 It is now time for question period. The leader of Her Majesty's Long-awaited Position. For my question before the Premier, Premier on March 9th, the public became aware of the RCMP investigation into senior officials of the Ontario Provincial Police Association. A mere six days later, Commissioner Hawks announced the officers under investigation were suspended. Well, here it is on December 15th, the public learned of the alleged bribery in the Sudbury by-election. And here we are, 92 days later, a new Premier have yet to hold anyone to account. Premier, will today be the day you show some integrity and ask for Patsy Barrow's resignation? Well Mr. Speaker, welcome back. And as I was saying, the situations are very different. And I think the interim leader of the opposition knows that the investigation into the OPPA arose out of an internal complaint and investigation within their organization. The Sudbury investigation arose out of allegations from the opposition. So I can't comment on the OPPA's internal review. But the fact of which led to their decision, the fact is that there is an investigation going on in the Sudbury situation. That investigation is happening outside of this legislature and we're going to let it unfold as it should. With the OPPA officers under investigation suspended from duty and fired or removed from their positions, they are Premier physically removed from the OPPA offices which are the focus of the investigation. This action removes any doubt as to the integrity of the investigation. Premier, for three months you've allowed your Deputy Chief of Staff access to every shred of evidence pertaining to the Sudbury by-election and the OPPA's bribery investigation. Why won't you hold yourself to the same standard of integrity as the OPPA Commissioner? Well, Mr. Speaker, again, as I've said, I can't comment on the OPPA's internal review of the facts that led to their decision, Mr. Speaker. But what I can say is there are very different situations. The one was an internal complaint within the organization, Mr. Speaker. The situation in Sudbury is an allegation by an opposition party, Mr. Speaker. So the fact is there's an investigation going on. I've been very clear about my actions, Mr. Speaker. I made a public statement. I've answered questions repeatedly, Mr. Speaker. There is an investigation going on. We will work with the authorities, but we'll work with the authorities outside of this house, Mr. Speaker, which is where the investigation is taking place. Thank you. Commissioner of the OPPA, the board of the OPPA have done the right thing. They've decisively made the decision to remove the officers to seal the evidence and to allow the RCMP to have an arms length proper investigation. They've restored some integrity back into their system and into our system of justice. They've not acted as their own judge or jury. They've not acted above the law. They simply did the right thing while the investigation unfolds. It's a standard that Ontarians have a right to expect of you and the office you hold to do the right thing, to do the honorable thing. So, Premier, what is it going to take for you to hold anyone in your office to account for the actions that they have done? Well, Mr. Speaker, as I've said in this house many times, I take this situation very seriously. The investigation is independent of government. The only statement that has been made by an organization in Elections, Ontario has been this. And this is, I've said this many times, I've quoted this many times in the house, but I will do it again, Mr. Speaker. And the Chief Electoral Officer clearly stated, and I'm quoting, I'm neither deciding to prosecute a matter nor determining anyone's guilt or innocence. Those decisions are respectively for prosecutors and judges, I'm quote. So those decisions will not be made in this house, Mr. Speaker. Those decisions will be made as part of the investigation and whatever process comes thereafter. And that's all happening outside of this legislature, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Your question. A member from Oxford. My question is to the Premier. Premier, when you were Minister of Municipal Affairs in housing, you would have received the Social Housing Services Corporation 2010 financial statements. The HSC makes their money by marking up the cost of natural gas and insurance for housing providers. They are supposed to be part of helping the most vulnerable people in our society. The financial statement showed that HSC had invested Ontario social housing dollars in a company called HS497 Limited. A member from Timmins, James May, come to work. HS497 Limited is and where they are located. Pat Cerbera. Thank you. Minister of Municipal Affairs in housing. Well, Mr. Speaker, I just want to be very clear. I share the Honourable Member's concern about expenditures. Where we differ, I suppose, is how you respond to that. It was the Honourable Member's government that put in place the Housing Services Corporation without the accountability mechanisms necessary. We, of course, in government changed that. And as a result of that, we're able to spot some difficulties and respond to them. In terms of that, the specifics, Mr. Speaker, the Housing Services Board has agreed to operate under the expense regime of the Cabinet and Treasury Board. And they've also asked us to work with them to bring in a third party to evaluate. Thank you. Back to the Premier, Mr. Speaker. And I'm not surprised that the Minister was unable to answer because it was during the time that you were Minister of Municipal Affairs in housing. I want to say that we found out, and we found out through the documents that are available, I think you should have read that report. HS497 is not even in this country. Under your watch, the HSC invested Ontario affordable housing dollars in a company located in Manchester, England. Oh, no. There's no evidence that Ontario got a single dollar back, and HS497 has been dissolved. Who's writing this? Premier, this isn't the only questionable deal. HSC loaned over a million dollars to inner-serve solar. Most of the loans were written off as uncollectible in the same year that they were given. Good question. Inner-serve is now dissolved, too. So another million dollars of affordable housing money is gone. Your review isn't even looking for this money. Will you ask the auditor? Thank you. Well, Mr. Speaker, I think the Honourable Members' comments support what I'm saying. There's some changes that are happening at the Housing Services Corporation. Let me just say this, one of my favourite philosophers. Stop the park. That'll do. That'll do. Minister. Most of my friends would agree with this philosopher who said the needs of the many must supersede the needs of the few or the needs of the one. Absolutely. This corporation, Mr. Speaker, was set up. Thank you, Minister. Yeah, just continuing, Mr. Speaker, from the PN Carlton will come. Carry on. The concept of pooling efforts, which was one thing the government, when they party opposite when their government got right, is something that