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December 7, 2015

41st Parliament, 1st Session

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Hansard Transcripts

vol. A

Hansard Transcripts

vol. B

Votes and Proceedings

Orders and Notices

Hansard Transcripts 2015-Dec-07 (PDF)

L131A - Mon 7 Dec 2015 / Lun 7 déc 2015

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO

ASSEMBLÉE LÉGISLATIVE DE L’ONTARIO

Monday 7 December 2015 Lundi 7 décembre 2015

Introduction of Visitors

Oral Questions

Ministry grants

Ministry grants

Privatization of public assets

Government’s record

Ministry grants

Long-term care

Climate change

Northern Ontario development

Children’s aid societies

Ontario Retirement Pension Plan

Correctional facility

Hospital funding

Public transit

Highway tolls

Collective bargaining

Visitors

Introduction of Visitors

Members’ Statements

Bruce Power

Welland NDP

Tree planting

Public libraries

Senior Guyanese Friendship Association

Energy policies

Refugees

Hanukkah

Petitions

Ontario Retirement Pension Plan

Ontario Northland Transportation Commission

Health care funding

Long-term care

French-language education

Health care funding

Veterans

Lung health

Beer sales

Solar farm

Concussion

Orders of the Day

Protecting Employees’ Tips Act, 2015 / Loi de 2015 sur la protection du pourboire des employés

Safeguarding our Communities Act (Patch for Patch Return Policy), 2015 / Loi de 2015 pour protéger nos collectivités (politique d’échange de timbres)

Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth Amendment Act, 2015 / Loi de 2015 modifiant la

Loi sur l’intervenant provincial en faveur des enfants et des jeunes

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness, Research and Care Act, 2015 / Loi de 2015 sur la sensibilisation au deuil périnatal, la recherche sur ce genre de deuil et l’aide aux personnes vivant un tel deuil

Mental Health Statute Law Amendment Act, 2015 / Loi de 2015 modifiant des lois relatives à la santé mentale

The House met at 1030.

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

Prayers.

Introduction of Visitors

Hon. Michael Gravelle: As I think the members know, we have a very strong contingent here from Unifor today. We welcome them all, but I’m very pleased to particularly introduce two leading members of the executive from Thunder Bay: first of all, Kari Jefford, president of Unifor Local 229, and Suzanne Pulice, vice-president of Unifor Local 229. Kari and Suzanne, welcome.

Ms. Teresa J. Armstrong: I would like to introduce a special guest here today at Queen’s Park. Alexandra Kotyk is the project manager of Lifeline Syria. Lifeline Syria’s plan is to recruit, train and assist sponsor groups to welcome and support 1,000 Syrian refugees coming to Canada as permanent residents to resettle in the GTA over the next two years. I want to say welcome to Queen’s Park today.

Mr. Taras Natyshak: I’m pleased to welcome two friends from my neck of the woods, Windsor and Essex county: Ericka Deslippe and Wayne Maclean are activists with Unifor, and they are here for the Unifor lobby day. I want to welcome them to Queen’s Park.

Hon. Helena Jaczek: Please help me to welcome the grade 10 students from St. Augustine Catholic High School in the great riding of Oak Ridges–Markham.

M me France Gélinas: Michael Dingwall’s Canadian and World Studies class from Humberside Collegiate is coming in. I wanted to mention that Jonathan Hampton is part of that class. Jonathan is the son of Shelley Martel, who was the MPP for Nickel Belt, as well as of our former leader Howard Hampton. Welcome, Jonathan.

Mr. John Vanthof: One of our page captains today is Keana Cavero. Her mother, Yanet Cavero, is in the gallery this morning. I’d like to welcome her to Queen’s Park.

Oral Questions

Ministry grants

Mr. Patrick Brown: To the Acting Premier: This government has handed out $1.4 billion from the Ministry of Economic Development, 80% of which went to companies that either didn’t apply or were told that the application was simply a formality. That’s $1.1 billion handed out to Liberal friends. What happened to the government that rode in on a white horse promising openness and transparency?

Does the Acting Premier believe it’s acceptable to hand out a billion dollars without an application process? Simple question: Is that acceptable, yes or no?

Hon. Deborah Matthews: I know the minister will want to take supplementary questions, but I do want to say thank you to the Auditor General for her report. It’s a very important part of our democratic institution that we have the Auditor General give us advice on what we need to do to make government better for the people of this province.

I was very pleased that the Auditor General herself noted the actions we’ve taken on our follow-up audit. She said that she’s “pleased to report that 76% of these actions have either been fully implemented or were in the process of being implemented.” She went on to say, “I want especially to note the exemplary performance of the Ministry of Education, Ontario Power Generation, ServiceOntario and the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care in implementing recommendations from our audits two years ago.”

I look forward to the supplementary. We take this seriously.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Mr. Patrick Brown: Again to the Acting Premier: This government will not ask for receipts. First, it was millions of dollars to teachers’ unions. Next, it’s bailing out private companies for snowplows. Now we find out that after handing out billions of dollars in the name of economic development, this government can’t prove they’ve created a single job. This government can’t prove a single dollar of return on their investments. They can’t prove it because they never studied the economic impact. All the minister does is write a cheque, stage a photo op, then forgets the company exists until the next time he needs to send out a press release.

Why can’t the Liberals prove one job was ever created? Was it because this was simply an opportunity to hand out cheques to their friends?

Hon. Deborah Matthews: To the Minister of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure.

Hon. Brad Duguid: Mr. Speaker, I’ve got—

Mr. John Yakabuski: Oh, the sultan of slush.

Hon. Brad Duguid: Pardon me?

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): That’s not helpful.

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Minister.

Minister of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure.

Hon. Brad Duguid: I want to share two numbers with the Leader of the Opposition: 145,000 jobs created or retained in this province since 2004—

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member from Leeds–Grenville.

Hon. Brad Duguid: —145,000 Ontarians working today because we’ve had the courage to partner with our business sector; 145,000 jobs that, if you and your party had your way—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): I’m not going to allow shouting matches to go back and forth, and the member from Leeds–Grenville, in case he didn’t hear me, I asked him to come to order because he was continuing to shout. I hope the minister gets the message, too.

Nice and easy.

Hon. Brad Duguid: Mr. Speaker, I’m just responding.

The fact of the matter is we’ve had $26 billion of private sector investment since 2004 that’s flowed into this province, and the party opposite has opposed every one—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): I will take the exercise. The member from Leeds–Grenville, second time. The member from Dufferin–Caledon, come to order.

Finish, please.

Hon. Brad Duguid: We’ve had the courage to make these investments: 145,000 Ontarians’ jobs retained or created in this province—jobs that that party would like to see in Mexico, would like to see in the Deep South, would like to—

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): That’s enough. The member from Leeds–Grenville is warned.

Final supplementary?

Mr. Patrick Brown: Again to the Acting Premier, or to the minister of handouts: The last time the Liberals got caught with a slush fund, it turned out that they were handing over cheques to companies run by lifelong Liberals and Liberal staffers.

Can the Acting Premier verify how many of these companies that received these grants donated to the Liberal Party? Or was there an expectation that they would donate after they received a grant? A very clear and direct question: Did any of the companies that received these grants also donate to the Liberal Party before or after?

Interjections.

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

Minister?

Hon. Brad Duguid: Here are the jobs that that party and that leader are opposing:

—5,000 high-tech jobs within the next 10 years in the GTA through Cisco; you oppose that;

—4,000 jobs in Alliston for Honda retained; they oppose that;

—8,000 jobs in Guelph through Linamar; they oppose that;

—3,000 jobs in Oakville through Ford; they oppose that;

—7,500 jobs in Cambridge; they oppose that; and

—800 jobs in Napanee through Goodyear; they oppose that.

We are partnering with businesses to grow this economy, an officially competitive global economy. We have the courage to make those investments. Clearly they don’t. Some 145,000 Ontarians have had their jobs retained as a result of these investments. We’re proud of these investments. We’re going to continue to grow this economy, in spite of the opposition—

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

New question.

Ministry grants

Mr. Patrick Brown: Again to the Acting Premier: Since the Minister of Economic Development will not answer whether there are donations to the Liberal Party after these grants, I’m going to try a different angle.

The Minister of Economic Development has doled out $1.4 billion through grants to Ontario businesses. Last week, the Auditor General, to use her words, said that “the government gave most of the money to companies it had chosen with no public competition.” She told us there were “no criteria” on how they were picked. That sounds an awful lot like the Colle-gate slush fund scandal that cost the member from Eglinton–Lawrence his cabinet job.

Mr. Speaker, is the Auditor General correct? Did the government give out grants with no criteria or competition? Is this Brad-gate?

Hon. Deborah Matthews: To the Minister of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure.

Hon. Brad Duguid: Mr. Speaker, let me share with you some of the investments that we’ve made across this province, that the members opposite have actually taken an interest in, despite the fact that they and their leaders don’t support them.

In Lambton–Kent–Middlesex, a regional economic development fund provided nearly $2 million, leveraging $15 million and creating or sustaining 400 jobs. The members of the party opposite talk about not supporting these funds, but when it comes to their own ridings, they’re very supportive.

Perth–Wellington: I received a letter from that member requesting southwestern Ontario development support for a business in his riding. On November 7, 2012, the member for Simcoe–Grey wrote me, requesting funding for his riding through the Southwestern Ontario Development Fund. On October 22—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Order, please. The member from Renfrew–Nipissing–Pembroke, come to order. The leader of the third party, come to order.

Finish, please.

Hon. Brad Duguid: The member for Bruce–Grey–Owen Sound wrote to me, asking for funding for a local airport through the Southwestern Ontario Development Fund. The member for Wellington–Halton Hills wrote me and said some very glowing things about the importance of this fund.

The fact of the matter is that you can’t have it both—

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

Mr. Patrick Brown: Again to the Acting Premier and the minister of slush funds: This government picked companies to receive—

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member knows, or should know, that that’s not appropriate. Withdraw, please.

Mr. Patrick Brown: Withdraw.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Finish.

Mr. Patrick Brown: The government picked companies to receive grants—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Stop the clock. It goes both ways. I want attention for questions and answers.

Please finish.

Mr. Patrick Brown: This government picked companies to receive grants behind closed doors for the purpose of press-release politics. The Auditor General told us that 80% of investments were “made through unadvertised and non-transparent processes.” She told us that “only selected” companies “were invited to apply.” That sounds like the minister was just calling up his friends and making them an offer they couldn’t refuse.

Mr. Speaker, can the Acting Premier explain why it’s appropriate to hand out multi-million-dollar cheques with no competition? This wouldn’t fly anywhere in Ontario; why does it fly with this government?

Interjections.

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

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member from Renfrew, come to order—second time. I’m not standing up for you to get a cheap shot in when I get quiet. That’s going to stop.

Minister.

Hon. Brad Duguid: The fact of the matter is that the process for consideration of the allocation of these funds is among the toughest processes anywhere in the world today. The fact of the matter is one out of 100 of the companies that have requested funding under these proposals actually get through the very tough criteria to get there.

Any company in this province, in this country, anywhere in the world globally, can simply go onto our website and contact our ministry to get into consideration of these funds. So what the Leader of the Opposition is saying is unmitigated nonsense. These funds are open to any company to apply to, but we need to use these funds strategically to grow jobs, 145,000—

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

Mr. Patrick Brown: Again, to the Acting Premier: I will trust the Auditor General’s report, 10 times out of 10, over the spin of this Minister of Economic Development.

