 is now time for question period. The Leader of the Magistrates will now position him. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Premier. According to Government Commission polling, in December of 2013, electricity was the government's worst performing policy. Some three years later, the government decides to act. For three years, families struggled to pay their bills. For three years, families sat in the dark. For three years, seniors had to choose between heating and eating. And for three years, the government did nothing. Mr. Speaker, will the Premier just admit it? The only reason we've seen some late action is because it's now affecting the Liberal Party fortunes. This is about self-interest. That's all it's about. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Well, you know, I thank the member opposite for the question. And I acknowledge that the 25% reduction is very important. Mr. Speaker, that it is the most significant thing that we can do to reduce people's electricity bills, Mr. Speaker. But let me just go through the facts of the timeline in terms of the work that we've been doing and our recognition that this was an issue, Mr. Speaker. So in December of 2013, we deferred the construction of two nuclear reactors, Mr. Speaker, at Darlington, avoiding $15 billion in new construction costs. In June of 2013, Mr. Speaker, we renegotiated the Green Energy Investment Agreement with Samsung producing contract costs by $3.7 billion, Mr. Speaker. Also in December 2013, Mr. Speaker, we reduced feed-in tariff prices through annual reviews, saving rate payers, at least $1.9 billion, Mr. Speaker. We were on it and I'll continue the work that we've done. Thank you. Supplementary. Mr. Speaker, back to the Premier. For three years, people struggled to pay their hydro bills, but for three years, Liberal friends got rich off more bad contracts. And we know, according to Alison Jones from the Canadian press, that it was Liberal polling firms, Polara and Gandalf, that received large checks to tell the government their policy wasn't working. Mr. Speaker, how much did the government pay these Liberal friends and the Premier's campaign manager over those three years only to ignore that advice? Mr. Speaker, we were, as I've said, we have made a very significant move in terms of removing 25% of people's electricity bills, Mr. Speaker. They will see those changes in the summer, but, Mr. Speaker, we were very aware that there was a need to take costs out of the system and to reduce people's bills, Mr. Speaker, long before we made the move on the 25%. So let me continue. In April of 2014, Mr. Speaker, we removed the debt retirement charge from people's bills, saving the average family $70 a year on their bills, Mr. Speaker. In September, sorry, in March of 2015, Mr. Speaker, we introduced the Ontario Electricity Corp. Program and the Merlin Road Rate Protection Program. Mr. Speaker, that was a direct recognition that people were paying too much on their electricity bills and a direct support for people who were paying too much on their electricity bills, particularly low-income families, Mr. Speaker. Supplementary. Mr. Speaker, again to the Premier, we know that David Hurley from the Gandalf Group, the Liberal Campaign Manager, received at least $3 million in contracts. At the same time, despite getting advice that this electricity policy was very unpopular, the Minister of Finance saying in the legislature his hydro bill was going down, we had the Minister of Energy saying there was absolutely no crisis. So we're paying millions for research. The government ignores that research. So my question, Mr. Speaker, to the Premier, if you're paying the Liberal Campaign millions for research, ignoring that research three years ago, is this just thanking Liberal friends with taxpayer dollars once again? That's right. Thank you, Premier. Minister of Energy. Minister of Energy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Please to rise and talk about the Fair Hydro Plan, Mr. Speaker, in which all families will be getting a 25% reduction, as well as businesses and as farms, Mr. Speaker. But when it comes to... What we're going to do is to ensure that... If I have to, we'll pick up from last week. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. But when it comes to removing costs from the system, our government has demonstrated that very clearly, Mr. Speaker, for years and years, Mr. Speaker, we've been pulling costs out of the system. Since the 2010 long-term energy plan, Mr. Speaker, we've been pulling costs out, Mr. Speaker. You can start talking about the furred nuclear plants, the renegotiated Samsung Agreement, the competitive LRP process, Mr. Speaker. Again, $1.5 billion, Mr. Speaker, that we've pulled out of the system to ensure that the system that we've built, the system that we had to rebuild after they left it in tatters, Mr. Speaker, the cost of $50 billion, we made sure that we find ways to pull costs out of the system, Mr. Speaker. And we know we had more work to do, Mr. Speaker, and that's what the Fair Hydro Plan is. Thank you. New question to the Leader of the Opposition. Mr. Speaker, to the Premier, since I can't get an answer on the $3 million in contracts to liberal friends, I'll try a different question. In early February, a six-year-old was handcuffed in a Mississauga school. More than half of Ontario principals have had to ask parents to keep a child home because of violent, disruptive behavior. Now some children are flagged with evacuation orders if they start to act out and the room is cleared. Mr. Speaker, News Talk 1010 had a shocking week-long report that detailed the state of violence in our system that is putting students and educators at risk. And, you know, the liberals may laugh at this. This is the various things that matter. So I asked the Premier, is this the education system that our last two so-called education premiers envisioned for Ontario? And please take this seriously. It is not a laughing matter. Thank you. Certainly is not. It is certainly important that we understand how critical it is that we have the resources in our schools that allow kids to have the experience that they deserve, that every child in our system has the supports that will allow them to flourish, Mr. Speaker. That's why education funding in this province has increased every year, Mr. Speaker, year over year since we have been in office. There are more support workers. There are more teachers in our schools, Mr. Speaker. There are more people with better training to help deal with classrooms that are integrated, Mr. Speaker. There are kids with a whole range of abilities in our classrooms. And so it's really important that we have the right personnel in those classrooms, Mr. Speaker, and that those people all have the right training. That's the work that we've been doing, Mr. Speaker. Where there are exceptional circumstances, obviously, those need to be dealt with, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Supplementary. Mr. Speaker, back to the Premier. The Premier and her predecessor were supposed to be education premiers, but it certainly doesn't seem that way. They aren't collecting key information, dealing with a student displaying disruptive, aggressive, or violent tendencies. There are no consistent standards across the province. Mr. Speaker, as News Talk 1010 asked, is violence in the classroom even on the ministry's radar? Or are they ignoring the data so they can ignore the shocking results? Thank you. Minister of Education. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I want to thank the member for this question, because, Mr. Speaker, any incident of violence that occurs in our school is not acceptable, Mr. Speaker. And for any reason, we want to ensure that students, teachers, education workers, everyone in our school environment is safe, Mr. Speaker. And that's the focus. And when an incident does occur, Mr. Speaker, we want to ensure that school boards have appropriate protocols and procedures in place to deal with that situation. Mr. Speaker, we're working with our education partners to ensure that the school environment has a safe school culture. And we have a provincial health and safety working group that meets, Mr. Speaker, with all parties to ensure that that is being followed. Final supplementary. Mr. Speaker, back to the Premier. They're working with education partners. Is that by closing schools, pulling EAs out of the classroom? Is that by cutting special needs funding? There is another aspect here that's at risk. The Liberal government's attack on autism services have reached a breaking point. The explosive report on violence in the classroom has revealed that students with autism are being left behind. Those children aren't receiving the specialised help they need in overcrowded classrooms with overworked teachers. It's not fair to teachers. It's certainly not fair to students. Mr. Speaker, will the Premier finally stop ignoring what has now been called Ontario's dirty little secret? Will the Premier do something to empower educators, support educators and help students with autism? Mr. Speaker, so here's what we are doing. Mr. Speaker, our government has increased funding for special education by 70% since 2003 to $2.7 billion. As well, Mr. Speaker, we have increased the number of EAs, educational assistance by 37%, 6,300 EAs since 2013 to support students with special education needs. Mr. Speaker, here's what we are not doing. We are not doing what that party opposite planned to do during... And the member from Timmins James Bay. I'd like to do my job, please. The Minister of Agriculture and the member from Duffin-Callin are not helping matters by moving while the questions are being put and the answers being put. Second time for the member and second time for the member. Finish, please. Mr. Speaker, here's what we're not doing. The PC plan wanted to slash 2,000 teachers, 5,000 ECE workers and 10,000 support staff, Mr. Speaker. A plan, in fact, supported by the party's opposite to slash 100,000 workers, which included firing teachers. We are not doing that. We continue to invest in our education system to ensure students receive the best support possible. New question, the leader of the third party. Thank you, Speaker. After 15 years of skyrocketing hydro costs, the Premier told Ontarians she finally understood. But last week the Minister of Health turned that right around and said hydro costs were no big deal. It was only a few million dollars to a hospital budget. It's only a few percent. Maybe to the Premier and her ministers, a million dollars might not be a big deal. But in a hospital budget, that's a big number. Did the Minister of Health not see the Premier's polling? Or did he not get the memo that this is all about politics for the Premier and her Liberal Party? Well, Mr. Speaker, I think that the leader of the third party knows that what this is about is making sure that people in the province can pay their electricity bills. And we've been very clear about that. And as I said to the leader of the opposition, we actually started to look for ways to reduce electricity costs in 2013, which is the year that I became Premier, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, I believe and I know that the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care is going to want to comment on this, but I believe the context in which he was putting his comments was that there is about a 1% cost associated with electricity for hospitals. And, Mr. Speaker, the operating dollars that they have put in to hospitals have actually far surpassed that. And so I think the point that was being made is that there is more money going into hospitals. We recognize that there's more to be done, Mr. Speaker. We recognize that hospitals have been working under some constraints, but that's exactly why we've been putting funding into the hospitals at a greater rate than the minister that the member was looking for. In fact, this Premier and her government froze from hospitals without their skyrocketing hydro bills, telling this House that they simply haven't heard any. That's just not the case. Officials at Hamilton Health Sciences talked about the problem publicly just last week. They said, and I quote, it's not like you can just shut the lights off when you've got patients in the building. We've got less money to do other things because we're spending more money on electricity. And quote, how can the Premier and her minister seriously hear statements like this one that offer no real concrete solutions for hospitals whose bills are skyrocketing because of the Liberals Hydro Mass? Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Very pleased to rise and respond in relation to what we're doing for specifically hospitals when it comes to electricity bills, Mr. Speaker. And on top of the fair hydro plan, Mr. Speaker, which is going to help every family, small business and farm in the province by 25%, there is going to be a modest decrease for hospitals, Mr. Speaker, between 2% and 4%. But on top of that, Mr. Speaker, on top of that is the Save on Energy program, Mr. Speaker. And the Save on Energy program has helped many, many, many hospitals in this province, Mr. Speaker. So much so, Mr. Speaker. The independent electricity system operator has phoned us up and has told us to make sure that we let everyone know that these hospitals have actually $20 million invested, Mr. Speaker, by the IESO to make sure that they can reduce their consumption and at the same time, excuse me, Mr. Speaker, at the same time save their bills. Sudbury, for example, is saving $275,000 to $500,000 a year, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Final supplementary. Speaker, hospitals like everybody else are doing everything they can to reduce their consumption, but the bills keep going up after a number of years messing up our electricity