 It is now time for oral questions. I recognize the leader of the Majesty's Royal Opposition. Thank you, Speaker. My first question this morning is for the Premier. The Premier is determined to rush into a reopening of this province regardless of the expert advice that he's receiving from his own experts. In fact, yesterday, Dr. Jaffe very clearly said that it would be ideal, ideally the government would wait before reopening. And that is at the same press conference where she identified the fact that the emergency break that apparently the government is relying upon has no criteria. It's not defined as yet. I apologize. It should have been off. Yeah. Order. Order. House will come to order. House will come to order. Stop the clock. House will come to order. Restart the clock. Recognize the member. I apologize, Speaker. But the bottom line is Dr. Jaffe did say that there is no criteria in place for this emergency break that apparently the Premier is relying upon. In fact, Global's Alan Carter, as a result of this, said this, for better or worse, political leadership has overruled health advice. So here we are. The Premier is literally hitting the gas when he doesn't know how to use the emergency break. This is extremely disturbing, Speaker. Why is the Premier overruling the advice of his experts, the advice of doctors, and continuing on this journey to reopen Ontario too? The Premier? Through you, Mr. Speaker, I've always followed the advice of the Chief Medical Officer. And we're going to continue doing this while we make a transition into the framework. And the leader of the opposition knows very well that at any given time the local medical officer of health can put out a section 22 and put a stop to any opening. And again, we're doing this very cautiously. We still have the vast majority of the population in Toronto and York and Peele determining if it's going to go for another couple of weeks based on the advice from their local medical officer of health. And we're going to listen to that. So I'm not too sure who the leader of the opposition is listening to, but I'm listening to the doctors. And I always will. The supplementary? Well, Speaker, it is disturbing to see the lengths to which this government is prepared to go in order to justify the rushed reopening in our province. Last week, we saw the Minister of Education use data that was raised by the modeling table to justify the government's reopening plan. And in fact, just yesterday, Dr. Fissman, who is responsible for that data, that modeling, told QP Briefing, and I quote, that his work was twisted and misinterpreted to justify bad policy choices. How can anyone believe that this government's plan is safe when the experts are saying that their data on which the government is apparently relying is being twisted and misinterpreted? Mr. Speaker, the chief medical officer of health has provided guidance to the government to delay, not cancel, March break. If it is the position of the member opposite, that we should be following the science and the medical experts, how can she undermine confidence in the medical leader of this province who's trying to ensure every day we are able to recover and able to protect the public? I think that does a great disservice to our institutions. And honestly, I'm quite shocked that the leader of the opposition would undermine confidence in the leader who's provided guidance to this province to get us through the worst of this pandemic. Our priority, sir, is to ensure that every day we follow that guidance, it's why we've delayed it. And yes, the modeling did suggest that this new UK variant will become the dominant strain in and around the period of March break, which is why we deferred it, based on that medical expertise. In fact, the chair of the medical officers of health council provided that guidance. The public health measures table unanimously recommended that, and this premier will follow that advice every step of the way. Well, Speaker, the minister can rest assured it's the premier whose information I don't trust. It's the premier who I have no confidence in whatsoever. Why? We have seen 3700 seniors, 3800 seniors lose their lives in lying long-term care to COVID-19 under this premier's watch. We've seen 6700 Ontarians lose their lives to COVID-19 because of this premier's decisions. And what are those decisions? He is not listening to the experts. In November, he claimed that the experts were good with his framework, his new framework that he unveiled, only to find out almost the very next day, that in fact they hadn't even seen the framework. That, Speaker, is very troubling. Now their experts are saying that the information that they are providing to the government is being twisted and is being misinterpreted. When will the premier actually start listening to the hospitals, to the doctors, to his own experts and prevent this province from going into yet another third wave and lockdown? Premier, Mr. Speaker, I've obviously listened to the chief medical officer from day one, never wavered from that, I've listened to all the CEOs and maybe if you talk to some of the CEOs of the hospitals, leader of the opposition, you might get some input. Rather than sitting there and constantly criticizing from day one, putting confusion with the public about paid sick days, rather than sending inaccurate information out to the public and hurting the public, why don't you come and join us to support the people of Ontario for once, rather than just sit there and criticize and criticize. It's like listening to nails on a chalkboard listening to you. I'll send all members to make their comments through the chair and not directly across the board. Next question, leader of the opposition. Speaker, this premier always goes to the worst, worst places when he doesn't like the questions that the opposition is asking, but we're going to keep asking them on behalf of Ontario, on behalf of the people of this province. Here's another one for him. We know very clearly that when people lose their homes, they cannot self-isolate. When they don't have a place to live, they can't actually do what they need to do and follow the public health advice when it comes to staying home, because they no longer have a home. And yet this premier, after just a couple of weeks of having an eviction ban in place, has lifted the eviction ban so that he's going to push people onto the streets, he's going to push people into couch surfing when everybody knows that that's the wrong thing to do, and again, his experts have even identified that this is the wrong thing to do. Last August, when that eviction ban was lifted, thousands of people ended up on the streets. Why is the premier prepared to do that again? Minister of municipal affairs and housing. Thanks, Speaker. Thanks for the question. Our government's been clear right from the start. During the pandemic, the Attorney General applied to the court, and we had an eviction ban. When the stay-at-home order came forward late last year, our government moved forward with an eviction ban. And as some of those areas move out of the stay-at-home order, some of them, for example, my riding, moved out this week, the eviction moratorium will be lifted. Again, it's a situation that we will continue to monitor. The Attorney General, I, will continue to have conversations, but make no mistake, Speaker, through you to the Leader of the Opposition. We've stood up for tenants. We've tried to help with our municipal