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October 31, 2019

42nd Parliament, 1st Session

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Hansard Transcripts

Votes and Proceedings

Orders and Notices

Hansard Transcript 2019-Oct-31 (PDF)

L121 - Thu 31 Oct 2019 / Jeu 31 oct 2019

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO

ASSEMBLÉE LÉGISLATIVE DE L’ONTARIO

Thursday 31 October 2019 Jeudi 31 octobre 2019

Orders of the Day

Foundations for Promoting and Protecting Mental Health and Addictions Services Act, 2019 / Loi de 2019 sur les bases nécessaires à la promotion et à la protection des services de santé mentale et de lutte contre les dépendances

Introduction of Visitors

Sikh massacre

Oral Questions

Health care

Long-term care

Health care

Job creation

Government contract

Legal aid

Highway improvement

Community safety

Public transit

Legal aid

Public transit

Doctors’ services

Child care

Manufacturing jobs

Natural gas

Assisted housing

Long-term care

Correction of record

Deferred Votes

Time allocation

Introduction of Visitors

Members’ Statements

Treaties recognition

Halloween events in Milton

Bullying

EcoSikh

Community safety

Cystic fibrosis

Down Syndrome Awareness Fun Walk

Sikh massacre

Christmas in Paris

Skilled trades

Motions

Committee membership

Petitions

Public sector compensation

Taxation

Public sector compensation

Food safety

Public sector compensation

Food safety

Long-term care

Food safety

Public sector compensation

Addiction services

Public sector compensation

Food safety

Private Members’ Public Business

Buy in Canada for Mass Transit Vehicles Act, 2019 / Loi de 2019 favorisant l’achat de véhicules de transport collectif au Canada

Addiction services

Combatting Litter for the Environment and Nature Act, 2019 / Loi de 2019 visant à lutter contre les détritus afin de protéger l’environnement et la nature

Buy in Canada for Mass Transit Vehicles Act, 2019 / Loi de 2019 favorisant l’achat de véhicules de transport collectif au Canada

Addiction services

Combatting Litter for the Environment and Nature Act, 2019 / Loi de 2019 visant à lutter contre les détritus afin de protéger l’environnement et la nature

Buy in Canada for Mass Transit Vehicles Act, 2019 / Loi de 2019 favorisant l’achat de véhicules de transport collectif au Canada

Addiction services

Combatting Litter for the Environment and Nature Act, 2019 / Loi de 2019 visant à lutter contre les détritus afin de protéger l’environnement et la nature

Orders of the Day

Protecting a Sustainable Public Sector for Future Generations Act, 2019 / Loi de 2019 visant à préserver la viabilité du secteur public pour les générations futures

Better for People, Smarter for Business Act, 2019 / Loi de 2019 pour mieux servir la population et faciliter les affaires

The House met at 0900.

Prayers/Prières.

Orders of the Day

Foundations for Promoting and Protecting Mental Health and Addictions Services Act, 2019 / Loi de 2019 sur les bases nécessaires à la promotion et à la protection des services de santé mentale et de lutte contre les dépendances

Mr. Tibollo, on behalf of Ms. Elliott, moved second reading of the following bill:

Bill 116,

An Act to enact the Mental Health and Addictions Centre of Excellence Act, 2019 and the Opioid Damages and Health Costs Recovery Act, 2019 / Projet de loi 116, Loi édictant la Loi de 2019 sur le Centre d’excellence pour la santé mentale et la lutte contre les dépendances et la Loi de 2019 sur le recouvrement des dommages-intérêts et du coût des soins de santé imputables aux opioïdes.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Would the minister care to lead off the debate?

Hon. Michael A. Tibollo: I’m pleased to stand in the House today for the second reading of the Foundations for Promoting and Protecting Mental Health and Addictions Services Act, 2019. I’ll be sharing my time today with my colleagues Robin Martin, PA to the Minister of Health, and Doug Downey, Minister of the Attorney General.

Prior to taking office, I was involved in the mental health and addictions sector, volunteering as a mental health and addictions counsellor for a residential therapeutic community. I knew that if I continued to follow my love and passion for improving the lives of those who experience daily struggles with mental health and addiction challenges, I could help make a profound, positive impact on the health and well-being of all Ontarians.

As Ontario’s first Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, I am honoured to have the opportunity to be working alongside the Deputy Premier and Minister of Health to address mental health and addictions in the province of Ontario. Mental health and addictions are something I know we are both very passionate about, having both been heavily involved in the sector prior to taking office.

Madam Speaker, Ontario has a unique opportunity to lead the way in this sector, and the proposed legislation before us today is an important part of our plan. Recent statistics suggest the task of transforming the system will be quite daunting. Current data has revealed that one in three Canadians will experience a mental health and addictions issue within their lifetime—70% of those issues will develop early in an individual’s life, either in childhood or as a young adult.

Recent data also reveals that between 2016 and 2017, roughly 158,000 Ontarians visited an emergency department for a mental health- or addictions-related issue. This number continues to increase steadily each year. Finally, at the national level, 500,000 people per week across Canada call in sick to work because of a mental health or addictions issue.

These are absolutely staggering numbers, but our government places a high priority on the needs of people. We are committed to building an integrated mental health and addictions service system that will support people throughout their entire lives. We are going to build a system where services are easier to access, are of high quality and are focused on better outcomes.

The items included in this bill would play an important

part in our government’s overall commitment to make mental health and addictions a priority for the people of this province. Ontario’s mental health and addictions system has been challenged for too long by extensive wait times, barriers to access, inconsistent quality, a lack of standardized data and widespread fragmentation. We know this because it is what we have heard from experts, from those providing care, and just as importantly, from the people themselves who came in search of mental health and addictions care. That is what our government heard repeatedly during our province-wide consultations. So, we are taking action.

Our government believes that children, youth and adults in Ontario deserve to receive the appropriate services and supports they need, where and when they need them, and we’re committed to promoting positive mental health and well-being by building a comprehensive and connected mental health and addictions system that ensures they get the access that they need. That’s why we’ve already invested $174 million in 2019-20 to support community mental health and addictions services, mental health and justice services, supportive housing, acute mental health in-patient beds and child and youth mental health services.

It is also going to be used for early supports and to stabilize services provided in schools, community organizations, health centres, and hospitals across the province, and our government plans to invest even more into our mental health and addictions system.

This funding for 2019 and 2020 is only a part of our overall commitment to invest $3.8 billion over the decade in our mental health and addictions system. But we are also going to invest, and invest wisely. We need to ensure that we do so carefully. We need to ensure decisions make sense. Part of the inherent responsibility of being elected to office is that we are being entrusted with the public purse, and in keeping with this responsibility, we need to ensure that we maximize every dollar we invest in the services and programs people have come to rely on.

If we are going to invest $3.8 billion in mental health and addictions, then we need to have a plan. We need to ensure we have laid the foundation to invest this funding in a way that meets the needs of the people of Ontario and that ensures a strong mental health and addictions system that is sustainable for years to come.

Fortunately, the way forward has already been paved for us. If the proposed legislation before us today should pass, then it would deliver on a key recommendation of the all-party Select Committee on Mental Health and Addictions in 2010. I know the Deputy Premier is very proud and honoured to have worked alongside all parties, including the current Solicitor General, as well as the member for Nickel Belt, on that committee.

Several people—from both sides of this Legislature—worked very hard to prepare that report, and the proposed legislation before us today would address one of the most significant recommendations to come from that report.

The first recommendation from the report called for the creation of a new umbrella organization to ensure that a single body is responsible for designing, managing and coordinating the mental health and addictions system, and that programs and services are delivered consistently and comprehensively across Ontario. Furthermore, the report went on to recommend that this organization should ensure that a basket of core mental health and addictions services be available in every region of the province for clients of all ages. Those recommendations were informed by the work of the committee in speaking to experts, care providers, and the people of Ontario, especially those with lived experience.

But, Madam Speaker, what is particularly revealing is that the concerns the select committee heard nearly a decade ago are the same sorts of concerns our government heard at our own consultations earlier this year. Our government has listened intently and will continue to listen to the people of Ontario about what they need for their mental health and addictions system.

But listening isn’t enough. We need to act. That is why Bill 116 proposes the establishment of the Mental Health and Addictions Centre of Excellence within Ontario Health, finally fulfilling the important work of the select committee. This centre would put into operation our $3.8-billion mental health and addictions strategy. It would develop clinical quality-of-service standards for mental health and addictions, and monitor metrics related to the performance of our system.

And it would provide the resources and support to the health care service providers, integrated care delivery systems, and others in the mental health and addictions sector, ensuring they can provide the best possible care to Ontarians in need of support.

We believe that in establishing a centre for excellence inside Ontario Health, we would be sending a strong signal to the mental health and addictions sector. We would be saying that finally our province would have a team that would standardize the quality and delivery of mental health and addictions services across Ontario, and provide a better and more consistent client experience, all based on evidence of what works. We would be saying that the hard work of the select committee was not for nothing.

Should this bill pass, the Mental Health and Addictions Centre of Excellence would enable implementation of our mental health and addictions strategy. The Mental Health and Addictions Centre of Excellence would be an important asset in our efforts to help some of our province’s most vulnerable citizens.

This bill proposes to give us the tools to hold opioid manufacturers and wholesalers accountable for their role in this crisis. It would also help us to recover health care costs paid by the province due to opioid-related disease, injury or illness. If this proposed legislation were to pass, our government intends to invest any award from litigation against the manufacturers and wholesalers of opioids directly into front-line mental health and addictions services.

We take the opioid crisis very seriously. That’s why we created a new consumption and treatment services funding program that is saving lives by preventing overdose deaths, and is connecting people to primary care, treatment and rehabilitation, and other health and social services, to ensure those struggling with addiction get the help that they need. There are currently 16 approved consumption and treatment sites in communities of high need across the province, and we will continue to accept applications from interested organizations.

We have implemented a comprehensive suite of policies and programs to address the crisis, focused on appropriate prescribing and pain management, treatment for opioid use disorder, harm reduction services and supports, and surveillance and reporting.

But this proposed legislation, Madam Speaker, would help us to protect what matters most by taking action to ensure vital front-line services in health care are funded sustainably over the long term. Continuing the battle against opioids in this province is just one way we are working to ensure that Ontarians have access to the mental health and addictions services they need, when and where they need them.

Our government believes mental health is a core component of health, and we’re implementing a long-term transformational strategy to modernize our health care system. The proposed legislation we are considering today, Madam Speaker, is going to help us to modernize our mental health and addictions system. This work will only support our broader health care system agenda by preparing our mental and addictions service providers to be part of a more integrated health care system, a system that would see people get the right care when and where they need it, and helping us bring an end to hallway health care in this province.

Once again, Madam Speaker, I’m honoured to be here to speak to the proposed legislation and the important role it plays in our government’s overall commitment to modernizing our mental health and addictions system. I have seen first-hand how our current system is not meeting the needs of Ontarians. We need to take action to address the extensive wait times, barriers to access, inconsistent quality, lack of standardized data, and widespread fragmentation that currently exist. This proposed legislation is an important step toward doing this.

