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September 27, 2010

39th Parliament, 2nd Session

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Hansard Transcripts

Votes and Proceedings

Orders and Notices

Hansard Transcripts 2010-Sep-27 (PDF)

L047 - Mon 27 Sep 2010 / Lun 27 sep 2010

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO

ASSEMBLÉE LÉGISLATIVE DE L’ONTARIO

Monday 27 September 2010 Lundi 27 septembre 2010

INTRODUCTION OF VISITORS

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY WEBSITE

ORAL QUESTIONS

TAXATION

TAXATION

HYDRO RATES

HYDRO RATES

TAXATION

HYDRO RATES

LOCAL HEALTH

INTEGRATION NETWORKS

HYDRO RATES

HYDRO RATES

ONTARIO ECONOMY

PENSION PLANS

HYDRO RATES

FAMILY RESPONSIBILITY OFFICE

LYME DISEASE

PESTICIDES

INTRODUCTION OF VISITORS

LEGISLATIVE INTERNS

MEMBERS’ STATEMENTS

DURHAM DAY

DURHAM DAY

NURSE PRACTITIONERS

COMMUNITY SERVICES

EVENTS IN STORMONT–DUNDAS–SOUTH GLENGARRY

POWER PLANT

PAKISTAN INDEPENDENCE DAY

TVONTARIO

KRISTAL GIESEBRECHT

PETITIONS

DIAGNOSTIC SERVICES

CHILD CARE

REPLACEMENT WORKERS

BRITISH HOME CHILDREN

CHILD CARE

HOME WARRANTY PROGRAM

ORDERS OF THE DAY

NARCOTICS SAFETY

AND AWARENESS ACT, 2010 /

LOI DE 2010 SUR LA SÉCURITÉ

ET LA SENSIBILISATION

EN MATIÈRE DE STUPÉFIANTS

The House met at 1030.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Good morning. Please remain standing for the Lord’s Prayer, followed by the non-denominational prayer.

Prayers.

INTRODUCTION OF VISITORS

Mr. Khalil Ramal: I would like to welcome the president of COCA, Ian Cunningham; David Zurawel; and all the members who came from across the province of Ontario to be with us here today for their second annual Queen’s Park day.

As you know, COCA plays a pivotal role in our province, and they do an excellent job on behalf of all of us. They represent 30-plus organizations in this beautiful province.

Again, from myself, the Minister of Labour and the member from Brantford, welcome, COCA members. I want to invite all my colleagues to go to the reception this afternoon from 5 to 7.

Hon. Margarett R. Best: Today, I want to take this opportunity to welcome the students, staff, teachers and volunteers from Cornell Junior Public School in the riding of Scarborough–Guildwood. They are here in the Legislature somewhere and will eventually make their way into the House.

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: I’d very much like to introduce the family of Lathiha Thillainadarajah. Thillai Sinnadurai is Lathiha’s father, Rani Thillainadarajah is her mom and Asmitha Thillainadarajah is her sister.

I just want to say that I met Lathiha when she was six years old when I knocked on their door, and she has been paying attention to the Legislature ever since. It’s just wonderful to have her here as a page.

Mr. Dave Levac: I know they’ve been introduced, but I would be remiss not to introduce the House to a former MPP for the city of Brantford, Ron Johnson, who is with us and represents COCA as well. Ron, welcome back.

Hon. Monique M. Smith: I’m excited to introduce my good friend Paul Davidson, who is the executive director of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, and also dad to our page Tom. Welcome, Paul.

Hon. Eric Hoskins: I just wanted to introduce the family of the extraordinary page Brandon Chan from the great riding of St. Paul’s. His mom, Vivienne Ang, and his father, Eugene Chan, are in the gallery.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): On behalf of page Thomas Davidson and the member from Ottawa Centre, we’d like to welcome Paul Davidson to the Legislature today. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

We have with us in the Speaker’s gallery a parliamentary delegation from the National Assembly of the Republic of Kenya, led by the Honourable Amina Abdalla. Please join me in welcoming our guests to the Legislature today. Welcome to Ontario.

We also have with us today in the Speaker’s gallery a delegation from the Kurdistan Regional Government, led by the Minister of Trade and Industry, His Excellency Sinan Chalabi. Please join me in warmly welcoming our guests from Kurdistan. Welcome to Ontario.

I want to take this opportunity to thank members from all three sides for coming to Elgin county for the 2010 International Plowing Match. It was great to have you there. I want to take this opportunity to publicly acknowledge Duncan McPhail, the chairman, and the great team of individuals that he put together to put together such a great show. Again, thank you for coming to Elgin.

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY WEBSITE

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): I’d like to advise members that, commencing today, the Legislative Assembly website will begin posting an eight-day rolling archive of the daily question period. Each day’s question period will be posted to the site shortly after it is completed. This is important. Anyone can then watch question period for the current day and the preceding seven days on demand, whenever they wish, from their own computer.

I know this is an issue that has been dealt with in here, but given the fact that the two satellite TV carriers do not provide the Ontario parliamentary channel to their subscribers and the channel is increasingly difficult to find on digital cable systems, I feel that delivering the parliamentary proceedings on our own website is now a priority.

Further enhancements to the website are now being planned, but in the meantime, please let your constituents know that the eight-day archive of question period is now available to them directly from the Legislative Assembly website.

I thank the members. Many of you, I know, had input into this.

Mr. John O’Toole: On a point of order, Mr. Speaker: Thank you very much for extending that service. I should remind members that the streaming video portion online does not have an audio signal. I’ve had complaints from constituents that the streaming portion of the video does not have an audio portion to it on many days, if not all days.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): I thank the honourable member for that. We’ve actually just gone to—one of the reasons we’ve been able to achieve this is that we actually have a new provider. I would just say to any of you that at any time, if you become aware of that, please let the Deputy Clerk know and we will have a look at that.

There being no further introductions it is now time for oral questions.

ORAL QUESTIONS

TAXATION

Mr. Tim Hudak: My question is for the Premier. I got into public life because I believe that Ontario families know what’s best for their children, and they should have more money in their pockets to address their own families’ priorities.

The Premier, though, thinks he has a more intelligent understanding of families than they do, and this sense of superiority was on full display during the Premier’s Marie Antoinette moment this weekend, when he declared Saturday as laundry day for us common folk. Premier, how did you get so far out of touch?

Hon. Dalton McGuinty: I appreciate the opportunity, and I want to thank my honourable colleague for raising an important issue once again, which is, how do we, working together, manage the development of our electricity system; how do we clean up our air; how do we invest in a new industry; and how do we help families manage the new costs associated with the assumption of those three important responsibilities?

The point that I want to make—and I know that my friend, in fact, supports this—is that it’s important that families understand there is a full discount period all day Saturday and all day Sunday when time-of-use rates are in effect. I just want to make sure that families are aware of that option.

Again, I would implore my colleague to join us as we assume our responsibilities to ensure that we have in place a reliable electricity system, cleaner air and a new industry in Ontario.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Supplementary?

Mr. Tim Hudak: I sure hope that families that weren’t able to do their wash on the Premier’s first provincial laundry day won’t get a lecture from the nanny Premier and make sure they get it done next Saturday.

Premier McGuinty started in office by reversing income tax reductions that would benefit every family in Ontario. You scrapped property tax reductions for our seniors and then you brought in your so-called health tax that attacked Ontario’s middle class. You have built a legacy of extra school fees and insurance premium hikes, and now you’re piling up the HST on eco taxes and taking more money from average Ontario families who are struggling to make ends meet.

Premier, why do you see Ontario families as bottomless ATMs for your expensive experiments?

Hon. Dalton McGuinty: On the matter of the HST, I want to once again take this opportunity to thank so many Conservatives, both in Ottawa and the former leaders of the provincial Conservative Party, for their unrelenting support for this measure as part of a comprehensive package of tax reforms.

My friend says he’s concerned about the financial challenges for our families today, and I think that’s a legitimate concern. But I would ask him why it is, when we have put in place measures to reduce taxes for people by $12 billion over three years, that he stands against that? Why does he oppose our personal income tax cut benefiting 93% of Ontarians? Why does he oppose our new sales tax credit of $260 each for adults and children, and our transition benefit of $1,000 for families and $300 for individuals? Every time we move to lend support to families, we don’t get the support we think we should from the opposite party.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Final supplementary.

Mr. Tim Hudak: Premier, you’ve raised taxes. You’ve cost this province jobs, and families are looking for change. You brought in a so-called health tax increase that costs a typical middle-class family up to $900 a year. Income and property taxes have gone up. But Premier McGuinty thinks that families can pay even more for his expensive experiments. Your HST tax grab will cost middle-class families up to $1,000 a year more, and then you go out and nickel and dime families every time they turn around, including your eco tax grab on 9,000 items that families use each and every day, from bath toys for their kids to suntan lotion.

When is enough enough? When will you call an end to your attack on families’ pocketbooks and give needed relief to hard-working average families?

Hon. Dalton McGuinty: I understand that my colleague is exclusively focused on some of the financial challenges that affect our families, and we are very much concerned about those costs. That’s why we’ve moved forward on so many different fronts to put in place new financial supports for our families, including personal income tax cuts.

But beyond that, I think we bring a more holistic view to the concerns of Ontario families. That’s why we will continue to find ways to invest in their schools and to ensure that students are demonstrating increased academic achievement. That’s why we’ll continue to find a way to invest in our hospitals, with more doctors and nurses, more technologies and more drugs. That’s why we’ll continue to find a way to invest in the development of new industries in the province of Ontario, whether that’s clean water or clean air industries.

My sense is that families want us to look at their costs but they also want us to look at their public service and the strength of their economy.

TAXATION

Mr. Tim Hudak: Back to the Premier: Premier, I am proud to stand on the side of hard-working Ontario families whose pocketbooks are under constant attack by the Dalton McGuinty government. We will work—

Interjections.

Mr. Tim Hudak: The Dalton McGuinty government, Speaker—I did say that. I’m being very careful—

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): I just would be cautious. Thank you.

Mr. Tim Hudak: We are on the side of families who need tax relief, who are struggling just to tread water, to keep up with your constant attack on their pocketbooks: income and property tax increases, HST, eco tax grab.

What do we see from the Premier? What are the Premier’s priorities? Expensive energy experiments like smart meters; sex ed classes for six-year-olds; putting cellphones in classrooms across the province; and now, declaring Saturday Provincial Laundry Day.

Premier, enough is enough. How do you think families can pay 732 bucks more a year just for your hydro increases alone?

Hon. Dalton McGuinty: I want to remind my honourable colleague of something that our Environmental Commissioner said: “There’s a lot of exaggerated claims that ‘prices are going through the roof.’ And I am worried this is going to trump environmental concerns, and sacrifice long-term benefits for short-term political ... gains.”

There’s an important distinction to be drawn between a rant and the assumption of responsibilities. On this side of the House we’re taking on important responsibilities. When it comes to our electricity plan we’re trying to do three things at the same time:

(1) We want to put in place a reliable electricity system.

(2) We want to clean up the quality of our air, and I think families are very concerned about that.

(3) We are laying the foundation for a new industry. It’s an exciting industry. It’s a clean industry. It has to do with clean electricity.

It’s a difficult responsibility to assume. We’re taking it on. We know there are costs connected with that. We want to continue to work with our families to help them manage those costs.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Supplementary?

Mr. Tim Hudak: Quite frankly, based on that answer, while the Premier wants Ontario families to do their laundry on Saturdays, the McGuinty government is on spin cycle seven days a week.

