Therefore now time for a question period, the Leader of the Majesties Loyal Opposition. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Community Safety. Global Nationals Carolyn Jarvis revealed the shocking number last night. 4,513. That's 4,513. That is how many outstanding warrants there are in Ontario for probation violations. Shocking. Mr.  Thank you. Minister of Community Safety, Impressional Services. Well, thank you very much and I thank the member for his question. And Mr. Speaker, I want to say to Deontaren that our government takes the safety of our community very seriously, Mr. Speaker. And in partnership with our police services and our justice partner, we've made Ontario one of the safest jurisdictions in North America. For 11 straight years, Ontario has had the lowest crime rate of any province or territory in Canada. Also, it's one of the safest metropolitan areas according to the census. Mr. Speaker, we're building on this success through our strategy for safer Ontario and our plan to make our communities even safer. The strategy is the biggest transformation in 25 years, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, again to the Minister, when asked that question yesterday, the Minister said she had to look into it further and had this to say. This is from the Minister. To know that number, what it means and who are those individuals, we're all still waiting for an answer. Who are these individuals? Mr. Speaker, are they pedophiles?  Are they violent criminals? What offenders are walking our streets unsupervised with an outstanding warrant for their arrest? This is a specific question. Hopefully the Minister can answer this. These 4,513 individuals, are they pedophiles?  Are they violent criminals? This global expose is shocking and we expect the government to take it seriously. Mr. Speaker, as a government, we take this very seriously and I have to say we've hired more people, our parole and probation officers in the last few years to actually rehabilitate and reintegrate our high-risk offenders. Case per officer has also decreased by 26% as a result and many of our probation and parole officers have received specialized training on high-risk cases such as domestic violence and sex offenders. Mr. Speaker, the opposite party has no plan and we can say whatever they want. They're rhetoric about fear and bringing that fear to Ontarian. As a member of the Harper government, the leader of the opposition, fear-mongered Canadians and increase actually our prison population. This mostly due to a massive surge, Mr. Speaker, are indigenous and rationalized inmate in our prison, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Final supplementary. Mr. Speaker, again to the Minister, rather than attacking the opposition, this is a global national expose, a shocking response. 4,513 probation violations, criminals out on our streets. There is a team of provincial and municipal police officers that hunt down criminals who have broken federal parole. The repeat offender of parole enforcement squad, otherwise known as Rope, continuously investigate and tries to find criminals in breach of federal parole. But there is no team looking for those breaching provincial probation, so my question is pretty simple. As the global national expose showed, if we're looking for those that breach federal parole, why are we not doing that provincially? I'm struggling to get an answer here, Mr. Speaker, and rather than a partisan spin line, I would like the Minister to actually tell us what we're going to do to keep our streets safe. Thank you. Minister? So Mr. Speaker, let's look at the leader of the opposition's record. At his time as a Harper conservative, he actually supported measures, Mr. Speaker. Member from Elgin, Middlesex, London, come to order. Mr. Speaker, as I was saying before I was interrupted, he did was part of a government that has to be cut Canada's correctional service budget by 10%. An equivalent of 200%. If it continues, those banging their desks will be warned. Finish, please. So he also introduced ridiculous changes, Mr. Speaker, to mandatory minimums and even supported the ending of an award-winning program called Lifeline Program, which actually provided support for those serving life sentences and reintegrated those released on parole, Mr. Speaker. The leader of the opposition in this party has a big talk, Mr. Speaker, but they have a record that shows definitely otherwise. So I am very proud to be part of a government that believe in the rehabilitation, reinstation while maintaining community safe, Mr. Speaker. Can you see it, please? Can you see it, please? New question. The leader of the opposition. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Community Safety. Through you, Mr. Speaker, should sexual predators and violent criminals be allowed to self-report while on probation, yes or no? Thank you. Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services. So again, Mr. Speaker, and I'm going to take this note because there's some great work happening in our community. Our parole-improvation officers are doing their job, Mr. Speaker. And yes, always more can be done, and we are working with them. But I am so happy... The member from Dufferin-Calliton come to order. Finish, please. And Mr. Speaker, we have made this jurisdiction the safest community in Canada. And we should be varying with our justice partners, with our community leaders, and our police force, Mr. Speaker. And this is why we're working through our strategy of safer Ontario and our correctional reform, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Supplementary. Mr. Speaker, again to the Minister, this is very troubling. We have a Minister saying that everything's fine, that everything is safe, and yet we have 4,513... The Minister of Education come to order. And the Minister for Children and Youth Services, I'd like to remind you that if you'd like to challenge the chair, please feel free. And the member from Renfrew can stop, too. Remind the Minister of Children and Youth Services that he has been warned this morning and it carries to today. Please finish your question.  I did not get an answer to a very clear question on whether yes or no, whether the Minister feels that appropriate. So I'll rephrase it. Mr. Speaker, should sexual predators and violent criminals on probation receive home visits? The probation officers want to have home visits. They want to do their job. But we have a Minister that seems to have a policy that when it comes to sexual predators, if you pinky swear... If you get them to pinky swear to check up on themselves, we want home visits. We want to make sure they have the honour of fighting... Minister. So, Mr. Speaker, I think Ontarians in each of our community, as we showed, we have safe community, Mr. Speaker. And I think I'm looking forward to see how the member will vote on our budget. Because as I go through my line, my budget has actually, within our community and safety, increasing, Mr. Speaker. So, I'll let you to say anything about our increasing in our budget to actually support and give tools to our parole and probation officers. Mr. Speaker. Remember from Duffin Cowlett in the second time. You have the wrap-up sentence. I look forward for him to actually vote against our wonderful budget, where we are increasing capacity, Mr. Speaker.  