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March 22, 2018

41st Parliament, 3rd Session

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Hansard Transcripts

Votes and Proceedings

Orders and Notices

Hansard Transcripts 2018-Mar-22 (PDF)

L004 - Thu 22 Mar 2018 / Jeu 22 mar 2018

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO

ASSEMBLÉE LÉGISLATIVE DE L’ONTARIO

Thursday 22 March 2018 Jeudi 22 mars 2018

Orders of the Day

Throne speech debate

Introduction of Visitors

Vandalism of synagogue

Oral Questions

Provincial deficit

Hydro rates

Dental care

Health care

Provincial deficit

Health care

Apprenticeship training

Ministers’ comments

Long-term care

Life insurance

Water quality

Medical graduates

Dental care

Research and innovation

Visitors

Introduction of Visitors

Members’ Statements

World Water Day

Speaker’s Book Award

School accommodation

Life insurance

Medical graduates

Elijah Hennessey

Adam Lake

Hospice care

Retired Teachers of Ontario

International Women’s Day

Introduction of Bills

Respecting Municipal Authority Over Landfilling Sites Act, 2018 / Loi de 2018 sur le respect des pouvoirs des municipalités à l’égard des lieux d’enfouissement

Long-Term Care Homes Amendment Act (Preference for Veterans), 2018 / Loi de 2018 modifiant la

Loi sur les foyers de soins de longue durée (préférence accordée aux anciens combattants)

Careers in Medicine Advisory Committee Act, 2018 / Loi de 2018 sur le Comité consultatif pour les carrières en médecine

Ontario Forestry Revitalization Act (14 Storey Wood Frame Buildings), 2018 / Loi de 2018 sur la revitalisation de la foresterie en Ontario (bâtiments à ossature de bois de 14 étages)

Insurance Amendment Act (Life Loans), 2018 / Loi de 2018 modifiant la

Loi sur les assurances (prêts sur l’assurance-vie)

Motions

Appointment of temporary Financial Accountability Officer

Petitions

Dental care

Cardiac care

Animal protection

Government advertising

Hospital funding

Energy contracts

Injured workers

Voting age

Wind turbines

Energy policies

Addiction services

Private Members’ Public Business

Taxpayer Protection Amendment Act, 2018 / Loi de 2018 modifiant la

Loi sur la protection des contribuables

Personal Information Protection Act, 2018 / Loi de 2018 sur la protection des renseignements personnels

Magna Carta Day Act, 2018 / Loi de 2018 sur le Jour de la Grande Charte

Taxpayer Protection Amendment Act, 2018 / Loi de 2018 modifiant la

Loi sur la protection des contribuables

Personal Information Protection Act, 2018 / Loi de 2018 sur la protection des renseignements personnels

Magna Carta Day Act, 2018 / Loi de 2018 sur le Jour de la Grande Charte

Taxpayer Protection Amendment Act, 2018 / Loi de 2018 modifiant la

Loi sur la protection des contribuables

Orders of the Day

Throne speech debate

The House met at 0900.

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

Prayers.

Orders of the Day

Throne speech debate

Resuming the debate adjourned on March 21, 2018, on the motion for an address in reply to the speech of Her Honour the Lieutenant Governor at the opening of the session.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Further debate. The member from Niagara Falls.

Mr. Wayne Gates: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for allowing me to rise today and discuss the throne speech.

With my time, I’d like to go over some of the things that were in the speech, but first I would like to begin with things that are not in the speech and how they affect my communities. We know that this budget is going to have to have a lot of spending in it, but I still worry that the priorities aren’t there. This government has had 15 years to figure out what their priorities are, so I want to go down the list of issues in my communities and raise them in response to the throne speech and before the budget is released.

Let me start with Fort Erie, Madam Speaker. You changed very quickly; there you go.

Working together, we have accomplished some incredible things in Fort Erie. We’ve managed to build a state-of-the-art educational institution for our children. There is still work to be done there to ensure that there are no capacity issues as the town grows and that kids have access to the very best as it becomes available to them. But we’ve made progress. Now we have the opportunity to use those old schools as community hubs and bring a number of community groups under one roof and expand those services.

This is an incredible opportunity and one I am proud to work with the community in supporting. This is a way we can ensure that the services offered in Crystal Beach, Ridgeway, Stevensville and Fort Erie itself can be expanded and made accessible to everyone in the town while using a property that is currently empty.

On the issue of the Fort Erie Race Track—and I know I’ve talked about this constantly for the last four years but it’s an issue I’m passionate about—we’ve made a lot of progress. Working together with the town and the residents, we saved the track from closure, and we have been able to reverse Woodbine’s damaging stalling policy, which threatened our track. But let me say this clearly: We need gaming back. There are 300 jobs if we do that—300 jobs if we do that. I want it to be slots. If I could put them in there myself, I would, but we need this government to commit to returning gaming to Fort Erie. This budget could provide for the people of Fort Erie and it could create good-paying jobs.

Madam Speaker, I’m going to talk about something else that’s incredibly important to me: long-term care. Seniors—our parents, our grandparents—built our communities. They built our communities with their bare hands and raised their families, yet when they need to rely on this government for long-term care or home care, they are being let down. Waiting lists for long-term care have exploded. There are over 30,000 residents on waiting lists right now. In some cases they’re waiting over a year. The Premier should be ashamed of that record.

Seniors deserve better, and their issues must be championed. We need a new direction that actually respects seniors and puts them first. Forget these wasteful privatization schemes that this government is focused on. Solving the long-term-care crisis in Niagara needs to be put at the top of their priority list. The PCs have absolutely no right to comment on this. The last time they were in charge, they froze hospital budgets, cut home care, closed 28 hospitals and fired 6,000 nurses.

We also need to talk about health care more generally in the province of Ontario. Right now across this province we have people waiting in hallways to get the medical care they need. Let me say this clearly: Not one person in our province should have to wait for hours in a hallway to see a doctor or to get the care they need. Health care is a right, and so is getting the health care you need when you need it.

We can solve this problem in Niagara. If we move up the build of the new hospital, we can eliminate hallway medicine in Niagara Falls. Not only can we provide a higher standard of care for residents, but we can create good-paying jobs for local workers. If we move up the build, we can provide residents with a decent standard of health care, and working families with a decent income. There is absolutely no reason why the ministry should not focus its attention on making this happen.

Madam Speaker, another health care issue is mental health supports. I can’t stress how urgent the need to deal with the lack of mental health supports is. We have thousands of children on wait-lists trying to see a doctor who need our help. They can’t wait for the support they need. They need it now. People are struggling, and they feel like they’re struggling alone. We need to reach out and tell them that they’re not alone, that we’re here for them and we’re taking this very seriously. That means investing in these supports immediately.

If there’s one thing we can justify spending government funds on, it has to be providing mental health support to residents. We can do this in coordinated fashion and put these all under one ministry with a mandate to fix the crisis.

When people are struggling with mental health issues, they begin to struggle at work or find it even harder to find a job in the first place. It isn’t hard to see how this impacts our province, so it makes good economic sense to provide this service as well. I know the PCs don’t support this action—because they were the ones who closed mental health facilities down in the first place—but this is too important to ignore.

In addition to moving up the build of the new hospital, we must also move up the GO train deadline. Again, the quicker we make these projects happen, the sooner we can put people to work. If you understand what I’m trying to say here—whether it’s in Fort Erie, Niagara Falls or all of Niagara, what are we talking about? Putting people to work with good-paying jobs they can support their families on.

We’ve been meeting with Metrolinx executives and the executives from Niagara Health on both of these issues to try to move up the dates, because it’s clear to the people in Niagara Falls that they need these services sooner rather than later.

On the GO train file, we should be extremely proud. All of the actors across a number of levels were able to come together and make this project happen—everyone except the PCs, who were opposed to the project. Regardless of that, we were able to show what we can accomplish when we all work together. I invite those members to work with us on this project and to move these deadlines up. Our cities are growing; we need those services now to keep up.

Madam Speaker, as you can tell, I’m going through my riding, if anybody was wondering.

Let’s talk about Niagara-on-the-Lake. In Niagara-on-the-Lake we have the best wineries, the best craft brewers, and some of the best food and hospitality you can find anywhere in the world. Now is the time to invest in these businesses and remove the barriers they face. They’re growing at an incredible rate and, more importantly, they’re providing jobs for our residents.

Mr. Brad Duguid: I’m listening to you, Gatesy.

Mr. Wayne Gates: I appreciate that.

The government should be supporting these industries and doing everything in its power to ensure that they grow to their full potential.

Let me talk about arts and culture in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Niagara-on-the-Lake’s arts and culture industry is nothing short of awe-inspiring. Places like the Shaw have created an industry that not only draws in tens of thousands of visitors to support our local industries but provides careers for young people in the arts. It provides a soul for our province. I know that many politicians overlook how important the arts and culture industry is in communities, but that’s a mistake. I’ll say that again: That’s a mistake.

If they want an example of how well that industry supports towns and cities, and why they need government investment, I invite them to come to Niagara-on-the-Lake and tour the wonderful town with me. I guarantee you, it will make my point.

We also need to talk about developments and what role this province will play in ensuring that developments are sustainable.

Niagara-on-the-Lake is truly a jewel of Canada. The residents have worked very hard to preserve the incredible history of the town, which, quite frankly, is the history of this great nation and province. People live there because they love their community. Right now, there’s a controversial development project in the town which revolves around a resort that will include a six-storey building—I’ll repeat that: It will include a six-storey building. The most important thing to me about this project is to listen to the residents first.

They’re the ones who have built and maintained that town and made it what it is today. They deserve the credit for making the town what it is and their voices must be heard. They don’t want to lose the character that makes that town so special, and frankly, I stand with them.

Madam Speaker, this government does have a role to play in this. I know there’s going to be changes to the OMB so it’s clear they’re willing to work on this. They have to make sure that that process takes into account what the residents want, what the community wants, what the town wants and, quite frankly, what elected officials want.

I’d also like to talk about the Niagara-on-the-Lake historical society and museum. A little while ago I was contacted by the society asking me to support their request for increased funding through the Community Museum Operating Grant. When this request came to my office, I didn’t even think twice about supporting this. The work they do there is incredible. They preserve the history of the town but also the history of this country which flows through the town. They work hard to build a sense of community in Niagara-on-the-Lake and to ensure that their doors are open to the residents.

Of course, like in every community, I have to mention the volunteers. The time and effort that their volunteers put in to make the historical society and museum operate the way it does is nothing short of inspiring. I know a lot of you have heard me bragging about those residents, but I’ll say it again: As the MPP who represents them, I’m truly blessed to have such selfless people working in our community. For those reasons, I want to say in this House that the work they do deserves support, and I’m proud to join in their request to continue to increase this funding.

I have seen first-hand the good work that they do in the community. I believe this is exactly what the provincial funding should be used for.

I’d like to talk about another issue that stretches across all communities: hydro rates. I know the Premier doesn’t like to talk about it anymore, but hydro rates are a crisis in Niagara. People and businesses are struggling to cover the costs that have come because of the privatization of Hydro One. It was wrong then, and the rates today show that.

We need a new plan that gives people hope and that actually lowers their rates. Seniors shouldn’t have to choose between hydro bills and medication. Young people shouldn’t have to choose between owning a home and hydro bills. Employers shouldn’t have to worry about hydro bills or hiring someone.

