Hi there, my name is Ogrin Oluwashikemi. I'm the credit manager for BU West for International Buries. Just completed a training with D Brown Consulting and it was a very interactive one. The most interesting thing was that our lecturer Adewale Yusuf, he was able to bring the whole class together, people that were beginners, intermediate, and even the professionals who brought us all together, it was a very interactive class. We learnt a lot, we learnt Excel training, we learnt Power BI, I can tell you right now that you bring any data, I'll turn it around for you, I'm very happy. I don't regret signing up for this training and I'll definitely come back for another one. Thank you very much.


Welcome to this special edition of Out and About, a show where we explore people, events, organizations, doing good in our community, city, state, local, and world. And we just share with you these special folks, and today we have a really special guy on. His name is Michael Goloyu Jr. He is the co-chair of the Democratic Party of Hawaii Membership Committee for the LGBT Caucus, and he is a representative to the SCC. And he is the director of the labor caucus. So very involved politically and also in the community. And it's our delight to have you here today, Michael. So thanks for being our guest. Thanks for having me. So I think probably some people don't even realize that there is something for LGBTQIA folks. What is the LGBT Caucus of the Democratic Party? What's its purpose and submission? We are Hawaii's only LGBTQIA-plus-focused policy legislative and our political organization left in the state. We focus primarily on legislation as well as working on policy for within the Democratic Party and outside the greater community on ensuring that we have justice equality for the entire LGBTQIA-plus community. And so you're the only ones left in this. And I think one thing that probably people don't realize, a lot of people think, oh, gay people shouldn't have special rights, or you're already equal to other citizens. But it's interesting because you've got something on your website that says 52% of, well, all Americans, including LGBT Americans, live in a state with zero protections from workplace discrimination. So half of Americans who might identify as queer or intersex or gay could be fired in this day and age, and it is perfectly legal according to the law of the land right now. Is that essentially correct? Yeah. Yeah, you could get, without their marriage equality, you could get married on Sunday. Your boss find out on Monday and get fired. You could lose your place to live on Wednesday, get beaten on Thursday, and have no protections in 52% of the state, 52% of Americans live in states that allow that to happen. Luckily here in Hawaii, we have some of the best protections. So we don't have those problems, but we are there still so much left to be done. Marriage equality was just the beginning, was just part of the fight towards full equality for our community. Yeah, just part of the fight towards full equality. So this is just a basic stepping stone to get there. And obviously, there's a lot of priority issues for this caucus. So tell us a little bit, how do caucuses work inside of the Democratic Party, and how many are there? There are, currently there are seven caucuses. We are semi-independent, which means that we can act to our own right to further the mission and goals of each individual caucus. They all differentiate on the goals. We have the Kupuna Caucus, the Women Affairs, Hawaiian Labor. They all have different missions and goals. And so we act semi-independently of the Democratic Party to push forward the goals and aspirations of those caucuses. So we can't go against anything that's in the platform or our bylaws or constitution, but stay within those confinements. We can basically do what we need to do to push our agenda forward. And for that agenda, let's say that the caucus adopts a position that says we should, a basic one, of which we have in Hawaii, but you can't be fired from your job for being gay, for example. Do all then Democratic candidates have to agree to that if they're a member of the party, or do they have flexibility to be all a cart and say, oh, no, I don't want to do that? If it's within the caucus, no, the candidates do not. Even if it's in our platform, they're not supposed to work against the goals of our platform. So I encourage everybody to take a chance, read the Hawaii Democrats platform. It's at hawaidemocrats.org. And that's the platform that all Democrats are supposed to be either working towards or at least not working against. And unfortunately, we do have a few Democrats still out there that don't necessarily agree with justice and equality for our community, don't support labor rights. And so it's be a little bit of on the caucuses to forward their mission and get the message out there and educate people about those that are running for office. OK, and are there any differences between the state caucus and the national caucus as far as these goals go with issues concerning the LGBTQIA community? They tend to run parallel. In some cases, the national one takes on the thing like the states that they focus on the states that we're having problems with, mainly our red states. We're statewide, the state caucuses focus on the local issues, on things that they move forward. So we move forward the needle here. And hopefully it will be an impetus for other people in other states to follow our lead. Leader, I'm sure compared to the rainbow state, although that has a lot of connotations. But it's a lovely meeting. You got a nice rainbow lay on there. I see that's made out of ribbon. So it's fitting that it's both a lot of different meanings here in Hawaii. Right now, obviously, we're in COVID lockdown here in Hawaii. From today in about an hour, we're all supposed to be at home. And we are sheltering in place until April 30th is the current deadline right now. Anyone coming to the state is going to be quarantined for two weeks, whether they're visitors or locals, in order to try and contain the spread of COVID right now. So if you're looking at this in the future, this is where we are. We've got about 75 cases here as of today, another 12 more. It's a concern to everybody who's a human, obviously. And I think it may be that LGBTQIA people are maybe slightly more affected by this from what I've read in the news. But the COVID aside, and now that the legislature is actually shut down because we had a Senator test positive. And so they shut down the Senate.  Where does this put things? And before things were shut down, what are some of the bills that are moving through the caucus right now or through the legislature that are a priority to the caucus? Prior to the shutdown, we were having a really great session. One of our priority bills was a commission on the status of the LGBTQ plus community. It would mirror the commission on the status of women and be able to a clearinghouse or as well as making sure that our needs of our community are forefront, not only at the legislature, but within state government itself. So well, the funding for that mechanism for that commission is in jeopardy because of the status. We're hopeful that when they come back into session, they will at least establish the commission and then we can look at funding it in the next year. The other things we were looking at is anti-bullying mechanisms. Most youth go to a school where homophobia and transphobia are too well-accepted as part of the social norms. And what we were looking at, we had bills moving forward to address that. We also had a bill addressing homeless youth. And the reason that's a priority for the caucus is that 40% of the homeless unaccompanied minors out there identify as part of the LGBTQ community, where we make up around 10% of the general population. That's a great disparity. And so we made a priority for the caucus to address that need shelters. There are no shelters in the state of Hawaii for anybody under the age of 18. If you're over the age of 18, there's one shelter and it's on the Windward side of Oahu called Rise. And so there was a bill calling upon DHS to make sure that they did more to address the needs of the homeless unaccompanied minors. The other bill that was of one of the priorities was making sure that minors had access to mental health, as well as minors had access to PrEP and other medical needs that they may not want to go to without letting their guardian for parents know about when we sought medical attention. And so they were all moving forward. We were scheduled to have a really great session and then everybody's world collapsed. And so we are hopeful that when they pick the session back up that we can get most of these bills moving along to the finish line. So is it just the idea that perhaps the government here will kick into action again, the Senate and the House, maybe in August or September even, or some late sort of session like this? The last thing I heard, they were looking at eight weeks given with the lockdown of April 30th. That would take us to almost the eight-week point that then they would restart up in May. But that's all. Every day the ground is shifting under us and we've got to see how it works out. So we're hoping that everybody uses this time that they're sheltering in place to learn about the legislative process. And there's a lot of great resources out there. We include them on our Facebook page and we will put some more links up on our website to make sure people can understand the legislative process and they can become more involved. And especially for those that can't make it down to the legislature because their job does not allow them to take time off during the day to come and testify in person, they still can have their voices heard by having submitting testimony online. It's rather simple. It takes a few minutes to have a lasting impact that could help change the lives of so many of our local citizens. And so tell us what is your Facebook page and your website just so people have that and they can follow along? Sure, our website is lgbtcaucashawaii.org and our Facebook page is glbtcaucashawaiidem. If I remember that correctly. Okay, just Google GLBT Hawaii Democrats on the Facebook and it'll come up. And lgbtcaucas, because our URL is different than our name, because when we started, we were the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender caucus. We switched to GLBT and when I became chair, it was my first priority to switch just to lgbtcaucas to go along with what was the norm at the time, which was going on eight years ago, 10 years ago. And now we have the Q and the plus. Yes, the Q, the I, the A and the plus. The Q, the I, the A and the plus. Yeah, so I would say just Google lgbtcaucas, Hawaii or Democrats in any combination of that and you'll get us there. So you mentioned, and so when we come back from COVID, assuming we're coming back sometime soon, how long will the rest of the session be approximately? They were, they still had a good six weeks left to the session. Her, the state constitution, they have 60 days and 60 working days would have taken us to the first week of May, if they had stayed in session. So we're still looking at, they still have to continue with the timeline to my understanding. We'll have better guidance once the, it becomes clear that they've been able to, they can reopen the capital and start getting back to business of the people. Okay, and you said there's basically, you've got at least five priority bills there, but the main one that you came out with was, I think it's HB2037, which establishes the Hawaii State, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, plus lgbtq plus commission and the Hawaii State, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer plus commission trust fund. So it might be at this time that they do establish commission first and fund it later. And can people still weigh in on that or can they still submit testimony on