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March 26, 2018

41st Parliament, 3rd Session

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Hansard Transcripts

Votes and Proceedings

Orders and Notices

Hansard Transcripts 2018-Mar-26 (PDF)

L005 - Mon 26 Mar 2018 / Lun 26 mar 2018

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO

ASSEMBLÉE LÉGISLATIVE DE L’ONTARIO

Monday 26 March 2018 Lundi 26 mars 2018

Introduction of Visitors

Roger Anderson

Oral Questions

Government accounting practices

Job creation

Dental care

Dental care

Executive compensation

Dental care

Hospital funding

Executive compensation

Dental care

5G technologies

Horse racing industry

Workers’ compensation

Horse racing industry

Workers’ compensation

Visitors

Members’ Statements

Mental health and addiction services

London economy

Homelessness

Epilepsy

Climate change

Gun control

Home care

Bangladeshi Heritage Month

Introduction of Bills

Liability for Climate-Related Harms Act, 2018 / Loi de 2018 sur la responsabilité à l’égard Des dommages liés au climat

Prohibiting Driving with Unlawful Handguns Act, 2018 / Loi de 2018 sur l’interdiction de la conduite avec des armes de poing illégales dans le véhicule

Petitions

Mental health services

Consumer protection

Highway improvement

Services gouvernementaux

Fish and wildlife management

Prix de l’essence

Hospital funding

Water fluoridation

Long-term care

Hospital funding

Orders of the Day

Throne speech debate

Pay Transparency Act, 2018 / Loi de 2018 sur la transparence salariale

Appointment of temporary Financial Accountability Officer

The House met at 1030.

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

Prayers.

Introduction of Visitors

Mr. Ernie Hardeman: I’m pleased to rise today to introduce Ernie Hardeman. He is with us in the members’ west gallery. Ernie is here visiting and to have lunch with his dad. Thank you very much for coming to Queen’s Park, Ernie.

Hon. Tracy MacCharles: Good morning, Speaker. I have a few introductions. First, from Durham College, the honourable Paul H. Macklin, and President Don Lovisa. Welcome for Colleges Ontario Day. It’s great to have you here.

Mr. Gilles Bisson: Mr. Speaker, not to be introduced because he needs no introduction is Fred, a good friend from Northern College, here celebrating with other colleges and lobbying us all for the wonderful work that we need to keep on doing for colleges.

Hon. Bob Chiarelli: Joining us all the way from Ottawa today are two distinguished guests from Algonquin College. Please welcome President Cheryl Jensen and the chair of the board of governors, Peter Nadeau. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Mr. Lorne Coe: I’m pleased to introduce the president of Durham College, Don Lovisa, and Chris Whitaker, the president of Humber College. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Hon. Bill Mauro: I’m pleased to introduce today, from Confederation College, President Jim Madder, as well as George Patterson, who is the chair of the board of governors of Confederation College, and also Judith Morris, president and CEO of Lambton College, and Brian Fairley, the chair of the board of Lambton College.

Mrs. Gila Martow: I’m very pleased to welcome the parents of page captain Taylor Freeman, Penny and Les Freeman. They’re here today in the gallery.

I also want to give a big Legislature welcome to the Diller teens from CIJA, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Ms. Ann Hoggarth: Today I would like to welcome two representatives of Georgian College, in my riding of Barrie. Board chairman Jim Bertram and President MaryLynn West-Moynes are here for colleges day. Welcome.

Mr. Todd Smith: I’d like to welcome the president of Loyalist College in Belleville, Ann Marie Vaughan, to the Legislature today. Welcome, Ann Marie.

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: I’d like to welcome two constituents of mine, Sylvia and Bill Dixon, to the Legislature today. Their grandson, Luke, is a page during this session. Welcome to them.

I’d also like to welcome Benny D’Avella and Eric Forgione, the grandfather and younger brother of Andrew Forgione, who works in my office. It’s their first time at Queen’s Park. Welcome to them both.

Mr. Granville Anderson: I’d like to welcome constituents of mine here today from Durham College, including college president Don Lovisa, Paul Macklin and Peter Garrett. Welcome.

Hon. Glenn Thibeault: When I came into the Legislature this morning, I saw the president of Collège Boréal, Daniel Giroux, here today. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Hon. Mitzie Hunter: I have two very important introductions. First, it is my pleasure to welcome the presidents, board chairs, students and staff from colleges across the province who are at Queen’s Park today for college day. This evening they will be hosting a reception in rooms 228 and 230, where college students will provide hospitality, culinary delights and great entertainment. Please welcome them to Queen’s Park.

I’d like to especially welcome Linda Franklin, who is the president of Colleges Ontario, and, of course, Ann Buller, the president of Centennial College in my riding of Scarborough–Guildwood.

And—Mr. Speaker, I’m almost finished—I would also like to welcome our grade 10 students from West Hill Collegiate Institute, who are here today with their teacher, Ms. Ashby.

Mr. Ted McMeekin: I’d like to introduce Bill Best, the president of Cambrian College, and Ron McKerlie, the president of my alma mater, Mohawk College, who are here with us today.

Ms. Sophie Kiwala: I would like to extend a very warm Limestone welcome to Mayor Bryan Paterson from Kingston and the Islands; Lynn Carlotto, the president and CEO of the K-Rock Centre; Bhavana Varma, the executive director from the United Way; and her executive assistant, Kim Hockey.

And a very, very warm welcome to Glenn Vollebregt from St. Lawrence College, all of his staff and his students.

I extend a warm welcome to everyone, as well, at the reception this evening for youth homelessness day here at Queen’s Park in our dining room this evening.

Hon. Laura Albanese: On behalf of Mario Sergio, MPP for York West, I would like to welcome the family of page captain Justin Abraham: parents Marlene and Fazeed Abraham, sister Hailey Abraham, grandparents Shiroon and Azad Abraham-Domon, and cousin Shazad Abraham-Domon. They will be in the public gallery this morning. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Mr. Lou Rinaldi: I, too, would like to extend a welcome to Ann Marie Vaughan, president of Loyalist College, and Paul Macklin from the great riding of Northumberland–Quinte West.

Ms. Peggy Sattler: I’d like to extend a very warm welcome to Cheryl and Robert Davies, parents of page Rhys Davies from London West, who have joined us this morning in the members’ gallery. Welcome.

Hon. Michael Coteau: On behalf of the member from Willowdale and myself, I’d like to welcome to the Legislature David Agnew, president of Seneca College, which is situated in both of our ridings but services all of Ontario. Thank you so much for being here.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): In the Speaker’s gallery today are some guests of mine—one is not a guest; the other two are guests of mine. This gentleman had a distinguished and long career in corrections, and we went to high school at the same time—he’s a little older; I’m not—a very distinguished career in corrections: Mr. Frank Stanley. Thank you for joining us, Frank.

A dear friend of mine and, more importantly, a dear friend of my wife—who will be introduced properly in a moment—is Wendy McIntosh. Wendy, thank you for joining us.

And of course, my rock, my inspiration—my wife, Rosemarie.

Applause.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Thank you all very much. That got me brownie points like you won’t believe.

Roger Anderson

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member from Whitby–Oshawa, on a point of order.

Mr. Lorne Coe: I seek unanimous consent for a moment of silence for the passing of Roger Anderson, the chief executive officer for the region of Durham and the region’s chair of Durham regional council.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member for Whitby–Oshawa is seeking unanimous consent for a moment’s silence. Do we agree? Agreed.

I would invite all of us to rise to pay a moment of silence and respect—everyone. Thank you.

The House observed a moment’s silence.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): God rest his soul.

Oral Questions

Government accounting practices

Mr. Victor Fedeli: Good morning, Speaker. My question is for the Premier.

Once again, the Auditor General is blasting the Liberals’ accounting, this time for their unfair hydro scheme. The auditor said she thinks the “accounting is bogus.” She highlights the fact that the financial and accounting structure was designed to avoid reporting the unfair hydro scheme’s costs. She claims it was “allowing the government to falsely claim” their budget numbers. These numbers can’t be trusted. This government can’t be trusted.

Mr. Speaker, if the Auditor General can’t trust this government, then how can anyone in Ontario do that?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Families in this province asked for real and immediate relief on their electricity bills, and that’s what we delivered. Our plan has been approved by some of Canada’s top accounting firms, including Ernst and Young, KPMG and Deloitte. All of those organizations have looked at what we did, have reviewed it and have approved it.

In fact, the same accounting process used by Toronto hydro is used as well in Alberta, New England, New York, Minnesota and Texas.

We’re very confident that what we have done to deliver real relief to families on their electricity bills is appropriate, and people are seeing that relief right now.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Mr. Victor Fedeli: Back to the Premier: While she says one thing, the Auditor General has the sole authority to audit the province’s books. This government has fought her time and time again. They have attacked the auditor’s credibility, they have attacked her expertise and they have attacked her character. This has gone too far.

If the Auditor General says we can’t trust this government’s numbers, it’s clear that Ontario can’t trust this government’s numbers.

Will this government show an ounce of integrity, an ounce of accountability, and own up to these questionable numbers?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Minister of Energy.

Hon. Glenn Thibeault: I’m pleased to rise and respond to the question. We made a policy choice to ensure that we continue to have a clean, reliable and affordable electricity system for ratepayers of today and ratepayers of tomorrow. The fair hydro plan keeps the cost of borrowing within the rate base, not the tax base, because that’s the logical thing to do. Electricity financing should remain within the electricity system, not the tax base.

Officials from the Treasury Board, finance, OPG, the IESO, the Ontario Financing Authority, along with external advisers that include Ernst and Young, KPMG and Deloitte, worked on the accounting related to the fair hydro plan. They, along with the Office of the Provincial Controller, ensured that this plan was in accordance with public sector accounting.

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

Mr. Victor Fedeli: Back to the Premier: It has been reported that the Auditor General has uncovered very troubling behaviour at the IESO. It seems there is a culture of untrustworthiness and a lack of integrity. The auditor’s concerns “included incorrect accounting, deceptive and obstructive behaviour by the IESO’s board and management, and poor financial controls.” It’s so bad that the Auditor General warned that if improper accounting wasn’t fixed, she may issue an adverse opinion on Ontario’s books. Now, Speaker, that would be a first in Canadian history for any government’s financial statements.

Will this government be the first in Canadian history to have their numbers rejected by an Auditor General?

Hon. Glenn Thibeault: When talking about the AG and our system operator, our system operator, the IESO, has assured the Ministry of Energy that they have made every effort to be forthright and fully responsive to the Auditor General’s requests for information. For example, the IESO has accommodated the auditor’s requests by making accommodations to extend the duration of the Auditor General’s staff on the IESO premises from the initial two weeks requested to seven weeks.

During this time, the IESO received and responded to over 200 information requests from the Auditor General’s staff. The IESO accommodated every meeting request. About 40 meetings took place between the IESO and the auditor’s staff. The IESO accommodated the AG’s request to meet with their board and audit committee. Throughout their audit, the Auditor General’s staff had direct access to the IESO’s staff.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): After the first round, you’ve indicated to me that you’re willing to look at last week’s activities: We will be closing in on warnings. We will see another round.

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Would you like us to go to warnings?

Mr. Steve Clark: No, I’m good.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Most people would stop.

New question.

Job creation

Mr. Victor Fedeli: My question is for the Premier. With the budget just days away, people want a better path forward for Ontario. Only Doug Ford and the Ontario PC Party will bring jobs—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Stop the clock.