partners. We've provided almost, actually over half a billion dollars to our municipal partners to help keep our most vulnerable housed, and we'll continue to support them. Great application. Supplementary question. Well, Speaker, the premier's own experts, his own advisors, have said the right thing to do is to maintain an eviction ban during a worldwide pandemic. Dr. Brown, the head of the science table, supports the eviction ban, and saying, and I quote, supporting people so that they can do what's right for public health is what is the right thing to do. Unfortunately, once again, the premier is not listening to the advice of the experts. In fact, a U.S. study that was done following the rising of an eviction ban there showed that the COVID-19 virus hit 150,000 more people specifically because they lifted their eviction ban. So why is the premier not listening to the experts and prepared to force people out on the streets during a worldwide pandemic? Minister Ms. Morpay. Well, we'll speak, we'll speak here again to reiterate my previous answer. Our government continues to work with our municipal partners to ensure that our most vulnerable are housed in this situation. And in fact, to take a page from the premier's playbook when he talked about things you can do to help us, I recently wrote to our, my federal counterpart, the Honourable Ahmed, has sent to point out that our share of the national housing strategy compared to the amount of houses in need lacks 6%. While that might not seem like a big number, it works out to $490 million. So you know what, Speaker? You know what I'll do? I'll send that letter to the Leader of the Opposition and I'll call on her to help support us so that we can have additional monies from the federal government to help our most vulnerable. The final supplementary. Speaker, I would never support a government that throws people out in the cold during a worldwide pandemic. I would never do something like that because it's the wrong thing to do. Speaker, in fact, this government continues to disregard all of the advice that they're getting from all experts on every front. The evictions ban is one example. The lack of paid sick days in this province is another example. The premature lifting of lockdowns and not doing anything to prevent the further spread of COVID-19 in terms of extra health measures is yet another failure of this government. So why is this government continuing to silence the experts, to ignore the advice they're getting and continuing to head down on this wrong-headed road of opening too soon without proper measures in place? Premier to reply. Mr. Speaker, you want to talk about hypocrisy at its best. You're going to have to withdraw. You're going to have to withdraw. Withdraw, sorry. Apologize. You want to hear people talking out of both sides of their mouth, Mr. Speaker. And that? I'm going to ask you to withdraw. Withdraw. Please continue to answer. Let me cut to the chase. Let me cut to the chase here. The Leader of the Opposition is saying, I'm not listening to the experts, but the Leader of the Opposition and the whole party voted against extending the Chief Medical Officer's term. What gives there? So you can't have it both ways. You can't vote against the Chief Medical Officer and say, we don't want this Chief Medical Officer anymore, and then accuse us of actually not listening. You know, Mr. Speaker, the NDP and the Liberals are the party of no. They're the party of pessimism. We're the party of the people. We're the party of yes, and we can get it done, and we will get it done. That's the difference. Stop the clock. The House will come to order. The House will come to order. Member for Waterloo will come to order, and the Premier will come to order. Start the clock. The next question. Member for Davenport. Thank you. Good morning, Mr. Speaker. Speaker, parents, students, education workers are doing incredible work to stay safe and stop the spread of COVID-19, but they cannot go it alone. Kids are back in person, in schools today, in areas like... Any extra time. Schools are... Government side, come to order. Stop the clock. The government side will come to order. I'm going to give the Member for Davenport adequate time to place your question. Start the clock. Keep it at classy over there. Good morning. I'm going to start again because I think what's important to acknowledge the incredibly hard and important work that our education workers, our students, and our staff are doing to keep our schools safe in this province when we are seeing kids having to return to school today in hard-hit areas of this province like Toronto and Peel. Today, the Premier has a chance. He can change his failed approach to safe schools by fast-tracking my motion to cap class sizes, expand asymptomatic testing, and improve ventilation. Speaker, instead of more half-measures and hoping for the best, will the Premier finally stand up for students, school staff, and their families and pass our motion without delay? Thank you. Sir, vegetation to apply. Mr. Speaker, this government has been standing up for students when we safely reopened schools contrary to the position of the opposition parties who have called on the government to extend the state home order and therefore keep our schools closed for the opening of working parents who want their children in class for their mental health and for their development. We are proud that our schools are open, that every child is learning in class in this province, supported by 3400 NETs new teachers and an additional 890 more teachers to reduce class sizes. But it's not just about that, Speaker. It's that 95% of our air ventilation systems have been improved. It's the fact that we have 1400 more custodians working in our schools and we're very advised from the chief medical officer who has fully approved our plan, fully funded by this government because we are committed to keeping our schools open and keeping them safe. The supplementary question. Well, Speaker, the minister's so-called plan won't see broad testing until at least five weeks after most boards have reopened. And once again, they're downloading all the responsibility onto school boards because they can't make a decision. This is a mystery why this this loose plan for testing is only beginning now. The premier may recall that the Ministry of Education memos that were obtained by the Toronto Star in January showed that staff were prepared to announce in school surveillance testing last summer. But we didn't see any testing until November. So, Speaker, can the minister explain why? Despite recommendations from experts, from ministry staff, they've cut her down and delay a testing plan that could have detected more cases, informed a stronger response, and yes, saved lives. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Minister of Education. Mr. Speaker, the opposite members have spent the past six months suggesting the schools have been saved. The leader of the opposition commenced her questions today suggesting we should listen to the experts. The chief medical officer of health has suggested schools have been safe. The medical officers of health in the regions that open them have given their green lights to do so because they know it is safe because we have personally consulted with them to ensure that we build confidence. The fact is, within our schools, we had a low rate of transmission according to the CMOH. In fact, over 90% of cases came from community into our schools. 