The world is going through a very difficult phase right now, it is going through a crisis about which a lot of things has already been spoken be it through Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube. We are listening about it from all possible sources of mass communication. We are gossiping about it every day, sitting at our home with our family members. I am here with a video where I can share my perspective about the global crisis that we all are a part of. This situation of Corona reminds me of a song which I heard while I was growing up. It was a song which was displayed in an Airtel advertisement and the lyrics went something like this. Umeedo wali dhoop, Sunshine wali asha, Ro ne ki wajah kam hai, hasne ke bahane zada. Tum dil se agar sochogue wo khush rahna hi chahe, agar sachche man se mangho to khul jati hai rahe. Tum khul ke khushi lutao ye kya hai aadha aadha. It was a beautiful song that stayed in my heart and what was most beautiful about this song was the images that was displayed on screen. I would request you that if you have an internet connection then definitely go and watch this song on YouTube. It shows images of what is going bad in the world and then contrasting images of what is going equally good in the world which we all neglect. Because we focus all our attention, energy on looking at what is bad and the same thing is happening right now with us. We know that no vaccination, no cure has been made about this corona virus yet all we are focused is looking at those 9,000, 10,000 people who have died because of this virus. We are neglecting and we are not looking at those 85,000 plus people who have survived, who have been cured and who have come back home safely, who have fought against this virus. So it's very important for all of us to start focusing on what positive is happening right now. You know there was a very beautiful quote by Michelle Obama which I shared recently on my Instagram and the quote said that it is very important at this time that we make hope go viral faster than any virus could ever be. And you know can you just think about a situation where everything is going great. It's very easy to be happy at those times but your attitude is reflected in times like these where nothing is going right according to you. Yet you choose to be happy, you choose to look at the positive side of life. When I look at the researches that has been done on corona virus I sometimes wonder how an invisible organism can bring the entire world to a halt. And I somewhere believe that to fight this invisible organism we all must gather the divine power from that invisible source. It's not the time to gossip about corona virus to spread negativity through whatsapp messages, it's the time when we all must pray to the divine power and ask him to sail us through. So it is the time, it is that perfect time where we go back to our ancient texts and chant the mantra, Sarve Bhavan Tussukhina, Sarve Santu Niramaya, Sarve Badrani Pashantu, Maa Kashyad Dugbhaag Bhaved. In this light I would also like to appreciate the effort and the beautiful initiative that was taken by our Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi. When he asked all of us to come to the balcony and terrace of our house on 22nd March and applaud and appreciate and clap for all the people who are working even today just to serve us, just to serve humanity. And I think this self quarantine period is a very beautiful period where you can actually sit and reflect. Just like we used to sit and reflect on the work we did while we were a child when we used to make those beautiful paintings and we used to look at it and see whether we did a good job or not. Just like that it is a perfect time to look at our life, to look at the efforts that people make and we always take for granted. Be it that departmental store owner who is providing you with groceries even today when his health is at danger, be it the entire fraternity of doctors who are working day in and day out just to ensure that everyone survives and comes out of this global crisis or be it the house helps. I remember that I have never ever mopped the floor of my house but for the first time it was during this quarantine period that I mopped it for the first time. And I felt respect, immense respect and love for the house help who used to do this work before the quarantine period. And in the similar fashion all our mothers who have been managing our houses in such a beautiful manner we always take that thing for granted. Now it is the time to look at those efforts and to appreciate those people rather than gossiping about what negative is happening. Let us use this time, this golden opportunity which we might never get in our entire life and let us milk it to the best of our capacities. With collective power of humanity, with faith and spirituality and with trust in medical science I am pretty sure that just like we have fought through many crisis of the past we are going to come out of this victorious and we are going to proudly narrate the stories of our triumph to our future generations. Wishing you hope and positivity at this moment in this point of crisis. Happy learning, keep loving literature and stay tuned to arpatakarwa.com


It is now time for oral questions, and I recognize the member for Brampton Centre. My question is for the Acting Premier. Last week, this Conservative government announced deep cuts to our education system that will leave students in our province worse off. There will be more kids in crowded classrooms, fewer teachers and educators in our schools, and at least a billion dollars cut from education over the term of this government. Why is this government so determined on dragging our kids in this province backwards when it comes to our education system? Question is for the Deputy Premier. Minister of Education. Minister of Education. Thank you very much. Thank you very much, Speaker, and I'm pleased to stand up and talk about the announcement that we shared on Friday. First of all, let me share that I want to congratulate the Ontario Science Centre on their 50th anniversary of the great science of 10 people. Just the day before, they had entertained 7,000 kids and parents. I just think it was a perfect platform for which we could stand on and introduce our announcement. When it comes to, actually, what we were talking about, we introduced so many concepts that are going to take our education system well ahead into the future and enabling students to embrace not only the realities of today, but the skills they need for the jobs of tomorrow. Thank you very much. Thank you, the acting Premier. I think we all know when class sizes get bigger, student learning can suffer. There will be less opportunities for students to get the one-on-one attention, which will hurt students with the most complex needs. And teachers will be stretched even thinner trying to deliver quality education that their students deserve. Speaker, parents know, teachers know, and students know what this government ought to know. Cramming more students into under-supported classrooms is not the way to boost student achievement. Will this government go back to the drawing board and come back with a plan that actually works and will serve the needs of students in our province? Minister. Thank you very much, Speaker. And I'll tell you what the PC government of Ontario is going to do. We're going to make sure that students in this province, from one end of Ontario to the other, actually finally have the confidence that they're learning the basic skills and fundamentals that are going to encourage and help them get the jobs of tomorrow. I'm telling you that we're forced to seek out tutors to help them with math. Parents were forced to really try and help their students the best they can because, quite frankly, the previous Liberal government failed our students. And there's proof points to that. And Speaker, I have to tell you that we're not only standing with parents in our announcement on our plan forward, where education is going to work not only for parents but for students and teachers. We are just looking so forward to working with our education partners and our school boards because, at the end of the day, the greatest factor in determining a student's success is the effectiveness of the teacher from them. Thank you. Final supplementary. Thank you, Speaker. Through you to the minister, I think that we all know by cramming more students into a classroom, we aren't increasing effectiveness. Firing thousands of teachers and cramming as many as 40 students into high school math classes. Side come to order. Will not help students achieve more. By taking away one-on-one attention. By taking away specialized classes. By taking away in-person instruction. This government is making the future a lot less bright for more kids. Will this government reverse their course and scrap the scheme to increase class sizes and firing teachers before it is too late? Please take your seats. Minister to respond. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I need to get it said right now. I fundamentally reject the premise of that particular question. Clearly clear, Speaker. There will be no involuntary job losses under our plan. We're standing with our teacher positive that parents understand, students understand that the investment that we're making in Ontario's education system to make sure our students are prepared. Again, the previous government did an absolute dismal job introducing ideologies that failed our students. Speaker, I can tell you once and for all, we're getting back on track in Ontario. We are announcing thanks to our absolute plan that has been well received. And I look forward to speaking about the endorsements from our stakeholders and future questions. Thank you very much. Thank you very much, Speaker. My question is for the acting Premier. We've just received word that Global News has obtained a very troubling letter written by the member for Lanark Frontenac Kingston. The member describes being removed from the government's caucus as a political revenge plot because he tried to blow the whistle. He alleges that he was kicked out of caucus because he raised, and I quote, concerns of possible illegal and unregistered lobbying by close friends and advisers employed by Premier Ford. Speaker, my question is to the acting Premier. What possibly illegal and unregistered lobbying has been happening behind closed doors with this government? Response, Deputy Premier. Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Thank you so much, Speaker. I don't know about this letter that the member opposite speaks, but what I can speak to is my relationship with the member for Lanark Frontenac Kingston. Obviously, we share a number of organizations. We, you know, the health units in our riding, the school board, a number of agencies. So I appreciate and will continue, no matter in what capacity that member sits in this house, that I'll continue to work with him. And again, if the member has allegations to make, you know, that's his choice in opposition. We on this side of the house want to continue to talk about government policy, want to continue to talk about the work that we're doing in our communities. We feel very strongly that members should be allowed to speak, but in terms of the contents of whatever allegations the member is talking about, you'll have to disclose them. Thank you, Speaker. These accusations are serious. The word illegal is not used lightly by members of this house. Now the people of Ontario are left to wonder. They're wondering if Chris Froggett and Dean French worked out a deal to let people buy their way into Doug Ford's back rooms. Or, Speaker, is the member from Lanark Frontenac Kingston referring to cash for access fundraisers? Minister. I'm very disappointed in the member's unfounded allegations. This government for the people respects the rules of this house, respects the rules in terms of the integrity commissioner, the lobbyist registry, the rules that we have to operate under this house. I can tell you that whatever the member is trying to get at is not with any basis of truth. I can speak for myself. I can speak to how I operate in my office. I know my colleagues in Cabinet. I know, quite frankly, my colleagues on both this side of the house and the member's opposite. Always act with integrity. Always act with the people in mind. And any other allegation, any other suggestion is absolutely completely false, Speaker. We start the final supplementary. Speaker, if people's pockets are being lined in exchange for favours, the people have a right to know. It seems as if there was a secret emergency cabinet meeting this morning. Maybe so that members of the cabinet could get their story straight. Speaker, which story have they landed on? Is it a reference to cash for access fundraisers or is it this separate pay-to-play deal that we're seeing unfold here today? The member's asking obviously a very serious question, making serious statements. I have to be able to hear the response. But I would caution all members of the house in terms of their language and the use of language so that it's parliamentary. Minister, can you respond? Speaker, through you to the member. I don't know what meeting this member was talking about. I don't know what type of access he means. You know what, I'll tell you something, Speaker. You know, our government has been very clear in terms of going through the fundraising rules and ensuring that if a grandmother wants to come to a $25 spaghetti dinner for one of their members, yes, they can go on our site, they can look at those events, and they can attend. But in terms of trying to do anything else, in terms of lobbyists or anything that the member is trying to insinuate or suggest, it's absolutely not true. Next question, the member for Davenport. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the acting Premier. Parents and educators across the province were shocked. By Friday's announcement of deep cuts to Ontario's public education system, to be achieved through a dramatic reduction in the number of teachers and dramatically larger class sizes, fewer teachers, less support for students. As boards have been looking over the implications of these cuts, we are learning more about what the impact will be. As a result, elementary school teachers expect to see 4,500 jobs lost. Secondary school teachers expect to see 3,600 jobs lost. I'm hearing unparliamentary comments from the government side. I'm not sure who said it. Stop it. Apologize to the member for Davenport. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think I hit a nerve. And the Toronto District School Board expects to see over 1,000 jobs lost alone. But the Minister of Education said, and I quote, not one teacher, not one will lose their jobs because of our class size strategy. Acting Premier, what, which is it? Deputy Premier. Mr. Education. Questions referred to the Minister of Education. Deputy Premier and Speaker, thank you to you as well for giving me an opportunity to set the record straight here. Because the fact of the matter has been using your own discovery math. Because I was very emphatic actually on Friday saying there will be no involuntary job lost. Here, here. How on earth can she be pulling numbers perhaps out of the cloud? Who knows where she pulled those numbers from? Because quite frankly, the school boards and my ministry will be working together in the weeks and months to come. Because we have to assess the number of retirements, the number of resignations and the number of redeployments that have been brought into this. So I would suggest to the member opposite stop fear, and celebrate the fact that we are finally going to get Ontario Education back on track. Start the clock. Member for Davenport, supplementary. I'll tell you where I got those numbers. I'll tell you where I got those numbers. Mr. Speaker, I got them from a memo in Associate Director of Business Operations and Service Excellence of the Toronto District School Board. Thank you very much. He says that the reduction in just the Toronto District School Board alone is going to be 216 fewer teachers. He says the impact will be a reduction of approximately 800 teachers in secondary schools in that one board alone. The impact will be a reduction of funding another additional 82 teachers. I could go on. I know what the impact is going to be and the minister wants to argue, Mr. Speaker, that when somebody retires they're not a job lost. Tell that to the teachers who won't be getting a job. Tell that to the students. Steve Ontarians gave her government a mandate to balance the budget on the backs of our kids. The question has been referred to the Minister of Education. Mr. Speaker, and again, I absolutely reject the premise of which that member opposite is trying to fear longer. You know, it's absolutely not. The fact of the matter is that she has the basics in math. She's got experience in a school board herself and she knows full well over the last decade and a half the past Liberal government absolutely failed our students. And because of that we have a lot of work to do and we're rolling up our sleeves and we look forward to working and making sure that education works for parents, teachers, students and our school boards. We have a modern, age-appropriate health and physical education and we have clear policy with regards to our process where our parents can work better with teachers. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Finance. The Minister recently visited Cappuccino Bakery, a small business in Nobelton. Cappuccino reflects the backbone of Ontario's economy. They pay their taxes and they hire people and create jobs in the community they call home. All they expect in return from their government is respect. For their tax dollars and to have access to quality health care, education and other critical services. That's why it was so significant for the Minister of Finance to visit this small business to make his important announcement. Could the Minister inform the House that he will be meeting for the people of Ontario? Good question. Minister of Finance. Thank you, Mr. Speaker and thank you to the member from Brantford-Brant. It was a pleasure to visit the bakery with the member from King Vaughn to announce that our government's first budget will be coming on April 11th. Through our province-wide pre-budget consultations the message we heard came through loud and clear. The House that has been overtaxed, over-regulated and faces threats to the services we rely on because of spiraling government debt. We can all clearly see the results of 15 years of liberal neglect and reckless spending and it's time to take action. Our first budget will continue our work to restore confidence by laying out responsible path to balance. We will continue to provide relief to families and small businesses while protecting what matters most health care and education. Thank you, Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Speaker and thank you to the minister for his response. I think we can all agree that for far too long the people of Ontario have been forced to feel like they are working for their government and you know what, it's about time that their government started working harder for them. I have full confidence that our first budget will truly put at the heart of government to do otherwise would be