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December 11, 2007

39th Parliament, 1st Session

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Hansard Transcripts

Votes and Proceedings

Orders and Notices

Hansard Transcripts 2007-Dec-11 (PDF)

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO

ASSEMBLÉE LÉGISLATIVE DE L'ONTARIO

Tuesday 11 December 2007 Mardi 11 décembre 2007

ANNUAL REPORT, AUDITOR GENERAL

MEMBERS' STATEMENTS

HOSPITAL FUNDING

MAYOR OF SUDBURY /

LE MAIRE DE SUDBURY

GREAT WOLF LODGE

TOBACCO GROWERS

ANAM AHMED

EDUCATION FUNDING

BAXTER CANADA

POD GENERATING GROUP

SCIENCE COMPLEX

AT UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH

VISITORS

VISITORS

VISITORS

WEARING OF PINS

VISITORS

INTRODUCTION OF BILLS

CHRISTOPHER'S LAW

(SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY)

AMENDMENT ACT, 2007 /

LOI DE 2007 MODIFIANT

LA LOI CHRISTOPHER

SUR LE REGISTRE

DES DÉLINQUANTS SEXUELS

PENSION BENEFITS

AMENDMENT ACT, 2007 /

LOI DE 2007 MODIFIANT LA LOI

SUR LES RÉGIMES DE RETRAITE

MOTIONS

LEGISLATIVE REFORM

COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP

COMMITTEE SITTINGS

COMMITTEE SITTINGS

PRIVATE MEMBERS' PUBLIC BUSINESS

STATEMENTS BY THE MINISTRY

AND RESPONSES

SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY

MUNICIPAL FINANCES /

FINANCES MUNICIPALES

VENTURE CAPITAL FUND

SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY

MUNICIPAL FINANCES

SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY

VENTURE CAPITAL FUND

VISITORS

ORAL QUESTIONS

SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY

DRIVER EDUCATION

VISITORS

DRIVER EDUCATION

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS

ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE

SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY

WORKPLACE SAFETY

HAZARDOUS WASTE

CONSERVATION OFFICERS

TOURISM

LONG-TERM CARE

SOINS DE LONGUE DURÉE /

LONG-TERM CARE

PUBLIC LIBRARIES

HAZARDOUS WASTE

INJURED WORKERS

EDUCATION FUNDING

PETITIONS

LONG-TERM CARE

DAVID DUNLAP OBSERVATORY

NATIVE LAND DISPUTE

BREASTFEEDING

FEDERAL ELECTORAL REPRESENTATION

FREDERICK BANTING HOMESTEAD

MUNICIPAL RESTRUCTURING

HEALTH CARD RENEWAL CLINIC

ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE

HIGHWAY 35

FEDERAL ELECTORAL REPRESENTATION

HEALTH CARD RENEWAL CLINIC

ORDERS OF THE DAY

HEALTHY FOOD FOR HEALTHY

SCHOOLS ACT, 2007 /

LOI DE 2007 PORTANT

SUR UNE ALIMENTATION SAINE

POUR DES ÉCOLES SAINES

The House met at 1330.

Prayers.

ANNUAL REPORT, AUDITOR GENERAL

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): I beg to inform the House that I have today laid upon the table the 2007 annual report of the Auditor General of Ontario.

MEMBERS' STATEMENTS

HOSPITAL FUNDING

Ms. Sylvia Jones: On September 7, the Minister of Health made an announcement promising to allocate health care dollars according to population size. The GTA/905 Healthcare Alliance has been educating all members of the Legislature about this unfairness for more than four years. Despite the Premier's commitment three days before the provincial election, there was no mention of solving the funding inequity for high-growth communities in last week's throne speech.

Currently, Ontario's hospitals are not funded on the basis of the population of the community they serve. As a result, there are significant and growing gaps in per capita funding for hospital services in high-growth regions, including my own riding of Dufferin–Caledon. In my community, the per capita funding for hospital care in the Central West LHIN, which includes Headwaters Health Care Centre, is $280 lower than the provincial average. This means that Headwaters is expected to provide the same level of health care with fewer resources.

As a result, residents wait longer for hospital care or have to seek care outside our community, away from the support of family and friends. This is unfair and unacceptable.

Residents living in high-growth communities deserve the same quality and access to health care as the rest of the province. The promise was made; the time for action is now. The government must provide high-growth communities with the funding they need.

MAYOR OF SUDBURY /

LE MAIRE DE SUDBURY

M me France Gélinas: Today in Sudbury there will be a big celebration at the Steelworkers Hall in honour of John Rodriguez's first anniversary as mayor of the city of Greater Sudbury. Mayor Rodriguez has demonstrated that with the right leadership, a lot can happen in a year.

Il a débuté avec la décision de hisser le drapeau franco-ontarien à l'hôtel de ville.

Along with city council, he then proceeded with a progressive strategy: City council adopted a fair wage policy for municipal construction contracts; former NDP Finance Minister Floyd Laughren's report on the needs of outlying communities started to be implemented; progress was made on plans to eliminate long-distance telephone charges within the city and to purchase local Hydro One assets; council adopted the Housing First strategy, which is making a huge difference in the lives of homeless people in Sudbury and Nickel Belt; council passed a motion requesting this government to increase the minimum wage to $10 an hour now; and, most recently, councillors passed a motion in support of not-for-profit daycare, recognizing that our children should not be exploited for money by big box child care companies.

Although I will not be there tonight to celebrate with you, Mayor Rodriguez, enjoy your celebration. Vous avez eu une bonne première année. Amusez-vous; vous le méritez bien. Encore une fois, je m'excuse de ne pas pouvoir être là avec vous.

GREAT WOLF LODGE

Mr. Kim Craitor: Each year, the Niagara Falls Chamber of Commerce holds an event to celebrate businesses that have proven outstanding business achievement, community partnership, community leadership and economic impact in our community. This year, they recognized the great impact the Great Wolf Lodge has had on Niagara Falls.

During the construction of Great Wolf Lodge, 300 to 350 construction workers were on the job; most were local. The total cost of construction from start to finish was $130 million. Great Wolf Lodge has poured so much concrete that it would equal 32 miles of highway. The steel used in construction would equal 120 miles if it was laid down end to end. Great Wolf Lodge cleans and purifies more water in one day than the city of Niagara Falls. The lodge had 507 employees when it opened in 2006, and now has 614 employees, which speaks well to the health of our tourist economy. Last year, Great Wolf Lodge paid $2.3 million in taxes to the city of Niagara Falls.

I would ask this assembly to join with me in congratulating the management and staff at Great Wolf Lodge for their recognition by the Niagara Falls Chamber of Commerce for their outstanding business achievement and continuing contributions, not only to my riding of Niagara Falls but to the province of Ontario.

Finally, I'm pleased to see that we have in the members' gallery today the regional chair, Peter Partington. Welcome, Peter.

TOBACCO GROWERS

Mr. Toby Barrett: Yesterday, 400 tobacco farmers, landowners and Six Nations residents gathered outside the Onondaga Longhouse at Six Nations. Over 100 bales of tobacco were transferred from farm pickup trucks into a tractor-trailer at Six Nations. This represented close to $1 million in tobacco tax revenue that neither this provincial government nor the federal government will ever see again.

Whether one approves of civil disobedience or not, in this case, the desperate times for farmers triggered a desperate measure. This is a threat to government. Government, for some time now, has had no control over 25% of the tobacco trade, losing millions a year nationally in taxes to the underground economy. This underground economy has been created by government tax policy.

Tobacco farmers have had enough. They want out. They are in a market meltdown. Government policy has propped up an illegal tobacco trade with which the legal trade cannot compete. Yesterday was a signal that some farmers have decided that if they can't beat them, they may join them.

An exit package is needed immediately, yet government works at a glacial pace, waiting for the feds to make a move. All the while, these are Ontario tobacco growers.

Those attending the gathering at the Onondaga Longhouse asked for some meaningful dialogue, and they asked for some action.

ANAM AHMED

Mr. Dave Levac: I wish to recognize Ms. Anam Ahmed, of Brantford, who is one of only three recipients of the Lincoln M. Alexander Award. This award, established in 1993, pays tribute to young people in Ontario between the ages of 16 and 25 who have demonstrated outstanding leadership in eliminating racism and discrimination.

This outstanding contribution was recognized at an awards ceremony yesterday in the Lieutenant Governor's suite. The Lincoln M. Alexander Award was presented by the Lieutenant Governor, the Honourable David Onley. A scroll and a cheque for $5,000, were presented by the former Lieutenant Governor, the Honourable Lincoln Alexander.

Miss Anam Ahmed, only 17 years old, a high school student from North Park Collegiate in the riding of Brant, in Brantford, was recognized for her creative approaches to the discussion of racism. Some of her accomplishments include writing, choreographing and performing a play called "911/Tango" at her school; producing a video named "Connected," which was judged one of the top 10 in the nation in a contest called "Racism: Stop It"; and she piloted and chaired the anti-racism committee at her school and also contributed to creating a DVD on racism in schools.

Each one of us has a contribution to make in ending prejudice and racism. These young people—there are two others—must be congratulated by us, and we ask them to continue to share their wisdom.

EDUCATION FUNDING

Mr. Ted Chudleigh: I rise today to gently remind the government of its promise, first in the 2003 election and again in the 2007 election, to amend the educational funding formula—so far unkept, especially as it pertains to students in rapidly growing areas.

In my riding of Halton, which consists of the town of Milton— the fastest growing town in all of Canada—and rapidly growing parts of Oakville and Burlington, problems with the funding formula are causing ongoing turmoil for children.

In Burlington, at Alexander's Public School, portable classrooms litter the schoolyard. Parents are concerned that their children will spend most of their education switching from one school to another as new schools are built and boundaries are shifted.

That situation has already occurred in Oakville, where students at Joan of Arc Catholic school have been shunted around four times in the last few years. Now, to solve a funding formula problem, graduating students of Joan of Arc are being told to attend old St. Thomas Aquinas high school in order to bump up its student population to qualify for funds to rebuild it. These same students at Joan of Arc Catholic school live within walking distance of St. Ignatius of Loyola high shool.

These same problems with the funding formula are about to impact students in Milton at Bruce Trail Public School, where high growth and portables rule the day.

This is my gentle reminder to the government of its so far unkept promise. The next time I promise I will not be so gentle. And I, for one, keep my promises.

BAXTER CANADA

Mr. Charles Sousa: It is my great pleasure to congratulate Baxter Canada, a great corporate citizen in Mississauga, Ontario, and Canada, on the occasion of their 70th anniversary celebration this week.

Baxter Canada is located in my neighbouring riding of Mississauga East—Cooksville, held by my distinguished colleague the Honourable Peter Fonseca. Their presence and contribution in Mississauga and across this great country have been tremendous. Over the past 70 years, Baxter Canada has been focused on bringing innovative solutions to improve the lives of patients, particularly individuals requiring kidney dialysis, individuals afflicted with hemophilia, and the thousands of individuals who each day are treated and recovering in hospitals and at home.

Baxter Canada has not only demonstrated leadership and innovation in health care, but they are also leaders in sustainable manufacturing and environmental stewardship right here in Ontario. Their commitment to improving health, their contribution to a knowledge-based innovation economy balanced with being environmentally responsible, and their commitment to being a great corporate and community citizen are exceptional.

On behalf of my colleagues who represent the great city and ridings within Mississauga, I would like to thank Baxter Canada for their ongoing leadership and wish them continued success over the next 70 years and beyond.