Premier, you just don’t get it. You just don’t understand. If you sat down with a family in Ottawa; in Toronto, where you live; wherever in the province, you know that they leave the hydro bill on the kitchen table for days and days on end because they only know it’s going in one direction: up and up and up.

This fall you’ve targeted families’ wallets with eco taxes, your smart meter tax machines, new taxes and fees for hydro. You’ve taken thousands of dollars out of the pockets of middle-class families, and all you offered was an insulting $50 tax credit.

Premier, are you so out of touch that you don’t understand that families are treading water today just to make ends meet?

Hon. Dalton McGuinty: Again, I think there’s an important distinction to be drawn here between a rant and responsibility.

I want to remind Ontarians where we were. In 2003 we were barely able to keep the lights on. There was a desperate and dangerous shortage of electricity in the province of Ontario. There were brownouts, and we are at risk of a major blackout.

The opposition party has, as the fundamental tenet of its plan to modernize electricity, to put, into the downtown core of our cities, diesel generators. I think that is irresponsible.

We are investing billions of dollars in new generation, billions of dollars in new transmission. We are building a modern, reliable, clean electricity system. It has the added benefit at the same time of putting in place the foundation for a new industry in Ontario, creating up to 50,000 clean, green jobs. That is something that I would argue is very important to Ontario families.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Members will please come to order.

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): It’s not helpful, the member from Durham interjecting. I can close my eyes and I know your names.

Final supplementary.

Mr. Tim Hudak: When I look across the aisle, I see a team of McGuinty Liberals who sat on their hands, who said nothing when their out-of-touch leader surprised families on the day that they brought in the HST with an eco tax grab on 9,000 items families use each and every day.

Premier, things have become so bad with your attack on the pocketbooks of ordinary hard-working families that even the NDP has joined our cause to fight for lower taxes for families, to give them a break, to give them some kind of tax relief. Standing with me are a group of Ontario PCs who get it, who will fight for families and give them the break they need, a chance to catch up and a chance to create jobs in the province of Ontario once again.

You don’t get it; we do. We’ll stand up, defend the family pocketbook, deliver real relief for families who need it today and create jobs in the province of Ontario. Why don’t you get it?

Hon. Dalton McGuinty: Again, I just believe my honourable colleague has a decidedly simplistic view of Ontario families and their concerns. Not only are they concerned about household expenses—and that is very a real and legitimate concern—but they’re also concerned about the quality of their schools. They remember what happened on their watch to our schools. They’re not eager to go back there. They’re sick and tired of the bickering and infighting that prevailed at that time when it came to public education in the province of Ontario.

They are also very concerned about the quality of health care and getting access to that good-quality health care for everyone in their families. They don’t want to go back to where we were when they fired nurses, shut hospitals and shut down hospital beds.

They’re also concerned about the quality of their environment. They don’t want to go back to those days when they cut the Ministry of the Environment in half and laid off water inspectors and meat inspectors. They want to keep moving forward; they don’t want to go back.

HYDRO RATES

Ms. Andrea Horwath: My question is to the Premier. Over the last month, we’ve been telling the stories of people across Ontario who are simply overwhelmed by their rising electricity costs. As their bills have climbed, the Premier has dismissed their concerns. My question is a simple one: Why doesn’t the Premier think people deserve some relief?

Hon. Dalton McGuinty: We’re going to continue to work hard with our families to help them manage these costs. What I will tell you is that we’re not going to go back to a time when our electricity system was characterized as being weak, unreliable and dirty.

Again, I want to remind my honourable colleague of something said by the Environmental Commissioner. He said, “There’s a lot of exaggerated claims that ‘prices are going through the roof.’ And I am worried this is going to trump environmental concerns, and sacrifice long-term benefits for short-term political ... gains.” I would advise my honourable colleague to pay close attention to those words of good advice.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Supplementary?

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Over the last month, the Premier has tried to defend the indefensible: sweetheart private power deals that charge people for power they don’t even use; a $240-million giveaway to hydro companies; and so-called smart meters that don’t conserve energy, don’t help people conserve energy and, in fact, drive their costs up. Why is the Premier forcing people to pay an unfair sales tax on top of this mess?

Hon. Dalton McGuinty: Again, I want to quote something that the Environmental Commissioner said about smart meters and time-of-use rates. He said, time of use “is about saving future costs for Ontarians, rather than”—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Members will please come to order—on both sides.

Premier?

Hon. Dalton McGuinty: As I was saying, the Environmental Commissioner said the following about smart meters and time-of-use rates: “Additionally, TOU is about saving future costs for Ontarians, rather than present costs. By reducing peak demand (which should come about through customers’ response to time-of-use prices), we avoid having to build more power plants and transmission lines.”

What we’re doing is taking on an important responsibility. We know that families take it as their responsibility to manage their costs, but one of the things they look to us to do is ensure that, when they flick on the switch, the lights turn on. They want to make sure there is electricity there for our families, for our businesses, for our schools and for our hospitals—clean, reliable, strong electricity systems. That’s what we will continue to build.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Final supplementary.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: The HST isn’t keeping the lights on and it’s not cleaning our air; it’s just taking money out of people’s pockets and handing it out as a massive corporate tax giveaway.

Now, if this Premier can find $1.5 billion for smart meters, $2 billion a year for a corporate tax giveaway and millions for skyrocketing CEO salaries, why, oh why, can’t he find the money to take the HST off our hydro bills?

Hon. Dalton McGuinty: Again, my honourable colleague refuses to recognize the $12 billion in tax cuts that we’re putting in place over the course of three years for our families. She refuses to acknowledge that.

Fortunately, that was acknowledged by important institutions like the Daily Bread Food Bank and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, which said that taken as a whole, including the HST on electricity costs, our package of tax reforms will put low-income families in a better position; it will leave middle-income families in the same place; and our highest-income families will be a little bit worse off. We think that’s fair. We think it’s responsible. It’s all about building a stronger economy and a stronger, more reliable, cleaner electricity system.

HYDRO RATES

Ms. Andrea Horwath: My next question is to the Premier. Seven years of the McGuinty Liberals have left families afraid—literally afraid—to open their hydro bills. Cherie Perks from Ayton writes, “I am terrified I may have to sell the home I built, raised my children in and have lived in for 28 years because of the hydro rates and the HST on those rates.... Our bill was nearly $200 ... then add the HST on top of that, well ... it scares me half to death!”

Why won’t the Premier take the HST off hydro bills and help Ms. Perks and Ontarians like her?

Hon. Dalton McGuinty: Again, I want to acknowledge that Ontario families are very concerned about mounting costs to their households coming on a number of fronts, and I know they’re concerned about mounting costs associated with their electricity bills. That’s understandable. We’re very much aware of that and very much share that concern. On the other side of this, I know that my honourable colleague, at some point in time, is going to want to speak to this in a responsible way.

We have to build a modern, strong, clean reliable electricity system in the province of Ontario. We can’t go back to the days when the plan, which would have been laughable except for the fact it was dangerous, was to put diesel generators in place in the downtown cores of our cities. We think that is unacceptable. We think we have to continue to invest, and you would think as well that my honourable colleague would support our plan to put in place clean, green, electricity for the people of Ontario.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Supplementary?

Ms. Andrea Horwath: From smart meters to the HST to paying for higher profit margins and nuclear power we don’t use, family budgets are being squeezed. Anna Mikicinski from London says that her utility bills are over $600, and writes, “The cost of living is outrageous, and something needs to be done about it. If only wages went up as much as utility prices.... I need help with the monthly bills....”

Why won’t the Premier make life more affordable and take the HST off hydro bills?

Hon. Dalton McGuinty: My honourable colleague says she is concerned about mounting costs for families, but I have a hard time believing that. Because, when we cut personal income taxes for 93% of Ontarians, she voted against that. When we put in place a $1,000 transition benefit for families, she voted against that. When we put in place a new sales tax credit—$260 each for adults and children—she voted against that. When we doubled our senior homeowners’ property tax grant from $250 to $500, she voted against that.

When we put in place our new Ontario child benefit, the first of its kind in the country—it’s now $1,100 per child—she voted against that. We’re proposing to move ahead with a children’s fitness tax credit—$50 per child. I suspect—maybe I’m wrong—that she is going to vote against that. Every single time we come to the fore and put in place new financial supports for Ontario families, the NDP continues to vote against those measures. So, I don’t believe her when she says she wants to help families.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Final supplementary.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: New Democrats are proud to have voted against the ongoing failures of this government.

The Premier’s hydro policies have made people’s lives more expensive—period. Gail Murphy from Windsor writes: “With the recent HST added to my hydro bill, my monthly budget payment is not sufficient to cover my yearly billings, and now I have to pay an additional $150.... I hoped to live as many of the remaining years of my life as possible in my … home. I now find that I may have to sell my home....”

Ms. Murphy needs some help getting by, Premier, like so many other Ontarians. Why will the Premier not take the HST off of her hydro bill?

Hon. Dalton McGuinty: Again, I would recommend to my honourable colleague a report put out by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. It is very thorough. It is objective. It takes a look at our comprehensive package of tax reforms in the province of Ontario, including our $12 billion in cuts for people over the course of the next three years. The conclusion of that report is found in the title itself: Not a Tax Grab After All.

It makes perfectly clear that when you take everything into account, all things into consideration in terms of our tax reforms, low-income families come out ahead, middle-income families remain at the same level, and when it comes to our highest-income families, they come out a little bit behind.

We think it’s fair and responsible. Again, it’s all about building a stronger economy. Our families want jobs; they want cleaner air; they want the foundation for new industry, and that’s clean, green electricity. That’s what our plan is all about, Speaker. It may be that they have a plan, but I have yet to hear of it.

TAXATION

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: My question is to my friend opposite, the Premier. Premier McGuinty’s health tax takes about $900 a year from the pockets of middle-class families. His hydro increases are making them pay $732 more per year.

Interjections.

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: His income tax and property tax increases over the past seven years have made Ontario families pay several thousand more dollars a year. And his HST is making a typical middle-class family pay over $1,041 a year.

Interjections.

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: Is there any wonder why the mention of his name has Ontario families hiding their wallets?

Hon. Dalton McGuinty: That is—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): I appreciate the question. I didn’t really appreciate the background graphics that were associated with it.

Premier?

Hon. Dalton McGuinty: That’s some wonderful, creative technicolour fiction, which is always a source of interest and amusement, but let’s stick to the facts. Here are the facts: We are cutting personal income taxes for 93% of Ontarians. It works out to $200 a year per person—that’s permanent. There is a transition benefit for our tax reforms. Families will receive $1,000; individuals, $300.

Hon. Sandra Pupatello: They voted against that, Premier.

Hon. Dalton McGuinty: They voted against that as well.

Our new sales tax credit: $260 each for adults and children—that will benefit nearly three million Ontarians. They voted against that as well.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Supplementary?

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: The Premier just doesn’t get it. That’s probably why 30 members of his caucus didn’t show up today, because he just doesn’t get—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Stop the clock, please.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): I really do appreciate all the armchair Speakers that are here trying to assist me, but there is only one Speaker and it is me. If you would like to come up and sit here some time, I think it would be very good for each and every one of you to come and spend some time in this chair. But there is one Speaker and it’s me, and I don’t need the assistance of others.

I just will remind the honourable member that we do have an understanding within this place that, notwithstanding that she spoke to a number of absences without anybody specific, we don’t know why any individual member may or may not be here and it’s just best we don’t do that.

Please continue.

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: I think it was just a critical mass that has us concerned on this side.

But the Premier says he’s got plans. He says he’s—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Minister of Economic Development, do you want to trade seats?

