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October 26, 2000

37th Parliament, 1st Session

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Hansard Transcripts

Votes and Proceedings

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Hansard Transcript 2000-Oct-26 (PDF)

Thu 26 Oct 2000 / Jeu 26 oct 2000

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY ASSEMBLÉE LÉGISLATIVE

OF ONTARIO DE L’ONTARIO

Thursday 26 October 2000 Jeudi 26 octobre 2000

PRIVATE MEMBERS’ PUBLIC BUSINESS

HIGH-TECH CAPITAL OF ONTARIO ACT, 2000 Loi de 2000 sur la capitale ontarienne de la haute technologie

DEAF-BLIND AWARENESS MONTH ACT, 2000 LOI DE 2000 SUR LE mOIS DE SENSIBILISATION À LA SURDI-CÉCITÉ

HIGH-TECH CAPITAL OF ONTARIO ACT, 2000 Loi de 2000 sur la capitale ontarienne de la haute technologie

DEAF-BLIND AWARENESS MONTH ACT, 2000 LOI DE 2000 SUR LE mOIS DE SENSIBILISATION À LA SURDI-CÉCITÉ

HIGH-TECH CAPITAL OF ONTARIO ACT, 2000 Loi de 2000 sur la capitale ontarienne de la haute technologie

MEMBERS’ STATEMENTS

SERVICES HOSPITALIERS HOSPITAL SERVICES

DIWALI

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

LIBERAL PARTY OF ONTARIO

POLICE JOB FAIR

HONOURS IN HAMILTON

TAX REBATES

SUTTON MEDICAL CLINIC

MUSICAL MEMORIES OF MARKHAM

VISITORS

DECORUM IN CHAMBER

VISITORS

REPORTS BY COMMITTEES

STANDING COMMITTEE ON GENERAL GOVERNMENT

MOTIONS

APPOINTMENT OF HOUSE OFFICERS

ORAL QUESTIONS

HOME CARE

LIQUOR CONTROL

EMERGENCY SERVICES

WATER QUALITY

MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT

MCMICHAEL CANADIAN ART COLLECTION

WORKPLACE SAFETY AND INSURANCE BOARD

TRUCKING INDUSTRY

LANDFILL

HUNTING AND FISHING

EMERGENCY SERVICES

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

NORTHERN HEALTH TRAVEL GRANT

VISITORS

PETITIONS

ONTARIANS WITH DISABILITIES LEGISLATION

DEVELOPMENTALLY DISABLED

GOVERNMENT ADVERTISING

NORTHERN HEALTH TRAVEL GRANT

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS

NORTHERN HEALTH TRAVEL GRANT

CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS

ILLEGAL TIMBER CUTTING

BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE

NOTICE OF DISSATISFACTION

ORDERS OF THE DAY

MINISTRY OF TRAINING, COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES STATUTE LAW AMENDMENT ACT, 2000 Loi de 2000 modifiant des lois en ce qui a trait au ministère de la Formation et des Collèges et Universités

The House met at 1000.

Prayers.

PRIVATE MEMBERS’ PUBLIC BUSINESS

HIGH-TECH CAPITAL OF ONTARIO ACT, 2000 Loi de 2000 sur la capitale ontarienne de la haute technologie

Mr Coburn moved second reading of the following bill:

Bill 126,

An Act to proclaim the City of Ottawa as the high-tech capital of Ontario / Projet de loi 126, Loi proclamant la ville d’Ottawa capitale ontarienne de la haute technologie.

The Acting Speaker (Mr Michael A. Brown): The member has up to 10 minutes for his presentation.

Mr Brian Coburn (Ottawa-Orléans): I’d like to share my time with the members for Ottawa West-Nepean, Kitchener Centre and Bramalea-Gore-Malton-Springdale. They’re kind of anxious to speak to this bill.

On January 1, 2001, by virtue of the City of Ottawa Act, 1999, the Ottawa-Carleton region will become the new city of Ottawa. On that same day it would be appropriate to officially recognize and designate the new city as the high-tech capital of Ontario. Over the past few years a huge transformation has taken place in the Ottawa region. The federal government’s role as the major employer will be replaced by an exploding advanced technology sector. Indeed this is an event in itself that is worth celebrating.

The transformation of Ottawa’s dependency on government employment to private sector employment has resulted in an exciting, bustling, multicultural city known worldwide for its quality of life. This did not happen by accident.

Rather it’s the result of implementing and acting on a vision and a plan created by leaders and residents of our community—a plan that capitalizes on our strengths of a well-educated, young, dynamic workforce; a plan that capitalizes on forward-thinking educational institutions such as Carleton University, the University of Ottawa, la Cité collégiale and Algonquin College; a plan that capitalizes on the leading-edge technology generated not only by world-class private sector high-tech companies, but also by partnering with a knowledgeable and innovative organization whose primary business is research and development, namely, the National Research Council.

This is an organization that partners with innovative companies, universities and research organizations worldwide, where they build on the research strengths and technologies that advance our economic growth in manufacturing, information and communications technologies, as well as biotechnology.

This growth in the advanced technology industry in the Ottawa area has been a steady, long climb to the point where the new city of Ottawa in the province of Ontario is recognized worldwide as Silicon Valley North. A steady growth began in 1948 with the emergence of Computing Devices Canada, which is still a major force on the world advanced technology scene; a steady growth on into the 1970s and 1980s, where a broad range of multimillion-dollar firms burst on to the Ottawa scene, firms such as Digital, Nortel Networks, Newbridge Networks Corp which is now Alcatel, Corel Corp, Mosaid Technologies and JDS Uniphase.

This explosive growth provided the nucleus and the very foundation and the very ingredients of future success. Quality of life, research facilities, educational institutions, the presence and support of the federal government and the province of Ontario and a well-educated workforce became the magnets that justified Ottawa as home to industry giants such as JDS Uniphase, Mitel Corp, Cognos Inc, GSI Lemonics, EDS/SHL Systemhouse, JetForm Corp, SimWare Inc, Alcatel, Nokia. In fact, Ottawa is home to over 1,000 advanced technology companies, the largest such concentration in Canada.

Employment in the advanced technology sector has grown by a whopping 809% since 1976 and currently totals over 74,500 employees. We expect that number of high-tech jobs to surpass the federal government jobs by the end of this year.

Since the time of drafting Bill 126, the numbers on employment have already changed. As of June 2000, there were 70,000 high-tech jobs in Ottawa. As of the end of September, that number has climbed to 74,500, an increase of 6% in just three months. I challenge anyone to demonstrate a faster-growing high-tech centre in the province.

A statistic that is vitally important to the new city of Ottawa, the province of Ontario and indeed Canada is the fact that the high-tech sector generates sales in excess of $17 billion annually and over 90% of this amount is exported out of Canada. The export of such a significant amount opens up countless additional opportunities for other communities in Ontario in the advanced technology sector, such as Markham, Kitchener-Waterloo, London and Toronto.

Another important aspect of the high-tech sector—in fact it is an essential ingredient to the success of developing a leading edge technology—is the research and development capabilities in the new city of Ottawa. Over $3 billion annually is spent by publicly traded companies on research and development. This figure excludes the research and development expenditure of privately held firms, which would add significantly to this amount. In addition, the federal government spends almost $700 million annually on research and development in Ottawa.

For comparison purposes only, the total per capita research and development expenditures are three and a half times higher in Ottawa than Toronto, as per Statistics Canada data. Further, in the computer and electronics industries specifically, per capita research and development expenditures in Ottawa are 13 times those in Toronto. In fact, the Ottawa area captures 38.9% of the research and development expenditures in Canada.

There are a number of elements that make the new city of Ottawa an attractive place to invest, work and raise a family: a well-educated workforce with a combination of university degrees and college diplomas well above the national average, and over 9,000 residents with PhDs.

A rich advanced learning environment includes the University of Ottawa’s school of medicine and school of information technology and engineering, Carleton University’s leading microelectronics program, Algonquin College and la Cité collégiale, two community colleges that have developed innovative partnerships with the high-tech community, and of course the National Research Council headed by Dr Carty and the Communications Research Centre headed by Gerry Turcotte.

There are a multitude of networking forums such as OCRI—Ottawa Carleton Research Institute—headed up by Bill Collins, Zone5ive Technology Marketing, New Media North, Ottawa Capital Network, which matches emerging companies to a network of potential investors.

Ottawa CAP Consortium is a network of public Internet access sites located in schools, libraries, community locations and municipal offices throughout the city.

The quality of life is enhanced by our countless parks and nature preserves that offer over 300 kilometres of bike paths, over 200 kilometres of cross-country ski trails and 150 kilometres of scenic recreational paths that run parallel to the Ottawa and Rideau rivers and the canal, which becomes the world’s longest skating rink in the winter months.

The Greenbelt is the emerald necklace, some 49,000 acres of protected farmland, wetlands and forest which surround the inner city. World-class cultural facilities and festivals are in abundance. The National Arts Centre, the National Gallery of Canada, the Canadian Museum of Nature, the Canada Aviation Museum and the Canadian War Museum complement our local cultural theatres such as Opera Lyra, the Ottawa Little Theatre, the Great Canadian Theatre Company and la Nouvelle Scène, to name a few, and the world-class Corel Centre, home of the Ottawa Senators, and of course the Cumberland Heritage Village Museum.

Entertainment and dining choices are generous: over 1,600 restaurants to satisfy your particular taste on any given day.

The Ottawa International Airport, which is experiencing tremendous growth, is announcing today a $300-million expansion, to be completed by the year 2004. They are a significant economic player contributing to the economic growth and development of Ottawa. It is complemented by the Carp airport, which has evolved into a conveniently located commuter airport for the high-tech industries.

In fact, the aviation sector has grown by 40% since 1995. Our government has enhanced access to the booming Ottawa economy by completing Highway 416. This is just a snapshot of the ingredients that provide a quality of life for residents, businesses and in particular the high-tech sector that is the envy of many communities in and outside of Canada.

The characteristics I have mentioned are indeed many of the reasons for tremendous growth in the high-tech sector. The advanced technology community in the new city of Ottawa has many facets which make it such a dynamic centre of excellence that is recognized around the world. Excellence in research and development, manufacturing and information technology has resulted in leading-edge technology that is marketed to the world; excellence in software and hardware development, the telecommunications industry, semiconductor industry, the new media industry, the life sciences industry, environmental technology, Internet technology and the defence and aerospace industries.

Allow me to reinforce my belief that the new city of Ottawa deserves provincial recognition as the high-tech capital of Ontario with some quotes and observations by investors and employers in our city.

“Choosing Ottawa as the place to develop Silicon Access Networks’ chipset for terabit router line cards was no accident,” said John Vincent, senior director of the application-specific integration circuit development. “When we were looking to extend our product line into networking, Ottawa was one of the places we looked to first. With so many established ... companies here, Ottawa provides a rich skill pool of top-notch people with proven expertise and system knowledge that many chip manufacturers don’t have. Ottawa has one of the highest densities of the skill sets we need.”

Mr Richard Patten (Ottawa Centre): I’m pleased to speak on Bill 126, which has something to say about the city in which I reside and which I represent a good portion of.

I’d like the member from Ottawa-Orléans to know that I truly support the spirit of his intent in this bill. I’ve received a number of letters from other parts of Ontario, especially in the Toronto area, contesting the moniker that is being recommended by you.

But I think we can all agree, and the member from Ottawa-Orléans has put out a number of statistics, there has been an absolutely explosive growth that has taken place in the Ottawa area, primarily driven by what’s euphemistically called the high-tech sector. We have probably seen this sector surpass the volume of employment, and it is the single largest employer in the Ottawa area now, I believe. It definitely has the single largest employment-growth percentage in all of Canada. That’s quite impressive.