foolish unless we take urgent action it will be our children and grandchildren who will inherit the Liberals' mountain of debt and continue to pay more for fewer services. That's wrong, Mr. Speaker and it's unfair to leave that burden for future generations to shoulder. Could the minister please remind the House what is at stake for our province today and our children's province of tomorrow? Minister of Finance Richard Bluntley, the previous Liberal government left behind a fiscal mess. We inherited a $15 billion deficit and a $346 billion debt. That's $346 with $90s behind it. The Liberals were spending $40 million a day more than they brought in Speaker. As a result the interest we pay on that debt is now the fourth largest item of the budget. This has to end. We must put Ontario back on a path that is fiscally responsible. We must bring relief to families and businesses that have been overtaxed and overburdened for 15 years and received nothing in return. We must work together to protect the services that matter most and Speaker, on April 11th we will lay out our plan to do exactly that. Member for Hamilton West and London. My question this morning is to the acting premier the Brand Children's Aid Society which is located in the writing of Brandford Brent has been forced to lay off 26 child protection workers as a direct result of this government's actions. The executive director of the family and children service said when governments cut child welfare services children ultimately die or are allowed by society to live in unbearable, violent and neglectful conditions. Mr. Speaker, why is this government putting children at risk with these reckless cuts? Questions to the deputy Premier. Thank you very much Speaker, my pleasure to rise to respond to what I don't think are necessarily accurate portrayals of what's happening on the ground. Since 2015 the former ministry of education and youth services under the previous administration was working with the Brand Children's Aid Society to identify cost reduction strategies. These efforts have been unsuccessful and the Brand Children's Aid Society continues to struggle to deliver services. In addition to that, I think this is something the government should be very proud of and every Ontarian should be very proud of, we are moving to in many cases an indigenous led child welfare system as we have in the six nations the 1% of the children in the caseload into that first nations an indigenous led child welfare system. This is something we are proud of in terms of customary care. We know indigenous children are overrepresented in the children's society system and that's why we are moving toward that model to bring customary care into the community for those children to better serve them. Supplementary question. Mr. Speaker, I have to say when it comes to vulnerable children this government's record is nothing but the children in foster care in the Brantford Brant writing they will run out of money on Friday but when the society came to this government asking when funding for the new fiscal year would be provided this government decided to play hardball as a result they have had to lay off 26 staff members the premier committed to the people of Ontario that no jobs would be lost in their quest to balance the budget but we've seen job loss after job loss I ask how can this government justify this betrayal of the most vulnerable children in Brantford Brant and in the rest of Ontario Mr. Speaker, what that member is suggesting that the 18% of indigenous youth who are going to a customary care model as an indigenous led children in society don't deserve the funding that is required for them to get the services that they need they're proud as a government to continue on the legacy of previous administrations as we move to a more indigenous led focused approach but the member also is suggesting that this is an overnight problem it dates back to 2015 that's four years ago where this children's aid society has refused to look after it's a fiscal house and get its services in order as we transition this is not new just two weeks ago I was able to sign off on the 12th indigenous led children's aid society I was at the UN last week speaking with indigenous leaders from Canada about our work with the federal government as we move to a more appropriate model for indigenous youth in the province of Ontario and hopefully throughout the rest of Canada next question the member for Carlton Mr. Speaker my question today is for the Attorney General we on this side of the house have great respect for Ontario's construction sector this is one of our economy's key drivers my writing of Carlton alone is home to some of eastern Ontario's biggest construction companies and job creators including Tomlinson group of companies Marathon drilling Gary Krapin cartage Osgoode sand and gravel the new construction act will soon bring into force a new regime that will ensure Ontario construction workers get paid on time for the work they do and make the dispute resolution process simpler and through you Mr. Speaker with the Attorney General please tell us how our government is bringing into effect this new era of transparency stability and certainty for our construction sector order the Attorney General to respond thank you Mr. Speaker and I'd like to thank the member from Carlton for the question Mr. Speaker our government will always stand up for those working in the construction industry and we are working very hard to bring into effect the new prompt payment and adjudication framework that will strengthen the sector and lead the country in how we support the construction industry prompt payment will provide contractors and subcontractors clarity and certainty around when to expect payment something fundamental that many in other sectors may take for granted our new adjudication process will speed up dispute resolution and save workers time and money while also prevent unnecessary delays in projects our government is working hard to bring these new tools into force on October 1st we look forward to delivering this important new framework to this essential part of this province thank you supplementary question thank you Mr. Speaker and through you I'd like to thank the Attorney General for standing out for this important part of our economy and making sure that the construction industry in Carlton and across Ontario can have the opportunity to work in other industries Mr. Speaker my constituents in Carlton know that this government was elected with a promise to get things done and to make it easier and cheaper for businesses to thrive in today's marketplace and they expect this government to deliver on its commitments Mr. Speaker through you could the Attorney General please tell us more about how Ontario is implementing this new regulatory framework to ensure that Ontario's construction industry has the opportunities and protections it brings the Attorney General thank you Mr. Speaker the women and men working in Ontario's construction sector have made it clear that they want this new regime in place on time and that means October 1st of this year a key part of this promise is the designation of the authorized nominating authority the ANA the arms length entity that will oversee the new adjudication framework all for applications for the nominating authority and we look forward to seeing a wide range of applications for this key component of the new construction act regime our government has developed a fair and transparent selection process that will evaluate the quality experience and knowledge of entities that apply for the nominating authority designation and will ensure that we designate only the most qualified for this critical job construction workers and the construction industry and we take that responsibility seriously we look forward to continuing to work and communicate with our partners in the construction industry on this important project next question the member for Hamilton Mountain thank you speaker my question is for the acting Premier in Ontario it has taken decades to build up the capacity to support children with autism spectrum disorder and still we have a shortage of therapists trained to provide evidence-based therapy yet because of this government's disastrous autism program therapists are being laid off kids ability in Kitchener laid off nine staff and that is just the start why does the acting Premier insist on a plan that causes layoffs when what we actually need is more therapist and more support good question good question questions referred to the minister of children community and social services thanks very much speaker thank you for joining me I think that one of the things that we're moving to in transitioning is a direct funding model to parents to give them an opportunity to get the services that they want I think that these layoffs are premature and I encourage the agencies to understand our plan better our plan will mean that there will be four times more children who will be able to access services and therefore I think that every child should receive support should continue to deliver quality support to those children but let me be clear, my parliamentary assistant Amy Fee and I continue to listen to parents and we continue to come to order so we can empower parents directly and we're looking forward to making sure that the 23,000 children who are presently on a waitlist are cleared off that waitlist for the first time in Ontario history thank you this government claims to provide parents choice that they actually have first the government won't provide funding based on need or evidence now the ABA Therapist Shortish will get worse as layoffs begin this is going to leave those