Now time for a question period. The member from Oxford. Mr. Speaker, I rise to seek the anonymous consent Given that life-saving Bill 77 has been introduced five times past second reading three times and has been through committee I seek unanimous consent that an act to amend the Fire Protection and Prevention Act 1997 1997 to provide safety requirements related to the presence of unsafe levels of carbon dioxide on premises Now be ordered for second and third reading and the question put immediately Without further debate I'm going to assume that that was not the Part the question period for a question period and that it was unanimous. It was a point of order seeking unanimous consent So I won't stand down any questions The member from Oxford is seeking unanimous consent for second and third reading of his bill. Do I do we have an agreement agree? I heard a no. Thank you. It isn't Given given my earlier comment, I would ask the clock to be reset, please It is now time for a question period the member from Nippison Mr. Hawkins, I'm so terribly. Sorry that that you had to witness that this morning Premier on September 25th the day after the first documents were released I spent 20 minutes showing this legislature that pages were missing Nothing from the Premier barely anything from the energy Minister the leader of the NDP spoke next and added quote There's no correspondence from the Premier's office followed by quote There's a surprising lack of correspondence from the energy Minister at one point that day Premier You stood up and injected to your house leaders comments with and they have the documents You were a sitting cabinet minister at the time you told fellow legislators Legislators that we had all the documents. It's right here in the answer speaker 24th and 25th of September Will you apologize to this legislature for telling us one thing when you do all along that it was false? And I have I believe the the member opposite knows very well that I have gone before committee I have answered all the questions that were asked to be mr. Speaker and I have said from the moment that I came Into this job that I was going to be working to provide all the information that had been asked for because mr. Speaker I was clear that there was there was Information that been asked for that had not been provided and that has now happened mr. Speaker. That's why I asked the Auditor General to look at the Oakville situation mr. Speaker That's why we worked to broaden the mandate of the committee so that all the questions that were being asked Could get answers and that all the documents would be turned over mr. Speaker. That's what we've been engaged in for the past number of months Speaker for quite some time the premier you've been getting away with saying quote We have all the documents and in fact you would not answer all the questions at the Justice committee it took the privacy commissioner to prove what we've been saying all along quote There was a culture of avoiding the creation a written documentation on the gas plant issue quote So now you're still carrying that on by using secret gmail accounts to circumvent the laws of this Legislature premier is there anything you won't do to keep the plan that your gas plant scandal from the taxpayers Last week I asked you I stood here and asked you to call in the OPP to investigate this theft you would not do that so we have to we need you to come clean premier will you now direct your staff to cooperate with the OPP Investigation and will you demand that the stolen documents and usd drives be turned over to the police? much mr. Speaker well as I have said We will cooperate with whatever questions are asked of us We have done mr. Speaker and if the member opposite remembers the request last year We're for energy documents only mr. Speaker that has been broadened and all of the documents that have been asked for including 130,000 documents that we have turned over 30,000 documents from my office mr. Speaker have been turned over The privacy commissioner has made recommendation recommendation. She has written report I have said that I agree with her conclusions that there are changes that need to be made mr. Speaker and we are working with the Commissioners office as we speak mr. Speaker Remember from Cambridge The premier has no problem taking her staff to the woodshed for spaghetti strapped tops But can't be bothered to ask them to return stolen property the privacy commissioner says deleted documents wiped clean from computers May still exist on usd drives. This is stolen property Staffers and ministers of the crown continue to obfuscate in committee and they say I don't know anything until you can prove Otherwise, mr. Speaker that's completely unacceptable Premier when will Ontarians finally get some honesty from your scandal plague government of this job I am working to make sure that we have the professionalism that is required and expected of us as Say to the member opposite the privacy commissioner has written a report. She has made recommendations I agree with her conclusions that there need to be changes and in fact mr. Speaker We have proactively taken steps to put in place a protocol that is different than was here before mr. Speaker We have put training in place We made sure that staff Understand that the retention of documents is important and which documents have to be retained We will continue to work with the privacy commissioner mr. Speaker to make the changes that she has recommended Mr. Speaker the privacy commissioner has tabled a report in this legislature called Deleting accountability this now is the label of the liberal party and speaks to the culture of the liberal party But this all started mr. Speaker back in the estimates committee on May 16th Love last year when we asked for the production of documents. It's been a year two premieres equally complicit in this scandal You've lost an energy minister. You've lost a premier You took forever to apologize all the while the leader of the third party gasses up your getaway car You weren't willing to hand over documents a year ago when we asked We all know how that turned out Premier will you now hand over those stolen documents on usb? Mr. Speaker I came into this office I said that I said during the leadership mr. Speaker that we were going to provide as much information as we were asked for We were going to work to open up the process. That's what I've done I asked the auditor general on my own accord mr. Speaker to look at the Oakville situation We immediately called the house back. We expanded the scope of the committee mr. Speaker. I appeared at the committee We have turned over documents. We put in place a different protocol mr. Speaker around retention of documents I am doing everything I can to make sure that every question that is asked Gets an answer and all the documents that are relevant that have been asked for are turned over we will continue to behave in that Mr. Speaker Thank you very much mr. Speaker to the premier premier on Friday Ontarians were shown exactly how far that this government has sunk In spite of evidence that senior liberals had broken the law you refused to call in the OPP So the Ontario Pcs wrote the OPP Commissioner Chris Lewis to get to the bottom of the biggest scandal in Ontario's history In spite of your shadow pleas that you've been trying to be transparent It's been clear all along that you're more interested in protecting the liberal party than the people of Ontario and just because the NDP liberal farm team is willing to support that kind of behavior doesn't mean that we will in this party premier You resisted bringing in the OPP, but now they're coming after you How much more evidence of senior liberals breaking the law has to come before come to light before you actually come clean With the people of Ontario Everything in my power since I have been in this office to make sure that all of the information was available And I have said mr. Speaker I have said that the original decision to cite the gas plants where they were cited did not have a good process Upfront mr. Speaker there should have been a better process in the initial stages so that a different decision could have been made I have said that repeatedly mr. Speaker and we are working to make sure that this doesn't happen again on the issue Of the documents mr. Speaker again I agree with the conclusions of the privacy commissioner that this should not have happened that the emails should not have been deleted mr. Speaker The privacy commissioner to ensure that a better protocol is in place going forward and that the changes that need to be made are made Thank You Speaker We're not interested in hearing about the emails and documents that were turned over We're more interested in hearing about the questions that you refuse to answer in committee and you didn't answer 32 questions that were put to you by my colleagues perhaps you're covering something up 32 times you didn't have Order the member will withdraw With draw speaker The former premier likewise Refused to actually answer questions in the legislature and on Friday He insulted the intelligence of Ontarians by pretending that he had no idea what was happening in his office is this scandal unfolded Premier senior liberals have already broken the law and your appearance at committee has set the example for what the liberal standard of Cooperation is this the kind of cooperation that the Ontario Provincial police can expect or will your government obstruct yet another investigation? Mr. Speaker I answered under oath at the committee I answered every question that was asked of me and I gave the information that I had mr. Speaker I cannot help it if the member opposite didn't like the answers or didn't understand the answers or was looking for a different answer I gave the answers that were true mr. Speaker I gave the answers with the information that I had and I will continue to do that whenever I am asked mr Speaker we will cooperate as questions are asked. We will provide the information that is requested mr. Thank you new question Thank you speaker my questions for the premier does the premier believe that ministers of the crown are responsible for the actions of their staff Yes, mr. Speaker, I absolutely do Minister Craig McClellan