The employment numbers for the sector are expected to grow another 10% to 15% in the next couple of years, as well. Ottawa has the fastest-growing economy in Canada, it has been pointed out, and, as many of you know, Ottawa is the fourth-largest regional economy in all of Canada.

So it has been exciting times. I believe, though, that we all have to be supportive of this particular industry throughout all of Ontario. In Markham, Toronto, Kitchener-Waterloo, London, there are aspects and there are centres, although they may be somewhat smaller or larger, depending on how you assess this. We should be cognisant of the fact that there are lots of exciting things happening throughout Ontario.

I received a letter from Mitzie Hunter, the president of SMART Toronto, and she says, “Rather than appointing”—or I was going to say “anointing”—“one city as the high-tech capital of Ontario, the province should look at itself as a ‘SMART’ province, celebrating the achievements of individual cities and encouraging these high-tech centres to work together toward the growth and development of the province as a whole as we compete in the global marketplace.” I like the spirit of that, and I’m sure the member who proposes this bill would certainly agree with that as well.

I have an amendment, and I consider it a friendly amendment, and what I would recommend to the member is that if this bill moves forward and passes today and goes to committee, the committee would entertain the idea that this would go forward as a recommendation to the new city to entertain, whether they would choose this moniker or another.

As the member knows, when it came to the province dealing with bilingualism, it’s suggested that the city itself should make that decision; it was a local decision. In describing oneself as a city, I believe that should be a local decision, as well. So I would be prepared to support this with that amendment, that this goes forward to the new city as a particular consideration, as they would consider other things.

The member would know that there is underway a $200,000 study in marketing and branding that the city is going through—it’s the region at the moment—with the high-tech business and with some money from the federal government. I think it would be premature for us to pre-empt at this particular time and impose a particular title, from on high in Toronto here at Queen’s Park, to Ottawa. It would be more appropriate if it came in the form of a recommendation for, truly, consideration.

I’m going to stop here because I have two other colleagues who would like to speak to this. With the amendment that I suggested, if the proposer will speak to that in his wrap-up comments and entertain such a friendly amendment, I’d be very happy to support this bill.

Mr Gilles Bisson (Timmins-James Bay): I—

Mr James J. Bradley (St Catharines): Are you not out campaigning for Len Wood?

Mr Bisson: I’ll be out campaigning for Len Wood tomorrow. Today I’m over here doing my Legislative duty. But thank you for reminding me of that, Mr Bradley.

I’m in a bit of a quandary over this particular bill, because I understand what the member is trying to do. He’s trying to advocate for his region of the province, which is Ottawa, which we all know, which is an important sector when it comes to the electronics industry in Canada. We’ve known for many years that Ottawa and the region have done a lot of work to attract the excellence in technology that has made part of what the Ottawa economy is today, and we recognize that. It is one of those places in Ontario that does quite well when it comes to the electronics industry.

But on the other hand, I’m in a bit of a quandary because you look at communities such as Kitchener, Markham and others who have also been doing the same types of things for a while, so which one do you pick? Which one do you say should be the centre of excellence or the high-tech capital of Ontario?

I know, for example, because I’ve dealt with Mr Cousens, who is now the mayor of Markham but was a member of the assembly here from 1990-95, when I was first elected—

Interjection.

Mr Bisson: In fact, I got his package, as Jim is saying over there, which talks about what has happened for them in Markham. I just have to say, when you take a look at it, that what was the most telling—if I can find it; of course I can’t find what I want now that I’m on my feet. There’s a picture of the signs going into the town of Markham that basically say—here it is. It says, “York region, town of Markham, population 190,000, Canada’s high-tech capital.” It’s already marketing itself and already seeing itself as a high-tech capital of North America.

He is concerned that if we were to take a legislative step to recognize the city of Ottawa, in doing with the region of Ottawa what the member suggests, it would be in some sort of competition.

I guess I want to hear a little bit more of what members have to say before I decide which way to fall on this. I tend not to vote for it, to be quite honest, because I think once we get into—

Interjection.

Mr Bisson: We have to hear from Tsubouchi before we do anything. Exactly.

When you start getting into trying to name one community over another as the high-tech capital or whatever capital of Ontario or of Canada, you’re playing one community against the other. I would much rather see the municipalities themselves or the regional government decide how they want to brand themselves.

For example, where I come from, the city of Timmins, we call ourselves the city with the heart of gold, in reference to the gold mining industry that has been there for a long time, but we also recognize that there are other communities across northern Ontario that have a very strong gold industry. For Timmins to say, “We are the capital of the gold industry of North America,” or of Ontario, we probably can get away with that to a certain extent, but what would it say when it comes to those other communities out there that are trying to market themselves and attract investment and people into their communities on one type of slogan or other?

I have a bit of a difficulty with what the members suggest, and I look forward to the comments that are made by members of the Legislature. In any event, if it does pass, I guess we will get to debate this a little bit more at the committee level. But my guess is that even if we did adopt this bill, it probably wouldn’t get very much further than where it’s at right now. I don’t think the government wants to put itself in a position of adopting this bill as a piece of government legislation or allowing it to move forward as private member’s legislation, because I don’t think the Minister of Economic Development and Trade or the Premier or others want to get into this particular argument.

We need to view this for what it is. It’s a private member, in this case the member from Ottawa-Orléans, who brings forward a private member’s bill, as he has the right, on an issue that’s near and dear to him. I respect that and understand that as a person who’s been involved with municipal politics for a long time, he understands this issue quite well. What he is trying to do by way of this bill is to give his community a bit of an edge when it comes to marketing itself.

I respect what the member is doing. I’m not opposed to his attempt to do this, but I wonder how it’s going to stack up in the face of other communities out there. I look forward to the debate of other members and want to listen to debate. We will see which way it goes.

Mr Garry J. Guzzo (Ottawa West-Nepean): Let me express, if I might, my thanks to the member for Ottawa-Orléans for bringing forward this piece of legislation. I want to commend my colleague for his commitment, for his foresight. I know now that he’s correct in doing this, because if there was any question or any hesitation in supporting it in the last eight or nine days, it has been eliminated with the outcry of people who have come to criticize the action that he has taken.

They don’t argue on the merits. They don’t criticize the position that has been advanced for the city of Ottawa. They come with an argument of “Me too.” Five other cities have forwarded me copies of documentation in support of their positions.

Interjection.

Mr Guzzo: St Catharines is not one of them. I suppose like everything else from your area, sir, it will arrive a couple of days late, but I’m expecting it.

These other five cities, these other five jurisdictions, showed no leadership. They had no vision and they had no commitment until the member from Ottawa-Carleton.

Mr Gerry Phillips (Scarborough-Agincourt): Mr Cousens won’t like this.

Mr Guzzo: Yes, let the record show that Mr Cousens will not like this. Let me warn you in advance. Let me also tell you that my colleague the member from Kitchener Centre will not like it—if he understands it.

In all seriousness, I have to tell you, a couple of the people, a couple of the areas who have criticized and have come forward with the “Me too” argument have factors to recommend. They talk about improvements in the Ottawa-Carleton area in things like transportation facilities and airport facilities that were subsidized by all the taxpayers in the province of Ontario, including those in Ottawa-Carleton. I point only to the existence of Highway 401. After 30 years of desperate attempts on the part of the citizenry of Ottawa-Carleton, in 1998 we opened a four-lane highway to intersect with the 401 at Prescott, connecting Ottawa on a four-lane strip.

Interjection.

Mr Guzzo: It’s a sad commentary on the education system in Kitchener when the member from Kitchener can’t find the national capital. Any ability to read a road map would be testing the IQ of the member.

During the same 30-year period as we struggled to master and construct that four-lane highway, we watched the 401 across the city of Toronto go from eight, to 16, to 32 lanes, all being subsidized by all the taxpayers of the province of Ontario. It’s interesting, not one of the naysayers deals with the issue. No one stands up and suggests where the member for Ottawa-Orléans is wrong in advancing this proposition.

The biggest joke of all has to come from the city of Toronto, a city that wants to be a state, with a mayor who wants to be a premier or a governor. I find it most interesting that His Melness writes to me—and I have a copy of the position that he put forward this morning. Here’s a man who can’t clean up his own waterfront—two other levels of government this week coming to the table. He can’t pay for his own Olympics. He’s looking for support, but he wants to be a separate state. He can’t pay for his own garbage, he can’t handle his own garbage and he’s going to be an independent state. Then over a neighbouring state, he’ll run the trucks down the 401 at no cost.

Mr Mike Colle (Eglinton-Lawrence): On a point of order, Mr Speaker: Is this not about the high-tech capital designation, not about bashing the city of Toronto? Why must he be bashing the city? Let’s talk about—

The Acting Speaker: It’s not a point of order. Sit down. The member for Ottawa West-Nepean.

Mr Guzzo: I wondered how long it would take for the campaign manager for His Melness to get into this debate in support of the situation.

The argument that has been put forward this morning by my colleague the member for Ottawa-Orléans has to be studied in its entirety. One has to look at what has developed and supported the growth of the high-tech communities across the province. What is it in Kitchener-Waterloo, what is it in Toronto, what is it in Markham and what is it in Ottawa-Carleton? What is going to continue to grow? What areas are going to continue to provide the incentives and the jobs? What areas have the infrastructure and the background?

Everyone has equal opportunity in terms of the job creation and in terms of the capital infrastructure, but Ottawa possesses something that has gone much further. The Ottawa growth has been as a result of the people involved, the people who have come here, the people who have chosen to stay in the Ottawa-Carleton area and who have laid the groundwork and the framework.

I commend my colleague for having the foresight and commitment to bring it forward and, again, I underline the fact that the people who fail to deal with the issue, but only argue on the me-too basis, support indirectly that argument and that position.

I thank you for the opportunity to speak to it today.

Mr Jean-Marc Lalonde (Glengarry-Prescott-Russell): I’m delighted to be able to speak on this very important bill, Bill 126,

An Act to proclaim the City of Ottawa as the high-tech capital of Ontario.

The eastern Ontario people, starting from Kingston down to the Quebec border, are under the impression that the city of Ottawa is already the high-tech capital. This morning I was over at the Integrity Commissioner’s. I was telling him I was coming over here to speak on this bill and he said to me, “Is the city of Ottawa not already known as the high-tech capital, not only of Ontario but of Canada?” I said, “To be official, we have to come up with a bill,” and this is what my friend from Ottawa-Orléans riding has come up with.

When we are questioning why we should have the city of Ottawa known as the high-tech capital of Ontario, it should really be known as the high-tech capital of Canada.

When I look at the population, there’s another place around Toronto that is saying it should be known as high-tech. When we look at the number of jobs high-tech has created in Ottawa, 10% of the jobs in Ottawa are in the high-tech industry; when I look at Toronto, 3.7% of the people are working in the high-tech industry.

I was reading the Ottawa Citizen yesterday. There was a very important

article in it: “Ottawa ‘Not a Difficult Sell’: Mission to area has Silicon Valley reps impressed.” These people came from San Francisco Bay.

“Business leaders visiting Ottawa from the San Francisco Bay area have deemed their mission a success.

“Officials with a few of Silicon Valley’s elite high-tech companies were wandering the streets of Ottawa yesterday, and will continue their tour today, in order to get a feel for what the area has to offer their businesses….

“The Bay group is a not-for-profit organization with the mandate of promoting growth within the California region’s technological community and expanding that growth, through various relationships, around the world.”

When we’re talking about having the city of Ottawa known as the high-tech capital of Ontario, there shouldn’t be any question because we have everything to prove it. The city of Ottawa—at the present time the Ottawa-Carleton area—is part of my riding and I’d be happy to see every one of us support this bill today because it means that this will also be good for the Ontario economy. People from outside North America are coming to visit Ottawa.