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Jennifer K. French): I recognize the Attorney General.

Hon. Doug Downey: I’m pleased to stand in the House for the second reading of the Foundations for Promoting and Protecting Mental Health and Addictions Services Act, 2019. Speaking after me, as the minister indicated, will be parliamentary assistant Robin Martin.

This act has two schedules: the Mental Health and Addictions Centre of Excellence Act, 2019, and the Opioid Damages and Health Care Costs Recovery Act, 2019. I’ll be primarily addressing aspects of the health care costs recovery act, 2019, Madam Speaker, but first I’d like to say a few words about our government’s plan to build a mental health and addictions strategy for all of Ontario.

As you may know, in the 2019 Ontario budget, this government committed to investing $3.8 billion over 10 years for mental health and addictions services and housing support. This initiative is being led by the minister who was just speaking. I can tell you, when I spoke to service providers in my riding—when he came up to visit and talk with them and engage, after the meeting, I said to one of the leading experts in my area, “What did you think about that?” And she said, “That was jaw-dropping. His engagement, his knowledge of the dynamic that we’re dealing with was, quite frankly, jaw-dropping. That is the best term for it.”

This is a new approach for Ontario after the previous government allowed the system to deteriorate into extensive wait times, barriers to access, inconsistent quality, a lack of standardized data. The previous government was just not on the ball on this, Madam Speaker. But our plans address these shortcomings, beginning with the building of a mental health and addictions system focused on core services embedded into a stepped care model and a robust data and measurement network.

This year alone, Madam Speaker, we’re investing $174 million to support community mental health and addictions services, mental health and justice services, supportive housing, and acute mental health in-patient beds. Ron Noble, who some of you will know, the CEO of the Catholic Health Association of Ontario, said, “We appreciate the government for its commitment to invest in long-term-care beds and funding for mental health, addictions, and housing. These are significant commitments that will go a long way to improve the system and end hallway” health care.

Camille Quenneville, CEO of the Canadian Mental Health Association—again, somebody who many of the members will know—said, “CMHA Ontario division is delighted with the mental health and addictions care funding announced in the 2019 provincial budget.

“This is a positive step in the province’s 10-year, $3.8-billion commitment to mental health and addictions services. We look forward to continuing to work with the province to enhance client-centred, community-based approaches to mental health and addictions” in Ontario.

My colleagues will be speaking in further detail over the next series of days about the Mental Health and Addictions Centre of Excellence, Madam Speaker. As the member for Barrie–Springwater–Oro-Medonte, I’m encouraged on behalf of my constituents by this innovative proposal to improving Ontario’s system of mental health and addictions services.

The engagement is deep in the sense that he’s talking to people with lived experience. He’s talking to people who are providing services. He’s talking to people who are helping to design systems and non-profits and leveraging the volunteer aspect of what’s in our communities. The number of people who come around the table to talk and engage on the subject just speaks to the depth of the need in this province and the neglect that has been had by the previous government.

Nineteen formal consultations across the province with mental health and addictions community organizations—those front-line providers, hospitals, advocates, experts and, again, people with lived experience.

We had an individual in Barrie who was working at what’s called the Sandbox Centre. The Sandbox Centre is an incubator. It’s a space where businesses can collaborate and learn from each other. That’s where we held our consultation. MPP Khanjin and I were jointly doing this. As people were going around the table to introduce themselves, one individual—he was the third person who introduced himself and he worked at the Sandbox Centre. He said, “I’m not entirely sure why I’m at this table, but I think I know why.

I’m working here at the Sandbox Centre, and I’ve been working here for about a week.” I think it was a week or two weeks—not very long. He said, “But the real story is that I’ve been homeless for three years.” He then went on to talk about his lived experience, his interaction with the different agencies, with police services, with CMHA, with housing and hostels. I don’t think I can overstate it; it was quite gripping. The whole room just became so serious all of a sudden and understood that the topic that we were talking about impacts individuals’ lives, that we have to get this right.

There are people who have pathways, but they need a bit of help, and the minister knows that. Then, when he responded and interacted with those types of individuals at the table, it was clear that he gets it. That gives me great confidence in our government’s plan to move forward.

Everywhere we went and with everyone we talked to, Ontarians give us the same message: The system is too fragmented. The system is too confusing. The system is too hard to navigate. The creation of the Mental Health and Addictions Centre of Excellence within Ontario Health, which will be a central engine for care oversight, will address those concerns. It will develop, standardize and monitor care across Ontario. It will help people and families to access better and more consistent patient services and supports. It will help Ontarians in their mental health and addictions battles.

Now, Speaker, I’d like to talk about

schedule 2 of the bill in particular: the Opioid Damages and Health Costs Recovery Act, 2019. But first, I’d like to begin with some difficult context on opioid addiction in Ontario and the reasons why we’ve made this a leading priority.

According to a recent report by Public Health Ontario, the Office of the Chief Coroner, the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service and the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network, between July 2017 and June 2018, in that one-year period, there were 1,337 confirmed opioid-related deaths in Ontario. I just want to pause there for a moment. When I talked about real lives being impacted—these 1,337 individuals who died in Ontario in a one-year period—we need to think not just about those individuals; we need to think about the people around them, about their families, their siblings, their parents, their children, and how they’re left in a system of disarray and lacking support themselves.

Madam Speaker, it’s really quite staggering. That’s almost four tragic deaths every day in Ontario—and the collateral damage that goes with it. To put that into perspective, it’s roughly the same number of people from across all of Canada who are dying each day from vehicle crashes from alcohol- or drug-related impairment. Shockingly, there’s an estimated 46% increase in the number of deaths related to opioids between 2016 and 2017.

This, Madam Speaker, is an epidemic. It is a crisis, one that has cost the people of Ontario enormously, both in terms of lives lost and its impact on our public health care’s front lines. Our government is determined to address this crisis. We are addressing this crisis. We’re committed to addressing the physical, mental health and social needs of individuals addicted to opioids, as well as combatting drug use to prevent future addictions and overdoses.

The Ontario government is embarking on a comprehensive agenda of policies and programs to address a dramatic increase in opioid addictions and overdoses. There will be further action taken in the coming months. Ontario’s priority has been transitioning to a new delivery model for consumption and treatment services, with an emphasis on treatment. These sites will provide life-saving overdose prevention and harm reduction services, and connect people to treatment, rehabilitation services, and other health and social services.

Make no mistake, the opioid epidemic is, in part, rooted in the over-prescription of pharmaceutical drugs. Recent cases in the United States have reached this conclusion. United States municipalities, counties, states—they’ve all brought lawsuits against opioid manufacturers and distributors. Their claims are valued in the billions of dollars—the collateral damage of this. In August of this year, a judge in Oklahoma ruled that Johnson and Johnson had intentionally played down the danger of opioids, and ordered the company to pay the state of Oklahoma US$572 million for the damage caused by the company.

The judge stated, “The defendants caused an opioid crisis that is evidenced by increased rates of addiction, overdose deaths and neonatal abstinence syndrome.”

Ontario has been impacted by the opioid crisis also. Too many communities across Ontario continue to face an ongoing opioid crisis that is perpetuated by opioid manufacturers and wholesalers—all communities. You can go to a community now and talk to the community’s leadership, and they will tell you their stats in relation to opioids. If I phone the mayor of Barrie today, he will tell me that we have the third-highest rate of death per capita in Ontario. These are stats. We used to track economic statistics. We used to track employment statistics. Now we’re tracking opioid death and opioid emergency statistics.

We do need to track it, but it is a commentary on how prevalent this has become. It’s not a big-city or an inner-city problem; it affects all cities and towns across the province.

The crisis has meant that Ontarians have incurred tremendous costs. We’ve incurred health-care-related costs, including in-patient hospitalizations, emergency department visits, specialist treatment for opioid use disorder, physician time and drug costs. In my area, we have what’s called a RAAM clinic that needs resources, that helps with this. We have overdose beds. The affordable housing is affected by it. There are just so many sectors that are affected by this crisis. We’ve incurred lost productivity costs, including lost value of work due to premature mortality, and long-term and short-term disability.

We’ve incurred criminal justice costs, including police time, police work, courtrooms, corrections, expenditures for criminal offences partially or wholly attributable to the substance use. And we’ve incurred other direct costs, including fire and motor vehicle damage and workplace costs not included in lost productivity.

These costs have had the effect of taking money away from our front-line health services. This is why the government is introducing legislation to enact the Opioid Damages and Health Costs Recovery Act, 2019. If passed, the act would allow this government to sue opioid manufacturers and wholesalers for their alleged wrongdoing. It would allow us to recover past, present and future health care costs due to opioid-related disease, injury or illness.

It would also create a series of special rules to assist the litigation process and support Ontario’s participation in a national class-action lawsuit that the province of British Columbia launched in August 2018 against more than 40 opioid manufacturers, wholesalers and others, on behalf of provincial, territorial and federal governments. This class action alleges that these opioid manufacturers and wholesalers failed to warn doctors and the public of the dangers of opioids, and they marketed them as safer and less addictive than other medications, when they were not.

This act would also give Ontario the right to bring an individual or a multi-government class-action claim in the future, if it decides to do so.

We feel that joining the BC lawsuit instead of launching our own is the best course of action at this time. The BC-based national class action would be an efficient way of addressing the common issues among all the provinces, territories and the federal government and having the matter heard by the courts at once. Already, Alberta, Newfoundland and Labrador, and New Brunswick have announced their support for this lawsuit, and of course, BC is leading the way. We understand that Alberta has publicly stated that it’s considering similar legislation.

We’ve heard questions surrounding how the recent filing in the United States of

chapter 11 bankruptcy by Purdue Pharma will affect our government’s proposed actions. The company and its owners, the Sackler family, also recently reached a tentative settlement with 23 US states and more than 2,000 cities and counties that sued the company over its role in the opioid crisis. But I will reiterate that the opioid crisis is unfortunately not limited to the border. It is not limited to the US, and it continues to have a devastating impact across Canada, with a corresponding, extraordinary toll on our health care system, to the detriment of Ontarian and Canadian taxpayers, let alone the individuals suffering through it.

So while there may be a real desire on the part of Purdue entities and members of the Sackler family to achieve “global resolution,” any proposed agreement ought to account for, and include, payment for the Canadian claims, which are presently advanced in a structured and consolidated manner in a national class action commenced in British Columbia, of which Ontario is a part.

We will continue to assert our claims against the Purdue entities and the Sacklers to ensure that Canadian jurisdictions are fairly and reasonably addressed in any proposed settlement in the US. We will not be content to simply permit the US settlement to proceed with no appropriate approach and consideration for Canada. Ontario remains ready and willing to participate in the reported effort to achieve global resolution of the claims against Purdue and the Sacklers. If, however, Ontario is not included in this process, we are determined to continue to pursue our claims, to the fullest extent permitted by the law, on behalf of Ontarians.

Finally, Madam Speaker, I’m sure that some are wondering what the province of Ontario would do should this class-action lawsuit be successful and the government be awarded money in damages. Let me assure the members of this House, and all Ontarians, that this government would invest any award from this litigation directly into front-line mental health and addictions services.

