 It is therefore now time for question period the member from Prince Edward Hastings. Thanks. Good morning speaker My question is for the Minister of Energy The People's Guarantee lays out Patrick Brown and the PC's plan for Hydro in Ontario Under Premier Wynn and the Liberals we know that Hydro rates have tripled In fact families are paying on average a thousand dollars more a year Than when the Liberal government was first elected back in 2003 the People's Guarantee Is a plan to get Hydro back on track it provides an additional 12 percent off Hydro bills That means the average household will save $173 per year on their Hydro bill under Patrick Brown and the Ontario PC's so mr. Speaker isn't that a plan that even the Liberals can get behind Thank You mr. Speaker it's becoming quite clear that you know the the the PC's and their leader can't be trusted They've now decided to say anything to anybody to make sure that they can get elected months months after nine after trying to deny Mr. Speaker that are 25% reduction on bills for families and as many as half a million small businesses and farms by voting Against our fair Hydro plan. They're now sneakily mr. Speaker including it in their own platform Worse than that claim about reducing further rates is reckless and only opens up an even larger hole mr. Speaker and They're already gaping fiscal plan I believe the proof is in the fine print at the back of their platform over $12 billion mr. Speaker and cuts this includes over six billion dollars of across the board Unspecified cuts and shifting of course mr. Speaker conservation programs from cost from taxpayers Again making sure their fiscal hole continues to grow mr. Speaker we've Back You're more liberal spin. They're just hoping that something actually sticks, but it's not just look at what our leader said this morning He wanted you to consider this Premier win and the Liberals accepted $1.3 million in donations from companies who receive the biggest contracts for energy that we don't need any longer in Ontario That meant these insider contracts Resulted in families overpaying on their electricity bills by 9.2 billion dollars That's the biggest reason why our electricity bills are skyrocketing then to make matters worse The win Liberals sold off Hydro one. It was a fire sale to reward her donors insiders and fat cat friends That's why this government can't be trusted after 14 long years. So mr. Speaker. I do wonder When did the Liberals decide that they were going to be for the insiders and not for the people who are paying the hydro bills? It makes you wonder mr. Speaker actually who is defending families and on this side of the house that have actually defending families mr. Speaker We brought forward a 25% reduction that all families are seeing but it begs the question mr. Speaker because under their plan Costs are gonna rise. Let's look at their at their their carbon tax mr. Speaker The truth is that under their carbon tax scheme. You'll pay more and get less Independent expert analysis from the CD how Institute for example confirms this mr. Speaker showing their carbon tax would add $1,200 in annual costs for families and this is more than any of the tax cuts that the conservatives claims to be offering as well Mr. Speaker the National Post has called it a shell game noting that any tax cut will be paid for by an 81% increase in the existing provincial tax on gasoline mr. Speaker when it comes to energy It is this government that has brought forward serious reductions for families from right across this province mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker I can understand why the minister would rather talk about cap and trade than talk about hydro because their record over the last 13 years is repugnant when it comes to the hydro plan our Electricity plan our hydro plan unlike the Liberals isn't a risky borrowing scheme We're not going to spend billions of dollars in interest just to get through the next election mr. Speaker our plan The people's guarantee offers real lasting relief for the people of Ontario and their hydro bills 12% more off hydro bills is the people's guarantee We think families in Ontario deserve that after paying the fastest rising rates in North America Thanks to this government mr. Speaker don't the Liberals realize Ontario deserves long lasting hydro relief Thank You mr. Speaker the only thing that that party is guaranteeing is that everything is going to go up in Ontario That's their guarantee mr. Speaker They're actually even talking about our fair hydro plan the 25% that we actually brought forward and they voted against mr. Speaker They talk about it all the time But they have nothing mr. Speaker that is actually going to do anything that will actually help the families that the way We have done on this side of the house mr. Speaker and given the gap that we know that is in their plan mr. Speaker We know that across the board cuts are coming just like the Harris years putting both existing and future programs at risk We already know investments like the three hundred million dollars in home and school retrofits the five hundred and seventy five million dollar in Social housing repairs will be scrapped once the conservators drop cap and trade and create a more expensive Carbon tax, but what else mr. Speaker are they going to cancel the OESP program? Are they going to cancel the First Nation delivery credit? Are they going to make sure that they eliminate the hundred million dollar affordability for you mr. Speaker all they know how to do All sides both sides all three parties have indicated that they themselves cannot control themselves I'll get it. We're in warnings We're in warnings New question remember from Prince Edward Hastings you speaker and we'll try this again with the Minister of Energy today The people's guarantee lays out an additional 12% off families hydro bills, but it doesn't stop their speaker It'll rain in ridiculous executive salaries like the ones at Hydro one We know the Liberals won't because they're the ones who signed the contracts in the first place for four and a half million Dollars for the CEO at Hydro one painful mr. Speaker the PCs will reign in the four point five million dollar Salaries that the Liberals are doling out will the Liberals keep handing out millions in salaries that Ontarians can't afford Thank You mr. Speaker the Liberal government will continue to act on behalf of the people of Ontario and keep electricity Affordable as possible as clean as possible and rely as reliable as possible mr. Speaker Unlike the opposition that has a plan to rip up contracts mr. Speaker rip up contracts that are signed You know what mr. Speaker at the end of the day that really makes this province a banana Republic So it actually makes you think about what they've done mr. Speaker when they're putting it The member from timmins James Bay is warned the member from Oxford is warned finish So mr. Speaker again, it begs the question. What are they going to continue to cut? I've talked about the you know $575 million for social housing repairs. Are they going to cut the Ontario electricity support program? Are they going to cut