It is now time for Question Period, the leader of Her Majesty's Royal Opposition. My question is for the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change. Minister, when I asked the Premier whether you were intending, whether your government was intending on introducing a carbon tax like they have in Quebec, I really didn't get an answer last Thursday. She skated all over the place, she was as slippery as the ice outside. Let me just tell you what's going on in Quebec. Starting in January 1st, 2015, a little over a month from now, drivers in Quebec will pay an extra 1.9 cents on each liter of gasoline for their carbon tax, brand new tax. That's with carbon currently priced at $11.39 per ton. Drivers will pay 2.5 cents more per liter of gas if carbon goes up to $15. 6 cents of carbon goes up to $30 per ton, and 10 cents more per liter of carbon goes up to $50 per ton, which would very well could. Question? Carbon tax will also apply to natural gas and oil as well. Wow. Minister, are you planning on doing the same thing to hardworking Ontarians? The Minister of the Environment and Climate Change. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I think the first thing we have to understand, Mr. Speaker, is our planet right now is heading for a 4 degrees Celsius mean temperature change in the last half of this century. Mr. Speaker, what that means for my 4 year old grandson, the chances of him growing up and getting to my age and having a functional economy or having a secure food supply is remote. We're in three years of drought in California that is going to drive food prices through the roof for working Ontario families. And as you may know as a result of climate change, Tim Hortons just raised its coffee prices 10 cents a cup. Climate change is making the world a more dangerous and expensive place, and we are still waiting for the opposition to explain what their policy on climate change is, Mr. Speaker. Well, Mr. Speaker, I suspect this is more of a tax grab than it is a move to save the environment, to save the climate, Mr. Speaker. In fact, in Quebec, the carbon tax that will come in in just over a month will bring in $500 million in the first year alone, 2015, and by 2020 it's expected to bring in $3.5 billion in extra taxes. The $500 million is exactly what we found out you were short in this year's fall economic statement. Everything points to including the meetings and the deals that were signed on Friday between Premier Coulard and Premier Nguyen. Everything points to the fact that you're going after a tax grab. Do you really think that two cents a liter of gasoline is going to save the climate? I think what it's going to do is drive jobs out of the economy. It's going to, once again, overtax the people of Ontario and it's penalizing hard work on Ontario families. That's what it's going to do. Thank you, Minister. So what's your question, Mr. Speaker? First of all, the only carbon tax in Canada is in British Columbia. Second of all, Alberta, the Conservative Party, introduced a credit similar to the cap and trade system to what Quebec and many other jurisdictions have. I would suggest that the honourable member start to understand the difference between a market mechanism that helps companies pool capital and get rewarded for reducing their carbon emissions and improving their productivity and that of a tax. It's very clear to me that the literacy level about fiscal policy and the environment is about zero. So I spent two days with resolute forestry products going from where they cut down the tree to talking about them, how they're operating in the Quebec system. Some companies like it, some don't, but it's very clear, Mr. Speaker. The opposition has not even a nodding acquaintance with either climate change or the market mechanisms available in some jurisdictions. Final supplementary? You know, Mr. Speaker, back to the minister. I'd say to the minister rather than lecturing us, why don't you look in the mirror and test yourself for honesty? You didn't run on the carbon tax. I'm going to ask the member to withdraw, please. withdraw, Mr. Speaker. Member from Timmons James Bay to resist the temptation. Minister, there was no mention of the carbon tax or a cap and trade system in your last election or the liberal platform. There was none in the throne speech nor the budget nor the fall economic statement. This thing's come clearly out of left field. First of all, I apologize to people of Ontario for even thinking of this and secondly, tell us today that you're not going to do it. So, Mr. Speaker, when the government announces policy, we do it through budgets, through fall economic statements and through legislation in this house. Considering that there is no legislation, as the member described, tells you this isn't coming out of left field, this is craziness coming out of right field. Mr. Speaker, again, I have suggested in a few cases. Member from Chatham, come to order. Seven hundred million dollars in one hour was the cost to go of a washout in Burlington of eight metres of track. Do you know how many hundreds of millions of dollars it's cost us to replace the operating rooms, not once, but twice in the last 24 months at Burlington Hospital? Do you want to talk to Mayor Goldring about the impacts of climate change on his stormwater system? Would you like to go to Buffalo and try to explain unprecedented water change? Maybe you would like to talk to the people in Toledo. Mr. Speaker, in Toledo, four hundred thousand... Thank you. The member from Renfrew and Nipissing Penbook will come to order. New question, the leader of the opposition. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Education. Minister, by now everyone knows you tried to sneak a half a billion dollars in cuts to the education system past Ontarians. But what we don't know is which schools you will close to make those cuts. There are over a hundred and fifty accommodations under way. You repeatedly mentioned six hundred schools that are close to empty across the province, most of them in rural and small town Ontario. You have said, quote, it's not prudent to keep turning on lights and heating for schools that are not operating at capacity. So well, Minister, are you going to turn the lights off and the heating off in those six hundred schools? Thank you, Minister of Education. Yes, thank you very much. I caught a whiff of trying to hide things there. First, in his response, I want to read you what the auditor general said, Speaker. The member from Stormat, come to order. Please finish. What the auditor general said last week was that they had a request at the signing committee. The member from Renfrew, get to see Pembroke, come to order second time. To look at whether the government's communication of a two billion dollar savings associated with the negotiations with school board employees, collective agreements was reasonable. I'm quoting the auditor. As you saw in our press release and from our report, we have concluded that the estimate was reasonable. Quite frankly, everything we did during those negotiations was accurate, what we reported to the public, and totally transparent. Thank you, supplementary. Well, Mr. Speaker, I'm not really calling into question the work of the auditor. I'm calling into the question the sneakiness of this government by cutting half a billion dollars from school boards saying in the past that it was always up to school boards to make decisions whether schools would stay open or closed, but you are basically closing up to 600 schools across this province and you won't be forthright and open about it. You talk about open government. Now, you know the 600 schools. We want to see the list and we want to know the sake of our small towns, our rural Ontario and our cities. Which schools are you going to close? Which schools are you going to force school boards to close by depriving them of $500 million because of your fiscal mismanagement for the last 11 years? Yes, thank you, Speaker. And I'm really not sure where it is that you decide something is sneaky when you send a consultation document to every of all of 72 school boards in the province. That's not sneaky. That's open and transparent. But to respond to the question, Speaker, we have provided $22.5 billion in operating funding to school board this year. That's up 56.5% since 2003. That's an increase of over $4,200 for each and every student in the province of Ontario. We have dramatically increased funding, but it is also true that enrollment is declining and boards need to manage their assets. Thank you. Final supplementary. Well, let me get this straight. You're still saying that boards need to manage their assets but you're taking $500 million, half a billion dollars away from those very school boards and you're talking in this house and you talk outside about low birth rates, close to 600 schools, not at full capacity. They're less than 66%. You've basically, you've talked about a secret list that you have that you won't show us. I would think that school boards are getting the hint, pretty loud and clear that they have to close schools.  You're forcing these schools to close. Many of these schools- Member from Glengar, I come to order. Community. I thought you would at least say something about hubs because you have talked about community hubs, but it sounds like you've even moved away from that. So what schools are you going to close, Minister? Thank you. Minister? Actually, I have significant funding in my budget to address community hubs and we're currently working with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs to figure out just exactly what we need to do with school hubs and a number of other issues. But to go back to- Member from Simcoe North, come to order. To go back to the question at hand. Of course we need to talk to boards about appropriate savings. This isn't about cuts. This is making sure that in a context of having a lot of underutilized capacity that boards actually review carefully their assets. But I think it's also important to note, Speaker, that we have actually provided additional funding this year for rural and remote schools. So in those cases where you've got a rural or remote northern school that clearly has to remain open, we've actually provided additional funding. Thank you. Thank you so much. Another question? Member from Welland. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Acting Premier. On November 24th, 1989, the leader of the Federal NDP rose in the House of Commons to propose that child poverty be eliminated within 10 years. Today, 25 years later, since that historic NDP motion, a staggering number of children, over a half a million are living in poverty in Ontario. That's more than the population of Hamilton. It's enough to fill the Rogers Centre 10 times over to the Acting Premier. After a decade of Liberal government, why are a half a million children living in poverty in Ontario right here, right now? Thank you. Acting Premier. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Child poverty is of concern for us all. Mind you, we've made investments. We recognize how important it is. That's why since we've invested over a billion dollars, we recognize that more needs to be done. And it will be critical for us to do so. But I do want to comment on the question from the third party, no less. The NDP's platform didn't even mention it once in their platform. Poverty was non-existent. They voted against the very measures that was progressive in this budget that dealt with dealing with poverty. They voted against the increase for families. They voted against investments in housing and benefits for low income. They voted against higher minimum wage, Mr. Speaker. And now they have the audacity to stand here and ask us questions about something that they didn't even support. I'll leave this supplementary to my colleague who will address the very nature of what we're putting forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In 2008, the Liberal government promised to reduce child poverty by 25%. The Deputy Premier called it achievable. But the Liberals failed to keep that promise to the most vulnerable kids in our province. Instead of reducing child poverty, it's actually on the rise. 10,000 more children fell into poverty in just the last two years alone in Toronto. If the Liberals promised to break the cycle of child poverty, why is it getting worse? I serve children and youth services, Mr. Speaker. Minister of Children and Youth Services. Thank you, Speaker. So first I want to thank Campaign 2000 for their thoughtful report that was recently released. And I think we all agree, Speaker, that to address poverty and help everybody reach their full potential, we need to make sure the right supports are in place. So we have recommitted to reducing poverty among children and youth through targeted investments and supports and reducing child poverty by 25%. So everyone can get the best start in life and reach success. We will be investing $15 billion funding for children's social services and more than $1 billion in the intero child benefit. I may add by no help from the NDP in indexing that to inflation, which happened with their budget, as said by the acting Premier. There is nothing in the NDP platform about poverty. But we are committed to the poverty reduction strategy focusing on the welfare of children, housing and other important measures. Thank you. Supplementary. In her maiden speech to this House, the Premier said, I've never known poverty. Speaker, every child in this province, in this country, should be able to say the exact same thing. But today, one in five kids in our province, half a million are living in poverty. The Liberal government has failed to meet its poverty reduction target. And child poverty is actually increasing right here in Toronto. After a decade of Liberal government, why do a half a million kids in Ontario still know all too well the pain and suffering of poverty and what it means to live in poverty here in Ontario? Thank you, Minister. So Speaker, there's no doubt there's much more work to do on this file. But we need to keep working and investing to break the cycle of poverty. We have increased the benefit for the Ontario child benefit and index that to inflation, as I mentioned. This benefit speaker has more than doubled. The child benefit has doubled since 2008. That's fantastic. We have other program speakers such as our student nutrition program, the Minister of Education and I, the supporting initiatives on that to help school-aged children get a good breakfast and start their day successfully. And we've invested many more millions of dollars and we'll continue to do that as part of our five-year plan to do nutrition and other programs. Thank you, Speaker. Thank you. New question? Thank you, Speaker. Well, you can't spend the lived experience of children in the province. To more than a half a million children living in poverty, the liberal promises aren't worth much. The liberals promised to reduce child poverty by 25% in five years. Those five years came and went. That promise was broken.  The liberals have come up with a plastic promise they can't break and which they will never keep. To the acting premier, why does the liberal government have no deadline for reducing child poverty and no urgency to get this job done? Acting premier? Minister of Children and Youth Services. Minister of Children and Youth Services? So I just want to make it perfectly clear this is a very serious important issue to our government. There's no doubt about that. So let's focus on the facts. And our poverty reduction strategy has many components, Speaker. I mentioned about the homelessness focus. We are committing to our original goal to reduce poverty by 25% using 2008 as a base year. Increasing the funding to the community homeless prevention initiative by 42 million. Allocating 16 million over three years to create a thousand new supportive housing spaces. Committing to this is very important. Providing health benefits for children and youth and low income families such as prescription drugs, vision care and mental health services. Investing 50 million over five years and the strategy is very important. And you know that the Deputy Premier has spoken before about the challenges we've faced in moving this strategy forward including the lack of cooperation from the federal government and the rallies of a recession we've lived in. Thank you. Supplementary. Thank you Speaker. Well campaign 2000 says austerity has eroded the living conditions of children's and their families. But the Liberals are moving steam ahead with an austerity plan that will only make life harder. It will slash 6% from most ministries in which Bloomberg calls the biggest cuts since Harris. It means a half a million dollars will be cut from our schools hurting the most vulnerable kids the most. How can the Liberals say they're committed to addressing child poverty when their cuts are already making the problems worse? Thank you Minister. Well Speaker quite frankly this is outrageous. The NDP did not even mention the word poverty in their platform. Not even mentioned it. They voted against the most progressive budget in Ontario's history. This is what they said no to Speaker. They said no to families who depend on the child benefit. They said no to investments in housing and benefits for low income children. They said no to a higher minimum wage and much much more. BCs didn't help either. They wanted services so there's no doubt that this government has moved on poverty reduction in Ontario. We've made investments Speaker. There's more to do. We are deeply committed. It's a very serious issue. I'm very disappointed to hear the language being used by the party. We should be working together to reduce child poverty. Thank you. Thank you Speaker. Well there are more that more children living in poverty than there are people living in Hamilton or Diagra. And that is a shameful record from a government that has made so many promises. It's a human deficit that will only hurt the province. And worst of all the deep cut backs will put more kids in poverty make life harder for families already struggling to make ends meet. Well the acting Premier admit that the Liberals have no targets, no timeline for reducing child poverty because they know that their cuts will only make the problems worse. I'm not sure what part of my answer wasn't heard. We are recommitting to our original target to reduce child poverty by 25%. We're increasing funding and community homeless initiative by 42 million for nearly a total of 294 million per year. We're allocating 16 million over three years to create a thousand new supportive housing spaces and we're very much focusing on supporting Ontarians living with mental health and addiction issues. So Speaker, I don't know what else I can say except we want to keep going. We want to continue to lift children out of poverty. We will stand behind children and their families to help them reach their full potential. And we'll keep making investments we need. I surely hope the opposition will be with us and reach that goal with us together. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Speaker to the acting premier. Minister, your government has released a new poverty reduction strategy after missing most of the targets in your last one. You keep putting obstacles in front of Ontarians struggling to do better by depriving working parents of affordable, local, trusted childcare by making it more difficult to get training and to enter a trade and by driving up hydrovilles pushing more Ontarians into poverty. According to campaign 2000's latest report card the income supports that are directly intended for children continue to be deducted from social assistance incomes leading families no further ahead. Minister, when will your cabinet stop giving them one hand and taking away on the other? Thank you. Acting Premier. I'll take the first question Mr Speaker. I do appreciate and thank campaign 2000 for their very thoughtful and constructive report. We all agree that child poverty is an issue we need to address it. We are recommitting our efforts in doing so. We've put it in the budget. We reinforce an awful economic statement and Mr Speaker to have this question now come from the PCs is bizarre. They promote and they are working and they campaign on slashing social services to the most vulnerable people in our society. They voted against the Ontario Charter they voted against minimum wage increase they voted for tax cuts for low income Mr Speaker and then the member from Dufford Caledon come to order the member from Prince Edward Hastings come to order the member from Leeds Grenville come to order and I have a few other in my head. Thank you. We all want to break that cycle of poverty. We want to ensure that we invest in social housing which they also have voted against. Thank you Mr Speaker. Thank you. Back to the acting premier many agencies and community groups who assist needy interians reached out to me recently highlighting how their funding had not seen any increases for over five years and that their clients were struggling to access services in rural Ontario pay their hydro... The member from beaches east shore come to order and get training. More interians would be in full-time work and businesses weren't being driven away. Housing would be more affordable if interians could afford winter heat and more families would boost their incomes if they could access affordable local child care. Why does this government insist on making the poorer poorer and feeding them with empty promises? Mr. Chairman do you have services Mr Speaker? So I hope the PCs agree Speaker that poverty is a complex issue we have a course limited courses so that's where our reduction strategy is all about getting the best possible results for people who are in poverty you want to lift people out of poverty but you know I guess I'm glad the PCs have asked this question because you know after the election this year I stood and announced the increased student tarot child benefit but guess what Speaker the indexing to inflation was tied to the budget and they were nowhere to be found they were nowhere to be found and let's look at past record the PCs social assistance payments by 22% when they were in power throws ODSP payments for the minimum wage for 9 years and ending construction Thank you New question Thank you Mr. Speaker my question is for the minister of health and long-term care an end to the cuts and privatization schemes that are eroding our public healthcare system under this liberal government just today earlier Health Quality Ontario revealed that when it comes to seeing a physician when we get sick Ontario has the worst performance of all 10 countries they compared to including Britain and the US two thirds of patients with mental illness never get their one week follow-up after hospitalization and the most frail seniors in our province wait an average of 111 days for the long-term care they need How can the minister of health defend his government cuts and privatization of healthcare when Ontarians deserve so much better Thank you Thank you Mr. Speaker and I'm not exactly sure which question you're asking the member from the third party there's it was a pretty broad statement that was made but I'm going to start with the demonstration on the front lawn of the legislature on Friday and organized primarily by the Ontario Health Coalition while I was in the cabinet join cabinet meeting with the Quebec cabinet I had actually looked forward to meeting with the individuals on the front lawn unfortunately when I returned from that cabinet meeting they were no longer present but I want to reassure Ontarians that in fact as we continue this process of moving certain low-risk procedures into the community closer to home where people want them we do that in a manner safe and accountable and transparent Mr. Speaker we only do it into organizations that are not for profit entities Mr. Speaker Thank you supplementary Thank you well speaker at the heart of our public healthcare system is the belief that high quality care will be there for us when we need it but too many Ontarians are waiting for months on end for the care they need and sometimes not getting it at all and this government's prescription is a freeze on hospital funding privatizations of our healthcare services and massive cuts to home care in areas like Windsor the minister tries to deny the reality but patients are feeling the pain my question is simple when will the minister get the message stop the cuts and the privatizations that are undermining patient care in Ontario Thank you minister well Mr. Speaker what the member opposite is saying is just not true we've for our hospitals in this province we have approximately doubled the funding to our hospitals across this province in the last 10 years the member opposite talked about cuts in Windsor that's simply not true in fact we've nearly doubled the funding to our CCAC for home care in Windsor Essex in fact we increased their funding by 3 million dollars this year compared to last year so it's important Mr. Speaker that we all of us for what we say and we speak to the facts that we don't make things up as we go along and it's you know the important thing I'd like to leave with Ontarians is that we are investing in healthcare we have one of the best healthcare