Within the $1.4 billion given away by the ministry, there was a noticeable lack of funding for forestry and mining projects. If you actually want to engage in economic development, maybe you can do it in a part of the province that needs it. There was a noticeable lack of funding for northern Ontario. I guess the Premier or the minister didn’t seem to want to invite northern companies to apply. The ministry hasn’t funded a northern project for economic development through this fund since 2008.

Why did the government ignore northern Ontario? Was it because there were no Liberal-friendly companies in northern Ontario?

Interjections.

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

Minister?

Hon. Brad Duguid: We have a Northern Ontario Heritage Fund that continues to invest—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member from Simcoe–Grey will come to order, and the member from Renfrew–Nipissing–Pembroke is warned.

Finish, please.

Hon. Brad Duguid: —and that fund continues to make investments in the north.

Our northern members have done a tremendous job in supporting the north, but the fact of the matter is I asked the Leader of the Opposition to take a look at the members on his right, take a look at the members on his left, take a look around them; not one of those members supported the $2.6 billion that we’ve invested to leverage $26 billion of private sector investment and create or retain 145,000 jobs in this province.

That Leader of the Opposition has a tendency to change his mind from time to time. Are you with us in creating those 145,000 jobs or are you with your colleagues who have opposed our efforts to build this economy and create jobs every step of the way?

Privatization of public assets

Ms. Andrea Horwath: My question is for the Acting Premier. Can the Acting Premier tell Ontarians why she thinks Hydro One does not need public watchdogs?

Hon. Deborah Matthews: I think we’ve had this debate in this House many times. What we are committed to is building the infrastructure that this province needs. If you talk to municipal leaders across the province, if you talk to businesses across the province, if you talk to labour organizations whose members will be put to work because of these investments, you will all hear that we need to make the investments in infrastructure.

We do have assets. We are prepared to get the maximum value for those assets so we can build new assets that are needed for today and tomorrow. That’s an important initiative of this government, and we will continue to do it in a thoughtful, responsible way.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Ontario’s Auditor General says that the government is keeping Ontarians in the dark about hydro costs. She says that there’s a lack of transparency and the government isn’t being upfront about why hydro costs so much.

Now the Liberals, of course, are selling off Hydro One, and that’s going to push bills even higher. Instead of more oversight so that Ontarians get all the facts, the Premier is shutting every public watchdog out of Hydro One. Can this Acting Premier explain how getting rid of public oversight will help what the auditor calls a “lack of transparency”?

Hon. Deborah Matthews: Minister of Energy.

Hon. Bob Chiarelli: With respect to the new broadened Hydro One, in terms of how accountable they are to the public, one of the first things we were able to announce was that the timely issuance of accurate bills is the highest it’s been in the history of Hydro One, at a success rate of 99.8%. In addition, the number of customers currently experiencing delayed billings has been reduced to 340 as of June from the peak of over 50,000 during the height of the billing issues.

In addition, the present Hydro One, under new management, has a new CEO, a new CFO and a new chair of the board. They are extremely, extremely sensitive to serving the public and putting customers first.

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

Ms. Andrea Horwath: How ironic: The minister gets up and lays all of these numbers out, and he knows darn well that there is no opportunity whatsoever—forever—for independent verification of what he says in the House because they took all of the watchdogs out of Hydro One.

The government likes to go on and on, for example, and say that the OEB will protect the public interest. I’d like to direct the Acting Premier’s attention to page 219 of the auditor’s report, where it says, “The OEB, the protector of consumer interests, was not consulted” about the sell-off of Hydro One.

Can the Acting Premier explain why this government is doing everything in its power to limit public oversight of Hydro One?

Hon. Bob Chiarelli: The Ontario Energy Board, in addition to controlling rates, also checks on the reliability factors, the efficiency factors of Hydro One. Indeed, for those LDCs, which Hydro One remains, they have increased the fine for non-compliance to $1 million per day, should Hydro One not be compliant in terms of reliability or under any other service requirements. There’s tremendous accountability.

There is a new ombudsman in place who will report directly to the board and who can appeal to the Ontario Energy Board—any particular individual who complains.

So there is accountability. There’s accountability under the securities legislation, which requires disclosure of salaries of senior managers, and many other accountabilities which I’ll deal with later.

Government’s record

Ms. Andrea Horwath: My next question is also for the Acting Premier; I have some other questions about the Auditor General’s report. She said her “significant concerns” were over the fact that “in the context of the federal election campaign and verbal exchanges between the Premier and the Prime Minister,” and the fact that “the advertising campaign was set to run right up to federal election voting day”—that she was concerned that this added up to government-funded, partisan ads that ran during the federal election.

Will this Acting Premier tell Ontarians: Did Ontario families pay for advertising that was helping the Liberal Party of Canada?

Hon. Deborah Matthews: You know that as part of the 2015 budget, we did make changes to the Government Advertising Act. We are very proud that we have banned partisan ads in this province, and now we have clearly defined what a partisan ad is.

I think all of us will remember back to the days when the government of Ontario, the taxpayers of Ontario, paid for the then Premier of the province to attack teachers on television. I think we remember when Mike Harris stood in front of the camera and insulted those who teach our students. That kind of advertising is not allowed in this province anymore, and I’m very proud of the changes we have made. So you will not see the Premier, you will not see elected people in ads. There are other restrictions we have made so that we do not have government-funded, taxpayer-funded partisan ads.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Ms. Andrea Horwath: It’s a matter of government priorities. In 2013, New Democrats fought to ensure that there was a five-day home care guarantee. Instead, the Premier promised Ontarians a five-day home care target. But now we learn from the Auditor General that seniors are waiting 200 days for home care. We’re used to this government missing targets, but we’re talking about the health of Ontario’s most vulnerable.

Will the Acting Premier tell Ontarians why the government isn’t keeping their promise of a five-day home care wait time?

Hon. Deborah Matthews: Minister of Health.

Hon. Eric Hoskins: I think I missed the two supplementals from the first question, but it seems like a completely different question. I’m happy to address the leader of the third party.

We are making important investments in home and community care. We’re making more than $250 million of new investments in home and community care this year, next year, the year after. That’s an important commitment, as we transition Ontarians from hospitals into the home and community where they can be well cared for, and where they want to be, quite frankly. These investments are important.

I welcome the Auditor General’s report, as I welcomed her report on our CCACs earlier this year. I’ve indicated that in the case of the September report, we’re going to be implementing all of her recommendations. We accept and are already working on the recommendations she has provided in this update.

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

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Let me tie it all in for the Minister of Health, the Acting Premier and, in fact, the government. The Liberals spent public money on partisan ads to help the federal Liberal Party, so says the auditor. They are leaving seniors waiting 200 days for home care. They aren’t protecting children at risk of child abuse in this province. They’re causing energy rates to skyrocket and they are not protecting ratepayers. This is one of the most damning auditor reports I’ve seen in my time at Queen’s Park. The Liberals are failing on the fundamentals that people expect of their government, while at the same time, they are helping their own friends.

When will this government get its priorities straight and start working for Ontario families?

Interjections.

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

Hon. Brad Duguid: You have no right to make an allegation that’s false.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The Minister of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure will come to order.

The Minister of Health has the floor.

Hon. Eric Hoskins: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As a result of guidance and reports and good advice, including that from the Auditor General, we have already begun to make important changes in our home and community care sector. Sixty per cent of those who benefit from home care in this province are seniors. That’s an important constituency to make sure we’re providing the best possible and highest quality of care for them.

But I find it ironic, this question coming from the leader of the third party, the same party, when in government in the 1990s, that actually delisted home care from OHIP. I’m not going to take lessons from a party that took that move. I’m going to actually look at the advice we got from experts like Gail Donner and Kevin Smith and others, who provided us with advice earlier this year; and the Auditor General, who provided us with important recommendations.

We’re putting new money into home and community care to make sure that we’re taking advantage of innovation and new technologies to provide that highest quality of care we can, which Ontarians deserve.

Ministry grants

Mr. Monte McNaughton: My question is for the Minister of Economic Development. Recent reports have come out which raise some serious questions about the lack of judgment, oversight and long-term planning within the Ministry of Economic Development.

The Auditor General’s report shows that this ministry is handing out taxpayer grants to companies, up to $130,000 per job, and doesn’t even bother to monitor whether those jobs are retained or if the company is providing any economic value to the province of Ontario.

This government’s own fall economic statement slashed jobs projections by 53,000 positions over the next two years alone. Will the minister admit that his scheme to pick winners and losers and his lack of oversight and judgment is costing Ontario jobs?

Hon. Brad Duguid: The allegations the member is making are patently false. The fact of the matter is every contract we get into, for every dollar we put out in business supports, is totally tied to job creation or job retention or the investments that the private sector partner is making. If they don’t comply with their end of the bargain, either the money doesn’t flow—because it often flows in phases—or it gets clawed back.

Some 94% of the investments we’ve made that have helped create or retain 145,000 jobs in this province have met their objectives. That’s a pretty good track record. Every one of those agreements comes with full accountability. So the member’s allegations are patently false.

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member from Hamilton Mountain, come to order.

Supplementary.

Mr. Monte McNaughton: Mr. Speaker, again to the minister: In estimates committee two weeks ago, the minister reassured myself and other members of our caucus that the ministry had a stringent process for deciding on project funding. Yet the auditor’s report clearly shows us that over 90% of companies never submitted documentation to show that they even needed taxpayer money. It also highlighted numerous instances of companies closing soon after receiving funding or the government even writing off loans.

Using taxpayer dollars to hand out big cheques to big companies that don’t even need them doesn’t benefit the people of Ontario. It benefits Liberal politicians who like favourable press releases. How can people trust this government with their money when this minister is practising crony capitalism instead of sound economic management?

Hon. Brad Duguid: We’ve put into place a very stringent level of accountability, both within the prioritization of these projects and the amount of information that companies have to share with us before they get approved. Only one in 100 companies that have enquired through these funds actually makes it through the screening.

We look at everything from whether the company would have made the investment in the first place, to the rate of return for taxpayers, to the level of investment that goes into productivity improvement, to the level of investment that goes towards innovation, to the level of investment that goes towards exporting. There is probably not a jurisdiction anywhere in North America, if not anywhere in the world today, that has a process that is that stringent.

We’ll continue to make these investments. We’re going to create jobs in this province. The opposition might not be onside, but workers in Ontario are.

Long-term care

M me France Gélinas: Ma question est pour le ministre de la Santé. Last week’s report from the Auditor General is a stinging indictment of this government’s failure to protect our residents in long-term-care homes. The Auditor General said that the ministry takes up to nine months to investigate high-risk complaints, which should be resolved in three days. The backlog of critical inspection has more than doubled in the last two years, and the result is that the Liberal government is putting long-term-care residents at risk and failing to ensure that their rights are protected. Those are not my words, Speaker; those are the words of the Auditor General herself.

After so many warnings, after so many promises to do better, after so many excuses, how can the minister defend the failures to protect our loved ones living in long-term-care homes?

Hon. Eric Hoskins: To the Associate Minister of Health and Long-Term Care.

Hon. Dipika Damerla: I want to thank the member opposite for the question. I also want to thank the Auditor General for her findings on the long-term-care quality inspection programs. We not only take the Auditor General’s findings and recommendations seriously, we have accepted all of her recommendations. Furthermore, we have not only accepted the Auditor General’s recommendations, we are already implementing all of her recommendations. We are doing this because we take the safety of our long-term-care residents seriously.

