 It is now time for oral questions. I recognize the leader of the Majesty's Loyal Opposition. Thank you so much, Speaker. The first question this morning is for the Premier. Over two months ago, the Premier announced that he would strike a commission into long-term care, claiming that the Government-controlled commission would be able to move faster than an independent judicial public inquiry. Two months later, it seems that they've forgotten any sense of urgency whatsoever. Over 1,840 seniors have died from COVID-19 infections. Staff shortages and, in some cases, potentially criminal negligence. So why has the Premier failed to launch his scaled-down commission into long-term care two full months after having announced it? Mr. Long-term Care. Thank you, Speaker, and thank you for the question to the member opposite. Our government has said it is committed to an independent commission. That is in the works. It will be announced, and our government is committed to transparency. I want to assure all Ontarians that this will happen, and it is in the works, and it will be announced. Thank you. A supplementary question? Well, Speaker, residents of long-term care, their families, and the staff who work there are skeptical. Skeptical about the Premier's plans for a government-controlled commission. The last commission, in fact, struck by this Premier, was a political exercise completely designed to artificially inflate the deficit. So it's hard to blame people for being skeptical, Speaker. The Premier has had two months to work on this project, and the entire public service to help with what he said was an urgent action that was required. So can the Premier tell us what exactly is causing the delay? Mr. Long-term Care. Thank you, Speaker, and thank you again. There are many actions that our government is taking to address the issues surrounding the pandemic. There is no doubt that this affected Ontarians, our loved ones in long-term care, the hard-working staff, and my heart goes out to everyone who has been affected by this, not only in Ontario, but all across Canada and all across the globe. Our government is committed to having the commission happen. It will happen, and I want to reassure all Ontarians about our government's commitment to transparency. Thank you. Final supplementary. Well, Speaker, families are fearful that this government is about to sweep their concerns about this broken system under the rug. Over the next few weeks, the government's schedule to start handing back control of long-term care facilities to for-profit corporations after they had to be taken over because they were utterly incapable of protecting and caring for the residents that lived in their homes. Families know that these for-profit companies are working the back rooms. They see that they've hired connected conservative insiders to ensure that this broken system stays in place. Can the Premier assure families today that for-profit operators will have no role whatsoever in the commission that he has yet to appoint? Minister of Long-Term Care. Thank you, Speaker, and thank you once again for the question. The commission will be announced. There will be transparency. But when we talk about the ownership of homes, the most important thing that we should be talking about is putting the residents at the centre. We are modernising Ontario's long-term care system to be ready for coming waves, putting the capacity in place that the previous government did not do for many years. We are putting residents at the centre and their families and staff. This is our mission in long-term care. This is what we will do. And this is what our government is committed to doing. Next question to the opposition. Thank you so much. My next question is also to the Premier. But it is unbelievable that this government pretends that for-profit corporations put anything at the centre other than profits. That's the problem. That's why we have to get profits out of long-term care. But there's questions about the Halton District School Board who has now joined a growing list of opponents to the Conservatives' plan to make everyday families choose between their kids and their jobs this fall. Trustees wrote to the Minister of Education saying that they are especially concerned about the lack of available childcare spaces for families in our province. The government has repeatedly stated that 90% of childcare spaces could potentially be available. Can the Premier tell parents how many of Ontario's 5,523 licensed childcare facilities are actually up and running as of today? Minister of Education. Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I thank the member opposite for the question. Indeed, Mr Speaker, we understand and appreciate that Moms and Dads in this province, they need continued support, they need to have confidence that as they return to the labour market that they can have their children in care. And that's why, Speaker, we've taken action to expand the cohort, to expand support, to ensure that our operators have the PPE, the cleaning supports, the financial support that enables them to be sustainable for the decades to come. It also ensures, Speaker, that yes, we do get to 91% capacities. As yesterday, we're committed to getting to 100% to work with the sector, with home care, with childcare, with institutional childcare and all other options available to us to ensure parents have that confidence and have that choice. In addition, we've dedicated a billion dollars to build 30,000 spaces within this province. We are on track to doing that through investments to the childcare tax cut to give up to 75% of childcare expenses to working parents of this province. We know this is important. We're going to continue to focus on accessibility for all parents of this province. And the supplementary question. Speaker, this is a government that one of their first actions was to take a hatchet to childcare funding in our province. It's unbelievable that this minister pretends that that never happened. But as of last week, less than half of those childcare centres were open. Only 2,066 out of 5,520 children and 1,523 childcare centres. So school trustees in Halton were clear with the government that their model relies heavily on accessible and affordable childcare that is not available. But let's not forget, for everyday Ontarians, as I said, that was one of the first things that the government cut when they came into office. When parents are stressed and they're clamoring to find available and affordable childcare that allows them to get back to work, does the Premier really think that he can successfully reopen the economy without affordable childcare for families? Well thank you, Speaker. I'm very proud of the government initiated earlier on in our mandate the Child Tax Credit for all compared to the province of Ontario. And I think if we are to assert that affordability is a cornerstone of our political program, then I think the member opposite may want to support it. And I think there's an opportunity to support 300,000 working parents of this province up to 75% of expenses. We've dedicated a billion dollars to build 30,000 childcare spaces within our schools. We are ensuring institutional childcare is supported, but we also give parents the choice of where they choose best to raise their children. And that flexibility, that support for universalising access is important. And Speaker, in addition, we've set aside additional funding for the current iteration as we deal with the COVID-19 reality more funding