the triple RP which helps? Thousands hundreds of thousands of people mr. Speaker right across our province especially in rural and northern parts of the province Mr.. Speaker the members of the Liberal government keep fabricating these tails. They're just not believe Acceptable withdraw withdraw withdraw. Mr. Speaker They're making it up as they go along It's a word that starts with L and ends with S. They cannot continue to do this. They can't continue The member will withdraw and if he does it again, I'll warn him Thank you withdraw withdraw Referring to Liberals mr. Speaker four and a half million I'm not I'm not accepting the challenge to the chair when I make a ruling it will not happen again or on Dean you Carry on. Thank you speaker four and a half million dollar salaries are the legacy of this Liberal government in Ontario They're the reason one of the reasons one of the many reasons Why Ontario has astronomical hydro prices speaker to the Liberals not think Ontario needs long lasting relief on their hydro bills instead of their cynical borrowing scheme Thank You mr. Speaker a 25% reduction is something that we've seen in this province mr. Speaker over the last few months That they voted against mr. Speaker when you're wanting to talk about how we're helping families This is significant savings for families But it also begs the question as to how they're going to explain the 12 billion dollars in cuts or what about the $1,200 that families will see an annual cost thanks to their carbon tax scheme mr. Speaker and that is more that is Absolutely more than any tax cut that they're proposing mr. Speaker or even to be offering Unlike our cap and trade on greenhouse gas pollution from business their carbon tax would even not ensure that emissions Would be reduced either mr. Speaker, so you know the Conservatives are also hiding the fact that Cut over six billion dollars in green projects that help fight climate change and the importance thing about Energy and environment mr. Speaker is these two work hand in hand Final supplementary thanks speaker and again I'm talking about electricity prices in Ontario and the minister just doesn't know there's understand We want to talk about something else, but if you want to talk about cap and trade We will keep hundreds of millions of dollars from leaving Ontario for Hollywood, California and Quebec City, Quebec Keeping that money here in Ontario to provide tax relief in this province instead of sending money elsewhere You know the government's own internal documents and the auditor general have confirmed that if the wind liberals are reelected Ontario's electricity rates are going to skyrocket to the highest that they've ever been they can't be trusted speaker That's why the people's guarantee is a plan for long lasting hydro relief here in Ontario So mr. Speaker the question is simple this morning Why doesn't the government support real long lasting relief for Ontario? electricity customers Thank You mr. Speaker long lasting relief was brought to the people of Ontario and they voted against it mr. Speaker Their record shows that they could care less about making sure that the people of Ontario Actually get a break and actually worry about making sure that they can put a glossy magazine that people will recycle as quickly as they will When they read it mr. Speaker, we're making sure that we're helping families with a 25% reduction We're making sure we're helping our First Nations individuals. We're making sure that we've helped our individuals who live in Northern or rural parts of our province mr. Speaker, we know that the fine print in the back of their document talks about 12 billion dollars in cuts This includes over six billion dollars of across the board Unspecified cuts. What does that mean mr. Speaker thousands of teachers being fired? You know thousands of registered nurses without a job. That's what their legacy is mr. Speaker on this side of the house Our legacy is building this province My questions for the acting premier yesterday I asked the acting premier why the privatized hydro one is trying to skirt the ban on wintertime hydro disconnections with their proposal to have Families install prepay meters the minister responded by saying that that isn't hydro ones intention But families and businesses struggling to keep up with their soaring hydro bills count afford for hydro one to have a change of heart They need a guarantee that prepay meters will not be coming to Ontario Will the acting premier commit today to giving people the peace of mind that they deserve and ban the use of prepay meters Hydro meters in the province of Ontario Thank You mr. Speaker, I don't know much much more clear I can be maybe the members of the third party need to take their It'll logical earplugs out mr. Speaker because last week the member of Toronto Dan fourth and the VP of customer care at Hydro one Both participated in an interview on the radio in that interview Hydro one mr. Speaker was very clear when they said none of this will be forced on to any customer If in fact we are to proceed with this technology like this We will still need to develop and tap member from agor falls is warned Finish it will be at the customer's discretion So I'll remind the third party one more time Any technology that electricity utility companies introduce must abide by the winter disconnection laws and Additionally, it was hydro one who was the first to voluntarily end winter disconnections with their winter relief program mr. Speaker supplementary Speaker the clarity that people of Ontario need is a full out ban on proposals like this before Because the OEB is in the business of protecting ratepayers I'd like to remind this liberal government and the minister in particular that looking out for ratepayers is Actually, you spadina is worn I'm sorry, please finish To remind this government this liberal government and the minister in particular That looking out for ratepayers is actually the Responsibility the job of the government not the OEB So when will the government do its job and stand up for the people of Ontario and put a complete ban on the implementation of prepaid Hydro meters Thank you, minister. Thank you, mr. Speaker So it's this government that stands up and brings forward an affordability plan through the fair hydro plan to actually help ratepayers And that party votes against it mr. Speaker We bring forward a plan that actually helps first nations individuals living on reserve by eliminating their delivery charge It's that party that votes against it We bring forward a plan that increases the Ontario electricity support program that helps low-intake low-income individuals It's that party that votes against it mr. Speaker the OEB has a mandate to make sure that they protect ratepayers And it's this government mr. Speaker that has done that besides the fact that they vote against everything We do to actually protect ratepayers, mr. Speaker when you look at the end of the day What the OEB is doing is reviewing the application. There is no Prepaid meter coming to Ontario mr. Speaker. It is actually not even being considered right now It is being reviewed at the end