systems in the world Mr. Speaker there is more work done we're making that work carefully in a calculated manner with our stakeholders in a way which is going to continue to improve the quality Thank you Thank you Mr. Speaker Minister of the Environment and Climate Change Mr. Speaker climate change is one of the most important issues of our time and governments, industry communities and individuals must work together to solve this serious problem I know that this is a significant issue for my constituents in Halton in fact a survey of Halton region shows that close to 83% of residents are concerned about climate change Halton residents want our government to take the necessary steps to ensure that Ontario reduces its greenhouse gas emissions I'm pleased to see that our government continues to take decisive action to address this serious challenge to our environment it will help fight the severe weather that we've been facing recently and taking these steps will also ensure that future generations will be able to breathe more easily healthy lives tomorrow Mr. Speaker, can the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change please update the House on what our government is doing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions Thank you Minister from the Environment and Climate Change Mr. Speaker we've done quite a lot I've often given credit to my friend from St. Catharines if you think about Ontario today we have a blue box recycling program as a result of this government in his work and we have no more yellow hazy fogs over Toronto anymore because our coal plants are closed so folks opposite produce that these kind of environmental measures would cost people money and would produce doom and gloom and economic downturn what we actually know is that Ontarians are very proud and we are party with the courage to make tough decisions but we're not alone Mr. Speaker we're working very closely with Quebec who have taken some very important initiatives to capture the green economy and lower GHG emissions and I'll look forward on the supplementary thank you Mr. Speaker again my question is for the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change I'm pleased to hear that our government is working with other provinces to provide leadership on climate change where the federal government is actually failing to take meaningful action it's important that Ontarians come together to act on climate change now it's vital that we recognize the unique opportunity our province has to become a global leader on this issue the Toronto Stock Exchange and the TSX Venture Exchange already include more clean technology renewable companies than any other exchange in the world Mr. Speaker I'm proud to say that a number of these forward-thinking environment companies are actually in my own writing I'm sure my constituents will be happy to know that we're working with partners in other jurisdictions to combat climate change Mr. Speaker through you could the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change please share with the House of Action Ontario and Quebec will be taking under the memorandum of understanding Thanks Mr. Speaker so what we're doing with Quebec with California with New York with the Reggie States which the opposition reads as taxes is actually quite the opposite Mr. Speaker what we're actually looking at is this will we buy electric carbon neutral cars made in Ontario and made in North America or are we going to buy them solely from China if we do not have the partnerships with Quebec, California New York, Michigan to create that green supply chain to put the market mechanisms in place to change our fiscal policies that companies like those in your constituency that want to innovate and go from a high carbon low productivity economy to a high productivity economy that is a low carbon economy we need to change the way we manage trade and we manage fiscal policy and those kinds of outcomes John Kerry the Secretary of the States identified that while the tech boom was a $1,000,000 expansion of our economy the low carbon economy over the next 20 years will be a $6,000,000 expansion of the economy and we in Ontario are committed to lead that transformation Thank you Mr. Speaker my questions to the Minister of Transportation Minister last week motorists along the QEW got a glimpse of your vision for winter maintenance they attempted to maneuver through snow covered slippery roads and multi vehicle accidents I'm sure many of them wondered where their government was to ensure road safety and how it was that the Minister of Transportation was unprepared for a snow storm everyone else saw coming I don't know if you get briefed on the weather Minister but given the direct relationship between foul weather and poor driving conditions you may want to check into the new weather app at the Blackberry store Minister, given that you were caught flat footed last week will you commit to the house today to keeping yourself apprised of the 5 day weather forecast going forward Good question Well thank you very much Mr. Speaker I want to thank the member for that question of course as I've said many many times in this legislature road safety and highway safety is one of the most important responsibilities that I have and with respect specifically to winter maintenance the fact that the road safety is such a priority for us is one of the reasons that we have dedicated more resources this year to make sure that right across the province of Ontario we are in a position to respond to the weather as it occurs in fact Speaker not that many weeks ago as we've discussed here in the house I was in position to announce that we have added 50 new pieces of machinery to southern Ontario which speaker of course compliment the additional 55 pieces of equipment that we put on the roads mostly in northern Ontario last year we will continue to work very hard over the course of the rest of this winter season speaker to make sure that we are equipped to deal and that we do deal with winter maintenance conditions and I look forward to the supplementary so that I can respond Thanks very much Thank you Speaker back to the minister Minister we've heard all about this review as to what happened last week from you last week and I don't know if that review is in yet but I can tell you what it might look like three things minister we live in Ontario Canada where it snows two it's snowed and three you fail to ensure you are prepared to clear that snow a couple weeks ago you boasted about 15 million dollars for winter maintenance thing is only just over half of that went to the actual equipment the rest to bureaucrats and communication campaigns typical if last week approved anything it's that we need plows and sultras on our roads not more bureaucracy of the 8 million that was spent on equipment minister can you tell us if those plows are actually operational today Good question Thanks very much Speaker I want to thank the member for the follow up question and I said in my initial response speaker that the road safety is so important for us it is why we have brought more resources to bear to make sure that we are equipped to deal with winter condition speaker there's one thing that I can suggest the people of Ontario certainly the people in the water region don't want I would suggest speaker is that that member use sarcasm to try and make the plan in this legislature when we're dealing with an issue that's so important speaker it's so important to make sure that we are in a position to deal with winter conditions it's why we're investing more resources I do have a right to hear the answer Please finish It's one of the reasons that we provided additional briefings for members of all three caucuses to make sure that everyone is very well aware of what we're doing this year to deal with the conditions it's why we've added more equipment it's why we've added more inspector speaker and I know that over the coming weeks and months we'll continue to do from the ministry's perspective the best start we can to make sure that our roads and highways remain as they've been for the last 13 years amongst the safest in North America Thanks very much Mr Speaker Mr Speaker my question is to the minister of labour a report to release this afternoon shows that the WSIB is handing out huge safety rebates to companies that have been convicted of health and safety violations some of these violations have even resulted in workplace deaths in many cases the companies were fined for their violations but the fines were nothing compared to the generous WSIB rebates the government has known about this problem with this program for many years yet millions of dollars millions of dollars are still being sent to employers guilty of serious violations will the government scrap the destructive experiments rating program now Thank you Mr Speaker I do want to thank the member for this important question and it is a very important question I want to start by saying this is a conversation that is included in this report at the basis the foundation of this report is that people were killed on the job we can't lose sight of that I want to thank Mr Ryan I want to thank Ms Hardwick of the OFL for the courtesy of some advanced knowledge on this report it is something I take very seriously all three parties have used experience rating it was bought in since the 1980's but what is important Speaker is that we do right by the families by the survivors of people who have died on the job there obviously are some existing problems with the current system and that includes the experience rating system the WSIB has been acting already to improve the system it made one change in 2008 that was implemented in 2009 we are in a period of consultation speaker on this issue and I urge the member to make sure he is involved in that consultation Mr Speaker with due respect there is nothing more to study the respected Arthur report which was delivered to the government in early 2012 said the government should scrap said the government should scrap the program unless it could be proven that it was doing more good than harm this is a program where a company like triple M metals where a worker was killed in 2009 after he was trapped inside a metal shredder was given more than $926,000 in safety rebates in 2011-2012 it's time to stop studying and start acting with this government commit to ending this outrageous this outrageous program now thank you thank you speaker thank the member for the supplementary as I said this is a very important issue and we take it very seriously the policy that is in place now if a company is responsible for a traumatic workplace fatality it can't get a rebate in the year that fatality occurred since 2009 we got $11 million in rebates to employees that are being cancelled as a result of that the WSIB knows that there is more work to do it's in the process of making changes earlier this year we released a report on the framework for the cost as we move ahead speaker it's focused on potential reforms to employer classifications to rate setting and speaker to experience rating we've completed one round of consultation of the WSIB has we'll be taking further proposals out for change I look forward to seeing the results of that consultation I want to hear from the ORBL I want to hear from employers I want to hear from the opposition good question the member from Barrie good morning speaker my question is for the minister of community and social services minister in my constituency of Barrie there is a great representation from the members of the aboriginal community the ministry of community and social services is responsible for providing culturally appropriate programs and services to the aboriginal peoples as you know first nations and Métis people seek services according to the needs of their community and delivered in their own communities minister can you tell us what support the government and your ministry are providing to aboriginal peoples in need thank you thank you very much and thank you to the member from Barrie supporting first nations and Métis people in their communities is a very important priority for our government and for my ministry last week I was in the great city of Thunder Bay celebrating the 20th anniversary of the aboriginal health and wellness strategy known as ORBL in the early 1990s we came together government, first nations Métis and aboriginal leaders to recognize and work together to address the concerns of aboriginal communities with the partnership of the ORBL strategy in 1994 we began funding organizations to address high levels of family violence and poor health among Ontario's aboriginal peoples and communities partnership and