It is now time for oral questions. I recognize the leader of His Majesty's loyal opposition. Good morning, Speaker. I would like my colleagues here to imagine themselves as a migrant worker, a refugee who fled persecution, or a newcomer who came to Ontario with dreams of a good life. Now imagine you had an urgent health issue for which you needed treatment. On Friday, you'd be able to access care without having to worry about how you'd pay for it. But by Saturday, that care became a lot harder to access because this government cruelly eliminated the physician and hospital services for uninsured persons program. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Health. Will she restore this program to make sure no one risks going without receiving the care they need? Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. Thank you. I want to be very clear that that migrant worker, that internationally student who is here to be part of our school system are all and continue to be covered through their health system, through Ontario's publicly funded health system. There is no change in the way that uninsured persons will receive care in the province of Ontario. The change that occurred was as a result of a program that we put in place when travellers could not return home. We have removed that change because we have a system in the province of Ontario where individuals are covered for OHIP funded services and we have a number of pathways for individuals to get funding through their health care system, even without an OHIP card of course. I'll share more in the supplementary. Supplementary question. I'm really concerned about how out of touch this government is because what the Minister is saying does not square with what people out there are actually experiencing. I'd like my colleagues to imagine that you are actually working at a community health centre. An uninsured client has come in. Their needs are beyond what you are able to provide. On Friday you would have been able to connect them to the help they need so they can focus on getting better. But by Saturday your client has to make a decision between paying their rent that month or getting better. It's never too late to do the right thing, Speaker. Back to the Minister of Health. Will she reverse her decision so no one is forced to make such an impossible choice? I'm actually going to quote a staff individual who works at the Niagara Community Health Centre. Quote, we offer primary care services to folks with or without a health card. With or without a health card. There are 75 community health care centres operating in the province of Ontario that have a funding model that allows them to serve and assist individuals without a health care card. We have, of course, funding programs in place with midwifery, midwives, that ensures individuals who need assistance through the midwives program are able to do that with or without an OHIP card. There is no doubt that we want to protect the most vulnerable, but we also have to ensure that we have parameters in place to make sure unintended consequences don't occur and we end up in Ontario being the health care for everyone else who chooses to come here to access this system. Order. The final supplementary. Speaker, if this government spent less time in the back rooms and more time on the front lines, they would understand the impact of their choices. As it happens, I spent time with Niagara Community Health Centre workers last week. And the reality is that these programs the Minister keeps mentioning are woefully inadequate. I met with one CHC worker on Friday, Speaker, from Niagara. Her CHC has a budget of a little over $1,000 to help uninsured clients, just a $1,000 speaker. She told me, you know, that doesn't go very far. One year, just two clients. There are 500,000 uninsured people in this province. Back to the Minister of Health. If she won't restore the program, will she immediately boost investments in CHCs to make sure no one goes without the health care they need? And the Minister of Health to respond. Speaker, you know, another program that we have operating in the province of Ontario all across Ontario is, of course, Health 811, where individuals who have questions and concerns can deal and speak directly with the registered nurse. You know, we are returning to a program where there is no change in the uninsured persons and receiving care in the province of Ontario. And in terms of the members' question about expanding, I hope that as we continue to debate and vote on Bill 60, they will look at the expansions that are embedded in that legislation and vote to support expansions that are occurring and will be occurring because of the investments that our government is making in health to ensure that people get access to service in their communities. Thank you. The next question, once again, the Leader of the Opposition. Speaker, in the 11th hour, the government extended funding for virtual ERs for just three months. Too little, too late. The government's announcement came too late for most hospitals like Toronto's University Health Network, which is now having to close their virtual ER. Speaker, to the Minister of Health, will the government commit to making virtual ER funding permanent? Minister of Health. Perhaps the member opposite's information is not quite up to date. I, in fact, have spoken to University Health Network and they intend to continue the virtual ER program because they have seen the value in it. We worked with the OMA to extend that program as we work with the Ontario Medical Association to make sure where appropriate virtual care continues in the province of Ontario. Thank you. The supplementary question. That gives them three months, Speaker, right? This government likes to talk about healthcare innovations. Well, let's talk about innovation. Virtual ERs were a pandemic era innovation to reduce pressure on hospitals and keep healthcare public. They connected Ontarians to the care they needed and helped ease hospital overloading. But this government's last-minute 11th hour decision to extend and by just three months has effectively cancelled the program. Back to the Minister of Health, Minister of Health. This government is saying no to these public healthcare innovations. Minister of Health. Well, in fact, healthcare innovation is exactly what we love to see in the province of Ontario and I will give the member opposite a very specific example. In Renfrew County, they were able to ramp up a VTEC model that has ensured individuals who do not have direct connection and contact with a family physician now have a permanent solution. They did that innovation during COVID. We have now funded it because of the advocacy of the member from Renfrew to ensure that that program can continue. That's the kind of innovation we're encouraging. Speaker, it's not just virtual emergency rooms either. Hundreds of people gathered in Chesley in a town hall held by the local health coalition to talk about their fears around Bill 60. As their local ER again continues to have unexpected temporary closures, back to the Minister of Health, what do you have to say to the people of Chesley and the 158 other communities experiencing temporary ER closures due to staffing shortages? Minister of Health. You know, the public meeting that the member opposite referenced is actually community coming together to solve problems. They have a new hospital president and CEO who will bring that innovation and those ideas to ensure that absolutely the Chesley emergency procurement does not have the same challenges that they had last summer. It is important for the member opposite to understand that as our government expands the number of pathways for individuals to be able to train and become nurses in the province of Ontario like the Learn and Stay program. As we work with the College of Nurses of Ontario to ensure that individuals who are waiting to get their license assessed get that done quickly. We have made those changes, Speaker, and we will continue to make those changes. Why? Because we want to ensure that people who want to practice medicine and serve the people of Ontario can do it quickly in the province of Ontario. The next question, the member for Niagara Falls. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Premier. I am struggling with the high cost of living. A mom and dad are contacting my office about the price of baby formula going up 40% in the last three months. A product that is essential for many families with babies. Formula going from $50 in January to over $70 today is simply price gouging from companies like Loblaws. The Premier promised there would be consequences for retailers who price gouge unnecessary items. Speaker, that mom has a question for the Premier. Why is the Premier letting this to happen? Why is he breaking his promise? Thank you. I want to thank the member from Niagara. I'll tell you what we're doing, and I'll tell you a little bit about economics because I know the NDP don't have a clue about economics. I wouldn't trust him running my lemonade stand, but anyways, in saying that economics, what we're doing is gas prices. And the folks across the aisle they're for the highest carbon tax in the world. The member from Ottawa was preaching he wants the highest gas prices in the world, highest carbon taxes. That's what drives up the cost. Our government reduced the cost of gas by 10 cents a liter. I encourage the NDP, I encourage the Liberals not to fall and step with the federal government, end up for the people of Ontario, reduce the gas price, reduce the carbon tax, put money back in the people's pockets rather than just sit there and declare. Back to the Premier. We're asking about feeding a baby. That's what this question is about, sir. The Conservative budget does nothing to address the affordability prices. They refuse to stand at the price gouging corporations like the Westin. Companies are taking advantage of families that just trying to feed their children. Some families, listen to this speaker, some families are watering down baby formula to stretch it further. What kind of province are we living in where the Premier thinks it's okay for billionaires to make record profits while gouging families struggling to feed their babies? What will it take for the Premier to stand up these corporate bullies ripping off families in Ontario so we can feed our families? Thank you. The member from there voted against every single tax he decreased we've ever had in the legislature. He voted against putting money back into people's pockets when we scrapped the license as a sticker. You voted against putting money back into people's pocket when it came to 412 and 418. If it was up to the NDP and the Liberals, we saw what happened for 15 years, Mr. Speaker. The crisis went out of control. Companies left this province 300,000 people lost their jobs under their 15 years of destruction of this province. The economy is strong. Anyone who wants a job can get a job. Anyone who wants a great paying job in any sector we're leading North American economic development job creation. We're seeing more people come to our province, more jobs being created than anywhere in North America. Order. Thank you. Restart the clock. The member for Scarborough, Rouge Park. Thank you, Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. We know that Ontario has a unique and carefully cultivated entrepreneurial spirit. Yet for more than a decade under the previous Liberal government Ontario's entrepreneurs felt that the previous government did everything to punish people starting a business. But our government is focused on supporting small businesses like the ones in my riding of Scarborough, Rouge Park making sure they have the support they need to strengthen their economic success. Speaker, will the Minister please explain how our government is creating conditions for Ontario's entrepreneurs to succeed? Good question. Development, job creation. We all recall the days under the Liberals when Ontario's entrepreneurs were closing up their shops, frustrated with a government that made businesses too risky and expensive. But our government changed all that. Lower taxes, less red tape brought a revival of Ontario's entrepreneurial spirit. There were 85,000 new business opened in Ontario last year alone, Speaker. Three, expect even more. An additional $2 million is being invested into futurepreneur Canada. They'll help 18-year-old and to 39-year-old young business people with mentorship and loans of up to $20,000. Speaker, entrepreneurs once again can take that next step and know that their government is here to support them all the way. Thank you. The supplementary question. Thank you, Speaker. Thank you to the Minister for his answer. It's great to hear that our government continues to support Ontario's entrepreneurs with starting and growing their businesses. My writing of Scarborough Roche Park is home to a thriving and innovative economy for entrepreneurs. And starting a business is how entrepreneurs turn their dream into a reality. But as well, we all know that our government is working with risk. Speaker, will the Minister please explain what else our government is doing to help entrepreneurs get their businesses off the ground? Mr. Director of Development, job creation and trade. Liberals made starting a business in Ontario costly and confusing. That is why our government reduced red tape, lowered taxes to $620,000 annually. And in addition to futurepreneurs, there's a wide range of other supports. Small business enterprise centres offer all the tools they need to start and grow their businesses. In the members' writing, he pushed very hard for $2 million in funding for Scarborough's Small Business Business Centre with a further $620,000 for their summer company and Starter Company Plus. That helps their area students and young entrepreneurs start their business in his writing. And we've provided more than $77,000 in digital transformation grants to over 30 businesses in Scarborough. Speaker, that is what this member is doing to help his entrepreneurs. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Ontario is facing a mental health crisis. Across the province, people are crying out for help. Mental health organisations are able to keep up with rising inflation costs, staffing shortages and increased demands for services. All Ontarians should have access to high quality, easily accessible, connected supports when and where they need it. Speaker, why won't the Premier properly address the mental health crisis in Ontario? Why? The Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions. Thank you for that question. Mental health and addictions is a priority for our government and that's why we're making crucial investments in mental health and addictions. We're creating a recovery-oriented system, a continuum of care by which everyone will be able to get supports and services as needed. And that's with respect to that making a $500 million investment annually over the next 10 years. In addition to that, recognizing the needs in the province, the Minister of Finance announced last week an additional investment of $202 million in support of housing. Why? Because it is one of the most important social determinants of health that must be addressed. That is investments that are being made by the province and it's being recognized by community members and perhaps in the supplemental, I'll give you some of the response from the service providers that are partnering with us to ensure that we deliver these services to the people of the province. Thank you for your question. Speaker, community agencies are facing a staffing crisis. Wait times for treatments grows longer and longer. I spoke to a woman who was sexually assaulted and nearly beaten to death. She lived in her car for months afterwards and she's been waiting for trauma counselling through the public health system for four months and counting. For $30,000 a month, she could pay $30,000. Kids wait an average 67 days for counselling and 92 days for intensive treatment. People are literally dying waiting for help. Why is this premier short changing public mental health services when lives depend on early and consistent access to care? The associate minister of mental health and addiction. Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Mr. Speaker, once again I reiterate we are in need of it. In fact, Camille Queenville, the CEO of CMHA, the vital structural base funding commitment announced today is the largest by any government for community mental health and addiction care in a decade. It will significantly help community based mental health and addiction agencies provide high quality care, retain dedicated and committed staff and address rising operating costs. The budget is an overwhelmingly important part of what we understand the strain our sector is facing as we support Ontarians living with mental health and addiction challenges. It also demonstrates a desire to help those most vulnerable in society with respect to children and youth. A quote forwarded to me from Tatum Wilson, Children's Mental Health we are pleased that today's budget commits significant youth funding to mental health and youth mental health supports. Mr. Speaker, our partners are listening to our parties. Thank you very much. Question for Thorne Hill. Thank you Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Labor, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. The previous Liberal governments missed many opportunities to build up Ontario. They didn't invest in skilled trades training and did support the trades people who are the most vulnerable in our economy. As a result of their indifference and neglect, Ontario is not only facing a shortage of skilled trades worker, our government is also left to manage and correct health and safety issues for workers that should have been fixed years ago. As an example, workers on some construction sites continue to face issues accessing clean washroom facilities. This is wrong, disrespectful state. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister please explain how our government is supporting the health and safety needs of workers on construction sites. Thank you very much. Thank you to the member for Thorne Hill for this really important question. A Speaker in Ontario today about 600,000 people work in construction. Each and every one of them are heroes and it's time they got the dignity and respect they deserve. Mr. Speaker, politicians and others have looked down their noses at people in the skilled trades no more. Over the last two months my ministry inspectors have visited more than 1800 job sites and inspected their washrooms. They found over 240 washroom related violations. Missing doors, missing walls, no place to wash your hands and worst of all, no toilets on job sites. Speaker, in what other industry would this be acceptable? I have spoken to people who are building our communities not livestock. I have spoken to workers who tell me washrooms have been an issue for generations. This ends today. We are working for workers and making sure our washrooms are close to these heroes. The supplementary question. Thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to the minister for that response and his dedicated work. The workers building a strong foundation should not have difficulty accessing clean and reliable washroom facilities while working. No one, especially those who are doing the necessary work to grow our province's economy, deserve this. Unlike the previous liberal government, we need to eliminate any barriers to entry for the skilled trades and we need to protect the health and safety of our workers. Our government must take direct action to protect and hold workplaces accountable for failing to uphold health and safety standards. Mr. Speaker can the minister please elaborate on what actions our government is taking to ensure health and safety standards are respected. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. I find it really interesting that the NDP and Liberals are heckling on this very important matter. It just goes to show you Mr. Speaker about workers in this province. But Mr. Speaker, under the leadership of our premier last month we announced our government is requiring cleaner washrooms for all 600,000 construction workers. We're doubling the number of washrooms on construction sites. We're mandating that they be clean private and well-lit. We're also requiring they have hand sanitizer when running water isn't possible and that large job sites have women's only washrooms. Mr. Speaker, it's unacceptable that anyone is making a career choice based on washroom quality. For over 100 years, Ontario's Minister of Labor had never done a washroom blitz. Under our government we launched the first one in history and the second blitz is starting this week. Only our government under the leadership of this premier is getting it done for our front line workers and our heroes, those construction workers. Mr. Speaker, in an emergency there's no worse feeling than being unable to contact emergency services or our loved ones. With the recent terrible acts of violence on the TTC having access to cellular service in the subway tunnels would make people feel safer in a crisis. The infrastructure is there but big telecom is not willing to use it. Does this government think that's right and if not what are they willing to do about it? Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the member opposite for the question. We are all deeply concerned about the increased number of violent incidents on public transit in the last few weeks. All levels of government agree on the importance of ensuring that transit systems across the province are safe. We remain open to continuing discussions with our partners and we remain connected when they're riding public transit. That's why in 2020 our government took steps to improve connectivity and implemented free Wi-Fi on all GO buses and trains. As the member opposite knows, the TTC is operated by the City of Toronto and as such the City of Toronto is responsible for finding a resolution with the telecommunications carriers. I encourage the City of Toronto and the future mayor to find on this matter as quickly as possible. Thank you. We need to promote ridership on the TTC which includes more service and better service. The TTC has been trying for more than a decade to introduce self-service across the system but there has been no interest from the big three Rogers, Bell or Telus. Self-service on the TTC plays a role in public safety and is a measure that should already be in place but isn't. Does the minister agree that in 2023 self-service on transit is essential? If so, what action is she going to take to fix this? The minister of transportation. Thank you Speaker and I thank the member opposite for the question. I absolutely agree that self-service on public transit is essential and that's why our government took the important step in 2020 of ensuring that we have free Wi-Fi on GO trains and buses. Public transit system under the jurisdiction of the province of Ontario now has free Wi-Fi because we agree that it's essential. Mr Speaker, we've been supporting public transit for years especially throughout the pandemic. The province has given over $1.5 billion to the TTC to ensure that its system could remain operational throughout the pandemic. We work closely with the TTC and we continue to urge them to find a resolution to ensure that riders on the TTC have free Wi-Fi as soon as possible. Thank you. The next question, the member for Ottawa Vanier. It's a bit odd that on a day we are going to debate a motion to protect police officers. I need to ask about protecting the public from police officers. Police officers hold important responsibility and to maintain public trust and confidence in our police services, we must ensure that our police officers are held to the ground under conduct. Unfortunately, that has not been the case with a particular officer in Leeds County. Despite being convicted for drug trafficking, forgery and sexual assault, this officer has been on paid leave since 2015 even making it on the sunshine list during this time. Mr Speaker, if receiving three separate convictions for serious offences is not enough for a police officer to lose their job, how can the public trust officers task with their safety? So can the Solicitor General explain why officers who have been convicted of serious offences are not automatically released from service in our police forces? Thank you Mr Speaker and I want to thank the member for her question. Let me be clear, no one convicted of serious and disturbing crimes like these should be receiving a further funded salary. Our government brought forward legislation, the Community Safety and Policing Act, that once enforced will allow a chief of police to suspend an officer without pay if the officer is charged with a serious offence and this legislation as members know, replaces a piece of legislation that's over 30 years old. Our expectation Mr Speaker is those who keep our province safe uphold the highest standards of professional ethics and Mr Speaker we will accept nothing less. A supplementary question. Thank you Mr Speaker, I agree with the minister actually. Mr Speaker the Community Safety and Policing Act that the Solicitor General is referring to was passed in this legislation over four years ago. Receiving Royal Assent on March 26th 2019, yet it has still not come into force. For shame. Similarly the Community Safety and Policing Act received Royal Assent almost two years ago on June 3 2021 and has also not yet come into force. Mr Speaker when the legislature adopts legislation it does so because again active changes are deemed necessary to resolve important and often pressing issues in our society. Certain clauses in the Community Safety and Policing Act for example would have enabled a chief police to suspend without pay and a chief police officer I mentioned earlier just like the Solicitor mentioned the Accommodation sector Registration and Guest Act was meant to help better come back human trafficking, an urgent issue in this province. Speaker can the government please explain why it has decided not to into force important legislation adopted by this legislature. Thank you Mr Speaker and again I want to thank the member for her comment. Mr Speaker I