In Niagara, we’re directly beside the Falls, yet we watch the province sell our power at a loss to the United States. It’s absolutely unacceptable that this is still happening today. People have been fighting against this for four years. The Premier needs to act. It’s time to put an end to the wasteful privatization scheme and actually produce a plan which lowers hydro bills. That means bringing hydro back into public plans and lowering their bills by 40%. That makes more sense than padding the pockets of private investors or the rich and famous.

We’ve seen it with gas prices, too. We offered a solution, and it was voted down by the Liberal Party. It’s clearly not a priority for them.

The prices of a barrel of oil are still lower than they were a few years ago, yet our prices keep going up. I was in my riding again yesterday. It’s $1.27. We never see those savings at the pump; instead, what we see are constantly increasing gasoline prices and excuses that aren’t worth the paper they are written on.

My residents, your residents and residents all over the province of Ontario are not dumb. They can see what’s happening here. They know they are being gouged, and they know the government is doing nothing to stop it. I’m going to repeat that line, because it’s important: They know they are being gouged, and they know the government is doing nothing to stop it.

Just last week in Niagara Falls, the gas prices jumped by 10 cents for no reason at all, overnight.

Hon. Daiene Vernile: Isn’t that a federal issue?

Mr. Wayne Gates: As the Liberals are heckling me a little bit over there—the reality is, you shouldn’t go to bed at 12 o’clock at night and it’s $1.17, and the very next day you wake up and it’s $1.27. That’s happening right here in Ontario. It’s happening in your community that’s heckling you. Your residents don’t like it, just like my residents don’t like it. So if you want to heckle me on gas prices, go right ahead, but I think it’s wrong in the province of Ontario.

Hon. Chris Ballard: I’m agreeing with you—

Mr. Wayne Gates: I appreciate that.

That means bringing hydro back into public plans and lowering the bills by 30%. That makes a lot more sense than padding the pockets.

I’ve got only three minutes left, and I’m glad I finally woke the Liberals up.

If it’s a long weekend, we know the prices are going to jump again. It’s nothing more than gouging, and the people need a break. It’s all about affordability; whether it’s hydro bills or whether it’s the gas prices, that’s what it’s about. That’s our job here: Making sure it’s affordable to live in the province of Ontario.

On this throne speech, all I can say is this: It seems there’s far too little here and that it’s far too late. The Liberals are now saying that they care about child care and about prescription medicine. They now say they care about hallway medicine and long-term-care wait-lists. They’ve had 15 years to fix these problems. How can they expect us to believe they want to fix them now? How can anybody believe them?

Madam Speaker, I believe we need pharmacare in this province—for everyone. I believe we need dental care in this province—for everyone. We can do this. We don’t need the $6.1 billion worth of cuts that Doug Ford is promising. Families don’t need more cuts in their lives. Instead, they need things that will give them hope. They need change, but they need change for the better, change that will help them get ahead and have better services.

Madam Speaker, the throne speech didn’t mention homeowners at all. One of the things we’ve been working so hard on is Tarion reform. Ultimately, we ended up voting against that bill because it simply didn’t protect homeowners. That’s the key to the bill: It didn’t protect homeowners. Homeowners need us; they need us now. Getting rid of Tarion but replacing it with another system that still gives too much power to home builders and not enough power to homeowners is no better. What about the people who have been battling with Tarion for years already? This government had a chance to make this right and they failed that test, so it’s time for a real change on that front.

I can say I’m happy to see our NDP finance critic was able to pass a motion directing the Auditor General to investigate Tarion. I suppose I could sum up my feelings on this by simply saying that it’s about time. There is so much more that needs to be done for the homeowners, but this is an important step which will prove many of the things activists and homeowners have been saying for years.

Madam Speaker, there are so many issues here that it’s hard to see where to begin. Obviously, this throne speech can’t contain everything, but it’s clear to me that they missed some very big priorities. I look forward to seeing the budget and going through it in detail. I hope it addresses some of these glaring holes.

We need change in the province of Ontario. We need change for the better.

The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Soo Wong): Questions and comments?

Mr. John Fraser: It’s a pleasure to respond to the member from Niagara Falls. I always do appreciate his comments, especially when he talks about his riding. I don’t think we agree on all things—it’s probably about 50-50 in that speech—but I very much appreciate his local efforts and his efforts to raise the profile of his riding.

The throne speech is about choices. It’s about the intentionality of our choices, and it’s very clear what we’re going to do. If you take a look at the announcement yesterday on mental health and the $2.1 billion over the next four years for more access to community-based therapy, mental health workers for high schools, more youth wellness hubs, more supportive housing, and more access to residential withdrawal and treatment services for youth and adults suffering from addictions, I think that’s very clear about what our intentions are and what we’re going to do to achieve that.

I would like to remind the member about choices. He talked about mental health beds, and I just want to remind him: When your party was in power, you made choices too. You closed 13% of the mental health beds. That’s not to wag a finger. I’m just saying that we all have to make choices. We all know that in this House.

He wanted to talk about change. Actually, things that change people’s lives are eliminating coal so there are lower rates of childhood asthma, and full-day kindergarten so the kids get a better start in life and families can get out there and participate in the economy earlier. It’s like OHIP+, making sure that every child and youth under 25 has access to free prescription medications. It’s like fighting for that stronger Canada Pension Plan so that everybody has some more retirement security. Those are the things that change people’s lives. That’s change, and that’s what we have been doing for 15 years.

The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Soo Wong): Questions and comments?

Ms. Sylvia Jones: I’m happy to add my few minutes of comments to the member from Niagara Falls. I think all of us use the opportunity of responding to a throne speech to talk about our riding, and it’s perfectly appropriate for him to do so. But when he talks about the activity and points fingers at other parties about mental health, I think that we have to put a few facts on the record.

I understand the member has been here since 2014, but perhaps he could go and speak to his member from Nickel Belt and talk about the 18 months that, collectively, all of us from the three political parties spent on mental health and addictions. It came out as a result of a 2008 resolution from a—wait for it—Progressive Conservative member. Then the committee was ultimately struck, and 18 months later we came forward with a report.

So please—please—don’t tell me that only one political party has a lock or can be able to speak on specific issues, because it’s wrong and it’s not conducive to the type of co-operative legislative activities that we can do here when we actually work together and come forward collectively with positive ideas.

I’m pleased that he was talking about mental health and the need for further investments, but to suggest that one political party did nothing while everybody else was talking about it is clearly wrong. All you have to do is look at the 2008 resolution and the 2010 all-party support that came out as a result of that.

The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Soo Wong): Questions and comments?

M me France Gélinas: I was very interested in this piece that was given by the member from Niagara, who really showed what 15 years of Liberal government means in his riding. He went through the different responsibilities of the provincial government and what that looks like on the ground.

He gives the example of the Niagara Health System, the hospital that is in his riding that has been overcrowded—just like every other large community hospital throughout Ontario—where people are admitted to the hospital but there is no bed for them; where all of a sudden, what used to be a bathroom or a shower room is becoming a bed for people to be admitted to; where what used to be a TV room or a lounge is now a place for four, sometimes five people to be admitted.

Those are rooms that don’t have a sink. Those are rooms that don’t have a bathroom. Those are rooms where the indignity of people goes on and on, where you have to use a commode, where everybody in the room knows that you are using the commode. It is degrading. It is not what people expect from our hospitals, but this is where we are at in Ontario. He gives good examples of what that means for the people he represents.

He also talks about the need for pharmacare. Ontario has six drug plans right now, the latest one being OHIP+. But pharmacare means universal. It means no matter who you are, your age or your condition, you will have drug coverage. This is something that people need, people want. We now have a speech from the throne that promises to undo all of the damage they have done for 15 years. They have had 15 years to do that.

The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Soo Wong): Questions and comments?

Ms. Sophie Kiwala: It really is a pleasure to rise today and to speak to the comments made by the member from Niagara Falls. I just want to reiterate what the member from Ottawa South said with respect to what a great advocate he is for his community.

He did spend a little bit of time talking about the tremendous culture in Niagara Falls. I can attest—and do so proudly in front of our Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport—that we do support tourism, culture and sport in all of our communities. As the former PA, I know that well. Some $32.5 billion is contributed to our economy every single year, and 400,000 direct jobs as a result of culture and sport in our communities.

So I reiterate that the member from Niagara Falls is absolutely correct: The culture in the Niagara Falls area is absolutely alive and well.

I do also want to talk a little bit about the mental health piece of the throne speech. The four-year investment of $2.1 billion is actually going to rebuild the system.

I would also like to reiterate the comments made by the member for Dufferin–Caledon, that we really do need to co-operatively and collectively work together. Listening to the throne speech and hearing each of the pieces and how they are going to rebuild, frame and improve the lives of Ontarians across the province was extremely inspiring.

Just on the mental health piece, we’re going to have easier access for local schools to mental health care and community-based organizations. And 12,000 more young people will access services—

The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Soo Wong): Thank you.

I’ll return back to the member from Niagara Falls to wrap up.

Mr. Wayne Gates: I’ll start with the last speaker, because I think she said some things that are very, very important. Niagara and the Ministry of Culture—the $32 billion in investment. I believe that Niagara deserves more; we need more. So I’m trying to tell you to send some money down to Niagara-on-the-Lake, Niagara Falls and Fort Erie.

The one thing she also said is that Niagara is alive and well. I agree with her on that. I think that’s because they’ve got a really good MPP down in Niagara Falls. I think that’s the reason why it’s alive and well, so I appreciate that compliment.

I’ll talk to my good friend from Ottawa as well. On mental health issues, let’s be clear: In my riding, in my area—not just my riding, but the other MPPs from Niagara, including St. Catharines and Welland—the Liberals closed 70% of the mental health beds in Niagara, at a time when we need it the most. As we all know, one in five now have mental health issues.

To my colleague from the PC Party, who talked about the committee that they had and that it’s all three parties: I only say the facts, and the fact of the matter is that the PC Party under Harris—because I know; I participated in all the days of action that we had to have in the province of Ontario—did close 28 hospitals. There’s no argument there. Six thousand nurses lost their jobs; there’s no argument there.

But when you talk about mental health, not only did they close 28 hospitals, they also closed all of the mental health hospitals. All of the mental health hospitals were closed under their leadership. What bothered me the most around that is that they didn’t take the money they got from closing them and reinvest it back into mental health services. That was a mistake. That was a mistake for young people who were suffering from mental health—

The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Soo Wong): Thank you. Further debate? I recognize the Attorney General.

Hon. Yasir Naqvi: Thank you very much, Madam Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to speak on the speech from the throne. I will be sharing my time with the member from Don Valley East as well.

It’s always a great honour and privilege to stand up in this House, in this Legislature, and speak on issues that are important to our province and to my community of Ottawa Centre. It’s an even greater honour when I see a good friend of mine going back to university days, Suleman Aziz, who’s here in the House with his family. We go back to our late teens and early twenties. He can share a few stories about me through university days. They are here because Suleman’s son Humza is a page from Guelph. So it’s really a welcome to the whole family. Thank you for being here.

I’m very excited to speak about this speech from the throne because it’s a speech that speaks to the values that we all share as members of our society and our community. The value is one and simple, and that is to look after each other and to care for each other in our lives every single day. As human beings—fathers and mothers, grandparents, uncles and aunts, friends and neighbours—we are determined to look after each other and we are persuaded to look after each other and to care for each other.