Also, we are discussing more and more that the city of Ottawa should be declared officially bilingual. We have to remember that 54 countries in the world work in the French language. They speak French when it comes down to discussing business.

I support this bill with the right of the municipality to adopt whatever title it deems appropriate to ensure that it is identified as the leader in the high-tech industry.

I could go on and on to prove that the city of Ottawa should be known. When I look at the population of Markham, for example—they say they want to be known as the high-tech capital of Ontario—the population is 190,000 and they say they employ 155,000 people in the high-tech sector. The high-tech sector that employs 155,000 people covers the whole greater Toronto area. This is why it comes down to 3.69% of the population. In Ottawa, with a population of 750,000, 10% of those people, or 74,500 people, are working in the high-tech industry.

For this high-tech industry in the Ottawa area, as we know, we have the two colleges, Algonquin and la Cité collégiale, and also the two universities that are developing and training our people to become high-tech operators, to work in the high-tech industry. We have a shortage in Ontario; we have a shortage in Canada. I’m looking at some real innovators in my district. They developed the Amphibus. We know the Amphibus is the only one in the world, and that is in the capital city of Ottawa.

Just to show that we do have everything in Ottawa at the present time, why not officially declare it the high-tech capital of Ontario?

Interjections.

Mr Tony Martin (Sault Ste Marie): Yes, we’re the high-tech capital of the world. We make high-tech steel up there.

The most interesting part about this bill is the competition it has generated, the activity it has generated, the interest it has generated across Ontario in this whole issue of who’s the high-tech capital and leader in Ontario. I have to tell you it disturbs me somewhat in that I thought that as a jurisdiction, Ontario as a whole should be working together to develop a high-tech industry that would service everybody.

Right now, even though the economy is doing well in places like Ottawa, and probably Kitchener-Waterloo and Toronto, some of the places where the high-tech industry has taken hold, there’s a whole whack of Ontario—northern Ontario and rural Ontario—that’s still struggling, trying to find their place, trying to find their niche, trying to find their piece of this action so they could provide opportunities to the people who have lived in those areas for such a long people of time, who have invested in those areas for such a long period of time, and are finding that because they for the most part belong to what is referred to these days as the old economy, or what some of us like to refer to as the real economy, they are being ignored, are being pushed to the back burner, aren’t being appreciated and valued any more in the way they used to be.

We have a focus on high-tech that I think is very good, and I think the city of Kanata needs to be commended for some of the excellent work it’s done over a period of time to establish itself. I had a group in from Ottawa about a month ago speaking to me about some of the things they were excited about and some of what they needed. They weren’t saying to me that they needed a designation as the high-tech capital of the world.

What they needed was more infrastructure, what they needed was this government to come to the table to help them with roads and water and sewer, and to quit downloading on the municipality, which is trying to help them, because the municipality is already overburdened in that area.

If you talk to probably any of the groups that have written to us here today regarding this bill and that are very concerned re what it says about one community versus all the others, they would probably tell you the last thing they need is a designation. Markham has already claimed that designation: Canada’s high-tech capital. It’s on their sign as you drive into their community.

But that’s not what they really need. What they need are senior levels of government that really understand what they need and what it is that will support them in beginning to organize the common life of this province in a way that recognizes that there other things that are necessary, that there are resources that are necessary, and that there’s the provision of health care and education for their population in a way that reflects the very important contribution that makes to any economy, and actually establishes Canada as a leader in the world where developing a good economy is concerned and sets us up as a place where more high-tech might come and want to invest.

This bill this morning does nothing more than attract attention from some communities that perhaps feel that some of their thunder may be stolen here. It does nothing to focus attention on the need for us to get our heads around what it means to do community economic development, where all parts of this province benefit and gain and where all parts of this province are encouraged and given the resources they need to build on the industries that are already there so we can all become part of the success story that places like Kanata are obviously enjoying at the moment.

I have to say this morning that I won’t be voting for this bill because I think it moves us away from some of the real issues we should be dealing with where the economy is concerned and even where Kanata is concerned and where places like Markham and Toronto are concerned, and particularly where places like northern Ontario and rural Ontario are concerned.

If we could have a fulsome discussion here this morning about the economy and how we have to be doing some things, taking some leadership, putting some resources into some of those areas of the province right now that aren’t enjoying the same good fortune that specific areas are, then I think our time would be better spent and perhaps I’d be more supportive of the initiative of the member for Ottawa-Orléans.

What this does this morning is steal the thunder from other Ontario communities such as Markham, Kitchener-Waterloo and Burlington, which have made remarkable strides within the high-tech sector. It rankles the city of—

Ms Marilyn Churley (Toronto-Danforth): And Toronto.

Mr Colle: How can you leave out Toronto?

Mr Martin: Toronto has enough champions out there talking about it. Toronto doesn’t need me standing up here. Toronto has His Melness out there around the world promoting Toronto. Toronto doesn’t need me.

I want to talk about Sault Ste Marie and Sudbury and Chapleau and Wawa and Burlington and Kitchener-Waterloo and Markham and all of those places. It rankles these cities that this morning we’re centring out one particular area of the province and saying that’s the high-tech centre. We all want to be part of that action. We all want to take advantage of some of the spinoff that comes from that. We feel that by focusing on one place here, we’re leaving everybody else out. By branding one city alone as having the capacity to bear this title, it fails to appreciate the rapidly changing nature of the high-tech sector. It’s a frivolous waste of legislative time.

Rather than waste our time debating which city deserves the title, the Ontario government should be focusing on strategies to grow a high-tech sector in communities where high-tech industry is already established, and in communities in the north and rural Ontario where high-tech industries should be fostered and encouraged. But they’re not, because the provincial government is absent; it’s not there. I’ve been at tables over the last six years in rural and northern Ontario talking about economic development, and the group that is most noticeable by its absence is the provincial government.

We don’t know where they are. We can’t find the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade any more. We think perhaps it’s in a phone booth someplace in downtown Toronto.

Mr Colle: What’s wrong with downtown Toronto? What have you got against Toronto?

Mr Martin: I’m telling you this is an opportunity to talk about the NDP’s desire for true economic development, where not just Toronto and Ottawa are concerned but where the rest of the province is concerned, where Sault Ste Marie and northern Ontario and rural Ontario are concerned. We’re very happy that Toronto is doing well and we think it needs to do well because it’s the engine of the province, but let’s not put all our eggs into one basket. Let’s not focus totally and completely on Kanata or Toronto or even Kitchener-Waterloo. Let’s talk about the whole province here as a community.

Let’s do community economic development. Let’s make sure everybody’s able to take advantage of the new and exciting opportunities that are out there where the high-tech sector is concerned.

I think the member for Dufferin-Peel even agrees with that. His area probably needs some of that too.

Mr David Tilson (Dufferin-Peel-Wellington-Grey): I agree with you this morning. I think you’re doing a great job.

Mr Martin: The only problem is, the two senior levels of government out there today, the federal Liberals and the Ontario Tories, don’t seem to understand that. They don’t seem to understand that they have a role to play, that they need to be putting their resources into community economic development, that the tax breaks they’re giving are not in fact supporting or helping industry. What they’re supporting and helping are those people who invest in industry. That has nothing to do with the actual day-to-day of whether an industry is going to be successful or not.

It has nothing to do with focusing attention on parts of the province that could be helpful in the further development of some of these opportunities.

I was listening to the folks who came in from Ottawa. I hear every time I come down to Toronto about the problems those communities are having with infrastructure and overpopulation and the effect on the environment of placing everybody in the one geographic area. If senior levels of government would put some thought into how you might take some of that and share it out there with the rest of the province, with places like Sault Ste Marie, Thunder Bay and Sudbury, then we might have an economic development model that helps the whole province.

Then we might all be better off and be able to deal with some of the problems that are presented in so many important, interesting and challenging ways in this province.

I say to you that we need to be, in this House, telling the provincial government and the federal government to put their money where their mouth is, to begin to invest in economic development that will really affect and help communities get a handle on some of the challenges they face; to put some money in the pockets of those real investors who actually live and work in communities so they can participate in the overall economic activity of the business they work in.

This bill does nothing to advance that agenda, and I won’t be supporting it here this morning.

Mr Wayne Wettlaufer (Kitchener Centre): I am pleased to be able to speak to Bill 126, but the one thing I’ve noticed this morning is that something that has never happened before in this House—in the last five years, certainly—is happening this morning. There are members from all parties aligned on one side of the issue and there are members from all parties aligned on the other side of the issue. The NDP and the PCs are used to the Liberals taking both sides of an issue, but it’s usually the same member who takes both sides of an issue.

I want to compliment the member from Ottawa-Orléans, Brian Coburn, for bringing this issue forward, not because he’s promoting Ottawa—Ottawa is a beautiful city, mind you; I lived there for three and a half years in the mid-1970s and it is truly a beautiful city—but because it highlights the issue. It shows everyone in Ontario, it demonstrates to everyone here, how important high-tech is to the development of this province, how important it is to the economy of this province and how important it is for the survival of the economy of this province. We will not only survive because of high-tech, we will prosper in the new global economy.

I want to take the opportunity to speak on behalf of the member from Cambridge, the member from Guelph-Wellington, the member from Waterloo-Wellington and others in my area who are very proud of the development of the high-tech industry in Waterloo-Welllington, the region of Waterloo. We own the Appalachian Silicon North. We’re very proud of the development of the high-tech industry in our area. We have, for instance, 409 technology companies right now, and it’s growing by hundreds every year and a half to two years.

We have four world-class educational institutions. One of the premier technology universities in the whole world, and certainly the premier technology university in Canada, is the University of Waterloo. Conestoga College of Applied Arts and Technology is Ontario’s number-one-ranked college. Wilfrid Laurier University, one of Canada’s top business schools and arguably one of North America’s top business schools, definitely ranks within the top five. The University of Guelph is a world leader in biotechnology research, and my alma mater.

We have a business environment in Waterloo region that is attracting California-based technology firms. We have a high-tech industry that is well established and growing rapidly in the region of Waterloo. We have companies such as Research in Motion, the darling of the Toronto Stock Exchange; Open Text; Mortice Kerns, which is one of the world’s leaders in e-commerce; Descartes; and Intellitactics, which is a small company that is employing 14 people every two weeks right now.

I want to say that we stressed the importance of the high-tech industry in our budget this year. We provided more money to R&D, intensive research. We did provide incentives. We did provide capital gains freedom, not total freedom but some lessening of the taxable gains shackles for those companies that are high-tech research companies that want to provide stock options to many of their employees in lieu of a salary right away. We provided some freedom for those companies.

Do you recall what the Liberals did to the budget? They voted against it. They voted against the incentives for high-tech.

Mr Speaker, there isn’t a lot of time left for me. Thank you for allowing me to have my say.

Mr George Smitherman (Toronto Centre-Rosedale): I must confess that this week has been such a dramatic one in terms of the topsy-turvy world of stock prices associated with high-tech companies, that I had written my speech on Tuesday and had started off with great fanfare, mentioning that Nortel Networks is a GTA high-tech company. It’s still a very significant player, obviously, but as a result of yesterday they’ll be less prominently featured.

I want to take up the suggestion someone else made. Next week perhaps I’ll be introducing a bill that calls for Toronto to be named the engine of the Ontario economy, and we’ll probably put signs up around the greater Toronto area.

I want to applaud the efforts of the member for Ottawa-Orléans with respect to this. His remarks clearly demonstrate the passion he has on behalf of his community. It started to sound a little bit to me like it was his maiden speech in the Legislature. I waited for him to talk about Ottawa and what it offers in terms of longer winters and extraordinarily quiet weekday evenings, which has been my experience in that place.

