 It is now time for oral questions. I recognize the Leader for Majesty's Loyal Opposition. Thank you, Speaker. Before I start, I just want to thank those folks who have arrived from Newfoundland yesterday and the other folks that are on their way from the Canadian Armed Forces and the Red Cross leaving the safety of their homes to come to Ontario to help us with this third wave of COVID-19, the severity of which is absolutely avoidable. We know that our ICUs are still overwhelmed speaker. They're overflowing with patience and we know what the experts have recommended for over a year now. The Premier last week, this is the questions to the Deputy Premier Speaker, the Premier last week promised the best paid sick days program in North America and of course as we know the Premier's latest scheme has been roundly panned by all of the experts. In fact, one of the docs, Dr. Abdu Sharkawi, sums it up by saying that the program is the definition of passing the buck and more will die needlessly. Speaker, when will this government stop the nonsense and put in place a paid sick day program in the province of Ontario to save the lives of working people? Thank you so much, Speaker. Let me be clear, we are disappointed that the federal government didn't improve the programs as they said they would. But make no mistake, it is because of Ontario that this lead provision has been approved to what it is today and it will be because of Ontario that we fix the outstanding gaps. But first, and we were the first in Canada to introduce Job Protective Leave, we were the first to proactively work with the federal government to extend benefits to 20 days and we were the first to proactively work with the federal government to ensure payments were brought from 12 to 14 to three to five days and we will continue to do whatever is necessary to support the health and safety of all workers in Ontario, Speaker. Speaker, it is very clear that this Premier has done everything he possibly can to avoid bringing paid sick days to our province. He eliminated the two measly paid sick days we had in this province back in 2018. In fact, he calls paid sick days a waste of taxpayers' money. He accused critics of the federal program of misleading Ontario workers. He has ignored all of the evidence of the help that paid sick days would bring to Ontario workers in avoiding catching COVID-19. It has been a week since our Premier promised the people of Ontario the best paid sick days plan in North America. When will this government stop protecting the Premier and start protecting Ontario workers with paid sick days? Thank you so much, Speaker. Let me be clear again, we're very disappointed that the federal government didn't improve the programs as they said they would. But make no mistake, it's because of Ontario that this leave provision has been approved to what it is today and it will be because of Ontario that we fix the outstanding gaps. But again, we were the first in Canada to introduce Job Protected Leave. We were the first to proactively work with the federal government to extend benefits from 10 to 20 days. And we were the first to proactively work to make sure it wasn't 12 to 14 days. It was three to five days that people were getting their direct deposit. We will continue to do whatever is necessary to support the health and safety of all workers in Ontario, Speaker. Thank you. And the final supplementary. It's been a year and this government hasn't done what was necessary to protect the safety and lives of Ontario workers. They haven't done anything that the experts have recommended. They did not close all truly non-essential businesses and support them financially to get through this next wave that we're in. They did not bring vaccinations in any urgent way in the numbers necessary to our hot spot neighbourhoods as the experts recommended. And of course, they did not bring paid sick days into play here in this province and they need to do it. 25 times this government has voted in this legislature against paid sick days. Speaker, today we're going to have another debate because we are never going to give up on the workers of this province. This afternoon another debate on paid sick days in this province and other recommendations that experts have brought forward. The government has a chance to turn it all around this afternoon. Do what the experts recommend. Will they support that motion this afternoon? Do the right thing and save lives. Again to reply, parliamentary system. Thank you so much, Speaker. Again, let me be clear. We are very disappointed that the federal government didn't improve programs as they said they would. Opposition come to order. But make no mistake, it's because of our Premier of Ontario that this leave provision has been approved to what it is today. And it will be because of Ontario that we fix the outstanding gaps. We were the first in Canada to introduce job protective leave. The first to proactively work with the federal government to extend days from 10 to 20 for benefits. The first to proactively work with the federal government to ensure payments were brought forward from 12 to 14 days to three to five. Again, Speaker, we will continue to do whatever it takes necessary to support the health and safety of all Ontario workers. Thank you, Speaker. My next question is for the Deputy Premier. Speaker, the Auditor General's report today confirms what we all knew. That seniors in long-term care were left vulnerable by successive liberal and conservative governments who didn't invest in long-term care in any way that was necessary to give people dignity and quality of life. There have been decades of neglect in long-term care. The government knew that COVID-19 was coming and they should have been moving heaven and earth to protect those seniors. But we all know that they didn't. Instead, what this government did was eliminate comprehensive inspections. What they did was pretend that there was going to be an iron ring around long-term care that never arrived. They had no plan to support the residents in long-term care. And year after year after year, this government and the previous government ignored all of the recommendations to deal with the problems in long-term care. In April of last year, I met with the Minister of Health, the Premier, a couple of other members of this government's cabinet. And they told me at that time, even though they knew the state of long-term care, that they had everything under control, that everything was prepared for. No problem. They had everything under control with COVID-19. I guess the question is to the to the Deputy Premier Speaker, are they now prepared to admit that they weren't prepared in long-term care for COVID-19? To reply, Minister of Long-Term Care. Thank you, Speaker. And I appreciate the comments from the member opposite. And I will remind the House here that the previous government and sometimes supported by the leader of the opposition oversaw the challenges and neglected this sector. Opposition come to order. I would like to thank the auditor general and her office for this special report on long-term care, because it