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October 16, 2017

41st Parliament, 2nd Session

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Hansard Transcripts

Votes and Proceedings

Orders and Notices

Hansard Transcripts 2017-Oct-16 (PDF)

L104 - Mon 16 Oct 2017 / Lun 16 oct 2017

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO

ASSEMBLÉE LÉGISLATIVE DE L’ONTARIO

Monday 16 October 2017 Lundi 16 octobre 2017

Introduction of Visitors

Attack in Mogadishu

Veterans

Oral Questions

Environmental protection

Labour dispute

Hospital funding

Environmental protection

Correctional services

Hydro One

Small business

Small business

Labour dispute

Public transit

Mental health services

Environmental protection

Public libraries

Human trafficking

Visitor

Introduction of Visitors

Members’ Statements

Local Government Week

Labour dispute

Community events

Small business

Autumn Peltier

Hector Macmillan

Hindu Heritage Month

Pregnancy and infant loss

Near North Enviro-Education Centre

Introduction of Bills

1428501 Ontario Limited Act, 2017

Motions

Private members’ public business

Time allocation

Statements by the Ministry and Responses

Waste Reduction Week

Islamic Heritage Month

Waste Reduction Week

Islamic Heritage Month

Islamic Heritage Month

Waste Reduction Week

Petitions

Taxation

Services for children with disabilities

Dental care

Long-term care

Long-term care

Injured workers

Energy policies

Water extraction

Elevator maintenance

GO Transit

Energy policies

Dental care

Orders of the Day

Protecting a Woman’s Right to Access Abortion Services Act, 2017 / Loi de 2017 protégeant le droit des femmes à recourir aux services d’interruption volontaire de grossesse

Committee sittings

The House met at 1030.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Good morning. Please join me in prayer.

Prayers.

Introduction of Visitors

Mr. Steve Clark: Thank you, Speaker. I want to introduce to you, and through you to members of the Legislative Assembly, a happy announcement from my riding of Leeds–Grenville. My wife, Deanna, and I are new grandparents again. Georgy Alexander Lysko was born October 12, seven pounds, seven ounces, at the Brockville General Hospital. Proud parents are Jordan and Megan. It’s a great announcement for our family, and it was great to celebrate constituency week with a new grandson.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Congratulations.

Mr. Peter Tabuns: It’s my pleasure to introduce Jean Phillipe Maher, Ian and David Orenstein, Glenn Kelly and Ken Fong, visiting the Legislature—Speaker, amongst the best canvassers in this province.

Mr. Yvan Baker: This year is Consulting Engineers of Ontario’s third annual Queen’s Park day, and we have a number of members from their delegation who are here with us today. The delegation is led by Chair Rex Meadley of C.C. Tatham and Associates and Chief Executive Officer Barry Steinberg.

The delegation is made up of small, independent, employee-owned and public multinational and multidisciplinary firms. They are hosting a reception today in the legislative dining room from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. I’d encourage everyone to attend.

Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Ms. Cheri DiNovo: I’m delighted to introduce a retired scientist from my riding, Elliott Whitby, who may not be the greatest canvasser but is the greatest sign guy—a member of the signdanistas in Parkdale–High Park. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Hon. Glenn Thibeault: I’m pleased to welcome a delegation of members from the Association of Major Power Consumers in Ontario to the Legislature today, who are here with their president, Colin Anderson, and their chair, Mark Passi. Welcome to the Legislature.

Mr. Taras Natyshak: I’m pleased to welcome, representing the Canadian Federation of Pensioners, from Chrysler, GM, Stelco, Sears and Nortel, Cody Cooper, Norm Leblanc, Jeff Oliver, Ed Cukierski, John Augerman, Alanna Lyczba, Wayne Hill, Denise Cay, Gary Marnoch, Pat Mousseau and Peter Krause.

Ms. Sophie Kiwala: I extend a warm welcome to Doug Wilton from TECTA-PDS, pathogen detection systems, from Kingston and the Islands. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Mr. Norm Miller: I would like to welcome members of the Association of Major Power Consumers in Ontario that I met with this morning: Jody Kuzenko from Vale, Tom Lacey from Nova Chemicals, and Craig McLuckie from Irving Tissue, who are up in the gallery. Welcome.

Ms. Catherine Fife: It’s my pleasure to introduce page Matthew Wahl this morning. Matthew attends MacGregor Public School and is from the great riding of Kitchener–Waterloo.

Hon. Jeff Leal: I would like to introduce our special guests today: Richard Koroscil, who is the interim president and CEO of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, and Anna Koustas, the manager of chamber relations for the Ontario Chamber of Commerce. They are joined by Kimberly Copetti, Mike Chisholm, David Shaw, Karey Large and Jim Waters, and Saeed Zeinali from Futurpreneur Canada. I’d like to remind everyone to join us at this evening’s Futurpreneur Canada reception in caucus room 247 starting at 5:30 p.m.

Mr. Bill Walker: I don’t think she’s in the gallery yet, but Kim Mizen is here, the mother of page Andy Walker, another great Walker in the Legislature from the great riding of Bruce–Grey–Owen Sound.

Mr. Todd Smith: They’ll be arriving soon, but I’d like to welcome the civics class from Centennial Secondary School in Belleville. Jason Bremner is the teacher, and they should be arriving here soon.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): We have with us today in the Speaker’s gallery some special guests from the Parliament of Israel: Ms. Anat Berko and Mr. Yoel Hasson. With them in the gallery is also Galit Baram, the consul general of Israel at Toronto. Welcome and thank you for being here.

Attack in Mogadishu

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member from London–Fanshawe on a point of order.

Ms. Teresa J. Armstrong: Speaker, I believe we have unanimous consent for a moment of silence to recognize the hundreds of people who have died in a massive bomb attack in the Somali capital of Mogadishu. Our thoughts are with all of those who are affected.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member from London–Fanshawe is seeking unanimous consent for a moment of silence for the bombing. Do we agree? Agreed.

I would ask all members of the entire House to please rise for a moment of silence.

The House observed a moment’s silence.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): God rest their souls. Thank you. Pray be seated.

Veterans

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Finally, as we approach the month of November and Remembrance Day and Remembrance Week, I want to take this opportunity to remind the House of a motion that was unanimously passed on October 30, 2014, to permit MPPs to have Canadian Legion poppy donation boxes in their constituency offices if you so wish—as a reminder.

Oral Questions

Environmental protection

Mr. Patrick Brown: Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of the Environment. There are a lot of unanswered questions for the people of Chemical Valley in Ontario, located between Sarnia and Aamjiwnaang First Nation. For nine years, nine long years, we have asked this government for answers, and for nine years they have been ignored. There were 500 government reports documenting industrial environmental concerns in the Sarnia region over a two-year period. That’s nearly 500 incidents where this government had failed to take action, 500 incidents where the people of Sarnia deserved answers.

Mr. Speaker, how has this government ignored the people and the workers in Chemical Valley for so many years—for almost a decade? It’s astonishing.

Hon. Chris Ballard: I’m delighted to respond to the member opposite. I think since my time in the House it’s the first time I’ve heard a question like this about Sarnia, quite frankly.

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Chief government whip.

Hon. Chris Ballard: Let me tell you this, Speaker: It’s a fundamental fact that everyone—every person in this great country, this great province of ours—deserves clean air to breathe, clean water to drink and clean land to walk upon. We continue to reflect that in the actions of this government, everything from eliminating dirty coal plants to moving forward with our government’s climate change action plan.

The air quality has improved over the past 10 years. We recognize there’s more to be done and we will support—

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Thank you.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Smart enough not to look at me.

Supplementary?

Mr. Patrick Brown: Again to the Minister of the Environment: The minister pretends they haven’t heard of this. The member from Sarnia–Lambton has responses from three Liberal ministers saying that they’re not responding. This has been brought up for nine years, so it’s a little too convenient to say you haven’t heard about it when your ministers have responded in writing. We have proof that you did not take this seriously.

In Sarnia, Mr. Speaker, there is a term the government uses: “no field response.” It has become well known because it is associated with the government’s failure to take action and protect the people in Chemical Valley. When there is a report of an environmental concern in Sarnia, it always seems to be that the government’s response is “no field response.”

There’s a joint report that reveals a detailed incident in 2014 where 338 kilograms of ammonia were spilled. It received from the government “no field response.” Same thing in March of 2014, and again in January 2016, when SO 2 emissions were well beyond regulations.

I’m tired of the no response—

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Thank you.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Be seated, please. I’ve been getting signals, and I’m going to respond to them. The interjections will stop.

Minister.

Hon. Chris Ballard: Thank you, Speaker, and thank you for the opportunity to clarify. What I want to clarify is the fact that this is the first time I’ve heard the Leader of the Opposition talk about Sarnia. It’s nice to have some interest there.

Let me just say a few things. The Sarnia air action plan was initiated to address community concerns, improve local ministry programs and reduce the ambient concentrations of air contaminants identified as priorities in the Sarnia area.

By law, all spills must be reported to our Spills Action Centre. That centre is open 24/7 and takes all phone calls and addresses all of them. It’s open—

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Member from Dufferin–Caledon, come to order.

You can point to the clock all you want. Your own members were heckling.

Wrap-up sentence, please.

Hon. Chris Ballard: I just wanted to say, Speaker, that we’re going to continue our collaboration with the community, the indigenous organizations and business community in Sarnia to make sure we get it right.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Thank you.

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member from Prince Edward–Hastings, come to order.

Final supplementary?

Mr. Patrick Brown: Again to the Minister of the Environment: They may be operating 24/7, but when the only response we have to spills is no response, it’s not good enough. I’m sorry, Mr. Speaker, but he’s not taking it seriously enough. For nine years, the member from Sarnia–Lambton and his community have been fighting for the government to wake up and realize there’s a serious concern here, but they have not.

Another talking point from the government is that they have some of the strictest limits, but those limits don’t exist if they exempt companies as they have.

Critics have called this lack of oversight a clear example of environmental racism, and said that the government has turned their backs on First Nations communities. The Minister of the Environment says that everything’s fine and he is doing his job, but this isn’t the case. Mr. Speaker, we cannot ignore the—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Finish, please.

Mr. Patrick Brown: The minister is saying that they’ve had no warnings. They’ve had warnings in 2008, 2010 and 2016, but they’ve turned their back on the people of Chemical Valley.

Rather than point fingers, rather than say that everything is fine, will the minister finally take responsibility and stop letting down, stop failing, the people of Sarnia and Aamjiwnaang First Nation?

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Be seated, please. Thank you.

Minister?

Hon. Chris Ballard: I’m delighted to keep talking about the progress that the—

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member from Bruce–Grey–Owen Sound, come to order. We are now in warnings.

Carry on.

Hon. Chris Ballard: I’m delighted to be able to continue to talk about the things that we’re doing right across—

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member from Niagara West–Glanbrook is warned.

Hon. Chris Ballard: I’m delighted to continue talking about the things that we’re doing to improve air quality right across Ontario. We’re building on previous regulations to lower air pollution. We’re committed to funding a health study of local Sarnia residents. We’ve been very clear about that.

We’ll be announcing stricter regulations in the coming weeks, and as I said, we are committed to funding that science-based approach to understanding the localized impact of air pollution on the health of Sarnia residents.

Labour dispute

Mr. Patrick Brown: My question is for the President of the Treasury Board. Students want to learn, and the faculty want to teach, but as of midnight last night, Ontario colleges are on strike. Some 12,000 faculty and 500,000 students are impacted across the province. Will the Liberals assure the House that they will get both sides back to the bargaining table today?