collaboration has led to the wide network of culturally appropriate programs and services that exist today it has also created 650 jobs to deliver healing, health and wellness programs in 250 aboriginal communities and established 460 community based projects across Ontario thank you minister this government has made building supports for aboriginal peoples a priority however as we all know there are many examples of first nation communities facing crisis of mental illness, addiction and suicide also aboriginal women and girls are disappropriately victims of violence and poverty in Canada this very important issue has been compounded by the fact that the federal government has been neglecting its responsibility to support this vulnerable population last week we received disappointing news from Ottawa it was reported that the status of women in Canada the federal agency that is supposed to promote the equality and advancement of women has funded 210 projects since the fall of 2011 and only 31 of them have had focus on aboriginal groups that's just 14.8% of the agency's entire programming targeting this hugely vulnerable group minister what is our government doing to assist these women and girls thank you Mr Speaker and certainly aboriginal peoples and communities do face unique challenges there are high rates of violence against aboriginal women, substance abuse and youth suicides that is why our government as announced last week is investing more than 10 million dollars family violence and violence against aboriginal women and children and improve healing, health and wellness in aboriginal communities across Ontario a large part of the money some 8.6 million dollars will expand the reach of ores services to the growing aboriginal population and to hard to reach communities specifically this will fund talk for healing a phone help line for aboriginal women and girls in the north who have limited access to services I had the privilege of seeing the work being done there first hand last week while in Thunder Bay these investments affirm Ontario's ongoing commitment and support to the work of the aboriginal healing and wellness strategy thank you thank you very much my question this morning is for the minister of education minister your party's policy on student transportation is failing it's failing to lower costs for school boards student transportation alliance was whacked with a 17% increase in transportation costs this year by one of the consortiums approved by your RFP process independent operators received only a 2% increase minister the courts have ruled in favour of small independent operators like Montgomery and Richmond's and Poli's and Boldrick's in my riding six times already but you continue to drag out this process minister will you commit to suspending an RFP process that's only accomplishing two things driving small businesses out of business and driving up costs for the local school boards minister of education yes thank you very much and I think first of all we do need to understand that the funding for transportation has increased quite significantly since 2003 we've actually increased the transportation funding speaker by 40% by over 880 million we do make allowances for things like increases in the cost of gasoline on a regular basis that's part of my annual funding adjustment so the idea that somehow we have not increased the funding for transportation is just simply not accurate so we will continue doing that it is a requirement it is a requirement that every board in procuring any service whether it be busing or any other service follow the broader public sector procuring guidelines supplementary minister you missed the premise of the entire question you need to spend more on transportation because you're ending competition in the school bus sector that's why you have to increase spending on transportation we have small businesses that are going out of business in the province of Ontario because of your flawed RFP process and the courts have proven this 6 times yet you continue to drag them through the mud and they continue to surround your office and any time you appear with big yellow school buses for too long the RFP process has been costing jobs you can have it with the school boards as well school boards that were part of the pilot RFP in 2010 in northern Ontario are now experiencing deficits and labour problems as they drive up the transportation cost there small operators who have been in business as family generations are out of business so minister the process has proven to be a disaster will you commit to suspending the RFP while an independent third party review is done and one that's not stacked the school bus sector yes and in fact we did make a commitment during the campaign that we would conduct an independent an independent review of competitive procurement we have in fact we have in fact set up the panel to do that it is led by Mr. Justice Colin Campbell who I think any of you who know Mr. Campbell's as an Ontario judge would agree that that is a third party independent review when it's being led by Mr. Justice Colin Campbell he has begun his work he will be reporting back to me after consulting with the various stakeholders the various bus operators there's more than one association the school boards the consortiums so I look forward to receiving Mr. Justice Colin Campbell's report thank you Mr. Campbell my question is for the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister the most recent Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation report on housing trends lists my community of London as the second hardest community for immigrants to find security in the housing security in the country second only to Toronto even though Toronto's population trend is due to the lack of affordability however we know the real issue at play is access for newcomers newly arrived newly arrived individuals and families are finding it difficult to secure housing because of these restrictions Speaker immigrants are vital to the economic well being and growth of our communities especially in my riding of London Speaker what is this government doing to ensure that newcomers in my community have the housing security they need thank you Minister Mr. Speaker I appreciate the question there's no doubt at all that those immigrating to this province and this country have built this great province and this great country into what it is today and that we need to do everything we can to assist everybody in Ontario to be adequately housed as a member may be interested in learning I'm doing a building bridges tour I'm touring and speaking to a number of groups concerned about housing options we are up to Ottawa last week to talk to the Ontario non-profit housing corporation we have a couple of housing groups coming in today I'm meeting with groups concerned about immigrant housing and other housing and we hope to renew answer answer we hope to renew our long term housing strategy in ways that will more effectively deal with the very kinds of concerns thank you Mr. Speaker in western Ontario we need a diverse workforce in order to kick start the economic engine but it's not just in my community of London immigrants in Toronto have it worse over 36% are unable to secure affordable housing and right across the province it's the same in Windsor and Hamilton we want assurances will this government give we want assurances that this government will give us the people of Ontario and not just take this study that identifies a problem and it just won't be ignored and what is this government going to do to find solutions for the housing security that are faced by the immigrants in Ontario thank you Minister well we're going to do anything and everything we can to address the housing challenges that we have in the province Mr. Speaker and we have actually we have been meeting with groups we're looking particularly at partnering with the private sector who we think brings a lot of expertise to the table we need to find some creative entrepreneurial ways of doing that the investment in affordable housing program which we're jointly engaged in with the feds we have a $300 million allocation there that's handled through municipal service partners by the way so that local municipalities can determine for themselves the best approach we've also reinvested in the CHIPI program which again is managed by municipalities so as to reflect the local needs thank you thank you speaker my question is for the minister of health and long-term care for the first five months in Canada the Canadian Diabetes Association is a remarkable advocate for people with diabetes I know we have many representatives here today in the gallery thank you to the volunteers and staff for all that you do as a nurse I know that diabetes is a chronic disease that can cause serious complications if not managed properly I provided care in and out of the hospital for many diabetics over my career it's estimated there's nearly 10 people in Ontario who have been diagnosed with diabetes that's nearly 10% of the population by 2020 it's estimated that the number of people living with diabetes will reach almost $2 million with an estimated cost of $7 billion to the health care system speaker it concerns many of my former patients in Cambridge what is our government doing to help these with diabetes minister thank you minister of health and long-term care thank you Mr. Speaker and I'd like to thank the member for Cambridge for raising this very important question Mr. Speaker we've come a long way in diabetes prevention treatment and management I remember when my sister was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was in her teens more than 40 years ago and just the changes that have taken place in this province and around the world it's something we can all be proud of and Mr. Speaker our government is committed to providing Ontarians supports that they need to manage their health effectively and I'm proud that in fact under our government every single Ontarian with diabetes who wants a family doctor has one and Mr. Speaker the best way to fight diabetes is to prevent it and that's why our government is moving forward to put in place recommendations from our healthy kids panel to help us undertake this challenge of reducing childhood obesity which contributes to chronic diseases like diabetes Mr. Speaker thank you Mr. Speaker there are no known ways to prevent type 1 diabetes but research shows that type 2 diabetes can be delayed or prevented through healthy eating, weight management and exercise both types of diabetes can be managed to result in better health outcomes one way is through the use of insulin pumps a nursing colleague of mine was pleased that Ontario was the first province to fully fund insulin pumps for children and adults for type 1 diabetes this saved her up to 18,300 dollars in the first five years as her son was an insulin dependent diabetic so far the programs provided more than 15,000 Ontarians and many of my constituents including seniors with funding for the purchase of insulin pumps and related supplies Minister what is Ontario doing to help those with complex needs thank you minister thank you Mr. Speaker we know that the health needs of Ontarians with diabetes are often very complex and require multidisciplinary care which is why we've established six different centres for complex diabetes care and these centres have provided care to more than 6,000 new patients but we've also increased the number of diabetes education teams to more than 300 around the province to help people manage their diabetes and their related complications we've also invested in self management providing workshops to more than 14,000 individuals and on the insulin pump which is now provided I'm proud to say that the member who just reminded me from Thunder Bay Superior introduced not one but two private members specifically speaking to that issue of the importance of providing those insulin pumps it's a beautiful example of how technology has evolved in the government as a part of our responsibility to manage these treatment we've responded as well thank you my question is for the minister of training colleges and universities minister in July I gave you a personal invitation to tour Kempel college and although you didn't have the courtesy to include me in your tour recently at least you showed up and saw the facilities at that college the facilities that I think are state of the art for our agriculture students and also provide a wonderful venue to host a number of community events these events bring in critical revenue and let everyone know that Kempel college is open for business so you can appreciate my surprise when I