the chief of staff to two ministers of energy told Ontarians that he routinely Erased emails destroyed all his emails one of those former energy ministers the member for Scarborough Center Still sits in cabinet speaker has the premier asked this minister why his staff were destroying information that belonged to the public Thank you very much. Mr. Speaker I think that what the Privacy Commissioners report has underlined is that there were protocols and practices in place mr Speaker that need to be changed that should not have been in place I have acknowledged that I have said that I agree with the Privacy Commissioner that those protocols were not the right ones mr Speaker and in fact since we've been in office there has been a different protocol in place We will continue to work with the Privacy Commissioner to ensure that the changes that need to be made are made mr. Speaker Well, the question was whether or not the premier had asked her minister speaker about Whether he approved the staff destroying records the former premier the member for Ottawa South sits on the government front bench as well He's a member of the liberal caucus that this premier leads In fact, she proudly sat in his cabinet has the premier discussed the destruction of records with the member of Ottawa South And if not why not speaker Mr. Speaker mr. Speaker I have made it very clear to all of the members of my caucus and cabinet what the rules are How we're going to proceed what the protocols are mr. Speaker and the minister the minister of training colleges and universities Appeared before committee asked answered the questions that he was asked vis-a-vis his time as minister of energy mr Speaker so he's been there and those questions He and all of the members of my caucus and cabinet know what the rules are mr. Speaker And we will be following those protocols and again. I say I agree with the conclusions of the privacy commissioner that the Retention of information is very important and that there are changes We are working with her office mr. Speaker To the premier as the premier knows a sitting member can actually decline to testify before a committee new Democrats are asking that the member for Ottawa South Come to the Justice Committee to testify about why his staff were destroying information that belongs to Ontarians Will the premier ensure that this member of her liberal caucus comes and testifies as committee She's speaking mr. Speaker. I know there are a number of people who've been asked to come before or come again before the committee I can't speak to the scheduling issues that any of those people would have mr. Speaker But I certainly encourage anyone who has asked to come and speak to the committee that they do that Couple of conversations going on between parties please stop Speaker the member for Ottawa South seems to be blaming his staff for destruction of information that belongs to the public I think Ontarians want to know why the member himself isn't taking any Responsibility does the premier think it's acceptable speaker for this member of her caucus to try to avoid Responsibility and blame everything on staff Thank you very much mr. Speaker well I would suggest mr. Speaker that none of the members who have been called are avoiding anything the Member for Ottawa South has appeared before the committee mr. Speaker and as I say their number of people have been asked to Come or come again to the committee. I don't know what their scheduling issues are mr. Speaker But I certainly encourage them to do so to come forward Speaker ever since the Liberals first made their cynical play to cancel private power deals and mississauga and Oakville They've scrambled to cover the facts, but no matter how hard they try the picture is becoming clearer and clearer by the day We're seeing a lot of finger pointing and a lot of blaming the question to be put Later we're seeing a lot of finger pointing and a lot of blame on that side of the house But the puck sorry the buck stops with the premier the leader of the liberal party They shouldn't she gonna keep playing the blame game speaker pointing fingers at staff who have departed Or is she gonna take the necessary steps needed to get the answers that people deserve? Very much mr. Speaker with all due respect. I believe I have taken responsibility I believe I have said mr. Speaker that those original decisions a better process mr. Speaker I'll remind the leader of the third party that once again We all agreed in this house that those decisions to cite those gas plants were not the right decisions And that they should be changed and we all said that that should happen we Implemented the decision mr. Speaker we made that move But I have said repeatedly and I have said that it was unacceptable that we didn't have a better process up front mr. Speaker So I take responsibility and further mr. Speaker in terms of providing the information as I say We have done everything possible since I've been in this office to provide the information that has been asked for we will continue to do Thank you very much mr. Speaker my question for the premier premier So far you have shown a complete lack of leadership on your government's scandalous handling of the gas plant cancellations for months you've continued to insist that all of the documents have been released even after our party revealed That there were huge gaps in that disclosure We now know that at least five senior liberal staff had their correspondence illegally wiped clean And how have you responded? Well, okay? We got caught this time. We'll have to be more careful the next time No one will be forced to resign if you have your way. There'll be no consequences whatsoever The PC party was forced to call in the OPP after you refused Will you at least instruct your staff? To disclose and exactly when it went what went on in your office and to fully cooperate with the OPP investigation Mr. Speaker let me remind the honorable member about the leadership that the premier has taken on this file when she assumed the Office is premier one of her first actions was to ask the auditor general to look into the Oakville Situation and we expect his report later this summer It was this premier mr. Speaker who offered although rejected a select committee to the opposition and instead when they decided to go on a Witch hunt over a former member it was this premier that offered to widen the scope of the committee and in fact again Mr. Speaker although rejected by the opposition to do a government-wide search for documents in total mr. Speaker to date We have given the committee some 130,000 documents including 30,000 documents for the premier's office the premier herself The member from Renfrew asked the question I'm sure he wants to hear the answer and the member from Prince Everett Hastings if you're in your seat I would save you quiet so now I'm gonna say it anyway Wrap up please premier herself has appeared in front of the committee and asked every single question other ministers have gone Forward mr. Speaker this premier that show an incredible leadership on this file Back to the premier let's put this into context a sitting president of the United States was forced to resign and senior staff Went to prison when caught in a clear attempt to eliminate records and deny access to the truth You'll remember Watergate That's exactly the situation we have here speaker an attempt by the Ontario Liberal Party to the not deny the people of Ontario access to the truth and at least six hundred million dollars of their money is gone and how does the premier respond well She's implementing a summer dress code While the premier worries about violations of her dress code the people of Ontario are more worried about violations of the criminal code in your office Will you finally complete instruct your staff to reveal exactly what went on in your office for sure these two gaspets were canceled and fully Cooperate with any OPP investigation Thank you government host leader mr. Speaker I know I know that the Official opposition is taking advice from Republican strategist, but you know, I think maybe we should put this in a bit of context We are talking about a decision to cancel gas plants that was supported by every party in this house Order and I also remember all members remind all members that you Reference someone by their title or by their writing Mr. Speaker we're talking about a decision that was Aggressively supported by the party opposite although they're not interested in answering any questions about that and the fact of the matter is I outlined mr. Speaker when the premier assumed her role She was the one who asked the auditor general to look at her real situation She is the one who has broadened the scope of the committee and provided it with witnesses herself other senior ministers and 130,000 documents My question is for the minister of health at long-term care I'm for resident quality inspections at long-term care home I feel like I'm having a really bad case of deja vu all over again because the same minister made the same announcement in 2010 Speaker all of last week this minister denied that she had failed today Will the minister finally admit that she has ignored her own legislation? Thank you speaker and to be clear speaker We have met the legislative requirements to have an inspection in long-term care homes every year But we have not met the commitment we made to residents of long-term care to do a thorough Resident quality inspection every year speaker today. I renewed our commitment to that I announced that we will be hiring about 100 more inspectors that more than Doubles the number of inspectors because we think residents of long-term care Deserve to have the confidence that they are receiving the highest quality standards of care in our long-term care homes speaker Last week the minister argued with my leader that the inspections were being done We're talking about a huge credibility deficit here, mr. Speaker today She gives herself a new deadline to do the resident quality inspection because she failed to meet the last deadline Can the minister give me and every other Ontarians who want our long-term care home to be safe a reason? Why we should believe her this time at her word? In 2010 we passed legislation that Significantly