have directed the Deputy Minister to complete the discussions with our associations First Nation and Indigenous Police Services as soon as possible so that we can move forward with the enactment of the new legislation. I want to repeat again that no one convicted of a serious crime and disturbing crime like these should be receiving a taxpayer funded compensation. I want to thank the members of the government and all those that keep our province safe to uphold the highest standard of professional ethics and Mr Speaker I'll repeat it we will accept nothing less. Next question the member for Brampton West. Thank you Mr Speaker my question is for the Minister of Transportation for the people who live, work or travel through the country. I would like to thank the members of the family and businesses in Brampton West that the potential for an easier community is important to them. Mr Speaker for this reason the voters of Peel region supported our government's pledge to build Highway 413 and elected PCMPP in every riding along the planned route. Highway 413 is essential to elevating congestion creating infrastructure. It is not only for the people of Brampton but is necessary for the overall prosperity of Ontario. Speaker can the Minister please explain how Highway 413 will contribute to supporting our province economy. To reply Minister transportation. Thank you my colleague for the question he is absolutely right Speaker the people of Ontario and Peel region spoke loud and clearly. I would like to thank the members of the family for their support. Mr Speaker they want to see Highway 413 built. The NDP and the Liberals are completely out of touch with the challenges Ontarians are facing right now. Toronto already ranks as the 7th most congested city in the entire world and our major highways are at or reaching and building new highways will ensure that our hospitals have the resources that they need and that our grocery stores shelves are stocked. The status quo that the opposition parties want to maintain is hurting Ontario families and it's hurting our economy. Ontario needs Highway 413 and our government is delivering. Supplementary question. Thank you Speaker and thank you to the minister for that response. I would like to thank the members of the family for their support. The next step is to move forward or Peel region will become quickly over well. The previous government ignored the need to build vital transportation networks to keep up with the DTS growing population and expanding business needs. The hard working people in my riding know Highway 413 will be in the same level as the 13 but now the federal Liberals and Mr Gibo are trying to stop this project. Speaker, can the minister please elaborate on how government's investment in critical highway infrastructure is vital for Ontario's future. Minister of transportation. Thank you the Liberals in the NDP's efforts to disrupt and delay this project. $400 million to the cost of our goods. If we don't get Highway 413 built, the goods that we rely on will only get more expensive. Speaker, we know that building Highway 413 is the right thing to do and we cannot afford any more delay. In March of 2020, the federal government wrote to MTO that Highway 413 did not meet the criteria for a federal impact assessment. Yet months before the last election, they moved the goalpost. That's why last week my ministry sent a letter to the federal government expressing that this is unacceptable, especially for a project that is so critical to our province. Mr. Speaker, it's clear that Minister Gilbo will do anything to stop this project from getting built. I encourage the opposition to support this project and I encourage the liberal MPs in Peel region to stand up in their caucus and to stand up to their federal minister. Support Highway 413. The member for Toronto Centre. Thank you Speaker. The government recently passed Bill 46 which doubled down on a band-aid solution to our court staffing problems. Instead of expediting efforts to hire more judges, retired judges can now return to work up to 75% full-time hours. A plan that is expensive, flawed and unsustainable. My question to the Premier is simple. Why won't his government clear the court backlog with the proper plan, which includes actually appointing more new full-time judges. The Attorney General. Thank you Mr. Speaker. And to paraphrase the leader of the opposition, if the NDP spent more time on solutions and less time on headlines, they might actually support us in what we're doing Mr. Speaker. I would be pleased to say that in Bill 46 that was brought by my my Honourable friend, the Minister of Red Tape Reduction, which indeed did make a positive change. I would love to say that the NDP supported us with that Mr. Speaker. But in fact of course, as you would expect, they did not. Now Mr. Speaker, in terms of adding more judges, we have added another judge Mr. Speaker. We've added a judge to Fort Francis recently and I think that's a fantastic addition. We're constantly doing improvements to make sure we have court capacity. And I would ask my friend across the way why in fact the NDP didn't support us in Bill 46 as we enabled more capacity of judges to attend in court Mr. Speaker. Thank you Mr. Speaker. The Honourable member did not answer the question so let me give him a new one. Last week the case of a police officer accused of sexual assault was thrown out not because of the merits of the case but because it was assigned to a semi-retired judge who took an extended vacation which then caused an unconditional unconstitutional trial delay. These kinds of scheduling issues are entirely predictable and they will happen more and more as this government increases our reliance on part-time judges. Our justice system is now being held together by duct tape. Speaker, is this government so out of touch that they don't recognize the long-term investments needed to ensure that people of Ontario get access to justice in a timely fashion? Again Mr. Speaker, if they spend more time on the front lines and less time on headlines Mr. Speaker, we would actually be able to work together to improve the system but we'll do it without them. That's okay Mr. Speaker. I'm not going to speak to any particular case but I cannot believe that the NDP are calling for me to interfere with judicial independence and scheduling of courts Mr. Speaker. I just cannot believe it. Next question, the member for Richmond Hill. Thank you Mr. Speaker. My question is for Minister of Infrastructure. Constituents in my riding of Richmond Hill and individuals and families across the province continue to rely on our hard-working hospitals when they need access to healthcare and medical services. Unfortunately, under the previous Liberal government, critical healthcare infrastructure was not a priority. The failure to make investment in projects that were important to communities left our healthcare system crumbling, overcrowded and prepared, especially when we needed it the most. While significant work is already underway in many communities to improve and expand our hospitals, there is still more work that is urgently needed. Question. Minister, can I ask the Minister to explain how our government is addressing the healthcare infrastructure needs? Health and fear. Minister of Infrastructure. Mr. Speaker, our government was elected with a stronger mandate to build Ontario, particularly build a resilient healthcare system. In our most recent budget, we are allocating $48 billion to expand hospitals across the province of Ontario. $2 billion of that are grants that will go to increase bed capacity, increase the number of operating rooms, as well as expand emergency departments in communities. Last week, Mr. Speaker, we released a request for qualifications. I know my seatmate is very thrilled about this. This will be a brand new hospital in eastern Ontario, Mr. Speaker. We want to make sure that if you are in need of care in the province of Ontario, you will be able to receive it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to our Minister. Not only have you been working very hard on infrastructure for a hospital, you've worked very hard on transportation and education. I thank you for that. Investment made by our government into a hospital sector remain vital and is welcome news for the people of my riding in Richmond Hill and all Ontarians. However, the infrastructure needs of our long-term care homes are equally important and deserve immediate action. Sadly, after 15 years under the leadership of the previous Liberal Government, their neglect and indifference resulted in long-term care homes that were outdated, in disrepair and overcrowded. Our government must address capacity issues in the long-term care system now. My constituents in Richmond Hill and the people of our province backed our government to get shovels on the ground to accelerate and the development of the long-term care homes. Speaker, can the Minister please elaborate on how our government is addressing the infrastructure needs in our long-term care sector? Minister of infrastructure. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Just like building hospitals, we are building long-term care homes across this province, Mr. Speaker. Regular long-term care homes, we are making sure that they are built with modern standards that they are safe and that they are comfortable places for their patients. Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Long-term Care, my Ministry of Infrastructure, we're working together to make sure that we address the long wait lists. We are on our way to building 31,000 new beds and upgrading 28,000 beds across Ontario. Mr. Speaker, you've heard me speak about the rapid delivery program where we build a long-term care home in 13 months in Ajax. Mr. Speaker, we are almost ready to open two more long-term care homes in Mississauga, which will activate 600 beds. Mr. Speaker, hospitals and long-term care homes, we are protecting our most vulnerable. Thank you. The next question, the member for Mishkegawa James Bay. Mr. Speaker, my question I put to the Prime Minister. Thank you. Question for the Premier. A very large housing crisis. But imagine facing it for 30 years. Imagine having no access to your own traditional land to expand and build on. This is a sad and reality for Ewa Piscat First Nation and many others. These communities have solutions but are stuck behind government red tape and pass around from one government to another. Premier, when is this government going to step up, put a plan into action with a long-term solution as it should and start helping First Nations, like Ewa Piscat? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you to the member opposite for the question. There is an urgent need for adequate housing to meet the basic needs of many First Nations, especially across Ontario's far north. For many First Nations in Ontario, this has meant living in houses that lack basic surfaces, such as clean drinking water and adequate heating, ventilation and insulation. While the federal government is responsible for housing on reserve, Ontario provides support for off-resort, reserve affordable housing, supportive housing, capital repairs and rent supplements for Indigenous people. We will continue to work with Indigenous communities and organisations to ensure the federal government is living up to its responsibility to provide good, safe housing to First Nations, Inuit and MAT people across Ontario. Let me remind the government that they are signatory to Treaty 9. Years have gone by, yet nothing is moving. Since 2014, there was a task force in place. Then in 2018, a memorandum of understanding. Then a renewed relation commitment signed by your minister in 2019. All Ewa Piscat gods so far are two plastic igloos as temporary housing. Premier, First Nations chiefs are telling us your government is not acting on any of their issues. I ask again, when will this government put things in motion and actually do the work that is supposed to be done? Thank you Mr. Speaker. And again, thank you for the question. On October 2018, our government announced an additional $2.1 million to help create 21 transitional housing units for Indigenous people enrolled in educational programs at the Matawa Training and Wellness Centre. In March, our government invested an additional $6.7 million in the Indigenous Supportive Housing Program, bringing the total annual investment to $30 million. We recognize how important culturally appropriate housing is for Indigenous communities and how critical these services are to improving the physical, mental, and social well-being of Indigenous people across Ontario. Through the Indigenous Supportive Housing Program, our government is more than doubling Ontario's annual investment in Indigenous Supportive Housing to ensure those at risk for homelessness have access to the resources they need and deserve. The next question. The member for Brampton East. Thank you, Speaker. I'd like to first congratulate the member for Mississauga Streetsville and the Associate Minister of Housing. My question to the Associate Minister is with the ongoing global economic uncertainty, our government continues to make