 Thank you. It is now time for oral questions. I recognize the member forward to Ms. Cuming-Cockham. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. According to the independent watchdog called Pauli-Meter, the Premier kept just 37% of his promises over the last four years. Now, when I came home from school with a 37% mark on a test, it wasn't a very proud day for me. So, when it comes to public health care, instead of fixing hallway medicine left to the Premier by the Liberals, things actually got worse. Wait times for Ontarians and hospitals have grown for vital surgeries and procedures. Hospitals that were over capacity even before the pandemic. Why did the Premier break his promise to Ontarians? The promise he made to end hallway health care. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. That is really, really rich coming from the member opposite because he has voted against every single measure that we have done to improve health care. Now, he voted against building 58,000 new and upgraded long-term care beds. He voted against adding 27,000 additional health care workers in our long-term care homes. He has voted against the most massive rebuild of health care in provincial history. We're building new hospitals in Niagara, voted against it. A brand new hospital for Brampton. You know what he did? He voted against it. A new hospital, the largest hospital in Peel region, voted against it. In Ottawa, voted against it. Every single measure that we have done to improve health care, he voted against it. And the make matters worse, colleague, when his party held the balance of power and could have ended the misery that was the previous Liberal government, what did they ask? Nothing! Nothing! They asked for nothing, Mr. Speaker. People know a strong, stable, progressive, conservative majority gets it done. Thank you, Speaker. You didn't really hear an answer in that. The Premier also promised to reduce how long Ontarians would wait in ERs. But all this hallway medicine has meant emergency room wait times actually grew longer under his watch. In June 2018, the average wait was 14 hours in hospital, even before the pandemic, under this government's watch, before the pandemic, it's 16 hours. So why hasn't the government actually reduced ER wait times in hospital in their four years? What would have really been helpful, Mr. Speaker, is when the NDP held the balance of power between 2011 and 2014, had they done the right thing and voted the Liberals out of office so that we could have started rebuilding health care then, Mr. Speaker. That's what would have been the right thing. So we have started right from the very beginning. Now the member for Scarborough Aging Court talked about emergency rooms. That's what he got. He got a brand new emergency room for his community, Mr. Speaker. But we didn't stop there because although they voted against that, we didn't stop there. We knew that Scarborough hospitals needed to have support. They voted against it. The previous Liberal government did nothing. Our Premier, our Minister of Health, this caucus, our Scarborough team, a billion dollars for healthcare in Scarborough. Now, it's no point. I mean, you can build all the buildings you want. You can build all the facilities that you want. But if you don't put nurses in those facilities, there's no point. We're putting nurses in facilities. New medical schools so that we can have, wait for it, more doctors to work in all of these brand new hospitals. Thank you. Thank you, Speaker. Order. The Premier promised he'd build more long-term beds. Beds that should be staffed. A bed by itself without staffing isn't a bed. And in their 15 years of power, the Liberals only built 611. But the financial accountability officer says that this government, the PCEs are years behind their own schedule, behind their own promise to build these beds and won't have enough staff to support them. Speaker, what matters more than words is results. Results matter. Why is this government not keeping their promise to improve long-term care in Ontario? I'm not sure if the member, he must be embarrassed. I don't know why his leader is making him ask these questions, Mr. Speaker. Because we've added 58,000 new and upgraded beds in every part of the province. North, south, east, west, urban and rural, we are adding long-term care beds. He talks about the staff. We're adding 27,000 additional healthcare workers. Now wait for it, colleagues. The end of people to propose a forward on long-term care. They want to get rid of 17,000. We're saying 27,000. They only want to hire 10, 10,000. Before we've even hired them, they want to lay off 17,000 PSWs. They don't want to build long-term care, colleagues. They want to buy real estate. That is the big plan of the NDP and the Liberals. So while we're building long-term care all over the province, an $11 billion investment. You know what that is, Speaker? The largest investment in Canadian history in long-term care, Speaker. That's what we've done. And that's unfortunately what you voted against every single time. Even beds in his own riding, he voted against. Order. Next question. The member forward to Ms. Kaminkakura. Thank you, Speaker. The PCs, when they get elected, also made promises or before they got elected about the cost of living. But haven't ordered those problems either. They promised to reduce the cost of hydro to consumers and they even had a number. 12%. Vote for us and we're going to take your hydro bills down. 12%. First, we couldn't figure out where they got the number, but now they've even told the financial accountability officer they have no intention to lower electricity bills by 12% from 2018, even though that was their promise. Why did the government break their promise to lower consumer hydro bills by 12%? Mr. Venese, do you have a question? Mr. Speaker, I am so pleased to get this question this morning. Thank you to the member opposite for the question. What the financial accountability officer actually said in his report the other day that we're on pace to reduce electricity prices from the Liberals unfair hydro plan by 12% next year by 23% by the end of the decade, Mr. Speaker. What we have brought to electricity customers in the province is stability. And that's why we're seeing the type of investment that we're seeing in this province. The Liberals ran 350,000 manufacturing jobs south of the border or overseas. What we've seen since we got our electricity prices under control in Ontario is massive investment of province, Mr. Speaker. Billion-dollar investments in LG Stalantis' battery plant down in Windsor thanks to the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade and our Premier Premier. Massive billion-dollar investments in electric vehicle manufacturing platforms in locations across the province, Mr. Speaker. What we've seen is massive speeches about dropping the price of electricity, but I don't think they saw their electricity prices drop by 12%. The PCs also said they would fix the cost of buying a home by increasing affordable housing, but they didn't. Under this government's watch, buying a home is twice as expensive as it was in 2018. And since 2018, the average cost of a rental home is up 192 bucks a month. Instead of being laser-focused on fixing the housing crisis, the Premier, again, is breaking his promise to build affordable housing. So why instead of fixing the crisis, did he make it worse? Mr. Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Mr. Speaker, I'm actually not going to thank the member for the question because Ontarians certainly don't owe your party any thanks. Every measure that our government has done since we set foot in this legislature four years ago has been to help the housing supply crisis. It's been to help protect people who are in rental housing. It's to support municipalities and grow community housing. Each and every time, Speaker, we always know what new Democrats do. They always vote no. They always obstruct. You know, Speaker, I don't think we're going to ever see a new Democrat campaign on standing up for that person who wants to realize the dream of home ownership. We've passed 79 bills in this House Speaker since we became government. Eight of them have been mined. Every single time, the NDP has tried to obstruct someone wanting to realize the dream of home ownership. Shame on that member. Shame on her leader, Andrew Horvath, the Queen of No. Shame on the NDP. First of all, I'll remind members, perhaps one last time, that we refer to each other either by our writing name or ministerial title or perhaps leader of the official opposition, not by the personal names. But I'm actually going to ask the minister to withdraw. Order. Order. Order. Start the clock. Final supplementary. Thank you. The PCs might have campaigned on these promises four years ago, but Ontarians haven't seen the results. They didn't get a government that made life more affordable. They talk about it. They didn't do it. Especially when people's hydro bills and housing costs skyrocketed over the last four years. And they didn't get a government that kept their promises because the PCs only kept 37% of them. Two out of three, almost two out of three things they said didn't happen. Ontarians need a government that will fix what's broken. Why has it been so hard for this government to simply do what you said you would do? And the government has to. Speaker, I think when you go around the province and you speak to the people of Ontario, they will tell you that this government has done more for the people of the province of Ontario than any government in generations. So let's talk about what we got done. So the first thing that we did is that we removed the most vulnerable people from paying taxes. Imagine, they had the balance of power. They could have said, let's take the most vulnerable off of the tax rolls. They didn't do it. The lift tax credit, we got it done, Mr. Speaker. We knew we had to get people moving around the province. So you know what we did? We built transit and transportation roads, Mr. Speaker, subways. They couldn't get it done. We're getting it done, Mr. Speaker. They, jobs, thousands of jobs, we all remember the economy. It was a mess under the coalition of no, Mr. Speaker. We brought back 500,000 jobs for the province of Ontario. And you know what? There is over 300,000 jobs that we need to fill, Mr. Speaker, because of the hard work of a strong, stable, progressive conservative majority government. And after June the 2nd, a strong, stable, progressive conservative government. Thank you. The next question. Dr. Clark. Members, I'll take your seats. Order. Order. Order. I assume everyone wants to come into the chamber at 4 o'clock this afternoon. Order. Start the clock. The next question. The member for Waterloo. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Premier, but clearly the members on that side of the house haven't been knocking on very many doors in the province of Ontario. Order. So the government has broken so many promises, Speaker. It's hard to keep track. They did keep one, however, and that was cutting the services that Ontarians rely on. In fact, it was cuts across the board for this government, cuts to libraries, to legal aid, to Indigenous culture fund, and even cuts to the innovative IT sector in Waterloo Region, which creates jobs in the province. But when it came to their 20% income tax cut that the PCs promised to bring in in their third year, they just didn't do it. You can chalk it up to just one more broken promise from this Premier and from this PC government. Why did this government refuse to do the very things that they said they would do, including this very specific campaign promise for a tax cut? What are you going to say to that? Thank you. Tell me how sweet it is. The NDP will go out there and campaign, and they'll say that they're for the little guy, right? But when we brought a proposal forward that would remove the lowest income earners from paying taxes, the responsibility of paying taxes so that they could get a helping hand and contribute even more to the economy, more to their families. You know what they did? They voted against it. When we reduced premiums, WSIB premiums for our small business owners by $2.5 billion on the route to increasing supports for injured workers, they voted against it. When we cut red tape and job-killing regulation, they wanted more. We got rid of it, and that's why we are bringing back thousands of jobs, Mr. Speaker, in the province of Montero. When the Ministry of Energy cut hydro rates and cancelled the 19% increase that the Liberals wanted to bring in, they voted against it. They actually wanted to keep a carbon tax and fought so hard for cap and trade in the province of Montero, and then they went to the Ottawa and put it back on the people. We cut tolls, we cut license plate fees, we're making life more affordable because a strong, stable, progressive, conservative majority... So the outbursts are continuing. I realize there's a lot of excitement in the house this morning, and I understand the reason. But we're going to get through question period. And I'm going to start calling people out by name, by writing name. The next person who can't restrain themselves. I apologize to the member for Waterloo. Has the floor? Start the clock. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Back to the Premier. When the Accountability Group polymeter added it all up, the PCs only kept 37% of their promises. And the budgets very, very late this year. But that didn't stop the PCs from again breaking your own Accountability promise to issue the Premier and the Finance Minister a penalty for a late budget. You said you would be different than the Liberals. They failed to deliver a budget on time. And Speaker, this has real consequences for the agencies delivering services. You are doing the exact same thing as the previous Liberal government by dropping a budget today and then going on tour. It will essentially be a work of fiction. Speaker, instead of bringing in the tax cut in the third year of this government, the PCs over the last four years, they've cut services to healthcare to education. You froze the minimum wage. You took $6,000 out of the pockets of the people of this province. Why was this three-year tax cut just one more of the promises that this government failed to keep? And how can you look in the eyes of the people of this province and say you are on their side? I'm going to ask the members to make their comments through the chair, not directly across the floor. I'm going to call the Minister of Labor to order. Start the clock. The response? Government