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Even veiled references.

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: The Premier says he’s got a plan. He’s got a long-term energy plan, an HST job plan, but there’s no point in asking for specifics over there, like when the first 60,000 families will see the jobs that he said the HST will create. The former revenue minister said, “Most of them have already been created.” The current minister is no better. She stuck with the same talking points when 36,000 jobs were lost.

My question for the Premier is: Are you so out of touch that you don’t understand that taxes should be going down while jobs should be going up?

Hon. Dalton McGuinty: Lots of enthusiasm, lots of excitement and lots of energy, but not a lot of specifics. But for the benefit of Ontarians, I will speak to one specific put forward by the official opposition to this point in time, because there is a dearth of specificity when it comes to their plans.

They’re going to take $3 billion out of health care. That’s going to be one of their cuts. They’re going to take $3 billion out of health care. I want you to imagine how many thousands of nurses that will require that we lay off in the province of Ontario. I want you to ask yourself how many hospital beds will have to be closed as a result of that. I want you to think of the increased wait times as a result of the lack of access to human resources and technologies available to Ontarians that are associated with their tax cuts. I think it’s important that we remain somewhat sober-minded as we consider their reckless plans to cut taxes.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Stop the clock. I say to the honourable member from Nepean–Carleton and the government House leader that if you want to have a cross-floor discussion about issues that are important to you, please take it outside the chamber.

Mr. Peter Kormos: You could throw both of them out.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Perhaps the honourable member from Welland wants to sit in the chair.

New question.

HYDRO RATES

Mr. Howard Hampton: A question for the Premier. Families in northwestern Ontario are being squeezed by skyrocketing hydro bills. Mary Ellen Cooper from Thunder Bay writes: “We are going to be hurt—big time—with the HST.... My pension hardly covers my expenses. When is McGuinty going to open his door and look at the hungry people of this province, of the city of Thunder Bay where the mills are closed and” people “are out of work? Where families have lost everything. It is time McGuinty gave his head a shake”—

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Stop the clock. I remind the honourable member—notwithstanding the fact that he is quoting from a letter—of my previous comments about making reference to offices and not names. Please continue.

Mr. Howard Hampton: My question: What is the Premier going to do to make life affordable for northerners like Mary Ellen Cooper?

Hon. Dalton McGuinty: To the Minister of Energy.

Hon. Brad Duguid: We understand that northern residents in Ontario, and all residents of Ontario, are working hard as we come through this challenging time, as our economy begins to build, and they have been through a tough time. Rising energy costs are something that those families are working through.

In recognition of that, in our last budget we brought forward the northern Ontario energy tax credit. I believe that will assist about half of the residents of northern Ontario, creating a permanent annual credit of up to $130 per person, $200 per family. The NDP didn’t support that.

The northern industrial electricity rate program is moving through the north, creating jobs in the north and helping to make the energy rates more competitive for northern businesses. That’s going to help families by creating jobs.

Our new energy and property tax credit—

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

Mr. Howard Hampton: Well, the Premier needs to know that his so-called northern energy credit isn’t covering the one-month increase in people’s hydro bills, never mind the other 11 months.

Jim Hill, a constituent, writes: “I am an old-age pensioner. My hydro bills have been too high for my budget. But now with the HST they are so high that they consume my grocery funds. I no longer can shop for the month and am getting pretty hungry eating ... bread and margarine....” New Democrats believe we can make life more affordable for people like Jim Hill by taking the HST off the hydro bill.

My question: Why won’t the Premier give families a break by taking the HST off the hydro bill?

Hon. Brad Duguid: As I said earlier, we get it. We understand the challenges facing Ontario families. That’s why, today, Minister Duncan and Minister Bartolucci are in Sudbury talking about our northern Ontario credit and northern industrial rates that are going to assist northern Ontario families in dealing with these challenges.

But one of the challenges we have here in this province is that the NDP do not support our efforts to move forward and build a stronger economy in the north by investing in northern energy projects. I was recently up in Kapuskasing, where I was joined by your colleague Gilles Bisson as we celebrated the 600 jobs being—

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): I would remind the honourable member that we don’t refer to members’ names; we refer to ridings or titles.

Hon. Brad Duguid: My apologies, Mr. Speaker. I believe it’s Timmins–James Bay. We were just up together in Kapuskasing, celebrating the Lower Mattagami project creating 600 jobs in the north—a partnership with First Nations communities.

We are building energy projects for the north. We’re creating jobs in the north. The NDP do not—

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

LOCAL HEALTH

INTEGRATION NETWORKS

Mr. Charles Sousa: My question is for the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. In my riding, we’re served by the Mississauga Halton Local Health Integration Network. We know that these networks are vital in assessing the needs of our local communities, and the results in my riding have been very impressive.

When my constituents ask about the health improvements we’ve made in Mississauga South, it’s with pleasure that I mention our very good working relationship with the LHIN. I meet with them regularly, and they’re always eager to assist my staff and my community.

I have recently been informed that the Mississauga Halton LHIN has been nominated for a prestigious award, a health award. Could the minister please inform the House about this award and what it means to my constituents?

Hon. Deborah Matthews: Thank you to the member from Mississauga South for the question, and also congratulations and happy birthday to the member.

The member is absolutely right: The Mississauga Halton LHIN has just been nominated for a very prestigious international award, the Bertelsmann Foundation’s 2011 Reinhard Mohn Prize for vitalizing democracy. The LHIN has been recognized for groundbreaking projects that promote civic engagement and community participation in their health care planning process. Last year, the Mississauga Halton LHIN conducted an innovative and extensive community engagement exercise that included a citizens’ reference panel as part of its integrated health service plan refresh process.

Some in this House want to silence the voice of community members when it comes to planning—

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

Mr. Charles Sousa: This is wonderful news. To be recognized for a prestigious award is a testament to the hard work the Mississauga Halton LHIN has done for the community.

My constituents are always curious to know what our government has been doing to improve health care in this province as well as in my riding. We know that our LHINs play an integral role in providing our communities with important patient-based care. Would the minister tell my constituents and this House about the Mississauga Halton LHIN’s accomplishments in providing care for our communities?

Hon. Deborah Matthews: I’m very proud of the work that our LHINs are doing to provide important patient-based care in our communities. Let me illustrate by telling you one story.

There’s a program in the Mississauga Halton LHIN; it’s called Seniors Enjoy Nurturing Activities Companionship Achievements, SENACA. It’s a program that focuses on helping seniors lead active lifestyles when they are aging at home.

I want to read from a letter that one family member wrote about this program. She said, “I am convinced that the mental and physical stimulation provided by SENACA is holding back the onset of Parkinson’s disease” that her mother suffers from. “Without the SENACA program during the day, my mother would be unable to remain at home with the ones she loves in an environment that is familiar and comfortable.”

This is just one of thousands of examples of the LHIN doing the work they do—

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

HYDRO RATES

Mr. Peter Shurman: My question is for the Premier—and I’m extremely serious in asking this. Premier McGuinty showed how out of touch he’s become with Ontario families when he said that anyone looking for a break on their hydro bills should do their laundry on Saturday. Can Premier McGuinty tell my Thornhill constituents whether to do laundry before or after synagogue on the Sabbath?

Hon. Dalton McGuinty: To the Minister of Energy.

Hon. Brad Duguid: It’s pretty obvious that the opposition do not support conservation. They didn’t put it in place when they were in power; they had no conservation then. Now that we’re building up conservation, about to receive an A-plus from the Canadian Energy Efficiency Alliance—today, in fact, we’ll be awarded that—where their mark for that government was a C-minus—it’s very obvious they don’t support it, but there was a time when they did.

I have a report here called Energy for the Future. I believe I’m going to have to deal with this in the supplementary, and I will. I’m looking forward to sharing this with the people of Ontario.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Supplementary?

Mr. Peter Shurman: That minister’s insensitivity is absolutely incredible, as evidenced by that answer. That minister and Premier McGuinty just don’t get it. Manufacturers are balking at the expensive hydro and high taxes. They’re walking from the province and they’re taking high-paying jobs with them.

Premier McGuinty talks about 500 jobs at a solar plant. Ontario families—36,000 of them since the HST came into effect—talk about how to keep the lights on now that their jobs are gone.

Can’t you do better for Ontario families and businesses than to ask, “Will the last one to leave please turn out the lights?”

The funny thing is, I have in my hand a copy of the Energy for the Future report. In this report it says this: “We have to invest in conservation—to offset demand. We have to invest in demand management—to shift peaks in consumption to off-hours.” This report was prepared by the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party. The task force that put it together was chaired by John Yakabuski. Norm Sterling and John O’Toole played a

part in this task force—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Stop the clock. The Speaker is standing. Once again, I will remind the honourable member that we do not refer to individuals’ names; it is ridings or titles. New question.

HYDRO RATES

Mr. Michael Prue: My question is to the Premier. The greater Toronto area isn’t immune to the economic slowdown either. Families are struggling to make ends meet, but this government’s hydro policies have made things worse for all of them.

Kelly Lynch from Oakville writes: “I received my hydro bill and it was $800. I had just paid two months ago $652 ... Help me!”

Rhoda Crisp writes: “I’m on a fixed income … The hydro is supposed to increase by 10% ... It is way beyond my means.”

People like Ms. Lynch and Ms. Crisp deserve an answer from this Premier. When will he make their lives more affordable?

Hon. Dalton McGuinty: To the Minister of Energy.

Hon. Brad Duguid: We said earlier today, and will continue to say this: We get it. We understand that it’s not easy for Ontario families to deal with increasing energy rates, but the fact is that these are important investments for those very same families.

Ontario families deserve an energy system they can count on. They deserve to know that when they turn on the lights, there’s going to be enough energy in this province to provide them with the power they need to lead their lives and to run their businesses. These are important investments.

There was a time when the NDP talked about supporting these investments, but when push comes to shove, the NDP just does not have the courage to stand up to their convictions and does not have the courage to stand by the important decisions that must be made to ensure that we have a strong, reliable and clean system of energy to ensure that each and every family in this—

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

Mr. Michael Prue: I only wish this minister had the courage to do what was right. Across the GTA, people are trying to save. Bill Wilkinson says, “We have been maniacal about turning off lights, doing laundry late at night, using a toaster oven rather than the stove oven, and the bill keeps going up!”

Rhae Jaworski says this: “I am frugal with my own personal budget and was shocked and outraged at the amount of money owing to hydro on this month’s hydro bill: $375, including over $40 HST.” She asks, “How can a family of three in a modest home with light dimmers, following the ‘peak saver’ schedule, be charged such an exorbitant amount of money?”

There is a way, Mr. Premier, to provide Mr. Wilkinson and Ms. Jaworski with immediate relief: Remove the HST from hydro. Why won’t the government agree?

Hon. Brad Duguid: We’re working very hard with Ontario families to transform our energy system which, when we inherited it, was weak. It was unreliable and it was dirty. It was relying on dirty coal, polluting our air and impacting the health of our kids.

We need to do better than that. We’re committed to doing better than that. The opposition clearly is not willing to make the decisions that we need to make to modernize our energy infrastructure; to give Ontario families and businesses a modern, a more reliable, a stronger energy system that’s going to lead us into a future that’s going to be healthier for our kids and that’s going to have cleaner air.

This is something that each and every one of us in this province should be behind. It’s obvious the opposition and the third party do not support this, do not support a stronger, more reliable and cleaner energy system. As the Premier—

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

ONTARIO ECONOMY

Ms. Helena Jaczek: Speaker, through you, my question is for the Minister of Revenue. Families in my riding have been hit hard by the global economic recession. They’ve been telling me that sometimes it is a challenge to raise a family in this environment. They have been contacting my constituency office and asking for my assistance on ways to help them provide for their families and find jobs. Good jobs for the people of Ontario is one of the most important things this government can do to help people provide for their families.

