 It is now time for oral questions. I recognize the leader of Her Majesty's loyal opposition. Thank you, Speaker. My question to the Premier. Records from Ontario Health show 1,400 people died while waiting for surgery last year. That's a 43% increase compared to pre-pandemic years and a 30% increase over just a year before. When lives hang in the balance, why is the Premier refusing to invest in recruiting, retaining and respecting health care workers? I want to thank the opposition for the question. The facts are, recruiting and retaining, we added 14,500 new nurses. That's on top of the 10,500 health care workers, which included nurses and PSWs. We invested over $40 billion in 52 projects that were neglected under your government. Under their government, propped up by the Liberals and NDP, they fired 1,600 nurses. I'll tell you, Mr. Speaker, the opposition voted against historic funding, which went from $61 billion when we came into office in 2018 up to over $75 billion. That's over $14 billion increase. They voted no against it for the historic funding. They voted no against the people of Ontario. They voted no against the health care system. That's their solution. The supplementary question. Well, reality doesn't reflect what the Premier is talking about. The Toronto Star has obtained a letter painting a picture of the staffing crisis at St. Joe's in Toronto. A shutdown of ambulatory care due to a lack of nurses, hallway medicine, no functional resuscitation area, a small sick child in an unstaffed area. The staffing crisis is costing people their lives. Why is this government planning to spend money on privatisation that will bleed even more staff from our hospitals? Mr. Speaker, it's funny you mentioned St. Joe's. I had a great conversation with Dr. Rutledge this morning regarding that. He's giving me the confidence that we're going to move forward. By the way, the backlog surgeries, we put $300 million into backlog surgeries to make sure we get caught up and we're doing exactly that. We're building a new medical school that's going to create more doctors into the system. As we did last year, over 720 new doctors are coming into the system, Mr. Speaker. We are investing in health care like no other government in the history of this country, but the opposition, their answer is the status quo. The status quo that destroyed this health care system under 15 years of their rule, the NDP and the Liberals, that crumbled the health care system. We're fixing the health care system. We're putting in historic funding. We're making sure that we put through processes that are going to make sure that people aren't in emergency rooms for hours on top of hours. We're fixing the health care system, the same system that they destroyed for 15 years, Mr. Speaker. The final supplementary. Thank you, Speaker. Again to the Premier. Canadian studies show that for-profit hospitals had 19% higher costs and a 2% higher death rate compared to non-profit hospitals. Canadian medical experts attribute this difference to profit seeking, higher costs for administration and bigger executive bonuses. We have a hospital staffing crisis. Privatization would siphon staff out of our hospitals and send them to a for-profit system. Why is this government planning to spend money on privatization that would make the hospital staffing crisis even worse? Mr. Speaker, no one in this province, as long as our government is here, no one will have to pay with their credit card. They'll be paying with their OHIP card. Not their credit card, OHIP. Mr. Speaker, we added 3,500 beds and with a historic $40 billion investment with 52 regions around Ontario that are either getting a new hospital or a new addition, we're adding another 3,000 beds, Mr. Speaker. We're working with the College of Nurses, working with the College of Physicians as well and Surgeons to make sure we speed up the process. As we saw over 720 internationally trained nurses are now coming into the system. We need a lot more. We're going to continue asking the College of Nurses to speed up the process to bring all these qualified nurses right here in Ontario. Mr. Speaker, we are fixing a broken system we inherited and we'll continue to have a thriving system moving forward. The Member for Ottawa West-Napien. Beds don't equal surgeries, Speaker. A bed without a nurse is just furniture. At the Ottawa Hospital we're seeing the many serious consequences of not having enough nurses. Patients are waiting days to be admitted even though beds are available because there's no nurse to staff the bed. Surgeries are being cancelled even as patients are entering the operating room because there's no nurse. And recently a patient who showed up for chemo was sent home without it because there was no nurse to administer it. Will the government act swiftly to fill these nursing shortages so that every patient in Ontario gets the care they need? Thank you for that question and by the way I spoke to Cam Love, what a great CEO, probably one of the best in the province and you know he assured me as well that they're going to make sure that they have the proper staffing and how we're helping the hospitals across the province is a stay and learn program that we're going to pay for the tuition of the nurses. We're going to make sure that they're taken care of for any expenses they have as long as they serve in underserved areas. And with Ottawa I got to tell you I think the world of Cam Love he drives an efficient hospital but again as he said and every other CEO that are defeating this information to help the system every one of them said the same thing you can't stay with the status quo under the Liberals and NDP that destroyed this system for 15 years Mr. Speaker we're going to continue investing into the hospitals into nurses and again I just want to remind people the numbers we added 14,500 nurses since 2018 those are staggering numbers. I feel like there's two realities here speaker the one the government is living in and the one that my constituents and our hard-working health care workers live in. The Ottawa hospital is short more than 500 nurses and this government's actions to date are a drop in the bucket compared to the scale of the crisis there are nurses in Ottawa who are working 16 hour shifts 12 out of 14 days speaker just to fill nursing shortages just imagine trying to provide good care while working that many hours not to mention the risk of mistakes no wonder nurses are leaving the profession will the government repeal bill 124 and address working conditions so that we keep nurses instead of driving them away. Thank you Mr. Speaker as as you propped it up the Liberals and you fired 1600 nurses we actually recognized the nurses and gave them a 7.6 percent increase a $5,000 thank you bonus for doing an incredible job we're investing another 342 million dollars to add 5,000 more nurses to the