before it is a considered courtesy to notify That has been the tradition and it does not make a requirement to attend So I'm going to repeat myself that indications The indication is that the deputy premier will be made available to answer questions that were intended for the premier I'm offering the opportunity to rescind to rescind the unanimous consent to stand down Providing the leader of the opposition and the leader of the third party to put their questions their lead questions I'm now going to turn to the leader of Her Majesty's royal opposition for questions to the acting Acting premier and I'm sure it will be an act over the last few weeks Deputy Premier the official opposition has laid out five commitments that we are asking to be included in tomorrow's budget Cancel the Ontario registered pension plan payroll tax because it will kill jobs Cancel the pay-to-pollute carbon tax that will increase the price of everything in the province Fix the home care system and improve home care services while tying community care access center funding to outcomes Commit to reducing electricity prices in the province Finally, we asked that you provide a serious Credible and detailed plan to balance the budget deputy premier. Will you commit to these five requests in tomorrow's budget? The answer is a resounding no We are absolutely committed to moving forward on retirement security for Ontarians and I for the life of me Don't understand why you would support you would not support enhanced retirement security for seniors speaker We are moving forward with a balanced plan I know we're all looking forward to seeing the the budget tomorrow speaker But we have a plan to get back to balance and at the same time invest in those much needed infrastructure projects that will lift Ontario up speaker Thank you Deputy Premier your own internal finance ministry documents have told you that the Ontario registered pension plan will cost the province at least 18,000 jobs the pay-to-pollute carbon tax will spike the price of gas and increase the price of everything Patients and their families are finding extremely difficult Accessing home care through the CCACs Electricity prices are set to rise 15% on May 1st in addition to the 42% increase over five years that we already know about and Let's be serious. No one no one believes you have a plan to balance the books by 2017 2018 Rising interest payments on that means less money for important frontline services like health care and education The auditor in a recent report said exactly that Premier will you take our deputy premier? Will you take our advice question and stop gouging on Terrians who can't afford to pay any more than they Clarity of the party opposite, but we do reject We reject the the approach that you are taking we've had an election speaker less than a year ago This Different way of moving forward was debated the people chose to go with the Liberal Party Because we had a plan to move forward speaker investing in much-needed infrastructure Investing in the things that that people need in our education system in our health care system Please finish Speaker our plan is thoughtful It is pragmatic and we are moving forward on implementing that plan Thank you Premier Ontarians know your budget will result in skyrocketing electricity prices and attacks on everything Cuts to nursing and home care will continue 249 nurses have been fired since last year's election when the Premier promised health care services would be protected Schools are closing and teachers are being fired despite the Premier's election promise that teachers wouldn't lose their jobs Private sector jobs are being lost across most sectors of the province of the economy Because it has become too Leader leader while he was in the middle of his argument I asked the member to come to order in case he didn't hear it the minister of economic development trade and infrastructure will come to order And whoever decides to want to be my armchair quarterback will also be warned Carry on Clearly private sector jobs are being lost in many sectors of the economy. You can't you can't deny that you're living in You're living in wonderland if you deny The minister of economic development will come to order and he's inches away from a warning Carry on be nice to kick them off. So definitely Premier Why won't you commit to our budget ass that will give hard-working Ontarians financial relief better home care and a credible plan to keep and create We are all looking forward as I said to tomorrow's budget and what we will see as a plan to continue to Promote the expansion of our economy in Ontario, you know the member opposite the member who ran on the platform of firing 100,000 people speaker is now talking about About concerned about job losses where was that concern in the last election campaign the member knows full. Well as a former minister of health He's watching. I'm sure carefully. We have 24,000 more nurses You can't point to individual situation I will repeat myself a second time for the member from Dufferin, Caledon the member from Hamilton, East 20 Creek and the member from Simcoe North come to order Finish listening to the heckling 24,000 more nurses working working The member from Simcoe North second time Carry on let me repeat 24,000 Working in Ontario and office speaker I know the member opposite doesn't actually believe that number and we would be happy to Give you those numbers it is the truth speaker. They don't like it. They want us to cut nurses Thank you. Good morning speaker my question is for the deputy premier you grew our deficit from 9.2 billion to 10.5 billion and now do 10.9 billion this year You're headed the wrong way. You're getting farther away from balancing not closer. You turned our once proud Province into an economic wreck. We have the highest America we have the highest payroll taxes in Canada since you turned us into a have-not province You've received 14 billion dollars in equalization payments from the federal government and you still can't balance the budget You're failing our youth hurting our seniors and putting families in an ever-deepening hole Why should anyone believe you can balance a budget when you can't even reduce your own deficit? Thank you deputy premier. Well, thank you speaker. We have a very clean Very clear plan to balance the budget by 2017 18 and tomorrow's budget will demonstrate How we are taking those next steps speaker? I can tell you that in 2014 15 our government is once again Beating our deficit target speaker. We have done that year or after year. The result is 25 billion dollars Less in debt than originally projected speaker. So we have a responsible plan. We have a balanced plan We have a plan that invests in our people that invests in our infrastructure as we take Responsible decisions to get best value for the money speaker that we spend in this province Thank you supplementary To the deputy every expert has spoken out about the sorry state of Ontario's finances all under your watch Our latest release focus on finance puts Ontario under a microscope and no one is happy with what it