significant investments in programs to help the most vulnerable in our province for people who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness. It is essential that they have access to the right housing supports and services they need. However, the reality is that Ontario has both an affordable housing crisis and a homelessness crisis. We have already worked underway to bring forward more measures to address the serious issues. Speaker, can the Associate Minister please explain what additional supports will be provided for those experiencing homelessness or for those who are at risk of homelessness as a part of our recent budget? The Associate Minister of Housing. Thank you, Speaker. I really want to thank the great member from Brampton East for the incredible work that he's doing in his writing. I'm so proud to say that the 2023 budget has provided an additional $202 million to the homelessness prevention program. And say 40% increased from the previous amount bringing the total close to $700 million in annual investments. Also, Speaker, collaborating with multi-ministries to ensure that the right supports are in the right place at the right time for those most vulnerable is so critical. Speaker, the housing supply crisis is impacting Ontarians right across this province and we know it will take time to fully implement the policies we have put forward. But I'm confident with this Premier and this Government we are heading in the right direction. Thank you. Thank you to the Associate Minister for that response. It's welcome news that the 2023 budget provides greater funding investments that focus on providing vulnerable Ontarians with the support they need to stay in their homes and to get the housing they need. For many Ontarians that need our help this funding will go a long way to improve their living situation that nature and scope of homelessness is different in every region and it's essential that our Government continues to work closely with community partners to make the most impact on reducing and preventing homelessness. Speaker, can the Associate Minister please explain how this additional funding will address the needs for individuals in the community? Thank you. Thank you once again to my colleague for the question. The best way to deal with homelessness is to be proactive and prevent it in the first place. We've heard from organisations and key stakeholders across the province who are pleased to see we are increasing funding for the homelessness prevention program and have expressed to us how much this means to them. For example, the Chief Accountability Office for the Canora District Service Board is grateful to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing and the Government of Ontario for this historic increase in the homelessness prevention program and service managers ability to better address the needs of our communities. Addressing Ontario's affordable housing and homelessness crisis will take all levels of government to work together. The flexibility built into the HPP program will facilitate community driven solutions and addressing homelessness to increase supportive housing options for vulnerable people. Speaker, local service managers and representatives know their communities best and it is our job to ensure they have the tools and resources they need to deliver effective support to those who need it most. Thank you, Speaker. Thank you, Speaker. Through the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, in AMO's response to the recent budget, they stated they are, quote, disappointed not to see commitments from the Government when and how the Government will follow through on its commitment to make municipalities whole from the fiscal impacts of Bill 23. Ontario municipalities are losing $5 billion in infrastructure revenue. Why is this Government breaking their word and cutting funding to municipalities and housing at a time when the need to support our municipal partners has never been greater? Mr. Missful Affairs and Housing. I know why the member opposite is a finance critic for the Democratic Party. Speaker, as I said in response to the Leader of the Opposition last week the number one and number two request from our municipal partners for the budget was more dollars for supportive housing and more wraparound services for mental health and addiction. We delivered on that budget something that at second reading the NDP voted against. You know who last week really let municipalities down? And Justin Trudeau. There was no infrastructure dollars in last week's budget for municipalities. There was no support for the City of Toronto and I had a great meeting on Friday with Deputy Mayor McKelvie thanking us for our commitment on supportive housing and on our contributions that we promised and there was no clarity on any of the provincial or territorial requests on housing as part of the National Housing Strategy we continue to be shortchanged for $480 million something that Jagmeet and Justin need to fix. Thank you Minister. My question is back to the Minister for Municipal Affairs and Housing. Peel Region has a housing master planned to build 2,400 new affordable homes on public land by 2028. The member for Brampton South even went to the announcement to celebrate the plan's launch. The problem is this Peel's housing plan is now in jeopardy of failing because the region is losing $200 million in revenue because of your government's bill 23. Minister how much money exactly are you going to give is the government going to give to Peel so their affordable housing plan can be revived. Thank you Mr. Mayor. Speaker the bottom line is that municipal support from the province is at an all-time high. We want to talk about taxing affordable housing in the middle of a housing supply crisis well I've got a message back to the NDP. The housing minister says no way. The member for Simcoe Gray Thank you Mr. Speaker my question is to the hard working Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. The Lake Simcoe watershed contains key natural urban and agricultural systems that are vital to Ontario and to the people in my riding of Simcoe Gray. As our government continues to build Ontario and grow our economy evolving pressures like population growth present ongoing challenges to our ecosystems and waterways. Some of my constituents have expressed concerns about the sustainability of land and water uses across Lake Simcoe. Our government must continue to respond to emerging issues and adapt with solutions to protect critical aspects of our environment. Speaker can the minister please explain what action our government is taking to protect Lake Simcoe now and for future generations. Good question. Minister of the Environment, Hon. Speaker Thank you Speaker and I thank that fantastic member for it's an important question. It's on the minds of many whom I've had the opportunity to visit in the Lake Simcoe region and that's why my ministry and the incredible team at Ministry of Environment Conservation and Parks is working hard to implement the Lake Simcoe protection plan Speaker by working with partners including Indigenous communities, municipalities Speaker we recognize the need to manage and expand and lay the critical infrastructure required for growth while also protecting the environment. That's why I'm proud to say Speaker that working with communities there we've ensured that this government under the leadership of Premier Ford has made the largest single investment into phosphorus production in that Lake's history. That's building the critical infrastructure we need building the critical infrastructure we need to support tomorrow's growth while also protecting Lake Simcoe for generations to come and I'm very proud of the leadership of this Premiering Government. Supplementary question. Thank you Speaker and thank you to the minister for his response. I'm pleased to hear that our government is implementing measures to guarantee that the future of this vital resources protected. Under the leadership of our government we have seen improvements such as a decrease in the amount of algae in Lake Simcoe which greatly enhances water quality over the long term. It is evident that our government remains committed to improving the overall ecosystem of Lake Simcoe. Speaker can the minister please elaborate on how our Lake Simcoe phosphorus reduction strategy will support the neighboring communities. Minister of the Environment. Thank you Speaker. I appreciate again the question from the member opposite. Speaker we understand that more needs to be done to preserve and protect this valuable lake. That's why I'm again proud to say that this Premier made the largest investment in phosphorus reduction in that Watershed's history Speaker and we're working with municipalities right now and the region to implement that project. You know the first time I ever heard members opposite ask about this important phosphorus reduction initiative was when the member from Hamilton West Ancaster Dundas wrote to me asking why it hasn't happened sooner Mr. Speaker. You know it's not lost on me or anyone in the Lake Simcoe watershed that when that party had the opportunity to prop the previous Liberal Government up they voted to send sewage into Lake Simcoe the shallow receptor of body and it was just shocking. Shocking to Chief Big Canoe. Shocking to neighbouring municipalities. We're going to work with the member for a sector. Thank you very much Speaker. Conservative Bill 124 is an unconstitutional attack on the working people of Ontario. Superior Court of Justice Marcus Conan said Bill 124 infringes on the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. On quoting Speaker the government was using Bill 124 in favor of the government. It is difficult to see how there can be an effective collective bargaining system when the employer has been given the trump card of compensation increases lower than the rate of inflation and lower than freely bargaining agreements. Speaker all enterians have paid the price of Premier's wage capping Bill 124. Just look at the staffing crisis that have hit our hospitals and our schools as workers quit feeling disrespected overworked or will he continue to attack workers by appealing the ruling from the Superior Court of Justice. President of the Treasury Board. Thank you very much Mr Speaker. This government has made historic and unprecedented investments into healthcare. And the fact is the members opposite for the leaders of the opposition and the opposition party have voted against every single one of those measures Mr Speaker. When we launched the largest recruitment of health and human resources in this province which attracted almost 14,000 nurses to register all of those measures that we put in place to make that happen the members opposite voted against every single one of those measures. Shame. When we increased healthcare funding last year by over 5.2 billion dollars Mr Speaker the largest increase in the history of this province the members opposite voted against every single one of those measures. Mr Speaker our government will continue to make historic and unprecedented investments into healthcare and we hope the members opposite support us in those investments. A supplementary question. Thank you Speaker he didn't even come close to answering the question. He only voted against bill 28 when you attacked education workers. How to accept your workers and we'll do it again. New Democrats believe that investing in nurses is the best way to improve access to timely, safe and quality healthcare but unfortunately conservative bill 124 treats healthcare heroes as healthcare zeros and as a result many nurses have left the profession we all know this. Those that remain continue to face increasing levels of violence, exhaustion, burnout and PTSD. As bad bill 124 is unconstitutional the Ontario Nurses Association went to arbitration Speaker and the arbitrator's decision increased benefits, wages, premiums and vacations for onus non-profit nursing home healthcare professionals. Speaker 60,000 of onus frontline healthcare professionals will be negotiating a new contract with the Ontario Health Hospital Association. My question is will the premier kill bill 124 over the conservatives continue to fight on chair's workers with this unconstitutional wage gap. Thank you Speaker and thank you to the member opposite for the question. In terms of nursing environments our government has invested 73 million over three years to train and provide clinical placements for over 16,000 psw's and nursing students in addition 35 million to increase nursing enrollment to add 2,000 nurses to the health care system 34 million over four years to increase enrollment at six indigenous institutes 100 million to add 2,000 nurses to the long-term care sector by 2024-25 eligible psw's will receive up to $6,000 a year. We also have a nursing program transformation partnering with MCU and LTC that will increase access to nursing and fully assisted colleges. Mr. Speaker we're investing in psw's nurses colleges and universities and international students international nurses and recruitment. Question period for this morning this house stands in recess until 1 p.m.