really does note that very first comment that I've made that the members seem to find humorous. The report's key findings suggests that staffing and the lack of new development and redevelopment of existing long-term care spaces contributed to the spread of COVID-19. And to date, it's our government that has taken extensive and ongoing measures to protect the health and safety and well-being of residents, staff, caregivers, and families. It is our government that inherited this broken system that was sieged by COVID-19. Government House Leader will come to order. The member for Ottawa South will come to order. The Minister for Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries will come to order. The Government knew that the situation in long-term care was a disaster waiting to happen. In fact, the Minister would have known that there were many, many, many infectious outbreaks happening in virtually all of the long-term care homes before COVID-19 hit Ontario. Two-thirds of the homes were breaking IPAC infection prevention and control rules constantly. She should have known that. She did know that. And yet, this government canceled comprehensive RQI inspections. This government really ignored all precautionary principles. In fact, during the COVID-19 crisis, they stopped all in-person inspections during the worst of the crisis. Measures to contain COVID-19 were initially left up to home operators, is what the AG's report says. So how can it be that after explicit warnings, after knowing the state of affairs in long-term care, we still had a government that lets so many seniors die? Mr. Long-term Care. Thank you, Speaker. And, you know, today's recommendations come in. And those that will come from the Long-term Care Commission as well, they inform the work that is already underway to repair a broken system, badly neglected for many years. And it is our government that is modernizing and fixing the long-term care sector. The neglect that happened over many, many years left a system that could not respond immediately to the COVID-19. And we use the expertise of public health, Ontario health, multiple ministries to address this as we went. And we started early with guidance in January. In March, there were more measures and all throughout. In fact, there were so many measures. Sometimes it was hard for the homes to keep up because there was so much work being done. And the auditor general says long-standing systemic problems in the sector were quickly and starkly amplified at the onset. And during the first and second wave of the pandemic, and we're contributing factors to the outbreaks and spread of COVID-19 in the long-term care homes. When she says that, she's talking about what was left in the wake by the previous government support. Thank you. And the final supplementary. Speaker, seniors suffered in unspeakable conditions throughout COVID-19. In fact, the second wave was even worse than the first. This government cannot justify how they neglected our seniors. Look at the Canadian Armed Forces report to see exactly what was happening in long-term care. 4,000 people lost their lives to COVID-19. Thousands of family members have been traumatized by the experience. Thousands of other seniors were left to suffer alone with no support, with no family. This should have never happened, Speaker. And the AG's report clearly indicates that this government knew the state of affairs in long-term care. They knew and they were warned. The long-term care system, contrary to what this minister just said, is still in crisis. It's massively understaffed, massive, massive underinvestment, and this government's dragging its feet and saying, maybe in 2025, we may have some kind of improvement in long-term care. Not good enough. Stop dragging your feet. When will long-term care be fixed by this government? Members, we'll take your seat. Will my members make their comments through the chair to a reply? Minister of Long-Term Care. Thank you, Speaker. I will point out, when the AG says, more than 10 years later, little progress has been made and the issue remains now with significantly greater risks and consequences for the safety of residents. That is the leader of the opposition. That is the lexicon. From Waterloo, come to order. Members for Northumberland, come to order. The leader of the opposition sat in this chamber and had the opportunity for many years to address what she knew and she didn't, and neither did the government of the day. It is our government that has taken responsibility for this sector, so badly neglected for many years under the people sitting right there, and I will take no lessons from you as I work to repair long-term care and support staff, residents and families while you neglected it. Please make your comments through the chair. The next question, the member for us. Thank you very much, Speaker. My question is to the Deputy Premier. Speaker, the government knew that there were problems in long-term care left by years of neglect by the previous Liberal government, but the Auditor General's report shows that, just like the Liberals, the PCs ignored all of them. The report states that, actions taken over the years have been insufficient to ensure that we would be better prepared as a province for the next time. The Auditor General says that concerns raised by experts in reports after reports for over a decade have been left to fester. Speaker, my question is how much more needless suffering and death is it going to take for this government to prepare long-term care for the next pandemic? Thank you, Speaker. It is our government that is doing the work. It is our government that has put in a monumental commitment to four hours of direct care per resident to hiring 27,000 new hires into long-term care over the next four years, $4.9 billion commitment, not to mention the 8,000 to over 8,600 hires that we were able to put in with the pandemic pay, and the historic levels of investment, the $1.75 billion, almost another billion recently announced for another 80 projects, the languishing sector that was left for so many years with only a few hundred beds built under the previous government between 2011 and 2018 left this sector at risk. It is our government that is working around the clock to repair it, not only from the neglect left behind, but also for a global pandemic. It is our government that is putting in the work. As a minister of long-term care, I am proud of everyone who is working around the clock to protect this sector and do the work that is needed. Thank you, Speaker. The auditor general says that there are no surprises in her report. That is because, despite the Premier's bluster, there was no iron ring. Last January, they did not prepare long-term care homes for the incoming pandemic. They did not properly train staff to handle outbreaks. They did not even have gloves and masks and training for their own inspectors until after the military arrived. With two-thirds of homes reportedly failing to keep infections down a pandemic was always a question of when, not if, Speaker. Speaker, my question is why does this Premier and this Minister