So, I'm going to try a different angle. Yesterday, the Attorney General called this crisis, I quote, manufactured.  Are the 4,513 outstanding warrants manufactured?  I didn't make up those stories and facts matter, Mr. Speaker. So, my question to the minister is this. Very clearly, does the minister share the opinions of the Attorney General that this crisis is manufactured, or is this government finally going to take the situation seriously? Thank you. Minister. So, again, Mr. Speaker, I'm actually not surprised, but a bit disappointed that, you know, as a leader of the opposition who actually made a decision to cut services, Mr. Speaker. And I want to talk about this because this is, for me, so important about his record. And when you think about a no-plan to keep our community safe, he supported actually a funding cut, Mr. Speaker, for the 18 circles of support and accountability program designed to prevent the most dangerous, high-risk sex offenders from repeating their crimes, Mr. Speaker. He also supported, as I said earlier, an award-winning life-line program which provided support for those serving life sentences and reintegrated those releases on parole, Mr. Speaker. I'm sorry, this party has no plan. Thank you. No question. The member from Toronto, Dan Ford. Thank you, Speaker. Speaker, my question to the acting Premier. Ontario families, businesses, and municipalities are struggling under the weight of soaring hydro bills. Those bills have gone up 300% since the Conservatives first started to privatize the hydro system, continued under Liberal rule. 50% increase since this Premier came to power alone. We've told Ontarians stories in this house for almost two years now. We've told this Premier the families who have to choose between buying food and keeping the heat on in winter, who have to make the heartbreaking decision not to contribute to the children's education funds rather than pay their hydro bills. The Premier's response this week was to move ahead with the disastrous sell-off of a majority stake in Hydro One, a move that will guarantee that these families will continue to see their hydro bills rise. Does the Premier not listen to these stories or care about the people who are struggling to get by? Thank you, Deputy Premier. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Please rise to talk about the 17% reduction that families, small businesses, and farms have received so far, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to this government's fair hydro plan. And on top of that, Mr. Speaker, 800,000 families across the province that live in rural or remote parts of our province, they'll see between 40% and 50% reduction. And on top of that, Mr. Speaker, many of those families are Hydro One customers. And when we're talking about the broadening of ownership of Hydro One, yes, Mr. Speaker, our final tranche was done this week, and with that sale, we made $2.8 billion that we can invest in things like the GTHA Go Rail Regional Express, Mr. Speaker. I know that's obviously something that the Opposition Party doesn't support. What about the 5.3 billion in the Eglings of Prostown? Or the 1 billion in Ottawa, Mr. Speaker. That's all great news for this province. Thank you. Supplementary. Again, to the acting Premier. We've told the Premier about businesses eager to expand and create more jobs. If only, if only they could get some relief on their hydro bills. No response for four years under her watch. We've told her about municipalities across Ontario, which are worried about having to close valued community centres in arenas because they can't afford to keep the lights on. No response. The people of Ontario have said loud and clear, stop the wrong-headed sell-off of Hydro One, which the Premier knows will only cause more chaos and damage to our already fragile hydro system. No response. Why? Thank you, Minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So if we go back just even a few years, we can start talking about how this government pulled costs out of the system, Mr. Speaker. $3.5 billion in the renegotiation of the Samsung Agreement, saving ratepayers' money. We cancelled the LRP2 project, Mr. Speaker. Saving ratepayers' money. We can go back further and further, Mr. Speaker, to talk about ways that this government continued to find ways to save ratepayers' money on their electricity bills. The one thing that we had to do, Mr. Speaker, was rebuild the system. The system was a mess, and it was left a mess by those two governments when they were in power. We stepped in in 2003 and had to rebuild the system at a cost of $50 billion. And, Mr. Speaker, when we rebuilt that system, we made it clean, and we've made it reliable, and we no longer use coal in our electricity grid, something that is seen as a leadership role, Mr. Speaker, around the world. Thank you. The member from Leeds Cringle, second time. Final supplementary. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, to the acting Premier. The Premier ignores 80% of Ontarians opposed to the sell-off of Hydro-1. She looks away when she hears about the real and devastating impact that her mismanagement of the Hydro system has had on families, businesses, and local governments. She doesn't have a credible plan to fix any of the mess that she and her government have helped create. Maybe bury it in a mound of buried money. That seems to be what they're thinking about. And without a mandate and just a year shy of being booted out of office, she's decided to complete the sell-off of a majority share of one of the most profitable public utilities in this province. Does the Premier listen to anyone but Bay Street bankers, high-powered investors, and an energy minister who just doesn't seem to understand this file? Thank you. Minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Once again, I'm very pleased to stand and talk about the significant reductions that families are already receiving, the 17% reduction that they are receiving today. When talking about non-understanding the file, Mr. Speaker, outside experts and observers agree that the NDP's pamphlet on what they would do with energy won't even help Ontarians. Thomas Walken from the Toronto Star called their proposal thin gruel and said it consisted of wishful thinking, Mr. Speaker, and puts off tough decisions. This government is making tough decisions to make sure that we're bringing lasting relief right now for families, small businesses, and farms. So we take no lessons from a party that has no plan, that has no idea, and won't do anything to help people now. We are acting, we are bringing forward legislation that is bringing forward 25% reduction. That is something we should be proud of, Mr. Speaker. No question, the member from Nickel Belt. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This week, New Democrat received a letter from Sarah. Sarah lives in Norwich, which is just outside of Woodstock. She works at Tim Horton, trying to put herself through school. She wants to become a social worker. Sarah has a chronic eye disease that caused blur vision, dark floating spots, and progressive vision loss. Sarah is 27 years old. Can the acting Premier explain why she thinks Sarah should have to pay for the expensive medications for her eye out of pockets? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will ask the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care to respond to the supplementary. But Sarah is a perfect example of why the changes we have made to OSAP are going to transform her life. She will, I'm assuming, are working at Tim Horton's. She's making under $50,000 a year, and I expect significantly below that. So not only will she have free tuition, she will also have money in the form of non-repayable grants that will allow her to cover some of her living expenses. If Sarah happens to have a child, the news is even better for her. So, Speaker, Sarah is exactly the kind of person we had in mind when we took away the restrictions on OSAP that related to age. OSAP is now available to all students if they qualify financially, regardless of their age. Thank you. Thank you, Speaker. Sarah doesn't want to get pregnant. She wants to help to pay for her medication. She told us, and I quote, no person with any severe health problems should be forced to choose between paying bills and paying for much-needed medication. The NDP Universal Pharmacare Program would help Sarah and the thousands of other Ontarians who have to make those heartbreaking decisions each and every month. Why is the Premier ignoring the best advice? Refusing to bring in a universal pharmacare and refusing to help people like Sarah? Thank you. Minister of Health, long-term care. Minister of Health, long-term care. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It gives me a great pride to be able to stand up and talk about our Pharmacare Program, which is a great leap forward to what I think we all agree ultimately should be universal pharmacare for all Ontarians and for all Canadians and not somewhere in the future, perhaps in 2020 as with the third party's proposal. But actually January 1st of next year, 4 million children and youth will have access to 4,400 drugs, absolutely free. No annual deductible, no copay, Mr. Speaker. And we continue to hear from Ontarians just how important this program is and that there are many, many families and individuals that are celebrating the fact that in many cases, expenses that can run into the thousands of dollars or more of them will now be covered under this plan starting January 1st next year. Thank you, the final supplement. Thank you. Healthcare is based on universal access. Our healthcare system is built on the principle that nobody is turned away. Sarah shouldn't have to worry about school, about working, about trying to pay for her medication because she is 27 years old rather than 24. Ontarians want a fair system. They want their government to implement a fair system. Why won't the Premier bring in universal pharmacare that leaves no one behind? Thank you, Minister. Well, Mr. Speaker, I think the third party needs to describe their own proposal more accurately. It's not universal. It provides that the proposal is for 125 drugs. Our commitment is for 4,275 drugs more than their program, the entire formulary. They propose to income test access to their program as well. It's not universal when it's income tested, Mr. Speaker. So here, you know, to give you an example, Duran Wong-Riger, who's the CEO of the Canadian Organization for Rare Disorders, has this to say, I believe Ontario's Child and Youth OHIP Plus Pharmacare program is a bold move and a really big deal for Ontario families. Coming at a time when other drug plants, including the private plants, seem to be abandoning those who are most vulnerable and in need. The Canadian Organization for Rare Disorders is committed to working with the Ontario government and calls on other provinces to follow suit. Mr. Speaker, that's just one of literally dozens of examples of organizations and individuals who support our commitment. Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question this morning is for the Minister of Energy. Speaker, yesterday I received an order paper response from the minister, but it really wasn't much of a response. He said he couldn't answer my question and that I should submit a freedom of information request. What I wanted was documents and correspondence from January and February from the ministry, IESO and OPG that used words like fees, commissions, broker, lender, and refinancing. Now the minister knows that this house is going to have to vote on legislation that he brings forward. So why is he trying to get members to pay for information that they should have before we vote on legislation? Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And of course I always like to stand and, you know, address the questions that I've brought forward by the opposition. Member from Renfrew, Nipissing, Pembroke, second time. Oh, yeah, I got a checklist. And of course, Mr. Speaker, the Ontario Fair Hydro Plan and the relief that is coming is an important issue. And it's a position, you know, where we stand in this house on this topic is very well known, Mr. Speaker. But, you know, what's the position of the official opposition when it comes to their plan, Mr. Speaker? It makes you wonder. It's been almost 70 days now in which the leader of the opposition students said that they have a plan forthcoming. It went from a three-point plan, Mr. Speaker, to a five-point plan to a zero-point plan, Mr. Speaker. I know part of the role of the opposition should be putting forward a credible alternative. And Mr. Speaker, we're still waiting for anything credible from coming from that party. Mr. Speaker, if the minister would like us to do his job for him, we would gladly do it. But our job is to scrutinize the plan that they're putting forward. And the people of Ontario deserve to know if the government's hydro plan involves millions or billions paid out in fees to brokers or bankers. It may as well be brought to you by Goldman Sachs at this point. The people of Ontario deserve to know. Because by the government's own admission, those fees will be recoverable on their hydro rates. So will the minister turn over exactly the documents I asked for in my order paper question, or will this be yet another liberal scheme done in the back rooms by a liberal minister who's got his hand in the pocket of rate payers? The last minute, the member did make some statements that I'm not happy with, and I would hope that he would never try to do that again. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think it's important that I do remind the critic from the opposition party as the critic for the energy file that he did attend a technical briefing where officials gave him all the details of our plan. So, you know, we're more than happy to share more information with him, and I know we offered an additional technical briefing. And I do agree, Mr. Speaker, that it is the role of the official opposition to make sure that, you know, what the government is doing. I understand that role. And, you know what, it also takes courage, Mr. Speaker, to bring forward a plan, to talk about what they would do differently. And who thinks that, Mr. Speaker? Let me read a quote. I think the challenge for anyone who aspires to be premier, any party that aspires to serve in government is to say what we would do. You know who said that, Mr. Speaker? The leader of the official opposition. It's just too bad when it comes to energy or Ontario. They have no plan at all. Thank you. New question. The member from Parkdale High Park. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the acting premier. Prior to the 2014 election, the premier told Torontonians that the relief line subway was one of her top transit priorities. But since the election, she has refused to commit to funding the construction of the relief line. Mayor of Toronto and the TTC said that the relief line must be built before the Young Line extension or else there'll be transit chaos. But the premier seems to be more interested in saving liberal seats north of Toronto than funding a subway project that transit experts say must come first. Why is the premier once again putting her own political interests ahead of what's best for Toronto transit riders? Thank you. Minister of Transportation. Thank you very much, Speaker. I thank the member from Parkdale for her question this morning. That member and every member in the chamber will know that we are the provincial government that is investing more in public transit in the city of Toronto and in communities in every corner of Ontario more so than any other government in history. Our investments in transit in Toronto are in fact unprecedented. Interestingly, just a couple of days ago there was a staff report that came out that said that over the next two years the city of Toronto staff will continue to refine and provide the public with a finalized budget for some of the projects that the member opposite is talking about. Like the relief line, we look forward to seeing that flow out of the city of Toronto. In the meantime, we are the only level of government with $50 million in planning money to help advance the relief line $55 million for young Northspeaker and at the same time, we are investing literally billions in Toronto and in the 99 communities across Ontario that have transit systems that deserve our support. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, back again to the acting premier. What Toronto wants is pretty clear on this file, Mr. Speaker. They have declared the relief line to be the top transit priority. Nothing new in that. And prior to the 2014 election the premier said the relief line was her transit priority too. But so far, the premier has committed exactly $0 to the construction of the relief line. It's impossible for the city of Toronto to plan the construction of major infrastructure projects when it doesn't know if the provincial government will be a funding partner. So I'm asking again, and it's clear will the premier commit today to funding the relief line or will she keep letting down Toronto transit riders? Thanks very much, Speaker. I do appreciate the passion that members on all sides of this house bring to the transit discussion and transit debate. I sincerely hope that the leader of the Ontario's NDP and the third party and members of our caucus I sincerely hope that they're not suggesting that it would be prudent for any level of government to confirm a contribution to a project for which there is not yet a confirmed budget Speaker, that doesn't make a lot of sense to me. In the meantime, I will say again we are the only level of government that has provided $150 million to prepare or to help advance the planning to make sure that the relief line is shovel ready. Speaker, one of the other problems that I have with the line of question and coming from that member and from that party that we should favour one community over all of the other speaker that's not how this side of the house views transit in the GTHA we know gridlock is not a uniquely Toronto problem or a 905 problem it doesn't respect municipal boundaries we need to keep investing in Toronto and in every other community that needs our support and do so in the way that makes the most sense Speaker, that's what we have done it's what we are doing and it's what we'll continue to do Thanks very much. Thank you Mr. Speaker Minister, we all know how committed our government is to helping our kids become lifelong learners this is a commitment as an educator that I have made many years ago earlier this year you announced increased funding for education to $23.8 billion an increase of $849 million from last year I'm also pleased to hear that 71% of elementary students are achieving our high provincial standards in literacy and numeracy that Ontario's grade 8 students are ranked the second highest in science and math in the country and that Ontario students do outperform nearly every OECD country Speaker, I also know that the minister made a very special announcement earlier this week regarding graduation rates across the province can the minister please tell us about this announcement Thank you, Minister of Education Thank you, Speaker and I want to thank the member from Barrie for her question and for her relentless focus on education Mr. Speaker, our government's 2017 balance budget includes an additional investment of $6.4 billion over three years in Ontario's education system this reflects our commitment to help learners reach their full potential by supporting them to make kindergarten to post secondary education and beyond Ontario's unprecedented investments in education have pushed the high school graduation rates to a historic new high on Monday I was joined by members of my minister's student advisory council to announce that in 2016 the five year graduation rate of our high school students reached a new high of 86.5% and that's an increase since 2004 when it was just 68% this is about the hard work of students teachers and their parents Thank you, Mr. Speaker