POD GENERATING GROUP

Mr. David Orazietti: This past Friday in my riding of Sault Ste. Marie, I had the opportunity of being joined by Sandra Pupatello, the Minister of Economic Development and Trade, to announce that the largest solar farm in Canada is coming to our community.

Thanks to our government's innovative standard offer program, California's Pod Generating Group has chosen the province of Ontario to make a $360-million investment. When fully phased in, the project will supply Ontario's energy grid with 60 megawatts of clean, green energy—enough electricity to supply 9,000 homes.

Here's what David Livingston, the CEO of Pod Generating Group, had to say: "As a team, we continue to be impressed by Ontario's commitment to develop clean, renewable power generation. The solar power facilities that we are putting into operation in Sault Ste. Marie are showing what a dedicated group of individuals can do to meet the environmental challenges facing Canada and the world."

Our renewables strategy is working. The new solar farm is one of a series of significant energy projects that are resulting in sizable economic investments in the Soo and area. The Algoma Steel cogeneration facility, a 63-megawatt high-efficiency cogeneration project, is a $135-million investment and is currently under construction. Nearby, in the riding of Algoma—Manitoulin, the Brookfield Power wind farm, Canada's largest wind installation, is a $400-million investment.

Across the province, OPA reports that 228 renewable energy projects have been awarded since November 30, 2007. The McGuinty government is leading the way in North America when it comes to renewable energy development to fight against climate change.

SCIENCE COMPLEX

AT UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH

Mrs. Liz Sandals: Last week, I was proud to attend the official opening of the new, state-of-the-art science complex at the University of Guelph. This impressive complex allows faculty from a variety of scientific disciplines to work collaboratively in their pursuit of innovation. The multidisciplinary science complex will encourage students to draw connections across traditional boundaries and seek an intellectual appreciation for the sciences and technology as powerful means for understanding and shaping the world.

Through the Ontario Research Fund and the Ontario Innovation Trust, our government is providing $11.3 million to the University of Guelph in support of two leading-edge research projects that are sited at the science complex: first, $7.3 million for a facility for cell membrane and surfaces research, supporting the research activities of over 20 researchers from five departments. The research is advancing our understanding of human diseases and will help to develop effective strategies for therapeutic intervention.

The university also received $4 million in support of an applied evolution centre that is allowing researchers to explore ways to predict and manage the genetic impacts of humans on other organisms.

Congratulations, Guelph. By working together, we will keep Ontario at the forefront of the global economy.

VISITORS

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): We have with us today in the Speaker's gallery three members from the Parliament of Lithuania: Kestutis Glaveckas, Vytautas Saulis and Manfredas Zymantas. Please join me in welcoming our guests.

I'd also like to draw the attention of the members to the Speaker's gallery to welcome Mr. Jim McCarter, Ontario's Auditor General, along with a number of his staff. Mr. McCarter and staff, welcome.

VISITORS

Hon. Jim Watson: On a point of order, Mr. Speaker: I'm delighted to welcome into the members' gallery members of MARCO, the Mayors and Regional Chairs of Ontario. Earlier today, I had the pleasure of meeting with Peter Partington, regional chair from Niagara; Fred Eisenberger, mayor of Hamilton; Tom Gosnell, deputy mayor of London; Roger Anderson, chair of Durham; Bill Fisch, chair of York region; and the chair of MARCO and the chair of Waterloo region, Ken Seiling. Welcome.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Welcome to Queen's Park.

VISITORS

Mr. Peter Tabuns: It's my pleasure to introduce visitors in the members' gallery: Donna Dillman, in the 66th day of her hunger strike against uranium mining in Frontenac county, joined by hunger strikers Rita Bijons, Adriana Mugnatto-Hamu and Sharon Howarth. Welcome to the House.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Welcome.

WEARING OF PINS

Mr. Dave Levac: In consultation with the whips of all parties, I seek unanimous consent to wear the pins of the Ontario Conservation Officers Association members in recognition—and a reminder that in room 228 at 6 p.m., the holiday reception of these fine people will be taking place. The pins are a reminder of their good work.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): The member seeks unanimous consent for all members to wear the pins. Agreed? Agreed.

VISITORS

Mr. Howard Hampton: On a point of order, Mr. Speaker: We have with us in the gallery today a very special person, Tara Mansouri-Moayed. Tara is a legislative learner with the co-op program of the University of Waterloo. She has been a tremendous asset to my office for the past four months. In fact, I want to read a resolution she has drafted for me:

"In the opinion of this House, as a noble tribute to those who served in the great wars, that the government of Ontario give consideration to providing financial support for urgently needed repairs to the rose window in the Church of the Epiphany in Woodstock, which has stood as a tribute to our fallen heroes for the past 75 years."

I want to thank Tara for her excellent work.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Thank you, and welcome.

INTRODUCTION OF BILLS

CHRISTOPHER'S LAW

(SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY)

AMENDMENT ACT, 2007 /

LOI DE 2007 MODIFIANT

LA LOI CHRISTOPHER

SUR LE REGISTRE

DES DÉLINQUANTS SEXUELS

Mr. Bartolucci moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 16,

An Act to amend Christopher's Law (Sex Offender Registry), 2000 / Projet de loi 16, Loi modifiant la Loi Christopher de 2000 sur le registre des délinquants sexuels.

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

First reading agreed to.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): The minister for a short statement.

Hon. Rick Bartolucci: I'll defer to ministerial statements.

PENSION BENEFITS

AMENDMENT ACT, 2007 /

LOI DE 2007 MODIFIANT LA LOI

SUR LES RÉGIMES DE RETRAITE

Mr. Paul Miller moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 17,

An Act to amend the Pension Benefits Act / Projet de loi 17, Loi modifiant la

Loi sur les régimes de retraite.

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

First reading agreed to.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): The member for a short statement.

Mr. Paul Miller: This bill is critical to the workers of this province. The PBG fund is grossly underfunded, and if we were to have a major problem with closures in this province, this would cause immense problems for that fund. We need to increase that fund to protect the people if our economy takes another slide and businesses run into trouble.

MOTIONS

LEGISLATIVE REFORM

Hon. Michael Bryant: I believe we have unanimous consent to put forward a motion concerning a panel of members to consider ways to make the assembly more family friendly.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Is there unanimous consent to deal with the motion, as proposed, regarding a committee to make the assembly more family friendly? Agreed.

Hon. Michael Bryant: Before I move this motion, allow me to credit the member for Nepean—Carleton for her initiative and her perseverance.

Applause.

Hon. Michael Bryant: Hear, hear.

Thanks to the House leaders for the official opposition and the third party and to the government caucus as well.

I move that the House leaders of the recognized parties shall agree to terms, and an all-party panel composed of no more than two members from each recognized party shall be appointed to make recommendations to the Speaker on ways to make working at the Ontario Legislature more family friendly for members of provincial Parliament.

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

Agreed to.

COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP

Hon. Michael Bryant: I seek unanimous consent to move motions regarding the committees of the Legislature.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Agreed? Agreed.

Hon. Michael Bryant: I move that the membership of the standing committee on regulations and private bills be revised as follows: Mr. Naqvi is removed.

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

Agreed to.

COMMITTEE SITTINGS

Hon. Michael Bryant: I move that the standing committee on social policy be authorized to meet for the purpose of organization on the morning of Thursday, December 13.

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

Agreed to.

COMMITTEE SITTINGS

Hon. Michael Bryant: I move that the following

schedule for committee meetings be established for the 39th Parliament:

The standing committee on justice policy may meet on Wednesday and Thursday mornings; the standing committee on social policy may meet on Monday and Tuesday afternoons following routine business; the standing committee on general government may meet on Monday and Wednesday afternoons following routine proceedings; the standing committee on finance and economic affairs may meet on Thursday mornings and Thursday afternoons following routine proceedings; the standing committee on estimates may meet on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons following routine proceedings; the standing committee on government agencies may meet on Wednesday mornings; the standing committee on the Legislative Assembly may meet on Thursday afternoons following routine proceedings; the standing committee on public accounts may meet on Thursday mornings; the standing committee on regulations and private bills may meet on Wednesday mornings.

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

Agreed to.

PRIVATE MEMBERS' PUBLIC BUSINESS

Hon. Michael Bryant: I seek unanimous consent to move a motion regarding a ballot order for private members' public business.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Agreed? Agreed.

Hon. Michael Bryant: I move that notwithstanding standing order 96(d), Mr. Crozier, Mr. Lalonde, Mr. Rinaldi and Mr. Kwinter exchange places in the order of precedence for private members' public business such that Mr. Crozier assumes ballot item 4, Mr. Lalonde assumes ballot item 19, Mr. Rinaldi assumes ballot item 26 and Mr. Kwinter assumes ballot item 32.

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

Agreed to.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Government House leader?

L'hon. Michael Bryant: C'est tout.

Hon. James J. Bradley: I think that's all.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): I thank the Minister of Transportation very much for his translation.

STATEMENTS BY THE MINISTRY

AND RESPONSES

SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY

Hon. Rick Bartolucci: I rise today to introduce legislation to strengthen Christopher's Law. If passed, the proposed amendments would allow police to track more sex offenders and keep our province and our people safe.

Almost 20 years ago, 11-year-old Christopher Stephenson was brutally murdered by a convicted pedophile on federal statutory release. Christopher's family, victims' groups and law enforcement agencies worked tirelessly to prevent a similar tragedy from happening again. They sought mandatory registration for convicted sex offenders. Ontario responded with Christopher's Law, the first sex offender registry in Canada, and it was a step that spurred nationwide co-operation.

Today, police across Ontario consult the sex offender registry about 400 times each day. It helps them monitor and locate sex offenders in their communities. It's a proven investigative tool and, most important, it's helping to protect vulnerable children and adults from predators. But there's still more we can do.

This afternoon, the report of the Auditor General on the Ontario sex offender registry was tabled. Our government welcomes this report and the valuable recommendations it contains.

Our proposed legislation responds to the recommendations made by the Auditor General. This legislation would require more offenders to register and provide more tools for police to track offenders. If passed, Christopher's Law would be amended to include the following:

Sex offenders serving an intermittent sentence, for example on weekends, would be required to register within 15 days of sentencing;

Persons released on bail pending appeal for a sex offence would be required to register;

If a person found not criminally responsible on a detention disposition were released unsupervised from a mental health facility, the registry would be notified;

The registry would also be notified if a sex offender were released from a correctional facility on an unescorted temporary absence pass.

As federal day parolees fall under federal jurisdiction, the province will work closely with the federal government to ensure the necessary coordination occurs.

We are also making operational improvements. In his report, the Auditor General salutes the hard work being carried out by those who maintain the sex offender registry. I would echo this, and thank police services across Ontario, as well as the OPP members in Orillia who are responsible for operating and maintaining the registry, and who are so committed to the safety and security of the people of this province.

Today, Ontario's sex offender registry has a 95% compliance rate. This represents one of the highest compliance rates of all sex offender registries in operation, including the registries in the United States. Our government is committed to reaching 100%. If passed, this legislation would help us reach that goal. It would help police track more offenders quickly and efficiently, and it would help ensure safer streets and communities for all Ontarians.

MUNICIPAL FINANCES /

FINANCES MUNICIPALES

Hon. Jim Watson: I rise today to update members on the progress being made by the McGuinty government to support Ontario's municipalities and to work with them in strengthening our communities. Positive and productive relations with the municipal sector are a priority of this government. Just this morning, I had the real pleasure of meeting with the mayors and regional chairs of Ontario, who I had the opportunity to introduce just a moment ago. A month ago, I met with the Large Urban Mayors' Caucus of Ontario, and before that, I met with municipal representatives in southwestern Ontario.