of the day hydro one has said this would be an opt-in program if if mr. Speaker This was to happen. Thank you mr. Speaker Well speaker this liberal government seems quite comfortable leaving the fate of Ontario families and businesses up to the private For-profit hydro one, but this company has already shown very clearly that it does not have the best interest of Ontarians at heart it's applied for numerous rate increases It's invested in a dirty coal burning American energy company instead of our own power grid And now it desperately wants to get around a ban on wintertime Hydro disconnections when will this liberal government admit that the privatization experiment has failed Stand up for Ontario families and businesses and begin to undo the damage of decades of conservative and Liberal sell-offs that the damage that they have done with those sell-offs by bringing hydro one back into Thank You mr. Speaker again the law states that there can be no winter disconnections and this Proposed idea in the application brought forward by hydro one Wouldn't be able to circumvent that mr. Speaker that would not be able to happen That was said by hydro one on a radio interview that the member from Toronto Danforth was participating in mr. Speaker they know LDCs know that they can't circumvent the law mr. Speaker when looking at the prepaid program This is being reviewed right now by the OEB If and when the OEB makes a decision and they have a history mr. Speaker of actually defending the rate payer Making sure that they reduce Applications significantly brought forward by any LDC that they have the rate payers interest at heart This would be an opt-in program Thank You new question the leader of the third party. Thank you speaker My next questions also for the acting premier the Liberals and conservatives like to privatize things They did it with electricity and now they're doing it with health care Thanks to both of these parties. There are over a thousand for profit private clinics operating in Ontario Today, and now the premier's health care privatization bill will open the door even wider for private health care in Ontario When we already know just by looking to our neighbours in the south that privatized health care doesn't work for the vast majority of people The NDP has an amendment to this omnibus bill that will ensure that any new health care facilities that open as a result of these Changes will be not for profit if the acting premier in this little bit government are serious about making sure there is no more private Health care in Ontario. They should commit to passing the NDP amendment in committee. Will the acting premier doing that right now? So health long-term care well, mr. Speaker I'm proud of the legislation that actually we're going through clause by clause and committee right now this week that provides a number of Accountability measures enhancing the oversight the supervision the transparency in the accountability of Many of those health activities that take place outside of our hospitals, mr. Speaker and private hospitals are one category of that because Way back in 1931 there was an act created called the private hospitals act The intent through this legislation is to repeal that act to end it to delete it and get rid of it And we currently have long before any liberal government We currently have a six grandfathered private hospitals that reside within that act And so this legislation as we go forward is going to transition those Existing grants are private hospitals into a better regime of oversight and accountability and transparency I think we can also appreciate we all can appreciate the value. Thank you Speaker Ontarians don't believe that a person's health should depend on how much money they have Dr. Doris Grinspin CEO of the registered nurses Association of Ontario says and I quote We are very concerned with schedule nine Which will effectively lift the ban on the creation of private hospitals in Ontario? Thus we oppose the repeal of the private hospitals act and the independent health facilities act and ask for the complete withdrawal Of schedule nine and quote the NDP has another bill amendment to bill 160 speaker that would do exactly this Remove schedule nine from the bill entirely to ensure that no private for-profit hospitals open in Ontario is this Liberal government planning to act on their own rhetoric speaker and vote for the NDP Motion our amendment rather in committee so that Ontario families can actually rest assured that they will never ever have to pay out A pocket for hospital services Mr. Speaker So we're absolutely committed as a liberal government to end the presence of private hospitals in this province there are six grandfathered We're transitioning I don't know if the leader of the third party is suggesting by deleting schedule nine those hospitals will not have a Regulatory or oversight accountability regime that applies to them what this legislation and schedule nine does is addresses those Existing gaps in oversight. It strengthens enforcement and accountability. I can't imagine that the leader of the third party is suggesting that we leave those Entities without oversight without accountability without transparency to Ontarians. So mr. Speaker This is such important legislation that in addition to the fact that we have Effectively had a ban on the creation of any new private hospitals in this province for a long time We're getting rid of a almost 100 year piece of legislation and increasing accountability. Thank you final supplementary Shocking speaker that the Minister of Health is basically saying that the CEO of Registered Nurses Association of Ontario is wrong I'm shocked. I'm surprised. They usually are quite Well-informed Elizabeth ballerman of the National Union of Public and General Employees says this of the liberal health care privatization Omnibus bill quote adding a for-profit angle to health care in Ontario is not only wrong It is dangerous privatization of our health care system leaves Ontario's Ontarians vulnerable to a number of risks Not only to their own health, but to their overall well-being Dangerous is how experts are describing this latest liberal privatization scheme has the Liberal government learned nothing from the disastrous hydro one sell-off Or will the acting creamier push ahead with health care privatization and force? Ontario families to pay Mr. Speaker we're doing the opposite of the leader of the third party is suggesting we're actually ending private hospitals And I have to give credit to the Ontario Health Coalition, Mr. Speaker We've been working closely Including with their legal team over the past week to make sure we could be Absolutely crystal-clear and that any future governments would not have the ability to create private hospitals unless they were to come back into this Legislation and amend the legislation we want to rid this province of private hospitals But acknowledge that there are six that were grandfathered that are providing Providing services to Ontario we need to however move them into a regime of full accountability Transparency and oversight by the Ministry of Health and I think if the