It is now time for oral questions. I recognize the leader of the official opposition. Speaker, my first question is to the Premier. Last week, cabinet appointed a close friend of the premiers to the role of Commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police after the job criteria were changed in a way that allowed him to apply. The Premier led the cabinet decision that resulted in the appointment of his friend. Why didn't the Premier recuse himself? Through you, Mr. Speaker, Superintendent Ron Tavner is one of the most decorated police officers in the country. The longest serving police officer in the country. Accolades from across the country came in supporting Superintendent Ron Tavner. When we talk to OPP officers, police officers around this province, the morale is low. Very low. We need someone in there that connects with the frontline people, that connects with communities, that has a record of going after guns and gangs. There was no better choice, a transparent choice, by the way, that I wasn't involved in whatsoever. There were three people, individual people, on a panel that made that decision. I didn't know that decision, Mr. Speaker, until the day it was made. But I appreciate the leader of the opposition trying to go after a great police officer, a person that has served this country for 50 years. That's what they do. Start the clock. Supplementary. On the contrary, Speaker, it's the Premier I'm going after. The Premier has stated that he had no role at all in Tavner's appointment, even though he led the cabinet discussion that resulted in his appointment. So my question then is, when did the Premier learn that Ron Tavner was submitting his name? Through you, Mr. Speaker, we understand that the opposition, every time it's about the police, they don't like the police. It's very simple. They don't like the police. Let me give you a couple of quotes. Let me give you a couple of quotes from reputable police officers, presidents of police associations. This quote was from Mike McCormick, President of the Toronto Police Association. I can't think of a more qualified and dedicated leader for the job than Ron Tavner is a huge asset for the people of Ontario. He's been a strong advocate for the community in our city, the OPP's gain in Toronto's loss. Here's another one from the OPP Association. This is a person, Rob Jameson, that talks to OPP officers every single day. On behalf of all uniform and civilian members of the OPPA, I would like to welcome our new commissioner. We look forward to working collaboratively with Commissioner Ron Tavner, someone who has such a proven track record in law enforcement. Here's another one. Let's cue him. Thank you. Speaker, with all due respect, this is about the Premier, not about Mr. Tavner. The initial job criteria laid out in the job posting would have made it impossible for Ron Tavner to apply for this position. Did the Premier discuss the job criteria with Mr. Tavner or anyone else before the criteria were rewritten on October 22nd? Premier? Premier, Mr. Speaker, the answer is absolutely not. But let me continue on. This is Bruce Chatman, President of the Police Association of Ontario. I've known Superintendent Ron Tavner for 30 years plus. He's a hard-working, progressive and dedicated officer. Ron is a great choice to lead the Ontario Provincial Police. Here is Ron about Ron Tavner from the Chief of Police of Toronto after serving Toronto Police for more than 50 years. There are few people who will leave behind a legacy, so rich in community service as Ron Tavner. I wish him every success as he begins a new chapter with Ontario Provincial Police. Next question, leading the opposition. Thank you, Speaker. My next question is also for the Premier. The Deputy Minister of Community Safety, Mario Di Tommaso, sat on the Premier selection committee tasked with finding a new OPP Commissioner. He also is a close acquaintance of Ron Tavner's and his former supervisor. Did anyone at any point raise concerns with the Premier about this possible conflict of interest? It's very clear. I just can't believe we have the leader of the opposition trashing a person that has dedicated 50 years of his life, longest serving police officer, trying to degrade him. This man is a man of integrity. He's a man of honesty. He's going to change the OPP. He's going to make sure the frontline police officers are listened to. He's going to work with the community. He's going to get rid of the guns and gangs in these large cities. You couldn't ask for a better OPP Commissioner than Ron Tavner. Stop the clock. Quickly take your seats. Start the clock again. Supplementary. Well, Speaker, there the Premier goes again, calling people names. But I do have a job to do. Throughout a process in which a close friend... Government side, come to order. Start the clock. Apologize to the leader of the opposition. Throughout a process in which a close friend of the Premier was given a job, another close friend sat on the selection committee and the job description was rewritten in a way that would allow the Premier's friend to apply. Is the Premier saying that no one at any point flagged any concerns about possible conflicts of interest? I take great exception what leader of the NDP are saying. You know, I have thousands of friends unlike maybe the leader of the NDP. I know thousands of people that support us. And as for the Deputy Minister, Mario, I don't even know, to be honest, I don't know his last name. So he's not one of my close friends. He's a professional that was hired through the Secretary of Cabinet and what a great choice the Secretary made. But again, this goes back to reforming the OPP. Not going with all the insiders, the brass and everything. This is about making sure, this is about making sure that the OPP have a reputable person at the head of the OPP, someone that can relate to the frontline officers, someone that will relate to communities across this province. Well, Speaker, I actually believe that the police play a vital role in our province, protecting the public and enforcing the law. We put an incredible amount of trust in them. We count on them, Speaker, in every part of our province. When we fill key positions like this one, Speaker, there can't be questions lingering. Does the Premier agree that we need to clear the air and allow the integrity commissioner to look into this appointment process and make his report public? Through you, Mr. Speaker, I find it ironic the leader of the NDP is saying they support the police. But she wouldn't ask her own member from Brantonese to step down during the election when he was running around with F the police. Who does that? No one in my caucus would ever say that. He has never said it. They wouldn't be here. They don't like the police. They don't like the military. They don't like anyone in uniform. I'm going to caution all members on the use of the temperate language which causes disorder in the House, and I would ask them to keep that in mind as they phrase their responses as well as their questions. Start the clock. Next question. The member for Branton North. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Now, since the Premier wouldn't answer the questions, I'll ask the questions to the Minister of Community Safety. The Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services has a responsibility to the people of Ontario to ensure that key appointments like the OPP Commissioner are conducted fairly and transparently. Was the Minister aware of the Premier's friend and the Premier's friendship with Ron Tavernor when he applied for the job? And if so, what steps did she take to ensure an impartial process? The Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services. The position should be ashamed of taking a five-decade candidate and suggesting that there was anything inappropriate to him applying and ultimately receiving an endorsement with 100% support and 100% support from me and our cabinet on Thursday when we endorsed that independent hiring. I am embarrassed that you do not believe that Ron Tavernor is an appropriate choice. And I will go back to the President of the Ontario Police Association. On behalf of the Uniformed and Civilian Members of the OPPA, I would like to welcome our new commissioner. It is very unfortunate that the NDP don't have the same integrity to thank him for serving. Once again, I'll remind members, intemperate language does not add anything to debate and only causes disorder in the house. Start the clock. Supplementary. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We'll try one more time. The minister had a role to play whether she took the steps required to ensure a fair, transparent process. Keep going, keep going. The top police... Top the clock. Government side, come to order. I can't hear the member for Brampton North. Start the clock. I apologize to the member for Brampton. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'll start again. To the minister. The minister had a role to play and there's now serious questions about whether she took the steps required to ensure a fair and transparent process. The top policing job in the province has gone to a close personal friend of the Premier. The Premier did not recuse himself. Did the minister at any point, at any point raise concerns about the Premier's obvious conflict of interest? And if not, why not? Minister. Speaker, allow me to share some of the facts of this story. First, independent hiring commission. 100% endorsed Ron Tavner. Then we moved from there to a cabinet. 100% endorsement of Ron Tavner as the OPP Commissioner. And I must remind you that Bruce Chapman, the President of the Police Association, I've known Superintendent Ron Tavner for 30 plus years. He's a hardworking, progressive and dedicated officer. I do not understand why the NDP refused to endorse what everyone else sees, a quality candidate that is going to serve the province of Ontario well as the OPP Commissioner. Once again, I'll remind the House that when the standing ovation erupted, the volume of the standing ovation was such I could not hear the minister complete her answer. I had to stand up and cover off. Start the clock. Next question. The member for Mississauga Centre. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister for Consumer Services yesterday, the Minister in cooperation with the Minister of Housing and Rural Affairs to make sure that the sales of excess buildings. I know that a great number of members are come, the vacant buildings should be put to a better user. This is a staggering sum of nearly $10 million every year. This is a staggering sum and it is all to just maintain properties that are of no use to the people of Ontario. We are not using these properties and we are not benefitting from the services they could provide. This money is being wasted on snow removal, grass cutting and structural maintenance. