 It's therefore time for Question Period, the leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition. Thank you and good morning, Speaker. My question is for the Premier. The newest liberal billion-dollar scandal is a real doozy, this time over at the Independent Electricity System Operator. The Auditor General says the IESO's quote, annual deficit would be understated by $1.3 billion due to their accounting shell game. But worse, the auditor is being blocked from completing her investigation. The Energy Minister says they've been quote, forthright and fully responsive, but the auditor says quote, they stalled on giving us information and quote, wouldn't sign the forms confirming that they've given us all the information. The auditor then asked, when it came down to the crux of it, why can't you sign a document that says you gave us all the information? Speaker, it's no wonder that people of Ontario don't trust this government. Just what information does the Premier not want us to have? Minister of Energy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Once again, I'm pleased to rise and talk about the great work that's being done at the IESO. And in relation to the question, Mr. Speaker, the system operator, the IESO, has assured my ministry, Mr. Speaker, that they have made every effort to be forthright and fully responsive to the Auditor General's request for information. For example, Mr. Speaker, they made workspaces for the AG staff in the IESO headquarters, making sure that these accommodations to extend the duration of the Auditor General's staff on the premises from the initial two weeks to seven weeks, Mr. Speaker. And then during this time, they received and responded to over 200 information requests from the AG staff. They accommodated every meeting request. 40 meetings took place, Mr. Speaker, between the IESO and the AG. They also accommodated their meetings, their request to meet with the Board and the Audit Committee. They'll continue to work with the IESO just like our government does, Mr. Speaker. Supplementary. Thank you back to the Premier. Well, despite what the Energy Minister says, the obstruction by IESO has gone to extreme lengths, including holding secret meetings. They held a board meeting to approve their statement, but they didn't tell the Auditor or her staff. So contrary to what the Minister says, the AG said, quote, when is the board meeting? We'd like to come. They did it without telling us. The Energy Minister says these concerns aren't anything new. But because this government can't be trusted to properly report their numbers, the Auditor has threatened an adverse opinion. That would be a first in Canada. We'd say, Minister, that is something new. Speaker, is the Premier going to come clean on this billion dollar scandal? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So once again, when it comes to the board meetings and when it comes to the Audit Committee, Mr. Speaker, the IESO accommodated every AG request on this, Mr. Speaker. They also made sure that their Audit and the Auditor General staff had direct access to the IESO staff, Mr. Speaker, to ask questions. And as I said before, Mr. Speaker, they made sure that they had workspaces for the AG staff. They accommodated from their request from two weeks to seven weeks, answered over 200 requests for information, made sure that over 40 meetings took place between the IESO and the AG staff, Mr. Speaker. We're going to continue to have the IESO work with the AG, just like they've been doing in the past, Mr. Speaker, because when it came to making sure that we brought forward real relief for families, the Fair Hydro Plan did that, Mr. Speaker, and that party on the other side, as usual, voted against it, Mr. Speaker. Final supplementary. Back to the Premier. The Auditor says this is all due to the government's, quote, bogus accounting on its hydro plan. The Energy Minister says this accounting is common in other jurisdictions, but the Auditor says most of his examples are in the U.S. and none use Canadian standards. So this government paid $600,000 to an outside auditor nearly seven times their normal fee just to defend this position. The Auditor General said, quote, it's ridiculous. They said they spent $230,000 just to answer the AG's questions. Not only is it ridiculous, Speaker, it's wrong. Speaker, how can families ever trust anything this government tells us again? Have you seen it? Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Jurisdictions right across North America use rate-regulated accounting. Alberta, New England, New York, Michigan, and Texas, and many entities right here in Canada, Mr. Speaker, including Ontario Power Generation, Toronto Hydro, Fortis, Hydro One, they use this type of accounting. And when it comes to trust, Mr. Speaker, they seem to trust the numbers that we have on this because they put it in their people's guarantee, Mr. Speaker. They made sure that right in the people's guarantee, the Conservatives included the Fair Hydro Plan in their platform magazine and now are standing there criticizing it, Mr. Speaker. Worst of all, when it came time, when it came time to provide real relief for Ontario families for a half a million small businesses and farms and low-income consumers, Mr. Speaker, they voted against it, Mr. Speaker. Time and time again, they demonstrate that they have no interest in helping the people of Ontario. As I've been doing for the last few weeks, we're now in warnings. New question? Remember from Prince Edward Hastings. Thank you, Speaker. My question is for the Premier this morning. The Auditor General found something else a little bit fishy about this audit. She said documents were given to them, quote, in a box of papers after we were basically finished the audit. In there was, quote, documentation around the fact that the assets of the IESO have been pledged as collateral and security against the Fair Hydro Trust. So what does that mean? According to the AG, it means that the generators fall behind the creditors for the Fair Hydro Plan Trust. The government is playing financial games with assets that they have no right to play with, Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, did the government try to play this shell game on the generators, just like they tried to play this shell game with the Auditor General's Office? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Once again, as I said before, we made a choice. The member from Niagara West Glenbrook is warned. Carry on. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We made a policy choice to ensure that we continue to have a clean and reliable and affordable system, an electricity system, Mr. Speaker, for ratepayers of today and ratepayers of tomorrow. And the Fair Hydro Plan keeps the cost of borrowing within the rate base, not the tax base, because, Mr. Speaker, that's the logical thing to do. And as I said before, electricity financing should remain within the electricity system. Officials from the Treasury Board, Finance, OPG, IESO of the Ontario Financing Authority, along with external advisers that included Ersten Young. Member from Renfrew, Nipissing, Pembroke is warned. You have a wrap-up sentence. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. KPMG and Deloitte, for example, all worked on the accounting relating to the Fair Hydro Plan. And, Speaker, they all benefited from this unfair Liberal Hydro Plan that they've cooked up over there. This is the body that won't stay buried. This unfair Liberal Hydro Plan, it keeps giving and giving this financial shell game that they're playing clearly worries this government. The Auditor General. Member from the topical north is warned. Finish, please. Speaker, the AG asked management and the board to disclose this in their financial statements, and they haven't done so. The AG added that Bruce Power would be concerned that the IESO pledged as collateral the incoming revenues they would receive from the local distribution companies. The generators fall behind the creditors at the bank now, basically in receiving their money. How far does this go? Quote from the AG. At this point, we know it's at least an over $1 billion adjustment from this accounting. That is one heck of an adjustment, Mr. Speaker. Did the government secretly mortgage a billion dollars of taxpayer money to finance this shell game? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Once again, what we've done has been open and transparent about the whole process when it comes to the Fair Hydro Plan, Mr. Speaker. Finish, please. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's Ontario families and small businesses that are now paying less by average, Mr. Speaker, on their bills than in any other jurisdiction, Mr. Speaker, and that is because of the Fair Hydro Plan that we brought forward. Families in cities like New York, Boston, San Francisco actually pay more than we do in Ontario, Mr. Speaker. When it comes to the Auditor General and the accounting dispute, Mr. Speaker, as I said before, the Office of the Provincial Controller. A member from Simcoe Gray is warned. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Office of the Provincial Controller ensured that this plan was in accordance with public sector accounting. And as I said, Treasury Board, Finance, OPG, the ISO, Ontario Financing Authority, along with all of the other external advisers agreed with this, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Final supplementary. Mr. Speaker, not all the school duggery here is at the billion-dollar level of scandal, Mr. Speaker. Just look at the missing million dollars in the AG's report that came out on the Fair Hydro Plan. During the accounting process, another missing million was found. Quote, if you don't need the money anymore, you pay back the security deposit. The AG found over $1 million that they couldn't figure out whom they owed the money to. They were never doing the proper reconciliations. A million dollars. Just like that. No one knows where it went. No one knows where it went. No one knows who received that million-dollar speaker. This level of secrecy over the mysterious missing million is astounding, even for this Kathleen Wynn government, Mr. Speaker. Folks want to know, Speaker, how many more millions of dollars are simply just missing or unaccounted for as a result of their... We'll remind the member and all members that you use titles or writings in this house. Minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Once again, when we're talking about regulated accounting, when we're talking about the work that's being done by the ISO, Mr. Speaker, all of this is done to the standards through the public sector accounting standards, Mr. Speaker. And, of course, this is used in many other jurisdictions. Alberta, New England, New York, Michigan, Texas. Toronto Hydro uses this, Mr. Speaker. Fortis Hydro 1 all use this type of accounting. And this, Mr. Speaker, is common practice in the electricity sector because that's where you keep the debt, Mr. Speaker. You keep it within the electricity sector. For us, Mr. Speaker, we're going to continue to work to make electricity reliable and affordable for everyone in this province. The Fair Hydro plan did just that, Mr. Speaker. And we'll continue to work for the people of Ontario. Thank you. New question. The leader of the third party. Thank you, Speaker. Speaker, my question is for the Premier. One-third of working people in Ontario don't have a dental plan. For people who work freelance or who work on contract, artists, people who work in the gig economy, that statistic is even worse. The Premier and her Liberal government have had 15 years to address this issue. Why didn't they? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And as I have said in this House a number of times, we're very glad that the NDP has come into the discussion of this issue because we have been working on this, Mr. Speaker. We understand that dental care is a gap in healthcare, Mr. Speaker. We understand that, which is exactly why we've expanded the Healthy Smiles program, Mr. Speaker. It provides free, preventative, routine and emergency dental services for children and youth. And it's helping more than 450,000 kids across important access, important dental services, Mr. Speaker. We know that there's more to be done. We recognize that, Mr. Speaker. And we know that whether it's pharmacare or whether it's dental care, that we need to be working to find solutions so that people who don't have those services can access them in an affordable way. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Two-thirds of Ontario seniors don't have a dental plan. Folks on social assistance have no minimum standard of dental coverage, either. Why didn't the Premier and her Liberal government ensure that families have access to the dental care they need in their 15 years in office? Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. Minister of Health, Long-Term Care. Well, thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And again, to reinforce what the Premier has just said, we have our expanded Healthy Smiles program. And I think it's really important to recognize that there is no limit to our funding for the Healthy Smiles program. And we do work with dentists to ensure that every single eligible child has the necessary services available. And we've started with children and youth as evidence that suggests that oral health programs are most prevalent. Of course, we're in those particular low-income families, and the children are the particularly vulnerable. And so, of course, through our thrown speech, and I know the anticipation is really rising for our budget tomorrow, I'm sure all members are eagerly anticipating that. We want to make sure that we make the appropriate investments so that more people without a drug or dental benefits plan will have access to this type of care. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Every three minutes, someone in Ontario goes to the emergency room or a physician, a family doctor, to get dental care. Parents are being forced to watch as their kids grow up with pain in their mouths. Notwithstanding what this minister has said, just the other week, the Medical Officer of Health in Hamilton was sounding the alarm bells, asking that city council to help provide more dental care for the children in our community. Their system has been failing kids for years, Speaker. No one in this prosperous province should go without the dental care that they need, least of all our children. Why does the Premier disagree? Minister? Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I'm really pleased that the third party has come to our way with their thinking on this very important area of health care. My ministry provides public health units with funding for over 200 dental clinics to ensure access to services. These include services in public health units, community health centres, portable clinics, mobile clinics like Dental Buses, and Aboriginal health access centres. But we recognise that there's more to do. Our government does provide dental benefits for individuals having income support under the Ontario Disability Support Program and under Ontario Works. Adults may also receive dental coverage when in need of emergency dental care or to help them get back on their feet and participate in employment assistance activities. We know these are crucial investments. We are going to continue to make them. I acknowledge that the Medical Officer of Health for Hamilton put out a very useful and interesting report and she also emphasised the need for people to understand the services that are in the community and that they can access. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. New question, the leader of the third party. Thank you, Speaker. My question is for the Premier. 4.5 million Ontarians don't have access to the dental care that they need because they can't afford it. In a province as wealthy as Ontario, this is absolutely unacceptable. But instead of showing Ontarians that she cares about these issues too, the Premier has focused her energy on other things like selling off Hydro-1 after she said she wouldn't and taking the money away from health care while lining the pockets of wealthy investors. Why did the Premier choose selling off Hydro-1 over making our health care system better? Thank you. Well, Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the leader of the third party bringing forward at this point a discussion on dental care. We have been concerned about this for some time, Mr. Speaker. We have been working on it, as the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care has said, to expand those services and we know that there is more to be done. Mr. Speaker, we also know that there are other investments that are needed in this province and one of them, Mr. Speaker, have been investments in infrastructure, whether that's roads, bridges, transit, Mr. Speaker, across the province, hospitals and schools, including in the Hamilton region, Mr. Speaker. We made an announcement this morning, Mr. Speaker, that will be fleshed out in our budget and it's interesting that there hasn't been much talk about childcare from the third party for some time, but we made an announcement about free preschool childcare. Mr. Speaker, please. Thank you. Supplementary. Speaker, 2.2 million Ontarians can't afford the medicine that their doctors prescribed. 2.2 million Ontarians can't afford to get their prescriptions filled. People literally cut their pills in half to make the bottle last longer. Many of these people are over the age of 24. Why is the Premier chosen to fund tax cuts to profitable corporations instead of a drug plan that covers everyone in Ontario, regardless of age? Well, Mr. Speaker, given that question, I'm sure that the leader of the third party is pleased that our plan is to expand free pharmacare to everyone over 65, Mr. Speaker, which will mean that 47% of people in this province will have access to free pharmacare. We understand that there needs to be a full program of pharmacare across the whole population, Mr. Speaker. We understand that. But what we have determined is necessary to make sure that the people who have free pharmacare, the OHIP Plus program for kids from their birth till their 25th birthday, that they have access to all of the drugs on the formulary, Mr. Speaker. The 4,400 prescription medications, as will seniors, Mr. Speaker, next year they will have the opportunity to have free pharmacare. We recognize that there's more to be done, but we believe that making sure that people have access to the full formulary means that they will be able to look after themselves better and their families. Mr. Speaker, thank you. Final supplementary. Decades of cuts by conservatives and liberals have meant that our hospitals are overcrowded and some people are falling through the cracks, Mr. Speaker. Governments can fill those cracks. We can end hallway medicine. We can make sure that everyone can go to the dentist. We can make sure that people can afford their prescription medications. The Premier is fond of saying that we all know someone who needs more care. Well, she's right, because for 15 years her and her liberals took that care away from Ontario families. Why does this Premier expect Ontarians to believe the desperate promises she's been making over the last week or so? When I came into this office as Premier in 2013, one of the first things we did was to tackle retirement security. And I think there's no more important aspect of a senior's life than being able to rely on a pension, Mr. Speaker, to know that there's going to be money coming in every month and to be able to rely on that. So, Mr. Speaker, my reason for being in politics is to make sure that people have the supports that they need to listen to people in this province, Mr. Speaker, and to build the province up so that... Premier. To build the province up, Mr. Speaker, so that we have the resources to put the supports in place for people to care for themselves and their families. That's what we've been doing, Mr. Speaker, and our budget will bring forward the next steps in that care. Thank you. Any questions or comments from the team? My question is to the Premier. We need to make life more affordable for families in Ontario. Under this Liberal government, costs have gone up and families haven't seen a real raise in over a decade. The Liberals too fast, too soon policies have cost people their jobs and led to hours being cut for many others. We can make real change, but real change that is affordable for the people of Ontario, particularly for young families. Mr. Speaker, will the Premier lower taxes for those in need and make life more affordable? Thank you. So, Mr. Speaker, there are two things in that question that I think we need to understand. First is that the member opposite does not believe that people who are working 40 hours a week at a minimum wage job should be able to feed themselves to their families. The member opposite believes that $15 an hour is too rich, Mr. Speaker, for people and that we should take that money back from people. We don't believe that, Mr. Speaker. The member opposite also believes that it is possible to have less money coming into the Treasury. She believes... Member from Haldeman, New York, focus on. Finish, please. She believes that cutting taxes and saying to people, you just fend for yourselves, you'll be okay. That that's the way that we should go forward. That is the opposite of what we believe, Mr. Speaker. People need more care and government needs to be a part of providing for people the things that they can't do about it. See you there, please. See you there, please. Thank