strengthens our long-term care homes the quality of care in those homes including more rigorous inspection Speaker I think it's fair to say that as we have implemented this new regime of inspection We were not appropriately staffed we needed more inspectors And that's why I am so very pleased that today I announced that we are making that investment speaker as I said earlier We owe it to the residents of long-term care to ensure that they have those inspections that will lead to higher quality care Thank you Thank You speaker my question is for the minister of health and long-term care many Ontarians have loved ones in long-term care homes Their safety and the quality of their care is the of utmost importance to all of Ontarians The ministry of health plays an important role in ensuring long-term care homes provide the quality of care our patients and grandparents Deserve our parents and grandparents deserve given the recent news many in my writing are concerned that the ministry could be doing more Inspections of long-term care homes. What is the minister doing to address these concerns? Thank you speaker and thank you to the member from Glengarry Prescott Russell for this question and for his strong advocacy for seniors in his writing and across the province Speaker in 2010 we passed strong legislation setting very high quality standards In fact, I'm unaware of any jurisdiction that has higher standards than right here in Ontario It includes a rigorous inspection regime a regime speaker But there is more that we need to do and I acknowledge that speaker And I was very pleased this morning to renew that commitment to the residents of long-term care homes and their loved ones That we will do a proactive unannounced Resident quality inspection Annually speaker we will by the end of 2014. We will have completed a new baseline RQI For every home in this province and you will leave thereafter Thank you speaker and thank you minister This is good news for all of us who have loved ones in long-term care Comprehensive unannounced inspections are important to ensure long-term care homes are protecting their residents and providing a high standard of care But I'm sure there's more to be done speaker Could the minister speak about what else she's doing to ensure residents of long-term care homes are getting the best possible care Thanks a lot Minister Speaker we've come a long way to improve care and ensure safety for our loved ones in long-term care homes We've got more than 10,000 more people working in long-term care homes our 2010 legislation means that long-term care homes must report critical incidents Inspection reports are posted online Residents first speaker is a wonderful quality improvement initiative Provides long-term care home staff with the knowledge and skills they need to provide safer more effective and more responsive care Very innovative and successful work is being done through behavioral supports Ontario to help staff Care for people with behavioral challenges very often dementia and we're working to implement the recommendations of the long-term care task force Speaker there is a change of culture in our long-term care homes. It is very positive Today we were able to further strengthen oversight in our long-term care Mr. Speaker my question is for the Premier to quote Sir Walter Scott Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive Last week the government learned that they cannot deceive the privacy commissioner Soon they will find that they cannot deceive the Ontario provincial police the Premier would have us believe that she wants to restore Transparency and provide access to all documents relating to the Oakville and Mississauga gas plant scandal She's made that statement repeatedly even though she knew full well the damning emails had been erased What is the Premier prepared to do to ensure that all current or former liberal caucus and staffers fully comply with the OPP? Investigation thank you very much. Mr. Speaker and although all the world is a stage It seems to me that this place mr. Speaker is a place where we are not really engaged in theater And what I have said over and over again, mr. Speaker is that I have worked since I the day I got into this office to make sure that every question that was asked Every document that was asked for mr. Speaker received an answer and the document was provided mr. Speaker We opened up the process We made sure that the committee had the opportunity to ask a broad range of questions and mr. Speaker We have complied and provided that information to the committee since I came into this office mr Speaker and I I said during the leadership that that was The idea of asking somebody to come to order doesn't mean that you get to finish the sentence it means you just stop and I also want to make a comment on what I heard There's a delicate balance between what one wants to say in this place and what we're not supposed to say in this place So I think that you if you start down the road of leaving the listener with the impression that something is happening on Parliamentary in your language that could be the case. So I'm gonna caution all of us To try to avoid trying to say something you're not supposed to say and say it in a way that you can say it So I'll leave it at that and let everybody just kind of digest that supplementary, please Back to the premier mr. Speaker as this house winds up its spring session the pungent stench of scandal permeates this chamber Liberals and their NDP enablers will soon return to their writings and they'll discover that the people of Ontario have rendered their verdict The liberal members comprise the government of Ontario They are all responsible and by propping them up the NDP are now culpable as well The liberals have been found in contempt of this house the privacy commissioner says they broke the law the OPP have begun their Investigation it's time for this government to go What will they call our non-confidence motion for debate and a vote before this house adjourns for the summer We have a committee of the legislature, which is looking into this matter The premier has outlined the steps that she has taken beyond that including speaking with the auditor general Mr. Speaker the report of the Information and Privacy Commissioner raised some troubling issues and the premier has outlined the steps that we have Taken to make sure that the rules as they exist are being properly adhered to by Political staff both in her office and across Queen's Park at the same time mr. Speaker as I indicated last week I will soon be sitting down with the Information and Privacy Commissioner to work with her in my capacity as Minister of Government Services to see what steps can be taken to strengthen the act going forward so that the Information that she relate in her report never happens again. Mr. Speaker. We have been taking proactive steps We will continue to take those steps and we will also allow the committee of this legislature Thank you new question remember from trouble down for it Speaker speaker to the premier the former premier's chief of staff Principal secretary an energy advisor had their email accounts destroyed shortly after the Standing Committee on Justice began asking for documents about the gas plants Who gave the order for this information to be destroyed? Thank you very much mr. Speaker Again as I have said we have changed the protocol in our office There has been a training done mr. Speaker and and again the The member is asked me a question that needs to be asked of someone else mr. Speaker It's very clear that we have put in place a protocol that emphasizes the importance of retention of documents As I say that training has been put in place and as the house leader Reinforced mr. Speaker he will be meeting with the with the Privacy Commissioner in his role as Minister of Government Services So that we can make sure that whatever strengthening of the protocol needs to be in place is done mr. Speaker Speaker I believe the premier has some responsibilities of her own to ask questions It was one of your caucus members the member for Ottawa South who was in your seat? When information was being deleted from government computers the member for Ottawa South is a member of your caucus Has the premier asked him whether he gave the order to destroy information? Thank you much mr. Speaker So as I said as I've said previously the minister of training colleges and universities Appeared before committee to answer questions about his his time as minister of energy mr. Speaker According to the protocol in place at the time the email accounts of former government employees were deleted by IT staff Periodically after the employee left that protocol applied to all public servants mr. Speaker So that the chief administrative officer in each ministry approved the destruction of former employee email accounts with the understanding that staff members Have appropriately dealt with the records, but that protocol has changed mr. Speaker We have changed that protocol since February we've taken steps to make sure that political staff are aware of their responsibilities There's been mandatory training put in place as I've said, so we have changed the protocols around the retention of information Thank you speaker my question through you is to the minister of education Speaker over the past number of years. We've made tremendous games in our education system our graduation rates have increased by 15 percentage points Our test scores have grown by 16 percentage points McKinsey and company has rated our schools among the best in the English-speaking world As we continue to roll out full-day kindergarten We are providing our youngest learners with the best possible start to help them succeed later in their education But if we're going to continue to provide our students with the skills they need to succeed We need to ensure that our teachers are well trained for the classroom of today I understand that our government has made improvements to our teacher education program Speaker through you to the minister of education Could the minister please inform this house on what our government is doing to enhance our teacher education programs in our post-secondary institutions Thank you, minister of education. Yes. Thank you speaker and