system we're adding 8,000 personal support workers Mr. Speaker we're investing $57 million to hire 225 nurses the long-term care sector that are desperately needed Mr. Speaker we're going to continue to invest in healthcare we're going to continue making sure that as long as our government's here people are going to be using the OHIP card instead of the credit card but guess what we can't do the same status quo status quo has been broken we're going to fix it we're going to deliver healthcare in a different fashion through the sector's advice not through our government's advice through the experts advice the docs the nurses anyone involved in care in taking care of the the great healthcare system that we do have in Ontario remind the members to make their comments to the chair final supplementary the government lives in an ultimate reality because i've never fired a nurse or propped up the liberals in my life last week i had the chance to sit down with nurses from ona local 83 and they told me that every day they go to work feeling scared they wonder who will i not get to today and what will the consequences be it is only a matter of time until the consequences for someone are deadly this is an unfair burden to put on our hardworking healthcare heroes and terrifying to patients across Ontario will this government finally listen to nurses and implement the solutions they are calling for starting with repeal of bill 124 the government house leader thank you very much uh mr speaker uh the member is quite correct uh there has been uh of course a great burden on healthcare uh uh providers for a long time in the province of monterey and i know the member referenced the fact that she wasn't here but the reality is that the ndp and the liberals did work together for many years and the changes that they refused to make put us in a very difficult situation now the premier of course has highlighted many of the investments that we're making but it didn't just start recently we started with the transition to ontario health teams because a lot of people told us that the quality of care that they were getting is good if they could get into the system so we started the transition to ontario health teams we brought on new nurses we brought on uh more medical professionals a medical school in brampton a medical school in in in scarborough so that we could educate more doctors right here in the province of ontario keep them here working in communities across the province we had a low icu capacity the premier said that had to be changed so we've increased icu capacity across the province on care we're educating more nurses we're fixing long-term care it is about building an integrated system that works for all of the people the province of ontario and that's exactly what we're doing the next question the member for thank you speaker my question is for the minister of health minister in july you received the letter informing you of the closure of the go gamma nursing station on september 1st go gamma is a small isolated community residents rely on the nursing station as their only access to health care september 1st is fast approaching speaker can the minister reassure the people of go gamma that they will not find themselves without any health care services at the end of the month thank you very much I think it's very clear that the government has continued to invest in the member though the member that raises a very very very important point and something that the premier the minister of health have been talking about in fact us in long-term care been talking about right from the beginning it does that discrepancy between urban and rural rural and remote communities how do we attract medical professionals into all parts of the province of ontario that is something that we focused on it is something that the minister of colleges and and university has also focused on the premier mentioned how we are starting to ensure that tuitions and and those those loans that our nurses take will be covered if they serve in in those areas that are under service so look the member knows full well mr. Speaker that it is our responsibility is the responsibility of the government on Ontario and all parliamentarians to make sure that everybody has access to the top notch quality health care service that they pay for through their taxes mr. Speaker and we will continue to ensure that all parts of the province have the best highest quality of care regardless whether they're north south east west remote or urban thank you mr. Speaker these supplementary questions thank you speaker well there are health agencies in timmonds right now who are willing and able to sponsor the go gamma nursing station they have a nurse practitioner available and they have a supporting physician speaker will the minister make sure that the new agreement is signed ASAP so that the good people of go gamma in area do not end up without access to care come september 1st the agreement needs to be signed now premier well thank goodness for the people of timmonds they have a great representative George Perry the other person just he was a no show but thank goodness for George he's going to have a loud voice of for timmonds and he's going to make sure that everyone in that region is going to be taken care of but this is a broader conversation we need mr. Speaker all premiers across the province you know and and territories all have a common voice and the common voice is this is not going to be sustainable making sure that the feds pay their fair share we're we're you know something they're paying 22 percent we're asking for 35 percent it will not be sustainable without the federal government stepping up to the plight making sure that they give us our fair amount to sustain the health care system this mr. Speaker this isn't unique to Ontario i talk to the premiers every single day they're facing the same problems they're facing the same problems down in the u.s. but mr. Speaker we need the federal government to give our fair share of funding for health care across this country question a member for Bruce Gray own sound thank you speaker my question is for the minister of economic development job creation and trade speaker under the previous liberal government rural communities like mine were left behind and neglected when it came to investments that would support our local economy time and again we saw the previous government make announcements that would be supporting investments only in and around the gta that's why i'm here to continue to advocate for my constituents and the abilities they have to lead our province on that note i'm proud that gray brews continues to lead the way in female apprenticeships for the past five years we've had more female exactly more female students going into skill trades than the rest of the province by a significant margin speaker what is the