member opposite were to speak with the Ontario Health Coalition and We're to speak with RNAO particularly once this legislation is passed sir They will be satisfied that our intent is equal to theirs. Thank you new question the member from Leeds Thanks, my question is for the government house leader The level of the government's debate over the last few days has been appalling and probably embarrassing for them They've been reduced to being talking point robots Spoon-fed by the nonsense from their Liberal Research Bureau. You can't trust a word They say nothing that comes out of their mouths has any credibility So I want you to look at the history the Ottawa citizen wrote the Liberals are declaring themselves the champion of facts But in reality the interior Liberals are making things worse as they as we get dubious political spin Dressed up as fact-checking. We all remember the Bob Probert incident when the Minister of Energy had to issue an apology to Troy Crowder because the Liberal Research Services couldn't even fact-check Monkey fight that's the kind of team that's feeding this government the utter nonsense and malarkey That we're hearing from so speaker my question as the leader of the government Thank you Coming house there. Well, thank you very much speaker for the question from the house from there from the member opposite because I think Speaker when we spot speak about the deep hidden cuts in their glossy magazine platform That is talking about facts speaker when we talk about the fact that right there on page 76 of their glossy magazine. There are 12 billion Dollar worth of cuts and asking the opposition asking the Conservatives and the and Patrick Brown to explain to Ontarians what services what programs are going to they're going to cut is not a Speaker wasting time. I think Ontarians deserve to know What Ontario what services what programs the PC party and Patrick Brown are going to cut because speaker on this Side of the house. We're committed Reminder to the member and all members that you refer to anybody either by their title or by their writing And I hope it stays that way Supplementary. Yeah, the speaker back to the government house there who's acquiesced to liberal research services that can't fact-check out of a Wet paper bag I'm going to give him some more highlights the Toronto Star wrote liberals mocked over frivolous complaint that Torrey's NDP are breaking fundraising law Let's not forget about the time the Liberal Research Bureau got the two downtown Toronto venues mixed up the Ottawa citizen wrote about saying Crying sexism without having done the research reveals something about them the Sun summarized it as by asking is there a twit club and then there was a TVO Reporter who who I can't even say what he said because it's a unparliamentary language So again back to the government house leader. Are you going to take back control from the liberal researchers? Are you going to take back and bring facts back to this government's house? Thank you Speaker 12 billion dollars worth of deep cuts is what Patrick Brown and the conservatives Sorry The member will correct 12 billion dollars worth of deep cuts is what the conservatives and their leader is Guaranteeing to the people of Ontario speaker and that is not acceptable to us speaker their plan Under their plan Ontarians will pay more and will get less They're going to cut six billion dollars worth of programs that will ensure that our hospitals are more energy efficient That our schools are more energy efficient and our good places for our children to study They will cut all environmental programming so that we can really tackle with the issue of climate change in fact speaker They're going to bring a carpet tax that is going to cost people more money speaker That's not the kind of people's guarantee. We need from the opposition. They need to explain to Ontario's What are their 12 billion dollars? Thank you? New question the member from Toronto Danforth. Thank you speaker my question to the acting premier Yesterday chief fulbister and members of grassy narrows first nation traveled here with a simple request Will this liberal government build a mercury poisoning treatment center in grassy narrows? So that the sick and dying can get care without being separated from their loved ones The minister of indigenous affairs and reconciliation Well, thank you for that question Speaker I can Tell you today that this morning there was a very productive and effective Meeting with minister Phil pot with chief pache with chief fulbister with myself and various Advisors representing the chiefs the federal government and the province of Ontario I'm quoting minister Phil pot at that meeting this morning. She said we have turned a page on these issues That is the mercury issues Speaker that was met by a round of applause at all of those at this morning's meeting Our technical staff is continuing with the meeting as I speak and I can tell you speaker that Later today there will be further details Released it was a very productive the issue has been answered in a good way. Thank you Thank you supplementary Thank you speaker again to the acting premier People of grassy narrows can't wait any longer to have the mercury cleaned up from the English River system They can't wait any longer for a mercury poisoning treatment center in their community Why not green light this project today? Send a construction to crew to grassy narrows this week and just get the job done Thank you minister Thank You speaker speaker as I've said we had a very productive meeting this morning on a host of issues as I've said previously in this house with regard to the The cleanup of the English Wabagoon River system We have provided five point two million dollars to do the remediation workup That's a study that we'll look into how the remediation should be done in addition to that speaker We have provided eighty five million dollars for actual work on the remediation After the remediation workup has been done Speaker we are serious about dealing with these issues in the English Wabagoon River system We recognize that something has to be done and will be done on the cleanup in addition to that We had this meeting this morning on other issues There will be more details later today, but it was a good meeting. Thank you The question the member from and cast are done best flamboyant Westdale. Thanks very much mr. Speaker my question is to the Minister of Health and long-term care Speaker we know that lung disease affects millions of Ontarians Not just the 2.4 million who live with a chronic respiratory illness But also the millions more who deserve to breathe with ease Our government has been taking action to promote lung health and prevent lung disease last year We celebrated the 10th anniversary of our smoke-free Ontario strategy Which helps smokers quit protects people from exposure to second-hand smoke and works to protect the health of Children and youth as a result of these efforts We have decreased the smoking rate from 20.9 percent in 2005 to 17.4 percent about 480,000 Speaker can the Minister please explain what our steps our government is taking to improve