I want to say as well that we all recognize the importance that this sector is playing, not only in fuelling the Ottawa economy but indeed the economy of the province of Ontario and the country of Canada. As much as we may have some distinction about which municipality, or in fact whether any municipality, ought to wear that name, we applaud that good jobs are being created.

This debate has provided an opportunity to celebrate success, and we have many success stories all across Ontario. In the city of Toronto, Liberty Village, in Gerard Kennedy’s riding, is providing new jobs, good jobs, for people. The buildings there, which are old heritage buildings, are coming to new life with companies in this sector. Similarly, in my own riding, in the King-Parliament area, FloNetwork and UUNET have made extraordinary new investments, and Indus Canada has recently offered up something of a new Canadian headquarters in the riding of Toronto Centre-Rosedale.

The key point that needs to be made here is that I believe this is not an appropriate issue to be dealt with legislatively. We see municipal pride come forward, and I think it’s appropriate for municipalities to participate in the debate around which municipality leads in what area, and I think also to go through a process of deciding how they want to be known, but I believe it is below us in the Legislature, frankly, to be dealing with trying to name one municipality over another.

The recommendation that was made in the letter from Mitzie Hunter, the president of SMART Toronto, which also happens to be located in my riding, is an excellent one. She suggests that rather than appointing one city as the high-tech capital of Ontario, the province should look at itself as a smart province, celebrating the achievements of individual cities and encouraging these high-tech centres to work together toward the growth and development of the province as a whole as we compete in the global marketplace.

That is the notion I’ll be using as I stand and vote against this bill, not because I don’t recognize Ottawa’s importance, but because I think we can do a better job of promoting Ontario as a whole rather than playing one part of against another.

I would like to echo briefly—and I hope infrequently in this House—the comments made by the member from Kitchener Centre. I think we may vote the same way on this, and that is a rarity in this place. I would say that this issue has brought diverse parts together. In the greater Toronto area, we can do a better job. We can follow Ottawa’s example of doing a better job of marketing ourselves and talking about the extent to which these industries and this sector are fuelling economic growth.

I know that as a result of this, efforts will be made to try to bring those high-tech companies together in the five regions that make up the greater Toronto area so that we can bring forward, as the Ottawa—I can’t remember what it was called, but earlier this year a team from Ottawa, led by Rod Bryden, a very passionate spokesperson on behalf of this sector, came forward. I think that greater Toronto area municipalities and high-tech companies will be working together to try to do the same thing.

I will vote against this bill because I don’t think it’s appropriate to recognize one municipality over another in legislation. I suggest to people that we embrace the notion that Ontarians and the Ontario government work to bring this kind of designation to the province of Ontario as we go forward to compete in the global marketplace.

Mr Joseph N. Tascona (Barrie-Simcoe-Bradford): I want to speak shortly on this matter by the MPP for Ottawa-Orléans,

An Act to proclaim the City of Ottawa as the high-tech capital of Ontario. I want to laud the member for Ottawa-Orléans for supporting his area. I was struck by the remarks of the member for Toronto Centre-Rosedale. In substance they were very good, but at the end he said he’s not supporting this, so it really didn’t make a lot of sense to me in terms of what he was saying.

The

preamble of the bill says, “The high-tech sector is an integral part of the Canadian economy. In the Ottawa-Carleton region, popularly known as ‘Silicon Valley North,’ over 1,000 high-tech companies generate revenues that total approximately $12 billion a year. Many of these companies have become major players in the global high-tech marketplace.”

Mr Coburn: It’s $17 billion.

Mr Tascona: It’s $17 billion? I wish that was in my riding. I’ll refer to a quote from Mr Louis Payant, VP of research and development for Nokia, our newest high-tech addition. He stated, “Nokia is growing at a rate of approximately 50 people per day and they have a huge requirement for skilled software engineers and high-tech engineers. Kanata represents a core of talent, particularly in telecommunications, and Nokia wants to be part of that.”

“Ottawa will carry the mantle as the top job machine over the next couple of years, as it has over the last couple of years,” says Mr Derek Burleton, an economist with TD Economics. This translates into 60,000 jobs over the next three years.

I think the facts speak for themselves.

The Acting Speaker: Further debate? The member for Ottawa-Orléans.

Mr Coburn: Thank you, Mr Speaker. I’ll just finish out my time, and then I get a two-minute wrap-up, I believe.

I want to put the mind of the member for Sault Ste Marie to rest. The province of Ontario, this government, invests considerable financial resources in the high-tech sector. In fact, the high-tech sector is 6.6% of Ontario’s real GDP compared to 4.7% in the rest of Canada’s. The high-tech sector is one of the rapidly growing sectors and accounted for 21% of Ontario’s economic growth in 1999.

I want to talk about the Premier’s Research Excellence Awards. These are awards handed out on an annual basis to recognize excellence in research and development. The University of Ottawa has received 28 of those awards since the program started, second only to the University of Toronto. To recognize their excellence, they each received $100,000 from the province and $50,000 from the university: Dr Rob Beanlands, Dr Steffany Bennett, Dr Pierre Berini, Dr Quentin Grafton, Dr Alexander Sorisky, Dr Sylvia Vidal, Dr Valerie Anne Wallace, and Dr Phillip Stephen Wells, at the University of Ottawa.

Dr Gilles Patry, the vice-rector of the University of Ottawa, is extremely proud to be recognized for the excellence that members of his faculty have portrayed and contributed to the province of Ontario.

This is a sampling. There are others where we have contributed greatly, and I’ll get into them in my wrap-up.

The Acting Speaker: Thank you. You have two minutes.

Mr Coburn: Talking about some of the exceptional programs we have in Ontario, we are involved in a program called CITO that works with members of our high-tech community, that takes advantage of their research excellence and their skills to promote the high-tech sector.

Some of the people who are pioneers in the Ottawa area: Denzil Doyle, who’s recognized as the grandfather of high-tech and started Digital in Ottawa; people like Terry Matthews, Michael Coupland, Michael Potter and Dr Adam Choweniec of Tundra Semiconductor. These are the people who had a vision and a dream and the commitment and the dollars, and invested in our community and have worked tirelessly and supported and networked with young companies that started out in a garage and have grown into worldwide entities.

At the outset, when I introduced this bill, never did I have the intention to minimize the importance of high-tech in any other community, whether it be in Toronto, Kitchener-Waterloo, London or Markham. But I’m pleased this morning to have members from all sides of the House debating the bill and talking about the strengths of their communities.

The member for Ottawa Centre, who comes from the same community I do, recognizes the strengths we have in our community and has proposed an amendment to this. I’m not averse to that at all. I think that if it goes to committee we will have an opportunity to further discuss it, and with the branding that will come forward from the city of Ottawa, who knows? We may be able to work something out that we can all agree on.

The Acting Speaker: This completes the time allocated for this ballot item. The question will be put at 12 noon.

DEAF-BLIND AWARENESS MONTH ACT, 2000 LOI DE 2000 SUR LE mOIS DE SENSIBILISATION À LA SURDI-CÉCITÉ

Mr Young moved second reading of the following bill:

Bill 125,

An Act to proclaim the month of June as deaf-blind awareness month / Projet de loi 125, Loi proclamant le mois de juin Mois de sensibilisation à la surdi-cécité.

The Acting Speaker (Mr Michael A. Brown): The member has up to 10 minutes for his presentation.

Mr David Young (Willowdale): I should say at the outset that I am honoured to lead off debate on my private member’s bill, Bill 125,

An Act to proclaim the month of June as deaf-blind awareness month.

About a year and a half ago I had the opportunity to visit the Rotary Cheshire Home in my riding, which I will talk about at some length over the next number of minutes. I was there in the company of the then Attorney General, Charles Harnick. It was my first visit, not his first visit; he had been there on many occasions prior.

The building itself is a fairly nondescript, handsome-looking low-rise apartment complex in the riding of Willowdale. It’s situated in a fairly quiet residential portion of my riding. To anyone driving by or walking by, it doesn’t stand out as being very different from any of the other buildings in that area. Inside, however, it’s a totally different world. It’s a place where with each passing day great progress is made and heroes are born.

Mr Speaker, with us today in the members’ gallery are several tenants and staff from the Rotary Cheshire Home for the deaf-blind in the riding of Willowdale. With your permission, I would like to take a moment to introduce many of those individuals who are sitting in the members’ gallery.

We have with us today Catherine Dominie, who is a tenant. Nazar Strejko, Wilfred Grieve, Doreen Duffney and Stephen Lindop are tenants in that home. Lorne Marin is here today. He is a consultant to the Rotary Cheshire Home. Cindy Babineau is housing manager. Dana Blais, Jacquie Lewis, Louise Lambert, Max Estay and Gord Johnston are all interveners. I’ll talk in a moment about what that job entails. Nancy Longo is the intervener manager and she is with us today, as is Jennifer Robbins, the administrative assistant. A remarkable woman, Joyce Thompson, is the executive director of the Rotary Cheshire Home.

For the last eight years this facility, which I will focus on for reasons that will become apparent in a moment, has made an enormous difference in the lives of tenants and a difference in how our community operates. I am very pleased and honoured to have with us today the individuals I have just mentioned, and I thank them for joining us.

I also think it will be of benefit to the members present, in understanding some of the unique and great challenges that are faced by Ontarians with deaf-blind problems, to have our guests in the gallery today because, as I speak, there are a number of different forms of translation underway, a number of different forms of

interpretation underway. You will see very clearly just how labour-intensive, how detailed and at times how difficult it is for this communication to take place, but take place it does.

Rotary Cheshire is a world-class facility, and I want to emphasize it is one of a kind in Canada. Funded by the Ministry of Community and Social Services, Rotary Cheshire is the only service provider in Canada, regardless of which province and which party’s in charge, that is solely focused on adults who have acquired the disability of deaf-blindness.

This home provides daily access to intervener services and housing in a physical and communication-barrier-free environment, resulting in high-quality living conditions for its tenants. Rotary Cheshire is planning a major expansion that doesn’t only relate to the residents and the tenants in its house; it is an expansion to reach out further to Ontarians and to Canadians, as this facility has done in the past.

This expansion is going to be largely funded by private donations. I should point out to you that at the present time Rotary Cheshire is a remarkable example of an effective, meaningful, private-public partnership. We need more facilities like Rotary Cheshire assisting people living with deaf-blindness all across this country, not just in Ontario.

The willingness of the board of directors and the staff and tenants of Rotary Cheshire to undertake this major fundraising initiative, which they are in the midst of, to expand their services further, the willingness of these individuals to not rely only on government funding, the willingness to undertake this major expansion is not only commendable, it is entirely in keeping with the spirit of locally based grassroots support of worthwhile community projects that this government has attempted to promote.

I’m hopeful that this bill, which is a very straightforward piece of legislation, will raise public awareness of the extreme challenges and disabilities of those afflicted with deaf-blindness. If passed, the bill will designate June as Deaf-Blind Awareness Month. With that designation, it is my sincere hope that it will bring much-needed attention to the disability of Ontarians and Canadians with these challenges. It’ll bring much-needed attention to their special needs and it’ll bring much-needed attention to the efforts that are being made to expand opportunities for these Ontarians living with this disability.

The exact number of deaf-blind Ontarians is difficult to determine, because there are differing degrees of deafness and blindness that might qualify one at any given time for this designation. There are at least 3,000 Canadians; most estimates put the number considerably higher. So that we are clear, a person living with deaf-blindness is an individual with a substantial degree of loss of both sight and hearing, the combination of which results in significant difficulties in accessing information and in pursuing educational, vocational, recreational and social goals.

Deaf-blindness is a unique and separate disability from either deafness or blindness. An individual with the combined losses of hearing and vision requires very specialized services, including access to highly trained interveners and adapted communication methods such as tactile sign language and finger spelling.

