 Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Premier. I want the Liberals to be aware of the FJ Davy Home, a long-term care home with 374 beds in Sault Ste. Marie. Their hydro bill has gone up 39%, and that's an additional 165,000. I have, well, quite frankly, I'm hearing the members comment, and it seems to be going around from everybody nicely, reminds me of something I used to have to do, to start something. Please put your question. Mr. Speaker, the government may laugh and heckle, but this is a seniors home, this is a long-term care home where their hydro bill has gone up 39%, 165,000 in a year. It is not a laughing matter. Seniors in Sault Ste. Marie are having services, critical services cut. The home said they had no choice. It's hydro or cut services for seniors. So rather than heckle, I would like an answer, Mr. Speaker, from the Premier. How can you allow this to continue to seniors in our province? Thank you. Premier. Well, thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And I want to just welcome everyone back, and I want to say that it is no laughing matter, Mr. Speaker. It's absolutely essential that the Leader of the Opposition and the people of Ontario understand that we understand that there are issues around the cost of electricity in this province, Mr. Speaker. I don't know the specific instance that the Leader of the Opposition is talking about, that particular home, but I certainly would be happy to get more information from him, Mr. Speaker. I have made a commitment that the affordability of electricity in this province is of paramount concern, Mr. Speaker. We have made a number of changes, including the most recent 8% reduction across the board. But I have committed, Mr. Speaker, and our Minister of Energy is working to bring forward a proposal before our budget that would further reduce electricity costs across the province. Mr. Speaker, back to the Premier. The F.J. Davy Home is just one example of how electricity is hurting even more than family households. Catherine Crane, Executive Director of the Huntsville Hospital Foundation, told the Huntsville Forester about a return fundraising email card that she received. I'll quote what the card said, sorry, no donation this year, the money went to paying my hydro one bill. Mr. Speaker, it's unbelievable. How can the Premier justify the fact that families have gone from being able to donate to charity now needing charity simply to pay their hydro bill? It is unacceptable. Well, Mr. Speaker, the reality is that I have been talking to people across the province. I have made a commitment that we will be bringing forward further decreases to electricity costs, Mr. Speaker. The reality is that over the last number of years, we have made billions of dollars of investment into our electricity system. We inherited an electricity system that was degraded, Mr. Speaker, that had not been invested in, that had not been kept up, and Mr. Speaker, electricity in this province was unreliable. We've made those investments and now we're confronting the reality that people have across the board seen unacceptable increases. We've made reductions, Mr. Speaker. We know that there's more to be done, particularly people living on fixed incomes and low income, Mr. Speaker, and people who are dealing with delivery charges that are out of whack, people in rural and northern communities, Mr. Speaker. We know that there's more that has to be done. These rehearsed talking points are getting tired and the people of Ontario aren't believing them. You know, the Premier said she gets what ratepayers are struggling with in rural Ontario. Well, let me share an example. Matt recently tweeted a picture of his hydro bill from Lander Kylons to the Premier, so I'm sure you've seen it. It was tweeted to you. His bill listed $4 worth of hydro used and a shocking $110 used for delivery. Mr. Speaker. How can the Premier justify that an individual here has a hydro bill where only $4 is for electricity and $110 in delivery charges? It's out of whack. Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Well, I appreciate the Leader of the Opposition quoting me because I just said that. I just said that delivery charges that were out of whack, Mr. Speaker, that were disproportionate, that that's one thing that I have heard about repeatedly, Mr. Speaker, as have the Leader of the Opposition and as has the Leader of the Third Party and at the clock. That brings me to my comment that I am going to tighten things up a little, if I have to, and I will. Finish, please. As has every member in this House, Mr. Speaker, we recognize that the investments that have been made to make sure that this electricity system is clean and that it's reliable, that there's a cost associated with those investments, Mr. Speaker, and so we know that there's more that needs to be done to across the board help people with their electricity bills, Mr. Speaker, to deal with the disproportionate costs of distribution in particular parts of the province, Mr. Speaker, and to help people living on low income to deal with their electricity prices. Those affordability issues are what are driving the changes that we have already made and that we will bring forward before the budget, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. A new question? Mr. Speaker, the Premier said that they're going to get to delivery charges. They've been in office for almost 14 years. What's their new line? Just give us another 14 years and we'll try to get to it. People are tired of waiting, but since I can't get an answer on delivery charges, let's talk about what the decision is. I am disappointed, Mr. Speaker, that a motion was put forward to the House today and the government said no. They could have ended it today. I don't want to delay a week. I don't want to delay another day. We need action on winter disconnects today. So my question, Mr. Speaker, is we'll put this motion forward right again after question period rather than games, rather than partisan games. Will you support the motion? Yes or no? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Well, let me just say that for a good portion of the time that this government has been in office, we've been fixing the electricity. The member from Nipissing Pembroke's second time finished, please. The Minister of Energy has actually been reaching out to ascent letters to all of the local distribution companies in the province, Mr. Speaker, and the vast majority of them are already in compliance with no winter disconnections. But what we have said, Mr. Speaker, is if there are any that are still out of compliance, then... I'm moving to warnings. Finish, please. There are any that are still out of compliance at the end of by midnight tonight, Mr. Speaker, then we will bring forward a piece of legislation that we hope would get support and we'll move to get those disconnections stopped, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, again to the Premier. The Premier says she's been fixing hydro bills for 14 years. Let me say, please stop trying to fix it. You've taken competitive energy bills to among the highest in North America. Now back to winter disconnects. A source at the Ontario Energy Board told the Globals, Alan Carter, that the minister could issue a directive to stop winter disconnections. Stop