As a father of two young children, the number one big lesson that I continue to teach my children is to look after each other, to care for each other, because that’s the most important value we have. This speech from the throne really captures that. I think it’s exciting to talk about that, because sometimes governments are seen as large institutions removed from our daily lives. People forget that government has a very important role: to make our lives easier and to make our lives better.

This particular speech from the throne, and my reason for supporting the speech, is exactly that, because it really focuses on things that matter to us, and that is to care for each other. The speech really encapsulates our desire to build a caring and fair society, a society that gives everybody an opportunity to grow, because that’s how we will build Ontario up.

When I’m in my community of Ottawa Centre, the conversations I’m having with people at the doors as I am out canvassing every weekend—as I do and as I have been doing over the last 10 years since I’ve been an elected member of provincial Parliament—are around the kind of initiatives the government is working on that are making life easier for everyone. Things like OHIP+—making sure that we’ve got, truly, for the very first time, a pharmacare program that is going to help our children and youth until the age of 25.

I cannot tell you how many parents come up to me or tell me at their doors what an incredible program it is and that it’s the right thing to do. Now that we are planning to expand that program to cover all our seniors—65 and plus—I think it’s even more exciting to note that we are getting that much closer to a universal pharmacare program, with a coverage of all 4,400 medications that are available by way of prescription.

Similarly, with the expansion of the OSAP program to ensure that students who come from low- to mid-income families are able to get the college and university education they deserve: No longer is the criteria whether you have the ability or the means to go to college or university. The financial

part is taken care of. If we are going to truly put an end to the cycle of poverty, we know education is the most powerful tool to accomplish that. By making free tuition available for students coming from low-income families to mid-income families is a tremendous move.

Not to mention the increase in minimum wage, to $14 an hour starting last January and then to $15 an hour on January 1, 2019: Truly, making sure we have a living wage in our province is really creating an opportunity for people who rely on minimum wage to live a better life so that they are not depending on food banks and so that they are actually able to use that money to buy clothes for their families and to get good, healthy food for their children—the kinds of things we should all care about.

That is what a care agenda looks like, where we are focusing on things that help people in their day-to-day lives. That is what our government is doing.

I would be remiss if I did not speak about the kinds of important investments we are making in my community of Ottawa Centre to make sure that people have the most important public services available to them, because those are key—things like education, health care and infrastructure.

In terms of health care, we are really fortunate in Ottawa Centre to have three really robust community health centres that provide just remarkable health and social services at a community level in the downtown core of Ottawa. All of those three community health centres are growing, thanks to the investments that our government is making.

For example, we just recently started a major expansion project at Centretown Community Health Centre—over $5.4 million—so that they can serve more people from our community on things like mental health and addiction services, diabetes, child care: very important services to have a healthy downtown community.

Similarly, the Somerset West Community Health Centre was just recently approved as a supervised safe injection site by the federal government. Our government is providing them the operational funding and the capital funding so that a supervised injection site could open as quickly as possible. Again, that just goes to saving lives, making sure that those in our community who are suffering from the disease of addiction, are victims of this opioid crisis, have the kinds of the supports they need right in the community.

I’m also very excited about the Carlington Community Health Centre, which is building a very unique housing and health hub. They’re building 42 affordable housing units for seniors, but they will have access to state-of-the-art community health care right onsite. That’s a project almost close to $5 million. That is taking place between my riding and Ottawa West–Nepean, represented by Mr. Chiarelli.

Similarly, on the health care front, the Ottawa heart institute, which is a remarkable institution, is seeing a $200-million expansion. Actually, the opening is tomorrow, so I can’t wait to tell you how excited we are to have that world-class health care.

Education is another fundamental value, as I spoke to earlier. When I see the schools in my community, like the new Broadview school, a $15-million investment, up and running—and Elmdale Public School, located in Wellington Village, will be seeing an investment of $3.6 million so that we can build an addition and then upgrade this historic school into a modern place for our students to learn.

I’m really excited to note that, for the first time, we have our first French public school, École élémentaire publique Centre-Nord, in my community. We had a French Catholic school; now we also have a French public school, where my son is attending and getting his education now, making sure that we are further promoting and expanding education in French.

I’m also privileged to have Carleton University in my riding, which continues to grow with quality programming, with more students getting a good education. Of course, a lot of those students are benefiting from the changes that we have made to our OSAP program.

Speaker, lastly, on infrastructure, if I may very quickly highlight to you: The LRT construction is going forward. Phase 1 is almost done—an investment of $600 million by our government. But we’re not just stopping there. We, in fact, have already committed an over $1-billion investment in phase 2 of the LRT. That will really connect the rest of the city to the downtown core, including our airport, so that Ottawa, as a capital city, is really, genuinely a G7 city. We’re really, really excited about that.

Not to mention the investments we’re making in affordable housing, such as projects by Cornerstone Housing for Women and the John Howard Society, where we really focused on putting an end to chronic homelessness, in parallel with the provincial Ontario housing strategy. These projects, which are happening in the downtown core—in the community of Ottawa Centre, the riding that I have the honour of serving—are really starting to make an impact in making sure that people have access to good housing with appropriate supports around mental health and addiction and other health care services.

Speaker, I can go on and on, but I just wanted to give you a highlight of what, really—on the ground, on the front line, in the community—a care agenda looks like, an agenda that is championed by our Premier and this government. That’s why I am so motivated and excited to support this speech from the throne and the budget that is coming. I urge all members to do the same thing.

The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Soo Wong): I recognize the Minister of Children and Youth Services.

Hon. Michael Coteau: Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. It’s a pleasure to stand today in this House and speak to the throne speech. I want to start by talking about where we are as Ontarians. I believe that there are a lot of Ontarians who need help out there. We’re a government that I believe has put in place a lot of different options for people to access services and help when necessary.

But I also just want to mention that if you listen to the opposition consistently speak about the state of Ontario, you get a very gloomy picture: that Ontario is just this horrible place that is existing, where everyone is doing poorly, our economy is doing poorly, our health care system is doing poorly and our education system is doing poorly. The fact is, Madam Speaker, that Ontario is a great place to live. Ontario is, without a question in my mind, one of the most beautiful places and one of the best places anyone can live in on this entire planet.

That’s why we get so many people from around the world coming to Ontario each year; we get so many people from across the country coming to Ontario every single year.

They talk about the economy being so bad in Ontario. You hear these little pieces of information they put forward—especially the Conservatives. They talk about the economy doing poorly. I think it was back in 2012 that there were more buildings being built in the GTA than all of North America combined. The former Premier used to say that. Our economy is the strongest now of the G7 countries. We have the lowest unemployment in almost 20 years.

There are a lot of great things that are happening in Ontario. We’ve gone through a transition. Our economy has changed. We’ve gone from more of an analog- to a digital-style economy, so things are going well. When I hear the opposition talk about how sad it is in Ontario and things are so gloomy—you know what? Get out there and talk to people. Knock on some doors, walk down the street, talk to people about how they feel being in Ontario and you get a completely different picture than this image you get that is coming from the opposition.

We want to put in services and we want to make sure that people have the services they need when they need them. I remember growing up in Flemingdon Park and in Don Mills. My mother was a superintendent of a building. She used to clean the building that we lived in. I can remember when my parents separated—I was about 15 or 16 years old—my mother had to go and change her job because it just didn’t pay enough. She actually got a job at—it was called Bloorview MacMillan at the time, and she served food there. That’s what she did for a living to put food on the table in our house.

I remember that the management company said that she had to leave the building because she was no longer the superintendent. I remember my mother going to the Flemingdon Park legal clinic to get help because we were being thrown out of the building. I can remember her getting that help and someone there working with her, and we finally got to stay in the building.

I always think of that story, and I think of my brother, who went back to school and he was working in a restaurant. It was a low-paying job. He decided to go back to upgrade his skill sets and so he took the Second Career course. This was maybe in 2007-08. It was another government program that was offered by our province. My brother is now a welder in the Kitchener–Waterloo area; he is a welder out there for Caterpillar.

For me, those are the types of things that we need to have in place, so when people go through some challenges they have the help out there.

But there is a myth out there. There is a myth that Liberals are not good managers of the economy. There’s a myth out there that—you know, it’s funny, someone came to see me recently to talk about the Liberal record. He was a Progressive Conservative. We sat down in my office.

Mr. James J. Bradley: Progressive Conservative.

Hon. Michael Coteau: A Progressive Conservative, that’s right.

We had a really good conversation. I went through some of the numbers and went through some of the data, and I showed him numbers that came out from some think tanks that are not necessarily very supportive of Liberals. But they concluded as well that the economy has been managed well over the last decade when we went through—almost a decade ago, it was the start of one of the worst economic recessions in the history of this country. During that time period, the Harper government, who were Conservatives in power—the former leader of their party was part of that regime—they ran the largest deficit in the history of Canada.

In addition to that, if you think about Ontario, and I don’t know if many Conservatives know this, but the budget has been balanced in this province in the last 45 years, I think, nine times. Five of those times have been managed by Liberals; it’s been balanced by Liberals.

Going back to Harper, by the time he came in up until 2015, he ran a deficit, collectively, of about $150 billion, so all the gains that Chrétien and Martin made over those years were just completely wiped out.

There’s a myth out there in Ontario that the Conservatives are these great managers of the economy. This is what the Conservatives do when they come into power. This is the game plan. It doesn’t matter if you are in Ontario, if you are across this country or even in the United States; this is what the Conservatives do: They come in and they say, “Enough is enough. We’re going to make some cuts because we need to save money.”

But here’s what happens: They make those cuts—for example, I was part of the literacy sector, and the Conservatives, these guys, cut $27 million from literacy and basic skills. You know when you talk about helping a person? That’s the basic form of helping a person: having them have the ability to read. They cut that funding to adult literacy.

The Conservatives opposite, when they were in power—and this is, I think, the best example anyone can give about the type of approach the Conservatives take here in Ontario, which is so opposite from what we have offered in our throne speech. Developmental disabilities in Ontario was cut by 7%. Think about that for a second. These are our most vulnerable people in our society, the developmentally delayed. Developmental services: That line was cut by 7%.

So when the Conservatives stand up and they say, “You know, you’re not doing enough for these folks and you’re not doing enough for these folks,” when you go down to the very basics, literacy and basic skills, and when you talk about things like developmental delay and developmental services, imagine a government making those cuts to those types of services.

I think it just says exactly who we’re dealing with. We’re dealing with a group of people who stand up and say they believe in making Ontario great and supporting people. But the best thing you can do if you want to really figure out the true intentions of a group of people who want to manage the government or the economy of a province is just to look at their track record. If you look at our track record over the last 15 years—the NDP is saying, “Over the last 15 years nothing has been done.” We have the strongest economy, number one.

Number two: We went from an education system where one third of our students were not graduating—we have gone from 66% graduation to 86.5% today, I think it is. We have transformed public education. We have transformed health care from the longest to the some of the shortest wait times in the country. Now with our mental health investments—remember, the Conservatives wanted to invest $1.9 billion over 10 years. We’re investing $2.1 billion over four years.

Ms. Laurie Scott: What about children with autism?

Hon. Michael Coteau: The member opposite from Kawartha is talking about autism services. Remember, it’s your leader who wanted to get rid of those kids, and throw them out of their neighbourhood, who had autism services. Remember that.

The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Soo Wong): Questions and comments?

Ms. Sylvia Jones: Oh, Speaker, this is too rich. This is far too rich.