found out last week that the University of Guelph has stopped allowing private bookings at the campus effective November 30 minister so many people including your provincial facility are working on a sustainable future for the college why are you allowing the University of Guelph to undermine those efforts thank you thank you Mr. Speaker I would like to begin by thanking the member for that question I had the pleasure of meeting the officials of the Kempel college and also the leaders of the community along with my colleague minister Jeff Lee and we extended actually invitation to the member to join us but unfortunately the schedule didn't allow Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker it's very important for our government to make sure that our young people in eastern Ontario they have access to agriculture education quality agriculture education Mr. Speaker in this wonderful facility we are working with the community leaders Mr. Speaker and as well as the institution itself to make sure that Kempel college will continue to provide educational services to young people in the eastern part of the province of Ontario thank you Mr. Speaker Minister it's obvious if you don't know what's going on that campus I tried to send a booking for a meeting at that campus and I know there's other groups that have tried to book meetings, events on that campus and the college, the university has said no it's a pattern that began with the University of Guelph when they announced the closure in March they timed it to ensure that we wouldn't get a new intake of students Minister I believe Kempel college has a bright future and if you agree you can on the farm and tell the university to stop blocking the community from providing revenue at that facility Guelph has done enough damage to this community will you join me in stepping in and stopping this right now Thank you Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker as I said earlier it's very important for this government to make sure that our young people in eastern Ontario they have access to the quality education agriculture actually when this issue came up Mr. Speaker our government through the Ministry of Agriculture we committed to two million dollars investments to maintain the program and continuing in Kempel college and as I said earlier again Mr. Speaker we had the honour and pleasure of meeting the officials of the college and also the leaders of the community to make sure that the college and also the community finds a solution to the issue which the college is facing in the local community and they're working very hard Mr. Speaker to make sure that this college will continue its operation with the assistance of the community leaders on the site Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker since we came to the office we have invested heavily in public in post secondary education actually we have increased funding by our young people to be able to study in our university No question the member from Bramley Mr. Speaker my question is to the acting premier any real plan to address child poverty must address the problem of precarious work when the federal government pledged to eradicate child poverty in 1989 13% of the country had precarious employment by 2007 the figure had ballooned to almost 21% now currently in the GTA precarious work has increased by almost 50% over the past two decades most of that growth has occurred under this government this government must take precarious employment and particularly temporary work through temporary health agencies seriously families are struggling to make ends meet children are living in poverty as a result of precarious employment will this government commit to address precarious employment will this government address this issue so that children will not live in poverty Thank you Minister of Labor Thank you Speaker I appreciate the question I think it's something that concerns us all in the province of Ontario I think we all know that the world of work has changed in this province and the ministry of labor works really hard to ensure that Ontarians are treated with the dignity and the respect they deserve at work we've just passed bill 18 which speaks to an awful lot of the issues that the members raised the Employment Standards Act sets out payment of wages, minimum wage, overtime pay, all those things that treat employees that the way that we like to be treated as employees ourselves if the member has any issues or if he has any specific examples of where he feels the Employment Standards Act is being a bridge please call our office, urge his constituents to call the office and we will act as soon as we can Thank you The member from storm on Dundas and south clungary on a point of order Thank you Speaker Joining my question today the member from B2C to our comment they should have elected a liberal Will you be seated please Thank you The member from Welland on a point of order Correct my record from my second question I said half a million in cuts That's a point of order and any member can correct their record at any time There are no deferred votes this house stands recess until 1pm this afternoon


Did you know that they found a ball of string on Mars? No. They did. They found a ball of string on Mars. The new, I don't know what the name of it is, but it's a rover that's up there, that they found a ball of string, which either, this is true, which either gives new meaning to string theory, or at the very least, it confirms that Martians play with their cats. That's a weird intro. Josh!  I'm Martian. But they did, you know, they found a ball of string, but you know, it's very obvious where it's from, from the last rover that was up there. Why did the rover have string on it? Sounds like a joke. I don't know. I mean, it could have been from extra terrestrials, but they're a little bit more savvy than that. They're a little bit, they're a lot better. There could be a UFO up there with a bunch of them going, Frank, why did you leave that ball of string on Mars, man? They were sewing. Trying, trying, it's like, well, I had a, hair in my costume, and then I was trying. The Delhi crime season two teaser dropped. Oh, good! So, what's this about? I have no clue, I'm assuming the hotel is... I mean, I don't think it's a spoiler if you haven't seen Delhi crime. That's a story, and then it ended. It's a story, and then it ended, so. But it does go point A to point Z through all of the episodes. But if it's just a story about her and being a cop, there's plenty of awful stories to tell. Yeah, it's like, hey, it's like CSI, you name the city. There's always crime stories. That's my suspicion, and that makes me happy because that was a great show. Also, we should be getting the Darlings trailer. I think it might be today, actually. Oh, yeah? You know what, there's two other trailers that dropped, which one? Well, I still haven't seen the Lord of the Rings one. Oh, okay. But there was another, what was the other one? I just saw in Variety did it. I was like, oh, dang, we probably wanna see that. Well, you try to remember. Rap. You try to remember, and let me know. I will, I'm gonna look it up in Variety again, we're a real group. But let's just get into this. If you haven't seen our reactions, you can see our cut-up reactions of Delhi Crimes on YouTube the first season. If you wanna see a full-on cut version as well as like Mesa Purge. Black Panther 2. Ah, as well as other ones like Sickered Games and all that, you can head over to Patreon. The full-on-cut episode reactions over there. Sickered Games, Sockered Goms. Rocket Boys. Mesa Purge, Rocket Boys. Family Man. Actually, no, Rocket Boys wasn't, we did, we... You didn't do that on there? We didn't do a full-episode's reactions. Family Man. There's others. Delhi Crime. Here we go. Girls with Kamasutra. Hmm. Poop. Ma'am, it's time to think about this. Before the second crime happens. Hmm. Ah. Yep. Yeah, that's what it is. It's basically saying, yeah, we've got more crimes to solve. Yeah. I'm a police officer. There's always gonna be crime. Yeah. Do me some. And then I bet, when is this... August 26, I think? Okay, I bet we get another one. That'll be specific to the case they're working on. Oh yeah, because it's just a teaser. This was a teaser letting you know. They answered the question I had at the outset, which is, what's this gonna be about? Well, there's a lot more crime. You got slums, you got the wealthy. You didn't know if it was just gonna be a one-off or not. It could have been. On season one. Yeah, if you haven't seen the season one, please watch it. It's a fantastic, powerful series. Even if you know the story, because most of you do with living in India. I'm great acting by... Thank you. And Rasika, and then the guys, and then there was a whole bunch of other supporting people that were absolutely fantastic in that show. But even if you're concerned, we haven't finished it, but we started watching it again after we watched Merzapur. I watched it with Indrani. She was concerned at first. She's like, okay, number one, I know the story. Number two, why do I wanna live through that again? And I said, well, do you know the ins and outs of what actually transpired? She said, maybe? I don't know. She said, just trust me. And so we watched the first three episodes. And she said, yeah, this is really, really good TV show. Well, yeah, when you have actors in it, that it's often, whenever we say who our favorite actors are, people are like, you just like the OTT people. Like, no, we like good actors, just because good actors go to OTT. Oh, I see. That's your problem, I feel, that you feel that those style of actors only deserve OTT platforms, which is probably why India is going through its phase right now, with the only things that do well are these incredibly big, massive things. Yeah. Most of Bollywood, then they don't do well. No, and I think you can, I mean, the difference between OTT art and mainstream theater releases comparatively is exactly what was going on in America when cable television came out, and you compared cable to network television, censorship. And when you free up censorship and let artists do what they wanna do, you get better artistry. Hence, OTT is blowing up, like cable did back in the day, because on TV, you knew there's only so much you could do, and it's why so many movie stars flocked to cable television, because the better stories and the more realistic stuff and the higher level artistry was happening on cable. HBO.  Okay. I am actually really excited about darlings. I am too. Ali Abhaj, Fali Shah, and our Dost. God, I'm just forgetting everybody today. That's all right, you have dad brain. Pecky Varma. Geez. Anybody else have twins? It's crazy. There may be, but that's a, you're in a rare world with that one. Like you've got three kids and I had three kids, but you have a whole other world of parental life you're going through. I don't know the first thing about. It's crazy. Yep. But yeah, it looked really good. I mean, I'm interested in it. Obviously, we'll probably be watching it. Yeah. Just because we really enjoyed the first one. We really enjoyed Shafali Shah. We enjoyed the supporting cast and this. It looks good in terms of obviously the cinematography. Yeah, it looks the same. It looks like the same people came together. Netflix, thank you for giving good shows, money to do what they do and improve, hopefully. Yeah. Get even better. Cause I'm sure the first seasons, cause it was still at the phase where India was going through new OTT. Correct. This was towards the beginning, I feel like with Sacred Games, this was towards the beginning of that whole thing where there weren't a lot, but now that obviously, you know, all these ones are so, so successful. Well, if they're gonna keep up with Amazon. Who's also putting out good content on OTT platforms. But the amount that they're gonna come out with in the next couple of years is crazy. Well, at least Netflix is doing well on the India side. Yeah. Yeah, they're very happy about that. Over here. But even still, they need some changes and help on that side too. Cause comparatively, I know from talking to friends who are, and family in India, it's also the one that, if anyone had to cut one, it's that one, cause it's the priciest. The Netflix? Yep. Yup. Anyways, let us know what you thought about it, which we are next OTT series. I would do for another series. If I have time. Who knows? House of Dragon? Yeah. We'll see. Okay. We'll see. I'm definitely watching it, whether we do a watch along, I don't know yet. Cause currently, do not have time. Do not. Anyways, let us know what you thought about the teaser and what should be our next series down below.