Hon. Liz Sandals: Minister of Advanced Education.

Hon. Deborah Matthews: Thank you for the question. It’s very clear that students are our top priority, and our college students, who are not at school today, need to know that all sides are working with the students as the highest priority.

Our college system in Ontario is extraordinary. For 50 years, it has been training people. Over half a million people are actually taking courses right now. Nearly two million students over those 50 years have attended or graduated from our colleges, and they get terrific results—

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): If I knew who it was, they would be gone, I think.

Hon. Deborah Matthews: Some 90% of employers say that they are satisfied or very satisfied with the college grads. This is important work. We’re urging both sides to get back to the table.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Mr. Patrick Brown: Back to the minister: The college system is extraordinary, but when students aren’t in the classroom, students aren’t learning. They’re not learning at Algonquin, Cambrian, Canadore, Centennial, Collège Boréal, Conestoga, Confederation, Durham, Fanshawe, Fleming, George Brown, Georgian, Humber, La Cité collégiale, Lambton, Loyalist, Mohawk, Niagara, Northern, Sault, Seneca, Sheridan, St. Clair or St. Lawrence; 24 great colleges where students are not in the classroom.

That’s 24 colleges where faculty are on the picket lines fighting for a fair deal. That’s 24 colleges where we need provincial leadership, so we have students in the classroom. My question, Mr. Speaker, directly to the Deputy Premier, is: What is the Premier doing today to make sure that both sides are back at the bargaining table and we have students back in the classroom?

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Be seated, please. Thank you.

Minister?

Hon. Deborah Matthews: On this side of the House we actually respect the collective bargaining process. Of course we want both sides to get back to the table. We want students back in the classroom as quickly as possible. We believe in post-secondary education. We believe in eliminating financial barriers to students in colleges and in universities, which is why we have totally transformed OSAP. We’re seeing tremendous success with the changes to OSAP: Over 50,000 more students have applied for OSAP this year than at the same time last year.

We believe in post-secondary education. Our record is very, very strong. I wish, course, that both sides will get back and resolve this dispute.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Final supplementary?

Mr. Patrick Brown: Back to the minister: The minister is talking about OSAP. Student assistance is something we all support, but if you can’t actually have a classroom to go into, what does that do? We need to have classrooms where students can learn, and the government is not taking this seriously.

How about respecting the faculty? How about respecting the students? How about understanding the urgency that exists here? They can’t do this while they’re out of the classroom. Students can’t learn in and appreciate our extraordinary college system if they’re not in school.

I know that one day of a strike is too long. The government can just ignore this and allow it to go on, but I want, and what I’m pushing for, is that we get a commitment that the Premier is going to take this seriously and the Premier is going to do everything she can to get both sides back to the table and get students back in class.

Hon. Deborah Matthews: Under the Colleges Collective Bargaining Act, 2008, the employers are represented by the College Employer Council, and they have the exclusive right and responsibility to negotiate. The government itself is not at the table.

However, Speaker, we are committed to the success of our college students. If the member opposite actually wanted to support students, he would be supporting our policy on free tuition.

Hospital funding

Ms. Andrea Horwath: My first question is for the Acting Premier. Brantford General Hospital has been operating well over capacity throughout 2017. According to internal documents released this morning, Brantford hospital’s acute care beds reached a shocking 120% capacity in January. I just want to remind the government that 85% capacity is considered the safe level of occupancy in hospitals.

We’ve seen numbers similar to this, Speaker, over and over again for hospitals all across the province. Why isn’t the government taking the problem of hospital overcrowding and hallway medicine seriously?

Hon. Deborah Matthews: Minister of Health and Long-Term Care.

Hon. Eric Hoskins: We absolutely are taking the priorities of our hospitals as our priority. That’s why we invested an additional half a billion dollars for operating costs for hospitals around this province in this year’s budget. It followed a similar amount of money, roughly a half a billion dollars, last year.

But, Mr. Speaker, we’re working very closely with Brantford hospital. In fact, Brantford is facing a number of challenges. We have a supervisor in place there who is dealing with a broad range of challenges that that important community hospital is facing.

We increased their budget this year alone by $3 million, but, most importantly, we’re taking the good advice of our supervisor who is working with the front-line staff, with the administrators of the hospital and with the community to make sure that that community hospital is able to serve effectively in all ranges, including capacity, the number of beds that are available, the state of their ER, all aspects, that it’s able to serve that community well.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Speaker, it would seem that the members opposite have not been listening to patients, to families and to health care workers on the front lines. Brantford general is also struggling to keep up with demand in its mental health beds. The hospital reached 108% last summer in terms of capacity and stayed well above the safe 85% capacity throughout 2017 in their mental health beds.

Does the government believe that it’s okay for Brantford General Hospital to be at 120% capacity of its acute care beds and 108% capacity of its mental health care spaces?

Hon. Eric Hoskins: Our attention is focused on the Brant Community Healthcare System, the Brantford hospital particularly, because, as I mentioned, we have—it’s an unusual situation in this province—a supervisor in place. The board has been dissolved, Mr. Speaker. We have a supervisor, who is there because we understand that there are a number of challenges being faced, and we want that supervisor working with the local community and the hard-working administrators and front-line health care staff at Brant, to provide the best quality of care to the community that it serves. That is our objective.

We are doing that in the face of making substantial investments, as I mentioned; more than three million new dollars this year alone is going to Brant. A lot of that investment, in fact, is going specifically to address some of the wait-time challenges that they’re facing. But, Mr. Speaker, with the supervisor in place, we continue to support the efforts of the health care system in Brant as they work towards delivering the highest quality of care for the patients in that community.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Final supplementary?

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Speaker, what’s unfortunately not unusual in this province is overcapacity hospital beds from one end of Ontario to the other. Hospital administrators and front-line health care workers are doing everything they can with what they’ve been given by this Liberal government, but it’s not enough.

Hospitals in Peterborough, Brantford, Etobicoke, Brampton, Toronto and Oshawa are all overcrowded and the Premier has seen the proof in the numbers. She has seen the proof in the horror stories that are flooding into her office, I’m sure, as they are into every office of every MPP in this House, and she has seen the proof in the form of a public letter from the Ontario Hospital Association, calling on her to immediately fund hospitals at an adequate level.

What else do the people of Ontario need to do to make the government take this crisis in our hospitals seriously?

Hon. Eric Hoskins: Well, Mr. Speaker, here’s what we should not do: We should not take our lead from the NDP when they were in government, when they closed 24% of the acute care beds in the entire province, or when they closed 13% of all the mental health beds in the province. The PCs, as I’ve mentioned frequently, closed almost 10,000 hospital beds. The NDP closed 9,600 hospital beds during their brief tenure as government.

We won’t take our advice from their track record, which is massive closure of hospital beds, massive cuts to the hospital system and to the health care budget as a whole. We won’t do that. We’ve been investing in our hospitals year after year after year, and we will continue to do so.

Environmental protection

Ms. Andrea Horwath: My next question is also for the Acting Premier. This weekend we learned through shocking news reports that the people of Sarnia have been exposed to dangerous toxic chemicals for many, many years, the result of industrial leaks from the city’s Chemical Valley. There were over 500 separate incidents in Sarnia in 2014 and 2015, including one leak in 2014 that saw an unsafe level of benzene released into the atmosphere. The toxic plume reached nearby residential neighbourhoods, but families were never told what the odour was or if it was dangerous.

Can the Acting Premier explain why the people of Sarnia were not warned by the Ministry of the Environment about a cancer-causing chemical wafting towards their front doors?

Hon. Deborah Matthews: Minister of the Environment and Climate Change.

Hon. Chris Ballard: Thank you for that important question, as usual. I’ll start by restating a very fundamental fact to this government, Speaker, and to all of us here in the House: that every person in Ontario deserves to breathe clean air. We continue to reflect that very fundamental philosophy in all of the actions that we undertake in this government, everything from eliminating dirty coal plants to moving forward with our climate change action plan.

The general air quality in Sarnia has improved over the past 10 years, in part because we are listening and consulting with indigenous communities. We are listening and consulting with the public and with business in those areas to make sure that we get it right as we tighten regulations.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Speaker, philosophical platitudes are useless when there is a toxic plume wafting up to your front door. The February 8, 2014 spill saw benzene levels in the air as high as 50 parts per billion, 22 times the provincial standard.

Benzene is carcinogenic. The World Health Organization says that no amount of benzene can be considered safe. This incident risked the lives—the health, at least—of every single person in Sarnia, yet the Ministry of the Environment, whose job it is to investigate when spills happen, didn’t even bother to send someone out to see what went wrong.

When did the minister and when did the Premier learn of this dangerous spill?

Hon. Chris Ballard: I’m glad for the opportunity to be able to talk about benzene, which we know is a very dangerous chemical. Benzene levels in Sarnia have greatly decreased compared to what they were in the 1980s and the 1990s. In fact, the annual average benzene concentration is now about a third of what it was 25 years ago. But, you know, that’s not good enough, so in 2016, a new air standard for benzene came into effect.

It resulted in seven petrochemical- and petroleum-refining facilities in the Sarnia area taking action to reduce benzene emissions through technical standards by applying the best available technology. We’re going to continue to push to make sure the air gets cleaner all the time.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Final supplementary.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: The government and the Premier just can’t seem to get the basics right, whether it’s skyrocketing hydro bills, overcrowded hospitals or chronic chemical spills and leaks that endanger the lives of people in Sarnia.

In 2009, the government agreed to review the cumulative air pollution in hot spots like Sarnia. In 2009, they made a commitment to do the heavy lifting, to research what was happening in these hot spots when it comes to cumulative air pollution. Eight years later, the results of the review are nowhere to be seen. “Has the review happened?” is my question to this government. Has it happened, and where are the results?

Hon. Chris Ballard: I’m really delighted to be able to talk about our commitment to funding a health study to understand the localized impacts of air pollution on Sarnia residents. I think understanding the localized impact is what’s really key in terms of figuring out how to move ahead. We’ll also be taking some further steps to ensure that the air quality has improved.

Last week, I was in Sarnia. I was meeting with First Nations to hear their concerns first-hand. I’m committed to building on previous efforts to reduce air pollution and ensure all Ontarians have clean air to breathe. We are committed to that study, Mr. Speaker.

Correctional services

Mr. Rick Nicholls: My question is to the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services. Ontario’s corrections system is a disaster and our probation and parole system is a joke. Jails are overcrowded, and cellblock violence is out of control. Most inmates are held in maximum security without access to rehab programs. Assaults on correctional officers and staff have more than doubled over the past seven years. Sadly, these detention centres are often understaffed and often lack the resources to deal with the violence.

Regarding probation and parole, often the only contact between a criminal and a probation officer happens when the offender visits the probation office. After the offender leaves, there is little to no follow-up, again because of a lack of resources. Check the report by the independent adviser on corrections reform if you doubt what I’m saying.

The Liberal Party has done nothing to fix the problems in the past 14 years. To the minister: Why have the Liberals allowed the crisis in corrections to fester so long?

Hon. Marie-France Lalonde: I appreciate, actually, the member opposite for his question this morning because I want to say thank you to the men and women who work in our institutions and commend them for their enormous work all across—we have 26 institutions.

Certainly, our ultimate goal is a truly modern and compassionate system, whether it’s through working with the Ministry of Health to ensure better health care outcomes in our system or through the construction of two new facilities, in Ottawa and Thunder Bay, which will serve as models of innovation and renewal. I am proud of the progress that we’re making, Mr. Speaker.

