 Thank you. It is now time for a question period, the member from Nipissing. Thank you and good morning, Speaker. As an homage to Mr. Cunningham's feistiness, I'll direct my question to the Premier. With last week's budget, Premier, you could have done the right thing and changed the path you put us on. We've all stood here sharing stories of the pain you're inflicting on families throughout Ontario. And we also heard from the Rating Agencies, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, Canadian Federation of Independent Business, and especially the Auditor General, all warning that you're headed in the wrong direction. So what do you do? More of the same, more spending, more debt. You continue to use the province's credit card instead of a debit card. Premier, why do you continue to make it harder for Ontarians to pay their bills? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. You know, we have a fundamental disagreement with the party opposite. The party opposite who ran on a plan to begin by patting and slashing across government, Mr. Speaker. We said from the beginning, that was not our intention. We said that we were going to build this province up, Mr. Speaker. We said we were going to make investments and that is exactly what we are doing. We are investing in infrastructure, Mr. Speaker. We are investing in transit and roads and bridges. We are investing in people's future in terms of their skill development, Mr. Speaker. Youth employment, Mr. Speaker. We know that if we don't make those investments now, we will not have that economic future of which we're capable of, Mr. Speaker. So I understand that the party opposite doesn't support that philosophy, doesn't support the fact that we need to build the province up. And at the same time, eliminate the deficit, Mr. Speaker. We're on track to do that. We've beaten our targets every year, Mr. Speaker. We're going to continue to do this in a balanced and moderate way, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Premier. Your budget isn't just more of the same. In many instances, it's actually a re-announcement from last year. Take that investment in infrastructure you just spoke of. It was actually word for word in last year's budget, except last year, you only needed $3 billion from asset sales to make it work. Now it needs the sale of the GM shares, $9 billion from the sale of Hydro One, the LCBO headquarters, the OPG building. It needs all those now to suddenly make it work. You're selling the public assets to pay for what was already budgeted. It's a shell game. You're really using the money from the sale of Hydro One to reduce your deficit. And without the Hydro Revenue, you are going to be increasing Hydro rates to pay off the mortgage. Premier, why do you continue to increase our Hydro bills to pay for your mistakes? So, Mr. Speaker, just take on a couple of the aspects of what the member opposite of said, both of which are not accurate, Mr. Speaker. The fact is that we are committed to and we're committed to. We ran in the election and we put in our budget last year, Mr. Speaker, that we were going to review the assets of this province that were owned by the people of Ontario to make sure that we could leverage them to invest in the assets that are needed today, Mr. Speaker. So those dollars that we will realize, Mr. Speaker, through the opening of the ownership of Hydro One will go into transit, transportation infrastructure that is much needed in this province. And Mr. Speaker, I would say to the member opposite that he is a member of a party that sold the 407 in a fire sale that assured no investment of the people of Ontario, Mr. Speaker, but put no controls in place in terms of the ongoing regulation of that asset, Mr. Speaker, all of which are a model of how not to do it, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Premier, the reviews on your budget are in and they're not pretty. Moody's offered two words, considerable risk. Others are claiming a quote deteriorating fiscal position. Another said it was, quote, lacking in detail. The worst thing was your chart on page 199. It's the same fake chart that was disclosed in the legislature last year. The fake chart where your own ministry says the fake numbers were, quote, never a real expectation, and it was a deliberate policy. They were, quote, notional targets, and there was no plans to deliver on them. You used the chart again. You guys couldn't even make up a new fake chart. Premier, why do you continue to use these fake numbers to make it so difficult for families in Ontario? Well, Mr. Speaker, you know, it's interesting because what gets said here in the legislature isn't necessarily what gets said back at home. So the real numbers that we are using are numbers that the member opposite used, apparently. Premier, right after I admonish, you carry on second time. The member from Etobicoke North will come to order. Carry on. This is a general pattern, Mr. Speaker. You know, apparently on April 20th of this year, so very, very recently, Mr. Speaker, the member for Nipissing talking about health grants awarded, three local health organizations will receive a total of $46,400 in one time funding for the 2014 funding year. These funds recently announced by Nipissing MPP Vic Fidelli will go toward mental health and replacement reserve costs associated with supportive housing services in Nipissing. Mr. Speaker, the member opposite knows full well that if we are going to have a healthy society, we have to make investments to support people and support communities. He's happy about that in North Bay, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. I think you should understand that that starts here. You see it, please? You see it, please? Thank you. New question. The member from Nipissing. To the Premier, please don't add those people to the 94 health care workers, including nurses you've already fired in North Bay. Last week, when asked about the budget, the Premier said, quote, we don't believe right now that taking more money out of people's pockets would be responsible. Speaker, I was in the lock up. I spent seven hours reading the budget. Speaker, I don't know if the Premier read her own budget, if she thinks it isn't filled with schemes to take more money out of people's pockets. The budget included a payroll tax, a cap and trade tax on everything, a beer tax, another installment on the aviation fuel tax, increased user fees and increased hydro rates. Premier, which of those isn't taking more money out of people's pockets? To decide what his line of argument is, Mr. Speaker, he needs to decide, A, whether he believes that it's important that we make investments like infrastructure. In what I said, it'll stay that way. Carry on. Like infrastructure, like transit, like roads and bridges, like health care, Mr. Speaker, or whether he believes that we should just go straight on, slash across government and eliminate the deficit sooner than 2017-18, which is what we're on track to do, Mr. Speaker. Or the third option is he could look at the complexity of the problems that we