thank you to the member from Ottawa or Leinster is continuing interest in education Speaker, we know that for student achievement to improve We need to continue to provide our students with high quality teachers And that's why we are improving the way we train our teachers for the classroom Our new enhanced teacher education program will increase learning time for prospective teachers from two semesters to four It will also double the amount of practical teaching Days from 40 to 80 days and students in the program will gain experience in areas including Special education mental health and incorporating technology into the classroom Speaker, we also know that we do have an oversupply of teachers in our province As a result, we will be reducing our admission rates to the program by 50 So our teachers will have a better chance of being employed once they graduate Making sure our teachers are thank you supplementary Mr. For informing the house about the work our government is doing to provide our teachers with the skills they need To teach in our classrooms. It is great to hear that Ontario is modernizing Teacher education to provide our students with the best possible education Minister expect these changes could impact some post-secondary institution teacher education programs more than others It also impact resources that have been going on going to other programs within universities Can the minister inform the house about what the government is doing to ensure adequate funding for Ontario's post-secondary teacher education system? Minister colleges and universities the minister training college universities Thank you, mr. Speaker our post-secondary partners have done a tremendous job adjusting To the challenges they faced in the past and and I agree I we're calling on them again to be challenged and to adjust to some changes and I'm quite confident that they can do it They'll need to move very quickly to adjust to this new curriculum to implement it by 2015 This will be a challenging for them, but mr. Speaker. I'm confident that they'll do it Well, they'll also need to adjust to the decision to lower the funding assignment for teacher ed seats This won't be easy mr. Speaker, but I'm pleased to report that we'll be working closely With impacted universities and we'll work with those severely impacted to help them through this period of adjustment Mr. Speaker together We will continue to build on the work that this government has done to make Ontario a global leader in education And we'll be working with those stakeholders to ensure that that work continues. Thank you New question The auditor general and now the privacy commissioner have provided scathing condemnation on the behavior of your government and the government that you are now responsible for My question is simple and each of the cases where those officers of the assembly Have in great detail enumerated your wrongdoings You have thanked them for their advice How many more scandals before you finally take decisive action on their advice? When will you show some leadership? Thank you very much mr. Speaker and I and I do thank the officers of the legislature for their report They work hard mr. Speaker and they perform a very very vital and important function And so said in this most recent instance the uh the privacy commissioner I agree with her conclusions There are changes that need to be made mr. Speaker and I think if we If we accept that somehow at some point there will be a static and perfect state of all of the processes around the legislature Then I think we're mistaken mr. Speaker the the legislature and the processes continue to evolve That's why it's important to have the officers of the legislature Analyzing what's happening and giving us recommendations. So I do thank them I agree with the conclusions of the privacy commissioner mr. Speaker and in every case We have either begun to take action before the report has come out mr. Speaker Which is in the case of the privacy commissioner or we're responding to recommendations in a pro in an active way Thank you. Well, the energy party has chosen to prop up the wind or west government Which the promise of a new financial officer another voice responsible to the assembly Are you going to thank him when he admonishes you or are you going to provide real leadership and exercise some ministerial responsibility? Thank mr. Speaker because underlying the members question is some kind of assumption that if everything were perfect You wouldn't need to have these officers in place the point is mr. Speaker that it's important to have It's important to have objective eyes Looking at the procedures looking at the processes looking at government and providing advice That is the point mr. Speaker. So of course when the new financial accountability Thank you Of course when the new officer is in place mr. Speaker, we will work with him or her We'll make sure that we provide the information and that we that we provide whatever information is necessary So that that officer can do the work that will then lead to productive recommendations That is the point of having objective analysis of the actions of a government mr. Speaker So I look forward to working with that person as we have worked with the other officers of the legislature Thank you. Speaker. My question is to the premier Mr. Speaker winds of residents are concerned about a toxic powder called petroleum coke That's been piled three stories high occupying an entire city block just across the river From windsor pet coke has been called dirtier than the dirtiest fuel residents tourists commercial and sport fishermen on both sides of the river are concerned about clouds of black dust Blowing off the mounds that are left uncovered the premier has known that windsor residents and officials have been concerned about these open piles for some time So why didn't the premier bring up pet coke at the recent meetings of great lates governors These matters are always raised with the appropriate authorities the member would know that the Government of Ontario has been very concerned about this and is taking all the action that would be appropriate. We are Concerned when particularly items of this kind Rise when the americans are involved with it these matters are raised from time to time From the ministry staff to ministry staff in our case It would be the ministry of the environment and environment canada in fact would be involved as well and in the State of michigan that believe it would be called the department of natural resources of the state of michigan would be involved In this so these matters have been raised I thank the member for raising it in the house because it gives it even more of a profile now And I think the need for the appropriate action to be taken Those who are responsible is quite evident to all who are concerned Speaker I appreciate the minister's concern, but the government's silence on this has been deafening Windsor residents know that wind and rain don't know borders and they are concerned about what's going on to happen What's going to happen to the river? Windsor shares with detroit when rainwater and mountains of petcoke Which is high in sulfur and high in heavy metals runs off into the river winds are counsel the local mp Michigan state and federal elected officials have all raised concerns about the potential health and environmental danger of petcoke piles But the Ontario government has been silent if the premier has known that residents and local leaders Have been concerned about the petcoke then why hasn't she taken any action to help resolve this problem? minister the environment I think he The information is not accurate that the member has provided and it's not his fault He wouldn't be aware of the fact Mr. Speaker that officials of the ministry the environment Have contacted their counterparts in environment canada as this is an international situation that has arisen Environment canada and the international joint commission are the lead on this issue And we have offered to provide as a ministry We have offered to provide any assistance required to see this issue resolved So in fact we are working with environment canada on this issue it being international The international joint commission is involved in this issue at the present time and our ministry has raised this issue the member Perhaps gave the impression this has not happened, but our ministry has in fact raised this issue with all the appropriate authorities We hope to see it resolved as quickly and expeditiously as possible Because we find the situation that exists to be unsatisfactory Thank you, mr. Speaker and my question is for the minister of municipal affairs and housing Many people are increasingly choosing to rent out their basement suite as an apartment Whether the suite becomes a home to an elderly parent a spot for a living caregiver Or an apartment that will provide additional income to help the family with the mortgage These spaces provide families with the flexibility they need However, if these secondary suites are poorly designed they can be quite dangerous Especially if they lack fire alarms proper exits or adequate fire barriers Mr. Speaker can the minister please tell us what our government has done about these issues And how they will help assist Ontarians in finding practical housing options while ensuring the safety of all Ontarians Thank you, Speaker, and I'd like to thank the member for the question Our government understands that the residents of Ontario need flexible and affordable housing options particularly as our population grows up and ages Secondary suites such as basement apartments and granny flats provide an affordable housing option and a solution to our increasing population Our changing demographics and our aging communities These spaces allow Ontarians to have a place for their elderly parents or extended families to live with them while allowing for Independence and privacy It also gives elderly homeowners the ability to have their caregivers live with them Extending the time that they're able to stay in their homes And these suites whether they are newly built or have existed for years must meet building and fire codes Providing safer housing options for Ontarians answer These are the solutions that Ontarians want