lung health for the people of Ontario Thank you. Minister of Health long-term care. Thank you, mr. Speaker and thank you to the member from and cast are done to ask flamboyant Westdale for the question And if I may I'd like to take a moment first to recognize the tremendous work The member has done to advocate for better long house Mr. Speaker we can all breathe easier because of the hard work done by the member from and cast are done to ask flamboyant West Westdale and with the help of the lung association here in Ontario He has been a crucial part of the establishment of the new Ontario lung health Consultation group this group will consist of health experts persons with lived experience caregivers advocates and more and they'll provide my ministry with advice and recommendations on research prevention Diagnosis and treatment of lung disease and for the development of an Ontario lung health action plan through this collaboration I'm confident that will be successful in protecting and caring for the millions of Ontarians who live with a lung disease. Thank you supplementary Thanks very much Minister and through you mr. Speaker I want to just take a minute to acknowledge with the gratitude the member from Cambridge who spearheaded this initiative I know mr. Speaker that this group will create a plan that will ensure we are providing a coordinated approach To prevent lung disease improve patient outcomes and reduce health care spending our government Recognizes that those who live with the chronic Lung disease of real challenges as well as their families rightfully deserve a plan that will ensure West people suffer the loss of a lung One to walk to lung disease and we're confident that this group will help to achieve just that working with our wonderful partners from the Ontario Lung Association Speaker can the Minister of Health and long-term care With us what else is government is doing to promote long health in Ontario? Thank you minister Well, thank you again to the member from Ancaster Dundas Flamborough and Westdale for that question this summer in Partnership with Cancer Care Ontario We launched a new screening pilot for people at risk of getting lung cancer and the pilot ensures that we're doing our best to Organize lung cancer screening for people at high risk across this province And in fact the pilot sites are based out of the Ottawa Hospital the Renfrew Victoria Hospital Health Sciences North in Sudbury and Lake Ridge Health in Oshawa We also have a number of existing programs that address COPD or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Asthma and other lung diseases and of course will also starting January 1st through OHIP plus be providing Free absolutely free asthma inhalers those puffers of steroids and ventilant to children and youth Through OHIP plus mr. Speaker. I'm confident that with the members continued advocacy and the member from Cambridge And our partnership association that we'll be able to achieve much much more for the lung health of Ontarians Thank you new question the member from the Peeing Farms My question is to the finance minister earlier this week Ontario PC leader Patrick Brown announced an important plank in the people's Guarantee he announced that an Ontario Progressive Conservative government will introduce a new Ontario child care refund for up to 75% of child care expenses or up to $6,750 per child that is real change Real change that would make life affordable for Ontario families. Can the minister explain why he doesn't support much needed relief Remember from a total grim north is warned you may finish Minister finance thank you, mr. Speaker. I appreciate the question Of course, we all want relief for Frontario families and the member opposite and and her party are not doing that In fact all they have done and it's quoted time and time again this week about that their plan doesn't add up And that's coming from their own expert advisors It's the fine print on on their last page of the report make it clear that they have 12 billion dollars in Cuts and the question remains. What are you gonna cut? Which hospitals are gonna cut? I recall mr. Speaker There was another five-point plan Mike Harris and where did that take you mr. Speaker? Well, let me see mr. Speaker his five-point plan said he would not negative impact classroom education We know he created a crisis He said he would not close down hospitals and said he closed down dozens of hospitals fire nurses and brought the system to his Knees mr. Speaker answer. What are you guys gonna cut? Thank you? I am gonna suck luck I am going to remind it's delicate. I do want in the house everyone to be Use their title or their right and I'm gonna suggest that you indicate your leader and then his name, please Carry on cut an economic development minister who lost 330,000 manufacturing jobs We're gonna cut a minister of infrastructure who doesn't know how to roll out infrastructure We're gonna cut a minister of health who lets patients stay in hospital floors We're gonna cut a deputy premier who allowed the longest college strike in Ontario history We're gonna cut a finance minister who had to save his own seat by cancelling 1.2 billion Treasury board president that has to fight with the auditor general all the time. We're gonna cut a transportation minister First when I stand you sit Second minister of agriculture is warned. Thank you Mr. Finance here's my suspect they're gonna cut because they voted against these very measures in the past They're gonna cut OSAP free tuition for students They're gonna cut oh hit plus free pharmacare for those under 25 They're gonna cut 16 billion dollars in infrastructure schools this year alone, mr. Speaker 20 billion for hospitals 190 billion over the next 13 years for roads and bridges and mr. Speaker the list goes on because they voted against these very measures and Furthermore the National Post another favorite of theirs say that's all a shell game for middle-class income earners They're gonna have an 81 increase in gas taxes for the people of Ontario causing them more money and furthermore They're going to go into deficit mr. Speaker They can't even balance the books when they're making all of these cuts and all these revenue increases It's fiscally irresponsible and a social deficit as much as the fiscal deficit that they're providing You see it, please You see it, please New question the member from Niagara Falls Thank you mr. Speaker my question to the acting premier with bill 166 This liberal government told the public that they wanted to protect fans who bought tickets to concerts and sporting events One of ways this government can protect fans is by revealing how many tickets actually go on sale to the public And how many are just giveaways to vip's are resold at higher prices If venues publish this information then consumers would know when they are being gouged During the debate on bill 166. The eternal general said 99 percent were in favor of at least some additional transparency requirements Yet last week we found out that liberals removed that section of the consumer protection from their own bill Mr. Speaker Will the acting premier tell Ontarians