 Thank you. It is now time for question period, the leader of Her Majesty's loyal opposition. Thank you, Speaker. I have a question to the Premier. Premier, later today we will learn a little bit more about what you and Dalton McGinty have been working so hard to hide these last three years. We know that you and Dalton McGinty made a snap decision to cancel gas plants with no thought whatsoever. Over their costs, the analysis on the damage it does to our reputation, our hydro system, the lost jobs. You sometimes need to pretend that you once met Dalton McGinty at a cocktail party, that you once maybe crossed his paths at a federal convention. Nobody believes that. We know that you were the co-chair of the campaign. You know where you were at the Premier's right hand when this decision was made. You signed off at cabinet the document authorizing the cancellation of this gas plant. So, Premier, can you tell us once and for all, if you signed the document, if you made the decision, or you made the call, how can you claim you knew nothing about this project to begin with? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Well, let me just say that to the contrary of what the leader of the opposition has said, Mr. Speaker, I have done everything in my power to make sure that every question that has been asked has received an answer. That's why 160,000 pages of documentation have been provided to the committee, Mr. Speaker. That's why we broadened the scope of the committee, Mr. Speaker. That's why 62 witnesses have been able to go to the committee and answer questions. I said from the moment that I came into this job that I wanted to make sure that there was an open process, where there were questions, that those questions would be answered. I'm not going to preempt the release of the report by the Auditor General. She will release her report this afternoon, and we will have the discussion that will ensue from that, Mr. Speaker. But our objective has been to open up the information and provide that information to everyone who's been asking questions. Leaders take responsibility, Premier, and leaders take action. But he's been fired, nobody's released from the job. He actually promoted the people behind this into higher positions in your cabinet. He's actually given the green light for more, and the problem is this approach, this scandal approach, that puts the interests of the Liberal Party ahead of the interests of hardworking Ontario taxpayers every time continues. We've seen it with e-health, we've seen it with Orange, we've seen it with the Wynn McGinty cover-up on the gas plan scandal, and now with Pan Am. Withdraw, please. Now with the Pan Am Games scandal, the half million dollars grants, who went to the largest entertainment companies in Canada, to the NBA All-Star. This abject waste and abuse of taxpayer dollars to advance the Liberal interest, Premier, enough is enough, when is this going to come to an end? Thank you, Premier. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My responsibility and my job is to advance the interests of the people of Ontario, Mr. Speaker. Whether that and when questions are asked by the opposition, we have done that, Mr. Speaker. It's all about me asking for quiet. Yes, it is. The member from Lambton, Kent Middlesex, will come to order. I have been very clear, Mr. Speaker, that I take responsibility for mistakes that were made. I have apologized, and I apologize for mistakes that were made in terms of the siting of those gas plants, Mr. Speaker. But the reality is, legislature... The member from Lambton, Kent Middlesex, will come to order second time. Every party in this legislature agreed that those gas plants should be relocated. I would also say, Mr. Speaker, that every party in this legislature agreed that getting the Pan Am Games would be a good thing for Ontario. And Howard Hampton wrote letters of support. They thought it was a good thing to have the Pan Am Games, Mr. Speaker. Apparently... Thank you. Final supplementary. Well, Premier, it's pretty basic. I mean, if my daughter returned six last week, apologizes. If she apologizes, but then does the same thing over and over again, she's learned no lesson. And the problem is, your apology is empty when you see the same scandals erupting with the Pan Am Games with the grant of a half million for the NBA All-Star game. And these attempts to put the Liberal Party head of ordinary hard-working taxpayers have real-world consequences. Today at City Hall in Toronto, they're debating whether they can actually fund the new subway to Scarborough because this billion dollars that you blew in the gas plants could have completed that project. It could have created jobs in the province of Ontario. It could have relieved gridlock. But instead, you decided to blow a billion dollars on saving two Liberal seats. Premier, you've learned no lesson. The cover-up continues. When is this all going to come to an end? Withdraw, please. Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Well, first of all, happy birthday to Miller. She had a lovely day. And I would say, Mr. Speaker, that it is absolutely critical that government learn from the mistakes that are made. And Mr. Speaker, that is what I have said all along. That's why we have a new process in place for citing energy infrastructure. It's very important that we learn. I would suggest, Mr. Speaker, that talking about the creation of 26,000 jobs by bringing the Pan Am Games to Ontario, Mr. Speaker, something we all agreed in this House was a good thing, Mr. Speaker. The legacy... The member from Renford will come to order in case you didn't hear me the first time. And he knows why I'm not happy with what he said. Carry on. The legacy of sports venues that we will have in this province that will allow athletes for generations to come to be able to train, Mr. Speaker. Those are very, very good things. And I am proud of the reality that we won the games that the games are going to be here. And they're going to be a great success, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. We'll mention you to the member from the PN Carleton. Thanks very much, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Premier. You admitted canceling the Oakville gas plant was a political decision. You told this assembly that the cost, the final price tag would be $4 million. Her hand-picked OPA said that that number was spectacularly wrong, and it was actually $310 million. She was forced yesterday to acknowledge that, quote, the costs were unacceptably high. And then today we learn in the Globe and Mail that there would be no cost at all had it not been a political decision. So we are left to draw two conclusions. Mr. Speaker, Premier, when you signed the cabinet document canceling the Oakville power plant, is it fair to say that you were either so far in over your head you didn't understand what those costs actually were, or did you mislead this house all along that it was more than $4 million? First, I'm standing, your mic's not on. So when I finish, then you can stand. The member will withdraw, but before she stands, I'm going to tell everybody I sense there's a trend coming and if it's going to happen, I'm going to pass questions. Speaker Bach to the Premier, withdraw it. She's not going to answer. Now it's time for an answer. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So I will just be clear once again that how we got here. Our government, the government listened to the advice of experts, cited two power plants over the objections of local residents, which was something that shouldn't have happened, Mr. Speaker. Over time it became evident that the concerns of the residents were in fact legitimate and we needed to make a change. The government listened to those concerns, cancelled the power plants for relocation elsewhere. Everyone agreed, the PCs agreed, the NDP agreed, Mr. Speaker. The estimates of the cost varied, but Mr. Speaker, all of them, and I've said this, were unacceptably high, that that money should not have been spent in that way. Everything, though, that we did, Mr. Speaker, in the run-up to and in the process of cancelling, was the advice that we got was that if we had waited longer, that it could have been much more expensive. So that is the reality of what was happening at that time. Thank you. Thank you supplementary. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Back to the Premier. A government without credibility certainly has no legitimacy and this government has lost all credibility on the outflow gas plant cancellation and in their entire long-term energy plan. It is clear that the Premier has told us false numbers in this house all along. The Premier has admitted that the cancellation was a political... While I have both groups deciding how I'm going to judge and rule on language in this place, I'll make the judgments on that. I'm going to caution the member that I do not like the idea that when they're trying to find ways to say something that we're not supposed to say directly, we're trying to find an indirect way to say it. I cautioned the member last morning. The Premier has told this house numbers on various occasions that have been debunked outside this house. Speaker, the reality is they made a political decision. The Globe and Mail has acknowledged that today and she insults every single Ontarian when she says and I quote, I really feel that my responsibility is to make sure this doesn't happen again. Talk about a deathbed conversion. She was the one who canceled the plan. She signed the document and she was the one who sat at the cabinet table. So bring Julia Farmer in this house today that you knew all of it. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, it is very important that governments learn from mistakes that are made. So, for example, is built, Mr. Speaker, and is filled in. It's very important that governments learn that that's not a good idea that sets back transit building, Mr. Speaker. When an asset... Just as I was attempting to bring attention to the opposition for its loud, boisterous voices, I will do so with the government benches in the name of the Minister of Rural Ontario and the Attorney General, along with those on the other side who are doing the same. Finish, please. When, for example, an asset like the 407 is sold, it's very important, Mr. Speaker, that governments and future governments learn from those kinds of decisions and mistakes. When these gas plants were relocated, Mr. Speaker, I have said over and over again, and I continue to say that there were mistakes made. There were things that happened that should not have happened. I take responsibility for those and my responsibility is to make sure that they do not happen again. Final supplementary. The House stood up and said it's not going to happen again after orange, after e-health, after OLG, after banning for a judicial inquiry into this, but we like to suppress the truth and obscure the truth and ensure that we don't receive all of the true numbers. You have obstructed... No, no, no. That does go over the lines, so I'll ask the member to withdraw. And if you do not redirect it in any other way then I'm passing. Sure, Speaker. My question, withdrawing. Premier, given that the two gas plants, cancellations have now become the largest political scandal in Ontario's history, where hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer money was abused in order to save lives. Will you file an orchestrated screen and have insured that the people of this province are willing to pay well into the future? Thank you. Premier. Mr. Speaker, I wrote to the auditor general. I asked her, I asked the auditor general of the day to look at the Oakville situation. I met with the auditor general yesterday, Mr. Speaker. I have done everything in my power to make sure that the information that was asked for has been made available to those who have asked, Mr. Speaker. I have opened up the process because I believe that it is our responsibility to learn from decisions that were made and make sure that those decisions where they were wrongheaded are not repeated in the future, Mr. Speaker. I believe that that is our responsibility. But the bottom line, Mr. Speaker, on energy in this province is when we came into office there was not a reliable transmission grid, Mr. Speaker. There was not reliable generation. We have cleaned that up. People in this province can depend on energy. They can depend on transmission. It's clean. It's renewable. And we have turned the corner on the fiasco. This was left by the... New question, the leader of the third party. Thank you, Speaker. My question is for the Premier. In 2010, the Liberal government in which the Premier proudly served cancelled a private power contract in Oakville, a contract, in fact, that they had just signed months before. On October 18th, 2010, the Minister of Energy said, and I quote, the cost, if there are any at all, will not even be close to the fear-mongering numbers, end quote. Does the Premier still stand by her government's comments in 2010? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. You know, one of the issues about this whole discussion has been the degree to which the numbers have varied and that there has been uncertainty in the advice that has been given to us repeatedly, Mr. Speaker. Every time that we have spoken in the House, we have spoken, I have spoken with the numbers that I have been given, Mr. Speaker, whether it's in 2010, 2011 or today, Mr. Speaker, but the reality is that the numbers have varied and I think that that will, that is the case, that is the reality that we're dealing with, Mr. Speaker. Unfortunately, it has been a challenge to get a handle on exactly what the numbers are. So, that is why I asked Senator General to look at the situation. I asked her to give us an overview of the situation as she saw it and that is what we will hear today, Mr. Speaker, when she releases a report at 3 o'clock. Thank you, supplementary. Well, Speaker, with all due respect, it hasn't been the numbers that have been varying. It's been the information the Liberals have been able to give to the public that's been varying to disclose information pertaining to the cost of cancelling the private power deal. We're talking freedom of information requests and dodging questions in this House. They signed the contract. They cancelled it, but they refused to share the facts with the people of Ontario who would be paying the bill, Speaker. At one point, the Minister of Energy told me and I quote, we'll be happy to share the results of the discussions with TransCanada when they're done. We're confident they'll result in a good solution for everyone, Speaker. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I think I've been very clear that I haven't thought this process has been a good one at all. I said, Mr. Speaker, that from the outset there should have been a better process in the siting of the gas plants. Since I have been in this office I have opened up the process, Mr. Speaker. We broadened the scope of the committee. We've provided 160,000 documents, Mr. Speaker, and provided an opportunity for all the questions that the Opposition members had for those questions to be answered. The important piece right now, Mr. Speaker, is that we listen to what the Auditor General says, that we make sure that the policies that we put in place going forward address the concerns, address the issues and address the mistakes that were made. That is our responsibility. That is what we'll do, Mr. Speaker. I'll supplementary. Well, Speaker, after the election the government finally grudgingly admitted to the public would be on the hook for the Liberal Party's crass decision. The member from Don Valley West, the current Premier said, and I quote, the total cost of the relocation is $40 million. Does the Premier stand by her own assumption or assertion, rather, that the total cost of this crass political move would be $40 million? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Again, those are the sunk costs that are not retrievable and are not paying for any future benefit, and I think the leader of the third party knows that, and I do stand by that number, Mr. Speaker, but I have just said that the numbers have varied, that there have been other costs that have been included, and that is what the Auditor General will clarify today, Mr. Speaker, but the fact is that we have opened up the process and in terms of the information that's available we have worked very hard to make sure that everything that has been asked for is provided. That's why 160,000 documents have been provided. That's why 62 witnesses in 93 hours of testimony, Mr. Speaker, have gone before the committee to answer all of those questions because we opened up the process. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My next question is also to the Premier. People know what's going to happen today, Speaker. The Premier will say sorry again and declare it's time to turn the page, but the only reason that we are on this page is because at every single step of this saga the government put the Liberal Party's interests first and the people stuck paying the bills were an afterthought. Now, does the Premier really think that the government deserves credit when they fought against transparency and accountability relentlessly for years? Well, Mr. Speaker, I have fought for transparency. I have since I have been in this office and throughout the run up to the leadership I said, Mr. Speaker, that it was absolutely imperative that we open up the process and that we provide information and that's what we have done. But just to the leader of the third party's point in terms of how we got here, Mr. Speaker, I think it is important to remember that there were experts who advised that the location of the plants and the gas plants should be where it was originally. The community objected to that, Mr. Speaker, and I think it was at that juncture where the community was objecting where there were voices being raised and we did not pay close enough attention. We did not have a process in place that would have taken into account the concerns of the community. That's where the original mistake was made, Mr. Speaker. That's what we've corrected. That's what can't happen again. Mr. Speaker, the premier can try to replay it however she wants. The reality is they signed the contract and just a couple of months later they cancelled it. Her story does not hold water, Speaker. At every step of this scandal the Liberal government has put its own political skin first. Transparency, honesty and the people of Ontario were distant afterthoughts for the Liberal government. The premier now wants credit for calling but the reason we need the Auditor General in the first place is that at every single step along the way this Liberal government has put spin, cynical politics and self-interest ahead of Ontarians. Now it does because her government has never once been up front with the people of Ontario about how much it wasted on the overall gas plant. Whether she understands that we've contracted to build 21 gas plants, 19 are up and running these two, Mr. Speaker, did not the process did not work as it should have. But our interest is in the interest of having a stable electricity system in this province for the people of Ontario and my question to the leader of the third party would be does she understand that? Does she understand the mess that the electricity system was in when we came into office? The member from Renfrew, Nepesing, Pembroke will come to order last time. I am and the Minister for Rural Affairs is going to come to order. That's his second time. If anyone chooses to try to out shout me, you'll lose. And any other comments that are made when I'm trying to get control of this place. Final supplementary. Speaker, does the Premier know that every single person in Ontario knows that the difference with these two plants is that they threatened five Liberal seats if they were allowed to go home and hold a job? Whether they can pay the bills or whether they can find the healthcare that they need for their loved ones and they see a government that has not only put the needs of their party ahead of the needs of the public but that has acted as though people have no right to this information even though they're the ones that are stuck paying the bills. Does the Premier understand that when she says sorry yet again today, it sounds like just another piece of empty Liberal spin? Well, Mr. Speaker, I just do not accept the premise of the leader of the third party's question because the fact is I have opened up the process. I have not been trying to hide information. I've been trying to provide information and I really believe I know that people are struggling. I know that it is very important that we focus on the economy and that we work with the private sector to create jobs. I understand that but I also know that if we don't have a reliable electricity system in the province, Mr. Speaker and I'm not talking just about the blackout I'm talking about the state of our transmission the state of distribution the state of our renewables, Mr. Speaker we've worked on all of that since we came into office we had a plan, we've executed it and there were two gas plants that the process did not work for Mr. Speaker. We're changing that we'll make sure that doesn't happen again but we have changed the, turned the corner of the process. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good morning. My question is for the premier later today we'll learn from the auditor general just how desperate you were to save the liberal seat in Oakville we'll learn three years after the cancellation of the gas plant just how much cash you were willing to squeeze from Ontarians to put the liberal interests ahead of theirs but you already knew what you were getting us into when you signed the cabinet document that started this whole payment process back in July of 2011 so you either knew the magnitude of this cancellation and what it would mean to families or you blindly signed a document not caring how much you spent to save that liberal seat. So which was it premier? I don't know or I don't care For the committee I've been quite clear about what I knew and what I didn't know Mr. Speaker what I will say again is that we were advised Mr. Speaker we were advised that waiting to relocate the plant until after construction had begun could have been much more expensive so we were doing everything that we could to mitigate those costs Mr. Speaker. The reality is that I appeared before committee I was very clear about my role which was not central in terms of decision making and what we have done since I've been in this office is to have opened up the process to provide all of that information and people have come before the committee and have answered the questions of the member opposite repeatedly. Thank you Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker the most astonishing fact is that well many of us spent the last 12 months trying to get to the truth we still don't know how much it cost to cancel the Oakville plant. The premier talks about transparency 150,000 documents later they were still able to keep the truth from us you knew last fall when you tried to pass off 40 million dollars as the amount that it was much more than that your energy minister has said 40 million other members of your caucus and your cabinet have said 40 million but we know that number is not true so premier who are you going to hold accountable over this who is going to lose their job is it going to be the energy minister the finance minister or should it be you premier Speaker You may be surprised at my next comment Thank you very much Mr. Speaker the very reason that I wrote to the auditor general and asked the auditor general of the day to look at the Oakville situation Mr. Speaker was because there was confusion there were questions about the numbers the 40 million dollars in some cost was not the whole cost very clear that there was a lot there were a lot of questions about what the total cost was that's why I asked the auditor general to look at the situation that's why we're getting a report today Mr. Speaker that's why the auditor general will be releasing her report and there will be more light shone on what the cost were had I not wanted that information out Mr. Speaker I wouldn't have asked the auditor general to look at the situation I did that opened up the process and we will get the report today Mr. Speaker Any questions? Thank you Thank you Speaker my question to the premier published reports suggest that this afternoon's auditor general's report will show that Trans Canada would not have been entitled to damages if the government hadn't pulled the plug as part of its seat saver program these reports say that because of opposition from both the township of Oakville and of residents Trans Canada would likely never have gotten a shovel in the ground and the contract would have terminated on its own why did this government waste hundreds of millions of dollars canceling the Oakville plant when it had no legal obligation to do so I'll send it oh sorry I'm government house leader Mr. Speaker I think the first point is that we should wait for the auditor general's report to come out this afternoon the second point Mr. Speaker is there has been testimony in front of committee about the situation in Oakville and the efforts that were being made both by the municipality and by the power plants but more importantly Mr. Speaker perhaps the honourable member in his supplementary wants to explain his opposition to this very plant maybe he wants to explain why he told inside hall in October 7th 2010 that he don't agree with the Oakville power plant I don't think it's necessary perhaps he wants to talk about why the member from beaches east York his colleague said quote I'm glad that the people of Oakville came to their senses I'm glad the people of Oakville hired Aaron Brockovich and did all the things that they did in order to have this killed Mr. Speaker it's a bit rich for that member who led the opposition of his party against this plant to stand up in that thank you supplementary well you can tell you got a good question when there's a major dodge going on if the Oakville contract had simply run its course it likely would have been terminated due to events beyond the control of trans canada the company would have been entitled to no damages under that scenario but that scenario speaker would have taken several years to unfold and would have threatened the liberal seat saver program how does the government justify a crass political decision to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to save liberal seats Mr. Speaker this is so rich coming from that member you know when there was an issue in his own riding with Portland's energy a very similar one this is what let me quote from the Breaches Riverdale mirror Tabbins vowed he won't be bound by the government's plans for his riding which include constructing the natural gas fired $700 million $550 megawatt Portland's energy center at the unused RL hern station in partnership with trans canada energy listen to this quote everyone listen to this quote from the member this is going to be a political decision but it needs someone who's going to be a champion for Toronto Danforth he said Mr. Speaker that member could stand here today and ask that question to a new question a member from Oak Ridge's market thank you Mr. Speaker and my question is for the minister of fine diseases member from Oak Ridge's market thank you Mr. Speaker and my question is for the minister of finance I know that for many years our government has taken a leadership role among the provinces in promoting the establishment of a common securities regulator for all of Canada businesses in Ontario and in my riding of Oak Ridge's market have long been concerned that our current system is a patchwork of securities regulators that place unnecessary costs on business and add to the burden of red tape facing their competitiveness my constituents and businesses in my community are pleased to hear that you have made recent announcements on steps to correct the current system please provide the house with an update on the establishment of a common securities regulator for all of Canada thank you minister of finance Mr. Speaker thank you to the member from Oak Ridge's market for the question and she is