Start the clock. Finish, please.

Mr. Victor Fedeli: Only Doug Ford and the Ontario PC Party will bring jobs back to the province of Ontario.

An important step to make Ontario open for business is to scrap the carbon-tax cash grab. The PC Party will stop sending families’ hard-earned money to California. The Auditor General has confirmed that this government is doing exactly that.

Will the Premier axe the tax? Will she scrap the carbon tax and bring jobs back to the province of Ontario?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: This question is from a party and a member who have decided to turn their backs on climate change, not recognizing the single greatest threat to humanity.

But let’s talk about jobs. Let’s talk about what is actually happening in Ontario, Mr. Speaker, because we’re seeing economic growth that is in one of the leading jurisdictions in the country. We’re outstripping the growth of the G7 countries, the United States. On jobs, there have been 810,000 net new jobs created in this province since the recession and over 400,000 jobs created since I became the Premier. The reality is that there are jobs being created in Ontario. Our unemployment rate has dropped to 5.5% and has been below the national average for 34 months.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Mr. Victor Fedeli: Back to the Premier: Nobody believes this government’s spin. When the Premier slipped up a few weeks ago, she admitted that her carbon tax was used to line the government’s pockets, not reduce emissions. She claims scrapping the carbon tax would impact the public service. Why would money that she claims to be solely dedicated to the environment affect the public service? Her carbon tax has nothing to do with reducing emissions; it’s all about grabbing cash. Well, the party with the taxpayers’ money is over.

Mr. Speaker, will the Premier admit that her carbon tax has nothing to do with the environment but has everything to do with taking more money out of taxpayers’ pockets?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Mr. Speaker, we are on track to meet our pollution reduction targets, and I know that the Minister of the Environment will want to speak to that in the final supplementary.

In terms of the go-forward in this province—and the member opposite acknowledged that we’re bringing the budget in in a couple of days. We know that, across this province, we’ve balanced this budget this year. We know, however, that having done that and having seen economic growth and those jobs that I said had been created, those 400,000 jobs since I’ve been the Premier, the low unemployment rate, even with all of that, not everyone is feeling that benefit. Not everyone is feeling that evenly.

That is why we are making a very conscious and deliberate decision to invest in people: invest in their mental health, invest in their education and invest in their health care. I understand that’s not what the party opposite wants to do, but we believe that that is what people are asking for—

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

Interjections.

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

Mr. Victor Fedeli: Back to the Premier: Scrapping the carbon tax cash grab is just one step for job creation in the province of Ontario. We have lost more than 300,000 good-paying manufacturing jobs because of this government and their policies. When we talk to company owners, large or small, one top issue is the stifling bureaucracy, red tape and regulations.

We need to let business grow and bring jobs back to Ontario. We need companies to know that Ontario is open for business again. Mr. Speaker, will the Liberals scrap the red tape they have wrapped all around Ontario’s businesses?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Minister of Economic Development and Growth.

Hon. Steven Del Duca: I thank the member for the question. I’ve said on many occasions in this Legislature that over the last decade, since the depths of the recession that engulfed Ontario and most of the world, we have created more than 800,000 jobs in this province. That is in part because our government made the decision to invest in our people, to invest in infrastructure and to make sure that we kept focus on the importance of supporting families in need at all times, Speaker.

Specifically, the leader asked a question regarding reducing red tape. I should note that the 2017 Burden Reduction Report specifically showed Ontario surpassing the target that had been set regarding burden reduction by 50% and two years ahead of schedule. This report also found an estimated savings of over $150 million and 5.4 million hours to business. We removed 80,000 regulatory burdens, Speaker.

There is more to this story, but I would just say to the member opposite that it’s important to focus on the facts and not to dispel myths to the people of Ontario.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): After the second round, I made a decision. We’re going to go to warnings. We’re in warnings.

Carry on. The member from Algoma–Manitoulin.

Dental care

Mr. Michael Mantha: Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Premier. Poon-Li Outinen is 12 years old. She and her older brother each need to have a few teeth removed to make room for new ones that are coming in, but their mom, Pamela, can’t afford it. This is necessary dental care but right now, after 15 years of Liberal government in Ontario, Pam’s family will just have to go without it.

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: I know the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care is going to want to speak to this, but as I said last week, I think it’s great that the third party has now begun to talk about dental care. In fact, we have for some time been making it easier for children to get the dental care that they need.

I’m not suggesting that it’s perfect. There is more that has to be done; we recognize that. The issues of pharmacare and dental care really are gaps in our health care system, things that were not put in place in the 1960s when medicare was established, but we have been working for some time. We’ve made it easier for kids to get dental care through our expanded Healthy Smiles program—

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): All right. The member from Renfrew–Nipissing–Pembroke is warned.

Finish your answer, please.

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: What Healthy Smiles does is that it provides free preventative routine and emergency dental services for children and youth from low-income households from across the province.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary.

Mr. Michael Mantha: Again to the Premier: These kids are enrolled in the Healthy Smiles program, but this is necessary dental care, care that their dentist recommends be done right away, and it isn’t covered. There are millions of other families in the same situation as Pamela’s is in right now. It must be heartbreaking for parents to know their kids are going without the care they need.

Over the last 15 years, the Liberal government sat at the cabinet table and chose their priorities. They cut billions in taxes for the most profitable corporations, but left people like Pam and her family unable to go to the dentist. Why has the Premier left everyday Ontario families to fend for themselves when it comes to dental care?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Minister of Health and Long-Term Care.

Hon. Helena Jaczek: I would say to the member opposite that this government certainly cares about our children, and we care deeply about oral health in general. That’s precisely why we instituted the Healthy Smiles program. We brought together a number of disparate programs across the province and put them, through our Healthy Smiles program, into effect across the province.

We look to our LHINs and to our public health units to do the kind of analysis as to where more is needed, and we are responding to that. I had the opportunity to review the report of the chief medical officer of health for the city of Hamilton, Dr. Elizabeth Richardson. She shows quite clearly that there are health inequities across the greater Hamilton area. This is very useful as we plan our programs.

We will continue to look very seriously at this issue. I’m sure the member will be looking forward to our budget on Wednesday.

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

Mr. Michael Mantha: Again to the Premier: Again, they are not covered under the Healthy Smiles program.

Universal health care is a Canadian value, but decades of cuts and budget freezes by consecutive Conservative and Liberal governments have meant that instead of improvements to the system, like dental care and universal pharmacare, Ontario family services have seen erosion.

Pamela’s kids need to have a few teeth pulled. Pamela should be able to count on her government to help her. That’s a government that cares—

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Stop the clock. The Minister of Municipal Affairs is warned.

Finish, please.

Mr. Michael Mantha: Why didn’t the Premier build that government when she had the chance?

Hon. Helena Jaczek: We continue to provide services across this province. As we reaffirmed in the throne speech, our government will continue to make the kinds of investments that ensure more people without a drug or dental benefits plan will have access not only to more affordable prescription drugs, but also to dental care. That announcement obviously will be part of our budget.

In the meantime, we do rely on the expertise of public health professionals and of our local health integration networks to assess the overall health of our communities. There’s no one-size-fits-all to these issues, and we are committed to looking at evidence-based solutions for our vulnerable population. We will continue to do this. We’ve been doing it very successfully over the last 15 years.

Dental care

Ms. Peggy Sattler: My question is to the Premier. The London Brewing Co-operative is a business in my community. The owners have always wanted to provide dental coverage for their workers. They’ve investigated group plans, but the cost has simply been too prohibitive.

The London Brewing Co-operative is a good employer. The owners give back to their community, and they want to do the right thing by the people who count on them. Why hasn’t the Premier helped the London Brewing Co-operative offer their workers dental coverage over her 15 years in office?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: As we have said a number of times, we recognize that there is a need for more dental care in this province, period. There is more need for dental care in this province. I would suggest there’s more need for dental care across the country, because when medicare was instituted in the 1960s, it did not include pharmacare and it did not include dental care.

It has fallen to provincial governments to put in place supports, which we have been doing. We recognize that there is more that needs to be done. We have implemented the Healthy Smiles program. There are hundreds of thousands of children across the province who get that support, but we recognize that there is more that we have to do.

I understand that the third party has recently discovered this is an issue, because if we look at their platforms and when I sat down with their leader, Andrea Horwath, when I became the Premier, there was no mention of this. There was no hint that this was an issue that they saw was a problem.

We’ve been working on it. We’ll continue to work on it.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary.

Ms. Peggy Sattler: One of the owners, Aaron, said that the NDP plan, Dental Care for Everyone, would mean that they could finally offer employee dental coverage and really compete for the best talent out there. Dental coverage for their employees will help them grow their business and put more money in the pockets of their workers.

In its 15 years in office, why hasn’t this Liberal government made it easier for employers to offer dental benefits to their staff?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: As I said in my last answer, we recognize that there’s more that we need to do. I think that the NDP is now, at this point, chiming in to the conversation and they have brought some ideas forward. I think what they’re bringing forward are interesting ideas, and we need to look at how we can provide more support.

The fact is, we have been working on this. We have implemented the Healthy Smiles program. We have grown that program. But I will be the first to say that there is more that we need to do, and that is in the context of understanding that there are needs. It goes back to a question that the Conservatives asked earlier, and that is, what are our plans in the budget?

We have been very clear. We recognize that there are more supports that are needed so that people can care for themselves and care for their families, whether that’s in the area of mental health or health care in general or education. We are putting those supports in place, as we have done for a number of years.

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

Ms. Peggy Sattler: Last week, this Premier made one desperate announcement after another. People know that the current health care crisis is because this Liberal government—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Stop the clock. The Minister of Economic Development is warned.

Finish, please.

Ms. Peggy Sattler: People know that the current health care crisis is because this Liberal government has been cutting health care spending for years. What the Liberals are now offering is too little, too late. The problems today are big because they have been ignored by this Liberal government for the last 15 years.

After a decade and a half, why are families like Pamela’s unable to get the dental care their kids need? Why are businesses like the London Brewing Co-operative unable to offer their employees dental benefits even though they want to? Why is it now, just 72 days before the election, that the Premier is making these promises when she has had 15 years to deliver?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: I am happy to talk about the past, if that’s what the NDP wants to talk about, because for many years, we have been implementing supports in this province, making changes. Whether it’s full-day kindergarten, whether it is advocating for retirement security enhancements, which are now in place across the country, or whether it’s free tuition, we have been working to put supports in place to respond to the people of Ontario.

In terms of what was happening last week, we’re in the run-up to a budget. Every year when there is a budget, we work to make sure that people in the province know what it is we are about and what we are putting on the table. What we are saying is that there’s a need for more money for mental health supports. There is a need for more money for hospitals. There’s a need for more money for special education. What I hear from the third party is that they’re going to vote against—

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

Interjections.

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

New question.

Executive compensation

Mr. Todd Smith: My question this morning is for the Premier. Last week, the list of Ontario’s richest political insiders was released. They call it the sunshine list. But for the hard-working people of Ontario, there’s not a whole lot sunny about it. The people of Ontario are struggling to pay the bills and put food on the table.

Interjections.

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

Mr. Todd Smith: Liberal insiders are continually getting richer, and that’s what we learned from last week’s release of the sunshine list.