Can the minister tell this House what the government is doing to help Ontarians like my constituents in Oak Ridges–Markham provide for their families?

Hon. Sophia Aggelonitis: I thank my colleague from Oak Ridges–Markham for the chance to talk about the McGuinty government’s plan for families, and that is called the Open Ontario plan. It is an exciting plan and it’s about helping families in Ontario. We’re doing that with two things: First, we’re creating jobs and second, we’re cutting taxes. Just last week, the Conference Board of Canada predicted Toronto would see economic growth of 4.7% this year, followed closely by my own city of Hamilton with 4.5% growth.

Over the next 10 years, our comprehensive tax reform package is about bringing $47 billion of investment and creating almost 600,000 new jobs. We’re creating jobs for Ontario families. We will continue creating jobs for Ontario families.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Supplementary?

Ms. Helena Jaczek: I’m glad to hear the government is working hard to make it easier for families in Ontario. Making the economy more competitive and creating jobs for families across the province are important initiatives.

Perhaps the minister could also share how tax exemptions, tax credits and transitional cheques also help Ontarians provide for their families. I know that our government has a plan to help families during this difficult time. Can the minister speak more about this plan to strengthen the economy and create more jobs for families, especially low-income families, across this province?

Hon. Sophia Aggelonitis: The second way we are helping Ontario families is by cutting taxes. In fact, nine of every 10 Ontarians will pay less income tax this year. Our Ontario sales tax credit will provide families with up to $260 every year for every family member, and families that are earning less than $160,000 will receive a transition cheque totalling $1,000.

Our reforms support families, especially lower- and middle-income families. That’s why there’s a great deal of support for our programs among people who advocate for lower-income Ontarians.

So the real question is, why do our critics continue to oppose our reforms? Why don’t they want us to create jobs and why don’t they want to help Ontario families?

PENSION PLANS

Mr. Norman W. Sterling: My question is for the Premier. Premier, last week during question period and in estimates, your finance minister said that the Nortel pensioners’ financial sponsorship model proposal would require a change in the federal Income Tax Act. Also last week, in a letter to Nortel’s pensioners group, your minister listed the need for changes to the federal Income Tax Act as a reason for turning down their proposal.

Has your minister or government approached the federal government to find out whether the federal government would be willing to make the changes on behalf of the Nortel pensioners group?

Hon. Dalton McGuinty: I don’t have the answer to that, but I will certainly undertake to provide that answer for my colleague.

What I can say is that I had the opportunity just last week to meet with some representatives of Nortel to sit down and converse with them directly. They took the opportunity, as they should have, to rightly impress upon me just how important an issue this is to them. They would like to exercise greater authority over the pension plan itself.

Together with the Minister of Finance, I met with those individuals. I undertook to give this yet another review and to get back to them, and that’s where we are right now.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Supplementary?

Mr. Norman W. Sterling: Premier, given your minister’s statement in estimates, I wrote to the federal Minister of Finance, Mr. Flaherty. I ask a page to deliver a copy of his response to you. The salient point in the final paragraph says, “If the Ontario government decided to pursue such”—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Order. The Attorney General.

Premier, will you now bring legislation forward in this Legislature for the Nortel pensioners plan to continue under the financial sponsorship—

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

Hon. Dalton McGuinty: I know that my honourable colleague recognizes that there is not a consensus among the pensioners. There is differing opinion in terms of what we need to do with respect to the future of their pension plan, and that’s something that we feel we have a responsibility to take into account.

Again, I will say to my honourable colleague that I did have a chance to meet with some representatives from Nortel, together with the Minister of Finance. I have undertaken to give this a second review. I know that my office will be speaking with representatives again.

We want to be thoughtful; we want to be responsible. We want to make sure we take into account all the pensioners and their concerns, to ensure that they have the best possible pension plan there for them in the future. It’s an important element, security of mind.

HYDRO RATES

Mr. Paul Miller: My question is to the Premier. Families are being squeezed by skyrocketing hydro costs. They need a break.

Bob Kerr from Hamilton lives on CPP and a part-time job, earning $800 a month. Bob will suffer an additional $65 a month in HST expenses. He will fall further and further behind in his quality of life because of your flawed HST scheme. What solutions does the Premier have to make Mr. Kerr’s cost-of-living expenses go away?

Hon. Dalton McGuinty: To the Minister of Energy.

Hon. Brad Duguid: I thank the member for the question and for bringing the gentleman’s situation to our attention.

We are working very hard to ensure that those in our society who are less fortunate than others have access to a number of forms of assistance. Just today we have our Minister of Finance up in Sudbury with Minister Bartolucci, talking about—and, I expect, making an announcement—providing assistance to lower- and middle-income Ontarians in terms of the energy and property tax credit. That’s going to be of help. We have our senior homeowners’ property tax grant as well, which we’ve doubled to provide help for seniors and those with lower income.

I recently issued a letter to the Ontario Energy Board requesting it to resume work on its province-wide strategy to help low-income consumers manage costs.

We recognize that low-income consumers are—

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

Mr. Paul Miller: Minister, Shelly from St. Catharines has an autistic son who’s afraid of darkness. She says, “With this hydro increase it’s hard for us financially. How do you expect us to provide for our children? We’re cutting into our food budget” as it is, “it never ends.”

New Democrats proposed a plan today to take the HST off hydro and make life a little more affordable. Why won’t the Premier give families like Bob’s and Shelly’s a break and take the HST off hydro?

Hon. Brad Duguid: I guess the question I have is, if the NDP are so concerned about assisting lower-income people, why did you not support the property and energy tax credit that we brought forward that’s going to help low- and middle-income people address some of their challenges with regard to energy costs? Why did you not support the seniors’ property tax grant that we’ve doubled—$500 to help seniors on fixed income? Why did you not support the tax cuts that were brought forward in the last budget, the tax cuts to the tune of helping Ontario families in and around $200 per family?

If the NDP really cared about those families, if the NDP really cared about helping lower- and middle-income Ontarians, they would have supported those initiatives.

Their goal is to try to make political hay out of these issues. Our goal is to help those families—

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

Mr. Bruce Crozier: My question is for the Minister of Community and Social Services. Our government has passed legislation to make Ontario fully accessible by 2025. My riding of Essex not only has people who require accessible services, but it’s important for tourists who visit my riding to be offered accessible services by businesses.

Hon. Madeleine Meilleur: I’d like to thank the member from Essex. He’s a great voice for the people of his riding.

By removing barriers and offering great customer service, organizations are opening their businesses to people of all abilities. In fact, our customer service standard is now law. As our population ages, the number of Ontarians with disabilities will increase to one in five. Persons with disabilities have $25 billion in spending power nationally. Accommodating the needs of all Ontarians makes good business sense.

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

I invite all Ontarians and Canadians to visit the Stratford Festival every year, because they’re fully accessible.

FAMILY RESPONSIBILITY OFFICE

Will you explain why HST cheques mailed out this summer were not redirected to parents raising their children and not receiving their court-ordered support?

Hon. Madeleine Meilleur: Thank you to this member for her concern with regard to people and children who need support from their parents.

I know that with the Family Responsibility Office there has been a lot of work done to improve services and there is much more work to do because when we took over—and that party was in power—the place was a mess. There were complaints and complaints. So we did a lot to improve the services and now, I can just evaluate by the complaints that I have, there are less and less complaints.

I want to make sure that every child receives the money that they should receive from the supporting parents to have a good life.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Supplementary?

Ms. Sylvia Jones: Minister, the Family Responsibility Office is still the most number one complaint agency of the government. You’ve done nothing to improve that.

My question relates to HST cheques. Why did you not pass a regulation that would ensure HST cheques could be redirected to the children and families who are waiting for the support-ordered arrears? You guys love passing regulations. This is actually one that makes sense. Will you ensure that the following two HST cheques are redirected to families and children in need?

Hon. Madeleine Meilleur: I’ll ask the Minister of Revenue to answer the question.

Hon. Sophia Aggelonitis: I thank the member very much for that question because it is a very important issue. What I can say is that the Family Responsibility Office is fully committed to collecting support payments owed to the families, but it’s also very important for the member to understand that FRO does not have the authority to garnish the Ontario sales tax transition benefit payments.

Having said that, I will tell you that we have been looking at this. This is an extremely important question, and the Ministry of Finance is definitely looking into it.

LYME DISEASE

M me France Gélinas: Ma question est pour la ministre de la Santé et des Soins de longue durée. Lyme disease patients and their families have gathered today outside of this Legislature. They want the government to know about the severe challenges they face in accessing reliable testing and effective treatments for their debilitating illness. Increasingly, Lyme disease patients are forced to seek medical treatment outside of this province.

What action will the minister take to address these issues and ensure that these patients no longer feel abandoned by their government and the health care system of Ontario?

Hon. Deborah Matthews: Of course, this is an issue that we’re following very closely. The fact that people are going out of country to get the care they need is one that is just not acceptable to us.

We did launch an education campaign regarding Lyme disease in June. I want to assure the member opposite that we monitor very closely people leaving the province to get the care they need. We’ve made tremendous strides. We’ve enormously reduced the number of people requiring bariatric surgery, for example. They are now having that procedure done here. We do monitor it closely, and we are always looking at how we need to strengthen the health care system here.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Supplementary?

M me France Gélinas: Lyme disease patients and their families have been to Queen’s Park before. They have demonstrated. They have organized petition campaigns. They have done everything they could to get the attention of the minister to focus on helping the people living with Lyme disease. People suffering from Lyme disease feel completely abandoned.

When will the minister ensure that people suffering from Lyme disease get the treatment they need and deserve in this province? They would like to know when.

Hon. Deborah Matthews: As I said in the first question, this is an issue that we are taking very seriously. We are working with public health units across the province to conduct human and tick surveillance to identify new areas of risk. We’ve provided the public health units with information on how to prevent and control the disease. We will continue to work with our public health units and inform them of any new information.

We do have a public education campaign under way to increase Lyme disease awareness. It is targeting the public and health care providers. The name of the program is Let’s Target Lyme, and the website is www.ontario.ca/lyme. I would encourage people to educate themselves on this particular condition. As I say, we are continuing to work on this issue.

PESTICIDES

Mr. Phil McNeely: My question is for the Minister of the Environment. Minister, our children are our greatest natural resource and we need to give them every chance to develop and succeed. Giving them the tools to succeed is half the equation. We also need to protect them from things that could negatively impact their health, especially toxic chemicals.

Parents in my riding of Ottawa–Orléans were pleased when we passed the cosmetic pesticides ban but were concerned about companies respecting the ban because they knew it would not be successful without support from business.

Minister, what is the McGuinty government doing to ensure that retailers and lawn care companies are adhering to the ban?

Hon. John Wilkinson: I thank my colleague for the question. I can say that in April of this year, exactly one year after the Ontario cosmetic pesticide ban took effect, my ministry did an audit. I can report to the House that I have some very good news for our families both in your riding, as I say to my friend, and across Ontario. Some 80% of the 341 retailers and lawn care companies inspected are in full compliance with the new laws one year later. I can assure the House that we will not rest until that is 100%.

Particularly, I can say that we have also done some studies about whether these chemicals are getting into our water supply, and I can advise the House that of the three toxic chemicals most commonly found in those pesticides, a year after the ban they have dropped substantially: a staggering 78%, 82%, and 86%, respectively. It shows that this ban is being respected, it is being used, and we will continue to get to 100% compliance.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): There being no deferred votes, the time for question period has ended. This House stands recessed until 1 p.m. this afternoon.