reveals The auditor general said quote Ontario's debt continues to grow faster than the province's economy The result is what she calls a crowding out of other spending We now have less money for the things our citizens expect from the province We're starting to see front-line cuts in health care and education Just as the auditor general warned later today our interim leader Jim Wilson will present our Motion with five budget asks designed to help Ontario's fashion. Will you agree to change your downward path and support our motion? Remember from Oxford come to order the opposition party continues to order Ontario down Calling us an economic wreck. That is simply not accurate. Our plan and start contrast is all about building Ontario up speaker We are committed to Innovative competitive business environment, we will continue to invest in our people's speaker particularly young entrepreneurs and young people who are Working on that transition from from school to work speaker We we absolutely are committed to in building up our infrastructure for too long The appropriate investments We're addressing that speaker and we are going to continue to ensure that the hard-working people of Ontario have the retirement Security that they deserve. I would suggest you look at our plan and join us in this fight speaker your final supplementary Thank you speaker to the deputy earlier this week We ask that you present a serious credible and detailed plan to balance the budget instead We continue to see front-line cut speaker everyone in this legislature has examples So let me give you some from my hometown of North Bay 94 full-time and 34 part-time Frontline health care workers including nurses have been fired in North Bay more than 54 people at Nipissing University Including 22 professors have been fired in North Bay 43 workers from Ontario Northland have been fired in North Bay your wasteful and scandalous mismanagement of our budget is reducing services and putting the most vulnerable at risk When will you present a serious credible and detailed plan to balance the budget? Thank you The member for rent for a nipissing Pembroke come to order Deputy premier depth the minister of health long term care mr. Speaker and mr. Speaker I'm glad the member opposite has referred to health care in North Bay because I know he already knows this information I want to share with the rest of the legislature that on Monday three health organizations It was announced that they will receive funding for this fiscal year Mr. Speaker and the reason this announcement was made in fact this announcement was made by the member opposite Quoting the North Bay nugget mr. Speaker the funds recently announced by nipissing MPP Vic Fidelli Will go toward mental health and replacement reserve cost associated with supported housing services in nipissing That's sorry the member opposite in a release extended Answer on Monday mr. Speaker he extends his sincere appreciation on behalf of nipissing residents to our local health care professionals for their Thank you Thank you speaker my question is for the deputy premier last year the premier stood in this house and she said she would quote Look at those assets to optimize the value of those assets unquote the premier has talked about maximization unlocking value and rationalizing assets the premier is used just about every word except sell and privatize when it comes to hydro one speaker if the liberals are so proud Of what they're doing so proud of selling and privatizing hydro one Why can't they just say the word speaker? So will the liberals this deputy premier tell ontario today How proud the liberals are to do what my carers wouldn't dare do sell and privatize hydro one Oh Uh speaker This government is committed to building the infrastructure that this province Absolutely needs speaker governments of the past have not invested appropriately in infrastructure Which leaves us with a huge infrastructure deficit? So what we are doing is we are unlocking the value of some of our asset speaker So that we remember from how old today's story very important transit infrastructure We were clear about this. This was discussed in the budget prior to the last election It was included in our election platform And whether the leader of the third party knows it or not She ran on it too because she took all of our fiscal assumptions and embedded them in her platform speaker So we're moving forward. We are expanding the sale of beer and we're broadening ownership of hydro one And at the same time we are protecting ratepayers speaker We are creating lasting public benefit to the people of this province and the status Speaker just simply does Thank you supplementary speakers Speaker the liberals are selling hydro one and now they say this is what they ran on the words sell hydro one Aren't in their platform neither is privatized speaker. They were not even whispered on the campaign trail The premier says she's being straightforward with ontarians. Oh Please ontarians were never told of her plan to sell hydro one ontarians were never asked What they think of her plan to sell hydro one and they certainly have never signed off on the liberal plan The wrong-headed plan that the liberals have to sell off hydro one So will the liberals just come out and admit it just admit it to the people of ontario You know the speaker the the party opposite has been vocal in their criticism But they have offered no constructive plans on how to pay for infrastructure that we need in this province So this is not about ideology. This is about about finding a solution a practical solution to a problem Speaker and and some members of the ndp. I know do support this and ndp cabinet minister Francis Lankin was on the panel She understands that we need to make these investments speaker the powers work the power workers union are supportive of our plan They understand that needs answer leona the building trades mayors Counselors across this province are supportive of this plan. It is unfortunate that the leader of the third party can't see beyond the Thank you Once the liberals sell off hydro one it is gone There is no going back speaker as ontarians watch rates go up And to feed base base street profits They will do so knowing that they will never ever be able to regain control of their hydro system It is wrong for our generation speaker. It is wrong for our kids generation And it is wrong for our grandkids generation the prop the premier The premier is spending more time right now speaker in this province consulting about where to sell A 12 pack of bud than they are about privatizing strategic assets like hydro one Selling hydro one is forever speaker The plan is the wrong plan for ontario will the liberals do the right thing and pull the plug on this plan As a result of that decision to broaden the ownership of hydro one well protecting the public interest It is allowing us to invest in infrastructure speaker moving ontario Forward fund is now 31.5 billion dollars over 10 years Because we've been able to unlock those assets speaker 16 billion of that will be spent in the gtaj 15 