It’s getting hard for people in Ontario to understand. Just look at the CEO of Ontario Power Generation. He got a raise of $400,000 this year. His salary is now $1.5 million. Don’t forget, the former head of IESO was the fifth-highest individual on the list and worked for four months.

When an everyday person in Ontario can’t pay their bills, why are the Premier’s friends getting $400,000—

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Premier?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: President of the Treasury Board.

Hon. Eleanor McMahon: I want to thank the member opposite for his question, because it allows me to do a couple of things, Speaker. First of all, I want to recognize that certainly on this side of the House, we know that $100,000 is a lot of money and the people of Ontario have a right to know how those dollars are being invested. I’m going to get to that in a moment.

I want to explain and just outline that our decision to release these salaries is in keeping with our openness and transparency on this side of the House. We are being saluted internationally for our open government, and that is why we’re making and have made the 2017 public sector salary disclosure public, as well as every disclosure dating back to 1996, starting this year, available online and accessible in downloadable formats.

Again, we’re keeping that $100,000 threshold and we’re not going to change it, even though in today’s dollars, it would be $151,000. Again, we know that’s a lot of money to the people of Ontario. We’re proud of our public servants and the quality of service they deliver to Ontarians, because that is exactly what Ontarians are asking for and we’re delivering on that.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Mr. Todd Smith: We’re talking about six-figure raises here on the sunshine list: $400,000. That’s acceptable to Premier Wynne and this Liberal government.

Mr. Speaker, did you know that there’s also a secret list of Hydro One millionaires out there? They’ve had their names hidden from the sunshine list this year. They sit around the boardroom table at Hydro One and give themselves raises. At the same time, they’re always asking to increase the hydro rates for the hard-working people of Ontario.

The Premier doesn’t seem to think the people of Ontario deserve to know how much these people are making, but voters need more transparency, not less. They’re getting less from this government.

Why does the Premier continue to hide the salaries of the people at Hydro One and their millionaires’ club working there?

Hon. Eleanor McMahon: The Minister of Energy.

Hon. Glenn Thibeault: The first thing I should let the opposition know is that this is a publicly traded company, meaning that the list of Hydro One’s executive compensation can be found online. You’d think a party that has a leader that’s a self-proclaimed, so-called businessman should know that very well.

On top of that, it’s absurd that the member opposite is trying to criticize employees on the sunshine list, because it came to light that during the Ford administration’s term running the city of Toronto, the number of staff on the sunshine list doubled. This is contrary to what the Conservative leader Doug Ford said in the past. In 2010, the city of Toronto had over 5,400 employees on that list. In 2014, after leader Doug Ford had served on the budget committee, that list doubled to over 11,000.

Let’s not forget that Conservative candidate Rod Phillips was on that list, Christine Elliott is on that list, and 24 hours later he was canvassing with—

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

New question.

Dental care

Ms. Teresa J. Armstrong: My question is to the Premier. A single mom contacted my office because her two-year-old son fell and hit his mouth. He now has a painful abscess and needs his front teeth extracted. His mom is on social assistance. Her dentist contacted the Healthy Smiles program, and they have agreed to pay for the extractions, but not for the $395 anaesthetic fee. Apparently, this two-year-old boy is supposed to sit still while his four incredibly painful and infected teeth are pulled without anaesthetic.

Why is the Premier leaving so many people, including children, without the dental care that they need?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Well, Mr. Speaker, I don’t know the details of this situation but I certainly hope that you would share them with the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care—and, in fact, could have shared them with the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care beforehand, so we could have looked into it—because that sounds like a situation that absolutely needs to be dealt with. I can’t imagine that in 2018 there is any health practitioner that would do that, but if you would share those details with the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, then we will certainly look into it.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Ms. Teresa J. Armstrong: Children should never have to endure painful teeth extractions without anaesthetic. Parents shouldn’t have to take on credit card debt to get the dental care that their family needs. No one in Ontario should live in pain because they can’t afford to go to a dentist.

The NDP has a plan for every Ontarian to access dental benefits, either through work or on their health card. Why doesn’t the Premier?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Again, I will say to the third party that it is great that at this point, for the first time, the NDP is starting to talk about dental care. We understand that there’s more that needs to be done, Mr. Speaker. We have been looking for ways, by working with the local health providers, with the public health providers. The Healthy Smiles program has been expanded.

Hospital funding

Ms. Sophie Kiwala: My question is for the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. Providing all Ontarians with timely access to the care they need, whether at home, in the community or in one of our outstanding hospitals, is of the utmost importance to our government, but also to me as the member for Kingston and the Islands.

We are fortunate in Ontario to have outstanding hospitals across this province. Our government has increased investments in health care each and every year, allowing us to treat more patients, provide better care and reduce wait times to some of the shortest in the country. Last year, we invested over $500 million in funding in our Ontario hospitals, which is a 3.2% overall increase to the hospital sector. This is on top of our 2016 investment of nearly half a billion dollars in our hospitals. We’re also investing more than $19 billion over the next 10 years to improve and expand hospitals.

Mr. Speaker, could the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care please tell this House of the incredible new investments being made in our hospitals this year?

Hon. Helena Jaczek: Thank you to the member from Kingston and the Islands for the question. Our government knows that everyone in Ontario deserves high-quality care when they need it and our skilled, dedicated health care professionals deserve the right resources to deliver it.

Last week, I was proud to stand with the Premier and the Minister of Finance at North York General Hospital to make a historic investment of an additional $822 million in Ontario’s publicly funded hospitals. This 4.6% overall increase will increase capacity, decrease wait times and improve access to care for families across Ontario. This funding will directly benefit people in Ontario. It will increase the number of essential services in hospitals, such as cardiac care, critical care, chemotherapy and treatment for stroke. It will decrease wait times for hip, knee, cataract, shoulder, cornea and spine surgery.

On this side of the House, we’re investing where it matters. We’re investing in the people of Ontario.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Ms. Sophie Kiwala: Thank you to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care for her answer, and thank you for the continued support for the Kingston Health Sciences Centre, Brockville General Hospital and the new, state-of-the-art Providence Care Hospital in my riding of Kingston and the Islands.

On Friday, I was thrilled to announce that Kingston Health Sciences Centre will be receiving $8.82 million, Providence Care will be receiving $1.04 million and Brockville General will be receiving $1.74 million for 2018-19 year. It was a tremendous moment in our community.

Not only is this government investing in the resources needed to deliver high-quality health care, but we’re also making critical investments in capital to ensure the success of our hospitals for years to come, such as $500 million for the Kingston Health Sciences Centre.

Could the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care please tell this House about the monumental capital announcement our government made last week to support—

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

Minister?

Hon. Helena Jaczek: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and to the member for her ongoing advocacy, not just for health care but in my previous portfolio. I know how much she cares for the vulnerable in her community.

We’re making sure that our world-class hospitals have the resources they need to continue saving lives. In Ontario, we’re fortunate enough to have SickKids hospital, one of the world’s largest and most respected pediatric hospitals, that transforms the lives of hundreds of thousands of children and families across Ontario. On Friday, our government committed to supporting a new patient care centre at SickKids, an investment of $2.4 billion to transform the hospital into a 21st-century facility to continue providing leading-edge care for children. This will give more children and their families faster access to the best possible care.

We have a health care system here in Ontario that we are proud of. We’ll continue to support our incredibly skilled and compassionate health care professionals to care for our loved ones.

Executive compensation

Mr. Michael Harris: My question is over to the Minister of Transportation. I’m hoping that the minister can explain to hard-working Ontarians why, according to the sunshine list, the former Metrolinx CEO made $100,000 more—yes, $100,000 more—working only four months in 2017 than he did working the entire year in 2016. I’m wondering how that makes sense.

Hon. Kathryn McGarry: I apologize for my voice, and thank you for the question.

It would be inappropriate for me to comment on the earnings of an individual Metrolinx employee. However, Metrolinx has a vital role to play in our plan to deliver an integrated regional transit system right across the GTHA. We need to have the right leadership in place to make sure that we can deliver on time and on budget.

Bruce McCuaig left Metrolinx a far stronger and more mature organization than he inherited and did the necessary work to make sure that the massive transit build this side of the House is involved in is under way. Now our new CEO, Phil Verster, is overseeing the transformative build.

At the end of the day, commuters in our region will see critical improvements, like new rapid transit lines, four times the number of weekly GO trains and electrified service, which will improve commute times and bring clean, reliable service across the region.

It would be good if that member would vote for some of the investments contained in our budget.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Mr. Michael Harris: Well, Bruce McCuaig also left Metrolinx $100,000 richer than he did in 2016, and he only worked four months. Neither the minister nor anyone at Metrolinx wants to answer, because they know they can’t make sense of it either.

After being paid $364,000 for an entire year’s work in 2016, former Metrolinx CEO Bruce McCuaig walked away with $486,000, plus another 12 grand in benefits, in April 2017—that’s only four months into the fiscal year—for only four months’ work. How do they add that up?

I’ll give the minister one more chance: Will the minister please explain how the Metrolinx CEO got to walk away from four months of work pocketing $100,000 more than his previous year’s entire salary? The follow-up question to that is, did he resign of his own accord, or was he fired? Which one?

Hon. Kathryn McGarry: Our government continues to strengthen Ontario’s efforts to become the most open, transparent and digitally connected government in Canada. Proactively releasing information on public sector salaries is an important part of Ontario’s open government commitment. We recognize that $100,000 is a lot of money, and the people of Ontario have a right to know how their tax dollars are being spent. But it is inappropriate for me to comment on the earnings of one individual, a Metrolinx employee.

I find it interesting to hear this commentary from this member of the Ontario Conservatives. Under the Ford administration at city hall, the sunshine list doubled. The PCs clearly have a double standard when it comes to criticizing employees on the sunshine list. That party should vote for the investments contained in our budget for all of our transit programs in Ontario.

Dental care

Mr. John Vanthof: My question is to the Premier. Delima Dubie is a senior living in Temiskaming Shores. Like two out of every three seniors in Ontario, she doesn’t have dental coverage and can’t afford the care she needs. Delima has several serious health issues, made much worse by infected teeth. She needs to have them extracted, but it will cost $4,000—money she doesn’t have.

Why has the Premier ignored Delima and 1.5 million seniors like her by failing to provide dental benefits to the people who built this province?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Minister of Health and Long-Term Care.

Hon. Helena Jaczek: I’m really pleased that the third party is now engaged in this very important issue of dental care and oral health care. In the throne speech, I’m sure the member does remember that our government has said specifically that we will be making investments to ensure more people without a drug or a dental-benefits plan will have more access to affordable prescription drugs and dental care.

Specifically, last week the Premier made a major announcement—something that’s going to be in our budget—to help seniors in terms of their drug costs. So now we have eliminated the deductible and the co-pay for everyone over the age of 65, in addition to their access to prescription medications through our Ontario Drug Benefit plan.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Mr. John Vanthof: Premier, in desperation, Delima wrote to you several years ago, pleading for you to act and help people like her. Your office answered with a letter, but nothing else. Without access to dental care, her health and quality of life have been hurt, while you and your Liberal government have failed to act.

All across Ontario, people like Delima are living in pain because they can’t get dental care. They don’t need pain medication; they need to get their teeth fixed. People are suffering, and for 15 years your government has done nothing to help these people.

The NDP has a plan to fix this problem and deliver dental care for everyone. Why doesn’t the Premier?

