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July 7, 2014

41st Parliament, 1st Session

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Hansard Transcripts

Votes and Proceedings

Orders and Notices

Hansard Transcripts 2014-Jul-07 (PDF)

L003 - Mon 7 Jul 2014 / Lun 7 jui 2014

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO

ASSEMBLÉE LÉGISLATIVE DE L’ONTARIO

Monday 7 July 2014 Lundi 7 juillet 2014

Members’ roll

Leader of the Opposition

Introduction of Visitors

Oral Questions

Ontario budget

Health care

Ontario public service

Ontario budget

Agricultural colleges

Ontario economy

Economic development

Asthma

Privatization of public services

Pension plans

Community care access centres

Child care

Cycling policies

Election advertising

Assistance to flood victims

Estimates

Tabling of sessional papers

Introduction of Visitors

Members’ Statements

Riding of Wellington–Halton Hills

Immigrants

Ramadan

Seaforth Lions Club

Bénévoles

GO Transit

Tragedy in Kitchener–Conestoga

Beaches International Jazz Festival

Events in Northumberland–Quinte West

Introduction of Bills

Workplace Safety and Insurance Amendment Act (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), 2014 / Loi de 2014 modifiant la

Loi sur la sécurité professionnelle et l’assurance contre les accidents du travail (trouble de stress post-traumatique)

Planning Amendment Act (Enabling Municipalities to Require Inclusionary Housing), 2014 / Loi de 2014 modifiant la

Loi sur l’aménagement du territoire (inclusion de logements abordables par les municipalité

s) Metrolinx Amendment Act, 2014 / Loi de 2014 modifiant la

Loi sur Metrolinx

Respect for Municipalities Act (City of Toronto), 2014 / Loi de 2014 sur le respect des municipalités (cité de Toronto)

Infrastructure for Jobs and Prosperity Act, 2014 / Loi de 2014 sur l’infrastructure au service de l’emploi et de la prospérité

Better Business Climate Act, 2014 / Loi de 2014 visant à instaurer un climat plus propice aux affaires

Motions

Appointment of House officers

Correction of record

Petitions

Hydro rates

Alzheimer’s disease

Lyme disease

Gasoline prices

Ontario Drug Benefit Program

Credit unions

Agricultural colleges

Alzheimer’s disease

Boating safety

Diagnostic services

Ontario College of Trades

Long-term care

Hydro rates

Home care

Orders of the Day

Throne speech debate / Débat sur le discours du trône

The House met at 1030.

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

Prayers.

Members’ roll

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): I beg to inform the House that the Clerk has laid upon the table the roll of members elected at the general election 2014.

Leader of the Opposition

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): I also beg to inform the House that Mr. Wilson, member from the electoral district of Simcoe–Grey, is recognized as the leader of Her Majesty’s loyal opposition.

Introduction of Visitors

Mr. Rick Nicholls: It’s my pleasure this morning to introduce to the House my executive assistant from the great riding of Chatham–Kent–Essex, Mr. Larry Landry. Larry, welcome.

Hon. Bill Mauro: It’s my pleasure today to welcome to the Legislature members of the Nature Conservancy of Canada: Ted Ecclestone, chair; Gary Goldberg, vice-chair; and James Duncan, vice-president. We welcome them to Queen’s Park.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Further introduction of guests? The Minister of Northern Development and Mines.

Hon. Michael Gravelle: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, and welcome back as Speaker.

I’m very pleased to introduce my big sister, Susan Houghton, and her husband, Roy—great supporters of mine. Susan and Roy, welcome. Please stand up.

Hon. Madeleine Meilleur: I would like to introduce Minister Mike Nixon, who is the Minister of Justice, Attorney General and Minister of Tourism and Culture for the government of Yukon. Welcome.

Mr. Jeff Yurek: I’d like to introduce my beautiful daughter, Maggie.

Hon. Michael Coteau: I’d like to recognize two interns from my ministry who are here today who have been working very hard: Emma Cavatassi and Harrison Wong.

I also would like to recognize a young man who is in the east gallery. His name is C.J. Jayanathan. He’s up there; nice to see you, C.J.

Hon. Steven Del Duca: I’m delighted to also recognize that there are some interns who are joining us here today from my ministry: Charles, A.J. and Jay are here with us.

I also want to acknowledge two additional folks who are in the west public gallery: Najva Amin and Andrea Ernesaks.

Hon. Charles Sousa: Please give a special welcome to the Hébert family, and welcome back our former page Jasper Hébert, who is here with the rest of the Hébert family to see the current page in their family do her job: his sister Emma.

Mr. Han Dong: I would like to introduce two very important people who are in the members’ gallery: my parents, Huimin Dong and Ling Di Wang, and their friends from New Jersey in the United States, Leo Wang and Shu Wang. Welcome.

Mr. Taras Natyshak: I’d like to welcome members of the Nature Conservancy of Canada, as well as George Paisiovich. He’s a familiar face here; he’s the president of Stakeholder Relations. There will be a reception in room 230 from 11 till 2 this afternoon, and I’m sure all are welcome to attend.

Oral Questions

Ontario budget

Mr. Jim Wilson: Mr. Speaker, may I begin by congratulating you on your re-election as Speaker in this chamber. Congratulations and best wishes. Also, Premier, congratulations to you and your government: an historic win, as you are the first female Premier in the province of Ontario, a fact that we are all proud of, and best wishes, but not too many best wishes.

My question is for the Premier. Premier, your throne speech promises another $5.7 billion worth of new programs with money we don’t have, racking up a record $12.5-billion deficit. Irresponsible, unaccountable spending will never lead to balancing the budget and getting Ontario’s economy growing again.

According to economist Jack Mintz, if interest rates which have been at 20-year low levels rise, the debt burden would become significantly heavier, and “if interest rates rise to [even] historical norms, each point increase in interest could add a minimum of $3-billion in annual interest payments,” which would severely cripple Ontario’s ability to deliver services.

Premier, you claim you will eliminate the deficit in three years, yet you’re promising to spend billions more in new money—taxpayers’ money. Will you commit today to complete openness and transparency as you implement your plan with billions in new spending?

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Premier?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I, too, want to congratulate you on your re-election as Speaker, and I want to congratulate the member for Simcoe–Grey for his position as the Leader of the Opposition. Congratulations to all of the members of the House, and to all of the candidates who put their names on a ballot and ran, I want to say thank you for taking

part in the democratic process. Thank you very much.

I want to answer the last part of the Leader of the Opposition’s question first by saying that, yes, we intend to and we will operate in a very transparent manner. We will conduct business in a very open way. I think that as we reintroduce pieces of legislation, Mr. Speaker, particularly the accountability act, it will be obvious that that is the way we want to operate.

But I also want to say to both the Leader of the Opposition and the leader of the third party that it is our intention and it is our responsibility to operate in a collaborative way, so where there are possibilities of finding the best answer to questions of serious public policy in Ontario, we want to draw on ideas from all sides of the House. That is our responsibility as government, and we take it very seriously.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Mr. Jim Wilson: Well, Premier, my colleagues and I here on the opposition side are concerned that this government spending spree will dig us into such a deep hole that someday we won’t be able to afford the basic things we all care about, like health care and education. As you know, Moody’s credit rating agency changed Ontario’s debt rating outlook from stable to negative. A credit downgrade would increase our borrowing costs, taking money out of the front-line services we all depend on. Already, 40 nursing positions have been cut in North Bay, 90 nurses have been put out of work in Ottawa, and you fired 34 nurses in Windsor.

Premier, will you do the honourable thing and tell Ontarians what further front-line services you’re going to cut in order to meet your budget targets, or are you simply going to pass the buck on to future generations with the debt burden?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: I fundamentally disagree with the premise of the question that the Leader of the Opposition has put forward. First of all, I think he knows full well that there are more than 20,000 new nurses in Ontario since we came into office in 2003, net new positions, so there are thousands of new nurses.

What we are doing, Mr. Speaker, is we are transforming the system. That is what is necessary. We have a plan to build Ontario up, and that’s where the fundamental disagreement is. We know that the investments that are necessary right now will lead to that future economic growth. We know that the transformations and the investments in health care today will lead to the excellence in health care that we need today and tomorrow. Those investments in training and in skills, the investments in infrastructure, including hospitals and schools, roads and bridges and transit—those are the things that need to be done now in order to build the province up.

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

Mr. Jim Wilson: Premier, this crisis is yours. This was born out of your Liberal government’s inability to make the tough decisions and get Ontario’s finances under control. But for years you’ve sat on your hands and you’ve even continually made matters worse.

Again, Jack Mintz has said, “Ontario is sagging under the weight of monstrous public debt, uncompetitive energy prices and rising taxes.”

You’ve ignored your financial mess for too long, and now Ontario families are left holding the bag for your poor management and refusal to get a grip on the province’s finances.

Premier, just be honest. You’ve started with cuts to physiotherapy services for seniors and firing nurses. What other front-line services are you going to cut or what taxes are you going to increase?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Mr. Speaker, I’m not sure exactly whether the Leader of the Opposition is asking for more spending or less spending.

Here’s the reality: We are providing more physiotherapy services. We are providing better home care services. We are transforming the health care system. But most importantly, we are making sure that we don’t begin this next phase of Ontario’s economic history by cutting 100,000 jobs, by cutting services.

What we are doing is we are investing in the services that we know people need, that affect their quality of life. We are investing in their talent and their skills and those of their children and grandchildren. We are investing in the roads and the bridges and the transit systems that they will need. I would hope that we will have the support of the opposition, because they know full well that in every community across Ontario, those services and those investments are necessary.

Health care

Mrs. Christine Elliott: My question is to the Minister of Health. Congratulations, Minister, on your new appointment.

London hospital emergency room wait times are among the worst in the province. The provincial average for complex conditions wait times in an emergency room is 9.9 hours. However, at University Hospital the wait time in the emergency room for complex conditions is 19 hours. At the London Health Sciences Centre Victoria Hospital, the wait time for complex conditions is 12.6 hours. Minister, why are London’s emergency room wait times so far above the provincial average?

Hon. Eric Hoskins: I appreciate the question. Clearly, there is a problem at this hospital. We’re working with the hospital to decrease the ER wait times.

But I’m proud that we measure wait times, which the previous government, in terms of many aspects of health care services, did not even measure. We not only measure them, but we’ve made considerable progress right across the province in reducing the wait times for ER, and reducing the wait times for important surgical procedures in the province. In fact, in 2008—five years ago—we launched a coordinated and very comprehensive strategy to do just what the member opposite is asking: to tackle our ER wait times, working with health care professionals right across the province to make sure that we continue to make progress. We are making progress.

With the particular institution referenced, there’s clearly much, much more work that needs to be done.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary.

Mrs. Christine Elliott: Simply measuring the wait times doesn’t do it; you actually have to do something about it.

In fact, this past winter, the emergency room wait times were so bad that the London hospitals told people to stay away from the emergency rooms unless it was absolutely necessary.

But there is an answer here: 30 kilometres down the road, the emergency room at St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital has some of the lowest wait times in the province. St. Thomas has some of the best patient management systems in Ontario, and they’re very efficient at moving patients through the system. St. Thomas’s CEO, Paul Collins, believes this system is transferable to all London hospitals.