are confronting as a society. He could understand that we are in a transition in this province in terms of our economy, and that we need to create a business climate that helps businesses to locate here and helps them to expand. He would then understand that we need to make those investments in infrastructure that will allow communities to thrive. That is the third path, Mr. Speaker. We're happy to have his. Thank you. Premier, our caucus had five budget asks designed to make life better for the people of Ontario. Stop your payroll tax as it will put a burden on business and cost us jobs. Don't adopt your cap and trade tax as it hurts families by putting a tax on everything. Fix home care by reducing the number of agencies patients must deal with. Make hydro more affordable as it's chasing away business and causing families to choose between food and fuel, whether to heat or eat. And we asked you to present a serious, credible detail plan to balance the budget. You chose to ignore this advice and continue with your tax and spend. Remember, this is East York. Premier, will you admit your budget will make it harder for Ontarians to pay questions? Thank you. Let me just let me just be clear with the member opposite that and just to look at what he is saying in terms of those asked. He's saying don't deal with climate change. Don't do our part, Mr. Speaker. He's saying spend more on health care, Mr. Speaker. And he's saying don't make the investments in transit and transportation infrastructure that we need to make, Mr. Speaker. And he's not acknowledging, Mr. Speaker, that we are in fact on track to eliminate the deficit. I'll just read from what Don Drummond said, Mr. Speaker. What he said. And I know that Don Drummond is someone the party opposite has quoted many, many times. And here's what he said and I quote, the 2015 budgets plan to restore fiscal balance by 2017-18 is credible. The 2012 Commission saw tremendous potential for extracting savings while maintaining and even improving the quality of services by changing the way they were being delivered. The budget offers many examples of commission recommendations that government is following. I would think he could sign up for that, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Final Thank you, Speaker. Like most MPPs, I, too, was home this past weekend. I ran into a guy that I know who has owned a manufacturing shop in North Bay for years. He told me that if things don't pick up, he's going to close and leave the province for other work. At a community dinner, a municipal councillor said to me, Vic, it's like the air is coming out of our economy. At a function yesterday, a woman who moved to B.C. said she's been involved in this happening in Ontario and can't believe that it's happening in our province. Premier, this is what people are feeling all across Ontario. Taxes are going up all around them. Hydro rates continue to skyrocket. People, when people are suffering all around you, why do you continue to take more out of their pockets? Thank you. The member opposite ran on a plan to fire 100,000 people as their first action. I would say to the member opposite, I take from what he said that he would be very supportive of the fact that we have made permanent the Northern Industrial Energy Rate Plan. Absolutely. The notion of expanding and adding to our jobs and prosperity fund, Mr. Speaker, and making the forestry industry eligible for those funds, Mr. Speaker, that he would understand that we're doing that because we recognize that forestry is coming back, but that we need to partner with forestry businesses, Mr. Speaker, to make sure that they have a future in Northern Ontario. I think that if he is concerned about the manufacturing and the jobs in the North, Mr. Speaker, he would be very supportive of those initiatives, all of which are included in our budget, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Premier. The Premier insists that the only way to invest in transit and transportation is to sell off Hydro-1. It's just not true. Selling Hydro-1 funds less than 3% of the liberal transit and infrastructure promise. Yet again, the Premier is making the wrong choice and families will pay the price. The Premier is busily selling the foolish notion to Ontarians that the only way to have infrastructure is to sell a strategic asset that makes them money each and every year. Does the Premier actually believe her own spin, Mr. Speaker? Here's what I believe. If we do not make the investments in transportation and transit needed now, Mr. Speaker, if we don't start those investments now, in fact, continue on the work that we have been doing since 2003, Mr. Speaker, and make that ongoing, then we will not have the infrastructure that is needed in order for our economy to grow. Now, I understand that the leader of the third party is going to be doing a tour of the province, Mr. Speaker, and she's going to be talking in communities about the plan that we have put on the table. I hope, Mr. Speaker, that in those same speeches she explains how she would build transit and how she would build transit and transportation infrastructure, Mr. Speaker, without making the decisions that we are making. Because so far, Mr. Speaker, she ran on the plan that we ran on and she hasn't put any alternatives forward, so I look forward to explanation, Mr. Speaker. Do you see that, please? Do you see that, please? Thank you. The Premier should listen up, Speaker. The Premier says she needs to find 400 million per year. At most, that's 3% of what's needed for her promises. But she will not close HST loopholes that give away nearly billions annually, Mr. Speaker. Off Hydro 1. Cision. Can the Premier explain why Ontarians should continue to fight for another one of her wrong decisions? Thank you, Premier. Speaker, the fact is that we are doing a number of things and the member opposite knows full well that we are pulling on a number of levers in order to have the resources. We are raising, we are raising taxes, Mr. Speaker. In fact, in the last two budgets, we have raised taxes on individuals at the upper end of the income scale, Mr. Speaker. We have raised taxes on jet fuel. We have portioned portion of the HST and gas tax, Mr. Speaker, to invest in transit and transportation infrastructure. The fact is, Mr. Speaker, we cannot borrow endlessly. That is what the NDP would like to see, Mr. Speaker. They would like to see us just rack up debt, Mr. Speaker. And they don't want to work with the private sector. The leader of the third party has said she doesn't trust the private sector on anything. We trust the private sector to create jobs, Mr. Speaker. We trust the private sector to work in partnership with us, Mr. Speaker. And we know that if we don't make investments today, we won't have a thriving economy tomorrow, Mr. Speaker. The fact of the matter is that this Premier does not have a mandate to sell off Hydro. Everyone is wrong for families. It is wrong for Ontario. And once it is gone, it is gone forever. There are no do-overs when it comes to the sell-off of Hydro 1. The Premier has