who pressured the premier to abandon protecting consumers Who just want to buy tickets to concerts and sporting events? Yeah Thank you very much speaker. I want to thank the member for asking a very important question as speaker as you know We have brought a piece of legislation that is working through this house Which really will ensure that we put fans fuss when it comes to Tickets events sporting events concerts, etc We have heard very clearly from Ontarians that they Want to ensure that they get tickets at affordable price that they have a fair shot at getting tickets And that's why speaker the proposals before this house Would put a ban on these computer bots would in fact will ensure that resellers or consumers People will not be able to sell tickets that were bought by bots But we speaker we're also taking the financial incentive away from by bots by making sure that we're putting a cap of 50 percent on on a resale Prices so that Ontarians do have access to affordable tickets They're very robust enforcement measures and transparency requirements that I will speak to the supplementary supplementary Thank you, mr. Speaker again to the acting premier We've heard numerous complaints that venues are holding back massive amount of tickets Which means only a small fraction ever go on sale at face value That means when parents save enough money to take their kids to a jay's game an argo game or a leaf game They only have a small opportunity to buy tickets at a fair price Most times they have to choose between paying highly inflated prices for tickets from scalpers Or letting their kids down This liberal government says it's committed to transparency and protecting consumers who want to see shows or attend sporting events Speaker if that's the case Why are the liberals backtracking on this important issue of consumer protection? And letting down those people who just want to take their kids and their grandkids the sporting events. Thank you I'm really really happy to hear that the the member opposite is interested in this issue that we have shown leadership in addressing And transparency speaker is is a very big part of it In fact, one of the one of the big things that we're doing in this legislation speaker Is is we're ensuring that there's all in pricing so that consumers fans know exactly what they what they are what they are paying For now speaker We did also Talk to a lot of artists and we wanted to make sure that there's no unintended consequences to this legislation and the amendment that we have proposed Exactly deals with that We want to make sure that we have a robust arson culture Culture seen all across Ontario just not in Toronto and one of the concerns that was raised to us which is legitimate that Some of the requirements that was initially proposed may result in artists not coming to smaller regional markets like Niagara the members writing or Ottawa Kingston Windsor We want to make sure speaker that our arson culture community is thriving in all parts of the province and these big these big acts Come to our smaller markets and our rules don't cause a detriment. Thank you new question a member from berry Thank you, mr. Speaker my question is to the minister of housing and the minister responsible for the poverty reduction strategy Our government has been running a 20 million dollar pilot in 22 communities across the province To increase affordable housing options for survivors of domestic violence and their families Speaker the portable housing benefit provides families with the freedom to choose where they live Since the subsidy isn't tied to a specific unit like the most rent geared to income housing The two-year pilot project for the portable housing benefit was launched in september 2016 in 22 regions throughout ontario Speaker the portable housing benefit has been an important program for helping survivors find stability And housing could the minister update the house on the announcement that he made yesterday? Thank you, mr. Speaker, and I want to thank the member of berry for the question and also for her advocacy on behalf of vulnerable ontarians We've been doing very important work to help survivors and their families escape violence by providing them with a flexible portable housing benefit That's why I was happy to announce yesterday that after a successful pilot We're expanding the portable housing benefit right across ontaria We will also be expanding the program to include victims of human trafficking And I was also happy to announce that these survivors of human trafficking will also receive special priority access To social housing as victims of domestic violence do now We're dedicated to making this program better to provide easier access make it more inclusive This expanded benefit is providing 30 million dollars over three years to support 3 000 survivors and will increase to 50 Million dollars a year in 2020. It's going to provide housing when and where Thank you supplementary Thank you speaker again to the minister of housing and the minister responsible for the poverty reduction strategy Earlier this year the ministry of housing introduced its new fair housing plan This plan includes 16 comprehensive measures to help ontarians find a safe Suitable and affordable place to call home The plan is helping people find affordable homes Increased supply protect buyers and renters and bring stability to the real estate market I understand that the minister made an announcement this morning about the fair housing plan And how he is working to encourage the creation of new purpose built rental in ontario Could the minister, please update the house on this announcement. Thank you minister Thank you, mr. Speaker I was very pleased to be able to announce this morning a key part of our fair housing plan in some places in this province It's very hard to find suitable affordable housing and especially for those who want to rent We're seeing condo buildings pop up on every corner, but not quite so many rental developments are being built This morning I was pleased to announce that ontario is making it easier for people to find a place to call home By helping incentivize the construction of more rental housing in communities where many people rent But rentals are hard to find we will encourage developers to build new rental housing by rebating development charges, mr. Speaker And we'll continue We'll continue to work On ways to increase the supply of housing in ontario and this builds on the other initiatives in our fair housing plan That are creating more rental housing and more affordable housing across the province. Thank you New question the member from renfrew nipissing pepro. Thank you, speaker. My question to the attorney general Victim services of renfrew county does a tremendous job in assisting and working with victims of crime to help them through Their terrible circumstances, but we have a problem here minister due to legislative changes That have vastly increased the workload by over 700 Couple with the fact that they've had no meaningful funding increase in the past five years Puts them on the brink of being unable to provide the services so badly needed in renfrew