July is going to be hotter than ever because you get up to $50 off any smartphone at Appalachian Wireless to your agreement required. Better service? Bigger savings? That's today's Appalachian Wireless, an East Kentucky network company. The murder trial of Ronald and Loretta Wright continues in Floyd Circuit Court. As the prosecution continues to bring witnesses to the stand, jurors heard testimony from law enforcement officials and family members today and even heard a recording of Ronald Wright when he was interviewed by Kentucky State Police Troopers at the hospital after the shooting occurred. 67 year old Ronald Wright is charged with murder in the 2013 shooting death of 54 year old Famer Holbert.  The alleged murder happened at Famer Holbert's residence at Holbert Lane in McDowell. Both sides are blaming the incident on the death of Ronald and Loretta's son, which happened in 2012. However, there is disagreement about whether the shooting was a case of self-defense or revenge. Ronald Wright, Famer Holbert and his wife Lorraine were all injured during the incident. Seven children were inside the home at the time of the shooting. None of them were hurt. The trial will continue tomorrow with no word on when it will end. Reporting in Prestonsburg, I'm Shelby Still for EKB News.


When the desire of your heart is for my presence more than my power, and is for my presence more than my promises, when I'm the reward for you, and you willingly put yourself into the cleft of hiding, God says that's when my goodness and my glory will pass before you. Guys, we are contending for our generation. We are contending for our city. We are contending for sons and daughters and prodigals. We are contending for a move of God in our city. You want to know what Radiant Church is about? We're not just about building buildings and bigger churches and making a name for ourselves. God has been so good to us. But at the end of the day, if you were to sh** everything away, the one thing that should remain is a burning pillar of fire or the presence of God that has marked our city and our generation. That's why we exist.


This is theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Wikibon's production of HP Discover. This is day two, we're here live in Barcelona. We have a special segment now, Vish Malshan is here. He works in HP Storage Group. We're going to unpack some of the things that are going on in Flash. And also, Pete Robinson is here. He's an IT practitioner with ExactTarget, and we're going to talk about how he's applying Flash and what impact that's having on the business. Gentlemen, welcome. Thank you, guys. Thank you. Actually, Pete, I want to start with you. Tell us about ExactTarget. What's the company all about? So we are a digital marketing company. We provide a platform through our private cloud for marketers to reach out to their customers via a multitude of methods, email, social, web, and many others. So you help brands sell stuff, really? Yes. Ultimately, yeah. Okay, Vish, let's talk a little bit about the three-par all-Flash storage approach you guys chose not to go out and acquire a company. You chose to do it in three-par itself. I talked to a shook last night, and he was saying to me, explaining sort of why that was, but I wonder if you could sort of reiterate that. Sure, Dave, be my pleasure. So from our perspective, Flash is disruptive. And depending on your starting point, that either means a new storage architecture or incorporating Flash as a media. And most have had to adopt a new storage architecture to accommodate Flash. And this unfortunately proliferated a fragmented complexity, silo, as additional complexity, and requires compromises, right? When you bring a new storage architecture, it always requires some sort of compromise as an architecture matures. And so if one could adopt Flash in an existing architecture where Flash becomes a new media, yet still deliver the Flash acceleration that is required for a new media, that would be ideal, right? And I think the challenge is it's hard to do. It's hard to bring an existing architecture and bring a brand new disruptive technology and not suffer from compromises, right? And I think that's one of the things that the approach we took with three-par because customers can avoid the risk, they can avoid trade-offs, and they basically can get a continuum of data services and they can adopt Flash when they're ready. Okay, so you're, when we talked about this last summer, you really emphasized, hey, we got a full stack. We started developing this thing in the early 2000s and we've hardened that stack. We're going to apply that now to Flash. You see a lot of the Flash players don't have a stack. I mean, TMS is a good example. IBM will use the SVC and they'll use that stack. You see EMC with its acquisition trying to build up its stack. All the, all Flash guys, you see what Violin's trying to do with Symantec.  So that was your big bet is that you're going to, now the obvious question is, okay, but can you bring the same value proposition as the startup guys? Yes. With regard to performance and, you know, IOPS and latency and scale. Yeah, and I think, Dave, there is a difference between a traditional storage architecture and a modern storage architecture like 3-par, right? And, you know, early on in our offering, we actually been through a couple of media transitions. We've been through a couple of technology transitions and the robustness of the architecture allowed us to bring Flash in as a media without the compromises. Now, Flash is different. There's no doubt about it. And we do handle the Flash differently. We recognize when it's in the system and we operate with it differently. Okay.  You were the first storage admin at ExactTarget and you had, I think you said you had no experience with 3-par. This is before Flash was the big trend. And so share with our audience what you found, what you discovered, what the experience was like. Sure. You know, when I came on board, went through the same learning curve that a lot of customers do where literally our training was a two hour morning session and then we went to lunch. I honestly, I was looking at our SE going, seriously, what else is there to, come on, it's not that easy. It can't be that easy. And, you know, we come back from lunch and we were provisioning and managing arrays after lunch. And you were able to manage a lot of storage pretty much off the bat, right?  So once you understand the terminology and the concepts, it's very easy to start applying it. You know, to give you kind of a reference point, when I was hired, we had one individual managing over two petabytes of 3-par and he was not a storage guy. He was a developer that became a sys admin who became a storage admin. He grew with the company as we grew and he was really learning as he went along. So when we came on, when I came on board, I was really, you know, initially shocked how, number one, how easy it was. Number two, how one individual could manage an environment this size. Yeah, we were talking about last night, I think I've seen some data from, I think it was Gartner that the average is well under a petabyte. And I think I was sharing with you guys that I was at a customer council last week and one of the folks on the council was very proud of the fact that they were managing a petabyte per person. You're saying it was over two per person. Even though I've said publicly that, I think petabytes per person is kind of a funny metric. It's an easy one to track, but it doubles every 18 months. Volumes is probably a better indicator of complexity, but nonetheless, it's hard to... Well, and you mentioned volume. I mean, you look at chains, right? You know, how many requests are coming in? That really is that indicator of how efficient can you be. Today, we do most of our provisioning via scripts and we're extremely efficient at it. We're starting next year. We're going to be automating our provisioning even further to the point where we're literally push-button deploying our applications using the interfaces that 3PAR provides. Yeah, so 3PAR has always been kind of the gold standard of simplicity of high-end storage. I mean, that's been well understood. Okay, so talk about your adoption of Flash. So the summer 3PAR announces this HP, the All Flash Array. When did you bring that in? Were you an early customer? Talk about that a little bit. Sure, so we had a chance to get an early look at it this summer before Discover. And we, you know, in our history looking at 3PAR, what we found is that the arrays behave remarkably similar to each other.  And the only difference really is is how high or low do I start and where do I end up? But that line tends to be very similar across the different product lines. So by the time the setting 450 had come out, we had already made a fairly large investment in Flash drives on the P-10000 series. So we already had a chance to see the 3PAR Flash in production. And what we were seeing, again, really matched what we were expecting from it. We were seeing the very low latency on the back end.  