8 out of 10 schools didn't even have a case of COVID when we closed them ahead of the holidays at the peak of transmission in 2020. The fact is, leading medical experts have suggested schools have been safe and that's going to be supported by expansion of asymptomatic testing where in public health regions, they could deploy it where they need it to make sure we identify cases and we keep the schools safe and ultimately keep them open in Ontario. I'm going to ask the Member for Davenport once again to come to order. The next question. The Member for Sarnia Lampden. Thank you, Speaker. And my question is to the Premier. In late December, my writing received some truly devastating news. The Governor of Michigan, through his Governor, Whitmer, announced that they would be revoking and terminating the Enbridge Line 5 easement agreement in the Straits of Mackinac. Line 5 has been safely in operation for over 68 years, transporting western oil, natural gas liquids from superior Wisconsin through Michigan to Sarnia as part of Enbridge's pipeline system. Line 5 is a key energy conduit artery. Its continued operation is necessary to meet the energy demands in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Ontario and Quebec. In Sarnia Lampden alone, over 5,000 people are directly employed by the petrochemical and fuel industry. A further 23,500 jobs in my community are directly related to providing services and supporting the refining and chemistry industry. Speaker, can the Premier please share what the cancellation of Line 5 would mean to the rest of the province? Thank you. And the Premier to apply. I thank the member from Sarnia. You know, Mr. Speaker, I put a call into Governor Whitmer waiting to hear back. We put letters in there. I don't think the Governor understands the destruction she is creating, along with their Attorney General down there. I know the member has been working around the clock as well with his counterparts in the U.S., and we're communicating back and forth to congressmen, senators, anyone who wants to listen down there. The decision, again, by the Governor of Michigan to terminate the easement agreement is totally unacceptable. The decision will directly impact 5,000 jobs in Sarnia and surrounding areas, and to mention all the indirect jobs throughout the province, thousands, and not to mention with our great neighbours to the south of the border that's going to create 5,000 of jobs. I'll give you an example. Pearson Airport, largest airport in Toronto. It's in my riding surrounded by other ridings as well. It's going to be shut down. How are we going to get from point A to point B? How are we going to get goods from point A to point B when they want to cut off this line? Thank you. The supplementary question. Well, thank you, Speaker, and thank you, Premier, for that and Premier as well. Premier, Federal National Resources Minister O'Regan said it best. The only way to address this issue, we will need a Team Canada approach. For more than six decades Enbridge's Line 5 has made good paying jobs for Ontario and Michigan workers. It's hard to overstate its significance to our shared economy and to good union jobs and non-union jobs. Line 5 safely delivers fuel that powers our job site, our homes that make so many thousands of jobs possible, like at the airport for the fuel. Over the last six plus decades it's meant consistent, reliable work for the union labourers and business who work on with the infrastructure in industry that supports it. As our province recovers from COVID-19, these kind of jobs are more important. Speaker, can the Premier please spare with my constituents and this House about his concern for the cancellation of this project and how we will support the working men and women of my right. Thank you. A response by the Premier. Again, for fighting for the people of Sarni and the people of Ontario. We're here to fix the problem collectively, not separately. I implore the Prime Minister the leader of the opposition the leader of the Liberals doesn't matter if you're green, purple, pink whatever party you're from, we need to fight for Ontario jobs. I'm encouraging again if the leader of the opposition is listening Mr. Speaker to join us to fight for jobs. Let me quote from Scott Archer UA local 663 Pipefitter union which are big supporters about the effect of ending line five. Quote basically it would kick the legs out from under every refinery in town it would have a devastating effect on employment in Sarnia and I ask the leader of the opposition are you pro worker are you pro union then join us because we're the party for the working class not the NDP and not the Liberals. Once again I'll ask members to make the comments through the chair order. The next question the member for Toronto Centre. Thank you Speaker my question is for the Premier three months ago I stood in this legislature and demanded that this government take action on COVID evictions and to protect tenants this legislature passed my motion to ban COVID evictions with unanimous consent. We agreed that this issue is a priority of this house but months later this government has once again failed tenants. Thousands of tenants are at risk of losing their homes as this government resumes evictions while we are still in the middle of a pandemic. Why is the Premier putting corporate landlords ahead of the health and safety of tenants who are being tossed out of their homes. Mr. Mr. Carey's announcement. Thanks Speaker to prevent the spread of COVID-19 our government implemented Speaker a stay-at-home order while that stay-at-home order was enforced we had our second residential eviction moratorium. As I said earlier in the house in response to the leader of the opposition that stay-at-home order is being removed in a number of areas and as they're being removed the last one will be Toronto Peel and York on February 22nd we'll move back in the framework. So you know again Speaker through you to the member yes this item was debated in the house yes our party supported it and yes we implemented it during the stay-at-home order. Supplementary question. Respectfully Speaker to the minister the pandemic's not over yet since this pandemic started I have heard from tenants across the province people have lost their jobs they have lost their income they have lost their small businesses all through no fault of their own any of these tenants believed this premier when he said that no one would lose their home during this pandemic but instead of having any compassion for people in their time of need this government ramps through thousands of eviction hearings over the last few months. Speaker I've just received news early this morning that a member of my community in Toronto Centre died in a tent fire in a homeless encampment in my writing in Toronto Centre. Speaker lives are literally quite literally and my bill to stop COVID evictions will be voted on today. Will the premier and his government vote for this bill to save lives and help stop the spread of COVID-19 and give folks the help and the hope that they need to get through this. Thank the members to take the seat. And Minister of municipal affairs to reply. My thoughts and my prayers go out to the person who lost their life and their family. Speaker since the pandemic our government has delivered more housing dollars to municipalities to help our most vulnerable than ever before. And again I want to reiterate that based on our core housing need our