Minister, will you commit to implementing the system used at St. Thomas Elgin hospital to all London-area hospital emergency rooms?

Hon. Eric Hoskins: I’m sure even the member opposite will acknowledge that the situation in those two jurisdictions is different.

But I want to talk to her and mention that I’m proud that ER wait times across the province have gone down 12% in Ontario over the last five years. In fact, ER wait times for the sickest patients who show up in our ERs have gone down by 29.3%, while at the same time volumes for those sickest individuals have increased by 39%. So we’ve made tremendous progress there, to the point where nine out of every 10 patients who are treated in our ERs are treated within the target times—85% of complex patients within eight hours of arriving in our ERs, and 89% of uncomplicated patients are seen and treated within four hours.

We’ve made tremendous progress. Clearly there’s more work to be done, including in individual hospitals; we are doing that work.

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

Mrs. Christine Elliott: Mr. Speaker, London’s head of emergency medicine, Dr. Gary Joubert, was quoted as saying, “We’re not as terrible as the provincial numbers indicate.” Really? Minister, that’s a pretty low bar. “Not as terrible” doesn’t give a lot of comfort to people who need emergency room services in London.

You’ve indicated that you realize there are two very different operating systems. The St. Thomas hospital has a great system. Will you commit today, Minister, to implementing the same system used at the St. Thomas hospital in all of the London hospitals? It clearly works. Why wouldn’t you do it?

Hon. Eric Hoskins: Again, Mr. Speaker, we look everywhere for good advice on how we can continue to reduce the ER wait times. I want to say as well, specific to London Health Sciences, that we have provided them with over $1 million recently to help them reduce their ER wait times even further.

Part of our plan, of course, is to transition out those individuals who can be better cared for outside of hospital, because one of the challenges with our ER wait times is that there may not be beds for those individuals who have complex problems to go into immediately.

As we move people out of hospitals, we can move people from our ERs into that; that will open up ER time. We’re working closely, obviously, with London Health Sciences. We see that more progress needs to be made. We’ll work hard until we’re proud of the results, and the people in that jurisdiction of London will be proud of the results too.

Ontario public service

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Speaker, on behalf of New Democrats, I want to begin by congratulating you on your election, the Premier on her election and the forming of government, all the MPPs on their election to this place, as well as those candidates who ran in this campaign; it was an exciting campaign. I wanted to extend my congratulations.

My question, of course, is to the Premier. The Premier spent the recent election campaign denouncing Conservative plans to fire 100,000 public sector workers. Can she explain why Don Drummond says that that’s exactly what her plan will do?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: I want to especially congratulate the new members, the new NDP members, on their run and for being here in the House.

I have to say I’m somewhat concerned about the rhetoric that I’m hearing from the leader of the NDP. It sounds like she is looking for an excuse for why she didn’t support our budget. She knows perfectly well that the investments we put forward in our budget are necessary to the people of Ontario. She knows that investing in people’s talent and skills and investing in infrastructure, including transit and roads and bridges—she knows that that’s necessary, and she knows that an Ontario retirement pension plan is what is needed in the absence of the federal government stepping up to enhance the CPP.

I hope that she will support those initiatives that we are putting forward. She knows full well that the people of Ontario need them and support them.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Ms. Andrea Horwath: I would actually hope that the Premier would respond to my question, so I’m going to put it again.

When the Conservatives introduced a plan to fire 100,000 people, the Premier called that plan “disastrous.” Does the Premier think the message voters sent is that they don’t want the Conservatives to fire 100,000 people, but it’s okay for the Liberals to fire 100,000 people?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Again, Mr. Speaker, I believe that the leader of the third party is looking for some reason, anywhere she can find it, to justify why she didn’t support our budget.

She talks about comments made by Mr. Drummond. She knows perfectly well that that is not what he said. She knows perfectly well that our plan is not premised on firing 100,000 people. That was the Conservatives’ plan.

It’s interesting, because the NDP leader based her plan on the same fiscal targets that we had put out, except that she said she’d find $600 million more. So in fact she knows full well that it is not our intention to fire people. She knows full well that our plan is premised on building people up, building up the province, including the infrastructure and the talent and skills of the people of this province.

Interjections.

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

Final supplementary.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: You know, the government seems intent on reintroducing their Trojan Horse budget despite the fact that people have rejected austerity and mass—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Order. Order.

Please finish.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Economists are telling people to brace for the worst because there are major gaps in the government’s fiscal plan that have not been explained. Will the Premier come clean with Ontarians and tell them to brace for the worst?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: We have been very upfront with the people of Ontario. We have said that there are challenges confronting us. There is no doubt about that. We have said that there are constraints that we have to keep in place. We have said that there is no new money for collective agreements as we go into negotiations. We have said quite clearly that the kinds of changes that we have been making in the health care system—the changes in the delivery of service, putting more services in the community—need to continue.

But for the leader of the third party to stand up now, when she based her plan on exactly the same fiscal foundation as we did, and to distance herself from that is ridiculous. The fact is, we know that there are challenges ahead, but we also know that we must make the investments that are necessary in order to build this province up and to help this economy grow. That’s what people expect.

Ontario budget

Ms. Andrea Horwath: My next question is also to the Premier. Last week, Moody’s changed their outlook on Ontario’s credit rating to negative after the government said it would reintroduce the same budget. Does the Premier accept that anyone who has taken a look at the numbers behind the Liberal plan sees that there is a major gap?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: We laid out a path to balancing our budget. What we ran on, what we said that we were going to do and what we are doing is reintroducing a plan that will keep us on target to balance the budget and eliminate the deficit by 2017-18. And we will make the investments now that we know are necessary in order for the province to thrive.

And with all due respect to the leader of the third party, I would have expected that she would understand by now that people want those investments and that people believe that those investments are necessary. They know, because they live in their communities, that their kids need those supports, that their communities and their businesses need those supports. I would have thought she would have heard that.

Interjections.

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

Supplementary.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Does the Premier at least accept that in the wake of the downgrade, the negative outlook from Moody’s, the Liberal plan suffers from a serious credibility gap?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: We have been crystal clear that in order to eliminate the deficit by 2017-18, there will be difficult decisions. I’ve been clear and the Minister of Finance has been clear that, for example, there is no new money for collective agreements. We know that those rounds of collective bargaining will be challenging, but we’ve been crystal clear about that. Everyone went into this with their eyes wide open. We know that there will have to be changes in the way we deliver services. Some of those changes are already under way, particularly in the health care system.

But that does not negate the fact that there need to be investments in this province. That does not negate the fact that kids need full-day kindergarten, that seniors need services in health care, that more home care is necessary, that we must have personal support workers who are paid adequately and that people with developmental services need support. Those are the things that we know need investment right now.

Interjections.

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

Final supplementary.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Speaker, when is the Premier of this province going to level with Ontarians about the cuts, the layoffs and the asset sales they can expect to see from this government’s Trojan Horse budget?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Well, Mr. Speaker, anyone who has read the budget knows that we referenced every one of those issues and how we will take them on. For example, on assets, what we have said is that we believe those assets that are in the hands of government, which belong to the people of Ontario, should work for the people of Ontario to the very, very optimal degree—which is why we’ve asked Ed Clark to take on the challenge of making sure those assets work.

Interjections.

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: I hear heckling from the opposition. Had there been a process in place when the 407 was being considered, had we had that asset work for us, I’ll bet it would not have been sold and we wouldn’t have lost those billions of dollars.

We’re taking a rational approach. We’re going to make sure that the assets that are owned by the people of Ontario work for the people of Ontario, and we are going to make the investments in services that we know people need. I hope that the third party will join us in support of those.

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

Interjections.

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

The member from Leeds–Grenville.

Agricultural colleges

Mr. Steve Clark: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Congratulations on your re-election. My question, through you, is to the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Minister, congratulations on your re-election and your appointment to cabinet.

In just a little over a week, the Kemptville College Renewal Task Force will convene a public meeting to discuss potential partnerships to provide and ensure core agriculture education programs continue to be offered in eastern Ontario. What the ag community wants from you is your assurance that you and your government will work with any partner with a plan to deliver those programs that comes out of that public meeting.

Will you give that assurance to us today?

Hon. Jeff Leal: I want to thank the member from Leeds–Grenville for the question this morning. There is no question in my mind that both Kemptville and Alfred play significant roles in the agricultural community in eastern Ontario. In fact, Mr. Speaker, in my riding of Peterborough, I have a number of alumni, particularly from the Kemptville college. They’ve been calling me consistently over the last little while. We’re looking at ways to foster partnerships in both those communities, at Kemptville and Alfred, because we know their importance.

We do know that the Honourable Lyle Vanclief will be doing an extensive review of Kemptville, and Marc Godbout will be doing an extensive community review of Alfred.

I look forward to working with the member from Leeds–Grenville and my colleague from Glengarry–Prescott–Russell as we move forward with a plausible plan both for Kemptville and for Alfred.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Mr. Steve Clark: Minister, this is a very simple answer. It’s a yes or no answer.

Interjections.

Mr. Steve Clark: Well, there is.

Several partners, including the municipality of North Grenville, have stepped up to be part of the solution. Others are going to be revealed at that public meeting next week. Can you assure us that your facilitator will implement our community’s plan with any potential partner that comes out in that meeting? Are you committed to Kemptville? Are you going to force your vision of Kemptville on that facilitator or are you going to allow him to listen to the community and work with the task force?

Hon. Jeff Leal: I want to thank the member for the supplementary. We’ll be working very carefully with all the potential partners in those areas. We have appointed two very distinguished Canadians to help us with the review: the Honourable Lyle Vanclief, who was a very, very distinguished Minister of Agriculture for Prime Minister Chrétien, and Marc Godbout, who has extensive agricultural credentials in eastern Ontario.

One of the things that I learned in almost 30 years in public life serving the great folks of Peterborough is that you need to listen very carefully. Over the next number of weeks and months, I’ll be listening very carefully to the people in the Kemptville area and the people in the Alfred area to come up with the right solution, a sustainable solution for those wonderful agricultural institutions in eastern Ontario.

Ontario economy

Ms. Catherine Fife: This question is to the Premier. In addition to Moody’s, Standard and Poor’s also has a negative outlook for Ontario’s credit rating. As you know, our credit rating is important because it can impact our ability to invest in education and health care, key ideas in the activist centre.

With two agencies shifting to a negative outlook, the risk of a downgrade is growing, and it shouldn’t be ignored. What is the government doing to restore confidence in the province’s public finances?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Minister of Finance.

Hon. Charles Sousa: I appreciate the question. Congratulations to the member for being the critic for finance. I certainly offer an opportunity to meet with you, so I can go over some of the issues as they may pertain to the portfolio.

We recognize that it’s important to continue to invest in the things that make us competitive in the long term, recognizing that we will control spending. In fact, we are the lowest-cost government in Canada because of the measures that we’ve taken. We are the leanest government. We are the only government to have actually cut spending year over year.

We’ve adopted over 80% of Don Drummond’s recommendations, and we’re continuing to find savings in the system by appointing a new President of the Treasury Board, whose mandate it is to provide for those negotiations going forward and to find even greater savings in the system. That is how we’re going to get to our path to balance, but an important part of that balance is ensuring that we grow our economy and invest in those initiatives that will enable us to grow our revenue by growing the economy.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Ms. Catherine Fife: I appreciate the invitation to meet with the Minister of Finance, and also the minister of the Treasury Board. I look forward to working with you as well, but there are some realities that we’re going to have to face together at a time when ratings agencies have Ontario on a negative outlook.