I should point out there’s no single cause for deaf-blindness. Some are born with these challenges. Some acquire it later in life either through trauma or aging. It is very important to recall that when one is faced with these challenges, depending upon where they are in life, the challenge of assisting them is that much greater.

I talked before about intervener services. We have many interveners here with us today. It is telling that in the province we have an intervener course that finds many of its spots unoccupied year-in, year-out. In talking to Joyce Thompson earlier, I was told that this year alone there are spots for young people or older people that simply haven’t been applied for. It’s clearly a very challenging profession, but it is my sincere belief that with the passage of this bill and the added attention that will be brought to the wonderful work that can be done, those positions at George Brown College will be occupied in coming years.

I’m very proud to state that the government of Ontario has been recognized as a national leader in providing services for its deaf-blind citizens. Some of the Maritime provinces provide absolutely no support, but there is no province that provides greater assistance than this province, and I’m very proud of that. That said, I believe this legislation is a step in the right direction to further improve the lives of deaf-blind Ontarians. With June declared Deaf-Blind Awareness Month, it will appear on every politician’s calendar and many will make that extra effort to promote this cause in their communities. Why? Because it is the right thing to do.

I am confident that the media will focus greater attention on the wonderful activities going on at places like Rotary Cheshire and the challenges deaf-blind Ontarians face each and every day, and that they will spread this message and the importance of the cause. This is a bill; this is a cause we are supporting. With the support of this House, I am hopeful that June 2001 will be the first of

ficial Deaf-Blind Awareness Month in Ontario’s history.

Mr Ernie Parsons (Prince Edward-Hastings): I’m certainly going to support this bill, and if it is a step in the right direction, which I think it is, it’s about 1% or less of the way we need to go. Everyone will support this bill because it’s meaningless; it does not do anything other than appear to address the needs of the deaf-blind.

Everyone in this Legislature, I believe, knows somebody who has a disability. As an engineer, I tend to take and break down into components, so I thought about the issue of deaf-blind and tried to put myself in the place of one and the other, and then I’d like to look at it with the two together. I have no vision in my left eye. I have superb vision in my right eye. I tried to negotiate with the right eye closed, to try to experience in a small, awful way what blindness would be like, and I couldn’t do it. I cheated. I simply couldn’t do it, and I opened that eye.

I drive here to the Legislature. I come from my riding of Prince Edward-Hastings, and I see the beautiful colours of the autumn leaves. People who are blind miss that component in their lives. I know a gentleman who is blind, who told me he lost his sight when he was about eight and cannot remember all the colours any more. I tried to visualize and think of what that actually means. He can’t visualize all the colours, and he is forgetting them one by one.

What are we as a province doing for people who are blind, to try to level the playing field? The Legislature did a study of upgrades that were required to this building. It was obvious that we needed an additional washroom. That was indicated in the report and it was funded and it’s being done. Also we needed better cleaning.

One item in there was that we should have Braille on the elevator buttons. That was the only item in the report that actually had a figure on it. The figure was $15,000. It was deemed to be too expensive; it would be done at some future date. The Whitney Block was refurbished not that many years ago. No Braille was put on the elevator buttons there. Words are wonderful, but it’s actions we need to do.

The member for Toronto Centre-Rosedale has a staff member here who is blind, and being blind involves some extra costs. Approximately $2,000 was needed, over and above a person who did not have a visual impairment, to do the job. The Board of Internal Economy turned down the request for $2,000 to make it possible for that blind individual to work here.

I have an extremely bright gentleman in my riding who is blind and was set for a job in the computer field, for which he was uniquely trained—it is not usual for a blind individual to be offered a job such as that. He lost it because of having to need a guide dog and that was denied.

My wife, who is here today, has a hearing impairment and requires hearing aids. She said to me that one of her challenges is to explain to people that because she is deaf, she is not stupid, she is simply hard of hearing. The ODSP funds extremely poorly for hearing aids. They will pay $500 for a hearing aid, which, in today’s modern world, is an absolute, basic model unable to address a wide range.

We have 85% unemployment among the deaf in this province, not because they can’t do the job, not because they are not capable of contributing to our society and contributing themselves. But I know that in my riding, when they apply for a job and require someone to sign for them at the interview, there is a three- to four-week waiting list because there is only one individual to do the signing for four counties. They are capable of doing the job. This government is not prepared to fund sufficient signers to do that translation for them.

In my riding and in two other ridings, we have schools for the deaf. I have a relative with no hearing whatsoever, and I’ve realized from her that her fear wasn’t going off to school and being away from home. She found it fulfilling to be part of the deaf culture, to be part of her culture. They are unique, and they have special needs. What is this government doing for the deaf? We’re selling off the one playing field the deaf community has in Ontario. We’re going to sell it off to a private developer to make some money at the expense of our deaf athletes in this province.

Interjection: Where is that?

Mr Parsons: At Milton. In fact, even before this government declared it surplus, they already had an offer to purchase on it, though it was not yet advertised.

The deaf-blind face the two challenges together that I’ve described. We need to do far more for them than simply emotion with hollow words to it. The deaf-blind aren’t looking for a handout. Our Premier has said at various elections that people receiving welfare don’t want a handout but a hand up. I suggest that our deaf-blind community wants a hand up. We have the obligation to provide it.

It is ironic that as we are debating this bill to name a month for the deaf-blind, in all the other legislation we deny they exist. I suggest that a very meaningful way to assist the deaf-blind would be to educate the public about them and their uniqueness. In the new curriculum the government is so proud of, there is no reference to people with disabilities. We should be starting in grade 1 to make people familiar with all our citizens. It’s not in the new curriculum.

What we need is a meaningful People with Disabilities Act to alleviate them of the need now of going through a two- or three-year process under the Ontario Human Rights Commission. They should be entitled to the same rights and privileges as every citizen in Ontario. We need a People with Disabilities Act and we need it now.

Mr Tony Martin (Sault Ste Marie): Right at the outset, I want to offer my congratulations to the member for Willowdale, Mr Young, who brought this piece of business before the House today. I think it is a most appropriate use of our time, to concentrate on something that often doesn’t get a lot of air time in this facility, which is the needs, the challenges, the aspirations and the opportunity out there, if we would put attention on it, for those who have disabilities; in this instance, those who are challenged with the disability of deaf-blindness.

I know that Mr Young, who brings this bill forward, has done a lot of work with the Rotary Cheshire Home. They need to be commended for the excellent work they’ve done over a long period of time now in an area that continues to need their attention and their inclusion and their involvement.

I don’t think we have to look very far to understand and realize how important it is that, in a jurisdiction as progressive and well-off and forward-looking as Ontario, we do everything in our power to make sure that those who are citizens, those who are members of that society, that jurisdiction, are allowed to participate to their fullest capacity.

Many of us know, by way of the inspiring Helen Keller story, that deaf-blind persons can gain and maintain their independence through teaching and facilitation.

There is a broad range of communication languages and services to help deaf-blind persons learn to communicate with other people, but resources are needed to make sure they’re put in place, not just in the Rotary Cheshire Home but in every office and every facility across this province, particularly where the delivery of public services is concerned, so that people with disabilities can participate, can get the information they need and can take advantage of those opportunities that are out there to maximize their potential and their capacity to be a major player.

I don’t think there is any of us in this place who doesn’t know somebody in our life, whether it’s in our family, in our neighbourhood or in our community, who has risen above or perhaps even built on the challenge they were given, whether it was something they were born with or that arrived later by way of perhaps sickness or accident, to contribute in a very meaningful and important way to the life of those around them, whether by way of being a conduit for communication, by way of being an organizer of various and sundry events, or by way of some of the very particular skills many of us have that a disability does not impair in any way but that sometimes seems to loom so large.

When we get it out of the way, we realize that these folks have as much, and more, to contribute as anybody else.

I know people who are labelled primarily by their disability who, if you can move that aside, are actually quite brilliant in particular areas and sometimes aren’t given the opportunity to develop that brilliance and contribute that brilliance to the overall well-being of the society we’re in. That’s unfortunate because in my view, when that happens, we all lose. We lose the contribution those people can give and can make to the overall betterment of our society, of our economy, of our community and of the personal lives we all live.

It’s quite unfortunate, I think, that we, on the one hand today, focus on something that is very right, that is the right thing to do and that we should be doing and will be doing it, because I don’t think there’s a person in this place who won’t be supporting this bill, yet on the other hand, not to be doing as government everything that is possible to make sure that people with disabilities can participate in the overall life of a community so that they’re not singled out so often, so that they can contribute and participate with the gifts they have, in spite of the challenge they confront each day.

This government hasn’t been willing to speak directly and forthrightly with the disability community around the question of why it is and when it is we might expect to have before us an Ontarians with Disabilities Act that would open the doors and throw open the offices of government and society so that folks could participate in that way.

I want to share with the people here today a little piece of my life where I struggled with my own place in society and life. I’m not particularly disabled, but certainly all of us at some point or other in our lives struggle with things that come at us. It was through an introduction to a very well known Canadian, Jean Vanier, who at one point in his life turned his attention to living with a number of disabled individuals and through that experience discovered that these people, in many significant and important ways, weren’t disabled at all.

If we could get past those things that so often get in the way of our getting in touch with the very real and precious and positive and exciting person and opportunity that is there in each person, we discover that everybody has something to offer each one of us and has something to offer the larger society, if we would only take the time, make the effort and have the patience to work with that and get the job done.

We have an example in some of the work that Jean Vanier has done of how we as a society, simply by changing our attitude, by learning some more, by actually committing ourselves to be involved in a more meaningful way with all those folks around us, can discover that there are far fewer disabilities than there are possibilities for people, if we wanted to do that.

I’m here today, as I said before, to support this bill, but also to challenge the government and to challenge Mr Young, who obviously has a tremendous interest in this or else he wouldn’t have brought it forward, to talk with his colleagues and particularly the ministers who are responsible in his government to make sure that some significant and important work is being done on the question of an Ontarians with Disabilities Act, so that we can have it before us here before Christmas of this year so that we can deliver to the people with disabilities across this province a Christmas present that says to them, “We are going to do everything in our power.

We are going to put all the resources available to us.”

There are significant resources available. We are living in a time now in Ontario of unheralded surpluses in public coffers: surpluses at the federal level, surpluses at the provincial level, that are historically high, which this government sees fit to take big chunks of and turn back by way of tax breaks to those who really are participating to their fullest, who really have the maximum opportunity to participate and to even make more money.

In my view, a big chunk of that money should be taken and spent in ways that would allow more of the ordinary citizens and people with disabilities in this province to maximize their potential to participate and become full citizens and take advantage of all of the wonderful things that we can communally, as a community of people, afford for each other, if we only had the mind, if we only had the political will and the commitment to do that.

I want to put on the record here this morning a number of questions that the community of people with disabilities and their leadership put before the Minister of Citizenship and Culture of this province only a short time ago and to which they still have not gotten an answer. They asked:

What will the government’s action plan on the Ontarians with Disabilities Act contain when it is released? We have a pretty good idea now, given the document that was leaked and presented in this House just a week or two ago, what will be contained in this bill if and when it comes forward. I have to say, frankly, that we and the community of people with disabilities are quite disappointed. As a matter of fact we’re not only disappointed, we’re shocked and dismayed and angry about that.

Whom has the minister and the government specifically consulted with on the contents of the Ontarians with Disabilities Act?

What specific feedback and options for this legislation have the minister and the government received? If we look at the document that was released, not too much. Obviously it is becoming an exercise in spin and public relations: how do you get out from underneath this commitment you made, as opposed to, how do you take advantage of this opportunity to actually do something significant and important in the province?

What decisions about the content and timing of the enactment of the Ontarians with Disabilities Act have been made by cabinet or its priorities and planning committee? The member for Willowdale ought to be listening to these questions. I think these are questions he should be asking his colleagues if he’s really, truly interested in improving the lot of folks with disabilities across this province, in this instance of course the people who are deaf-blind.