Just so the member opposite knows, our government’s plan to transform Ontario’s corrections system did not start today. I want to read a few things that he always tends to forget: We hired over 1,600 new correction officers, we created 60 new mental health nurses—

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Thank you. Supplementary?

Mr. Rick Nicholls: Back to the minister: Over the weekend, I published an opinion piece on Ontario’s crisis in corrections. It appeared in the Toronto Sun and I shared it on Twitter. I appreciated the favourable responses from correction officers and my constituents, but I was shocked at the fatuous response from the director of communications for the corrections minister. He broadcast a series of false accusations and personal attacks against me. He deleted his most offensive tweet but failed to apologize. The conversation can otherwise still be seen on my Twitter feed.

I have been on top of this file for years. I have a strong personal relationship with correctional officers and I have their backs and they have mine. I’ve spoken about the crisis in corrections many times in this House. To suggest otherwise, Speaker, is preposterous and mendacious.

Minister, did you instruct your director of communications to reply to my op-ed in that boorish manner, and will you apologize?

Hon. Marie-France Lalonde: I hear the questions, but I want to continue because the op-ed was referring to what we have not done in this crisis in corrections. I want to say, as I visited institutions in the past months, every single institution that I visited actually made reference to the track record of this party as to all the cuts and the privatization that they’ve tried.

Let’s go back to the point here, Mr. Speaker. I have to say, we created 60 new mental health nurses and enhanced our mental health training. We introduced new and improved policies on segregation. The member opposite and the PC Party seem to be capable of uninformed criticism and incapable of putting forward an actual plan. Since that party’s people have no plan, I can only judge them on their record.

Hydro One

Mr. Peter Tabuns: To the Acting Premier: Nearly two years ago, the Premier gave Hydro One a $2.6-billion departure tax gift, wiping away a departure tax that became due at the time of sell-off. The rules set by the Ontario Energy Board say that tax benefits like this must go to ratepayers. But instead, Hydro One demanded that its private investors keep the benefit and not ratepayers. On October 13, the Ontario Energy Board sided with Hydro One, giving its private investors 71% of this $2.6-billion tax gift.

Why didn’t the government direct the OEB to stick to its own precedent and give 100% of this tax benefit to ratepayers, as the NDP demanded a year ago?

Hon. Deborah Matthews: To the Minister of Energy.

Hon. Glenn Thibeault: When it comes to the Ontario Energy Board, let’s start in recognizing that they are an independent regulator with a mandate to protect the interests of Ontario ratepayers.

Interjections.

Hon. Glenn Thibeault: I know they can heckle, Mr. Speaker. They like it one day, they don’t like it the next, but those are the facts.

The board reduced Hydro One’s ask by $278 million over two years for administrative and capital expenditure costs. This was a reduction of almost 10% of what they asked for. This is a great example of the OEB’s strong record of denying hydro companies all that they ask for and reviewing rate applications with the consumer in mind first.

Over the past 10 years, the OEB has denied or reduced the outcome of rate applications many times: in 2010, with Hydro One, when it asked for a rate increase on distribution; in 2012, when Ontario Power Generation applied for a 6.2% rate increase. The OEB’s mandate is to protect the interest of ratepayers and they’re doing just that.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Mr. Peter Tabuns: Again to the Acting Premier: Astonishingly, the privatized Hydro One was not satisfied with 71% of that $2.6-billion tax gift from the provincial government. Imagine: Hydro One is actually taking the OEB to court to demand that it gets 100% of that tax gift.

Clearly, the privatized Hydro One will not accept regulation by the OEB and will do whatever it can to claim profits for its private investors at ratepayer expense. The privatized Hydro One will even sue the OEB and demand that ratepayers continue paying $2.6 billion for taxes the government is no longer making it pay.

Will the government stop the privatized Hydro One from extracting another $2.6 billion from ratepayers?

Interjections

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Be seated, please. Be seated, please. Thank you.

Hon. Glenn Thibeault: The province is going to continue to review the decision carefully and monitor the appeal as it moves through the process, but, again, this is being done by the independent arm’s length regulator of the province’s energy sector, the OEB.

As part of that decision, as I said before, the board reduced Hydro One’s ask by $278 million over two years for administrative and capital expenditure costs. This is a reduction of almost 10% of what Hydro One asked for. When you’re talking about cuts, let’s not forget that our fair hydro plan reduced everyone’s bills by 25% on average right across the province and also helped small businesses and farms.

The appeals of OEB decisions are not uncommon. In 2013, OPG appealed a pension ruling which was later ruled upon by the Supreme Court of Canada. The province, again, will continue to review this decision carefully and monitor the appeal as it moves through the process.

Small business

Mr. Yvan Baker: My question is for the minister responsible for small business. Minister, in Etobicoke Centre, in my riding, we have many small businesses but even more so we have many small business owners that call Etobicoke Centre home.

As you know—you’ve heard me say it before—my background is in business, and I used to consult to businesses. In fact, I actually at one point owned my own small business, so you won’t be surprised to hear that I want to ask you about the fact that we’re marking the start of Small Business Week in Canada.

It’s important for everyone to know that Ontario has one of the strongest, most vibrant small business communities in Canada. Small businesses actually make up 98% of businesses in Ontario. It’s important that we acknowledge their hard work and their contributions.

My question to you, Minister, is: Can you tell us what our government is doing to support small business in Ontario?

Hon. Jeff Leal: I want to thank the member from Etobicoke Centre for his question this morning.

He’s right; he had a very distinguished career in the business community here in Toronto, and, of course, just recently he was very active with the Bloor Street West BIA for the Ukrainian festival in his community.

We want to make sure that we continue to foster the right conditions for more than 400,000 small businesses in Ontario to succeed and grow. Just this morning I joined the Ontario Chamber of Commerce to announce our partnership on a new service we’re launching to better support small businesses called Small Business Access. This new service will help entrepreneurs and small businesses better access tools to start and grow a business, but that’s not all; we’re also designating 33% of government contracts to small businesses by the year 2020 and further improving the procurement process for small business. These measures are just some of what’s to come.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Mr. Yvan Baker: Thank you, Minister. It’s great to hear that you’re doing all this important work.

As someone who was a small business owner, I know that business people take on a lot of risks. They don’t just work hard, but they also invest a lot of their own capital; they put aside their careers to pursue their small businesses. These small businesses end up providing a livelihood not just for them and their families, but they create jobs for hundreds of thousands of other Ontarians—really, millions of other Ontarians—so I’m glad to hear about the measures you’re talking about.

When I speak to small business owners, Minister, I often hear about other things that the government could do to help small business owners: Sometimes they talk to me about input costs; sometimes they talk to me about regulations.

So as much as I’m glad to hear about the things you’ve just spoken about, can you tell us more about what you’re doing to help small businesses?

Hon. Jeff Leal: I want to thank the member for Etobicoke Centre for his supplementary.

I’ve had the opportunity to hear from small business owners across the province about the challenges that they face and how our government can help them succeed in a changing global economy, which is why we’ve made a commitment to working with these small businesses to create the conditions for them to succeed. We’ve already eliminated the capital tax and lowered the small business tax rate to 4.5%.

We’re cutting electricity costs by 25% for 500,000 small businesses and farms, and we’ll introduce measures to save businesses millions by cutting red tape and reducing unnecessary burdens through Bill 154, the Cutting Unnecessary Red Tape Act, 2017. We will continue to work with small business owners, leaving no stone unturned, as we evaluate options to help them benefit from the strong economic growth being witnessed in every corner of this province.

Small business

Mr. Monte McNaughton: My question is to the minister of small business. It’s Small Business Week, which is always a great opportunity to recognize the dedication of the hard-working people running the local businesses that are the lifeblood of our communities.

Unfortunately, this year, Small Business Week comes at a time when many local businesses are on their heels after a decisive one-two punch from the Liberals. While Prime Minister Trudeau hikes their taxes from Ottawa, the Ontario Liberals are rushing to hike the minimum wage. This is on top of the battering they’ve taken from high hydro rates, high taxes and an enormous debt that keeps tax relief out of reach.

Is this government ever going to stand up for small business owners and family farms?

Hon. Jeff Leal: I want to thank the honourable member for his question this morning. I know that he has a background in small business. I think his family owned a Home Hardware in Wallaceburg, Ontario, so he has some background in this area.

I want to say that we’ve made some real moves over the last number of years. We eliminated the capital tax and lowered the small business tax rate to 4.5%, which is one of the most competitive small business tax rates across Canada. We’ve reduced electricity costs by 25% for 500,000 small businesses and farms across the province of Ontario.

We’ve been out chatting with small businesses in every part of the province of Ontario, and we’re looking forward to when my colleague the Minister of Finance presents the fall economic statement in the not-too-distant future to see what measures may be contained in there to allow small businesses to grow in every part of the province of Ontario.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary.

Mr. Monte McNaughton: Back to the minister: The families running the businesses on Main Street in Ontario don’t want to hear a bunch of political jargon from this Liberal government. They want respect for the work they do and real answers to their concerns.

From the Ontario Chamber of Commerce to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business to the FAO, entrepreneurs and economists alike are telling this government that they’re on the wrong track. But the government continues to turn a deaf ear. For a government that seems to think the solution to every problem is a conversation, it’s been shockingly difficult to get the Liberals to answer the outcry from small businesses. You hear it in coffee shops, town halls and constituency offices. Local businesses and farmers have been clear: These proposed changes will hurt their businesses and their families.

How can this government continue to insist they know better than small business owners, economists and even their own FAO?

Hon. Jeff Leal: I want to thank the member for his question and his supplementary. In fact, I’ve been visiting chambers right across the province of Ontario. Let me tell you, both my local chamber of commerce in Peterborough and the Ontario Chamber of Commerce provided us with a valuable analysis and options that we’re going to look at. As we say, when it comes to what measures we may look at down the road, we’re leaving no stone unturned. Everything is on the table according to what options we look at.

But the member’s position is not quite the same as my good friend the member from Dufferin–Caledon, who, last Wednesday—I was at an announcement in her riding with Mars. That Mars company told us that they have absolute confidence in the growth of the economy in the province of Ontario.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Stop the clock. Just a reminder, we’re in warnings—just let everybody remember that.

New question.

Labour dispute

Ms. Peggy Sattler: My question is to the Premier. This morning, more than 500,000 students woke up to learn that they would not be going to class today. One of those students, Calvin McDonnell, who is in his final year of the environmental technology program at Fanshawe College, contacted me to share some very real concerns. He is worried that the laboratory experiments he requires for graduation will have to be restarted, potentially pushing back the completion date for his program. He is already carrying huge OSAP loans and is concerned about having to take on more debt.

What is this Liberal government doing to get the parties back to the bargaining table and ensure that students like Calvin are able to graduate on time, without shouldering an increased debt load?

Hon. Deborah Matthews: Students like Calvin are exactly who we are thinking about. I know faculty, I know administration—everybody wants to get back into the classroom. It’s where students want to be and it’s where faculty want to be.

The collective bargaining process is at play here. We urge both sides to get back to the table. I’m hopeful that that will happen and a resolution will be reached soon.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Ms. Peggy Sattler: I also heard from landscape design students at Fanshawe who have booked flights and purchased equipment for the program’s annual education-abroad opportunity in Italy and Spain. Many of the costs they have paid are non-refundable and the entire trip is now in jeopardy. If the trip is cancelled, there are students who will have nowhere to live because they’ve given up their apartments and they may not be able to complete their academic year.