Hon. Helena Jaczek: Just to expand a little bit on what we announced last week to make life more affordable for seniors, we know that what we’re doing with our expansion of OHIP+ for seniors will make life more affordable for some 2.6 million seniors and their families.

As we’ve committed, we will work towards building a larger dental program for low-income adults that will provide peace of mind for these families and individuals and allow them to enjoy life and have a better quality of life.

It is interesting, Mr. Speaker, that until very, very recently—until last week—the NDP asked only one question about dental care in the whole of the last year.

5G technologies

Ms. Ann Hoggarth: My question is to the Minister of Research, Innovation and Science.

Fifth-generation technologies and next-generation networks are advancing at an unprecedented pace. We have already seen them become the new global standard for wireless communications. They have allowed wireless communication speeds to become 100 times faster than current rates, and have advanced seamless communication between billions of connected devices. Such advancements have caught the attention of international technology companies, making nations eager to invest and advance these technologies in their own economies.

Minister, can you inform the Speaker and the members of the House how Ontario plans to remain competitive in the international 5G and next-generation digital economy?

Hon. Reza Moridi: I want to thank the member from Barrie for that question.

Last Monday in Ottawa, I was thrilled to be a part of the $400-million investment and joint funding announcement for a 5G network. Ontario is partnering with Quebec and the federal government to accelerate the transition to 5G wireless technology in our country, Canada.

This province is investing $67 million in ENCQOR through partnerships with multinational technology corporations. This game-changing initiative will build two high-speed 5G test beds in Ontario and give our companies access to these technologies. This will allow them to create transformative products and services to compete globally, improve communication services, advance our innovation economy and improve the day-to-day lives of Ontarians.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Ms. Ann Hoggarth: Thank you to the minister for that answer. It is always exciting to hear about Ontario’s role in such beneficial and constructive investments. These investments not only advance 5G technologies but could lead to breakthroughs in fields like artificial intelligence, cyber security and other transformative technologies. We know that investments in these technologies will transform our economies as they will create new jobs and industries.

I understand that this investment aligns with Ontario’s successful $650-million Business Growth Initiative, which has helped the economy grow by promoting an innovation-based economy.

Could the minister please inform the House how these investments in fifth-generation technologies and next-generation networks will drive innovation and strengthen Ontario’s economy?

Hon. Reza Moridi: Again, thank you to the member for that question. These new test beds will allow small and medium-sized business enterprises to test and develop 5G technologies ahead of the competition in order to stay ahead of the game. This will give Ontario businesses a first-to-market advantage in using these new technologies. Moreover, approximately 2,000 jobs will be secured in Ontario by SMEs accessing these technologies. The initiative is also expected to retain nearly 1,000 jobs in the first five years and a secure global research and development mandate for Ontario companies.

Mr. Speaker, I want to take a moment and thank our Ottawa caucus members from Ottawa Centre, Ottawa South, Ottawa–Vanier, Ottawa–Orléans and Ottawa West–Nepean for their advocacy for the city of Ottawa as well as for the innovation economy in our province of Ontario.

Horse racing industry

Mr. Randy Pettapiece: My question is for the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. It’s been many weeks since the Minister of Agriculture spilled the beans about Ajax Downs. Apparently, the government has hatched a secret plan to shut down the casino and move the slots to Pickering. The people of Ajax have rallied together against this backroom deal. Ajax council passed a motion calling on the government to do a fulsome, fair, transparent third-party review. Yet the mayor of Ajax tells me that they haven’t heard a peep from this government or the OLG—radio silence, Speaker.

Will the minister finally come clean and confirm his government’s plan to kill 1,700 rural jobs?

Hon. Jeff Leal: I’m pleased to answer the question of the member from Perth–Wellington. Friday was a historic day in the province of Ontario. We had the opportunity to be in beautiful Flamboro Downs. A number of our colleagues were there for the announcement. On Friday, we announced that over the next 20 years, we will be providing $105 million per year for a sustainable horse racing industry in the province of Ontario.

I just want to say that all the leaders of Ontario’s horse racing industry were there, whether it was the thoroughbred industry, the standardbred industry or the quarter horse industry in the province of Ontario. They had one response on Friday’s announcement: This is the greatest news for horse racing in Ontario in four decades.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Mr. Randy Pettapiece: Speaker, for the minister’s reference, I was talking about Ajax and the Ajax quarter-horse racing business.

Back to the Minister of Agriculture: The secret plan to shut down Casino Ajax has been botched from the start. The town of Ajax was blindsided when they learned the news in the Peterborough newspaper. They weren’t consulted at all. Now the government wants to politicize the process by announcing that Casino Ajax will move to Pickering.

The town of Ajax doesn’t want this to happen, the people of Ajax don’t want this to happen, and the 1,700 workers losing their jobs certainly don’t want this to happen. Minister, why are you doing it?

Hon. Jeff Leal: The Minister of Finance would be delighted to answer this question.

Hon. Charles Sousa: I want to reiterate the tremendous news that was provided on Friday to the horse racing industry, the breeders and all of the individuals involved with the industry, including Ajax Downs. We made a point of reaffirming our commitment to the industry to support horse racing and to provide support especially for those small tracks.

The member opposite is talking about the casino. He may want to talk to Rod Phillips. That candidate was the one who was the architect of modernizing the OLG, including some of those slots and those racetracks.

We are there to support Ajax Downs. We’re going to support them, as we say, going forward. It has a fairness monitor. It has been open and transparent throughout the process. We are going to support the industry and the modernization of the casino business.

Workers’ compensation

Ms. Cindy Forster: My question is to the Premier. While in Thunder Bay in January, the Premier promised to meet with local workers to talk about the many issues that injured workers routinely face, but she hasn’t. Despite two attempts by the workers to set up a meeting, nothing has happened.

I can guess why. Maybe it’s because the Liberals have once again promised big business a premium rate cut of 3%—that’s after delivering a 6.2% rate cut last year—or maybe it’s because her former chief of staff received $440,000 last year for being the head of a non-profit agency.

The premium savings to the wealthiest continue to be borne by injured workers who routinely have their claims denied, so I ask the Premier, is this yet another Liberal promise made and broken?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Minister of Labour.

Hon. Kevin Daniel Flynn: Thank you to the member for that question.

Certainly, the workers and families in this province need to know that, should they suffer an injury on the job or even worse, they will be looked after by a workers’ compensation system that allows them to collect, allows them to move on with their life and hopefully allows them to return to work.

I have met with a number of injured workers’ groups and injured workers themselves around the province of Ontario over the past three or four years. Some of the advice that we’ve received on changes that we should be making to the Workers’ Compensation Board is advice that I have heeded. Certainly, the Premier has supported that as well.

We have made those changes. I think if you look, Speaker, back at the last three or four years, the changes that have been made to the Workers’ Compensation Board in order to protect the interests of workers are something this province should be proud of. Do we have further to go? We absolutely do. I’m in the process of looking at a number of initiatives.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Ms. Cindy Forster: The government certainly hasn’t dealt with the deeming issue. Maybe the Premier hasn’t bothered to follow up with injured workers whom she met at her election-style event in Thunder Bay because her own Liberal government continues to leave thousands of injured workers to fend for themselves after they have been misclassified through deeming as working in jobs that they never held for a wage that they never got.

New Democrats put forward amendments to Bill 148 that would have prevented injured workers from being wrongfully assessed at the new higher minimum-wage rates, but Liberals and Conservatives refused to support those amendments.

Why is the Premier refusing to meet with injured workers in Thunder Bay as she promised?

Hon. Kevin Daniel Flynn: As I noted in the previous answer, I have travelled to Thunder Bay myself. I have met with the injured workers’ groups there right in the office of the member for Thunder Bay. He has facilitated those meetings. The injured workers themselves have come down to Toronto and have met in my office as well. On a six-month basis, we have injured workers come into the WSIB. I attend their meetings as well.

Three of the biggest asks that we’ve had from injured workers: One was full indexation for those who had a partial disability. We increased survivor benefits and took some steps to further disincent employers from hiding claims, which was happening in the past. We also listened to first responders. We passed legislation that allowed for presumptive WSIB coverage.

The changes that have taken place over the past three or four years have been based primarily on the advice that we’ve received from workers, and that’s how it should be.

Horse racing industry

Mr. Joe Dickson: To the Minister of Finance: This government, under the leadership of this Premier, has been working hard to develop a long-term funding solution for horse racing and the industry.

As you know, the Horse Racing Partnership Plan provided $100 million a year for the industry. In the 2016 budget, this investment was extended until 2021 while the government worked with industry to develop a long-term funding model.

The industry needs this funding stability to make important decisions around horse breeding and planning. On Friday, I was pleased to hear that our government, in co-operation with the industry, has developed a long-term funding plan in order to continue to support this important industry. Can the minister please explain the details of this new funding model?

Hon. Charles Sousa: I want to take the time to thank the member from Ajax for his dedication and his advocacy for the horse racing industry—a champion in Ajax. This member, like many members on this side of the House, has worked hard to ensure that the horse racing industry in Ontario remains a thriving industry.

That’s why this government has worked together with the industry to develop a long-term funding commitment that will provide $105 million a year for the next two decades. This agreement will provide the stability needed to strengthen and sustain horse racing and breeding in Ontario.

We know that this industry is an important part of this province’s heritage and an important part of rural communities. The new agreement will build on the co-operation between industry partners—horse people, breeders, racetracks and more—which we know is essential to maximizing the success of the entire industry.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Mr. Joe Dickson: Back to the minister: I was so pleased to hear that the government has listened to the needs of the industry. Now racetracks across Ontario will be able to better plan for the future of this historically important industry.

I understand that long-term funding is essential for horse breeders, so they can have stability in their planning and, in turn, the racetracks are able to accommodate more capacity over the long term. I know that nearly two decades of stable funding is not the only measure this government is taking to ensure the stability of all racetracks, including Ajax Downs. There will also be programs available to smaller tracks to encourage innovation and expand their revenue sources.

Can the minister please explain the additional measures that the government is taking to ensure the success of small tracks in Ontario?

Hon. Charles Sousa: Thank you again to the member for Ajax. To further assist the industry, the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs will extend their enhanced Horse Improvement Program, and they’ll also introduce a new racetrack sustainability innovation plan to support regional tracks, to help them innovate, diversify and expand revenue sources to achieve long-term sustainability.

OLG will also provide additional funding to supplement racetracks that may be experiencing financial shortfalls, all with the intent of providing for security in breeding and in the cycle, especially in quarter horse racing, which is important in Ajax.

To strengthen transparency and accountability for all horse people, racetracks and the public, a newly formed Ontario Racing board will be responsible for representing the interests of the entire industry. They will be responsible for providing three-year strategic plans and regular audited financial statements and reports. Their board will be equally represented by the racetracks and breeders, so that we can have a strong, proud and sustainable horse racing industry for many years to come.

Workers’ compensation

Mr. Randy Hillier: My question is to the Minister of Labour. I was recently contacted by Jeff Wilkinson in my riding, who had suffered knee and back injuries while at work, for which he needed surgery. He made a claim with the WSIB, and was granted health care and loss-of-earnings benefits. When his four weeks of approved care were over, he was still suffering from his injuries, so he applied for an extension of coverage.

Jeff was denied this extension. The WSIB claimed he was now suffering from a pre-existing condition. However, that same day, his employer was notified by the WSIB that their Second Injury and Enhancement Fund request had been rejected because—and get this—the WSIB stated “there is no pre-existing condition.”