“A shot across the bow”: That’s how they’ve described this fiscal situation in the province of Ontario. The government’s plan is still moving ahead. It will worsen our fiscal situation by opening new tax loopholes for corporations and exempting them from paying HST on entertaining clients and buying luxury cars. This is not a priority for the people of the province of Ontario.

At a time when Ontario is under fiscal pressure, why is the government intent on opening up new tax loopholes for corporations? This does not make sense.

Hon. Charles Sousa: I reject the premise of the question, because that is not the case.

What is important is for us to ensure that we find ways to grow the revenue by growing our economy. We’re looking at all ways by which we can secure greater stability in our economy, and we do that by not taking extreme measures. We must also recognize that in order for us to balance the books, we must control our spending, but also invest in those things that will make us competitive.

You reference something that is not opening up any tax loopholes. They are existing, and they require support with the federal government. That is why we’re taking steps to look at the underground economy and other efforts by which to grow our revenue—things that exist and that we can improve upon. We are taking measures, and we are looking at ways that Quebec has gone in terms of the underground economy. That will help us capture and grow revenue in that case, as well.

But, as also mentioned, we’ve just appointed Ed Clark to look at our assets, to maximize the opportunity to increase our dividends through those crown corporations, all of which will help, again, to balance our budget by 2017-18, for which we’re on track.

Economic development

Ms. Daiene Vernile: My question is for the Minister of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure. Our province has made strategic investments in innovation hubs which are helping today’s entrepreneurs become tomorrow’s global leaders. That type of investment is key, especially in supporting cluster development and regional economies.

We see this in Kitchener–Waterloo. We see it in the greater Ottawa area, Durham and the GTA, where we have some of the world’s cutting-edge innovation parks, including MaRS, right across the street from here.

Mr. Speaker, can the minister please provide the House with some information on how MaRS is creating good jobs for the province of Ontario?

Hon. Brad Duguid: I want to thank the member for Kitchener Centre for being the first new member in this new Legislature to ask a question in this Legislature. It’s a good question.

It’s important to understand that this government has recognized the need for Ontario to build on its strengths: our people and our partnerships. MaRS is focused on building Canada’s next generation of technology companies and accelerating these firms to the status of global market leaders.

MaRS is globally recognized as one of North America’s largest urban research parks. It is home to more than 115 tenants from across the innovation spectrum and is where about 2,500 people work every day. Over 1,400 start-up companies have been incubated or advised at MaRS since its inception. In 2013 alone, MaRS venture clients created more than 6,500 jobs. In total, Mr. Speaker, MaRS clients have generated more than $3 billion in economic activity.

This government believes in supporting a dynamic and innovative business climate, and MaRS is a key part to doing that.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Ms. Daiene Vernile: Thank you to the minister for his answer. There is no doubt about the importance of this kind of investment in our province in creating cluster development and helping to fortify our regional economies.

As the minister detailed in his answer, MaRS has definitely had a very positive effect on these regional economies and our economy as a whole.

However, in recent weeks we have read a number of stories about the future of MaRS phase 2. I understand that decisions about the future of the MaRS phase 2 building were not made during the writ process. Mr. Speaker, through you to the minister, could the minister please provide us with an update on what, if any, decisions he has made about MaRS phase 2?

Hon. Brad Duguid: Again, Mr. Speaker, it’s a very, very good and pertinent question. I think it’s really important.

We all have a responsibility to do our due diligence to ensure the next steps of MaRS phase 2 are carried out with the utmost respect for transparency and taxpayers’ dollars.

At this moment, let me be very clear: No decisions have been made. Before any decision is made, I’m making the commitment to solicit the best advice and expertise from industry on how to proceed.

The matter the member refers to does have significant complexity to it. I’m currently in the process of reviewing all options for MaRS phase 2. I can assure the member that I’m looking at the matter closely and will ensure that any decisions that are made will be done as transparently as possible.

The government’s priority is creating jobs and building a strong, next-generation economy. Ontario is fast becoming a global leader in innovation, and MaRS plays a key role in getting us there.

This decision will be made in a way that best serves our innovation agenda, our economy and Ontario taxpayers.

Asthma

Mr. Jeff Yurek: My question is to the Premier. Last session, I worked very hard to try to get my private member’s bill, Ryan’s Law, passed through committee so it could be passed into law before the election. Unfortunately, Premier, this didn’t occur.

I will be reintroducing Ryan’s Law, which will protect the 20% of students with asthma. However, with a majority government, opposition bills tend to get shelved regardless of how vital they are. I hope this doesn’t happen with Ryan’s Law, Premier, because it would suggest that your government would be willing to sacrifice the safety of our children in order to deny a Tory MPP’s bill.

Ryan’s Law is important. It will protect children with asthma. It’s that simple.

Premier, when I reintroduce Ryan’s Law, will you commit to doing everything you can to ensure its quick passage?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: I want to commend the member for putting forward this legislation. I think that private members’ bills are extremely important. From my perspective, as I said earlier, it doesn’t matter where good ideas come from. If we can find ways to help school kids who have asthma to be safer, then obviously we have to do that.

I assume the member opposite will reintroduce this piece of legislation, Ryan’s Law, and the committee will need to look at it.

As I said, if we can find ways to make sure that school kids who have asthma are safer, then we have an obligation to do that.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Mr. Jeff Yurek: Premier, the best way to ensure this bill gets passed is to ensure that your House leader works to get my bill back to the forefront of committee.

During the election campaign, I heard another very discouraging story. This is from a young girl. She told me she suffered an asthma attack on the bus while travelling to school. However, due to current regulations and school board policies that do not allow children to carry their relief puffers, she had to sit through the bus ride during her asthma attack, wait until the bus got to the school, get off the bus and then find a teacher who was responsible for giving her her inhaler so that she could attain some relief.

That story should frighten you. Had the attack been more severe, the outcome could have been far more tragic, just like poor Ryan in Straffordville. That’s why Ryan’s Law is so important. Among other things, it permits children to carry their relief inhalers at all times, provided they have permission from their health care providers.

Premier, we can’t wait on this. When Ryan’s Law passes second reading, will you make it a priority to help get it through committee?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: As I said, it’s very important to me that where there are situations where we can put in place a structure, put in place a law, put in place a regulation that is going to keep kids safer, then obviously we need to do that. As this piece of legislation goes through, and when it goes to committee, Mr. Speaker, then the committee needs to deal with it, certainly to try to make sure that we put the right regulations in place.

One of the things, though, that I would need to just say to the member opposite is, first of all, there are a lot of pieces of legislation that are introduced and a lot of them have huge merit, Mr. Speaker. But the other thing is, we need to sort out what’s school board policy and what’s provincial law, where are the interactions between those things. I think it’s very important, as a piece of legislation like this goes through, that we examine that and make sure it’s not something that’s happening at the local level as opposed to the provincial level. That’s the problem.

Privatization of public services

Mr. Peter Tabuns: To the Premier: At the end of 2014, the Premier’s Advisory Council on Government Assets, headed by TD CEO Ed Clark, will present recommendations to this government regarding the whole or partial privatization of the LCBO, Hydro One and OPG. These recommendations in turn will be fed into the 2015 budget process. The government factors in revenues from all significant initiatives of this sort into its long-term fiscal framework.

Will the government tell this House how much is slotted into the fiscal framework from the full or partial sale of these core public assets?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Minister of Finance.

Hon. Charles Sousa: I appreciate the question. It allows us now to talk about the relevance of reviewing the assets owned by government. Mr. Speaker, the shareholders of these assets are the people of Ontario, the taxpayer. They have a right for us to ensure that we maximize its potential, either by way of increasing the dividends by which those crown corporations can produce and/or looking at ways that we can invest our monies in appropriate manners to even greater returns by putting it through the Trillium Trust, which is part of the budget.

But, Mr. Speaker, we are guided by the principles that are core principles, which include our policy objectives to maximize its value by representing the good value that it represents to Ontarians, and it’s also about ensuring that they work in the best interests of the public so that we do not have a repeat of the sale of the 407. We must ensure that we take rigorous measures to protect these assets and the annuity by which they provide dividends. We must have—

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

Supplementary?

Mr. Peter Tabuns: It sure doesn’t sound to me like they’re ruling out privatization. The real fact of the matter is that after missing its 2014 deficit projection by $2.4 billion, this government has projected that its $12.5-billion deficit will magically disappear in the next three years. This includes a near-miraculous $5.3-billion reduction in 2016-17 alone.

This is unprecedented, and no serious student of Ontario’s budget believes that this kind of reduction will take place without a significant sale of core assets. How much has this government slotted into its long-term fiscal framework from the sale of LCBO, OPG and Hydro One assets?

Hon. Charles Sousa: Mr. Speaker, it’s incumbent upon the government to review the functions of these crown corporations and the assets which we hold. It doesn’t mean we’re selling anything. What it means is that we’re maximizing the potential of these crown corporations for the benefit of the shareholders, which are the people of Ontario and the taxpayer.

The expert council will evaluate what it is that we own. Our priority is to continue to invest in infrastructure and in transit, which will maximize the potential of being competitive in the long run. These are the principles that guide us. It’s also about ensuring that the monies that are invested by government are invested wisely for the benefit of the people of Ontario.

Mr. Speaker, this is not something new. The United Kingdom and Australia have adopted some of these very measures to their great benefit. What we must do is ensure that we invest in those assets that provide the maximum return for the taxpayer and also maximize our revenue and our value assets of those—nothing at this point is being considered to be sold, although we made it clear in the budget that we’re not going to be passive investors on stocks—

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

Hon. Charles Sousa: —nor should we be—

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

New question?

Pension plans

Ms. Indira Naidoo-Harris: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On my first time rising in this chamber, I’d like to say what an honour and a privilege it is to be here representing the people of Halton, and congratulations on your re-election.

Mr. Speaker, through you to the Associate Minister of Finance, it is the desire of our government that Ontario be the best place in the world to grow old. In the past, Ontarians and Canadians have been well served by the Canada Pension Plan. However, middle-class Canadians know that the current CPP is not adequate for their retirement. Provincial and federal government officials and pension experts agree that Canadians, especially the middle class, need more support in their retirement years. After a lifetime of work and contributing to the economy, retired Ontarians deserve better than to face plunging standards of living.

Can the minister responsible for the new Ontario Retirement Pension Plan please explain how the ORPP will help Ontarians become more secure in their retirement?

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Associate Minister of Finance.

Hon. Mitzie Hunter: Thank you, Speaker, and congratulations on your re-election. Thank you to the member from Halton for her question today.

As announced in our government’s May 1 budget, we are committed to building retirement security with a made-in-Ontario pension plan that puts secure retirement on the horizon for every worker. The ORPP will mirror the CPP, enhancing benefits for middle-income earners while keeping contributions low.

Unless we take action now, future generations of retirees will be left with a lower standard of living.

Analysis shows that a CPP enhancement will have economic benefits by growing the economy and creating jobs. Higher disposable income for future retirees means less reliance on social programs funded by taxpayers. However, the federal government has refused to accept the consensus amongst the provinces and analysis by experts to work on enhancing the CPP.