for cleaning. And Speaker, we're doing that because we want to ensure parents have access to childcare within their communities in the coming decade, Speaker. Final supplementary. Well Speaker, new Democrats don't support cuts to childcare and we don't support cuts to public health and we don't support cuts to mental health. We don't support this government's agenda because it's bad for families and we're seeing right now in the COVID-19 context just how bad it is for families. School boards though need direct information right now. They need clear direction, they need clear leadership and they need a plan that works for them and they need a plan that works for parents and they need a plan that works for teachers and a plan that works for students. As trustees have told the Ford government and I quote childcare costs money. Single mothers may have to make unbearable life-altering choices. We may find desperate parents who could not secure our Ford childcare leaving the workforce or leaving their young children alone at home. When will the Ford government, Speaker, step up with innovative planning, an actual investment that is needed to ensure that schools can open safely and that childcare will be available for our kids and our families. Thank you, Speaker. We appreciate that ensuring childcare remains accessible in communities and as well as getting schools reopened in September is extremely important for economic recovery. It's why, Speaker, we put in place a phased approach to support childcare, to incrementally grow that capacity based on public health advice and the concurrence of the chief medical officer of health who has said that he is supportive of moving to a cohort from 10 to 15 keeping in mind that we had emergency childcare open and we know, Speaker, when it comes to our kids the government has been clear, the premier has been clear, we will do whatever it takes to keep them safe. In the context of schools, Speaker, we're putting more funding and training in place. We're coming up with three options for every school board because of the challenges that are very real that may manifest this fall, including a second wave and in our developments of our planning for that to be proactive, to be ready to ensure children remain learning, we are asking school board to get those to the ministry by the 4th of August we will review them with the best medical minds in this province to ensure one objective which is the safety of all staff and all kids in this province. The next question from the opposition. Thanks so much, Speaker. My next question is also to the premier. The financial accountability officer released a report today that confirms what families across Ontario know about autism services. This government has increased waiting lists for the services that children with autism need. They haven't solved the problem. In fact the problem is getting worse under this government's watch. The FAO said that kids already in the program got needs-based funding but the premier has literally left everyone else without a plan, without stable funding and without help. Everyone else is just stuck waiting, Speaker. Why have autism services weightless grown under this premier's watch? Mr. Children, Community and Social Services. Mr. Speaker, and I want to thank the member opposite for a question on autism this morning. It's been a long time since I've been able to update the house on what's been happening on the autism file and I also want to thank the financial accountability officer for the report on autism this morning. It confirms what we've been saying for a long time, Mr. Speaker, that no government in the history of autism in Ontario has ever got this file right and that's why we took the time last to get the Ontario autism panel in making sure that we're going to get it right once and for all, Mr. Speaker. They came forward with many recommendations and those recommendations will serve as the foundation for the new needs-based program that we're rolling out in Ontario, Mr. Speaker. And to the member opposite's question more kiddos in Ontario and families with autism than ever before are receiving support from the Ontario government and the financial accountability officer's report says just that, Mr. Speaker. There are now 22,000 children in the province more than double at any time in the province's history kids receiving support from the provincial government when it comes to autism it's a reason to celebrate, Mr. Speaker. The supplementary question. What the FAO actually said is that the waitlist for needs-based services has reached 27,600 children. These are children who are languishing on waitlists without the needs-based services that they were promised by this government when it was running for election but that they have not seen yet even though this government is over halfway through their mandate. So just like the Liberals before them the PCs have said to families that children with autism can wait and they can wait and they can wait some more. According to the FAO government funding half of what it needs to be to maintain services and eliminate the waitlist. This government has ignored, belittled and hurt families and children with autism. That is their short legacy thus far. It's disgraceful and the problem is only getting worse. When is the government going to finally step up, stop hurting these families and start helping them for a change? Well in spite of the political rhetoric Mr. Speaker, the actual circumstances on the ground are very different than that as the member opposite knows this government actually doubled the amount of funding in the Ontario Autism Program to $600 million in the FAO's report actually says just that Mr. Speaker $270 million in direct support is going to families on that waitlist Mr. Speaker in the form of interim one-time funding and childhood budgets as well as the kids who are still in that legacy core behavioral programming Mr. Speaker we doubled the amount of funding to $600 million in this program. The implementation working group is working extremely hard at implementing the recommendations from the Ontario Autism Panel and I again want to thank all of those members who worked extremely hard last summer in putting these recommendations together so that we can once and for all fix this problem in Ontario have a needs based program that works for as many kids as possible in the same time providing those supports to families that are waiting Mr. Speaker we're well on our way to doing that I look forward to having some really good news on this front next week Mr. Speaker Thank you very much the next question the member for Bradford Brand Thank you Mr. Speaker my question is to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister we all know that municipalities form the backbone of our economy and they provide our residents rely on every single day the Minister recently introduced Bill 197 the COVID-19 Economic Recovery Act which is the first step in Ontario's recovery this bill introduces many measures that will help our communities could the Minister please explain in some more detail some of the things that this bill will do Thanks Mr. Speaker first I want to thank the member for the question I also on behalf of his constituents want to thank him for his advocacy and his hard work during the pandemic he has been a really shining star in his local community Bill 197 the COVID-19 Economic Recovery Act will ensure that every community in Ontario gets the help they need to bounce back stronger than ever