Faculty want fairness and students want opportunities to learn. What is this Liberal government doing to get both faculty and students back into classrooms, while making sure that students are not forced to carry an increased financial burden because of the strike?

Hon. Deborah Matthews: Reading between the lines, I almost think I’m hearing the member opposite suggest that we legislate them back. I don’t think that is a position that the NDP would typically have, so I’m just going to assume that that is not their advice.

What I can tell you is that there are students who are not in class today. We want both sides back together and we want to reach an agreement as soon as possible. This is what colleges exist for. They’re extraordinary institutions doing very, very good work. The faster they can get back together, the better.

Public transit

Ms. Harinder Malhi: My question is for the Minister of Transportation. Our government has made a clear commitment to expanding transit and transportation options in every corner of the province. I know that in Brampton we’re seeing critical investments, like the Hurontario LRT and GO regional express rail. These projects will bring better connections to more residents in my community, making it easier for them to get to school and to work and home again, faster than they do now.

But we need to make sure that our transit network is affordable, so that commuters can make the choice to hop on board. That is why I’m very pleased to hear that our government has taken a major step forward to reduce the cost of transit for people who rely on it each and every day.

Speaker, through you to the minister, would the minister please provide more information on exactly how we’re making transit more affordable for commuters in the GTHA?

Hon. Steven Del Duca: I want to begin by thanking the member from Brampton–Springdale for her question and for her advocacy on behalf of her community.

Just after the House adjourned for our constituency break, I was very pleased to be joining both Premier Kathleen Wynne and Mayor John Tory, the mayor of Toronto, to announce a historic agreement that will make it both easier and more affordable for commuters to get around our entire region.

Effective this coming January, when using your Presto card it will cost only $1.50 to ride the TTC if your trip involves a transfer with GO Transit or the Union Pearson Express. That is half the cost of the regular TTC fare. This will have a significant impact on the pocketbooks of our commuters. On an average weekday, 25,000 commuters from across the region make this exact connection, this exact trip. Those 25,000 individuals will save up to $720 per year on their commute.

Our government will keep working hard to make the commute easier and more affordable for the people across the region that we are proud to represent.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary.

Ms. Harinder Malhi: Thank you to the minister for his answer.

During this past constituency week, I heard from countless residents in my community who are pleased about the approximate $720 in savings for the upcoming year. I know this will help more than just current commuters. By making transit more affordable, we will encourage even more residents of the region to leave their cars at home. And we all know that getting cars off the road reduces congestion, which helps our economy grow and supports a clean environment that will be here for future generations.

I know that our government, under the leadership of our Premier, is working extremely hard to create a truly regional transit network that works for commuters and consistently attracts new ones. Would the minister please provide an update on what our government is doing to create that network, as well as some progress to date?

Hon. Steven Del Duca: I thank the member for her follow-up question.

Over the last number of days, in addition to the specific announcement around the significant savings that we’re going to be providing to commuters across the region starting in January with our discounted fares, just a few days ago I was in Durham, I was in Whitby at what’s known as the East Rail Maintenance Facility. This is more than half a million square feet adjacent to the 401 that’s going to help us deal with maintenance and the upkeep for our vehicles as we build GO regional express rail.

This morning, I was with the member from Ajax–Pickering. We were at the Ajax GO station. That’s a particular GO station in our network that has seen massive upgrades and improvements over the last number of years.

Again, I want to stress: As our government continues to enhance service in every corner of the GTHA, starting in January, we are going to make it significantly more affordable for commuters to connect between GO and the TTC or the Union Pearson Express and the TTC. An average of roughly $700 a year in annual savings while we’re enhancing their service is good news for everybody.

Mental health services

Mr. Bill Walker: My question is to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care.

For 14 years, this Liberal government has made life harder for Ontario families. We see the proof in the rise in mental health-related emergency department visits. The Hanover and District Hospital has been forced to contract police officers at a great cost to watch over some of these patients, who are a danger to themselves and to others. Tragically, we’re also seeing the proof in the growing number of suicides. This is a crisis that’s destroying entire families in our great province.

Despite your multiple capacity reviews and the Moving on Mental Health strategy, Minister, please tell me—tell the people of Ontario—how many more children and people have to die by suicide before you take real action to stop this crisis?

Hon. Eric Hoskins: For a while, I was completely aligned with the member opposite. I think we do share the same goal of providing the highest quality mental health services for all Ontarians. I’ve frequently said there can be no health without mental health, and that we need to look at mental health as the other side of the coin of physical health—two sides of the same coin. We need to invest at a level that provides that quality of care.

We are doing that, Mr. Speaker. We have doubled our mental health funding since coming into office to more than $1 billion, and our plan is to increase that funding by an additional $220 million over a period of three years.

We’re seeing that investment in very specific and tangible ways. We’re seeing that, for example, in Barrie, at the Royal Victoria hospital, where we have—I’m not sure if it’s opened yet—the soon-to-be opened acute mental health in-patient unit and outpatient unit specifically for children and youth, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Thank you. Supplementary?

Mr. Bill Walker: Back to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care: We do share a lot of thought processes, but you know what? You can find $25 billion for an election ploy, but you can’t find it for mental health.

I’m asking this question on behalf of the families, the families whose children you are letting slip through the cracks, who will be very disappointed to see you still haven’t got a solution.

One mother whose son, Tom, fell victim to these horrific wait times, explains that since Tom took his life, she takes 18 antidepressants a day. I quote: “I will probably be on medication forever ... mine is another illness that could have been prevented.”

Minister, the impact and your inaction on Ontario families is too great to ignore. I ask you: Can Judy Wisdom count on you today to take concrete action to stop the crisis in mental health?

Hon. Eric Hoskins: Mr. Speaker, let’s see if Hansard can keep up. We’ve added:

—$16 million to create 1,000 more supportive housing spaces over three years;

—$48 million to specialized mental health services at St. Joseph’s Care Group in Thunder Bay;

—$13 million for new primary mental health services at Regent Park in Toronto;

—$5 million to Youthdale Treatment Centres to open a 10-bed mental health unit for children and youth;

—$1.9 million through the government’s Youth Suicide Prevention Plan;

—$1.2 million for a new mental health and addictions crisis centre in London;

—$10 million to the Canadian Mental Health Association in Waterloo; and

—$6 million to hire approximately 80 new child and youth mental health workers.

The list goes on and on, including an investment of $80 million in this year’s budget for supportive housing, for cognitive behavioural therapy and other interventions specific to youth—youth wellness centres—that that member voted against.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Be seated, please. Thank you.

New question.

Environmental protection

Ms. Andrea Horwath: My question is for the Acting Premier. Over the Thanksgiving weekend, a toxic and foul-smelling cloud was emitted from the ArcelorMittal Dofasco site in Hamilton, sending a dark plume over the surrounding neighbourhoods as families were trying to enjoy their holidays.

This is the latest example of what is known in the steel industry as a process called “coffining.” Meanwhile, this emitter has failed to meet its air pollution compliance standards for 2017. Instead of enforcing his own standards, the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change has granted an extension.

Instead of granting extensions, will the minister come to Hamilton and figure out how to put a stop to the dangerous air pollution?

Hon. Deborah Matthews: To the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change.

Hon. Chris Ballard: Again, thank you for the question because it really speaks to the incident and very public concern and how seriously our ministry takes these types of accidental emissions.

Ministry staff met with Dofasco officials this past Friday to discuss the recent emissions, that incident and what actions the company is taking to reduce these types of incidents going forward. We’re told that the event was caused by a crane malfunction that required steel production to stop; excess molten iron had to be temporarily stored. They call it “coffining.” The emission happened when the molten iron was poured onto a damp coffining area.

The company will also be providing the ministry with quarterly reports so we can ensure the company is avoiding future incidents. We are discussing with the company. We will be meeting with the company to make sure this doesn’t happen.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Well, Speaker, we know that it is not impossible to comply with these air pollution standards. In fact, a similar steel facility nearby not only complies with the 2017 standards, but is currently exceeding the 2020 standards as well.

When the minister selectively enforces the rules for emitters, it’s not fair to businesses that follow the rules. Will the minister come to Hamilton himself, and will he meet with Environment Hamilton, with community groups, with businesses, with city councillors, local MPPs and other stakeholders to figure out how to put an end to these coffining events once and for all?

Hon. Chris Ballard: I’m open to continuing to discuss with all stakeholders how we can improve air quality, not only in Hamilton but in every city and town and area right across Ontario.

I know that our ministry staff has implemented increased observation and measurement of these coffining emissions from this particular facility. We are increasing the amount of observation we’re doing, we’re increasing the amount of monitoring we’re doing, and we’re going to really make sure that this particular facility doesn’t exceed those standards. We’re going to minimize emissions associated with those types of operations there.

Speaker, to summarize: I’m quite happy to continue to talk with stakeholders, not only in Hamilton but across Ontario.

Public libraries

Ms. Sophie Kiwala: My question is to the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport. Public Library Week gives us another chance to explore our local libraries and all that they have to offer. In 2015, 1,134 library service points across Ontario received over 72 million in-person visits. Our libraries help children learn, provide resources for students and help small businesses and entrepreneurs.

Last week, the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport was at the Burlington Central Library to help launch Ontario Public Library Week and to announce the short list for the public library service awards, one of the nominees being from my riding, Kingston Frontenac Public Library for Viva Voce and the Juvenis Festival, building youth capacity in the arts.

Mr. Speaker, through you to the minister, can she tell the members of this House more about library week?

Hon. Eleanor McMahon: Thank you to the member for the riding of Kingston and the Islands not only for her question but for her advocacy on behalf of libraries in her communities and beyond.

I’m pleased to announce a special initiative to celebrate library week called Together We Read: Ontario, a collaboration between two agencies of my ministry, the Ontario Media Development Corp. and the Southern Ontario Library Service. This joint initiative will highlight the work of talented Ontario authors by way of a provincial e-book club. During this week, Together We Read will feature two weeks, actually, of unlimited access to the e-book version of The Sweetest One by Melanie Mah, winner of the 2017 Trillium Book Award.

As well as providing fiction titles for our reading pleasure, our libraries support lifelong learning, provide resources for students and newcomers, and help small businesses and entrepreneurs thrive, as resource centres and community hubs across Ontario.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Ms. Sophie Kiwala: Thank you to the minister for that response. Libraries are the pillars of knowledge in our cities, towns and local communities. Not only are they a resource to grab your favourite literary titles, but they’re an integral tool when it comes to supporting our educational institutions.

The services that libraries provide help to expand the knowledge and insight of the communities that they serve, and are meant to connect people to resources in a way that is accessible and efficient, similar to the way that the Kingston Frontenac Public Library had a mobile unit at my barbecue this summer, and actually lent out books right there in the park. The digital services funds will help to achieve that accessible and efficient level of service.

Mr. Speaker, can the wonderful Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport please explain how this fund will support communities on a local level?

Hon. Eleanor McMahon: Thank you to the member for that question. As the member noted, libraries are essential spaces and are a vehicle to spread knowledge within our communities. That’s why we’re continuing to make investments in libraries across Ontario.

In fact, I’m delighted to say that we made this announcement, attended by library leaders from the Ontario Library Association, at the beautiful main branch of the Burlington Public Library. I’m also pleased to announce that the Burlington Public Library will receive nearly $25,000 from the Improving Library Digital Services fund, and the Kingston Frontenac Public Library board will receive more than $33,000. These are just two examples that are part of the $3-million investment that we’re making province-wide.