We’re standing up for the people of Ontario by continuing to do the right thing and leading the way towards a pension plan that gives the people of Ontario retirement—

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

Interjections.

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

Supplementary?

Ms. Indira Naidoo-Harris: Thank you to the Associate Minister of Finance for the answer. Again, to the Associate Minister of Finance, I am pleased to hear you are working on a plan that will help Ontarians retire with security. My constituents in Halton are concerned that, as Ontarians continue to live longer and less workplaces are offering workplace pension plans, they will not be able to save enough for their retirement.

In 2012, only 34% of Ontario’s population belonged to a workplace pension plan. And my younger constituents, who are expected to have multiple employers, will be more likely to encounter a patchwork of workplace coverage that will make saving for retirement even more difficult.

Can the minister please explain how the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan will build on the CPP to enhance retirement benefits for Ontarians?

Hon. Mitzie Hunter: Thank you, again, to the industrious member from Halton.

The ORPP would be the first of its kind in Canada and would be introduced in 2017 to coincide with the expected reductions in employment insurance premiums. If negotiations with the federal government on enhancing CPP were to be successful in the future, the ORPP would be integrated into the CPP.

The ORPP would require equal contributions to be shared between employers and employees, not exceeding 1.9% each. It would aim to provide a replacement rate of 15% of an individual’s earnings up to a maximum annual earnings threshold of $90,000.

When combined with CPP, an individual with steady career earnings over 40 years of $90,000 could replace about 30% of pre-retirement income and could receive annual benefits of about $25,000, which roughly doubles retirement benefits under the CPP alone.

We are committed to providing retirement security to all Ontarians and moving ahead with the planning of the ORPP. This is just one step in that direction.

Community care access centres

Ms. Sylvia Jones: My question is to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. Good luck on your appointment.

Minister, two weeks ago, I received a letter from our local community care access centre, stating that the organization will be limiting the number of new patients it accepts less than three months into their fiscal. Your government has talked a lot about investing in community-care-based service, yet 10 days after the election, our local CCAC is telling me they will be limiting the number of new patients in need of care.

Minister, do you support Central West CCAC’s decision?

Hon. Eric Hoskins: Of course I do. It’s just unfortunate that the party opposite didn’t support our budget, nor did the third party, because not only did we dramatically increase, by $260 million, our support to community care, including our CCACs, in 2013, but we had laid out in the budget a further $750 million in increased funding to community care, including our CCACs, by 2017. It was in the budget. Unfortunately, as a result of the two parties opposite not supporting that budget, we had to have an election to get us to this point.

We are committed to our CCACs. We have invested over the past number of years a significant increase in our CCACs to make sure that we’re providing that quality care to individuals and their families when they need it, where they need it, and as close to home as possible.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Ms. Sylvia Jones: Minister, I understand that you’re new, but this letter came out on June 23, which would be post-election, which would be after you announced that the same budget is coming through. So clearly the local CCAC is going to have the same problem.

I understand you have inherited a number of crises in the health portfolio, but there really is an opportunity to make a difference here. This is a matter of priorities. Last week in the throne speech, we heard a lot of talk about building Ontario up. Well, I can tell you that in Dufferin–Caledon we don’t believe in building Ontario up by clawing back access to health care service.

I will ask the minister again, will you do the right thing and direct the local CCAC to prioritize their decisions to ensure that all patients are provided with the health care service they need when they need it?

Hon. Deborah Matthews: Unbelievable hypocrisy.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): I’m going to ask the member to withdraw.

Hon. Deborah Matthews: I withdraw.

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

Minister of Health?

Hon. Eric Hoskins: Again, we are committed to our CCACs. In fact, the funding to our CCACs has increased by 99% since 2003. We have further investments that we’re making in the budget. I think this speaks to the imperative of making sure that the budget which has been tabled is quickly debated and passed in the coming days so we can go ahead and continue to invest and increase our investments to this important aspect of the continuum of health care.

Mr. Speaker, we know that there is always more work to be done. I’m very proud of the work that’s been done in the past number of years to make home care and funding for supportive services—in fact, in our budget, as individuals are aware, we’re increasing the—

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member from Dufferin–Caledon asked the question. Order, please.

Hon. Eric Hoskins: —wages of our personal support workers, a key provider of our support services and our home care; we’re increasing that by 30% over the next few years.

There is more work to be done. We need to start by passing the budget.

Child care

Ms. Andrea Horwath: My question is for the Premier. Families across Ontario are struggling to find safe, affordable child care for their kids while this government is making the crisis even worse by cutting child care funding to 18 communities across our province. Child care centres like Coronation Park Day Nursery in Sarnia are on the chopping block. Over a hundred kids at that centre in Sarnia alone are at risk of losing access to child care.

Can the Premier explain to parents in Sarnia and across our province why her government is intent on shutting down child care centres that families rely upon?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Since 2003, child care funding in Ontario has increased from $532.4 million to close to $1 billion. That’s a 90% increase. So in fact, quite contrary to what the leader of the third party is saying—that we are cutting funding to child care—we are actually increasing funding to child care.

But there are two things happening. One is that full-day kindergarten is being implemented across the province so that every four- and five-year-old in Ontario in September will have access to a full-day kindergarten program. That means that there are changes within the child care system; there’s no doubt about that. So we are working with the system. We are changing the funding formula. We recognize that as those four- and five-year-olds are in full-day kindergarten, there are changes that happen within the preschool child care system.

We will continue to invest. We will continue to work with the system as we change the funding formula, but our support for child care is steadfast and will remain so.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Ms. Andrea Horwath: I think the Premier just admitted that she has created a crisis in the child care system. The Premier’s Trojan Horse budget, in fact, does nothing to stop the child care cuts in 18 communities. When only one in five kids can access licensed child care in this province, no community can afford cuts to child care funding, no community should be forced to close the doors on their licensed child care centres in this province and no family should have to worry about losing their kid’s spot in child care. But this government has decided that services will be cut, and child care happens to be the first to go.

Why won’t the Premier do the right thing and commit today to stop the cuts in the child care centres in Sarnia and all 18 communities across this province? Why doesn’t she just commit today to do the right thing by these families and these children in these 18 communities?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Mr. Speaker, there are nearly 90,000 new spaces in child care since 2003. There are tens of thousands of new child care spaces in Ontario. The fact is that we are going through a transition; there is no doubt about that. I would hope that the leader of the third party and her colleagues would be able to understand and work with their communities as we go through the transition.

Four- and five-year-olds are going to be in full-day kindergarten as of September. All four- and five-year-olds have access now to full-day kindergarten. What we need to do is to make sure that the child care system adjusts to that so that the preschool kids—the zero- to three-year-old kids—have the opportunity to be in the child care system and that we have before- and after-care for students. Those are changes. That means the system is going through a transformation. We have put mitigation funding in place. We will continue to work with the child care system.

But to suggest that not having full-day kindergarten would be a good thing is not in the best interests of kids, and that’s essentially what the leader of the third party is—

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

New question? The member from Burlington.

Cycling policies

Ms. Eleanor McMahon: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to thank my constituents in the riding of Burlington for their confidence.

My question is for the Minister of Transportation. My riding of Burlington is a beautiful place to ride a bike. From our waterfront to our trails to our on-road facilities, cycling makes an important contribution to a more healthy, active and connected Burlington. Indeed, cycling is not only good for my community; it enhances the health and well-being of my constituents. Cycling is good for economic development and tourism too, as witnessed by bicycle tourism initiatives like the greenbelt and our beautiful waterfront trail. That’s why I’m proud to be a part of a government that is committed to supporting cycling and cyclists across Ontario.

Mr. Speaker, through you to the minister, can you please explain to this House what our government is doing to support and promote cycling and cyclists on every path, trail and roadway?

Hon. Steven Del Duca: I want to begin by thanking the newly elected member for Burlington for that outstanding question and welcoming her to Ontario’s Legislature.

I also want to thank the member for her tireless support for such a great cause, the cause of cycling here in our province. Because of her advocacy and her passion for safe roads in our province, we have a vision for cycling in Ontario that all of us can be proud of.

I also want to quickly pay tribute to the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, who played a leadership role in making sure that we brought this project forward.

In August 2013, our government introduced #CycleON, the most comprehensive cycling strategy that Ontario has ever seen. This strategy touches many parts of our government and will play a large role in building healthier and stronger communities: $10 million over three years through a new cost-shared program that will help municipalities expand their local cycling networks, and in addition, $15 million over three years will be dedicated to investments in cycling infrastructure.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary.

Ms. Eleanor McMahon: Thank you to the minister for that answer. I agree with you that the benefits of cycling are limitless for our communities, our economies and our health. Cycling connects Ontarians to communities and to each other. That is why support for cities and municipalities is vital to the promotion of cycling.

Speaker, through you, I’d like the minister to elaborate on what we can expect for cycling as our government rolls out #CycleON, the Ontario cycling strategy, and on how communities across Ontario will benefit.

Hon. Steven Del Duca: I thank the member again for that great supplementary. We are coming up on the one-year anniversary of our #CycleON strategy. Last August, we released our long-term 20-year vision, based on five strategic directions to encourage the growth of cycling and to improve safety for cyclists across the province.

#CycleON is to be implemented through ongoing multi-year action plans. The first action plan, which was introduced at the Ontario Bike Summit earlier this year, will focus on year-one commitments, but includes many initiatives to be implemented with partners over years two to five. Developed with stakeholders, including AMO, CAA and Share The Road, suggestions from the chief coroner’s 2012 review, and public comments, this plan will help Ontarians continue to move forward with a progressive, balanced and responsible cycling strategy.

Remember, Speaker, sharing the road and having a great time doing it is what cycling in Ontario is all about. Cycle on.

Election advertising

Mr. Rick Nicholls: Speaker, before I begin, I just would like to congratulate you on your re-election as Speaker of the House.

My question is to the Premier. Premier, as the election began, Chief Electoral Officer Greg Essensa repeated his call for a limit on third party advertising. Mr. Essensa stated, “When I look across the country, we are the only jurisdiction that has no spending limit.” He went on to say that the process is “completely non-transparent.” We may never know just how much these groups spent.

Dalton McGuinty’s 2005 and 2007 legislation added little transparency, leaving the Chief Electoral Officer asking for more reforms. Premier, this is your chance to prove to the people of Ontario that you are different. Since you are in an open and transparent mood today, are you willing to protect the integrity of democracy and pledge to place limits on third party advertising spending?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: I appreciate the question from the member of the opposition. I endeavour always to be in an open and transparent mood, so—

Hon. Jeff Leal: Hear, hear.

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Thank you very much.

We have rules in place to ensure that there is both transparency and free speech in our election campaigns. Those things have to be balanced. We are the party that introduced third party advertising rules in Ontario for the first time, in 2007.

Under current rules, third parties that spend $500 or more on election advertising are required to register with the Chief Electoral Officer so that there actually is an accounting for how that money is spent. Registered third parties also have to report to the Chief Electoral Officer on election advertising expenses. If election advertising expenses are $5,000 or more, then those reports have to be audited. So we have taken many steps to make sure that there is openness in this process.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary.