county and indeed all across ontario Speaker i've written to the minister about this in the past and have made it clear That without an increase in funding victims of crimes are at a greater risk than ever before Will the minister commit to funding victim services to the level necessary to comply with the mandate that he has given them Thank you very much. Uh, speak. I want to thank the member opposite for asking the question He has in fact written to me and he has spoken to me about this very important Issue as well speaker. Uh speaker I want to be very clear that our government is very much committed To helping victims of crime when they needed most since 2003 the ministry of the attorney general has invested over a billion dollars in vital Services to support those who have been harmed by crime as part of our government's strategy to end human trafficking We will be investing 1.93 million dollars over four years to expand the benefits available under the victim quick response program To better serve victims of human trafficking speaker We are also investing 6.65 million dollars over four years to enhance the victim crisis as this is ontario program So that our community based service delivery partners can provide better support and case coordination for victims of human trafficking Further speaker as part of the government's sexual violence and harassment action plan in 2015 We increase funding to sexual assault centers by 1.75 million dollars per year. Thank you. Thank you Supplementary back to the minister. Thank you very much. There's a lot of numbers there speaker But victims of crime are still being left unserviced The minister knows that the funding formula the victim services rely on is incoherent at best Inconsistent and full of boutique envelopes This part is not complicated even though victims is largely volunteer based if the funding is not there They can't provide the services that are needed by the people Along with the Exponentially growing caseload. They are now faced with the cost implications of bill 148 leaving them in even more threatened financial position Speaker can I count on the minister today? To ensure that victim services of rent for county will receive the funding it requires to provide the services That victims of crime so badly need Thank you Speaker we very much recognize the hard work that victim services Do in lana county and across the the province and that's why as we are introducing these very important programs on the urging Of a lot of these victim services groups like human trafficking To end violence Sexual violence against women. We're making sure that they're funding Available to go with it because we recognize that there is going to be extra workload Speaker we're also doing work work right now with indigenous victims. There's work happening on gender based Violence to make sure that there's more appropriate supports available for victims But speaker I also want to highlight though that the the members got to be careful Because one of the things that he is guaranteeing the people of lanark and the people of ontario Is a 12 billion dollar cut from essential services? So is he telling that he's going to take away a billion dollars worth of victim services as a result of their people's guarantee Speaker, I hope that is not the case because that is going to be a major setback for these organizations for the services The question the member from kitchen or water. Thank you very much, mr Speaker my question is to the acting premier acting premier paramedics and waterloo region are struggling Because of offloading delays at local hospitals Ambulances are taken off the road as paramedics wait for their patients to be transferred This year the waterloo region paramedic services has seen a rise in both code yellows Where there are three or fewer local ambulances are on the road And code reds where there are no local ambulances on the road none Mr. Speaker ambulances are essential to our health care system without them people in crisis lose access to the care that they need It shouldn't take a person's death like in hamilton for the government to start taking these shortages seriously What will the government do to ensure that there are no more code reds in waterloo region? Thank you Minister of health long-term care well, thank you, mr. Speaker and I know that the The three city of waterloo hospitals are all participating in the dedicated offload nurses program that the ministry Initiated and has been implementing for a number of years And it provides additional resources directly to er's Through nursing support so that they can assist and expedite those offloading challenges that May take place in hospitals around the province. And so mr. Speaker, it's important that ontarians understand because This is such vital funding that 100 of that funding to support offloading is provided by the government is provided Through the ministry of health It's funded through the city the city of waterloo receives the funding from us But it is 100 provided by the government and i'm happy to talk specifically about the performance of waterloo in the supplementary Thank you very much Ambulance response times have slightly improved in waterloo region But increasingly these calls are taking longer because of offloading delays at the local hospitals The average for ambulance days lost to offload delays has increased by 167 Compared to october 2016 the waterloo region paramedic services has asked the government to provide enhanced funding for offload nurses in the region According to their interim report provincial funding for the offload nurse program has not kept pace with the increase in patient volumes And in fact has marginally decreased Ontario families deserve more than an underfunded health care system that lurches from crisis to crisis Will the government commit today to provide waterloo region with the funding that they need for the dedicated offload nurses Well, mr. Speaker our funding for offload nurses province-wide has increased actually by 64 percent since 2011 and 12 so in the last five years mr. Speaker is 64 percent increase But i think it's important that those who who rely on the waterloo hospitals understand that that those three hospitals in the city of Waterloo have above average provincial emergency department patient flow and above average provincial ambulance patient flow Resulting in higher ambulance offload times in fact the ambulance offload time ranking of hospitals based on a 90th percentile From highest to lowest the grand river hospital and the cambridge memorial hospital are ranked 12th and 17th respectively out of 123 eds in ontario So i want to congratulate the hospitals in city of waterloo because Answer understanding the argument made by the member opposite. They are performing Exceedingly well and we're remunerating them directly to do that Thank you mr. Speaker my question is For the minister of post-secondary education and professional development post-secondary education is but i also know About the financial barriers that many students face when they try to access post-secondary education And i know that the minister firmly believes