I was happy to sit and participate in a lovely conversation about the throne speech, and then the minister goes on about how great they are with parents and with children. Please. I was the critic when your minister had to be replaced because of the challenge and the changes that were being made as a result of the autism file. Don’t tell us that you have respected children and parents with autism. You did nothing for them, and you know—

Interjections.

The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Soo Wong): It’s never too early to warn anybody, okay?

I’m going to return to the member from Dufferin–Caledon.

Ms. Sylvia Jones: A quick reminder, Speaker: Do you remember that hashtag, #autismdoesntendat5? Do you know why they did that? Because you guys were going to eliminate all of the access, all of the resources that were going to happen as a result of it. #autismdoesntendat5: That is a result of your decision and your government, so please do not tell me that the individuals and the families who are trying to get services in the province of Ontario were well served by your government. They weren’t. The minister was replaced.

You actually had to back-step on that decision because the parents ended up having to rally in front of Queen’s Park every week and say, “You’re doing the wrong thing.” You should be ashamed of yourself for even suggesting that you have any ability to talk about autism and offering services to the parents in the province of Ontario—ridiculous.

The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Soo Wong): Questions and comments?

M me France Gélinas: It is always very interesting to hear a member of the Liberal government talk about the speech from the throne and talk about what their aspirations are going to be for the next four years. But we all know, Speaker, that actions speak louder than words and that past action is a very good indicator of what future actions are going to be like.

Let me tell you what past action looks like. It looks like a government that doesn’t say beep about privatizing Hydro One during an election campaign. But the minute that they get elected, they sell away a public asset that has been ours for over 100 years. They privatized it. They continued what the Conservatives had done. The Conservatives were wise enough not to privatize Hydro One, but the Liberals did it.

Under their mandate, they talk about how important it is to continue with our health care system based on needs, not on ability to pay, and that this is the greatest public system we have. But under their leadership, we have seen the privatization of the health care system like we had never seen before. You can go into any community throughout our province and you will see private clinics that were never there before. They starved their hospitals and then told them, “If it’s not acute hospital care with nursing, it is okay to send it to the community.” But what the Liberals were really saying is that it is okay to privatize it.

There are very few outpatient physiotherapy clinics left in our hospitals. They are in the community and they are for-profit clinics. If you have the means, you can pay, but for most people, it’s out.

If you look at colonoscopies, if you look at angiograms, cardiograms—all of these things have all been sent—

Interjection: In vitro.

M me France Gélinas: In vitro—all of these things have been sent to the community, to the private sector—

The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Soo Wong): Thank you. Questions and comments?

Hon. Dipika Damerla: I’m so delighted to stand up and also add my voice to the throne speech debate.

I have to say that I have to take exception to what the member from Timmins said, because the fact is, Madam Speaker, that this government has overseen the biggest expansion of public health care through OHIP+. Almost one in two Ontarians now have pharmacare in Ontario. That is the single-largest expansion of public health care in Ontario. To suggest, as the member from Nickel Belt did, that somehow under our watch we are privatizing, that is completely not acceptable. There are myths and there are facts.

The other thing that I want to say is that I am so proud of our throne speech, because what our throne speech really did was celebrate everything that we have done over the past three and a half years, and it also indicated what we want to do for the next four years. One of the things that the throne speech makes very, very clear is that we want our Ontario not only to be inclusive, but also caring, and that we care about our middle class.

The biggest takeaway for the residents of Mississauga East–Cooksville from this throne speech is that this government solidly stands up for all Ontarians and especially the middle class. They are—what would I say?

Interjection: The backbone.

Hon. Dipika Damerla: —the backbone of our province. They work hard and they pay taxes. What this throne speech has clearly indicated is that we are on their side. We are on the side of the middle class, because I’m a middle-class person myself, as are many of my colleagues. So we know the aspirations. We know the aspirations of those who want to get into the middle class—

The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Soo Wong): Thank you. Questions and comments?

Mr. Sam Oosterhoff: It’s always a great pleasure to be able to stand in this House and engage in some verbal dialogue and a little bit of back and forth with government members and various members in this House.

Madam Speaker, I haven’t been here that long in the Ontario Legislature. I’ve been here about a year and four months. I’ve had the opportunity over that time to get to know the Attorney General a little bit here and there and have a couple of conversations, as well as the Minister of Children and Youth Services. I have a lot of respect for both of these fine gentlemen and the work that they put into representing their communities, and for their perspective in attempting to better Ontario. I don’t want to discredit that.

But I must say, I don’t know how they can stand there in good conscience and say one thing while doing the total opposite. Particularly I find it quite amusing to listen to the Minister of Children and Youth Services speak about debt and deficit. I could tell it was difficult for him to keep a smirk off his face when he was referencing the so-called fiscal responsibility that the Liberals have.

I think it’s fair to say that if we actually go out there and talk to people who are being impacted by the Liberal government—especially young people. It’s been interesting. I get to travel to a lot of colleges and universities, and there are more and more and more young people joining the Conservative Party and joining the conservative movement. When I ask them what some of the reasons are, one of the big reasons is their concern about the debt that they see creeping up. I mean, $11 billion in interest rate payments just here in the province of Ontario alone—and this is with historically low interest rates.

That’s a lot of money that could be going to health care, that could be going to education, that could be going into providing autism services as well.

The minister might not want to recognize it, but I can see that he understands the type of hypocrisy that’s being brought forward himself, and I think he regrets it as well.

The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Soo Wong): I return to the Minister of Children and Youth Services to wrap up.

Hon. Michael Coteau: Madam Speaker, I’d like to thank you for chairing today and thank everyone for their comments.

The Conservatives have brought up autism services. They’ve talked about autism services. The member from Dufferin–Caledon, I believe it is, spoke to this and so did the last member. I’ve been contacted by parents who have children with autism and they have personally thanked me and this government for the work that we’ve done in order to transform the entire system.

Earlier, I said if you really want to understand the true nature of a political party, just look at the members. But maybe you should just look at the leader himself. They’ve gone through five leaders in the last three and a half years, so there’s been complete chaos over there. They finally agreed that they’ve got a leader. Their previous leader, when it comes to autism services, said that he didn’t believe in a national strategy. He actually voted against that national strategy. Now you have a leader who had autistic children living in his neighbourhood and he told them to go to hell. Am I allowed to say that, Madam Speaker? He told them to go to hell.

Interjections.

The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Soo Wong): Order. The minister needs to withdraw the remark.

Hon. Michael Coteau: I withdraw it twice, Madam Speaker.

The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Soo Wong): I return to the minister.

Hon. Michael Coteau: Their current leader, the leader of the Progressive Conservatives, said that the autistic children in his neighbourhood were ruining his neighbourhood. You tell me I should be ashamed of what I say? How can you stand there and defend his record?

Interjections.

The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Soo Wong): Further debate? I recognize the member from Niagara West–Glanbrook.

Interjections.

The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Soo Wong): Okay. Minister of Children and Youth Services, you have now been warned. It’s never too early. I already indicated that.

I return to the member from Niagara West–Glanbrook.

Mr. Sam Oosterhoff: Thank you, Madam Speaker. I must say that hearing the government sound like an opposition is quite satisfactory. They are preparing themselves for the opposition benches very well. I’m glad to see that the important Westminster tradition and parliamentary task of holding the government accountable and responding to legislation and issues—I can see that members on the opposite benches are getting themselves ready to engage in that task, which is an honourable one, and one I’m sure the voters of Ontario will be happy to give them on June 7. I look forward to seeing them sitting on this side of the aisle come June 8.

The reality is that we had a throne speech. I know the discussions over the last few minutes in this House have been quite heated and perhaps distracted us a little bit from what we were talking about earlier, the issue at debate today. What we are debating, of course, is the throne speech that was brought forward by this government on Monday. I have the opportunity now to rise and speak to it.

Before I do, I want to set a little bit of a background. This custom of presenting a throne speech before the beginning of a session to indicate your government’s priorities heading into a legislative session is a long-standing one, and one that is admirable. I find it really interesting that we’ve seen so many—I think this is the third throne speech now from this government in the space of the last four years. I’m not sure if it’s that they’re a bit rudderless; perhaps they’re not sure where they’re going so they’re changing directions, they’re changing their minds about what their intentions are. We’ve even seen some of the language, really, shift and change—

Ms. Ann Hoggarth: Rudderless.

The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Soo Wong): The member from Barrie is now warned.

I’ll return to the member from Niagara West–Glanbrook.

Mr. Sam Oosterhoff: Thank you, Madam Speaker. I appreciate it.

As I was saying, we’ve even seen some of the language shift and change. I’m not sure if that’s because they’re still trying to figure out what they can mess up—

Interjection.

The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Soo Wong): The minister responsible for seniors is now warned.

I’ll return to the member from Niagara West.

Mr. Sam Oosterhoff: What can I say? This is a good morning exercise for me. I get to sit down and stand up again.

One of the really concerning set of side effects that this throne speech has had, though—and I’ll get into talking about the throne speech itself in a minute. For me, one of the real downsides was a personal issue and a personal matter. That had to do with the first private member’s bill that I ever brought before this House. That was Bill 182, the Compassionate Care Act.

Applause.

Mr. Sam Oosterhoff: Thank you.

When the Compassionate Care Act was brought forward last December, with a lot of support from stakeholders, whether it was from the Ontario Medical Association, Hospice Palliative Care Ontario, or the Registered Practical Nurses Association of Ontario, it was seen by all in this House at that time to be an important piece of legislation that would help improve the lives of Ontarians and provide choice in end-of-life care for Ontarians. It received unanimous support in this House, and I was very, very happy to hear that.

Mr. James J. Bradley: They all do.

Mr. Sam Oosterhoff: The member from St. Catharines says that they all do. I’m not sure if that’s a statement on the good job that the government has had in collaborating with opposition members or not.

I think the government should take it seriously. When the Legislature indicates its intentions, when the Legislature indicates that this piece of legislation is something that has full support, I think it’s perhaps shameful if we pass legislation and assume that it’s going to die on the order paper; if we assume that we’re going to prorogue the House and call for a throne speech in order to wipe the slate clean. I don’t think that’s what’s intended when members unanimously support a piece of legislation.

For me, I wanted to give a little bit of background to the disappointment that I felt when this throne speech was called by erasing some very good legislation that was on the order paper. I even think of other members in this House, such as the member for Sarnia–Lambton, who had excellent work on PANDAS that he was doing as well that got erased.

The government now has brought forward this throne speech, where we’re going to spend quite some time debating it and talking about it and the reasons behind it. I’m not sure why they’re not willing to continue on with the legislation that they had on the table in the first place. Perhaps they’re scared of Bill 175, the policing act, and some of the concerns that have been raised. I’m not sure if there are various issues that they had with the legislation that was being tabled in their own party. I do know that in my riding of Niagara West–Glanbrook there’s a lot of cynicism towards the Liberal government. There’s a lot of cynicism towards the reasons behind this.

We see the Premier out today on the third day of a campaign-like tour. That’s what the media is calling it.

Interjection: On the taxpayers’ dime.

Mr. Sam Oosterhoff: On the taxpayers’ dime, as my honourable colleague so aptly puts it—walking around the province, handing out money, left, right and centre, acting as if, 15 years later, having not made the adequate investments, having not shown fiscal prudence time and time again, and now at the 11th hour—in fact, the 11th hour and 59th minute, we could practically call it—it’s okay to come around and act as if this saviour, this Liberal government, is going to come and save us from our woes.