you. Supplementary. Well, the Premier's been running around like Oprah giving everybody what they want with other people's money, and she's got a massive, massive deficit that's going to be coming, and we know it's going to be a substantial deficit because her government has boasted about this deficit. The Minister of Energy is warned. Someone else was really close. Carry on. But this Oprah style of management for the government is not going to work. What Ontario doesn't need is more liberal waste mismanagement and scandal. Instead of spending more for liberal insiders, we should be making life more affordable for everyone in the province of Ontario. Mr. Speaker, why does the Premier not care? Why is she comfortable in costing these people jobs? And why won't she lower taxes and make life more affordable? Premier. You know, Mr. Speaker, the children and their parents who were in the room this morning when we were talking about free pre-school childcare, they don't think of themselves as insiders to anyone. They think of themselves as people who need some support because they're making decisions about whether to have another child because they don't know whether they can afford childcare. And, you know, the Minister of Education and who is responsibility for childcare has been working on a plan for over a year, Mr. Speaker. She's listened to people across the province. And if you go through answered, Mr. Speaker, I think it would be pretty clear if you listen to the questions from the other side, questions about why isn't there more support for mental health, questions about why isn't there more support for hospitals, questions about why isn't there more support for my project in my riding coming from across the floor, Mr. Speaker. You know what? People in every corner of this province, whether they're represented by a conservative or an NDP or a liberal, are looking for support to do the things that they can't do by themselves. Remember from Lannark-Frontenac, Lenoxon-Addington has warned. New question. Remember from Toronto, Danforth. Thank you, Speaker. Speaker, my question to the Premier. Last May, the Financial Accountability Officer confirmed that the government is needlessly wasting $4 billion of hydro-rate-payer money on a complicated private financing scheme whose sole purpose is to conceal $40 billion worth of hydro debt off the government's books. Wow. The Auditor General has repeatedly warned that this scheme violates public sector accounting standards. But yesterday, the Premier stood up and defended the integrity of our $40 billion hydro-borrowing scheme. Wow. Saying that it had, quote, been approved, unquote, by private consultants, paid by the government. Since when do the government's private consultants approve the government's books and not the independent Auditor General? Mr. Energy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Once again, we're talking about a policy choice that we made to ensure that we have a clean, reliable and an affordable electricity system for ratepayers of today and ratepayers of tomorrow, Mr. Speaker. The Fair Hydro Plan keeps the cost of borrowing, Mr. Speaker, within the rate base, not on the tax base, because that is the logical thing to do, Mr. Speaker. Electricity financing should remain within the electricity system, not the tax base. And, Mr. Speaker, the Treasury Board, Finance, OPG, the System Operator, the Ontario Financing Authority, along with external advisors and world-leading, world-class accounting experts Ernst & Young, KPMG, and Deloitte worked on the accounting related to the Fair Hydro Plan. They, along, Mr. Speaker, with the Office of the Provincial Controller, ensured that this plan was in accordance with public sector accounting. And with this plan, Mr. Speaker, we reduced rates on average by 25% right across the province, Mr. Speaker. Supplementary. Thank you, Speaker. Again, to the Premier. Actually, I'm surprised they didn't have Arthur Anderson in on that deal. But anyway, the Auditor General pointed out that the IASO hired KPMG to design the $40 billion private financing scheme and then hired KPMG to audit the scheme. It was being paid to design. That's a huge conflict of interest. This makes this audit untrustworthy, even if we ignore KPMG Canada's recent record with accounting scams like the Isle of Man tax haven scandal. The Independent Auditor General is the only one who has no other interest than to ensure that the government's books are presented honestly. Will the Premier stop hiring private consultants who will report whatever she pays them to report and instead take the advice of the Independent Auditor General? Thank you, Minister. Mr. Speaker, the member opposite has just gone after a world-renowned accounting firm respected all across the globe. The member opposite also doesn't recognize and he should that in order for us to prepare and provide for reductions, reductions of rate payers for electricity rates to the tune of 25%, and in some cases over 40% that's also being done. We also had Ernst & Young and Deloitte. All of these firms have recognized that in other jurisdictions this form of accounting is permissible and it occurs in Canada as well, Mr. Speaker. We are doing exactly what the auditors, colleagues of the Auditor General have recommended we do. We have done so. Now if there's a dispute between accounts, I cannot resolve them. I only can do and our government is doing what the people of Ontario want, reductions in their rates and the betterment of our society. New question. Member from Beaches East York. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Education. After we inherited an education system that was under funded in total disrepair, our government has made it a top priority to invest in teachers, education workers and students and our publicly funded education system. Our focus is to support the people of Ontario, including nearly 2 million students and thousands of tireless educators. Ontario is an international leader in education. We are graduating students at a record pace. We're on a path to refresh the curriculum and core skills like math. We're building new schools and communities across Ontario and we're investing in school based mental health supports and supports for students with special needs. All the while, Speaker, while we are maintaining our commitment to equity by carrying out the first ever equity action plan in education to address systemic barriers. My question is to the Minister of Education. What are we delivering to work and help the students, school boards and educators in the province of Ontario? Minister of Education. Thank you to the member from Beaches East York for this important question, Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, our government is making historic investments in education and Ontario students consistently rank amongst the highest in national and international student achievement results in reading, math and science. In addition, the graduation rate is the highest it's ever been. Speaker, since 2003 we have added more than 40,000 education workers to our publicly funded education system. And now, following yesterday's grants for student needs announcement, we will be adding more 2,000 more. Yesterday, Speaker, I was joined by the Premier