I’m committed to improving on our performance, and I’m pleased to report that all of our outstanding high-risk complaints, as determined by the Auditor General, have been inspected. Once again, I just want to reiterate that I want the people of Ontario to know initiatives are already well under way to implement the Auditor General’s—

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

M me France Gélinas: The Liberals are failing some of the most vulnerable seniors in our province and their families, who trust that the government should be looking out for the well-being of long-term-care residents. It should never take months—close to a year—to follow up on a high-risk complaint. Those are complaints of sexual harassments, complaints of physical abuse.

It should never be the case that a resident actually passes away before the ministry acts on their concerns. And when complaints increase by 47%, as is the case in London, this government should not shrug its shoulders and say, “All is good.” They should figure out what is wrong.

When will the minister stop trying to defend the failures of this Liberal government and start standing up for the rights of long-term-care residents? They deserve it.

Hon. Dipika Damerla: As I said, we not only take the Auditor General’s recommendations seriously, but we are already implementing those recommendations, and work is well under way on this. The reason we are already implementing these recommendations is because we do take her findings seriously and we are committed to the safety of our long-term-care residents.

Mr. Speaker, I also want to take the opportunity to thank our front-line inspectors for their work in inspecting our long-term-care homes.

While we acknowledge that we must do better, I am pleased that the Auditor General has acknowledged that “the ministry’s new comprehensive inspection process was an improvement over its previous inspection program” and that the inspection process “is more extensive than those in other provinces.” That said, we must do better, and we will do better.

Climate change

Mr. Shafiq Qaadri: Ma question est pour le ministre du Développement économique, de l’Emploi et de l’Infrastructure, the Honourable Brad Duguid. Speaker, as you’ll know, the United Nations conference on climate change taking place in Paris will conclude this week, on December 11. While putting a price on carbon has become a priority for countries and jurisdictions around the world, I, of course, believe that there’s more that we need to be doing, acting collectively, to deal with the trajectory of climate change.

As a physician, I know particularly about the effects on human health of unregulated emissions, water pollution and air that is slowly being poisoned. I believe that there are also economic opportunities for our province if we find ways to lead in the development of clean technology.

Speaker, what is the minister doing to tackle these issues?

Hon. Brad Duguid: The member is absolutely right: Tackling climate change will require more than the efforts of our governments to put a price on carbon. I’m with Bill Gates on this and commend him and business leaders around the world for forming an international business coalition called the Breakthrough Energy Coalition. Their goal is to invest a billion dollars in technologies that will help solve the climate change challenge.

When this government made the decision to eliminate coal and move Ontario’s energy system to cleaner sources of power, our efforts fostered a clean tech sector in Ontario. Ontario is now one of the fastest-growing and competitive clean tech sectors in the world. We’ve taken a number of measures that support the growth in this area. The Ontario Innovation Demonstration Fund, the Ontario Emerging Technologies Fund and the Advanced Manufacturing Fund are just a few of the areas where we’ve worked with this sector.

I’m excited about the growth of Ontario’s clean tech sector and the thousands of jobs that it’s creating here in Ontario.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary.

Mr. Shafiq Qaadri: Thank you, Minister, for your action on this file.

In fact, the clean tech industry is a notable economic growth opportunity for Ontario. We are home to about 3,000 clean technology companies that employ more than 65,000 people.

Speaker, we are already global leaders in this developing field. Our partnership with clean tech venture capitalists—for example, Tom Rand—has also been beneficial, along with the passing of the Green Energy and Green Economy Act, the most progressive piece of climate change legislation in North America.

The opportunities in this industry for Ontario continue to accelerate. What is this government doing to help our clean tech industry go global?

Hon. Brad Duguid: The member is absolutely right to mention the important contribution that innovators like Tom Rand are making in growing our clean tech sector.

I firmly believe that supporting Ontario’s clean tech sector will not only help solve climate change, but it will also grow a globally competitive clean tech sector here in Ontario.

Going global is absolutely crucial to those efforts. In our recent trade missions to China, we’ve helped advance that goal. The Advanced Energy Centre and WaterTAP signed important agreements to open doors to deploy Ontario energy and water technologies in China. Canadian Solar signed an agreement worth over $700 million with Chinese officials, which makes the member from Guelph very happy. Hydrogenics signed agreements to supply fuel cell technology for public transportation buses in China.

Mr. Speaker, we’re committed to building a highly competitive clean tech sector in Ontario, and we’re committed to taking it global.

Northern Ontario development

Mr. Norm Miller: My question is for the Minister of Economic Development. The minister has a wide-reaching responsibility to ensure that sound business decisions are made to grow Ontario’s economy, overall employment and infrastructure. The Auditor General’s report remarked that the minister “has a mandate to cover all of Ontario.”

The minister’s own mandate letter from the Premier tasks him to support communities still suffering from the global recession, and—listen to this part—particularly in northern Ontario. Well, Speaker, I guess the minister has missed the mark on this front, because the last time his ministry funded a business project in northern Ontario was 2008. That’s so long ago that this minister can’t even take credit for it.

Mr. Speaker, it has been seven years since this government used the economic development capital fund to fund a project in northern Ontario. How much longer do the people and businesses of northern Ontario have to wait?

Hon. Brad Duguid: I think I had better refer this to the Minister of Northern Development and Mines.

Hon. Michael Gravelle: I appreciate having the opportunity to respond.

May I say, first of all, that our ministry works incredibly closely with the Ministry of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure on a number of projects, and certainly on our long-term vision for economic growth in northern Ontario.

But what we are most proud of is the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund, a $100-million fund that has been put in place, raising from $60 million to $100 million a year. Over the last 10 years, we’ve been able to create or retain over 25,000 jobs as a result of private sector capital expansion and public sector projects that have gone in place.

The member for Parry Sound–Muskoka knows that very, very well, although may I say that he hasn’t always been 100% supportive of the projects that have gone to his own riding, despite the fact—

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

Mr. Norm Miller: Qualifying for an NOHFC grant does not disqualify northern Ontario businesses from accessing economic development fund dollars. According to the Auditor General’s report, the ministry does not consider northern companies big enough to warrant funding, nor do they generally fund projects in the important northern sectors of mining and forestry.

What does this mean for northern Ontario? It means that last year, Arclin closed its doors in North Bay. It means that Sudbury’s unemployment rate rose by 2% last year. It means Cliffs left millions of dollars invested in the Ring of Fire on the table, just to get out of Ontario. I would hardly call that economic development, Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, will the minister commit to fulfilling the mandate spelled out by the Premier to provide economic development funding to northern Ontario? Don’t freeze out the north.

Hon. Michael Gravelle: I am tempted to give the Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry an opportunity to respond, because I know what he’d want to say is how pleased he is that the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry is now part of the Jobs and Prosperity Fund for all across the province, a huge commitment from our government of $200 million, indeed.

May I say, Mr. Speaker, that when one looks at the commitment that we’ve made on the northern highways program, over $5 billion over the last 10 years that has gone to northern Ontario—the member across the hall here understands how important that is in terms of economic development all across the north. Again, we are so proud.

Over $1 billion over the last 10 years was invested through the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corp., which has actually leveraged about $3.1 billion in dollars spent on northern projects, whether it’s the private sector, which that party actually withdrew from entirely, or the public sector, which we continue to support.

Children’s aid societies

Miss Monique Taylor: My question is for the Minister of Children and Youth Services. Last week, when I asked about children being placed in homes with people who have a history of child abuse, the minister said she is going to issue another directive. Well, Speaker, if the issue is that directives are not being followed, I have a hard time believing that simply issuing another directive is going to fix these very serious problems, not to mention that the minister claimed that she was surprised by the AG’s findings.

Speaker, it’s the minister’s responsibility to know what’s going on in her own portfolio. We need real action to protect our most vulnerable kids in care, not more talk.

Will the minister please explain to vulnerable kids how issuing another directive is going to keep them safe?

Hon. Tracy MacCharles: Again, I want to say that I take the recommendations of the Auditor General very seriously. While she has noted significant progress since the last audit, I fully recognize there is more work to do. We are already addressing a number of things with respect to improving the child welfare system.

With respect to the registry checks, although directives were previously issued, it is most unfortunate that that does not seem to be happening in some cases. Anything less than that is not good enough, Speaker. So I’ll be instructing boards of all CASs to develop a quality improvement plan regarding a number of issues associated with the Auditor General’s report. I’ll be requiring that they supply those plans to the ministry. If I’m not satisfied with that, there will be more action taken.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Miss Monique Taylor: Speaker, as you hear from the minister’s response, she absolutely has no idea what’s going on in this file. The same issues were highlighted in the 2006 Auditor General’s report, and they have gotten worse. This government is failing kids in Ontario who are in care. They’re placing them with known child abusers, not implementing recommendations that follow the death of a child in care, not doing background—

Interjection.

Miss Monique Taylor: You should pay attention—not doing background checks for people who work with kids in care, closing cases too soon, taking seven months to complete investigations of abuse.

The ministry and the minister need to take responsibility over this file and ensure that they are protecting kids in care in this province, which she has failed to do.

Hon. Tracy MacCharles: I take my job extremely seriously as the Minister of Children and Youth Services, and nothing is more important to me or my government than protecting vulnerable children who need protection in Ontario. And we’ve taken action. We’ve developed performance agreements. We’re implementing a new computer system so there’s one record for every child in this province. We have introduced performance indicators.

I will be following up on the very specific things the Auditor General talked about last week: How long does it take an investigation to be completed? Why are they being reopened? And what’s going wrong with the checking of the child registry? These are the questions I’m putting before the children’s aid societies. I’ll be meeting with the Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies a week from today and I’ll be taking further action.

Ontario Retirement Pension Plan

Ms. Ann Hoggarth: My question is to the Associate Minister of Finance. Minister, my constituents are very pleased to see our government’s continued progress on building the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan. Many individuals, including my children and their friends, have spoken to me about the challenges they face in saving for retirement and the ways that they will benefit from the ORPP. They know the plan will help ease the anxiety they have about achieving financial security in their golden years.

Last week’s fall economic statement highlighted a number of important steps our government is taking to build a best-in-class plan that will enhance retirement security for Ontarians.

Mr. Speaker, through you to the minister, could you please update the House on the recent progress made on the ORPP?

Hon. Mitzie Hunter: I want to thank the member from Barrie for this important question. In the recent fall economic statement, our government announced the appointment of the initial board of directors for the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan Administration Corp., which will be a professional and arms-length entity. The board will be led by Susan Wolburgh Jenah, who will serve as chair; Murray Gold; and Richard Nesbitt.

Members of the initial board were recruited based on their expertise, experience and leadership. Each board member brings a diversity of experience in key areas, including investment and asset management, pension administration, legal and regulatory compliance, and financial operations and management. We are very pleased to put in place this strong leadership that will be instrumental in strengthening retirement security for the people of Ontario.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Ms. Ann Hoggarth: Thank you to the minister for that response. I know my constituents will be pleased to learn that our government has a highly skilled and experienced initial board at the helm of this very important administrative entity.