Alright, check it out. It's time for another shoe review, and today we are reviewing the Hoka One One Bondi 6 Alright, some out here. It's Cold I'm wearing my jacket in my hat, but I wanted to do this review outside. So that's what we're doing This is the one. I don't know if I'm pronouncing it perfectly, but Hoka Hoka Hoka Hoka. I don't know Hoka One One One. I know that part is right though because it's not one one. It's one one. One one. I don't know It's a difficult name to pronounce, but the Bondi 6 anyway. So the Bondi 6 is the latest Bondi model From Hoka it came out this year just a few months ago just a month ago or something like that And so it's fairly new. The Bondi is historically the most cushioned shoe in the Hoka range Possibly even the most cushioned shoe in the world. I don't know. It is very cushioned This is the number six and I've been wanting to try Hoka's for a while now. I've done I run mostly just in ultra or exclusively in ultra shoes and I've done a lot of those reviews I'll put a link to one of them here and I love ultra shoes, but I've always been intrigued by Hoka I guess I'm also affected a little bit by the marketing. I think they do a great job marketing and they do a great job Designing the shoes. I mean they look Really cool. So I wanted to try them. I also like to the idea. I like the idea of maximal cushioning too You know, it just it makes sense to me for a lot of reasons that I I will probably get into in another video maximal versus minimal and all that but I Bought them. I try them. These are actually the wide model The the bondi wide because I have so wide feet That's why the ultras are most of the time good for me But even them are actually quite narrow sometimes in the middle there So I went for the wide model and it's it's just wide enough for me. It's not perfect But it's all it's almost perfect So I enjoy them first time I headed out on the on the run with them. It was just like What? That felt good. Okay.  A little bit less cushion to have a little bit more contact maybe with the ground a little bit more control But most of all the weight because let's talk about the weight I don't know the exact spec, but I think I weighed this one. This is a 46 This is size 46 and two-thirds European size, which is a pretty big shoe. I have big feet and And I think it weighs something like 350 grams Which is a lot Okay, that is a lot. So they're pretty damn heavy and you notice it as well when you're running in and they are heavy But it's not a problem I mean you do get used to it and it's sort of it's just like it's fine It's fine, but it's not it doesn't feel like a fast shoe But but because of the cushioning and the sort of springiness of the shoe You still feel like you're sort of floating along fairly nicely. So I would say they're heavy But it's not a problem I was actually originally wanting to try the Clifton's which are slightly less cushioned But they didn't have them in the wide size. So I went for the Bondis It's pretty firm. I can't really twist it much so not very flexible But yeah, very comfortable still the upper is also very comfortable. I don't know it's it's fairly Sometimes I can't find the the right words to describe what I'm trying to explain But let's just say it's comfortable. The upper is comfortable and feels pretty sturdy I like the the laces. I like these kinds of laces of flat ones. They just feel like they're easier to tie up and they're a little bit elastic Which is nice as well. What I do is that I loosen the laces down here to make my Foot more comfortable there at the widest point and then I tighten it up here the outer sole looks a pretty sturdy. Yeah, it's It doesn't look like it's gonna break down too quickly, but then again, I've only only run about Well, I don't know 50 kilometers or something in them so far. So it's difficult to say the fit was quite nice in terms of like how it fitted around my my Ankle and stuff. It felt comfortable. I wasn't slipping out and in and out of the shoe or anything like that. It's firm I have one big issue with it though. I do have one big issue My my big toe keeps bumping into the upper around here and it feels really as though it's made for people with Halux valgus, is that what it's called? I think where the big toe is sort of going inward like that You know, that's a problem with a lot of shoes They sort of force your toes together and that's what I love about Altra The Altra brand that they have a wide toe box allows your toes to display So most shoes they force your toe in like that and the same is true for this They will force your toe a little bit in and I don't think it's a healthy biomechanical thing and Also when your toe is forced in like that, you're missing out on on having that big toe Stabilized and and and when you're towing off you should really get some of your power going through the big toe But if it's forced in like that, you're sort of missing out on that So I think that's a big problem that Hoka should definitely Attend to creating a little bit of a larger toe box, especially around the big toe The other toes were fine though. I can't remember exactly how many millimeters of drop. I Think there's five millimeters of drop and the cushioning is something like 30 millimeters I can't remember exactly but there's a link in the description to the shoe It's actually an affiliate link. It will take you to Amazon where you can buy these shoes if you want them And if you do click that link, we will get paid for sending you there if you choose to buy But the price remains the same for you anyway, so if you do that it's a good way to support the long trail But you can also read there about the specs, etc I'm not used to running with a drop I've run in ultra shoes as I mentioned a few times now and they have zero drop meaning it's a completely flat shoe from Heel to toe I Prefer that but I wanted to try how it feels with a little bit of heel to throw drop anyway so these have a five millimeter drop as I said, I think and That I can feel it I can definitely feel it's kind of strange It it it makes me run slightly differently, and I know I don't know if that's a good or bad thing yet I haven't filmed myself and studied how my running style is altered But that's something I will do so I think this particular color isn't the most awesome one I would prefer the the blue one the typical hoca You know light blue type color, but this was all they had in the white one. So that's what I had to do anyway That's it super awesome shoe. I'm enjoying the cushioning. I'm experimenting with different types of shoes And this is a very interesting one. I dig the brand Check out the affiliate link that I just mentioned it in the description and let me know in the comments Have you tried them? Are you a fan of hoca? Have you which models have you tried? pros cons If not hoca or ultra at all what brand do you run in? Let me know in the comments I want to know and of course check out some of my other shoe reviews on Ultra shoes. I'll put a link to them somewhere here Thanks for watching. Please subscribe And click a little bell button as well so you get notified whenever I upload a video. Hope you're having a good day. Bye. Bye


Let us have a look at cost estimation in aircraft conceptual design. As was mentioned in the introductory presentation on aircraft design, it is very important to keep a handle on the cost or to understand the cost right in the beginning. When we look at aircraft conceptual design, there are 3 types of costs involved. The first one is the life cycle cost or the LCC. The second cost is the RDT and E cost and the third is the direct operating cost or DOC. So let us first look at the life cycle cost. The life cycle cost is basically the cost incurred over the life of the aircraft from the inception of the aircraft to its disposal. And in engineering design, the components of life cycle cost which are generally considered or included are the design and development cost that is the cost incurred in conceiving the aircraft and in developing it and then the production cost. During its service, there are some support equipment required and some initial spares needed. Then we have to over its life, operational life, we have to look at the cost incurred in operating it and supporting it. This can be the largest component generally. And then in the end, we have to look at the disposal cost. The importance of LCC in engineering design was earlier also illustrated but we should keep in mind that the reduction in system cost is basically a social requirement. And therefore, we have seen over the years a shift in the paradigm of engineering design from performance at any cost from design to cost and now design to life cycle cost. In many cases, the life cycle cost helps us in selection of competing solutions. It also helps us in identifying the areas in which the cost can be reduced. And the interesting part which I have also reiterated in the introductory lecture is that although the effort spent in conceptual design is only about 1% of the total effort or expenditure incurred in an aircraft's life cycle, the decisions taken during the conceptual design stage, they have a huge lock-in in the life cycle cost. Here is a typical breakdown of a combat aircraft. We notice that nearly half the cost of the life cycle is in operations and support and around 30% is in the production of the aircraft. The ground support equipment, the initial space can be around 5%. The design and development cost and testing cost could be around 14 to 15% and the disposal cost would be only about 1%. This is what was discussed in the earlier slide also, the concept exploration stage in which the expenditure is very less but the lock-in of the LCC is very high. So therefore it is very important for us to really incur. As you can see engineering support, the production and the field deployment that is the place where the actual life cycle cost is incurred in large quantity but majority of the decisions are already determined early in the design. Let us look at the estimation of LCC of the various components. For the design and development cost, normally we look at cost estimation ratios or CERs which are mathematical expressions, generally algebraic in nature, which tend to capture the effect of the factors, the parameters and the features that affect the cost. The parameters of CERs for aircraft could be something like maximum speed, the other factors could be like the rate of production, number of aircraft produced and features could be let us say are we providing stealth feature, are we providing natural laminar flow, all these components are going to increase the design and development cost. The production cost of an aircraft is estimated generally using the activity-based costing as and when you do activities like tooling, material, fabrication, assembly, quality control, you look at the number of hours needed for each of these based on the estimate of important parameters, you look at the rate, the manoeuvre rates to be charged and then you just add them together. Support equipment and initial spare, these are items which have to be supplied along with the aircraft and by careful design one can reduce. For example, if there is an aircraft which is supposed to be operated in remote areas and if it is self-sufficient as far as the auxiliary power is concerned or if it is self-sufficient as far as let us say the, if there is a staircase which is built in the door of the aircraft so