who can actually afford ABA stuck on waitlists I wonder if the acting premier knows that it will take decades to rebuild this industry after her government destroys it did the acting premier anticipate layoffs of therapy workers or did their unintended consequences is based on their half-baked plan collateral damage minister to respond I guess the difference between this government and that party is we're fighting for children, she's fighting for an industry speaker, we have consulted with hundreds of families we have done a dozen roundtables we continue to speak to families to see how we can best enhance their experience as parents who are dealing with autism diagnosis we have made an historic investment of $321 million we are doubling our investment into diagnostic hubs we are going to clear the waitlist in the next 18 months our priority is for children to get direct funding and for Hamilton Mountain to come to order to receive the service that they need but if what the member opposite is suggesting that I take the phone and talk to children instead and go toward an association or an industry that's not my job, my job is to make sure that those children that are on the waitlist get the service that they need and their parents get the funding that's what this government is going to do that's what this government is going to continue to do the opposition will come to order member for Hamilton Mountain come to order start the clock next question the member for Glen Gary Prescott Russell thank you Mr. Speaker my question is to the minister of energy on July 13 the government announced the cancellation of the eastern fields wind power project in the nation township the decision received with cheers and applause by the people of Glen Gary Prescott Russell yet we just learned that the Ontario energy board issued a license to the proponents for the project Mr. Speaker can the minister please tell us if the eastern fields wind power project is on or off minister of energy natural resources in mind well thank you Mr. Speaker this has been a difficult file obviously the energy portfolio was an absolute opposition come to order important steps Mr. Speaker which include a commitment to renewing the hydro leadership Mr. Speaker canceling more than 790 million dollars worth of projects which would have Mr. Speaker had the effect of increasing the monthly bills for ratepayers the people of Ontario who pay their hydro bills Mr. Speaker we won't stand for that we also ended the culture of waste Queen spark by canceling projects Mr. Speaker that clearly municipalities didn't want and the grid didn't need thanks Mr. Speaker supplementary question thank you Mr. Speaker back to the minister the question is simple did the government cancel the project like it said it did yes or no minister thank you thank you Mr. Speaker a simple answer we remain committed Mr. Speaker to our plan to restore Ontario's electricity system to reduce rates for hydro bills for the hardworking people of Ontario to make it more affordable for small businesses Mr. Speaker to operate their businesses large-scale mining companies Mr. Speaker and automotive plants who aren't just complaining about high electricity rates they're complaining about high unpredictable electricity rates Mr. Speaker we're working to address that we have now the prospect of developers association conference last week there's renewed confidence in our direction we're taking Mr. Speaker and we're going to stay the course next question the member for Halton Mr. Speaker my question is for the president of treasury board Mr. Speaker we have a responsibility to watch every penny of taxpayers dollar and we don't take this responsibility lightly we know that a centralized procurement system will create a more effective process delivering greater value for the people of Ontario recent estimates indicate that ministries spend approximately six billion dollars annually on procurement this doesn't include procurement spending in the broader public sector including our hospital and school boards Mr. Speaker every dollar spent inefficiently is a productive dollar lost we are putting this to an end Mr. Speaker can the president of treasury board please inform this house why the government is modernizing our government procurement I apologize to the member from Milton the response the president of the treasury board thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to the member from Milton Mr. Speaker modernizing procurement and realizing its full savings potential was recommended in the Ernst & Young line by line review now while the former liberal government will be more for less we promised Ontarians that we would govern differently that's why our government is implementing an awful concept paying for more in fact previous estimates show that the Ontario public service and broader public sector combined procurement spend is approximately 29 billion dollars a year Mr. Speaker this is just about finding almost a billion dollars in savings making it easier for businesses to do business with government it's about reducing red tape and making Ontario open for business and open for jobs Mr. Speaker it's been a new millennium for almost 20 years and our procurement system needs to get on with the times thank you Mr. Speaker our government for the people was elected on a platform of rebuilding trust and accountability in government everything we do we must remember that the money we spend is not ours it is from the pockets of people of Ontario and should we use the responsibility to better this province not wasted on pet project or unnecessary expenses Mr. Speaker this is the situation we find ourselves in the people of Ontario weighed down with a $15 billion deficit inherited from the previous liberal government a major cost for government is procurement government services need to purchase goods and services in order to operate are we ensuring this is done in the most efficient and cost effective way possible I ask the minister of government and consumer services Mr. Speaker could he outline our government's plan to identify back office efficiencies across government department and modernize our procurement practices Questions to the minister of government and consumer services Mr. Speaker I want to thank the member for Milton for his excellent question our government is dedicated to keeping our promises to the people of Ontario and putting Ontario back on a path to balance while protecting our vital public services today the president of the Treasury Board MPP Bailey and MPP Cho and I announced three initiatives that will help us achieve this goal as the minister has said by centralizing procurement we'll drive $1 billion in annual savings in the broader public sector we'll leverage our buying power consolidate contracts transform how we deliver services and add value by adopting innovative products and services Mr. Speaker our lean and continuous improvement office will streamline how we deliver services and build a culture of continuous improvement across government we'll use the resources sorry we will also modernize voice services across government saving approximately $8 million a year response Mr. Speaker I want to thank the members of the Liberals to create their $15 billion deficit and solving this fiscal crisis will not place overnight we will however start by restoring accountability, sustainability and trap thank you thank you very much next question the member for Nipplebell thank you Mr. President my question is for the Prime Minister Health Sciences North in Sudbury has had to let go 60 frontline healthcare workers nurses technicians, hands-on care professionals last week Ontarians learned that jobs would also be lost at the 14 lens as their services will be amalgamated into the super bureaucracy can the acting premier tell this House the total number of frontline workers that will lose their job with the creation of the government super bureaucracy for healthcare the deputy premier thank you very much for the question as the member knows the issue with health sciences north are not new issues they have been ongoing for some time and the ministry is working with them to deal with some of the losses they've had in their financial difficulties that they have been dealing with for some time as for the health plan that we announced several weeks ago it is to modernize healthcare in the province of Ontario to connect care for people to make sure that people receive the best quality care whether it's in a hospital whether it's in a long-term care home or whether it's in their own home that is the point of this modernization exercise supplementary question the cuts in Sudbury have affected frontline services we have less access to the breast screening clinic we have reduction in our seeding program that help people that need specialized care those services existed long before this government came to power but now they offer less hours they offer less access what will happen with the crown jewel of our healthcare system once it falls under the mega bureaucracy will the world class institution like cancer care Ontario like trillion gifts of life will they also have to reduce their hours and decrease access to their services can the minister give the acting premier give today to those healthcare workers what commitment can she give regarding staffing well dealing first with the issues at health sciences north the breast screening assessment service is not closing there have been some rumors that have been spread out there by I'm not sure who but it is not closing since 2000 patients have come to the clinic for breast screening mammograms diagnostic imaging services biopsies and navigation and those services