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister inform this House of how he intends to deal with these properties and get this money back into productive use for the people of Ontario? Thank you Mr. Speaker and I'd like to thank my colleague from Mississauga Centre for her question. I'm sure it currently has hundreds of vacant surplus properties across our great province costing the government and taxpayers millions of dollars a year to maintain. Yesterday we announced a more efficient process for selling surplus government properties. The improved plan will reduce red tape, create more affordable housing and long-term care spaces and put more money in people's pockets. We announced a process to accelerate this position of 243 properties. Properties are currently sitting empty and unused while taxpayers fund snow removal, grass cutting and regular maintenance. We streamline the process that we're moving in an estimated 150 days of administrative time, generate between 105 and 135 million in revenue after four years and save the government an estimated $9.6 million in liability. Good idea. Simply put Mr. Speaker, we are taking a sensible approach. We are implementing a more efficient process to put surplus properties into productive use and more money into programs and services for the people of Ontario. Mr. Speaker, I wish to thank the minister for his answer. I wish to thank him again as well as the housing minister for the work they do in this file to make sure that Ontario is on the great fiscal footing. Properties are costing Ontarians millions of dollars every year while offering no benefit to them or their communities. I would like to know what benefit taxpayers can expect to see from the selling off of these properties. What process will be used to ensure their value is maximized for local communities and more importantly Mr. Speaker, how can we ensure these properties are finally sold in a quick, responsible rather than being left on the province's books for another 10 or 15 years? Minister. Thank you Mr. Speaker. My colleague asked a very important question. One that has been at the heart of how we are addressing the issue of surplus properties. We need to ensure that these properties are put to the best use of taxpayer dollars. That is why we are implementing a prudent reforms and removing unnecessary red tape. By removing unnecessary red tape we can remove an estimated 150 days of administrative time. These properties on the market in a shorter time frame and by putting them into productive use help local economies and create jobs. I am also happy to report that our plan will also support Ontario's most vulnerable. We will be identifying properties within the portfolio that can be repurposed for affordable housing in long-term care spaces. I will be working with my colleagues the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing and Minister of Health and Long-term Care to pinpoint surplus properties that can help our most vulnerable. Mr. Speaker, our plan is about working harder and more efficiently so we can reduce costs generate much-needed relevance and make life better for the people of Ontario. Thank you very much, Speaker. My question is to the Premier, Speaker. Former OPP Commissioner Chris Lewis is a decorated police veteran who served the OPP in our province for 36 years. As the Premier knows, Lewis has questioned the wisdom of the Premier's appointment of the new OPP Commissioner calling it, quote, a travesty. Yesterday, Speaker, the Premier responded by questioning the integrity of this decorated former Commissioner. Will he take the opportunity to apologize to former Commissioner Lewis today? Members, take your seats. Premier. Through you, Mr. Speaker. You know, again, I find this very ironic. The Commissioner, Chris Lewis, I'll tell you, lost a lot of respect from police officers right across his province with his comments. And he keeps throwing rocks in the glass house. You know, he has more baggage that he carries than a 747 going across seas. You know something? You don't throw rocks in the glass house. Matter of fact, maybe the media should look into Chris Lewis' background. That's what they should be doing. Supplementary. It's a wonder the Premier's caucus barely could conjure up a round of applause for that answer. It was terrible. One of the worst answers I've ever heard in this place. Yeah, you can clap for me. Speaker, we know that the Premier has had a lot of first-hand experience and challenges facing law enforcement. But questioning the integrity of a decorated former Commissioner who spent over three decades serving the OPP and the province of Ontario, it's a new low for this Premier. Will the Premier show a little respect for this dedicated police service person and former Commissioner and use this opportunity to do the right thing, show some respect for our forces, stand up and apologize to former Commissioner Lewis. Premier. Through you, Mr. Speaker. Again, there was a transparent process with Rogers making a decision with the Deputy Minister making a decision and the Secretary and guess what, it was unanimous and the person from Rogers, a reputable firm, one of the largest in the country one of the largest in the country said he's never received and 30 years has he ever received more accolades about a candidate over in his career of 30 years. Next question, the member for Flamborille Flamborille. For the Minister of Energy, Northern Development and Mines. Yesterday our government for the people voted to pass third reading of Bill 34 the Green Energy Repeal Act. The Green Energy Act paved the way for the signing of horrible contracts that lined the pockets of insiders. No family should ever have to choose between heating and eating and yet this is exactly the burden the last government put on our families. I was proud to stand with our government in cancelling the Green Energy Act one of the worst bills in Ontario's history. For a decade and a half we had to suffer the impacts of failed policies by the governments of Dalton McGinty and the member from Don Valley West. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister elaborate on why the Green Energy Act contracts were bad deals that took away the decision making authority of municipalities? Great question. Mr. Vanerjee, Northern Development and Mines and the Minister of Indigenous Affairs. Thank you Mr. Speaker. I want to thank the member from Flamborille for her important question. Before the only thing green about the Green Energy Act was the green that lined the pockets of Liberal insiders as these projects cost rate payers, folks who pay their bills every month for energy in Ontario. But in keeping with quotable quotes let's take a look at a few here. Lori Goldstein from the Toronto Sun said that quote, the Liberals called their Green Energy Act fair. It was certainly fair to wind power developers who received absurdly generous government subsidies to produce wind power. Rex Murphy, Mr. Speaker, quote, Ontario's Green Energy Act was a horror for business, a gross invasion of municipal authority and sent successive auditor generals to whatever is the chartered accountants version of a hospice centre. Mr. Speaker, our government was elected to raise Ontario up from the energy policy sinkhole we found ourselves in. We cancelled 158 renewable energy contracts and now we're going to march forward repeal this act and lower hydro rates for the... supplementary. Thank you Mr. Speaker and back to the Minister of Energy. The expensive wind and solar projects our province did not need added a significant cost and burden to our province and that's money that is coming out of the pockets of people right across Ontario. A 2015 auditor general report found that rate payers paid $37 billion more than the market price for electricity between 2006 and 2014 and would over pay another $133 billion by 2032. Over the years the Liberals spent billions of taxpayer dollars to fund projects that simply weren't needed. These purchases were fuelled by an ideology that favoured expensive unreliable forms of renewable energy supplied by Liberal insiders. Mr. Speaker, when it comes to energy could the Minister confirm that the culture of waste at Queens Park is over? Minister these questions get me worked out Mr. Speaker. Listen to Kevin Levin from the National Post. He said it best. The only businesses that need to worry are the government cronies whose sweetheart deals have long ripped off taxpayers. Mr. Speaker these were projects that municipalities will now have the power to ensure they don't become home to wasteful energy projects our system doesn't need and many communities don't want. We believe Mr. Speaker that the people of Ontario should have the final say about what gets built in their community. That municipalities should have the power to stop expensive and unneeded energy projects in their community. So moving forward Mr. Speaker we will have lower costs that help get Ontario open for business less expensive bills for families and businesses who pay an energy bill at the end of the month. Mr. Speaker it's a great great day today. We're going to be revealing the green energy act. It's a victory for the people of Ontario and it's worth selling. Order restart the clock. Next question the member for Toronto Danforth. Thank you Speaker. Speaker my question to the Minister of the Environment. Not too long ago we had a program in Ontario that helped homeowners to reduce their carbon footprint and save money. The program also created jobs for renovators and manufacturers of energy efficient windows and doors. Why did the Premier kill a program that helped ordinary families in small businesses and replace it with a climate change plan that forces people to give millions of dollars out of their own pockets to large polluters. The Minister of Environment Climate Change Minister of Environment Conservation and Parks. Thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to the member for his question. Mr. Speaker on one on one sense the member is correct. We did cancel the wasteful programs of the previous government which the NDP supported. We cancelled programs that frankly got in of consumers making their own decisions and cost hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars to subsidize businesses to let the government pick winners not the market pick winners. We cancelled those programs Mr. Speaker and in their place we put a sensible program a program that makes sure that Ontario meets the international obligations that the federal government has set to hit the Paris targets and in a very sensible understandable common sense way delivers on greenhouse gas reductions and Mr. Speaker supports homeowners in ways they want to be supported. Preparing for climate change. Surely the member opposite would support the fact that we are going to be helping consumers to do things like deal with their flooded basements. Those are the things that homeowners care about and surely the member opposite will support that part of our program. Supplementary. Well extraordinary answer. Speaker again to the minister. When the Premier killed the Green Ontario Fund, Ontario families lost out on programs to help them conserve energy reduce their carbon footprint and save money. He got rid of programs that helped them save money. Window installers were forced to cancel hundreds of jobs and lay off workers. Some of them had to pay huge penalties to cancel custom window installations that were already underway. The Premier killed a program that helped families and businesses and replaced it with a plan that forces those same families and businesses to give millions of dollars out of their own pockets to large polluters. Why does the Premier think it's fair to hurt thousands of families and small businesses while giving millions of tax dollars to polluters? Minister. Mr. Speaker as the member likely knows but won't admit the program that we cancelled that the Ontario families in Ontario had had enough of was the cap and trade carbon tax. It was a cost, a tax on families. It was a program and a cost that was taking money out of pockets not putting money back into pockets not making decisions for families about whether they needed a certain kind of window but letting them make those choices. Mr. Speaker that's the kind of program that this government will not support a tax on families, a tax on businesses and a tax on jobs. Mr. Speaker the member opposite has asked for our plan and asked for our targets. We've delivered our plan and our products. I asked earlier in the week where is his plan? Where are their targets? What targets do they want to impose on Ontarians? We've picked the targets from Paris. We've picked the targets from the federal government. Where are there their plan? Where are their targets? Thank you very much Mr. Speaker my