Madam Speaker, that gives a sense of where we’re headed with the litigation. It gives you a sense of the importance of what we need to do as a province. I want to reiterate again: When we talk about litigation, when we talk about where we’re going with the bill, should it pass, it’s always rooted back in the individuals that have really incurred the life-altering—and sometimes death—experience. It’s heartbreaking to talk to the families who have children who are caught up in opioid addictions. I don’t feel permitted to tell their stories per se, but you hear them from individuals, and again, it’s heart-wrenching. It’s not acceptable. It’s not the kind of Ontario that we want to live in.

I couldn’t be prouder to stand with my colleagues and support this bill so that we can move forward and deal with the crisis, and to stand behind the Minister of Health, parliamentary assistant Martin, and Associate Minister Tibollo and just the excellent work that he’s doing to move us all forward.

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Jennifer K. French): I recognize the member from Eglinton–Lawrence.

Mrs. Robin Martin: It gives me great pleasure to rise today in support of Bill 116, the Foundations for Promoting and Protecting Mental Health and Addictions Services Act, 2019. I want to thank Associate Minister Tibollo for sharing his time with me today, and for the important work that he has been doing on mental health and addictions in Ontario.

Speaker, we all know Ontario’s mental health and addictions system has had ongoing challenges for far too long. After completing extensive consultations on the opioid crisis, and designing and implementing our new consumption and treatment service model, which emphasizes treatment, as the Attorney General has just mentioned—earlier this year, Minister Elliott and I held 19 consultation sessions across the province with experts, providers, and clients and families accessing mental health and addictions services across the province. More recently, Associate Minister Tibollo has been holding consultation sessions on this as well, as the Attorney General has just mentioned.

We heard consistent messages. The experts, the providers, and the people accessing mental health and addictions services, and their families, all spoke about long wait times and barriers to accessing care. They spoke about inconsistency in the quality of care. They spoke about poor coordination across services that have left people vulnerable and struggling to navigate a system that they feel is failing them.

Widespread fragmentation of the sector, Speaker, challenges people and their families even further when they’re already struggling. Additional hurdles, frankly, are the last thing that they need.

Our government believes that for too long, there has been a lack of attention to and a lack of investment in our mental health and addictions system in Ontario. Frankly, calling it a system is maybe part of the problem, because although we have many services, they’re not systematized in any way. Even health care providers have indicated on occasion that they can’t find the right services when those services are actually available in their community.

An estimated 30% of Ontarians will experience a mental health or addiction issue at some point in their lives. Because they face needless delays when trying to access care, Ontarians experience unnecessary suffering when they turn to our current mental health and addictions system for help. This is just wrong, Speaker. We can do better, and we must do better.

Our government recognizes that mental health is health. It is essential to the well-being of people. With this proposed legislation, Bill 116, we are taking a firm step toward building a better mental health and addictions system for all Ontarians. If passed, this act would lay the foundation to support a mental health and addictions strategy in Ontario, providing a unique opportunity for Ontario to lead the way in this area.

This act, if passed, as we have indicated, would establish a mental health and addictions centre of excellence within Ontario Health and would help ensure that people in Ontario are able to access integrated, standardized, evidence-based care and services no matter where they live in Ontario.

When this proposed legislation was first introduced, in May of this year, I attended an event with a mental health organization along with the Attorney General at the time, Caroline Mulroney. Our government characterized—

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Jennifer K. French): I would remind the member and all members of the House that we refer to people in this Legislature by their title or their riding, only and exclusively. Thank you.

Mrs. Robin Martin: Thank you, Speaker.

Our government characterized the proposed centre as being like a central engine. Engines are complex, and as I’ve indicated, our mental health and addictions sector is actually complex. Like an engine needs fuel, however, our mental health and addictions sector needs investment. To get the best engine performance, our government made a commitment to invest $3.8 billion in new funding over 10 years to fuel, to develop and to implement a comprehensive mental health and addictions strategy.

If this bill should pass, the centre of excellence would provide much-needed tools, like data, like performance indicators and a common system infrastructure in which to share evidence and set service expectations.

As it stands now, mental health and addiction lacks a provincial coordinating body overseeing systems, standardization and performance and best practices. This lack of a centralized province-wide oversight has, we think, contributed in many ways to the challenges in our mental health and addictions system, as I mentioned earlier. But it bears repeating because, as I have said, as we discovered at our consultations, even our health care providers are sometimes unable to access services which are in their own communities, in the best interests of their patients.

Without this important coordinating lens, barriers to access unfortunately will continue to hamper people from getting the help they need, and a lack of data and uneven quality of care will unfortunately not produce the improvements in mental well-being that we are really trying to achieve. But we all want our investments to get real results, and we want those real results to help the Ontarians who are looking for support.

Speaker, our mental health and addictions system cannot keep doing things the same way they have been for years and expect different or better results. This centre of excellence would standardize quality and delivery of mental health and addictions services across Ontario and provide a better and more consistent patient experience. Hopefully, the result would be we would see people actually achieving good results and getting better and restoring their mental well-being.

If this proposed legislation passes, then the centre of excellence would be that central engine that would manage and coordinate the quality and availability of Ontario’s mental health and addictions services across the province. Unfortunately, what those in need are confronted with now is fragmented, disconnected and not really centred around people and their needs. Rather, what we have is a mental health and addictions sector which is disconnected, disjointed, and which seems to have little or no infrastructure at all to hold it together.

Passing this legislation would send a strong signal to our mental health and addictions sector that, finally, Ontario will have an agency, within Ontario Health, that will standardize the quality and delivery of mental health and addictions services and that will provide a better and more consistent health care experience for Ontarians.

Through the proposed Mental Health and Addictions Centre of Excellence, Ontario Health would carry out its mandate to develop a better, more comprehensive system in the area of mental health and addictions.

Speaker, our government created Ontario Health to bring together the best expertise across our health care system and to form deep roots that would put health care in our province on a solid foundation for the future. The centre would put into operation our mental health and addictions strategy. It would develop clinical standards, quality standards and service standards for mental health and addictions, and it would monitor performance-related metrics of the mental health and addictions system.

It sounds like a lot of data, but it’s very important because, as a government, we need to know that the services that we’re buying are actually helping people to restore their mental well-being, and it’s very difficult to ascertain that with the existing system right now. We need to have these investments in a system-wide kind of coordination and standardization, so that we can make sure that people are getting the best help that will really make a difference for them, and that they see the results that we would all like them to see so that people actually get better.

This, in turn, will also provide resources and support to our health service providers, our new integrated care delivery systems and others related to mental health and addictions.

When our government introduced the Ontario health team model, we envisioned a new way of organizing and delivering care, care that is more connected to people in their local communities. Under Ontario health teams, health care providers will work as one coordinated team, no matter which sector they’re working in right now, whether that’s primary care, acute care or community-based care. All of these sectors are important, and we need people to work together as a team. That is the model that Ontario Health envisions.

Mental health and addictions system modernization supports this broader health system agenda by preparing what is now a fragmented sector and the people in the sector—the providers of mental health and addictions services—to be part of a more integrated team and system through our Ontario health teams. So we’re getting them ready, with these investments and with this standardization, to be a better partner with the Ontario health teams.

The proposed Mental Health and Addictions Centre of Excellence would provide support and resources to these teams, connecting clients to the different types of care that they need and helping them navigate the system.

Speaker, our government is committed to building a better system. This year we have invested an additional $174 million, in annualized spending, in mental health and addictions services. These early investments are an exciting first step in this long system transformation plan. We are taking a thoughtful approach that will help our government to build a publicly funded health care system that is sustainable, including for mental health and addictions services.

I think we all recognize, Speaker, that the current issues our system experiences, like delays accessing care, not only have a social cost but also have an economic cost. According to a study commissioned by the Mental Health Commission of Canada, mental health problems and illnesses cost the Canadian economy at least $50 billion per year. Of that $50 billion in total, over $6 billion a year is in lost productivity due to absenteeism. Those are staggering figures.

That study goes on to say that promotion, prevention and early intervention initiatives can significantly reduce those losses. That is why our government wants to create more, and more effective, mental health and addictions services on the ground, where they are needed and where they matter most.

This proposed legislation is our first opportunity under the Ontario health framework to take the best practices from other areas of the system, like Health Quality Ontario or Cancer Care Ontario, which people are quite familiar with, and regional planning agencies, and to leverage this broader health system expertise to create a world-class approach to mental health and addictions challenges.

This provincial strategy would look to see if there are ways to work smarter together with our community mental health and addictions partners. It would look to streamline supports and provide better-connected and comprehensive care to clients, which would make our mental health and addictions system investments actually go further and achieve more results.

This proposed legislation supports the introduction and implementation of a mental health and addictions strategy, and we are committed to its long-term success.

We understand we cannot do this alone. We also understand that introducing and implementing a successful mental health and addictions strategy depends on the sustained commitment of all sectors and levels of government.

We will continue to work with health care leaders, experts, sector partners and associations, health service providers, and, of course, those with lived experience to identify mental health and addictions needs across the province and to create a connected system of care, a system that is comprehensive, with wraparound services, to ensure that every Ontarian is fully supported in their journey toward mental wellness.

Our proposed legislation would refocus care by putting people and their families at the centre of mental health and addictions services that they need, and providing services which are more inclusive and accessible for everyone.

The proposed establishment of the Mental Health and Addictions Centre of Excellence within Ontario Health is part of our government’s plan to modernize our public health care system. Our plan is relentlessly focused on patient experience and better connected care, which we know will yield better outcomes. We are going to reduce wait times and end hallway health care. The creation of the Mental Health and Addictions Centre of Excellence would be a major step toward integrating mental health and addictions care into all parts of our health care system.

Our government is committed to the creation of a fully integrated health care system in which mental health and addictions care is a core component. We all know that the stakes are very high. We heard from the Attorney General earlier about the opioid situation in Ontario, which we’re all very concerned about. As I mentioned, the minister and I had many consultations at the beginning of our term here this time about consumption and treatment sites, about the model. I attended the Opioid Symposium, which was a two-day symposium in downtown Toronto, and the stories are very sad. We have to do better.

We have to help people to get better. We have to make sure that those services are there for them. We came up with the model for the consumption and treatment service sites which is really emphasizing the treatment part of it, so that when people who have addictions are ready to make a choice to try to get better, the services will be there at hand for them to access.

The point of those centres is really to have people have a place where there are people who can help them—health care professionals, primary care physicians, nurses and other people providing harm reduction products etc.—to have those places available for people so that they establish relationships with health care providers there and with the people who work there so that when they’re ready to make a change and when they feel that it’s a time that they can try to get better, the services are available to help them. And that is, really, I think, a good improvement in the model that came before.

It came as a result of our consultations with experts, with health care providers and with the people who use the services, frankly. That’s what we heard from them.

We took the best model that we saw. We visited the Regent Park site and found it a warm and inviting atmosphere for people, just the kind of place where people can establish those relationships, where people come in and they’re invited to use the laundry facilities if they’d like to, or have a shower, or, “Would you like to see a primary care doctor? There’s one upstairs.” There’s a place to have a meal.