changes proposed in this bill will allow municipalities to hold meetings electronically which we've heard loud and clear has actually increased public participation it will also change the way that municipalities collect revenues from development ensuring the services like libraries long-term care homes park land development affordable housing and more are 100% cost recoverable by the municipality throughout Ontario's recovery our government will continue to be a champion for communities all across Ontario Thank you Thank you minister for your response I know that you the minister of finance and our Premier have all been incredible advocates for every single one of our 444 municipalities especially at the federal negotiating table minister I know that our government is still ironing out the details of the funding commitment with our federal government but as I'm sure you know our communities are anxious to hear more could the minister please explain how important this commitment is thank you and minister leadership of Premier Ontario got its fair share of federal assistance Ontario will be receiving $7 billion through the safe restart framework the funding will in part flow to support municipalities to help restart their economies and support essential services so that we can continue to in part continue to work on our challenges ahead of COVID-19 our greatest challenges ahead of us speaker and we cannot overcome them alone everyone has a role in rebuilding our province and Bill 1 97 is just the start of that restart next question the member for Windsor West my question is to the Premier workers and experts are telling us that the social isolation and separation from loved ones is causing incredible and in some cases irreversible harm to people's health and well-being. One of my constituents, Tom, has intellectual disabilities and lives in support of housing. With the restrictions on group homes, Tom could not see his mother Linda for three months. The loss of routine and access to his mother was incredibly difficult and Tom ended up in the hospital after his behaviour escalated dramatically. The rules for group homes do not take into consideration Tom's unique needs and means of communication and Linda is still seen as a visitor rather than an essential support for Tom. Speaker, why does this government continue to ignore the rights of residents and keep forcing families apart? Minister of Children, Community and Social Services. Well thanks very much Mr. Speaker and I'm happy to take this question from the member opposite Mr. Speaker. One of the things that we've been focused on in congregate care during COVID-19 is ensuring that we're keeping the residents in those facilities as safe as we possibly can. Whether it's in the long-term care sector, whether it's in our youth justice facilities, Mr. Speaker, our correctional facilities, certainly our retirement homes as well. Minister Cho has been very active in making sure that those residents are safe in those facilities. Likewise I've been doing the same in the developmental services sector to ensure that some of our most vulnerable residents that are in those homes are protected from COVID-19. We came forward with visitor restrictions very very early on and making sure that non-essential visitors were not permitted in those homes so that we could stop COVID-19 at the door. We have essential visitors out there that need to get into these homes to provide care as well and we're working with all of our partners in the sector to ensure that we're meeting those needs for those individuals. Right now the most important factor in all of this Mr. Speaker is ensuring the safety of all of the individuals in those homes and protecting them and stopping COVID-19 at the door. And the supplementary question. Thank you, Speaker. It's very clear that the minister missed the fundamental point that these families are not non-essential visitors. They are essential to the well-being of the residents within congregate care. Speaker, this is all about priorities. We do not accept this government's answer that there's simply nothing they can do to allow full access to reunite families, especially as other parts of society like bars and restaurants are opening up. This is having a very real, very harmful impact on people's lives and it cannot continue. Yesterday I tabled a motion for the government to immediately implement a COVID-19 essential caregiver strategy. My call has been echoed by the RNAO, the Institute for Aging and so many other experts in the field. The motion urges the government to recognize and respect that essential caregivers are more than visitors and people residing in congregate care settings must be able to fully access their essential caregivers. It's their right, Speaker. The government must also step up with the resources required to safely implement this, including PPE and adequate, stable staffing levels. You should not be telling families they can hire people to send in to work instead of staffing these homes appropriately. Will the Premier support my motion and reunite families today? Well thank you Mr Speaker and again I want to assure the member opposite that we are working with the medical professionals at the command table through the Minister of Health and our Chief Medical Officer of Health, the Minister of Long-Term Care, my ministry, many others are involved in these discussions Mr Speaker and that's why we are making sure that we're protecting these vulnerable individuals in their home. I understand the sensitivity of the issue that the member opposite is talking about. She's talking about essential visitors and we are having those discussions at the command table but the most important priority right now is that we keep those individuals safe and that's at the top of the list in everything that we're considering in the government right now and that's very clear when you hear the Minister of Health or when you hear the Premier talk that all of the decisions that we're making are based on the health and safety of the people of Ontario. We're working on these plans I assure the member opposite that we are having those discussions to allow these essential visitors into the home but right now we're not ready to make that move just yet Mr Speaker. Member for Orléans. Thank you very much Mr Speaker and my question is for the Premier. Mr Speaker COVID-19 has created an environment of uncertainty for those in the autism community. Compounding the challenges already experienced by these families across Ontario, services have essentially come to a halt. No one in the community knows the future of the OAP. Parents and service providers are asking for essentially coordinated and comprehensive framework in regular communications with the ministry. What are they getting? They're getting radio silence Mr Speaker. Parents are frustrated that the government's one-size-fits-all approach to funding, particularly bridge funding, runs contrary to their rhetoric about every other government program. Today the FAO confirmed there's a glaring lack of capacity in the system and the government is spending three times less money per child today than just a few short years ago. When will the government finally take action and deliver a needs-based program for these families? Mr Children Community and Social Services. Well Mr Speaker I want to thank the member opposite for the question today and it's the first question that I've received from this member and I'm happy to address his concerns today. We would thank