question is for the Minister of Energy Northern Development and Mines and Indigenous Affairs. Speaker the Northern Highways program is a crucial part of infrastructure investment all across Northern Ontario. It focuses on the rehabilitation and the expansion of the provincial highway system in the north. A number of major projects have been undertaken over the last 10 years including the four landing of Highway 1117 between Thunder Bay and Ipigan and the four landing of Highway 69 between Perry Sound and Sudbury and I'm also very conscious that another priority project is the four landing between Canora and the Manitoba which I understand will get underway next year so my question to the Minister is this will you continue to support all three of those projects when the allocation of funds are made to the Northern Highways program? Minister of Energy Northern Development Mines Thank you Mr. Speaker and I've travelled many of those roads over the years and I understand their importance I want to thank the member for this question he had me up until Northern roads these are important investments and I've had an opportunity quite recently to serve notice to the indigenous communities across this vast region about our commitments to those roads but the discussion around twinning of the highway Mr. Speaker is a sore spot for me. There are twinning projects going on across the north except for one place. An announcement that was made by Premier McGinty in 2008 with our then Prime Minister that I served Prime Minister Harper and eight years later Mr. Speaker sorry ten years. Nothing got done. Now we know that the province of Ontario is responsible for developing those highways nothing happened out there Mr. Speaker we're hopeful that something will happen we're working with our community to ensure that that section of the highway gets twinned Mr. Speaker and starts as quickly as possible thank you. Supplementary Thanks very much Mr. Speaker and thank you Minister for the response. May I say that in consultation it took place leading up to the work that is moving forward on the Canola de Manitoba four landing it was crucial and I know I'm pleased to hear that indeed you are working with the communities to move that project forward that doesn't make it any less important for us to look at the other major projects all across northern Ontario the four landing between Thunder Bay and Nippigan the four landing between Perry Sound and Sudbury and I know also Mr. Speaker that Minister Rickford was great support as a federal cabinet minister to some funding assistance for the section between Thunder Bay and Nippigan and my question to the minister is does he believe that the federal government has a major role to play in making sure the funding is there so all these projects can be completed. Minister Well Mr. Speaker at one time there was a 50 million dollar commitment from the federal government with the provincial government at that time there's a question out there Mr. Speaker it was designated to one of the most dangerous sections of the highway across northern Ontario right at the Manitoba border where did the money go? 100 million dollars was committed between the federal and provincial government at that time there's no money left Mr. Speaker we understand and respect I know my colleagues across the way in from northern Ontario understand and respect that twinning of the highway making our road network safe Mr. Speaker is a top priority we'll be working with our communities in short order to ensure Mr. Speaker that we make the right investments on the right sections of highways that are consequential to the flow of Canadians across this great country and tragically Mr. Speaker to the loss of lives in this province Thank you Mr. Speaker my question is for the minister of agriculture food and rural affairs health Canada as part of its healthy eating strategy has proposed revisions to Canada's food guide and is proposing mandatory front of package labeling for foods high in sugars, sodium and saturated fat and while our government fully supports improving public health outcomes it seems that the federal proposal would include things like dairy products at a time when some of those in the agri-food industry are being hit hard by the new USMCA deal the federal government without adequate consultation with the director is implementing changes that include numerous consequences like burdensome costs associated with the implementation of new labeling requirements can the minister please provide more details on these burdensome changes Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs Thank you very much Mr. Speaker and to the member from Brantford Brant for the question and his leadership on this important issue our government and Ontario food presses are supportive of efforts to help Canadians make healthy food choices however the proposed front of pack labeling requirements will be costly with little proven benefits to the health outcomes in some areas an example of unintended consequences is the change in that some foods that may have more nutritional value such as some cheeses and ground beef now may require a front of package label for high fat content while other foods that might have less nutritional value for instance the diet soda would not require a front of package label Mr. Speaker we support our farmers and we're concerned with the proposal to put warning labels on products that are 100% real juice our government is committed to lowering business costs and removing unnecessary Thank you Supplementary Thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to the minister for his answer dairy farmers in my writing are particularly concerned with these proposed changes as they are facing real challenges in their industry already with the new USMCA a deal and now with new labeling requirements and new recommendations for protein intake any new food guide should continue to acknowledge that milk and dairy products are important in promoting healthy eating for Canadians dairy farmers are already facing many pressures to Canada's food guide may exacerbate the situation can the minister please tell us what this government is doing to oppose these burdensome changes and support our farmers Minister Thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to the member for the supplementary question with the new USMCA dairy farmers are already facing many pressures the dairy farmers of Ontario are concerned that the proposed changes could send a mixed message to Canadians about the value of consuming a variety of proteins the proposed changes to the front of package labeling for cheeses or other milk products such as yogurts may also negatively impact our dairy farmers and produces with new burden some cost and regulations that's why both myself and the minister of economic development development job creation and trade have written the letter to the federal minister of health asking the federal government to reexamine the implementations of these amendments to ensure consumers have appropriate balanced information in a manner that does not contradict science at undue cost to businesses and negatively impact competitiveness our government looks forward to working with the agri-food sector and the federal government on this matter thank you very much for the question thank you next question the member for Toronto thank you speaker my questions for the minister of municipal affairs and housing speaker yesterday the government announced the sale of 243 government properties at a shockingly low price of between $105 and $135 million this is a rock bottom fire sale price speaker what regulations will the government put in place to ensure that the funds from publicly owned lands sold for rock bottom prices to developers will be used for affordable housing the minister of municipal affairs and housing thanks very much speaker through you to the honourable member i was proud speaker quite frankly to be asked by the minister of government consumer services to be at his announcement yesterday i made it very clear my message to not-for-profit housing providers to municipalities to stakeholders interested in using some of these properties for affordable housing that our door was open we look forward to working collaboratively with anyone that sees an opportunity to use one of these properties for affordable housing use and i have to say to the honourable member the minister of health and long-term care was also mentioned because we believe on this side of the house that issues around affordable housing and future long-term care beds are extremely important so if there is an organization group municipality that wants to sit down with response and create that opportunity we're going to be there for them supplementary speaker again to the minister of municipal affairs and housing our province is in the midst of an affordable housing crisis and this government has decided to ignore evidence and deregulate rent for new units and new buildings in Ontario will the minister inform the house why as more and more people are struggling to pay their rent this government has taken rent control off the table minister well again speaker we'll jump from our announcement yesterday to the fall economic statement in the fall economic statement our government for the people made a decision on that rent control exemption we wanted to send a very direct message that we want to create more housing I've said quite frankly in response to members from the opposite side for sorry I don't want to disparage our members they're awesome over there to the members of the official opposition supply is a very big problem we have a crisis situation in the greater Toronto and Hamilton area we want to signal to our stakeholders that we want to work with them again I want to challenge this member and I want to challenge all the new democrat caucus to go on to our website Ontario.ca forward slash housing supply I want you to give us some suggestions on how to increase housing supply we want you to be part of the solution you keep indicating you're going to continue to start the clock next question the member for king won we want to see the future of Ontario's economy and future prosperity according to the Canadian manufacturers and exporters this industry employs more than 770,000 high paying jobs and supports 1.5 million this sector has been hit hard by the former liberal government in 2017 Ontario had the dubious record of being the only province in the country where the production sales growth was three times slower than the national average this premier is totally resolved to create a competitive advantage and to fight to keep these jobs here in Ontario we are resolved to fight against Justin Trudeau's job killing carbon tax can the minister update this chamber on how our government will stand with our workers and stand up for the future of Ontario's manufacturing sector from the King Von and it's great to have his parents here for the question this fall we have taken remarkable strides to make Ontario open for business after 15 years of increased taxes increased costs increased red tape in Ontario bill 47 which we passed earlier this month is going to make it easier to get more Ontarians into the trades that's how we are going to deal with closing appreciation, which the finance minister announced in the fall economic statement a couple of weeks ago, prompting the federal government, I might add, to follow Ontario's lead. We're making it easier for businesses to invest in new technologies and stay competitive. But, Speaker, by no means is our job complete here in Ontario. You don't roll back 15 years of damaging job-killing liberal policies in six months. We've got more to do, and we'll have more to say in the supplementary. Thank you, Minister, for not giving up on this sector and for never giving in on the workers of this province. Speaker Under Liberals, Ontario fell behind. Ontario slipped a 14th place in global manufacturing outputs down from ninth just 20 years ago. Yesterday, I was privileged to join the parliamentary secretary and the member from Aurora Oak Ridge as Richmond Hill. We met with manufacturing leaders from the CME. Our message to these job craters was clear.  