that? Yeah, it's gone through all the Harry's except for one. It has one last Harry and that's in WAM, which is ways it means in the Senate. And then it looks like it will go to conference. And that's where I think that we're gonna cut, money's gonna be really tight here as we move forward with the complete downturn in our tourism economy, which is one of our number one money courses here in the state. So we're gonna be seeing belts being tightened across the board. And so like I said, I hopefully they'll establish the commission and then so we can get the ball rolling and get the commissioners at least put in there and that the commission can then be funded at next session. Okay, if not this session, and we can hope for the best, but yeah, the entire economy is collapsing as we speak, but it doesn't mean that we shouldn't look out for everybody, especially the most marginalized people in the community. In fact, we need to get an extra concerted effort for that right now, because as you said, 40% of homeless youths identify as LGBTQIA. Is that what you said and that there's no currently available homeless shelters available for kids that have maybe run away or been kicked out of their house? If you're under the age of 18, there's nothing available for you. So as we talk about COVID-19, we've got to keep in mind that they're the most vulnerable as our homeless youth population. There are services available for adults. There is that one shelter for 18 to 24 on a Wahoo only and it's on the windward side. And they're at capacity. They only have 30 beds. Here on a Wahoo average 125 youth sleep on the street tonight without, and these numbers very go up and down a little bit here and there, but those are considered unfortunately standard numbers to look at without any support from the government, without any support from nonprofits. Unless they're in the Waikiki area and then there's Yo, which is a youth drop-in center and they're only open four days a week, three hours a day. And it's a place where they can get a hot meal sometimes, be able to wash their clothes, take a shower, work on their schooling, but again, it's only three hours a day, four days a week. And so when the time comes, they have to kick everybody out because they're not a licensed worker. That's crazy. So we have a bill up to establish our tech to look at this and fund shelters at least. I mean, the fact that there's no shelters, it'd be bad enough if they were housed in shelters because of the being kicked out of houses or forced to leave. But the fact that there's none obviously needs to be addressed. Like you said, homeless youth, they're so marginalized, we absolutely have to keep that as a priority. You mentioned a couple of them was getting PrEP and mental health care. Mental health care is a given. Everybody needs to have access to mental health care and we have very good mental health care that's paid for if you have insurance in this state. We can have unlimited mental health care, which is critical, but you gotta have insurance to get that. As far as PrEP, what is PrEP and why should people under 18 have access to that without the parents maybe permission or knowing about it? PrEP, it's an inhibitor. It basically blocks, if you're not HIV or HIV positive, it will block you from getting the virus if you take it as prescribed. And if youth are not to have the conversation about coming out to their parents, they shouldn't actually have to go, they shouldn't have to come out to get health coverage. The same thing with mental health care. It was something that came out of when we banned conversion therapy, the FastForce came forward saying that we definitely need more access to mental health care and that youth should be able to access it without their guardians or parents knowing because like you said, we have 40% of them, like I said, 40% of these youth are on the streets and in the most cases when it comes to our community, they've been kicked out or they've been chased out of their homes. And it's coming out as a very personal decision for people and youth should not be forced to come out of the closet to seek mental health care or seek any kind of health care. And so is there an age limit for that? It's just like a 15 to 18 or 13 to 18 or and who would pay for that if that were the case? If they currently under one version of the bill, it would be, it's 13 and over and it would be the youth would be responsible for the co-pay if they're guardian, has health insurance. There's another version of the bill, which is, I don't, it's not my favorite, so I don't have all the details memorized, but so again, it would be in one, and then the same, there's two different versions of the health care bill, mental health care bill and not only does it, it would be that the youth would have to pay the co-pay and then another version of the bill, they'd have to pay for everything, but they just would, the health insurance would not notify the guardian. That's my least favorite version of the bill. I believe that if a youth is covered under the parent or guardian's health care, that they should be able to gain access and they just have to pay the co-pay because if you, the co-pay shows up on the guardian or parent's bill, they're gonna, someone's gonna have to explain it and why they're, so. Yeah, yeah, I can see some issues with that one. And I also can understand some people would say, oh, well, I would wanna know if my darling were having sex or if my darling sir wouldn't be having sex before my darling is married and 28 and half. Well, we know that doesn't happen. I mean, folks, let's face it, how old are you? And not only that, but if you're, even if you're one of these vulnerable kids, I think a lot of them are actually forced to unfortunately sell their bodies for money and they need to be protected from all kinds of STDs. And if they don't have access to these protections, it's really, I mean, it's a bad situation all the way around. So we've gotta do everything that we can to make it better for these kids and just for kids that are in their own parents' homes, but they're terrified of coming out and they wanna protect themselves in advance because they know they're gonna do it just like all their friends are. So it seems like really some important bills that are going through there. So now as we're coming, hopefully as this comes back, we can go to your website, we can testify, we can learn about this thing. What do you think the most important thing is right now for people to know about LGBTQIA people in the state of Hawaii, youth, old people, medium age people, medium young, what is the most important things that we need to focus on as a society to make it better, especially now given the situation where our economy is in freefall. It'll stop, it will get better, but even without that, what can we be focusing on? What should we be doing? What can we do? We should be focused on an acceptance of the LGBTQIA plus community and part of that way to get to this is understanding and education. We have, if you get to our Facebook page, we have a wonderful symposium done by, brought to us by the Lavender Clinic about understanding gender identity and the gender spectrum because that's the new frontier when it comes to LGBTQIA rights is understanding what the difference is why there's genderqueer, the term genderqueer, understanding that gender is not male nor female, it's not the binary that we were all taught growing up and that we need to learn more about each other and that hopefully people will be able to use the shelter and place time to educate themselves and learn about our community. And just, so if they don't understand and they have asked questions and I'm always willing to answer any questions there.  It's how you respond to the answers you're given. And so that we need people to, and we need our allies to come out more.  And we need to, everybody needs to step up and say and speak out when they hear it. Yeah, and I think maybe you can address like, things under President Obama remarkably improved in this society, I mean, across all fronts. In the last several years, we've had some serious challenges with the current administration across, well, our entire society, but especially I think into racism, sexism, homophobia and homophobia is also transphobia, but it's bleeding right through. And so people have, we've got a lot of catching up to do at this point because so much has been, I guess, retrenched there. So we're starting from a place that's, we thought I think that we were getting to be really enlightened, we're marching forward. And then suddenly we just sort of all got slapped. It's a shock for us, but here in Hawaii, are things basically the same?  Are we gonna come out that way and realize we need to value all people, whether they're gay or women or young or old or black or brown or white or whatever it is, handicap, otherly able to able to. Are we gonna come out of this with stronger values as people? Do you have optimism and faith in that? Because right now it seems like there's some dark time. I do have hope and faith for the future. Otherwise I wouldn't be in this, I wouldn't be doing the things I do. I have grave concerns about what the future holds for us, especially coming up with into the 2020 elections. Currently we are looking at two Supreme Court cases that would redefine workers' rights for the LGBTQIA plus community in those 52 states that would, if the courts side with the current federal administration and the occupant of the White House, it would drastically hurt workers' rights for the LGBTQ plus community and then therefore harm workers' rights anywhere because the idea is an injury to one is an injury to us all. And so these cases would say that we do not have protections under the federal government that were established by President Obama and that they would be able to fire somebody because they're gay, because of who they love because their gender, be it transgender or gender identity and expression. And so the one thing that the COVID-19 pandemic might do is slow down the courts and they won't release their decision in June and that we'll have some time and that maybe this will waken up some of those more conservative justices on the courts and they will actually come down on our side of justice and equality to ensure that all workers no matter your creed, no matter your sexual orientation gender identity that you deserve protection and you deserve protection.  Absolutely. And I think that that's what it is is we're looking at these court cases very carefully because I was heartened, Virginia recently, past protections in housing, employment and something else. This isn't work from all knowledge. Hey, Joe, it's first Southern state to pass protections and it was just in January, February, first state to pass protections in 10 years. So the country, 25 states divided 10 years ago basically and they said, we're going to be free, fair, equal, inclusive and the other 25 said, nope, we're not going to do it. So, but we're seeing some shifting now. So, and this was an issue. So this is right on the lines of, you know how states can become more progressive so that actually gave me some hope. Well, and just real quick in Virginia, that's proof there, the elections matter. The Democrats took control of the house. They took the Senate. They took the governorship. That is how they were able to pass those legislations. It was, they had one of the first transgender House members there who won in the off year and she won reelection in 2019. And so in the 2019, they were able to take back the, take, have full control. And so the reasons we're seeing these progressions in Virginia is because people came out and supported Democrats. And so people say there's no difference between the two parties and I point to Virginia and I say, yes, there is. I point to the bills that before Congress today as we looked to address COVID-19 and the slush fund from Mitchell, Mitch McConnell. And it shows that elections do matter and that if everybody that pays attention to this is not registered to vote, get out there and register to vote and vote. Because there's, so that's what's on the ballot box is your future and your right to live. And your right to live, your right to work, your right to have a home. All of this is important because there's no one that says that this couldn't be taken away or rolled back for any currently protected group of people. It's important that we all step forward, that we all realize the value of our inherent humanity, no matter who we are, who we love. It's important that people really step up right now.  