clock. Deputy House Leader is warned. Finish, please. Mr. Speaker, so we know from Alan Carter the minister could have issued a directive to stop winter disconnections according to the Ontario Energy Board rather than actually act immediately. He talks about he doesn't seem to realize he has a majority, doesn't realize he has this power, doesn't want to support the motion put forward today. What I'm asking, Mr. Speaker, is no more games. Will you support the motion today? We can't afford to wait another day. Will you do the right thing and support the motion today? Not tomorrow, not in the week, not in... Thank you. Finger. Sir Vanerjee. Mr. Speaker, I'm very pleased to be able to rise and welcome everyone back to the house. As the leader of the opposition should know, Mr. Speaker, I can actually send tasks to the OEB, but I can't give them directives. He should actually, Mr. Speaker... Stop clock. The member from Bruce Carrillo and Sound is warned. I wouldn't attempt it. Finish. So maybe, Mr. Speaker, that the leader of the opposition can talk to the new clerk and find out the information about the process that we can do in this house, Mr. Speaker, because he does not have the information. And talking about playing... Stop clock. Member from Nippian-Carlton is warned. Talking about playing games, Mr. Speaker, the leader of the opposition is doing just that. We had a bill in front that actually, in front of this house, that could have stopped winter disconnections in June, Mr. Speaker, but they didn't support it in June, Mr. Speaker. Stop. I'm sorry. Stop the clock. The member from Redford Nippicing, Pembroke, is warned. How many more before you realize I'm going to get this stopped? Go. So they didn't support it in October, November, December, Mr. Speaker. We now have our opposition motion, or not our opposition motion, our motion brought forward by the house leader, Mr. Speaker, that actually will see Bill 27 come to fruition by next week. Yes, sir. If we get everyone's support, Mr. Speaker, we can have it passed by then and ensure that we'll have the law, the land, taken care of our winter disconnections, Mr. Speaker. So I will stop the mission. Mr. Speaker, directly to the Premier, we don't want to wait another week. We've been hearing that same tune for a year now. This needs to be addressed. Seniors are hurting. Families are hurting in Ontario. Let me share you the story. On Friday, a 76-year-old man told listeners on the Andrew Lawton radio program that he'd been without power for four months and the Minister of Energy is saying, wait another week. Mr. Speaker, how many other seniors has the Premier? Is the Premier going to let freeze in the dark before we do the right thing? Mr. Speaker, directly to the Premier. Minister of Municipal Affairs is warned. Directly to the Premier. I don't want to hear the Minister of Energy blame the opposition, blame seniors not understanding their hydro bills, blame Alucardia for getting it wrong. My question is directly for the Premier. Will you support the motion in an hour when it's before us? And you can end this in an hour. You can end winter disconnects in an hour if you do the right thing. As a reminder, please to the chair. Premier, sir. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The only one I'm blaming, Mr. Speaker, is the leader of the opposition for not actually passing this in June, Mr. Speaker. We have a bill ready to go. We have, by the end of the day today, Mr. Speaker, I asked all LDCs to voluntarily comply. We have a significant number of that doing so, Mr. Speaker. And if they choose not to do that, we will make sure that the law of the land will be brought forward tomorrow and there will be no more winter disconnects, Mr. Speaker. But the only party that has been playing games with this issue, Mr. Speaker, is the leader of the opposition and his party. Rather than talking of programs that are available or talking about ways that we can actually help people avoid disconnects, he just stands up and shakes his fist and offers no plan, Mr. Speaker. We have plans. We're making short. We're bringing forward issues that will address winter disconnects, Mr. Speaker. We're gonna make sure that this is taken care of by tomorrow, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. New question? Mr. Speaker, new question, the leader of the third party. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Met a woman named Charlene who lives in Sault Ste. Marie, Speaker, and she has three kids. Charlene has two jobs, Speaker, a full-time job and a part-time job, and her husband has a full-time job. They try to do the laundry and cooking during off-peak hours, but their work schedules and their kids make it pretty hard to have that happen, Speaker. Every month, they end up with a $400 hydro-bill and a disconnection notice. They're living off their overdraft, Speaker. And when I met Charlene, she was almost in tears. Can the Premier tell Charlene and people like her all across Ontario what she thinks she should be doing about it? Thank you. Well, Mr. Speaker, there are two issues in that question that the leader of the third party raised, and the first being that electricity prices are very burdensome for many people across the province. I recognize that, Mr. Speaker. I have spoken with people like Charlene, the person that the leader of the third party references, and I recognize, Mr. Speaker, that on top of what we have already done, the latest thing, which is the 8% reduction that is on all bills now, Mr. Speaker, we need to do more. And I have committed, Mr. Speaker, that we will bring forward a plan to further reduce electricity bills before the budget. On the disconnection issue, Mr. Speaker, I've been very clear. It's unacceptable. We've had a piece of legislation before the House. The Minister of Energy has been reaching out to local distribution companies. Most LDCs have already got the message, Mr. Speaker. There are no disconnections in the majority of them. If there are any outstanding, Mr. Speaker, by midnight tonight, we will bring forward a standalone piece of legislation to make that, to ban that price. Mr. Speaker, I've talked with people who get to the end of the month and have to decide between buying the groceries or paying the hydro bill to keep the lights on. This is 2017, Mr. Speaker, and we live in a province with huge potential. Nobody, nobody should be faced with that sort of choice. What does the Premier expect people to do, Mr. Speaker? Mr. Speaker, I know that there are people in Ontario who are struggling with their electricity bills, Mr. Speaker. I know that. And we have been working very hard. And by that, I mean we've been meeting with organizations, with individuals, whether it's the Minister of Energy or me, my staff. We've been looking for solutions, Mr. Speaker, that can make real changes in the electricity system that are sustainable, Mr. Speaker, that over time will continue to reduce electricity costs, Mr. Speaker. And in the immediate term, we'll give relief across the board because we know that the investments that we have made in the system, to make it clean, to make it reliable, to make it a system that everyone can count on across the province, that there was a cost associated with those changes, Mr. Speaker. We need to take more costs out of the system. We need to reduce those bills. And that's exactly the proposal that we will bring forward before the budget. Thank you. By yourself, Mr. Speaker. People are hurting and the Liberal government still doesn't seem to get it. They won't stop the sell-off of Hydro One, which is going to make things even worse here in Ontario. The Premier, in fact, said that the only way to build transit was with money, so she sold off Hydro One to get that money, the Hydro Money. Now we're hearing that she's going to take money from schools, from hospitals, and from transit to subsidize Hydro. No wonder people are cynical, Speaker. When is the Premier going to start fixing the problems that people face rather than the problems that the Liberal Party faces, stop the sell-off of Hydro One, and begin fixing our electricity system? Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Well, I know that the Leader of the Third Party knows that there is absolutely no relationship between the broadening of the ownership of Hydro One and electricity prices. I know she knows that, Mr. Speaker. And so what she's trying to do is conflate those issues and make it sound as though somehow there is a connection. And then she's setting up the next piece of her strategy, which is that anything we do is going to be to the detriment of something else in government. Not true, Mr. Speaker. The reality is that we are investing in transit. We must invest in transit in order to foster economic growth in this province. And we, at the same time, Mr. Speaker, need to deal with the electricity prices, which have increased across the board because of the investments that we have made over the last number of years to make sure that our grid is clean and that it's reliable, Mr. Speaker. We're going to continue to reduce electricity costs. Thank you. Do you have a question for the Leader of the Third Party? To the Premier, Speaker. If the Premier wanted to stop people from having their hydro cut off, she could do that. I already said to the Premier, Speaker. Instead, she won't do it unless she also gets her way on a 158-page omnibus bill or the latest political grandstanding by her Minister of Energy. Can the Premier explain why political credit is more important than stopping people from having their hydro cut off? Well, Mr. Speaker, nothing could be farther from the truth. Nothing could be farther from the truth. It's extremely important to me that we have action on this. You know, that's why it was included in the bill that was before the House in June, Mr. Speaker. But we've said very clearly that if all of the LDCs in the province, of all the local distribution companies in the province, have not moved to stop disconnections, winter disconnections by midnight tonight, then we will bring forward a standalone piece of legislation, Mr. Speaker, that I hope would get expeditious passage in this House. And that will be then the rule that there will be no winter disconnections across the province, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Secretary. The Premier had an opportunity just a few minutes ago to pull that section out of bill 27 minutes ago, but because it was coming from the opposition, not from the government, she refused to do it. It appears that the Premier will only agree to keeping people's power on if she and her Liberal Party gets the political win. Shame on her. Can this Premier explain to someone facing a disconnection notice in the province of Ontario why she's putting the interests of her political party, the Liberal Party, before the interests of Ontarians? Mr. Speaker, the point is a procedural one. The reality is it amounts to exactly the same thing that people across the province will no longer be subjected to disconnection orders, Mr. Speaker. And my expectation actually would be that by midnight tonight, all of the LDCs would have agreed to stop this practice, Mr. Speaker, so that neither piece of legislation is actually necessary because they will already be in compliance. Can you find yourself in the picture? Not be about the whim or the good nature of the utilities. It should be the law in the province of Ontario. Dear 60,000 people had their hydro cut off. Suddenly today, facing immense political pressure, the Premier has apparently seen the light. Well, not the light today, maybe the light tomorrow. Once again, Speaker, this is politics at its worst. That's what this Liberal Premier dishes up regularly in this province. That's why the people of Ontario are so disappointed and so fed up with the Liberal Party and this Premier. So, when is she going to start making decisions that are based on the best interests of the people of Ontario and not the best interests of her Liberal Party? The leader of the third party that this issue was before the House in June. The leader of the third party did not make an issue of this in June, nor did she work to expedite the piece of legislation, Mr. Speaker. This is of great concern to us, which is why the Minister of Energy has communicated with all of the local distribution companies in the province and has said that winter disconnections are unacceptable. My expectation is that they will be in compliance by midnight. If that's not the case, Mr. Speaker, we will bring a piece of legislation tomorrow to make that the case if we get expeditious approval by the House, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Any questions? Sorry. The member from Elgin Middle School. Thank you, Speaker. Speaker, my question is to the Premier. Speaker, three-year-old Madison Ambrose family has to raise over $140,000 to receive life-changing surgery out of country. This government has created a rationed healthcare system through their scandals and mismanagement and Madison and many other children are unable to access the healthcare they need. Instead, families are left on their own to rely on the generosity of others to raise the much-needed funds to travel out of country. Speaker, the Premier and Minister of Health already know the results of the recommendations from their expert panel regarding the surgery. Mr. Speaker, families cannot wait any longer on OHIP's dithering. Will the Premier direct her minister to fund Madison's surgery today? Here, here. Thank you. So, Mr. Speaker, first of all, let me just say that I can imagine no more trying and tragic situation than a family that has an ill child looking for support, Mr. Speaker, and looking for procedures that will alleviate that child's suffering. There just is no worse situation I can imagine. The reality is that in Ontario, Mr. Speaker, we have a healthcare system that is based on evidence that looks at the scientific evidence behind procedures, Mr. Speaker. I don't know the specifics of the case of Madison, but I will certainly make sure that any information that the member gives me will be passed on to the Minister of Health. But in situations where there is not a surgery available here in Ontario and it is available elsewhere, if it's something that is supported by evidence, Mr. Speaker, then there is support for that surgery out of country. But, Mr. Speaker, the decisions that we make in Ontario have to be based on medical evidence. Mr. Speaker, back to the Premier. This isn't an experimental surgery. This is actually a surgery that's covered by the Ministry website. However, the