system. Look, municipalities are also stepping up to the plate, Speaker, to try to get this government to understand the magnitude of the problem. Last week, North Bay City Council actually passed a motion, a resolution. They voted to ask the Premier to help their hospital because they said Ontario hospitals are not currently eligible for any hydro-relief, and the government is quote-unquote making a situation where rising hydro costs can potentially impact healthcare. That is what the hospital said. Their back of the napkin response, Speaker, is a phantom plan that lines the pockets of bankers with $40 billion in public money and denies hospitals the funding they need. When will they finally admit that there's a problem? Thank you. Minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Minister of Health. Minister of Health, long-term care. So, Mr. Speaker, we increased the operating budget of North Bay Regional Health Centre by almost $4 million, or 2.1% last year. We increased the budget of Hamilton Health Sciences by 3.6% last year, almost $30 million new dollars. But I can understand the challenge that the member opposite is facing because every time she mentions a hospital, that hospital comes out and either explains the innovations that they've adopted. In fact, my colleague from Sudbury had referenced some of those programs that resulted in reduced consumption, or in the case of Sue St. Marie, where the CEO had to publicly rebuke and refute the claims made by the leader of the third party, saying that those increases in electricity have not resulted in layoffs at the hospital, despite what the member of the office was trying to say. And the hospital has not made decisions directly tied to the increase in electricity rates and that there are no planned layoffs of frontline staff at SAH. There are challenges with their hospitals, Mr. Speaker, but as you can see from, there is an increase after increase. New question? The leader of the third party. Thank you, Speaker. My next question is also for the Premier. Hospitals are having a tough time, whether the Minister of Health tends to agree or not, but so are families, Speaker, and so are businesses. Families like the Campbells in Sue St. Marie, a senior couple on a fixed income with a hydro bill so high that they're actually scared to open their hydro bill each and every month. Or Jamie. Jamie lives in the Sue and her daughter and five-year-old son both have special needs. Jamie's hydro bill was $1,200 a month. It got so expensive that she had to turn off the baseboard heaters and now she uses propane instead, Speaker, because it's all she could afford to heat the house for her and her two kids. When will the Premier finally offer some certainty to people who are suffering and release the details of her phantom plan? Minister of Energy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In relation to our plan, I would suggest that the leader of the third party talk to her colleague who is the critic for energy, Mr. Speaker, because he was at the technical briefing and he would know that this plan, the Ontario Fair Hydro Plan and all of the information that was in there is going to be reducing rates for families like the family mentioned by 25% and not knowing the specifics of the individual family in the individual case, Mr. Speaker, but if they're actually in Sault Ste. Marie and part of the outlying areas, if they're a Hydro-1 customer, if they're an Algoma Power customer, Mr. Speaker, even if they're out closer to the shop low-way, Mr. Speaker, their distribution rate is going to be going down as well significantly, Mr. Speaker, and that means that seniors and families of low-income individuals, Mr. Speaker, they can save between 40% and 50%, Mr. Speaker. That's significant on top of the Ontario Electricity Support Program. We actually heard, listened and... Thank you. Supplementary. Speaker, the Liberals have not released publicly one scrap of paper that details their plan and we deserve to have that plan. Two weeks ago I met with a guy named Jerry in Thunder Bay. Jerry owns AJ's Trading Post, a great restaurant and a store just outside of the city of Thunder Bay. It was always Jerry's dream to use AJ's as a stepping stone to his next business venture, Speaker, but his Hydro bills now account for almost 60% of his overhead, making it impossible for him to realize that dream of expansion. Will this Premier offer business owners like Jerry some certainty right now and tell us which businesses will qualify for relief under her $40 billion phantom plan? Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, we provided a deck to her critic so she may want to speak to that because again all of the details were outlined in that all of those pieces of paper, Mr. Speaker. But also, let's talk about where the Premier visited recently when we're talking about businesses. So, we have here the Guelph Hydro Bill of the bookshelf, the bookstore that the Premier visited. Mr. Speaker, again this business, they're going to be saving $500 a month, Mr. Speaker. $500 a month when it comes to the Fair Hydro plan. The Premier also visited Majida, a restaurant in Guelph, Mr. Speaker. This place, this facility, Mr. Speaker, they're going to save $700 a month on average when it comes to their bill, Mr. Speaker. Those are significant savings for small businesses, Mr. Speaker. $500,000, Mr. Speaker. Small businesses and farms will qualify for the 25% reduction, Mr. Speaker. We heard small businesses, Mr. Speaker, and we acted. Final supplementary. I think it is unbelievable that the very top issue of the day is not being given the decency by this government to provide a public plan that's open and transparent and that people can read and look at. Businesses are integral to communities. Families are the heart of communities and this Premier doesn't seem to get that this phantom plan that's propped up by press releases and PR is not enough to ensure the long-term prosperity of communities in Ontario. When is this Premier going to stop putting her interests and her political party's interests first? When is she going to stop benefiting her friends and bankers on pastry and instead put forward a plan that really fixes our hydro system and addresses the concerns of these businesses. Thank you. Can you see it, please? Can you see it, please? Thank you. Minister? The leader of the third party gets a copy of the deck, Mr. Speaker, so you can see it for yourself. But also, Mr. Speaker, when talking about who actually is in support of this fair hydro plan, Mr. Speaker, let me quote Francesca Dobb and the Executive Director that Kathleen Wynne's Government is listening to people. With these positive changes, our rural community will now truly benefit from the low-cost power it produces. What about Ontario regional chief Isidore Day, Mr. Speaker? The elimination of the delivery charge will assist our citizens by reducing energy poverty in our communities. It also