Why are we not treating them equally? And maybe COVID is gonna be a real way to call for a better future. It's gonna be a real way to call for that and we're gonna be able to deep strengthen our relationships. It's my hope that we do anyway. So are we gonna have a Democratic Party convention this year live? Do you think, what are your chances of having that given COVID? We're looking to reschedule in September. If you were elected as a delegate, use election hold and go to HawaiiDemocrats.org to find out more information as we address these problems. The State Central Committee will be meeting in April to help one, to be able to shore this up for 2020. Okay, so we've got a lot of important work to do if people are interested. They can certainly join the caucus. They can get involved. They can help advance these bills. They can help write bills and be involved with the LGBT caucus and the State Central Committee if they like, but start with the caucus for the folks that are close to you. For women, I wanna be on the women's caucus, be on that. If you wanna be on the cocoon and caucus, be on the cocoon and caucus. Whatever it is that you wanna believe in, get out there folks, help advance our society, help us value each other. And it's my great pleasure to have had you on here today. So that you can explain a little bit about what you do at the LGBT caucus here, Michael. And I really appreciate you coming on. I hope that you will come on again. Maybe we can do a debrief after the session to see where we were and what we're doing and how people can get involved, helping the Kapuna, whether they're LGBTQ or not, helping our homeless youth, whether they're LGBTQ or not advancing issues of justice equality and all the things, the good things that we're trying to do here. So I appreciate you coming on the show.  And if there's anything that we can do, please let us know. Thank you for having me. Yes, did everybody please get involved? Okay, thank you so much. And folks, we are unfortunately out of time as we always are so quickly on Out and About, but you can see us here every other week where we are interviewing, it's just like my Google law, you, Junior, who is the chair of the LGBT caucus and representative of the state central committee of the Democratic Party of Hawaii. Every other week catches here on Out and About if you have some topics or events or organizations you'd like us to highlight, please let us know in the comments bar or by emailing us at techboy. Until then, stay safe, practice aloha, go see your neighbors and make sure that they're okay and we're gonna get through this together. Thanks so much, happy week, aloha.


It is now time for oral questions and I recognize the leader of the official opposition. My first question is to the Premier. During the last Conservative Government, the Premier of the day Mike Harris announced big plans for Ontario's public health system. Over the next few years, 6,000 nurses lost their jobs, 28 hospitals were shuttered, 7,000 hospital beds were closed. As the Tories roll out yet another plan to transform our health care, families are wondering this time how many people will lose their jobs, how many hospitals and community services will shut down and how many hospital beds will we lose. Stop the clock. Government side will come to order. Start the clock. Premier. Through you Mr. Speaker, when we traveled around the province and I went to hospital hospital there was four, five hour wait times. We were elected in hallway health care. I am so fortunate and blessed. I have the best health minister, the best deputy premier in the entire world right beside me. Mr. Speaker, I get a lot of calls every day. The overwhelming amount of calls I had from frontline health care workers, from nurses, from doctors across this province said thank goodness you got rid of the lens. That's all I heard about is getting rid of the lens, the minister is getting rid of the lens, making sure we end hallway health care and get rid of the 1,200 people that line up in the hallway every single day in this province. Supplementary. Well Speaker, patients in Ontario have seen big plans before under conservative and liberal governments and they've seen the same plans lead to cuts, closures and creeping privatization. The premier has brought back many of the same conservative operators from the Mike Harris era and has even paid his personal friend and former PC party president for $150,000 a year to serve as his health czar. Why should families believe the government when they claim that this time things are going to be different? Premier, to my great minister of health. The reason why we are going through this transformative change is for patients. It's for patients, families and their caregivers to make sure that they get the coordinated care that they need. They're not getting that now. Our system is fragmented. Providers are being paid out of different funding envelopes. They have different purposes. They have different goals. What we are bringing forward through the People's Health Care Act is a way to connect the providers so they can provide that integrated care to Ontario's patients. That is what they deserve and expect. We promised them that we would deliver that and that is what we're going to do. Restart the clock. Final supplementary. The government's new health bill includes plans to collapse world-renowned agencies like Cancer Care Ontario into one new mega bureaucracy. Internal documents from the ministry warned of potential service disruptions. Service disruptions when agencies like Cancer Care Ontario are already doing a stellar, stellar job, Speaker. Why would we do that to patients? Why is the government scrapping an agency that already works for people? That is incorrect. The agencies are not being collapsed. Cancer Care Ontario is going to continue to do the great work it does. And I would agree with you that they are world-class in managing Cancer Care and renal indications. But we can learn from that. We can learn from that and use that model for other chronic disease management strategies. We need to do that for diabetes, for example. And in mental health and addictions, it's arguable that there isn't any structure right now. We can use that model to create those chronic diseases. Speaker, my next question is also to the Premier of the province. During the last election campaign, the Premier said he would, quote, leave no stone unturned when it came to privatizing public services. And the new health bill will open the door to unprecedented levels of new private for-profit health delivery. How many, my question, Speaker, how many new private for-profit services will the Premier accept under this new plan? Speaker, what I would say to the leader of the official opposition is that it is absolutely incorrect not bringing things open for private health care delivery in our public system. What we are doing is making sure that we strengthen our public health care system. And as the members opposite should know, as you indicate in the bill what you are going to do. You don't talk about all the other things that you are going to do. We are not moving forward with privatization. We are strengthening our public health care system. Speaker, start the clock. Supplementary. While the Ford government insists that this is a completely different bill from the version that leaked weeks ago, it contains the same concerning provisions encouraging more for-profit providers into our health system. The one change is a new preamble that actually references public funding, but makes no mention whatsoever of the principle straight from the Canada Health Act of public delivery of health services. Why is there no commitment to not-for-profit public health care delivery in this bill, Speaker? About to ask the government side. I have to be able to hear personnel asking a question. I ask them to come to order. Start the clock. Response? Minister? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In fact, the legislation entirely talks about the public delivery of health care, strengthening our public system. Mr. Speaker, with respect, I would say that what the leader of the official opposition is doing is fear-mongering people about something that doesn't actually exist. We are strengthening our public system of health care, plain and simple, the end. Health care system becomes like Kathleen Wynne's Hydro-1 system. It'll be the end for that. They want to know that they can get quality health care when they need it, and without having to pad the pockets of for-profit companies. That's what people value in this province. They don't want their public health dollars padding the pockets of for-profit health delivery companies. Yet this government seems to be following the exact same path that we've seen before, laying the groundwork for cuts, closures and creeping privatization. Why should families believe that this time it's going to be any different? Minister? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, through you, I would say that the leader of the official opposition doesn't want to accept what is obvious. We are strengthening our public health care system. And I want to say to the people of Ontario, because they need to hear it from me directly, is that you will continue to pay for your health care services using your OHIP card. That will not change. And that is what I can give you an example of what's happening now, is if people are being discharged from hospital following surgery, but they require home care, right now they often don't know who's going to provide the care. They don't know what kind of care is delivered or when they're going to receive it. And when the home care provider arrives at their home whenever, they often don't know anything about the patient's condition. Well, that has to change, and that is going to change under our new system. By the time patients leave. My question is to the Premier of the province. After weeks of dodging and delaying, the Ford government finally released details of their plan for children with autism and their families, and it confirms what families had feared, Speaker. Two parents, each earning minimum wage, will make too much money to qualify for full support under the Premier's autism plan. And a family earning an average household income could be expected to cover as much as $76,000 a year in therapy costs for their child. How does the Premier expect a family earning $90,000 a year to pay for $76,000 worth of treatment? Premier. Over to the Community Social Services. Minister of Children, Community and Social Services. I'm sure it's my pleasure to rise today to talk about Ontario's new autism program. Our government for the people is committed to eliminating the 23,000 waitlist for families of children with autism seeking support through the OAP. Unfortunately, the NDP doesn't want to see those children get off that waitlist, and that is actually quite despicable. Our aim, our goal is to clear the waitlist in 18 months and improve access to service those 23,000 children. A sliding scale has been developed using gradual increments of approximately 1.5%. In year one, the government will be using family net income budgets from families' notice of assessment to calculate childhood budgets to provide family support as soon as possible. So for example, if a household income of the child