treat seniors in long-term care as second-class citizens without the respect that they so greatly deserve? Thank you, Speaker. That is preposterous. I spent my career looking after seniors and looking after the most vulnerable. That is an absolute insult to every physician that looks after physicians and every PSW that is doing the hard work. There is no doubt that this sector had cracks and it was left open to COVID-19. We worked with public health. We worked with the scientists in Ontario. The best expert advice. We took it early. We worked with the Ministry of Health. We worked across the ministries to shore up this system. It could not be turned around on a dime. The years of neglect were so bad. The staffing crisis was so severe. The crowding in our homes was so severe. After so many years of neglect by the previous government and supported by the opposition, we could not turn it around fast enough. But, boy, did we try. Boy, did all those thousands of frontline workers continue to do the work The next question. Order. The next question. The member for Oakville. Thank you, Speaker. And my question is to the Minister of Finance. I know for months our government has been calling on the Trudeau government to implement changes to the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit Program in order to ensure Canadians in my riding and across the province can self-isolate, care for an ailing loved one, or get vaccinated without losing their income. Despite repeated appeals from premiers across Canada, and in the face of advice from medical experts, the federal government has failed to fill the gaps in their program and make sure workers can access funds quickly and easily. Given the federal government in their budget last week once again failed to deliver these needed changes for Ontarians, can the Minister of Finance tell the House how we intend to fill these gaps? The Member for Willowdale and Parliamentary System. Thank you, Speaker. And thank you to the Member for Oakville. This is a critical issue. As Ontario battles a devastating third wave of this global pandemic, driven by dangerous variants that have crossed our border, Speaker, we must do everything we can to stop the spread. No one should have to choose between buying groceries and protecting the health of their family. That's why Ontario was the first province in Canada to ensure no worker could lose their job because they were self-isolating. That's why Premier Ford worked with the federal government to provide $1.1 billion in a paid sick leave program. And that's why, Speaker, after a very disappointing federal budget which failed to deliver desperately needed changes to the federal program, our government stepped up to the plate and offered to fill the gaps by immediately doubling payments for all Ontario workers up to $1,000 per week, $25 per hour for four weeks. Speaker, this government will continue to fight for Ontarians and we need our federal partners and all members of this legislature to put politics aside and ensure every worker in Ontario has access to adequate paid sick days. Order. The supplementary question. Thank you, Speaker. And I want to thank the Parliamentary System for the answer and commend the Minister for stepping up to supplement the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit. I know there's a lot of misinformation out there on this program, Speaker, and that the opposition for a year now has been trying to convince Ontarians that the program doesn't exist and that Ontarians do not have access to paid sick days through the federal program. I'm glad that our government is trying to work collaboratively with Ottawa to improve access to make sure there is no gap in pay and that workers don't have to worry about losing their paycheck. But can the Minister please explain why improving the federal program is the best way to deliver paid sick days to Ontarians that we badly need in this pandemic? Parliamentary System. Thank you, Speaker. Working with the federal government is the simplest and fastest way to get money into pockets. We need them to continue partnering with us to get this job done. Unfortunately, yesterday the Prime Minister and the Federal Minister of Finance suggested that instead of delivering more money directly to workers, the province should force already struggling small businesses to pick up the tap. Speaker, our government has spared no expense in protecting the health and safety of Ontarians and supporting the struggling small businesses, the job creators, that have sacrificed their livelihoods to keep our community safe. Our government does not believe that businesses should bear the increased burden of a paid sick day program, as members opposite have suggested, and instead our government will remain steadfast in our commitment to protect workers by providing this support directly. The federal government already has the means to deliver the program and we are willing to pay the bill, Speaker. I hope that they will work. Sponsored. Thank you. The next question, the member for Tamiskaming Cochran. My question to the Premier. The Premier is fast-tracking a new 400-series highway that will carve through irreplaceable farmland in the Greenville. Highway 413 will cost at least $6 billion, but it will save drivers about 30 to 60 seconds per trip. And now research for environmental defense shows that the highway could lead to 17.4 million extra tons of greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles by 2050. So it's not going to help drivers. It's certainly not going to help the environment. It will make money for powerful developers. It will. That goes without saying. At what point is the Premier going to put the public interest ahead of the interest of his donors and cancel this wasteful and harmful highway project? Minister of Transportation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I thank the member opposite for the question. Mr. Speaker, there is a strong case for moving forward with the highway 413. By 2051, the population of the greater Golden Horseshoe is expected to grow to almost 15 million people. Leader of the opposition comes to order. We need our road infrastructure to keep up. We must alleviate congestion, which is already terrible in the greater Golden Horseshoe before it gets worse for commuters and before the opposition will come to order. Mr. Speaker, we want to get this right. That is why we're continuing the environmental assessment process, which the Liberals cancelled. We believe that work on this project on the environmental assessment aspect is essential so that we can determine whether or not we move forward with highway 413, which could be critical infrastructure for the people of York, Halton, and Peel regions. Supplementary question. Thank you, Speaker. The minister just said there's a strong case to be made for the highway. We would contend there's also a very strong case to be made for the environment. And as a farmer, an even stronger case to be made for agricultural land. We lose 175 acres a day. Now the 15 million people that are going to be living in the GTA in a few years are going to