no mandate. She has no good reason to sell off Hydro 1. So can she explain exactly why it is that she's choosing to do so? Thank you. Mr. Robert, let me just go over this again, because I know this is something that we're going to need to talk about over the coming weeks, because it is, it's a complex issue. The fact is we have assets in this province that we have built up over years, Mr. Speaker. They were assets that were needed in the 20th century and in the 19th century. And we need to make sure that we have the assets that are needed in the 21st century. So what Ed Clark and his group have said to us is, you know what, take that asset that was built up years ago and retain ownership of 40% of that asset, Mr. Speaker, but use the income that you can get from the other portion of that asset, Mr. Speaker, to invest in infrastructure that's needed today. But what we said was, we have to have some controls in place. The regulatory regime, the price setting regime, Mr. Speaker, those remain in place as well as de facto control of the board, Mr. Speaker. The member opposite neglects those parts of the plan. Thank you. Good question. The leader of the first party. She is also for the Premier, Speaker. The Liberals still have not learned right from wrong and it's families that are going to be paying the price, Speaker. The Premier and your friends don't seem to have any problem finding billions to pay for corruption and scandal. But what it comes to paying for much needed transit and transportation, they're making the wrong decision again. Selling off hydro isn't maximizing, Speaker. It's not repurposing. It's not optimizing. It is a fire sale, plain and simple. Well, the Premier, just pull the plug today. Thank you, Premier. Mr. Speaker, selling off the 407 was a fire sale and that was the model that we looked at and we said, we're not doing that. There's no way we're going to sell an asset and rob the people of Ontario of any future value, Mr. Speaker. There's no way that we're going to undervalue an asset and sell it off, Mr. Speaker. So we're doing it in a very, very thoughtful way, Mr. Speaker. We understand that the investment in infrastructure in roads and bridges and transit is critical. If we don't do that, Mr. Speaker, then we will not have the thriving economy that we know we're all capable of. And so, Mr. Speaker, we've put those protections in place and we are going to make much better. So, Mr. Speaker. Selling Hydro-1 is wrong and the people of this province will pay the price, Speaker. It is going to kill jobs. It is going to hurt families. It pays for less than 3% of what's needed for her transit promises. And once the Liberals start Ontario down this road, there is no going back, Speaker. Will the Premier do the right thing by the people of this province and pull the plug on this wrong-headed plan? Very interesting, Mr. Speaker, that the paper that works for Hydro-1, Mr. Speaker, the Power Workers Union support keeping the company together, Mr. Speaker. That's how they see the strong jobs continuing, Mr. Speaker. So, I say to the member opposite that we are making a difficult decision. I will give it to her that it is a difficult decision, but we're making a decision that's not ideological, Mr. Speaker. We're looking at the problem. The problem is we need funds to invest in transit and transportation infrastructure. We need that money immediately, Mr. Speaker, because if we don't make those investments, we are not going to be able to have that infrastructure in place for the people of Ontario. And we are not tied by an ideology that says never change, never do anything differently, never learn from the past. We're doing all those things and we're making these investments, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Thank you so much. Mr. Speaker. The Premier is selling off Hydro-1, but she won't even say the words, Speaker. It's not optimization. It's not unlocking value. It's not maximization. So let's finish with a really basic question, Speaker. If the Premier is so convinced that it's what Ontarians want and if she is so proud to do what even Mike Harris wouldn't dare to do, why is she embarrassed to use the words, selling Hydro-1 and privatizing Hydro-1? Mr. Speaker. I talked to people over the weekend and I said, yeah, we are going to broaden the ownership. That means we're going to sell off in tranches, Mr. Speaker. We're going to put out a 15% sale, Mr. Speaker, to start out with, to see what the market is. We're going to do this in a very, very careful way. No single entity will own more than 10%, Mr. Speaker. The government will retain control of 40%, Mr. Speaker, and there will be protections of the regulation of the electricity system and the regulation of price controls. Those will remain in place, Mr. Speaker. So we've been very, very thoughtful about this. It's a difficult decision, but you know what's more difficult, Mr. Speaker, is imagining a future in this province without the investments in infrastructure that are necessary. Thank you. Any questions? The members in central vote. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question today is for the Minister of Education. Minister, 5,000 more students are not in the classroom today. Students in the rainbow board joined their fellow students in Durham, wanting to learn, and wanting to get back to school. Minister, that's 5,000 more families worried about their children. Ontarians can't afford your lack of leadership any longer. This is clearly not a local issue as you insist it is. This boils down to your years of fiscal mismanagement over a decade, 12 years you've empowered. Minister, will you get these students back in the classroom and give them the education they deserve? Yes, thank you, Speaker, and we believe firmly in negotiated collective agreements. That means that we need to be negotiating collective agreements at the central table, and I want to assure the member that in fact we continue to work with the mediator and we continue to work at negotiating at the central table because we understand that the only way that we're ever going to resolve this is to get local agreements. Now, I also understand that both school boards, both the Durham Board and the Rainbow Board have been very, very clear that they are available to negotiate at the local level. And I would very much encourage the local unions to get back to the local table as well. Thank you. Supplementary. Minister, there is a whole lot of nothing. Think about grade 12 student in a calculus class. How will they be prepared for a university math class next year? Ontario students can't afford to be out of the President's Treasury Board. They can't afford your lack of leadership. Board by board, more children will be hurt and you are causing nothing but damage to their educational experience. Students are now suffering and I say it again, Mr. Speaker, because of your years and years of fiscal mismanagement, Minister, how many more boards need to strike before you show leadership and stop blaming local issues? I'm not quite sure what the member thinks we can do