and the member at Kimberley Public School in Toronto to announce that next year the GSN will be increasing by $625 million to $24.5 billion for the first student funding to $12,300. Speaker, these investments in education are so important for our students. Well, thank you Speaker and thank you especially to the Minister of Education for not only her great work that she's doing in education, but the work that she does to support her constituents in Halton. Now, nearly $20 billion is a very significant investment in our publicly funded healthcare system. So we know that no government in the history of this province has invested more in expanding Ontario's publicly funded education system than our government. And I'm proud to be part of a government that cares and is committed to providing opportunity for the people of Ontario. What's clear from the official opposition's reports is that billions are planned in cuts and education is going to be on the chopping block. In fact, Speaker, cutting just $1 billion from our schools means that thousands of teachers, ECEs, education assistants will be fired. The education funding we've announced with grants for student needs yesterday in my riding of beaches in York and I appreciate the minister coming. It was very significant. Can the minister tell us how we're going to support these kids in special education needs? Thank you, Minister. Thank you Mr. Speaker and thanks again to the member for that important question. Mr. Speaker, this $24.5 billion investment will mean so much for students, staff and educators. We're providing enveloped permanent funding of $300 million over three years to support students with special needs. This funding will wipe out special education assessment backlogs and wait times. Speaker, as I mentioned, 2000 new staff will be coming to classrooms. This includes additional staff, social workers, psychologists and speech language pathologists. This also includes more education assistants and additional guidance counselors so grade 7 and 8 students can transition successfully into careers. Finally 400 new mental health workers over the next two years will help high school students achieve their best in school and in life. Instead of making cuts, we are making investments in us children and in our classrooms. Thank you. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Speaker, earlier this morning the Ontario Medical Association released their platform for better health care. To quote their platform, wait times are one of the biggest health care problems facing Ontarians today. Week after week we're treating patients in hallways forced to cancel surgeries and watching our patients wait to get the care they need. Simply put, patients have waited too long far too often. In my right in the Algin Middle Sex London patients can be expected to wait 393 days for a knee surgery. Many writings across the province have similar times. This government should be ashamed of themselves for their health care record. My question to the minister is when so many people have been suffering for so long why has health care only just become a priority for this government on the eve of an election? Thank you. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker and I'd certainly like to welcome the members from the Ontario Medical Association here today. As of last year I'm a life member of that organisation and I'd like to acknowledge of course the great work that our physicians do across this province. Our government knows that everyone in Ontario deserves high quality care when they need it and our skilled dedicated health care professionals including physicians deserve the right resources to deliver it and we also believe that they deserve to be compensated well for that high quality work and I'd just like to remind everyone Ontario's doctors are among the highest paid in Canada and higher than most OECD countries. Wait times are a concern for all of us and that's why tomorrow's budget will include more funding through our hospitals home care and elder care and we are making headway Mr. Speaker. Our wait times are the best in Canada from MRIs to CT scans ultrasounds and overall specialist wait times. Our wait times for cataracts and knee replacements are not the OECD average. Thank you Mr. Speaker. This government has continued to attack doctors over the past three and a half years we're four years without a contract and the people that are suffering I want the member from LEED to know that it's your member that's asking the question and I would rather hear him than you and that goes for the other side. Finish please. It's the patients who are suffering at work with Ontario's doctors. They've refused to work with OMA and failed to fix the strain relationship with the health care professionals which have lost opportunities for patients to access improved care. Our wait times are out of control for surgeries for mental health treatments. Our hospitals were overcrowded and we have an opioid crisis which has overtaken our province. This government has failed to properly manage the health care system. My question to the minister after 15 years of cuts and vilifying our doctors is how can Ontarians trust you heading into the election? Thank you. Why actually you haven't? Minister? Well thank you Mr. Speaker. It really sounds like the member of the official opposition agrees with all the announcements that we've made recently. Obviously our investments we're all about care we're not about cuts as we anticipate from the side opposite. This campaign has a lot to do with the election and using the pressure to get the best deal for its membership. We understand this this comes from us being in government but on this side of the house we're very aware it is our responsibility to use public dollars as wisely as possible. We work in the public interest and we are building a health care system that is serving everyone and that comes from us being in government. We are investing more but we also have to ensure every dollar we are currently spending is providing the most it can for patient care. So we're completely committed to driving down those wait times. We want to add capacity to our hospitals and expand home care, long-term care and mental health services in this part. Thank you. Thank you very much Speaker. My question is to the Premier Speaker I'd like to welcome our hard-working frontline dedicated correctional and probation parole officers here today as well as community advocates who are here once again to highlight the crisis in correction Speaker there are people who have worked nearly their entire careers under these conditions in corrections. Violence in the workplace is at epidemic levels. PTSD from exposure is at chronic levels but still not all correctional staff are covered. These correctional and probation officers need resources and attention. They need training but most importantly they need adequate staffing levels that can actually alleviate these pressures. The Liberals claim that they've created 1,500 new positions but this is simply a new metric of liberal accounting because as far as you as 24 actual positions have been created after 15 years how can this government be trusted to correct the crisis in corrections that they've