need food and we're going to need farmland and you can't build it. And now we have the chance to plan ahead to protect it. So again, we need to look at these projects from the environmental point of view and from agriculture, from feeding the people point of view. Is that going to be a major component in determining how you go ahead with the development of this province? Once again, the minister of transportation. I think the member opposite for his comments and I agree. And that is why our government resumed the environmental assessment process so that we could consider whether or not to proceed with the highway 413 with all of the facts and evidence that are necessary to make decisions of this magnitude. The Liberals didn't think that that was important. They think we should just let people come to the greater Golden Horseshoe and not consider what kind of infrastructure is necessary. But I agree we need to consider all environmental impacts, which we will get. We will get the information from the environmental assessment process when we need to consider impacts on agriculture, on farmland, on the green belt, Mr. Speaker. But Mr. Speaker, we're not the only ones who think that it's important to consider this infrastructure. So does the Ontario livestock transporters alliance. And so does the Peel Federation of Agriculture. So as the member opposite suggesting that I ignore their request for me to consider whether we should move forward with this infrastructure because they are speaking for their communities. They are speaking for the needs of their industry. I believe it's important to take into account the needs of all our stakeholders as we study whether or not to proceed with this highway, Mr. Speaker. There's way too much heckling in the house this morning. Please come to order and allow the member who has the floor to make their presentation so that I can hear that person. The next question, the member for Ottawa South. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Long-Term Care. Today, the Auditor General released a report about the government's response to COVID-19 in Ontario's long-term care homes. In the reported details, ALC patients were transferred from hospitals to crowded homes during the first wave. Homes struggled to provide adequate space and staffing to address the surge. Simply put, they were not prepared for the influx of patients. This morning, the Minister of Health announced that the government is now instituting an emergency order to transfer ALC patients from hospitals to long-term care homes that are not their choice. There was some confusion this morning. The Minister said that it will be transferred with their consent in her remarks, and the press release clearly says without their consent. So can the Minister of Long-Term Care confirm that patients are being transferred without their consent? Minister of Health. Thank you very much, Speaker, and I'm very pleased to confirm the statement that was made today and the decision that has been made. There is a situation where, because of the crowding in our hospitals right now, where there are some patients who are there, who are alternate level of care or no longer needing hospital services, that are waiting for their first choice of transfer to a long-term care home. What we are saying today is in the situation of extreme over crowding in a particular hospital, where there is a surge, there will be a discussion with some of those patients, those people, to determine whether they are willing to move to a long-term care home that is not their first choice. That would be discussed in advance. It would be a very respectful discussion. It would take into consideration all of the issues that are important to people, including ethno-construction considerations. There would be no charge for the co-payment and that we would ask for their consent, but there may be circumstances under extreme overcrowding in our hospitals, where it might be necessary to transfer someone without. Thank you. Supplementary. The bottom line is you're going to transfer, you have the power to transfer people without their consent. So you may recall I raised this issue with the Minister of Long-term Care in November about capacity in long-term care homes. It's five months later, and now what the government is having to do is take an extreme measure, an extreme measure because they failed to plan adequately for capacity in long-term care. So if the government is going to do this, there's a number of things that need to be in place. The home must be in the right appropriate care and appropriate staffing. New residents must be fully vaccinated so they don't have to isolate. So should their essential caregivers. There should be some geographic limits to this, and there should be a structure in place, an incident management structure in place. Something to prevent the things that happen in the first wave from happening this in the third wave. So, Speaker, can the Minister confirm that these types of provisions, along with others in consultation with the sector, will take place? To ensure that we don't have any close-on. Thank you. Minister of Health. Yes, absolutely. I can confirm that. All of the issues that have been mentioned by the member have been taken into consideration, and any movement that might have to take place would only be under a situation where there is an extreme surge in a particular hospital. We hope that we never have to use it, but we have to be prepared in the event of another surge because of this third wave because of the variants. It's important to plan ahead. That's what we're doing. We really don't want to have to use this. If we have to, of course we would do that very respectfully and have that conversation with the family, with the person being transferred. They would still maintain their place on the list for their first choice. They would not have to pay the co-payment. They would be vaccinated before they would leave, and in addition to that, we are setting up a hotline for people to call if their family member is decompensating in a new situation for alternate arrangements to be made for them to be moved to another place where they will do better, because we are looking for perfect match, but there is a hotline. Thank you. Thank you. The next question, the member for Oakville. Thank you, Speaker. And my question is to the Minister of Finance. Yesterday, Ontario's 2021 budget received royal assent. In that budget, which every member opposite voted against, our government invested $16.3 billion in Ontario's healthcare system to build capacity, help battle the third wave of the pandemic, and support our heroes on the front line. Ontarians know that our healthcare system is under serious strain and is being pushed past its breaking point after years of underfunding by the previous Liberal government that left our hospitals vulnerable. Our government has invested historic amounts into Ontario's healthcare system. At the same time, the federal government's share of healthcare funding has been steadily shrinking. Can the Minister of Finance tell us why Ontario and every single province