billion outside the gtaj Speaker at middle express rail Hamilton rt your ontario lrt Someone's close to a warning carry on please It's allowing us to fund the collecting leaks program speaker highway seven because remember from storm I asked the number opposite. What do you want to cut? What don't you want to build speaker? New question leader of the third party My next question is also for the deputy premier The premier's plan is wrong for ontarians It is going to mean families who are already stretched are going to be stretched even further People will be paying more so that a small handful of shareholders can make more money Every dollar that goes into their pockets is a dollar that doesn't go into hospitals schools or transit This will actually cut stable income that goes into projects like building transit keeping schools open or building hospitals Do the liberals really think ontarians should keep paying more and getting less and less and less Well, the speaker we just fundamentally disagree with the approach of the third party We believe in investing in our infrastructure. We believe in investing in in those Projects that actually improve the quality of life for the people of this province I think that if she went and spoke to the people in hamilton They would say that they don't want to spend time caught in gridlock. We must make these investments We want to throw growing thriving economy because it's the right thing to do for people speaker So we are going to move forward We are moving forward building the infrastructure that is needed because the people of this province are demanding that Yeah Today hydro one puts hundreds of millions of dollars into the things that people rely on speaker like hospitals Like school schools like infrastructure But the liberals are planning to sell hydro one to bay street And it's going to make a handful of well connected bay street investors even wealthier Well, ontarians have to stretch every dollar further just to make ends meet Privatizing hydro one is wrong for ontarians and will actually cut stable long-term revenue Why do the liberals think that this is okay? Well speaker the member knows that That part of the work of the panel was to actually look at how you offset the revenue loss They did that. That's why we're making changes in beer distribution. For example speaker But we're not the only ones who think this is a great idea don mckinnon the president of the power workers union says The power workers union welcomes and supports the decision by government to keep hydro one whole in an ipo process That would in partnership with government broaden the ownership structure of hydro one This will position the company to grow and provide further high quality high-skill quality jobs for ontarians Joe manzanelli the vice president uh at liuna international says The wind government is to be commended for today's announcement Implementing sweeping changes in our province which will greatly benefit all ontarians The four billion dollars these changes will introduce for investment in infrastructure projects Thank you final supplementary The premier wants to continue to protect private profits through sweetheart p3 deal speaker That's going to waste billions and hurt families. She's opening up brand new hst loophole speaker That's going to waste billions and hurt families. She's planning to sell hydro one to bay street It means a cut to provincial revenues and it's going to hurt families Nobody cares what the premier calls this whether she calls it ideological Non-ideological the activist center. I call it a sellout speaker He's been struggling ontarios ontarians and dumping those dollars Into the pockets of bay street boardrooms And and shareholders. That's what this is. It doesn't matter what she calls it speaker because those are the facts The money is coming out of the pockets of everyday families and going into the pockets of bay street shareholders The plan is wrong for ontario Thank you No speaker. Let's hear what joe manzanelli had to say He said the four billion dollars these changes will introduce for investment in infrastructure projects The largest infrastructure investment in ontario's history is welcome news to leona and our members Job creation is one of the key components of this initiative and we welcome the much needed infrastructure And the thousands of jobs that will be created for our members for years to come Speaker there are many others who are supporting this decision We've heard the ndp. Do not support these investments. I think that's a shame because the people of this province need those investments I'll go directly to him because I know it's going to get dumped over there anyway Minister the speed at which the price of electricity continues to escalate in ontario into your government Is even quicker than your attempt to expedite the sale of hydro one Your frantic desire to sell off this public asset clearly suggests and indicates that your government is desperate for money Perhaps if you weren't recklessly wasting billions of dollars on fair on the failed gas and Energy experiments and defective smart meters Energy rates would be much more affordable and you wouldn't have to resort to the sale of hydro one Minister why are you continuing to do nothing to lower unaffordable energy rates for ratepayers and businesses Here in the province of ontario Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased that the member mentioned Electricity rates for businesses across the province mr. Speaker one word that the opposition never mentions is conservation mr. Speaker Let me say a few words about conservation. Mr. Speaker home depot has completed 191 conservation projects province wide These have reduced energy consumption by more than 29 million kilowatt hours since 2012 Enough electricity to power more than 3 000 typical ontario homes for a year. Mr. Speaker order Tim hardens mr. Speaker Leader of the opposition will come to order please and thornhill that I miss Thank you Finish, please Mr. Speaker 245 Tim words restaurants underwent renovations that included energy saving measures Like switching to led lighting and installing white routes To its combined conservation efforts last year tim hortons It would save around 4 million kilowatt hours of electricity province wide. Thank you. Thank you, mr. Speaker. Thank you supplementary Well minister when the factory closes their consumption goes down to zero. I guess that's your ultimate conservation plan Minister you have got to stop playing games on vulnerable people in ontario with your energy prices One day you announced a miniscule rebate for low-income ratepayers However, within days you increased their bills and the bills of everyone else across this province by an unacceptable unsustainable 15 percent This slight of hand-shell game of yours has got to stop people cannot take it anymore They've had enough of your failed energy experiments here in the province of ontario Your negligence has resulted in unaffordable electricity rates making it more and more difficult for small business Seniors and families to survive in this