government is being shorted and I know it doesn't sound like a lot it's only 6% but the difference between 38% and 44% of core housing needs equates to 490 million dollars that I believe the federal government owes Ontario I believe they owe it to those homeless, I believe they owe it to those people who are struggling to be housed and continue no matter whether the member opposite wants to shout me down we'll continue to stand up for our most vulnerable, we'll continue to tell the federal government we need our share and we'll continue to build housing that helps people in this province. Next question the member for York centre. The government has made a significant difference to the premier as early as May of last year we began to understand that almost 80% of Ontarians who tragically died from Covid or with Covid died in congregate living settings according to ministry data almost 60% of all fatalities are seniors in long-term care homes now not only did this government fail to make that meaningful distinction and focus protection where it's required the government utterly failed to protect our long-term care seniors Dr Gary Garber the former medical director of the long-term care commission the bureaucratic concerns prevented a highly trained team of infection prevention and control experts at public health Ontario from helping in Ontario's long-term care homes professionals specifically trained for this very situation were told to maintain a low profile in order to avoid being subsumed by the newly created Ontario health my question to the premier when did the government learn that this IPAC team was not deployed second, when was this team fully deployed and finally and I ask that the response be precise how many out of Ontario's 636 long-term care homes have an approved and implemented infection protocol and control in place today the response the government house leader thank you very much mr. Speaker I appreciate the question and I will of course note that the member opposite voted in favor of every single measure that this government has taken in order to bring this pandemic under control and we're certainly grateful for the support that he gave to us to take the measures that we've taken to combat the pandemic mr. Speaker we will continue to make important investments not only in health care but in long-term care to ensure that our communities remain safe and I certainly hope that the member opposite will reflect on how important it is to keep the people of the province of Ontario to take all the steps necessary to keep the people of the province of Ontario safe as this premier has done as the members of this caucus have done and quite frankly mr. Speaker a number of months as all members of this legislature have done we should be proud of the work that we've accomplished and I hope the member will reflect on that mr. Speaker and continue to support all of the measures that he has supported throughout the pandemic thank you the supplementary question Speaker I have not heard a response to how many of Ontario's long-term care homes have an approved and implemented infection protocol and control in place today my follow-up question is to the minister of long-term care the ability of this government since the first declaration of emergency 11 months ago and having more than four months this summer to prepare for the second wave the government still cannot fix the crisis in long-term care homes one of the main reasons for the crisis is a chronic shortage of staff leading not only to deplorable conditions but failure to implement a proper infection protocol temporary and agency workers are still allowed to work at more than one home and while this government is continuing to lock down the province all it takes is one one worker to bring in covid into disaster on January 13th the prime minister offered the premier military assistance qualified personnel to help with staffing in response the premier said quote I never refuse help close quote my question to the premier why hasn't the premier accepted help from the Canadian Armed Forces why do dozens of homes remain short staff when this government can help the situation today by accepting help and is it because the premier does not want another military report on the conditions he and his government thank you very much again the government house leader thank you very much Mr. Speaker I guess I'm somewhat surprised to hear that the member opposite for many months who voted in favor of all the measures that we took to protect the people the province of Ontario with respect to covid-19 I'm surprised to hear that now that he has he's had a significant change of heart that he apparently I guess voted in a way that he didn't want to vote Mr. Speaker I hope that he will reflect on that and reflect on the important role of members of the government to do their duty and their jobs effectively I know that that's what this premier, this minister of health, this minister of long-term care and all members of the government caucus have done and quite frankly Mr. Speaker all the members of this legislature have done in helping Ontario be one of the leading jurisdictions in North America in terms of its response to the covid-19 pandemic is there more work to be done absolutely there is Mr. Speaker but I can tell the member opposite we will not be taking his new measures to to stop all of the protocols that have kept the people of the province of Ontario safe we won't be doing that we will continue on the path that we have that has kept people safe and kept our... the next question the member for Burlington thank you Mr. Speaker recent projections suggest a significant increase in the global hydrogen production market for an estimated 103 billion in 2017 to an expected 207 billion by 2026 the current trends also indicate that for Ontario adopting hydrogen at a high rate could generate 2.5 billion of spending per year promoting long-term economic recovery and reduced greenhouse gas emissions under the previous Liberal government environmental progress stalled instead of implementing effective and fragmented policies the Liberals ignored expert advice that could have saved millions of dollars in green energy spending putting Ontario on more sustainable path should not come at the expense of the hard-working people of this province can the Minister of the Environment Conservation and Parks please share with the members of this House how this government plans to utilize innovation to address climate change and reduce emissions in Ontario the Minister of the Environment Conservation and Parks to reply thanks very much Mr. Speaker and Mr. Wellington for a great great question and our government's vision for low-carbon hydrogen economy will help advance the progress that we have made over the past two years with our made in Ontario environment plan we're supporting the growth of this sector will ensure that we are helping to lower Ontario's greenhouse gas emissions over the long-term we're supporting a reliable and affordable energy system Ontario and we are reducing regulatory barriers at academia and other governments Mr. Speaker we have an opportunity to make it easier for private investors to deploy their low-carbon technologies and infrastructure and ramp up the production of this energy source this means Ontario will have more electric hydrogen and other low-carbon vehicles without government subsidies or increased cost to consumers Mr. Speaker we recognize the importance