and deserve and that's why our government may changes the planning act to help increase the supply of this flexible housing Thank you minister It's very heartening to hear what our government is doing to increase the number of affordable housing units in the province But all of these additional suites could Provide additional problems in some communities residents have expressed concerns about the impact of secondary suites on their neighborhoods They are worried that the increases in population will lead to increased demand on services such as schools hospitals public transit and even roads This need for additional housing options needs to be balanced with the capacity of the municipal infrastructure that exists Mr. Speaker through you to the minister. Can you tell us what consultation occurred with municipalities before we implemented these changes? minister Thank you speaker and again I'd like to thank the member for the question as a former city councillor myself I remember how in the past the relationship between the municipal the municipal government and the province was fraught with tension and mistrust That's why since 2003 I and this entire government has worked very hard to repair the relationship We have with municipalities in fact We signed an historic memorandum of understanding with the association of municipalities in 2010 endorsing the principle of regular consultation And on the issue of secondary suites the ministry of municipal affairs and housing met with the association of municipalities of Ontario And the city of toronto to work together before changes were made Because we know that these changes would have an impact on municipalities Our government remains committed to continue to work with our municipal partners in making these changes to help communities across Ontario address the local housing issues in a way that respects local opinions and desires Thank you No is literally becoming a cliche coin by the mcginchie win liberals The liberals didn't know how much the gas plant cancellations would cost taxpayers The liberals didn't know about thousands and thousands of files you see they did a document dump after document Order please Thank you. Remember from very I guess I hit a nerve mr. Speaker and apparently the liberals didn't know that staffers were instructed to use gmail accounts And delete email records free from public scrutiny Speaker there are only a few explanations for not knowing ignorance incompetence or moral bankruptcy premier Which one is it or is it all the above? It is this premier that upon assuming office asked the auditor general to look into the oakville situation It is this premier mr. Speaker Proposed a select committee of the legislature to look into the gas plant situation Which was rejected by the opposition But she still went ahead and talked about modifying and enlarging the role of the committee Which was agreed to by the committee. It was this premier who appeared in front of the committee It's been under this premier's watch that 130 thousand documents have come forward. Yes, mr. Speaker There is material in the information and privacy commissioners report Which needs to be responded to and this premier has given me direction as minister of government services That we work with her to see that the current rules are strengthened Mr. Speaker so that would the the actions that she outlined never happened again Mr. Speaker this premier has shown leadership in this regard and making sure that there is transparency When it comes to the gas plant issue, which I remind the member again his colleagues were out campaigning for in the Thank you supplementary Thank you. Speaker. I I mean the ridiculousness of this it doesn't even stop. I mean, it's easy to open up the process It's easy to show leadership after you've destroyed all the evidence that comes before Unfortunately incompetence and malfeasance are not mutually exclusive speaker In fact, the liberals have demonstrated the two are actually complimentary to one another last week marked the first time ever that an Ontario government has been investigated for two separate scandals The Ontario's information and privacy commissioner concluded records were in record laws were in fact broken The OPP's elite anti-racket squad had launched a probe into the latest scandal within a scandal The destruction of information on the public record and it seems that just about everyone's ethics barometer Everyone's ethic barometer is going off the scale except for the McGinty win Horvath government Premier the people of Ontario kind of got stuck with you really when you let will you let ontarians decide the liberals are too incompetent Or too corrupt to lead Ontario Been 130 000 pages of documents that have been put forward to the committee But let's go back to first principles, mr. Speaker in the last election The last election, mr. Speaker. There was not one party that promised to cancel that gas plant, mr. Speaker There were three parties that promised to cancel that gas plant It was the leader of that members party who went on youtube and said that if he was elected premier will be done done done It was the leader. It was the leader of that members party who went before committee, mr. Speaker and 28 times Refused to talk about the costing and the research that had been undertaken by his party Mr. Speaker it was the leader of his party who has been encouraging candidates to not appear in front of the committee to talk about Their role in the gas plant cancellation Mr. Speaker, i'm very proud of our premier who has been forthcoming in terms of the action She has taken and appearing in front of committee. It would like to be nice to see the same from that party across the way Question the member from to miss kamee cockman. Thank you speaker my questions to the minister of health Slap suits are on the rise in Ontario These lawsuits are commonly used to intimidate people from participating in public debate They are on the front to democracy Last week the attorney general introduced legislation in this house that has intended to curb this problem If passed it would fast track these type of lawsuits so they would be heard within 60 days and dismissed if they were shown to be slapped Speaker It's been much more than 60 days since the boards of the mixed group of health services And the anson general hospital in yirkel falls have served nine members of the community with defamation lawsuits for standing up for what they believe Minister do you support the anti slap legislation proposed by your government? And if so, why is your ministry still funding lawsuits against the people of yirkel falls? Oh Speaker, thank you I welcome the members advocacy for the hospitals in his community and he and I have spoken on several occasions and as he knows we are moving forward with Mr. Ronc and y'all is in there Trying to do what he can do to get the health care that the people deserve in that community So speaker, we will continue to work on this and of course I fully support The the legislation that was introduced by the attorney general just last week Once again to the minister of health The lin has initiated a review of the hospital situation in yirkel falls Your ministry has also appointed a special investigator to look at the governance of the anson general hospital And still these people are being sued People in the community are very concerned about the future of their hospital and as a result When the hospital board announced that it was reopening memberships to the local corporation Interest was understandably very high Imagine the community's surprise and outrage When over 200 people have had their membership applications refused Including long-term volunteers and past members minister Can you tell me why mrs. Gilda shea a pillar of the community and a recipient of the queen's diamond jubilee medal Is not welcome as a member of the anson general hospital To the minister of our community's safety and correctional services Minister of community safety and correctional services. Thank you. Thank you, mr. Speaker I'm replacing the ag today So one of the great thing about living in a fair and democratic society is that we can speak out on matters that are important to us If pass this legislation would protect citizens By allowing courts to quickly identified and deal with strategic lawsuit Including a fast-track review process. We need requires that Request to dismiss Must be heard by the court within 60 days We have worked hard to develop a proposal that balance the protection of public participation and freedom of expression with the protection of reputation and economic interests This legislation provides a national Ontario solution based on the consensus recommendation of an expert advisory panel And extensive stakeholder consultation to provide a faster more efficient civil process. Thank you New question a member from mississauga streetsville Thank you very much speaker speaker. This question is for the minister of economic development and trade minister social entrepreneurship is a sustainable way to build a diverse and a vibrant economy with opportunities for people of all abilities and backgrounds The 2013-14 Ontario budget includes a strong plan to help people across the province Including the promotion of new and innovative business initiatives In my reading of it one of the key initiatives is promoting entrepreneurship and innovation Providing Ontario the ability to transform ideas into goods and services to compete in the global economy This is especially important for businesses owned by women and young people and particularly by new graduates Would the minister update this house on what the province is doing to assist social entrepreneurship Thank you minister of economic development trade and employment And thank you mr. Speaker and I thank the member from mississauga streetsville as well for this question Mr. Speaker Ontarians are global leaders when it comes to social enterprise. There are roughly 10 000 social enterprises currently operating in this province and for those who might not know what social enterprises are They're both for-profit and not-for-profit entities that focus on pressing social issues and have as their aim community well-being To continue our commitment mr. Speaker of supporting social