we continue to maintain so that the benefits can accrue to all municipalities, including small municipalities like the one the Honourable Members from. Thank you. Final supplement. Well, back to the Premier. Premier, your so-called accountability measures aren't working. In 2013, Housing Services Corporation advanced $125,000 to a for-profit company that they formed with yet another British organization. Since then, the HSC CEO has spent thousands and thousands of affordable housing dollars travelling across Canada and to Europe, peddling that for-profit company. There is a pattern of affordable housing dollars being funneled into for-profit companies. It's orange 2.0. Premier, can you explain to the 165,000 families waiting for affordable housing how this is helping them? And if not, will you call the auditor today to investigate? Thank you. Minister. As I stated earlier, I thought quite clearly, Mr. Speaker, there is a third party independent review of the entire operation of the Housing Services Corporation and the operations of all their subsidiaries. That's a prudent step and it's one that the Housing Services- Remember from Oxford. Come to order. You asked the question. It's just an independent non-profit corporation separate from government requested us to help- Remember from Renfrew. Come to order. I waited to do so and we'll be proceeding with that- And Stormont. And that review will guide us, Mr. Speaker, on any further steps that may need to be taken. Do you have a question? Remember from Essex. Thank you very much, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Speaker, the Premier slashing services because liberal scandal and incompetence has left the Premier scrambling to pay the bills. Does the Premier think the way to pay for liberal waste is to close childcare centers slash half a billion out of education and close neighbourhood schools all across our province? Premier. Mr. Speaker, I'm going to- I'm going to assume that this is the beginning of the NDP's attack on a budget that they have not read, Mr. Speaker, that they have not seen yet. And Mr. Speaker, the assumptions underlying which they ran on. So the fact is, Mr. Speaker, we are investing in people. We have been doing that. We will continue to do that, investing in their talent and skills. We are investing in infrastructure, Mr. Speaker. And by that, I mean the roads and bridges across this province. I mean the transit that is needed, Mr. Speaker. We are making those investments in order to allow our economy to continue to recover and to thrive, Mr. Speaker. We are setting up a retirement security plan, Mr. Speaker, that is going to allow people in this province to be more secure in their retirement. And we are creating a dynamic business climate, Mr. Speaker, that allows private business to do what they do best. And that is create the job that we know we need in this province, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Speaker. Does the Premier think that the best way to keep funding liberal waste and scandals is for the Liberal government to fire nurses in Sudbury, Timmins, Quinty, Leamington, or Soussaint-Marie? Well, Mr. Speaker, since that's not what we're doing, I would challenge the premise of the question, Mr. Speaker, because we continue to make investments in those very services that are needed in all of those communities, Mr. Speaker. And we're going to do that with a budget that is based on an elimination of the deficit by 2017-18, Mr. Speaker. So this fantasy or this myth that the NDP wants to propagate, that somehow, Mr. Speaker, we are not making those investments and somehow we are not supporting the services that people need, is just not the case, Mr. Speaker. That is the plan we brought in in our last budget, Mr. Speaker. So that's the plan that we are executing, and that is the plan that we will continue to implement, Mr. Speaker, when we bring our budget forward this spring. Mr. Speaker, that's exactly what we're afraid of, is the last budget being repeated. Mr. Speaker, Ontarians have seen firsthand that privatizing hydro generation and deregulation in the late 90s and in order of thousands has shot our bills through the roof, and even Liberals said that privatizing the industrial sector was a complete disaster. Now the Premier is planning to privatize even more hydro assets than Ontarians own. Does the Premier really believe that a fire cell today is the solution to a problem created by a fire cell 15 years ago and compounded by 10 years of liberal incompetence? Mr. Speaker, we're over again. Let me be clear. I have said and we have said clearly that we are going to invest in transit and transportation infrastructure across this province. That is what review the assets that are owned by the people of Ontario. We ran on that plan, Mr. Speaker, and they ran on that plan. They ran on the same assumptions that we ran on, Mr. Speaker, back in that review. And now, Mr. Speaker, the third party has said we don't think there should be any change in the LCBO or in the beer store, Mr. Speaker. We don't think there should be any change in Hydro-1. Basically what they're saying is, Mr. Speaker, we don't think you should invest in transit because we don't think anything should ever change. Mr. Speaker, please. Thank you. New question, a member from Essence. Mr. Speaker, back to the Premier. Last year, right around this time, the Premier was insisting that she'd introduced the most progressive budget since the dawn of time. But a year later, enthusiasm, a year later schools are being cut, nurses are being fired, childcare centers are being closed and the Liberals are beating the drum of privatization. All the while, she's opening loo pools for the wealthiest corporations in the province, while everyone else picks up the tab for more than a decade of liberal waste and corruption. Premier, can we expect a re-run of last year with claims of a progressive budget while we experience what Bloomberg called the biggest cuts since Harris? Mr. Speaker, there are 24,000 more nurses in Ontario practicing than there were when we came in. This member ran on, Mr. Speaker, and the election was... I would caution the member to not hold anything up. Thank you. Carry on. That is just the document that the third party ran on. And they ran on it, Mr. Speaker, using exactly the same financial and fiscal assumptions that we made, except that they said they were going to find $600 million more, Mr. Speaker. They said we will balance Ontario's books by 2017-18 with significantly more fiscal space than the Liberal Plan. That was their plan, Mr. Speaker, to find $600 million more in addition to everything that we were doing, including reviewing assets, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, the Premier can claim that she has another progressive plan, but here are the facts. Education, half a billion in cuts. Healthcare, nurses being fired across the province. Childcare, 18 centres facing cuts and parents losing childcare spaces. Public services, fire sale. Who's getting help? The wealthiest companies in Ontario are getting brand-new