We will reduce your regulations and red tape. We will invest in a skilled labour market. We will open new markets for our job craters, and we will never turn our backs on traditional and advanced manufacturing in this province. With the recent release of our fall economic statement, could the minister outline how we will support the rebirth of Ontario's manufacturing sector? Speaker Thanks again for the question from the member for King Vaughn. I want the House to know that I take the federal minister's challenge from the fall economic statement seriously. We have to reduce red tape by 25% and we're committed to reducing red tape by 25% by 2022. Now I know members opposite have said there isn't 25% of red tape or over regulation that you can cut in Ontario, but we have heard from industry that you certainly can. Speaker Ontario has over 380,000 regulations, a lot of duplication. British Columbia only has 169,000 and British Columbia seems like a pretty nice place to live, Speaker, and a nice place to invest. You can get by with 55% fewer regulations than Ontario. I know that we can cut 25% of our regulations here in Ontario. Now I know the members opposite, the members of the NDP, the members of the Liberal Government, they like bigger government, but we believe in getting government out of the way so we can create new growth, new jobs, new industry here in Ontario. Speaker We start the clock. Next question, the member for Sudbury. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. Speaker, for years now, Health Science North Sudbury's regional hospital has been massively underfunded. Funding cuts by previous Liberal and Conservative governments have forced the hospital to claw back healthcare services available to the good people of the North. Most recently, people in my community rallied together to protect the hospital's breast cancer screening clinic. And Matt, who helped establish the clinic two decades ago. Sharon Murdoch and dozens of other women helped protest the meetings. They distributed petitions and demanded that the lives of patients not be put online for cost savings. Will the Minister listen to the people of Sudbury and fund our hospital properly? Speaker, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. Speaker, I thank the member very much for the question. And in fact, I'm sure as you are aware, Health Sciences North is facing financial problems, including an $11 million deficit in 2017-18. They have been working very hard with the LINDS, however, to deal with some of those financial concerns. And we are committed to working with them and with the LINDS to making sure that they can come back to financial health. But with respect to the breast screening assessment service, I think it's important to mention that it is not closing. The LINDS has been working closely with Health Sciences North to help the hospital ensure that mammograms, diagnostic imaging services, biopsies and navigation will all be continuing uninterrupted as they are working through their financial difficulties. Supplementary. Thank you, Speaker, and thank you to the Minister for her answer. I'm well aware of the budget. The budget is there because of years and years of conservative and liberal cuts. They need the money to make ends meet, which is why they're cutting the breast cancer program. I want to tell you about Melissa.  And that dedicated team of the breast cancer screening clinic responded quickly to her aggressive cancer. Later, when she developed a rare infection, the clinic helped her navigate the system and ensured she received the best care. Melissa is now cancer free, but she's worried how those recent cuts to the clinic will impact patients. She's worried that other patients will have to wait longer to see a surgeon or go through unnecessary stress while waiting to hear a diagnosis. The cost-cutting measures Health Sciences North has adopted to address the long-term underfunding, threaten the services that provide excellent patient care for the woman in the north. Will the minister invest in our hospital and protect this life-saving program? Thank you, Minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And for you, I would like to just correct some of the facts that have been stated by the member on the other side and the official opposition. The breast screening program is not closing. It is continuing uninterrupted because there has been careful work that is being done between Health Sciences North, the land, and the ministry. We recognize that these services need to continue as they work through their financial difficulties. But that does not mean restricting patient care. What we want to do and what we were elected to do is bring more money into frontline care. After 15 years of the former liberal government not developing a comprehensive plan, we are going to develop that plan. We are going to make sure that hospitals have the services they need. And we are going to make sure those essential patient services, such as the breast screening assessment program, continues. Next question, the member for Mississauga-Malton. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Also for the minister of energy, north development, and mines. By the way, will I miss you here? I know the honorable minister has been working tirelessly since day one. From the beginning, our government for the people is committed to make energy more affordable in this province. And we know that Ontario families have been hurt by the bad energy policy decision of the previous government. This is why our government is working hard to provide relief to families and businesses across our province. Mr. Speaker, I know the minister spoke at the Toronto Region Board of Trade last week. Can the minister please tell the member of this house about his remarks last week and how this government is restoring affordability for job creators in this house, in this province? The minister for energy, north development, and mines. What a great question, Mr. Speaker. And I want to thank the member for Mississauga-Malton for that question and for the great work he does for his constituents. I also want to thank the Toronto Region Board of Trade for having me speak at their power breakfast. It was themed restoring Ontario's energy advantage. We discussed and reflected on a province that led this country at one point, Mr. Speaker. Manufacturing jobs were here. Miners and foresters were hard at work in northern Ontario, Mr. Speaker. But slowly, surely, then almost declivitously, it went away. Why, Mr. Speaker? Because we didn't have that energy advantage. Because the NDP and the Liberals got together, Mr. Speaker, and made it a whole lot less affordable for those manufacturers, for those mining operations, and for those foresters to do their work and contribute to our economy, Mr. Speaker. There was a time when Ontario led, Mr. Speaker. We're looking for that Ontario's energy advantage, and we're going to get there, Mr. Speaker. Stop the ventry. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Minister. I'd like to thank Minister for taking action. That's helping my constituents of Mr. Saga Malton, and not only them, but everyone in Ontario, keeping more money in their pockets. Mr. Speaker, our government has been working hard to make sure that we create an environment that encourages business to grow and create good-paying jobs. I know that restoring Ontario's energy advantage is a crucial part of protecting jobs and growth in this province. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell the members of this House more about how our government has been taking action to protect and create good-paying jobs in Ontario? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Minister. Mr. Speaker, what we're doing is protecting that skilled workforce, particularly in the nuclear sector, Mr. Speaker, that contributes so significantly to Ontario's electric supply. That's 60% coming from our nuclear assets. Now, we've been talking about process today, Mr. Speaker. Let's just walk through a process that may have occurred on June 7th. Had the NDP been elected, Mr. Speaker, 7,500 high-paid workers in the nuclear sector cut loose, Mr. Speaker. Imagine the chaos that would have ensued with massive unemployment in the Durham region, particularly in Pickering, Mr. Speaker, and how many homes of these would be without electricity, Mr. Speaker. That's why we wasted no time working towards repealing the Green Energy Act, cancelling wasteful contracts that communities didn't want and the grid didn't need. The NDP deals in chaos. We deliver in confidence. The NDP deals in confidence. Thank you. Let's start the clock. Next question, the member for Agoma, Manitou. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Government and Consumer Services. The Service Ontario office located in the town of Wawa in my writing is only open four hours per day, four days per week. During those short operating hours, residents must often wait for long hours for basic services. These inadequate operating hours not only hurt individual residents, but also hurt small business that directly rely on the Service Ontario office. A local power, sport, equipment dealership in Wawa must wait until customers register for a license before finalizing a transaction. Scheduling purchase pickups around Service Ontario hours forces customers to travel twice or reconsider their whole purchase. This is a damaging to our local economy and to our small businesses. Can the Minister explain to Wawa, small businesses, owners, why they don't deserve better service than that? Thank you. Mr. Government and Consumer Services. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Through you to my colleague and thank you for the question. We do a lot of good work being on either side of the Shishiman. It's always our best intent that we want to have those services out there for the community when they want them. Service Ontario is a very value contributor to all of our communities across Ontario. Certainly are there some challenges there, but we're working through that. As you're well aware, I've only been in the role for about three weeks, but I've had a briefing already. I've met with some of the service providers directly and we are looking to do that. We want to ensure that we restore accountability and trust across government. For the people of Ontario, we want to make life more affordable. We want to make consistent and good services and I'm happy to work with you to see what we can do to do that. Thank you. Good job. Supplementary. Well, Speaker, my friend, it's time that we jump into that big canoe and let's row in the same direction together. In addition to inadequate Service Ontario operating hours, community members from Moawa and Shaplow are forced to wait months to book their drive tests. Then after waiting for months, they arrive for their appointments but are told that there are no qualified staff, members available to conduct exam or special DZ licenses.  