minister of economic development job creation and trade doing to help support economic growth in my writing what is the government doing to tap into the amazing workforce potential we have in our community mr. economic development job creation and trade speaker our government listened to listened and we learned about the support that they needed all those regional challenges they had after a decade of liberal neglect and that's why we launched the 100 million dollar regional development program to attract investments to southwestern ontario southeastern ontario and rural ontario we knew that this would benefit those many communities who could expect to see growth job creation economic opportunities for years to come and to date speaker those very businesses have invested 716 million dollars into ontario and created 1200 jobs in their own communities speaker we're demonstrating that small towns in ontario can sustain and attract those businesses we're bringing back that lifeblood to these rural communities all after the liberals chase those businesses out of the country thank you minister speaker for 42 years under a progressive conservative government ontario became a manufacturing powerhouse able to compete with any jurisdiction yet under the previous liberal government jobs began to leave when high taxes red tape of control electricity prices made ontario one of the least competitive jurisdictions in north america the result 300 000 people lost their jobs when liberal policies forced manufacturing right out of ontario with growing instability in asia as china attempts to destabilize the region businesses now more than ever are seeking strong stable partners when it comes to manufacturing operations now is an opportunity for ontario to regain our rightful spot as the manufacturing powerhouse and we must be taking every and all necessary actions that get question speaker what is the minister of economic development job creation and trade doing to bring back manufacturing jobs to ontario and to my right thank you minister of economic development speaker last week along with the premier we buzzed on over to dun dock ontario now their green lid announced a 14.8 million dollar investment to build a 60 thousand square foot manufacturing plant and this project speaker will bring all of green lids production back from china right here to ontario ovens is supporting green lids project with 500 000 dollar investment through our regional development program this is a made in ontario success story green lid produces compostable products like cups and lids and bowls their products are found in 14 000 stores across the continent and they're made here in ontario this is just one of the thousands of examples of products that are made in ontario and manufacturing that's coming back to rural ontario but we won't stop their speaker we're going to continue to fix that liberal mess and bring the jobs back to where we need the most me good speaker minigashe well my question is to the minister of education uh speaker we learned recently that the ministry of education staff were directed to remove parts of the new curriculum that shows students the connections between indigenous uh and western science can the minister let us know why he directed his staff to remove these links to indigenous science content from the elementary curriculum minister of education thank you very much mr speaker i want to thank the member opposite for the question on the contrary in fact we have enhanced the mandatory learning within the science curriculum in every single grade when compared to 2017 under the former liberal government every single grade in the science curriculum now has enhanced mandatory learning as part of our commitment to the truth and reconciliation commission and our commitment to indigenous first nation and inuit peoples the part of the first response of the truth and reconciliation commission actually called us to complete what the liberals did not do in the social science curriculum we will have mandatory learning of this problems from grade four to six but not through one through three and i joined the minister of indigenous affairs on behalf of the premier of the government to actually fix that gap and for the first time this coming september 2023 students in ontario will learn from grade one right through eight about residential school in the dark chapter is the premier called a canadian history we know there is more to do and i'm open to his feedback and his leadership to get this right thank you uh speaker uh reconciliation is not something is not something that you say differently from the what the first nations are saying that's not reconciliation i say that because mr speaker uh uh metawa council spokesperson chief wane munias stated that ontario must stop regressing and their relationship with first nations ontario should be working with first nations educators to add indigenous science to the curriculum not remove it in secret minister uh why are you not responding to first nation education organizations i want to work with you to develop this framework thank you mr speaker gives us an opportunity to talk about the hard work that the minister of education uh and my ministry have done to ensure mr speaker a couple of important things first of all that indigenous students are armed with the fundamentals of a good education that includes science technology at engineering and mathematics and that's embedded in their curriculum and we support the indigenous led education authorities across this provinces to across this province to that end further mr speaker as the minister uh spoke about that since the last curriculum update in 2007 mr speaker no government has taken the steps by comparison that we have to ensure a strengthened indigenous learning opportunity for far too long many of us in this house mr speaker learned about our history with words like colonization war and conquer today we're talking about reconciliation mr speaker ensuring that our funds come home and talk to their parents about some of the darkest chapters of our history and at the same time ensuring indigenous students across this province have a fair shot at a great education mr speaker and a prosperous community to live in thank you for brampton east speaker from gas to groceries rising prices continue to impact ontario workers and ontario families food prices have gone up by almost 10 from a year ago and rent prices are also rising in brampton regeneration outreach communities local food bank is seeing a rise in families coming through the door at a time when donations are typically lower there are nearly 400 families coming to them for groceries a number that has doubled in the last two years within canada's with canada's inflation rate reaching reaching nearly 40 a 40 year high households across the country are facing increasing pressures to make ends