The House recessed from 1142 to 1300.

INTRODUCTION OF VISITORS

Mr. John O’Toole: I would like to acknowledge that today is Durham Day, and I just want to mention a few people who will be here shortly: Mayor Bob Shepherd and Mayor Jim Abernethy, along with regional chair Roger Anderson and all the mayors of Durham. I should be mentioning them all, in fairness: Pat Perkins, Larry O’Connor, Marilyn Pearce, John Gray and Steve Parish, all of whom were here today, along with Dave Ryan, to celebrate Durham Day. I’ll have more to say about that in my statement.

LEGISLATIVE INTERNS

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): We have with us today in the Speaker’s gallery the 2010-11 Ontario legislative interns: Bryan Bossin, Melissa Cernigoy, Natalie Desimini, Tom Maidwell, Katherine Preiss, Erica Rayment, Michael Smith, Charles Thompson, Sasha Tregebov and Lisa Marie Williams. Please join me in warmly welcoming them all to the Legislature.

MEMBERS’ STATEMENTS

DURHAM DAY

Mr. John O’Toole: I’m proud to recognize Durham Day here at Queen’s Park today. I would also like to acknowledge, of course, some of the mayors and the regional chair who I had just mentioned in my opening remarks and introductions.

I’d also like to thank and to mention some of the people who aren’t in political office but do provide some of the wonderful infrastructure in Durham, like Judith Robinson, who’s the vice-president of Durham College; Dr. Ron Bordessa, who’s the president of the university; and Jacquie Hoornweg, who’s chair of the Durham Strategic Energy Alliance, a very important part of making Durham a centre of excellence in energy.

Durham region is the powerhouse of Ontario, producing more than 30% of the province’s electricity at Darlington and Pickering in my riding of Durham, as well as Wayne Arthurs’s riding.

The power of Durham also comes from innovation—I like to think of Wayne Conrad, who is here today, when I think of innovation—and excellence represented by General Motors and many other manufacturers. Phil Petsinis was here from General Motors. Manufacturing and small business were represented very capably by Sheila Hall from the Clarington Board of Trade, as well as Bill and Paula Lishman, very well known internationally for their work in Fly Away Home and other production things.

In tourism, for example, I like to think of all of the things to be offered in the greenbelt etc. I’d like to thank Karen Yellowlees from the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, representing the voice of agriculture.

Durham region is an innovative community taking pride in its past and looks forward to the future with confidence. We’re also proud to be stewards of an outstanding natural environment of farmland, lakes, rivers, forests—especially the Oak Ridges moraine.

When I think of Durham region, I asked the Premier today whether he’s still considering to move forward with the Highway 407 east, the new-build nuclear plant—

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Thank you. Members’ statements?

DURHAM DAY

Mr. Joe Dickson: I’d like to just follow, or add to, the very kind words from the member—I can’t say “the member John O’Toole,” so what I’ll say is the member from Durham—who was there with a wide, vast majority of all members from all parties to be part of Durham Day.

I would like to acknowledge, as Mr. O’Toole—I can’t say “Mr. O’Toole,” again; I can say Durham riding. He mentioned the mayor of Oshawa, who speaks so highly of this government for assisting him and his colleagues in preserving General Motors in Oshawa; Whitby Mayor Pat Perkins; Ajax Mayor Steve Parish; Uxbridge Mayor Bob Shepherd—I guess the good Speaker is giving me some flexibility—Pickering Mayor Dave Ryan; Scugog Mayor Marilyn Pearce; Brock Mayor Larry O’Connor; and, of course, Clarington Mayor Jim Abernethy; but most of all regional chair Roger Anderson, who has done a yeoman’s job of working with staff, in particular, Karen Hunt and Liisa Ikavalko and their hard-working team.

This all started two years ago when my fellow colleague from Pickering–Scarborough East—I can’t say his name—Wayne Arthurs and myself got together and then later as another colleague of mine from Haliburton–Kawartha Lakes–Brock came on and worked very diligently with us. This has been the very first, and I hope one of many, Durham Day projects at Queen’s Park.

NURSE PRACTITIONERS

Mr. Garfield Dunlop: I’d like this House and the people of Ontario to know that for the second time the city of Orillia and area has been denied a nurse-practitioner-led clinic. I tell you that the community is extremely disappointed with this government.

Nancy Sutherland, a local nurse practitioner who is part of a group that made this submission to the province, was “very upset, disappointed, shocked” to learn that the city of Orillia wasn’t chosen to house a clinic. In an interview with Orillia Packet and Times reporter Nathan Taylor, she noted that there are more than 6,000 people in Orillia and area who are without a family doctor or a nurse practitioner, and that is expected to increase dramatically over the next five years.

She was shocked, “because we had an excellent submission.” The submission was accompanied by significant community support, including an endorsement from city council, myself and the Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital.

The establishment of a nurse practitioner clinic would reduce the demand on the emergency room department that sees approximately 50,000 visits per year, and therefore would reduce wait times. The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care would not provide reasons for individual municipalities being denied clinics.

Orillia and area deserve a detailed explanation as to why they were refused a nurse practitioner clinic. The submission was excellent. They met the criteria. The demand is there. I ask the Ministry of Health to explain to myself and the citizens of Orillia and area why they were refused this important service for the second time.

This issue will be an election issue next fall, and I can tell you that while I have been at functions over the past two weeks, I’ve had dozens of disappointed citizens approach me who are outraged by this bureaucratic government decision.

COMMUNITY SERVICES

Mr. Peter Kormos: Mary Comazzolo down in Thorold takes care of her 90-year-old father, Carmine. Carmine worked hard all his life. He’s a widower now and suffers from dementia, but Carmine stays in his own home—a bungalow. He can’t live with his daughter because she’s got a two-floor house and he wouldn’t be able to get up and down because he’s wheelchair-bound. Ms. Comazzolo has actually hired a full-time live-in caretaker for her dad, but Ms. Comazzolo also devotes all of her time after work and on weekends to caring for Carmine.

They had two days a week of day care in one of the long-term-care facilities, but as her dad’s dementia got worse, the day care facility was shut to him. He was basically expelled and told, “Don’t come back anymore.” They don’t have the staff or the equipment to change him, for instance, when he soils himself. They’re frustrated because he tends to take too long to eat and plays with his food. Any of us who have had familiarity with Alzheimer’s and dementia are all too familiar with that.

The CCAC will only allow her 12 hours a month—12 hours a month, three hours a week—of support in that home to care for their dad, to bathe him and feed him, among the other needs.

This government has failed seniors like Carmine. They have failed people like Mary Comazzolo. They have failed people across this province who need support to live in their homes by their underfunding of CCACs and their abandonment of some of the most vulnerable people in Ontario.

EVENTS IN STORMONT–DUNDAS–SOUTH GLENGARRY

Mr. Jim Brownell: This is my first opportunity to publicly welcome back all my colleagues to this session in the Legislature.

After an event-filled summer, it is once again my pleasure to represent the constituents of Stormont–Dundas–South Glengarry as their member of provincial Parliament in this House. I am pleased to say that, through the work of the McGuinty government, my riding of Stormont–Dundas–South Glengarry has benefited from numerous funding commitments that will improve the quality of life for the citizens of eastern Ontario.

On September 1, Reynolds Food Packaging Canada in Summerstown, south Glengarry, received $102,225 through the eastern Ontario development fund to increase production and to create 45 new manufacturing jobs over the next four years.

A little over a week later, on September 9, Beavers Dental in Morrisburg, in Dundas county, received a grant of $412,939 through the same eastern Ontario development fund to help the company expand and create 10 new manufacturing jobs over the next two years.

On September 7, we celebrated the opening of 32 affordable housing units on Sixth Street in Cornwall through more than $2.2 million in funding through the Canada-Ontario affordable housing program.

With work now under way at the new Discovery Centre at Upper Canada Village and major capital works being carried out at Crysler’s Farm Battlefield park and the Long Sault Parkway, the St. Lawrence Parks Commission will soon welcome tourists to rejuvenated sites along the St. Lawrence River, through the investment of more than $16 million.

This is only a fraction of the good news that was delivered to my riding this summer, and I thank the McGuinty government—

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

POWER PLANT

Mrs. Julia Munro: Just last week, Ontario’s Environmental Commissioner revealed the sham that is this government’s environmental protection system. He revealed that local citizens had made multiple requests to bump up the peaker plant in my riding to a full environmental assessment. He said that the requesters made compelling arguments.

People are worried about possible impacts of the proposed natural gas-fired generator on local farmland and water, and whether the plant conforms to local and provincial planning policies. The province denied their request, and the commissioner said that if a request was not granted in this case, it is difficult to imagine a situation when such a request would be approved. In fact, the commissioner could not find any bump-up requests that this government has granted.

Not only did the government refuse a bump-up request for this plant, it now wants to exempt the whole project from the Planning Act. I remember a few years ago when this government made such a big deal over establishing the greenbelt. Now they want to put a power plant in the middle of it without proper environmental review and with no say given to local residents.

Your environmental policies are a sham, and people are—

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

PAKISTAN INDEPENDENCE DAY

Mr. Phil McNeely: On September 21, 2010, I had the pleasure of attending a celebration of the 63rd anniversary of Pakistan Independence Day. This celebration was organized by the Canada-Pakistan Association of the National Capital Region, under the direction of president Lubna Syed, a community leader from my riding of Orléans. Although the tragic flooding in Pakistan weighed heavily on the Pakistani community, there were reasons to rejoice and celebrate the individual accomplishments of its members.

Canadians of Pakistani origin have produced many leaders in Ottawa, and some were honoured during the wonderful independence day celebration. Dr. Munir Sheikh, formerly Canada’s chief statistician, was praised for his accomplishments and his principled position, recently taken at great personal loss, but for the good of all Canadians.

Bushra Saeed was honoured. She had won the principal’s award for leadership and the John Ralston Saul Award at her high school. This young Orléans woman then graduated with a degree in international development and globalization. She has shown tremendous courage as she recovers from injuries suffered during her tour in Afghanistan as a foreign service officer.

These are only two proud Canadians of Pakistani heritage honoured for their leadership during this important and interesting celebration.

Sana Syed did a great job as emcee for the evening.

TVONTARIO

Mr. Wayne Arthurs: I’m pleased today to recognize the celebration of a tremendous milestone for TVO: their 40th anniversary. An aside: That’s only one year less than my wife’s and my anniversary, our 41st, which is happening today as well.

Mr. Mike Colle: Happy anniversary.

Mr. Wayne Arthurs: Thank you.

We’re joined today in the Legislature by TVO chair Peter O’Brian. TVO has been part of this province for four decades, pushing the boundaries of educational media in Ontario with an innovative focus on children’s learning, supporting parents and citizen engagement. TVO continues to add new educational content to its programming, promoting literacy, citizenship and e-learning. We’re committed to a strong and healthy TVO.

This celebration includes some special content. TVO is unlocking some of its best educational content from the past 40 years and creating a new public archive which will be freely available to all Ontarians. This archive will be a valuable online resource that can be used by Ontarians to access rare or vintage interviews, Ontario stories, and children’s content that stands the test of time. It is exciting that TVO is preserving our culture and history in this way, and we should all be proud to live in a province with such a rich history.

I want to thank TVO for 40 years of excellence and for providing Ontarians with a truly unique way to experience our history.