And guess what else? Snow plows. This is creating a barrier to employment and causing unnecessary hardship for small businesses by the neglecting secondary industries that require specialized drive trainers. Mr. Speaker, can the Premier, can the Minister, please tell residents why they can expect to see fair services delivery in Northern communities? Thank you very much for that kind promotion, my friend. This is an excellent way to, and an excellent reason why we need to modernize our public services in a way that puts reliability and taxpayers at the center of everything we do and put structures in place that create a culture of efficiency. We're doing a line by line review. We're going to modernize services and better utilize digital and shared service miles so we provide better services for all interns through finding more cost-efficient ways of administering government. By ensuring government funding is directed to those that require it most. And finally, by maximizing the value of government assets and putting them to their most productive use. Mr. Speaker, to my colleague across the road, we are committed. And I want to applaud all of the people at Service Interior and the people in my ministry that are doing their best to modernize and ensure that we have as many services in a timely and effective manner as possible. We want to keep people working. We're going to work our best to make sure we have those services available. And we want to make sure that Ontario is a better place because of the public service. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Next question, the member for Peterborough, Coortham. Morning, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport. In Ontario, we have more than 70 organizations involved in special needs hockey. Athletes have a range of different exceptionalities from Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, and autism, just to name a few. We know there's more than just a health benefit from participating in sports. Through sport, we build a camaraderie, a sense of being, and a purpose from working together that has a greater impact than something that any of us does as an individual. Can the minister explain how our government for the people is working to promote and support great initiatives that special hockey international are working on? Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And through you, I'd like to thank the member for Peterborough, Coortham, for this important question and also for the great work that he does advocating on behalf of people with special needs. Through my ministry, through my ministry, Mr. Speaker, our government provides support for many sport initiatives, which includes supports for sports programs for those with special needs. In our fall economic statement, we committed to marking a new special hockey day in the province. As outlined, the government proposes to formally recognize March 27th, 2019, a special hockey day. This will coincide with the start of the 25th annual special hockey international tournament that will be hosted right here in Toronto. Recognizing special hockey day will bring awareness about the many special hockey organizations across Ontario and celebrate the contributions of teams, players and organizers. Supplementary. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to thank the minister for his response. As he said, March 27th is the opening ceremonies for the 25th anniversary of special hockey international tournament. And it's the first time it's back in Ontario since my riding of Peterborough, Coortham hosted the tournament in 2016. We had the pleasure of having more than a thousand athletes from 58 teams, some from as far away as Salah, Sweden, and it even included the werewolves of London. The celebration is being held this year in Toronto at the Mathemy Athletic Centre, and it's being hosted by the Grand Ravine Tornados. Can the minister update the legislature on how the Doug Ford-led government is working to champion those with special needs to sport? Great question. Minister. Thank you once again, Mr. Speaker, for that question from the member from Peterborough, Coortham. As I stated in my first response, our government is committed to helping communities host major amateur sporting events across Ontario. I'd also like to note that Special Olympics Ontario is a recognized provincial sport organization and receives funding through the Ontario Amateur Sport Fund. We also provide project-based funding to help deliver national and international amateur sport events in Ontario, like the 2019 International Special Olympics youth games held here in Ontario. Our government recognizes how powerful sport is in bringing us together. This tournament does exactly that, and I look forward for special hockey players from all over the world. Coming to Toronto and for us as Ontarians to celebrate the first ever Special Hockey Day in Ontario. Member for Waterloo. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question to the Minister of Transportation. Minister, a few weeks ago, when I asked about two-way all-day go-to Waterloo region, the response was, stay tuned. Well, we've tuned in, but what we're seeing isn't positive at all. Metrolinx's new 200-page business case-for-go expansion takes two-way all-day go-to-kitchener out of the main plan and pushes the completion date to as far away as 2030. What does the government have to say about following in the footsteps of the Liberals and stringing the people of Waterloo region along again? Minister of Transportation. Thank you for that question, Member Opposite, and I said, stay tuned. I don't think you've tuned into the right frequency yet, but seriously, we're going to be making an announcement forthcoming that I think you'll be happy with. We're finalizing details of what we've been doing for the entire province. We've been reviewing all the plans and procedures that have been put forth by the previous government. We're making sure that all our decisions are for the people of this province, sure that we're opening up for business. And I think the people of this province, especially in the GTA and specifically in Cambridge and Kitchener, they're going to be pretty happy with how this government is going to proceed with transit projects across this province. As the Premier has said, we're opening this province up for business, and the best way to do that is get people moving. And this province is going to get the people moving. That's for you. The answer is not going to fly in Waterloo Region. We hear radio silence from this government on progressive transit plans. Our province, Mr. Speaker, our province will never be able to compete globally if Kitchener, Waterloo, and Toronto are separated by a 100-kilometer-long parking lot, and that's from the Ontario Chamber of Commerce. People in Waterloo Region are frustrated and for good reason. The Metrolinx report doesn't make them feel any better. This is what the report says for the listening pleasure of the Minister. As part of the GOAL expansion, the Kitchener line will see significant upgrades between Bramley and Union Station. Minister, what about the rest of the line? What about Brampton and Guelph and Georgetown? And what about Kitchener? We've waited too long. Minister. Thank you, Speaker. And again, through you to the member opposite, I've been working with members in my caucus. They've come forward with ideas on improving GO Service between Kitchener and Toronto. And I wish you'd come over and have the conversation with me and have that discussion instead of asking and yelling and screaming in the house. It's better to sit down at the table and have a discussion to ensure that we can make this progress for this province. So I invite you to come over and have a discussion with me. Time for question period. Once again, I remind the government as soon as the ovations started, I couldn't hear the Minister.  Point of order to the member for Timmons. I'm not sure I heard correctly, but I heard what I heard, I hope wasn't a sexist comment towards my member. The member for Windsor to come see on a point of order. Thank you, Speaker. With your permission, I notice we have a guest in the gallery, a former member, a former minister, Teresa Peruzza from Windsor West. Welcome back. Please come. We wanted to welcome the former member representing Windsor West in the 40th Parliament. Welcome back to Queen's Park. I beg to inform the House that the following document has been tabled, the 2018 annual report from the Office of the Auditor General of Ontario. We now have a deferred vote on a motion for closure. On the motion for third reading of Bill 32, call in the members. This is a five minute bell. Members, please take their seats. With the members, please take their seats. There's only one speed for the heck out of this. On November 22, 2018, Mr. Bethlen Falvey moved third reading of Bill 32, an act to amend the Ontario Energy Board Act 1998. Mr. Romano has moved that the question now be put. All those in favor of Mr. Romano's motion will please rise one at a time and be recognized by the clerk. Very close. Ms. Thompson. Ms. Thompson. Mr. Fidelli. Mr. Fidelli. Mr. Ford. Mr. Ford. Mr. Yure. Mr. Yure. Ms. Mulroney. Ms. Mulroney. Ms. McLeod. Ms. McLeod. Mr. Clark. Mr. Clark. Mr. Hardiman. Mr. Hardiman. Mr. Tabola. Mr. Tabola. Mr. Tabola. Mr. Barrick. Mr. Barrick. Mr. Patapies. Mr. Patapies. Mrs. Marteau. Mrs. Marteau. Mr. McDonnell. Mr. McDonnell. Mr. McDonnell. Mr. McDonnell. Mr. McDonnell. Ms. Fullerton. Ms. Fullerton. Ms. Scott. Ms. Scott. Ms. Jones. Ms. Jones. Ms. Jones. Mr. Downey. Mr. Gil. Mr. Kuh. Mr. Kilonga. Mr. C cómo? Mr. Serma. Mr. Parsa. Mr. Parsa. Ms. Scully. Ms. Scully. Mrs. Martin. Ms. Triantofilopoulos. Ms. Trantofilopoulos. Mr. Saqari. Mr. Saqari. Mr. Osterho. Mr. Osterho. Ms. Park. Ms. Park. Mr. Hilier. Mr. Hilyer. Mr. Hechels. Mr. Nickles. Ms. Coussendova. Mr. Harris. Mr. Harris. Ms. Gamar. Ms. Gamar. Ms. Hogar. Ms. Hogar. Mrs. Kara Hallio. Mrs. Kara Hallio. Ms. Feet. Mr. Fee. Mr. Mr. Hatfield Mr. Hatfield Ms. Burns McGowan Ms. Burns McGowan Mr. Arthur Mr. Arthur Mr. Arthur Mr. Arthur Mr. Bourguin Mr. Bourguin Ms. Bell Ms. Bell Mr. Glover Mr. Glover Ms. Morrison Ms. Morrison Mr. Rykosovic Mr. Kosovic Mr. Hardin Mr. Hardin Ms. Monteith-Farrell Ms. Monteith-Farrell Mr. Hassan Mr. Hassan Mr. Frazer Mr. Frazer Ms. Wynne Ms. Wynne Mr. Grevelle Mr. Besslin Mr. Besslin-Falvey Mr. Besslin-Falvey Mr. Besslin-Falvey Mr. Besslin-Falvey Mr. Besslin-Falvey Mr. Besslin-Falvey Mr. Besslin-Falvey Mr. Besslin-Falvey Mr. Besslin-Falvey Mr. Besslin-Falvey Mr. Besslin-Falvey Mr. Besslin-Falvey Mr. Besslin-Falvey Mr. Besslin-Falvey Mr. Besslin-Falvey Mr. Besslin-Falvey Mr. Besslin-Falvey Mr. Besslin-Falvey Mr. Besslin-Falvey have it. Call in the members. This will be a 10-minute bell. Mr. Bethlen-Falvey has moved third rating of Bill 32, an act to amend the Ontario Energy Board Act 1998. All those in favour of the motion will please rise one at a time and be recognized by the clerk. Mr. McNaughton. Mr. McNaughton. Mr. Smith. Mr. Ford. Mr. Elliott. Mr. Elliott. Mr. Europe. Mr. Europe. Ms. Mulroney. Ms. Mulroney. Ms. McLeod. Ms. McLeod. Mr. Clark. Mr. Clark. Mr. Hardim. Mr. Hardim. Mr. Tobolow. Mr. Tobolow. Mr. Todolow. Mr. Barrick. Mr. Bara. Mr. Mr. Hillier Mr. Hilly Mr. Nicholls Mr. Nicholls Ms. Cousin Dover Mr. Cousin Dover Mr. Ramona Mr. Ramona Mr. Harris Mr. Harris Ms. Gamar Ms. Gamar Ms. Hogarth Ms. Hogarth Mrs. Carr-Hollyards Mrs. Carr-Hollyards Mrs. Fee Mrs. Fee Mr. Chose Mr. Willidale Mr. Chow Willidale Mr. Smith Peterborough-Porter Mr. Smith Peterborough-Porter Ms. Kanja Ms. Kanja Mr. Cran Mr. Cran Mrs. Y Mrs. Y Mr. Badkick Mr. Baber Mr. Pieved Mr. Pennsylvania Mr. Sib Lets Mr. Tenig bones Mr. społec Mr. Marach Mushe Mr. Casano Mr. Gera Mr. Graja All those opposed to the motion will please rise. Mr. Tabin Mr. Al supper Mr. Marach Mr. Ramona Ms. Pasada Ms.ゅ Grantin Mr.коze Ms. Rabbit Mr. Mr. Kernaghan, Mr. West, Mrs. Gretzky, Mr. Biller, Hamilton East, Odie Creek, Mr. Singh, Brampton East, Ms. Andrews, Mr. Hatfield, Ms. Burns McGow, Mr. Arthur, Mr. Bourguin, Mr. Bell, Ms. Glover, Ms. Morrison, Mr. Rikosa, Mr. Hardin, Ms. Montefarel, Mr. Hassan, Mr. Fraser, Ms. Whitton, Ms. Hunter, Mr. Schuyen, Mr. Schuyen, Mr. Schuyen. The EYE's are 68, the NAIS are 38. The EYE's being 68, and the NAIS being 38. I declare the motion carried. Tows stands in recess until three p.m.