meet according to food banks canada one in five people report going hungry meaning some households are foregoing buying groceries in order to pay other bills including rent hydro and fuel speaker what is the minister of finance doing to help provide financial support and relief for the people of my riding and all other ontarians minister finance thank you mr speaker and congratulations and welcome to the member from brampton east mr speaker for too long ontario had a government that had never met a fee increase or a tax that they didn't like cap and trade tax schemes license sticker fee increases road tolls in durham they did they'd love those but speaker our government knows that the best way to support the people of ontario is to put more money back into their pockets not out of their pocket that's why we signed a deal to bring down the cost of child care and enhanced our child care tax credit to make it even more affordable for families we have enhanced the lift tax credit to deliver an average of $430 in relief in 2022 for low income workers and families mr speaker and we will raise the minimum wage to $15.50 per hour on october 1st mr speaker we will never stop investing in our workers our seniors and our families thank you minister speaker the increasing price of gas is driving up the costs of everything from food to groceries and services in peel region and in particular brampton my constituents are struggling to deal with these increased costs interest rates are climbing putting further pressure on household budgets the people of this province want to build a stronger ontario but you cannot build for the future if you're worried about your bills for today under the previous liberal governments we saw the price of the price of housing skyrocket we saw carbon tax schemes devastate our economy and drive up the cost of everything we saw red tape strangle opportunity for ontario businesses and ontario workers speaker how is this government rebuilding ontario's economy and keeping costs down for families mr finance mr speaker you know geopolitical tensions continue to shake the global economy but ontario has every advantage to lead with a skilled workforce critical minerals and the manufacturing capacity ontario is becoming a leader a global leader in electric and hybrid vehicle manufacturing for in mr speaker and at certain times you need a plan we know the opposition's plan more regulations more red tape higher taxes and higher fees this government has cut red tape and business taxes to bring investment and good jobs back to ontario mr speaker we got rid of the cap and trade tax and cut the gas taxes and fuel taxes to give families and businesses relief at the pumps we have removed the tools the liberals government placed on the highway 412 and 418 to give drivers relief mr speaker our government's plan will build a stronger ontario and put more money back in the pockets of the hardworking people of this province next question remember 100 days my question is to the premier speaker next month the government will increase odsp funding by a mere 5 percent or 58 dollars per month to just over 1200 a month meanwhile ontario works recipients will receive no increase with the government expecting them to live on $733 per month think about that $733 a month when pressed last week the minister of finance refused to say whether he could live on such meager rates it is clear that the government members know it is not possible to survive with any dignity on these rates but they choose to legislate people into poverty anyway will this government do the right thing change course today and double the rates for ow and odsp the premier has stated that we will support those in need and our government is taking meaningful steps forward in this very way that's why we're implementing the largest increase to odsp in decades ontario is the only province aligning odsp payments to inflation by aligning odsp rates to inflation we will help meet the future needs of individuals facing additional financial pressure and that's not all we also brought in the lift and care tax credits to support individuals with low incomes and we brought in dental care to low income seniors supporting our most vulnerable requires all levels of government to come together to achieve real change we're working with our municipal partners to reform social assistance to focus on people response paperwork and we're also working with our federal partners to help them deliver on the canadian disability benefit i will continue to work with minister mcnaughton to make sure that we allow people to become job ready and get people into the workforce as needed thank you that sounds wonderful except that people need the money now to survive and as if the situation could not get any worse we learned this morning of serious issues with the government's contracting out of odsp mail sorting to a for-profit company this company nimble has created problems in the odsp mail room that have led to delays or suspensions of odsp recipients files meaning people aren't able to access the supports they need for medication diabetic supplies and wheelchair replacements this is right now this is not something in some distant future we also it's also important to note that the civil service already has a mail room why are we contracting out to another private organization to sort the mail which they are bungling and then people aren't getting the resources that they need thank you very much the question is will the government stop the contracting out of odsp's mail sorting today thank you speaker and thank you for the for the question to the member opposite we know that ontario work was always intended to be a temporary measure but we're looking as a government how do we help people get into the workforce who can work and how do we support those who cannot work and that's exactly why we've created the program that we have done we're bringing back the central administration into government so that there are more people being able to provide the services at the front line to people who need the job training the job connections the network that is going to allow them to become productive members of society in meaningful purposeful work and that's why the work that i'm doing with minister mcnaughton is so important to to create people over paperwork uh and and you mentioned very important aspects of efficiencies we are a person-centered efficient and responsive transformation that's what we're doing creating a person at the center of everything we do to allow people to be job ready and and part of our economy as we help those who cannot work thank you the next question member for haulderman norfolk thank you speaker my question is for the minister of agriculture food and rural affairs whom i'd like to congratulate on being appointed once again the farmers of my riding tell me they