hosted. Speaker, the NDP have already said that they would vote against the budget. Anyway, they haven't even read it or heard it, and they already said that they would vote against it. But you know whose eyes I look into, Mr. Speaker? I look into the eyes of the over 500,000 people in this province who have the dignity of a job because of the work that the caucus behind me has done. That's whose eyes I look into, Mr. Speaker, because when we came to office, the Liberals supported by this gang of members here had decimated the economy. We needed to reignite the economy, and that is exactly what we have done. We are seeing jobs and investment come back to the province of Ontario, Mr. Speaker. Like never before, the engine of the Ontario economy is humming. The engine of confederation is humming. This is the best place to live, work, invest, and raise a family, Mr. Speaker. And we are going to continue the job because that's what a strong, stable, progressive, conservative majority government delivers for the people of the province of Ontario. Stop the call. Member from North Centre, come to order. Member for Scarborough-Gildwood, come to order. Member for Windsor-West, come to order. Start the clock. The next question, the Member for Perry-Sawton, let's go. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Transportation. After 15 years of inaction under the previous Liberal government, our government is correcting their costly mistakes. That starts with getting shovels in the ground on critical infrastructure projects. I know the Minister is working hard to address gridlock in our province. Could she please tell us how the Bradford Bypass will benefit the people of Ontario? Minister of Transportation. Thank you, Speaker, and I thank the Member for Perry-Sawton, Miss Coco, for the question. Speaker, under the leadership of our Premier, our government is getting it done and building the Bradford Bypass. Major highways are quickly filling up, and as the region's population continues to grow, it only makes sense to get building. The need for the Bradford Bypass was first identified at least 30 years ago, and it was championed by my predecessor, Julia Monroe, for over two decades in this House. Today, that need has only become more urgent. Year after year, past Liberal governments have refused to invest in critical infrastructure, and drivers across this province suffer the consequences of their inaction each and every day. Speaker, decades of growing gridlock on the 400 and the 404 have hurt the GTA and made life harder for businesses and for farmers, too. But the benefits of the project go even further, Speaker. We expect the project to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in annual real GDP and support more than 2,600 jobs on average each year during construction. I am so pleased with the support we've had, but, Mr. Speaker, the members opposite continue to say no. Any supplementary questions? Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the Minister for that answer. As the Minister said, the need for the Bradford Bypass was identified at least 30 years ago, and today gridlock has become inescapable. I have to say the bottom of Highway 400 has among the worst gridlock anywhere. This is the cost of the Liberals endlessly saying no to investing in much needed infrastructure. Of course, I won't be driving to Toronto nearly as often, but I note that taking the Bradford Bypass to the Highway 204 and the DVP will take time off the trip for anyone coming down the 400 into Toronto. Could the Minister tell us how the Bradford Bypass fits into the government's broader plan to fight gridlock? Minister of Transportation. Thank you, Speaker, and thank you again to the member for the question. Speaker, there's no one-size-fits-all approach to fighting gridlock. Our government is making historic investments in transit, in roads, highways and bridges, and we're getting shovels in the ground faster than any government that has come before us. Speaker, that's because our government is getting it done. Our plans to expand public transit and road infrastructure will provide more travel options for people, making it easier and quicker for them to get from point A to point B. And as we build Ontario's transportation network, we are building Ontario's economy too, creating good-paying jobs and spurring growth in every corner of this province. And this is what progress looks like, Speaker, and that's despite the best efforts of the members on the other side of this house, who will keep trying to block all of this good work. We are forging ahead, Speaker, and we are building the Bradford Bypass. Thank you. Good morning, Mr. Speaker. My question's for the Premier. Not only did this Premier break his election promise to fix the Ontario Autism Program, he destroyed it. And then he and his government spent years fighting with families that just needed help for their children. There are now 50,000 children stuck on a wait list for these services, waiting years, while their developmental potential slips away. Families are tired. They are tired of this Premier's broken promises. They are tired of their failures. Why should any family trust this government when the Premier is clearly incapable and unwilling to help children with autism? Minister of Children, Community and Social Services. Thank you, Speaker, and thank you to the member opposite for the opportunity to clarify the realities. We have 40,000 children who are receiving services through the OAP right now. We have doubled the funding, larger amounts than any previous government ever before, and the previous government created a program that children, the majority of children, would never have been able to receive access. We have created a program that was created by the community for the community. It is needs-based. It is more comprehensive than ever before, including occupational therapy, language and speech therapies, mental health supports, and we have created an independent intake organization called the Access OAP, which is now beginning to take more and more children in as I speak. And so to the member opposite and Mr. Speaker, I suggest that it's our government that is fixing a system that was broken from the beginning and serving our children who are in need and our families in need. Thank you. Member for Hamilton Mountain, come to me. Member for Stavril and Dillwood, come to me. Member for Davenport, supplementary. Divisionist history. The Premier broke his promise to fix the autism program. That's a fact. And tens of thousands of children and families are right now paying this price. Mr. Speaker, from North Bay to Windsor to Ottawa to right here in Toronto, the wait list is growing and growing. Thousands of children are losing that very precious window of time where therapy helps the most. By gutting that program instead of fixing it, this government, this government, chose to send thousands of families into crisis. We remember. It's happening now. Mr. Speaker, families have given up on this government, but they know that new Democrats, we have their backs. Why did the Premier break his promise to families and families of children with autism, and does he even feel a shred of remorse? Mr. Speaker, come to order. Mr. Children, Community and Social Services. Thank you, Speaker. The fact is that our government