created. Thank you Mr. Speaker Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services Thank you very much certainly I appreciate the question and I know on this side of the house how appreciative we are of our hard working dedicated correction officers and correction staff parole and probation officers and everyone Mr. Speaker and certainly I hear the concerns that we hear those issues that are raised but Mr. Speaker I also want to talk about some of the investment that we've been making in the past few years and you know we made a commitment and I've shared this earlier where we've hired 1,400 new officers and we're fully committed to achieve our 2,000 new correction officers that we have in 10 we've also hired more mental health support as nurse Mr. Speaker is there more to do definitely and I'll talk more on the supplementary Thank you Thank you Speaker as many as 50% of inmates have mental health and addiction problems another 5 went out on stretchers this past weekend in Niagara due to overdoses yet there weren't enough nurses to even make a dent there are 8,000 inmates inside our facilities many of these on remand but there are 45,000 in community on parole yet serious underfunding of probation parole officers has meant caseloads of over 50 per officer Bill 6 after 15 years table during the last act of a liberal government is too little too late where is the explicit commitment to increasing resources for those working every day in corrections the member reflected on Bill 6 and certainly this come from several I would say years of consultation and in addressing the challenges and every time I hear you know Mr. Speaker every time I hear incidents that are occurring you know our correction staff our correctional staff or inmates issues answer it's always something that I take very seriously and as I said the safety and security of our staff and inmates are prior to me new question thank you Mr. Speaker my question is for the minister of health and long term care my question is to fellow the main member and speaking I would like both of us know the ground reality of the fact that one in three Ontarians will experience mental health challenges in their lifetime and of course it's hopeful that society has come a long way in reducing the stigma with that increased awareness comes the need for increasing supports as you will know Speaker in 2011 our government introduced comprehensive mental health strategy open minds healthy minds in 2015 we enlisted the help by creating the Mental Health and Addiction Leadership Advisory Council I'd also like to commend the minister for the Neurosytheatric expansion my own writing of Etobicoke General at Etobicoke General Hospital part of the 400 million dollar expansion my question is to the minister of health and long term care please detail the investments that our government is making to improve care for those with mental health or addiction challenges thank you Mr. Speaker from Etobicoke North and a fellow physician for the opportunity to speak to an issue that deeply affects the lives of so many mental health does not discriminate it affects people of all ages in every corner of the province regardless of gender, race, culture or socioeconomic status we recognize that physical and mental wellness must go hand in hand for Ontarians to live their best lives and we are providing 2.1 billion dollars over four years to reframe the system of mental health Ontario representing over 200 addiction and mental health organizations in the province has stated that what makes this announcement historic is not only the significant sum of the investment but it's also how comprehensive the approach is there is recognition of the importance of housing the unique needs of historically underserved groups such as indigenous racialized and LGBTQ2S and others and services that meet people whether they are whether that be the justice system or the community for those living with mental illness their loved ones, health care professionals educators and anyone else affected by mental illness we hear you and we support Speaker I would like to in all sincerity commend the minister of health and the leadership of premier win for what is truly a historic advance with mental health and addictions in this province we know for example that 70% of young adults with mental health problems will actually in fact have reported their symptoms to begun in childhood and that's why this investment is so important because it will help going a long way to help actually identifying and treating mental health illnesses as early as possible and as a fellow physician my colleague will know that anxiety, panic, depression, mental health, mood disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder and unfortunately even suicide or suicide attempts are on the increase as a government you will know that we have increased mental health spending every year but we need to do more to address the wait list and ensure that children and youth have access to those services so my question is can you please share the details of the various investments that we are making in child and youth mental health Minister of Children and Youth Services Minister of Children and Youth Services thank you Mr. Speaker it was a real proud moment for me to be part of the announcement last week the Premier and my colleagues as we joined advocates stakeholders, people who have been advocating for mental health services here in Ontario at CAMH to make an historical investment into supporting children and youth here in the province of Ontario it's important Mr. Speaker that when a young person needs help that they have access to the services in all parts of Ontario and I believe that this investment this historical investment of $570 million into children and youth services mental health sector over the next four years is truly that it's transformative and it's historical Mr. Speaker 12,000 more young people will get access to service this year and by 2021 that will grow to 46,000 young people getting more services I want to thank the parents out there families stakeholders advocates for working with us to build and transform this mental health service I have no question I thank you thank you Mr. Speaker to the minister of community safety and correctional services Bill 6, the correctional services transformation act is supposed to be a thorough overhaul of a broken correctional system ensuring the safety of everyone in our detention centers should be paramount Bill 6 is all about the inmates and not the safety in corrections is out of control. Assaults and officers at an all-time high, harsh discipline against officers for petty incidents, leaves them feeling abandoned, unappreciated, and lacking management support. When inmates physically assault an officer, even when throwing urine or feces, the penalty for an inmate is either nothing or a minor slap on the wrist. Minister, when will you actually get tough on crime and respect our officers? Well, um, okay. Bill 6, where to start? To be fair, it's where to start. So I was very happy this morning to be at the breakfast and always happy, Mr. Speaker, to engage with our correctional staff and certainly every time you hear issues and challenges they are facing, we are working with them to address this. Bill 6 is a foundation of a transformation and something maybe that particular member, that particular party may not understand because while they were in power, Mr. Speaker, they actually privatized our institutions. You know what? Mr. Harris negotiated in a very bad fate deals that really have still today impacted our inmates and our correction officers all around our province. So, you know, I hear and I am very committed in working with our correction partners to ensure their safety, Mr. Speaker. Supplementary. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Back to the minister. You know, under the liberal regime for the past 15 years, probation and parole policymakers have put together greater emphasis on PNP offender risk assessments. This has basically turned probation and parole officers into psychotherapists. This has made absolutely clear in Carolyn Jarvis Global National Investigative Report titled probation and parole. Who's watching? PNP officers are not to blame, but the police say it's not their responsibility. Worse, offenders describe probation and parole supervision as a joke. 60 percent of criminals on probation or parole are medium to high risk. So, minister, who was going to supervise these dangerous criminals? Thank you. So, Mr. Speaker, I had the great privilege, as I said, for the past few months of being the minister of correction services. I have engaged with our partner and actually visited some of our parole and probation offices. You know what? When you talk about the reality, there is a reality that they have shared with me. We're going to be working with them to address this. This bill, Mr. Speaker, is actually part of this transformation, is finding the solution together to enhance our way of delivering a sensitive and a more meaningful approach to our inmates. At the same time, we want to protect the hardworking individual who are taking care of those individuals. Mr. Speaker, we've looked at mental health. We've looked at accountability. We've looked at insurings that our probation and parole officers have the support that they need. Thank you very much. Thank you. New question? The leader of the third party. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Premier. Over 20 years ago, the Conservative government cut the provincial funding that paid for half of municipal transit operations. For the last 15 years, the Liberal government has kept these devastating cuts in place. The TTC, which was once the envy of the world, still struggles to provide reliable, frequent, comfortable, and affordable transit service. The advocacy group, TTC Riders, is coming to Queen's Park today to demand the restoration of provincial funding for municipal transit operations. Will the Premier restore the province's traditional 50% funding formula for all municipal transit operations as the NDP has proposed? Thank you very much, Speaker, and thank you for the question. We continue to work hard on this side of the House in collaboration with all of our partners at the municipal and federal levels to improve everyone's commute. But let me be very clear, our government is investing more in public transit in Toronto than any other provincial government in history. We've made historic investments at the 3.7 billion for Go RER in the 416, which will enable smart trap. $5.3 billion to build Eglinton Crosstown LRT, and the list goes on. And now, through our partnership with the federal government, together, we are contributing nearly $9 billion to support the city's priority transit projects. We do understand the need to support municipal transit operations. It's why we made the choice to double the amount of gas tax funding in the municipalities. And to date, the city of Toronto has received over $2.1 billion in gas tax funding to support their local transit priority. Well, Speaker, we need to improve transit service standards if we're going to offer people a reliable, convenient and affordable alternative to the car. That means funding for transit operations. The TTC is the most underfunded major transit agency in North America, and no other jurisdiction in the world forces major transit agencies like the TTC to rely solely on municipal funding and property taxes. But the Premier has repeatedly refused to restore the successful funding formula where the province paid half of the TTC's net operating costs. Will the Premier continue to support the Conservative cuts to transit, or will she finally fund 50% of the net cost to all municipal transit operations as the NDP has proposed? Thank you very much, Speaker, and thanks for the supplementary. You know, Speaker, we continue to find ways through things like fare integration to ensure that we work hard to make the commute more affordable and more comfortable. We've dramatically reduced the cost of the trip by taking $1.50 off when you transfer between Go Transit or the UP Express and the TTC on your preso card. We've continued to invest more than $400 million towards replacing 204 TTC streetcars. So we continue to do more. We know there's more work to do. But unlike the party opposite, we're supporting the expansion of local rapid transit while also supporting operating needs through our gas tax program, which will double again from $0.02 to $0.04 per litre in $21.22. The NDP have voted against countless budgets that provided strong support for transit and continue. They continue to vote against the budget that contained the investments for transit in the province of Ontario. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. Speaker, my writing of Ottawa South is home to a strong but vibrant Franco-Ontarian community. And Speaker, it is vitally important that we continue to promote and celebrate Ontario's Francophone community. Ontario is home to the largest Francophone community in Canada outside Quebec. And it is a community that goes back more than 400 years and is a vital part of our provincial heritage. I know that the Minister, along with her federal counterpart, recently co-hosted a federal provincial territorial forum on Francophone immigration. Speaker, through you to the Minister, can you please inform this House what our government is doing to showcase Ontario as the destination of choice for French-speaking people around the world? Minister of Immigration Citizenship. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you also to the member from Ottawa South for his question and for his advocacy for his Francophone community. Mr. Speaker, it was a pleasure to welcome my counterparts here in Ontario. At the forum, we highlighted the leading role that Ontario is playing on Francophone immigration and the steps we have taken to reach our 5% target laid out in our Immigration Action Plan. As part of the plan, we have launched the Ontario Express Sentry French-speaking skilled worker stream where 4.1% of our nominees within the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Programme in 2017 were French-speaking. We are promoting also our province globally. We're prioritising the expansion of services to Francophone immigrants. And soon we are to sign an annex on French-speaking immigrants with the federal government as part of our Canada Immigration Agreement. At the forum, we announced a new federal provincial territorial action plan for increasing Francophone immigration outside of Quebec. Thank you. And the plan outlines actions that we can take. Thank you. Supplementary. Mr. President, the President. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to thank the Minister for her answer. Our government has ensured that equity is one of our priorities as a government, and that is also to ensure that our 622,000 Francophones have all the means necessary in order to live in French in our province. Our government continues to demonstrate our commitment towards Franco-Ontarians. Our government also understands the challenges of the community and are putting in all the efforts in order to provide the Franco-Ontarian community with all the tools necessary in order to thrive in French. And that's why we're one of the leaders in reinforcing immigration, French immigration. Can the Minister explain how we continue to support the French immigration in Ontario? Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Francophone Affairs. Responsible for Francophone Affairs. Merci beaucoup. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the member from Ottawa South for his question. Mr. Speaker, French immigration is essential to the Franco-Ontarian community in the province. That's why I'd like to congratulate the efforts of my colleagues, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration for attaining the objective of 5% of Francophone immigration. Mr. Speaker, I had the opportunity to represent the voice of Franco-Ontarians in this province with my colleagues on the second summit of Franco-phone immigration that was held in Toronto last week. We have made progress since the first forum that was held in Moncton last year. Now we have an action plan that will ensure that we have the measures to support Franco-phone immigration in the province. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Labour. Last January, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board brought in significant changes to its hearing aid program without properly consulting audiologists and WSIB recipients. They handpicked only three suppliers. After a year under these changes, we have feedback to know that workers have been adversely affected by this change. The system, the new system does not save the WSIB money, yet it forces workers, injured workers, to rely on only three suppliers for their chosen hearing aid. A hearing aid is not a one size fits all. Choosing the right hearing aid is a decision that should be made by the patients and their healthcare professionals. Speaker, as a result of the on job loss, we owe these people a good hearing aid system to work for them. Will the Minister reverse these flawed changes at the WSIB so injured workers can get the hearing aid that suits them best? Speaker, thank you. And thank you to the member for the question, Speaker. Speaker, in the past injuries have taken place in Ontario's workplaces because practices weren't put in place at the time and that has resulted in hearing loss for some workers, Speaker. These workers need to know that they've got a system that is going to give them the hearing aid devices that they need, Speaker. The WSIB has gone out, it's done a very transparent process. As a result of an RFP Speaker, three manufacturers were successful. However, Speaker, anybody that is renewing their hearing aid device, Speaker, anybody that there's a very specific health related reason is allowed to go to the WSIB is allowed to submit the reasons for that. And they're dealt with on a case-by-case basis. Speaker, I always appreciate advice from the other side. Always appreciate advice on how we can make the WSIB work a little bit better. But when we were when we were trying to cover psychological injuries, index pension, Speaker, where were they? Point of order, the member from DGC short. Thank you, Speaker. I just wanted the House to take a moment to recognize the Minister of Transportation's birthday. Happy birthday. Minister of Education on a point of order. The Minister of Advanced Education on a point of order. Thank you, Speaker. I just want to welcome a school that was visiting today from my riding of Scarborough Gildwood West Hill Collegiate and their teacher, Ms. Ashby. Minister of Community and Social Community Service, Community Safety and Correctional Services. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I just was not here at the very beginning of our introduction and certainly wanted to say a big welcome to our correctional officers and correction staff, nurses, everyone who works in our institutions and outside in our probation and parole officers. Welcome to Queen's Park. To have the first vote on the motion of address the reply of the speech of the throne. Calling the members. This will be a five minute bell. All members, please take your seats. On March 20th, 2018, Ms. Jazak moved second reading seconded by Mr. Chan that the humble address be presented to her honor. The Lieutenant Governor as follows to the honorable Elizabeth Talzwell, the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. We, Her Majesty's Most Beautiful and Loyal Subjects, the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, the province of Ontario now assembled to beg leave to thank your honor for the gracious speech. Your honor has been pleased to address to us at the opening of the present session. All those in favor, please rise one at a time be recognized by the clerk. Mr. Zimmer, Mrs. McGarry, Mr. Morrill, Ms. Molly, Ms. Molly, D'Ambrosia, Mr. Codden, Mr. Codden, Mr. Dixon, Mr. Dixon, Ms. Manga, Mr. Manga, Mr. Crack, Mr. Crack, Ms. Wong, Mr. Fraser, Mr. Fraser, Mr. Anderson, Mr. Baker, Mr. Baker, Mr. Don, Mr. Don, Ms. Hogan, Ms. Hogan, Ms. Koala, Ms. Koala, Mrs. Martin, Mr. Potts. All those opposed, please rise one at a time be recognized by the chair. Mr. Hartam, Mr. Hartam, Mr. McLeod, Mr. Wilson, Mr. Wilson, Ms. Jones, Mr. Clark, Mr. Clark, Mr. Smith, Mr. Acabusky, Mr. Acabusky, Mr. Hillier, Mr. Miller, Perry, Samaskoka, Mr. McDonough, Mr. McDonough, Ms. Scott, Ms. Thompson, Mr. Thompson, Mr. Barrett, Mr. Barrett, Mrs. Martau, Mr. Yurek, Mr. Yurek, Mr. Walker, Mr. Walker, Mr. Bailey, Mr. Bailey, Mr. Romano, Mr. Romano, Mr. Ostra, Mr. Ostra, Mr. Harris, Mr. Harris, Mr. Nichols, Mr. Nichols, Mrs. Munroe, Mr. Munroe, Mr. McDonnell, Mr. Pettapies, Mr. Tabbins, Mr. Miller, Hamilton, East Stony Creek, Mr. Miller, Hamilton, East Stony Creek, Ms. Shemanta, Ms. Satland, Ms. Natashow, Ms. Armstrong, Ms. Armstrong, Ms. Taylor, Ms. Taylor, Ms. Forrester, Mr. Hatfield, Mr. Hatfield, Mrs. Gratsky, Mr. Gratsky, Mr. Great, Mr. Gates, Ms. French, Ms. French. The eyes are 50, the nays are 45. The eyes being 50, the nays being 45, I declare the motion carried. Be it resolved that the humble address be presented to the Honourable Elizabeth Oswald, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. We, Her Majesty's Most Beautiful and Loyal Subjects, the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, now assembled. Big leave to thank Your Honour for the gracious speech. Your Honour has been pleased to address to us at the opening of the present session. There are no further deferred votes. This House stands recess until 3 p.m. this afternoon.