appreciate your attentiveness and your willingness to meet with them speaker in my riding of haulderman norfolk it is proposed that a city of 40 000 be built upon 42 acres of farmland this farm in woodland serves as a buffer zone around the nannacoke industrial park near port dover the ontario federation of agriculture warns ontario is losing in excess of 319 acres of productive farmland each day to development this is unsustainable with the announcement to expand powers for mayors with the ultimate goal to accelerate to housing development speaker my question is what is the ministry doing to protect agricultural lands from developers to respond the minister of agriculture food and rural affairs thank you very much mr speaker and i appreciate the question very much and i do appreciate how hard the the member opposite works on behalf of our agricultural communities in her riding and with that said we are all working very very hard to ensure that we have food security that people can trust across this province across canada and throughout north america and with that spirit we are working on innovation and opportunities to increase yield right here at home so that good quality food is available to ontarians when they need it at the right price because we're looking to introduce a food strategy plan later this fall that will speak to the importance of secure supply chains so that we can ensure that we're increasing our yields right here at home and intensifying our production so that we can maximize the opportunities that we have in our lands across this province the supplementary question speaker the city of 40 000 is a bad idea not only would the city be on farmland but it's also in a provincially significant significant employment zone as it is adjacent to one of ontario's largest oil refining and steel making greenfield complexes there was nary a mention of agriculture in last tuesday's speech from the throne it did stress however the need for an additional one and a half million homes and the fact more people are arriving in the province this makes most most of us in rural ontario nervous as we see developers eyeing up productive lands in other jurisdictions alberta for example they have a provincial agricultural land commission to ensure land is preserved for the future if we want one thing grown here at home it must be our food speaker i'm wondering if the ministry is willing to establish such a committee to preserve the lands that feed us well thank you very much mr speaker and and the member opposite knows i'm willing to speak with and meet with farmers anywhere anytime across ontario because this is so so important and i'm pleased to share with her that just this past couple of days at the association of municipalities of ontario we had wonderful deputations whereby we met with units municipalities because they understand and appreciate the importance of food security and we're going to have a balanced approach you know minister clark has in a very very good path forward in terms of making sure that we're addressing the housing needs affordable attainable housing needs that we have across this province and we'll be balancing it with the importance of food security and and enabling our farmers to be the best across canada and certainly that's something that i can pick up in terms of a conversation and follow up with minister the minister in alberta to better understand what they have response if it's appropriate here in in the spirit of making sure that we have the balanced approach to making sure we're achieving our goal of the housing need to meet housing needs all the while ensuring that we have food security right here close to home the next question the member for barry in his field thank you speaker during the last election the premier was very clear he promised to increase od sp rates can the minister of community and social services confirm here today that in fact we will be helping the most vulnerable and we will be increasing the od sp rates thank you and to reply the minister of community and social services thank you speaker and thank you for the question our government is supporting those who need it most addressing this current period of economic uncertainty and preparing for future ones and that's why we're making the largest increase to od sp rates in decades we understand that due to global factors inflation is rising and that's why in our 2022 budget we are aligning od sp rates with inflation so that when the cost of living increases during times of high inflation rates will too it is important to our government that the people of Ontario are able to pay for life's essentials especially our most vulnerable thank you for that answer and she knows that it's really only part of the equation while it's a very welcomed and it's a very welcome announcement for the most vulnerable he'll be receiving an increase the minister will know that inflation continues to rise and in fact not only in terrians but everyone in Canada high interest rates carbon taxes which are leading to higher fuel costs which lead to higher costs at the grocery store and are wreaking havoc on budgets of the most vulnerable can the minister highlight what action she will be taking to ensure that those who rely on od sp can expect more stable consistency on fiscal outcomes and that the minister will confirm that she'll be considering making inflation part of the equation with respect to how we govern od sp rates and how we pay them out in this province thank you minister thank you again for the question it really is an honor to stand here in the house and speak to this historic investment in social assistance that ties into our work to modernize social assistance to better support the people who rely on it our investment to align od sp with inflation means that annual spending to meet inflation will occur and that's on top of regular annual funding like the 8.9 billion in payments issued in 2021 2022 this is more money in the pockets of people who need it most to spend on the essentials of life and upon passage of the budget the increase of od sp rates and their alignment with inflation would be implemented for september with recipients receiving the new rates from then on thank you the question the next question the member for him thank you speaker my question is for the premier last week a heartbreaking story of a mom and her daughter was published in the hamilton spectator nicole is the mother to ten-year-old alexa who has a rare near neurodegenerative condition and receiving palliative care at home nicole has had to perform complex specialized care that neither she nor her husband are trained for because they can't get the hours of care that they need to care for alexa instead of spending time with their daughter they're filling the gaps of this broken home care system can the premier explain why a child who needs and is