represents recognition for the use of the land and development and expansion of the provincial energy grid. Today's commitment by the Ontario Government is commendable and allows a path forward for greater quality of life for First Nations in Ontario, Mr. Speaker. We listen like Chief Day. We listen to people like Francesca Dobbin and we act, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, to the Premier. On Thursday, governments' ill-conceived funding policies and neglect of rural education and services caused several communities in my riding to lose their excellent rural schools. Rothwell Hospital Rook Secondary North Stormont Public and SJ McLeod Schools are set to close. Limiting student achievement and increasing the township's ability to have young entrepreneurs and businesses. By the time our education funding review panel starts to work, it will be too late to say the high quality rural public education for many students across Ontario. This can't be allowed to happen and the Premier must stop procrastinating. Will this Premier show some integrity and some common sense, put an immediate moratorium in school closures in Ontario until a full review of all provincial services in small urban and rural interiors completed, including education and the appropriate funding formula established. Minister of Education. Minister of Education. Thank you, Speaker and I'm very pleased to rise and to speak about the investments that are being made in rural schools because, Mr Speaker, we know that schools play a vital role in the social fabric that ties our communities together, Mr Speaker and the member opposite knows I've visited a number of schools in his area to talk about this specific issue because we want to ensure that our schools are providing, Mr Speaker, the best possible education to our students in rural communities and when school boards have to make a decision that involves the closure of a school, Mr Speaker, that's a very difficult decision that the school board has to make and they do that with the input from all parts of that school community, Mr Speaker, including community members as well as with their local municipality and other organizations in that community, Mr Speaker, and I will speak very specifically to the members area in the supplementary. Mr Speaker, on the eve of closing seven or one in four elementary schools in Leeds Grenville, the education minister told the upper Canada trustees she was proud of them. That's right. She was proud they were about to devastate those who fought so hard to keep those rural schools open. You know who I'm proud of, Speaker? I'm proud of the parents the municipal and community leaders who worked tirelessly and put forward ideas to save their schools but they never had a chance. The board was never serious about working with these communities. Speaker, does the Premier agree closing this many schools is bad for rural education and will she now admit that a moratorium is the only way to save rural schools? Mr Speaker, you know an arbitrary moratorium on school closures would not allow our local school boards to make the decisions that they need to make which is in the best interest of local schools and Mr Speaker, I just want to just correct the information that the member opposite has put forward because you know I actually contacted the chair of upper Canada school board Mr Speaker because they were doing leading work to protect students against opioid issues in their local communities Mr Speaker and I felt that that work that they were doing with public health officials was protecting our students Mr Speaker and keeping them safe and keeping them healthy and that's why we have to support our local locally elected school officials to act and to do what they know to do the best interest of their students Mr Speaker and that includes decisions around the school configuration Mr Speaker and I trust our local trustees to do the best possible. Thank you very much Mr Speaker my question is to the Premier Ontario small businesses have lost confidence in this government a recent Ontario chamber of commerce report found that a full 78% of small businesses are not confident in this provinces economic outlook these are the real job creators in the province of Ontario they don't believe that the direction this government is taking the economy and the business in fact they believe this government will only make things worse with runaway hydro costs it's easy to see why businesses cannot trust the choices this government makes why doesn't this Premier think that the confidence of Ontario's businesses are important Mr Speaker and I would like to respond to the honourable member this morning I just in fact had a meeting with small business officials at 8.30 am this morning and they indicated to me that up to 1,000 small, medium-sized businesses SCMs will soon be eligible for the industrial conservation ICI saving about one third under current bills similar to home customers an 8% rebate for small businesses is now being provided this is in addition to the HST input tax credit that many small businesses are eligible to claim that the small business tax is above the lowest in North America supplementary and we have the highest hydro cost in North America start the clock supplementary back to the Premier skyrocketing hydro prices are threatening to close the doors of small businesses across this province we bring these stories to you every single week half of Ontario Chamber of Commerce members believe that a reduction of electricity costs will have a positive impact on their organisational health but what has this Liberal government put forward to reduce the burden of high hydro costs a $40 billion borrowing scheme that does nothing to fix the problems in the electricity system that is an extra $40 billion in interest costs that Ontario businesses and families will have to pay back for years to come it is irresponsible when will this government stop making life their desperate hydro tactic is nothing more than a partisan scheme that will cost all of us more in the long run Minister Mr. Speaker when I heard the member supplementary I reminded of the former observation that Sean Conway once made when he was responding to a question I think the minister's information was a bit of a petite canard but frankly but frankly Mr. Speaker we just got the financial accountability officers report back in August which confirmed that Ontario is in the middle of the pack in terms of energy costs in Canada and we've already done all the heavy lifting of modernizing our energy infrastructure and transitioning off to coal will the FOA reports add from a value perspective our government recognizes need small businesses alive and well Ontario and I'd be prepared to share this information with the Honourable Lady Mr. Speaker well thank you my question to the Minister of Children and Youth Services now Speaker I know the minister has been hard at work insuring that the