in Canada and territory has called on the federal government to honour their commitment to the long-term sustainability of healthcare in Ontario and Canada? Parliamentary Assistant Member for Oakville. Thank you, Speaker. And thank you to Member for Oakville. This is an important question. While collaboration and temporary funding has helped to address some challenges over the course of the pandemic, COVID-19 has also underscored long-standing challenges facing the health system that require urgent action on the part of the federal government. Enhancing the Canada health transfer remains one of our government's top priorities. Every Premier in Canada, of every political stripe, has called on the Trudeau government to increase the Canada health transfer to cover 35 percent of health spending, a far cry from the 50 percent that was the original deal. With an aging population and a rapidly expanding demand for services, Ontario needs a stronger federal partner to ensure we can improve wait times, reduce surgery backlogs and provide access to more beds and better treatments and come out of the pandemic with a stronger, more resilient world-class healthcare system. And a supplementary question by Member for Oakville. Thank you, Speaker. And thank you to the Parliamentary Assistant for the answer. I know that my constituents are worried about the healthcare system and want every level of government to make sure it's protected for future generations. For decades, past governments failed to fix hallway healthcare and build the capacity we so desperately need today. Healthcare spending is rising rapidly in Ontario, and we can see with the shrinking Canada health transfer that the cost is going to be increasing for Ontario taxpayers. Would the Minister please tell us what the members of this House can do to ensure the federal government meets their commitment and does not abdicate their responsibility on Canada's public healthcare system? Parliamentary Assistant. Thank you, Speaker. You know, the Ontario NDP and the Ontario Liberals couldn't find a single issue with what was in our government's last budget. And despite record spending, historic spending to protect the healthcare system, members' opposite repeatedly called on this government to spend more. Yet the opposition is oddly silent, Mr. Speaker, as the Trudeau government allows the Canada health transfer to shrink every single year. Over the coming years, the CHT will decrease from 22 to just 18%, a gap of $30 billion a year. So, Speaker, while this government is making unprecedented investments in healthcare, it's the federal government that will be cutting healthcare funding in Ontario by $30 billion annually. So I hope that all members of this House will stand up to protect public healthcare in Ontario, join this government, and the leadership shown by Premier Ford, put politics aside, call on the federal government, call on the Trudeau government to live up to their commitment and protect the long-term sustainability of Ontario's world-class healthcare. Thank you. The next question, the Member for Waterloo. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Premier. On Monday, government members shot down Bill 275, a diverse procurement strategy supported by informed stakeholders who fully understand how women and BIPOC business owners have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic. At one point during the debate, a government member said, we cannot rush diversity. Speaker, this comment coming from a government that gutted the anti-racism directorate and cancelled Indigenous curriculum writing is a bit rich. It seems that when it comes to actually doing work to support BIPOC folks and address the she-session, the government is all talk and no action. In fact, we're still waiting for the much-talked-about women's economic task force. Bill 275 can make a real difference in two Ontario's diverse businesses, and you need all the help you can get. Why would the government choose not to support Ontario's diverse, small business owners in the middle of a pandemic? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I do appreciate the question from the member opposite. We've seen a number of bills that have been brought forward by the opposition that really don't address the issues that, as they suggest that they would, Mr. Speaker. We have put in a number of, when it comes to procurement, of course, we were left with the situation by the previous government, where there was no such thing as a centralized procurement. It really put us in jeopardy when we started to respond initially to the pandemic. So we moved quickly to ensure that that was addressed, and going forward as well, Mr. Speaker. When it comes to supports for our small and medium job creators, look, we saw just the other day an attack on them in this place, Mr. Speaker. When the members of the Liberal Party brought forward a bill that will put severe punishments on our small and medium job creators, Mr. Speaker, we turned that down because they cannot afford to pay any more, Mr. Speaker. That was supported by the opposition, Mr. Speaker. When it comes supporting our small and medium job creators, Mr. Speaker, we will continue to have their backs, Mr. Speaker. That is what... Thank you. And let's have another question. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We're in the middle of an entirely avoidable third wave. Small businesses continue to struggle to even access funds that were promised to them after the Boxing Day lockdown during the second wave. They're still waiting for leadership from this government. There's a laundry list of complaints from small business owners about the small business support grant. My colleagues and I have also reached out countless times asking for support for our business constituents who employ 80% of the workers in Ontario. It's gotten to the point where the problems with this grant program are jeopardizing livelihoods and will undermine economic recovery, Speaker, to the government. What went wrong with the grant program and why is it taking so long to fix it and to support small businesses across this province? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And I appreciate the question from the member opposite. We understand that businesses have been faced with incredible pressures throughout this pandemic, but the small business support grant has, as of today, paid out $2.4 billion in payments to small businesses. 