Lakeland Currents, your public affairs program for North Central Minnesota, produced by Lakeland Public Television with host Ray Gildow. Production funding for Lakeland Currents is made possible by Bemidji Regional Airports, serving the region with daily flights to Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport for information available at BemidjiAirport.org. Closed captioning for Lakeland Currents is sponsored by Niswa Tech Service, tax preparation for businesses and individuals online at NiswaTax.com. Hello again everyone and welcome to Lakeland Currents where we're starting our 11th year and still sponsored and underwritten by NiswaTax who has been with us through this whole period of time. I want to thank them very much. 11 years, I don't know where the time has gone, it's gone really fast. But it's great to be back on air again and as you probably know we shoot not only from the Brainerd Studio, studio, we also shoot from the Bemidji Studio where we do Lakeland Currents now with another host. So it's good to be back again and I'm going to start the show this year with one of my favorite topics which is fishing. I have Mark Bacigalupi who is here today who is the area fishery supervisor for the Brainerd Lakes area. And if you've been following fishing and if you've been following climate and how things are changing you know there's a lot of topics a lot of issues that are being talked about in the fishing business. So we can maybe clarify some of that today when we get into the depth of some of these discussions with Mark. Mark thanks again for coming on board and as we're just talking a little earlier you were first on this show when you started your job and I can't believe it's been seven years ago. Yeah time flies when you're having fun I guess. It's amazing that you've been on this job for seven years. Did you have your professors at college tell you that this job could be a very controversial one? Yeah you know we take a lot of math and statistics class and they were just starting to get into the human dimensions that's I think the word for it now for the controversy and ways of learning to work with folks on these tough issues. What is your general area that you supervise? Yeah so the Brainerd area the boundaries consist of Crowing County and lower cast you know how cast has the two chunks of it. We have lower cast and Gall Lake and Sylvan are a big piece of that and then some of the cricks that run into the that watershed but also just four townships this is an oddity four townships up in upper cast which are up towards outing so the Roosevelt Lake Washburn Lake Thunder Lake area four townships included there and then all of Crowing County so you know many many water bodies in Crowing County keeps us busy. That that really is a pretty large geographic area probably bigger than people think if they haven't driven from outing back down to here that's that's a pretty good stretch of water yeah and a lot of that is part of the Leech Lake area watershed is it not you know correct Pine River is a big chunk Pine River watershed is a big chunk of our area we have the Mississippi drainage there and also the Crowing River has a big chunk of our area too and the Leech Lake watershed is you know north of us a little bit but it's all all largely feeds into the Mississippi River which comes right through our alleyway here. Well could you just tell our viewers in general what what do fisheries people do how do you spend your typical year what is it that you're working on yeah well the backbone of our information system relies on lake surveys so in the in the spring and summer we in open water period we can get our hands on a lot of fish through our netting techniques and that is the way we gain our information to formulate our management plans our strategies through regulations or stocking or working with folks on special project habitat projects to to get the to get the things done that we can do to to make fishing as good as it can be on a given water body so we have hundreds of management plans in folders you know that we try and get to as much as we can and some of the bigger high profile lakes get a little more attention than some of the smaller smaller lakes and they get we don't get to those smaller lakes as often but you know there's 400 water bodies to get to really more like 100 of them that where we have management plans where we're trying to implement strategies so there's always plenty to do in the summer so we're gathering as much information as we can in the summer in the winter we're writing those reports thinking about proposals planning a budget and in trying to competitively grab little chunks of funding out there that we can do that we can grab to get some of these little projects done and that and so and then in the spring a big project is the is of course the Pine River walleye trap brainered area is one of the cornerstone areas for walleye production in the state and so we're we're getting the raw material walleye eggs for some of the walleye production that goes on statewide I know that there's been a lot of research being looked at now in the areas where we have invasive species and I think one of the misconceptions that a lot of people have is that Minnesota is pretty well overwhelmed with invasive species but in fact it's only about five percent of our lakes I believe that have been identified with aquatic invasive species issues the rest of them are still pretty pristine and pretty pretty healthy isn't that the case that is the case in terms of number Minnesota is blessed with so many water bodies you know it's it's always the land of 10,000 lakes it's something more like 11,000 or 12,000 but yeah percentage wise the number of infested lakes isn't that high people have argued that the lakes that are infested are large in terms of acreage and that is true and because that there are popular water bodies not just in terms of boating and recreation and fishing that goes on but also in terms of lake users or property owners and that is another avenue where these critters can get into our lake systems I know I've I've fished a lot of the area lakes for most of my life and I know Gall Lake has got zebra mussels Pelican lakes got zebra mussels North Long Lakes has zebra mussels bellagers were discovered last fall in Leech Lake and we know that malax has zebra mussels and it I always am kind of amazed at the critics of the DNR who so often are not scientists but there are probably a lot of times people like me who spend time on the water and that is such a complex environment down there underneath that water that is really hard to get a handle on what's going on isn't it I mean I'm in my view of course these zebra mussels clear up the water because they filter so much water are you starting to look at how is that changing the culture of the environment under there in terms of how are fish behaving it's a huge area where a lot of research could could be going on and we are DNR works with academic institutions and with Maze Arc on some of these very projects and these these have started and are getting underway they're starting to look at food webs if they're if the the dynamics of the food webs are changing with zebra mussels and and you mentioned the clearing water I think that's one of the major issues with zebra mussels is the fact that they not so much that that's changing the energy flow but the clearing water is really going to be something that affects what people are seeing out there plants will grow in deeper areas it could affect the way the lake warms so the water temperature regimes out there so fish are going to do different things in clear water than what they were doing before and and it's not all very it's very difficult to predict what's going to happen and I think it's good for people to know that the research that you folks do on the lakes is available on your website so if you want to look at what are the creel surveys showing for example on gall lake how many how many fish are stocking in the area that information is all available to the public how do they how do they get to that yep um you know google the google search engine is good um within our website you have a search abilities and and like you say all our information available I think that's one of the strengths of of doing this public work with it with an agency um and uh you know just the good old fashioned telephone call to the info line will get you to the researcher or the the fisheries biologist that you're looking for to ask those questions and they they make themselves available sometimes it takes a couple days to to get that phone tag down but uh it's all out there I know uh in the last three or four years there's a lot of criticism that gall lake doesn't have the walleyes in it anymore that it used to have and I think uh the last two years has proven that most of the people who said that were wrong because those walleyes were there and they're beautiful fish 18 19 last year there were a lot of 19 inch fish 19 inch fish that came out of that lake it seems to me that they are spending more time in the summer into the vegetation maybe than they used to and used to be like we could go in the middle of august the end of august and find a lot of walleyes and 12 to 14 feet of water with that cleaner clear water I shouldn't say cleaner but clear water they seem to be moving deeper a little earlier and they're in different spots so it must be just about impossible to to tell people exactly how they're behaving down there with this changing environment isn't it yeah and we never could before you know we we would know where they are in relation to our nets you as fishermen probably always had a better handle of what they were doing but you know this is a recurring thing throughout the state you can you can go through the newspapers and find several examples of you know our our netting statistics are saying one thing and fishermen are are seeing and and thinking another and it's just that you know fishing adds information it does but it isn't as reliable as our netting in in some ways because our nets can can catch fish that fishermen are not catching that's really the gist of it because our nets are very effective and we and they're effective by design because we have to get our hands on as many fish as we can in a short period of time to do survey we survey work around the state fairly efficiently so there's always those conflict conflicting pieces of information but uh creel information is really important and it's uh what a creel is basically just getting angler information of how long they fished and what their catch rates were and what they kept so angler and harvest rate rate information is is expensive to come by and it's it's just chronically underfunded and uh it's just one of the challenges we face because that is the bottom line is what people are are catching and uh how you know in how satisfaction how satisfied they're going to be with their angling trip that is the bottom line but we're also looking at what the baseline populations are out there to create the conditions that can can produce good fishing at times maybe you could talk just a little bit about and i i don't mean to focus just on the lakes and brainer here but uh you are going to do some research on um smaller fish in gall lake and the thing that it's been amazing to me is the last two years i've caught jumbo perch on gall lake 12 and 13 inch perch and i can't remember catching as many as