Thank you, Mr. Speaker I'm extremely pleased to hear this fantastic news this is an excellent example of how committed we are to ensuring that our youngest learners become successful since 2004 about 217,500 more students have graduated and would have if the graduation rate had remained at the 2004 level that's a population the size of the cities of Kingston and Thunder Bay combined that now have high school diplomas despite this great news we know there is still more work that can be done this includes additional funding for a number of programs our government introduced through the student success strategy that are credited with helping to sharply boost the graduation rate of 2004 Minister, please explain how these programs have helped our students achieve results and in turn increase the rate of graduation Thank you, Mr. Speaker we want all of our students to succeed there are a number of students in the gallery today and we have a number of innovative programs that were introduced as part of our student success strategy and they've helped the graduation rate these are programs like specialist high schools major, dual credits our expanded co-op education our youth Ontario youth apprenticeship program so that they could one day maybe become electricians like our friend Jim Roberts here Mr. Speaker and instead of using a one size fits all approach, students can customize their high school experience to match their strengths, their interests, their career goals they're creating more and engaging learning environments and better preparing them to pursue their future opportunities as mentioned by the minister of advanced education and skills development yesterday the new career kickstart program is helping students to even gain more experience from this $190 million investment Mr. Speaker Thank you very much good morning Mr. Speaker my question is to the acting premier I'm joined here today by Sean O'Leary executive director of We the Parents an organization dedicated to parents of youth who are struggling with opioid addiction Sean and his 17-year-old daughter Paige have courageously shared her struggle with addiction to counterfeit percussets I've raised the issue many times including requesting the minister of health to visit Ottawa where the opioid crisis is claiming the lives of children as young as 14 can the acting premier commit today to providing funding to deal with the opioid crisis in Ottawa Thank you Mr. Health long-term care Thank you Mr. Speaker and I appreciate the question and first of all I want to acknowledge Sean O'Leary who is in the audience with us I'm not sure if you're here with your daughter Paige or not but and thank you to both of you for being here today and I want to applaud his advocacy and that of Paige who is an incredibly courageous young woman and with courageous father as well that have advocated their opposite has indicated very strongly about the dangers we're facing in this opioid crisis dangers that are found throughout this country but are as Sean and Paige can so eloquently speak to particularly prominent in Ottawa and in the Ottawa region and I know that they have advanced some very important activities and suggestions activities and suggestions that we're looking at very closely Thank you Thank you very much Minister I appreciate that acknowledgement of Mr. O'Leary and his daughter Paige According to Ottawa Public Health they quote have not received any additional information as to when how or to whom funds will be allocated or whether there will be any conditions or expected deliverables associated with this new funding source to deal with the opioid crisis and so although there has been a verbal agreement that these funds would flow according to public health in Ottawa hasn't yet I'm just wondering if the minister could assure Mr. O'Leary we the parents in Ottawa Public Health that funding to fight this crisis will indeed flow and that the answers to when whom and how the resources will be allocated will be shared expeditiously Thank you Minister Thank you Mr. Speaker and I should acknowledge the advocacy of the member opposite I should also reference the strong advocacy involvement of the liberal MPPs in Ottawa as well who have met with many individuals that either have a concern or have a responsibility to deal with this crisis we announced 140 million dollars in mental health supports there are additional funds in the budget that we are now debating that will go specifically to opioid treatment so I look forward to the member opposite supporting the budget and supporting those initiatives we also have invested just last year 1.5 million dollars in Ottawa to the Dave Smith Youth Treatment Center which will provide a 30 bed youth treatment center for individuals that are faced with addictions to opioids and other narcotics Mr. Speaker there are 80 pharmacies in Ottawa that are providing naloxone free of charge lifesaver we have a very comprehensive plan that was announced last fall that we are now in the process of implementing Mr. Speaker Thank you Mr. Speaker my questions to the acting premier sadly the polling tells us that 90% of Canadians have lost hope they no longer believe that their children will do better than they did when the federal liberal finance minister tells workers across this country to get used to precarious employment who can blame them that's why Dejanay Love is left with the work that she's in she works at good life fitness and she cannot afford to take a sick day when she has a concussion from a work injury worse she and her good life colleagues have spent months fighting for a first contract hardworking Ontarians like Dejanay expected improvements to labor standards in the budget last week but sadly there was nothing liberals have had over 14 years to actually improve working conditions how much longer do workers across the province have to wait to see improvements to working conditions from the liberal government Speaker the short answer would be not very long and certainly we put I think the right effort into this I hope all members of the House support the work we've done on the changing workplaces review because we know that since these two act the employment standards act and the labor relations act speaker will last looked at in 1995 the world of work has changed under our feet the the world of work that young people as you describe it going into is quite different from the world of work that I went into and many of the people in this house that are of my vintage speaker and the concerns you're talking about will be clearly addressed by the advisers such things as scheduling hours of work sick time emergency leave domestic violence these are all issues that have seized the attention of the advisers speaker I'm looking forward to bringing in a very comprehensive report on this issue well speaker do Democrats value consultation but the public