Speaker, what medical and bureaucratic magic allows an injured worker to be both free from a pre-existing condition while simultaneously suffering from one?

Hon. Kevin Daniel Flynn: Thank you to the member for his enquiry on behalf of a constituent, Speaker.

Work continues on the WSIB. Over the years, there’s been a partnership between the government and the workers’ compensation system. As we have moved through that, as we listen to advice from business, labour and from injured workers themselves, we try to enhance the system; we try to make it work better. Over the years, we’ve made, I think, tremendous strides in that regard. More people are returning to work. More claims are being processed faster.

Obviously, in the House, I can’t talk to an individual case. Were the member to give me some details on the case, perhaps at the end of question period today, I’d be happy to look into it. Had he done that previous to this, Speaker—I’d be happy to do that as well.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary.

Mr. Randy Hillier: Again to the minister: Yes, I did speak to the WSIB and their liaison officer. That’s why we’re here today and hearing more hocus-pocus, from the sounds of it.

Another employee in my riding filed a WSIB claim after suffering an injury on the job. She was rejected continued benefits because the injury was due to a pre-existing condition. The employer filed another SIEF claim with the WSIB citing that same pre-existing condition. The employer’s claim was rejected on this basis: “No evidence to support a pre-existing condition.”

Speaker, it’s clear these aren’t isolated cases of bureaucratic hocus-pocus. This is a trend and a pattern that frustrates and circumvents the WSIB’s mandate to protect injured workers. Will the minister not only stop the WSIB from dodging employers and injured workers from their benefits but also tell us who are they lying to, the workers or the employers?

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

Mr. Randy Hillier: I withdraw.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Minister.

Hon. Kevin Daniel Flynn: Thank you, Speaker, and thank you again to the member for this question on behalf of a constituent.

In response to a previous question, I said that over the years we’ve made improvements to the system as a result of advice we received from injured workers. When we reinstated the full indexation of the benefits to full CPI for the first time in many years, that was a huge move forward. Those workers are starting to get a payment they weren’t getting in the past.

We increased survivor benefits, and we took steps to make sure that employers were playing the game fairly as well when it came to abiding by the rules.

We’ve listened to the first responders in this province and passed legislation to allow for their coverage.

But when we did the reinstatement of the full indexation, what the member perhaps forgot to inform the House about is that both opposition parties voted against those advancements. So when the time has come to make a difference for injured workers in this province, both opposition parties have been missing in action.

Récemment, le Conseil scolaire Viamonde a démontré son intérêt pour acquérir une école du conseil scolaire de Toronto déclarée surplus. Les parents sont inquiets que le building ne sera pas équivalent aux écoles secondaires anglophones, qui ont un auditorium, une cafétéria, des espaces communs pour les étudiants ainsi qu’une cour pour les activités sportives.

Hon. Indira Naidoo-Harris: Thank you to the member opposite for this very important question. Merci beaucoup. I really appreciate this question because, Speaker, I do want to point out that our government is absolutely committed to supporting students in French-language education with learning environments that provide the best conditions possible for developing French-language and cultural skills.

Speaker, I have been having many conversations with members of the French community and I’m pleased and proud to say that we have a very good working relationship, because we know that our French public education system is currently in a state of growth in many parts of the province and we’re responding with historic levels of investment. Absolutely, in this instance, it’s about boards working together.

But let me just tell you a little bit about what we have been doing to fund French-language school boards. We have been increasing annual funding by more than $340 million, an increase of 25% since 2013.

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

Hon. Indira Naidoo-Harris: I’m happy to say more.

Visitors

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member from Bruce–Grey–Owen Sound on a point of order.

Mr. Bill Walker: I’d like to introduce MaryLynn West-Moynes, the president and CEO of Georgian College; David Agnew, Seneca president and CEO; and Janet Beed, chair of the board from Seneca College.

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

Mr. Steve Clark: Mr. Speaker, I want to introduce to you, and through you to members of the Legislative Assembly, a constituent from my riding of Leeds–Grenville, who is here with St. Lawrence College today. He also does great work on the St. Lawrence corridor commission. I’d like to welcome Michael Adamcryck to Queen’s Park.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The time for question period is over. Therefore, this House stands recessed until 1 p.m. this afternoon.

The House recessed from 1146 to 1300.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): I just want to report to the members that I scored 10 brownie points this morning with my introduction of my wife, so thank you very much for that standing ovation.

Members’ Statements

Mental health and addiction services

Mr. Bill Walker: I rise today to recognize a new partnership that aims to improve how mental health and addiction services are accessed in my riding of Bruce–Grey–Owen Sound.

Last September, a number of local organizations, including the Canadian Mental Health Association Grey Bruce, G&B House, HopeGreyBruce Mental Health and Addictions Services and Grey Bruce Health Services, have joined to form the new Canadian Mental Health Association Grey Bruce.

Under the leadership of Claude Anderson, who has been named executive director of the CMHA Grey Bruce, community-based mental health and addictions should become more seamless at a critical time when my constituents are seeking better access to support programs.

The CMHA Grey Bruce provides a drop-in clinic and support programs for those with mental health needs, with locations in Owen Sound, Markdale, Hanover, Southampton, Kincardine and Walkerton.

HopeGreyBruce operates two addiction programs and eight community mental health programs that serve about 2,000 clients per year.

G&B House is a 15-bed residential treatment supportive housing program in Owen Sound that provides residential support to men who have serious chronic addiction problems.

Grey Bruce Health Services has in-patient and outpatient services for adult addictions and mental health, with only outpatient services to come under the umbrella of the new organization. GBHS will also be responsible for the urgent-response team and the primary care telemedicine program.

As we have the long-standing and growing unmet need in Grey-Bruce for mental health and addictions services, the group will continue to advocate for putting mental health and addictions on everyone’s radar so we can erase the difference and accept that mental health is just as important as physical health and should be funded the same.

I welcome Mr. Anderson to the job and look forward to seeing a positive impact and improvement in how my constituents access the often complex mental health and addiction services.

London economy

Ms. Peggy Sattler: Amidst troubling economic news for the London region, there are encouraging signs of hope because of the commitment and vision of London’s outstanding civic entrepreneurs.

The 2016 census revealed that London has a lower employment rate than any other large Canadian city. With the collapse of the manufacturing sector and the loss of jobs that never came back, more Londoners than ever before are not participating in the labour market. Those who are are likely to be contract or part-time, and there are more Londoners on Ontario Works today than in the last 15 years.

To help spur jobs and opportunity, local civic entrepreneurs are stepping up with new and innovative ideas to drive inclusive social and economic change. For example, social investor Lina Bowden last month launched the Verge Capital breakthrough fund, the first regional investment fund of its kind in Ontario. The fund enables private investors to support social enterprises that benefit the community, such as affordable housing developments or environmental projects.

Earlier this month, Venture London was announced, a one-stop shop for entrepreneurs and the largest entrepreneur centre in southwestern Ontario. Led by civic entrepreneur Amir Farahi, Venture London is a collaboration between TechAlliance, the London Small Business Centre, the London Institute and Farhi Holdings.

Mr. Speaker, London’s civic entrepreneurs are doing their part to foster growth and prosperity that is shared by all Londoners. We need a government equally committed to rebuilding an inclusive local economy.

Homelessness

Ms. Sophie Kiwala: I am thrilled to rise today to speak to an exciting event that is taking place this evening. We are joined by the United Way service providers and advocates from across the province who are here for Youth Homelessness Awareness Day.

Please note that the reception will take place this evening between 5 and 7 o’clock in the legislative dining room.

I’d like to acknowledge the tremendous efforts of Bhavana Varma, Kim Hockey and their team at the United Way Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington, and fellow United Way organizations from across the province.

It is heartbreaking to know that there are young people who are struggling to have their most basic needs met. We need to do everything we can to rectify the situation and ensure that every youth lives a fair and equitable life.

Mr. Speaker, I’m very proud that our government is investing $50 million over six years through the Local Poverty Reduction Fund. Ontario is providing more than $16 million to 46 projects in communities across Ontario. Almost $3 million of the over $16 million is supporting projected related to homelessness. Ontario is investing $17 billion over four years to deliver more accessible and better care for individuals who experience mental illness or addiction at any stage in life, and this will also help.

We know that there is more work to be done. I would encourage everyone in this House—all members of all parties—to please join us for the celebration this evening.

Epilepsy

Mr. Jeff Yurek: I rise today to acknowledge Purple Day. Founded in 2008, Purple Day was created by Cassidy Megan, who was motivated by her own struggles with epilepsy. Through increased awareness, Purple Day dispels myths surrounding epilepsy, reduces stigma, and empowers individuals living with epilepsy to take action in their communities.

There are approximately 50 million people around the world living with epilepsy, including roughly 90,000 people here in Ontario. There remains no cure for this complex neurological disorder; however, proper treatment and medication can help control seizures, resulting in people living their lives to the fullest. Advances in medical technologies give us hope for possible better treatments or perhaps a cure down the road.

I would encourage everyone to get involved and learn more about epilepsy and learn about this important cause: spread awareness, educate yourself, educate others and help eliminate many misconceptions related to epilepsy. Together, we can make a difference in many, many lives.

I’d like to thank Epilepsy Ontario for the great work they do across Ontario to improve the lives of people living with epilepsy.

Climate change

Mr. Peter Tabuns: This afternoon, I’ll be introducing my bill Liability for Climate-Related Harms Act, 2018. Increasingly, the cost of climate damage will be a burden on our society and on individuals. This act will give Ontarians the legal means to seek compensation from the world’s major polluters for their fair share of those costs. This follows the path of the tobacco liability legislation brought forward here in Ontario to recover compensation for health costs related to tobacco use.

The world’s largest fossil fuel corporations have to start paying their fair share for the damage from their products and for the cost of protecting people from those damages. No one has calculated the cost of climate damage in Ontario to date, but as a sense of the scale, storm damage in Ontario in 2013 alone exceeded $1 billion, between the summer flash flooding in July and the ice storm in December. The cost to protect us in the future is undetermined. To give a sense of scale, New York City, in its climate lawsuit, noted that it will be spending $20 billion to protect that city from future climate damage, and is seeking commensurate compensation.

The damage from climate change and the cost to protect us from climate change will be huge. The people of this province need the companies that are putting out the product that’s causing the problem to put in their fair share.

Gun control

Mr. Mike Colle: I’m sad to say that, earlier this month, we had another senseless shooting, which killed two people outside my local bowling alley on a Saturday night. This is a bowling alley that I go to and take my grandkids to. A lot of people go for pizza and bowling on a Saturday night. These innocent people were shot and killed on a Saturday night. It could have been anybody in the community.

I know that this past weekend we’ve seen in the United States that there was March for Our Lives, where young people stood up and spoke out about senseless killing in Florida. We have issues here in Ontario, in Canada. These are not from legitimate gun owners; these are criminals. These are thugs that have unlawful handguns. They’re driving around and walking around our city with unlawful handguns.

What are you doing with a handgun in the city? If you’re not a policeman, military person or licensed target shooter, what right do you have to have an unlawful handgun in the city? In Brantford, in Brampton and in Toronto they’re doing that because they flout the law. They get away with it, and that’s why, every day, almost, there’s some kind of gunplay, and they walk away. This has got to stop, Mr. Speaker.