HST handouts while families have to deal with cut after cut, all because of a more of a decade of liberal waste and corruption and scandal. Can we expect more of the same in this budget? Well, Mr. Speaker, what you can expect is exactly that we will continue to invest in healthcare. We will continue to invest in education. In fact, those budgets are going up this year, Mr. Speaker. They're not going down. So the member opposite simply will have to read the budget when it comes out and understand that the investments that we are making in home care, in our children's education, in our young people's job opportunities, Mr. Speaker, those are the things that will set us up for the future, including, Mr. Speaker, the investments in transit and transportation infrastructure that they apparently do not think that we should be making. All of that will be part of our budget, Mr. Speaker. Final supplementary. Thank you, Speaker. Ontario can't cut its way to prosperity. But instead of laying the groundwork for growth, the Premier is cutting education. She's firing nurses. She's cutting childcare, so moms and dads can't afford to go to work. She's even planning to privatize hydro assets that Mike Harris and Ernie Eves took off the job. The Premier is spinning from the left, governing from the right, and... As I was asking her to come to order, she continued speaking. The Minister of Education come to order. Finish your question, please. Premier, you're spinning from the left, governing from the right, and destroying the middle class. Will this budget mean more cuts, more corporate giveaways, and more liberal corruption, or will the Premier commit to stopping her cuts and finally putting people first? It is about putting people first. It's about making the investments that people need. It's about making investments in transit that will help people to get home to their kids and get to work in a better time. Our plan is about making the investments in the roads and bridges, in counties and municipalities around this province that are needed by those municipalities in order to draw business. Our plan is about making sure that young people have the opportunity to have work experience so that they can get into the jobs and allow them to have that lifestyle in the future, Mr. Speaker, that will allow them to look after their families. That's what our plan is about. And that is, in fact, Mr. Speaker, the budget that we ran on, it's the budget that we introduced last year, Mr. Speaker, and this year's budget twice, which is last year's budget twice. This year's budget, Mr. Speaker, will be an exact extension of that plan. Thank you, Speaker. I have a question to the Minister of Transportation. Minister, how long does it take your ministry to review and respond to medical suspension of a driver's license? Good question, Mr. President. Why? Thanks very much, Mr. Speaker. I do thank the member from Kitchener Conestoga for that question. Delighted to hear a question coming from a member of an outside of the house on an issue that I know is important, not only to that member, but of course to many members. This is something that comes up all the time, Speaker, in many constituency offices, including my own. That member would have heard me say on multiple occasions, I say it all the time, Speaker. The road and highway safety is perhaps my most important responsibility as Minister of Transportation. And in responses or answers to media last week, I talked a lot about that when this kind of question came up. What I know is that our ministry of transportation is currently beating or exceeding our public service guarantee with respect to evaluating medical data related to driver's license suspensions in a responsible amount of time so that drivers are back on the road as soon as possible while ensuring that ultimately our roads remain safe. Minister, for you to say your ministry is exceeding guarantees for MTO medical evaluations confirms you have absolutely no idea what's going on in your own industry. Tell us your cases and take action within 30 business days. The truth is for many, it's taking double that time or more. Every MPP here can tell you about the frustrated motorists putting lives and livelihoods on hold while waiting medical review. It's great that substitute teacher David Wallace got his license back after going to global news last week but what about the tens of thousands of others still waiting? Do they all have to go on Focus Ontario to get you to act? Minister Wallace finally has his license, thank you for that. Thousands more are waiting for an answer. Will you commit to hard deadlines today and fix this broken system? Thank you, Minister. Thanks very much, Speaker. The member opposite knows this is a very important question and something the ministry of transportation takes very, very seriously, Speaker. He mentioned in his second question that we do have a 30-day business day window for which we work hard to respond to, Speaker. What the member didn't say and he knows full well that I can't respond to specific anecdotal circumstances or cases that he may bring forward here in the legislature, Speaker. But it's important for us to recognize that from time to time there's a requirement for additional documentation, for additional information from doctors to make sure that we get it right. There are literally thousands and thousands of individuals who have to go through this process on an annual basis and I'm pretty sure that that member and people living in his community wouldn't want the ministry of transportation to get it wrong because I know that they share our desire to make sure that our roads and highways remain as safe as they are. Thank you very much, Speaker. Thank you. Your question, the member from Tenants, James May. My question is to the Premier. Premier has been three and a half months since both Pat Sabera and Jerry Laughy were caught on tape offering with the OPP and Elections Ontario was called a bribe to Andrew Olivier to get him not... Order. You finally after a month of stalling that you finally found time to meet with the Ontario Provincial Police and that time is a month from now. I'm not so sure anybody else in Ontario would be able to say hold off OPP for two months but you get the chance to do that but my question is this what has the Premier done to make sure to turn over all of the emails and documents to the OPP as part of this investigation? Have you given them all your emails and all your correspondence dealing with the Olivier situation? Mr. Speaker I'm going to repeat what I said last week about the timing of the interview and I will also repeat what I've said in this house many times which is that the entire investigation is taking place outside of the legislature, not in this legislature but the timing of my interview has been determined by the OPP and my legal council they've been working to find a mutually convenient date they've also agreed that because there's an ongoing investigation the dates and times of interviews will not be made public Mr. Speaker and this is a normal protocol in