has already made it clear what they want we know what their concerns are we know we've known for years the final recommendations are in and it's unacceptable speaker that three million workers in Ontario have to worry about losing pay if they need to take a day off because of their sick we believe in the minimum wage as new Democrats we believe in protecting workers right to join a union and to get a first contract we believe in the same pay for the same work and we believe in access to sick days for workers the changing workplaces review is in the minister has it and so we ask again when is the minister planning to release the final report so that hard working Ontarians can see some change speaker thank you to the member for the for the questioning and speaker the work is done the consultations have taken place organized labors being consulted the Chamber of Commerce the business community poverty advocates people that have been asking and advocating for changes to these pieces of regulation speaker I've had their say to some very learned individuals who are put together in a very comprehensive report that we've taken the right amount of time to get this package forward it's going to address the needs of all working Canadians while keeping Ontario's economy competitive what I don't agree with speaker is the NDP has called this process a waste of time and speaker it's anything but a waste of time it's work that needed to be done properly needed to be done right and the results I think speaker are going to support everybody that works hard in this province you're questioning the member the question is to the minister of indigenous relations and reconciliation sorry our government is committed to reconciliation with indigenous people through closing gaps supporting indigenous cultures and reconciling relationships as you know so well the residential school system was established and mandated to wipe out indigenous cultures and indigenous art has stood as a testament to the resilience of indigenous communities in the face of cultural genocide the significance influence of indigenous arts and culture on Canadian society too often goes unmentioned and unappreciated now speaker my father Mr. Justice Potts as he toured Ontario the northwest territory often returned home with glorious pieces of indigenous art and we as a family were exposed to this unique early on so I'd like to ask if the minister could elaborate and provide examples of how indigenous cultures are increasing significantly thank you minister of indigenous relations I'd like to reference the contribution of indigenous music culture speaker this past weekend I attended the hot dogs festival on Sunday evening for a viewing of a film entitled rumble the Indians who rocked the world it won two major prizes it won the $50,000 prize for the audience's choice of the best documentary and then it also won the documentary festivals award as the best documentary what rumble highlights is the underappreciated and often unknown that indigenous musicians made to rhythm and blues rock and roll heavy metal music it was a splendid documentary and it showed the indigenous musicians working with these world superstars in the rhythm and blues and rock and roll tremendous contribution they've made to that thank you speaker I look forward to seeing this documentary rumble and I want to thank the minister for the great work that he is doing and his leadership in helping heal cultural wounds in our society the work that we're doing our government is doing supporting and investing in indigenous art and culture is so important and it is in complete accord with the truth and I recognize the significance of indigenous arts and culture in Canadian heritage and I know that this is also a very important matter for the minister of tourism cultural and sport and that her ministry is very involved in supporting indigenous arts and culture and providing those support so that works of art can be seen by all Ontarians and Canadians so speaker will the minister also elaborate on how our government helps support and promote indigenous arts and culture particularly when it comes to youth youth minister of tourism culture and sport thank you Mr. Speaker I'd like to thank the member for beaches east York for his advocacy and his question a timely question indeed as the minister responsible for indigenous relations and reconciliation has pointed out not only in this important year speaker of our 150th anniversary but also in light of the hot dogs festival which is another program that my ministry and our government is delighted to support we are supporting as the member pointed out two important cultural camps as part of our journey of reconciliation with indigenous peoples one in first in a fort albany first nation and the other in pecan to come and they include activities that are cultural in nature but sport to speaker because we know the healing power of sport and and of course it's giving them also an opportunity to try out for the North American indigenous games going to be held this summer speaker in Ontario supported by our government for the first time in this province so across the board speaker we're absolutely thrilled and delighted our support for indigenous arts and culture is long-standing and we look forward to continuing to maintain that robust support the question the member for Whitney Thank you speaker my question is for the minister of health and long-term care despite the royal assent of bill 9 and a discrimination against stroke recovery patients in October 2016 this liberal government continues speaker to discriminate against post-stroke recovery patients between the ages of 20 and 64 speaker Jim McEwen is one of those patients and he's here this morning in your gallery because Jim is not 65 yet he's unable to access post-stroke recovery services that he needs and deserves that is why I introduced bill 9 access to post-stroke rehabilitation service regardless of age much speaker this liberal government continues to deny Jim and thousands of others like him the post-stroke recovery services they need when will this government stop the discrimination of post-stroke recovery patients 20 to 64 years of age Thank you Mr. Speaker and I want to commend the member opposite for the initiative that he took last year private members bill that we supported I think it unanimously was supported in this legislature but certainly passed with the involvement of and cooperation of my ministry the end age discrimination against stroke recovery patients act Mr. Speaker we are in the process of implementing that act as a government and as a ministry I'm proud of the investments that we have been making across the board in fact there's an important investment in this budget that speaks to acute care for patients with stroke which is a game changer Mr. Speaker and so while I hope the member opposite