other than negotiate but what I do know is what their suggestion was, their platform was that they were going to fire 100,000 public servants and when we did the math that worked out to 22,700 workers in Ontario school boards. That was their platform. I don't think that would get you labour peace firing 22,700 people. I actually think the way to get labour peace is to negotiate collective agreements and I also believe that this is something that we need to do both locally and I understand that the boards are on the other table and centrally and I assure you that central negotiations continue. Thank you. Question the member from Toronto down for her. Thank you, Speaker, my question to the Premier. The Premier wants to hide behind the words optimisation and rationalisation but she won't out and say it that she's selling high bro to Bay Street for a quick buck. That's what you're doing, Premier. Privatisation is a big deal. It will completely change our hydro system and once the Premier sells hydro one there is no going back but the Premier kept Ontarians in the dark last summer about her plans. Why did the Premier keep Ontarians in the dark about her plans to sell hydro one? Good question. Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. Well, the member opposite knows full well that we ran on a plan to review the assets of this province. We were very clear about it. We were clear about it in our platform. Thank you. Finish, please. We were clear about it in our budget, Mr Speaker and people knew that Ed Clark was going to be was going to be leading that process, Mr Speaker. You know, the member opposite lives in a riding where people very much understand the need to invest in transit, Mr Speaker and they understand the needs because they are seeing the congestion in their own communities, Mr Speaker. So, I would say to the member opposite, what would your plan be? Because the fact is that you ran on the plan that we put forward, Mr Speaker and the fact is that you are now saying, well, you don't go for that plan but you haven't presented an alternative, Mr Speaker. Thank you. Speaker, you don't sell your health to build a fence around your property. But going back, keeping people in the dark, the Premier is pushing the Ontario Ombudsman out of Hydro One. She's pulling the drapes on the sunshine list. She's ending freedom of information at Hydro One. She's getting rid of transparency from the Financial Accountability Office. The Premier didn't run on this plan. She doesn't have a mandate to privatize Hydro One and now she's making it less transparent and less accountable. This is the wrong decision. This is the wrong decision and Ontarians will pay the price. Why did the Premier say maximizing value of Hydro when she really was planning to sell Hydro? Mr Speaker, in terms of what what we had put in front of the people of Ontario, let me just quote from the May 2014 budget, not the one that started with, as I was saying, the first one. On page 20 it said, the government will look at maximizing and unlocking value from assets it currently holds including real estate holdings as well as crown corporations such as Ontario Power Generation, Hydro One, and the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, Mr Speaker. We ran on that. For Mr Speaker, our platform said, and I quote, our moving Ontario forward plan includes a balanced and responsible approach to paying for these investments. The funds will be dedicated will be from dedicated sources of revenue, asset optimization, 3.15 billion or 10.9 percent. That's what we ran on Mr Speaker and that's what we're doing here. Thank you. Thank you. Any questions? The members of the Public Health Centre. This join for La Ministre d'Elegue. Thank you. My question is for the Minister for Francophone Affairs. Minister, you know that I'm proud to live in a growing Francophone community and a few months ago I had the privilege to attend the opening of a French school in my community. In December of last year, the government announced the fact that the government will be celebrating the 400th anniversary of the French Presence in Ontario. Essentially what this is, it's been 400 years since Samuel de Champlain visited Ontario. It is therefore a very historic moment. Could you update us on the activities with respect to these celebrations? Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I'm very impressed by the quality of the French from the member from the Etobicoke Centre. So yes, last week we had the pleasure, Mr Speaker, to announce financing for 62 projects with a total of $1.14 million. You'll remember that last December the Premier announced in Sudbury financing for celebrating these events. We launched the program with respect to the celebration of the 400th anniversary of the French Presence in Ontario in order to help municipalities celebrate this event. I'm happy to say that we've received a total of 110 applications. We evaluated them based on the nature of the project, its financial impact, as well as the effect on tourism in the riding, I will say to the member of Nipissing that his community will receive nearly $50,000 to celebrate the celebrations of the 400th anniversary. Thank you, Madam Minister, and I thank you for your enthusiasm with respect to this subject. I'm happy to be part of rather a province where we recognize our diversity. In this case, the richness of Francophone culture. I heard you mention that there were 62 approved projects. Could you share more details on these projects? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. In the $1.4 million envelope, there are 62 projects. They're throughout the province, 21 in central Ontario, 23 in the east, 13 in the north, and five in the west. These projects are very diverse and organized by Francophone groups, Francophiles, Anglophones, First Nations, as well as newly arrived Ontarians. There are various types of events, art galleries, galas, various other events, and what I must remind you is that all of the projects are open and inclusive, and I invite all members of the assembly to participate in them. In the August long weekend, there will be a big celebration, and we will reproduce the 300th anniversary celebrations that happened in 1921 for the 300th anniversary. Why didn't we do them in 1915? It was because of the war, so we're going to reproduce these 300th anniversary celebrations during the 400th anniversary celebrations. Thank you very much, Speaker. Speaker, my question is to the Premier. Premier, last week, just one day after your budget, Goodyear announced that it would shutter a $500 million plant expansion in Napa-nee. Their explanation was simple. The soaring costs and the unreliability of electricity has made it too risky to invest in Ontario. Instead, they have chosen, like so many others, manufacturers to choose Mexico over the win Ontario. That's 1,000 new jobs and half a billion dollars in investment leave in Ontario. Premier, will you finally admit that your failed economic policies and hydro policies are driving jobs, prosperity and investment out of our province? Thank