enterprise in this province last month We announced $600,000 in support for a new catapult microloan fund a partnership between the centre for social innovation And a large group of private sector stakeholders And this investment is going to help kick start promising social enterprises With funding opportunities and mentorship services This collaboration between government businesses and not-for-profits is the first of its kind. Thank you supplementary Well, thank you minister minister Young entrepreneurs women and those new to canada need those partnerships to be able to foster social enterprise in ontario Social entrepreneurs need access to the right funding opportunities in fact as we both know there's no No more fatal weakness for a new business than undercapitalization It's important that prosperous and fair societies can depend on a sustainable economy Minister, please tell the house how pairing economic development and social impact will create economic and employment opportunities for young ontarians Thank you. And mr. Speaker the ontario government is focused on building both a Prosperous economy and a fair society for all ontarians. We believe that these two goals are not only complementary But they are interdependent and many social entrepreneurs and innovative thinkers know that you can't have one without the other Our younger generations are poised to make a difference in the world That's why the bridge to economic development for so many of them is guided by social impact for many ontarians Our government's mandate reflects this kind of social responsibility We've committed 295 million dollars for our youth job strategy. Mr. Speaker I think I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that up to 50,600 jobs created last month in this province I'm proud to say that more than 20,000 of those jobs are jobs for under you for for youth under the year under the age of 25 Years of age 1.1 Premier on May 16th My private members resolution to establish a select committee to develop a comprehensive developmental services strategy was unanimously accepted in this legislature Yet this committee has yet to be struck and there's every indication But both the liberals and the third party are balking at this despite unanimous consent And this is a huge importance to people across this province. They are counting on us to help them Will you stand up today and agree right here right now to establish this committee so they can start its work immediately I certainly speak For members on this side of the house that we appreciated the motion that was brought forward And the members commitment to issues around developmental services I think the honorable member is aware that that motion the follow-up to that motion is a matter that Is discussed between house leaders and there is a process to examine those types of requests and move forward and mr. Speaker I would advise her obviously to work with her house leader But certainly myself and the other house leaders will be meeting hopefully later today and The member from Renfrew will come to order. That's the last time I tell him Finish, please mr. Speaker as I say there is a process to examine these requests Figure with the greatest of respect to the house leader that is complete and utter nonsense This is vitally important to people and you know and I know everyone in this house knows Those people desperately need our help do not do this Please agree to strike this committee and we have spoken to the house Speaker as a former and as a former minister of community and social services I can talk about our government's commitment to the developmental services sector I can talk about the significant investment that has been made by this government and mr. Speaker I can talk about our most recent budget Mr. Speaker I can talk about our most recent budget and the investment of I believe 42 million additional Dollars in the developmental services sector a road, which is going to happen Mr. Speaker tomorrow afternoon when it comes to special committees of this legislature, mr. Speaker There is a process for house leaders New question The member from timmons james vape. Well, thank you speaker My question is to the minister of transportation infrastructure minister You will know because I've talked to you on a number of occasions about this issue The docks in musini have been taken out of the river and they've been sold by them by the town of musini as a result of that People have absolutely no way being able to transfer from the water taxis onto the musini side of the river safely I've talked to you about the possibility of the province taking over the responsibility to maintain those docks in an ongoing way And I would like to know if you can have your assurance now because the municipal council is meeting tonight And they need to know from you if we're able to do this. If so, I think we can work this out Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member officer for his very hard work on this file. I'm in total agreement I we are trying to find money right now in the ministry as you know, budget is tight This is not a huge amount of money, but it's important any action by the town council to support this process to Get the docks, which we have to retrieve and to work with my ministry to do that would be most helpful So I would strongly encourage them to support the initiative that you have been advocating Sir, thank you point of order from the premier. Thank you very much. Mr. Speaker. I just indulge the house I'd like to introduce my mother who is here pat win and my youngest sister marie hogson and her friend Brenda The member from charlotte danforth on a point of order Yes, speaker on point of order. I need to correct the record earlier today. I asked a question the premier I referred to the justice committee when I should have referred to estimates committee Thank you. The member is right with this point of order all members have the right to correct their own record Minister of education at point of order on a point of order. This seems to be mother mourning The mother of my chief of staff is here today and I would like to welcome risario griesty And all the third votes this house stands adjourned until 1 p.m. This afternoon


G4S is the only mobile game I play. It's a simplistic Farmville knockoff, Gcash activities like paying bills or sending money or new energy. You can also earn energy by linking it to your fitness tracker and walking around. You can also collect energy from your friends. Can then spend that energy to plant a tree. That translates to one of the sponsors planting a tree in real life. Supposedly you can choose between different types of trees and locations but usually most are sold out with only one or two options available at any one time. Once your tree is planted, IRL, globe should stamp your digital certificate. However, for both of my trees, di pa to nangyayari. This is not a sponsored post. I just really like it when companies have marketing initiatives that actually allow us to do some good. It certainly beats doing the endless Facebook or IGs flow.


The umbrella review synthesized the available evidence on mental health outcomes of quarantine and isolation for preventing infectious diseases, which found severe mental health problems among individuals and populations who have undergone quarantine and isolation in different contexts. This evidence necessitates multi-pronged interventions including policy measures for strengthening mental health services globally and promoting psychosocial well-being among high-risk populations. This article was authored by M. D. Mabab Hossein, Abida Sultana, and Neeta Perot.


What about limited English proficiency? English is the second language. We have students involved in that as well. Yeah, I think we have close to 70. How is their integration? That must be a bigger challenge in a sense. I think it probably depends on the student. I mean, I know we've got good support. I think we're adding a little more support. But I think, by and large, we do a pretty good job of that program. Is there a statewide initiative on that that we're factoring into? I know there is a statewide element to it. I'm not sure exactly how the mechanics are. Which brings us straight to special needs. What's going on with special needs these days? It's different than in the past. The state has passed a new law that basically allows for more flexible spending around special needs. That's going to start to affect us in the next few years. What does that mean? I was listening to it, and it sounded like jargon. In practical terms, what does that mean? I think in practical terms, it means that resources had to be slotted in very specific ways. So we get more flexibility. So we get more flexibility. To, for instance, if, say there's a, and this might be an imperfect example, a special needs instructor in a classroom that's giving instruction that could be valuable to a student who doesn't qualify for an IEP, but might be on a 504. What is a 504? What is an IEP? An IEP is an individualized education plan, which is for. Doesn't every student have one of those? Those are personalized learning plans, which is different. This is for students who are at a certain level of performance that indicates that they need true intervention and true special help. A 504 plan is for a student who has shown a learning disability, but is still performing at a level where they, at a level high enough where they don't qualify for an IEP. So with really slotted spending, you could have an instructor who is providing instruction for a student on an IEP, which qualifies for certain federal aid and state aid. That could benefit a student who does not qualify for an IEP, but could really benefit from that instruction in a way that wouldn't at all detract from the instruction given to the student on the IEP. Right now there's a lot of circumstances where that instructor is not able to give instruction to that second child. So by increasing flexibility, we could find situations like that where we could meet more needs with a similar expenditure of resources. While we're dealing with IEPs, let's return back to the achievement gap for students on free and subsidized food, food stamps and the like. That gap has been persistent for