My message to all of them has been the same: The McGuinty government is committed to working with you. At last summer's annual conference of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, held in my hometown of Ottawa, we renewed the memorandum of understanding with AMO. This agreement is the foundation of provincial-municipal relations. It commits the province to prior consultation with municipalities whenever it proposes changes to the provincial legislation and regulations that will have a significant financial impact on the current municipal budget year or planning cycle.

I'm pleased to say that our government is also in the process of negotiating a similar agreement with the city of Toronto.

Another example of our strong working relationship with AMO and the city of Toronto is the Provincial-Municipal Fiscal Service and Delivery Review. In this review, both provincial and municipal governments are working to develop affordable and sustainable ways to fund and deliver services for Ontario's communities. While I'm looking forward to the review's consensus-based report next spring, the work of the review has already paid dividends in Ontario's municipalities.

Dans le cadre de l'examen, les administrations municipales et le gouvernement provincial cherchent à trouver des moyens abordables et viables de financer et de prodiguer des services aux collectivités de l'Ontario.

Bien que la parution du rapport consensuel de l'examen soit prévue pour le printemps prochain, l'initiative a déjà profité aux municipalités de l'Ontario.

Beginning next month, the province will upload the cost of the Ontario drug benefit program, and starting in 2009 will upload the cost of the Ontario disability support program. This upload was identified as a top priority by the municipal representatives in the review. The benefits of this upload will be substantial. In 2008, the estimated cost savings to municipalities is $173 million. By the time the upload is fully implemented in 2011, it will save municipalities, and thus municipal property taxpayers, $935 million annually.

These savings are on top of the additional funding we will continue to provide to municipalities. Under the Ontario municipal partnership fund, $843 million will be allocated to municipalities in 2007. That's $225 million more than transfers in 2004 under its predecessor program. For 2008, I can assure municipalities that, province-wide, the overall dollars for the partnership fund will not be reduced, even though we are uploading Ontario drug benefit program cost.

In 2008, we plan to increase our investment in municipalities for land ambulance services again. This planned increase will fulfill the Premier's commitment in 2006 to invest approximately $300 million to assist municipalities with land ambulance costs, moving to a 50-50 funding arrangement.

Nous sommes chanceux de vivre dans la meilleure province du pays le plus fortuné du monde. En travaillant ensemble au renforcement de nos petites et grandes villes, nous veillerons à ce que les générations futures d'Ontariens et d'Ontariennes puissent en dire autant.

These are just some of the investments our government is making in our cities and towns, and just some examples of the province and municipalities working in partnership. We are fortunate to live in the best province and the most blessed country in the world, and by working together to strengthen our cities and towns, we can help ensure that future generations of Ontarians will be able to make the same claim.

VENTURE CAPITAL FUND

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Minister of Research and Innovation.

Hon. John Wilkinson: Mr. Speaker, let me start by congratulating you on your election to the chair.

I rise today to bring to the attention of all of us in the House the efforts the McGuinty government is making to ensure emerging innovative companies can grow and succeed in this province. These companies represent the future of Ontario. They are the embodiment of our best ideas, the solutions to our most pressing of challenges, and the source of our next generation of jobs and economic growth.

In Ontario, we have world-class researchers. We have world-class, globally competitive industry. What we strive for is a world-class, vibrant capital market to support the young start-up companies that will drive our future economy.

A financial report released last week highlighted the importance of venture capital and, for example, the challenges of attracting large pools of foreign investment capital to Canadian companies. The McGuinty government is well aware of the challenges facing small, innovative firms that need access to capital to take their business to the next level. That's why we committed $90 million in our 2006 budget to create a venture capital fund to spur investment in new emerging Ontario-based businesses.

The McGuinty government understands the need to ensure that large pools of institutional capital, whether they be at banks, pension companies or insurance companies, are available to our young start-up companies. That's why we created the Ontario venture capital fund.

Today I'm happy to report on the progress of that fund. Last month, at the Toronto Stock Exchange, the Premier and I announced that Ontario will partner with the Ontario municipal employees retirement system—OMERS—capital partners, the Royal Bank of Canada capital partners, the Business Development Bank of Canada, and Manulife Financial to create a market-driven fund of funds. Let me emphasize that this is a market-driven solution, and that's why it's so innovative. It is not politicians nor bureaucrats that will be making market decisions. Together with our partners, we are actively pursuing a world-class, top-performing venture capital fund manager to manage the fund of funds.

We cannot expect the rest of the world to invest in our globally significant innovation if we ourselves are not willing to step up to the plate. If we don't do this, our companies will relocate to other jurisdictions to find the capital and support they need, places like Boston and San Antonio and San Francisco. It is those other jurisdictions that will ultimately benefit from the resulting jobs.

I am so very pleased that successful large corporate institutional and federal investors are eager to work with us to invest in Ontario. In total, the McGuinty government and its private sector partners are initially investing $165 million in the fund. And we're not stopping there. I'm actively encouraging other large institutional and corporate pools of capital to join us in a second round of investment to grow Ontario's VC fund. Together, we will build the next generation of venture capital support in Ontario.

As we grow this fund, Ontario will become even more effective at competing globally for talent, ideas and investment, and even more successful at nurturing Ontario's own emerging companies from the back of a napkin to the front of the business pages.

In Ontario, we have world-class researchers, savvy entrepreneurs and a well-educated, highly skilled workforce, and the McGuinty government is committed to harnessing this potential through innovative programs like Ontario's VC fund. But Ontario also needs our partners in the federal government to continue to improve the business climate for venture capital in Canada. Ontario can't do it alone. We must work together to build a climate that supports innovative companies, because growing businesses that are on the cutting edge of the new economy means more high-value jobs and economic prosperity for this province.

Ultimately, that's what we're trying to accomplish in everything we do at my ministry. It's about fostering the jobs of the future for our children and our grandchildren, jobs that have not even been invented yet.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Responses?

SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY

Mr. Robert W. Runciman: I want to respond to the Minister of Community Safety's announcement about amendments to Christopher's Law. As the member who originally introduced the legislation, there's no question that the contents of the Auditor General's report today are very serious, very disappointing and, from the perspective of our party, the official opposition—and I'm sure it's shared by every member—deeply disturbing. When you receive news that hundreds of sex offenders have been roaming the streets in neighbourhoods of the province of Ontario unaccounted for, that has to be, I think, frightening.

This is a public safety system that, until now, Ontarians believed was uniquely working to provide enhanced protection for all citizens of the province, especially our children. And now to find out that it is so flawed, that in fact, given the flaws and the weaknesses that the Auditor General has pointed to, the OPP was at the same time diverting funds over a period of time for other uses, I think just deepens the concern with respect to the utilization of what we all hoped would be a very effective tool to combat sex crimes, primarily crimes against children.

Some of the stats here: 365 provincial sex offenders who should have been registered were not; 360 federal sex offenders who should have been registered were not; 364 non-compliant offenders—almost 70% in breach of the act in excess of two years. I think there's no question that we need to know what went wrong. The minister's amendments, I'm sure, will address some of the legislative shortcomings, and we will certainly work with the government to address those in a timely fashion.

But there are things that can and should be done now, given the legislation in place, that he didn't speak to—I didn't hear him if he did speak to them—and I think it's incumbent upon him to address those as quickly as possible in terms of how we can address those shortcomings immediately to ensure, as much as possible, public safety in the province of Ontario.

There are serious questions here. I believe—and I'm not one who frivolously calls for public inquiries. The now government, the Liberal Party of Ontario, when they were sitting on this side of the House, it was almost a weekly occurrence when they called for a provincial inquiry. So I would appeal to the government, the Minister of Community Safety and the Attorney General to very seriously consider the need for a public inquiry with respect to what happened here. This is a very, very disturbing and serious public safety issue.

I think that we need to know what went wrong and why, where the $9 million went, who made those decisions and who was involved, and who authorized it. I think another question which perhaps we can never answer: How many crimes were committed by individuals who were missed by the registry, who we failed to ensure were in the system and whose movements were being monitored through the sex offender registry?

There's a whole series of questions with respect to the OPP. The current commissioner, Commissioner Fantino, has, I think, responded in a very admirable way to these concerns, but we're going back a number of years in some respects with some of this.

I think we need to know what was involved, and I think that if any issue that's confronted us over the past number of years in this place cries out for a public inquiry, this is it. This is it, and I call on the government to do the right thing: call a public inquiry.

MUNICIPAL FINANCES

Ms. Andrea Horwath: It's my pleasure to respond to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing in his remarks today, and also to welcome the municipal leaders from around the province who have joined us, including my own mayor, Mayor Eisenberger, from the city of Hamilton.

I have to tell you that it's really sad that four years after the McGuinty government was elected the first time, we are still in a situation where municipalities in this province are being starved. They're being starved because this government simply refuses to pay its bills and refuses to establish the real, concrete measures that need to be established in this province to ensure that municipalities are thriving.

During the election campaign, in fact, many of the parties were talking about this. I can recall, and, in fact, the minister is very pleased and proud in terms of his remarks on what they plan to do, but the Liberal Party vision—I'm quoting from a Toronto Star

article that was published during the campaign: "The Liberal Party vision is too much of the same old slow, sad song."

That's the reality here in the province of Ontario. These municipalities simply should not have to come to this Legislature year over year with cap in hand to get some real systemic change happening that's going to make positive impacts, not only on the municipalities' abilities to fund their programs but also to provide the kind of relief that property taxpayers in this province deserve, because the provincial programs that you're not paying for are being paid for on the property tax base. We are literally the only jurisdiction, probably in the entire G8, that has this unbelievable situation.

And we wonder why our municipalities are in trouble. I can tell you, it's because this government has not been diligent in its efforts to try to fix the problem that was created by the previous government before them, and that's the downloading.

What do we need to do? We need to see an immediate 50% operating-cost sharing of transit in all municipalities in Ontario. That's what we need to see. We need to see that right away. It'll make a huge difference. We need to see provincially mandated programs paid for by this government the way they're supposed to be paid for by this government. That's what we need to see. We need the rebalancing of the fiscal relationship now—now, not five years from now, not 10 years from now.

SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY

Mr. Peter Kormos: To the Minister of Community Safety, who brags about a 95% compliance rate: You see, we're worried about the 5% of noncompliant sex offenders. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that the convicted sex offender who doesn't register is one who has a scheme, a plan, and is far more likely to re-offend. Those are the people who constitute the most significant danger out there. They're the ones you ignore.

Where have you been? Where's this government been for the last four years when it comes to protecting kids and women from predatory sex offenders? The government has shown absolute disinterest in the welfare of people in community after community and, indeed, has had the oversight of a system that has not only been negligent in its development but has also been peculiarly skimped of nine million scarce law-enforcement public-safety dollars.

I am hard pressed, New Democrats are hard pressed, to believe that somehow the minister and the government could hear no evil, see no evil, never mind speak no evil, as nine million bucks was being diverted away from the essential funding to an effective sex offender registry to other areas of policing.

We join with the Conservatives in calling for a public inquiry into this debacle. This minister has not demonstrated any responsibility or accountability by purporting to comply with some of the recommendations of the Auditor General.

Where's this government been for the last four years? Why did it take the Auditor General to expose these clear deficiencies when this government has been at the helm for four years, putting people at risk, communities at risk, and displaying a complete lack of concern around community safety here in the province of Ontario?