Speaker, under this government’s culture strategy, we made a pledge to continue to support services like libraries, to contribute to and enhance the quality of life of our communities. We’re very proud of our investments, and we’re looking forward to continuing them.

Human trafficking

Ms. Laurie Scott: My question is to the Minister of Community and Social Services. The terrible crime of human sex trafficking can be found in every corner of Ontario, increasingly in our small cities and towns. In fact, Kawartha/Haliburton Victim Services in my riding has helped 21 human sex trafficking victims since December alone. It’s a shocking statistic in a community like Lindsay.

A group of victim service providers from Haliburton, Kawartha Lakes, Peterborough and Northumberland applied for support from the government’s Anti-Human Trafficking Community Supports Fund, but they were rejected. So were front-line organizations in Kingston, Belleville, Prince Edward county, Orangeville, Leeds–Grenville, Hamilton and Niagara, just to name a few.

My question is, will the minister ensure that front-line organizations like those in my region receive the support they need and deserve to save the lives of victims?

Hon. Helena Jaczek: Thank you very much for this really important question. I know that the member opposite is certainly a wonderful advocate in her own community for these services that are so vital. Of course, she must know that our strategy to end human trafficking has been launched and is extremely active.

The Minister of the Status of Women and I recently made a major announcement regarding funds available to communities to prevent, and assist with the survivors of, this heinous crime. We certainly are providing sustained community supports to help survivors repair their lives. We are providing more help to train our justice-sector partners to investigate and prosecute these crimes.

This is a very complicated situation, involving a number of our ministries, and we are doing everything we can to ensure that we help the survivors of human trafficking.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Ms. Laurie Scott: Back to the minister: It appears that the government’s approach is to wash their hands and say, “We spent the budget amount, and we’re done.” That’s not acceptable, Mr. Speaker. Saving the lives of human sex trafficking victims is not a bureaucratic box that you can just tick and move on from.

The government left many front-line victim services organizations with the impression that they would have access to much of the $72-million figure that the government often likes to quote. The truth is that they only ever had access to $18 million, one quarter of that amount.

How can this government claim to be doing enough when so many human trafficking survivors remain without the help they so desperately need?

Hon. Helena Jaczek: Mr. Speaker, I really do resent some of the implications of what was said by the member opposite. On this side of the House, we take this crime extremely seriously. We have established an anti-human trafficking office, led by a survivor of human trafficking herself. The Ministry of the Attorney General, the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services, the Ministry of the Status of Women and my ministry are all involved in having a very thoughtful approach to this particular problem.

It is not a simple problem. It takes coordinated action, and we ensure that those agencies that apply for funding are going to receive what they need to combat this crime in their area.

Visitor

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member from Windsor–Tecumseh on a point of order.

Mr. Percy Hatfield: On a point of order: I’d like to introduce a friend of mine in the members’ west gallery today, Blake Roberts, a former CBC colleague. He teaches political science at Wayne State University in Detroit and at the University of Windsor. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Welcome.

There being no deferred votes, this House stands recessed until 1 p.m. this afternoon.

The House recessed from 1141 to 1300.

Introduction of Visitors

Ms. Jennifer K. French: I would like to welcome Christopher Torres, who is an organizer of the DREAMers campaign to protect undocumented Americans. He’s in Toronto this week to speak at an event celebrating the first-year anniversary of the Institute for Change Leaders.

I would also like to welcome John Chan and Olivia Chow, who I’m sure we all recognize. Olivia is a distinguished visiting professor with Ryerson University, the founder of the Institute for Change Leaders and former member of Parliament for the riding of Trinity–Spadina.

Welcome to Queen’s Park.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Welcome. Further introduction of guests?

Miss Monique Taylor: It gives me great pleasure to welcome some guests who are up in the gallery this afternoon. We have Sherry Caldwell and her daughter Ashley, and we have Lynda Reusse and her daughter Vanessa. They are of the Ontario Disability Coalition and are here to hear a petition today. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Welcome. We`re glad you’re with us.

Interruption.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Is that applause for me, young lady? Well, thank you. I appreciate that.

Further introductions? Last call for introductions. Therefore, it’s time for members’ statements.

Members’ Statements

Local Government Week

Mr. Ernie Hardeman: This week is Local Government Week, and I’m pleased to rise today to applaud all of the mayors, councillors and employees across Ontario’s 444 municipalities and the work they do to provide services to their communities. As the critic for municipal affairs, I am proud to work with our local government partners to ensure that policies work for them and help them do their jobs effectively and efficiently.

Municipalities are a mature level of government and are an essential part of our democracy. It’s important that we work together with municipalities to deliver services by reducing the costs and burdens placed on our local governments. They need reliability and consistency from the provincial government to help them plan into the future and build thriving communities. The services we access every day are often provided by our dedicated, hard-working municipal employees. Municipalities maintain the roads we drive on, protect our neighbourhoods, provide the water we drink, and build a spirit of community through recreational programs.

I would like to thank our thousands of local elected officials and municipal employees in diverse roles, from engineering, public health and emergency services to public works, human resources and licensing. These community-minded professionals ensure that our municipalities are attractive places for residents and businesses to live, play, operate and grow.

I would like to wish all our municipalities a happy Local Government Week. But local government doesn’t just matter for one week; it matters every week.

Labour dispute

Mrs. Lisa Gretzky: I rise today in solidarity with Unifor members who work at Medical Laboratories of Windsor. They have been on strike since October 2. They are highly trained, skilled workers, yet Medical Labs of Windsor pays the lowest wages of any publicly funded private lab in Ontario. These workers are not asking for special treatment, just a fair deal. Employees at Windsor hospitals, which are also publicly funded, are receiving almost double the wages of Medical Labs of Windsor staff who are performing the same work. Medical Labs of Windsor claims that it’s not possible to pay even a living wage.

The millionaires who own and operate this company and receive public dollars to do so don’t want to give up their profits so that their employees can earn a living wage while providing vital services to our community. Instead, they are spending our tax dollars on unskilled scab workers who are exchanging blood samples in parking lots and testing them in off-site locations like the backroom of a photo studio.

Services provided by private labs used to be administered only through publicly funded hospitals, but privatization of our health care system in Ontario has contracted out these services to private labs. This Liberal government has allowed corporations to put profit before people.

This government needs to support the Medical Labs of Windsor staff, ensure they are making an equitable wage, and stop the privatization of health care in Ontario.

Community events

Mr. Lorenzo Berardinetti: I’m pleased to rise in the House this afternoon to talk about my annual fall community barbecue that was held recently at the West Scarborough Neighbourhood Community Centre in my riding of Scarborough Southwest.

The weather was great, the turnout was incredible and the community spirit was shown by our local residents who really made it one of the best barbecues we’ve ever had. In addition to food and refreshments, there was a DJ, we had face painting stations, balloon animals and our annual door prizes. Everyone had a wonderful time. It was really great to chat and reconnect with so many residents from the community.

First, I would like to thank everyone who attended, especially staff from the West Scarborough Neighbourhood Community Centre. They did a lot of preparation beforehand and they also, at the end of the day, had to clean up, and they do their job very well. I would also like to give special thanks to my staff and all the wonderful volunteers who participated in this event. It was truly a community effort, and it could not have happened without the incredible generosity, hard work and support of everyone involved.

Events like this really make living in Scarborough Southwest nice, and I always look forward to these kinds of events. Besides our annual barbecue, we have, every year, an annual levee. Year after year, it’s getting larger and larger. The community comes out and supports these events. I’m looking forward to the New Year’s levee.

Small business

Mr. Monte McNaughton: I’m proud to rise today to recognize Small Business Week on behalf of the Ontario PC caucus.

Small businesses are truly the lifeblood of our communities: Almost 90% of people in Ontario are employed by a small business, and every single person relies on them in their daily life.

I came from a small business background myself. Growing up, I watched my parents work hard to grow the family business. Since I’ve been elected, I have talked to countless small business owners and farm families in Lambton–Kent–Middlesex and across Ontario. My admiration for their nerve and their dedication just continues to grow.

Hard-working`` is a term that gets thrown around a lot, but it doesn’t fully capture what small business owners and entrepreneurs put into their work and their communities. It doesn’t convey the blood, sweat and tears it demands of owners, their families and their employees seven days a week, 365 days a year.

This is a week to recognize the contributions of these folks, but also to bring awareness to the challenges they’re facing—from the sudden minimum wage hike, to hydro rates, high taxes, red tape and transit issues.

I want to take this opportunity to assure the small businesses of Ontario that the PC caucus is fighting to make sure you have the best possible chance to grow and prosper. This province and this government rely on you, and you deserve a government you can rely on in return.

Autumn Peltier

Mr. Michael Mantha: I always love talking about people from my riding of Algoma–Manitoulin, and this is no different. I want to talk today about Autumn Peltier. Autumn, along with her fellow Wikwemikong student advocate Francesca Pheasant, were chosen to represent Canada last fall at the Children’s Climate Conference in Sweden, where they were talking about climate change and presented a whole communiqué on behalf of the 64 youth in attendance to the Swedish environment minister and Deputy Prime Minister.

Autumn is the recipient of the Canadian Living Me to We Youth in Action Award. She was inspired by her aunt Josephine Mandamin, who taught her about the seven grandfather teachings—because she walked the shorelines of all five Great Lakes and was a recipient of the Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage Award for Excellence in Conservation, which is just fabulous.

She has also met with the Prime Minister, and delivered a message of concern and disappointment in regard to certain decisions that he made in regard to the environment.

Out of 169 nominees, she is the only Canadian who is up for the International Children’s Peace Prize award. I want to encourage her. I encourage all of my colleagues here, along with Ogimaa Duke Peltier, to go out, get informed and find out what this prize is, and that all Canadians get behind her and support her in her quest to be recognized for the children’s peace prize award 2017.

Hector Macmillan

Mr. Lou Rinaldi: I am honoured today—and sad—to talk about my good friend Mayor Hector Macmillan. I was totally honoured when I was asked by the family to speak during his funeral this past Saturday. We were good friends.

Hector—we referred to him as “Hec.” We both got elected in 2003, me provincially and him municipally. I really didn’t know Hector very much before that, Speaker, but shortly after his election he came to visit me with a bag in his hand. It was full of Empire Cheese and World’s Finest Chocolate, both of those businesses from Campbellford. I said, “Wow, what a great gesture.” But in the other hand he, as the mayor, had a list he needed for Trent Hills. It was a way to get to the end. Hector was like a bull, but in a nice way. He knew how to tackle issues and get results.

He came across some unfortunate health issues, with cancer, but during that process he worked so hard to make sure that as a government we understood the needs of the community—not just his community, not just the province, but I would say across the country and the world.

We didn’t always agree, but we had a mutual respect for each other and we became the best of friends. We talked at least every couple of weeks.

Speaker, I just want to conclude by saying—if you’ll allow me an extra second or so—that I want to thank his family—Sandy; his mother, Marg; his kids and grandkids—for allowing Hector to be what he was. He certainly made a better community to work, play and live in.

Hector, we’re going to miss you.

Hindu Heritage Month

Mrs. Gila Martow: I’m here with an invitation to all MPPs to come to celebrate the first-ever celebration of Hindu Heritage Month, just north of my riding. It’s on Yonge Street, at the grounds of the Vishnu Mandir, 8640 Yonge Street in Richmond Hill. The invitation comes directly from Dr. Budhendra Doobay, the chairman of the Voice of the Vedas Cultural Sabha, and Mr. Laj Prasher, who is chairman of the Hindu Heritage Month Celebration Committee.