Interestingly enough, listening to the throne speech, you wouldn’t have thought that the Liberals, from their perspective, had had 15 years in government to help “build Ontario up.” Was that not a favourite slogan of the Liberal government earlier, I believe, before I was here? “Building Ontario up,” that was a phrase they liked to throw around. But if you listened to the throne speech, you got the distinct impression that the Liberal government had actually done more damage to the province of Ontario, that Ontarians were struggling and were really, really worried about the people in Ontario being able to get ahead.

It’s interesting because, when I heard that throne speech, I was actually drawn to their federal counterpart. My mind went to Justin Trudeau and his 2015 election where he was walking up an escalator, talking about how this is how some Canadians feel. When I listened to the throne speech, I got that very same impression about where Ontarians are. It was rather fascinating because this is after 15 years of the same Liberal government that claims to be building Ontario up and that is now saying, “Well, Ontario is in such a horrible place, we really need to call a new throne speech and need to save people from themselves.”

There is a lot of work that needs to be done. I’ll be the first to admit it. I’ll be the first to say that I’m happy to be part of a team that’s running to replace this tired, sad government with a vibrant voice for people of all backgrounds, not just the well-connected insiders. It’s easy for people like the minister of family and child services to stand up and say, “Oh, the opposition doesn’t think Ontario is doing so well.” Well, the reality is, maybe there are Ontarians who are doing very well, and that’s excellent. I think that’s commendable.

But are the Ontarians who are doing well those who are well-connected insiders in the Liberal Party? Yes, those Ontarians are doing well. Liberal insiders are doing fine. They’re getting good contracts. The Gandalf Group is happy.

But the reality is, Madam Speaker, that there is a lot of Ontarians, especially in rural and remote communities and northern communities, who are concerned about their future. They’re concerned about whether it’s skyrocketing debt or whether it’s the rise of precarious unemployment.

One of the big reasons I got involved in politics is because my peers, coming out of universities that this government has been funding for the last 15 years, can’t find jobs, or if they can, they’re finding precarious employment. They can’t buy a home; they can’t own a home. I have friends, I have family who are looking to start a family, who are looking to venture out, get their first home, get married maybe and have children, but the reality is that affordability has become such a crisis here in the province of Ontario.

Whether it’s seeing hydro rates go up 300%, whether it’s being one of the highest-taxed jurisdictions in North America, 53.5%—I think next only to 54% in New Brunswick—these are the types of numbers that have led to a despair in certain parts of the population, a despair among people who feel they can’t get ahead.

I don’t expect a lot from this government, but I look forward to seeing what they plan on doing.

Debate deemed adjourned.

The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Soo Wong): Seeing as it’s 10:15, I will be recessing the House until 10:30.

The House recessed from 1015 to 1030.

Introduction of Visitors

Mrs. Gila Martow: I’m very pleased to welcome some fantastic medical students who are here. I want them to stand up because I want you to see these fantastic medical students that are here today. We have Sydney McQueen, director of education for the Ontario Medical Students Association. Vivian Ng just left; she’s the co-chair. We have Bushra Khan, who is communications director; Laurel Collings and Christina Schweitzer from the Canadian Federation of Medical Students; as well as Heena Kapoor, who is a representative. Thank you so much for coming down, girls.

Mr. Peter Tabuns: It gives me great pleasure to welcome Jean Lim O’Brien, my constituent from Toronto–Danforth, to the Legislature. I hope you enjoy it, Jean.

Mrs. Liz Sandals: I am happy to introduce the family of Humza Aziz, who is our page captain today, from Guelph, of course. His father, Suleman Aziz, is here; his grandparents Falahat and Iftikhar Sheikh; and his other grandmother, Rukhsana Aziz. Welcome.

Mr. Jack MacLaren: It’s my pleasure to introduce friends of the Trillium Party of Ontario, Beverly Brooks and Daniel Kahan, who are here for the presentation of a private member’s bill written by Daniel to provide loans backed up by a person’s private life insurance policy.

Mrs. Lisa Gretzky: I would like to welcome some guests from Windsor. I have Karen Waddell and her daughter, Samantha Waddell—they’re from the House of Sophrosyne in Windsor—and Lady Laforet and Kristin Douglas from the Welcome Centre Shelter for Women and families.

Hon. Reza Moridi: It’s a great pleasure to welcome guests on behalf of the Retired Teachers of Ontario, in celebration of their 50th anniversary. Please join me in welcoming Muriel Baubeau-Howden, Judith Bowden, Martha Foster, Richard Goodbrand, James Patrick Grieve, Marie Estelle Louise Guérin, Graham Martin Higgs, Simon Leibovitz, Richard Prophet, Helen Szydlowski and Heather Wilson-Boast. Thank you, and welcome to the Ontario Legislature.

Mr. Monte McNaughton: On behalf of my colleague from Parry Sound–Muskoka, I’m honoured to welcome the family of page captain Sophia Andrew-Joiner: mother Cynthia Andrew, father Shawn Joiner, and brother Nicholas Andrew-Joiner. They are here this morning to watch their family member.

Mr. Bob Delaney: I am pleased, on behalf of my page captain from Mississauga–Streetsville, Medha Gupta, to welcome her parents, who today are in the members’ east gallery. Please join me in welcoming Navin Gupta and Garima Gupta.

Ms. Catherine Fife: We have some Cape Bretoners in the House today. I want to introduce my good friend, my best friend, Debbie MacLean; her husband, Jim MacRury; and their good friend Meghan O’Keefe. And we have Katie Buckland here, who is the first female pipe major in the Canadian forces. Welcome to Queen’s Park today.

Hon. Kevin Daniel Flynn: I’d like to introduce two guests from my riding of Oakville who are here with us today: Diane Burton, a long-time local champion for environmental protection, and Patricia Bolton, who has just recently retired from a long career in the public service, most recently at the Treasury Board Secretariat. Please welcome them to Queen’s Park, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Bill Walker: I’d like to introduce Ferg Devins in the members’ gallery. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Hon. Michael Coteau: I’d like to welcome Paul Kossta from OSSTF to the Legislature. I haven’t seen him here for a few days.

Mrs. Cristina Martins: It gives me great pleasure to introduce page captain Rachel Lewars from the great riding of Davenport, and to also welcome her mother, Yvette Munro, who is joining us here today. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Mr. Lou Rinaldi: I’d like to welcome a couple of guests from the great riding of Northumberland–Quinte West, specifically my municipality of Brighton: Ann and Dave Graham. Welcome.

Mrs. Cristina Martins: Also here in the House today is Suzanne McAllister, the president of the Ontario Liberal women’s Tuesday lunch group. This is a group of women who, every Tuesday once a month for the past 70 years, join to talk about politics in the province of Ontario. She’s joined by Hilda Mamann and Ana Ramirez, among many other women. Welcome.

Hon. Indira Naidoo-Harris: I’d like to extend a warm Queen’s Park welcome to Paul Devlin and all the members from district 34 of the Retired Teachers of Ontario, representing York region. Today they’re celebrating 50 years of advocacy for retired teachers and education workers. Welcome, congratulations, and thank you for your years of service.

Ms. Deborah Matthews: I am delighted, on behalf of the Premier, to introduce a remarkable group of women who are very politically engaged. It’s called the Tuesday luncheon club—celebrating their 70th anniversary. Please welcome Suzanne McAllister, Esra Ozer, Sharon McCarthy, Rosemary Sobanski, Sally Kelly, Roxana Roberti, Donalda Wright from London, Sandy Brown, Evnur Taran, Magda Gondor, Madeline Torok, Diane Thomas, Hilda Mamann, Ileana Onose, Ana Ramirez, Emanuela Mousley and Teresa Barrotti. Welcome, and thank you for your years of advocacy.

Vandalism of synagogue

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

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: Point of order, Speaker: I know members are aware that there was vandalism at a synagogue, Chabad Flamingo, yesterday in Thornhill. On behalf of all of my colleagues in the Ontario PC caucus and, I expect, all of my colleagues here in the Ontario Legislature, I just want to say that our thoughts and our prayers are with Rabbi Kaplan. And thank you to the York Regional Police.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Just before we start question period, I’d just remind all members that there have been some warnings laid this morning. They do get carried over into question period.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Warnings can be given out immediately, before questions start. And they do get carried over into the afternoon.

It is time for question period. The member from Nepean–Carleton.

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: Thank you very much, Speaker. I just want to point out that I wasn’t in the House this morning so there’s no carry-over for me at this particular point.

Oral Questions

Provincial deficit

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: My question is for the Acting Premier.

On May 2, 2017, a wise man once said, “But the first way to address debt is to balance the books. We’re balancing this year, next year and the year after that and we’re lowering debt to GDP over the long term.” Guess who said that, Speaker? The Minister of Finance.

What happened? Why is this government backtracking and breaking their promises? Are they really that desperate in the lead-up to this election?

Hon. Yasir Naqvi: Speaker, I’m very pleased to answer on behalf of the Minister of Finance. I know that if he was here he would say that we’re really proud to balance the budget this year. In fact, we will be bringing forward a budget that will show a surplus. That has happened because of the hard work this government has done in making sure that we are spending our money wisely on important services like health care and education; because our economy is growing, creating more jobs. It is one of the most booming and hottest economies in Canada and North America. That is because Ontarians are seeing unprecedented employment rates. We’ll continue to build on that success.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: If he believes what he just said, I’ve got a gas plant in Mississauga to sell him.

Another member across the aisle once said this: “There was not an issue that resonated more with constituents than the foolish spending of their hard-earned money.

“I remember being at one doorstep. It was a modest home. The people worked hard for what they had. They asked me to remember them if I got elected and ... governed. They said, ‘Please remember us. Please remember that when you spend money, you are spending our money.’” That was the former Deputy Premier and an architect of that Liberal government. She didn’t remember them. None of them remembered them, and we now we have, at minimum, an $8-billion deficit to inherit.

When did they forget that they were spending that family’s money and every other Ontarian’s money?

Hon. Yasir Naqvi: To the Minister of Economic Growth and Development.

Hon. Steven Del Duca: It’s an interesting question coming from the member from Nepean. I think the most salient point in her question was the notion of how important it is for us to remember. I think everybody in this Legislature and, frankly, all 13 million people right across this province clearly remember the kind of devastation that was levelled on health care and on education, and the havoc that was wreaked on municipal governments in their local decision-making autonomy.

The fact that subway lines were literally killed and filled in, the fact that significant public assets like Highway 407 was tolled and then sold to a foreign consortium—everybody in this province has a very clear understanding and a very clear memory for exactly what it meant the last time reckless decisions were made by Conservatives when, unfortunately, they had power.

Our government is different. We do not believe in cutting. We believe in building. We believe in caring. We believe in supporting the people that we’re proud to represent.

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

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: The member opposite—the minister—is bankrupting this province. If we want to talk about memories of the last 15 years, we could talk about hallway health care. We can talk about the highest hydro rates in North America. We can talk about closing schools, if that’s where he wants to go.

But I’m going to continue with the former Deputy Premier’s words. She said: “It’s just outrageous to me that governments spend money on what are, in essence, political pieces....

“I’m proud to be part of a government that will address the situation....

“Let us remember the taxes they are paying, the money we are taking from them to spend wisely for them, not for us.”