we have been the last few years it seems like that perch population's pretty healthy and that's one of the areas you're going to do some research isn't it yeah i i think it's showing some promise that um traditionally we've looked at perch uh well our our standard nets catch perch that are larger five and a half inches and bigger and those fish are already sexually mature so we're not we're we're just getting a snapshot of a segment of the population i think we're a little bit blinded to what a really important part of the perch population is are the young of the year the age ones age twos these are small fish under four inches and we really don't have a good feel for what those abundances are and how they can be affecting fishing um the the obvious thing is that when there's a lot of them out there the the fishing can be slower sure but that is overall a good thing and it's basically the foundation of a walleye fishery is having a good perch forage base so um that's something that we're just we're just starting on and just it's a little project in the brainard area maybe it'll expand and be something that other areas can do and will you know like anything um the more types of lakes you can study and have similar types of studies on the better your information is so we're we're really on the starting line there but there's a there's a larger issue statewide is is that um there is kind of a trend in in lower perch numbers in our in our standard nets and that's a concern because of their importance in the in the food chain i i know leech lake numbers were down probably the most since the 30s in talking with Doug Schultz last year that they're the the numbers are coming up on Winnie which is good to see and the size is coming back a little bit but so that'll be interesting to see what that research shows you mentioned kind of the cycle on on gall lake uh we've the research does shows that these perch populations cycle a little bit but overall they're cycling down in in a lot of cases and we want to figure out why figure out what we can yeah how big a staff do you have for the service area that you have to take care of yeah i have a staff of six we're probably uh a little better staff than average reiner is such a popular area with large number of water bodies but it's a little bit just about through attrition if right now in our in our agency if somebody leaves we're not filling that position very quickly to to gain what we can through salary savings and so some areas have are you know started with an office of five or four and if they have a vacancy they're they're they're down to three you know in some cases and that's a lot of geographic area to cover with yep you break the state up into 28 area fisheries office it's brainered as one of them you know you do the math on is 87 counties um divided by 28 and so each each area office has two or three or four counties to cover and so that's with the water rich area we have that's tough for three or four or five people let's just talk a little bit about walleye stocking and then maybe musky stocking uh i i read that recently there's been a a reevaluation of how the stocking is being done across minnesota because you're finding that some areas where you're stocking it hasn't been very effective could you just talk a little bit about that yeah it's all related together we're talking about budgets and staff and efficiencies we have to be you know efficient government is a good thing we have to be as efficient as we can all the time so we again we go back to these baseline surveys and how they're the key information pieces and in our decision making so if these surveys are showing that over um 10 15 20 years that increased stocking levels haven't been resulting in higher catch rates then we really have to question if that's worth the money fingerlings are very expensive if we're just to go to a private grower and buy them they're 18 to 20 a pound and that's about one dollar per walleye and a lake a stocking rate for a lake would be a pound of fish per literal acre so some some bigger lakes have a thousand literal acres a thousand pounds of fish need to go in there um that's that's uh 20 thousand dollars that's pretty expensive so or no 200 thousand dollars that's pretty expensive very yeah and then um you're also started stocking muskies last year in gall lake and you've stocked some i think the year it was a year before in roosevelt up and by outing could you just talk a little bit about that sure roosevelt lake started uh we we got uh a new roosevelt lake as a new musky lake in 2011 it started that long ago yep and uh it does take eight to ten years to get a musky fishery going to have enough larger mature individuals where it's worth it to go over there and fish roosevelt lakes just starting to come on now as a place where people can go and see a few fish get some follows get some mid 40 inch fish and i've had i've heard good reports of you know people having a good time it's worth their while to go over there right now so that's seven eight years into the game there um gall lake was just started as a musky fishery and that was in in the news quite a bit i'm sure as as people are aware um just started in 2016 and so it'll be uh you know seven eight nine years until people are going to start showing up and fishing for these muskies that are going to start to get into the 40 inch range now we were electro fishing this fall it was this was interesting we did catch a musky that's from 2016 in gall lake in september and it was 20 inches long oh my gosh it was uh it was an impressive growth rate because i guess they go in as 11 inches so typically so it almost doubled its length in one year so it's a good sign for uh for the the conditions are good for some of the muskies that are now will you stock any more muskies in gall lake it's on an every other year stock plan that's in our management plan it's a strategy that's shown to have worked um and be relatively efficient um statewide and not in the 40 other some stock musky lakes it it's amazing to me how emotional of an issue that is especially to lake shore owners um who feel that muskies are going to wipe out the walleye populations i can remember um a couple of their lakes that have been stocked over the years and it never seemed to be the issue that people thought it was and i think gall still has a pretty good sysco base doesn't it it's a good sysco base in in uh in gall it fits all the biological characteristics with it we have a really good track record of tracking um the 40 some musky lakes that we've where we've introduced muskies and we've really seen that the fisheries are not hurt by that you've added a musky fishery but you really haven't taken away from the other species and that's because the musky is such a low density predator there's only one every three or four or five acres wow um and so you know they they have a large presence when you when it shows up but uh ecologically it's it's not um taking up a lot of space well what are what are some of the new initiatives that you've got going on well we always have a a lot of things going on in the brainard area one of the things i'm pretty excited about is that we were able to get four new aquatic management areas this year you know i you mentioned i've been here seven years we we hadn't had any in the first seven years and then you know how things go just uh things happen to go right and we have four new ones in the air that that opens up a little piece of state land it's like a wildlife management area the the first goal of an aquatic management area is to protect near shore habitat and and they're geared towards uh lake frontage so you're protecting um lake frontage in an undisturbed way but it's also if you have a 30 or 40 plus acre piece of land that someone could go sit in a bow stand and or hike or cross country ski in the winter so that's uh but it always has some water on it i would assume yeah the aquatic management areas are geared towards either a river or a creek or a or a lake okay so you have four of those and are they all in crowing county or they're they're spread around there was one up in the northern part of crowing county in the cast there's one in the center and then one over towards pelican lake it's you know like i said it's just kind of been how the cookies fell this this time around but we're happy to be trying to add opportunities in the brainard area for different recreation for folks to come here and visit and have a good time um you know on that vein one of the things that has gotten positive reviews as opening up winter fishing winter trout fishing opportunity in the uh cayuna country state recreation area that's been a hit you know the the mountain bikers have been really going over there and and doing that and some people have been really finding a good combination of fishing and mountain biking when they come to visit this area and and winter fishing which which was closed for many years um for trout right for trout or any fishing um on the mine pits is now opened so you've got to be careful on that ice because those deep water lakes have thinner ice than than your other typical lakes but once that ice formation is good um in the trout season as a play you can fish for all species on you know there happen to be some large northern pike in those um some of those mine what are the kinds of trout that you're targeting there that people would be targeting well we're mostly uh stocking rainbow trout in these systems and it's a put and put and take system you know it's a very popular thing after in open water in may um for for people to do and um but we're also getting some of our ser sometimes we get some surplus production put a few extra fish in there for the winter fishery um there are some brook trout available to people and there's one pit even that has lake trout and that's really popular in the winter because those lakers don't seem to necessarily bite in the summer but they will bite in the winter okay isn't that interesting it's similar to trout lake we find the trout lake isn't real good in the summer but they do definitely bite in the winter time that's right yeah yeah it's so trout fishing in the canyona country stator has been really popular we've had positive reviews probably sold some trout stamps that way too um so when you look at the area lakes like in the brand area pelican north long gall lake um do you see the fishing is still about what it's been historically when you're or I should say when you're doing your netting when you go in and do your server are those lakes pretty well holding true to what the historic levels have been you know pelican has been one where it's been on the downside a little bit we're working really hard on pelican to get it back to where it's been and we're working really hard with the lake association um cooperatively um but you know looking at long-term trends white fish chain is as good as it's ever been it is gall um you know while the numbers are down the fishing has been good we're working on gall really hard um north long has been uh really good fishing um so we haven't heard complaints over there and the population looks strong so yeah the big lakes in the brain area are doing pretty well um and we're we're watching them as close as ever knowing that uh it's a big draw to the area you know um we're talking about climate change and there's no question that climate is a is changing here uh the water temperatures this year were pretty