are certainly going to continue but with respect to the bigger picture and the plan that we have developed for the entire province of Ontario the goal of this as I've always had is to strengthen our public healthcare system to make sure that patients receive connected services they're not receiving that right now as soon as people charge from hospital often they're not connected with home care services and they end up back in the emergency departments the goal of this exercise and the goal of this plan is to make sure that people feel connected with and receive services from their healthcare system wherever they are in their healthcare journey that is the goal that is what we're going to continue to do the member for Burlington minister of children community and social services and the minister for women's issues last week the minister joined the Canadian delegation at the 63rd session of the United Nations commission on the status of women the commission is held annually and provides an opportunity for UN member states to discuss progress gaps and next steps in the fight for gender equity this year session included discussions on preventing sexual and gender based violence and empowering girls through social protection can the minister outline the work our government for the people is taking to empower women and girls and combat violence against women in Ontario minister of children community and social services I would like to commend the member for Burlington for being a strong female voice in this legislature and doing the great work she does in her community of Burlington she is right last week I had the opportunity to travel with the minister to speak about sex trafficking violence against women as well as women's economic empowerment I was able to take part and intervene at a session on sex trafficking that was organised by the Vatican I spoke with the general assembly about some of the strategic partnerships this government is engaging in in order to support those women who are fleeing domestic abuse as well as violence against women and I spent some time with the federal minister I was able to take part in the discussion about violence against women but also the child welfare and protection system I'll have more to say on the supplementary speaker but I am proud as an Ontario that we are leading not only in this country but throughout the rest of the world on our commitment to combat sex trafficking in the province of Ontario supplementary question thank you minister you're a constant inspiration to myself to combat gender based violence across the province Mr. Speaker I know that while attending the commission the minister had the opportunity to address the very important topic of sex trafficking we know that Ontario counts for roughly two thirds of police reported human trafficking cases each year this is just shocking statistic but I am proud to know that our minister is taking a leadership role nationally to address the serious human trafficking round table with her federal counterpart can the minister please explain how our government is working to protect women and girls in Ontario from sex trafficking very much to the member again obviously we want to continue to work to build on the great work that was done by our colleague Lori Scott the minister of labour saving the girl next door act that's why I've appointed the member from chamber to the minister of health the minister of education the minister of transportation and others within our government to make sure that we are looking at an inter ministerial approach that's also why I'm co-chairing a consultation process task table with the federal minister of health this is Ontario's dirty little secret it's also Canada's dirty little secret when I was at the United Nations I made it very clear these women are dehumanized to continue to stand in this house with this government for the people to stand and defend these young women to bring awareness to these challenges and make sure that it's not just strong women we're supporting vulnerable women but strong men in this assembly and elsewhere across the province restart the clock next question the member for Waterloo thank you very much Mr. Speaker my question is to the acting premier during the campaign the premier stated that not one job would be lost he's changed the message saying that no frontline jobs will be lost but in Kitchener Waterloo we saw Grand River Hospital cut 25 full-time and 15 part-time registered nurses three weeks ago speaker these are 40 jobs lost and good jobs too one fired full-time nursing equals 2000 hours of lost patient care to people in my community people deserve better you cannot rebuild a health care system without frontline nurses in the province of Ontario so my question is to the acting premier why did the government not take action to ensure that patients get the frontline care that they need in Kitchener Waterloo and indeed across the province the deputy premier well I can certainly agree with the member that more frontline care is needed nurses are the backbone of our health care system that is the reason why we brought our plan forward that is the ideas to put more people into frontline care because that's what we hear from patients each and every day in the ministry of health that is what we're working towards with the local Ontario health teams that are going to be built that will gradually be taking over the responsibilities from the lens that is what is meant to happen so that there's a lot of people that want to be able to be delivering that kind of care I traveled broadly with groups that are ready to apply to be local Ontario health teams can't wait for the application process to start because they're already doing that level of care that's what we need to see happening across the province thank you supplementary member for waterloo again thank you Mr. Speaker the health minister used to fight for frontline nurses and she knows that these cuts right now have consequences for instance Becky lives with type 1 diabetes and other chronic illnesses for years she was too sick to work she was in and out of the ER due to diabetic crises regularly spending one month a year in hospital but everything changed when Becky became a patient at the Diabetes Centre at Grand River Hospital the monthly visits were invaluable to her chronic illness management and her long hospital visits all but disappeared this was a smart strategic investment in healthcare but now the Diabetes Centre services have been able to access care twice a year how can the government justify cutting frontline jobs that keep people out of the hospitals and healthy in the province Minister thank you very much Speaker there's really two points to be made here one is that the reason of creating Ontario health and putting organisations like Cancer Care Ontario their board under the Ontario health is to help promote a better chronic disease management strategy Cancer Care Ontario is an excellent example for providing cancer care and for dealing with renal indications there's no reason why we can't continue to use that model which will continue in its present form they will still be doing the work that they have always done but that model can be used for diabetes management for mental health and addictions management secondly with respect to the important role that nurses play in the system registered nurses association of Ontario has endorsed the plan which we announced several years ago I would like to talk about the transportation today's announcement marks the beginning of much needed change in the health system and the continued role registered nurses must play in both coordinating patients in their communities and in helping Ontarians navigate its complexities that is the goal that we look forward to start the clock next question the member for Kitchener Conestoga Thank you Mr. Speaker my question is for the Minister of Finance over the past week we have heard about our government's call on the federal government to legalize single game sports betting given the response to our government's leadership on this file it is clear that people across Ontario would like to be able to bet on the outcomes of single sports games people in Ontario and across Canada are given the option of betting on the Super Bowl or the grey cup for example given the increasing popularity of single game betting it is important for our government to be able to meet consumer demand and ensure Ontario's high standards for responsible gaming can be met Mr. Speaker could the minister please explain why this change is necessary and how it stands to benefit Ontario Minister of Finance Thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to the member for Kitchener Conestoga for giving us the opportunity to talk about the issue of single game sports betting it is important to keep Ontario's gaming industry competitive eight US states now offer legalized sports betting and 20 more states are expected to adopt the practice within the next two years including Michigan and New York without legal alternatives in Ontario consumers are increasingly turning to US based casinos which offer single game sports casino Windsor for example would benefit from a more competitive position in the industry that's why we're calling on the federal government to amend the criminal code allowing single game betting will give sports fans more choice and enhance the contributions gaming makes in Ontario Supplementary question Thank you Speaker and thank you to the minister for his response it is exciting to hear about how our government is taking action to make a change that would increase consumer choice and benefit workers in Ontario's gaming industry it is also exciting