Home care

Mr. Norm Miller: I rise to today to highlight serious issues plaguing home care in my riding, particularly in the district of Parry Sound.

Since the local care contract was renegotiated and the government awarded the deal to a new care provider, I’ve heard over and over again from constituents in desperate need of care. I’ve heard from people who are being sent home from the hospital with no supports in place. I’ve heard from individuals who are already accessing home care but who, since the change in providers, are now getting spotty, disorganized care, if they receive care at all.

I’ve also heard from individuals who are told there are no personal support workers available and who weren’t even being offered the option of being put on a wait-list. Upon complaining, all these constituents are told by the care provider that there’s a lack of PSWs in the area. However, I’ve also heard from PSWs who have taken jobs in other fields because of the lack of compensation for travel time, which makes continuing in their chosen profession impossible.

This is a clear case of the government thinking one model will work for the entire province. I would, however, point out that while a PSW in an urban area could spend the entire day treating patients within a few city blocks, a PSW in the north might have to travel three hours in a day to reach all their patients. As of now, those three hours are unpaid.

My constituents have made it clear to me that they are angry with this government’s choice to contract a company that cannot provide services that were previously provided under another service provider and who seemingly do not have the staff for the job that they bid on.

Bangladeshi Heritage Month

Mr. Lorenzo Berardinetti: I’m pleased to rise today and acknowledge that throughout the month of March, Ontario has been proudly celebrating Bangladeshi Heritage Month.

Back in 2016, I brought forward Bill 44,

An Act to proclaim the month of March as Bangladeshi Heritage Month in Ontario. I’m happy to see that this province continues to recognize the numerous contributions made by our Bangladeshi community members and celebrate the last impacting they have made on this province.

Bangladeshi immigrants have been coming to Canada and proudly calling Ontario home since the early 1970s, and today, community estimates put their numbers at around 50,000. They are our friends, our neighbours, our artists, our scientists, our doctors, our business owners and community leaders.

Their infusion of culture, of shared values and incredible work ethic have significantly strengthened my riding of Scarborough Southwest and truly made it a more unique and special community in which we live.

On top of that, this day also marks the celebration in the Bangladeshi calendar of Bangladesh Independence Day, so the timing of these remarks could not be more fitting.

Finally, I’d like to mention that on Wednesday the 28th, we’ll be holding a flag-raising ceremony here at Queen’s Park. I encourage all members to attend, and I look forward to celebrating with them and with members of the Bangladeshi community.

Introduction of Bills

Liability for Climate-Related Harms Act, 2018 / Loi de 2018 sur la responsabilité à l’égard Des dommages liés au climat

Mr. Tabuns moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 21,

An Act respecting civil liability for climate-related harms / Projet de loi 21, Loi concernant la responsabilité civile à l’égard des dommages liés au climat.

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): The member for a short statement.

Mr. Peter Tabuns: This bill enacts the Liability for Climate-Related Harms Act, 2018. It provides that a fossil fuel producer is strictly liable for climate-related harms that occur in Ontario if the producer is responsible for greenhouse gas emissions at a globally detectable level.

Prohibiting Driving with Unlawful Handguns Act, 2018 / Loi de 2018 sur l’interdiction de la conduite avec des armes de poing illégales dans le véhicule

Mr. Colle moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 22,

An Act to amend the Highway Traffic Act and the Civil Remedies Act, 2001 to promote public safety by prohibiting driving in a motor vehicle with an unlawfully possessed handgun / Projet de loi 22, Loi modifiant le Code de la route et la Loi de 2001 sur les recours civils afin de promouvoir la sécurité publique et d’interdire la conduite sur la voie publique d’un véhicule automobile avec une arme de poing dont la possession est illégale.

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): The member for a short statement.

Mr. Mike Colle: This is based on a similar bill whereby we tried to deal with stunt driving and racing. We gave police officers the right to impound a car and take away the violator’s driver’s licence. In this case here, if a police officer stops a vehicle and there is an unlawfully possessed handgun in the vehicle, the officer would have the right to impound the car and also suspend the licence, to make our roads safer. Simply, that’s what this bill is about.

Petitions

Mental health services

M me France Gélinas: I’m proud to present this petition from the Ontario Association of Consultants, Counsellors, Psychometrists and Psychotherapists. It reads as follows:

“Whereas patients receiving psychotherapy treatment from a registered psychotherapist (RP) in private practice must pay HST on the fee charged;

“Whereas psychotherapy is a health service which, when provided within the scope of practice of members of any other regulated health profession (RHP), is HST exempt;

“Whereas the HST adds a financial barrier on top of the social and cultural stigma that can accompany mental illness;

“Whereas there is a federal government process that allows groups to request the removal of HST from services;

“Whereas there is confidence that the tax will eventually be removed by the federal government;

“Whereas political staff have advised that a delay of three years is to be expected;

“Whereas Ontario has in the past acted separately from the federal government to effectively remove the HST;”

They “petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows:

“Removal of HST on psychotherapy be incorporated as a piece of the overall effort to make mental health care as accessible as possible to the citizens of Ontario.”

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

Consumer protection

Mrs. Liz Sandals: I have a petition here that reads:

“Whereas an undisclosed number of Canadian consumers’ personal information was hacked in the recent Equifax breach; and

“Whereas impacted person(s’) credit ratings are affected by breaches of this nature, which has repercussions for impacted person(s’) day-to-day living; and

“Whereas breached data of this nature includes names, addresses and social insurance numbers; and

“Whereas the number of impacted person(

s) cannot be confirmed; and

“Whereas there is no mandatory requirement for private sector entities in Ontario or other Canadian provinces to report a potential and/or actual privacy breach; and

“Whereas government must prevent future security breaches and access to critical consumer information; and

“Where government must enhance consumer protection in Ontario, which effectively builds consumer confidence;

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

“That the province of Ontario enact Bill 167,

An Act to amend the Consumer Reporting Act, to mandate that consumer reporting agencies respond to consumer inquiry no later than two business days after receiving the inquiry; provide a copy of the person’s consumer report free of charge; and that a consumer may request that a consumer reporting agency place a notice of security free on the consumer’s file.”

Page Rhys is going to take it to you just as soon as I sign it.

Highway improvement

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

“Whereas in 2009 the Ministry of Transportation received environmental clearance for six lanes of the 401 between Tilbury to Elgin county;

“Whereas the 401 between Tilbury and London was already known as ‘carnage alley’ due to the high rate of collisions and fatalities there;

“Whereas current work being done on the 401 between Tilbury and Ridgetown will reduce the road to a single lane for up to three years thus making this stretch a serious safety concern;

“Whereas there have already been four deaths, nine serious injuries requiring hospitalization and over eight collisions this summer within the one-lane construction area;

“Whereas the government of the day pledged to invest $13.5 billion in highway improvements and has sharply increased the fees for driver permits and licence renewal fees which are used for highway maintenance and improvements;

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

“To commit to upgrading the 401 from four to six lanes and install a median barrier from Tilbury to Elgin county.”

I support this petition, affix my name and send it with page Colin.

Services gouvernementaux

M me France Gélinas: J’ai une pétition pour ouvrir un centre de ServiceOntario à Vallée Est, et j’aimerais remercier M me Jacqueline Paiment de Hanmer dans mon comté.

« Attendu que le centre ServiceOntario privé de Vallée Est a soudainement fermé ses portes en janvier 2018; et

« Attendu que les habitants de Vallée Est ont droit à des heures ouvrables et temps d’attentes raisonnables; et

« Attendu que les habitants de Vallée Est paient les mêmes impôts provinciaux que les autres Ontariens et ont droit à des services égaux; »

Ils demandent à l’Assemblée législative que la ministre des Services gouvernementaux et des Services aux consommateurs dise à ServiceOntario « d’ouvrir immédiatement un centre ServiceOntario permanent, doté du personnel nécessaire, à Vallée Est. »

J’appuie cette pétition. Je la signe et je vais demander à Sophia de l’amener à la table des greffiers.

Fish and wildlife management

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

“Whereas the government created a special-purpose account (SPA) in 1997;

“Whereas the SPA pools together all revenues from hunting and fishing licensing fees, fines and royalties. The funds in the SPA are legislated to be reinvested back into wildlife management to improve hunting and angling across the province;

“Whereas the government is refusing to release the details of the spending of the SPA;

“Whereas a recently obtained report showed SPA expenditures from 2011-12 revealed expenditures (i.e. $69,000 spent to purchase and sell a house and $55,000 devoted to a psychologist) that are unrelated to wildlife management;

“Whereas in the past the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry has indicated that records for the SPA fund cannot be released as ‘they do not exist’;

“Whereas this is in direct contradiction to the Financial Administration Act that requires receipts and disbursement to be recorded for all special-purpose accounts;

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

“That in the name of accountability and transparency the Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry direct the Auditor General to conduct a value-for-money audit of the SPA fund.”

I agree with this petition and affix my signature.

Prix de l’essence

M me France Gélinas: J’aimerais remercier M. Langdon de Val Caron dans mon comté.

« Alors que les automobilistes du nord de l’Ontario continuent d’être soumis à des fluctuations marquées dans le prix de l’essence; et

« Alors que la province pourrait éliminer les prix abusifs et opportunistes et offrir des prix justes, stables et prévisibles; et

« Alors que cinq provinces et de nombreux états américains ont déjà une réglementation des prix d’essence; et

« Considérant que les juridictions qui réglementent le prix de l’essence ont : moins de fluctuations des prix, moins d’écarts de prix entre les communautés urbaines et rurales et des prix d’essence annualisés inférieurs; »

Ils demandent « à l’Assemblée législative de l’Ontario :

« D’accorder à la Commission de l’énergie de l’Ontario le mandat de surveiller le prix de l’essence partout en Ontario afin de réduire la volatilité des prix et les différences de prix régionales, tout en encourageant la concurrence. »

J’appuie cette pétition. Je vais la signer et je demande à Aidan de l’amener à la table des greffiers.

Hospital funding

M me France Gélinas: I have this petition that comes from Jennifer Cayen from Val Therese in my riding. It reads as follows:

“Whereas providing high-quality, universal, public health care is crucial for a fair and thriving Ontario; and

“Whereas years of underfunding have resulted in cuts to registered nurses (RNs) and hurt patient care; and

“Whereas, in 2015 alone, Ontario lost more than 1.5 million hours of RN care due to cuts; and

“Whereas procedures are being off-loaded into private clinics not subject to hospital legislation; and

“Whereas funded services are being cut from hospitals and are not being provided in the community; and

“Whereas cutting skilled care means patients suffer more complications, readmissions and death;”

They “petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows:

“Implement a moratorium on RN cuts;

“Commit to restoring hospital base operating funding to at least cover the costs of inflation and population growth;

“Create a fully-funded multi-year health human resources plan to bring Ontario’s ratio of registered nurses to population up to the national average;

“Ensure hospitals have enough resources to continue providing safe, quality and integrated care for clinical procedures and stop plans for moving such procedures into private, unaccountable clinics.”