VENTURE CAPITAL FUND

Mr. Michael Prue: My response is to the Minister of Research and Innovation. Gladly would I accept what you had to say today, except that back in 2005 your same government, under the previous Minister of Finance, cancelled the labour-sponsored investment fund. They cancelled the fund that was set up in 1999, a federal-provincial fund, which did exactly the same—probably better—as what you are attempting to do here today. They gave 15% to 20% of tax rebate that levered new growth. It levered some $600 million, and for the last two years it has done virtually nothing.

When I spoke to the then finance minister, he continued down the path, and your government continued to do that until today, and now you come back with a very weak plan, I might suggest. Today is a tacit admission, I have to say, of the failure of your government for the past two years.

VISITORS

Hon. Margarett R. Best: On a point of order, Mr. Speaker: I would like to take this opportunity today to acknowledge the staff and students from Sir Wilfrid Laurier school in the riding of Scarborough—Guildwood, my riding. Please stand up.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Welcome.

ORAL QUESTIONS

SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY

Mr. Robert W. Runciman: My question is for the Premier, dealing with the Auditor General's report and, specifically, his findings related to the sex offender registry. I'm sure the Premier would share our view that the findings are deeply disturbing, serious, in terms of protecting the public and the fact that the monies allocated by the government to administer the registry—some $9 million over a period of years—were diverted to other uses. Premier, given the nature of this and its impact on public safety, earlier today I called on your government to call a public inquiry into what happened, supported by the third party as well. Will you support that?

Hon. Dalton McGuinty: To the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services.

Hon. Rick Bartolucci: No, we will not call a public inquiry. We appreciate what the Auditor General has done today in tabling his report. He has given us some very, very good recommendations. I thank him for those recommendations, and we'll act on them.

I want to repeat what he said at the beginning of the

summary of his report: "A dedicated team of OPP officers and support personnel from the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services ... has worked diligently and cost-effectively over the last six years to create a working registry that helps the police investigate sexual crimes and monitor sex offenders in their local communities."

Is the system perfect? No. Will we achieve 100% compliance? We will do everything possible to achieve 100% compliance.

Mr. Robert W. Runciman: Mr. Speaker, I'd use a word, but you ruled it unparliamentary last week.

There's no question: We're talking about an issue here where the Auditor General has pointed out that we have had hundreds of sex offenders roaming the streets in neighbourhoods of the province of Ontario over the past few years, unaccounted for, and this minister is hiding behind legislation that he's tabling today rather than dealing with what has happened over the past four and a half years, how serious an issue this is, why it happened, and why the OPP diverted money when they were not operating the sex offender registry in an appropriate way to protect the citizens of Ontario.

He has an obligation to stand in his place today and explain why he thinks it's sufficient to just go forward and not address the problems that occurred in the past four and a half years that he has been in office and how it could have jeopardized public safety in this province. Answer that.

Hon. Rick Bartolucci: We've already acted on many of the recommendations that the Auditor General has put forth. We haven't sat back and done nothing, as he would like to infer, which is wrong.

We, on both sides of this House, should be talking about building confidence in a system that is working, a system that has a 95% compliance rate, a system that obviously can improve but at this point in time is working very, very well. You know, I referred to a media release from Ontario police leaders, who support the proposed changes to the province's sex offender registry.

Listen, it's not perfect. The Auditor General has pointed out where we can make improvements. We have started to make those improvements; we will continue to make those improvements as we go on.

Mr. Robert W. Runciman: That's a pretty sad response given what's happened over the past four or five years. I mentioned in my response to the legislation that we don't know how many crimes were committed as a result of the failings of the sex offender registry over the past number of years. I think that should be important and of interest to the current government, why it happened.

The auditor talks about the $9 million that was diverted to other issues. We don't know what they are. I think the minister has an obligation to tell us where that money went and who was involved in making those decisions. What role did the government have in making those decisions? Recommendation 6 that the auditor makes: "to ensure that all funds that are approved for registry purposes are actually spent on registry activities." In the government's response, they declined to make that kind of commitment, indeed rubber-stamping the diversion of much-needed funds to protect the people of Ontario.

Stand up and defend that. Explain to the people of Ontario where that money went, who was involved and how it may have endangered the safety of Ontarians.

Hon. Rick Bartolucci: Speaker, let me tell you first of all, and let me inform the member, who should know this little fact, that we do not interfere with the operations of the OPP. He should clearly know that, because if you go back and you look at the money that was reallocated over the course of the last several years, you'll find out that 40% of the money that was reallocated was reallocated under his watch, that government's watch. in 1999-2000, $407,000 was not spent on the directory; in 2000-01, $403,000 was not spent on the directory; in 2001-02, $940,000 was not spent on the directory. It was reallocated to other priority areas of the OPP. It was—

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): New question. The member from Durham.

DRIVER EDUCATION

Mr. John O'Toole: My question is to the Premier. Premier, in yet another example of how your government has failed to take seriously the health and safety of the citizens of Ontario, our Auditor General has found, shockingly, that in 2006 collision rates were 62% greater amongst drivers who had completed a government-approved driver education course over those who had no driver education course. Can the Premier possibly explain to this House why drivers who have completed a government-approved course are more likely to be involved in a collision than those who have completed no such course?

Hon. Dalton McGuinty: To the Minister of Transportation.

Interjection.

Hon. James J. Bradley: I don't want to get into the past; I want to talk about the future. I think that is important.

First of all, I want to commend the Provincial Auditor for doing another outstanding job. One of the virtues we have in our democratic system is we have officers of the House such as the Provincial Auditor who are able to take an independent and outside look at the way government operates. I want to assure the member that with the findings he has made and with the recommendations that he has made, the Ministry of Transportation is already moving on these. That's an advantage that ministries have.

I think the acting Leader of the Opposition mentioned yesterday we get that opportunity, so in the supplementary I'll be more specific than I was. But I want to thank the auditor for doing a good job. We want to comply with what he is suggesting we comply with.

Mr. John O'Toole: That diversion of an answer—we're all happy to have an auditor. Thank God the people of Ontario have an auditor who is concerned about the drivers who are more dangerous when they have completed a driver education course approved by your ministry. It absolutely makes no sense, Minister.

The auditor highlights the concerns of several stakeholders who are worried that some unscrupulous driving schools are selling certificates to drivers who haven't earned them; meanwhile, the government has turned a blind eye. Why is the government ignoring these facts? Why isn't it ensuring that new drivers can safely operate the cars they drive, and why aren't they taking seriously the potential fraud that exists in the system you are the minister of?

Hon. James J. Bradley: I want to say to the member that that is precisely what officials in the Ministry of Transportation are doing at this time with the findings of the auditor, and he has been very assiduous in pointing out some of the concerns and how he believes the Ministry of Transportation can move expeditiously to deal with them. I want to assure the member that that in fact is the case.

The licensing of unqualified drivers is simply not acceptable to me and, I really don't think, to any members of this House. We will suspend any organization found to be licensing unqualified drivers. In the New Year, an improved inspection process will target and follow up on organizations that have unacceptable practices in place.

So when we look at any problems that have been identified, I think you will find that, by and large, the ministry has already moved on them and we are undertaking to take further action to comply with everything the auditor has suggested.

Mr. John O'Toole: Quite frankly, the auditor has, year after year for the last four years, made very similar audit comments, and yet we're still in this serious dilemma. In fact, here is what the auditor said: "The ministry's inspection of ... driving schools had not focused on ensuring that the training was in accordance with the ministry-approved curriculum. Where inspections were done, many cases of significant non-compliance were disregarded" completely.

The government is falling down entirely when it comes to ensuring the safety of new drivers on our highways in the province of Ontario. My question again: Why has this government repeatedly turned a blind eye to these challenging and very serious issues of fraud as well as public safety? Please answer that question.

Hon. James J. Bradley: I thank the member for raising that issue. I guess one of the advantages you have when you're a new minister of a particular portfolio is that you have the opportunity to take a new look at some of the challenges that are out there, and I think he has raised, fair enough, some challenges that are there.

He mentioned, for instance—I think all of us would find this odd—that if you went to a driving school, the rate of accidents is higher. We now have an outside person looking at that to determine why that would be and what all the factors are. But one of them that you might consider—and British Columbia did—is that it might well be that if you get one of these certificates, you don't have to go the full year before you reach the next stage of licensing. I think you go eight months instead of the full year.

It may well be that that is the reason, and so we're going to look at what British Columbia is doing and what other jurisdictions are doing. But I want to tell the member that we're prepared to act on everything the Provincial Auditor has suggested we act upon.

VISITORS

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): We have with us in the Speaker's gallery a delegation from the Council of the Senate of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, led by Senator Oleg Tolkachev. Accompanying the delegation is the Honourable Andrey Veklenko, Consul General of the Russian Federation in Toronto, and other guests. Please join me in welcoming our guests today.

DRIVER EDUCATION

Mr. Howard Hampton: My question is for the Premier. It has been evident for over five years that new drivers who take the Ministry of Transportation approved beginning driver education program are far more likely to have a traffic collision than new drivers who don't take the course. Do you see a problem with that, and if you see a problem with that, why did your government not act on it for four years?

Hon. Dalton McGuinty: The Minister of Transportation.

Hon. James J. Bradley: I have a note coming here that may or may not be helpful, but I want to say to the member that he raises, through the Provincial Auditor's report, a very good question. As I indicated, we have within the ministry an outside organization—a person—looking at what the reasons for that could be. Because it's illogical to you and to me; it's counterintuitive to think that if you've gone to driving school, you're going to have more accidents than otherwise. The ministry has already acted upon some of the findings that were in the 2005 auditor's report and has implemented those.

In the supplementary, unless he moves to another area, I will try to answer some of the questions that he's dealing with. I want to repeat what I said, that one of the considerations is what British Columbia found and it's that shortened period for being able to get the licence.

Mr. Howard Hampton: The minister talks about something being illogical. What is illogical is that the Ministry of Transportation has known about this for five years and did nothing. For five years the Ministry of Transportation approved a driver education program. It's been a fact that students who take that are more likely to get into a serious traffic collision than students who don't take it. The issue is this: How could you know about this serious threat to public safety and for four years do absolutely nothing about it?

Hon. James J. Bradley: The characterization that the leader of the third party would have is not the characterization I would say has been the case with the Ministry of Transportation. The Ministry of Transportation has been addressing the auditor's findings with changes and the ministry will follow through to fix all the concerns that he has mentioned.

The ministry is looking at the possibility that the higher collision rates, as I mentioned, are as a result of the certificate being obtained in eight months instead of the full year. We also began regulating the BDE schools, the driver education schools, last year in compliance with provincial standards. They're being monitored and strongly enforced wherever necessary.

In the last year, we have removed 22 schools from our ministry-approved lists because they weren't up to standard. Based on the recommendations in the auditor's report, over the past few weeks we have notified an additional eight driving schools of our intent to remove them from the ministry's approved list.

Mr. Howard Hampton: Actually, the Auditor General tells us how this could happen. He points out, for example, that a driving instructor who was hired in February 2007 had four demerit points himself and had received six licence suspensions since August 2004, all of which happened under the McGuinty government. He also noted that two driving instructors had been convicted of fraud under $5,000, including falsifying student records, and were still licensed as student driving instructors.

This has been happening for five years—four years under the McGuinty government—yet the Auditor General says you've effectively done nothing. Tell the people of Ontario how this can happen and the McGuinty government effectively does nothing.

Hon. James J. Bradley: I can say to the leader of the third party that it would be interesting to go back to some of the auditor's reports when he was in power and he had—

Mr. Howard Hampton: You and Bob again?

Hon. James J. Bradley: No. He likes to try to get out of it by talking about the person who was the leader, as though all of them were asleep for the full five years. But I don't think that's as important as what is happening now.