Mr. Speaker, again through you to the Associate Minister of Finance, I know the government passed legislation to establish the ORPP AC earlier this spring. This legislation outlined a number of responsibilities of the ORPP AC with regard to administering the plan. In conversations I’ve had with people in my riding, some people still think that the government will be responsible for managing the ORPP contributions. I know the government has corrected the record on this myth a number of times.

Can the minister please confirm what role the ORPP AC will have with regard to the administration and implementation of the ORPP?

Hon. Mitzie Hunter: I want to once again thank the hard-working member from Barrie for that question. The ORPP AC, as an independent, arm’s-length entity, will be responsible for the administration of the plan for the benefit of the members of the plan. It will be responsible for enrolling eligible employers, collecting and investing contributions, administering benefits, and communicating with employers and members.

The board will oversee the start-up activities of the administrative corporation. This is central to achieving our goal of ensuring that by 2020 all Ontario workers are covered by the ORPP or a comparable workplace plan.

We believe that after a lifetime of hard work and contributing to the economy, Ontarians deserve a secure retirement. I am confident that these individuals, with their skills and expertise, will be able to help millions of Ontarians achieve just that.

Correctional facility

Mr. Rick Nicholls: My question is to the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services. Minister, you continue to have a crisis in corrections. Last Wednesday, inmates at the Toronto South Detention Centre ignited several fires, throwing fireballs at officers and setting cells afire, causing five correctional officers to be hospitalized and dozens of staff treated for smoke inhalation. Smoke filled all 10 floors of tower A. To quote a reliable source, “We were very fortunate nobody died in this incident.”

Minister, emergency safeguards were not working. The building automation system appeared to be inactive. The fire suppression system, while being reset, prevented Toronto Fire Services from responding immediately. Fast-acting staff had to bypass management delays to rescue and separate inmates.

Can the minister finally take this situation seriously and put in place management that will respect the staff and inmates and enact required safety protocols?

Hon. Yasir Naqvi: I do want to thank our entire correctional staff, both the management and correctional officers, who work extremely hard every single day. In that particular instance, they made sure that all safety protocols were followed to make sure that nobody was seriously hurt. That is why we, of course, focus so much on training and ensuring that when incidents like these occur, as they could occur in any large facility, there are appropriate steps that are taken immediately to protect the health and safety of our corrections staff, but also that of inmates.

In this particular instance, I thank all our correctional staff, both management and correctional officers, for the right steps they took to ensure that the facility is safe and inmates and staff are safe as well.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Mr. Rick Nicholls: Back to the minister: Ticking time bombs continue to explode at TSDC. Late November, an officer had a harrowing experience. The officer had just stepped into the elevator when she was thrown into darkness with a power failure that caused the elevator to drop three floors with great speed, and then suddenly stop. The elevator doors didn’t open as they should have in a power failure. Instead, the elevator dropped further. The officer was quite shaken and could only think that the elevator would plummet the entire 10 storeys.

The minister’s government is not taking these issues seriously. Instead of doing the right thing, they put a gag order on staff so the public does not hear these horror stories. When will the minister do his job and get this place fixed up to the standards it was designed to be at?

Hon. Yasir Naqvi: Let me make it absolutely very clear that I and this government take our job extremely seriously. When it comes to the health and safety of our correctional staff and that of inmates, there is no more important element than that. That is why we make appropriate investments in training. In fact, as I mentioned before in this House, our big focus is around transformation of correctional services.

Just last Friday, we hired and trained another 92 correctional officers—they came through our college—who are being dispersed all across the province. That brings the total of hiring in the last two years to 571 new correctional officers, and we’ll be hiring more with appropriate training.

Hospital funding

Ms. Andrea Horwath: My question is for the Acting Premier. On Wednesday, we learned that the Liberals’ freeze on hospital funding will force St. Joseph’s Healthcare in Hamilton to cut a staggering $26 million from next year’s budget. There is no way to cut another $26 million from the hospital’s budget without hurting patient care.

On Friday, we saw only the first sign of these deep cuts when we learned that the seven-bed mental health unit will be shut down and 12 full-time jobs will be eliminated. It’s just the start of deep cuts to the health care services that families in Hamilton rely on.

Will this Liberal government do the right thing, stop the $26-million cut to St. Joseph’s Healthcare and start supporting mental health services instead of cutting them?

Hon. Deborah Matthews: Minister of Health.

Hon. Eric Hoskins: I appreciate the question because it allows me to provide additional clarity to the decision that has been made by St. Joseph’s hospital in Hamilton.

To start off, it’s important to note very specifically that the beds in question remain fully available to the health care system on a go-forward basis. These beds will be re-added to the system as patient demand rises. Also, if there becomes a need in acute or in long-term care within the hospital, these beds can and will also be made available for that purpose.

The greater flexibility with regard to these beds in question—which will remain available—will actually allow the hospital to provide the important care for the individual who needs it at that moment in time.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: This government is squeezing the hospitals and putting them between a rock and a hard place when it comes to patient care. The Liberals talk a good game about mental health, but here’s what people see: Forced by the Liberals to cut $26 million, St. Joe’s says it’s entering a period of “extreme cost restraint.” Front-line health care workers say they are being “crushed” by these provincial funding cuts.

We all know that the most vulnerable patient and their families will pay the price for deep health care cuts. It means longer wait times and more stress for workers, but the Liberals don’t seem to care.

When will this Liberal government wake up to the damage that it is causing, do the right thing for families and put a stop to these deep cuts to front-line health care, in Hamilton and right across the province of Ontario?

Hon. Eric Hoskins: In fact, in the last decade in Hamilton alone, we’ve increased the number of forensic mental health beds by 42%. Our investment province-wide in mental health has almost doubled from half a billion dollars to a billion dollars. We’re absolutely committed to mental health and addictions programs and support. We’re increasing that on an annual basis.

In fact, I think the member opposite would agree that, often, outcomes are better within the community, so supporting those community mental health organizations and the beds that they provide is also important. We’ve increased that amount significantly, to $62 million in Hamilton. We’ve opened 498 new beds in Hamilton and redeveloped an additional 224 beds in Hamilton in the last decade. Sometimes the community is the best place to take care of these individuals and provide the supports that they need.

Public transit

Mrs. Cristina Martins: My question this morning is for the Minister of Transportation. Quite often in this House, we speak about the importance of transit for those living in our communities. In my own community of Davenport, using transit is a way of life. We use it to get to work every day and back home to our families in the evenings.

But transit is not only an important mode of transportation for those living in my community; it is also a critical instrument that we can use as a government to help combat climate change. I know the minister recently made an important announcement about the gas tax program. Can the minister please tell members of this House more about this announcement and how it will positively impact the environment?

Hon. Steven Del Duca: I want to begin by thanking the outstanding member from Davenport for her question, for her championing for her community and for her advocacy. It’s a very important question.

She is 100% right: Just a number of days ago, I was in Durham to announce that our government—

Hon. Tracy MacCharles: Yes.

Hon. Steven Del Duca: Yes, Durham, which includes the wonderful communities of Whitby, Ajax, Pickering, Clarington, Bowmanville and others. I was happy to be there to announce that our government is providing Ontario municipalities with over $332 million in gas tax funding this year. That’s $11 million more this year versus last year.

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

Mrs. Cristina Martins: I want to thank the minister for his response. I know that those living in my community will be glad to hear that our government is both investing in Ontario municipalities and helping the environment through the gas tax program. But we know that there is always a risk that transportation-related emissions could increase if we do not help Ontarians make greener choices.

My community of Davenport wants to know that our government is committed to making those investments in transit and transportation that will help protect our environment.

Could the minister please tell members of this House what other investments our government is making to help us reach our sustainability targets?

Hon. Steven Del Duca: I thank the member from Davenport for her follow-up question. Our government is committed to making those crucial investments that support GHG emissions reduction through the use of public transit and other congestion-reducing measures. That’s why we continue to deliver on this promise by investing in transit to get cars off our roads, whether it’s added GO service on the Kitchener line from Mount Pleasant to Union Station, which will turn more drivers into transit users, or through important initiatives like #CycleOn, which are helping to reduce emissions and keep Ontarians active.

We’ve also introduced the Electric Vehicle Incentive Program, and the Electric Vehicle Charging Incentive Program, which are helping drivers make a more environmentally friendly decision when purchasing a vehicle.

Our government knows how important public transit is to managing congestion, which is why we will continue to make those investments that will make a positive impact on our environment. And I thank the member from Davenport for her advocacy on behalf of her constituents.

Highway tolls

Mr. Michael Harris: My question is to the Minister of Transportation. This morning, the transportation minister unveiled his Liberal government’s latest plan to dig into our wallets to pay for their failures. This time, they’re doing it on the backs of Ontario motorists—

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Deputy House leader, second time.

Mr. Michael Harris: —asking us to pay again for the privilege of driving on our own roads. The minister can frame it whatever way he wants—

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Sorry: warned.

Mr. Michael Harris: —as to motorist options, but when it comes down to it, the lanes he is designating for tolls are the same lanes taxpayers have already paid for. Minister, why are you making Ontarians pay twice to drive on roads that we’ve already paid for?

Hon. Steven Del Duca: I know that I made the announcement about two hours ago. It’s unfortunate that the member from Kitchener–Conestoga didn’t take the time to actually look at the announcement itself and would rather, as is typical for that member and for that Conservative Party, play politics with an important issue.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): To the Chair, please.

Hon. Steven Del Duca: What I announced this morning, Speaker, is that no general purpose lanes in the provincial highway network will be removed or converted in order to deliver on our HOT plan. That means that any individual who currently drives in a general purpose lane will continue to have that opportunity going forward. At the same time, anybody who chooses to carpool—that’s carpooling with two or more people in the vehicle—will be able to use the HOT lanes for free, just as they can currently use HOV lanes.

What this announcement is all about is making sure that motorists across our region have more options to alleviate the congestion challenge that we have in the GTHA and across the province. Our government, under our Premier, has a plan to move the province forward. I’d love one day—

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

Mr. Michael Harris: Speaker, it may be the QEW today, but we all know we’ll be seeing HOT lanes on the 400 series as the minister pushes his latest revenue tool down our roads.

The minister may want to boast about their HOT lane bling, but Ontario residents shouldn’t have to pay for it. In the last year, we’ve been told the Wynne Liberal transit plan will be funded by everything from the Hydro One sell-off to green bonds. Today, we’re told it’s HOT lanes, but we all know that when the tolls start rolling in, they’ll be headed to pay for government mismanagement and excess.

Will the minister guarantee us today that not one cent of these highway tolls will pay for anything other than transit?

Hon. Steven Del Duca: As I said this morning when I made the announcement, I’ll be back in the spring with an update regarding the QEW pilot that we’re going to be running as it relates to high-occupancy tolls.

But what’s interesting, I think, for everybody here in this chamber, and of course those watching at home, is that in his opportunity to stand up in a supplementary and shine and to show the people of his own caucus and to show his leader that that member from Kitchener has a plan to build this province up in terms of infrastructure and transit, or that that leader has an opportunity to present a plan for building the province up, time after time after time, day after day, in this Legislature and in talking to media, they refuse to talk about what their plan is to move the province forward.

We’re investing in transportation. We’re investing in infrastructure. We’re putting more choices on the road for our motorists. We’re alleviating congestion. We’ve got the right plan; we’ve got the right Premier. One day, maybe that member will stand up and do the same thing.

Interjections.

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

New question.