great province of ontario Minister as one of our pc caucus asked will you restore competitive electricity rates in ontario to make them affordable For families seniors and small businesses Thank you minister Mr. Speaker the member is aware of the fact that the mdf pay for board plant in pembroke is riding mr. Speaker Is reopening after being accepted into the iei program Which is a program that supports businesses mr. Speaker creating 140 new jobs for the area in his riding mr. Speaker Atlantic packaging mr. Speaker from whitby is expanding their paper mill and creating 80 jobs with the help of the new iei program Mr. Speaker and detour gold says the program will save them 20 million dollars Mr. Speaker in one year while they expand what will be one of the largest gold mines in canada Mr. Speaker our rates are competitive on the on the residential side mr. Speaker There are three provinces who have higher rates than we do There are two manitoba in cobalt that are considerably lower because of legacy hydro programs When we compare it to cities like detroit boston and new york mr. Speaker, we're considerably below them in north america We are competitive I'm competitive from the residential point Thank you Thank you new question the member from windsor west My question is to the minister of education minister Contrary to liberal spin ontarians know that your government sets the priorities for education in this province This liberal government has made it clear that it prioritizes cutting special education and Forest closures of neighborhood schools Now we're learning that they plan on flip flopping on their commitment to keep class sizes manageable Speaker, why is this government refusing to take responsibility for short-sighted cuts to education? Which have resulted in labor unrest and the closure of community schools? Thank you Yes, thank you And I i'm really pleased to share with this legislature that in fact education funding is stable It was 22.5 billion dollars last year. It's 22.5 billion dollars this year and the number of students have gone down Which means the per pupil amount have gone up But let me tell you about some of the really exciting things that we're doing speaker We have invested 12.9 billion dollars in school infrastructure Including nearly 25,000 700 additions and renovations We've worked to give our students programs like specialist high skills majors co-op education dual credits and we announced just last week That the graduation is now going up to 84 Where we are actually doubling the amount of money this year spent on school renovation Thank you supplementary Thank you speaker. I'd like to point out to the minister of education You say funding stable special education needs have gone up Hydro rates have gone up and transportation costs have gone up. Therefore the funding has gone down Speaker back to the minister of education Ontario families are growing tired of a minister who finds her portfolio Perplexing with teachers in Durham on strike rainbow district in northern Ontario to join next week And now peel preparing to strike and make this government must take responsibility for throwing our school system into chaos Why is the minister and her government's skirting responsibility for the mess her government's cuts to education have made in our school system? Yes, thank you and the member the opposite might be like interested to know that the lines to pay for utilities has gone up However, let's talk about Durham Because the member opposite to product Durham Let me tell you about Durham. The Durham public board is going to receive 720 million dollars in funding for this school year. That's two million dollars more than last year It's two hundred and eighty nine million dollars more than in 2003 In fact, it's actually gone up 65 percent Since 2002 three Let me tell you about the per pupil funding. It's up almost four thousand dollars in Durham In fact, 57.4 percent increase for every single student in Durham. It's now 10,661 dollars speaker New question the member from very Thank you. Thank you speaker. My question is to the minister of environment and Are you maybe carry on My question is the minister of environment and climate change speaker The first earth day was held on april 22nd 1970 since then earth day has grown into an international event with 192 countries Holding earth day events across the globe Children in the classrooms and daycares and berry and around the world will be learning about About why there is an earth day and how they can help save our planet on a daily basis Earth Day Canada is celebrating their 25th anniversary this year with the goal to engage people across the country In a national effort to reduce their carbon footprint I'm sure constituents of my writing and berry will be pleased to know that thanks to the leadership of this government on Met Speaker could you please uh ask the minister to answer? What are some simple things ontarians can do to reduce their carbon footprint? Thank you minister Minister Thank you, mr. Speaker. I want to thank the member from berry who is a great educator and understands the importance of Of the next generation Mr. Speaker I I was out with About a hundred children this morning and there are certain moments in your life You'll never forget and it was one of the mr. Speaker Because I realized as I was looking at those children that they are the first generation mr. Speaker that will never know normal climate And we are the last generation that will ever know Climate and what they were saying to me mr. Speaker what they wanted to say to members of legislature That they ride their bikes They're living on a planet that's fast heading for four degrees celsius and they want us to stop that mr. Speaker They realize we're the last generation that can do that and this is the 25th Earth Day anniversary in Canada mr. Speaker we maybe have 25 more earth days to get this right And i'm very proud to be part of a government mr. Speaker that understands that's the first priority of canadians Thank you. Speaker. Thank you minister while it's important that individuals reflect on their carbon footprint and take some simple Measures to reduce their impact on the environment. It's equally important that our government continue to show leadership in fighting climate change Speaker i know my constituents are proud of the fact that Ontario was the first jurisdiction in north america to close coal fired power plants The report confirms our The 2013 air quality in an Ontario report was released a week ago on the anniversary of the last coal flag closure Ontario the report confirms our air quality has improved significantly over the last 10 years And for the first time in 20 years Please finish wrap up Minister could you inform us what further action this government is taking to fight climate change and reduce greenhouse gas pollution In our atmosphere Member from nepean carlton will come to order and the member from lanard pronac linux and anington is warned Carry on Thank you, mr. Speaker that i mean from hamilton east stony creek i can do without the wissley I'm sorry