107,000 first payments and an automatic doubling of which was committed to in the previous budget of that. 57,000 businesses have also received their automatic second payment in that support grant for over $873 for Hamilton Mountain. In terms of some of the delays some businesses are experiencing. We have tripled the support staff on the back end to ensure that we get back to those businesses as quickly as possible and ensure that they can get the supports and money into their bank accounts because we do respond to the challenging time. But over 107,000 first payments and 57,000 second payments for over $2.5 billion in direct support. Next question, the member for gloves. Thank you, Speaker. My question is for the Premier. COVID has taught us that failing to follow the scientists has catastrophic consequences, paid sick days being one example. Scientists are warning us of the urgency to act on another pending crisis, the climate crisis. A new report today shows that Highway 413 will increase GHG emissions by 700,000 tons per year, 17.4 million tons of climate pollution in the next three decades. So, Speaker, will the Premier listen to the scientists and not the land speculators and cancel Highway 413? On behalf of the government, Minister of Transportation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, as I indicated earlier to the member opposite, I thank the member for the question. As I indicated earlier, we are doing the important work of completing a complete, a fulsome environmental assessment process as we consider whether or not to proceed with Highway 413. We believe, unlike the Liberals, that it's important to collect all the evidence. The information that was published today is of course of great interest and will feed into the work that we're doing. But we believe that the demographic growth in the greater Golden Horseshoe to come in the next few decades warrants our government taking the time to consider what the transportation needs are of the greater Golden Horseshoe. And that means continuing with the environmental assessment process for Highway 413. Supplementary question. Speaker, an expert panel has already concluded that the cost of Highway 413 far exceed any benefits. The report today shows that the costs of air pollution alone will be $1.4 billion. The highway will pave over 2,000 acres of prime farmland and only sprawl on additional farmland needed to grow food. It'll pave over 400 acres of the green belt. Increase climate pollution to a point where we will not be able to meet our obligations. Cost taxpayers $6 to $10 billion. All to save commuters 30 seconds. I think the evidence is clear. The scientists, the experts, now local municipal councils, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture and others are saying, listen to the science, cancel Highway 413 and use that money for higher priorities. Mr. Transportation. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Well the GTA West Highway corridor is subject to an individual environmental assessment which is among the most stringent assessment processes on record. As I've indicated, we're taking the time, the necessary time, to study the highway and all of its impacts. That includes taking in information from stakeholders who are looking for additional transportation infrastructure so that they can get their goods to market. As Minister of Transportation, it is my responsibility to oversee the transportation network today and to consider what its needs are for tomorrow. And so we are doing that important work Mr. Speaker. We believe it's essential for drivers in the coming years but also in the coming decades and we will do all the work that's necessary as we study the project itself. Thank you. The next question, Dan, the member for Oakville. Thank you Speaker. And my question is to the Minister of Finance. In the past week alone, there have been dozens of flights into Toronto's Pearson airport carrying passengers with dangerous COVID-19 variants. There have been other possible exposures at airports in Hamilton and Ottawa. While Ontarians are largely doing their part to stop the spread of the virus in the communities, variants coming across our borders are making the pandemic harder to contain. I know our government has taken action by issuing an emergency order restricting travel between the Manitoba and Quebec land and water borders. But as case numbers explode in countries around the world, international flights continue to land in Ontario every single day. Mr. Speaker, will the government renew its call to secure our airports as the federal government should have done months ago? To apply, the member for Willowdale and Parliamentary Assistant. Thank you Speaker. And thank you to the member from Oakville for that question. Speaker, everyone knew that these variants of concern were a threat but the federal government did too little way too late to protect us from them. The difficult but necessary measures Ontarians followed to curb the first and second wave are struggling to flatten the variants during the third wave of this pandemic. Canada could have avoided these devastating variants with stricter border measures like those in Australia and kept variants out or with a consistent supply of vaccines to better protect people like we've seen in Israel or in the UK. Speaker, the Trudeau government has finally halted flights from India after weeks of warning, but all travelers regardless of where they're coming from may have been exposed to a variant. The federal government is responsible for our airports and we need the federal government to secure our airports now. Supplementary question. Thank you Mr. Speaker. I want to thank the Parliamentary Assistant for the answer and thank the Premier for his leadership in calling for the federal government to secure our borders. My constituents are concerned that despite the steps our government have taken to prevent land crossings at the borders of Manitoba and Quebec there are no measures in place to protect our province from the expansion of COVID variants through air travel internationally or domestically. The federal government's quarantine hotels were supposed to prevent cases from entering the country but as we reported last week by the CBC thousands of travelers are simply walking across the border in order to avoid this failed measure. Over 70% of the daily cases in Ontario today are confirmed as variants of concern. As we know these variants did not originate in Ontario. Mr. Speaker, what can the Ontario government do to prevent measures cases and future variants from entering this province? Parliamentary Assistant. Thank you Speaker and the members absolutely right. Our government has been doing our part but the provinces cannot beat this third wave alone. We need our federal partners to step up. We need more vaccines and tighter border restrictions to prevent more variants of concern. Minister Jones and Minister Elliott wrote to ministers Haidu and Blair asking for mandatory pre-departure testing for anyone on a domestic flight into Ontario. We welcome the actions the federal government has taken of late but they have not gone far enough to prevent the COVID-19 variants of concern from entering Canada. Speaker to ensure that we're able to beat this third wave and finally get past COVID-19. We need the Trudeau government to get serious about closing the border. Make testing mandatory for inter-provincial travelers at airports and get more vaccines into arms more arms in Ontario and across Canada. Thank you. Okay the next question the member for Toronto St. Paul's. Speaker to the Premier I rise today for Gloria who lives on Vaughan Road in my community. She has given over 30 years of her life to advocacy fighting tirelessly for affordable housing and childcare. Gloria a senior