you. Well, Mr. Member, opposite, that it's an interesting commentary given that we are the number one jurisdiction for foreign direct investment at this moment, Mr. Speaker. We've seen $4 billion worth of investment in the auto sector, Mr. Speaker, over the last six months. That's not to say. That's not to say that there isn't more to do. I completely understand that. And whenever there's a whenever there's a plant that shuts down and there are jobs that are lost, Mr. Speaker, that's very, very hard on a community. It's hard on individuals. It's hard on a family. But Mr. Speaker, we have to continue to work with businesses to bring them here to create the to create the environment. Member for Prince of the Hastings come to order. Mr. Speaker, the member opposite will remember in 2003 we did not have a reliable electricity system. The member from Leeds, Greenville is warned. One sentence wrap up, please. We needed to rebuild the electricity system that we inherited in 2003. We've done that, Mr. Speaker. It is reliable. Mr. Speaker, I think the Premier's math and stats teachers must have been on strike as well in her final year. Goodyear has spoken with Hydro One and your government for months on end, Premier, to find a solution to your unreliable electricity system. It's now clear your government has not found a solution and instead has driven another world-class business, another $500 million investment, another 1,000 new jobs out of our province. You speak constantly about the investments you are making, but clearly the private sector doesn't believe you. They are speaking and voting with their feet and their wallets, Premier, and investing capital and jobs anywhere but Ontario. Premier, it's time to be honest and to come clean with the people of Ontario. When and how will you fix your broken hydro system? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Fact of the matter is, Mr. Speaker, the operations that the member is speaking about, they're not closing. The member from Prince Alvarez they're not expanding as well, and that's the issue. We need to find more ways to incite and encourage companies to invest in Ontario. That is why the member opposite should support the budget that we brought forward. It talks a lot about how we can provide for greater incentives for companies to invest in Ontario. And in fact, the member, the minister for response to economic development and trade is now at the Great Lakes regions talking about the things that Ontario does to provide for greater exports and greater manufacturing. Member from Prince Alvarez Hays is warned. Wrap up. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And as a result, we've increased the jobs of prosperity fund by another 200 million more to create those incentives. And we've created now over a half a million net new jobs in the province of Ontario since the recession including in regions that the member talks about and we will continue to support industry. Thank you. The member from one hour will come to order. New question. The member from Windsor West. Thank you, Speaker. My questions to the Premier. Premier, today secondary school teachers in Northern Ontario's Rainbow District School Board joined Durham teachers in standing up to this government's plan to force school closures, cut education and flip flop on its commitment to keep class sizes manageable. Last week, elementary teachers announced that they will be in a legal strike position on May 10th. While this government continues to dodge responsibility for mishandling our educational sector an estimated 26,000 students are missing class and 2,400 teachers are now on the picket line. With teachers on strike, students out of school and parents across Ontario wondering whether or not their high school seniors will be going off to college or university this fall will the Premier finally take responsibility for the government's cuts to education. Thank you, Premier. Education. Thanks for the education. Yes, and I must say the NDP is nothing if not persistent. They really do have trouble with the definition of the word cut. So let me say once again if you have $22.5 billion in education funding last year and you have $22.5 billion in education funding this year that is not a cut that is stable funding. But I want to talk unless students so it's actually more per student but I want to talk about some of the capital because the accusation is that somehow we've been a stingy with Capital Monday. We have invested $12.9 billion in school infrastructure since 2003. We have constructed 725 new schools and more than 700 additions and renovations. We've put aside $750 million for school consolidations and we've doubled the funding for school renewals. Thank you supplementary. Speaker again to the Premier Speaker the Liberal Government continues to deny any cuts to education in Ontario along with ignoring inflation last week this government actually announced their plans to spend $248 million less in education in 2014-2015 than it originally promised. That is nearly that is nearly a $250 million in year cut to education this year alone. All the while the Liberals are telling Ontario families that education funding in this province is stable. If a freeze isn't a cut and a cut isn't a cut can the Premier please explain what she thinks is a cut to funding. Happy to explain what happened because in fact there is a there is a impact of having declining enrollment so that means that we need to spend less money for more students. What that's actually allowed us to do is to reinvest in the students that are there. As I've said hundreds of times I think we don't believe in investing in empty space we believe in investing in the students that are there actually there. So what we have done is actually increased. So what has actually happened this year Speaker is in fact we are just applying the same amount of money as in last year's GSN but what it means is we are spending more money per pupil. And that is true in both jurors. Thank you. New question. The member from Burlington. Merci Monsieur le Président. Ma question. Thank you Mr Speaker. My question is for the Ministry of Cultural Services and Community and Security. And the violent crime rate has dropped by 27 percent. But despite this in many communities across our province the cost of policing continues to rise. Part of the reason for this is because many individuals and families are confronted with issues that require broader solutions in a simple emergency response. I see this in my own writing of Burlington where we are ably served by the Halton Regional Police Service. Problems like elder abuse domestic violence and addiction need a comprehensive strategy to address their root cause. As a result it is incumbent on our province to help communities find solutions to problems that confront them in order to reduce the cost of emergency services and ultimately produce lasting results. Mr Speaker through you. Question. And the Minister please explain what solution he proposes to better address the social issues that confront municipalities and frontline responders