absolutely correct our government has long advocated for and taken leadership in the creation of a cooperative service regulator right here in Canada a few weeks ago I was pleased to be joined by my counterparts in the federal government in British Columbia to make that a historic cooperative regulator Mr. Speaker in our last budget we laid out the framework for such a regulator and this agreement is based just on that it will add real benefits to Canadians and to our businesses it will increase the ability of those businesses to raise capital and it will allow households to save and invest even more with more confidence and of course in all it will help create jobs and grow our economy and Mr. Speaker this is important Toronto and Ontario are home to Canada's and as long said that cooperative service regulator should be based in Toronto and that's exactly Mr. Speaker where it will be thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to the minister of finance for providing that update I agree that this new regulator is long overdue and will help to ensure Ontario and Canada maintain our competitive advantage and prosper in a globalized world I know this issue is of special importance to the minister as he provided a statement to this assembly in March of 2010 advocating for a cooperative regulator Mr. Speaker given the minister's recent announcement with British Columbia to establish a cooperative securities regulator it is essential Ontario continue to lead the Federation in building consensus on this important issue Mr. Speaker could the minister please speak to some of the specifics of this new regulator and how Ontario will engage more provinces in this process thank you minister thank you Mr. Speaker while the head office will be based in Toronto it will be build and respect on the unique strengths across the country by creating regional offices as well Mr. Speaker essential to the new cooperative regulator will be this pooling of provincial, territorial and federal expertise it will allow Canada as a whole to better compete in the global economy it will reduce costs, increase efficiencies to capital markets regulation and attract more investments with all the while enhancing the reputation of our country's financial services sector much of which is based here in Ontario this is what a provincial solution Mr. Speaker it's a bottom up approach and it's working this is an historic moment making all of Canada as well as Ontario a more attractive location for investment thank you Mr. Speaker and my question is to the Premier Premier today Premier today the auditor general will hand down yet another report this will be the sixth special report from the AG in four years these six reports on scandals are in direct response to your government's actions with the eHealth report Premier McGinty said we welcome the auditor's report we accept his findings and we commit to adopting every single one of his recommendations with the consultants in health care report Minister Matthew said thank you to the auditor general with the orange report Minister Duncan said I look forward to the recommendations of the auditor general with the Mississauga gas plant cancellation report Premier you said we welcome his report since it's clear we don't have a jobs creation plan is this your big plan to keep the auditor employed thank you my question I mean the reality is first of all the member asks the question I'm sure she wants to hear and the other members are shouting somebody down and I don't think that's going to get anywhere Premier of course Mr. Speaker when the reports are tabled we appreciate them and we receive them but the next step is to implement them and that's what we do Mr. Speaker we're implementing the recommendations we're going to talk about the the way government has to learn from challenges and mistakes that are made that is about implementing recommendations of the experts who look and say this is what happened and this is what should happen next we've implemented the recommendations Mr. Speaker on orange we're implementing the recommendations on e-health Mr. Speaker and I look forward to the recommendations of the auditor general today thank you supplementary the auditor general's responsibility to assess the value for money of a government project or program she asked did the taxpayers get their money's worth from the past six reports the answer is a resounding no your government has heard so much advice from the auditor general people are left wondering if you rely on the auditor general's reports as part of your strategic planning my residents are understandably aghast at the gas plant scandal and they want your government held accountable for all its actions how do you explain your record of scathing auditor general reports to taxpayers thank you well thank you very much Mr. Speaker so here's how government works any government of any strike Mr. Speaker a government has a plan we have had a plan we have implemented our plan Mr. Speaker at regular intervals and at sometimes in special reports the auditor general and other external officers Mr. Speaker will look at what government has done and will make recommendations that will improve the process I think that it is a sign of a strong and intelligent and learning government Mr. Speaker that when those reports come forward when recommendations are made by people who have expert advice that we can implement changes Mr. Speaker and government then can evolve to be more accountable to the business of government and the business of the people of the province better Mr. Speaker I think that's what government exists to do it exists to improve the lot of people in the province to provide services in a way that is rational that is cost effective and there can be recommendations from many sources including the auditor general that can improve those processes and we look forward to the recommendations of the auditor general this afternoon real question Mr. Speaker by question is the minister responsible for the Pan Am games two weeks ago I met with workers from Claremont Electric in Hamilton to discuss safety concerns they had about the construction at the Pan Am stadium they informed me that they were asked to sign a document permitting non-electrical workers to install electrical equipment all in the interest of cutting costs the college of trades which this government established was put in the place to prevent Mr. Speaker does the minister believe that the use of laborers with no specialized training in electrical work is the safest way to install electrical equipment at the Pan Am venues Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker thank you Mr. Speaker this is more to the labor issue and I'm going to direct the supplementary to the minister of labor talk about the capital project on Pan Am games speaker we are doing a fantastic job I tell you why all the capital projects they are on time on budget and the early number coming back here is under budget under budget speaker we are going to at least from the time 50 million dollars under budget so this is a very good news for the Pan Am games speaker we