entering the program of two is $80,000, the maximum childhood budget available would be 86.5% of the $140,000, which equals to $121,000, which is $121,000 more than it is getting today. Government side will come to order. Start the clock. Supplementary. Speaker, this plan is a betrayal to children and parents who need support, and they were promised it by this government, and they know they've been betrayed. But instead of providing the help that these families need, the government has threatened professional groups, they've frozen waiting lists while denying that that freeze actually existed, and they claimed endorsements from parents who actually hate their plan. At what point will the Premier fire this minister and start on a new plan that actually works for children and families? Minister. Thanks very much, Speaker. As I mentioned, our motivation is to clear the wait list of 23,000 children who are not receiving support in the province of Ontario. That's three out of every four children. That's why we're investing a record investment of $321 million to clear the wait list by doubling the diagnostic hubs, by ensuring that we can provide direct support financially to parents. But I have a quote that came out in December of 2007, and I want to read it. When is this government going to actually deliver on finding the clearing the wait list for those families and the children that need autism services in the province of Ontario? Do you know who that came from? The leader of the official opposition. Speaker, today was a government that she supported 98% of the time with the Liberals, but this time when we're clearing the wait list, it's not good enough for her. Why isn't it good enough for her? Government side, come to order. There's a member that wants to ask a question. Start the clock. The member for Kitchener South has been... Mr. Speaker, our government committed to the people of Ontario during the election campaign that we would fix our public health care system. Ontarians across this province have been waiting far too long for improvements to our health care system. That is why yesterday I was so excited to hear the Minister of Health deliver our government's long-term plan to fix and strengthen our public health care system by focusing directly on the needs of Ontarians, patients, and families. Mr. Speaker, could the minister please update the members of this legislature on how our plan will benefit patients in Ontario? Minister of Health and Long-term Care. I'd like to thank the member from Kitchener South Health for her question and for her great work on many, many fronts. Thank you. As we all know, our health care system is facing many problems. Patients and families are lost in our health care system, falling through the cracks and waiting too long for care. This has a negative impact on the health and well-being of patients and their loved ones both physically and mentally. Right now, care is fragmented, particularly at transition points. For example, from hospital to home care. Patients, families and caregivers experience frequent gaps in care and have to reiterate their health care concerns over and over and over again because of a lack of digital tools and care continuity. It is clear that the value of our health care system is locked away in silos. Most frustratingly, Ontario is home to some of the best doctors, nurses and care providers in the world, but they haven't been given the tools to do their jobs properly. Thank you. Minister, for that response and all the work that you're doing, I am so proud to support your plan that strengthens, again, our public health care system. We're certainly going to benefit from patient-centered care going forward. Speaker, to me it is unacceptable that a thousand patients every day across this province are accessing health care in hallways. I know that strengthening our publicly funded health care system will benefit both patients in Ontario and health care providers. So could the minister explain why else it is critical that we move forward with this plan to strengthen Ontario's public health care system? Minister? Mr. Speaker, I do want to make it crystal clear to the people of Ontario that our government is 100% committed to strengthening our public health care system. As of developing our vision for our health care system, I want to say directly and very clearly to every legislator in this House and to the people of Ontario that our primary objective has always been and will always be strengthening our publicly funded health care system and making our system better for patients, families and their caregivers. That means for the people of Ontario continuing to use your OHIP card for services as you have always done. That will continue. And I'm pleased to say that if passed, if the situation is passed, we will finally be able to build a coordinated public health care system around the needs of the patients of this great province. Thank you. Next question, a member for Essex. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Speaker, my question is about the Premier's personal pleasure wagon and his lack of respect for taxpayers in general. Speaker, yesterday the government house leader made an extraordinary claim. He told reporters that the Premier asked the OPP to secretly spend over $100,000 on a souped up man cave on wheels. Why, Speaker? Because, get this, he wanted to save money for the public. Speaker, correct me if I'm wrong here, but the Premier already has a fleet of full-sized SUVs at his disposal 24 hours a day. So can the Premier explain how equipping a van with a mini-fridge, a 32-inch television with a blu-ray player and a leather-powered reclining sofa is a cost-cutting measure for the taxpayers in the military? Premier? Well, through you, Mr. Speaker. I know it's important to the opposition to talk about a van, but let me tell you something about that, Mr. Speaker. I requested a used van that is one-third the cost of the regular suburban. I'm the only Premier in history that refuses to use the Premier's plane, the King Air, that costs the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of making sure we're lowering the heating costs, lowering gas prices, creating more jobs out there than we can even eat the employers. Need more people. We don't have enough people for all the jobs we created. We created the environment for 43,000 jobs last month. Government side will come to order. Order. Start the clock. Supplementary. The fact is that the Premier knows the people of Ontario shouldn't be paying for his electric reclining couch and his van. That's why he asked that the cost be moved off the books. That's why his staff are using personal emails instead of government accounts, and that's why Brad Blair, the acting commissioner of the OPP, said no rain not on his watch, which might explain why the Premier's preferred candidate for OPP commissioner, Ron Taverner, was in the news for this story defending in the Premier's choice of a personal pleasure wagon when the Premier said he wanted new leadership at the OPP. Is that what he meant? Recognize the Premier. To you, Mr. Speaker, I think I answered the question last time he asked me.  People from Essex doesn't realize their MPP voted to increase taxes, increase gas prices, making sure it puts more of a burden on the backs of the taxpayers. Our government is for the people, Mr. Speaker, where we're reducing costs. We're taking the burden off families. We're making sure that they can get from point A to point B at a lower cost because we got rid of the cap and trade carbon tax, the lower gas prices. Everyone that received the heating bill in this province saw a lower cost on their heating bill because of our government. The people that are getting their checks every single week are seeing less being taken off from the government. Thank you. Question, the member for Northumberland, Peter Brewer's side. Question is for the Premier. Last week, I know the Premier had the opportunity to travel to Washington to bring our open for business message to our largest trading partner. I know that during the trip, the Premier had the opportunity to share the work our government is doing to make Ontario open for business and open for jobs. Since we were elected, Mr. Speaker, this Premier, this government has been laser focused on the regulatory burdens affecting business on lowering taxes and scrapping the Liberals disastrous cap and trade carbon tax. Could the Premier please outline for the House the important work that is being done to let our largest trading partner to let the world know that after a closed sign on the border after disastrous 15 years, Ontario is once again open for business, open for jobs.  We went down and told the world and our largest trading partner that Ontario is open for business and open for jobs. When I talked to the numerous governors and ambassadors, they were just so thankful. We also met with a group of Fortune 500 companies that have investment in Ontario and every single one of them said, thank God your government got elected because now we get to expand in Ontario and create more jobs. Our biggest issue here in Ontario, we have created so many new jobs, we don't have enough people to fill these jobs. That's the ball. Members of the State's supplementary. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the Premier for that response. It's refreshing to members of Hamilton East Stony Creek, come to order. It's refreshing, Mr. Speaker, that after 15 years, we have a Premier that understands business. I know that during the trip, Mr. Speaker, the Premier along with the Premiers of New Brunswick and Saskatchewan called for an end to American steel and aluminum tariffs. These tariffs have been hurting Ontario workers and Ontario businesses, and they are also hurting American workers and American businesses. In fact, over 16,000 people work in the steel and aluminum industries, including workers in that nagging members' riding. And they want an end to these tariffs, Mr. Speaker, could the Premier please outline for this meeting what he's doing to get these disastrous tariffs lifted? Mr. Speaker, we had a great meeting with Ambassador Lighthizer that's controlling the trade deal. What a positive, positive meeting. He wants to sign the deal. I'm confident that he'll sign the deal with our federal government. We'll get rid of these tariffs. But what I told the Americans down there, our largest trading partner, we're the number one and we do more trade with 19 states than any other region in the world. We're number two to nine other states. If we were a standalone country, we would be the U.S.'s third largest trading partner with $350 billion at two-way trade. Had great conversations with the Michigan governor. Governor Whitmer, we just hit it off. Together, we will create tens of thousands of jobs right across all sectors because Ontario is open for business. Member for Hamilton East Stony Creek, come to order. Government side, come to order. We're not even halfway through the question. Start at the clock. Next question, the Member for Essex. Thank you, Speaker. Through you to the Premier, Speaker, the Premier's OPP security detail are highly trained professionals, trained literally to take a bullet for the Premier, yet court documents show that the Premier berated these officers and demanded special treatment and control over this detail saying, and I quote, Speaker, it feels like I'm getting effed around by the OPP and I'm getting more pissed off, end quote. Can the Premier tell us what was it? Can I ask the Member to withdraw? Withdraw, Speaker. It feels like I'm getting bleeped around by the OPP and I'm getting more and more bleeped off, if that makes any sense. Speaker, can the Premier tell us what was it that he didn't order about his highly trained OPP officers trained to literally protect his life? Premier? I can tell you, Mr. Speaker, I have the best OPP detail in the world. Brown with signs bleeping the police. The police, no matter where they are in Ontario, no, this government supports the police, supports the OPP, and you know my friend from Essex should be apologizing to my detail that I've worked with for seven, eight months, they're part of the family and I love them and I'm sure they feel the same way. Here, here. Supplementary. Speaker, we know that the Premier would love to relive the glory days of operating out of the back of a van, but the OPP have better things to do than hide their verbal abuse and hide the cost of his personal pleasure wagon. Speaker, court documents also reveal that the Premier didn't even know the name of the OPP Commissioner and he only bothered to learn it because he felt his personal needs weren't being met. Evidently, the new Premier's top priority in his first meeting with the OPP Commissioner wasn't public safety and it wasn't supporting our frontline commissioners and officers, it was looking out for us. Speaker, is this the Premier's vision for policing? Members, we refer to each other by our writing name or by our ministerial name if applicable. Premier, respond. Through you, Mr. Speaker, you know something, I'm going down and I'm speaking for my detail, they're disgusted right now. They're disgusted, if they could run in here right now, each and every one of them would be standing shoulder to shoulder with me and I appreciate the work they do.  