Mr. Rick Nicholls: Premier, that’s the same answer you gave me in the fall when I introduced my Bill 101. But Speaker, we are the only jurisdiction in Canada that has no spending limitation on advertisers, who have the power to influence elections. That jeopardizes the integrity of this institution and is a disservice to our democracy.

The Chief Electoral Officer recommends that no group should be able to spend millions of dollars to influence elections without any transparency. Premier, we agree. The status quo is setting the stage for corruption. Premier, will you implement the Chief Electoral Officer’s recommendations?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Well, let me just say that I disagree that there is no transparency, because I think that there have been steps taken by our government to put transparency in place.

But having said that, we’re always open to conversations on ways to improve Ontario’s electoral process. Third parties supported all three parties during the election campaign, so there’s not a difference in terms of the treatment, party by party. If there is a willingness and a desire on the part of all parties and the Chief Electoral Officer to have a conversation, we’re open to having that conversation, but I think it’s something that everyone needs to take

part in.

Assistance to flood victims

Ms. Sarah Campbell: To the Premier: People across the northwest are still suffering from record high water levels and flooding that started last month, with as many as 10 communities in my riding alone declaring states of emergency.

I toured the area and I saw first-hand the devastation: homes overwhelmed by flooding; sections of highway completely washed away; significant erosion of shoreline, resulting in lost personal property and a threatened cemetery; and evacuations.

People in the northwest are doing an amazing job banding together in this difficult time, but it is up to this government to ensure that there are funds available for cleanup and recovery.

A couple of years ago, when Thunder Bay experienced a similar emergency, it had to wait over a year to receive provincial assistance from this government. People in my riding simply can’t wait that long.

Will the Premier help the people of Kenora–Rainy River today by committing funds from the Ontario Disaster Relief Assistance Program to provide badly needed relief to these 10 hard-hit communities and commit to a timeline of when we can expect this funding?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Minister of Natural Resources.

Hon. Bill Mauro: I want to thank the member for the question, but I do want to say that the assertion that after the Thunder Bay flood our government was slow to respond—in fact, not only did we meet our commitments in providing assistance to the city of Thunder Bay, in fact we’ve exceeded our commitment through the ODRA Program under MMAH.

In terms of the flooding that’s occurring in the member’s communities, of course we’re aware of it and of course it is a very, very serious and significant occurrence. Unfortunately, it seems like we find ourselves in these situations all too regularly now. In fact, what were abnormal weather events seem to be occurring on a far too regular basis.

I can tell the member that I’ve been in direct contact with the mayors of the three potentially directly affected communities—those that have been directly affected: Mayor Avis in Fort Frances, Mayor Brown in Atikokan and Mayor Canfield in Kenora. I’ve talked to them. They’ve been very pleased to this point, I would say, with the outreach and the support that have been provided by all of the appropriate ministries, including MNR. We continue to monitor the situation. I’ve asked them to contact me at any time that they feel necessary if they are, at some point, uncertain with the response that’s coming through.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): There are no deferred votes. This House stands recessed until 1 p.m. this afternoon.

I know who my usual suspects are now. I appreciate being given that opportunity to know who they are.

The House recessed from 1137 to 1300.

Estimates

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): On a point of order, the government House leader.

Hon. Yasir Naqvi: I have a message from the Honourable David C. Onley, the Lieutenant Governor, signed by his own hand.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The Lieutenant Governor transmits estimates of certain sums required for the service of the province for the year ending March 31, 2015, and recommends them to the Legislative Assembly. Toronto, July 7, 2014, David C. Onley.

Tabling of sessional papers

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): I beg to inform the House that during the interval between the 40th and the 41st Parliaments, the following reports from parliamentary officers were tabled:

—on June 4, an opinion from the Chief Electoral Officer concerning the statements by the New Democratic Party and the Ontario Liberal Party under

section 4 of the Taxpayer Protection Act, 1999;

—on June 17, the 2013 annual report of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario;

—on June 19, the 2013-14 annual report from the Office of the Integrity Commissioner of Ontario;

—on June 23, the 2013-14 annual report of the Ombudsman of Ontario;

—on June 26, the report of the Integrity Commissioner of Ontario concerning the review expenses claims under the Cabinet Ministers’ and Opposition Leaders’ Expenses Review and Accountability Act, 2002, for the period of April 1, 2013, to March 31, 2014.

Introduction of Visitors

Mr. Arthur Potts: I’m pleased to welcome my mother, Dawn Potts, into the House today. She kept my father in check for years in his performance as Mr. Justice J.H. Potts, and she has committed to doing the same for me. Thank you, Mom.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): And we welcome her.

Members’ Statements

Riding of Wellington–Halton Hills

Mr. Ted Arnott: Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate you and every member of this House on their successful election on June 12. I’m looking forward to working with each of them over the next four years in the 41st Parliament as we all seek to make Ontario a better place for all of its residents.

On June 13, the day after the election, we were back to work at my constituency office, and I wrote the Premier to highlight three key issues in my riding: the Highway 6 Morriston bypass, improved GO train service, and high-speed Internet in rural Ontario. On July 3, I tabled three private members’ resolutions on these issues. They are the first three items listed on the order paper today.

Highway 6 serves as a vital link between the 401 and the Hamilton-Niagara region and the US border. A bypass around Morriston will eliminate a major traffic bottleneck, improve safety and allow for the free flow of goods to the border.

During the election campaign, the government promised full-day two-way GO train service between Waterloo region and the GTA. What is the time frame for keeping this commitment? How does the government define “full-day two-way service”? Will this include more stops in Wellington–Halton Hills?

Finally, lack of access to high-speed Internet in rural Ontario continues to be a concern. Reliable and affordable access to high-speed Internet is essential in today’s economy. A provincial strategy for expanding affordable high-speed Internet would help our local businesses grow and attract new investment to our rural communities.

I commend all of these issues to the government and urge immediate support for them.

Immigrants

Ms. Teresa J. Armstrong: Speaker, on July 1, I had the pleasure of attending several Canada Day celebrations in London. My constituents in London–Fanshawe as well as residents of the other London ridings celebrated in style, with parties, enormous cakes and spectacular firework displays.

In the afternoon, I had the honour of taking

part in London’s annual Canada citizenship ceremony, where dozens of Londoners proudly raised their right hands under a canopy of red-and-white flags, took the oath of citizenship and officially became Canadian citizens.

It was such a wonderful thing to witness. I have enjoyed it every year, and it was particularly important to me this year in the context of my new critic portfolio of Citizenship and Immigration. There were new Canadians from countries all over the world and of all ages, including several excited children.

I would like to extend my sincere congratulations to everyone who became a new Canadian citizen on Canada Day both in my hometown of London and across this great country. It was an event that really made me feel proud to be Canadian, and I admire these new citizens so much for their love and commitment to our country and their desire to carry the honourable title of citizen to be part of the Canadian family.

Ramadan

Mr. John Fraser: I’d like to say it’s great to be back here at Queen’s Park, and I’d like to extend congratulations to all my colleagues here on their successful election and a warm welcome to all those new members.

Mr. Speaker, it is on behalf of all the members of this Legislature that I would like to extend our warmest greetings to the members of our Muslim community who are observing Ramadan this month.

Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam. Ramadan is a time for fasting and self-sacrifice. It is a time for prayer, reflection and spiritual growth. It is a time to strengthen ties with family and community. To our Muslim neighbours, thank you for giving your children the gift of faith.

The Muslim Canadian community is an important part of the rich cultural mosaic that is Ontario, and Ramadan is an opportunity to recognize the many contributions Muslim Canadians make to enrich our society. I look forward to attending the many celebrations that will take place in Ottawa South over this month.

To all our Muslim friends, Ramadan Mubarak.

Seaforth Lions Club

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member from Huron-Bruce.

Ms. Lisa M. Thompson: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. It’s a pleasure to join you in the 41st Parliament, and I welcome all the new members as well.

I rise today to recognize and congratulate the Seaforth Lions Club on celebrating their 90th anniversary with a fun-filled Canada Day program. The Seaforth Lions Club formed in December 1924 because local individuals recognized the need for service clubs to assist in their community. Today, there are 1,369,000 Lions members in 46,281 clubs in 208 country and geographic areas around the world, and this Seaforth service organization holds the honour of being the 17th-oldest Lions Club in Canada.

The Seaforth Lions’ signature project is the operation and maintenance of the beautiful Lions Park on the east side of town, and it is an absolutely gorgeous home to the community pool, both of which have been operating since 1925. The Seaforth Lions graciously recognize, though, that their community landmark would not be possible without its local community and businesses who have always supported fundraising projects over the years.

Congratulations once again to the 90th anniversary committee for their successful old-fashioned family picnic, an entire Canada Day program.

To the Seaforth Lions, I would like to say, “Keep up the tremendous work.” Communities throughout Huron–Bruce benefit from the commitment and vision of local service organizations, and the Seaforth Lions lead by example.

Bénévoles

M. Gilles Bisson: J’ai eu l’occasion deux fois dernièrement, ce printemps et cet été, d’être capable de célébrer nos bénévoles dans la communauté de Mattice, numéro un, et dans la communauté de Hearst, numéro deux. C’était vraiment quelque chose de spécial parce que, comme on le sait, dans les petites communautés à travers l’Ontario, l’esprit d’une communauté, c’est les bénévoles, et parfois ce sont les bénévoles qui font marcher une communauté. Quand on regarde une communauté comme Mattice ou une communauté comme Hearst, ce n’est pas grand comme Toronto où il y a des services à chaque coin.

Ces communautés-là, beaucoup de leurs services sont desservis hors de la communauté elle-même. Parfois ce sont ces bénévoles qui font tout l’ouvrage qui est si nécessaire pour faire fonctionner la communauté.

On a eu deux belles célébrations, la première à Mattice, où on a eu la chance de célébrer tous ceux et celles qui ont été nommés volontaires de l’année pour cette année. J’aimerais les féliciter avec ma collègue, Carol Hughes, qui a aussi amené des salutations. On a eu la chance juste après ça d’être capable de faire la communauté de Hearst. C’est là que ma collègue, Carol Hughes, et moi avons eu l’occasion de travailler ensemble. Tandis que moi j’étais à la célébration à Hearst, elle était à Opasatika en train de faire la célébration des aînés dans la communauté d’Opasatika.

De la part, je pense, de tous les parlementaires et des chefs de parti ici, on célèbre avec les communautés de Hearst, Opasatika, et Mattice tous ces volontaires qui font marcher leur communauté. Puis, on dit à tous de continuer le bel ouvrage. Chapeau! C’est vraiment apprécié.

GO Transit

Mr. Chris Ballard: I’m proud to stand for the first time in the Legislature to represent the constituents of my riding of Newmarket-Aurora.

Mr. Speaker, I’ve heard from residents in my riding for several months now about the need for improved GO train service heading north from Toronto: Late afternoon buses have been standing room only for some time, and the last train heads north too soon for those who work late. So I’m delighted that, as of June 28, GO Transit has added not one but two additional northbound trains on the Barrie corridor, one leaving Union Station at 3:40 p.m. and the other at 6:45 p.m. These trains make commuting much easier for up to 1,900 northbound passengers each trip by providing a more flexible travel schedule.

This improvement in GO train service is just one of many over the past few years. This government has invested millions of dollars improving our local GO train stations and bus depots. In response, GO train usage in our area has greatly increased. Our community knows the importance of a quality transit system: improved quality of life, improved business productivity, and improved economic development for our towns.