again the financial accountability officer for his report this morning. I think it shines a light on the fact that no government has ever gotten the autism file right Mr Speaker and we realize that and that's why we took six months last summer to make sure that the community was actually involved in developing a plan for the autism community Mr Speaker. They came forward with 69 pages of recommendations in their report and they are the foundation of the new needs-based program that is currently being developed. I want to assure the member opposite that the implementation working group has been working over the last six months volunteers again from the sector providing key input into this needs-based program. We're working extremely hard at that at the same time we're supporting families until that needs-based program is ready with interim one-time funding and the childhood budget program Mr Speaker. The supplementary. Thank you Mr Speaker my supplementary is also for the Premier. Last month my colleague from Don Valley East released a report outlining what we've heard from parents with autism and the challenges they have navigating the devastating program that exists during this pandemic. Parents with autistic children are finding ways to manage but it's clear they're facing additional stress and anxiety as a result of COVID. Methods alternative to in-person therapy have had poor results. Without in-person treatment parents are reporting widespread regression in the progress of their children. The lack of communications from this government and no plan for back to school has caused additional anxiety that the ministry is not prepared for the return of their children with autism to school in September. My question for the Premier how are you prepared for the return to school in the fall for these families and the children with autism. Mr Children Community and Social Services. Well thanks again Mr Speaker and thanks to the member opposite for the thoughtful question this morning and these are all things that we are considering as we move forward both with the needs-based autism program and the restart of school coming this September and I can assure you that the Minister of Education and our Cabinet and our caucus have been having great discussions on what that will look like particularly for children with special needs. We know that the recommendations from the Ontario Autism Panel will serve us as we develop the new needs-based program which has doubled in funding from the previous Liberal Government. I just want to remind the member opposite that there is $600 million now available in that program compared to $300 million under the Liberal Government. We also recognize Mr Speaker that over the last number of months with COVID-19 in our community in our province life has been very very difficult for families with children with special needs and that's why we're working extremely hard as cabinet to ensure that we respond to the accommodations that will be necessary to help those families that are feeling stress at this time to ensure that there is a logical move back into the classroom and that they're getting the supports that they need when they get there. Thank you. The next question the member for Sarnia Lampden. Thank you Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Long-Term Care. Our government has been clear since that we've made long-term care a priority. I'm backing that up with action. Last week the minister announced the modernized funding model which seems like a major step forward towards the sorely needed development of the new long-term care beds as well as upgrading existing ones to modern standards. I know that in the past allocations were announced with little or no progress towards construction actually starting. I remember the minister once saying that some of these bed beds have been allocated 10 years ago without any movement on construction. Ontarians know and we know that's simply not good enough. We've seen the need for long-term care beds get more critical with each passing year. The crisis we've seen during the pandemic underlines how critical the need is. Speaker can the minister tell this I was what the modern funding model will do to actually build beds. Mr. Long-Term Care. Thank you to the member from Sarnia Lampden for his amazing work over many years to serve his constituents and thank you for his concern about long-term care. The modernized funding model is a new approach that will help overcome barriers to the development and acceleration of construction of urgently needed long-term care spaces. And the member of Sarnia Lampden is right when he identifies how much we need these beds and these spaces not only new ones but also redeveloped modern design standards. He's also right when he points out that previous governments failed to build beds when they were needed and particularly within the last 10 to 15 years. Our government is taking a different approach. We are building a 21st century long-term care system where Ontarians can be confident in having the care they need when and where they need it. Our government is putting forth bold new efforts to accelerate the development of long-term care across this province. We are investing 1.75 million dollars into long-term care and providing development grants to cover upfront costs like development charges, land and construction expenses. We are moving for our residents in long-term care and those who need it in the future. Thank you and a supplementary question. Thank you speaker and thank you to the minister for that answer. I'm glad to see the government acknowledging the differences between communities and regions and addressing that each type of community faces different issues in their development. It's also important that she recognizes that smaller homes face real challenge in adding new spaces and redeveloping old ones. In southwestern Ontario for example the region I'm proud to represent in this house we have larger communities like Sarnia, Windsor and London with many towns and rural areas in between. Each of these communities requires a different approach Mr. Speaker and their developments face different challenges. The flexibility to deal with the need is a hallmark feature of this new policy. I'm also glad that flexibility is accompanied by new funding dollars and new supports for development of these long-term care homes. Will the minister tell this house what the modernized funding model will do for southwestern Ontario? Mr. Long-term care. Thank you speaker and thank you to the member for the question. In Chatham Kent there are two projects that will upgrade 192 beds to modern standards. In Essex one project will build 36 new beds and we develop another 60. In Lampden and Sarnia a project will add eight new beds and we develop a further 152. In Elgin our government is modernizing 100 beds. In Middlesex in London there are seven projects and that will create 100 new and 645 redeveloped beds. These projects are in various stages of development and we expect nine of them to be under construction over the next year. In southwestern Ontario and across the province we are and will be building long-term care capacity. We are taking bold action to get shovels in the ground faster and get people in the beds faster getting the care that they need now and in the future. The modernized funding model is a major step towards repairing, rebuilding and advancing long-term care in Ontario. There are more steps that will be taken and we will continue to do this work. This