in order to reduce the demand for emergency services. Thank you Mr Speaker. Minister of Community Safety and Personal Services. Thank you Speaker. I want to thank the member from Burlington for asking a very important question in this house today Speaker. Speaker as we worked to build stronger, safer and healthier communities right across Ontario one of the key challenges is how to address social issues at their root. In other words addressing chronic issues in our communities. Often we think of a response to crime, safety and health emergencies in terms of police, fire and paramedics. These services are extremely important but we also need to look at proactive community engagement to address the causes of social issues and reduce the cost of emergency responses in our communities. To do this Speaker we must bring a variety of groups to the table. Speaker that is the aim of our community safety hub model. A community safety hub would be made up of community and social service providers from fields such as healthcare, education, addiction, policing, probation and justice workers, children's services and first nation issues. These team members Speaker work together and find collaborative approach to solve issues in the community. Thank you Mr. Supplementary. Thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you Minister for that response. Residents in my writing are pleased to see that you are proposing a model for community safety that will serve to better address social issues not just in my community of Burlington in fact but right across our province. This could also help to reduce the number of calls for emergency services which will play an important part in containing costs. But Mr. Speaker if the hub model is being proposed by the province it risks becoming a one-size-fits-all solution which would ultimately be ineffective. Without bringing people together the right team of community members to address the wide variety of social issues confronting individuals and family in our province it would be impossible to create lasting improvements. After all the social issues that members of my community face are not the same as the ones that confront different communities across our province. Mr. Speaker through you can the minister please explain to the legislature how the hub model will be effective across the province with Ontarians facing such a wide variety of issues. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Raise a very important point and that's that's the incredible thing about a community safety hub that in order for them to be effective they have to be developed by the individual communities so that issues confronting them are front and center has been being said by them and I'm pleased to say a speaker that this approach is already working in in our communities across the province most recently as the speaker would know that Branford initiated a hub within its community as well in fact recently the gateway hub in Nipissing was recognized for its innovative approach to building a safer and healthier community by the Ontario Municipal Social Services Association partners in Nipissing's gateway hub are working together in the community to identify high-risk individuals or families and helping them to achieve healthier and safer lifestyle this will lead to lasting outcomes while reducing the demand on emergency services we are working with other ministries as well to make sure that these hubs work effectively across the province thank you Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. My questions to the Premier 140,000 new patients enter Ontario's healthcare system every year more patients means more resources are needed your minister has said time and again and I quote we are and will be increasing our funding to healthcare yet when the federal conservatives increase their health transfer by 652 million dollars you put only 598 into that healthcare Premier can you tell the people of Ontario where 54 million healthcare dollars were funneled? Yep, people want to know for health and long-term care Mr. Health for long-term care well thank you Mr. Speaker and the member opposite knows having looked at the budget that our healthcare expenditures for this year and next year and following years will be increasing will be increasing in part to reflect the growing population and the changing demographics of this province but it will be increasing to allow us to invest in those important areas where we need to at for example in home and community care where we made the commitment a couple of years ago in fact in 2013 where we would increase by 5% each year the investment in home and community care we have been doing that for a number of years we're continuing to do that into the future as well but Mr. Speaker I I think the member opposite will appreciate some of the comments from our stakeholders and I'd be happy to reference some of those in the supplementary in terms of their reflections on the investments that we're making as detailed Member from Welland come to order please supplementary Well try back to the Premier again Mr. Speaker you love to bash the federal government but when they pull through pull through you can't admit it your current funding levels have already resulted in nurses being fired serves as being shut down and CCACs turning away patients this cut of 54 million dollars from your health budget is equivalent to 9,000 long-term care beds home care for 28,000 patients or 7,000 new nurses the people of Ontario can't afford your cuts to health care Premier what happened to your promise to ensure that you won't cut health care and compromise patient care or nursing jobs thank you Mr. Speaker the member officer does know that we're not cutting health care in fact the opposite is true we're increasing it this year we've outlined that in the budget as we've been increasing the health care budget every year since 2003 when we first came into office Mr. Speaker and I want to say you know one of the items that I'm most proud of that's in the budget that hasn't got a lot of it hasn't got any attention I think thus far that I want to reference saying going to quote Dr. Dave Williams from the Ontario Health Innovation Council and his quote is the Ontario Health Innovation Council is thrilled with the announcement of the creation of the 20 million dollar health innovation fund this will ensure that Ontario will become a fertile ground for the development of innovative health technologies that will create economic growth and value in the system Mr. Speaker we have the Ontario Home Care Association as well talking about how pleased they are with the budget because we know it will help us to serve more Ontarians and keep them safe and independent at home New question Amid over third party Speaker on my questions to the Premier on Friday I was in Thunder Bay to host a roundtable on health care spoke to many people in different parts of the frontline services and what I heard was absolutely appalling since the beginning of the year there have been regularly more than more patients than available