Collective bargaining

Ms. Cindy Forster: My question is to the Acting Premier. In the 2015 speech from the throne, the Trudeau government committed to “not resort to devices like ... omnibus bills to avoid scrutiny.”

Too bad that wasn’t the case with the Liberals here. Instead, the Liberal government buried what they knew was going to be a problem into their Harper-style omnibus budget bill by introducing Conservative legislation that releases a single company, corporate giant EllisDon, from its 60-year obligation to hire unionized workers in this province.

The thousands of affected tradespeople here in the province are, and should rightly be, concerned when the Minister of Labour continually refers to an agreement that was never ratified.

Will the Acting Premier strike down the EllisDon

schedule from Bill 144?

Hon. Deborah Matthews: Minister of Labour.

Hon. Kevin Daniel Flynn: Thanks once again to the member who is taking such an interest in this issue, as we all are.

What we’ve done with this legislation is address an anomaly that impacts a single company and no other in this province. What we’ve brought forward is a practical solution, a way of achieving that solution, after consultation with the parties that are involved in this.

In the past, what we would have had go forward is a solution to this problem that would have served the interests of one side but would have given nothing to the other side. I think most people in this House agree that if we’re going to resolve this issue that has been around since the 1950s, we need to do it in a way that both sides come out of this with something.

What we’ve put forward in the bill and what I propose to put in the regulation as it moves forward is formed on the basis of what was an arbitrator’s report to me. I plan to frame the regulation around that arbitrator’s report.

Visitors

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

Mr. Percy Hatfield: Earlier, the member from Essex introduced two members of Unifor Local 444 visiting from Windsor; they’ve been joined by a third. I’d like to welcome Manny Cardoso here. Welcome to Queen’s Park this morning.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The time for question period is over. There being no deferred votes, this House stands recessed until 1 p.m. this afternoon.

The House recessed from 1139 to 1300.

Introduction of Visitors

Mr. Arthur Potts: It gives me great pleasure today to introduce my mother, Dawn Potts, who is in the east gallery. She’s coming to hear her son speak to his first private member’s bill, at third reading. Welcome my mother, Dawn Potts.

I’d also like to introduce Michael Vorobej from Ottawa, who’s also here to witness the debate this afternoon. Welcome, Michael.

Members’ Statements

Bruce Power

Mr. Bill Walker: I’m honoured to rise to recognize a milestone agreement signed between Bruce Power and the Independent Electricity System Operator that will create 23,000 jobs, secure the production of 6,300 megawatts of energy and generate $6.3 billion in annual economic benefits. Most importantly, this deal secures the delivery of sustainable, clean, affordable baseload power in Ontario for decades to come. This is, indeed, great news for my community of Bruce–Grey–Owen Sound, great news for my colleague and MPP for Huron–Bruce, Lisa Thompson, and for the entire province.

As more than 90% of Bruce Power’s spend takes place right here in Ontario and supports some 160 supply chain companies throughout our province, the refurbishment of the Bruce Power units near Tiverton will ensure valuable jobs and the positive economic health of the area and the province. It will create long-term employment for Ontario’s building and construction trades, as the Bruce site is home to boilermakers, carpenters, electricians, insulators, ironworkers and rodmen, labourers, millwrights, operating engineers, painters, pipefitters and plumbers, sheet metal and roofers, and teamsters.

Over the past 14 years, Bruce Power has developed a strong working relationship with these trades, with millions of hours of tradesperson work being carried out on- and off-site.

Having worked at Bruce Power as operations manager, I was actually involved in the work of restarting Bruce units 1 and 2. I can tell you first-hand that Bruce Power is Ontario’s success story.

I want to take a moment to recognize and thank Duncan Hawthorne, Bruce Power’s president and CEO, the board of directors and their workers, whose efforts over the years have helped to deliver this next phase of site development. Under their leadership, Bruce Power has returned its eight-unit site to its full capacity, allowing Ontario to phase out coal-fired power generation while providing low-cost, reliable and carbon-free electricity to families and businesses.

Again, this announcement is a significant one. It will allow Bruce Power to immediately invest in life-extension activities for units 3 to 8, to support a long-term refurbishment program that will commence on unit 6 in 2020. The deal will also see Bruce Power invest about $13 billion of its own money and assume full responsibility for any cost overruns on the refurbishments of the six reactors.

The Ontario PC Party has always supported nuclear power and Bruce Power. We built nuclear, one of the most environmentally friendly forms of power we have, led by Premier William Davis. We need to continue to go down that path and make sure we’re providing baseload power that people can afford.

Welland NDP

Ms. Cindy Forster: I’d like to thank the hundreds of community members, dedicated volunteers, local businesses and unions, and elected officials from across the political spectrum who filled the Croatian National Home in my riding of Welland last week to celebrate 40 years of NDP representation to our constituents and our strong community.

The evening reflected the strength of our riding association and celebrated the outstanding work and fond memories of former MPPs Mel Swart and Peter Kormos.

I’d especially like to thank Jim Wilson from Simcoe–Grey and Jim Bradley from St. Catharines for attending the event and taking part and sharing their stories about Mel and Peter.

Our leader, Andrea Horwath, and many of our own MPPs also joined in the celebration. We shared stories, mementoes and many good laughs with the friends and families of both of these political icons.

As part of the evening, the inaugural Lidkea Award was presented to my long-time friend Susan Pruyn. The award serves to honour a community member for dedicated service to a community cause and is in memory of long-time Thorold NDP activist Bill Lidkea. My staff in Welland describe Susan as someone who is dedicated day in, day out when it comes to community service.

Congratulations to Susan and to the countless community members in my riding for an incredible 40 years.

Mr. Glenn Thibeault: I rise today to announce that I have laid upon the table a motion to ask the government for an official apology to Ontarians for regulation 17. This regulation, issued in 1912 under Premier Whitney, prohibited the use of French in primary schools in Ontario. This deplorable regulation was an attack on the Franco-Ontarian community. It was also a blow to the Ontario’s rich and diverse history.

La majorité des Franco-Ontariens connaissent bien le règlement 17. Ils connaissent l’histoire des soeurs Desloges, de l’école Guigues à Ottawa, et des mères qui ont résisté à ce règlement discriminatoire à l’aide d’épingles à chapeau.

Associations like the Assemblée de la francophonie de l’Ontario were created; Ontario’s daily French newspaper, Le Droit, was born; and in the 1920s, the Liberal MPP from Russell, MPP Bélanger, publicly denounced this regulation every chance he got.

Aujourd’hui, je tiens à reconnaître que le règlement 17 est un symbole puissant pour la communauté franco-ontarienne.

Today the Ontario government fully recognizes that French schools are absolutely essential in fostering and maintaining Franco-Ontarian culture and identity. That is why we must recognize what happened in the past.

Tree planting

Mr. Ted Arnott: We know that humankind must reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but it doesn’t end there. We also know that trees absorb carbon dioxide, and humankind needs to plant more trees. On October 22, I brought forward a private member’s resolution calling upon the government to establish an Ontario Green Legacy program to mark Ontario’s 150th anniversary as a province within Canada. This initiative, which would be based on the county of Wellington’s Green Legacy program, would seek to plant 150 million trees starting in 2017.

My resolution was passed unanimously by the Legislature, with members from all parties speaking in favour of it. I want to again thank the many people who support my resolution, both in this House and outside of it. I especially want to acknowledge the role of the county of Wellington, and in particular Scott Wilson and the late Brad Whitcombe, for their vision and leadership in establishing Wellington county’s Green Legacy program.

Since my resolution was passed by the House, support has continued to grow. Last week, I met with representatives from the Credit Valley conservation authority, the David Suzuki Foundation, Forests Ontario and Local Enhancement and Appreciation of Forests. They were all very supportive of the idea of an Ontario Green Legacy initiative. On Wednesday of this week, I’m going to be meeting with representatives from the Highway of Heroes Tribute and Landscape Ontario to discuss it.

I spoke to the Minister of Natural Resources on November 5 to follow up on my resolution, asking him to reach out to the county of Wellington and invite county council and staff and many of their representatives to meet with them. I hope that he will do so, as well as publicly commit to moving forward on this initiative. The year 2017 will be here before we know it; let’s get going.

Public libraries

Mr. Paul Miller: Ontario libraries have a long history of fueling community partnerships and collaborative programs. They are vital community hubs and critical infrastructure in the delivery of social services at all levels of government. Our libraries provide essential digital access to all, regardless of means, and our libraries offer over 200,000 programs every year attended by over 3.7 million people.

The proposed Ontario’s Culture Strategy is intended to enable the province’s various communities to tell their stories and preserve them for future generations. I ask that the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport recognize the integral role of libraries in the development of his strategy.

Libraries in rural areas and First Nations communities play a special role in their communities, which often lack access to the intensity and diversity of services found in urban centres. They provide agricultural and business development resources and important business spaces. They house municipal information desks and they are key locations for local community groups, services and fundraising efforts.

There is a library in almost every community in Ontario, with a diversity of locations, patrons, expertise and programming. However, only 46 of our 133 First Nation communities have public libraries. Funding for First Nation libraries averages just $15,000 a year—pretty pathetic. Where they exist, they serve as an accessible gathering place and information-sharing resource. Our First Nation communities deserve good libraries, both as a public service and as part of our responsibility to improve education outcomes.

Senior Guyanese Friendship Association

Mr. Bas Balkissoon: As we all know, individuals are now living longer and the number of seniors in Ontario is increasing. Our objective is to keep Ontario seniors healthy, active and independent for as long as possible, and for them to feel safe and supported.

I recently attended an event hosted by the Senior Guyanese Friendship Association, which was founded in 1973. They provide services to keep their seniors physically and mentally active, all through their own fundraising efforts. They organize bus trips to the theatre, farmers’ markets and other social events. They also make mats and hats out of milk bags, which are sent to countries hit by natural disasters.

Mr. Speaker, a few awards were presented at the event that I would like to highlight.

Agatha Schroeder, at 103, is the most senior member in terms of age and membership. Lucille Calder, 92, received the annual Leyland Brewster Award for demonstrated camaraderie, enthusiasm, sportsmanship and friendliness during their activities. The Nonagenarian Award was presented to Beryl Hoyte, a veteran of the organization who stays healthy by walking; Eugene Nestor, an accomplished artist and caregiver; Miriam Smart, a positive individual who’s proud to reach 90; and Joyce Kawall, who still enjoys the dance floor to Caribbean music.

I’m proud that we recognize their contribution to our society, and I encourage the government to continue supporting seniors.

Energy policies

Ms. Laurie Scott: Last week, the Auditor General released a scathing report on how Hydro One is a poorly run distribution and transmission company. In her report, she cited that the government is paying $407 million to companies to not produce power, $339 million to produce more power than we need, and $32 million to export our excess supply.

She stated that the average family will be overcharged a total of $32,000 for electricity. If the government didn’t have such ridiculous energy policies, imagine what families could do with that money. They could pay their bills, buy a car, put a down payment on a home, or put their children through college or university.

Now the Ontario Energy Board has issued a directive to Hydro One to recover its distribution costs by a new single fixed rate instead of by usage. This means that Hydro One could raise bills again for small, rural families by up to $140 per year, starting next year.

Enough is enough. As Ontario continues to sink deeper into energy poverty, this government needs to take a real, hard look at its energy policies and start putting Ontarians first.

Refugees

Ms. Indira Naidoo-Harris: I rise today to speak about the incredible courage of refugees and the generosity of so many Canadians.