of the role of hydrogen can play in the future of this province and view it as an important path forward to the future of Ontario's gas emissions Mr. Speaker we're standing with the strategy we hope the members opposite join on the supplementary question the impacts of this COVID-19 outbreak have been felt across Ontario by families workers businesses and community speaker during these challenging times it's never been more important to encourage new industries to contribute to Ontario's economic recovery while it's still in the most strategic ways we know Ontario's well positioned to drive growth in a low-carbon hydrogen economy our locations within the Great Lakes region is beneficial for trade with the U.S. and we have supported provincial policies and programs in place to help us grow the hydrogen market supporting innovative energy sectors can be done without creating skyrocketing energy pricing something the previous month Ontario has unveiled Green Energy Act that cost Ontarians billions of their hard-earned dollars question I know this government recently released a hydrogen discussion paper can the Minister of the Environment Conservation of Parks tell us more on how this paper will inform the creation of Ontario's first hydrogen strategy thank you the minister of environment we do have a competitive advantage to drive growth in a low-carbon hydrogen economy unlike any other region our natural gas infrastructure and low-carbon electricity has allowed the province to avoid up to 30 megatons of greenhouse gas emissions per year our discussion paper sets out our vision for our new hydrogen economy that will build on our existing strengths where we can create more local jobs and attract investment while helping reduce carbon-carbon hydrogen especially in the transportation sector Mr. Speaker there is great potential for the low-hydrogen carbon economy by using this domestic hydrogen we would import less natural gas from countries such as the United States this would keep energy dollars in our province leading to spin-off benefits such as the creation of more jobs and Mr. Speaker more importantly this will improve Ontario's trade balance by 3.2 billion dollars per year Thank you Mr. Speaker while the Covid crisis has hit our province hard we know that some of the families are feeling the pain more than the others blacks, indigenous, racialized Ontarians, low-income families and women Mr. Speaker these Ontarians are the ones who have been left to suffer while this premier just to stand by and watch and Mr. Speaker through you to the premier why when you know your decisions have hurt some Ontarians more than the others would you vote against them my motion to adopt a Covid equity strategy Government House Leader to respond I'm sorry Speaker principally as the member knows quite honestly and we've seen this over the last day these are issues that are brought forward at the House Leaders table typically we don't like to be caught off by surprise by motions that are brought to the table and as we have done entirely the entire time since I've been House Leader and before me motions that are brought to the table by surprise are going to be voted down Mr. Speaker that's just the way the process works I encourage the Honourable Member if he wants to bring forward a motion for debate that this whole House can consider he should use his time that is available to him the member will know he had a lot of time and is happy to work with him to press his private members bill by following the process Mr. Speaker so I would encourage the member when you have, when the member has a spot available to him do it in the proper fashion all members of the provincial parliament can have a say in that if it's something that is appropriate for us to pass we'll pass it if it's not we'll vote it down supplementary question you've got the letter last week we know what happens when we don't have an equity strategy Mr. Speaker some people suffer more than the others we are seeing in my community of York South-Western many families in my community are now on the frontline workers of this crisis because this government does not to support them or help them stay safe at home Mr. Speaker through you to the premier will you commit to ensuring that your government's pandemic response from first seen roll out to financial recovery has a plan to help those who have been hurt the most the government Mr. Speaker again again Mr. Speaker just to talk a little bit about the process the house leader teams have met on three separate occasions and at no time was any of the motions that the member talked about or the leader of the opposition or the unanimous consents that we have seen was that ever brought to the table for priority consideration by the member by the NDP Mr. Speaker the letter in question that they talked about was actually sent to my constituency office I didn't receive it until yesterday Mr. Speaker but as I said to the honourable gentleman through you Mr. Speaker this house considers private members a process in place to do that and the appropriate way to do that is the same way as his bill his private members bill which passed earlier which was a good bill Mr. Speaker was proud to support it if you have a quality piece of legislation if you have a quality this house will give it its due consideration and will pass it but Mr. Speaker surprises will always be voted down by this side of the house because we have to give a consideration in the appropriate fashion the member for Ottawa venue thank you Mr. Speaker I want to address a question to the Minister of Education and talk about mental health support for our children since the beginning of the pandemic we have been seeing an increasing number of children with mental health problems at the elementary level and at the high school level the constant changing of rules and the need to adapt to multiple teaching experience that actually vary and their effectiveness are making it more difficult for students to stay motivated and to get support when they need it now the government has invested 42.5 million as part of its fall preparedness plan to support students with special need and provide students with mental health support and that's great but my question to the Minister is can the government explain how it is actually monitoring the implementation of this investment and how it monitors the effectiveness of the support the Minister of Education thank you Speaker and thank you the member opposite for the question I think we all share a deep concern about the mental health impacts of the pandemic on all students in the province and country it is why we have enhanced funding both in June and likewise in the summer again in the fall rather in the early winter of 2021 an additional 10 million dollars we work with school mental health Ontario to create a action kit for all classes to be provided within our schools with respect to building up mental health resiliency discussing these topics and encouraging our teachers working with our school board mental health leads as well as the additional 200 mental health workers within our schools to implement that plan to measure that plan the area of focus within our discussions with sick kids likewise the chief medical officer of health and a variety of other medical entities to understand to measure and ultimately take action to mediate impacts with mental health we are working in the Minister of Health to continue improving investment in schools