All of those things, frankly, enhance the opportunities for people struggling with addictions to see that somebody is there who cares about them and is willing to be there to help them if they make a decision to try to get away from their addiction. And it’s a very difficult thing to do, so that support is really important for people.

I was really excited about that model because I think that model has made a big difference for how people can get better. There’s still much work to do, because it’s only those people who actually enter those sites who have that opportunity, and a lot of people don’t use the sites. But at least there is that opportunity there when they reach out.

Speaker, as I said, our government is committed to the creation of a fully integrated system in which mental health and addictions care is a core component. The stakes are very high. We want a system that Ontarians can rely on, a fully integrated system that includes mental health and addictions strategies, and a system that we also have an obligation to work on, as I’ve just given an example of, to improve and to protect.

There are lots of opportunities to find mental health and addictions services that can be improved, and we’re working on all of those, trying to make sure that the services that we do provide are services that are actually going to help people.

We know that the status quo, currently, isn’t an option. We know that these issues in the sector cannot be resolved overnight. People suffering with mental health and addictions problems, what their caregivers and their families are also going through with them—all of these affect our entire mental health and addictions system, and our entire health care system, frankly. As I mentioned, they even affect our economy, because people are absent from work, staying home, unable to give their best, because they’re struggling.

So, it has a huge impact across the board, and I think we all know this. It’s something being recognized more and more in our society, where we’re much more willing to talk about mental health and addictions challenges, which is a good thing. Because I think everybody should know, and I really hope younger people will recognize—there are some pages here, too—but I really hope that they will understand that as human beings, none of us are perfect, and all of us face struggles and challenges. If you have a struggle or a challenge, there has to be somebody there, when you reach out, to help you.

It’s okay, because every human being faces challenges. It’s part of being a human being, and we’re in this together.

I’m afraid, sometimes, that young people think that they need to be perfect. All of us older people know that none of us are perfect, and young people shouldn’t think they need to be perfect, so I hope they can recognize that. I always say that it’s actually part of being a human being to realize that you’re not perfect, because that’s what being a human being is about. We’re not gods; we’re humans.

I think this is an important message to get across, especially to our young people: that none of us are perfect, and any of us can have a challenge or a struggle at any point in our life. That’s really what this is about. It’s about recognizing the human quality in all of us, the fact that all of us are subject to fail on occasion, to err on occasion or to have a challenge or a struggle on occasion that we just don’t know how to deal with by ourselves, and that is what having a great mental health and addictions system really is about.

We believe our proposed legislation moves us in the right direction toward fulfilling our commitment to building a comprehensive and connected mental health and addictions system. As the associate minister mentioned, I believe, it comes right out of the recommendations of our Select Committee on Mental Health and Addictions—that was in 2010—that members opposite also participated in. I think there was all-party consensus that there should be some kind of centralizing function to steer the ship in the mental health and addictions sector, so that is where this comes from.

It’s based on a lot of the recommendations in that report. I know the minister, Minister Elliott, who was Vice-Chair of that committee, certainly looks to that report as a grounding for our entire system endeavour, and the Minister of Health has been referring to that report regularly as she has developed the changes in our mental health and addictions system, and so has our associate minister. It is a big part of informing us on how we want to go.

So, as I said, the proposed legislation is a step which moves us in the right direction toward fulfilling our commitment to building this comprehensive and connected mental health and addictions system. We hope it will be a system that ensures children, youth and adults in Ontario receive appropriate services and supports where and when they need them, no matter where they live in Ontario. I am confident that we have the right plan and the right team to get this done. I know that together—and we’ll have to all work together—we will finally build a coordinated health care system that includes our mental health and addictions strategies in Ontario, and that it will be centred around people.

With that in mind, I just want to appeal to all of my colleagues here in the House. I know it’s an issue that has affected everybody. I want to appeal to everyone to support this legislation, because we have before us a real opportunity to address long-standing issues facing our mental health and addictions system and facing the people who rely on our system.

I always think our health care system, our mental health system especially, is not really a system, as I said. It is so fragmented, partly because it grew up sui generis, if you will, from the ground—people trying to make a difference in their communities for people who needed help—and it has never really had a lens applied to it to systematize it and to break down that fragmentation. There have been steps in some communities that have helped with that, but overall, it hasn’t had that centralizing oversight that this bill will allow. I think it’s just because of the way it evolved historically.

What happened historically in our hospital system has to happen now in our mental health and addictions system. I think that initially hospitals were founded by people in the communities, trying to make a difference in those communities, and eventually the health care system took a very strong role in that regard. The same thing now needs to happen, I think, in our mental health and addictions system, where we need to get some control, some standards that will apply across the board, so that we can see better outcomes for people when they access those services.

That is really where we’re trying to go with this legislation.

Again, I appeal to all of my colleagues to please support this legislation, to please help us get on the right path to creating a truly integrated system where mental health and addictions is as important and plays as important a role as any other part of our health care system, and where people can get the support they need, where and when they need it and, as I said before, no matter where they live in Ontario, because that makes a big difference for everybody. I know that with the support of everyone in this House we can really make this happen. So I’m looking forward to working with everybody and looking forward to the rest of the debate on this issue.

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Jennifer K. French): Questions and comments?

Mr. Wayne Gates: It’s a privilege to rise on Bill 116.

I’m really pleased that my colleagues from St. Catharines and—I call it Welland, but I think it’s Niagara West—are here today, because in Niagara we have a crisis. I’ve had the opportunity to meet with the associate minister to almost beg—to ask them to get the money to Niagara that we need, through my motion 31. It has been almost a year. I want my colleagues to hear this, because we can stand up here and say there’s a crisis in mental health and there’s a crisis in opioids and addiction, but we’ve had an opportunity in Niagara to at least fix some of the problem.

I’ve worked with the Canadian Mental Health Association and local mental health organizations to determine what the need is in our community, as young people, middle-aged people and seniors are taking their lives. We’ve had an opportunity for a year—a year—to support that motion and get us a 24/7 mental health and addictions drop-in centre, which would benefit our residents. It would save lives. It would benefit my colleague from Welland. My colleague from St. Catharines is going to tell you some stats that I didn’t even know.

So again, I’m begging the minister: Support my motion. It was supported by all four—not just three; all four supported that motion. People are dying in Niagara. We can do something about it today. I noticed your number: $3.8 billion over 10 years. I’m not asking for $3.8 billion. I’m begging you to please get the 24/7 that we need immediately, to try to save—

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Jennifer K. French): Thank you. Further questions and comments?

Ms. Christine Hogarth: It is a pleasure to join this debate today. I certainly stand behind this bill and all the work our government has been doing towards mental health. Mental health, as we say, is health, and I am pleased that our Premier has put in the first Associate Minister of Mental Health to say how serious we are about mental health and the problems that this province is facing. And it’s not just our province; it’s all across Canada. We need to continue to talk about mental health, and this is a great step moving forward.

Right now, we hear about wait times; we hear about a fragmented system and uneven quality across Ontario. You may get service in one area of this province, but sometimes it’s harder in northern communities and on our reserves. I commend our government and I thank them for the work. I thank the parliamentary assistant for her work. I look forward to working alongside as we continue to talk about mental health, because that’s the message today: We need to continue to talk about mental health. We need to tell people it’s okay to talk about mental health. But, as a government, we need to put a system in place that will help these people moving forward.

I’m looking forward to continuing this debate and, when it goes to committee, to further discussing this debate and how to make this bill even stronger and how to continue to help people who have mental health problems.

I know Minister Tibollo, the Associate Minister of Mental Health, has been out all summer, in every community, with anyone who has asked to sit down, to talk to people and learn from them. It’s a consultation. It is a fulsome conversation. He and I have spoken, and he has reached out to me and said, “If you have any people you would like me to talk to in your community, please just let me know.”

I’m very pleased that this man is our minister of mental health issues and addictions, and I look forward to working with him as we continue this debate.

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Jennifer K. French): Further questions and comments?

Mrs. Jennifer (Jennie) Stevens: It is a privilege, again, to rise today on Bill 116. This issue of mental health and addictions is so prevalent in today’s society. It’s something I witness every day in my riding in St. Catharines with the ongoing opioid crisis.

St. Catharines is top of the list of Ontario cities that have been hit by the opioid crisis. St. Catharines is at top place in all of Ontario. Thirty-seven overdose-related deaths amongst residents in St. Catharines were reported by July 2018, Speaker. In second place is Thunder Bay, with 44 people. St. Catharines is ahead of larger municipalities like Hamilton and Toronto.

In light of this, it is definitely encouraging to know that this government is working towards a provincial strategy to tackle mental health and addictions. However, Speaker, we need to ensure that this Ford government follows through. We need to hold this government accountable in making mental health and addictions top priority moving forward.

This is not stories of people; this is reality. Mental health and addictions is reality. It is not a story. This is people who suffer from PTSD, veterans who have fought for this country who are homeless in St. Catharines. It is about what the timelines are that this government is going to put in to put this strategy in place. If specific deadlines for establishing a strategy and having an operational centre are not laid out—

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Jennifer K. French): Thank you. Further questions and comments?

Mr. Roman Baber: I had some remarks prepared, but I’d just rather speak from the heart. I have met with a constituent over the summer who has suffered perhaps the greatest loss. It is something that has resonated with me throughout the summer, so I was very touched by the words of the Attorney General and the parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Health.

We are experiencing an epidemic. There is no question about it. And it affects everyone around us, irrespective of their socio-economic status. I’m grateful that we’re finally able to have a free and frank conversation about opioid addiction and the underlying issue of mental health.

Some of my friends in the opposition were surprised to learn that I started my legal career at Community Legal Services at the University of Western Ontario. I’ve practised poverty law, and I was astonished to learn that the very bulk of the underlying issue that brought clients to Community Legal Services was mental health. I would venture to say that over the course of my two years at the clinic, I estimate that, at the very least, three quarters of those I served suffered from some sort of mental health illness.

That leads me to believe, and led me to believe even then, that mental illness is the underlying cause of so many other perils that plague so many of our friends and loved ones, be it poverty, bankruptcy or criminal activity. So I’m grateful that we’re finally tackling this head-on.

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Jennifer K. French): I return to the member from Eglinton–Lawrence.

Mrs. Robin Martin: Thank you, Speaker. I want to thank my colleagues from St. Catharines, Niagara Falls, Etobicoke–Lakeshore and York Centre for their comments. I think you can see that there is a lot of consensus that we really need to fix our mental health and addictions system, and there’s a lot of goodwill to work together to make that happen. It doesn’t happen often enough in this House that we’re all rowing in the same direction, but I think in this case we truly are rowing in the same direction.

We want to see real results and better outcomes for people. We recognize that people are struggling. As my colleague from York Centre has mentioned, unfortunately it seems that more and more people are struggling and need assistance. We need to make sure that what we’re doing is providing real help for those people, and the best help that we can provide, frankly.