to see the support of our government's initiative has been getting hopefully the federal government is listening and will amend the criminal code to allow single game sports betting in Canada it is clear that this decision makes sense Mr. Speaker legalization of single game sports betting has the support of the public the support of the gaming industry and the support for Windsor west on some of the support behind our government on this file minister response North American sports teams are in favour of single game sports betting particularly in light of the recent legalization in the US the CFL commissioner says we support the province's initiative to ensure our markets remain competitive and strong the NBA commissioner says should the federal government permit betting on single game sports betting the NBA would support the province of Ontario offering this form of betting the NHL commissioner says the NHL believes that a level playing surface for sports betting is in the best interest of the NHL's sports betting landscape the industry supports this change the people support this change and our government supports this change it is time for the federal government to amend the criminal code and legalize single game sports betting thank you speaker member for King Vaughn come to order member for Hamilton mountain come to order next question the member for Kuwait know me good job mr. Speaker my question is to the acting premier as of May 1 the government is shutting down the Ontario child advocates office resulting in the loss of 20 child and youth advocate jobs these frontline workers called answer the calls of young people and kids in crisis they listen first they take direction from the child or the youth as to how they can support them to be heard mr. Speaker this office has been in place for 40 years why is the government closing the Ontario child advocates office which employs 20 frontline workers for our most vulnerable children in youth the deputy premier mr. Children and community I really appreciate the question from the member opposite I appreciate him bringing his concerns to the floor of the house the government made a decision in the fall economic statement that they would be moving the oversight capabilities over to the office that said my ministry has taken steps so that we can have three tables established for children in care and children in custody the children in care there will be an indigenous led table as well as a table for children that are of color and we have also made arrangements to ensure that we embed child advocate within my ministry so that we ensure that children in custody and care have the access that they need for the advocacy role but let me be perfectly clear we believe the oversight capabilities are far superior than what we've got now and we believe that the ombudsman will continue to work forward in a very constructive way and that's why we're working with Paul Duthey and my ministry and we're going to continue to work. Thank you. Supplementary question. Mr. Speaker the youth involved with the child advocates office say their work has saved lives this government is ending youth partnerships like feathers of hope which helped indigenous youth all over northern Ontario and throughout the Ontario and to 2017 there were 38 suicides in the north this is 50 times higher than a Canadian average Mr. Speaker 50 times higher young people are losing their dedicated advocate in the team of professional professionals which support the important work that says disproportionately are going to hurt will hurt indigenous youth why is the acting premier isolating indigenous youth and leaving them without support Minister response. Thank you very much Speaker and again thank you very much to the member opposite for his question I've always admired him bringing his concerns to the floor of the community I just want to point out in 2017-2018 the Ontario Ombudsman's office received 367 complaints that's more than one a day that had to be referred to the child advocates office by repatriating the investigative powers into the Ombudsman's office working with Paul DeBay we're convinced we're going to get better reports that are more effective for this assembly and so if anyone is challenging the Ombudsman I guess this is now the place to do it but let me be clear we take our work with indigenous youth very seriously particularly because they are over represented in custody and in care and that is why we are going to set up an indigenous led table of children of lived experience so that we can best support them and that is why we're also embedding with him my ministry a child advocate next question the member for Aurora Oak Ridge is Richmond Hill thank you speaker my question is for the minister of environment conservation and parks for too long the hardworking people of this province were faced with inflated costs that they simply could not afford and to make matters worse in a couple of short weeks Ontarians will once again have to pay a new tax we know that the Trudeau liberal carbon tax is coming into effect on April 1st it will increase the cost of people of my riding and across Ontario to heat their homes fuel their cars and feed their families we're now learning the full impact of just how much this tax will cost our transport businesses our colleges and universities can the minister inform the house what our government with the leadership of the premier intends to do to stop this regressive job killing tax from being imposed on Ontarians good question minister of the environment and parks Mr. Speaker through you to the member from Aurora Oak Ridge is Richmond Hill and thank you for the question Mr. Speaker our government made a promise to Ontarians that we would make life more affordable and that we would make it easier for job creators to create jobs and a competitive economy we promised as well that we could balance a healthy environment and a healthy economy and that's what we're doing that's Mr. Speaker that the federal government committed to in greenhouse gases but it does it without a job killing carbon tax Mr. Speaker we are also through our emissions performance standards which are now out for consultation making it clear that institutions like colleges and universities will have the opportunity to opt in Mr. Speaker that means that those universities those colleges will not have to be spending valuable taxpayer dollars valuable tuition dollars on paying Justin Trudeau's carbon tax thank you Mr. Speaker thank you Mr. Speaker and I thank the minister for his response Mr. Speaker I know the Trudeau government's carbon tax will have a direct impact on finances of Ontario's essential services on public institutions our carbon tax makes everything more expensive the resources of Ontario's publicly assisted colleges and universities should be focused on equipping our students with the skills needed to get the high quality of jobs tomorrow not filling the federal government's coffers can the minister tell us how the Liberals failed plan will impact institutions like our colleges and universities Minister of training colleges and universities Enrichman Hale for that very important question Speaker last Thursday I was pleased to be at Algonquin college with the minister for environment conservation and parks as well as members from Carlton and Ottawa West Nippian and the details of the impact of the carbon tax on our universities and colleges Speaker we know that the federal carbon tax will cost Algonquin college over $276,000 in 2022 alone and across the entire sector we know this tax will cost Ontario's universities and colleges approximately $24.7 million in 2023 Speaker the people of Ontario have paid for a 22% reduction in our emissions and we have a plan to get to 30% without a carbon tax Our message is clear our publicly funded institutions cannot afford to pay millions of dollars in new taxes to fill the federal government's coffers Thank you Thank you Mr. Speaker and through you my question is for the acting premier during the campaign the premier repeatedly told the people of Ontario that not one job would be lost under his government and in December when this government decided to eliminate the office of the environmental commissioner they made no mention of any jobs being lost but we have now learned that at least five people will lose their jobs as a result of this government gutting the office of the environmental commissioner of Ontario does the premier not think these jobs count the deputy premier for the environment, conservation and parks Questions would refer to the minister of the environment, conservation and parks Mr. Speaker as is happening so often today I have to reject the premise of the members question Mr. Speaker Ontario will continue to be the only provincial government with an independent environment commissioner and that commissioner will report through the auditor general Mr. Speaker because and this will be the exact same system as the federal government the federal government Mr. Speaker has the same system why is that because we want to make sure that the environment commissioner has the appropriate focus has the focus in terms of how the environment is considered and it is done through an independent office but it will also be done more effectively and we will not apologize for being efficient and effective while protecting the environment of Ontario Thank you Mr. Speaker I just wanted to take a moment to announce to the house that my EA last week surprised his long-time girlfriend with a trip to Barbados and he asked a very important question and much to my surprise Dina Gowl who said yes so to Ryan Cole and Dina Gowl congratulations on your recent engagement on a point of order on a point of order a speaker on behalf of the Liberal Caucus I'd like to welcome to the legislature the council of Ontario the Toronto Construction Association who are holding their lobby today including the delegation in the delegation are members of the Toronto Construction Association including Romeo Milano their president John Mullenher and senior director of corporate development Susanna Fernandez Thank you for so understanding order 38A the member for Glen Gary Prescott Russell has given notice of her dissatisfaction with the answer to her question given by the minister of energy concerning the eastern fields and wind power project in the nation township this matter will be debated tomorrow at 6pm this house stands in recess until 1pm