beds in fact this was the case for about 28 straight days almost a month at Thunder Bay Health Sciences Centre 28 beds have been closed at the geriatric unit and 11 RPM positions have been cut why is this Premier refusing to take responsibility for the mess her short-sighted cuts have made to have the health care system not only in Thunder Bay Speaker but across our province Well thank you Mr. Speaker and we know that we've had challenges in Thunder Bay at the hospital there and in the community and we addressed those last year with to the satisfaction of the hospital and the Lynn and the those engaged in the healthcare sector in Thunder Bay but there is more work to be done and we'll continue that to do that important work in Thunder Bay as we do across the province but it's important Mr. Speaker that we also when we reference the changes in healthcare that we stick to the facts and I have to get back to Lake Ridge Health and the comment that was made by the opposition critic last week because I actually have in my hands now the letter from the CEO and the President from Kevin Ampe from Lake Ridge Health who responds specifically to the erroneous I would describe based on the letter the erroneous comments that were made in the legislature last week and he talks about Mr. Speaker he says it was with great disappointment that I read and answered he's speaking to France rather the member from Nicolbel that I read and answered your comments about our hospital particularly the services sorry new question oh sorry sorry something jeez with the introduction of the right wing Mike Harris style budget the liberals announced on Thursday the people of the north and across the province can only expect more healthcare services to become worse the hospital is already facing six million dollar order sorry for the interruption carry on I used to like Mike Harris the hospital is already facing a six million dollar budget deficit there is no doubt that further cuts which are in that budget will come to nurses and other frontline workers nurses are being forced to provide care in hallway speaker due to constant gridlock in that hospital patient care is at risk why is this government attempting to balance the books on the backs of patients in the thunderbay hospital and around this province minister well thank you Mr. Speaker and the member opposite knows that we're transforming our healthcare system and we're not cutting healthcare we're increasing it but the the critic for health the member for nickleback last week as I'm quoting from the letter nickleback the the member referenced so this is the letter from the president of lake ridge health so speaking to the member you referenced human resource adjustments made in our laboratory program and said they are having a negative impact on patients in our cancer center I wish you had phoned me first to verify the details because the assertion above is demonstrably inaccurate first the people the implication is that people were recently put out of a job and that is false nobody was let go second the quality of care you asserted these changes in our laboratory program we're having a devastating impact on the quality of care operator cancer center and this cancer center has regularly ranked in the top three in the province since 2012 Mr. Speaker the letter goes on thank you thank you thank you you're welcome just want to remind the deputy house leader he's not allowed to do drive by heckling new question the member from Kitchener center thank you Mr. Speaker my question is for the minister of natural resources and forestry Ontario is home to about 71 million hectares of forest and about 85 billion trees our forests provide both environmental and economic benefits to our province they support jobs absorb carbon and provide habitat to a variety of species that call Ontario home now to protect our forests and ensure public safety each spring we prepare for the forest fire season we've heard reports that the first fires of the year are already happening in northwestern Ontario fighting forest fires we can all agree is a top priority for our government Mr. Speaker could the minister of natural resources and forestry please explain to this house what his ministry is doing to ensure Ontario is prepared to respond to potential forest fire emergencies in 2015 thank you minister and natural resources and forestry thank you very much and I want to thank the member for the question it is already believe it or not forest fire fighting season certainly in northern Ontario and across much of the rest of the province it's here and we need to make sure the communities that are represented by this service know that we are in fact prepared Ontario's fire program speaker is recognized around the world for its ability to prepare for and respond to risks related to public safety and the protection of our natural resources speaker hiring of Ontario fire arrangers began earlier this month and other required preparedness activities are already underway including training and equipment checks in anticipation of wildland fire activity by early May we will have a full complement of over 760 trained MNRF firefighters and speaker a further 320 firefighters available from the private sector to assist us as required in addition we have nine heavy water bombers three twin-autor medium water bombers 13 initial attack helicopters seven bird dovetail and eight ten and ten fire thank you supplementary thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to the minister for his response and his dedication to ensuring Ontario is prepared for the forest fire season speaker last week our government introduced the 2015 budget our plan for building Ontario up in response the leader of the third party made some very startling accusations she told the Sudbury star and I quote emergency forest firefighting is being cut in 2012-13 it had a budget of 180 million then it went down to 79.4 million now it's going down to 69.8 million unquote these numbers are very startling and many Ontarians who heard that quote from the leader of the third party might be led to believe that our province is reducing our commitment to fighting forest fires so could the minister please explain to the members of this house exactly how our government funds emergency forest fighting minister the speaker I want to thank the member for the question and it is important to set the record straight and address the fear mongering by the leader of the third party that's going on across more than Ontario speaker this is exactly the same approach that the previous leader of the NDP undertook back in 2007 the quote was this 2012-2013 it had a budget of 180 million then it went down to 80 now it's going down to 69 well of course that was the worst firefighting season probably in the history of northern Ontario or Ontario as a province speaker the leader of the third party should know and if she doesn't she should do a little bit more homework that there's always a number for emergency forest fighting in the budget and then on an as needed basis if you should have a severe