Ministry does not fund it in Ontario. The red tape they've created, the layers of management they have created in the healthcare system, has made it an impossible nightmare for Madison's family to actually apply for the financial assistance the Premier is just referring to. Mr. Speaker, this surgery again is not experimental and it is on approved surgery on the Ministry's website. Speaker, her Minister is unwilling to fund the surgery in Ontario. Mr. Speaker, will the Premier make a commitment today to fund the surgery when Madison goes to St. Louis? Here, here. Thank you. Thank you. So what I'd like to do is get the information from the member opposite. I will say, Mr. Speaker, that in my own constituency office, I can remember situations where there was a need to connect a family with the Ministry, with the Minister's office to have a further conversation. I am quite happy to do that for the member opposite and I'd like to have the information. I just don't have enough information. It's interesting to me that it is something that is covered but is not being funded. I'm not sure how that is happening and what the questions or concerns are around this particular situation. I'll need more information. I'll certainly take it up with the Ministry of Health and I appreciate the member opposite raising it, Mr. Speaker. Thank you for your question. The member from, the member from, you're going to make me do this, aren't you? 28 years, you've got to get it right. I am sorry for the member from Timence James Bay. It was just bad humor on my part. A serious question and the question is to the Premier. Every party in this house has expressed support for legislation to stop winter disconnects but the Premier refused to support Andrew Horvath's motion this morning that would have dealt with it first thing today. Instead, she would rather hold those vulnerable people hostage, refusing to help people and rather help the Liberal Party. So my question is this, why is it that you always choose to do what's good for the Liberal Party and not necessarily what's good to the people of Ontario? Mr. Energy. Mr. Energy. Mr. Speaker, we brought forward this issue back in June, Mr. Speaker. We wanted to address this issue in the spring, Mr. Speaker, and now we're getting close to that again but unfortunately the opposition parties didn't want to play nice on this one, Mr. Speaker. We could have had this passed by then but, Mr. Speaker, we've now acted, we've made sure and I've written a letter to all the LDCs asking them to comply with no more winter disconnects, Mr. Speaker. We sent that letter out last week and we have a majority of those, we have a majority of those LDCs, Mr. Speaker, acting on that and respecting that right now, Mr. Speaker. However, however, Mr. Speaker, if a few LDCs don't act by midnight tonight, Mr. Speaker, we are more than happy to bring forward legislation that will end this winter disconnection program, Mr. Speaker, as soon as this legislation is passed and we expect we would get support from the opposition on this, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Supplementary. Mr. Speaker, back to the Premier, this House couldn't deal with it in June, why? Because you pierogued the House in June. Who are you trying to kid? The issue here is very simple. We've been pointing out since last November that people are being disconnected. We've asked for legislation that was introduced a motion this morning by my leader, the fast-tracked legislation so we can deal with it today. Instead, what do you do? You say, oh, no, no, I don't want to do it and give anybody else credit. I've got to do it so I can help the Liberal Party get some good press tomorrow. So we're going to wait for another day and we're going to do what's good for the Liberal Party. I'm going to ask you once again, why does it always come down to what's good for the Liberal Party and not good for the people of Ontario? Thank you, Minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I need to remind the Honorable Member that the prorogation happened on a Thursday and we were back on the Monday in September and they could have easily passed this bill then, but again, I know there's alternative facts on the other side, Mr. Speaker. On this side of the House, Mr. Speaker, we recognize that this was an issue for the people of Ontario in June. Why didn't they, Mr. Speaker? They need to ask themselves, why didn't they see that back in June when we did as a government, Mr. Speaker? We made sure that this bill was brought forward, making sure that we can end winter disconnects, Mr. Speaker. Unfortunately, they played political games with it, Mr. Speaker, not this side of the House. We now made sure that there will be no more disconnects by all LDCs complying with the letter that I sent. We will know by the midnight tonight, Mr. Speaker, and if there are a few that don't comply, we will make sure the law of the land will make them comply. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Any questions? The member from DGZ. Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Innovation, Research and Science. Now, a key promise of our government's mandate was to create high quality and high paying jobs for Ontarians. And to do that, the Minister of Research, Innovation and Science has made a number of very strategic investments to grow the innovation economy. Now, at a time when the term bailout was being used frivolously by members of the opposition, this government made the strategic decision to loan Mars the capital they needed to finish their innovative research hub. Now, if the opposition had their way, Mars would be a gigantic sinkhole at the corner of university and college or maybe been sold off to the private sector at incredible loss. This government showed immense amount of leadership in the face of very ardent criticism and that leadership has paid off, Speaker. Question. So I would like to ask, would the Minister please inform this House on the very great successes of the Mars Discovery District? Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Minister and Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I want to thank the member from DGZ. It's your member, Mr. Speaker, for that very important question. Mr. Speaker, it is my distinct pleasure to inform the members of this House that the decision to bridge finance Mars has been an incredible success. Mr. Speaker, the Mars Discovery District loan will be paid three years ahead of time at zero cost to the people of Ontario paid off with interest. Mr. Speaker, thanks for our investments. Mars has created over 6,000 jobs and is responsible for an increase in our annual GDP per $1 billion and has attracted leading technology firms that are opening innovation labs right here in the city of Toronto. Mr. Speaker, I want to take a moment and thank the Premier for extraordinary leadership, for investing in the future of the economy of this province and the future of investments. It's impact will be seen for years and decades to come in this province. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the member from Trinities, Canada. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Minister, this is great news for our government's effort to build a globally-competitive innovation hub here in Trinities-Badina. I'm pleased to hear that Mars is not only paying off its loan, but also has become a commercial success. But as I recall, the opposition were quite short-sighted in their criticism of this project. I was very glad that our government didn't take their advice on this matter and made this investment happen despite the political risk involved. Minister, can you advise this House as to why this investment and others like it are important to Ontario's effort in becoming a world leader in innovation? Thank you, Minister. Good work, and then growth. Good job, Mr. Government. The member's absolutely correct. The leader of the opposition once blatantly called Mars a money pit and a bad fiscal decision. Today, we see, Mr. Speaker, just how ill-informed and misguided he was. Ontario is emerging as a global strength, as an innovation leader, and key to those efforts, Mr. Speaker, to transform Ontario to a new global economy is a strong and healthy Mars. Mars is a true success story that's helping to establish Ontario as a force to be reckoned with in the global innovation economy. Our decision to boldly press ahead to build the Mars Tower in the face of unrelenting political opposition has proven today to be the right decision. I want to thank our Premier and my colleagues for having the courage to step up in the face of political risk and opposition rhetoric and place-building a strong economy and creating new jobs ahead of partisan politics. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No question, the member from Prince Edward Haines, please. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question this morning is for the Premier. Speaker, on Friday last week, Bacardi announced that it was closing its Brampton location due to the changing business environment and to ensure the company's future competitiveness. My question, Speaker, is this. How many more jobs have to leave Ontario before this Premier does something about the electricity crisis that she and her government have created in Ontario? Good question. Minister of Economic Development and Growth. Minister of Economic Development and Growth. Mr. Speaker, any time a job is lost in this province, Mr. Speaker, we're concerned for the workers that are involved and we will continue to reach out to those workers to ensure that we do everything we can to help them find alternative employment. But, Mr. Speaker, the member's got to deal with the facts. We've created almost 700,000 new jobs here in this province since the recession. The unemployment rate in Ontario is the lowest level it's been in eight years. Mr. Speaker, we're outpacing the G7 in growth. That means we're going faster than the U.S., faster than Italy, faster than the U.K., faster than France, faster than Germany, faster than Japan. Mr. Speaker, we're leading this country in growth. We will continue to do that to ensure any of those workers' impact, as, Mr. Speaker, will have alternative employment for them to be able to pick up where they've left off. Sir, thank you. Speaker, we've lost 350,000 manufacturing jobs in the province of Ontario since this government took office. Electricity is a crisis situation here in Ontario, and this minister, this premier, and this government don't seem to get it. They're the reason that the business climate is where it's at in Ontario. There is a smattering of applause over there because I don't think that the Liberal Caucus even believes the numbers that the minister just put out there. This company, Bacardi, had operated in Brampton for almost 50 years in international business. They said the business environment and competitiveness as challenge is in Ontario. This, after the government just gave them $350,000 last year so they could keep the lights on if the premier doesn't want to blame her electricity costs, which we all know is a problem. Which of her government's other policies does she believe is responsible for the uncompetitive business environment in Ontario? Mr. Speaker, how dare the member opposite talk down our manufacturing sector when we're up 5,700 net new jobs since last year alone? Mr. Speaker, we're proud that we've invested $1.9 billion in support for Ontario manufacturers. That's leveraged $18 billion in private sector support. It's helped the creator retain over 80,000 jobs. Where was the member opposite when we made those investments? Mr. Speaker, he was on the exact other side, opposing every cent that we invested in this sector. We're going to keep investing in our manufacturing sector. We're going to ensure we have one of the most competitive manufacturing sectors in North America and we're going to keep growing jobs in that sector, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, my question to the premier. Under the transit funding formula that was put in place by Bill Davis, the province paid 50% of the TTC's operating costs. The Davis funding formula helped make the TTC the envy of the world. The progressive Conservative government cut that funding in 1998 and the funding has stayed cut under the Liberal government. Instead, the government has offered indirect funding with the gas tax at a fraction of the previous funding. Will the premier help make the TTC the envy of the world again? Will she restore the TTC operating funding as proposed by the MVP? Mr. Transportation? Mr. Transportation? Thanks very much, Mr. Speaker. I thank the member from Toronto Danforth for the question. I think that member will know that at the current time, our government is investing more in public transit in the city of Toronto, in the 416, than in any other government in provincial history, Mr. Speaker. He cited in his question that not that many weeks ago, the premier announced that over the next four years will be doubling the amount of gas tax money that cities like Toronto receive. Speaker, that means for the city of Toronto an estimated additional $170 million rolled out by 2022 per year. That will bring their total to, of course, roughly $340 million. Speaker, that's on top of the literally billions of dollars that we are currently investing. Again, more than any other government in Ontario history and the expansion of transit in the city of Toronto in the 905 communities around Toronto, Speaker. And in the 99 communities across Ontario that are eligible to receive gas tax funding. Thanks very much, Speaker. Thank you. Supplementary? Well, Speaker, it's great for ribbon cutting, but it's real tough when you're in an un-air conditioned subway car in the middle summer. Under the province's traditional 50-50 funding formula, the TTC and Wheel Trans would have received about $345 million in direct provincial funding based on Toronto's most recently passed budget. With this level of provincial funding, the TTC could improve service, boost ridership, and give people another good reason to leave their car at home. Provincial funding for transit operations would allow for fare integration across the GTA. It would allow us to avoid the Metrolinx proposal to charge people from Etobicoke and Scarborough for the distance that they travel. Will the Premier restore direct provincial funding for TTC operations as the NDP has proposed? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks very much, Speaker. So as I mentioned in my first answer, as we are standing here today, this provincial government under the leadership of Premier Nguyen is investing billions of dollars in the City of Toronto alone, Speaker. For example, $3.7 billion in the 416 for Go Regional Express Rail. $416 million for the Toronto Streetcar, Speaker. $870 million for the Spadina Subway extension. $5.3 billion for the Eglinton Crosstown, single largest transit construction project in Ontario history, Speaker. But interestingly, from my perspective as Minister of Transportation, Speaker, is that when Andrea Horvath, the leader of the NDP, talked about providing support for the City of Toronto's transit, she was completely silent about the transit needs of every other community across the province of Ontario, Speaker. That's why our initiative doubles gas tax money for nearly 100 communities in every corner of this province. That's transit leadership. That's getting the job done right. Thanks very much, Speaker. Any questions? We've been here from Ottawa South. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Education. Minister, TVO is truly one of our province's gems. One of... We can all be truly proud of in this legislature and all Ontarians. So over the last several weeks, I've heard from many constituents about the importance of TVO to their family. Whether it's TVO kids, educational platforms, in-depth current affairs shows or documentaries, TVO plays an important part in their everyday lives. Most were concerned over the last couple of weeks about the potential loss of over-the-air transmission and the impact that that would have on those who did not have access to or who could not afford cable and internet. So Minister, could you please let this legislature know about the additional support that was provided to TVO last Friday's announcement? Thank you very much. Thank you, Minister of Education. Thank you, Speaker. And I want to thank the member from Ottawa South for his advocacy on behalf of his constituents. Mr. Speaker, we heard that Ontarians value TVO's dynamic educational programming. Someone talked about Pokeroo. We all love Pokeroo. And that's why our government has stepped in, Mr. Speaker, and taken steps to ensure that we can continue to enjoy this programming in these communities. This additional investment by our government of $1 million will help TVO to continue to be accessible over-the-air in Ottawa, Belleville, Thunder Bay, Chatham, Point, Kitchener, London and Windsor. This investment builds on the support the Ministry of Education already provides to TVO for their innovative educational products and learning tools for students across Ontario, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we support TVO, and that's why we've committed to this. Very, very, very good. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. Thank you very much, Speaker. And I'd like to thank the Minister for that answer. And I'd like to thank the Minister for listening to the concerns that I expressed on behalf of my constituents, but not just myself. I know the member from Ottawa Centre and many members of the legislature raised this. It really is a very important part of people's everyday lives. And, you know, we've all been impacted and touched by TVO. Those of us who have had kids who are young enough have been impacted by shows. I'm a little older, so I remember my kids' shows. Although I really enjoy the agenda, I have to say I have a personal affinity for the poker room. And as many of us do here, I can hear it in the legislature. So I'm really pleased to hear that over-the-air transmission will be continued. I think it's an important part, an important part of equal access. But I also know that TVO is also the educational extension of the Ministry of Education's effort to educate our children. So I'd like the Minister to please talk to us about the support we have for the technical extension of Ontario's education. Thank you, Speaker. And thank you again to the member from Ottawa South. We continue to assist TVO in providing the innovative educational products, Mr. Speaker. I just heard from the member from Ottawa Centre that his two children watched TVO Kids, and that's really terrific. For 2016-17, the organization received more than $48 million just to better support the learning needs of all of our students. This includes supports for TVO's Homework Health, a free online math tutoring by teachers for students in grades seven to 10. That'd be helpful. M-Power, a new gamification math learning tool for kindergarten to grade six students based on the Ontario's math curriculum, and this is supporting our renewed math strategy. The provision of distance learning education through its independent learning centre, the ILC, we will continue to support TVO so that it can deliver innovative programs to support 21st century learning for all students so that they can have the talents and the skills needed to thrive in today's global economy. Yeah, yeah. I'd like to ask a question to the member from the Institute. Thank you, Speaker. My question is also to the Minister of Education. Speaker, the Minister was in Eastern Ontario last month visiting Upper Canada District School Board, schools targeted for closure. She told local media she was confident the Board's accommodation review process would create better learning opportunities for students. I want to provide her with an update. Last week, the final report recommended closing seven schools in Leeds-Grenville, 12 overall. That's one in four of the elementary schools the Board has in my ride. It's a disaster for rural education in these communities. Speaker, does the Minister actually believe closing so many schools is creating better learning opportunities for students? Thank you, Speaker. And I want to thank the member opposite for this question, Mr. Speaker. During the winter time, I have had an opportunity to travel across this province. And Mr. Speaker, I do that because it's what I love to do the most, which is to visit schools and to talk to students and to talk to educators. I visited Glengarry, Ottawa, Cornwall, Sault Ste. Marie, Thunder Bay, just to name a few. Mr. Speaker, I had a chance to see firsthand how investments in programming for students like Specialist High Skills major is allowing students to learn the skills that align with their unique learning styles and their interests. Mr. Speaker, every student in Ontario deserves to have access to the best education possible so that they can reach their full potential. And that is why we support the local boards as they are making decisions to strengthen their programming for students, Mr. Speaker. And that includes having meaningful input from the communities. There you go. Thank you, supplementary. Thanks, Speaker. Back to the Minister. Her answer was unbelievable. Ontario's Minister of Education is sitting on the sidelines, talking platitudes while the future of rural education is being totally dismantled. As I feared the ridiculous process that she's so confident in, ignored alternatives brought forward by school communities in my riding. They're actually proposing to close two schools in the two fastest growing communities in Leeds, Grenville. I called for a moratorium on school closures last fall to give us time to develop a provincial rural education strategy. You know, it's hard to plan for the future of rural education when there's no tomorrow for these