and likewise in their cases within our communities to provide a continuum of care for these kids the supplementary question thank you Mr Speaker and the impact is being felt by everyone in education frankly teachers and education workers have been trying to keep up with changing rules while also trying to support the students as best they can teachers have privileged relationship with students and they are well placed to identify the children that are struggling with mental health issues and to direct them to appropriate resources however they cannot do this alone our teachers also need resources they need training and support so that they are better equipped to effectively support these students so what resources and training is the Ministry of Education providing to our school boards our teachers and other education workers to support them as they work to manage the increase in children struggling with mental health challenges Minister of Education I appreciate the question from the member opposite the Minister of Education I think we need many educators and our education staff on the front lines and really play a critical role in supporting our children the work we provided the million dollar additional investment to school mental health Ontario was designed to provide useful information to our educators and front line education staff to implement within our schools the additional 200 mental health workers funded by the province leveraging all dollars to hire more and the front lines to reduce wait times digital psychologists and psychotherapists and social workers are supporting that end we obviously acknowledge that there are impacts mental health impacts which is why in the Ministry of Education and in health working together to make sure that children be it in schools or in their communities could access the care that they deserve the next question the member for Kitchener Conestoga well thank you very much Mr. Speaker and my question is for the Attorney General the parents have been calling out for modernization in the justice sector for years if not decades successful or successive Liberal governments let Ontario's justice sector stand still and fall behind only since the election of our government have we seen leadership in fostering innovation and change in the province's justice system the Attorney General has risen on a number of occasions in this House to speak to the changes that our government has made in the current era there is finally strong momentum in Ontario's legal sectors but we need to know that this change is going to continue Speaker the government introduced new legislation yesterday which aims to speed up access to justice here in the province can the Attorney General please explain how this bill will benefit the countless Ontarians who access our justice system every day the Attorney General thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you for the opportunity to hear what you are doing to accelerate access to justice in Ontario I work closely with our justice sector partners and to urgently establish new and innovative ways of supporting Ontarians in their need to access justice in response to COVID-19 we took decisive action and we knew that we had to maintain the administration of justice and we achieved a number of breakthroughs in fact we changed the system decades in a matter of months Mr. Speaker we created a change of culture we created muscle memory on how to collaborate how to identify barriers how to break down barriers and we're not going back to the old ways of doing business Mr. Speaker we're building on the breakthroughs and we've introduced reforms through legislation to address delays we're going to let people resolve their disputes in front of the judge faster beyond the courtroom we're going to help them in rural northern and indigenous communities and francophone communities Mr. Speaker I'll speak more to the changes Ontario's courts tribunals the state's law family law child protection I look forward to supplemental Well thank you to the Attorney General for the answer and I know my constituents will be pleased to hear that the government's continued work to create a justice system that is fewer obstacles for them these are welcome changes but Ontarians also need to know that the government is acting to address elements of the justice system that slow down the resolution of their legal matters this is essential especially now as we deal with the impacts of COVID-19 so to the Minister through you Speaker what is the government doing to help people resolve their legal matters in fewer days Thank you Mr. Speaker again for the chance to talk about the Accelerating Access to Justice Act that was introduced just yesterday no matter where you live in our province the growth and well-being of our communities are top of mind they demand easier and faster access to justice our government is committed to continuing our work for Ontarians across the province and as part of our work committed to strengthening the capacity of the system that's why the proposed legislation will fill judicial appointments faster and reduce delays that let people have their day in court Mr. Speaker and that we've also come forward with a single tribunal for land tribunals to allow people with applications to move faster to get answers faster to allow things to move forward more efficiently Mr. Speaker we're also making permanent the virtual signing of wills and powers of attorney something that we brought in during COVID well received and it's something we're going to make permanent saving people time and money Mr. Speaker and we're determined to continue demonstrating through ground break innovation and collaboration that justice accelerated is justice delivered Here the next question the member for London North Center. Thank you Speaker my question is to the premier when students in the Thames Valley District School Board returned to class this month they were told to stop washing their hands in their classroom sink that's because the board found that extensive hand washing created mold in two classroom sinks from too much water damage in total the TV discovered that 400 sinks suffered from water damage in a total of 13 sinks had to be removed from classrooms entirely for almost a year public health experts have told us that hand washing is essential to stop the spread of COVID-19 this government categorically refuses to address the billions of school repair for the public health for the public health for the public health why isn't this government making vital investments into our classrooms so that London students can stay safe by following this essential public health advice for education thank you very much Mr. Speaker we are obviously encouraging all students to continue to follow public health advice the guidance by the chief medical officer of health as provided in the school often which is why we provided PPE as well as an additional enhancement and funding for the cleaning of schools as well as more custodial cleaning within the schools within the Thames valley district school board for example COVID funding is up $43 million net new to ensure we can do that and Speaker obviously will continue to follow the medical advice of the local and chief medical officer Dr. Mackie within your case really ensuring that students and parents know they can play a role in combating COVID-19 in the classroom and in their communities the supplementary question Speaker the backlog