is very real. I want to ensure all of Ontario that these projects are in the pipeline, they are underway and they will arrive. Thank you. Next question the member for Timmons. My question Mr Speaker is for the Minister of Transportation. Across this province our government, the government of Ontario and this legislature, appropriates dollars in order to keep our highways open, in order to run the trains, in order to put the buses on the road. And we don't think twice about that because that's basic transportation infrastructure. But in places in northern Ontario where you have flying communities in the northwest and the northeast, there are no roads, there are, there is no rail. The only connection is by aircraft and during this pandemic revenues are down by 70 percent for most of the northern airlines. They approached you early on and said will you help us put in place some sort of program that we can keep our planes in the air and move people and freight in and out of those communities who need it. They're now announcing reductions and they have announced reductions to service. The sad part is is when they did approach you, you asked them to put something together, then you walked away and said go talk to the feds. Why are these people not more deserving than the rest of Ontarians when it comes to transportation infrastructure that everybody else gets and deserves? Please make your comments through the chair. Minister of Transportation to reply. Thank you Mr Speaker and first of all I absolutely reject the premise of his question. Mr Speaker our government has been incredibly supportive of communities and transportation projects in northern Ontario. First of all with respect to remote airports we have provided additional funding to remote airports throughout this pandemic. Then as private carriers we're withdrawing from the north. We accelerated plans of the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission to provide inner community bus service from Thunder Bay to Winnipeg. Mr Speaker this has been not this is unprecedented Mr Speaker. Order. Moreover Mr Speaker we have just recently. Order. The host will come to order. Mr Transportation to reply. And moreover Mr Speaker we've just recently announced hundreds of millions of dollars of new funding for transportation projects across this province including in northern northern Ontario. So if the member of Ontario than perhaps he would prefer we did not build those highways and rehabilitate those roads. Thank you. Supplementary question. Okay let me let me try this again. Nobody is against fixing highways or doing what you did with the buses. Those are good things. Nobody argues. However stop applauding yourself because however there are communities that don't have highways and don't have rail. The only connection is by airplane and they're pulling out. Why? Because they went to your government asked for assistance as they did in none of it. Northwestern territories and the province of Quebec where those provinces and territories stepped up provided a subsidy in order to allow these operators to operate at a break even point. You've now pulled away and said go talk to the feds not my problem theirs. Why are Ontarians who live in First Nations communities no less deserving of the attention and the dollars of this government when it comes to providing transportation infrastructure. As I said Mr. Speaker we have been supporting remote airports since the beginning of our mandate but most recently in the middle of this pandemic we provided four million dollars in additional funding for remote airports to deal with exactly the concerns that the member opposite is raising. Mr. Speaker the province funds 100 percent of the operational costs of our remote airports. We are continuing to do that and we're working very closely with our partners in First Nations to understand what their transportation challenges are so that we can continue to meet their needs. And I look forward to continued conversation I'd be happy. Member for Timmons come to order. And I'd be happy to speak with the member opposite to address some further concerns if he has them but we have been great partners in the First Nations in addressing their transportation needs and we will continue to do so. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Thank you. The next question the member for Scarborough Guildwood. Thank you Speaker my question is to the Minister of Education we just have over six weeks remaining before back to school begins and yet there is no provincial guideline to help families set expectations or give confidence in the safety of their children in classrooms. Yesterday the Premier stated that he hopes students will return to school five days a week but he has not taken any real steps towards making that a reality. The government expects school boards to draw up plans based on three scenarios from scratch with no standard guidelines or additional funding to rely on. The province's hybrid scenario has been widely rejected by a number of school boards including Halton which cites the lack of available childcare spaces making this option unworkable which the minister should know. Will the minister consult with public health officials together with educators to make a safe return to school possible and protect Ontario's two million students and over 300,000 education workers or will he try to do it on the cheap. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker and thank you to the member opposite for the question. Indeed we are absolutely committed to working with the Chief Medical Officer and Public Health on trail as we have to date to ensure our kids remain safe let it not be forgotten Speaker was this government the first in this country one of the first in the industrialized world that closed schools very much because the evidence suggested the risk to children and so that's why Speaker we took that action then it's why we are taking action today to ensure that we are prepared for all three circumstances to ensure children remain learning in class day to day as the government has clearly suggested remains the aspiration something I think parents and working people would like. Obviously we're preparing for a potential second wave and in that preparation ensure that there's a formula that has been supported by public health of reduced amount of quantum of students in class at 15 cohorted is the adaptive model and yes an online model should we have to go out for a big closed schools again obviously the latter two options are not our preference speaker but it is prudent and it's responsible for any government to be prepared for that very the very unknown that may manifest in the next 30 60 90 days we will continue to invest respond continue support training will do everything it takes to keep these kids safe and the supplementary question thank you speaker and I think it's great that we were the first to close schools and that's why I would expect that we would be in a better state of readiness because the bottom line is we're not ready order we have detailed plans for reopening bars but not for classrooms bars have standardized protocols in case of an outbreak they keep track of their patrons contact information for a period of time and if contract tracing is needed there is a process basic rules and requirements for returning to school are still unclear if you get on the TTC today or the go transit system you know you got to put on a mask do we need to do that in schools we still don't know what even is