KRISTAL GIESEBRECHT

Mrs. Maria Van Bommel: It’s with great sadness that I rise today to pay tribute to Master Corporal Kristal Giesebrecht of Wallaceburg, a Canadian soldier who was killed in combat on June 26 this year while she was serving in the Kandahar region of Afghanistan.

Master Corporal Giesebrecht was a medic in the 1 Canadian Field Hospital, based at CFB Petawawa, and while on her second tour of duty in Afghanistan was attached to the 1st Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment battle group.

Only the third Canadian woman to be killed in combat, Master Corporal Giesebrecht was repatriated on June 29 and was laid to rest on July 6 at Petawawa.

Born and raised in Wallaceburg, Ontario, Master Corporal Giesebrecht attended Ursuline College in Chatham and St. Lawrence College in Kingston before joining the Canadian Armed Forces. Described by friends and family who knew her best, Master Corporal Giesebrecht was an outgoing, athletic and energetic woman, a caring and wonderful friend, and a mentor and inspiration to her fellow soldiers.

On behalf of all members of the Legislature, I send my condolences and sympathies to the family and friends of Master Corporal Giesebrecht as they mourn the loss of a wife, a stepmother, a daughter, a sister, an aunt, a friend and a fellow soldier. I request that we observe a moment of silence in memory of Master Corporal Kristal Giesebrecht.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): I’d ask all members and our guests to please rise as we observe a moment of silence in memory of Master Corporal Kristal Giesebrecht.

The House observed a moment’s silence.

PETITIONS

DIAGNOSTIC SERVICES

M me France Gélinas: I have this petition from the people of Nickel Belt and it goes as follows:

“Whereas the Ontario government is making ... PET scanning a publicly insured health service available to cancer and cardiac patients...; and

“Whereas,” since October 2009, “insured PET scans” have been “performed in Ottawa, London, Toronto, Hamilton and Thunder Bay; and

“Whereas the city of Greater Sudbury is a hub for health care in northeastern Ontario, with the Sudbury Regional Hospital, its regional cancer program and the Northern Ontario School of Medicine;

“We ... petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to make PET scans available through the Sudbury Regional Hospital, thereby serving and providing equitable access to the citizens of northeastern Ontario.”

I fully support this petition, will affix my name to it and send it to the Clerk with page Nick.

CHILD CARE

Ms. Sylvia Jones: This petition is to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas the Minister of Community and Social Services, Madeleine Meilleur, has decided that grandparents caring for their grandchildren no longer qualify for temporary care assistance; and

“Whereas the removal of the temporary care assistance could mean that children will be forced into foster care; and

“Whereas the temporary care assistance amounted to $231 per month, much less than a foster family would receive to look after the same children if they were forced into foster care;

“We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to immediately reverse the decision to remove temporary care assistance for grandparents looking after their grandchildren.”

I support this petition and affix my name to it.

REPLACEMENT WORKERS

M me France Gélinas: I have this petition, coming from all over Ontario, and it goes as follows:

“Whereas strikes and lockouts are rare: 97% of collective agreements are settled without a strike or lockout; and

“Whereas anti-temporary replacement workers laws have existed in Quebec since 1978; in British Columbia since 1993; and successive governments in those two provinces have never repealed these laws; and

“Whereas anti-temporary replacement workers legislation has reduced the length and divisiveness of labour disputes; and

“Whereas the use of temporary replacement workers during a strike or lockout is damaging to the social fabric of a community in the short and the long term as well as the well-being of its residents;

“Therefore we ... petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to enact legislation banning the use of temporary replacement workers during a strike or lockout.”

I fully support this petition, will affix my name to it and send it to the Clerk with page Megan.

BRITISH HOME CHILDREN

Mr. Jim Brownell: I have a petition signed by a number of constituents from Scarborough. It reads as follows:

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas, between 1869 and 1939, more than 100,000 British home children arrived in Canada from group homes and orphanages in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland; and

“Whereas the story of the British home children is one of challenge, determination and perseverance; and

“Whereas due to their remarkable courage, strength and perseverance, Canada’s British home children endured and went on to lead healthy and productive lives and contributed immeasurably to the development of Ontario’s economy and prosperity; and

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

“Enact Bill 12, a private member’s bill introduced by MPP Jim Brownell on March 23, 2010,

an act to proclaim September 28 of each year as Ontario home child day.”

As I agree with this petition, I shall sign it and send it to the clerks’ table.

CHILD CARE

Ms. Sylvia Jones: Another petition, this one from the Women’s Institute in Acton:

“Whereas the Minister of Community and Social Services, Madeleine Meilleur, has decided that grandparents caring for their grandchildren no longer qualify for temporary care assistance; and

“Whereas the removal of the temporary care assistance could mean that children will be forced into foster care; and

“Whereas the temporary care assistance amounted to $231 per month, much less than a foster family would receive to look after the same children if they were forced into foster care;

“We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to immediately reverse the decision to remove temporary care assistance for grandparents looking after their grandchildren.”

I support this petition, am pleased to affix my name to it and give it to page Megan.

HOME WARRANTY PROGRAM

Ms. Cheri DiNovo: This is a petition from a number of residents living in the 905 area.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas homeowners have purchased a newly built home in good faith and often soon find they are victims of construction defects, often including Ontario building code violations, such as faulty heating, ventilation and air conditioning ... systems, leaking roofs, cracked foundations, etc.;

“Whereas often when homeowners seek restitution and repairs from the builder and the Tarion Warranty Corp., they encounter an unwieldy bureaucratic system that often fails to compensate them for the high cost of repairing these construction defects, while the builder often escapes with impunity;

“Whereas the Tarion Warranty Corp. is supposed to be an important part of the consumer protection system in Ontario related to newly built homes;

“Whereas the government to date has ignored calls to make its Tarion agency truly accountable to consumers;

“Be it resolved that we, the undersigned, support MPP Cheri DiNovo’s private member’s bill, which calls for the Ombudsman to be given oversight of Tarion and the power to deal with unresolved complaints;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to amend the Ontario New Home Warranties Plan Act to provide that the Ombudsman’s powers under the Ombudsman Act in respect of any governmental organization apply to the corporation established under the Ontario New Home Warranties Plan Act, and to provide for necessary modifications in the application of the Ombudsman Act.”

I couldn’t agree more, and I’m going to sign it and give it to Emily G. to deliver.

ORDERS OF THE DAY

NARCOTICS SAFETY

AND AWARENESS ACT, 2010 /

LOI DE 2010 SUR LA SÉCURITÉ

ET LA SENSIBILISATION

EN MATIÈRE DE STUPÉFIANTS

Ms. Matthews moved second reading of the following bill:

Bill 101,

An Act to provide for monitoring the prescribing and dispensing of certain controlled substances / Projet de loi 101, Loi prévoyant la surveillance des activités liées à la prescription et à la préparation de certaines substances désignées.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Debate?

Hon. Deborah Matthews: I will be sharing my time with my parliamentary assistant, the member from Guelph.

I rise in the House once more to speak to second reading of our government’s proposed Narcotics Safety and Awareness Act.

Before I start, I would like to acknowledge Linda Sibley, in the gallery. Linda is the executive director of Addiction Services of Thames Valley. She graciously hosted us when we announced our provincial narcotics strategy last August in London.

I would also like to thank the members of the Narcotics Advisory Panel. Their advice has been key in the development of our strategy, which has led to this proposed legislation.

There is no question that this act, if passed, would save lives and protect individuals and families from the damaging effects of the misuse of prescription narcotics and controlled substances. At the same time, with this proposed legislation, our goal is to restore the balance between providing appropriate pain treatment for those who need it while preventing misuse, abuse and addiction.

I would like to remind members of the crisis that is hurting families across Ontario. It’s a crisis we must address, and we must address it now.

I was honoured last week to have Toronto doctor Rick Glazier join me in the House for the introduction of this bill. As you will remember, Dr. Glazier lost his 18-year-old son, who struggled with depression and anxiety, last year to an unintentional narcotic overdose. What struck me about Daniel Glazier’s story is that his father, Dr. Rick Glazier, is someone who can prescribe narcotics.

He is a physician. On one hand, he can point to how important access to these drugs is for patients in need of pain management. On the other hand, he understands how important it is that the patient and prescribers better understand the dangers associated with these drugs, and that those responsible for the wide availability of these drugs for illicit purposes are identified and dealt with appropriately.

It took a lot of courage on the part of Dr. Glazier and his family to share their story. Dr. Glazier has gone on the record himself in support of our narcotics strategy. In a recent Toronto Star article, he said, “The main purpose [of the strategy] is to prevent these kinds of deaths and this kind of suffering, and we felt we had to do what we could to support it, even if it meant being in an emotional and difficult place.”

I think a lot of good has already come from the bravery that Dr. Glazier has shown. I’ve heard of other parents and people suffering from addictions coming forward to tell their stories. What Dr. Glazier has experienced first-hand is happening to families province-wide.

When it comes to prescription narcotics abuse, the facts are staggering: Thousands of people have died as a result of the abuse of narcotics. The coroner’s office has reported a dramatic increase in overall opioid-related mortality. Indeed, three times more people die as a result of prescription narcotics than of HIV/AIDS. Narcotics-abuse-related admissions to publicly funded treatment and addiction services doubled between 2004 and 2009. Prescription drug charges in Toronto tripled between 2005 and 2008. And according to police, OxyContin has become a lucrative commodity trafficked by both individuals and organized crime groups.

Dr. Glazier’s story is just one of the many stories I have heard about the damaging effects of narcotics.

I have heard from Dr. Andrew McCallum, the chief coroner for Ontario. He said that “deaths due to prescripttion drug use, unlike illicit drugs, can be more easily prevented with the right tools.”

The chiefs of our First Nations communities have declared states of emergency because of this problem—a problem that is devastating their communities and their people. And I’ve heard from pharmacists who have been terrified after being robbed at knifepoint for their drugs that they keep on hand.

According to Dennis Darby, the CEO of the Ontario Pharmacists’ Association, “The misuse of prescription narcotics is a growing concern in Ontario and has become a serious safety issue for pharmacists and for their patients.”

The police report that there has been an increase in crime because these drugs are trafficked on the street. Deputy Chief Ian Peer from my hometown of London joined me at the end of August as we released our strategy. He said, “Misuse and abuse of prescription narcotics does not just impact one’s health. It impacts public safety in many Ontario communities. I am very pleased to see the province bring forward the narcotics strategy....”

The abuse of prescription narcotics or painkillers has emerged as a public safety issue in jurisdictions around the world. These drugs are being over-prescribed, they are being overused, and they are being obtained illegally and sold on the street for profit, while the people who buy them are getting sick and are dying.

Canada is one of the world’s top per capita users of prescription narcotics, and in Canada, Ontario is at the top of the list of narcotic use on a per capita basis. It is not something we are proud of. This situation cannot be allowed to continue. We have to take steps to reduce the abuse so that people who need pain relief get it, but in the right doses and for the right length of time.

That’s where our proposed legislation comes in. This legislation, if passed, would allow the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care to collect, analyze, and disclose personal health information that relates to all prescription narcotics and controlled substances.

You see, Speaker, today there is simply no mechanism in place to stop people from going to several different doctors and several different pharmacies over and over again to get prescription narcotics. This has resulted in very high quantities of prescription narcotics and controlled substances being prescribed and dispensed, all with minimal oversight.

We are proposing an electronic database to enable the ministry to collect, monitor and analyze information related to prescription narcotics and other controlled substances. We would then be able to identify patterns of inappropriate or excessive prescribing and dispensing. It would allow us to implement a province-wide system of alerts when attempts to visit multiple prescribers, or visit multiple pharmacies, are detected. The database would provide access to comprehensive information, promote better prescribing and dispensing practices, and reduce the risk of addiction and death.