In response to the auditor's report, the ministry is tightening standards for driver education and driving instructors; we're making it so that the ministry will not licence a new driving instructor if that person has a single demerit point or a criminal conviction. And the ministry has tightened requirements for driving instructors' licences and has reduced the allowable number of demerit points an instructor can acquire. If an instructor is found not to be satisfactory, that licence will be pulled by the Ministry of Transportation. I give the member my assurance that I will ensure all these things are done.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): New question. The leader of the third party.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS

Mr. Howard Hampton: Again to the Premier: The Auditor General says that all too often pharmacies are routinely charging more than the drug formulary price for prescription drugs. In fact, I can quote him: "In February 2007 ... more than 30% of the unit drug prices ... exceeded the formulary price by 12,500%, resulting in the ministry paying almost $2,400 for a claim that ... should have cost less than $20."

Premier, why hasn't your government acted effectively to stop this kind of price gouging?

Hon. Dalton McGuinty: To the Minister of Health.

Hon. George Smitherman: As always, we thank the Auditor General. The examination of elements at the Ministry of Health helps us to do our work better.

I'm pleased to tell the honourable member that the very mechanism that was referred to in the Auditor General's report, which is called cost-to-operator, was taken out of play for generic drugs in June 2007 and for almost all brand-name drugs as of August 1, 2007. So the very mechanism that proved problematic has been eliminated, but there is more work to be done on this. I'm very pleased to say that within about a month a draft model will be revealed and consulted on, which relates to a variety of options around pharmacist compensation models.

This is all part and parcel of the initiative that this Legislature passed, called Bill 102. It is a work in progress. We've made some progress already on the most egregious circumstances highlighted by the auditor. There is more work to be done, and his efforts stimulate ours.

Mr. Howard Hampton: As usual, the McGuinty government wants us to believe that after the horse has left the barn, they've got the situation well under control. But the Auditor General says that the real issue was that you weren't using your own enforcement powers, that the Ministry of Health has not taken any action against drug companies that do not comply with the formulary price.

Premier, why wasn't the Ministry of Health, under the McGuinty government, using its enforcement powers? Why weren't you enforcing your own rules?

Hon. George Smitherman: I'm not sure if the honourable member was deliberate in suggesting that drug companies are the same as pharmacies; I don't believe that was the Auditor General's suggestion.

But on the matter at hand raised by the Auditor General, in the time since his investigation, as a result of the changes brought about by Bill 102, the cost-to-operator mechanism which was relied upon by pharmacies for the kind of cost creep that was discussed by the auditor is no longer possible in the province of Ontario.

We do have more work to do, for sure, to enhance these circumstances and to bring in, as I identified in my earlier answer, a new model for reimbursement with respect to pharmacies. But I can tell Ontarians that we've made substantial progress, even in the time since that report was worked on. There is more to do, and I'll be looking forward to opportunities to make all members of the House aware of those changes.

Mr. Howard Hampton: Once again the Auditor General, with respect, disagrees. He says the real issue is enforcement. He says that despite two previous warnings to your government, "a reduction in the number of field inspection staff has significantly reduced the inspection coverage of dispensing agencies. Currently," Ministry of Health "inspectors can only examine each dispensing agency about once every 30 years."

You want the people to believe that the situation has improved; the Auditor General says no, that it's actually gotten worse.

Can the minister tell us, given the practices the auditor has uncovered, do you think one inspection every 30 years is going to protect the public and the consumers of the province?

Hon. George Smitherman: What I do think is that a mechanism which was the subject of abuse is no longer available, and that's a good step in the right direction.

I do agree that there are always opportunities in the breadth of the Ministry of Health to have a greater resource related to inspection and enforcement. We try to balance that out with the necessity of providing resources to those who are working on the front lines in delivering clinical care.

We've made good progress already on the areas where the Auditor General and his staff have done work. There is more to be done, as I've acknowledged and as I've indicated to the honourable member in my earlier answer. I'll look forward to an early opportunity to bring that information back to the House for the benefit of all members and, indeed, Ontarians.

ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE

Mrs. Elizabeth Witmer: My question is for the Premier. The auditor has uncovered yet another area where the government is failing to protect the health and safety of Ontarians. For the second year in a row, the auditor has damned the wait times reduction program. Specifically, he has found that only 14% of all surgeries are covered by the program and he was shocked and surprised to find that the government has no idea how many operating rooms are in the province. He found that 12% of them sit empty most weekdays, and sometimes as many as 40% are empty. Meanwhile, we also learned from his report that people are waiting years—yes, I say "years"—for knee replacements.

If the government is really serious about reducing wait times, and you've talked about it now for years, why are so many operating rooms sitting empty and why don't you know anything about them?

Hon. Dalton McGuinty: To the Minister of Health.

Hon. George Smitherman: Maybe the honourable member would like to be reminded of her time in office as the Minister of Health for one reason, which is important. As the longest-serving Minister of Health in the Harris government, she had the opportunity to do something about the capacity the system has to manage wait times and she didn't do anything.

In the time since I've had the privilege of being Minister of Health, we've introduced the wait time information system. It is expanding on a daily basis, enhancing the capacity to manage the health care system. Because the people of Ontario rejected their $3 billion cut to health care, we're now in a position to expand the wait time information focus to the broad array of the surgical platform of general surgery, which is 40% of all the surgical activity in our hospitals. So the wait time information system is now established, taking benefit and trying to make up for the lost time squandered on the part of that honourable member.

Mrs. Elizabeth Witmer: It's unbelievable. This minister is in his fifth year and he's still blaming the Harris government. If you can't do the job, get out of the kitchen and give it to one of the other people in your caucus. It's really quite simple.

The wait time reduction system that this minister continues to tell us is up to date and reliable is not. The auditor proved it today. The hospitals aren't using the wait times information system to monitor and manage wait lists; nor are the surgeons. There is so much more to be done. I would say to you, you've tried to cover it up with misleading ads and bluster. Why is the wait time information system not doing what you promised it would do?

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): I would just ask the honourable member to retract the comments that she made, please. Have respect for the Legislature.

Mrs. Elizabeth Witmer: If I said something unparliamentary, I withdraw.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): You did.

Hon. George Smitherman: The honourable member, if she carefully re-reads what she said, has made references to the auditor's comments today which I think on themselves don't hold up. Here's what he said: The ministry "has introduced several encouraging initiatives in connection with its wait time strategy designed to help hospitals improve their surgical processes." Here are the results: angiography down 60.7%, angioplasty down 50%, cataract surgery down 54.7%, hip replacement down 37.9%, knee replacement down 35.2%, CT scan down 30.9%, cancer surgery down 14.8%. And because the people of Ontario rejected her party's $3-billion cut, more wait times are coming down.

SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY

Mr. Peter Kormos: To the Premier, how could this government, in the years 2003 to 2007, have allowed money that was budgeted for the development of the sex offender registry to be spent by the OPP on other policing operations, especially when this government knew that that registry was in shambles?

Hon. Dalton McGuinty: Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services.

Hon. Rick Bartolucci: The member knows full well that we do not infringe on the operating opportunities of the OPP, but let me just tell you what the money was spent on. Some $8.7 million has been used to offset the cost of physicians within the behavioural science unit for work that supports the registry's mandate, as well as other public safety policing priorities, including post-911 security.

Our government will never interfere with the operating of the OPP. The commissioner is in charge of that. We will ensure that we protect the integrity of the system by allowing the commissioner of the OPP to manage his budget.

Mr. Peter Kormos: It's clear that the sex offender registry has been and remains in shambles: Almost 400 sex offenders wandering Ontario are not registered, and a computer system that fails police officers who want to locate speedily a sex offender. Why would this government have allowed that registry to fall into such a state of shambles, or is it blaming the OPP for negligence in not building an effective sex offender registry?

Hon. Rick Bartolucci: Let's understand. I think it's over there that they are criticizing the OPP. We support the OPP. We support the recommendations of the Auditor General—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Order in the opposition benches, please.

Hon. Rick Bartolucci: All money should be allocated towards the sex registry that is assigned to it, and we will ensure, as the commissioner has said, that from here on in, the Ontario Sex Offender Registry's allocation will be spent on that allocation. The commissioner of the OPP, a person that we should all respect and trust, has assured us that that will happen.

WORKPLACE SAFETY

Ms. Sophia Aggelonitis: My question is to the Minister of Labour. Minister, today is Injured Workers' Day. Rallies are held across the province, and I know one was held outside your office earlier today.

In 2006, there were more than 260,000 workplace injuries in this province. Recently, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board was criticized by some and complimented by others for the graphic nature of its television ads that highlight workplace injuries. The goal of the ad campaign, of course, is to raise awareness that injuries and deaths on the job are preventable. We know, however, that there will be injuries to workers. I want to know from the minister, what is the government going to do to help injured workers in my riding of Hamilton Mountain and the province of Ontario?

Hon. Brad Duguid: I want to thank the member for Hamilton Mountain for that question, as well as for her advocacy when it comes to injured workers in the Hamilton area. She has had the opportunity to speak to me, and I know she really does care about injured workers, as does this entire government, as our last four years in office have demonstrated.

Our government is committed to creating a brighter future for injured workers. We've taken action to put more money into the hands of injured workers through benefit increases and reforms to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act. For the past 12 years—Mr. Speaker, I know you would know this—erosion of inflation protection under the NDP's Friedland formula and the Tories' modified Friedland formula saw injured workers' benefits increase by only 2.9%, while inflation rose by 29%. We're going in a different direction.

Changes in our last budget helped address this situation by enhancing the benefits for more than 155,000 injured workers by 2.5% on July 1, 2.5% in another month, and 2.5% on January—

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Thank you. Supplementary?

Ms. Sophia Aggelonitis: Minister, we want injured workers in this province to know that every effort will be made to help them return to work. The Hamilton and District Injured Workers' Group in my riding is a strong advocate group for injured workers. I know when I meet with them in the new year, they will ask me about what we are doing as a province to help injured workers return to the workplace. I would like the minister to elaborate for me and my constituents just what assistance is provided to injured workers.

Hon. Brad Duguid: In fact in 2007-08, we've increased the Office of the Worker Adviser funding by another $1.4 million. Mr. Speaker, I know you would know about that, sir, because I know you are responsible for doing that, so I commend you for that.

The Office of the Worker Adviser will also receive an additional $810,000 per year in ongoing funding. Also, the WSIB increased expense allowances for injured workers in both January 2006 and January 2007. In fact, as I said before, since 1995 when the NDP removed full inflation protection for workers, we've gone in the opposite direction. When you compare the 12 years prior to the 2007 budget to the year and a half preceding the 2007 budget, we're left looking at a very big difference—

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Thank you. New question.

HAZARDOUS WASTE

Ms. Laurie Scott: My question is for the Premier. The auditor's report details story after story about how this government is failing to protect the health and safety of Ontario citizens. The failures in the Ministry of the Environment when it comes to hazardous waste are scandalous. The auditor found that 5,000 shipments of hazardous waste were made by unregistered generators, and I quote, "The ministry could not explain to us why the generators were not registered." And worse, the ministry made no attempt to follow up with the unregistered generators.

For a government that likes to pontificate about its environmental record that is a scandal right now, why isn't the government taking the transportation of hazardous waste seriously?

Hon. Dalton McGuinty: In the absence of the Minister of the Environment, I welcome the question.

First of all, let me just say to the Auditor General and his staff that we thank you for the report. That particular office is nothing if not thorough, and their recommendations and advice are always helpful.