Why has the government been so reluctant to enact a strong and effective Ontarians with Disabilities Act? And why has it been delayed so long?

Will the Ontarians with Disabilities Act that you bring forward comply with the 11 principles which the Legislature, including your party, unanimously adopted in its October 29, 1998, resolution?

What is your approximate target date for introducing the Ontarians with Disabilities Act for first reading? And will you support the holding of open, accessible public hearings across Ontario on the bill?

Finally, what can you do to help us arrange a meeting with the Premier to move this act forward?

I say to the member for Willowdale that if he really wants to do something meaningful here this morning, along with what he’s doing—I don’t for a second suggest that this is not meaningful; it is tremendously meaningful to have a month dedicated to issues of blind-deafness. But will you speak to these folks and to the community of people with disabilities in Ontario and arrange for them a meeting with the Premier so that they can express to him in no uncertain terms the very immediate need for

an act to deal with Ontarians with disabilities in this province?

Last but not least, I challenge all of us here in our own operations to take a look around at our offices and at the things we do and assess and analyze that and come to some understanding of how accessible we are as MPPs to all citizens in our communities. Ultimately, justice and fairness and

an act like this start at home, start with us.

Mrs Brenda Elliott (Guelph-Wellington): It’s a pleasure to rise and speak in support of Bill 125, the Deaf-Blind Awareness Month Act, and I warmly welcome our special guests here in the gallery today.

I was interested to learn that the month of June was chosen because it’s the birth month of Helen Keller. At the age of 19 months she suffered an illness which left her blind and deaf, and a few years later another great Canadian, Alexander Graham Bell, examined her and sent her to the Perkins Institution for the Blind in Boston. There she learned to recognize objects by touch, to communicate by having others draw in the palm of her hand and to read Braille. Later on at the Horace Mann School for the Deaf, she began the long process of learning to speak. Her perseverance is a tribute to her character.

Later on in her life, through her books and through her lectures across North America, she inspired the deaf-blind community and raised awareness of this unique disability amongst the general population.

As my colleague mentioned, it’s estimated that there are about 3,000 people across Canada who face the challenges of deaf-blindness every day. That’s about one thousandth of 1% of this country’s population, and it’s quite likely that very few of us will have the opportunity to meet and learn from someone who is deaf-blind.

Clearly, an officially recognized awareness month will help all Ontarians learn more about the challenges of deaf-blindness. This bill, if passed, will help to carry on the legacy of Helen Keller and others who have sought to raise awareness of disability. It’ll be a credit to this member, to this House and to the government of Ontario.

This is a government that has done a lot to assist the disabled in Ontario. We have removed disabled people from the welfare system and implemented the Ontario disability support program that eliminates financial penalties for those who are not successful in their attempts to enter the workforce. We spend nearly $6 billion a year on programs for the disabled. Since 1995, we’ve introduced more than $800 million in new spending on key disability programs.

We’re spending $45 million in developing housing spaces and supports for people with mental illness and providing an additional $70 million, on top of $1.2 billion, for protected special education each year; $35 million for improved employment supports for people with disabilities; $60 million to improve community and institutional mental health services; $18.7 million for attendant care, which is a marvellous program our government made permanent; $4 million for children’s treatment centres that will improve access to health care services for special-needs children.

We are leading; we are doing a lot. I’d just like to specifically draw your attention to, the partnership incentive fund, which is a program that involves government, corporations and community organizations. For instance, the community access-ability program is a program of $200,000, and in the first year of this program 46 community projects across Ontario, involving 154 community partners and over 3,000 persons with disabilities, were funded, 34 events were held, over 600 workshops and 25,000 pieces of literature. These programs are happening, they are vibrant, they are responding to the needs of the communities, and we are proud to be leading in that.

As my colleague from Willowdale indicated, Ontario is recognized as a leader in initiatives for deaf-blindness. Those are just some of the things that we are doing in this particular file.

We have many new initiatives for the disabled in the province of Ontario, and we take these very seriously. Our government prides ourselves on keeping our promises and on doing the right thing. We take that to heart. The Mike Harris government is working to make this great province the best place in the world to live, to work and to raise a family. Thanks to this government, we do have a stronger economic foundation on which to build a brighter future for all Ontarians, and that particularly includes those who daily face the challenges of a disability.

My colleagues across the way say we have done nothing. In fact, I say to the Liberals and the NDP, when you were in government you did very little, for all your talk. We have done a lot, we know that there is more to do and we will do more. This is just the beginning.

Mr Gerry Phillips (Scarborough-Agincourt): I’m pleased to join the debate. I express a little bit of sadness in the previous speaker to say that I’ll be supporting the motion. I do think it’s a worthwhile step to proclaim the month of June as Deaf-Blind Awareness Month. It is a step forward. I think some good will come from it. I think, as we move forward on this, that the minister and the Premier need to re-examine their own priorities. I think the Ontarians with Disabilities Act is an extremely important act. Proclaiming the month is, as I say, a step forward, but the disabilities act is really what is needed.

I’ll tell a very quick story. A good friend of mine with the Toronto police emergency task force about 12 years ago got into a car accident one evening and became a quadriplegic. That didn’t stop him. He never lost his sense of optimism. Even within 24 hours of the accident he was looking forward to the future. To the Toronto police force’s credit and to my friend’s credit, about five years after the accident he was able to go back to work on the police force. He became probably Canada’s expert on youth gangs. He then took the detectives exam and the Toronto police force promoted him to detective. He headed up a unit of about 14 people and now is heading up a brand new unit.

The reason I mention this is that here was an individual whose life was fundamentally changed. He became a quadriplegic, but through his own perseverance, through an employer who understands that there is enormous talent available to them if they can provide some modest accommodation, and through technology—those three things meant that Ontario is taking advantage of an enormous talent at a relatively modest cost.

That’s what the deaf-blind community needs and is looking for: for Ontario, all of us, to make those sorts of investments in them to help unlock the enormous talent that exists within that community. As I say, I know first-hand from my good friend what he has been able to do in spite of a disability.

So I say, certainly, that the month is a first step. Some good will come from it. But we need to take the next big steps. I do believe the disabilities act is an important step forward for the government to move quickly on.

Mr Joseph N. Tascona (Barrie-Simcoe-Bradford): I’m pleased to join in the debate with respect to Bill 125,

An Act to proclaim the month of June as deaf-blind awareness month. I think the

preamble of the bill speaks for itself about what the member for Willowdale was trying to accomplish here:

“Deaf-blindness is a unique disability that incorporates the sensory loss of both sight and hearing. Persons with this disability experience extreme isolation and the inability to access the services and information which most of us take for granted.

“June is the birth month of Helen Keller, a deaf-blind person known around the world for her perseverance and achievements, and an inspiration to the deaf-blind community. It is appropriate during the month of June to celebrate the achievements of deaf-blind persons, and to recognize that increased public awareness of this disability is crucial to increase opportunities for those who live with it.

“Therefore, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

“Deaf-blind awareness month

“1. The month of June in each year is proclaimed as Deaf-Blind Awareness Month.”

Dealing with this legislation in its substance, children affected by deaf-blindness: approximately one third of all persons living with deaf-blindness were born with rubella syndrome. German measles, a contagious disease that affects the fetuses of women in their first trimester of pregnancy, results in many children born with hearing and vision losses.

The number of children affected around the world gained the attention of educators and service providers, who understood the importance of planning for this new group of students who would need services. This led to the creation and expansion of services for the deaf-blind. An example of these services is the Canadian National Institute for the Blind deaf-blind services department. This department receives funding from the Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services.

I participated in and supported the CNIB forum in my riding about a week and a half ago, which was attended by a number of stakeholders from the education community, to bring more awareness throughout my riding. It was very well attended. I want to congratulate the CNIB and also in particular a good friend of mine, Margarita Papp-Belyneh, who was responsible in great part for this event.

Also, the Canadian Hearing Society, an Ontario service for the deaf and hearing-impaired individuals: this group receives funding from the Ministry of Community and Social Services, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Training to provide counselling, job search and access to technical devices.

The major issue for the deaf-blind community is the lack of interveners and intervener services. This is largely caused by the very small number of people who choose to make being an intervener their career. There is only one educational institution in Canada, George Brown College here in Toronto, that trains students to become deaf-blind interveners. Only 17 students have enrolled to train as interveners for the next year. By heightening public awareness of the disability of deaf-blindness and the needs of this community, perhaps more young people will choose a career as a deaf-blind intervener.

Adults affected by deaf-blindness: approximately two thirds of those persons living with deaf-blindness acquire deaf-blindness later in life through trauma and accidents or disease. There are many different causes of deafness and blindness. The age of the person when their vision and hearing losses occur requires very different approaches when they plan their education, training and rehabilitation. Also, the communication system they develop as their preferred communication method, their language levels and fluency in grammar and reading skills greatly impact on which social community they may associate with and their service needs.

I’ll say this: our government has been working to make Ontario the best place in the world to live, to work and raise a family. With Ontario’s economy as strong as it is thanks to the efforts of our government, we need all the skilled workers we can get to help us move forward.

The facts are that the government spends nearly $6 billion annually on services to persons with disabilities. That’s an increase of more than $800 million since our government took office in 1995. In 1998 we consulted over 300 organizations in eight cities across Ontario. We received 260 written submissions from people who expressed their views on what should be in an Ontarians with Disabilities Act.

We have done a number of initiatives to reach out to the community, and I want to commend the member from Willowdale for this, another initiative with respect to bringing forth our approach to dealing with this issue.

Mr Steve Peters (Elgin-Middlesex-London): I’d like to welcome our guests from Rotary Cheshire Homes here today. I had the opportunity to visit the facility this spring and was most impressed with the efforts taking place there.

It was very sad to hear the parliamentary assistant to the minister responsible for persons with disabilities not mention once the need for a strong and effective Ontarians with Disabilities Act in this province. Promise made, promise not kept. That’s a very sad day.

I had an opportunity to meet and listen to an individual. Her name is Penny Leclair. Penny is deaf-blind. Penny is a member of the Canadian Society of the Deafblind, Canadian Federation of the Blind Advocates for Equality, Canadian Congress for Learning Opportunities for Women, Guide Dog Users of Canada, and Canadian National Institute for the Blind. I’d like to relay some comments and some thoughts of what it’s like for a person with deaf-blindness. I’m going to read from Penny’s brief that she presented to me.

“I am an informed person who is deaf-blind. I advocate for changes that would have a positive impact for the majority of people who are deaf-blind. In general, it is my view that the recently proposed ODA”—Bill 83—“does not address the needs of disabled persons in Ontario and particularly the uniqueness of the disability of deaf-blindness....

“It is every deaf-blind person’s right to have access to equal aducation, access to information, adequate housing and access to services. The resources to achieve these rights are lacking. In reality,” Bill 83 “itself is meaningless without the provision of resources that would allow disabled persons to access these rights. For the deaf, blind and deaf-blind, information in a meaningful format is a must....

“Many deaf-blind people are unaware of most services available to them because of the lack of accessible information....

“Most deaf-blind persons receive less than six hours of intervention per week. (The intervener is a person who assists with communication.) We cannot achieve improvement in our lives, and have very limited independence with such inadequate communication assistance. Our ability to contribute to our community requires intervention, the personal assistance of a professional intervener.... The changing environment requires an ability to communicate. Deaf-blind persons need to know of changes and capitalize on new opportunities. This is not a reality at present....

“If the barrier of not being able to communicate continues, deaf-blind Canadians will become more and more isolated. People are meant to interact with other people. We are a society. If we are not given resources to communicate, other health problems arise, increasing the long-term costs for health-based support structures.