that you do not need any ground support then this will reduce its cost during the operation. The largest component of the LCC usually is the operation and support cost and several models are available to estimate this cost as a function of hours of usage, number of sorties, what kind of mission profiles will be followed during these sorties etc. And lastly but not the least we come up with the disposal cost. Now, disposal cost can be of major issue of concern from the environmental consideration to reduce the operational cost and to reduce the fabrication cost, production cost. We might incorporate certain features or we may use some materials in the aircraft which give us a cost advantage but then these materials may end up resulting in a huge cost of disposal. Excessive use of composite material is being questioned with this particular aspect in mind because we do not yet know how to dispose of the composites. A metallic structure actually can in fact give you some money at the end of its life because you can sell it as crap or the parts can be scavenged but for composite material we still do not know how to dispose it off over a long period of time. There are several problems in cost estimation which are faced by a designer as you start this process. The first problem is like many other methods in conceptual design. These methods are largely based on statistics. They are based on the costs incurred in the development of the previous aircraft and because we are looking at something that will happen in the future it is very difficult to determine the actual cost. Second problem is that even if we have data regarding what has been the cost of procurement of an aircraft over the last few years the main issue is that aircraft procurement does not take place in one year. It is spread over many years and during these years the economical conditions of the country are changing. There are inflationary changes and there are changes in the economic environment. So it is very difficult to ensure that the production rate of an aircraft is maintained at the optimal value. In many cases there are non-optimal production rates and this leads to higher costs. Another issue is the differences in the accounting procedure. Two basic accounting procedures are used. We call them as then year dollars. One of the two methods is called as the then year dollars. In the then year dollars what we do is we just have a look at what is the actual money that is spent on each year of the program. So let us say if an aircraft has had a 20 year 25 year production cycle and every year some amount of aircraft have been manufactured and procured. So we just look at the summation of the total cost incurred. But this is not true because 10 dollars in 1988 is not equal to 10 dollars in 2018. There is a huge change in the money, in the ability of the capacity of the same amount of money to buy the things. So therefore there is something called as the constant year dollar estimation in which all the costs which are incurred in the procurement of the aircraft they are ratioed by inflation to some specific year. So the money spent on the project over the years is converted as the equivalent amount of money which would have been spent in one particular year to take care of the effect of inflation. And whether you use then year dollars or whether you use constant year dollars in your cost estimation it can lead to a huge difference in the numerical value of the cost as can be seen in this particular comparison between two aircraft F-15 and F-16. So F-15 in then year dollars spent over different years the cost is US 17.6 million and that for F-16 is 10.8 million. So the difference is only 60 percent. But if you look at the constant year dollar of 1978 then the cost of F-15 is 18.8 million and that of F-16 is only 8.2 million the difference is 130 percent. So you cannot compare the cost estimated by then year dollars with the cost estimated in the constant year dollars you have to be clear which method you are following for accounting of this aircraft. The production quantity and rates are also going to affect and this particular graph is generally called as the learning curve. So the learning curve indicates that as you increase as you produce more and more of a particular item the cost per the production labour hours per aircraft are going to reduce. So if you see here for example when the quantity of production is 100 or below there is a steep increase. So when you are producing very few aircraft you have very high value of very high value of the cost produced. But as you start producing more and more you know so if you produce 100 aircraft then the cost of producing one aircraft or the cost of the production labour is going to be half. This is because over 100 aircraft the experience and knowledge is gained about that likely areas. So there are various kinds of learning curve there are some 95 percent learning curve 90 percent learning curve etc. aircraft production usually is expected to follow a 70 percent learning curve. So in other words we have to follow this particular line has to be followed when we go for aircraft production. So thanks a lot for your attention.


Today, I'm with Ruth Toledo Altshuler and she is such a supportive member of my community and of the various communities that she's part of. And she reached out to me about, you know, what's going on in our world right now and how can we kind of approach it in a more mindful and productive way. So Ruth, thank you so much for having this conversation. I'm sure that this is going to be relevant for a lot of people. You're very welcome. So there's a lot we can kind of talk about, but I'll let you kind of start the start the this conversation and then I'm sure I'm going to have questions for you. Yes. OK, I welcome all your questions and comments as well and thoughts so that this is more of a both way sharing. Yeah. Yeah, and just to those who are watching this, you know, at some time in the future, we are in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, you know, the lots of countries are cities, states, countries are in lockdown. A lot of us are in quarantine and the economy is going through a free fall, you know, the stock market, of course, everyone knows has heard is dropped dramatically, which affects so many people's retirements and so many people have lost jobs. I mean, millions of people have lost jobs. And of course, it's not easy for us small business owners. So, Ruth, you have so many tools and kind of, yeah, modalities, tools that you learned over the years and practice that help it, you know, help in times like this. So what's one that comes to mind for you? What's one tool or what's, you know, a way of thinking about this or yeah. One of the things that I thought when I imagined that we were going to have this conversation was about how to meet a situation that you wish wasn't there. And what do you do with it, you know, like when the first, when things come our way and we say, oh, no, this is not happening. We can't, so there's this resistance. And we would rather not have to deal with it. And yet, and of course, what we're living now at this time, I think for most of us, it feels so real. It feels like almost we want to pinch ourselves and say, yeah, I was just saying, I feel like we've somehow gotten into an alternate universe, like something happened where it's like the timeline shifted and we're in a different world. And the whole world is experiencing this, which is what makes it so dramatic. It's not just one country or one city, it's the whole world is going through the exact same thing. So I think that also creates maybe some kind of energetic, there's something in the air. I keep thinking, there's something in the air that's different, that affects all of our emotions, right, and our thoughts. Absolutely. On one hand, there is this intensity, this kind of like, it's the air, almost like the air, the ceiling is low, and we feel it. And I've been through situations that were somewhat like this before, but never so huge in worldwide. But I've experienced these waves of fear and concern and this real pressure in this sense of perspective kind of lost, you know. So what is it going to be now and how, in one of the tools that I've learned, one of the teachings that for me has been very, very foundational has been that when an experience comes our way, if we're able to, for a moment, hold it in front of us and get a sense of the two sides of the polarity. So okay. And I see a lot of people doing this. On one hand, we have this whole unsettled situation where everything that we were relying on and that we took for granted is shaking. And on the other hand, we do have the learning opportunities. So what can be, what are we learning with this? What is, what are the qualities that are being called forth that we need to develop? And when we're able to really feel that there is the two sides in it and we're able to accept the experience, then it begins to work through us and we begin to be able to listen and allow certain qualities to arise within us to meet the situation. So that would be one of the first things is finding the two sides, finding the polarity in the experience and find how you can accept, yes, it's happening, it's inevitable. I just have to surrender to what is because it is right now. That's a very wise way of looking at it because a lot of people, especially on social media in the news, are only looking at one side of the polarity. It's the disaster, it's the fear, it's the depression, the discouragement. That's really easy to make news and the pending doom. But the polarity, you're saying that there's always two sides, isn't there? There's always two sides to a situation. So what would you say, tell us more, maybe you can help balance it out a little bit. What, tell us more about that other side. Yeah, and I would actually like to bring up the fact that I also see in my Facebook feed, there's also some people that are saying, oh, and we stopped for these weeks and now there's no pollution and the planet is already healing. And in some ways it might be, but it may be a little bit of an idealized version of it. Because there's more trees being cut down for toilet paper now than ever before. Yeah, and it's not like the climate change heals in two weeks. And so I think we also need to be very careful around our idealized projections of saying, oh, and this is happening and nothing is going to be like it was and it's going to be a changed world after that and everyone will awaken and we're all brothers and sisters in this world. Yeah, wait, it's a big process. And yet there is this opportunity. So I think in terms of the other polarity, I think it applies very much to each person. What are the qualities that I need to develop and bring forth into how I can serve right now? What is happening to me internally in terms of how I'm reassessing what I really value in life or maybe what are the things that I want to really have and see nurtured in my world and what is not? And I'm sure a lot of people of all different levels of consciousness, they're also going through this reassessment of what's really valuable for me and what's not. But I think it's an individual thing for each one, because it hits us in different ways. You work with clients on things like this, their own personal development journey, their sole journey, their own healing. Have you noticed any themes that are coming up recently in the work you