are right now on stage 2 which is the operation of the Pan and Parapan American games this week the international people they are in town they are in town to celebrate the Pan and Parapan games thank you speaker thank you supplementary well speaker the safety of the spectators and the athletes who will be using the Pan Am venues should be the minister's primary concern unfortunately the minister has decided to give Pan Am executives lavish bonuses but cut costs by hiring non-electrical workers to do electrical work those bonuses will be rolling in I think will the minister get his priority straight and put public safety above the perks of Pan Am executives thank you very much speaker and to the members of this question the health and safety of workers and public is obviously the paramount priority for the government the operation of our trades falls under the responsibility of the ministry of training colleges and universities however during the transition period enforcement of set certification currently falls under the ministry of labour the ministry of labour inspectors carry out this enforcement during field visits and inspector visiting any construction project will routinely audit compulsory trades including electricians and take enforcement action where a non-licensed person was allowed to work off an electrician in this particular case the ministry of labour has visited the site 7 different times on different matters to make sure that all rules are complied with it is our understanding that the college of trades is aware of Claremont electrics concern but no formal complaint has been filed at this file therefore no investigation can be done of the issues that have been raised by the minister thank you thank you very much my question is for the minister of natural resources minister Atacocan is a community in my riding of Thunder Bay Atacocan about two hours west of the city of Thunder Bay and the day Atacocan peaked at a population of seven eight or nine thousand people and that population growth was fueled by the creation of two large mines steep rock iron mines and calendore unnecessary for the creation of those mines was the creation of a series of earthen dams in and around the area to prevent natural drainage from flowing into those mines once the dams were created the lake was pumped out and the mines were created now one of these earthen dams is called the Hardy Dam this dam has been the subject of concern since first being identified by the M&R some years ago with the potential for some failure so speaker my question to the minister is simply this can the minister describe for the community of Atacocan and for this house what we've done up to this point to ensure the structural security of that particular day thank you minister natural resources thank you speaker the member from Thunder Bay Atacocan is raising a very important public safety concern in his riding the Hardy Dam is one of 391 dams that our ministry is responsible for across the province this year M&R will allocate 6.25 million dollars to repair and maintain these dams the dams provide a number of benefits including controlling flooding and drought producing hydroelectric power and preventing the spread of invasive species we take the safety of all dams including the Hardy Dam very seriously we've undertaken emergency repairs in response to the sinkholes and seepage issues that have developed at the Hardy Dam site since 2004 we've spent over a million dollars on engineering evaluations repairs and installing equipment to help monitor the dam M&R has retained a senior geotechnical engineer to monitor the dam we've also installed equipment to measure hydrologic pressure inside the dam the senior geotechnical engineer will review the data and we will ensure that there's ongoing want thank you supplementary thank you speaker and I want to thank the minister for that response as he's aware there is significant political concern from Mayor Brown and Atacocan from the entire council in Atacocan about the results if that dam were to fail Highway 622 is a main artery in Atacocan that would be compromised there's a rail spur line that feeds the Ontario generating plant that's now being converted to biomass that would be compromised the ski hill would be compromised but perhaps most importantly should the dam fail the infill rates from that failed dam into the old mine site that currently contains significantly contaminated water would raise the rates of infill to the point where that mine site could potentially overflow its banks that contaminated water could then potentially find its way into the same river system this would be a consequence of international proportions so minister my question is thank you for what we've done so far can the minister describe for the political leadership in Northern Ontario what our plans are on a go forward basis minister thank you speaker the member from Thunder Bay Atacocan is aware that we are taking immediate steps to ensure public safety with respect to this dam we're in the process of securing a contract with an engineering firm to repair the dam and reduce the water pressure and funding has been allocated for the project to begin immediately M&R expects the repair work to extend the dams operating life by about 10 years allowing time for a long term decision on the future of the dam monitoring of the dam has been increased to twice daily with regular reports from those on site we've also established an emergency preparedness plan which is designed to ensure M&R and its partners are prepared to implement measures should the failure occur this plan ensures stakeholders are notified and that we will work together with the emergency response officials to implement measures to ensure public safety and will continue to work with the community of Atacocan and stakeholders to ensure the long term stability of the dam thank you new question the member from Berry thank you speaker my question today is for the premier premier it's easy to be generous when you're spending other people's money and you're definitely setting an example recently you defended the $7 million bonus package for TO 2015 executive saying it wasn't out of whack and that public servants receiving 200% of their bloated salary for showing up for work then you let 76% of them take advantage of taxpayer money and more by misfiling their expenses tomorrow you're throwing a lavish Pan Am party for $500,000 in respect for the Ontario taxpayer premier the Ontario PC agreed not to attend premier are you going to continue to let the entitlement thriver shut these ridiculous completion bonuses down and stop the frivolous spending thank you thank you very much Mr. Speaker and as I said in response to an earlier question we bid on the Pan Am games Mr. Speaker the leader of the opposition the leader of the third party agreed that it was a good thing to do that we should go forward and we should try to get the Pan Am games here in Ontario well your leader your leader agreed Mr. Speaker so as the host of the 2015 games just to the issue of the reception it's a requirement to hold a general assembly reception