We've really been able to outlast or out-drive what a standard hard drive normally handles in a standard storage array. So we were already at that bleeding edge that we needed to decide, do we just start buying more and more hard drives or do we look at creating a performance tier strictly on Flash? And after seeing what the P-10000 was doing, after seeing that that performance tier was not only performing on how we were expecting it, looking at a truly optimized array running only Flash, it was a no-brainer. So what were your concerns prior to bringing in the all-Flash array? What were some of the things that you said, I'm going to be watching? What were some of the things you were skeptical about? Well, the one thing that we've looked at as we looked at all the different Flash vendors out there, the one thing that stands out is really capacity at scale. Does my application fit into whatever platform that you're selling me? And at 90 plus percent of the vendors that come in here and try to sell us on Flash storage right off the bat, my application doesn't fit on Flash. So when we looked at a 7450, the first question we had to answer was, does my application fit within the footprint that the 7450? You mean, can I fit my entire app? Exactly, the data, does my data fit into that space? The surprise that I had, Dave, as a vendor producing this equipment, I was surprised at the capacity people were putting on these 7450s, right? And I asked customers like Pete and others, and their point was simple, if I can't lay out my data, I can't use it no matter how fast it goes. I need a sufficient amount of capacity to lay out my data. So paint a picture of the apps that you're using for Flash. Well, so we rolled out, this particular application was a VDI deployment. It was a brand new project that we had not deployed VDI before. So there was some unknowns around what the application size was going to look like. We had some good estimates, but estimates are just that. They're guests based on what we think the application's going to do. As we look at the 7450 use cases, we're looking at doing more with it. We have a very large database in a VM or environment that I want to start testing on it on all Flash Array, but that capacity has always been that really limiting factor. So when three part came out with the 400 gig MLC, we finally hit that tipping point and capacity where now my application starts to be more feasible and fitting into that disk space. That's the announcement here. Well, no, that was a June announcement. That was a June announcement. So now they're coming out with the... 480 and the 920? The 920, so the capacity's continued to increase. And as the capacity increases on these Flash Arrays, the portfolio of applications that have a potential to now fit into that size increases as well. So you talked about VDI, and VDI is always a challenge. I mean, with the boots or storms, you mentioned sizing. It's really tricky to size VDI. And so what are the results been the VDI that I want to talk about the database? What did you say? It was exactly what we expected. We've rolled out dozens of three part arrays over the years with really no issues. HP installs it. They hand us the keys to this new array and we go to town provisioning storage. We had, I believe we had, we had Luns provisioned off of the array the day that it was installed. And our project, which had an extremely aggressive timeline, rolled out actually slightly ahead of schedule. And users are happy? I mean, performance, I mean... Performance has been, well, better than expected. Our average service times that I looked at it before I came to the conference, we're averaging about 300 microseconds regardless of what the workload is right now. Okay, and when you think of all flash arrays, of course you do take a database. You mentioned you got a virtualized system. Is it Oracle database? We're running SQL server today. Okay, so you got SQL server and you're going to put the entire database on an all flash array. Are you doing that today? Or is that the plan? We're not doing that today. That's one of the options that we're looking at down the road. Again, looking at the capacity, we have countless, several databases that are tens of terabytes in size. So when I look at putting a database that continues to grow, I have to know how much capacity can I grow into before I literally have to move it off to something else. Right, okay, and today those databases obviously leveraging spinning disks, right? Which is this mechanical bottleneck. So what do you expect to see when you move to an all flash? Well, we rolled out, so we rolled out on the P-10,000s with AO and Flash. And what we saw was on the back end, we're getting a consistent 600 microseconds on actual flash drives across the platform. And if you look at the percentage of IO that we're pushing to that tier now, we're now averaging 50% of that IO for my database environment in one use case in particular, all being driven to that 600 microsecond service time compared to the other 50%, which today sits on hard drives that are running between eight to 15 milliseconds. So when I look at my database, I'm getting a larger percentage of my IO requests now being serviced from that low latency tier, which is what we would expect. Right, now, are you going to evaluate other products or have you evaluated other products? We have. And usually I tell them the same thing. The first thing I hear is we can do a million IOps, two million, five million, 10 million. Billion? Yeah, okay, it doesn't matter to me. It's more of a question of use case, scalability, manageability.  That's the attraction to you, predominantly. Yes. You're looking for, you're coming from wrong, but it doesn't necessarily have to be the absolute best performance on the planet if you can get comparable performance with the stack and the manageability and the same point of management. The same ease of use. I don't want to compromise. Is that a fair statement that I made? Yes, I don't want to compromise on the features that I have today. I don't want to, I'm not looking. What features? What are the things that you want in that all flash array that you're leveraging heavily today? Well, as an example, we're getting more and more heavy into data protection. So snapshots, replication, the automated provisioning, all these different things that we're starting to roll out work really, really well when we have that unified platform of a 7450 or P10,000 or 7400, where we don't have to spend extra time re-engineering and redesigning that wheel. There's one wheel and it works regardless of where the application sits. What about the cost? Everybody used to focus on the cost. I want to have that discussion because you guys got to pay the checks, write the checks. So what about the cost factors? Well, cost per gig is always the first question that comes up. But my argument here recently has been that cost per IUP, dollar per IUP is becoming equally as important from a planning perspective because if I look at the performance that I need from my application, yeah, I can go buy seven racks worth of spinning disk and get the performance I need. But now my performance is where I need it and my efficiency is there. But from a capacity perspective, I'm hugely inefficient now from a power and rack space perspective. So when I look at the dollar per IUP at a more equal level as the dollar per gig, all of a sudden the higher dollar per gig cost on a flash drive starts to really come back in line with what you see with a hard drive. Because of the business value. But now, as well, a lot of the data reduction techniques being applied to flash lower the cost. Now some of the competitors, Vish, are going to say, well you guys don't have, just take an example of Ddupe. A lot of guys are doing Ddupe inline compression and that's how they're competing from a cost standpoint. You don't have some of those features. How do you respond? So, you know, Dave, I think several aspects there. So first of all, with flash, you want to be very right efficient. Not only from a capacity perspective and cost perspective, but also from a media endurance perspective. So many of the same white striping capabilities that we've done on the three power arrays, which were predominantly in the past, back end, this loaded, that white striping across the controllers and the ports, allows us to write very effectively onto the array. Now, the other thing I can tell you, Dave, zero detection. We use it a lot in VMware environments. That minimized cost. Thin provisioning still applies in the flash environment. And for things like Ddupe and compression, stay tuned. Yeah, so, okay. So, but you're comfortable where you are today in terms of your ability from a storage reduction standpoint to compete in the marketplace and saying you got more to come. And can you confirm that? I mean, based on your independent evaluation of other suppliers, HB from a cost competitive standpoint is there in your view? I believe so. I mean, we can always, you know, my former director always like to say, you know, the first one is always free, right? So, cost is always, you know, a key indicator of, you know, what we look to buy, obviously. All right, Jess, we're getting the hook. So thanks very much for coming on and sharing your story, Pete and Vish. Really appreciate it. Thank you very much, Dave. Appreciate it. We'll be right back after this word. Keep right there, John Furrier and I. We'll be right back with our next guest. We're live from HB Discover.