beginning of the roll out of the new Ontario autism program in June of this year is as seamless as possible and I know the minister has been meeting with parents from across the province to listen to their concerns and to their ideas it is after all the utmost importance to this government that all students are provided with the best supports and possible especially those who have autism or on the spectrum I've had so many calls from constituents in beaches east York who are caring for their children who are on the autism spectrum and they do need our support and they are looking for a direct funding option and it is our duty Speaker to help them succeed so Speaker with the Minister of Children Youth Services clarify whether or not he is considering a direct funding option for parents who are caring for their children who are on the autism spectrum Thank you Minister Thank you Mr. Speaker Thank you for the question I want to acknowledge that over the last weekend there was a lot of discussion on social media in regards to the roll out of the new program the autism program here in June and I understand that there is a lot of concern from parents because we are talking about children in the face of these difficult questions I want to provide some clarity on some of the issues that were under discussion this weekend I want them to know that we will be rolling out a direct funding option as part of the Ontario autism program in June and I also want parents to know Mr. Speaker that parents who are receiving so children and families who are receiving direct funding currently will do so past June until they are brought into the new program I just want to say this one more time Mr. Speaker because I think it is important that direct funding will be part of this new program I know there are a lot of parents who are anxious out there but we will continue to work together with parents and babies to make sure we position children Thank you Thank you Mr. Speaker I want to thank the minister for the great work that he is doing on this file but I also want to acknowledge the work that the minister responsible for accessibility and her contributions to this file previously and ongoing My understanding is the minister is going to haul and blur view kids rehabilitation center this afternoon to speak with parents and to check in on the progress of this key government commitment and that commitment is to establish five new autism spectrum disordered diagnostic hubs across the province Now last year I toured an autism care center Breakthrough Autism which is run by Nancy and I got to tell you Speaker they are doing incredible work with children with autism Ontario was also investing in unprecedented billion dollars over the next five years to create these new services for children and youth with autism spectrum disorder so Speaker could the minister of children use services tell us more about what these hubs will be doing and how they are expected to make a difference in the province and how key government commitment Thank you Mr. Speaker and again thank you to the member for the question the member is right we will be investing five million dollars into five diagnostic hubs across the province of Ontario Mr. Speaker this will allow for staff to do to extend their hours to build more capacity within the system and we estimate that two thousand more children will be assessed per year through this investment and as the minister of children use services I have to say Mr. Speaker that I'm proud of this government I'm proud of the work we're doing to support families who have children with autism and I'm proud to be leading a program that will be launching in June Mr. Speaker we're also committed to creating 16,000 new service spaces that will significantly reduce wait times here in the province of Ontario I pledge this government's continued commitment to work together across ministries to ensure that everyone with autism growing up Ontario has the support and services they need to realize their dreams and their full potential Thank you Mr. Speaker Thank you Mr. Speaker my question is to the premier Mr. Speaker despite this government creating many of its own problems they are once again using taxpayer dollars in attempt to save themselves the auditor general has stated that the premier's recent hydro ads quote convey a positive impression of the current government in his more like a pat on the back type of advertisement the ads would not have passed under the previous legislation close quote two years ago when the government reduced the oversight of the auditor general the deputy premier stated quote this legislation expands the oversight of our advertising and it clarifies what is in fact considered partisan close quote Speaker given the auditor's comments can the premier really say that the auditor's powers to block partisan advertising have been expanded Thank you Mr. Speaker President of the Treasury Board Yes thank you very much I want to point out that we need a little bit of a reality check here the Ontario legislature the Ontario government is the only government in Canada that actually has an advertising act that lays out the rules and in fact the ads in questions follow the legislation are consistent with the rules that are set out and the budget has been set out by the legislature and they are not in contempt of the legislature and I would point out that this much love the legislation in an original form that they voted against it Supplementary the member from Dufferin Caledon I think the minister is forgetting a couple of other facts the facts are that two years ago you changed the legislation to make the auditor general a better this government has funded partisan ads through taxpayer funds the government's pension pan ads cost Ontarians almost $800,000 the auditor called those ads self-congratulatory and stated that they had added no value to the public in the last two years this government has spent nearly $6 million taxpayer money on a series of ad campaigns on the environment the auditor said it would be seen as self-congratulatory and in some cases misleading Mr. Speaker will the premier restore you can't do that withdraw please carry on will the premier restore the auditor general's authority to review the government opposite is forgetting some facts it was that it was her government when they were in power and under Mike Harris's leadership advertising worth $400 million this government came into office one of the earliest action they took is brought in a piece of legislation that would ensure that we do not have that kind of Mike Harris style government advertising and Speaker you wonder you wonder how did the Tories vote about that bill they voted against that bill so did the NDP so I would like to ask the member opposite what were you thinking then why did you not support that bill that creates one of the most strictest and stringent regulations on advertising government advertising in Canada