to host that meeting here in the venue where the Pan Am games are going to be held and the host for the next Pan Am games Mr. Speaker is going to be part of that meeting so it's all part of the package and we believe that the 26,000 jobs that are going to be created as a result of having the Pan Am bid the legacy venues Mr. Speaker for athletes for generations to come we believe those are a good thing it's unfortunate the opposition doesn't agree thank you premier Owen disagrees the Pan Am games are going to be a good thing for Ontario we've never said anything about what cost and what is the cost Speaker I want to be clear that the Pan Parapan American games are about our province and about our athletes yet the average income for a high performance athlete and the Pan Am level is $29,000 rather $10,000 less than the average Canadian personal income more tellingly it is $450,000 less than the Pan Am CEO who's definitely taking home the gold there and that doesn't include the 200% bonus just for showing up for work for a limited expense account or the world class partying or the countless other perks that we're still learning about premier is prolific spending a new Pan Am sport oh thank you very much Mr. Speaker so the reality is that in order to be able to have gotten these games we had to compete with cities around the Americas Mr. Speaker in order to get the Pan Parapan games we had to put in place a competitive bid Mr. Speaker part of that competitive bid was having in place a secretary having in place a compensation package that would bring people in who would run the games Mr. Speaker the caliber of which would have competed with the other cities Mr. Speaker that's the reality I'm not defending particular compensation packages Mr. Speaker what I'm defending is the notion that we would have the Pan Parapan games a good thing for the province Mr. Speaker was the member from Renfrew Tire yet and I'm wondering if the member from Prince Edward Hastings is you have 10 seconds Mr. Speaker these compensation packages are similar to they're based on the officials from Vancouver 2010 the London 2012 Olympic Games Mr. Speaker successful event this is the largest multi-tour that's 10 seconds new question the member from Beach of Seas Jordan thank you very much Mr. Speaker my question is to the Premier yesterday I met with mayors from the Niagara region the lack of convenient and affordable regional transit was raised by them the fact that there is a summer only weekend only go trains to and from St. Catharines in Niagara Falls but not a single week day train for Niagara commuters who need to get to work in Hamilton Burlington or Toronto how is it that this government has hundreds of millions of dollars to move gas plants and protect its own interests but no money to put in place year-round daily go train service between Toronto and Niagara region transportation infrastructure transportation infrastructure you know I have I really enjoy the third party Mr. Speaker because they're never crass or political and unlike all the other parties in the house they're above politics Mr. Speaker it was like we Mr. Speaker we listen we listen to questions about Windsor and London for some reason last session Mr. Speaker and now they've discovered Niagara region someone bought them a new mat Mr. Speaker I'm so glad these are not politically motivated questions because you people never do that you're not politicians Mr. Speaker we have expanded track we are building a new station in Hamilton we now have the go bike service we're working with Mayor Diodati to put on impressive levels of transit investment we're very well aware of that agenda and we're still making up for two parties opposite when they were in government Mr. Speaker but I'm glad the member opposite has a map of Ontario now supplementary thank you very much Mr. Speaker and thank you for that very insulting answer the people of Niagara region and the commuters would take go transit and avoid congested highways if there was reasonable go service instead the Liberal Government expects Niagara Falls and St. Catherine's residents to wait up to 90 minutes for a weekday morning go bus that's not feasible for busy families with many demands instead of spending hundreds of million dollars on its own interests why won't the government invest in the needs of Niagara residents to commit now to a delivery date for all day go go train service to Niagara the mayors want to know excuse me I'd like to ask the member from Hamilton Eastonia Creek not to heckle when your member was asking a question answer please thank you very much Mr. Speaker it is one of my partners I favorite to activities is getting our trains on the bike trains that go to Niagara and doing the well in loop it's an amazing experience and we're very proud of that Mr. Speaker we have 507 million dollars going right now as part of a 602 million dollar investment in highway infrastructure right now in Niagara region we have put 54 4 million dollars into transit in Niagara region highway infrastructure right now as I said 602 and we've invested 4.4 in roads and municipal infrastructure related to transportation we're making major investments right now in buying track from CN and expanding track capacity and we're working with the municipalities to improve highway local transit at an unprecedented level we're proud of that Mr. Speaker thank you thank you very much my question is to the minister of economic development trade and employment our plan is investing in people it's an investing in infrastructure it's creating the right business climate for job creation right here in Ontario during my time as a municipal mayor and now as I serve the constituents of Glen Gary Prescott Russell as their MPP jobs in the economy continue to be a priority in the discussions that I have with them on a regular basis I know that our government has made some tremendous strides in rural Ontario to our regional economic development funds and I would ask the minister if you could provide this house with an update on how the funds are being allocated and how are they creating jobs across this province thank you Mr. economic development trade and employment thank you Mr. Speaker and thanks to the member for this important question Mr. Speaker this week marks the one year anniversary of the Southwestern Ontario Development Fund a fund that has already helped to create and retain more than 6300 jobs across southwestern Ontario over 25 million dollars of government investment and it's leveraged nearly a quarter of a billion dollars Mr. Speaker and private sector investment jobs in great places like Middlesex County, Breslow Elmira, Tilsonburg, Cambridge Wallaceburg, Guelph, Palmerston Woodstock and Bradford Mr. Speaker and in eastern Ontario 12 company expansions in Stormont, Dundas, Glengarry 11 in Northumberland, Quinty West, 6 projects in Leeds, Granville, 11 in Prince Edward Hastings, these 4 sets of investments in eastern Ontario alone have driven more than 40 million of economic growth in eastern Ontario both funds have secured over 19,000 jobs since their inception Mr. Speaker with many