whoever was i'll do without it I apologize member from anglington lorence I have a feeling that you have not got the message that i would like a question period as best we can Please wrap up Thank you, mr. Speaker for that Mr. Speaker, we are doing everything from My friend the mr. Transportation working to electrify the entire GO system In economic and development we're global leaders in great technology low-carbon technology These are very important things mr. Speaker member from renfrew nipissing pepper come to order, but it was interesting because my friends from chimins james bay made the reference to dinosaurs who i thought were extinct until i heard some of the positions of the party opposite the difference between us and Between us and dinosaurs mr. Before i make my comment that i was going to make of the member from renfrew nipissing pennbrook is warned The member from glen gary prescott russell is warned I am not impressed with any kind of response that impunes anyone in this place And it's getting a little ridiculous. So let's just calm down everyone I wouldn't want to add anything more to where you are right now And i would advise anyone that if they do say something that is inflammatory that they would be kind enough to withdraw carry on Thank you. Thank you mr. Speaker Um, i sometimes don't think we fully understand how serious this was yesterday Mr. Speaker the federal government became the first government to completely divest entirely from any dollars or expenditures on climate change Mr. Speaker leaving the entire fight on climate change in this country to municipalities and provinces mr. Speaker And sir we are in the shadow Of the worst environmental budget in canadian history celebrating earth day. Thank you. Thank you Question from the member from prince ever case. Thank you very much. Mr. Speaker. My question is the deputy premier Let me remind you there are approximately 350,000 people over the age of 65 who currently receive home care services in entero They have told us over and over again that their home care system is broken It is inadequate and inconsistent at best with our aging population and your fiscal mismanagement Nobody believes the system will be equipped to handle future need quality and accessibility will continue to deteriorate Your expert gail donners has said and i quote Everyone is frustrated with a system that fails to meet the needs of clients and families No one thinks the status quo is an option deputy premier How much longer do seniors and their families have to wait for you to make the necessary changes to their home care system? Well, thank you, mr. Speaker and i appreciate the question i know the member opposite knows that we appointed gail donner For and a team of experts in fact to look at home and community care We did that last year they presented the report to me at the end of january that report is being made public I've also indicated that i've endorsed the recommendations in that report, mr. Speaker And we agree that more needs to be done for home and community care That's the express purpose of us convening that table in the first place So we are taking the recommendations very seriously We are continuing to invest in home and community care. Of course this year 270 million more dollars invested in home and community care. That's a five percent increase But we are looking at the tables the expert panels recommendations very seriously And we will be making changes based on those recommendations. Mr. Speaker. Thank you Back to the deputy premier the people of enchero are frustrated This frustration is being felt by the senior citizen who can't get a personal support worker following a hip replacement This frustration is felt by a daughter trying to get physiotherapy for her father who recently suffered a stroke This frustration is being felt by the thousands of people who cannot get the home care services they need We know the two biggest issues within our system are excessive bureaucracy and a lack of accountability for system outcomes Yet you continue to ignore the obvious Deputy premier will you make the functional changes to our system that we need in order to improve patient care? Will you tie funding to the community care access centers so that we can have improved outcomes and patient results? Will you do that deputy premier? You're here Well, thank you, mr. Speaker, and I said we're making substantial investments in our home and community care sector More than four billion dollars invested in that sector annually Increasing that this year and next year in the year after by five percent as we continue to provide that High quality care accessible Timely care in the place where people want it the most mr. Speaker in their homes or in their communities And we are making changes and I would just ask the member opposite I would hope now that we have gale donners report guiding the way forward with her Specific recommendations of her and the team I would like to ask the member opposite if we can count on his support as we implement those changes that are required To meet the recommendations and the aspirations that are outlined in that report, mr. Speaker Thank you. New question remember from nipple belt. Thank you, mr. Speaker my question for the minister of health and long-term care Speaker Obsu hospital workers are at queen's park today in the gallery They came to tell us as first hands witness that the liberal government cuts to health care Is having a devastating impact on quality of care? I'll give you some example at lake ridge health center They have to let 20 percent of their genetic technologies go They also are laying off their senior technologists in flow cytology. This is the charge tech being laid off These positions have a direct impact on the patient at the germ regional cancer center in cornwall It is 11 percent of their sonographer that have been cut Hospitals are facing Are forced to reduce or cut these services because of your government cuts question my question is simple How many more cuts minister kill any of your services come to order second time in tomorrow's budget Okay Well, mr. Speaker. I'll say this as generously as I can but the The facts are Despite what the member opposite has just said the facts are somewhat different We are and have been and will be increasing our funding to health care as we have done over the past decade And we will continue to do moving forward So we invest it's a the member opposite knows that we invest more than 50 billion dollars in our health care system annually and that investment is Significant portion of that investment goes into the hospital environment as well And that investment in our hospitals are frontline health care workers and the Environment that people depend on when they do get ill and require a service that investment in our hospitals Has increased by more than 50 percent in the last decade. Mr. Speaker. So we are it is it is factually incorrect I would suggest the member opposite Answer to state that we are not that we are somehow cutting health care Health care has for the past decade increased in funding