They love this government, the police love this government, they love Bill 175 that we're getting through to actually stand up for the police and I look forward to the opposition voting with them when it comes to police issues, police matters, but guess what, Mr. Speaker, they voted against everything when it comes to the police, they don't like the police, they hate the police. Can I ask the Premier to withdraw? Can I ask the Premier to withdraw? Can I ask the Premier to withdraw? Withdraw. Start the clock. Next question, the member for Guelph. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Premier, will the liberal cash for access story broke? Conservative MPPs hammered the government of the day. Ultimately, all parties supported fundraising reform, but tonight the Ford government is bringing back cash for access. Media reports allege the government is pressuring lobbyists to sell $1,250 tickets to the Premier's swanky dinner or lose access. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to ask the Premier, will the government agree to close the loopholes they opened last year that allow deep pocket insiders to buy access to events with the Premier? The question is being put to the Premier. Actually, Mr. Speaker, we have done more spaghetti dinners at $25 around this province and we're coming to a location close to you to talk to the people over a $25 spaghetti dinner. I'm going up to Moscow on Friday for a $25 dinner, a spaghetti dinner, but talk to them. Supplementary. Mr. Speaker, I'm afraid the government has forgotten what they said in opposition. Cash for access is bad for democracy. A $25 spaghetti dinner is not the same as a $1,250 cash for access event. Having to strong arm lobbyists to sell tickets is wrong. We can't allow big money to have a bigger voice in our government than, let's say, children with autism or endangered species or others who can't afford to write a $1,250 check. So Mr. Speaker, I'd like to ask the Premier, will the government work with all parties in this House to fix the fundraising rules so we can have $25 spaghetti dinners, but not have $1,250 cash for access events? Order. A lot of people here from Kitchener Waterloo and I know recently the Premier was in Waterloo Region and had one of those famous spaghetti dinners for $25 over 200 people and guessed that our Premier and people are going to come. We changed the fundraising rules as you may remember the previous Liberal government was doing $10,000 a plate corporate donations and guessed who got the wind turbine projects and guessed who got the solar projects the companies that gave big money to the Liberal government. These are personal donations that these people are making to come to our event tonight live-stream member from Guelph and you'll enjoy it too. It's a great message. For Essex, come to order. Start the clock. Next question, the member for Etobicoke Lakeshore. Thank you. My question is for and let me echo our Premier, the great minister of health and long-term care for the people was left with a health care system on life support. That is why on behalf of the moms, the dads, the aunts, the girls, and the girls, I am proud to support our government's plan to strengthen Ontario's health care system. Fixing a broken health care system the former Liberal government left us with was a core campaign promise which our government is delivering on. Mr. Speaker, could the minister please inform the members of this house how our plan will finally create a health care system that works for the people. I'd like to thank the member from Etobicoke Lakeshore for her question and for her support. Yesterday I was proud to announce our plan to strengthen and fix our public health care system. As the member stated our promise to fix our system is a commitment we do take very seriously. We have to do more to ensure that high quality care is for Ontarians when they need it and where they need it. We know that too much time and attention is spent on maintaining a siloed and fragmented system and far too many people believe it is the patients or the family's job to navigate through a very complicated system during a very emotional and difficult time in their lives. That's why we are building a public health care system centered around the patient and redirecting money to frontline services where it belongs to improve the patient experience and provide better and more connected care. Supplementary. I thank the Minister for her response public health care has for many decades been a cornerstone for health care in Canada and in Ontario. Knocking on doors people in my riding of Etobicoke Lakeshore have made it clear that public health care is important to them. I'm glad to hear that we are acting on a key campaign promise to end hallway health care in Ontario and that strengthening our broken health care system remains a top priority for this minister and this government. Mr. Speaker, could the minister please confirm the government's commitment to the public health care system in Ontario? Minister? Throughout many years I have seen the need to strengthen and fix our public health care system during my years as health critic for the official transition as Ontario's first patient ombudsman and now in my role as minister of health and long-term care. I have heard from literally thousands of Ontarians. Patients, families and caregivers and our dedicated health care providers from these thousands of hours of conversations I have heard your collective refrain our system is in need of transformational change. We need to make change for the people that's why the People's Health Care Act has been introduced and that if passed will allow us to strengthen and fix our public health care system. Thank you Mr. Speaker my question is for the premier yesterday I asked the minister of education what plans she has put in place to support children with autism spectrum disorder in schools when funding for autism services expires on and around April 1st and she couldn't answer. Premier I have a letter here from the Halton District School Board Chair who is calling on the government to provide them with a plan and funding to ensure proper supports are in place for their classrooms. This letter speaks of the rising needs and says that changes to the Ontario autism program will make this situation their situation, that board and others absolutely untenable. When will the premier direct his minister to stop ignoring the impacts of her government's failed autism policy listen to school boards educators and parents and show us a plan that gives students with autism the support they deserve. Premier Minister of Education Minister of Education Minister of Education Minister of Education Minister of Education Minister of Education Minister of Education Minister of Education Minister of Education Minister of Education Minister of Education Minister of Education Minister of Education Minister of Education Minister of Education Minister of Education when it came to companion dogs. And you know what? As our Bill 48 works its way through the system, I'm pleased to say that in the region of Waterloo, a child with autism went to school for the first time yesterday with his companion dog. That's what we're doing in Ontario. That's what we are taking very seriously. We have to make sure that our children with autism feel supported and our government stands with them. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and again to the Premier. The whole of those things that the minister has spoken about up till now are programs that were developed under the previous government. Nothing new exists today. Nothing new exists today. And I'm sorry, but with the greatest of respect, we can't ensure that every child with autism is going to have a companion dog with them when they go to school after April 1st. That is not an answer. The chair of the Halton District School Board said, we fear that the short notice of program change coupled with the lack of an implementation plan from the ministry with associated new funding will not allow for the safe and supportive classrooms that you have stated you are committed to. She goes on to note that the Halton Board already spends more than $20 million than they get for special education supports and that as of February 25th, the staff at the school board have received no plans, no funds, and no direction from the ministry Mr. Premier, time is running out. When will your minister act? I think it might be appropriate to remind all members to make their comments through the chair. Minister, response. Thank you very much, Speaker. And you know, I have to remind the member opposite that yesterday I shared in this House that we have given school boards across this province, excuse me, $3 billion for special education needs. $3 billion. In addition to that, we have extended our pilot project where we're working with 19 school boards and dealing with children with autism who have learned from the people in the classroom. That extension of the pilot project was very, very important. Over and above that, we are working very diligently with our school boards and with our ministry to make sure, again, that students feel safe and supportive and there are going to be so many more details coming in the weeks to come. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the minister of energy, northern development and mines. Speaker, this government is pro-manufacturing, pro-energy sector, and firmly pro-pipelines. Yesterday, the minister represented our economic interests and fought to defend the livelihood of thousands of workers across this province by speaking against Bill C69, the Federal Liberal Anti-Energy Anti-Pipeline Bill at the Senate in Canada and especially in Ontario. Energy infrastructure and mining plays a huge role in the daily lives of so many of our communities. They are massive employment centres in our economy, especially the manufacturing sector that produces pipelines right here in Ontario, creates jobs for our young people, our skilled trades, and our Indigenous peoples. Can the minister align how he is standing up for energy workers in this province by opposing the Federal Liberal's job-killing legislation? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I had an incredible opportunity to speak to a packed room, one of the largest rooms in a Senate committee in a very, very long time. It took a firm stand, Mr. Speaker, and sent a clear message that Ontario is open for business. You know that catchy tourist phrase on our old signs that said more to discover after a decade and a half of darkness meant more taxes to discover, more red tape to discover, more government to discover, Mr. Speaker. So how could it be that we would stand idly by and watch Bill C69, which represents a significant intrusion by the federal government on our ability to move major pipeline projects forwards? Open new minds, Mr. Speaker, and our ability to develop, refurbish and enhance and expand our nuclear assets. We're not having anything to do with that, Mr. Speaker. Industry leaders were there, provincial leaders were there, ministers from across the country are poised to send a clear message that Ontario is not fine with Bill C69. Speaker, the minister in our government recognizes the interconnected reality that prosperity and economic growth in the West means jobs and growth here in the East. I know that the minister is concerned that Bill C69 will undermine pipeline expansion, nuclear development and new mining operations in this province and manufacturing jobs across the GTA and across this province. The minister explained how interprovincial energy infrastructure projects like pipeline are essential for Canada to compete in a global marketplace. Between Prime Minister Trudeau's carbon tax and Bill C69 Liberals are making it virtually impossible to build new and replace existing pipelines to expand mining operations from the North to manufacturing here in the South. I'm proud that our government is fighting for a stronger Ontario economy within a strong and prosperous Canada. Minister, can you affirm today that you'll continue to stand up against Justin Trudeau's job-killing agenda? We're here. Minister, Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the question. I also spoke in addition against Bill C69, the implementation of clean fuel standards, the carbon tax, what I called it, the triple layer cake, Mr. Speaker, which would represent some of the most significant energy costs that we have seen in a very long time. Mr. Speaker, to sit there at that committee and get grilled by members of the Senate and complimented from an Indigenous Senator who applauded Ontario's recent efforts to have Indigenous communities take leadership on environmental assessment projects on major resource projects and the legacy infrastructure to support it. Mr. Speaker, an independent Senator who recognised that Ontario was mobilising quickly to move forward with building resource projects. Mr. Speaker, the integrity of our and safety of our nuclear assets is on the line with Bill C69, Mr. Speaker. We ask the new Democratic protesters to join Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, get with the times and fight. All right, next question, member for Sudbury. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. I'd like to tell the House about my young constituent Manon from Sudbury. Manon is just five years old, has been waiting on the waitlist to receive IVI therapy for two years. Manon will require between 20 to 40 hours of therapy per week, costing approximately $55,000 to $75,000 a year. Manon's mother, Jose, is not tempted by a $5,000 check. She would rather wait for a program that adequately and equitably supports her daughter's individual needs. Mr. Speaker. Why won't this government provide Manon and her family the support they desperately need? Premier. Minister of Community and Social Services. Minister of Children, Community and Social Services. Thank you very much, Speaker. My pleasure to respond. As you know, myself and my parliamentary assistant, Amy Fee, traveled across this entire province talking to families who are struggling on the waitlist and who are in the program. It appears that in Manon's case, Manon will probably be on the waitlist for a very, very, very, very long time without changes to this program, which is what our motivation is, to clear the waitlist in 18 months of the 23,000 children who are being denied service by their Ontario government. That's why we're putting forward a plan that will double the investment into the diagnostic hubs and that will ensure that there is a direct responsibility and a direct fund to mothers and fathers so that they can get the services that they believe their children need, whether that's behavioural support, technological aids, care, give or treat or respite. But, Speaker, let me be very clear. Manon is on our mind, and that's why we're making the changes to this plan so Manon can finally get service. Good. Thank you, Speaker. Manon needs $55,000, not $5,000. So, thoughts and prayers won't count it. That's right. After you, Premier, who supports autistic families, 1,000 percent, Mr. le Président, tous les enfants atteints, All autistic children, Mr. Speaker, deserve access to services that meet their needs in the official language of their choice. Changes the Ontario Autism Program, which cuts the direct service option for families, means that for children like Manon, it'll be incredibly difficult to get the therapy she needs in French. Manon's parents kept Manon on the wait list, hoping to get her IBI therapy from a French-language service provider, but this government's plan has ripped away all hope of that. Mr. Premier, why is the government penalizing Francophone families? Minister? Thank you very much, Speaker. That's not the case at all, and I understand there's been a lot of misinformation on the other side, and it's been perpetuated by the official opposition, and I quite believe it's your response What would they have me do? Continue? Ask the minister to withdraw. To withdraw? But what would the opposition have me do? Continue for the next four years to ignore the three out of four children who are denied service? Opposition come to order. To allow the bankrupt system I inherited to go solving? What would they have me do? They've not come out with a credible plan themselves. Opposition come to order. I never do, with the exception of yelling over me, heckling, and providing false and misleading hope to the pears of the people of Ontario? And ask the minister to withdraw. Next question, member for Brampton West. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the minister of transportation. Our government for the people's number one priority is keeping the people of Ontario safe, whether it be at home, work, or during their commute. This is why we're committed to ensuring the people of Ontario have a safe and efficient highway network. However, we all have to remember that we have to work together to keep our highways among the safest in North America. My riding of Brampton West has many trucking companies that travel our roads and highways daily, weekly, and year round. It is important to these employers, employees, friends, families, and all of Ontarians that we continue to lead the way on truck safety standards and enforcement. Can the minister of transportation inform the House on some of the recent measures our government for the people is taking to keep our roads and highways safe? Good question. Minister, transportation. Thanks very much, Speaker, and I'd like to thank the member from Brampton West for this question and his continued advocacy for his constituents and for his Ontario as well. Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to continually growing our economy and creating jobs across Ontario. Just recently, the government announced a red tape reduction bill. We took action because too many Ontarians were battling the regulatory requirements that were inefficient, inflexible, and out of date. Really, I announced two new plans to cut red tape for commercial carriers by using technology for both pre-clearance and pre-screening. Pre-clearance technology will allow a driver to use an app that transmits data from the truck when approaching inspection stations. Information is now cross-checked against the minister of transportation's databases. Then this app will let the driver know whether to bypass the station or go in. It saves time and it saves money. Mr. Speaker, we're introducing this technology right across the province. This new technology will allow drivers to get information visually and audibly in a way that's consistent with our distracted driving laws and I'm going to have more in a supplement on this. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Through you, thank you to the minister of transportation for the great response. I'm pleased to hear that our government for the people is finding better and smarter ways to enhance truck safety across Ontario and continue to keep our roads and highways among the safest in North America. I know my community of Brampton West will be very pleased with this announcement. With the red tape production measures this government is getting out of the way of Ontario's job creators. We're lowering business cost and making Ontario more competitive. That's an important part of our plan to grow the economy, help small business expand and ultimately create jobs. We're moving obstacles to investment, growth and job creation in over a dozen sectors including the trucking industry, the auto sector, manufacturing, construction, agriculture and food processing. Can the minister tell us more about his recent announcements to enhance truck safety in Ontario? Minister. It's again from the member for Brampton West for that question. Our government recently announced that we'll be improving road safety by allowing enforcement officers to focus their efforts on higher risk or unknown vehicles. We're going to use technology for pre-screening to speed up inspections. Data can be collected automatically with reader sensors and imaging to help enforcement officers to identify potential issues more quickly. As well we recently proposed changes to the Highway Traffic Act to give commercial drivers the option of using an electronic cab card. This makes it easier to confirm driver credentials and reduce paperwork. All of these efforts will keep safe trucks on the road helping carriers save time, money and fuel costs. Ontario is a leader in truck safety standards and enforcement. I encourage all carriers to sign up for the pre-clearance program so they can take advantage of its costs, saving benefits and saving time. Mr. Speaker we want to let the trucking industry know we want to let the opposition know that Ontario is open for business and we're going to carry trucking around. Question. Member for Waterloo. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. My question to the Minister of Health. In early December your ministry suddenly moved the Cambridge Ambulance Communication Centre to Hamilton due to staffing shortages. But this staffing problem wasn't new. In June managers were told by your ministry staff that Cambridge was headed towards a staffing crisis. To the frontline workers it appeared that nothing was being done. Workers continued to lead because of stress. The relocation was supposed to help instead it made things worse. Hamilton dispatch was not equipped with auto locate technology and an ambulance was set to the wrong location. First responders lost precious minutes before they arrived to provide care for a patient without vital signs. Why did the ministry make this matter worse by moving Cambridge dispatch to Hamilton and not providing the necessary tools to prevent this crisis. Minister of Health and long-term care. Well I thank a member opposite to the question it is something that we are certainly aware of. I have been made aware of this as the minister of health and long-term care. And the the situation was very unfortunate but we are working to modernize and strengthen our system and that changes are going to be coming forward shortly to make sure that patients don't fall between the cracks that we want to make sure that people are safe in transportation they're safe in their healthcare and they're safe at every step along their healthcare journey. So thank you for raising that I assure you that we are continuing to work on that. Mr. Speaker healthcare healthcare ultimately is about people and since this crisis the ministry has done almost nothing to address the underlying issue of staff retention. In fact it took this ministry six weeks to even post for the new positions and there appear to be no plans to address the wage gap between dispatchers which leads to high staff turnover. Minister frontline workers deserve so much better than this. The region of Waterloo who are here today has stepped up and is and is ready to do just that. They have said that they have the dedicated space and they have the dispatch experience. Minister will you accept the region's offer of taking over operational control of Cambridge ambulance communication center because it is the best interest of our community as a whole. Thank you member for the question as she is correct ultimately this is about people it's about patients it's about providers and it's providing the best possible quality service to them and safety. Safety is the first and foremost issue for me as minister and is something that we are looking at seriously we are looking at the appropriate health mix across all of the stages in our health care system in hospitals in long-term care homes in home care settings in in ambulance situations and with paramedics all of the people who provide health care in Ontario. We are looking to modernize our system and bring it up to date to bring our technology into the 21st century that is what we are trying to do with the People's Health Care Act that is our priority if passed we will move into the 21st century with our technology with our communications with our digital tools and with the people in the system that is what this is all about. Thank you question the member from Richmond Hill. Thank you Mr Speaker my question is also for the minister of energy not development and minds the people of Ontario elected our government because we promised to clean up the hydro mask after left behind by the Liberals we promised that we will restore accountability to our electricity system after 15 years of ideologically driven policies these policies led to higher hydro rates for families and businesses while insiders in the energy sector got rich this is completely not acceptable for our government Mr Speaker this is why during the election our government promised to address and renew the governance structure at hydro one question can the minister please tell the members of this house what steps our government took to restore transparency and accountability at hydro one minister of energy northern development and minds and minister of indigenous affairs thank you Mr Speaker and I want to thank the member of Richmond Hill for her great work on behalf of her constituents and the work that she's been doing with all of our caucus colleagues Mr Speaker in cleaning up the hydro one mess that we inherited Mr Speaker we endeavored to deal with an inflated distorted salary and compensation framework for both the CEO and the board we did this through the passage of the hydro one accountability act and it required the board of directors and hydro one to establish a new compensation framework for the board the CEO and other executives and a framework that would give 47.4 percent of hydro one shareholders otherwise known as the people of Ontario say in how this would this would roll out response we're very pleased that we're standing up for the people of Ontario cleaning up the hydro one mess and moving forward thank you Mr Speaker supplementary thank you Mr Speaker and thank you to the minister for answering my question public accountability and critical is a critical component of this legislature my constituent Enrichman Hill and I would like to congratulate the minister for the leadership he showed on this file early on in our mandate I know after months of consultation the board of hydro one put forward a framework that was not acceptable to the minister and our government this is why the minister stepped in and issued a directive last week to bring the framework in line with the expectations of Ontario taxpayers Mr Speaker can the minister tell the members of this House the details of this directive minister thank you Mr Speaker of course we take this issue very very very seriously and that's why we issued a directive for the new CEO compensation framework it required the total compensation for the new CEO not to exceed 1.5 million dollars executive compensation not to exceed 75 percent of the CEO salary and the board compensation would not exceed 80 thousand dollars Mr Speaker most recently we're confident that hydro ones board wants to and will work with us to ensure the framework reflects the terms that we've discussed and issued and we look forward to working together to deliver results for the people of Ontario we believe hydro ones best days are ahead we believe the days of the Ontario taxpayer Mr Speaker the people of Ontario's best days are ahead when they have more responsible energy in Ontario thank you Mr Speaker next question the member for Toronto Centre thank you Speaker my question is for the Attorney General for months the Attorney General has dodged questions about promised funding that has been withheld from rape crisis centres across Ontario yesterday this minister flatlined funding that was less than what the crisis rape crisis centres had been promised Speaker in the last few years these centres have seen an increase of demand some as much as 300 percent as stigma decreases over seeking support for sexual violence it is our responsibility to make sure that support is there for survivors who need it survivors across this province deserve stable predictable funding so that service organizations can support them why is the minister cutting funding to rape crisis centres and why does the minister think it is acceptable to abandon survivors seeking support for sexual violence the Attorney General member for Toronto Centre come to order Ontario Centre come to order order order order order the Attorney General Thank you Mr thank you Mr Speaker let me be clear the people of Ontario and our government believe very strongly and have zero tolerance for violence committed to guaranteeing funding and increasing funding to sexual assault centres unlike the previous government that made a series of unfunded election promises on the eve of an election Mr. Speaker our government will work very hard to support victims of sexual assault and violent come to order opposition members we will be working directly with organizations in the victim services space to make sure that we are providing the supports and services that we need it is a guaranteed funding that we are proceeding with unlike the Liberals who had 15 years to support victims and the service providers that helped them instead of spending billions of dollars on their various part of their response these services should come to order we are guaranteeing funding and investing additional funds to support sexual assault centres question period for today I beg to inform the host of pursuant to standing order 98c a change has been made to the order of precedence on the ballot list for private members public business such that Ms Stiles assumes ballot item number 63 and Ms Sattler assumes ballot item number 65 I understand that the member for Niagara Falls has a point of order thank you very much Mr. Speaker I'd like to welcome Kate Robinson and Luca Di Pietro I love that name from Niagara Falls you're here participating in the model parliament thank you member for London West on a point of order thank you speaker I'd like to say a special hello to Eddie Avila who's here with Usa but is originally from London so welcome Eddie member for Niagara West on a point of order I'd also like to welcome to the legislature Ethan Zulith and Martins Vellis who are also here with the model parliament and from my writing of Niagara West today there being no deferred votes this House stands in recess until 3 p.m


What's going on guys, welcome to the Cropbox, my name is Sven, and today I have Brent, also known as Andrew Dragonblade, just to screw with him, I sit there a little bit, because he doesn't like it when I do the old intros, and we're in Celestia doing the, where are we right now? We're doing the Stari blue boy. This is District of the Stars. District of the Starios. Yep. Brent, I'm trapped. Good job. I'm surrounded. You can actually... I got out! I got out! Ha ha!  Yeah, you can actually get pulled really easily here, and you get stuck a lot as well, so be careful. Be careful. Ugh, we need to take these guys already. These guys are balanced. You're heading right? Sure. You're heading these guys are balanced. Forest Lord? Boost will be full. Forest Lord I suppose. Let me just quickly change up my deck, and like legitimately only have fangs. Dude, they're nuts. Look at that. They are. They are. Look at how they go to the gym. They work out. You know? They work out. What a... that being working out. Look out, OP Sandstorm. OP Sandstorm does like not as much as mine.  Sorry, I don't protect. I just... I just blade. And this is all I do. I don't actually protect because these guys aren't good. Oh, hello. Saying that does judgment, does like a billion damage. I don't protect. They're not good. They're not good. They're not good. That's fine. They're not good. It's okay. There's actually a lot of... there's a lot of balanced people here, so I hope you're ready to hit a lot. Always ready to hit my guy. I'll put some heals in for when I do... okay, did you? This is like a billion blades for you. Best Forest Lord in the game. Best Forest Lord you've ever cast. Oh, it didn't for so long. I was actually holding my breath there. Nah, your pet's too good. He dances so good. He won't fizzle. Not for me. Roar! Are you ready? Are you ready? Are you ready? Are you ready? One, two, three, four, five blades. In the burst. So good, boy. Not even that good. Not heavy. Not heavy with that outcome. I mean, they're just more upset for what, like, 1,000 health max. No, I'm not even happy about that. I love making that sound. It's so satisfying. I don't know why. Well, GG, that's the fight 3 defeated that we needed. Actually, wait, no, we needed... I only got 1. I got 2. Welcome to Celestia. We're defeating collect quests. They're terrible. The gymming sharks. Shark goes to gym. Squat shark! Squat shark. Squat shark. That's what I call them. They're going to be called squat sharks. Yep. They probably use the roids though. I like how... Yeah, to look at those arms. I know. You can use the roids, my guy. Definitely. See, what I like, Brent, what I enjoy to see, right, is that we decided to write off, like, when we start the series, you know what we should do? Make two support characters. Yeah. That was a great idea. It was a great idea. It was a great idea. It was a great idea. Actually, in between the episodes, I was telling Finn that there's only... The days are limited for this balance. Was it on the walkthrough? There's only five more areas until... until rest in peace balance. You're going to have to do a really sad montage. I will. Every time I fizzle. Every time I fizzle. Oh, no. That's fine. That's only minus 25. You'll be good. And it's like, I think I'd be with you two and me again. I wouldn't do that, but that would be really sad. It would be sad. No. So this is sad. Play Despacito. Play Despacito. I would definitely do a montage on the last episode with the balance. I think for us all, let's go. Actually, we're streaming the last... We're streaming the last episode with the balance. You can have to prepare a montage and then cut it in and then, like, re-appear if you're crying. Yep, I'll get the tissues out. I'll get the tissues and then you start dabbing my eyes. Oh, so... You're also going to have to do a RIP kitty montage as well. Oh, no, RIP kitty is not happening yet. RIP kitty is happening when... when balance pair gets changed. Which will be when he starts his new journey. Which I'm not telling anybody about yet. You can probably understand why I'm going for Loremaster, but, like, no one knows what that means. Obviously. I got it, did you get it? GG!