Wow, how times have changed over the last 15 years. They have forgotten who they are. They don’t care about the people of Ontario anymore. They have clearly left us with at least an $8-billion deficit. They are not spending the money wisely for the people. Isn’t this spending just for your own political priorities and not for the people of Ontario?

Hon. Steven Del Duca: What a short memory they have on that side. Let’s talk about how times have changed over just the last couple of months. It’s so unclear to those of us on this side—in fact, I would tell you that it’s unclear to the people of Ontario: Where do Ontario’s Conservatives stand on key issues?

We know that over the last number of months they’ve talked about how perhaps they would run a deficit; perhaps they would balance. Their newly minted leader—I think he took all of three minutes to reverse himself four times on the question of whether or not he would balance his books.

Just yesterday, the member who’s asking this question was unclear about whether, under their new platform heading into the election campaign, they continue to support investments in, for example, mental health.

We have no clue at this point in time if they would balance or what they would invest in, but we do know, because past practice does indicate future behaviour, what Conservatives do when they get the chance: They cut. They cause havoc. They destroy lives, and they do not build. We will not let that happen on our watch.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Listening to the round, we’re in warnings.

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Would the member like a warning?

New question.

Hydro rates

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: My question is again to the Acting Premier, but I wanted to address that last point. The Ontario Progressive Conservative Party built this province; the Ontario Liberal Party has broken this province.

Under Kathleen Wynne and the Liberals, hydro rates have tripled. In fact, families pay $1,000 more per year than they did in 2003, when they took office. This government simply does not care about the people, and they certainly haven’t been fair to the people of this province who are struggling between heating their home and eating food. There are still families that are making that difficult choice in this province.

Is this the legacy the government of Ontario wants to leave, the fact that they are forcing people between heating and eating?

Hon. Yasir Naqvi: It’s quite a recollection of events that the party opposite has of when they were in government, because if they call shutting down schools all across the province as building the province up and if they call shutting down hospitals—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member from Leeds–Grenville is warned. The member from Simcoe–Grey is warned. The member from Bruce–Grey–Owen Sound is warned.

Carry on.

Hon. Yasir Naqvi: If they call shutting hospitals all across the province as building the province up and if they call cutting welfare rates by 22% as building the province up, that’s quite a legacy, Speaker.

And then, on top of that, they left a $5.6-billion deficit. If that is their definition of building Ontario up, no thank you. We do not want to go back there again. We’ve seen that movie before. We need to build this province up.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary.

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: You want to talk about a movie? This is a nightmare, watching you guys with the tiller. I’m telling you something, Speaker. That’s why 2,000 people showed up to see Doug Ford on Monday night. They want fairness.

Premier Wynne and the Liberals have accepted $1.3 million in donations from companies who received energy contracts. That meant these insiders resulted in families overpaying by $9.2 billion on their hydro bills. Then, to make matters worse, the Wynne Liberals sold off Hydro One. It was a fire sale that rewarded their donors, insiders and fat-cat friends. That’s why this government cannot be trusted anymore to do anything that is right or fair for the people of Ontario.

Doug Ford has said he will reduce hydro rates even further. Why won’t this government do what Doug Ford wants?

Hon. Yasir Naqvi: Minister of Economic Development and Growth.

Hon. Steven Del Duca: It’s adorable to watch the member across talk about Doug Ford and the crowd that showed up to see him. I’m guessing those individuals that showed up fully expected, as they should, given that party’s track record and their new leader’s track record, that they were heading out for a night to watch a slasher flick. That is exactly what that party and that particular new leader—a leader, I would suggest, notwithstanding the bluster that we hear in that question, that that party is just a little bit nervous about. We know fully that most on that side didn’t support his leadership campaign.

In particular, as our Minister of Energy mentioned just the other day, I think it’s really important that, back on March 5, a leading member of Ontario’s Conservative caucus said what every single Ontarian fully understands: “With his erratic and out-of-control behavior, I worry that if Doug [Ford] was to lead our party, he would lead us to certain defeat.”

I will say—

Hon. Kevin Daniel Flynn: Who said that?

Hon. Steven Del Duca: That would be the member from Prince Edward–Hastings.

I will say, as a proud Ontarian, if Doug Ford ever takes over the leadership of this province, we are doomed.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Order. I’m disappointed. We’re heading down a path that I don’t think anyone wants to go down and anyone wants to hear.

Final supplementary.

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: I just want to address something. Would the minister call one of his male colleagues “adorable,” and does he think that’s appropriate? Will he apologize to me?

The government’s own internal documents and the Auditor General have confirmed that if the Liberals are re-elected, Ontario’s electricity rates will skyrocket to the highest that they have ever been. They can’t be trusted. They don’t care. They are too glib to continue governing this province.

So, Mr. Speaker, the question is simple: Why doesn’t this government support long-lasting and real relief for hydro customers across Ontario? Or are they still only concerned with trying to eke out an election win in less than 78 days?

Mr. James J. Bradley: Bring back coal.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Stop the clock. The chief government whip is warned.

Minister.

Hon. Steven Del Duca: Speaker, I would first say to the member asking the question that if I said anything that was taken the wrong way or that was offensive, my apologies. It wasn’t intended to be delivered that way. I apologize for that.

What I would say, and I want to echo what I did say in the House the other day about this: I think it’s perfectly appropriate for leaders of political parties and for political parties to have very strong views about what they should do with the future of the province if they aspire to become the Premier.

But I think that in 2018 there is a core responsibility that aspiring Premiers have, and that responsibility is to have the courage of their convictions and to level with the people of Ontario. I think it’s clear—

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member from Lanark–Frontenac–Lennox and Addington is warned.

Carry on.

Hon. Steven Del Duca: Speaker, as I was saying, I think it’s abundantly clear that, as we’ve seen so far, neither any member of Ontario’s Conservative caucus or their newly minted leader, Doug Ford, have the courage of their convictions to level with the people of Ontario and freely admit what kind of damage you would do, who you would hurt, who you would harm and what public services you would eviscerate if you have the chance to form government. I don’t think it’s too much to ask for you to have the courage and admit exactly what kind of damage you will do should you form power.

Interjections.

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

Dental care

Mr. Peter Tabuns: My question is to the Acting Premier. Mohammad Akbar is a 27-year-old Torontonian who is currently working on a three-month contract. He has no health care benefits, no dental plan at all. His wisdom teeth are bothering him, and he knows they need to come out, but he can’t afford to pay out of pocket for the procedure.

Dental care is one of the basics. Why hasn’t the Premier or her Liberal government done anything in their 15 years in power to help people like Mohammad?

Hon. Yasir Naqvi: I thank the member for the question. I want to say, Speaker, that our government recognizes that to ensure fairness and opportunity for all Ontarians, there is an important role for the government to play in supporting access to oral health care for vulnerable people. That is why, over the years, we have been working hard in strengthening the Healthy Smiles program. That program has been expanded. It provides free, preventive, routine and emergency dental services for children and youth from low-income households across the province. In fact, this program is helping more than 470,000 kids access important dental services, and this number continues to grow.

We started with children and youth, as evidence suggests that oral health problems are more prevalent among low-income families, with children being most vulnerable, but we know there is more to be done. I look forward to addressing that in the supplementary.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary.

Mr. Peter Tabuns: Again to the Acting Premier: Mohammad grew up in a low-income household. He started working young to help out his family and to save for school. When he was 18, he had an accident on a construction job and he broke one of his front teeth. Mohammad wasn’t able to get his tooth repaired properly for eight years.

Why has the Premier left people like Mohammad to struggle in pain with no dental care for so long?

Hon. Yasir Naqvi: As we reaffirmed in the speech from the throne, our government will be making investments to ensure that more people without a drug or dental benefits plan will have access to more affordable prescription drugs and dental care. We recognize—and we have heard those stories from people like Mohammad as well—that it’s important that they have access to prescription medication and that they have access to good dental care. That is why we—and we appreciate the ideas brought forward by the third party—are looking at ways to make those types of programs available. That is why we have been working with the same advocates in our community to get ideas on how best to—

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

Mr. Peter Tabuns: Again back to the Acting Premier: Mohammad says that he suffered terrible self-esteem problems as a result of his front tooth being damaged for so long. He says the NDP dental plan will mean a significant improvement in his health and well-being. The plan will ease his anxiety.

Why has the Premier done nothing in her time in office to ensure that young people like Mohammad don’t suffer lasting emotional and physical pain because they can’t afford to go to a dentist?

Hon. Yasir Naqvi: Our government has been focused on strengthening and building our health care system, making sure that it is available to people, that it is a publicly funded system that is available universally across our province. That is why we have continued to invest in good primary health care, so that more and more Ontarians have access to a family doctor a nurse practitioner or to their local community health centres, to get good health care.

That is why, Speaker, just like was announced today, we’re continuing to invest in our hospitals so that there is good capacity and good care available through our hospitals. That is why we are expanding the OHIP+ program, a program that’s the first of its kind in North America. It is making sure that children and youth till the age of 25 have access to free medication, and it will expand to include our seniors 65 and above in age as well.

These are important building blocks, Speaker. These are important investments to create a health care system that is truly universal in nature. This government, under the leadership of our Premier, has been working hard in accomplishing that.

Health care

Ms. Peggy Sattler: My question is to the Premier. Jason Miller and Holly Lumley live in London West with their five-year-old daughter. Shortly after their daughter was born, Jason and Holly were in a serious car accident, leaving them unable to work. Their total family income is just over $2,000 a month, which makes them ineligible for ODSP, but their combined prescription drug costs are approximately $3,500 a month. This means they do not fill most of their prescriptions because they simply cannot afford to.

Speaker, why does this Liberal government not care about the high cost of prescription drugs for families like Jason and Holly’s?

Hon. Yasir Naqvi: I thank the member opposite for the question because I think she’s making the point exactly why our government has chosen to develop OHIP+. That is exactly why our Premier absolutely has been a champion—

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member from Hamilton Mountain is warned.

Carry on.

Hon. Yasir Naqvi: Speaker, our Premier has been a champion on the national front in urging the federal government and all provinces and territories that we need a truly national pharmacare program. But we just didn’t want to stop there. We wanted to start on that work right here in our province.

On this side of the House, we are really proud to introduce OHIP+, a first-of-its-kind program that provides free medications, no copayments and no deductibles, to all our children and youth through the age of 25. That is 4,400 prescription medications available free, just by showing your OHIP card. That is a first-of-its-kind program, and we’re expanding that program to include our seniors as well.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Ms. Peggy Sattler: Not only are Jason and Holly going without the prescriptions they need, they are also going without dental care. Since cleanings and checkups must be paid out of pocket, they don’t go to the dentist. A couple of years ago, Jason required emergency dental care for infected canines. He had to wait, in dire pain, in the dental office waiting room while his family and friends scraped together the money so he could pay for his treatment.

Speaker, why has this Liberal government done nothing for 15 years to enable families like Jason and Holly’s to afford the medications and the dental care they need?

Hon. Yasir Naqvi: Speaker, as I was saying earlier, our government is very much committed to making sure that people have the care they need. That is why our government, under our Premier’s leadership, has been steadfastly focused on strengthening our health care system by making investments in our hospitals, like the new announcement today of $822 million of new investment. That’s a 4.6% increase in base operating funding for our hospitals to allow for more capacity all across the province.