each year and it will continue to do so. Thank you supplementary Speaker it is bad enough that we're seeing health care cuts through other province when the minister refuses to acknowledge That those cuts are taking place. It's making things worse Not standard of hospital based budgets freeze All of them are struggling to balance their budget and they have no choice but to cut program services and position The bottom line looks like this 22 position cuts in cambridge in london 97 position cuts sarnia 39 position cuts timon 40 position cuts sudbury 42 position cuts Chio 50 position cuts and the brand new hospital in north bay 94 full-time 34 Part-time position cuts. We all know who pays the price for those cuts It's the patients who need health care services Speaker with the budget coming tomorrow will ontarian continue to see this right wing austerity health care agenda How many more cuts to health care can we expect to see in tomorrow's budget? Well, mr. Speaker the member opposite of course has her less than I have mine, which is somewhat different The ottawa hospital has 49 rn active postings right now where they're looking for 49 Registered nurses to work at that hospital the royal ottawa health Center in ottawa 15 rn's and one rpn active postings today The aurelia soldiers memorial hospital in aurelia are looking for 10 rn's mr. Speaker london health sciences center Looking for 10 rn's and three nurse practitioners lakeridge health center where I have the privilege of Announcing a new pharmacy in that hospital Looking for for seven rn's Hamilton health sciences center looking for 16 rn's grand river seven rn's Blue water health system five rpn's Monty general hospital two rn's four and four rn's and rpn's This is the situation around the province of course programs changes And there are changes that are made at that local level as they should be mr. Thank you, mr. Speaker But we are adding health care Thank you Well, thank you mr. Speaker my question is for the minister of natural resources and forestry Rising temperatures and april showers bring spring flowers, but rising temperatures and heavy rains also brings spring flooding The minister of natural resources and forestry along with conservation authorities like lake simcoe region conservation authority in my riding of new market Aurora monitors surface water levels weather forecasts water conditions and locations across our watershed These measurements weather forecasts and and radar information on temperature and rainfall predictions Along with historical data data are all compiled to develop a flood forecast through you mr. Speaker to the minister of natural resources and forestry Can the minister please explain to the house what his ministry is doing to ensure that Communities in ontario are prepared to respond to potential flooding emergencies Thank you very much, and I want to thank the the member for the question. It's topical and timely Speaker our ministry works with communities with conservation authorities and environment Canada to forecast where and when flooding is likely to occur The ministry has an information website to inform people in ontario about potential flooding Provide real-time information about weather and flooding risks and provide tips on what to do in the event of flooding Speaker this piece is very important Conservation authorities for people to know on a local level are responsible for providing local flood messaging to municipalities In areas where there is not a conservation authority District offices will provide that information out to first nations communities and to the local municipalities where a conservation authority Does not exist our surface water Monitoring center performs daily assessment for flood hazard potential the minister does the ministry does a variety of things in that regard Insulators watershed conditions 24 hours a day. This is a significant peace speaker And I want to make sure that communities conservation authorities first nations are aware of what's available to them in terms of achieving that data Thank you, mr. Speaker, and thank you to the minister for his response And dedication to ensuring that ontario's communities are as prepared as possible for potential floods Water levels remain high in parts of ontario as is common for this time of year And we expect high water conditions to continue for several weeks in northern ontario A late spring snow melt accompanied by average above average snowpack and significant rainfall can lead to flooding As we know that these floods can shut down roads flood homes and in extreme circumstances lead to evacuations Mr. Speaker residents from all parts of ontario need to know that in the event of an emergency such as a flood That our province has proper response plans in place Through you, mr. Speaker. Can the minister please tell the house how our government prepares to respond to emergencies such as floods in our province Speaker ministry of community safety and correctional services Search community safety correctional services. Thank you speaker and thanks the member from new market error for asking a very important question Speaker each spring many communities across ontario are confronted with the possibility of flooding as winter snow melts And river ice breaks up just last night the member from present Edward and Hastings And I were reminiscing about visiting belville last year when they were fighting their floods in their community Our most important priority speaker is the safety and security of all ontarians And that means well before we begin to enjoy warmer weather The office of the fire marshal and emergency management also known as off mem prepares host communities to accept evacuees This ensures that during a flood people in affected communities have a safe place to go Throughout the flood season speaker often maintains regular contact with municipalities and ministries to assess the risk from flooding And ensure we have the most up-to-date information if an evacuation is necessary off mem works closely with the ministry of natural resources and fostering to coordinate Fights out of effective Thank you the question members from here umbers My question is to the deputy premier Last week you released your new carbon paid to pollute scheme and your own premier admitted herself that she was adding a tax We know that this is because the price of everything will increase What we don't know are the details on it Instead you have left ontarians in the dark about how much you will be taking out of their wallets Deputy premier families can't afford to manage their budgets the way you do They can't run deficits for 11 years and shrug off hundreds of billions of dollars of debt So deputy premier will you commit to not implementing another devastating tax onto the people of ontario? The administer of environment and climate change Mr. The environment I am a mr. Speaker. I actually have a question for the member opposite Got to No, you have to No, you had to thank you Please finish And I think she might be helpful in helping me understand something mr. Speaker because when