I know there were 11 separate recommendations offered to the Minister of the Environment in this regard. I also know that each of those was responded to by the ministry. I can say as well, whether it's the matter of inspections, computer systems or dealing with household waste, that there have been separate responses to each and every one of those. I know the Minister of the Environment looks forward to continuing to make additional progress when it comes to treating hazardous waste in the province of Ontario.

Ms. Laurie Scott: When the Auditor General still reports that your Ministry of the Environment knew and you did nothing about it, maybe we should ask the auditor to investigate how much hazardous waste is being produced here by the Premier this afternoon in this Legislature.

The story quite simply keeps getting worse. The auditor found there were 26,000 shipments of hazardous waste where the amount sent out was less than the amount received—more than half. That's more than 13,000 that had variances that fell outside of acceptable guidelines. In some cases, 90% of the shipment was lost somewhere between the generator and the receiver, and this government took no action to follow up. Why should Ontarians have any faith in this government's commitment, let alone its ability, to protect their health and safety where hazardous waste is concerned? Why should—

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Thank you. Premier?

Hon. Dalton McGuinty: In fact, there was the kernel of a good question there, and I want to speak to that. That question was: Why should Ontarians have faith in our ability and our determination to follow up on recommendations and advice offered by the Auditor General?

Here's what the Auditor General said about the Conservatives in his 2003 annual report, and he quotes that again in this year's report: "'It was apparent to us this year that there were far too many areas where prior-year concerns—often going back four, five, six, seven, or even 10 years, had not been satisfactorily addressed ... there is no excuse for a lack of effective action....'" This year, the auditor says that we have fully implemented 44% of the recommendations he made two years ago and have made progress on more than 80%, in contrast to 15% on the Tory watch.

There is always more work to be done, still more progress to be made, but the record clearly demonstrates that when it comes to following up on recommendations coming from the Auditor General, we are there, four-square, making progress on behalf of Ontarians.

CONSERVATION OFFICERS

Mr. Gilles Bisson: My question is to the Premier. The auditor's report points out this year what many have known, that conservation officers across this province are unable to do their jobs mandated by this Legislature. In fact, they're not able to enforce the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act. In one particular

section of the report, it says, "In the case of one unit, we noted that regular patrols were suspended by mid-November 2006 for lack of funds, even though the deer hunting season still had another 10 days...."

Premier, my question is simply this: Why have you allowed this to happen under your watch?

Hon. Dalton McGuinty: To the Minister of Natural Resources.

Hon. Donna H. Cansfield: I thank you for the question. As a matter of fact, it has been stopped. We've put an extra $1.6 million into that particular operating budget. We still have the same number of conservation officers we've always had, 300 of them. So now with the added money that was put in, we're able to continue on to do the work that is required of the conservation officers, protecting wildlife in this province.

Mr. Gilles Bisson: Minister, the reality is that you're not doing a very good job. The reality is that conservation officers don't have the funding to go into the bush to do what they're mandated to do by this Legislature. Across Ontario, we have conservation officers who are lucky if they're able to put fuel in their trucks and get out in the bush one or two days a week. They held bake sales all last winter to raise money to put gas in their trucks. So I ask you the question again: Why has this been allowed to happen under your watch, and what are you going to do to fix it?

Hon. Donna H. Cansfield: As a matter of fact, the officers did not hold bake sales. There were other folks who actually held the bake sales for them to raise what they felt was an issue. Unfortunately, they didn't give the officers the money that they did raise. They kept it. Having said that, we gave them the money, the $1.6 million, they required to be able to continue the operation. There's no question that they are the finest when it comes to enforcing the laws of Ontario for the protection of animal rights.

They are without a doubt incredible people who work hard every day on behalf of the people of this province, and we should be very proud of the work they do. We did was what the Auditor General had indicated, and we were ahead of the game and had already put the money in place.

TOURISM

Mr. Lou Rinaldi: My question is to the Minister of Tourism. The tourism industry is a vital part of Ontario's economy. As a matter of fact, in my riding it's a toss-up whether agriculture or tourism is the biggest industry. This year in Ontario we've already had quite a bit of snow and cold weather, which are great for the tourism industry.

In my riding of Northumberland—Quinte West, there's an abundance of activities that visitors can enjoy, from snowmobiling to snowshoeing and cross-country skiing, for example, at Presqu'ile Provincial Park, the Loomis conservation area, the county forest, which is part of Ganaraska, and the Batawa ski hill. Can you inform the members of this House what other events and activities are available to people travelling in Ontario during these winter months?

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Minister of Tourism and Recreation.

Hon. Peter Fonseca: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and congratulations on your election. I want to thank the member for Northumberland—Quinte West, a great tourism destination, for his question. The member is correct in saying that tourism is so vital to our economy. In fact, it touches every community, every riding across this province. We have beautiful scenery, spectacular cultural attractions and exciting festivals and events. Ontario is also packed with outstanding outdoor activities for families and travellers to get out and enjoy.

We have ski hills and trails across this province that faced high temperatures and a lack of snow last season. This season they've received an incredible amount of fresh snow, and that, along with extensive snow making, has made for an outstanding ski season already.

All across this province there's a full range of activities, from skating on the Rideau Canal to attending Winterlude, the ice wine festival in Niagara region , or snowmobiling on our gorgeous trails. It's going to be a great winter.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Supplementary, member from Sault Ste. Marie.

Mr. David Orazietti: Mr. Speaker, congratulations on your new position. Minister, the constituents of my riding of Sault Ste. Marie understand the full economic impact that tourism has on our community. As you know, the summer is a very busy time for festivals, but winter is also an exciting time in Ontario, with many festivals and events that draw visitors from across the globe. In my riding, one of the ways we celebrate winter is the Bon Soo Winter Carnival.

Last year, our government contributed more than $10,000 to this annual celebration, which brings residents from the US and Canada to participate in ice sculptures, skating events, the renowned polar bear swim, as well as other outdoor activities. We're proud to support this event again. Minister, given some of the challenges that the tourism industry is facing as a result of the high dollar, what festivals and events are taking place across the province this winter to encourage more Ontarians to spend their vacation dollars at home while attracting more tourists from abroad?

Hon. Peter Fonseca: I'd like to thank the member from Sault Ste. Marie for giving me the opportunity to talk about the many great festivals like Bon Soo and other events happening across Ontario this winter. I know that every region in the province celebrates winter the Ontario way with world-class festivals and events, tourism attractions such as Upper Canada Village Alight at Night festival, or travellers can stop in and catch a performance of White Christmas at the Sony Centre in downtown Toronto. Both of these events were enhanced by our Celebrate Ontario program last year.

We also continue to promote Ontario to the rest of the world, like a giant snow globe that we have right now in downtown Manhattan, it's going to be featured on Good Morning America this Monday, and that will also be travelling throughout Ontario.

I also want to encourage all families to get out and enjoy Family Day in February, being tourists in their own province. We have an abundance of activities and family events.

LONG-TERM CARE

Mrs. Elizabeth Witmer: My question is for the Premier. Yesterday, we asked you about the scandalous dispensing fees that were really sucking the medication programs in our long-term-care facilities dry. We learned today that the situation when it comes to medication programs is even worse than we had originally thought. We see that about one third of the money is going into the pockets of those dispensing the drugs and is not having any impact on the care of residents.

Premier, my question to you is, how can you justify shortchanging the residents of long-term-care facilities and not giving them the money that they've been asking for for personal care, which you promised back in 2003, and that it's going into the pockets of these other people?

Hon. Dalton McGuinty: To the Minister of Health.

Hon. George Smitherman: I'm very proud to tell the honourable member that the level of care that's being provided in Ontario's long-term-care homes today is far superior to that which we inherited. At least 0.6 hour per resident day is the implication to date, with about $1 billion of public investment.

With respect to the matters of medication, I think these have been discussed in the House through question period today. As I mentioned, the cost-to-operator claim was a mechanism that was resulting in some egregious cost increases, but the door has been shut on that mechanism for many, many months now, following the passage by this Legislature of Bill 102, which I'm very pleased to say is leading us forward in reforming the system and ensuring that we get the best possible value for the patient dollar. Accordingly, it would have been nice to see support on that bill from the opposite side.

Mrs. Elizabeth Witmer: Mr. Speaker, the hole that he says has been plugged wasn't plugged. The numbers he was given yesterday were for November and October, so he should check again.

However, we hear from a minister who promised a revolution, and then this summer we hear about seniors sitting in diapers that are 75% wet. Now we hear in the auditor's report today about the fact that there were 18,000 level 1 drug alerts generated at pharmacies, indicating a high-risk combination of drugs; 91% were overridden by pharmacists with no record of consultation with doctors.

The health and safety of our vulnerable seniors is at risk, and this government is negligent when it comes to appropriately monitoring the level of care in our homes. I ask the minister today, what else is going on in the long-term-care homes that he has turned a blind eye to?

Hon. George Smitherman: Some of the other initiatives that are ongoing in long-term-care homes are increasing the comfort allowance many, many times, something that was never done by the party opposite; enhancing the accommodation rates; building new long-term-care homes; rebuilding B and C long-term-care homes; substantially increasing the amount of raw food; and making a variety of similar adjustments.

On the issue of medication which the honourable member raises, I think it's noteworthy that in her question she speaks about two regulated health professionals, physicians and pharmacists. Accordingly, much of the regulation and oversight that she seeks is provided by self-governing associations, and we'll certainly be asking similar hard questions of the colleges as we seek to ensure that they are fulfilling their important responsibilities.

Like I said earlier, the Auditor General's report is very helpful to us and we appreciate the work that they've done. We'll be taking all of the information that they've brought forward as direction and improving these circumstances. As I mentioned before, I'll look forward to updating the House on those initiatives.

SOINS DE LONGUE DURÉE /

LONG-TERM CARE

M me France Gélinas: Ma question est pour le premier ministre. Le vérificateur général a écrit dans son rapport que deux des trois foyers de soins de longue durée qu'ils ont visités ne disposent d'aucun document confirmant qu'ils avaient obtenu le consentement éclairé nécessaire pour administrer un nouveau médicament à un résident.

Je vous demande, Monsieur le premier ministre, est-ce que nos aînés dans les résidences de soins de longue durée en Ontario se font droguer contre leur gré?

Hon. Dalton McGuinty: To the Minister of Health

Hon. George Smitherman: The provision of medication in long-term-care environments was the subject of Bill 102. We took advice on the matter of inappropriate use of drugs for our seniors. We really followed a lot of advice that was on offer by Frances Lankin, who, as a former member of this Legislature and of your party's caucus, was very vocal and passionate around this. As my then-parliamentary assistant, Monique Smith, worked on developing that legislation, she really did seek out a lot of input from the aforementioned individual. I'd be happy to try to answer further on the supplementary.

M me France Gélinas: The Auditor General goes on to say that there were unreported medication errors in all the long-term-care homes they visited; that there is wide use of high-risk drugs; and that a quarter, 25%, of residents are on 12 or more medications and there are no policies to monitor adverse drug reactions.

Premier, are Ontario seniors in long-term-care being overmedicated and given inappropriate drugs without consent and without proper monitoring?

Hon. George Smitherman: No. I think two issues would be helpful. The first is to repeat what I said a moment ago. The responsibility for ordering drugs is fulfilled by regulated health professionals: doctors and pharmacists or the partners in those relationships. It is possible that a patient or a client or resident might have 12 drugs listed. That means that a physician has approved their use; it does not mean they are all in use.