As you know, the federal government has committed to accepting 25,000 refugees from the Syrian conflict by the end of 2016, including those being privately sponsored. Many of them will make Ontario their new home.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud that Halton residents from all walks of life are coming together to improve the lives of refugee families. Members of service organizations, churches, mosques and individuals are rallying to help in any way they can. In fact, a recent gathering of Burlington and Halton residents on this issue drew hundreds of people wanting to support refugee families.

I’m looking forward to seeing the first planes carrying refugees from camps in Jordan and Turkey landing on Canadian soil in coming days. It will be a proud day for all of us.

But our job as Canadians does not end there. It’s going to take all of us working together to help refugees and their families get settled once they’re here. Halton region has already established a relationship with the Halton Multicultural Council to help developing issues related to refugees.

I know Ontario will be working closely with settlement agencies, community groups, hospitals, public health units and community centres as they prepare to support the incoming refugees. I’m pleased to see how hard our government and our residents are working to ensure seamless, coordinated and caring support for refugees arriving in Ontario. It’s the right thing to do.

Hanukkah

Mr. Monte Kwinter: Good afternoon, Mr. Speaker. Last night, December 6, was the first night of Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of rededication, which is also known as the Festival of Lights.

Hanukkah is the time when Jews throughout the world have begun an eight-day celebration commemorating two miracles.

The first miracle was the victory of the Maccabees over the mighty Greek army. The Maccabees were a small group of Jews that lacked weaponry and were vastly outnumbered by the Greeks. They rebelled in response to the Greeks’ attempt to force a Hellenistic and godless lifestyle on them, and against all odds, they won.

When the Maccabees liberated the temple in Jerusalem from the Greek invaders, they found only one day’s worth of pure and undefiled olive oil to light the menorah.

The second miracle occurred when the oil burned for eight days and nights. For each of the eight days of Hanukkah, Jews celebrate by lighting the menorah, a special candelabra with nine branches, each day after nightfall, except for Friday, when candles are lit shortly before sunset.

The message of Hanukkah can appeal to everyone, regardless of one’s faith or beliefs. The illumination of the menorah is meant to symbolize an end to war, persecution and oppression. It represents freedom of religion, the restoration of one’s autonomy and the triumph of good over evil, of light over darkness. This message is as relevant today as it was for the Maccabees 2,000 years ago.

Petitions

Ontario Retirement Pension Plan

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

“Whereas the Ontario government’s proposed Ontario Retirement Pension Plan (ORPP) is a mandatory pension plan which would target small businesses and their employees; and

“Whereas there has been little to no discussion on what the costs would be, or who would pay them; and

“Whereas affected businesses would be hit with up to $1,643 per employee, per year in new payroll taxes starting in 2017; and

“Whereas affected employees would have up to $1,643 per year extra deducted from their paycheques, and it would take 40 years for them to see the full pension benefits; and

“Whereas the Canadian Federation of Independent Business predicts the unemployment rate in Ontario would rise by 0.5%, and there would be a reduction in wages over the longer term; and

“Whereas all of these costs would be shouldered exclusively by small businesses and their employees; and

“Whereas public sector and big business employees who already have a pension plan will not be asked to pay into the plan;

“We, the undersigned, do not support implementation of the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan and petition the government of Ontario to axe the pension tax.”

I fully support it and will send it with page Megan.

Ontario Northland Transportation Commission

Mr. John Vanthof: “To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas the provincial government has cancelled the Northlander passenger train which served the residents of northeastern Ontario; and

“Whereas the provincial government has closed bus stations and is cancelling bus routes despite promising enhanced bus services to replace the train; and

“Whereas the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission (ONTC) has been given a mandate that its motor coach division must be self-sustaining; and

“Whereas Metrolinx, the crown corporation that provides train and bus service in the GTA ... is subsidized by more than $100 million annually; and

“Whereas the subsidy to Metrolinx has increased annually for the last seven years;

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

“To direct the Minister of Northern Development and Mines to reverse the decision to cancel bus routes immediately and to treat northerners equitably in decisions regarding public transportation.”

I wholeheartedly agree and will send my petition down with Hannah.

Health care funding

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Ted Arnott): Petitions? The member for Lambton–Kent–Middlesex. No, sorry; Sarnia–Lambton.

Mr. Robert Bailey: We’re close. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

“Whereas Ontario’s growing and aging population is putting an increasing strain on our publicly funded health care system; and

“Whereas since February 2015, the Ontario government has made an almost 7% unilateral cut to physician services expenditures which cover all the care doctors provide to patients; and

“Whereas the decisions Ontario makes today will impact patients’ access to quality care in the years to come and these cuts will threaten access to the quality, patient-focused care Ontarians need and expect;

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

“The Minister of Health and Long-Term Care return to the table with Ontario’s doctors and work together through mediation-arbitration to reach a fair deal that protects the quality, patient-focused care Ontario’s families deserve.”

I’ll send this down with Michelle. I agree with it and sign the petition.

Long-term care

Miss Monique Taylor: I have a petition that was sent to me from Tina DiDomenico. It reads as follows:

“Whereas Ontario ranks ninth of 10 provinces in terms of the total per capita funding allocated to long-term care; and

“Whereas the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care data shows that there are more than 30,000 Ontarians waiting for long-term-care placements and wait-times have tripled since 2005; and

“Whereas there is a perpetual shortage of staff in long-term-care facilities and residents often wait an unreasonable length of time to receive care, e.g., to be attended to for toileting needs; to be fed; to receive a bath; for pain medication. Since 2008, funding for 2.8 ... hours of care per resident per day has been provided. In that budget year, a promise was made to increase this funding to 4.0 hours per resident per day by 2012. This has not been done; and

“Whereas the training of personal support workers is unregulated and insufficient to provide them with the skills and knowledge to assist residents who are being admitted with higher physical, psychological and emotional needs. Currently, training across the province is varied, inconsistent and under-regulated;

“We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to:

“(1) immediately increase the number of ... hours of nursing and personal care per resident per day to 4.0 hours (as promised in 2008);

“(2) develop a plan to phase in future increases so that the number of ... hours per resident per day of nursing and personal care is 5.0 hours by January 2015;

“(3) establish a licensing body, such as a college, that will develop a process of registration, accreditation and certification for all personal support workers.”

I agree with this petition. I’m going to give it to page Ben to bring to the Clerks’ table.

French-language education

Mr. Arthur Potts: In light of the member from Sudbury’s member’s statement earlier today, I’d to read this petition in the House, addressed to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas

section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees access to publicly funded French-language education; and

“Whereas there are more than 1,000 children attending French elementary schools in east Toronto ... and those numbers continue to grow; and

“Whereas there is no French secondary school ... yet in east Toronto, requiring students wishing to continue their” educational “studies in French school boards to travel” up to “two hours every day to attend the closest French secondary school; and....

“Whereas the Ontario government acknowledged in February 2007 that there is an important shortage of French-language schools in all of Toronto and even provided funds to open some secondary schools and yet, not a single French secondary school has opened in east Toronto; and

“Whereas the commissioner of French-language services stated in a report in June 2011 that ‘... time is running out to address the serious shortage of at least one new French-language school at the secondary level in the eastern part of the city of Toronto’;....

“We, the undersigned,” therefore “petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario....

“That the Minister of Education assist one or both French school boards in locating a suitable underutilized school building in east Toronto that may be sold or shared for the purpose of opening a French secondary school ... in the community by September 2015, so that French students have a secondary school close to where they live.”

I agree with this petition, and I leave it with Noam.

Health care funding

Mr. Jeff Yurek: I think that we need a couple of French-language schools down in Elgin county, too, but I won’t read that petition. Right now, I have a petition to the Legislative Assembly.

“Whereas Ontario’s growing and aging population is putting an increasing strain on our publicly funded health care system; and

“Whereas since February 2015, the Ontario government has made an almost 7% unilateral cut to physician services expenditures which cover all the care doctors provide to patients; and

“Whereas the decisions Ontario makes today will impact patients’ access to quality care in the years to come and these cuts will threaten access to the quality, patient-focused care Ontarians need and expect;

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

“The Minister of Health and Long-Term Care return to the table with Ontario’s doctors and work together through mediation-arbitration to reach a fair deal that protects the quality, patient-focused care Ontario’s families deserve.”

I affix my signature to this petition and hand it to the page. Thanks, Jack.

Veterans

Ms. Cindy Forster: “Lest We Forget Our Duty to Care.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas we have a collective duty of care to all veterans for their service and sacrifice; and

“Whereas the Long-Term Care Homes Act, 2007 narrowly defines the term ‘veteran,’ restricting priority access to long-term-care beds to veterans who served prior to 1953; and

“Whereas the Long-Term Care Homes Act, 2007 omits veterans who enlisted after 1953 (modern-day veterans) from access to priority long-term-care beds; and

“Whereas the current population of modern-day veterans in Ontario is four times that of traditional veterans; and

“Whereas modern-day veterans are not eligible to apply for the existing 1,097 long-term-care beds designated specifically for Ontario veterans; and

“Whereas only one in seven (1 in 7) veterans is eligible for priority long-term care in Ontario, a problem that will only increase as modern-day veterans age in keeping with national demographic trends;

“We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to pass the Long-Term Care Homes Amendment Act (Preference for Veterans), 2015 which extends priority access to long-term-care beds to modern-day veterans, including former officers and former non-commissioned members of the Canadian Forces.”

I support this petition. I will sign it and send it with page Ajay.

Lung health

Ms. Indira Naidoo-Harris: I have here a petition addressed to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

“Whereas lung disease affects more than 2.4 million people in the province of Ontario, more than 570,000 of whom are children;

“Of the four chronic diseases responsible for 79% of deaths ... lung disease is the only one without a dedicated province-wide strategy;

“In the Ontario Lung Association report, Your Lungs, Your Life, it is estimated that lung disease currently costs the Ontario taxpayers more than $4 billion a year in direct and indirect health care costs, and that this figure is estimated to rise to more than $80 billion seven short years from now;

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

“To allow for deputations on MPP Kathryn McGarry’s private member’s bill, Bill 41, Lung Health Act, 2014, which establishes a Lung Health Advisory Council to make recommendations to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care on lung health issues and requires the minister to develop and implement an Ontario Lung Health Action Plan with respect to research, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of lung disease; and

“Once debated at committee, to expedite Bill 41, Lung Health Act, 2014, through the committee stage and back to the Legislature for third and final reading; and to immediately call for a vote on Bill 41 and to seek royal assent immediately upon its passage.”

I agree with this petition. I’m going to sign it and hand it over to Aaran.

Beer sales

Mr. Norm Miller: I have a petition with regard to beer sales. It reads:

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas the changes to beer sales in the 2015 provincial budget only allow for grocery stores to qualify in population centres of over 30,000 people;

“Whereas all consumers, including those living in rural and northern Ontario, will pay their share of the new $100-million-per-year beer tax;

“Whereas many of Ontario’s craft breweries are located in communities of less than 30,000 people—four of which operate in such locations in Parry Sound–Muskoka;

“Whereas access for craft breweries to sell beer in grocery stores will provide the opportunity for increased sales and will support local jobs;

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

“That the Ontario government do away with the 30,000 population restriction so people living in rural and northern Ontario have the opportunity to purchase beer in their local grocery stores.”

Mr. Speaker, I support this petition and will give it to Ben.