normal though weren't they we didn't get that it seemed like if you went from Minneapolis south it was really hot this area seemed to stay I think we only had four or five days in the 90s water temperatures didn't get too bad did they yeah the water temps were low I think water clarity is ends up being pretty high because of that it does uh it doesn't seem like there's a normal year anymore weather wise really um so it's really hard to to remember what what normal used to be anymore yeah um but yeah it certainly affects fishing um it's been a little bit of an odd you know in and out year for fishing but now do you the populations are there do you still have hearing sessions during the course of the year in the area for just getting input from people yeah well do that yeah I mean I like to say every day is a public input meaning for me because you can people call and email at all times and that's fine that's that's a good way and it's a good way to ask for information really keeping the open lines of communications with associations and the civic groups are is really an important thing um recently we had a public meeting for Moody Lake to open that up to catch and release fishing which is it was a you know it was in the paper it's just a tiny little blurb but that's one of the examples that I was trying to mention about opening up some opportunities that lake was close to fishing it was kind of an experimental lake within the Moody Lake aquatic management area so that public input has been so far positive I just think that is a great idea to have catching catching release lakes like Hubert for bass someone like me I can take grandkids over there who want to learn how to fish or people who don't really come from the area don't want to keep fish it's so nice to have a lake like that where you can go in and the populations are good and you can catch and release them and that's a great thing it really is the the power the value of recycling these fish you know catching and releasing and someone else having an opportunity to catch again has really been uh it's been a powerful thing that people have opened their eyes to with the with bass fishing leading the way with the catch and release ethic uh musky fishermen are really doing that now or even even a legal fish over 54 inches that they could keep there they want to see go back in the water for someone else to catch and that's uh that's something we need to see because there's just there's more and more people out there there's not going to be less and uh so the slice of the pie is going to be thinner for everyone if we want to you know we we can't grow we can't have more in a large sense we can't have more than our carrying capacity of fish so it's just going to be dividing the pie up a little bit everybody wants more fish but they don't realize that you have to have a biomass to support all that yeah great well thanks for being on the show appreciate it thanks for having me again you've been watching Lakeland Currents where we're talking about what you're talking about. I'm Ray Gildow so long until next day.


Hello. I'm Paul. I study how technology is impacting businesses. I look at the generations, you know, the older generation, the newer generation, how kids are using their mobile phones, our kids are using technology, our kids are using digital. And why kids? I mean even people like me because I'm some kind of a kid, I'm a geek, right? So this is what I do. I work with big businesses. So why would I speak to ITU World next month? It's because I think, I believe that we've seen a big shift in generations in technology as well. I was involved in 1999 at World Telecom here in Geneva where we were recording this. And you remember maybe back then, if you're old enough to do so, that you would have a Nokia phone and that it was the Internet on mobile was not very, very well working. There was some protocol called WAP. And nowadays you have a smartphone and your smartphone is actually more powerful than the computer you used to have in your office three years ago, three years ago. It has changed everything. It has given people tools that are very much empowering. Imagine you have a world with a lot of people with have a huge computer in their pockets at all times. And more and more we go forward. They not only have this computer in their pocket, but also the computer is always connected, always on with faster and faster broadband speeds. So imagine how the businesses can be impacted and how the world is impacted, the societies are impacted, our cultures are impacted. And this is a little bit what we're going to talk about. Of course, if you took the the the angle as a mobile carrier or mobile operator, as we call them call them in Europe, their world has changed as well. It used to be that mobile operators were actually, you know, sending you a mobile phone that was delivered by another company. And then they would actually sell you services. And nowadays, if you look at what consumers want, they just don't want a mobile phone anymore. It's not about the mobile phone or smartphone, they want to have to know what they can do with it. This is what this is why Apple started back in 2008, actually, when the App Store was launched. You've seen more and more apps were created. You see the so external developers, the loss of controls by by by manufacturers to do a lot of software that people can use. And now when people choose a phone, they actually don't choose a phone. They also choose a phone because it's nice, it's well designed, it's fast, but they choose a phone because they can do stuff with it. And these have changed completely the the shape of the industry. You see manufacturers that used to be big that have disappeared. And you've seen big telcos used to be big that are struggling to understand where the market is going. And this is what I'd like to do with the panelists that will invite at RG World Telecom. I will have three panelists that may be more, but I cannot name them yet. I will have in alphabetical order of their first name, Benedict Evans, for me is one of the best industry analysts for mobile. It's based in London. It looks at the numbers. It looks you know, why is Apple so big? Samsung and all these all these all these names you keep hearing about Android versus versus iOS and the new the new generations like Firefox mobile. He looks at these and it tries to make sense of it. And then I will have Colin Miles, Colin Miles with has a very long experience in mobile. He also has experience in music. So all these services you put on top. So what why would you would a consumer like a mobile phone what you can do with it? So he has the angle of all the services you put on top the layer that you put on top on on a mobile phone. And then the last one will be Robbie Hills and you represent a company that you might have heard about Google. And he works in advertising, he will, he will have a very interesting point of view because, you know, we, you have suddenly a company is Google that does advertising in search, and is that is moving towards mobile and also offering a mobile operating system. And all these things are making some other competition and we don't easy where where is all this going. So with these three, I think we have a pretty good view of where the market is going, we'll try to see where it's going in the next five to 10 years. An example, I just talked about about about Google, it used to be that you know, again, a mobile phone was created by a company that would have full control in it. And now you have all these new, new operating systems that are that are rising. You have also on Bluetooth, I mentioned Firefox, the Stuyzen there's others. But what I what it means is that suddenly all the all the it seems like the sand is completely shifting and these the businesses whether you're on your consumer hand at the enterprise and they don't know where the market is going. And the consumers in the end are the ones winning because consumers get better technologies faster technologies, they can do more stuff with it. So it's very very big optimistic view that I'm going to talk about this this topic in Bangkok next month with my panelists, and we'll have some surprises for you. So I hope to see you there. And you can contact me and find me online at paulpapadimitriou.com or on Twitter at Papadimitriou and you'll find all the information and please engage with me. And I'll be very happy to talk about all these innovative and destructive technologies that are reshaping generations and societies. Thank you.


Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah movement in Israel have traded deadly cross-border fire on a near-daily basis since war broke out in October between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers, a Hezbollah ally.Ayan-Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon killed three paramedics from the militant group Hezbollah, state media in Lebanon reported. Hours after a missile strike blamed on the militants killed at least one foreign worker in northern Israel. The attacks took place as US Special Envoy Amos Hochstein was arriving in Beirut for meetings with Lebanese officials, the US Envoy urged calm along Israel's border with its northern neighbor, Lebanon, as the ongoing war in Gaza sparks fears of a wider conflict in the Middle East. Shortly after the deadly strike, Hezbollah said it launched dozens of rockets at the Israeli kaboots of Qfar Blom, six kilometers from the nearest border point. The Iran-backed group also said it targeted a building in the Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona. It said it acted, in response to the Israeli aggression against the villages of the south and the homes of civilians, among them the strike on the house in Hula. The Lebanese Shi'ite movement also said it carried out several attacks on Israeli military positions on the border on March 5.The Iran-backed group also said it targeted a building in the Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona. It said it acted, in response to the Israeli aggression against the villages of the south and the homes of civilians. Among them the strike on the house in Hula.


Hi, I'm Joshua Capello. I'm the Director of Pediatric Neurointensive Care here at the Joseph N. Cesare Children's Hospital. We have pediatric neurologists with a range of backgrounds and areas of interest. What I contribute to the group is having a combination of experience in intensive or critical care as well as neurology. I can provide the ICU care that the child needs as well as the outpatient follow-up care. To me, children are not only the most interesting but the most fun patients to work with. Each has their own unique personality and they're still developing. There's more chance for recovery, there's more chance for them to overcome, and they're resilient. I don't know that there's any single plan that works for every single patient. I think it's about individualizing the care, it's about providing the parents with a set of options, figuring out what would work best for them, what would work best for this child's future. I want my patients and their parents to know that whatever it is they're going to go through, they're never going to go through it alone. And there's nothing more satisfying than knowing that we've helped them overcome it. Seeing a child who's developing wonderfully into an independent individual, knowing in the background what it is that they overcame to get to that point.