What's the word y'all? The last day for me as an NBA fan has been very interesting. We found out that Kimmel Walker is no longer the rotation for the Knicks and we found out that Blake Griffin is no longer in the rotation for the Nets. And immediately when I saw that notification, I felt a bit surprised, but then I had to take a step back. These are players, and when I saw the notifications, I was thinking about the name of Kimmel Walker and the name of Blake Griffin. But these are players that are later in their career that signed to their organizations for a small amount of money, that didn't have a lot of expectations for them personally, but have been performing well under that expectation. Because of that, they're out of the rotation. And it's a bit weird, man, because just a couple years, not even two full calendar years ago, Kimmel Walker was an All-Star Starter. I was there in Chicago, man. He had this puffy fur coat green in the press box. He was an All-Star Starter, and since that moment, it's been completely downhill and he's completely out of the rotation. Blake Griffin played one of his best seasons of his entire career, just like what, in 2019? When the last year in Detroit, or the second to last year in Detroit, and now he's completely out of the rotation. And when I say stuff like this, it makes me feel old. Now, I'm only 25 years old. I understand that that is not old at all. But I don't wanna say I grew up with Blake Griffin, I blew up with Kimmel Walker, but them and their primes, them as they're starting to make a name for themselves over the past decade, is what turned me from just a kid or a teenager that loved the game of basketball to someone that wanted to talk about a full time as a living. So to see them in a twilight of their careers that completely out of the rotation and maybe out of the league soon, makes me feel old and I hate it.  These dudes have been playing so much basketball in just two kind of the years. And I guess we've kind of seen that with the amount of injuries we've had in the last couple of years, but if there's anything to take away from this video, it's always something to always say. Enjoy basketball, y'all, because once the players start to hit their 30s, you never really know what's gonna happen. Kemba Walker was an All-Star star just a little bit ago, then he had some surgeries, he's had some problems his entire career, but once you hit, it's something about once you see that 3-0, these kids dramatically changed. So the 30 plus-year-old players, as you see right now, still doing their thing in the NBA, enjoy that because you never really know what can happen or when it can happen. But I do want to talk about these players losing their spot in the rotation and why we got to this point and what does it mean for the teams who start off with Kemba Walker. I think that Kemba Walker's story is even a little bit sadder because he had been advertised as the hometown kid coming home and I think majority of NBA fans saw what he did last year and kind of subverted the expectations for Kemba. We didn't expect him to go there and be an All-Star, but for the next, they need a shot creation, need a shot making once they got to the playoffs. Adding the guy like Kemba Walker was a low-risk, high-reward thing and they gave him about 20 games and boom, he's no longer in a rotation. But even just like two weeks ago, when we were doing our review of the NBA City jerseys, their photo shoot was Kemba Walker and it was revolving around the hometown kid. And unfortunately for them or for Kemba, he just hasn't been able to perform at all. When I watch next games, there are sometimes two to three minute periods where he looks great, but then all the other minutes, he doesn't. We're talking about a player that's had so many surgeries or so many injuries with his lower body, a guy that relied on his quickness, that quick first step, that crossover and those things aren't getting his defenders anymore. The only thing that he has really been bringing to the team is his ability to shoot the three ball, but that's pretty much it. You take a look at the worst lineups in the entire league this season, it's the New York Knicks starting lineup and we question how long will it take for Tom Thibodeau to make some changes? I personally didn't think it was gonna be Kemba Walker losing the spot to Alec Burks, but that is the decision he decided to make. Now there are rumors about them trying to get him to a different team because I believe everybody in the league likes Kemba Walker. I interviewed Kemba, he was the greatest dude. I didn't even know if that video was on YouTube. Let me check. It is, the Kemba Walker video went up four months ago. It's kind of crazy it's been that long. What you don't see in that video, and I recommend y'all go watch the video, we were reacting to highlights from me and Kemba Walker, but we're virtual. He was in his big old mansion because it's Kemba Walker, he made a lot of money in his career and he was like taking us around his house, trying to figure out the perfect spot for us to get his wifi connection. He dropped out of the call like six times and I remember my producer was texting him like don't worry we can reschedule, but he was like no I wanna do the show with y'all. So we went around his entire house until we found the perfect room with good wifi connection. He's just such a good guy and them trying to give him to another team gives him another chance. I respect, but I feel like it'll be hard for a team to really buy in on Kemba Walker. Now the good thing about that is that he's only making X amount of dollars. It's not a lot. So if a team did wanna take another flyer on Kemba Walker you probably could, but what is the role for him? He's probably not a star in the NBA anymore. Is he just a dude that you pay $8 million a year for and he gives you 15 of decent minutes off the bench? I don't really know. And the way Tom Thibodeau talked about it, let me read the quote. It says that Tom Thibodeau says he has great respect for Walker and all he's accomplished. That tells me that I don't know if there's gonna be another opportunity for him to potentially get back into the rotation. I don't think that's the same case for Blake Griffin. So let's talk about Blake. Blake dropped out of the rotation. I remember before the season started, what is his name? Zac Lowe's, I love Zac Lowe's podcast. And one of the major criticisms he had about the Brooklyn Nets is that they had Lamarcus Soldiers, they had James Johnson, they had Paul Milsep and they had Blake Griffin. These are all four players that at one point in their careers are like a power forwards, but now as the game has evolved, they're not fast enough to run the four anymore and the game is getting smaller. So we're talking about four players that are probably gonna play most of their minutes at center position and they all are kind of redundant in what they can and can't do. So when you have four players that play very similar, you're gonna drop the guy that plays the worst. And so far this season has been Blake Griffin. He is, last time I checked, let me go to, I think it was like 16% from three? 16% from three is what it said right now. He's average of five points per game, five rebounds to assist. Again, too slow to keep up with the power forwards in the league, but kind of too small to really raise the defensive ceiling of a team at the center position. And I love the way Blake Griffin had revitalized his career, right? He had came into the league as a dude that was known as a dunker, dunker, dunker. And I actually interviewed Blake Griffin, John Wall and Kimball Walker. Isn't that kind of crazy? All of these older dudes that are like going through their own stuff right now. And we talked about this in this interview where it's like he wanted to reinvent himself because a casual NBA fan saw Blake Griffin as a dude that can dunk, dunk, dunk, but he knew he could be so much more than that. So he started to work on his three-point shot very early in his career, but he never broke it out in games because he spent seasons and seasons trying to get good at it. And then he did. Like what season was that? His last season in LA, when they basically told, they remember they, the Clippers are kind of singing for this one. They signed Blake Griffin. They were basically saying like, we want you to stay in here. We're gonna have your number in the Raptors and they traded my boy like 30 games to the season. Quickly, like that. It's a business. I understand that, but still. But that last year, he had got to the point where he was attempting five three-pointers a game. He's shooting 45% from three, which is a little less than league average, but compared to the rest of his career before that he had never shot threes before. And this season he came into the scene, he was hitting his threes, and he ended up in Detroit. And that first full season of Detroit, all star, all NBA, he was a dude that was the, he was the team. And I remember he led them into the playoffs and he was injured in the playoffs and he tried to play through it. It was just like a lot of heart for Blake Griffin in those moments. And y'all know Chris Paul is my favorite player of all time. So I watched a lot of Chris Paul. I mean, a lot of Blake Griffin as he was the dunker, but like his rookie season, 22 points per game. And it was just, now I'm reminiscing. Again, this one makes me feel old. But he redid his entire career. Like, I mean, he said in this interview that he was always a solid playmaker, but he played with Chris Paul. He didn't really need to play make like that because he had one of the greatest playmakers of all time on this team. So he got to Detroit. They gave him the ball, let him be like this, this point forward. And it was amazing for him. And then the injury started to kick in and since then it has never been the same. But the thing about Blake Griffin is that he plays so hard. That's why I think that he still has the opportunity. I don't think this is the last run to see of Blake Griffin with the next. Like, I don't think he's gonna be at a rotation for the rest of the season. I think that they're gonna give him some more spot minutes eventually and hopefully his shot comes around because he plays so hard. He leads the league and charges drawn per game. He puts his body on the line every single night. Maybe that's one of the reasons why he struggles to stay healthy. But he draws charges. He's a good locker room dude. But with those four guys, LaMarcus is playing out of this world. And that's another thing that contributed to Blake Griffin falling out of the rotation because LaMarcus is playing so well. James Johnson has been really good for them. And though Paul Millsap has been up and down, he's been better than Blake Griffin. So it feels weird, man. Those two dudes, bro, out of the rotation. And now we got John Wall trying to be freed. And yeah, free John Wall. You should be able to play. All right, man, that's all I really have to say. Let me know what you think about these two players.  I'm closing out every video by saying this from now on out. Enjoy basketball, y'all.


And nationals of West African countries are having a tough time meeting up with new resident permits in the Central African Republic, a number of them guarded at the Nigerian Embassy in Bangui on Monday to denounce the new fees for acquiring permits. They criticized the charges as exorbitant and discriminatory against West Africans. Central African Republic's parliament recently approved changes to the immigration law which prescribes 100,000 francs or 45,000 naira as fees for resident cards for citizens of the Ekoas block which is double the fee for nationals of Central African states.