who's heckling me right now will support this because it's critically important to stroke care but Mr. Speaker we continue to invest in all right the member from Calderon is warned finished so Mr. Speaker the funding in the budget and the efforts that we're making providing publicly funded physiotherapy to stroke patients where their clinician believes that it is relevant to and advantageous to their therapy we continue to fund that in hospitals in hospital outpatient clinics in home care in long-term care homes and in community physio clinics across the province thank you supplementary thank you speaker and back to the minister of health once again speaker the intent the intent of bill 9 has always been to provide post-stroke recovery services to patients regardless of age speaker regardless of age so will this minister agree this morning yes or no to end age discrimination and post-stroke recovery services for those 20 to 64 years of age thank you so Mr. Speaker and I want to acknowledge Jim in the gallery as well who has taken his valuable time to come and join us here in the legislature for the for this question but Mr. Speaker I'm not sure what the member opposite difficulty is because we actually by working together the ministry myself his office him directly we actually refined and passed unanimously his private members bill to end age discrimination against stroke recovery patients act 2016 we are in the process as we are legally bound to as a government in legislation that was passed here we are providing we are implementing that act that he authored and as I mentioned we are continuing to invest significant millions of dollars in funding specific to the aspect of physio which is Mr. Speaker relevant and important and impactful for many post-stroke patients thank you thank you speaker my question is to the acting premier Stephen is a Hamiltonian who was waiting for a liver transplant on his way to an appointment at St. Joe's to remove fluid from his abdomen Stephen fell in the parking lot cutting his chin and losing consciousness inside the hospital Stephen waited to be seen in fact he waited for eight and a half hours and finally late that night he was sent home still bloody still disoriented and still with fluid in his abdomen Stephen's heartbreaking story shows exactly what is happening to patients dangerously over crowded hospitals across Ontario due to years of liberal cuts and layoffs why doesn't the premier see the damage that she's done to patient care thank you minister of health and long term care minister of health long term care well Mr. Speaker and I obviously can't speak to the particulars of this individual but but Mr. Speaker despite what the member opposite says we have among if not the shortest wait times in our emergency rooms in the entire country in fact despite so there's third party independence independent evidence and reports that have been issued over the past several years including from the Fraser Institute including from the Canadian Institute for Health Information that demonstrate despite an increasing population despite increasing volumes to our ERs wait times have continued to go down and in fact 85% of ER patients are getting treatment within the target if they are a complex patient and 89% within the 4 hour target for minor patients Mr. Speaker so the wait times have actually gone down by almost 30% in the last several years despite the fact that ER volumes have gone up by 40% Mr. Speaker so and the ER wait times have gone down by 15% supplementary Mr. Speaker heard me Speaker but 8 and a half hours is not within the target time and still to be sent home Steven's wife Debbie drove him to the hospital Debbie has mobility problems and uses a wheelchair while in the hospital Debbie had to help Steven to get him to the toilet then on her own had to clean him up and get him back into his bed Debbie had to get Steven out of the car all alone remember Speaker this woman is someone who needs to be in a wheelchair herself Debbie and Steven deserve so much better but once again the premier's hospital funding in this year's budget falls more than $300 million short of what is needed when will the premier admit that she is failing Steven Debbie and patients all across Ontario so I have to disagree with the member opposite and I hope Mr. Speaker that she supports this budget because it has an infusion an infusion of more than $500 million this year a 3.1% increase to the operating budgets of our hospitals Mr. Speaker it has over a billion dollars specifically dedicated to wait times to reducing wait times throughout the hospital system it has specific elements that add additional hours for MRIs 2800 more hip and knee replacements 2100 more cataract surgeries in fact we're investing $11 billion when you look at last year's budget and the increases that were built in in this year's more than $11 billion more dollars over the next three years in the healthcare system in the health budget so I would hope given her concern that she's expressed she'll support us and support us strongly Mr. Speaker thank you thank you Mr. Speaker my question is for the Minister of Research Innovation and Science over the past few years Ontario has become a leading destination for companies interested in opening research and development branches Ontario has one of the highest educated workforces in the world a low tax rate and red tape burden reduction these commerce friendly policies make doing business in Ontario profitable and stable and enticing for private entities looking to expand into new markets a particularly exciting area is Ontario's massively expanding tech sector an industry that is expanding at an exponential rate in my riding of Kingston and the islands a city where history and innovation thrive one great example of an innovation incubator is the breakout project which started yesterday at Fort Henry and Kingston and the islands and is now the minister of tourism culture and sport Mr. Speaker could the minister of research and innovation and science please tell the members of this house about tech companies investing in Ontario thank you Mr. Research Innovation and Science Mr. Speaker I want to thank the member from Kingston and the islands she has been a great advocate for research and innovation in particular at her area Mr. Speaker the member is absolutely correct companies all over the globe recognise Ontario for its reputation as a business friendly ecosystem Mr. Speaker just a couple of days ago Uber a popular rideship company that has deep interest in artificial intelligence announced they would be starting a partnership with our vector institute for artificial intelligence as a platinum investor this marks the first occasion that Uber has ever invested outside of the United States on research and development the R&D office at vector institute will be led by University of Toronto professor