“Increase intervention services, equitably distributed to the level of daily intervention, not weekly. Even as little as two hours per day of the ears and eyes of a professional would overcome many of the communication barriers for deaf-blind persons.

“Businesses, especially legal and government departments, should be required to have all documents produced in a person’s preferred method of communication: print, Braille, or with the use of an intervener.

“If government has a responsibility for resources…. Currently, it is not understood which ministry has what responsibility, and one needs to be an expert in government politics and practices to know where and how to acquire a resource. This has to be addressed….

“Deaf-blind people require intervention as a unique service. Many of our basic human rights can only be achieved with more intervention services.”

It’s a sad day when a backbencher has to come forward to work for persons with disabilities in this province, and no initiatives from the minister. Yes, I support the awareness question. I think it’s a very important step. But awareness doesn’t pull down the barriers that exist in this government. The only way to fully remove these barriers is to pass a strong and effective Ontarians with Disabilities Act.

Mr Brian Coburn (Ottawa-Orléans): I am very pleased to speak to the member from Willowdale’s bill this morning, the Ontario Deaf-Blind Awareness Month Act, Bill 125.

The Rotary Cheshire Homes facility is the only service provider in Canada which is solely focused on adults who have acquired the disability of deaf-blindness. They provide daily access to intervener services and housing in a physical and communication barrier-free environment, resulting in quality-of-life living conditions for the residents.

This particular bill has certainly struck a chord with me, as my wife has spent a great part of her life working with individuals with disabilities. She has told me of the many challenges that individuals face when they are deaf. I can only imagine the tremendous challenge an individual would face with the additional barrier of blindness. I certainly understand the important role an intervener plays in the interaction of a person who is deaf-blind with other people and the environment around them.

Our government is working to improve the lives of persons with disabilities. In fact, the Ministry of Community and Social Services is providing funding to the Rotary Cheshire Homes. Our government spends nearly $6 billion annually on services to persons with disabilities, which I must point out is an increase of more than $800 million since we took office in 1995. We have created and expanded services for the deaf-blind, particularly the deaf-blind services department in the Canadian National Institute for the Blind and the Canadian Hearing Society.

We promised legislation to improve the lives of persons with disabilities and we are committed to passing new legislation next year, legislation that will be fair and reasonable for people with disabilities as well as those who are in a position to accommodate their needs. The legislation will have an action plan that will focus on changing attitudes, namely, helping those with disabilities to truly share in the opportunities of Ontario.

As members know, we have consulted with over 300 organizations in eight cities, as well as receiving over 260 submissions from people who have expressed their views on what we should do in an Ontarians with Disabilities Act. I can tell you that Minister Johns continues to consult.

In my riding of Ottawa-Orléans, I have an exceptionally energetic and caring lady by the name of Marilyn Dow. Marilyn sees the challenges faced by parents who have a member of their family who has a disability day in, day out. She is one of those parents. But she has also seen a need for a service that shared expensive equipment for special disabilities, which many families simply could not afford. Eight years ago she started the special-needs equipment exchange, in her own home. Needless to say, this was a service welcomed by families with disabilities across the entire city of Ottawa. No money changes hands.

People bring equipment they no longer need or have outgrown and trade it in for better or more specialized equipment. Volunteers help to repair the equipment. It has outgrown her basement now and larger space has been donated, which is now not sufficient to handle the volume.

I told Minister Johns of this exceptional service provided by parents and volunteers under the tireless direction of Marilyn Dow. Marilyn and the parents were delighted to have Minister Johns visit the special-needs equipment exchange service. To my knowledge, it is the only service of its kind in Ontario. Marilyn and the parents had an opportunity to explain their needs and special circumstances to Minister Johns, who was extremely interested in having their concerns expressed to her first-hand. This is the personal touch that Minister Johns has brought to this issue, talking and consulting with individuals who can best suggest solutions.

I also have a constituent who is deaf-blind who visited my office with her intervener, where we talked about barriers and challenges she faces and how she might address them. Her input and suggestions were welcomed by Minister Johns. This additional information will help us develop legislation that will improve the lives of persons with disabilities.

I am sure that we all have stories which demonstrate the progress and assistance that volunteers and organizations such as the Rotary Cheshire Homes provide to Ontarians who have disabilities. It is their partnership and commitment, coupled with our government’s initiatives, that will continue to improve the quality of life for individuals with disabilities. Bill 125 is an added initiative that will increase the awareness of the need for interveners, and perhaps more young people will choose a career as a deaf-blind intervener.

Mr Young: I thank my colleagues on both sides of the floor for participating in this discussion today. The very fact that the discussion took place is a positive step forward.

The passage of this bill, if it’s the will of this Assembly to ultimately pass this legislation, will be another step forward. That’s how one travels down the road, by steps forward. I’m very proud of the fact that the speakers to date have all indicated that they will be supporting this legislation.

I am also very proud of the work that has been done by this government. I indicated earlier in passing—I will expand now, if I may—that Ontario is the national leader in providing services for the deaf-blind in Canada. This is based on the number of services available to deaf-blind people, as well as the number of deaf-blind persons receiving these services. I challenge anyone in this Legislature to compare the services provided in this province to those provided in other provinces, whether they be governed by an NDP government or the Parti Québécois, or whether they be government by the Liberals in Newfoundland.

In fact, I had the opportunity recently in the Rotary Cheshire Homes to meet a tenant who is from a maritime province who came to Ontario and whose life has been enriched greatly by reason of the services that are provided here.

So yes, there is more to do. There is always more to do. I have the utmost confidence that Minister Johns, with the assistance of her parliamentary assistant, the member from Elgin-Middlesex-London, will move us forward in that direction, as they have in the past. This is a government with the wherewithal. This is a province that can further improve the lives of those with this affliction. I’m very proud to be standing today and I look forward to the passage of this very important legislation.

The Acting Speaker: This completes the time allotted for this ballot item.

HIGH-TECH CAPITAL OF ONTARIO ACT, 2000 Loi de 2000 sur la capitale ontarienne de la haute technologie

The Acting Speaker (Mr Michael A. Brown): We will now deal with ballot item number 43. Mr Coburn has moved second reading of Bill 126,

An Act to proclaim the City of Ottawa as the high-tech capital of Ontario. Is it the pleasure of the House that the motion carry?

All in favour will say “aye.”

All opposed will say “nay.”

In my opinion, the ayes have it.

We will call in the members after we deal with ballot item number 44.

DEAF-BLIND AWARENESS MONTH ACT, 2000 LOI DE 2000 SUR LE mOIS DE SENSIBILISATION À LA SURDI-CÉCITÉ

The Acting Speaker (Mr Michael A. Brown): Mr Young has moved second reading of Bill 125,

An Act to proclaim the month of June as deaf-blind awareness month.

Shall the motion carry? Carried.

HIGH-TECH CAPITAL OF ONTARIO ACT, 2000 Loi de 2000 sur la capitale ontarienne de la haute technologie

The Acting Speaker (Mr Michael A. Brown): Call in the members for a vote on ballot item number 43.

The division bells rang from 1200 to 1205.

The Acting Speaker: Mr Coburn has moved second reading of Bill 126. All those in favour will stand and remain standing until their name is called.

Ayes

Agostino, Dominic

Baird, John R.

Boyer, Claudette

Cleary, John C.

Coburn, Brian

Duncan, Dwight

Gerretsen, John

Guzzo, Garry J.

Hastings, John

Klees, Frank

Lalonde, Jean-Marc

Munro, Julia

Mushinski, Marilyn

O’Toole, John

Patten, Richard

Spina, Joseph

Sterling, Norman W.

Stockwell, Chris

Tascona, Joseph N.

Young, David

The Acting Speaker: All those opposed will please stand and remain standing until their name is called.

Nays

Caplan, David

Chudleigh, Ted

Colle, Mike

Cordiano, Joseph

Ecker, Janet

Elliott, Brenda

Gilchrist, Steve

Gill, Raminder

Kennedy, Gerard

Kwinter, Monte

Marland, Margaret

Martin, Tony

Martiniuk, Gerry

Ouellette, Jerry J.

Ruprecht, Tony

Sampson, Rob

Smitherman, George

Tilson, David

Tsubouchi, David H.

Wettlaufer, Wayne

Witmer, Elizabeth

Wood, Bob

Clerk of the House (Mr Claude L. DesRosiers): The ayes are 19; the nays are 22.

The Acting Speaker: I declare the motion lost.

All matters before the House relating to private members’ public business now being complete, I will now leave the chair. The House will resume sitting at 1:30 of the clock.

The House recessed from 1208 to 1330.

MEMBERS’ STATEMENTS

SERVICES HOSPITALIERS HOSPITAL SERVICES

M me Claudette Boyer (Ottawa-Vanier) : J’aimerais, au nom de Dalton McGuinty et de mes collègues libéraux, parler des récentes annulations de chirurgie à travers la province, et surtout dans mon comté d’Ottawa-Vanier.

Many of my constituents have had their surgeries cancelled at the last minute because no beds were available to them, and these people have not been waiting for short periods of time. No, some have been on waiting lists for more than 10 months.

The Minister of Health and Long-Term Care has promised to fix this serious problem, yet little has been done. We have heard announcement after announcement about how she is getting the job done, yet there is little evidence that this is happening.

I wonder if Maggi Baker of Ottawa, whose hip replacement surgery has been postponed twice, believes that this government is getting the job done. What about Douglas Forteath, who waited seven months for hip replacement surgery? What about Victor Woodward, whose prostate surgery, scheduled for October 10, was cancelled? I wonder if Allan McCulloch of Ottawa, who has been denied investigative surgery twice, thinks that this government is getting the job done.

The reason there are no beds available to these patients is because the beds are being occupied by long-term patients. Why doesn’t this government provide separate facilities for long-term patients in order to free up hospital beds for people like those whose names I have given you?

Si la ministre pense honnêtement que le problème est sous contrôle, il me ferait plaisir de lui donner les numéros de téléphone de mes commettants et de mes commettantes qui sont encore sur une liste d’attente pour qu’elle puisse leur dire elle-même qu’ils n’ont rien à s’inquiéter.

Mr Gerry Martiniuk (Cambridge): Mr Speaker, I have a matter of privilege I’d like to raise at this time.

The Speaker (Hon Gary Carr): I do have a reply to that. Maybe we’ll do it after members’ statements, if we could.

DIWALI

Mr Raminder Gill (Bramalea-Gore-Malton-Springdale): Today over 400,000 Ontarians, including my family, will be celebrating Diwali. Diwali is celebrated by over one billion people throughout the world, including India, Europe, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Malaysia and Fiji.

Diwali is one of the most festive occasions for members of the South Asian community. Diwali, or the festival of lights, as it is popularly known, is symbolized by the lighting of innumerable lamps, or deeyas, in and around every home. On Diwali day prayers are held at homes and at temples. Feasts are prepared, sweets are exchanged and fireworks are displayed.

The festival of Diwali also commemorates the return of Lord Rama to his kingdom of Ayodhya after 14 years in exile, and the return of Guru Hargobind Ji to the city of Amritsar after his release from captivity by the Mughal ruler Jahangir.

On behalf of the South Asian community, I would like to extend an invitation to all Ontarians to join with us at 3 pm this Sunday at Queen’s Park for the ceremonial lighting of a deeya and a parade from Queen’s Park to city hall.

On this most auspicious Diwali day, I would like to extend greetings to all members of the South Asian community across Ontario and especially in my own riding. I wish and pray that we are all blessed with harmony, love and positive thoughts.

Happy Diwali to all. Namaste and Sat Sri Akal.

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Mr Gerry Phillips (Scarborough-Agincourt): My question is really, where are the financial statements? Where are the audited statements for the last fiscal year?