achievement of our technical staff. In this episode we're going to review some of the changes that community media in Davis had to make because of the COVID-19 shelter in place and to tell us a lot more about these changes is I have here with me who is the programming and training manager at Davis Media Access. Thank you so much Alex for being here. Tell us. Thank you for having me. Very nice to see you remotely. We generally see each other face to face but this is great and I see that you are giving the good example wearing your mask. Yeah. Changes that you had to make really quickly to adjust to the pandemic and the shelter in place. Can you tell us about it? It was quite a feat actually. Sure. Well there were a couple things. So obviously before the pandemic started and the shelter in place orders came down we used to have a lot of volunteers. It would come down to the station to make media. They would make television shows. They would edit their videos using our edit suites. We had an entire slate of DJs that came in that would do their radio shows on our low power FM radio station KBRT 95.7 which serves the community of Davis here in California and we were also gearing up for our summer workshops in which the kids come in and they learn hands-on how to use the equipment to make television and learn all about the process of what it means to make media and edit. Further it was also getting ready for a huge event for the big day of giving with dozens of other non-profits which was a big in-person event. So all of a sudden we had to close the building essentially and figure out how are we going to do all of these things and get word out about the various community announcements. So the yellow counties, the restrictions and shelter in place we need to get that information out because we have a radio station and we manage two television channels here. So we were a source of information in addition to of course the internet. So I think like everyone we struggle to get our hands on masks, sanitation things, wipes, all kinds of things that were going to be needed to allow anyone into the building at all and then on top of that even though a lot of research had been done and we were actually in the process of remodeling our facilities to accommodate more remote productions and things like that that process had was still in the planning stages so we had to push everything forward from acquiring iPads that people could check out with things on them and remotely managing them laptops and decide what to do about the children's workshops during the summer which unfortunately we had to cancel because there's there's just no way to have kids together hands on you know and not be transferring germs around and things like that. So it was quite a challenge. It's a huge adjustment and you know a lot of technology exists out there for the streaming and the meetings and the zoom and everybody had to get used to like okay now everyone's on camera and the webcams are not really great quality we're used to using HD studio equipment here but nobody has that at home people's home internet connections aren't that great so even what we really started with was getting the radio people back on the air because music you know people have their collections of music at home and they can learn to put together a radio show from home but it's still for people to come in and spin vinyl or put a CD in and hit a button and talk on a microphone that's one kind of knowledge they need but then to suddenly have to learn how to edit things digitally when maybe they you know that's not part of their skill set. That's very difficult so we had a lot of sort of zoom online technical sessions to advise people like this is how you can put together your show as a sort of a pre-recorded thing and then submit it online and then we get it into our system and our automation system plays it back so and then gradually we've been reintroducing DJs to come in and we had to redo the entire programming schedule to accommodate spacing between everyone so that no one was overlapping that there was time to sanitize and clean everything in between everyone and we've been doing that in phases and now we have DJs back on the air broadcasting live and and this is something they think oh well people can listen but there's a connection that people have with the radio and hearing other people's voices live and not just pre-recorded material and now on the television side we're facing that same challenge but it's even greater because video is more complicated than radio and you know people have to edit their productions they have to learn how to shoot their productions and while they were cleaning that with video cameras now it's with phones so yes it's and a lot of people don't feel comfortable with all these new technology and one program also that is a great service to the community is the lending free of charge of all your equipment and and that was something that was difficult too because so we check out video recording equipment and uh at first it was like well we can just wipe everything down and it'll come in and out but that's just way too complicated these are not like just flat surfaces that you wipe down I mean a video camera's got zillions of little buttons and all these other things and and just the fact that you'd have to like what take the equipment out to the curb to check it in and out so right now we're not checking any equipment in and out other than things like iPads and flat things that are very easy to sanitize in between um yes but we're working towards uh offering more equipment for checkout and services that will allow people to edit and so forth using various online platforms so we've expanded the number of online services we use before of course we add everything here but we don't have the infrastructure of course to support uh you know lots of online youtube streaming and stuff so we have a youtube channel um that we put our programming on but getting things on to the cable channel so people are now submitting files digitally I do have a television show that are being produced every month that are people are sending me through uh you know Dropbox Google Drive all these different methods people are mailing uh USP drives into me and and we get that that programming out and then of course there was the whole learning curve about online meetings how do you record these uh sessions and presentations and and get them and turn it around quickly enough to get it on the channel while it's still relevant because of course our community has a lot of announcements you know yes well it's um it it makes my head spin really uh about what all the things that you've been doing but I wanted to ask you Alex about the remodeling and the expansion that you mentioned just a few minutes ago is that still going on or will so are you thinking of it again because yeah it sounds it sounds wonderful what you your community media is planning to to become really yeah well one of the things that we were in the process of was this remodel uh to rearrange the building we we do own the building that we're in uh here on Fifth Street in Davis and as part of sort of the long-term planning we needed to reorganize the interior to make more efficient use of the space move the radio booth over because we have a lot of bands that come in to perform live and uh and we wanted to expand the ability to handle that right now the radio booth is very small um so you can imagine if you have 12 cellos you can't fit them all into the the radio booth but of course with any construction project it takes a long time there's the design there's permitting uh there's getting bids from contractors and so that process is actually still slowly been moving forward and it's it's still on track because we were at the stage to hear that yes the plans were a big plan was what about funding Alex well the the the biggest challenge we face is really sort of more of a larger structural issue and that people are no longer subscribing to cable television and fees from those subscriptions are make up a big part of the budget for all the community media centers around the country that is so interesting i didn't realize that yeah yeah they have to pay for the public uh rights of way to run their cables because it's cable television so they're actually fiber optic cables these days it used to be copper but now it's fiber optic and so they pay into a state fund to use those rights away and uh and we receive part of that money through the city of davis and various contracts and of course we also fundraise and as i said uh in the early stages of covet everyone was very generous uh surprisingly so uh around the country i think the big day of giving even though the in-person events got canceled i think they set some records for the online giving but now as we see this dragging on longer and longer um people have other things that they need to take care of like feeding their families and a lot of people are out of work and so uh there are some like our fundraising is you know there's a shortfall and we're gonna have to figure out how we cope with something like that so we're not in any kind of a dire dire straits of closing you know we're we're moving forward and trying to offer as many services as we can um alex i wanted to tell you can you i wanted to get a little bit of a human a human angle from you so can you describe uh what you do i mean apart from telling me uh knowing you know so much about uh uh davis media what do you do generally and what do you enjoy doing the most there there's a couple things is one uh there's always new things to work on here so everything is a very much project based so volunteers come in all the time asking for help and sometimes that help is with i want to create a tv show i want to create a talk show but sometimes it's like i want to make a short movie i want to make a short film and so there's always a lot of creative variety that people ask me to participate in you know what's your advice on this and that and i really enjoy that aspect of the work i love uh even though i'm not really involved on the radio side of things i love the djs that come in and every one of them has a passion about a certain kind of genre and music um that they're sharing with the community and with the world in fact because we stream online and many of our djs have shows that are listened to all around the world because they're unique um we have hawaiian music jug band music all kinds of stuff here that i probably would never have gotten a chance to really listen to or pay attention to if i hadn't met the people that are behind them um so the human interaction is really important and then of course the other thing that i enjoy is teaching the kids uh because uh having grown up at a time where uh people just always think of the top jobs like director writer producer or do be a lawyer make money or be a banker and people are not necessarily encouraged to do creative things you know they always say oh the starving artist but there's so many opportunities and different career paths out there that um kids and teens can aspire to and make a living at and i really think sometimes that society discourages you know kids way too much um and they should be encouraging these creative endeavors because that's what enriches everybody's life so it's great to work with kids and show them that hey you can do this even though it's technical or you know or somebody's telling you can't know you can actually learn how to do this and that you don't have to necessarily be the director or the producer or you know there's a few top jobs but there's there's a pyramid you know they're in iceberg there's so much underneath it that you can control and alex sir one while i was listening to you i thought about the interns that you have um that uh you uh tutor and generally uh high school students or very young people who want to learn about uh televisions and uh tv editing and audio editing tell us about some of these interns i mean there's a whole spectrum of people whenever we have workshops uh summer workshops for little kids is what you know that was uh a lot and the reason behind that was that um they don't really have any other opportunities uh the younger kids to get involved with media and that way television and stuff and then we have the high school internships and that's really important because you know by the time they're in high school they're thinking what am i going to go to college what am i going to do for a living um how can i express myself personally and be different from everyone else of course teen identity is you know a huge component of growing up so we have uh the opportunity where kids can be on camera or behind camera they can learn to edit and what happens is that they participate in covering a lot of the high school productions and community productions around town and they work with my co-worker Jeff who's the uh production manager and they go out into the community and they learn how to cover these events and some of them have to learn new skills because they have to learn how to talk to people and how to overcome some of their shyness maybe about appearing on camera they have to learn how to interview people and then of course you know there's all the technical skills that go with it and the really gratifying thing is that a lot of them decide hey i really like this and then they choose a college where they can further expand their skills and as i always point out you know you can take media skills to other fields and industries uh communication the ability to communicate is valued by everyone so yeah elix um we're just about out of time we have just a few minutes and what i wanted to ask you is perhaps a question that you cannot answer but uh maybe you can uh namely what are the lessons that you have learned for the future uh from having to adjust and from having to experience COVID-19 in terms of communications obviously remote communication zoom uh programming and other things but personally what what have you learned let's say on how because it's true that our future is uh going to be different well as someone who's followed technology all along from the beginning i've always uh been interested in it um i find that the consolidation that occurred and has occurred in the media industry you know we used to have thousands of independent radio stations and dozens of uh if not hundreds of independent television stations and maybe they were affiliated with a network but they were independent and it's really dwindled and everyone assumes that oh well you get your information online but as we've seen uh there's not a lot of editorial going on and so there's just tons of bad information and it's really easy for even adults not to mention kids who don't know how to discriminate between uh what's fake news or real news um and that has a i think a major effect on society is where do you get good reliable uh true information and and that goes right down to the community level so where can people in their town um if the newspapers are closing up and everything's closing where can they find out things that are relevant to their lives in their town and to place the burden on the consumer i call i'd say call them the consumer that they have to go out and filter all that themselves and take the time for that who's got the time um that was the function the editorial served and all these uh you know uh uh larger organizations in the past media organizations i want to say for profit as well um yes very interesting observations alex very very interesting observations and alex i'm sorry but we're really out of time so thank you very much for coming uh and explaining all of this to us and uh thank you to all of you for watching um from all of us here at community media thank you and see you next time