Solar farm

M me France Gélinas: I have this petition that is being collected by Mrs. Cairin Nelson from Val Therese in my riding. It reads as follows:

“Whereas SkyPower is proposing to clear-cut 70-plus acres of fully forested land in order to erect a ground-mount solar farm....;

“Whereas the proposed site is classified as wetland, and contains a number of species-at-risk ... along with a vast array of other plant and animal life;

“Whereas the proposed site exists between established homes, and among homes which were purchased on the basis of existing land forms; abutting property owners, the GCS planning committee, and the landowners themselves oppose the clearing of a very viable forest in favour of ground-mount photovoltaic cells;

“Whereas industrial/commercial projects such as the MaxLight ... solar farm belong on already degraded and unpopulated lands, away from residential housing;” which we have lots of in Nickel Belt.

They “petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to:

“Stop the MaxLight project ... on Kenneth Drive in Val Therese.”

I will affix my name to this and ask Aislin to bring it to the Clerk.

Concussion

Mr. John Fraser: I have a petition to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

“Whereas the rate of concussions among children and youth has increased significantly from 2003 to 2011, from 466 to 754 per 100,000 for boys, and from 208 to 440 per 100,000 for girls; and

“Whereas hard falls and the use of force, often found in full-contact sports, have been found to be the cause of over half of all hospital visits for pediatric concussions; and

“Whereas the signs and the symptoms of concussions can be difficult to identify unless coaches, mentors, youth and parents have been educated to recognize them; and

“Whereas preventative measures, such as rules around return-to-play for young athletes who have suspected concussions, as well as preventative education and awareness have been found to significantly decrease the danger of serious or fatal injuries; and

“Whereas Bill 39,

An Act to amend the Education Act with respect to concussions, was introduced in 2012 but never passed; and

“Whereas 49 recommendations to increase awareness, training and education around concussions were made by a jury after the coroner’s inquest into the concussion death of Rowan Stringer;

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

“That the Ontario government review and adopt Rowan’s Law to ensure the safety and health of children and youth athletes across the province.”

I agree with the petition. I am signing it and giving it to page Michelle.

Orders of the Day

Protecting Employees’ Tips Act, 2015 / Loi de 2015 sur la protection du pourboire des employés

Mr. Potts moved third reading of the following bill:

Bill 12,

An Act to amend the Employment Standards Act, 2000 with respect to tips and other gratuities / Projet de loi 12, Loi modifiant la Loi de 2000 sur les normes d’emploi en ce qui concerne les pourboires et autres gratifications.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Ted Arnott): I look to the member for Beaches–East York to lead off the debate.

Mr. Arthur Potts: I am absolutely delighted for this opportunity to speak to this bill, my first private member’s bill, and the chance to bring this very important issue forward to the House for third reading and ultimately royal assent and becoming law in Ontario.

At the outset, what I’d like to do is recognize that my mother, again, is in the House. I introduced her earlier. My mother has travelled all the way from Pape and Danforth, where she lives, on the subway, and got off at Queen’s Park and probably walked up here. At 87 years of age, it’s one of those things that keeps her healthy. I’m delighted to see her today.

Interjection.

Mr. Arthur Potts: You’re absolutely right, a gentleman never would, but I’m so proud of my mother. She’s been such an incredible inspirational support to me over the years. She provides all the support a boy could ever want in life, from nutritional support to intellectual and emotional support, financial support. She’s been an absolutely wonderful feature in my life and I just want to tell the House, through you, Mr. Speaker, that I love her dearly. Thank you so much for being here.

I won’t make the same claims about another guest who is here in the House, Michael Vorobej. Michael is here from Ottawa. He’s travelled a lot further in order to witness this debate. I’ll talk about his interest in this bill a little later on in my comments.

First, what I would like to do is thank the government House leader and the leaders of the opposition and the third party for coming together and bringing forward four very important private members’ bills for discussion today. This is one of those great, unique opportunities we see in this House when the parties do come together on issues that are important to Ontarians. There’s a great sense of consensus around moving these bills forward for the betterment of this province. I want to particularly shout out to the House leaders for getting it right and bringing my bill forward.

The other three bills are Bill 33, the Safeguarding our Communities Act; Bill 117, the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth Amendment Act; and Bill 141, the Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness, Research and Care Act. These are important initiatives, and it’s tremendous that we can have this opportunity to go forward on them.

I also want to acknowledge the previous member from Beaches–East York, who introduced this particular bill on three different occasions in the past. In 2010, it was Bill 114; in 2012, it was Bill 107; and then in the last session of Parliament in 2013, he introduced Bill 49. This bill had been brought forward three times but hadn’t made its way through the process to become law, and it’s time that we do it.

We shouldn’t be delaying this any further. This is an important piece of legislation that goes to the heart of protecting vulnerable workers and their salaries from being subject to what I would call tip fraud in their places of employment, so I’m very pleased that we had this chance to bring it forward.

Initially, when the bill came forward, it was simply one line: “An employer shall not take any portion of an employee’s tips or other gratuities.” The principle is very clearly established in that line. However, as a piece of substantive legislation that needed to move forward, much work had to be done on it in order to put the substance to it to meet the criteria of what we needed to do.

It went through committee hearings during the last session, and there were a number of amendments made to the bill to create a comprehensive piece, but unfortunately it never made it to third reading or royal assent. Essentially, it died on the order paper when the election was called in May 2014—as all unpassed bills will do.

We faced an election in that period. It was a period when I got a chance to run for the Liberal Party in Beaches–East York. In the history of where this bill was, I had seen Mr. Prue’s comments on it in the past, and I was able, in a public debate at a church in my riding, St. John the Baptist Norway church—which, by the way, is an incredible community hub, an incredible institution that has been around since 1850, bringing community supports. It’s one of those churches that will have an all-candidates meeting in every election.

Funnily enough, there was only one all-candidates meeting held during that last election—there were the Rogers debates, of course; but in the community, only one. At this one particular opportunity, I got a chance to stand up in the community and say to Mr. Prue that he had been a good member, that he had some good ideas that he wanted to bring forward in this House, and that I particularly liked his tipping bill. I made a commitment at that time, Speaker, that if I should be so lucky as to get elected in Beaches–East York, I would bring that bill back, and that’s what we’ve done.

It was a promise I made during the election, and it’s a promise that we’re keeping today.

The all-candidates meeting, parenthetically, was hosted by Rob Granatstein. Many of you, of course, know Rob from his work for the Toronto Sun, at the Queen’s Park bureau. He’s a great guy. He lives in my community and is a great community activist. He always seems to chair all of these all-candidates meetings. I play hockey with Rob. Just yesterday, he was chirping at me all through the game, just chirping away—I’m missing this pass, I’m missing that one. He was on the other team, but he’s a good guy, and he actually came up to me and said congratulations, not just for the tipping bill, but for getting the winning goal against his team yesterday morning, which I was happy to do.

We are here now with this bill. Coming out of the election in June 2014, when we needed a public member’s bill—and the member who had drawn the ballot for that particular day wasn’t ready, and I was ready to go because the bill was substantially in a form ready to go forward, and that’s what we did.

I would like to thank—there were so many people who contributed to the construction of the bill in the form it came into. The Ontario Restaurant Hotel and Motel Association’s Tony Elenis and Leslie Smejkal were very helpful in making sure we had some of the pieces right and that there weren’t unintended consequences that we couldn’t work with. Also, Jamie Rilett from Restaurants Canada, who appeared at the committee hearings here, was extremely helpful.

In my own community, a number of people, including Steve Mastoras from Whistler’s restaurant, which is at Broadview and Mortimer—he lives in my riding, although his restaurant is not; it’s in Toronto–Danforth. Steve came to me, with a group of restaurateurs, with some concerns about the way the bill was initially framed. I’m pleased to say that Steve—who has a tremendously popular restaurant in the community, where they have free jazz on Saturdays—is now, I think, fully supportive of what we’re trying to do here.

Likewise with Tom Zoras: Tom owns a place called Jawny Bakers, which is in my community, at St. Clair and O’Connor. It is the private haunt of all the people from Parkview Hills, who go there on a regular basis. I met with Tom on the bill and I know he, too, is very supportive of what we’re doing here.

I also had a chance to meet at some length with the Burlington Restaurant Association and with the member from Burlington, who might have a chance to say a few remarks to this bill—if I don’t go on too long—a little later in the afternoon. We met with her association in her riding, and they had some interesting concerns they wanted to bring forward, particularly about how we were dealing with credit card sales and the fees charged on credit cards that are attached to the payment associated with tips.

We made amendments this time around—just the one amendment—that we would have an opportunity to create regulations that would exempt certain holdbacks an employer could do, particularly only on that piece of a credit card transaction that has a fee charged. That way, an employer would not be, in a sense, subsidizing the tips received by the employees who worked for them. When you think about a 2.5% charge on a credit card fee to a $10 tip, it’s what, 25 cents? It’s not a lot of money to the employee. But in a large restaurant, over the course of a year, it is a lot of money, and in a restaurant industry with razor-thin margins, it was important that we gave them that opportunity to do it.

We talked a little bit about some of the provisions in the bill. At first, there was that simple principle—and I think that principle continues to be recognized throughout what we have here—but the most important thing, I think, is that we put a definition in as to what a tip or gratuity would be. Essentially, the definition says “what a reasonable person would infer.” If a customer was leaving an amount of money at a table, they are inferring that that money is going to go to those people who made their service so spectacular. That’s the important piece: “what a reasonable person would infer.”

It works both if you give that money to the employee who was doing the serving or if you were to give that money to the employer, anticipating that it would be distributed. But also, there’s a

section for if it’s given in any other way, including a service charge. Some banquet halls, as you know, will charge a flat rate service charge across the board, and that is anticipated, as part of that service charge, to be distributed amongst those who contributed to the service experience.

Another

section creates an enforceable provision where a tip that has been taken away inappropriately by the employer from its employee is considered a wage for the purposes of getting it back. This is important because, under the Employment Standards Act, there is an exemption that tips and gratuities are not considered wages, and that speaks to the fact that waiters and servers typically get less than the minimum wage and they expect to make up additional money. Tips are not included as wages; however, in order to have an enforcement proceedings which will allow them to get the money back, it has to come back in as wages. That is picked up in the second

section of the bill.

There is also an area which speaks to enforcement orders. Quite often, under, maybe, the Family Responsibility Office, which is probably the most common, if a person’s wages are being garnished, the employer is required by a statute of Ontario or Canada or an order of the court in order to withhold, and tips for that purpose are included as an opportunity to be withheld.

The other big piece that I think that this bill did, which was so important, is that it protected what is known as tip pooling. Typically, we will leave a tip for the server. At the server’s discretion, in some restaurants, they may portion out a piece of that to the person who is busing tables or the bartender or the people in the back who did the cooking or the cleaning, or even the hostess. Tip pooling became a methodology where an establishment could establish a certain percentage.

If they gathered $1,000, so much would go to the cook, so much would go to the bartenders and to the hostess—you can tip-pool it and divide it out. But, unfortunately, what we started to see happening is that some employers were pooling the tips and then taking a flat margin off the very top. That’s primarily the thing we’re going after here, where the tips are pooled and then people aren’t getting back as much as they would have otherwise expected.

The bill also exempts working owners. I’ve had a lot of concern from small restaurants particularly, where someone has learned to cook, or their friends are saying, “You’re a great cook,” and they go out there and they create a small restaurant where they do the cooking in the back of the house, or they are doing the serving at the front of the house, or maybe their spouse is doing the serving, and they might have one or two employees as well.