This new centre of excellence for mental health and addictions which Bill 116 is trying to establish will be an important part of providing a provincial oversight that up until this point has been lacking in this area. It will help us to address some of the profound difficulties that we have come across and have heard about from various people whom we have spoken with in our consultations and in our constituency offices, including, as we’ve mentioned, the fragmentation of the system, the uneven quality, barriers to access—all of those things.

I remember, when I first started working in this sector, I was astounded by the number of agencies actually on the ground providing services. I think it’s something like 890. It’s just so fragmented that we need this to bring it all together.

Second reading debate deemed adjourned.

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Jennifer K. French): Seeing the time on the clock, this House stands in recess until 10:30.

The House recessed from 1013 to 1030.

Introduction of Visitors

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): As Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce some visitors in the Speaker’s gallery. Today we have a delegation of elected officials from the Aichi Prefectural Assembly in Japan. The group is led by the head of the delegation, Masanari Nagae. Please join me in warmly welcoming our guests to the Legislature today.

Applause.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Also with us today in one of the members’ galleries are students from the Public Leadership for Change course at McMaster University in Hamilton. With them is another very special guest: former member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament in the 37th to 41st Parliaments, and the longest-serving Speaker in the history of the province of Ontario, Dave Levac.

Hon. John Yakabuski: Records are certainly made to be broken, Speaker.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I won’t break that one.

Introduction of visitors.

Mr. Dave Smith: I’d like to introduce Dr. Rick Caldwell and Jenna Burnt from the Indigenous oral health committee of the Ontario Dental Association.

Ms. Judith Monteith-Farrell: I’d like to welcome a great community organizer, Jason Veltri, to the gallery today.

Hon. Doug Ford: I’d like to wish everyone a safe and happy Halloween tonight. I’d also like to wish the legislative adviser in the government House leader’s office, Jessie Saliba—it’s her birthday today, the big two-five.

Ms. Catherine Fife: Our page from Waterloo, his name is Jack Sullivan. His family is here in the members’ gallery today: Sean Sullivan, Laura Sullivan, and Michael, Terry and Mary Sullivan. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Ms. Natalia Kusendova: Good morning, Speaker. I’d like to welcome Michael Warchol, who is the former president of the U of T political students association. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Ms. Sandy Shaw: I would like to add my welcome to Mr. Levac coming to Queen’s Park, and also to the McMaster students, the fourth-year McMaster students. McMaster is in my riding of Hamilton West–Ancaster–Dundas. I’m very proud and pleased to have you here and will be seeing you today at lunch.

Sikh massacre

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I understand the member for Brampton East has a point of order.

Mr. Gurratan Singh: I believe we have unanimous consent of this House for a moment of silence. This November marks 35 years since the 1984 Sikh genocide, where members of the Indian government directed mobs in carrying out a campaign of genocide against the Sikh people in Delhi and throughout India. Voter lists were used to identify Sikh households, and kerosene was provided to set Sikhs on fire as their families were forced to watch. Survivors of this genocide now live here in Canada, many having been saved by their courageous Muslim and Hindu neighbours.

Today I ask for the unanimous consent of this House for a moment of silence to remember the thousands of lives lost in this genocide.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The member for Brampton East is seeking a moment’s silence. Agreed? Agreed.

The House observed a moment’s silence.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Thank you very much.

Oral Questions

Health care

Ms. Andrea Horwath: I also want to wish everybody a happy Halloween and a safe and fun time for children tonight as they go out trick-or-treating.

My first question this morning, Speaker, is for the Premier. This week, Ontario families have heard some stark news about the state of their hospitals, long-term care, and the lack of credibility of the Premier’s promise to end hallway medicine by summer. They learned hospitals in Brampton are routinely operating at over 100% capacity. An urgent care centre receives 587% more patients than they are funded to care for. And from the independent Financial Accountability Office, they learned that the wait for long-term-care beds will grow longer, and that hallway medicine is going to grow much worse until things change.

Is the Premier ready to admit that things actually need to change, or does he still claim that his plan is on track?

Hon. Doug Ford: Through you, Mr. Speaker: I know we’ve said it over and over again, but we’ve actually increased health care by $1.3 billion. That’s on top of mental health and addiction, $3.8 billion.

We’re building 15,000 long-term-care beds for the first five years. And what’s amazing, Mr. Speaker, is in the first year and four months, we’re almost at 8,000 beds already.

We inherited an absolute mess when it came to health care. I travelled around the province. I talked to the front-line doctors. They were the ones telling me it’s an absolute mess. They had some solutions. We sat down at a round table and listened to the front-line folks who deal with it day in and day out.

We’re pouring money into health care, and as you’re going to hear, we’re going to put more money into health care next year as well. So we’re focused on ending hallway health care. We will end hallway health care in this province.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary question.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Speaker, yesterday the Financial Accountability Office painted a stark picture of our long-term-care system. The Liberals allowed the wait-list of seniors waiting for a long-term-care bed to grow by 78% over seven years. Under the Ford government, it keeps growing.

Can the Premier tell us how many new long-term-care beds he has actually made available—not just announced, but actually made available—after over a year in office?

Hon. Doug Ford: Minister of Long-Term Care.

Hon. Merrilee Fullerton: Thank you to the member for their question. I am thankful to the FAO for providing this report and shedding light on an issue that was ignored by the previous government—supported by the NDP 90% of the time—for 15 years. They sat on their hands and they ignored this issue.

Now we’re dealing with this reality. We are well on our way with 50% of those 15,000 beds allocated. We have 8,000 allocated. We have 1,800 that are newly allocated. We are putting people into long-term-care homes regularly. The 36,000 people who were on the wait-list are being accommodated, as we speak, in terms of new long-term-care spaces becoming available. But we know the problem is growing. That’s why we are making sure that we develop innovative ways to address the issue, making sure that people get the care they need when they need it.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Final supplementary.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Speaker, the answer that the minister didn’t provide, notwithstanding other information that was inaccurate that she provided, is 21. Between July 2018 and August 2019, the government only created 21 beds. During that same time, while they created 21 beds, the wait–list grew by more than 2,800 people.

Can the Premier explain why his government is following in the Liberals’ footsteps even though our seniors population continues to grow?

Hon. Merrilee Fullerton: Thank you for the question. Between 2011 and 2018, the number of long-term-care beds in Ontario increased by only 0.8% while the population over 75 years of age grew by 20%. The previous government and the NDP were blind to the issue.

Our government is committing to making sure that those 15,000 new beds are created. We are committed to redeveloping another 15,000. We are adding $1.75 billion to long-term care over the next five years to address that, and $72 million more this year over last year. So our government is actively working on this issue, one that the previous government ignored.

Long-term care

Ms. Andrea Horwath: My next question is for the Premier. The Financial Accountability Office’s report made it pretty clear that the government needs to increase investment in long-term care if they want to make a dent in the waiting list or get patients out of hospital hallways. If we’re talking about stats in terms of how many beds are being created versus how many additions are coming to the wait-list, this government’s record so far is 0.01%.

The Ford government, unfortunately, is not able to get patients out of hallways, because they’re doing things the same way the Liberals did. The Ford government is, at the same time, however, making cuts to our long-term-care grants. This is something we were talking about all summer long in many communities across Ontario. The question is, will the Premier listen to expert advice and agree to abandon his government’s intention to cut $34 million from long-term-care funding?

Hon. Doug Ford: Through you, Mr. Speaker: I just can’t wait until the Leader of the Opposition sees both the Minister of Health and the Minister of Long-Term Care standing in front of these long-term-care facilities cutting ribbons—also cutting ribbons for the historic $27 billion put into building new hospitals, into new infrastructure. This will create 3,000 new hospital beds right across this great province.

This year our government is increasing health care again, just to remind everyone, by $1.3 billion. That’s an increase of 2.1%. That’s $384 million or a 2% increase for hospitals. This includes $67 million for 700 beds in crowded hospitals; $68 million for small, medium-sized and multi–site hospitals, which are desperately needed because it was ignored for 15 years—propped up by the NDP—$155 million more with home and community care; and $72 million more for the long-term-care sector, not reducing funding but increasing it by $72 million for the long-term-care—

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Thank you. Supplementary question?

Ms. Andrea Horwath: With all due respect, ribbons make good photo ops, but they don’t help our hallway medicine crisis or build long-term-care beds.

The FAO is crystal clear, Speaker. The cost of creating new long-term-care beds will grow over time. Yet as the need for the investment grows, the Ford government is moving ahead with cuts to long-term care. That’s combined with budget cuts at over-capacity hospitals that are struggling with deficits. This was a formula for hallway medicine and the crisis that was made when the Liberals put it in place while they were in office.

Why is the Ford government repeating the mistakes of the Liberal government, Speaker?

Hon. John Yakabuski: I think you supported them on that budget. You supported them 90% of the time. You must have.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Stop the clock. The Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry will come to order.

Restart the clock. The question is addressed to the Premier.

Hon. Doug Ford: Minister of Long-Term Care.

Hon. Merrilee Fullerton: Thank you to the member again for the question. I would like to read you something from the FAO, from his report: “The 15,000 new beds represent the first meaningful increase to the supply of long-term-care beds in over 15 years....”

I am pleased that the FAO recognizes that our government’s investments in long-term care is “the largest new health sector spending commitment in the 2019 budget and is ‘a crucial part of the government’s priority to end hallway health care.’” The inaccuracies in some of the commentary that has been going on are misleading, and I want to make sure—

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I’d ask the minister to withdraw the unparliamentary remark.

Hon. Merrilee Fullerton: But if we’re going to talk about—

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I didn’t hear. I didn’t hear. You must withdraw.

Hon. Merrilee Fullerton: I withdraw. Yes, I did.

The report states that between 2011 and 2018, the number of long-term-care beds in Ontario increased by only 0.8% while the population of Ontarians age 75 and over grew by 20%. Our government is committed to addressing this issue that has been building for 15 years and we’re well on our way to doing that.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The final supplementary?

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Well, Speaker, as I said yesterday, there’s a big “if” as to whether or not the promise to build those beds actually comes to fruition. We saw the Liberals make those promises as well and those beds were never built. And of course, the Conservatives are following on the same track as the Liberals in all the other mistakes that were made in terms of our health care system.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Stop the clock. I apologize to the Leader of the Opposition. The government side will come to order. I need to be able to hear the member who is asking the question.

Restart the clock. Again, my apologies to the Leader of the Opposition.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: There’s no doubt the Liberals left the health care system hanging by a thread. Instead of making things better, the Conservative government continues to plow ahead by making cuts to health care services, and it’s making things even worse—from ambulance shortages to bigger wait-lists for long-term care to more hospital overcrowding. Now we’re heading into a terrible flu season, which is a recipe for disaster.

Will the Premier put patients first, stop the cuts and make the investment needed to tackle hallway medicine?

Hon. Merrilee Fullerton: Thank you to the member opposite, again. We recognize that Ontario has an aging population. This issue has been building for many, many years and we know it’s going to take real action to create the capacity that’s required. That’s why we’re streamlining processes to make sure we get shovels in the ground, allowing areas across Ontario to benefit from the allocation of almost 8,000 new beds that we’ve announced and 18,014 beds in just the last year. The FAO report clearly states that the previous government failed to act responsibly and proactively to deal with this problem.