Mr. Speaker, we are thankful for this improved service. I look forward to building on the achievements of our Liberal government to ensure that residents in my community of Newmarket–Aurora get out of gridlock and get on the GO.

Tragedy in Kitchener–Conestoga

Mr. Michael Harris: Speaker, today I rise to recognize the courage and community spirit of New Hamburg residents who joined together to overcome a terrible tragedy that happened last Boxing Day. Last year, the Reiner family—Bill, Deana, Alexander and Charlene—experienced the horror of learning that their son and brother had fallen into the Nith River. Five long months later, emergency officials recovered five-year-old Robbie Reiner and brought him home.

The search wasn’t easy. It was a long winter and the water levels remained high for months, but the Waterloo Regional Police Service, the Wilmot fire department and the OPP diving team didn’t give up. They kept working around the clock. In fact, Sergeant Mark Morrissey spent countless hours off duty surveying the area until Robbie was found.

I would like to thank all the brave men and women who worked together on the search. I would also like to thank the members of the community who supported the family in several ways through these difficult times. Local businesses donated supplies for the search, residents cooked meals for the family, and volunteers hosted a fundraiser called Go Blue for Robbie in January. To see so much support and co-operation to help a family in need is truly remarkable and shows why New Hamburg is truly a special place.

Again, thank you to all those who helped, and my thoughts and prayers go out to the Reiner family.

Beaches International Jazz Festival

Mr. Arthur Potts: Just last Thursday, the day after being sworn in as a member of this House, for which I’m absolutely delighted for the opportunity, I attended a media conference at the iconic Balmy Beach Club in my ward for the Beaches jazz festival. It was my first official duty as the MPP for Beaches–East York. I’m delighted that my first opportunity to speak here is to tell members more about this great festival.

Lido Chilelli has worked on this festival for more than 25 years. What used to attract thousands is now attracting hundreds of thousands. Organizers expect that in excess of 800,000 people will be coming to the Beach, enjoying the jazz music. Jazz artists from around the world will be playing in select venues from Queen Street East all the way to Leuty Avenue. This year, the main stage will be at Woodbine Park, where thousands will be serenaded by the dulcet tones of some of the world’s best jazz musicians.

In addition to presenting jazz music, the festival hosts workshops for aspiring musicians, and for the first time it encompasses the very popular Waterfront Blues festival, celebrating its 10th anniversary.

I am particularly pleased that, each year, portions of the festival proceeds are donated to Toronto East General Hospital. This year’s organizers expect that upwards of $40,000 will be donated to the capital fund for the new addition there. My appreciation goes out to all the residents of Beaches–East York, whose lives are considerably disrupted by this festival but who support it because of the contributions it makes to the city and to our community.

I hope all members will take time out from their busy schedules and enjoy the Beaches International Jazz Festival. I am particularly looking forward to the funky rhythms of Ivan Neville’s band Dumpstaphunk on Saturday, June 19.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): I look forward to the funk. I apologize. That’ll be the last time that happens.

Events in Northumberland–Quinte West

Mr. Lou Rinaldi: Speaker, congratulations on your position as Speaker again. I’m sure you’ll do a great job.

I’m very excited to be back here in the Legislature representing the good people of Northumberland–Quinte West. I’m truly honoured that they elected me as their MPP once again. Who could ask for a better way to begin my term than to celebrate this great country of ours at Canada Day events across my riding?

I started my day very early in Campbellford, where the Campbellford Rotary club served a fantastic pancake breakfast. Then, for my second breakfast about an hour later, I joined some of my friends at the Codrington Community Centre, where they were also celebrating Canada Day. Then off it was to my hometown of Brighton, where I took

part in the opening ceremonies. Then off to the Cobourg parade, where I rode on an antique fire truck. It was great to see people along the way cheering and expressing how happy they were to celebrate Canada Day. The parade was followed by the official opening with some local dignitaries, and I helped cut the cake that everyone enjoyed.

Then off to Port Hope to have a cold one. It was mid-afternoon. Their festival was great and I had an opportunity to visit with a lot of folks.

Next was Cramahe township, serving hot dogs and cake to help them celebrate Canada Day. I ended off the day in my hometown of Brighton with fireworks.

The day’s events helped to remind me of how fortunate I am to be the provincial representative for Northumberland–Quinte West, the best riding in the best province in the best country in the world.

Introduction of Bills

Workplace Safety and Insurance Amendment Act (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), 2014 / Loi de 2014 modifiant la

Loi sur la sécurité professionnelle et l’assurance contre les accidents du travail (trouble de stress post-traumatique)

Ms. DiNovo moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 2,

An Act to amend the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997 with respect to post-traumatic stress disorder / Projet de loi 2, Loi modifiant la Loi de 1997 sur la sécurité professionnelle et l’assurance contre les accidents du travail relativement au trouble de stress post-traumatique.

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

First reading agreed to.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member for a short statement.

Ms. Cheri DiNovo: Congratulations on your election, Mr. Speaker.

The Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997, is amended to create a rebuttable presumption relating to post-traumatic stress disorder affecting emergency response workers. Subsection 15.3(1) defines emergency response worker to mean a firefighter, paramedic or police officer.

Subsection 15.3(2) states that if an emergency response worker suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, the disorder is presumed to be an occupational disease that occurred due to the employment as an emergency response worker, unless the contrary is shown.

The bill sets out procedural and transitional rules governing claims to which a presumption applies.

Planning Amendment Act (Enabling Municipalities to Require Inclusionary Housing), 2014 / Loi de 2014 modifiant la

Loi sur l’aménagement du territoire (inclusion de logements abordables par les municipalité

s) Ms. DiNovo moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 3,

An Act to amend the Planning Act with respect to inclusionary housing / Projet de loi 3, Loi modifiant la

Loi sur l’aménagement du territoire à l’égard de l’inclusion de logements abordables.

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

First reading agreed to.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member for a short statement.

Ms. Cheri DiNovo:

Section 34 of the Planning Act is amended to allow the councils of local municipalities to pass zoning bylaws to require inclusionary housing in the municipality by mandating that a specified percentage of housing units and new housing developments containing 20 or more housing units must be affordable to low- and moderate-income households.

The new

section 37.1 of the act deals with inclusionary housing bylaws in greater detail.

Section 51 of the act is amended to allow the approval authority to impose, as a condition of approval of a plan of a subdivision, a requirement that a specified percentage of housing units in new housing developments in the subdivision containing 20 or more housing units must be affordable to low- and moderate-income households.

Metrolinx Amendment Act, 2014 / Loi de 2014 modifiant la

Loi sur Metrolinx

Ms. DiNovo moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 4,

An Act to amend the Metrolinx Act, 2006 / Projet de loi 4, Loi modifiant la Loi de 2006 sur Metrolinx.

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

First reading agreed to.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member for a short statement.

Ms. Cheri DiNovo: This in in honour of Jonah Schein.

The bill amends the Metrolinx Act, 2006, to require Metrolinx to ensure that any passenger railway system established between downtown Toronto and Toronto Pearson International Airport is not powered by diesel fuel.

Respect for Municipalities Act (City of Toronto), 2014 / Loi de 2014 sur le respect des municipalités (cité de Toronto)

Ms. DiNovo moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 5,

An Act respecting the City of Toronto and the Ontario Municipal Board / Projet de loi 5, Loi portant sur la cité de Toronto et la Commission des affaires municipales de l’Ontario.

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

First reading agreed to.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member for a short statement.

Ms. Cheri DiNovo: The bill changes the relationship in law between the city of Toronto and the Ontario Municipal Board. Currently, under various statutes that cover land use planning, certain municipal decisions can be appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board. Amendments eliminate those rights of appeal with respect to decisions of the city of Toronto. Amendments also eliminate a right to make certain other types of applications to the board, with respect to the city.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Further introduction of bills? The Minister of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure.

Hon. Brad Duguid: I just want to make sure that the member for Parkdale–High Park has no more to introduce before I—

Ms. Cheri DiNovo: I’m done for now.

Hon. Brad Duguid: Thank you.

Infrastructure for Jobs and Prosperity Act, 2014 / Loi de 2014 sur l’infrastructure au service de l’emploi et de la prospérité

Mr. Duguid moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 6,

An Act to enact the Infrastructure for Jobs and Prosperity Act, 2014 / Projet de loi 6, Loi édictant la Loi de 2014 sur l’infrastructure au service de l’emploi et de la prospérité.

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

First reading agreed to.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member for a short statement.

Hon. Brad Duguid: No, Mr. Speaker. It has been before the Legislature before. No statement is required.

Better Business Climate Act, 2014 / Loi de 2014 visant à instaurer un climat plus propice aux affaires

Mr. Duguid moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 7,

An Act to enact the Burden Reduction Reporting Act, 2014 and the Partnerships for Jobs and Growth Act, 2014 / Projet de loi 7, Loi édictant la Loi de 2014 sur l’obligation de faire rapport concernant la réduction des fardeaux administratifs et la Loi de 2014 sur les partenariats pour la création d’emplois et la croissance.

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

First reading agreed to.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member for a short statement.

Hon. Brad Duguid: Again, Mr. Speaker, this bill was before the Legislature in the last session, so no statement is necessary.

Motions

Appointment of House officers

Hon. Yasir Naqvi: Speaker, I believe you will find that we have unanimous consent to put forward a motion without notice regarding the appointment of deputy speakers for the 41st Parliament.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The government House leader is seeking unanimous consent to put forward a motion without notice. Do we agree? Agreed.

Government House leader?

Hon. Yasir Naqvi: I move that Bas Balkissoon, member for the electoral district of Scarborough–Rouge River, be appointed Deputy Speaker and Chair of the Committee of the Whole House; that Ted Arnott, member for the electoral district of Wellington–Halton Hills, be appointed First Deputy Chair of the Committee of the Whole House; that Rick Nicholls, member for the electoral district of Chatham–Kent–Essex, be appointed Second Deputy Chair of the Committee of the Whole House; and that Paul Miller, member for the electoral district of Hamilton East–Stoney Creek, be appointed Third Deputy Chair of the Committee of the Whole House.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The government House leader moves that Bas Balkissoon, member of the electoral district of Scarborough—dispense? Dispensed.

Do we agree? Agreed. Carried.

Motion agreed to.

Correction of record

Mr. Arthur Potts: A point of order, Mr. Speaker: The honourable member from Renfrew–Nipissing–Pembroke—I appreciate you must have been listening very carefully to my remarks. He suggested I may have said “June” as a starting date of the jazz festival when in fact it is July. If I can correct the record to that effect, I’d appreciate it.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): It is a point of order. All members are allowed to correct their record. We now note that the jazz festival is in July, not June.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): I’ve got to tell you, it’s a great festival which coincides nicely in September for the one in Brantford, so I just thought I’d put that on the record.

Petitions

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): It is now time for petitions.

I have to start with a new trend. The member from—

Mr. Bill Walker: Bruce–Grey–Owen Sound.

Oh, I’ll do that then.