do with people? I noticed, thank you for the question. I noticed it and I also noticed it in myself, in my own journey, that for different people, depending on where they have layers of trauma, of instability triggering different experiences that they've had in their foundational years, a lot of things can emerge and this is a moment for a lot of us to embrace, wherever we have these areas within us where we, when we're unsafe, we tend to respond in ways that are conditioned by our early trauma patterns. And so it is also a big opportunity for people to go deeper into their own healing, to address these patterns that have been there for a lifetime and even ancestral patterns as well and to go there and embrace with compassion and do more of a deeper, even emotional as well as somatic healing because times like this really trigger people. Right, yeah, right, right. Yes, it brings that up unlike times where things are more stable. So this is, yeah, and this is the kind of stuff that you have been working with people on. Do you want to mention a little bit about the modalities you use to help people with this? Yes, and I think one of the big gifts that I've had in my journey was to learn the language of flower essences and the language of flower essences is just so educational because it really teaches us about the polarities and how we can find the movement between one extreme and the other and then find how we want to navigate. And so, for instance, when we're dealing with a situation that triggers fear, there's the opportunity to also grow in our courage and our ability to confront that fear and to master that fear. And as we transit between one side and the other, eventually we know when we're experiencing the fear that is healthy and helps us protect ourselves when you're crossing a street and you hear that noise and then you just step back and say, wow, you know, okay, I'm safe. I was able to protect myself. That's the really healthy saying fear that one needs to have. There's a place for fear, yes. And yet, if they're being motivated by fear that they stop doing things, they're afraid of confronting situations. It's just so good to develop that muscle of courage and ability to go for things that they need to be bold and go for them. And so the flower essences have really taught me a lot around these different polarities that we meet in our life and in our healing journey as well. Yes, I'm glad you brought up courage because a lot of people now, I mean myself included, have needed courage in our work right now because, yeah, people's work is being turned upside down, they're either being laid off or they have to do work in a totally different way. Those of us who are small business owners who have done in-person work, now we have to figure out how to support most or every all clients online. Yeah, I just think about all the body workers, all the massage therapists, acupuncturists, healers, you know, now there's, I mean, yeah, and all the people doing workshops, you know, et cetera, that are being canceled, now the courage is, okay, now we got to bring this, because the work can always be, and part of the, I think one of the qualities that we're having developed now is innovation, creativity. Yes, I want to talk more about that. Yeah, so let's talk about this because. Yeah, but before, I would like to just put one piece because I think the creativity is our grand finale. I think that's one of the biggest opportunities that we have at this time, but I would like to bring one piece that I think is really essential, which is that we need to hold space for what's happening with us emotionally and also neurophysiologically, because that's something, you know, what we're going through these weeks, and even more so as things progress and escalate, stirs up so much within us. So I think we really need community at this time, and even though community can't be gathering and hugging people, but it can be so wonderful to feel that we can meet others who are going through the same thing, and that we are able to hold some circle space in which people can say, even if just a tiny bit of what's going on with them, I think this ability to share and to feel that there's a space being held for one another. It creates this sense of solidarity that ultimately also enhances the production of the good neurotransmitters within us that truly help us in terms of our health to balance the more noxious effects of stress. So there's a great lecture by a woman, I'll remember her name at the end, but she has a lecture called How to Make Stress Your Friend. Yes, Kelly Muck. There's these two sisters, they both have great TED talks, I know exactly what you're talking about, but yes, it's Kelly McGonigal, I think it was. Exactly, and she talks about the difference between people who experience stress, and yet they feel separate and isolated, and how stress can really be bad for the immune system for the body and all of that under those conditions. But when we're experiencing stress, but we also have this sense of companionship and solidarity, even neurophysiologically, as well as emotionally, it shifts because what we generate really helps the body to cope in a much healthier way. And it also helps, of course, the mind to this integration between the different minds, so that we operate at full capacity. Because one of the worst things is that when we're paralyzed by fear, or when we're feeling cut off and isolated, and we're not in our hearts, what happens is we tend to operate in that loop of survival mode, and then we don't really have access to the richness of our capacities and ultimately to our creativity, which is what we need the most at this time. Yes, it's so interesting you said these two different ways of being with stress, because yes, so wise, like you could be isolated and spiral, or you can be within the community. It's almost like we're built for being in teams. It's like we evolved in teams and tribes to be able to survive. And there were many dangers as we evolved humanity that we helped each other to survive through and now, more than ever, now we're doing this online. Do you have, I know you facilitate various online communities. Is there one that you want to talk briefly about that's available for people? Well, I actually have some free online events for people who really love plants as well. And it's a situation in which we gather, these are free events, and we gather to gather a tune to one plant archetype each time. And then we share our impressions, and we receive the healing of that plant archetype, and then we share that healing with the collective. And those have been very special. And at this time, I think people are getting even more from these experiences of coming together. I want to be sure to get the link or put the link in the notes of the video. So those of you who are interested, I mean, Ruth, has a beautiful presentation. So check it out and sign up for the upcoming one. So just we have just a few minutes left. I want to definitely talk about creativity. And the importance of that. So I'll let you start on this. Yeah. So besides holding space for people's feelings and emotions, which I think we should all do in every kind of session that we hold, like, okay, how's it going today? And just holding that space for what's going emotionally and really enhancing that heart connection and that sense of solidarity. And that brings our intelligence levels in sync again, which allows for creativity. Because when we're in the loop of survival mode, our creativity is not really accessible to us. And so it is when we're more in our heart space, that all of these levels of our intelligence come together. And then we can use the full powers of being connected to our, let's say, rational thinking, our ability to plan, but also to our intuition and to our inner knowingness.  And there's so much that we as souls, even ourselves, there's so much that we know about surviving, recreating and being able to meet the most adverse circumstances and rebound and come back. And so if we're able to operate in our full intelligence, and that means being in our hearts, accessing our inner knowing, using the best of the fullness of our rational mind and our spiritual guidance, that is when we're able to serve at the fullest capacity. That's what we were made for as far as the evolved human being. And that's the opportunity that I think each one of us has. And we as communities and as humanity have at this time. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you for that. Yeah, it's so good. What a great reminder that we are way more capable than we typically think of ourselves as. And when we are, you know, kind of stuck in the fear or in the dismay or discouragement of a situation, that is where we're not creative. We're not tapping into the whole thing. So do you want to say a bit as we complete this conversation? Like what's something that all of us can do to access more of the whole? How can we open the heart more and access the whole of our creativity? Yeah, I would say at this time, holding space to really be with our emotions, whatever they are is one of the things. Because if we can't just push it down and say it's not there. So allowing ourselves to feel sometimes we just need to cry, you know. And sometimes we just need to be with whatever we're feeling. That's one thing. And so that allows things to flow so they're not stuck in our system. And then if we're able to from there really breathe and be in our hearts and feel that we are supported by the body of the earth, by the being, the living being of the earth. To feel that the living being of the earth, the earth is not going anywhere. The earth is here. It's holding us. And also to feel that we're being guided and that there's, you know, millions of souls on the other side. Some of them have gone to just be helping us at this time. So there's so much guidance that's available. So when we are in this space that we know we have community and we know the earth is really here and wants us to evolve with it. And we are able to also ask and listen to the guidance that comes. I think that really enhances our ability. And it's a moment to moment thing at each moment. How can I be in my heart? How can I feel the earth is supporting me? How can I ask for guidance for this situation now?  I didn't prepare anything, but please, you know, help me. And then it comes and the words come out from you and you will know what to say. And you will know how to create this different offering that you never thought of, but that you can bring forth because it wants to come to the world through you. Oh, yes, that's a beautiful way for us to send the viewers on their way. And so if any of you are feeling some healing and some grounding based on this, I encourage you to check out the links in the video because, you know, please do go and experience Ruth's events and check out her website. Ruth, thank you so much for just reaching out and being willing to share these kind of nurturing thoughts and perspectives that are so needed at this time. I feel I feel better for this current because of this conversation. So thank you so much. Thank you, George, because I'm just so very grateful for the quality of the communities that you create and for all the many worldwide friends that I've made, including you, for the partnership that we have in this bigger transformative journey that we're all in. Yes, yeah, we are in this together for sure. Thank you.