decades. This board has said we want to say time out, we want to take a new look at this. What is the new look? Well, I think mostly we've really asked Libby to look at ways to do that by tightening systems at the schools, by giving support that we need to help those students access their education and achieve at the levels we want them to achieve. I think Libby's done a really good job of working within the schools, working with teachers to tighten those systems. And we started to make more investments in literacy coaches, math coaches, special education providers, and I think deploy them a little more strategically to start to give those students the support that they need to reach a level of achievement that is gonna allow them to succeed a lot. When we talked a while back about Matt McClain and his community-based learning, there's a role for our community on the other side of that, providing opportunities for the youth. Is there a role for the community at large in terms of helping the achievement of these students? Is Libby writing in a role? We have the in-school people who are being redeployed. Is the school board thinking about a role for the community to volunteer and actually lend a hand in boosting this? Well, I think certainly, community members do great things like participate in the community-based learning program. Those opportunities are being accessed by all students. But this particular group, has Libby connected with the Kellogg-Hubert Library, Children's Library, to bring in Beyond Union Elementary, to give them that strong foundation where it's less needed as you go up the ladder. I mean, I think she definitely is having those conversations, how specifically, but I think you're right. I think it's even, to be totally honest, I think there's only so much any school district can do to totally achieve, to cozy achievement. Which is why you said, which is why you said you can go to the outer community. Yeah. For help. Yeah, it's not just the outer community, but it's the state house, it's Congress, it's, you know, when you have families in crisis that don't have health care, that have major addiction problems, that are struggling to pay the rent, that are under incredible stress. But that almost sounds like why try it all. Well, because I think there is a lot of school. I mean, the school has a role and the school needs to do all it can do, but I think it's naive to think that the school allows you. Is there a metric of success where you know Libby is doing well? You know, in terms of closing, if that gap is never likely never to close, which I think is realistic, how do you know that we're having an impact? I think you're right that without a full societal effort that getting that gap to close completely is unrealist of probably applying the sky goal. I think we can, I think the school can play a role in closing it somewhat. And I think when we start to see that gap narrow, we'll know where at least the district is doing its part. And I think the district always needs to strive to do more on that. But I think there's, I think the district alone could narrow that gap. And the board is watching that metric? Yeah, we definitely are watching that metric. You had spoken of that before that you asked for segmented information. Yeah, no, we have definitely asked for the type of information that lets us know how various subgroups are doing and Libby is a data-driven person, so. I'm gonna ask you about a couple of projects that are being discussed. A language, a language immersion track in the elementary school. Where is that project right now? What's the timeline on that that the public can expect a more detailed conversation on that? First of all, what is it? So it's, it would basically be a program that would provide that basically would turn one of the five kindergarten classes into a full language immersion class. In what language? That would have to be determined. It would most likely be Spanish or French for a variety of reasons. But basically it would be kindergarten in that language, in a world language, in likely Spanish. And when the child graduates from kindergarten, what happens? They continue, that class stays as a cohort, and they continue up through the elementary grades. What happens when there's attrition and you fall beneath the level of the other classes? Because you can't bring in kids in third grade who haven't had that preparation in kindergarten, first and second. Yeah, no, you wouldn't, again, that cohort would stay together. There's, yeah, the programs that have, the schools that are doing that program now, really put a significant amount of vetting to make sure that the children and the families of those kids are know what they're getting into and are committed to it. So we were coming back circular on the kids who are on food stamps whose parents wouldn't vet well for that program. Could this be an upper middle class cohort? I think they could vet well. I mean, essentially it's one knowing you're in it. And then, basically, it's not something that's favorite for kids who have reading or language disabilities. So we're getting into the quest. Again, is this an upper middle class cohort? Because kids who are of lower income families are more likely to have academic problems in reading and math. My understanding is that, again, and we have listened to the study committee so I don't want to speak before, but it would be designed to ensure that there is a proportional number of students from free and reduced lunch slots and that there's an effort made to ensure those are all filled. How do we know that this is successful, this project? Because other schools have done it and it's been very successful in teaching kids language. Actually, the test scores of some of these students tend to be quite high because... Again, if it's an upper middle class program, you would think they'd be high. What if a student... But it's not, even with... What if a kid is from a lower income family, gets into this and has academic problems, are they dropped out of this program? If they test poorly? I think they're given the support that they otherwise would be given. I mean, the idea is that you're... This is not a language class. This is kindergarten, this is first grade, this is second grade, this is third grade. It just happens to be... Right, but there is a learning component in reading and math, a strong learning component. If they're not able to grasp that learning component reading in English, in a Spanish class, would they be dropped from the class? I don't know. Again, we're in a study... And I'm just curious... Well, we're in a study committee and... When will the community... When do we think we'll implement this? Well, again, it's at a study level. So what we've committed to is a study. They will come out with a report that'll answer I think a lot of the questions you're asking. What I'm speaking to is the experience that I've heard from other schools. And then we'll decide whether it's a good fit for us. Could this be something that will roll out in the fall? Or are we talking about a year from the fall? It's not gonna happen in the fall. Okay. It would have to be in the budget and we'd have to have plans for it from the fall. The earliest it would happen would be 2021-22. What are the fiscal implications of this? How many new teachers do we anticipate hiring? Or we don't know. We don't know. Okay. I think the idea is that it would be you'd have the same amount of teachers but you'd have to hire a different set of skills. Yeah. You'd basically be hiring not a Spanish teacher but a kindergarten teacher who could teach kindergarten in Spanish. Can we find one? Well, that's why you use the language like Spanish or French because if you're teaching it and Romanian or something, your pool gets pretty small. Main Street Middle School, let's talk about that. Yes. What is the talk on Main Street Middle School? What's going on on that issue? So we've put together a study committee to really look at the future of that building and what we want to do with it and there's no predetermined outcome. As you know, that's an older building. It's a building that can be expensive to run because it is an older building. Some of it's... A building we've poured a lot of money into in the last decades. Yeah. So really taking a look back and saying, what do we want to do? We want to keep it as is. Maybe do a better job of keeping a fund for maintenance so we can keep on top of it a little better. Are we talking about another middle school? And do we have enough students in the pipeline to support another middle school? I certainly think that one of the possibilities I might look at is at least theoretically is, do we construct another middle school? Do we do a renovation of that school that would keep the facade, keep the bones but maybe bring some of the systems up to date in a way that would be pretty comprehensive? Assuming we did that. Yes. What are the implications long term of U32, Washington Central, when they pull themselves together and Montpelier sending students back and forth, as was discussed in the past so that those middle school students would go to Montpelier High School along with the middle school portion of U32 and the high school students would go to U32. We'd have much more critical mass at the high school level for offering more course offerings. If we were to invest that heavily in that building, wouldn't that foreclose that forever? The first answer is no, I don't think so. The second answer is I actually think it might be beneficial for that and here's why. Because if you look at, if we've merged those two districts and this is a very hypothetical conversation. Very hypothetical conversation and you're looking for efficiencies in terms of buildings, that's like the third or fourth largest building we have. So you merge the districts, you've got three or four really tiny schools. So does that have to be enrolled school? No, it could be say a second elementary school. So maybe you do something where some East Montpelier kids, some Montpelier kids go to that as an elementary school and instead of closing- Well, you talk about the thorniness, trying to close one of those small elementary schools which brings us to Roxbury. Well, what would you do? I mean, if you're merging on the