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

Water fluoridation

Mr. Bob Delaney: I have a petition signed by a number of individuals in the Windsor area, which I’d like to read. It’s addressed to the Ontario Legislative Assembly and entitled “Update Ontario Fluoridation Legislation.” It reads as follows:

“Whereas community water fluoridation is a safe, effective and scientifically proven means of preventing dental decay, and is a public health measure endorsed by more than 90 national and international health organizations; and

“Whereas recent experience in such Canadian cities as Dorval, Calgary and Windsor that have removed fluoride from drinking water has shown a dramatic increase in dental decay; and

“Whereas the continued use of fluoride in community drinking water is at risk in Ontario cities representing more than 10% of Ontario’s population, including the region of Peel; and

“Whereas the Ontario Legislature has twice voted unanimously in favour of the benefits of community water fluoridation, and the Ontario Ministries of Health and Long-Term Care and Municipal Affairs and Housing urge support for amending the Health Protection and Promotion Act and other applicable legislation to ensure community water fluoridation is mandatory and to remove provisions allowing Ontario municipalities to cease drinking water fluoridation, or fail to start drinking water fluoridation, from the Ontario Municipal Act;

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

“That the Premier of Ontario direct the Ministries of Municipal Affairs and Housing and Health and Long-Term Care to introduce legislation amending the Health Protection and Promotion Act and make changes to other applicable legislation and regulations to make the fluoridation of municipal drinking water mandatory in all municipal water systems across the province of Ontario.”

Speaker, I am pleased to sign and support this petition and to send it down to the table.

Long-term care

M me France Gélinas: I would like to thank Lianne Burke from Hanmer in my riding.

“Whereas there continues to be a shortage of long-term-care beds in Ontario, resulting in the inappropriate use of acute care beds in Ontario’s hospitals; and

“Residents who do need secure long-term care are often forced to move away from their communities, families and friends”;

They petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows:

“To lift the moratorium on long-term-care licences so that the inventory of long-term-care spaces can be brought to a level that will ease the burden placed on Ontario’s hospitals; and

“Ensure that licences are granted for the creation of long-term-care spaces not only in cities but in smaller communities where residents are being forced to abandon everything they’ve ever known.”

I support this petition and will affix my name to it and ask Justin to bring it to the Clerk.

Hospital funding

M me France Gélinas: I have this petition that comes from all over the province. It reads as follows:

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) is made up of a team of world-leading experts in child health, the current space isn’t optimal for providing world-class health care. Founded over 140 years ago, SickKids currently operates in outdated buildings in critical need of transformation. Essential patient care areas used to treat our most vulnerable population are overcrowded and underfunded, resulting in longer lengths of stay, increased chances of infection and a lack of privacy.”

They petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows: “to express their support for the SickKids redevelopment plan and call upon the government of Ontario to provide approval for the SickKids capital plan proposal.”

Further, they petition the assembly “to request that monies be allocated to provide SickKids with the requested financial resources to support their infrastructure plan to modernize their facilities to enable them to provide our children with the world-class health care they deserve.”

Orders of the Day

Throne speech debate

Resuming the debate adjourned on March 22, 2018, on the motion for an address in reply to the speech of Her Honour the Lieutenant Governor at the opening of the session.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Ted Arnott): Further debate?

Ms. Peggy Sattler: I am pleased to rise today, on behalf of the people I represent in London West, to offer some comments on the throne speech that we heard in this place just a week ago today.

Since that time, over the last week, we have seen a desperate flurry, an outpouring, of announcements that followed that speech, with an endless list of funding commitments. As I watch these announcements, I’m reminded of the infamous comments of John Snobelen. Some of you may remember John Snobelen, the MPP who, back in 1996, shortly after the PC government was elected, talked about creating a “useful crisis.” The reason he talked about creating a crisis was to justify the draconian cuts that were made by the Conservative government to public education in this province.

He needed to create a crisis in order to justify the measures that were taken by that government to really gut public education in Ontario. By the time the Conservatives were finished with public education and government in Ontario in 2003, $1.7 billion had been taken out of the education budget for students and schools and communities across this province.

This time, with this Liberal government and under the leadership of Kathleen Wynne, instead of seeing a crisis at the beginning of this government’s mandate, we have seen a crisis created throughout the government’s mandate. Now, in the final, dying days of that mandate, the Liberals are swooping in, claiming that they have the solution to fix this crisis that they themselves have single-handedly created. Not only are they swooping in to fix this crisis, but they expect to be thanked and congratulated for their commitment to doing something about this crisis that they have brought to our province.

It is, truly, this kind of manoeuvring, this kind of political game-playing that really makes people cynical about politicians and about politics, because people know—despite what the Liberals are now saying, with their determination and their commitment to make these investments into hospital funding, into home care, into mental health and addictions etc., all the things we heard in the throne speech. People know that the reason we have such problems—intractable, deep, systemic problems—in our systems is because of actions that this government has taken.

The Financial Accountability Officer certainly knows it when it comes to health care. We heard that in the report that he issued a couple of weeks ago, where he clearly outlined how a deliberate strategy of cutting health care dollars had underfunded hospitals in this province, to the point where we have crises across our province in communities from northern Ontario to eastern Ontario, to the GTA, to southwestern Ontario, where I live, and it is because of those actions that have been taken that we find ourselves in the mess that we are in today.

Speaker, the throne speech focused on hospital funding as one of the commitments that the Liberals were going to be delivering following that speech in this new session of the Legislature. Where I come from, in London West, we know something about hospital funding. We know that just since Premier Wynne took office, $142 million has been removed from the budget of London Health Sciences Centre. London Health Sciences Centre has been forced to try to figure out how to absorb the significant loss of those dollars while still trying to serve the people in the community that I represent.

We have had some recent, very troubling cases that have resulted from this underfunding of hospital services in my community. I want to speak for a moment about a London West constituent whom we have talked about in this House on several occasions, Stuart Cline.

Stuart Cline was a constituent of mine who had gone on vacation with his family to Mexico. While he was in Mexico, he suffered a serious fall and experienced bleeding in the brain. The fall happened on a Wednesday. Several days later, by the Saturday, the doctors in the hospital in Mexico had stabilized Stuart Cline and had cleared him to travel. He had purchased travel insurance prior to his vacation, and his insurer was doing everything possible to try to get Mr. Cline back to a hospital in the community, in southwestern Ontario—in fact, anywhere in Ontario. The family just wanted Stuart Cline to come home.

The insurer was unable to locate a bed. The insurer had been working with the health ministry. They had contacted my office to try to get my help to get Stuart Cline home. But Saturday, the day he was stabilized, there were no beds. Saturday became Sunday, Sunday became Monday, Monday became Tuesday, which is when my office was notified, and it was only on the Thursday that Mr. Cline was finally relocated to St. Catharines, and that was no thanks to this Ministry of Health. That was because of the efforts of his family members.

Now, the Minister of Health would like to say that there were beds available, that there was just a glitch in terms of communication between the insurance company and the hospital in order to find that capacity to allow Stuart Cline to come back to Ontario. But, Speaker, this was not an isolated incident. Stuart Cline is one of many Ontarians whose stories have been shared in this Legislature. I’m just going to talk about a couple more of them.

Joe Glowacki: another constituent of mine from London West. He had a heart attack in Arizona in December 2017. He was stabilized and cleared for travel the very next day, but there was no hospital available for him to relocate to Ontario. Speaker, I can tell you, his insurer was highly motivated to get Mr. Glowacki back to Ontario. His insurer was paying $20,000 a day in a US hospital and wanted nothing more than to get Mr. Glowacki back to this province, but there were simply no beds available. There was no capacity in the system to enable Mr. Glowacki to travel back to this province.

Bryan Sockett was a Toronto-area man who experienced pneumonia while travelling in the Dominican Republic. That was back in January. He also was cleared for travel. He had an insurance company that was working diligently to get him back to Ontario. But once again, the insurer was unable to find an available bed in this province, and Bryan Sockett tragically died in hospital in Florida. They were able to transfer him from the Dominican to Florida, but were unable to get him back to Ontario.

David Ronald from Hamilton had fallen while travelling in Costa Rica back in February. Same story: His insurer was trying very hard to locate a bed for him in his home community, or basically anywhere in the general vicinity, and was unable to get a bed for him to return to.

Larry Dann: another London man who waited eight days in a US hospital. This, again, happened in February. He was cleared for travel home, but was unable to return to Ontario because there was no capacity in any area hospital for him to return to.

Todd Hrabchak, an 83-year-old Toronto man: again, trapped in a hospital in Florida, unable to get back to Toronto to a hospital bed where he could be cared for.

This is a systemic issue. This is not just a miscommunication between the insurance company and the receiving hospital. There is no capacity in hospitals in this province, and this has been going on for a long time. This is not a new problem that has suddenly arisen in this province.

Another one of the implications of the lack of access to beds is that people are getting their so-called elective surgeries cancelled or postponed. These are surgeries that can be scheduled, but are often dealing with very, very serious medical conditions.

Chris Punter is a Londoner who was in need of cardiac bypass surgery. His surgery was cancelled four times because London Health Sciences Centre could not provide him with a bed to recover in after his surgery would be complete. The fourth time his surgery was cancelled he was actually in a hospital gown with the wires already on his body when he was told, “Sorry, we can’t accommodate you. There are no recovery beds, so we’ll have to reschedule.”

Another equally concerning consequence of this chronic underfunding of our hospital system is the paramedics—the ambulances—who are lined up in hospital bays waiting to off-load their patients. In London, we saw some statistics reported in January that said that off-load delays for paramedics have more than doubled from 2015 to 2017. There were just over 5,000 off-load delays in 2015 and more than 10,000 off-load delays in 2017. There was a 45% jump in off-load delays in just one year, from 2016 to 2017.

The deputy chief of Middlesex-London EMS says that that it’s not unusual to find seven or eight ambulance crews stuck at each of our city’s two emergency rooms. These are ambulances that are taken off the road, that are unavailable to respond to health care emergencies when they arise.

We know that incidents of code critical coverage, when there are only three available ambulances, and code zero coverage, when there are no ambulances, are becoming much more frequent in my community and, actually, in communities across the province. This, obviously, has a direct impact on patient care.

Last week, we saw the government have a big announcement about funding that was provided to SickKids, but we know that SickKids, every day for the last year, has had occupancy rates of over 100%. The hospital’s average occupancy rate was 108%. What this means is that families in critical care are forced to share a room with as many as five other patients and their families. Children who are undergoing bone marrow transplants don’t have access to washrooms in their rooms because of the overcrowding that’s happening in these facilities.

We heard in March, earlier this month, from CHEO, the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Hospital. CHEO said they had to send away a dozen children so far—that’s in the first two months of 2018—including four babies, critically ill infants and toddlers. These children are being sent far away from home, far away from their families, to access the care they need, in Montreal, in Toronto, in Kingston.

Speaker, this is absolutely unacceptable. This is an issue that has been highlighted over and over and over again by MPPs in this Legislature from across this province. Now, all of a sudden, the government has said, “This is a problem and we’re going to fix it.” They haven’t said that this is a problem that they deliberately created through six years of continuous cuts to funding to hospital services.

Another issue that was highlighted in the throne speech was around mental health. Again, we saw a big announcement last week about what the Liberals are going to do to fix this crisis in mental health that they have created.

A crisis in mental health is something that my community is very familiar with. It is not a new issue. I will remind members that four years ago I shared the story of 18-year-old Jenepher Watt, a young woman in my community who went to access emergency mental health services at London Health Sciences Centre and was forced to sleep on the floor of the emergency room while waiting for psychiatric care. Just last year, I shared the story of Angela Jolly, a constituent in my riding who laid for a week on a stretcher in the hallway at London Health Sciences Centre waiting to access a psychiatric bed.