Hello and welcome to NewsClick. Today we are going to discuss the scandal which has hit the Dutch press regarding kickbacks, fraudulent investments or transactions in which it seems reliance infrastructure limit is involved. They denied. They have denied it. But what the Dutch are saying is that it involves what is known route right now the east-west pipelines. Earlier it was the reliance gas infrastructure limited company. Reliance gas transportation infrastructure limited. And it seems to connect back to a biometrics marketing company which has been earlier accused of also in the KG Basin case and in fact has been named as one of the companies involved in what would be called transfer pricing if you will. So these are not statements that I am making or you are making. These are statements which are already there in public domain. This company is involved in some of the KG Basin shall be say charges of siphoning off of money by claiming high infrastructure costs and then recovering it as a part of their share of the revenues which had to go and to pay for this infrastructure. This time this has come regarding the pipeline company and this is also people have been charged. Okay let me go step by step. On Monday a Dutch court released three individuals who had been arrested for three days. These three individuals released been released on bail. No they have been released saying they are not required for interrogation any further. You see the prosecuting agency is the Netherlands Fiscal Intelligence and Investigation Service and the Economic Investigation Service. So if I owe these that's right. So the court has said since they are not required for questioning they can be released from prison. Now these three individuals who have been arrested were former employees of a Dutch pipeline firm which is called AHAC NL as in Netherlands. Now this particular Dutch company it's one of its associate companies were part of a consortium of independent contractors from India, from China, from Russia, from the Middle East etc etc etc who were engaged in building a 1400 kilometer long pipeline which starts at Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh and travels all the way up to Bharuch in Gujarat after traversing Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra. So from Andhra Pradesh to Gujarat. From east coast gas to the west coast. Now hear me out. This company which was a company which was set up by Reliance Industries Limited but eventually became a private company of the head of Reliance and not a part formally of Reliance Industries Limited it became Mukesh Ambani's company and was called Reliance Gas Transportation Infrastructure Limited. Now this company then has a new avatar. Can you tell us what happens if you make it from Reliance company, RIL company into a company in which only Mukesh Ambani was a because Reliance Industries Limited is a widely held public limited company it shares are quoted in the stock market it has to meet various regulatory it has to adhere to various regulations which are put out by the stock exchange authorities various securities and exchange board of India whereas if it is a company which is privately promoted and owned by Mr Mukesh Ambani then these the regulatory oversight is far far less and you also don't have to disclose as much correct as you would otherwise correct because there are shareholders there and shareholders means you have to have public information absolutely a lot more information has to be disclosed to the public at large but if it's a closely held private company then less information has to be disclosed so let's get back to the story. Reliance Gas Transportation Infrastructure became East-West Pipeline Limited and as we are talking a Canadian investor called Brookfield is reportedly going to be investing or has obtained the clearance to invest the equivalent of about two billion US dollars in purchasing the assets of this company which is a loss-making company because the company is making losses because not enough gas has been produced from the Krishna Gudavadi based it and therefore it is unable therefore it is incurring losses in fact the Reliance in one of his first companies or first cases of its kind it's not Reliance Industries Limited but Group they actually got the banks to roll over and we renegotiated the loans but wait let's go step by step these three persons who were arrested and then released they have been accused of over invoicing to the tune of about 1.2 billion dollars that's a huge amount now though this has been completely denied what the court what has been alleged is that the usual story this goes through all kinds of convoluted tax haven and finally it to use their language creamed off creamed off the public prosecutor of Netherlands according to the AFP their associated France press is alleging that biometrics marketing creamed off and they became what was called like a duplicator of invoices an invoice duplicator let's take a few steps back what it means is say X amount of equipment was bought for the pipeline and what was charged or services will ended for this is yes consultancy or other services instead of X which is the actual cost because it went through a series of transactions it ended up being 2x 3x or 4x whatever it might be and the difference between the X the cost and what because of the series of transactions it becomes that is the difference which over a period of time and through multiple transactions is supposed to be estimated by the Dutch investigating agency they have alleged 1.2 billion dollars that's what the allegation is that this money allegation this is what the Dutch investigative agencies saying claim claiming and then this is the alleged amount that has been skimmed off you can say this is therefore the next step that where who gets the money where is the money going according to them it's going to this entity in Singapore called biometrics marketing now now let me now let me try and go first I take a step back and then I take a few steps forward in the budget that was presented in 2009 the union budget the then finance minister which is Pranab Mukherjee had given what was described and I I mean I wrote an article in current news where it was described as the biggest tax break to the richest Indian it came to about 20,000 crores this was an income the income tax act was amended so that companies which set up gas pipelines set them up operating were exempt from payment of taxes now interestingly at that point of time the the CPI leader Mr. Reddy had had openly written against it and complained to the minister of finance of course nothing happened but then let's again see what happened thereafter and that's where biometrics comes in in 2013 the enforcement director actually wrote to the Reserve Bank of India and asked whether the loan that had been given by the Singapore branch of the ICICI bank to the tune of about 6,500 crores whether it was legal or not why did this happen because earlier G.T. Venkateshwar Rao he was an officer of the government of India in the Indian High Commission he had done a detailed investigation on this to suggest that there was more to it than met the high and in fact Anu Tandon who was a congress member of parliament she had been interrogated now the interesting part of the whole story is nothing of this I mean eventually nothing came out of these all these of all these investigations and though this matter had been raised by people like Prashant Bhushan, Arvind Kejriwal reliance completely denied it first they said yes yes they said we have nothing to do with biometrics and they also said that the investments that were made by biometrics by into various Indian entities including companies in the reliance group were investigated scrutinized found to be above board and they said they participated and fully cooperated in the investigation and the regulatory authorities have been a price of true and correct like this is what reliance has claimed but the question is and this is really we've never had a deep enough investigation is biometrics itself and and companies that control biometrics including a company called Strasburg holdings in which a person who is a legal advisor to reliance has a substantial investment and I must hear you know draw your attention to a letter that has been written by our friend Dr. E. S. Sharma who was former Secretary of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance he's written a long letter to the Cabinet Secretary Mr. P. K. Sena saying that the Indian investigating agencies have not proceeded they proceeded in his words rather hesitantly despite the report given by the Indian High Commission's officer that this matter as we already discussed is in the Supreme Court of India and the question he asked is has this been disclosed to the Supreme Court of India and at the end of the day there is a report of the controller and auditor general of India which has accused the reliance industries limited which