and repairs in schools has gone on under this government's watch for the last two years and they've done very little to address it London families are trying their hardest to keep their kids safe but they need the government's support to do so I've heard from parents in my writing like Rachel who told me her kids returned to school to find the sinks and both my children's classrooms are missing she told me it's extremely disappointing frustrating that the provincial government has been telling us there are tougher health and safety measures put in place for the return to school when in fact nothing is different and actually things are worse since there are now no sinks Speaker parents in my writing want to know when will this government stop sitting on their hands and start helping our schools move forward not backwards in the fight against COVID-19 Thank you very much Mr. Speaker it is this government that is investing 1.3 billion dollars in maintenance funding to reduce the backlog we inherited from the former liberal government billions of dollars, 15.5 billion dollars that is a matter of fact that is very concerning that the state of our schools were undermined by the former government, the former liberal government but the truth is under this premier we've allocated an investment, a capital investment every single year of $550 million in London alone I was proud to join my colleague the Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks to announce multiple net new schools in the south and northeast of London as I recall correctly new schools for the people of London who deserve it after years of neglect by the former liberal government we're going to continue to invest in maintenance continue to invest historic investments in capital funding and I assure you those dollars will reach the ground to ensure those families have confidence that their schools are safe every day The next question is for Don Valley East Thank you very much Mr. Speaker My question is to the Minister of Labour Minister here in the legislature if any one of us becomes ill we have the opportunity to stay home to limit the risk of spread and to look after ourselves and Minister we still get paid to stay home that means we can continue to pay the bills support our families and do what medical experts are suggesting to stay home the premier likes to say often that we're in this together well how can that be when if any of us become ill we can actually stay home but an everyday person can't Mr. Speaker I have a simple question to the Minister does the Minister believe it's okay to deny workers the right to pay sick leave a luxury that he has himself Mr. Labour Well thank you very much Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker the very first piece of legislation that this legislature passed that our government introduced was to protect jobs across the province no one can be fired in Ontario because of COVID-19 if you're home in self-isolation if you're in quarantine if you're a mom or a dad that has to stay home and look after a son or a daughter because the schools were closed you can't be fired for that Mr. Speaker furthermore I also eliminated the need for sick notes here in the province of Ontario but Mr. Speaker the Premier of Ontario in partnership with all of the other provincial and territorial leaders across Canada worked with the federal government to ensure that $1.1 billion two weeks of paid sick days is available to every worker in the province of Ontario Sublimetric question Thank you Mr. Speaker Minister the majority of Ontarians support paid sick days your government got rid of the two sick days currently as you form government no one in Ontario should have to choose between paying bills or staying home while sick as Minister of Labour you have the opportunity to stand up with workers here in Ontario to show them compassion and to simply do what is right in the middle of a global pandemic later today I'll introduce a private member's bill Mr. Speaker that will ask this House to support 10 paid sick days through you Mr. Speaker to the Minister will you stand behind the hard working Ontarians and support 10 paid sick days so workers can better protect themselves their workplace and their loved ones Minister of Labour well Mr. Speaker so the member opposite understands thanks to the leadership of the Premier of Ontario working in partnership with the Liberal Prime Minister of Canada we've delivered two weeks of paid sick days to the people of this province and to all Canadians Mr. Speaker there's still $800 million left in the bank account for workers to apply for and to receive sick pay furthermore Mr. Speaker I'd like to let the member opposite know that as of two weeks ago more than 110,000 workers in the province of Ontario have either begun receiving paid sick days or have applied for paid sick days it is a responsibility of you sir of every MPP in this legislature every municipal and federally elected representative in this province to let workers know that there's two weeks of paid sick days available to them Question the member for Beaches East York Thank you Speaker my question is for the Premier this week I am sitting in landlord tenant board hearings that are deciding the fate of dozens of families in Beaches East York families that lost income to COVID moms and dads working their tails off to pay rent and arrears but you are being evicted by corporate landlords who don't care that they've used all their savings trying to keep a roof over their heads who don't care that evicting them will push them into homelessness these corporate landlords have refused to meaningfully negotiate with their tenants as they are required to do by law instead they've tried to force the tenants to sign onerous repayment plans that the tenants can't afford and which amount to signing their own evictions if they're a day late or a dollar short when is the Premier going to follow through on the promise he made way back last March that no one would be evicted in Ontario because of COVID Attorney General Thank you Mr. Speaker and I don't know the details that the member is talking about in terms of her appearing in front of the board I hope she clears it with the integrity commissioner but that's between her and the integrity commissioner Mr. Speaker I do want to say that the independent landlord and tenant board the independent tribunal system through unprecedented times unprecedented challenges tenants and landlords need to have their hearings for whatever the issue is Mr. Speaker and we've worked very hard with the tribunals to make sure that they're properly resourced that they can do the work that they independently need to do Mr. Speaker we need to make sure Mr. Speaker that we have hearing officers in place to hear the important matters that tenants bring forward and the landlords bring forward it's really important that we have hearing efficiently that it's functioning they've transitioned amazingly to online and alternate ways of having hearings to keep it moving through these unprecedented times Mr. Speaker and the supplementary question Thank you and this isn't about the LTB board specifically it's about the fact that we need a ban on evictions Speaker Zanat Jahan is a single mom her husband died of cancer in January last year and two months later she lost her job after COVID she got an eviction notice from Pinedale Properties one of the biggest evictors in Toronto after she missed just one month's rent