the context of an ongoing investigation. The OPP and my council have agreed on a date from my interview to be conducted before the end of April and as I've said my office and I will continue to cooperate fully with the OPP in that investigation is taking place outside of this house. My supplementary is back to the Premier what's not ordinary is that the OPP talks at the door of any citizen in this province and the OPP says I want to meet with you in part of an investigation to a crime guess what you don't get to put it off for a month you don't get to say it's going to happen next month you do it right away but this Premier has decided for some reason or other she should be treated differently we saw what happened to the OPP those particular officers when they became subject to an investigation themselves decided to step aside that you as the Premier feel that you're so above the law that you can push off for two months meeting with the OPP and somebody who broke the law is able to keep their jobs in the name of Mr. Laid and Mrs. Sabara Mr. Speaker I really nothing could be farther from the truth in terms of my cooperation with the OPP so I've been very clear that we've been working closely with the OPP and in terms of in terms of in this house calling people criminals I think it's beyond the pale Mr. Speaker I don't think it should happen and I think that the member opposite should withdraw what he said but that is my opinion I have been very clear I'm working with the authorities and will continue to do so Mr. Speaker Thank you Member from Prince Edward Hastings will come to order new question Member from Cambridge Thank you Speaker my question is to the Minister of Finance Minister there's been several media reports that the Ontario Government will be allowing the sale of beer in grocery stores in my own riding of Cambridge not only have I had some constituents contact my office about these reports but it's been the talk at hockey games at restaurants and neighbourhood get-togethers it's no secret that the people of Ontario have been asking for more choice and convenience when purchasing alcohol in my riding of Cambridge we have a thriving local craft brewer in Grand River Brewing many of my constituents have told me that they are hopeful that local craft beers such as these will become more widely available Speaker through you to the Minister are these reports true and can the Minister confirm that this is in the plans for the 2015 budget Thank you Minister of Finance Thank you Mr. Speaker I do appreciate the question from the Member from Cambridge first of all let's be clear it's premature at this point to suggest any decisions have been made about alcohol distribution in Ontario those discussions will be revealed in the 2015 budget the distribution and selling of alcohol responsibly is a public trust that this government takes seriously we've been open about people's concerns around fairness of the beer store and the opportunity to improve customer convenience by ensuring there's a wide range of brands including craft brew in so doing the advisory council will be guided by three principles the first is that the public interest must remain paramount and protected the second is that any discussions maximizing value to Ontario and finally the most important that the process remains transparent professional and independently validated Thank you Mr. Speaker Thank you and thank you Minister I know the people of Ontario will be waiting eagerly for the 2015 budget however I do have another question for the Minister there's been a lot of talk about the Premier's advisory council on government assets led by Mr. Ed Clark some of that talk has been in the form of fear mongering by those who would for their own benefit seek to stop the government from maximizing the full value of the assets it owns to the benefit of people of Ontario Speaker through you can the Minister of Finance tell us more about their council and their work Thank you Thank you Mr. Speaker again I appreciate the question as mentioned earlier the Premier has asked Mr. Clark in the advisory council to ensure that the work be guided by those three important principles that I just mentioned and now that we've discussed the how let's discuss the why the review of the assets are important the value is to unlock those assets by optimizing their value and to use them afterwards investing them in key infrastructure priorities that way improving people's quality of life and maximizing opportunities for the people of Ontario as well as becoming more competitive every dollar realized from we'll go into the Trillium Trust and then be reinvested in important infrastructure needs this will include building highways bridges and public transit this has always been and will continue to be about maximizing value of our assets your assets in the end and reinvesting it in a way that benefits the people of Ontario Thank you Mr. Speaker Thank you Mr. Speaker My question is from the Minister of Energy Ombudsman Andre Moran has received over 10,000 complaints about Hydro One the most ever received regarding any one organization if the skyrocketing cost of Hydro wasn't already tough for customers to swallow it has now been a year since the investigation in billing practices at Hydro One was launched yet customers are still dealing with erratic overbilling and empty threats to shut off power in the coldest months Minister since you didn't apologize to the people of Ontario for wasting 2 billion on smart mayors will you take the high road today and apologize for the predatory actions of Hydro One Mr. Speaker the member refers to the Ombudsman's investigation with respect to Hydro One and he has been doing a very comprehensive investigation Mr. Speaker in the course of that he's had about 10,000 complaints he's referred 3400 of them Mr. Speaker to Hydro One for resolution of those that the Ombudsman has referred for resolution 99% of those have been met Mr. Speaker with respect to the disconnections I'll deal with that in supplementary Mr. Speaker Thank you supplementary well Mr. Speaker I see first hand the struggle of my constituents the face trying to pay their Hydro Bills and deal with Hydro One I have a work member in my constituency office solely deals with helping residents of Halliburton Court the Lakes Brock with their Hydro One complaints Mr. That's almost 40 hours a week cleaning up your mess the Ombudsman said his upcoming report on Hydro billing won't come with a bouquet of flowers so Mr. will it come with your walking papers or is Hydro too complex for the Ombudsman too oh Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker, there are a significant number of people in our community who have been having trouble with their hydro bills. We have come through the two worst winters in recent history, Mr. Speaker. Hydro One has a policy of not disconnecting, Mr. Speaker, during the winter months, and they have been following it. There has been some controversy over a particular letter that is being sent to people who are in a position where they could be cut off, Mr. Speaker, and Hydro One and the embudsmen are working together to agree on a letter that would be more acceptable to the embudsman. They're working cooperatively, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. My question is for the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. The Prime Minister of Health said they would not cut frontline care, that they would not cut nursing position. Right now, hospital is laying off nurses almost every single day. Last week alone, we learned that Sudbury will lose 42 nurses. Week before, Children's Hospital of Ottawa is cutting 50 registered nurses, and in Cambridge, it's 22 registered nurses. We all know, Mr. Speaker, that it is patients who will pay for the price of these nursing cuts. Minister, how many more nurses will lose their job, and how many patients will suffer before the Liberals stop this painful cut to our frontline nurses? Good question. Thank you. Minister of Health, Long-Term Care. Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. The member opposite, she is a fellow healthcare professional. I know she understands that hospitals and other facilities, as they evolve and change and add and subtract programs to better serve their constituents or their catchment area, often that requires a change in the complexion of health service providers that are there. Sometimes individuals are let go or laid off, others are hired, there's an ebb and flow that takes place regularly, and she knows this well, being a healthcare practitioner. But the reality is, in the last decade, roughly, since 2003, there are more nurses working in this province. There are 24,000 more nurses working in this province. In fact, we added 3,500 nurses in 2013, and we continue to add nurses. And, in fact, importantly, the percentage of those nurses that are working full-time has gone up significantly over the past decade as well. So we're making improvements. I understand that she wants to try to score some political points, but she should understand being a healthcare worker what the reality is. Thank you, Mr. Supplementary. Thank you, Speaker. Well, it is the patients across this entire province that pay the price for the liberal cuts to front-line care, cuts that are told during the last election that would not happen. But it is happening, Speaker, cutting 50 nurses at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario will leave sick kids with less care. 75 positions are being eliminated in North Bay Hospital. In Sarnia, it's 39 nurses that are being cut, and nearly 40 positions will be lost in Timmins. Every family understands that fewer nurses means less care for the people who need it. So what will it take for the Minister of Health to get the message that, and stop laying off front-line nurses? Thank you. Minister. Again, my fellow healthcare professional does understand, and I know she does, that these changes that take place in our hospitals, they don't necessarily or always mean layoffs. And programs change, and programs are added. I was at CHEO, actually, the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario just a couple of weeks ago with a number of my colleagues, actually, announcing a new program there for pediatric chronic pain management. I know we opened a similar program just a couple of weeks ago in London as well and two here in Toronto. And we're adding staff to those programs as those new programs continue to evolve and expand. So the, and in fact, on Health Sciences North, the member opposite, I know she knows that Health Sciences North has not cut nurses. They have not cut nurses in Health Sciences North. So I understand her perspective, but the reality, I think if we need to look at any number, we need to look at the complement of nurses working in this province, 24,000 more working in the last decade than were before. Thank you. Question? The member from Subgroup? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And my question is for the Minister of Transportation. I was in Gogama recently where we all saw that volatile train derailment that took place. According to the Railway Association of Canada, oil shipments moved from 500 car loads in 2009 to 160,000 car loads in 2013 alone. The movement of oil by rail continues to increase and this means that rail safety will continue to be a growing issue for our province. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister of Transportation please provide members of this house with an update on what our government is doing in response to the Gogama derailment? Thank you. Minister of Transportation. Thank you very much, Speaker. And I want to thank the member from Sudbury for a very important question on what I know is a very serious topic. I actually had the opportunity as well, Speaker, to see the derailment site myself when I visited the community of Gogama a number of days ago. Speaker, I want to emphasize the fact that the safety of Ontario communities is our government's top priority. That's why I indicated some time ago that I intended to contact and in fact have contacted Federal Transport Minister Lisa Rait as well as representatives from CN about Saturday's derailment. Mr. Speaker, we are not the only province who is taking this issue seriously. I've spoken directly with my Quebec counterpart, Transport Minister Robert Poetit. Minister Poetit and I agree that the federal government needs to do more to ensure that another derailment incident does not happen in the future. That's why we wrote a joint letter to Minister Rait to express our many concerns regarding the movement of dangerous goods by rail in Ontario and Quebec but also across the country. And in light of the recent accident, Speaker, we know that more needs to be done to better protect our communities. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the Minister for providing an update to this house on the action we're taking in response to the Gogama derailment. And I'm very pleased to hear, Mr. Speaker, that our government is working cooperatively with the Quebec government on this important issue. Yes. While members of this house were relieved to know that no one was injured by that Saturday's accident, the effects of the derailment and the fear felt by those living in nearby communities remains very real. And we also know that we're not the only province that has felt effects of an accident like, excuse me, like this. Quebec has also experienced the lack-migantic disaster which claimed the lives of 47 innocent people. Both our government and that of Quebec have chosen to work together to urge the federal government to ensure that disasters like this can never happen again. So Mr. Speaker, can the Minister please tell members of this house what is contained in the joint letter that was sent to the Federal Transport Minister, Lisa Raitt. Thank you, Minister. Thank you again, Speaker, to the member for asking that important question. As I mentioned, Minister Poetit and I sent a joint letter to Minister Raitt asking the federal government to take stronger action with respect to addressing this issue. We know that the