is a major contractor in the Krishna Kodawari gas basin the whole that whole project of having under over invoiced equipment now we had already even in news click where news click was in in actual existence at the time we had looked at the C.H.G. report and the very clearly certain items including the equipment the barges the what is it platforms platform drilling platforms they have they appear to be highly overpriced and the C.H.G. report does point that out okay so you've written on it we have written on it so this is on the record that and this is really on the record that C.H.G. has done this audit and found this a problem now but I want to come back there's one other angle and this is what Dr. Sarma has pointed out which is very interesting he's saying today the ICICI bank has come under the scrutiny of the CBI and the enforcement directorate and Mrs. Chanda Cocher is being interrogated so according to Dr. Sarma the government should investigate ICICI banks connection with biometrics and whether I mean he's made he's he's made a very interesting point he says in much smaller cases of alleged money laundering the central agencies conduct raids arrest people how come then they're not showing that much enthusiasm is it because it's the big fish are could be involved and the big fish and different rules the two things before we wind this up what I would like to also talk about is that very clearly the Dutch have evidence of some kind of over invoicing they are saying 1.2 billion dollars but they seem to have seen the web the trail that is there web of transactions through which this 1.2 billion surplus has gone now 1.2 surplus billion surplus going to biometric is one part but the other part that this was skimmed off a project which was an infrastructure project Lance claim is well this did not lead to any loss on the part of the people because this money this loss was never passed off to the consumers and I think that's a bit of a red herring I mean what they're saying is that look we have in this country a petroleum and natural gas regulatory board and they determine what should be the price of gas therefore the suggestion that by spending more on equipment in the pipeline we somehow the consumer has been cheated according to reliance is not an issue now the point is I think this diverts attention from the real part of the story yes we have officially administered prices of gas we have a regulatory body called the petroleum and natural gas regulatory board but this is good so this is got something else this is something else did was more money spent in building that pipeline than what was required or what was warranted and if in the authority which is building the pipeline knew about and if in the process of sourcing the equipment and paying for services from little companies across the world the Indian players ended up playing much more than what was should have paid and if indeed this money was skimmed off or or to use the the phrase of the Dutch public prosecutor creamed off this is something worth investigating and and I just say one last point as in the case of the Herb Falsiani expose I don't you shouldn't expect anything to happen in India if anything would happen it's going to happen over there in Netherlands yes is if more money has been paid and 1.2 billion dollars has been creamed off let's forget the biometrics reliance connection not having been proven if that is so let's leave that out point still remains 1.2 billion dollars was overpaid by reliance so they're either saying they were foolish they paid overpaid by 1.2 billion dollars which could therefore be creamed off or they have to say they're complicit so either or and the argument that you said there is a board which determines the legitimate price there are very few pipelines being built this is one of the biggest pipeline this is one of the longest pipelines that has been built in recent times besides you know the initial reports that were put out by the press trust of India didn't mention East West pipeline but I mean it didn't take too much to guess because there are only two companies that build pipelines one is Gail which is earlier called the gas authority of India limited and this company and the point again here is very simple that if you're building the major pipeline which you were at that point of time then obviously the cost of the pipeline you disclose to the regulatory authorities does get built into the cost that ultimately consumer will have to pay as transportation cost so to argue then how how you prove it is another story but what you can say without fear of any contradiction that if indeed these allegations have any basis if indeed and this is for the courts to judge at the end of the day who would be the loser the exchequer of this country thank you very much for trying to make this shall we say financial transactions and the consequences thereof clear to our viewers thank you very much for watching news click do keep watching this and other shows


So here we are in front of the Capitol with Larry Ebert, who is an active duty airman who's been on a hunger strike for nine days now to try to stop the U.S. from supporting the genocide that's going on in Gaza. Larry, can you tell us what's doing here? Yeah. So firstly, my opinions do not reflect the Air Force for the DOD, but I'm here, as Vadia stated, conducting a hunger strike on day nine. And obviously the main goal is to get a permanent ceasefire and increase humanitarian hate and unspeed all Palestinians within Gaza and hopefully get more active duty military members and members of the State Department to recognize the atrocities happening and recognize that these are breaking international law and U.S. law and that these are not lawful commands to continue committing genocide. So thank you so much for being out here. By the way, I'm holding your sign because you're not allowed to hold your own sign now. Yeah, it's no longer my sign. So if other people want it, they can hold it. But yeah, I am not allowed to explicitly state my status within the military. So yeah, not my sign. Well, I'm proud to be here holding your sign and thank you so much for what you do.


Okay, so let's check this reaction out This Reaction was first noticed actually by Walden Chemists long time ago. It's called the Walden inversion. So when you take Melaic acid here and add PCl5 to it phosphorus pentachloride and ether of course is just the solvent You're going to get Product that has the Substituent here this one's going forward right the substituent you'll find goes backwards Okay, so that implies that there was a backside attack at the last step Okay, so everybody knows the product so I want you to write it down on your own So hopefully you can see that chlorine is going coming The nucleophile itself is coming in from the backside So that last step is an SN2 reaction So let's go ahead and draw the mechanism of this reaction real quick the Walden inversion Or the first step of the Walden inversion and this is what I was saying earlier whenever you have Atoms that are third Period and below right they can expand their bail so when you're looking at phosphorus here probably with Cross-ides being like wait a second that has more than eight electrons in it It's okay because it's a bigger atom it can actually hold more than eight electrons For our case. It's good for us to just remember PCl5. So we can do this Okay, so what's going to happen here is actually the OH on the The alcohol is more nucleophilic than the OH on the carboxylic acids so PCl5 actually reacts selectively with the alcohol Hydroxyl group as opposed to either of the carboxylic acid hydroxyl groups Okay, so in that case that the alcohol oxygen is reacting as the nucleophile with the phosphorus of PCl5 being the electrophile in this particular instance, okay We're going to kick off one of those chlorine atoms. So I'll just show that mechanism So like that Is everybody okay with what we've just done? Yes And remember our final product is going to be this I'm not showing the other portion of it just the organic So try to write the product on your own before you see me Finish it and see if you Got it right And that way you can identify Where your problems might lie what you put Hopefully essentially is that what you got you might not have finished it with the core part of this Okay, good, and here's the SN2 reaction. Okay, this is the nucleophile Remember in an SN2 we need the nucleophile and electrophile and the nucleophiles going to come in from where? The backside right so it's going to be opposite of the stereochemistry that you see right now So since that oh is coming towards us the chlorine is going to be going away from us So in order to show that it's just we've shown an SN2 reaction before here It is just that classical SN2 reaction. I should have asked you to write it first Did you write it first you get it right? Good job. I should have known that y'all would have written it first. That's good I'm proud of you for taking that initiative And then what did we get as our product so we know what the organic product is of course that SN2 backside of 10 the nucleophile And this whole thing is the electrophile The electrophilic carbon is actually that carbon there and then hopefully you can see right we get that what we call inversion of configuration at that stereocenter Stereocenter So that's because it was pointing forward downs pointing back and then of course I Could see it some people looking at me. Well, where are the other at? And well, we're not as interested in them Because that's not our organic stuff, but that's the other part any questions on this thing This is the first step of that Walden cycle or Walden inversion. We were talking