her party introduced a cap and trade on knocks and socks They didn't call it a tax on everything when they did it again on carbon monoxide They didn't call it a tax on everything when the alberta government their sister party and alberta did it They didn't call it a tax on everything mr. Speaker. Why is that because it's not a tax on everything It's an effective carbon trading market But given their party's lack of concern their federal cousins with zero investment in climate jade With took us out of And our undermining efforts right now to get an international agreement in paris I would be pretty embarrassed if I was a hard-caring conservative today too. Mr. Speaker Thank you back to the deputy premier The bottom line is that when costs go up for business The cost of living goes up for everyone Ontarians cannot afford another tax that will go to fund the scandal plague mismanaged liberal government Liberal mismanagement in this province has already seriously affected the lives of all Ontarians in my riding alone We have a hospital in disarray from broken liberal promises We have seniors who can't afford diabetic test strips and families who cannot afford their hydro bill And here you are you're wanting to add another tax on them This will be devastating to the people across the province. They can't afford your arrogance any longer deputy premier as the fourth of our five budget asks Will you commit in your 2015 budget not to levy another misguided tax on the people of ontario? Mr. Speaker, let me share with the member what I think Ontarians can't afford the residents of god or richard her constituency Can't afford another devastating tornado. Mr. Speaker. They can't afford ear floods two and 24 months The member from the fiend carlton is warned thank you The speaker apple farmers in ontario rural ontario can't afford to lose 80 percent of their crop anymore, mr. Speaker People who jet their drinking water from lake ontario can't afford to risk it going toxic So they can't even boil it mr. Speaker ontarians can't afford more frequent ice storms mr. Speaker People who ride go transit can't afford 600 million dollars of damage in a one hour storm mr. Speaker We can't afford Thank you speaker my question to the deputy premier today's earth day It's a day to think about the environment to think about sustainability and conservation However, this government has had a problem sustaining its energy conservation programs In 2010 the government cut the ontario home energy savings program Which helped people reduce their heating bill with grants To retrofit their homes and make them more energy efficient since then energy costs have skyrocketed Speaker, why did this government? The important energy conservation home program Thank you Member would know that in our long-term energy plan of 2013 december Conservation first is the overriding principle of that plan mr. Speaker And he will also know mr. Speaker that throughout november december this this past year Every ldc every utility across the province signed on to a new conservation framework mr. Speaker It is a very very extensive program mr. Speaker It gives more authority to the local ldcs to initiate conservation that is relevant to their particular communities mr. Speaker We are conservation first We're going to continue on that and our projections are that it will be very very extensive in terms of take up mr. Speaker Well speaker, this is a government that loves to make announcements loves it, but it's the follow-through that counts Seven years ago the government announced an agreement with kebek to create a cap and trade system by january 2010 The ndp welcomed the announcement But seven years later. We're still waiting and speaker. I was there for the re-announcement if that's their answer In 2013 the government announced a plan to help homeowners conserve energy with on-bill financing for energy retrofits Well, it's now 2015 And there is still no such program Mr. Speaker Well, ontarians have to wait another seven years for action on energy conservation Just as we have had to wait seven years on cap and fray Good question Mr You should be deputy leader Mr. The environment Just speaking well, you know if you were listening to the question from your friends the next story You won't know you'll know you won't have to wait very long for a carbon market mr. Speaker Second of all, we are doing unprecedented things right now. Mr. Speaker in building standards and building codes Thank you to the minister of municipal affairs and housing and his predecessors for initiating Standards that are actually bringing down greenhouse gases and emissions And we're just beginning mr. Speaker because working with the minister of municipal affairs and housing the minister of economic development And the minister of energy We are about to introduce some of the most robust initiatives in reducing building-based greenhouse gas emissions providing ontarians With lower costs and heating their homes. I'm working closely with the minister of transportation Who is doing global leading work right now in the electrification of transit We are making the biggest investments in public transit in the history of ontario And some of the biggest in the history of north america mr. Speaker You don't have to wait for a bus very long anymore. Mr. Speaker. Thanks for this government Thank you speaker my question is for the minister of government and consumer services And I think we can all agree that the spring weather that we're finally having And enjoying presents a welcome relief following the great winter that's just Been passed as my constituents of beaches east york are quick to remind me But with spring comes a whole host of new responsibilities for homeowners yard maintenance lawn care seasonal cleaning and other landscaping needs Are all tasks that many homeowners are taking up with the use of service providers Seasonal yard work important is important and it creates valuable and opportunities for entrepreneurs and ontario businesses With the short term and the sometimes informal nature of these services However, many of us are concerned and worry about the legitimacy of the agreements that are entered into with the service providers Speaker will the minister of gosh consumer service address the concern and speak to how his ministry regulates home service contracts Again minister I want to thank the member from beaches east york for raising this important consumer protection issue I agree that this type of seasonal work creates excellent employment opportunities We also realize that with the rush to receive these services consumers are vulnerable to entering into agreements with ambiguous or confusing Terms sometimes dictated over the phone agreement should be completed in person and consumers should request a written estimate for the services They receive and I strongly encourage all consumers not to commit to payments from a random sales call If a company presents a good deal consider the terms thoroughly and know that you're entitled to a written contract Terms and conditions surrounding continuous services should be