the only legislation that has a law like this they have very little ground to stand on speaker thank you the member from London West thank you Speaker my question is to the premier this government fails to show leadership to address London's mental health crisis my community is looking for solutions such as the innovative ER diversion project between London Health Sciences Centre the CMAJ crisis centre and Middlesex London EMS all the project requires is the health minister sign off to fund the EMS transfer of non-acute mental health patients directly to the crisis centre instead of to the hospital the project would divert 3,000 patients a year and save $2.5 million annually money that is desperately needed in my community will the premier direct the minister of health to sign off on this project today thank you thank you Mr Speaker as I mentioned last week in my response to this question there is a legislation in the province of Ontario called the ambulance act it pertains to the governance, the activities issues of deployment where individuals, patients can be dropped off by EMS pertains to all of the elements that surround our emergency medical services and our ambulance services it would be a violation of the act Mr Speaker today to allow an ambulance to be dropped off a patient at a location other than a hospital I know that one of the whether it's a pilot project or otherwise Mr Speaker I am looking very closely at this project we were the government that funded CMHA to open and run this incredible crisis centre in the community we are working very closely with all partners to see how we can further provide care to these vulnerable individuals that were true that approving the pilot would be breaking the law which is not this government has had two years to figure out how to make it happen as CTV reported last week in London the need for this diversion project has never been more urgent LHSC's psychiatric ER is at 152% capacity and 26 mental health patients are waiting for beds the Liberal government refusing to support the efforts that London is making to deal with this urgent and ongoing crisis thank you well thank you Mr Speaker and I'll state again that the Linn, the local hospital CMHA itself my ministry, my office myself were all engaged in conversations to see how we might be able to find a path forward Mr Speaker but it would require a change to take place on that one possible solution that was provided some time ago Mr Speaker was that if that crisis centre was actually to come under the corporation of the hospital then it would be possible and it would be legal Mr Speaker as has been done in other parts of the province for that deployment and that drop off to take place at the crisis centre it was decided locally not to pursue that path so we're looking at that we funded, that we started along with CMHA last year that service is augmented even further thank you, further questions new question, the member from Kingston in the audience Mr Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport as the former parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport I saw first hand the benefits of our government's support to indigenous sport and recreation for example, nearly in its 10th year, the community Aboriginal Recreation Activator Program continues to improve the quality of life and well being of First Nation communities through sport and recreation in communities all across Ontario this program supports the calls to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission as well as the recommendations generated by the Feathers of Hope report which was written to address the needs of difficulties facing indigenous young people Mr Speaker, through you to the Minister can you tell the members of this House about what else our government is doing to support physical activity and recreation based programming for First Nations thank you, the Minister of Tourism Culture and Sport thank you very much to the member for the question and for her advocacy speaker on behalf of First Nations communities across this province I'm very proud, yes very proud of the community Aboriginal Recreation Activator Program which helps to support the integration of traditional values and culture into sport and recreation programming benefitting over 50,000 First Nations Ontarians. Since 2006 we're very proud that $7.8 million has been invested in First Nations communities through CARA and the program continues to expand in fact speaker it's grown by 80% since 2014 alone from 15 to 27 communities it's really exciting building on that model our government recently hosted two successful youth cultural camp speaker supporting indigenous youth and accessing their cultural teachings through hands-on programs. Two of these programs one in Pekanjakum and one in Fort Albany attracted over 250 indigenous First Nations young people I look forward to more in my supplementary thank you thank you Mr Speaker and thank you Minister for your response it's fantastic to hear how wide reaching comprehensive and successful our government's investment in indigenous sport and recreation has been the CARA programs community development model is considered government across government as a best practice for First Nations programming I know the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinty outside of Kingston are a CARA community that have benefited tremendously from the CARA program as the MPP for Kingston and the Islands I'm very encouraged by this. Mr Speaker through you to the Minister can you please tell the members of this House about other ways Ontario is engaging in welcoming young indigenous athletes into organized sport Thank you Minister Thank you Speaker again thanks to the member from Kingston and the islands and I want to thank and recognize my colleague Mr Speaker Mr Speaker on behalf of indigenous Ontarians both in sport and more broadly our government's speaker continues to provide funding to the Aboriginal Sport and Wellness Council of Ontario to oversee grassroots physical activity and participation, coordinate sport development and coaching initiatives and represent Ontario's indigenous people at the national level in July 2016 the council hosted the first Ontario Aboriginal Summer Games welcoming athletes, coaches volunteers from across our province and this summer speaker I'm very excited that Toronto will for the first time host the North American Indigenous Games these games promise to be one of the most exciting sporting events in Canada they will represent all 13 provinces and territories and 5,000 athletes from across North America leveraging the investments we made in the Pan Am Games and all the facilities that they have Thank you very much Mr Speaker my question today is for the Premier many groups and organizations are simply ignored when they come to Queen's Park to meet with this government so I strongly urge the Premier and her government to listen and act upon what is