Our government is committed to protecting the front-line services that directly impact Ontarians. Long-term care is one of them. We are making major investments—I want to repeat that: major investments—into the long-term-care system and we are committed to addressing any gaps that there may be.

Health care

Ms. Andrea Horwath: My next question is also for the Premier. I want to ask the Premier about an Ottawa woman’s plight which encapsulates health care under the Ford government and the Liberals before them. Maria Konopeskas is an Ottawa resident who had minor surgery in 2017. She has been living in hospital ever since, because the personal support workers and home care that she needs aren’t available for her.

Does the Premier believe that patients who receive minor surgery should be forced to live in hospitals for years at a time?

Hon. Doug Ford: Minister of Health.

Hon. Christine Elliott: Thank you very much for the question. I am familiar with the situation in Ottawa. It should not be happening. When people are ready to leave hospital, they should be able to do so with the supports and services that they need at home. However, we also know that there are many personal support workers who are graduating in the province of Ontario, but they’re not staying on as personal support workers. So it indicates to us that there’s more work that we need to do.

I am working with my colleague the Minister of Long-Term Care to develop a human resource plan for people to receive the supports they need, whether they’re in hospital, long-term care or in home care. It is something that we are working on. We know that there are concerns with respect to some of the scope of work that they’re doing, so we are looking at client-partnered scheduling, which allows care providers to make the most of their workforce, and geographic alignment of home care and community care to reduce travel times. I will discuss more in the supplemental.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary question.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Look, Speaker, this woman is now on her second Premier and is still waiting in the hospital. Here are the facts: The FAO says that hallway medicine is going to keep getting worse. The wait for long-term care, which grew by 78% under the Liberals, is going to keep growing longer. And 94% of the government’s home care investment this year comes from the federal government.

There are literally thousands of people like Maria waiting for home care. When is this government—this government—going to stop continuing the neglect of the previous government and take serious action to deal with the crises in home care, long-term care and hallway medicine?

Hon. Christine Elliott: Through you, Mr. Speaker, I can assure the leader of the official opposition that we are taking action on all three fronts, because we need to provide integrated care for patients and families regardless of where they are.

The status quo of our current health system is not sustainable. It’s not satisfactory to people. They feel as if, when they leave hospital, they’re being shut out of the system. That shouldn’t be happening. People should know that their health care system is there for them throughout their health care journey, wherever they happen to be. That’s why we are transforming our health care system and bringing it into the 21st century, with digital tools as well to make sure that people are supported.

Even though we have increased care in hospitals by $384 million this year, with an additional $68 million for small and medium-sized hospitals, we know that hospitals aren’t the only sector that needs help. We need help in the home and community care sector. That’s why we’re investing $155 million more this year so that people can get from hospital to home with the care and supports that they need. We are working on that. Numerous hospitals in Ontario—

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Thank you very much.

Next question.

Job creation

Ms. Donna Skelly: My question is to the Premier. Premier, yesterday you highlighted the positive impacts that our policies were having on the economic conditions for this province. Since we formed government, Ontario has once again become the jobs leader in Canada, with nearly 272,000 new jobs created. As you previously indicated, this success is unprecedented. Since 1981, there have only been a handful of times that the economy has performed at this pace. This is a true testament to the success of our open-for-business strategy.

In your closing remarks yesterday, you made reference to the historic investment by DHL in Ontario. Can you please describe what it will mean for the people of this province and—

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I apologize to the member. The member for Don Valley East will come to order.

The Premier to reply.

Hon. Doug Ford: I want to thank our all-star member from Flamborough–Glanbrook, who worked her back off getting DHL into Hamilton—by the way, the only member that’s working their back off in Hamilton.

Mr. Speaker, I’ve got great news for the Leader of the Opposition. I’m sure she hasn’t heard about it, but DHL is expanding, a $100-million expansion, over at the Hamilton airport in the leader’s riding. Not only are they putting $100 million in; they’re actually expanding their operations from 50,000 square feet to 200,000 square feet. They’re going to be hiring more people. This is a perfect example: When you have an MPP representing all of Hamilton, working hard, creating jobs, meeting with companies and connecting with the Premier, that’s why we have 272,000—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Stop the clock. Order.

I had to interrupt the Premier because—it wasn’t a standing ovation, but it was a loud ovation, and I couldn’t hear him.

Restart the clock. Supplementary question.

Ms. Donna Skelly: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Back to the Premier: This really is a huge deal for the people of this province and for the people in Hamilton. Having investments from companies like DHL truly recognizes how crucial Hamilton is as a gateway destination to Ontario.

This announcement, combined with the recent investments by Liburdi group, Stryker Corp. and KF Aerospace, among others, demonstrates the vital economic potential that Hamilton has in helping to drive our province forward.

And you know what? The good news continue. Premier, can you share with the Legislature the announcement regarding the Korea Electric Power Corp. engineering and construction company here in Ontario?

Because of their efforts on the trade mission in Korea, the Korea Electric Power Corp. engineering and construction company has announced that they have opened up a new office in Port Elgin.

Korea Electric Power Corp., Mr. Speaker, does 93% of Korea’s electricity grid. The insight and knowledge which they provide will be an invaluable resource in support of the Bruce nuclear generating station—

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Thank you.

Next question.

Government contract

Mr. Taras Natyshak: My question is to the Premier. Speaker, parents and advocates of children with autism, some of whom are in the public gallery today, have long felt attacked, first by a Liberal and now by a Conservative government more concerned about their political fortunes than the welfare of the children who need support.

Today’s Globe and Mail has a concerning and disturbing report detailing how a communications firm under contract with the Ford government was also providing free communication training to an advocacy group that routinely attacked parents fighting for therapy for their kids. Speaker, families deserve to know what this firm was doing and why.

Will the government make the contract between the ministry of children and youth services and the Daisy Group public today, along with any documents associated with that contract?

Hon. Doug Ford: House leader.

Hon. Paul Calandra: Mr. Speaker, obviously the minister followed all the rules with respect to this contract. Look, the minister is no different than any one of us here. We often sometimes need assistance in fulfilling our duties. I know the members opposite do as much as we do. But in this instance, the minister followed all of the rules. I think, as you can see, Mr. Speaker, she has been working very hard for the people of Ontario. The government, of course—we’ve all been working very hard.

I hope the honourable member will take the opportunity to receive that report and work with us to bring forward an autism program that I know the new minister has been working very hard on.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary question.

Mr. Taras Natyshak: Concerned parents deserve answers. Government funding went to a communications consulting firm, and that firm turned around and offered free services to a group that was attacking the government’s critics. Even the group itself felt this was suspicious. When they asked questions about why they were getting all this help for free, they were threatened with a lawsuit.

The Ford government needs to come clean, Speaker. Will the Premier tell us today what Daisy Group was being paid to do, and provide answers for parents who have been treated so cruelly by this government over the last year?

Hon. Paul Calandra: As I said, the minister followed Treasury Board rules in the awarding of the contract, as all members would suspect. The important thing is that the former minister and the current minister have been working very hard over the summer to bring forward a report which I know was released yesterday. I know that on this side of the House—and I know and I appreciate, hopefully, the members on the opposite side of the House will work with us to bring forward a program that all of us can be proud of.

This is a very important community, Mr. Speaker. I know the minister has worked hard to double the funding in the sector. I’m very much looking forward to it, as I know all of the members are, in bringing forward a program, as I said, that we can all be proud of and that works for the families who have fought so hard.

Legal aid

Mr. Michael Coteau: The Premier earlier this week in the Toronto Star admitted to making many mistakes in his first year in office.

My question is to the Attorney General. Does the Attorney General believe that the devastating cuts to legal aid services to families here in Ontario was among those mistakes?

Hon. Doug Downey: I’m glad to rise for the first time in question period.

I think the mistakes that were made in legal aid were really about the Liberal government allowing it to increase by 27% in the budgets and providing no meaningful service beyond that.

I can tell you that when we came into office, we wanted to improve service for the 900,000 people who access legal aid, whether it’s through duty counsel, whether it’s through clinics or whether it’s through the 4,000 lawyers who take certificates to provide service to those who are vulnerable.

I think what we’re doing with legal aid—when I was in Brampton or Mississauga or Ottawa or Renfrew, all over the province, when I go into the clinics and I talk to the service providers, I can tell you one thing, Mr. Speaker: They agree with the Auditor General that we can do better, that we can provide better service and that we can make major improvements in the system.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The supplementary question?

Mr. Michael Coteau: A question back to the Attorney General—I’ll ask another question about a potential mistake.

While the government was making massive cuts to legal aid, slashing and cutting those services to families, the Premier was on the phone reassuring people that he would actually take care of business and get them the services they need. Instead, they were shuffled from office to office to office, without any hope or any help. Worse, these promises by the Premier could be seen as potential political interference.

My question back to the Attorney General: Will he admit today that the Premier assuring people that they would get these services, get this help and just giving that false hope was among these mistakes that the Premier has admitted to?

Hon. Doug Downey: Again, I’m pleased to address the question, because it’s not really shocking that our offices talk to each other. I think it’s the silos that were set up by the Liberals that were causing some of the trouble.

Mr. Speaker, it’s critical that we hear from the people in Ontario of their experience with their government so that we can fix the system and we can improve the system, so that we can make sure that they’re getting the service they deserve. It’s not throwing more money at it, like the Liberals did, increasing the budget by 27% with no more service. That is shameful, Mr. Speaker. We will not do that.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Stop the clock. The member for Don Valley East will come to order.

Restart the clock. Next question?

Highway improvement

Mr. Norman Miller: My question is for the Minister of Transportation. A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to meet with the leaders of Safer Highway 11 Muskoka. We discussed that several at-grade intersections along the highway between Bracebridge and Huntsville make portions of Highway 11 a dangerous drive. In fact, they told me that there have been 950 accidents on this stretch since 2009.

I would personally like to thank co-founder Kevin Powers and others for their work in bringing attention to this issue.

Speaker, can the Minister of Transportation please inform the constituents of my riding of Parry Sound–Muskoka about what her ministry is doing to address safety concerns along Highway 11?

Hon. Caroline Mulroney: I’d like to thank the member for his question and for his advocacy on behalf of his constituents in Parry Sound–Muskoka. I know that we both share the same commitment to road safety.

Mr. Speaker, the ministry is currently undergoing an operational performance review of Highway 11 between Bracebridge and Huntsville. This review includes examining a total of 10 at-grade intersections along this 35-kilometre stretch, and will provide recommendations to address any safety and operational concerns at these locations.

Once this review has been completed, the ministry will develop an implementation plan for the recommended improvements to ensure the safety of Highway 11. Our goal is to remove all the at-grade intersections and replace them with a combination of interchanges and crossover bridges.

We understand that these large projects take time to design and construct. That’s why, in the interim, we’re making improvements that enhance the safety of at-grade intersections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The supplementary question?