idea of efficiency of scale, do you close one of your largest buildings or do you close the small expensive ones? Are we gonna close Roxbury? Huh? There is no plans to close Roxbury. Is that an efficient run school? Is that 40 kids in that school with a number of teachers? Is that an efficient operation? Yeah, right now it is certainly not our most efficient school. I think that- Is it our least efficient school? It is. I think per pupil it is our least efficient school. I think that's fair to say. What is the rationale besides it makes the community feel better about itself for keeping that school open and not just sending those kids to Union Elementary? Well, I mean, there's a few. For one, I'm not sure there's room at Union Elementary for them. Two, it's important to that community. It's a good school and it's a good anchor of that community. We didn't make a promise to Roxbury that that would be open. We made a promise that it would be open for a certain number of years. Yes, yes, and I think, you know, I think one of the conversations going forward will be how can we make that school more efficient? I mean, it's a fantastic building. So how can we make it more efficient and how can we satisfy the needs of the Roxbury community? I think there are creative ways to do that. Now, I've heard rumblings that conceivably because it's a good facility. It's in some ways a better school than Union facility-wise. I'd heard rumblings of a magnet school. I think that's certainly on the table. I mean, could we do something? Not explain what a magnet school is. Well, it would be a school that would have a particular theme. For instance, and this is, again, purely hypothetical, we could kind of model it after some outdoor modes of education where we have a more kind of nature-based, interactive-based education philosophy that appeals to, I think, a lot of parents in this community and that could be a place where children from both communities could go. So that would increase the number of students who are using that school, make it a model for perhaps other districts, and potentially give a place where we're actually losing students and when we lose students, it hurts our tax base. The type of students who might be inclined, or parents who might be inclined to send their kids to Waldorf might be very attracted by... So that discussion is actually in the background, at least being considered. Yeah, I think tackling the issue of how to make Roxbury a stellar school, I mean, it's a good school now. I think it could be a special school. Will that issue actually surface?  Will there be an issue? I think that issue will surface. I think that, yeah, I think we have an administration that's committed to excellence and not ignoring things. And I think there are ways to make that school a special school that works financially. And I don't think that will be ignored. I think that conversation will occur. Class sizes at Mount Pilyer High School. That was on the agenda again this year. It's on the agenda every year. What's the current status of that and the current thinking? Keeping in mind that some of those small classes are absolutely necessary for advanced placement purposes, for making your schedule mesh if you're trying to get into a better college and the like. Yeah, really, I think the apex of that conversation was a few years ago when enrollment at Mount Pilyer High School was significantly less than it is now. There are very few classes right now that still have a handful. A handful. And I think as long as enrollment continues to be where it is right now when Libby rolls out the class size list, there's not a lot of classes you can point to and say, well, that's really tiny. What about state house? What are you tracking in the state house? What kinds of bills are there right now that the board has on their radar? Besides the question of needs-based financing in the school, where districts that have more poor kids would have a different cut of the formula to account for the fact that there's more poor kids. So anything else at the state level that you guys are watching? Yeah, I probably should have more of an eye on the state house in this session than I do, but there haven't been a lot of huge rumblings. Obviously, we're very interested in the healthcare and other things, but. What about that notion of if you have more poor kids then your district would get a better cut in the formula. If you have fewer, then your district would get a worse cut because it's a limited pie. I mean, I think there's a lot of merit to that idea. Would it hurt us? I mean, we're 20% at Union Elementary. I have not the numbers, but we are certainly a district that has fewer, fewer and reduced lunch kids than a lot of other districts. That said, that the educational needs of kids that are not performing at certain levels is higher to really close the gap. It takes resources.  That's not going to resolve this year. And then two more questions I'll let you go. I realize you're getting tortured by this because you're the board president and because you're the only serious real incumbent that's running again. So it's difficult to get this background history from other people who have other strengths they're bringing to the board, but not the institutional history. What's flexible pathways that community-based learning is talking about? Flexible pathways is, and Maba claim could explain it a lot better than I can. It's the idea that there's kind of different ways to learn different skills. And really being, I think, a tune to the fact that if you were taking an apprenticeship at Bear Pond or something, thinking about the skills that you're really learning, learning persistence and grit and interaction with the interpersonal skills of being in public and interacting with someone in a business setting where it's different than with a cohort of peers. So thinking about different ways to get skills. What's the big challenge coming up that the board isn't facing right now? Is there anything that is looming on the horizon that you can see that's an emerging issue? Yeah, I think you touched on it. I think kind of the future of a couple of our buildings are, you know, there's nothing urgent there, but I think we want to be thoughtful about that. I believe it was the last budget. It might be wrong. It might be two budgets ago. You put together the Revolving Capital Fund. Yes. Was that the last budget? Yes, and we have that on again. And the idea there is really, I think, to, you know, to not get to a situation. You have to go to the bonding, to the major bonding. Exactly. And the final question, the mudlots. What is the mudlot and what is its fate? So the mudlot is what has been kind of a de facto parking area on the side of the high school by Smiling Auditorium where they put Circus Smurcus in that area. You know, it's an eyesore. It's likely a source of pollution to the river. So what we're gonna do is we're gonna eventually turn that into, like, recapture it as green space. What will happen to that parking, sir? You obviously have a demand for parking, otherwise it wouldn't be there. It wouldn't be a spillover. I think we're going to figure out other ways to get parking in, you know, I think as a city as a whole, we, you know, there's, you know, for big events, if the parking garage goes in, you know, that'll serve. It's not that far of a walk. It's really only spillover.  Now I'm gonna hit you with a hard one. Since we last talked a year ago, you know, last school year, any major teacher retirements for those of us who live in town and had kids in the schools? Well, Pam Arnold is retiring. Pam Arnold being? Pam Arnold, the principal of Maysburg Middle School, and she's been there for 14 years and I think has really, you know, done a lot to lead that school. And we lost a principal at Montpelier High School. Yes, Mike McCraith left last summer and he obviously was fantastic and did a great job of leading that school and, you know, with the Black Lives Matter flag, you know, gaining some national recognition for his leadership. Yeah, and we have a fantastic new principal at Montpelier High School. Who is that? René DeVore, and she comes from Illinois, but she's fantastic and she's, I think, doing a really good job of picking up where Mike came from. Any other central office hires in the last year? We actually have, we will be seeing three new ones. Oh, we picked up, didn't we pick up a print? No, our principal at Union was there last year. He was there last year. Any central office hires? We obviously have to, we're hiring to replace Pam and Monday the two final candidates will be coming in for a long day of interviews. We're gonna be hiring a new principal for the Roxbury Village School and we really anticipate that that principal will be part of the conversation about how to take that school to the next level. Yeah, the next level. And Mary Lynn Dean, who has been the special education director for the last several years and has really done a fantastic job of meeting the needs of kids and she's a fantastic manager. She came in, I think, immediately solved. A number of thorny issues. A number of thorny issues and saved the district a lot just in terms of being efficient and finding the right grants and making sure that. What's happening with her? She is going to Chitton County. She lives in Chitton County. She found another special education director position where she does not have to commute. So unfortunately we're losing her but we'll be replacing her. So she's a soul in that sailing on. Yes. Jim, I wanna thank you for your time. Again, this has been an extremely long show simply because this is the state of the school district right now in a sense. Yeah, no, I appreciate it. And I appreciate you watching this show and I hope, as I said at the beginning, that you'll watch the other shows, watch the candidates, not only for the city but the school candidates. All the school candidates will be here. Watch Libby's discussion of the budget as well as Jim's discussion, or I'm sorry, Bill's discussion of the city budget. And thank you so very much for watching. One final point. Please do get out and vote on Town Meeting Day. It's extremely important. Civic engagement is what makes us a community. So thank you much for watching. Have a good evening.