eligible for 24 7 care is not eligible and able to get it thank you very much mr. Speaker and I do understand what the what the member is saying and obviously we all want to ensure that we have better outcomes for all people including her constituent that is why we really started back in 2018 we recognize that not only the home care system but palliative care and in fact the greater health system was was in severe facing some severe challenges that is why we made that move to ontario health teams so important in beginning the transition of of our health care system it then lead to the led to the connecting to people to community care act which was passed in the in the last parliament which has also led to further investments in home care we understand how important home care is mr. Speaker not only to those who need it but ensuring that the health care system is in is in good shape whether it's alternative level of care which occupies some of our hospital beds uh speaker whether it's seniors having access to quality care we're making response investments and as you will know mr. Speaker the members will have the opportunity soon the throne speech highlighted a one billion dollar investment to improve home care across the province as we modernize the system so that people are not left behind by system that should have been upgraded many thank you and the supplementary question back to the premier the government's failure to act on the health care crisis is being felt across the board including home care parents are taking on specialized medical care which they are not trained for in order to keep their child at home and safe nicole should be spending this valuable time with her daughter just as her mom not as her nurse families like nicole's are being expected to just deal with it and figure it out on their own because they don't have a choice this is completely unacceptable when will this government properly invest in our health care system so families can expect to receive the promised necessary hours of care that their family members need again mr. Speaker the the transition really started right from the beginning right in 2018 and in fact before mr. Speaker when the premier talked about ending hallway health care we knew that if we were going to end hallway health care we had to make investments in long-term care we had to make investments in home care but the member is absolutely right obviously when people need care they should have access to that care and that is why we are making significant investments in home care as i said the member will have an opportunity very shortly to support that one billion dollar investment that we're making so that her constituent all of us how many of us in our writing have heard the exact same challenge people having to do more mr. Speaker and while we're always prepared to do more it is our responsibility as parliamentarians and as the government to ensure that we have the best possible system available and that is why we are moving so quickly whether it's on home care the transition to Ontario health teams and putting the money behind behind the policies that we're bringing forward so that constituents like yours can have a better future and all Ontarians can share in that better future next question the member for don valley north thank you mr. Speaker my question is to the minister of environment conservation and parks speaker the minister of environment has been talking a lot about green steel i wonder if the minister can tell this house what is the what is the green steel and what is the electric electrical art furnace and how will this change the way steel is produced in both harm your plan and soon summary and what impact will this have on jobs and economics grow in both of these municipals thank you mr. Speaker thank you minister i might just like to thank the hardworking men and women incredible people of northumberland peter bro south he's elected me speaker under the leadership of premier forward in our government we've become a leader in clean green steel with our government's significant investment speaker Ontario's manufacturing sector is breathing new life why does this matter speaker because in Ontario it's not through punishing taxes on hardworking families that will ensure a prosperous clean green future but it's through working with and leaning on the ingenuity and work ethic of the men and women of our Ontario steel sector men and women like my grandfather who got off the boat and worked in the steel sector to provide opportunity for my family speaker and thanks to the electrification of the arc furnace thanks to working collaboratively with all levels of government this premier has ensured through the electrification of the arc furnace that we are going to see a six megaton reduction in greenhouse gas emissions ensuring jobs for our future jobs for men and women who choose to choose Ontario for a more prosperous cleaner future thank you the supplementary question thank you mr. Speaker and thank you for the minister's uh respond speaker the minister well well knows greenhouse gas emissions are how we measure the impact of the climate change as the minister knows there are many people who believe thus only a carbon tax can reduce greenhouse gas emissions however what we have seen is this high gas price leads to higher cost higher inflation and the cost of everything going up so speaker and as you know there are also many members in this chamber on the opposition benches who advocate for a 200 dollar carbon tax per ton speaker my question to the minister is this how will this change impact greenhouse gas emissions in the province of Ontario thank you thank you speaker and thank you to the member opposite for that question mr. Speaker this premier understands that it's not through the all sizzle no stake talk but no action of previous governments platitudes it's through meaningful action that we're going to find solutions to the climate change problems that face us it's through working with the steel sector that we've seen significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions it's through moving beyond nimbyism to getting shovels in the ground for record investments in public transit that mums and dads that seniors are getting on public transit putting the keys down to the car to make it easier to get to work and through investing in roads bridges and highways to reduce gridlock to support a manufacturing sector that's breathing new life electric vehicles that are powering a cleaner greener future through partnering with indigenous communities in the north we're seeing a renaissance critical mineral strategy that's going to ensure ontario is a manufacturing powerhouse in clean green cars of tomorrow and i'm proud of that speaker thank you mr. Speaker the x is opening on friday and every year tsa safety inspectors and engineers are at the x