is serving almost five times as many children in this program. The opposition had the chance to support children and youth with special needs, including autism, and they said no. They said no to the children who will be served by the Grand View Children's Treatment Centre in Ajax. They said no to the children who will be served at the Chatham Kent Children's Treatment Centre and their families. They said no to the children who will be served by the Wanderer for Carrot Shields Integrated Treatment Centre. They said no and voted against the largest investment to support children with special needs, including autism in two decades. And they voted against these investments not once, but in two budgets. Our government is supporting children with special needs, including children with autism. It's why we doubled the OAP budget, and we will continue the important work that we've been doing over the last few years to make sure that children in these vulnerable situations with their families get the support they need. Thank you. Thank you. The next question. Member for Chatham Kent, Leamington. Thank you very much, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Ontarians have seen the undermining of the democratic process by your government that outsources decisions to unelected officials and bureaucrats. Premier, democracy only works when elected public servants who represent their constituents. Sadly, the government has lost its way. This is a paramount to a functioning democracy. On September 1st, 2021, Speaker, Dr. Nancy Whitmore issued a notice to professions regarding vaccination exemptions. Doctors were flooded with patients who felt they, for medical reasons, could not take the gene therapy. Doctors were banned from writing medical exemptions, notwithstanding their expert medical opinions understanding that the CPSO had banned them from doing so. Critical to note that doctors are legally bound to uphold consent requirements. Doctors were forced to ignore the legally voluntary consent requirements when patients presented under coercion from their employer. So Premier, will your government reverse this decision and allow doctors who know better than government and bureaucrats to issue exemptions for patients deemed to be at risk? Government House Leader? Speaker, I think the first part of this question is actually more important than the second part. He talked about democracy. Well, Mr. Speaker, let me just say I might disagree with a lot of members, including that member over there, but this place has been working right through the pandemic. Even when the opposition said that we shouldn't be here, this Premier said, we're coming back in the summer. You remember, colleagues, we came back in the summer, 2020, 2021, and we got things done for the people of the province of Ontario. This is one of the only legislatures, this is one of the only legislatures that continue to meet in person, Mr. Speaker, that continue to allow the votes of its representatives right here. We continued on committees, Mr. Speaker. It is because of the hard work, of course, of the professionals who help us run this place, but I am very proud of the progress that we have made. Over what? Close to 80 bills, Mr. Speaker, that were passed by this government. A countless number of private members that were passed, Speaker. I'm really proud of the work that this parliament has done, even if I disagree always with the member opposite and those members as well, Mr. Speaker. Member for York Centre, come to order. Member for Hamilton West and Caster. Dundas, come to order. The member for Chatham Kent-Lemington, supplementary. Thank you very much, Speaker. Well, I'm not surprised that the government House Leader would actually disagree with me. I'm not surprised at all. But back to the Premier. Patients must always be free to either give consent to or refuse treatment without duress or coercion. Anything other than that may be deemed no consent at all and therefore may be successfully repudiated. Dr. Whitmer's exemption policy has led to the suspension of Ontario doctors and court actions against them for simply practicing the legal medical ethics they are bound to. Dr. Moore noted back in October of 2021 that the number of exemptions were too high. Well, a family doctor knows what's best for their patient, not an unelected official. If you're going to mandate anything, mandate personal choice. Don't play the game of exemptions are too high and don't strong-arm doctors by threats of risk of losing their license to practice medicine. The Hippocratic oath of do no harm is being ignored. So, Premier, how is it that CPSO demands Ontario practitioners to forego their legal obligations, medical ethics and oaths when these are basic principles of the relationship of trust between patient and practitioner? Chairman Housley. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Of course, it is the advice of medical professionals that we have been taking since the start of the pandemic. That is what has guided us the entire time, Speaker. And that is why Ontario has had better results in combating COVID-19 than almost any other jurisdiction. We have one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, Mr. Speaker, one of the highest vaccination rates in the world. I am very proud of that, Speaker. It is because of the policies of this government. We are seeing jobs and investment and opportunity come back to Ontario. People look at other jurisdictions and are saying, we want to be here in the province of Ontario. Why? Because the government has made investments in health care, because we have eliminated red tape, because we are building transit and transportation. We are cutting red tape, Speaker. And despite the pandemic, we have grown the economy with over 500,000 jobs, Mr. Speaker. Over 500,000 jobs. That is what we continue to be focused on, Mr. Speaker, while we fight COVID-19 and hopefully put it in the rear view mirror, Mr. Speaker. We are going to continue to build a strong economy for all of the people of the province of Ontario. Next question, the number four, Scarborough Agincourt. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Associate Minister of Transportation. For years, residents in Scarborough have hoped to be better linked to transit that will get them where they need to go. That is why I was excited when our government announced support for the Scarborough subway extension. The extension would finally enable Scarborough riders from vibrant communities in Agincourt, North Scarborough, Gilwood and West Rouge to connect more easily to Toronto's rapid transit system. Speaker, the GTA is world-class urban metropolis. But we do not have world-class transit because the Liberals twiddled their thumps for 15 years. The last four years of which involve the Del Duca when Liberals building zero transformational transit projects. Speaker, I know this government is finally getting it done. Can the Associate Minister of Transportation please tell this House about the government's progress on the Scarborough subway extension? Thank you. Thank you, Speaker. That member deserves a lot of credit because his hard work is paying off for the people of Scarborough. We recently issued a request for proposals to three qualified teams for the design and delivery of station rail and systems work on the subway