The announcement we recently made of investing $2.1 billion over four years in mental health and addiction: Speaker, I cannot tell you what kind of impact that kind of well-integrated and coordinated care is going to make in the lives of young people and people of all ages and backgrounds in Ontario who are suffering from mental health or addiction challenges.

These are all important steps in making sure that we have a strong universal medical health care system.

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

Ms. Peggy Sattler: Almost 2.2 million Ontarians go without the medication they are prescribed by their doctor because they can’t afford it; 4.5 million Ontarians go without dental care because they can’t afford it. Jason and Holly are not alone in their struggle to pay for their family’s basic medical and dental needs.

Instead of trying to close the gaps in Ontario’s health care system over the last 15 years, we’ve seen a Liberal government that has doubled down on Conservative-style cuts and budget freezes, leaving families on their own.

Speaker, after 15 years of inaction, does this Liberal government seriously think that Ontarians will believe the promises they are offering now, only 77 days before an election?

Hon. Yasir Naqvi: Speaker, we’re not just making promises; we are actually delivering on these very important commitments, such as OHIP+, which came into effect starting January 1. That covers free medication for all children and youth until the age of 25, absolutely for free. It’s a first-of-its-kind program in Canada—in fact, in all of North America. That is something all members of this House should be very proud of.

Unlike the New Democratic Party, which put forward a plan that barely covers the 120 most popular medications—Speaker, that’s not sufficient. That is not universal whatsoever. Our program covers all 4,400 medications that are on the list and, as we have said, we plan to expand that. All these things are going to be in the budget. We hope that the NDP will support such a progressive budget that is for the betterment of the people of Ontario.

Provincial deficit

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: My question is for the Minister of Finance. Last May, in 2017, you said, “But the first way to address debt is to balance the books. We’re balancing this year, next year and the year after that and we’re lowering debt to GDP over the long term.” That promise didn’t even last a year. Not only are you running an at least $8-billion deficit, you doubled down on Monday.

I think I’ve known the minister well enough to understand he would probably prefer to balance the books, so I want to know: What was his reaction when the Premier forced him to run a deficit? Was he upset?

Hon. Charles Sousa: Let me remind the member opposite, we in fact have slayed the deficit, we have balanced the budget, and now we have a surplus position. The first step in managing debt is to balance the books, as we have.

Now, going forward, there are some uncertainties. There are trade negotiations that are uncertain; there’s the degree of interest rate and other matters before us.

We have 2% growth, year over year, coming forward. That’s ahead of Canada and ahead of the G7. Ontario’s economy is strong. It’s that position of strength that is enabling us to look at other opportunities to stimulate even further growth.

Now, the member opposite may want to make those cuts. She may want to proceed to put people in harm’s way, and our economic recovery. We choose differently, Mr. Speaker. We’re investing in health care, we’re investing in schools, we’re investing in mental health and we’re investing in the growth of our economy for the benefit of the people of Ontario.

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

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: If the minister is so proud of having slayed the deficit, why is he going to run at least an $8-billion deficit in the lead-up to this campaign? They have tripled the debt under his watch. They have lost 330,000 manufacturing jobs. They have the highest hydro rates in North America. They are boasting of an $8-billion-to-come deficit.

I want to know, is the minister embarrassed to walk down Bay Street, and would he like me to change his title from the Minister of Finance to the minister of debt?

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Stop the clock. The member knows that in this place we either refer to them as their title or their riding. The member will withdraw.

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: Withdrawn, Speaker.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Minister?

Hon. Charles Sousa: Let me remind the member again: The largest debt ever made in the history of Canada was under the Conservative government in the recent years. The largest deficit in history was $60 billion by the Conservative government. In the last 40 years, they have only balanced the books—

Mr. John Yakabuski: And they fixed it within three years.

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

Hon. Charles Sousa: In the last 40 years, they’ve only balanced the books four times, one of which was bogus, Mr. Speaker.

We have a balanced budget. We are in a surplus position. We’re going forward to make choices, deliberate choices, to invest in our economy and, more importantly, to balance the needs of the people of Ontario.

Health care

Mrs. Lisa Gretzky: My question is to Acting Premier. There are 4.5 million people in Ontario who do not have dental coverage. That’s an astonishing number. What’s more shocking is that every three minutes in Ontario someone visits a doctor’s office or emergency room for a dental problem.

In Windsor, over 700 people visited the Windsor Regional Hospital’s emergency department for dental issues last year. At a cost of at least $314 per visit to the emergency department, visiting the hospital for dental pain not only increases wait times and overcrowding, but it’s a major financial burden as well—only for the patient to be told that they need to see a dentist.

Windsor’s Downtown Mission is building a half-million-dollar dental clinic, all from community donors, which will provide free services to address the overwhelming need.

We know that dental care is good social policy, but it’s good fiscal policy, too. In the last 15 years, why didn’t this Liberal government tackle the issue of dental care in Ontario?

Hon. Yasir Naqvi: Minister of Health and Long-Term Care.

Hon. Helena Jaczek: On this side of the House, Mr. Speaker, we agree that good dental care is most important for Ontarians. That’s precisely why we have invested in this regard. The expansion of the Healthy Smiles program we alluded to several times in this House over this last week.

We certainly know that having good oral health and a healthy smile can have positive impacts on a child’s overall health, self-esteem and ability to learn, and so we are absolutely committed. It sounds like we’re very much on the same page in this regard. Of course, those on social assistance, those most vulnerable, also have access to dental benefits.

I’m very pleased that apparently the third party has come to see the light. I don’t recall this in their platform in 2014. I don’t remember any comments in this regard. We’ve been working on this consistently for years and years.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Mrs. Lisa Gretzky: Back to the Acting Premier: What the minister may not know is, I was a dental assistant who worked in an office where we actually helped children through the Healthy Smiles program. It is chronically underfunded and the wait-list is years long.

Interjections.

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

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Start the clock. There is somebody over there who is warned and I would hope that they would not think that they could hide behind someone’s head.

Finish, please.

Mrs. Lisa Gretzky: Just as this Liberal government chose to ignore dental care for the past 15 years, they’ve devastated our health care system, too.

Last month, David Williams of Belle River had a heart attack in Florida. After two weeks of being told there were no beds back home in Ontario, he was forced to have bypass surgery in the US. When he returned home, he received a medical bill for almost $900,000.

The reality is that while some hospitals in Ontario are overcrowded and patients are forced into hallways and bathrooms, there are other hospitals with empty beds going unused because there is no government funding. In Windsor, we know Hôtel-Dieu Grace has 89 unused mental health beds alone due to lack of funding.

Will the Acting Premier admit this government has neglected the health and wellness of the people of this province for 15 years?

Hon. Helena Jaczek: I’m having a little difficulty relating this supplementary to the original question; however, we will continue to talk about what we have done with our health care system.

We have a world-class health care system. Earlier today I was with the Premier announcing what we are going to be doing in this budget in relation to hospital capacity issues. We will be investing $822 million this year. I can assure you, Mr. Speaker, that the audience in that auditorium at North York General, made up of some of our health care professionals and also family members and patients, was most appreciative. They understand that we are looking at the needs of the people of Ontario and we continue to build our health care system.

Apprenticeship training

Ms. Ann Hoggarth: My question is for the Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Development. Earlier this year I was proud to stand with the minister in my riding of Barrie as this government released a stronger apprenticeship system for Ontario, the province’s strategy to develop a system that provides end-to-end supports for apprentices and employers in response to the needs of the changing economy and workforce. Speaker, I was very pleased to see that five out of 12 of the apprentices were women.

In a rapidly changing global economy, Ontario must build a highly skilled, inclusive workforce to keep our competitive edge. The people of Ontario have always been our strength. Ontario’s apprentices deserve a system that opens opportunities, connects them to good jobs and helps them gain the skills needed to be successful in their career.

Can the minister inform the House of the great work that this government is doing through the apprenticeship strategy to help all Ontarians adapt to change and achieve their goals?

Hon. Mitzie Hunter: Thank you so much to the great member from Barrie for this question. I had the pleasure of doing my first announcement in this ministry with her in Barrie.

Speaker, as Ontario’s economy continues to grow, this government is always thinking ahead by developing programs that keep us on the forefront of growth here in Ontario, meeting the needs of our people. That is why we’ve launched Ontario’s Apprenticeship Strategy, a vision that we share with our apprenticeship partners and the many people looking to learn new skills and start an exciting career in the trades. I want to say thank you to my predecessor for all her work on this file.

Our vision for the future is an apprenticeship system that is easy to access, navigate and complete. It’s a future where apprenticeship is valued and recognized as part of our post-secondary education system. Working in the trades puts people on a path towards stable, good-paying and meaningful careers.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary.

Ms. Ann Hoggarth: I’m thrilled about the work that is being done to strengthen the province’s apprenticeship programs. I think it will make a real impact on people’s lives.

I know that Ontario’s Apprenticeship Strategy was developed following extensive engagement with partners in the apprenticeship system from all across this province, and that the strategy directly responds to what our ministry heard from over 1,000 people. We know that the province needs more people doing work in the skilled trades, which means we need more people completing these apprenticeships.

Would the minister provide the House with an update on what the province has done to increase the number of people looking to work in the skilled trades, and what we’re doing to support them to complete their training?

Hon. Mitzie Hunter: Thank you again to the wonderful member from Barrie. Our apprenticeship strategy focuses on five key areas of action that will help more people start and finish an apprenticeship. We want more people to be able to benefit from the rewarding career that they can find in the trades and, in fact, we have grown apprenticeship registrations from 17,000 in 2003 to more than 24,000 in 2017.

But we know that there is more work to do, so one thing we’re doing is introducing a new Graduated Apprenticeship Grant for Employers, or GAGE, to offer financial incentives to businesses, not just when they take on an apprenticeship, but all the way through key milestones to completion of their training.

We are going to increase access for under-represented groups, offering additional financial incentives for employers who take on apprenticeships from groups such as skilled women, indigenous people, newcomers and people from diverse backgrounds. The modernization of the apprenticeship program is about ensuring that seamless pathways and the right supports are offered to apprenticeship employers and training delivery agents.

Ministers’ comments

Ms. Laurie Scott: My question is to the Minister of the Status of Women. What a day it’s been for women in politics. We have the Minister of Economic Development and Growth calling my female colleague “adorable” in a demeaning and condescending manner.

Hon. Yasir Naqvi: No, he did not.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Order.

Please finish.

Ms. Laurie Scott: And the Minister of Finance called the women behind him at an announcement today “eye candy.” What is going on over there? How is this acceptable?

Hon. Harinder Malhi: To the Minister of Finance.

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: You can’t even answer a question on women in politics? Good God.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member from Nepean–Carleton is warned.

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Somebody’s got a “W” already.

Minister?

Hon. Charles Sousa: Mr. Speaker, this morning we had the pleasure of being hosted by the hospital, and together with men and women of all ages we were standing there. We thanked them for their tremendous contribution to their service, to the hospital, to the individuals they care for in our society. We expressed that gratitude. I thanked them. They were of all ages, of all different cultures—both men and women.

The member opposite is insinuating something which is distasteful, because it’s the men and women that we were congratulating, and we will stand with them always.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary.

Ms. Laurie Scott: Well, Minister, you did say “eye candy.” It’s a condescending attitude like that of your male ministers that is shocking and appalling, and quite frankly, it’s unacceptable. How can this government claim to support women when they use such demeaning language toward them? Will the minister apologize for the words that he did use this morning?