inspecting every nut and bolt to ensure that people are kept safe but now opsu inspectors are on strike and the society engineers are in conciliation and speaker the people are rightfully concerned about their safety what is the premier doing to get tsa back to the table to negotiate a fair deal so families can feel safe again mr public and business service delivery thank you very much mr speaker and thank you to the member opposite for the question mr speaker my ministry is aware of ongoing union negotiations between the tsa the opsu and the society of united professionals the union negotiations process is an independent process between the tsa opsu and the society mr speaker unlike the oppositions the safety of ontarians is our top priority and the tsa has already assured me my ministry that the operations of the cne will not be impacted and that all safety inspections are being conducted on time and will be completed ahead of its opening it is my sincere hope mr speaker that both parties can reach an agreement soon so that ontarians can continue to benefit from the work of the tsa thank you supplementary question speaker their contingency plan is not working and a contingency plan can never replace a safety plan since inspectors have been on strike there have been multiple issues at amusement parks across the province a miniature train derailment a fire multiple ride failures and it's not just amusement parks there's been a propane blast in Sudbury multiple elevator failures new condominium and other construction is delayed the list goes on and speaker these inspectors and engineers are also responsible for the safety of so many things including our nuclear power plants the public are worried for their safety what is this government waiting for yes sir thank you very much mr speaker our government is building a stronger Ontario from the ground up recovering from the pandemic and 15 years of ndp backed liberal mismanagement of our province that is why as part of our pandemic response our government gave 2.4 million in financial support to the tsa providing direct relief to businesses who face significant operational and financial impacts we also reduce permit and license fee by 75 percent or 163 businesses operating almost thousand amusement devices across Ontario until the end of 2022 mr speaker i will be heading to cne with my family my kids i encourage all ontarians to visit cne all members to visit cne let's go to the x thank you thank you speaker and my minister my question is to the minister of economic development and job creation speaker last week the minister said that the government understands the need for advanced manufacturers to invest in the talent and equipment they need to be global leaders well that is strong advocacy from the government ontarians want to know more about exactly how we are achieving these aims just as important as investing in our advanced manufacturers it is also critical that we ensure that we have a robust end-to-end manufacturing supply chain my constituents and all ontarians want us to ensure that materials and production of advanced manufacturing remains in Ontario as much as possible and that we are rebuilding the strength of this sector once again speaker will the minister please explain how the government is attracting investments in advanced aerospace manufacturing supply chains how exactly our government is making connections with international markets getting the message out that Ontario is open for business the member is absolutely right we can't just wait on companies to invest in ontario's advanced manufacturing supply train plane the liberals tried this they lost 300 000 manufacturing jobs by doing that and that's why our government led the ontario delegation to the farm bureau air show just a couple of weeks ago that trade show draws leading aerospace innovators from around the world for groundbreaking collaboration our delegation we showcased our aerospace our advanced manufacturing capabilities but mostly we outlined how ontario has reduced the cost of doing business by seven billion dollars annually it's really simple speaker ontario is open for business and we are the gateway to world markets and we'll continue building on the over 660 000 men and women who go to work every morning in a manufacturing job thank you speaker and speaker many advanced manufacturing sectors in our province are facing immense global competition automotive chemical medical transportation aerospace just to name a few in order for us to continue to be a manufacturing superpower once again the government will need to step up and support these sectors as they innovate and grow no longer should advance manufacturing feel abandoned or neglected like they were under the previous liberal government and the destructive policies that they implemented speaker with the minister of economic development job creation and trade please describe what impact the aerospace industry has for the ontario economy how ontario is leading the way in terms of supporting the vital sector and it's hardworking men and women minister space is a vital part of ontario's advanced manufacturing sector and our supply chain bombardier airbus to havaland mda mitzvah and hundreds more proudly call ontario home the industry has 200 firms and employs 38 000 people there are only five countries in the entire world that manufacture commercial aircraft and ontario is in one of those jurisdictions last year we exported three billion dollars worth of aerospace products to 186 countries over six continents we will see this industry continue to provide great jobs in r&d engineering and advanced manufacturing just last week we announced that cycling manufacturing invested 21.4 million to reshore 22 jobs to mississauga and milton from the us that's proof speaker that we are open for business next question the member for hamilton west and gatter dundas my question to the premier last week parents who are both health care workers than hamilton reached out because they are unable to find childcare for their son families all across ontario are still unable to access the 10-dollar-a-day childcare that was promised by this government our health care system is in crisis and it's absolutely ridiculous that health care workers can't find childcare during a staffing crisis so when will this government ensure that childcare spaces are available for important health care workers and for all parents the government hosted uh of course uh mr. Speaker the government has been working very diligently and the minister of education guided by the the premier ensured that ontario had a deal a better deal than any other jurisdiction in in the country speaker and that is a reflection of the fact that ontario had a much different system a system that was that we inherited that was far more expensive far more convoluted but we have seen a course during