I do think this is an area that does call upon us to ensure that those regulated parties are fulfilling their responsibility. In the broader sector, we've brought in MedsCheck, which takes a hard look at any circumstance where a patient is using more than three drugs for chronic diseases. Accordingly, we think there are opportunities to enhance this sort of surveillance on the population of long-term-care residents, something I'd be very happy to work with the honourable member on.

PUBLIC LIBRARIES

Mrs. Carol Mitchell: My question is for the Minister of Culture—and congratulations, Minister.

Ontario libraries are very important community hubs for information, learning and literacy. In rural communities like the riding of Huron—Bruce, I strongly believe that local libraries serve valuable local needs and also preserve our local rural identity. I'm very proud of the great work that libraries in Huron and Bruce counties are doing in our communities. In the riding of Huron—Bruce, I have over 25 libraries.

Minister, can you please inform the House of what the government is doing to invest in, and how you will support, our rural libraries?

Hon. M. Aileen Carroll: I thank the member from Huron—Bruce for her question. Indeed, our government does recognize the importance of libraries across our province, and especially in rural communities. That's why we provided a one-time investment of $5 million to strengthen over 260 rural, remote and First Nations libraries. That helps to contribute to their vitality in the communities.

In Huron—Bruce, two public libraries have recently benefited from our government's investment of $306,000. We know that Huron County Public Library and Bruce County Public Library will welcome this funding to assist in learning, literacy and citizen engagement.

Our government understands the value of libraries, and we're especially proud to invest in Ontario libraries in rural communities.

Mrs. Carol Mitchell: Thank you for highlighting the investments in Huron—Bruce. I can tell you that my constituents and people living in small and rural communities are very pleased to know that the government supports learning hubs in all of our communities across the province by strengthening our communities through the hubs.

While these direct investments are absolutely crucial to our small communities, I know that we're providing more help for our local libraries. Minister, could you please tell us what else you are doing to assist libraries in my riding and throughout all of Ontario?

Hon. M. Aileen Carroll: Besides the $5-million investment in small and rural libraries, which the honourable member has mentioned, we are indeed making other contributions as well.

We're investing in a virtual reference library so that communities—small or large, urban or rural—can easily access information online. We're also providing funding to address the connectivity needs of libraries across our province, so that geographic boundaries are not barriers to learning. Finally, because libraries are indeed the hub of many communities, ServiceOntario uses libraries so that Ontarians can readily access important government services and important government information from home without having to travel great distances.

HAZARDOUS WASTE

Ms. Laurie Scott: My question is to the Premier. People across Ontario are rightly worried about what is happening with the hazardous waste that is being transported on our roads and highways. The Premier talks about responding to the auditor, but his government has ignored the problem for years and now claims that they're acting only after being caught. When 90% of a hazardous waste shipment goes missing and the government does nothing to investigate until the auditor raises the issue, we're left to conclude that there are no internal controls.

This is a government that wants us to take them seriously when it comes to pollution reduction, but their actions don't match up with reality. Can the Premier please tell the House and the people of Ontario where the hazardous waste is going?

Hon. Dalton McGuinty: I know the Minister of the Environment, upon his return from Bali, is going to want to keep working on this particular issue, but I think there's one—you know, it's a lengthy Auditor General's report, and it all makes for very good reading, of course. But I want to refer you to page 27. There is a fabulous chart there, which is called "Figure 1: Percentage of Audit Follow-ups Noting Significant Progress in Addressing Our Recommendations of Two Years Earlier." It goes from 1998 to 2007. In 2004, it takes a dramatic, sharp increase upwards, and it's been going up ever since.

As I said in my last question, the reason that Ontarians can and should have confidence in their government when it comes to following up on the advice of the Auditor General is because of our record. We have a very good record. In fact, it's the best record of any government in the history of this province when it comes to following up on the auditor's recommendations.

Ms. Laurie Scott: But when the Premier, who has seen the Auditor General's report—I know he quoted a graph. But the auditor said that up to 90% of shipments of hazardous waste are still going missing. You can't still use the refrain, "Don't worry, be happy." It's not good enough. The Auditor General has said that up to 90% of shipments of hazardous waste are not accounted for. Things are not under control. That is not reality. The government has ignored the problems for years. So again, I ask the Premier, where's the hazardous waste going?

Hon. Dalton McGuinty: Again, to put this in some context, I think Ontarians really want to know about our commitment to the environment. Let me just talk about some of the things that we've done on that score. We've got a new Clean Water Act, the best of its kind in the country. We've got a new law protecting endangered species, the best of its kind in the country. We've protected a green space larger than Prince Edward Island.

We have an aggressive, ambitious yet highly achievable climate change plan, which is devoted to assuming our responsibility as global citizens in the face of a global challenge, which is climate change. And of course, we are very concerned about treating hazardous waste. That's why we brought the first law of its kind in Ontario which bans the land disposal of untreated hazardous waste in our province. That wasn't there before. So yes, we will carefully examine and follow up on each and every one of the recommendations brought forward by the Auditor General.

INJURED WORKERS

Mr. Paul Miller: My question is to the Minister of Labour. Will the government listen to injured workers, whom I joined at the 16th Annual Injured Workers Christmas Demonstration this morning? I didn't see any other government members besides you, Minister, and you left halfway through. Will he eliminate deeming and determining, eliminate the experience rating, guarantee coverage for all workers, and provide full permanent cost of living for people receiving benefits? Will he or won't he?

Hon. Brad Duguid: Indeed, it was my privilege this morning to join injured workers, a tradition begun by my predecessor, Mr. Bentley, and continued by yourself, Mr. Speaker, something that no other Ministers of Labour had ever done before. So I was privileged and honoured to meet with those injured workers.

Here are some of the stories that they had to tell. We were there to listen. I think the fact that we were there shows that we are very earnest in wanting to listen to their concerns. But over the last four years, we've made a lot of progress when it comes to improving the situation with regard to injured workers across this province. I said earlier on, in a question from the member for Hamilton Mountain, that we've doubled the amount of funding in a year and a half—more than the previous governments did in 12 years.

We care about injured workers and we're going to continue to build on our successes.

Mr. Paul Miller: When will the government deliver fairness for injured workers who have lost the ability to work and take care of their families by providing full coverage of 100% of Ontario's workforce, the support to help injured workers through their most difficult times, and the appropriate assessment and retraining to help injured workers re-enter the workforce?

And to the minister in the front: We were there, Minister.

Hon. Brad Duguid: I appreciate the question, but I've got to wonder where the NDP were in 1995 when they brought in the Friedland formula. If anything did damage to injured workers in this province, it was that formula. And guess what happened? The Tories modified it later on and made it even worse for injured workers.

We're working very, very hard to turn that around. We're working hard to turn that around because we believe that the Friedland formula brought in under the NDP was a real disaster. It really impacted the lives of injured workers. A 2.5% increase in July, a 2.5% increase this January, another 2.5% increase in January 2008: We care about injured workers and we're putting our money where our mouth is.

EDUCATION FUNDING

Mr. Kevin Daniel Flynn: I've got a question for the Minister of Education. Minister, the member from Halton recently stated that there have been no significant changes to the educational funding formula since 2003. We, on this side of the House, understand that this is simply not the case. Minister, can you remind the member from Halton and all the members of this House about the significant changes we've made to the educational funding formula since 2003?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: It is absolutely true that the member for Halton has got it wrong. Every year since we've been in office, we've been changing the funding formula. Not only have we put billions of dollars into education to hire more elementary, more primary teachers to reduce class size, more student success teachers to help kids graduate from school, but we've changed the structure of the funding formula.

We've put in place a school foundation grant that helps us move away from the per pupil grant and, most significantly for the member from Halton, we've expanded the criteria in the capital grants to allow for growth school funding, and that's something that he seems to have overlooked.

PETITIONS

LONG-TERM CARE

Mr. Ernie Hardeman: I have here a petition signed by a great number of my constituents in the great part of my riding in the town of Tillsonburg. It is to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

"Whereas the undersigned recognized the lack of adequate long-term-care beds in Tillsonburg due to the increasing senior population; and

"Whereas, according to year 2001, the statistics for Tillsonburg were as follows: age 45 to 54: 1,735; age 55 to 64: 1,455; age 65 to 74: 1,580; age 75 to 84: 1,195; age 85 and over: 305; and

"Whereas the present situation of 34 beds at Woodingford Lodge and 101 beds at Maple Manor does not reflect the needs of the 'senior' in need; and

"Whereas the mediam age of the population in 2001 was 41.4 years of age; and

"Whereas, in the year 2006, the statistics reported 5,160 persons in the 55-plus years of age, approximately 31% of the population; and

"Whereas two adult lifestyle subdivisions have been allowed to build 800 homes, bringing at least 1,000-plus seniors to the area;

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

"To act promptly to satisfy the needs of the seniors of Tillsonburg and Ontario."

I attach my signature.

DAVID DUNLAP OBSERVATORY

Mr. Reza Moridi: It's my pleasure to deliver a petition from the residents of Richmond Hill, "Save the David Dunlap Observatory Lands," a petition to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

"Whereas the David Dunlap Observatory in Richmond Hill is of historical and heritage significance; and

"Whereas the land was donated in trust by the Dunlap family to the University of Toronto in 1935, and the pre-Confederation farmhouse is still standing;

"Whereas the observatory, featuring the largest optical telescope in Canada, has been the site of scientific discoveries; it has been a place of learning not only for students of the University of Toronto, but for the general public as well;

"Whereas the observatory has been recently declared by the University of Toronto as 'surplus' to its academic needs, and subject to sale for development;

"Whereas the observatory sits in an incredibly unique and beautiful 180 acres of green space, the largest such space in the town of Richmond Hill, with trees, birds, animals, plants, insects and butterflies in the middle of a rapidly urbanized area;

"We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to support the protection of this property of such historical, scientific and natural significance."

NATIVE LAND DISPUTE

Mr. Toby Barrett: These petitions have come in from Lowbanks, Ayr, Cayuga, Nanticoke and Caledonia requesting land dispute hearings.

"Whereas land dispute deliberations to date have operated under a veil of secrecy, without transparency, and have created a atmosphere of privacy and scepticism, shutting out people from information and decisions that impact them directly; and

"Whereas Ontario's aboriginal affairs minister has indicated, in both the media and during his visit to Caledonia, his intention to garner local public input; and

"Whereas our Ontario Legislative Assembly provides a mechanism for open, accountable, transparent recorded discussion through all-party committee hearings that are open to the media;

"We, the undersigned, petition our provincially elected legislators, representing all political parties, to commence public hearings through a select or standing committee, as soon as possible."

I agree with this proposal and affix my signature.

BREASTFEEDING

M me France Gélinas: I have a petition here to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

"Whereas Health Canada, the Canadian Pediatric Association and the World Health Organization recommend exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life, with continued breastfeeding along with other food sources for up to two years and beyond for optimal health; and

"Whereas many Ontario health care services lack adequate resources needed to assist women to achieve success for the recommended, well-established timeline;

"We are asking the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to take a leadership role in ensuring the provision of adequate breastfeeding support for women in Ontario by:

"

(1) Creating a provincial breastfeeding policy in Ontario;

"

(2) Initiating a process whereby all Ontario hospitals become baby-friendly as per the WHO/UNICEF guidelines;

"

(3) Adequately fund health-care-providing organizations to properly train all health care providers working with new and expectant mothers in hospital and community settings;

"

(4) Increase the number of both hospital and community-based"—breastfeeding—"clinics in Ontario;

"

(5) Fund the creation of a provincial 'centre for excellence for breastfeeding' which would serve as a training ground for professionals, a centre of research and a fully functioning clinic accessible to all women who require assistance.