more to come thank you Speaker and thank you Minister for the update it's really good work you do on behalf of Ontarians it's great to hear that the work of our government is facilitating to help create jobs and to stimulate the economy coming from a rural riding I know what may work in Toronto might not work in rural Ontario but as we're all under one umbrella we're all one Ontario and when it comes to job creation in this province we all stand to benefit from the economic growth throughout the province the government is creating the right economic climate for businesses while supporting them across this province and I ask the minister to provide this house as to what specific action are we taking to help businesses stay and grow right here in Ontario thank you again Mr. Speaker I'm happy to speak about what else we're doing for businesses across the province and on top of the $88 million that we've committed so far through our regional funds we're also supporting businesses in a number of ways in the last five years we've eliminated 80,000 regulatory requirements for business that's a 17% reduction we've extended the accelerated capital cost allowance for the purchase of machinery we've recently announced a three-year $25 million social enterprise initiative to help build that sector in Ontario we'll very shortly be rolling out three additional funds targeting the sector and of course we introduced legislation supporting Small Businesses Act which will increase the exemption threshold for employees that have to play the youth thank you Mr. Speaker the member from Heliburton thank you Mr. Speaker my question is to the Minister of Finance last Monday on September 30th your government quietly gave a very generous grant in the amount of $500,000 to Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment a billion dollar company to help host the 2016 NBA All-Star Game the grant was part of the Celebrate Ontario initiative that is supposed to help draw tourists for events that may not have the ability to do so without government assistance to think that the MLSC could not host this event without a grant is ludicrous and an insult to the taxpayers who can't afford to see the game Mr. Speaker this $500,000 grant by for you and your Liberal colleagues we see it please and I'll provide the technical files to go along with it Mr. Speaker I'm going to give the supplementary to the Minister of Tourism who's doing an outstanding job of attracting an NBA All-Star Game that has never occurred in the 65 history of the United States is coming to Canada the individuals across the aisle don't seem to appreciate that it's not the amount of money that's being invested but it's the amount of money that's going to be earned $95 million coming to the province of Ontario that never would have been possible if the Minister of Tourism didn't take the leadership to attract it here in the first place Mr. Speaker the NBA game was going to come here whether your government gave money or not it's ludicacious why the Liberals feel the need for money I'm sure my cricket association received 1 million the government has wasted hundreds of millions such as gas plants and e-health this is the same old pattern as under Dalton McGinty when will the abuse of taxpayers money stop? Minister of Finance Minister of Tourism I'm quite surprised the member opposite was silent when we supported the NHL or Star Game 2012 in Ottawa she was silent when we supported the Grey Cup game last year in Toronto Speaker is a good thing to do look at this economic benefit Speaker it was 100,000 people watching the game come 2016 it would attract 75,000 tourists and 30,000 overnight visitors coming to talk Speaker the NBA of the game will broadcast to 214 countries total audience is 200 million 1,800 media members coming to talk one more time thank you new question thank you Mr. Speaker my question is to the Minister of Tourism Culture and Sport Parkdale Community Information Centre in my writing was one of many centres across the province notified of funding cuts to pay equity funds worse these funding cuts were applied retroactively to last April 2013 for the Parkdale Centre thousands and thousands of dollars in cuts midway into the budget year that they had absolutely no chance to plan for why is this government creating turmoil in these centres and taking away funds they have already promised while spending millions in perks for Pan-Am execs thank you Mr. Speaker I think the member of the state was talking about a single matter that I'm not familiar with to get back to her to get more information on the matters she's talking about in terms of Pan-Am game we talk this is a fantastic time to celebrate the Pan-Am game because the international guests they intang this week for the AGM and also to pick and choose the next Pan-Ampire Pan-Am game I think is 2019 so again you know the Pan-Am game right now the Capital Corp project is all under budget of $50 million thank you Speaker the Speaker's Gallery today I have guests from the writing of Brandt David Hill, Mike Ellis, Aaron Hill Mary McGee, Julia Switz Guiga and Scott Smith I'd like to welcome them here to Queens Parkdale to continue I'll entertain it in the West Members Gallery Judy Mark and Justin Lye who are brother and mother of Megan Lye one of our pages here in the legislature today I have a deferred vote on the motion of second reading of bill 60 an act to strengthen consumer protection with respect to consumer agreements relating to wireless services assessed from the cellular phones, smart phones or any other similar mobile device calling the members this will be a five minute bill members take their seats please all members take their seats all members take your seats please on September the 10th Ms. McCharles moves second reading of bill number 60 all those in favor please rise one at a time be recognized by the clerk Mr. Malloy Mr. Garrison Mr. Jeffery Mr. Sousa Ms. Wynne Ms. Matthews Ms. Sandals Mr. Hoskins Mr. Quinter Mr. Bartolucci Mr. Dakar Mr. Dugan Mr. Grevelle Mr. McMeakin Mr. Chan Mr. Peruzza Mr. Murray Mr. Shirelli Mr. Lille Mr. Delaney Mr. Flynn Mr. Morrow Mr. McNeely Mr. Caudry Mr. Merritti Mr. Bolfacil Mr. Dixon Mr. Jackson Mr. Fraser Mr. Del Ducat Ms. Wong Ms. Damerler Mr. Crack Ms. Manga Mr. McDonnell Mr. Wilson Mr. Arnaud Mr. Fidelli Ms. Elliott Ms. MacLeod Mr. Miller Mr. Cleese Mr. McNaughton Mr. Dunlop Mr. Halliday Ms. Jones Ms. Monroe Mr. Chudley Mr. Clark Mr. O'Toole Mr. Bailey Mr. Jackson Ms. Harris Mr. Yurek Ms. Scott Mr. McAnna Mr. Walker Mr. Leone Mr. Pettipies Mr. McLaren Mr. Nichols Mr. Singh Mr. Bisson Ms. Horvath Mr. DeNovo Mr. Marquesi Mr. Marquesi Ms. Campbell Mr. Vantoff Mr. Shine Ms. Armstrong Ms. Sattler Mr. Hatfield All those opposed, please rise one at a time to be recognized by the clerk. The ayes being 97 and the nays being 0. I declare the motion carried. Second reading of the bill. Does the ayes be reached. Pursuant to the order of the House dated October the 3rd 2013 the bill is referred to the standing committee on general government. There are no further votes. This House stands adjourned until 3pm this afternoon.