extension in Scarborough. This is a crucial milestone, Speaker, for the three-stop extension bringing reliable modern transit to the communities in Scarborough. This extension will create approximately 3,000 jobs annually during construction, attract 105,000 daily boardings and cut 10,000 tons of auto-related emissions per year. What's more, Speaker, the extension will make it easier to get in and out of the downtown core all while replacing an aging Line 3 with subway service that will be more reliable and provide greater capacity. Speaker, for 15 years the NDP Liberal Coalition said no to the people of Scarborough, no for them to get from point A to point B. With our $28.5 billion GT transit plan, the largest transit expansion in Canadian history, we're finally getting it done for the great people of Scarborough and beyond. Do you supplement your question? Thank you to the Associate Minister for your response and for the terrific news for the people of Scarborough. Speaker, with construction underway on the Scarborough subway extension, I cannot wait to see this project come to life because it will be yet another invaluable asset to riders. People will finally be able to commute more quickly from Scarborough to the downtown core to work and then back home to their loved ones. Despite this, Speaker, the Liberals and the NDP have again and again and again stood against this government's historic plans for transit. How can Ontarians believe the Liberals or the NDP are serious about building transit? With the GTA's booming population, we cannot afford to delay any longer. So Speaker, can the Associate Minister please explain what would happen if we move backward on transit and how this government's historic transit plans will benefit the people of Ontario? The Associate Minister, congratulations. Thank you, Speaker. It's important to remember that when the Del Duca wind Liberals were in power propped up by the NDP, they found every reason to say no to expanding transit. Speaker, they waited until their last weekend office, in fact, to put pen to paper on the Young North subway extension. They made a mess of the cross-town and they wanted the up-express to operate as a relief line to downtown instead of actually building a true relief line in the first place. Plus, when an office, Speaker, the Del Duca wind Liberals voted against the Scarborough subway extension, including the Liberal member from Scarborough, Guildwood, and this project benefits her constituents. But even after we took office, Speaker, the NDP and the Liberals voted against all four of our subway projects and said no to building these projects faster by voting against the Building Transit fast track. Well, Speaker, I think it's important for the people of Ontario to remember, with an election coming, the Liberals and NDP will always say no to transit when our government is actually building the Ontario line, the Young North extension, the Crosstown West extension and the Scarborough subway extension, because we are... Thank you. Thank you. Stop the clock. Stop the clock. The member for York Centre will come to order. The member for Scarborough, Guildwood will come to order. The member for Ottawa South will come to order. There are a large number of government members. Ask the government side to come to order. Start the clock. The next question, the member for Toronto St. Paul's. My question is to the Premier. This government promised to address the housing crisis but just couldn't fix what the Liberals had broken for renters that meant keeping rent control in place at the bare minimum. Instead, the PCs broke their promise to maintain this as the status quo and quickly exempted all new rental units allowing for huge rent increases year to year without any way of stopping them. Speaker, this means that in Toronto alone, one in four or roughly 650,000 people are struggling to pay the high cost of rent. That is 140,000 more than in 2018 when the PCs were elected. Across Ontario, the average cost of rent increased by $192 a month, Speaker. It's a crisis for folks in every corner of our province. My question is back to the Premier. Why did the PCs, the Conservative government break their promise to keep the status quo on rent control? Why would they rip rent control out from underneath Ontarians who needed the most? Thank you. The Minister of Municipal Affairs and House. Well, Speaker, I'll take this opportunity to correct the member opposite. Our government in our fall economic statement in 2018 made good on our promise to protect existing tenants that we made in the 2018 election. But we did a lot more than that, Speaker. We put forward a variety of reforms through countless pieces of legislation to protect tenants, to strengthen community housing, to provide our municipal partners with the dollars that they needed in the midst of a global pandemic to actually build capacity for community housing, to build capacity for supportive housing. You know, this member voted against a budget that resulted in policies that created the most rental housing construction in 30 years. How can she stand in this house when she opposed all of that beautiful construction? 13,000 units last month in this community alone. Countless times, this member has stood up, said one thing, and done something different when it came time to vote. Supplementary question. Speaker, 60% of folks in my home of Toronto, St. Paul's, are renters. They need rent control. For four years, I've heard their fears of being evicted, rental-victed, demo-victed, and their rent skyrocketing far beyond what they can afford. For too many, this fear created by the PC government has become their reality. These are people who've built their lives and grown their families in St. Paul's. People who have made this place their home for 40-plus years. People on fixed income, Speaker, seniors. Each of them deserve a roof over their head and to stay in the communities they've built, especially, may I say, during a pandemic. They need real rent control. They needed this government, the conservatives, to keep their promise, not break it. My question is back to the Premier. How can Ontarians ever trust this government to live up to their next promises to fix their affordability crisis when we saw how quickly they abandoned their last ones? Thank you, Speaker. I don't know how this member can look her constituents in the eye after she voted against protections to tenants against rent evictions, when she voted against measures that would help tenants and strengthen our community housing system, when every single member, including this member, and her caucus, when we asked them to join us in our call to the federal government for our fair share of, based on core housing, based on statistics that she herself have quoted in this House, to get that additional $490 million so we could continue the building that we've been able to do over the last two years. We know, Speaker, that there's much more work to done, but this member and her party consistently have said no. I don't know how they can look their constituents in the eye, Speaker. Next question. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. On March the 11th, 2020, I stood in this legislature and asked your government to protect long-term care, to take the lessons from SARS and restrict access to long-term care facilities as a first step to prevent the transmission of COVID-19, to protect our most vulnerable seniors. Unfortunately, your government did not heed my warnings and the inaction contributed to the loss of loved ones as they got sick in homes in Scarborough and across Ontario. The pandemic was a wake-up call that cannot be ignored. We are now at a moment where action is needed, just as March the 11th was. And we need to guarantee home care for anyone who needs it and end for-profit long-term care in Ontario. Speaker, the Ontario Liberals have spoken up in this House and are ready to meet to revolutionize elder care in Ontario. Will the Premier stand with us and right this wrong? Government side, come to order. Government House Leader? I don't even know where to begin on that. Listen, the lessons of the pandemic, it's the lessons of SARS that the members should have learned, Mr. Speaker. That's why when they came to office 15 years ago, they should have invested in long-term care instead. They built 611 beds. Well, we're building 58,000 new and upgraded beds, Mr. Speaker. We're getting the job done. They could have increased staffing, they didn't, Mr. Speaker. But look, you know what it reminds me of? You probably remember in the late 90s, early 2000s, there was a song by a guy named Shaggy. And he went, it wasn't me. Destroying long-term care, although Stephen Del Ducca sat at the cabinet table, wasn't him. Not fixing healthcare, Stephen Del Ducca, Mr. Speaker. But you know what? We'll get the job done for the people of the province of Ontario because people in long-term care deserve it and the people... I couldn't hear the Government House Leader, even though he's speaking audibly, because there's so much going on on both sides of the House. So the House has to come to order. We start the clock. Supplementary question. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and back to the Premier. My riding of Scarborough-Gildwood has been a long-term pandemic. The tragic number of seniors lost and the pain that their families and loved ones went through and are still going through, particularly in long-term care, demands action today. What was done by past Liberal, Conservative and NDP Governments is no longer a cover for inaction today. The Ontario Liberal Plan to revolutionise elder care in Ontario will build 30,000 new long-term care spaces and modernised 28,000 existing spaces with a focus on smaller community-based homes. We will guarantee home care for anyone who needs it and we will end for-profit long-term care in Ontario. We will guarantee $25 an hour to PSWs and repeal the wage-capping Bill 124 and sections of Bill 106 which gutted the Pay Equity Act. Speaker, Ontario Liberals believe in investing in our seniors for care. Why is this Ford Government determined to focus on the privatisation of care and their for-profit donors on the eve of an election? On the eve of an election we've been at this since day one. They're going to build 58,000. They said, well, guess what? We've already actually done it, Mr. Speaker, in the profits of Ontario. It's been the focus of the government right from the beginning, including in her own riding. In her own riding, Mr. Speaker, she voted against it. She's also voted against the 27,000 additional healthcare workers, Speaker. And the four hours of care voted against it. But, you know, Speaker, we've all been here. You know, sometimes you break up with somebody, right? And you always start, it's not you, it's me. But for Stephen Del Duca, it's the other way around. It's not him, it's you. Losing jobs, it wasn't me. Although I said at the cabinet table it was actually you. Not fixing launch of care, although Stephen Del Duca sat at the couch, it wasn't him. It was you, Mr. Speaker. The people of the province of Ontario know that when it comes to getting the job done, a strong, stable, progressive concert of a majority. Stop the clock. Stop the clock. The member for Windsor West will come to order. The member for Scarborough-Gildwood will come to order. The member for Ottawa South will come to order. The member for local affairs and housing will come to order. The minister of energy will come to order. The member for Renfrew, Nipissing Pembroke will come to order. And the minister of labour will come to order. Thank you. Let's start the clock. The member for Brampton West. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the minister of transportation. For decades, successive liberal governments refused to invest in badly needed infrastructure. Stephen Del Duca and the Liberals and the massive population growth was coming to the GTHA. They knew that our major highways were quickly reaching capacity. They knew that gridlock was only getting worse. And what did they choose to do about it? Mr. Speaker, nothing. So my question to the minister of transportation is can she please tell us what this government is doing to tackle the gridlock crisis that the Liberals led faster for so long? The minister of transportation. Thank you, Speaker. Brampton West for the question. Speaker, I'm so proud that our government is doing what the Liberals failed to do. We're getting it done for the people of Ontario and we're building highway 413. This highway will cut commute times for GTA drivers by 30 minutes each way. This could be the difference between sitting in bumper to bumper traffic or sitting at home at dinner with your family. But, Speaker, this highway offers so much more than just relief from gridlock. It will support more than 3,500 jobs on average each year during construction. And it will generate up to $350 million in annual, real GDP. Yet, all we hear from the Liberals and the NDP Speaker is no to building it, no to jobs and no to growth. Members on that side of the House, Speaker, will tell you that they have to we have to choose between highways and transit. That simply isn't true because our government is saying yes to both and we'll get it done. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker and thank you to the Minister for the response. Mr. Speaker, the NDP and Liberals have demonstrated time and time again that they are opposed to new highways. All we hear from them is no all the time. They say no to building highway 413. But as the Minister rightfully pointed out, the highway 413 project is so much more than just a new highway. So can the Minister please elaborate on what we are doing differently from the last Liberal government? The Minister of Transportation can reply. Thank you, Speaker, and thank you to the member for the question. Steven Del Ducca and the Liberals could have addressed gridlock by building highway 413. Instead, they found every reason to say no. Keeping drivers stalled in endless hours of bumper to bumper traffic was no all too well. Every single day, Ontarians are paying the price for Liberal inaction, which the NDP supported year after year. But Speaker, I want to reassure everyone that on this side of the House we will not be repeating the mistakes of the Liberal government. We are saying yes to building highway 413. GTA drivers are tired of wasting their precious time stuck behind the wheel because they deserve better. We know that the Liberals and the NDP will do everything in their power to stop this critical project from getting built. But our government will not let that happen, Speaker. We are getting it done. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Let's take a walk down memory lane. Instead of lowering car insurance rates and making life more affordable, the Conservative government, and the NDP, helped their friends in the insurance industry to rip off Ontarians. Every single year that they have been in power, they have approved increases to car insurance. They even allowed billion dollar car insurance companies to discriminate against Ontarians and charge them higher rates based on where they live. So will the Conservative government finally admit once and for all that they failed Ontarians, they broke their promise to reduce car insurance rates? Well, I'm sure the people in his writing are very grateful for the fact that under our watch, insurance rates have actually come down in Brampton, Mr. Speaker. But I'm with them, though. Let's colleagues take a walk down memory lane, shall we? Let's take it all the way back to 2011 when the NDP had the balance of power and could have forced the Liberals to build a brand new hospital in Brampton. Did they? Nope. Let's go back down memory lane again. They could have ensured that there was greater go transit service in Brampton. Did they? Nope. They could have ensured that the 413 was built so that the people in this community could get home better and there could be more investments. Did he? Nope. He could have lowered taxes for the people of Brampton. Did he? Nope. I love going down memory lane because I know that when I look back at the last four years, I've got trains being built. I've got subways. I've got jobs and economic activity. I've got a brand new hospital thanks to the President of the Treasury Board Thanks to the Parliamentary Assistant to Infrastructure, Mr. Speaker. I know that Brampton has a new medical school and the only thing I can say is that he voted against every single one of those measures. He ordered. The government side came to order. Supplementary question. Back to the Premier and on the subject of broken promises. For 15 years, the Liberal Government underfunded Brampton's healthcare crisis. But instead of making things better, the Conservatives have made it worse. The Conservatives have voted no to fully funding Brampton Civic, our city's only hospital. They voted no to building a second hospital within emergency room. They voted no to building a third hospital in Brampton. The Conservative Minister of Health herself admitted that she doesn't even believe that Brampton deserves three hospitals. So will the Conservative Government finally admit once and for all that they failed Brampton and they failed to end our healthcare crisis? The municipal affairs and housing come to order. In the past four years, there has been no government that has invested more in Brampton than the government of Premier Doug Ford. This means a new hospital for the city of Brampton with over 250 beds and a 24-7 emergency room. The members voted no to that. This means a new medical school, Ryerson Medical School, right in the city of Brampton. Unfortunately, the members opposite voted no to that. This means building over 600 new long-term care beds in the city of Brampton. Unfortunately, the members opposite said no to that. To addressing transportation needs, critical infrastructure, we're building Highway 413. This means over 3,500 good-paying jobs during construction and over $350 million of GDP for the region. Unfortunately, the members opposite voted no to that. The people of Brampton will support this government and our record investments to support. Stop the clock. Member for Niagara Falls, come to us. Start the clock. The next question, the Member for Cambridge. Good morning, my question is for the members of the community. I'm going to start with a question from the committee. The committee has stated at a Chamber of Commerce event that government should create the environment where business thrives and not being the business of creating jobs. But once again, the rhetoric of the government doesn't match the policies of this government. For the last four years, manufacturing jobs have drastically been lost in Ontario under this pandemic. What is the government's plan to create the environment to grow Ontario's economy that does not include billions of dollars in government spending? Minister of energy, come to order to reply on behalf of the government, minister of economic development, minister of development, minister of economic development, minister of economic development, job creation and trade. When we first took office and we saw the devastation of 300,000 jobs that had left Ontario, Premier Ford asked us to put together a plan and our caucus put together a plan that lowered the cost of doing business by $7 billion annually by reducing WSIB premiums by $2.5 billion, by putting in an accelerated capital cost which lets business write off their machinery in the first year, $1 billion savings, we saved $7 billion and what did that do? It put 500,000 people to work in our first term. 300,000 before the pandemic and 200,000 men and women went to a job for the first time since the pandemic. 500,000 jobs have been created because we've created the climate, we've created that whole spirit of Ontario that the Premier talks about every day. The supplementary question. Thank you, Speaker. There are two things that are consistent about this government. The rhetoric never matches the policies and this government has simply copied the philosophy of the Liberal government that preceded it. After four years this government has not kept one single promise it made with regards to taxes or Ontario's economy including failing to reduce electricity rates, rates tax, failing to reduce annual deficit spending. We have seen the largest deficit spending ever failing to reduce taxes. Taxes actually went up when this government implemented an industrial carbon tax and failing Ontario's manufacturing sector with hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs lost over the last four years. Based on its track record can this government tell us why Ontarians should believe that the government has any interest in delivering promises it makes over the next 30 days starting with today's fiscal projections? Minister of Economic Development Thank you, Speaker. Well I can tell you that when we got elected we promised we would turn this economy around and that is exactly what happened in the province of Ontario. We saw an auto sector thanks to the Liberals backed by the NDP that was in decline and ready to leave Ontario. In fact some did leave Ontario and we stood up and brought $1 billion in lowering the cost of doing business and four General Motors, Stellantis, Honda and Toyota all have made multi-billion dollar investments. In fact in the last 17 months Speaker there's been $12 billion unprecedented in the history of Ontario. $12 billion of new investment. 