more unclear is what will happen in the case of an outbreak you've said you're preparing for a second wave so my question is given the fact that we know that there's likely going to be a second wave cases are now over 200 today what will you do if there is an outbreak in terms of testing and contact tracing in schools what is the plan thank you mr. education thank you very much mr. speaker obviously the chief medical officer of health led by the command table and working conjunction with the deputy premier have been very much engaged in developing this protocol and I appreciate that our educators and likewise our staff our parents our communities all of us have an interest in ensuring that that medical advice reflects the risk profile of the time and as we look to the data of the last few weeks we've seen some some progress as a consequence or a result of the people of Ontario doing the right things staying home and adhering to public health advice as a result of that good work of the people of this province we are prepared and we're moving towards conventional delivery but having said that speaker our obligation to school boards and I expressed gratitude to them for their hard work over the past weeks preparing is to ensure that they get the best advice from the chief medical officer we've ensured that we've created a command table if you will of medical experts that will review each of the board's plans we've also there's more training in place for all workers and educators in school boards as I've been clear we will do whatever it takes to keep kids safe in this province speaker next question the member for willowdale thank you very much mr speaker speaker marriage is something that many Ontario couples look forward to every year especially in the summer months couples across this province of course have had a challenging summer when it comes to weddings and I know that first hand because I was supposed to get married in May and of course was forced to postpone but like many couples in Ontario we went ahead and got our marriage license speaker but as we all know that thank you but marriage licenses expire 90 days from the date of issue in our great province speaker my fiance has put up with me for eight years through you to the minister of government consumer services minister can you tell the people of this province and my fiance what actions our government is taking to address the issue of expired marriage licenses in ontario mr government consumer services to the great member from willowdale for your question and I can tell you in front of everyone in this house your fiance is so lucky you're very high and we wish you the very best in your upcoming nuptials but speaker I have to share with you the member from willowdale is absolutely right marriage is such an important milestone and as the situation of COVID-19 progressed across the province couples began to post postpone excuse me their big day it happened in my immediate family we heard also from hundreds of couples across Ontario that they were concerned with expired licenses mr speaker having to replace this documentation may seem like a small change but it makes a big difference when you consider that huge to-do list that couples face when they're planning their weddings so that is why speaker our government has taken action we're proposing changes in bill 197 that will extend the expiry date for marriage licenses response between December 1st 2019 and the end of the emergency declaration thank you and supplementary question member for bearing in effect thank you mr speaker and I'm so grateful for the minister who now newly weds will not need to dread that their marriage license is going to be expiring and while some might have to wait to walk down the aisle they will be reassured that their license will not expire and I am one of those couples actually similar to other couples in simple county like Lisa and Chris and Brendan and Monique who had to also postpone their wedding Kevin and I were to be married in May very very much like the member for Willowdale and we're very excited to to be married in May and we have postponed to October so I want to thank the minister for that extension but I also wanted to ask her if she could tell us how with the public health guidelines changing every day I'm wondering how long the marriage license the extension is going to last and will it cost couples any more money as well well thank you very much to the member from Berry Innisfil and I can tell you MPP Cajun when your big day comes everyone will be sincerely celebrating you and your fiance and speaker I can tell you as well that marriage licenses that expired between December 1st 2019 and through to the end of the emergency declaration all of them will be extended without any cost to couples in Ontario these licenses will remain valid and can be used for up to 24 months from the last day from the end of the emergency declaration in cases where couples require a new license because critical information on the license is no longer accurate or the original on-use license perhaps gets lost our government as stated in bill 159 and if it should pass we'll be moving forward to make regulatory changes to the marriage act to waive the provincial fee for reissued licenses this is good news and just one example of how we're listening and we're taking action and making life easier for Ontarians thank you very much next question the member for Kingston in the Islands thank you speaker and through you to the minister of the environment the environmental assessment act is one of the oldest and most important environmental statutes in Ontario the act asks you to look before you leap so that people know that when projects go ahead it's not going to hurt the environment and their communities are going to be safe it is due diligence speaker it is not unnecessary red tape and instead this government has decided to move from an unless exempted approach to a regulatory list approach which was considered and then rejected by none other than former premier bill davis when the act was introduced so my question to the minister why is this government taking us 40 years into the past with their changes to the environmental assessment act this is the environment conservation industry thanks very much mr. speaker and thanks for the question from the member opposite you know he did mention one thing that was correct mr. speaker and that's the fact the act is 50 years old mr. speaker at that time pure electricity was the prime minister of canada mr. speaker majority of our caucus or i'd say at least half our caucus wasn't even born at that time mr. speaker it's time to relook the world has changed the world has changed what we know about science what we know about the environment has changed and what has applied in 1975 to today it's a different world so what we're doing we're modernizing the environmental assessment act we're aligning this government this province with canada and numerous other provinces which have moved to this type of system and i'm looking forward that if this act is passed and i hope the member opposite is supportive that we'll start the consultation with municipalities indigenous communities stakeholders environmental groups so that we can come up with this list of projects that will be needing an environmental assessment so that we are focusing all our efforts on the medium and the high-risk projects that impact their environment the most to ensure that we have strong environmental protection that continues as we