has shown up for many in our community and in Ontario. She needs this government to show up for her today. Gloria's hip replacement surgery and her CT scans have been postponed several times during COVID. Her osteoarthritis is getting worse. She's tormented physically and mentally daily by a pain that has literally stolen her mobility. Speaker to the Premier knowing fully well that over 700 million dollars is necessary to tackle the still growing surgical backlog your conservative government in your budget just passed only allocated 300 million not even half of what's necessary. To the Speaker when will Gloria be able to get her surgery? What would you conservative government like me to tell Gloria today on behalf of your government when I leave question period because I'm giving her a call right after please answer Premier. Thank you. Again members to make the comments through the chair to reply the Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. Thank you very much Speaker and the member has raised a very important point. We have invested actually over 500 million dollars in order to proceed with the backlogs of surgeries and diagnostic procedures that we have had to postpone because of the increase in this third wave and the increase in our hospitals. This has created more space for more COVID patients but I understand that there are many people who are waiting for their surgeries notwithstanding that we have been able to provide over 430,000 scheduled surgeries since the start of this pandemic and as soon as the numbers subside and we are able to admit more patients in the hospital it is an absolute priority for us to proceed with those surgeries and procedures because we know that although they're called order they're not really elective people need them to be done so that is a priority for us and something that for Toronto St. Paul's come to order as soon as we see the COVID. Thank you. Thank you. Member for Toronto St. Paul's ask yourself to submit your question. Back to the Premier. Now let's talk about the Ontario Small Business Support Grant. This government said last month they doubled this grant program to help our small businesses in my community and that eligible recipients were automatically entitled to a second payment. Speaker, there are countless small businesses in St. Paul's. They've applied, they've been denied, they ask for questions for a rationale, they get more response from the government. Others flat out are denied because their business is apparently too new to qualify. Some are eligible but are still denied. Joanne who owns Vegwood, a black owned business by the way, serving vegan food. A crowd favourite in our Oakland Village community was told by this government that money was on the way 10 business days but she's still waiting. Where is Joanne's funding? When is the government going to fix the Ontario Small Business Grant program that is direly fraught with errors? The associate minister of small business, red tape production. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker and thank you to the member opposite for the question. We recognize that this is a significantly difficult time. There's no sugarcoating it. Businesses have been impacted. We are processing second payments in terms of the first payments over 107,000 direct payments to businesses. Over $1.5 billion paid out through that. Second payments of over $873 million have been processed. We have tripled the support staff on the back end to ensure businesses like the ones mentioned are getting their support are being able to be attended to and ensure that we do get that payment to them as soon as possible. On top of that, we do have other support programs like Digital Main Street, a $2,500 grant for businesses to help. For Toronto, St. Paul's come to order. Access up to 90% in federal supports for the rent program 75% in wage subsidies and also 100% of their property tax and energy costs. Minister of Heritage come to order. When the speaker asks you to come to order, that means you stop heckling. The next question, the member for Ottawa, Vanya. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Health. It's been a month now since the first time I voiced the urgent concerns of my writing in this House regarding vaccine accessibility. Since then, the numbers have only gotten worse. Ottawa Public Health has identified Vanya, Overbrook and Lower Town as high-risk neighbourhoods. Yet not a single one is considered to be a hot spot and each of those neighbourhoods has only one pharmacy to serve their high-density population. So why is the Minister not trusting Ottawa Public Health numbers to designate hot spots in Ottawa to better target high-risk area and when will actions be taken to protect Ottawa hot spots that have been forgotten? To reply, Minister of Health. Thank you to the member for the question. Primarily the issue has been supply of vaccines up until now. However, we are expecting large quantities of the Pfizer vaccines to come in starting next week and throughout the entire month of May. We're also receiving Moderna vaccines today as well. So we will be able to expand both within hot spots and two regions across the province of Ontario. As the member knows, there have already been 114 hot spots identified by postal code. They're based on situations relating to high hospitalizations in the past. High ICU, unfortunately, a large number of deaths as well. We are identifying new hot spots and we are dealing with them with these vaccines that are coming in. We're also expanding them in more pharmacies, including pharmacies that will be open 24-7 in order to be able to respond to people who through work or otherwise need to have that additional flexibility to be able to receive those vaccines. Thank you. The supplementary. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My follow-up also to the minister. The science table has revealed that five higher risk postal codes they recommended were left off the government list of hot spots. Meanwhile, eight lower risk areas were included. We're still wondering why. The government also didn't initially follow the table's guidance on how many hot spots should be identified and how the vaccine should be allocated. Clearly the choices of hot spot communities were not informed by all the necessary data. Since we can't take vaccines away from already targeted areas, we understand that, but it's crucial that iris areas that have been left out be prioritized as well. Now, I understand the minister indicated that that was the intention. So can the minister commit to readjusting the list of hot spot to include the iris areas that have been excluded? And when will that be done? Mr. Bell. Thank you very much. First, it's really important to note that the identification of the original hot spots was made with clinical advice of medical experts. The medical experts on the science advisory table obtained the information from Ontario Health. That was provided to the vaccine task force. The vaccine task force and the other medical experts applied other criteria, including some of the barriers to vaccines. The situation which had dealt with what their situation was in wave two. Vaccine hesitancy, ethno-cultural factors, socio-demographic factors to make sure that we had a full picture to identify those vaccine hot spots. Notwithstanding that, there are other hot spots that are being identified, and we do have vaccines available to send to those areas as well. This will be more readily available, of course, with the additional vaccines that are coming in starting next week, but we will make sure that we identify the original hot spots and deal with those, as well as new hot spots coming forward. The next question, the member for Niagara Falls. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Earlier this week, both Toronto and Peel moved to shut down workplaces because of COVID-19 outbreaks. They're shutting them themselves because the province is refusing DAC to save workers' lives. The government's own advisory committee, chief medical officer of health, unions, and business groups are saying workers need provincial paid sick days to be safe in the workplace. Yet every day, workers in hot spots are forced to choose being going to work sick and feeding their families. The choice is killing people, and this government's to blame. Today is the day of mourning. In the labor movement, we mourn for the dead and pledge to fight for the living. New Democrats are fighting. Workers are fighting. Healthcare providers are fighting. Why won't this government join the fight? Listen to the expert. To provide paid, provincial paid sick days. Why are the letting workers get sick and die? Mr. Speaker, I don't even know how to answer that question for the member opposite. The suggestion that any member of this house on either side of this house is wanting workers not to be safe is absolutely incredibly preposterous. And the member opposite knows that he does a disservice to every single member who has worked in this chamber for decades to improve the rights of workers in this province, Mr. Speaker, when he uses language like that. I can tell the member opposite that I care every bit as much about workers in my writing as he does in his writing. And I certainly would never rise in this chamber and suggest that any of the members opposite care any less about the people that they represent than I do, Mr. Speaker. So if the member wants to ask a question, a proper question, without such insinuations, Mr. Speaker, without such language, then he'll get a proper answer. Supplementary question. Back to the Premier, and I'll respond to that, sir. People in this province are dying every day. And they're dying because they can't get paid sick days. They're dying because they can't go to work and put food on their plate for their families. There's a reason why paid sick days are important in the province of Ontario. And I believe that everybody in this house should support paid sick days, do everything we can to make sure that worker that is going in essential workers, going to work every day to provide food on that plate for their family, put rent, pay their mortgage. And we can fix that. Right here in this house we can fix that. And you know how we fix it? On the day of mourning, we provide provincial paid sick days so those workers can take the day off so they can make sure that their family's taken care of. We just had a 13-year-old girl die because the worker was essential, worker was going to work and brought COVID home. What are we doing? So when you can tell me that you're upset with me for saying that what I did, that's how I feel. I don't want anybody dying because they're a worker in the province of Ontario because this government won't provide paid sick days. That's what it's about, sir. It's about saving lives, making sure that worker can go to work and perform a fairies work for fairies, pay safely. And the member opposite is exactly right. That is exactly what it's about. That's exactly what we are doing here, Mr. Speaker. Protecting workers is exactly what order of us should be doing. I would never for a second suggest that the member opposite's passion on this topic is anything but legitimate. And I appreciate the passion that he brings to this debate, not only today, but each and every day. I appreciate the work that he has done over his lifetime to advance the rights of workers. I know that he has worked in a union for many, many years, Mr. Speaker. And I understand through many, many years of living in a household with a parent that went to work, with family members who went to work. We just talked about earlier the member for Eglinton Lawrence about those Italian workers who came in the 50s and 60s and worked so hard to build this community, Mr. Speaker. I understand how important it is to protect workers. And this government understands that, and that's why we are going to do everything in our power to continue to make the lives of workers, essential workers across this province safer, Mr. Speaker. We will have their back. And I hope the member for Eglinton Lawrence will have their back. Thank you. The official opposition will come to order. The next question, the member for Scarborough Gilder. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Deputy Premier. With the variants of concerns ripping through Scarborough, Brampton, and the hottest of hotspots, we are not doing enough to protect our communities and to protect essential workplaces. And, you know, the clinics in Scarborough are still closed, the hospital clinics. So you have promised a 50% increase to hotspots, and we are going to look for that. Workers at Fiat Chrysler Automotive reached out to me to ask what we are doing to protect people working in Ontario plants. When will they be prioritized? Many of these workers live in non-hotspot postal codes, and therefore ineligible for a vaccine in their home community. But every day, they go to the hottest of hotspots. So my question to the Deputy Premier is, when will these workers who work in the hottest hotspots putting their lives and their families at risk receive a vaccine? Thank you very much. Well, I can certainly agree with the member opposite that there are many hotspots in Scarborough right now. I believe there are 15 postal codes that have been identified as having hotspots. They will be receiving presently 25% of the vaccines from the top are going to the hotspots in Peel and Toronto, and we are looking at 50% because we know that if we address the transmission in the hotspots, including in Peel, in Brampton, as well as in Scarborough, that will be for the benefit of everyone on Ontario because 80% of the transmission is happening in 20% of the locations. So we are prioritizing that. We know that we need to deal with getting more vaccines into those areas. And now with the increase in vaccines coming starting next week, we will be able to do that without in any way taking away any vaccines that are going to any other place. So with those additional vaccines, we will be prioritizing those hotspots in Peel as well as in Scarborough and other parts of Toronto as well. Okay. Time for question period this morning has expired. This host stands in recess until 3pm.