Transportation Safety Board of Canada has warned that the existing standard for all new tank cars built for the transportation of flammable liquids is not sufficient. In a recent Transportation Safety Board review, a Transport Canada's implementation of recommendations following the lack-migantic disaster found that Transport Canada had not yet put in place an effective oversight regime. That's why our letter urges Transport Canada to work closely with the Transportation Safety Board, as well as U.S. regulatory authorities to better understand the cause of these accidents. We've also asked that the federal government sit down with Minister Poetit and myself to provide us with an update on the actions that Transport Canada is taking to address the surgeon's situation, including an update on the implementation of the recommendations made in the Transportation Safety Board's report on the lack-migantic disaster. It is our hope, Speaker, that the federal government will work cooperatively with us. Thank you. Your question? The number is from Prince Edward Hastings. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the minister responsible for the Pan Am Games. Minister, in mid-February you announced that roughly a quarter of the 1.2 million tickets you've targeted to sell for the games of the soul. Despite being over 900,000 tickets short, with just over three months to go, you've stopped ticket sales from March 9th to mid-April. The reason to sell tickets for the Parapan Games. I have a hard time believing that you'll sell another 900,000 total tickets when you won't let people buy them. Now I know technology is near Forte over there, right? Given the eHealth scandal and the SAMS scandal that's going on. But minister, it's a simple question. Why can't you sell tickets to the Pan Am Games and the Parapan Games at the same time? Hey, hey! Mr. President, what is far responsible for the Pan Am Games? Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I'd like to thank the member for this question. We've been able to sell 350,000 tickets for the Pan Am Games so far. And we're very... Mr. Speaker, the reason why we stopped selling the Pan Am tickets to introduce the selling during a short period for the Parapan Am tickets is to make sure it gets the right type of attention the Parapan Am Games deserve. And you know, Mr. Speaker, this is the first time in the history of the Pan Am, Parapan Am Games that we have a live broadcast for the Paracomponent that has spoke throughout the entire duration of the games. This is about making sure the first time that we have medals with braille on them, Mr. Speaker. We've built infrastructure that is the most accessible in the country, if not the world. But we are so proud of the Paracomponent of these games and we need to give it the right type of attention they deserve. Do you see that, please? Thank you, supplementary. That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard, Mr. Speaker. All you have to do is run two separate computer systems. Listen, guys, I want to... Order, please. Order, please. Thank you. Please finish. It's ridiculous. Minister, I want to draw your attention to a Price Waterhouse Cooper's report prepared for your ministry back in 2009. That report ranks the likelihood of certain problems occurring with the Pan Am Games. Guess what has the highest probability of occurring? A shortfall in ticket sales, it said. You've known since 2009 that you'll fall short of your nearly $34 million in projected ticket revenue, and yet you've still closed ticket sales for over a month to the Pan Am Games. Minister, I just want to know will Ontario taxpayers be forced to pick up the tab for your inability to plan games and to sell the tickets for the games? Sounds like Sam's. Thank you, minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. You know, 350,000 tickets. You know, the last time I checked, that's a pretty large number. But in addition to those tickets, Mr. Speaker, this is the first time in history that we've been able to... any sporting events has been able to attract 60,000 people who signed up to volunteer for these games. 60,000 people. We're very proud of the record on this side of the house. And Mr. Speaker, we are very confident with ticket sales, and we're very confident with these games. They're going to be the best games that Canada has ever put on. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No question. Member from Toronto, Danforth. Thank you, Speaker. My question to the Minister of Education. Schools are at the heart of our communities, but this liberal government wants to cut education funding and shut down schools across this province. Last fall, the new Democrats uncovered the liberal's plan to cut $500 million from our schools. Now we know that 48 schools in Toronto alone are facing closure. This unprecedented wave of school closures will make life harder for families by selling off green space and closing childcare spots across the city. How can the Minister defend her plan to shut down schools and ring public funding out of the classrooms at the expense of our students? Thank you, Minister of Education. Yes, thank you very much, Speaker. And I really do need to talk about the premise of your question because the idea that we have cut funding to public education is quite frankly preposterous. We have, in fact, increased funding of schools by 56.5% since 2000. That's an increase of 56.5% while the enrollment has been declining. And the per pupil funding has gone up. It's gone up by over $4,000 per pupil for each and every piece. The whole idea that we're out there cutting funding is absolutely preposterous. And this is true of childcare funding. Childcare funding has also gone up as have been done in childcare space. Thank you. Supplementary. Speaker, the simple reality is that the Minister has issued discussion documents telling school boards to be prepared for cuts to one and a half to 2%. $500 million in cuts. And the Minister this morning did not use the normal argument that we're funding empty seats in our schools. A key part of her argument, but the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives actually did the math. They called the Ministry's numbers on the empty schools a bogus number. Speaker, that means that the Liberals are defending their school closure plans by using bad math and forcing Toronto families to pay the price. When will the Minister show parents the respect they deserve and stop using bogus numbers to justify deep liberal cuts for children's schools? Minister. Actually, it was interesting to see what Margaret Wilson had to say about this whole issue because Margaret Wilson looked at it and she said, yes, there are a lot of schools in Toronto in which there is a new space. We had examples of, you know, 70 kids in a school that was built for 500, 300 kids in a school that were built for 1,000. And we actually believe, Speaker, that what we need to do is concentrate on funding good programs for children who are there. And of course, TDSB and many other boards, but TDSB in particular, has identified that it has a backlog of renewal. Why does it have a backlog of renewal? Because it's spending all its money on trying to maintain space that isn't required. We want them to focus on maintaining the space that is required and on providing programs for kids who are there. Thank you. Any questions? Remember from Trinity Spadina. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And my question is also to the Minister of Education. I appreciate the snob tune to stand up in this house and ask the question that truly concerns the many constituents in my writing, especially the students, educators and parents like me, and it's about the Toronto District School Board. The TDSB is the largest and most diverse school board in Canada was approximately 246,000 students attending nearly 600 schools. Public confidence at TDSB is critical to ensuring public confidence across the entire education system. I know constituents in my writing and across the city are concerned about the recent events taking place at the board. Minister, can you please tell the House how our government is handling these issues at TDSB? Thank you. Thank you, Minister. Thank you, Speaker. And the members correct that public confidence in our school systems is absolutely critical. And given some of the problems last November, I asked Margaret Wilson to have a look at the operational issues at the Toronto District School Board. Her observations were very troubling and confirmed the need for our government to take action, which is why I directed the TDSB to comply with 13 directions which reflected Margaret's recommendations. And I was encouraged to see that TDSB has made some progress on a number of those directions. Clearly it's ignited a discussion around community hubs, the role of trustees, a number of issues. But one of Margaret's recommendations was to appoint a panel to actually consult with the community and to make recommendations about more effective governments. And that's why last week I announced the appointment of the panel, which Margaret... Thank you. And thank the minister for her answer. I know constituency in my writing will be pleased to hear that our government has taken action to ensure governance issues at TDSB did not become impediment to students achieving our well-being. I know our government's top priority is the well-being of our students and ensure that our students continue to achieve excellence. I am also encouraged to hear the progress that's been made by TDSB on a number of directions. You mentioned that seven-member expert panel will conduct public consultations within the local TDSB community. Minister, could you please tell this House some more information about the committee of advisors and what would they be looking into? Thank you, minister. Yes, thank you very much. The seven-member panel will be led by Barbara Hall, who of course is just stepping down as Ontario's Human Rights Commissioner. She's also got a lot of experience as a lawyer, municipal politician and a strong record of the ability to bring diverse groups together to solve problems. The panel will be consulting with the TDSB community and make recommendations on how to improve the governance structure at TDSB. The panel will be looking for ways to create a supportive and inclusive culture at the board that will continue to support the success and well-being of our students and to address the culture of fear which Margaret identified. The panel will be leading 15 to 20 public consultations. Answer. But the panel will also consult with trustees, senior staff, principals and union representatives across the TDSB. Thank you. And will be reporting in the summer of 2000. Thank you. Good question. Thank you, speaker. My question is to the minister of health and long-term care. Minister, under the imposed contract with doctors in Ontario, there's a lack of clarity of where in rural Ontario doctors will be allowed to practice in particular the use of your term high needs area. In fact, your minister has provided little detail of the definition of a high needs area. Minister, throughout rural Ontario many communities have a shortage of doctors which you have ignored. Can you please provide me with your definition of a high needs area and what communities will fall under this definition? Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I hope in the supplement in the member opposite's question he'll be a little more specific because I would hope he knows that doctors are entitled to practice wherever they want in this province. So it's not a matter of restricting their ability to practice in the north, for example, or southwestern Ontario or here in Toronto. But if what he's in fact referring to is a specific category of those family doctors that choose to practice in family health teams and I will only be able to determine this based on the supplemental. But we are proposing, we are making some modest changes as well so that we can focus physicians in that important investment or family health teams in those parts of the province which need them the most. In the north, for example, in other parts in the under-serviced areas of the provinces in rural Ontario we have about 60 family health teams. We need more. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The minister does know the fact that the majority of graduates and doctors are in family health teams so to go off on that tangent is pure humbug. Minister, due to the imposed contract with the current doctors new graduates are going to leave this practice. In addition, medical students are going to leave this practice. With an aging population and retiring many family doctors the need for family physicians is only going to grow. Can you please provide the legislature with your estimate as to how many fewer family physicians will be practicing this province as a result of your governments imposed contracts? Well, the answer to that question is that there will be more family physicians and more physicians and specialists practicing in this province. There will be more doctors practicing in Ontario as a result of our investments and our family doctors have grown by 20% more in that decade our specialists have increased by 26%. So we've made significant investments to continue to attract doctors but we also need to make sure that and I think the member opposite would agree that we deploy those physicians and we provide incentives to those places that really do need a family doctor or need that specialist to serve them. Despite the fact that now 93% of Ontario has access to a primary health care provider that's not enough we need to continue to make those investments but we also need to make sure that those rural parts of Ontario including the north as I mentioned with family health teams we have to make sure that we provide the level of services that those parts of the province deserve. Thank you. Good question. Thank you Mr. Speaker my question is for the Minister of Environment and Climate Change 7 is seeing trail train derail dozens of cars spill their oil and caught fire just outside of beautiful go gamma the