move forward to this country to ensure that it matches our environmental plan for Ontario for a strong healthy environment and a strong healthy economy the supplementary question thank you speaker and respectfully what the minister didn't mention is that 50-year-old act was actually updated by former premier Mike Harris in 1996 it has been updated it is not 50 years old and Mike Harris also rejected the idea of a regulatory list approach because it did not do a good enough job but they're they're not just forgetting the process but by bearing this in an omnibus bill rather than addressing it head on what they're doing is potentially illegal speaker many interiors many enterians will remember that this government has violated the environmental bill of rights before and by introducing these amendments without posting them on the environmental bill of rights as they are obligated to do they are going down that exact same path again so enough is enough i have written the auditor general to ask her to look into this because this government keeps making the same mistakes again and again and again and it is the environment and the people of Ontario that are going to be hurt by these mistakes will the premier admit that this legislation violates the law and withdraw it from bill 197 thank you speaker Mr. Goodman okay thanks for the member for the opposite for that that question and you know what the member is saying that he's against this bill and what this bill will enable people to do right away if passed is exempt environmental assessments from land claim settlements and other projects with indigenous communities why would you do that environmental assessments from provincial parks and conservation reserves and for the first time in in the history of this province giving municipalities a say and whether or not they cite a landfill in in their municipalities and adjacent municipalities I don't know why the member is against those changes to this environmental assessment I don't know why he's against enabling this government to move forward if the legislations pass to consult with the indigenous communities municipalities stakeholders environmental groups to come up with a list as to what we'll be needing environmental assessment which aligns us with the rest of the country order in other provinces mr speaker I'm not sure why that member is opposite and and and this bill has been on the floor for almost three weeks mr speaker that is the first time this members of the opposition has raised any issues with this bill mr speaker order in fact I have yet to hear the member opposite or that order opposition party come up with a plan for the environment for the province of Ontario all they say is no no no instead of saying let's work together start the clock next we have the member for aurora old bridges richland hill tough act to follow thank you very much speaker speaker my question this morning for the associate minister of mental health and addictions minister over the past few months we have heard that more ontarians are seeking help for their mental health or addictions challenges every day many ontarians have had to spend months at home while experiencing widespread physical and social isolation minister I recently had the opportunity to host you for a virtual roundtable in my riding of aurora old bridges richland hill and as you heard it's important that ontarians are able to continue accessing appropriate support as we continue moving towards carefully and gradually reopening the province minister could you please explain to the members of this house how we're making mental health and addictions a priority during the covet 19 outbreak in ontario the associate minister of mental health and addictions thank you mr speaker and I want to thank the member for uh from aurora oak bridges richman hill for that excellent question and the great work he does in advocating on behalf of his community mr speaker the magnitude and the impacts of the outbreak in ontario including months of staying at home widespread physical and social isolation and having been inundated with constant information on the virus have been a lot for many people and families in the province and that's why mr speaker our 12 million dollar commitment to mental health during covet 19 will continue supporting the mental health of ontarians across all stages of life and that includes mr speaker support such as connects ontario kids helpful good to talk and bounce back ontario and will these programs will all ensure that the mental health of the families and the people in the province will be looked after in addition to the icbt programs that we now have running in the province mr speaker during this time nothing nothing is more important than protecting the health and well-being of ontarians and that includes their mental health and it is something that our government takes very seriously thank you thank you the supplementary question thank you very much speaker and i want to thank the minister for the great answer i know that constituents in my writing were very pleased to see and hear from you during our round table with local mental health and addiction agencies in york region i know that this government under the leadership of premier fort will continue making mental health and addictions a priority minister we know that the cobit 19 outbreak in ontario has presented many challenges across sectors including the mental health and addiction system as we continue moving closer towards the gradual restart of our economy it is important that we are able to quickly respond to any issues within the system to ensure ontarians can receive the support they need where and when they need it minister could you please share with this house what our government is doing to ensure that any challenges identified within our mental health and addiction system are quickly resolved the associate minister thank you again for that question mr speaker the cobit 19 outbreak has forced many people and families to seek help in you and unfamiliar ways we knew this would be a challenge for many ontarians with mental health and addictions that's why as part of our commitment to mental health during cobit 19 our province established a mental health and addictions response table chaired by the ontario mental health and addiction center of excellence this table has been meeting regularly to discuss issues impacting the system sharing best practices and connecting with provincial and regional tables to ensure any issues are quickly resolved and i want to take this opportunity mr speaker to thank every member of this response table and all the staff and volunteers at ontario's community mental health and addictions agencies for their incredible work since the start of this outbreak they've come together and demonstrated how agile they are and how quickly they can change and adapt to difficult circumstances mr speaker their efforts have been instrumental in protecting the health and well-being of the people of and the families in the province of ontario and i cannot thank them enough and our government thanks them for the incredible work that they continue to do for all thank you the next question member for kitchens center thank you mr speaker my question is to the premier for the past month i along with my colleague and friend the member for waterloo have been in close contact with the interim vice president of the ontario midwives association miss boon me in the bung boon me was worried about the second wave of cobit 19 and she