schools. Speaker, my question is simple. Will the Minister act before it's too late by stopping these closures and forming a whole party committee to set up solutions for keeping rural schools open? Thank you, Minister. Mr. Speaker, I want to stress to the member opposite that every student in this province deserves to have access to the best education possible so that they can achieve their full potential. Mr. Speaker, our students in rural areas are an integral part of that. We understand that boards are moving forward. There are no easy solutions, Mr. Speaker. Boards with the pupil accommodation review process are required to receive input from municipalities, from cotominous boards, Mr. Speaker, from community members, from students, from parents, and from their local organizations. And Mr. Speaker, that's exactly what they're doing. Mr. Speaker, we cannot have a one-size-fits-all solution to this issue. It has to be a local decision, and that's why we support the pupil accommodation review process and we support local boards in making that decision. At the same time, Mr. Speaker, we are providing the investments in our education system that are necessary to ensure that our students have the best investment in their education possible. No question. A member from Tameka. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Ontarians are concerned by proposed public sector CEO pay hikes that could see some executive salaries increased by 50%. These high-priced executives who are already making six figures are going to see their salaries increased by hundreds of thousands of dollars each year. Shameful. Most Ontarians haven't seen a real pay increase in years. A lot of Ontarians can't pay, for example, their hydro bills. It makes you wonder, what are this government's real priorities? If they would rather spend limited public dollars on high-priced executives than on supporting needed public services. Thank you, Premier. Mr. Treasury Board. President Treasury Board. Yes, thank you very much. And obviously when we think about our partners in the broader public sector, we want to make sure that we have two things happening. We want to make sure that our partners in the broader public sector can pay their executives adequately that they can attract the best people because we want the best people running our public services. But we also understand that they need to pay the broader public sectors in a responsible manner and to get good value for money. I would point out that the group of people that we are talking about with broader public sector pay or in this group of broader public executives have actually had their salaries frozen since 2012. And the issue that we have looked at has been how do we come out of the freeze in a responsible way? And the way we do that is to make sure they are paying no more than the 50%. Supplement. Speaker, years of liberal austerity budgets have underfunded our hospitals and schools to the point of crisis. Funding for the front-line staff that makes a difference in people's lives has been cut possibly to make way for massive CEO pay hikes. This is money that could be used for hiring back to 16,000 nurses who have lost their jobs in the last two years as a result of that. When will this government stop letting the people of Ontario down and invest in programs and services that matter to Ontario family? Thank you. Thank you. So for the VPS executives who have had their salary frozen, they have been asked to set out, the organizations have been asked to set out a salary framework where they are compared to Canadian public sector comparatives. They are not legally allowed to pay more than the midpoint of those comparators. If, in fact, they have reasonable comparators and reasonable salary increases, we will approve that. If they have unreasonable comparators that don't comply with the regulation, we'll send them back to the drawing board. That's happened. If they have unreasonable increases, we will send them back to the drawing board. We are only going to approve those salary increases, which are reasonable and allow us to get good value for money and good people to run our public service. Thank you. Any questions? The member from Kitchener Center. Thank you, Speaker. My question is for the Minister of International Trade. With recent world events taking shape, we're beginning to see a shift in the trade landscape, especially here in North America. Ontario does have a long history with our partners. In the United States and Mexico, strong and mutually beneficial trade relations that are measured through our deeply integrated economies. And this economic integration has largely come as a result of trade deals like NAFTA, which now links 450 million people, producing over 20 trillion US dollars worth of goods and services every year. NAFTA effectively eliminated almost all tariffs on goods and provided clear rules that govern trade in good services and investment throughout the continent. Speaker, given the fact that the new US administration has vowed to complete NAFTA, could the minister please elaborate on what this is going to mean for businesses here in Ontario? Thank you, Minister of International Trade. Thank you. Thank you, Speaker. And I want to thank the Honourable Member from Kitchener Center for asking this important question. Speaker, as Minister responsible for international trade, my job is to sell Ontario while at the same time ensuring access to our existing key markets. Simply put, Ontario supports free trade and understands the value of our NAFTA partners. Speaker, we have a 24-7 pipeline of communication with the federal government to ensure Ontario's interests are at the forefront of any negotiation. Recently, Prime Minister Trudeau met with US administration for the very first time. All indications point to the notion that both countries value our similarities and that, depending on our trade relationship, is mutually beneficial for now. Answer. Medium-term and non-term. Thank you, Speaker. Supplementary. Thank you, Speaker. It's very encouraging to hear that our Minister of International Trade and our government has been actively engaged with our NAFTA partners. The Premier should also be commended for taking actions to name a dedicated committee for Ontario, US economic trade relations. And last month, our Premier also issued letters to 27 governors of American states that rank Ontario as a top customer, spotlighting the positive impact that our trade creates for workers on both sides of the border. However, face-to-face engagements are where meaningful connections are made, and that's why our Premier has committed to asserting her presence in key US states beginning in March. Speaker, could the Minister please give us more insight on the direction that Ontario needs to take from a trade perspective in order to continue competing globally? Thank you, Minister. Thank you, Speaker. NAFTA had always been the greatest pillar of growth for our three countries, since its implementation, the total GDP for Canada. US and Mexico reached $20.7 trillion in 2015. Speaker, we will continue to work with our NAFTA partners to deepen our relationship, but we must also diversify. Diversification in trade is twofold. We must diversify our trade to include new emerging markets like Brazil, India, and China. And in our