Interjections.

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

Minister?

Hon. Charles Sousa: I’m not going to apologize to the beautiful people who work so hard for this province and our country. They’re doing hard work. They deserve to be congratulated, and that was what I was doing.

I take offence that the member opposite is insinuating something against that which I have held so dear: That’s equality, respect for all ages and for all genders, including my wife and my two girls—and at that event was also me thanking my niece, Nicole Pacheco, who does tremendous work at that hospital. I take full offence.

Interjections.

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

Long-term care

Ms. Jennifer K. French: My question is to the Acting Premier. In Oshawa, there are more people waiting for long-term-care beds than there are existing beds. That’s why my constituents, Mary Anne Follest and Stephen Hoar, came to my office in a state of hopelessness. Their mother, Anna, was sent to the hospital by her retirement home in early February, a home that could no longer meet her needs. After she received emergency hospital care, there was nowhere to send her. Anna is in limbo waiting in the ALC, or alternate-level-of-care unit, in the hospital. Her family has no idea when or if she will be able to leave. There is nowhere for her to go.

This government has allowed long-term-care wait-lists to balloon to a crisis state. When will this government take responsibility for the long-term-care crisis and start helping families like Anna’s get the care that they deserve?

Hon. Yasir Naqvi: Minister of Health and Long-Term Care.

Hon. Helena Jaczek: Of course, we have been addressing the issue that the member opposite is referencing. In fact, just recently, we have announced the opening of 5,000 new long-term-care beds over the next four years, as well as providing more than 15 million hours more of nursing, personal support and therapeutic care annually for residents in long-term-care homes. This is part of our 10-year plan.

We are really into long-term planning. This is a stark contrast, obviously, to the third party. We’ve never heard of any plan on their part to increase long-term-care beds. Our 10-year plan is to create more than 30,000 new beds over the next decade, and we’re continuing to work with the long-term-care sector to determine exactly where those beds should be placed in our province.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary.

Ms. Jennifer K. French: This government has had 15 years to help seniors and families get the care that they deserve. Instead of a long-term-care plan, they have a long-term-storage solution. If they truly cared, they would have already fixed the wait-lists. Instead, they have only made them worse.

Liberal cuts and privatization, much like what we would see from Doug Ford and the Conservatives, have left Anna’s family in an impossible situation. Her family is being told that if they want to get Anna into appropriate care before the end of the year, they would have to start looking far outside their community.

While she has been in the hospital, Anna has fallen, she has gone without any showers and she has watched her hospital roommate and other forgotten seniors die while waiting for a space in long-term care. Anna’s family is terrified that she is also going to die in the hospital waiting in ALC, which is serving as long-term storage, not long-term care.

How does this government justify years of gutting our health care system while families have nowhere to turn and seniors like Anna have nowhere to go?

Hon. Helena Jaczek: Well, the member opposite perhaps just needs to be reminded of our throne speech earlier this week, wherein we talked about all the investments our government has made over the course of our being in government over the last 15 years, specifically for the vulnerable population that she is referring to—

Interjections.

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

Hon. Helena Jaczek: Of course, long-term-care homes are part of the picture. But our investments through the years in home care have been absolutely phenomenal, in my view. Since 2013, our government has increased funding for home and community care to help those frail elderly stay where they would wish to stay for as long as possible—in their own homes—by some $250 million a year. This is in addition to the government’s ongoing funding of more than $5 billion. Of course, our announcements in—

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

New question.

Life insurance

Mr. Jack MacLaren: My question is to the Minister of Finance. Minister, today I will introduce a private member’s bill that will amend the Insurance Act to allow life insurance policy owners to use their life insurance policy as collateral to obtain a loan. This will give life insurance policy owners the freedom to use their life insurance policy the same as any other properties they might own—properties such as land, buildings, stocks and bonds. All these properties can be used as collateral to obtain a loan. This is a fundamental right of a property owner; it is a right denied.

Minister, will you help us restore this property right to life insurance policy owners? Will you support our bill to amend the Insurance Act?

Hon. Charles Sousa: Thank you to the member for the question. I know that the member for Eglinton–Lawrence also put forward a private member’s bill to the same effect.

For those who don’t know, we’re talking about the sale of existing policies to third parties. It’s something that has been prohibited in Ontario since the 1930s. Quebec has it now, and they’re actually looking at retracting from it. Saskatchewan is looking at prohibiting it, so that only leaves two or three provinces now who are still allowing it to take place.

It’s a financial instrument. We need to foster ways to protect consumers and investors. We’ve done so much more now to provide for those who are near death or are looking at providing for more supports in their elder years. That’s why we take the steps that we have most recently, and upcoming in the budget. But we will look at this opportunity, and we’ll address it as well.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary.

Mr. Jack MacLaren: Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Seniors Affairs. Minister, this bill will—

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

Regrettably, it has to be directed to the same minister. They have an option to move it to someone else. So keep it—

Hon. Charles Sousa: I’ll send it to her.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Ask the question, please.

Mr. Jack MacLaren: I stand corrected. Minister, this bill will help seniors. It will allow seniors to borrow against their life insurance policy. Many seniors are struggling to make ends meet because of the high cost of hydro bills and cuts to seniors’ services. This access to their wealth, to their cash, will help seniors to live without worry, without having to impose on their families and without having to depend on government. They will be able to live with dignity.

It is time to give our seniors the freedom to use their wealth the way they want. Minister, will you help us to help seniors? Will you support our bill to amend the Insurance Act?

Hon. Charles Sousa: Minister of Seniors Affairs.

Hon. Dipika Damerla: I want to thank the member opposite for this question. As the Minister of Finance outlined, this is a good idea. It certainly has some merit in helping people who want to access assets being able to access those assets. But also we’re concerned about consumer protection, because the risk is that some vulnerable people might get caught in fraud or be forced to sell at a lower price.

We really need to balance innovation with consumer protections. I look forward to the introduction of this bill, which was introduced earlier last year by the member from Eglinton–Lawrence, and I spoke to it. I really look forward to debating this bill.

I want to assure the member opposite that we’re not cutting services to seniors. If anything, we are enhancing services to seniors. Perhaps he missed the announcement earlier this week where we said we’re expanding OHIP+ to all people over the age of 65.

Water quality

Mr. Lou Rinaldi: My question is to the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change. Today is World Water Day, a day to recognize the importance of protecting our most vital resource.

In Ontario, we’re lucky our province touches four of the five Great Lakes. In my riding of Northumberland–Quinte West, seven of the eight municipalities border the shores of Lake Ontario, the majority of them relying on this resource for their drinking water.

We know that protecting this precious natural resource is an essential part of helping Ontario families and communities thrive, and we can’t do it alone, Speaker. That’s why the province is investing $1.5 million in grants for projects that allow communities to participate in protecting and restoring the Great Lakes through the Great Lakes Guardian Community Fund. Through this fund, we’re enabling greater community participation in protecting the local watershed.

Mr. Speaker, can the minister please explain to the House how the Great Lakes Guardian Community Fund encourages Ontarians to protect and restore this important natural resource?

Hon. Chris Ballard: I’d like to thank the member from Northumberland–Quinte West for that very important question as we celebrate World Water Day today. I would start off by toasting you with a glass of tasty Toronto water, Speaker.

I’m delighted to take this opportunity to talk about the importance of protecting water here in Ontario. We know it is a valuable resource, and that’s why we’re helping communities take action to protect their local watersheds. Since 2007, Ontario has invested more than $170 million into 1,420 local Great Lakes protection projects that have reduced harmful pollutants, restored some of the most contaminated areas, and engaged hundreds of partners and community groups to protect and restore the health of the Great Lakes.

This includes one project that I’m particularly fond of, the Girls Can Too program in Caledon that empowers girls to learn about the environmental and skilled trades sectors. Through these programs, we’re helping Ontarians take action in their communities to promote efforts to clean and protect the Great Lakes.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Mr. Lou Rinaldi: Thank you to the minister for that answer. We know how important it is to keep our environment healthy and safe for Ontarians. That’s why we’re investing in protecting our Great Lakes. Through the Great Lakes Guardian Community Fund, over 37,000 volunteers have planted more than 285,000 trees and shrubs, released over 800,000 fish, built and enhanced 760 trails and collected more than 2,800 bags of garbage.

Speaker, can the minister please explain to the House how this government is further strengthening our water protection in this province?

Hon. Chris Ballard: I’d be delighted to, and I thank the member from Northumberland–Quinte West again for that important question.

The government has taken significant actions to increase water protection for the health of Ontarians and for the overall environment.

A few of the things we’re doing, Speaker: We’ve updated standards to further protect our drinking water. We’re taking action to reduce algae blooms in Lake Erie. We’re introducing, and have introduced, stricter requirements for bottled water permits. We’re strengthening water-testing requirements in schools. Our government takes our job to protect the environment very seriously.

What is shocking to me is that the PCs have walked away entirely from any credible plan to protect the environment. Just yesterday, Speaker, the member for Nepean–Carleton—

Mr. Rick Nicholls: What about water wells in Chatham-Kent?

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member from Chatham–Kent–Essex is warned.

Carry on.

Hon. Chris Ballard: The member from Nepean–Carleton couldn’t answer a single question yesterday about how they would protect the environment if they were elected. Meanwhile, we’ve taken serious steps to protect both the water and the overall environment.

Medical graduates

Mrs. Gila Martow: My question is to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. I think the minister will agree that we must plan for Ontario’s future health care needs. Part of this planning must ensure the adequate training of our future health care delivery professionals.

Mr. Speaker, there seems to be a bottleneck in the system, leaving many of our valuable medical school graduates unable to practise medicine. The problem stems from our medical school students not being able to match with a required residency program. Unlike the days when the minister attended medical school and I myself went through optometry training, all medical graduates must now complete a residency program to receive a licence to practise.

Will the minister agree that more should be done to ensure we fund medical students, many of whom are here today—and all female, I may add—who are able to treat patients?

Hon. Helena Jaczek: It’s a pleasure to recognize those medical students who are with us today. I think if I had attended when I was a medical student, perhaps I would never have engaged in this particular profession as a politician, because question period, as they have seen, is an interesting place.

I know that the member opposite has introduced, I believe, a private member’s bill or a motion in this regard. It is an important question. I certainly look forward to hearing the results of the debate later today.

We do know that the number of unmatched Ontario medical graduates has been increasing in recent years, and we recognize the challenges faced by those medical graduates who do not obtain a residency position through the matching process. We do take this issue very seriously. We’re reviewing the outcomes of the matching process and we’re working with relevant stakeholders.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Mrs. Gila Martow: Again to the minister: Our medical students are very concerned about graduating and not finding residency programs. In fact, the students of the Ontario Medical Students Association are here today to raise their concerns.

According to OMSA, the greatest issue they want government to address is unmatched medical school graduates and physician services planning. These medical students want to become doctors. They want to work at our hospitals and clinics. They want to collect patient data for research into new cures and treatments. Unfortunately, some of our brightest and hardest-working young adults are not getting a fair chance. The number of unmatched students is rising in part because this Liberal government reduced the number of residency program spots.

Later today I will be introducing a private member’s bill to address the issue. Will the minister show her support for our future generation of physicians by committing to support the Careers in Medicine Advisory Committee Act?

Hon. Helena Jaczek: I’ll certainly commit to working with our medical schools to suppo