I’ve spoken about Laj Prasher and his wonderful family before. They live in my riding of Thornhill. He’s very, very involved in the community with his wife, Surinder, and his son Raman. He’s got two sons, actually, and two daughters-in-law and five grandchildren, and they’ve lived in Thornhill, most of them, for the last 30 years. They’re very well-known on Centre Street because they have a gate with the Om symbol outside.

I just want to mention that the date of the celebration is going to be Saturday, November 4, from 11 till 3 o’clock. There’s a big tent that I think is already going up, and they’re going to be showcasing the Canadian Museum of Indian Civilization, Hinduism, a wall of peace, a peace park, arts and crafts, music and dance, and foods from the diaspora of people of Indian ancestry, including the Indian subcontinent and wherever Indians have been domiciled—and he gives the examples of Fiji, Africa, Mauritius and the Caribbean.

It’s a really unique opportunity, Mr. Speaker, to meet and mix with like-minded constituents of Ontario and elsewhere. I’m really looking forward to meeting many of the people in my community.

Pregnancy and infant loss

Mr. Mike Colle: Yesterday, October 15, was Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day across Ontario. That was a bill that we passed in this Legislature in 2015.

Groups of mothers got together all across Ontario to light a candle in memory of the children they’ve lost, either through stillbirth, through miscarriage, through early childhood death.

I know what they do here at the CN Tower and what they do in Niagara Falls. They light up the CN Tower in purple, pink and blue.

The good news is that because of the legislation we passed, there is a province-wide support system in place, out of Sunnybrook hospital and the PAIL Network, that helps women who experience pregnancy and infant loss. That’s a big giant step.

In fact, every year there are more than 30,000 Ontario women who experience stillbirth or pregnancy loss—30,000 every year.

The other good news is that last week, because of Ontario’s lead, Nova Scotia passed a similar bill. I want to give a shout-out to the MLA from Pictou East, Tim Houston—a Progressive Conservative, too—who got this private member’s bill passed in Nova Scotia, on his third time. So hats off to the people in Nova Scotia and all the people who worked together to recognize Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day on October 15, yesterday.

Near North Enviro-Education Centre

Mr. Norm Miller: I rise in the House today to celebrate the opening of the Near North Enviro-Education Centre in Sundridge. The centre’s opening marks the actualization of president and founder Jocelyn Palm’s vision to create a space committed to the development of leaders and practices that will foster environmental and economic sustainability. The centre’s mission is to help empower rural communities to become models for sustainable living by providing education, information, and hands-on learning opportunities focused on environmental sustainability, rural economic sustainability and social diversity.

During my visit to the centre, I was struck by Jocelyn’s desire to leave a positive and powerful legacy for future generations. We often think that development must come at a cost to the environment. I suggest that maintaining healthy ecosystems is critical to development.

Within my riding, the tourism industry is paramount. As we develop it, protecting our watersheds is critical. If we prioritize economic gains over protecting clean water, and in doing so pollute our lakes and rivers, we would see a collapse of tourism in the area. There’s a balance we must strive for, and I, for one, am grateful that innovative leaders such as Jocelyn Palm are attempting to drive the narrative that environmental sustainability and economic development are not at odds with one another, but go hand in hand.

I commend her strength and commitment to creating the centre and hope that it is the catalyst for change that she envisions.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): I thank all members for their statements.

Introduction of Bills

1428501 Ontario Limited Act, 2017

Mr. Rinaldi moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill Pr71,

An Act to Revive 1428501 Ontario Limited.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Is it the pleasure of the House that the motion carry? Carried.

First reading agreed to.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Pursuant to standing order 86, the bill stands referred to the Standing Committee on Regulations and Private Bills.

Motions

Private members’ public business

Hon. Deborah Matthews: I believe we have unanimous consent to put forward a motion without notice regarding private members’ public business.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The Deputy Premier is seeking unanimous consent to put forward a motion without notice. Do we agree? Agreed.

Minister.

Hon. Deborah Matthews: I move that, notwithstanding standing order 98(b), Mr. McMeekin, Mr. Rinaldi and Mr. Fraser exchange places such that Mr. Rinaldi assumes ballot item number 5, Mr. Fraser assumes ballot item number 8, and Mr. McMeekin assumes ballot item number 68; and that, notwithstanding standing order 98(g), notices for ballot items 5 and 8 be waived.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The Deputy Premier moves that, notwithstanding standing order 98—

Mr. Bob Delaney: Dispense.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Dispense? Dispense.

Agreed? Carried.

Motion agreed to.

Time allocation

Hon. Deborah Matthews: I believe we have unanimous consent to put forward a motion without notice regarding Bill 163, Safe Access to Abortion Services Act, 2017.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The Deputy Premier is seeking unanimous consent to put forward a motion without notice. Do we agree? Agreed.

Deputy Premier.

Hon. Deborah Matthews: I move that, notwithstanding any standing order or special order of the House relating to Bill 163,

An Act to enact the Safe Access to Abortion Services Act, 2017 and to amend the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act in relation to abortion services, when the bill is next called as a government order, three hours of debate shall be allotted to the second reading stage of the bill, apportioned equally among the recognized parties; and

That at the end of this time, the Speaker shall put every question necessary to dispose of the second reading stage of the bill without further debate or amendment and at such time the bill shall be ordered referred to the Standing Committee on General Government; and

That the committee be authorized to meet on Thursday, October 19, 2017, from 9 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. and from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. for the purpose of public hearings on the bill; and

That the Chair, in consultation with the Clerk, be authorized to make arrangements to advertise; and

That the deadline for written submissions be 6 p.m. on Thursday, October 19, 2017; and

That proposed amendments to the bill be filed with the Clerk of the Committee by 12 p.m. on Friday, October 20, 2017; and

That the committee be authorized to meet on Monday, October 23, 2017, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. for the purpose of clause-by-clause consideration of the bill; and

That the committee shall report the bill to the House no later than Tuesday, October 24, 2017; and

That, in the event that the committee fails to report the bill on that day, the bill shall be deemed to be passed by the committee and shall be deemed to be reported to and received by the House; and

That, upon receiving the report of the Standing Committee on General Government, the Speaker shall put the question for adoption of the report forthwith, and at such time the bill shall be ordered for third reading; and

That when the order for third reading of the bill is called, one hour of debate shall be allotted to the third reading stage of the bill, apportioned equally among the recognized parties; and

That at the end of this time, the Speaker shall interrupt the proceedings and shall put every question necessary to dispose of this stage of the bill without further debate or amendment; and

That the votes on second and third reading may be deferred pursuant to standing order 28(h); and

That, in the case of any division relating to any proceedings on the bill, the division bell shall be limited to five minutes.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The Deputy Premier moves that, notwithstanding any standing order or special—

Interjection: Dispense.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Dispense? Dispense.

Do we agree? Carried.

Motion agreed to.

Statements by the Ministry and Responses

Waste Reduction Week

Hon. Chris Ballard: I would like to take this opportunity to advise the honourable members that today is the first day of Waste Reduction Week in Canada. This evening, the CN Tower will be lit green and blue to mark this special occasion.

For the next week, people across our nation will be holding events to coincide with the themes planned for each day: Monday will focus on the circular economy; Tuesday will be textiles; on Wednesday, people will celebrate champions and innovators; Thursday’s theme is plastics; on Friday, people will concentrate on food waste; and on the weekend, we’ll highlight swap, share and repair.

These are just some of the ways Ontarians are showing their desire to get involved, but we also know that people want and expect their government to show leadership. This is what the Ontario government is doing. We recognize that diverting waste from landfill is not just about protecting our land and environment; it is central to fighting climate change and creating a better future for the planet.

If you look at the most recent year we have the numbers for—that would be 2015—Ontarians generated about 11.5 million tonnes of waste. Nearly 60% of this waste was generated by the industrial, commercial and institutional—the IC&I—sector, with 40% created by the municipal sector. Just over three million tonnes of that waste was diverted, meaning Ontarians sent eight million tonnes of waste to landfills. These eight million tonnes represent a significant loss of materials that could be put to productive use.

This is about us viewing waste as a resource. In fact, Speaker, it is estimated that for every 1,000 tonnes of waste diverted from landfill, we could create seven jobs and $360,000 in wages, and add more than $700,000 to our gross domestic product.

Along with the economic loss associated with landfill waste, it’s also the source of approximately 5% of our total greenhouse gas emissions in the province. In absolute terms, greenhouse gas pollution from Ontario’s waste has risen by 16% between 1990 and 2015, as we’ve increased the amount of waste sent to landfills. This is why our government is committed to transforming the way we address waste in Ontario. We’re moving beyond the linear “Make it, use it, dispose of it” model to a new model where we make productive use of materials for as long as possible.

Our government is showing leadership in moving Ontario towards this circular economy. Last November, we passed the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act and the Waste Diversion Transition Act. I want to highlight four things that these acts do, Mr. Speaker. The acts:

—encourage innovative recycling processes and get producers to assume full responsibility for the products and packaging they create;

—lower the cost of recycling and provide consumers with more convenient options for recycling;

—help reduce emissions of greenhouse gases associated with landfills; and

—overhaul Waste Diversion Ontario into the Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority, which is providing effective oversight and compliance and enforcement of the transition to the new producer responsibility regime and will continue to oversee producers’ performance once the transition is complete.

Earlier this year, we released our Strategy for a Waste-Free Ontario: Building the Circular Economy. The strategy is our road map to the circular economy, and it sets out 15 actions to help get us there.

Earlier this month, the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario released a special report on waste called Beyond the Blue Box, stating that the successful passage of the Waste-Free Ontario Act, 2016, was a significant achievement for our government. The report also identifies a number of considerations that we will take into account as we implement the waste-free Ontario framework and build a more circular economy. I’d like to thank the commissioner and her office for their thoughtful report on actions we can take to improve our work and better protect Ontario’s environment.

We’re now starting to wind up our existing diversion programs as we transition to the new producer responsibility framework. As one example, our Used Tires Program will wind down by the end of 2018. The ministry is now developing a regulation in its place to ensure that producers are environmentally accountable and financially responsible for recovering resources and reducing waste associated with their tires.

We’ve also initiated the first phase of the transition of the Blue Box Program. An amended program plan will be submitted to me by February 15, 2018. This amended plan will ensure a smooth transition that does not interrupt people’s access to blue box services while maintaining and improving them. Our new Blue Box Program will include an expanded list of recyclable materials, increase the diversion rate, and provide services across the province, including northern, rural and indigenous communities.

Right now, my ministry is drafting a framework to address food and organic waste. It will include an action plan, as well as a policy statement. We plan to release it in November for public consultation.

We’re also working with Second Harvest to pilot an online food rescue program aimed at preventing food from becoming waste in the first place by connecting companies with surplus food to give to those in need.

Beginning in 2018, the ministry will consider amendments to the 3Rs regulations—you know, reduce, reuse, recycle—to improve diversion in the industrial, commercial and institutional sectors.

We all have a role to play in reducing waste and transitioning our province to a circular economy. The Ontario government is transforming the way we deal with waste in this province and enabling all players, all sectors, to do their part.

During Waste Reduction Week, I encourage all of the members of this Legislature to redouble their own efforts to reduce waste and to support Waste Reduction Week through activities in their ridings.

Islamic Heritage Month

Hon. Laura Albanese: I rise today in recognition of Islamic Heritage Month, which is celebrated across Canada in October. This is Ontario’s inaugural celebration of Islamic Heritage Month. Bill 38,

An Act to proclaim the month of October Islamic Heritage Month in Ontario, was introduced last year and received unanimous support by all members of the Legislature.