"Given the documented and well-known health benefits to our population and subsequent financial benefits to our health care system, it is irresponsible for our provincial government not to support and increase breastfeeding resources in Ontario."

There are 740 names on this petition; I fully support it and will sign it.

FEDERAL ELECTORAL REPRESENTATION

Mr. Lorenzo Berardinetti: I have a petition addressed to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario regarding the increase in the number of seats in the federal Parliament. It reads as follows:

"Whereas, as has become the custom with Stephen Harper's government, Ontario once again is getting the short end of Confederation's stick;

"Whereas this legislation discriminates against Ontario electors by making their vote count for less in the House of Commons, in comparison to electors from other parts of the country, such as British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec; and

"Whereas there is an apathetic concern for the challenges the sluggish US economy and the strong Canadian dollar are placing on our manufacturing sector by failing to come up with a plan to aid the McGuinty government's efforts in this regard;

"Whereas this injustice hits at the very heart of democracy by creating a House of Commons where every single Canadian vote doesn't carry the same weight;

"We, the undersigned, formally request that in a nation where the Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees equality for all, such an injustice must not be allowed to prevail."

I agree with this petition, affix my signature to it, and give it to page Annie, who's with me today.

FREDERICK BANTING HOMESTEAD

Mr. Jim Wilson: "To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

"Whereas Sir Frederick Banting was the man who discovered insulin and was Canada's first Nobel Prize recipient; and

"Whereas this great Canadian's original homestead, located in the town of New Tecumseth, Alliston, is deteriorating and in danger of destruction because of the inaction of the Ontario Historical Society; and

"Whereas the town of New Tecumseth has been unsuccessful in reaching an agreement with the Ontario Historical Society to use part of the land to educate the public about the historical significance of the work of Sir Frederick Banting;

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

"That the Minister of Culture endorse Simcoe—Grey MPP Jim Wilson's private member's bill entitled the Frederick Banting Homestead Preservation Act so that the homestead is kept in good repair and preserved for generations to come."

I obviously agree with this petition, and I've signed it.

MUNICIPAL RESTRUCTURING

Mr. Bruce Crozier: I have a petition to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

"Whereas the citizens of ward 3, Colchester South and ward 4, Harrow, Essex county, had no direct say in the creation of the new town of Essex; and

"Whereas the government by regulation and legislation forced the recent amalgamation against the wishes of the overwhelming majority of the people of Colchester South-Harrow; and

"Whereas the government has not delivered the promised streamlined, more efficient and accountable local government, nor the provision of better services or reduced costs, and there is a total lack of harmony between residents of wards 1 and 2 and those of wards 3 and 4 with correspondingly different civic and social agendas; and

"Whereas the promise of tax decreases has not been met, with an average total increase of 35% since amalgamation, and the expected transition costs to area taxpayers of this forced amalgamation have already exceeded the promised amount;

"Be it resolved that we, the undersigned, demand that the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

"Immediately rescind the amalgamation order, return our local municipal government in Colchester South-Harrow to the local citizenry and their democratically elected officials and in so doing provide for citizen-based, democratic decision-making and local municipal governance."

HEALTH CARD RENEWAL CLINIC

Mr. Tim Hudak: I'm pleased to present a petition entitled "Bringing Health Card Renewal Services Closer to Glanbrook Residents." It reads as follows:

"To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

"Whereas seniors, the disabled, families with young children and other Mount Hope and Binbrook residents are forced to drive to downtown Hamilton to renew their Ontario health cards; and

"Whereas the province of Ontario mandates that health cards be renewed on a regular basis and that an Ontario health card must be presented to receive OHIP health services; and

"Whereas the Dalton McGuinty government has increased taxes and fees on local residents but has not improved services;

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

"To work with the Ontario Ministry of Health to bring a mobile health card renewal clinic to the Mount Hope and Binbrook area so that residents can more readily renew their Ontario health cards without the drive to downtown Hamilton."

Beneath the signatures of Margaret and Wray Daw, I affix my signature in support.

ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE

Mr. Tony Ruprecht: I'm pleased to present a petition that has to do with universal public health care systems in Ontario. It reads as follows:

"To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

"Whereas the people of Ontario deserve a universal, high-quality public health care system; and

"Whereas numerous studies have shown that the best health care is that which is delivered close to home; and

"Whereas the McGuinty government is working to increase Ontarians' access to family doctors through the introduction of family health teams that allow doctors to serve their communities more effectively; and

"Whereas the McGuinty government has fulfilled its promise to create new family health teams to bring more doctors to more Ontario families;

"We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to support the McGuinty government's efforts to improve access to family doctors through innovative programs like family health teams."

Since I agree with this petition wholeheartedly, I'm delighted to sign it.

HIGHWAY 35

Ms. Laurie Scott: "Highway 35 Four-Laning

"To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

"Whereas modern highways are economic lifelines to communities across Ontario and crucial to the growth of Ontario's economy; and

"Whereas the Ministry of Transportation has been planning the expansion of Highway 35, and that expansion has been put on hold by the McGuinty government; and

"Whereas Highway 35 provides an important economic link in the overall transportation system—carrying commuter, commercial and high tourist volumes to and from the Kawartha Lakes area and Haliburton; and

"Whereas the final round of public consultation has just been rescheduled;

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

"That the Liberal government move swiftly to complete the four-laning of Highway 35 after the completion of the final public consultation."

I affix my signature to this and hand it to page Parker.

FEDERAL ELECTORAL REPRESENTATION

Mr. Kevin Daniel Flynn: I've got a petition to the Legislative Assembly, entitled "Increase to the Number of Seats in the Federal Parliament." It reads:

"Whereas, as has become the custom with Stephen Harper's government, Ontario again seems to be getting the short end of Confederation's stick; and

"Whereas this legislation discriminates against Ontario electors by making their vote count for less in the House of Commons, in comparison to electors from other parts of the country, such as British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec; and

"Whereas there is apathetic concern for the challenges the sluggish US economy and the strong Canadian dollar are placing on our manufacturing sector by failing to come up with a plan to aid the McGuinty government's efforts in this regard; and

"Whereas this injustice hits at the very heart of democracy by creating a House of Commons where every single Canadian vote doesn't carry the same weight;

"We, the undersigned, formally request that in a nation where the Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees equality for all, such an injustice must not be allowed to prevail, and call upon the federal government to address this."

I agree with this, and affix my signature.

HEALTH CARD RENEWAL CLINIC

Mr. Tim Hudak: I have another petition to read into the record on behalf of Glanbrook residents interested in health card renewal of services. It reads as follows:

"To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

"Whereas seniors, the disabled, families with young children and other Mount Hope and Binbrook residents are forced to drive to downtown Hamilton to renew their Ontario health cards; and

"Whereas the province of Ontario mandates that health cards be renewed on a regular basis and that an Ontario health card must be presented to receive OHIP health services; and

"Whereas the Dalton McGuinty government has increased taxes and fees on local residents but has not improved services;

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

"To work with the Ontario Ministry of Health to bring a mobile health card renewal clinic to the Mount Hope and Binbrook area so that residents can more readily renew their Ontario health cards without the drive to downtown Hamilton."

Beneath the signature of S. Bingham and J. McCready, of the St. Ann's and West Niagara areas, I affix my signature in support.

ORDERS OF THE DAY

HEALTHY FOOD FOR HEALTHY

SCHOOLS ACT, 2007 /

LOI DE 2007 PORTANT

SUR UNE ALIMENTATION SAINE

POUR DES ÉCOLES SAINES

Ms. Wynne moved second reading of the following bill:

Bill 8,

An Act to amend the Education Act / Projet de loi 8, Loi modifiant la

Loi sur l'éducation.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Ted Arnott): The Minister of Education has moved second reading of Bill 8, and I'm pleased to recognize the minister if she chooses to lead off the debate.

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Right off the top, I'd like to just say that I am going to share my remarks with my parliamentary assistant, the member for Guelph, and I thank her for the work she has done on this legislation.

There are a few things as important as the health of our children and young people, and that's why the Healthy Food for Healthy Schools Act, 2007, is extremely important. We, in the McGuinty government, take this issue very seriously.

Last week, I was at Bayview Middle School with the Premier. Bayview Middle School is a Toronto school that is working to create a healthier school environment for its students. Along with a number of other schools in the Toronto District School Board, Bayview has already begun reducing trans fat from the food sold in its cafeteria. The school cafeteria at Bayview has also been recognized by Eat Smart. I just want to acknowledge all the people who work in the cafeteria and in the school, especially Debbie, who works in the school cafeteria and makes the soup and makes sure that the kids have healthy options.

Eat Smart is an award of excellence program that recognizes restaurants, school cafeterias, workplace caféterias and recreation centres that meet standards of nutrition as well as food safety. I want to congratulate all of the schools, like Bayview, that have begun to limit trans fat in the diets of their students. Those schools have shown leadership and this government is showing leadership on moving on this issue in our schools.

I think all of us in this House know that obesity has become a serious health threat to children and adults across the province. In 2004, the Canadian Community Health Survey, conducted by Statistics Canada, found that 28% of Ontarians aged two to 17 were either overweight or obese, and the levels of obesity among Canadian children aged seven to 13 have nearly tripled over the last two decades. It's also estimated that 29% of teenagers aged 12 to 17 in Canada are either overweight or obese. Bien que ce problème soit très visible, souvent on n'y prête pas attention. This is a serious issue and it deserves our immediate attention.

We know there's a lot that families can do: there are guidelines that families can follow in terms of nutrition; we know that it's important for families to make sure their children get exercise. But there's a lot that government can do too, and this is one of the things we are moving on. The proposed Healthy Food for Healthy Schools legislation is just one part of our comprehensive healthy schools strategy to help create healthier school environments for students to learn and grow.

Les enfants et les jeunes ont besoin d'une bonne alimentation, d'activités physiques et d'un environnement sain qui favorise l'apprentissage et l'épanouissement. These elements are vital to helping to maintain health and improve students' readiness to learn. The health of Ontario's youngest is something that should matter to absolutely all of us, and if we don't take action to fight against obesity now, our children will suffer from its effects in the future. It's very important that children establish habits at an early age that are good for their health going forward.

The facts are grim, I'm afraid. People who are obese are more likely to develop illnesses such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, stroke and hypertension. It also contributes to high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, breathing problems and joint pain. But it produces more than physical harm: Childhood obesity can have a negative effect on academic achievement and on social development. Children who are overweight may suffer from depression and self-esteem issues. It can also lead to discrimination on the playground, resulting in other psychosocial problems.

We, as a government, are putting in place strategies to deal with some of the bullying issues that take place in the schoolyard, but the fact is that those interactions still take place. We have an opportunity to make positive change.

Bon nombre d'enfants et de jeunes n'ont pas un régime alimentaire équilibré ou adéquat sur le plan nutritif. For example, based on data from the 2004 Canadian Community Health Survey, 59% of Canadian children and adolescents were reported to consume fruit and vegetables less than five times a day. These young people were significantly more likely to be overweight or obese than those who ate fruit and vegetables more regularly. They are instead, as we all know, eating foods that are high in calories but low in essential nutrients.

If we want our students to reach their full potential, we need to make sure that they are eating the right food and staying active. We've already introduced a number of programs and initiatives that are helping to promote healthy behaviours within our schools. Last year, we launched the Healthy Schools recognition program. Everyone in this House may have been in schools where they saw the plaques and the—

Hon. Deborah Matthews: Banners.

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: —banners; thank you.

Hon. John Wilkinson: I've handed them out myself.

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: You handed them out yourself—the banners that are hanging in the front halls of our schools that recognize