that the decision whether to obtain a post-secondary education Should be based on students ability to learn and not their ability to pay These issues post-secondary post-secondary education is important for it to be affordable for Students and it's also important for our economy seven out of ten new jobs will require a post-secondary education So access to a high quality post-secondary education is important to the economy as well as to the students Can the minister explain what she's doing about this problem? Minister of advanced education skills development. Well, thank you speaker And i have to say the thank you to the member opposite for her passion about post-secondary education Speaker the transformation of osap has been a resounding success We've had 50,000 more students applied this year than same time last year Over 200,000 students in this province are getting free tuition speaker And another third of our students are getting help with the with their tuition and their living cost speaker It is tremendous Speaker almost all of students who receive osap receive grants that they will not have to repay We are absolutely committed to making sure that every student in this province has the ability to has the ability to learn Speaker because our economy depends on it as the member opposite has said our future economy Depends on a well educated workforce. And we're doing a very good job getting their speaker Thank you for the minister a great legacy that the transformation of osap is for our province I had the pleasure this this morning of meeting with the ontario undergraduate student alliance And i know that it's not only tuition that that is difficult for them There are other costs that they have to face Tuition is not the only cost of post-secondary education The very real concern that he brought to me is the price of textbooks now textbooks are certainly an important tool of learning But their cost is often burdensome for students And I think it is important that we address these costs fully So mr. Speaker and can the minister explain What action the government is taking to increase fairness and opportunity in ontario Because we want to assist students with their non-twishton cost Well, thank you speaker, and I'm really delighted to talk to the house about Ecampus ontario And I urge anyone who's getting a little bored with the proceedings here to go online ecampus ontario speaker 227 different textbooks are available Not just a student speaker, but to the general public as well So 227 titles we are looking at expanding that number speaker We've invested another million dollars so that more textbooks can be added to this library I um this means real savings for student speakers. These textbooks can cost hundreds of dollars So real savings it's far more convenient to be able to access Uh open educational resources. We applaud us for uh pushing us on this issue speaker They've been tremendous advocates. They did it on free tuition. They're doing it again on free textbooks. Thanks speaker Thank you The member from chattom can Thank you very much speaker Speaker earlier this morning. We heard the names of several of those who Lost their lives on 401's carnitialine. This is directly to the minister of transportation. Thank you Now the premier made a promise to this house to build a barrier Everyone understood her to mean a concrete medium barrier But then the but then the premier began walking the promise back the transport minister Uh then said that he was looking into high tension cables It's not good for small cars and motorcycles decapitation And large trucks would just simply plow right through them Now speaker winter is coming That stretch from queen's line to canton road 15 and my riding of chattom canessics is extremely hazardous Transports will inevitably cross over the grass median and end up in the ditch in the opposite direction Now rope construction is currently taking place there right now Speaker my constituents are demanding a concrete barrier not a cable barrier I've organized a town hall meeting in my riding of chattom canessics Thursday evening so my question to the minister is simply this Will you attend? Thanks very much speaker, of course, I thank the member from chattom canessics not only for the question today He and I had the opportunity to go back and forth on this very precise topic here in this legislature in this chamber during question period We've also had the opportunity to speak about this a number of times one-on-one And frankly speaker he was good enough to arrange for some of his constituents to come here to queen's park To to meet with myself and some of our officials to talk about this very issue So I do respect the fact that members asked the question today and the fact that he's also Organized a town hall meeting for I believe tomorrow tomorrow evening Back in his community as I mentioned to the member There will be officials from the ministry of transportation who will be attending the town hall Tomorrow evening speaker and I've also assured that member and his constituents That I take the issue of highway safety road and highway safety extremely seriously speaker It's why we've passed legislation with respect to this It's why we're happy to keep the conversation going and frankly speaker It's also why following the meeting with his constituents I did ask the ministry to go back and do additional Analytical work on the request coming forward from that member from people in his community And I'd be happy to provide additional. Thank you supplementary Oh, that was it Was it was so quiet? I decided to just keep question period going The minister on a point of order Thank you. Mr. Speaker. I have a point of order I may have misspoke during my answer to the member of berry the portable housing benefit will be increasing to 15 million dollars a year in 2020 Wow I Recorded my response to the member from renfrew nipissing pembroke. I mentioned Lanark as his community. I meant to say renfrew. Thank you We have a deferred vote on the government notice of motion number 43 relating to allocation of time to bill 177 An act to implement budget measures and to enact an amendment various statutes calling the members This will be a five minute belt On november the 28 2017 mademla long moves government notice of motion Number 43 relating to allocation of time on bill 177 an act to implement budget measures and to enact an amendment various statutes All those in favor of the motion, please rise one at a time be recognized by the clerk. Mr. Nack. Mr. Nack. Mr. Bradley Mr. Del Duca. Mr. Del Duca. Mr. Sandel. Mr. Sousa. Mr. Sousa. Mr. Matthew. Mr. Hoss. Mr. Hoss. Mr. Shurelli. Mr. Shurelli. Mr. Duca. Mr. Mr. Charles, Mr. Mcm Columbine. Mr. McGee alive. Mr. Cannister 올 Sp Kaufman Larry Back to the l phones television Mr. Dillon, Mr. Dillon, Mr. Ballas the baller mr. Remar إلى Cor Fredy andują Mr. Hatfield. Mr. Gretzky. Mr. Gretzky. Mr. Gaines. Mr. Gaines. Mr. French. Mr. French. The ayes are 48, the nays are 41. The ayes being 48, and the nays being 41, and declare the motion carried. There are no further deferred votes. This house stands recessed until 3 p.m. this afternoon.