2,500 men and women are going to go to a job at the Stellantis plant in Windsor where they're going to make batteries in the history of Canada. We'll be making them right here in Ontario all because we've lowered the cost of doing business and supplied the climate for businesses to want to come here and they're coming here by drone. Order. The member for York Centre will come to order. Order. Start the clock. The next question. Member for York Southwest. My question is to the Premier. My question is home to many front line and essential workers. Those some workers that put their health and their families health on the line as they helped carry us through the pandemic delivering the goods, services, education and healthcare. We too often take for granted far too many of these workers are doing low wage and part-time work with no benefits. The reality of one person working three part-time workers who feed their family is nothing to be proud of especially when these government promise to make things better. Where is the plan from this government to raise wages and address the serious situation of part-time work being the norm in corporate Ontario? Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, I'm proud that our government is working for workers every single day. Everything that we're doing is ensuring that workers in Ontario have bigger paychecks, more take-home pay to support themselves and their families to improve workplace protections and health and safety on the job. But also Mr Speaker to ensure that every worker in this province has an opportunity for better employment and for better jobs. In fact Mr Speaker, I'm proud to say for the first time in the history of Ontario we're launching better jobs in Ontario. With the assistance the 834,000 people today that aren't working in this province are going to have up to $28,000 per year to get training for bigger paychecks to support themselves in their families. I think Mr Speaker of the work that we're doing to be the very first place in North America to ensure that every worker in Ontario has benefits like health and dental envisioned benefits Mr Speaker. First, thank you very much. We're going to have a basic days back to the premier. Another critical issue in York South-Western has been lack of support for small businesses. I've heard from countless family owned businesses telling of their frustration with small business grant relief program. These owners have dealt with significant delays in getting approved and lack of communication in general. When the Auditor General reported delivering millions of dollars of ineligible businesses this government shred this off and declared no interest in collecting 210 million in money that was wrongly allocated. The government promised to make things easier for small businesses but they broke their promise Mr Speaker. Through you, how does this government think the gross mismanagement of the small business grant program is acceptable or anyway to run a government let alone a business Mr Speaker? Well Mr Speaker gain every single day we're building a stronger province for small businesses and for our workers and families in every corner of this province Mr Speaker. I think about the thousands and thousands of small businesses today that's going to be receiving reimbursements and rebates from the WSIB. Mr Speaker, $1.5 billion is going back to small businesses small businesses across the province they're going to invest in their people grow their businesses, create more jobs but Mr Speaker we're working for workers as well we're ensuring that we're recognizing international credentials to become the first province in Canada to ensure that our immigrants are working in professions that they've studied so they have bigger paychecks to support themselves and their families we've become the first place to ensure that when workers go home at the end of the day they can disconnect from work Mr Speaker, we're ensuring that workers from other provinces can come here and start work tomorrow to ensure that we're filling labor shortages we're going to continue working for our small businesses and workers every day next question remember for longer we press that Russell this premium this government not out the PSW they created a new category of workers the resident support aids that the long-term homes will use to reduce salaries the lack of personnel in long-term care homes it's a serious problem and new we the Liberals of Ontario will have supplements to fulfill the lack of workers and to ensure a affordable income in home care and community care long-term care in the hospitals the premier can you explain why it does not to resolve the situation and what does he think that an increase of three dollars an hour it's acceptable in this year's circumstances it's not true as you know we did a lot of investments we increased of 27,000 new workers in this sector the Liberals voted against that initiative Mr Speaker that we had to rebuild long-term care we knew that right from the beginning fact before the campaign started we knew that we had to get beyond the 611 beds that the Liberals and you know what their promise was in 2018 you know what they promise to do maybe build 5,000 if they got re-elected 5,000 well thank you very much we're building 58,000 new long-term care beds and we know that we have to do more and that's why we're adding 27,000 additional healthcare workers to get to four hours of care something that they refuse to do would never do Mr Speaker and they also voted against the pay increases for our PSW's we'll get the job done because that's what a strong majority does the supplementary question well the recycled lines from Stephen Harper are resuscitated Mr Speaker the premier keeps saying let's get it done well here's something he did get done long-term care home residents made up 64.5% of all COVID deaths during Ontario's first and second waves the highest in Canada and the OECD and instead of building an iron ring around them like he promised he built an iron ring around negligent long-term care home owners to protect them from getting sued if that's not enough the premier tossed out empty words that personal support workers are heroes and he's now promising an insulting $3 an hour raise and other Band-Aid solutions just to get past this election then we have Bill 124 that tells PSW's nurses and healthcare workers that no they're not worth anything more than 1% so Mr Speaker if this government is serious about treating them like heroes will they do what we hear a promising raise PSW base pay to at least $25 an hour and provide mental health supports for all health professionals nice leader and minister of long-term care Mr Speaker she spoke about Stephen Harper lines now you know when she worked for the Stephen Harper government she helped write some of those lines but I digress Mr Speaker I digress look Mr Speaker we're actually the minister of francophone affairs was actually in the members own riding long-term care allocation in the members own riding I think over 120 beds something that they didn't do she calls a pay increase insulting imagine how insulted those same hard working PSW's must have been when over 15 years the Liberals ignored them ignored them now the member for auto south is hollow it's temporary he voted against even anything whatsoever and over 15 years for mandates what do they do nothing nothing mr. Speaker only they had that fifth mandate they might have done it mr. Speaker but look strong stable progressive conservative majority government is getting the job done in all parts of the province east west north south urban and Rome will continue that after June the second that concludes our question period for this morning the government house leader I understand