forest fire season you go back treasury board gives you the money overnight and things happen and we're ready speaker this is fear mongering at its worst the minister of health just finished expressing his comments is in terms of what happened with the healthcare file in Sudbury the leader of the third party did the same thing in Sudbury when it came through emergency forest fire preparedness this is wrong fear mongering at its worst and I felt it thank you speaker my question is to the premier premier under your government the debt has doubled and the waiting list for social housing has grown to 165 thousand families Ontario can't afford to waste social housing deputy house leader exactly what's happening every dollar the housing service corporation spend is a dollar that's intended to build repair and operate social housing it's a public dollar taken from social housing providers by overcharging them for natural gas and insurance premier will you allow social housing providers to opt out of the social housing of the housing services corporation so they can save millions of dollars for their social housing premier municipal affairs and housing minister municipal affairs and housing well speaker I think we've answered that question a couple of times already but let me take another stab at it the housing services corporation was established by the official opposition when they were actually in government they put in place a pooling mechanism to service municipalities and to provide savings that's worked reasonably well Mr. Speaker there are some concerns that have been raised by the member opposite which which I concur with and we need to look at those that's why we initiated some changes with the the housing services board and are currently undertaking with them the independent review of their operation thank you supplementary well my question is back to the premier and I would just say to the minister not only did you not answer today you've never answered it before when I asked last week budget did not contain a single new dollar for social housing we have put forward a solution that would give housing providers millions more for affordable housing without adding yours significantly to your deficit simply allowing housing providers to purchase natural gas and insurance at the best price that they can get rather than forcing them to buy through the housing services corporation premier will you agree to let them opt out so those millions can go to help families in need of social housing here here here thank you minister well again mr speaker when you talk about housing solutions their solution in government was to download housing to municipality and and we're still we're still working as hard as we can to to recover from that mess that you order order pulling the fire alarm on a a fire that they set when they put up the housing services corporation in place we're going to do this member from moxford come to order there are some economic concerns that have been raised and the member opposite knows we're addressing them and when the report comes in from the independent consultant if there are changes that need to be made you have to be sure we'll make them thank you the member from moxford thank you speaker and my question is to the minister of labor speaker on February 8th the Durham firefighting student named Adam Brunt lost his life in an accident during unregulated private fire safety training tragically this was not an isolated incident as volunteer firefighter Gary Kendall was killed during the same type of training less than five years before following Adam's death I called on the minister to take action and regulate this industry before another accident occurs but the response that I have received was nothing but a laundry list of existing legislation that does not apply to these firefighter trainees speaker these were accidents but if we allow the situation to continue it becomes neglect will the minister take action and commit to regulating the private safety training industry today thank you speaker and certainly our condolences go out to the families and to the colleagues of the people that were tragically killed as they were trying as they were training to ensure that they had the skills necessary to ensure that when they were called upon to respond as first responders that they indeed had those skills they'd taken that training speaker I did receive correspondence from the member opposite and I tried to provide her I think with the best the best advice that I had received on the best way to proceed with this speaker there's a number there's a number of angles to this obviously there's an educational component there's a labor component there's a there's a training colleges and universities component as well speaker so in a number we're taking it extremely seriously in a number of ways speaker we know that we have to come to grips with this issue in a way that ensures that those people who choose to answer the field of emergency preparedness are indeed able to train in a safe environment thank you thank you speaker tomorrow is the national day of mourning it is a day when we remember those we've lost in workplace accidents to prevent future accidents from occurring speaker adam brunt was not yet a worker but he was going to be and tomorrow his loss will be mourned speaker I will ask again will the minister commit to regulating the private fire safety training industry before another senseless and preventable loss occurs thank you speaker I do appreciate the member drawing attention to the day is the the day of mourning for all workers in the province of Ontario and indeed across this country who have lost their lives when they simply went to work in the morning speaker I can tell the I can tell the member opposite that the issue was still under investigation the the incidents that took place in the the last incident certainly the details are being investigated in the way they should we are working with training and training colleges and universities speaker to see what more can be done as I said we need to the these individuals need to have the best training they can possibly have we need to ensure that that training is done and as safe of possible environments as we possibly can thank you thank you point of order the minister of the natural resources enforcement speaker thank you I'd like to correct my record I said earlier when mentioning that I believe the leader of the third party was fear mongering about force firefighting I referenced comments she had made in Sudbury I meant to say comments the member from Bramley Gore-Multon on a point of order thank you very much Mr. Speaker I want to introduce in the house they may still be here they some of them may have left members of the Canadian Beverage Association Ron Serrano John O'Leary Neil Antimus John Chellion June Goats Brandon Ashmore Kirlinfell and Alison Bing thank you very much I suspect deeply that the former prime minister misses question period there are no differences there are no deferred votes this house stands recessed until 1 p.m. this afternoon