established trading markets, we must diversify the sectors and regions of which we trade. Speaker, our government is committed to working with businesses to renew trade risks and to help Ontario protect and promote a strong economy. Thank you, Speaker. Thank you. No question. Having another moment. Parasound Miscocca. Mr. Speaker, I'd first like to point out the Minister of Energy said we voted against Bill 27. We actually supported Bill 27. My question is to the Premier. Speaker, Miscocca meets at 100-mile stores a small business in my riding. It's just the kind of business you'd like to see succeed in Ontario. They promote high-quality local food. I can attest to the quality of the delicious Ontario lamb they sell myself. Unfortunately, the owner, Dave Purden, is struggling to replenish his stock after being forced to launch a half-priced sale of frozen meats on Facebook in order to pay his hydro-bill and keep his business running. As a butcher, Dave knows that his freezers require substantial electricity to run. However, when faced with a $1,700 hydro-bill and a $5,000 security deposit, he had no option but to sell his quality products at a loss. Speaker, will the Premier explain how she expects small rural businesses, like Dave's, to succeed and prosper while paying Ontario's outrageous hydro-bill? Thank you. Good morning, team. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Honourable Member for the question. The important thing for us as the government to recognize is, you know what, Mr. Speaker, we put forward a few programs to actually help small businesses, and they're actually seeing help when they know about those programs, Mr. Speaker. So we're going to continue to promote those programs and make sure that those businesses can actually find out that information and save those dollars, Mr. Speaker, because I do hope that the Honourable Member let that company know about many of those programs, Mr. Speaker, but as the Premier has said quite a few times, Mr. Speaker, we've come forward with programs. We've had that 8% reduction that's just been in place since January 1st, Mr. Speaker. That 8% reduction applies to all retail price plan customers, Mr. Speaker, which includes farms, which includes small businesses and includes residents, Mr. Speaker. That 8% is coming off the bill, but we know we need to do more, Mr. Speaker. We'll continue to work hard at that. We'll make sure that we find other ways to help those businesses, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Supplementary, the Honourable Member from Huronverse. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Premier. Snowblown Farms is a local Huron-Bruce grain-drying operation and exporter supporting good, rural jobs. On Snowblown's January bill, Hydro Bill, there was a delivery charge of $9,006 before HST, Speaker, while their electricity cost was $3,312. Speaker, when Snowblown's farms wants the Premier to listen and understand, and this is very, very important, if she doesn't start standing up for Ontario businesses, the only thing drying up in this province will be more good-paying jobs. Mr. Speaker, will the Premier admit that her careless spending is perpetuating the ongoing gouging of Ontario businesses through her outrageous delivery charges? Thank you. Minister of Economic Trade. Minister of Economic Development and Trade. Mr. Speaker, we're proud of the investments we've made with Ontario small businesses through the years, and I wish the opposition would have been a supportive of small businesses when we made those investments. Our regional economic development funds, Mr. Speaker, have seen us invest $145 million. That's leveraged $1.7 billion of private sector investments and created and supported 35,000 jobs in small businesses in eastern Ontario and southwestern Ontario, Mr. Speaker. Areas that have struggled to keep up with Ontario's burgeoning economy. We've also made Ontario one of the most competitive places for small businesses to operate. We've cut the capital tax out. We've reduced corporate taxes from 5.5% to 4.5%. That saved businesses $4.5 billion. Our corporate income tax are 13% lower than the average US. That's saving significant amounts of money. We brought in the HST, Mr. Speaker, saving $4.7 billion. This is the most competitive jurisdiction in North America for small, medium, and large businesses to operate, and we're going to keep going, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. New question, the member from Kitchener-Waterloo. Very much, Mr. Speaker. My question, of course, is to the Premier. Premier last month, StatsCan data revealed women in this province are far more precariously employed than men. Women are less likely to be employed than men. Women between age 24 and 55 are employed at a rate 10% lower than men. Women are roughly twice as likely to be working in part-time jobs and more likely than men to have to work multiple jobs. To add insult to injury, Premier full-time working women in Ontario earn $167 less per week than their male counterparts across all industries. We know this because it comes from StatsCanada, their 2016 survey. What Ontarians don't know is why the Premier doesn't have a plan to address employment inequality. Premier, why don't you have a plan to address this serious issue? Thank you. Have a good one. Mr. and Stats are women. Thank you so much for this question, Mr. Speaker. And I want to really say that this is a very important issue for all of us. As we all know, women make up more than 50% of the workforce in Ontario. And so they are key players when it comes to building our economy in Ontario and in this province. And because of that important role, they are contributing to a healthy economy and we're committed to ensuring there are economic opportunities for women and all Ontarians. In fact, we're doing a number of different things. We support programs that help low-income women gain new skills and new opportunities, such as the women in skilled trades and information technology training program. That's trained more than 2,600 women. We also have a micro-lending program for women in Ontario which is designed to help low-income women. The employment training for abused and at-risk women program helps women who are facing challenges in their lives and we're doing so much more to promote gender equality and address the gender wage gap. Of course, I'm more than happy to talk about how childcare is assisting with that, too. Thank you. I just saw Bruce Davidson in the gallery. I know he's been introduced before, but he does brew great beer at the Ganonakwa Brew Company, so I want to make sure I introduce him. He comes up on the point of order. I apologize. I missed this earlier, but joining the group from Equal Voice and Daughters of the Vote today from my riding of Rent for Nipissing Pembroke, we have Martina Witt. Welcome to Queens Park, Martina. Thank you. I do want to remind all members that a request has been put out by the Equal Vote and Daughters of the Vote that we are having a major photography opportunity on the staircase for everyone who's invited to attend and partner with them so that they can be sent to Ottawa as our Ontario representatives for the model party. So I just put that reminder out to you. There are no deferred votes. This House stands recess until 3 p.m. this afternoon.