being said here today at the legislature Speaker as a past president of the Strathrowing District Chamber of Commerce I can tell you that the members and leaders of the Chamber of Commerce are some of the most active, engaged and involved people in our communities of vital organization here in the province but Speaker only 24% of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce membership is confident in the Ontario economy Speaker how can the Premier stand here and say that the economy is on track when 3 out of 4 members of the Chamber of Commerce lack confidence in the economic outlook in the province of Ontario Thank you I'll give it to Fred Minister of Economic Development and Growth Thank you so much Mr Speaker let me begin by welcoming the Ontario Chamber of Commerce here to Queen's Park today I don't know if this government has a partner that we've worked more closely with than our friends of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce when it comes to developing the economic strategies Mr Speaker that have taken Ontario to the forefront in Canada in economic growth the Ontario Chamber of Commerce has been with us every step of the way they supported and actually urged us to make the investments in infrastructure the $100 billion invested over the last 10 years the $160 billion will investing over the next 12 they've urged us and supported us in making the investments in our people in building one of the best education systems anywhere in the world today and Mr Speaker they've urged us and supported us in our commitment to innovation that's building the next generation here in Ontario so we're in a position to lead the world Thank you Member from Hamilton East 20 Greek Second Time Well thank you Speaker and back to the Premier Speaker the results of the business confidence survey indicate that Ontario business is in a delicate position Chamber members are unsure of the stability of the provincial economy and critical of the impact liberal policy will have on their organization this lack of confidence is causing businesses to hold off on hiring investment and ultimately growth here in Ontario Speaker the most recent example is Fiat Chrysler which is now planning to wind down its transport operations in Windsor affecting nearly 300 jobs Speaker all of this stems from the burden of input costs that this liberal government is placing on businesses Speaker the Ontario Chamber of Commerce is our largest most inclusive business network why does the Premier refuse to listen to Ontario's business leaders like the Ontario Chamber of Commerce Minister There's never been a time that I can recall when our business community should be more confident in our economy here in Ontario than today we're talking about an economy whose unemployment rate is at a level not seen for over a decade at the lowest level it's been in 10 years we're talking about an economy that's seen the creation of 700,000 net new jobs across this province we're talking an economy that's not only leading the country in growth it's leading the G7 in growth we're talking about an economy that's attracting more foreign direct investment here in this province than any other jurisdiction in North America our business leaders are confident in this economy they're investing in this economy in record amounts they're creating jobs in this economy and they're doing it in partnership with our government in sync with our economic development strategy it's a great time to create jobs a great time to invest in Thank you New question? New question to the leader of the third party My question is for the Premier this weekend a young woman named Niloufar told the media that she was evicted from her home because her landlord told her he was moving in it turned out that her landlord just wanted to cash in on Toronto's red-hot rental market because just a few weeks after she moved out he was advertising the apartment for $500 more than Niloufar was paying Does the Premier think it's about time to tighten up the rules and make sure that people like Ms. Golkar are protected from economic evictions like this one Thank you Premier Minister of Community and Social Services Minister of Community and Social Services and of course we are very aware that there are many Ontarians who are faced with housing costs that continue to rise dramatically evictions do occur obviously from time to time we're very aware that families on tight budgets are taking the pinch in a rental market that is struggling to keep up with demand and that's why we've been developing a plan to address unfair rises in rental costs by delivering substantive rent control reform in Ontario as part of an ongoing review of the Residential Tenancies Act and so of course we have been taking action the member from Windsor to come see consulting very very broadly what we've been taking I will expand on the supplementary Thank you Mr. Speaker The Ontario Landlord and Tenant Board has seen a 23% spike in these types of evictions just since 2013 it's a sign that renting in Toronto is becoming more and more uncertain and expensive closing the loophole that allows buildings built after 1991 to be exempt from meaningful rent control is a very good first step in addressing this growing problem and this growing insecurity that families are feeling 45% of people who live in Toronto are renters does the premier think that extending rent control protection to 45% of Torontonians is actually the right thing to do Thank you Some of the initiatives that we've been taking are working with our municipal partners to make secondary suites a quick way to provide affordable housing in our communities passing inclusionary zoning legislation that will empower municipalities to require the construction of affordable units in new residential developments freezing the municipal property tax on apartment buildings to provide relief to renters unless we forget of course it was our automatic evictions under the previous P.C. government automatic evictions were granted unless the tenant filed a notice within five days so we certainly do believe that eviction is a remedy of last resort and that all tenants are entitled to a hearing at the landlord and tenant to decide this issue and we wish to ensure fairness for all parties Thank you Mr. Speaker Can you question the member from the public official? I think it's been a very short time and I'm using it as a general access to justice continues to be a challenge for many people in Ontario Legal Aid Ontario plays an important role in addressing this challenge and makes a positive impact in many people's lives everyday they help almost 4,000 people access legal services regardless of their ability and legal aid Ontario to ensure that more people have access to legal representation. I understand that on April 1st Ontario is providing even more people with affordable access to legal services by increasing the financial eligibility threshold for legal aid by another 