effect on the community and the environment has been severe and devastating people throughout Ontario want their government to send businesses who deals with transporting dangerous good to other community a very clear message is the Minister ready to use his own power to send that clear message to those businesses that they must operate safely or not at all that they are responsible for every penny needed to clean up the environment now and into the future Thank you Thank you Mr. Speaker I'm very glad the members asked the question it's disappointing it's taken so many weeks to ask the question on an issue that is now that old as you know briefings were given to members opposite and that the full weight of our very considerable authority is being applied in this situation staff were on the ground the first day water, air monitoring, soil monitoring mediation CN is picking up all of the costs and providing capacity investments in those that you were given we are now reviewing our legal options we are also working with Quebec and with both the Quebec and Ontario ministers of transportation and we presented a common front to the federal government to increase their standards and their practices to avoid these from happening in the future Thank you we know that the seeing trail derailment in Spill has changed Gogama forever millions of families from Gogama and from the Metagome First Nation and they are really worried they are worried about what their future holds especially if their livelihood depends on the natural resources will the minister use the power that he has under the environment protection act to assist the people of Gogama and Metagome First Nation in establishing claims against CN and the company who owns the crude oil Thank you Thank you Mr. Speaker I think the member and her colleagues opposite note from briefings that they have received that that entire process is already underway and we have specific legal authorities as a province which we are exercising to the maximum of the law Mr. Speaker we are also asking the federal government to do that and this includes people in the tourism in phishing these are very important Mr. Speaker I am very concerned that if this accident happened two kilometers further down the track it would have happened in the community of Gogama and we could have faced another like magantic this government and past ministers of transportation in the environment have raised this for years with the federal government jointly with our colleagues in Quebec we have failed to see any action Mr. Speaker we have had four derailments in northern Ontario we've had lack magantic we had Mount Carbon in West Virginia which was a horrible tragedy rail standards and safe transportation of dangerous goods have been a priority for this government it's about time that was a priority for the federal government Mr. Speaker Thank you Well thank you Mr. Speaker and my question is also to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change now Mr. Speaker I too am delighted to hear so many of the members opposite asking questions that matter to their constituents and there are matters that are important to this House and in that vein Mr. Speaker as the Parliamentary Assistant to the Agriculture Minister of Rural Affairs I would like to ask a question about Owensound Sun-Times who had an article recently about an issue that concerned that community and the city of Owensound would like this government to help them pay for some of the increased costs they are facing due to broken water mains now we in Beaches East York face the same concern more pipes were frozen in Beaches this winter than any other part of the city of Toronto it goes on to say Mr. Speaker that the Bruce Curry, Owensound Progressive Conservative Member plans to speak to the Liberal Minister Glenn-Marie as soon as the legislature resumes today he hasn't asked that question so I will so Mr. Speaker I'd like to be the Speaker I am not impressed with anyone that puts assignment to any other member in this House it's not appropriate and it won't be done Minister Mr. Speaker yes this is a very critical issue we are facing unprecedented levels of impact on municipal infrastructure we look at Burlington Burlington one of our newest suburban communities now has a storm water system that I know the Minister of Infrastructure would tell you is at capacity and needs major reinvestment because we are now experiencing one in a hundred year flood events almost every second year now Mr. Speaker Bancroft, communities like Bancroft are facing flood events they've never experienced before seeing that in Owensound which is why this government has put this issue forward we have had weeks Mr. Speaker while these kinds of communities whether it's Bancroft or whether it's Owensound of members opposite claiming we're concerned about this while we've had radio silence in this House I'm very glad the member for beaches East York is raising these issues because they are very critical and I'm sure my colleague the member for municipal fairs and housing Mr. Speaker would like to talk about this apologies to the House that was not my intention to make assignment I would like however to get a more specific response to the issues in Owensound Mr. Speaker Mayor Ian Bode and his council would like the provincial assistance to cover between $500,000 and a million dollars in additional costs associated with these frozen water pipes Mr. Speaker through you to the Minister will our government help the municipality of Owensound when it comes to covering off these costs Thank you Thank you the Minister of Ministers Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Thanks very much Mr. Speaker I'd like to thank the member from beaches East York for taking the opportunity to raise this issue Terrific matter We've had a particularly cold winter and I'm aware of concerns about frozen pipes and water main breaks and some municipalities across the province Although the winter was severe our cities and towns have a responsibility to plan and manage their infrastructure and assets responsibly Speaker I remain committed to touring the province and hearing from as many municipal councils as possible In fact this afternoon I'll be visiting with my 115th Mayor and council when I head up to Grey Highlands in order to listen to their concerns and bring back bring those concerns back to my colleagues here in government Point of order from the member from South Thank you Mr. Speaker I'd like to suggest that I'm not satisfied with that answer When I stand you sit I'm going to leave this with all of you This was not a race to the top and the righteous indignation of everyone in this house takes place when you don't race to the top Member from Ottawa South Mr. Speaker I was remiss this morning when I introduced Page Joe Fast who's in the gallery today Speaker I should have said allegedly broke the law in my question The member is corrected anytime that any member wants to correct their record they can do so there are no deferred votes this house stands recess until one p.m. this afternoon