Hydro rates

Mr. Bill Walker: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I raise this in honour of Johnny O’Toole.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas the Green Energy Act has driven up the cost of electricity in Ontario due to unrealistic subsidies for certain energy sources, including the world’s highest subsidies for solar power; and

“Whereas this cost is passed on to ratepayers through the global adjustment, which can account for almost half of a ratepayer’s hydro bill; and

“Whereas the high cost of energy is severely impacting the quality of life of Ontario’s residents, especially fixed-income seniors; and

“Whereas it is imperative to remedy Liberal mismanagement in the energy sector by implementing immediate reforms detailed in the Ontario PC white paper Paths to Prosperity—Affordable Energy;

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

“To immediately repeal the Green Energy Act, 2009, and all other statutes that artificially inflate the cost of electricity with the aim of bringing down electricity rates and abolishing expensive surcharges such as the global adjustment and debt retirement charges.”

I support this, will sign it and send it to the Clerks’ table with page Ethan.

Alzheimer’s disease

Mr. Percy Hatfield: I present a petition signed by people right across Ontario.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias are progressive, degenerative diseases of the brain that cause thinking, memory and physical functioning to become seriously impaired;

“Whereas there is no known cause or cure for this devastating illness; and

“Whereas Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias also take their toll on hundreds of thousands of families and care partners; and

“Whereas Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias affect more than 200,000 Ontarians today, with an annual total economic burden rising to $15.7 billion by 2020; and

“Whereas the cost related to the health care system is in the billions and is only going to increase, at a time when our health care system is already facing enormous financial challenges; and

“Whereas there is work under way to address the need, but no coordinated or comprehensive approach to tackling the issues; and

“Whereas there is an urgent need to plan and raise awareness and understanding about Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias for the sake of improving the quality of life of the people it touches;

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

“To approve the development of a comprehensive Ontario dementia plan that would include the development of strategies in primary health care, in health promotion and prevention of illness, in community development, in building community capacity and care partner engagement, in caregiver support and investments in research.”

I agree with this petition. I will affix my name and give it to page Ethan to present to the House.

Lyme disease

Mr. Steve Clark: I have a petition to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

“Whereas the tick-borne illness known as chronic Lyme disease, which mimics many catastrophic illnesses such as multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s, Alzheimer’s, arthritic diabetes, depression, chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia, is increasingly endemic in Canada, but scientifically validated diagnostic tests and treatment choices are currently not available in Ontario, forcing patients to seek these in the USA and Europe; and

“Whereas the Canadian Medical Association informed the public, governments and the medical profession in the May 30, 2000, edition of their professional journal that Lyme disease is endemic throughout Canada, particularly in southern Ontario; and

“Whereas the Ontario public health system and the Ontario Health Insurance Plan currently do not fund those specific tests that accurately serve the process for establishing a clinical diagnosis, but only recognize testing procedures known in the medical literature to provide false negatives 45% to 95% of the time;

“We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to request the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care to direct the Ontario public health system and OHIP to include all currently available and scientifically verified tests for acute and chronic Lyme disease in Ontario and to have everything necessary to create public awareness of Lyme disease in Ontario, and to have internationally developed diagnostic and successful treatment protocols available to patients and physicians.”

I’m pleased to affix my signature and send it to the table with page Lavanya.

Gasoline prices

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member for Nickel Belt.

M me France Gélinas: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and congratulations to you on your election.

During the election, what I heard most about at the door was the price of gas, so I’m really happy to present this petition, collected by Leena Luopa in Worthington, in my riding. It reads as follows:

“Whereas northern Ontario motorists continue to be subject to wild fluctuations in the price of gasoline; and

“Whereas the province could eliminate opportunistic price gouging and deliver fair, stable and predictable fuel prices; and

“Whereas five provinces and many US states already have some sort of gas-price regulation; and

“Whereas jurisdictions with gas-price regulation have seen an end to wild price fluctuations, a shrinking of price discrepancies between urban and rural communities and lower annualized gas prices;”

They petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to “mandate the Ontario Energy Board to monitor the price of gasoline across Ontario in order to reduce price volatility and unfair regional price differences while encouraging competition.”

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

Ontario Drug Benefit Program

Mr. Jeff Yurek: Speaker, I have a petition here to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

“Whereas Health Canada approved Esbriet in October 2012 for individuals with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF);

“Whereas the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care has declined to list Esbriet on the Ontario drug benefit formulary or reimburse patients through the Exceptional Access Program;

“Whereas Esbriet is the first of its kind to be approved in Canada for the treatment of IPF and will slow the progression of this fatal disease;

“Whereas the high cost of Esbriet is creating financial hardships for many individuals and their families. Only those patients who have access to a private drug plan can afford the cost of this medication, forcing some patients to go without treatment;

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

“To review and reconsider the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care’s decision to decline any assistance with Esbriet and consider some form of assistance with the cost of this medication in order to improve the lives of Ontarians with IPF and decrease the cost on the health care system associated with the disease.”

Mr. Speaker, I agree with this petition, affix my signature to it and pass it over to the page.

Credit unions

Ms. Catherine Fife: I want to thank the Libro Credit Union in Kitchener–Waterloo for helping me to collect these signatures.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Credit Unions of Ontario support our 1.3 million members across Ontario through loans to small businesses to start up, grow and create jobs, help families to buy homes and assist their communities with charitable investments and volunteering; and

“Whereas Credit Unions of Ontario want a level playing field so they can provide the same service to our members as other financial institutions and promote economic growth without relying on taxpayers’ resources;

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

“Support the strength and growth of credit unions to support the strength and growth of Ontario’s economy and create jobs in three ways:

“—maintain current credit union provincial tax rates;

“—show confidence in Ontario credit unions by increasing credit union-funded deposit insurance limits to a minimum of $250,000;

“—allow credit unions to diversify by allowing Ontario credit unions to own 100% of subsidiaries.”

I fully support this petition, will affix my signature and give it to page Daniel.

Agricultural colleges

Mr. Jim McDonell: I have a petition to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

“Whereas the University of Guelph’s Kemptville and Alfred campuses are two of Ontario’s outstanding post-secondary agricultural schools; and

“Whereas these campuses have delivered specialized and high-quality programs to generations of students from agricultural communities across eastern Ontario and the future success of the region’s agri-food industry depends on continuing this strong partnership; and

“Whereas regional campuses like those in Kemptville and Alfred ensure the agri-food industry has access to the knowledge, research and innovation that are critical for Ontario to remain competitive in this rapidly changing sector;

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

“That Premier Wynne in her dual capacity as Minister of Agriculture and Food act immediately to reverse the University of Guelph’s short-sighted and unacceptable decision to close its Kemptville and Alfred campuses.”

I agree with this and will be passing it on to page Ethan.

Alzheimer’s disease

Mrs. Lisa Gretzky: It’s a pleasure to rise in the House for the first time—

Applause.

Mrs. Lisa Gretzky: Thank you. I’d like to present this petition to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

“Whereas Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias are progressive, degenerative diseases of the brain that cause thinking, memory and physical functioning to become seriously impaired;

“Whereas there is no known cause or cure for this devastating illness; and

“Whereas Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias also take their toll on hundreds of thousands of families and care partners; and

“Whereas Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias affect more than 200,000 Ontarians today, with an annual total economic burden rising to $15.7 billion by 2020; and

“Whereas the cost related to the health care system is in the billions and is only going to increase, at a time when our health care system is already facing enormous financial challenges; and

“Whereas there is work under way to address the need, but no coordinated or comprehensive approach to tackling the issues; and

“Whereas there is an urgent need to plan and raise awareness and understanding about Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias for the sake of improving the quality of life of the people it touches;

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

“To approve the development of a comprehensive Ontario dementia plan that would include the development of strategies in primary health care, in health promotion and prevention of illness, in community development, in building community capacity and care partner engagement, in caregiver support and investments in research.”

I support this petition and affix my name.

Boating safety

Mr. Victor Fedeli: “To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas the wearing of life jackets is not mandatory for all boaters, and this has been an ongoing issue for many years and has resulted in many deaths of people of all ages; and

“Whereas there are laws requiring mandatory use of seat belts, motorcycle helmets and other safety precautions; and

“Whereas deaths caused by not wearing life jackets can be prevented;

“We, the undersigned, support the proposal to request the department of Transport Canada that life jackets should be made mandatory for all boaters at all times, including other watercraft, and if not followed, punishments should include fines and other further consequences, including the suspension and/or revocation of boaters’ licences.”

This was presented by Andrew Vigars in North Bay. I support this. I will sign it and give it to page Émilie.

Diagnostic services

M me France Gélinas: I have this petition that has been collected by Madame Simone Poirier, from Chelmsford. It reads as follows:

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“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” are 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;”

They “petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to make PET scans available through” Health Sciences North, “thereby serving and providing equitable access to the citizens” of the northeast.

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

Ontario College of Trades

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

“Whereas Ontario’s tradespeople are subject to stifling regulation and are compelled to pay membership fees to the unaccountable College of Trades; and

“Whereas these fees are a tax grab that drives down the wages of skilled tradespeople; and

“Whereas Ontario desperately needs a plan to solve our critical shortage of skilled tradespeople by encouraging our youth to enter the trades and attracting new tradespeople; and

“Whereas the current policies of the McGuinty/Wynne Liberal government only aggravate the looming skilled trades shortage in Ontario;

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

“To immediately disband the College of Trades, cease imposing needless membership fees and enact policies to attract young Ontarians into skilled trade careers.”

I support this. I will affix my name and send it with page Katie.

Long-term care

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

“Whereas there are a growing number of reported cases of abuse, neglect and substandard care for our seniors in long-term-care homes and hospitals; and

“Whereas people with complaints have limited options, and frequently they don’t complain because they fear repercussions, which suggests too many seniors are being left in vulnerable situations without independent oversight; and

“Whereas Ontario is the only province in Canada—including the three territories—where our Ombudsman does not have independent oversight of long-term-care homes and one of two without oversight of hospitals;”

They “petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to expand the Ombudsman’s mandate to include Ontario’s long-term-care homes and hospitals in order to protect our most vulnerable seniors.”

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

Hydro rates

Mr. Jim McDonell: I have a petition to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, as follows:

“Whereas household electricity bills have skyrocketed by 56% and electricity rates have tripled as a result of the Liberal government’s mismanagement of the energy sector;

“Whereas the billion-dollar gas plant scandal, wasteful and unaccountable spending at Ontario Power Generation and the unaffordable subsidies in the Green Energy Act will result in electricity bills climbing by another 35% by 2017 and 45% by 2020;

“Whereas the soaring cost of electricity is straining family budgets, particularly in rural Ontario, and hurting the ability of manufacturers and small businesses in the province to compete and create new jobs; and

“Whereas home heating and electricity are essential for families in rural Ontario who cannot afford to continue footing the bill for the government’s mismanagement;

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

“To immediately implement policies ensuring Ontario’s power consumers, including families, farmers, and employers, have affordable and reliable electricity.”

I agree with this and will pass it on to page Ashley.

Home care

M me France Gélinas: I have this petition that comes from all over Ontario:

“Whereas many Ontarians need health care services at home and 6,100 people are currently on wait-lists for care;

“Whereas waiting for over 200 days for home care is unacceptable;

“Whereas eliminating the wait-lists won’t require any new funding if the government caps hospital CEO salaries, finds administrative efficiencies in the local health integration networks (LHINs) and community care access centres (CCACs), standardizes procurement policies and streamlines administration costs;”

They ask the Legislative Assembly as follows:

“That a five-day home care guarantee is established and existing wait-lists eliminated so that Ontarians receive the care they need within a reasonable time frame.”