I’d like to thank the member for London–Fanshawe for her early work on the legislation, as well as the member from Scarborough–Rouge River and the member from Etobicoke North, my parliamentary assistant, for co-sponsoring the bill. Finally, I’d like to thank all members of this House for their commitment to its passage.

Islamic history and culture encompass a broad range of individual and collective experiences. Islamic Heritage Month is an opportunity to reflect upon, to learn about and to celebrate the rich and long-standing history of Islam in our province.

It is also a time to reaffirm the important contributions that Muslims have made and continue to make as a key part of the economic, social, cultural and religious fabric of Ontario.

Mr. Speaker, the Muslim Canadian community has added much richness to Ontario, both culturally and economically, with many luminaries in literature, math, science, arts, culture, medicine and humanitarian initiatives who have been recognized through various honours, including the Order of Ontario, the province’s highest honour.

Ontario is home to more than 600,000 Muslims. Some are recent immigrants originating from various countries around the world, attracted to Ontario and its international reputation as a beacon of safety, tolerance and acceptance. Others have deep roots in Ontario. They were born here. They can look back on generations of family history and contributions in such wide-ranging areas as literature and the arts, in science, business and education, and in so many other fields.

Our great province, first inhabited by indigenous people, is home to millions of people with similarly diverse backgrounds and interests—people who have come here from over 200 different countries and speak more than 250 languages and dialects, all with their own cultures, traditions and faiths. As Ontarians, we treasure this diversity.

We also know that this tapestry of humanity can be fragile when tested. That is why this House moved quickly and unanimously to condemn several instances of Islamophobia that occurred this past winter. The motion that was introduced by my colleague the member for Ottawa–Vanier, who is here in the House today, was passed unanimously. It was a proud moment for this House.

I want to remind whoever is watching at home and my colleagues what that motion said. It read as follows:

“I move that, in the opinion of this House, the Legislative Assembly of Ontario should reaffirm that diversity has always played an important

part in Ontario’s culture and heritage; recognize the significant contributions Muslims have made, and continue to make, to Ontario’s cultural and social fabric and prosperity; stand against all forms of hatred, hostility, prejudice, racism and intolerance; rebuke the notable growing tide of anti-Muslim rhetoric and sentiments; denounce hate attacks, threats of violence and hate crimes against people of the Muslim faith; condemn all forms of Islamophobia and reaffirm its support for government’s efforts, through the Anti-Racism Directorate, to address and prevent systemic racism across government policy, programs and services, and increase anti-racism education and awareness, including Islamophobia, in all parts of the province.”

Speaker, our government is committed to a society where everyone can live free of the fear of racism, hate speech and violence.

Islamophobia is real and its impacts are devastating, and that’s not acceptable. Whenever we see or hear of a crime of this nature, it must be quickly, visibly and vocally condemned, and we’ve taken important steps to support this conviction. There is no room for hate in our province.

Through Ontario’s Anti-Racism Directorate, our government has released a three-year provincial strategy designed specifically to combat systemic racism, called A Better Way Forward. Our ministry also partnered with the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants to develop an awareness campaign that targets Islamophobia, encouraging people to stand up in their neighbourhoods and their schools against hate and discrimination. Our ministry’s Newcomer Settlement Program supports dozens of agencies which promote the integration of newcomers, multiculturalism and understanding.

Late last month, the Toronto District School Board held an event at the Aga Khan Museum to launch Islamic Heritage Month, which my colleagues the Minister of Education, the Minister of Children and Youth Services and the member for Ottawa–Vanier attended. This event showcased student talent, other artists and entertainers, and featured a poster that will be displayed in 580 TDSB schools profiling prominent Muslims from across Canada.

It was a great event highlighting the important contributions of Canadian Muslims to Canadian society, the cultural diversity of the Canadian Muslim community, their commitment to Canada and the importance of Canadians learning about each other to foster greater social cohesion.

As we look to the future, it’s essential that we search for creative ways to promote diversity, inclusion and social cohesion. That’s why this year’s budget allocated $6 million over two years to create the Multicultural Community Capacity Grant Program. Through this program, we will help build a diverse and inclusive society by helping newcomers and ethnocultural communities participate fully in civic, cultural, social and economic life in Ontario. For our government, supporting newcomers and ethnocultural communities and helping to build a diverse and inclusive society is the right thing to do.

Everyone benefits from a diverse and inclusive society: individuals, employers, institutions and the community at large. Ontario is strong and united, and that is key to individual quality of life and success in the global economy.

During Islamic Heritage Month and beyond, we urge everyone to join together in celebrating Islamic history and heritage and the many contributions of the Muslim community in Ontario, a place where all cultures and religions must be respected.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): It is time for responses.

Waste Reduction Week

Mr. Ted Arnott: I would have thought that with the news this weekend about the benzene problem in Sarnia, the Minister of the Environment would have wanted to update this House this afternoon on why the government has seemingly ignored calls for a health study in that community for a decade and what immediate steps he will now take to ensure the environment is safe for area residents. For the people of Sarnia and the Aamjiwnaang First Nation, today, this is the environmental concern that is paramount. For all of us in this House, it should be the most urgent priority.

I am glad, however, to have this chance to speak on behalf of the official opposition caucus in recognition of Waste Reduction Week, which this year is October 16 to 22. Waste Reduction Week serves to promote awareness regarding the need for environmental sustainability, responsible consumption and conservation of our shared natural resources. It’s a call to action for all of us. I know that, in principle, all members of this House would likely agree that we need to do more, but after 14 years of Liberal government, it is fair to ask: What is their record? What have they achieved? How effective have their efforts actually been?

A few days ago, on October 4, the Environmental Commissioner published her report reviewing the government’s so-called Waste-Free Ontario Act with the stated goal of achieving a so-called circular economy. She states that Ontario has a waste problem and that each year, on average, Ontario produces almost one tonne of waste per person, with three quarters of it ending up in landfills. She calls on the government to “get serious” about making the Waste-Free Ontario Act work.

While the Blue Box Program is a success in terms of its wide popular acceptance and the high household participation rate, in fact the Environmental Commissioner points out that the blue box diverts less than 8% of Ontario’s total waste. She says that the next steps in diversion include getting food waste out of landfills, as Nova Scotia did years ago, and working with businesses to get more of them to do their part.

As Canadians, we are truly blessed in so many ways. We live in country rich and abundant in natural resources and we must do our part to protect them.

When our party last formed the government in Ontario, I was privileged to serve as parliamentary assistant to the Honourable Elizabeth Witmer, who, as Minister of the Environment, represented the riding of Kitchener–Waterloo, next door to my riding at the time, Waterloo–Wellington. She was the first Minister of the Environment in Ontario’s history to announce the planned closure of a coal-fired electricity-generating plant, that being the Lakeview station in Mississauga.

Many times during her tenure as Minister of the Environment, I heard her proudly state that the Blue Box Program had started in Kitchener with a man named Nyle Ludolph, who was credited with being the father of the Blue Box Program, in the early 1980s. It has spread from Ontario all around the world, and this is something that should give all of us a sense of satisfaction and pride.

Tonight, for the second year in a row, the CN Tower will be lit green and blue to kick off the start of Waste Reduction Week as a reminder to everyone that we all need to be part of the solution.

Islamic Heritage Month

Mr. Lorne Coe: I’m pleased to rise today in recognition of the important role Ontario’s Muslim community plays in the shaping and building of the province we all have the privilege to live in. Throughout Islamic Heritage Month, we acknowledge and celebrate the many important contributions Ontarians of Muslim heritage have made and continue to make. Our Muslim friends and neighbours come from all walks of life—including teachers, doctors, nurses, engineers, entrepreneurs, and brave soldiers wearing Canada’s uniform in defence of our values, freedoms and way of life.

Just a few months ago, members of the Ontario Progressive Conservative caucus, with Patrick Brown, celebrated Ramadan in Mississauga along with 1,000 proud community leaders from across Ontario and beyond, each with their own unique backgrounds, stories and experiences.

Ontario’s proud and growing Muslim community reflects the best of our province’s values and continues to make many noteworthy contributions to our social, cultural, political and economic fabric.

Diversity, Speaker, is a major part of what makes our province so special. Our Muslim friends and neighbours are a vital part of that diversity, and that is why the Ontario Progressive Conservative caucus was proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Muslim community in unanimously condemning Islamophobia, and that which divides us, and in defending the values that unite us as citizens of this remarkable province.

On behalf of Patrick Brown and the Ontario Progressive Conservative caucus, I applaud the Muslim community for these great efforts, encourage their continuance and wish all of our Muslim friends and neighbours across the province a happy and enriching Islamic Heritage Month.

Islamic Heritage Month

Ms. Andrea Horwath: It’s my pleasure to rise and speak about Islamic Heritage Month here in the Legislature. We’re celebrating, of course, our second-ever official Islamic Heritage Month in Ontario, thanks to the great work of the member from London–Fanshawe and the support of all members who were able to support the motion that she brought forward. We got Islamic Heritage Month in place last year.

Islamic Heritage Month is about honouring and recognizing the contributions of Muslim community members. The month itself—the time that we take to observe Islamic Heritage Month—teaches Ontarians about this vibrant part of our community, the historical importance of the Muslim community in our province, and it also gives us a chance to emphasize the shared values we have that are common to all Ontarians.

It also reminds the Muslim community that they are valued and welcome in our province, that our province is absolutely made better by the diversity that we have here, by immigration and by the cultural sharing that we are able to do amongst each other. It also actively pushes back against the current trend towards Islamophobia, hate and prejudice.

Islamic Heritage Month serves another important role. It serves a role of empowerment and encouragement. It empowers and encourages the next generation of Muslim Ontarians to become involved and to take pride in their heritage and their culture.

New Democrats were honoured to host a group of almost 70 young Muslim Ontarians at Queen’s Park on October 6. They came here to learn about what happens at Queen’s Park, and they came to learn about how they can become more involved in politics and in their own communities. I have to say that these young women and men were absolutely phenomenal. They were smart, enthusiastic leaders. They are engaged in their communities, and they are eager to make a difference. They were nothing short of inspirational when I got to spend a little bit of time with them on October 6.

These folks, these young women and men, deserve to see themselves represented here in government and in our community and culture at large, and they should know that they are welcome in the halls of Queen’s Park and everywhere across the province. To me, that’s one of the most important values of Islamic Heritage Month. We must always confront Islamophobia and hate, but we must go further: encourage the next generation of Ontarians, remind them of their power and their potential, and do what we can to help them build a better world for all Ontarians.

Waste Reduction Week

Mr. Peter Tabuns: It’s a pleasure to get up and respond to the Minister of the Environment.

Speaker, you’ve been around here long enough. You have that sense of déjà vu all over again. I have gone through a number of Liberal environment ministers, and Mr. Current Minister, I have heard that speech before. It is an impressive show of recycling; I will give you that.

Three years ago, I had the opportunity to give a very similar speech when the newly minted Minister of the Environment, Glen Murray, stood up to talk about this in almost exactly the same words. At that time, I said, “This is like Groundhog Day all over again,” and I asked, “Will the new minister be Glen Murray or Bill Murray?” Unfortunately, Glen has gone as Bill has returned.

It’s extraordinary to me that, having watched Laurel Broten and John Gerretsen and Glen Murray and now Chris Ballard go through this speech, they have to remember that in the movie—and people should learn from Hollywood every day; it’s a useful place—you were only able to break the spell of Groundhog Day by correcting the bad things that you’d done.