Imagine the situation where the owners are completely prohibited—these are people who are actually providing the service, who are contributing to it. The bill is very clear that anyone in the situation—whether they’re a shareholder, an equity holder, the owner or a stockholder, they have a chance to share in the tip pool if they are in fact doing the work, contributing to the service. It’s very important that this not become some kind of loophole in the bill, that the owner seats one person early in the day and now considers himself to be able to share in the pool.

This is about a fair and proportionate disbursement of those tip poolings, commensurate with the kind of job that they have done.

There’s another piece in here which is very important, around collective agreements. As you know, I have a background in labour management relations. I consider a collective agreement a sacrosanct document. You don’t go into a collective agreement and change the rules and conditions in collective bargaining agreements that have been freely entered into by the parties. This bill, in essence, exempts collective agreements that are currently in place. But it then makes a mechanism to ensure that a collective agreement that is renewed or is entered into after this bill comes into force must comply with the rules and regulations.

Why it’s very important for me to raise this point is that my guest here, Michael Vorobej from Ottawa, works in a unionized setting with a collective agreement in his place of employment. As he has shared with us publicly before, they have a collective bargaining agreement which specifies that the employees are only sharing 68%, I believe it is, of the tips that are provided, and I guess the house is getting the remainder.

That will continue for this period of time, until the end of that collective agreement, but in the renewal stage they will have to renegotiate between the parties a new sharing arrangement between the tips and the salaries that they are being paid. How they work that out, we will leave up to the collective bargaining process.

But what’s important about the bill with respect to his situation and the unionized employment situation is that his firm is in competition with other banquet halls nearby who simply put the 15% in. They’re a non-union environment. Management take all that money against their bottom line, and they pay their employees something in excess of the minimum wage. They are then allowed to offer services to customers at much less than the establishment where he works, because of this unfair tipping arrangement.

This will outlaw that practice and put that banquet hall that’s unionized on a level playing field with others in the neighbourhood who are not operating in a way I would call open and transparent.

This has been a great week for me, last week coming into this week, around this bill. Today, for the first time, I was scrummed in full media style, with five or six cameras pointed at me, reporters with their microphones, all asking about this bill and where it was going and why it was necessary. Earlier this afternoon, I had an interview with CP24, with my good friend Stephen LeDrew. I ran Stephen LeDrew’s campaign for mayor years ago, and I think he has kept me off the show because—

Ms. Cindy Forster: How did he make out?

Mr. Arthur Potts: It was a very successful campaign, yes. We got the word out.

I haven’t been on his show much: the day after I was elected, and now today. We had a good interview.

I’ve been interviewed by the Star and the Post and all the regulars, and appeared in the Ottawa Citizen and on CBC Radio’s Metro Morning.

What’s really interesting about this is that it’s tough, usually, to get good-news stories out into the press. We all know the adage that you don’t sell newspapers writing about planes that land safely. They’re always looking for disasters and crises.

For us and for this bill to be getting this kind of positive reaction in an environment of the Auditor General’s report and a whole bunch of other things that are happening out in the world politically is, I think, an extremely good sign that we’re on to something, and we’re on to something that’s extremely important.

I’m going to leave it there, Speaker. I know I spoke a little longer than I was anticipating to. I know some of my members, such as from Burlington, will have some remarks to make later on. Thank you very much for this opportunity. I appreciate the support of all members in moving this bill forward.

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

Mr. Randy Pettapiece: It gives me great pleasure to stand here on behalf of Patrick Brown, our leader, and the PC caucus.

I would also like to talk about my mother for a minute; she’s not here in the gallery. She and my father are in their 89th year—still going strong—and certainly have helped me out in the past. Now, whenever I go over there, when I get home on the weekends, the questions I get are always interesting. One of the most frequent questions I get from my father about being an MPP is, “How can you stand to sit in there and listen to that?” I say, “Well, it’s an interesting job.”

This bill is certainly something that our party is supporting. It takes me back 40-some years ago—I don’t want to date myself too much—but I actually met my wife in a restaurant. She was waitressing, and I was just out of school. She was 17 years old at the time.

Hon. Deborah Matthews: How much did you tip her?

Mr. Randy Pettapiece: I’m getting to that.

I was working across the street at a trucking company at that time, and went over to the restaurant—it was like a gas bar and restaurant combination in Listowel. I sat down, and one of my favourite sandwiches—it still is one of my favourite sandwiches—is a bit unusual. I asked her to prepare me a toasted bacon and peanut butter sandwich.

Hon. Deborah Matthews: Eeew!

Mr. Randy Pettapiece: Oh, you’ve got to try it. You have to try it. It’s a sandwich that was actually invented by my mother. At least I think it was invented by my mother; she kept feeding it to us, anyway. It’s an incredible experience to get a peanut butter and tomato sandwich. But of course you can imagine the reaction I got when I sat down and ordered this, because it wasn’t on the menu. She didn’t know what to charge me, and she thought I was almost totally out of my mind eating something like that. So she didn’t know what kind of guy I was.

As things progressed and we got to know each other, on my off days from my other job I got to work at this same gas station. I would pump gas, and she would work in the restaurant. One of the things I noticed was how hard she worked. She was not only responsible for taking orders in the restaurant—it was only a small restaurant; there were only a couple of tables and a few bar stools—but she also did the cooking, and at the end of her shift, at the end of the night, she would also clean the utensils and whatever else and get it ready for the next day, because we both worked after school. I worked after I got my job done at the company I worked at across the road.

I noticed how hard she worked in there, and at the end of a shift. She would be really tired, and she’d be dirty from cleaning the grills and whatever else they used at the restaurant. That’s about the first time I had ever experienced tipping. I was just out of school; I hadn’t been a tipper at all. But every once in a while, somebody would leave her a quarter or a dime or whatever it was back then, and I got to thinking that was pretty good. It was kind of nice, because people appreciated her work.

They appreciated how hard she worked, and certainly they appreciated her personality—my wife has a bubbly personality, and they appreciated her coming up to them and saying, “It’s nice that you came here today. What can I get you?”

As things went on, the tips would get a little bigger every once in a while, and she was allowed to keep the tips at that time. She didn’t have to pool them. That all went into her pocket. It wasn’t a lot of money by today’s standards, but she would go home with—I don’t know—$4 or $5 a night in tips. At that time, I think we were both making a $1.25 an hour, so it goes back quite a few years.

Getting back to the tipping part, who gave the better tips? I kind of think she got the better end of the deal, and she thinks she got the better end of the deal. We’ve been together for 43 years now, so obviously that bacon and tomato sandwich had no effect on how she regarded me, because I’m still eating them and she still doesn’t. She won’t eat the peanut butter and tomato sandwiches.

I think this bill was first introduced by Mr. Prue a number of years ago when he was a member here for the NDP, and it’s a bill that I believe puts some fairness into the tipping program that a lot of employers use. A tip is a voluntary thing by patrons of a restaurant or bar or whatever, that if they think you’ve done a good job, and they like you, then certainly people are more than willing to leave you a few extra dollars for your service.

I have also seen where in some restaurants a cup is used and all the tips get thrown in a cup. I was a little concerned; I didn’t know who got what at that time. I was speaking to a person I knew who was in the service industry at a restaurant and they said that at their place it was divided up into thirds: The employer got a third of the gratuities, the waitress would get a third and the rest of it was divided up with the kitchen staff.

As I spoke before, I saw how my wife worked hard in the kitchen, especially when it came to cleaning the kitchen after she was done her shift. It seemed to me at that time that it wasn’t fair, that there could have been a little bit more fairness involved if the kitchen staff, who certainly worked hard and fast—in many cases they have multiple orders to get done—in my opinion, maybe should have had a little bit bigger share of those tips.

I remember a restaurant we were in a number of years ago where there were some issues about the tipping. The owner of the restaurant’s opinion was that the tips had to get higher so that their staff would make more money. I said to her at that time that maybe a pay raise would help her staff too. She said, “No, that’s not how we do things around here. We want our staff to work hard, we want them to impress our customers and then their tipping level goes up.” I had a little bit of an issue with her opinion, too, but that’s the way she wanted to do things.

I think withholding tips or gratuities on the whim of an employer certainly isn’t, and wasn’t, a good thing; and this bill certainly addresses that. It says also that an employer may withhold tips if a statute of Ontario or of Canada or a court order authorizes it, or the employer collects and redistributes the tips amongst all or some of the employers and other employees. That’s certainly a part of the bill that needed to be in there. That’s a

section of the bill that certainly protects those that may have a court order to pay money to their spouse, or in those situations.

So I think that there are many good parts to the bill, and certainly this is something that was addressed a number of years ago and was brought to the forefront by the member opposite from Beaches–East York. I’m glad to see that there are members of the service industry here today to hear this debate, and as the member opposite had said, it’s nice that all parties are getting together on this bill and agreeing with it so its speedy passage will be ensured.

I remember years ago, as I said, when I was first introduced to tipping and I first started to tip. We weren’t making much money back then—I think our wages were $1 or $2 an hour for what we were doing—and a tip was a lot of money. What we were expected to give in tips maybe was only quarters or dimes, or maybe 50 cents at a time, but it meant a lot to us, because the wages we were making at that time weren’t a lot. These days, when you have a percentage, it may be a fairer way of doing it. I know I tip by percentage all the time, and some restaurants or establishments have that built into their prices.

It’s interesting. My wife, and I speak about her again, won’t do that; she will not leave a tip in percentages. She always has to put cash on the table. That’s the way she prefers to do things. She’ll figure it all out as to whether it’s a 10% or a 15% tip and she will count it all out and put it on the table. That’s what she is used to doing. I said to her one time, “You know, we could get up from the table and there could be somebody there that maybe just reaches over and grabs some of that and nobody has seen it.” She said, “Well, I have a remedy for that.” What she does is she actually puts it under her plate so that nobody can see it. That’s the way she does things.

Tipping is something that’s handled differently in other countries. I was reading about places that actually don’t even allow tipping because of a cultural issue. It’s something that culturally is not accepted. Places like China and Japan, I believe, are like that. They don’t believe that tipping is something that should be allowed, but that’s a cultural thing. And actually, there are countries over in Europe that ban tipping—countries like France and Switzerland, I believe, and Belgium. Service charges are included on the bills and the servers are simply making higher hourly rates. So that’s how they handle this issue.

I’m sure all of us will be celebrating Christmas dinners in the holiday season, and Hanukkah dinners, and you will know that the food preparation is certainly a big part of our celebrations. We’ll probably put on a few pounds, I would think, during the holiday season. You will have seen your parents and any of those who have been involved in the food preparation for those celebrations, how hard they work. It’s not only preparing the food that takes an enormous amount of time, but it’s the dishes and whatever else after the dinners are over.

I would think it would be easy to imagine somebody working in a restaurant situation like that, although I know it’s split up, maybe, from what it used to be. When things get busy and you have to have clean dishes ready to go—if your restaurant is busy or your bar is busy, you have to have these things done. The more that your staff can do this and is capable of doing things like this, making sure that your customers are happy—as a customer, you see that too. Things might be terribly busy, but you see that the servers are working their hardest, and that means that they have a backup staff in the kitchen—a backup staff cooking or cleaning or whatever they’re doing—so that t