In particular, this database would allow for monitoring and analysis of this information for the purpose of flagging concerning or problematic patterns in usage, prescribing and dispensing. We are also moving towards a tiered response to the inappropriate use of narcotics, which could include educational support and resources, reporting to the appropriate regulatory college and, in extreme circumstances, reporting to law enforcement. The database would provide greater accountability for health care professionals and protect our patients.

But the database is only one part of our overall narcotics strategy. As part of our broader narcotics strategy, we will also raise public awareness about safety, including youth education. We will also incorporate more narcotic and pain management education into the medical school curriculum, and we will work to educate prescribers and pharmacists about the appropriate use and dispensing of prescription narcotics. And by working with a group of experts, we are developing recommendations on how we can best move forward with better treatments for addictions. We’re working to find a balance between access to pain treatment for patients and preventing misuse, abuse, and addiction.

You will recall that the all-party select committee of the Legislature on mental health and addictions released its report just a few weeks ago. Recommendation number 11 of that report was that the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care should immediately address the problem of addiction to prescription painkillers. With this proposed legislation, we are taking quick action to address the committee’s recommendation.

We’re committed to creating a mental health and addictions system that provides the right supports to people when they need them, as close to home as possible. Work is under way right now to improve the integration and collaboration to better meet the needs of Ontarians. We are basing our decisions on the best evidence available.

My advisory group on mental health and addictions will provide advice on overall direction and priorities for a new 10-year provincial strategy. This group is composed of a mix of consumers, families, providers, and researchers from across the province. Developing the strategy gives us the opportunity to raise the profile of mental health and addiction issues, it will help us identify opportunities to leverage existing resources, and it will ensure that the concerns and needs of people and families living with mental illness and addiction are addressed.

I take very seriously the select committee’s report and will take it into consideration along with the recommendations made by my advisory group, our ministerial colleagues and our partners as we work to develop a comprehensive 10-year mental health and addictions strategy for Ontario.

Sadly, it is no exaggeration to say that people are dying due to their addiction to prescription painkillers. As a government, we simply have to act, and we have to act now. This legislation is a big step forward, and I am asking all members to support it.

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Cheri DiNovo): Further debate?

Mrs. Liz Sandals: I’m pleased to rise in the House today to expand on the comments made by the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care at this second reading of our government’s proposed Narcotics Safety and Awareness Act.

As the minister just said, the misuse and abuse of prescription narcotics is having a devastating effect on individuals, on their families and, indeed, on entire communities across Ontario. Drugs containing oxycodone or other narcotics can lead to addiction in anyone, and they affect everyone differently. Some people can take them as prescribed and move on with their lives; others become addicted. Neither the person’s level of education, nor socio-economic status, nor personal traits determine the outcome. In every community, across the spectrum of all ages and both sexes, addiction to prescription narcotics can lead to very damaging outcomes.

Often, what touches off dependence is a commonplace occurrence that can happen to any one of us, something like an injury at a workplace, dental surgery, an accident. The person’s physician or dentist may prescribe narcotic-containing medications for the pain. Without suffering any sort of prior traumatic history or personal difficulties, the individual can get addicted. He or she needs more and more of the drug when pain makes it unbearable to do without the drug. People who have never abused drugs in their lives get on oxy or another narcotic and can’t get off it on their own without the help of some sort of support network or medical intervention.

Previously productive people become unable to support themselves. In fact, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board says that the over-prescription of addictive narcotics can have a damaging effect on injured workers’ health and ability to return to work.

When the public accounts committee was looking at the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board this past winter, it was interesting that this whole discussion around the high cost of dealing with people who are addicted to oxycodone came up in the report of the Auditor General on the WSIB in looking at areas where their costs have escalated. So it isn’t just medical professionals who are telling us about this need do something to intervene. It’s actually coming from places as unexpected as the province’s Auditor General.

In response, the WSIB has developed and implemented its own narcotics prescription strategy and welcomes our government’s initiative in promoting responsible use of these addictive drugs.

It’s a shocking, sometimes even shameful thing for people and their families to discover that they are addicted to prescription painkillers. And it leads to much worse. They may lose their family health care provider, who no longer wants to continue providing the drug. They may face stigma, the loss of productivity and, in extreme cases, the loss of family, friends and other community connections as they fall deeper into the spiral of addiction.

For the broader community, the effects are very serious too. Feeding their drug habit becomes the central focus of addicted people’s lives. If they can’t get prescriptions from their doctor anymore, they may resort to crime to support their addiction. That means more robberies, more violence and more drug trafficking in communities right cross Ontario.

Prescription narcotics have become a highly lucrative commodity, resulting in widespread diversion from legal use into trafficking by individuals and organized crime groups.

Significant increases in pharmacy robberies and thefts of narcotics are making their profession dangerous for pharmacists in communities across Ontario. In fact, the pharmacy just down the street from me was broken into a few months ago during a rash of narcotics-related break-ins at pharmacies in Guelph.

This is a problem that has been many years in the making. Since 1991, prescriptions for oxycodone-containing medications have risen by 900%. That’s nine times the use level that it was just a few years ago. The ministry spent $156 million on narcotics for Ontario drug benefit program recipients in just one year, 2009-10, for 3.9 million prescriptions. This equates to an average of over six prescriptions per person on that drug plan. Now, obviously, not every individual has six prescriptions for painkillers, which tells you that some individuals have a very high number of prescriptions. But the average annual cost per person is $260 for the Ontario drug benefit program.

Such overuse and misuse mean higher rates of narcotics-related overdose deaths, which, tragically, have doubled since 2004. They also mean higher rates of addiction and admittance to treatment centres, where, again, admissions have doubled between 2004 and 2008. This places additional pressure on the province’s 150 substance abuse treatment programs.

One of the groups most affected is First Nations. In fact, a majority of Ontario’s First Nation communities, including the Chiefs of Ontario, have declared a state of emergency over the abuse of prescription narcotics, particularly oxycodone-containing drugs. The Matawa Chiefs have stated that prescription narcotics abuse and addictions are putting “people’s lives at risk, resulting in spiking crime rates, theft, violence, child neglect and elder abuse.” The Matawa Chiefs also expressed growing concerns about the development of an underground economy with drug dealers targeting their communities, and with rising crime.

Minister Matthews mentioned the report of the Select Committee on Mental Health and Addiction. I was very privileged to serve on that committee, and every single First Nation community we visited as we travelled around the province identified the abuse of prescription narcotics as, really, their leading addiction challenge currently. We heard about it over and over again, and I think it’s one of the things that truly surprised the committee, in the sense that we didn’t realize how extensive the problem was until we talked to the folks we visited with around the province.

We heard in one remote northern community that one tablet of OxyContin could cost several hundred dollars. People were so desperate to get hold of the drug that the price had gone to this unbelievable level as it was being illegally trafficked.

But I wouldn’t want to leave readers with the impression that this is simply a First Nations problem. Again, as we travelled around the province in urban Ontario and in rural Ontario, we heard the same thing. It’s a rising problem: narcotics addiction through prescription narcotics. In fact, I’ve heard the same thing in my riding of Guelph.

One of the first visits that I had as a new MPP was from Sister Christine, who runs our local drop-in centre. The first thing she wanted to talk to me about, actually, wasn’t poverty or the lack of housing, which would be what I might have expected. The thing that was at the very top of her list was her observation of the growing number of people, among the most vulnerable people in our community, who were becoming dependent on prescription narcotics.

Over the years I’ve heard from families who are at their wit’s end. Again, we hear the story all over the place: Someone has been injured, goes for surgery, is prescribed prescription painkillers and becomes dependent, and the family is at their wit’s end trying to figure out how to intervene in this cycle of addiction.

Wherever the select committee went in the province, we heard that this was indeed a problem and, as the minister mentioned, this led us to make the recommendation that the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care should immediately address the problem of addiction to prescription painkillers. So, I’m very pleased that the minister has recognized that the problems are serious and we just cannot let this situation fester and do nothing about it.

We, as a ministry and as a government, feel that we need to take strong action to turn the tide. That’s why the minister struck the Narcotics Advisory Panel to provide advice on how best to develop Ontario’s narcotics strategy. It was established in March 2009. The 12-member group includes family physicians, pain and addiction specialists, pharmacists, coroner’s office representatives, professional regulatory bodies and law enforcement. They recommended a multi-pronged approach of a broad narcotics strategy, and this proposed legislation is one piece.

But the broader strategy will focus on treating patients with addiction, investigate additional options for treating and supporting those addicted to prescription narcotics and controlled substances, develop educational workshops on the treatment of narcotics dependence, and support the work with relevant partner treatment and addiction organizations and agencies, including the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and ConnexOntario.

We also intend to educate Ontarians about the danger of misusing and abusing prescription narcotics. We will take steps to ensure that these drugs are appropriately prescribed, dispensed and used. It may be interesting to you to know that our narcotics strategy would put Ontario in line with six other provinces and 33 US states that have prescription drug monitoring programs in place already. Our government is focused on helping individuals, families and communities avoid and recover from the effects of prescription drug misuse and abuse.

We need the support of every member for our proposed Narcotics Safety and Awareness Act to make this happen. I sincerely hope that all three parties will support this legislation.

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Cheri DiNovo): Questions and comments?

Mrs. Christine Elliott: I am pleased to rise at this point to make a few comments on the remarks that have already been made by the Minister of Health and the member from Guelph. I will be expanding on them in due course in my own remarks, that is, but we certainly acknowledge the need to take steps to deal with the growing problem with prescription drug abuse. It is exploding across communities all over Ontario, and it is something that is going to require a multi-faceted approach, of which the maintenance of this database is one part.

There are many other recommendations that have been made by a number of groups that have knowledge of this issue: by the pharmacists’ association, by the College of Physicians and Surgeons and by our own Select Committee on Mental Health and Addictions. We released our report at the end of August and did recommend that the minister take steps immediately to address the issue of prescription drug abuse. I’m pleased to see that this matter is coming forward in a very timely manner, because it is something that needs to be addressed. We have had far too many fatalities.

There was a physician who was in the audience and was part of the narcotics control panel. He had tragically lost his own son some 14 months ago as a result of an accidental overdose of prescription drug medication. Any one of our young people that we lose to such a horrible addiction—we certainly need to do everything we can as legislators in order to make sure that we stop this problem in its tracks.

There are lots of other issues that I would like to speak about. There are some concerns that some groups have with respect to maintaining a balanced approach to this to make sure that the people who do require pain medication for chronic conditions for legitimate reasons will continue to have access to those medications. We look forward to hearing from those groups in committee once we pass second reading so that we can make sure that this is a fully balanced approach that deals with the problem but doesn’t prevent those needing the medication from getting it.

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Cheri DiNovo): Questions and comments?

M me France Gélinas: I was pleased to see that shortly after—that shortly that it was the day after—the Select Committee on Mental Health and Addictions put out their report, Navigating the Journey to Wellness: The Comprehensive Mental Health and Addictions Action Plan for Ontarians. One of our recommendations—number 11—talked about the need to address narcotics misuse in as brief a time frame as possible. The next day, the minister actually announced that she was going to take a step in that direction. When we talk about quick timing, I was very pleased with this.

We have 23 recommendations. There have been 22 days since then, and the rest of them are not coming quite as quickly. But still, let’s celebrate small victories, and that certainly was one.