The Environmental Commissioner said, “The new plan looks great on paper. But we’ve been here before; let’s learn from the past and get it right.” She said something that ministers have said before: You have to get institutional and commercial players to actually recycle and deal with their food waste. You have to ban food waste—do something that Nova Scotia did 20 years ago.

Reaching out to the minister, I say: Minister, break that spell. Actually bring in the things recommended by the Environmental Commissioner, and then you’ll get a great reception when you do this speech in another year.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): I thank all members for their responses and statements.

Petitions

Taxation

Mr. Jeff Yurek: “To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas as small business operators, Ontario doctors have utilized legitimate tax measures to plan for retirement, and invest in health care;

“Whereas the Ontario government is responsible for ensuring Ontarians have a world-class health care system and this proposal puts our system at risk;

“We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows:

“To urge the members of the Ontario Legislature to immediately call on the federal government to put a halt to these tax changes.”

I put my signature to this petition and I agree with it.

Services for children with disabilities

Miss Monique Taylor: I’d like to thank Sherry Caldwell, Lynda Reusse and their daughters, who are behaving so well in the House this afternoon. They’re here to hear this petition. It reads as follows:

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas we need you to break down the barriers that are depriving many children and youth with all disabilities access to ongoing and continuous therapy to improve their quality of life to promote their independence;

“Whereas children and youth with all disabilities should be able to access quality therapy that is parent/caregiver directed. All children and youth with disabilities must have access to needed hands-on therapy such as physiotherapy, occupational, speech and language, augmentative communication and vision therapy;

“Whereas parents should be able to purchase therapy through a direct-funding model;

“Whereas there should be a transparent process for accessing therapy through the children’s treatment centres;

“Whereas all additional investments in children’s treatment centres should maximize front-line services and reduce excess management costs;

“Whereas parents should be able to access an independent appeal process;

“We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows:

“As currently many children and youth are being deprived of necessary therapies, which result in adverse long-term health effects, we are pleading with you to address this immediately;

“Urge the Ministry of Children and Youth Services to provide the necessary and required therapy to children and youth with all disabilities on a consistent and ongoing basis, with a choice of direct-funding model, to fulfill the government’s commitment to support all children to allow these services to increase their ability to participate fully at home, school and in the community.”

I am proud to read this petition. I’m going to affix my name to it and give it to page Abigail to bring to the Clerk.

Dental care

Mrs. Cristina Martins: I have a number of petitions here, a few pages of petitions that were collected in my riding of Davenport. It reads as follows:

“Whereas lack of access to dental care affects overall health and well-being, and poor oral health is linked to diabetes, cardiovascular, respiratory disease, and Alzheimer’s disease; and

“Whereas it is estimated that two to three million people in Ontario have not seen a dentist in the past year, mainly due to the cost of private dental services; and

“Whereas approximately every nine minutes a person in Ontario arrives at a hospital emergency room with a dental problem but can only get painkillers and antibiotics, and this costs the health care system at least $31 million annually with no treatment of the problem;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to invest in public oral health programs for low-income adults and seniors by:

“—ensuring that plans to reform the health care system include oral health so that vulnerable people in our communities have equitable access to the dental care they need to be healthy;

“—extending public dental programs for low-income children and youth within the next two years to include low-income adults and seniors; and

“—delivering public dental services in a cost-efficient way through publicly funded dental clinics such as public health units, community health centres and aboriginal health access centres to ensure primary oral health services are accessible to vulnerable people in Ontario.”

I agree with this petition and will affix my name and send it to the table with page Andy.

Long-term care

Mr. Randy Pettapiece: This is a petition to save local long-term-care beds.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas seniors and their families need long-term-care beds and high-quality care for their community; and

“Whereas across Ontario, the number of people waiting for long-term care is expected to spike to nearly 48,000 in the next six years; and

“Whereas Hillside Manor, a local long-term-care home, is set to close, resulting in a devastating loss of 90 beds; and

“Whereas the government is using the upcoming closure as reason to consider moving at least 38 of Hillside Manor’s 90 beds out of our area; and

“Whereas Perth–Wellington has already lost long-term local care beds with no commitment from the government to replace them; and

“Whereas many long-term care bed licences are set to expire in the coming years, and will require significant investment to be allowed to stay open;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly as follows:

“That the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care be asked to reject any proposal to reduce the number of long-term-care beds in Perth–Wellington, and to increase investment in local long-term-care facilities to accommodate our growing number of seniors and their needs.”

Long-term care

M me France Gélinas: I would like to thank Sandra King from Whitefish, in my riding, for signing some of these petitions. It goes as follows:

“Time to Care.

“Whereas quality of care for the 78,000 residents of (LTC) homes is a priority for many Ontario families; and

“Whereas the provincial government does not provide adequate funding to ensure care and staffing levels in LTC homes to keep pace with residents’ increasing acuity and the growing number of residents with complex behaviours; and

“Whereas several Ontario coroner’s inquests into LTC homes deaths have recommended an increase in direct hands-on care for residents and staffing levels and the most reputable studies on this topic recommends 4.1 hours of” hands-on care;

They petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows:

“Amend the LTC Homes Act (2007) for a legislated minimum care standard of four hours” of hands-on care per resident “adjusted for acuity level and case mix.”

I fully support this petition, will affix my name to it and ask page Dana to bring it to the Clerk.

Injured workers

Mr. Arthur Potts: I have a petition here signed by members of my community and other communities across Ontario.

“Whereas about 200,000 to 300,000 people in Ontario are injured on the job every year;

“Whereas over a century ago, workers in Ontario who were injured on the job gave up the right to sue their employers, in exchange for a system that would provide them with just compensation;

“Whereas decades of cost-cutting have pushed injured workers into poverty and onto publicly funded social assistance programs, and have gradually curtailed the rights of injured workers;

“Whereas injured workers have the right to quality and timely medical care, compensation for lost wages, and protection from discrimination;

“We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to change the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act to accomplish the following for injured workers in Ontario:

“Eliminate the practice of ‘deeming’ or ‘determining,’ which bases compensation on phantom jobs that injured workers do not actually have;

“Ensure that the WSIB prioritizes and respects the medical opinions of the health care providers who treat the injured workers directly;

“Prevent compensation from being reduced or denied based on ‘pre-existing conditions’ that never affected the worker’s ability to function prior to the work injury.”

I agree with this petition. I’m happy to sign my name to it and send it down with page Max.

Energy policies

Mr. Bill Walker: “To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas currently, 76% of homes in Ontario use natural gas for heat; and

“Whereas natural gas is a clean, reliable and affordable fuel source and is 68% less expensive than electricity and 59% less than home heating oil; and

“Whereas natural gas will help Ontario meet a lower carbon future by providing rural Ontarians heating their homes on propane with a 20% greenhouse gas emissions reduction, and those on home heating oil with a 25% reduction; and

“Whereas under Premier Wynne’s new plan, all homes and buildings built after 2030 will be barred from using natural gas; and

“Whereas making the switch from natural gas heat to electric heat will cost an average of $3,000 extra per home and homeowners will be faced with at least $4,500 in renovation costs; and

“Whereas the government’s misguided energy policies have already resulted in unaffordable business and residential energy rates that are forcing jobs out of the province; and

“Whereas the Minister of Energy is on the record recommending Ontarians switch to natural gas to escape exorbitant hydro bills;

“We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly as follows:

“To immediately reconsider the plan to ban natural gas heat from Ontario buildings and new construction.”

I fully support it, affix my name and send it with page Sheldon.

Water extraction

Ms. Catherine Fife: My petition is called “Protect Water as a Public Good.”

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas groundwater is a public good, not a commodity; and

“Whereas local ecosystems must be preserved for the well-being of future generations; and

“Whereas the United Nations recognizes access to clean drinking water as a human right; and

“Whereas the duty to consult indigenous communities regarding water-taking within traditional territories is often neglected, resulting in a disproportionate burden on systemically marginalized communities during a period of reconciliation; and

“Whereas a poll commissioned by the Wellington Water Watchers found that two thirds of respondents support phasing out bottled water in Ontario over the course of a decade; and

“Whereas a trend towards prioritizing the expansion of for-profit water bottling corporations over the needs of municipalities will negatively impact Ontario’s growing communities;

I affix my signature to this petition and will give it to page Dana.

Elevator maintenance

Mrs. Cristina Martins: I have a petition here that is addressed to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, and it reads:

“Whereas we’ve seen rapid growth of vertical communities across Ontario; and

“Whereas elevators are an important amenity for a resident of a high-rise residential building; and

“Whereas ensuring basic mobility and standards of living for residents remain top priority; and

“Whereas the unreasonable delay of repairs for elevator services across Ontario is a concern for residents of high-rise buildings resulting in constant breakdowns, mechanical failures and ‘out of service’ notices for unspecified amounts of time;

“We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows:

“Urge the Ontario Legislature to support Bill 109, the Reliable Elevators Act, 2017, that requires the repairs of elevators to be completed within a reasonable and prescribed time frame. We urge the Legislature to address these concerns that are shared by residents of Trinity–Spadina and across Ontario.”

I agree with this petition, will affix my name to it and send it to the table with page Erin.

GO Transit

Mrs. Gila Martow: I have a petition to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

“Whereas GO train horns are currently allowed to sound until 11 p.m., five days a week;

“Whereas people who live on the GO train routes are being disturbed by these horns, waking their children and themselves and disrupting the general peace;

“Whereas the city of Markham unanimously voted to silence the horns and were overruled by Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca;

“We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows:

“That the Liberal government of Ontario respects the wishes of the residents, Mothers Protesting for Silence and local politicians and reverses the decision to allow train horns to blow before 5:30 a.m. and after 8 p.m., five days a week. To replace them with buses or reschedule the said train times.”

I’m going to sign it, of course—I agree—and give it to page Payton.

Energy policies

M me France Gélinas: I would like to thank Martha Werner from Val Caron, in my riding, for signing the petition. It reads:

“Fix hydro now.

“Whereas hydro bills in Ontario have become unaffordable for too many people, and that reducing hydro bills by up to 30% for families and businesses is an ambitious but realistic target; and

“Whereas the only way to fix the hydro system is to address the root causes of high prices including privatization, excessive profit margins, oversupply and more; and

“Whereas Ontario families should not have to pay time-of-use premiums, and those living in a rural or northern region should not have to pay higher, punitive, delivery charges; and

“Whereas returning Hydro One to public ownership would deliver over $7 billion back to the province and the people of Ontario;”

They petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to express their “support for reducing hydro bills for businesses and families by up to 30%, eliminating mandatory time-of-use, ending unfair rural delivery costs, and restoring public ownership of Hydro One.”

I fully support this petition, will affix my name to it and ask page Colin to bring it to the Clerk.

Dental care

Mrs. Cristina Martins: I have more petitions here, signed by constituents of my riding of Davenport, regarding dental programs and extending public dental programs across the province. I want to thank Gabrielle for dropping these off in my office. The petition reads as follows:

“Whereas lack of access to dental care affects overall health and well-being, and poor oral health is linked to diabetes, cardiovascular, respiratory disease, and Alzheimer’s disease; and

“Whereas it is estimated that two to three million people in Ontario have not seen a dentist in the past year, mainly due to the cost of private dental services; and

“Whereas approximately every nine minutes a person in Ontario arrives at a hospital emergency room with a dental problem but can only get painkillers and antibiotics, and this costs the health care system at least $31 million annually with no treatment of the problem;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Ass