I don't think it's a lack of effort.   And I take personal responsibility for those types of things. And when it comes to a lack of energy on the field, I do believe that starts, like I said, a thousand times it starts with me. And when you have two penalties back to back, just kills drives, kills momentum. And I take that very personally. I know these sacks, negative plays, have kind of done the problem all season long. Is it correctable at this point? Yeah, no, I mean, if you use another game to play, it's correctable.  Negative plays just can't happen. I don't know why that we have so many. Hasn't really been an issue in the past. I think, you know, but yeah, like I said, I take responsibility for those types of things, you know, with the penalties and, you know, we just got to be better. And I got to come out with more energy in the beginning and kind of get things going. And so I'm disappointed in myself. I know you'd probably be at first to say, you've said some of these things before, the team saying some of the things you've said before. You talked earlier in the scene about kind of ending saying the same thing before, but here we are. Yeah, I don't know, you know, it's kind of played this for a little bit now. And I just think, you know, at the end of the day, they played better than us. They took advantage of situations when we didn't.  And we just, as an offense, need to figure out a way to get started faster. And I know it's redundant. And I know it's annoying to hear. And if I was a fan, I'd be frustrated too. As a player, I'm frustrated. And I do believe that starts with me and I had to find a way to come up with better energy in the beginning. I think that's a big part of it.


Greetings from the Commonwealth of Learning. Did you know that long before you were born, the Commonwealth heads of government met for Chogham in Vancouver and decided to establish the Commonwealth of Learning, which is my organization or call, and we have been in beautiful British Columbia for the last 30 years. As you know, the Commonwealth is a very diverse group of 53 member states spread across the globe. From the Pacific to Asia, Africa, Europe and the Caribbean. Some of these are large states like India with a population of 1.3 billion and small ones such as Nauru with just 11,000 people. What's really interesting is that 60% of the Commonwealth is under 30, so it's a young Commonwealth and you young people are our common future. The Commonwealth promotes peace, democracy, good governance and rule of law. These values are enshrined in the Commonwealth charter. Each member, however large or small, has an equal voice and the Commonwealth works by consensus. Collectively, the 53 states have soft power in global affairs. Most of the members were former British colonies and share a common language, English, and similar legal and educational systems. Because of these commonalities, studies suggest that it costs about 20% less to trade with fellow Commonwealth members than with non-Commonwealth countries. Another benefit of being in the Commonwealth is that you can win medals in the Commonwealth games. In fact, Canada did very well with 82 medals in the Commonwealth games held in the Gold Coast earlier this month. Just last week, 46 heads of Commonwealth countries met in London for Chorgham 2018 to discuss the way forward towards our common future. They adopted the Blue Charter to call for coordinated global action to protect our oceans. They called for 12 years of education for girls and boys. While we take this for granted in Canada, sadly there are 35 million children not in school across the Commonwealth. Heads also highlighted the role of youth in building peace and countering violent extremism. The Commonwealth has three intergovernmental organizations to address these challenges. Two, the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Commonwealth Foundation are based in London. The third, and the youngest of course, is the Commonwealth of Learning based here in Canada. Kohl's mission is to harness the potential of technologies for expanding access to education and training. Kohl believes that learning is the key to sustainable development. This means that learning must lead to economic growth, social inclusion and environmental conservation. Let me demonstrate this with examples of our work. First, how does Kohl support economic growth? Kohl's Commonwealth Executive MBA program offered in 11 countries is a high quality and cost effective distance learning program. Raymond Lowe from Malaysia completed this program in his early 50s and started a relocation service with a presence in 40 countries. Kohl's lifelong learning for farmers project has lifted thousands of farmers out of poverty in 11 countries. For example, women in India learnt agriculture and enterprise development skills using their basic mobile phones and every dollar invested has generated assets worth $9. Second, what is Kohl's contribution to social inclusion? Kohl developed Aptus, a low cost offline virtual classroom that provides learners in remote locations with access to digital resources. As you know, in Tonga, Cyclone Geetha destroyed the schools, so Kohl sent Aptus devices loaded with thousands of quality resources to the island nation for restoring their classes. Even today, we find a wide prevalence of early child and forced marriage across the Commonwealth. Thanks to the Government of Canada, Kohl is training girls in five countries for employment and entrepreneurship. In the last two years, more than 35,000 girls have been trained, nearly 7,000 of them have new sources of income and over 400 child marriages have been aborted. Third, environmental sustainability is a central concern for the Commonwealth but particularly the small states. Kohl is supporting the development of courses on the blue economy and the green teacher to address this issue. Did you know that the carbon footprint of a distance learning student is only one third compared to that of the campus-based counterparts? These are some examples of how we provide learning for sustainable development. When you go in for your model chogum, can you think of how we can reach the unreached? How we can prevent our small island states from sinking into oblivion? What innovations can we propose for helping our people and planet? How can each one of us contribute to a better Commonwealth? Good luck with your deliberations.


iMotors. With an unbeatable range of pre-owned vehicles available, there's only one place to visit, and that's iMotors. Call into our showrooms in Mallon and Letterkenny. We have Donegall's largest selection of pre-owned vehicles from starter cars, family cars and luxury cars. We are your one stop car shop. Visit iMotors.ie or visit us in Mallon or Letterkenny. It's the Day of Destiny in Grove Park for the 2012 All-Earland Final. And Greenin Theatre are proud to present a brand new play, Jimmy's Winning Matches. The whole county is here. Is there anyone left at home at all? At and Greenin Theatre from Thursday 19th to Saturday 21st of January. You want to know a wee secret about football? You have to keep getting up again. Every time you're hit. Tickets from www.andgreenin.com Yeah, welcome back. It's seven minutes in front of eight o'clock. Monday night sessions are on the way. Just after eight p.m., as I said, four studio guests of the new year performing live here in the studio. Stay tuned for that. As I said, check us out on highlandradio.com. If you're live on Facebook, we're on live at the minute. Ternor McHugh and his band, Younger, from Derry will be joining us. We'll also be joined by J.P. Kennedy, singer-songwriter from our drag. And as always, you want to get in touch with 660-25,000 for text and your watch?


Slow down. Don't try to do the theory practice balance doing everything. Pick one or two things and do them well. You will never find a balance if you say, I've got to address all of these issues. I've got to address equality and gender and race and religion and all of these things all in this class. Again, this comes from talking to the students. Seeing what they want to accomplish, slow down and accomplish something well, as opposed to trying to do too much and being coming overwhelmed and then students leave the class overwhelmed and defeated as opposed to empowered by the one thing that you did really well and they go, I can actually, I could translate this into and they take off. So really positively in the moment reinforcing the actions and statements and engagement that are happening in the room and thereby actually reinforcing while class is happening the direction you'd like to go with the openness and engagement is you have to be comfortable with discomfort, which is an oxymoron and it's exhausting. It's exhausting and the most rewarding stuff that you'll do because it's you make meaning. The most rewarding part of this work, well, if you do it long enough, you realize that all of it is rewarding because I have students from 10 years ago contacting me saying, I'm doing this exercise with my students or I'm the education director for the Tacoma theater group and we're doing the stuff that we learned in your theater ed classes with this Theater for Social Change High School group that I formed. It is long-term reward, the best teacher reward for me and what I've heard from colleagues and peers is that moment when you do that thing in the class that everybody went, I don't know about that and you finish it and they go, whoa, and you just watch their horizon like light up and you see it in their face and that that's the stuff that makes me cry like right now in a good way because it's so hard and it's exhausting, but you actually change people's lives, including your own and that's the things like I I can't be stagnant doing this. I learn more from my students, I think, than they ever would learn from me and then I take it to the next class and I take it to the next class and I take it out into the community and that's hard but the reward is almost daily I get something from a present or a past student saying, oh I tried this thing out and here's what happened and I didn't expect that and that's rewarding.