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

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Ted Arnott): That concludes the time for petitions.

Before I call orders of the day, I want to express my appreciation to the House for again granting me the opportunity to serve as First Deputy Chair of the Committee of the Whole House.

Applause.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Ted Arnott): My goal is to be fair and impartial and to be deserving of the trust that you have granted to me. Thank you, again, very much.

Orders of the day? Government House leader.

Hon. Yasir Naqvi: First of all, Speaker, congratulations on your nomination by the House.

Government order number 1.

Orders of the Day

Throne speech debate / Débat sur le discours du trône

Consideration of the speech of His Honour the Lieutenant Governor at the opening of the session.

Ms. Daiene Vernile: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by Mr. Rinaldi, that an humble address be presented to His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor as follows:

To the Honourable David C. Onley, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario:

We, Her Majesty’s most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Legislative Assembly of the province of Ontario now assembled, beg leave to thank Your Honour for the gracious speech Your Honour has been pleased to address to us at the opening of the present session.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Ted Arnott): Ms. Vernile has moved that an humble address be presented to His Honour the Lieutenant Governor as follows:

To the Honourable David C. Onley, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario:

We, Her Majesty’s most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Legislative Assembly of the province of Ontario now assembled, beg leave to thank Your Honour for the gracious speech Your Honour has been pleased to address to us at the opening of the present session.

I recognize the member for Kitchener Centre to lead off the debate on the throne speech.

Ms. Daiene Vernile: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Congratulations to you for filling in; you’re doing a great job so far.

I will be sharing my time with the member from Northumberland–Quinte West.

Well, it is a tremendous honour to move the speech from the throne and to serve in this 41st Parliament, which has witnessed the election of more women in this chamber than any other Ontario Parliament, and to be serving with the first female Premier ever elected in Ontario.

Recently, I was humbled to earn the support of the good people of Kitchener Centre, a community that is reinventing itself in many exciting and dynamic ways. For over three decades, I served my community as a broadcast journalist for CTV News, anchoring and producing the current affairs program Provincewide. We reported on a wide variety of important issues and told the stories of the people in our region. Today, I am committed to continuing to work as a strong voice for the residents of Kitchener Centre in a new role as their elected representative in the Ontario Legislature.

Mr. Speaker, in the throne speech you heard our ambitious plan for building Ontario up, for moving Ontario forward, in the days and years ahead. If you want to see this plan in action, I encourage you to come to Kitchener Centre, and I know you don’t live far from there. In the past decade, our city was facing the same difficult economic realities as many other Ontario communities: factories shutting down, people losing their jobs and a declining downtown core. But our community was built on an entrepreneurial spirit. We are dreamers and doers, and we love a challenge.

The first Europeans to the Kitchener area, who arrived in the early 1800s, were self-reliant, hard-working German Mennonites from Pennsylvania. Many more immigrants followed, and soon they established the town of Berlin, which came to be known as “busy Berlin.” However, with the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, the anti-German sentiment grew in the area, and the name was changed to Kitchener, following the death of the earl of Kitchener.

During the latter half of the 19th century and the 20th century, our stock in trade was manufacturing, big and small. We made tires at Uniroyal, shirts at the Arrow factory and Canada’s first colour TVs at Electrohome. But when the tide of changing global forces swept across much of North America, Kitchener’s industrial sector was hard hit. We saw numerous one-time successful manufacturers shutter their doors. Unwilling to be relegated to the rust belt scrap heap, the dreamers and the doers in Kitchener got to work on a comprehensive action plan.

Playing a critical role was our former MPP, John Milloy, who supported Kitchener mayor Carl Zehr and the local council in a bold and daring plan to attract development and create jobs, optimism and momentum.

In 2009, we saw the launch of our life sciences cluster. The Downtown Health Sciences Campus was open for business, consisting of the University of Waterloo school of pharmacy and a satellite school of medicine of McMaster University. These institutions are graduating needed health care professionals—and this has gone a very long way in addressing the doctor shortage in our area—and the new medical cluster has become a magnet for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

Just down the street, a block away, in what used to be a leather-tanning factory, the Communitech Hub is delivering stunning results in the digital media sector. In just five years, this centre of excellence, which helps tech communities start, grow, and succeed, has helped to launch 1,700 new tech companies and thousands of well-paying jobs.

Each of these companies has between three to five employees, so do the math on that see how many jobs have been created. From one-person tech start-ups to large global players such as Google, Desire2Learn and Christie Digital, these tech businesses have generated more than $30 billion in revenue.

That is not a bad return on investment. Ontario’s Liberal government has invested $25 million over five years to stimulate the sector. Fostering strategic partnerships is creating new jobs and wealth in our community and in this province.

Mr. Speaker, I want to tell you about one of these success stories. It belongs to my son Andrew, who is just 26 years old. He graduated at the height of the recession with a degree in computer and video game design, and despite his best efforts he could not find a job anywhere. He sent out hundreds of resumés.

Then he took his ideas to create video games and phone apps into the Communitech Hub. After receiving some mentoring and some excellent coaching and getting connected with the right people, he set out on his own. I’m very happy to report to you that today Andrew’s company is one of the rising stars in this nucleus of tech innovation. His downtown Kitchener office has 25 employees, not just in Kitchener but also in a subsidiary office in Los Angeles. His clients include DreamWorks, the Jim Henson Co. and NBCUniversal, just to name a few.

A very small investment in this young man has gone a very long way in creating knowledge-based jobs in our community. Consider that the people whom he is employing now pay rent. They buy houses. They buy cars. They get oil changes. They buy groceries. They buy running shoes for their kids. They are reinvesting in the community where we live. His father and I are very proud of him.

Adding to the innovation cluster is our commitment to clean technology. Kitchener has always been a leader in its concern for preserving our environment. We were the first community in Canada to implement the Blue Box recycling program, back in 1983.

Our “Go Green!” philosophy promotes walking and cycling and the redevelopment of once-empty factories—and we had many of them. We’re turning these old factories into housing. This is a prime example of recycling that is transforming our city core. The Kaufman rubber factory, which once made rubber boots, is now an upscale condo development. The old Arrow factory, where they made men’s shirts, is now also a condominium development.

We know that if we are going to attract investors and high-calibre talent to live and work in our community, we need to improve transit. With support from the province, residents of Kitchener and Waterloo region are soon going to see the implementation of a light-rail transit system, and we’re very excited about this.

The LRT has been on the drawing board for over a decade, and I’m told that, in the very near future, we are going to see groundbreaking for this world-class transit system. It’s going to serve as a catalyst for downtown intensification. Fewer cars on the road mean less traffic and cleaner air.

All-day, two-way GO train service between Kitchener and the Toronto area is certain to be a game-changer. Rather than facing the traffic-choked Highway 401, where hours are lost every day in gridlock, travelling by train will not only make good economic sense for businesses but it’s going to help people to regain precious time being lost in our lives. We all have appointments to keep and people we’d rather be with.

We also look forward to breaking ground in 2015 for the new four-lane Highway 7 between Kitchener and Guelph.

The people who are working diligently to maintain a strong economic presence in Kitchener Centre are also committed to supporting culture. We have a rich arts scene with an abundance of talent. Most people in Ontario know about Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest, a nine-day celebration based on the original German festival—

Applause.

Ms. Daiene Vernile: —I’m getting a bit of applause there—the largest event of its kind in North America. Our long-time cultural heritage in Kitchener is centre stage as everyone becomes a little bit Bavarian during the the festivities. Oktoberfest also features a nationally televised parade, which airs on Thanksgiving Day.

There are numerous other cultural attractions. We’re home to the Kitchener Blues Festival, the Homer Watson gallery, the KW symphony and the Centre in the Square performing arts centre.

One of the biggest annual cultural events in Kitchener is the multicultural festival, which we just had in June, where thousands of people gather in our downtown Victoria Park to celebrate cultural diversity. We have one of Canada’s largest multicultural communities, with almost a quarter of our population born outside of Canada.

Mr. Speaker, I count my own family among this group. It was in the late 1950s that my parents, Carmine and Antonietta Vernile, emigrated from southern Italy to Canada. They were in their early 20s and they had very little money in their pockets. In fact, I think my dad says he had about 50 bucks in his back pocket when they arrived. They heard that Canada was a land of opportunity, so like thousands of other people who immigrated here, they made the long journey to the shores of this country, hoping to find a better life for themselves and their children.

My parents arrived in the north end of Toronto, because that is where other family had settled. With only grade school education to serve them, my father worked in construction all his life, and my mother toiled away in a dry cleaner’s, pressing shirts for 18 years—this was before air conditioning. She also cleaned houses, and she held various factory jobs.

We were very poor in those early days. My two older sisters and I wore second-hand clothes that my mother picked up at church rummage sales. While our Canadian neighbours were annoyed by the dandelions in their yards, we spent hours picking these weeds, called “cicoria,” and we dined on them.

Mr. Lou Rinaldi: That’s right.

Ms. Daiene Vernile: Thank you very much.

Those same neighbours must have wondered why our entire yard was plowed over and turned into a vegetable garden, and why we challenged suburban bylaws by keeping live chickens and rabbits in our backyard. The simple answer was: to feed ourselves.

These very early experiences with poverty became very foundational elements in my life, helping me to shape my values, my views and personal motives.

My dream was to become the first member of my family to attend post-secondary education. This was a pretty lofty dream, considering my father only had a grade 5 education, and my mother, grade 3. The war had cut short their education. So off I went to Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo to study history and politics, juggling four jobs in order to pay for tuition, books, and to keep a roof over my head. With no financial support from my family, the financial picture at times was very grim; but I knew I’d get through it, and it was thrilling to be there and to be learning at a higher level.

My first job as a broadcast journalist was with multicultural CHIN Radio. After a few months reporting in the newsroom, I was appointed to the station’s Queen’s Park legislative reporting position. I sat right behind you in that media gallery, reporting on the daily events. I never would have imagined back then that I would one day be here in the House, sitting as a member—and it is humbling.

After CHIN Radio came an offer to work for an ABC affiliate TV station in south Texas. That was such an interesting experience, and it showed me more than ever that aside from the weather, Canada, with its tolerance and compassionate social programs, was where I wanted to live.

Returning to Ontario to work for CTV in Kitchener, back then called CKCO-TV, it was a great privilege for 29 years to produce and anchor an award-winning weekly news program. From this perch in Kitchener, I was able to interview Prime Ministers, Premiers and even some American Presidents. Our reports covered issues like politics, business, education, health care and more.

But the stories that were the most gratifying were those where we were able to improve someone’s life by putting the spotlight on an inequality or a social injustice. Our report on a church community cupboard for the poor brought in a flood of donations which were very much needed at the time. We reported on a downtown soup kitchen requiring a washer and a dryer, and the very next day after the story aired, an anonymous donor provided the needed appliances.

An interview with a woman who was dealing with breast cancer, who was humiliated inside a driver’s licence renewal office when she was made to take her hat off for a picture revealing her hairless head, prompted me to call the then transportation minister. He offered an apology on the air, and she got to retake her picture after her hair grew back. This is what drew me to a career in journalism: knowing that you can use the media pulpit to bring awareness a