6%. Can the Attorney General tell us more about our government's investments and how raising the financial eligibility threshold will ensure people can access legal services? Thank you very much. Speaker and I appreciate the question from the MPP for Metropical Lake showing this very important issue. The member is correct in saying that access justice is a serious challenge facing Ontario's justice system. That is why our government has made historic investments in legal aid Ontario. I'm pleased to let this legislature know that we increased legal aid Ontario's funding by $153 million over the past four years so that more low income and vulnerable Ontarians across the province can have access to legal services regardless of their ability to pay. The member is also correct Speaker, that on April 1st Ontario is providing even more people with affordable access to legal services by increasing the financial eligibility threshold for legal aid by another 6%. This is the fourth time that our government has boosted the eligibility threshold by 6%. This increase will have a real positive impact on people's everyday lives. Effective April 1st about 140,000 people will be eligible to receive legal aid services they need. Thank you Mr. Speaker. I want to thank the Attorney General for his answer. Community and legal clinics such as the South Etobicoke Community Legal Services play an integral role in Ontario's justice system. And I know my constituents will be pleased to hear that our government's commitment to raise the financial eligibility threshold will ensure that about 140,000 more people will be eligible to receive the legal services they need regardless of their ability to pay on April 1st. Mr. Speaker, increasing the eligibility threshold builds on our government's commitment to improve access to justice for people all across Ontario. This is part of our 2014 commitment to expand access to legal aid services to an additional 1 million Ontarians in 10 years. Can the Attorney General tell us more about our government's commitment and what the next steps are after the increases are complete? Thank you very much. The member from Etobicoke Lecture is right. Our goal is to expand access to legal aid services provided by LAO to an additional 1 million Ontarians in 10 years. Speaker and I have some very good news. With this fourth threshold increase, more than 500,000 more people in total are now eligible for legal aid services. This is important, Speaker, because it means that Ontario is now more than halfway to our goal to expand access to legal aid services to an additional 1 million people. I would also like to recognize the community and legal clinics that play an integral role in delivering legal aid. We value the work they do to ensure that people with lower incomes have access to justice. And, Speaker, on behalf of our government, I would like to thank LAO for their work as well as the services provided by community and legal clinics. We look forward to continue to support them and to work with them to improve access to justice for all Ontarians. Thank you, Speaker. Thank you, Speaker. During the Ontario Chamber of Commerce's consultation process of their 2016 report on the skills mismatch, they said many small business owners validated the concern. To the Premier. Thank you. Many small business owners validated the concern that there's a serious mismatch between the nature of job vacancies and the qualifications of those seeking work. In fact, the report says 39% of employers have difficulty filling a job opening over the last year. This number was up 11% from 2014. Speaker, the government's own highly skilled workforce expert panel report also showed that the skills mismatch is a significant problem. Speaker, when will this government start taking the skills mismatch seriously and implement the recommendations from the highly skilled workforce panel report? Premier. Minister of Economic Development and Growth. Minister of Economic Development and Growth. Well, Mr. Speaker, actually I really appreciate that question. I think it's a very valid line of questioning and in many ways, I mean, the highly skilled workforce was our task force. And we set it up for that very reason to give us advice because in a fast changing economy where we have many of our sectors migrating and automating and changing the way they do work, we've got to make sure that our workforce and our education systems and our skilled training systems move with them. And that's entirely why under the leadership of Sean Conway, our Minister, Deb Matthews, appointed that task force and the recommendations that they brought forward are extremely important as we put forward our strategies to stay at the cutting edge of skills development and education in this world. So a very valid question and we're on it and we'll continue to be on it and we'll certainly see it as a priority. New supplementary. Back to the Premier, Speaker. The Conference Board of Canada estimates that the skills mismatch cost the economy of Ontario up to $24.3 billion in gross domestic product and $3.7 billion in tax revenues each year. Weeks ago, I asked the Minister of Advanced Education when this government will address the skills mismatch by adopting the recommendations from the highly skilled workforce expert panel report. The Minister's response provided no deadline, Speaker, and vague commitments to implementing the recommendations from the report. Will the Premier step in and demonstrate that the skills mismatch is being taken seriously? Or will we yet be given another vague response? Thank you, Minister. Mr. Speaker, the Premier doesn't have to step in to make sure that our efforts to enhance skills in this province are taken seriously. That's part of the DNA of our Premier and it's part of the DNA of this government. And it's part of the reason why, Mr. Speaker, we've been successful in the future in building a strong economy and we'll be successful in building a new economy here in Ontario based on the fast-changing innovation that's taking place around the world. So this is an issue we take extremely seriously. It's absolutely crucial that we continue to work with our education leaders, and we have a great education minister here that's highly engaged in that. We continue to work with our post-secondary partners, Mr. Speaker. We continue to work with our labour leaders. We continue to work with our businesses to ensure that we're producing the most highly skilled workforce anywhere in the world today, Mr. Speaker. We're close to being there now, but it's a fiercely competitive global environment. We're continuing to be there in the future as well. The time for question period is over. Is there an order? Point of order, the minister. Thank you, Speaker. I just want to take a minute to wish my seatmate to the right. The MPP for Cambridge are very happy birthday. There will be no deferred votes. This house stands recess until 1 p.m. this afternoon.