they wouldn't negotiate in any way that could be called meaningful they tried to bully her just as corporate landlords are bullying tens of thousands of tenants across Ontario just yesterday their lawyer argued at the LTB that the fact that we're in a pandemic should have no bearing on whether a tenant like Zanat should be evicted last March the premier promised no one would be evicted in a pandemic but tens of thousands of families like Zanat are on the verge of homelessness through no fault of their own when is the premier going to do his job and protect them The Minister of Missful Affairs and Health Thanks Speaker like the Attorney General I'm not going to comment on any case that's before the Tribunal but I do want to reiterate some of the measures that our government have been able to do I want to take back to April of this year when our government made a historic program offering with the federal government we were the first province or territory in Canada that signed onto the Canada Ontario housing benefit and Speaker we've already been able to help over 7,000 of our most vulnerable stay housed through that portable housing benefit this is in addition to the other measures that I talked about earlier in question period $510 million through our social services relief fund in fact we've allocated over $189 million to the City of Toronto through the SSRF making the total homelessness allocation for the City of Toronto over $395 million that's in addition to the response that our government has put forward for 2021 there are many many measures that our government has provided and continue to provide again to this member as I've done to the other two please stand with us for the federal government thank you very much the next question the number is simple great thank you Speaker my question is for the Minister of Health Vertex Pharmaceuticals the manufacturer of 65 borosas modulator drugs has submitted an application to Health Canada for Trikafta to be accepted for priority review the ministers federal counterpart have agreed to fast track this life enhancing drug through the Health Canada approval processes this suggests a review timeline of 180 days as the minister knows negotiations for other 65 borosas modulators have dragged on in many cases for many years particularly at the level of the Pan Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance which negotiates prices so my question is what is this government doing to ensure that Trikafta is approved by Health Canada and the PCPA on a priority basis so that Ontarians with 65 borosas can begin enjoying longer and healthier lives immediately Minister of Health thank you very much to the member for the question I know this is an issue of great importance to you and many of your constituents the fact is that Trikafta has shown great promise as an effective treatment for Ontarians living with cystic fibrosis and so it is very welcome news that the manufacturer Vertex has applied to Health Canada for its approval but it's also really important to note that at the same time simultaneously Vertex has also applied to the Canadian agency for drugs and technologies in health or CATF for a review at the same time this is not normally done normally they're done sequentially so having them both being applied for simultaneously should lead to a shorter timeline for review so that hopefully this product can get on the market to assist people with cystic fibrosis in leading happier healthier lives thank you the supplementary well thank you thank you minister and yes it is it is good news that there's simultaneous processes going on at the federal level for Trikafta however the other Vertex CF drugs are sitting in the pipeline particularly at the Canpanadian pricing alliance for a long long time now all of the provinces and territories and federal government are members of that alliance and so I'd ask the minister once again do everything she can to once Trikafta gets to the pricing board that she used her influence there to speed that process up and secondly once it gets through the pricing board will the minister commit to putting this on the Ontario formulary so that it has so these modulators have are accessible to cystic fibrosis patients because in the past once it comes out of the pricing board it can take many months and years to go through the formulary process here in Ontario so I'm wondering if you can speed that process up minister minister tell yes well thank you very much for that as I'm sure the member well knows there is a three-step process for the approval of new drugs in Ontario has to be approved by health Canada and then go through then go through the CPCA and this process is important to make sure that any new drugs coming on to the market in Ontario are effective, safe and provide value for money so the I recognize the concerns that have been expressed with respect to the other two drugs produced by Vertex, Kaleida Co and or can be as that hopefully will be the Trikafta will join them that is something that we've been waiting for this is very important to the ministry as well because as you have received notes and letters from many of your constituents we hear from people across Ontario that Ontarians living with cystic fibrosis are very anxious for these products to be available on the market and I can assure you that as soon as the final approvals are obtained we will move quickly to make sure that all three products get on to the formulary thank you very much the next question is thank you speaker Brampton is one of the worst hit cities by COVID-19 there have been more than 40 outbreaks in our schools yet this conservative government refuses to bring in a 15 student class size cap there have been almost 100 outbreaks in our workplaces yet this conservative government refuses to bring in permanent paid sick days almost 400 people have died in long-term care and retirement homes throughout the Peel region yet this conservative government refuses to properly fund our health care system more than 220 people have died in Brampton from COVID-19 more than 36,000 people have been infected with COVID-19 in Brampton this conservative government has failed Brampton and they must be health accountable will the conservative government act now to properly fund Brampton so we can fight COVID-19 in Brampton thank you very much for the question this is an important issue and since the beginning of this pandemic our government has focused on protecting the health and safety of all Ontarians regardless of where they live now as it happens in Peel region this has been an issue where there have been higher than levels of COVID-19 than in some other parts of Ontario so that York, Peel and Toronto have been placed into a later date as we do the framework as we do this it's not a reopening it's a transition to move those areas that are higher areas into lower areas Peel is doing great work right now hopefully very soon there will be able to transition back into the framework but that is something that we are paying attention to across the entire province including Brampton to make sure people are safe and healthy there as well thank you that concludes our discussion we have a deferred vote on the motion for second reading of bill 244 an act to amend the residential tenancies act 2006 with respect to evictions during COVID-19's pandemic the bells will ring for 30 minutes during which times members may cast their votes I'll ask the clerks to prepare the lobbies