I remember when Mike Harris was in opposition, he berated the NDP for not getting the statements out properly. When he got elected he said, “We’ll have these things out in 90 days.” Well, that was the end of June. Where are they? That’s the question. We now are not three months after the year-end, we’re seven months after the year-end. I always say to my business friends, “If you tried to run your company like this, you’d be delisted from the stock exchange.” If you don’t have your audited statements in within 140 days you get delisted. But not Mike Harris. He can take his own time.

Mr Tony Ruprecht (Davenport): Hiding.

Mr Phillips: That is the question: what are they hiding?

The Minister of Health had the embarrassment of showing up last week at estimates with a $2.5-billion mistake. They asked the minister one question and she said, “Oh, we’re going to have to adjourn for a week, because obviously I’ve got some of the wrong numbers here.”

So I say to Premier Harris, let’s get on with it. Where are these audited financial statements? What have you got to hide? Let’s see those statements. Why don’t you live up to that promise of, “Within 90 days I’m going to have the audited statements”? We’re still waiting after seven months.

LIBERAL PARTY OF ONTARIO

Mr Wayne Wettlaufer (Kitchener Centre): It must be very difficult to be a member of the provincial Liberals these days. Imagine the difficulty of rallying the troops when you find that the number one economic policy of our government, which they’ve attacked since 1995, is now the primary plank of the federal Liberal 2000 election campaign.

What do the provincial Liberals do now? Do they do what their federal cousins have done: admit through a tax-cutting platform that this government’s economic policy has been right all along? Do they stand up in this House and apologize to the people of Ontario, admitting to the error of their ways?

There would be no snickering on this side of the House if the Leader of the Opposition were to stand on his feet and say something along the lines of, “I’ve decided to come clean. I’ve decided to let the people of Ontario know that, like my federal cousins, I now know that the economic policies of the Mike Harris government have been correct all along.”

I don’t expect that. It would be too big a pill for him to swallow. But I do want to thank the Prime Minister. It took only five years for Jean Chrétien to finally get an understanding of economic policies, and in terms of Liberal time frames, five years is record time. It took him only five years to finally figure out that if he wanted a chance to win the upcoming federal election he would have to follow the leadership of the Mike Harris government.

These are tough, tough days to be a member of the provincial Liberal Party. Who knows? Maybe Mr McGuinty will finally do the right thing: exhibit leadership. In the meantime, our government will lead the province toward continued economic prosperity.

POLICE JOB FAIR

Mr Mario Sergio (York West): On Saturday, October 21, I attended a recruitment and testing session conducted by the Toronto Police Service at the Downsview park lands. I was pleased to witness this initiative by our Toronto police force as part of their ongoing efforts to provide trained, qualified and much-welcome additions to our police force. It is most important to see that recruiting efforts are aimed at men and women from all backgrounds and walks of life, including people of various races, cultures and religions.

The intention of the police job fair was to provide information to candidates seeking the position of police constable. The Toronto Police Service strives to reflect the communities in which it serves. The Toronto Police Service needs include visible minorities, aboriginal peoples, females, second-language skills, and residents of Toronto and the greater Toronto area.

Hosting police job fairs aimed at promoting career opportunities in policing reflects the importance our police force places in seeking recruits who are committed to working in partnership with the community to ensure that Toronto is the best and safest place to be. And that it is.

We are truly grateful and proud that our neighbourhoods, our communities and our cities are always well served and protected due to the police service efforts to recruit and hire the best and most talented young people for their organization.

HONOURS IN HAMILTON

Mr David Christopherson (Hamilton West): I rise today to bring to the attention of the House recent celebrations in Hamilton, last month, of two outstanding Hamiltonians. On September 21, at Liuna Station, we had a celebration for Dermot Nolan, who received the Emilius Irving award, which was named after the first president of the Hamilton Law Society, who was elected in 1879. The Hamilton Law Association chose Dermot because of his outstanding contribution not only to law but to our community. In fact, he’s only the seventh recipient to receive the award and the first since 1997.

Dermot is probably best known in Hamilton for his tireless efforts in spearheading the creation of a new downtown Hamilton courthouse, which we are all so proud of.

The following night, September 22, at the Hamilton Convention Centre, we celebrated the retirement of Bill and Lynne Powell and their 25 years with creative arts. They’re also best known for their creation of the Festival of Friends. As Jeff Mahoney, the reporter for the Hamilton Spectator, put it, “They brought Canada to Hamilton.” The highlight of that evening was the surprise arrival of their daughter Kim, who had been secretly flown in from BC to be there.

I would ask all members of this House to join with me in acknowledging and paying tribute to these fine, outstanding Hamiltonians.

TAX REBATES

Mrs Julia Munro (York North): I rise today to applaud our government’s tax rebate of $200. I want to quote from an

article that appeared in the local paper of a small town in my riding of York North.

The town is Georgina, with 20,000 tax dividend recipients. That means approximately $4 million will be coming into our town.

If the residents of Georgina choose to spend the money in Georgina, that is a major injection into the local economy. Some people think that it’s about time the government gave taxpayers back some of their hard-earned tax dollars. Whatever your opinion is, it is your money to do with as you please.

There are plenty of worthwhile charities and organizations in Georgina that could use the money. The United Way, for example, has its annual campaign underway. They contribute to many causes in Georgina. Residents could save for a rainy day, put the money in an account for a child, or do something extravagant, like take in a Leafs’ game. You might want to start your Christmas shopping early. Just be sure to spend some of the money in Georgina, where hard-working businesspeople do much to support worthy local causes like minor sports, the Sutton agricultural fair, and the Red Barn, just to name a few.

I will be contributing my $200 dollars to a charity in my riding of York North. Tax cuts stimulate the economy and create jobs. Let’s hope this is the first of many such cheques.

SUTTON MEDICAL CLINIC

Mr George Smitherman (Toronto Centre-Rosedale): An interesting quirk of timing it is that I get to stand on the subject of the town of Georgina and the community of Sutton. The member opposite who just spoke has, for the 10th time since October 1, stood in this House and talked about her community, not once directing her attention to the closure of the Sutton medical clinic. You talk about where the money is going to go. The money is going to be forced to pay to keep the medical clinic in Sutton alive because the government opposite has failed when asked to do so.

Increasingly, municipal taxpayers are being asked to fund services which have historically been provided by the province of Ontario. The Harris government talks about tax cuts and the member opposite stands and talks about going to the Red Barn Theatre or going to see a Leafs’ game when 8,000 of her constituents, patients who have been without a doctor as a result of the pending closure of this clinic, have been without leadership on the part of that member opposite.

We hear too much in this House about downloading and its impact. Regrettably, in this northern part of York region in the greater Toronto area we’ve got this incredible shortage of doctors being unaddressed by the government opposite, forcing the closure of the Sutton medical clinic, which has provided extraordinary services to people, including native residents of that riding. And the member opposite stands only to talk about going to Leaf games and the Red Barn Theatre.

It’s about time that this government opposite, instead of directing its money toward things such as the member spoke about, directs its money toward funding adequate medical services for people in the greater Toronto area.

MUSICAL MEMORIES OF MARKHAM

Mrs Tina R. Molinari (Thornhill): Many of the members present may be aware of Markham’s many attractions and accomplishments, but how many think of music when Markham is mentioned? Last Wednesday, I had the pleasure of attending the unveiling of a new book, Musical Memories of Markham. This book is a wonderful way to pay homage to the vibrant community of musicians and artists who have made Markham a very special place to live. It is also a perfect illustration of the rich musical heritage to be found in my riding of Thornhill.

Musical Memories of Markham highlights the talents of a number of local musicians. Some of the people mentioned in the book have created music in Markham’s churches, choirs, orchestras and bands. Others have performed not only in the community but under the spotlights of Toronto, New York, Hollywood and Europe. They are Canada’s true ambassadors, using the universal language of music to bring our joy in the arts to people all over the world.

The musicians include people such as Adelmo Melecci, to whom I paid tribute in this House recently, Phil Nimmons, John Allan Cameron and many others. Musical Memories of Markham contains many fascinating stories. I would like to thank the Markham 2000 committee and author Andy Shaw for their dedicated and creative efforts. They have done an outstanding job of bringing to life the unique personalities and talents of Markham’s musical scene, and I am proud to highlight their work in the Legislature today.

VISITORS

Mr Mario Sergio (York West): I am delighted today to introduce to you the mayor from the wonderful city of Montallegro; it’s called “happy mountain.” It’s a wonderful city in Sicily. We have the mayor and other delegates accompanying him as well. The mayor, Signor Andrea Iati, is in the west gallery; and he’s accompanied by Mr Dominic Campione, the president of the Ontario Confederation of Sicily; and the local president of the St Joseph of Montallegro Social Club. I thank you, and I welcome our delegates.

DECORUM IN CHAMBER

The Speaker (Hon Gary Carr): Earlier today, the member for Cambridge filed written notice of a point of privilege which I am now prepared to rule on, pursuant to standing order 21(d), based upon the member’s written submission. I’m going to rule on it now for the member.

The issue the member raises relates to disorder that arose in the west members’ gallery last night during debate on Bill 132. As a result of the disorder, the Acting Speaker directed that the west members’ gallery be cleared and that strangers be excluded.

I want to thank the member for Cambridge for raising the issue and want to assure him that it is indeed a serious matter.

Decorum in the chamber generally, and instances of grave disorder especially, are always of great concern to the Speaker. This relates, of course, directly to one of the principal functions of the Speaker in the chamber, namely, to preserve order and decorum. I note that the matter was successfully dealt with in an expeditious and decisive way by the Chair last evening.

The circumstances surrounding last evening’s occurrence, however, do not constitute a matter of privilege. They fall within the Speaker’s jurisdiction specifically, both as it relates to preserving order in the House and in my responsibility for the security of the parliamentary precinct. This is therefore an administrative matter that I will address directly with the member for Cambridge.

I also want to note that the security committee, on which all three parties have representation, is also an appropriate venue for this matter to pursued, and I will ensure that the member is invited to bring his concerns forward in that forum.

In conclusion, I also say to the member that the issue of security in the members’ gallery has been dealt with, I believe, at one of the meetings in August, and we will be dealing with that. In the member’s case, the member for London-Fanshawe is the government representative on that.

I do want to thank the member for Cambridge for bringing the point of privilege to my attention and assure him that we will indeed be dealing with that matter.

VISITORS

The Speaker (Hon Gary Carr): Just before we go on to reports by committees, in the members’ west gallery again, we have a distinguished former member, the member from London Centre in the 35th and 36th Parliaments, holding a number of cabinet positions, Marion Boyd. We are very pleased to have our honoured guest here today.

REPORTS BY COMMITTEES

STANDING COMMITTEE ON GENERAL GOVERNMENT

Mr Steve Gilchrist (Scarborough East): I beg leave to present a report from the standing committee on general government and move its adoption:

Clerk at the Table (Ms Lisa Freedman): Your committee begs to report the following bill as amended:

Bill 112,

An Act to amend the McMichael Canadian Art Collection Act / Projet de loi 112, Loi modifiant la

Loi sur la Collection McMichael d’art canadien.

The Speaker (Hon Gary Carr): Shall the report be received and adopted? Agreed.

MOTIONS

APPOINTMENT OF HOUSE OFFICERS

Hon Chris Stockwell (Minister of Labour): I move that, notwithstanding the order of the House dated October 25, 1999, Mike Brown, member for the electoral district of Algoma-Manitoulin, be appointed Deputy Speaker and Chair of the committee of the whole House; Tony Martin, member for the electoral district to Sault Ste Marie, be appointed First Deputy Chair of the committee of the whole House; and Bert Johnson, member for the electoral district of Perth-Middlesex, be appointed Second Deputy Chair of the committee of the whole House.

The Speaker (Hon Gary Carr): Is it the pleasure of the House that the mot