One of the other issues that we have been raising consistently over the last number of years is around wait times for hip and knee replacements. I’ll call the government’s attention to a story from December 2015, so two and a half years ago, when surgeons in my community took to the barricades to put the blame squarely on the health minister, saying that long wait times in London—actually, London has longer wait times for hip and knee replacements than any other area of the province. But they directly attributed this to shortfalls in funding from the Ministry of Health.

What was happening in my community—I was hearing from numerous constituents who were waiting two years or more to have their hip or knee replaced. As a result, people were falling, and they were at much higher risks of falls. They were experiencing terrible pain and suffering, having to rely more and more on painkillers to manage the pain. They were feeling increasingly isolated, as they were no longer able to participate in their regular community activities. Their mental health was suffering.

The consequences of this chronic underfunding of our health care system multiply in many different ways. It’s not as if this government did not know about these problems until the throne speech was announced last week.

We just heard about the government’s increase in funding to hospitals, with the addition of new mental health beds in my community. But Speaker, we had heard back in October that 24 beds were going to be added to London Health Sciences Centre—no information, since then, as to when those beds will be open. There was a Post-it Note that was delivered to the Minister of Health, which she shared with me, about some new staffing that was going to be added to the London Health Sciences Centre, but no real communication from this government about what was happening to address our very serious mental health issues.

I have to say, while the Liberals can try as they like to dress up what was in the throne speech and this flurry of announcements that followed, people aren’t being taken in. People understand that the problems that the Liberals are now claiming to be so committed to addressing are problems that they themselves created; they are problems that they themselves could have taken action on many years before we got to this throne speech and this budget that we’re expecting on Wednesday. They could have done that, but they chose not to. They chose to wait until the eleventh hour. We’re 72 days before an election, and now this is when they say they’re finally taking notice.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Ted Arnott): Questions and comments?

Hon. Chris Ballard: Thank you for the opportunity to speak for a couple of minutes on what I heard from the member from London West.

Speaker, I just want to relate a couple of things. Last spring I was at my local hospital, Southlake Regional Health Centre, a centre that I’m exceptionally proud of. It’s a regional cancer care centre. It’s a regional cardiac care centre. In fact, our cardiac care centre has doctors from the United States coming to Canada, coming to Ontario, coming to Newmarket, to learn new techniques to repair hearts in a very non-invasive way so that folks don’t have to spend too much time in the hospital and can get back to their lives. I’m very proud of this hospital. Southlake couldn’t do it without a real commitment from this government in health care.

What I’ve seen, year over year, month over month, is more and more investment in health care across the province. I could speak about the 40 new hospitals that have been built in this province. I could talk about increasing health care spending with every single budget this government has put in play.

But I only need go to my local hospital and look at the $5 million we committed last year, the $8.3 million I was there this week to talk about, or, more importantly for my riding, the 12 adult mental health beds that we’re going to be building at our hospital—and that’s about renovating an about 8,000-square-foot centre to put these 12 beds into. These are the types of commitments that this province has been making year after year after year.

I look at organizations like the Fraser Institute, the Wait Time Alliance—I look to these third-party organizations to tell me how well we’re doing in Ontario, and they tell us that Ontario has consistently ranked as having some of the shortest wait times for major surgeries in all of Canada.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Ted Arnott): Questions and comments?

Mr. Randy Hillier: It’s a pleasure to comment on the member from London West’s debate on the throne speech. I think she could have also added some things, such as that Ontario is the third-last province in this country for private sector growth. We lag behind everybody else. We have the second-highest debt per capita in the country. And—this is an interesting one—we have the lowest median household income growth in the country. Those are things that all could have been added to any of these debates on the throne speech.

This Premier and her government, who have doubled our debt on their pet projects and self-interest, would now like the public to believe a throne speech that promises long-needed investment in long-ignored needs for the people of Ontario. After 15 years of waste and neglect, I suggest this Premier should think of investing in something else—investing in a good clock, because their time is running out over there very quickly.

Speaker, that throne speech also reminded me of the comments from the Auditor General. I think they’re very similar in public accounts. The Auditor General alleged that the fair hydro scheme’s financial and accounting structure was designed to avoid reporting the cost of rate reductions on Ontario’s public accounts, thus allowing the government to falsely claim it had a balanced budget at the end of last year. She estimated that Ontario’s deficit would be understated by more than $1.3 billion.

I think there are some very significant similarities between the throne speech and the public accounts comments from the Auditor General. False claims are heard and understood. We know what false claims are.

Invest in that clock. Your time is up real quick.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Ted Arnott): Questions and comments?

Ms. Jennifer K. French: I’m glad to be able to add a few thoughts to the always thoughtful remarks from my colleague from London West, on the throne speech and the government’s kind of promise list of all of the ways they’re going to make things right.

To the member’s point, this is a government that is now offering solutions, and they know the solutions because they created the problems. When they’ve got 15 years of answering the phones from constituents and, hopefully, doing some work in the communities, they know what the issues are; they know where the challenges are. They know about our partner organizations that are doing the heavy lifting and don’t have the government’s support. They’ve just chosen to ignore it.

Now, as the member from London West pointed out, 72 days out from an election, the government is suddenly saying, “Here, we’ve got an idea: You get a car, and you get a car, and you get a car”—and I should check under my seat to see if there’s anything under there for me. No, there’s not. There’s just disappointment from the past 15 years. But now they’re super committed to fixing all of these problems when they haven’t turned their attention to them before, which is disappointing.

I appreciate, of course, hearing the local perspective from the London area and hearing about the mental health challenges for individuals in my colleagues’ ridings. I could also tell stories about folks in my riding; we all could. This is why this is so personal. And this is why it’s not just about “too little, too late.” It’s that nobody believes them any more. There’s no point in listening to the promises in the throne speech when they’re not going to deliver. They had 15 years to deliver and they have chosen over and over not to. So here we are, Mr. Speaker; we’ll be here again having the same conversation about “not enough.”

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Ted Arnott): Questions and comments.

Mrs. Liz Sandals: I wanted to follow along on those comments, because to hear the story over there, you’d think, “Oh, nothing has ever happened in health care.” I was out canvassing with our new candidate Sly Castaldi on Saturday, and one of the things that people wanted to talk about was, in fact, health care—but it was actually recognizing things that we have done. For example, I think in the last throne speech we said, “We’re going to introduce what we call OHIP+. It will be free pharmacare for everybody under 24.” And then when we came around to the following budget, we put that money in the budget.

In fact, effective January 1 of this year, 2018, that program that we said we were going to deliver, we delivered, and what I heard from people in Guelph was how much they appreciated that. It might be students—because it’s Guelph; there are lots of students. They appreciated it. They’re under 24. But it was often homeowners who have grandchildren and who recognized that either their little grandchildren or their 18-, 19-, 20-year-old grandchildren were getting their drug needs totally covered by the Ontario government.

And for those who might have been seniors, they’re really happy that in this throne speech we said that we’re going to extend that no-deductible, no-copay pharmacare program that we have for the under-24s or under-25s to the seniors, as well. They really liked that. So they actually do think that we deliver because we did deliver.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Ted Arnott): That concludes our questions and comments. I return to the member for London West.

Ms. Peggy Sattler: I’d like to thank the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, the member for Lanark–Frontenac–Lennox and Addington, the member for Oshawa, and the member for Guelph for their comments on my remarks.

I want to begin where the member from Guelph left off, and that is with reference to OHIP+.

She says that she has talked to students. I’ve talked to students too, Speaker, and frankly, what students have told me is that while they were students, they were actually covered by their college or their university. Some 70% of young people are attending a post-secondary institution, and prior to OHIP+, they were getting coverage from their institution plans. A number of students had access to their parents’ group benefits.

What students have told me that their biggest concern is is what happens after they graduate, after they’ve aged out of their parents’ plans. Now with OHIP+, they will have zero coverage when they turn 25. That is a big concern for young people who are looking at going into a very unstable, insecure labour market where there are few opportunities for full-time employment that provide group benefits so that they can get their medication needs covered.

That is the age—core working-age people in this province—that is really shut out from what the Liberals have committed to with their pharmacare plan. They are the people who really, really need a government that is going to be on their side, that recognizes the challenges they face and steps up to do something to address those challenges.

This government, from my perspective, has been very good at announcing and reannouncing things and not so good at follow-through.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Ted Arnott): Further debate?

Mrs. Cristina Martins: It gives me great pleasure to rise this afternoon to debate on the throne speech. I will be sharing my time with the member from Mississauga–Streetsville.

A couple of areas from the throne speech that really pull at my heartstrings and that I can speak about with great passion are our health care system and what we are doing to improve that. As we know, Ontario’s health care system is something to be incredibly proud of, from health care planners to physicians to our front-line nurses and support workers. I’ll take this opportunity to give a shout-out to my cousin’s daughter Christina, who is a nurse and is enjoying being part of that front line providing services to the children that she sees.

We have built a system that is doing an incredible job of taking care of the people we love. About six weeks ago, a close friend of the family, my parents’ friend, who is about 76, had to undergo heart surgery. This was not his first heart surgery. He actually had three major surgeries that same week. Fortunately, he is recovering well and is now at home after being at St. John’s Rehab.

Neither he nor his wife has enough words to say about the thankfulness and the gratitude they have for our health care system and the wonderful system we have in place today, and could not understand why they would read in the paper, see on the news or hear from the parties opposite about our health care system being in a shambles, because that is not at all what they have experienced.

We’ve increased our investments in the system, and we are making significant progress. We continue to reduce wait times for surgery, increase access to primary health care providers, and expand services for Ontarians at home and in their communities. We have a system that has the best survival rates for prostate, breast, colorectal and lung cancer in Canada. That is why we continue to make health care a priority, including taking the first step towards universal pharmacare through OHIP+.

We are continuing to take action to help thousands of families with health care costs through OHIP+. Since January, when we introduced this program, over one million free prescriptions have been filled through OHIP+.

We made the biggest expansion to medicare in Ontario in a generation by providing drug coverage for over four million children and youth across this province, who now have access for free—no copayment, no deductible—to over 4,400 drugs. These drugs include antibiotics to treat infections; asthma inhalers; insulin; seizure medications; oral contraceptives; antidepressants; drugs to treat arthritis and epilepsy; and some drugs to treat cancer and rare diseases—all this once again, Mr. Speaker, at no cost, no copayment, to the families.

We heard stories from families all across the province who previously suffered with worrying about being able to afford their children’s prescription medications. I’ve said here before in this House already when I introduced and made the announcement in my riding of Davenport on our plan to provide free medication to our children and youth through the OHIP+ program—I did that at one of the local elementary schools.

When I was making that announcement, after the announcement, the principal approached me and said, “Cristina, this is huge—huge.” She had a wall full of EpiPens in her office, and she said that when those pens expire, she has to call the parents to say, “Mrs. Smith, Mr. Smith, your child’s EpiPen has expired. We now need to have a new pen.” Oftentimes she would hear from the other side, saying, “Miss, is it okay if we just hold off another month? I don’t know that I can afford to have that EpiPen replaced right now.”

Just imagine what this OHIP+ is doing for families now in my riding of Davenport and across Ontario. We want everyone in Ontario to feel this kind of freedom, to be able to not have to choose whether or not they were going to refill their chi