As soon as the House was called back, the Minister of Health introduced Bill 101, which we’re talking about today and which gives us a better idea as to what needed to be changed in the law in order to move their strategy forward. The creation of a data bank, the creation of a monitoring system, is certainly something that we support. It’s something that is needed in Ontario and something that will help, so we will certainly be in favour of those steps.

In my remarks, I will be going into further details as to what also needs to come with Bill 101 in order to truly reflect recommendation number 11 in our report, and I look forward to doing so this afternoon.

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Cheri DiNovo): Questions and comments?

Mr. Mike Colle: A while ago, I was speaking to the mayor of Brockton, Charlie Bagnato, about the fight people of his community have had with the problems of OxyContin and the devastating effect it’s had on young people especially, and the addiction that is devastating. It’s very much directly related to this legislation.

We always think of drugs—we think of cocaine, we think of marijuana and all these other drugs, but, sad to say, these prescription narcotics that you get at your drugstore are devastating families all across Ontario. The drugstores—they’re legally prescribed. The astonishing stat here is that between 1991 and 2009, prescriptions for narcotics containing oxycodone, like Percocet and OxyContin, rose by more than 900%.

I see some young people sitting here in the audience. Be wary of these prescribed drugs. If you’ve got a problem, see your doctor. There isn’t always a solution through narcotics prescriptions. Please avoid them. I think what we’re trying to do is educate all of us—all the doctors and pharmacists, all the families, parents and students across Ontario—that this kind of madness has got to stop. It is horrendous.

I know there is a multi-million dollar football player, JaMarcus Russell with the Oakland Raiders—this guy is making about $10 million a year. He’s addicted to this thing called purple drank, which is basically codeine syrup plus some alcohol. He’s so buzzed out, he’s no longer playing football. This is a guy who had the whole world in front of him—$10 million a year, a quarterback with the Oakland Raiders, an incredible superstar. But because of an addiction to codeine that’s prescribed, legally or illegally, this young man is now basically devastated—

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Cheri DiNovo): Thank you. Questions and comments?

Ms. Sylvia Jones: I’m pleased to respond to the minister’s and the parliamentary assistant’s comments on the leadoff for Bill 101.

I was happy to hear the minister make reference to the database as being only one part of the strategy. It’s vitally important that we are able to track where these prescription narcotics and drugs are being prescribed and by whom, but it is equally important to actually assist people who have already become addicted. We saw that first-hand, of course, travelling with the Select Committee on Mental Health and Addictions.

I think particularly of a very proactive band council in Sandy Lake, where they purchased a drug-sniffing dog and were able to decrease the amount of prescription drugs that were basically being smuggled into the community. But the chief’s point was that we still have the young people and the individuals who have this addiction and we must treat that addiction.

I hope that once we get past Bill 101 and once we have it in committee, the next stage we will talk about is how we can actually ensure that those people who have become addicted are going to have the access to treatment that they so desperately need. It’s not like switching off a switch; it’s a pretty tough addiction to shake. We owe it to the individuals who have already been caught in that web to ensure that the access to treatment is available to everyone in Ontario.

So while I support Bill 101, I hope it’s not the last step on this journey.

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Cheri DiNovo): The Minister of Health and Long-Term Care has up to two minutes to respond.

Hon. Deborah Matthews: I would like to thank the members from Guelph, Whitby–Oshawa, Nickel Belt, Eglinton–Lawrence and Dufferin–Caledon.

I have to say that I am extremely pleased with the response that this legislation is receiving from members in this Legislature. I think we have, many of us, started to learn and have heard first-hand stories about the devastation that is caused by the abuse of prescription narcotics, and it is very heartening to hear that members from all three parties in this Legislature are encouraging us to push forward with this. We, of course, know that this is not the solution to all that ails, but it is a big step forward. It will prevent new people from becoming addicted, and that is a very important part of a comprehensive strategy to reduce the abuse of prescription narcotics.

I think that, as people in this Legislature, we sometimes have opportunities to talk to people that we would not if we didn’t have this very privileged role, and I do encourage all members in the House to take the time to visit the addiction treatment centres in their communities and talk with people who have first-hand experience with this major problem. I think if we all do that, we will be able to move forward as quickly as possible. The faster we can get on with this, the happier I’ll be.

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Cheri DiNovo): Further debate?

Mrs. Christine Elliott: I appreciate the opportunity to speak once again on behalf of the PC caucus to the Narcotics Safety and Awareness Act, 2010.

In my response to the minister’s statement on this subject on September 15, I did indicate preliminary support for this bill, subject to a more thorough review. We continue to support this legislation but stress that it must be only the first in a series of steps that need to be taken in order to properly address the issue of prescription drug abuse in Ontario. The minister has already acknowledged it as such, so we look forward to seeing more strategies forthcoming in the next few months.

In the time available to me, I would like to speak to the extent of the problem and some of the other steps that in our view need to be taken, as well as to outline some of the comments and concerns that have been expressed to me to date with respect to this bill.

Ontario is in the midst of a public health and safety crisis stemming from the inappropriate prescribing, dispensing and illicit use of the group of prescription drugs known as opioids. These drugs, which are commonly referred to as narcotics, are used to relieve moderate to severe pain. There are two types of narcotics that are usually taken orally: short-acting and long-acting. Percocet and Tylenol 3 are types of short-acting medication, while OxyContin, which contains oxycodone, is an example of a long-lasting medication. In instances of severe addiction, these tablets are not ingested orally but are either crushed and snorted as a powder or are mixed with liquid and directly injected.

These narcotics are powerful pain relievers that, used properly, provide relief to sufferers of chronic pain. Recently, however, their use has been diverted, and opioid misuse now accounts for an increasing number of fatalities, a huge increase in addictions, growing crime rates and significant social consequences that have already been alluded to by the minister and by her parliamentary assistant.

This problem is not confined to Canada, but Canada is the world’s largest per capita consumer of opioids, and Ontario is at the top of the list in Canada for narcotic use on a per capita basis. Between 1991 and 2009, the number of prescriptions in Ontario for oxycodone drugs rose by 900%. OxyContin, a type of oxycodone drug, is the most easily procured opioid for non-medical use on the streets of Toronto.

According to a report recently prepared by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario on this subject called Avoiding Abuse, Achieving a Balance, “There has been a steep and unprecedented increase in the number of individuals seeking treatment for oxycodone addiction since controlled-release (long-acting) oxycodone products became available in 1995.

The number of admissions at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) medical withdrawal management service seeking treatment for opioid detoxification related to controlled-release oxycodone went from 3.8% of ... admissions in 2000 to 55.4% in 2004,” a startling increase.

CAMH also found that among Ontario high school students, one fifth reported using opioids or at least one prescription drug without a doctor’s prescription in 2009, compared to only 12% of students who reported smoking cigarettes. That was shocking to me. I had no idea that the amount was so high.

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Cheri DiNovo): I’d just ask you to stop the clock for a minute. I would ask those members who would like to have private conversations to perhaps take them to the members’ chambers outside. Thank you.

The member can continue. Thanks.

Mrs. Christine Elliott: Thank you, Speaker.

The report also contains statistics concerning fatalities. Deaths due to oxycodone rose from 35 in 2002 to 119 in 2006, an increase of 240%.

The impact on public health is clear; so too are the legal and social consequences. In communities across Ontario, the trafficking of prescription narcotics by both individuals and organized crime groups has resulted in a doubling of prescription drug arrests in Toronto between 2005 and 2008 and a significant increase in pharmacy robberies and thefts of prescription narcotics.

As many of us have seen, most pharmacies now across the province of Ontario have signs in their windows or on their doors saying that they do not routinely carry products with oxycodone, but they will special-order it in for specific patients’ use. That’s to keep them from having robberies being perpetrated across the province with an ever-increasing frequency.

The problem with the abuse of prescription narcotics is particularly acute in many First Nations communities. Being a member of the Select Committee on Mental Health and Addictions, I had the opportunity to travel to some of our First Nations communities where the population has really been decimated, particularly in the north, where the OxyContin tablet that may sell on the streets of Toronto for $45 to $50 sells for several hundred dollars.

In a situation where you may have an average income per month of about $1,000, and one tablet can take up several hundred dollars, you can imagine the kind of social upheaval that this problem is causing in many of our communities, as it is across all of our communities in Ontario.

Before I move on to the legislation itself—and I’d like to spend a little bit of time on that—there is one further statistic to share, and that is the cost of these drugs within our health care system. In 2009-10, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care spent $156 million on narcotics for Ontario drug benefit program recipients, or 3.9 million prescriptions. This equates to an average of six prescriptions per person and an annual cost of $260 per person. This, of course, doesn’t include the number of narcotics prescriptions that are paid for privately, but the implications are clear: We need to do something about this problem, and we need to do it immediately.

So what does Bill 101 do? It’s part of Ontario’s overall narcotics strategy, which aims to promote the proper use of prescription narcotics and to reduce drug abuse and addictions among Ontarians.

In developing this strategy, the ministry relied upon the expert assistance of the Narcotics Advisory Panel, and we are certainly grateful for their advice and counsel, as well as the assistance which the ministry has received from key stakeholders, including health profession regulatory colleges, First Nations communities, law enforcement officials, pharmaceutical manufacturers, third party payers, families who have lost children to narcotics overdoses, and individuals themselves suffering from addiction.

According to the ministry, the narcotics strategy will:

(1) curb inappropriate access to prescription narcotics and other controlled substances by providing education and raising public awareness about the safe use of these drugs;

(2) partner with the health care sector to support appropriate prescribing and dispensing practices through education;

(3) improve monitoring of the prescribing and dispensing of narcotics and controlled substances through the development of a provincial narcotics database; and

(4) look into options for treating and supporting those addicted to prescription narcotics and controlled substances.

So Bill 101 deals with one element of the strategy, and that is the creation of the database, but there are many other aspects to this strategy that remain to be implemented. The provincial narcotics database would allow the ministry to monitor and analyze prescribing patterns to detect unusual or inappropriate behaviour and to take action as necessary. Currently, there is no way for a doctor or other prescribing health care professional to find out if his or her patient has recently been prescribed a narcotic or other controlled substance.

That came as a big surprise to me, and I would imagine that comes as a big surprise to many people across the province of Ontario, but that’s the way it is right now. This has led to a massive increase in what they call “double-doctoring” or “doctor shopping,” where people go from one physician to another and one pharmacy to another in order to stockpile medications which they either want to use themselves or to traffic on the market through third parties.

Other jurisdictions have already dealt with this problem. In the United States, 41 states have already enacted legislation for prescription drug monitoring programs. Nova Scotia has a program that includes legislation, monitoring, education and support for patients and health care professionals which is currently being followed by New Brunswick. Other provinces, including British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia, have triplicate prescription programs. To date, both Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia have reported a decrease in narcotics use as a result.

Within Ontario, there appears to be strong support for Bill 101. The Ontario Pharmacists’ Association supports the Ontario narcotics strategy. I quote from their press release dated August 27 of this year: “Prescription narcotic diversion and abuse is a serious safety issue for all of us—from the pharmacists and other health care professionals who are trying to ensure patients have access to the medicines they need, to the communities that are harmed by diversion and abuse.” This remark was made by Dennis Darby, the CEO of the Ontario Pharmacists’ Association.

The Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons is also developing their own strategy to deal with prescription drug abuse. They have issued a report called Avoiding Abuse, Achieving a Balance: Tackling the Opioid Public Health Crisis, which I referred to just a few moments earlier. This report actually resulted from a May 2009 forum that was facilitated by the college with a wide spectrum of stakeholders to identify issues and potential solutions. So this has been discussed for some tim