was desperate to ensure that midwives patients and their families from across waterloo region were in fact protected speaker across the province nearly a thousand midwives are on the healthcare front lines and each year they provide care to 25 000 pregnant people their newborns and their families while the government insisted that they had delivered enough ppe for all frontline workers during the first wave my office was informed by healthcare heroes like boon me that the stock of ppe was actually only going to the hospitals this left midwives along with other community healthcare workers scrambling to access ppe hospital-grade ppe for themselves and for their patients can the premier confirm to midwives across the province that they will supply them with the ppe that they need during the second wave third health thank you well first of all i want to certainly acknowledge and express gratitude to the registered midwives in ontario and aboriginal midwives they perform an incredible service for many people in ontario and we want to make sure that they continue with those services as with wave one we have provided all front line healthcare providers with ppe and we will continue to do that we have the pandemic warehouse of course we have regional availability that if they need additional ppe they can simply be in touch with the regional providers of public health units and they will be provided with that it was the case with wave one and it will of course be the same with wave two a supplementary three you mr. speaker and back to the premier with the second wave of covid-19 on the horizon midwives aren't confident in this government 45 midwives from six practices in waterloo region wrote to the premier demanding the establishment of a streamlined and equitable process to access ppe regardless of whether care is provided in the community or in the hospital midwives are losing faith in this conservative government and the liberals before them because a disturbing pattern was set long before this pandemic speaker midwives are almost all women they were forced to fight the provincial government in court to be paid fairly and they won but so far this government has refused to pay this government was even refusing to provide midwives with the pandemic pay that was promised to other frontline heroes so through you mr. speaker will the premier guarantee today that his government will establish a streamlined and equitable process to access ppe for all midwives no matter where they do this important work mr. bell thank you speaker and i want to assure everyone in this legislature as well as the people of ontario there already is a streamlined and equitable process available for ppe for all frontline health care providers including midwives this is incredibly important that we need to protect our frontline health care heroes who have allowed us to be as successful as we are in dealing with COVID-19 such that we're able now to open up many parts of the province to stage three stage one we have certainly learned lessons from stage two we are preparing for and that includes the provision of ppe but as the premier has indicated many times in the past we never want to have to be reliant on another country on another government for ppe because we saw what happened during wave one where there is an international race to get ppe we are now producing much of that in ontario thanks to the incredible entrepreneurs and innovators in ontario who've been able to change some of their product lines to produce things like gowns face shields mass whatever else our frontline providers need that will be available to midwives as it has been in wave one it will certainly be so in wave two next question the member for burlington thank you mr. speaker my question is to the government house leader in march is the COVID-19 pandemic spread across this province the house broke away from its regular schedule out of an abundance of caution mpp's work from home and in their writings to support local businesses healthcare workers and to do their part to fight the pandemic when we needed to return to this place to pass emergency legislation all parties came together to do just that mr. speaker in the last two months members have worked hard on legislative items which have been put on hold by the pandemic would the government house leader please update the house on the legislative work that has been done in the past month yes thank you mr. speaker i appreciate the question from me from the honorable member who was a mentor of mine when i was elected here so i want to thank her for all of her help in helping me as i transition to the legislative assembly mr. speaker it is truly a testament to the hard worker members on both sides of the house and frankly to to the people who work in this place who helped us bring parliament back in a way that was respectful and and we could ensure the safety of all members by way of an example mr. speaker the standing committee on finance 250 presenters in over 100 hours of hearings bill 159 23 presenters in over 11 hours of hearings bill 156 39 presenters in 16 hours of hearings bill 161 48 presenters in 21 hours bill 175 45 presenters 22 hours bill 171 29 presenters 17 hours bill 184 57 presenters in 23 hours mr. speaker a total of over 200 hours and over 500 presenters in that time period supplementary question that was very kind of you to say and it's an honor to be in here with you as a government house leader i'll tell you that it's an honor to work with you best ever so just to get back to my question mr. speaker i am incredibly proud of the hard work being done on behalf of the people of burlington and ontario however over the past several weeks i've heard the ndp raised concerns with the amount of committee study including on important things like economic recovery with 100 hours of committee study in nearly 250 witnesses so far it seems like ontarians will have a far greater opportunity to participate in consultation then under the ndp's proposal for a shorter one month covid 19 study i was also under the impression that the ndp supported the motion establishing the standing committee study on the economic impact of covid 19 there seems to be a lot of contradicting information so could the government house leader please clear some of this out government house leader yes mr. speaker she's the member is correct it was a little bit of confusion at the beginning because as you know mr. speaker we uh we've passed uh uh four team bills and six of those bills were passed through unanimous consent in this place i just wanted to quickly before i directly answer your question also congratulate the member for eglinton laurence who had her private members bill passed as three private members bills passed in less than a year but the member is quite correct and and she will know when she heard the uh uh the suggestion from the the ndp that we have a shortened one month time frame for the standing committee on finance it was the member of burlington who aggressively said that would not be enough and that she wanted to make sure that all sectors of the economy including uh the very important tours and cultural sectors in the building and industry in her riding had the opportunity to give their say give their points mr. speaker as we head into a response that would be presented by the minister of finance to help us continue on the path to growth prosperity uh mr. speaker as we come out of covet 19 thank you that concludes our question period for this morning we have a deferred