the pandemic the government did step up and make the minister did step up and make childcare available for all of those essential workers including our health care our health care heroes and a number of other heroes who worked so hard during the the pandemic again i know the minister has has ensured that the ontario families will have a better deal a longer deal and will be supported in a way that i think ontarian's expected now of course for those colleagues who are new you will remember that it was the ndp who wanted us to sign the very first deal and we said we're not going to do that that we could do a better deal and the premier ensured along with the minister of education that we got that better deal for ontario families supplementary question that answer is not reassuring to any health care worker or any parents in this province that are seeking health care now so that they can go to work in our health care system because these health care workers share that in hamilton the hospital where they work is at a breaking point that the wait times for surgery are well well above the guidelines from cancer care ontario and that the emergency department is unable to keep up with patient volumes and this is alarming because it's resulting in more and more code zero ambulance events when will this government prevent their failures in one sector child care from bleeding over into the health care sector it's a challenging question because on the one hand the ndp have been here in the entire time that i've been here since 2018 and have voted against every single measure that we have brought for to improve the health care system they voted against the creation of ontario health teams which would give a seamless access to health care they voted against hiring more nurses they voted against 58 000 new and upgraded long-term care bids they voted against 28 000 additional psw's they voted against initiatives that brought 14 000 more nurses into our into our health care system they voted against a new hospital in brampton they voted against a new hospital in ni uh in niagra mr speaker they voted against a new hospital the largest hospital investments in ottawa and in mississauga mr speaker they voted against all of those things they voted against the measures that the minister just talked about to support small medium and large job creators in the province of ontario and they voted against every single measure that the minister of economic development job creation trade has brought in to keep our economy moving to create jobs to support health care and all of the things that the people of the province of ontario think is so important so i say to the minister to the minister vote the next question the member for algoma manitoulin thank you speaker my question is to the premier speaker it has been months since i approached the government about the serious doctor shortage communities are facing in algoma manitoulin and that's long the hospital has been trying to recruit permanent physicians since last year i raised this with the minister of health during the last session and presented her with a plan from here on shore's family health team to create an integrated care model to help recruit and retain new physicians in the area i asked the premier when will this government start working with northern communities to end physician shortages to apply the government house speaker again i don't know where the member's been and i know i know the member asked the question in sincerity because he i know how hard he works for the people in his community and i do appreciate the challenge that that that we've been facing but we started right from the beginning we understood and we're very passionate about this because we understood that health care shouldn't just be for urban centers it shouldn't just be the university health network and people in in toronto who have access to the best quality health care it has to be urban it has to be rural it has to be remote mr speaker and that is why we are putting so much investments into the health care system that's why we're building new medical facilities to train more doctors here in the province volunteer that's why we're supporting nurses and asking them if you will provide service if you will work in under service parts of the province we will be there for you we will cover your tuition it is a program that is brought in by the minister of colleges and universities has been so successful we brought in training for psws so that they 27 000 additional psws just in long-term care alone and we are bringing massive investments in long-term care including in the members in the members riding so we are doing everything that we need to do to ensure that the balance is equal across the entire province and i hope the member will join us in that supplementary speaker doctors across the province are burnt out right now especially those working in the north their rosters are overloaded in small communities they are the only point of care immediately available to residents in many cases doctors are leaving these communities because they simply cannot keep up with the workload they are expected to take on day after day after day this has been going on for years and the government has failed to make the necessary investments to address the problem in the north where is the premier's plan to train recruit and retain physicians in northern ontario the member will know that uh that that he voted against some of the investments that we did make some of the specific investments to help bring uh physicians to uh to the north and over seven seven point three million dollar investment to uh to bring 77 new physicians to the north is something that the member voted against the speaker the member has voted against all of the investments that we're making in long-term care the member has voted against the 27 000 additional health care workers that we're bringing in just for long-term care mr speaker it is something that the premier said before he was even elected that we had to fix health care in the province of ontario we are spending billions of dollars to do it but it's not as the premier said it's not just about billions of dollars it's about making a system work better for generations to come and that is what we're focused on and that's the job that we will get done for the people in ontario point of order the minister of the digits is ferris thank you mr speaker during question period i use the word reconciliation you won't find this in the oxford dictionary with its over 600 000 words reflecting a thousand years of english history nor will you find it in dictionary dot com mr speaker it is in fact inspired by a friend of mine jack trudeau a member of serpent river first nation and i appreciate his inspiration for that word thank you mr speaker question period's over this house stands in recess until one p.m