Rucker is a move that speaks volumes to our capacity for talent retention Mr. Speaker we will continue building our innovation economy thank you thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to the minister of research innovation and science for his answer I am delighted to hear this fantastic news I can't think of a better testament to Ontario's capacity for leadership in this sector creating new jobs isn't a simple matter of reducing red tape and supporting existing sectors it's a matter of trading a highly skilled workforce assisting entrepreneurs in commercialising their ideas and attracting businesses that are looking to expand into new tech economies we need to be leaders and visionaries in the innovation field to increase our capacity and we are doing that can the minister elaborate a bit more on the types of companies who are established in Ontario and are contributing to Ontario's economy thank you Mr. Speaker again I want to thank the member from Kingston and the islands for her question I would be delighted Mr. Speaker to speak a little more about international investments in Ontario innovation last year Versant Ventures and Bayer AG partnered to invest in Blue Rock therapeutic based in Discovery Centre at Mars their investment which was a total of 225 million dollars was the second largest series A financing for a medical science company in January of this year Highland therapeutics was able to secure 200 million dollars in financing from Morgan Stanley company Mr. Speaker this is just the beginning more and the more tech and the medicine firms are looking to invest in our province of Ontario's innovation and the research thank you Mr. Speaker my question is for the minister of energy Mr. Speaker has cabinet ever been briefed or received a document detailing the expected cost of hydro through the year 2024 yes or no thank you thank you Mr. Speaker we need to talk about our fair hydro plan because as we talk about the fair hydro plan we are talking about how we are moving forward in refinancing like remortgaging our home Mr. Speaker a portion of the global adjustment and with that Mr. Speaker we have said that this will take up to 20 years longer Mr. Speaker and we've always acknowledged that this will cost us a little bit more Mr. Speaker in terms of we want to ensure that the folks and the families right across the province that are investing in our energy system we'll see that Mr. Speaker and utilize that system for the duration of its last full life so Mr. Speaker in terms of what we're doing we're making sure that we're lowering rates for families farms and small businesses right across the province supplementary Speaker back to the minister that didn't answer the question so let me ask you this what is the expected cost of hydro in 2024 thank you thank you Mr. Speaker I don't have a crystal ball I'm sure maybe he does maybe he can look in it and see their plan maybe they can find what they would do in terms of what they would do to lower rates now Mr. Speaker you're warned I know it's just a reminder that's all that you were thinking about thank you Mr. Speaker I know their policy is going to come up in the magic weekend in November but on this side we're worrying about families now Mr. Speaker we're worrying about small businesses now and that's why we're bringing forward Ontario's fair hydro plan with on average will reduce rates by 25% on average but right now Mr. Speaker rates are lower by 17% that is something that families across this province are applauding Mr. Speaker thank you any questions or members from Niagara Falls thank you Mr. Speaker my question is to the acting premier as you are aware a recent announcement from Woodbine race track on their new stable policies will stop any horse stable at Woodbine from racing in another track more than once a year alongside 40 new turf race dates Woodbine is going to offer $5,000 claimers $8,200 condition claimers on the main track quite frankly this policy is completely self-serving and will have serious negative impacts on the Fordyry race track the Fordyry community has serious concerns about the negative effect this will have on the beloved track putting a thousand jobs in jeopardy I have spoken to the mayor the Ontario Racing Commission and Ontario government should immediately stop Woodbine in its tracks as long as there are horses wherever they want as long as they want and whenever they want Fordyry expects nothing else I asked the premier again will you please step in address this important issue and stop the unfair attack on the livelihood of Fordyry thank you Minister of Agriculture food and rural affairs well thank you very much Mr. Speaker and I really want to thank the member for Niagara Falls he was very courteous about a week ago he provided me the information the background about Fordyry and its relationship with Woodbine the two of course thoroughbred tracks of the province of Ontario Fordyry race track of course host the second leg of Canada's Triple Crown the Prince of Wales stakes that will be held there in around July 25th and I indicated to the member that we're taking a look at this right now and that I certainly committed to him just earlier this morning and that I would be back to him in a timely way Thank you Thank you very much Mr. Speaker I'd like to welcome Rebekah and Wesley Herger from the great riding of Bruce Gray-Olen Sound who have joined us at Queen's Park this morning Welcome to Queen's Park Thank you Mr. Speaker I just noticed that I could Fred the warden of Peterborough County Joe Taylor here to Queen's Park today We welcome all of our guests we have a deferred vote on the government notice of motion number 10 relating to allocation of time on bill 127 an act to implement budget measures and to enact amend and repeal various statutes calling the members this will be a five minute bell Members please take your seats All members on May 10th 2017 Mr. Knacken moved government notice of motion number 10 relating to allocation of time on bill 124 I'd like to recognize by the clerk Mr. Knacken Mr. Sandoz Mr. Sousa Mr. Schoerelli Mr. Dugas Mr. McCharles Mr. McCarr Mr. Cole Mr. Dillon Mr. Murray Mr. Chan Mr. Murridi Mr. Flinn Mr. Caudry Mr. Crack Mr. McGarry Mr. Zimmer Mr. McMan Mr. Ballard Mr. Frazer Mr. Anderson Mr. Baker Mr. Hoagard Mr. Mollie Mr. Miltcher Mr. Pot Mr. Rinaldi Mr. Wilson Mr. Harden Mr. Jones Mr. Clark Mr. McNaughton Mr. Thompson Mr. Monroe Mr. Bailey Mr. Walker Mr. Smith Mr. Harris Mr. Marteau Mr. Coe Mr. Choe Mr. Khrushchev Mr. Hathfield Mr. Gretzky Mr. Gates Mr. French The ayes are 49, the nays are 34 The ayes being 49, the nays 34 declare the motion carried There being no further deferred votes the south stands recess until one PM this afternoon The ayes being 49, the nays 34 declare the motion carried there being no further deferred votes the south stands recess until one PM this afternoon