Mr. Norman Miller: I would like to thank the minister for her response. Highway 11 is a vital corridor facilitating the movement of people and goods across Ontario, which keeps our economy booming. Both the town of Huntsville and the town of Bracebridge have passed resolutions asking for improvements to Highway 11. I’m pleased to hear the minister shares their concerns.

Can the minister please tell us how our government is investing in Highway 11?

Hon. Caroline Mulroney: Thank you again to the member for the question.

Our government is committed to making smart investments to ensure people and goods get to where they need to go safely. That’s why our government is investing $11.3 million in Highway 11. This investment entails ongoing rehabilitation of three highway structures and resurfacing to improve the ride quality and performance of Highway 11 and increase safety for local drivers. This work is expected to be completed this fall, just in time for the winter months.

Our top priority is to ensure that our roads, bridges and highways remain among the most safe in North America. Speaker, safety will never take a back seat on our watch.

Community safety

Mr. Faisal Hassan: My question is for the Premier. Yesterday morning, two people were shot in my riding of York South–Weston. Last night, five teenagers were injured. And just this morning, gun violence has erupted again, shaking our community. People are scared, and they don’t feel safe in their own neighbourhoods.

But the Ford government has cut programs that helped prevent youth gang involvement, like youth employment programs, mental health resources and after-school programs. We need more resources to prevent young people from joining gangs, not less.

Premier, when will your government commit to making the necessary investments to keep our youth and community safe?

Hon. Doug Ford: Solicitor General.

Hon. Sylvia Jones: I share the member opposite’s concerns. I think that we all are very disturbed when we hear about these brazen attacks that are happening on our streets and in our communities.

While I would never suggest that I get involved in an active investigation, Chief Saunders has made it very clear that, in the most recent attack that we learned about yesterday evening, he believes strongly that this is a solvable crime. We, as a community, must come together and assist the police whenever possible to ensure that these individuals who don’t have any regard for our families and our streets and our communities are brought to justice swiftly and quickly.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary question.

Mr. Faisal Hassan: Again, my question is to the Premier. By the time the police are called, we have already failed the community. We cannot keep holding funeral after funeral. And community members are tired of government inaction. They saw the Liberal government fail to act on the recommendations from the Roots of Youth Violence report for over a decade after it was released. Now they see a Conservative government that is making cuts instead of investments in communities and getting guns off the streets. People in my community deserve so much better.

Is this Premier content to continue the inaction on community safety, or will he rise in this House today and commit to take action?

Hon. Sylvia Jones: Respectfully, I must disagree. One of the first actions that we took when we formed government was, an additional $25 million was given to the city of Toronto to deal with guns and gang violence in our community. As recently as this summer, we, along with our federal partners—I think we all understand and appreciate that federally, the city of Toronto and provincially, we have a role to play in ensuring that our communities are safe. We funded surge funding to assist the Toronto Police Service, at the request of the city of Toronto.

We are doing things, but we also need our communities to step up and bring forward any kind of evidence, to reach out and communicate so that our police, as I said, can act swiftly and quickly to cut down on some of this very heinous criminal activity.

Public transit

Mr. Michael Parsa: My question is for the ever-hard-working Associate Minister of Transportation. Minister, I know that there are a lot of people who are excited to see that they will finally be getting the new transit service in their backyard in Richmond Hill. The reason I say “finally” is because they have been promised this time after time after time by the previous government, but it took this Premier one year to finally get it done. It’s great to see that our government will finally be working together with the city of Toronto, and hopefully the federal government, to build new transit to places like York region.

Can the minister please tell the House how our transit plan will not just benefit the people of downtown Toronto but in York region as well?

Hon. Kinga Surma: Thank you to the wonderful member for the question. I know that over the last few days, there has been a lot of discussion taking place around Toronto—the Ontario Line and the Scarborough extension. I think it’s equally as important that we discuss how the Yonge North extension will serve the people that reside north of Finch. I know that our York region MPPs—and we have many of them in the House here—and local municipal leaders in York region are ecstatic that they finally have a firm commitment for transit expansion.

As the municipalities in the greater Toronto area continue to grow, we need to ensure that we build a strong subway network, a foundation so that we can address future growth and expansion and future regional integration. I look forward to breaking ground with all of my colleagues from York region in the very near future.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary question.

Mr. Michael Parsa: I would like to thank the minister for her response and for her commitment to delivering transit to the people of York region. I know that the associate minister is a true transit advocate in her roles both as a minister and as an MPP.

One of our four transit priority projects included in the province’s deal with the city is the western extension of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT project, which will see the current Eglinton Crosstown project extended further west, delivering more relief for commuters. Would the minister please tell us a little bit more about this and other key transit projects?

Hon. Kinga Surma: Thank you very much to the member. Mr. Speaker, I cannot emphasize to you enough how important this project is to my constituency. For many years, there has been great uncertainty as to how to proceed, and when, with this project. For those of you that don’t spend a lot of time in Etobicoke, my constituents do not have access to fast and reliable public transit. This project, this $4.7-billion investment in our community, will serve the people west of Mount Dennis through Etobicoke and eventually connect to the airport.

Much of the proposed extension will be underground, as we’ve advocated for, and I am excited to continue to collaborate to work with the city of Toronto to get this project in motion and get the great people of Etobicoke moving.

Legal aid

Mr. Gurratan Singh: My question is to the Premier. The Premier himself knew his government’s cuts to legal aid have caused harm to Ontarians. He told Global News, on April 22, “If anyone needs support on legal aid, feel free to call my office. I will guarantee you that you will have legal aid.” Sounds pretty clear, Speaker, what the Premier was saying, but his own staff disagree with what he meant.

So let’s get some clarification. To the Premier: What did you mean when you said to Ontarians, “I guarantee that you will have legal aid”?

Hon. Doug Ford: Attorney General.

Hon. Doug Downey: I thank the member for the question—the member from Brampton East. When I visited the clinic in Brampton, it was very informative, because what the legal aid clinic in Brampton has done is work around some of the existing rules to make sure they’re providing services in a modern way. They have rooms set up in the Brampton legal aid clinic where you can go in and there are TVs and they can interact with the services they need.

The answer to the question is this: The answer is that we want to hear from Ontarians. We are so frustrated with what the Liberals left us as a legacy of neglect with legal aid that we’re having to make sure that we understand where the service needs are. We want to hear from every Ontarian who is trying to access the system. Mr. Speaker, whether they contact the Premier or they contact my office or they contact any member in this caucus, we want to hear what Ontarians want, and we want to hear how we can deliver service in a better and more modern way.

There’s absolutely no question that there is more that we can do, but it is not throwing money at the problem; it’s doing our work in a more modern way.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary question?

Mr. Gurratan Singh: Back to the Premier: In a freedom-of-information request, the Premier’s staff wrote that they were honestly “struggling” with how to respond to Ontarians pleading for legal aid support.

Another staffer wrote that what the Premier meant to say was that Ontarians would have “access to the folks at Legal Aid Ontario.” Which is it, Speaker: the empty promise that the Premier made on radio that Ontarians will be guaranteed access to legal aid, or what his staff have decided, that the cuts will continue?

Hon. Doug Downey: Make no mistake, the ministers make the decisions; the staff may provide advice. So I stand behind any decision that we have made because we made it with knowledge of where we needed to go. We needed to make sure that the bus that the Liberals put us on towards a cliff—27% increases that caused the system to become unsustainable. Whether the NDP were either on the bus with them or standing on the side of the road saying nothing, I have no idea. But it is not sustainable, what we were handed.

We’re going to make legal aid more reflective of the needs of the 900,000 people who access our system, the vulnerable people who are going to be losing service on the track that we were left. So we’re making sure that services are going to be there for the most vulnerable, and we want as many as possible to access the system. That’s why we want to hear from them, whether it be on radio shows, phone calls, emails or texts—it doesn’t matter—to any minister, to any member of our government in this House.

Public transit

Mr. Amarjot Sandhu: My question is for the Minister of Transportation. We have heard a lot about subways this week. After years of delays and political gridlock, the city of Toronto and the province of Ontario have entered into a historic partnership to build an integrated and modern public transit network for Toronto.

But I understand that the minister is doing much more than just getting subways built for Toronto. Could the minister please share what she has been working on since her appointment to this portfolio?

Hon. Caroline Mulroney: Thank you to the member for Brampton West for the question. I’m very happy to switch gears today to talk about our plans to create a gridlock-busting network of transit options across the region.

Speaker, our government is building towards the largest-ever GO rail expansion. This summer, we announced 150 additional GO train trips per week, including 84 new trips and the extension of 65 existing trips. We’ve also announced our intention to purchase 36 more GO railcars, which will be built by Ontarians and support local jobs in Thunder Bay.

The demand for public transit is growing. That’s why it’s so important that we work today to improve and expand GO services. The GO rail expansion will permanently change the way we move around the region.

I look forward to sharing more in the supplementary.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary question?

Mr. Amarjot Sandhu: Thank you to the minister for the answer. I know that residents in my riding of Brampton West are directly benefiting from our government’s recent introduction of hourly, two-way, weekday evening train service between the city of Brampton and Toronto. My constituents now have more options when travelling from home to Toronto, making life easier for commuters in the GTA.

Offering more trips at more times is the key to getting Ontarians moving, which is exactly what our government is focused on. Speaker, could the minister elaborate on our plan to enhance GO services?

Hon. Caroline Mulroney: Thank you again to the member for the question. I’d also like to take a moment to thank my colleague the Minister of Infrastructure, who is helping to facilitate the procurement on our massive plan for GO expansion. She’s doing a great job. Thank you.

We’re working toward bringing all-day, two-way GO every 15 minutes to our GO network. This is significant. We’re making it easier for people to move around in our province so they can get where they need to be quicker and safely.

Earlier this year, we launched Kids GO Free. With children under 12 riding GO for free, more families are choosing GO Transit. We’ve also announced that starting in the spring of 2020, GO riders will be able to enjoy free WiFi on all GO Transit trains and buses.

Mr. Speaker, we’re not only expanding public transit in Ontario; we’re also delivering better services, more choice and more convenience for commuters.

Doctors’ services

Mr. Michael Mantha: My question is to the Minister of Health. Huron Shores Family Health Team in Blind River was able to secure not only one, but two physicians for their clinic. This should be great news for the community, but ministry officials have told them that the application and registration will take up to 20 weeks.

This is unacceptable, Mr. Speaker. These two doctors have been practising in Ontario, have their CPSO numbers and billing numbers, but they have to wait for the ministry to approve them while the ER is full and flu season is just around the corner.

Minister, what is taking so long?

Hon. Christine Elliott: I thank you for raising this question. We don’t want people who are fully able to provide services to not be able to do so, so I would certainly be happy to speak with you following question period to get a few more details so that I can follow up within the ministry to see what is taking so long, to get those people online and working as soon as possible. Thank you for raising it.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary question.

Mr. Michael Mantha: Minister, I’d be pleased—and I’ve sent many letters to your ministry.