carefully reviewed providing clear contractual agreements for consumers Speaker is a priority and our government continues to strengthen these services for consumers. Thank you Supplementary Yes, thank you speaker And I'm delighted by the response by the minister has given us about this very important area of concern for ontario consumers And we agree and I agree that lawn care companies make a unique and important contributions to our seasonal economy It's how I got through university And most ontarios have either used such a company work for one Or they know somebody who would relied on the services in the past So it's important that we instill confidence in ontarians that their government is contributing to a fair and competitive marketplace And I know speaker that the ministry of government and consumer services has a strong history of enforcing fair consumer standards for ontarians And I tell my concerned constituents in beaches east jorke that when they file complaints They will receive decisive actions that will be taken up on their behalf It's important that we protect the consumers at every stage question of these relationships So can the minister of government and consumer services? Please speak to action The ministry has taken to protect consumers Specifically in dealing with lawn care companies Thank you speaker and again to the member from beaches east jorke and thank you for the question Our ministry continues to monitor this issue closely and has taken action when necessary in 2014 We received 124 complaints with regard to this particular issue and we've demanded that companies Are practicing good and safe consumer practices with respect to providing contracts written contracts for consumers We've insisted that they cease to renew contracts If they don't have the consent of the consumer and I'm pleased with our track record in this area And we're happy to act on these issues when they're brought to our attention in the ministry And speaker, you know, I'd say that with respect to these particular contracts You should be if you're charged improperly for any type of service Immediately contacting the business writing a letter and following up with an answer And if they refuse to act on that to contact the ministry And we'll be pleased to follow up and respond on behalf of the consumer. Thank you new question from york simple Thank you guys to the deputy premier You've said that a mandatory ontario pension plan would be good for the province Yet your own ministry has a A document which supports the notion that 54 000 people will lose their jobs The that's not the only people will have Reduced or eliminated their own existing pension plans on behalf of ontarians the pc caucus has identified Five key commitments we need to see from your budget or your government in order to support your budget This is one premier. Will you commit in your 2015 budget to saving jobs and abandoning the ontario pension plan? Sita, please Thank you I uh I want to remind some members that uh, there's a w behind their name Deputy premier to the associate minister finance associate minister finance Thank you speaker and I want to thank the member opposite for this question The implementation of the ontario retirement pension plan, mr. Speaker is actually all about Ontario's future economy because we know that if people retire without adequate income in retirement That has the potential to slow down consumption if we have consumption that is slowed down That could potentially slow down investments that are made in business and that could hurt ontario's economy So our plan which is to implement the or pp for january 2017 is all about growing ontario's economy because people will have An adequate income for life that they will spend into their retirement. That's good for business That's good for ontario's economy and that's certainly good for our future retirees mr. Speaker And when it comes to being mindful of the impact of on business, we're taking that into consideration as well speaker Yeah here Point of order from the member from dampenport Thank you, mr. Speaker I would like to welcome members and staff of the dampenport perth neighborhood and community health centers Civic engagement group to queens park today They were in attendance here at question period and will be touring the legislative assembly to learn about how government works So welcome to that group. Thank you And we're from new market of order point of order Thank you, mr. Speaker. It's not a point of order But I would like to welcome students from light of christ catholic school in new market aurora Actually, the member is absolutely correct It is not a point of order to introduce but I give a little leeway there We have deferred vote on the motion of allocation of time on bill 80 An act to amend the ontario society for the prevention of curly to animals act And the animals for research act with respect to the possession and breeding of orcas and administrative requirements for animal care Calling the members. This will be a five minute belt But all members, please take their seats Members, please take your seats On april 21st, mr. Bradley moved government notice of motion number 20 all those in favor of the motion Please rise one at a time. We recognize by the court Mr. Matthew, mr. Hoskins, mr. Hoskins, mr. Sandals, mr. Duga, mr. Duga, mr. Mccharls, mr. Mccharls, mr. Quinter, mr. Quinter, mr. Cole, mr. Cole Mr. Brodenetti, mr. Brodenetti, mr. Dillon, mr. Dillon, mr. Quadrie, mr. Quadrie, mr. Dorzetti, mr. Dorzetti, mr. Gravel, mr. Gravel, mr. Mcneakin, mr. Mcneakin, mr. Murray, mr. Murray, mr. Murray, mr. Quirto, mr. Cotto, mr. Flynn, mr. Flynn, mr. Zimmer, mr. Zimmer, mr. Delaney, mr. Delaney, mr. Bulkes, mr. Albanese, mr. Mangat, mr. Kra, mr. Wong, mr. Hunter, mr. Sergio, mr. Sergio, mr. Morro, mr. Morro, mr. Jassak, mr. Del Ducar, mr. Dalduca, mr. Domela, mr. Frasier, mr. Fraser, mr. Anderson, mr. Anderson, mr. Baker, mr. Baker, mr. Ballard, mr. Mr. Don, Ms. Hogarth, Ms. Kowala, Ms. Martin, Ms. McGarry, Ms. McMahon, Mr. Milchins, Ms. Nidoo Harris, Mr. Potts, Mr. Rinaldi, Ms. Reneal, Mr. Tebow. All those opposed please rise one at a time and be recognized by the clerk. Mr. Clark, Mr. Arnaud, Mr. Huda, Mr. Hardimus, Mr. McLeod, Mr. Wilson, Mr. Miller Perry Sound, Ms. Goka, Mr. Miller Perry Sound, Ms. Goka, Mr. Yakibusky, Ms. Jones, Ms. Thompson, Ms. Monroe, Ms. Scott, Ms. Scott, Mr. Eurek, Mr. Bailey, Mr. Hillyard, Mr. Hillyard, Mr. Walker, Mr. Smith, Mr. Smith, Mr. Harris, Mr. Harris, Mr. Nichols, Mr. Nichols, Ms. Marteau, Mr. McDonnell, Mr. McClaren, Mr. Pettipies, Mr. Pettipies, Mr. Beesong, Mr. Singh, Ms. Horvath, Ms. Horvath, Mr. Vantog, Mr. Vantog, Mr. Tabbins, Mr. Tabbins, Mr. Miller Hamilton, Mr. Stony Creek, Mr. Miller Hamilton, Mr. Stony Creek, Ms. Salo, Ms. Salo, Ms. Armstrong, Ms. Armstrong, Ms. Jelena, Ms. Fyte, Ms. Forster, Ms. Forster, Mr. Mantha, Mr. Hatfield, Ms. Gretzky, Mr. Gates, Mr. Gates, Ms. French, Ms. French. The aides being 15, the nays being 39, I declare the motion carried. There are no further deferred votes to postpone recess until 3 p.m. this afternoon.