Again, northern and rural communities are struggling enough as it is to recruit and retain doctors. These two doctors relocated to Blind River along with their families in the hopes of helping to relieve the pressures on the community. Now, they are told to stay on standby.

This process could be and should be streamlined in a matter of a few days. Again, this is unacceptable. If there is no immediate change, it will hurt the recruitment prospects of future physicians in Blind River and the area.

Will the minister fast-track the process for these two physicians in Blind River and restructure the current process to meet the needs of northern communities?

Hon. Christine Elliott: Yes, as I indicated in my previous answer, I certainly would do whatever I can to work with you and to find out specifically what the problem areas are in why this isn’t being moved forward more quickly.

In response to your specific question, I’m happy to look into it. In terms of the more general situation, the fact that it’s very hard to recruit medical professionals, health care professionals, to northern Ontario as well as some more rural and remote areas—we’re certainly aware of the concerns with that. We are working with the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. They’ve been enormously helpful in trying to attract local candidates to go to school there and to stay there thereafter.

So we are working on some recruitment and retention policies. There is more to be done, obviously, but we want to make sure that people across Ontario can receive the health services that they need, and we will continue to focus in on northern Ontario because I know there is a continued—

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Thank you.

Next question.

Child care

Ms. Jane McKenna: My question is to one of my favourite ministers, the Minister of Education. Speaker, I know from speaking with my constituents in Burlington that access to child care spaces is a significant pressure on their families. I know that the minister recently announced the government’s progress in supporting the creation of child care spaces across Ontario, underscoring our focus on creating greater choice for parents in Burlington and communities in Ontario.

Can the minister outline how many spaces have in fact been created in the first year of our government?

Hon. Stephen Lecce: I want to thank the member from Burlington for being a champion for affordable child care for families right across the GTA.

I am also proud, Speaker, that I joined my colleague Minister Dunlop last week to announce that under our government, 19,000 public and private child care spaces were built in the province of Ontario. That is because we’re creating incentives in the private sector for independent daycare to expand in every region of the province. It’s why we’re expanding institutional daycare. In schools, we’re investing over $1 billion to build 30,000 child care spaces for working families in this province.

Mr. Speaker, we do not believe in a one-size-fits-all approach, as other parties do. We believe in choice for families and affordability for working people. We’re going to continue to build on our success going forward.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary question.

Ms. Jane McKenna: Speaker, this is important progress families welcome, but we also know there is more to do. I know from speaking to families that they need more spaces and they want more choices, not the one-size-fits-all model that is proposed by the other parties.

Can the minister tell us more about how the government is investing and unleashing growth in child care across Ontario?

Hon. Stephen Lecce: Thank you again to the member from Burlington for her leadership. Mr. Speaker, we are investing over $2 billion this year in child care to ensure we achieve two dual objectives. The first is affordability. We’re doing that through a nearly $400-million child care benefit announced by our government, because we recognize that under 15 years of the former Liberal government, child care rose to the highest cost in the nation. This is unacceptable for working families and it’s unacceptable for this government.

That’s why we’ve moved forward with an initiative to make child care affordable for up to 75% of eligible expenses for working moms and dads. We’re investing millions of dollars to expand child care options—quality child care options—right across the province, and we’re going to continue to do this while supporting our municipal partners with a $1.7-billion investment to help them make child care accessible for their families and their communities.

Manufacturing jobs

Ms. Judith Monteith-Farrell: My question is for the Premier. As you know, Premier, layoffs at the Bombardier plant are coming next month to Thunder Bay. This government has not offered a real solution and neither did the government before them. Hundreds of families across my riding are facing uncertainty and hard times.

What will the Premier do to help the workers at Bombardier keep their jobs?

Hon. Doug Ford: Thank you for the question from the member from Thunder Bay. I find it ironic. I was up there. I didn’t see that the member—actually, last moment, I met one of the heads of the Unifor groups, named Dominic. He came to an event the night before and he said, “Can you show up at 7 in the morning?” I showed up at 7 in the morning, talked to over 300 members there and told them that we saved over 200 jobs. They appreciated me showing up so much, they were clapping, cheerful: “Way to go. You’re the only one that has showed up to our plant.”

This government saved over 200 jobs. What they did tell me is, they didn’t appreciate Unifor actually using their union dues to attack a person that’s trying to save their jobs and help their family and fight for them. They said they don’t want their union dues being used to attack the guy that’s helping them. That’s what they said. I get along great with them.

We’re going to continue to thrive in Thunder Bay and represent—

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Thank you. Supplementary question?

Ms. Judith Monteith-Farrell: My question is still for the Premier. The Thunder Bay Bombardier plant has a long and storied history and is over a century old. Fighter-bomber aircraft were built there during World War II and it remains a major employer in the northwest. Jurisdictions across the globe have found ways to keep production local, but so far, there has been no real action by this government or the government before to save that plant. What will this government do to keep the Bombardier plant open?

Hon. Doug Ford: Minister of Economic Development.

Hon. Victor Fedeli: First, I want to congratulate the Minister of Transportation on purchasing 36 of Bombardier’s cars that are built there. We’re greatly appreciative of that work in the north.

Speaker, not long ago the CEO of Fiat Chrysler told Premier Wynne that she has created the most expensive jurisdiction in all of North America in which to do business. That’s why Premier Ford and our government took very swift action to make Ontario open for business and open for jobs. Since taking office, we’ve reduced red tape and reduced the cost of doing business by $5 billion.

Companies like Bombardier and others all now have their WSIB payments reduced without any benefit reductions, and can now write off their equipment in the year that they purchased it. This gives companies like Bombardier and others the hope they had lost under the previous government, and that’s exactly how 272,000 new jobs were created in the province of Ontario.

Natural gas

Mr. Rick Nicholls: My question is to the Associate Minister of Energy. Expanding natural gas will make Ontario communities more attractive for job creation and new businesses. I was excited to join the associate minister last month at Kent Bridge Road station in Dresden, where he announced that construction work was officially under way on two new natural gas transmission pipelines in Chatham-Kent.

Mr. Speaker, could the associate minister please tell us how the natural gas expansion program will save people money and ensure our province is open for business?

Hon. Bill Walker: It’s my pleasure to answer the question from the honourable member from Chatham-Kent–Leamington—and for all the great work he does on behalf of his constituents.

I also want to thank the Minister of Infrastructure and the Minister of Energy for their continued leadership and for putting affordability back into energy bills for Ontarians. Our government’s priority is putting more money in the pockets of people by lowering energy costs. By expanding access to natural gas, we’re helping make life more affordable for families and businesses in Chatham-Kent.

The Chatham-Kent natural gas expansion project is possible thanks to our government’s new and innovative partnership with the private sector. The construction of two new transmission lines there could save the average homeowner up to $2,200 per year in energy costs as they switch from costlier fuel sources.

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to sharing more information on the benefits of this excellent program in my supplementary.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary question?

Mr. Rick Nicholls: Thank you to the Associate Minister of Energy for your continued support on this critical file. I know our government is working very hard to fix the 15-year-long Liberal hydro mess and deliver real relief for families and businesses.

Would the Associate Minister of Energy please tell the members more about how our government is helping to lower energy costs for businesses across rural, remote and other underserviced communities in Ontario?

Hon. Bill Walker: Thank you again to the member from Chatham-Kent–Leamington for that great supplementary, for the great work he does, and I truly hope he’s back dancing soon with a successful knee replacement.

Investing in Ontario communities benefits the whole province. This is why we’re working to connect more rural and remote communities to natural gas. In Chatham-Kent, the municipality estimates the additional natural gas capacity could create up to 1,400 new jobs in the local greenhouse industry alone. This is significant, Mr. Speaker.

The natural gas project is a great example of how our government is working with the private sector to create more incentives to make communities more attractive for businesses, which in turn creates more jobs.

We’re committed to lowering energy costs and giving real relief to families and local businesses, and look forward to having the people in South Bruce, Arran-Elderslie, Kincardine, Chatham-Kent, Chippewas of the Thames First Nation and Scugog Island in service as early as the end of this year, and we’ll continue to make lives better for the people of Ontario.

Assisted housing

Mrs. Lisa Gretzky: My question is to the Premier. Bonnie O’Keefe has been on a hunger strike outside Renfrew town hall since Monday. Bonnie is taking this drastic action because she is desperate for help for her adult daughter, Jenny. Jenny has Williams syndrome. Bonnie and her husband cannot care for Jenny on their own.

Jenny lived in a group home until a year and a half ago, when her bed was given away after a brief hospitalization. Now, Jenny is being bounced from homeless shelter to homeless shelter, which cannot meet her complex needs. She has been bullied and even brutally assaulted in a shelter.

Jenny desperately wants a place to call home. Bonnie has tried every avenue to find supportive housing for Jenny, but with the 25-year-long wait-list and about 16,000 adults on that list, Bonnie and Jenny have nowhere to turn.

I ask the Premier: Why is your government not helping Bonnie and her vulnerable daughter, Jenny?

Hon. Doug Ford: Minister of Children, Community and Social Services.

Hon. Todd Smith: Thanks to the member opposite for the question. I know I was down in Windsor earlier this summer and had some meetings with the member from Windsor West with a community group that had a lot of the same issues she just described. We both feel very passionately about the need to build more housing for individuals with developmental disabilities.

While I can’t speak to the case that she’s referencing directly, what I would encourage that family to do, or any family in this province that’s running into a similar situation is—we do have a lot of caring MPPs in this Legislature and caring constituency staff who do tremendous work every day dealing with situations like the one the member opposite just described.

It’s imperative, actually, that people who are in crisis, like the individual that was just mentioned, reach out to our constituency offices, because we will do everything that we can, within this ministry, with crisis intervention, to help the individual get the accommodation that they’re looking for.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary question?

Mrs. Lisa Gretzky: I’d like to point out that Bonnie was contacted by someone from the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services who suggested that she and other parents pool their resources to build their own home and to start a GoFundMe page.

I spoke to Bonnie, as did my colleague from Ottawa Centre. She is desperate for help. She has contacted her MPP, who is the Minister of Natural Resources, and she has contacted the Premier. Neither of them responded. Bonnie feels ignored.

There are thousands of families that are facing the same challenges. The wait-list for supportive housing is over 25 years long and, as I pointed out, about 16,000 people are on that list. Liberal and Conservative governments have created this shameful legacy in Ontario. People with developmental disabilities are being told that their only option is to live in homeless shelters. I get at least one phone call a week from a parent at the end of their rope, desperate for housing for their child. This is deplorable.

Will the Premier work with Bonnie to find a solution to find a home for Jenny? Will he get to work immediately to address the back—

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Thank you very much. The question has been referred to the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services.

Hon. Todd Smith: Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, there seems to be a bit of a theme today when it comes to developmental services, and there seems to be a theme when it comes to long-term care as well in the province of Ontario. The theme is that, after 15 years of inaction on the housing front by the previous Liberal government, we have a lot of work to do on this side of the House. I can tell you that my ministry takes this extremely seriously. I can tell you that the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care is taking this extremely seriously. I can tell you that the minister responsible for housing in Ontario is taking this seriously.

We need more housing in Ontario. We need housing f